HFDU - 12th Edition

Originally sent: December 23, 2003

Happy Holidays! Well, I have been asked by several people when the next edition was coming out, so I decided to send one out just before the Christmas break. The past few weeks have just flown by and I had to take a few minutes to remember what all I have been doing!

Greek lessons are going really well. A few Greeks at the office are impressed with my ability to pick it up so quickly, although most of the credit should go to my fantastic teacher (a co-worker) and my mother, for the genetic gift of a good memory. I'm really enjoying it, and feel very accomplished when I actually can carry on a bit of a conversation. If any of you know Greek, just shoot me an email and I'll see if I can respond properly. It will be good practice (although I doubt any of you know Greek!). Speaking of Greece, my Aussie boyfriend B (who's Greek), is in Greece for Christmas visiting relatives that he has not seen in years. A nice change of scenery for him from dismal London, and he's so excited to be there. Wish I was there too......

Driving is still going well. I've become very comfortable with Pajy and driving in Australia, and just love to drive around everywhere! The freedom of having a car is unexplainable, especially after relying on trams for 5 months. I still have yet to take the top off as it's a bit of a task, and I'm afraid that it'll start raining or something and Pajy will get wet! I'll get brave enough though one of these days. The sunroof satisfies me for now :-) Softball is also going well. We have only lost one game, and are actually a pretty good team. I have a lot of fun with my teammates as they are non-work folks and really could care less about accounting so it's a nice break.

Some other big news -- I moved out of my beach front apartment and moved into a one bedroom by myself. Long story, but I'm much happier without my flatmate, and it's been great for me to be on my own. She was a handful! So, I've been moving over the last week or so and am getting all settled in my new place. Now if I could just figure out some way to get my cat over here to keep me company I'd be all set! I realized, again, during the move how caring and giving the Aussies are. I had so many offers from people to help me move, give me old furniture/tv's/etc. and work was more than willing to give me some time off to get all settled. I had to hire a moving truck to fit the mattresses and fridge, and it was a sight to see me driving that thing! My father would have been proud!

My activities with the Starlight Children's Foundation are still keeping me busy. We had a Starlight Sailing Day last weekend. We took a lot of the kids down to a sailing club and sailed for a couple of hours in the bay then had a barbie (barbecue). I have never really been sailing before and I loved it! I got to steer for a while, then took my shoes off and hung my feet over the edge the rest of the time. We saw dolphins and heaps of seals and the weather was just perfect! It was a great experience! I've also met my first Starlight wish child and she has told me what her wish is, so I am in the middle of coordinating it for her. She is such a little angel, and the first thing that she wanted to do was to take her doctors and nurses away with her! Such an unselfish little girl with a sweet heart. I'm glad that she is getting a wish and will love to hear all about her experiences when it's over!

We had our Group Christmas Party a couple of weeks ago and it was fabulous! We hired a party boat and cruised around the bay for about 4 hours, then had an after party for many hours after that. Imagine about 100 accountants together on a boat with no escape, an ample supply of alcohol, a DJ, and some digital cameras. You can imagine the entertainment! It was great to get away socially with all of my co-workers and be festive! The Company-wide Christmas Party starts in about 1 1/2 hours and will likely last all afternoon and evening as well. Apparently this is the most amazing party of the year so I will definitely have to fill you in when the next HFDU comes out. And I will likely have some good photos from that as well. I'll load up all of my pictures at one time when I get back in the office in a couple of weeks.

Speaking of being out of the office, Bali is not happening (refer to flatmate situation above!), but I have made alternative, and more exciting travel plans for the holidays. I am spending Christmas with several other international rotation folks in Sorrento, on the coast, in a hired beach house. Am really looking forward to this as I'll get to play in the water, relax, and spend Christmas with others who are away from home. Should be a great time! Then, between Christmas and New Year's me and a girl from work are taking the cruise ship over to Tasmania with Pajy, to go exploring for a few days. I think it's great that the cost of the ship and the car are about the same price as a plane ticket, but you have the car already so there is no extra cost there. I've heard that Tasmania is very beautiful, so am anxious to spend a few days there! And Tasmania is one of the states of Australia, just by the way. (I didn't know that before I came down here!).
On New Year's Day, another group of us girls from work are going on another road trip to a popular holiday destination known as Wilson's Prom (short for Promontory), which is a protected nature area with lots of sights to see! I'm just glad to get out of the office for a couple of weeks and relax some. Hopefully then I can come back to work all refreshed!

Well, I managed to stay well in Australia for nearly 6 months, and then right before the holidays I get sick! I've had a horrible cough and runny nose now for over a week so I finally broke down and went to the doctor today. Hopefully I'll get well soon as I don't want to be ill for all of my trips! Again, I wish all of you happy holidays and best wishes for 2004! Why don't you all make it a new year's resolution to take a trip to Australia this year? What a grand idea! And I'm anxious to hear about all of your travels and holiday experiences! Take care.