HFDU - 5th Edition

Originally sent: August 18, 2003

Well, it's that time again. I know I always say this, but I hope these are not completely annoying to you. Again, if they are or if you would prefer not to get them, please let me know and I'll gladly remove you from future editions! Now that the much anticipated Winter Ball is over, I have exciting details to share with all of you.

First of all, let me start out by saying that it was completely AMAZING! The Melbourne office really spared no expense to make the evening unforgettable and such a ball (no pun intended!). The theme was "Life's A Circus" and I'll just paint the picture of the ballroom where it was held: the ballroom was in the Crown Casino entertainment complex. You walk up in black tie attire and standing outside of the doors to the ballroom are clowns and characters on stilts welcoming you to the circus. The circus music is playing in the background and once you get into the ballroom, picture red and yellow everywhere: stars, balloons, streamers, etc. Oh, and about 1,500 other co-workers and their dates!

In one corner are jugglers, in another are more clowns, walking all over are various "side show acts", and in the center is an amazingly in-shape lady hula-hooping. Later on came flame-eaters, two very strong men (the Gemini twins) balancing on each other, a lady performing on a rope hanging from the ceiling, and more! Each table had a phenomenal centerpiece with a musical clown and many little decorations. Once we finished saying our hellos, the appetizers came out (chicken, duck, and salmon), followed by a break with another show/act, and then the main course (lamb and barramundi fillets). After that I think everyone had their dancing shoes on, so Lisa was off to the dance floor and pretty much never sat down again until the evening was over at 2am!

One thing I did not get the chance to enjoy was the carnival games in the back of the ballroom (they were too far away from the dance floor!), complete with tickets and prizes that you could trade them in for. Overall the evening was very enjoyable and much better than I expected! Unfortunately I did not think to take pictures of the fabulous decorations!

Let's see what else.......I have developed a dangerous affection for Freddo frogs and Caramello koalas. Freddo frogs are Cadbury's milk chocolate filled with a variety of things, my favorite being peppermint. And those if you who know me well know that I only usually only eat dark chocolate, so you know these must be good. I baked brownies one day for my audit team and none of them had ever had them before! Can you believe it? A whole batch was almost gone before lunch, so I guess they enjoyed them. Unfortunately now that's all anyone asks for these days. I think they were a bit disappointed when I told them they came out of a box and that you could buy them at the local grocery store.

Anyway, we have decided to have an Australian/American food day at my client so that I can try quirky Australian food and so they can have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! They've never eaten them before! "Jelly" to the Aussies is Jell-O to Americans, so I have to explain that it's peanut butter and "jam". They still think it will be gross, but I have a feeling they'll like it once they try it. I'm curious to see what I ended up getting fed.

And I have exciting news to share about Mexican food. I found a decent place to get some! Another secondee from Scotland lives in the suburb where I have been working and said that she had heard about a good Mexican restaurant there. So, we decided to meet up one night and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, complete with margaritas and chicken enchiladas! I was so relieved to find some place to satiate my cravings, and probably will be making regular trips there. The only complaint that I have is that they charge you for chips and salsa, which would never fly in Houston. But, I shouldn't complain too much as the food is really pretty good.

I just learned that my group at work is having a disco/karaoke night in a few weeks, which I will definitely have to partake in! I've already spoken with my "Danny" for Grease's "Summer Nights" and hopefully we'll be able to pull it off. We're supposed to dress up, but for some reason I can't see me wearing the tight black leather outfit that "Sandy" wears in the movie, so I'll have to come up with a more conservative alternative. It should be a lot of fun though, and I will definitely report how it goes. My flatmate leaves for Bali this weekend for vacation so I will have the flat all to myself for 2 weeks.

Other than that my life here has become pretty normal and routine. I have yet to find a church, but have some feelers out there so hopefully something turns up. I found a hairdresser the other day which made me very happy, and I also treated myself to a massage for no good reason. It was nice to be pampered! I have learned the tram schedule backwards and forwards and even fall asleep on them sometimes in the morning. That's a little scary though as I could end up in the middle of some place that I'm not familiar with! There are still a lot of things that I want to experience, but I have started working somewhat long hours because of busy season, so some things are going to have to be put on hold.

I still am in awe every morning that I walk to the tram along the beach. It reminds me of exactly where I am, across the world in Australia, and I remember how lucky and blessed I am to have the opportunity to be here. And I still think Aussies are an amazing people! Please keep in touch and come visit!