Dear Mom - Aussie News

My Mom said it would be OK if I share this email ...so I am going to. I also have an update to the car situation, but that is for the next post ;)

Hi  Mom,

Sorry I didn’t get back to you right away when I got this email from you, but I wanted to send you more of a note than I could yesterday. It is so busy and all in the office and trying to get some productive work done is a fighting battle when everything is new and I am not quick up to speed with the technical infrastructure to make my work as smooth as it usually is. But I think I am more “there”, at least more than I was last week so that is good. I still have yet to fill out my Australian HR forms, which is a bit frustrating as they impact my “getting paid” factor, but I am on the last step today with the bank to getmy “super” fund, which is that superannuation bank account where the OZ gov puts 9% or your income into (forced RRSP's).

So besides that and spending time with Jon looking for a car at night on the internet...it’s well, busy. BUT SO GOOD.

Our internet is not hooked up yet, which is a pain in the ass. Thankfully I have this little stick that my work gave me to use to access the internet from home in the evenings, but I cannot leave it for Jon cause his computer (tablet) does not have a USB port. We should have had our internet setup as of yesterday, but after another unsuccessful attempt, we will have to try tech support again tonight if the same thing happens.

We do appear to have a phone line (as that is what the ADSL modem is hooking up to), but I tried calling it on my mobile and it didn’tring, so go figure. It actually makes sense as I told them on the phone that Ido not want a land line so this will all get figured out by the weekend.

We found a red civic, under 200k for 4200,00 and I think weare pretty interested in buying it...so we will see if they get back to us and then check it out tomorrow. The rental car went back early this week and thatis fine, because we were not even using it. Except of course on weekends when we were travelling 1 hour south to go surfing at Byron Bay – which is so freaking awesome I cannot even tell you. The waves are so fun and punchy and I am getting great rides and feeling super confident out there.

The commute is long and a bit tiring, but so worth it when I can take a cruise after dinner and walk along the beach in the moonlight with Jonny. It is weird coming from summer time daylight hours, to here in the winter time (although it feels like summer!) and having it dark at 6pm. However cause we are so close to the equator I guess, it is light by 5:30, which btw is the time I am getting up each morning. I love it though, as both Jon and I are morning people and the birds make such wonderful music (yes starting at 5:30!) and I get to sip and have my coffee and breaky on my breakfast bar, as I like to call it, or my couch and look over the canal as the sky is pink and wonderfully brightening. It gives me great joy every morning to be in super a beautiful space.

I get on a bus at  5minutes to 7 and then off of it at 7:15 and on the train to Brisbane city (which is where I am almost right now at this present moment). In 10 minutes I will get off this train and take another to the Toowong stop (just 8minutes or so) and then walk 10 minutes to my office. I have a big nice new office in a modern building. The coffee maker is primo and the people I work with all very friendly and have great sense of humour. Wehave found most Aussie’s to be super positive and witty and really just NICE folk.

Big kidders it seems like!

So yeah, the Procura big shots are all over in Australia right now for some conferences and also a Procura event called SHARE which I am attending next week. It is on the Gold Coast this year, where I live, so that will be nice to not have to travel into Brisbane.

I am fairly certain when all dies down around in my next few weeks that I will be able to work at least 1 day a week from home. Since we have a spare room with a nice desk and chair (which I call my home office and Jon call’s his room), there will be no problem with that setup.
When I mentioned this to Jon he is super supportive, talking how we will get a surf in at our local beach (7 minute walk down the road –which he has taken advantage of nicely in the last few days). However he did mention that I will have to ask permission to use his room?! Oh yes, our humor has not left us and we are doing just fine. Jon is looking it no joining the kickboxing gym right down the street. And i found myself a Hot yoga studio just down the main street as well...so we are just honky dory here so far.

Much love, thinking about you...

Sacha