Just because
By Y | August 15, 2010
There is a feminine hygiene product-line brand named Libra here in Australia (similar to Always in the US) and in their products they include little trivia they like to call Odd Spots. I suppose when you’re sitting on the toilet you need something to read so for the price of one sanitary product you get reading material too. Anyway just wanted to share one of those little tidbits for anyone who hasn’t visited Australia: Odd Spot #200 There are more than twice as many kangaroos as people in Australia.
PS. If you are really interested in reading more on these Odd Spots, someone has taken the trouble to actually list them all here! Happy reading!
Topics: Just for the hell of it | No Comments »
In a funk
By Y | August 4, 2010
As the title suggests, I’m in a bit of a funk today. It has nothing to do with Australia nor the US. It’s just one of those days that can happen to anyone, anywhere in the world. It’s a little past 11am on a Wednesday morning. There’s no one around to just process what’s been going on. I’ve had to deal with an arrogant and condescending prick at the bank, a program-wide client audit at work, a forgotten employee, a forgotten birthday, and making a decision for my child that may or may not affect his future. And those are only the major highlights as I’ve had other things on my plate since 3am this morning. I’m ready for a nap.
Topics: Hmmm... | No Comments »
You know you’re becoming part of the culture when
By Y | May 30, 2010
you’re at a market and you hear someone pass by and say “They sure have good tucker here” and you know exactly what they’re talking about.
FYI market = flea market
tucker = food
Topics: Hmmm... | No Comments »
Farmville break
By Y | April 3, 2010
So I decided to take a break from Facebook and all its addicting games such as Farmville to come visit my abandoned blog. I will admit the only reason I did so was because a friend sent me an email and reminded me about the blog and her email reminded me about a post I was going to write a couple of weekends ago.
We’ve been living in Australia for over 2 years now and we’ve been living in this house for over a year now so we thought it was time we actually unpacked. The stuff in our house is totally settled and as a result, our house has the lived in look but the garage was stacked with USPS boxes filled with our “American” memories. So on one particular Sunday since we had no particular plans we decided to clean the garage and unpack the things we had thought we could not live without when we packed nearly 3 years ago.
I can’t remember if I wrote about those last days of living in NJ and trying to decide what we thought we needed to keep and what needed to be tossed but trust me, we were so tired with all the thinking and packing, packing and thinking we got to the point in which just started chucking things in those USPS flat-rate boxes or the garbage. So of course I wasn’t surprised to find lots of things I didn’t even know I still had in my possession. In one of those boxes I found some “memorabilia” from my school days. One of those mementos of my youth was a “contract” signed by me and the aforementioned friend. The contract was signed in 1992 (before Internet, IMDB, and Wikipedia) and it stated that my friend believed that Arnold Schwarzenegger was from Australia the land of the beautiful man Michael Hutchence. (Sidenote: she completely loved Michael and INXS, therefore, anything Australian) and I, of course, being Little Miss Know-It-All, (and not completely obsessed with INXS since I didn’t know about them until she introduced me to them and introduced me to the possibility of Australia being a wondrous place) correctly said he was from Austria. The winner would receive $1,000,000 from the loser.
It’s time someone pays up! 
Topics: Random Stuff | No Comments »
Horrible blogger
By Y | March 9, 2010
Yes I admit I’m a horrible blogger but I’m a busy mommy. I’m still in Australia. I haven’t bailed out and there are no plans to do so in the immediate future. I do find myself not only adapting but assimilating into Australian culture. I’ve been using words like “nappy”, “dummy”, “bin”, “mobile”, and others more often than I thought I would.
I still notice differences between my two countries and/or what I consider oddities (things I’ve never seen done before). For instance, 9 out of 10 smokers that I encounter here, actually roll their own cigarettes rather than buying the already made ones. Each of them say it’s because of the cost of cigarettes but I don’t know the price difference.
Anyway, I’m still here and still check the website and still reply to emails so don’t be strangers. I’m just a bit absentminded lately but I will come on as often I can and remember to do so.
Topics: Hmmm... | No Comments »
Slang of the day
By Y | November 9, 2009
Just had to share another Aussie slang term I heard “spit the dummy” which means to get to angry at something and blow up just like a child who starts to cry after losing their pacifiers (which in Australia are called dummies!)
So next time someone you know loses it tell them not to spit the dummy!
Topics: Hmmm... | No Comments »
Settling and word of the day
By Y | November 8, 2009
So I’ve been here a little over a year and a half and I do believe I’m just settling in now. As a result I don’t have that many interesting little stories anymore or if I do, I’m so busy with the boys that I forget what I wanted to write when I have a chance at the computer. There have been so many times that I have said I have to remember that to post on the blog but then 2 hours later I can’t remember what it was. That’s mommy brain for you.
But I will not give up! I will post as often as I possibly can which may be once a week or once a month but I’ll still be here. And as many of you know I still reply to emails and comments that you send to me. Thanks for those. It’s nice to know that someone’s thinking about me.
Anyway, I remembered to come on today because I came across the funniest Aussie term today in conversation:
Budgie smuggler: According to the urban dictionary, its an Australian term for “men’s tight-fitting Speedo-style swimwear. The ‘lump in the front’ apparently resembles a budgie when it is stuffed down the front of someone’s shorts”.
My next question was what’s a budgie? Apparently it’s a parakeet or small parrot.
He's smuggling a budgie in that speedo!
Wow, only in Australia are there visually creative terms like budgie smuggler that could be worked in seamlessly into conversation. I dare you to use it in your next conversation!
Topics: What the...? | 3 Comments »
When I was home and I missed home!
By Y | October 22, 2009
I loved being back in the States. I loved visiting my favorite places back home and seeing my friends and family. It was great to eat the food I soooo missed and shop at familiar stores.
But funnily enough I felt like a “visitor”. I thought that once I went back home that I would feel like I had never left. But that wasn’t true. I felt just like a tourist visiting a land I’ve been to several times. I found it to be such a strange feeling and I couldn’t wait to get back “home” – back to our home in Australia. Can you believe that?? I know I couldn’t. Which made me realize that MJ and I have built a home in the Land of Oz so no matter where we live as long as our family is together that’s where my home is. It only took a visit home to realize where and what home was.
Topics: Homesick | No Comments »
By Y | October 22, 2009
Before going to the US, I promised myself we were going to travel light. No excess baggage. It would be difficult enough to travel with the 2 kids, we didn’t need to add to it. So the plan was 1 suitcase with all our crap, 1 semi-empty suitcase with just gifts to my family because I knew we would be shopping lots in the US, 1 diaper bag as a carry-on, and 1 kids backpack for LJ with his toys and crayons. It didn’t work out that way. We ended up taking 2 filled to the rim suitcases, 1 diaper bag, 1 kids backpack, 1 carry-on bag, and a stroller. Not too bad, you say? Well, we came back with 3 suitcases filled to the rim, 1 diaper bag, 1 kids backpack, 1 carry-on bag, stroller, and a carseat. Plus we shipped some things over ahead of time from the US to Australia.
And of course we had to pay those ridiculous fees that some airlines charge for baggage. We didn’t have to pay until we took Continental from Los Angeles to Newark. We paid $30. Continental from Newark to Los Angeles we paid $45. We were threatened by the curbside check-in guy that we were going to have to pay $50 per bag because we exceeded the weight restrictions by a couple of pounds and the carseat which he said wasn’t an exemption (bullshit). However, he did us a great “favor” and let us through as long as we tipped him for his trouble of saving us over $100 in fees. He was a total con-artist. Because he insisted so much on a tip, we only gave him a $7.00 one meanwhile we gave the Enterprise shuttle driver at $12 tip because he was so helpful and didn’t vocalize that he expected something in return. Anyway we didn’t have to worry about any other fees with VAustralia or Virgin but we did have to pay for JetStar.
Ok I started this post on October 3 and I thought I had finished it and published it. Apparently not. And now my “baby brain” has kicked in and I can’t remember where I was going with this post! Man, I need to allot a certain time of the week to update the blog so it’s still fresh in my head.
Topics: Travel tips | No Comments »
Serious security
By Y | September 28, 2009
I remember when I first took my first flight ever. I was 17 or 19 years old and I went to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving. And the airport security wasn’t that bad. People were actually able to wait with or for you at the gate. Then over the years that was little perk and many others were taken away. You had to say goodbye or hello to your loved ones before the security screening. You had to take off your shoes to go through the metal detector. No more tweezing your eyebrows or giving yourself a manicure on the airplane because a tweezer or cuticle scissors have been considered dangerous weapons. Now you can’t even take water through the security screening and there’s where I have a problem.
On the way over from Australia to the US, I let the security people know I have sterilized bottled water for my baby’s formula. They had a look at the water and they said that’s fine. Cool. Then the flight from Los Angeles to Newark was a different story. Again I let the security person that checked the IDs know that I have water for the baby. He said it’s no problem. Then my bags went through the machine. Another security person was called over I guess to let her know about what was in my bag. Then the conversation went as follows:
Security: Is this your bag?
Me: Yes.
Security (voice raised): What do you have in your bag?
Me: Water but I asked–
Security (interrupting me and raising her voice even more): You were supposed to get rid of the water before coming through security. Why didn’t you?
Me: Because –
Security (yelling): You are NOT allowed to have water. Why do you have this water in your bag?
Me (now I have my voice raised): If you stop interrupting me and let me explain you would that I had advised that security man over there about the water that I need for the baby’s formula and he said that it was fine since it was for the baby’s formula.
Security (clearly pissed): What baby???
Me (pointing to my baby who was in the Moby Wrap): This baby.
Security (sounding sweet now): Oh. I thought you were pregnant. I didn’t know you had a baby. Come over here and I’ll have to check the water to make sure it’s ok.
Once again in Los Angeles for the flight back to Australia, the security agent had a stick up his ass. Since I had run out of the baby’s formula I had to buy some while in NJ so I figured I’ll bypass the whole water thing and get him a ready to feed one in those little bottles. I figured I might as well let him know that I do have ready to feed baby formula in my bag. He tells me to take them out. Fine. Then he asks why do I have so many. I had about 6 eight oz bottles (240 mil). I tell him I am going to Australia. It is a 14 hour flight, not to mention any delays that might occur. He rolls his eyes at me. I’m seriously pissed. He has to take the formula away to check them. Fine as long as he doesn’t open them because then the formula would need to be thrown out. He rolls his eyes again. I’m about to walk through the metal detector with CJ who had finally fallen asleep once I had swaddled him. He then tells me that I have to take the blanket off the baby to put it through the machine. My words: “You’re fucking kidding me. He’s asleep and you want me to wake him. You obviously don’t have kids. It’s a thin receiving blanket. There’s nothing hidden besides we are going through the metal detector. If there’s something there the detector will pick it up.” He didn’t care. So I had to unwrap the baby and of course he woke up. At that moment I decided I’m not traveling again until the boys are much older.
Next post: luggage
Topics: Travel tips, USA | 2 Comments »
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