Catch up

Quite a bit has happened during the few days I was offline.  I will try to keep it brief.

On a side note, I’m going to try to start incorporating Australian words into my blog.  J  My coworkers have been teaching me what some of their words and phrases mean that I have never heard before.  Sometimes when they are telling a story, I have no idea what they are talking about because of the words they use.  It is quite amusing. 

On Friday, I was able to move in to my new apartment.  Everything went smoothly and my belongings all arrived undamaged from the States.  I really like this apartment and the location.  There are a few things that will take some getting used, however I am sure it will not take too long.  My living area and bedroom both have a wall of windows that look out onto a private grassy area between the two towers of the apartments.  I even have my own terrace area where I can sit out and enjoy the beautiful weather (as soon as the table is delivered).  The picture below shows the view out the living area.  After getting my keys on Friday, my agent took me grocery shopping so I could know where to go.  Now I can find my way to the supermarket without help, haha.  By Friday night, I was pretty much settled in.

Early Saturday morning, on my way to work, I think I may have seen a celebrity at my apartments.  As I was getting off the lift (elevator) to the car park (parking garage), a man boarded the elevator that looked just like George Eads, who plays Nick Stokes on CSI.  He was wearing a baseball cap, which is not common in Melbourne and looked rather surprised to see someone getting off the elevator.  He definitely had an American look to him, but who knows. 

After work on Saturday I decided to finish reading the last Harry Potter book that I started on Friday.  I am going to have to find a cinema (theater) and watch the movie. 

Sunday, I decided to walk around the Royal Botanic Gardens.  I didn’t actually go in the garden area or in the Shrine of Remembrance, however I walked around them taking pictures.  I added a few below.  I can see myself spending a fair amount of time over there this summer.  It is a really nice area to walk around, or even to just sit in the grass and relax. 

Speaking of summer, it is really strange for me to see Christmas decorations in stores and to hear the stores playing Christmas music when it is so warm outside.  It’s just not right.  It is also really hard for me to believe that Thanksgiving is this week.  Fortunately I get to celebrate the holiday with other Americans that I work with.  We are going to have Thanksgiving dinner on Friday so that it will coincide with Thursday in America.  Now I just need to figure out what to bring…