The joy of international living...

My parents have sent me a package for Christmas.

It is currently stuck in Customs. :-(

The email I got from my colleague who deals with this stuff (logistics, shipping, customs) says: "Your package was detained at customs and we therefore need to know contents and value of goods sent as there was no attached paperwork to the package."

"Detained" - like it is a prisoner of war...

I have no idea what the contents are (Christmas presents! Not to be opened until 25 December!!), and so have made a guess at what is in the package (some magazines, individually wrapped presents, value less than $US50). Will be interesting to see if this is enough info for the Customs people to "release" my package...

(And no, Mum - I do not want to know what is in the package - I'd like it to be a surprise on Christmas Day!)

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Lunchtime discussions

A snapshot of my lunchtime chit chat with my French friend and neighbour:

 

Her: You know, I just don't get this open marriage shit - I wouldn't want to share my husband or boyfriend with another woman. Do you get this?

 

Me: I don't share well with others. I grew up as the only girl with two brothers and never had to share - had my own room, my own toys, never had hand-me-downs. I'm 33 years old - do you really think that I am going to start sharing now?

 

Her: But you give me your magazines when you are finished with them, so you do share some things.

 

Me: Yeah, the key words are "after I am finished with them" - I don't give you magazines that I am half-way through reading!

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Most comfortable boots EVER!

I bought a pair of RM Williams boots the last time I was flying out of Brisbane International Airport (yay! for Duty Free shopping!).

I *heart* these boots - so incredibly comfortable, with no need to break them in. I wish I had bought a pair years ago. Happy feet!

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Hmmm... Time to go home?

Two conversations from the past week, both with New Zealanders...

Kiwi 1: When was the last time you were home in Aussie?
Me: In July.
Kiwi 1: Yeah, I think you need to go back again so that you can lose that American accent.

Kiwi 2: So are you from the States or Canada?
Me: Australia.
Kiwi 2: Oh. Shit. Sorry.

Apparently I need to throw in more "G'day" and "mate" into conversations...

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You Win some, You Lose some...

I live in company-provided housing, which means that when something breaks, I log a work order and eventually, if all the stars align, someone comes out to fix whatever the problem is.

 

Earlier this week, I submitted two work orders - to get my air conditioning fixed and to have my shower resealed.

 

And as is the usual way over here, I had the tradies show up at my office and expect me to drop everything to run home so that they could fix whatever was broken. Um, no - I'm busy and have meetings scheduled.

 

And so commenced Battle Number 852 in the War of Scheduling Tradespeople...

 

I asked both tradies to come back to my place at 3pm - plenty of time before knock-off time at 4pm.

 

At 2:50pm, I leave the office. And then I get home and wait. I made myself a cup of green tea while I waited.

 

Surprisingly, at 3:10pm, one of the tradies shows up to fix my shower. Julie: 1, Tradies O - yes, I am calling it my win even though they were a bit late.

 

The job is finished in 20 minutes (which probably means that I will need to get my shower re-sealed again in about 4 months).

 

No sign of the other tradie who needs to fix my air con.

 

At 3:40pm, I go back to work because I know that there is no way the tradie will show up so close to knock-off time.

 

Julie: 1, Tradies: 1.

 

 

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In Flander's Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flander's fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, tho poppies grow
In Flander's fields.

Liet. -Col. John McCrae

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How to feel better when having a crap day...

Wednesday started pretty good - I had a briefing with the General, which went extremely well.

The rest of the day went downhill after that - fighting bureaucracy, one of my civilians in tears, and receiving orders from someone at HQ that I don't have any respect for (I did, however, resist the urge to tell her that if she wanted to give orders, she should get some stripes on her shoulder and get her ass down here to work for a change rather than swanning about drinking cappucinos at the cafe down below her office - yes, apparently I am able to exercise a little bit of diplomacy from time to time!).

But the day got significantly better when one of my military friends stopped by my office and said "grab your IBA [individual body armour], we're going to the range."



After a very involved safety briefing, which included tips like "keep the weapon pointed in that direction" and how to load the magazine and where the safety was located, I went out on the range and fired off 30 rounds at a very small target.



The Alpha Marshmellow was suitably impressed with my shooting ability - 11 out of 30 rounds hit the (very) small target - not bad at all for my first time firing a gun.

And I went back to work covered in dust/sand (from kneeling and lying in the dirt), but in a much better mood.

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