Junk In the Trunk

Life here has pretty much returned to "normal" and, no, I really don't understand normal anymore. I returned to Oz solo a month ago and I'm still wondering how it can feel like I got back last week, but the calendar confirms it has been a month.
As always happens, my luggage weighed more coming back than it did going the other way. That would be all right if it weren't for the extra pounds that weren't inside the suitcase. Ugh!
It's one of those things that happens when you do a lot of visiting over meals and just "have to" frequent all those eating places we love that haven't made it across the ditch. Like Starbucks, Arni's, Frozen Custard, Chik-fil-A, and much to my own amazement - Taco Bell. I've never been a "Taco Hell" fan, but even that sounded good for some reason. I guess things seem better when you can't have them. Did I mention Starbucks?!
I came back from the States alone because Eric decided to stay two more weeks and paint the house. He had his Aussie buddy Andy fly over to help in this project along with the two conscripts living in the house (Ethan and A.J.). The house became a testosterone pit and with all the hard work going on, the beer was flowing pretty freely. As a matter of fact, there was a bottle of beer lurking somewhere in about every picture I saw of the painting project in progress.

The pictures of the completed project are proof that they did a great job and didn't overdo it on the beer front. Even better, no one got hurt and heaven knows our house is a real huge challenge with half of it being three stories. That was a welcome answered prayer.
They have plenty of stories to tell not the least of which is how Andy drew a crowd to him everywhere he went. People were all agog at meeting a real Aussie bloke and Andy is, admittedly, a bit of a character. He and Eric are great "mates" and we are thankful for his and his wife Jan's friendship.
Now we're missing our family and friends back home in the USA. At least we'll get to see most of them at Christmas as we've bought our tickets for the next visit. Now I just need to divest myself of those extra pounds from the last trip before we leave because experience tells me I'll be bringing back some extra junk in my trunk.

THE REALLY GREAT BARRIER REEF

Oh my goodness! Oh my double goodness! Beauty! Brilliant! Sheesh, I can’t find a word awesome enough to describe THE GREAT BARRIER REEF!

It takes almost two hours to get to the reef during which time we were given a typical Aussie breakfast (bacon and egg roll), briefed to death, and given the opportunity to sign up for an introductory dive. I wasn’t so sure about doing the dive, but it was free so you just have to give it a go. Eric and I were assigned to Dive Group 4 which meant we had time to snorkel a little first. I had serious issues with my mask leaking and was still fighting that problem when our group’s number came up. I had enough trepidation about scuba diving that the mask issues just about sent me over the edge. I didn’t want to look like a chicken, er chook, though, so I swallowed down my fear (and some salt water) and took my place.

I let them put all the gear on me and the next thing I know Eric and I were in the water trying desperately to remember all the instructions for clearing the mask and regulator and equalizing – not to mention the hand signals. I think I only retained two of them – "okay" and especially "not okay".

The dive instructor got me down a few feet and I was still gamely clearing my mask of water as best I could. I was starting to think this was maybe doable in spite of the leaky face mask. Quite unfortunately, there was more than one leak. The other leak was my head and some of the instructions were now lost at sea.

Clearing the regulator requires you to take a breath in from the regulator, take the regulator out of your mouth, do a little pbtt like a raspberry, then put it back in your mouth and say “two” really loud and semi-violently through the regulator. Not terribly complicated unless you forget step one and go straight to step two which is that leak I was talking about. Talk about a panic! I did a little pbtt and then realized there was nothing left in the lungs because I hadn’t put anything in them. In that brief moment I went, “uh oh, must breathe in, can’t breathe in, ack!” The ensuing panic included a surface assessment (as in how far is it and can I get there if I bolt for it right now), drowning, not wanting to drown, and then quite belatedly, “oh, put the regulator back in your mouth and breathe you idiot!”

I must admit I was pretty spooked at this point. I found out later Eric did the very same thing (forget step one) although his description of his predicament didn’t seem quite as panicked as mine. Our dive instructor took us down soon after that. I’m really not sure how she thought I was okay to go as my wild eyes had to be a dead giveaway that I was not teeming with confidence (now there’s a classic Aussie understatement for ya!).

She had to pretty much pull me (and Eric, too) down as we both seemed to start floating upwards whenever she let go. Apparently she’s done a lot of dives with people who are just one small step from losing every ounce of courage they’ve mustered. That meant she was willing to hold my hand just about the whole time – what can I say, nine meters down is a long way!

After I finally realized I probably wasn’t going to die, I managed to start enjoying the totally amazing view down there! Such awesome critters, completely amazing coral, ridiculously sized clams, and a husband who had his wetsuit halfway zipped down. What?!

Now that was a puzzle. No bling had appeared around his neck so I was pretty confident that being 9 meters down hadn’t suddenly caused a mid-life crisis. It wasn’t exactly hot down there so it couldn’t be that. I realized I was going to have to abandon solving this oddity as I just didn’t have the spare capacity to think on it. Funny how breathing, clearing one’s mask, and equalizing your ears can be pretty doggone all-consuming thoughts at that depth.

We got to dive for about 15 minutes and in that time we saw so much stuff it was just plain overwhelming. Truth be told, I was a little relieved to be back at the surface because even though I was starting to relax a bit, I was still pretty wrung out from the beginning terrors. They had us climb out of the water and I was stunned at how heavy that tank was on my back. I struggled up the 3 or 4 steps and was dang thankful I had just enough strength to make it. Then the guy pointed up the next set of stairs and said, “Go on up there and they’ll take the equipment off”. For a brief moment, I thought I was going to have to play the charming Granny card and get some help because I wasn’t sure I had it in me to get up that next flight. But I knew the self-recriminations later would not be pleasant so I did it (yes, it was feebly slow and pathetic, but I’ll mentally rewrite that part later).

As it turns out, Eric was not having a mid-life crisis or hot flashes (that would be my department anyway), he just had a wetsuit zipper that was determined to unzip itself at any and every opportunity. We got to snorkel the rest of the afternoon and see even more way cool fish and reef until I had prune fingers to the max. I thought that was going to be my only temporary souvenir, but I discovered later the leaking problems had started long before I got in the water. Missing putting the sunscreen on the back of your legs is really a bad idea.

Next on the agenda is seeing crocs. I don’t think I’ll be swimming for that experience.

Home, Home, and Home

It blows my mind to realize I haven't posted anything for a year. I'm not even sure why I stopped except I started thinking the oddities of life here were becoming less strange and remarkable.

I noticed just recently that driving on the left side is now normal as in the other night I had a dream and in that dream I was driving on the left side of the road. I admit that freaked me out a bit when I remembered it later. I'm also finding I have to think hard now to remember which way to write a date (it's done 22/7/12 here). I mistakenly signed a U.S. medical claim form with the Aussie version the other day. Fortunately I caught it before I sent it off or I'm sure they'd have rejected it (heaven knows they use any excuse to deny a claim).

Those are confusing things of the head; I'm now finding I have another situation going on with my heart. Australia has become home. But, Seattle is home, and frankly, Indiana has never stopped being home. So, in just a short while I'm leaving home to go home, then visit home, next head back home, and finally return home. I guess I could describe it best by saying my heart is confusing my head by thinking of everything as home, but it is what it is.

I'll miss my Aussie family terribly while we're gone, but I so can't wait to see my stateside family! I can't believe it has been a year since I've touched U.S. soil and in just a week I'll get to do just that. Best of all will be to give a huge hug to my family! And my friends! And the dog!

I'm looking forward to having a chat to you all soon and spending time with the other best people in the world. See you soon!

Hats Required

Last weekend Eric and I got to go to our very first bush dance. It was an absolutely awesome event to celebrate the 50th birthday of a dear man of God from our church. Our invitation said "hat required" so we knew it was going to be special. We got Eric a true Aussie hat - an Akubra - as an early Father's Day present. He looks pretty smashing in it to be sure. I got a cheap variety as I'm not one for hats. Armed with our gear (or should I say headed?), we took off for this new adventure.

For appetizers we had barramundi which is a favored fish found here in Australia and crocodile kebabs. We were thinking this was pretty special to us Americans until we found out that many of the Aussies had never had crocodile either. Maybe it isn't often eaten because it doesn't go well with Vegemite?

Cool appetizers aside, the meal was wonderful and we got to sit back and enjoy the presentation of Dave's first 50 years. It was lovely and we appreciated seeing his journey to the present.

Sadly, it was at the end of the presentation that I realized I was completely out of oomph and needed to get to a horizontal surface sooner rather than later. I was terribly bummed because I was dying to do some bush dancing, but knew it would have been something more like "bushed dancing" if I'd pushed myself any farther.

The last few weeks have been an interesting odyssey that, frankly, I really could have done without. In addition to the horrible pain attack, I've been on the wrong side of normal - the way wrong side. I have been to the doctor, had tests done, and enough blood drawn to keep a vampire in fine fettle. It has finally settled into four things. If you don't like listening to people carry on about their medical issues, you won't like reading about them either, so please stop reading now. Otherwise, sorry to bore you, but it is a bit cathartic (for me, not you!).

To my credit, I had realized one thing was not right and had already been to the doctor the week before the attack. While investigating that one, they found a contributing factor that needed to come out so I got to have a day surgery on June 20th. This was the second event where a hat was required. The nurse called it a "party hat", but it sure looked like hospital netting to me. Anyway, the uterine polyp is history - good riddance I say.

While that was all going on, they determined that my thyroid was really on the fritz - no wonder I was so dang tired. That one is a "better living through pharmacology" solution so I now get to start my day with a pill (and no I don't mean Eric!). After a week and a half of the pills I am definitely starting to see the improvement and am realizing this has been going on for some time to a lesser degree.

One of the things they discovered at the emergency room was my liver numbers were quite high. The doctor looked at me with a bit of a smirk and said, "you like your red wine, do you?" and when I said I didn't drink, well, pardon the pun, but that sobered him right up. Armed with that new information he said those numbers are "off the planet for someone who doesn't drink". So, he referred me to an gastroenterologist and I finally got in to see him on Friday.

After a very interesting education on the liver, pancreas, and bile ducts, his conjecture is the pain was probably due to a piece of bile grit that can't get out and in this instance, temporarily blocked the duct exit which really, really got my attention. So, another procedure to verify this and fix if it is the case is coming up in a week and a half.

I'm beginning to think my great visions of touring Australia have somehow been subverted into touring every doggone medical facility they have. All I can say at this point is if that's what gets me well again, then I'll put it on my list of "things to see and do" and count my blessings.

I'm full of blessings - a great husband who has cared for me so diligently (although I'm still wondering what he meant when he implied the sicker me was less feisty!), a wonderful church family here, and a family back home that I will very soon get to see again. We have our tickets for 3 1/2 weeks of glorious family time beginning July 13th with some time in Indiana so we can see everyone. Just got to hold onto my hat for 2 1/2 weeks and we'll see y'all. Yeeha!

The Return of Keith and Laurie

There are times in life when you really need a lift. Thursday morning was one of those days. Wednesday found me checking out another facet of the Aussie health care system - emergency rooms. The attack of excruciating pain that sent me there was, thankfully, something that has thus far not come back. While that is a good thing, I was left feeling like I had been beat up from the inside and no answers as to cause which was the state I found myself on Thursday.

Thursday morning was sunny and quite pleasant for winter. The good Lord knew just what He was doing when he dispatched a few of our winged friends to our doorstep - what a day brightener! We suddenly heard loud chirping from the deck and, what do you know, it's Keith and Laurie sitting on the chair trying to get our attention. We obliged them quickly and greatly enjoyed feeding them. We learned from our Aussie friends that they love wet bread so our "special of the night" was just what they were looking for.

Eric and I discovered over the next few days that we are very trainable and they can be quite demanding. They and their would-be friends have come back every day and we have been fascinated by the social (or not so social) world of lorikeets. Our pair Keith and Laurie do not like to share their restaurant at all. The two of them would take turns eating while the other was chasing everyone else away. They nearly drove themselves crazy trying to run back and forth when Eric and I decided to stand at opposite ends of the deck to see what would happen.

The interesting thing is a few days into this and Keith and Laurie are not nearly so rigid in their selfishness and there was much more group dining today. We also had a couple scaly-breasted lorikeets come. They are almost completely green. We captured some of our fun times and they're here - June 2nd, June 4th (scaly-breasted lorikeets), and June 5th.

I am finally starting to get some answers on what's been messing with me, but no firm leads on the cause of the killer pain. We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made and even though we think we're pretty smart, we still don't really understand the human body. It sure can be a mystery, that's for sure.

Fun With Kayaks

From almost the first moment we moved into our place here in Salamander Bay, Eric and I said "we should buy some kayaks". These kind of statements are so often more likely to be wishful thinking than to ever be put into any sort of motion that might actually turn those wishes into reality. And so it was for months and months.

Upon Eric's return from his last sojourn back to Seattle, all this changed. With our incredible sense of timing, we decided it was time to finally act on our wishful thinking. Our finely honed sense of timing might be just a hair off as we're heading into winter and that probably isn't exactly high season for kayaking.

Unfazed by this realization, I began stalking my prey on eBay. I found out it takes a lot of time and effort to catch a kayak. Eventually I bagged one, but they didn't deliver, so we had to drive to Sydney to get it. Once we got it home, we tried the kayak out briefly sticking very close to the beach as we hadn't procured a life jacket yet.

At work the next day I was discussing life jackets with a coworker and the Aussie on the other side of the cube popped up (also called prairie dogging in cubicle land) and gave me a very important tip. He said, "don't get yummy yellow - it's a favorite of sharks". I very briefly stared him down to ascertain the veracity of his claim and decided he was pulling my leg. Unfortunately, having seen the movie Jaws as a kid, there is a small part of me that believes him no matter the ludicrousness of the statement; it's the same small part that had a hard time even getting into a swimming pool after seeing the movie. It was really scary - no wait, really, really scary.

Anyway, what should I discover when I got home? Eric had gone out and purchased a nice yellow life jacket. Great! Now the thing will be forever a yummy yellow life jacket.

Since the kayak was a single, I had a job to do - bid and buy another one. I slaved away at eBay once again and was finally successful and got the second one at an even better price. We had to drive to a different place near Sydney to pick it up and discovered we got a bargain - he had never sold one for so low a price. We also found out that had we bought it during the summer it would have cost us twice as much. Wow, maybe our timing wasn't as bad as we thought.

Now we needed a second life jacket. I was determined to get a life jacket in any color other than yummy yellow this time. Of course, what did we find? The store only had yummy yellow life jackets! It's a shark conspiracy I'm tellin' ya!

It might be heading into winter, but it was in the 70s last weekend and beauteous out there. We took the kayaks out for a nice long trip. We went around the head to the next bay and then came back and headed in the other direction to the pier. We concluded our happy little trip with the unfortunate realization that kayaking can also make you feel a bit seasick when it's a bit wavy out there. Guess we'll be investing in some patches before our next foray.

Kayaking off our beach - cross that off the list and add it back in because that's one we'll definitely be doing again!

Everybody Rug Up

It has been a little hard to come up with stuff to talk about because most of life here is starting to seem pretty darn normal. Well, as normal as being in a constantly confused state could possibly be. I can't for the life of me get spring/fall and winter/summer straightened out. Without fail when I'm trying to refer to the July-August time-frame I'll say "this summer". I am at least now following that statement directly with "I mean winter", but I just cannot seem to make the mental switch.

The news this morning told everyone to "rug up" because it's unseasonably cold. That means put on your jumper (sweater) and coat. I have the worst time when people (especially men) talk about putting on their jumpers. Unbidden comes this image of them putting on the dresses I had to wear to school as a kid. Not a pretty sight even if it is just in my head!

Another thing that's a little strange is this cold snap being referred to as an "Antarctic Blast". It does make sense since Antarctica is the continent directly south of here, but it's still an "Arctic Blast" to me.

It was cold and ridiculously windy for my soccer game yesterday. We tied a team 0-0 that was much, much better than us so we were claiming it a moral victory if nothing else. I had the most dubious distinction of laying one of their best players out flat. I don't have the great kicking ability of many people and I have absolutely no experience in this area, but I have it on good authority from my better half that this situation requires only hitting the "right spot". At any rate, I was mortified as my team was having quite the time making sure I couldn't forget what happened both at the field and later again at work. There's a definite downside to playing soccer with your coworkers, that's for sure.

We're making plans now to come back to Seattle for a few weeks starting in mid-July (please don't ask me if that's winter or summer - I don't know!) with a stop in Indiana somewhere in the middle of it. I sure hope it'll be warmer than here (no guarantee for Seattle, but I'm thinking our chances are pretty good for Indiana). We will have lived here for a whole year by then - where in the world has the time gone? I sure hope we get to see all our dear friends and family because we sure do miss you all.