opportunities...

You guys that have been reading for a little while know I am constantly in a dilemma about where we're going to live once I finish school.
You may also recall that we were looking at travelling to Australia's capital over Easter to see if it had potential, but that the trip turned out to be too expensive.
Then we talked about going hiking in the mountains since they're too far to go for a regular weekend (4-5 hours), but not too far compared to going out of state.
Anyhoo, the other day, I did a bit of research on grants they give to graduating teachers willing to work in rural schools- schools most people don't want to go to because they're challenging and far away. Now I'd said I think working in a rural school would be kind of neat- it'd be a great little community, they probably have a veggie garden, you might have more opportunities to do things your own way... you know, it's different.
So I did this research and found out that there is, indeed, a scholarship program for new teachers wanting to go to 'priority schools', whereby you get $7,000 upfront just for going there, plus you get paid from Jan 1st (schools don't start until Feb), plus if you stay for a 2nd year, you get an extra $4,000 bonus. Sweet. I like money.
Somehow it came about that I mentioned to Nic that we should go look at this town up at the foothills of the mountains called Bright. There's a few little towns around there, this one has 2,200 people, so it's not just a pub (do you guys have pubs??) and a postoffice. And I told him about this scholarship...
Then the talk got really serious, in a good way. Like:
"Dude, Bright is really beautiful, and check out these mountains, and you can go hiking and skiing (and you don't have to drive 4 hours) and kayaking and swimming in the creeks and streams and horse riding! And look, I'd get $11,000 extra just for working there... And since Bright and that area is a complete tourist area all year, basically, there'll be cafes and restaurants and shops, which is what we want, but only it'll be a nice community... And there'll be mountains!! And sometimes it snows".
And we had a quick look at real-estate online, just for fun, and there's affordable places there! Still like... $300,000 for a house, but that's 'affordable' for here... Or you can get a block of land, for under $200,000 (can't do that anywhere within an hour of Melbourne any more) and then you could build.
And we could plant fruit trees and get chickens, and maple trees, and elms and oaks and they'd change colour in fall, and I could have a horse because there's heaps of forest up there where horses are allowed...
And suddenly it's exciting...
And we haven't gotten there yet, we'll be there over easter... and we might hate it... But... we're super excited that there's this new possibility.Yay!

I have a kitten sitting on my stomach now purring away so I can't see the screen any more.

Also Nic and I rearranged the whole living room today. Again.
We do this every 2 or 3 months, I swear. We want to change one thing. One little thing. I said: "I wish the bins were somewhere else, hidden" today, and BAM, our living-room/dining area looks completely different now. Thankfully we didn't go to ikea to get something for the change this time. I think we have about as much stuff as anyone could ever want (bad us, I know), but... we love to do this. I'm loving how it is though. It's made our space much brighter, more open, our big bookshelf with all my books and our photos of adventure is now a feature of the room instead of a weird thing. That being said, any friends who come here for dinner once every couple of months must think we're insane. Anyone else do this? Random and frequent massive upheavals of furniture and room design?
Poor Mal mopes around the whole time thinking we're about to up and leave him.

centenial post... part 2!

So, I worked my butt off you guys.
I stopped at 1pm for a lunch of eggs and toast. Yum.
Then I was back to it.
Then Nic came home and we went to Bunnings because I had to buy plants (of course).
And he has decided that we need a futon in there so he can come in and hang out because it wasn't the Middle-Eastern-Shisha-Smoking-Hangout-Den that he had envisaged from my original post (go figure) but that it was just an Office. Em's office where Nic could iron clothes but nothing else.
So, futon, cushions and maybe something on the big red wall of empty and I think it'll be awesome.
At the moment, the picture frame is empty but it's there for effect.
So, I present, the finished product of a day's labor:

My God, you can actually see the floor.

So, it may or may not work, but at least it's a space with plants, and photos, and it doesn't have my back to the door (yuck) and I can look out the window and there is a spare, empty wall with an ironing board against it there, for a futon, you just can't actually see it at the moment.

My prediction for how long the clean will last? Not very. But you have to start somewhere, right?

centenial post...!

You guys, this is my 100th post!

I was standing in the shower racking my brains over something cool to do. Do I start some kind of feature? No ideas there. Then I remembered I'd forgotten about Favourite-Things-Monday (which, by the way, I think needs a better title) so I might do that after I do this.
Then I began thinking of the fact that later I have to do some study for Uni (in the first week?! Yes, I am that much of an awesome student. A colleague from Uni already feels deep, deep shame because I've read an article and she has not.) and my heart sank.
I thought aboot going in to the so-called 'Office' (or, more fondly: the pile-of-shit room) and it depressed me.
Deeply.
And I thought: Well hell, how am I going to do study when I can't bring myself to a) clean the room of my own accord, or b) go in there. I certainly can't do an entire year's worth of work with the laptop on my lap (especially with macs and their sharp edges which after a while make your wrists look like that of an emo teenager. Anyone with a mac knows what I'm talking about.)
And then I thought; I need to clean that damned room!
And then....! I thought, what better motivation than a before-and-after picture. And what if I do it properly, like, not just clean up, but actually make that space part of our house. Like, put a plant in there (I love having plants. My house would be a jungle, given half the chance. No kidding. Nic has to drag me away from the indoor fern section at Bunnings (uh, I guess same as Home Depot...? Maybe?) and Ikea every time we go), and photos, and not just cram the bookshelf full of the random nick-nacks that I don't really like, but put some of the things I do like in there as well.
So, I present to you....
The before shot.

sex sells...

I find it amazing, intriguing, and a little disturbing how women have to 'sell themselves'.

Ok, so I blame myself- I randomly stumbled on a terrible website called 'model mayhem'. I don't know how this happened. I clicked a link or a photo or something and BAM, there I was, Facebook for models and photographers (of which, I am neither, by the way). Now, I love watching America's Next Top Model (the Australian version, not so much) and thinking I know as much as the judges do. I love applying what I think I know to criticizing editorial/commercial photos that I see in magazines ("Oh, her eyes look dead there" or "She should have extended her neck more! She's lost her neck!")... so I have a bit of a fascination with this sort of thing. 

As I looked through the little profiles and comments other models leave on each others' pages, one thing became increasingly apparent:
Every woman's photo was of her in a bikini, pouting, and trying to look seductive. As a male model, they could do whatever they want, be it fully clothed, pulling a funny pose, or being half-naked.
And I thought: Well, isn't this sad? That the only way women, here, feel they can get a job, or attention, or whatever it is, is to be as sexy as possible. There's no pictures of girls in cute clothes acting the 'girl next door', or in say, a beautiful gown, or some couture wear doing an editorial-style photo... Anyway, maybe that's just what happens on this type of site, but I just thought it was a bit sad.

In other news, I've been throwing the idea of moving to WA. And that's Washington, not Western Australia (damned acronyms) in the future. There are a heap of really great reasons to look into it, not least of all because we could actually afford a house that wouldn't put us into debt for the next 40 years, and y'know, the mountains and forests and water, and friendly people and cheap food and clothes and stuff...
But there's one big fat problem getting in our way which is, of course, immigration. (Dun dun dun..... cue evil music). So that might ruin that idea. Any move we make would be one with a view to permanency so the idea of going on a working-type-visa and getting booted after 3 or 6 years isn't so appealing. Nic has a sister in law who is American, and his brother has a green-card, but that's about as far as our family potential goes, and I've read the waiting list for that kind of relation is 10+ years, which ain't so hot. There's the lottery as well, but of course with 8 million people applying and 50,000 spots, that also ain't so hot.
So I don't know what to do. Apparently the US needs teachers, and hello, by the end of the year I'll be a teacher with a Masters degree (though there seems to be much more 'education inflation' in the US. In a lot of forums I read, every second person is getting a Doctorate/PhD, I think, which is a little concerning). And as much as I've never been interested in living in America, I think WA has a lot of the stuff we're looking for, while being affordable as well. At least now, with the economy and all... I read somewhere that the median house price in Seattle in 2006 was 400k. Now it's like, 275 or 300k instead. Sooo, in the grand scheme of things, still expensive, but considering you can buy a house 2 hours from Melbourne for maybe 350k if you're lucky, and you literally wouldn't find anything, anywhere, for under 200k.... having glanced at real estate websites and seen (granted, rundown and crappy) houses for $80k gives me a little hope.
Sorry if that paragraph was fragmented, but my brain is all over the place.
Here's some pretty pictures of WA.

Oh, hey Rainier, you're looking like a pretty awesome mountain. And BTW, nice forest & lake too.

Why yes, I would like to kayak down your pristine rivers.

What's that? You also have rainforests and awesome hiking!?

And did someone say rugged pacific coastline? Though, I have a feeling we've been here, and I have a feeling it's along the coast of the Straight of Juan de Fuca. I could be wrong, though.

mid week public holiday.

Happy Australia Day!

Today we have a public holiday to celebrate the arrival of the First Fleet to Botany Bay (Sydney). Some people call it Invasion Day. Go Australia!
Today, many a fellow countryman (or woman. Or person) will fire up the barbie, throw on a snag and listen to the Triple J hottest 100. There will also be beer drinking. And according to a google image search, people may also paint flags on their faces, or possible use flags as beach towels. People will drive around in utes with little Australia flags sticking off the bumper.

This person has their geography a little wrong. I could point out what's wrong, but I think that would defeat the purpose. I'll say this: everything. Except the desert bit. Although, I think they wrote 'dessert', which, I admit, would make Australia fairly epicly awesome.

Apparently these are real questions asked by real people and responded to on a tourism website for Australia.
I'm not sure if I believe it, but I sure hope that's true.
These are only a few from a list I've unashamedly ripped off.
Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad
tracks? ( Sweden )
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Which direction is North in Australia ? ( USA )
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and
we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its
name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. ( USA )
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum
trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare
them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Anyway, enough of that silliness.

In all seriousness, Australia, for me, has never felt like home. Say that to any Aussie though and they'll drop their jaw and gasp, like this is Eden, and why would anyone want to leave, ever? In fact, my ex almost said this exact thing when I tried to convince him of the awesomeness that is overseas travel, shortly after I bought my ticket to Europe without consulting him (whoops). To which he replied; But why would I need to leave? We have everything here.
And I said: um, what about different cultures, and foods, and languages, and people!
He goes: We have plenty of different cultures! I could travel around Australia and see different cultures!
And I think I actually replied: Um, you could see like, bogans, and maybe some aborigines. Maybe some bogan aborigines. And that's it.
Evidently I went to Europe, came home and broke up with him, so I guess I won that argument. 
Anyway, my point being, this place has never been home. I've always wanted more. I never knew what, or why, but I did. And maybe I still don't know, not 100%. Because I love Europe. I love so much about it. And I loved BC- Canada. I loved the mountains, and the people of the west coast. You know, in Melbourne, if you tell someone you don't like Australia and don't want to live here, once they get past the shock & horror of the fact, if you tell them you'd like to go to Canada, that suddenly makes it ok. They say: "Well, Vancouver and Melbourne are very similar".

Vancouver city - we miss you!

Which... I find a strange kind of comment since I've just said how I don't like it here. So, why tell me it's similar? But I did like Vancouver, not because it's anything like Melbourne, but because it's everything like Vancouver, and that means everything like a place with jagged, awesome mountains 30 minutes away, cool neighbourhoods, interesting cafes, outdoor activities abound, etc etc.

with or without you...

In amidst nearly crying while listening to "With or Without You" by U2 this morning on my drive to work, I figure I'm feeling a little emotionally vulnerable at the moment.

That's a nice term isn't it? Emotionally vulnerable.

This came to the fore on Saturday, at the end of a very long and very fruitless day of 'wedding stuff'. The day I tried on dresses that were frustratingly un-me. The day we went to wineries and were given information package after information package quoting $85-$120 a head. At one place, we were told that girls who drop $25k on their wedding were ridiculous, and nobody should need to pay that much. This same place had quoted us $85 a head, plus $600 to use their crappy gazebo for the ceremony, plus more for the chef there to make pies, or cakes, etc etc. So, ok, it wouldn't be quite $25k, but I don't think she has much perspective of the sheer cost of things, particularly when you start looking at a photographer for $3k+, and a dress for $2k+ (probably) and then all the random crap you're expected to have.
Anyway, that wasn't my point, that's just me venting, and setting the scene.
I consider that I did a lot of my 'growing up' in the area where we were- on the Mornington Peninsula.
I spent the first 12 or 13 years of my life on a 21 acre hobby farm, running around paddocks and having imaginary adventures with the family dog, or riding my pony around the dam.
Then we moved to Red Hill, where we had a beautiful property. We planted cherry and lemon trees, had the garden landscaped, my Dad planted gum trees up the long drive. When I turned 18, a bunch of friends from highschool bought me 18 seedlings, all native trees, and I planted them by myself in the paddock, and let them be. When we had to put down my pony, Cocoa, after he had been my companion for most of my life (he was, I think, in his 20s when it was time for him to go), we burried him and one of Mum's horses in one of the paddocks, where we planted a grove of trees. In highschool I had a band, and one of our 'famous songs' (haha) was called 'Shady Grove', and was about that place.

I had gone back a couple of years ago and was surprised at how big the trees were.  I think last time I was there, with a couple of friends, I was overwhelmed by the thrill of 'tresspassing' on my old home- we walked up the driveway and nobody was there.
I went back this time and as we drove up I broke down and cried quietly. The trees starting to bear fruit (we never got to eat them as we left before they were mature enough), the tall line of gums up the drive. The fact that the people weren't home; that I don't think they're usually home- only on holidays. At the beautiful gardens. At the fact that my mother sold this place to move to a snobby suburb to be near her parents, when she could have feasably rented it out, or something. And I don't know why this made me cry. I think the last part of my 'growing up' was done there. The property is spectacular, the house is amazing. Maybe I think I could have been living there- Nic and I, even though it's too far from anything. Maybe I'm just emotionally vulnerable and needed to ahve a cry and what we've lost.
Maybe I just like to cry. (Also a valid theory).