Let's steal this idea

I loved this. Front page of NY Times today: Commuters' Cocktail Hour Likely to Keep Rolling. For the commuter trains east to Long Island and north to Connecticut you can buy booze on the platforms from uniformed bartenders after midday, and some of the trains have bar cars in the afternoon, so you can have a wind down G&T or beer or chardy on the way home. How civilised! Would make the 6.07pm to Glen Waverley so much more palatable, don't ya think?

One of these things is not like the other...

Students having their graduation ceremony at Radio City Music Hall. Sure beats Wilson Hall.

Designer Shoe Warehouse....Jimmy Choo's half price, Lou. The prize is within reach.

And something I don't want to put on my hair.

What The Poo gets up to when he's not playing crappy tennis...

...making crappy reality television.

The dud Scud is the star of NBC summer crud.

The title: The Age of Love
The premise: The Poo dates some young women, and some old women, and shares with us all whether age makes a difference and what age group he prefers.

Oh my, gosh gee jeepers, I wonder what will happen?

Corny ads for ridiculous products you don't need #1

Change the channel when these TVCs come on:

• 1 pack of stool softeners - gross
• the whole range of Betty Crocker Helpers - potentially grosser
• 100 calorie packs so you can eat the whole pack and not feel guilty - priceless!

Snack size

1. The jury is still out on melatonin. Yes I feel asleep before 2am but did I finally just get tired? The trial continues ce soir.
   
2. Had a very thorough look around Brooklyn this morning. Awesome public library (designed like an open book) and botanic gardens (with a special fragrance garden for the blind). Certainly some cool and quaint bits but there is a mental hurdle in having to cross that river...too early to consider becoming 'Bridge & Tunnel' folk?


3. There is a moving company here called Schleppers. Funny.


4. Went to The Bodies exhibition today, which was brilliantly informative but, strangely, grossed me out. I think it was seeing the diseased versions of organs that did it. And those sagittal disections ie when they SLICE THE BODY UP LIKE A LOAF OF BREAD into 1 inch pieces and suspend all the pieces in a row so you can see how it fits together. Yeah, I think that's what did it.


5. Front cover of the Village Voice today features the biggest roundest botty I have ever seen, and goes in depth about the love of the 'badonkadonk' (i kid you not) and mags devoted to them. A very educational day all in all.

So what's the apartment like?

A couple of people have asked to see pics of the apartment so I made a little video (opens at YouTube.com). This is a fleeting moment of luxe before we get our own digs Downtown.

And yes, I am sunburnt. (Feels delicious to have a double summer though!)

5 hours of power

Yep, that was us on top of that daggy red double decker tourist bus today.

We went Uptown, we went Downtown, we saw the whole damn island Harlem (these photos) to Battery Park, and got sunburnt to boot. We learnt the history of Manhattan, we saw where Beyonce and JayZ live (I thought they broke up?), where Catherine Z-J and Michael Douglas live, where Hugh Heffner lives, where Sean Connery lives, where Will Smith lives (the list goes on)and heard about the prices of crazy expensive luxury condos and residences (US $39m can get you a 20 room residence overlooking Central Park - ok, so now you know how to spend that Tattslotto money) and we saw famed restaurants and big name stores and the heart of each neighbourhood and all the parks. Was actually really great to get an overview of the whole place and it ignited curiosity about some parts of the city I had never been to before.

And tomorrow we're doing Brooklyn and a Night Tour...aaah, the pretty lights.

Bought a big bottle of melatonin to help kick the jet lag. Melatonin isn't available over the counter in Australia, which got me rather excited, but its sold here for $5. Gotta love that.

Can't get no sleep

The Faithless dance anthem was a fitting soundtrack for last night, but Do the Hokey Pokey also came to mind at about 2am:

I put my ear plugs in

I turn all the lights out
I put my eyemask on

And I toss and turn about

I have a bath and Sleepytime and count some sheep

Temazepam will work it all out.

...another beautiful day in NYC though....to queue for a Social Security Number. Wish me luck!

Delicioso

Shopping expedition took way too long as I navigated through unfamiliar brands and food items. The staff probably thought I was shoplifting.

I found a new favourite icecream: Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Crunch - cinnamon ice cream with chunks of oatmeal ccokies and fudge. Absolutely unbelievable! Sinful! Epiphanal! Also found some cereal I will dare Justin to try when he gets here..."extreme creme taste"...what the?!

Celebrity Sighting #1

Well that didn't take long.

Mum and I walked down to Greenwich Village today, then across to the East Village and St Mark's Place. We were taking a breather in Tompkins Sq marvelling at the squirrels when that dude from Entourage , Adrian Grenier, walked past, all cas in jeans and a grey t-shirt, with his girlfriend clinging on to him for dear life, and a couple of her friends chatting away. (So he had an entourage of 3 girls, which I thought was kinda funny.)

We made eye contact and I had one of those dumb 'Hang on, don't I know you?' expressions on my face, I'm sure. Even mum was raising her eyebrows and trying to nudge me. She said,"Those eyes really are stunning." He looked totally normal, but she's quite right.

It's 1.30pm and in a bid to stay awake I'm going food shopping. This should be interesting.

West 50th and 8th - home sweet home

So we finally arrived in the Big Apple! It was surreal to drive in from the airport knowing I would be here for some time this time round. Everything is a study. I find myself looking at everything - makes of cars, the clothing people are wearing, the music, the houses - with that traveller lens that compares things to other places and wonders why are they like that. It's fascinating being a foreigner for a change.

The apartment is great - spacious (its all downhill from here), 24th floor so we have some views to the East River and can glimpse Central Park in the distance, friendly staff. We will be very comfortable here, and I must say I am glad that we have our own rooms as mum snores and after 2 nights she was driving me nuts.

After mum and I unpacked a bit we took to the streets for dinner and exploring. It was a balmy summer night, which seemed strange in such a big city. At 8pm the sun still hadn't set and it was 20c, perfect for strolling around. People were still sitting in their balconies and sunbaking anywhere they could. New Yorkers and tourists were out in force eating ice cream and dining al fresco (its a long weekend here: Memorial Day, the official start of summer). Heaps of sailors around in their white uniforms. We ate at an Italian neighbourhood place and walked up 8th to Columbus Circle, which is on the edge of Central Park, then back home via Times Sq.

We must have heard 10 diferent languages on our stroll, plus plenty of Brooklyn and Queens accents twanging on. Sometimes its hard not to laugh.

Totally jetlagged and now 'seasonally confused'. Could not stay awake on the plane from LA and then wide awake at midnight watching crappy real crime drama. Giving the sleeping pills a workout :(

First stop, Manhattan Beach

Coincidentally the closest interesting bit of LA to the airport is called Manhattan Beach, and we spent the morning and early afternoon exploring around there. Lots of rollerblading, rollerskating, cycling, jogging and beach volleyball going on. Looked like a mixed Saturday morning volleyball tournament kind of thing. There were volleyball nets as far as the eye could see. Kind of reminded me of ping pong tables lined up in China with 1000s of ten year olds tapping away. Except these young folk were all in bikinis and boardies.

Fascinating architecture: awesome houses that tumbled right down to the beach. Each street of houses faced each other on a pedestrian strip, and there was car access in the back, and the pedestrian strips had amazing gardens full of kangaroo paws (yes! you read right. i nearly fell over), succulents and paperbarks. Unexpectedly cool.

We stumbled upon an LA institution, Uncle Bill's Pancake House, and shared an omelette as it came with a short stack of pancakes. Yes, that's right,you could choose to have your omelette with toast, two muffins, or pancakes.

The eagle has landed

Well, mum and I have arrived. Its 11.20pm on Friday night and we're surfing cable in the Radisson (its 4.45pm in Melly) after dining in the hotel grill and vowing to share all meals from now on (just how big is an 8 ounce steak? metric system, anyone?).

The 'server' asked me "So are we 21 miss?" when we ordered our Sonoma chardonnay. Are you frigging kidding me? I guess the lack of DD-sized boobs and pancake makeup puts me squarely in pre-pubescence. I didn't know whether to be flattered or offended. The pressure to pluck my eyebrows is mounting!

We just happen to be staying where the 9th Annual West Coast Salsa Congress is on. You've never seen more Latino lycra, long hair, sparkly shirts and shimmying in your life. The entire salsa sub-culture of SoCal is here, and mum and I fit right in, as you can imagine.

If you can't beat those latin rhythms pounding up to the non-smoking 3rd floor, join 'em. Mum and I bought tickets and have just had a hip-ful of Puerto Rican, Japanese, Bostonian, Fresno-ian, Bay Area-n, Encino-ite, Utah-ish, Congolese, Colomobian etc dancing their booties off in competition and showcase dancing. Was pretty cool, well the ones that could dance were. Those Utah and Boston types just got points for trying. It continues til 4am. Lucky we saved those ear plugs from the plane.

I will have to do a separate entry about flying Business Class Mel-Auk-Lax. I still haven't recovered from the sheer heaven of it. Basically it was like going out for lunch, taking a nap, then going out for dinner and a movie. Economy will never be the same now that I know what's going on upstairs. It's just wrong.

Another American cliche for me to avoid "You do the math".

The Drought Has Broken

From the email annals of one dedicated pal who broke her 'just had a baby and haven't been out yet' drought:

"Great to catch up on Saturday....but I don't think I'll be going out ever again! Having a baby and having a hangover don't mix.

Got home and it went something like this: Stumble to couch and express toxic breastmilk.Fall asleep.Wake up.Decide too drunk to give Noushy a bottle of formula, so will take my chances she wont wake up hungry at 3.30am.(According to Matty) jump husband and then fall asleep next to his ear.Wake up and have strategic spew.Debate with husband about whether that was a strategic spew or just a plain old spew. (I think he was right).Pass out.

Noushy wakes up at 3.30am hungry.Assume breastmilk will now be under 0.05 and feed baby.Both fall asleep in chair.Climb back into bed.Stress that Noushy is now in a drunken stupour.Get excited Noushy may be in drunken stupour (may mean she doesn't wake at 6.45am).

Noushy wakes at 6.45am.Explain to Matty will need his help today.Feed baby again.Debate whether baby is "regurgitating" more than usual.Matty runs to chemist to get Gastrolyte and panadol.Hide under doona...."

This is the Work Hard Play Hard Aussie attitude in action. Thank you for your sacrifice: I will miss you Cebazapam!

Standing Orders

Last night we had a family celebration for Jonno's 33rd birthday and bon voyage to me. Was fun: lots of lamb, lots of dud digital photos, and the usual insulting banter that I will probably end up missing. Anyway, I have been told not to come back with any of these annoying Americanisms:

• "I could care less."


• "I'll write you."


• "You've done real good."


• "My bad."

If you can think of any others add them to the Comments!

Toilet sizes AUS vs USA

Crucial stats. The standard Aussie toilet (well at Dalgety St, according to Pete & Romy's precise measurements) are:

• insert rim of seat/shooting area: 270mm in length , 240 mm in width
• long diameter/length of seat: 420mm
• short diameter/width of seat: 370mm
• height of bowl: 420mm

Rom and I speculate that American loos will be 10-20% larger to accommodate those obese botties. I think the 'shooting area' may be the same to prevent people from falling in, but man when I went there the toilets seemed huge and low and wide. Not like those awesome Japanese loos. Not at all.

Address in New York

If you need to contact us, Mum and I are staying here from May 27 - June 27:

Longacre House
305 West 50th Street, Apartment 24J
New York, NY 10019
Tel: 212 - 757 - 3890

Justin's parents, Murray and Diane, came down from Canberra on Tuesday for a lovely quick goodbye visit. We all went out for dinner and on Wednesday drove them past the new house for a sneak peak and through Flemington so they could get a sense of the area. Thanks for coming down Northrops!

Have spent the last few days catching up with friends, doing administration and packing. Time is slipping by fast!

Am setting up Skype on mum, Allan's, Jamie's and Jus's computers so we can chat over the internet for free. Mum's Skype name is 'KerryLee49' and Allan is 'AllanLH'. If you have Skype let me know by leaving a Comment, and I'll add you to my contacts.

Going Away Party - May 19

Jus and I would love to see you at our going away party next Saturday at Panama on Level 3, 231 Smith Street. We'll be there from 8pm on, so swing by. The more the merrier :)

May 24 is it

Mum and I are booked! We fly out May 24 and our first stop is California to see my cousin Jade, who lives there with her boyfriend, Eric, and the Bump. Can't wait to see her and give her belly a kiss! We then fly to NYC on Sunday 27 May, and I'll aim to start work around 6 or 7 June.
I started packing today and it feels weird.

My To Do List is enormous (lots of checkboxes yet to be ticked) to extricate myself from the country with the house purchase, finances, tax etc etc all in order. I'm getting stressed, and the thought of having 2 months without Jus or mum is also starting to make me a little anxious. I'm sure it will be fine once I'm there but the unknown feels daunting today.

Actually, my friend, Ange, introduced me to a colleague of hers who is also going to NYC the same time we are as her husband has also landed a role at Razorfish. Talk about small world! So we'll be staying in the same apartments when we first arrive and can stumble through the first weeks together.

We bought a house!

Jus and I are now the proud owners of 108 Edinburgh Street! The house was supposed to go to auction next weekend but someone put in a bid yesterday and the vendors put the house on the market. So all day today we've been back and forth with the real estate agent putting in counter offers, and finally, at 3.50pm this afternoon, we got the brilliant news that we had been successful.

We've been looking for a place since we sold our flat last December, and wanted to stay in the property market as its ridiculously competitive at the moment, and having a place to come back to will make it easier to come back. This place checks all the boxes (we actually did have a spreadsheet with 'must have' and 'nice to have' and 'cannot have' ) so we're absolutely thrilled. Jussy gets his shed and vegie patch, I get my banana lounge and bookcase-lined room, and its opposite a little park and close to everything. yay! Bring on the Veuve!

If you know anyone who's looking to rent an awesome 3 bedroom house in Flemington get them to contact me pronto! We've got a 30 day settlement so it will be available for tenants on 10 June.

1.01am eternal

This is dedication. If Jus can't come to the blog then the blogger must come to Jus. Because I don't have work tomorrow I have come into the Atelier Techne offices at midnight after New Gold Mountain and Gingerboy with Macca to keep Jus company while he prints stuff. I will spare you the photos, but needless to say it was action packed. Quote from Jus: "Hi."

So when r u actually leaving & when's the party?

Aiming to leave somewhere around 24 -27 May, after the consulate interview. Jus will come in a few months once Atelier Techne is better resourced and through their crazy busy period. He's working 12 hour days at the moment, hence his notable absence from posting blog entries.

Jus was planning a going away party for 12 May but now he's aiming for 19 May I think. He'll put the broadcast out soon!

123a Riverton Drive

Jus and I stayed at nanna and grandad's place for the last time, as the house is now on the market. It was weird to be there without nanna or grandad (it smelt different!) and it was sad to have to say goodbye.

I spent so much of my childhood here: Christmas lunches, birthdays, Easters, Mother's Days and Father's Days, sleepovers and sick days off from school. I stayed here when Jamie was born and mum went off to the hospital. I've walked and ridden along the river path to Shelley Beach countless times. I've stayed here every time I visited from Melbourne over the last 20 years.

We sat on the balcony staring out at the river over breakfast and we saw dolphins! Such a special spot and such a second home: every nook and cranny familiar, every piece of cutlery, every bowl, painting, bedspread and figurine is imbued with a sense of home. I half expected to hear grandad whistling from the workshop downstairs or hear the hum of nanna's sewing machine.

I walked around touching everything and giving Justin commentary. "This the phone we used when we played hotels and a guest called to make a reservation. This is where I did a cartwheel on the wall and fell off. This used to be a waterfall. There used to be a pool table here and those holes in the ceiling are from where we poked it with the cues. " More photos.

I took some photos of my most treasured iconic 123a pieces and snaffled a few souvenirs, dumb things like the wooden letter holder that grandad always had on his desk and a handkerchief with his initials on it, and some of nanna's cooking stuff.

123a is the only landline phone number I know off by heart.

Sunday session

Jus, mum and I had a good ol Aussie barbecue on Sunday with Graeme, Sue, Liam and Jess, where I topped up my lamb quota before I head to Beef World. Jess is about to head out on her own adventure with some girlfriends: a few weeks in Europe and a couple of years in the UK. Shaun is about to set off driving around Australia for 2 years with 3 mates in their 2 4WDs, replete with surfboards, fishing gear and the tools of their various trades. And Liam is on the rollercoaster that is year 12 with both his siblings out of the house, finally! So all sorts of journeys being taken in 2007...

Beautiful afternoon in Fremantle sitting out in the sun, looking down on the Swan. Thanks for a delightful way to top off the weekend Wallises!

All the photos from the Perth weekend.

Perthonalities

Thanks Wil for organising for us to go to Duende and hear in detail about how we're missing out on the WA resources boom and how we are the Saudi Arabia of the uranium world. Or as the ambitious WA numberplates now state 'WA - Rich and beautiful'. That's a step up from 'The State of Excitement' and makes Victoria's 'On the move' sound lamer than ever. We could feel the boom as we sauntered out into the sultry streets of Leederville past the heaving Leederville Hotel and the mounted police. WA is going off!

I felt bad that Mim asked for news from Melbourne and I couldn't think of anything except that the Comedy Festival had been on, and everyone's missing everyone as they jet interstate and overseas and disappear to have their 2nd child. It's so obvious that I have been slightly distracted and entirely self-obsessed of late. I'm so glad that that the Heerey Staceys are digging Perth though - a bit of Subiaco, a bit of Floreat beach and you're sorted.

As usual with Ed around it was a highly sophisticated evening. And no we did not see Ben Cousins or any other Perthonalities ( would have settled for Brian Burke, Rose Porteous, Alan Bond, Gemma Ward, Tim Winton or Megan Gale.)

Goodbye Perth

We had a great feast of a lunch at dad & Sally's on Saturday, where we caught up with the Morin clan - Al (aka The Treelopper) and Narelle la fiancee , Onnie and Jamie the new squeeze , Cass, Jacques - too.

Sitting outside in the 'you have to sink a bore to get a garden like this' outdoor room, we had champagne, speeches and so many courses. I think that will be the last time I sit in garden that established and lush at someone's house for about 2 years. Everyone's gardens here are shadows of their former selves and quite pale (literally) in comparison. Thanks everyone for squeezing us in without much notice for a goodbye hug , and thanks dad & Sal for hosting! Twas delicious and fun and all too quick.

See you all stateside next time: no excuses with Cass's travel agency at hand.

(And yes, I did skip my usual Bloody Mary on the flight over. I slept the entire way - barely touched my plane meal and didn't watch one movie. Jus found it highly amusing. Ain't as young as we used to be...)

Please hold...

Got my visa material from Razorfish today, and then booked my US consulate interview online. The earliest interview I could get was 21 May! Will call up and see if I can bring the interview date forward. Plenty of time to catch up with people before I go, otherwise.

The day after the last day at work

I don't feel very well today.

Had a productive last day at SEEK that ended in an awesome champagne-fuelled 2.30am expression session at Revolver. Man, Product people (and that Tucker!) can dance. And who thought the moves from dancing class would actually graduate onto the dance floor. Once Jodine took down her ponytail, it got truly serious. I'll publish all the damning photo evidence tonight. Dodgy Hodgy predicted that the night might just go off - all you need are a couple of young dads with leave passes - and it did. I had a blast. Thanks SEEKers!

Stumbled home (have no recollection of the taxi ride), doused myself with baby powder in lieu of a shower (cloud of which was revealed on the carpet this morning) and it was lights out. Made it to my 9am pre-travel medical and managed not to pass out while they took blood samples. Just. Went back to bed immediately after doctors visit and roused at 3pm for generous slices of vegemite toast and ginger tea.

Tonight Jus and I get on a plane to Perth to farewell the Morins, Wallises, Stacey Heerys, nanna, Wil and dad & Sally. I think I'll be skipping my regular 'only when i fly' Bloody Mary. Ouch.

Pass the soap, o kudosai

Some might find bathing nude with work colleagues weird, but that's just the type of place SEEK is. Lisa, Ana, Jodine and I strutted off to a Japanese Bath House after dancing class for the big scrub down, to soak our weary muscles, and down some Kirin and sake and noodles. Was utterly relaxing and we had to peel ourselves off the tatami 5 mins before the place closed. Was lovely to chat and chill with the gals, and a great preparation for my last day at work.

Goodbye Canberra crew

We spent Easter in Canberra saying hello/goodbye to some of Jus's old school friends - Jim, Jane, Sophie and James. We met the babies, kissed the babies, and generally were in awe about how grown up we've all become. And then we wondered if running away to NYC to postpone inevitable babymaking was really a sign of maturity. The 'do it while you can!' chanting has been getting louder...and there was a lot of chat about dumping children with grandparents so mummy and daddy can go on an overseas jaunt. The Spare Room Booking Calendar is going to get a workout, we hope.

We are go for launch

I've shown Jus how to use this now so we're all set. We'll update you soon with deets of when and where and how. Stay tuned.

what this blog is now about...

this blog started as a self-indulgent whinge/thinking out loud place, like most good blogs, but now i actually have a purpose to post trivia on the internet: Jus and I are moving to New York, and we're going to stay in contact with y'all by publishing our experiences, homesickness rants and requests for attention up here.

we'll also display our Spare Room Booking Calendar, for all of you who would like to swing by and stay awhile. Although we don't know when we'll be arriving, where we'll be living, or what size box we will be living in, you're all most welcome :)

tonight I will teach Jus how to use this thing, and then we're officially ON.

yes, of course we have dined in a yurt. haven't you?

the most expensive bloody mary ever, out of the hardest glass to drink from, ever

yes, i am uploading random old images from my work laptop onto this blog, as I cant be bothered transferring them to the home laptop. You're looking at the Niseko Ice Bar, and yes we're all wearing gloves to hold our ice glasses.