Arriving in Adelaide Thursday

Well I got my visa this morning. Seems they didn't realise that they had my UK Police check already and were just sitting around waiting on it. No one got in touch with me to let me know this of course. I rang yesterday to see where things were at, and my CO looked through the paperwork again and found it. I'm letting this one slip though, without doing too much complaining. It's over and yours truly is an Australian resident, with nothing to do for another year and a half as far as immigration paperwork goes. See ya Thursday Adelaide!

I Thought It Took A Village?

So Hillary Clinton is now saying Obama should have left his church because of his pastor's comments. Aside from it not being anyone's place to condemn him because of what one of his acquaintences said, doesn't this woman know that a church is not just one person?

Adelaide Sightseeing

Some things you will see when you come to visit us are... our house, which is in serious need of some TLC, and landscaping, lots of kangaroos, including on your dinner plate, wineries, where if you are Steve, you'll load up on some 'free' lemons, and of course, you can be guaranteed you are miles and miles and miles away from anywhere else in the world.

United Mileage Plus Complaints

I'm hoping to have a trip home at some point in the not too distant future and it absolutely burns me up that I have to use United / Air New Zealand again. I got Steve a United Mileage Plus number before we flew to Australia in March 2007 and to this date, after numerous phone calls, emails and written letters of complaint, United has still not credited Steve with his miles. They didn't even send a response to my written complaint, and I've rung them from New Zealand and been on the phone for half an hour trying to sort things. He's owed over 10,000 miles and they've just blown us off, again and again, despite the fact that he was in a booking class which did leave him eligible for those miles per United and Air New Zealand's guidelines. I can't wait until they open up the route and Virgin is a competitor!

And if that wasn't enough to keep you from choosing United, how about the fact that they've just grounded a few of their planes due to maintenance issues. Seems the firm they've outsourced their maintenance to isn't keeping up with FAA standards.

Cultural Differences Between Yanks and Aussies

The other night while watching Flight of the Conchords, a ridiculously boring Kiwi TV show that has somehow managed to win a Grammy, Steve made a comment which highlighted quite obviously the fact that we are from different countries. There was a segment on the show where the two Kiwi blokes in the US are being told how Kiwis are the most hated 'race' in America. When one of them asked the Yank who said this "What about black people?" the response was "Yeah they pretty much hate your guts too." (Keep in mind this is a comedy and that in this instance, the Kiwis were being confused with the English.) Anyhoo move on to various shows of racism towards our 2 Kiwi friends, the last of which being them boarding a bus and being told by the passengers to move to the back. Steve looked at me and said "What's wrong with the back of the bus?" You know, I did take him to the Ford Museum in Michigan but I think he missed the Rosa Parks exhibit...

Something else I came across while posting this, that is worth a read.

Australian TV worth watching

So I just watched this half hour comedy show that was f'ing hysterical, called the Ronnie Johns Half Hour. Aside from the strange looking semi-retarded wanna be pseudo-American cowboy bits, it was awesome! I'm starting to enjoy some Australian tv (not including Neighbors and Home & Away of course), like The Farmer Wants a Wife (Steve even took some time off from the car forums to watch this with me when it was on) and McLeod's Daughters (how in the world do they get away with pronouncing that Mick-lowd's?!). It's happening...I'm being assimilated. Pretty soon I'll be saying 'I Reckon' without even thinking about it:/

Everything happens for a reason

While it has been terribly frustrating to spend the last week or so waiting on the visa letter to come in the mail 'any day' I have to think, when I see the Australian news in the morning, that everything happens for a reason. They've had record breaking heat for the past 11 days, in the high 30s. For those of you who think in Fahrenheit, this is like 110 degrees or so. There are bush fires in the hills, and as we have no air conditioning in the house, I am so glad we're not there for it. (The guy who build our house must have been a total cheapskate!) When it gets this hot, where do you put your possessions that can't stand the heat...do I shift my make-up and Tylenol to the fridge?

Rotorua Thermal Springs

Sounds oh so much nicer than it looks...or smells:/

Watching one's husband jump out of a plane...

is slightly disconcerting. We went to Taupo this weekend so Steve could do just that, and stopped in Rotorua along the way. Now, it was a tandem skydive, so the Swiss fella on Steve's back did most of the work...at least in keeping him safe, as Steve was allowed to steer. I haven't seen a bigger grin on his face ever, aside from our wedding day.

Omega Rental Cars - Rubbish!

Just a quick note that if you visit New Zealand, do not rent from Omega rental cars. They are the only rental company that trys to scam you on petrol by starting you off with half a tank...well, just slightly over, and they expect exactly as much back, or they charge $2.50 per litre. They also upgraded us to a larger car without asking, which of course meant more petrol, and when Steve complained and tried to get a discount due to this at the return, the manager told him to get lost, basically. And she took our copy of the rental agreement from him. Now...no one is rude to my husband...unless they want to have to deal with me! I've sent in a complaint, as I have her business card, to both Omega and the automobile rental association of New Zealand. As we've mentioned before, customer service in New Zealand is atrocious, but this place is even worse than the norm. Thumbs down!