101 in 1001

*Bumping this one up as it's been over a year since I started it now. I still don't have 101 things, but am happy to say that in the past year+, out of (previously) 66 items, I've completed 25 and have another 12 in progress. (January 2010)

As seen on Day Zero
(I don't usually have trouble completing task lists, although this one is a monster. It is a hugely refreshing task in that it allows me to see what will be accomplished 3 years from now, and that's a lot!)

The Mission
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Start date : 11 November 2008
End date : 9 August 2011 (I'll be almost 35!)

Key:
Not yet started
In progress
Complete


House
1. Paint 2 bedrooms
2. Finish the table I started stripping
3. Install ceiling fans in 2 bedrooms
4. Complete porch
5. Redo front bathroom
6. Redo main bathroom
7. Install heat
8. Install air conditioning
9. Get new front windows
10. Complete games room
11. Paint laundry
12. Ship container from US
13. Buy new lounge suite
31. Begin a vegetable garden
32. Make the pomegranite tree healthy again
40. Get veranda on porch (possibly a 5+ year project)
41. Remove wall heater from lounge
42. Remove oil heater & tank from dining room/outside wall
43. Get rain water tank
46. Redo walk-in closet
51. Replace carpeting in 3 bedrooms
53. Put screens in windows
54. Put fly screen on vent bricks to get rid of the bees
59. Get new curtain rods for the front rooms
64. Plant a lime tree
65. Make peach tree healthy
66. Install new water heater
67. Replace windows in 3 bedrooms
68. Replace windows in dining room and kitchen
69. Replace sliding door
70. Get light-blocking blinds/curtains in 3 bedrooms, kitchen & dining room
71. Fix roof
72. Get house painted
73. Replace floor in kitchen/hallway

Personal/Professional/Cultural
18. Successfully form an International social group in Adelaide that includes Aussies
20. Invest time in 3 new friendships
21. See a play
22. Find a place in Adelaide to go to for good massages & pedicures (and go once every 3 months)
25. Begin an herb garden
26. Convince hubs to have a planned date once a month
27. Attempt to begin writing professionally
44. Make 2 purchases per year from USA Foods
52. Learn to cook a proper lamb stew or tagine
55. Get a full-time job I enjoy!!!!
58. Attempt to home brew some beer
60. Hike Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty

Sightseeing/Travel
28. Visit Melbourne
29. Visit Tasmania
33. Go to the Mt Lofty Botanic Garden
34. Go to Tandanya
35. Go on a tour of Parliament House
36. Attend Fridays Uncorked at the Wine Centre
37. Beer tasting at Cooper's Brewery
38. Try Horus Egyptian Cafe & Shisha House
39. Visit Canberra
45. Go back to Hahndorf for a Rueben and Pot Belly pies!
56. Attend an Adelaide United Game
57. See an SA baseball game
61. Suss out Chili Mojo and Norwood
62. Visit Hallett Cove
63. Hit every Irish pub in the Adelaide area at least once

Health
14. Develop a regular yoga routine
15. Drink 3 glasses of water a day
16. Take a multi-vitamin every day
17. Learn to cook 5 (very good) vegetarian meals (1 per week for a month)
19. Get up in time to either do yoga or have breakfast before work, 3x per week
23. Stop drinking juice and eat 2 pieces of fruit per day instead
24. Bring lunch to work at least 3 days per week
30. Go on a hike once a month
47. Eat oatmeal or cereal for breakfast 4x per week
48. Eat plain yogurt or toast & vegemite as a morning snack 4x per week
49. Eat veggies or fruit and nuts as an afternoon snack 4x per week
50. Begin a food tracking blog and blog what I eat each day for 2 weeks

Two Years Up

In just about three months, I'll have been living in Australia for two years (consecutively). When I first got here, I told myself I'd give it two years. Most resources for expats will tell you that it takes an average of two years to start to feel settled in. This isn't to say I was planning on leaving after two years if it didn't work out, only that I made a conscious decision to be especially patient with myself, my environment, and others around me for the first two years. Making that decision probably helped to keep me sane these last couple of years. I highly recommend this to new expats.

Happy New Year!

Supposedly I'm Middle Aged

According to Erikson's Psychosocial Stages, I'm middle aged. I'm not quite mid-30's yet, but I definitely don't fit into stage 6, which is intimacy vs isolation. I have gone past young adulthood, it seems. This article, on Expat Exchange, where I got the below, (obviously) geared the stages towards expats.

"Stage 7
Middle Agers (Mid 30s-Early 60s): Generativity vs. Stagnation - Adults in the heart of their lives need to be productive and have a sense that they are able to create something of value in their lives.
For Expats: What do you hope to accomplish as an expat? How is it going to impact your long-term goals? Do you have long-term goals? When one elects to move abroad, a lot of soul searching is likely to take place. Take advantage of that by giving some real thought to where you've been, where you are, and where you hope to get to in terms of accomplishments. "

I was asked, at a recent job interview, where I saw myself in 10 years. Funnily enough, just before heading to the interview, a work colleague and I were discussing the '5 year plan' interview question. I hate these types of questions. Had someone asked me 5 years ago where I would be today...well, let's just say I would have been so far off with the answer. I've never really had long-term goals, other than to travel more, find a good travel buddy/life partner, and to someday be working in a job where using my brain, in a way I enjoyed, was actually part of my daily work. Becoming an expat has actually furthered these goals, directly yet without a structured plan involved. I have been in 5 different countries in the past 5 years, completed a Master's degree, gotten married, become a homeowner, and now, just finally, for the first time since I left uni over 10 years ago, gotten a job I actually really want.

Birdwood

Actual petrol station, dismantled & rebuilt in the museum
Administration building

Sculpture outside the museum

Ute!

Road Train

The variety and quality of tourist attractions in Adelaide keep surprising me. Today Steve and I beat the heat by heading to the National Motor Museum in Birdwood. It's large, modern and has a great selection of vehicles. We managed to spend 2 1/2 hours there (Steve's a car buff and I'm a bit of a museum junkie).

Happy Christmas from Oz

Our Christmas festivities began last Friday with Steve's work xmas do. The silly little jokes and odd paper hats come out of Christmas crackers, which are placed on the table at xmas meals. The next night we were off to a Chrissie barbie at Steve's mate Steve's house (1 out of every 3 guys down under are named Steve), where Steve was busy roasting a whole lamb on the spit, and Steve was chilling out with a beer;) Tuesday night we went off to Lobethal to see the lights, where Santa was out in his front yard greeting all the passers by with a warm Aussie Ho Ho Ho. Santa's neighbour was selling cherries to all the tourists. Happy Christmas to ya'll out there, and if you're in a cooler climate, please send some snow my way!

A New Do

One day while my aunt was visiting, we were sitting at the dining room table, with a fan aimed directly at us, while we tried to beat the heat. She looked at me and said something to the effect of: "I want to do something for you. Let's go and get you a haircut. It'll make you feel better." Now, in the 1.5+ years I've been in Oz, I'd had a grand total of 2 haircuts. This is unusual for me. I've had my hair shaved, bobbed, cropped, dyed, etc over the years. Since I met my husband, I haven't done much with it at all aside from one unique cut on our honeymoon, over 2 years ago. Since then I've not been willing to take the risk, for some reason, so my hair, while having some layering in it, has spent most of it's time up in a poneytail. Yesterday I took the plunge and walked around the corner to a new place by work, and got about 5 inches cut off. I couldn't feel better, and I'm not sure quite why it's taken me so long. Pics are forthcoming.
P.S. Big thumbs up for Cinderella on Leigh Street!

Out of the Mouths of...

boys come the most amusing comments. I really should start keeping a list of the things my husband comes up with. In the care package I got from my aunt this week, she included a little sleigh with a heap of tiny Christmas pressies. I mentioned to my husband the other night that one of my other aunts had wrapped all of these little packages up years ago by hand (you can see them atop the heater in my last post, by the way). Yesterday, he looked over at the sleigh and said..."Those little boxes...is there chocolate in there?!" A one track mind....

And the Stockings Were Hung by the Chimney with Care...

...with some goodies in them already, thanks to a care package from home. I've now acquired a 2nd xmas tree, and a 'fireplace' since last year, so the house is looking a bit more festive.

Family Time

Suffering the heat with grace

The Australian wave, or why not to go to the St Kilda Mangroves on a hot, fly-infested day

The longer I am away from home, the harder it seems to become to be away from family, or so it feels some days. On the other hand, one benefit of being far from home is that the people you love most come to visit you, for weeks at a time.

Cheesefest

Summer seems to have arrived in Adelaide, finally, and with it more blog posts:) Hubs and I went to Cheesefest on Sunday, and I have the sunburn to prove it. In 2 hours, with suntan lotion on, I have still turned into a bit of a redneck. Next time I will forgo the suntan lotion samples and stick with my trusty Cancer Council 30+. $10, a souvenir wine glass, and off you go. Nepenthe had some nice Chardonnay, and we ended up going home with 6 glasses in total (what, some folks left theirs behind so we helped clear the tables while leaving). I didn't take any pics at Cheesefest, but Susie did, and I'm sure she won't mind me giving a link back to her blog. Woodside was by far the best cheese there, and the lemon myrtle is a must try (Aunt Liz, this place has a sampling room right next to Melba's Chocolates, both of which we'll be taking you to one weekend day while you're visiting). Less than 2 years in, and we bumped into about 10 people I knew while there. See, Adelaide is a small place.