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.

Ticking Things off the List

I'm trying to keep track of all the posts I've made listing the things I want to do in Adelaide. Far too often, I skip things and say I'll do it next year, and while I have a lifetime here, I don't want to fall too far behind. These are the things that are left on my last few posts.

Things I Said I'd do Next Year (Apr '09)

• Well, most of these things, aside from OzAsia Festival, are still to come (shhh, I missed OzAsia)

Things to do, Part 4 (Jan '09)

• Visit the Lobethal Bierhaus
• Take a trip to Hallett Cove Conservation Park
• Visit the Cooper's Brewery

Things to do, Part 3 (Aug '08)

• See the movie 'You The Living' (will have to rent it now)
• Tandanya (will be ticking this off in a couple of weeks when Aunt Liz comes to visit)

Part 2, discovered under the heading: Top Tips for Expat Transitions (June '08)

• Horus Egyptian Cafe & Shisha House (I'm not so sure I still want to do this one, to be honest, so will consider it ticked off the list)

Things I Want to do Over the Next Few Weeks (May '08)

• I have made it to a few yoga classes since arriving, but I haven't gotten into a routine yet, so my aim is to do so before '09 is over

So I haven't done too poorly, in looking over the lists, but I still have some work to do!

What's Your Blogging Code of Conduct?

A Free Man's most recent blog post gave me pause to think about my unwritten blogger code of conduct. It's far too easy to say things online that you wouldn't say in person, and easier yet to forget you're saying them to a larger audience. A few things I keep in mind when blogging:

• No last names (for some level of anonymity)
• Never bag your significant other; it's just not cool.
• Never bag your family; they'll get you back.
• Never say anything you might later be embarrassed to admit you've said (which should really go for verbal speech as well)
• Never say anything that could get you into real trouble in real life
• Don't talk about where you work (same reason as why there are no last names)

When I began blogging, it was more so I could retain all of my stories of life abroad in one place, and avoid the dreaded group emails. Now that I can see I've had approximately 4,000 views of my profile in the last 4 years or so, and have my blog listed and writings posted on other expat sites, I realise that I have some responsibility for my actions here, so to speak. I'd love to babble on about my political views, or give you my thoughts on my workplace, but then I'd have to be accountable for pissing somebody off;)