Landing

Another brief entry, due to my being extremely tired and jet lagged…I am writing to you from our friends’ (the Clarks) home in Brisbane. We landed in Australia this morning at 6 am, after a fairly challenging trip. Will gave a long cry as the plane took off from LAX, and he pretty much had to sleep on my chest for most of the trip. We resorted to using Benadryl twice to keep him sleeping. Our real problem was that we had to manage eight checked bags, 4 carry-ons, a stroller, and a car seat (and Will, of course) as we negotiated the check-in procedures, customs arrival, and renting a car this morning. However, it took less than 45 minutes to get through the whole customs process in Brisbane, so we had a chance to drive to South Bank in Brisbane for a nice breakfast before arriving at the Clarks. Victoria and I opened up a checking account at Westpac this afternoon and deposited our traveller’s checks right away. Will is having an excellent time with Ellen (who turned 11 today) and Sally (who’s 8). Their mother, Fiona, is taking great care of us. Tomorrow we will look at some possible apartments/houses to rent. I am already scheduled to meet with my new Head of the school (equivalent to the department chair in the U.S.) on Monday morning at 9:30.

It’s amazing to think that we are now far away from everything (and nearly everyone) we have have know for so many years. But V. and I are both excited and happy. Although it was a bit chilly, Brisbane looked gorgeous in the morning sun when we arrived. We already feel that all the hassle and emotional upheaval we have experienced in the last four months was well worth it.

No Net

I forgot that our internet access would be turned off today, so I am at a Starbucks with this quick missive. I am so tired and stressed that I can't be sentimental about my last night in Atlanta. But I am sure that I will have a big smile when we board the plane tomorrow....

The Empty House

Just a quick post to let you know that we survived our 1000-mile, 8-day journey to middle America. For those of you planning to emigrate, may I suggest that you do not take such a trip just before you leave the country. Here we are at 12:30 early Monday morning, cleaning our basement. We still have a bunch of pesky tasks to do before we board the plane on Tuesday, but I am so stiff from all that driving and so tired that I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep. I am hoping to write more a regular post in 24 hours with some photos from our trip to Arkansas and Oklahoma...

Sleepless in Arkansas

(Don't you think the title of this post would be perfect for the sequel...Imagine, 15 years later, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are living in the same little town in Arkansas, but don't know it. One day, they each drive to the same Walmart in Benton, looking for a small alarm clock. As they reach for the last $3 special on the shelf, their hands touch...)

Yes, we are in Hot Springs Village, where my dad and his wife retired 12 years ago. We are also very tired this morning. Last night Will had a miserable night of tossing and crying, and V. & I paid the price. He hasn't slept nearly enough in the past three days, which is surely the culprit. The lack of normalcy is hardest on him. But what can we do? I drove him around the country roads for nearly two hours yesterday so that he would nap. At 2 am, V. was giving him a bath. We sang every song we could remember--including about ten rounds of "Yellow Submarine" (with all the verses). We haven't experienced anything like this with him in over six months.

For those of you have never visited this part of Arkansas, let me assure you that it is absolutely beautiful. It's full of rolling mountains, dense forests, lakes, and the occasional pasture that seems to pop out of nowhere. Of course, I'm trying to soak up all this American landscape, complete with chigger bites. But I'm also keeping an eye on the Brisbane rental market...

Belly Laugh (an Update)

Just an update to my June 2 post. As of last night (June 15):

1. Get rid of two cars (one is being donated, and one is being sold)
2. Sell three sofas, the kitchen table, two beds, a dresser, a large desk, a coffee table, and some book shelves.
3. Hold a garage sale for all the other smaller items.
4. Sell a deck table and chairs, a BBQ, and another glass table set.
5. Get the carpet cleaned and the hardwood floors polished.
6. Hire painters to paint the kitchen and master bath.
7. Close all accounts and services that we don't need once we leave (and figure out how to pay the ones we still need until the house is sold).
8. Move two aquariums to other homes.
9. Sell some electronics equipment on Craigslist (two TVs, a stereo, VCR, and some old Macs)
   
10. Arrange to ship some things that didn't get taken by the movers.
11. Rent a car (or minivan?).
12. Say goodbye to all our friends.
13. Give one more lecture, and grade 70 papers and 70 final exams (me).
14. Throw away everything left at work (me).
15. See the last patients (V. is doing this all the way until June 15).
16. Take care of our 16-month-old.

More from Arkansas and Oklahoma later...

Save (with) Vonage!

Just a quick post to praise Vonage, a VoIP service available here in the U.S. I have been using their services for the past year, cutting our phone bills by 70% (at least), and not missing the old BellSouth service at all. However, when I called to cancel the service yesterday, I learned a real cool thing--we can keep using Vonage in Australia. That's right...for the same $24.99/month that we have been paying here, we will still have our old Atlanta-based phone number that people can call from the States, and from which we can make free calls to the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and a few other places. All that's required is that we take our Vonage modem with us and connect to it our new high-speed internet service in Oz. We will still need to add local service in Australia, of course, but this should greatly reduce the burden of long distance calling for our friends and family, as well as us. The only problem is that we will need to remember to turn off the phone when we go to bed to avoid having solicitors and others calling our Atlanta number in the middle of a Brisbane night.

Now, let's just hope Vonage stays in business.

A Sale in Our Garage and then Goodbye

As I write this, I am watching Keira Knightley's version of "Pride and Prejudice" on cable for the fourth time in the past three months. Yes, I am strangely obsessed by this beautiful film, perhaps because of the rich details in the set design, the story (I have never read the novel), the gorgeous cast, the dialogue, and most definitely the music. Anyway, that's not really the subject of this post, but having it play in the background provides me some comfort as I reflect on the momentous 96 hours that have just passed.

First, in a span of about five hours on Thursday, we got rid of our two cars and rented a minivan.

Then, on Friday and Saturday, we held the mother of all garage sales. It was my very first as the seller. I had absolutely no idea how much people really haggle over prices, and therefore became the hapless victim of that segment of the population that never pays "full price" for anything. As V. and I ran around in 90 degree temps, attending to Will whenever he wasn't napping, we had to deal with stubborn customers who had the nerve to ask to have a dollar taken off an item already marked down to $2. I was exhausted from continually moving things from the basement to the garage to display during the sale. One woman bought all of our plants in one fell swoop. A family that relocated to Atlanta after their house was destroyed by Katrina in New Orleans bought our patio furniture. A cute young couple bought our bedroom set. One guy was only interested in whether I had some old 35mm camera equipment in the basement (and I did!). I heard at least seven languages spoken over the course of two days (the cultural diversity in Atlanta always surprises me). In the end, we made a tidy profit, but we will need to make a couple of trips to the local Goodwill to rid ourselves of those things that just wouldn't sell.

On Saturday night we had a much more enjoyable time attending a party in our honor. Thirty-two of our closest friends (including one who flew in from NYC) threw us a wonderful goodbye party at Donna's house. A few of these friends were people I met when I first came to Atlanta in '96, whereas a few others we had gotten to know just in the past year. Several of V's friends came as well, which caused the room to nearly burst with psychologists and psychiatrists. There were some teary farewell speeches and some very nice gifts (including a Visa card to buy furniture once we get to Brisbane!). I am pleased with my new mousepad, made up of several of my work colleagues who got together and posed for a group portrait after a faculty meeting a few weeks ago.

The group picture on the left was taken mid-party (before Tracie's margaritas had their full effect!). Let me be clear. These people really are true-blue, honest-to-goodness friends, and we are going to miss them terribly.

Driving home last night at 1 am, I wasn't in much of mood to talk about it all with V. The six hours at the party flew by so quickly...just like our wedding. The idea that our life here is nearly over still hasn't sunk in. I'll see a few of these people later this week for some more goodbyes, but it it is time to accept reality...we ARE moving to AUSTRALIA! (Damn, what was I thinking?!)

Hola, Hello, and "Hey"

In the past few days I have been getting several hits to this blog from Chile, Argentina, and England. So, I thought I would offer a special welcome to you ships that pass in the night, before you going clicking away to some other more fantastic blog.

For the more "regular" readers, the garage sale netted us over $1000...pretty good, huh? And we nearly have everything finished on our checklist (take that, Audra!). I promise a more regular post (with pictures) tomorrow, the day I finish my 44th trip around the sun.

Check, Check

I think we have successfully completed two of the items on the checklist I posted two days ago. Three more should be taken care of by Wednesday.

We fly away from Atlanta three weeks from tomorrow.

All three of us are very tired right now.

Under Pressure

Two weeks from today we will load up a rental car and drive to Arkansas and Oklahoma to see members of my family for eight days. When we return, we will have one full day left in Atlanta before boarding the plane to Los Angeles. So, that means we have only 13 days left to do the following:

1. Get rid of two cars (one is being donated, and one is being sold)
2. Sell three sofas, the kitchen table, two beds, a dresser, a large desk, a coffee table, and some book shelves.
3. Hold a garage sale for all the other smaller items.
4. Sell a deck table and chairs, a BBQ, and another glass table set.
5. Get the carpet cleaned and the hardwood floors polished.
6. Hire painters to paint the kitchen and master bath.
7. Close all accounts and services that we don't need once we leave (and figure out how to pay the ones we still need until the house is sold).
8. Move two aquariums to other homes.
9. Sell some electronics equipment on Craigslist (two TVs, a stereo, VCR, and some old Macs)
   
10. Arrange to ship some things that didn't get taken by the movers.
11. Rent a car (or minivan?).
12. Say goodbye to all our friends.
13. Give one more lecture, and grade 70 papers and 70 final exams (me).
14. Throw away everything left at work (me).
15. See the last patients (V. is doing this all the way until June 15).
16. Take care of our 16-month-old.

That's all, I think!