Fighting 'The Man'

Our trusty "old" espresso machine

When the drama in your life revolves around an espresso maker, I shouldn't complain. However, Colin is enthralled in his books right now, so this coffee machine is all I've got at the moment. We have tried to get used to the new machine but 90% of the time it explodes on us. It doesn't matter how hard or soft we tamp the grinds, we think that something was wrong with the seal on this one too. Last time I talked to Myers Department store I was told that we couldn't return a machine just because we didn't like it. So I decided to take my issue to the website and write them about my situation. I was phoned less than 24 hours later and the manager told me to come in, pick out a new machine from the choices he had give me, and he'd give me a fat discount. Upon our arrival to the store today I was assisted by a diva sales clerk, Andrew, who was adamant on belittling me. I didn't dwell on it because I knew I was going to get a great deal and leave home with the new machine TODAY. We've been buying coffees for the last week and I felt very ready to get back to our economical routine.

Andrew called the manager, Luke, as soon as we walked away from the counter because he didn't believe my story. I noticed Luke standing there so I went over to ask for his help. The machines he suggested over the phone were pretty junky so he told us we'd have to go up in price for a better model or else he'd just give us a full refund. We found one that we wanted, got a discount quote, and then went to 4 other stores to compare prices. After way too much time at the mall, Colin was starting to get antsy because he had to get home to study. We decided to spend more and go back to Myers to get the discount. The only sales person on the floor was Andrew and he looked very disappointed to see me back again. We told him which one we wanted, he sauntered to the back to get it for us, and then sent a coworker over to us to tell us that they didn't have it in stock, while he went to stand in another part of the store. I felt pretty sad about it but I wasn't going to waste another minute browsing. We filled out a form, PAID for our new appliance, and now we'll have to go back, again, in about a week when it's delivered. I suggested getting it delivered to our apartment instead but was told that it would cost ME too much to do that. haha. Then just as we're about to leave, pretty disappointed that we'll be without coffee for exam week, Andrew shows up to say, "Just so you know, Luke was fine with refunding the machine today, but we don't normally do that JUST because you don't like it." I kept my mouth shut while Colin explained that this one had something wrong with it too and then we left. I resent department stores. And Andrew.

As Colin and I sat waiting for the train to go home, coffee less, I asked him if we were suckers, and he said, yes.


Our new machine

E.

Vanity

As much as I love Canada and look forward to the day I step back onto Vancouver concrete, I will forever miss my accent. Over here I’m exotic, my voice is “beautiful”, I’m….Canadian! The people love me! It’s such a conversation starter, and a conversation that revolves around ME. I think it must be sort of like when you have a baby. People that normally might not take notice of you are suddenly absorbed in your life and want to know all sorts of personal details. It’s addictive. When I come home I’ll probably just stare at you and wait for ya’ll to ask me questions. I’ll eventually get over it but for now I’ll just enjoy waiting in the line up at the grocery store, looking forward to the inevitable conversation that will ensue when I go to pay. I enjoy when fellow customers in line suddenly look at me with interest. At work patients often ask me questions and initially I was sort of embarrassed with the attention but now when someone doesn’t bring it up, I’m like, well this is awkward.

In other news, our 3-month-old espresso machine bit the dust. It’s sad because it just needs to have a faulty part replaced. So Colin and I put her in the box, paid $12 to take the train to the mall, and brought her back to where we got her. Instead of offering to have her fixed, they told us that we could just grab another one. I scoured the department store and couldn’t find it anywhere. The lady helping us told us to pick out another model and recommended a Sunbeam machine, instead of our trusty Breville. We reluctantly took it and went back home to set it up. Everything on it feels cheap and it doesn’t work as well as our last one. It’s also very temperamental and if you tamp your coffee grinds a little too hard, there’s a hissing explosion that takes a long time to clean up. The steamer bit also doesn’t foam your milk as well, (and it looks like a weiner), which is crucial to a good coffee. Today I phoned the department store and asked for them to find me our old model so I could exchange it back. He phoned me 3 hours later to tell me that it was discontinued, there aren’t any more left in the Sydney area, and that I couldn’t return my Sunbeam machine just because I don’t like it. Hmmm….we’ll see about that. The only thing stopping me from bringing it back is that Colin finds it functional, it’ll cost me $6.40 in train fairs to return it, it’s super heavy, and it’ll be confrontational. Plus, I bought it on sale and I’d have to wait for a sale somewhere else to buy another one. This = more train trips to the mall. Ahhh, I will try to adapt.

On Tuesday I needed to buy lunch and decided to phone it in to save a few minutes. It didn't save much time because it took forever to span the language barrier. The old saying may be ‘you say tomato, I say tomoto’ but if you don’t say tomoto, people have NO idea what you’re alluding to. When they figure it out they ALWAYS say, “Do you mean tomoto?”

No I don’t.
E.

I love my wife

I've been absent from this thing for a while now, I don’t even know where to start. I’ll talk about my wife who has been amusing everyone with stories while I plug away at school. She just walked in the room, she smells like chocolate, like she’s been bathing in it. Mmmmmm brownies, they’re not for me though they’re for Jenna (a friend from school). She enjoys my wife’s baking so much I’ve become a sort of liaison between the two; transporting tasty treats to the above recipient, weekly. I think I have a friend because of it, thanks wife.

Evelyn’s been buying these magazines each month call delicious. They’re all about food. She’s been baking and cooking wonderful unique meals lately while watching master chef Australia. The magazine gives her great new recipe’s and I think the show motivates her to experiment with new foods and new techniques. From where I’m sitting it’s all worth it. I also think she should go on the show and rock Australia Canadian style.

The other day we had some salmon. The first time we’ve had it since we left home because it’s expensive and our fish shop only gets it in on Friday for the weekend because that’s the only time people buy it here in Guildford. Evelyn put together a succulent dinner, bursting with goodness. The salmon was covered in citrus fruit – grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime, along with a glaze made with the juices, brown sugar and chili pepper’s match-sticked. This was laid on a body of basmati rice and will not be forgotten.



I can’t wait to get home and use our kitchen utensils again. Although it has been stretching our imaginations using pans from Kmart and spatulas to mix cookie dough. In the end it's creating that keeps things interesting.

C.

I love my husband

Colin and I have been meaning to take up swimming for a while now. I am a terrible swimmer and I get a little claustrophobic when I stick my head underwater, which makes me his new project. Tonight was the night. First we had to drop a movie off at the nearest movie rental store, which is in the next suburb over. I was a little anxious about the time because the pool closes at 8 and we were just leaving home at 6:20. We quickly bike over to the movie store but decide to take a different route to the pool, in the dark, and we’ve only ridden past the pool once before. We get incredibly lost. I didn’t recognize anything and when we finally figured out where we were I was astounded that we had gotten ourselves that turned around. Over here I have no concept of North, South, East, or West unless I can see ocean.

We end up getting to the pool just before 7. We run into our respective change rooms and as I’m about to walk into the little change booth, I notice a sign saying, ‘This is a change room, not a toilet’. Shudder. There are little baby cockroaches in my room but the tiny ones don’t bother me as much. As I root around my knapsack I realize that in my haste I forgot to pack a bathing suit top. What to do, what to do? I dissect my bag hoping that I just missed it and it’s hiding in there somewhere. Nope. I eventually decide to wear the ol’ bra and we’ll just use the outdoor, and hopefully dark, pool. I wrap up in my towel and go to meet Colin in the waiting area. He’s standing there holding my bathing suit top and asks me, “What took you so long?”

I think if any female had been in the opposite situation, the UNIVERSAL course of action upon the discovery of her mate’s swimming garb would be to walk over to the men’s change room and just yell inside that you’ve got his bathing suit. Alternatively, you could just send a nearby man in there with the suit.

I look at Colin holding my bathing suit and ask him what he thought I was going to walk out here wearing. “Couldn’t you figure out what was taking me so long?” I don’t even remember what his reply was because I was so stunned. I don’t blame him. I blame his gender.

We only did laps for 30 minutes but we had a great time and were pretty tired when we left. I was grateful for the bathing suit because the outdoor pool is extremely well lit AND there was a kids swim club practicing beside us. I think we’ve found our new hobby.

E.

The Weekend

I knew the day would come when I'd likely have to go to the doctor here. Fortunately the office I work in is half dental, half medical. At about 3pm Friday afternoon I figured I'd see if I could get into the walk in clinic before the end of the day. 20 minutes after I put my name down they called me in. It was a little strange because the doctor had her desk and examination bed all in the same room. I sat down at the desk, told her what I thought was wrong with me, she asked me if I wanted her to do any further testing, I said "no thanks." Then she said, "okay, that costs extra anyways" and then wrote me a prescription. I had to pay $50 for seeing the doctor because I don't have an Australian medicare card, but I'll likely be reimbursed most of that amount with the health coverage we have here. Then I walked down the street, dropped and picked up my prescription (it only took 1 minute for it to be filled), and went back to work. How easy was that!?
Ironically I waited before taking the prescription because I wasn't 100% positive that I needed it, and sure enough, I didn't! I wasn't feeling well Saturday, so we stayed close to home. With the exception of our usual Flemington market trip that we take on Saturdays. We're now seasoned marketers, so we know which vendors we like, what we want, and how much we should be paying. Once again I searched for figs, and once again was disappointed that only one man carried them. I will hold out until I find a vendor with manners. Fig season is basically over so if I find someone carrying them they were likely bought from my nemesis and then resold for higher profit.

Sunday we went to a Blues and Jazz festival at Darling Harbor. It's such a fun part of town, and most weekends plays host to free events. The highlight was a Canadian musician named Harry Manx. We also swung by the snow travel expo to enter a draw for a 10 day all expense paid trip to the Canadian Rockies! I felt pretty cool walking around the expo knowing that I had been to a handful of the mountains. On the draw form we had to write down 20 words or less why we thought we deserved the trip. I wrote on mine that I am a Canadian citizen trapped in Australia and feeling very snow-sick. Colin wrote that he's a poor physio student in need of a break. I hope we were pathetic enough to win.

Here is just a tiny peak at Darling Harbor:






Colin has finals beginning in 2 weeks. CRAZY! In other Colin news, please log onto facebook if you want to see a video of Man vs. Duck. Enjoy!

E.

P.S- It's gotten a bit chilly out and I've noticed that our roomates don't open their window anymore. Their room smells TERRIBLE. Every time their bedroom door opens I get this old, sour stink that infiltrates my nostrils. They eat in there and often dry their clothes in their room as well. Is there a kind way to bring this up in conversation or do I just hold my breath and hope that they too notice the stench?

π

Change happens and I can’t alter that truth. It’s getting cold out now and all I can do is put on a sweater and wait for this season to pass. As we move into autumn, Canada heads into spring. Life continues around us and without us. It doesn’t matter where I am because change is inevitable. I’m not home sick, I just wish for time to stand still while I’m gone. People aren’t allowed to get married, have babies, move away, or grow up while we’re gone. And when we said goodbye to everyone, it was under the impression that we would see each of you again. These last 10 days have been the first time I’ve felt the 12 000+ km that span between us and almost everyone we love, and it’s an isolated, sucky feeling.

We’ve been gone 104 days now and seeing Colin motor through this semester has been a comforting reminder that this time will pass and one day be a distant memory. I’m trying to appreciate it for what it is, because it is truly a once in a lifetime experience, but the joys and sorrows are challenging when you feel like a far away fraction of something bigger and better.

Just before I was born, my mom explained to my brother that a family was like a big love pie and the more people, the more pie to share. We like to tease her about this analogy because my brother was 4 at the time and only saw his slice getting smaller and smaller. I’m from an awesome family, and I married into an awesome family, and I’m basically only a crumb at this point because there’s so many of you, but I’ve never felt so loved. Being away from the rest of the pie is a bittersweet reminder how good it is to reside on the same plate. (Too far?)

E

An Evelyn update

Last night I stayed up until 2am thinking that I would try and skype my nephews baptism. My efforts were redundant so I went to bed at 2:15, then got a phone call at 7:30 because someone was sick at work. So much for laundry today. I actually started closing my eyes at 4pm while working because it burned too much to keep 'em open.

If you want to eat restaurant food, it is about 20% more expensive to stay there vs. getting it as "take away" and eating it on a park bench. You can take a wild guess as to where we dine.

My fashion forward friend, Jen, told me that Australia is ahead of Canada in style. I'm sure its the the one thing that comes to Canada after Australia. But you've been forewarned, the 80's are coming back with a vengeance! Bad haircuts (especially rat tails) and fanny packs are making a comeback. Beat the rush and get yours today! I will try to post some indiscreet pictures.

And last but not least: last night on the train my ears were being violated with terrible and loud music, so I turned to glare at the offender only to find myself staring at an aboriginal midget. I decided that she was allowed to listen to her music as loudly as she wanted.

You're now up to date!

E.