Monday, February 23, 2009

Moving in!

The big move ...

The move went extremely well! Brett left first to get the keys and the car was loaded, Elize dropped me and Jess off at the house just after 9 (her car also filled up with all our stuff) The first letdown was that the power wasn't connected! The main switch was off, with a notice stuck on it that it was switched off by the council and should we switch it on, we might get a $75 000 fine or 6 months in prison!!! I phoned the electricity company, and they told me that it would be switched on the next day some time. What a pain ... moving and sweating, and then no aircon!!!

The moving company arrived just after 10 (we asked them not to come before 10 because we only got the keys to the house on the day). Boy were they quick! 3 Guys unloaded all our stuff and placed the furniture where we wanted it, removed the wrappings and took it back with them. That all took about 1 1/2 hours. The three of them managed fine with the pianos (9 guys in South Africa almost dropped it!) It was so nice to see all our stuff again after 10 weeks! The delivery from "The Good Guys" came at the same time to bring us our new washing machine and tumble drier and later on our bed got delivered, and the diningroom chairs.

The container arriving:



The guys unloading:



The most amazing thing was Jessica. Just after Elize dropped us off, I put Jessica's camping cot in her new room and made her bed for her. 5 Minutes later Jess started crying next to her bed, so I put her in with a dummy and tea ... thought she would just play a bit. In no time she was fast asleep! Even before the container arrived. She only woke up when everything was delivered, so that was great!

The chaos:






Later on a handyman arrived to mow the lawn (the previous tenants left it long, so the rental agent sent someone out to cut the grass). Cool guy, said "No worries mate, just flip the switch on and switch it on in the mornin'. They'll never know!" So he flipped the electricity switch on. At first I didn't want to use electricity, but the aircon felt sooooo good! Thank goodness, I don't know how we would've survived the night without aircon and fans!

Brett spent the rest of the day assembling Ryan's new bed. The instructions said that it would take 2 men 2 hours, and it took Brett alone 4 hours to do that. After that he assembled the dining room chairs and our bed. Quite a job!

The finished product: Just for kids, right?



... Wrong!!! ...



When I fetched Ryan from school, he was super excited to find his rubbish truck. It was in the container. Took me about an hour to find it, and then he was happy!

We were very brave to organize a birthday party for Ryan on the Saturday ... and started to realize that the next day. Especially when more people said YES than we expected! By Friday the house was still chaotic, but Brett did wonders in the 2 hours I was at the shops to buy party stuff. I couldn't believe it was the same place when I walked in ... boxes gone (okay all shuffed in the garage!), furniture moved, HOME! On Friday night we cleaned up the spare bedroom, a very good thing that we did!

So, the day of the party arrived ... overcast and rainy! About 10 friends from Ryan's class RSVPed, most with a brother or sister. And Gert, Elize, Christiaan and Noelle. Surprisingly it all worked out well. It was hectic, and I don't have a clue how many people and kids there were, but Ryan had a good time with his friends. When everyone left, one lady (Lee Anne) stayed behind and helped clean up while her 2 kids played with Ryan. They're from South Africa, now in Ausralia for 7 years, but moved to Brisbane only last year from Melbourne. We invited her and her family (including her parents who are staying with them) to join us for a barbie later. Thomas, Ilona, our friends from the gold coast, and their boys also joined us and ended up staying over for the night.
Waiting for the birthday boy to blow out the candles:

Hufff ... and puff ....

Kids playing in Jessica's room:

Kids playing in Ryan's room:



Brett's braai (barbie):



On Sunday we just relaxed! Slept until about 08:30, made breakfast and chatted to our friends. In the afternoon Brett and Ryan went for a cycle around the block, came back to get me and Jess ... a kangaroo about 50 m from our house!



Monday I had a job interview, went really well! Small company about 5 km from the cbd, so quite far from our house. Started by a South African 20 years ago. That was so nice to have an interview with a Souh African (or ex SA?) ... with the economic crisis so many people are unemployed, so I have this guilty feeling that I'm taking a job away from an Aussie. But not in that interview. The job is for ASP.Net web developer with strong sql skills, exactly what I am. They invited me for a second interview next week Monday with the development manager (also a South African). Hold thumbs! Not the ideal job, it's far away! Took me about 40 minutes to get there in normal traffic. But we need the money, so I can't afford to be picky. The plus is that they offer flexible hours!

Our phone line just got connected, so we'll have internet in the next week. Then, I promise, I will upload some photos of the house, the neighbourhood, etc. And tell the stories of our adventures here in Oz!

Update : We've got internet!!! So, more updates will follow soon!
The job interview was so-so ... will have to wait and see. At least with internet we'll be able to apply for jobs again.

Our house:



Ryan dressed as a pirate, they had a pirates and fairy day at school on Friday (I have to add that he left the feather sword at home, because it's pink and for girls! Oh, and those were his words, not daddys, although daddy was VERY proud!)



Ryan and Jess playing in his room:

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

An update

It's been a while since the previous update, but things are a bit hectic. I'm sure it will get much better from next week when we're in our house, unpacked!

Tomorrow is moving day!!! We're moving into our house in North lakes, and our container will also be delivered, as well as some other things that we've bought in the mean time ... tumbledrier, washing machine, beds, etc. Can't wait!!!

Our container has been cleared by customs and quarantine, but they found one problem ... a dirty pair of shoes! We had to choose ... destroy for $80 or let them clean it for $150. So now we've got one less pair of shoes ... I'm just happy that it has been cleared and that they'll be delivering everything on the day that we're moving into the house. Perfect!

Ryan is in school now, very close to our new house. So far he's doing okay, but it is a struggle every morning because he doesn't want to go. But it's been like that every time we changed his school. Yesterday was his birthday, and we fetched him earlier, went to the beach and tried out Brett's new kayak. Ryan was very chuffed with his new rubbish truck (thanks Nini & Papa), his excavator toy and his diving stuff (fins, mask and snorkel) We'll have a party for him this weekend at our new house, so we've got a lot of stuff to get ready before then!!!

Jess is doing great, much friendlier now that another 4 teeth managed to cut through. She's finally used to Noelle and at home here, and now it's time to move out! I'm sure she'll enjoy having her own room again.

On Thursday Telstra will install our home telephone line and our ADSL, so we will be connected soon! Unfortunately North lakes (the area we're moving to) doesn't have ADSL2, so it's just normal (slower) ADSL for us. Should still be faster than what we had in SA though.

Jobs ... not yet, unfortunately. Seems like really bad time to be job hunting, but we're sure that something will turn up soon!

I'll post updates about all our adventures in and around Brisbane soon!