since you asked...

Here's my hair (since Andrew cut it). And a funny face. :)
(This means we got our engagement photos back! I'll post our favorites soon.)

February reading

Today, on March 26, I finished my book for February. Woohoo! Only 26 days late. I am considering revising my goal to one "need to read" book every two months, rather than one. I believe in setting myself up for success. ;)

"Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Day Slavery" by Siddharth Kara is what I just finished. It's been a long time since I have learned new information about human trafficking - being in my circles and having articles, etc. sent to me all the time there is never really any new information. So I appreciated this book and would actually really recommend it. It did cover the business side, focusing on the product (victims), wholesalers (slave traders/traffickers), retailers (slave/brothel owners), and consumers and his recommendations for decreasing the high numbers of sex trafficking that is taking place across the globe. But the author also took several extensive research trips and examined trafficking trends and patterns in many regions of the world. I gleaned a few pieces of information from some of his research.

Anyway, if you want to read more about trafficking and learn about what it looks like around the world, I'd recommend this one. Some parts are understandably difficult to read, and he shares his own personal reactions, feelings, and reflections throughout. But as we know it's a very important humanitarian and justice issue, and this book will give lots of good info.

I guess if I am revising my goal I have until the end of April to finish the next one...I wonder what it shall be??

waiting and celebrating

I was in Sydney for a week for meetings and planning. I caught up with a new friend who is going to Europe for several months - and letting Andrew and I house sit for June and July when we get to Sydney. A tiny studio apartment, but free rent in a great neighborhood and a soft landing as we arrive in our new city after the wedding!

Still waiting for that dang work visa to come through so I can plunge in and get to work. The fun and flexibility of working from home in Adelaide is losing its novelty - I need to get out! :)

That said, I am quite happy to still be able to be here, since Andrew is here. We had a fun week this past week here - engagement photos, engagement party - but I have no photos to share with you yet. This fabulous girl did our photos, and we had a rockin' party last night at this cool pub! A friend took photos for us at the party, so I can't wait to get both sets soon. What an odd but warm feeling to have a party in a new country and have over 100 people show up to celebrate us - all new friends to me but so many who love Andrew dearly and are so excited for him (us!).

Heading to Sydney again on Monday for more work, meetings, and a conference... I'll probably be absent here for a little while again. :)

mad blogger

Everything you ever wanted to know about hair loss and hair replacement... Check out Andrew's blog, where he is posting like a fiend!

(They say the more external links to a website, the higher it ranks on Google. Just doing my part.) :) x

Today I met Betty, the volunteer director of Lavender Lads & Ladies at the Adelaide Royal Hospital in the Oncology ward. The LLL help patients who lack family assistance and support throughout the hospital. In Oncology, they operate a wig borrowing and renting service. They subsist on wig donations to help those who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy. I went to see her to see how we might be able to help their clients with wigs and hair consultations. (And by "we" I mean Transitions.) :) I am learning all I never knew existed about hair loss and restoration. :)

Thanks, Google maps

For some odd reason, this map from Google was of NO help whatsoever to me this morning.... !?!?

Athens

It's hard to describe how I feel for Athens these days. I miss my friends and bits and pieces of life there, for sure. I miss our group of girls and coffee dates and meeting up on a whim in the evenings for a walk or a glass of wine. I miss our chats and the depth of relationship I was able to create with several people in a short time. There's something about sharing common circumstances in life (being a foreigner, single girl, in Greece, etc.) that forges bonds quickly.

Occasionally when I see friends' photos or hear stories from there, I feel this pang of familiarity and loss. It's strange; I can't say I miss the city, to be honest. I do miss the lifestyle, the feeling of being somewhat familiar with and being "at home" in another culture, and aspects of what life was there for me. But I don't miss the city, the dirtiness, the drug addicts, the brothels, the hardness and apathy and rebellion, feeling of always being a foreigner, the struggle with language. I don't really miss Athens at all.

The funny thing is, I hold so many fond memories and feelings for my time in Greece, but I know that if I went back it wouldn't be the same. A different blend of people, the absence of my fun apartment in my cool neighborhood, different work and social circumstances, and even more unrest and disruption. It will never be the same as it was while I was there. So I guess what I think fondly of is the time, the memories, and the friends and circumstances that came together to make my time there what it was. I'm glad I was there when I was. I like to think I made my little mark and others made theirs on me. :)

Wow, how life changes in a hurry. Life now looks nothing like it did even four months ago. Adjusting to a third culture (where I am SO SO SO thankful they speak English), new people, new job, and soon to be new marriage. It's exciting and feels like a grand adventure is just beginning. So Athens has become another place that I think of when I think of "home" and my friends there are others that I count as close and significant when I think of my important people.

I saw this video on a friend's facebook page a couple months ago. It brings feelings of familiarity and loss, but also of distance. Memories of what was, but knowledge that that isn't my life anymore. And ultimately - fortunately! - contentment and excitement about where I am now. :)

Athens...the Little Great City (I know it's big, sorry)

Winter to summer.... (my spider tale)

Winter gives way to summer...and millipedes give way to spiders. I'll take the millipedes crunching under my feet, crawling through my sheets, and covering any surface during wet weather to this, thank you very much. Any day.

Winter had me grossed out on a daily basis because of those nasty things. They are everywhere, in everyone's homes, on the ceiling, on the sidewalks, in the bathtub. I was so happy to see them fade to nonexistence in the warmer weather that spring brought. Yet, as we are now in summer, I am dismayed and horrified to see that the numbers of large, disgusting spiders has exponentially increased.

Particularly in my yard.

The other night at a friend's house for dinner, we sat on the patio outside and watched a big one spin its gargantuan web right in front of us. Fascinating...from a distance. There is one in Andrew's driveway, attached to some branches, that is as big as my palm and expecting babies with the nasty white pouch that has been hanging out in its web, undisturbed (!?!), for weeks. And then there is my yard.

Our friendly neighborhood spiders spin their webs at dusk every day, and by morning they have packed them all up to wait out the daylight in hiding. My nightly walk from the car to the front porch has become quite treacherous of late. I have developed a crazy arm-flailing, karate-chopping, bag-swinging walk to get myself safely to shelter each night. I no longer care what the neighbors think. These suckers are nasty and I am NOT getting their webs on me (the strands of which are, by the way, thicker than the coarsest hairs on my head). Once they choose a place, they are likely to rebuild their webs in the same location for several nights.

I've been successful so far. A few times I've seen the spider resting in the center of its web before I walked into it, and thankfully those were nights Andrew was bringing me home so he took care of it. But tonight it was just me. Me vs. the spider. That one spider who decided to spin its web right across the stairs, blocking my way to the front door.

I froze there for awhile, completely uncertain what to do. I was unarmed; my purse was not going to be sacrificed for this one, so blatantly standing between me and safety (not to mention my bed). My flailing got me only so far, tearing down some peripheral strands. A few flimsy sticks and long pieces of grass thrown in that direction only skimmed the edge or lodged themselves in the sticky web. I was sweating bullets by then; my ammunition was not even fazing the thing and I was certain I felt webs and spiders all over me.

Just as I was about to surrender defeat and go sleep in the car, I thought to check in the boot (aka trunk; it's an Australian car so it has a boot rather than a trunk, as I see it) of the car. There I found the long rainbow umbrella that would be my savior.

I seriously poked and prodded and threw stuff until the entire web was gone, and yet still that horrible beast dangled there on its final strand of web, hanging down face level right in the middle of the steps. I waved the umbrella around it for awhile, but still it dangled, clearly ready to throw itself in attack at anyone who tried to pass. Finally I whacked it with the umbrella and watched it scurry up to the roof overhanging the steps. My flailing ritual carried me to the door, and I was soon safely inside.

Until tomorrow night...............

[Note: if you need to be reminded of what I'm dealing with, click here.]

I got a sparkly

How cute is this? I just cut myself right out of the photo. :)
May in Seattle...we'll be the Mr. and Mrs. Apparently I was destined for a multi-continental life! :)

things that make you go hmm...

proud to be an American?

One of the beauties of dating a non-American is that you get to have your country poked fun at all the time! Andrew's aunt in particular likes to forward amusing emails about my countrymen, and you can bet that these find their way into my inbox as well. Perhaps I'll share a few of them with you! This is the most recent, and I have to say that my mouth and nose were turned up almost immediately and I think I felt sick by the time I got to the bottom. Some of the things we come up with - sick!!! ... Enjoy! ;)

American cuisine at its finest
Americans wonder why they're dying earlier .....

Corn Dog Pizza The Double Bacon Hamburger Fatty Melt Three bacon-stuffed grilled cheese sandwiches for buns, cheese, bacon and two four-ounce beefs patties. French Fry-Encased Hot Dog On A Stick Turbaconucken A chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, all wrapped in bacon The Hamdog A hot dog wrapped in a beef patty that’s deep fried, covered with chili, cheese, onions, served on a hoagie bun topped with two fistfuls of fries and a fried egg. Tombstone Deep Dish Pizza Vending Machine Bacon Shell Tacos The Meat Ship Made from bacon, sausages, pastry, franks and pork mince. Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Gregory’s 120 Ounce Steak In-N-Out 100x100 Burger Bacon Donut Tongue And Pastrami Sandwich Waffle Couch Waffle fries with gravy and mozzarella The Bacon Explosion Two pounds of bacon woven through and around two pounds of sausage and slathered in barbecue sauce. Bob Evens Sausage Gravy Machine Baconnaise

office space

Just got back from Sydney ... I had some time in the Blue Mountains with IT, and Andrew saw a bunch of clients. In preparation for moving there soon, we looked at heaps of office spaces for his shop that he will open.

They say being a commercial real estate agent is easier than residential, because it's much less emotional. Finding a work space is quite different than finding a place to call home (which we will soon have to do as well!). But finding a place for a shop, with the right environment, the right appeal - knowing that many of the clientele will be female - at the right price, in the right location, with the right specifications and requirements ... natural light, water capability, discreet ... it's just like looking for a home.

We think we found a building we like with a couple of options in it. Something to get excited about, potentially! And I, too, am starting to look forward to being in the office regularly in Sydney, continuing to carve out my role and find my place. I've been working from home here in Adelaide, officially for IT USA until my work visa comes through, so it will be great to be able to land and settle in Sydney when the time comes.

Lots to look ahead to... :)

My boyfriend cut my hair.

If you didn't already know, Andrew deals with hair. Hair loss and regrowth and replacement and all of that "re-" stuff that has to do with losing one's hair. For men and women, whether it's from pattern baldness or alopecia or trichotillomania or chemotherapy. He has helped a lot of people. You can look at his website if you want.

Many moons ago, he went to trade school to become a hairdresser. He still does this, though most of his time is taken up with managing, sales, marketing, and consulting. The majority of his clients here in Adelaide are men, while new interstate clients (Sydney and Melbourne) are about 80% female. Still, over the past 16 years, he's cut a lot of men's hair. Not so much women's hair.

When we met, he informed me that he would never cut my hair. He didn't want my hating my hair to ever come between us. Fair enough.

Until tonight! One of his employees has been cutting my hair, but I haven't had time to get in and lately it has been desperately needing a cut. So badly that Andrew can hardly stand to look at me. (Ok, it's not that bad.) "My girlfriend has mushroom hair," he whimpered today. So that was it. We are heading to Sydney tomorrow for work and I guess I could no longer be seen in public that way. He marched me down to the shop tonight for a cut (and color, why not).

He was nervous that he wouldn't like it. I was nervous that I wouldn't like it.

But - he did great. :) I really miss my long hair so it's still a bit too short for me, but it's a really good cut. Yay for both of us - he got good practice with a flat iron and I no longer have mushroom hair. :)

blurbs

Ok, happy February. It's been a busy time, I am completely distracted and excited. But anyway, there are quite a few fun things we have done in the past few weeks. I've got photos of it all, but they're on Andrew's camera and I can't be bothered to upload them. :)

Tour Down Under ... We hung out with Lance Armstrong for a few days a couple weeks ago. We went and saw the opening race (which means we saw hundreds of riders fly past us for approximately 45 seconds and then it was done), and then we went to the final race a week later. Most days they were out riding around South Australia, but the last race was right in the city of Adelaide - a little 4 km circle that they went around and around and around (90 km worth!!). So we got the rush of air and adrenalin from a wall of 130 professional riders blowing past a whole bunch of times. Lance was easy to spot - generally in last place. Or almost. :)

Australia Day ... was January 26. We went with a couple of friends to the Barossa Valley, one of Adelaide's wine regions. Chris and Amy are a fun couple; really enjoyable to hang out with and good companions for a day under the hot sun - at a Sting concert! Mr. Gordon Sumner (AKA Sting) brought his crew and joined the Melbourne orchestra for a great concert under the stars in the Barossa. Fun day and great music!

Bike ride ... we did our own tour down under the other day; I borrowed Andrew's housemate's mountain bike and he rode his (instead of his road bike, to be fair to me) and we had a lovely ride down to the beach. Since we didn't leave until about 6:30pm, and we had dinner and caught the sunset down there, we didn't start to head back until after 9pm. It made for a bit of a long day. 40 km in all; my longest ride in quite some time. By the time we were nearing home again, it was after 10pm and I was a bit tired (and cranky, but who's keeping track). Andrew came up behind me on his bike and began to push me - it was great fun! I was going faster than I had gone all night! Only wish he had thought of that earlier. :)

Glenelg ... is another beach area here. This past weekend we drove (much appreciated this time, vs. riding bikes) down there, had a lovely dinner and walked on the beach. I love summer in January and February! We've had just a few days of unbearable heat, but for the most part it's been really pleasant.

Enjoying my days in Adelaide for who knows how much longer we will have here...

"THIS is a true Adelaide summer,"

they tell me proudly, as they retreat to their darkened air conditioned living rooms and lay comatose on the couch for the better part of the day.

(We are in the 100s this week, happy January!)

January Fail

I would like to take a moment to inform you that I have already failed at my reading plan for the month of January. The month isn't over yet, but as I stopped reading the book I was supposed to finish in January last week, I don't have any hopes of finishing. In fact I was reminded why I was only halfway through, and I can think of many other more boring things I would rather do than finish it.

So, moving on.

I am, however, quite close to finishing one of the other books I'm reading (one of the want-to-read books, vs. the need-to-read books, the latter of which are the focus of said reading plan). "Down Under" by Bill Bryson is fabulous! I love getting the perspective of another American on all the interesting/funny/quirky bits of Aussie culture and history that I've already noticed or heard bits about. And he's already done the research on the background, shares funny obscure stories about historical events, and mixes it all in with his own humorous travelogue. Andrew says I know more about Australian history than he does now (ha), and I also had him in stitches on multiple occasions reading him parts of this book.

[Side question: if you were (or are) a man, how would you feel about having your name in hot pink on a book you've authored?]

Hopefully you'll view January not as a complete failure as I shelve the other book I was supposed to finish and start anew for February with a new book about business side of human trafficking. I view this as work now, and it's good as I've got some things coming up in Feb. that involved teaching/speaking, etc. It will be good to get me back in the swing of things. We can hope, anyway; admittedly I'm a little preoccupied these days!!!!!!! (I'll tell you why soon.) :)

hi

It's been a packed week, already. I did manage to take my suitcase in over the weekend; Andrew drove me by the place (the guy knows every nook and cranny of this city!) one night so I knew where to go the next day. No bank yet because I only have a car a couple days a week, so I'll do that later in the week. Ok.

That's all for now. It's been an eventful week, which I may get around to posting about someday. I just didn't want to leave that woe-is-me post below as a lasting indication of my well-being in Australia. :)

Here is a picture of Andrew, my brother Travis and I on top of the Space Needle for your enjoyment.

foreign country strikes again

Adelaide 2, Kelsey 0

1. Yesterday I endeavored to take my suitcase into the city to get it repaired. It was torn on the flight from Sydney to Adelaide, so the airline is going to pay for its repair; I just need to take it to their specified shop downtown. I was feeling like getting some things done yesterday, so my goal was to drop it off and then meet Andrew at his shop for a coffee during a break at 5-5:30. I wrote down my google map directions and set off on the 40 minute journey.

I'm just going to save you all the grief and tell you that an hour and a half later I was still driving around, way out at the other end of the city, balling my eyes out and cursing this stupid city and its stupid detours due to stupid bike races and stupid food festivals. :) Andrew figured out where I was on a map (the map directory was missing from the car I was driving) and directed me to the shop, where I arrived just as his break was ending. :(

Today he ordered me a GPS navigator. :)

2. I wasn't up to a second suitcase-drop attempt today, so I thought I'd just go over to the bank, 3 blocks away, to open a bank account. I've been meaning to do this and hoped to at least cross one thing off my list. I rushed to make it there before closing, and arrived at 4:45 with documents in hand and high hopes for no more foreign transaction fees.

The bank closed at 4. What kind of hours are 9:30am to 4pm? I think I need to get a job there. Curses again, stupid stupid stupid.

You know when you move to another country, all your energy is spent on just managing a status quo in your emotional existence? So when something, possibly quite minor, happens, it upsets the balance in a major way...

Yeah, I've never experienced that either.

[P.S. For the record, I've been doing quite well, settling in well here, and I actually like it. Yesterday was just one of those days. I've gotten lost before and it was my first time driving into the city to an unknown locale alone, and I was only half certain I would get there, almost expecting something to go wrong. Oh well. One of these days I will return to being a self-sufficient human being.]

it's a boy! :)

We found out a few months ago that I'm going to be an aunty! Well, ok, it's really all about Lindy and Nate, who are due sometime at the beginning of June (she's wearing a 7 month fake belly at a maternity store in the photo). :) Yesterday we got the news that it's a healthy boy! I have my "nephew-in-law" to practice on here until I can lay my hands on my very own nephew next time I make it home. Very excited! :)

miss the most.

Every time I go back to the States, these are my favorite parts. I have a lot to miss while I'm away. It is oh-so-good to refill while I'm home!









So I cheated and a couple of these are old (only 2, can you spot them?), but I had to get as many in there as possible ... So - miss you, love you, see you again soon(ish), and thanks for still being there when I come home, even though I've moved away, and then farther away (sort of). :)

Andrew in America