Blog

June 29th until July 5th 2004

Settling in to Australia

Tuesday 29th June 2004

Today we went to sign the tenancy agreement and pay the bond (deposit) for the house in Golden Grove. In what seems to be a recurring theme, our expectations had been slightly too much. We were originally told that we could move in after the 30th of June - then after we had started to sign, we were told that we won't be able to move in until after the 8th of July because the previous tenants are being moved by the Australian Army, and that had been delayed. Obviously, we were a little disappointed at this, so they managed to bring it forward to the 6th (strangely, without checking with the landlord/owner or the current tenants).

Anyway, this means that we will have to delay deliveries of our recently purchased sofas until we are in. This also means that I will have to take time off my new job as soon as I start. When I agreed to start work, I said that I want to start on Monday the 5th of July, because of the expectation that we would be moving home this week. So, I called the new job and asked to start this week, and take a couple of days off next week - and they agreed.

Wednesday 30th June 2004

Shopping today. We bought a washing machine, Widescreen TV, Iron, Cordless DECT phone and a hairdryer for $2,100 including delivery and installation on the day that we move in. We also arranged for delivery of the sofas, and for Pay TV (cable) and a "man with a van" to take all of our stuff from Liam and Shirley's house up to Golden Grove. They are letting us borrow a double bed, and we will be taking lots of boxes that have Ann's stuff from her previous home and the air freight stuff that we sent from England last month.

We also had to go to Transport SA, which is the equivalent of the DVLA in England, where we need to surrender our UK Driving License for a South Australian license. Luckily, we don't need to do another test!

Not only are there more cars on the road here that are wrecks and spewing out exhaust fumes, but the roads are a little bit different from the UK. The roads are wider, but one thing that is confusing to me is the lack of a give way line at junctions. Where there is a side road joining on to a major road, there is no line across the road to indicate where you need to stop to let traffic go past. Many times I have been driving along a main road and a car comes out from the left, far too far out into the main road - I bet they have accidents caused by that.

At lunch today, we had a lovely meal with lots of fresh local ingredients at an English theme pub just down the road. Ann and I had Kangaroo steak, and there was so much food that it was difficult to finish it all.

Thursday 1st July 2004

My first day at work today. I arrived 15 minutes early, and the office was closed, locked and all the lights were off. I waited a little while and then went round the back, where I could get in.
It was a relatively quiet day, with not much to do. I don't have a computer, a phone or even a desk, so it's very difficult to get settled and actually do anything like documentation or start on projects that I have been asked to get on with. Although the work assigned to me so far will take a bit of work, and plenty of time, I can't see it as very hard - it's the sort of stuff that everyone wants, and all small companies that are growing would ask for.
I started by reading the "Operations Manual" which is the collection of policies, procedures and documentation. I came up with loads of ideas and questions, and I think it went down well with Tiffany. The best thing is that Tiffany and I get on really well, and have the same ideas and mentality. I can see that she is a bit of a dragon when she wants to be - I just hope that we don't end up having an argument because our views are so close.

Ann sorted out all the gas, electricity and telephone accounts so that we can be switched on when we move in, and I tried to get Internet access sorted. There is an interesting variety of response that you get in Australia to telephone sales lines. Some companies are really helpful, but others seem to be bad to the extreme. I have had a few phone calls where I am calling to purchase a new service, and the person on the phone seems to be actively discouraging me from purchasing. The Internet company kept avoiding answering my questions, Foxtel went on and on about information that I didn't want to know, but when I asked something that was not on the script, he just about ignored what I said.
I must get used to the way of life here. I am too used to service that is a bit more effective.

Friday 2nd July 2004

I think that Tiffany at work has read yesterday's blog, as today I got a computer, a desk and a mobile phone. The also had their first server delivered today, which needed setting up - something that I enjoyed doing. As I have not really got settled in today, I got started with some basic tasks - like cleaning up rubbish and sweeping the floors. I also managed to get started with some work, planning some developments to the helpdesk and call handling.
I haven't said much about the new job in this blog yet, but there is a lot of "fuzziness" around my role. The company (Possum IT) provides computer hardware and software for bars, restaurants and hotels, to take customer orders and then send this back to the kitchen, and keep track of all the costs and stock used (for example, if a customer orders a pizza, then the system decreases stock of pizza dough, tomatoes, cheese and toppings by the amount that is on the Pizza ordered). The company is based in South Australia, but has sold franchises of the business to Adelaide, Sydney, the Gold Coast etc. so there are a few offices around. The head office where I work only has 6 people, and is 'temporary' - and looks it. The office has not been renovated and there is very little in the way of furniture or storage, and has the feeling of having been very neglected.
My job is "Technical Manager", and that means that I am in charge of the engineers that go out to fix or replace hardware out in bars around Adelaide, and they also take telephone calls and talk people through software problems. As the company is very small, I will have to muck in and get lots of other tasks done (hence the floor sweeping today), which is not really a problem. The company is frequently hit by cashflow issues, which is to be expected as far as a small company is concerned, but I can see the potential for this company to grow and develop within Australia and possibly the rest of the world, but the first few months and year will probably be hard and have a certain amount of risk for me. I can see the potential so I am not going to worry myself about those issues.

Tonight, Ann and I went to see Shrek 2 at the cinema without Thomas. It was the first time that we have both gone to the movies since Ann got pregnant. Earlier this year, Ann went to the films with Helen, and I went out to see a film with Helen, but it was good to be back to an ordinary couple. It's great to have babysitters around within such easy reach.
Before the film, we had gone to a 'flash' Indian restaurant. It had a great atmosphere which suited Ann and me, but the food we not particularly exceptional - the sort of Indian food that we would get in any UK highstreet. One thing that amazed me was that the cheapest wine on the menu was a 'champagne' - they are not allowed to call sparkling wine Champagne here, but it is often very good and very low cost. I prefer Jacob's Creek sparkling Chardonnay to ordinary Moet and Chandon Champagne from France.

Saturday 3rd July 2004

Today I went to see an Australian Rules Football game, at the Unley Oval. Originally, the match was scheduled to be in the Adelaide Oval (where they play the international games and the cricket), but was moved to the smaller ground at the last moment, because there was a Australia Vs. Pacific Islanders rugby game later on Saturday evening.
Anyway, I got there for the start, and met Kyle, and later his father and his father's other half. We pitched a spot on the terraces, just in front of the bar tent. The game of football was quite easy to follow once it was explained to me. I will try and explain it here, but it is hard when I can't give you any visual queues.
The game is played on an oval pitch with four posts at each end. If a player kicks the ball between the middle pair of posts at one end, then they get 6 points. Here's the strange bit - if they miss the goal, they get one point. They get a point for missing the goal! They also get a point if the ball bounces off a member of the other side before going through the goalposts. They can't throw the ball, they have to "hand ball" it, which equates to holding the ball in the palm of one hand, and punching it with the other. If they hand-pass the ball over the line between any of the four posts at one end, then they get a point. They can't run with the ball, they can only move a few meters before they have to hand ball the ball, kick it, or touch it on the ground - so some players bounce the ball like a basketball dribble - but not everyone does that because the ball is oval and can bounce in any direction. Once an opposition player attempts a tackle, they player with the ball has to let go straight away.
Because they can tackle anyone, and there is lots of kicking and no running with the ball, the game is very fluid and fast moving, with lots of action to watch. This made the day very enjoyable. I left after 6 beers and 4 20 minute quarters.

Today is Shirley's birthday. Most of the family came over, but Ann and I were out at the footy and then at Cathy's house. Cathy is going to give us a fridge to borrow until ours arrives on the containership "Borealis" from the UK in a few weeks. It is great that it has only taken 6 weeks to come over, but still a bit agonising as we now know that it is coming soon, but we need some stuff now - like kitchen utensils, a kettle, towels and a microwave - although Linda is letting us borrow her old one.
This morning, I got a call from Johnny and Helen. I introduced them to each other at Thomas' christening, and they hit it off straight away - since then they have been inseperable. It was great to have a call from some friends in England, and particularly good to have a call from them, as they are both very close to my heart, and it is very important to me that they are both happy - better still if they are happy, together.

Sunday 4th July 2004

In the run up to moving into our new home in a few days, we spent the morning going through the cupboards in Liam and Shirley's house, taking out 14 boxes of kitchen goods and ornaments that came from Ann's old house when she was in Adelaide. We opened a few boxes, and found some of the utensils that we had just gone out and bought - frustrating that we now have 3 sets of kithen utensils.
After shuffling boxes and going through cupboards, Ann and I went to the Botanic Gardens just between Adelaide Central Business District and North Adelaide, next to the Adelaide Zoo. I took a few photos whilst there and we walked throught the UniSA campus and followed the Torrens river back up to the Zoo. It was around 6Km, and the weather was fine - not a cloud in sight and 12 degrees - not bad for the coldest month in winter...
Whilst going around the Botanic Gardens, we saw huge figs and palms, alongside pines and broadleaf plants. European species growing right in amongst more exotic plants like a flowering bird of paradise and banana palms. Thomas was in the pushchair and seemed to be enjoying the views, he stuck out his hand to try and touch the plants, so Ann and I let him take hold of a smooth bamboo trunk. It is great to see that Thomas wants to learn so much, and is so interested in everything around him. Ever since he was born 10 months ago, he has been really inquisitive, looking around and trying to be involved in everything. Sometimes it seems that he is just nosey, but it can be difficult when trying to feed him, as he is easily distracted if there is something going on around him.

Monday 5th July 2004

Back at work today, and this time I got stuck in to getting started with my major project of implementing a helpdesk solution. It has been interesting to get involved in some meetings to see what has already been going on.
After lunch today, I got a phone call saying that we could pick up the keys to the house a day early, as in this afternoon. It is great to have the ability to get into the house and check it out and a bit before the deliveries start arriving. Once I had that call at work, and I had told Ann, I was really itching to get out of work so that I could get to the house...
Today I was meant to get my objectives and contract, but Tiffany was really busy, so it was getting closer 5:30 and I was itching to get home, and Tiffany had not yet had time to prepare my contract so the meeting sort of collapsed.

Shirley cooked us a farewell roast tonight, but I was so keen to get up to the new house that I gulped it down and then wanted to leave. I loaded up the car with a few things, and then dived out and rushed up to the house. I only spent a few minutes there, but it was well worth it. A long day tomorrow.

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