Saturday 16th October 2004 Another wonderful day. We had another picnic trip out to the countryside.
This time we drove
45 minutes north to the 
Barossa Valley.
Some may say that it is the premier wine area for Adelaide, but wine growers
from
McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, the
Adelaide Hills, Eden Valley and numerous wineries spread around would disagree.
The difference with this picnic from previous weekends was that we went with Cathy, Julia and Katia. We all met up at Lyndoch so that we could go and taste some of the wines from the Barossa Valley area, and then have a picnic together. The sun was out, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the roads were empty. At each vineyard we visited, we tasted a few wines and then moved on. We were more interested in seeing the views than tasting the wine. If we had had a designated driver, then we could have tested some more.
After meeting up in Lyndoch, we stopped in at the Jacob's Creek visitor's centre for a quick coffee to get our energy levels up. The first vineyard after that was St Halletts, where we bought a few bottles that we liked. When we first arrived, the cellar door area was full of a busload of tourists, so we had to nudge past them to taste some wines. It turned out that they were all on their way to the band festival this week in Tanunda, which is a town on the main route through the Barossa. Ann and I quickly realised that we should find a way around the traffic and crowds to do our wine tasting and get to our picnic destination.
Next was a trip to Bethany, and Bethany Wines. Bethany Wines is set on the edge of the valley, on a hill that gives great views over the whole area. After Bethany Wines, I navigated us along the back roads, almost getting us straight to Seppeltsfield. After consulting the map and back-tracking, we found our way to the palm-lined road that leads to our picnic destination, just beyond Marananga.
Once fed and relaxed, we headed back towards Nuriootpa, stopping off at Richmond Grove's chateau, then wound our way up to Charles Melton wines. By this time it was nearly 4pm, so we had to get back home in order to feed Thomas, so we split and returned home.
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After the activity of yesterday, we decided to spend the whole day doing as little as possible. The temperature was again 25°C, and again no clouds to speak of. The temperature here means that instead of opening the windows to get a cooling breeze in, we have to close the windows to keep the hot winds out.
We are quite pleased with Thomas' development recently. He seems to have developed more in the last week than in the past 2 months. Now he is able to crawl, he is exploring the house more, and he is learning almost a word a day.
Today's word is "clap". When I asked him to clap, he smacked his hands together as requested. This is fundamental, as he understands that a word can apply to an action as well as an object. It has been relatively easy to teach him words like 'clock' and 'foot' - because we can wave them in his face and get him to hold them, but the word 'clap' is really good.
This afternoon we went for a drive to see where I will be having my interview on Thursday. I am really looking forward to the opportunity to work there, and it looks like a real career opportunity - I just hope that I get the chance to do it.
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Thomas' word of the day - Moo. He recognised the cow in one of his books and said 'moo'.
I bottled my beer today. As I said before, I have been brewing
my own beer for the last week, and now I need to bottle it. Unfortunately, once
I had got to 30 bottles, I ran out - so there are three litres of beer in jugs
in the fridge. The beer in the fridge is flat, because the carbonation and fizzing
takes place in the bottles - the secondary fermentation. I added a bit of lemonade
to one jug and made a very light and refreshing shandy, with a slight fizz.
It went down very quickly.
Liam popped in for a cup of coffee. Shirley was left at home, and she could not see because she had just been to the eye-doctor for a check up, and he had put some drops in her eyes that meant that she could not see. Thomas gave his grandfather a big hug, and showed how he can now crawl around. Liam remarked how Thomas often sits very upright, with his legs crossed - then as he was saying this, Liam looked over to Ann and me, and both of us were sitting with our legs crossed.
The election is over, and now the predicitions are that interest rates will go up by 3%. The Australian interest rate is currently 5¼%, and much of the election battle was over interest rates. The Liberal party was saying that if Labor got in, that interest rates would increase as they had with every previous Labor controlled parliament. But now that the Liberal party is back in power, the predictions are that interest rates will soar. I wonder if Labor had got in, if the increase in interest rates would annoy the public enough that it would have allowed the Liberals to get back in in 3 years time. Maybe the Liberals knew that the interest rates were due for an increase, so made the prediction so that no matter how 'well' the Labor party did, the Liberals would always be able to say "I told you so".
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Thomas' word of the day - 'cup'. Again, he recognised this from one of his books. We are hoping that he will start to use the word to tell us when he is thirsty.
Today I was most happy to get a phone call from a company that I had sent my CV to several times over the last 4 months. They want me to go in for an interview tomorrow - and it's not for a particular job, it's to see if they want to hire me at all. They are hiring for 4 positions at the moment, but they seem to advertise positions every month, so it may well be (and I hope) that they hire me and make a position around my skills and abilities. Well, I can hope in any case.
This afternoon, Ann and I made one of Thomas' favourite mealtime treats - chicken
and cheese balls. We take 500g minced chicken breast and 200g grated cheddar,
then mix it all together with a beaten egg, a bit of italian herbs, then make
it into walnut sized balls. Then we roll these in breadcrumbs and gently fry
in oil until they go crispy.
Thomas loves them - if we are feeding him the usual things like sticks of cheese
and cucumber, and then we put a bit of chicken ball in front of him, he will
drop whatever other food he has got, and grab the chicken and stuff it in his
mouth. Maybe he is worried that we are going to eat them all before he gets
them (they taste great!).
We make a large batch so that we can freeze them. It lasts around 2 weeks. Thomas
also gets very excited about omelet, so it's good to see that he likes some
things, instead of throwing them around the room.
Today I made a reservation for the 29th of December at a restaurant that has one of the best views in Australia. The Windy Point Restaurant has two levels, the Restaurant and Cafe Mediterranean. The place is closed most of the days around Christmas - as is most of Adelaide.
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Thomas had another swimming lesson today. He is just getting the hang of the water, and now enjoys the nursery rhymes and the actions - although sometimes I get really lost and it feels like all the other mothers there know all the songs (and the actions) perfectly. It feels like I am catching up all the time, and mumbling along to the songs because I don't know the words.
I had an interview today with a company that I have been looking at ever since I was in the UK. They are an IT company that is growing very quickly, is Microsoft-centric and 'serious'. I think I did OK in the interview, but the only problem is that because they had multiple roles, they said that they were not interviewing me for any one position, they would decide what role would best suit me. This initially seemed like a good idea, but then when the interview was happening, I realised that I was being too broad and not specific enough about my applicability to the role that we were discussing. Nevertheless, I like the idea of the job, and think that I could do really well in it. They have no idea of a salary, and I was the first person that they interviewed. I hope that I can go back for a second interview next week.
Today most of the petrol prices around Adelaide have reached $1.00 per litre. Most people are spitting chips over the price increase, which may amuse most people in England, as this equates to 40p per litre. People in Adelaide should be more calm if they knew that the petrol in England costs $2.60 per litre. I don't know what the price of 'gas' per gallon in the US is, but it's still cheaper than the UK. If you are reading this blog and are in the UK, feel free to post a message about the price and what you feel about it.
I am starting to see hits coming to this blog from some of the blog directories out on the Internet that I am registered with. Some people only stay a few minutes, but at least they are coming and looking. Ann was not happy about me 'going global' without discussing it with her, but now I have explained that there is nothing nasty or rude in the blog about people we know, she is a little more calm about it. If I can write something in this blog that helps someone in some little way (such as help migrating, information about how great Adelaide is, stuff about Thomas that relates to their own child, etc.) then the whole thing will be worthwhile. Sorry to be up my own bottom about this, but that's what I think.
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I had another interview today, for the job that I really want
to get. The interview went really, really well - and I came out feeling like
the job is mine already. I already feel an attachment to the business, and the
first thing that I did when I got home was look up information on the Internet
relating to one of the questions that came up in the interview, so that I could
look at solutions for it. I got on really well with the manager who interviewed
me, which is good because he would be my boss. When I left, we agreed that I
would come back for a second interview, where HR would be included. The agency
also spoke to me, and we have arranged my second interview for the 2nd of November.
It seems like a terrible delay, but if I end up getting the job because of it,
it will be worth it.
If I get either of the jobs that I have been interviewed for in the last two
days, then Ann and I would move closer to where the work is. We already decided
that we would do this, which is why we are renting now. It is not close to Ann's
parents or sister, but at least it is on this side of the Adelaide CBD, so it's
about 30 minutes drive away.
Ann and I have been browsing the junk mail for houses in the area - and they
are relatively good value. We have also been looking up how much we could borrow,
based on my earnings, and it adds up that for each additional $5000 I get paid,
we can borrow $10,000 more. We will have to see.
There was an item on the radio news today about speed limits in Adelaide. They did a trial where the speed limit in in areas of the suburbs was increased from 40km/h to 50km/h. The result of increasing the limit? There was a 20% drop in road accidents and there were 15 fewer deaths than the same time last year. They also found that because of the decreased accidents, there was a saving of $6 million from things like compensation, cleanup and repairs. So, they are talking about making all of Adelaide up to 50km/h.
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What an interesting day on the job front. I am now up for
second interview for both of these jobs that I am really interested in, plus,
I have been called by two agencies, and they have two 3 month contracts for
me - which I am ideally suited to. So, I have two full-time, and two contract
jobs, each of which is good - I hope that I am in a position to choose, but
then again, I don't want to have to choose. The full time jobs obviously take
priority, but the contracts pay more. It's going to be a hard decision, but
at least I have 10 days to think about it.
I have waited 4 months for the right job to come around, and now 4 are all here
at once... Aaarrrgh!
You may have noticed that the blog format has changed a little. I have made the text a bit smaller, swapped the order of some of the older blog entries so that people can read from the top to the bottom (instead of bottom to top). This is because I have been looking at other people's blogs, and they often have smaller text which seems to look better, and it also makes the blog seem not quite so long and 'rambling'. Plus, when I was reading the Super Nova Scotian about his migration from England, I found it confusing reading from bottom to top.
Yesterday I nearly went to a pub to meet other bloggers in Adelaide. I found a website called Meetup.com, and they have a group of 48 people in Adelaide who write blogs, who meet up for a drink and a chat. I signed up on Wednesday, and noticed yesterday that the monthly meetup was on that night. I wanted to go, but when it came closer to the time, it would have only been me and the organiser, and she had said that she would only turn up if other people said that they would turn up. So, I decided not to risk sitting in a pub waiting for people who I didn't know, not to turn up.
Tonight Linda's crowd are in Melbourne, so she is alone. She dropped over and sampled one of my much-loved curries. Chicken Tikka, with roasted capsicums and coconut cream masala.
Thomas has been very chatty today, asking what everything
is - then a few seconds later asking again. At least I think that he is asking
what it is, although the sound he makes is sort of half way between "look"
and "what" - but then again it could be "clock", whcih was
his first word.
We were very impressed when he managed to pull himself up to a standing position
on his cot. We took out the travel cot and set it up outside, so that he could
play in the outside without crawling into a red-back's web or eating a stick
insect. I was quite pleased with my timing, as he pulled himself up whilst I
was recording it on video. I just hope that I have the video camera ready when
he takes his first steps too.
I have written an introduction
to the blog for people who are coming here from the blog directories or search
engines. I have also had to remove the contact details that are on the index
page, as we don't want to suffer any unwanted contacts. If you know me and want
to get in touch - register on the messageboard
and post a message, then I will send you my details directly.
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