In Our New Apartment...

TUESDAY

I don’t even know where to begin since it’s been so long since I’ve documented anything. I have a crap memory so the chances of remembering all the little things I wanted to note are slim.

We are in our new apartment. It’s about 6:30am and I’m sitting at the dining table looking at the river. The sun has just come up…it looks like it’s going to be another sunny day. I hope it’s a bit warmer than yesterday. Honestly, I’m going to be very cold wearing only the little bit of winter clothing I brought along in my suitcase. I’m the only American complaining though. Figures. Today will be filled with trying to find a grocery store that will deliver to the apartment. I have to figure this out without access to the internet or a phone book. First plan of action is to have Ben call me with a few phone numbers and then go from there. I want to stock the pantry thoroughly because I’m sick of eating out. Though last night, I must admit, we had a nice meal. It was at a café here near the apartment and for $29 Benji got a t-bone steak, salad and fries. A full meal? I was nearly thrown out of my chair from the shock of it. The service was shit, but ya can’t have everything.

Monday, May 11th was our official move in day. Technically we had the key on Friday but could not have beds delivered until Saturday. Turns out that worked out okay because we would have been in trouble with building management if we’d had our deliveries on Saturday as I was told in no uncertain terms that they “do not do move-ins on the weekends”. I don’t even care to try to figure out why or to even ask. There are just enough cultural differences here that my brain is tired of trying to work them out. So, I just try to go with the flow. Perhaps it’s a good lesson for me. Anyway, we had rental furniture, our new porch furniture and our electronics (fridge, mixer, other small appliances, etc) all delivered on Monday. The sheets the rental company brought are about negative 700 thread count or something. If I couldn’t see them with my own eyes, I’d swear they were a burlap blend! So, I tossed them in the wash to try to soften them up. No problem there. Now, the dryer, that’s another story. My gosh, how do they do laundry here????? The dryers are just sooooo small. The building manager had shown me the clothesline area so I had to finally take them down there to dry. Oh and in the middle of drying, the dryer just stops to take a rest. I guess it gets too hot since it vents into the room. We aren’t allowed to put one of those little laundry drying racks on the balcony which is a bit impractical. Line drying your clothing is just a fact of life here and that means an elevator ride down 5 floors, walk through the pool door, out the gate, around the building and down a little path. It’s honestly not that bad but just a little odd, I guess. I’m going to get one of the little racks and put it here in my dining nook….when the windows are open in this place it’s like a wind tunnel. Seriously, I felt like I was on a boat yesterday. It’s going to be fabu in the summer!!!!!

Our apartment is like Fort Knox. The building is always locked. If someone comes to visit, they’ll ring your apartment and when you pick up the phone, you can see them on a little mini screen. To get into the building yourself, you have a little “fob” that you scan to unlock the door then you scan it again when you get in the elevator. The elevator will only take you to your floor and public areas. When you get back on the elevator, it will only take you to the ground floor unless you scan your fob, then you can go to the first floor where the pool is. In other words, that little scanner recognizes where you are allowed to go. When you buzz in a visitor, the elevator will take them only to your floor. I swear, you’d think the crime rate in Brisbane was horrid. Everywhere we turned while looking for an apartment, there was some kind of security feature. Honestly, it was just a bit of overkill.

I am SO grateful for the new beds from the rental company. I think I only woke up once last night and it wasn’t because I was in pain. The bed at Goldsborough place was just dreadful. Our porch furniture is so gorgeous. I bought it with the plan to bring it back to the states with me. It’s a wicker look….table w/ 4 chairs, settee, coffee table and two chairs. The salesman even threw in four embroidered pillows I was admiringJ. I’ll have to settle for a less than stellar sofa (lounger, they call them here) now but it’s worth it.

Our apartment is located in the suburb of Kangaroo Point. Isn’t that an adorable name? I still haven’t figured out where the bus stops are but there are 3 city ferry stops and 1 citycat stop very close by. So, I’ll be able to most anywhere I was right now even if technically my path isn’t the most efficient.

I can’t wait to get some plants to really make this place feel like home. There’s a ledge right above the kitchen sink that will be perfect for little pots of herbs. I can see trees from my windows but a little greenery close by will be comforting. Honestly, if only my friends were here, this place would be perfect. I’m being very stubborn and babyish right now about making new friends. I don’t WANT new friends. I want my old FRIENDS. For now, I’m happy being alone. Once I’m not happy being alone then I’ll consider braving the territories.

I have no idea how to work the heat or a/c in the apartment…not that it matters yet. I can work the oven reasonably well and the stovetop is self explanatory (Thank goodness). The vacuum cleaner presented no new mysteries and the small appliances don’t seem like they are out to get me. I was even able to turn on the dishwasher without any major snafus. Even the washing machine was cooperative. If I could have given it a treat, I would have.

My feet are freezing. Mental note, must get rug for under dining table. And possibly slippers if they can be had for a decent price.

Cable tv. I really like it when things are simple. But, not everything is simple. A forty year old woman should know that by now. The cableguy showed up yesterday and after about 15 minutes of mysterious calculating and planning told us that this place had never had cable tv. What? In order to get cable, we have to hire a carpet layer to pull up the carpet, run the cable under from the hallway and then put the carpet back. He’ll also have to do the same in the hallway outside our door from the telecommunications closet. It was easy enough to get permission to do that from the “Body Corporate” (meaning building manager, I don’t know why they didn’t just say that….they made it sounds so imposing) and from the realtor who is representing the apartment owners. But, geez, what a pain.

The owners were kind enough to leave an entertainment center in the living room. The realtor said we could have it…if we wanted it. I did not. It was flesh colored. That creeps me out. So, she sent a fellow yesterday to disassemble it. Turns out the owners had not bothered to move it when they had new carpet put down. So, there’s a fancy cutout in the carpet now where you can see the old carpet. I don’t care. I just don’t like flesh colored furniture. The owners left a lot of other stuff that we’re going to put down in the garage. We’ve been told the big plant they left is impossible to kill so at least I don’t have to worry about that responsibility. Of all the things I do that I don’t feel bad about, I’d feel bad if I killed someone’s plant. I’ll work on that….

We have about a billion hangers coming in our shipment. But, we need them now. And hangers are about 4 dollars for a dozen. Seems silly to buy them when so many are on the way….

Kelsey went to a free comedy show at the Powerhouse on Sunday night with the other homeschoolers she met here. Apparently, they met a rather famous fellow (we saw him on a game show the other night) and had their photo taken with him. She said he was very funny.

WEDNESDAY

I ended up going to the exact same grocery store I’ve been going to all along in New Farm. None of the others had a delivery service. As it turned out I bought so many groceries that it came out cheaper to take a taxi anyway. Lesson learned. The taxi driver who came to pick me up immediately commenced to telling me how much he hated picking up passengers at shopping centers. Perhaps I’m getting used to the way they say things here since I didn’t get my feelings hurt. I just thought to myself, “I’m tired, I’m hungry, I have 20 bags of groceries …just fucking drive”. He continued with his complaining for nearly the whole ride but his accent was one of the thickest I’ve heard so for all I know he could have been calling me a plethora of filthy names. To his credit, he did help me load and unload the groceries though. My gosh, what an undertaking though. I must have been at the store for over 2 hours trying to find what I needed and figure out what some of that stuff was. Turns out that “caster sugar” is just powdered sugar so technically I had written it twice on my shopping list. I thought I would get a cake mix so Benji and I could bake a cake….I had a whopping 3 choices. And if you want icing in a can…..two choices…vanilla and chocolate. But the bread selection is enormous. Row after row of breads. Kangaroo meat is a really, really deep red color. I did not buy any. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen any on menus at restaurants either. Not that I have any intention of eating it. I’m sure it’s delicious and nutritious but I’ll pass. Our ice cream choices have also been very limited. The grocery store is still completely overwhelming and I’m so tired by the time I get out of there. The Farmer’s markets, however, are exhilarating. I love the stand after stand of gorgeous fruits and vegetables. (Though I’d pay double the price for a really good watermelon right now). I’ll be heading over the Farmer’s Market at the Queen Street Mall today for the first time. I can’t wait to see it. I’ve got my little granny shopping trolley so that I don’t have to try to carry everything. It’s tall and black and has wheels so I just pull it along behind me. I’d like to say it makes me feel very cosmopolitan but that would be a lie. It’s rather clumsy feeling but it’s a lifesaver for my back and neck.

Today the sun is shining again. Yesterday was too cold for me. I was so happy to see the sun rising this morning over the river knowing that the sky was not cloudy. The apartment has warmed up reasonably well though the bathroom with it’s ridiculous vented window is still cold. I did a load of laundry this morning to try to help warm things up with the dryer. Stupid thing has been running for nearly 2 hours and the clothes still aren’t dry. Of course, it did take a little siesta somewhere in the middle of it all. Lazy dryer.