Last Monday, I started my new job at Deakin University. Since then I have received numerous messages inquiring as to how it is going, and what if anything is different about the universities here vs. back at home.
To say it is different would be an understatement. To say it is better or worse than the universities within the American system would be impossible. You simply cannot compare apples to oranges.
Let's start with terminology. I will do my best not to confuse people, but it's a bit inevitable.
1. Faculty of Business and Law. What does this mean? Well, simply stated I work for the "college of business and law" however, my staff id says I am the Faculty of Business and Law. It would be a cool party trick at home I think, to whip my id out and make others think I am a faculty member in law. Certainly, it appears I may be more intelligent here than in Texas. I am a Faculty of B&L Adviser. This does not mean I advice the faculty, although that could be interesting. I advise students studying business and law.
2. Units=classes. The term "hours" is not existent here. Instead, you need anywhere from 24 to 32 units to graduate depending on your course of study. A unit equals 1 class. You typically take 4 units per trimester (I will address this soon too).
3. Weighted Average Mark or WAM= GPR/GPA. A score of 50 and above means you passed. Anything below is a fail.
4. Semester does not exist at Deakin. Instead there are 3 trimesters. T1 starts in March, T2 in July, and T3 in November.
5. Financial aid=HECS. Very different however. Instead of attempting to explain, I will include the link for anyone who is interested in learning more: http://studyassist.gov.au/sites/studyassist/helppayingmyfees/hecs-help/pages/hecs-help-welcome#WhatIsHECS-HELP.
6. Course=major in the US. Here you might study your course of Bachelor of Commerce. This is your degree. You may or may not have a declared major. You may study a Bachelor of Sport Management and then later declare a major, which could be anything from finance to interactive marketing.
Just a few things I have learned in my first week.
Now let's talk culture. The American system tends to two things different:
1. Campus culture
2. Customer service
In terms of campus culture, there is very little identity associated with the university systems here. No athletic events, no Reveille walking around, no military association, no frats, etc. Pretty much it seems that the students go to university to get an education within the classroom (gasp) and then work. They tend to live at home and it also seems that the majority of friendships happened outside of the university system. There is very little loyalty that I have seen within families as well as to which university one may attend,. Siblings go wherever and there really doesn't seem to be any competition between the universities. This could be credited to the fact that tuition is the same across the board I believe. Although the system is about to become deregulated and institutions will be able to charge what they would like to. This could cause more competition for students.
In terms of customer service, it seems that the staff here are not as geared towards supporting the development of the individual student or assisting them beyond all means. For most, this is a job in which they advise students on the courses but do not venture outside of that bubble to advise or discuss much else. There does not appear to be much of the "how may I help you" statement as there is the "this is what needs to be done" statement. This is not simply a university only characteristic, but more of the way it is in Australia. As a waitress or waiter, you don't work for tips. You just do your job and hopefully the customer gets served along the way. Pretty straightforward.
In general, the staff in the office are all very pleasant. I am amazed at the work that gets done as they arrive around 8:30 am and leave at 5:00 pm. You don't take work home, you leave the stress at the office (if stress exists). They don't send a ton of emails but instead talk to one another even if it means walking down the hallway (gasp #2). This is taking me time to get used to, but I know I will adjust. I actually monitor the number of emails I send because they would be a bit shocked I think if I went all out American on them. I also try to be a little more reserved at this point in time so that I don't come across as intense. In short, I am still in the honeymoon stage. I will say that there seems to be a much better work/life balance. In fact, I get a RDO, or Rostered Day Off pretty much every 19 days. Work/Life balance=something I could get use to.
They ask many questions about how things are done in the States and they are fascinated by the culture of the universities. They are especially interested in my experiences with athletics.
I believe I am learning from them and them from me.
I look forward to learning more and thinking about the pros and cons about both America's and Australia's take on higher education.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Dodge with a Blog Down Under: Day of Days
Captain's Log, Star Date somethingorrather
It was a sunny day, I thought perhaps they had plans and that is why I did not go to school with them to pick up Ian.
I sat and wondered, what could be taking them so long.
I sat and thought, where did I put my toy?
Perhaps I shall walk over to my water bowl and have a drink?
Where are they?
This was my afternoon a few weeks back. Sitting and wondering why my crew had forsaken me and left me behind. These days I go everywhere with them petty much. In fact, most cafés have dog water bowls out. Everyone I meet is just so darn friendly.
When they finally returned home on that fateful day of days, I knew something was just not right. I looked at them. Panic was not on their faces. They made dinner just like always. The boys played and yelled outside as normal. But there was a scent.
Food provider had been doing something with dogs. It was only later after the small things went to bed that I learned the horrible things that had unfolded that afternoon in the school yard at Ian's school. Here is how I understood it:
Rottweiler #1 strolled into the schoolyard (he made have also been a smaller dog, a little smaller than me but that doesn't matter.) I shall call him George.
George saw Rottweiler #2 (or perhaps it was a Schnauzer? Doesn't matter.) I will call him Harry.
George attacked Harry with no concern for the children who had just come out of the school.
That is about the time that Food Provider saw what was happening and thinking that George was attacking a child, ran towards the incident. He proceeded to jump about 15 feet over a crowd of 30 or so people...screaming in horror at the dog fight...they were kicking George. Harry was hurting. His mother was screaming that he was dead. Food Provider reached in with all of his strength and miraculously separated the two, with only his bare hands!! In the process, Harry may have torn a large gash into FP's hand (or maybe it was just two small teeth marks...hard to tell.)
The school nurse came running out. Women were screaming in terror. Men were bowing down at FP's feet. They were in awe of his majestic ways.
Evidently after all was said and done, FP had to get a shot to protect him from whatever horrible things the dogs may have carried.
I am honored that I call myself the Master of this house with such a brave FP as my staff. Really. So much so that I am starting a petition to have a statue erected of him at the school I am also ordering t-shirts. If you want in, let me know.
Until later, watch your pups but know that is my FP is around all is good in the world.
Dodge out.
It was a sunny day, I thought perhaps they had plans and that is why I did not go to school with them to pick up Ian.
I sat and wondered, what could be taking them so long.
I sat and thought, where did I put my toy?
Perhaps I shall walk over to my water bowl and have a drink?
Where are they?
This was my afternoon a few weeks back. Sitting and wondering why my crew had forsaken me and left me behind. These days I go everywhere with them petty much. In fact, most cafés have dog water bowls out. Everyone I meet is just so darn friendly.
When they finally returned home on that fateful day of days, I knew something was just not right. I looked at them. Panic was not on their faces. They made dinner just like always. The boys played and yelled outside as normal. But there was a scent.
Food provider had been doing something with dogs. It was only later after the small things went to bed that I learned the horrible things that had unfolded that afternoon in the school yard at Ian's school. Here is how I understood it:
Rottweiler #1 strolled into the schoolyard (he made have also been a smaller dog, a little smaller than me but that doesn't matter.) I shall call him George.
George saw Rottweiler #2 (or perhaps it was a Schnauzer? Doesn't matter.) I will call him Harry.
George attacked Harry with no concern for the children who had just come out of the school.
That is about the time that Food Provider saw what was happening and thinking that George was attacking a child, ran towards the incident. He proceeded to jump about 15 feet over a crowd of 30 or so people...screaming in horror at the dog fight...they were kicking George. Harry was hurting. His mother was screaming that he was dead. Food Provider reached in with all of his strength and miraculously separated the two, with only his bare hands!! In the process, Harry may have torn a large gash into FP's hand (or maybe it was just two small teeth marks...hard to tell.)
The school nurse came running out. Women were screaming in terror. Men were bowing down at FP's feet. They were in awe of his majestic ways.
Evidently after all was said and done, FP had to get a shot to protect him from whatever horrible things the dogs may have carried.
I am honored that I call myself the Master of this house with such a brave FP as my staff. Really. So much so that I am starting a petition to have a statue erected of him at the school I am also ordering t-shirts. If you want in, let me know.
Until later, watch your pups but know that is my FP is around all is good in the world.
Dodge out.
Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend
It's been awhile since I written. This has been intentional. The past few months have been difficult, and the past month has been different and challenging in new ways. There have been times in which I have felt very confused. Thrilled to spend time with Evan while Ian is at school and yet bored with the day. I have struggled with the fact that I want to be with the kids, be present for drop off and pick ups, be there for as many cuddles as I can and the fact that I would like to work in an office again, where I can assist people in maximizing their strengths.
I have read many blogs and articles recently about staying at home with children and being a working mother. I can say that I agree with both sides of the story, but for me there was one that resonated with me- the fact that I want my children to know I did something for myself, made a difference in the lives of others which is tied to my core values, and followed my passions. Different mothers have different passions. My passion is to help people while also being available for my children. I believe I have found a good position to help me support my passion.
I am to start a new job at Deakin University next week (as long as all is good with my work visa.) This job is supposed to be family friendly…in the sense that I was told that when you leave at 5 pm, you truly leave the work behind. I was not sure if I believe this, but after trying to get a response from people after 5 pm I believe this is really the case. Furthermore, the Aussies have many laws in place which ensure you can have a balance. For example, there are options for flexible work schedules which could result in 4.5 day weeks or 19 day months, etc. You can also "purchase" leave so that you can take more weeks off which is good for school holidays. I will explore this more after I start to determine the best schedule for our family.
What I have discovered is that in the US, I loved to work but that I really was living to work. Here I believe the philosophy is that you work to live…meaning you work so that you can maintain your desired lifestyle. I loved my job at Texas A&M, but I spent many nights awake with anxiety over a variety of issues, whether it was tied to a student situation or perhaps an impossible task. While working in scholarships and financial aid may not seem too stressful, it is interesting to know that often times a mess up could result in the loss of funding, whether it be private, state, or federal. Furthermore, when you have 60,000 students at your campus, you have many emails, phone calls and visitors which require full attention. Add donors and foundations in, along with institutional, state, and federal "visitors" or auditors, and you typically have very little time to spend on your actual job tasks. This often means that those staff are working late hours and weekends, and not sleeping through the peak times. When it comes to funding ones education, finances can be a stressor and those in the scholarships and financial aid office know this. We were often times the subject of criticism because one or more processes had run into issues, often times outside of our direct control. We always worked however to do the very best we could for our students. It was stressful. I took a lot of the stress home. Even when I was with the children I was often times thinking about little Sallie or Joe Aggie and wondering what I could do to rectify the situation or what options I could provide to help them out. I couldn't leave it at the office. Texas A&M was my life and my identity. (Perhaps you should hug your Scholarships & Financial Aid advisor today!)
Knowing how stressed I was back at home, I was a bit worried to apply for a job and go back to work. I enjoyed my stress free mornings of getting Ian to school and hanging the laundry on the line without any major rush. However, I applied for the job, went on the interview (the only interview I have had) and was offered the position last week. If all goes well with my visa, I should start next Monday.
I am looking forward to going back to work and to learning all about the university system here. I am hoping that I will be able to use my teaching and facilitation experience one day, but for now I am going to enjoy advising students and then going home at the end of the day to my kiddos.
Nothing can replace my time at Texas A&M. With all the stress, came a lot of joy. The students that I was able to work with always made my day blessed, even when I was dealing with some of the not-so-pleasant ones (the good outnumbered the bad.)
The boys aren't to sure about me going back to work, but I have told them it is a necessity right now. I don't want to miss out on any time with them however, and so I will always evaluate the situation and be sure that my work does not become my identity. I don't want to live to work, but work to live and spend time with my family.
I have read many blogs and articles recently about staying at home with children and being a working mother. I can say that I agree with both sides of the story, but for me there was one that resonated with me- the fact that I want my children to know I did something for myself, made a difference in the lives of others which is tied to my core values, and followed my passions. Different mothers have different passions. My passion is to help people while also being available for my children. I believe I have found a good position to help me support my passion.
I am to start a new job at Deakin University next week (as long as all is good with my work visa.) This job is supposed to be family friendly…in the sense that I was told that when you leave at 5 pm, you truly leave the work behind. I was not sure if I believe this, but after trying to get a response from people after 5 pm I believe this is really the case. Furthermore, the Aussies have many laws in place which ensure you can have a balance. For example, there are options for flexible work schedules which could result in 4.5 day weeks or 19 day months, etc. You can also "purchase" leave so that you can take more weeks off which is good for school holidays. I will explore this more after I start to determine the best schedule for our family.
What I have discovered is that in the US, I loved to work but that I really was living to work. Here I believe the philosophy is that you work to live…meaning you work so that you can maintain your desired lifestyle. I loved my job at Texas A&M, but I spent many nights awake with anxiety over a variety of issues, whether it was tied to a student situation or perhaps an impossible task. While working in scholarships and financial aid may not seem too stressful, it is interesting to know that often times a mess up could result in the loss of funding, whether it be private, state, or federal. Furthermore, when you have 60,000 students at your campus, you have many emails, phone calls and visitors which require full attention. Add donors and foundations in, along with institutional, state, and federal "visitors" or auditors, and you typically have very little time to spend on your actual job tasks. This often means that those staff are working late hours and weekends, and not sleeping through the peak times. When it comes to funding ones education, finances can be a stressor and those in the scholarships and financial aid office know this. We were often times the subject of criticism because one or more processes had run into issues, often times outside of our direct control. We always worked however to do the very best we could for our students. It was stressful. I took a lot of the stress home. Even when I was with the children I was often times thinking about little Sallie or Joe Aggie and wondering what I could do to rectify the situation or what options I could provide to help them out. I couldn't leave it at the office. Texas A&M was my life and my identity. (Perhaps you should hug your Scholarships & Financial Aid advisor today!)
Knowing how stressed I was back at home, I was a bit worried to apply for a job and go back to work. I enjoyed my stress free mornings of getting Ian to school and hanging the laundry on the line without any major rush. However, I applied for the job, went on the interview (the only interview I have had) and was offered the position last week. If all goes well with my visa, I should start next Monday.
I am looking forward to going back to work and to learning all about the university system here. I am hoping that I will be able to use my teaching and facilitation experience one day, but for now I am going to enjoy advising students and then going home at the end of the day to my kiddos.
Nothing can replace my time at Texas A&M. With all the stress, came a lot of joy. The students that I was able to work with always made my day blessed, even when I was dealing with some of the not-so-pleasant ones (the good outnumbered the bad.)
The boys aren't to sure about me going back to work, but I have told them it is a necessity right now. I don't want to miss out on any time with them however, and so I will always evaluate the situation and be sure that my work does not become my identity. I don't want to live to work, but work to live and spend time with my family.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Today, I met a really beautiful soul. Having Dodger at the park typically attracts people, as they are always interested in him. Today I was approached by a set of twins and their mother, who looked on the outside very different that the other parents. She had beautiful dreads and plenty of piercing. She sat down and we instantly starting chatting. She knew right away I was from the States and was inquisitive about my experience here so far. We talked about the little things of convenience that I miss (hello drive through pharmacies) and some of the things I don't miss (guns, of course among a few other things).
I got the feeling as we were talking that other parents weren't too keen on her look. But I found her fascinating. She explained to me that she was essentially homeless for the time as she and her husband and three children were living with her parents and siblings. "In between homes…" she said. She was my age and so I could relate to her about what that must feel like, considering I just made a big move and felt homeless a bit. She talked about her siblings, the mistakes she had made, and the fact that she hoped they would learn from her. We talked about her travel experience to the States and the many other places we want to travel. Her kids followed us down to the oval while I let Dodger have a run and we talked more about the challenges of raising kids. It was simple conversation. We talked about potty training, how friendly people were in the US (her words I promise), the size of the meals in the States, and where you could find organic items around here. I made mention of Petty's Orchard and she indicated she had not been there before. She was going to make plans to check it out. We talked about free things to do with the kids, since everything seems to be expensive around this area.
Of course, then I walked home and had the horrible interaction with Dragon Lady.
It made me wonder why some people are so angry in life? What could possibly make these neighbors so hateful?
Then there was this women at the park. She had seen some hard times. She was so beautiful to me, inside and out. Interacting with those type of locals is what this adventure is all about.
In Mr. Roger's neighborhood, Dragon Lady would not survive. She may appear to be "normal" but her ugliness on the inside is like a rotten apple.
I hope to run into the twin's mother again as she was so unique and so friendly…very considerate; true to herself. People are so interesting if you just give them a chance to show their true colors. I would welcome a neighbor like that.
I got the feeling as we were talking that other parents weren't too keen on her look. But I found her fascinating. She explained to me that she was essentially homeless for the time as she and her husband and three children were living with her parents and siblings. "In between homes…" she said. She was my age and so I could relate to her about what that must feel like, considering I just made a big move and felt homeless a bit. She talked about her siblings, the mistakes she had made, and the fact that she hoped they would learn from her. We talked about her travel experience to the States and the many other places we want to travel. Her kids followed us down to the oval while I let Dodger have a run and we talked more about the challenges of raising kids. It was simple conversation. We talked about potty training, how friendly people were in the US (her words I promise), the size of the meals in the States, and where you could find organic items around here. I made mention of Petty's Orchard and she indicated she had not been there before. She was going to make plans to check it out. We talked about free things to do with the kids, since everything seems to be expensive around this area.
Of course, then I walked home and had the horrible interaction with Dragon Lady.
It made me wonder why some people are so angry in life? What could possibly make these neighbors so hateful?
Then there was this women at the park. She had seen some hard times. She was so beautiful to me, inside and out. Interacting with those type of locals is what this adventure is all about.
In Mr. Roger's neighborhood, Dragon Lady would not survive. She may appear to be "normal" but her ugliness on the inside is like a rotten apple.
I hope to run into the twin's mother again as she was so unique and so friendly…very considerate; true to herself. People are so interesting if you just give them a chance to show their true colors. I would welcome a neighbor like that.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
A Few of My Favorite Things
We have now settled into our rental home and I have began collecting my favorite spots in the house to sit and think about life. Typically this tends to be wherever I might find sun coming through a window. So far, I enjoy my spot on the bed around 2-3 pm. The sun comes beaming through and warms the spot. A second favorite spot in sitting on the couch near our living room windows. This brings joy to me as I can sit and see the beautiful trees and enjoy the scenery. We also have a Butcher bird that frequents our back tree and sometimes I can see him swoop in to grab dinner. I also enjoy sitting on each of the boys' bed and looking out over the trees from the second floor of the house. Really- there is not a bad view from any of the windows in my opinion. So, favorite spots in the house have been found.
Favorite spots out of the house our plentiful. Our local parks are simply amazing. Beautiful walks, lots of wildlife, and plenty of exercise. The spotting of kangaroos is a common occurrence. The spotting of the wombat or echidna that we have recently seen is not so common so we feel quite lucky. I enjoy walking through the gum trees and beautiful park lands and listening for the kookaburra. It's simply not possible to avoid smiling when you hear them laugh. I often times wondering what they are saying. This morning when I heard one laugh I am certain he was telling the other birds to hush up. Today we discovered Petty's Orchard where the boys played in the fenced in playground, kicked a soccer ball with the other kids, crawled all over the tractor in the field, saw kangaroos resting in the orchard, and where Paul and I enjoyed a coffee and fresh apple pie. The boys did their thing independently and we did our thing…enjoyed our coffee and read the paper. It was incredibly enjoyable. The orchard itself is one of the oldest in Melbourne, founded in 1853. It's 5 minutes from our home. We are now making plans for our first trip to Phillip Island to see the Little Penguins and eventually weekends where we can drive down for a day at one of several beaches in the area.
I am still searching for employment and hope to find something soon. Otherwise, I am enjoying learning my way around, spending a lot of time with Evan while Ian is at school, and trying to figure out what to cook in this new land. I drink a lot of tea to stay warm, make a lot of biscuits/scones with fresh cream and yummy jam, and try to make the most of my time with the kids.
And Dodger is enjoying life as well. I should add that in. He pretty much goes everywhere with us it seems. He enjoys his walks and all the new sites and animals that are fun to sniff out. And of course he loves the kangaroos.
Many favorite things. Many more to discover.
Favorite spots out of the house our plentiful. Our local parks are simply amazing. Beautiful walks, lots of wildlife, and plenty of exercise. The spotting of kangaroos is a common occurrence. The spotting of the wombat or echidna that we have recently seen is not so common so we feel quite lucky. I enjoy walking through the gum trees and beautiful park lands and listening for the kookaburra. It's simply not possible to avoid smiling when you hear them laugh. I often times wondering what they are saying. This morning when I heard one laugh I am certain he was telling the other birds to hush up. Today we discovered Petty's Orchard where the boys played in the fenced in playground, kicked a soccer ball with the other kids, crawled all over the tractor in the field, saw kangaroos resting in the orchard, and where Paul and I enjoyed a coffee and fresh apple pie. The boys did their thing independently and we did our thing…enjoyed our coffee and read the paper. It was incredibly enjoyable. The orchard itself is one of the oldest in Melbourne, founded in 1853. It's 5 minutes from our home. We are now making plans for our first trip to Phillip Island to see the Little Penguins and eventually weekends where we can drive down for a day at one of several beaches in the area.
I am still searching for employment and hope to find something soon. Otherwise, I am enjoying learning my way around, spending a lot of time with Evan while Ian is at school, and trying to figure out what to cook in this new land. I drink a lot of tea to stay warm, make a lot of biscuits/scones with fresh cream and yummy jam, and try to make the most of my time with the kids.
And Dodger is enjoying life as well. I should add that in. He pretty much goes everywhere with us it seems. He enjoys his walks and all the new sites and animals that are fun to sniff out. And of course he loves the kangaroos.
Many favorite things. Many more to discover.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch
Home.
Our stuff arrived and we have spent the past week unpacking, going through boxes and trying to determine what would stay packed. We anticipate being in the rental for about 12 months, so we intended to leave many things packed. Our moving adventure began July 20 with a delivery of our new table at 7:30 am. Luckily we were ready to get into the house and were up early. Later that day, another delivery of our large appliances was made. This is when the fun with the neighbors began. The man wasn't too bad at first; just generally grumpy. We went over later to their home to introduce ourselves and to let them know that the moving truck would be at the house early the next day. We share a drive way so it was important for them to know in the event that they needed to move their cars. We did not anticipate the movers to park in the driveway, but on the road instead. That is not what happened however, and thus began the emergence of the Dragon Lady and Hannibal. Yelling, hissy fits, tantrums. I had no idea that two adults could act this way. I was immediately worried. We had not met our landlord yet and I feared that these two grinches would ruin his opinion of us. We went over later that day to apologize for the movers and to offer a nice box of Cadbury Favorites. Mrs. Neighbor dismissed the gift and was equally rude to us. She told us they had lived next door to ice heads and just wanted a nice family. She stated that they clearly did not get nice neighbors. I went through my sad stage at this comment. Then I got to my angry stage. Now I am at my "leave me alone" stage. I am to the point now that if she says something to me, Angry Suzanne will make her appearance.
I was quite pleased when we did meet the landlord that he also said how grumpy they are...in fact, it seems many who have visited have had a run in with them. This is the reason that I posted my warning about parking in the driveway, looking at the driveway the wrong way, or engaging Mr. and Mrs. Neighbor in any decent conversation.
Home.
It is still home regardless of our grumpy neighbors. We had great neighbors in Texas and I really miss that concept of community. Not all Aussies are rude, we just happened to move in next door to the two that have a serious chip on their shoulder. They won't ruin the feeling I get when sitting on my couch or when cuddling with the boys in our bed.
And when we do start dealing meth, we will be sure to let everyone know.
Our stuff arrived and we have spent the past week unpacking, going through boxes and trying to determine what would stay packed. We anticipate being in the rental for about 12 months, so we intended to leave many things packed. Our moving adventure began July 20 with a delivery of our new table at 7:30 am. Luckily we were ready to get into the house and were up early. Later that day, another delivery of our large appliances was made. This is when the fun with the neighbors began. The man wasn't too bad at first; just generally grumpy. We went over later to their home to introduce ourselves and to let them know that the moving truck would be at the house early the next day. We share a drive way so it was important for them to know in the event that they needed to move their cars. We did not anticipate the movers to park in the driveway, but on the road instead. That is not what happened however, and thus began the emergence of the Dragon Lady and Hannibal. Yelling, hissy fits, tantrums. I had no idea that two adults could act this way. I was immediately worried. We had not met our landlord yet and I feared that these two grinches would ruin his opinion of us. We went over later that day to apologize for the movers and to offer a nice box of Cadbury Favorites. Mrs. Neighbor dismissed the gift and was equally rude to us. She told us they had lived next door to ice heads and just wanted a nice family. She stated that they clearly did not get nice neighbors. I went through my sad stage at this comment. Then I got to my angry stage. Now I am at my "leave me alone" stage. I am to the point now that if she says something to me, Angry Suzanne will make her appearance.
I was quite pleased when we did meet the landlord that he also said how grumpy they are...in fact, it seems many who have visited have had a run in with them. This is the reason that I posted my warning about parking in the driveway, looking at the driveway the wrong way, or engaging Mr. and Mrs. Neighbor in any decent conversation.
Home.
It is still home regardless of our grumpy neighbors. We had great neighbors in Texas and I really miss that concept of community. Not all Aussies are rude, we just happened to move in next door to the two that have a serious chip on their shoulder. They won't ruin the feeling I get when sitting on my couch or when cuddling with the boys in our bed.
And when we do start dealing meth, we will be sure to let everyone know.
Dodge with a Blog Down Under: I've Been Away
Howdy,
I know I have not written in awhile. I have moved to my new abode and have no internet access, so I have had to hop down the road to a local joint so that I am able to write.
There is also another reason I don't write much. Lots of adventures. This morning, for example I saw 100's of those super big bunnies again. I couldn't believe my eyes. And now that I know what they taste like, I was salivating. Crying. Yummy roo tails.
My new house will suffice. It has wood floors so I spend a lot of time looking for the slightest bit of rug to lay on. The floors are cold and I am a skinny boy with very little fat, so I need the carpet to relax on. I have Paul and Suzanne trained pretty well, they feed my on cue and let me out the back door when I give them the look. I try not to bark too much, as the neighbors are quite grumpy people and I don't want to rouse them from their cave.
In general, life is good. I get the sense that the boys are happy. I am back on nana duty at night time and spend a considerable amount of time with them until they fall asleep, at which point in time I sneak out of their rooms to my own bed for some good ole r&r.
This is the first "warm" day we have had in awhile. I am looking forward to spring time here as I know it will mean more walks and more adventures and more kangaroos!
Until later, Dodge out.
I know I have not written in awhile. I have moved to my new abode and have no internet access, so I have had to hop down the road to a local joint so that I am able to write.
There is also another reason I don't write much. Lots of adventures. This morning, for example I saw 100's of those super big bunnies again. I couldn't believe my eyes. And now that I know what they taste like, I was salivating. Crying. Yummy roo tails.
My new house will suffice. It has wood floors so I spend a lot of time looking for the slightest bit of rug to lay on. The floors are cold and I am a skinny boy with very little fat, so I need the carpet to relax on. I have Paul and Suzanne trained pretty well, they feed my on cue and let me out the back door when I give them the look. I try not to bark too much, as the neighbors are quite grumpy people and I don't want to rouse them from their cave.
In general, life is good. I get the sense that the boys are happy. I am back on nana duty at night time and spend a considerable amount of time with them until they fall asleep, at which point in time I sneak out of their rooms to my own bed for some good ole r&r.
This is the first "warm" day we have had in awhile. I am looking forward to spring time here as I know it will mean more walks and more adventures and more kangaroos!
Until later, Dodge out.
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