From this weekend

This is my room (newly improved with a 'desk') and Easter dinner:

Brian, Alex, Jordan and me

Feels like Fall

Today is the first day that officially feels like Autumn--not only is it rather cool, but it is the first time it has been overcast (though not rainy) since we returned, three weeks ago. The deciduous trees are even losing their leaves. It is super dry again, so even though the leaves turn brown and fall, they are not really changing pretty colours like red and orange. However, I suppose it is better than those last few Autumns we had in North Carolina, where it would remain very hot through October and the trees would drop their leaves, bright green, from their branches.

Seth would like this weather, and it is too bad he is missing it--he flew back to New York on Wednesday morning. Nonetheless, I am sure he is loving the snow and having a great time being home with his family, especially for Easter. He hasn't been home for Easter in years!

Today, Good Friday, is a public holiday, as is the Monday after Easter. I suppose it has been almost two full weeks since the last public holiday, so it is nice they are giving the Public Servants a four-day weekend to let them unwind. As for me, I will try to get working on a conference presentation, and if I can get it done by tomorrow night I can enjoy my Easter, too.

Here are a few photos from the past two weeks:

Seth showering at BoZo (we got pretty comfortable there, if you couldn't guess!)...

...but we finally found a place to live! The girls we moved in with, Jordan and Alex, are also in the process of unpacking.

Our first morning in the new house. The tiny bedroom looks a bit less cluttered now, but I still don't have a bed! I am getting used to sleeping on the floor and will probably not get one (even though Julien and Heather offered me one). I like the floorspace that even a twin bed would totally devour.

Artur and Moose during their housewarming party. Moose, who grew up in the US, lived in the Emirates for a while and sometimes wears the traditional clothing. Before I took the photo, Artur (from Russia) advised Moose not to say "bomb".

Jan and Greg's farewell party at El Dorado (Dickson). Alecia and Reggie are presenting Jan with a poster-card, while Greg, not paying any attention, is busy yakking away.

Seth's poor, busted up guitar--the case is destroyed, and the guitar itself is also cracked. Before he left he made sure to make a nice big sign so people at the airport would know who is responsible for the damages: Qantas Airways, the main airline in Australia. (This happened last March when he flew back to Australia from the US. Qantas still refuses to pay for the damages).

Kaima came over for a 'visit' on Wednesday. He actually wanted to use the kitchen to bake ultra-cute Japanese muffins!

The very mini, yet delicious, finished product!

New Home!!

Seth and I finally got to move into a house last night! We are now living in Downer, which is the neighborhood just south of Watson (where we used to live with Oanh). I heard about the spare room through people at BoZo but I didn't want to get my hopes up--but on Monday they wrote back and said I was set to move in this week. I asked Jon (whom we met at Johns last year) to help us, and we piled everything into his big red van (it all just barely fit--there wasn't even enough room for Seth so he had to bike up!). We hadn't seen Jon for several months so it was good to catch up with him--he is probably one of the most intriguing people we met at Johns and I will try to make more of an effort to meet up with him in the future.

I couldn't believe how much crap we had accumulated in the past year and a half. Though a lot of it is kitchen stuff, which will be easy enough to use up or get rid of, there are also just boxes and boxes of other things that we wouldn't notice if we didn't have. Especially after travelling and always being aware of what is necessary and valuable enough to carry wherever you go, it makes me really want to just give everything away (or, in my case, I would probably have to be wasteful and throw it away because no one would want my stuff). For example, in the past six weeks Seth and I have only worn just a few changes of clothes, which we hand-wash every few days, and we never missed our other boxes of clothes we left at BoZo. Particularly when we get ready to head back to the US, I don't think the Australian Postal Service offers very cheap rates for sea mail, so we will have to go through everything we have and just start getting rid of anything we don't really need.

Before we showed up at the house, I had never even spoken with any of the house-mates. I was VERY relieved to see they are very friendly, and based on their DVD/CD collection they seem to have a similar style as me. Jordan, the girl I was in contact with, is a new honours student at BoZo (I think her office is next to mine!). Alex, the other house-mate, is also an ANU student (psychology). Since it is a 4-bedroom house, the fourth person to fill it will arrive on Saturday. He is a new PhD student at BoZo who just arrived from the US.

The house is a bit chaotic at the moment since Jordan and Alex just moved in on Monday--they previously lived a few houses down the street but were 'evicted' (ie. it was being remodeled), so they also have boxes everywhere and are in the process of unpacking.

Good news is that Seth was planning to leave for the US this morning but he found out a couple days ago his flight was rescheduled. I think he was annoyed by that but I don't mind :P It will be nice to have this weekend with him, and it is also great he can see the house and meet the girls before heading home.

It felt great to unpack what we could, but it is a very small house for so many people--at least it will encourage me to get rid of unnecessary things, haha! It is also strange to move out of BoZo--Seth had worked out quite a nice routine of playing guitar in the rock garden (which he will continue doing), lifting weights in my office, etc, and I was getting used to showering, cooking, and doing everything else there. It will also take getting re-used to biking a bit further to Uni (Nick's house in Lyneham was only a 10min ride, Downer is nearly 20min). But Jordan drives in everyday and she offered a ride this morning, so I imagine if I ever don't feel well or if the weather is poor I can bum a ride with her.