I’ve found myself working in a kitchen again after many years, in a deli in the western suburbs. The work keeps me interested, still learning recipes & new techniques. The other job is just supermarket work; mundane but well-paying. It’s funding this never-ending shopping spree of homewares, furniture & fun things to fill our apartment. I’m also saving for a motorcycle/moped at the moment, so it’s really a fun time in a way, shopping for all this stuff & starting again. Everything’s so new & fresh. A little retail therapy has been good after living rough on the road.  A new camera is pretty high on my shopping list, so hopefully this site will come back to life with some colour.

I’ll try to stop by more often. Sorry for the awkward pauses in the chatter. We have internet in the apartment now so I’ll be a little more net-active. Btw I tried the Wordpress app for the iPhone numerous times but it crashed on uploading every time; excuses, excuses.

It seems we’re gonna be staying here a few more weeks at least; our wallets prevent us from going any further south at this stage, so I’ve been doing the whole job-seeking thing & attending job interviews. So not fun.

On the fun-side though, we’ve already caught up with a lot of our friends & fam, eaten a lot of sushi & curry, caught up with cinema & even managed to attempt a spot of camping at Somerset dam with our friend Jeremy the other day. It’s been quite a busy 14 days.

Brisbane has grown up in a few ways & stayed stagnant in many ways too. The skyline has changed shape in the last 6 years, the stores shuffle about & there are new roadways everywhere, but in many ways Brisbane still feels like a country town. There aren’t many 24hr stores or services & some areas feel quite run-down these days.

Fortitude valley (my ol’ hometown, kinda like the downtown end of the city) has changed in a disappointing way. It’s now generic & mainstream & lost a lot of it’s culture & alternative vibe. It’s sad to see a place change for the worse & it leaves me feeling a little uprooted & foreign. Brisbane just doesn’t really feel like home in a lot of ways now.

There’s not a lot holding us here anymore & we’re keen to move on as soon as our bank accounts allow. Brisbane is still the town I grew up in but without sounding smug I almost feel like I grew OUT of it, all the same. Coming “home” after 6 years has actually made me feel further away from home somehow. Quite homeless & disorientating. I’m not sure if there’s anywhere I’ll feel at peace anymore. The world is big & small at the same time & right now I crave the feeling of being settled, but without knowing where to set.

So I sign off with a favourite quote of mine “Not all who wander are lost” … but some of us are, maybe just a little.

The plan so far is to start off in Brisbane, my hometown. As I mentioned in previous posts, it’s been a long time since I spent good time with my fam so I’d like to spend a couple of weeks getting to know them all again & catching up with friends. Also, we have a lot of belongings in storage there which we’ll need to sort through & arrange to truck down south.

The next stop is Sydney. That’s where we’re going to be catching up with Nik’s family & trying to fatten our wallets once again with some steady work. Wallets restored, the last stop will probably be Melbourne, where we intend to set up “home”. It seems all our Brisbane friends have ended up in Melbourne, down there in the drizzly, artsy town & while I haven’t even been there I can understand why. It seems to be the cultural centre of Australia & a little more bohemian or cosmopolitan than our hometown Brisbane. I’m looking forward to exploring Melbourne & experiencing something new & the familiar combined. I’m excited to be going home to Australia, but finding home in a new city.

2 more days in Arizona, 5 more days in the US, then it’s hello to the southern hemisphere.

So long America. Thanks for the memories.

I’m feeling incredibly upbeat at the moment. I never thought I’d be so excited about returning to Australia, but being away so long has had me missing a few things…

Seeing family

It’s been way too long since I saw my family & while only one of them has entered the internet era I find it really hard to keep in touch with them while living in different timezones & having no phone. Besides, writing *hugs* just does not match a real hug.

Seeing friends

Unlike my family, all my friends are easy to keep in contact with online. Thanks to holes like facebook & twitter I can chat with them all at the click of a button. However after such a long time being away you really start to crave some face-time with buddies & have that casual “hanging out” experience, playing games & sharing some drinks. I can’t wait to see you all.

Starting back at college

I hate to let things drag. I’m super excited about being a student again & this time I’m going for the full diploma, topped off with modules of sports nutrition & biomechanics. Learning makes you feel alive. I miss it.

Getting a job & earning cash

I miss having money.

Starting a vege garden

One day I would love to get a “farm” with goats, cheese-room & mushroom shed, but until that time comes I’m excited about starting a little suburban vege garden.

Good, cheap & plentiful Asian food

God I miss being able to eat sushi & curry everyday.

Adopting a pet

While I might have to wait a while until I’m ready to adopt goats, I’m looking forward to getting a cat & a dog (& maybe a rabbit). Can’t wait to pick out a new friend from the rspca.

Getting all our Aus stuff out of storage & all our NZ/American stuff arriving by ship

Finally our belongings that are scattered all over the world will eventually meet & all live at the same house, under one roof! Yay furniture & instruments & dvds & kitchen toys…  I can’t wait to decorate & feel settled finally!

A few particular food items

Australian cheeses (How did the US go so wrong with their cheese?). I can’t wait to demolish a whole wheel of brie to myself or a wedge of bleu… My mum better have some feta in the fridge when I get there…

Chocolate! (God I miss Australian-style chocolate. American stuff is way too salty & not creamy at all)

Montes (Those Arnotts cookies. It’s a childhood thing… Yes Rach, I still call them “koala noses”) Oh, & Tim Tams!

Wine. Oh dear god how I’m craving wine.

And all those “treats” we just haven’t been able to afford (like olives!) while traveling, & all those familiar brands from childhood…

*sigh* I think my stomach is homesick more than anything.

Cooking

I seriously miss cooking. All our motel room has is a microwave & no, that is NOT cooking. Before that all we had was fire. I want a proper kitchen damnit! And I wanna bake some bread & pizzas, stir-fry, roll some sushi, bake a cheesecake, fry some pancakes, brew a long curry… I’m gonna go crazy when we finally get a kitchen. And I’ll be posting all the food-adventures here too, don’t you worry.

Hmm… What else am I excited about? Oh too much! I’m wriggling with excitement guys. Australia here I come!

I’ve read that creating lists is a typical Capricorn habit, like Virgos. Anyone else out there love doing this? It’s particularly nerdy, but very satisfying.

1. Mexican Fast Food & Supermarkets:

To my friends unfamiliar with US foods, Mexican food is everywhere in the Southwest here, like I mean everywhere! (There’s probably 20+ on this street alone) I suppose I am actually more familiar with Mexi-cali foods to be honest (I don’t want to offend any Mexicans reading). My Australian friends just would not believe the selection of Mexican foods you can find, particularly in California & Arizona. There is always a good vegetarian selection, bold flavours, salads, cheesy dishes, bean dishes… & my favourite part of all…

The Salsa Bar! A lesson to the Aussies & Kiwis reading, this is something you’ll find in pretty much every Mexican joint over here. It is a self-serve bar filled with a selection of salsas, pickles, chilies & if you’re lucky guacamole. I’m one of those people that grabs a container (or 3) of each one. Just picture me at Baja Fresh with a plate of tortilla crisps going backwards & forwards to the salsa bar. I could stay there all day. Man I’m gonna miss that.

2. US Driving Style:

Speeds- Now, I’m no speed demon exactly, but I have now spent more time on US roads than I ever did on Australasian roads. That means I’m now very accustomed to their style of driving & speeds. When driving on main roads & freeways you can drive over 120kms/hr a lot of the time. That is considered insanely fast by Australian & New Zealand standards. Even the general “suburban” speeds are a hell of a lot faster than other countries. American drivers are used to these speeds & really are better drivers for it no doubt. Just watch LA drivers; they weave in & out constantly & follow very close. Now, I’m not saying these are good driving practices, but just the fact that these drivers are able to do this is pretty amazing to watch.

Right on a red- “Wha?” you say? Well, in the US you’re allowed to make a right turn even if the light is red. It’s more like a “give way” situation. I really like this rule & am gonna miss it.

3. Customer Service:

American customers are incredibly demanding (no offense dudes) but it has created a customer service standard that is impeccable. When you’re in a store you can expect to be greeted every time on entry. At food places they will be very precise with your order, wish you a good day, provide anything you ask & top up your drink when it’s half full.

That brings me to…

4. Drink Refills:

This is standard in the US. Everywhere has free drink refills on soda, coffee & iced tea (Yes, iced tea is also standard at the soda stand). Even convenience stores & gas stations will offer a discounted refill price if you bring in your cup again.

5. Diverse Landscape:

Now, I know Australians will want to argue this one. True, Australia’s landscape is almost as diverse as the US, but the difference is distance. In Australia you would have to travel thousands of miles to see the diversity. In America, California in particular, you can go from snow to desert to forest to the beach all within a day. It’s absolutely incredible. No matter what your mood is you can find it for a day-trip.

6. 99c Stores:

Now, there is nothing even close in Australia/NZ to the “99c Only Stores” over here. Hear this, I can buy fruit, vegetables, pretty much all my groceries items there, housey stuff, toys, toiletries, everything. From a carton of eggs to badminton sets, you can buy everything for only 99c. This week we got punnets of blueberries & soy chorizo even!

7. Fall:

There may be parts of Australia down south that experience the seasons different to my experience in QLD, I’m not sure, but it feels like Australia doesn’t show the 4 seasons as strong as America. Fall is such a beautiful time of year over here, watching the trees go through all the colour stages is wonderful.

8. Holidays:

Halloween- Australia has attempted to adopt Halloween in areas, but has nothing on the American Halloween. It is so damned festive you couldn’t ignore it if you tried. Every house’s front porch has a jack o’ lantern, the lawns are covered in decorations, kids are running around the neighbourhood on a crazy sugar high. It’s such a fun holiday, I will really miss it.

Thanksgiving- Last year I celebrated my first thanksgiving, as we don’t have it in Australasia. While I’m still learning the history of the holiday it was hard to not get caught up in festivities. Closely following Halloween & soon followed by Christmas it feels like the holiday season never ends. The stores are full of pumpkins & good food, the locals yell “Happy holidays” at you & it’s kinda impossible to feel miserable amongst it all.

White Christmas- While we were in motels at that point it was really hard to make “home” feel Christmasy (I’m a sucker for decorations & the big meal etc). We didn’t even make a good meal, but what was special was experiencing a white Christmas. We were actually in California at the time & they had an unseasonably cold winter, with snow falling where there shouldn’t be. While some locals complained, this was amazing for us. We made snowmen & drove about the streets just staring at the beautiful white. I will have awesome memories from our first Christmas in America.

9. The Accents:

Going from city to city you will notice different accents in the US. It’s been great learning all the different sounds & pronunciations.

10. The American Personalities:

They’re boisterous, chatty, loud & opinionated & I like it. Even just walking through the supermarket you end up in conversation as fellow shoppers comment on your basket contents or what you’re wearing. Australians (& even more so New Zealanders) seem so introverted & quiet by comparison. When I first arrived in the US I found these traits quite funny, comical & I wasn’t confident interacting with everyone constantly, but I came to love it quite quickly. I’m probably going to get chat-withdrawals when I leave.

This is such a generalization, it may even sound offensive, but it’s just my observation & I say it all with love.

11. American TV & Hulu:

Americans probably don’t realize how many media websites are only able to be accesed from within the country. So, when we leave we will lose Hulu.com & the Sci Fi Channel site (now syfy), where we can watch all the tv shows we want whenever we want as soon as they’re aired on tv. Australia is quite behind on a few of our favourite shows, so unless you wanna get illegal it means waiting a long time for some things to get to Australian television (& some things may not make it at all). I will also miss understanding pop culture references, localized jokes in media & seeing big celebrities in commercial ads (Bill Shatner on the funny Priceline ads, hearing Keifer Sutherland’s voice on all the Bank Of America ads etc)

There are tonnes of other little things I’ll miss that I’ve forgotten to list. Maybe I’ll add to it as I think of them…

Prepping my fingers for some typing-action.

See you very soon…

Funny timing, since I just posted Desert Tribute; it’s like I was tempting fate when I wrote the words “gonna miss all this space one day when we leave.” but we are indeed leaving town. This weekend we’re leaving the desert & moving to LA, the big (& smoggy) city.

Our bedroom here has a new occupant arriving soon & we’re on to a new destination. Next time you hear from me I will posting from a new location, making a mess in a new kitchen, exploring a new backyard, sweating in a new gym & kicking back in a new lounge.

See you soon folks!

Thanks to my amazing husband, Nik, my site has had a renovation once again & I feel very much at home instantly with this one.

Thanks Nik, I think it’s beautiful.

One thing you may notice is a new button up there, “Gym”. Yep, now you can see updates on my progress.. & defeats, my good days & bad, plus all the new things I’m learning in the health & fitness dept. This area is more for myself than readers to be honest. I need a place to track my fitness, to get myself excited about improvement & collect inspirations. I’ve been following a few blogs lately, from athletes & people in the industry & I love how they get me revved up about my own fitness, & I figure by seeing my progression I can stir my own inspiration & create my own energy here. It’ll be easy to track what works for me & what holds me back when it’s laid out in front of me (& the rest of the world!) in all honesty.

So yeh… welcome home friends. Cuppa tea?

This week we got a membership at our local library. It’s only has a small selection, but I found a few things worthy of coming home with us on the first shelf-scan..  

I honestly haven’t read a cookbook in a while. Most of my foodie-reading comes from online communities these days. Books can become outdated pretty quickly with fast-moving food trends, but I found this gem- India With Passion. It’s a stunning book filled with some of my favourite foods.

It’s beautifully illustrated with photography that immerses you in Indian street culture & real home kitchens. I can’t wait to stock up on spices & dig into some of these recipes.

I’ve copied so many out of it already. There’s tandoori paneer & aloo gobhi & flatbreads…  I’ve never ventured into making Indian breads despite being a big fan of them at restaurants.

I think I’m about to take the plunge.

That book was definitely the pick of the bunch.

I also found an Anthony Bourdain title, which I wasn’t familiar with. I was looking for Kitchen Confidential, his highly praised title in foodie communities but the library doesn’t stock it, so I grabbed this one instead. It’s typical Bourdain so far, but less of his food-snobbery & more nostalgic kitchen stories, reminiscing of his early days working his way up in the chef trade. Therefore it is filled with culinary horror-stories, & not the book to read for hungry daydreams.

On an earlier visit we spotted something at the helpdesk that caught our eye. A graphic novel of Labyrinth released by Tokyo Pop. So as soon as we had a library card in hand we went in search for it on the shelf. While I couldn’t find Labyrinth in stock I did however find Dark Crystal vol 1! I haven’t read it yet but a quick flick through shows nice graphics & I’m hoping the story translates nicely. It’s scary when an old favourite is released in a new format..

I also found a book about home canning & preserving foods. While it was a great book it was a bit of a tease since I don’t have any canning equipment at the moment. Why do I do that to myself?

You get my full post with the photos & all, regardless whether I use the “read more” button to break the post (& face it, I go overboard with pics sometimes, so do you really want 20 photos loading up without even opening my page?) or it displays the first few sentences, all mashed up with no formatting, looking butt-ugly (well, on Google Reader it does)…

I’m not sure which is better, so I’m gonna play around with it. Personally I am a fan of seeing blogs in full (including pics) when I view other sites through a reader (I’m lazy I guess), but if you have my site in your Google Reader I’d be interested to know other peoples’ preferences.

& if you use any other reader like Blogger ,or ones I’m less familiar with, I’d be even more interested in hearing from you.

Thanks!

Oh and don’t be a lurker. I get a lot of traffic these days but no chatter.