Cooling off down under!

My apologies for such a run of blogastination. No excuse

So, things are going well for Amanda and I. I am still looking for work which has been quite frustrating, but after talking with others that have moved here or know others that have moved here from overseas, what I am going through is normal. Things work a little differently here and every week I find out just how different. I realized a few weeks ago that resumes (called CV's here) are very different than the American style resume. In the US, you are meant to keep it to 1 page and 2 if you have to, but no more. Here, a resume is expected to be at least 3 pages and should not go over 6 pages. There is a much larger focus on achievements within each role you have had as opposed to the responsibilities for that role. So, a few weeks ago, I completely redid my resume. It feels way too long, but "when in Rome...". I've also decided to broaden my horizons and not wait for the perfect job. I'll keep you all posted about jobs.

The weather is cooling off here. It has been perfect! The days are low 70's and it gets down to low/mid 50's at night. The rain is picking up, but we have not had any truly soaking periods of rain. It might rain for a few hours at the most, but any rain is good. Apparently, there is a 65% chance of above normal rain this winter. It would take 2-3 years of well above average rain to replenish the water supply in Australia. At this point, the water capacity it 30.2% for Melbourne, but it has plateued with the rain we have had for the last month. When we got here, it was at 36%. When it gets to 29.3%, we go to Phase 4 water restrictions. Looks like we may be able to avert Phase 4.

With autumn upon us, that means its football season. Aussie Rules Football that is. No one actually calls it Aussie Rules Football, just footy. I joined a fantasy footy league and surprisingly, I am ranked 6th out of 16 in our league. Being in a league has helped me to quickly learn the rules and who the major players are. It is a great sport. Essentially, you have 2 teams of 18 that play in a huge oval shaped field. The object is to move the ball to the opponent’s end of the field and quick the ball through the uprights for 6 points. You can move the ball by kicking it to one of your teammates and if it travels at least 15 meters and your teammate catches the ball cleanly, play stops and they get to kick from there (kind of like Ultimate frisbee). You can also run with the ball, but every 20 meters, the ball has to touch the ground. Lastly, you can handball to a teammate. You're not allowed to actually throw the ball, so you have to hit it out of your hand with a closed fist like an underhanded volleyball serve. When the ball hits the ground it is live and any one can get it. If the ball is on the ground covered by a heap of players, the play will stop and the umpire will bounce the ball on the ground and the "ruckmen" from each team jump to try to tap it to one of their teammates. Here is a link with much more info if you are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aussie_Rules_Football

Footy is a national sport, but is most popular in Melbourne. Originally, it was only played in Melbourne and each major neighborhood had their own team. Today, half of the teams have moved to other cities in Australia. There are still 8 teams in Melbourne, so any given weekend, there are 3-4 games to go to. I haven't gone to a game yet, but next weekend should be my first: Sydney at St. Kilda. Sydney is one of those teams that started in Melbourne (it represented South Melbourne) but has moved once the sport became national. St. Kilda is the suburb (they call the neighborhoods suburbs here) right on the beach. I haven't picked my team yet, but I am taking my time. It is a very important decision and I have friends all pulling me to support there team, but it could take me all season to decide on a team.

Rugby and Cricket are the other popular sports here in Australia. With the exception of Melbourne, Rugby is the most popular sport in Australia. I've watched a couple games on TV and it looks interesting, but I have only figured out the basics. Cricket is popular throughout Australia, but mostly with the older generations. If you don't understand the game (like me) it can be very boring. They are struggling with getting younger people interested in the game and have made some modifications to the game to make it more exciting. In the original style of cricket, a match can last a few days. They introduced “Test Cricket” which only lasts 1 day. People that are into Cricket are very passionate about and have tried to tell me about all of little things happening that makes it interesting. I think it is a lot like baseball. These same people tell me that the few times they have watched baseball they find it boring. Of course, I try to tell them that there is so much going on with every pitch in terms of where the players are positioned, the pitch count etc. I guess it is just how much you know about the sport. Eventually, I want to learn everything I can about Cricket, so I can watch it with the same interest I watch a baseball game.

Oddly enough, because of the internet, I feel closer to what’s going on in US sports than when I was in Maine. I subscribed to MLB TV so I can watch any baseball game I want to and everyday I check the news and of course follow my fantasy baseball team. I can’t believe the Patriots traded for Randy Moss! What is that all about?

All of our stuff finally arrived in Melbourne yesterday, but it still need to go through customs. It’s amazing that going a few months without our “stuff” has made us realize how little we actually need. With that said, it will feel a lot more like home after unloading all of our boxes. I’ll be very happy to get my mountain bike. You can bike year round here and there are so many trails to explore.

That’s it for now and after such a long period without blogging, I hope there is still someone out there reading this. I will try to blog more often!