Oh Crap! I didn't really mean to get hired! I was just starting to get into my daily routine - get Larry off to work, put on a load of laundry, get back into bed, hang out laundry, grocery store to pick up anything I might need for dinner, plus my regular weekly trip to Ikea...How did this happen? I'll tell you how!
We were here for only a week before Larry had to start work. So when he went off to Sydney for orientation, I got busy. One of my tasks while he was away was to start looking for work. I knew about careers.com.au. I sent my resume to a recruiter for a position as a workers' compensation case manager for an insurance company and wouldn't you know that 20 minutes later she called me and I was in for an interview two days later. Well, that's not the job that I got, but it set some expectations regarding response times and was really quite indicative of the lack of qualified candidates for all of the work that is going on in this capital city.
A few days later I was shopping for sheets, comforter and duvet cover near our house. On the advice of the gal waiting on me at the bedding store, I found seek.com.au. After looking for about 10 minutes, I found a job for a Legal Case Manager. I remember this was a Thursday. I had a haircut appointment at 2:30 and I sent my resume for this position before I went to the salon. While I was waiting for the shampoo boy, my cell phone rang. It was a person calling to set up an interview for me for the Legal Case Manager position. Score! Two in a row!
The day before my interview I prepared and researched and read cases to get ready so the people I would be speaking with would actually think that I had a clue about being legal and managing cases. Never mind that I had successfully managed roughly 450 cases at a time at my last job. There was just something fascinating about the work that they did and my research. It was refreshing for me to stretch my brain like this. At this point I had not really gotten used to being Ms. Leisure so I think my brain was overreacting to the intellectual stimuli.
In any event, the interview went great. I got called back for a second interview about two weeks later. My second interview lasted less time than the 6 block walk from our cottage to the office. I was one of several candidates and would get an answer in another week. Well, that Friday happened to be the start of the Perth Fashion Festival. I got to be in attendance at the Every Body Counts cocktail party and fashion show. During the champagne and nibbles event my cell phone rang (mind you it was around 4:30 on a Friday afternoon - who works then?). It was not so good news - I didn't get the Legal Case Manager position because I am not licensed to practise law, but I must have left a positive impression on them as they wanted to know whether I would accept a position as a regular case manager. The salary was a bit lower, but they had to know so that they could get the funding approved to create the position. I was ecstatic and said yes. I found out that I would hear about the position in about a week. This is all under the din of the Carilon CIty Food Court where the cocktail party was going on. In fact, after I hung up with them I returned to the party to end up brushing up quite literally with Jerry Hall who happens to be on an extended stay in Perth while performing in The Graduate.
So for the past two weeks I have not known whether I was going to work or not. After not hearing from them for a week, I decided to start looking again. I had hope that this quasi governmental agency would come up with the funding, but some people say WA means Wait Awhile which is not really what I wanted to do. Plus, it seemed that any job to which I applied I got a call on 15 minutes after I sent in my resume so it should be a snap right? WRONG! One Monday I sent out my resume at least 8 times and some of them for legal assistant/paralegal positions and in fact got rejected within 24 hours! What?!?!?!?!? After two days of huntng and not getting the instantaneous response to which I was accustomed I was starting to get downtrodden. Everyone should have some sympathy for Larry having to deal with the "why haven't they called me yet?" and the "what is taking so long?" and the "why doesn't anyone want to hire me?" Thank God (and Buddah, Allah and the rest) that he has a degree in psychology!
So last Friday I ran errands literally all over Perth. It felt like I went from one end of town to the next. I was walking down Roberts Road (a pretty heavy traffic area, especially on a Friday afternoon before a long weekend) when I got the call from the CEO. I got the job and was to start on Tuesday at 10:00. I was so excited that I went right to this one boutique that I really like and bought myself a new dress for my first week (our container and thus the bulk of my professional clothing has not yet arrived yet). My second stop was to buy a bottle of champagne!
You might be asking yourself what I am going to be doing. Since I will working for the Medical Board of Western Australia which is actually soon to be no more and I have to sign a confidentiality agreement on Tuesday, I am not so sure exactly how much I can share publically. I don't want to make waves before I even start. I will tell you my job in general terms. When someone makes a complaint about a doctor's conduct I will be the one performing the investigation and making recommendations about what should be done to the committee who determines the fate of the doctor. The standard here is not a negligence standard as in a tort action, but maintain standards of professional conduct. The job is an absolutely perfect match for me and I am thrilled. I start on 28 September, right after we celebrate the Queen's Birthday. We are heading to Kings Park for a picnic with some friends.
While I am excited about starting my work, I am going to miss some aspects of not working. I will not miss having to get up and be somewhere at a certain time. I really enjoyed the freedom of no time constraints and deadlines except those that were self imposed and thus readily changeable. What I am looking forward to is the intellectual stimulation and the social interaction that naturally arise from being employed. After some time I will give you an update as to how things are going, but for now it is time to head out to the park and enjoy the last few hours of freedom.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Adios Poblano
Today I decided to test a theory - the theory of Red Sox Nation. Since moving to Perth over a month ago, we've run into only one other American. The story is rather random. Larry and I headed out for a night on the town. We had tickets to see a fashion show comprised of different Western Australian designers that was part of the Perth Fashion Festival. We had drinks in the sophisticatedly decorated Fashion Bar, saw the show and then walked to The George to have dinner. We settled in at our table and the waitress walked up and asked us if we would prefer still, sparkling or tap water. After she left the table, Larry came to the realisation that she had an American accent, or at least a non-Australian/British Caucasian accent. When she returned to the table I asked her if she was from North America. It turned out that she was from Alabama studying for her masters degree in marketing at the University of Western Australia! Since then, I've been on a hunt for more of us.
Evidently there are allegedly around 5,000 Americans living in the Perth metropolitan area. In fact, I am a member of a Meet Up group of American ex-pats in Perth, but apparently the group seems to have gone defunct. I was determined to find more and thought I had figured out how to do it. I had some errands to run in town this afternoon, so I did what any other red blooded American would do before heading out to do errands - I donned my Red Sox hat! I knew that if I was seen by another American at the very least, the resultant surprised glance of seeing a MLB garment in lieu of an AFL garment would be enough to tip me off that I might be in the presence of another State-sider. Off I went on my errands and to my chagrin, not so much as a knowing glance by a passer by. Slightly disappointed, I headed into the back garden since it was nice enough today to start the third of the Millenium series, The Girl who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, that I have been hungrily gobbling up for the past two weeks.
The absence of my fellow Americans is not the only thing missing here. No, I'm not going to talk any more about Tide, but produce, specifically the poblano pepper. Larry and I are making it a habit to attend the Subiaco Farmer's Market here in Subiaco on Saturday mornings. The Market is chock full of different produce vendors (my favourite is the organic market), bakers, spice vendors, eggs, olive oil producers, flowers and the like. In fact the last time we were there we got crapes for breakfast that were just fabulous. Here are some pictures of our last trip to the Farmer's Market.
Larry and the booth that sells crepes.
A view of the stalls.
Us with our loot, including the 2 litre jug of olive oil!
One vendor there has a farm where they raise free range pigs. These pigs are quite large and have course black fur (there were pictures). Apparently the theory is that the pigs are free to roam about and are happier so their meat tastes better - don't laugh because it does. The bacon from this place rivals any bacon you have ever bitten into in the States, hands down. On this particular day, we brought home spicy chorizo as well.
By now you may be asking how this relates to the poblano pepper. The other day I looked up a recipe to use for the chorizo. I found on Epicurious.com a recipe for chorizo, poblano and yam fajitas. It just so happened that I had sweet potatoes that I had also purchased at the Market so it was a perfect recipe for our Sunday dinner, or so I thought.
Larry has one of the most difficult tasks in the world - dealing with my obsessive compulsive disorder. We went to about 4 different produce stands and 3 grocery stores to try and find two poblano peppers for this recipe. Finally, at the last grocery store, the one closest to our house, I asked the fellow stacking apples whether they ever get poblano peppers. He looked at me as if I had just informed him that a UFO had landed in the dairy department. Apparently poblano peppers do not exist in Perth. They will be missed. I ended up using a green bell pepper (known here as capsicum) and a few jalapenos and the recipe turned out great.
Trust me, though, things are not bad here and not everything has to be compromised like my fajita recipe. We just happen to have trade offs. Instead of poblano peppers, we have Peri Peri chicken and pizzas topped with creative items such as garlic prawns, roasted red capsicum and peanut satay sauce; things never heard of in the States, at least in the Tampa metropolitan area. One of the biggest adjustments I have had to make (and am still making) is looking at everything WA does have instead of focusing on things that I perceive as missing. It is the metamorphosis from "how do these people make a salad without hearts of palm?" to "what selections from this antipasto bar will make my salad delicious?"
While I am hitting my stride in my "Lady of Leisure" status, doing things such as taking daily naps, reading lots of books (can't stand the thought of finishing the last Stieg Larsson novel) and getting to the store while everyone else is at work, I think I will do much better and not nit pick all of the small stuff once I get a job. Anyone know of a company in Perth looking to hire?
Evidently there are allegedly around 5,000 Americans living in the Perth metropolitan area. In fact, I am a member of a Meet Up group of American ex-pats in Perth, but apparently the group seems to have gone defunct. I was determined to find more and thought I had figured out how to do it. I had some errands to run in town this afternoon, so I did what any other red blooded American would do before heading out to do errands - I donned my Red Sox hat! I knew that if I was seen by another American at the very least, the resultant surprised glance of seeing a MLB garment in lieu of an AFL garment would be enough to tip me off that I might be in the presence of another State-sider. Off I went on my errands and to my chagrin, not so much as a knowing glance by a passer by. Slightly disappointed, I headed into the back garden since it was nice enough today to start the third of the Millenium series, The Girl who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, that I have been hungrily gobbling up for the past two weeks.
The absence of my fellow Americans is not the only thing missing here. No, I'm not going to talk any more about Tide, but produce, specifically the poblano pepper. Larry and I are making it a habit to attend the Subiaco Farmer's Market here in Subiaco on Saturday mornings. The Market is chock full of different produce vendors (my favourite is the organic market), bakers, spice vendors, eggs, olive oil producers, flowers and the like. In fact the last time we were there we got crapes for breakfast that were just fabulous. Here are some pictures of our last trip to the Farmer's Market.
Larry and the booth that sells crepes.
A view of the stalls.
Us with our loot, including the 2 litre jug of olive oil!
One vendor there has a farm where they raise free range pigs. These pigs are quite large and have course black fur (there were pictures). Apparently the theory is that the pigs are free to roam about and are happier so their meat tastes better - don't laugh because it does. The bacon from this place rivals any bacon you have ever bitten into in the States, hands down. On this particular day, we brought home spicy chorizo as well.
By now you may be asking how this relates to the poblano pepper. The other day I looked up a recipe to use for the chorizo. I found on Epicurious.com a recipe for chorizo, poblano and yam fajitas. It just so happened that I had sweet potatoes that I had also purchased at the Market so it was a perfect recipe for our Sunday dinner, or so I thought.
Larry has one of the most difficult tasks in the world - dealing with my obsessive compulsive disorder. We went to about 4 different produce stands and 3 grocery stores to try and find two poblano peppers for this recipe. Finally, at the last grocery store, the one closest to our house, I asked the fellow stacking apples whether they ever get poblano peppers. He looked at me as if I had just informed him that a UFO had landed in the dairy department. Apparently poblano peppers do not exist in Perth. They will be missed. I ended up using a green bell pepper (known here as capsicum) and a few jalapenos and the recipe turned out great.
Trust me, though, things are not bad here and not everything has to be compromised like my fajita recipe. We just happen to have trade offs. Instead of poblano peppers, we have Peri Peri chicken and pizzas topped with creative items such as garlic prawns, roasted red capsicum and peanut satay sauce; things never heard of in the States, at least in the Tampa metropolitan area. One of the biggest adjustments I have had to make (and am still making) is looking at everything WA does have instead of focusing on things that I perceive as missing. It is the metamorphosis from "how do these people make a salad without hearts of palm?" to "what selections from this antipasto bar will make my salad delicious?"
While I am hitting my stride in my "Lady of Leisure" status, doing things such as taking daily naps, reading lots of books (can't stand the thought of finishing the last Stieg Larsson novel) and getting to the store while everyone else is at work, I think I will do much better and not nit pick all of the small stuff once I get a job. Anyone know of a company in Perth looking to hire?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
In Like Flynn
We've been in our new cottage for one week now. While it is new to us, it is not really new. In fact, it is probably over 100 years old. We have three rooms: bedroom, office and a kitchen/lounge combination. For a place this size we have lots of storage and a beautiful courtyard with a mature lemon tree. Our place is cozy, but the location is second to none. We are three blocks from 2 grocery stores, 2 bakeries, a wine shop and a mile long road full of shops and restaurants. Almost everything you would need is within walking distance. Larry's office is moving to downtown next week and he will be able to have a pleasant 30 minute walk to work, or a 15 minute bus ride. From the locals I've heard that Subiaco, the name of our suburb pronounced sue-bee-AH-co, is quiet in the evenings, but the one night that we walked to dinner there were plenty of people around for our liking. I think the person I was talking to was referring to the night club scene to which I reply, been there, done that. In my ripe old age of 36 I find that a nice dinner out followed by a simple stroll can really elevate the soul.
Some pictures of the empty house:
The front of our place. It is a duplex with one common wall.
This is the back courtyard area. We are really looking forward to spending more time out there when the weather warms up. It warmed up a little bit over the past weekend, just enough to tease us, but now the temperatures are back into the teens and single digits at night. A humorous aside related to weather; the Australian Broadcast Channel (ABC) does national news and weather. I was watching the weather forecast one night and the weatherman actually said, "and for those of you who care, the barometric pressure is ...." That made me laugh out loud, but perhaps you had to be there to see it.
This is the kitchen/lounge area. Lounge translated into American English is living room. If it looks quite empty to you, that's because it is. The furniture should start rolling in perhaps as early as tonight. It will be really great to have before and after pictures. I won't bore you with pictures of the front room and our bedroom. They are pretty non-descript especially since they are empty.
While the saying "in like Flynn" would connote that the transition was smooth, we have faced some challenges as well. I hate to label these things as challenges because in the grand scheme of life they are just slight nuisances. As one of my mom's friends used to say, a pebble in the sneaker of life."
Challenge 1: Buying furniture.
Furnishing a home from scratch is not easy, especially if you are as spatially challenged as I am. Thank goodness that with the help of my super designer friend, Brynne, we took the first steps of ordering bar stools and a couch. Originally, we thought we would get all the furniture for the lounge in one fell swoop. This fantasy lasted about 15 minutes as we wandered around the furniture store trying to figure out whether each piece would fit in our space and whether it would match. Furniture is not cheap here and since we didn't want to make a mistake we decided to start baby stepping.
After we get the stools and couch we can decide whether the next piece will fit and so on and so forth. While this will mean that getting settled might take a little bit longer, it will mean that we hopefully will not make any big, expensive mistakes.
Another lesson I learned is that buying major furniture is like buying a car. Apparently there is a large mark up on the price and store keepers are willing to negotiate a deal. I found a bed, for example at one store. The sales person told me that the bed was on sale for one price, but he could do a little better and wrote another price down on a card for me. I thought this interesting so a few hours after I got home, I called him back, told him I wanted the mattress, but my husband thought it was too expensive. I asked him if he could do any better and he took another $80 off the price!! While I didn't get that particular bed, I did end up getting a bed that retailed for $4,999.00 for $2,300. The bonus was the delivery. They told me between 2 and 4 PM and actually showed up at 3:30!! Given the reputation of Western Australians for having their own time table, I was impressed.
Challenge 2: Home Wares.
If you've been following the blog you know that much of what we packed up in the container to send over here was supplies for the kitchen, homewares, glasses, dishes, pots and pans. We learned about a week ago, that our container has not even left the US yet and is not due to arrive in Perth until October 20 after which it must have the customs inspection that can take up to 14 days. Basically, I should have all of my kitchen gear in time to make Thanksgiving dinner (forget the fact that if I am working by then I will have to use a slow cooker for the turkey since I will have to work that day - no Thanksgiving celebration here). As a result, I have had to do things like buy a couple of pans, replace the dishes, glasses and cutlery and purchase a few other cooking implements. Oh darn (sarcasm added).
Having my new kitchen implements has actually been a bright spot as I can now investigate the local cuisine and start to use some early fruit of the bumper crop off our lemon tree. I've made some great dishes with our lemons, including a pasta with broccoli in lemon sauce with pancetta croutons (almost burnt down the house because we had no idea how to operate the ventilation hood - smoke EVERYWHERE!) and moroccan chicken with lemons and green olives. For the recipes, just search on Epicurious.
The first lemon from the lemon tree out back!!
Challenge 3: Cleaners.
We got the keys to the cottage about 3 days before we actually made the transfer from our temporary place. During that time, I wanted to clean the apartment. I went to the grocery store to pick up my cleaners and guess what? None of them are the same as any cleaner that you might get in the US. My bad, I was able to get Windex. Think about a world without Tide, Lysol and Scrubbing Bubbles! Instead, I have Pine Cleen (sic), Shower Sparkle and Morning Fresh. Picking out the cleaners was a bit of a crap shoot, but what's the worst that can happen? (Shower Sparkle is a bit asphixiating, so that might not get back on the shopping list) Dealing with this perceived challenge has actually caused me to change my attitude a bit. Instead of lamenting over the loss of Tide Total Care Clean Cotton, I get the opportunity and adventure of trying an entire new range of detergents and products. Keeping focused on new experiences, both positive and negative - in the case of Shower Sparkle, is helping me to survive a bit of the culture shock. While you might think that given the fact that Australia is an English speaking country our cultural values would be similar, but in fact the differences would truly surprise you.
Some pictures of the empty house:
The front of our place. It is a duplex with one common wall.
This is the back courtyard area. We are really looking forward to spending more time out there when the weather warms up. It warmed up a little bit over the past weekend, just enough to tease us, but now the temperatures are back into the teens and single digits at night. A humorous aside related to weather; the Australian Broadcast Channel (ABC) does national news and weather. I was watching the weather forecast one night and the weatherman actually said, "and for those of you who care, the barometric pressure is ...." That made me laugh out loud, but perhaps you had to be there to see it.
This is the kitchen/lounge area. Lounge translated into American English is living room. If it looks quite empty to you, that's because it is. The furniture should start rolling in perhaps as early as tonight. It will be really great to have before and after pictures. I won't bore you with pictures of the front room and our bedroom. They are pretty non-descript especially since they are empty.
While the saying "in like Flynn" would connote that the transition was smooth, we have faced some challenges as well. I hate to label these things as challenges because in the grand scheme of life they are just slight nuisances. As one of my mom's friends used to say, a pebble in the sneaker of life."
Challenge 1: Buying furniture.
Furnishing a home from scratch is not easy, especially if you are as spatially challenged as I am. Thank goodness that with the help of my super designer friend, Brynne, we took the first steps of ordering bar stools and a couch. Originally, we thought we would get all the furniture for the lounge in one fell swoop. This fantasy lasted about 15 minutes as we wandered around the furniture store trying to figure out whether each piece would fit in our space and whether it would match. Furniture is not cheap here and since we didn't want to make a mistake we decided to start baby stepping.
After we get the stools and couch we can decide whether the next piece will fit and so on and so forth. While this will mean that getting settled might take a little bit longer, it will mean that we hopefully will not make any big, expensive mistakes.
Another lesson I learned is that buying major furniture is like buying a car. Apparently there is a large mark up on the price and store keepers are willing to negotiate a deal. I found a bed, for example at one store. The sales person told me that the bed was on sale for one price, but he could do a little better and wrote another price down on a card for me. I thought this interesting so a few hours after I got home, I called him back, told him I wanted the mattress, but my husband thought it was too expensive. I asked him if he could do any better and he took another $80 off the price!! While I didn't get that particular bed, I did end up getting a bed that retailed for $4,999.00 for $2,300. The bonus was the delivery. They told me between 2 and 4 PM and actually showed up at 3:30!! Given the reputation of Western Australians for having their own time table, I was impressed.
Challenge 2: Home Wares.
If you've been following the blog you know that much of what we packed up in the container to send over here was supplies for the kitchen, homewares, glasses, dishes, pots and pans. We learned about a week ago, that our container has not even left the US yet and is not due to arrive in Perth until October 20 after which it must have the customs inspection that can take up to 14 days. Basically, I should have all of my kitchen gear in time to make Thanksgiving dinner (forget the fact that if I am working by then I will have to use a slow cooker for the turkey since I will have to work that day - no Thanksgiving celebration here). As a result, I have had to do things like buy a couple of pans, replace the dishes, glasses and cutlery and purchase a few other cooking implements. Oh darn (sarcasm added).
Having my new kitchen implements has actually been a bright spot as I can now investigate the local cuisine and start to use some early fruit of the bumper crop off our lemon tree. I've made some great dishes with our lemons, including a pasta with broccoli in lemon sauce with pancetta croutons (almost burnt down the house because we had no idea how to operate the ventilation hood - smoke EVERYWHERE!) and moroccan chicken with lemons and green olives. For the recipes, just search on Epicurious.
The first lemon from the lemon tree out back!!
Challenge 3: Cleaners.
We got the keys to the cottage about 3 days before we actually made the transfer from our temporary place. During that time, I wanted to clean the apartment. I went to the grocery store to pick up my cleaners and guess what? None of them are the same as any cleaner that you might get in the US. My bad, I was able to get Windex. Think about a world without Tide, Lysol and Scrubbing Bubbles! Instead, I have Pine Cleen (sic), Shower Sparkle and Morning Fresh. Picking out the cleaners was a bit of a crap shoot, but what's the worst that can happen? (Shower Sparkle is a bit asphixiating, so that might not get back on the shopping list) Dealing with this perceived challenge has actually caused me to change my attitude a bit. Instead of lamenting over the loss of Tide Total Care Clean Cotton, I get the opportunity and adventure of trying an entire new range of detergents and products. Keeping focused on new experiences, both positive and negative - in the case of Shower Sparkle, is helping me to survive a bit of the culture shock. While you might think that given the fact that Australia is an English speaking country our cultural values would be similar, but in fact the differences would truly surprise you.
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