Procrastination...

I figure, since I was super productive yesterday and earlier today, I deserve a little break... right? I have really taken care of all the urgent stuff. The rest is just tweaking or icing on the cake.

It is funny, though, how your last days in a place, even somewhere you grew up or spent a lot of time, even somewhere that you're coming back to, can make you try new things. This week I find myself having dinner with friends, trying new restaurants, trying homemade Indian food (finally giving in to Manisha!), seeing art exhibits, dropping in on old friends I haven't seen in half a lifetime, exploring new bookstores, and trying to make it all fit before I take off.

Sigh... okay, back to the list...

In honor of new readers...

Since I will soon send out an email to everyone I sent the link to before (most of whom did not recall receiving it) and to my new ex-coworkers (so sad leaving a job, no matter how often you do it!), and since I have only posted once this month instead of every week, and since I did actually change the URL.... here's a little welcome and update! (Of course, you can read all the preceding posts, if you really want to.)

In the list of links running down the right-hand side of the page (under the wallaby picture), there is one called "Sydney Time" (which answers the question, "What time is it, Mr. Fox?" - anyone remember playing that game? Elementary school? Anyone? Bueller?...), useful for being able to tell what day and time it is where I am. (Also useful for not accidentally calling me at 3am!)

Also, thanks to my friend Becca, you can now see my photos! Below "Sydney Time," click on the link that says "Photos on Flickr." There is also a map feature where I can click and drag the photos to where they were taken - this will help you keep the big picture when I am traveling (starting about March 9th). When you get to the Flickr site, just go to the link under "Ames1649's Photos" that says "Map". (You do not need to log in to Flickr to see either the photos or the map.)

I guess that's it. Take a look around, enjoy, leave a comment if you feel inspired, I'd love to hear from you! T-8 days and counting!

Notes on going awol...

So things around here have been ridiculously crazy, to the extent that I haven't really been able to do anything in moving forward on Australia. I did talk to a friend here who is interested in coming to visit / join my traveling plans in April and May, which will be exciting. It's forcing me to think through what I'm going to do and when, which is probably a good thing, though I'm going to try not to plan too much before February and be open to creating travel plans with new friends. I'm having dinner with my friend tonight and we're going to talk more concretely about where we're going to go together and what we're going to see, expectations and all that.

Other than that, let's see. I got my visa (by which I mean I was awarded one according to BUNAC), which is exciting. I also got all the preparation materials and, being the incredible nerd that I am, read the handbook cover to cover (it was my only reading material one day at work). They also sent me a Lonely Planet Australia book, which is very exciting and useful.

My Australia notebook is filling up with lists: things to buy, things to do before I leave, and ideas for itinerary for traveling! Speaking of which, I should really get on that last one before I have dinner with my friend, so I can bounce ideas off her!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

So, the first major change is, I'm changing the url to just www.kangarooamy.blogspot.com. Since I still think it's hilarious, the name at the top will still be Kangaroo Amy and the Wallaby Kid, but I figure this way people might actually remember the site name, and come visit more often :) I won't change it until I send out another email, just before I leave, to "remind" people of the address and that I'm leaving.

The rest of the changes are related. Not only will other people be able to remember the url, but I will also be able to get there quickly from internet cafes, which will be useful as I use it to hold all of the links currently held by my bookmarks, which I won't have with me. For these changes, please look to your right! -->

Most notably, I'd like to point out the very first link, under "What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?" The website shows a real-time world clock, with any two locations. That link is set to US Eastern Daylight Time and Sydney time; I'll try to pay attention and adjust it if need be when daylight savings ends and if any changes occur in Australia.

Wahoo! :)

UPDATE: I am still in the US! You will know when I've left. Trust me. No more freaked out phone calls, please! ;)

Book recommendations?

I'm putting out an all-points bulletin looking for book recommendations. Here's what I'm looking for: One long book to take to Australia to tide me over while traveling.

Long ones already read include: War and Peace, Gone with the Wind, Anna Karenina, Brothers K, Don Quijote, East of Eden, most John Irving, all Harry Potters (you can see more at goodreads.com).

Thinking about: Crime and Punishment, Hunchback, Les Miserables, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Dickens?

Any recommendations?

Photo attempt

http://www.flickr.com/photos/horninga/

Comments? Questions? Concerns? If anyone wants to give it a look, feedback from another user (yahoo ID or no) would be much appreciated - I don't know how things look to an "outsider"! (If you're not familiar with flickr, it's run by yahoo so if you have a yahoo ID you shouldn't have any problems accessing the photos.) Thanks...

UPDATE: Thanks to Becca for helping me!

Australian cooking measurements

According to allrecipes.com, Australia has its own cooking measurements. Who knew?

I was baking my yummy chocolate chip cookies recently when it occurred to me that I might like to have that recipe with me in Australia, and wouldn't it be convenient if I converted all the measurements ahead of time. My magical cookbook (whence comes the magical cookie recipe) only gave conversions for liquid measurements for some reason, so I started poking around online, relatively sure that Australia uses metric like the rest of the world. In addition to some nebulous term called "Australian Standard", which no one ever explains, all conversion charts I've seen give you large and small liquid measurements (1 teaspoon of vanilla or two cups of water, for example) and large amounts of drys (1 cup of flour), but no small measurements. I couldn't figure out how to convert small dry amounts to metric (like a teaspoon of baking soda - do you really measure baking soda in mL?). I think the librarian at my friendly local public library and I determined that it's kind of a crapshoot because it's all based on weight, so a cup of flour is different than a cup of sugar in metric (150g vs. 225g). She directed me to a website for help with conversions, but I don't know. Might just steal one of my mom's measuring spoon sets! If anyone's ever baked in metric and wants to offer tips, please share!!!

In other news:
The USPS apparently came through this time, because BUNAC sent me the Step 2 (visa application) information. I filled it out, got the passport photos and certified check for the insurance, and finally sent it all out yesterday. Phew!

I recently met a British ex-pat who's spent the past 30 years living in Australia who kind of rained on my parade. He said that lots of companies promise you a visa and take your money and don't get you the right thing because it's really difficult to get a visa "unless you're under 30 or are skilled" - which I am. Luckily my friend Rachel, who went to the UK with BUNAC, reassured me that it was a very reputable company and besides, I am under 30! So that made me feel better. He also warned me about the animals, but I already knew that. I'm not touching anything down there; it can all kill you.

Also: if anyone has advice regarding electronic adapters, please share! I know I need to buy something but I'm not sure what.

Also: apparently the different provinces in Australia pick and choose which holidays they want to celebrate. For example, they all have their own Labour Day, and one celebrates the Queen's birthday (but no one else does).

I'll be playing with the photos section of this site soon to see how well that works. If the answer is "not well," I may be changing servers. I'll keep you updated with any new site info...