I’m ranting about marriage over at Glitter. Again, just as I start to think it’s something I want to do, somebody has to go and ruin it. In this case it’s a person who thinks that only people who are married or who intend to get married should live together. Otherwise you’re just “wasting time.” Grrrr.

We’re still lacking Internet at home, though the Snook thinks it may have been secretly hooked up. He’s working on cabling the house so hopefully we’ll be back online soon.

You never realize how useful that middle finger on your left hand is until you slice the shit out of it while chopping pumpkin. Ouch.

Skittlebrau. The Snook is gonna love this.

I could totally see myself being one of these Disney obsessives. I’ve only been three times in my life and I absolutely loved it. I also used to wish we lived closer to Sandusky so I could get the Cedar Point annual pass. I’m a theme park freak.

As Robert points out, Cherry Coke has finally returned to Australia after an absence of many years. Pretty surprising, since I’m fairly certain we’ve always had Cherry Coke in the US. Haven’t we? I can remember loading it in the pop machines at our local IGA in high school. The Snook thinks it’s because the American “cherry” flavour is too strong and almond-like for international palates. I haven’t tried the new Australian version yet, but apparently it’s been modified somewhat from the original. One of the Snook’s co-workers e-mailed Coke Australia last week to complain about it “not being cherry enough”, and he got this as a reply:

“The decision to introduce “Cherry Coke” to the Australian beverage market was made after extensive research coupled with strong consumer feedback. Coca-Cola Amatil tested various “Cherry Coke” formulations from around the world before choosing the German formulation for “Cherry Coke”. This variety has a much subtler cherry flavour than the American version.”

So there you have it. Evidently the American cherry flavoring is just too hardcore for the rest of the world. I’m going to have to try this soon and compare.

I’m baaaaack! Wow, I thought you kids would’ve made a much bigger mess while I was gone. 🙂

No major dramas with the van, thank St. Christopher. I only had one minor incident going around a roundabout, where I waited too long to start cranking the wheel (no power steering, of course) and ended up jerking it at the last minute. Of course, that meant about fifteen boxes in the back slid over. To further compound my stupidity, I then turned my head to see what had fallen, thereby forgetting to turn the wheel back to the left and driving up on to the curb momentarily. No harm done though, and the guy behind me had a bit of a laugh. I think it gave me good driving karma too because each time we headed back to the old place I was able to find a huge legal parking space right across from the house. So that was good.

Right. So the Snook and I took over two loads of stuff Friday and the movers brought the rest on Saturday. We are loving our new place. The Snook is so enraptured by the dishwasher he insisted we rewash all of our dishes to remove any newspaper packing residue. I myself am so positively giddy over my internal laundry (and the fact that I can wash clothes in hot water now) that I’ve done about ten loads already. We even washed the couch slipcovers and all the rugs. It’s wonderful.

Here’s what isn’t wonderful about moving: cleaning the old house. We’d planned to do it ourselves on Sunday but we only managed about 45 minutes of dusting and sweeping before giving up. It was just too gross and we were too tired. Plus psychologically we were all about nesting and setting up our new place, and I was just so ready to be done with the old place, you know? So we called it quits and arranged to have a cleaner come in Monday. All that’s left is for the Snook to take some old clothes and toys up to the op shop.

We’re about 75% unpacked at the new place. Really all that’s left is the office, which is currently piled high with desks and computers and boxes. It’s a low priority because we won’t have our ADSL switched over for a week or so. (No CouchCam til then, I’m afraid.) The Snook also has to work out how he’s going to cable the new place. I keep pushing him to go wireless, but given how much we’ve already spent on the move I guess I can live with a few wires crossing the hallway. 🙂

As always, pictures are forthcoming. I can’t wait for you to see it!

Well, I successfully drove the rental van back to the house without killing us both! I even went around a roundabout. The only confusion is that the gear lever is on the left side of the steering wheel and the turn signal is on the right. I keep reaching for the wrong one instinctively.

Anyway, this is me signing off for the time being. No word when we’ll be back online, as the ADSL hasn’t been transferred to the new place yet. At the very latest you’ll hear from me Monday at work. Have a good weekend, everyone.

The lease is signed; the keys have been handed over. It’s officially Moving Day, yo. Well, sorta. Today I’m home packing and cleaning while the Snook finishes up at work. Then tomorrow we’ll be renting a van to drive* as much of our stuff over as possible. Saturday the movers come to get all the rest. I’m in for a busy weekend…

* Yeah, so despite the fact that I’ve been living overseas for four years, this Friday will be the first time that I’ve actually gotten behind the wheel of a vehicle outside the United States. It will also be the first time that I’ve driven on the left side of the road, the first time I’ve driven around roundabouts, and the first time I’ve driven a van in, like, eight years. (Yes, the Snook has a license. No, he doesn’t like to drive, so I’m doing it.) Wish me luck. Who’s the patron saint of motor vehicles?

I took the Real Age Test and discovered that although I am 26.5 in calendar years, I am 24.8 in terms of my “real age”. I don’t think that’s quite right, though. I took a huge hit on the nutrition section since it didn’t view healthiness from at Atkins perspective. (Too much meat and not enough breads and fruits, I guess, although I did get max points for vegetables.) I do think I need to get some variety back in my gym routine. All I do now is running and I guess some weight training would be beneficial. Fortunately I’ve got some sessions with a personal trainer coming up (I had to upgrade my gym membership when transferring it to a location near my new flat) so maybe they can help me plan a routine. (Real Age link courtesy of Kristen. If you do it, I advise entering a junk e-mail address and checking “no” to their many spam requests.)