It takes a village...

Thanks Mom, for the great adage. It's been quite an experience being a nanny (I think I'll revert to au pair as nanny makes me think of a 90-year-old woman with gray hair pulled back in a bun). Day 3 has begun and, I have to say, is much better than Day 1. Monday, I thought I had made a big mistake. Truth be told, I keep going back and forth, but now I am sure this is going to be a good experience for me. I can already tell I am going to be one of those mothers who can't shut up about her children because last night I met one of the other au pairs from the agency (who lives right around the corner!) and I could not stop talking about the kids. They are just so adorable and funny (of course without trying) and I'm having a lot of fun with them. I can't believe some of the things that come out of my mouth sometimes. So far I've made up a dessert fairy who steals dessert from little children and comes in the guise of other toys and a breakfast fairy who is invisible and eats their leftover breakfast. The kids totally eat it up (no pun intended). The parents could not be nicer and they are so lax about how I handle the children. Basically I can discipline them as much or as little as I want. They are around quite a bit, so they help me when they won't go to sleep or have tantrums and stuff. It's great because it would be overwhelming otherwise.

So Sarah (the other au pair) and I went to the local pub last night just to meet and get out for a bit. She's really nice, from Liverpool so she has this cool accent. The pub was pretty empty basically because Northbridge is such a quiet, family-oriented suburb. It was just too funny. We walked in and felt like everyone was staring at us. It was mostly men in suits and hardly any women. We played some pool and then Angie, the girl from Nosh who I met Saturday and who also lives in NB, came and joined us. It was so great to get out of the house and have real, adult conversation, rather than talking about fairies and poopies (although I bet some adults would find some great conversation material there). Angie said she'd take us around NB Friday, not that there's much to see. I'm so grateful to have friends who live in the area and I know Emma and Paul (the parents) would love for me to have a social life and get out as much as I can when I'm not working.

I drove today! I found out that I don't need a special license or anything to drive here so that I can drive the kids to and from school when Emma can't. It really wasn't as hard as I expected. It just takes a bit more paying attention to which side of the road you're on.

So I'm in a good place right now. It's still a big adjustment to the fact that I'm living in someone else's house and I have to be quiet after 7:30pm. Also waking up at 7am is no picnic either, especially when I'm used to getting up much later in the day. I know, poor me. Basically, I feel like I'm living with my parents again, except they're not my parents and I have to take care of their kids. Which, to be honest, isn't so bad. We'll see how I am in a few weeks, right?

So, I'm going to need all the help I can get with this nanny gig. Any suggestions anybody has for salvaging my sanity (oh yeah, and the welfare of the kids, of course) are extremely welcome. Some good news though: the woman at the Au Pair agency gave me a list of phone numbers for girls from the agency who are also nannying in my area. So I have some peeps to call if I get really desperate. Haha, Desperate Nannies...wouldn't that make a great spin-off of Desperate Housewives?

The Sam Taylor-Wood exhibit was mightily enjoyable. Not only were there 27 photos of gorgeous (and a few not so gorgeous) men, but there were several short films, one of a man tap-dancing on top of another person lying down, a ballet dancer suspended in mid-air over a quartet, and, you guessed it, another dancer, this time completely nude! As if this wasn't enough enjoyment, there was an hour long video of David Beckham sleeping. Yes, you read correctly...not playing soccer, but sleeping. The film was aptly named "David," which apparently is drawing comparisons to the statue "David." AS IF!!!

Anyways, nothing big this weekend except for a bit of working. Friday night was a cocktail reception for 1800 people at the Art Gallery of New South Wales for the Archibald Prize, some art competition. Nothing too exciting except for the awesome jazzy/Latiny/Middle Easterny band they had playing throughout the night. Today yielded more music as I joined J and some of his friends at the Pyrmont Silverama festival. It was more like a block party, very quaint and neighborly, with some neighborhood-oriented booths, vendors selling crafts, food and live entertainment. There were a few cool bands and dancers, plus a copoeira demonstration. Tonight, I worked at the Scots College with the ever bipolar Guy. He is the catering manager and is a really sweet and lovely man, except when he's NOT and turns into a raging lunatic. Gotta love it. The night wasn't so bad, work-wise, and we got some nice treats to take home. Also, I worked with one American girl who has lived in Oz for about 7 years and lives in Northbridge where I'm moving! She is really sweet and said I should call her and come over for dinner sometime. Awesome!

Tomorrow is moving out/in day. Wish me luck.

Nanny Tami

I am going to be a nanny! Yes folks, I will soon be joining the ranks of Fran Drescher, Julie Andrews and Emma Thompson. This news is great and timely as well, since I would soon have found myself homeless...I was supposed to move out of the house in Surry Hills on Tuesday and I had no idea where I was going to live. Now I'm moving out on Sunday into a gorgeous house in Northbridge, a beautiful suburb about 15 minutes North of the city center. Of course, I have to look after 2 small children in exchange, but hey, it beats looking for another dodgy house/apartment (of which there are many in Sydney especially when you're broke). The kids are adorable though, I have to admit. Although I also should admit I have no idea what I'm doing and am a little nervous I'm going to lose my mind. I'll still probably keep working for Nosh on the weekends (I hope at least since this nannying thing doesn't pay much). Since they've only been calling me for work on the weekends mainly, I had given up on them as my main source of work anyway. So, yay me!

In other fun news, the Museum of Contemporary Art is showing a Sam Taylor-Wood exhibit of her "Crying Men!" LOL Alanna I thought of you immediately...how hilarious is that? For those who haven't been fortunate enough to see her work, Taylor-Wood is a photographer who shoots photos of famous male celebrities apparently cring. Some actually do look like they're genuinely crying and some are obviously acting. Either way, it should be good fun seeing the photographs up close...I'm going to the museum this afternoon. You can check 'em out here: http://www.toomuchsexy.org/index/weblog/comments/crying_men/

Opposite of a cyclone...

Bah! I wish I had something interesting to say but, alas, I am in the midst of a doldrums. Ironic considering the way the weather has been hitting Northern Queensland. Sydney, of course, has been getting the dull end of the stick (the blunt side of the knife?) with cloudy, rainy weather and chilly temperatures. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I want to be hit by a cyclone, but you have to admit, it would shake things up a bit.

Team X Won Trivia!!!

That's right folks. After over a month of battling teams with names like 3/16 of Matt Damon and Bring Back the $5 Steaks, Team X finally won the solid gold (aka plastic) Oscars and $60 voucher for food and drink at Forrester's...1st place baby! Special thanks to Elvis for being the answer to the tie-breaking round and Adam for giving the answer. We were walking on air and positively screamed when Skip said our answer was indeed the King of Rock! Jaki, Kate, Carl and I walked up to the podium to accept our awards and it was so exciting...Skip kissed us all on the cheeks (except Carl of course). I think he's been rooting for us the entire time because we are the most boisterous trivia group every week and we doubtless make it more fun for him. Let's see if we can defend our title next week or embarrass ourselves with our cockiness. It was truly a great group with a few new additions along with the same old players. Zoila returned from her hiatus since she quit her job that had her working nights and proved a valuable asset. Melissa, a girl from O'Side that I had been e-mailing, came along. Then there was Adam of course and Lei from New Zealand who we met marching in the parade. Quite a motley crew...definitely awesome.

Tonight it's back to the Mercantile for some Shaylee and super-cute bartenders! Tomorrow is another wedding at the Opera House...lord give me strength!

Missed the Oscars!

Goddamn you old fake Panasonic TV! Why did you have to break right as Jon Stewart launched into his opening monologue?!? Why, oh, why did we have to try and move you to a more comfortable room in the house? Go to hell Palsonic! To be fair, it wasn't the TV's fault. It was the cable wire that was being held together with tape that we tried to plug in when we moved the TV to Kate's room because the prospect of sitting at the kitchen table for 4 hours while our asses were getting numb was too much to bear. The damn thing was just completely pooped. The worst part was had we just kept the TV in the kitchen, it would have been fine...it was working okay right before we moved it. So instead we missed the Oscars and I fumed the entire night. It's not like it's the most exciting show in the universe. It's just the fact that I had been looking forward to watching it all week that makes it hurt so. Ah well, such is life eh?

Boo to the Brokeback Mountain Best Picture snub!

Queerest of the Queer

OMIGOSH! I was IN the Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras parade last night!!! Haha, in as opposed to out (a little homosexual humor if you will). Friday night, as Jaki was walking home, she ran into her old friend, Brenden, who happened to be marching in the parade with an aboriginal group. He invited all of us who were planning on attending to march with them and said where to meet and to wear all black. So naturally we jumped at the chance to actually be in the parade because, while it's exciting to watch, nothing beats being in a parade, especially when trannies and Dykes on Bikes are concerned. I mean, come on, anyone who has ever been in the Columbus Day parade with the LBHS marching band has experienced that firsthand ;-) Er, well maybe not but you know what I mean. So Jaki, Becca, Anna and I walked with a mixed group of aborigines and some other friends of friends (one girl actually comes from one town over from Jaki in Ireland)...the coolest thing ever! We held different tribal flags and signs...mine said "Give Ways 2 Gays" and was shaped like a yield sign. For those who have never been to Sydney, the Mardi Gras parade is a huge event, especially since Sydney has a large gay population, and goes primarily down Oxford Street, which has a lot of gay bars and gay porn shops. We actually live quite close..about a 15 minute walk from Taylor Square, a hub of Oxford Street. The parade actually passed our street. Oh man, the streets were absolutely trashed! Nathalie and I went to a few bars in Taylor Square and you'd think a riot had occurred. Trash, glitter and ticker tape everywhere. We danced with some really hot guys, all gay of course. People were walking around all day in the most outrageous outfits! It was quite a scene. Simply an amazing day. However, as a result, I did miss most of the parade. But I don't think I would have given up the chance to march if given the opportunity again. I kept thinking about the time my Mom and I went to the Gay Pride parade in NYC (she's actually planning on marching in it this year with Hewlett HS's Gay/Straight Alliance). That was an amazing day also, but in a much different way. It was a lot more emotional that time whereas this time it was more of a party.

Today I saw Munich with my new Aussie friend, Adam, who I met at speed dating. It was a great film, but in true Spielberg style was close to 3 hours long. Oy vey! That man really needs to take a lesson in editing. Actually, it was very well done, however I could feel the point being drilled into my head...to me it seemed very pro-Israel, extremely so. Adam said he thought it portrayed Israelis as thugs who only cared about revenge. It also bothered him that the assasins' ideology and their mission wasn't reconciled smooth enough, like they inserted their morals into it just for the sake of not making them look like monsters. Upon further thought, I suppose the assasins' portrayal was a little uneven, but maybe that was the point because they weren't really assasins by profession and they were trying to reconcile their love for their country and their morals in this extreme situation. Anyway, if you're thinking of seeing it, it's thought-provoking but very graphically violent. If you have seen it, what did you think of it? Oy, did I just open the floodgates or what?

Tomorrow is Oscars night and Becca's last night in Sydney before going to Melbourne. I'm super excited because Jon Stewart is hosting and we're going to get Thai food from this place called Thai Me Up...'nuff said. Not excited that Becca is leaving however. She'll be back though...they all come back...

Somebody has a case of The Mondays...

Today at work, I had a very strong negative reaction to my working environment. I worked all day at an office building and I was struck with the notion that I really dislike offices. I was just sitting there in front of the supervisor's desk and thinking how much being there bothered me. I wasn't even there to sit at a desk, I was there to bring morning and afternoon teas and lunch stuff to boardrooms and to clean the kitchens and stuff. It was a nice office too, but I just couldn't handle being there. Unfortunately, I have to work there again tomorrow and possibly a few more times next week because I'm filling in for someone who;s on holiday. It really made me wonder if I am ever going to able to work in an office again. Am I going to have to settle for blue-collar jobs my whole life? I think I could see myself doing this for a good long while, which I know would not make certain people happy. I don't know, I just think it's more satisfying to work up a sweat during work than leaving at the end of the day after spending the whole time sitting on your ass. I know eventually I'll have to enter the white-collar work world, but I can't see myself doing it anytime soon. Is this a waste of an education? Am I cheating myself out of a potentially lucrative career? I can really see myself working my way throughout the world being a server. Is that nuts?

La Maison Australienne

Anyone who has ever lived in a foreign country or lived in a house/apartment with lots of people who aren't related should see the movie L'auberge Espagnol. It's great and really hits home for me at least, living with 5 other people who are more or less strangers, some from different countries. Until I watched it, however, I hadn't fully appreciated the uniqueness of my current situation or the sadness of it. I always knew it was unusual to move to a strange city, get a job I am totally overqualified for, and move into a house with strangers. But I don't think I realized that the city would become home, the job would yield some experience, and those people would become a surrogate family. Maybe it's a bit early to say these feelings will occur, because I'm not saying I completely feel this way just now. I'm not in love with Sydney just yet, just as I didn't feel attached to London until the semester was nearly over. I'm not exactly learning anything groundbreaking at work, but I am seeing how the hospitality industry works in another country and comparing it to my experience at home. And my housemates are wonderful, but after only a month living there, it would be presumptuous to consider them family. However, I can see all these factors coming together in the end, making it impossibly sad to leave what will become my life. The end of the movie was so hard to watch because while I have many months ahead of me in Australia, I can still see the end. What's comforting me, of course, is having things to look forward to when I return home: the week in Vermont with my family, seeing my friends, visiting Alli and Ed's new NYC apartment, driving from Florida to New York with Marissa. However, what do you do with all those memories? How do you go back to a normal life? These are questions that I try not to think about, mostly because it seems too soon to ask them at all and I'm too busy enjoying myself to worry anyway. However, the movie really hit me with these questions.

In any case, watch the film. It's a great story even if you haven't been in a similar circumstance. If you've seen it already, the sequel is out now. It's called Russian Dolls.