Coming Home...

Hey folks, I just changed the date of my return flight. I'll be hitting American soil on August 6th. Mark it down, remember it, live by it...

Can't wait to see ya'll!

Northbridge

Today I saw the most exquisite part of Northbridge. My new friend, Angie from Nosh, picked me up and took me to her house, which is actually quite close to where I live now. OMG the view from her back terrace is amazing! It overlooks this gorgeous inlet where there is a roped off swimming area and yachts moored everywhere. Her house itself is beautiful too. I was oohing and aahing at everything. We packed a lunch, walked down to the docks with her dogs and then took a bushwalk to this little picnic spot. It occurred to me that the neighborhood really reminds me of the North Shore of Long Island, which is funny because we are essentially on the North Shore of Sydney. The homes are amazing, there is lots of greenery and water everywhere. I told Angie how I'm always comparing places I see in foreign countries with places at home, which to me is a normal human practice. I mean, when you're away from home and want to connect with a place, you will automatically find characteristics that remind you of what you're familiar with. Right? OK, enough with the analysis. Let's just say it was a great day. Not to mention she hooked me up with a babysitting gig...a family who is friends with her neighbor. While we're on the subject of real estate, I just have to try and describe the house her neighbor lives in. We passed by and she and some women were lunching on the terrace. The house was almost all windows and it was set atop this great knoll so that you look up and see it looming over you. Man alive it was something else!

Link

Siblings

Yesterday, the kids were dancing around to The Nutcracker and it made me a little misty-eyed. I kept remembering when my sister and I were kids, how we used to dress up and dance to The Nutcracker. I miss you, Alli! Okay, enough sentimental bulls@#$.

I'm starting to get a little attached to the kids. This is bad. It hasn't even been 2 weeks. I keep thinking about how awesome they'll be when they're grown up (not like they're not awesome now) and getting a little envious that their parents will get to watch them grow up. Sophie is just so beautiful, she's going to be gorgeous when she gets older. And Jack has this way of speaking sometimes that's so eloquent, it's adorable. I can't wait to have some of my own one day...in the distant future, of course.

Another Friday on the Rocks

Last night we all met up at the Mercantile for some beer and Shaylee. She was in top form indeed, singing her usuals: Whiskey in the Jar, Dirty Old Town, Fields of Athenry, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Say That You Love Me, etc. I wonder if the bartenders there can stand hearing her play the same material week after week. Luke seemed to enjoy it because he was singing along with her...yes I know this because I glanced over at him from time to time. Am I totally embarrassing myself by standing at the bar and trying to flirt with him every week? It's not like anything can happen, he has a girlfriend. And truth be told, it's not like we've actually had a real conversation so I don't even know if he's the type of guy I would even like. It's just fun to flirt every now and then and he has a great smile. Ahhh, a little eye candy never hurt anyone.

So after the Merc, Sarah, J and I went to The Observer, to which I had never been. Not that it would have made any difference in the state I was in. I met a guy there who totally pegged me as a Jewish girl from Long Island. How he guessed is a mystery. I mean, is my Jewishness and LIer-ness that obvious? Perhaps he has some special Jew radar (he did tell me he is Jewish himself...from D.C.). Anyway, what was stranger was that when I said I was from Long Beach, he asked if I knew a certain person from O'Side who I will not name here. Turns out I do know him and he went to college with this guy. Small world, eh? However, I started to get a bit paranoid...this was too coincidental right? I guess it's not really that weird, but it was the way the whole thing revealed itself that freaked me out a little. He didn't seem to find it that weird, which freaked me out a little more. Anyway, maybe it was my mental state (a bit cloudy) that made me feel that way. Although, in hindsight, I still find the situation a bit odd. Anyway, another point I'd like to make here (aside from the fact that LI is infamous and very six degrees of separation), is that every time I meet an American guy here, they strike me as arrogant. Granted, I have only met a handful of American men, but each one has totally turned me off with their arrogance. I wonder what that is. Kate and I remarked on this back in January and we decided to put it to a test, rating each of the American men we met here. So far, 4 out of 5 have been like this. I hope someone comes along to prove me wrong...

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/