"Friendsick"

Ok, I am not home sick per se...but god I miss my peeps. I have had dinner with Todd every night since we arrived, sans 3 days last week when I went to Cherbourg. Sure I love eating with my husband, but I miss the interesting conversation with our friends. I just want to call up a friend and have them come over for dinner and wine. I miss that...a lot. I also miss my morning walks at the dog park with Ruth, Purita, and Amy. Even having to deal with Bernie's crazy mom wouldn't be too bad. I know what you are saying: "Oh, Katia you will meet lots of new friends!" Of course I will, I am Katia...duh! However, I still miss my peeps. Missing my friends will be something long term and I don't see any reprieve in sight. I miss everyone including their dogs. Uh...I am hopeless.

Capoodle

So we have decided that we are tired of golden retrievers and we want a poodle. However, being that we have spent...oooh now a couple grand on this dog we have to make due with what we have. So after a shave, VOILA instant poodle! Or sheep...whatever she looks like.

Actually, just kidding. She got the haircut from hell and instead of the groomer (actually not a groomer I have learned) using shears to trim a golden (as you would normally due) he just put the clippers on 1 and shaved away. By the time I realized what was going on, it was to late. So now she looks like the story book character where you take the head of one animal and attach it to various other animal body parts and see what you create. She has the head of a golden and at any time the body of a lioness, a bear, sheep, poodle, or even a lab. You choose! God I hope it grows back quickly and thank GOD she doesn't realize what happened to her. First quarantine and now a bad haircut! Will she ever forgive us? BUT she does seem a lot cooler and happier, so that is one positive thing.

GOTCHA!

We got her! Here are some pics from our journey home from Sydney. We stopped at Warattog State Park on Friday night and Crescent Beach on Saturday. We had the time of our lives. The scenery was gorgeous and the weather was top notch, 82 no clouds and lots of sun. You could not ask for a better weekend. I finally feel complete and content. I am finally in Oz, I got my boy, my dog, my friends, a great program, and a great place to live. Life is good and for the first time in a long while I am the happiest I have been in years, not to mention that weird feeling called contentment. I wish I could bottle this feeling and save it for a rainy day...wouldn't that be a money maker?


Quarantine-Sydney


Crescent Beach, New South Wales

Road Trip

I have been wishing away this week. God will it ever end? All I want to do is get on the plane, collect my dog, and head north along the coast until I find a beach I like. Geeezzzz, is that so hard?

We spent most of today packing our camping stuff and being bums. I had class yesterday, so I have nothing pressing to read for next week. I can't really start working hard on my job until I meet with the outgoing coordinator. So I have nothing to do. It is really taxing on my brain to have nothing to do. I don't do it well. Sucks for me. However, I am resting up for pizza night tonight. Supposedly, this Arab guy down the road makes the bomb ass pizza.

Here is a picture of Cappy in her sleeping bag which strangely looks like my mom's...hmmm. I don't think she will need one this week. It is going to be in the 80's with lots of sun!

Finding a house: CHECK

Our househunting is officially over. We have a place on Lennon St. It was meant to be! Todd's favorite artist is John Lennon, so we figured it was a good sign. We put in an app on Saturday and they called us today to say "Congrats, it's yours". THANK GOD! We move in mid-April. We have a big backyard, fully fenced for Capper's, a huge granite counter kitchen, and 3 bedrooms. We are set! I have a short bus ride to school/work and the added bonus is that we are next to the largest dog park in Brisbane. The park is next to a creek so the dogs can swim and I am told it goes on for miles. Ahhhh, home sweet home!

The count down for Cappy is on. She had her clearance check from the quarantine vet and they will move her to the "out-going" housing wing. It is away from the new arrivals to make sure she doesn't pick anything up before she is released. I am glad this is all coming to an end. It is affecting me a lot more than I thought, and I don't like it one bit. I am consumed by it.

Oh, check out the National Zoo's update on Tai-Shan. He is so big! I love him!

No Title

I have no title for this posting. I have been hesistant to post, as it seems putting my thoughts into words is...what is the word...taxing. The househunting is still in action (WILL IT EVER END?), I am still awaiting my official enrollment so I can get a student id and get some shit done, and my dog is still in quarantine. Alas, nothing has changed but it does seem that we have gotten a lot done. Go figure? Our days just fly past!

Speaking of good things. Cappy is out in one week exactly. This time next week we will be landing in Sydney and making our way out to the station. I talked to her care taker the other day and she says Cappy is fine but is ready to go. We sent some clothes to her so she could have our scent. Rachel said she shredded everything in some fit of rage in about 10 min. YIKES! I might have a Cujo on my hands. She said that as soon as Cappy smelled those clothes she got a "look" in her eye and proceeded to shred EVERYTHING. She said that a bunch of care takers gathered around to watch the show. Great...good thing Todd will be at home with her most of the day:)I don't even want to touch that with a ten foot poll.

I am off for now. I must go into town to get a tax number. Ahhh, taxes...

House Hunting

So today we took advantage of a beautiful Saturday in Brisbane to house hunt. Ahhh, house hunting. I hate it, but it is necessary. We are looking for a place near Paddington (think trendy wine bars and boutiques, much to my liking). However, we were not impressed with what fell in our price range. Either the kitchen was falling apart or the siding was. We had no luck. The 2 houses we liked (which also had a pool) were too far away from the shops and being that we have no car, is just not feasible. I REFUSE to buy a car right away. Brisbane is a very accessible city by foot and I intend to do that. The picture posted is a very typical example of what folks live in and one we looked at today.

On happier notes, I am officially enrolled in the School of Population Health. I even lucked out and got my own office. Go figure that, when the other offices are packed with nothing less than 10 doctoral students. I consider it my consolation prize for living through all this scholarship mess. My job will take a little longer to start as the university is slow in transmitting my enrollment to immigration and I need immigration to add a work permit before I can start. Soooo, just more red tape...but not too terrible. Hey I am from DC...I live for red tape!

Before I go, I know a lot of you need a Cappy update. She is fine and has taken over the quarantine station. She is demanding a peanut butter kong for ransom or else...

Houston, we have a tan

Yes, I have some color...albeit blotchy but still color! The sky has cleared and hopefully it will be a nice weekend. Fingers crossed!

Rainy Paradise

Ok, it has rained NON-STOP since we got here! Our friends tell us that this is the 9th straight week of rain they have had. Last night the island of Kauai had a dam breach and it took out homes + people. One man was found a mile out at sea (dead) and 6 people are missing (all in the same family). It is bad in Kauai and not much better here. Would you believe me if I told you that I have not applied sun cream once? Believe it, I tell no lie.

So since the beach is out, we have filled our time with naps and hiking. Yesterday we hiked to Makapu Point and we saw innumerable humpback whales. They pass through this one side of the island from Nov-March when they come to Hawaii to breed and take care of young. We saw whales spout, breach and slap the water with their fins. It was breathtaking and a highlight of my short life thus far.

Today we hiked to the top of Koko Head. We are convinced it is one of the highest points on Oahu. The only path is an old trolley/railroad line that once ferried passengers to the top. It is now defunct so we walked along the ties. The last 500 yards were so steep we literally climbed hand over fist with our weight kept LOW to the ground. It was the steepest climb I have ever done, not to mention the dirtiest! The view was second to none and it was so peaceful once we got to the top and stopped panting!

I am starting to see a little blue in the sky so I must race to the beach. Aloha everyone and we send big hugs and kisses!

ALOHA

Ok, maybe a day premature but I need some practice. We are wrapping up our stay in San Diego with Todd's family and newborn niece. Tomorrow I will be sipping something cold on a warm beach...ahhhhh. God I need a tan. My legs are pasty white, I look like an albino. Seriously...

I talked to Cappy's caretaker in Australia the other day and all I have to say is "not impressed." The FIRST word out of that b*&#$es mouth was "Good day, thanks for calling...Cappy is quite overweight and I am putting her on a diet, I can't feel her ribs." Finito, end, period, nothing else. Uh, nice to meet you; thanks for the update. I was PISSED. She is not a vet but has decided that she knows what is best for my dog weight wise. So I kindly said "Thanks for the update R, however my dog just came from a North American winter where she has been living outside on a farm. Her coat is uber thick and that might explain why you can't feel her ribs. Plus, I have just completed nothing short of 10 vet visits within the past year and not a single word about her weight was uttered to me. She is muscular and should have some fat reserve because she has been sleeping OUTSIDE in the fucking cold!" Then I said "g'day" and hung up. My girl has a nice waist, muscular legs, and A LOT of fur period! Of course there is nothing I can do at this point but bite my tongue and be nice to her because she has MY dog in HER care. Don't worry Cappy, mom will give you a peanut butter kong as soon as I see you...promise!

Cappy's first flight

Oh my girl did so well on her first plane flight from IAD to LAX. Only one problem, an overturned water dish. She was probably without water for a good 8 hours, which is a long time for her. Girl drank a liter in one sitting when we finally gave her water. I felt so sad for her.

We got to LAX on Sunday and she left Monday for Sydney. That gave us one day to find another way to attach a bigger and stronger water dish to her crate. Aaron, one of Todd's friends, bought a 3 gallon painter's bucket and attached it to the door with some plastic ties. I put a gallon of water in it and felt much better about her water situation. Even if it sloshed in transit, the sides would be high enough to negate major water loss. This simple task was truly an engineering feat...no lie.

So, it is Tues 5pm Pacific time, 23 hours from when the vet sealed her in her cage, and she has STILL not arrived in quarantine (they will not release her from the cage until she is there). I just called and she is still 1.5 hours from being delivered. That would put her over 24 hours in her crate. Poor girl, I feel heartbroken over doing this to her. I wish that I could explain that we are doing this so we can be together. I am just sick to my stomach at the prospect of being 30 days apart with her in quarantine. I would rather send Todd...seriously, it would hurt less.

I just hope that the 15 hour plane ride was not too terrible for her. I will have to pay big time in treats and swims when I see her April 7. I better start saving my money:)

So we are in LA until Wed when we head south to San Diego to visit Todd's family for 2 days. Then back to LA on Friday with an EARLY morning flight to Hawaii on Saturday morning. Things are down hill from here. Toughest part was getting to dog situated and that is now no longer under my control. I hope lying on a sunny beach will lessen the pain.

Coming and going

I think it is Wednesday morning. Rough week so far, I don't know what I am doing half the time. I have the canny knack of starting one thing, remembering something about another, getting up to take care of it, sidetracked along the way, and I end up doing something completely asinine. No wonder packing takes so long, look at me!

So, the stuff went into a cargo container on Monday. Due to arrive in Sydney on April 20 and in Brisbane about a week later. We surprised ourselves by actually having spare room in the shipping crate, but alas we left some stuff behind to mail to ourselves. Oh well...nobody said this endeavour would be easy or economical. We took a rest on Mardi Gras because Bacchus would be appalled to learn we were working. I need the god's on my side this year. So I ate King Cake and attended a Happy Hour in my honor at the Black Rooster. It was fun and I got some neat stuff.

Todd is away the rest of the week, so I am doing the last minute packing. It is always the small stuff that takes SOOOOOOOO LOOOONNNNNGGGG to pack. It is hard to find that small stuff a secure space. Oh, the Comcast guy is coming to take the modem so I will not be able to post until next week sometime. My lap top is so old that a wireless card was an expensive upgrade, so that is not an option either.

Anyhoo, I am out but I promise to update ASAP. This is going to be really interesting next week, but don't envy me quite yet:)

Mardi Gras: T minus 4 days

Hey who is counting?

Wrapping up

Well, I bought ALL the airline tickets! Whew! Each leg is with a different airline it seems, so I have STACKS of tickets. Not to mention car rental confirmations and Australian dosmetic tickets for when we fly back down to Sydney to pick up Cappers in April. I am this close (__) to be overwhelmed. There is just SO much to do in such a short period of time. It is hard to be flexible when dates are now set and tickets purchased. I found out yesterday that Cappy + her crate are 13 pounds over the limit to check her as "baggage" so I was told that she must go as "cargo". Instead of costing us $100 to send her from Dulles to LAX it is now $395. How can I possibly say "Nah, that is too expensive" when I just bought her an $1800 ticket from LAX to SYD? I can't, which is why I will suck it up and just pay the fucking $400. My piece of mind just got more expensive and $400 seems trivial at this point.

Cappy seems to know something is up. She sticks to me like white on rice when I come to visit. She also gets veeerrrry nervous when I go to the car. Poor girl just doesn't understand. The quarantine station called last night to confirm her reservation for 30 days at Hotel Quarantine. I won't even go into how much that costs a night. I wish I could say "NO thanks, she'll stay at home with us." I promised her that when we come to pick her up, i will take her swim'n. I promise promise. We are also bringing our camping gear with us from Hawaii so we can camp on our way back to Brisbane once we leave Sydney. That should be lots of fun!

I also gave my 7 day notice to work and my last day is Tues the 28th. I couldn't miss the Mardi Gras party could I? Then we leave on the 5th to go see some peeps in LAX, then visit Todd's fam in San Diego and then off to Hawaii for some R and R. Ahhhh, R and R. It seems so elusive today. Particularly when I have not slept well for a week. Nervous tummy and all.

Country weekend

Since Todd was gone this weekend, I thought I would use the opportunity to get some R and R in the country with my dog. We had a great Saturday. We played Frisbee, dug holes, carried shoes around the yard, collected smelly things, etc. All the things dogs love to do. My girl is doing just fine at mom's, but I miss her terribly and leaving her breaks my heart. She doesn't understand why I leave her. Uhhh the frustration. Try rationalizing with a golden!

My sister was kind enough to give me a massage today. She rocks! Who else would give me a 2 hour massage for free? That's right...only someone who you have been blackmailing since 16! She better massage me or else I will tell our parents her "little" secret!

Step 1 Securing a visa: Mission Accomplished

Visa application: accepted and granted. Step 2: Cappy's medical clearance.

What a nice b-day present!

BTW check out the picture of Tai Shan in his first encounter with snow last week!

Happy Birthday to ME!

In celebration of my b-day this year, I decided to walk down the Australian embassy and lodge my visa application. The BEST present will be to get it back in a timely fashion. We will wait and see. Australia and the US have a lot in common, like culture, food, work ethics, etc. The one thing that sticks out as our most common attribute is this: our governments love paperwork. Lot's of it! They adore it! Need it! Crave it! As a Federal employee I know this first hand. You have to fill out some form called "US-GOV-12-121" to take a long bathroom break. I am sure Australia has something similar. My visa application weighed 2.2 pounds (about 4.4kg) when it was finished. Ahhhh soon it will all be over.

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy a nice lunch at Breadline. I am going to have the tangy curry chicken salad on a whole wheat roll. The roll is so European that it takes the roof off of your mouth. Mmmmmm. Then for after work I am doing happy hour with my pops next door. Finally, I will go home take a bath and crawl into bed early. Todd is gone which means the bed is MINE and all 8 pillows! What more does a girl really need?

Of mice, men, and Lyme disease?

My dog has Lyme disease. A routine blood test just brought be the happy news. Is the WORLD against me? How come EVERY time I try to get to Oz something fucking happens. If it's not us, it's the dog! Urrrrrrr! No matter! It is nothing a round of antibiotics won't clean up. Only 21 days of 350mg of doxy. For those not familiar with ab dosing this is about what you would give to an adult. My dog is 80 pounds and 3ft long not a 5'5 man weighing 160 pounds. Holy smokes! Well, with that dosing she should be free from about everything including most STI's. No chlamydia for my dog!

Visas, medical clearances, money, dogs, oh my!

Good GOD does it take a village to get the Peterson-Watkins clan overseas. It seems everytime I turn around there is some stupid requirement or money. One or the other, and often both. Cappy went in for her blood draws today, yep $400 gone. Not to mention the $400 we have already spent on rabies titers, vaccinations, check ups and God I can't remember. Oh, than there is us! 2 chest x-rays (not covered by insurance), 2 medical examinations (partially covered), months of prescriptions, and a whopping $325 visa application fee. Nice...

Oh yeah, and to make matters more stressful we can't buy a ticket until we have our visas and Cappy has her quarantine clearance. So that puts us into the beginning of March and oh my...I have to be there by March 24. Yeah right! Todd wants to see his family on the way out. We are also planning on stopping in Hawaii for some R and R. The longer the visa process takes the more time we have to cut out of family and friend visits. One thing we decided is off limits is Hawaii. Selfishly the family and friend visits have to be minimized so we can maximize Hawaii and REST. "Sorry 85 year old Grandma, but I have beaches to tan on" It is a NECESSITY at this point that I wean myself off the Xanax and back on to good old wine. I can not go into my doctoral program in the state I am in now.

Through this process I have learned one lesson. God help you if you need a wellness check up with your PCP. Many docs could not see us until May/June. Just the other day I read that the US is having a primary care physician shortage crisis. NO SHIT! What is even worse is that most of the practicing PCP's are over the age of 55. Guess who will be retiring soon? Even the radiologist who did my paper work said that if the country continues in this direction he just might come over and join me. Good luck Mr. Radiologist in getting that PCP appt! I just keep reminding myself that this is all in the name of having a better quality of life:)

SNOW!

Oh my GOD, could it be true? Will we see snow in Feb? I hardly believe it considering last week the temps were in the 60's. Todd left for work with shorts in his bag. No mas! Alas the temps are falling and a BIG low pressure is moving up from the gulf. They are predicting 5-8in at least in the DC area and if the system stalls out, it could be a lot more. Lori, good luck comin' down cause I hear Boston is going to be feeling a blizzard. What a shitty weekend for travel. Oh well, for some reason I agreed to run tomm morning. What the hell was I thinking?

My friend Cornelius just sent me a picture of his 18 mo old Christian. I am going to hire him to shovel my driveway as he appears to be very experienced. Those Germans, their so fastidious when it comes to snow shoveling. My CA boy needs some more training.