wtf?!

no word on the job yet.  they said the would make their decision by early this week and it’s thursday in oz already.  seriously,  does it take that long to draft my offer letter?  ha!  now i’m really antsy and i just want to know either way.  this is cruel and unusual punishment and while i’m enjoying my holiday,  this is always looming at the back of my mind.  not very nice.  to be honest,  i’m not feeling very optimistic now.

had a marathon shopping day and i think i’ve bought enough stuff to clothe a small country so i’m done.  it’s a good thing there isn’t enough time for us to shop in atlanta or else we’d be in trouble.

my parents decided to treat us out to dinner at the japanese all-you-can-eat buffet.  mmm, sushi.    great news for everyone not allergic to fish and seafood.  my parents are still in denial and decided that i can’t be their child.  my mother tried to get me to eat lobster to see what would happen and my dad got me a salmon roll.  i was soo grouchy.  the only things i could really eat was the steak and the strange asian desserts.

i got a manicure today and i was talking to the gal and she asked me where i was living.  i said australia and she said that she knew i wasn’t from around here.  she says that i have an australian accent.  seriously,  wtf?  i wanted to tell her that i was actually born and raised just a few minutes away but that would mean engaging her in a conversation about my life.  not interested.  the nail polish couldn’t dry quick enough.

we’re off to atlanta tomorrow.  i am horribly sick with a fever and really bad cough.  i’m trying to hide it from my parents by taking lots of tylenol and coughing violently in another room.  if my parents knew how sick i was, they wouldn’t let me on that plane.  i’m trying hard to not act sick.  mind over matter.

the Brit and i decided to try to pack all of our crap in one bag for atlanta.  brilliant idea.  not.  the brit decided to take as many shoes and outfits as me.  he’s such a girl.  miraculously,  we managed to get it to fit though i have to shove a pair of heels in my carry on.  i saw the Brit pack a jumper and i looked at him like “do you know how hot it’s going to be down there?”  i couldn’t say anything though because i packed 7 dresses.

we’re back from atlanta next tuesday at about 10am.  there will probably be some radio silence from me till then as there are loads of wedding activities planned so i don’t foresee time to blog.  with me being sick,  we’re going to play it by ear -  i may spend quite a bit of time in the hotel room.  you never know – i may feel better tomorrow.  i’ll talk to you all soon.

hangin’ with the rents

yeah,  we’re watching ‘wheel of fortune.’  it’s so good to have some decent filipino food.  my mom is the best cook ever and i try to cook the same things as her, but it never turns out the same. 

the Brit and i spent the entire day shopping again.  add to my growing list 3 more dresses, another pair of shoes,  trousers, 3 video games and a new bag.  i wasn’t planning on getting another bag but it’s the Brit’s fault.  the shop he wanted to go to was next to the Kate Spade store and it’s just a given that i’ll buy something.  i’ll need to get a second job when we get back to australia.  i’m spending money like i got the new job already.

i haven’t heard anything yet, and i’m obsessively checking my email every hour.  even my parents are telling me to calm down.  as i am typing this right now,  they are asking the Brit where he finds the patience to put up with me.  i love being talked about in the third person when i’m right there.  time to go and defend myself.  i knew my parents loved my husband more than me.

p.s.  the Brit is really getting into ‘wheel of fortune.’

stimulating the economy.

our first day in america and what do we do?  shop!  i’m feeling like myself again…except for hitting a wall at about 1pm and wanting to crawl inbetween the clothes racks and nap.  in the country for less than 24 hours and i already have 5 new dresses, a few new tops, 2 new pairs of pajamas, and 5 new pairs of shoes.  The brit is proud that i’m showing some restraint compared to last year.  i told him that i’m just getting warmed up.  i already told my mother that i’ll need to borrow another suitcase for the trip home.

it’s 4.45pm now and i want to go to bed but i’m going to try to stay up another few hours. it’s hot here too and i’m not used to it.  it’s weird to be able to go out in a dress and flip flops when all i seem to do in australia lately is put on layer upon layer of clothing to stay warm. 

i haven’t heard anything about my job yet, not like i expected to yet…it’s only monday morning in oz.  i made the mistake of telling my parents about the job so now every time my parents see me on the computer, they ask me if my boss emailed me yet.  doesn’t help the nervousness. 

time for a nap.  for the rest of the week,  i’m going to show the Brit all the great shopping there is to do in michigan.  at the rate i’m going, i’ll need to borrow more than one suitcase.

i hate airports.

the brit and i finally made it to america.  i am sitting at my parents’ home after a marathon day of traveling.  i’m so over it all.  we got started at 5am, saturday in melbourne.  we finally touched down in michigan at midday sunday australia time.  long f*cking day and i was so over it.  i was over travelling as soon as we got to LA and i knew we still had still so long to go.  i wanted to cry.  i wanted to slit my wrists with the plastic forks that came with my airplane “food.”  when we got to salt lake city,  i found a row of seats at the airport that didn’t have arm rests so i was able to lie down and sleep for an hour.  that saved my sanity.  now i’ve slept for 12 hours,  ate real breakfast and am trying to become normal again.  i think shopping is in order.

one more hour to go

and then i’m officially on holiday!!  i doubt i’ll be able to post everyday but i will try to post as often as i can.  i will be notified via email of the job so i’ll keep you all updated!  keep well and i’ll be back soon.  america here we come!

post interview fallout.

just had my final interview with my manager.  i am suddenly considering the fact that i won’t get the job.  a friend of mine gave me some pointers pre-interview.  he said “think quickly, speak slowly.”

that so didn’t happen.

there were some curveball questions,  not the typical interview ones i was expecting, and the answers weren’t coming to me quickly.  so to fill the gap during which i was thinking,  i babbled.  two words:  VERBAL DIARRHEA.  i was mortified as i listened to the salad of words that poured out of my mouth (and i could do nothing to stop it).   i had to somehow try to pull it all together at the end to make it all cohesive but i don’t know if did that in every case.  my manager would contribute during my soapbox with “mm hmm” and “yes” and “very good” but that doesn’t mean i’m making sense.  i do that to the Brit sometimes when he’s talking about advanced user forms in excel.

i thought i’d feel relieved to get this over with but i’m still tense and stressed out.  i’m left to contemplate my crap-on-a-stick answers and wonder if i really did muck it up or if i’m being neurotic.

they will make their decision early next week. 

i need a drink.  badly.  now.

thursday.

ack. busy.  more interview prep tonight!  big one tomorrow!

interview update

i had my first interview with HR today.  she said that she only wanted to get a “general sense of things” and it would only last for about 15 minutes.  the one on friday would be more in depth and last a whopping 45 minutes.  my interview lasted half an hour – but i have a tendency to babble.  i think it went really really well.  she seemed impressed and happy with my responses.  but i don’t want to jinx it so that’s all i’ll say.

australia and all its wonders

really,  this post should be titled “people and things that fascinate/confound me” because it could happen anywhere i suppose, not just australia but that title doesn’t sound as punchy.   so here goes…

• the man who works somewhere in my building who will wait for the revolving door to do one full revolution before going through.  it could be devoid of people and he will still wait.  we arrive at work at roughly the same time every morning so i have the pleasure of witnessing his OCD.  if i’m a bit early,  i stay outside for a bit longer until he arrives to see if he does it again (i guess you can say that i like to watch).  and he does.
• the person at the cross walk who will pres the button repeatedly and quite vigourously for the green walking man to appear.  it’s worth mentioning that this person was probably standing behind me and saw me press the button already.  perhaps i didn’t slam it hard enough.  i’ve never noticed a direct correlation between how many times you press the button and when the light turns green.  my guess is that there is none but a lot of people must think it works.  I tell people that watching their report print makes the printer actually go faster.  same principle i think.
• vegemite.  i think it’s the same as marmite.  it’s all just brown goop to me.  and it tastes like brown goop.
• mullets.  they are everywhere here.  i didn’t notice them when i was back in america, maybe i’m out of the loop and they’re really popular again. 
• Twitter.  everyone at work keeps talking about how great it is.  why?  the media made a big deal about it because crusty old GOP senators were using it.  that for me was a signal that it was not cool.  it’s like the first time i heard my mother say “talk to the hand.”  i don’t think i said it ever again after that (except to my mother). btw,  they also use facebook.  not cool.
• australian commercials.  not all of them but one in particular that really irked me.  i’d throw my hands up every time it came up on the telly and wonder how it ever got past the “ideas table” at the ad agency.  it was a tampon commercial with a beaver (um, the animal) in it.  there’d be scenes of some super happy chick at the beach with this animated beaver,  both laying in the sun,  while two unrealistically toned men walk by and check out the girl and her beaver.  seriously, wtf?  cut to the last scene where the chick and her beaver  friend are at dinner and she gives the beaver a box of tampons as a gift.  hello?  focus group?  don’t believe me?  it’s on youtube.  see it for yourself.
• The woman who sells the Big Issue down the street from my office.  we happened to be on the same tram as her quite a while ago and accused the Brit of being a Free mason.  wha…?  then went on to talk about how they’re bad and i should watch myself.  apparently the Brit did some hand geture while he was telling me a story that i think is a signal used amongst free masons.  again, i say,  WTF? !  the brit and i ignored her (and this was well over a year ago) and she still bloody remembers me.  she always says something to me  when i walk past her.  i think she’s trying to pick a fight with me.  i ignore her.  she always has weird messages written on the side of the box she keeps the Big Issue in.  a few weeks ago it was “Ahmadinejad is sexy.”  For a while during the american election, it was “Vote for Obama” which i thought was amusing since you can’t vote for the american president if you’re not american.  this morning it was something about free masons (i couldn’t really see the message and i didn’t want to slow for fear she may try to talk to me about my free mason husband).  the woman is weird.  and what did a free mason ever do to her?

interview!

that’s right. i gots me an interview.  i have one with HR tomorrow at 1pm and then a second interview with my manager on friday at noon.  bring it on.