Update

Here is a picture of Kristen and Paul. The other picture is of the front of the accounting office.

Kristen is still enjoying her new job. I also like her new job becuase I get to hang out in the break-room at the office, where they have excellent coffee and internet.

The weather has cooled off a lot. Now it is always cold in the morning. In the afternoon is still usually gets warm, but not too hot. Our swimming weather seems to be coming to an end, which upsets Graham because had hoped to keep hosting pool parties through April.

We are planning to go to two concerts next month, Brandi Carlile and Jack Johnson. Both of them are playing in Melbourne, only four days apart.

Today is "Tight Ass Tuesday" in Australia. The 1/2 price movie we picked to see tonight is The Bucket List.

I'll post again soon.

-Dylan

A funny story about Paul

Today is Amy’s Birthday, so I thought I would tell a funny story about the night Paul met Amy.

Paul and Amy met at a party last year in Melbourne. Paul felt like he and Amy were really hitting it off, so at the end of the night he asked her to go out for a late cup of coffee. Amy agreed.

Trouble started when they went out front to hail a cab and there were no cabs in sight. Finding a cab turned into such an ordeal that at one point Amy suggested they give up on the coffee idea. Paul, trying to salvage the situation, was persistent in arranging a cab.

The situation only worsened when the cab finally arrived. As Paul and Amy were about to get into their cab, an old woman with a walker began yelling that they were stealing her cab. Rather than simply jumping in the cab and ignoring the woman, Paul tried reasoning with her. He explained that he was not stealing it and that he had in fact arranged the cab for himself. The woman, who turned out to be senile, was either unwilling or unable to listen to reason. She ignored Paul’s attempts to be nice and began yelling obscenities at Paul, as if he were a thief stealing her handbag.

Eventually Paul asked the woman where she lived and she muttered a street name, along with some more obscenities. The street was not far away, so Paul helped the woman into the cab and explained to Amy that they would just drop the cruel old woman off, then continue on to a late-night coffee shop. At this point Paul probably thought the situation would improve, but he was wrong.

The woman’s walker would not fold and fit into the trunk of the cab. It took some doing, but Paul was able to maneuver the walker into back seat. So, off they went in the cab. Paul and Amy sat in the back, Paul with his head tilted to accommodate the bulky walker on his lap. The woman sat up front, but turned sideways in her seat so she could continue to berate Paul while they drove.

Unfortunately, the worst was still not over. When the driver asked the old woman her address she had no idea what it was. Nobody, including the old woman, could figure why she was out late at night in the city, by herself. Nonetheless, there they were. So, instead of going to coffee, Paul and Amy rode up and down the old woman’s street in the cab with her until she eventually recognized her residence. By the time they got the old woman home, it had gotten very late and Amy said she would like to go home. At this point Paul made no effort to dissuade her.

Amy must have either really liked Paul, or felt bad for his enormous cab fare, because she did make Paul a cup of coffee at home before sending him on his way. Although the evening did not go so well for Paul, he did eventually take Amy out on a proper date, and they’ve been together ever since. Sounds like a Woody Allen movie, doesn’t it?

Our best friends (or "best mates" in Australian)

Because we don’t really have any news to report, I thought I would tell our blog followers more about Paul and Graham, the accountants that Kristen now works for. I want to tell you more about them for two reasons: First, we consider them an integral part of our Australia trip and we would like you to know more about them; and second, things happen to Paul and Graham that don’t happen to anybody else, except maybe in Woody Allen movies.

I’ll start with a story about Graham.

Graham has a lovely California-ish back yard with a pool. When Graham is not at work, you can often find him either swimming in his pool or lounging next to his pool. A few years ago, Graham began noticing wasps around his pool. Over time, more and more wasps began to appear. Eventually Graham discovered that the wasps were coming from his neighbor’s shrubs, where they were nesting.

Graham had never talked to his neighbor, but he knew she was a young woman that lived alone. Rather than troubling her, Graham called the City Council to come remove the nest. Then to be polite, Graham went next door to explain the situation to his neighbor.

Much to Graham’s surprise, his neighbor was not appreciative. Instead of thanking Graham, she became irate and scolded him. She began yelling about being an environmentalist, and expressed concerns about using chemicals to kill the wasps. Rather than trying to reason with her, Graham silently turned and left. Later that day, a workman from the City Council removed the nest.

Several years went by and Graham eventually forgot about the incident. He and the neighbor never had another reason to interact. Although Graham did wave at her when he passed her in the street, he noticed that she never waved back.

One day, Graham opened the local newspaper and was saddened to see that his neighbor had died in an accident. (She was trying to rescue an animal in the road when she was hit by a car.) Graham's sadness turned to shock when he read the woman's obituary. Although the woman died young, her obituary suggested that she would be better off now, as if she had led a troubled life; and the only suggestion as to why the woman's life might have been troubled came in the last line of the obituary, which read: “Finally you’ll be free of that nasty little man next door.”

Historic Day In Australia

Today Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued an apology to indiginous Australians. Aboriginals, much like Native Americans, have been terribly mistreated for many generations. Racism against Aboriginals seems far more pronounced here in Australia than racism against Native Americans in the U.S. I hope the apology helps.

Update

Hello Everybody. It is Sunday afternoon. We are at the Albury library updating together. Today we got up early and went to watch our friend Andy play tennis in a local tournament. Then we went home and did some laundry and yard work before coming to the library.

The weather has changed in the last few days. Instead of being in the 90s-100s every day it is now in the 70s-80s. It also gets cold at night and in the mornings. It is great to wear long pants again. Kristen is sleeping better now.

Several weeks ago we started going to the movies on Tuesdays. Movie theatres here charge half price on Tuesday (and call it "Tight Ass Tuesday"). Paul goes with us every Tuesday, and Graham goes most Tuesdays. We have seen a lot of movies. We just saw the new Coen brother movie, which was very disturbing, but still a great movie. We have also seen I Am Legend (which was too intense), Juno (which we really liked), and American Gangster (which was fantastic!).

Kristen is really enjoying her new job. She was not enjoying coaching, so this is a great change for us. She much prefers being indoors, having a set schedule, working normal hours (9-5), and making more money.

We are posting a picture of this funny looking ambulance. In Australia, everybody has to become a member of the ambulance service (for around $100 per year) or else you are charged several thousand dollars to ride in one.

Another funny thing about Australia is that no restaurants (so far) have let us take our leftovers in a "takeaway" box. We think there is some policy that prohibits this. I guess we will just have to be careful to not order too much food.

That's all for now. We'll post again soon.