Changes, Changes and More Changes

(Well past) time for another update on all things Australian! The first big news is that Nancy is here – arriving a week ago Wednesday – and that has been so cool! She came and we stayed at the Marriott Hotel in the Brisbane Central Business District for a few days before we took possession of my (literally) new apartment. The apartment was just barely finished – we still have no curtains on the windows until next Wednesday – but we signed the lease on Friday and moved in on Saturday. I say “moved in” but that literally means dragging 5 suitcases across town and up to the 3rd floor in an elevator.

The apartment is in one of three new building on the Brisbane River – adjacent to the cruise ship terminal. That means every Saturday morning (at a minimum), there’s a cruise shop at the dock loading up people to head out on 6 day cruise. I don’t know where they go but it might be kind of fun to take one – all we’d need to do is walk out of our apartment and we’d be at the ship! The apartment build is called “Infinity” because there is a small “infinity” style pool outside for our use. Nancy tried it today and it was rather cool but since it was about 85 degrees (these darn autumn days are killers), it was pretty refreshing. The building is really modern, RFID “keys” that activate the building security systems, all 12 volt quartz lighting and motion sensors on lights in case you get up in the evening to use the “loo”. We are the first people to live here and some of the neighbors are just moving in as well so we’ll see what things are like when the place is fully occupied. I have a 6 month lease but I’ve already discovered that this location – while convenient to work – is not runner friendly. I have to run 1 _ kilometers along a narrow strip of pavement beside a very busy, truck filled road before I get to a riverside park and it’s a pretty miserable experience so I’m thinking about trying the nearby health club for now. I’m already thinking that if this assignment gets extended, I’m going to find another place for the remainder.

Nancy has been all about making this apartment “home” for me. She has a real eye for this – I’m just thinking “leave well enough alone” – but now there’s some color and a few plants and some personal items here and there. She’s also trying to get the power, gas, cable, etc. taken care of – I’d forgotten what a hassle all of that stuff can be. I’m not sure how well I’m going to function when she’s not with me here. I’m thinking I will make a pretty crappy bachelor after 29 years of marriage.

One thing we’ve discovered – Brisbane is home to gargantuan fruit bats. These are not your cute little Michigan bats that you see swooping and diving after mosquitoes on a summer’s evening; there are bald eagle sized bad boys that could (seemingly) pick up a small automobile and relocate it. You look up in the night sky and see these things flapping away overhead – it’s rather unsettling! I’ve made it a strict policy not to eat any fruit after dusk – just to be on the safe side. If you wanted to “off” an enemy, I’m thinking you could just hide a banana somewhere on his person and – wham – never seen or heard from again.

We took a few hours last Sunday afternoon to head up to Mount Tamborine for a little sight seeing. Mount Tamborine is not too far from Brisbane, on the route to the Gold Coast, and is, like all quaint mountain top villiages, full of craft shops and restaurants sells weird crap (for the most part) made in China that Japanese tourists (who show up in bus loads) grab to fill their apartments with. We got there just as most things were closing but enjoyed the drive with Pierre and Leslie and it was a beautiful day. Hopefully we will head up north after church tomorrow and do a little more sightseeing – Nancy wants to see the ocean before she leaves.

We depart for Michigan this coming Friday for a little more than a week at home. We have multiple birthdays to celebrate (Bethany, Tim and me) and the Easter holiday as well so I’m looking forward to this time back in Michigan to recalibrate. Hopefully, we’ll be able to reconnect with friends and family during this hiatus – I really miss the people that make my life “my life” every day!