S...w...e...l...t...e...r...i...n...g

Well, what a week that was! Speaking in degrees, it went something like this: Monday - 38, Tuesday - 39, Wednesday - 42, Thursday - 43, Friday - 44.8 at the peak. Far out. Previous to this week, the highest temperature I had been in was 42 (in Japan). This week alone saw that record beaten twice. Speaking of records, those temperatures were record breaking for Melbourne, it is the first time since records began - in 1895 - that there have been three consecutive days over 40 degrees. And don't forget that the official temperatures are taken in the SHADE.

Spare a thought for those in South Australia though as they have been between 40 and 45 degrees for the whole week. The temperatures there and here have resulted in some terrible bush fires too. So far in Victoria there have been 15 homes destroyed and many more damaged. Also, in one of the areas where the fires are - a massive one covering 6000 hectares - two out of the three major power transmission lines for Victoria got caught up in the flames. This combined with the extra power drain from everyone cranking their airconditioning resulted in blackouts for many of the suburbs. We were fortunate to miss most of them, but our power went down last night for about four hours. We ended up at the Reynolds having ox tongue sandwiches - yum!

A funny thing happened while driving home from work on Thursday. I was on the phone to mum (hands free, don't worry) when something caught my eye down the road there was a truck pulled over on the side of the road with smoke coming out of it. Now, I must explain that it is not uncommon to see vehicles pulled over on the side of the road and highway here when you are out and about. But something seemed different as I got closer and noticed that it was on fire!

It must have only just started as the driver and a few other

people were standing around dumbfounded with cellphones plastered to their ears calling the fire brigade. Not sure what happened to set it off, but the main part of the fire was directly above the cab. Maybe it was the airconditioner for the back that caught on fire? Not sure, but it made for interesting viewing nonetheless.

We had a fun day today. After FS this morning, we decided to go to Ocean grove, a little beach spot about an hour and a half to the south of Truganina.We where thinking about

going there on Australia Day last Monday, but that was the day that we went on The Big Drive with the Veltri's.

Ocean Grove reminded us a lot of Whangamata. The town centre is smaller than Whangamata but the residential area is larger. We went down to one of the many beach access points and sat in the car for a while having lunch, reading our books and chilling out. The view from where we were was beautiful, just a light breeze blowing in to cool things down.

We went for walk down the beach and found it well populated. Everyone was enjoying the cool change in the weather and the nice warm ocean. From there we checked out the town centre and shafted with a couple of milkshakes. What do I mean by shafted? We got two 'smoothies' which were only milk, banana and malt and they cost $6.50 each! Oh well, at least the view was nice in Ocean Grove.

The big drive

Wow, what an awesome day we have had. In this one day, we have seen more of Victoria than we have in the whole time we have been here!

We started this morning when the Veltri's picked us up at 0800 and we headed off into the city. On Saturday night we had mentioned to them that we really missed the cool cafes that we had in NZ - Truganina is a brand new area so there are no cafes in old brick buildings with wooden floors etc. So they said that the new the perfect part of the city for us: Fitzroy.

As we turned into one of the main streets of Fitzroy, it became obvious that they were right on the money. The area is an older part of Melbourne, and the old buildings have been preserved with their rustic charm and filling the shops are quirky fashion boutiques, groovy cafes and bookshops. In other words, heaven for Mrs B and I.

We went to Cafe Retro and sat down on torn vinyl chairs at our chrome edged pink and white flecked table. We ordered a 'Sleazy Bowl Latte' and 'Big Breakfast' each and then spent the next two hours just chatting and laughing and having a hilarious time. The food was magnificent, the atmosphere was magic and the coffee was perfect.

When we finally dragged ourselves away from there, we hit the highway and headed for the Dandenong Ranges. It was the perfect day to get up into the mountains as it was a beautiful clear blue sky kinda Melbourne day with the temperature around 30 degrees. We stopped at the National Park entrance where we were treated to a view right across the plains to Melbourne and the coast. A truly amazing view. Where we were was only 633 meters above sea level, but since it rises up from the plains, you can see for miles. Here is the view with a hot chickie in it to spice it up a little:

Then we pretty much carried on down the highway with no particular plan, just seeing where the road would take us. We ended up at a German chocolate house / cafe in the middle of nowhere. They made the most decadent cakes and choclates that were just to die for. Our hot chocolates had Bavarian chocolate flakes sprinkled on and through them, which made them heaven to drink.

After leaving there and finding civilisation again, we realised we had ended up close to where some friends from Hoppers Crossing congo had recently moved to. So we went and dropped in on them to have a bit of a catch up. They were stoked to see us and, coincidentally some other friends from Hoppers had also dropped in to say hello, so it was nice addition to our day. We filled up on coffee again there and then made our way home. It turns out we were only an hour from home so it was a pretty cruisy drive back.

Of course the best way to finish the day was to have pizza, so we gorged ourselves on that. Yum yum.

A huge big long day, but by far the most fun we have had since arriving here. We have lots of new places to explore further, and lots of places that we can take you all when you come and visit.

Off to bed with a full belly and satisfied tiredness.

*sigh*

Long weekend

Yay! This weekend is a long weekend! An extra day to chill out and relax. Monday is Australia Day, the day when Aussies (and all the imports like us) take a day to enjoy the sun, some beer and a BBQ. Australia Day is actually an anniversary of when the first ship arrived here from England with the first load of convicts for imprisonment and labour.

These days you no longer need to be a criminal to get in, but it sure helps...

Tonight we invited the Veltri's over for dinner. Since we moved in we haven't had anyone for dinner so they were our first honoured guests. We had a great time just chatting and laughing and guffawing as we regaled each other with stories of FS, work and holidays. There was some serious talk about the foods we love and the drinks we like to imbibe. In the end we decided that this Monday (Australia Day) we will all pile into a car and go for a random drive. Just get in the car and see where we end up. Not sure yet if we will go inland or of we will head south down the coast. All will be revealed. One thing you can be sure of is that much fun will be had.

Much fun indeed.

Hello from the land of HOT

You know its hot when:

1: The mercury reads 40.5 degrees
2: The council bans lawnmower use due to the sparking danger
3: The railways are closed because the tracks are warped
4: The grass on the side of the highway spontaneously combusts

Then, as a little bit of a sequel to the list above: You know you are Melbourne when the wind changes direction and it drops 9 degrees in 15 minutes! Brilliant, I love this place.

Hot, hot, hot!

Where has the week gone?

This week just seemed to fly by. Of course the fact that I was in a near constant state of tiredness-fog probably helped make the week zip past. Why was I tired? Well, last Sunday I went to my first cricket game at the MCG!

I must say, it was a great night out. Sadly the South Africans lost against Australia, but it was a good spectacle nonetheless. Big hits, big catches and a big crowd. There were 62,180 people there - the biggest group of people I have ever been with. It was quite and experience to be in the middle of a 62,000 person mexican wave! I have some video of the wave, e.mail me if you want to have a lookie. I will definitley be going back there to watch more games - hopefully with some mates from New Zealand. HINT HINT everyone!

We are back into the swing of things at work. The holidays are over and everyone is back so things are at a nice level of busy. I have a new client to look after now in addition to my regulars, but they are an on call client, so I don't have to see them everyday, just whenever they need media or data from us. I am nice and familiar with my run now, so it is nice cruising around the city and the suburbs taking it all in. Melbourne is a beautiful city and there are many, many things to see and do.

This morning we went down the road to Werribee, the next town down the highway. It is a bit similar to Cambridge, nice leafy trees and cafes dotted here and there. Mrs B (the bargain hunter) took me to a place called Dimmies where you can get mega bargains on everything from clothes to shampoo. To give you and idea, we bought some new pants for me for work for only $12.99. These are the sort of suit pants you would pay anything from $30.00 to $60.00 for elsewhere. We will definitely be going back there! Another place we will be going back to is the Werribee Fruit, Vege and Meat wholesaler. We got 1.7kg of chicken (wings, breasts etc) for $5.00 and one kg of coffee for $7.99 as well as a few other things. Yum!

Well its quarter to two in the afternoon now, and I think I need to have a snooze....

Lazin' in the sun

As I sit here at the dining table, I cast my eyes yonder to the sun drenched patio. A question bubbles into my mind like the fine froth on a good beer. Shall I venture outside into the 30 plus degree temperatures and sun my pasty white skin in the warm glow of our closest star? Or should I stay here, strong coffee in hand and enjoy the cool breeze gently lulling through from our front door through the house and out the ranchslider?

Suddenly turmoil encases me as I realise that I wish to have the best of both of these worlds. More questions arise and I contemplate the challenge of accomplishing these seemingly small goals. The questions fire at me like the spray from a machine gun. In my mind I wrestle with the decision making process. Just when I think I have made the decision, the process counter strikes with a choking blow to the throat.

Caught in the grip, mentally I picture myself as a mighty army overcoming a weaker enemy. This somehow gives me the strength I need to fend off the decision process and claim my win. As I stand victorious over the decision process, for a moment as I look upon my defeated foe, a pang of sadness fills me as I look at it all beaten up and mangled. This pang comes for just a brief moment before the thrill of my victory engulfs me once again. It was a well schooled enemy, but honour and principles won in the end.

So here I am, still at the table, the status quo maintained. Peace once again gently strokes the grassy fields of my mind.

And there ends todays dramatic writing piece by Shane K Ball a.k.a Balley, a.k.a 8-Ball, a.k.a The Big Teste (my nickname at work).

Bye.

In case you were wondering.....

Our new house flippin' ROCKS.

We love it so much! It is a little bit empty here and there, but we are slowly filling it up. The furniture has been delivered and we are now looking around for all those little things that you forget about - like toilet brushes and coffee plungers. All the important stuff!

In line with the big move to our first house in Australia, I now present for your viewing pleasure, Vanderbilt Drive - The Movie:

Hopefully that will give you some idea of what it is like. I took it before the furniture arrived so thats why it looks so empty. The video is 9.5MB so it may take a while to load. Remember, the best way is to press Play, let it start for a second, then press Pause. Let it load up then press Play again. This way you will avoid it playing all jumpy and stoppy starty.

Today is January the 1st 2009. Another year begins! It seems like not that long ago we were facing 2008. I guess looking back, 2008 was a year that we could have happily bypassed had we known all the crap that was going to turn up. I guess now we are through all of that we can look back and make ourselves stronger. We got through some tough times with the help of the Big Guy, our family and our friends. May you all be blessed for whatever help you gave us, big or small. Many of you may not even know how much you helped us. Sometimes just a kind word or a pat on the back was all we needed to get through. Thank you all.

To everyone, take care, hug your loved ones and don't ever stop being thankful for each day we have.