Okay, summer really is on its way this time. But, aside from the fact that we had to borrow an iron and bust out the sewing kit to patch up our clothes1 that are wearing through after seven months of continuous wear, this has to be one of the most boring weeks ever to be recorded in the blog. It's hard to believe that September is almost upon us, but with it comes the drawing of our thoughts and attention to the new school year that begins back at home... hopefully the last school year, for both of us. At least, the last as students.
We leave for Alice Springs on Sunday of Labor Day weekend.2 Getting into the centre, into the remote desert in the centre of the country-- this is one of those trips we've been wanting to do since before we came to Australia. But we've been feeling a little "travelled out," a feeling I never knew was possible before a few years ago. We know, though, that as soon as we get moving, get out there to see these things unlike anything we've seen before, this feeling of burn-out will dissipate rather quickly.
Almost everything except Chad's exercising, D's writing, and Chad's coding, has frozen solid this week. The class D's been helping to teach is done meeting for the year,3 and so every day now she gets up in the morning, eats breakfast, sits at her computer, eats lunch and takes a walk sometime in the afternoon, goes back to her computer, eventually either cooks or eats dinner, and then works at her computer most evenings. She's been working so much at her computer that her back is tense and sore and her legs have bruises from the legs of the chair. Chad's code has run up against a wall and he's frustrated that there's no one he can talk to about it.
(It's just a house of calm and happiness these days.)
Last Friday evening the 26th of August, we amused ourselves by celebrating our "pre-anniversary," one year before our wedding. Some might argue that we don't actually have anything to celebrate yet-- but it just seemed wrong to let the day pass without marking it somehow.4 If all goes well, by this time next year, we'll both be graduated, employed, moved, and married... but we try not to think about that, because it can easily cause panic attacks when we realize how much we have to do in those twelve months to make all that happen.
Last weekend, Chad's biking took him all the way out to Sydney's Olympic Park, where the grounds have a number of bike and walking paths. He found an exhibition of demo homes constructed of energy-efficient materials-- and so he brought home a small pile of fliers for us to use as we plan our house, which is high on our list of priorities right now.5 Whether we choose to build out of steel, concrete, timber, clay, or even cardboard, we're all set now.
Before we leave on Sunday, D has her third and final Australian conference to attend... and finish writing her paper to be presented there. Hopefully, her writing streak of this week will see her through...
;)
- D
PS: Finally started to post photos and stories of our June trip to far north Queensland-- hope to get some more up before we leave this weekend!
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NOTES
1Don't look so shocked, we took home ec, we do have some basic housekeeping skills-- both of us, actually, although D was the one doing the patching this time. It felt so Little House on the Prairie or maybe Great Depression-esque. It does sort of make you realize how spoiled the middle-class of our generation are-- everything is so disposable these days.
2No, they don't celebrate Labor Day here, at least, not in September. But, it's hard not to think in terms of the American calendar.
3Spring classes are still in session until the end of October, but part of their class responsibilities was to come in over their winter break for six eight-hour days, so they get cut some slack this term.
4Plus, Chad says, the more practice he has having to remember the date, the better he'll be at remembering it in the future.
5Actually, fantasizing about the house we're going to build someday has been a joint pasttime since fairly early in our relationship, and we can always find the time to indulge.
Back to the GAA page!