Your heart is an empty room

Casselden Place
Originally uploaded by trojen_hoarse.

I'm feeling a bit more settled now and I am loving Melbourne. I love living in Ascot Vale (soon to be Moonee Ponds). I walk to work most days (unless I'm in the city) and I'm ENJOYING it. I love the chilly mornings...(I know, I'm a freak).

I'm enjoying working in the city, the building pictured is Casselden Place and from the 37th floor I have some fantastic views (I can see Moonee Ponds!).

Anyway the title of this post is a Death Cab for Cutie song that I highly recommend. It's a new personal favourite!

- Jen
p.s Am waiting for something exciting to happen so I can post something people will be interested to read!

1 week gone, x to go

Well the first week of 'work' or training has come and gone as has my first week of living in the mighty fine city of Melbourne, and of course the huge milestone of surviving my first week living with the man.

I'm enjoying sprinting up the hill near our house to try and catch the train of a morning. Friday was the first day I missed it, and only by the time it took to validate my ticket too! Work is not that great. I know that working in a call centre (even if it is only for a few months) is going to suck, so it should have been no surprise that the training would also 'suck'. Its great meeting the new grads but the training is pretty, well dry to put it nicely.

I went for a run when I got home last night and explored some more and then went for a run this morning in the opposite direction...I am slowly but surely running out of directions!

Living with the man has so far been great and unlike me, he clearly anticipated my having to adjust and that I might be a bit sad. I have slowly come to notice however that if I enter the kitchen with even the slightest intention of cooking, all utensils are removed from my hands. At first this was nice because its nice to be cooked for...but now I'm starting to get suspicious that he might think I am some kind of threat to people's eating experiences. So this afternoon I baked* a slice, and for dinner I'm cooking tuna mornay which he probably won't like but I do and I know Cam (housemate) does. Otherwise things are great, I haven't felt weird or anything like I should be going home soon which I thought I would. Very much looking forward to moving into the apartment though, just for the extra room....I guess I will have more new areas to explore too!

Until next time,

- Jen



* and only slightly burnt

Where to begin?

Well I'm officially a resident of Melbourne now and I'm cold. Right to the bone. Thankfully when I step out the door on the way to work I am very warm thanks to a nice thick coat and gloves. Plus the walk to the train or if I am in Moonee Ponds, the office keeps me warm. The man's (or the man and I's) bedroom is FREEZING though and thats where I'm typing!

Yesterday was my first day and I walked to Moonee Ponds which was a good walk but any longer and it might have been too long. When we move it will probably be too short a walk!

Speaking of moving our loan was approved and we hope to move in the next few weeks....very exciting!!

Today I had to go into the city which wasn't as scary as I imagined and it was really easy to get to work. Hopped on a train and then walked up an escalator and crossed a road to get to the office!

Not much else is going on at the moment. Still trying to settle in and feeling more comfortable all the time. I love schedules and plans so as long as I have something to follow I don't stress out too much. So far I've worked out its a good idea to get clothes for work organised the night before that way the man doesn't get woken up when I turn on the light at 6am hunting for that elusive matching sock! Also I love getting up (freezing as it is), turning on the heater, having a shower, switching on 'Sunrise' and cooking porridge and sitting down for half an hour!! I think its the quiet and the 'me' time that I like. I can potter around and do things at my own speed. Plus I always have been a morning person.

I got home today at 4 and managed to talk myself into going for a run. The best thing so far about Melbourne is being able to explore. I even got a bit lost which was great! When I got home the man and I went up and measured the new place and it looks pretty good. The oven and dishwasher are in now so it just needs to be cleaned up and it will all be done!

Well I'm a hungry hungry hippo and dinner is calling...calling out for me to cook it...

- Jen

Unfreaking believable.

Like the organised person that I am I had my car booked in for a service before I leave today. Out I stroll after a fantastic sleep in to warm up my car (which I do EVERY morning)....and it won't start. It made that oh so lovely bururrurrr burururur you hear when the battery is going.

On the day I'm taking it to get SERVICED! So I call the NRMA, they fix it in about 30 seconds and off I drive to drop it off at the mechanic. One new battery later and she's as good as new.

But I mean COME ON! what are the chances!

- Jen

And disappeared, with everything that you held dear

Leaving Albury is proving much harder than I orginally thought. Just saying goodbye to my workmates especially the other grads was terrible. I put it off until the possible minute.

I've never ever considered myself popular or at least well-liked but its made it that much harder to say goodbye to people when it seems like they are genuinely going to miss me as well.

I started this year working with three other people as new to the tax office as me. I really hope it wasn't a fluke that we all get along so incredibly well because I dare say I will be lucky to find a work environment like the one I am leaving.

Particularly as I will be working in a call centre until October.

I'm sure that once I get to Melbourne things will be great...its just the actual leaving part that is hard.

Sad sigh,

- Jen

Jen and the not-so-skippy bush kangaroo

As much as the things that happen to me on a daily basis make me laugh or make me cry or make me angry, I cannot deny the fact that they also provide material for me to blog about.

Take today for instance, driving to work, listening to death cab for cutie, and I come round a corner and there is a kangaroo on the side of the road. Just chillin' out.

Not really. It had been hit by a car (or else had broken it's leg hopping) and was trying to hop away. Pretty unsuccessfully too. Like my sister mentioned later on, a kangaroo's legs are a pretty integral part of its mobility. I kept driving but felt horrible. I mean, I didn't hit the roo but I hate seeing hurt animals. By the time I got to the bottom of the hill I was looking for a place to turn around to go back. So being the soft dork that I went back to see if I could do anything.

It was lying on its side trying feebly to get away but didn't seem too scared of me. Of course having lived with a cat that has to take valium to keep it sane, a hurt kangaroo wasn't too much of a step up. I looked at it, it looked at me and I made soothing 'sea noises'. Then I decided that this was a bit of a waste of time. I felt terrible (pretty close to tears), but what could I do? I called the police who said they were on their way so I'd done all I could do for the poor thing.

I got in my car and drove back up the hill to find a place to turn around, did so and then drove back down the hill avoiding looking at the roo.

Of course I looked at the roo, well looked for the roo. Except it wasn't on the side of the road anymore it was on the road. Under a truck.

Not a good start to my day really!! But bloggable material none-the-less.

- Jen
p.s. My sister later mentioned if it was a 'boy' or a 'girl' kangaroo and I'm so glad I didn't think to look. If there had of been a joey in there...well there would have been a lot more than a little sniffling I think!

Why'd they bite you?

Tonight I had to say goodbye to jase. One of the few people from Albury who I do actually have to say goodbye to. Jase is going to work at the presently snow-less falls creek over winter and I am off to Melbourne next weekend. It would be an understatement to say that it was an emotional goodbye. We've been friends for probably four years now. We met at uni in database management or object modelling...or something boring, it was the second time Jase was sitting the subject I remember that.

Despite living together and the one time jase had to deal with the 'wrath of jen' after I came home to a previously spotless house in ruins two days later (there were a few dirty dishes) we have never had a blue...even the disagreement over the dishes ended up with us laughing (after some shouting). We have a similar sense of humour and he is the only other person in this world besides the man that I can talk about absolutely anything with.

I said to myself I wouldn't cry tonight. After all I'm not sad to see jase go. I'm not! He is going to have a BLAST up at Falls and he needs to get out of Albury. But I'm sad that I won't get to see him anymore. So cry I did.

I half wonder if this feeling I have been having all week has been related to the thought of having to say goodbye. I even managed to prolong having to do it last night by arranging to see him today as well! Thats my fantastic procrastination skills at work again! Anyway...

Good luck Jase.

- Jen

Goodbye to you too Tib.

Well I was cleaning out pretty much the last of my clothes/photos/belongings out of my room at my parents tonight and Tib my cat was sitting on my bed, watching me. I felt a bit sad because while she isn't too old (10) or sick or anything, I'm moving out of home(again) and it would be pretty much the last time I would see her for awhile. So I felt a bit sad and was giving her a bit of attention (for once she probably thought). Of course instead of being a snob like she usually is and ignoring me (or stalking out of the room) she purred and stretched out making me feel even worse about 'leaving her'. I've had her since she was a kitten and she was the one I picked out of all the kittens I could choose from because she looked the most playful, and she was cuddly when I picked her up. Then I grew up and she grew up and then I moved out on her and now I'm doing it again. She snuggled up to me tonight and I nearly lost it. My poor cat, how will you survive without me???

And then she bit me.

Then I was fine. Damn cat.

- Jen