Wet and rainy week...

Sunday was Daylight Savings... clocks went forward one hour. Monday was Labor Day... I didn't work. It rained all weekend and has rained every day since. We've had a few sunny breaks, but the nights have been wet and cold.

This is my last week of our main training on the job. We are doing a three day training session on Sensis' new production system next week and then Friday I will be on the floor actually doing ads! I am ready to actually be doing my job and not preparing for it.

So far, so good on the home front. I found out my Brazilian roommate will only be here the rest of the month so I will have two new roommates soon. The Chilean is also moving out from what I understand. I am praying that the two newbies are NOT snorers.

I am almost paid up on my rent and bond. I thought I had to pay 3 weeks bond, but it was actually 4 weeks bond. So I have another chunk to pay from my next paycheck. Two more weeks and I should be able to start getting ahead. I want to start sending some money back home to the States while the Australian dollar is strong. It's much stronger than when I arrived so it's a good time to swap them for US Dollars.

I had my second gym training session yesterday and boy did I get a workout! I will definitely be feeling this for the next couple of days! Legs are on the agenda today and Friday I have another session with my trainer where we will do a chest/back workout and discuss my diet. No more Hungry Jacks (Americans insert "Burger King") or McDonalds for me! He is going to tell me his tips for prepping meals for the week which will save me both time and money! I love the sound of that! I have a three month goal of seeing real results so I am anxious to jump all in. With the gym right there and with me not having any other obligations or excuses for not going, I am pretty confident I can't talk myself out of sticking with it.

Three months and counting...

Yesterday marked three months that I've been in Australia. Hard to believe I have been here for a fourth of the year already! Time has really been flying by.

This is also the end of my second week of training for the new job. So far, so good! We've started going more in depth of what we will actually be doing once we get into production. It's more of a technical job than a design job. The hardest part will be learning the rules and regulations regarding the way they process ads for the Yellow Pages. It is very different from setting up files for four color process printing. It'll be a great learning experience. Our group has been getting to know each other pretty well, and we go out for dinner together as a group with our trainers on Thursday nights. This week we ate at a Spanish Tapas restaurant. It's nice making some friends in the city now that I am farther away from Patrick and Jaime and will only be seeing them on the weekends.

I have moved to an area called Darlinghurst which is a ten minute walk to work. It's so convenient. I wasn't sure about the place the first night I stayed there, but after a week, I feel really good about the decision. I met my roommate who is from Brazil. He is nice and considerate, but doesn't speak much English as he just started learning when he came to Australia this summer. However, I must say he speaks English pretty well compared to me trying to speak Portuguese! My only complaint is that he is a snorer, but that was solved with the purchase of some silicone ear plugs. We technically have a third roommate from Chile, but he works outside of the city on the weekdays so I probably won't see him much. There is also a French guy and a Turkish guy that I have met that live on the first floor, second floor if you are American. They call the first floor ground level. Everyone is nice and pretty good about keeping the noise down at night and cleaning up after themselves. I think it will be great accommodation for the next three months, possibly longer. It is definitely affordable and will allow me to save tons for my Post New Year's trip to the Great Barrier Reef!

One of my goals that I set for myself when coming overseas was to get more active, so I joined Fitness First this week. It is only five minutes from my house and my work, so I plan to go Monday through Friday early afternoons. With my membership I have three personal training sessions. I met with my fitness assessor today and he went over my personal goals with me. I have always hated going to the gym because I never could decide on what I wanted to do or where to start. My trainer Baden seems pretty confident he can help me reach my goals but it's going to require a lot of frequent eating! To get the body I am after, I am going to need good strength training, but most importantly a protein high diet and adequate sleep. I'm excited to get started and can't wait to start seeing some results!

I am in Manly for the weekend to house sit for Patrick and Jaime while they are away on a birthday trip to Byron Bay. I was hoping this would be a relaxing weekend soaking up rays on the beach but the forecast is showing rain all weekend. I'll just consider it a lazy indoor weekend in solitude.

While I was waiting for the ferry, there was a fireworks display in the harbour associated with the Latin Festival going on this weekend. If that is a small taste of what New Year's will be like, I am super excited!

Moving to the City!

I arrived home last night around 11 pm and thankfully it was a little quieter than the previous night. Could have been that I was just extremely exhausted, I could have slept though anything!

There were notes on the doors telling "long-term" guests to inform them if we would be staying over for the weekend because they are expecting the weekends to get booked out for the rest of the year. I didn't like the sound of that.

I searched online and made a call in response to an ad I saw for a house share near Hyde Park. Turns out, the place is literally like maybe 4 or 5 blocks from my office! Yay! I paid a deposit and will be moving in Monday. It's a three story house that is shared by seven guys. I will have two other guys in my room. It will kind of be like living in the hostel but better because people won't be constantly coming and going and we have our own bathroom for our room. Plus, the other two guys have bunks and I will have a double size bed! Living a ten minute walk from work will be SO convenient and save me tons of money on transportation costs, let alone give me two hours of my life back that I won't be spending on a commute. Looking forward to meeting my new roommates. I know one of them is from South America.

Tonight's training was long and boring as usual. We just covered how to do things in Illustrator that I already knew. Our class decided to make Thursday night our dinner night, so we all went out for Thai food together. I branched out and did NOT order Pad Thai but instead tried the Pad Khing, which has ginger and steamed veggies. Very yummy.

We didn't time our getting out very good in my favor. I missed the ferry by a few minutes, so I am waiting at McDonalds until 11pm to catch the next ferry. I figured this would be a good time to update the blog. On my way back to stay with Pat and Jaime until Monday when I move into my new place. This is my last weekend in Manly, so I better take advantage of the beach while it's on my doorstep!

The Day the Dust Flew In

Last night was the first night I actually stayed at the hostel since I moved back in last Thursday. I have been staying overnight at Jaime and Patrick's because, well, it's just better over there! A German girl moved into our room and she has taken over. Girls apparently need more than one bed for all the crap they bring with them on holiday, so I have had to resort to a top bunk. Not ideal, but it's a free bed, so I can't complain too much.

I woke up this morning and finished my laundry across town at Jaime and Patrick's place. I figured since I was using their facilities, I would be nice and clean their stove top, which was in need a major cleaning. It looked almost brand new by the time I worked my magic on it! I hope they were impressed.

After my laundry was complete, I headed to the city for my second day of training. We started at 3pm today. We reviewed how to use a scanner and a bunch of other brainless skills that I already knew. I am enjoying having some stability now though. I like the idea of having something productive to do every day as opposed to constantly looking for jobs. I will never put myself in a position where I am struggling to find work again! I don't want to even tell you how many grey hairs I am finding on my head. I am going to have to get my dear friend Claire to take care of this when I get home. Going grey before thirty is unacceptable!

We finished up training today around 9:30 and I caught the 10:15 ferry home, which means I will get home around 11:00pm. I am looking forward to a good night's sleep before I get up to make a few phone calls home and to paint in the morning. I plan to take an hour or so around lunch to soak up the sun at the beach if the weather is nice. A break is well deserved!

The next day ...

I didn't get the good night's sleep I was after. Partly because I drank several cups of coffee and tea while at work so I was a little wired. Won't make that mistake today. The main reason was the noise level in the hostel. People were slamming doors all night and there were people yelling and singing and the guys next door had their radio blaring until past 3 am. I am about over hostel living. I am looking into my options for moving out now that I have a paying job.

My Russian roommate woke up me at 6 am telling me I need to come outside and see the sky. I could see from the room window that it was glowing red outside. When we walked outside it was like stepping into a sci-fi movie. The sky was this red-orange haze, kind of like fog, and it smelt of dust. We didn't know what was going on, but later learned that a major dust storm blew in from the west. This is the first time this has happened to Sydney in over 100 years so it is pretty exciting to be living here during such a rarity. Google the news today and you will see tons of photos.




I am on the ferry now and the windows and railings outside are covered in dust. The dust is settling and should be clearing up tomorrow. It isn't red any more but the skies are very hazy and the air is very dry. Not good for us contact wearers!

I am heading for my third day of work. I'm loving this regularity.

First Day on the Job

I began my job today working at the Yellow Pages. I've never worked through a employment agency before so I was kind of confused at first as for whom I am actually working for. Yellow Pages is owned by Sensis, which is part of Telstra, which is like AT&T back home. I am working for Sensis through the temp agency called Julia Ross. So Julia Ross has employed 20 of us on a casual three month contract to add to Sensis's full-time team during their busy time of the year. My paycheck comes from Julia Ross's office, not Sensis. Confusing, I know. I will be making $27.70 per hour, working at least 35 hours per week, Monday through Friday.

We have 4 weeks of training to go through before they put us on the floor. So technically I will be training for 1 out of 3 months of my contract. Today I learned how to open and shut down a computer, how to create a folder, and everything else anybody in the room should already know and not need explaining. We have two girls training a group of about ten of us in the room. We will all be training together for the four weeks, which will be a great way for us all to get to know each other better and to make a few new friends. I am the only American in our group. Our group also consists of some Chinese, Vietnamese, English, New Zealand, and I think, one Australian native.

I can tell the job is going to be very easy for me. It sure beats waiting tables! Our hours have been changed to 3pm-11pm, which is great because that still leaves me with 45 minutes to get to the ferry back to Manly. I had originally planned to move the city closer to work, but after arriving to the hostel where I was going to moving to proved to be the equivalent of living the slums of South Jackson, I hightailed it back to Manly! My commute will be about 50 minutes, but it includes a relaxing 30 minute ferry ride across the harbor where I can do write some journal entries, update my website, read a book, etc. From the ferry, I catch a bus that takes me to my building. Because it was our first day, we got out at 8:15pm.

So far, so good! Loving Sydney, but definitely missing the comforts of home. Perhaps after a month, I may look at a house share in the city. For now though, I am back to painting murals at Manly Backpackers. They were glad to have me back!

Here is a photo of my first mural I did for them. I am continuing this design down the wall a bit and will then plan my next mural.

I moved out of my friend's house in Manly and relocated closer to the beach at one of the backpackers. They have allowed me to move in for free accommodation in exchange for doing some mural painting. My first day moving in, the owner decided to use me for some promotional work instead so I haven't started my painting yet. I have decided what I am going to do, so once he gets me the paints I need, I will get started on that and upload the finished project when it is completed.

I am looking for employment in Sydney. I have a meeting with a company on the Northern Shore next week for a graphic design position, and I am really excited about it. The owners really seem to like me so far. I don't want to get my hopes up, but I really think it might work out. If so, that will be a big load off my back financially! Unemployment runs out of fun when you don't have money to bank your free time! The job will be a three month contract which could be extended up to 6 months on my visa. Could potentially make $20,000 if they kept me for the 6 months. It is located in Mona Vale, which is 30 minutes north of Manly. Should I get the position, I will most likely relocate to that area so I don't have to commute on the bus everyday.

That's all I have to share for now.

Sunrise over Manly

I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. Since I was up, I decided to go for a stroll along the beach and wait for the sun to rise. Boy, am I glad I did, because the sunrise was spectacular! I wish I was a morning person so I could witness this every day!

Decided it was time for a move ...

Things weren't working out in Melbourne for me as far as work was concerned and I was beginning to see my savings deplete pretty quickly. I decided it was time to make a move up to Sydney. I figured if I couldn't find a job here, at least I would have spent some time in two big areas of Australia before going bust. Turned out to be a great move!

I arrived in Sydney on Monday night and my friends Jaime and Pat picked me up from the airport. I got to see the Opera House and the harbor on our way to Manly Beach where they live. The next day I set out on my job hunt, dropped off a couple of resumes and within a day or two, I had a call back for a job with a cafe called Cirella's. I went in for a trial run today and it went well. He said I could come back for a full shift on Saturday starting at 10am. If it goes well, he will put me on the schedule and as long as I am performing well, he'll keep me on and give me at least 30 hours a week and up to 40-50 a week. Best part is, they close around 4pm so I won't have to work at night!

But wait! More good news! I did some research online for accommodations and I found a hostel right around the corner from the cafe that was advertising on their website for someone to paint some murals on their walls in exchange for free accommodation. I sent him some art samples of mine and explained my situation. He will be back in town on Tuesday and said I can come by and speak with him about it and that he'd love for me to paint for him!

So a month in Melbourne led to several dead ends and two days in Sydney's beautiful Manly Beach area led to a potential job and free accommodation! I should be able to live conservatively for the next month or two here while I build up my finances. I am looking forward to doing nothing but working, painting, and laying on the beach, which is right across the street from the cafe. The views are spectacular as you can see from the images. Man, I love Manly!

My July in OZ ...

So I am doing a GREAT job of keeping this blog updated, huh?! OK, sarcasm isn't really my forte. If I keep this rate up, I'll have twelve entries for my twelve months away. I'm going to try to be more diligent on keeping this thing updated. I honestly have just spent so much time job hunting that I just haven't found time to do anything super exciting I cared to write about. But I'll try to give a good summary of the last month:

Since my last post, I moved into a flat in Caulfield North, some kilometers outside of the city centre. Don't ask me how many, I don't do "metric." I can tell you that it is a 20 minute tram ride to the beach in St. Kilda, my favorite hot spot. It is also a 35 minute ride to the city centre. I love the tram system. Melbournians will tell you how bad the public transportation is here, but I have to say as a guy coming from a place where there is none, I love it! It gets a bit annoying to miss a tram and have to wait until the next arrival but you get used to it. And besides, without a job at the moment, where am I in such a rush to be anyway?

The house (flat) is a two bedroom, one bath with a nice living area, kitchen and outdoor courtyard. My flatmate, Kristy, is a 35 year old (don't tell her I gave up her age) who is also a graphic designer and works at an architectural firm. We have loads in common and both are very easy going. Some days I almost feel like I live alone since we pretty much both do our own thing. We have one more flatmate - a grumpy old hairball named Fergus. That cat could care less about me, but the other day he didn't run off after I pet him, so I think he's adjusting to the idea of me being around.

Two highlights from the last month:

- My best friend David's sister who has moved to Sydney, came down to Melbourne on work, and we got to spend a couple of days together. We went to the Dali exhibit at the art museum, which was pretty cool. We also visited Cook's cabin which is located in a park just outside the city centre.

- For my birthday, my flatmate and another friend joined me for dinner at a Malaysian restaurant in St. Kilda. I was home and in bed by 11 pm. You know you are getting old when you are home before midnight after your birthday celebration!

Not much else to report. I feel like a door to door salesperson now as I go out delivering CVs (resumes) to places seeking work. I apply to several places online as well, but I know my best bet in finding work is just meeting and greeting at the local cafes and shops and working my southern charm. I guess I better start laying it on a little thicker! I have a feeling something is going to work out this week though, so here's hoping.

I guess that's a good enough update for the moment. I promise to at least have a bi-weekly recap from now on. As far as photos go, uploading on Australian internet speeds is not very practical, so I'll only be able to post a couple of images at a time. I'll do my best to showcase a few here soon.

Your end of the week update...

Friday morning, Dominik dropped me off at the Greenhouse Backpackers hostel downtown on his way to uni. I was told by the front desk that they were completely booked. Luckily a guy that worked there called the Base in St. Kilda, a more artsy community near the beach about a 20 minute tram ride from the city, and they found room for me. The guy also knew another graphic designer looking for a short term roommate. They were supposed to meet up with me that night at the hostel I was staying at so we could be introduced, but never showed. I waited as long as I could but since I was exhausted, I went on to bed around 8 pm. I found a cool coffee shop near my hostel that has free internet, so I had some coffee and caught up on Facebook and emails yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours. I had to buy a SIM card for my new Australian phone number and an adapter for my plug ins and chargers. While I was still in the city that morning I attempted to visit the bank to get my money squared away, but they were extremely busy and I didn't have time to wait. I did manage to set up an appointment for 11 am on Monday, so next week I can stop using the credit card and access my own funds locally.

I woke up this morning around 8 am. I slept pretty good the first night in the hostel except for the loud drunk foreigners shouting in the hallway around 3 am. Upon waking up, I walked down to the coffee shop for breakfast and called my dad using Skype and chatted with mom on Facebook. I know they were happy to finally hear that I am doing well. It has been difficult staying in touch while I have been getting situated. I think once I get in a stable living environment I will be doing better at staying in touch.

I went for a short run on the beach today. The weather is great. Cool but sunny. Perfect running weather! I wore shorts and a sleeveless shirt with a hoodie, which was quickly shed in the sun. I am still so out of shape with my running. I hope to manage to comfortably get back up to 3 miles or so. I barely did one today. My plans are to work my way up to a half marathon somewhere in Australia by next year. I hope to find a job and living arrangement in St. Kilda. It is a great beachfront area and all the artsy trendy people (my sort of crowd) live here.

After a shower, I took the tram back to the city. I spent a few hours just walking around. This city is so amazing. As I walked around, all I could think is, WOW. WOW. WOW.

Last night, we went for dinner and dessert to celebrate Dominik's and university friends grade postings. The food here is amazing. I had fish and chips and then the desserts were fantastic! All homemade chocolates, tarts, etc. I can definitely get used to all the food here.

Woke up this morning and the drunk messy English guys are packed up and moved out. Thank goodness. I have new quieter roommates now. Looking forward to getting out of the hostel, but it hasn't been a bad stay. It's a good location.

Don't have much plans today other than to relax. Tomorrow I open my bank account and prepare my CV (resume) and portfolio in search for work.

My last day in the States

Ok, so I tried to make a blog thing work on my website, www.mattbroome.com, but it was too complicated and too time consuming compared to blogger. So here I am back again. I left Mississippi on June 18 bright and early. I spent the next several days in New York City visiting with my friend David. It was wet and rainy most of the time I was there. A few bright rays found their way down though. Late nights, sleeping in until noon ... perfect vacation schedule. We spent that Sunday in New Jersey at his mom and stepdad's house for a bbq. I met his sister Jaime who is also moving to Australia but on a permanent basis. She will be living in Sydney, so when I get a chance to go there I have another familiar face.

I arrived in California on Wednesday night, June 24. Since I've been here, I have been to El Matador Beach in Malibu, shopping on Melrose for some vintage cowboy boots, and hiking in Runyan Canyon. My high school Brittney and her boyfriend Matt have been excellent hosts. We've been cooking in and watching movies and lounging by the pool. Friday, Brittney and I went to see a sketch comedy show at the IO West Theatre. I've LOVED the California weather! Sunny all the time. Warm/hot but not humid. I've had a little bit of allergy troubles since I've been here, but the weather has made up for the all the sniffling. I've managed to get a pretty good base tan! I'll have to enjoy this weather while I can. Soon I will be headed into winter.

Yesterday two other high school friends met up with us in Los Angeles, so we will had our own little class reunion. Tuesday night I will be heading overseas. I've had such a wonderful two weeks of just vacationing. It's hard to believe that I just spent my last night of 2009 in the United States! Time to finally begin my journey down under!

I'm an international banker now.

I opened up an account with Westpac, the bank of choice for Australia apparently. They are sending me my account information via mail and once I get it activated I can start transferring money overseas. Can't access the funds until I find a place to live and meet with the bank to show proof of identification. But that's one more thing to check off my to do list.

I have almost made it to my last two weeks of work. I completed my last big job of getting the design award submissions together for the MS AIA Awards. It was a big project and I am glad to have shipped it off today! I learned today they intend to throw me a breakfast farewell party at the office. I was surprised. I have been there a year and 3 months. I wasn't really expecting anything grand or really more than a "see ya later, keep in touch." Guess I made somewhat of an impact. Made me feel important.

On the home front, I have been doing some serious cleaning to just get the place more organized so we can work more efficiently. The master bath has still been the biggest project and it is coming together nicely. My intent is to have all the walls primed and painted by the end of the week and the floors and shower and tub deck tiled by next. Plan to get the rest of my hardwoods installed in the hallway this weekend so next weekend I can sand them down and get ready to finish them. After those two big projects, the bath and the hardwoods, I can focus on the smaller tasks of just painting and trim work mainly.

Little by little, it's all coming together....

Correction....

I thought I was giving a three week notice, but it turns out it was a four week notice! Good for them I guess! I have three weeks left now at work and four weeks to complete the house projects. That's really not that much time! But as long as we get the big stuff taken care of and clean out all the junk, I'll be happy.

I am working on the master bathroom now. I will post some in progress pictures tomorrow afternoon. Its way past my bedtime.

29 more days!

Well, I turned in my three week notice on Monday. My last day of employment as a graphic designer is June 12. I'll still do it on the side freelancing as I have done in the past, but I am definitely looking forward to getting away from the computer for a while.

I have been thinking about what I want to do career-wise, and I have decided that I want to go back to school for my masters in exercise science. Not sure where I will go for that or when I will start. Who knows? Maybe I will find a great program down under and decide to stick around a while! I'm not thinking too far ahead anymore. I think that's where a lot of my dissatisfaction lies ... always trying to plan too far ahead or wishing my life was a certain way. Time to live for the present and just be happy with what I have. I can't change the past and I certainly can't predict the future, but today and right now I can tackle and that's what motivated me to take the plunge and go to Australia now.

The house is coming along quite nicely. I have had quite a lot of requests for photos. Well I am not quite to that stage yet, but once I get there in the next few weeks, I will definitely upload some images of the house. My brother and two of his friends will be moving in beginning in July. My big project is the master bath. I almost have the walls ready for painting. Have to connect the plumbing underneath the house and tile the floors and shower and finish my vanity top, which we are creating from an old solid oak art table from Mississippi College. I am so excited to see how that turns out!

RECEIVED!

My Work and Holiday Visa Approval Letter

Claire's Tacky Prom Birthday Party

Me & my date, Rachel of Machel


Me & the Prom Queen/Birthday Girl Claire Kinsey


There are few things I am going to miss about Mississippi ... my dear friends will be several of them. You know who you are. Thanks, Claire, for an awesome themed birthday party and always being there when I need you. Thank you, Rachel, for being a person who can parade all over town with me dressed like that and not have a care in the world about what people think of us.

Six more weeks ... 39 days.

Itinerary

I have booked all of my airfare for my departure. I am leaving June 18 and headed for New York City to visit my brother from a Jewish mother, David. We are going to party hardy until the 24th, where I will then depart for Los Angeles. I am staying there while visiting some high school friends until the 30th. I fly out of Los Angeles at 11:45 p.m., and arrive in Melbourne on July 2. I already have social plans for Independence Day. I have a German friend living in Melbourne who is throwing a dinner party on the 4th. I'll meet all sorts of people and I am really excited about getting to know some new faces.

I am getting things in order at the house. I spoke with a realtor who gave me good news in the fact that I've added substantial value to my house based on my new open floor plan and modern finishes. He said I should make a good return on my investment and recommended I rent it out for a year and then put it on the market after finishing out the details. So that's the plan. I am trying to get my brother to commit to renting the house. I mean, I'm basically giving him a house to stay in with some friends for a little more than the mortgage payment. Thats a steal for a house in this area! I think I'll get it worked out.

I am not much of a reader but a dear friend gave me as a parting gift a book entitled In a Sunburned Country. It's about a guy's travels in Australia. I've read the first two chapters and its very interesting. Thanks, Judy for sharing that with me. I look forward to finishing it and learning what exciting things I am in store for!

Goodbye, Sheila!

I sold the car today! The new owner will be picking "Sheila" up tomorrow after work. Sheila is what I named my car. Actually my friend Rachel named her and it just stuck.

My cousin Kate informed me the other day that "sheila" is actually slang in Australia/New Zealand for a female. I looked it up to get the details. Here is what I found out:

"Sheila"is a worshiping word for a beautiful mysterious woman that one of your mates knows on a first name basis, but you have never met. It is also a possessive term used for one's girl, lover, or CSP. I wasn't sure what a CSP was, so I looked it up. Casual Sex Partner. And now I am informed...

It's been a great two years, Sheila.

I'll be borrowing a car from my parents for the next month and a half. I can't believe how close it is to my departure! Still no visa though... I am calling tomorrow to check on whether or not it has been shipped to me yet. I really really want to have that in hand, so I can turn in my notice at work and push forward with my travel arrangements. Roundtrip tickets to Australia right now are running about $750 with taxes included. Not too shabby!

Selling the car takes care of one of my big accomplishments. Now I am down to just the one monster: the house. I am closer to finishing that monster day by day though. Today my brother and I framed in around the bathtub and I put up the rest of the sheetrock in the master bath. Next week, I have someone coming to lay the wood floors in my kitchen. Since the new wood is slightly different than the old wood, I am going to stain it really dark and it's going to look amazing! I am finally getting to a point for the finishing touches on most of the rooms, so I can finally clean out the junk and tools and have a real "home" to come to, although I will be leaving it soon!

This should be the week...

I should have my visa in the mail by the end of the week. Once I have that in hand, I am good as gone! Won't be leaving until mid June but it'll still be nice to have a solid visa in my possession so I am that much closer to departure.

Still have a lot to do on the house before I leave, but should make some major headway on my kitchen and master bath this week. I have a guy potentially coming this week to lay down my wood floors in the kitchen and I am working on the plumbing for the master bath this week. I have tile already for the floor and the only thing I am lacking to buy is a countertop and the tile for the shower surround.

I parked my car in the front yard today with a for sale sign on it. I plan to park it there everyday near the street until it's gone. I really need to get that thing sold. That'll be a big step.

So my focus for May is FINISHING THE HOUSE and SELLING THE CAR. I'm getting there.

First steps

I mailed my visa application last week and now I am waiting to hear back on its status. Not sure how long it will take. Hopefully not too long. Seven more weeks to my planned departure. Wow, that's not really that far off...