Where have I been?

My life is slipping away from me, it really is! I don't know where the time goes these days, or why I haven't blogged. I blame being married. Or the Facebook phenomenon. One or the other.

What random words would I use to describe married life so far? Fun, relaxing, never lonely, supportive, grounding, teamwork, synergies, stable, happy. But we're still in a weird limbo situation where we haven't really settled into our official Home yet - because we're moving again soon.



After the madness of July-September, I came back to stillness at work, and in the post-election environment and new world of K-Rudd, this hasn't changed a lot yet. It has meant more time than usual for marriage-y domestic duties like cooking breakfast and shopping at ALDI. If I ever enter the commercial world this cannot go on.



We went to Sydney on the weekend, had lunch with Yen & Ro in Cabramatta and caught up with my cousins Li Ping & Ken and their new baby Nathan. One of the saving graces of Canberra as a city has been its 3-hour-close proximity to Sydney and therefore cheap Asian food and endless shopping. I spent far far too much money - such a weakness for Alannah Hill!

Three weddings and a honeymoon

After months of preparation, hundreds of phone calls and emails, constant running around, planning, outsourcing, hypothesising - we made it to the wedding day.

Neither of us was sleeping well in the week leading up to the wedding when we were back in Perth. There was so much to do. Lots of last minute preparation, and then of course all the people to see and catch up with while we were back. During that last week, we just couldn't wait for the wedding day to come and be over with!

The day itself was something else - we had a ball. I don't think either of us expected to enjoy it as much as we did. Then again, neither of us was expecting perfection. We went in with fairly low expectations - let's try to get through the day and smile at as many flashing cameras as we can, shake as many hands as possible, say our thank yous, do the bridal waltz, cut the cake etc. But we had such a great time. And we were so happy that people enjoyed themselves. It felt so special to have all our friends together in one place, and that people were happy for us and sharing the day with us. I'm so thankful for all the people who helped with different things, and the people who flew all the way from interstate or overseas to be there.

I don't have many photos yet... so if you took any please send them to us!! I was so determined to be normal and just talk to whoever I was talking to, that we didn't make the rounds of all the tables or take photos with each table at the reception.












































The day after the wedding we flew out of Perth for a 10-day honeymoon in Thailand. We spent 3 nights in Bangkok and 7 nights in Phuket and it was so needed!

We then had two more celebrations with the relatives & family friends on Michael's side, in Hong Kong and China.

It is nice to be back in the Capital - though we are living in my sharehouse, still kettleless and now crusading against the moths of Canberra, we're married and I'm relishing not having to say goodbye to Michael every evening anymore.

Hammered

I am so excited because I have tomorrow morning off work, on study leave. So happy. I can sit quietly, breathe, eat slowly, drink water, walk around, look out the window, not talk, wear unstructured clothes and slouch for half a day. I haven't had a weekend in weeks.

More APEC

Inside one of the ambassadors' villas where the finance ministers stayed

Rooftop of the ambassadors' villa - this is as close as we get!

Scenic grounds of the Hyatt Regency Resort Coolum

Heads of delegation official photograph

Liaison officers official photograph

APEC Finance Ministers Meeting - Coolum Beach, Queensland

Yesterday I returned to Canberra after spending 7 nights at the Sunshine Coast looking after the Malaysian head of delegation at the APEC Finance Ministers Meeting at Coolum Beach, which was hosted by Australia. It was eye-opening, challenging, luxurious, exciting.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency resort which is entirely self contained and spans over 35 hectares. We had buffet breakfasts (when we could make it), 3 course dinners, endless supplies of snacks, beautiful big villas with huge bathrooms, king sized bed, kitchenettes and views of the resort's golf course and water... but we also worked hard! There were days I was run off my feet, days when I was in seemingly impossible situations, 13-hour days without breaks, days of trying to remember 20 things at once and having my phone ring every 10 minutes.













































It was interesting learning to deal with media, airports, ministers, managers, egos. Event management is a massive challenge and so many resources are involved. Some of the functions seriously felt like a wedding - it made me realise how easy it is for things to go wrong and how much you rely on people to do a good job!

Almost 30 of us Treasury people went as Liaison officers, looking after a particular economy's head of delegation. There was also a massive Taskforce run out of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Not to mention the drivers, airport protocol officers, policy officers, transport team, security officers. I have never seem so many police officers in my life! Every 20 metres or so!

I got to know so many people and we had so much fun in between the work. The Treasurer put on an after party for us and everyone let loose because despite being surrounded by expensive wine all week we had never been allowed to drink at any of the functions because we were on duty!



























































It was also enlightening to see that ministers from all over the world and their advisers really do try to translate theory into reality, and they do aim for good policy rather than purely political point scoring. The preparation, negotiation, brainstorming and drafting of a communique all consumed long hours of each delegation's time and I was impressed at how much work they got done! It was not a junket - but the amazing setting definitely helped!

The woes of the share house

Our little Taichemel household of one-and-a-half years is splitting up. Tai is moving to Sydney for a new job, Mel is moving closer to work. And Michael and I are getting married in October so it was all going to end soon anyway. Still, it has NOT been fun being the only one to be left on the lease, to have to interview new housemates (and contemplate the perils of having to absorb 3 persons' rent on my own if I don't find anyone), to meet some truly bizarre people, to weigh up pros and cons of smokers, short-term tenants and cleaning Nazis, to have made an offer to someone who accepted and later changed her mind while in the meantime I'd decided to turn other people down, to have to explain the whole lease and housing situation to the interviewees over and over and over again, to figure out whether I could be fridgeless and washing machine-less for a few months (the former is definitely not doable!), work out money matters with soon-to-be former housemates and also good friends - I guess it's all been another learning experience. Another lesson I'm only learning because I've moved out of home!

Three and a half days in Melbourne (and I only bought one pair of shoes!)

Over the long weekend, Michael and I made a short getaway to Melbourne. We spent some time with my Auntie, Uncle and cousins who I have barely seen over the past 20 years. It makes you realise how big Australia is when you can live in the same country but travel from East to West less than once a decade.
















My cousin's 2 1/2 year old son Andrew was so very cute and smart. Not many toddlers can point out New Zealand or Japan or the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the world map, or tell you where his nose, ear and popliteal fossa are. Having two doctors for parents may have contributed to the advanced anatomy knowledge!

We stayed at John's apartment which was just ten minutes walk from Melbourne city shopping. It was fantastic to see John and Kristy again, our fellow Contiki travellers, and Kristy thank you so much for driving us all over Melbourne and giving us the Victorian hospitals tour!






























We had dinner at a Greek restaurant in Crown, and later mucked around in the Casino to pay for some of our dinner! Alec had a very impressive win at the pokies, putting in $10 that led to a flood of $105 in gold coins that kept streaming out of the machine until someone had to come to refill it!

We really enjoyed the Asian food - any Asian who has lived in Canberra can tell you how dismal the Asian food scene is here, so whenever we're in a bigger city we become ridiculously happy by just sitting on little plastic stools in some poorly decorated restaurant in Chinatown over bowls of noodle soup or steamed dumplings or barbeque pork. We also enjoyed the buzzing Melbourne cafes with their smooth, rich coffee and all-day breakfasts and fruity fruity Gelati on Lygon street.

Despite the sales, I showed remarkable resilience and only made one lone purchase despite steeling myself for much greater temptations - it must have been an act of God.

All you ever wanted to know about chair covers

Recently I realised, to my horror, that I haven't updated this blog for about 2 months. It's been a pretty busy past few months, but not crazily so... at least not most of the time. I have a feeling it will get that way by July though.

I'm really quite enjoying life at the moment - I've settled into more of a routine this year that contrasts with the chaos that was last year. It's all very comfortable and familiar now. There's much less randomness. I think the knowledge that we have a wedding to prepare for has disciplined me a little - in terms of money, in terms of health, in terms of how I want to spend my time and what is important. Work's also become familiar. I reckon by next year I will be ready for new challenges and another round of changes, but for now I am happy to cruise.

I'm just going through my photos from the past couple of months and realised I haven't taken many! Not even during my trip back to Perth in April. The trip was fun - 9 days back in Perth, catching up with quite a few people - I had about 8 dinners out (two in one night!) and only got to eat my mum's cooking once! I went to Yen's wedding which was lovely, and it was great to catch up with some old uni friends there!

Also in Perth I ticked off some more tasks on our own wedding to-do list. I realised how ridiculous this whole process can be - intricate details that no normal person would give a second thought to become the object of analysis, consultation and conjecture during the wedding planning process. The subject of chair covers is a typical example. I have discovered that a lot of non-married/engaged people (and quite a few people who are married/engaged!) do not even know what chair covers are. And nearly everyone thinks it is incredible that a single chair cover, which is hired, costs about $4.50 per chair. Multiply this by 200 chairs, throw in setup fees, and you have kissed goodbye $1,000 for pretty chairs.

So what are the fine details that no normal person knows about chair covers? Well, I pondered the many different shades of red there are (there are many! wine red, true red, orange-red), the different types of sash fabric (organza, par silk, silk, taffeta), the different ways of tying a sash (bow, cravat, sideways), whether to have all the same colour sashes or alternating different colours, whether to have ivory or white for the covers themselves, which fabric could form the largest bow, whether we wanted the colour to be exactly the same as the bridesmaids dresses or slightly different so as not to make them fade into the decor. This is from a girl who is not into weddings. Honest! Options are evil.

Another funny experience Michael and I had on the weekend was going to David Jones to start a gift registry. Who knew forks could come in so many different styles? Did we want the forks with small grooves along the handle, the flatter forks, the heavier forks, the shinier forks or the squarish forks? We ended up laughing and picking the cheapest ones! That's always a good way to fast track any decision making process.

The other thing I did back in Perth was have a menu tasting at the Duxton, where we are having our reception. My mum and I were soooo stuffed afterwards. No matter what though, I always seem to have a second stomach for dessert.

Bliss

I meant to post this up awhile ago... Canberra Day was 19 March. So here goes:

Last weekend was blissful. It was the Canberra Day long weekend, and I also took Tuesday off work as it was my birthday and Michael had a whole week off between overnight shifts. On Sunday morning we headed to Thredbo for a two-night stay. It was a two-and-a-half hour drive to the mountains.

We stayed in a lovely big hotel with wooden staircases and stone fireplaces. It would so cosy and warm in winter. On the first day we attempted some mountain bike riding (this was too hard for words!) and then explored the area a bit on foot. There are little shops in Thredbo village (selling lots of winter clothes and ski gear), a supermarket, restaurants, cafes, pubs, a leisure centre. It was nice to be able to step straight out of the hotel into the village, with everything only metres away. Later on we watched Sunday night TV and had a late dinner at a nearby restaurant/pub.














Mountain biking... not my strength

On Monday we took the chairlift up the mountain, did a 10km trek all the way down the mountain in partial rain and wind (I was sore for the next two days), ate a huge lunch, took an awesome 100km drive through mountain ranges, retired to the hotel to watch TV, ate at Cascades, the hotel restaurant, watched The Departed until late, and fell asleep after the movie for 9 hours straight, which if you know me, is a rare occurrence indeed.














Views during our walk through the mist ... very beautiful and mysterious!














On Tuesday we visited the Snowy Mountains info centre and like a true nerd I got all excited learning about how hydro-electricity is generated and how in the eastern states electricity is traded on a spot market and buyers can enter into forward contracts to minimise risk.

On our drive home, we stopped for lunch at the Lott Café/Bakery in Cooma which came recommended by a friend and the SMH Good Food Guide – it’s just a tiny place on a main street in Cooma that doesn’t jump out at you, but then you step in and the place has heaps of character and couches and pillows and interesting food. We had scrumptious hot chocolate and a picking plate filled with toasty foccacia, ham, olives, Atlantic trout, eggplant, sundried tomato and cheese… molto bene!















We ended up back in Canberra around 3pm and it didn’t take long for me to feel bored. I wonder if I’m going to become one of those people who is constantly seeking new and more adventurous experiences! Anyway, after wandering around the shops for awhile we went to watch Letters from Iwo Jima.

After the movie we had dinner at Iori - it really is the best Japanese restaurant in Canberra! It’s probably even better than many of the Japanese restaurants I’ve been to in Perth. We enjoyed a meal of inside out sushi with prawns, caviar and the usual fillings, and then covered with sashimi on top. Yuuumm. There was also a crab set – crab hot pot, crab tempura, crab sushi. And Sake to top it off!





















Thoughts of wedding are all very far away at the moment but for those wanting to know dates – the date is 6 October 2007 in Perth. I hope that helps at least with travel plans, if you will be in Perth around this time.

Fitness First

I changed gyms recently. All of last year I'd been going to this little one near my house which is pretty decent - has all the requisite classes and a small selection of equipment, as well as lots of friendly faces. And it was reasonably priced.

But last week I started going to Fitness First and it's awesome. It's five minutes drive from anywhere I'm ever likely to be, got heaps and heaps of equipment (I swear the treadmills are kinder to your knees at this gym, and my beloved cross trainers are in ample supply), and TVs with sound to entertain while you're exercising.

Perhaps the best thing about the new gym is the classes - the group fitness room is just massive and the atmosphere is on a completely different level to my old gym. There's a big stage with two or three instructors at the front, and the classes are packed with over a hundred people. The music pumps out and with that many people hyped up and running around, you get an adrenalin rush just being there that makes you forget everything you were doing or thinking before you got to the class and push yourself further past the pain barrier. It was so good.

No, I'm not dead

Just busy. Everything is going pretty well. The trips to Sydney have stopped (thankfully) - I found a wedding dress. I need to sleep more. I bought new shoes today. There was a crazy hailstorm in Canberra last week that badly damaged buildings in the city and at ANU. It looked like the city had been covered in snow. Some people's cars floated. It was followed by a weekend of 30-something degree weather. I keep saying, This place was not meant to be inhabited. Shame I can't pick it up and move it nearer to some natural body of water, or Sydney, or a place with decent Asian food.

Ever Learning

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love doesn’t demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad over injustice, but rejoices when truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You’ll believe in him and always expect the best of him, while defending him. (NKJ)

Ran out of time

Sometime last year I started realising that I simply don’t have time to do everything I want to do in life. It’s not like I have almost enough time, or a few isolated things I want to do that I need to make more of an effort to get around to. It’s not even close to that. There are hundreds of things that I would like to do and will probably not get around to doing.

Life gets fuller and fuller. Getting through the basics of each day is keeping me busy enough. Going to work for the whole day, trying to cook decent meals for the week, keeping up with the news, keeping up with what other areas of Treasury are working on, spending time with Michael, spending time with my group of girls, spending time with the wider grad group, going to parties, keeping in touch with colleagues and friends from church and Bible study group and Perth, talking to my parents, going to the gym, keeping the house clean (failing), grocery shopping, washing clothes, wedding planning, Legal Workshop assignments, replying emails, various personal maintenance matters (who has time to blow dry their hair, put on makeup, cut their fingernails or moisturise these days?), going to church, going to sleep, watching TV, reading all the books I can't resist buying…

And these are just the ‘essentials’ that I’m struggling to manage. Never mind the other things -trips I want to take with friends, the cooking class, the French and Chinese and Japanese classes, brushing up my piano skills, dance classes, skiing, Bible college, studying in China, working in Asia, working in the UK, spending two weeks in Rome and a week at the Louvre, going on a mission trip, studying English and creative writing and watching Westwing, The Godfather, Yes Minister and Bleakhouse.

I used to tease Michael about having a housekeeper. Now I’m starting to think it’s actually very smart.

Whrilwind of activity

It's been a long time between updates - where do I start? I was back in Perth for almost 3 weeks over Xmas and it was blissful to just relax and get away. I had been painfully homesick in December, and when I returned home and escaped the responsibility of work, the house chores and rushed cooking jobs, I could just feel all the stress draining out of me. It was like living in a hotel – my mum washed my clothes, cooked delicious food, we went for walks through pretty Applecross streets and along the river, watched DVDs and caught up with friends for hours. I swear it makes such a big difference living at home.

It’s funny because I feel like I have two homes now – one in Perth and one in Canberra. When I’m back in Perth I feel unquestionably at home – so comfortable there, it’s so familiar, I still know so many people. But returning to Canberra is also like coming home – my workplace is still awesome, my grad group is fantastic and we have so many shared experiences together both past and ongoing. I am still So Glad to Be Here.

Below are some photos from New Year's Eve - it was fun hanging out with Michael's friends in Perth and I know they'll be friends for life.












































I was trying to find just one picture of Michael from NYE that wasn't... how do you say... bad... but this is the best I could do! At least you know it was fun!

Coming back to Canberra has not exactly been Back to Reality. Michael has been sleeping on our floor while still deciding where to move to permanently, I haven’t had a chance to unpack properly and I think I have slept an average of 6 hours a night since coming back over a week ago. So many things – we went to Sydney for a weekend trip two days after getting back to Canberra, where it was lovely catching up with Yen and Ro and looking at wedding dresses with Yen. We ended up sitting in the apartment having baguettes with ham and cheese, wine and fruit, and later ended up at the Domain catching part of a free jazz concert which hundreds of thousands of people crowded along to, and then afterwards at Chinatown having congee for supper.

Visitor from Perth…

During the week I felt like I never got time to breathe or recover, we were always doing something or seeing someone. Then on Thursday night my old friend Sasha came to visit us in Canberra. Sash it was great catching up with you and I’m really glad you made the trek to Canberra, and didn’t even bag the place too much! Sasha had been on a 9-month trip around the world and Canberra was her last stop before returning to Perth. We had a barbeque at home on Thursday night, went to OPH for after-work drinks on Friday night and later for a sampling of the delectable Asian cuisine Canberra has to offer, to Questacon on Saturday, and to Krispy Kremes, Frozen Custard, and the embassies on Sunday.

Long weekend

Thank God it’s the weekend! I’m going to take a break and do Nothing. Well... there's lots of packing to do for our big house move on Wednesday, and tomorrow I'm making a day trip to Sydney to continue my quest to find the Perfect Wedding Dress (this is a joke... maybe). Other than that though, it'll be a lazy one.