Sunday morning, the first morning after sleeping in the new digs, I wake up with a raging sore throat. The dang thing had taken over my entire body. And my ears were aching.Wow. Ow. Ow. Had been invited to go to croquet at Mount Macedon that day, so had to cancel. Bummer. Anyway, there was a hot shower and hot tea to look forward to and I could laze around in my own new, wonderful space... or so I thought. My new electric tea kettle wouldn't fire up, nor would the gas stove light. I could hear the gas coming out, but there was no click of the starter. The apartment is pretty modern, so I couldn't imagine that I was supposed to use fire to light it, but one never knows. I tried plugging the kettle in to different outlets, but no luck. The vacuum cleaner that Heather had loaned me was plugged in and had worked the day before, but now it wasn't working. I tried plugging the portable fan in to a few outlets, but nothing. No power. Yet, the lights were working and there was hot water from the sink, so that meant that the hot water heater was working (electric). Hmmm. I checked the fuse box and the switches were all flipped in the same direction, except one. I flipped it and tried the vacuum again, it made a little noise, but didn't turn on. When I went back to the fuse box, that same switch was flipped down again. Meanwhile my throat had decided that no further action could be taken until it was attended to. Maybe the water in the sink would be hot enough to make tea? I ran water as hot as I could get it, but the throat didn't approve. I would go out for tea and throat lozenges , but first, a shower. Yea! Healing hot water. Washed, dressed, but not ready to go. Why would the vacuum work today and not yesterday? Was I doing some stupid American thing or dumb girl thing with the electricity? Before making the Sunday emergency call to the electrician, I called Jen to see if I was missing something. She said that I had tried everything she would have tried. Then I called Heather. She said it was fine to call the electrician. The guy was super nice and said that the vacuum was faulty. He instructed me to unplug it from the socket, flip the switches and try again. Voila! It worked. The stove, by the way, uses and electric starter. Hot tea at last. The throat was content, temporarily.
Off for throat lozenges. I looked online and found the nearest grocery store, about a 20 minute walk from the apartment in a neighborhood called Brunswick. Another gorgeous Melbourne day. I donned my hat and sunglasses as usual. (As soon as my phone is working you will see pics of this spectacle!) Did I mention that the sun is ri-donk-ulously strong here? Everyone wears a hat all day long. When you walk by a schoolyard, every single kid has a hat on; it is the law. Australian style hats are the ones with the flap over the back of the neck, just like the pink hats the ball-girls/boys wore during the Australian Open. I believe they are called Legionnaire style hats. It is not a joke here. When I asked what to bring to croquet, they told me: a hat and sunblock. To protect my eyes I spent $800 on prescription sunglasses. That is the one thing that I didn't buy before I left the US.
Guess what is in the shopping center with the grocery store? Kmart. No kidding. And Mcdonald's, of course. By the way, there are always two grocery stores Right next to each other in every big shopping center. Bizarre: Safeway and Coles. Yes, Safeway like we have on the East Coast; same thing. Got the cough drops, lemon and honey. Happy that some things are open on Sunday in my new neck of the woods. Bought a vacuum cleaner. Why this emphasis on vacuuming you might ask. The landlord had new carpet installed the day before I moved in and no one vacuumed or cleaned up when they were finished. Loads of carpet fluff and debris all over the place.
Bought the vaccum from a really nice guy named, Ali, at an independent store. When I mentioned to him that I was really hungry and not a fan of McDonald's, he pointed to an AWESOME cafe called Green's which is now my favorite spot to eat. Ginormous, fresh sandwiches and salads, just-baked bread and not expensive. Very chill atmosphere with some communal tables and great reading. Yea!
Once home I collapsed. Too tired to vacuum. Mostly napped and unpacked the few things that hadn't yet been put away. Monday I struggled through work. Tuesday I took a sick day. Am feeling somewhat better now.
I still have no fridge and no phone. Somehow the mobile phone company screwed up the administration of the contract. So, not only do I have no landline (which I knew to expect since it takes two weeks to get it set up), but now my mobile is only good for recieving calls. I have no fridge because I couldn't measure for it until I got in to the apt and I've been too illin' to shop for one (not to mention the fact that I've spent all of my Aussie dollars until next pay day). All good though. People are calling me. I'm shopping like a European, one meal at at time. Fresh vegetables for each meal. Pumpkin. I haven't mentioned the pumpkin. People here eat pumpkin all day every day year round. It is so popular. I was really surprised. Lentil and pumpkin soup, pumpkin in salads, baked pumpkin, fried pumpkin, pumpkin bread, you name it.
Time for bed.9pm Australia time, 5am US time. Have a great day/night.
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