TansEmpire

March 07

March – what a month it has been. I would love to start with comments about the improvement in weather (spring has sprung!) but we have had a month of horror and fear. Horror in the form of a fire in our apartment and fear in the form of constant theft and break-ins. So that’s where I will start.

It was mid March and Andrew and I had returned from the ER (my 2nd home) after I was treated for a torn buttock muscle and hamstring (don’t even get me started on that, more later) and we had fallen fast asleep around 4am to be awoken (thankfully as the smoke alarm failed to go off!) around 8am by this awful smell and ran around the apartment, well Andrew did whilst I hobbled, trying to work out where the smell of smoke was coming from, either inside our place or from another apartment. I finally opened the door to the water furnace to find flames billowing out of it. I closed the door and told Andrew who by this stage was on the phone to 911 for the Fire Department where it was coming from. They advised him to shut off the power to the apartment which instantly stopped the fire, leaving only smoke coming out of the furnace. We are eternally grateful for the placement of our air vent return (directly above the furnace) which allowed the smoke to flow into our bedroom and awake us and eternally pissed that the smoke alarm which is placed above the door to the furnace failed to do its job. We are also pissed at the new management of our apartment complex as all apartments were examined as part of the hand over and no-one noticed that the temperature on our furnace was set way too high. It was a fire just waiting to happen, we are just lucky it happened whilst we were home so that we could prevent the spreading of the fire and not lose all our belongings and put the lives of others at risk. The fireman did all they could (not much at this stage as the fire was out) and then the maintenance crew from the complex arrived and began to fix the furnace. Needless to say the smell throughout the apartment was appalling so an equivalent of a stink bomb was placed in the air vent to rid the smell of smoke but then we kept smelling that all day. Thankfully it was a nice day so we were able to air the apartment out. I know all of this sounds quite clinical, it felt that way at the time with shock not setting in until after everything settled down and everyone had left. I feel very grateful for being on the ground floor with 3 windows in our bedroom allowing us to exit during such emergencies as the furnace is located outside our bedroom door leaving us trapped in here had it been much worse.

So to the other major event, crime! Granted we live between two of America’s highest crime cities, Baltimore and Washington DC, but in the county regions we live in and are surrounded by are known for being safe family environments. So much to our dismay, very shortly after the change in management, one apartment was broken into. Then came a spate of stolen cars, tyres being stolen and cars being broken into for parts. Most of this occurring right outside our bedroom window, no more than 10 metres away! It has the residents up in arms at the lack of response from the management in terms of providing additional security for us, despite the premium we are paying for living in such a complex. Our apartment block is at the back of the property so there is no drive by traffic and we are blocked off from the streets in terms of visibility by trees so we are certainly susceptible for such crime. But it is unheard of in this area and is starting to unsettle us and worry Andrew to the point of knowing that because I am in the apartment so much that if we were broken into I would most likely be here. So there is talk from the residents of breaking their leases and leaving, something Andrew and I continue to discuss and will leave up in the air for the time being. I will keep you posted, hopefully this is the end of it and the criminals are spooked enough by the residents who seem to be conducting their own patrols which I encountered last night when I came home after 11pm to find a guy wandering around looking at all the cars. I actually stayed in my car trying to work out whether he was a criminal or not and he kept looking at me wandering why I wasn’t budging from the car, it was a strange Mexican stand-off.

So to Andrew and I. We have started having our date nights again now that I seem to be back to nearly normal health. It has been nice to get back to basics and enjoying being together outside of the house. We have decided that each week we will take turns in choosing something to do so for the first one I chose movies and bowling of which Andrew didn’t know I used to do often and even played in a weekly league with my brother (not that great though!). So that is where I managed to hurt my buttock and hamstring for those of you whose mind was in the gutter. I felt it tweak at one point but it didn’t actually tear until later in the week during something as simple as attempting a bath. Anyway, the night was great as after 10pm they have Cosmic Bowling which is where they turn down the lights, play music and have a disco atmosphere. We had a great time and were looking forward to the next date night for which Andrew decided we would go ballroom dancing, but thanks to my buttock and hamstring we have put that on hold until April.

I have been getting out and about and meeting people through many varied events. One was a dice game called Bunco in which a group of women gather (mainly for the hell of it and a good time really) and play in groups which rotate until you get to the end of the night and are left with 4 women playing for the win and the pot of money. It’s too hard to explain the rules and I found I didn’t understand it until I actually played it, but by the end of the night I found myself at the table of final 4 but didn’t win. I have also joined several groups through a website called meetup.com which allows people to form groups of something of interest to them and for others to join in. I am attending a knitting club, board games, another Bunco group and continuing to find more interests each time I log on. I have also looked into volunteer opportunities and now have a list of several groups that interest me which I will follow up next week and help out where I can, especially where animals are involved!

I also attended my first book club meeting and we had a great night discussing the book and generally having fun. There are several women in the group who have experience living overseas due to their husbands careers so the talk ultimately turned towards that which helped me voice some of the feelings I have been having. Essentially one of the ladies summed it up best, that whilst living here there are moments in the lives of my family and friends that I will miss (such as Jarrod starting school) and never be able to experience and that in time people will not forget us but learn to not remember to include us as much and that sucks but can’t be changed, and that I need to focus on what experiences I can have here with Andrew and hopefully soon a family of our own and realise that unfortunately it’s a trade off. But we have made this move for our reasons and I need to remind myself of that each time I feel like I am missing something or want to go home. So keep emailing me and keeping me informed of your lives, so I can feel somewhat in touch with the homeland.  

To the weather, we experienced daylight savings 3 weeks early (no idea why) and the weather seemed to change overnight. One day I was walking around with my winter coat and hat and the next in short sleeves. Today it is 20 degrees, the bulbs are starting to flower and the cherry blossoms are fantastic. It’s nice to see people out and about and walking around at nights and it encourages me that life here will begin to settle down soon and that Andrew and I will gradually establish roots and form a network of friends and hobbies. We have become members of the Columbia Association which allows us access to several gyms, pools, golfing ranges, batting cages etc and are looking forward to getting a routine together for whilst he isn’t travelling. Right now as I type this he is in Miami again training at Fedex. During April there will be 2 trips to New York which I am looking forward to as I have never been. There are no new photos posted as not much has happened warranting photos (the furnace isn’t exciting to look at) but with the trips to NYC coming up look out for photos in next months posting. 

So that’s all for now, I hope you are all well and look forward to hearing from you.

1 comment March 28th, 2007

February 07

Hi all, doesn’t time fly but then with February being a shorter month it’s no surprise. So it has been 3 months and we have survived the worst of it, winter. Although I love the cold (especially the snow) the weather made it hard to meet people as everyone seems to bunker down and keep to themselves. Now that the sun has starting shining and the temperature is over 10 degrees everything is coming to life and groups (such as book clubs & meetups etc) start up again so I am expecting March to be a month where I can really settle in to meeting people and creating a life here. I have been suffering a major bout of homesickness over the past 2 weeks or so, missing my puppies especially and with the commencement of the football preseason things really took a turn for the worse. I unfortunately took my frustrations out on Andrew in a bizarre attempt to make him as unhappy as me, but thankfully he is one amazing man who has helped me work through this and is supporting me in making attempts to meet people. He will be around a lot more this month so we are trying to attend functions as a couple to try and meet other couples, as it’s important for Andrew to also meet people outside of his work environment also. 

During February we celebrated a couple of very important milestones which also drove home how important it is for us to be supportive and make this life here together work. On February 4th we celebrated our 1 year anniversary of meeting in a cafe for brunch in Yarraville which somehow turned into lunch and beyond. This day was originally to be our wedding day but boy how things changed as 2 days later we celebrated our 6 months wedding anniversary. It sure has been an amazing year, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I am married to the man of my dreams and although life is hard right now I know we are doing the right thing for Andrew’s career and for us as a couple in the long run.

February saw several snow storms, the worst being over Valentine’s day which meant we had to cancel our dinner plans in Baltimore as there was no way we could make it as the roads were not cleared in time. The snow storm kept the state closed for 2 days and I am quite surprised at how the region allows the snow to dictate their life. We by know means receive anywhere near the amount of snow that the Mid West or Canada do yet it seems as though the world stops here for no good reason when it snows. My book club meeting was cancelled 2 days before the meeting due to snow yet the night of the meeting was actually fine! So I can’t quite get my ahead around this! The weather also delayed Andrew’s flight out on the Friday night to Miami where he was to work for the weekend. Unfortunately he was unwell when he left following on from me having I suppose you can call the flu for the week or so prior to that. He got worse whilst trying to work in Miami and was diagnosed with an inner ear infection so he stayed on an extra day before heading to Ohio for the weeks work ahead but after one night he knew he needed to return home which he did. So he spent a week laid up in bed resting but isn’t quite over the dizziness which we will get looked into when he returns home from a trip later this week.

So March will be a quiet month for travel, this will be good giving us some time to check out the lay of the land as they say. We just returned home from a week in Malvern Pennsylvania which is west of Philadelphia. I didn’t manage to get to Philadelphia on one of the days as I slept in so instead I went to Longwood Gardens which was owned by the DuPont family. They are the most amazing gardens (see the photos) even in the dead of winter with the most amazing Conservatory filled with plants from bulbs to ferns to cacti. The outside grounds were peaceful during the cold but according to the many short films shown around the place they are quite amazing during the rest of the year so I am looking forward to returning their again to see the transformation. As one of Andrew’s regular clients is in this region I will have ample time to return as well as get to see Philadelphia. I just hope that I don’t fall into the same trap I did when I lived in the UK in that I thought I had forever to see the major sights so I didn’t bother until one day I realised I was leaving and yet to see some of the major tourist attractions. So I am determined to ensure that I spend time touring Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia & New York well and truly before we are due to return home.

During the month Andrew and I babysat a gorgeous black labrador, the eldest of 4 labradors that one of Andrew’s bosses Jeff and Jennifer have. She is quite unwell and requires medications so whilst they holidayed in St Lucia and then saw family in Florida we looked after Daisy with her siblings staying at home with the house sitter. She was a lovely dog who wasn’t able to move much so it wasn’t too taxing taking care of her, she just wanted lots of attention and cuddles, of which I was more than willing to provide. However having her only reminded me of how much I missed Baxter and Charlie but I know that they are better off with my parents than me putting them through the ordeal of travelling and quarantine. I can’t wait for our first trip back to Australia (probably in October 2008) to give them lots of cuddles and kisses!!   

So for those of you who know me well will realise I am quite upset about the recent loss by Australia in the 1 day cricket competition and can only hope that they will get their act together in time for the World Cup this month. It’s sad that I am so close to the action but unable to attend but it was too late to try and arrange something as tickets for these events are sold out years in advance. Thankfully if they don’t perform well I can concentrate on the football but as I mentioned above that just makes me yearn to be at the ground, hearing the crowd roar and the siren sound. Thankfully I am able to access the games over the internet and we are looking into changing cable providers as one station in Washington DC shows 1 game live a week and repeats of others which will be better than relying on the internet. 

One observation I would like to make is the amount of broccoli which is consumed here. I asked a local recently whether it is something that is grown locally but no it’s just a vegetable that is eaten as much as the Irish eat potatoes. It is served in restaurants, frozen meals and by families alike. I was never a great fan of broccoli but I eat it all the time now and it reminds me of when I lived in the UK where I grew to like zucchini & capsicum which was eaten a lot there as I never really ate those vegetables much either. But alas there is no chance of me ever, and I mean ever, growing to like mushrooms!!!

Well, not much more to say. The management of our apartment complex has changed hands and unfortunately not for the better. The new company don’t seem to have the same focus on the community aspect as the prior manager’s so I think Andrew and I will see out our lease and review the situation and see what our options are at that time. The region (and even many states around here) are heavily populated with managed apartment complexes so it won’t be a problem to find similar accommodations as we love not having to worry about the maintenance of the property and having everything managed for you.

So I will sign off for this month. I hope you are all well and I look forward to any comments you may have and please email me if you have time and update me with your lives.

1 comment February 28th, 2007

December 06 & January 07

Hi there. Well I am finally feeling well enough to write about our adventures here in the USA. It’s hard to believe we have been here nearly 2 months, time has flown but unfortunately not in a great way with all the illnesses I have faced. But things are better right now and we are settling in to life and some sort of routine. So here is a summary of what has been happening:

Health I am doing much better and the reactive arthritis isn’t running my life for once. I have just undergone some more blood tests to see how my system is and my specialist and I are hoping we can reduce the medication over the next month or so. Although at this stage he is still unsure whether I am likely to suffer this again. It really is a mystery but then again so are a lot of my health problems, especially over the last 2-3 years. It’s more than likely Andrew accidentally broke my nose at X-mas (for the 3rd time, but Andrew’s 1st) but it has settled down and I don’t plan to do anything about it at this stage. So I am planning to get back into the saddle over the next week or so and begin exercise and to continue the weight loss. 

Work  Andrew is enjoying his work and is currently on his first interstate trip in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have just spent the weekend with him, it takes around 4 hours from here to get there. His employers have been extremely understanding regarding my health situation so I am very grateful to them. Unfortunately he will need to travel quite a bit over the next few months to make up for the extra support he has been given, and I hope to be able to either join him a bit or travel to see him if he is within driving distance. I haven’t even thought about work at this stage and it’s unlikely I will look for work in my field as I can’t guarantee any employer I will be constantly healthy enough. So the plan at the moment is for me to get healthy and for us to start a family. 

Home The apartment is great, located in a complex complete with pool, gym, tennis court, kids play area and a common room and we are so pleased we chose a furnished place as with our inital focus being on my health there was no time to even think about the house. It’s a 2 bedroom place with a bathroom off each of the rooms so Andrew and I have decided to have a bathroom each with makes it easier getting ready in the mornings. The loungeroom and dining room is good with 2 couches and a working fireplace but considering we have constant heating / cooling it’s more a hassle to have fires so for now there are just candles in there. It has been strange getting used to a constant temperature but now that the cold has come it is very handy. The kitchen is functional with a small laundry attached to the end. Unfortunately there is no clothesline on the property at all so most things go into the dryer or onto the clothes horse in the spare room. There is heaps of storage including an outdoor storage room. I have posted a couple of photos of the outside but no inside as it is still a bit of a mess as I haven’t been well enough to unpack the boxes of our things as yet. Once the apartment is set up I will post some photos.

Weather When we first arrived we wondered whether or not it was actually winter. Some of the first days here were actually warmer than back in Australia! But over the last week winter has finally arrived including the snow which is great. Andrew isn’t such a fan of the snow so it will take some time for him to get used to it, but I am in my element and loving it. It was certainly a lot colder in Pittsburgh and the snow is more of a regular feature than here at home.  

Car Buying a car was somewhat of a nightmare. Due to having no credit history (a little hard when you just moved here) no-one wanted to talk to us so we ended up having to purchase the car over 1 year, putting on hold our International travel plans for this coming summer but it will make life easier when we have a family. We test drove a few cars, Andrew’s favourite being the Toyota Prius due to the gadgets and stuff, mine being the Jazz (same as I had in Australia) but with the Jazz being on a 4 month wait list and my absolute abhorrent thoughts about the Prius we decided on the VW Rabbit which is the same as the Golf in Australia. It is black, with a sunroof, heated seats (comes in handy at the moment), power everything and once the adaptor comes in, an Ipod adaptor in the glove box. It has been interesting driving on the other side of the road but I am used to it now and don’t have any problems. The only time I need to think about what I am doing is when I reverse out from a car park and have to calculate which way to swing to be on the right side. But that being said, our GPS (satellite navigation unit) has been a life saver, we wouldn’t have been able to get around without it. It takes guess work out of having to work out where you are going, allowing you to focus on the driving which is great.

Major Differences So to some of the major differences I have noticed. Food!! They have no idea what cordial is, using an equivalent which are crystals but they are so sickly sweet that it’s awful. Obviously we cannot buy vegemite or tim tams but we are gradually getting used to the differences. They are fantastic at frozen meals though, which has been our life saviour during my illnesses. There is a fantastic home delivery service whereby you can order online from a selection of restaurants and the one company delivers it to you. Their only problem is serving sizes, they are way too big! Moderation is certainly the key.

So that is my life so far here in the USA. I am certainly suffering a bout of home sickness right now as it will take time to meet people and get really used to the place but I am sure in time things will settle into a routine for us and we will forget the first few months and their trials and tribulations. I look forward to any comments you want to leave and please email me and keep me updated with what’s happening in your life.

4 comments January 31st, 2007