Arrived safely in Melbourne
I am staying with my friend Jarod and his partner Jen in a little three bedroom house, here, with four cats and a dog. Orpheus who has arrived safe and well, tolerates the other animals, though he did swipe the dog's nose hard enough to draw blood! It is very hot so the house usually hides from the sun keeping all blinds closed to stop the house heating up.
Every morning I walk 20 minutes up the road to the Huntingdale train station here. I walk past gumtrees and a golf course. Sometimes I am lucky enough to see birds like parakeets fossicking in the red wattle trees. It is so exciting to see such brightly coloured birds flying free rather than in cages. I saw galas with their soft pink tipped heads and grey bodies perched on the telephone wires like exotic sparrows and one day I saw a large beaked kookaburra. It makes the journey too and from the train station more like a trip to the zoo for me than a daliy commute.
Then I have to catch the train into my work in the CBD. It is OK if I have a seat and can read or write but 40 minutes of standing up is a little tedious. Because the races are still going on, it feels like the birdlife has invaded the carriages as often there are bevvies of girls wearing brightly coloured clothes with feathers in their hair, all chatting excitedly about going to the races.
The new job is far more corporate than my previous role. I have been given my own work laptop which I have to take home every day, but it means I can sit in bed and write this! Luxury. However I am painfully aware that only a few of my clothes are appropriate and then even worse, my shoes are too sloppy. I will have to buy some new footwear very soon. (Not something I am looking forward to, as I hate shoe shopping, Hence the sad state of my shoes) The good news is that the people are nice.
I was going to go house hunting this weekend, but decided that I needed a weekend of rest after that intensive move. I would also perfer to go house hunting with Justin in tow rather than just by myself. And also it is so hot right now that it is easier to stay inside and gently melt, rather than pound the pavements and burn to a crisp.