Tacos!

Last night I made my first meal in my new home. Those of you that know me will not be at all surprised to learn that is was tacos. :) And they weren't too bad, despite not having Herdez salsa for the meat and the cheese not being bright yellow. All the cheddar cheese here is the color of a post-it note, none of those dyes that they use at home. But there's something comforting about bright yellow cheddar cheese - especially when contrasted with red tomoates and green lettuce. Yum.

My friend H joined me for this first dinner, ceremonially eaten on the floor, as I have no living room or dining room furniture. He brought over an old television of his that he hooked up for me and we were able to watch my new set of favorite shows...Wenesday night is the best...First is the show 'Thank God You're Here', an hour long improv show where the actors are put into unknown situations (K - you'd LOVE this show and it makes me think of you every time I watch). It's hilarious. Then there's 'Spicks and Specks' on ABC (the PBS of Australia). This is a music trivia show that has 2 teams of three competing against each other. There is a lot of cross-over between the actors on TGYH and Spicks and Specks, so it's really fun too. And I like to think I'm learning something about Australian music in the process. Last night the lead singer from Flying Heidi was on, so now I've heard of that group. And one of my new friends here, J, is the show's host's cousin. (say that three times fast). Then is a show called 'The IT crowd', which is British I think, sort of like the Office, but focued on 3 IT support people. It's pretty hilarious. Then is 'The GlassHouse', which is like the Daily Show, but with an Australia focus. Which makes sense, since I live in Australia now. (that still sounds TOTALLY weird when I say it.)

I've moved into my permanent office space at work now, into an open cubicle set-up that is really quite nice. I was in a window, private office for the first 4 weeks, but that wasn't permanent, and I'm happier to be out with everyone I'm working with. So I've unpacked my books, put up the picture of my work peeps from the EIS conference and it feels like my office again. I love that I have one picture with all the people I love and miss from Atlanta in one place. I still don't have my pictures from home yet (I was waiting on my moving into my apt before having it sent over) so it's good to remember who's toiling away at Clifton without me. :)

I don't have any pictures of Oliver up yet at work - it's still too mcuh for me to see pictures of him. I miss him so much, but in sort of an abstract way... I can feel the lack of him when I go to sleep sometimes, but I can't really remember his purr or his little cat kisses. So, I just don't think about him too much. I know he's being loved and is probably more than content with his new mom in North Carolina... being spoiled as a true southern cat should be!

Now that my home and work are starting to settle down, I have more time to reflect on this journey I've made across the world. Moving to another country certainly brings up a lot! And that's an understatement. But I'm grateful for the people in my life who are supporting me through all these tribulations, both here in Oz and back home. I feel very blessed to have caring people around me.

And making tacos is a sure sign that I'm starting to settle in for sure! :)