Footy Grand Final

This weekend I observed my first footy Grand Final. The Grand Final is similar in importance to the Super Bowl. Australian Rules football or "footy" is best described as a cross between rugby and soccer. Here is what I understand so far:
Two teams play on a gigantic oval field. In Melbourne, they play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, better known as the MCG. The stadium is huge. The playing field is: 160m x 139m. In American football, the field is 109.7m × 48.8m.
The game is played during 4 quarters of 20 minutes each, with 18 players from each team on the field. The ball is similar to an American football, only it is just a little more plump and the ends are more rounded. When a player is in possession of the ball, he needs to bounce or pass it about every 15 meters (49ft or 16 yards). The main two types of passes are kicking or handballing, which is like an under-hand volleyball serve.
A goal can only be scored with a kick. The goal posts configuration is similar to this "I I I I". A goal through the center posts is worth 6 points. If it is kicked through the outer posts on either side, it is worth 1 point.
If a player catches a kick that is more than 15m, that is considered a "mark" and the player can kick for a goal.
It is not unusual for scores to get into the high double digits. This year the 2 teams were St. Kilda Football Club and the Geelong Cats (ja-long). Geelong pulled it out in the last 2 quarters winning 80-68.
The final notable element is the player uniform. There are no pads to hide behind. These guys are in tip top shape. The jerseys are sleeveless and the shorts are, well, short. This is a perfect sport for the sport-less crowd, as the view is always nice.

Thank you: http://www.afana.com/af_faq_sec2.shtml and wikipedia

In too deep

Tim Tam is a cute black chihuahua that resides near the lakeside in Chicago. That was my first experience with a Tim Tam. I met him, and his owner, right before I moved to Melbourne. She had spent a semester or two in Australia and loved the chocolate covered biscuit cookies. She loved them so much, that is what she named her dog. The cookies are good, I get it. But Tim Tam is a weird name and c'mon, how good can these cookies be?
I bought my first package of Tim Tams at the 7-11 (yes, amazing to have those here, slurpees and all!) at the corner of Bourke and Spencer, right near Southern Cross Station in the city. I had been here about a month. We were outside the store and I asked Jim if he had tried them already. He said yes, and that they were okay.
If I knew then what I know now, I shouldn't have gone into the 7-11. We have been on Tim Tams for the last 6 weeks. Within 2 weeks after purchasing regular Tim Tams, we had dabbled in the all the other varieties; Chewy Centered Caramel, Dark Chocolate and Choc-Hazelnut. We were most delighted (understatement) with the Double Coat. You can not believe how much better a second layer of chocolate can be! The Double Coat is simply the way to go.
Let's pause here and I will describe the heaven that is a Tim Tam so you can better appreciate our "situation". One rectangular chocolate cookie-biscuit on the bottom, middle layer of creamy light, whipped chocolate love, and another chocolate biscuit on top. Dip the entire cookie sandwich in milk chocolate (in our case twice) and you have a Tim Tam.
Needless to say, Tim Tams are no longer allowed in the house Monday through Friday. Jim thought the refrigerator would be a good deterrent; having to let them sit out to warm. I saw past the temperature.
We looked forward to weekends. Weekends were free. No work, no gym, freedom to enjoy Tim Tams. Tim Tams were like a band-aid. If our weekend outing didn't pan out or started to be less than satisfying, Tim Tams bridged the gap. We always keep a pack on hand on weekends. It's safer that way, like a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
Seriously, you have never seen two people eat 9 cookies faster than Jim and I. We see one 9-biscuit pack of Tim Tams as a serving. (Note: Regular Tim Tams packages contain 11 biscuits, Double Coat packs have 9 to allow for thicker chocolate.)
On a recent trip, the Tim Tams were in the front window of the car. The day was sunny so the cookies got a bit warm. Oh. My. God. Melty and delicious. We just took it to the next level. Bring on summer! I can't wait for Tim Tams at the beach!
If you're lucky, you will get a package for Christmas :)

Millinery Lesson

Millinery is the art of hat making.  Australians take hats very seriously.  Especially around the Melbourne Cup Carnival, which is four days of racing at the beginning of November.  The biggest day is on the first Tuesday (Melbourne Cup Day) and is a holiday for most people.  It's "the race that stops the nation." It's like the Kentucky Derby.  I can't wait to see all the outfits!
I took a one day course with the renowned Milliner, Waltraud Reiner, of Torb and Reiner Millinery.  She is fascinating.  Waltraud is from Austria and mainly studied millinery under Rose Cory, who made hats for the Queen. 
Our group made all sorts of amazing concoctions.  It was a great creative day.  http://www.torbandreiner.com/index.htm

The washer is the dryer

Here is a brief post on the nature of our appliances. We were very fortunate to have gotten an apartment that came fully equip with a washer/dryer, refrigerator, and freezer. Several of my new friends have had to make these big purchases upon taking ownership of their new places. Luckily, we also have a mini dishwasher, a very nice gas cooktop and convection oven.
The humor comes in the size of the appliances. Our fridge is dorm style and so is the freezer. They sit side by side. I have grown quite accustom to our mini kitchen. It was almost overwhelming to visit our friend's townhouse and see a mammoth side-by-side stainless steel refrigerator. It was even crazier to open it and see all the things you could stuff inside it.
The thing I was most impressed with upon arriving was the front loading washer/dryer. And I don't mean washer and dryer. The washer is the dryer. It washes the clothes, spins them, and then it becomes a dryer and drys them. Crazy, I know.

Expect the Unexpected

Two weekends ago we had the opportunity to stay at a ski resort. Being "from" Colorado, I thought I knew what this entailed. I was wrong.
Jim's company was sponsoring this little weekend on the account of a client having a cross country ski race (Kangaroo Hoppet) and Jim and his coworker doing a little PR and support. His coworker was going to be our chauffeur, chaperone and tour guide. Yay! We were excited.

We were excited with nothing to worry about until she called us at 8am on the day we were to leave to say she was sick. Of course. She had been up all night, blah blah blah. Great. Now what? Everyone thought is was still a terrific idear for us to go. The accommodations had been paid for, we need only rent a car, the rest would be a piece of cake.
Right.
The logistics were a bit detailed. We needed a 4 wheel drive vehicle, as the road could be dodgy. All the regulars (Avis & Budget) were sold out. We went with a little hole in the ground, literally, rental place.*
We were told we also needed to hire "chains." Chains, like what truckers use on I70 for really serious weather?? Where do you get them? And what were we getting ourselves into? We found out chains could be hired closer to the mountain. It was actually illegal for you not to have them in your vehicle once you got up to a certain point on the road. Pat, at the ski and chain hire place, said we probably wouldn't need them (he was right). Pat had also been to Aspen, stating "it's amazing how much better those mountains are." Jim and I exchanged glances.
We had to stop at the Hoppet headquarters in Mt. Beauty (at the base of the mountain) to assist with some last minute software questions. We also decided to eat there as it was getting dark and we didn't know what to expect at the "resort".
We arrived at Falls Creek, not seeing much in the way of snow on the entire journey, except for on the roadway to get to our condo. Turns out, if there is snow on the road to the accommodations, you can not drive on it. How does this all work?? What do we do?
All cars stopped for an attendant standing in the road. We were informed that we should have stopped at what looked like a tollgate to get our parking pass. Having come many windy miles in the dark and not eager to turn around, the semi-helpful woman told us we could come back to the Info Desk in the morning and get it sorted then. Mind you, we are completely baffled at this point. We can't drive to our condo. We have to park the car & carry all of our stuff? In the dark? To god knows where??
Well, they had a solution for that...you see, they had a snow-cat. You pay $15/person and the snow-cat will take you and your belongings to your accommodations. Oh, I get it. I need to mention, the address of the condo was useless, or that is what the snow-cat money taker implied. "We don't know streets around here, we know names of accommodations." Jim had had the location under control, but had to search to find Mini Flats so we could get the proper destination.
Jim dropped me and the bags off. He had to pull up to an orange sign, wait for a minivan with a flashing light to come along, follow the mini van to a parking spot and get a ride back to the snow-cat hub. This all makes sense, right? Are you still with me?
The room in which I waited for Jim's return, reminded me of travel hockey team arenas; small and cold with seating. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a snow-cat to take us. We were waiting on this very chilly dock on the back of the building. We had to wait a long time because the group of 6 before us decided they needed to bring the entire grocery store with them for their stay. They took up an entire snow-cat just them and their belongings.
Once we got our ride, I wondered how the young operator had not yet died of asphyxiation, as the exhaust smell overtook the cabin. When he opened the door to let us out, I conveniently stepped in a huge watery puddle of slush. He pointed up a snow covered embankment and bid us good night. There was hardly any light, no path was shoveled. We climb our way up to our cabin, which had a light on. An envelope was taped to the door. It included a welcome sentence and the code we needed to punch into the keypad to get through the door to which it was taped.
Even though the electric heater was on, it was still really cold in the condo. For some reason, I have this quaint assumption of a cabin being warm and inviting. I should totally know better. The cabin/condo was in nice condition. TV, kitchen stocked with dished and cookware. Good. The one weird thing about this place was, we had to bring our own sheets, towels and toilet paper. Strange, I know.
We were very excited to wake up in the morning and see what we could not in the dark.
Around 7:30, we pulled back the curtain in the bedroom to see...white. Not white as in snow, white as in fog. Our mountain was smack dab in the middle of a cloud. It was also raining. That would explain why it sounded like we were on a ship. What was happening?
We geared up to go out and get breakfast. The snow road was melting. The ski resort looked sad. Had it been a nice day, the place would have been buzzing. You could ski directly from your door to a chairlift. We walked down the street a bit and found the Feathertop Inn, a quaint and cozy dining room and lodge. We had eggs and continental breakfast. We were so please to find peanut butter among the options for spreads. The patrons complained of the rain and crappy ski conditions, having to wait it out until tomorrow or Monday.
Following, we need to take care of the car-parking pass drama. We were amazed to find that the hike to the snow-cat building was not that far from our residence. A completely doable walk, even with luggage. The car wasn't even parked that far away. From the way everyone acted, I was picturing the mall lot at Christmas time.
Needless to say, it rained all day Saturday. The rain turned into about 3inches of snow by Sunday morning. It gave us a better view of the surrounding hills and made the skiers happy. But we had already been told what we needed to know.

Author's Note:
I know the tone of this could be interpreted as a bit bitchy. It is not my intent to complain. It is more to be taken in the context of utter astonishment. Maybe I don't do well with change. Or maybe I don't do well with my imagined perception of an event being completely wrong. We're not in a 3rd world country, but we are definitely not in Kansas anymore.

*Thanks Mark, for the M2000 recommendation!