Keep in Touch! SKYPE

I recently discovered what I think is the worlds best invention ever.....EVER! It's called Skype and it's a free download that allows you talk to anyone in the world (as long as they too have Skype) for FREE! All you have to have is a microphone and speakers/headphones. You can also chat online and do lots of other things that I haven't learned yet. But just go to www.skype.com and download it, then add me as a contact.

The only problem once I'm in Australia will be finding a time to talk! Probably not the easiest thing to do with the time difference.

'Tis the season.....mate!

Christmas is just around the corner and I'm trying desperately to finish up my shopping before heading home for the holidays. I have a busy weekend ahead with the Daughtry concert on Friday (thanks Rob!!!!), the Panthers game on Sunday (again!), and then the 2 day drive home-from Charleston to Arkansas-with Nana and Tucker on Monday. I'm so excited to see everyone in the 'dale!

I'm wrapping up The Chucktown News and trying to do all of the final collections. Not my favorite part of this job. I've got only 4 accounts with unpaid balances now though. I tried to put a copy of the December issue of the newsletter here in the blog but I guess I can't do it.

I officially have 3 tenants for my house in Charleston! Yay! We're in the process of switching all of the bills over from my name to Erin's name right now which is way more of a headache than it should be. I have to pick up a special form for the water bill, we have to BOTH go into the office for the cable bill, we have to show a copy of the lease for the waste bill.....etc.

My car never sold, so I'm driving it home to Arkansas on Monday with Nana (don't worry, she'll keep my narcoleptic tendencies at bay). Maybe the family can sell it while I'm gone????

I've got my gym membership canceled, my work phone shut off, my furniture (most of it) stored away, Tucker's plans arranged (thanks, Mom! He'll love the doggy door), and my iPod updated for the flight. I'm still working on the little, less important things like a job and a permanent apartment. :) Don't worry, family! I'm kidding! I'm making progress on these things but can't work them out fully until I get there.

Ok, back to collections! See you Arkansans in a few days!

One Month, 10 days!

It's December!!! January 14th is getting closer!!!!!!! Here is my agenda before I leave:

December 17th-27th(ish): Arkansas/Las Vegas for Christmas. Take Tucker home :(
January 11th: Leave from Charleston to San Francisco
January 14th: Leave from California to Sydney
January 16th: Arrive in Sydney (14 hour time change!!!!)

Last weekend I got to see some of my best friends one last time before I leave. Kristen and her boyfriend and Kaley drove in from Athens, Forrest flew in from Arkansas, then Mary surprised me and flew in from St. Louis! We had a great time in Charleston and got to say our goodbyes in person.

Hannah might be visiting me this weekend!!!! YAY! She's only coming because she wants to collect all of my stuff that I'm not taking with me. I keep getting texts from her like, "So, what size shoe do you wear?" And she's driving so she'll have plenty of room to pack it all in the car! Haha, that's ok though! I'm glad she might FINALLY get to see Charleston. I've only been here for a year and a half.

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

In case anyone is wondering (family), here is my Christmas list for Santa this year:

• Video Camera
• 2 New LARGE, LIGHTWEIGHT, suitcases
• New swimsuit (more challenging to find in December than anticipated)
• Electronic address book
• Garage door (I may or may not have run my car through mine)
• Money!!!!!

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Oh, I just looked more closely at my airline ticket and I realized that on January 15th I am spending an ENTIRE DAY in Taiwan! I get there at 6am and leave for Sydney at 10:40pm! WOW!

Also, officially booked my hostel today. I'll be residing at the Boomerang Backpackers Hostel for one week.

Sydney Video

I just found this on YouTube and thought it was kind of cool. Also, I wanted to see if I could post videos here. If you can see this, I guess it works!

Another update

I'm back from Thanksgiving (and 10lbs heavier) and getting back to my Australia preparations!

My car didn't sell on EBay, but I'm going to put it back up this week to give it another go. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I have 2 girls to rent out my house so I only need one more! I'm meeting with 2 girls this week. I've gotten plenty of responses from the ad I put on Craigslist so I can be a little bit picky, but I should probably find someone soon. Only 45 days until I leave!!!!!!!!

I have still been packing up things in my house and moving them out to the garage or up to the attic. My room is starting to look a little bare but it's kind of nice to clear out some of the clutter. I've made about 10 trips to Goodwill so far!

No more real updates to speak of. That's all for now!

Updates: Car, Roommates, Tucker, Housing

Car:

The car is still on EBAY with 3 days left. It's up under Rob's name and there are a few bidders but the bidding hasn't met the reserve price yet and it won't sell unless it reaches that price. I have one (maybe 2) options for loaner cars in the case that my car sells before I leave.

Roommates:

I have showed the room to 3 people so far. I haven't been crazy about any of them. One was a guy that was borderline serial killer, one was a really sweet girl but she had 2 dogs (with Erin's beagle that would have been overkill), and one was only interested in a short term lease.

I'm meeting 2 girls today, one at 3:00 and one at 6:00. Hoping one or both of them work out. One girl has a pet bird and I'm praying she's not bringing it over today. It's fine if she wants it in the house after I'm gone but you all know my ridiculous bird phobia...

Tucker:

Plans for Tucker-my chocolate lab-are still up in the air right now. I have 3 options for him where I would feel comfortable and he would be happy but those plans aren't completely solidified yet.

Housing:

I found a hostel where I think I'm going to stay for my first week in Sydney. http://www.blogger.com/www.boomerangbackpackers.com I know it looks worse than my old dorm Creswell at the University of Georgia, but it's all I really need. And I can stand to put up with community showers for a week. Just kidding, there are private showers.....I hope.

When Does She Leave???

FYI:



I am leaving Charleston...

JANUARY 11TH



I am leaving the USA....

JANUARY 13TH

Fix it up!

Today I have been taking care of some maintenance issues around my house:

1. The garbage disposal broke last week, and after and hour and a half of lying on my back under the kitchen sink and shining a flashlight around, I decided to call a professional. Luckily, my home is still under warranty so it won't be too expensive.

2. The garage door is broken. It doesn't look too bad, but the bottom panel is cracked. Ok, ok. Confession: I ran my car into it a few weeks ago. There was a coupon in Money Mailer this week for discount garage door repair, so I called and someone is coming out to give an estimate on it tomorrow afternoon.

3. I mowed the yard this morning, but then I called around to get some prices on lawn maintenance. Someone else will have to take care of it while I'm gone so I'm trying to find the best deal. There is actually a landscaper in my networking group that has given me his prices. His company will probably end up taking care of it.

These are all things (among others) that I'm trying to get fixed before I leave the country. I don't want the renters to have any big problems once I leave, so I'm giving my home a little tune up.

Other than that, I spent about an hour and a half cleaning out my car and giving her a bath. After I finished shining up the leather it looks like an entirely different car! I'm going to take some more pictures of it now that it's all spic-n-span and put it up on EBay. (Don't freak out, Mom. Lots of people do it and it's safe).

I also did some more research on housing. Thank God for my MySpace friends in Sydney because I was pretty set on this place that offered temporary housing in Wollongong. I thought it was a suburb of Sydney but they informed me that it's actually it's own city and its 1.5hours outside of Sydney. I probably don't want to live there.

Ok, lots to do before the day is over. Until next time....

Preparation Stage

I have spent some time this week cleaning out some things in my room and moving them to storage in the garage and attic. My roommate Erin is going to take over my room when I leave since it is the master bedroom. She will pay a little less rent than she is now but she'll be in charge of the little maintenance issues that arise along the way. We are still looking for two other renters for the other two rooms. We have a few options right now but nothing set in stone.

I got an e-mail from someone interested in my car today, but it sounded a bit sketchy so I'm trying to get him to call me to discuss details. Other than that, no other serious interest; just a couple of phone calls inquiring the price. I'll probably list it in the Post and Courier this week since I've already tried the City Paper. And of course there's an ad in The Chucktown News. :)

The November issue of The Chucktown News is out now so there is only one issue left! I am offering a December advertising special to try to fill up some of the empty ad spaces and I've gotten a good response from it so far. I guess people like cheap advertising! I have been thinking about trying to sell the business instead of just suspending it, so Rob is going to help me evaluate what it's worth and see how much I could sell it for. (Right, Rob??)

Those are all of the updates for now! More to come...

Stay in Touch!!!

Hello friends and family! I created this blog to help us all stay in touch during my venture to Australia. I'm new to the whole blogging thing, but I think that you will be able to post comments and pictures back to each of my entries so that I can keep up to date with all of your lives too. I know I don't leave for a couple of months (72 days to be exact) but I wanted to get a jump start on this. Plus, there are already a lot of exciting things happening during my preparation for the land down under!

First of all, I purchased my ticket a couple of months ago. It cost a disturbing two grand, but it will most definitely be worth every penny! I leave Charleston on January 11th for San Francisco but don't actually leave the country until the 14th. It's a direct flight to Sydney from there, but I don't technically reach Sydney until the 16th. Also disturbing. I'm in the process of updating the songs on my ipod now.

On October 31st a new visa went into effect between the US and Australia (side note: it's not spelled AusTRAILia...there is only one "i". Common mistake). I immediately applied for this one year visa which allows Americans to work and live in Australia for 12 months. The next morning, I received my acceptance letter! It was supposed to take 10 business days, but I got it right away and everything is good to go!

Other than that, I'm still trying to sell my car (2004 Acura TSX. Anyone interested?) and find 2 more roommates for my house. Once those things are done I will feel a little less anxious.

Today I'm spending most of the day cleaning out the garage and packing up some of the easy stuff like pictures and vases and things that I can go ahead and get out of the way now.

Thanks for reading and I hope that this can be a useful tool in the future and that we can all stay in close contact!