Divine Intervention

OK - its been a long week but I feel better. There is nothing to improve your mood like driving a new car that fits in between the lines of the road on a glorious summer day with your favorite music turned up loud.

Yes, we finally were able to get a copy of our lease on Monday, 45 minutes before the car dealership closed. The person who processes the registrations had already gone home for the day but either they felt so sorry for us or they were so sick of us, that they let us drive away with some kind of 24 hour temporary registration that might have actually been made up. But now I have navigation! I have not been lost since. Granted, I haven't gone anywhere except school and, of course, the mall. Besides the addition of navigation, my new car's blinker and wind shield wiper controls are on the correct sides of the steering wheel. And I was able to program the temperature reading in Fahrenheit so I know exactly how hot it is, instead of just knowing its hot. 

So I have traded in the rental car for rental furniture. Progress.

While renting furniture seems easy enough, after the disaster of Valiant last week, and well, many other things that should be simple but aren't when the blind leads the blind, I decided to enlist the help of our relocations consultant. I am so glad I did. After laughing at me for calling Valiant, she made it all happen. An appointment first thing the next morning and a confirmed a delivery for this Friday. That would never have happened had I just walked in off the street. Thank you Edel.

Ned, the rental guy, emailed us an inventory of my selections. When I returned that evening from St. Peters Curriculum Night I found Mike puzzling over it. "Everything on this list is white - you know we have two young children right?"

"Right" I replied, "Indeed we do, and now, in addition to that, at least for two months, we have an assortment of white leather and transparent plastic furniture in spectacularly odd shapes." (I figured that since we were not going to live in a Miami Vice house it would be fun to rent some Miami Vice furniture.) There followed a brief silence. Then Mike went to the other room to pack for his trip so I wouldn't hear him laughing.

As I type this he has just returned from Sydney where he met with three customers. There were several sophisticated and spectacular meals on the wharf near the Opera House, but the meal that left the biggest impression on him was a lunch at Hooters. Their customer wanted to eat there, so eat there they did. Mike has never been to Hooters before so was unaware that at various times, and for no apparent reason, the music gets turned up to a deafening volume and all the waitresses jump on tables and chairs and start dancing. For those of you who know Mike you can imagine his surprise. I just wish I could have seen his face when the customer jumped up and started dancing too.

Speaking of dancing, the girls are now enrolled in ballet again. I stumbled on the school one afternoon when I was lost and I am pretty sure that I can find it again. I think/hope this will help since it was something they really enjoyed doing in Seattle. Rosie continues to struggle with the move. This has been much harder for her than I imagined. I thought the kids were the perfect age to do this, and if your reading this I probably told you as much.  It turns out I was wrong, there is no perfect age. She often refers to her life in Seattle as her "real life". She misses her family terribly. In our air shipment I packed valentines day card from Seattle that I thought would be cool to give the kids in her new class, but when she saw them she immediately sat down and wrote each member of her family's name on a card. We have a ridiculously large and complicated family so its good I ended up buying both the fairy bracelet pack and the rocket ship pack because she blew through both. She is forever asking me when we are going home for a visit, and who is coming when to visit us. It's just as well I didn't know this was coming or I would have never left.

Nola, meanwhile, is constantly telling me "I love Austraileeeya!"  Maybe there is a perfect age after all. This country might even cure her of her "heightened awareness" of bugs. She behaves like a lunatic when one crosses her path, (which is often,) but then again, behaving like a lunatic is par for the course when you are four.

So Monday found me back at the mall, imagine that. I needed to return to the library to see if I could locate a Ballet Barbie that was left behind on Sunday. It was not to be found, but I did sit down and watch an episode of Project Runway Australia. Faaaabuuulouse! Let me start at the beginning of the library story. The weekend was terribly rainy, torrential tropical downpour yada yada and all that. We decided to take the kids to the library, even if it was in the mall. Very glad we did! Brisbane's libraries are wonderful (even if they are housed in malls and juxtaposed to movie theaters) While we couldn't yet get library cards and check anything out (still no lease at that point so unable to prove we were alive) The library was wonderful, if unexpectedly loud. What with the TV on. Seemed to drown out the commotion in the kids section so no one seemed too put out. There were crafts, librarians reading stories, all sorts of action. We were surprised to see the TV, but when in Rome…..and so I did today. I didn't know Australia had their own Project Runway but I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

After an hour with my library friends I ventured back into the mall to find parking level pink. On the way I got a pedicure, a smoothie and found a book store. I'm trying to stay in touch with my Seattle Book Group via an as yet unsuccessful ability to Skype. I asked the sales clerk if they had a copy of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It was like all my new library TV watching friends suddenly materialized in the book shop. I don't have a loud voice, but everyone in the bookshop heard me ask if they had a copy, and there ensued a lively discussion about Henrietta. (HeLa, anyone? Anyone?) I'm not sure I'll need to Skype in next month ladies, however, Mandy, the store clerk might. 

This is a good time to mention that customer service here is excellent. I would go so far as to say it is better than that in the US. All the books said it was awful, but I have not found that to be the case in any store I have entered  (and remember, I'm practically living at the mall) It might have something to do with being alone a lot and being called Luv and Dahrling, but I think it is more than that. Yes, it is definitely more than that!

One thing I have managed to purchase without visiting the mall is ballet tickets, including tickets to the Nutcracker…On Ice! In June no less! "This is a holiday must see!" the brochure reads. I hope the girls understand we won't be going home to decorate the Christmas tree after the production. You have to love a country that celebrates Christmas for 7 months.

We have a DVD of the ballet Romeo and Juliette that the girls enjoy watching. If you are a ballet goer you know there is a certain amount of miming that goes on instead of conversation.  For example, when someone is imploring someone else not to pursue their enemies' daughter they clasp their hands together tightly, raise them up and shake them around. Rosie told me on Tuesday "you know in Romeo and Juliette when they go like this?" (she puts her tiny hands together in aforementioned pose) "that's what we do in chapel" Hmm. Sounds kind of fun. I decide Nola and I will attend chapel with Rosie this Wednesday and see for ourselves. Maybe it will help me answer Rosie's big questions in the middle of the night.  So I put on my fancy frock and in we go. Turns out you don't need to dress up to attend your kid's school's mid week chapel service. I would have been more appropriately attired in a shirt. I take it all back, forgive me Woman's Weekly! Chapel was surprisingly and absolutely wonderful in every regard. Imagine 150 young children singing together with adorable accents, while the sun light shimmered through open windows, breezes bringing in fragrant blossoms, laughter and dancing, shadows of palm fronds. Then it got even better. They played The Price is Right. Yes, they did and it was super fun! The message being of course, that there are things you cannot put a price on. There are things like mums and dads, things like forgiveness and friendship, things like a choir of children singing that are, indeed, priceless. 

I left with Nola's hand in mine feeling good, got in my new car to find it running and the AC going. The car was cool and music was playing. What the…..had I left it running? Was it divine intervention? I don't know, but on a sizzling hot day, it was priceless, if not confusing. Much like Rosie's middle of the night questions.