One of Those Weeks...

To add to the past week, I spent a long time
on hold to Safeway (the supermarket chain
here). It really has been one of those
weeks...

So we're recovering from a pretty crappy week, hence the lack of updates on here. Not a lot has really happened that's worth posting about! There was a random heatwave during the week that lasted 2 days. It was short, especially compared to Australian heatwaves, but it put me in a bad mood, nonetheless. I know "most" people like warmer weather that's around the 30 degree celsius mark, but I don't; I just can't handle the heat. Our little family has also been sick and we're only just recovering. Also, I'm not sure what it says about your life when the highlight of your week has been buying your toddler more books because you can't handle reading the same ones over and over again anymore! I would have loved to have bought myself books (in many ways, I prefer buying books over buying clothes!), but these days see me living vicariously through my child because we can't both afford for us to shop! Haha...

City life definitely has its benefits insofar as I'm able to walk anywhere to get whatever I need. But I am starting to feel the need to get myself and the toddler exploring a bit during the week, which means I need to learn to drive our car and on the opposite side of the road! Which still scares me a lot (heck, I went to get into the passenger seat of the car today, only to realise that I was getting into the driver's seat.). Drivers here are also a bit crazy and people seem to just drive by their own rules and do their own things. So that doesn't fill me with confidence. However, I'd love to be able to explore a bit more and to take the toddler to some new places. 

Living in a different country has sure taught me a couple of things about myself. Well, not really taught... more just that it's emphasised some traits about myself. EG: when we were in the process of moving, I got a few people telling me the importance of finding new friends ASAP and making contacts as soon as I could. To be completely honest, a lot of the time, the main reason I socialise is for my child; because I think it's important for him since he doesn't go to daycare. But I, myself, am perfectly fine being a solitary person. I don't crave company, nor do I crave the need to always be around someone. Yes, it's nice that we've met some friends and people who seem really nice, but with my track record of bad friendships and being somewhat anti-social, I don't bond with people easily, and for once I'm pretty much OK with that. Socialising is scary for me, so I'm happier than most to be in my little bubble.

Scuse my little deep, personal thought moment.

Anyway, must run as the toddler has woken up! Just as I was about to sleep, myself!

xoxo

A Wet, Wild, Wintry Week

This is very true. Except for the wine part; I'm not a big drinker, unless you're talking about coffee.

I struggled through motherhood a lot this week. I had quite a few of those moments where I just thought 'I can't do this' or 'I can't handle another tantrum. What has my life become?!'. LOL. And usually I like cold, wet weather. But not with a toddler; this kind of weather only makes life more difficult when you have a small child who needs attention 99% of their waking time. Apparently this weather is unusual for San Francisco. Just our luck that we should get it in our third week here. When we don't have a car. For the Aussies who may be reading this, the weather here has felt quite similar to the Winter temperatures felt in the Blue Mountains around Leura or so. Just with a lot more wind. Unfortunately, I also wasn't prepared for this kind of weather, so all my Winter clothes are in a box on a boat somewhere! So I'm not surprised that I'm a little bit sick now! On the other hand, Robert - the lover of jackets - has very much been enjoying making use of his various black jackets that he always has on hand (even when it's about 40 degrees C outside. Crazy person). 

This will basically be me for the next couple of months or so!

Speaking of cars, we have a car. Well, not just yet. Robert should be going to pick it up over the weekend sometime. But our bank account has a lot less in it. It's a BMW. It's black. It's shiny. You'd think I'd be excited about this especially after the past few years of car drama with the NRMA and not having our own car. But I'm not. Cars are expensive things (regardless of whether BMWs are cheaper here than in Australia or not). Especially when you and your husband are very picky and have quite specific wants/needs in a car. I'm also extremely anxious over having to learn to drive on the opposite side of the road. I get very anxious over a lot of things, driving being one of those things. Plus, my husband had to get a manual, which I basically had no say in. Thankfully, I know how to drive a manual (he taught me on his old, old car many years ago), however it still only makes my anxiety worse knowing that I need to learn to drive a new manual car in a foreign country, on the other side of the road, in a very hilly city. And it doesn't help that drivers here seem to enjoy communicating with their horns more than they do in Sydney (I didn't think that was possible!). Still, at least we have a car. Now I can get places, and getting places is good.

We also have some furniture. Which is also a good thing. Our apartment isn't as empty now! The toddler also has a high chair again, which thankfully means I don't need to chase him around all over the place trying to get him to eat! 

I've managed to make a few contacts/friends here who are also Aussie, which is great! It's interesting/great that this place seems to appeal to lots of us, and the company of others makes me feel slightly less alone. We're also all quite similar; most of us being here because our partners or us ourselves work in computing and technology. It's interesting to hear everyone's backgrounds but also know that we came here from the same place. I don't like to separate people based on nationality, but the reality is that culture separates us (whether we like it or not), so being able to come together with people who may understand you just that little bit more is a good thing, I think. 

It's been interesting to see my husband go from being a relatively big fish in a small pond to being a little fish in a big pond. He is just another tech worker in San Francisco now, whereas I think he was feeling a bit like he couldn't go much further with his career in Sydney. 

I'm certain that I had more to write, but I'm beginning to doze off. So I will say ciao! Thanks for reading this far if you have!

xoxo