I guess it pays to have good trade relations with the Chinese – that’s some serious fireworks you got going there, Brisbane! Happy New Year to one and all – make this one count!
Christmas at the beach
Room with a view
After a mere week scouring the map, filling spreadsheets and performing inordinate amounts of math, we’re happy to report we’ve found ourselves a fully furnished home and signed a lease. We’re joining the international jet set on the 18th floor in the Botanica residences:
Unit 1808, 4 Edmondstone Street, South Brisbane QLD 4101
We can only hope that, once the jet lag clears, we still think signing the lease was a good idea. But come 1 January 2016 we’re going to find out, because that’s when we’ll move in and we can start enjoying the view!
[photonav url=’/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_0672-IMG_0680_x600.jpg’ container_height=600 label=1] View from the balcony
[photonav url=’/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_0644-IMG_0650_x600.jpg’ container_height=600 label=1] View towards the city from the roof
Of course, we’ll still have to replace the bed with a larger one, move in a desk and sort some other stuff out, but it’s great to be able to have a home when work starts for Simone on January 4th and Jaap will doing interviews on the 5th.
(and yes, it’s got a decent internet connection on the National Broadband Network – since that was the primary search criterium ;-D)
The force down under
Full house at Cinemaplex on South Bank this Sunday afternoon (opening weekend) for a viewing of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (3D). Good fun, however they keep the cinemas cooler than Hoth, so next time we’ll bring a Tauntaun and a light saber!
Thanks Katherine and Joao :).
Communications established
Jet lag or no, the first Skype call between antipodeans has been established. Some skepsis remained on our actual location, but we hope the view of the dark Australian skies once we took the conversation outside convinced them.
The emu has landed
Take 24 hours, ignore them thoroughly, and all of a sudden you find yourself down under. Easy peasy! Apparently, we flew via Singapore, since we have the pictures of the Koy Pond to prove it.
All kidding aside, our travels today and yesterday were reasonable comfortable and blissfully uneventful. We’ve arrived at our temporary location and will start looking for our own place first thing tomorrow morning. But first, we sleep.
Project “Make stuff disappear” successful
Time to celebrate, everything has been packed, transferred, stored, cleaned or otherwise processed for the move. Simone and I can congratulate each other on a project executed with all key targets achieved within the set time and budget 😉
Thanks to whoever brought the Lambrusco and conveniently forgot it – not exactly the spumante we typically enjoy, but who’s complaining, right?
Cheers & see you down on the upside!
We’re almost off – FAQ
(I’d love to start this post with an image of our going away party, so send me some!)
It turns out you get asked an awful lot of the same questions over and over when you decide to leave for distant shores. So, to save us some gum flapping, here are the most frequently asked questions about our departure.
When do you fly?
We fly out this Wednesday 10:30 and will land Thursday 19:30 (BNE time) or 10:30 NL time. The flights are SQ323 (AMS-SIN) and SQ245 (SIN-BNE) [and not, as it turns out SQ236 – points for trusting Simone’s memory, some deducation for Simone’s actual memory ;-)].
Where in Australia are you going again?
Brisbane, Queensland; on the east coast of Australia. Brisbane has Flinders’ Reef off the coast and is in the middle of the subtropics. It’s the fourth largest city in Australia, behind Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Are you keeping your house?
Yes, we’re asking third parties to let it for us to other expats coming to The Hague. We’re leaving the furniture, books, etc. for the new occupants to use.
Are you bringing your stuff in a shipping container?
Nope, we’re just bringing 200kg of air freight besides what we can bring in our suitcases, using professional movers. This includes Simone’s bicyle and sewing machine and Jaap’s PC and camera equipment. Of course, our motorcycle gear and diving equipment is coming as well.
Do you have a house in Brisbane yet?
No, but we’re moving into the house of a colleague of Simone for the first 4 weeks. Rent in Brisbane is charged by the week and you can move in by the week, so we expect to be able to find something quickly.
Why are you going?
Simone’s employer has asked her to do project there for 2-4 years; so, she’s keeping her job at Deltares and Jaap has quit his job at the CAK to move with her.
Does Jaap have a job there?
Not yet, but there are plenty of opportunities and we’re not at all worried about his employability.
Do your visa cover work for both of you?
Yes our visa cover most eventualities, so starting a business or taking a normal job are all possible. Of course, Simone’s employer is the sponsor, so whether we get to stay for 2-4 years depends on Simone’s job for now.
Will you stay there permanently if you can?
No, we plan on returning after about three years, give or take a few months.
Will you stay in touch?
Yes, read this blog. Of course, you can follow us on any of the social media listed on the contact details page (we’ll update this as we get new contact coordinates in Oz). When we post on this blog, we will frequently publish our posts there, when we think it may interest people.
Some originals, because..
And then I also made some originals tops with the same two patterns. Because Sunday. And also, because the fabric stash won’t come with to Brizzy, but completed tops might!
Upcycling baggy T-shirts
Finally built up the courage to try out different patterns to transform baggy shirts into fitted shirts. I used two patterns that I copied from shirts that fit me well, my purple boat neck shirt with unfinished seems and my red cap sleeve t-shirt with an orange rainbow print. This resulted in 4 upcycled shirts, of which I took some poorly focused photos for you to enjoy.
It’s a bit weird, and you move the print up a bit, but you can transform a longsleeved T (Kaleidoscoopdag) into a boat neck shirt. Because the fabric is a bit stiffer then the original shirt, the boat neck looks more like a portrait collar. Also, the print used to be on the back, *grin*. Not unhappy with this test result.
Jaap’s baggy shirt (cat-eyed girl) could easily be converted into a cap sleeve shirt. I changed the neck a bit after I took this photo, to keep it from sagging. I love this print!
My own semi-baggy shirt from the Moth was too small at the arm scythe. So that one took some guesstimating and fiddling, but I got it to behave in the end. It was quite a bit of work though, so next time I buy a shirt that I’ll redo in my own size, I should definitely get the XXL size. Much more fabric to work with!
The downsizing of Jaap’s running shirt was also a bit freeform, both to maintain the print on the back and because I’ll only wear this when I’m sweaty anyway. I reused the cut away parts from the sides into back-pockets to make it a proper cycling shirt. It has a distinct home-made look, but I’m looking forward to use it.
