Footy Fever

*Melissa*

Oh wow. It has been too long.  It’s not JUST that we’ve been busier than bees in the middle of spring, it’s that time has just been picking up speed the closer we get to graduation!

We had perhaps the quickest month ever at Repat Hospital.  It was a lovely little get-a-way from Flinders where it felt like we were visiting old friends at work all day.  We were there from “Adelaide Cup Day” until “Good Friday” – so it made for two 4-day weeks, adding to the speed that the month seemed to soar by at.

Chad and I had a splendid little weekend getaway as well, where we were able to visit McLaren Vale and Willunga one last time.  Terribly sad, but an awful nice little break.

Perhaps the most exciting thing that happened around this time was also our night at an Aussie Footy match! I had been graciously “hired” by Dr. Wycherley to proctor the radiology consultant exam.  After which, he mentioned that he was headed out of town, and offered Chad and I to take advantage of his season footy tickets and go see the game that night.  Much to my surprise, I had to convince Chad that we should go.

Aussie “Footy”, for all us “yanks”, is Australian-Rules Football.  Sort of slightly resembling American football, but without all the helmets and padding, and with a lot more action, speed, and excitement.  We caught the free “Footy Bus” to take us to AAMI stadium – something Dr. Wycherley had promised would be quite exciting in and of itself.  Fans were decked out in colorful garb, all awkwardly containing their resentment for the people standing next to them wearing the opposing team’s colors.

Chad and Melissa outside AAMI stadium

Although we didn’t understand everything that happened throughout the game, it was an incredible experience, and an awesome game; we watched St. Kilda (Melbourne) play Port Adelaide, and every time Chad or I looked at each other and said “There’s no WAY St. Kilda will be able to recover”, sure enough, the regained the lead.  In the end, coming straight down to the wire, Port Adelaide won by ONE POINT!  The crowd went absolutely bonkers, and there were at least 3 gentlemen behind us that I was sure were going to have an aneurysm from yelling so hard.

We rode the footy bus home; SO glad we had taken up the offer of the tickets, and hoping we might get a chance to see another game before we go.

This, however, was only a minor break from our preparations for the looming event of the ASMMIRT Conference in Sydney.

Minchin Madness

*Chad*

As Melissa has previously written, February was our 5^th year anniversary. It’s hard to believe that we have had 5 years together already. We have shared hopes, dreams, miles, kilometers, adventures and challenges all while pursuing this higher education thing! I don’t think I would change a thing; after all, life is the journey as well as the destination.

Needless to say, this year we have been strapped for cash so we had to come up with a way to celebrate our time together without breaking the bank. Before we left for Australia, Melissa and I happen to catch a quick glimpse of a musician by the name of Tim Minchin. That particular night Tim was performing his “Taboo” song on the Conan O’Brian show. Tyler, Melissa and I laughed until it hurt. On a whim, we thought that we would google the guy and see if he was coming to Adelaide any time soon. As luck would have it, he was playing the Adelaide Entertainment Center the day after Valentine’s Day! That was perfect for me, I could wrap our anniversary and Valentine’s Day all into one fun filled night, allowing me maintain my tight-wad status while coming off as a decent boyfriend! And, thanks to some donations (thanks again everyone) we had some spare funds for tickets. Luckily, we managed to get a couple of the tickets before both shows sold out. I was completely unaware that Mr. Minchin had such a large following.

The night of the show Melissa and I took the train into the city and then caught a tram out to the Entertainment Centre. We had thought it would be a good idea to try and get to the place early so that we could find our seats and get comfy before the hoards arrived. Naturally, dealing with public transport, we managed to just barely make it to the venue on time. As we did the zombie walk with the rest of the people qued up, we had the chance to do bit of people watching to try and get a feel for the type of evening we might be in for. To my surprise, the crowd was very diverse. People from all ages and walks of life showed up to see the show. Melissa and I even noticed one of our senior radiologists in attendance.

The show got underway with Tim Minchin singing at the top of his lungs from inside a cage while the South Australia Orchestra played behind him! I knew right then that the show was going to be a good one. I really enjoyed seeing the shoe-less artist smashing away on his piano as the orchestra played perfectly. Some of the songs had a very intense personal feel to them but just when you thought you might be seeing the overly serious artists side, he switched things around and left you laughing. I don’t think I could pick out a single favorite; I loved seeing Taboo performed live and I really enjoyed the self-deprecating humor of “I can have a dark side too”. The evening was fantastic! That being said, those of you thinking of searching for Minchin’s music on youtube, be aware that his comedic/musical styling’s can be irreverent and, at first go, might even seem offensive. But, that’s part of the draw. I just wish we could have had Tyler (aka Paul) and the rest of you with us to enjoy the night. Next time!!

Where Have We Been!?!

March already… The MIDDLE of March! That little groundhog popped up and saw his shadow (how would he not if he comes out any time other than noon?) and the month of leprechauns and rainbows ran hot on his heels. And now, April showers are quickly approaching.

I know it has been well over a month since you’ve heard from us, and I feel terrible! It has been an incredibly rough time for us, though, too!

February was a busy month. Chad and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary together. 5 whole years!! It has been an amazing journey – quite impressive to look back on it all and to think that just over 5 years ago, we were here in Australia just one state over, beginning our lifelong romance! We celebrated a bit late by treating ourselves to one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen (Chad will divulge those details later!)

We were allowed only a brief moment of revelry, however, as we were swimming through an overwhelming amount of stress. Chad and I were frantically trying to work on our “Case Study” project for Uni (school), and simultaneously prepare our presentation for the Sydney ASMMIRT conference. On top of all of that, my health was progressively spiraling downward.

By the end of the month, we were finally in the clearing after submitting and presenting our case study project, and I was forced to experience the health care system from a - foreign – patient’s point of view. My “nut shell” observation is that, although the doctors were lovely, the overwhelming majority of receptionists treat the patients like crap – ESPECIALLY if you DO NOT have a medicare card. Apparently, paying up-front is the biggest inconvenience that the front desk could ever be confronted with. If anyone could explain this to me, my ears are open…

When March arrived, we decided it was time for a vacation. My health was getting under control, the school term was ending, we were switching hospitals again, and a new housemate moved in. Not to mention that good ol’ Australia had yet another public holiday coming up – the Adelaide Cup Day. For those of you back home, this is the equivalent of the superbowl for Adelaide. What better time to escape for a 3-day weekend and a holiday?

We rented a car – which was absolutely blissful to escape the shin splints that accompany speed walking to the bus stops multiple times a day, only to wait a half hour for a late bus. We journeyed southeast for a fancy dinner at “The Victory” Pub, and a night in their cozy cottages on the hill. I can’t describe to you the loveliness of an area to yourselves for the night.

The next day, we journeyed back home through Willunga, stopping to enjoy the scrumptious-ness of Lavender Brownies at the Market, picking up some other goodies along the way. Then in McLaren Vale we stopped to seek out a delicious cider I had tried on our wine-tour, and I haven’t been able to find since. We had to go straight to the vineyard – Oxenberry Farms – where we tried some yummy wines, and spent a bit too much on bags of booze. I will definitely be disappointed with the fact I can’t get my hands on that stuff in the states! Definitely a name to keep your eyes open for, wine-o’s!

We were able to make it to Mt. Lofty for a refreshing, incredibly steep hike. I got to meet a little bandicoot at Waterfall Gulley, and we were able to enjoy some delicious meals that we just miss out on without a set of wheels. It was quite possibly the un-healthiest diet we’ve had in the last six months… or in short – it was lovely!!

As it all came to an end, we concluded our 3^rd term, and began our very last with a month at the Repat.

Stone in Hand Weighs Two in Bush

*Melissa*

Things are a bit wonky here. If you were to ask me my height and weight, I would promptly respond 5’3 ¾ , and 110 lbs (okay, that’s my goal weight, anyways). And that’s because I’m from America, the last stubborn country who refuses to give in to the rest of the world and switch to the metric system. So being here, I would expect nothing else than to be given confusing numbers in strange measurements like kgs and meters. But this is not the case.

Many of you may not know that only 30 years ago, Australia ran on the imperial system. Distance was given in miles and yards, people and things were measured in inches and feet, and you bought your baking goods in bags of lbs and ounces. It wasn’t all that long ago that AUS gave in the peer pressure of essentially every other country in the world and started teaching kids to think in more practical measurements.

This fact is particularly useful when talking to the older patients who ‘rock up’ to the imaging department, and you’re spared the odd looks if you let your American shine through by asking them to shuffle a few “inches” to their left. But it doesn’t prepare you from dishing out the odd looks when you ask questions requiring a response in measurements.

Let’s put it this way: Stones are something you throw at old factory windows, hands are something you use to type blog postings, and a foot is something you walk with…. Oh, well that last one is ours, isn’t it?

But seriously, I have never heard such a mixture of measurements – does anyone really know how much a stone weighs? Or how many inches or feet or what-have-you are in a hand? And have you ever tried to continue your workout routine at a gym that only has weights in Kg? It really does your head in! (and by the way it makes you feel puny going from lifting 45 lbs to 20kg!!)

I like to think that being able to think in metric measurements is akin to being able to speak another language – to be able to look at something and think “oh, yeah, that’s about 18 cm”. And, hey, at least Chad and I will be a little more prepared for when the US finally succumbs to the metric pressure!

Wine-O'Clock In The Morning

*Melissa*

It just doesn’t feel right to be poured a glass of wine at 10 o’clock in the morning. Don’t get me wrong- I am always up for trying new things – including new wines – but even I feel a bit guilty swirling a glass of white an hour after downing a crepe for breakfast.

It was something that had been talked about since a month or so after we got here, one of those things that’s brought up as “yea, we’ll have to do that some time!” as a friendly saying to make you feel included; one of those things you wish would really happen, but quickly realize won’t: a wine tour with the co-workers. Lo and behold, however, after 7 months our co-worker Ben pulled through, planning and organizing a weekend wine tour for me, Chad, and all our co-workers who were interested!

Bright and early Saturday morning, we gathered in groups at designated pick-up points and awaited our bus – yes, our bus. There were 19 of us, and we filled all but one single seat on that bus and headed into the Adelaide Hills towards McLaren Vale for a day of wine-tasting, and a yummy lunch.

Chad and I, being new to the wine world got a bit more excited about the wood-fired pizza buffet advertisement at the first winery we stopped at, but enjoyed being introduced to the many varieties of wine we never knew existed, including Port (“old fortified” here), dessert wines with names I can’t spell, rose’(my favorite), semillion, savingnese, etc.

We visited Woodstock wineries (where I found most of the ones I enjoyed), Shottesbrook (fantastic white, but the rest – eh. I enjoyed the free-roaming Rhodesian Ridgeback more than anything!), Gemstone (organic wines – where only the really expensive ones were any good, of course), and Kangilla winery (where Chad ACTUALLY found a red wine he liked!). I’d be interested to know if any of these are heard of in the States?

It was lovely to spend some time with folks outside of work – and I was so glad that we got to experience the McLaren Vale wine region with people we knew, rather than some random drunkards or a Hen’s party! We had some great Italian food at a place called Oscars, some great wine, and great company. What more could you ask for in a weekend?

Sadly, I must admit, more-so than the wines, the best part of the tour (for me) was a delicious “grapple-cider” over lunch and the Bracegirdle’s chocolate fudge brownie I took home for dessert!!