Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday November 26, 2009

Hope all of you are having a great day with friends and family.  We wish we were there to eat and drink too much with you.

We just got back from Melissa and Andrew’s (neighbors) place.  They had us for dinner and to our surprise cooked us a lovely American style Thanksgiving dinner.  It was their first and they did a lovely job.  We’re quite lucky to have neighbors as nice as them.  Melissa even made a yummy sweet potato pie.  It was a real treat.  We spent a couple of hours chatting and playing with their kids.  It took the edge off of missing friends and family on TG. 

The rest of the day:

Leah got up about five this morning to visit the bathroom.  She woke me up because our bathroom was flooded.  The hot water line under the vanity was leaking.  We had eight rolls of TP under there.  Not pretty.  There is no cut off valve under the sink so I went outside and under the house, but couldn’t find the shut off valve there either.  I had to call the emergency plumber from our rental agreement. He told me where to look and I found the valve for the water heater and shut it off.  That stopped the leak, but we had a mess in the house.  And half the apartments in the house had no hot water.

The plumber came out at eight and it only took him two minutes to get the thing fixed. The plumbing is brand new and apparently they left that fitting loose.  Not the way I wanted to start my day. 

 It didn’t get better quickly.  My phone rang at about nine and it was the rep from Telstra telling me she was still having trouble getting our phone installed. The phone company refuses to send someone here because according to their records our apartment doesn’t exist.  It’s frustrating.  One of these days it’ll get worked out.  But I’m losing my patience.

We did manage to get down to the uni so Leah could go to a work out class and I could use the internet.  I submitted my resume for several jobs that look promising.  I then got a chance to Skype with my parents.  I hadn't talked to them since the first day we got here.  It was great. 

We rode our bikes home and turned on the air-con.  I stretched out on the bed for a few minutes and my phone rang.  It was one of the companies I applied for earlier in the day.  I was and still am shocked.  I don’t know how to feel.  It’s not common to get a response so quickly.  I had applied for a job installing solar hot water systems.  Admittedly, I have no experience in the field, but you’ve gotta aim high. The girl on the line told me she thought I’d be a great candidate not for the job I applied for but for another job assessing houses for solar hot water installations. I am qualified for this as the process for assessing sights for solar hot water is exactly the same as assessments for solar electricity. Sounds perfect at first blush but there are some huge caveats.

First, it pays by the job.  I’d have to visit six to eight sights a day.  The appointments are set by the company, but it’s still a little like door to door work.  I’d have to drive around the city all day assessing houses.   I wouldn't be selling the system, just doing the feasibility work.  If the customer buys the system, I’d get paid a few dollars more than if they didn’t, but I’d still get paid even if they didn’t buy.

Secondly, I’d have to have a car.  That’s the big thing.  We haven’t planned on even buying a car, let alone right after we got here.  It’s a tough decision to make.  Cars aren’t exactly cheap and then you have the expense of insurance and fuel.

I told the woman that I had some concerns and need some time to think.  Just from my resume and a quick talk on the phone she thought I’d be perfect so it sends up a red flag in my mind. I’d think they’d at least want to interview someone.  My CV is pretty good though.  I have to call her back in the morning; I have a list of questions I need to ask before I decide to pursue it further.  If it works out it may be the perfect opportunity, but “too good to be true” sends up a red flag in my mind.  Though they didn’t exactly offer to make me rich, the pay would be close or a little more than I was making in Denver.  (Is this getting a little TMI here?)  I don’t want to be too hasty. 

Needless to say, the whole buying a car thing is a big decision.  I’m sure we’ll hash it all out.  I’ll tell ya this right now though, we ain’t lookin fer no Mecedes.

Some observations for today:

-The first Test of the Season started today between the Aussies and the Windies (West Indies) at the Gabba.   Eat your heart out Daniel. (This observation is about Cricket if you haven’t noticed.)

-I think a Carolina style BBQ joint would make a killing here.