A Few Additional Observations

I hit the grocery store early today, Monday morning, because the Oscars are on at noontime here.  That's one of the first observations of the day:  watching award shows over lunch instead of late at night.  On the plus side, I don't fall asleep mid-way through.  On the down side, if I get dressed up in my own living room, it's not as much fun.  And there's no one to compare ballots with.

Second observation is about shopping carts, or trolleys, as they are known here.  I don't know how they do it, but Australian trolleys are like hovercrafts.  They not only go forward and reverse, they can go sideways and diagonally.  Makes controlling them around corners an interesting type of exercise.

The grocery store I go to is in Lindfield and not tucked in a huge shopping centre.  It's not the greatest store, but it's conveniently close, and I don't have to fight the shopping crowds.  It has its own small carpark with its own narrow parking spaces.  That's observation three.  Even though the cars are more or less the same size, parking spaces are smaller.  And the poles that hold up the carparks are often part of the spaces.

I've finally gotten used to driving on the other side of the road, although I do still get in on the passenger side of the car instead of the driver's side.  Just every once in a while.  I've also started to build the "mental map" of how the roads connect to each other.  Hurray!

Our ship has finally come in, and all our personal goods will be delivered on Wednesday.  It's feeling a bit like Christmas!  I have no idea how the truck with the freighter crate is going to fit in our driveway or even on the street.  People in Australia park along both sides of the street so that driving can become a bit like playing chicken as you dodge into gaps to avoid oncoming cars.

Larry displays his parallel parking on a regular basis - going out for dinner, going to church, going to the beach.  I only parallel park if I can pull in front first.

When next I write, I will be sitting on my own couch with my feet up on my own coffee table.  And just maybe I'll be sitting in one of the rooms currently unfurnished and uninhabited until this week!