Life on OZ: Archive

Apr 19th

Paluma National Park

Daisie and I visited Paluma on Saturday. This Park is a World Heritage Site because of it’s Tropical Rainforest, which is rare and getting rarer. It’s beautiful! Crystal clear streams and steep wooded mountains with the shore only a few km away.

Apr 19th

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Apr 19th

Birthday, Rego Revisited

So the car registration, insurance, and road worthy certificate is all finally worked out! It took countless trips all over town, but Daisie can finally buy ice cream at the store and not worry about it melting on the bus ride home. She spent many hours of her birthday standing in lines at the Transportation Department and watching mechanics sign papers, which is very sad. But don’t...

Apr 18th

Photo Roundup

Here’s a bunch of photos that hadn’t made it up yet.

Apr 17th

Rego, Government Intervention

So Tuesday Daisie bought a car! The bus system is good here, but of course it’s easier with a car. It’s a 1999 Toyota Camry, in good working order. Some ugly paint on the roof but that’s all, or so we thought. So here to get Registration (Rego to an Aussie) you have to be certified “Road Worthy” or safe enough to be driven. It sounds like a good idea right?...

Apr 16th

Me: So wait, you mean ALL this has to be fixed before I'm LEGALLY allowed to drive it on the road?
Mechanic: Yep.
Me: But wait, why do I need to replace the tiny crack on the front left indicator?  And wait, what about the ceiling fabric drooping?  How is that vital to being "Road Worthy"? 
Mechanic: That's just how it works here, everything has to be functioning correctly.
Me: But how does the crack prevent people seeing my turn signal?  The bulb is fine.  Don't I have a right to drive a busted car if I want to?
Mechanic: Go back to America.

Apr 16th

No, not really. He was actually nice. But it is a serious hassle. Today was the third day working on it, and we’re sure to be busy tomorrow through most of the day. Whew, ok, thanks for listening.

Apr 16th

Apr 14th

How to (really) Speak Australian

No “Fosters” does not mean “Beer”. ”Four X” or maybe “VB” means “beer”. Here’s some that stood out to me: “Hey” = “Huh” (as in: ”Sure is hot today, hey?” or just “hey?” if you need something repeated) Post-Mix = Fountain Coke Esky = Cooler/Ice...

Apr 9th