http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24094658-913,00.html
I don't know what is funnier - the fact that they opened a store in Noarlunga before they had one in the Eastern suburbs somewhere (Burnside Village and The Parade come to mind), or that they apparently can't find a single way to make a profit selling coffee.
(Sorry, for those not familiar with the socio-economic profile of Adelaide, lets just say (attempting not to offend anyone) that the Eastern suburbs are traditionally more affluent and the outer southern suburbs like Noarlunga are much less affluent).
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
whole lotta shakin' goin' on...
as some of you may have heard there was an earthquake in southern california earlier today. craig, callum, and i are all quite safe and well. the biggest concern that the earth quake presented was just before the big jolt hit i was quite sure i was either losing my mind, or smacked my head on the car much harder than it felt this morning, because the ground was certainly moving under my feet, but no one else seemed to notice.
for your internet viewing pleasure:
Quake-tastic!
for your internet viewing pleasure:
Quake-tastic!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Ausmerican V Ameralian
So for those of you not well versed in the vagaries of citizenship and passports and naturalization and immigration and dual citizenship, it might surprise you to find out that Callum was not officially considered an Australian when he was born. He was born in the US so he was automatically a US citizen, and while he had the right to claim citizenship as an Australian because of me, he didn't get it automatically.
So anyway, the paperwork has finally been done and the fees paid and the blood spilt, and I am genuinely proud to say that the Australian Embassy in Washington has officially declared Callum George Stirling Dickson to be an Australian!
Actually it was official as of June 26th, but we didn't find out until after we got back from our trip to Australia (how ironic).
We received a very formal and somewhat pretty certificate titled "Citizenship By Descent" and it has the Australian Coat-of-Arms on it and it is embossed and looks very official. I would post a copy of it for all to see, but clearly there is some risk of forgery, so you will just have to use your imagination.
So officially he now has dual citizenship with the US and Australia and has the right to carry both passports.
The only question left to answer is whether he is now an Ausmerican or possibly an Ameralian?
So anyway, the paperwork has finally been done and the fees paid and the blood spilt, and I am genuinely proud to say that the Australian Embassy in Washington has officially declared Callum George Stirling Dickson to be an Australian!
Actually it was official as of June 26th, but we didn't find out until after we got back from our trip to Australia (how ironic).
We received a very formal and somewhat pretty certificate titled "Citizenship By Descent" and it has the Australian Coat-of-Arms on it and it is embossed and looks very official. I would post a copy of it for all to see, but clearly there is some risk of forgery, so you will just have to use your imagination.
So officially he now has dual citizenship with the US and Australia and has the right to carry both passports.
The only question left to answer is whether he is now an Ausmerican or possibly an Ameralian?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Mark It Zero!
So as some of you know, my company has a bowling league (bowling, as in the 10 pin variety). It starts in the Spring each year and runs for about 3 months on a Monday night. This is the 2nd year I have participated and it has been really good in terms of a) having some fun and b) meeting other people from the company that I do not get to work with normally.
Last year, I bowled with a team of guys made up entirely of people from my own team. We did OK, but didn't really take it too seriously. This year I have been on a team which my boss is actually the captain of. So as to not accidentally make my work life harder by pissing my boss of by bowling badly I have had to step it up this year. I even have my own ball and shoes now - not something I would have thought I would own a couple of years back.
And I have actually genuinely done better this year than last year. My average is up by almost 15 pins a game and I improved my personal best score 3 times this season, which was up to 187 going into last night.
But something clicked last night. For one game, I was like a bowler possessed. I bowled 7 strikes and 2 spares in the first 9 frames and then closed out the 10th frame reasonably cleanly too. This left me with the wholly unlikely final score of 243. For those not familiar with scoring in bowling, 243 is actually a very very good score. It would not be out of place to see a professional bowler on the TV put up a score like that.
I can't explain it except to say I was so massively tired and jet lagged that perhaps I was unusually casual and relaxed about it. Based on some calculations people did quickly last night it would appear that I may have bowled the best handicapped game of the league for the entire season, for which I will actually win some money for next week.
Here is the photographic proof. Apologies if it is hard to view, I took it with my camera phone. But if you find my name on the left and then follow that row across to the right you will see a beautiful string of strikes and then finally the 243 score in the last column. If you click the image, it will open a bigger version of it.
Unfortunately though, even my savant-like effort didn't get the team what we really wanted. We needed to win all 4 points last night and have another 2 teams split their games in a particular way and my team could have finished first overall. The other teams obliged and split their games correctly, but we only won 3 and lost 1 point. 1 point! So we finished 2nd overall.
In addition one of the guys who reports to me at work announced last night that he had gotten engaged. So with my game and his announcement, a bunch of us hit the bar after the bowling was over. Shots were done and loud noise was made. I didn't get home until after midnight, and was wide awake again at 5am this morning.
I need a vacation.
Last year, I bowled with a team of guys made up entirely of people from my own team. We did OK, but didn't really take it too seriously. This year I have been on a team which my boss is actually the captain of. So as to not accidentally make my work life harder by pissing my boss of by bowling badly I have had to step it up this year. I even have my own ball and shoes now - not something I would have thought I would own a couple of years back.
And I have actually genuinely done better this year than last year. My average is up by almost 15 pins a game and I improved my personal best score 3 times this season, which was up to 187 going into last night.
But something clicked last night. For one game, I was like a bowler possessed. I bowled 7 strikes and 2 spares in the first 9 frames and then closed out the 10th frame reasonably cleanly too. This left me with the wholly unlikely final score of 243. For those not familiar with scoring in bowling, 243 is actually a very very good score. It would not be out of place to see a professional bowler on the TV put up a score like that.
I can't explain it except to say I was so massively tired and jet lagged that perhaps I was unusually casual and relaxed about it. Based on some calculations people did quickly last night it would appear that I may have bowled the best handicapped game of the league for the entire season, for which I will actually win some money for next week.
Here is the photographic proof. Apologies if it is hard to view, I took it with my camera phone. But if you find my name on the left and then follow that row across to the right you will see a beautiful string of strikes and then finally the 243 score in the last column. If you click the image, it will open a bigger version of it.
Unfortunately though, even my savant-like effort didn't get the team what we really wanted. We needed to win all 4 points last night and have another 2 teams split their games in a particular way and my team could have finished first overall. The other teams obliged and split their games correctly, but we only won 3 and lost 1 point. 1 point! So we finished 2nd overall.
In addition one of the guys who reports to me at work announced last night that he had gotten engaged. So with my game and his announcement, a bunch of us hit the bar after the bowling was over. Shots were done and loud noise was made. I didn't get home until after midnight, and was wide awake again at 5am this morning.
I need a vacation.
The Fro'ing
As Jen mentioned, Callum and I made it back to Los Angeles in one piece early Sunday morning (LA time). Here are the folks in the car early in the morning in Brisbane on the way to the airport.
Mum, Callum & Leon
I got stuck in line for 90 minutes attempting to just check in for the flight. So bad experience at Brisbane airport when we landed the first time (I believe I documented the horrible transfer experience from the international to domestic terminals) and bad experience when leaving. Minus 2 points for Brisbane.
Then it was time for one last photo before heading through security.
In my opinion the flight from west to east is easier than going the other way as you take off at a reasonable hour mid morning and you are back in the US around midnight, so your body is not all crazy out of whack and in fact it is a good excuse to sit back and take in 5 movies, and have food served to your chair at the push of a button. The only problem is that when you are ready for bed because your body thinks it is about midnight (in Australian time), it is now actually more like 7am (in US time) and you have to live the same day all over again. So while the flight is good, I think the jet lag coming this direction is much, much worse.
Once again we had the bassinet seat on the plane which I did manage to get Callum into a few times. We also had a fellow passenger near by who had been away from her 3 year old and 10 month old for a week and was going totally baby crazy and took Callum off my hands for almost 2 hours. Seriously this woman played with the kid and then when he got sleepy, stood up and walked around the plane and rocked him to sleep and then sat back down and settled in and watched a movie with him asleep on her lap. Saint.
One of the advantages of having a baby and then going on an international flight is that I had not seen almost any of the movies available on the in-seat entertainment system. So I caught up with Cloverfield, Drillbit Taylor, Smart People, Shine A Light and 10,000 BC.
Callum loves his reflection, so here he is happily playing on the change table in the plane bathroom. I know it seems a little like bad parenting to have a kid play in a bathroom, but hey, how long has it been since you flew with a 7 month old on a 13 hour flight huh? That's what I thought, so back off!
Finally we landed and as Jen mentioned, rocketed through immigration and security. I have stood in that immigration line at LAX for an hour and then another 30 minutes collecting my bags and getting though customs. This time I called Jen from the plane as soon as we were allowed to (ie. still taxiing) at 7:26am. We taxied, disembarked, got through immigration, got our bags, got through customs and were in the arrivals hall by 8am!!!!!!! Unbelievable! Is it possible the good folks at LAX are finally getting their shit together at that horrible Tom Bradley international terminal? Plus one point for LA airport. As a result of this speedy exit, we actually beat Jen and she was still on the freeway. So we grabbed some food and sat in the cafe for about 20 minutes until she finally arrived.
Then there was the hour or so drive to the house and we finally walked in the front door to this.
Usually I will last until lunch time or so until crashing out, but I was down for the count by 11am. I put it down to the extra effort exerted corralling the kid. I slept until about 5pm, got up, had some food and basically went back to bed again. Unfortunately I was up at 4am Monday morning, wide awake and hungry. I am writing this at about 6am Tuesday as I am up again early. I also had a late night last night, but I will detail those events in the next post.
Mum, Callum & Leon
I got stuck in line for 90 minutes attempting to just check in for the flight. So bad experience at Brisbane airport when we landed the first time (I believe I documented the horrible transfer experience from the international to domestic terminals) and bad experience when leaving. Minus 2 points for Brisbane.
Then it was time for one last photo before heading through security.
In my opinion the flight from west to east is easier than going the other way as you take off at a reasonable hour mid morning and you are back in the US around midnight, so your body is not all crazy out of whack and in fact it is a good excuse to sit back and take in 5 movies, and have food served to your chair at the push of a button. The only problem is that when you are ready for bed because your body thinks it is about midnight (in Australian time), it is now actually more like 7am (in US time) and you have to live the same day all over again. So while the flight is good, I think the jet lag coming this direction is much, much worse.
Once again we had the bassinet seat on the plane which I did manage to get Callum into a few times. We also had a fellow passenger near by who had been away from her 3 year old and 10 month old for a week and was going totally baby crazy and took Callum off my hands for almost 2 hours. Seriously this woman played with the kid and then when he got sleepy, stood up and walked around the plane and rocked him to sleep and then sat back down and settled in and watched a movie with him asleep on her lap. Saint.
One of the advantages of having a baby and then going on an international flight is that I had not seen almost any of the movies available on the in-seat entertainment system. So I caught up with Cloverfield, Drillbit Taylor, Smart People, Shine A Light and 10,000 BC.
Callum loves his reflection, so here he is happily playing on the change table in the plane bathroom. I know it seems a little like bad parenting to have a kid play in a bathroom, but hey, how long has it been since you flew with a 7 month old on a 13 hour flight huh? That's what I thought, so back off!
Finally we landed and as Jen mentioned, rocketed through immigration and security. I have stood in that immigration line at LAX for an hour and then another 30 minutes collecting my bags and getting though customs. This time I called Jen from the plane as soon as we were allowed to (ie. still taxiing) at 7:26am. We taxied, disembarked, got through immigration, got our bags, got through customs and were in the arrivals hall by 8am!!!!!!! Unbelievable! Is it possible the good folks at LAX are finally getting their shit together at that horrible Tom Bradley international terminal? Plus one point for LA airport. As a result of this speedy exit, we actually beat Jen and she was still on the freeway. So we grabbed some food and sat in the cafe for about 20 minutes until she finally arrived.
Then there was the hour or so drive to the house and we finally walked in the front door to this.
Usually I will last until lunch time or so until crashing out, but I was down for the count by 11am. I put it down to the extra effort exerted corralling the kid. I slept until about 5pm, got up, had some food and basically went back to bed again. Unfortunately I was up at 4am Monday morning, wide awake and hungry. I am writing this at about 6am Tuesday as I am up again early. I also had a late night last night, but I will detail those events in the next post.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
the dingo has landed...
craig and callum arrived safely in los angeles at 7:36 am - sunday the 20th of july. they made it through customs, immigration, and baggage claim in record time (30 minutes or so) and i caught up with them around 8:30. i am so glad they are home!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Australia in photos... 11
shari had her brisbane baby shower saturday (australia saturday, which also made it california friday night).
leon manning the grill...
apparently callum wasn't so sure about the dogs..
outside...
babies!
more babies!
shari and liz (leon's mum)
shari and di
shari and lynda (vince's girlfriend)
shari and sara (jeffrey's wife - jeffrey is leon's twin brother)
anyone else notice that they coordinated outfits for the day?
leon manning the grill...
apparently callum wasn't so sure about the dogs..
outside...
babies!
more babies!
shari and liz (leon's mum)
shari and di
shari and lynda (vince's girlfriend)
shari and sara (jeffrey's wife - jeffrey is leon's twin brother)
anyone else notice that they coordinated outfits for the day?
Australia in photos... 10
craig and callum's time in australia is winding down. while i know how much everyone there will miss the boys i have to be honest... I CANNOT WAIT to see them! it's less than 24 hours to wait!
let's get on to what you really came here for... photos...
lunch in brisbane...
playing in a jumpy toy at vince's (leon's dad)
craig titled this one 'three kids in a playpen'
playing with nandi on her bed at vince's house
funny faces...
let's get on to what you really came here for... photos...
lunch in brisbane...
playing in a jumpy toy at vince's (leon's dad)
craig titled this one 'three kids in a playpen'
playing with nandi on her bed at vince's house
funny faces...
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Australia in photos... 9
craig and callum left adelaide on wednesday to travel north to brisbane to see auntie shari and uncle leon. MANY thanks to shari and leon for getting their nursery set up early so callum could use it! callum wanted to quality test it to be sure his new baby cousin would love it when he/she arrives.
auntie shari and callum. she's a natural with babies!
auntie shari, new baby cousin, callum, and nandi hangin' out and taking a bath.
auntie shari and uncle leon's new home... or at least the lot where the new home will be built.
auntie shari, nandi, and callum enjoying the afternoon...
auntie shari and callum. she's a natural with babies!
auntie shari, new baby cousin, callum, and nandi hangin' out and taking a bath.
auntie shari and uncle leon's new home... or at least the lot where the new home will be built.
auntie shari, nandi, and callum enjoying the afternoon...
Australia in photos... 8
craig sent these cuter than cute photos... because he loves us...
callum practicing his doctor evil look...
doctor evil for comparison...
cheezy grin in the back seat...
cute baby anyone?
look at those teeth!
i requested photos to be taken in his fuzzy bear outfit. can you blame me?
bear buns...
bear drool...
un-bear-ably cute...
no witty pun needed...
more bear buns...
have you ever seen a bear playing maracas? well, now you have.
callum practicing his doctor evil look...
doctor evil for comparison...
cheezy grin in the back seat...
cute baby anyone?
look at those teeth!
i requested photos to be taken in his fuzzy bear outfit. can you blame me?
bear buns...
bear drool...
un-bear-ably cute...
no witty pun needed...
more bear buns...
have you ever seen a bear playing maracas? well, now you have.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Australia in photos... 7
Craig and Trent went to an australian rules football (AFL) game where they watched the Port Adelaide Power vs North Melbourne. Melbourne won. Here's AAMI stadium.
Inside the stadium.
Watching the Action!
Inside the stadium.
Watching the Action!
Australia in photos... 6
apologies for my lack of photos over the last few days. i took the opportunity to visit friends in philadelphia while craig and callum were still in oz. (the house was way too quiet!)
let's get up to date.
visiting with the dickson side of the family ...
the next generation!
from left to right - cousin cameron (baby), cousin gavan (not baby), callum, cousin emma, and cousin amy at the normanville hotel...
callum, amy, and emma...
great auntie moira, callum, cousin amy, and cousin lili...
callum acting the ham surrounded by ladies...
lili, nandi, cousin kate standing, and amy, callum and emma on the floor.
my boy, the attention whore...
amy, callum, and emma...
kate, callum, and amy...
callum with a present from uncle david and auntie pam...
callum demonstrating the latest way to open presents, by eating the paper...
callum demonstrating how to simultaneously play with his present (MARACAS!) and throw a fit...
callum deciding that his maracas looked much more like ice cream...
callum and gavan...
let's get up to date.
visiting with the dickson side of the family ...
the next generation!
from left to right - cousin cameron (baby), cousin gavan (not baby), callum, cousin emma, and cousin amy at the normanville hotel...
callum, amy, and emma...
great auntie moira, callum, cousin amy, and cousin lili...
callum acting the ham surrounded by ladies...
lili, nandi, cousin kate standing, and amy, callum and emma on the floor.
my boy, the attention whore...
amy, callum, and emma...
kate, callum, and amy...
callum with a present from uncle david and auntie pam...
callum demonstrating the latest way to open presents, by eating the paper...
callum demonstrating how to simultaneously play with his present (MARACAS!) and throw a fit...
callum deciding that his maracas looked much more like ice cream...
callum and gavan...
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