Bottle Refunds and Wastage...

November 1st, Queensland started a bottle refund scheme. You return your bottles, cans and glass and receive 10 cents for each return. This gave us an idea, go to the local mall and start digging for dimes, in my head 10 cents will always be a dime. The coffee drinks are the most popular, second are Coke products and various flavoured milks. What we've noticed in almost a month of collecting is the amount of wastage out there. People will pay between $3-$6 for some of these drinks and they will toss them in the trash half empty. We found a bottle of diet Coke 3/4 full, if that was mine it would have been fully drank. I can't afford to throw out that much liquid gold, it is my favorite drink after all.We've found half drunk orange juices, waters, teas, sodas, even those ready to drink alcoholic beverages, like rum and coke in a can. If we see a can or bottle on the side of the road, we will stop the car if it's safe and pick it up, hey you don't find 10 cents lying on the ground everywhere now do you? All drink companies have raised their prices but not just the ten cents, some have gone up 20, which I think is utterly ridiculous!

There are a few options to return your recyclables, the one I love is the reverse vending machine. I'm used to this as NY has had them for years, but these are better! They also have places you can drop it off and they'll count it for you, um, no I want to do the counting.  One machine takes only glass, the other machine takes plastic, cans and flavoured milk cartons and juice boxes. This is a great idea compared to what I'm used to with plastic, glass and cans having to be put into separate machines.  Also unlike NY reverse vending machines, you can get a cash voucher or you can set up a PayPal account and have the money transferred into your bank account almost the same day except on weekends where you need to wait till Monday. The cash vouchers can only be used at one supermarket which kind of sucks if you don't have one nearby. The Tomra reverse vending machines are very popular, we stopped by the other week and there wasn't a parking spot to be found. It's fairly clean inside with people always coming in. This is a great way to clean up the streets and earn some spare money, boy do we need it.

The Other Day I Became an Australian Citizen!...

After living in Australia for 6 1/2 years, the other  day I  became an Aussie Citizen! I am now required to vote in all elections, serve jury duty and get my Aussie passport. It's been a decently long journey, 11 months to be exact. The test I took in January was fairly easy, I got a 100%, but that's because the government here is very similar to that of the US. The things I had to really memorise were the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags and the dates the Constitution were formed and so on. Before taking the test I had to be a Permanent Resident for 4 years before applying for citizenship. I applied in October 2017, received notice to take the test in January 2018, received my acceptance letter in May 2018 and had my official ceremony in September 17, 2018, so all up almost a year to become a citizen. The Ceremony was cool, I sat in front with all the other soon to be citizens, there were 93 of us. Quite a few were families, most were well dressed and some wore jeans and sneakers, one girl wore leggings that had holes in them.  The ceremony began with the Town Cryer (that's funny Toowoomba has one). Mayor Paul Antonio began the formal proceedings. Some of us stood and recited the Australian Citizenship Pledge: From this time forward, under God, I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.  The others stood after us and recited: As an Australian citizen, I affirm my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I uphold and obey. Hubby noticed most people stood for the first one.We then got called up alphabetically by name, received our Citizenship certificates in a sealed envelope and a grevillea (yay another addition to our collection) and our photos taken with the Mayor. Those photos will be sent to our homes in a few weeks, how cool! After everyone received their certificates everyone stood and sang Australia's National Anthem. Afterwards we had refreshments of lamingtons and 2 types of sandwiches.

Volunteering at an Op Shop....

Since I can't seem to find a job, volunteering is the next avenue to somehow get out of my funk. At least this way I'm somehow contributing to society and talking to people, the cat cannot talk back to me, so sometimes I need a little more company. I'm volunteering at a Red Cross Op Shop for about a month now and it's really cool. I thought op shops were just places people donated their old clothes and other people bought them cheap. It seems stores donate too, so technically it's brand new clothes, in a recognised brand that's never been worn, at a considerably reduced price. For example yesterday a box came in and I opened it, tagged the items and priced them. I saw a lovely black cardigan from a brand I love and can no longer afford. As a volunteer (unpaid employee) we get a 20% discount on any purchase, so I paid $12 for my cardigan. When I got home I googled my cardigan and full retail price is $80! I could not believe it! I need to rethink how I purchase clothes from now on. Some of the donated brands are from Myer and some are from K-Mart and Target and other stores I'm not too familiar with, both high and low end brands. Also by volunteering here I've learned which brands are low, mid or high end. Some I already knew, like Calvin Klein is high end, it's high end in the US so of course here too. R.M.Williams is an Aussie high end (knew this - bloody expensive even when it's on sale).  Someone donated a dress from Banana Republic and it made me smile, there is no Banana Republic here so a little bit of nostalgia for me. I did see an I.N.C. blouse the other day, I miss that Macy's brand. No one there had ever heard of INC and therefore priced it as a low end blouse $7. I laughed in my head as INC is definitely a mid.

Op Shops sell women's clothing, all sorts of tops, from summer tank tops to heavy sweaters, dresses, skirts,  jeans, slacks and shoes and jackets of all sort. They have men's clothing  and some kids clothing too. There's a store in Brisbane that sells wedding gowns, why pay thousands? They sell homewares, tea and coffee cups, some are antique and crystal. Brand new, never used blankets, candles, costume jewelry, hats, gloves and even watches. Discounted books anyone? They sell them too, along with CD's and DVD's. Donated bags, some Coach and other leather no name bags. They sell scarves, summery ones and thick wintery ones that we need right now. Belts and sunglasses too, it's amazing what you can find for a bargain in an op shop. Here's a photo of my little coffee cup set I got for just $8.00.

Toowoomba - The Garden City

The sign that greets you when you reach the top of the range,

The first time I visited Toowoomba was back in January 2011, it was the middle of their summer and everything was flowering beautifully. Toowoomba is in the mountains, part of the Great Dividing Range, it's situated on the crest of the Great Dividing Range and it's 700m (2,300ft) above sea level. As of 2016, the population is 165,168. It's nickname is The Garden City.  It's a much smaller town then Brisbane, Brisbane's population is 2,308,700 (2015) but I didn't realize this, is that the population of Queens is 2,339,150 (2015). So basically I moved from a 2 million population to another 2 million population, but now we've moved to Toowoomba, much smaller but still big. Toowoomba is the most populous inland city in the country after the nations capital, Canberra.

There are many things to do in Toowoomba. They are expanding the Grand Central Shopping Centre, they've recently opened an H&M. There's still construction going on, this mall is going to be huge. The reason for this massive expansion is that the powers that be would like people to shop in Toowoomba, not take there money to Brisbane or the Gold Coast. There are plans for new eateries to open, one of them is a place called Schnitz, I've eaten there and they are very yum! Of course we're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for a Carl's Jr, they did say they plan to open 20 more in Queensland. There are many cafe's and restaurants to choose from. We have a few good butchers in the area, hey the Darling Downs are known for their beef, I see the poor cows on trucks going east, and even though I like steak, it still makes me sad.

In September every year, Toowoomba hosts the Carnival of Flowers. Every park and green space is coloured up with gorgeous flowers, from tulips and gladiolas, to sunflowers and pansies, and impatiens, to flowers I've never heard of but are gorgeous. Everyone with a green-thumb is encouraged to enter their garden, as they do have a judging contest. A couple that lives a few blocks from us won first prize, this man's lawn looks fake, and he said he'll never tell his secret, but all-in-all their garden is awash with snapdragons, and lilly pillies, and graevillias and other Aussie native plants.

How Toowoomba got it's name:
For some time leading citizens resented their rapidly growing town being named "The Swamp" and on New Year's Day 1858, during a sports meeting a red flag was hoisted bearing the name "Toowoomba" in white letters.
Of the many opinions regarding the origin of the name "Toowoomba" the most favoured is that it is a corruption of the Aboriginal word "Tchwampa" meaning 'water sit down' or 'place where the rushes grow'.(1)

Flowers at Picnic Point

The Warrego Hwy going to Toowoomba

Kookaburra sitting on a gum tree

That's 2,382.5 feet above sea level

Distances from Toowoomba

View from Picnic Point

Short sunflowers at Picnic Point

(1) - http://www.toowoomba.org/16-literature/38-toowoomba-where-the-water-sits-down.html

Living in a Townhouse...

A few years ago we decided to rent a townhouse instead of the standard issue apartment, the first place we rented didn't allow pets, the second did but the poor muppet fell out the window and there was a heavy smoker beneath us. So we found a townhouse that we had thought looked decent, allowed pets and were told it was a nonsmoking complex. Guess what?  After we signed the lease and got the keys, we went to do the official inspection and what do we find out, that we are bookended by smokers. After doing the inspection we went back to the agency and asked what the deal was with the smokers. They tell us that it's a nonsmoking complex inside, but all residents have the right to smoke in the courtyard which is where all the master bedrooms face. One night we were trying to eat dinner and it was as if the people were sitting in our kitchen, smoking, so my husband said something along the lines of effin ferals and slammed the sliding door. Next thing we know someone's knocking on our front door, guess who, the neighbour that was smoking. Turns out the same real estate agency told them that they could smoke inside and outside, while lying to us. Eventually they moved, thank goodness and almost every weekend there was a party going on and really who needs or wants that noise when you're trying to fall asleep. Our "lovely" neighbour to our left owns her unit and every morning around 5:30am she's out there tapping her lighter on the patio table, I don't always hear that one or smell it as I'm usually still passed out that early. The other clockwork thingy she does is smoke at midnight, here we are in bed enjoying the lovely breeze coming in through the window and what do we hear but the tapping on the table and the flicking of the lighter, then all of a sudden we are hit with a wall of smoke in bed. Mind you they have the air conditioner on all day practically every day and she runs out to have a ciggy with no consideration to the neighbours that don't smoke. Personally I don't care if they smoke, just smoke inside, stink up your own house, not mine. We even complained to the realtor saying that all the clothes in the master closet stink like smoke. It will be interesting to see how long the unit stays unrented after we leave.

There are a few good things about this place, it has 3 toilets and 2 bathrooms. In Australia, the toilet is often set up in its own separate room. The ensuite has a shower stall, a sink and a toilet, the main bathroom has a shower over tub and a sink, the toilet is at the top of the staircase and in our situation has been set up for the cat's litter box. The third toilet is just off the garage, but the corresponding sink is the laundry "tub" in the garage. I love the fact this unit has a dishwasher, before living here I've never had or used one, and I am hooked. The bedrooms are decently sized, the master fits our king size bed, the walk in closet fits almost all my clothes. The second bedroom fits a full size bed and has decent closet space too. This place has a courtyard, which could be lovely, except for the problem of a big spider that loves sitting over the wash line and the stink wafting over from the neighbour to the left, plus we're set lower than the units next door, so we are in a hole that stinks of cigaretttes. The only nature we see is that horrible spider, the occasional turtle dove and sometimes a possum, oh and let's not forget the lizards and occasional geckos.  There's no real view to speak of, comparing to the units we've rented before, this is just garages, a driveway and roof lines of the other units. The kitchen counterspace is dismal, it's so small, you're better off preparing your meal on the table. It does have a gas cooktop and fan forced electric oven, which works decently. The other thing that is majorly lacking is cupboard space, no pantry, no real place to put your pots and pans, the space under the sink is full of pipes because of the dishwasher, so there's not much you can put in there. The two corner cabinets are deep and the openings are narrow, so that when I take out a roasting pan I have to play tetris to take it out of there. There is no peep hole on the front door, so if someone comes knocking at night, you can't tell who's there before you open the door. A few weeks ago it seems someone tried breaking into our place by putting a hole through the security screen to see if they could pop open the lock. We always lock the screen door with the key as you can't rely on the simple latch.  I seriously cannot wait to leave this dump, I won't miss the neighbours, their cigarette smoke, the 6:30am motorcycle dude going off to work. the guy in the adjoining complex that leaves his fluoros on all night, thereby making our bedroom light as day. And last but not least, people talking so loudly I can hear their whole conversation.

The things I will miss is our local coffee shop, she knows our order by seeing our faces (how great is that?)  and the bike/footpath of Kedron Brook, which to this date has helped me lose 7 pounds, 26 more to go! I will miss the short distance into the city.

Air Is Free, No Wait I Forgot It's Not....

Back in September 2014 my husband and I flew to New York to see my family and friends whom I hadn't seen since I left to move to Brisbane. We were there for three weeks and during the last week, we decided to rent a car instead of using my dad's old Accord. On the second day my husband wanted to check the tire pressure as this is something you should do before a long trip. We went over to a gas station and went to pump up the tires, but wait, you have to add coin to the machine to get air. Since I've lived in NY I knew the drill, but at this point air was 75 cents and unless you bring your own gauge, there's no way for you to know what your tire pressure is. If you're dawdling it'll cost you more twice as much, the damn thing is on a timer. The proper procedure in NY to check and pump your tires is, remove the caps, then check the tires, remembering how much pressure is in each one, then going to the machine, add your quarters and fill until you think you've reached the proper pressure. You could also carry your gauge and check it every so often until you've reached the desired psi.

Typical US air pressure pump

Typical Aussie air pressure pump 

In Australia, the air is FREE! Not only is it free, you set the machine to the desired psi and it stops pumping when it reaches the pressure you specifically need. When you place the nozzle on your tire, it tells you what the psi of  the tire is at that point, so really there is no need to carry a gauge with you wherever you go. 

Just a little comparison of the two countries that popped into my head the other day while checking my tyre pressures. 

Volunteering at the Mater Hospital...

I never thought in  a million years that with all my banking experience I couldn't get a job in Brisbane. I can't find a job in a bank,  I can't even find one as a cashier in a supermarket. I've been looking everywhere, so I went to the Mater Hospital's website to maybe find an admin role, and I saw the tab to volunteer. I called the number and  the woman that answered didn't speak English very well, and I could tell she wasn't taking down my information at all. She said someone would get in contact with me, and after a week I heard nothing, so I called them again, this time I got an Aussie woman and she was pleasant, took down my info, said I'd get an email and sure enough by the end of the day, I received an email. Before I could start volunteering I had to go to an information seminar or watch a DVD presentation, I opted for the whole day seminar because who are we kidding, I have nothing better to do. It was very interesting, and if I manage to get a job here I won't have to go through it again.

Since starting in July, I have met a few people and it helps me having conversations with people other than the cat. My husband works during the day and I have no female friends here, you can't really make friends if you're not amongst the people, so the volunteering helps immensely. The ladies I 'work' with are so lovely.  Wally is originally from Germany, she came to Australia back in 1954 by boat and at 87 she's currently the oldest volunteer there. Then we have Bette ,originally from Newcastle, England, a Geordie true and true (as per Bette), she also came to Australia via ship and she said it was such an adventure coming here by ship. I am a bit fuzzy on how long she's been here. She's in her late 70's and still drives, and has a cute Geordie accent. We have Kay, who is from Western Queensland, she grew up on a farm, met a Sicilian man and he never introduced her as Kay as it sounded too much like che? "what?" in Italian. He called her Katarina.  None of her children speak Italian which I think is a shame.  Sue is originally from New Zealand, and also in her 60's, she's a card, she wears a hearing aid and when she speaks she yells, kind of reminds me of a Kiwi version of my former boss. They have the same sense of humour and mannerisms, I find it very funny. Then there's Rosalia, she's originally from El Salvador and I'm the only one that pronounces her name properly with the rolling r's. She's in her late 50's and recently married her high school sweetheart on a trip to California, he's from El Salvador, moved to the US and now married an Aussie citizen. She has such a fun personality, but I haven't seen her in weeks. There's Jenny, she's a special needs person and God bless her, she's in practically every Monday, stamping her envelopes. She has a carer bring her in and come get her to go home. Last but not least we have Bec short for Rebecca, she's the person in charge, she's not a volunteer but a paid employee that get's all the jobs for us to do. She's great to talk to.

Volunteering can involve many different tasks, they range from massaging patients hands to stuffing envelopes. Since I didn't want to get blood work done, I opted for the non-patient volunteering, which in my case is considered Administration. Since I am the youngest in my group of Monday ladies, I sometimes get the sucky tasks, like a few weeks ago I had to go to another building and unpack computer screens, take out the wires and rip up the cardboard and then place the screen back in the box and tape it back up. The other day I had to go to the Media department and draw lines in a ledger book, I wouldn't have minded much if I had proper lighting or a proper seat. My chair was a low wicker patio chair and the table was a wooden kitchen table that was too high to be able to sit there and draw lines. I wound up doing the job in my lap sitting under the stupid fluro bulb, I left after 2 hours because my eyes couldn't take it anymore and it was almost time to have lunch with the ladies, seriously, you couldn't put me at a desk with a proper chair? Last time I was in this department I was slicing the laminate off of photos for the cafeteria menu, that was also boring and back breaking. My favorite thing is to stay in our big room and socialise with the ladies, it's great to hear stories and for people to ask how was your weekend and such. We've put together little boxes for the new moms, that included nappies (diapers) a onesie, a Mater Baby on Board thingy for the car, a little mesh bag that included, baby wash, baby lotion, baby cream and one other tube that eludes me, along with coupons on the purchase of formula and diapers. The new moms at the Mater get looked after really well.  Sometimes we put charts together, or take them apart. Sometime's I've had to take the trolley and get the mail from different departments, take them back to Bec, she sorts through them and then we stuff them accordingly. In some cases if the lady at the Volunteer reception isn't in, I'm asked to fill in, which I totally don't mind as this is the area that I wouldn't mind working.

As a volunteer we have four hour shifts. If you drive you can get your parking validated. We get a uniform of sorts, it's a long vest that states you're a volunteer, or if you want, for $35 you can purchase a polo shirt that once you leave you have to return and they buy it back from you for $10. The vest they launder, the polo is yours to launder. I received an id tag which is also a key, I wear it on a lanyard. I actually love wearing that. We get free lunch, choice of cut sandwiches (basically sliced bread with a few different fillings, such as ham, cheese & tomato, a salad sandwich with lettuce, carrots and tomatoes, I once had a roast beef sandwich, and an egg salad sandwich). If you want your sandwich toasted, they will charge you 20 cents to toast it.  You could also have the soup of the day, but you cannot have both, but you can take a piece of fruit for free also, usually a banana, orange or apple. If you want a beverage, other than tea or coffee you have to pay for it, they have these little Coke cans of 200ml for $2, I usually wait till I'm on my way to the bus and get a 600ml of diet Vanilla Coke, not Vanilla Coke Zero (thank god)  for $3.70.