city to surf 2007

What could possibly attract 29,000 runners and walkers to cover 12 k (7.5mi) out on a rainy, blustery, morning at 7:30 am? I was there and I still don't know. There were no T-shirts, no race packs, no fans, no bands, 3 big hills, too many people, not enough bathrooms or garbage bins. There were no freebies at the end, no bananas or bagels, no powerade.

Despite the rain, the wind, and too few amenities, and too many people...it was a really good time.

It's the largest competitive run in Western australia, and may well be the largest run per capita in the world (we'll have to compare it to the Great North Run), and what Kris wrote up above is all true -- and this morning is a different story. Our quiet afternoon post-race was quieter than most. A pan of shepherd's pie, a half a glass of wine, 2 episodes of Firefly, and then crashing into bed by 4pm for a 16 hour sleep. Well, we'll see what it's like next year.

nathan

Decision--new job!

It's been a decisive month. First a car. Now, a job.

Yes, after much deliberation, Nathan has decided to stop working emergency clinic, and join me in the 9-5 world.

It's been a difficult decision. Nathan wasn't going to start working emergency here, but Murdoch has a lot of great learning experiences, fantastic specialists, doing work noone else does, and an incredibly persuasive hospital CEO, Phil Payne. In March of this year, Nathan told the CEO he didn't think emergency hours were right for him. Phil was persuasive, and promised they'd be adding more vets to free up the schedule. Despite Nathan's reservations, he signed up at the Murdoch and has been working heavy hours, mostly weekends.

When we came back from our trip to the States, Nathan discovered he'd been assigned every weekend from August 1 to October 1. They promised they'd rearrange the schedule so he'd get some time off, if he would offer some suggestions about which weekdays he wanted to work. In trying to make those suggestions, he discovered he really didn't want to give up any weekdays either.

The truth is, despite all the excitement, cool medicine, and prestige that comes with ER, we are ready for the good ol' 9 to 5 rut. Sleeping in the same bed, dinner out, weekends off.

They've asked Nathan to stay on as a casual employee (that's what they call temps...but it describes people who get to wear pajamas/scrubs to work) until he finds a permanent job or a better locum position. So, Nathan's last official day as a Murdoch employee is September 13...when we are in Fiji on vacation. Nathan will have the option of picking up some extra shifts after that day (to pay for our travelling) but will mostly be able to look for something great...and enjoy a long visit with his mom, and our friend Jaymi.

Two big decisions in 2 weeks. It's a Mannix record.

Woo Hoo--Let it Rain!

For those of you that we have been trying to entice to visit us, we've probably neglected to tell you something. "Winter in Perth is Rainy". July averages around 19 years of rain per month (I meant days). Last year was the driest July on record, this year is making up for it. On the sunny days, its gorgeous...75 degrees, sunny, the world is alive with shockingly bright flowers, and everyone is smiling.


Everyone is smiling because they know any minute, the weather will change. Out of sunny skies, a cool drizzle will start to fall. Within 5 minutes, the wind has picked up and the rain is blowing horizontally. Umbrella's collapse in the 20-25 mi per hour gusts. A sudden deluge overwhelms gutters until its just pouring off buildings.

So why do I say let it rain? Nathan and I have finally bought a second car. For most of the summer and fall, I rode the bus to work in the morning or evening, with Nathan picking me up on his way to or from his overnight. Then the rain started. I rode the bus a few times, but its a 15 minute walk to the first bus station. Its a 10 minute wait between bus transfers. Its a 15 minute walk to my side of campus. Let's just say after 5 minutes of horizontal rain standing in a bus shelter, none of my suits looked too sharp on arrival. And let's face it, its hard enough to go to work somedays, without the additional demotivation of gray clouds, hurricane winds, and pissing down rain. So for the really wet time, Nathan has been acting as my chaffeur or has volunteered to be carless at home rather than get up after 5 hours of sleep to drive me to work. We promised ourselves when we sold the house, we'd buy another car.

TA-DA! (Debbie we need the cape!).
















Within 10 days of being home, Nathan and I decided on what car we were going to buy, visited 3 dealerships, and purchased one that met our needs. And we both think its a sporty little number! So, all you would be visitors we are ready for you...we'll take the top down and cruise the beach. Orhead into the bush with our camping gear for a little bushtrack camping. Or if that's not your style, or if its raining at least you won't have to take the bus to the pub.

Kristin

Home again?

When you work overnight, conversations with your co-workers cover alot of ground. After talking about growing up in Alaska, living in London and MN, then moving down to Perth, one of the nurses asked, "so, where do you consider home?"

Now, I'm sure that she did not intend that to be a philosophical question, but just something polite to keep the conversation going. Something along the lines of, "and how's the family?" To be fair, i didn't wax philosophical until a couple of hours later (3am is a good time for retrospection), but then I gave the question some serious thought.

See, I had just come from a trip back "home." That trip included California and Minnesota, both of which could arguably claim the title, but in this case "home" was just a handy and concise way of explaining that it wasn't a vacation, but rather a visit. You vacation in Fiji or the Christmas Islands, but you visit back home, and you rarely get a great tan visiting.

It was a really good visit, though. At the California "home," we got to visit grandparents, in-laws, sister, cousins, neice, and father (in no particular order), catch up on the gossip, eat at IHOP, and clean up some of the generations of accumulated treasures behind grandpa's house. At the Minnesota "home," I got to keep grandma company after her surgery, hang out with mom, stay with some friends in rochester, catch up with church folks, and hear the rochester concert band in the park. I even drove past the "home" that we recently, and with much rejoicing, unloaded in this soft market (only to see a boat parked in the driveway -- I knew he could have paid more!).

Then there are the homes that I didn't make it to on this trip. I didn't get up to the ranch in Mendocino county, I didn't make it to Alaska, I didn't get to visit with friends in Washington, a "home" where i've never lived, but claim it as something familiar and loved. It seems that I would claim every place west of the Mississippi as home, and some parts of London as well. But when I was on the plane out of San Francisco, at the start of the long flight to Sydney and then to Perth, my neighbor in the row asked where I was headed. "Going home," I replied without thinking, "Perth."

I guess that home is many places, many people, and a wealth of experiences shared with folks that you love. So come and visit us...wherever we happen to be.

Make yourselves at home.