Summa Summa Summa time!

Hello from Melbourne. Just to start with if anyone has been following the news from the wildfires out here, Jarrod and I are safe and sound. Fortunately we are quite far away from the fires (about an hour driving) but it's still a really sad time here in Melbourne. A lot of people have lost their lives and houses and a lot of native wildlife have been killed and displaced. I guess having experienced the fires in San Diego in 2007 it all feels a little too familiar. But not all has been lost as there are some happy stories. One of which that has been floating around the news here in Australia is about Sam the Koala, a wild Koala who made friends with the firefighters.  Check out this amazing video!

In happier news, I've been having quite the eventful Summer here in Australia. Though the temperatures were soaring the last few weeks and we found ourselves without air conditioning in 110F conditions, I have been fortunate enough to go away on a few summer getaways in January and February. In mid-January I joined my friends Jess, Fi, and Kimberly up in Queensland on the Gold Coast for a week of sun, relaxation, and hitting the town! It was nice to meet such a nice group of girls to get away with and make some lasting friendships! 

Girls in Broadbeach out on the town

We then decided that we all had so much fun together we would go away AGAIN, this time to local beach town of Lorne just along the coast outside of Melbourne for Australia Day Weekend (Australia's equivalent of 4th of July). Needless to say us girls have been having a blast together and I feel so fortunate to have made such great friends all over the world. 

Thanks Paul

My ex-roomie but forever friend Paul sent this to me and I thought I would share it with the rest of the world:

Haha quite the sense of humor. If you liked that one, you should visit Married To the Sea which is a web comic by my favorite husband and wife web artists.

In other news...I've lost 3.5 lbs/1.5 kg on the Wii Fit! In the words of Ferris Bueller, "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Happy New Year! 2009 and Feeling Fine!

Happy New Year!! It's officially 2009 in Australia, lucky us, we're one of the first places in the world to ring in the new year. And even though I've been fortunate to celebrate three of my last four NYE's down under, this year I spent it working night shift at work. Kinda anti-climatic when you're walking a patient to the bathroom and taking blood pressures when you stop and realize the clock just struck 12:01. Oops...but we were still able to view the beautiful firework displays the city of Melbourne put on from our 8th Floor of the hospital. 

I shouldn't complain, though, because the main reason I'm back to working night duty this week was to make up for the two weeks I just spent back home in Orange County! 

Jarrod and I were fortunate enough to both get time off to spend the holidays with my family, and boy were they packed full of fun, laughs, family, and FOOD. Two weeks sure goes by fast when you have lots of people to see and lots of Mexican food to eat and make up for the last 5 months of withdrawls. I was so lucky to spend time with ALL of my close family members including everyone from the Zive Clan and my Uncle Ted and Aunt Kathi, the Swists and the Mossbargers. 

So what were the major Christmas gift scores of the year? Let's be honest, it was the year of Wii and Wii Fit! Both Katie and I received the Wii Fit for Christmas, while I gifted Jarrod with the Wii Console as his major prize. Man that thing is fun! I've already consistantly finished two days on the Wii Fit and I can definitely admit I'm sore from the muscle workouts. But I think the major winner this holiday season was Katie and her new little puppy Kenzie! (You can read all about Kenzie and her Christmas on Katie's Blog.) She was the hit of the season, and the newest (and smallest) member of our huge family. I'm so glad I got to spend so much time with such a cute pup cause chances are she'll be a big West Highland Terrior the next time I'm stateside to see her in person! 

Who can resist that face? We sure couldn't!

The greatest thing about New Years is reflecting back on the year past. I can honestly say I am sad to say goodbye to 2008. This was truly one of the best years of my life with FINALLY finishing school and graduating with my MSN, succeeding whole-heartedly in a job I love, and of course my huge move to Melbourne to finally end a 4 years of long distance with Jarrod. But even more recently I've been counting my lucky stars with how blessed I am with my life and finding a great job here in Melbourne with amazing people, making some great new friends really quickly (much faster than I anticipated and they even helped me celebrate Thanksgiving!) and of course being so fortunate to spend another Christmas home with my family in Orange County. I know a large part of the world is being effected by the Recession and Economic Crisis, and I am so lucky to have a great job and supportive family and friends during a rough time. But ever the optimist, I am hopeful that the New Year will bring everyone who is feeling a little "down and out" some extra cheer and luck. 

Ok, I'm done rambling now. A very happy new year to anyone who still reads this! I'm off to bed! 

My First Melbourne Cup

Hello again from down under. It's been a pretty eventful November so far even between working and attempting to maintain an active social life. This last weekend Jarrod and I went on a short holiday to Byron Bay which is just south of the Gold Coast in New South Wales. His sister Tara and her boyfriend Rick moved up there just over a year ago and we were fortunate enough to stay with them and have been shown some genuine Byron hospitality. The weather wasn't exactly sunbather friendly, but we filled the time driving up and down the eastern coastline checking out all the little towns along the way, being entertained by Poppy the little Jack Russel who runs the household, and enjoying some relaxing massages. Not to mention spending some quality time with family and exploring more of the cute little town known as Byron. Definitely one of my favorite places in Australia...

Julie in Lennox Heads, NSW

Another View of Lennox Heads

The Eastern Coast Line

While back in the states the first week of November brought an exciting election week and plenty of differing opinions in the state of California over the definition of "marriage," Melbourne was gearing up for it's annual Spring Racing Carnival. How do I describe this week? Basically for four days girl dress up in their fanciest spring dress complete with hats, gloves, fascinators (aka the pink feathery thing in my hair, or the big green thing Sarah Jessica Parker wore to the Sex and the City premiere), sip on bottles of champagne, and bet on the ponies at Flemington Racetrack. Jarrod, myself, and some friends decided to attend the most prestigious day of the carnival, Melbourne Cup Day, which falls on the first Tuesday of every November. And the best thing about Melbourne Cup Day? It's a public holiday that all Aussies within the city of Melbourne get a day off work! Overall we couldn't have asked for a better day, and I couldn't have asked for a greater first Melbourne Cup. We had great company, great weather, and while the bets didn't quite line up the cashflow, I had a great excuse to buy a new dress and immerse myself in Aussie culture. 

The classy ladies sippin champagne

Me and the boys

Jarrod and me enjoying the sun

A view of the city behind the turf

The sexy boys

Jarrod and me glamming it up

Next on the agenda: I will attempt to host Thanksgiving for my newfound Australian friends here in Melbourne next week. Wish me luck, I'm sure there will be plenty of photos and laughs to follow. 

Spring has Sprung, Badminton Anyone?

Spring has officially hit Melbourne with the sun finally shining and warming up the place and day light savings officially beginning today. 

(Horray for eventually staying light out until 9 pm!!) And what better way to celebrate spring down under than with an Aussie backyard beer fest. Our friends Sharon

 and Clinton invited us to a very fun get together this weekend appropriately themed in an Aussie Badminton Classic Invitational. Everyone came dressed in their best whites, short shorts and skirts, and draped sweaters and ready to play quite possibly one of the classiest games known to man. And boy did things get clas

sy (and heated) as the tournament commenced under some bright Aussie sunshine. 

I was well introduced to a taste of Aussie fun and outdoor afternoon drinking fests with clever themes and even cleverer hosts, serving up cucumber sandwiches, lemonade, and lemington cakes in between matches. Don't worry, there was plenty of beer and wine going around as well and the day ended with a tradition Aussie BBQ of snags (hot dogs down under style) on folded white bread. See the photos above and below for a little taste of our very fun day with some fun friends!

In other news, I officially survived my first two weeks of night shift at my new job. Even though it'll be a few weeks until I have to volunteer the shifts again, it actually was a really good experience as I was mostly in our ward's High Dependency Unit where patients recover straight after surgery. I've now become a lot more comfortable working there and it makes for a nice variety when you can turn up to work and possibly be placed in there for a shift. It's definitely nice to aquire some new skills and focus on some that I felt like I might have been neglecting. 

But just as the weather began to heat up here in Melbourne, I was relieved of my night nurse duties and I'm now back to day shift, for a few weeks at least. And what better way to enjoy a few weekends off than some afternoons in the sun drinking and playing badminton and a very enjoyable brunch today with two workmates sipping some bubbly overlooking the Yarra River. If this is only a taste of what summer has to bring, I can't wait to experience some more Aussie fun and share it with my family who are due to visit!

And for anyone who may be reading who I haven't already told...I was approved annual leave for Christmas so I'll be back in Orange County December 14-27th. Hopefully I can see everyone soon! 

7 Years Later and Still Remembering...

Well technically it's September 12 here in Melbourne, but I just wanted to take some time out to remember 7 years ago. Specially being so far away from the US at the moment, it makes it feel even sadder to not be surrounded by the media coverage of memorials or any moments of silence at work or school. Makes me miss my family and friends too. After living abroad for a month or so, I get it what other nations think of Americans. Whether people think we're loud, arrogant, philathropic, bullies, war-starters, etc., it's still a sad day and we should remember the lives that were lost. 

Despite Popular Belief, I do NOT Ride a Kangaroo to Work!

Hello again, well here I am 4 weeks into my big move to Melbourne, Australia and September is suddenly creeping up! And you know what that means, Spring is just around the corner down under! Even though the weather is still on the chilly side, it's been getting slightly (slightly as in 1 degree, but I'll take it!) warmer as the days go on and the sun has been noticably setting a bit later as well. I'm now well into my new job here as a Registered Nurse and although the first week or so started off rocky, I'm now really enjoying the unit I'm working on and the people I'm working with! As with any new job, adjustments had to be made and the ropes had to be learned, but I think I'm pulling through quite nicely. The best part about my new work home is the multiculturalism of the floor. While of course the majority of the staff are Aussies, we also boast several from India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland and we have one from Quebec, Canada and another from Zimbabwe. Then of course there is my Yankee self (what the Aussies call us Americans), but I was pleasantly surprised during my first few weeks to meet another fellow American nurse working down under at my hospital! Needless to say we can giggle and rant together over the crazy terminology and differences between Aus nursing and nursing back in the states. The other day we both ended up working in our unit's High Dependency Unit (where our patients are recovered following Theatre) and we proclaimed an official Yank takeover on Level 8! But in all honestly the people I am working with are fabulous not only in their nursing skills, but in really making me feel supported and welcomed to such a new experience. 

So since this blog is supposed to follow my life as a nurse, I thought I might just add some commentary for my nursing friends back home on some of the interesting differences so far. It would take me days just to write them all out, but I'll just highlight a few of the good ones:

• Stethoscope, what stethoscope? Well of course we use them when necessary, but it's not mandatory to do a head to toe assessment of every patient you have. (That's what the residents are for, muahaha.) But I will say because I am on a neuro floor, the amount of detail and precision put into the neuro checks and watching for slight changes in our patients is really impressive. I'm learning so much from my new colleagues.
• You need some panadol, love? Panadol is the Aussie equivalent of Tylenol, and as many nurses know in the states we have to call a doctor for just about ANYTHING you need to give your patient, including Blistex! Here in Australia the nurses get to decide on about 20 medications whether or not a patient should have it, which makes the original idea of nursing autonomy come alive for me! 
• NO LIFT POLICY! Almost every hospital in Victoria under the WorkSafe policies has a no lifty policy for the nursing staff. Not only does this save your back, it makes me realize back home just how much we put ourselves at risk for injury. On my unit at least, our hoist transfer machine is used just as often as oxycodone! Ok...maybe not that often...but you see my point. Maybe I won't need a microdisectomy by the age of 30 afterall :)

So those are just some nice little trinkets and I'm sure I'll post a few more as the months progress. Don't get me wrong, there are also things that I miss about nursing in the States, but I think it's really eye-opening to see how other parts of the world work in healthcare. 

On the other side of things, I've been settling in nicely to my new home. Here's a few photos of our apartment where we live. I've also been exploring a bit more of Victoria as we headed out to the Healesville Sanctuary last weekend for a friend's birthday. While it was a bit wet and cold (thus the awesome blue ponchos) I did get to be up close and personal with some of the native wildlife! 

Well, I better get back to my lazy Sunday afternoon. Tonight is the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, and it has definitely been an experience watching the games from the other side of the world. It's been a blast though being about to cheer for two different countries! Until next time, peace, love, and vegemite sandwiches!