To start with, I said that the monkey photo had won a 3rd price in the club competition, but that was a mistake... It was the Mountain Goat photo!! The judge did spend some time talking about the monkey photo too, that's what caused the mix up.. Anyway it is now corrected, have another look at the prior post.
Last week was my first week of work. Not only has it been 5 months or so since I have been working, but also I am now working 5 days a week in stead of 4. The days are not as long though as they were back in Holland and because we are back home early enough, we can still enjoy other activities in the evening (like photoclub, dancing, bowling). So, more days to work in a week, but shorter days.
How did I like this first week? Well, I think it went all pretty good. I am taking over the work of someone who had his last working day last Friday. Starting next Wednes day the second person who knows about 'my' customers will be on a holiday for 2 weeks, so from Wednesday I'll be on my own.
I will probably make some mistakes in that time, but my confidence is growing really fast. All together I like my new work (BTW I am working as change-coördinator, which does have some overlap with my last role in Holland).
Although I did not feel too tired through the week, and we were out literally each evening, I was pretty tired yesterday (Saturday), and only after sleeping in a bit more this morning (Sunday) I felt rested! While getting more used to the work next weeks that will probably get better. Also we will not be doing something every evening which will help too!!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Triple top 3's !!
Last Monday I entered some photos in our monthly competition again. I was hoping I would at least get a same result as last month (a merit). To my surprise, three out of my six entries became 3rd in their respective category. Especially for the Mountain Goat photo that was a very good result, since there were about 30 entries in that category (and good ones too!).
It will be very difficult to improve this result the next time, since I am now working full time. But I'll try anyway ;-)
Here they are:
Category: Mono/B&W, subject (Windows)
Category: Slides, Open
Category: Prints, Open, Colour
It will be very difficult to improve this result the next time, since I am now working full time. But I'll try anyway ;-)
Here they are:
Category: Mono/B&W, subject (Windows)
Category: Slides, Open
Category: Prints, Open, Colour
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Done with the fun !
Good news and bad news... I was not called from Sydney last Monday, also not after leaving a message the next day at the voicemail of that manager. But... this morning I was called by the recruitment office through which I have had an interview at a IT-support company for a role as change manager (and for which I did not get the contract because of budget problems).
They were urgently looking for a change-cöordinator (to start on a 3 months contract), and they asked if I would be available on short notice. Of course my answer was yes, and after the recruitment agency contacted the company again, I have signed the contract this morning. I am expected to start coming Monday, and I will be visiting them tomorrow morning to meet some people and get some reading material.
So, suddenly the fun has come to an end. Only 4 days of freedom left and then I will have to work too. Although nice to get back in a work situation (meeting new people etc) and being able to contribute to our bread and butter (;-) too, I will be missing my freedom of the last weeks (hmmmm, months really). I will now have a lot less hours to 'play' with my photography...
BTW: The company where I am going to work is the same where Ellen works, only in a different building (closer to a trainstation too ;-). So, from now on we will be again working for the same company just like we did back in Holland for the last 3 years.
They were urgently looking for a change-cöordinator (to start on a 3 months contract), and they asked if I would be available on short notice. Of course my answer was yes, and after the recruitment agency contacted the company again, I have signed the contract this morning. I am expected to start coming Monday, and I will be visiting them tomorrow morning to meet some people and get some reading material.
So, suddenly the fun has come to an end. Only 4 days of freedom left and then I will have to work too. Although nice to get back in a work situation (meeting new people etc) and being able to contribute to our bread and butter (;-) too, I will be missing my freedom of the last weeks (hmmmm, months really). I will now have a lot less hours to 'play' with my photography...
BTW: The company where I am going to work is the same where Ellen works, only in a different building (closer to a trainstation too ;-). So, from now on we will be again working for the same company just like we did back in Holland for the last 3 years.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Update
After receiving the 'golden pineapple' award Ellen received a giftvoucher last week as an appraisal for her work. That has been a very nice gesture!
Peter is expecting to be called coming Monday from Sydney for a job interview (on contract base). The responsible manager is stationed in Sydney, but the application is for a job in Perth.
What Ellen likes very much (the most ?) about working in Perth is that when she goes out for lunch to get a nice Italian sandwich, she is always seeing and hearing parrots flying around. As well the typical rosella's (grey and pink) as the 28's (green/blue with a yellow band around their neck).
One of the things we have found is that the signs stating that speed camera's are used in WA is very true in Perth. So far we have not been 'catched' (as far as we know at least ;-), but we are spotting a (mobile) speedcamera at least once a week on average. So for anyone wondering about that... Perth is really a risky place to speed!
Last Wednesday we (finally !!!) took up dancing again. We found a nice dancing school about 15 minutes driving from home. So for all ballroom dancers that are thinking about coming over to Perth for a holiday (;-) do take your dancing gear with you (Peter and Lia). BTW the owner of the dancing school recognized the name of the sister of our damcing teacher in Holland.
Three weeks ago at the monthly competition Peter entered some photographs. Although none ended in the top 3, one of them got a 'merit' (see below ;-). Next Monday (September 11th) he will enter some pictures in the competition again. If any results are worth mentioning, you'll read about it!
Peter is expecting to be called coming Monday from Sydney for a job interview (on contract base). The responsible manager is stationed in Sydney, but the application is for a job in Perth.
What Ellen likes very much (the most ?) about working in Perth is that when she goes out for lunch to get a nice Italian sandwich, she is always seeing and hearing parrots flying around. As well the typical rosella's (grey and pink) as the 28's (green/blue with a yellow band around their neck).
One of the things we have found is that the signs stating that speed camera's are used in WA is very true in Perth. So far we have not been 'catched' (as far as we know at least ;-), but we are spotting a (mobile) speedcamera at least once a week on average. So for anyone wondering about that... Perth is really a risky place to speed!
Last Wednesday we (finally !!!) took up dancing again. We found a nice dancing school about 15 minutes driving from home. So for all ballroom dancers that are thinking about coming over to Perth for a holiday (;-) do take your dancing gear with you (Peter and Lia). BTW the owner of the dancing school recognized the name of the sister of our damcing teacher in Holland.
Three weeks ago at the monthly competition Peter entered some photographs. Although none ended in the top 3, one of them got a 'merit' (see below ;-). Next Monday (September 11th) he will enter some pictures in the competition again. If any results are worth mentioning, you'll read about it!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Finally, pictures of our new home ;-)
At last we have been able to put some decent photos of our house on our photo site. Have a look at the most recent ´link´ at the right of this page. (Or if you can not find it, look here ;-)
Further not a lot of new news. As you can see in the pictures we now do have our (red) lounge suit and (as mentioned before) our (snowwhite) couches. Yesterday we have been able to find a couple of nice rugs. To complete the furniture inside the house we are now waiting for the coffee table (has been ordered, a coffe table version of the dining table) to be delivered and we have to find some nice lamp tables to put beside the couches and along the lounge suit.
Ellen is still the only one working (;-) and enjoying it very much. Peter isn´t (yet) working and to be honest is enjoying his freedom very much too ;-). He has of course not given up looking for a job...
Further not a lot of new news. As you can see in the pictures we now do have our (red) lounge suit and (as mentioned before) our (snowwhite) couches. Yesterday we have been able to find a couple of nice rugs. To complete the furniture inside the house we are now waiting for the coffee table (has been ordered, a coffe table version of the dining table) to be delivered and we have to find some nice lamp tables to put beside the couches and along the lounge suit.
Ellen is still the only one working (;-) and enjoying it very much. Peter isn´t (yet) working and to be honest is enjoying his freedom very much too ;-). He has of course not given up looking for a job...
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Two weeks :-(
Hi all… it is really unbelievable but the last post is dated August 1. So that’s another two weeks gone just like that. Time to get you updated:
Ellen has had her first full week of work. She really enjoys it. Of course she is pretty tired every night when she comes home. It is a new job in a new environment in a new country. But after this first week she is already starting to get a grip on the work. Since she has been asked to fill in for someone who is on holidays now (managing 5 projects). The biggest challenge here is not the 5 projects themselves, but the fact that the person going on holiday first had another contractor to hand over his work temporarily, but then after a few days this contractor did not come back. So Ellen had to take over while the colleague was already on holiday.
In the last two weeks Peter is contemplating (thinking about somewhere in the back of his mind ;-) to maybe start doing something more with photography. Not so much changing career at once, but besides working in his current field, also put a bit more time into photography (try to get it a bit from hobby into amateur level ;-). And then see if maybe opportunities will arise in time to change careers.
Yesterday we have been at Marina and Mikes wedding. It was a ‘home’ wedding. In Australia it is very usual to choose your own location (which can be anywhere, like simply at home). The marriage consultant will marry you where you want.
Today we have said goodbye to Eddy, Elly, Lieke and Imke. We have met them in Tilburg last year (they were also at a xpdite meeting). They have been living here since November, but have now decided to go back (for a couple of years at least). To a certain extend we have now experienced the same as what our friends and family in Holland must have experienced when we left…
This Wednesday our sofa (the red one) will be delivered. So another piece of our home will be added. Step by step the house is now turning into a perfect home ;-)
We have made some photos of the house, we expect to publish some of them in the next few days!
Ellen has had her first full week of work. She really enjoys it. Of course she is pretty tired every night when she comes home. It is a new job in a new environment in a new country. But after this first week she is already starting to get a grip on the work. Since she has been asked to fill in for someone who is on holidays now (managing 5 projects). The biggest challenge here is not the 5 projects themselves, but the fact that the person going on holiday first had another contractor to hand over his work temporarily, but then after a few days this contractor did not come back. So Ellen had to take over while the colleague was already on holiday.
In the last two weeks Peter is contemplating (thinking about somewhere in the back of his mind ;-) to maybe start doing something more with photography. Not so much changing career at once, but besides working in his current field, also put a bit more time into photography (try to get it a bit from hobby into amateur level ;-). And then see if maybe opportunities will arise in time to change careers.
Yesterday we have been at Marina and Mikes wedding. It was a ‘home’ wedding. In Australia it is very usual to choose your own location (which can be anywhere, like simply at home). The marriage consultant will marry you where you want.
Today we have said goodbye to Eddy, Elly, Lieke and Imke. We have met them in Tilburg last year (they were also at a xpdite meeting). They have been living here since November, but have now decided to go back (for a couple of years at least). To a certain extend we have now experienced the same as what our friends and family in Holland must have experienced when we left…
This Wednesday our sofa (the red one) will be delivered. So another piece of our home will be added. Step by step the house is now turning into a perfect home ;-)
We have made some photos of the house, we expect to publish some of them in the next few days!
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
ADSL (continued), flat tyre and work ...
Well, as usual (by now ;-) another week has gone by. Do we have anything new to tell ??? Yes, we have.
Our (snow-white) couches have been delivered last Wednesday. They´re beautiful! And before you are all going to put comments about the pictures: .. Finally the last problem with Telstra/ADSL seems to have been solved. We did have adsl for 2 days last week.
But guess what, the 3rd day (Friday) suddenly we did not have any connection to the internet anymore. So, again it was time to ´climb in the telephone´. To cut a long story short: The day after buying a DIY package (see two posts ago) ourselves at the Telstra shop, there was a little note from Australia Post in the letterbox. It said: ´Final Notice´… Or in other words, the ´lost´ package from Telstra was at the Post Office now. We went there, explained that we had bought one ourselves now, and sent the package back. The same day we installed the DIY package, and everything went perfect. But then as said last Friday suddenly our connection with internet was gone. First checking everything (all cables connected, all lights on the modem on green etc…), but the only thing that was not ok was the actual ´internet´ light. Anyway, after calling Telstra it appeared that they had received the returned package. And then someone thought that we did not want adsl anymore, so simply cut off the adsl definition for our telephone number. If he or she would have had a good look, he or she should have seen that the returned package was connected to a cancelled order-number, and that there was a new order-number. Anyway, it was all possible to correct but it would take 3 working days max to get the connection back. Since we are pretty dependant on internet I told them I did not like that, but was reassured that we should still be able to use our old dialup account in the mean time. Of course, the first attempt did not go right, and indeed after calling (again) another colleague said that is was not possible to go back from adsl to dialup with an account. But she could mend it by simply creating a temporary account for us to use. And that is what we have done since Friday. Then the day before yesterday (Sunday) I tested the adsl modem (just in case ;-), and what do you know… we seemed to be back online through adsl.
So, we only have to call Telstra again (promised to do that) to let them know that we do not need the temporary account any more. We have not done that yet but will do that today or tomorrow. Of course you can imagine that we will do so with a bit of fear… What else will go wrong when we tell them to shut down the temp dialup account… ;-)
After this not so short story after all (;-), yesterday morning Peter drove back after doing a little shopping, and from a certain moment he heard a funny sound every time he made a turn to the left. Even when doing it slowly it did not sound good. Arriving home he had a good look at the car and found that the rear right wheel was flat (or at least pretty empty, wheels don´t actually run flat these days). So, he had to replace the wheel with the spare one. Now by itself this is not so special, but for him it was the first time in his life that he run a flat tyre! He is am hoping this is just coincidence, but it could be that the change of running flats over here are a lot bigger than in Holland, since there is a lot more rubbish on the road. We´ll have to wait and see what the reality will be ;-). Today we brought the punctured wheel to the dealer to get it repaired. They repaired it, put it back on the car (and put the spare one back under the rear of the car where it belonged, they checked the pressure on all tyres and finally cleaned them all). The total cost of this all was ….. 40 dollars ! A lot less then we were actually expecting.
Now then finally some good news about the work situation. Ellen was called last Thursday by the recruitment office. The company that Ellen had had an interview with 2 weeks ago, and that had said to look out for a more senior role for her, has asked the recruiters if she would still be available. They do not have the more senior role available just yet, but (the recruiter and us think) they just did not want to let the change to get Ellen go. So they have now offered her a 6 months contract as a project manager. Starting with small projects for now. We expect they will probably offer her a permanent job after that ;-). She is asked to start next Monday (August 7th), which is pretty fast! Ellen is on one hand very happy to start working of course, but on the other hand it will be the end of the freedom of the last 4 months for her. The best part of this contract is that she will earn (before tax) even more than in Holland. Knowing that the tax is a lot less than in Holland, Peter almost doesn´t have to work anymore ;-) ;-)
In the mean time Peter has done another interview and (only just) got a result of an interview back that he did three weeks ago. Unfortunately they have found someone coming from another oil & gas company, so have chosen that candidate. They did state he was a close 2nd, and would like to keep him in their database for when other opportunities will arise. So, although being rejected, still not a bad result by itself.
Our (snow-white) couches have been delivered last Wednesday. They´re beautiful! And before you are all going to put comments about the pictures: .. Finally the last problem with Telstra/ADSL seems to have been solved. We did have adsl for 2 days last week.
But guess what, the 3rd day (Friday) suddenly we did not have any connection to the internet anymore. So, again it was time to ´climb in the telephone´. To cut a long story short: The day after buying a DIY package (see two posts ago) ourselves at the Telstra shop, there was a little note from Australia Post in the letterbox. It said: ´Final Notice´… Or in other words, the ´lost´ package from Telstra was at the Post Office now. We went there, explained that we had bought one ourselves now, and sent the package back. The same day we installed the DIY package, and everything went perfect. But then as said last Friday suddenly our connection with internet was gone. First checking everything (all cables connected, all lights on the modem on green etc…), but the only thing that was not ok was the actual ´internet´ light. Anyway, after calling Telstra it appeared that they had received the returned package. And then someone thought that we did not want adsl anymore, so simply cut off the adsl definition for our telephone number. If he or she would have had a good look, he or she should have seen that the returned package was connected to a cancelled order-number, and that there was a new order-number. Anyway, it was all possible to correct but it would take 3 working days max to get the connection back. Since we are pretty dependant on internet I told them I did not like that, but was reassured that we should still be able to use our old dialup account in the mean time. Of course, the first attempt did not go right, and indeed after calling (again) another colleague said that is was not possible to go back from adsl to dialup with an account. But she could mend it by simply creating a temporary account for us to use. And that is what we have done since Friday. Then the day before yesterday (Sunday) I tested the adsl modem (just in case ;-), and what do you know… we seemed to be back online through adsl.
So, we only have to call Telstra again (promised to do that) to let them know that we do not need the temporary account any more. We have not done that yet but will do that today or tomorrow. Of course you can imagine that we will do so with a bit of fear… What else will go wrong when we tell them to shut down the temp dialup account… ;-)
After this not so short story after all (;-), yesterday morning Peter drove back after doing a little shopping, and from a certain moment he heard a funny sound every time he made a turn to the left. Even when doing it slowly it did not sound good. Arriving home he had a good look at the car and found that the rear right wheel was flat (or at least pretty empty, wheels don´t actually run flat these days). So, he had to replace the wheel with the spare one. Now by itself this is not so special, but for him it was the first time in his life that he run a flat tyre! He is am hoping this is just coincidence, but it could be that the change of running flats over here are a lot bigger than in Holland, since there is a lot more rubbish on the road. We´ll have to wait and see what the reality will be ;-). Today we brought the punctured wheel to the dealer to get it repaired. They repaired it, put it back on the car (and put the spare one back under the rear of the car where it belonged, they checked the pressure on all tyres and finally cleaned them all). The total cost of this all was ….. 40 dollars ! A lot less then we were actually expecting.
Now then finally some good news about the work situation. Ellen was called last Thursday by the recruitment office. The company that Ellen had had an interview with 2 weeks ago, and that had said to look out for a more senior role for her, has asked the recruiters if she would still be available. They do not have the more senior role available just yet, but (the recruiter and us think) they just did not want to let the change to get Ellen go. So they have now offered her a 6 months contract as a project manager. Starting with small projects for now. We expect they will probably offer her a permanent job after that ;-). She is asked to start next Monday (August 7th), which is pretty fast! Ellen is on one hand very happy to start working of course, but on the other hand it will be the end of the freedom of the last 4 months for her. The best part of this contract is that she will earn (before tax) even more than in Holland. Knowing that the tax is a lot less than in Holland, Peter almost doesn´t have to work anymore ;-) ;-)
In the mean time Peter has done another interview and (only just) got a result of an interview back that he did three weeks ago. Unfortunately they have found someone coming from another oil & gas company, so have chosen that candidate. They did state he was a close 2nd, and would like to keep him in their database for when other opportunities will arise. So, although being rejected, still not a bad result by itself.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Ikea2 and walking
Last week we have been busy (amongst other things) to assemble the cupboards we bought at Ikea. It took a day and a half in total, but we like them a lot. We have ordered two more ;-). Unfortunately there was one set of doors that was NOT the right colour (birch in stead of white), so the idea that Ikea was a bit better organised here (concerning orderpicking and delivery) than in Holland wasn't the right one.
Since last week there seems to be someone who is making comments on our posts (one comment on each post!) with a stupid sentence like 'I found information here' with the word 'here' hiding a link. We had to decide to try and stop that kind of rubbish, so we are going to turn on the option that you have to sign in at blogger to be able to make a comment. We hope it is not too uncomfortable for you. To give you some time to react we will change that setting in a week from now. Please let us know if you would have a problem with that.
Then a special message to Frank R.: Frank, we know you are about to start your sabbatical trip (biking to Turkey) soon. We hope you have a nice trip!! If possible let us know how the trip goes.
Since last week there seems to be someone who is making comments on our posts (one comment on each post!) with a stupid sentence like 'I found information here' with the word 'here' hiding a link. We had to decide to try and stop that kind of rubbish, so we are going to turn on the option that you have to sign in at blogger to be able to make a comment. We hope it is not too uncomfortable for you. To give you some time to react we will change that setting in a week from now. Please let us know if you would have a problem with that.
Then a special message to Frank R.: Frank, we know you are about to start your sabbatical trip (biking to Turkey) soon. We hope you have a nice trip!! If possible let us know how the trip goes.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Ikea and Telstra
Last Saturday we had some friends over (Dutch immigrants and some partners). It was very nice, and we made some plans for starting up a 'walking'group'. A date for the first walk is set.
Last Monday we have been to Ikea (again ;-) and ordered some more cupboards, so we can start organising the last two 'to be organised' rooms, the office and the hobby-room. They just called that they would be here in half an hour to deliver them. We are also planning to have a look at Caversham Wildlife park in Whiteman Park. The idea is to organise the (1st) walk there, so we want to have a look first, and make some nice pictures.
Peter has joined a Bowling league (10-pin bowling). Last Thursday evening he played for the first time (in years ;-).
Yesterday we contacted Telstra (since they had not contacted us). There was no news concerning the sent package. First they agreed to just send a new package, but a few minutes later told us we could also go to any Telstra shop and simply buy the DIY package. The money for that will then be refunded on the invoices. So, that is one of the main items on the shoppinglist for today!
Last Monday we have been to Ikea (again ;-) and ordered some more cupboards, so we can start organising the last two 'to be organised' rooms, the office and the hobby-room. They just called that they would be here in half an hour to deliver them. We are also planning to have a look at Caversham Wildlife park in Whiteman Park. The idea is to organise the (1st) walk there, so we want to have a look first, and make some nice pictures.
Peter has joined a Bowling league (10-pin bowling). Last Thursday evening he played for the first time (in years ;-).
Yesterday we contacted Telstra (since they had not contacted us). There was no news concerning the sent package. First they agreed to just send a new package, but a few minutes later told us we could also go to any Telstra shop and simply buy the DIY package. The money for that will then be refunded on the invoices. So, that is one of the main items on the shoppinglist for today!
Friday, July 14, 2006
End of the week
On the job front only one new thing to mention, Ellen has made a very good impression at her interview and they are now looking into possibilities to put her in a more fitting job somewhere in the next few weeks. Exciting!
Peter did not hear anything yet about a result of his interview, so hopefully that will come next week (but as mentioned in previous post, time does tend to go faster then expected, for everyone ;-).
Today we called Telstra (the phonecompany) because we expected the DIY (do it yourself) kit for the adsl connection somewhere at the beginning of this week. Telstra has called Australia Post (that they hire to deliver these packages) and they have not been able to tell where that package is at the moment. It has been delivered by Telstra to Australia Post at the 5th of July, so should have been here. In 48 hours (that is working hours, so next Tuesday) they should have more news ... :-( We'll wait and see!
Peter did not hear anything yet about a result of his interview, so hopefully that will come next week (but as mentioned in previous post, time does tend to go faster then expected, for everyone ;-).
Today we called Telstra (the phonecompany) because we expected the DIY (do it yourself) kit for the adsl connection somewhere at the beginning of this week. Telstra has called Australia Post (that they hire to deliver these packages) and they have not been able to tell where that package is at the moment. It has been delivered by Telstra to Australia Post at the 5th of July, so should have been here. In 48 hours (that is working hours, so next Tuesday) they should have more news ... :-( We'll wait and see!
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