Posting from Firefox

I've just installed the new Blog posting extension from Firefox, it's a great little tool. This is the first post from the extension...

If you have Firefox installed and are a regular Blogger, go here and install the extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1730

Cockroaches, cars and sea

We've been in Sydney now for just over 3 weeks and I'm glad to say that things are finally beginning to settle down a bit.

We finally arrived in the early hours of Monday 28 July, tired and exhausted. A 45 minute taxi drive took us to Liverpool hospital which is where Jen will be working. We had previously arranged to stay at the hospital residences as a temporary measure until we found a flat. After a lengthy conversation with the nice lady at reception, we had our keys to the 'penthouse'...

The last words the lady at reception said before we set off with our suitcases was "it's not the Hilton". I never knew the Australians were the masters of understatement. The residences are conveniently situated next to one of the main railway lines into Sydney city centre. It was also in the middle of a construction site. Nice.

Glaswegians are a hardy people and I've seen many sites like this around the east end of Glasgow :-) so I was determined not to let this bother me. What did bother me was the dead cockroach in the bath which confronted me! It must have been at least 3 feet long. A brute of a beast.



After 2 long weeks in hospital residences, we finally made some headway by purchasing a car and finding a brilliant little flat. Our new wheels is an old Toyota Camry (1989 model!). Getting into 3rd gear can be 'difficult' sometimes but at least it has personality. The flat is an amazing find. Actually finding a flat was one of the most difficult things due to the current conditions of the rental market.

I'm happy to say that the wait was worth it, the new flat is over at Bondi and is a 10 minute walk from Bondi Beach. It's situated just off Bondi Road which has loads of fabulous little cafes and restaurants. Getting into the centre of Sydney is easy too as we're only 15 minutes away from the nearest train station. However, the view from the flat is my favourite bit... We're on the top floor of the building and we have a little veranda which we can sit out and watch the sunrise and sunset. You can also see the beach from the window - handy for checking the surf!

The past week or so has seen us busy with furnishing the flat with essentials - TV, Internet, sofa etc. It's a relief to finally see the flat with the things that you take for granted!

No news to report on the job front for me. My CV is with 4 different recruitment agencies who are working on the case. I will hopefully have something more positive to report in the coming week.

We have also just very recently had the visa cleared, another massive relief. This will actually enable us both to (legally!) work in Australia now. In fact, Jen is preparing for her first shift now as I type this post! Eeeeek!

Must go for now, need some breakfast!
Roddy & Jen
xxx

On the way...

Well, finally we're on the way to Oz... It's been a long and painful wait but finally we're on our way!

It's difficult to find something interesting or fun to say when you're feeling so tired, maybe we'll try again in a few days once the tiredness passes.

Sitting and waiting on our connecting flight is almost as painful as the hideous week of packing we've both endured... More on this later.

Bye for now,

Roddy & Jen
xxx

iPlayer

I've been using the new BBC iPlayer and I think it's great...! I've read that the BBC are set to follow up the iPlyer on the Nintendo Wii by launching it on the Sony PS3. If only Microsoft could follow suit...!

BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/
iPlayer on Wii: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/latest/

UEFA Cup Disappointment

Well, where do you begin? Getting to a European cup final is an achievement in itself, but it's so disappointing to loose the final in the way that we did. I really thought Rangers would have had a real go at it. However, I think the better team won and good luck to Zenit.

What happened after the match was nothing short of disgraceful. I have many friends in Manchester, not to mention my girlfriend's parents who actually live there. To see the awful images on television and in the newspapers made me feel very embarrassed indeed. This was supposed to be the biggest night in the club's history and it was ruined by an idiotic minority. I hope these fans are identified by the club (if they are actually true followers of Rangers) and banned from ever setting foot in Ibrox again.

Read more about the events after the match.

At Long Last...!

My boyhood heroes, Rangers FC have finally ended their 3 year trophy drought by claiming the 2008 League Cup! We won by beating Dundee Utd (3-2) on penalties in a truly pulsating cup final.

The game was tied 2-2 and went to extra time with Rangers coming from behind twice in the game to level the score. Kris Boyd (pictured) scored the decisive penalty and ensured that the 'Blue' half of Glasgow will party tonight.

Well done lads!

Finger Football!

As the European Championships edge ever closer, be prepared for lots of media coverage...

However, I found this fantastic Flash representation of a classic pub game I used to play in my university days!

Great fun: http://www.jvcfootball.com/euroball/

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

It's a very strange but exciting time for me at the moment... You see, I've been working at Guerilla Interactive now for quite some time and I still love it. However, the opportunity to live and work in Australia for a year has presented itself to me. My lovely (and long-suffering!) partner Jen, has recently been offered a 1 year contract which obviously provides us with an amazing opportunity. It's also something which both of us have talked about many times in the past.

This is probably one of the most difficult choices I've had to make and it's something which will need a great deal of time and thought...