Boring political post

Posted on April 27, 2011 by waggadventure

A couple of weeks ago, one of Dan’s colleagues asked him if he was going to their union meeting, where they would be informed about salary negotiations for next year. In his typically sensitive and caring way, he responded “Why would I care how much of a raise you losers get? I’m out of here!” Later that day, someone invited us to a local bar to watch a televised debate between (some of) the party leaders campaigning for the May 2 general election in Canada. The invite came with a disclaimer that it was more of a social thing, because we probably didn’t care, given that we are leaving. WRONG! Oh so WRONG! We didn’t end up going, for a variety of reasons (busy selling a house, and the debates are usually just bumpf anyway – better to read a newspaper). But yes, we still care about what happens in Canada; we will be voting on May 2, even though we won’t be living here much longer. And before the next election in Canada, we will be figuring out how to vote from abroad. Canada is home, has always been home, and in a way probably will always remain home. We haven’t looked into specifics yet, but regardless of how long we stay in Australia, we hope to be able to also remain Canadian citizens. Within the Commonwealth, dual citizenship is probably do-able, and having a Canadian passport when traveling is better than a Canadian patch on your knapsack. The latter is for Americans who want to be perceived as Canadians; the passport is the real thing. We both pay pretty close attention to politics, and have voted in every election – federal, provincial, and municipal – that we were eligible to vote in. And one that we weren’t legally eligible to vote in, but we won’t discuss that… Even trivial student elections in university, we voted in. In democratic nations like Canada and Australia, we don’t just feel there is a right to vote, but an obligation or duty to vote. In late March, there were state elections in New South Wales. Waggans re-elected Daryl Maguire of the Liberal Party, which is part of the ruling Liberal – National party coalition. (FYI to Canadians who pay attention to Harper’s concerns about a coalition government, they are pretty common elsewhere.) The Liberals have won every election in Wagga since 1957.

The political spectrum as we know it. Where do the Australian parties (and people) fit?

They are a centre/right coalition, with the Labor party being to the left. Not sure what that says about Wagga, but we think that centre/right on the Australian political spectrum will be far left of what is in store for Alberta if the Wild Rose Party or many of the contenders for Ed Stelmach’s job at the helm of the conservative party have their way. And also left of what Stephen Harper and his team want federally. The good thing about having just missed an election in NSW is that we didn’t have to suffer through one we couldn’t participate in. By the time of the next one, hopefully we will be eligible to vote. Nationally, the next election is to take place in October or November, 2013. That might be a challenge for us, as we probably won’t be legally allowed to vote yet, and getting away with that twice is probably too much to ask. We’re not clear on municipal politics in Wagga yet, but will be looking into it. Politically, Canada and Australia are similar in that they both follow the parliamentary system. Regions elect representatives, the party with the most representatives names a prime minister. We don’t actually vote for a leader, unlike presidential systems (such as the USA). For those who have a hard time understanding how it works, it is all explained here very clearly.

It is a little-known legal requirement is that all blogs written in Commonwealth constitutional monarchies this week include the official engagement photo.

Canada and Australia are also both constitutional monarchies. Lisa knows what that means. She’s a fan of royalty, and is pissed at Dan for not hooking up the PVR since we sold the television in the basement; watching the William and Kate wedding on April 29 is on her to-do list. For Dan, it’s all just blur. Royalty is stupid, useless, and a waste of money.* How being constitutional monarchies affects day to day life makes sense to Lisa, but isn’t clear to Dan. But trying to explain the complexities of it would baffle him, so it is best to ignore it. Rather than the constitutional makeup of the country, the more important things for us when choosing to live in Australia were the overall principles and prevailing attitudes. Well, those and the weather. And the likelihood of seeing koalas. And the likelihood of seeing kangaroos. Would you take a new job that didn’t offer marsupial incentives? Of course you wouldn’t. According to the online guide to becoming an Australian citizen,

Australia is a democracy. Citizenship gives you the opportunity to fully participate in building our democratic nation. It means that you are ready to fulfil your responsibilities as a formal member of the Australian community. Australians believe in the dignity and freedom of each person, the equality of men and women and the rule of law. Australian citizenship is about living out these values in your everyday life.

For our visas, we had to sign a statement saying we uphold the values of Australia; we signed the short temporary one, but for permanent residency or citizenship, we will have to agree to the full version. That won’t be hard to do, as it seems very similar to Canada, where freedom of speech, freedom of religion (including freedom from religion -the pledge that new citizens have to take can include god or not), equality, diversity, and so forth, are important both in theory and, mostly, in practice. The USA also has these values entrenched in their constitution but Dan sees that as just being a ruse to cover up the fact that, in reality, it is a fascist theocracy. Sorry, this is a bit of a boring entry. But there are two points we were try to make: we aren’t abandoning Canada, even though we are leaving; and, voting is important. So, please, all Canadians reading this, on May 2, VOTE. We don’t care who you vote for, what is important is that you take a few minutes and do it. We still care about this country, and keeping the democratic process alive is the most important thing you can do. Actually, that is a lie. Vote NDP, Green, or even Liberal if they have the best chance of beating the Conservatives in your riding. That is the most important thing you can do. Like we said, we still care about this country! * Lisa here…just want to point out that most of this post was written by Dan. Even though we already have our visas, one of the criteria was not being offensive to the Australian population. So I am carefully watching what Dan writes. There is also a policy about not bringing anything into that country that might be deemed offensive; unfortunately, I can’t just leave him here, so for now, I will do all I can to make him as least offensive as possible. How I will manage to keep him in check once we get there, I don’t know yet. For the record, Dan hooked up the PVR last night, so all is well in the Commonwealth.

Posted in Australia, Canada, politics, Visa, wagga | 1 Comment

How to speak Australian

Posted on April 24, 2011 by waggadventure

For the readers out there who may be wondering, Wagga Wagga is pronounced wogga wogga. The ‘a’ isn’t a long ‘a’ as in hay, or a short ‘a’ as in cat, but more of an aw sound as in Australia. The first ‘a’ is the one you want, as it seems that Australia has the entire spectrum of ‘a’ sounds in it: \ȯ-ˈstrāl-yə, ä-, ə-\. Not to be confused with one of Lisa’s favorite fast food restaurants, Wagamama.

Lisa loves the Chili Chicken Ramen at Wagamama.

At least we don’t think so…never heard anyone actually “in the know” pronounce it. Maybe we can get a franchise when we move (waggawaggawagamama).

There’s lot of other fun and odd things about the Australian language that are useful to anyone moving there, and may be of interest to blog readers.  So this post is sort of a dictionary of ‘Australian’ for those who live elsewhere. Dear Aussie readers… please ignore/forgive these ramblings (but feel free to add your own cool phrases to help us out!). We expect to be using these terms commonly in future posts, so please take note. Perhaps these are part of the Australian citizenship test (much like “maple syrup”, “beaver”, “tarsands”, “eh?” and “Tim Hortons” are on the Canadian version).

CBD: central business district. Maybe other places use this term, but we haven’t heard it elsewhere. It refers to what North Americans call ‘downtown’ (if we hadn’t just put super-sized malls on the outskirts, that is). Wagga’s CBD is fairly small and compact but thriving and inviting. Wagga has a hardware store, a drapery shop… all downtown! This will be an adjustment from Edmonton (home of the world’s largest, don’t you know!).

Cellar door: the term used by Australian wineries for their visitor shop, where you stop in and buy wines. Probably seldom actually the door to a real cellar (though we will investigate and report back in a later post).  Again, maybe a term used elsewhere but not widely.

Dan had a red El Camino when he was a teenager. It wasn't as nice as this one, but it was a lot of fun.

Ute: the first hybrid vehicle; the front is a car and the back is a truck. Australians seem to think they invented them; maybe they did, but they were available in Canada for a long time. Dan actually owned a 1967 El Camino when he was younger.

Ferals: akin to wild (‘feral’) animals, these are annoying, trouble-maker kids/teens who hang out on the street. In the UK, these might be known as hooligans. Others might call them hoodlums, ruffians, etc.

Bogans: Australia’s equivalent of the North American ‘trailer trash’ but since ‘caravan trash’ just doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily, they have their own name.

An Australian tradition, the pre-Christmas charity pub crawl. Ferals? Bogans? Or feral bogans?

Other cultures might call them rednecks, pikeys, neds, gopniks or yobbos. Bogans often drive utes. Does this mean Dan was a bogan when he had the El Camino? One of the traits of a bogan, according to one website, is that they listen to AC/DC and Midnight Oil. Seems like an odd pairing: a dumb party band (in a good way) or highly literate, socially and environmentally conscious artists.  No mention of The Saints, however, Dan’s favorite Australian band.

American trailer parks attract tornadoes; Australian caravan parks attract floods.

Caravan: a trailer-like thing used for vacations. In North America these are known as RVs (Recreation Vehicles) and seem to attract tornadoes (or, in Wagga, water). Brad Pitt knows all about Caravans. Wagga actually had a caravan park on the river where you could rent a strange hybrid cabin-like thing on wheels for your vacation. You couldn’t move it anywhere, despite the wheels, but you could stay in the park. Sadly, they are closing it because they are redeveloping the park.

Mince: ground meat (i.e., hamburger in North American terms). Goes into yummy pies (not to be confused with mincemeat pies; those are just dried fruit and stuff and not all that yummy).

Black Chook: one of the very few wines worth buying with an animal on the label.

Chook: chicken. Probably not the meat, but the animal before it is killed for meat. To outsiders, chooks probably aren’t considered as cute as wallabies, koalas, or kangaroos. Or as interesting as ibises and kookaburras. Those cute and interesting animals have, in recent years, been the scourge of the Australian wine industry and anyone who knows wine will tell you not to buy a bottle of Australian wine with a cutesy animal picture or name on the label. We agree, but make an exception for Black Chook, a yummy shiraz/viognier blend.  We also make an exception for Shadow’s Run, a good value shiraz/cab blend with a now-deceased dog (Shadow) on the label. We will report back on other animal-themed labels worth drinking, once we’ve gathered all the empirical evidence.

Mr. Whippy: no, not some demented kids S&M program, but a soft-serve ice cream truck. Not really very good, and probably not worth mentioning, except for the name. Truly, this was our first introduction to Australia; after suffering through a 15+ hour flight to Sydney, and a 6+ tour (on foot!) of the city (thanks Michael!), this was a welcome treat! In Canada, we call this ‘soft-serve ice cream’.

Footy/Australian Rules Football/Aussie Rules/Rules: not exactly sure yet. It isn’t rugby, it isn’t soccer (aka football in the British sense), it isn’t football (in the North American sense). From an outsider’s standpoint, it seems to be pretty much a free-for-all where the only rule is if someone has the ball, attack them. Only strategy is if you are holding the ball, get rid of it before you get hurt.  That’s probably not an accurate description, but it will take a while to figure it out. Details to follow.

Rugby: not much more clear. There seems to be two kinds of rugby, Rugby League and Rugby Union. Some people must care about the difference, but then again some Americans also care about, and understand, the difference between National League and American League baseball. We are not those people. Canadians play hockey; there is one kind of hockey (oh wait… that’s “ice” hockey; there is field hockey, but that’s for girls).

Winter: south of the equator, winter occurs during the months of June, July, and August, when Australians think it is cold. Few Australians have been to Edmonton in December, January, and February (the northern winter), when Edmontonians think it is cold. During our first trip to Australia a few years ago, the locals thought Dan was crazy for wearing shorts in July. It was as warm there as it was in Edmonton (20 degrees Celsius).

Woolies: No, not some item of clothing made from the wool of those millions of sheep in the Riverina. It doesn’t get cold enough to need woolen wear. This is a short form of Woolworths. Department store, grocery store, and bottle shop.

Bottle shop: where you can buy Black Chook, Spot’s Run, but hopefully not YellowTail, which is actually more of an export commodity. Most bottle shops in Wagga, such as BWS (Beer Wine Spirits), stock mostly Australian wines (this is a good thing), Australian beers (ugh…this is going to be an issue), and Australian spirits (Bundy and coke, anyone?), but not a broad selection of imported ones.

One question - why do they have a polar bear on the label?

Dan will have to make the occasional run to Sydney for good scotch. All visitors are on notice – bring non-Australian anything!

BYO: designation for restaurants that let you bring your own booze. Unlike North America, they don’t charge an outrageous corkage fee. The Wagga Thai restaurant is byo, and no fee at all. What a concept! So while on the way to restaurant, you go to the bottle shop.

Bundy: Bundaberg rum.  Made in the town of Bundaberg. Can be bought in cans, premixed with coke, at the bottle shops. We will probably never try it.

Hairy panic: still trying to figure that one out. Watch this space…

Posted in bogans, ferals, hairy panic, language, utes, wagga, wine | 4 Comments

Binge and purge

Posted on April 20, 2011 by waggadventure

Moving half way around the world requires, or you might even say encourages, a bit of downsizing. Not everything we have will fit in the shipping container, small appliances won’t work because of voltage differences, some stuff we just don’t need or want. So we’ve been purging.

Kijiji is our friend. It is amazing what kind of crap you can get rid of!  Gone are the days of garage sales, of hauling things out to the lawn (or in Edmonton, to the back alley) for people to paw through, offer an outrageously low price, then drive on to the next pile of junk down the block, carrying your crock-pot.

At first we were apprehensive about Kijiji. Would it be worth it? Would we just end up with all our unwanted stuff still sitting in the house when the movers came? Would we make deals, then the person not show up? Would we end up selling items to serial killers or thieves who just wanted access to our house? But it has worked out really well. We’ve sold tons of stuff, from furniture to dvds to small appliances. And no sitting in the garage making idle chit-chat with bargain hunters.

The process is easy: post an ad on the free site, wait for someone to email you saying they want your item (sometimes making a lower offer, and being non-bargainers, we usually just say yes or no!), then make arrangements for them to come and pick it up. The transactions usually take seconds. Buyer comes to door, hands over cash, we hand over item. Goodbye.  The best ones don’t even cross the threshold, like Dave, the dude who bought most of our dvds, standing on the front porch, smoking. Most do make it as far as the entry way however, and a few come even farther in, often to shop.

Happy to get this behemoth out of the basement, but wish the purchaser would have brought his own helper to carry it.

There was the guy who bought our big and clunky television from the basement. He had to come in to carry it out, but then got toured through the house looking at other items. He also took a paper shredder.

Some people end up in the garage, buying our garden tools. Tools are something that will not pass Australian customs inspection, because of the dirt. But these people seem to be good shoppers: one woman who bought a bulk lot of rakes, shovels, etc., saw the bags of mulch and topsoil, as well as some birdseed, and offered to buy those too. Sold! A guy buying a deep-root waterer (for trees) also bought a shopvac.

Our favorite garage transaction, however, didn’t make extra money. Francois, a young gentleman in a white cable-knit cardigan (Mr Rogers, anyone?), was here to buy our lawn mower. It was a reel mower from Lee Valley, the kind without a motor. As the mower sat over the winter, with no grass in the blade for lubrication, it was a bit hard for Francois to push.

Mr. Rogers could kick ass in a cutting contest any day.

Dan assured him, with a swift push of the mower, which made the reel spin freely, that it worked fine.  Francois tried again… Dan re-demonstrated… Francois tried again… No luck. Again, Dan pushed, and it worked perfectly. Though a self-propelled model might have suited his stature a bit better, eventually Francois decided he would take it. He ended up offering a bit less than we were asking, but we happily accepted. Francois hefted the 24 pound (10 kilo) mower into his car next to his two little lap-dogs and drove away.

We hope Francois’ wife enjoys her new lawn mower.

Another great sale was our Beatles edition of Rockband for Wii. We got back what we had originally paid for it and it was going to be shipped to Winnipeg for a child’s 12th birthday.

Kijiji is a fun social experiment. It introduces you to a huge variety of people, and really lets you see how odd people can be in their expectations. While our transactions have been good, we’re sure that not everyone does as well. So far, only two or three people haven’t shown up to buy the item saved for them.  Others will keep in touch and reschedule across multiple days when a conflict arises, just to get a good deal. Some of the offers we have received have been totally silly. People want things for almost nothing and then they want you to deliver them! Like the woman who got 3 huge boxes of novels for $10, and then asked us to bring them to her. No way, lady! This price was based on us not expending any energy or burning any gas. She even emailed later to wonder why only 1 (not all 3) of the Stieg Larsson books was  included. Same for another woman buying dishes… You want our stuff cheap, you have to come get it.

Reading kijiji ads is hilarious. Yes, our Friday evenings have devolved to this level… schadenfreude fueled by too much wine (see last paragraph of this post). There are a lot of people who want things for nothing, or want them at outrageously low prices. Everyone, it seems, wants an iPad and somehow thinks that someone will sell them one, still sealed in the box, for 1/2 price. Or that someone will give them as-new furniture, and deliver it, just because they say they are getting out of an abusive relationship and need furniture.  Do these ads really work? We don’t know. There’s a research study in there, somewhere…

Then there are the semi-literates who write ads so poorly you don’t really know what they have or want. There are several simply saying “I want a torch”.  First thought is that they are Aussies and want what North Americans call a flashlight. Or maybe there is a group of people organizing a Survivor home-game and need to bring their own tiki-torches to snuff.

Click on picture for an example of an early motion picture talkie. Well, not really that early, as when Frankenstein came out in 1931 sound had been around for a few years in the USA. But it was still very new in Australia, the first talkie premiering in 1930.

Or maybe, like most of us, they are fed up with Edmonton’s snowbanks and potholes and are going to storm city hall, demanding change (a la Frankenstein). But, eventually, we realized that what they really want is a Blackberry Torch. Dan thinks this is proof of the stupidity of kijiji users, because iPhones are superior. Lisa knows this is proof of Dan’s stupidity.

Many other posters can’t figure out the difference between a sell ad and a want ad. Pretty simple, really. You have something to sell, you put in the sell section. You want something, you put in the want section. Most of the mis-posts are stupid, though this one was creative: “WANT $200 FOR THE IPOD TOUCH. IF YOUR NOT WILLING TO PAY 200 PLEASE DO NOT CALL ITS 350 BRAND NEW AND IS STILL IN GOOD CONDITION……IF INTERESTED PLEASE CONTACT ME BACK AT THE FOLLOWING NUMBER…..” Technically, I guess it was in the right section – he didn’t say he was selling it, he wanted money and would give an ipod for it. No different than saying he wanted an ipod and would give money for it. How confusing!

Our favorite ad has since disappeared off the system, so we can’t repost here; but, it went something like this: “i need clothes and stuff for a yung girl i took in becuz her mom cant take care of her and she duznt have anything becuz their basement was full of poo and it all got ruined so i’ll take whatever you can give me”.  Yes, that’s a direct quote – “poo” in the basement. The phrasing of the full post is close, though it is impossible for either of us to replicate it more accurately because we just spell too well. This post doesn’t have enough graphics, and as appealing as it might be to put one in here…well, just be glad we couldn’t find one.

Our car, which could be your car, looks just like this one. Except this one is clean. Our car (aka your car) can also be clean.

So, the purging is almost done.  Some things we got rid of in other ways, such as selling books to used book stores. Friends have been nice enough to take/buy things like plants (thanks A&G for giving ‘Dan the jade plant’ a good home!), some small appliances, whisky, wine, bicycles, futon…  We still need to figure out what to do with our car; how do we get a good price but keep it to the last possible day that we need it? Anyone want to buy a 2006 Toyota Matrix? Good condition and all that… Price will be reasonable (we don’t like to bargain); delivery date June 9.

As for the binging aspect of this post, it is illegal to sell alcohol privately, so all the wine in the cellar must be consumed rather than sold. Some of it has been passed on to friends, but every dinner at home lately has included wine.  And we take it with us wherever we go. Host a going away party for us and we bring our own drinks (any takers?). And maybe even beef, because we bought a 1/4 cow (dead, butchered, wrapped and frozen) last fall, but haven’t been home enough to eat much of it. And Dan still has a lot of obscure scotch to drink before we leave. So there is a bit more indulging going on recently, but we will detox when we get to Australia. Yeah, right…how many billions of bottles of wine do they produce each year? And Dan already has a lead on some Tasmanian whisky.

Posted in decluttering, Moving, wine | 4 Comments

Realty check

Posted on April 16, 2011 by waggadventure

With this move, we’re leaving our first house. When we decided to buy (after 15 years of renting, first in London, then in Edmonton), we quickly realized that we wanted to buy a new build. We looked around a few new neighbourhoods in Edmonton, decided what was both affordable and livable, and looked at what models were being built. We walked through some cheesily-furnished showhomes that didn’t at all resemble what we would really live in, figured out which one suited us best in terms of number of bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen layout, etc., and made our decision.  Then the fun began; picking paint colours, style of cabinets, colour of hardwood, etc. Buying a new house is kind of like going into Bootlegger for jeans; you’re really just figuring out where you want your ass to be for the next few years. You look at the price tag, decide it isn’t outrageous (as a house/jeans comparison, we were happy in the Mavi range, rather than True Religion), pull out your credit card and it’s yours. Simple transaction, not a lot of thought: ass feels best in this one, I’ll take it!

The sign offering our home for sale. Note there is no price tag.

Now we’re selling our house. And the real estate game with a previously owned (pre-loved) house is a whole lot different. Probably a lot different than buying used jeans too.

Several weeks ago, when we decided to move, we called the agent who seems to sell most of Terwillegar Towne. There was a house down the block on the market forever (multiple agents, Comfree) and then Lee Bourgeois listed it and it sold in a few weeks. So we figured he must know his stuff. He came for a chat, gave us some info, a tentative listing price, and said to call him when we were ready to go on the market. He looked and talked just like Lisa’s big brother Brent; we were sold!

The day after we got the visas, we called Lee again. He came over, we revisited the price (market hasn’t picked up, so we wouldn’t be getting what we hoped, but still a healthy profit), and signed a contract. After having our cleaning lady come in, we went live on Lee’s website around 4 pm on Friday afternoon.  Within 24 hours, we had two interested parties through the house, and a third within another 24 hours.

Would you buy a house from this cat?

This is the weird part. You basically leave your house and let some stranger sell it to some other stranger. No other retail transaction we can think of works that way. Shouldn’t we be there to answer questions? Show them around? Make tea? The cats sure can’t do it (though we do rely on them to secure a high offer by looking cute and not cleaning their butts during the viewings).

But no, it is a total stranger selling our house and acting as an intermediary. Sure, we could have gone with Comfree or some other DIY sales method, but then we’d have to sell it ourselves, and we don’t want the hassle. But some input might be nice. Of course, if you’ve ever seen the show “Moving Up” you probably know why owners are not allowed anywhere near buyers — too attached to that floor tile choice, etc. Sigh; not everyone has our exceptional taste and sense of colour.

By Sunday dinner time, two of the three parties had been through for a second viewing, and the third party was on notice that things were heating up. Lee called to say we had an offer and wanted to discuss it.  This, we realized, corresponded with one of the viewer’s agents leaving a business card on our kitchen counter – what we now know is a sign that an offer will be forthcoming. That agent was Asian, and we learned that her clients were also Asian.  Another party was of South Asian descent, as was their agent. We started to wonder if our WASP-y design elements (yes, we have a china cabinet with Royal Doulton/Royal Alberta wares) would deter or attract potential buyers. What about our the beautifully landscaped backyard – perfect for BBQs and entertaining (during the few weeks when there’s no snow on the ground), but would it be viewed as non-kid-friendly? We’ve now had people from all walks of life through our home, so it’s interesting to see that our place seems to suit people from all different backgrounds. Probably the same at Bootlegger; no one asks where you’ll wear those jeans or what you plan to do in them… Probably for the best.

Our first offer was a “low-ball” (in Lee’s words), so we countered. This went back and forth for some time. We hate bargaining; give me a reasonable price and it’s yours. Who has time for this bargaining thing? Why do people do this? We’re used to looking at a sticker price (grumbling, in our quiet, WASP-y way) and paying – or not.  We don’t take the $98 jeans to the counter and offer, $90, hoping they will counter with $94.  On our recent trip to South America, we were expected to banter over the price with local crafts-people; but it wasn’t easy, given that we make a lot more money than they do (“Gee, $1.50 Cdn seems too much for that beautiful hand-carved cheeseboard; can I give you $1 instead?”).

Anyway, that first round of bargaining didn’t pan out, so we were back to waiting for Dan’s iphone to ‘ding’ with a text from Lee that someone has made an offer (yes, Lee even got his own, personal  iphone ring). The most common ‘ding’ is that we have to abandon ship because someone is coming for a viewing. The house has been shown a couple more times, and as of this post going live, we’re now in the ‘pending’ stage of another offer. That means that there are a few conditions on the offer that have to be resolved. Nothing serious that should prevent the sale.  The buyers want a home inspection. No problem – there’s nothing wrong with our house. And they are also in ‘pending’ state on their current home, so as long as that doesn’t fall through, it is pretty much a done deal. The offer was reasonable, and we accepted ‘as is’, with no back-and-forth negotiating. Of course, we’ve still got active viewings happening (ours is clearly a “hot property”), in case things fall through. Now we’re just keeping our fingers crossed!

And while we aren’t second guessing ourselves, at some level you can’t help but wonder could we have gotten more. What if we bargained better? Could we have negotiated another $1000 or more?  Who knows? Who cares? We are happy with what we will get, and happy with the proposed possession date.   Did we list too low? What if we jacked the asking price up $10,000, knowing we would get 1/2 of it? Maybe we would have gotten a bit more. Or maybe we’d be flying off to Australia still paying a mortgage on an empty house. Now that would be scary… In the end, a key lesson learned — price right and move on! Do Waggan’s bargain? Time will tell…

But even after all this, the really weird part of the selling process is that we also need a “Real Property Report”. We pay (a predetermined rate – no negotiation) a surveyor to come and survey the property, charting out the house, the garage, etc. Then we have to pay the City of Edmonton for a Certificate of Compliance, verify that there are no ‘encumbrances’: they ensure that the house is properly situated on your property,  not the neighbours’ property, not city land.  One would assume that the builder followed the plans correctly, so all should be fine. Unless, when we go to work each day the cats (like the POWs on Hogan’s Heroes) are down in the basement, surreptitiously digging. Maybe they moved the house, foundation and all, a few feet to the north and we haven’t noticed.  But if they are that good, they could probably hack into the city’s computers and alter the plans. Hmm… what do they do around the house all day? Time to install CCTV (yes, they have this in Australia).

Posted in cats, cultural differences, Moving, real estate | Leave a comment

W7 – Who, What, Where, When, Why, Wagga, Wagga

Posted on April 13, 2011 by waggadventure

We realize that everyone might not know what is really going on, so decided to we should put some things into context for those on the periphery. Rule #1 of journalistic storytelling is the 5 w’s: who, what, where, when, and why. Hence, the CTV news magazine program. To avoid copyright violation, we’re adding a couple extra w’s: wagga, wagga.

W1. If you are reading this, you probably know who we are. If you just stumbled onto the blog and you don’t know at least one of us (and we don’t know you!), disregard that invitation to come visit us. And those of you who know one or both of the humans involved, but not the felines, have now been introduced to them in the last entry.

W2. What? Moving to Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia.

W3. Where? See W2. And W6. And W7. Or maybe it is W6&7.

W4: When? Now. But it will take a few months to sell house, etc.

W5: Why not? Everyone we know, even strangers we meet, seems to want to move to Australia. And after more than 10 years in her job at the University of Alberta, Lisa started to think it was time for a major career move. Charles Sturt University advertised a Professorship in Information Studies. Working on the British academic model, a professor in Australia is more prestigious, and more senior, than a professor in Canada. More on this on wikipedia if anyone cares. So it was a step up; she applied for the job, got it. So, that in a nutshell is why. There are other, more intricate details that some of you already know, and which may or may not surface at some point in more detailed ‘Why’ story, but for now, ‘nough said.

W6: Wagga. See W7.

W7: Wagga. See W6.

W6&7: Wagga Wagga is the largest inland city in New South Wales, Australia. Aussies just call it Wagga. It’s a Wiradjuri (W8?) term meaning “Land of many crows”. Not sure why…didn’t see any crows but the kookaburras were really loud. Think ibises are pests? Try sleeping near the Murrumbidgee River where all the kookaburras are nesting.

We were in Wagga in 2010 for a few days for Lisa’s interview and to get to know the city. It’s got a real 1950’s small town feel: it actually has a downtown core, but no shopping malls! It is going to be a bit of a culture shock, but neither of us grew up in a big city so we should be able to handle it.

The Lawson. We stayed for most of a week when in Wagga for interview and will probably be there again in July for a week or so. Good accommodations; super-friendly staff.

First impressions when we were there were mixed, partly because it was flooded; but after the jetlag subsided our perspective on the town got better and better. It was weird though, being in a small city with a really (really!) slow pace of life. On our visit, we stayed at the Lawson Inn, on the edge of the CBD, or central business district (Aus-speak for downtown). It is a motel, in Canadian terms. There are no big hotels. No highrises. No big buildings. Strange; but similar to Owen Sound, Ontario (where Lisa grew up). Hmm, talk about life coming full circle.

One of the amazing breakfast stacks at Cache

We discovered a great place for breakfast called Cache. It was a few blocks away, maybe 1 km, just far enough to drive rather than walk. Every day we went, we ended up having to sit in the car reading the local paper waiting for it to open because there is no traffic. In Edmonton at 845 am, that would take at least 10 minutes. Wagga, you could count it in seconds. We were early for everything.

The town eventually did start to grow on us. There were some good restaurants (Cache, for example, Three Chefs, an OK Indian place, and a good Thai place. The last two both being byo! a whole new concept we will gladly get used to). We visited an olive grove where owners Bruce and Joo-Yee grow a variety of olives, make really good oils and cure fabulous manzanillo olives in ginger, citrus and other interesting flavours. There’s a winery at Charles Sturt where faculty and staff get a 25% discount (that kicks UofA’s ass right there…furlough days or discount chardonnay, which would you prefer?). About a 30 minute drive away, in Junee, is a really great organic licorice factory. And Narrandera, about an hour away, has a koala reserve. What more could you ask for? Well, maybe a real butcher shop? Aha – Wagga’s got it!!

Everyone we met was genuinely friendly. Typical interaction in winery, petrol station, everywhere:

  • Where are you from? Canada.
  • Oh, it’s cold there. Why are you here, no one comes to Wagga? Job interview at Uni (don’t waste effort calling it Charles Sturt University, Sturt, or even University…Australian language reflects their attitudes and culture, beautifully!)
  • Hope you get it mate, if you do look me up and we can have dinner/pint/etc…

And they mean it!

There are a few things we will have to get used to, due to the slower pace. Many stores aren’t open on Sunday. They even close early on Saturday. Restaurants are typically closed Sunday, Monday, and maybe Tuesday (how dare they close! maybe we need to teach them about old-fashioned Alberta entrepreneurism). No basements and large lots (what? Don’t the developers understand how to maximize square footage?). But, really, it seems like a pretty livable town where we can enjoy a really great quality of life.

We just have to beware of bogans in utes, ferals, and hairy panic. More on these terms/concepts in future entries.

Posted in CSU, food, Moving, Owen Sound, small town culture, Uncategorized, wagga, wine | 3 Comments

Herding cats: makes AA’s twelve step program seem easy

Posted on April 8, 2011 by waggadventure

Not that either of us has ever tried to quit drinking, nor will we in the near future (see the bullet point in the last entry about the quantity of wine made in Australia); but everyone knows that Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) involves some sort of a 12 step process.

Ibises in Sydney's botanical gardens

Ibises in Sydney's botanical gardens

Well, getting cats into Australia is double that.  That they have all the regulations they do makes sense, as it is an island with a remote ecosystem, and they don’t want any interloping disease taking over. Cats aren’t indigenous to Australia; like the cute and fuzzy but extremely hated hare, they were brought in by Europeans*.  I guess the Australians should be happy it wasn’t small-pox infested blankets.  As a side note, ibises (see wikipedia for appropriate pluralization), which are extremely common in Sydney’s Hyde Park and botanical gardens, are also not indigenous. Australians seem to hate them, though we found them quite lovely.  Of course, we said that about magpies on moving to Edmonton, and Albertans loathe them.  But it isn’t the cat itself that the Australians don’t want coming from Canada – it is rabies.

Ellie, the gnarly but adorable 7-year-old queen of the household. Also lovingly known as Bitch.

So, there are tons of hoops we have to jump through to get Lester, Malachi, and Ellie into Australia. Microchips, tests, applications, special carriers, quarantine… Lisa is the queen of organization and is making sure all the steps get followed to a tee. Dan, on the other hand, is just bewildered by it all. His opinion is that in light of the mouse infestation in the Riverina (which fell hot on the heels of hairy panic), they should just be put on the list of desirable trades and given their own work visas.

Lester and Malachi, 4 years old, brothers, and maybe the cause of Ellie's gnarliness. Lester is the deceptively cute grey and white troublemaker. Malachi is the one that looks like he should be living on a Namibian savannah, where he could take down a springbok.

But despite our best efforts, things can and do go awry at some steps.  Take the identification process, for example. Each cat must have a certain type of microchip that is readable internationally. Ellie had a chip, but Lester and Malachi were only tattooed.  On checking, Ellie’s chip wasn’t the right kind. So one cold January day, even though we didn’t yet have our visas, we got started on the process, knowing that the less time they spend in quarantine, the better.  Off to the vet to be chipped! Have you ever seen a cat get microchipped? Kind of like a tracheotomy on the back of the neck, the skin making a popping sound as the huge syringe breaks through; one of the vet techs really really hates doing it, and when they mistakenly gave Ellie the wrong kind of chip, she actually broke down and cried when she realized they had to do it again.  The sad thing was, they gave all 3 cats the wrong chip (only readable in Canada). So, now Ellie has 3 chips – her original, the mistake, and the correct one; the boys each have 2 chips – the mistake and the correct one.  The funny thing is that depending on where they start to scan the cats, the machine might read the wrong chip. So we had to note that on the forms, just in case. If the chips aren’t read correctly, the end result is a full six months of quarantine! Yipes!

Same trip to the vet they took blood for a RNATT rabies test (which needs to be sent to Kansas State University – the only place in North America that can do the test).  Anyone who knows Lester would say he is the sweetest, most docile cat on the planet. But stick a needle in him and he goes wacko!  It took 3 vet techs plus the two of us to get his blood.  I think there might have been some human blood involved too, not sent to the lab for a test, but spilled during the procedure.  This isn’t the first time Lester went berserk at the vet either: once when he was there for an ultrasound, they actually aborted the procedure and called us to come get him.  Nice kitty, just don’t mess with him.

Ellie, of course, was her normal subdued self and let them do their thing. Malachi: no problem either, until a couple of days later. Malachi is a sleek, panther-like creature, with short, glossy, black hair that he likes to keep clean. Really clean. He bathes a lot. A bit of kitty OCD maybe? The spot on his throat where they shaved to draw blood bothered him, and he ended up licking it raw. So he became a cone-head for a while. It was kind of pathetic, watching him try to back out of it, run into things, struggle to eat and drink, etc. But, at the same time, also pretty hilarious and entertaining.

Poor kitty!

That lasted for a couple of days, the cone stayed on for about two weeks, and he was eventually back to normal.

Anyway, the tests eventually came back (“negative”), then we took the forms to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to have the cats certified as exportable (there are a lot of very inappropriate jokes that could be inserted here…but it is good to know that eating cats in Australia is considered “abhorrent“!).  Then a whole bunch more money was spent on the import applications.  Eventually those will be approved (we hope!), and we’ll be about half way through the process (i.e., right now we’re on step 8 of 24). We ordered the special carriers online, so will next need to work out the logistics of getting the kitties on a plane and to the quarantine facility in Sydney.  That will be another entry as things get finalized.

And as an update to the previous post: someone on Facebook pointed out that it didn’t say why we are going to Australia. It is actually in the About section of the blog, but for those who don’t bother with the fine print, Lisa has accepted the Professor of Information Studies position at Charles Sturt University.

* Any historical inaccuracies are because of sheer ignorance and lack of real knowledge of history. How cats even ended up in Canada is a mystery.  Michael Olsson will no doubt provide corrections about all things Australian in the Comments! Thanks Michael!

Posted in cats, hairy panic, quarantine | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

And we’re off! Well, not yet, but it’s about to happen.

Posted on April 5, 2011 by waggadventure

So, this is it: the start of the Dan and Lisa Given blog on moving to Australia.  We’re going to Wagga Wagga, a town of 63500 people and about 1/2 billion sheep in the Riverina district of New South Wales.  It is going to be an adventure, hence the blog title “waggadventure”.

It’s  been a few months in the planning, a long arduous task of getting ourselves and 3 cats pretty much as far away from Edmonton as physically possible without going to the Antarctic.  Australian immigration approved our “Business (Long Stay) (Subclass 457) visas” on March 31, 2011, so though we have been planning it for a while, the move planning now officially kicks into overdrive. There is no turning back.

Over the next few months, post-move, the blog will focus on how it all transpired, the process of arranging the move, preparing the cats, selling the house, de-cluttering (thanks kijiji!), and even the little wrinkle of a 3-week vacation/work trip in the UK that will take place just before the final move ‘down under’.

After arrival in Wagga, we’ll be blogging about life in Australia, the perils of driving on the left (what’s a ute?), and the joys of a climate where there isn’t a long cold and snowy winter for 5 months of the year (or the more dangerous peril of a non-existent ozone layer and how we will be buying sun-screen by the barrel).   Questions we will try to answer, as much for ourselves as the readers, will include:

  • How do you cook kangaroo? Or ostrich?  Crocodile mince?
  • What’s it like living in a town with 5 wineries, in a region with a whole lot more, in a country where more than 2000 producers bottle more than 1 billion bottles annually?
  • Can I grow bananas in my back yard?
  • Are there really that many poisonous spiders and dangerous snakes in Australia?
  • What’s hairy panic?

So, as we prepare for an early-July emigration from Canada (will there still be snow in Edmonton? Will Wagga, in the heart of winter, have more welcoming weather than Edmonton at that time of year?), we will enjoy the last couple of months with friends here, many of whom are planning dinners and parties.  Then, immediately following our last Canada Day, we’re off on the adventure of a lifetime.

And, as every entry to this blog will probably end with: we welcome people to come visit us! Really. Please do. Everyone says they always want to go to Australia, now you have a reason. And a ‘base-camp’ to relax for a few days, leave some luggage, do some laundry, see some sheep. So come. It’s a great country. And having visitors will give us a reason to explore the diverse vastness of it, and we would appreciate having a reason to plan various excursion in areas as diverse as the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale wine regions of the south, the centrally-located hot and dry outback, and the even hotter but wetter Northern Territories.  And Sydney is a great city to spend a few days in.  So, again: come.

Posted in hairy panic, Moving, Visa | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments