who's blacker, snoop or charles barkley?

that is seriously what the topic is on the George Lopez show.... never saw this show before but i was compelled to watch this one.

Snoop's pissed because Barkley is 75% sub-saharan african and Snoop is 71% sub-saharan african. they actually seemed stoked to get their DNA done... i don't know if I think it's awesome or ridiculous.

BTW, George Lopez's monologue was a whole lot of not funny. i wasn't impressed, although I did like him giving Snoop a Josh Grobin CD because "that's what white people like".

Re: the Australia stuff, I have had a pretty productive few days! I got all of our documents scanned and sent in for the visa paperwork, and today I had to drive down to Tucson to get my passport expedited. $150 and 8 hours later, I now have an updated passport! I had never gotten around to changing my last name on my passport...didn't figure we were going out of the country any time soon.... but obviously that got bumped up on the priority list.

I also bought health insurance for myself today, because they need proof of me being covered to submit for the visa. So without fully understanding their system, I am now a proud owner of some random Australia health insurance plan.

What else? I posted my Prelude on Craigslist and have heard from several folks so far... I have a few people coming over on Saturday to take a look at it. So hopefully we'll be down one car and have some cash in our pockets soon. :-)

ok it's getting late... peace!

lots o' stuff to figure out

today was filled with figuring crap out; really basic stuff like: what visas am I eligible for? how do I get my passport renewal expedited? How does Australia's health insurance system work?

So, yeah. I don't have it all figured out yet, but I'm working on it. Re: the visa, I am getting sponsored on a 457 visa, which is the main employer-sponsored visa. Brian will be my dependent on this visa and it allows him to be able to work wherever he wants, so long as I don't get laid off. If I happen to get laid off, then I have like 3-4 weeks to find another company to sponsor me, or else we get deported. But assuming that doesn't happen, I believe our visa is valid for 4 years and then can be renewed with some B.S. involved. All in all the 457 is a good visa; there are also some great tax benefits to account for the fact that we also will (potentially) owe taxes in our home country as well. It's a good thing there are so many tax loopholes in the US to help us out with that. :-)

So there is a bunch of stuff I am in the process of gathering for the 457 visa: marriage certificate, birth certificates, proof of work history, blah blah. Most of it is easy, but the main thing I'm working on now is my passport renewal. When we got married I changed my social security card, driver's license and checking account, but figured we wouldn't be traveling for a while and didn't get around to doing the passport. Now it's REALLY URGENT. So I figured out a little way that may help expedite things: I was told to have my future employer send a letter stating that I need to change my passport ASAP, and for an additional fee I can make an appointment at the closest state department office, which is in TUCSON. blahhhhhhh. Whatever, anyway so I am hoping this will work. I might be taking a trip tomorrow, we'll see.

So the thing about the 457 is it takes a while to get pushed through, so my company was hoping to get me another visa to be a temporary one until the 457 gets approved... but it appears that the only option is one for 18-30 year olds, and since i'll be 32 in less than a month (yes, I'm old...suck it!) I'm not sure yet when I'm going... but we are still shooting for the 2nd week in March.

The last piece is the health insurance, and it has been a doozy so far. Brian and I aren't eligible for their public health system since we're considered long-term visitors, so we are responsible for paying for private insurance. This is required for the visa, which is cool with me, except for the fact that their system is soooo much different from here.... I'm sure I'll get it eventually, but for now I am trying to figure it all out at lightning speed so I can purchase it for the visa. Questions I'm running into are: do I want to pay extra to go to a private hospital if we have an emergency, or is the public hospital good enough? How does the prescription plan work? It sounds like the insurance carriers cover up to an amount on a list...but where's the list? Whose list is it? What do they consider "pre-existing conditions" (brings me shudders from all of the healthcare debates here in the US)?

Anyway, my head is kinda spinning, but I'm sure I'll get it all sorted out.

On a much more important note, I am trying to figure out how much money I am allocating toward my new handbag fund (they are very fashiony in Melbourne, and clothes and stuff are super expensive in Australia, so I am going on a shopping spreeeeeeeeeee). I have unfortunately fallen in love with quite a few beautiful bags and am having a hard time narrowing them down.

Oh woe is me, my life is so hard! Haha feel free to put me in my place.

Ok the Olympics are over for the night, so peace!

happy V day!!

Brian and I have a new obsession: HDTV and the DIY channels (we especially love House Hunters International). The only reason we can come up with is because we're moving eventually (well me soon, him eventually) and get to organize a new place.... not demo it and renovate but you know, decorate and stuff. But we also just like it because there are some dumb-ass people on these shows and we like to make fun of them: "I can totally renovate my kitchen in four days. By myself. Without having any construction experience. Or having any real plan." Let's see how that works out for you, Bro. hahahaha

Anyway. I took the GMAT last week. I didn't do awesome, but I didn't blow it either. I did well enough to get into Thunderbird, which was the main objective. So yay. Now I need to get motivated to write my essays before the 28th.... we'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I have been working with my recruiter to solidify my employment contract. He came to me on Thursday with a HOT MESS of a contract... probably wasn't his fault, but still... all the crap we talked about wasn't in there. So technically I guess I still am not 100% going to Melbourne....but I am hopeful that Dale and the HR peeps will get their shiz together and get me a contract that I can sign. Everyone keeps asking when I'm going, and the answer is....not sure yet. I am shooting to start work either the 15th or 22nd of March, which means I'll leave like 5 days before that.... but those dates will get pushed back if the contract takes forever.

In the meantime, we are trying to sort stuff into piles: what is getting sold/donated, what is going into storage, what is getting shipped to Melb when Brian leaves, what is going to go in our luggage. It has been kind of a pain in the ass but we are plugging away.

On a side note, I finished some quilts for my bff Kasey! (actually, they're for her kids Sarp and Demet.) I am sending them to her this week... not sure if you tell from these pics, but Sarp's has planets and Demet's has ladybugs. :-) She doesn't know they are getting them, so I hope they like them!



What else? Dave and Linderella (aka my 'rents) are coming to Phoenix on February 25th through March 2nd. We are planning on heading up to Prescott one last time for a while (for me, anyway), and then my mom said she'd help me sort stuff.... the 'rents just wanted to see us one more time before we head off to the eastern hemisphere! They are excited for us....I think my mom has even come around to the whole thing. Since we are on a 3-4 year plan, I think it's less scary to her that we'll be gone forever.

On a last note, my man made me an awesome dinner for V-day....we had broccoli soup for an appetizer, then grass-fed NY strip steak with scallops, asparagus and fennel polenta, and poached pears with vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate sauce for dessert. FANTASTIC. Also, we drank some wine from Portugal and drank some port from Temecula for dessert. All in all it was such a great dinner. It puts my gift of a card with jelly bellys and gummy bears to shame. :-)

The Menagerie

Well Brian and I ran into a little quagmire last week when we started researching companies that move pets internationally. We knew that pets had to be quarantined for 30 days in Australia, and had decided that in the long run, it would be fine for the pets and would make us happy to have them with us.
But after talking with some specialists, we found out that not only do the pets have to be in quarantine for 30 days in Australia, they have to be held in their own country for 150 days on top of that! Basically the deal is that Australia doesn't have rabies...never has...and they have a really strict policy on bringing animals into the country. They used to require everyone to put their pets in a 180 day quarantine (their quarantine is like a boarding facility, so it's not a horrible experience...but having your pets in a boarding place for 6 months is just sad). Now they allow for the first five months to be served in the home country and the last month still needs to be served in the facility in Aus.

And the 150 day ticker doesn't start until the have tested negative for rabies, which is usually administered 4 weeks after they have been vaccinated against rabies....

What all of this means is that Brian and I had a lot of figuring out to do... do we get rid of the pets? Do we find someplace for them to go for 5 months? But ultimately what we decided to do is keep the pets here in AZ with Brian until the 150 days are up. That means that I will be going to Melbourne around mid-March, but Brian won't be coming until mid-August most likely. He will plan on coming out for a week or so halfway in between.

I am going to miss him!! I am really bummed that we're going to be separated for that long, but we both think that this is the best solution to the problem overall. It also is a better financial decision because I will be staying with our friend Dawn for a few months, which will give me time to research neighborhoods and save money....no point in moving into a big place for the whole fam until everyone gets down here. :-)

So... that's the latest.

Also, on a side note, I am taking the GMAT tomorrow. You would think I would be excited/anxious/something since I have been preparing for it for so long, but I am pretty 'blah' about it. I am trying to get some good studying in today and then a good night's sleep....and then hopefully I'll do ok! I have been slacking a bit in the studying department, but I hope that won't affect my score too much.

PS Glad the Saints won last night....but I do sorta feel bad for Peyton... he looked so depressed. How am I going to live without football?? The good news is my recruiter is a big american football fan and he said he'd help me figure out how to get the games when the season starts next year, so yay for us. :-)

It's Official!

Brian came home last night and we made our official decision--Australia, here we come! I was calling Dale the recruiter while Brian was updating his facebook status with "HOLY BALLS, WE'RE MOVING TO AUSTRALIA!". hahahaha

Now I am getting a zillion questions about the situation from friends and family....which makes sense considering we just told everyone that we plan to stay in Arizona and for me to get my MBA. Things do change quickly I guess!

Anyway, I'm feeling less stressy today and much more excited. So much so that concentrating on studying for the GMAT has been nearly impossible. I take it next Tuesday, 2/9, and I am totally slacking in the studying department.

We're still not sure when we're going... we're thinking the 2nd or 3rd week in March. And actually that's when I'll go--Brian will most likely stick around here a few weeks longer and tie up loose ends. And yes, we are taking the menagerie, also known as Marley, Odin, Sambuca and Olive. It's pricey to bring them, and they have to stay in quarantine for 30 days, but we have decided overall that it's best for everyone. I truly can't imagine living without them and I read that most people are very happy they made the decision to bring them, despite being nervous like we are.

I think they treat the animals well in quarantine, and luckily we are allowed to go see them and play with them, so Brian will go often so they don't feel abandoned and I'll pop over when I can.

I'm going to stay with my friend Dawn for two weeks or so, and I will hopefully find a place to live before Brian gets out there... We are looking for a large 2 or 3 bedroom place with a backyard for the clowns, and close to a train station so I can commute to work and Brian can have the car. We only want to have one car...that's all we should need really. BTW, the 2 or 3 bedroom factor is specifically for guests, SO START SAVING BITCHES!!! hehe.

What else? Brian is currently looking into online options for going to school--we were thinking about enrolling him in the University of Melbourne or something but my visa status still considers us "long-term visitors" so we would have to pay tuition out the ass. But we will technically still be residents of AZ, so he's thinking of going to ASU Online or something like that, and then working part time. But that might not happen until he's around for a month or so and we are settled in the new place.

Just talked to our 'rents, and it sounds like they will come out to AZ before we leave. It will be good to see them and maybe we'll put them to work. :-) We would also like to head out to San Diego, so I'll keep you posted on timing for that guys.

Ok going to get some In N Out. What? They don't have it in Australia. I need to stock up. :-)

Crikey! Are we moving to Aus?

hahaha... i don't even think Australians say 'crikey'.

Anyway, I just got off the phone with my recruiter, and Brian and I have a big decision to make tonight. I got an offer from MediaCom in Melbourne...they are an international media buying agency with offices all over the place, including Australia, Europe and a handful in the U.S. They would like to bring me on board as their Interactive Direct Marketing Manager (or something along those lines).... I'm under the impression that the U.S. is quite a bit more advanced in the ecommerce/performance-based advertising area, and it sounds like my background could really be useful for this office. It sounds like they're excited to have me!

It's all just so crazy.... many of you know that since I got laid off from MEA around Christmas of 08, I have been trying to get a job in Australia (actually before I got laid off, shhhhh... :-) ) Anyway, after several trips down under and tons of interviews, meetings, calls, emails, etc. I basically gave up because people were just unable to get me a visa. They all said I was great, but when push came to shove, they were unable to get authorization from the government to get me a visa.

After a lot of thought (and after the buzz of our wedding and honeymoon died down), Brian and I decided that I would apply to Thunderbird to start Fall of 2010. Going to business school at Thunderbird (which is right here in Glendale and has an MBA program focused on global management) has always been a dream of mine, so we decided to trade the Australia dream in for the Thunderbird dream.

I enrolled in a very expensive, but very necessary GMAT prep course with Princeton Review, and have been studying my butt off. I am scheduled to take the GMAT next Tuesday, February 9th! I also have been working on my essays, gathering recommendations, etc. Additionally, I met with the Thunderbird folks last week and the adviser said that as long as I did ok on the GMAT, I could/would get accepted to Thunderbird. I would be enrolled full time and it's almost a 2 year program.

But then a wrench got thrown into the b-school plans.... I got a call out of the blue from a recruiter in Melbourne looking to fill this position! It was such a mindf*ck. I was completely thrown by the whole thing... they don't seem to be concerned at all about the visa... and we had done most of our research in Sydney, so I really don't know as much about Melbourne.... but luckily my friend Dawn is there.... and then there are the pets... and the moving costs... and I am still enrolled in the GMAT, so I really should be studying..... Anyway, it's all a little much. But then again, I realize that I really shouldn't be feeling stressed, I should be STOKED.

So I am stoked. I'm also stressed.

There is so much to figure out... but Brian and I dont have to figure it all out tonight I suppose. So..... yeah! We'll see.