Time for an update

I make it 7 months since the last post. Were this blog to be read by anyone, that's probably enough time to have lost everyone's interest.

Things have certainly changed since I last updated, I'm in a different place...no, literally I am in a different place, my home away from home I like to call it. After all my wishful thinking I achieved my aims for my 30th birthday and that was to be back in Australia. And whilst celebrations were low key, they were just the way I wanted them, sure if my extended family could have joined me that would have been wonderful, but that's still a work in progress.

So, we're here. Back in our house that we'd bought back in 2005 and been renting out. What now? It's an odd sensation. When we left to go back to the UK, it was just the three of us and N was only 1, so the house felt plenty big enough. Now, with N turning 4 and M 2 the house is starting to feel very cramped, although we have had visitors, so our bedroom was turned in to the guest bedroom and we now occupy a bedroom at the back of the house. Perhaps we have too much stuff. What is worrying is that we have a storage unit filled to bursting in the UK that needs to come over, where everything will go I have no idea. Although the quicker it gets here the better, whilst my bikes are securely stored at my dads, they won't be coming over until the whole container gets sent and I miss my bikes :-(

I am very grateful though as our friends leant me their bike, which was actually very useful in the first few months. I went back to doing courier work, which bought some money in but not a lot and as I was only a casual I had to return the hire van back each friday meaning a lovely hour long ride home each weekend. Shouldn't complain though, since giving it up I've hardly touched the bike.

Two months ago, Dad arrived for a holiday here, was great to have him here. It's been a horrible year for him and I hope he was able to relax here and enjoy it. We all wish he could have stayed longer, but his knees are terrible at the moment. We were hoping for his first knee replacement to take place in November, however it now looks like it'll be January. So he'll need the other one doing middle of next year and hopefully he can be back out for Christmas 2011. Of course, trying to convince my sister and her husband to live over here is proving quite difficult. I can understand people don't like change, but from what I hear and read about life in the UK, I'd be heading here or at least out of the UK as soon as possible.

I gave up the courier role, although they had offered me a permanent job rather than as a sub-contractor. But since turning 30, I've been feeling quite pathetic that 9 years after obtaining a pretty average Business and Management degree I haven't established a career. I certainly want to, and I want to be able to support our family more. So I'm being more picky about the jobs I apply for, after 5 odd years working for charities I realise that it's not my game and that i want a more professional environment.

An opportunity could be coming though in running a franchise, it's something I've considered in the past, but the opportunities haven't been there. It would be a big risk, but I figure any job has risks and stresses, at least this would be in an industry I'm interested in and therefore, even if the profits are small, as long as it covers my lowly wages at the moment, then we'll be right. But there is lots of research to be doing before then.

Well, I will leave you with that pretty vague update. Now that I am a stay at home Dad, I shall endeavour to update more and try and include a few more visuals, as reams and reams of writing is never appealing is it.

Take it easy.

P.S. I went bowling with my good friends Leigh 'Destroyer' Diprose and Andrew 'Apples' Appleby. Apples is the king of ten pin bowling, but I did storm to victory in our 'warm-up' game. I think the 186 was possibly my highest score ever, and that after just knocking 2 pins down in the first frame. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep the pace up and finished 3rd in the next game with Destroyer taking home the plaudits. A reflective milkshake from Fast Eddy's was consumed as is our normal practice after such events.