We have bikes!

Not too much to report from yesterday as it was a lot of running around. And for some reason my iPhoto isn't recognizing the latest photo upload batch, so this will be another pictureless post. As soon as I can get it working though, I promise you'll see the bikes!

Simon was up early to register for classes, and I stayed home with the intentions of going for a run but it never happened. I'm finding it hard, without the help of the Sun Run clinics, to get going again. I can't even use the heat as an excuse as it's really not that hot here right now. Apparently there is rain in the forecast for tomorrow. We traveled a bunch of hours only to end up back in Vancouver! Though watching the news last night made me realize that most of the east coast of the country is getting this kind of weather right now...boo!

When Simon was done picking classes we went on a mission to buy bikes. We had to walk past the Hedley Bull Centre again so we stopped at the cafe there for lunch. Most people were in fancier clothing than Simon and I...which I'm thinking may mean I'll have to fancy it up a little for classes and presentations. Katie, I need you here to help me find suitable clothing!!

We made it to the Recyclery and I am so glad I put my bike on hold, because of the 10-15 bikes that were available the day before, only 2-3 were left! Fortunately there was one there that suited Simon perfectly, so we both came away happy. From there we went to Union Court, our student union, where Simon got a lock for his bike and I got a basket put on the back of mine. We also went to the bank because when Simon went there earlier in the morning to get a letter that he needed to activate his cell phone, they couldn't find any record of him opening an account, which needless to say was pretty stressful. Fortunately he got it all sorted, and my account didn't have the same problems which was a relief!

Simon activated his cell phone, I'm still trying to figure out what to do about that. Mine's not working so I'm waiting to see if it's fixable or if I'll have to buy a phone and prepaid plan here. Luckily I'm not feeling really lost without it as I really don't have too many people to call, and classes haven't started so I'm not going too crazy without my planner :-)

Then we rode into town to pick up more of the essentials and groceries now that I have a bike with a basket. The rest of the night was fairly uneventful sadly. But we have bikes!

Today I had a bit of admin running around to do in the morning and Simon had some stuff to do at the library so we went our separate ways for a bit. I went back to get more groceries (I can't tell you how much I already miss living next door to an IGA!), then Simon got home 5 minutes after me. We had lunch (Les we tried to recreate your beet salad, without much success!), then I headed to a lecture about the militarisation of aid, given by one of the heads of the Red Cross. It felt nerdily delightful being back in a classroom setting, and I was happy to see there were a few younger people like me in the audience. There was also the Swiss Ambassador to Australia and one of the heads of the Oz Department of Foreign Affairs, so I guess it was kind of a big deal.

I got home at the same time as Simon, who'd gone for a bike ride around town. We made our first official sit-down meal in our apartment. The kitchen is so small that I think it's going to be hard to create any major dinners in there, which is sad because I was starting to enjoy cooking! Oh well, I'll see how the next few attempts go. We decided to check out the ANU Bar to try to meet people, but at 8:45pm it was already closed. This place is a total ghost town right now. It sounds like their equivalent of Frosh Week is happening next week, so hopefully things will pick up. There's also a multicultural festival in town this weekend. I am super curious as to what they deem multicultural.

So after being disappointed about the bar situation we managed to sneak into the grocery store right before it closed (they sell alcohol in the supermarkets here, how civilized!!), and grabbed some cider and a little ice cream dessert. We enjoyed the ice cream at a park on campus, and a cider on our balcony. And now it's time for bed :-)

I'll try to get those pictures up asap. And if any of you blogging genius' can explain why the new pictures I uploaded to iPhoto aren't showing up in the blogspot photo uploader, the advice would be greatly appreciated!