2009: A Year of Blessings and Sorrow

2009 has been a rough year for many of us. As I headed back to work today, I didn't want my holiday to end, and I sent up a prayer that I could get through the day. And I did!

On the way home it occurred to me that things can seem easier to handle if we take them one day at a time – and even God took things one day at a time. I'm sure He could have built the entire universe in a day (nevermind how many hours a day really represented – that is an argument for another time and place) if He'd wanted to. Instead, each creation was given time and thought, and a day of its own to come into being. I hope that this year, I can remember that, and get through those difficult days one at a time.

I have been so thankful for the blessings God gave me in 2009. They seemed even more powerful in light of all that was happening in the world, and with my friends and family. For starters, neither Jody or I lost our jobs, and the move to Oz seems to have been well-timed, financially speaking. We have had no major health issues, the worst being Jody's illness post-India. The fires and floods throughout Australia, though devastating to thousands, haven't come near us or our extended family. The red dust storm did hit Sydney, but aside from an uneasy two days fighting my asthma, the worst we faced was multiple passes with a vacuum and dust cloth.

At last, I am beginning to feel at home here. My visa application is in. We found a small, friendly church to attend. When Jody's old ThinkPad gave out, we were able to buy him a MacPro, just in time for the FOSS4G conference. Keeping in touch with friends and family has been reasonably easy; we've received good and bad news swiftly and are rarely out out the loop – even our grandparents are sending us e-mail! My sister came to visit in March, and my parents over Christmas. There has been a lot of tea, and books, and snuggles, and many little packages in my mailbox to make me smile.

I've missed several weddings and newborns since we moved – none in my family, but it's been difficult not to be able to share in the joys of our friends. Graduations, theses, new jobs, new homes, new boyfriends and girlfriends.

My heart breaks for all the losses and rough patches I've witnessed this past year. Breakups, deteriorating health, deaths. Lost jobs, lost loves, lost babies. 2009 has not been kind, and I can only pray that this year will bring more happiness than sorrow.

If you see yourself in one of these lines, know I've been thinking of you, and wishing you good things in 2010.

The Sparkle Costs More (but I like it)

Mom, Dad, Jody and I were walking through our suburb this afternoon (scant hours before their flight home!) when my dad noticed our footwear. Mom had borrowed a pair of thongs I got for $5 with a $30 purchase at Rubi Shoes, while I was in my slim strap Havaianas with the Swarovski crystal.

"Julia," Dad ventured, "Why doesn't your Mom have a sparkle on her flip flops?"

"Because I paid too much for mine."

Jody thought this was a very Dad-safe answer.


We then proceeded to enlighten my dad of Aussie thong-wearing habits, such as:

With a suit, boys and girls, on the way to the office
On the way to a party, heels in hand
Post-party
Year-round

The suit phenomenon is quite something to behold. Well-coiffed men and women downtown or walking across the bridge, dressed and pressed and accessorised... wearing flip flops.

* not my photo. see link.

It's Starting...

The Geek Takeover.

*

I've been very very busy with work because the FOSS4G conference begins this Tuesday. International visitors have already begun to arrive, and Jody is delighted to see people who usually only speak to him online at weird hours of the night. Here's a snapshot of the gathering of geeks at our flat, 4pm Saturday. Jody and Justin (Canadian) and Andrea and Andreas (Italian) are up and running with their machines, chatting in languages I don't understand and using more acronyms than words found in a dictionary.

Help me.

*No developers were harmed in the taking of this photo.

Polish Pancakes

September was basically taken up by a conference Jody was involved in. Hundreds of geeks and their significant others descended on Victoria for a week or so, and some of them ended up at our house. Several of them ended up at our house more than once, and we had a great time entertaining our international guests.
A couple visiting from Poland became obsessed with pancakes and waffles and maple syrup after Jody cooked up a big batch early one morning, complete with Canadian back bacon, coffee and orange juice. Nothing says "code sprint" like a table full of nerds with full tummies!

The constant stream of nerds into our household prompted our roommate Chris to compose a song that went something like this: "Why...do... NERDS suddenly appear, anytime... Jody's near!?"

Anyway, back to the pancakes. Waffles. Pancakes. Whatever. I sent our Polish friends the address to my Victoria bookshop online index, The Well-Read Path, and they came back from downtown with several books, some of them cookbooks. When they returned home they tried out pancake recipes and creatively used what looks like their panini grill to recreate a Canadian breakfast.

Thus, I present to you, Polish Pancakes.

Complete with a tin of maple syrup!