We love going to the bookstore, playing with dinosaurs, making a mess, and eating leaves.
It's gotten cold, so we bought Keller his first pair of boots.
The little guy has graciously started helping me with my chores.
Aussie Rules Football is a big part of our lives. We are Hawthorn Hawks fans and Mike is obsessed.
Game of Thrones has become a weekly activity. "Express from the US" is how they pitch it, and Will (pictured above with Mike at the footy - no he's not the crazy lady with the Collingwood Magpies wig), Mike, and I love geeking out over the show every Monday night.
I have a feeling that few people reading this blog will understand why I am about to allocate such a significant amount of time/effort into documenting a story about light bulbs, but you must understand... this was a grueling and traumatic adventure. Quick recap:
- The last working light bulb in our downstairs bathroom/laundry room burnt out
- I considered leaving the room dark and just during laundry during the day, but we had company on the way, so my good 'ole friends Ignorance and Procrastination were not able to help out with this one
- During a Game of Thrones night, I solicited assistance from Mike and Will (two McKinsey guys who, I will remind you, charge clients ridiculous amounts of money much for their "knowledge" and "expertise" on a daily basis). Neither were effective in removing either of the two bulbs
- So I hit-up google and youtube where I learned that the small circular bulb is called a downlight. After 3 or 4 videos, I removed the downlight successfully. The standard-looking bulb, however, was stuck.
- I was about to break the darn thing and try removing it with pliers but decided to call our property manager and request an electrician instead
- The next day, a cute, young guy rings our doorbell. I proceed to tell him about all the ways I have tried to resolve this issue on my own. He walks up to the thing and pops it right out. Apparently, their "standard" bulbs don't screw, they pop. I felt like a total idiot.
- I then proceeded to take the two extinguished light bulbs on what turned out to be an epic search for replacements. This search involved K-Mart, two grocery stores, the knick-knack shop near the University, and finally a specialty lighting store. I think I bought at least six different types of bulbs along the way.
- All of the bulbs you see below were wrong! Can someone please tell me why in the world a country would create so many options for the same type of light bulb?????
- But everyone can now breathe a huge sigh of relief... we finally have light!
The other dramatic event that transpired over the past month happened around 1:30 am Melbourne time. I was in my closet working. (And, yes, I did say "closet." If I have a call while we have company and Mike/everyone is asleep, my closet has proven to be the best office.) Anyway, I was working in my closet and trying to make a big deadline when all of the sudden my computer locked up and the image below took over my screen. It totally seemed legit for about 30 seconds... until I used my phone to google the "Australian Federal Police International Cyber Security Protection Alliance." Not legit! Ugly, ugly virus. We still have no idea how they got onto my computer, I'm not really the porn type, but they literally were trying to hold it for ransom. They wanted me to pay $100 to get it back. It took six hours of tech support to even get into the machine. Talk about stress levels going through the roof! God bless Alex at our help desk, and Cyber bullies, I think you are very, very mean and I do not like you one bit!
