Home Sweet Home

the layout of my new digs - just click on it for a better sized image

Home used to be where you find the cat, for me anyhow. Now that I am catless and Stormy has been adopted by an awesome Canadian family, how do I define it? I do wear hats, so it could be home is where I hang my hat, which is rather colloquial. Perhaps home is where unpack my suitcase? I'm not sure. I haven't felt like my current housing provided by the government is home. I think part of that is because I knew it was temporary, and the bare surroundings do not make it feel homelike at all. There is nothing on the walls, and the windows have ugly vertical blinds with no curtains or drapes. What is it that makes a home homelike? I always find once I put some color on the walls that reflect my personality, such as posters, wall hangings, family photos, etc I begin to feel at home. I don't own much these days, as the fire last year cured the pack-rat in me, but I have still managed to acquire a few homey things like souvenirs from my travels, artwork for the walls, and thousands of photos I can choose from to print off and frame for the walls. I will have my own bedding and household items once my things arrive from Canada next month, but for now I will have to settle with what I dragged with me on the plane, and have managed to acquire since I arrived in Australia over 5 weeks ago.
     Yup, 5 weeks ago yesterday, I arrived in Australia. In some respects it seems like a lifetime ago and in others, like just yesterday I was waiting and waiting and waiting for my visa to come in. Now I'm here, settled into my new job, several training sessions behind me, and a caseload of about 25 children. I've been camping, hiking, bar hopping, made some friends, met some men, bought souvenirs, mailed postcards, and phoned home several times. I've also managed to secure my own apartment.
     Yup, my own apartment. I've been in government owned accommodation for the past 5 weeks, and while it's been comfortable enough, I've been given the bum's rush to get out there and find my own place as they are short on housing for incoming new recruits. My contract provided for 3 months of free rental accommodation, so they will pay my next 6 weeks of rent at my new place. I do have to put the money out first, and then request reimbursement, but now that I've got that all figured out (I hope) it shouldn't be an issue of receiving payment in a timely manner. I've also been promised a "settling in allowance" but so far have not seen a penny of that. Those payments are to be for 6 fortnights, and are to help with the purchase of furniture, apartment bond, car purchase, etc. Luckily I have been responsible with my first couple of paychecks and have enough to cover the amount and wait for reimbursement.
     The new digs are in one of the popular neighborhoods called Eastside. I am 1.5 kms from where I work, so an easy walk in nice weather, which will be most of the year. I may wish to drive when it's stinking hot but that remains to be seen. The new digs are what is considered to be a "flat" and not an apartment. It is in a long building where the units are slices of the width, so I have windows on either end of the apartment (each side of the building). My unit is the end slice, so I only have neighbors on one side, which is awesome. It is made of cinderblock construction, which also helps with noise, and cooling in hotter temperatures. The flat has air conditioning, as is pretty standard in most places here in central Australia. There is no heat though, but I don't expect much of an issue there. I do have a small electric heater coming with my things, so if need be, can use that to take the chill off in winter. The temperatures at night will hover at 0C sometimes, so it is a real possibility that I might actually find it cold in the desert...

     The kitchen is just off to one side, with no real defining walls, so I will probably try and pick up some sort of island thingy to define it a bit more and add some storage. There are no upper cupboards (weirdly European/Aussie thing I reckon) but there is a box shelf, like an open pantry that runs along the wall above the counter top. I was thinking I might just get some fabric and make little curtains to hide what I'll store there. The stove is gas, which I'm looking forward to. I came to appreciate it at the cabin I last rented.
     I'm not sure where I'm going to put the kitchen table, and arrange the living room furniture. The cable comes in next to the large living room window on the left side, but I can always run more cable to wherever I want the tv to be. I may even separate things into three areas, given the space is long and narrow. I was thinking desk in front of the window, with a couple of chairs, then kitchen table next to the kitchen area, and then sofa and television in the area closer to the bedroom. Who knows...there is a bit of a slant to the property, so it all might slide to one side anyhow, ha ha. I may even use a folding screen to section off some private space...the possibilities are endless! I've watched enough of HGTV to know a little creativity and imagination can go a long way, and I know I possess both of those qualities.

the car park - my left courtyard fence is showing

So home sweet home will evolve once I move in next week and see what the vibe of the flat is. I've been told by a few of my police team members after I accepted the rental that I'm moving into "shaggy armpit land"...meaning there are a lot of hippies in that neck of the woods, and a lot of pot smokers. Funny how that all turned out...