Snap back to reality (oh there goes gravity)

There's been a bit of stuff going on since our New York and Ireland trip, so I thought I would update you all on the g-o.

We are moving house on Friday. Tim and Charis (our housemates) have had enough of us and are moving all the way back to Melbourne to escape us. With Jane's job being down south and us living north, it made sense to move a little closer to Jane's work. So on Friday we will move to Balham in South London. Our address will be 14 Marius Road, Balham, United Kingdom SW17 7QQ. We will be living with another couple, a South African guy (Rick) and a Dutch girl (Leonie), who both seem really nice.

Tim and Charis leaving will mean a big change for us given they've been our makeshift family for the time we've been here. We've shared the ups and downs of setting up, working and British "customer service" so it will be sad to see them go, and very different for us. But we know they're going to a better place (yes they are only moving, not dying). The great news for all you Melbournians is that you never have to worry about getting to the airport again. Although they fly back mid-next week, it may take Tim until early Feb to leave Tullamarine such is his love of airports.

On Sunday, we are going to a wedding at Buxted Park in Sussex. Maddie and John who I worked with at Churchill are getting married. The reception is in the Orangery (see the picture on the right), so not such a bad place really. We're staying down there for the night which should be very nice. Jane unfortunately has to work the next day though. I will have breakfast with them and everyone else who's staying there, and then I have to go into town for a component of the Macquarie Bank interview process, psychometric testing (for those of you who have done it, it's 2.5 hours of misery). I'm talking to them about roles they have now in Sydney but I'm keen to get in with them, tell them I want Melbourne, and hope that when I get back to Melbourne they remember me. It can't fail...

Jane's new job is going well. She has now met 3 of her "clients" that she key works, with her 4th being the next person to move in. I visited her on Saturday night and saw her work. It's a new building and her job was a little different to what I expected, with it being split between generally managing a hostel and doing social worker/pastoral care/painting rooms/community sessions. But so far she has been enjoying it, though this week being a 7-day straight week is taking its toll, particularly give it will involve 2 over nighters. If you want to read more about Foyer, jump on here.

The only other news of mine is that through Oasis (Jane's employer) I may do the London Marathon. I've given myself 2 weeks of training to see how I pull up and whether or not I'd be committed to training and unfortunately, so far so good. I've done 42 miles (67 km) in 12 days, with my longest run being 8.4 miles (about 14km...still only 1/3rd of the way). So I'm working up to it slowly. My body is unhappy, but only 14 weeks more of pain, then one day of massive pain, a week of residual pain, and then I'm never going to exercise again. I still don't know if I can get a place in it though, and even if I do, I'm meant to raise £2,000, which given my limited contacts in London, could be difficult.

So that's just a little update on where things are at. Don't forget to update your address books and for now delete our old home phone number from your directory. Our mobiles remain the same and we'll let you know when we know our new home number.