Dei Sub Numine Viget...
When we walk to the pomp and circumstance of any of our graduations, be it Princeton or Harvard, we are immediately added to a prestigious group of alumni whose role it is to make our alma maters proud. There is an expectation that people from great schools will achieve great things. C'mon all schools are so proud of their elite alumni. I'm sure that anyone can name a handful of famous people who walked through its doors. Princeton - easy - John F. Kennedy (before he was forced to leave for getting jaundice and then enrolled at Harvard), Brooke Shields, Dean Cain, Donald Rumsfeld, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Nash, Leighna ...(okay not yet...But still the list goes on and on.) Every day in college we are reminded of all the greats that attended and when we graduate, we are admitted to the same club as all those before us. However, this membership does not come without a price.
As payment for this "club", we get contacted twice a year to give money in one form or another. Not only are there class dues, but also annual giving. Even before I proudly walked through the gates, Princeton asked me for my first donation. Later , I was contacted to pay my class dues. It took me 2 years to figure out that AG and dues were unrelated and different. I thought I was being smart by giving my $20.01 (signifying the year that I had graduated) but who knew that they would get $25 more by asking me for class dues. If you don't give you're not supporting your class, if you do give, you've just given Princeton more money. But they don't really need anymore money! Princeton hails a $12.7 billion endowment - that's right money they have just hanging around for a rainy day.
How do the universities secure this kind of money? The alumni offices. We have quickly learned that no matter where you are or where you go, the alumni office finds you. I know people who have not updated their contact information and who move so often, but still year after year Princeton comes knocking/calling/emailing/writing for money. The giving percents are incredible (over 60%). All alums are too well aware of the joke that goes: (feel free to move the school's names around)
A Harvard guy, a Yale guy, and a Princeton guy end up on a deserted island. The Harvard guy says, "I'll go try to find some food", the Yale guy says, "I'll try to build some shelter, and the Princeton guy just sits back and closes his eyes for a nap. When the Harvard guy and Yale guy confront him, he says, "I know that the alumni office will find me for annual giving."
We may or may not go to reunions year after year, walk in the p-rade, attend functions at the Princeton club of (insert city name), we may not even read the PAW (Princeton Alumni Weekly) that updates us on ALL classes since 1925. But we have all found the benefits of being in the association of alumni. By walking out the same gates, we all share a connection with Princeton. We went through an expensive 4 years of school yes because it has a beautiful campus, the most incredible professors, activities, the list goes on, but after we've left the gates of the school to the real world, Princeton offers us an incredible growing alumni network.
For the past 5 years I have given annually without miss to better my future children's chances of getting into Princeton just in case the fact that both Jackson and I are alums isn't enough.
But recently, I have witnessed a new reason to give and support this network. Last week, the Princeton Alumni Association of Australia (PAAA) was formed. At its first alumni event, I have met some of the most incredible people who are actively helping me settle into Sydney and helping with my quest to find employment in fields I thought impossible. I have been influenced by the power of the network and I am inspired to continue to give to Princeton to keep the network alive. (I just donated my class dues to Princeton and Harvard).
One Year Ago...
One year ago I was surrounded by my favourite-ist people in the world. People who loved me and wanted me life's happiness. I was in a dress that made my heart sing the first time I saw it, looked the best I had ever looked in my life, and said I do to the man of my dreams who 7 years prior had swept me off my feet.
This year, Jackson made it a paper anniversary we'll always remember. We started the day before on the Saturday that would have been our anniversary equivalent. We saw 2 different wedding parties taking pictures down by the harbor. Like on our wedding day, the brides looked freezing in the windy weather we were experiencing, but the sun was out and immediately we started reminiscing about our big day. We ended up playing a round of 9-hole golf which I did pretty well! For a 33 par course, I hit a 54 (give or take - I think the scoring was done generously). Not great, but I did hit some good ones! :)
That evening, Jackson surprised me with a wonderful sushi dinner a
t a restaurant called Shiki in the Rocks and we celebrated a quiet evening with catching up with our IQ and Will & Grace. The next morning we had fun adjusting to daylight savings. Like when we got married, the clocks changed! This time not to our favour. In the US, you guys are "falling back" but here, we're "springing forward." Jackson surprised me with an airtour of Sydney in a tiny 6-seater propeller seaplane and a gorgeous lunch at Watsons Bay.
The theme of the whole day was can you believe it's been a year. Can you believe it? They say that as you get older, the years fly by faster, but yet a lot changes in a year. Today, I have moved away from the people I love most to a country that's about as far away as you can get. I have probably gained more weight than I've lost, but I still have my life partner with me who still sweeps me off my feet.
Australian-isms
I referred to the fact the the US was right now in Fall, and apparently they didn't know what I was talking about. Australians don't use the word "Fall" to refer to Autumn because the leaves don't "fall" to the ground here...Fall is Autumn.
Summer, Winter, Fall, Spring...
It's the end of October... my East Coast clock says it's the peak end of fall when the trees have lost most of their leaves. The temperatures are probably in the 50s - the perfect temperature for light jackets, jeans, sweaters and most excitedly the perfect time to bust out your sexy boots. My favourite time of year. My Sydney clock says that we're in Spring! I've basically gone from Summer in Boston, Winter in Sydney, Fall in New York, and then now Spring! I'm seasonally confused. The temperatures here are in the 70s/80s and similar clothing applies - minus the jacket and boots. However, we've had gorgeous sunshine...but like any spring weather we've been plagued with lots of RAIN! Although here it's strange. I'll be sitting on my couch, the light coming in even though the skies have clouded over....and when there are clouds....it rains! The days just don' t stay cloudy - there's none of that misty rain stuff that I hate, but true downpour for like 5 min and then the clouds continue to move over. Go figure! Who knew from living on the East Coast that when you actually have clouds that it actually rains. I would say that of the days I've been here, I have never had clouds without rain...strange.
A Visitor for the next 2 years...
I'm back! I just got back to Sydney yesterday early morning and am mildly suffering from jetlag (of course it helped that I was only awake for 8 hours yesterday). It was nice to come home to a clean apartment full of our stuff!! While I was away, our stuff finally made it to Australia from Boston and I have been reunited with my clothes and shoes and bags (the important things...I know). Jackson asked that I go through my things and throw away unnecessary things, however, reunited with my babies...how could I? I just looked at them and did a happy dance that I now had enough clothes to last me more than a week. Needless to say, I didn't throw anything away, but rather hid more stuff just in case he looks around. :)
The biggest thing I've done since being back is....drumroll please....I've also been able to secure healthcare! Here in Australia, we have public healthcare, so every resident is eligible for free care! Apparently, that means that when you go to the doctor, you pay the fees (it doesn't seem so free yet) but then you go to a Medicare office and submit a claim and then they pay you back! It seems kinda tedious to go to the office each time you have a claim to submit...but I'll let you know once I submit my first claim. So I am now the proud owner of a Medicare card - it's incredible what a sticker in my passport can do! Granted, it is just a piece of receipt paper about 3x3 inches, but it gives me healthcare! I have healthcare for the next year. Year you say to yourself? I thought you were living there permanently. That's right I am. So why a year? Apparently, I will be treated as a permanent Visitor while I wait for my permanent visa some time in the next 2 years. So I'll need to renew my healthcare card annually until I hear from the embassy...in other words, for the next 2 years, nothing's really permanent at all. =/
Good Bye Again...
It's 8:30 in the morning in Sydney and I have just showered and am relaxing comfortably for the first time since I first boarded the plane 5:50 pm NY time. With all the time differences and changes, it has been over 24 hours. The actual flight time was about 6 (NY- LA) and then another 16 to Sydney. My first time coming through as a permanent resident was easy as pie. I went through customs, they stamped my passport, got my 2 bags, went through quarantine, walked outside and saw Jackson for the first time in a month...and boy did he look good. ;) It's funny how even though we spoke on the phone and emailed and are long distance veterans, how the first 10 min always tend to be a little awkward, as if we're not sure if the other person has changed, or maybe we're just really happy to see the other person.
Now that I'm back home alone while Jackson's at work, I already miss what left behind. I had such a wonderful time catching up with friends from the past, way past, and ancient times. It's incredible where people are now and where we all began. It's amazing how much people change but how they still stay the same. This past trip made me realize that I have so many friends in NY who fall into the category of "good friends." These are the friends that you speak with if you're lucky about once a year, and while life has moved on, when you meet up, it feels like no time has passed by. I met up with so many people from high school, college, and grad school, and coming back to Sydney, I already miss them.
One would think that the 2nd time around, saying good bye to the city and people you love would be easier - in one way it was, but in other ways it was so much harder. The easier part of saying good bye to NY was the fact that I would see Jackson again. The harder was leaving my family again and friends again. I'll be seeing my family in December for Christmas, but my friends...I would see them maybe if I'm lucky next June. That's a long way away.
So it's back to my tabloids, finding jobs, and Oprah. It's good to be home...but there's no place like New York.
Australian Slang:
Sheila = shazza = gal
Bloke = mate = guy
New York, New York
I'm back in "THE" city. It's a funny feeling. Having grown up only 20 min outside the "city", Manhattan is the city that I compare all cities. There is no place like it. Even though I spent 4 years at Princeton putting in my blood, sweat and tears into those wonderful years, NY was always close by. Even though I spent 5 years in Boston I never rooted (that's right, the American English definition of rooted and not the Aussie slang) for the Red Sox, but was a true Yankees fan through and through (thanks to Diane's training). No matter where I was in the world, I never considered myself anything but a New Yorker. Each time I was away, I missed the city - the skyscrapers, the delis, the crowds, jaywalking, getting almost run over by the cabs, the guys giving out useless pamphlets, the accents, the list goes on and on - it's the city that never sleeps. To me, every day was an adventure - it's the city where I could at any time run into people I went to high school with, college with, and grad school with. Every time I came down to NYC to visit the folks it felt like a homecoming - I needed to get my fix.
However, after spending 3 months in Sydney, I don't quite feel as if NY is "home" anymore. It's still the same, nothing has changed except for the fact that the streets appear to be getting busier, the buildings taller, the taxes higher, and more people here I know, but it's just a visit.
Could it be because Jackson's not here and the family is missing 1? or have I really been emotionally training myself to see Sydney as home? Whatever it is, the trip so far has been wonderful. Everything has been so great and I have a little over a week left...but I am looking forward to going "home".
