(just like) starting over

time flashes by in the last 48hours. we are in melbourne now.

a couple of days back, we were doing last minute preparation for the move and now, we are on our second day here. things have moved in a blur.

firstly, the trip to the airport was a low key affair. we have relatives from both sides seeing us off, mingwei's nanny too made a special trip with her 2 children. i think everyone held up well because i did not see anyone wail uncontrollably. so, no drama of any sort. just the way i like it. after the cordial handshakes and good wishes, and the mandatory photo-taking, we are off. i guess giving them a 10 month notice help.

mingwei had migrane unfortunately, so he will remembers little.

after a slight delay, sq237 departed singapore and headed south. taking the midnight flight has its distinct advantage if you have 3 or more kids. they are just too tired to cause any commotion and ruffle feathers of other passengers in the plane. we board the flight, we slept (ok, i had supper) and we woke up when the plane is nearing melbourne.

we touched down at 1005hrs.

being as prepared as i have; we moved like clockwork in clearing the custom, got into our hertz rental car, whip out my direction notes on getting to the place we rented and off we go. no mess up of any kind. (ahem)

we rented a 2 bedroom townhouse on the south of boxhill. it is a really nice crib for 2.5 weeks for us. a lot of the basic amenities are there like supermarket and restaurants.

we intend to spend the first week to clear all the prep work we need doing; set-up a bank account, buy a car, convert our drivers' license, apply tfn for the family, register with centrelink and medicare, call up real estate agents, house hunting, get a mobile line, the list goes on. the kids will be on the receiving end of it all because nothing of these is exciting. we hope they will be patient and understanding. our plan is to have some r&r with them this weekend.

other than that, we are treating this like a vacation for a start. just that we are not enjoying as much......

the townhouse we are living temporarily now.