California Love

San Diego, California (Sept 2007)- We made it home safely. Thank goodness! We left Brissy at 6am to get to the airport 5 hours early, we packed and unpacked our 12, 32 kg suitcases/bike boxes 6 times (yes, it really was 6 times!), and drove to San Diego in Labor Day weekend traffic. It was a long, but fulfilling day, to say the least. It's been great visiting with family over the past few days. We were especially happy to see Aunt Sari who came down from Turlock. The family celebrated our arrival by going to Coronado Island for a buffet breakfast on the beach at the Hotel Del Coronado and playing in the pool of course! The weather was sensational- 30 degrees C. What a 'warm' welcome!

Last days in Brissy

Brisbane, Australia (Aug 2007)- The last few days in Brissy allowed us to reflect on the surealism of it all, the good times, and also on our sadness. We laughed and we cried. We hung out with many a friend (especially John, Yuling, Banks and Orien- thanks for seeing us 3 times within three days!!!) We miss Brissy already. But we're definitely cured of packing... so if we go back anytime soon, expect to see us wearing the same thing every other day. There will be no more multiple suitcase traveling, that I promise you!

Our Going Away Party

Brisbane, Australia (Aug 2007)- Yesterday afternoon and evening was brilliant. The people, the atmosphere, the food... what a grand send-off. For everyone who turned up to our going away party yesterday, thank you so much for coming and celebrating the close of this chapter in our lives. It was great seeing and hanging out with all of you (even if only for a few minutes) and we really enjoyed your company. For those who weren't able to come, you were sorely missed, but we hope to see you sometime before we leave on Friday. A big thank you in general to every one of you for being a part of our lives. It's been an incredible journey and the people you meet along the way definitely make it more memorable. We will of course strive to keep in touch with each and every one of you throughout the next exciting chapter in our lives (although I feel Australia will be unparalleled!). Apropos correspondence, our new email addresses will be (Rach at UCSB): fogelman@lifesci.ucsb.edu and (Andreas at UMichigan): ansimon@umich.edu. We will also be contactable via Skype, LinkedIn, Myspace and/or Facebook. And to close, Andreas and I would like to invite you all to come visit us anytime in the US. Our house(s) are open to you... so take advantage!!! Wish us a bon voyage!

We've done it!

Brisbane, Australia (Aug 2007)- Monday, August 20, 2007. What a fine day. Delivery was a success. Mom, Dad and baby are all well. She entered the world at 3pm on Monday afternoon. She is a healthy 168 pages long. We call her: Essays on Anaylsts' Long-term Earnings Growth Forecasts, or, YOU BLOODY BEWDY, for short. She was 3.5 years in the making, but worth every freaking wrinkle and gray hair I've accumulated. We are so proud.

Bush Tukka

Brisbane, Australia (Aug 2007)- One word- delectable. This is the first word that comes to
mind after having enjoyed the surprisingly vast range of unique, yet edible native Australian flora and fauna at a quaint, but award-winning restaurant called “Tukka”. The origin of the word “tukka” is from “bush tucker” which refers to the collective diverse indigenous Australian foods that Aboriginal people and their descendants have been preparing for over 40,000 years. Advanced Australian fare… I’d say!!! The food was utterly brilliant. And since this was part of a large “last Aussie hoorah”, we went all out. Appetizer, entrées, matching wines, mains, and dessert- the whole shebang. Here’s how the evening progressed:

Appetizer
Salmon (not for Rachie)
Entrees
Strawberry eucalypt cured Queensland crocodile braised with pineapple, sunrise lime and rosella salsa
Home-made damper, macadamia oil and bush dukkah
Wine
Campbells "Bobbie Burns" Shiraz (for the emu)
Comissionier's Block Merlot (for the possum)
Mains
Confit of Tasmanian possum, quandong and grapefruit jus, braised cabbage
Emu (akin to an ostrich in North America) plate: Davidson's plum and lemon myrtle braised drum, cauliflower purée. Seared fan fillet, native tamarind jus
Dessert
Milk chocolate truffle, strawberry eucalypt and orange mousse, Davidson's plum coulis

Our favourite, by far, was the entrée- saltwater croc (“salties” in Oz) and the Damper. Bon appetit!

Liebe geht durch den Magen, aber das uns die australische Küche so um den Finger wickeln kann, hätten wir nicht erwartet. Auf unsere letzten Tage haben wir nochmal richtig in die Tasche gegriffen und uns im preisgekrönten Restaurant “Tukka” kulinarischen Genüssen hingegeben. Schnie, Schna, Schnicki das kleine Krokodil hat am besten geschmeckt, aber Emu und Possum war auch sehr lecker. Guten Appetit!

The Windy City

Chicago, USA (Aug 2007)- Tiring, but very promising. Twelve hours on the plane from Brisbane to L.A., followed by a 7 hour layover and another 4 hours to arrive for a 6 night and 5 day stay in the “Windy City” Chicago. As if this is not enough, a short 2 day side-trip to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. And then the whole trip back to Oz again. Pretty nuts, but wait until you hear that I (Andreas) will do this in 2 weeks again. Why? Because Accounting academics love double entries…. Moreover, we love to hear ourselves talk and what better place to do this then the American Accounting Association meetings in Chicago. I was scheduled to give two talks on two of my PhD papers. It went very well and I received some high-quality feedback. I believe I was also victorious in the job search. Many of the universities I interviewed with showed keen interest in my proficiencies and credentials. Along the way, I managed to catch up with a few friends as well popping by University of Michigan to sort out my lecturing for September. All things considered, it was unquestionably a fine start to what will be quite a long stint in the US. Looking forward to it… Yeehaw!

Müde bin ich schon, aber Erfolg kennt keinen Schlaf. 5 Tage war ich auf einer Konferenz in Chicago, um meine Forschungsergebnisse zu präsentieren. Vorstellungsgespräche hab ich auch geführt und einige interessante Arbeitsmöglichkeiten könnten sich durchaus ermöglichen. Anschliessend noch 2 Tage Ann Arbor, Michigan um alles fur meinen post doc und Dozenten job zu regeln. Jetzt noch 2 Wochen Australien und dann das ganze Spiel noch einmal, den im Rechnungswesen macht man alles doppelt!

Movin' on up!

Brisbane, Australia (Aug 2007)- Just a quick update of the ongoings in the past few weeks. Andreas and I have been desperately trying to sell the majority of our larger household items so we don't have to worry about them in the last few weeks. We have also been frantically packing our 4-year's worth of belongings into 8 relatively large (but not large enough!) suitcases. We've decided that paying excess baggage on the plane will be the cheapest and easiest solution to our moving woes. Taking photos, cards and postcards off the walls has been by far the most traumatic experience for me though. We simply can't believe it's all coming to such a quick end; the four years just flew by. I know we'll be back though, probably sooner than we think, especially for Andreas who will have to defend his PhD in November.

In between these traumatic events we've been enjoying our last months here. We've been going out to nice breakfasts during the week (that's a big deal for us!), meeting up a few times with some friends visiting from the Netherlands- Kelly, Douwe and their gorgeous 5 month old son, Kaemon, meeting up with other friends who have just had babies (man-- EVERYONE and their mom is pregnant or has a newborn!), spending quality time with each other etc. I've just sent Andreas on his way to the US for the first time this month (he'll be going twice) with a few of our well packed suitcases. He is attending an accounting conference in Chicago for 10 days where he is scheduled for no less than 7 tenure-track job interviews. He's SO the man!

All in all, and despite our feelings of apprehension, we are very much looking forward to starting anew and being closer to family. And who knows... I might just be back in Oz next year to do some fieldwork for my PhD!!! Thank goodness for tropical fish!