House Hunting

I am in Brisbane and it is hot! A slightly nicer feel to the heat than in Malaysia because it is not so humid but the sun is scorching and we have to slather on the sunscreen everyday.

I am enjoying my time here with my friend, Ling and her family and I feel at home at their place. This is one of my many homes, at least for now until we find and buy our house. It has been a month of discoveries for me - learning the ropes in a new country. All the traveling has stopped for a while and we are settling into a routine here. Life is simple - I am busy taking care of Micah and babysitting Harry in the meantime. I spend most of my time preparing, cooking and feeding Micah. And when he is awake, entertaining him! He is crawling now and quite quickly too which means I always have to rescue him from trouble. He also puts things in his mouth so I am ever watchful.

David has gone back to China for work and is leaving me the responsibility to find a suitable house to purchase. Finding a house in Australia is difficult. In Malaysia, you'd find rows and rows of the same house design - the difference is in the finishing inside which the owners have put in or have renovated but otherwise you can expect the same layout. This also means that the price is more or less the same. And you'd expect to pay roughly the same price per square foot in a particular area. Everything is about land size and built up area. In Australia, values are totally different and the house designs vary so much together with the land area that it is difficult to gauge the price. A lot of the houses have pools too. The thought of having our own pool sounded good - I can swim everyday! Swimming is my preferred type of exercise and I really want Micah to be at home in water. Unfortunately, pool maintenance is a big headache. We are not sure if we are up to that undertaking. As it is, we'd have to do all the housework plus gardening - very unlike in Malaysia where it is common to employ gardeners and have a housemaid.

So there are a lot of things to consider and it has become a chore to view houses! My head is spinning trying to balance affordability and a suitable house for our needs. We did find the perfect house and in fact, made an offer in writing. After a day and a half, the agent calls and tells us that the owner decided not to sell! It was most disappointing.

So it's back to work - and it is hard work! It is my 9-5 job here :) besides being Micah's maid, nanny and mother!