G'Day: 2 Days to Go!

There are 2 work days left before I head home to Atlanta for the holidays. But it has yet to feel like holidays for me since it seems so much like spring time (okay, it is spring time!) and every time I think of buying someone a Christmas gift from here, I think, now if they don’t like it, they can’t exactly take it back. So, I’ll be doing my annual Christmas Eve shopping again this year except this time under the influence of jet lag!
I’m enjoying the new apartment and very glad to have somewhere to call “home” even if it is actually away from home. Jason’s visa is finally approved and he’ll be flying back with me on Jan 1 (that’s right, it will be right during the Gator Bowl – so I’ll be watching that one on Jan 3 Australian time – Jan 2 in the States – via SlingBox, so please don’t anyone tell me who wins but something tells me I already know after witnessing the last 2 games). Poor Jason will also be watching his Florida Gators play for the National Championship in the same fashion on Jan 8(9), but with only a few hours of day since we’ll be at work during the game. I just hope he doesn’t accidentally find out who won before he gets to watch the game.
The latest news is that in areas in Victoria (the Australian state that Melbourne is in), there are lots of wildfires (or as they call them here – bushfires) burning and in the past few weeks, there have been several days where the entire city looks like it is covered in fog. Except that this fog is actually smoke from the fires. When it’s happening, there is a constant smell of “campfire” in the air and I keep wondering who brought the marshmallows. I’ve downloaded this picture from NASA to show the fires and I put a big yellow arrow where Melbourne is on the map and the bay you see right below the arrow in the photo is the same one that I have in other pictures – i.e. at the beach.