Shannon left Calgary on Feb 28th to live in Australia for a couple of months, setting up an office for the company she works for. Shannon celebrated her 26th birthday in Australia.

March 7th
Here are pictures of my office and the flowers that they gave me for my birthday (today in Australia, tomorrow in Canada) I’m getting another long part of my desk, so that’s why it’s so damn cluttered… can’t wait for it!

March 10th, 2005
Here are a few pictures. My office (starting to look like an office), the flowers my parents sent me for my birthday and the storm we had last night.

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March 17th, 2005 Hi Everyone! I thought I’d take this slow time to send another update out. It’s Friday @ 3:51pm and it’s PISSING down. It’s been cloudy all day and raining on and off. But I like rain, so I’m okay with it. Business is slow to start off. The mail out went out on Wednesday and I’ve had a few phone calls and a few quotes, but nothing has come out of it yet. It will, just have to be patient. I’m sure in a week I’ll be so busy I wish I had more time. Kristie (my cousin, for those of you who don’t know who she is) and her friend will be here in 9 sleeps! I can’t wait to see a familiar face from home. I know I’ve only been gone for 17 days, but it will be nice to see someone. I can’t wait to do all of the touristy stuff too. Steve Irwin’s crocodile farm isn’t too far from here, there is the Warner Brothers Theme Park, Wet and Wild Theme park, Dream World, Gold Coast (of course… tons of stuff there INCLUDING Snow World! Haha) and the list goes on and on. They are coming at a good time because we get the 25th and the 28th off, so I’ll have a few days to get ready for them and then a few days to spend with them before I have to go back to work. I finally have a place! (http://www.breakfree.com.au/resorts/?resort=1065) I haven’t moved in yet, I’m doing that this weekend. It’s RIGHT in the heart of Surfers Paradise (on the Gold Coast). 30th floor of an apartment building/resort. It’s a studio apartment, so I don’t have a bedroom, but I have a queen sized bed! And yes, I already bought new sheets and a blanket for it. I’m not sleeping on someone else’s sheets. There is a beach view and the beach is 1 minute away and it’s across the street from a HUGE mall (shopping centres as they are called here). There is an outdoor pool, and indoor pool, a whirlpool thing, sauna and a gym all in the building. Plus secure underground parking (you have to ring the front desk through an intercom every time you go in). I’m getting the internet set up sometime next week and I’ll be good to go! Just as a countdown… 43 sleeps until I come home to Calgary for 10 days!!! I ventured out on Wed night to see the Phantom of the Opera (the movie… yes, for the 3rd time). The theatre was pretty old (like the ones downtown) and the sound was horrible, but it was good to see the movie again. Then I got lost on the way home, but I found my way out. It’s just so damn DARK here at night… they don’t use very many street lights. Everything is a lot more expensive here than in Canada. CD’s are about $20, a t-shirt you could get at Wal Mart for $12 is about $20 at the Big W (which is Wal Mart). So I won’t be buying a LOT while I’m here. I’ve already purchased my first purse… it’s pink and sooooo cute and only $6 from Target! Natalie had her eye set out for that one! I keep thinking about buying DVD’s, but they are a different “territory” here, so I can’t watch them at home, so there is no point. I’ll just wait until I go home to buy DVD’s. Queensland (the State that I live in) doesn’t do Daylight Savings Time, so when you change your clock, I won’t. I will then be 16 hours ahead of you (or 8 hours behind you, plus a day, however you want to look at it). That makes things a little harder to talk to people, but oh well, I’ll have to deal with it. Everyone here at the office is VERY nice. Very friendly, quick to say hello in the morning, all that stuff. I’m right down at the end of a hallway, so people don’t pass by my office, but they make a point of coming in to say hi or see if I want something. And of course John and Natalie have been nothing but EXCELLENT to me. For the people who don’t know the story… the place that I was supposed to be living in was scary and I only spent one night there and went to John & Natalie’s the next night. John is the person who is part owner of PAL Australia and Natalie is his wife. They are extremely hospitable and had absolutely no problem with me staying there for as long as I needed to, which was nice because when I first got here, it was hard to be alone… thought about home too much. Natalie and I get along really well too, we both love to shop, so that helps! Haha… Honestly though, if it wasn’t for them, I’d probably be back home by now. I’m a lot better than I was though. I still get sad once in a while, but for the most part, I’m getting used to it here. The time is going really quickly. It’s been 17 days since I got here! After Kristie leaves it will only be 3 weeks before I go back home! My office is coming together nicely as well. I’m still waiting for the other part of my desk. The guy was supposed to come in today, but it’s raining so hard that some of the streets flooded, so he couldn’t make it in. I guess I’ll have it on Monday! I do need it badly though… there isn’t enough room on this desk. Anyway… I think that’s about all for updates right now. I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m doing a lot better, but I still miss home a LOT. They should have a Canadian/Australian bar out here or support group… haha. But I’ll make friends… I’ve already made quite a few through Natalie. As I end this letter, the rain is stopping, but it’s still cloudy… hopefully that goes away for the weekend! Take care everyone! Miss you very very very much. Make sure you send me lots of emails. I love coming in, in the mornings to lots of emails from home. Tell me all the gossip, tell me about television shows (they are WAAAAAAAAAAAAY Behind here), tell me about anything. Shannon NEXT page -2- back to the MacMurchy Family website