Nathaniel and Sheree back in Australia

It’s been such a long time since I’ve posted anything but considering the post I made in March I’m really not that surprised. Zander is taking up a lot of my spare time which is the way it should be.

The last twelve months have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride:

• My wife had a baby – Zander James Brown.
• I completed my Graduate Diploma of Education – Secondary.
• I was offered a job in Malaysia.
• My wife was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
• I turned down the job in Malaysia.
• I was offered a job at Kelvin Grove State College and accepted it.
• I was offered a job at Unisys over the holidays (fantastic since I don’t get holiday pay).
• My wife found a new house for us in the city closer to the hospital and Kelvin Grove.

The best thing that happened this year was definitely Zander closely followed by graduating. The worst thing was Sheree being diagnosed with cancer. I was really scary when we knew it was cancer but didn’t know what type of cancer it was or if it was even treatable. When we finally found out it was Hodgkin’s lymphoma we were actually relieved because Hodgkin’s lymphoma has an 80%+ cure rate which is much better than some of the alternatives.

Sheree has been having chemotherapy for almost two months now and the side effects haven’t been that bad. The worst side effects have actually been from another drug she is given after the chemotherapy which makes her bones ache.

I’m going to try to post more frequently this year but we’ll see what happens.

China Menu

One of the most challenging things that I had to deal with when we moved to Beijing in 2006 was ordering food from chinese restaurants that didn’t have English menus (most of them). Over time it became easier (you memorize a few favorite dishes) but it was always slightly annoying.

Well technology keeps on progressing and a new application has been released on the iPhone that should make ordering Chinese food easier. If you are planning to visit China for a holiday or have decided to line in China but can’t speak Chinese then China Menu is an App worth considering. Unlike phrases books this China Menu helps you customize your order (you want cold beer, not warm beer). It also has a section that help you to understand Chinese customs and tells you how to deal with some of the more interesting ones.

That being said it doesn’t have the killer feature that I would love to see which is being able to take a photo of the menu and being told what it is ^_^

Discloser: I worked with the primary developer of this App when I was living in China. That being said it’s still a great idea and I’m looking forward to using it when I go back to China.

I really should have posted about this earlier but life has been a little bit hectic over the last couple of days. On the 13th of March 2009 Zander James Brown was born. Enjoy the picutres:

Easter Zander

Dad & Zander

Mum, Dad & Zander