Where's Liv Now?

In Melbourne, Australia!  What have I been up to the last few years?  Went to Wellington, New Zealand for a short tech internship and to check out life down under.  Decided to stay for a bit, found a job as a Java developer, met a nice Kiwi bloke -- E, and settled into a (mostly) cozy life.  Four years later we decided to move and wound up in Oz.  How's that for a condensed version?

Life hasn't been filled with too many wild and crazy adventures, but it's been dotted with some interesting/random things that I've been lucky enough to do during and after my last personal sabbatical.

• Had 9 housesitting gigs in 2 years!  Plus 2 more in the past couple of years.  All by word of mouth.  I have such awesome friends with wonderful homes and pets to sit for too!
• Took fun classes in go-go dancing, hula hoop dancing, flying trapeze, springboard diving, acro yoga, aerial yoga, and laughter yoga!
• Learned dance moves from Michael Jackson's Thriller video at 2 separate Melbourne events
• Took the plunge and tandem paraglided in San Diego, tandem hang glided in New Hampshire, bungee jumped off of the Kawarau Bridge, river surfed on the Shotover River, walked on the Franz Josef glacier, and tried out indoor rock climbing
• Made a pilgrimage to the giant sculpture of Homer Simpson's hand holding a donut in Springfield, Vermont
• Inadvertently discovered how far some Canadian lovers will go on a quiet brisk weekday morning at a park bench in Old Montreal (all the way! and in more than one way even!)
• Attended a Spanish and surfing camp in Costa Rica.  Took a couple of surf lessons in frigid Lyall Bay, NZ.  Took a lesson in warm San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, but the session was cut short after I got stung by a stingray.
• Competed in a Single Girls Scavenger Hunt and dressed up with a team as nuns
• Cycled a 40km leg in the Round Taupo Relay
• Spotted celeb Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords around Welly a couple of times
• Danced samba with the Wellington Batucada during the '11 Rugby World Cup season.  And watched the NZ All Blacks win the final on the big screen at the Wellington waterfront with thousands of fans
• Got up close to chilled out koalas and tiny Fairy Penguins in Phillip Island, Australia
• Travelled with E around the US and met up with my awesome friends and family, ate (mostly) yummy food, went on duck tours, escaped from Alcatraz, and got free entry to The Happiest Place on Earth
• Started using local terms like "flat" (for apartment), "jandals" (flip flops), "togs" (swimsuit), and "brekkie" (breakfast).  But I can't bring myself to say "tomato" the posh way.
• Wiled away zillions of hours in cafes enjoying filter coffee, siphons, lattes, and skinny flatties (flat white with skim milk)

The best part has been seeing new places, meeting new "mates," and reconnecting with old ones in person, online, or via the latest "goss'."  So let me know what you're up to and come visit!  I'm currently having another mini retirement while waiting for a work visa and working on adding to the list above.