3 weeks and 2 days to go until Rick arrives here in the U.S. That is, if Australia doesn't institute their Fortress Australia pandemic countermeasures in the face of the recent outbreak of swine flu. That could mean that flights in or out of Australia are halted and things more or less shut down. Even if he does manage to make it out here, the chance is real that he might not be let back in right away if they institute those measures after he gets here. For right now though Australia hasn't had any confirmed cases of the swine flu, but they are seeking 22 Aussies who shared the same flight with the 3 New Zealanders who tested positive for it.

Australia has an amazingly thorough quarantine system because they must maintain a delicate balance in their country. Hopefully with that and their adequate vaccine supply the problem will not be bad enough to invoke such extreme measures. Here's hoping...

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Yes! Yes! Yes!
I am so excited!.
He proposed April 4th.

After a wonderful 10 days in Australia I was awakened at the ass-crack of dawn on the last Saturday before I left. His eagerness to have me see an "Australian sunrise" got me out of bed despite heavily protesting how very tired I was. We arrived at The Shallows in Shellharbour and walked down when it got a bit light. He set out chairs in the wet sand and we wrapped up in 2 big, comfy blankets shivering under the cloudy sky. I didn't think the sun would show itself, but he was just so cute about wanting to do it. About 7AM-ish I hear a violin playing behind me and I whipped my head around and instantly knew what was about to happen. I turned to him laughing and said, " Are you serious? OMG Are you kidding?" He said, " What song is it?" I recognized our song Brighter Than Sunshine by Aqualung.He took out a ring and asked me to marry him, and I wholeheartedly without reservation said YES!. I think I was a bit stunned. I was an absolute mess and I was not exactly an enthusiastic morning person, but he takes the bad with the good and promised himself to me. He is such an amazing person and I am the happiest woman right now.

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