You know what they say...

...About the only two things to count on in life, death and TAXES

I spent this morning trying to prepare my first set of Australian taxes for the 6 weeks I was getting paid locally.  Let me tell you, that did not go well.

I should preface this by saying I do my US taxes by using Turbo Tax.  And I make sure I get the discount coupon from Costco before buying it.  I love it, it's simple.  Plug your numbers and go.

Not so much down here.  There no central place to get the information you need.  I had to search for the equivalent of my W-2 and couldn't figure out if I was paid interest on any bank accounts down here during those six weeks.  Then I didn't know what to qualify as income.  And then it got to the section on Foreign Investments.  Now, I was under the assumption that any income I made in the US during my time down here would be taxed by good 'ole Uncle Sam and not good 'ole Uncle Macquarie (I don't know who he was, but his name is on everything down here so I assume he was pretty important).  But, I guess I was wrong.  Apparently, all my rental income from the states is going to be taxed down here without all the "benefits" of having a mortgage, and there's a pretty good chance I'm going to get dinged by Uncle Same come April 2011.  Damn you double taxation.

By the way, did I mention that they're due on Sunday?  That's right, the 31st of October, Halloween (which people don't openly celebrate down here - along with Cinco de Mayo, but I won't go there).  So, I was in a bit of a panic because I quickly learned what I thought would be a simple process is turning into a lengthy ordeal.  Of which I don't have time.  Seeing as though there will probably be drinks after work tonight and then I have my first set of visitors landing tomorrow AM and heading up to the Great Barrier Reef on Saturday.

I searched everywhere for information on how to file an extension and came across a phone number.  After being transferred a few times I came across a nice person who let me plea my case and then nicely asked when I "thought" I could have them done by.  That's right, I got to pick my own date.  So I've gone from Halloween to the 23rd of December. 

And again, not to switch topics, stores have had Christmas decorations up for three weeks now.  Since the beginning of SEPTEMBER.  Now I get they don't have Thanksgiving to use as a buffer and don't really celebrate Halloween, but a Christmas as a season for 4 months is a little ridiculous.

But back to taxes.  So yeah, bottom line, there's no Turbo Tax for the Australian markets that takes into account foreign income.  Looks like I'll be looking for an accountant in the next two weeks.

The Fear of Public Transportation

I didn't get that first surfing lesson in this weekend because it rained all weekend.  It was looking like Saturday was going to be a good day with rain coming later, so I decided instead to head up to Ikea for some meatballs.  Sure, I had to pick up a few other things, but stopping off for the meatballs was a good way to start the day (or nurse the hangover).  But I'm getting a head of myself.

The train system in Sydney is efficient, but you have to know really well where you're going and on what lines you want.  Figuring out which trains run off which platforms and which train on that platform (there can be more than one) you want can be a little confusing.  So I got on the train that I thought was the correct train with my directions.  It was the right train, however I had what turned out to be the wrong stop in my directions.  I was careful about watching the stops so I didn't miss it and sure enough got off and immediately had a sense of "where the hell am I, this isn't familiar."  I thought about getting back on the train, but thought I might be going the wrong way so I held off.  After a bit of walking I figured out I got off the train a few stops early.  I decided to walk since it was only 20 minutes away (though not sure about the roads) when all of a sudden the sky opened up.  Lightening crashing every couple minutes and just pouring.  And of course, I didn't have an umbrella because it was sunny and not a cloud in the sky when I left.  I made it back to the train station, semi dry, and sat for the next train.

I was hoping Sunday would be a little better, but it was raining when I got up and continued most of the day.  I had a few things to take care of and made a quick trip to Chinatown for lunch, but other than that laid pretty low.

I got the house booked for my trip up to the Great Barrier Reef next weekend.  Found what looks like a good snorkeling outfit for a day.  Have a few other ideas, but will see what everyone feels like once we get there.

Status Quo

I haven't really had much going on lately, so I've been a little absent from posting.  I keep telling myself that I'll take the camera out in my neighborhood and grab some pictures, but I keep forgetting or find something else to do.  Now that the weather's shaping up, maybe I'll actually carry through.

I do have my first set of visitors coming through in a few weeks.  It will be good to see some familiar faces, but also give me a reason to venture to other parts of Australia.  Not all details are set, but we'll be going up to Cairns which is the main hub for getting out to the Great Barrier Reef for a few days.  Being the main point for the GBR, I think it's pretty touristy but I'm hoping to find a few things away from some of the families.  We'll definitely take a day and head out to the outer reefs to do some snorkeling.  I'm hoping that box jellyfish season hasn't started because I really don't want to have to deal with those.  That doesn't sound like a fun way of spending some vacation time.  But there is some gear you can wear to protect yourself.

There's a pretty diverse climate up near Cairns.  I guess just an hour drive away, there is a true rain forest.  I have no idea what all is in there, creature wise, but I have heard the crocs are quite plentiful.  The scenery along the coastal drive is supposed to rival California's Highway 1.  Spend some time at the beach and eating and drinking along the coast.

The weather is starting to warm up here and consistently stay warm.  Granted, there were massive wind storms on Saturday that uprooted a few large trees near my place and kept the temperature in the 50s.  But we're looking like mid to upper 70s for the upcoming weekend.  If that does in fact hold true, I'm thinking about taking my first or I'm sure many surfing lessons.  I hoping this is one of those things where I'll surprise myself how not horrible I'm expecting to be.  Should be entertaining either way.

Sydmeladperbrisho, Yep, you read that right

Now that I've been in Sydney for 6 months, I figured it was about time to read Bill Bryson's "In A Sunburned Country."  A lot of people told me to read this when they found out I was moving and I must say, this book is pretty spot on.  I hadn't read any of his books before, but everyone said it was a funny read.  While I have found it funny, I'm more finding comfort in the fact that other people see the oddities that occur in every day life down here, that are "normal" and it's not just me.

It goes through all sorts of life from trying (or admitting defeat in trying) to explain how the Aussie government works, to all the poisonous creatures the size of your pinky that can kill you in minutes, to the comedic history of this vast continent.  Despite becoming one commonwealth just a little over a hundred years ago (1901), they didn't seem to learn much from the rest of the developed world.  One of my favorite parts of the book was the 11 year battle between people to come up with the name of the Capital city, Canberra.  They tried to mimic DC in giving the capital it's own city, but choose a location 40 miles off the main highway connecting Sydney and Melbourne.  And if you've looked at a map, that's in the middle of nowhere.  Anyways, here is a list of names that were seriously considered for the name of the capital city, Myola, Wheatwoolgold, Emu, Eucalypta, Opossum, Gladstone, Thirstyville, Kookaburra, Cromwell and Victoria Defendera Defender (seriously).  But my favorite because of the sheer creativity involved has to be Sydmeladperbisho.  Some genius thought it would be a good idea to take the first syllables from every territory's capital city and combine them.

If anyone is planning on visiting or wants a more eloquent depiction of Australia than what you're getting on this blog, definitely give it a read.

I will leave you with my favorite question I've received so far about life here versus the US.  And I quote, "Do they have banana bread in America?"  I kid you not, that was an actual question someone asked me.