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.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Customer service at it's finest (?)
I know I've talked a few times about the lack of customer service here, but I figured I'd give everyone another example. After the run on Sunday, I hobbled up to Oxford street to look for a few suits. I found a store that had one that seemed reasonable. Found the right jacket size, but couldn't find the right size pants. So I asked the sales person if she had any other sizes anywhere. She said there should be one. I tried on another size and when I came back, I saw her holding the right size but then gave it to someone else. I asked her if she found them and she said yes, but that she had in fact given them to someone else. I was so confused at that point, I didn't know what to say. She told me I could go online to buy them if I wanted. I guess that's what I get for expecting the matching suit pants to be next to the coat and not on another rack. I was so blown away by that experience that I put everything else I was going to buy on the counter and walked away.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Walking with a little hitch in my giddyup
I was pretty happy I only had to contend with 8 steps on my way to work this morning. Two to get on the bus, two off the bus (yes, I took the bus this morning) and four to walk up to the escalator. It took most of yesterday afternoon to recover from the half marathon, but all things considered, I'm feeling pretty good today.
The run certainly wasn't the most put together race I've ever done. The start didn't have a clock for me to see when I crossed the start line and there were no clocks around the course to help clue me in. I have an app on my phone that tracks time and distance using GPS, but I'm not fully confident in the distance part. I'd say about two thirds of the way in, I start to feel a few blisters forming on the arches of both my feet. Not was I wanted at that point. But I popped a few Clif Blocks and kept on going. I did walk a little bit longer at the water stops and tried to check my phone to see where I was at, but I think that was more of an excuse to walk a little bit. But, after crossing the line in 2 hours 3 minutes and 42 seconds, I'm wishing I didn't walk that extra bit. I was really hoping for a sub 2 hour finish, but I guess I'll have to wait for next time. I think it also would have helped to know the course better. The loop where I thought we finished was actually right off the bat. That really confused me, having no clue how far I'd been running. Here's a map of the run from my phone. According to the GPS I had on me, with all the weaving in and out of people, I ran 13.96 miles. Which, at that time, I'd be perfectly happy with.
The run started at the top by Kirribilli and came down towards the city. I wish I had paid more attention to the scenery running across the Harbour Bridge, but since this was the first long run I've done without any sort of pacing tool, I was trying to get a sense of my speed than anything else. The course then went through the Botanical Gardens and then to the highway. This was when I started noticing the blisters as we went up and down on and off ramps to Pyrmont. I thought at this point I was slightly ahead of where I needed to be, but I could actually feel the individual blisters forming and squishing. But I powered on as best I could. As I came down to the last kilometer, I was feeling pretty spent. There was a lady who forced me to run. I didn't catch her name or number, but I definitely want to thank her. She kept me going for that last stretch, onto the cobble stones of Circular Quay and around the corner to finish at the Sydney Opera House.
As cool as it is to finish the Chicago Marathon near Buckingham Fountain, this was probably a little bit cooler finishing right on the steps of the opera house on the harbour. It was some confusion at the finish line. Nothing was really setup well to keep people moving. Everyone picked up a bottle of water and then spewed out into the gardens. No food and certainly no beer. I had to wait till I walked the 3 miles back to my apartment for that. You might be asking why I had to walk another 3 miles. Well, apparently all buses were off that day since most of the downtown streets were cut off or affected in some way. And since there aren't any train routes that get close to my place, I had to hoof it. But I did walk along the marathon course and help cheer those people on. While I'm glad I did the half this year, I'll definitely be doing the full marathon next year, with a proper training schedule. After I plunked down on my couch I decided to add up all my training from when I arrived in Sydney back in April to come up with a total. And with pretty good record taking (mandated by the gym), I ran 13.5 miles at the gym since July, 8.75 in August for the City2Surf and roughly 2 when I first got down here in May. So for running only 24.25 miles, I feel pretty good about my time. With a proper running regiment, I think I can probably knock a good 10 minutes off that time. We'll just have to wait and see.
The run certainly wasn't the most put together race I've ever done. The start didn't have a clock for me to see when I crossed the start line and there were no clocks around the course to help clue me in. I have an app on my phone that tracks time and distance using GPS, but I'm not fully confident in the distance part. I'd say about two thirds of the way in, I start to feel a few blisters forming on the arches of both my feet. Not was I wanted at that point. But I popped a few Clif Blocks and kept on going. I did walk a little bit longer at the water stops and tried to check my phone to see where I was at, but I think that was more of an excuse to walk a little bit. But, after crossing the line in 2 hours 3 minutes and 42 seconds, I'm wishing I didn't walk that extra bit. I was really hoping for a sub 2 hour finish, but I guess I'll have to wait for next time. I think it also would have helped to know the course better. The loop where I thought we finished was actually right off the bat. That really confused me, having no clue how far I'd been running. Here's a map of the run from my phone. According to the GPS I had on me, with all the weaving in and out of people, I ran 13.96 miles. Which, at that time, I'd be perfectly happy with.
The run started at the top by Kirribilli and came down towards the city. I wish I had paid more attention to the scenery running across the Harbour Bridge, but since this was the first long run I've done without any sort of pacing tool, I was trying to get a sense of my speed than anything else. The course then went through the Botanical Gardens and then to the highway. This was when I started noticing the blisters as we went up and down on and off ramps to Pyrmont. I thought at this point I was slightly ahead of where I needed to be, but I could actually feel the individual blisters forming and squishing. But I powered on as best I could. As I came down to the last kilometer, I was feeling pretty spent. There was a lady who forced me to run. I didn't catch her name or number, but I definitely want to thank her. She kept me going for that last stretch, onto the cobble stones of Circular Quay and around the corner to finish at the Sydney Opera House.
As cool as it is to finish the Chicago Marathon near Buckingham Fountain, this was probably a little bit cooler finishing right on the steps of the opera house on the harbour. It was some confusion at the finish line. Nothing was really setup well to keep people moving. Everyone picked up a bottle of water and then spewed out into the gardens. No food and certainly no beer. I had to wait till I walked the 3 miles back to my apartment for that. You might be asking why I had to walk another 3 miles. Well, apparently all buses were off that day since most of the downtown streets were cut off or affected in some way. And since there aren't any train routes that get close to my place, I had to hoof it. But I did walk along the marathon course and help cheer those people on. While I'm glad I did the half this year, I'll definitely be doing the full marathon next year, with a proper training schedule. After I plunked down on my couch I decided to add up all my training from when I arrived in Sydney back in April to come up with a total. And with pretty good record taking (mandated by the gym), I ran 13.5 miles at the gym since July, 8.75 in August for the City2Surf and roughly 2 when I first got down here in May. So for running only 24.25 miles, I feel pretty good about my time. With a proper running regiment, I think I can probably knock a good 10 minutes off that time. We'll just have to wait and see.
Monday, September 13, 2010
5 Days and Counting
I'm coming down the home stretch for the half marathon on Sunday. I've been staying true to my training goal of running as minimally as possible to see how the run goes. It kind of feels like the first half marathon I did and the first marathon, for that fact. But, all things considered, I'm feeling pretty good for the run. I was planning on doing a nice easy week. Eating right, staying away from the booze and trying to do everything as easy as possible before Sunday.
But, I knew that was going to be just a dream. This is Australia, after all. This past weekend hit me pretty hard. I went to my first Rugby match and it was a game between the Australian national team (Wallabies) and the New Zealand national team (the All Blacks). The game was out at the 2000 Olympic Stadium which was pretty cool. Granted it was dark and we had already had a few, I wasn't able to see much. But it's a quick 20 minute train ride to the stadium so I might have to head out and look around.
But on to the good part. At the stadium, the concessions seem a little more lax than the states. You can order 4 beers at a time, instead of the two you get at stadiums back home. So, as soon as we got there we all separated. And when we made it to the seats each of us had picked up the max. For the five of us that went, we had more beers than room on the ground below us to store them.
For my first game, it was a good one. The Wallabies had the lead for the first 75 minutes, only to lose the game in the last 5. Pretty tough way to lose, but it was a good game. One of the best parts was that there were no TV time outs. The game that should take 100 minutes with halftime, took 100 minutes. After watching a few live sporting events down here, I think I'd be OK seeing sponsors on teams jersey's if it meant fewer TV timeouts.
So that put me out of rhythm for the week leading up to the run, and it's just getting worse. We're meeting with a few vendors this week which is going to take away a few of the nights I was planning to go to the gym to get geared up. But that doesn't look like it's going to happen. So, I guess my carb loading will consist of barley and hops.
Such is life. If this is anything like 2006 you'll probably be able to find me sitting on my couch with a beer on Saturday night trying to get some sleep before the 6:20am start time (here's hoping I make it)...
But, I knew that was going to be just a dream. This is Australia, after all. This past weekend hit me pretty hard. I went to my first Rugby match and it was a game between the Australian national team (Wallabies) and the New Zealand national team (the All Blacks). The game was out at the 2000 Olympic Stadium which was pretty cool. Granted it was dark and we had already had a few, I wasn't able to see much. But it's a quick 20 minute train ride to the stadium so I might have to head out and look around.
But on to the good part. At the stadium, the concessions seem a little more lax than the states. You can order 4 beers at a time, instead of the two you get at stadiums back home. So, as soon as we got there we all separated. And when we made it to the seats each of us had picked up the max. For the five of us that went, we had more beers than room on the ground below us to store them.
For my first game, it was a good one. The Wallabies had the lead for the first 75 minutes, only to lose the game in the last 5. Pretty tough way to lose, but it was a good game. One of the best parts was that there were no TV time outs. The game that should take 100 minutes with halftime, took 100 minutes. After watching a few live sporting events down here, I think I'd be OK seeing sponsors on teams jersey's if it meant fewer TV timeouts.
So that put me out of rhythm for the week leading up to the run, and it's just getting worse. We're meeting with a few vendors this week which is going to take away a few of the nights I was planning to go to the gym to get geared up. But that doesn't look like it's going to happen. So, I guess my carb loading will consist of barley and hops.
Such is life. If this is anything like 2006 you'll probably be able to find me sitting on my couch with a beer on Saturday night trying to get some sleep before the 6:20am start time (here's hoping I make it)...
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
A Day in the Life
I wish I had more exciting things to share, but seeing as though it was a regular two day weekend here, it was pretty low key. But it seems people check after a long weekend so I'll try to at least give those few people an update of things to come.
This was another low key weekend, but that's going to change this weekend. I've been to two Aussie Football League (AFL) games and just starting to get the hang of the rules. This weekend we're going to my first rugby match. I don't really know what it is, but there's a Tri Nations on going battle and on saturday we're going to see the Australian national team (Wallabies) take on the All Blacks (New Zealand's national team). From watching rugby on TV I'm guessing it's going to be a long, but fun night.
On another bright spot we spent all week trying to get good tickets to the U2 concert in December with Jay Z opening. There was originally one show and we had a heck of a time with tickets. We couldn't get what we wanted, then tried for the next best thing but we weren't satisfied so we passed and tried for more but they got progressively worse. I scratched the idea and decided to scalp some on the floor for way more than they were worth. But then, luck happened and they announced a second show. Tickets went on sale today and the guys in the office was able to two tickets in the front row while i came up empty handed. I gave up and 5 minutes later tried once more and low and behold, I got one too. Face value. So we have tickets in the VIP section of the stage. Can get there right before the show and go right to the stage, please pass Go and collect $200 on your way sir.
The weather is clearing up too. We've had a few 70 plus days and even had the outlook appointment pop up to book surf camp. The water is stil a little cold but it's looking like the first of October I'll be learning to surf. The half marathon is also coming up in a week and a half. Still haven't been running that much, but my "schedule" says it's the cool down phase so I'll just continue at the gym. I'm trying to find a way to post during the race (if things are going well of course), so I'll let everyone know if i can.
Hope everyone had a nice relaxing three day weekend and enjoyed the end of summer because its my time now.
This was another low key weekend, but that's going to change this weekend. I've been to two Aussie Football League (AFL) games and just starting to get the hang of the rules. This weekend we're going to my first rugby match. I don't really know what it is, but there's a Tri Nations on going battle and on saturday we're going to see the Australian national team (Wallabies) take on the All Blacks (New Zealand's national team). From watching rugby on TV I'm guessing it's going to be a long, but fun night.
On another bright spot we spent all week trying to get good tickets to the U2 concert in December with Jay Z opening. There was originally one show and we had a heck of a time with tickets. We couldn't get what we wanted, then tried for the next best thing but we weren't satisfied so we passed and tried for more but they got progressively worse. I scratched the idea and decided to scalp some on the floor for way more than they were worth. But then, luck happened and they announced a second show. Tickets went on sale today and the guys in the office was able to two tickets in the front row while i came up empty handed. I gave up and 5 minutes later tried once more and low and behold, I got one too. Face value. So we have tickets in the VIP section of the stage. Can get there right before the show and go right to the stage, please pass Go and collect $200 on your way sir.
The weather is clearing up too. We've had a few 70 plus days and even had the outlook appointment pop up to book surf camp. The water is stil a little cold but it's looking like the first of October I'll be learning to surf. The half marathon is also coming up in a week and a half. Still haven't been running that much, but my "schedule" says it's the cool down phase so I'll just continue at the gym. I'm trying to find a way to post during the race (if things are going well of course), so I'll let everyone know if i can.
Hope everyone had a nice relaxing three day weekend and enjoyed the end of summer because its my time now.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The sea was angry that day, my friends...
Last night, we went out for a co-worker's birthday and had a few drinks and some dinner. We stopped by Rockpool Bar & Grill for burgers and wine. They have probably one of the most extensive wine lists in the city and most of them are priced out of a normal persons budget. So we decided to try a Cotes du Rhone since those usually are pretty reliable wines and easily drinkable. The burger was good as expected (though still sweeter than any burger in the states). But that was off set by the salty (but still somehow sweet) tempura textured onion rings.
When the waiter brought the wine over, I knew there was going to be a problem. He uncorked the bottle and gave it a quick whiff and the look on his face was priceless. He was definitely not expecting that smell. So he brought it over to the sommelier who apparently said it was good. He poured a little to taste in the glass and everyone got the same displeasing aroma, sewage. It was horrible. So we told him we thought there was something wrong with the bottle but he assured us it was fine. The sommelier came over and told us that this is a typical aroma for Cotes du Rhone. None of us were drinking the Kool Aid. And, for the first time every, I sent something back at a restaurant. But thankfully, it was less eventful that an old man, trying to send back soup in a deli.
But I think the wine gods are laughing at me now. Because on the way to the office this morning, as I got closer to the building I could smell a rather foul odor. Same smell, only everywhere. I tried to avoid going outside today because of the smell, but had to go to Camperdown to pick up the two cases of wine I one in last weeks wine auction.
Hope everyone has a fun and relaxing Labor Day back in the states. And make sure to think of me as I'm sitting at the office on Monday.
When the waiter brought the wine over, I knew there was going to be a problem. He uncorked the bottle and gave it a quick whiff and the look on his face was priceless. He was definitely not expecting that smell. So he brought it over to the sommelier who apparently said it was good. He poured a little to taste in the glass and everyone got the same displeasing aroma, sewage. It was horrible. So we told him we thought there was something wrong with the bottle but he assured us it was fine. The sommelier came over and told us that this is a typical aroma for Cotes du Rhone. None of us were drinking the Kool Aid. And, for the first time every, I sent something back at a restaurant. But thankfully, it was less eventful that an old man, trying to send back soup in a deli.
But I think the wine gods are laughing at me now. Because on the way to the office this morning, as I got closer to the building I could smell a rather foul odor. Same smell, only everywhere. I tried to avoid going outside today because of the smell, but had to go to Camperdown to pick up the two cases of wine I one in last weeks wine auction.
Hope everyone has a fun and relaxing Labor Day back in the states. And make sure to think of me as I'm sitting at the office on Monday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)