Thursday, July 26, 2007

No Quirky Title for this Post

Last night the contractor that we’re teaming with up on my project hosted an International Housewarming Party on the roof of our office building. There’s so many different countries represented on this project (US, Australia, Austria, Japan, New Zealand, UK, Hong Kong and there still could be more than this) that a get-together was held with finger foods from each country to eat. The original choice for the US was hotdogs but a couple of people thought that hotdogs weren’t the easiest of finger foods, so we were represented by Buffalo wings w/blue cheese dressing and chorizos. Yes, a Spanish/Mexican dish was used to represent the US. Oh well … at least they were tasty. The entire shindig was catered and done quite nicely with the food and drinks being passed out by a wait staff.

I befriended a couple of other blokes from the office and we were one of the last ones to leave the party at 11:15ish, with a tub full of drinks still on ice. The contractor definitely didn’t skimp out on the party and it’s nice to be appreciated, even though as the head guy said, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” There might not be, but I definitely got my money’s worth of food & drinks out of them last night.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby. Right Round Like A Record, Baby

It's disappointing to report that the toilets in Australia don't flush in the opposite direction as the ones in the U.S. They actually flush straight down ... so maybe the title is a little incorrect. All toilets in Australia (at least the ones I've come across) have two buttons you push to flush it ... the smaller one will flush the toilet for the length of time that you push it down and the larger of the two will only flush the toilet once, regardless of how long you push it. I'll try to post a picture tonight to help show what I'm trying to explain.

Monday, July 23, 2007

There's No Place Like Home

I've posted my address to the right in case anybody wants it.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Good Directions and Turnip Greens

Thought I would post some odds & ends that I've experienced or noticed during my stay in Australia ...

  • Within my first hour walking around downtown Sydney, an Aussie asked me for directions and I was actually able to give her correct ones.
  • Australian hamburger meat tastes somewhat different than American hamburger ... guess they just grow the cattle different down here.
  • There are directions painted on the crosswalk in Sydney telling you which way to look for oncoming traffic ... saved my head a couple of times.
  • The cost of living is higher in Brisbane than in Chicago ... an 18-pack of soft drinks (not soda, not pop) costs about $12 ... a 24-pack of bottled water costs about $10 ... however, the produce is fresh and cheaper than Chicago - so let's see if I actually start to eat healthier here.
  • A "good" Australian bitter beer tastes like Keystone Light ... I haven't found anything up to standard drinking yet, but at least it doesn't cost that much (sorry Mom).
  • As of now, I have limited use of the internet at work and I have to sit out in the courtyard in order to jump onto someone else's wireless signal, so please be patient if I don't immediately respond back. You will get a quicker response if you use my work email (I changed the email link on the blog).
  • The people over here are really friendly and funny ... if you ever have to chance to visit (either now while you have a free couch to sleep on) or later, you must do it. Until next time, cheers!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Sydney Walkabout

I spent all day Thursday exploring Sydney. The city is absolutely gorgeous and I can see how it is consistently rated one of the top 5 cities to visit in the world. I just wish it wasn’t half-way around the world or I would definitely consider moving there for a short time.
The first 1½ hours I aimlessly wandered around downtown … going in and out of buildings just checking things out. My first touristy thing I did that morning was to head to the observation deck of the Sydney Tower – 250 meters above the ground. Let’s just say that being over 800 feet above the ground provides an amazing view of the city.
After looking at Sydney from a bird’s eye view, I checked out the city using my feet. I walked through Martin Place towards the Royal Botanical Gardens. The Royal Gardens are breathtakingly beautiful and provide some amazing views of the Harbour, the Opera House and the city. I know that there’s a ton of different species of trees and plants in Australia compared to what we have in the U.S., but I was surprised how cool some of the trees looked.
After the Gardens I headed over to the Opera House for a look and a lunch. I had a little time after lunch and before my bridge climb started, so I took in a street performer. Let’s just say he juggled a torch, a sword & an apple standing on a bicycle 25 feet up in the air … not to shabby. I'm going to try and post the video I took of him once I figure it out.
My appointment for the Harbour Bridge climb was at 2pm. After filling out some documents, taking a breathalyzer test and making sure the equipment worked, we headed up to the bridge to climb it. There were 12 of us on the climb plus the two climb leaders – Jeff & Olivia. From check-in to check-out the climb took 3 hours and we covered approximately 1500 steps. We started by walking up the east side of the bridge, crossed over at the summit, and walked down the west side of the bridge. When we were heading down the bridge, the sun was starting to set which cast a lovely light over the bay.
The remainder of the night was spent having a 10oz steak at a bar – surprisingly tasty – and catching the latest Harry Potter movie at the cinema (beat you too it Jess!). I thought it cost an arm & a leg to see a movie in Chicago, but in Sydney it costs an arm, two legs, a kidney and a gall bladder … A$15.5 for a single ticket. Overall it was one the best days I can remember in a long time … the cancelled flight, the 14.5 hour flight, the lost luggage … the wait was definitely worth it.
I know my words can’t do the city justice, so check out the photos I took throughout the day.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

I'm Here or There (Depending On Your Point of View)

I officially arrived two afternoons ago in Brisbane safe and sound. I did a little exploring around the city yesterday- it's a very lovely city. I still like Sydney more. Speaking of Sydney ... I will add a post about my walkabout there soon enough. I don't have internet access yet at my apt and am currently at a internet cafe. Once I have the pictures I took of Sydney uploaded to Flickr, I will post the link to it.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Dear Diary ... Day 2

Day 2: Tuesday July 10
6am (PST): Awaken by hotel wake up call at 6am LA time. Ignore it and try to go back to sleep. Turns out to be a pseudo-important phone call.

9am: As I head out the door for breakfast there’s a letter from Qantas outside my door apologizing for the delayed flight. The big news is that the cancelled flight has been rescheduled for 10am LA time. As it is 9am out on the West coast, I have an hour to get things together and get to the airport.

9:20am: On the way to the airport there are several of us from the cancelled Qantas flight who received the rescheduling info via the doorstep letter. After talking we come to the conclusion that the wake up call was to alert us of the revised flight time. Too bad the call was automated and everyone ignored it.

9:30am: Arrive at the airport and have to recheck in. The one good thing about this is that I am placed in an exit row so I will have plenty of room to stretch out.

10:15am: Finally board the plan with the expected departure time being 10:30am – just 12 hours behind schedule – and the arrival in Sydney at 6pm on Wednesday.

11am: Still waiting to leave the gate and am stuck watching “Bean” on British TV. Worst. Show. Ever.
Good news is that no one is sitting in the seat behind me so I can lay the seat all the way back. It’s the simple things in life that make things tolerable.

11:45am: And I’m off … for the second time in less than a day. There are two babies in the middle rows adjacent to me. Hopefully they won’t be too fussy throughout the flight.

12:20ish pm: Braised beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread, and salad. Not too shabby for an in-flight lunch.

12:30pm: The lunch was actually tasty. Kudos Qantas. Glad to see that something finally went right.

1:52pm: 6,390 miles to Sydney. 11:44 left in the flight. Half way between LA & Hawaii.

2:20pm: Babies are fussy but a little “The Office” on the television and some classic rock to listen to make it bearable. Gotta love the little screens at your seat that you can watch movies, television shows, listen to music and play games on.

5:45pm: Half-way to Sydney!! Only 3,670 miles to go. Currently watching “300” – it’s a must see if you haven’t watched it yet.

8:10pm: I am an official time traveler (and a dork) – just crossed the International Date Line. Someone smells like dirty diapers. Hopefully it’s the baby across the aisle and not the old guy sitting next to me. Tom & Shelley-thanks for suggesting I wear comfy shorts and bring running pants instead of wearing jeans. I still haven’t tried to sleep yet. Considering there’s a little over 5 hours left in the flight I probably won’t rest my eyes. Starting to ramble … need to get up and walk around. Hope my legs don’t fall off. Jess-thanks again for driving me to the airport yesterday (?) and helping with my luggage. You’re the best.

9:57pm (Sydney time): I am at my hotel room right now trying to stay awake to let you guys know that I made it safe and sound (too bad that can't be said about one of my pieces of luggage). The hotel's not too shabby and you can't beat the price being this close to the CBD. My cab driver & I actually had a conversation. I think I talked to my cabby more tonight than I have in all my 4+ years in Chicago.
I don't know why, but the Sydneyites (?) must love their Civil Engineers. I got to skip the quarantine line when the checker saw that my profession was a civil engineer. Hope the gals in Australia like the engineers as much as the quarntine guy does.

I'm signing off ... have a good day today in America and I'll try and post some pictures tomorrow night if I can.

If you want to get ahold of me via phone, the phone number you can reach me at is (312)-239-8717. It's a Chicago area code, but I can access through my computer.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

A Night in LaLa Land

It's 11:30 pm here in LA and I'm at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel watching a little Baseball Tonight on the television. Why am I just finishing eating room service instead of being somewhere over the Pacific, you ask? Let's just say that the airplane I was suppose to connect to got struck with a bolt of lightning sometime tonight. I was informed of this after asking an AA employee where my connecting gate is. Instead of heading to the gate, they sent me to the shuttle that took me to the hotel.
As of now, there's no assurance on when the engine will be fixed. If they fix it tonight/tomorrow then I'll fly out tomorrow. If they can't get it fixed, then there's no telling when I'll leave LA. I'll post more tomorrow when I find out.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Dear Diary ...

I’m going to try to keep a running diary through my travels from Chicago to Sydney – 21 ½ hours of screaming kids, old sweating men and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” on the movie screen – yippee! I’m not promising anything exciting or scandalous … more than likely it’ll be pretty boring.

3:55pm (all times CST): I made it through the baggage check-in and security with ease, but leave it to good ol’ Mayor Daley to try and squeeze every last penny out of you. There’s a nice little banner after you get through security stating easy access to the internet. Of course it doesn’t mention that it costs $7 just to access the internet. Nothing like shooting down ones dreams. I was hoping to do a little gate surfing, but I’m going to Jake It and not pay the money. At least not now.

4:15pm: OK, maybe I have a slight internet dependency. It took me all of 5 minutes to cave in and spend the money for internet access.

5:15pm: Just found out that that we are being delayed 40 min. New departure is 6:20pm

5:20pm: It’s nice to see that the only place that has power outlet is on the floor next to the men’s bathroom. Classy.

6:15pm: On the plane … more bad weather to come …may be sitting on the tarmac for another 45-60 min. Being told that our flight will probably arrive at LAX at 10:00 with my flight to Sydney taking off at 10:30. Nothing like cutting it close on your first international flight.

6:25pm: Getting ready for takeoff and there’s an empty seat next to me!!

6:30pm: Not to rip-off Tyler Durden, but it’s amazing how calm & serene the passengers are during the oxygen mask deployment portion of the safety video.

6:40pm: There is no freakin’ way I’m going to be able to sit in coach for 14+ hours to Sydney. I’m already antsy and I’ve only been on the plane for 30 minutes.

7:03pm: And we’re off the ground.

7:30pm: The in flight move is “Blades of Glory.”

11:02pm: The smoothest landing the flight attendant has ever experienced in L.A.

11:17pm: Just found out that my flight to Sydney has been cancelled because the connecting plane’s engine got struck by lightning. I’ll post more of this later after I have a little room service dinner.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Sunday, July 1, 2007

I wish I had a pencil thin mustache

This past weekend was the annual Margaritaville festival/bash/drink-a-thon at Bass Lake. We had three new participants this year (see picture) joining us at the lake. Some were man enough to sleep at the lake and then there was Tom, who had to go back to his Mommy's house in Valpo to sleep in his own bed. I'm not passing judgement here Tom, but even Lynn slept at the lake. On a more eventful note, Lynn & I spent the better part of the afternoon in Bass Lake while a rescue crew was sent out. You would think two people with master's degrees would be able to figure out how to climb back onto a jet ski once they got dumped off. Luckily a nice geriatric couple was gracious enough to rescue us. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day at the lake. Scotty-I would keep an eye on Lynn as it seems like she made a new friend at the lake!! Click here for more Margaritaville pictures.


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I leave for Sydney next Monday for Sydney!! One of the things I'll be doing in Sydney during my short two-day stay is climbing Harbour Bridge. Check out link for info on it, it should be pretty cool.

Hopefully this doesn't happend to me during the climb!