I guess the key question you are all asking: will I still be able to entertain you now that I am working?! Will all of the craziness come to a halt? No, don't you worry,after all I am still in Australia and as I am finding after completing my first week of work, these Aussies party both in and outside the office.Case-in-point: Two main perks of my job, endless supply of Vegemite & booze. "Beerthirty" begins well, usually somewhere around 5:30pm at your desk when someone makes a run to our free bar upstairs and brings down bottles of wine and beer, but if its Friday, beerthirty is a bit closer to say, 1pm!
Also, another added perk: the bar upstairs on Fridays is catered by their client: KFC! Sure makes you feel at home when the Colonel arrives every Friday promptly at 5:30pm!The work is very similar to what I was doing at home, and the people are great. I have a new nickname dubbed by the studio guys, "Shieldsy" though I am finding it sad that I cant even say my own nickname--it doesnt sounds as good with my American accent. But I am doing my best to educate our office on all things American, while they are doing their best to teach me some cool Aussie things, namely as of late, they are trying to instill in me that no one (except me) in Australia uses the word "super" I am trying to work on that one, but it comes so easily!Hope I have a "super" second week....
I can't imagine what would be better than cruising around Sydney Harbour in the middle of winter with my bikini on and a beer in my hand?! It's a rough life I lead. Saturday morning I met up with my Aussie mate Grant and some of his friends (his buddy just married an American so the bridal party was still in town) to hit the Sydney Harbour in his boat and just relax and cruise around the bay. We spent a good chunk of the morning just cruising around seeing the Opera House, Bridge and the city from some amazing water views, then for lunch we hit the Sydney Fish Markets (you can basically just park your boat and venture inside) Inside you can get raw fresh sushi, huge shrimp, oysters, and pretty much any other fresh seafood you can imagine and of course where there is fresh there is fried, so fish and chips and fried calamari abounded as well. We all ducked in, got a veriety of food and shared on the boat ...AMAZING... Some of the biggest freshest oysters I have ever had and most amazing peel and eat shrimp, all washed down with another good Aussie beer.
After a bit more cruising we docked and cleaned the boat, then Grant and I decided that it was a must to hit the Footy as there are only a few games left for the season. The stadium is in the old Olympic dome where the Sydney Olympics were held, and the match was Sydney Swans (super masculine name) vs. the Geelong Cats (I am thinking for such a manly sport they should really work on the naming) The game semi resembles soccer, football, and maybe water polo all combined. It was a super close game which I watched intently, and only partially because of the super short shorts.
After the game we hit the pub in the Olympic park to comisterate with the other Sydney fans over our loss. From Boats to Footy in one day... Fantastic!
So, I have taken up painting. I have always wanted to do it and being that I have plenty of free time in the land down under, I decided that now was the right time to start. Plus if it turned out terrible I could trash it here, and no one in America would know any better. But really who knows, I could get good at this....?
So what did I need? A canvas, paints, paintbrushes, and an easel. After purchasing my small supplies I returned home. Where would I find an easel that I could afford, or at least cheap enough that I didn't feel bad leaving it in OZ? After much searching and thinking, I came up with a brilliant plan. I would use the ladder that has been in our living room for the last few days. Genius, yes. Slightly white trash, very.
The sad thing is that the ladder itself was not the most white trash part of this scenario. The trailer park part was that I couldn't figure out how to get the canvas to stay on the new easel. I needed something to tie it to the ladder, but with what? I had no string, no yarn, no pull- ties... but I did have a plastic bag. So I rolled that up and used it to tie my canvas to the ladder.
Oh yes, my white trash easel was now complete and I could begin. I didnt know exactly what I was going to paint, I had the colors I wanted to use and an idea, but as the painting progressed what I had in mind slowly evolved. I am calling it "Outback" (very original) but it does have hints of dessert and sand with a red sky. Take a look and maybe you'll see something different.
Good Morning Sydney! City to Surf runs from Sydney city (Hyde Park) to Bondi Beach (Home!) and is 14km long, or as you know it at home 8.7 miles. It is longer than Bay to Breakers, but much calmer! I only saw 6 racers drinking! It is far more serious, but still good fun! From rock and roll bands playing on the rooftops to a brass band playing in the bus shed, it was a a great way to see and hear Sydney. And don't worry the drinking comes after, and lasts late into the night! I walked with my new flatmate Viola (from Germany) and our old flatmate (who is traveling to South America for a few months) Karen. We had a great time watching the people and getting to see Sydney from the streets. And as you can tell from the video above, there were quite a few people walking and running with us, about 100,000 to be exact!After 3 hours and 8.7 miles of walking, we treated ourselves to sausages outside the North Bondi Surf Club. Although it was a delicious "snag" the best part was that there were two young gentlemen (one wihtout a shirt) whos sole job it was to put sauces on your sausage. HA! So I played the, "oh I am here from California can I take my picture with you?!" And they obliged. I am thinking that this would do very well in the states!
The rest of the afternoon involved beer, and lots of Aussie pub fun! Great day in Sydney.
Although there weren't very many costumes, the winners were hands down the "City to Smurfs!"
I guess the key question you are all asking: will I still be able to entertain you now that I am working?! Will all of the craziness come to a halt? No, don't you worry,after all I am still in Australia and as I am finding after completing my first week of work, these Aussies party both in and outside the office.
