Toronga Zoo! And a Baby Elephant too!

Toronga Zoo!

Honestly, I didn't think I could be so excited to go to a Zoo, but guess what? I was. Toronga Zoo is one of Ogilvy's clients so being an employee we get free passes to go to the Zoo, and I was more than happy to use them. Just a short ferry ride out of Sydney Harbour, I was on a whole other plant. At moments, you can almost forget that you are in Sydney esp when you see all of the amazing animals, then you look up and see the Sydney skyline just above the Giraffes enclosure.

We started the day with the Giraffe's (my favorites!) where we got to listen to the trainer talk about the animals as they fed on carrots and eucalyptus leaves (see video) then we watched the Seal Show (awesome) then moved on to the Gorilla feeding, then to the baby elephant, the Bird Show, and then the sky-tram overlooking Sydney and the whole zoo. Go zoo big or go home.

The baby elephant was pretty special however, as it is actually Australia's first elephant born in captivity. His name is Puk Chai, which after looking up the meaning was quite dissapointed in the name... it means quite litterally 'Son'. Horrah Toronga for your baby elephant, but p.s. your naming conventions suck.

Festival of the Winds: Lets go fly a kite

Festival of the winds, hehe.

You can't tell me that you didn't laugh a little when you saw the title?!

Festival of the winds is not what every 10 year old thinks it is, it is a festival of kites as it is the most windy season here in Sydney. And by windy I don't mean cold, it was 30 degrees on Sat and Sunday this weekend, which is about 86 Fahrenheit or so. Not bad for the beginning of spring!

After heading down to Bondi beach, just a short walk down the road at an early 10am (it was already hot, so I had to get my sun-baking on early!) I was sad to see that the kites were not as plentiful as I had imagined (again like a 10 year old, when they say kite festival I immediately think A MILLION kites will be there) but luckily as the day progressed more and more kites came out.

The theme of the festival was "International" besides the hundreds of kites being flown (some professional some civilian) they had an international kite exhibit displaying kites from around the world, plus entertainment which included some folk dancing, Bolivian story telling dancers, and so much more. Plus, my personal favorite food stalls from around the world! yum!

After a day out in the sun, I spent the evening at Icebergs drinking and dancing. There was a great cover-band, and a 40 birthday going on, so it was my crowd! Lots of drunk crazy people, I even met my first Aussie celeb there, Dave Faulkner from the the Aussie Band Hoodoo Gurus, an 80's rock band! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kk3_FsqH3w (Please note, he no longer has the long flowing hair, it was short and balding...ahh would have loved to have met him 20 years ago!) so funny!

After the festival of the winds, I was quite winded, but well worth it!

Tea Party, Aussie Style...without Tea.

This was the first time I had been invited to a tea party since Kindergarten. Back then the tea was freshly steeped air, and cookies molded plastic that I may or may not have put in my mouth regardless of taste--just for effect. This time around, things were much different. Amen.

50's housewives was the attire, but besides jello there was nothing 50s about it. Ladies afternoon get-together filled with cakes, cheese, candies, brownies, tarts, and lots and lots of booze. I am starting to think that these Aussies have it all right.

I was invited to this little get-together by a co-worker who decided it would be fun to get some girls together for an afternoon of gab, snacking, and of course some libation. The setting was Rebbecca's backyard which was decorated with sweets, and doilies strung across the yard. The perfect setting for a tea party. After the wine, mojitos, sangria, and jello shots the chat flowed almost as easy as the drinks!

A perfect way to spend my Saturday afternoon on one of the first days of spring!

Jason lands in Sydey

Timing....it can certainly be a b*tch some times!

After weeks of interviewing and waiting another few weeks for each response, I didn't really give much thought to my interview with Ogilvy the day before Jason arrived (especially because they weren't even sure if they needed someone yet....) So the next day after I picked Jason up from the airport, I didn't know what to expect when my recruiter called, but as Murphy's law would have it, Ogilvy wanted me to start on Monday. Go figure.

So many of the things that I wanted to show Jason had to be squeezed into two weekends, the weeks he would get to explore the city himself, or lounge at the beach as he pleased. (Let me tell you it is very hard to work when you know your boyfriend is lounging at the beach and getting a massage while you toil away!)

But we made the most of it, and I am pretty sure I wore him out! From Bondi, Icebergs, to Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Botanical Gardens, Queen Victoria Building, Koala Park, Hunter Valley Wine Country, to the Rocks we saw Sydney at a ridiculous pace but still getting to enjoy each others company all the while. I am sure after the whirl-wind tours from me on the weekend he probably welcomed the break from me during working hours ;)

Although it was hard to see him go again, it was a great trip and I think now he has a better understanding of why I am here, and why I love Sydney so much. Hopefully the next time he comes back though we can just relax!

Employed! (Changes my whole blog profile doesnt it?!)

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....

The Perfect Sydney Day: Boats and Footy

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!

Monet, and her white trash easel...

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.