The National

I'm so excited because this evening we get to see The National. I happened to come across an article in Time Out mentioning that they will be playing at Recital Hall as part of the Sydney Festival. These guys have quickly risen to become one of my very favorite bands (thanks, James and Amanda!) and I'm thrilled to be able to see them perform live. You need to check them out. So this is funny. Before they come on, Chris gets up to go to the restroom and runs into a older couple standing in the lobby. He strikes up conversation and the woman, beaming, proudly announces that they are here to see their son perform. Chris replies, "Wow. That's great! My wife is a big fan." She then asks, "A big fan of Clogs or The National?" Chris replies, "The National." She beams even more and says, "My son is in The National. You know, they played on David Letterman! And they are even going to tour with R.E.M." It is so cute how thrilled she is at telling him this, and Chris responds that they should be very proud of their son. He laughs as he recounts the story to me. The show does not disappoint. It is an amazing performance. Afterwards, we wander back home and try to fall asleep, our ears buzzing. Early day tomorrow so we may have to skip our morning run. Damn. ;)

Aussie speak

I'm really starting to get a feel for the way the English language is spoken here. For starters, everything is abbreviated. Australians don't like to waste energy on long-winded, multi-syllabic words when they could be drinking a middy at the pub. For instance, arvo means afternoon, and and it's brekkie, not breakfast. McDonald's even has a Deluxe Brekkie Roll. Students attend uni, you avoid mozzies with bug spray, and if you're Tasmanian, you're a tazzie. Another thing Australians love to say is "How ya goin'?" instead of "How ya doing'?" This took me some time to get used to, since I think they are asking me where I'm headed, not how I feel. They also like to end phone conversations with "Cheers, ta!" This is always said at least an octave above normal pitch, with women as well as men. At the local pub, they drink middies or schooners, not pints (these are for foreigners) and they wouldn't be caught dead drinking Fosters. They say capsicum, not pepper. At the Australian Open last week, there was a big outcry over the use of capsicum spray by the local police. Another thing I've noticed that Aussies like to do is come up with little rhyming and alliterative phrases. There's an insurance ad on TV right now and they go on and on about 'puffin muffins', 'tossin' possums' and 'wrestling rhinos'. It's very entertaining.

Out and about

Today I think I'll forgo the long diatribe in exchange for some pictures! For those of you with short attention-spans or an aversion to reading (you know who you are) I hope you enjoy the little bit of visual love. :)


This is the Sky View ferris wheel in Darling Harbour. Not quite Navy Pier, but there's something I like about it. Somehow, it reminds me of those slightly run-down, seedy amusement parks we all begged our parents to take us to growing up. Maybe it's the retro sign and the fact that it's about to rain (right after I took this it started pouring). Nothing really special, and no, I didn't take a ride, but there you have it.


Um. Check out the size of that bird. It's bigger than a human! The birds here are large. And Chris and I finally witnessed the bat colonies in the Botanic Gardens! The trees are just dripping with them. Apparently, by their sheer weight, they are damaging the trees and the city has tried everything, including smearing the trees with python feces, and other savory-smelling things like chili and shrimp paste in order to get rid of them. They are the world's LARGEST bats and weigh something like 10 pounds and have a 3-foot wing span. Terrifying. Here's a video - check out the guy at :40.

On Sunday, we were going to head to Manly to check out the beach, but the clouds started rolling in, and once we got to Circular Quay, the storm looked imminent, so we changed our plans. We happened upon a street artist who managed to stuff her 5'3", 100 lb. body into that tiny little box! It took her a bit of time to get in there and in the end, it was a pretty impressive sight. Not for the claustrophobic!

Ahhh, spoken like a true Aussie:

Good advice...

Boomarang-a-bing bong

Today's the day to find the real Paddy's Market! On my way over, I manage to take a few pictures of the Real World House for posterity. You know you love it. I walk through Chinatown (the real one this time!) and then head down into Paddy's Market. This place is absolutely insane. Hundreds of vendors selling everything from kangaroo aprons (Carissa, I'm sensing the perfect post-baby outfit) to koala keychains, to boomarang EVERY. THING. It's like a bargain-hunter's Vegas. I squeeze my way back to the food stalls and am amazed at what I see. There is SO much food! People are shouting back and forth at each other, and whenever I approach a stall, plastic bags are chucked at me. I take this to mean "BUY". Loading up on different kinds of fruit and vegetables, I get adventurous after I notice a very intense-looking Japanese woman eying the bok choy. She selects three heads from this particular vendor, so of course I buy one too. I also choose some sort of green squash-like mystery (I find out later it is something called chayote) and some Chinese garlic chives. I only want one bunch, but the woman is insistent. "2 bunch for $1.00!" Now I have 5 pounds of chives. Lovely. Afterwards I cave, and head back over to Woolworth's to get a soap dish, scissors, twine (ya know, the necessities). I drop all of my purchases off at our apartment and then head over to Australia Square to do some work and meet Chris. There is a table of completely obnoxious Aussie guys one table over from me. In my peripheral vision, I can sense wild hand gestures, lots of knee slapping and overall general merriment. They are really revving up for something. The place becomes absolutely jammed (apparently Friday nights are always mobbed) and we take in the scene for a while before winding our way back home.

Fix the internet

So here's the situation. I bust out the door out this morning, full of energy, armed with about five places that I have read have wireless internet access. This is going to be such a productive day. I've had my double-spoonful Nescafe and am pumped. I get to my first target, Cafe Capriccio but they do not have wireless internet. Apparently they used to, but the company providing it went bankrupt. No biggie, I have four other places to look at. I walk back down George Street looking for a place called Blend. This time they tell me they've never had free wireless internet, even though there is a sticker advertising it right on their wall. They mention something about bankruptcy. I am beginning to see what's going on. Apparently a company named Azure outfitted the entire city with wireless internet a few years ago, but in 2006 they went belly up. Of course, nobody here seems to mind at all. No worries! On top of this, when you can get online, the connection is sloooooooooow. We've heard this is true throughout Australia. Apparently a political candidate is even making it a part of his platform to do something about it. I can see the advertisements now. "We WILL fix the internet in Australia! You WON'T be isolated forever!" I am MAD. Once back home I see the flowers that I bought yesterday in order to cheer myself up. I justified their purchase by telling myself that our apartment is so... bland. There is only bad artwork on the walls, and everything is beige. Today the flowers don't make me feel better. I get through a couple chapters of my latest book, Almost French - it is a great read. I feel like I am tearing through books like a mad woman. Last week, I polished off Eat Pray Love, something I think everyone should read. Before that it was Bad Karma, which was quite a laugh (thanks Heather!) In the evening we end up in Surry Hills, first hitting a local drinking hole with lots of character and a cool, retro vibe. Afterwards we dine on Lebanese food with Ryan, one of Chris's co-workers and his wife Natalie. They are from South Africa and apparently love to travel - very interesting couple! It's a fun night. As we walk by this colorful porn shop, I can't resist a photo!

I'm on a desert island

This morning begins with our ubiquitous run - actually, it's just a pretty slow jog for those of you who are keeping score. Carl Lewis we are not. Chris heads to the office and I go in search of free wireless internet so I can begin to make a dent in some of the work I need to do. The place I originally find, Cafe Buzz, tells me they no longer have wireless internet. Damn. I ask if they know of any place else, and Starbucks seems the only option. I head over to Circular Quay, purchase my Cafe Americano and attempt to work. As you would guess, Starbucks internet is NOT free, nor is it even moderately affordable ($20 for 60 minutes)! Outrageous. I site there for awhile stewing over this, and then decide to do as much work as I can at home without an internet connection. It's amazing how dependent I have become on the internet! It seems I can't do anything without it. Of course, this is only an illusion. You can do plenty of work offline, but still I am steaming over this. I feel so disconnected from the world! There are a million things to worry about - is our auto mortgage payment going through? What about our electricity bill? How do I get the paperwork to file my quarterly taxes? I need to sort through our mail! What's going on in the world?!? I sit at my computer all afternoon, trying to do as much work as possible, while feeling isolated. Chris arrives home around 7:00 and we have pizza out on our balcony. His second day went well. Phew.

Building up to chinos

Today is Chris's first day at Macquarie Bank! We've been getting up at 6:30 to go running - this morning, however, we get the extra-special treat of falling out of bed at 6:00, since Chris wants to be there bright and early for his first day of work. Now, I know 6:00 isn't that early for some of you (Nate, Jeff) but for me, it is a feat to be proud of. Anyway, we run through the Rocks, and find this hidden coffee shop behind our building! I am so excited - imagining many mornings gazing out at sparkling Darling Harbour, while we enjoy the morning paper and sip espressos! We probably won't have time for any of this, but it's my daydream, so I get to decide. After a few days here, Chris is a bit nervous about his wardrobe, because it turns out the standard business attire for men is dark pants, blue shirt and tie. Chris's co-worker did mention that after awhile you may be able to mix it up a bit and wear "chinos". This is a funny term for me, since in the States we don't use that word. I think the equivalent is "khakis". Well this is somewhat reassuring, because Chris has four pairs of chinos. I tell him he looks perfectly appropriate in his grayish chinos and blue dress shirt, but when he gets to the office, everyone on his team is dressed in a suit. Great. He thinks about coming home to change, but of course there is no time. Around 3:00 he does rush home because he has just gotten his new computer and desperately needs to migrate stuff off of mine, but then he gets an urgent call - there is a surprise meeting with the team at 3:30 - that is in 4 minutes. Time to run back over in his chinos. Needless to say, it shaping up to be a crazy day.

Nicole Kidman is awesome

Well, today is the first day of the Sydney Summer Festival, a month-long event with music, dance, art installations, theatre, etc. This first night includes dozens of events, all free to the public, so we are meeting some of Chris's co-workers at 7:00 to hit the town. We decide to go swimming for the second time, and I am reminded of how boring laps can be. Even after only 4 lengths of the pool, I'm pissed off and feeling sorry for myself. Swimming sucks (sorry Diane - I know you hate that word). Afterwards, Chris is feeling like he might be getting swimmer's ear, so he goes in search of a pharmacy while I take a nap. I am SO tired today! Since we haven't really wandered around the Botanic Gardens except for a short run the other morning (and shuffling anywhere at 6:45 a.m. removes your desire to look anywhere but at the ground) we decide to see them at a more pleasant hour. For the first time, I see the Opera House up close! It really is a magnificent piece of architecture, but the exterior seems sort of... dirty. I rub my fingers over the diamond-shaped tiles to see if they are grimy, but then, the sun comes out! The entire sweeping section in front of me sparkles and is the most brilliant, bright white. So that's the secret. Those little tiles love the sun. The gardens are so beautiful - rose gardens, fragrant herb gardens, a tropical garden, the list goes on and on. And the gum trees are gigantic.They look like they are straight out of Lord of the Rings. We look hard for the infamous bats (they are supposedly the size of small dogs) that nest in the trees, but don't see any. We start walking through the Domain and hit the tip of Hyde Park, where the traffic lanes have been shut down to make room for the thousands of people descending upon the city. Brian Wilson is one of the opening acts and for some reason, everyone loves him here. People are also obsessed with Nicole Kidman, who is featured almost daily on the Australia version of the Today Show. "Nicole this, Nicole that, Nicole is on the best-dressed list of celebrities, Nicole went out to dinner, Nicole is having a baby!!" etc. etc. They can't get enough of her. We stop to get some cash out from Citibank (surprise) and then walk to Bar 333 to meet Chris's co-worker, Josh. The bar is completely packed! People are spilling out into the streets and you can sense a raucous party gearing up. We head into the laneways (ie. alleys) where there are DJs, breakdancing, krumping, and beatbox competitions all over the place. The whole area is jammed with people. Now, this normally isn't my scene (nor Chris's) but it was pretty cool to be right in the middle of all the action. We head to another bar (again, packed) with our friends and then onto Hyde Park where we catch the end of a The Spanish Harlem Orchestra - now they were amazing.

Do we need a new table?

We laze around most of this morning. I pitch a few ideas - "let's walk to Paddington", "let's take the ferry to Manly" - but it's raining, and neither of us takes any initiative, so we stay put. After a while, hunger kicks in, which turns out to be a great motivator. We decide to head to Little Spain (near Chinatown, remember?) to see if we can get some tapas. Naturally, we end up at a Korean restaurant named Zono. This experience makes me decide that Korean food is absolutely wonderful. The smells, little side dishes (my tray comes with 7 bowls of miniature delights), and it's just so fun to eat! Chris and I vow to try some of the other Korean restaurants so we can hone our palate. Maybe I'll even try to cook some at home. Afterwards, we head back to Hyde Park, which has a remarkably different vibe today. We see the Anzac Memorial, a tribute to all Australians who have fought in war. The structure itself is very impressive. Very Art Deco. The museum downstairs is really informative and it's fascinating to look through all of the letters, pictures and other artifacts. We head back outside to lay in the grass and both promptly fall asleep. Later, we see a group of tree possums - they are so cute! There are three, all curled up in the knots of a gum tree. We walk back toward home, hitting a bookstore and then get our first Starbucks fix! People seem to be giving me the evil eye, so I back away and realize everyone is queuing up on the right, then retrieving their beverages on the left. I smile and hope they forgive me for being the American idiot. Dinner this evening is a mish-mash of things, as usual. I throw everything onto a plastic tray, which sits on one of our dining room chairs - this has become our makeshift dinner table. The problem is, the tray is the size of, well, a tray. There's not nearly enough room, so half the dinner (usually the salad because the bowl is so big) ends up on the ground waiting for a spot until the other food is eaten. This makes me feel very French. It's funny, we have become totally used to this predicament, but maybe it's time we bought a real table for our deck. I'm not going back to Woolworth's and that can only mean one thing. K-Mart.

Crazy cross walks

So I wasn't in the right place. I mean, I was, but Paddy's Market is below Market City, the huge shopping metropolis I wandered into. Unfortunately, it only runs Thursday - Sunday so I'm out of luck until next weekend. Now that Chris has started working, there's less time for exploring the city, so the past few days consist of quick morning workouts (we are still on our 'Bondi-bod' kick) Special-K breakfasts in front of the TV watching the Australian Today Show and not much more. He heads to work at 8:15 and I spend my semi-employed days doing laundry, checking emails, paying bills, etc. Boring stuff. We did wander to the 'Real World' house the other day, and I am totally embarrassed by my thrilled reaction to seeing it in person. I tried to act cool so that no one would know I was American. We are getting used to the city, and I finally know my way around the CBD and outlying areas. It's funny how quickly you get used to certain things, like the sound you hear when it's time to cross the street - it's like the beginning of a laser fight from Star Wars and makes me laugh every time. And at intersections like at Pitt and Market, all traffic stops, and people walk any direction they want, including diagonally. It's hilarious. But now, I'm totally used to it.

First day of work

Ahhh, the fun has to come to and end, and this morning is Chris's first day of work at ThoughtWorks Australia. We decide to both head over, because I will probably be doing some contract work with them, to supplement the Gallery No.9 work I have lined up. What I need is steady, regular employment (um, we need money). We walk over to 16 O'Connell Street, very close to our apartment. It's so nice to be near where Chris will be working. We're not sure we'll live on Kent Street permanently, but for now, I think the short commute will be very nice. We arrive at his office and everyone is very nice - I see some familiar faces. Chris is trying to do work on my computer - up until now, we've been operating without cell phones and he has yet to receive his work-issued laptop - oh, and we only have one apartment key! A nice girl named Dahlia lends me her book - 'Eat Pray Love' - I've heard a lot about it, and I get three chapters in and am hooked. She let's me borrow it. I'm so excited to read more, but we need more food staples, so I leave Chris and decide to go try to find Paddy's Market in Chinatown. I end up in some big shopping complex that looks nothing like a market - there are no food stalls, only clothing and electronic stores, but the address lets me know I'm in the right place. What the hell? Finally I just wander into some tiny Chinese grocery store thinking it can't possibly be the Paddy's Market I've heard about, but I do buy some grapes, mangoes and other things since I'm already there. It's pretty disappointing. From what people have told me, this market is supposed to be great. I grumble home and wind up in Little Spain (who knew?) and I make a mental note to come back with Chris. Once I get home, the creativity kicks in and I manage to pull together some meat pasta (um, not hard) and asparagus, which I steam by covering a pot with a ceramic plate. We have only TWO pots. We also have four spoons, three bowls and a chef's knife, which we bought yesterday. The asparagus seems okay. We eat a lazy dinner out on our balcony, which is quickly becoming the favorite spot in our apartment. I'll have to get to the bottom of the Paddy's Market thing tomorrow.

Happy 8002!

Umm today began a bit... slowly. We are all hung-over. We rouse ourselves and collectively decide that what we need is some serious, greasy food. Pears and muesli are not going to cut it this morning. We decide to head over to Darling Harbour, the closest place we figured we could get a burger (or in my case, nachos - I've been craving them since we arrived). We shuffle around Cockle Bay Wharf past the Sydney Aquarium and many restaurants and bars along the water. Darling Harbour is pretty amazing. The best way I can describe it is like Navy Pier meets Sea World with a little Las Vegas thrown in as well. It's quite a spectacle and there are a million things to see and do. We walk all around looking for a suitable lunch spot that's not too expensive but where we can also get our required burgers and nachos. Finally, Jeff eyes a place with both and we pull up chairs outside. Melissa has already explained this to me, but in Australia there are no tortilla chips. Not in the supermarkets, not in the restaurants, nowhere. They don't exist here. Are you kidding? She told me the closest thing you can get to an authentic tortilla chip are plain Doritos, which you can find in some grocery stores. Anyway, I ordered my nachos, hoping they would contain something better than Doritos, but lo and behold, they come, and not only are they Doritos, they are Cool Ranch Doritos. I'm serious. No matter, I was starving and Doritos are still good. I ate the whole plate. We enjoy the sun (my shoulders enjoyed it a bit too much where I missed a spot of suncreen, dammit) and watch a skywriter spell out "Happy 80__". We figure the poor guy must have had too much to drink last night and was mixing up the numbers. In the end, we conclude it was the 80th birthday of someone named Fred but we'll never really know.

New Year's Eve

Well, today is New Year's Eve, and we are SO looking forward to the harbour fireworks tonight! These are supposed to be some of the best (if not THE best) in the world, and we are going to be right in the center of the action. Just as I'm getting geared up to stake our our spot to watch the festivities, Chris realizes that we have neglected to do something of urgent importance - get our visas stamped into our passports. We both frantically look up where and how to do this, and find that the Department of Immigration is about a 25 minute walk away. We strap on our running shoes and decide to jog through Chinatown, which is on the way. Chinatown seems more, em cosmopolitan, than others I have seen, but it seems authentic - everything is written in Chinese, so who am I to judge? Sydney is a glitzy city. Only later do I find out that were weren't really in Chinatown, the heart of which runs through Dixon street, but only on the outskirts. Phew. I can't wait to see the real thing.) The visa stamping goes smoothly and we're back home at around 4:00, ready to gear up for some fun! Chris's co-worker Jeff, another American who is working in Melbourne, is in town and he and his wife, Melissa, come over to our place. I spread out an assortment of treats (ever the hostess) and the boys bring back pizzas to cook. We manage to not set off the smoke alarm, which is an amazing feat, considering the oven is caked with burnt bits. Jeff and Melissa take turns fanning the alarm with couch cushions, which seems to do the trick. There is a steep fine for setting of the smoke alarm in our building. After an intense game of Set and spontaneous dancing, we all head down to the harbour to watch the fireworks. Chris found a tiny park on our jog through the Rocks the other day and thought that it would be the perfect place to watch the action - we get there and were amazed to see that hardly anyone else was there! Compared to the other hot spots in the city like Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, this place is deserted. The show was unbelievable and afterwards we head to the Lord Nelson for some more merriment. We met some Sydneysiders, Susan and David (our first Aussie friends!) and then head home to collapse.