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.