Dave & Dana in Australia

Some of you may be putting this together and saying to yourselves ‘hmm, that must be like Canada day, but for Aussies’. You would be right. It was nice to have a day off on a Thursday, and it was really interesting having an opportunity to see how another country celebrates their national holiday. In the end, Dana and I decided that the Aussies do so in a manner somewhere between where Canadians and Americans do (in terms of patriotism, fervour, etc.), but definitely closer to the way Canada does so.

We started the day early in the botanical gardens to see an aboriginal dance ceremony and the Commonwealth games torch/baton start it’s journey through Sydney. Then it was back to the house for breakfast and to pick up our newly purchased couch and mattress. Then it was off on the ferry out to Manly to have lunch, poke around the neighbourhood, spend some time at the beach and get out on the surfboard for the first time. I discovered that I am a bit rusty (and a bit sunburned). The harbour was absolutely rammed with boats - I am genuinely amazed none of them got run down by the ferries. Finally we went back home for dinner and then to my office to watch the fireworks in Darling Harbour. What a show - there were also something like 200 thousand people crowded around the harbour to watch the concert and fireworks.

All in all, a good and traditional Australia day. Pics posted to the gallery.

We pretty much didn’t bring anything down to Aus except our clothes and our bikes - we have some camping gear and the rest of our shoes in boxes we’re still waiting for, but that’s it. We’re in a furnished apartment for the first 3 months so, apart from the fact that it didn’t come with a frying pan, we’ve been comfortable. Once we move out, however, we’ll have to move to an unfurnished place because our cats will be joining us. One thing that’s kind of different here is that when you move, you take your fridge and washing machine with you. So, we’ll be furnishing a new house, plus buying a fridge and washing machine.

The first piece of furniture to buy was obvious, the barbeque. You can have them on your balcony here, so it works out well. The grilled veggies with marinated lamb was bbq meal number 1 tonight, and it was gooood. We’ve also managed to hook ourselves up with a mattress, couch and mirror from someone who is moving out of our building and going back to Singapore. Seems like lots of coming and going from this building so there are sure to be more adverts landing in our mailbox.

Saw the first 4 episodes of 24 (thanks Ian!) and it looks like it’s going to be a good season. Oh that Jack Bauer, always in the middle of something! Unfortunate that they didn’t kill off that Chloe character yet.

The weekend bike ride to the Eastern suburbs turned into a little more than we had bargained for. Who knew Sydney had so many hills - alwasy where you wanted to go. Was nice to finally get out to the beach and have a dip, but we didn’t have much left in the tank to look at the neighbourhoods. Reviewed Bondi beach and the surrounds. Dana’s not sure about it though - too many backpackers and I think I agree. Another weekend we’ll explore the beaches further South, and also Manly to the North as possible locations. No pics this post - battery ran out about the same time our legs did!

I was catching up on the Raptors a bit today and I was thinking “what’s gotten into these guys, they’re on fire”. When I left for Australia at the end of the year the Raps’ record was something like 6-22, and they had been hot just to get there. Then, as I checked in here and there I was really impressed at how they were playing. Chris Bosh is a monster - plain and simple. He may even get a spot on the US olympic squad given the folks that are dropping out - even then that’s saying something. The vets are starting to contribute - even Jalen - and that Alston for James trade is looking better all the time. Basically, the Raptors must have been starting to get it together to bring the record to 14-26. Babcock - you’re starting to look vindicated: first in the picks you made that got ridiculed, and unfortunately second in that the team is indeed worse than last year, although without that horrendous start things might look different.

But then again, there’s a reason things are this bad, and man o man did we see it on the 22nd of January. 81 bloody points for Kobe Bryant. Now, I didn’t actually get to see the game - there’s no b-ball down under - actually, there is but it’s Aussie league, which gets great coverage but is definitely not the NBA - but where was the D? Only one other person has scored that many points in a game - ever, and only once! That person was Wilt Chamberlain. That guy was 7 feet tall when everyone else was short and half the NBA was white still - and he slept with 10,000 women! He still only managed the feat once - and while 100 points sounds like a whole lot more than 81, they were basically feeding the guy easy entry passes all night cause he was 6 inches taller than everyone. Kobe Bryant has not slept with 10,000 women (we would have heard about it in court), nor do his talents, however great, command a scoring outburst like that. Raps - you’re going nowhere until that D improves. Babcock - where is the Araujo you promised me!?

Now, I know we’ve just gotten here, and we have a 3 month lease on our current apartment in Darling Harbour, but finding a new place you want to spend the next couple of years in takes some planning and is full of a kind of fun consternation (the neighbourhood decision, not the actual finding of a suitable space). Now that we’ve got our bikes put together again it should be easier to start getting the feel for different areas. We also finally got the net at our house on Wednesday, so perusing the market for ideas and pricing can happen that way. This morning we’re going to bike up and down the Eastern beaches and see what that feels like. Don’t get the wrong idea though, we’ll definitely be stopping to smell the roses / salty surf air.

Starting to feel a bit more like home for me now that I’ve done a full week’s work. Dana and I are having lots of meals at home and doing regular exercise. Of course, we don’t sit around and watch TV very much because 1) everything is so new and the weather is so nice, and 2)TV here is ok but there’s only 5 channels. This is definitely a good thing. Also went out and found a great place we can do our grocery shopping - Paddy’s Market, which is the equivalent of a St. Lawrence market but with very reasonable prices. Here’s a pic of the view from my office.

We went kayaking last weekend in Middle Harbour and gawked at all the mansions on the cliffsides and yachts. We also biked across the Harbour bridge on Thursday, which was neat on it’s own but also an accomplishment for Dana with her fear of heights! I have started studying in earnest for what I think will be the last exam I will take - for a while at least. This will take up a fair bit of my spare time for the next month, which I’m not really looking forward to - looking forward to having it done though! Added some new photos to the Sydney album…

It really hit me when we took the ferry to Manly, passing little harbour beaches around each point, all filled with people. Then, upon disembarking, we walked about 500 metres across a spit of land to a massive, kilometer long stretch of sand with huge waves breaking 50 metres offshore. Of course, this sort of thing creates dangerous rips and the beach was closed to swimmers, but it was hot, sunny, and we were free to wade a little and watch the surfers. Yes, this is where we have chosen to live - who could have thought this would be a bad idea?

So things are going great so far. I’ve done 3 days at work so far, met what looks to be a great group of folks, and on Monday my office will be in a brand new building in which I’m told I’ll have a nice view of the harbour from my desk. Dana’s hooked up with her new boss and it looks like that’s going to work out great. We’ll both be walking about 5 minutes to work once we’re underway. Since we don’t know too many people yet we’re not staying out late and managing to get some exercise and a swim in each morning. Should have the Internet at home early next week, so we’ll be able to chat on Skype or other some such program.

We’re getting plenty of advice on where we should consider living once we’re comfortable with the city, but the leading candidates are all near the ocean beaches. We’ll keep you posted.

So there were a few issues on the way down, but we’re here. Normally, one could, and has to, chock a few travel hiccups up to experience or some other positive spin, but in this case that will be quite difficult. Some highlights:
- Toronto check-in - the person must have been impressed with how the first two bags were exactly at the 50 lb weight limit, so she overlooked the 2 lbs overweight the other two were. Great! Some sort of an issue getting our boarding pass for the LA to Auckland leg though, but that doesn’t seem too troublesome. On the flight, 1 crying baby.
- LA - Oh, we have leave security and go to ticketing to get our boarding passes. Massive lineup - 1 of the 3 flights to NZ were cancelled. Irate people everywhere, but we make it back with some time for me to watch a bit of the Rose Bowl.
- LA to Auckland - “Is there a doctor on the plane?”. Uh, u-turn at the equator and back an hour or two to Honolulu for a medical emergency. 12 1/2 hour flight is now 17. Connecting flight to Sydney missed - but they’re “going to have everything arranged for us” when we get there.
- Auckland airport - Things were so taken care of that it was only an hour and a half lineup to straighten it out. I don’t even think they use computers here - seriously! But we run and make the next plane.
- The next plane - Uh, “problem with some air conditioning system, but we think it’s only an indicator problem, why don’t you wait on the tarmac while we check it out for an hour”. I personally think it was the concentration of 2 crying babies within 3 feet of me that may have been interfering with the systems. Uh, “let’s change planes and see if that helps”. Another hour later, we’re on a new plane that works. At this point, we’re only scheduled to be 8 1/2 hours late into Sydney.

But you know, it all worked out. Customs was a breeze, getting to the apartment and finalizing the paperwork was easy, and that sleep in a real bed last night was extremely satisfying. Now we’re touring around central Sydney this morning and who do we see having a coffee in the Rocks but John Cleese. Oh yeah, and it’s really nice out too. Here’s us at a much needed dinner last night on the water, and a couple of shots of our apartment - full size pics are in the Gallery.