Friday night I had dinner with my coworker Ben and his wife Helena (pronounced Hel-A-na). I had met her when we went to the observatory earlier in the week and she is really sweet. I thought dinner would be nice. Too bad we didn't meet earlier in my stay here. I have a picture of us at dinner in my photos. Friday lunch I met with the testing group here and that picture is in the photos too.
Well the first weekend in October appears to be Labor Day here so there have been a lot of special events going on here. On Saturday I wanted to catch this architecture walk that I read about in my guide book. It was just this short little mention but it said it was lead by a working or student architect so I thought it would be interesting. When I got there it turned out that the Saturday tour was only about Utzen the architect of the Opera House. I was really hoping for a more general tour of the architecture all around downtown but that tour is on Wednesdays while I'm working. But I read the description and it sounded good so I signed up.
WOW... I just don't even know how to describe it. If you live in Sydney or you ever visit here. You HAVE to take this tour. The gentleman who did our tour was so knowledgeable. And his perspective was so interesting. He refered to it as a conversation about how the architecture the people and the politics came together to give us the building as it is. And it was just amazing. I took more pictures of the Opera House because he showed us so many things that I just missed when looking at it on my own. The tour starts at the Museaum of Sydney so if you want to go on it start there.
Obeservations:
I think I like tipping. I think we get better service. I never though I would say that.
Everything here is fried. I ordered the grilled fish yesterday and it had breading that looked fried!
They don't eat veggies. I thought restaurant food in the US was low on veggies. Getting veggies here (excepting chips) is nearly impossible... or it costs 7 dollars.
Sunday I went to Manly. The weather was perfect. I had planned to go the weekend before but the weather turned and I waited. Good decision. So going to Manly is going to a beach town. It was very similar to being in Florida. Lots of souvenier stores and beach clothes stores. Lots of teens wearing not much more than their bathing suits. It was also the Internation Jazz festival though so it was WONDERFUL. I heard lots of different bands and really had a great time. I think I got a little too much sun exposure though my face was pretty red by the end of the day. There were also little vending tents on the beach... I think it was as part of the festival but maybe they are there every weekend. I bought one of those outfits that can be worn multiple ways. It is green and made out of sari fabric. I can really see myself wearing it so I have high hopes.
Today is Monday and I'm going with Colin and his wife to the Hunter Valley to go to the wineries. I'm not sure if I will try taking any wine home or not. I would have to pack it in my suitcase and that could be risky. Ben thinks that bubble wrap would protect it sufficiently. I'll just have to decide when I'm there.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
What I've been doing the past week
Mostly working. :-) I took a 3 day training course on the software so I know a lot more about how it works. Sydney is a strange town. For being such a big city... it rolls up the sidewalks between 5 and 6 every night so there isn't anything to do when I get off work. Except Thursdays. Most things stay open until 9 and it is crowded. Can you imagine... both parents work and the only day you can get stuff bought during the week is Thursday?? What do they do when the kids tell them on Monday night they need supplies for a school project?
Other observations: The storm drains all have signs painted on them. They have pictures of fishes... or the name of the creek they flow into. My theory is that they are hoping people won't just dump chemicals into it if they are reminded that it is going right into the water.
They also have really interesting traffic calming. Some neighborhoods just have those really gentle speed bumps that are easy to take if you go pretty slow but are a significant bump if you go fast... the ones that are really wide. In other places they actually have grassy areas added to either side of the road so the road is only one lane for about 20 feet. And the one lane has a curve in it. I wish we could have one of those on our street.
Today is the Sydney marathon. I'm so bummed. I bet they had a half marathon and I would have signed up if I had known. Oh well. I only found out about it yesterday after my run...
I got a late start yesterday... which is especially a bummer when stuff closes so early. I set off for an inexpensive place to get souveniers called Paddy's Market. On the way I stumbled into the Chinese friendship garden. I really liked it except there were 3 paths to the top of the hill... that really bothered me... because in order to take them all... you had to take one path twice. I met this nice lady from England who was on her last weekend here and we talked about various places to visit. I'm thinking that next weekend I'm going to try getting out to the winery tours. I think I can take a train to a place where a bus tour takes you to 4 or 5 wineries.
(I almost forgot... those of you who are fans of Diamond Age be sure to check out the latest pictures!)
Speaking of wine. On the plane here I had this wine I really liked... but I didn't remember what it was called. Then at dinner last night I had it again. It is... Lonely Oak... or something Oak... Pino Grigio? Oh boy... I should have written it down. Anyway... I know I'll recognize the name. It tastes like grapefruit.
Another observation: Books here are outrageously expensive. Even if they are local authors. I paperback that would be 6.95 US in the states... is like 20 dollars AU here... even with a decent exchange rate... that is EXPENSIVE. I tried some used book stores and this remainders store. I did manage to get two books that were less expensive.
So other than that... I've been doing origami at night to keep busy. I have some pictures I'll post. That and watching a lot of sports... Twenty 20 cricket is fun... but I just heard on the radio today that Australia was eliminated so there might not be as much of it on TV this week. It turns out there are 2 kinds of rugby and I'm even learning to tell the difference. Mainly because in one you count tackles and in the other you don't.
Today I am going to try to get to the aquarium and some other museaums so I need to take off pretty soon. Next weekend turns out to be a 3 day weekend. Manly is having a jazz festival so I was planning to go to Manly this weekend but now I'm rethinking it for next weekend. Also the weather this weekend is gloomy. I hope next weekend will be really nice and I can do some more outdoor stuff.
Oh... and Kathy asked me to pay attention to what dog breeds I see. I've seen a 4 or 5 boarder collies. Some poodles. Mostly miniture not toy. Mostly white but I did see one black. Some other white ankle biter in a red sweater who was annoyed that I was running on his sidewalk so I didn't stick around for too close a look. Yesterday I also saw a Chinese Crested and managed to get a picture of him. I'll try for more pictures. I've seen a lot of unidentifiable mutts. Not a single Australian Shephard and yesterday I did see a Weimeraner (sp?) and it made me think if Haku. I haven't been able to get my camera out fast enough to get any other pictures of them... but I'll keep trying. Maybe next Saturday on my longer morning run I'll take the camera. I have noticed a lot of people "walking" their dogs but not on leashes... but I haven't seen a lot of cases of dogs wandering without an owner nearby.
Oh... one more thing on my run yesterday I went by a park and they were playing cricket. Looked like just a Saturday pick-up game. :-)
Other observations: The storm drains all have signs painted on them. They have pictures of fishes... or the name of the creek they flow into. My theory is that they are hoping people won't just dump chemicals into it if they are reminded that it is going right into the water.
They also have really interesting traffic calming. Some neighborhoods just have those really gentle speed bumps that are easy to take if you go pretty slow but are a significant bump if you go fast... the ones that are really wide. In other places they actually have grassy areas added to either side of the road so the road is only one lane for about 20 feet. And the one lane has a curve in it. I wish we could have one of those on our street.
Today is the Sydney marathon. I'm so bummed. I bet they had a half marathon and I would have signed up if I had known. Oh well. I only found out about it yesterday after my run...
I got a late start yesterday... which is especially a bummer when stuff closes so early. I set off for an inexpensive place to get souveniers called Paddy's Market. On the way I stumbled into the Chinese friendship garden. I really liked it except there were 3 paths to the top of the hill... that really bothered me... because in order to take them all... you had to take one path twice. I met this nice lady from England who was on her last weekend here and we talked about various places to visit. I'm thinking that next weekend I'm going to try getting out to the winery tours. I think I can take a train to a place where a bus tour takes you to 4 or 5 wineries.
(I almost forgot... those of you who are fans of Diamond Age be sure to check out the latest pictures!)
Speaking of wine. On the plane here I had this wine I really liked... but I didn't remember what it was called. Then at dinner last night I had it again. It is... Lonely Oak... or something Oak... Pino Grigio? Oh boy... I should have written it down. Anyway... I know I'll recognize the name. It tastes like grapefruit.
Another observation: Books here are outrageously expensive. Even if they are local authors. I paperback that would be 6.95 US in the states... is like 20 dollars AU here... even with a decent exchange rate... that is EXPENSIVE. I tried some used book stores and this remainders store. I did manage to get two books that were less expensive.
So other than that... I've been doing origami at night to keep busy. I have some pictures I'll post. That and watching a lot of sports... Twenty 20 cricket is fun... but I just heard on the radio today that Australia was eliminated so there might not be as much of it on TV this week. It turns out there are 2 kinds of rugby and I'm even learning to tell the difference. Mainly because in one you count tackles and in the other you don't.
Today I am going to try to get to the aquarium and some other museaums so I need to take off pretty soon. Next weekend turns out to be a 3 day weekend. Manly is having a jazz festival so I was planning to go to Manly this weekend but now I'm rethinking it for next weekend. Also the weather this weekend is gloomy. I hope next weekend will be really nice and I can do some more outdoor stuff.
Oh... and Kathy asked me to pay attention to what dog breeds I see. I've seen a 4 or 5 boarder collies. Some poodles. Mostly miniture not toy. Mostly white but I did see one black. Some other white ankle biter in a red sweater who was annoyed that I was running on his sidewalk so I didn't stick around for too close a look. Yesterday I also saw a Chinese Crested and managed to get a picture of him. I'll try for more pictures. I've seen a lot of unidentifiable mutts. Not a single Australian Shephard and yesterday I did see a Weimeraner (sp?) and it made me think if Haku. I haven't been able to get my camera out fast enough to get any other pictures of them... but I'll keep trying. Maybe next Saturday on my longer morning run I'll take the camera. I have noticed a lot of people "walking" their dogs but not on leashes... but I haven't seen a lot of cases of dogs wandering without an owner nearby.
Oh... one more thing on my run yesterday I went by a park and they were playing cricket. Looked like just a Saturday pick-up game. :-)
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Our first day as real tourists
Yesterday was Saturday for us so we got to be real tourists all day. We started out in Chatswood where we are staying and there was a little street festival. We walked around and I bought dog biscuits so the kids will have souveniers from Australia too. Peanut butter flavored... their favorite.
From there we went into downtown and walked around the Opera House. We were warned that the inside is not that wonderful because the original plans for it had to be scrapped due to cost overruns when it was built. The outside is neat though because you see angles other that the ones in all the pictures.
From there we went to the Botanical Gardens which turned out to be free. Imagine that. It is similar to Central Park. They encourage you to walk on the grass and lots of families and groups were set up having picnics. Theresa was the first one to notice the flying foxes in the trees. They are amazing it is a huge colony. Flying Foxes are much bigger than the bats we have in North America. In North America we have micro chiroptera... and they do the echo-location thing. Here they have macro chiroptera. They can see but I think it is like cats. They are geared more for low light vision. But these guys eat fruit... not insects so they are active during the day and need to see the fruit.
I'm downloading a video now. I just sat on a bench and they flew over head. They make a sort of screaching noise and they do sort of fight so I guess if you lived near a colony it might get annoying. But I'm just thrilled. I'm loving every minute of it.
Theresa finally dragged me away and we went to the rocks. This is just a neighborhood but it has outdoor vendors on Saturdays and Sundays. They are supposed to close up at 5:30 but many were closing when we got there just after 4. We still enjoyed walking around and looking at their wares. We found this little botique shop in the mall and this woman designed her own dresses. She adapted some traditional Asian styles to fit the traditional non-Asian body type... like mine. I've been wanting one of these outfits for years and even though it was pretty pricy, it fit me so beautifully I had to get it. It is pure silk and I'll be able to wear it for years so it is worth it.
Today we are going to the Blue Mountains which is where the 3 Sisters are. We have seen pictures but are excited to be seeing it first hand.
My bat video is still uploading but I'll add a link when it is done. (it is done... link below)
I have gotten several emails from friends and relative that are reading the blog. It is great to hear from everyone! Love you all.
Oh... and today here is mine and Todd's 7th wedding anniversary. I got to wish him a happy anniversary first! :-D I'm sure missing him and the pups and the kitties. I hear the weather at home is glorious. It is wonderful here too... spring and fall are always the best times of year.
Here is the bat video
From there we went into downtown and walked around the Opera House. We were warned that the inside is not that wonderful because the original plans for it had to be scrapped due to cost overruns when it was built. The outside is neat though because you see angles other that the ones in all the pictures.
From there we went to the Botanical Gardens which turned out to be free. Imagine that. It is similar to Central Park. They encourage you to walk on the grass and lots of families and groups were set up having picnics. Theresa was the first one to notice the flying foxes in the trees. They are amazing it is a huge colony. Flying Foxes are much bigger than the bats we have in North America. In North America we have micro chiroptera... and they do the echo-location thing. Here they have macro chiroptera. They can see but I think it is like cats. They are geared more for low light vision. But these guys eat fruit... not insects so they are active during the day and need to see the fruit.
I'm downloading a video now. I just sat on a bench and they flew over head. They make a sort of screaching noise and they do sort of fight so I guess if you lived near a colony it might get annoying. But I'm just thrilled. I'm loving every minute of it.
Theresa finally dragged me away and we went to the rocks. This is just a neighborhood but it has outdoor vendors on Saturdays and Sundays. They are supposed to close up at 5:30 but many were closing when we got there just after 4. We still enjoyed walking around and looking at their wares. We found this little botique shop in the mall and this woman designed her own dresses. She adapted some traditional Asian styles to fit the traditional non-Asian body type... like mine. I've been wanting one of these outfits for years and even though it was pretty pricy, it fit me so beautifully I had to get it. It is pure silk and I'll be able to wear it for years so it is worth it.
Today we are going to the Blue Mountains which is where the 3 Sisters are. We have seen pictures but are excited to be seeing it first hand.
My bat video is still uploading but I'll add a link when it is done. (it is done... link below)
I have gotten several emails from friends and relative that are reading the blog. It is great to hear from everyone! Love you all.
Oh... and today here is mine and Todd's 7th wedding anniversary. I got to wish him a happy anniversary first! :-D I'm sure missing him and the pups and the kitties. I hear the weather at home is glorious. It is wonderful here too... spring and fall are always the best times of year.
Here is the bat video
Friday, September 14, 2007
Soccer Friday night
We got to go to a soccer game last night. The Sydney Football Club vs. the Wellington Phoenix. The home team lost 1-2. But we were in a corporate box so the food was good. Today we are doing the tourist thing. We are planning to go to the Opra house, the botanical gardens and to an area of town called the rocks. Tomorrow we are going to blue mountain. Lots of pictures to follow in the next few days.
On the work front. They have announced the new development manager in the office. It sure is nice to know who my boss will be. We have a plan for phase 1 of this project and next week I'll start with a 3 day training course on the CitectSCADA product.
On the work front. They have announced the new development manager in the office. It sure is nice to know who my boss will be. We have a plan for phase 1 of this project and next week I'll start with a 3 day training course on the CitectSCADA product.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
THE ZOO!!!
We have had more meetings the past two days and still we are making great progress. But today we managed to sneak away for a little while and go to a little zoo that specializes in native animals. WOW!!
Animals that seem absolutely exotic to us... and Colin is telling us he sees them in his back yard.... like cockateils... stuff like that. I also got to pet a kangaroo and a koala. I have lots of pictures and some movies that I'll put on youtube. Not sure how much I'll get up tonight... but by tomorrow it should be up. I think I got some movies of a joey in its mama's pouch. ADORABLE!
The joey video is too long to upload. But here are some videos of a koala and some kangaroos.
Animals that seem absolutely exotic to us... and Colin is telling us he sees them in his back yard.... like cockateils... stuff like that. I also got to pet a kangaroo and a koala. I have lots of pictures and some movies that I'll put on youtube. Not sure how much I'll get up tonight... but by tomorrow it should be up. I think I got some movies of a joey in its mama's pouch. ADORABLE!
The joey video is too long to upload. But here are some videos of a koala and some kangaroos.
Monday, September 10, 2007
First day of real meetings
Colin graciously came to our hotel this morning and rode with us to the office in Gordon. We know the way now and tomorrow we'll go on our own. We were in meetings all day which I generally abhore... but these meetings were really great. I'm getting more and more excited about the project and can't wait to start... but we have to be certain that we are going in the right direction before we get too far in.
I have posted pictures of Hong Kong and Sydney. So check them out... follow the links on the right side of this page.
I have posted pictures of Hong Kong and Sydney. So check them out... follow the links on the right side of this page.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
I'm in Sydney!!
Left Nashville on Wednesday and traveled to Hong Kong first. We got into Hong Kong at 5 am local time. We were able to sleep pretty well on our flight, Thanks to the company for business class, so we decided to stay up and work on adjusting to HK time. We took showers and then went to the airport mall. Of course we were there before most anything was open so we walked around and around and each time a new store opened we went in and looked around. We decided we wanted to take a tour so we asked the concierge and he set us up for at tour at 2:00. We had lunch at the airport and then rode a train and a shuttle into Kowloon. The tour was awesome. We went up Victoria peak and looked over the bay. We went to Aberdeen where the house boat people live. We also saw a jewelery manufacturer (bit of a gimick) and then Stanley market. After the tour we met with Joseph Su who works in the HK office for Schneider. He took us to a "hot pot" restaurant. It was similar to the Japanese shabu shabu... but with spicy sauce. It was wonderful. After that we were really tired and returned to the hotel. I was pretty worried I might oversleep in the morning and set 3 alarms. It was a good thing because only one went off... one I accidentally set for pm... and one I have no idea why it didn't work.
We got on our flight out of HK at 9 am and since we were flying all day we made a big effort to stay up the entire flight. I drifted off two times... but only for a few minutes... so I'm feeling pretty adjusted. We got into Sydney last night at 8 pm local time. I had been warned to declare that I had brought Clif bars with me... and yes they caught it with the x-ray and asked about it. But since I had declared it... and I guess because it was sealed... they let me take it in... YEAH!
We both woke up pretty early this morning because we aren't completely adjusted... but we are getting there. I ran in the morning and it was amazing... the birds sound so different here... and the flowers smell so strong it reminds me of Hawaii. It started raining part way through my run so I headed back to the apartment. After that we found a nice place for breakfast... and a Target and a grocery store. We bought some groceries including bottled water that we carried back. While waiting to meet Colin, who we will be working with here, we watched some Australian Rules Football... what fun... the Sydney Swans versus... I think the Collingswood Magpies. The Swans looked they they were losing when I turned it off.
At noon, Collin and his wife picked us up and took us around Sydney. We had Dim Sum for lunch... YUM... and then we went to were the first British explorers landed in Australia. We also got to drive over the Bay Bridge and get a great view of the opera house. I have taken a ton of pictures but they are still in my camera for now because the battery was running out and I'm charging it. I'll try to get them uploaded tomorrow after work.
Having a great time... wish you were here. :-D
We got on our flight out of HK at 9 am and since we were flying all day we made a big effort to stay up the entire flight. I drifted off two times... but only for a few minutes... so I'm feeling pretty adjusted. We got into Sydney last night at 8 pm local time. I had been warned to declare that I had brought Clif bars with me... and yes they caught it with the x-ray and asked about it. But since I had declared it... and I guess because it was sealed... they let me take it in... YEAH!
We both woke up pretty early this morning because we aren't completely adjusted... but we are getting there. I ran in the morning and it was amazing... the birds sound so different here... and the flowers smell so strong it reminds me of Hawaii. It started raining part way through my run so I headed back to the apartment. After that we found a nice place for breakfast... and a Target and a grocery store. We bought some groceries including bottled water that we carried back. While waiting to meet Colin, who we will be working with here, we watched some Australian Rules Football... what fun... the Sydney Swans versus... I think the Collingswood Magpies. The Swans looked they they were losing when I turned it off.
At noon, Collin and his wife picked us up and took us around Sydney. We had Dim Sum for lunch... YUM... and then we went to were the first British explorers landed in Australia. We also got to drive over the Bay Bridge and get a great view of the opera house. I have taken a ton of pictures but they are still in my camera for now because the battery was running out and I'm charging it. I'll try to get them uploaded tomorrow after work.
Having a great time... wish you were here. :-D
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