Hollow Ween??

One sad reality I've found here in Australia is the lack of one of my favorite holidays, Halloween. It might be because it's springtime, and a spooky holiday wouldn't seem normal in April, would it? Other holidays are switched here, and of course Thanksgiving is nonexistant. (do they have a holiday when the first convicts came here? I'll have to check into that) I guess that's what I'll have to expect when the seasons are flipped and living in a country still saluting the queen. So boo to everyone else around the world, and save some candy corns for me....

Stranger in a Not-So-Strange Land

Now that I’m going on about six weeks in country (sound like a Vietnam soldier or something), I might as well give a review of Sydney and what I’ve seen of Australia thus far. Since it’s fresh in my mind, for one, their immigation system sucks ass. Not sure how things are in the U.S. of A, but in total, it’s going to likely take me a good 10-12 weeks to get this friggin visa. I mean, I like NOT working as much as the next guy, but there are monetary limits! I’m thinking about illegally working as either a game show contestant, male stripper/prostitute or a dingo walker. OK, not even sure that last one exists….and I wish the second one didn’t.

On that note, I have been able to venture throughout this fine city, otherwise known as, come to think of it, I have no clue what Sydney’s nickname is. The ciy of moths? Land of expensive everything? The best English accent on the planet? In order to judge Sydney, you start with the people and go from there. They have been, other than a few scattered surly dudes, a great group of friendly, charming and overall happy individuals willing to soak up the sunshine and share a good many pints with anyone.

The city itself is decorated with a fantastic harbor (sorry, harboUr) area….it’s one of those postcard moments, kinda like when you go to Fenway Park for the first time. The bridge and Opera House are omnipresent, but what also makes it great are the hills and unending mass of water everywhere. Ferries are constantly coming and going, and the sun is shining on most days, which makes it even better. The first time I saw the harbour was night one, and the scene at night might be unbeatable. You could almost compare the downtown/harbour area to Seattle or San Francisco, but more scenic b/c it’s more centralized….and of course Oakland is on the East Bay in SF. The city is great because it makes you feel like you’re in a “real” city, complete with public transportation, skyscrapers and people with stuff to do. The city itself has a London feel to it, complete with areas named Surry Hills and Paddington and its own Hyde Park. More hills, though. This is all balanced off by where I live in Bondi Beach, just a short 20-minute bus ride away.
One thing I’ve found realy nice is that it’s very easy to adjust to life here. Things ma be different, but if they are, it’s off a shade. People pretty much are interested in the same things as the states, they eat similar (even Mexican!) and follow sports with the same passion. The only difference is which sports and maybe some food, but curry is a good replacement.

Otherwise, what I’ve seen so far has been pretty great landscapes and I’m looking forward to venturing out of Sydney now that I have some more free time. Here's a brief synopsis of my stay so far:

The Good: friendly people, scenic surroundings, blue-green water, 5% beer, ease of living adjustment, people-watching on the bus, girls’ accents, no tipping

The Not-So-Good: flies, wind, expensive, immigration system, waiting too long for a buses, coin dollars, no American sports bars, cash-only bars and stores

I’m sure I’ll have other observations about Sydney in the coming weeks, and maybe even post a few pics in the coming weeks!

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle

I was going to make my birthday pretty standard....go into the office, meet up with friends for drinks and maybe hit up the gym in the meantime. But since I don't really HAVE to go into the office and the gym will be there tomorrow, I took up my roommates offer to go to the zoo with parents that were in town. First off, I honestly haven't been to a zoo since the Bronx Zoo when I was about seven years old. After college in Columbus, Ohio and living an hour and half from San Diego, two places with some of the best zoos (or should it be spelled zooz??) in the world, I'm not much of a zoolologist. But the bonus of going to Taronga Zoo here in Sydney is the ferry ride across the famous Sydney Harbour, and checking off another tourist attraction while noticing Australia's unique wildlife.

The ferry ride, which I've pretty much taken before, lived up to the billing, even in 32+ degree heat. Oh right, the metric system....well, 32 is pretty hot, almost 90 farenheit. I was getting a little jealous of the seals, swimming in those nice pools throughout the day. But as we spent more and more time there, I couldn't help but think that the zoo is a bit of a ripoff. I mean, it's cool to see the monkees and koalas up in the trees and swinging around, but I feel like half the time it was trying to see animals that were either asleep or hidden behind rocks.

Of course I was mindful of how these animals are taken out of their natural habitat, which is a concern, but they're the rock stars of this place, so that's no biggie. In the wild, they'd be another schmo sitting in a tree. But here, people wanna take pics, hug them, buy stuffed replicas of them. So that's not the problem.

I just want my lions and tigers and bears to be omnipresent and as a bonus, even walking around, playing, eating...something. Sure, it's an uncontrolled environment, so that's why those little ampitheatre shows are the best part. It's like you're at a mini Pearl Jam show with Mimi the seal as Eddie Vedder. But outside of the seal concerts (nice pun!), I spent half the time trying to figure out what animals I was looking at and even if they were even in the cages.

Not sure if Jack Hanna or Joan Embry are listening (wow, how do I know two zookeepers? Oh right, Letterman and Johnny Carson), but let's get those animals out there...give em a song and dance routine, something. I mean, you are giving them wonderful 20x20 home, you might as well make them work for it!

South of the Equator (con't)

One more thought about the International Dateline....does it not sound some cheap 1-900 number where you can meet people from all around the globe? Just imagine, in the best Movieline voice, "for Italians, press oooonnnee....Germans, press twwwoooo..." Of course, if you're looking for a girl from Uzbekistan, they're a little more rare, so it'll cost ya.

South of the Equator

Yesterday I awoke on October 3, Sydney time, to yet another sunny day overlooking the blue-green Pacific Ocean and light summer breeze. Not a bad way to start my 29th birthday....or is it?? Well yes, it was a great start, but was this in fact my birthday? I was told once you cross the international dateline, all things revert to local time. But I still hold onto the fact that since I was born at 8:00 a.m. EST on October 3, 1978, whatever that day is here truly should be my birthday. However, since yesterday involved a visit the zoo, including a ferry ride along the glorious Sydney Harbor, and drinks with friends afterward, it seems like a much more fitting celebratory day than in front of my computer in an office.

But let's get back to this international dateline thing. I mean, I even think it's strange for some people in Indiana, who live on the same side of the street, but can be in different time zones. "Hey there, Wilbur, what time's the game on? 8:00 for me, Cletus, but 7:00 for you, lucky." Not that I think people in Indiana are hicks or anything.... But the idea of an international dateline means what? Time starts there? Wow, the closest country may be a little island in the middle of nowhere, but they can lay claim to just that: Tonga. Time starts with us.

I would think that should be an atraction during the flight down here. "If you folks look to your left, you'll see...nothing. But that's where time starts, so you pay respect, dammit." Along with the toilet flush thing (see last entry), I also somewhat expected the world around me to unravel once crossing the line....maybe food would taste different, people would talk funny or my general worldview would change. Nope, the egg omlet is just dandy, the Fijian peeps talk a little funny (but still English) and while I now find Chuck Klosterman amusing, I'm pretty much the same.

With this whole bday thing as an exception, of course. I guess New Years will kinda freak me out, too. So as October 3 concludes in the states and October 4 continues here, I guess I can take solace in the fact that next year, it will take an extra day to make me 30, and I'm just fine with that!