Same Same, but Different - Part 1

Pretty predictable title for this travel post, but next stop on the tour, Vietnam. I booked this ticket back in April thinking I was going with one set of friends, but ended up going with my consistent travel companion, Trinh. If you can tell by her name, she's Vietnamese by trade, and Lord knows, a native speaker helped. I'll take this one day-by-day, since it requires analysis on each day.

Day 1 (Saigon): this is really night one, as I landed around 10:00 on Friday. Customs made me realize that I wasn't in OZ anymore, Toto. Customs officials in Vietnam don't exactly put the lai around your neck and welcome with a smile. As they're checking my passport, I remember that only 40 years ago, we were ravaging their country, village by village. No hard feelings, ok? We cool? After finding Trinh through the maze of eyeballs at the airport, we headed into town as she and the driver yapped some crazy language. This ride was my first experience with the mass sooterness that is Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. The place is organized chaos with these things...families pile on, people carry luggage, you name it. It's actually more nerveracking to be in a car somehow, you think you're going to hit a scooter at any minute. Anyway, we get to our hotel and make way into the alleys of Saigon. It's a bit strange and possibly scary for a westerner, but felt ok for some reason in these dark corners. Thanks to my Vietnamese homegirl, we were able to order some food and eat late night dinner while sitting on kiddie chairs. No napkins.















Day 2 (Saigon): I'm calling it Saigon because it's easier and maybe I want it to be 1968 all over again. Well, not really, because VC would be invading our hotel. Saturday was a bit toasty, one of those needing a shower right after you get out sorta days. Nevertheless, we trekked out and sweat our way through the city. Breakfast (which doesn't really exist in Vietnam the way we know it) was this omlet thing stuffed with shrimp and other junk. Good stuff. The great thing about a country like this is you can see sights such as wartime palaces, churches and the U.S. Embassy, but just taking in the culture is enough. For instance, we met up with Trinh's cousins for dinner, who ended up taking us around on their scooters. Dodging traffic, beeping horns, we were regular Siagon Hell's Angels.

Day 3 (Saigon to Na Trang): Our driver Phillip picked us up in the morn. We called him Phillip for no other reason that it was the most absurd name imaginable for a non-English people Vietnamese travel driver. Anyway, Phillip treated us to the road-tripping experience of Vietnam: dodging ANYTHING on the roads, barely escaping accident and constantly honking your horn to notify scooterists you're five inches away from them. And the entire time we hardly ever wore our seat belts. Maybe the Vietnamese know something about driving safely that we don't. After a stop in a beach town for lunch, where I consumed my first Coke milk (yep, that's right, and is it goood), we stayed the night in Na Trang, another beach town. We were a little late getting out to dinner, so we stumbled upon the only place open, Crazy Kim's. This joint was a mix between western bar/restaurant, rub and tug place and whorehouse. While the spring rolls were good, I didn't splurge for the "happy moment," whatever that is. On the walk home, a giant rat ran out of the garbage and grazed my ankle. Between Crazy Kim's and her happy moments and rodents in the streets, Na Trang gives me the willies.













I'm tired now and non-connection erased my earlier writings, so to be continued....

All Blacks, All Good

Many travels as 2008 winds down. First stop, a country even more isolated than Australia. New Zealand, complete with its wonderful iccents where my name is Kivin and you sleep in a bid. They also have really cool looking mountains and cities such as Wellington, where I ventured to. I dubbed Wellington as the "San Francisco of the South Pacific," mainly due to its hilly landscape, bohemiam/art scene and unpredictable weather. All the coffee houses give it a dash of Seattle, too.

NZ is the little bro to Australia, and it really takes on that vibe. Laid back and unpretentious, it's a country that doesn't take itself too seriously. How can you when you're most famous recent exports are two guys that sing about semi-attractive girls becoming pretty enough to be "part-time models?" Don't forget the wine and food, which NZ might not be known for, but we got our fair share. They have a great fesitval called Toast each November, which I also dubbed as the "Woodstock of Wine." People just chilling in vinyards, music everywhere, wine everywhere and the sun actually shined. Something tells me that even with rain, this would have been a good time.

Cross the Tasman, get a lame stamp on your passport and visit the (does NZ have a moniker?) country...it's worth a visit, bru.

Election Day, 2008

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

No Trick, No Treat

A group of us ventured up to Palm Beach on October 31, a place where I'm told they film the soap opera "Neighbours." Seems like a place for a soap opera. Another drama unfolded, you could say, as friends Anna and Paul got married in a park overlooking the scenic beach. Great time for sure, reception was on a great little island we all had to ourselves. Our Halloween costumes consisted of suits and ties for the guys, sun dresses for the girls. The candy was free booze throughout the day.

In the rest of the country, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone dressed as anything for the holiday. Yet another holiday that Aussies should be celebating, but haven't inherited from us. Although the actual act of Halloween seems to be a dying sport in the states, with parents worried about their kids roaming suburban streets, we've always embraced the costumes, pumpkins and cheesy decorations in the yard. Not so much down here. I'm still not sure if Australians need a reason to celebrate aything, but I feel like getting one of those "365 Excuses to Party" posters people had in college. Halloween definitely would be on there.

Next year, I need to organize for pumpkins in the office and Halloween party. It's a mission to bring the few American traditions they don't know about here. That includes Charlie Brown's Halloween special...

(Not So) Magic Bus

Today I think I officially realized that I miss the Jeep. The ability to jump in your own car at any given moment is defeintely underrated at times. People complain about sitting in traffic, but don't have a problem zoning out and driving to work.

What I do have a problem with is today's situation: just like every day, I walk out on Bondi Road to watch 3-4 buses roll by. When I get to the bus stop, it's another good five mins until another bus comes along. And that's a 381 - no use to me. Then a 333 comes....great, but it's completely full. Did I happen to mention it's not exactly spring weather outside and it's raining? Finally get on the bus and although I get a seat, it's right across from a mental girl who is ready to start grabbing me or kicking me at any moment.

Compared to most cities, the bus experience is fantastic. But there are days where I'd love to start up the Jeep, throw a CD in and watch those suckers on the bus frown their way to work.

Don't even get me atarted on people talking on the phone.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

In the last month, I've lost the following:

Spare keys

Key card #1 - retreived

Key card #2 - retreived

Necklace

Sweatshirt

Ipod - not retreived, but got another one for my bday

$50

I'm a little worried since things happen in threes and I'm only at seven. Does my mind count as another thing I've lost?

Deportiva

We're in the midst of fall sports madness, complete with baseball playoffs, BCS poll shifting and NFL drama. But I'd be remiss to not discuss the Aussie sports scene. Both Grand Finals (AFL and NRL) took place a few weeks back, which marks the end of footy season and the beginning of cricket and basketball. A good thing for summer to arrive, but difficult to get too excited for those two.

It's a strange one, sports Down Under. Not sure if there's just other stuff happening or not strong enough fan bases in the big cities, but seems like a pretty tame scene in comparison to the U.S. (and I lived in Southern California!). I don't mind the sports too much....NRL is sorta like our football, just a bunch of laterals and no pads. And no dancing when they score, a good thing! AFL, otherwise known as Aussie Rules, is a strange one. Think one part soccer, one part trying to score a field goal while running and another part kill the carrier. It's like other sports but unlike any others. Fans in Melbourne seem to like it, so maybe I just need to spend some more time there.

Basketball is basketball, just without the polish and illegitimate kids of the NBA. Cricket isn't exactly a high-octane sport, but seems like it could be a good drinking game.

The common thread with these sports is that while people seem invested in the big games and their teams, it feels like America truly treats sport as religion sometimes. At times it can be a bit scary, but other times, it can bring people together. My colleague was confused how I called home after the Giants went to the Super Bowl last year b/c her family doesn't have that same common thread. I do miss that a bit, but thanks to ESPN I can still get my fill....without the tailgating.

By the way, that is one tradition I will introduce to Australia before it's all said and done. I've already imported beer pong, tailgating is next!

Here Comes the Sun

The dread of winter is a bit exaggerated here: people complain how cold, windy and rainy it gets for the months of June, July, August. Despite some chilly mornings and lack of heat in any household, it's really not that bad. Growing up in the snow, ice, slush, cold wind (and snow) of Connecticut, this winter is a tropical paradise. But in the last few weekends, we've been reminded of what real summertime feels like. It's amazing the memories and feelings that return with an increase of about five degrees of temperature. Walking around Bondi, the constant smell of bbq permeates the air and voices of rooftop parties is everywhere. Wow, that was so poetic, I know. For some reason we forget what summer feels like every year, and it feels oh so good. With daylight savings coming in a few weeks, that will make these warm spring days even sunner.

Meanwhile, I'm sitting inside watching college football. Priotrities, people.

G'Year, Mate

On the eve of my one year in country, I'll discuss the most Australian topics of all: college football and the U.S. election. Thank you ESPN for finally putting college "gridiorn" on tv, but did it have to be such a bad game for the Buckeyes? My boys are turning into the party poopers of big time college football games. Are we going to be forced to root for a sub par season, just to get us out of the spotlight? It all started with those damn Gators from my least favorite state. Regardless, here's to a touchdown in next weeks game, please.

As for the great high school popularity contest, we're about a month and half from this election nonsense and it's looking a little scary. The fact that McCain is still in this race is a credit to the Republican PR machine that is able to dupe the ignorant public that actually ignores the hipocrisy of this race. If Sarah Palin was a Democrat, the right would be preaching about the "immoral left" with no family values, but they've somehow made this woman a hero as an everyday mom from a small town. Wow, truly juvenile, and it works. Now it's up to Obama's own PR people to get on the ball, fight back, or this is going to be the same old story.

Would we want to take a cue from Australia and make voting mandatory? I'm sure we don't want the man telling us what to do, but would be interested to see how an election would turn out if young people actually got out to the polls.

City to Surf....to Blue Mountains, to....

August was one of those busy months, both in and out of the office. The focus date early on was August 11: aka, City to Surf, a 14k race from the, um, city to the, er, yeah. Anyway, the race involves running through the streets of Sydney, great views and a little incline known as Heartbreak Hill. Definitely an exercise in exercise, but fun times, especially with the post-race beers at Beach Road.
Watching the Olympics afterwards made us feel like slackers in comparison, but at least we don't have to wear swimming goggles. As an aside, there's something about the Olympics for me that makes them seem like pancakes: when you first get em, you're all excited but after about five minutes, you're sick of em. OK, loosely stole that line from Mitch Hedberg, but it's true. After about 50 swimming heats without even seeing a gold medal race, not too interesting.
Somewhere along the way, work reared its ugly head and my friend Trynn (Trinh?) came to visit, which pretty made the Beijing Games null and void. Having a visitor in a city like this really makes you want to show them all Sydney has. We couldn't see the Harbour until it was sunny, but we did catch a good chunk of town and made our way to the Blue Mountains for a few days. A few massive hikes and 30 views of the same awesome canyon/mountain thingy, followed by a semi creepy hotel celebrating Christmas in August, we had a pretty damn good time.
The next week we finally did the Harbour thing, Manly, Darling Harbour. Just thinking about all the walking makes you tired, but when you're a host on a mission, it's got to be done.
The month ended with a trip up to Cairns and Port Douglas. Great preview for summertime, took in the sights of Great Barrier Reef, Daintree River, Cape Tribulation. First real vacation in awhile, felt real good. Skip Cairns, but make it up to Port D if you can, it's amazing how the scenic beach of Northeast Australia can combine with deep rainforest. Me likey.

I think this blog this is now up-to-date. It's been a long, strange trip catching up. Now I can talk about important current events, like Ohio State-USC and Sarah Palin. Can't wait.

Oh Say Can You See...

Red party cups, KFC, Krispy Kremes....sounds like 4th of July, Sydney style. We celebrated America's 232nd birthday with a jelly doughnut, greasy fried chicken, Budweiser bash. Things got a little loud at the new pad, but at least there weren't any fireworks.
The dead of winter was just fine: didn't see any snowflakes fall, hardly any visible breath and didn't break out any heavy sweaters. Even got a real bed...yes, bed, for the first time in way long. Also started my career as a musician, learning my G, D, C chords and most importantly, the calluses on my fingers.
Tough not to be on the summy Cali beaches this time of year, but discovering the views of Sydney from Vaucluse puts it all in perspective.

June Gloom

The month began by having to officially leave our pad in Bondi, leaving me temporarily homeless. Luckilly, my good friends Rory and Suzi offered the guest room at their place for me to crash while looking for a homestead. The month also started pretty rainy, leaving me to search for average apartments in cold, wet weather.
But that was all put in perspective on the morning of June 13, where I received a horrible text and voice message from my best friend Mike. The news was that our good buddy Mark Steiman had passed away from a car accident while travelling in Europe. It's still strange to write, very hard to believe even two months down the road. Mark was a great guy with such a unique view on life. Some called him an old soul, we jokingly referred to him as old guy, but he was such a well-centered person who understood where he has been and where he was going. He was such a smart, talented and focused individual, but never hesitated to make us all crack up with his wit and humor. It was the little things that I loved hanging out with Mark: when we would go over his place after Taco Tuesday and watch weird Spike Jonze videos or when we went to the Toots and the Maytals concert....so many great mini moments that you remember. Not suprisingly, Mark got into Yale Business School last year and I remember writing to him about how awesome I thought it was for him, such a great honor. Our last IM chat was so typical: we talked about his travels through Europe, where he was headed next, watching the Euro tourney, concerts, etc. A few days later, he was gone. I'm sure it will last for a long, long time, but it's hard for me to go for a long period without thinking of him in some way....usually it makes me smile, then laugh.
While in zombie state for a few days, I knew Mark wouldn't want his friends to remember him sadly and stay depressed. He would want us to remember the good times over a beer. It was tough not to be with mutual friends, but some great Sydney people were there to cheer me up.
While not much consolation from the shock of mid-June gloom, the month did end on a high note as I was able to land an apartment, back in Bondi. Hey, what's good is good, right?
Here's a hilarious pic of Stei, wearing one of his patented shirts that I'm sure we poked fun at. But this is vintage Mark, and makes me laugh every time.

Cinco de Mayo

Of course they don't know that wonderful holiday here....hell, even the Mexican restautants didn't know what it was! What is it, anyway. Well, that didn't stop us from celebrating....aye Dios mio, mi gato es frio!

What I wasn't celebrating in May was the continuous apartment search. When going through randoms, it really can be unreliable. No suprise there, but Murphy's Law took on a whole new meaning in May. Bone dry, not a square to spare. Dissapointing, but that story has a happy ending.

As our last month at 48 Fletcher Street, let me say that our pad was as sweet as you can imagine: big house, nice backyard patio with views of Bondi and steps away from pretty much everything in Bondi/Tamarama. My roomies Ryan and Andrew were great hosts and their dogs, Sasha and Jackson, properly welcomed me every night by slobbering all over. Just like a good wife. Not sure if I'll find myself in another house of that caliber here, but appreciated it during its time.

Had to go through my old text messages to remember that Canon took me down to the nation's capital in May. Canberra doesn't have a whole lot going for itself, but it is interesting scenery and always good to see something new. Is that enough of a sales pitch, Canberra Tourism Board?! Kinda reminded me of New Mexico or Utah in landscape, and a slow college town in atmosphere. Go Kevin 07, our PM has the same name as me!

Oh, and of course there was no Memorial Day celebrations. But don't you worry, 4th of July is around the corner. Here's a pic of 48 Fletcher, btw.

Same But Different

Here are a few things in April that show that while Australia is very much like the U.S., there are subtle differences that make you pine for Vegamite.

Rugby: this is like American football if it were constantly running the option or a pitch play to the halfback. It might be interesting to watch because I'm here or the fact that they hit head-on with no pads, but it's not the worst thing to watch. Players are pretty bogan (Aussie white trash), but gotta be tough to play this sport. My first game was at Parramatta, which seemed like a high school stadium for Friday Night Lights. They had a nice little "Parra-matta!" cheer thing going not exactly the OH-IO, but hey, it's enthusiasm. I've yet to play rugby yet, but need to get myself a tight collared shirt. Well, good luck to the first-place Sea Eagles and local Roosters. Now can some people show up at these games, please?!

Music: little weak, I have to say. Now each country, city, neighborhood has its own music scene, but Sydney aint really the place to be. I only mention this because I went to a Smashing Pumpkins show and V Fest around this time. Pumpkins was fine, although the venue was far from full...fast, fun, flub. Alliteration. That crazy rock and roll must've scared people off. But V Fest was littered with too many nods to the 80s, complete with bad fluro and synth pop. I suppose this scene is prevalent worldwide now, but it's definitely alive and kicking in Syd. There are a handful of good artists I've heard here, so maybe it involves digging like in the states, but can we have a popular band that doesn't use a drum machine?

House hunting: I had the pleasure one day to come home and find 35 of my closest strangers in the house. Apparently, this is how they sell houses: by auction! I'm talking to rat-tat-tat spewing of the auctioneer, people holding their cards up, the whole deal. So bizarre to watch, then find out we lived in a $1.1 million house. No private dealings with real estate people, just straight-up bidding, like they did when Rocky lost his house.

Driving: Yes, got to do this around April time! It's pretty obvious, so not much to it: on the other side of the car, other side of the road. I felt a little sickly, didn not feel right. Then I almost took off a few mirrors driving too close to the parked cars. Probably a good thing my license is expired.

March Madness

Oh yes, I did have the Sydney H&Kers fill out their NCAA tourney brackets. No matter where you are in the world, it has to happen. They didn't really know the Tar Heels from the Jayhawks, but they played along. Of course I was horrible, even against the Aussies. Good tourney, too, capped by an exciting final game where KU beat out Memphis in OT.

I wasn't able to follow the tourney for the first few rounds because my buddy Huw and I took a journey up to Byron Bay over Easter weekend. Byron is kinda a mix of spring break-ville, Woodstock and a small surf town. Lots of travelers and hippes line the streets, but still remains a nice resort town. Based on a pre-owned bus ticket purchased back in November, we went the Greyhound route up to Byron, complete with screenings of City Slickers AND Turner and Hooch. Nothing to kill a 12-hour bus ride like a flick between a young Hanks and slobbering dog. In true Huw style, we met many-a random characters in Byron, including a gaggle of Swedes at the hostel that we partied with. He also was able to snag tickets to the Blues Festival, caught some cool bands, including OAR, where one dude was even doing the "OH-IO" cheer....niiice. We took a helicoptor ride over the area, which was pretty sweet. I felt like doing the "get some....!" scene from Full Metal Jacket.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the trip to Nimbin, which is a town littered with drugged-out hippies, tourists and more hippies. For those of you that know about Nimbin, it has a reputation for being "green" and not the environmental type. I took a trip up with some traveling Dutchies and we were driven by a guy that fit Nimbin to a t. We even got the Aboriginee lecture on the way back. Great drive, too, the landscape around the area is green in itself with rolling hills.

March also was the month that we learned the house at 48 Fletcher St woul be sold by June. Let the apt search bgin....talk about madness.

Black History Month

February, February....hmm, not remembering much. Ooh, the month started with only one of the best Super Bowls ever! And it all happened to the Giants...yes, yes, thank you very much. A bit strange with the general apathy in our office about what I think to be an American holiday, but it's great to answer the most basic of questions about the sport. It's like talking to a little kid: "why do they throw the ball forward?" "is the quarterback the star of the team?" "they play indoors??" But good to see general interest, at least from the guys.

At this point, was starting to easily find my way around the city. Biking in the park, favorite beaches, fave Thai places. Definitely getting used to living Down Under, not a bad homestead with beach views and eveything. I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say February was when a group of us went sailing on the Harbour. Awesome Saturday, pretty epic driving a boat towards the Opera House. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better downtown/Harbour area than in Sydney. Amazing as you can imagine in pics, both day and night.

Like February, short entry. Fight the power, brothas.

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

January in Sydney is supposed to be the heart of summertime, filled with well-chronicled sunny days where the Harbour and coastal beaches soak in the warmth. But when I think of January 2008, that crazy wet stuff in the sky is all I can remember. Turns out this "summer" was the wettest in 15 years or so, and coming from Southern California where rain is common as a Clippers playoff appearance, this came as quite a shock. But don't let the weather keep you down....friends in the Northern hemisphere are shivering in the snow and ice....well, except in Cali.

Other than wet, cold weather, the new year brought upon a familiar college football result (no comment), playoff football and of course the excitement of Australia-India cricket! That one dude Singh is a prick, but from what I could tell, India got the best of the Aussies. I still can't believe they play without a mitt or any hand protection. I'll get to rugby in a bit, but same deal there....no pads, helmets. Are the Aussie athletes tougher? Possibly, but dammit, they don't have Vin Scully (you're welcome Jeff).

The other happening that I can remember (other than the rooftop incident...will take that one offline) is Australia Day weekend trip to Melbourne. Australia Day is kinda like 4th of July without the fireworks, parades and utter drunkenness. Yeah, I know. But a venture down to Melbourne with the crew was an interesting experience, complete with crazy dudes running with hammers, girls flashing their boobs with our encouragement and bizarre saxaphone players getting all uppity. Melbourne is a cool town with alleyway bars and what seems like a pretty decent music/art scene. Oh, and Sharapova won the Australian Open while we were there, so no complaints. Did I happen to mention the cougar bar in St. Kilda?? Yeah, will have to make another visit to Melbs, she's a gem.

Christmas in July

Of course it's strange enough to be in Califonia during Christmastime, when all the houses are lit up with the backdrop of palm trees and surfboards. But Sydney is in the dead of summer and twinkly lights/Santa on the lawn aint exactly the Aussie's style. In a way, almost wish they did a have a touch of that American cheesy Christmas spirit, at least it gets you in the spirit.

So when I think of December, there are a few things that come to mind: first off, the H&K Holiday Party (sorry, Christmas Party. They're not as PC here). They planned an island theme, complete with Fantasy Island characters and islander dancers. We were taken via boat to a private island out in Darling Harbour. Hilarity insued on the island, then in the after party on the way back (ie, Bon Jovi and Aussie, Aussie, Aussie cheers). At some point, the stragglers piled into the back of the moving van so we could all "safely" make it to the bar as one. This H&K office is a whole new bag. Agency of the Year, island Christmas parties, big clients...winning team.

Christmas break wasn't entirely neccessary, considering I had only been working a month or so. But it did give the chance to get out of Sydney: make the trek up to Newcastle, an industrial area, but actually pretty nice with good beaches and all. Being away for Xmas was a bit strange I suppose, but I had the dogs to keep me busy and orphan friends celebrated together at Rory and Suzy's place. Like much of our get togethers, lotsa alcohol was consumed. Unlike other times, we were singing along to a 50-something guitarist, Suzy's dad. Not quite like a Connecticut Xmas, but great time with pseudo-fam.

Oh, caught the Dylan movie during Xmas break. Not sure what many thought about it, but I was pretty mesmerized a few days later. Might have been blinded by he music (Stuck Inside Memphis....great opener song) and sadly, Heath Ledger's performance, but I was a fan. In short, the movie was exactly like Dylan's career and music: unpredictable, an enigma, left up to viewer (or listener) to interpret.

Finally, the month ended off with New Years. Split my earliest ever NYE between Cher's cousin's in North Bondi and Wazza/Allison friend's place in the city. Caught fireworks, got drunk, yee haw.

Ok, I remembered alot from December, good on me! 2007 was a transition, bring on 2008.

Welcome Back, Welcome Back

Just imagine the Mr. Kotter music playing in the background....alright, so after reading other friends blogs and inspired by the fact that I should probably document my Australian exerience more, I'm going to try and hop back on the blog train. Oh, and I hate when band or other Web sites go months without an update. It's been a fun ride so far here and I have alot of memories (and a ton of non-memories!) to relive via blog.

In commemoration of my ten months in Australia, I'll go month-by-month in the next week to relive what I've been up to. And since it's very late and not sure why I'm even up anyway, here's the rest of November:

Went to PC Authority Awards in my ratty old suit and BB shirt, where of course my accent was spotted by the comedian host, Vince something. He proceeded to tell American jokes, I remember a Clinton-Lewinski one (dude, 1998 called, they want their material back). Don't recall too much of a Thanksgiving, maybe turkey tacos/burgers a few days later. All in all, November was about me getting the visa and starting at H&K Sydney. Canon, ready or not, here I come...

Oh, and how could I forget about Movember, where eery dude in the city looks like a 70s porn extra. That includes yours truly, I was rocking the "ginger" handlebar.