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.