Thursday, January 24, 2008
Moonlight Cinema
Louise and I had a night at the cinema: a night outside at the cinema! We went to a big park for Moonlight Cinema. They were playing about 30-40 movies over the summer, but we had no trouble picking the French movie Hunting and Gathering. Louise loves the book, and I'm always excited about an Audrey Tautou film. The weather was beautiful, and the park felt like some kind of wilderness reserve (the pictures below were taken on the path!)
We took our favourite picnic snacks and enjoyed the sunset while we waited.
I even splurged to rent a bean bag lounge, seeing as I don't own a blanket!
The movie was perfect, and it was the perfect environment to enjoy it in.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Where is my liqourice?
Today's Australia lesson: red licorice is different here than in Canada. Jill and Brian would probably tell you it's not as good as home, but I LOVE Darrell Lea's "soft eating" liquorice. It comes in strawberry, green apple, mango or blackcurrant. So delicious. Anyway, It's become my favourite Aussie treat, but they've taken it away from me! Not literally, I guess, but all three shops near work and two stores near my home are all sold out. It's so disheartening to go from store to store and have your heart drop when the peg is empty. They've been sold out for two weeks! This makes me think there is some kind of shortage on red liquorice (one of my co-workers suggested it might have something to do with the sudden increase in demand since I moved to Sydney). I think anyone currently living in Canada should go to their local Shoppers' Drug Mart and try to find some Darrell Lea's (they were stocking them in Wolfville when I visited in February). Think of it as a cross-cultural experience! Anyway, I'm having the same trouble with my quest for the Starbucks Chinese New Year "Rat" bear. How can it be that all three stores I've visited don't stock them?
Friday, January 18, 2008
Minus 5
Finally! Pictures from my birthday at Minus 5. Everything inside is made from carved ice, and the temperature is kept at -5 Celsius (hence the name). They even gave us drinks in ice glasses. They provided the coats and a little beeper that went off after 30 minutes to ensure that we didn't freeze. It was such a fun, memorable 26th birthday thanks to Louise and Stacey!Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Zoo Day
To finish off my five day break from work, I decided to take a train, train and ferry to Taronga zoo. It was smaller than I expected, but with great views of the city. At Carole's suggestion, I had my picture taken with the koalas (so cute!) 
Although my favourite section was the nocturnal Australian animals (unfortunately they are very hard to photograph!), the Red Panda would be next on my list. 
I loved my day at the zoo, and I'm very proud of myself for getting through the last few days in Aussie sunshine without a hint of a burn! I have had five perfect days off, and feel ready to head back to work.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Birthday!
I had a wonderful birthday here in Sydney (not a lot of great pictures, though). I opened Carole's presents in the morning, and I was so excited, she read my mind!! I went to see 27 Dresses and do some shopping in the afternoon, and then Louise, Stacey and I went out for dinner. We went to a great pizza place (the same one I went to with Jill and Brian) and had a nice little tiramisu for birthday cake. Stacey tried to put a happy expression on it, but in this picture it looks more like an angry face! They we walked over to Circular Quay to go the Minus 5 ("The coolest experience where everything is made from ice.") Pictures of that to come.
Louise and Stacey looking gorgeous!And this is an example why asking someone to take your pictures is always a let down (can they not hold it still?
I'm having a quiet day today: applesauce cooking on the stove, "Much Ado About Nothing" playing on the computer, and a fun craft project completed! I first saw zipper pencil cases in Taiwan, and they're coming into some stores here in Sydney. Too bad I didn't think of it first, I could make a fortune! Louise and I found colourful zippers for .50 a piece, and bought some denim for the back. It would be a really quick project if you have a sewing machine, but even by hand, it's a fun little afternoon activity.
I'm having a quiet day today: applesauce cooking on the stove, "Much Ado About Nothing" playing on the computer, and a fun craft project completed! I first saw zipper pencil cases in Taiwan, and they're coming into some stores here in Sydney. Too bad I didn't think of it first, I could make a fortune! Louise and I found colourful zippers for .50 a piece, and bought some denim for the back. It would be a really quick project if you have a sewing machine, but even by hand, it's a fun little afternoon activity.Sunday, January 13, 2008
Day Two of the Birthday Long Weekend
Today my roommate Stacey and I attended a sporting event! This is a rare occurrence in my life, and I would never put cricket at the top of my list of favourite sports (that is, if I had a list of favourite sports, but even that would be a stretch). Beach cricket sounded exciting, though...
This is Maroubra beach, about a half hour bus ride from the city center. It was a sold out crowd, but thankfully we got seats in the shaded area. There were two games, each about an hour and a half long. The teams were made up of past cricket greats from England, Australia and New Zealand, and New Zealand was the regional winner, if anyone cares.
They even gave us free Australia hats! And introducing my wonderful roommate Stacey from Brighton, England. She's been in Australia a couple of months and works in marketing.
The new rules for beach cricket were great: I could actually figure out what was going on. I think I'm learning a new sport!
This is one of those horrible pictures that are so unflattering you just have to laugh... (I didn't know Stacey was taking the picture, and it was really bright outside!)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Day One of the Birthday Long Weekend
The alarm went off at 7:30 this morning, and there was only one thing that could pull me out of bed. No, not Krispy Kremes, although that would be a close second. The Sydney Festival is on, and they were selling $25 last-minute tickets on the day of the performance. The brochure said it was open from 8am, and even though I didn't think anyone else would really be there, I arrived in the city just after 8. Boy was I wrong. It turns out some people sleep overnight, and most people who get tickets arrive between 3am and 4am to line up. 3am, can you imagine? I consider myself an appreciator of the arts, but there is a line! Thankfully, it was kind of a fluke day when they had a lot of tickets to sell and not as many people in line, so I got one for the modern dance I planned to see. Then I did reward myself with Krispy Kreme before heading off to meet Louise in Cabramatta. This is the Vietnamese center of Sydney, with restaurants, shops and markets to explore.
We both got our hair done: Louise's straightened, mine cut. Ta da!
Then this evening I went to see the Spanish National Dance Company's performance of Alas. It had been a been to a dance performance, and it was superb.
Last night, I started off the weekend with La Boheme at the Opera House. I've never been so excited to leave work on a Friday!
The outside and inside of the opera theatre at intermission (there are five different theatres inside the Opera House).
It was a modern interpretation (set in the 1990's), which wasn't my favourite, but the music was perfect, and I get so emotionally involved when I listen to opera. Except for the Ring Cycle- that nearly killed me.
Day two of the birthday weekend is beach cricket, so stay tuned!Thursday, January 10, 2008
The Mystery Animal
The other night, Louise and I were walking back to my apartment from the train station after dark. All of a sudden we saw a small animal coming up to us. As cat lovers, we just assumed it was just a kitty coming up for a pet, but as it came closer, the streetlamp made it very clear that it was not a cat. With this small animal with pointy ears, a tapered snout and long tail running up to us, my first instinct was to run away. I think part of it was growing up in a country with rabies: wild animals that run up to you are bad. But in Australia, they don't have rabies, so Louise bent over and gave the strange little thing a good pet (supposedly, he was very soft). When I asked her what animal it was, she had no idea. Imagine that! I grew up near Toronto, where are there about four different animals you might run across in the city. If you see an animal, you immediately know what it is: raccoon, squirrel, rat, bird. If you saw an animal that you didn't recognize, I think you'd panic and call animal services! The following internet search produced a whole number of possible species, it really is incredible how many different (and strange) animals can be found here.Was it a quoll?
A quokka?
Or a bandicoot?
A pandemelon?
Or maybe a brushtail possum?
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
If only...
I had a end-of-month review with my supervisor the other day. Getting good feedback is always encouraging, of course. But it was overshadowed by the small matter of "incentives" (a fancy word for commission). We all knew when we were hired as temps, that we would not be eligible for commission. It hit home when my supervisor showed me that, if I wasn't a temp, I would have earned $2,500 in incentives for the month of December. Yeah, that's a lot. That's probably more than I earned for the whole month! The amount is based on how many deals I put through as well as the quality of my calls, punctuality, average call time, etc. Many of the others on my team would have earned nothing or just a few hundred dollars. I'm trying to be very philosophical about the whole thing, and take it as as a indication that I'm doing a good job, and not just a whole wad of money that escaped my piggy bank.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Cricket
I would like to nominate cricket as the most mind-numbing sport. Everyone wears the same colour, so you can't tell who is on which team. There is absolutely no contact between players (anyone care for a tackle or a bodychuck?) And there the only movement of players occurs when someone hits the ball, and he gets to run back and forth in a straight line between two piles of wooden sticks. But, during that time, the cameras follow the ball, so you don't even get to see it. Whenever I turn on a cricket game, I have no idea what point it is in the game, what the score is, or what on earth is going on. The stats look like Latin, and the commentators sound like they belong in a mental ward. All that being said, the final nail in the coffin is that a cricket test match goes on FOREVER. Not only does it last six hours every day, it goes on for five days! That means cricket is on the tv in the breakroom at work during my morning break, my lunch break and my afternoon break! I am giving cricket one last chance: Stacey and I are going to see beach cricket here in Sydney. I have high hopes because it's on sand, and the matches are limited to one hour, 15 minutes. Stay tuned for pictures.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy 2008
Happy New Year! The Sydney celebration was unforgettable. It stretched my mind a bit that I had fifteen hours of 2008 while my family in Nova Scotia was still in 2007. I've also decided that I like celebrating the new year in summer weather instead of slushy, frozen weather. I had a pretty relaxed night and saved money by just walking down the street to the lookout by my apartment. Sydney put on fireworks at 9pm and midnight, and they were spectacular. It was also a very friendly atmosphere, with over a million people lining the harbour to enjoy the same show. 2007 was a pretty intense year full of changes and new experiences, and I think 2008 will be the same. The only thing I know for sure is that a year from now, I will be in a different city, different country, different job, different house, different friends, etc. But I'm ready for the challenge, and I've joined Carole in writing a list of 101 things to do in the next 1001 days.
