2 Days to Go!

There are 2 work days left before I head home to Atlanta for the holidays. But it has yet to feel like holidays for me since it seems so much like spring time (okay, it is spring time!) and every time I think of buying someone a Christmas gift from here, I think, now if they don’t like it, they can’t exactly take it back. So, I’ll be doing my annual Christmas Eve shopping again this year except this time under the influence of jet lag!
I’m enjoying the new apartment and very glad to have somewhere to call “home” even if it is actually away from home. Jason’s visa is finally approved and he’ll be flying back with me on Jan 1 (that’s right, it will be right during the Gator Bowl – so I’ll be watching that one on Jan 3 Australian time – Jan 2 in the States – via SlingBox, so please don’t anyone tell me who wins but something tells me I already know after witnessing the last 2 games). Poor Jason will also be watching his Florida Gators play for the National Championship in the same fashion on Jan 8(9), but with only a few hours of day since we’ll be at work during the game. I just hope he doesn’t accidentally find out who won before he gets to watch the game.
The latest news is that in areas in Victoria (the Australian state that Melbourne is in), there are lots of wildfires (or as they call them here – bushfires) burning and in the past few weeks, there have been several days where the entire city looks like it is covered in fog. Except that this fog is actually smoke from the fires. When it’s happening, there is a constant smell of “campfire” in the air and I keep wondering who brought the marshmallows. I’ve downloaded this picture from NASA to show the fires and I put a big yellow arrow where Melbourne is on the map and the bay you see right below the arrow in the photo is the same one that I have in other pictures – i.e. at the beach.

So here is a picture from our office on a clear day:


And here is a picture from our office on a smoky day:


Quite a difference! For details on the fires, check out this link at yahoo: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061209/wl_nm/australia_bushfires_dc_1

New Apartment and a 10K

(I typed this up last weekend but kept forgetting to post it, so sorry for the delay!)

I have had a great weekend. I moved into the new apartment and I love it! Lots of room (as far as apartments go) and a great view – the only thing its missing is Jason! Hopefully his VISA will be approved soon so he can fly over to join me. The area of town the apartment is in is called Docklands, it’s directly on the Yarra River directly next to an area of town called Southbank (Ellen and Mike – that’s the area where the Casino you both mentioned is located) and caddy corner/short tram ride from the Central Business District (CBD). There is also an aquarium, but I don’t know how impressed I would be at an aquarium that doesn’t have 4 whale sharks like the GA Aquarium – but I’m sure eventually I will check it out. Across the river are some trams that take you directly into the city – and one route is called the City Circle, which is a free tram that takes visitors all around a circle for free. So, to everyone thinking about visiting – apartment has 2 bedrooms and is really close to anything that you’d want to visit!!!! Book your dates now as we’d be happy to have anyone willing to make the flight- it’s a long one!!!
Located in the area is the Telstra Dome – I imagine the Melbourne equivalent to the Georgia Dome (minus the neon pink and green paint on the outside, which I hear Mr. Blank finally wants to change). I’m told that this is where U2 played the weekend that I couldn’t find a hotel in town. They also play some Australian Rules Football here (AFL) and I’ll probably have to pick a team to cheer for – apparently there are lots of teams that play in the dome. Once I pick my team – I’ll be sure to let everyone know! Of course, then I have to learn the rules of AFL and after trying to watch part of a cricket match, I’m not sure this is going be an easy task.
I’ve taken some photos and posted them on my yahoo site – some are of the apartment, the view from the apartment and some are from the nearby beach in St. Kilda. I took them on Saturday when I went down there to pick up my race number for the 10K. We had considered living in that area of town, while it would be nice to be right at the beach – it was a little bit further to commute to work and the apartment buildings were significantly older than Docklands and definitely not as nice.
On Sunday Morning, I ran the Sussan fun run, which was a 5K/10K supporting the Breast Cancer Network Australia. It was very similar to the Susan J. Komenn run – except I was running it all by myself, wishing that Jenny J. or Libby were there to join me! But I understand that at the time you guys were probably watching an ACC game that I won’t mention at this point…. It was a nice, flat course – but really windy, so it was almost like running uphill the entire way! The best part was it was all along the beach of St. Phillip Bay, so I got a nice tour of St. Kilda – I might have finished the course a little sooner, but a few times I caught myself trying to sightsee along the way.
Here are a picture I took from the apartment of the view of the CBD from the porch. Jason, don’t be too jealous that you can’t yet be here to enjoy it with me!!! And then a picture from the race, but you won't see me in it, since I wasn't anywhere near the front! Cheers all!!!

Another day, another dollar

I don’t really have a lot of updates, but I have a few people requesting daily updates! Trust me, no one wants to hear about what I do on a daily basis – it even bores me! A lot of it is the same stuff I would do in the US – wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, go to work, eat some lunch, finish work, go home.
But I do have to say the last few weeks have had some abnormal things thrown in the middle of that routine. At least once a day someone makes fun of the way that I say something or tries to tell me where another great café or restaurant is, I promise there will not be enough time for me to try out all their suggestions.
Also, one key difference is that I do have a fabulous view from my desk. I’m sitting at the corner, so I’ll show you what the views are directly in front of me and then out the window to my right. With a view like this, it’s a wonder I get any work done. In the building with the giant cone shaped roof, there is a huge shopping area. I'll also be posting all the pictures I take on the website on the left of the blog page - just look for the link. Cheers everyone!

First couple of weeks

I have made it through my first couple of weeks in Australia. As expected, everything has been an adventure but everyone I have encountered has been very helpful.
A few highlights:
1) Upon my arrival, after 30 hours of flying from Atlanta to Melbourne via Chicago, LA, and Sydney (I really got a world tour in one day), I got out of the taxi at my hotel and started lugging my bags (now I know why they call it luggage) with a month and a half's worth of clothes up the sidewalk when 2 very nice guys insisted on helping me carry the bags up the 2 flights of stairs to the hotel. And it couldn't have been because they thought that I looked good - see previous comment about the 30 hour flight!
2) I get to the hotel and turn on the TV, when the first thing that I see on is Days of Our Lives and the second thing is Oprah! Not to mention on the way from the airport I see a K-Mart, a Target and a Dixie Chicks song is playing on the radio. Somethings are different here, but some are just the same as home.
3) As it turns out I arrived on Thrus and had a tough time finding a hotel room. Some of the company event planners had some luck finding me something in the city for 2 nights but for Saturday I had to travel all the way back to the airport to stay at the Hilton there. Apparently the rooms in town were all booked due to the G-20 economic summit and a U2 concert. But once I got to the Hilton, I made a couple of phone calls and then ended up sleeping 5 hours, so it all worked out okay.
4) I've decided I'm starting a list words that are different from how we would say them in the US - I suspect over the length of my stay here, this list will be quite extensive.
5) Driving on the left-hand side of the road - needless to say, there is no way I will be brave enough to try this in the near term!
6) This weekend I plan to run a 10K race that goes along the nice flat terrain next to the beach. This should be great! I also plan to break out the camera this weekend to take a bunch of pictures - so I'll have more to post in the future.

Here's a view from my hotel. That's the Port Phillip Bay in the distance.