These are my favorites. I put them up just for fun..... and inspiration!
I ended up taking a long walk along the river last Saturday evening. Walking up the stairs from the river to the top of Kangaroo Point, panting and sweating by the time I reached the top, it was hard to imagine, still, that it's the Christmas season. Her Excellency Ms. Quentin Bryce, AC Governor of Queensland, put it best when she wrote, "Christmas in Queensland is a far cry from those familiar images of Yule logs, snow and mistletoe. For us it's jacarandas in full bloom, watermelon, pineapple and stone fruit; sandcastles instead of snowmen, and lightning instead of log fires."
It’s hard to believe I’ve already made it a third of the way through my degree. I really knuckled down for swotvac (study without teaching vacation) and did the best I could on my final exams. They were difficult, and I was really stressed, but it’s all over now. Results will be out Monday, 3 December.
To help unwind from the stress and celebrate putting one semester behind me, I took a nine day holiday to Hamilton Island with Zane. We spent the first five days at a five-star resort right on the beach. Basically, all I did for five days was lie around at the beach or by the pool drinking cocktails, listening to music, reading and swimming. We also managed to do a sunset kayak trip, as well as a day of sailing that included snorkelling and a stop at a pristine, white sand beach.
On Friday, we had two more friends show up (Jane and Grant), and moved to a different hotel so that we could all room together. While Zane and Jane got certified for scuba, Grant and I went for a nature hike. We shared some great dinners together, and took in as much of the scenery and relaxation that we could over the last several days. I also got out to the Great Barrier Reef for a day of snorkelling. It was awesome!
I’m taking a different approach with the pictures this time. Instead of describing them as part of this entry, I’ll write descriptions for each picture. Just click on the gallery and scroll through.
I had another chance to get away this weekend. I was gone for just a little over 24 hours, but I had a really good time...
Peter and Bruce are two friends of Brian that live in Yeppoon. Bruce works as a pharmacist, and over the last several years has become part owner in three local pharmacies. When Peter and Bruce moved to Yeppoon, there was no Chamber of Commerce, so Bruce decided to create one. Four years ago, he had the idea to run an “Employee of the Year” competition through the Chamber of Commerce in order to bring the business community together and honor the hard working employees. What started out with a handful of people in the back of a local tavern has now become large event, with over 250 people in attendance.
This year’s celebration took place at the Rydges Capricorn Resort. (For a little more juicy account of the resort, read here.) As I mentioned before, there were about 250 people present. There were speeches, games, awards, dinner, and even a drag show! It was very entertaining, and everyone (myself included) seemed to have a really good time. I felt especially proud of Bruce, since he was responsible for all of it. What an accomplishment!
Not so bright and early Saturday morning Brian, Peter, and I jumped in the car for a driving tour of the surrounding area. We started out with a very nice breakfast by the bay, spent several hours sightseeing, then ended up with a visit to Bruce at the pharmacy. Back to the house for lunch and a nap, and before long it was time to go back to the airport.
Here's a quick post about the farm. Brian took me up to meet Doug and Wayne last weekend on Sunday 14. Doug and Wayne have a crayfish farm that is located about 40 minutes north of Brisbane, very close to Australia Zoo. In fact, it might as well be a zoo, because they have so many animals living on their property. Apart from thousands of crayfish living in the ponds, they have a dog, a cat, a bunch of geese, a turkey, and some chickens. Wayne was kind enough to give me a tour of the farm and show me how they care for the crayfish, what their plans are for expansion, etc. The boys rounded out the afternoon by barbecuing some chicken and sausages. We also had salad, bread, beer and wine. Nice.
Hmm.... Well, I'm not a very responsible blogger, but I am a very responsible student. Between uni, work, and the normal day-to-day responsibilities, I’ve had no time
to call or email, let alone update this blog. And although I’m not very
fond on the idea of mass mailings, I've been doing that in lieu of updating the blog. In fact, this posting is just an edited version of a mass mailing. So this sounds familiar and/or you've already seen the pics, it's better to wait for the next post.
Things here are still good, but I’m moving into somewhat of a “reality” phase now, where I’m really starting to miss people and things from America. On the one hand, I’m sure that’s an indication that I’ve adjusted to life here. That’s a good thing. On the other hand, the newness of it is gone now. That can be somewhat disenchanting. I’m still glad I moved here, and I have no regrets about what I’ve done, but at the same time I’m really appreciating what I left behind. And I miss everyone.
Uni is a little more difficult and boring than I thought it would be. I realize now that I’m a good teacher, but not such a good student. Don’t get me wrong: I’m doing exactly what I wanted to do, and I worked really hard and sacrificed to get here. I’m just a little disillusioned with the whole university experience. I mean, why can’t I just spend my days at the beach and earn my degree that way? Seriously, though, once I get these “foundation” units out of the way this semester, I will be able to concentrate more on the things that interest me. In fact, I might even change Masters courses beginning 2008. Once approved, the Master degree will be something like this: http://www.fit.qut.edu.au/news/news-event.jsp?news-event-id=14182. I’d also like to round it out with another database unit or two. I actually like databases, and there is a need for data consultants right now.
I found out this week that Aussie immigration has changed its rules for permanent residency. Used to be, a degree from a qualified university could get you residency. Starting September 1, it has to be a two-year degree. My degree runs only 18 months, so I will have to find another way if I plan to stay here after I’m finished. I can change my Masters course to add a semester, but that will be another $10,000, and I really loathe the idea of studying for an additional semester. The other option I have is to find a company that will offer me a job and a sponsorship. There are more options than just these two, but these are the two most likely. I have a meeting with an advisor at uni next week, and he should be able to help me sort things out a bit more. Of course, in another 17 months when my visa expires, I might be really keen on moving back to the States. Who knows?
I finally got to have some Mexican food three Friday nights ago. Jane, the corporate lawyer where I work, and Sarah, who is something kind of like my supervisor, had an idea to take me out to Mexican food since, besides my friends, it’s the thing I miss most. Zane came along, and we had a really good night. We started off at the Royal Exchange Hotel, which is across the street from work, and is not a hotel at all. (They have all these “hotels” all over the place that are really just bars/beer gardens. I guess a long time ago you used to be able to stay there, but now they’re just a place to drink. Took me a while to figure that one out.) We had some beers, then headed to the Mexican restaurant, where we drank a pitcher of margaritas and dined on some surprisingly good Mexican food. In San Diego, it would be unremarkable, but after not having any Mexican food for three months, it tasted pretty darn good. There was also an appearance by Tortilla Man (?), which was kind of interesting. In one of the attached pictures you will see Sarah on the left and Jane on the right.
My birthday was really something special. Apart from the calls and messages from overseas, I was surprised by my mate Brian on Friday. Sometime mid-week Brian sent me a very mysterious email that said he was going to take the day off and spend it with me. He said he would pick me up about a quarter to 6:00 am, because our flight left the airport at 6:30. I was to bring my togs (swimsuit) and a camera. That’s all the information I got, but it was certainly enough to get me excited.
Sure enough, bright and early Friday morning, Brian showed up at my place and whisked me away to the airport in a taxi. Since Brian just happens to be a Qantas life member, we got to go into the Qantas lounge and have free breakfast. Then we boarded a plane and headed for Hervey Bay.
Hervey Bay is about a 45 min flight north of Brisbane. Mind you, when we arrived there, I still had no idea what we were going to do. And the airport wasn’t much help. It was really small, no gates or anything. In fact, when the plane landed and stopped, it just turned around and taxied back up the runway to the “terminal”. A short walk down the road from the terminal led us to Air Fraser Island where we were greeted by a lady who started talking about planes and rental cars, that whoever was driving would need to sign here and there, and that we had to watch a video before we left. It wasn’t long before I surmised that we were flying from Hervey Bay to Fraser Island, where we were going to rent a 4x4 and drive around the island. And that is exactly what we did!
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ve included several with this email so that you can see what we got up to. From landing on a beach, to four-wheeling through the rain forest, to swimming in a crystal clear lake, it was one of the most fun days I ever had. Take a look! I’ve also uploaded a few videos to the blog. You can access them here: http://raxetsd.vox.com/library/videos/. You can also learn more about Fraser island here http://www.hervey.com.au/FraserIsland/default.htm and here http://www.fraserisland.net/.
So that’s about it for now. Tomorrow I’m headed off for the crayfish farm with Brian. That should be worthy of another email. Speaking of, if you write to me now I should be able to answer you personally and, hopefully, without much delay. My contract with TechnologyOne ended today, so I’m officially unemployed for the time being. Also, the semester at uni will be ending here in the next couple of weeks. Then I’ll have PLENTY of time to write emails.
JT
I took some pictures of my unit and the surrounding suburb, as well as a few pictures from the CBD (Central Business District), or as we like to call it, "downtown." As usual, click on the pics and read the accompanying descriptions below each one. Enjoy.
At long last, I’m sitting down to catch up on the blog. The past three weeks have gone by as quickly as three days, and I can’t believe that I’ll be attending my first lecture this evening. As usual, my best intentions of writing seems to be overtaken by the events that I want to write about and, well, moving to another country has also significantly cut down the time I’ve had to write. Excuses, excuses... I know...
Before I even left the States my adventure had already begun. I travelled back and forth across the nation visiting family and friends. My last stop was Arizona, where I stopped in at my Uncle Kerry’s house. I got a very warm welcome from his family, and I was able to reconnect with a cousin who I hadn’t seen in many years. In fact, it might have been the first time we actually met. He did what any long-lost cousin would do, however, and took me on a scorpion hunt in the back yard. The exoskeletons of the scorpions glow under black light, so hunting at night is pretty easy. Other highlights of that visit were meeting my uncle’s six adopted children, having my teeth whitened and reshaped, and visiting my buddy Nick. (Yeah, that’s you, Nick!)
My return to California included a very quick round trip to Madera and back. I got to visit my younger brother, Nathan, and his family. I also got to see my dad and his wife, as well as leave my keepsakes for safe storage at Nathan’s house. I returned to San Diego with just enough time to wash and pack before the big flight.
The big flight was awesome, way better than what I expected. Air New Zealand is a great way to cross the globe. The plane was new, the service was great. There was plenty of room in and around the seat, as well as on-demand entertainment. (It was also a very affordable ticket, HINT HINT. From $900 round trip during August. Check it out.) I wish I could write a little bit about how cool New Zealand was, but I only saw the airport in Auckland. It was small. It was cold. I was tired. That’s about it.
Most people I’ve spoken to back home want to know how I’m adjusting, and what I’ve been up to. The adjustment has been really easy, because I know that this is where I’m supposed to be and it’s what I’m supposed to be doing. Probably the most difficult thing I’ve had to adjust to is the slower pace of life. Poor me, I know. I never thought I was really that into instant gratification and a sucker for convenience, but it became apparent that I was not long after I got here. Let me explain:
First, I’m either walking or taking the train everywhere, so a trip to the store takes about an hour, and a trip to the gym takes three hours. Trading hours here are not as broad either, so I have to be sure that I go out during a time when stores are actually open. Services are also slower. It took a week for the cable people to come hook up my internet. It took a week to figure out phone and mobile service. There was a leak in the bathroom, and it took the plumber four days to show up. Ultimately, I think a slower pace of life is good. The adjustment, however, is not as easy as you might think.
There are other aspects of the culture that need some adjusting to as well. For example, it’s been a challenge learning to operate in the metric system. I’ve got temperature in degrees Celsius down, but I’m still having some difficulty with distance and weight. It’s also difficult to tell whether something is expensive or not, because the Australian dollar is not as strong as the US dollar, but things seem to be more expensive.
Grocery shopping is always an adventure. The food here is very similar, but there are some things that I ate all the time in California that I just can’t find here. Examples are tortillas and salsa. I found some tortillas in the Mexican section of a grocery store called Coles. I was really excited to find them, but they were expensive, and came in a pack of only ten. When I got them home and opened up the package, I was gravely disappointed. They were corn tortillas (here, the call them “enchilada” tortillas), but they were gooey and all stuck together. They tasted like play dough.
I also freaked out about the egg situation here. All the eggs are brown, and they are not refrigerated. Now every time I’m in the store with Brian, he shrieks horror when we come up on the egg aisle.
The other side of the coin is the really good stuff. I live in a really up-and-coming part of town, and my “village”, as they call it, has several little cafes and good places to eat, as well as a grocery store and some other shops. I love the coffee here, and they have really good bread and desserts. All the stuff I’m supposed to be eating, right? I’ve discovered meat pies and crumpets, and I even like Vegemite! Yum.
Links to
Nundah Village:
http://www.nundah.com/
http://www.ourbrisbane.com/living/suburbs/nundah/home/
Fitness has also been a challenge. I thought I would join a gym during the first couple of days I was here and continue with my fitness program. Wrong. First, there are not as many gyms here, and they’re not as readily available. The gyms that are available are very expensive, and they don’t offer as much as the gyms in Southern California. It took me a good two weeks to find a gym with a good balance of equipment, price, and location, and it was much more expensive than I had anticipated it would be. Basically, it’s like a very expensive 24hr Fitness membership. It appears that gyms are only for those who can afford them, but the Aussies do like their sport, so I guess many people find something or other that keeps them in shape.
What have I been up to? Well, besides living a dream come true, not a whole lot. The dream, however, takes a lot of preparation and infrastructure. As I stated before, it took a week just to get cable, phone, and utilities. Although the unit was pretty well set up when I arrived, there was still some shopping I needed to do to round out the furnishing. Then my laptop crashed, and that took another week to sort out. So, as you can see, I’ve been busy with a lot of mundane tasks. Important, but mundane.
The highlights so far have been reconnecting with my friends over here, meeting new people, and learning my way around. Also, I’m super excited about university. Zane took me over there last weekend to show me around, then I had several days of orientation that ended on Thursday. The campus is beautiful, but it’s also very compact, so I was able to find my way around very easily.
I’ve enrolled in four units this semester. Since I’m undertaking a Masters degree that does not match my undergrad degree, the first four units are compulsory. They are meant to give me a broad introduction to IT, so that I can be more successful in my elective units later on. The four units I’ll be taking this semester are Database Systems, Enterprise Architectures, Programming Principles, and Systems and Networks.
I’m also able to legally work after today, so I’ll be applying for my work permit and starting to look for a job very soon.
I haven’t
taken very many pictures, but the few that I have a very good. Take a look, and let me know if there’s
anything else you’d like to hear about or see.
An ambitious schedule, indeed, but I pulled it off. One thing that made it very easy was that there were NO DELAYS. Can you tell I'm still bitter about last week's air travel? Besides being packed into another crowded Super 80 for four hours, everything was great this time around. No pictures yet, because I've been super busy today, but I'll post some soon enough.
ORF http://www.norfolkairport.com/ Embraer: Super Nice
ORD http://www.ohare.com/ Super 80: If I never get on one ever again I will be very happy.
SAN http://www.san.org/ Airbus A320: Very, very nice, especially after the S80.
PHX http://phoenix.gov/AVIATION/ I have the choice of either a Jeep Wrangler or a Mercedes SL 500. Which would you choose?
Ah…. it’s been a great week of visiting, resting, and EATING. Sitting here trying to type out this entry, it’s pretty evident I’m in somewhat of a food coma. The sedentary life style of complete R&R has left my usually witty writing somewhat flat. Burp.
My bag finally arrived on Wednesday, and after that things got a lot more bright and cheery. It’s amazing what a new pair of underwear can do for the psyche.
The whole week has been blessed with good times and great weather, both here and in West Virginia, and I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed.
Terri, Ashley, and I left on Thursday morning and had a nice leisurely drive up to West Virginia. The car was packed full of movies and snacks, so we had everything we needed within arm’s reach. Both the scenery and the company made for a very pleasant drive.
The highlight of West Virginia, besides visiting family, was our excursion to Downtown Cumberland Town Centre on Friday. We walked around the historic district, had lunch at the Queen City Creamery, and visited the museum and the train station. We also got to see a section of the C&O Canal, which was used to carry freight from Cumberland to Washington, DC. The day provided many great photo opportunities.
That same evening we all came together to cook an authentic Southern dinner. The preparation provided a good venue for us to visit and reminisce. It was also an opportunity to learn some of the recipes my mom has stored in her head. On the menu was fried chicken, cream corn, greens, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, and corn bread. I wonder if I can reproduce that overseas….
We decided to come back to a day early. Although it was hard to say good-bye to everyone, coming back early gave me a chance to take care of some errands and prepare for travel tomorrow. After last week’s experience, I want to be sure to have plenty of energy. Even if the flights are not delayed, it’s a lot of flying.
