Hey all,
I have about 5 minutes at this internet cafe, so I'll have to make this quick... E & J and I are in Melbourne for the weekend. We woke up at 5am this morning to catch an early flight. The flight over was pretty uneventful (which is a nice change from the hell E and I had to go through to get to Sydney). We plan to check out a music venue or two, some gardens, and a dead person museum of some sort.
Anyhow, I gotta run... time's up!
-e
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Lost: Favorite Nalgene
So when you're living in a hotel with a bunch of college students, inevitably there is going to be some drinking. And games. And drinking games. Here are a few pictures that show what happens after those things occur:
Anyhow, so on Thursday, the whole CCSA program got up at 5:30am, collected our boxed lunches and dragged our asses onto a bus. Three hours later, we were in Canberra, Australia's capital city (no, Sydney is not Australia's capital). Our tour guide was sure to tell us that it is pronounced "Canbra" not "Canbra." That's right, "Canbra" .... not "Canbra." (yeah, we were all kind of confused.) We stopped a couple of miles outside the city to get some scenic views overlooking the tiny little city (about 380k people live there). Then it was onto the main attraction. Oh wait, there was no main attraction.
Here are some CCSA peeps at the lookout point.
When I told my ex-roommate Gabi that I was going to visit Canberra while in Australia, he said, and I quote, "Canberra is butt." Turns out he was right. There is pretty much nothing there. We visited the High Court of Australia (the Aussie equivalent of the Surpreme Court) and Parliament.
John was kind of confused as to how we had walked through a "mall" and not seen any stores... we kindly explained to him that the "mall" was that big green strip we walked through on the way to parliament. Like I said... real exciting. 
In fact, the most exciting part was the crazy magpies that were mounting an attack on Jackie and John and I while we sat and had some coffee. We can't say we weren't warned. 
Okay... So onto Friday! E & J and I took the bus/train over to Bondi Beach and did the 8km coastal walk along the shore and cliffs from Bondi beach through Bronte and Tamarama, all the way to Coogee (pronounced "coo-jee"). It was BEAUTIFUL.
We couldn't have picked a nicer day. There was barely a cloud in the sky, it was warm enough to wear t-shirts, and there was a slight breeze that delivered the refreshing scent of the sea and salt to our lips and noses. So great.
The walk probably took us a little longer than most, since we stopped every three feet to take another picture. but with rock formations and coastline like this, how could we not?
There were many moments to be had, like this one where I just sat out on a big rock and stared out into the breaking waves. Talk about zen.
Unfortunately, I lost my favorite Nalgene on this little stroll... It had a great bumper sticker on it that said "Ultimate Frisbee: Because everyone can use a good huck." ...and another great sticker that looked like the blue and red NBA logo, except with a guy going up for a disc. Boo.
The afternoon was polished off with some fish and chips from a place appropriately called "Chish and Fips." Nothing like some beer battered fish and french fries to make a 8km walk worth it ;)
That evening, the three of us went out to see an Aussie band called Model School over in Surrey Hills. Not bad at all... but the opening bands weren't that great. Still, it was an enjoyable evening. The next day, we headed over to the Paddington outdoor market. First stop, though, was Centenial Park, where we tossed a frisbee around for a few minutes. I showed J & E some pointers on how to throw forehand, which they picked up very quickly. Here are a few shots of us:
(I'm sure I caught this throw... I'm sure it wasn't 5 feet above me and I wasn't just trying to look cool in the picture...)
Here are Jackie and I acting like a couple of kids in the park... Well, actually, there were these two kids in the park running around, and at one point, one of them just walked up to the other one and screamed in his face. Thus, the concept for this picture was born.
Next we moved onto the Max Brenner Chocolate Shop. Basically, think of all the chocolate delights you've ever had, then put them in one store. Then eat them. Yeah. It's that good. I had this thing called a... um... okay, I can't remember what it was called, but it was similar to a cinnamon bun, without so much cinnamon, and dipped in melted chocolate. With chocolate chips inside of it. Aughuhuahugaugahuag.....
After wandering around Paddington market for a while (there wasn't much for us guys... mostly women's clothing and jewelry), we headed back to the hotel for a quick snooze before meeting our professor's friend (and now our friend) Guy Morrow, a local music business professor and artist manager extraordinaire. He took us to see his friend play at this great venue called The Basement, best known for it's jazz shows. This show, however, was all pop/rock and singer-songwriter types, much to my delight. The main act, Peregrine, was fantastic... A little Ben Folds, a little Toad the Wet Sprocket, and a little blues/rock... An excellent way to top off an excellent day.
Today has a few other things in store... Probably going to play some soccer in the park later this afternoon and possibly catch a free digeridoo concert over in Darling Harbour afterwards. Thanks to everyone who's been commenting... keep them coming! It's nice to know people are sharing in my Aussie experiences :)
later,
-e
Anyhow, so on Thursday, the whole CCSA program got up at 5:30am, collected our boxed lunches and dragged our asses onto a bus. Three hours later, we were in Canberra, Australia's capital city (no, Sydney is not Australia's capital). Our tour guide was sure to tell us that it is pronounced "Canbra" not "Canbra." That's right, "Canbra" .... not "Canbra." (yeah, we were all kind of confused.) We stopped a couple of miles outside the city to get some scenic views overlooking the tiny little city (about 380k people live there). Then it was onto the main attraction. Oh wait, there was no main attraction.
Here are some CCSA peeps at the lookout point.When I told my ex-roommate Gabi that I was going to visit Canberra while in Australia, he said, and I quote, "Canberra is butt." Turns out he was right. There is pretty much nothing there. We visited the High Court of Australia (the Aussie equivalent of the Surpreme Court) and Parliament.
John was kind of confused as to how we had walked through a "mall" and not seen any stores... we kindly explained to him that the "mall" was that big green strip we walked through on the way to parliament. Like I said... real exciting. 
In fact, the most exciting part was the crazy magpies that were mounting an attack on Jackie and John and I while we sat and had some coffee. We can't say we weren't warned. 
Okay... So onto Friday! E & J and I took the bus/train over to Bondi Beach and did the 8km coastal walk along the shore and cliffs from Bondi beach through Bronte and Tamarama, all the way to Coogee (pronounced "coo-jee"). It was BEAUTIFUL. 
We couldn't have picked a nicer day. There was barely a cloud in the sky, it was warm enough to wear t-shirts, and there was a slight breeze that delivered the refreshing scent of the sea and salt to our lips and noses. So great.
The walk probably took us a little longer than most, since we stopped every three feet to take another picture. but with rock formations and coastline like this, how could we not? 
There were many moments to be had, like this one where I just sat out on a big rock and stared out into the breaking waves. Talk about zen.
Unfortunately, I lost my favorite Nalgene on this little stroll... It had a great bumper sticker on it that said "Ultimate Frisbee: Because everyone can use a good huck." ...and another great sticker that looked like the blue and red NBA logo, except with a guy going up for a disc. Boo.
The afternoon was polished off with some fish and chips from a place appropriately called "Chish and Fips." Nothing like some beer battered fish and french fries to make a 8km walk worth it ;)
That evening, the three of us went out to see an Aussie band called Model School over in Surrey Hills. Not bad at all... but the opening bands weren't that great. Still, it was an enjoyable evening. The next day, we headed over to the Paddington outdoor market. First stop, though, was Centenial Park, where we tossed a frisbee around for a few minutes. I showed J & E some pointers on how to throw forehand, which they picked up very quickly. Here are a few shots of us:
(I'm sure I caught this throw... I'm sure it wasn't 5 feet above me and I wasn't just trying to look cool in the picture...)
Here are Jackie and I acting like a couple of kids in the park... Well, actually, there were these two kids in the park running around, and at one point, one of them just walked up to the other one and screamed in his face. Thus, the concept for this picture was born.
Next we moved onto the Max Brenner Chocolate Shop. Basically, think of all the chocolate delights you've ever had, then put them in one store. Then eat them. Yeah. It's that good. I had this thing called a... um... okay, I can't remember what it was called, but it was similar to a cinnamon bun, without so much cinnamon, and dipped in melted chocolate. With chocolate chips inside of it. Aughuhuahugaugahuag.....After wandering around Paddington market for a while (there wasn't much for us guys... mostly women's clothing and jewelry), we headed back to the hotel for a quick snooze before meeting our professor's friend (and now our friend) Guy Morrow, a local music business professor and artist manager extraordinaire. He took us to see his friend play at this great venue called The Basement, best known for it's jazz shows. This show, however, was all pop/rock and singer-songwriter types, much to my delight. The main act, Peregrine, was fantastic... A little Ben Folds, a little Toad the Wet Sprocket, and a little blues/rock... An excellent way to top off an excellent day.
Today has a few other things in store... Probably going to play some soccer in the park later this afternoon and possibly catch a free digeridoo concert over in Darling Harbour afterwards. Thanks to everyone who's been commenting... keep them coming! It's nice to know people are sharing in my Aussie experiences :)
later,
-e
Friday, July 07, 2006
Quickie
Things I did yesterday:
- Went to Australia's capital city, Canberra
- Took some pictures
- Visited the High Court of Australia and Parliament
- Sat on a bus for about 7 hours total
- Went out and partied with the CCSA folks
- Went to 7-11 at 3:30 AM
Things I did today:
- Woke up late
- Went to Bondi Beach with J & E
- Did the 8km beach walk down to Coogee Beach
- Had fish and chips at a place called "Chish and Fips"
- Took a crapload of pictures
- Just got back into the city
I'll post pics and stories soon!
-e
PS - Thanks to all you guys who responded to my Blue Moon question... Unfortunately, I was arguing the lemon garnish side. I've personally never had it with an orange. The girl I was arguing with already looked it up on wikipedia and the coors website and they both said organge... she proceeded to gloat in my face... doh!
- Went to Australia's capital city, Canberra
- Took some pictures
- Visited the High Court of Australia and Parliament
- Sat on a bus for about 7 hours total
- Went out and partied with the CCSA folks
- Went to 7-11 at 3:30 AM
Things I did today:
- Woke up late
- Went to Bondi Beach with J & E
- Did the 8km beach walk down to Coogee Beach
- Had fish and chips at a place called "Chish and Fips"
- Took a crapload of pictures
- Just got back into the city
I'll post pics and stories soon!
-e
PS - Thanks to all you guys who responded to my Blue Moon question... Unfortunately, I was arguing the lemon garnish side. I've personally never had it with an orange. The girl I was arguing with already looked it up on wikipedia and the coors website and they both said organge... she proceeded to gloat in my face... doh!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Idiots in the Lobby
Not a whole lot to report today... We had a quiz in each class earlier. The quizzes weren't really that difficult... To give you an idea, the first quiz's essay question (worth the most points of any single question) was "Describe a few of your favorite experiences in Sydney thus far." Yeah. Then the second quiz started out with a bunch of multiple choice questions like "Who is teaching this course?" and "Where are we?" Not the most difficult quizzes I've ever taken.
I also went out and got some Thai food yesterday at a restaurant called Thai-Foon. Har har. Oh, and the funniest quote of the last couple of days is "a billion o'clock in the morning." Definitely using that in the future.
In hindsight, I really really wish I brought my guitar with me. I'm starting to go a little crazy not being able to play an instrument or sing (my voice is still pretty messed up from my cold). I tried to use the piano in the lobby of the hotel, but basically was told that wasn't okay. Psh... they should lock it up, then... morons.
OH... Speaking of morons in the hotel lobby, a few friends and I wanted to check out Luna Park (Sydney's equivalent of Coney Island) last night. First I called the front desk and asked if they knew how late Luna Park was open... They said "roughly 10 o'clock." ...Roughly. Okay. So to make sure, I went downstairs and told them I wanted to know how late the park was open and asked them to look up the website that was listed in our guidebook. They tried for fifteen minutes (no joke) to find the Luna Park website. Apparently the URL I gave them didn't work and they couldn't find the actual website... FINALLY they find it and tell me that the rides at the park aren't even operating that night and they're only open to 6 o'clock on the other weekdays anyway. Great. So they ask me if I want a printout of the information, to which I reply "yes, please, that'd be great." They proceed to hand me the printouts... along with a LUNA PARK BROCHURE which had ALL the information I needed on the back. WTF?!
Ugh. Anyhow, I'm about to run out of time on this computer, so I should get going. But thanks to all that are posting comments... Please keep it up! And if you know, please answer my poll question about Blue Moon (lemon or orange garnish?)!
later,
-e
I also went out and got some Thai food yesterday at a restaurant called Thai-Foon. Har har. Oh, and the funniest quote of the last couple of days is "a billion o'clock in the morning." Definitely using that in the future.
In hindsight, I really really wish I brought my guitar with me. I'm starting to go a little crazy not being able to play an instrument or sing (my voice is still pretty messed up from my cold). I tried to use the piano in the lobby of the hotel, but basically was told that wasn't okay. Psh... they should lock it up, then... morons.
OH... Speaking of morons in the hotel lobby, a few friends and I wanted to check out Luna Park (Sydney's equivalent of Coney Island) last night. First I called the front desk and asked if they knew how late Luna Park was open... They said "roughly 10 o'clock." ...Roughly. Okay. So to make sure, I went downstairs and told them I wanted to know how late the park was open and asked them to look up the website that was listed in our guidebook. They tried for fifteen minutes (no joke) to find the Luna Park website. Apparently the URL I gave them didn't work and they couldn't find the actual website... FINALLY they find it and tell me that the rides at the park aren't even operating that night and they're only open to 6 o'clock on the other weekdays anyway. Great. So they ask me if I want a printout of the information, to which I reply "yes, please, that'd be great." They proceed to hand me the printouts... along with a LUNA PARK BROCHURE which had ALL the information I needed on the back. WTF?!
Ugh. Anyhow, I'm about to run out of time on this computer, so I should get going. But thanks to all that are posting comments... Please keep it up! And if you know, please answer my poll question about Blue Moon (lemon or orange garnish?)!
later,
-e
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Tim Tams are my new favorite food.
Okay... If you haven't tried Tim Tams, you haven't lived. For real. Such chocolately goodness should be deemed a controlled substance and banned from stores. Or, maybe just stockpiled in a warehouse somewhere. A warehouse to which only I have the key...
Anyhow, lots has happened since my last entry... let's see...
The last few days were spent doing all kinds of new things... Hanging out with some new friends, visiting new friends, seeing new things, finding out all kinds of new things that can kill you (more on that later), and lots of new pictures.
On Thursday, we went to visit the APRA and AMCOS offices in Sydney... We learned a bunch of interesting stuff about the Australian copyright system and made some good contacts. Aussies are so freaking nice :) That night, Jackie and Eryn and I walked all around Darling Harbour and visited the Aquarium. It was fantastic... Especially since I hadn't been to an aquarium in such a long time. The sharks were probably the most awe inspiring... but the seals were super cute, as were the penguins. And the GIANT sting ray was pretty awesome too. A big statue of the shark from Finding Nemo out front was entertaining as well, especially when Eryn cuddled up with it (nearly knocking it over). 
We also found a huge poster of Ronald McDonald looking particularly gay, but still fabulous. So fabulous, in fact, that we had to take a picture with it, while trying to emulate his excitement. 
Friday afternoon was spent at Paddy's Market, this huge warehouse marketplace filled with little booths selling your typical tourist merchandise. I finally picked up one of those Australia zip-up shirts that everyone on this trip has bought... but at least i got it in the color i wanted, black. I also went with a few other people to go pick up some beer...
Three of these guys decided to buy 30-packs of VB (yes, for those of you who know what VB is, that's right... they bought 90 cans of VB...) and then had to walk 20 minutes back to the train, then back to the hotel, carrying these 30-packs. Ah, brings back memories of college...Friday night started with J & E and I going to a show at the Enmore Theater to see a local band called You Am I. The show was alright and the fans were crazy into the band. But the music got real repetitive and eventually boring... then the lead singer, who was not really all that attractive, took his shirt off, which pretty much gave us our cue to leave.
Afterwards, a bunch of us went out for Jessica's birthday (one of the girls in the program). We checked out a local club/bar called Jackson's. Once again, reminded me of college... But a great time was had by all. Btw, the jury is still out on whether or not aussies can dance... but i think they're leaning towards "no." :p
After a very late night, what's the last thing one wants to do? That's right...get up really really early. But, the payoff was great! Jackie Eryn and I went on a bus tour of the Blue Mountains and the Featherdale Wildlife Park. Our tour guide wasn't the nicest guy in the world, but he was very informative. So informative, in fact, that he insisted on telling us, over the course of the 8 hour trip, how many different things in Australia that will kill you. Among them:
- the most venomous snake in the world
- tarantulas
- octopi
- bull sharks
- spiders with huge fangs
- jaywalking (apparently, he hit a drunk jaywalker one time)
- lightning
- crocodiles
He also mentioned that you will kill the kangaroos if you feed them chocolate. And you will kill the koalas if you hold them. Awesome.
ANYhow, first stop was the park... Here's a pic of me holding a baby wallabie. So cute. Inside this park were the cutest animals on the face of the planet: koala bears. that's right folks, i finally got to pet a koala bear on the back of its head!! I didn't get to feed it a leaf, unfortunately. But the experience was still worth it. And after seeing them up close and personal, I can definitely see how a koala bear infestation would indeed be the cutest infestestion ever. 
I didn't get to feed it a leaf, but it was munching on one at the time, so that's good enough for me. I also got to feed kangaroos and wallabies. We saw a huge assortment of great animals too... oh, and for those of you who hate zoos out there, know that the Featherdale Wildlife Park only rescues injured animals from the wild. They nurse them back to health, and if they get well enough, release them back into the wild. Woot.
After the park, we moved onto the Blue Mountains... 'Twas bootiful! Kind of reminded me of the Grand Canyon, but not quite as deep (okay, not nearly as deep), and much greener. But it was grand nonetheless... We also got to go down into the valley and see the Australian rainforest. It was so peaceful and green down there... well, save some screaming kids, at least. 
We also took a crazy rail car ride back up the mountain. Apparently, it's the steepest rail car ride in the world. It was freaky as all hell, though... Because you were facing the ground as this rail car pulled you up, backwards, higher and higher, and you felt yourself tipping forward more and more. Very scary. 
We also got to see Jackie try out a digeridoo. She did great for her first time, actually! And our tour guide demonstrated a boomerang for us (which is not supposed to hit animals, mind you... it was just used as a tool to scare birds so they'll fly out of their trees into nets that hunters would set up around the trees... who knew?). After that, we headed for a quick stop at the Olympic Park, which was pretty cool... Then hopped on the ferry to get back home. 
Here is the beautiful sunset that we were treated to while waiting for the ferry to arrive:
Saturday night was another night out on the town with some of the folks from the program to celebrate Monica's birthday (Jessica's sister, actually). We got Monica up on stage with the coverband for the start of her career as a professional tambourine player ;) 
After another late night, E & J and I headed over to Balmain to check out the local town, get some brunch and hang out a bit. Then E & i ran back to the hotel (literally) to get changed to go play some soccer in the park with a couple of CCSA guys (and one older italian dude). Later that evening, a few of us went out to see Over the Hedge, which turned out to be a very cute little movie, starring a bunch of great actors (and had a great soundtrack, all done by Ben Folds). After a few rounds of cards (games played: spoons, egyptian rat screw and Arab rummy), it was time to turn in for the evening.Also, on a personal note, I'm feeling much better (thanks for the well wishes, Marcia!). Also, I'm trying to fit some Aussie slang into my vocabulary, like "mate," "cheers," and my favorite, "no worries."
OH... And I'm taking a poll for anyone reading this blog... What do you put in a Blue Moon beer: a slice of lemon or orange? please comment and tell me! (anyone can comment now, not just registered users).
Alright... now it's back to the hotel to get some homework done!
-e
Monday, June 26, 2006
Sniffle... Bleh.
(quick note: I uploaded some photos to go along with my previous posts, so check those out!)
Ugh... The Sick Fairy decided to pay me a visit right before I left. I made a valient effort to ward it off during the first day or so of my trip, but unfortunately, I am losing the battle. I've been trying to sleep a lot and get some rest... So I haven't gotten to really go out and enjoy Sydney nightlife yet. But I will soon!
Anyhow, things are going well here in general. On Sunday, we took a walk around the area, just to check out some of the local sights. Here are Jackie and Eryn posing by the steps, near Circular Quay (pronounced "key"):
And this is me, checking out the coolest water fountain I've ever seen:
We also went down to the Bondi Beach area to meet up with Eryn's friend Dave. We met up at a local restaurant/pub for some V.B. beer and schnitzel (which is basically chicken parm... deep fried goodness). We also walked along the beach a bit and took a few photos overlooking the water. We'll be sure to go back there soon to do a much longer beach walk down the coast, which should take a few hours.
Let's see... what else... Ah yes, classes started yesterday. Our international business law class is turning out to be somewhat of a pain. We're not exactly sure why we decided to take the class, but Eryn insists that we'll be smarter once we finish it. We'll see about that. We did get to see part of a murder trial today at the NSW (State) Supreme Court here in Sydney. It was kind of boring, as they were just discussing the validity of the evidence, but we got to read a summary of the facts of the case which were kind of gruesome. But at least it made the trip slightly more interesting :p
The entertainment/music business class, however, promises to be very interesting. Our first trip is going to be to the APRA offices (the performing rights organization here in Australia) to meet with a bunch of people from APRA and their mechanical rights organization as well (I forget the acronym for them).
Anyhow, I should get to some of the work I've been meaning to do... I've been sitting in the local library on Jackie's iBook for about an hour now, uploading pictures and checking e-mail, instead of working on my presentation for class tomorrow and writing up my law class journal. So I'm going to get to work... but we'll be going to check out the local music scene later this week, and taking a trip to the Blue Mountains on Saturday (hopefully I'll be feeling better by then). So I'll have lots to blog about soon!
Signing off for now,
-e
Ugh... The Sick Fairy decided to pay me a visit right before I left. I made a valient effort to ward it off during the first day or so of my trip, but unfortunately, I am losing the battle. I've been trying to sleep a lot and get some rest... So I haven't gotten to really go out and enjoy Sydney nightlife yet. But I will soon!
Anyhow, things are going well here in general. On Sunday, we took a walk around the area, just to check out some of the local sights. Here are Jackie and Eryn posing by the steps, near Circular Quay (pronounced "key"):
And this is me, checking out the coolest water fountain I've ever seen:
We also went down to the Bondi Beach area to meet up with Eryn's friend Dave. We met up at a local restaurant/pub for some V.B. beer and schnitzel (which is basically chicken parm... deep fried goodness). We also walked along the beach a bit and took a few photos overlooking the water. We'll be sure to go back there soon to do a much longer beach walk down the coast, which should take a few hours.
Let's see... what else... Ah yes, classes started yesterday. Our international business law class is turning out to be somewhat of a pain. We're not exactly sure why we decided to take the class, but Eryn insists that we'll be smarter once we finish it. We'll see about that. We did get to see part of a murder trial today at the NSW (State) Supreme Court here in Sydney. It was kind of boring, as they were just discussing the validity of the evidence, but we got to read a summary of the facts of the case which were kind of gruesome. But at least it made the trip slightly more interesting :p
The entertainment/music business class, however, promises to be very interesting. Our first trip is going to be to the APRA offices (the performing rights organization here in Australia) to meet with a bunch of people from APRA and their mechanical rights organization as well (I forget the acronym for them).
Anyhow, I should get to some of the work I've been meaning to do... I've been sitting in the local library on Jackie's iBook for about an hour now, uploading pictures and checking e-mail, instead of working on my presentation for class tomorrow and writing up my law class journal. So I'm going to get to work... but we'll be going to check out the local music scene later this week, and taking a trip to the Blue Mountains on Saturday (hopefully I'll be feeling better by then). So I'll have lots to blog about soon!
Signing off for now,
-e
Saturday, June 24, 2006
A Few Numbers:
For those of you who are following along and are wondering just how difficult it was for Eryn and I to get to Sydney, here are the numbers of:
- Estimated hours from JFK to Sydney: 20
- Actual hours from JFK to Sydney: 54
- Airports departed from/arrived at: 5
- Unexpected fueling stops: 2
- Meals eaten on plane: 4
- Screaming babies on plane: 2
- Days of travel: 4
- Number of time we changed clothes: 0
- Hours slept between JFK and Sydney: maybe 12
- Number of crazy people encountered: 4-5
- Number of fortunate things that occured: 2
So here's the whole story. Eryn and I arrived at JFK about 3 hours early for our flight. There was no line at the check-in counter or at security, so we had a lot of time on our hands at the gate. We should've realized our good luck could only get worse.
After boarding the plane, we find out that there is a problem with air traffic control and our plane is #34 in line to take off. Sweet. An hour later, we finally take off. Now, at this point, Eryn and I feel kind of stupid because we scheduled our connecting flight a mere hour after we were supposed to land in SF... Then we got angry at our STA Travel agent for booking the flight in the first place. Anyhow, we figured so long as nothing else went wrong, we might actually make the connection...
HA. Silly us.
About 5 hours into our 6 hour flight to San Francisco, the captain comes over the loudspeaker to inform us that we had met up with more headwind than expected, therefore burning a lot more fuel, and therefore we no longer had enough fuel to make it to SF, and THEREfore had to stop off in Salt Late City to refuel. Eryn and I looked at each other with the same expression on our faces: "awesome." It was at this point that we realized there was a very very good chance that we would not make our connecting flight to Sydney.
So long story short, despite a fairly quick turnaround in SLC, we still missed out connection. Gah. And we couldn't get our luggage because it was going to take too long to get it out of the nether regions of the airport baggage storage thing, so we got to spend about 3 days in the same clothes. And we met Crazy Person #2, the shuttle bus driver, who was yelling at a poor chinese woman for not being able to speak English (despite the fact that she actually was speaking English, just with a heavy accent... I translated for her eventually), then telling everyone on the bus that we weren't going to get out of SF until Friday... In hindsight, it's quite possible that she was drunk, judging by her behavior (and her terrible driving).
But, trying very hard to turn lemons into lemonade (or, more like wring the crap out of a lemon peel to try and get one single drop of lemon juice), we did our best to take advantage of the fact that we had a day to kill in SF. We walked along the Embarcadero, wandered around Fisheman's Wharf for a while (yes mom, I tried the Dungeness Crab... and I can see why you like it so much!), saw the World Famous Bushman at work,
met up with Chris Kim for a quick drink, checked our e-mail at a local library (where Eryn was harrassed by a couple of old Asian men who were angry at her for cutting in line, which she didn't...), and then headed back to the airport for yet some more waiting at the gate. Oh, and Fortunate Thing #1 happened in SF... All the public transportation was free that day because of a city-wide effort to encourage people to use less gas. 
Anyhow, when we tried to check in at the little computer kiosk at the airport, I found out that I couldn't get my seat assignment until they called my name at the gate. Which meant, of course, more waiting.
Finally, we got on board our flight to Sydney, both convinced that we were not out of the woods yet and that something else was bound to go wrong. Well, we were right. About 13 hours into our 14 hour flight, the captain came on the loudspeaker to announce that Sydney was all fogged up/over, and we'd be diverting to Brisbane to refuel and wait out the fog (deja vu anyone?). Honestly, at this point, it wasn't even surprising anymore. Optimism simply wasn't in our emotional vocabulary. I felt like Marvin the Robot. Or Eeyore.
Long story short (again), we did finally make it to Sydney. And Fortunate Thing #2 happened: we met a nice guy on the plane who gave us really good directions on how to make it through customs quickly and how to get to our hotel quickly. I kept saying that I wasn't going to relax until we were sitting in our hotel rooms... But lo and behold, we made it!
According to the itinerary we got from the CCSA program, our group was supposed to be on a tour of the city when we arrived, but would be meeting up at the Sydney Opera House to take a tour at 11:45. So we busted our asses to shower and change our clothes (finally) and get to the Opera House on time. This is about when we met Crazy Person #3 (or 4?), our cab driver. Our cab ride went something like this:
Eugene: Sydney Opera House, please.
Cab Driver: Um... Hm... Okay...
Eryn: ...
Cab Driver: hmm... Opera House... Opera House...
Eugene: Um, is that going to be a problem?
Cab Driver: Oh, no no... It's just that I'm not from the city.
E & E: ??!?!
Yeah. So we actually pulled out our tourist map and I literally had to show him how to get to the Opera House. But we did get there... Only to find out that not only was there no trace of our CCSA group, but the people at the tour guide desk had NO idea who CCSA was or if they were going to show up anytime soon. So after waiting a few more minutes, we decided, screw it, we're here... we might as well take the damn tour ourselves!
And man, was it worth it... If you are ever in Sydney, you MUST go to the Opera House! It is one of the most architecturally stunning things I've ever seen. And it was so great to finally see it up close.
Okay, this is getting really long, so I'll wrap it up... we did eventually meet up with everyone back at the hotel (it seems they all had trouble getting into Sydney, so the itinerary had been shifted around a bit) and went out to a big buffet dinner at the rotating restuarant at the top of the Sydney Tower, overlooking the city. Now, normally, I'm a big fan of buffet dinners, and it doesn't hurt to have a great view of a great looking city. However, after all this hassle and traveling, and the fact that I was still very jetlagged and so tired I could hardly see straight, eating in a slowly rotating restaurant was not exactly my idea of a good time. I definitely felt slightly nauseous the entire time. I did get to try kangaroo meat for the first time though... Eh. It's alright. But I'd rather have a nice beef steak any day.
Which brings us, finally, to today! Not much to report yet... I'm feeling slightly under the weather (i think from the lack of sleep and change of weather, more than anything). ...the weather, btw, is a brisk 57-ish degrees during the day, and a slightly chilly 40-ish degrees at night. Not too shabby :)
Alright... I hope every one is well. And don't worry, my other blog entries won't be this long!
-e
- Estimated hours from JFK to Sydney: 20
- Actual hours from JFK to Sydney: 54
- Airports departed from/arrived at: 5
- Unexpected fueling stops: 2
- Meals eaten on plane: 4
- Screaming babies on plane: 2
- Days of travel: 4
- Number of time we changed clothes: 0
- Hours slept between JFK and Sydney: maybe 12
- Number of crazy people encountered: 4-5
- Number of fortunate things that occured: 2
So here's the whole story. Eryn and I arrived at JFK about 3 hours early for our flight. There was no line at the check-in counter or at security, so we had a lot of time on our hands at the gate. We should've realized our good luck could only get worse.
After boarding the plane, we find out that there is a problem with air traffic control and our plane is #34 in line to take off. Sweet. An hour later, we finally take off. Now, at this point, Eryn and I feel kind of stupid because we scheduled our connecting flight a mere hour after we were supposed to land in SF... Then we got angry at our STA Travel agent for booking the flight in the first place. Anyhow, we figured so long as nothing else went wrong, we might actually make the connection...
HA. Silly us.
About 5 hours into our 6 hour flight to San Francisco, the captain comes over the loudspeaker to inform us that we had met up with more headwind than expected, therefore burning a lot more fuel, and therefore we no longer had enough fuel to make it to SF, and THEREfore had to stop off in Salt Late City to refuel. Eryn and I looked at each other with the same expression on our faces: "awesome." It was at this point that we realized there was a very very good chance that we would not make our connecting flight to Sydney.
So long story short, despite a fairly quick turnaround in SLC, we still missed out connection. Gah. And we couldn't get our luggage because it was going to take too long to get it out of the nether regions of the airport baggage storage thing, so we got to spend about 3 days in the same clothes. And we met Crazy Person #2, the shuttle bus driver, who was yelling at a poor chinese woman for not being able to speak English (despite the fact that she actually was speaking English, just with a heavy accent... I translated for her eventually), then telling everyone on the bus that we weren't going to get out of SF until Friday... In hindsight, it's quite possible that she was drunk, judging by her behavior (and her terrible driving).
But, trying very hard to turn lemons into lemonade (or, more like wring the crap out of a lemon peel to try and get one single drop of lemon juice), we did our best to take advantage of the fact that we had a day to kill in SF. We walked along the Embarcadero, wandered around Fisheman's Wharf for a while (yes mom, I tried the Dungeness Crab... and I can see why you like it so much!), saw the World Famous Bushman at work,
met up with Chris Kim for a quick drink, checked our e-mail at a local library (where Eryn was harrassed by a couple of old Asian men who were angry at her for cutting in line, which she didn't...), and then headed back to the airport for yet some more waiting at the gate. Oh, and Fortunate Thing #1 happened in SF... All the public transportation was free that day because of a city-wide effort to encourage people to use less gas. 
Anyhow, when we tried to check in at the little computer kiosk at the airport, I found out that I couldn't get my seat assignment until they called my name at the gate. Which meant, of course, more waiting.Finally, we got on board our flight to Sydney, both convinced that we were not out of the woods yet and that something else was bound to go wrong. Well, we were right. About 13 hours into our 14 hour flight, the captain came on the loudspeaker to announce that Sydney was all fogged up/over, and we'd be diverting to Brisbane to refuel and wait out the fog (deja vu anyone?). Honestly, at this point, it wasn't even surprising anymore. Optimism simply wasn't in our emotional vocabulary. I felt like Marvin the Robot. Or Eeyore.
Long story short (again), we did finally make it to Sydney. And Fortunate Thing #2 happened: we met a nice guy on the plane who gave us really good directions on how to make it through customs quickly and how to get to our hotel quickly. I kept saying that I wasn't going to relax until we were sitting in our hotel rooms... But lo and behold, we made it!
According to the itinerary we got from the CCSA program, our group was supposed to be on a tour of the city when we arrived, but would be meeting up at the Sydney Opera House to take a tour at 11:45. So we busted our asses to shower and change our clothes (finally) and get to the Opera House on time. This is about when we met Crazy Person #3 (or 4?), our cab driver. Our cab ride went something like this:
Eugene: Sydney Opera House, please.
Cab Driver: Um... Hm... Okay...
Eryn: ...
Cab Driver: hmm... Opera House... Opera House...
Eugene: Um, is that going to be a problem?
Cab Driver: Oh, no no... It's just that I'm not from the city.
E & E: ??!?!
Yeah. So we actually pulled out our tourist map and I literally had to show him how to get to the Opera House. But we did get there... Only to find out that not only was there no trace of our CCSA group, but the people at the tour guide desk had NO idea who CCSA was or if they were going to show up anytime soon. So after waiting a few more minutes, we decided, screw it, we're here... we might as well take the damn tour ourselves!
And man, was it worth it... If you are ever in Sydney, you MUST go to the Opera House! It is one of the most architecturally stunning things I've ever seen. And it was so great to finally see it up close.
Okay, this is getting really long, so I'll wrap it up... we did eventually meet up with everyone back at the hotel (it seems they all had trouble getting into Sydney, so the itinerary had been shifted around a bit) and went out to a big buffet dinner at the rotating restuarant at the top of the Sydney Tower, overlooking the city. Now, normally, I'm a big fan of buffet dinners, and it doesn't hurt to have a great view of a great looking city. However, after all this hassle and traveling, and the fact that I was still very jetlagged and so tired I could hardly see straight, eating in a slowly rotating restaurant was not exactly my idea of a good time. I definitely felt slightly nauseous the entire time. I did get to try kangaroo meat for the first time though... Eh. It's alright. But I'd rather have a nice beef steak any day.
Which brings us, finally, to today! Not much to report yet... I'm feeling slightly under the weather (i think from the lack of sleep and change of weather, more than anything). ...the weather, btw, is a brisk 57-ish degrees during the day, and a slightly chilly 40-ish degrees at night. Not too shabby :)
Alright... I hope every one is well. And don't worry, my other blog entries won't be this long!
-e
Finally! We're here!
Hey Folks,
I'm using a crappy internet kiosk in the hotel, but i just wanted to report that I am FINALLY IN SYDNEY!! We actually ran into one more diversion on the way from SF... Sydney was covered in fog, so they had to divert the plane to Brisbane for a little while. But, we persevered...and finally got here.
I have much more to talk about, but won't be able to post in detil until i find a decent internet cafe (which will hopefully be tomorrow). More to come!
-e
I'm using a crappy internet kiosk in the hotel, but i just wanted to report that I am FINALLY IN SYDNEY!! We actually ran into one more diversion on the way from SF... Sydney was covered in fog, so they had to divert the plane to Brisbane for a little while. But, we persevered...and finally got here.
I have much more to talk about, but won't be able to post in detil until i find a decent internet cafe (which will hopefully be tomorrow). More to come!-e
Thursday, June 22, 2006
I left my plane in San Francisco...
Well folks, after about 24 hours or so, Eryn and I are STILL in the US. The quick rundown is this: after getting through check-in and security in record time, we boarded our flight to San Francisco. Little did we know what "adventure" was in store for us. After sitting on the tarmac (sp?) for about an hour, we finally took off. But, now there was a problem with our flight path, so we had to fly a different route... However, this route took us through some airspace that had a particularly strong headwind. So this meant that not only were we flying slower, but we used up more fuel. Naturally, this meant that we had to stop over in Salt Lake City to refuel. Finally, after another half hour on the ground in SLC, we took off for SF. Then, an hour and half later, we finally touched down in SF. Woohoo!
...Except all those delays meant that we missed our connecting flight to Sydney. Boooo.
The airline was nice enough to put us up in a hotel for the evening... So after unintentionally arguing with a crazy shuttle bus driver, translating for a Chinese woman (who was acutally speaking English, just with a heavy accent), and waiting another 30 minutes, we finally got to our hotel rooms and passed out. Today was spent walking around downtown SF, since there is only one flight to Sydney per day.
Ack... Alright, my time at this internet terminal is about up (we're at the public library right now) so Il'l have to cut this short. Eryn and I have had quite an interesting trip so far, and hopefully we'll be in sydney the next time i post!
-e
...Except all those delays meant that we missed our connecting flight to Sydney. Boooo.
The airline was nice enough to put us up in a hotel for the evening... So after unintentionally arguing with a crazy shuttle bus driver, translating for a Chinese woman (who was acutally speaking English, just with a heavy accent), and waiting another 30 minutes, we finally got to our hotel rooms and passed out. Today was spent walking around downtown SF, since there is only one flight to Sydney per day.
Ack... Alright, my time at this internet terminal is about up (we're at the public library right now) so Il'l have to cut this short. Eryn and I have had quite an interesting trip so far, and hopefully we'll be in sydney the next time i post!
-e
Monday, June 19, 2006
Hey all,
Since it seems to be the cool thing to do these days, I went ahead and made this blog for my trip to Australia. That's right... I'm going to SYDNEY for 4 and a half weeks with two of my good friends from NYU, Jackie and Eryn. We'll be going down there to take a couple of classes (Int'l Business Law and Entertainment/Media in Australia), see some sights, meet new people, and generally enjoy the hell out of our last sumer vacation ever. And yes, for you Mitch Hedberg fans, I will try to hold a koala bear. Pat it on the back of its head. And maybe feed it a leaf.
So, this Wednesday I'll board my semi-long flight to San Francisco, then about 7 hours later, I'll board a really-way-too-long flight to Sydney. Yep... 20 hours in a pressurized metal tube, flying 30k feet in the air. Can't wait. AND, I'll be missing the US World Cup match vs. Ghana. I'm going to ask the flight crew if they can get us updates during the flight...
Along with me for the flight will be my good friend Eryn... She just told me yesterday that she decided not to bring her PSP with her on the plane. This means that I will have to find other ways of amusing myself during the day-long flying experience. Front runners so far include:
- Poke Eryn as soon as she falls asleep
- Spill water on my shoulder and blame Eryn for drooling all over me
- Pretend Eryn's in-flight meal is going to eat me
- Three words: Knock knock jokes
(I'm sure at this point, Eryn is frantically calling the airline trying to get her seat assignment changed...)
In any case, I'm in the midst of preparing and packing for my jaunt down under... Which is being slightly impaired by the fact that I'm incredibly sore from moving out of Brooklyn (temporarily, mind you). Feel free to comment on the blog, or e-mail me (or call me, if you're lucky enough to have my cell phone number... free incoming calls!). Alright... I've got a lot of packing, reading for classes (ugh), and general putzing around to get done. I'll be updating this blog as often as I can... so check back!
-e
Since it seems to be the cool thing to do these days, I went ahead and made this blog for my trip to Australia. That's right... I'm going to SYDNEY for 4 and a half weeks with two of my good friends from NYU, Jackie and Eryn. We'll be going down there to take a couple of classes (Int'l Business Law and Entertainment/Media in Australia), see some sights, meet new people, and generally enjoy the hell out of our last sumer vacation ever. And yes, for you Mitch Hedberg fans, I will try to hold a koala bear. Pat it on the back of its head. And maybe feed it a leaf.
So, this Wednesday I'll board my semi-long flight to San Francisco, then about 7 hours later, I'll board a really-way-too-long flight to Sydney. Yep... 20 hours in a pressurized metal tube, flying 30k feet in the air. Can't wait. AND, I'll be missing the US World Cup match vs. Ghana. I'm going to ask the flight crew if they can get us updates during the flight...
Along with me for the flight will be my good friend Eryn... She just told me yesterday that she decided not to bring her PSP with her on the plane. This means that I will have to find other ways of amusing myself during the day-long flying experience. Front runners so far include:
- Poke Eryn as soon as she falls asleep
- Spill water on my shoulder and blame Eryn for drooling all over me
- Pretend Eryn's in-flight meal is going to eat me
- Three words: Knock knock jokes
(I'm sure at this point, Eryn is frantically calling the airline trying to get her seat assignment changed...)
In any case, I'm in the midst of preparing and packing for my jaunt down under... Which is being slightly impaired by the fact that I'm incredibly sore from moving out of Brooklyn (temporarily, mind you). Feel free to comment on the blog, or e-mail me (or call me, if you're lucky enough to have my cell phone number... free incoming calls!). Alright... I've got a lot of packing, reading for classes (ugh), and general putzing around to get done. I'll be updating this blog as often as I can... so check back!
-e
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