Kev Down Under

Happy new year!

2009-01-08T22:45:00.002+11:00

It's been awhile since I've posted, but wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. Below is a link to the photos taken at the party we threw. While it wasn't on the Upper West Side, we had an amazing view of the bridge, over which they do the annual fireworks.

Additional posts to (hopefully) follow soon.

Photos from the past 8 months

2008-10-05T12:31:00.003+11:00

I know I've been bad about posting and sharing photos. So, rather than subject you to the nearly 1,000 photos I have from my time here, I've put together a brief highlights video.

I hope you enjoy.

When American and Aussie English don't match

2008-07-24T16:21:00.000+10:00

I may have spurred an HR issue today over a misunderstanding.

The woman I share my office with, who I’ve become good friends with, casually leaned over to me and asked, “do you have a rubber?”

I turned beat red – I didn’t know she was asking for an eraser!

God save the Queen

2008-06-08T12:09:00.003+10:00

When Australia declared independence from England in 1901, they decided to name the British crown as the monarch of Australia. Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either, but they tend to do things differently here sometimes. As a result, we have Monday off in honor of the Queen's birthday (despite the fact that her birthday is actually in April...).

I was originally planning to go somewhere for the long weekend, such as Darwin or Uluru, but my plans fell through, and as they did I was scheduled to go on a business trip to Hong Kong the day after the long weekend, so I decided against it. Instead I'm spending the weekend mixing a bit of work with the free jazz festival in Darling Harbour and a brief trip down to Coogee beach to visit my favorite brunch spot (not much of a trip, it's actually a 20 minute ride on the bus).

After brunch at Globe yesterday, we went to the Coogee Bay hotel to enjoy a glass of wine overlooking the beach. One of my absolute favorite things about Sydney so far is the fact that it's 60 degrees here in winter, so you can still do things like this. I don't miss the cold winter of New York at all.

The half marathon

2008-06-04T21:10:00.005+10:00

On May 18th, I ran my first half marathon.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about it, and during the week leading up to the race, I considered dropping out since I was still battling a sinus infection I picked up during my trip to China. In fact, my doctor, who advised rest as a big component to recovery in addition to the antibiotics, looked at me like I had three heads when I told him I wanted to run the race the following week. I asked him if it would kill me if I did, and so I took, "no, but I'd strongly advise against it" as a sign of approval.

Of course, here I am a few weeks later and I still have problems with my ears popping like I'm on a plane whenever I get on the elevator to and from my office. But I digress.

I was also somewhat nervous because I hadn't ever run more than 10 kilometers during my training, and even that was a few months before the race. To top it off, the Sunday before the run my coach Jacki and I did a 7km course that left me winded and pushing myself at the end, so I was worried about my ability to complete a 21.1 km half mararthon. Jacki assured me that come race day I'd be fine, and that the adrenaline and the crowd would push me the rest of the way.

The morning of the race I got up at 5 am, made breakfast and walked to the starting line. It was a bit on the cold side as the temperature had dropped down to about 55 degrees. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest as I went over my strategy in my head. They counted down the time and then the gun went off.

Of course, when there's 7,500 people running, and you aren't considered an "elite" runner, you don't start near the front, so it took a good 4 minutes to even cross the starting line, but then it happened. I got caught up in the crowd, and it was amazing. Everyone jet off, and it looked like a sea of people flowing down the street. I was so energized that I had to remind myself to take it slow and conserve my energy.

It wasn't easy, and as slow as I was going, I did the first 5km in my quickest time ever - about 22 minutes. I slowed myself a bit, but kept on chugging. At about the 10 km mark, halfway through the race, and having just finished the first lap, I hit the wall and thought it was over. I kept moving, saying I'd do just one more kilometer, and by the 11km mark, I pushed through it. At that point I felt I could have kept going all day. Sadly that feeling wore off a few kilometers away, and from there on out, it was a series of ups and downs.

My iPod, set to my running mix, but on random, must have known the end was near, and as I hit the 20 km mark, it switched to play "The Final Countdown." When I hit the 21 km mark, and began rounding the bend to the finish line, I sprinted it out to the end, giving it all I had left.

While my only real goal was to finish, I was thrilled with my time. I finished in 2 hours and 6 minutes. I have to say, the crowd definitely helped. Hearing people cheer for you really pushes you forward. The people who came out that morning were a great help. I had a great sense of accomplishment afterwards. I will definitely be doing this again, with the goal of running the New York City Marathon in 2009.

I was so warm after the run, and on such a high, that I walked home and didn't need my sweatshirt. Some of my friends met me for brunch in my neighborhood that afternoon to celebrate the accomplishment (which turned into drinks and then dinner). It was a great day, and one I look forward to repeating again.

A brief update and photos

2008-05-17T19:49:00.000+10:00

I've been busy over the past few weeks, training for my first half marathon (taking place tomorrow) and enjoying Sydney. I've been trying to find some good restaurants and brunch locations... and I'm happy to report I've been successful at finding them.

I'll post something more substantial in the next few days. In the meanwhile, here are some new photos. You should be able to view them, even if you don't have Facebook.

Photos from my first six weeks in Australia

2008-03-16T21:28:00.002+11:00

By popular demand (and I use that term loosely), I've uploaded an assortment of photos from my first six weeks here in Sydney. Don't worry, I've greatly limited the number of pictures of the Opera House.

This link below should work for members as well as people who are not on Facebook, but please let me know if you have any trouble.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=98457&l=b0978&id=563190400

Hobnobbing with Parliament

2008-03-15T18:11:00.000+11:00

A large part of what Ogilvy PR does in Sydney is public affairs and lobbying work, so it wasn't a huge surprise yesterday when I was was told the company had bought a table at dinner for a former Premier of New South Wales (similar to our state governors... with a few exceptions). Several of our clients were coming and I was asked to attend the event, which I happily did.

What followed was an insight into Australian politics, which seemed as relaxed and informal as Australian culture. Several prominent members of the Federal Government were in attendance, such as Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, and local opposition leader Barry O'Farrell. I was surprised at how accessible the members of Parliament were. These are people featured on TV every day. No secret service, no political handlers, they just moved through the crowd on their own. I even got the chance to speak with Dr. Nelson personally when we passed one another on the way to the restroom.

Even more surprising was how down to earth they were. I was approached by a members of the state opposition saying, "are you Kevin? We hear you just moved here from New York." It seemed so far from U.S. politics.

After meeting these people, I feel as though I can start speeding without any worry... Ok, maybe not.

Long awaited (but brief) update

2008-03-12T07:23:00.003+11:00

Yes, I'm still alive, I've just fallen behind at providing updates, as the last few weeks have been a blur. I found and moved into a (small but cute) studio apartment in Sydney's Potts Point neighborhood, which has lots of outdoor restaurants and cafes, is a quick walk to the train and 20 minutes from work. I also started training for the Sydney half marathon, which will be my first really long race. I've also started meeting people and found that a place starts to feel like you live there when you can bump into people you know on the street on a random Saturday afternoon.

I don't have tons of time at the moment, but I'll leave you with a brief story. I live on the second floor with big windows that overlook a quiet street and Elizabeth Bay (which is beautiful) -- pictures will come when I get around to taking them. In New York, my windows overlooked a fenced in alleyway, so I got quite comfortable walking around the apartment while getting dressed without closing the blinds.

Well, in my first few days in my new place, not really thinking about it, I was walking around in my boxers with the window open when I heard what I thought was little girls giggling at me. Realizing I had left the window open, I went over to close the blinds. When I looked out, instead of seeing little girls like I thought, I saw two kookaburras watching me (they are wild and live around Sydney). Wild-- in the States you'd only see them in the zoo.

It's a different world here.

I still call Australia home - part 2

2008-02-16T17:14:00.005+11:00

For those interested, I did a little research on the commercial, and received the info below from Qantas:

"In August 2004, we launched our new television commercial, I Still Call Australia Home. The sequel to the 2000 television commercial features children from The National Boys Choir and The Australian Girls Choir singing the airline's signature song, Peter Allen's 'I Still Call Australia Home', against the backdrop of some of the world's most spectacular landmarks

Filming took place in every state and territory in Australia, from Cradle Mountain in Tasmania to Jabiru in the Northern Territory. The finale, shot at Whitehaven Beach in Queensland, features 500 children in the shape of the Qantas kangaroo. Nearly half of these children came from local schools.

A number of amazing international destinations were also visited from Queenstown in New Zealand to the Temple of Poseidon in Greece, and from Shoro at the Ninnaji Temple in Kyoto, Japan to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, USA.

Facts about filming

It took five months to film, from late October 2003 until early March 2004.
169,561 kilometres travelled. That's 4.25 times around the globe!
112,370 feet or 280 rolls of film were used
656 production crew from 9 countries
245 hours of filming took place"

I still call Australia home

2008-02-16T16:16:00.003+11:00

I saw this commercial the other night when I went to the St. George Open Air Theater (which was brilliant -- more on that soon) and I keep thinking about it. The advertising team at Qantas definitely earned their money for this one (perhaps it was Ogilvy...).

I say that because the commercial works on so many levels. It reinforces Qantas' commitment to Australia (important right now with competition from budget carriers) though key images of Australia, Australian (including indigenous) children, the held, focused shots on traditional Australian aboriginal people, and of course, don't forget the song.

The images they select also reinforce Qantas' destination cities to the viewer, both in Australia (I saw everything from Sydney's Opera House and Harbour Bridge to the deserts and beaches) and abroad (New York, Rome, London, Paris, Athens, Singapore, Hong Kong, The Greek Islands, etc). And every time they came back to the chorus ("I still call Australia home") they cut back to their homeland, suggesting that Qantas is always there to carry you home. Brilliant.

And of course, the song is pretty catchy too. That always helps.

Kev's faux pas

2008-02-14T19:00:00.003+11:00

Apparently I didn't read enough of the US to Australian English dictionary I included last night. As a result, I sent our Consultant* into a 20 minute fit of laughter this afternoon when I told her about how much I love Cheez Doodles.

Apparently in Australia they're called twists... because "doodle" in Australian English is slang for penis.

You can say I was a wee bit embarrassed when they told me.

*For those in the U.S. in public relations, Consultant = Assistant Account Executive

English to English dictionary

2008-02-13T17:56:00.004+11:00

I've knew even before I arrived that the Aussies use a different dialect of English than we do in New York. Usually it's only a word here or there that differs, but this afternoon I received an e-mail with the following phrase in it:

"I'm flat chat this arvo. Can we do tomorrow morning?"

And with that, I actually had to Google an Australian to U.S. English dictionary. Thank God for the Internet.

(For those left wondering like I was, "flat chat" means "I'm crunching/crashing/moving quickly on something" and "arvo" is slang for afternoon).

A few more from this afternoon

2008-02-10T21:42:00.002+11:00

The skies finally parted this afternoon (just as I was beginning to wonder if it was monsoon season). As a result, I was able to watch the Chinese New Year's Parade (from my balcony) and make it to Sydney's Taronga Zoo. Below are a few photos.

Many "dragons" came through the parade, but this was the largest.

I've never seen so many people out to celebrate a rat. Notice the piece of "cheese" it's following.

Downtown Sydney from the ferry to Taronga .

Koala bear with Joey. I thought the Joey was so cute, that I adopted him and named him George. I get to pick him up in a few weeks. Not sure how I'm going to get him back to the States. Somehow I don't think the customs declaration form has a spot for marsupials.

A few more Koalas. I love the one sleeping at the top of the tree.

Roos! I finally saw kangaroos, so now I actually feel like I'm in Australia.

This little wallaby was adorable. I have plenty (like 75) pictures of more animals from the zoo, such as elephants, zebras and chimps, but I won't subject you to more.

The view from Taronga of the bridge and the Opera House. As I've told you, I'm obsessed with the Opera House.

Images from the first week

2008-02-10T09:14:00.000+11:00

Below, by not so popular demand, are just a few of the pictures I've taken of Sydney over the past few days.

I've decided I won't feel like I live here until I can walk past the Opera House without taking a picture. That may take awhile - it's one of the most majestic buildings I've ever seen.

This sculpture, made out of peaches, is a temporary art exhibit made to raise awareness of skin cancer. How do they keep the birds away? I have no idea.

Sydney Harbour Bridge. Built to be the longest, but sadly was measured to be a few feet shorter than New York's Verrazano which opened just before the Harbour Bridge.

One more of the bridge

A photo of the skyline from Darling Harbour. Isn't it, well, just darling?

I'll add more pictures as I continue to explore the city (if it ever stops raining...)

I have a lot of unlearning to do

2008-02-08T18:35:00.001+11:00

I just finished my first week of work, and while I'm with the same company I worked for in New York, because of the different location and culture, I'm learning that a lot of things are very much the same, but a lot of things are different. The biggest learning I'm taking away from this week is that I have a lot of learning to do - or rather, unlearning.

Working in PR in New York takes a very type-A personality. There is a strong focus on urgency, the pace is fast, and client service is paramount. While there is a focus on client service here, because of the culture, the approach (both by my agency and the clients) is a lot more laid back. A few times this week the different approach has resulted on my getting stressed over people's perceived approach and follow-up, when in reality, I was coming at things with an American mindset. I know that as I settle into life here I'll adjust to the approach, but it goes against the way I've been doing business for the past seven years, so it may take some time.

And while things are different, I'm also learning things are very much the same. My first assignment here was to develop a media training for one of our clients, something I've done many times for our clients in New York. I was given some samples of what our Sydney office has done in the past, and it contained the exact same tips and techniques we teach in New York. It was nice to see how similar things can be around the world -- especially when you work for a global company.

This weekend I begin my search for an apartment. I've narrowed the map down to three neighborhoods in downtown Sydney that I think I'd like to live in. This weekend I'm going to do my own walking tour and start looking at listings online.

Saturday afternoon activities

2008-02-02T15:45:00.000+11:00

When I finalized my transfer to Sydney, I purposely left a few days to adjust to the time difference, get settled, and yes, maybe see a few of the sights before I started work. Trying to be diligent, I left sightseeing until after I took care of all my errands (i.e., setup a bank account, get a cell phone, etc). So of course, guess when it started to rain? The moment I finished.

Lucky for me, the rain just subsided, so I ran down to the lobby of my residence, picked up a bunch of brochures and promptly booked myself on a pub tour of Sydney's Rocks area. After it ends, if the weather is still ok, I'm going to check out the evening hours at the Taronga Zoo -- after all, I haven't seen any kangaroos yet on this trip. Hey, maybe once I get situated I'll start my own combination tour and call it "Booze and roos."

Twilight at Taronga, as they call it, sounds fantastic. They set up music and keep the zoo open in the evening hours. As long as the animals aren't asleep, it should be fun.

Back down under

2008-01-31T13:56:00.000+11:00

When I started this blog I only intended for it to chronicle a three week vacation to Australia. I had no idea at the time that two and a half years later I'd be boarding a plane to move here indefinitely.

So I've started the blog up again, in part to keep friends and family back in America up to speed on my life down under, and in part to keep a record of my time here. I can't make any promises as to how frequently I'll update, but I can do my best to do so as often as life and work will allow.

A photo with the roos

2005-07-09T11:05:00.000+10:00

I had the Ladies of Australia eating out of the palm of my hand

For those who wanted to see pictures, attached is one from Brisbane, feeding kangaroos. They were absolutely adoreable.

Supposedly Cousteau and his cronies invented the idea of putting walkie-talkies into the helmet. But we made ours with a special rabbit ear on the top

2005-07-01T11:19:00.000+10:00

We arrived in Cairns (pronounced "cans") last night, which is in the tropics, which we were quite ready for. While everywhere we've been has been warmer than NYC is during the dead of winter, it was nice to take off the sweaters and jackets, replacing them with swimsuits and t-shirts.

We spent our first day (today) on a series of snorkels and dives along the Great Barrier Reef. It was amazing. We saw all sorts of coral and fish that don't exist anywhere else in the world, and octopus, a barracuda and came nose-to-nose with a shark. It was absolutely amazing.

We've also been meeting some great people along the way, from all over the world, including a wonderful older couple on our flight last night that has invited Arielle and I to stay with them if we're ever back in Adelaide. Oh, and I should mention, I'm getting married. Yes, that's right, I've decided to get engaged -- I'm just trying to decide which of the Virgin Blue flight attendants it's going to be to. Perhaps the lovely Sarah from Sydney or maybe even the beautiful Sonia who lives out in Western Australia. Unfortunately the only one who seemed to be really interested was a flight attendants named Kamal. I'm not quite sure how to tell him that I prefer someone a little more female.

Okay, time to get going. We're heading out to a few of the downtown Cairns pubs tonight to check out the night-life (stayed in the resort last night and met folks there) in Cairns. Apparently the two biggest pubs (that also seem to have the best buzz) run a shuttle to each of the hotels, including ours, to pick you up. As I've been saying over and over since arriving, I love this country.

I've changed my mind, I love Adelaide

2005-06-29T12:35:00.000+10:00

Its amazing how drinking over two bottles of wine will change how you feel about a city. We've just finished a wine tour of Adelaide's Barossa Valley. Four vineyards and more than 30 tastings later, I find myself at the front of our tour bus, sitting on a cooler, telling jokes over a microphone. My sister, the environmentalist vegetarian who won't eat animals she thinks are cute, is telling anyone who will listen about how much she liked eating kangaroo meat.

We're thinking of filling the rest of the day with a trip to the hotel sauna and hot tub. Its about all we're up for at this point.

Oh, the bus just joined in for dome impromptu karaoke with the the song playing on the radio. We spent yesterday in Glenelg, a small suburb that looks like you accompanied Marty McFly back to 1955 in the Delorian. It's a sea-side beach town that, like Adelaide, is stuck in the 1950's. Why did we go? We saw the major attractions (really all of the city) of Adelaide in the first half-day after we arrived. So we took a little bus trip out.

Tomorrow is on to Cairns in the north of Australia, where we're excited to meet up with warm weather. We have a rainforest tour, a coral reef dive and a trip to the Aboriginal Cultural Center booked.

Adelaide: 50 years and :30 minutes behind Sydney

2005-06-27T09:38:00.000+10:00

So we arrived in Adelaide this afternoon. The first thing that struck me about the city is that it's in its own timezone, 30 minutes behind Sydney. Half an hour -- I kid you not.

When I heard the flight attendant announce the local time over the PA system, I thought I misheard her, but noticing the funny expression Arielle had on her face, I realized I hadn't. We flagged the flight attendant as she passed, asked the local time again, and she responded with, "yeah, I know, it's odd."

If Sydney is New York, Melburne is Chicago, Brisbane is Boston, then we've decided that Adelaide is Toledo, Ohio. And many of you know how I feel about Toledo.

Adelaide is seriously the same as it was in the 1950's. Everything (including our hotel room decor) looks like it's in the 50's. What makes things tougher is that it's Sunday, about 4:30ish (that's 5:00 Sydney time) and everything is closing down. Amanda suggests we take it as a sign that we're supposed to check out the hotel spa. I think she may be right, as in the four hours we've been here, we've seen about half of the attractions, and have a full day left to wander tomorrow. We don't want to see it all in a single day. Luckily we have a full day vineyard tour booked for Tuesday, although we made hit a liquor store and start our own tastings tonight in the hotel, if there is little else to do.

I like to boogie, I like the nightlife

2005-06-23T19:41:00.000+10:00

Forgive me if this isn't the most coherent of postings, we've just come out of a pub.

So a bunch of you have written and asked about the nightlife. It's very cool. We've been having our share of fun evenings.

The Aussies like their live music, and almost every bar we've gone to in Brisbane and Sydney has had a band. Mostly they play covers of Australian and American music (the Aussie songs have been awesome) ranging from Prince to Greenday to Paul Simon.

Almost all have multiple rooms and/or floors with different music on each, and in Brisbane, almost all had some kind of outdoor area (its warm there for the most-part year round). In Brisbane almost all of the bars also had Pokies, the most popular form of slot machines. If you find yourself in Brisbane, I recommend, in this order, the Royal Exchange Hotel, the Victory Hotel (affectionately called the RE and the Vic, respectively) and Friday's (no, not as in TGI Friday's). In Sydney, so far my favorite is Three Wise Monkeys, where we were earlier tonight.

Okay time to sleep. More later on the Sydney harbor cruise we took this evening, and about the seagulls who will eat right out of your hand.

What do you mean, “you love my accent?”

2005-06-23T04:42:00.000+10:00

As I write this, Arielle and I are sitting in a riverfront cafe on the Yarra River in Melbourne, taking a little rest. I think I can safely say the jetlag is over, but we've been so busy and on the move that we're exhausted. Last night we checked out the Crown, Australia's biggest casino. The place is massive and has over 40 bars, 25 restaurants, movie theaters, stages, video game arcades, billiard halls and oh yes, gambling. Apparently the Aussies love to gamble and it makes up more that 10 percent of the national economy. Crikey!

I won't say how much we dropped in the casino, but after we hit sensory overload, we left and found this little pub that had trivia night (which I absolutely love) going on inside.

We also toured the Fitzroy gardens, which are beautiful, even if they are completely made up of trees imported from England. It also contains a miniature Victorian village that includes a model of Shakespeare's house, and was a gift from a town in England that the Australians sent food to during the famine in the 40s. A pretty craptacular thank you if you ask me.

Arielle and I have also been spending time with our 82 year-old aunt who lives here (and who we're staying with) she's hysterically funny and has a dirty sense of humor. Couple that with the fact that she's a bit hard of hearing, and you can imagine the embarrassment Arielle and I have felt when she asks us to repeat what Samantha said while watching Sex in the City. The Aussies, and my aunt love it.

Finally, a note to my male buddies: guys, you'll love the ladies out here. They all have that accent we faun over, many are tall, beautiful and complain that Australian guys are too short. Plus, they keep telling me how much they love my American accent. I think I'm going to move here and start a mail order (male order?) husband service. The only problem is they see our citizenship as less desirable than their own. Oh well.

Okay, off to Sydney tonight where we'll be joined by Arielle's friend Amanda in the morning for the next few cities.

We're staying in the Williamsburg of Melbourne

2005-06-21T04:27:00.000+10:00

We arrived in Melbourne yesterday in the most remote airfield I've ever seen. I say airfield, because that's what it was, basically cornfields with a tarmac cleared out in the middle. Our plane, which was a full-sized Airbus 330, was the only one in sight. We had been diverted from Melbourne's very large, very active, very close to the city, main airport (which I assume is much larger) as there's construction going on.

We're staying with an Aunt who lives here, who scared us by suggesting we rent a car if staying with her. Then, when it took us an hour (and two trains) to get to her house from the city center (or CBD as the Australians call it) we were scared that we were in the boonies and nowhere near the city. Turns out we just took the long route, and are staying in a ultra hip, very young suburb, two blocks from the tram into the CBD. The night life is very cool, and Arielle and I explored the main drag a bit last night.

The people here are nothing short of lovely. People will take you far out of their way to help you if you need directions (as we've learned several times) or will double back to their cars to get a map. Fantastic.

I'm also learning some interesting language differences and plan on posting an Australian to American dictionary at some point soon.

Okay, we're off to go check out Melbourne's oldest prison and then to the zoo.

Brisbane

2005-06-19T01:55:00.000+10:00

So I hadn't been in Australia for even five minutes, before I was detained by authorities in the airport (or as they say, aeroport). It turns out that when my sister asked me to bring her cashew nuts, she forgot to mention a little thing they take very seriously here called the Australia Quarantine. To prevent all sorts of germs and agriculture from throwing off the Australian ecosystem, they've imposed a quarantine on bringing any type of food, animal or plant products into the country, something that is enforced quite rigorously at the airports. How rigorously? You have to declare any items you might be bringing in, and enforcement dogs patrol and sniff you all over the airport. In the end, after a discussion with four enforcement officers, and an encounter with two beagles and a golden lab, the cashews and I were permitted to enter the country.

Yesterday my sister and I took a tour of the local state brewery. If there's one thing I learned, its that the Aussies take their beer very seriously, drink it in large quantities and start early. There are even little pubs set up in the middle of the block on the large shopping streets.

The animals are so interesting as well. Wild Ibis' fly around the streets, and the seagulls even look completely different. We've even seen some kangaroos and kowala bears. The roos are very cute, and the ones we encountered will eat right out of your hand. I want to bring one home as a pet. I bonded with one in particular who held my hand as she ate from it, and when I ran out of food, gave me a kiss and hopped away. We also went somewhere where we got to hold kowala bears.

Tonight we're going to an Aussie Rules football game to see the culture, and tomorrow we're off the Melbourne.

Packing

2005-06-14T16:33:00.000+10:00

I’m currently packing for the trip, or rather repacking, as I’m leaving from a business trip in San Diego, which meant bringing like three weeks of clothing ranging from suites for the business portion to shorts for the trip to Australia.

Actually, packing for this trip hasn’t been easy at all. Besides the fact that I tend to over pack anyways, it’s complicated by the time I’m visiting. While it’s spring here in the States (and a beautiful constant 70ish in San Diego) in the southern hemisphere it’s fall. Ok, that part didn’t seem so bad. What’s throwing me for a loop is that the weather in Australia really varies. In Brisbane, where my sister has been living since February, its sub-tropical, and the weather is apparently very much like it is in San Diego. Great, I can deal with that, no problem. In the north, in Cairns, where there’s rainforests and the tropics, it’s still sunny and swim weather. Cool, no problem there either. Here’s where the packing gets tough – in the south (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide) it’s ranging from 65 degrees to the low 40’s at night. So here I am, having to pack for climates ranging from 40 to 90; bringing everything from business attire to casual wear. I feel like a total idiot bringing a wool coat to San Diego in June – especially when it’s packed right between my swimsuit and Tevas.

I actually love those little differences, the fact that the seasons are opposite, that toilet water runs the other way, and the fact that they're a day ahead of us. Actually, the whole time change thing has taken a lot of mindspace lately as it’s made planning this trip with my sister a bit of a challenge, especially as the time difference grew by an additional three hours, despite physically traveling 3,500 miles closer to the country. Got to love that International Date Line. Actually Bill Bryson has a great take on the whole International Date Line thing:

“Each time you fly from North America to Australia, and without anyone asking how you feel about it, a day is taken away from you when you cross the International Date Line. I left Los Angeles on January 3 and arrived in Sydney fourteen hours later on January 5. For me there was no January 4. None at all. Where it went exactly I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that for one twenty-four-hour period in the history of earth, it appears I had no being.

I find it a little uncanny, to say the least. I mean to say, if you were browsing through your ticket folder and you saw a notice that said, “Passengers are advised that on some crossings twenty-four-hour loss of existence may occur” (which is, of course, how they would phrase it, as if it happened from time to time), you would probably get up and make inquiries, grab a sleeve, and say, “Excuse me.” There is, it must be said, a certain metaphysical comfort in knowing that you can cease to have material form and it doesn’t hurt at all, and, to be fair, they do give you back the day on the return journey when you cross the date line in the opposite direction and thereby manage somehow to arrive in Los Angeles before you left Sydney, which in its way, of course, is an even neater trick (In a Sunburned Country).”

Okay back to packing. More when I actually get in country…

6/16 - 6/19: Brisbane
6/19 - 6/22: Melbourne
6/22 - 6/26: Sydney
6/26 - 6/29: Adelaide
6/29 - 7/2: Cairns
7/2 - 7/3: Brisbane