Time is Flying By.....

Hello! Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks. Just wrapped up client #2 in Sydney and have managed to catch a cold while I'm at it. The majority of my friends here have had a cold for a time ranging from 2 to 4 weeks. I thought I had somehow managed to miss it, but alas, no such luck.

As a result of everyone's illness, this weekend has been relatively low key. Home in bed before midnight each night - that's quite an accomplishment here, by the way. Yesterday, we ventured to the Taronga Zoo, which is a short ferry ride from the city. This was probably the best zoo experience I've had. The kangaroo exhibit was a "walkabout" where there weren't any fences between me and the animals. I actually petted a kangaroo, saw a couple with joeys in their pouches and came very close to a huge emu. However, the highlight of the visit was probably the gorilla exhibit, which had approximate 10-12 gorillas, including babies. They were all very active, horse-playing with each other, fighting over an apple, and one even kept pounding its chest. Quite incredible. Oh, and the zoo had amazing views of the city. Here's a sample:

Today, a few of us girls decided to go on a guided kayaking tour of the Northern Beaches. Our tour guide, Conal, is a retired gentleman from South Africa. He was great! He had such patience with the 4 of us girls. The tour was great! We even kayaked out to the Sydney Harbor heads, which means that I actually was officially in the Pacific Ocean and not just the harbor. About 3/4 of the way through our tour, we found ourselves on a beach that is only accessible via the water, where the tour company had set up a nice little "afternoon tea" for us. Now, this did not actually involve tea, but rather apple juice, fresh fruit, gummy worms and a these amazing little chocolate and coconut covered cakes called Lemmingtons. It was a practically perfect day....except where I fell in the water trying to get out of the kayak at said beach. :)

We then wrapped up this evening with some much needed American cuisine. The food here in Australia is really quite non-distinct. Everything seems pretty average, but just a little different tasting than "normal." Therefore, I've been disappointed with dinner more often than I've been pleased or impressed. However, fear not! The American franchise business is alive and well in the Sydney CBD....just a couple blocks from our apartment. A group of us headed out to Tony Roma's for dinner. Ribs, a baked potato and let's not forget the proverbial onion-ring-esque appetizer. It was just what I was craving - something that tasted just as you expected it to!

Well, on that note, it's time to head to bed for another week to start. The time has flown by here. It's been 6 weeks already, which is surprising and depressing all in the same. I continue to have a great time and came to the realization last week that there is nothing I could ask to be different about my life right now. That's a pretty great place to be. I hope you each can find that same place.

Until next time.....

City 2 Surf

Hello all! Last weekend was the long awaited City 2 Surf 14k race. I feel quite accomplished. My official time was 108:24. I was aiming for finishing in under 2 hours, so I was quite pleased with this time. I toted my camera along the way and, admittedly, if I hadn't stopped to take so many photos, I might have come in under 90 minutes. Here's a shot from the route. If this could be my running scenery everyday, I might actually take up running for real.

The race had over 75k participants - the largest timed road race in the world. The first people to cross the finish line were done before I even started running. It takes quite a while to get 75k people organized across a single line. The start was a pretty incredible site.

There were over 500 PwC people who participated in the run from all across Australia. Every now and then I would see someone sporting a PwC jersey along the way. Sad to say, I registered too late to get a jersey of my own.

The run started in the middle of Sydney's CBD and went out to one of the beaches - Bondi. After the race, Uncle Price was nice enough to throw a party for those of us who had participated. Great fun was had by all, and the fun continued well into the afternoon and evening.

From left to right - Lisa (UK), Sam (UK), Jonathan (NYC), Me, Karalee (Chicago) and Henriette (Amsterdam) - after the run, enjoying the beach.

The official after party - Kristen (NYC), Tracy (Toronto), Karalee (Chicago), Me

This weekend promises to continue the Aussie fun. I'm having a great time and still sometimes can't believe I'm here. Hope you all are well and I look forward to the next set of stories I have to share with you!

Cheers!

A Long 2 Weeks

Ok, ok, ok. I realize it's been 2 weeks since my last post. I'm sorry. The truth of the matter is this whole work thing has really begun to cramp my style. (Just kidding) Seriously though, the last two weeks have involved many long nights, which is my excuse for not updating this blog sooner.

The good news is that you haven't missed much! Last weekend, a group of us had some surfing lessons at Manly Beach. (See photo below....this was before the waves and salt water had gotten to us.) It was "heaps" of fun, although very hard work. I managed to get up on the board a few times, which was super exciting. The truth of the matter is, however, I might be more a beach bum/body boarder than a surfer. The moral of the story is that a good time was had by all and we all survived without much injury.

We also went last weekend to an AFL footy game. This game seems to be similar to rugby (which is moderately similar to US football), but it is played on a round field, no one wears any protective gear, and there are 4 goal posts instead of 2. It was a very exciting game, as the Sydney Swans nearly beat the St. Kilda Saints. It came down to the last seconds of the game.

This weekend is already off to a much more low key start. Last night involved an amazing dinner of mussels and beef at the Belgian Beer Cafe. I found myself coming in early (and by early, we mean 12:30) to head to bed.

I am currently at work, spending a few hours trying to get this job to a point where my team doesn't have to think too hard to wrap it up, and then it's off to prepare for an evening of cooking and eating. Tomorrow is the City 2 Surf race, and as would only be appropriate the night before an 8.7 mile run, we are carbo loading. It should be a nice time to just hang out and enjoy each other's company.

In other news, it was announced yesterday that when I return home, I will have a new title at work - Manager. This is an exciting next step in my career. I'm certain it won't come without many challenges, but if we're not continuing to learn and be challenged, we're probably not maximizing our potential.

On that note, I must get some work done. Hope you are all well, and I'm sure you'll hear more from me soon.