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.

The weekend can't come soon enough

Ok, you had to know it would come eventually....that little dose of reality that reminds you of the real purpose of the trip....WORK. That has hit this week. It has been a typical "busy season" week for me. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for some of my Australian colleagues, who have commented on my "American work ethic" and not meant it in a complimentary fashion. I'm relatively stressed out, which shouldn't be a surprise to any of you who have seen me in the heat of busy season. However, I'm trying really hard to soak up the Aussie nature and be more laid back. I'm just not sure I can do it. Maybe I need to stay here much longer than 3 months to make sure I get that very valuable trait. :)

Anyway, the weekend.....sooooo excited for it to come. The agenda entails (after some work on Saturday morning, I'm sure) viewing an Aussie rules football match on Saturday night and then....oh yes....wait for it.....surfing lessons on Sunday. I know. I was just commenting on how cold it is here for surfing. However, I figure when in Rome.... And I'm not sure what it is right now with me and the excessive use of dots. Please forgive me. I'm sure this is annoying someone. Probably the result of too much caffeine combined with too much work and too much running. Anyway, I have no idea what Aussie rules football entails, but I know I'm supposed to "cheer" for the Sydney Swans (apparently the word "root" has a different meaning here) as they strive to win their "match" (it's not a game, apparently). All in all, it promises to be a very Australian weekend, which only seems appropriate given my location.

I mentioned earlier something about running. I'm sure some of you who know me well are wondering what that is all about. In all honesty, it's an effort to help counter act some of the more "empty" activities I find myself participating in, as well as just generally being motivated by my new friends here. There are 3 of us who get up at 6am and run out to Sydney Harbor (home of the famous bridge and Opera House) and back. It's about a 3 mile loop we've been doing, and it is absolutely surreal to run past those amazing sites as the sun is hitting the horizon behind them.

Additionally, while we're on the topic of running, next weekend is Australia's largest "fun run" called City 2 Surf. (www.city2surf.com.au) The run starts in the heart of Sydney and winds 14k (approx. 9 miles) with a finish at Bondi Beach. They claim 70,000 people participate in this. My new friends here have all signed up to do this. Some are intending to run the entire thing (and some I have more faith in that happening for than others), while others of us (myself included) have committed to do it more for the fun of it - which isn't likely to include running 9 miles. Anyway, there are many folks from work who participate and Uncle Price is generous enough to throw a big party at the beach for all his grunts afterwards. It should be, needless to say, a fabulous time.

Ok, must get to bed. 6am comes awfully early when it entails running. Until next time....

An Australian Tradition....the Beginning

Tonight, my new roommate (Karalee) and I started a new tradition.....Sunday evening dinner at our house. We had all our short-term secondee friends over - 2 New Yorkers, 1 Canadian, and 1 from Amsterdam. We made tacos and had wine and shortbread cookies with nutella for dessert. Side bar - it's the strangest thing - you can find all the makings for Mexican food in the grocery here, but there isn't a Mexican restaurant to be found. At least not easily. Anyway, it was a great time. Makes it sort of seem like you've got a little family here. Anyway, just wanted to share. Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend, and I can't wait to be able to share more of this with you.

Loving Life

Two weeks in and I've resolved myself to the fact that I love it here. I'm still trying to find the words as to why, but what I know is that I do in fact love it here.

Work is going well. I'm learning alot and definitely experiencing more diversity than ever before. My team currently consists 2 Aussies, a Brit, a New Zealander, an Indonesian, and a girl from Singapore. It's just crazy - but amazing. It's interesting to hear all of their experiences and to hear their ideas about Americans. One of them told me this week that I don't say "fantastic" as much as he would have expected, since I'm from America. Another one asked me if the high school experiences in the movies is real - where the football players wear their letter jackets and jerseys and there are geeks and popular girls, etc. I have a hard time believing that's not a high school reality in most places of the world, but maybe I'm just being ethno-centric in my thinking.

Yesterday, a few of us went to Bondi Beach, which is one of the main surfing beaches here. Actually, in a couple of weeks, there is a 14km run that goes from the city to the beach called "City to Surf". A few of my new friends here are running it. Anyway, Bondi is basically heaven. There were guys surfing and it was only about 50-55 degrees. There are huge rocks and cliffs near the beach where the waves were crashing and making amazing sites. I've added some pictures for your viewing pleasure. I also have posted a pic from the whale watching adventures.

Seriously, this place is amazing. It's really too bad it's on the other side of the world from the US. I never in a million years thought that I would ever consider relocating to a foreign country for a time. However, this experience so far may be changing that. At PwC, there are opportunities all the time to do 2 year tours all over the world. In fact, I've met some pretty cool people here from America on a 2 year bit. I know the grass is always greener on the other side, but seriously.......this (here or in some other random place) could be my reality. Crazy!

The first two pictures below are from the whale excursion. The last three are from Bondi. I hope you enjoy!

A correction...and a quick update

So, since some new friends here in SYD have read this blog and pointed out the error that I had hoped could just slip by without notice, I'll take the high road and admit the mistake. In some previous posts, I mentioned exchange rates and have since realized that I had them backwards. Therefore, a bottle of yellow mustard for $3.50 AUD is actually only about $2.80 USD.

So, this weekend was as busy as expected. The whales were amazing! I hope to have pictures to upload soon. Wine country was a good experience, but the tour bus driver was a bit of a tool. He sort of put a damper on things. Otherwise, though, it was all in all a good time.

I must skip out for now and get some things done, but know I haven't forgotten about you and the promises of sharing this all with you.

First weekend without jet lag.....

...promises to hold a few very exciting things. 1) Whale watching, 2) Coffee festival, 3) Yulefest (aka, Christmas in July), 4) Wine country. It will be a full weekend that is already off to a great start. The Aussies are totally NOT into working weekends...and the weekend seems to start some time between noon and five on Friday. So, this evening, I spent the evening meeting new PwC folks at a happy hour turn HOURS at a bar that is just around the corner from my apartment. Yes, that's right, I live only 1 block from "the place to be". It's a beautiful thing....particularly a few drinks in. Anywho....good times were had by all.

Tomorrow's plans include enjoying the coffee festival, markets nearby and whale watching. The whales are apparently migrating now, so the other short term secondees and a couple other new friends from SC and NY are planning to spend 4 hours on a boat in the middle of the ocean looking for them! Sooooo excited.

Sunday entails a tour to wine country - Hunter Valley. It's supposed to be about a 2 hour trip there via bus. Should also be a great time. Might make Monday morning interesting, but I suppose you only live in Sydney once, right? :)

I've got my camera battery on charge now to be fully ready to catch all the excitement of the weekend. Can't wait to share it all with you!

Cheers!

A little vocabulary lesson

So, I'm realizing that a lot of things are different here - neither better or worse, just different. One of these things are common words used for various things. Tonight, I learned a new term - lady boy. Any takers on what this might mean? This is the Aussie slang for transvestite. Now, why this came up in conversation, it's hard to say, but it did. So, consider yourself a little more cultured now. :)

Another thing that is different here is how they deal with cell phones - or "mobiles" as they're called here. Nothing here is divided into packages by minutes. Rather, it's based on dollar values. So far, what this means to me is that they don't want you to really know how much it costs you to talk on your mobile. Well, I signed up for a plan that gives me $xxx value. We'll see how it goes.

I went tonight with some new friends to see The Proposal. It was a cute movie - a little unrealistic, but still entertaining. How can you go wrong with Sandra Bullock and an ending with a big kiss?

I have attached a few pics of my apartment and the views not far from my apartment. These are all along Darling Harbour. I hope you enjoy!