Monday, February 21, 2005

Very odd happenings

So, this weekend, our cat decided to go walkabout. Neither of us are sure when he actually got out the front door, but he's nowhere to be found in the house, or the yard. We put up signs and postings on web sites, but so far no responses. We're both totally devastated by this. Colleen obviously more so than I am, but then she's had him all his life, and significantly more time than I have spent with him. I can only hope if he is truly dead, he went quietly and peacefully. If he's lost, well, hopefully we recover him soon. Two nights in the cold for an 11 year old cat can't be good.

Hunter Thompson killed himself. What??? I can't believe that crazy bastard would actually kill himself. I have voraciously read almost everything he ever published. It is a shame to hear that he's gone out like that. I wouldn't say he directly influenced my life, but he was a talented man, and someone that needed to grow old and die gracefully. Oh well, people die all the time, and he's no exception. I know he will be missed.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Back in the USA

Back home! What a relief. I love my bed, my house, my environment. I enjoy travelling, but I always prefer the first night back home.

Colleen and I published out the site. I really hate that I have already used up all my free space for the site. I never would have imagined that I'd already have consumed 5MB of space, but even after the resize, the pictures suck it all up. We didn't even use all the pictures we took. It ended up just being the ones we thought were web worthy. After all these years without a web site, and here I am complaining about running out of space. Times change. ;-)

It is good to be working from home while I get used to the time swap. I don't normally get very jet lagged, but it seems this one is impossible to avoid. I have been waking up at 4AM since we got home, and have had problems staying up in the afternoons. :-) I'll be back on regular schedule again tomorrow, so I won't be too worried about it.

Overall, things are good here in NC. Enough so that I don't really have much to say right now. Just wanted to try to keep posting to this thing as often as I could remember so that I worked it into a habit.

Cheers

End of the line

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Yesterday was the last day of our vacation. I am editing this blog on the plane as I make the journey some 13000 odd miles back home. I decided to turn the car in early, because Colleen and I really weren't going to go on another long ride somewhere. We were just too beat. So, we spent the day wandering around town, and catching those things that we had missed.

The Melbourne Museum is very unusual. There's not a lot of real history, in terms of art, sculpture, etc. so it ends up being a modern history of the region. It was still very interesting. I don't quite get the worship of Phar Lap, but then again Australians take their sport seriously, and the horse was a God in its era. Still, it is a bit unnerving to have what ends up being effectively a wing dedicated to the horse, and it includes Phar Lap stuffed!!! I wonder if they'll stuff any of the current AFL or Cricket legends. ;-)

I am disappointed in my friends John and Bill. Neither called me except after that first week, and that was only to get me to go out drinking. Oh well, people grow apart, I suppose. Still, I did go out of my way to show them around parts of the US, and they didn't even lift a finger to show me anything other than the bottom of an empty pint glass.

I learned something about myself on this trip. I end up being far too critical of those closest to me. I think sometimes I scare Colleen, and that has me worried. I'll have to figure out how to get around that. I love her dearly, and I can't afford to lose her. I was reminded of that several times during this trip to Australia, before and after she got here. I can only hope she knows that. :-)

We did buy some Tim-Tams in the duty free shop. I wanted to buy more, but she didn't want to have to carry them, and I can't really blame her. :-) We are, however, buying some In Sky Duty Free Bailey's Irish Cream. The price is way too compelling.

I need to just get off my ass and buy her a ring. She knows it, and I know it. I don't even really know why I haven't other than not wanting to take on that kind of debt. Hell, I just put 3K on credit to get her here, and to enjoy the trip. Working from a cash basis is something I have really worked hard to achieve, and I am still not willing to just change the habit now. I can only hope she'll understand. If not, then I have no one to blame but me.

Overall, I loved Australia. I am not sure how difficult it would be logistically, but if I thought I could, I'd emmigrate. I just love what it offers. Though, of course, I'd really want to see the dark underbelly to make a sound judgement. Things like taxes, health care, crime rates, school quality, etc. I wouldn't even know how it would be possible to move my car, my Andyman, and Colleen's cat Simpson. I had heard it is a 6 month quarantine process. That would kill me. :-(

Sunday, February 06, 2005

An island that is more than the sum of its parts

So, yesterday was the trip to Phillip Island. Phillip Island is a small island just off the coast of Victoria. It is predominately a nature park. More than 20% of the island is under private protectorship, not part of the National Park System, but instead privately held and financed lands. Another drive, though not nearly as far as the Great Ocean Road, thankfully. We headed down early in the morning, with plans booked for the Penguin Parade, which is actually around sunset. More on that in a bit.

This drive was much less stressful. The weather held up, and there wasn't even a hint of a shower the whole way down. This drive was South and East instead of South and West. When we got down there, we still had more than 7 hours before the parade. That left us some time to stop along the way.

The first stop was a commercial petting zoo. It was a bit sad, because it was obvious the animals weren't exactly well treated. It did, however, allow us the opportunity to hand feed a couple of Wallabies, some alpaca, and a couple of Kangaroos. It was only 8 bucks AUS to get in, so it wasn't too bad. We could have stayed for hours, but we wanted to hit the road.

Our next stop was the Koala conservatory. That was an experience unlike any other. The Koalas are technically wild, and are just held in place by barriers to keep them inside the commercial part of the sanctuary. That allowed us the opportunity to see some Koala really up close. There were 20 total, and Leah managed to see every one of them. She was great at spotting them in the trees, and then helped us see where they were. It was very cool. We took a ton of photos. The one that was the most significant was a young adult. It was too old for the pouch, or to be carried on momma's back, but not quite fully matured. It was about halfway up a tree, but the way they built the boardwalk, it was right at our eye level. Colleen took lots of pictures of it, and squealed a lot. I kept hassling her that the squeal sound was actually the kill sound for a Koala, and one would jump at her throat without warning. She took it in good nature.

From there, we went to the Nobbies, an outcropping of rocks that fur seals used to sun themselves. They weren't very close, but using the scopes they provided, for a usual fee, you could see them playing on the rocks. I thought it was pretty cool, since it was yet another example of Australian wildlife. There were more photo opportunities here. This part of the coast was oddly different from the Great Ocean Road. This coast was volcanic basalt, instead of limestone, so the rocks were slightly weathered, but no indication of the decay we saw along the Great Ocean Road. There were also a ton of birds nesting. We managed a couple of pictures of wild penguins, which was too cool. Some slightly mature, some chicks. All in all, it was well worth the experience.

The feature for the day was the Penguin Parade. Now, we didn't actually go on the Parade. That's a set of bleachers and concrete stands set up to allow people to watch. I signed us up for the Ultimate Penguin Tour. This was a separate tour that allowed only 15 people at a time. This night, it was just 5 and the ranger. The 5th (since it was Josh, Leah, Colleen and me) was actually a ranger from Tazmania who was up to see how penguin tours were done on the mainland. That meant it was two experts, and the four of us. We bundled up in provided wet weather gear, with a pack that included night vision glasses, and a flashlight. We then took a short ride away from the main parade to an exclusive beach. We walked to a wash river, and set up on provided mats and waited. Shortly after, we weren't disappointed. Little penguins started just popping up from the ocean in runs of 7 or 8 at a time, and heading toward the shore. They walked right past us. They swam into the wash river, heading back to their burrows. It was astounding. For the next hour, we sat around with our infrared lights, lighting up little bunches of penguins as they pushed back to their homes. It was incredible. I almost felt like I was working on some research project gathering data. I was so blown away. It ended with us walking back to the main center, and along the way, we had to stop to allow penguins to cross the road. There was also some water bird that didn't walk well on land, so it looked slightly injured, but it really wasn't. It was the most incredible thing I had ever had the chance to do.

Once again, the weather managed to hold. I couldn't believe our luck. The forecast was for rain, and we didn't see any of it. It was even clear enough that Colleen and I took the chance to see some stars through the scopes. That was also an amazing sight.

By the time we got back to town, it was very late. This time, since there was no rain, I was able to get into town without issue. I took the exit the way I remembered from some cab rides, and we got to the parking deck without incident. That was a good deal for me, since the night after the Great Ocean Road, I was pretty stressed. It was pouring rain, we technically didn't have a room, and I was relying on someone else to give me directions, and it seemed I kept missing the turn by one block, and being forced down a one way road somewhere else. :-(

It's Colleen! Last night was AMAZING! The penguins were so cute, and I learned a lot. I DID NOT squeal at the koalas!!(okay, maybe just a little)hee hee. There was this little joey just out of his mama's pouch that just sat there and let us take tons of pics of him!! I got one of him looking directly at my camera-I want one sooo bad!!!! He was so cute!! I also realized I want kids more than ever now! I guess it was something about the maternal instincts of the animals. It could also be the married penguins who clean each other! G'Day!

OK, we're going to sign off again for now. After being lazy all day, we are going to head to the zoo and the market. I still can't believe we don't have all the souvenirs. We must be insane. :-)

Cheers!

Driving on the Left

Holy Cow! I actually rented a car (they call it hiring here) and gave it the old college try at driving in Australia. Of course, they drive on the left hand side of the road, and their steering wheel is on the right. I was glad I got an automatic transmission, because while I can drive a stick, I am not 100% sure I'd be able to actually shift left handed. The woman at the Hertz counter needed an exterminator to get someone to kill the bug up her ass. She was not at all willing to be light with us as I made changes on the fly to our rental agreement. First, there are automatic toll roads all over Australia. That means no toll booths, and you are then on the hook to figure out how to pay for them. I asked if there was a way I could add the daily passes to my contract. She grimaced, and said yes, there was, but it would be an additional $8.25 AUS each day. BFD!! I of course added it, though I am sure the daily pass from some official outlet was less than half of it. WHATEVER!!! The second problem was petrol. After our debacle in France (I paid like $167 to have not filled the car up prior to returning it to Hertz) I didn't want to have to screw around with that here. Besides, I haven't seen a single petrol station in the Central Business District. She of course grimaced about that, and then added that charge as well. Overall, I found that cheap, since it was only $.88 per liter, which is more than 9 cents AUS less than the petrol stations I have seen.

Once we had the car all arranged, it was time to hit the road. Colleen, Josh, Leah and I wanted to head out for the Great Ocean Road. We really only had a vague idea of how to get there, but no guts, no glory. After getting onto the main highway, it was just a matter of following the signs. We got onto the road, and it didn't disappoint. It was really 300KM of nothing but photo opportunities. Once we get the pictures updated, we will make sure they get posted on the site. They are breathtaking.

The Great Ocean Road really can't be described in words. I thought long and hard about that before putting this blog together. You'll just have to wait for the pictures, unless Colleen has something she'd like to add in her section.

Amazingly, we managed to avoid all the weather. We left Melbourne in thunderstorms, and spent the whole day under mostly cloudy skies. It was windy, and sea spray covered us and the car in salt. When we got back to town, it was in the middle of the deluge. It turned out the storm dumped 120mm (almost 5 inches) of rain. It was a Melbourne record no matter what season. Flooding everywhere, tram lines down, and traffic the next morning was so bad, there were people that took more than 2 hours to get to work when it would normally take less than a half hour. Serendipity, that's all I can say. We didn't end up having any problems, which could have been rampant with that kind of weather.

It's Colleen! What can I say about the Great Ocean Road? The most beautiful coastline I have ever seen. We are so moving here!!! I really can see us living here. We've had some great times on the open road and have seen more than I could've hoped in my lifetime(hee hee)!! bye.

So, I can't really discuss my drive without a brief interlude on the premise of the hook turn. A phenomenon unique to Melbourne (at least where I have driven) the hook turn is a fairly civilized method of allowing the right hand turn on busy intersections. Remember, driving on the left hand side of the road means a right turn is the turn across traffic. Anyway, some intersections in the Central Business District (CBD) require the hook right. To make this turn, you have to get into the far left lane, signal you'll be turning right, and then pull slightly off the side of the road. This alows forward traffic to continue. Then, as the light is turning red, those of us in the hook turn line make our turn quickly before the light changes allowing the traffic you are blocking to be annoyed. :-) It is a very odd move. Some have said it is very civilized, but I think it is just a premise to create more accidents.

Well, we're going to sign off for this one. Thanks for dropping by. :-)

Rock On!!

Colleen and I are old, we have both decided. We went to the Big Day Out Sideshowarama featuring Rise Against, The Butterfly Effect, and headliner System of A Down.

First, VB sucks ass. I don't care who tells me otherwise, Victoria Bitter beer sucks ass. That's definitely the Pabst Blue Ribbon of Australia. It is made by Fosters Brewing Company (Fosters, Australian for tourist) and is far more prevalent in Australia than the better known brand in the US. Anyway, that was all the venue served for beer, and Colleen and I managed to consume our fair share of it. The second thing was the notion of General Admission versus Reserve Seating. The price was the same, so I assumed General Admission would be the better choice. What I learned was that meant we'd be standing on the floor the whole damned time. UGH! At least we managed to avoid the mosh pit. :-) So, with a cheap beer buzz in hand, we settled in to watch the show.

Rise Against. I swear I have heard that name before. I really want to say they were one of the bands on the Osbourne reality show battle for Ozzfest, but so many of those bands sucked, I can't remember them all. Rise Against, however, showed a glimmer of promise. There were a couple of tunes that Colleen and I enjoyed, and they are definitely worth a further listen. Of course, like so many disaffected youth bands, they had some tirade against Bush, which was met with a chorus of cheers and profanity against the current administration. I'll leave the politics alone, I just found it an amazingly cheap pop, and it reminded me of the things Pro Wrasslers do to get the crowd pumped up.

The Butterfly Effect. Derivative, that's the best word for it. I was reminded of Korn, though without any of the real talent. A 7 string drop tuned bass, breathy soulful lyrics, and frenetic guitars. All that was really missing was a bagpipe, and a strained "ARE YOU READY?" They have a shot, I suppose, but I somehow doubt it. They needed something else. They were a Melbourne local band, and still didn't even have the Melbourne audience captured. That tells me they are likely going to be unable to get beyond the local club scene, and "Guests" on tickets across the country. Maybe I am being hard, but I call 'em like I see 'em.

System of a Down definitely didn't disappoint. It was everything I had hoped for from them. They were tight, and well engineered. The music fllowed from one tune to another, and they didn't spend a lot of time trying to play up to the audience. The set was crisp. I have to be honest, though, it ended rather abruptly. I am not sure, but I think there are some noise ordinances that the venue forced upon the bands, because there weren't even any encores, and no indication that the show was going to end until they brought up the house lights, and opened the doors. Even then, I thought surely there would be one encore, but then the roadies started disassembling the stage, and I knew it was time to wrap it up.

Colleen and I got our T-shirts. No telling if we will be able to wear them again, once they are washed. They were tight to begin with, and that means any shrinkage will limit their wear to lounging around the house. Still, it was awesome, because the shirts only had tour dates for Australia on them. No chance of confusing where we saw them play. :-)

I'd like to also thank Rock and Roll for bringing us to meet two Aussies, one from Perth, the other from Brisbane. Two brothers that came to Melbourne to see the concert, and we met in the beer line. They were very nice, and for some odd reason, like all Aussies, they loved our accents. :-) I don't remember either name, of course, but they were both very cool guys. They offered to let us follow them to party all night in St. Kilda, but we were both tired, broke, and hungry. So, we simply turned left when they turned right at one intersection, and we never saw them again. Sorry guys!!

It's Colleen! Wow! We're a lot older than we act! That concert put the hurting on our ears and bodies. That VB beer was the absolute kicker of the night. It left us with some serious hangovers the next day. The concert was great. Rise against was loud, but good. We've decided to purchase a cd when we get back(since we think they screamed that they were from Chicago)! System of a Down was awesome, with my only complaint being they weren't on long enough! Cut some time from Butterfly Effect-they sucked!! Oh, and I did smoke half a fag(cigarette) and wanted lots more! The guy that we met graciously shared half of his next to last fag with me! G'Day!!!

Well, Colleen has added her part, and that means I am going to sign off again. We're on our way to try our hand at driving today, and that should make for some interesting stuff. :-)

Cheers