Day 12
First let me start with a welcome to my international readers. I wasn't even aware I had anyone reading this, let alone to receive a comment from one that is in Australia. So, it is with a slight degree of pride that I have to start this entry with a correction to a previous posting, clarified by my Australian readers.
Hungry Jack's is in fact a Burger King franchise, and not a rip off. The name Burger King had been registered by another man in Australia, and when the corporation wanted to start opening location here, he tried to sell the name for a large sum of money (not unlike the folks that would buy up domains and then try to sell them to the business that most closely would be associated with said domain.) Not wanting to pay for the brand recognition, Burger King chose a more localised name, Hungry Jack's. When the time on the registration had expired, Burger King tried to open stores with the original branding, but they never caught on. The result is that Burger King in Australia is now and in perpetuity Hungry Jack's. Now, go out and get a burger with a slice of beetroot on it!
I should also say that the reader did mention that lasagna and chips was a good meal. I was not being critical of the dietary choice, just indicating that it was definitely not a meal for a South Beach Diet denizen like myself, as it contains what would be touted as a ton of bad carbohydrates. To each his own. If you run as much as one of my co-workers back in the states, you may burn enough kJ to actually be able to consume such a meal. I know he definitely can. I however, cannot, and the 21kgs I have lost tell me I made the right choice.
It turns out he found my blog likely through a referrer entry on my link to his review of one of my personal favorite restaurants in this town. You can reread my day 6 posting to see which one. He has asked if I'd be willing to write a couple of reviews and post them on my blog, or as comments somewhere, but he didn't indicate where. I'll see if he can provide me a mail address or a link. He could have at least offered something for my trouble. :-) Still, I am usually willing to help out when I can, and when Colleen gets here, we're going to try one of his suggestions. She wanted to participate, since she's more attuned to the service aspects than I am. I am generally willing to let more slide.
Hot isn't the word any more. The conditions at the time of this writing showed 40.9C. Special thanks to weather.com.au for letting me know exactly how miserable I should be. The Bureau of Meteorology says the official high will have been 41.7C.
I walked in, pretty much like a dumbass, though in all honesty, I actually do enjoy the walk, even in the heat. I find the soundtrack playing in the iPod puts an interesting spin on the city, no matter what's playing, and I like the solitude. Of course, I have to stop a lot more often, mostly to mop sweat from my eyes, which has more than once caused me to squint from the sting of salt. Walking to work at 9:30 is different than walking in at 2:30, only because the crowds haven't really started filling the streets, and most protesters and street performers want to sleep in apparently. I did get to walk past a bust of some sort. Three police vehicles, one providing some degree of first aid were on Swanston street and a scruffy looking gentleman was being placed in the rear of one of the cruisers in handcuffs. I found the whole scene novel, as it was my first indicator of street crime here in Melbourne. Unfortunately, whatever satellite the Medina subscribes to doesn't actually get local channels, so I won't get to see a local new story. Maybe I'll be able to get the details from The local paper when they publish it online tomorrow.
I loaded up my portion of the carry requirements. I am not sure, however, if I have packed correctly. I will take the bag to the room, and determine if I can find better economies of space. At the same time, I have mixed feelings about doing so, as that means the bag gets heavier. :-) Still, I bet if I take some hangers and plastic wrap off, I will be able to get a few more items into the bag, and that seems a better use of the space anyway. To haul it to the flat, I am going to take a cab. I am crazy, and willing to do lots of walking, but seriously!
Extreme heat means a lack of tennis outdoors. That will mean a long night for the second shift. Perhaps longer than any I did. Is it luck? I am going to say it is. :-) Still, I would have preferred that we had been able to get play in, as any time we miss play, it increases the chance we start earlier, or run later. I think in some respects, we got lucky. It is better to have weather issues later in the fortnight, as there are fewer matches to have to catch up that way.
Dinner was at the Hofbrauhaus. It is tough to top German food. I highly recommend the Jagerschnitzel and a liter of your favorite beer. It was dead quiet, only two tables in use. Of course, they sat us such that it seemed more busy, but I was tickled by that. Most US restaurants wouldn't do that, preferring to sit the tables apart from one another. We wrapped up dinner, and I chose to head back to the room. Play was starting an hour early, and that meant I had to be up an hour early. It seemed odd to be talking about bed at 10PM, but I wanted a decent night's sleep. I can only hope Colleen won't be too mad, since I probably won't call at 6AM her time. I'll call her at work. I miss her, and I know she's likely getting into that range where she's a bit on edge. Just three more days until she's flying this way. Very cool! James is crashing on our couch before he flies home to the US, so I really won't have a chance to call her in the morning until I am at the venue. Don't know if she'll understand that either, but I know she loves me, and that helps. ;-)
Cheers!
Hungry Jack's is in fact a Burger King franchise, and not a rip off. The name Burger King had been registered by another man in Australia, and when the corporation wanted to start opening location here, he tried to sell the name for a large sum of money (not unlike the folks that would buy up domains and then try to sell them to the business that most closely would be associated with said domain.) Not wanting to pay for the brand recognition, Burger King chose a more localised name, Hungry Jack's. When the time on the registration had expired, Burger King tried to open stores with the original branding, but they never caught on. The result is that Burger King in Australia is now and in perpetuity Hungry Jack's. Now, go out and get a burger with a slice of beetroot on it!
I should also say that the reader did mention that lasagna and chips was a good meal. I was not being critical of the dietary choice, just indicating that it was definitely not a meal for a South Beach Diet denizen like myself, as it contains what would be touted as a ton of bad carbohydrates. To each his own. If you run as much as one of my co-workers back in the states, you may burn enough kJ to actually be able to consume such a meal. I know he definitely can. I however, cannot, and the 21kgs I have lost tell me I made the right choice.
It turns out he found my blog likely through a referrer entry on my link to his review of one of my personal favorite restaurants in this town. You can reread my day 6 posting to see which one. He has asked if I'd be willing to write a couple of reviews and post them on my blog, or as comments somewhere, but he didn't indicate where. I'll see if he can provide me a mail address or a link. He could have at least offered something for my trouble. :-) Still, I am usually willing to help out when I can, and when Colleen gets here, we're going to try one of his suggestions. She wanted to participate, since she's more attuned to the service aspects than I am. I am generally willing to let more slide.
Hot isn't the word any more. The conditions at the time of this writing showed 40.9C. Special thanks to weather.com.au for letting me know exactly how miserable I should be. The Bureau of Meteorology says the official high will have been 41.7C.
I walked in, pretty much like a dumbass, though in all honesty, I actually do enjoy the walk, even in the heat. I find the soundtrack playing in the iPod puts an interesting spin on the city, no matter what's playing, and I like the solitude. Of course, I have to stop a lot more often, mostly to mop sweat from my eyes, which has more than once caused me to squint from the sting of salt. Walking to work at 9:30 is different than walking in at 2:30, only because the crowds haven't really started filling the streets, and most protesters and street performers want to sleep in apparently. I did get to walk past a bust of some sort. Three police vehicles, one providing some degree of first aid were on Swanston street and a scruffy looking gentleman was being placed in the rear of one of the cruisers in handcuffs. I found the whole scene novel, as it was my first indicator of street crime here in Melbourne. Unfortunately, whatever satellite the Medina subscribes to doesn't actually get local channels, so I won't get to see a local new story. Maybe I'll be able to get the details from The local paper when they publish it online tomorrow.
I loaded up my portion of the carry requirements. I am not sure, however, if I have packed correctly. I will take the bag to the room, and determine if I can find better economies of space. At the same time, I have mixed feelings about doing so, as that means the bag gets heavier. :-) Still, I bet if I take some hangers and plastic wrap off, I will be able to get a few more items into the bag, and that seems a better use of the space anyway. To haul it to the flat, I am going to take a cab. I am crazy, and willing to do lots of walking, but seriously!
Extreme heat means a lack of tennis outdoors. That will mean a long night for the second shift. Perhaps longer than any I did. Is it luck? I am going to say it is. :-) Still, I would have preferred that we had been able to get play in, as any time we miss play, it increases the chance we start earlier, or run later. I think in some respects, we got lucky. It is better to have weather issues later in the fortnight, as there are fewer matches to have to catch up that way.
Dinner was at the Hofbrauhaus. It is tough to top German food. I highly recommend the Jagerschnitzel and a liter of your favorite beer. It was dead quiet, only two tables in use. Of course, they sat us such that it seemed more busy, but I was tickled by that. Most US restaurants wouldn't do that, preferring to sit the tables apart from one another. We wrapped up dinner, and I chose to head back to the room. Play was starting an hour early, and that meant I had to be up an hour early. It seemed odd to be talking about bed at 10PM, but I wanted a decent night's sleep. I can only hope Colleen won't be too mad, since I probably won't call at 6AM her time. I'll call her at work. I miss her, and I know she's likely getting into that range where she's a bit on edge. Just three more days until she's flying this way. Very cool! James is crashing on our couch before he flies home to the US, so I really won't have a chance to call her in the morning until I am at the venue. Don't know if she'll understand that either, but I know she loves me, and that helps. ;-)
Cheers!
posted by Derek Botti at
6:26 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home