Day 8

So, I realized that I had acquired some new terminology since I arrived, and thought I'd take part of today's entry to go over it for my faithful readers. I can't take credit for any of these terms, so if you are a reader and you explained it to me, then you know who you are, and I thank you for the help. :-)

Fauxhawk
A hairstyle that simulates a mohawk by effectively pushing all the hair into the center as a spike. Popular among both young men and women, the fauxhawk is a common style in Australia.

Five Head
A forehead that has receeded so far, it is now one larger. Prevalent on men (such as mine, which is likely more a five and a half head) it was first used to describe Martina Hingis, the woman's tennis superstar that has a definite high hair line. With her return to the Open this year (a comeback after she retired in 2002) there are rumors that her new visored look is due to the fact that she may actually be approaching a six head.

Bump In
A term used by the Australians to indicate the team sent to set up some function. Our setup team was called the bump in team.

Bump Out
The opposite of bump in. The team that will be doing the remainder of the event (like me) and will be responsible for the tear down of all the equipment is known as the bump out team.

All the ones I can think about to this point. If I learn any new ones of merit, I will be sure to share.

Day 8 was an uneventful day. Kevin was nice enough to volunteer to work, since his wife was going to see the Penguin Parade with some of the other folks here, and Kevin had been earlier during his time here. That meant I worked a day shift, and left with Andy to go see the sites. Dinner was at a Columbian place that had some pretty tasty stuff. Add in a little Columbian beer, and it was all good. I am still not quite sure how the pubs work around here, because lots of them were shutting down at 11PM. We did manage to pop in to The Turf Bar and convince them to sell us a pint.

Cabs in town are always an adventure. This guy seemed to believe he needed to take his half of the road out of the middle. More than once I found myself cringing for the anticipated collision or sideswipe of another car. It never happened, but WOW did I think it could. I prefer to walk, unless it is hot. More sweat!

I ran into my first gay man as we were lost trying to get to the restaurant. Not to imply there aren't any gays in Australia (I know they have a GayTas guide for travelling gay in Tasmania, whatever that means) but I was just tickled by his accent. The aussie accent on top of the typical gay man speech pattern just struck me as very funny. He was very nice, as are all Australians I have met (for the most part) and he definitely pointed us in the right direction.

I have all but given up trying to convince Mike to come out with us. He's much more sedate than most of the folks are here. To be honest, he's not very far from how I was at his age. That makes me sound like an old fart, but other than Steve, I do believe I am the oldest here from the states, even among the Atlanta folks. I never considered myself a grizzled, wily veteran, but it would appear at some point, that's what I became.

Back to regular shifts for Day 9. That means I'll actually be posting twice in one day, since if I get off early, I hold off on that day's posting to make sure I do justice to whatever happens after we leave. :-)

Cheers!