Hello Possums!

I was heading out the door on my way to work yesterday when I spotted something up in the tree near our mailbox: my possum friend! I’ve previously seen him very casually strolling down the sidewalk in the middle of the day (possums are nocturnal, so I’m not really sure what’s going on there) and this time he was harassing the magpies who live in this tree. I’m pretty sure he has moved into the roof of my apartment building and comes out whenever he wants to forage for food that people leave behind. Lucky for me I’m on the ground floor so I don’t hear him scratching around up there, but if it really bothered me I could actually hire a trap from the city council and lure him in with apples. The only problem is you have to release them within 50 meters of where you caught them, and this guy seems to know his way around the neighborhood really well.

I used to always see possums dead on the road when I was teaching in North Bend, but those looked like giant rats – the ones here are adorable! I’m glad Australia has some cute animals to balance out all the cockroaches and huntsman spiders and sharks.

USA vs. Australia

Against all odds, the USA team made it to the quarter-finals of the Rugby League World Cup, where they faced off against the Australian team last Saturday at midnight. I stayed reaaaaaaaal quiet about this one, but remained cautiously hopeful in the days leading up to the game. I didn't even stay up to watch it, and I'm really glad I didn't because Australia (the Kangaroos) handed the United States (the Tomahawks) a 62-0 loss. On the plus side, a few of the American players may have impressed the Aussies enough to parlay their performance into a contract with some of the clubs down here.

A photo of the American fans from The Daily Telegraph.

Cicada Song

Now that the weather is getting hot the cicadas are making their way out of their underground burrows where they have spent the last couple of years as babies. Once they come up to the surface they molt, leaving behind creepy shells that I find in the shrubs outside of my apartment. They make a really powerful chirping sound, and somehow they know to all start up at exactly the same time to the point where it’s almost deafening to be outside. I kind of enjoy the sound, and they usually don’t keep it up for too long.  While I was reading out on the patio a bird chased one onto the brick, and kept swooping down at it from the trees. Cicadas are about the size of your thumb, and after a while this bird decided that he was a bit outmatched. The poor cicada stayed there motionless for probably an hour before deciding it was safe to fly off.

This morning as I left for the gym, I heard a really strange croaking noise, similar to a frog but not quite. I didn’t know what to make of it until I looked up and saw a magpie tearing into his breakfast; this particular cicada wasn’t as lucky. I’m probably being overly sensitive (do cicadas even feel pain?) but the sound really bothered me. Where were all his cicada buddies that were singing with him the other night, and couldn’t they have just swarmed that dumb magpie?

BRCA2

7 Weeks Ago:

I made an appointment a few weeks ago to have my blood drawn for a genetic test on my BRCA2 gene, which would detect mutations that make me more likely to develop cancer at some point. There are only two doctors in New South Wales who can do it, and one happens to be close to my work, so I took off early on a Wednesday to walk up to St. Vincent’s. My 4:30 time came and went, and by the time they were able to see me it was pretty much a mad dash to get everything done so the doctors could go home for the day; I was just happy to get it over with and go home myself.

1 Week Ago:

This time Hayden meets me at work because it was really unpleasant going in there by myself last time. The doctor and counsellor lady sit down, pull out my file, and tell me what I already suspect; I carry this mutation, I have a 50% chance of developing cancer, my kids will have a 50% chance of having this mutation, and I have to have expensive tests on a yearly basis to try and catch it early. He goes on for a while about surgery and MRIs while the counsellor has a pained and concerned look on her face and hands me some brochures. The doctor reassures me that Medicare covers a lot of the cost (he has somehow already forgotten that I’m not Australian and therefore ineligible) and says he will refer me to another specialist. I shake his gross clammy hand and get out of the office.

Today:

The counsellor has left me a follow-up voicemail but I’m going to pretend nothing happened for just a little while longer. Hayden and I got engaged a couple of weeks ago – I just wish I could have enjoyed the feeling a little bit longer without stress and worry.

Sutherland, NSW

It's a sunny Sunday afternoon and I'm planning to take a picnic down to the Woronora River in about an hour. I had to make a quick run to the shops, so I figured I would take my camera along and give you a tour of my new neighborhood - Sutherland! It's about 20 minutes from where I used to live in Cronulla (and much more landlocked, sadly), but it has its own charms that are easier to spot when you're on foot and taking the time to notice:

This is one of the less charming places in Sutherland-why do children need a day spa?

My apartment block backs up onto a footy oval and a cemetery. It's actually really peaceful and not creepy at all. 

This is The Royal, the pub I usually choose when faced with the decision about where to grab a beer in Sutherland. Their restaurant has a really nice chicken parmigiana that is about the size of my face.

Platform 1 of Sutherland station, where I wait for the train into the city from Monday-Friday.

This is the entrance to Sutherland station - I think "kiss and ride" is the drop off area for commuters. There are people who use the parking lot outside my apartment building as a park-and-ride since it's so close to the station.

This is Boyle's my #2 pick for pubs in Sutherland. It's a more historic building than The Royal, but I find it to be a little depressing - it's mostly just dudes putting bets on the horses and trying to avoid eye contact with each other.

The dry cleaners. Doona = duvet I think?

This is the band hall where we rehearse. There is an apartment building with a resident who will call us up complaining if we go even 1 minute past our 10 pm cutoff time - I guess not everyone loves the sound of trumpets as much as I do.

The Thai joint near my house - this is where I went on my birthday, it's really good!

Last but not least... my balcony. I'm sitting here typing and waiting for my laundry to dry. It doesn't face the road, but there is always a lot of foot traffic taking a shortcut through to the main street, so I kind of enjoy just sitting out here and seeing who walks past.

And now we go to Clare for the weather report

It's hot. Really hot. Unfortunately it's also windy which means there is a potential for bushfires all around New South Wales. Interestingly enough there are also lots of moths flying around the city which, combined with the heat gives off a somewhat apocalyptic effect. There was one hanging out in our PO box when I went down to check it this morning, and there has been one perched on the wall about 10 feet away from me that hasn't moved all day. How he got up to the fifth floor of a supposedly airtight office building I may never know, but I'm impressed enough to just let him chill on the wall for now.

A day at the races

This weekend the weather forecast was 70 degrees and sunny, so Hayden and I brought out the fancy clothes and headed down to Kembla Grange to watch the races. Kembla Grange is down the south coast of New South Wales just outside of Wollongong, and nearby Mt. Keira and Mt. Kembla add some nice scenery. It’s not as fancy as Randwick in the city, but people were still dressed up and the country atmosphere was really nice. We got there just as the first race was starting, and I put $5 on a complete dud – so far this was not working out as I had hoped. The course looked insanely big close up, and I could barely see the starting gates from the spectator area on the grass near the finish line. The trainers would walk the horses by the spectators before the race, so my technique was either to pick one that looked confident, or pick one that had a name that I liked. I’m sure the bookies love having people like me come to the races, but I was having a good time regardless.

It was ladies day and they had a “fashions on the field” event (which I didn’t enter) to pick who had the best dress and who had the best fascinator (AKA crazy hat). The races were spaced about half an hour apart, so during the down time I could hang around the tents and have a drink, or just enjoy the sunshine out on the grass. In the end most of my horses lost, but I did back a winner that was a total long shot and won me $90, more than enough to make up for my losses plus a spaghetti dinner later that night.

 Even the seagulls were lined up to watch.

Enjoying the sun in between races.

My Google homepage today

Election 2013

The federal election is happening on Saturday, and the candidates are getting desperate. I logged on to facebook this morning and was startled to see Tony Abbott grinning back at me;  if the polls are any indication it’s a sight I’ll need to get used to seeing. Voting is compulsory here and I’m sure they want to grab the attention of anyone they possibly can, especially the folks out in Western Sydney where things could tip either way. Fortunately there is a moratorium on political advertising until the election (phew!) so I won’t have this stuff on my news feed for too much longer:

Whingeing

It’s been so long since I’ve actually sat down to write that it feels like everything I have to say is sort of old news, but here’s what’s happening:

Work has been full-on. We haven’t had any holidays since June, and we won’t have any more coming up until a three day weekend in October. The orchestras are doing one last push towards the end of their seasons in December, but since everything has to be done in advance it seems like it’s all happening in July/August. I’ve basically taken over editing all of the artist biographies for the orchestras (which I really enjoy), but everyone seems to be performing massive vocal works so instead of editing one little conductor biography I end up doing 8 for each soloist singing in Verdi’s Requiem, plus chorus, plus conductor, blah blah blah.  

I’ve spent the last few weekends getting moved into the new apartment. I really like the place so far, and aside from a foot-long clump of hair and soap scum Hayden pulled from the shower drain the place seems really nice. Of course there is no way to get around the fact that moving is a huge pain, and I really dread spending every Saturday going to Kmart or Bunnings (equivalent of Home Depot) to get the things I need but forgot I need. It looks like it will be another couple of weeks before I can take a weekend away.

Anyways, sorry for the grumpy post but it’s just been a little rough lately. My two-year anniversary of being in Australia is in two days, and I’m not really sure how I feel about it. I feel like I've  accomplished everything I wanted to here, but I’m not really in a position where I can just up and move back. I miss everyone so much (it doesn't really get any easier as time goes by), and I actually miss America- the country itself, being in it, and witnessing first hand all the crazy stuff that happens there. The Australian elections are coming up, and there is only one month of debates plus some weak attack ads on TV. Not a single candidate has even talked about “legitimate rape” or socialism or Jesus... it’s kind of boring. 

What's going on

Things have been hectic lately. I found out a couple of weeks ago that I have to move at the end of July, so I've been spending the past few Saturdays attending open houses all afternoon so that I won't be homeless. The rental market here is really competitive, and when I submitted a few applications on Monday morning I had an agent calling me at work within 10 minutes asking for all of my personal information, asking to speak to my boss for references, asking about my immigration status, etc. If was "full on" as they say here, but I would personally describe it as exhausting. I got rejected from the first two I applied to, and was feeling pretty much like a loser, but the good news is I found a place! It's really cute, has a huge balcony, is about 15 minutes closer to work, and only has a six month lease just in case I end up hating it. Hayden is going to live there too, and we had a pizza/packing party at my place last night. He wandered off for about 10 minutes while I was diligently folding clothes and stuffing them into boxes, and when I found him he was looking at ads for used foosball tables so... wish me luck!

Jenolan Caves

Last weekend I made the three hour journey into the mountains to pay a visit to Jenolan Caves. My poor little car didn't like the hills all that much, and the last two kilometers were a one lane road winding down a sheer cliff face, but I rolled up to the historic Guest House safely on Saturday afternoon. After all the driving I wasn't much in the mood to dive right into a cave tour, so we checked into the hotel and just had a walk around the grounds. It was grey and drizzly out, but the water in Blue Lake was still a very vivid shade of blue from all of the limestone deposits in the water.

Small dam built about 100 years ago at the edge of Blue Lake

I saw my first wild platypus!

Chilly but really happy to be out of the city.

After that it was into the Guest House for a couple of drinks by the fire. There was a group of elderly people up there on some kind of retreat and they realllllly wanted to chat us up. They were really nice, but I gently excused myself after a while to take one of their bored-looking grandsons outside to look at the possums that had been sneaking around the windows. They were really tame so we ended up feeding them potato chips out of our hands while they dangled by their tails from the roof! (Rabies doesn't exist in Australia, by the way.) Unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me at that point.

The guest house. It was nice but... a little too Shining-esque if you know what I mean?

The caves themselves were fascinating. There are numerous tours you can do, but I picked Temple of Baal, named by early explorers after a figure from the Old Testament. You can see Baal (the rock formation) looking down on you from different angles wherever you move inside the cave. There is only one main chamber, but the tour takes you around to different platforms and vantage points so that there is always something different to look at. I would love to go back and see some of the other chambers!

The Angel's Wing, a shawl formation that is one of the largest in the world.

View from one of the upper platforms.

Adios Julia

Australia has a new prime minister. Julia Gillard (AKA “The ranga”) was given the heave-ho on Wednesday night and Kevin Rudd is the new leader of the Labor Party. With an election coming up in September and Gillard’s approval ratings in the toilet, it seems as though this was not too big of a surprise. She made a last ditch effort to soften her image with this bizarre photo shoot for Women’s Weekly, in which she can be seen knitting a gift for the royal baby due next month.

Am I wrong to feel like this is total bullshit? This is the same woman who gave an impassioned speech in front of Parliament about rampant sexism in politics, and here she is pandering to the very people she criticized  I feel like I’m stuck in a time warp back to the 1950s or something. Is this really what a female national leader thinks she has to do to get the public on her side? Awful photo shoot aside, I never quite understood why people disliked Julia Gillard so much. Perhaps the manner in which she came to power is partly to blame; by going behind Rudd’s back and taking the PM’s position, which is decidedly unladylike. I certainly don’t envy her the job of being the first female PM, and I hope it’s a little easier for the ones who come after her.

Brrr!

Winter has officially set in. It seems like it’s been insanely cold lately, and out of curiosity I checked the temperature only to discover the daytime high is around 60 degrees and the night-time low is about 45. How is it possible that I’ve become such a wimp? Although to be fair the houses here have barely any insulation since it’s warm most of the year.

I guess it got a little too cold for this koala too, since he strolled right into someone’s house in South Australia. Apparently they sometimes get really thirsty, and you’re supposed to leave them bowls of water around your property just in case? I already showed this to mom and dad, but I couldn’t resist posting it again here. Pretty much the cutest thing ever!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/koala-walks-into-house-australia-video_n_3459482.html

When Kangaroos Attack

This just in: Australian politician Shane Rattenbury has been attacked by a kangaroo while jogging around Canberra. Since the kangaroo is on the Australian coat of arms, this is roughly the equivalent of a US senator being attacked by a bald eagle while on a run around Washington D.C. The article closes with the (not particularly helpful) advice for the public to “remain vigilant” in the drier months ahead. I’ll be sure to help cull the numbers by having a nice juicy kangaroo steak sometime soon!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/16/australian-politician-attacked-kangaroo-shane-rattenbury 

Back in Oz

It's been a little over a week since I've been back and things have mostly returned to normal. The flight back was much better than the flight over. I was on a plane with about 20 Mormon kids heading out on their mission, so as you can imagine it wasn't exactly the party plane. I had my usual excuse ("I'm Jewish") in case I was seated next to one who wanted to chat, but it turned out not to be necessary and it was a peaceful flight over. The movie selection had changed a bit, and I ended up watching My Week With Marilyn (2 1/2 stars); Django Unchained (3 stars); This Is 40 (3 stars); and two episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians (absolutely terrible, but I was delirious by this point in the flight).
When I got back to work on Thursday I was greeted by two stacks of orchestral sets to process, each about as tall as I am. That took a full 8 sneeze-inducing hours, after which I went home covered in dust. Friday I had a couple of meetings to go over the MOLA conference, and by Monday is was business as usual. I've finally broken the habit of randomly waking up at 4 in the morning, and I've officially eaten all of the junk food I brought back.
This time coming back was a little bit more sad for some reason. The first year in Australia was just a fun excuse to do something different and gain a little bit of experience in my field, but this time the realization really hit that this is my life. I'm staying busy and don't feel all that lonely, but it's hard to make friends as great as the ones back in Seattle; they are truly irreplaceable! It's hard seeing my family and friends do all these things without me, but at the same time I know it's my choice to be here.

Tastes of America

Walking to the train station last week, I noticed the local McDonalds covered in posters advertising their "Tastes of America" promotion. It's sort of strange seeing what they consider to be quintessentially American; also, isn't McDonalds American enough as it is? Anyways the offerings range from a New York burger with some kind of mustard/mayo blend (you know, like all the New Yorkers eat) to jalapeno poppers which don't even seem to contain cream cheese, to waffle cones. That one is legit I guess, since it made me come to the startling realization that I haven't encountered a waffle cone in the last year and a half. It's kind of fun seeing American culture through the filter of what a marketing team thinks Australian consumers would like.

Easter Weekend

One nice thing about living in Australia is that Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays, so I had an extra long weekend. I ended up taking Roxy (my car) on her first road trip up the central coast to Woy Woy for two nights. I was about to pull over and give up when we hit traffic north of Sydney, but once we got on the freeway it was a terrifying 110km/hour all the way. The weather has cooled off a bit but it was still sunny and in the mid 70s, plenty nice to make use of the pool at the hotel where we stayed. The balcony to the room opened up right onto the pool deck, and I jumped in pretty much as soon as we got there. After that I didn’t have much time for anything else but dinner and a $20 bet on the pokies, but it was nice to have a relaxing first day.

The next day we made a quick stop at Kmart for a cheap fishing rod, picked up a few frozen prawns, and went down to the Hawkesbury River for some fishing. I had never done it before, but it was really easy to figure out. For about seven or eight repetitions I would get a few bites, and then excitedly start reeling in what would turn out to be a clump of grass. I’m glad I didn’t give up, because I reeled in this magnificent specimen eventually:

Hayden didn’t catch any, bwa ha ha.

Sunday morning was a bit overcast, so we just went for a walk along Ettalong Beach. You can see Lion Island in the distance, which got the name from its resemblance to the Sphinx. It’s a nature reserve full of penguins, so people aren’t allowed out there unless they have special permission. I was sad to head home after a nice weekend away, but time has flown by at work this week so it’s not too bad.

Footy Tipping

Footy season is officially underway. I really liked watching NRL last year, but I didn't absorb many details of the game or learn much about each team. This year I'm in a footy tipping comp at the local pub, which basically requires me to chip in a couple of bucks each week to place bets on who will win. There have been games every day from Thursday to Monday (which is a lot to keep up with) but I basically just pick a winner for each game, plus one team who I predict to win by at least 30 points. I've been going on gut feelings mostly, but I seem to be guessing them about 50-50 at this early point in the season. Even if I'm last in the comp they put on a free dinner at the end of the season, so it won't be a total loss in any case. I have to admit it would be pretty sweet to have an American girl who doesn't know much about footy come up victorious against a bunch of tradesmen who watch it religiously, but I'll be happy not to come in last this time. Fingers crossed that the weather is good this Sunday so I can go to the Cronulla Sharks' first home game of the season!

Cronulla Creep

Every afternoon on my way from home from work I grab a copy of Mx, the free newspaper issued to City Rail customers. It's usually nothing too thought provoking, just strange stories from around the world, fashion, and current events around Sydney. Unfortunately the front page story this week was about a sixty year old man who is feeling up strangers on my train line to Cronulla! His M.O. is to get on at Town Hall (my stop) and sit down next right next to a woman, drape his jacket over his lap, and then stroke her thigh. As if the train ride home wasn't bad enough!

Nice try, New Zealand

I got a package at work today. It's like I'm Superman's secret-secret identity!

Hot Wheels

A few days ago I finally decided to buy a car. I had been on the fence about it for quite a while, because it's fairly easy to get around on foot in my neighborhood; I finally snapped after waiting for a delayed train until 11pm on a Monday night after band practice. I ended up with a 1998 Toyota Paseo, which isn't the nicest but I'm fairly determined never to take out a loan on a car in my life. I've only driven it a few times and it was white knuckles all the way, but I'm starting to get used to roundabouts and being on the "wrong" side of the road. Sadly someone keyed the bonnet (translation:hood) only a couple days after I got it, but I think it's in pretty good shape for its age!

Cultural Misunderstanding

Today at work a person called in looking for the email address of the lady in accounts payable. There is a letter Z in the address, but when I spelled it out they just kept repeating back “V” to me. This went on for a few repetitions, and I was starting to get a little annoyed, but I’m reasonably patient and decided to clarify by saying “Z as in Zebra”. Except in Australia, the word zebra is pronounced in a way that rhymes with Debra. The words came out and it was too late to catch myself, but then a second later I realized what the actual problem was. Z in Australia is pronounced “zed” not “zee”, so I sounded like an idiot not once, but twice. It was almost as bad as the time I started to say “flip flops” (an Americanism) then tried to switch to “thongs” mid word, only to end up with... “flongs”. 

Land Ahoy!

Summer is starting to wind down, and I’ve been finding it more and more difficult to wake up early enough to go for a run before work. I did manage to get moving this morning, and decided to follow the path along the Esplanade to see the sun come up over the ocean. As I rounded a bend, there were at least 100 people gathered around (at six in the morning!) and I saw a stranded fishing boat right near the shore. Apparently the crew is Indonesian, and all escaped unharmed, but I’m a little unsure how they managed to get stuck there. 

The surfers just went on about their business. There were five rescue boats trying to get it free (it was high tide when I was out) but apparently they haven't had any luck so far. According to the Sydney Morning Herald the rescue effort hasn't been too impressive:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/cronulla-trawler-salvage-ridiculed-for-macgyver-approach-20130220-2eqzm.html

Good News!

I found out on Friday that the board has approved my attendance at the Major Orchestra Librarian's Association (MOLA) conference in Portland this April!  It's really nice having a job where they actually encourage the professional development of their employees, when two years ago I was a purveyor of food and drinks to rude people. As boring as a librarian conference sounds, I think it will be an amazing chance to meet some more experienced librarians, attend seminars about the most up-to-date issues, and learn a few more tricks of the trade. Of course it doesn't hurt that it will be in Portland, and I can fit in a trip up to Seattle while I'm here! Hopefully I'll be a bit more used to the plane ride by now.
Other than that, I've had a fairly relaxing Saturday. I went to the beach early because it's supposed to rain later, and witnessed a truly breathtaking spectacle: lifeguard fitness testing. Which entails twenty bronzed man-gods paddling out to a buoy and back on their surfboards, then running a lap down the beach in their budgie smugglers (speedos). Happy Saturday!

Super Bowl XLVII

After missing the Super Bowl last year, I decided to take the day off work so that I could watch it. After meeting up with a few guys from Hayden’s baseball team for breakfast, we down the street to Northies where they were showing the game. By the time they opened at 10am, there were already about 100 people milling around outside, with maybe 5 females total including myself. I ordered a bucket of Budweiser, which was sadly what they decided to put on special since most people here are under the impression that it’s all that Americans drink. I was kind of amazed how many people here seem to follow the NFL; it doesn’t hurt that it’s the offseason for footy I guess. Also, I was unpleasantly surprised when I found out they don’t show the commercials here, it’s all for local stuff. Rip off!  

Buds as far as the eye can see.  

Australia Day 2013

Happy Australia Day! The holiday fell on a Saturday this year (we still got Monday off as a national holiday) and since the weather was nice I got to the beach fairly early. I brought my Australian flag towel, a Carlton Draught, and my book along with me and had a really relaxing afternoon.  By the time I walked back to my house the neighbors already had an inflatable pool set up in their front yard with about thirty people over; Australia Day festivities were officially underway.

There was a stage set up in the park near my house, and towards sunset I headed down with Hayden to sit on the grass with a couple of burgers and relax. The stage is right on the beach and it was really nice watching the sun set in the background. There was a really elaborate fireworks show on at 9pm, after which I just went home. It’s nice having a three day weekend to ease back into things after the Christmas holidays. Fortunately I have another one to look forward to this weekend, since there is no way I’m working on Super Bowl Sunday (Monday here) this year!

Spotted in Darlinghurst

I saw this beauty cruising around near my work. It's the Australian version of mom's old Toyota, and there are actually a bunch of them on the road down here! I had a quick look, but didn't see any obnoxious children in the rear-facing third row making faces at the car behind them.

Macca's

In honor of Australia Day later this month, a few McDonalds have changed their signs to the ubiquitus nickname Macca's. Only a handful of restaurants in the country did it, but one happens to be in Engadine, pretty close to where I live.

Summahtime!

It has been super toasty outside lately. Sydney has actually gotten the best of it, with poor Tassie (Tasmania) getting up to 40 degrees (104 fahrenheit) when it's usually much cooler than the rest of the country. The cicadas are out in full force now that it's summer. I usually only hear them chirping, and never actually see them, but a baby cicada landed on Hayden's shoulder while we were sitting on the patio. This poor little guy seemed really confused, but he made friends quickly. Obviously it's been a slow weekend if this is what I have to report to everyone, but I thought it was kind of interesting :)