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Blog Date: Wednesday, August 15, 2007

OzBif

I'm in Sydney! How did I get here? Well an element of luck, a desire to change my current situation (get out of a rut that I'd been residing in) and being the right person to ask the right questions at the right time. All that culminates into me being on a 6 month secondment with a client out here in Oz.

And pretty fantastic it all is too. Those of you that know of me and my travels will already know that I've spent about 5 months in Australia before - so being out here isn't too scary. In fact it's all strangely familiar.

I would posted something here earlier, but the stupid apart-hotel thing I'm staying at is charging me a small fortune to access the internet. So I'm trying to limit my internet to when I'm at work only.

Other than that things are good. Flight was long and gave me a bad back but not too bad. Still recovering from jetlag really. Reckon I should be OK by the end of the weekend though.

The first weekend was a bit of a blur. The day I landed (03/08/07) I went into work to say "hello" and meet the team (who are OK if quiet and a little boring) then went out in the evening to a free bar with a friend where I drunk too much wine. This plus the fact that I hadn't really slept since Tuesday pretty much wiped out Saturday. Sunday I managed to get out for a trip to visit a friend in Coogee (which was as cool as I remember it). We had a few jugs of beer in the CBH (an old haunt of mine) in the sunshine (22 DegC - clear blue skies - winter? Pah!) and then I left to go out with someone else for dinner and a few drinks in Bondi.

Monday (06/08/07)I also had off as it was a bank holiday (bizarrely, only for banks). I used then to pootle around town buying stuff I'd forgotten (trainers) and getting some food in. Oh and popped into Darling Harbour to visit the Sydney international boat show.

Since then I have been working and not socialising too much. I really could do with finding a mid-week beer buddy I think. In the absence of one I've been out running quite a bit in the evenings and trying to cook for myself as opposed to buying food in.

This weekend I'm on the guest list for the opening of a new club night and, on Saturday, going to Bondi to watch the end of the 'City to Surf' 14k charity running event. With any luck I should get a pass to get free access to one of the beer tents. I'm expecting lots of sweaty fit women who need their legs massaged.

Work here is odd. Feel very cut off from my usual sources of information and time delays in getting hold of any are really frustrating. The work itself is not too taxing yet, but then I haven't really started anything much yet. However, I do notice how cloistered my technical thinking has been by the formulaic nature of ETP. Even things that I thought would be simple and familiar are quite different. Nothing horrific, just different.

Sydney as a whole is still a fantastic, beautiful city. Where I'm living though is a bit like the City in London. Namely dead after about 8pm and at the weekends. It is convenient for work, transport and shopping, but the bars are all poncy and expensive (not that I've actually been in one in the centre yet). The flat is OK. It's like the NY ones we have both had, but a bit bigger and much more up-to-date. However, it's all a bit Hotel-like which is something I don't really get on with. I like my own place/space without fear of being bothered by someone who want to change the towels or check my minibar (which I've now had removed). I am considering asking those that pay the bills out here for a percentage of the money and trying to find myself a more homely place to live in out near a beach in the Eastern Suburbs. Then I'm going to learn how to kite surf ;-)

Winter has been good to the snow fields out here in Sydney. Better, in fact, than the season in NZ. So I'm considering a little long weekend break to squeeze in some boarding before the end of the month which was unexpected.

Anyway. I'll post stuff here and/or on facebook when I get the chance.

posted by smifterbifter at 8/15/2007 09:30:00 AM