My Expat Life

This morning I came out of my bedroom and looked out my big window (ok, my only window, but at least it’s an entire wall). Or at least I tried to, all I saw was grey. My AC wasn’t turned down too low, so the window couldn’t be fogged up. This was fog. Bad fog. San Francisco-in-fog postcard, style fog. I couldn’t even see the street, and as I face the street and am only on the third floor, the street is usually very visible. I should have known right then and there that it was going to be a trying day.

As a ferry commuter, fog is a bad thing. I tried in vain to see if the news was saying anything about the Manly Ferry services being stopped, praying that no news was good news. Turns out it was just no news. I walked over to the ferry terminal to see the line for the replacement busses. I still held hope for the day, The line was much worse the last time the services were shut down for fog. At least this time the line only wrapped from the bus stop, down into the ferry terminal. Last time the line wrapped through the ferry terminal and out to the side and around the building. I even got through the line relatively quick, only 30 minutes of waiting and I was on a bus. Unfortunately I was one of the last on the bus so it meant standing. And as the bus was a charter bus, there were no straps to hold on to. It was a very uncomfortable 45 minutes of trying to remain upright while holding on to a luggage rack.

Work was exhausting. One of my co-workers didn’t come in today, so she wasn’t there to help deflect the annoying questions.

To add insult to injury I didn’t get the call I was hoping for, I couldn’t use any of my zillion air miles and now must pay a fortune to fly home economy at Christmas, and I’m stuck listening to the Warringah Pipe and Drum corps as I try to veg in front of the telly. At least the bagpipes were expected, I get that pleasure every Wednesday about 8.

At the rate my week is deteriorating, there is little hope for the party I’ve been so looking forward to on Friday. I’ve been convinced that this Friday’s party would be so incredible, now I’m convinced it’s going to be absolutely awful.

Woe is me. Time to pout in front of the telly some more and tune out the bagpipes. Maybe my own personal fog will lift.

Lance Armstrong that is. How I loved hearing your voice telling me that tonight I’d completed my longest run since starting to run with my Nike thing and my nano.

It was a warm, beautiful night along the beach front. The weather, the beach, the physical effort were just what I needed to clear my head and release the stress of the day.

I spent much of the day being really lazy. Last night I was asleep by 11 (thank you Turkey dinner, wine and mojitos). I slept a deep and uniterupted sleep until 9:30. I opted not to get up and stayed in bed watching West Wing DVD’s for quite a while. The afternoon consisted of watching more episodes of West Wing, swimming and lazing on the beach.

But by 6:30, I hit my stride and was full of energy. Getting a reply txt from my new friend was probably a big part of that energy. By 8:30 we were starting to make plans for the evening, but then my new friend suggested that I stay home and rest and that we get together tomorrow night instead. Yes, I was disappointed that we weren’t getting together, but as soon as I read “rest” I realised how exhausted I really am. Now I can sit back and enjoy my mostly clean apartment. After all this is my first night at home since Wednesday night. I guess I just needed permission to be tired.

Just go home from my first Thanksgiving meal since 2003. The American’s got together and had a potluck dinner. As my favourite thing about Thanksgiving is eating my great-grandma’s stuffing, I of course offered to bring the bird.

Amazing that as soon as I taste the stuffing all the pain and effort (1.75 hours to make the stuffing) vanishes. The meal was fantastic and the company terrific. We even walked through the neighborhood between dinner and dessert.

Instead of American football, we watched some rugby. Unfortunately, we missed the beginning of the match and missed the New Zealand team performing the Haka.

And now I sleep that great Turkey and full tummy induced sleep.

Last Friday, a few drinks into the evening, my work mates and I left this list behind on the table mat.

What do these things have in common?

Priest
Dominatrix
Free Willy
The cop from the Village People
Flying Nun
The All Blacks
The Oakland Raiders
Young Michael Jackson
Current Michael Jackson
Penguin
Dalmation
The Pope
Pint of Guinness
Bride
Funeral Attendee
Zebra

Answer: Possible clothing options for work holiday party. No, the party is not a costume party or even a theme party. The invite says wear “black, white or black and white”. In our typical fashion we’ve taken the idea way too far.

I’m so glad our master list was written on a napkin that survived the entire weekend. Are we classy or what?

Just last Thursday the high temperature was 13 degrees, it was winter all over again. Yesterday it hit 31, today was 32 or higher. It’s now 8:30 pm and it’s still 29 outside. It feels so good to shed the long sleeves and let that sunshine and warm wind hit bare, sleeveless skin.

Too celebrate the glorious weather, I got up a few minutes earlier and made sure to catch the 7 am ferry. I sat outside at the back and enjoyed the warm morning air and almost forgot that I was on my way to work. Upon getting to work I started right into work and stayed focused through the morning. At lunch I was able to take the extra time and sit outside in Hyde Park. With many, many, many other CBD office workers, I spent a good 30 minutes lounging around in the sun and grass. I even managed to stay on task for the rest of the day and got out of work earlier than I’ve left in weeks. With a last minute sprint, what I call the “ferry dash”, I just made the 5:50 ferry. The ferry was absolutely packed, so I had to stand the entire way home, but it was worth it feel the nice warm breeze on my face. By leaving earlier, I got to do my workout before it got dark, 50 minutes beachside. Now this is the life.

Oh and did I mention that between all the hard work and being superbly productive we managed to have several good laughs at work. About 9 am, after some joking, we seriously did the “wave”. We managed to get it to run down 3 rows of desks…3 times. Just after 5 pm, the new trainer received an email about how to be happy at work. All it takes is a few elastic bands and some paper clips. Unfold the paper clips and knot the elastic bands together. Wrap the the gadget around your head with the two paperclips hooked to each side of your mouth. You’re sure to smile and make all your co-workers snort with laughter.

Since it is only Tuesday, I can’t imagine what pranks, goofs and overall odd behaviour will occur as the week progresses.

Ah yeah, this is the good life. And to think tomorrow it may hit 38. I see another productive day, if for no other reason than to spend another lunch showing some skin to the sun in Hyde Park.

This afternoon I was sitting on the beach, reading my book and had the iPod playing on shuffle. I’m really getting into my book, The Innocent Man when the next song on the iPod is Bob Dylan’s “The Hurricane”. I did have to stop for a moment to revel in the irony. Then it was back into the book.

It’s Saturday, the sky is clear and a beautiful blue. The temp is already 21 and should hit 25, the beach is calling, and I am no longer shiverring. Now I can get back to my thoughts on global warming.

It’s nice to see how much it is talked about these days. When the freakish weather hit on Thursday, most of the mainstream news services had stories on global warming. And the stories did not make global warming sound like it might just be scientists crying wolf.

I remember being home in Austin for both hurricane Katrina and hurricane Rita. The media discussions on whether the stronger hurricanes could be attributed to “global warming” tended to lean towards the “we think this global warming thing could be real, but it could also just be those crazy scientists having fun with us”. Seeing “An Inconvenient Truth”, and seeing how the Bush Administration has manipulated the media and thus the American public, made me so angry. I was then a little shocked on Thursday when I was passing through the breakroom at work and noticed that on the telly was a news story about global warming and how global warming was the most likely cause of the current freak weather that Australia was having.

Last night, I went out with some people from work for end of the week drinks. Of course I was in the group that stayed out longer and went to more than one drinking establishment. A few hours into the night, our discussion actually turned to weather. It was fascinating to see how angry and animated we all got as we discussed climate change.

Two weeks ago, I was one of 40,000 that participated in the Walk Against Warming. That was a spectacular day. The guest speakers were passionate, educated and eloquent. It was enough to give me hope that we can get our politicians, in whichever country, to take notice and make significant changes. It was also really cool to realise that the woman I was standing next to was actually the actress Cate Blanchett. She was with her kids and her husband.

While I have some hope for the future, I’m still planning to make my trip to the Maldives sooner rather than later. Many of the Atolls were lost in the 2004 Tsunami, but many more are being lost to the rising levels of the Indian Ocean. I am aware that there are many island countries in the Pacific that are also under threat, but Maldives have been on my list the longest and get pride of place.

I’ve seen “An Inconvenient Truth”, I have things to say about Global Warming. It’s just that right now I am too damn cold to do much of anything. A freak weather thing happened today and much of Australia is unseasonably cold. AS IN FREEZING. Really, some parts have snow. BUT, it’s November people. November in the Southern Hemi. It’s supposed to be hot. Not 13 and really windy. Not wear my winter clothes and winter coat to work cold.

More once I have warmed up. Like when I saw and stood next to Cate Blanchett at the Global Warming Walk in Sydney.

Telstra, Stadium: Last night I got to take a ride in the way back machine. Last night was U2’s second show in Sydney.

The concert was originally scheduled for March but due to The Edge’s daughter getting sick the tour was post-poned. When it was announced that U2 would come back to Australia in November and a show was added, there was no way I was going to miss out. Not only did I succeed in getting a ticket, I managed to get 4. The other American’s at work were quick to take me up on the offer and purchased the additional 3 tickets. It was set, the American’s were taking a field trip to see U2. The field trip did not disappoint.

Telstra Stadium was the event location, allowing about 60,000-70,000 of our closest friends to join us.(Telstra Stadium was were the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sydney Olympics were held, it is massive). Barbara and I were the first to arrive. I got dinner from the vendors set up outside the Stadium, used the nice toilets, and then wandered into the queue. While in line, Paul, another friend from work and token Irishman, saw us and jumped into queue with us. We were now a group of 6. After yet another stop to the porta-loo’s (so very ick), we made it out onto the pitch and found an awesome place to stand. Just David and his wife were missing. I quickly texted him with a description of our location and about 30 min later our group was 8.

Kanye West went on about 7:10. Sadly, the sound was not adjusted to suit him so it was very difficult to understand him. Even with the sound difficulties, he performed well and had a nice string section as support. He even played my favourite song of the past year, Jesus Walks (honestly, a check of my iTunes will show you that I have listened to this song far more than any other song).

45-60 minutes, a beer run, a porta-loo run and a t-shirt run later, it was dark and time for U2 to start the show. Damn, they can still fire up a crowd with their performance. It was a terrific blend of all their many hits. Plenty of songs from Joshua Tree to take me back to hearing U2 for the first time in High School. Some Rattle and Hum to remind me of studying for my first college finals. Lots of Achtung Baby to remind me of my first U2 concert while in college. Even one of my new favourites, The Saints are Coming. I knew the words to every single song. And it amazed me how many of the songs held such special meaning.

Being Bono and U2, there was the requisite political commentary. I just don’t understand those that complain about the politics in the show. IF they’re long time U2 fans how do they not expect the politics? And at least Bono leads by example. Instead of just standing and preaching as he did back in 1992, this time many of the political messages were blended in with the music of the bands oldest hits, Pride (In the Name of Love), Sunday, Bloody Sunday, Where the Streets Have No Name, etc.

During Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bono donned a headband that had the word COEXIST printed on it. What made the headband special was the lettering. Replacing the C was the Muslim crescent, replacing the X was the Jewish Star of David and replacing the T was the Christian Cross. After he explained the headband, COEXIST flashed up on the giant wall behind the band.

I was touched when the words to the proposed Human Rights Amendment for Humans scrolled up on the screen. The band was silent as the crowd read the first few amendments. Applause erupted at the end of each amendment. By amendment 4, the screens to the side of the stage had a woman reading the amendments aloud.

I was touched when Bono spoke of the project to Make Poverty History and showed the flags of African countries while singing “Where the Streets Have No Name”. If you sent your name via text message to the number on the screen, your name was displayed behind the band during another song. At the end of the show anyone that txt’ed received a text back from Bono encouraging you to visit makepovertyhistory.com.au to encourage the G20 meeting in Melbourne to do more to reduce Third World debt.

At the end of the night I :

Was exhausted from the dancing and singing
Felt good to be treated like an adult concerned about world politics
Go to perform Karoake with 70,000 people as we all screamed out the lyrics along with U2
Rekindled great memories of the high school bus trip to Colorado in which much of the ride was spent listening to Joshua Tree album over and over and over
Felt like a 20 year old college student attending my first U2 concert (at least with a better view this time)
Was still wide awake at 2 am, knowing the alarm clock was going off in 4 more hours
Glad to still be young enough to think it was the time of my life

And to totally brag, this entry was written as I travelled home from work—–on the ferry—–sitting outside in the late sunshine of a Spring day.