Sunset Beach at Noosa Heads

Sunset Beach at Noosa Heads,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

In my meanders to the North of Brisbane, I took a turn toward the beach and found this gem, Sunset Beach at Noosa Heads. Route 6 heads over to the Coral Sea from the major North/South artery, the M1. It passes through a number of small towns, among them Noosaville, Noosa, and Noosa Heads. Noosa Heads was as far as I went; I suspect there are more small towns along the coast.

I had been complaining about roundabouts every since I bought the Defender and started driving on the left. I always seem to miss the correct turn. Many roundabouts have two lanes. The entire way they work was somewhat mysterious. Oh, and by the way, folks in the States would call them traffic circles. In Australia, it seems to be the preferred way to avoid traffic lights at busy intersections. Knowing how to navigate them is an essential skill here. My chance to practice arrived between the M1 and Noosa Heads; I must have passed through several dozen, some larger, some smaller, all with unique challenges. I'm over my fear of roundabouts now, that's for sure.

The Noosas are a charming set of seaside communities, full of touristy, frothy fun, vacation homes, ultra-tans, and some amazing beaches.This is one that I found only steps from a lovely little park. The beach can be reached just downhill from the Surf Club. I took this photo from atop a bluff overlooking the beach. I estimate the sandy portion of the beach was 3km long. The sand is fine, packed, and delightful. There are a couple of lifeguard stations, and I did see a few surfers, though the waves were crumbly and smallish.

I give Sunset Beach a big thumbs up.
[reposted to correct numerous spelling errors]

Australia is not flat

Mt.Tibrogargan,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

This is a photo of an amazing place I stumbled upon. It took some doing, but I eventually got up close and personal with this mountain. Its name is Tibrogargan, which is truly an odd name. Sounds to me like a combination of Polish/Central European and "gargle". Anyway, it's part of the range known as the Glasshouse Mountains, and is clearly visible from the M1 motorway, driving North from Brisbane on the way to the Sunshine Coast. I spent the better part of a day circling around this, trying to get closer. I eventually found the Glasshouse Mountain Lookout, which is a well appointed rest stop (by Australian standards). There's a very nice parking lot, an octagonal lookout, picnic tables with shades, and what I take to be gas-fired grills. Oh, yes...there are even rest rooms.

These mountains are surrounded by pineapple fields, a National Park, and a State Forest. The State Forest is remarkable, because it's clearly a tree plantation...all one species of pine. You can tell the boundaries, because the natural trees, which you can see in the photo, a eucalyptus. The locals call them gum trees.

For some reason, and I have no idea where this came from, I had this preconceived notion that Australia was flat. It's not. It's full of hills and valleys, and occasionally old worn-down mountains like this. By California standards, these things are mere hills, since they are perhaps no more than 1500 feet tall. The coastal hills near San Francisco are around 3000 feet, while the tallest mountain in California, and the lower 48, is Mt. Whitney, which comes in at 14,000+ feet. There hasn't been much tectonic activity in Australia for quite some time, so all the mountains have been eroded. It'll be another 500 million years or so before Australia collides with Southeast Asia, and creates a new mountain range.

It was a beautiful day when I took these, and I can further attest to the hills and valleys because I also went out bike riding, and took the Land Rover out through some fire trails. Up and down, up and down. I am seriously out of shape, but with a place like this so near, I'm motivated to get out and take my bike on the back roads. If you can, take a look at the full size version of this photo.

A big high five for the Glasshouse Mountains.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday. Joyeaux Noel!

Lights

I put up some Christmas lights tonight. I finally found the warehouse hardware store nearby, though it did take me two tries spread over an afternoon, a check on my map, and a few U-turns. It's been tough to find places around town since I hardly know any place more than a few blocks from a train station or the CBD. Anyway, the local equivalent of The Home Depot is known as Bunnings Warehouse, and it is hardware heaven. I found some rope lights and put them up around the glass and posts on my balcony. It's probably visible for quite a ways, since I'm 38 floors up. Sometime in the next few nights, I plan to take a drive to see if I can see them.

I also bought some LED twinkle lights. Very colorful, and they look nice in a darkened room.

Defender at Toogoolawag

Defender at Toogoolawag,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I stopped for a picnic at Toogoolawah, a little village to the west of Brisbane. I was on the way north from the Wivenhoe dam, headed to Caboolture. The tree in the background has what's known to the locals as paperbark. It is used for a variety of purposes, including a wrap for cooking.

The weather has been hot and muggy for a while now. The early morning is fine, but after about 9AM, the temperature rises and it becomes a bit uncomfortable. Shorts and t-shirts are the order of the day.

At the Mount Nebo Outlook

Defender Driver Side,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I discovered an absolutely amazing place today, as I was taking the ute out for a ride. I drove through the Brisbane National Forest and for the first time in I can't remember how long, I was surrounded by nature. The insect noises were deafening. I'm not sure if they were cicadas, but it was definitely the same family. The sounds came in waves up the hillside, passing over me and down the other side. Crescendo, decrescendo. I wept, and thought to myself, "at last, silence." And realized, it was hardly silent; rather, it was the absence of mechanical noises. At last, at last, at last ... a place where my mind can be at rest, an unmanufactured place, an unconstructed place.

I went on to find a tropical rainforest, a lake, a dam, sheep and cattle stations, and a number of small towns worth exploring. The weather was glorious, the sun was shining. A beautiful day.

Wish you could be here.

For Reals

Defender 110 Logo,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's the first of perhaps many posts as I photoblog my new ride. This is the logo on the driver's side rear. It's a right hand drive vehicle, meaning the driver sits on the right hand side. I'm not 100% yet, but I'm mostly OK with driving on the left side of the road. Of course, to complicate matters, the Defender is a manual transmission. It's been fun to learn to shift with the left hand. The shifter is a little finicky, and I've occasionally thought I've was shifting from 3rd to 4th, but actually shifted into 2nd. Once, I even almost went 3rd - reverse. That made for some interesting grinding noises, but fortunately, the transmission wouldn't let me do it.

In case you hadn't noticed, you can click on the pictures. That will take you to their page on Flickr. From there, you will hopefully see a link above the phote that says "All Sizes". Click on that, and you can see the photos in various sizes, including high resolution.

A New Look

I've set up a new look for my blog. Let's give it a spin and see how it goes.

The Big Pineapple

The Big Pineapple - cropped,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's proof the Aussies are every bit as goofy as Americans. I stumbled onto this roadside attraction on a trip to the Sunshine Coast. It was worth a stop and some shots to capture the moment. And this wasn't the only attraction I drove by. I also saw a huge cow, and one site claimed to have the world's largest ginger plant. The Big Pineapple has some steps inside and a little balcony you can pup up into just below the leaves. It's really corny!

I stopped and had a bite of lunch in the parking lot across the road. The lot was huge...definitely space for several hundred cars, and there was even a bridge over the road. All this in lovely Nambour, Queensland, just off the M1.

A great piece of Australiana.

My New Ride

Land Rover Defender 110,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Well, I did it. I got my Land Rover. I take delivery on Tuesday. Mine has a bull bar, brush bars, UHF antenna, air conditioning(!), bench seats in the back, four wheel drive, and is in really good shape. A real go anywhere vehicle. Australia, ho! Expect a lot of loving photos of my new ride, as well as lots of location shots now that I can get out in the bush.

Hot and Muggy

A native Brisbanian admitted it was hot and muggy this week. Temperatures have been in the high 20's Celsius for the past few weeks, and we've had a few tropical rain showers throughout this time. Even so, there's been no significant change in the water levels in the dams.

I've been planning to buy a car or truck. I'm a bit tired of using public transport all the time ... there just isn't enough mobility to do the things I'd like to do in a reasonable amount of time. Getting to the nearest park takes about 3 hours by public transport. By car, the same journey is about 30 minutes. On the one hand, I've thought about buying a small car just to get around in, put a bike rack on the back, and have at it. On the other hand, I drove a pickup for a lot of years. After looking around at some of the used cars and trucks around, I'm thinking very hard about buying a Land Rover Defender. It's a classic old SUV...all those movies about Africa and Australia with people driving around the bush...that was mostly done in Land Rover 110's or Defenders. It turns out there's more than a few Defenders around Queensland; they seem to be favored by tour operators and station owners. I've found a few around the area at reasonable prices, so I may just go ahead and buy one used.

Once I get a vehicle of some sort, my next big ticket purchase is going to be a sea kayak. Dragging a kayak around Australia will be a whole lot easier in a Rover. Then, sometime in the February/March timeframe, I need to find a new place to live. Although it's convenient to live in downtown Brisbane, I don't really have much to do here when I'm home. I'm not into bars, clubs, restaurants or shopping. Taking walks is a pain, since it's not really people friendly and you can't really see very much. So, I'm thinking I'll look for a smallish house out in the suburbs and drive or take the train in to work during the week. I'm a little concerned about the houses around here, since they're relatively huge -- three bedrooms is very common. I'm having a hard time filling up a two bedroom flat. But the trade-off is that I'll have a back yard, a veranda, a garden, a place to park the truck, some peace and quiet, and room to breathe.

In any case, I'll see if I can find a picture of my dream truck. When I do, I'll post them here in the blog so you can see what I'm talking about. For some reason, I find the Defender is just a classic truck ... I never found one in the States, so I think I'm going to take the opportunity while here in a Commonwealth country and drive a classic.

The Truth about Traffic Control Boxes

I just read this article http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/arty-boxes-keeping-traffic-vandals-moving/2007/12/05/1196812821132.html
Which tells me the traffic boxes in Brisbane have been painted intentionally with the express goal of reducing graffiti on them. Yay! There's even a yearly contest in the city to award the best. This year's winner was titled "Miss Murray Cod -- Pink Bubbles".

Morning Showers

It's still the rainy season in Brisbane. A few weeks ago, there were rain showers most every evening, shortly after sundown. For the past week or so, it's rained every morning, just after dawn. I caught a rainbow the other day...and saw the end of the rainbow. The end of the rainbow was just over the suburb of Kelvin Grove, which is home to a campus of the University of Queensland.

A New Day in Australia

After a bit of traveling, I'm back in Brisbane. Where to begin? Perhaps, first, with a bit of local news.

Australians have chosen a new government. After quite some time being lead by the Coalition Liberal Party and John Howard, they have overwhelmingly voted for the Australian Labor Party and Kevin Rudd. In some ways, this is a big deal. I (and probably most Australians) have seen this coming for nearly a year. Mr. Howard was very far down in opinion polls every time I saw them. The final nail in the coffin for his government was perhaps the most telling: the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates.

For my friends in the US, this might seem very odd, since interest rates there are declining rapidly during a financial upheaval. Not so here in Australia, where a typical loan seems to run over 9%, bordering on 10%. Similarly, the saving rates are inverted here...it's very easy to obtain a savings interest rate of 6.5%, even higher, with some careful research. I've even located one reputable bank with an 8% interest rate. This is astonishing! In the USA, I have had a hard time finding a bank that will give me an interest rate higher than 4%, and one bank where I parked some money a short time ago has *reduced* it's interest rate twice in less than three months, from 4.5% to 4.2%. Savings accounts in the US are typically 0.5%; yes, that's 1/2%. People leaving money in standardized savings accounts in the US are giving money away to their banks. I'm beginning to understand what economists really mean when they say the US economy is a consumer economy. It is not in the best interests of a consumer economy to save money...that money should be spent...and it appears the financial system penalizes individuals for trying to hold on to cash.

Rising interest rates here in Australia are perhaps the local equivalent to the credit crunch in the USA, though here, the problems are for entirely different reasons. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised rates on evidence of higher than expected inflation...i.e. the economy is doing too well. Australia is in the middle of an economic boom, largely fueled, from what I can tell, by natural resources. This affects everyone in Australia, just as the sub-prime crisis in the USA is affecting everyone there. Here, mortgages will cost more. And after doing a bit of research, I've discovered there doesn't appear to be anything like a true fixed rate mortgage...they all seem to adjust, though much more slowly than ARMs in the USA. So far, I haven't found anyone who will sell a loan for a 30 year term that will stay at the same rate throughout the entire 30 years. So every homeowner and landowner in the country is affected by a rise in the interest rates...perhaps not today, but they will be soon enough. It's also very hard to find credit cards with 0% interest in Australia...in fact, it's hard to find one with an interest rate below 13%. Relatively speaking, there is no cheap money here.

In any case, the RBA raising interests rates during the election cycle seems to have hit the former ruling party quite hard. And, to add insult to injury, John Howard lost his own seat in parliament. I'd say Australians made a very strong statement.

Interestingly, voting is mandatory in the country, and they will track people down. The second day I occupied my flat, there was a note from the local representative of the Australian Elections Commission alerting me to the fact there was no registered voter living in the flat, and they'd be stopping by to help me change my registration if needed. They continued to drop notes until finally catching me at a reasonable hour the following Saturday. I simply showed the nice fellow my US passport, and that's been the end of that. But it was a keen and early lesson on how seriously this is taken. Presumably, turn-out was 100% in yesterday's election. Oh, yes, the election was held on a Saturday. Contrast that with Tuesday elections and oft-declining voter participation in the US.

The new Prime Minister hails from Queensland, the south suburbs of Brisbane, even, so we are likely to see some interesting changes here-about in the coming years. He also speaks Mandarin, and was a diplomat to China at one point in his life. This also suggests interesting possibilities.

It will be interesting to see a government formed, and the effects on Australia. I've seen the results of the quadrennial elections in the US, which can be startling changes of power and focus. I'm keen to see how the locals go about a change of government.

Street Box

Street Box, Wickham and Ann,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Another street box in Brisbane. It seems a number of them are signed "Worth"

Goin Back to Cali

(Big ups to LL Cool J) I have to sign some legal documents back in the States, so I'm heading back to California the week of the 9th. If you're in town and want to get together for a coffee or some conversation, give me a bell or drop me an email. I can't stay too long; I have to be in Sydney on the 20th, so I leave San Francisco bound for Brisbane on the 16th. I'll take whatever time I can get, for sure. I hope I can spend a few weeks in the States next time I visit; it's so time consuming to travel there and back, it hardly seems like a visit since 3-4 days are just travel time. I feel fortunate I have the means to do so, and it's even possible to travel across the Pacific in less than a couple of weeks. Just to give you a sense of travel scale, if I wanted to travel from Brisbane to Cairns in anything except an airplane, it would take me roughly 36 hours. Cairns is still in the same state in Australia as Brisbane.

Something Different

Street Box, Railroad Terrace,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's a more common street box from nearby my work. This is actually a box used for telephone connections.

Australia is fun and perhaps more modern than the US, in that everyone has a mobile/cel phone. Generally, businesses have land lines, but every businessperson I've met will give you their mobile number, if it isn't already on their card. I saw a phone tech open up this particular one once, so I know it was phone lines. Quite different from your usual US phone box, and very different from the rest of the painted street boxes in Brisbane city.

Street Box, Creek and Ann

Street Box, Creek and Ann,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

The magpie, looking across to one of the entrances for Central Station in Brisbane city.

Storm Season

It's storm season in Brisbane. For the last 6 days, it's been mostly cloudy and humid. Temperatures in the high 20's Celsius. And it has rained every day. Usually just after dark. But, the rain has been accompanied by thunderstorms. Big thunderstorms, along with squall lines of high winds and rain. Our biggest worries is bushfires...wildfires caused by lightning out in the bush. We're set for another few days of this weather, followed by a return to sunny days.

On the personal side, I splurged and bought a digital SLR camera. I found a Canon EOS 400D on sale, along with a basic lens. I'm taking it out and about the city to get used to all the adjustments. My phone cam has been good to me, and I intend to keep it around. The phone has good resolution, but it's really best for snapshots. I'm hoping the new camera will allow me to take much higher quality photos. And, since it's digital, I can throw away the vast quantity of bad photos I expect to take, without having to pay for developing film.

I start working for the new company in a few weeks. I'll be getting some new computer equipment and commuting to a different office. I'm looking forward to the change. It's a busy time, but I'm really enjoying it!

Look Up!

Hands, CUA, Queen St.,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Look way up!

These hands are sculptures in front of the Credit Union of Australia House in Brisbane.

Trellis in South Bank

South Bank Parkland,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Across the Brisbane River from the CBD is the arts and culture district known as South Bank. One of the notable features away from the river is a trellis that's several hundred meters long. It is framed by metal sculptures of constantly varying shape linked by wires. Flowering vines have been planted all along the trellis and have been growing for years.

The last few days here have been in the high 20's (that's mid- to upper 70's Fahrenheit) with high humidity. We've gotten some weather in from the tropics, up Darwin-way. While it's almost always shorts and t-shirt weather, this week has been light t-shirt and minimal clothing. Ahh! It's just turned Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Already, the locals are whinging a bit about how hot the weather is. I had a chat with a shopkeeper who was very satisfied to be in a shop with aircon. He told the story of a few summer ago when it was 33-34 in the summer time. He regarded it as quite hot, and when on to tell the story of some folks down from Darwin who were walking about in long sleeves and coats. Darwin, for those of you not familiar with Australia, is the capital of the Norther Territories, one of the Australian states. It's much nearer to the Equator, and is truly tropical. Brisbane is only sub-tropical, and more temperate. No water problems up there, and typically 5 degrees warmer than Brissie.

It was a beautiful day today and I had a lovely walk along the river. This trellis is very beautiful and provides lovely shade.

Give life

Give life,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Street box

box,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Street Boxes

Electrical Box, Ann & Wickham,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

In any urban area, one of the common problems with any large, regular, or flat public space is graffiti. Tagging. Someone always has paint or a marker and will sign their name. Less common are writing walls and thoughtful public art. Sometimes public art is sponsored. Near my house in San Francisco, the city sponsored a massive public mural -- it took the artist nearly three months to paint. One of the reason sensible cities sponsor or encourage writing walls and public murals is to discourage trash graffiti.

In downtown Brisbane, on of the most common features is electrical junction boxes, typically located at intersections. So often fixtures like that are grey rectangles with so many layers of paint it is almost funny. Some local art group, or maybe several, or perhaps spontaneously, have taken to painting these street boxes. Great stuff, colorful, and rarely tagged. I'll be posting more, some without comment. I've taken to snapshotting them with my phonecam and putting them on my Flickr site.

The Trees of Brisbane

tree at night,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

The Brisbane City Council has an interesting habit of lighting up trees. This one is along the river, near Park Road in Milton.

River Fire

Formation over Brisbane,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Tonight, Brisbane celebrated River Fire. It turned out to be an amazing event, punctuated by some awesome effects. This is a yearly festival on the first Saturday night of September. Tomorrow happens to be Father's Day here in Australia, so it's quite festive in town.

Just at sunset, four vintage fighter planes flew in formation over downtown Brisbane. This one passed not more than 300 meters from my balcony in the Aurora, which is just a block from the river. Startling. Nice.

At 7PM local time, the real festivities began with this unbelievable flaming jet that passed over the river and heading West, not more than 300 meters from my building. Truly astonishing to hear and see this bright trail of flame in the night sky seemingly just outside my window! What followed was nearly 30 minutes of fireworks up and down the river, from Story Bridge all the way down to Victoria Bridge. Those beidges mark the beginning and ending of the Central Business District, or CBD. The amount of smoke from all the fireworks was amazing...it blanketed my entire neighborhood. And the end of the fireworks were marked by a tail of fire coming from a jet. The other great effect of the night was a seeming waterfall of sparks rolling off the center of the Story Bridge. Beautiful.

What a spectacle! This is an event not to be missed if you are ever in Brisbane in late August/early September.

The Roof at GoMA

The Roof at GoMA,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I attended a business awards function last night in South Brisbane. Many of the folks who helped set us up here in Brisbane were sponsors, recipients, or attendess. It was held in the arts district in town, which is jsut across the river from the downtown in an area called South Bank. The function was held in the Gallery of Modern Art, which was just opened to the public late last year. It's a pretty building, not an architectural wonder, but a fine public building. There are some interesting pieces of late 20th Century modern art from around the world, and a really interesting video installation. As with most buildings in Brisbane, there is an exterior deck; in this case, quite large. This one faces the river and the State Library, which is next door. Overhanging the deck is a huge roof. Someone, perhaps the architects, designed a light installation under an old growth tree between the building and the river, which shines up through the leaves. And this photo is the result of that light installation, when seen at night. A beautiful pattern of light, ,shadow, and color played out on a huge flat white surface.

Lunar Eclipse

Lunar Eclipse #2,
originally uploaded by David de Groot.

Here's a fantastic photo of the lunar eclipse last night.

Day 7 of the Deluge

Grand Central Hotel, Brisbane,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Today marks the seventh day in a row of rain in Brisbane. The photo is the facade of the old Grand Central Station in Brisbane. It has a clock tower (cut off in this photo). From the architecture, I'd guess it's an old-time building in Brisbane.

We got 93mm of rain yesterday. The main reservoir (called a catchment here), Wivenhoe, is now at 16.77% of capacity. In a week of rain, the amount of water behind the dam has risen 0.3%. This translates to just a few weeks of water for the area. Not very much.

It's predicted that we'll have less than 6% of capacity this time next year. This is some kind of drought. It's all about geography. California is blessed with a huge, high mountain range to the East of an ocean. California manages to catch all the moisture coming from the Pacific and turn it into precipitation. The East coast of Australia isn't so lucky. The mountains aren't nearly as high. That's because the continent is so old compared to the Sierra Nevada. And, we're on the Western Slope of the mountain range, so we don't catch the moisture from the westerlies.

On the Eastern slope of the Great Dividing Range that runs down the East coast of Australia, there is a huge artesian basin. Lots of water there, though it's mostly underground and under a layer of hard rock. Brisbane, and southeast Queensland (SEQ to the locals), is really in a tough spot, geologically and geographically.

We're all very grateful for what wet we do get.

My workmates and I had lunch at a local restaurant this afternoon. It was raining fairly hard. Not a cold rain, but steady, and wet. Quite abnormal. I didn't mind at all. It was nice to get rained on and get my head and face wet for a change. It will be dry again all too soon.

Train at Central

QR CityTrain Car,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

In keeping with the train theme, here's a fairly common car. I take the train to work most days, and use them for most long distance travel. Here's what they look like.

Queensland Rail's colors are maroon and yellow.

On the Train

CityTrain Interior,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I usually ride to work on the local trains. It's a couple of stops from Central Station to my suburb. It's never this empty on a workday morning. I took this shot on the way back into town from one of my Sunday morning bike rides. Bikers are supposed to ride in the last car on the train, and since I was also riding from the end of the line, there weren't many others on the train at the time. More than that, it was raining this past Sunday, so ridership was even less than normal.

Still, on the way into town, I've been asked for my ticket every time I've come back into town on this line. I find this interesting because these are the only times I've been asked by Queensland Rail police for my ticket on the train. Oh, sure, it's expected to show a ticket coming and going in downtown train stations, but I've only ever had my ticket checked inbound on these trains. Oddly, this past Sunday, the QR folks found someone without a ticket.

QR runs electric lines for their CityTrain. Fairly quiet, they run on time and run frequently.

Three Days of Rain

Today marks the third day in a row of rain in Brisbane. This isn't a remarkable figure for most readers, but three days of rain makes this the wettest August in five years. We've gotten perhaps 60mm of rain, maybe a bit more, which isn't a lot. But for the driest continent on Earth, in the grip of a decade-long drought, this is welcome relief.

My Building, Part 3

Aurora Towers from Kangaroo Point,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's a photo of the front side of my apartment building. It's known as the Aurora Tower. It's the tallest building in Brisbane for now. I live on the far side of the building from where this shot was taken, and about two thirds of the way up the tower. The building was opened just over a year ago, so it's quite new. I took this shot some time ago, but realized I'm not sure if I'd posted a shot of my building. It's memorable.

I don't think I'll be staying here past the end of my lease. I enjoy living down town, but it's noisy. I don't really enjoy having to get into a lift to go anywhere. My flat has more than enough room for me. I have no complaints about that. I'd much rather be in a quieter neighborhood.

In the Hard Rain, an Oasis for Man and Dog, Part 2

Water Fountain with Dog Bowl in the Rain,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

The ride from Woody Point back to Shorncliffe was really hard. I was riding in to a good headwind the entire time. It started raining harder and harder. I was in the middle gears the entire time, getting wetter and wetter. Finally, I got back to the Shorncliffe promenade. When it got to the point where the rain drops were making bubbles in the the puddles, I decided to find some shelter and wait it out for a bit. I found a picnic shelter and took a break.

One of the things that I found interesting was a water fountain that also had a bowl at the bottom for dogs. The design is ingenious. The fountain is all metal. The drain for the bowl is a tube that leads down through the metal post and out to the other side. Just under the outlet is a metal basin at the bottom of the post. It catches the water and is just the right height for dogs to have a sip. Water conservation, dog friendly, and an good looking fountain. Nice!

Ride to Redcliff, Part 1

Crane at Woody Point,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I took a train from Central Station out to the end of one of the lines. I went to a town known as Shorncliffe. The train station out there isn't very large, the big stops are at Boondal and Sandgate. It's charming in an odd little way to take the train to the end of the line.

Shorncliffe is a town on Moreton Bay. Not much of a beach, but there are inlets. It reminds me of the Georgia and Florida coast, with docks and fishing boats popping up in the oddest places due to the channels cut inland. There is a beautiful promenade that I've discovered, wide enough for five people to walk abreast, running around a point and along the seashore for quite a way. It's relatively flat and leads to a bridge that goes across the bay. It goes through the towns of Sandgate and Brighton.

There's a bridge that crosses over the bay from Brighton to Clontarf. I discovered a nice little shortcut under one bridge that leads to another, much older bridge made of wooden planks. This one is falling down in places, with long sections fenced off. There's a serviceable but bumpy tarmac down the center. This bridge must be three or four kilometers long. It's quite a pedal from one side to the other. This bridge is for bikes and people only. It runs along side the more modern bridge that's been built for car and truck traffic.

At the other end is the town of Clontarf, home of Bells Beach. Another bike path leads all the way along the shore and ends at Woody Point, which is where I took this photo.

It seems everywhere in Queensland is another crane. This one is constructing an apartment block at the end of the point. I'm sure the views will be great.

It seems I picked a day to ride my bike on a rainy day. That's why the sky is so grey and the light so poor.

This marked the halfway point on my bike ride. It was really starting to rain hard, so I took a landmark photo , had a bite to eat, a drink of water, and turned around.

Interview with a Blixe

Carol, this one's for you.

I was channel surfing this evening and wandered past a talking head interview that somehow caught my eye. After watching for a minute or two, I realized Blixe of Einsturzende Neubauten was giving an interview. He talked about the end of the band, the resurrection of the band, the projects they are working on, "sound", the logo, and quite a few other things. It's probably on the internet by now, but I saw it on a program called "fatbluesky" on Fuel TV here in Australia.

Blixe lives!

On the walk home

Downtown from the footpath,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's a photo from the foot and bike path I use to get back and forth to work. I was walking back home and thought I'd snap a picture of one of the brdiges over the Brisbane River. This one is a railway bridge that connects a section of town called South Bank to another section known as Roma.

We're taking tomorrow off from work here in Brisbane, in celebration of Ekka. I've learned Ekka is short for Exhibition, as in the Royal Brisbane Exhibition. It seems like a combination of street fair, State Fair, fashion show and cultural event. Over the past few weeks, I've watched the rides go up from my balcony...and fireworks at 8PM for the last few days. I'll try to get a photo or two from the grounds.

To be fair

...that house isn't really "typical" but it is distinctively Brisbane, and specifically, Queensland. So much of what I've seen could be plunked down anywhere in the USA and wouldn't be unusual. But, one almost never sees this kind of house in the US. I did see that kind of architecture in Singapore. The verandas are the give-away...you need them for shade and protection from the rain. Frequently, they have slotted timber structures to create shade.

One thing I loved about Singapore was how it is possible to go from building to building in the open air yet under a roof. So necessary in that city state, what with daily, heavy rains. I saw that mostly in the commercial districts. I've never seen connected structures in Brisbane...too spread out, not enough population density, and besides, it hasn't rained that often, nor that hard here.

Still, the house in the photo is a very typical old house in Brisbane. Wish I lived in one...looks like a marvellous adaptation for the weather.

On the Road

Typical Suburban House,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I took a bike ride the other day and realized I had never posted a photo of a typical house in Brisbane. This photo pretty much sums it up. The white house is known as a Queenslander, and shows characteristic red metal roof, white paint, all around veranda, shade, and brown trim. This one is kind of fun, with the Chinese demon-catchers at the tips of the gables. Note the Telstra phone in front and the standard issue office block in the background, along with the palm tree. Old school!

It's Been Busy

I'm back online after an extended absence. I've been trying to do the authoritative post, but, as always, ended up putting it off until I had the right amount of time. Which will probably be never. So here goes.

After my Dad's funeral, I returned to Brisbane, with a very brief stop-over in San Francisco to take care of some business, visit with some friends, and have a few moments to recover before heading back into the maelstrom. Once I got back here, I had about a week to get back on local time, lots of paperwork, and oh, so many distractions. And, then, I had two new employees I had to get trained. My co-worker and I alternated days, one day in the office, one day training them in my flat. Thank my stars I had the foresight to get extra space and the wherewithal to provide enough room to train them. We had laid out a 6 week training regime that ended up taking less that three. I had to delay a week while we undertook some high priority work for a customer. We got them all the way through the course, eventually, and integrated into the company.

The very next week, the day after my new folks had started full-time, and I was actually looking forward to a more regular schedule, it was announced that my company had been bought...for a lot of money. This throws everything up into the air again. It's been a hectic week, trying to sort through the meaning of it all, how this will affect me, and more importantly, how it will affect my employees. And, of course, it puts all sorts of plans for the next several years into stasis. Ah, well. Interesting times.

In Memoriam

My father passed away today at 1:45PM EDT. He was 78 years old, and is survived by his wife of 58 years, seven children, eleven grandchildren and a greatgranddaughter. We had a wake of sorts this afternoon, celebrating his life with his favorite meal. Even though he hadn't had a drink since the 70's, we did toast him and many aspects of his life with his favorite whiskey. We went through and updated an obituary he had writeen three or four years ago and planned his memorial service. He died in his sleep, of natural causes, attended by his family.

The day before he died, he challenged me to play a game of cribbage by asking, "You ready to get beat?"

I'll miss him.

Fish Chowder

Life is full of quiet moments mixed in among the drama. A family member and I had dinner last night at Captain Nick's. It was a treat for both of us just to go out and have a sit-down meal. In my case, the last week or so has been a constant buzz, what with traveling around the world and alternating shifts looking after my Dad. It was a great meal and I had a taste of an old favorite of mine that I had forgotten about: New England fish chowder. I'd forgotten about fish chowder because I hadn't had a memorable chowder in the last twenty years, I think. This was just awesome, made with cream and real butter. I only had a cup, but it was more or less a cup of fish and a bit of broth to wet the oyster crackers. Yum. If you're ever in Bangor, Maine, do look the place up...outstanding seafood and (for me) monstrous portions. I also had the Honey Mustard Salmon, which must have been 400-500g of fish, and about as tender as I've ever had it at a restaurant.

Yesterday, Dad was disoriented throughout the day. He had an active day, with two trips around the home in a wheel chair and a couple of hours sitting in the recliner. That's the most active I've seen him since I've gotten here, and it was all at his request. The third time he wanted to get in the wheelchair, though, we asked him what he wanted to do, and he replied that we were going shopping. We suggested a stay in the recliner, and he agreed. There were a few incidents like that yesterday; my conclusion is that he's not sharing exactly the same consensus reality as us right now. It's OK, but we've talked about more seriously keeping an eye on him, since he's now started acting independently when we're not there. For instance, I stepped out of the room for a few minutes to make a phone call; when I returned, he was sitting up in the bed with his feet dangling over the edge. By itself, not a problem, but the issue is that he doesn't have enough strength to stand up on his own, so if he were to slide off the bed or try to walk, he'd fall.

He continues on, though, and seems in good spirits.

Mainely amazing

My Dad continues to hang on to a thread of life. We, along with the entire medical community, continue to be amazed that he is still alive.

Back to Maine

I've headed back to Maine to be with my family. My father is gravely ill. It was a very long trip to get here....Brisbane to Sydney to LA to Boston, then by car to Maine.

It's odd to be here. It starts getting light at 4AM and stays light until 8PM. It was nearly 80F today. There are hundreds of acres of lawn surrounding the facility where my Dad is staying.

Water Running in the Streets

It may be astounding, but I was dancing on the balcony just a moment ago. Dancing because there was water running in the streets of Brisbane City. Water running in the streets because of a good, hard rain. This is the third night in a row with a decent rain. Tonight, there was also a good bit of lightning. I just saw a bolt hit a radio tower on Mount Coot-tha, which is the highest point in the area and located to the southwest of my flat.

Having grown up in Maine, where water was never a problem, I never imagined I'd be overjoyed to see something formerly so common. And yet there I was, hopping up and down, smiling. Thrilled. Running water!

Is this the end of the drought in Queensland?

Sunset over Brisbane

Sunset over Brisbane,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

A lovely evening over the city, as seen from my balcony.

Labour Day

May 7th was Labour Day in Australia. That's "Labor Day" to you Americans. Heh. As a national holiday, it was a three day weekend. The weather was very nice, and I finally took some time to go for a long walk around the city.

Earlier in the weekend, I finally had the time to go shopping for some hiking boots. At the very last moment before I moved, I had to give mine up because one bag was 2 kilos overweight and the boots weighed about 2 kilos. I was sad, since those boots were great and I knew I'd need a pair, but I also rationalized that I could buy a pair down under. It only took me 2 1/2 months to get to it. I found the rough equivalent to REI down here, which is Globe Trekker. Great store, with a wide selection of shoes, camping gear, climbing gear, fishing, and four season clothing. I didn't see any kayaks or bikes, but they had a good selection for being a store in the downtown of a major city. I spent about an hour trying on different pairs and having a detailed discussion of the pros and cons of different brands an models, trying a half size up and a half size down. It was a lot of fun, and time well spent since I expect to be walking hundreds, and hopefully thousands of kilometers in my boots. I settled on a pair of Hi-Tec boots with waterproofing (not officially Gore-Tex), toe jams, Vibram soles, and excellent padding. These should be good for long range hikes. They proved very nice for a walk around town.

Since it was Labour Day, I was lucky enough to have a parade start assembling just a few blocks from my flat. I took the opportunity to walk up the hill through the assembly. It was largely union people, lots of families, and clearly from all over the state. Signage everywhere, quite friendly and well organized, all things considered. Everyone was out for a nice day in the city. The groups were probably half a click long, and were pretty much along the route I was going to go anyway, so I got to the see them from start to end. At the tail end, as I was waiting to cross a street, I was offered some bottled water for $2. Since I had a liter in my pack, I politely declined. It was just the sort of enterprising thing the Aussies are so good at...they sell water everywhere, and, oh, by the way, chilled water costs more. What they haven't yet taken care of is that every train station I've been to has a soft drink machine. Great for chilled beverages on a hot Australian day, but not so great for one's health. I've seen more than a few young people walking around with 1 liter bottles of their favorite soft drink...sad to see, actually. Eating on the street just isn't done, but it seems perfectly acceptable to walk around with a massive soft drink bottle.

Once I passed through the assembled paraders, I had a pleasant walk along Leichardt Street, which turns into College Avenue. I hung a right at the Brisbane Girls Grammar School and found a lovely little place called Victoria Park. Quite a natural next to a school, and clearly used as an adjunct. There was a well-developed Parr Course throughout the park. Sadly, the park overlooks a motorway and some railway siding, so not quite as bucholic as it might have been. Still, it's some of the biggest open space I've seen in Brisbane so far. There's a very nice land bridge that goes over the freeway. I was really impressed, because it is wide and landscaped in such a way that you never see the cars or the rail line.

On the other side is a smaller park and an area of green space I can see from my flat. I was so hoping to go ranging around a big park, but alas, it is all fenced in. Turns out to be a golf course. I think I shall have to mention to my contacts in city hall that large parks for the local residents are something that separates a good city from a great city. Witness Golden Gate Park and Central Park. I know there is all this bush out there beyond the city limits, but for folks like myself who don't have a vehicle and for whom access to wild lands is restricted, it's necessary to have a big swathe of green space within easy walking distance.

I did find the public rugby fields and an area for cricket batting practice. Quite nice to see four rugby fields end to end, but the fence overlooking them with golfers looking down wasn't so nice. I will say that at one end of the field was a very nice pond with a sculpture of a family. The pond was home to some of the local water fowl, which was an unexpected treat.

I took a walk along a very nice path along the freeway and explored a bit of a neighborhood called Kelvin Grove. And spied in the distance a very distinctive church I can also see from my flat. It's all brick, looks very Gothic, and sits astride a hilltop. After a bit of turning this way and that and finding a footbridge first over and then under yet another major street, I made my way to the hilltop. Up close, it's really a rather boring building from the outside. It was locked up tight, and turns out to be a Roman Catholic church, St. Brigid's. The architecture is definitely medieval and I found it quite unpleasant, as there are very few windows, very narrow, and a rather small main door. At human level, the thing I noticed most were cutouts in the bricks that formed crosses, but reminded me more of holes cutout of the brick to shoot arrows from. Perhaps a reasonable place in olden days, but quite unwelcoming in the modern world.

I had a bite to eat and a long drink of water and headed back. On the way, I found the Roma Gardens, which are very nice. There is a beautiful, modern pavilion with lighting and a delightful window overlooking a steep drop-off. It's definitely used for functions and perhaps even plays and bands from time to time...worth coming back to. I also discovered Wickham Park, and a route back into the CBD from that area of town.

Overall, ti was a great walk and I learned more about the city in a few hours. I have some photos which I'll post in my Flickr album. Once I do that, I'll post the URLs and you can see a few of the local sights trough my camera's lens.

My New Apartment

Kitchen/Lounge,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

It's been quite some time since I posted last. I've been quite busy, now that I've found a place to live in Brisbane. I've spent the last few weeks getting the office sorted out. Last week, we had a visitor from the States who might come over to work with us. We met her at the airport, had meals together, and introduced her around the city.

I got the keys to my new place the same day she arrived, so it's been a bit tough to get the new place sorted. This is a photo of the kitchen and lounge area, facing in to the apartment from the balcony. My flat is a complete change from my home in San Francisco. The new place was built in the last few years, it's ultra-modern, an apartment, it's in a high rise, and it's on the 38th floor. It has a spectacular view facing West. The photo I'm showing was taken at night from the balcony, looking in on the kitchen and lounge area. The balcony is pretty reasonably sized, too. It's a two bedroom place, so I can have a bedroom to myself and an office. I plan to use the office as a guest room. I was surprised at how much storage space there is in the place; there are cupboards and shelves everywhere. The only disappointment so far is the hang-up closet space is rather limited...perhaps half a meter of liner rails to hand up shirts, suits, pants, and so forth. I figure since I have two closets, I will use both.
There is enough room in the apartment for a washer and dryer...this makes all the difference in the world to me, since I've found being able to wash and dry my own clothes on my own schedule is usually the difference between wearing clean clothes and dirty clothes. Oddly, I've found only one laundromat in the entire city so far. I don't understand how a city of apartment dwellers can live without laundromat. In my neighborhood in San Francisco, it seemed every other corner had a laundry, and that was a neighborhood of houses. Eh, another mystery.

I'll try to post some more pictures of the place, before and after. I also promised a post on Singapore. I'll try to get that out soon, since it was such an interesting place.

Settled in the Short Term

I found a place to stay until the end of April, and have been here for about a week. It's not much more than a glorified studio, but at least it's a home-like substitute. It also happens to be a few hundred meters from a train station, which makes commuting to work fast and efficient. This is part of a four day Easter weekend, which has made life very challenging. Most small businesses are closed for the long weekend, including the local supermarket. This is a problem because I had to stay late for work on Thursday, which meant I didn't get to shop for food, which has meant that I've had to eat out or pay airport prices at convenience stores (when they were open). It means the banks haven't been open, transportation was on Sunday or holiday schedules.

It's also meant that I've been the one dealing with two crises at work because our other offices have been closed for the holidays and ignoring my requests for assistance. Irritating bastards. I'll make sure they get theirs soon enough, though. I'm supposed to be on four day holiday, too, and I don't have the good fortune to get July 4th, Labor Day, Memorial Day, or Thanksgiving here in Australia. So, I'll be sure to take off the rest of Australia's public holidays and be very, very gone.

Work aside, I'm slowly finding the places to be and go around the city. Understanding the geography, finding interesting neighborhoods. I can't wait to get my real place so I can really start to settle in, get some food stocks, and start enjoying myself nights and weekends.

Balloons over Brisbane

Balloons over Brisbane,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I'm back in Brisbane...and have been for about a week. It's been an extremely busy several weeks. I spent ten days in Singapore teaching a class. In Singapore, I typically woke up at 3AM, worked on class materials or tried to catch up on emails, had an early breakfast, took a nap, headed in to class, taught all day, then had dinner at a local food stall and promptly fell asleep. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Once I returned to Brisbane, I was faced with the problem of finding a place to live. Followed by finding a way to transfer money from my US bank account into Australia. Oh, I can use my ATM card here, no problem. But, to actually secure an apartment, I needed a large chunk of cash or cash equivalent in US dollars -- fast. Fortunately, a friend sent me some money via Western Union. I've also been opening bank accounts, looking into long-range money transfer strategies, paying my bills, and all that kind of stuff.

The apartment I chose is on the 38th floor of a 68 story high-rise. Quite a change from my 2 floor wood frame house in San Francisco. But, the view is great and it is a manageable size for what I need. I signed the paperwork after getting my cash infusion. Only problem with the apartment is that I can't move in until 23-APR-2007 at the earliest.

My problem at that point was to find and secure some short-term housing that was not a hotel for the month of April. It's an interesting challenge, because there are two national holidays in Australia in the month of April. Good Friday and the Monday after Easter (the 6th through the 9th) are public holidays. And the 25th is a public holiday: ANZAC day, roughly the equivalent of Memorial Day in the US. So, lots of people out and about and on holiday. Schools are off for Easter week. So, finding a place available for a month that didn't cost a fortune took some persistence, searching, phone calls, and flexibility.

I have only one more financial problem to deal with and that is filing about a month's worth of expense reports. Yesterday, I paid all my bills, including my hotel bills, which I had put on credit cards. Now, I need to recoup all that money.

This morning, I woke up early, stepped outside to catch some fresh air, and saw this lovely sight. Three balloons floating over the city. It lifted my spirits.

I was so busy in Singapore, I really only got to take a few photos. But, it was an amazing place, and I will be posting a "Memories of ..." entry in the next few days. Keep an eye out. Now that I'm more settled in Brisbane, I expect I'll be back on a more regular posting schedule.

Finally, a Ferry

City Ferry arriving at Thornton St.,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Every day I've gone to work in Milton using a city ferry as one stage of the journey. It's a great commute anda fairly quick ride across the river to Eagle Street. This is one of a small number of cross-river boats. They are single deck and travel only three stops connecting Kangaroo Point with the CBD. They're great little boats and the roundtrip fare is A$4.40 per day or A$17.60 for a week. Once ticketed, you can ride anywhere within a single zone all day on the ferries, the city cats, the buses, or the trains. It's a great deal, and very handy for making car-less freaks like me able to get around. The rest of Brisbane seems very suburban and car-oriented. It's very first world that way, or at least, the part I've been exposed to so far.

Brisbane in the morning

Brisbane CBD from my hotel,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I took this photo from my hotel room balcony this morning, just at sunrise. After another travel adventure, I'm back in my new home town. Ah, relief. I also got more good news...my work visa is valid until 2010.

Yesterday, at the time when my flight was supposed to leave Auckland, it was announced as cancelled. Plane load of people descend on three workers to get new bookings. Naturally, I was toward the end of the line. I was offered a plane to Sydney, then a transfer to another airline and another plane to Brisbane. So, a direct flight that would have gotten me to Brisbane at 4:30PM ended up being a bit of a hassle (along with even more hassle for many of my fellow riders), lots of stress, and arrival in Brisbane at 9:55PM local time.

My biggest concern, of course, was my luggage. Miraculously, it made it on to both planes and was available for me in Brisbane. Phew -- another bullet dodged. My tags have my US address, so I can only imagine where they would have ended up had they been lost in transit. Several of my travel-mates did end up losing their luggage. I feel very sad for them.

One of my seatmates on the Auckland -> Sydney leg was an older fellow who had some motor coordination problems, as well as a bit of a twitch. Most likely Parkinson's. I felt quite sorry for the bloke, but it was a bit trying to have someone continually jabbing me in the ribs, however unintentionally. I had to help him with his tray table, seatbelt, and a few other things.

In Sydney, the promised assistance in getting us transferred from the International to the Domestic terminal was not present. So, another bit of a mad scramble to locate the proper bus. Wait...wait...wait. Ah, the bus is full. Ah, the bus transfer will cost A$5. Ah, it's 45 minutes to flight time -- a bit of a concern because in the US, they will not board you on the flight if you have checked baggage and are ticketed less than 45 minutes before flight time.

Arrive the terminal, stand in line for ticketing and checking of baggage. Have someone else run to the front of the line because they have a flight to Melbourne at the same time as me ... I nearly kicked the guy in the shins ... as if! Backs checked with only a slightly higher than expected charge for excess baggage. Waft through security ... so much easier than the US, with no silly "take of your shoes" dance. Realize I had no idea which gate I was supposed to go to. Only 20 minutes before flight time.

Arrive at gate, and thankfully find a departure lounge full of people. Hah...plane had arrived late. Delay for cleaning plane. Boarding time arrives. Ah, this time we will be boarding through the front and rear of the plane. Those passengers in the rear of the plane, please take the door to your left (that was me), onto the tarmac, follow the lines, follow the instructions of the ground crew, walk through the rain, up the stairs, into the plane. Find seat. Ah, met by a garrulous teenager who very much wanted to talk about his lost luggage. Advised by plane staff "do *not* put on your seatbelt as we are still fuelling the plane."

Push back, mad scramble to put on seatbelt. Plane staff advises us there is no smoking on the plane, and the lavatories are equipped with video...sorry, smoke detectors. Titters all 'round.

Still and all, I was very happy to finally make it to Brisbane and find my bags were at the carousel. Big sigh of relief.

Taxis for all. Friendly driver who knew exactly where I was going. Enjoyable conversation through the much-needed rain. Five minutes after arriving the hotel, I was in the lift and on my way to my ninth floor room with fabulous view of the Brisbane River and Central Business District, AKA downtown.

Ah, relief. So glad to be at rest again.

Brisbane, Part Two

My visa for Australia was approved today! Hooray! This is great news, and took only about a week. With that, my interlude in Auckland is coming to a close. I'll be heading back to Brisbane within the next 36hours. I'll stay there for about a week, then head over to Singapore for ten days to train one of my company's customers. I look forward to establishing a home in Brisbane, and to blogging from Singapore.

Of course, I'll have to find a whole new set of travel adapters, because Singapore uses a different plug standard than Australia and New Zealand. I figure I'll be able to go almost anywhere by the time I'm done with my overseas assignment.

I've been doing a happy dance for the last hour. I'm so relieved the visa process is finally over. It is such a relief to have that sword removed from over my head.

I'll be taking a few last photos of Auckland before I leave. I'll post them as soon as I can.

Guardian bear

Guardian bear,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I took a walk to the Western Marina in the city. I'm told the marina is the world's largest. At the end of the boardwalk, a bronze teddy bear guards the harbor. He has a pilot's cap under his left arm and holds a sailboat in his right. Sometimes, Auckland is known as the City of Sails.

An unexpected sight

Gates to a Graveyard,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

There are sights in a city that come upon me and take me by surprise. I was wandering along a street called Karanghape Road. I had just passed through a block party cum anti-global warming rally to a park when I looked across the street and noticed these gates. A small compound next to a park is guarded by two gates, each with Stars of David on them. Behind the gates, in the compound, is a Jewish cemetery. It's a highly urbanized, well developed neighborhood that clearly goes back some time. It's also across a bridge from a major hospital, and not too far from a couple of universities, and also about 500m from what seems to be Auckland's Auto Row.

And yet there, nestled next to a park at a major intersection, is a Jewish cemetery. I was grateful to be reminded of mortality, grateful to be reminded that here, in the midst of a Christian and Ma Ori nation, Jews had lived and died and left mementos of their passing.

I sat for a while under a shade tree and meditated on this. Crowds passed by, either blind or blase to the significance of these memorials.

Auckland at Night

Sky Tower, flanked by the Moon,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Sorry for the weird exposure, but what do you expect from a camera phone?

There's this very tall radio/TV/communications tower in downtown Auckland called the Sky Tower. Around it is Sky City, the Sky Theater...you get the idea. My hotel is about two blocks from this structure. At night, they light it up with different colors. Two nights ago, the theme was red, last night, it was blue and Green.

Just to the right of the top of the tower is the moon. It was a beautiful site, in a man-made kind of way. Wherever I go in Auckland, I can usually find my way back by using the Sky Tower as a locator.

I'm in Auckland, New Zealand

I've a feeling I'm not in Kansas,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Due to some complications with my visa, I've had to head over the Tasman Sea to Auckland, New Zealand. I found out I needed to be out of the country last Thursday, and was on my way on Sunday morning. I had my choice of NZ, Singapore, or Tokyo. For some reason, I chose Auckland. I'm glad I did.

I really like the city. Geographically, it's very interesting and very, very different from Brisbane. It's geologically a very active set of islands. Auckland is a city on a narrow isthmus in the North Island. So, it has a large bay to the West, and a large harbor to the East. The city spreads out between the two. It has a lot of features similar to San Francisco. It's international, there are several major universities, it's a major port city, and the geography is nice...lots of hills.

Locally, there is a food company called "Sanitarium." One of those things that just does not translate well between cultures. They call themselves "The Health Food Company." In the US, a sanitarium is a place of refuge for those with psychological, emotional, or mental problems. I think the locals would be appalled if I shared that little factoid with them.

I'm here for a bit, until either my visa is dealt with, or until the middle of March. If the visa goes on through mid-March, then I'll be off to Singapore to teach a class. And the, either back to Brisbane or on to Tokyo. This hasn't turned out the way I expected, but I'm settling in to Auckland fairly well.

Living in an inner city is a pain, let me tell you. No supermarkets as such, you're paying airport prices for almost everything, you have no car, you have no idea where anything useful is, and yet, you're stuck in the middle of this metropolis. I can't even find a decent bar with a TV! Not like Brisbane at all, where every bar/pub has a TV,and there are lots of them, too. I'll just have to explore the university neighborhoods...if there are no bars there, I'll be very, very surprised. Some nights, I just want to nurse a beer and watch sports so I can get out of this hotel room.

Because of the time zone, my work day starts around 1PM local time and runs until 9PM. Like most cities, there's not much for a tourist to do in the morning. Why does everyone assume tourists don't get up and out early? I wake up at 2AM every day, go until 8 or 9, sleep for a few hours, then get to work at 1PM. Like almost every place, there is *nothing* to do at 2AM in the morning ... at least, nothing G-rated. Ah, well, I'm sure I'll sort it out. Just in time to move on to the next city.

Ah, the lilfe of the international traveler. It always seems glamorous from the outside, but reality is more complex.

Downtown at night, seen from a CityFerry

Downtown at night, seen from a CityFerry,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Underexposed, but I made it with the camera on my phone, so it's about the best I could do. We on the way downriver, looking back at North Quay.

First step in the journey

Downtown from my ferry stop,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's a couple of the more interesting buildings in Brisbane's downtown, as seen from the ferry stop just across the river. There are a lot of curved buildings in the downtown.

Here I am

I have arrived in Brisbane. It's been a busy few days and there hasn't been much time or energy to blog. Although my plane arrived at around 7:45AM, I didn't actually get to use my hotel room until nearly 4PM. The hotel just wasn't ready for me, despite my having guaranteed early arrival. Sigh. I was really tired and footsore. Fortunately, I didn't have to drag my bags around. I slept very soundly.

The next day, I went in to the new workplace and tried to get some things sorted out and get to work. I did run into a few problems that prevented me from being fully productive. I didn't really get into the swing of things until today.

Sleep has been a bit of trouble, and I've been waking up at 2 or 3AM each morning, staying up until 5, napping, then waking up to get in to work at some reasonable hour.

Now that I have a local celphone, I plan to take some local pictures and start blogging from Down Under.

The Adventure continues.

Cart full of bags

Cart full of bags,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

And I was off. Three large bags, one carry-on, and a sweatshirt. My life has been reduced from roughly a container's worth of objects to approximately 100kg. I had to do some last minute adjustments to rebalance the weight, and I did have to give up a rather nice pair of boots. Still, so far, it's been all I need.

Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight

Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Well, it's so long, San Francisco. Here's a photo of the last sunset I saw in the city. There's an old weather saying that I sincerely hope bodes well for me. It was a beautiful, deep blue sky with red-tinged clouds sailing high above.

Storage

Storage,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Hard to believe I have so much stuff. Here's the storage room just before I close it up for the last time before departure. Note the hat, chairs, computers, elliptical machine, bike, futon, and miscellaneous stuff. And that goes back for a ways. fortunately, it goes higher up front since that's more accessible.

Good bye and good luck, stuff. I'll see you when I get back!

My pickup

My pickup,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's one of the last photos of my pickup. I'd just finished unloading the last things for storage and decided to take a parting shot.

Last Full Day in SF

Today is my last day in San Francisco. Tomorrow around noon I head out the airport and close this chapter of the great move to Brisbane. Long time coming and I can tell you, it's been a crazy past few days.

The latest excitement revolves around my pickup. I mentioned earlier one of my movers was going to buy it. Well, I haven't been able to get a hold of him for five days. Last night, I called up his buddy to see if he had seen him. Nope. He was "sick, or some damn thing." Great. Last days in town and a big hunk of metal is now without a buyer. I could use the money, but more importantly, I need to find a home for this thing. I can't leave it on the street.

I was planning on using it today to run a last batch of items out to my storage. And what should happen but the "Check Engine" light comes on and thing starts hesitating and backfiring like crazy. No run to Antioch in that condition. So now I have to take it in to the shop and have him fix it as quickly as possible. I just put a load of money into the thing to get it ready to sell, I am going to press him to fix it under warranty. The thing is, it's one more task that will take up very valuable time when I don't have any to spare.

But, I made a first pass at packing last night and I will definitely fall under my weight limits. I am definitely using the third piece of luggage, mostly to bring my records. What hilarious is that the biggest piece of luggage is the lightest, since it has mostly clothes. The smallest weighs the most, since it is loaded with vinyl. Situational irony...gotta love it.

Well, off to the mechanics. Wish me luck.

Probably this will be the last post or next to last before I get on the plane and land in Brisbane.

See you on the other side!

Rounding the Point

Approaching Storey Bridge,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

And not just metaphorically. This photo was taken on the City Ferry. We were traveling from Dockside on Kangaroo Point toward Eagle Street, which is the first stop in the CBD. It had just started raining when I took this photo, and when we had just passed the CBD, I saw lightning strike one of the high rises. A dramatic entry to the downtown, eh?

Although Eagle Street is maybe a kilometer from Dockside as the crow flies, it's at least twice that by ferry. That's because Kangaroo Point is the southern bank of a sharp meander in the Brisbane River. It's almost the tip of an inverted "U" that the bridge crosses over.

The bridge is all steel construction, and looks as if it were built in the early 20th century. I've heard stories about how a bomb shelter was built under the southern buttress of the bridge for World War II, so I suspect it was built between WWI and WWII. It's a beautiful bridge. I walked from the point to the the other side, a neighborhood called Fortitude Valley, and it only took me about 15 minutes. That's pretty easy, and perfectly reasonable when going to that area. Fortitude Valley, or "the Valley", seems to be the nightclub and entertainment center for the city, the alterna-scene to the bright lights and tall buildings of the CBD. It's about another 10 minutes to Eagle Street from there.

There's a group that hosts daily walking tours of the bridge, which I think is really cool. I definitely want to do that some day. They rig everyone for climbing and take the group through the upper reaches of the bridge. Walking across the bridge is really fun. It's very tall, which means at some points, you're even and not very far from the middle floors of some of the downtown high rises. While used mostly for cars to get from the CBD to the southern suburbs and from the northern suburbs to the Gold Coast, there is a very lively walking and biking community that uses the bridge. Even late at night, I encountered foot and bike traffic.

The ferries are awesome and I look forward to commuting on them, at least for a little while. They're clean, on time, and the pilots are friendly. Off-peak hours, the round trip fare from Dockside to North Quay was only AU$3.90. North Quay is the end of the line and farthest downstream this particular route took, also the closest to Queen Street, a big shopping mall. When I arrive in Brisbane, I'll be taking the City Ferry and City Cat. I'll take some photos when I get there, because the boats are really fun. The City Ferries are kind of roly-poly smallish boats that travel between just upstream of Dockside and North Quay.

The City Cats are catamarans that have routes that range much farther up and down stream than the City Ferries. They seem a bit racier and more modern. I haven't been on them, but my workplace is off a City Cat stop farther downstream from North Quay. The Cats don't stop at Kangaroo Point, so I'll have to take a Ferry to the CBD, then catch a Cat to my stop, which is named Regatta. I'm also looking forward to see if there are any bike users on the ferries. I hope so, because it would be fun to ferry around the point then bike from the CBD to work. It would be a good workout.

I'm also rounding the point in getting settled with moving out of the house. I'm down to the final sort, followed by the packing run. I joined the Qantas Club so I could use their lounges, use a shorter line in the terminal when I need to get reticketed, and also because I can bring a third 32kilo bag. That last gives me some additional flexibility in what I can bring with me to Brisbane. I would like to bring some records, CDs and books with me. I also need to bring a lot of papers with me. The shorter line for reticketing is worth the price of admission because the last time through, it took me almost three hours to negotiate the ticketing, luggage security and personal security lines. And, the lounge is awesome because I can rest my dogs, read, and have a bite to eat during my stopover in LAX. I surely wish I'd known about that the last time. I know better now, and I look forward to relaxing more on this trip.