On Holiday, with Drama: Day 1

I have found an unbelievable, wonderful place to spend a few days. It's about 4h 30m drive North of Brisbane. A comfy, cozy, relaxed coastal town called Woodgate. Un-effing-believable.

But...

The start of the weekend was filled with a lot of adventure and drama. The plan was to take four days, travel to Woodgate, head back on the 24th, have the 25th in Brisbane, fly to Melbourne on the 26th to meet up with a friend who is flying over to Australia, spend a few days there and then head back to Brissie together. The first leg was Brisbane to Woodgate, which is a bit of a drive. Most of it is motorway (what we'd call a freeway in the States), though beyond about 125k North of the city, there are only two lanes the rest of the way. There are plenty of places to stop along the way, but the farther North you go, the longer the stretches. Unfortunately for me, on a 20k stretch between towns, I noticed my battery light was on, and then I saw the water temperature was in the red. I pulled over as soon as I could, but the problem is that the verge is narrow, and there is a sharp drop-off from the tarmac. So, I had to travel about 3k like this. Smarty-pants that I am, I turned on the heater all the way to help a little bit, but still. I was very worried.

I was finally able to pull over into a truck rest stop, so there was plenty of room. Nulla Flats Creek is the name of the town. Sigh. I opened up the bonnet (hood to those in the States) and the the coolant reserve system was boiling. There was coolant sprayed around a bit (not everywhere, though), and coolant was dripping from the bottom of the engine onto the ground. I climbed up on the roo bar (bull bar in the States) to get a better look at the engine and then saw that I had thrown a fan belt...one of two. Fortunately for me, the belt was in one piece and looked like it was in good shape. But, there's no way I had the right tools to put that back on.

I thought about it for a bit, walked around, had a drink of water in the shade, thought some more, and decided to call the auto club (RACQ). Turns out that my membership had expired on the 18th of December (it was the 20th). Fortunately, the nice person said, they allow three months grace period. After a bit of checking, they decided I was in the Howard district, so they'd call the local service in Howard and have me towed back there...that way, I wouldn't have to pay any tow charges.

About 20 minutes later, up pulls the tow fellow in a late model Toyota 4x4...not posh, very serviceable...with a trailer. We had a chat, he had a look at the engine, and lo, he pointed out that the water pump was probably broken. Then he proceeded to warn me about the possibility of a broken head gasket and a possible cracked head...just to prepare me for the worst, he said. Feh. Having just put a new head gasket on the thing two months ago, I was not happy about the thought of buying a new head gasket, but what are you going to do if it needs it?

He loaded the Land Rover onto the trailer, secured it really, really well, and off we went, back to the sleepy little town of Howard. Then, we got to the next stage, which is what to do next. He said there was no way he could look at the thing until Monday, so now what did I want to do? I called up the people running the place I was staying in Woodgate telling them what was going on, and we agreed if it got to around 4:30PM, I'd call and let them know so they could turn on the light and leave the door open.

Find a hire car (rental), seemed like the best thing to do. And the best place, he said, was Maryborough. So then, how to get to Maryborough? Taxi, of course. Thirty minutes later, a taxi from Maryborough arrives and drives me back to that city...30k. Only to find both car rental places closed up tighter than a drum, and no one answering the phones.

Oh, great. Things just went from bad to worse. There I am in Maryborough -- a fine city, mind you, but not my destination -- with no wheels and no way to get to my destination, and 30k away from my Land Rover. Not good. Meter is running in the cab. "Where would you like to go next?" Quick decision time -- a motel that I had stayed at before...the Blue Shades Comfort Inn. A fine motel, reasonable rates, very quiet. The woman who runs the place has a three year old daughter who is very cute and very shy but has a big voice.

OK. I have a place to stay, I have a change of clothes, I have my toothbrush, and I have my keys, wallet and money. Oh, and importantly, I have something to read. It's now 4:00PM. So, I take out my mobile phone and call the holiday rental people. Thus began a two hour game of phone tag. The gal at the holiday rental place was incredibly helpful, calling her husband, his dad, this people, that people, me, her brother. All for nought. I did come close to catching a ride with her brother on the way North...I missed him by 10 minutes, I guess. By the time they called him back, he had passed Maryborough, so that options was gone. Her husband's dad ran the RACQ shop in Childers, which is the next big town north of Maryborough, and also has the turn-off to Woodgate. He explained to me that he hated working on Land Rovers because they were an asshole of a car, and that in general, he recommended I have the car serviced at the Land Rover shop in either Hervey Bay (pronounced like Harvey Bay) or Bundaberg, the next really big city north of Childers.

I knew about the shop in Hervey Bay, since I passed it on the way into town one time I visited that city. I remember noticing a fine collection of Defenders, Range Rovers and other Land Rovers. There was one especially fine Defender 130, which is the king cab pickup version of my Land Rover. Beautiful condition, a real sight to behold, the true workhorse of the Land Rover line. Anyway, by then it was 5:30PM, and there was absolutely no way that any shop anywhere in Queensland outside of Brisbane was open, except perhaps for restaurants. Holiday weekend, and Saturday afternoon in general...not much business, especially at a repair shop. So, I was definitely committed to staying in Maryborough for the night, and probably until Monday morning.

The situation looked pretty grim. But, at the same time, the only way to see it was as an adventure. There is no way that I will forget this holiday, and I will always have memories associated with this part of Queensland. It is burned into my mind. Once the phone calls from the rental place and her family came to an end, I was resigned to staying overnight and through the weekend. Not great, but not many other options. So, off I go to find something to eat, since I did not bring my food with me from the Land Rover. I happened to be staying near the commercial big box strip in town, so I walked over to the local Hungry Jack's (Burger King -- I don't know why) and had something to eat. On the way back to the motel, I came across a bottle shop (liquor store), so went in to find some liquor...if there's one thing I needed, it was a good slug of high-proof alcohol to calm me down. The locally made liquor is Bundaberg Rum, so I got a 700ml bottle of that, plus some Coca Cola, and took those back to the motel. In the bottle shop, I got a very, very suspicious look and chat from the owner...kind of unfriendly. But then, I suspect he knows all of his customers; he probably almost never gets new people in the shop.

One thing that I've never really come to grips with in Australia is the drive through bottle shop. There are whole chains devoted to drive throughs. It's really weird. But, you literally drive into the store. It's covered up so even if it's raining or it's high noon, you are under cover. Roll down the window, and tell them what you want. They will go get it for you, load it into your vehicle. You pay, and off you go. You don't have to get out of the car, but most people do, at least to pay. It's kind of nice, but very weird...there's really no recognition that you might want to browse before you buy. Nope. Wham, bam, I'm a Bundy man, and off you go. It works for the Aussies well enough, but I hardly ever know what I want by name. I want to go look at stuff...I have more of a visual memory.

Anyway, the bottle shop in Maryborough that I chose wasn't drive through, but kind of unfriendly. My money is as good as anybodies, so whatever. Plus, since I was walking, I needed a bag, which was not close to hand. The owner was definitely put out, but whatever...I had my rum and coke, and I was going to relax after an afternoon of stress.

I walked back to the hotel, had a couple of good stiff drinks, and fell asleep.

So ended day 1.

Lightning Pole

Lightning Pole,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Brisbane and Southeast Queensland have experienced three massive storms in the past week. Each involved thunder, lightning, hail, and torrential rains. Two nights ago, we had a storm that dropped 250mm (that's 10 inches) of rain in less than 6 hours. There has been widespread flooding, major roads out, cars and trucks underwater, rescues, downed trees, mud, and lots and lots of water. Sadly, two people have died. One was swept away into a storm drain by what is essentially a flash flood. The other person was also swept away...she was in a car that was overtaken by fast running and rising flood waters; her car was carried away, as was she.

I've driven through some heavy rains here in Australia, and it can be fierce. These were some of the biggest tropical storms that I've experienced while I've been here. I respect the thunderstorms in Australia. I've been hiking a few times and heard thunder off in the distance. Every single time, I've high-tailed it back to the Landie or home. A couple of times I haven't made it back in time before the rain hit, and I can tell you, it was scarey. The lightning is much more intense than I remember ever experiencing in North America, and that's the biggest worry when exposed outside.

But, the more common worry, and the one that can really be more deadly, is flash flooding. It's been said that Australia is a drought broken by the occasional flood. So true. The land is usually so dry and so hard, and storms so intense, the water generally has no place to go except the low points in the land and the flood plains. I've been driving in or after the storms, and had to ford fast-running streams in places I've never seen water before. Most such places in the roadways are well-known, and the Aussies put depth markers in them. That way, if you've coming along to a pool of stagnant or running water where there used to be a road, you can estimate how deep the road bed is, and determine if you're vehicle can get across.

Of course, there's more to it than that. You actually have to get out of the vehicle and wade through the stuff, if you need to get across, to find out if there are any hidden logs or what not. Which is not something you'd usually do except in an emergency or when you really, really had to. The reason you have to check for logs is because it's a bear to be surprised by running into a tree trunk when you're traversing a running stream.

So, that's one of the reasons I have a Land Rover. The thing has very high clearance, excellent maneuverability, and it weighs close to 2 metric tons, dry. It can easily ford nearly a meter of water, and if I were to put on a snorkel, I could ford water almost up to the top of the engine if I had to. And then, I could wash out the interior with a hose :)

Anyway, I'm all safe and sound, and the house made it through with no problem. There was a bit of water running through the ground level for a little while, but I don't have anything valuable down there, nor electrical, for this very reason.

One of my friends took this picture of lightning. The most recent storm had a lot of cloud to cloud lightning, and not so much cloud to ground. And most of the lightning didn't touch down in nearby. But the previous storm was absolutely amazing...a lot of ground strikes, and several of them were within a kilometer or so...nearly immediate light to thunder, and really, really loud cracks.

Anyway, tropical storms are to be respected. That's for sure. I was very happy to experience this set while safe and sound in my house. Fortunately, no damage, we weren't without power for very long, and no major problems in my neighborhood. But this was the worst series of storms since the '70s, I'm told, when, among other things, the Brisbane River crested at 12 meters above flood level...that's 36 feet! I don't think we're bound for anything that dramatic, but we're still all keeping an eye on the weather forecast.

Gone Fishing

I went fishing yesterday on the Gold Coast. A friend told me about a place which he'd had some success. Since I had the weekend off, i.e. I wasn't on call, I decided to take a drive down and have a look. It turns out to be just up the road from a place I'd stayed last year. That was a pleasant surprise, since I found the roads familiar. I also found a faster, easier road from the motorway (we call them freeways) over to the Coast.

I don't much like the Gold Coast itself, which is to say, the main beach and the strip at Surfer's Paradise. Imagine high rises and clueless tourists from all over the world. That's the main beach. Yuck. There are three new high rises under construction now, which weren't there the last time I visited, which was about a year ago. The suburbs down there are ticky-tacky construction, and could be Suburb, Anywhere, the World. Same old architecture, same old street design, same old sidewalks, some old Courts, Lanes, and Avenues. Feh. Boring. I remember thinking "I came to Australia for this?" on my first serious visit.

It's enough to say, the Gold Coast is not my favorite place to be.

But, the idea of a reasonable place to fish away from the strip had its appeal, so I headed on down to The Spit and had a go. I didn't catch any fish, but I did get quite a few nibbles and three or four strikes. I didn't manage to pull anything in, but I can't complain. I did manage to get myself a bit of a sunburn, but that comes with the territory, I think. All the more reason to get better sunblock and keep it up. The worst burn, of course, was on the tops of my feet. Heh. Fortunately, I have some aloe vera plants in my garden, so I get the good stuff to treat the sunburn. Great stuff...always go with the juice of a live plant.

Anyway, the Spit is a pleasant enough place. I'm sure it's really nice on weekdays without folks like me who can only make it on weekends. Half the problem with the fishing was the amount of boating traffic running hither and yon. The tides were wrong, too, since it was beach fishing and I got there at high tide. Still, I can't complain about the fishing. It was a good reason to get away from the house, not very expensive, got me out of doors, and gave me something to do with myself.

I'm sure I'll get better as I get more practice and find some quieter spots. I did wander to one place that set this whole thing into motion: the boatramp at Thorneside. Now that I have tackle, I'll have to head back there and see what it's like. Seemed much quieter, more of a locals-only kind of place. Just what I need.

One thing I did forget, unfortunately, was the camp chair. Ah, well. Next time!

Bush Stone-Curlew and chick

Bush Stone-Curlew and chick,
originally uploaded by Nicarra.

I found this photo on Flickr of the bush stone curlew. This is the pair of birds I've been watching nest in the leaf litter at the back of my work. They hatched a pair of chicks last weekend. I haven't been able to get nearly this close for a photo, so I borrowed someone else's.

These are nocturnal birds, and very drowsy at night. They have very long legs, presumably for wading. Their camouflage is excellent, and they are very hard to find in their usual habitat, which is under trees, at least during the daytime. They freeze when threatened, the better to blend in to the background. But, when you come too close, they will make themselves very big, open their wings, and hiss at the attacker. I've seen the pair I've been observing take on flocks of mina birds and even crows, so they aren't shy at all.

One thing that amazes me is that they nest on the ground. I don't really understand this, since I suspect there is a good threat of snakes a lizards. But, they do seem to be a bonded pair, so usually one was keeping lookout while the other sat on the eggs. I also saw them change places on the nest a few times, so they do seem to share parenting duties.

Now that the chicks have hatched, the adults are feeding the chicks. For the first few days, the chicks hunkered down under the adults, but now they are being refused.

Fascinating stuff, and I'm looking forward to the little ones fledging. Although I'll miss them when they're gone, it's been great to see the progress they've been making over the past month or so.

Rare photo of a Possum

BackyardPossum.Cropped,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

This morning, there was a huge racket around the house as I was having morning coffee and reading the news. A couple of crows were hanging around the side of the house, and there was the sound of claws on the corrugate steel roof. This happens from time to time, and I didn't think much of it, since the crows around here are regularly harassed by minas and magpies. The smaller birds do not like the crows, and sometimes flocks of the little ones will dive-bomb the crows to get them away from nests or little ones, or whatever.

I have a small family of possums who live in the trees around my house. I've got four mango trees, which provide great shade in the summertime. Well, after about a half hour of the crows clearly going after something or being attacked, not sure of which, I went outside to see the goings on. It turns out that one of the possums had been cornered by a pair of crows. At one point, the possum made a dash for the back side of the house, across the roof and into the stand of golden palms near my deck.

Possums are related to the o'possums of North America, since they are marsupials, tree-dwellers, and nocturnal. It's pretty rare to see them during the day time. I'm not sure what was going on, but I'm guessing this poor fella was caught out after sunrise, spotted by the crows, and chosen as a target for eating. Fortunately, it survived the attack. I helped a little by shooing off the crows when they were too near.

Terrified, this one has been hiding out literally inches from the railing on my back deck, well protected in the stand of golden palms. I've seen the possums at night, and I hear them all the time. They have a distinctive call, a little chirp they make to help each other locate themselves. They call each other all the time at night. Occasionally, late at night, I hear them scream; they're probably fighting or mating...it sounds vaguely like cats fighting or mating. I do see them climbing around on the tree at night, and a pair of them were hanging out on my deck railing late night one time when I went out.

The crows are still popping by from time to time to harass the little fella, so I've been heading out to shoo the crows away. I don't much like the crows...they are loud and obnoxious, and with all the food in area, they can go feed somewhere else.

I was fortunate enough to catch a few photos of this one after one such raid attempt by the crows. Very big eyes, forward facing large ears, a pouch, and a very long, strong, prehensile tail. I'm pretty sure this one has a couple of young, since I've seen a family of three once or twice, climbing along the trees or the electrical wires, and come face to face with them when I've gone downstairs to the garage. I especially like the toes...there seem to be four, with a very wide spacing between two pairs. Very efficient for grasping branches.

It's rare to see them during daylight, so I'm glad I had a chance to catch this photo. I hope it survives the crows.

Fatigue

   There comes a time when, on too many days in a row,
Work has reared its head...
        Don't get me wrong, I like my work...
But too many days of work, at other's beck and call,
  There comes time a time when
     I've had enough
I struggle to wake up
   I struggle to fall asleep
      I struggle to be happy (what a contradiction, that)
I've simply had enough
   And still there are many more days in a row
      When work and obligations stand between me and a quiet moment

It's funny how being a boss
  Hasn't done the least
     To free me from responsibility
If anything, commitments cling to me
   All the more tightly


It won't be over soon

Ummmm......yeah!

It's been a long time since I've posted. It's been a very busy time.

I never made it to Shanghai. One of the people on my team resigned, so we've had to pick up the slack.

One of my customers went ballistic. As did the entire account team handling them, so I spent a week or more of nearly 20 hour days trying to save the account.

One of the people on my team is on annual leave. For three weeks, so we've had to pick up the slack.

I have to hire a replacement, plan a budget for next year, try to transfer someone onto my team from another country, and help my team.

I had a bit of trouble with the Land Rover, so it was in the shop for nearly a week...blown gasket from the manifold to the exhaust. The, of course, a leak in the head gasket. They nearly kept it over a weekend. Very messy and damned expensive. But, there you go...can't have a blown head gasket in the boonies.

But, all has not been sadness and money out the door.

The Aussie Dollar has fallen from 98 cents US to as low as 65 cents US. And I caught it at the low point (pure luck) and managed to transfer several months worth of expense money. So my US dollars buy me nearly an extra 30 cents Australian every time. Of course, almost everything is more expensive in Australia, since so much of it is imported and the market is relatively small and spread out. But I'll take that extra 25-30% any day of the week, thank you. At the high point, I was looking at losing money every time I brought it in to Australia. So, that's a nice bonus.

At work, I've been watching a pair of birds nesting. They're called Bush Stone Curlews, and they're quite handsome birds. They've established a next on the ground. Turns out they are nocturnal, and woodland birds, so I've been lucky to spot them during the day time. It's been about two weeks since they started sitting on the next, so I can't wait to see the younglings.

I went fishing with a friend yesterday. Didn't catch a thing, but that wasn't really the point. We found a little town on the coast down South called Jacob's Well. Nice little out of the way place with a great boat ramp, jetty, and camp ground. Lots of houseboats and whatnot. We parked ourselves on the shore and cast. I managed to wrestle a crab for my bait...I let the crab win. It was a great morning and a fun diversion.

The day before, I went for a drive up North and took a hike in a State Forest. Pretty place, and after a good rain earlier in the week, still a bit muddy. Got the Landie a coat of mud, and that made me happy.

Been watching cricket lately. Australia is on tour in India for some international tests. The Indians managed a draw for the first test, but this second test is proving difficult for the Aussies. We're in the second innings, and the Aussies are behind by almost 500 runs...and there are 5 out. Not a good sign. The Aussies will be lucky to pull a draw, but I suspect they will lose...badly. The press are playing it up as the end of the era of Australian dominance in cricket. Ah, whatever. It's a fun game to watch...not very demanding, you can sit in the shade here in Australia and watch people in white pants, shirts, and hats play cricket for an hour or an afternoon. Very relaxed, and quite good fun when played by two skilled teams.

I hear the house is almost done. I've yet to see some photos, though they have been promised for months.

Seems like all the news I can think of right now.

Bound for Shanghai

I'm bound for Shanghai n a few weeks. I'll be teaching a course for some business colleagues there. It will be my first trip to China. It's unfortunate all these trips are for business, in that I'm always traveling to city centers and kept busy from morning until night. There's never been enough time to be a tourist or traveler or sightseer. On the other hand, it's also on someone else's nickel. There's nothing really romantic about this kind of travel ... it's a lot of work. In this case, I'll have to spend quite a bit of time preparing for the course, then 8 hours a day teaching, and a few hours each night preparing for the next day's classes. And, that's the day job. I'll also have to take care of my normal, day to day, business of managing people, taking care of the finances, and all the other fun involved in my day job.

Anyway, enough whingeing. It's still exciting to travel to China.

Back here in Australia, Spring is almost here. It's great to have some good whether again.

21st Century Corporate Architecture, Tokyo

High Rise, Tokyo,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Another phone cam picture, this time of a 21st century office building in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. It reminds me of photos I've seen of the "Gherkin" building in London. More textured, and with an exoskeleton, no doubt because of the more serious concerns about earthquakes in Japan. Remarkable exterior, and a distinctive building.

State Architecture in Seoul

State Architecture,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's a phone cam of some state architecture in Seoul. I have no idea what this building is. I took the photo with the camera in my mobile when I was in a taxi heading for the airport.

Away Up North

This past week, I traveled to Tokyo and Seoul on business. It was my second trip to Japan and my first to Seoul.

Downtown Tokyo is an amazing place. The future is definitely here, and it's very much not evenly distributed. Next to buildings from last year are traditional buildings from the Samurai era. I stayed in Shinjuku, which is a commercial and government neighborhood. The subway station sees two million people per day, has dozens of entrances, and is so vast, you need a map to find your way through it. It was high summer in Tokyo, which meant warm temperatures (28C), two of three days of rain, and lush greenery. I had soba, raw horse meat, pub food, sashimi, grilled fish, miso, and lots of rice. I learned a lot more about the subway and train system, which are intricate and involve many different systems. I also learned a bit more of Japanese business etiquette. One of the things I enjoyed greatly was the profusion of gardens throughout the city. The exchange rate is roughly 100 Yen per US dollar.

Seoul is somehow alike to Tokyo, but oh, so different. Ultra-modern architecture. Masses of 25 story tall apartment blocks. State architecture on a grand scale. Unbelievable traffic jams. The Han River separates the city, and is crossed by bridge after bridge. The airport is 40k outside the city. The exchange rate is now 1083 Won per US dollar. Taxis are incredibly cheap; it cost me about 43,000 Won to get to the airport by taxi, while in Tokyo, a similar ride would have cost nearly $250. Taking public transport from the airport to my hotel cost $13 in Seoul, and $30 in Tokyo.

One of the most memorable moments of the entire trip was a walk I took on my first night in Seoul. It was nearly midnight. What had been a vibrant, bustling neighborhood, filled with people walking from place to place only an hour prior, was now dark and largely deserted. In just a few short blocks, I encountered dozens of men sleeping on park benches, street corners, and sidewalks. These were not homeless people, as we might see in the US, but rather ordinary looking blokes. I even saw one fellow in a business suit leaned up against a concrete pillar at a busy intersection. I've never seen anything like this before, anywhere. Prosperous looking people, definitely not waiting on anything, and definitely not prepared to be sleeping out of doors, propped up against almost any kind of surface, absolutely and completely asleep, in the middle of the city. It was the oddest thing to see some guy in a business suit passed out at a major intersection, a block away from a luxury hotel.

Oh, and the hotel. Western luxury largely wasted on me. It felt embarrassing to be staying there. One huge contrast between Tokyo and Seoul was that it was easy to eat the local cuisine in Tokyo, and nearly impossible in Seoul. I was delighted to try a wide variety of foods and styles in Tokyo. As I told my hosts in both cities, I was looking to enjoy food that ordinary people eat at home or every day. I was obliged in Tokyo, but my hosts in Seoul seemed oddly reluctant to indulge me. I'd guess the food I had at the company cafeteria was the nearest to local food, and I was grateful for it. One of my hosts said she "knew the quality of the food there." And yet, there was almost no Korean food at the hotel, and my hosts took me out for Italian food -- twice. At the cafeteria, I had a fish and vegetable soup that was ridiculously spicy, a sour kimchi with chili paste, some vegetables fried in egg batter, baby eggplant steamed and covered in chili paste, and rice with some sort of toasted seed. I ate with a spoon and pair of steel chopsticks. After lunch, the practice was to make a metal cup of water to taste by using a hot and cold water spigot. After drinking that, there was a pot of rice water, where you dipped a ladle into the pot and poured it into the same metal cup you used for the water. Following that was a station with serviettes, where you wiped your mouth.

One thing the Japanese do that I really like is to give you a Handy-Wipe/WetNap before your meal. Although I rarely used my hands in either place, sometimes it was required. Ensuring clean hands is something I appreciate, especially when my hosts hustled me around from one place to the next, and nobody really seemed to retire to the loo to wash hands ahead of time. So, yes, I do appreciate the Japanese approach to hygiene -- assume your patrons' hands are unsanitary and provide them the means to clean them.
I hope to visit both Japan and South Korea for vacation sometime in the future. It would be very nice to have time to get out into the country and see how ordinary people live. I'm sure the cities have only a weak relation to small town life. And, of course, one never sees the open spaces, parks, and ordinary places. Having some familiarity with the local language would be very helpful.

I had a great trip, and hope to write a little more about my experiences in future. For now, I'm back in Brisbane, and the weather has really turned the corner. I was in shorts and a t-shirt overnight for the first time in nearly six months. It was fanstastic weather today and I really hope this is a sign of summer soon to arrive.

Aussie Slang Part 4

Brekkie: breakfast
Brekkie Creek: Breakfast Creek, an Aussie-style pub in Brisbane, renowned for letting you select your steak at the order counter from 3-4 cuts of 3 kinds of beef.
Ridgy didge: "all right", "fair dinkum", "genuine". "Brekkie Creek is ridgy didge."
Fair dinkum: genuine, the real deal. "XXXX is fair dinkum."
Rock up: to arrive; almost always present tense, even when using to refer to something in the past. "We rock up to the party and who was there but my friend Jan."
Youse: you. Surprisingly common, pronounced like we might say "ya's". "See youse later."
Fair go: Aussie value of giving everyone a fair chance. "Everyone deserves a fair go."
Stubbie: bottle, typically used when ordering beer. "Draught or stubbie?"
Too easy: No problem. used by itself. Often a conversation closer when you're asking someone for assistance, or making a request at a shop. "Could you lend me hand?" "Too easy"
VB: short for Victoria Bitter; a beer from Melbourne. Usually an indicator the person asking for it is from Melbourne, which is sometimes a problem in Brisbane, when XXXX is the local beer
Boag's: a beer from Tasmania. Usually marks one as a Tasmanian if you order it in Brisbane
Tassie: pronounced, Tazzie. Tasmanian. "Boag's is a Tassie beer."
Drop the penny: make a phone call. Implies informing on bad behaviour. "The neighbors had his sprinklers on in the middle of the day, so I dropped the penny."
Tasty: sharp or flavorful. Often, cheese will be labelled "tasty" or "extra tasty." Even cereal can be described or labelled "Light and tasty."
Longlife: this one confused me for months. Canned or packaged liquids with preservatives or pasteurized to remain on a shelf without refrigeration. Mostly seen in supermarkets, who may have half an aisle devoted to longlife products. "Longlife juice." "Longlife milk."
Straddie: Stradbroke Island, a sand island off the coast of Southeast Queensland. Popular tourist destination accessible only by boat.
Reckon: guess, surmise, believe. A common expression. "You reckon he's the complete package?" "I reckon he is"
Cairns: a tropical coastal city in North Queensland on the Coral Sea; near the Great Barrier Reef. Pronounced with the Aussie "'r'/aaah", "Cairns" sounds remarkably like "Cain" or how the French pronounce "Cannes"
Bogan: implies lower class, uncouth, ethnic. Not a very nice term, and almost never ironic.
Westie: from the Western suburbs. Usually a term in Sydney, though applicable in Brisbane. Western suburbs in cities on the East coast of Australia have affordable housing because they are away from the more desirable and cooler coast, so are typically working class. Implies working class, uneducated, uncouth, ethnic. Not nice, and rarely ironic. "Look at those Westies over there."
Derro: derelict. Similar to bogan, but nastier. "The Queen Street Mall is being taken over by derros"
Kiwi: New Zealander
JAFA: Depending on where you are, could be Just Another Fucking Aucklander or Just Another Fucking Australian. Usually a Kiwi term. Usually derogatory, but could be used ironically. Loudmouthed, hard drinking, arrogant. In a Kiwi context, Auckland has undue influence in New Zealand society, but is not the capital city and is not where the majority of the people live.
Top End: Tropical North Australia. Yorke Peninsula in Queensland, Darwin, and Broome in the Northern Territories are all in the Top End.
Feral: closest US equivalent is "hippie." Implies living off the land, usually in the tropics, and usually refers to a Caucasian. Usage depends on context and intent, but among urbanites, frequently self-deprecating. "Johno, you've grown a beard." "Yep. Just back from holiday, and went feral."
Holiday, Yearly Leave: vacation

The 49er

Just reached my 49th birthday the other day. I survived another year. And that's a good thing. I'm looking forward to my 50th.

My forties have been great for me, so I hope my 50's will be even better.

Here's to many more to follow.

And for you non-San Franciscans, we sometimes refer to ourselves as 49-ers, in honor of the folks who came to the city during the Gold Rush of 1849, as well as the football team.

Go Niners!

Scary Me

Bryce,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's a photo of me taken in San Francisco. Worse for wear after a year and half in Australia, plus still seriously jet-lagged when this picture was taken, but still, me.

A warm up

After what seemed like weeks of really chilly temperature, it felt nearly balmy last night and today.

Thursday morning was billed as the coldest in 50 years in Brisbane. In my neighborhood, there was frost on the rugby pitches and cricket paddocks. Dew is common enough, but this was downright frost. We're sure the Western Suburbs were below freezing. It was cold enough to see my breath in the house when I woke up. Fortunately, it warmed up once the sun was fully up, but I tell you, my teeth were chattering when I took my shower.

And then Friday happened. Afternoon temperatures were in the mid- to high twenties (75F and up). And it stayed warm Friday night. It was almost too warm to wear long sleeves. And today, I was out mowing the grass and working in the garden in shorts and a t-shirt. In fact, even as I write this, well after dark, I'm still in shorts, though I have put on another layer on top.

Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, renovation on the house is in full swing. Lots of work on the bathroom, kitchen, roof, and elsewhere. Great stuff.

Hang Glider

Hang Glider over Fort Funston Beach,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's a moment from my visit to San Francisco. One of the great beaches is near Fort Funston, just on the south western edge of the city, at the border with Daly City. It's usually regarded as a dog park. It's also the location for a hang glider club, since there are usually great updrafts from the onshore breezes hitting the cliffs.

On the day I visited, there were 8-10 gliders lined up, waiting for the right conditions. Just as I was finished with my beach walk, the sun came out a bit and the breezes picked up. This fellow was the first glider off the cliff. I caught a great action sequence as he completed a turn at the southern end of the cliff formation, highlight his glider and him against the sky. Not much contrast in the picture, sadly, mostly due to limitations with my camera, but hopefully I've caught the essence.

The Beaches of Brisbane

...Which is to say, there are none.

I only just now realized Brisbane City has no natural beaches. The nearest is 25-30 miles North of the city. And, the famous ones at Surfer's Paradise and the Sunshine Coast, are farther away still, perhaps 50-60 miles.

Until I returned from San Francisco, I didn't realize I missed this about city life. The beach in San Francisco, which is a good one, is just on the other side of town. And there are some spectacular beaches north or south of the city. Taking a walk on the beach was as simple as riding a short distance, and ten minutes later, your feet were in the water. Chilly, for sure, but still, a beach.

Brisbane has no such geographical luck that way. The city council has constructed a beach at South Bank, just opposite the CBD, but it's quite a ways to a really good natural beach.

Sunshine Beach, off Noosa Heads to the north of Brisbane, is really beautiful and unspoiled. So nice to take a walk and play in the sand.

It's sad to feel so landlocked and far away from a good beach.

A cold day in Brisbane

Today is the second coldest day in Brisbane in the last twenty years. Wednesday past was the coldest. Brrr. No central heating in my Queenslander, so it's been nights of hiding under the covers and drinking hot toddies to keep warm. It's also been raining off and on for the last week.

But today is Saturday and it's sunny. Hopefully it will warm up a bit here later in the day.

After waking up at 4:30AM this morning, I watched a recording of "My Own Private Idaho." River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. OMFG. Keanu before he was anybody. River before his death. Gus van Sant. Seattle. Portland. Vistas of the American West. Love/Unlove, power, family, Dickens, street culture, and then, hustling at all levels. Now I see why the Hollywood crowd loved that film...so gritty, so not LA. I watched all the way through to the end of the credits, something I rarely do, and noticed the copyright date: 1991. Amazing. So much has happened since then. And the final scene where passers-by find River sleeping on the road and steal his shoes and duffle bag, to the slack string guitar version of "America the Beautiful." Harsh.

These days I alternate between feeling I've reached my level of incompetence, feeling as if I somehow don't have the "killer instincts" so prevalent in the world, and feeling it is precisely because I lack those instincts that I am who I am. It's a mixed up time.

I see films like that, and realize how good my life has been to this point, though it certainly has some interesting punctuations. Like the years I spent as a separatist, or the years taken to try to start my own business. Failures in so many ways, but successes in so many others. And now I work for a trans-national far from home and trusted to run a business. This isn't what I expected from life. So far from separatism and small business and my ideals.

What will become of me? I have no idea. At best, I can try to guide the trajectory along the river that is my life, and perhaps avoid some shoals and rocks. But on days like this, that is the best I hope for...to get knocked around a little less than usual.

Monty

Monty,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Best. Cat. Evar. Even if he did wake me up at 4AM every day.

Sunset in the Tree Top

Sunset in the Tree Top,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

A rare sunset in the trees along Ocean Avenue. The neighborhood is usually fogged in during the summer time. I caught this photo during a hot spell, when there were on shore breezes all through the day, blowing the fog out to see, and thus rendering sunset light into the tree tops.

California Green Figs

California Green Figs,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

My favorite fruit when they are in season, which is about two weeks every year. Amazingly expensive, but oh, so delicious. These ones were organic, to boot. From Rainbow Grocery, Folsom and Division. A real treat.

CCSF Facade

CCSF Facade,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

The front side of the Mission campus of the Community College of San Francisco. Valencia near 22nd Street. Beautiful tile work and incredible detail.

Dog is my CoPilot

Dog is my CoPilot,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

A brilliant, only-in-San Francisco moment. A motorcycle side-car populated by a setter. Waiting for traffic at the intersection of Juniperro Serra and Sloat.

Hang Gliders

Hang Gliders,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here are some hang gliders lined up, waiting for the winds. Fort Funston.

The Windmills of San Francisco

San Francisco Windmill,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

The windmills at the ocean end of Golden Gate Park, near the Beach House, have been restored. This was a decade-long project, I think, but the end result is amazing. I have no idea how authentic the restoration was, but the results are beautiful.

I'll be posting a few highlights of my recent trip back to the Bay Area, and then getting back to my life in Brisbane.

When was that?

For those of you interested, I expect to be in the San Francisco area from June 20th through July 17th. Drop me an email to let me know you'll be around, or post a comment if you need my contact information while I'm back in the States.

Aussie Slang, Part 3

Here's a few more words of Aussie slang.

chockers: full (The cupboard is chockers.)
cupboard: closet, cabinet (Put those shirts in the cupboard)
crisps: potato chips (Have some crisps with your sandwich)
biscuits: cookies (Would you like tea and biscuits?)
crispbread: crackers (I'd like some crispbread with my soup)
chips: french fries (Fish and chips)
bangers: sausages (Bangers and mash)
mash: mashed potatoes
whoop-whoop: the middle of nowhere, back of beyond (Johno took a job in Whoop-Whoop)
CBD: Central Business District, downtown, financial district
flat: apartment (I rented a flat in the CBD)
Macca's: McDonalds (Brownie had a burger at Macca's)
return fare: round trip (Two return fares to Eagle Street Pier, please)
ATO: Aussie equivalent of the IRS (The ATO is picking my pocket again)
cossie: swimsuit, bathing suit (Are you taking your cossie to the beach? No, I'm wearing boardies)
yobbo: red neck, ignorant person (Those yobbos started a fight in the stands at the footy)
rort: fraud committed for personal gain (He's a tax rort)
spruik: self-promotion or promotion of an idea by talking about it in public (The premier is spruiking his plan for new main roads)
Hungry Jacks: the Aussie brand name for Burger King (The Goths hang out at the Hungry Jacks on the Queen St. Mall)
flat white: coffee drink similar to a latte
long black: shot of espresso plus hot water; similar to a Cafe Americano
short black: shot of espresso
done and dusted: all over, finished (The budget is done and dusted)
first in, best dressed: first come, first served
wooden spoon: last place (Their team got the wooden spoon this year)
shout: round of drinks (It's your shout)
stoush: fight, brawl (Johno and Dave-o got into a stoush at the pub)
Freo: Fremantle (I'm on my way to Freo)
Salvos: The Salvation Army store (Go to Salvos for some bargains)
push bike: bicycle
bike or motor bike: motorcycle
footpath: sidewalk (Don't ride your push bike on the footpath)
wowser: puritanical, strait-laced, teetotaler (She's a wowser)

Goin back to Cali

After a lot of wrangling, I'm heading back to California in late June and staying for nearly a month. No trip overseas is worth it if it's less than a couple of weeks. And since this one is oriented toward getting a new roof on my house there, and includes the 4th of July weekend (which is a dead loss for working on the house), I decided to be safe rather than sorry and schedule a month.

I'll be working while I'm in California, in addition to getting the house done, so it's mostly work and not a whole lotta play. But, I'm looking forward to being home and visiting with friends. I'm not sure I'll be able to make it outside of California during the trip, which is really, really sad. If I can, it will most likely be a very last minute, short stay only kind of trip, which are really tough on everyone. But if I can make it back East, I'd like to go. I'd like to visit with my Mom and also see if I can get things sorted with my family to help scatter my Dad's ashes. Too much planning is necessary for that last one, though, so I doubt that part will work if I can only visit on the spur of the moment.

Really, the big thing is the roof. It's been on the house since before I first moved in, which was in 1991. Hard to believe it was that long ago. I rented the place with roommates for years before it was offered for sale. Flush with the internet boom in 1998, and with the owners interested in selling it to help them leverage to buy their own contracting warehouse, I bought it. The roof has been leaky off and on for years, despite so many tries to keep water flowing off the top, and now, with tenants in the place, it just can't wait any more. Shingles are blowing off, it still leaks in a couple of places, and with strangers living in the place, well, it has to be done. I even went out and got a home equity loan with this in mind. Interest rates have been kind to me this year, so I can get some cheap money to get the roof done.

It's going to be a challenge to keep that project going and manage my team from across the Pacific, but I'll do my best. Fortunately, there's nearly a four hour overlap in our schedules so I'll be able to chat with them in their mornings.

When I'm back in San Francisco, I look forward to reacquainting myself with the city and my friends. I suspect both sides will be shocked with the changes that have occurred since last we saw each other. But, that's how life goes...long absences make for seemingly dramatic changes.

Here Comes The Rain

It's been raining hard off and on for the last 36 hours. This is fantastic for us here in Brisbane. We're expected several days more rain, which is even better. While I'm told it's unusual, so far, no one here is complaining. Sure, a little gloomy, but we all understand just how important this is to us. Thursday night, just after sunset, it started, and kept on raining for nearly six hours. There were periods of heavy downpour, so loud on the roof it drowned out all sound in the house. I remember saying, "Now that's a good rain!"

A funny thing about this house, though. There's no tank to collect the rainwater. I just don't understand it. Well, I do, but I don't. I've seen how much water flows off the roof in a hard rain...lots and lots and lots. And to see it all going down the drain (literally) or into the ground is just wrong. I do understand how the owners of the house would feel it's an unnecessary improvement for a rental property, but I sincerely wonder about the long-term viability of any house in Australia that doesn't collect rainwater from the roof. I'd be happy to use it to wash the Landie or water the garden or even to water the lawn. But, no! It all goes into the drainage behind the house, eventually, never to be seen again.

Walking around the neighborhood, it's clear that rainwater collection tanks are the future here. Most homes that have been renovated in the last five years have them. Many homes sport little signs on the fence that rainwater is in use. That's an important detail, actually. Since there are still significant water restrictions in place, having a verdant lawn is impossible unless you are flouting the water restrictions, or you collect and use your own. So, a minor industry has grown up to create signs to assure one's neighbors that you are indeed a responsible citizen and using collected rainwater to ensure your lawn looks like a putting green.

But that just brings me to the ridiculous concept of a lawn in Australia. Even though this is a subtropical climate, there is no way to sustain a lawn, that symbol of British stability. Lawns in the UK make sense, given the climate there...it rains a lot there. Not so in Australia. Most of the natives haven't cottoned to the idea of xeriscaping, using native plants, or perhaps considering other forms of ground cover than Kentucky Bluegrass.

Apart from lawns, one thing that does separate a desirable and sensible home from a silly one is the use of native, sustainable trees and shrubs. Having a house surrounded by trees -- palms and mangoes and gums -- was one of the key factors affecting my choice of places to live. Another was having a timber frame house with lots of windows. Even on the hottest days, most of my home is in the shade. And I can open all the windows to catch the slightest breeze and move the air through the house. Overhangs on all the windows and a deck that is shaded throughout the day are key. I found some fantastic homes, but often they were made of brick or cinderblocks, or sat in the center of an acre of lawn with nary a scrap of shade even possibly touching them throughout the day. Ack! Houses like that would be ovens during hot Australian days and would retain their heat well into the wee hours. Mind you, having some warmth might be handy during the Winter, but Winter is a few months...it's toasty here the rest of the year. And while 30 outside is fine, an interior heated to 35 or even 40 for weeks or months on end is just no fun.

So, anyway, the garden is watered, the house is dry, and the garage is fine. I'm perfectly fine with downpours for the next four or five days. I'd prefer a weekend where I could go outside and hike or bike, but I'll find something to do. And the trees and shrubs, and yes, even the scraggly lawn, drink in all the water they can. I've put buckets outside to catch as much rain as I can store, and we're all looking forward to adding some water back into the catchments and dams.

More Aussie Slang

• Hoon: someone who drives a fast, flashy, loud and/or modded car; irresponsible driver
• Brekkie or Brekka: breakfast
• BYO: restaurant that doesn't serve alcohol, but you're welcome to Bring Your Own
• Gasper: cigarette break
• Bottle Shop: Liquor store
• Daks: trousers; though in New Zealand, daks are underwear
• Thongs: flip flops, i.e. footwear
• Brissie: Brisbane (pronounced brizzie)
  
• Gateway: The Gateway Motorway, aka the M1
• Pacific: The Pacific Motorway, aka the M3
• Sunnies: sunglasses

Some Australian Slang

• Tradie: a tradesman
• Sparkie: an electrician
• On Offer: for sale
• Trading Hours: Hours of Operation, for retail outlets
• footy: rugby, Aussie Rules, soccer, a ball used to play those sports
  
• Ute: utility vehicle; nearest US equivalent is the Chevy El Camino
• Motorway: freeway
• Ta: thank you
• Esky: cooler
• Landie: Land Rover
• EFTPOS: ATM system, debit card
• Digger: member of the Army
• Filthy: Angry, unpleasant

An Amazing Animation

A friend pointed out this piece of art: http://www.blublu.org/sito/video/muto.htm

Autumn is Here

Yesterday, we had a pretty big set of thunderstorms roll through the city. It was real weather, with big, splashing rain drops. The roof, which is corrugated steel, was clanging with the force of the drops. The nearest lightning stroke was less than a kilometer (half a mile) from the house. It was a strong storm, with high winds, and it took nearly an hour for the squall line to pass over us. For several hours afterwards, I could see lightning off in the distance.

A few hours past midnight, I woke up to hear the windows rattling and a fierce wind blowing. The house, built to Australian standards, leaks like a sieve, and I could feel drafts as the wind found its way through the house. The trees surrounding the house were creaking and the palm fronds thrashed against the roof.

Overall, a fairly big storm. I assume the jet stream was passing over Brisbane.

This morning, the temperature has dropped about 5 degrees C (that's about 10 degrees F) below normal, and is now in the 60's. There's a chill in the air, relatively speaking, and shorts and T-shirts are gone, in favor of long pants and layers. We're approaching the Solstice, so Autumn is here.

I had just cut the grass, and set out some buckets to collect rainwater. Perfect timing. But, it is kind of funny to think of weather in the high teens/low twenties as chilly, and be disappointed to have to put on long pants and long sleeved shirts. Ah, life in the sub-tropics.

In other news, the Aussie dollar reached over 95 US cents in currency trading yesterday. It's practically on par with the US dollar, and is expected to reach parity within 6 months.

Cleveland Point Lighthouse

Cleveland Point Lighthouse,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

I found this classic lighthouse on a drive to the coast the other weekend. It's no longer used, but makes a pretty landmark. The real navigational light is mechanical, and about 50m away, but certainly hasn't the charm this one shows.

The Magpie

magpie,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

The magpie is a protected species in Australia. The coloring of its feathers is very beautiful

On a bushwalk (hike), I came across a flock of them, which I'm told is unusual. They were hunting, and I had disturbed them. Most of them flew into a tree, but one was clearly on guard duty. The calls from the flock changed as they moved away from me. They were clearly foraging among the trees. Once they were far enough away from me, they glided to the ground and began foraging. The guard kept calling while I was still within range, and once I moved another 10 meters away, stopped the guard call and flew away.

It was charming and fascinating and stopped me in my tracks.

This photo was taken at an AFL Queensland game in Hawthorne, a suburb nearby my house. I looked away from the game during a break and caught this beauty looking my way.

A Brief Whinge

I'm having a moment. I say this to warn you of an impending whinge.

Whinge is a fine word, and means to complain in a particularly annoying manner. It's commonly used in Australia. A good whinge once in a while is OK, so long as everyone knows one's coming, and you keep it short.

Greedy people irritate me. I've had chances recently to see some rather naked displays of greed, and it really has bothered me. I have no problem with profit or folks making money. But when profit-taking becomes gouging, I draw a line. When a lazy person demands a reward for their sloth, I draw a line. When someone charges way more for their services than they are worth, and know it, and could take less, I draw the line.

No doubt I'm an idealist. Fortunately, I don't think I'm a complete cynic, just yet. But, greedy people bother me.

I'm reminded of a bumper sticker that was popular in Santa Cruz, California some time ago:

Mean People Suck

Electrical Box -- Leigh Matthews

ElectricalBox--Lethal,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

In a surprise return of the electrical box series, I've been noticing new ones around the city. I haven't had a camera handy to take shots. Except for this one that I saw just outside the Gabba yesterday. It's a representation of the Lion's head coach, Leigh Matthews. He has quite a rep in the footy world, and he's also immortalized on an electrical box.

Classic Kick

DemonsKick,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's a photo of a classic kick on goal from yesterday's game. Taking photos from my seat was a challenge, since I was facing in to the sun. I made the best of it, and got a few great shots like this one when play was nearby.

Here we see a Melbourne player just after he's kicked the ball. He's fully extended, and in fact, almost leaping in the air. Facing him is a Brisbane player, leaping into the air, in an attempt to distract the kicker and possibly block a low kick. The ball is just below the shadow-line in the top-middle section. Below the players, we see their shadows. At the lower middle, we see the shadow of the ball. In the background are players from both teams, resting, along with water carriers and trainers. Most players on either team are very casual, flat-footed and even inattentive. That's because it's extremely unusual for players to miss kicks on goal from the distance the Melbourne player is kicking from. The likelihood the ball will go back in play in the 5-10 seconds after the kick is remarkably low. You still see a few players with their eyes on the ball and on the active play, just in case something goes awry.

I took this photo in very high res, continuous color, cropped it, and rebalanced the colors and tones. If you have some time, have a look at the original, largest version on the photo site. There's a surprising amount of detail in the shot. With a photo shoot like the one I had yesterday, I'm tempted to go find a telephoto or super-telephoto lens to take to games so I can get a bit more detail on the players, and also capture some shots farther away from the goal. When I get a chance, I'll stop by a photo store and see what my reasonable options are. I have no intention of spending tons on camera equipment, but since I am currently interested in sport, spending a little money on something that adds a bit of interest to attending games seems OK.

Fortunately, the people at the Gabba have no problem with still cameras. They do seem to have a theoretical objection to bringing video cameras in, but so far, I'm only interested in stills, both for my photo journal and for posting here on the blog.

The player did score. It was a great goal, and some good play led up to it. Melbourne did have a credible fourth quarter, but it was nowhere near enough to bring them back. Brisbane won 137-85.

Ta!

One of my favorite Aussie expressions is "ta." It is short for "thank you." A simple expression. Before I knew, I always thought it meant "good bye." I wondered why everyone was saying goodbye to me, and not even having the courtesy to say thank you. Well, I finally clued in to it, and I have to say I have come to really appreciate it. Everyone here uses the expression, and it truly is all purpose and omnipresent. It definitely marks the locals and the people who are being informal. Yes, we still say thank you, and with a particular emphasis on the "ou" that is entirely Aussie. But, for quiet moments, at the coffee shop, or with friends, it's so easy to use "Ta" as a simple, think-nothing-of-it, thank you.

I picked up on this shortly after arriving, but never really thought to post an entry on it. There are more customs I've picked up, consciously or unconsciously, I'm sure. When I notice, I'll try to write about them.

The other night, I went back a few pages in my blog. I'm really happy with the way this is turning out. Old posts brought back some nice memories of days gone by, and reminded me of more than one happy occasion. A turning point for me here in Australia was the day I rented a car and went for a drive through the Brisbane Forest. I so remember that moment when I stepped out of the car and heard the waves of cicada calls sweeping up and down the hill. The beauty of such a simple thing after my senses had been overwhelmed by the works of man for so long.

The blog certainly has its awkward moments, too. But many years in the future, after I have left the country, I'll still be able to treasure the moments I've managed to distill.

At the Gabba

GabbaLights,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

The Gabba is the stadium where the Brisbane Lions hold their home matches. It's the home of the Queensland Cricket Club, and located in a neighborhood known as Wooloongabba. Aussies have a habit of shortening most names, so Wooloongabba became The Gabba. It's a beautiful ground, located very close to the heart of the city. Here's a photo of one of the four light poles surrounding the oval, taken from very near the base.

Today, the Lions hosted the Melbourne Demons. It was a shellacking for the Demons. While I'm all for the home team winning games, I do like to watch a good contest. The match was quite uneven, and the final score does not reflect how uneven it was.

It was also ANZAC weekend, and I finally got to see some pomp and ceremony before a game. One of the things that's interesting to me is that this is the first professional sports game I've been to where the Australian national anthem was sung. More importantly, there was a brief memorial for the Diggers at the start of the match. ANZAC Day, which was formally last Friday, is a memorial for and celebration of the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in the First World War who landed on the beach at Gallipoli in what is now Turkey. It's a huge national holiday, roughly equivalent to Memorial Day and Veterans Day in the States, rolled into one. It commemorates the death of 60,000 ANZACS in WWI, as well as all the members of the Armed Services who have served their countries. Each ANZAC day sees dawn services at most of the memorials, followed by parades, and gatherings at the nearest Returned Services League hall.

And, in the same way that many professional teams have games on national holidays, so too do the Aussies have ANZAC day and weekend games. The big game is Carlton vs. Essendon, which is the only Aussie rules game played on ANZAC day itself. The game today at the Gabba continued Aussie Rules ANZAC day celebrations.

The opening ceremony asked all members of the audience to rise and remove their hats. A traditional memorial was spoken, followed by a lone bugler, and then the singing of the national anthem, Australia Fair. The teams lined up for the ceremony. To my experience, this is much closer to how Americans start most professional sports matches in the States. We typically rise and sing the Stars Spangled Banner, doffing our caps. The true patriots place their hand over their hearts.

It was a beautiful, warm day here, perfect for being outside. I went to the match with some friends, and we had a great time. It's really pleasant to spend time with other people who appreciate the finer points of Aussie Rules, and I'm certainly learning a lot more about the game as I watch the professionals play. There's a lot to learn from watching the games on TV, but there's so much more to see from the stands at a real game. It's very similar to the difference between watching baseball on TV and watching baseball in a stadium. You can never see all the action on TV. And in Aussie Rules, the difference is magnified, since there are so many more people on the field, and the ground is so huge. There are over 40 players on the field, plus five umpires and two goal judges. At any given moment, there may be 2-6 trainers wandering about, delivering water or drinks or towels to players, perhaps a trainer or two, and who knows who else, so long as they don't interfere with play. Players are coming onto and off the field regularly, so there's quite a lot to see.

The Gabba is a great stadium and the city has a lot to be proud of for building such a place. Even the light poles have their own kind of geometric and architectural beauty.

Check the Dunny

I haven't seen so much wildlife in my house since I lived in the woods in Maine.

The other night, I spotted a possum family on the telephone wires in front of the house. They were just sitting above a treeling, tails hanging down. I probably startled them when I came outside. Yes, there are possums in Australia, quite a few, actually. And they seem to get along nicely in an urbanized environment. The last time I spent any time with possums was when I lived in Eugene, Oregon. There was a family living in the trees in our backyard then. And, I seem to have a couple of rowdy families that hang out in the trees around my house.

I'm blessed by three mango trees on the property, along with two stands of palm trees and some form of gum/eucalyptus tree in the front yard. I've already mentioned the hedges. Plus, there is some sort of bush that looks somewhat like a willow, and a waxy-leaved one next to it. Anyway, I think the possums like to climb around on the mango trees, wander about the roof, and I've even found some possum scat in the ground level/garage. They're a bit noisy at night, from time to time, especially when they are climbing on the roof -- which is corrugated galvanized steel.

That same night, I ran into a lizard that had gotten into the house, and was climbing around the walls. After following it carefully, I noticed it was near what had been a spider web. I'm guessing the lizard decided to take on the spider and the pod of young'uns it had left.

Not thirty minutes later, I went into the kitchen and saw something scurrying along the floor. I do have a problem with crickets getting into the house, but this was moving way too fast. I looked a little closer, and discovered it was a red back spider. These are notoriously shy, and also poisonous, so I was really, really surprised. I gave it a very wide berth, and watched it until it moved back outside. I sincerely hope it was not disturbed by the lizard and seeking a new home. I do not need a poisonous spider nesting in the house. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see the famed red back as close as I care to see it. There's a saying in Australia: Check the dunny. Which means, check for spiders when you raise the lid on the toilet. Apparently, a fair number of people get bit when they sit down and disturb a spider. Red backs are absolutely notorious for spinning webs in toilets...mostly in Western Australia and the Outback, but it could be anywhere, really. I'll definitely be checking the dunny before use now that I've seen a red back in the house.

The other night, when I was doing my laundry, I found a tree frog hopping around the ground level. It moved away when I started working. But, it was back by the time I checked on the laundry and worked on folding sheets. Eh, frogs aren't really a problem, at least, most of them. The only ones I really have to worry about are the cane toads, which are mildly poisonous -- mostly to small mammals -- have no natural predators in Australia, and multiply like crazy. They are the rabbits of the 21st century in Australia. I'm told they're easy to kill, but I hope they don't show up in the neighborhood.

I may just have to get a sizable gecko to keep the insect population down in the house. If all this animal life is attracted to or living in the house, I have to start discouraging them. So, a cat and a gecko might just be on the list for practical animals to keep around. This is a possible downside to living in a subtropical climate next to an open space.

For all the drama, though, I have to say I really don't mind it very much. So far, nothing has been really troublesome, and living in a place with a thriving garden and local wildlife has a lot going for it. The possums are really a minor nuisance, all things considered. So long as they don't come inside the house or raid the garbage cans, I have no problem with them so far. I remember living in Maine, we had some trouble with raccoons raiding the trash and tossing everything around...I used to have to clean up after them, and was I ever pissed. I have no problem with lizards in the house. Crickets aren't troubling, and most spiders are perfectly harmless and very beneficial in keeping the flying insect population down. So, all in all, a busy day and night getting acquainted with the fauna that want to share my house.

The Price of Petrol

My home sits across the road from a petrol station (that's a gas station to you folks in the States). I've started noticing the price of petrol. It seems to change rather quickly. Petrol costs a fortune, relative to the US...it's roughly A$1.40/liter, or about US$5.20/gallon. So stop whinging a bout the price of gas, you State-siders! ;)

Anyway, last night at 9PM, petrol was 1.40.9/liter. This morning, at 11AM, it was 1.37.9, and this afternoon at 4PM, it was 1.36.9. I'm sorely tempted to start a little site to keep track of their prices as a function of time.

Aussie Rules Footy

LionsVsSwans,
originally uploaded by BrisbaneBryce.

Here's a shot from 3/4 time at the Brisbane Lions versus Sydney Swans game on 05APR2008. Great footy, but the Lions lost.

From the very first week I visited Australia, I have taken a shine to Aussie Rules Football, as practiced in the Australian Football League, aka the AFL. I've spent a lot of time watching the various kinds of football played in Australia. There are actually quite a few variants, even of rugby. There are several variations of soccer, with one national professional league known as the A-League. There are two major forms of rugby at the professional level, NRL and Rugby Union. NRL, aka National Rugby League, or League for short, is the most popular form of rugby within Australia. There are a lot of teams. Rugby Union is much more of the international version of rugby, though Australia, per se has only one team. The Southern Hemisphere league is known as Super 14, and there are 14 teams amongst Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Australia has three teams, while NZ has 5 and South Africa six. Super 14 is played largely to Rugby Union rules. Of the two pro rugby rules, I personally prefer the Union variant, though that is hardly a popular position amongst the locals. The local Brisbane NRL team, the Brisbane Broncos, is the best financed in the NRL and has been a very competitive team for a long time. Queensland has three teams, including the Broncos; there's also the Cowboys from Townsville and the Titans from the Gold Coast. Probably the biggest difference between League and Union is the amount of contact allowed. In League, once the ball carrier has been tackled, play stops, the player gets up, and rolls it behind him to another member of his team. The scrum in League is barely competitive, while in Union, it's the full on, who's got the most muscle and mass.

Aussie Rules football is nothing like rugby. It's played on a cricket oval, which is a huge space, typically 150m from end to end. There are three scores possible per goal, 1, 6, and 9. It's usually a high scoring game. I find it one of the more challenging sports I've ever seen. The skills required are amazing. It's a running game with a ball, but passing and kicking are essential. Scoring is done by kicking the ball through goal posts. It's usual for scoring kicks to be made on the run, sometimes from as far as 50m (and more) from the posts. I've seen people kick goals from 2m out but practically 30m away from the goal posts. Bend it like Beckham *does* apply! It's such an exciting game that I've gotten a season pass for the local Brisbane team, the Brisbane Lions. They won the Grand Finals a few years ago, and I'm sure the team has had it's moment over the years. The past few years, they have been on the build again. The real seat of the AFL is Victoria, not Queensland. That is to say, around Melbourne. There are several teams around Sydney, and every State capital city has a team, but the majority of teams, and most of the great ones are from Victoria. I'm told that Aussie Rules is a similar to Gaelic football, which might say something about it's origins here in Australia.

Regionalism within Australia does seem to have an effect, even on which sports people choose to watch and support. I mention this because Queensland is considered the birthplace and home of Rugby League, while Victoria is the home of Aussie Rules. Union doesn't really have a home, nor does soccer. So, I find it unsurprising that Queenslanders favor League. It's an interesting, self-fulfilling prophecy, though. Since no one supports Union, the local Super 14 team, the Queensland Reds, is mediocre. The Brisbane AFL team is competitive, but Victoria spends the majority of money on players, and thus its AFL teams are typically in the top four.

Regardless of the local politics and preferences, I've got the season passes and I have to say the two games I've seen so far have been some great footy. Oh, and that word: footy. It could be used to describe Aussie Rules, League or Union. You have to know the preferences of the person you're talking to to know which version they mean. One of my friend's girlfriends mentioned to my friend that she liked footy, and made further mention of short sleeve shirts. My friend took this to mean she preferred AFL, and so invited her along to a game. It turns out she's actually a League woman. I think she enjoyed the Lion's game, but it was just one instance where saying you're a footy fan can mean a lot of different things.

Breakfast with the Birdies

I had the pleasure of sharing my morning breakfast with a parrot, a grouse, and a magpie. They were a bit noisy, and I'm not sure who surprised who more, but we all managed to get along well on my deck. They were feasting on some nuts that had fallen from the tree. The magpie seemed more interested in sunning itself on the railing, truth be told, and I was tucking in to my breakfast, with gusto.

No need for a bird feeder here; the trees seem to be doing just fine so far.

One great memory I have of my backyard in San Francisco was the hummingbirds. There was a pair of them living there year round. More than once, something zipped by my head; only later did I piece together it was one of the hummingbirds. There were flowers all year round, and a temperate climate, so they stayed around. They both had iridescent green ruffs, with flashes of red if the sunlight reflected just so. Hummingbirds have the sweetest little "peep" when they call to each other.

Moving House

I spent most of the last week, and almost all of my four day weekend moving from the highrise into my new home. Happy days are here again.

I was thrilled on Thursday afternoon to get a big delivery of most of my home furnishings. The big surprise was the bedroom set and mattress. I wasn't actually expecting those until this week. But, they were just about the first thing I set up. Nothing like sleeping on a bed. Oh, I slept on a 6" thick futon on a hardwood floor for twenty years, and I would be OK with doing that for the forseeable future. I just don't mind sleeping on the floor all that much. But, I will say that there is a near-erotic quality about sleeping up off the ground and on a soft cushion. It's nice, and it's nice to be able to afford the luxury of sleeping on a nice mattress in a nice bed.

Second on my list was the refrigerator. I did expect that, and it does make a big difference in the livability of a place. Once I got it settled and levelled and chilled, I immediately stopped eating take-away. I went grocery shopping as soon as I could and began filling it up.

Third on my list was getting my grill set up. Some assembly was required. I had to go out and buy a ratcheting screwdriver, and then, go out and find a place to buy an LPG cylinder. Once that was all set, I spent some time baking all the cruft and manufacturing oils and paints off the things, and seasoning the grills. It took a bit of work. But last night, I finally fired it up and made dinner. Fantastic! This one is about twice as big as needed, but I suppose if I ever have a couple dozen people over for a party, it'll do. Meantime, I can work with half of it and be content in all my grilling needs.

Moving all my clothes, papers, and kitchen supplies from the high rise flat was a bit of a chore. It took me about three trips in the Landie, but each of those trips entailed quite a few visits to the lift. Ah, it turned out all right.

There's a fair bit of traffic noise at the new place, since I'm just a whisper away from the major intersection. But, you know, I don't mind. It's not the constant fan noise 24 by 7 from the building next door. I can retreat to the back rooms or deck and most of it is blotted out by distance, plants, and whatever is going on in the house.

I've woken up each morning and heard a new species of bird in the backyard or the park. I've also learned there are way more bats than I thought...they blanket the entire neighborhood at dusk. They must be the equivalent of a hunting party, sweeping through the lush lowlands to search for food.

Anyway, there's still a lot to do in the house, lots of unpacking and organizing. But, I'm outta the high rise de facto if not de jure, and I'm very happy about that.

The Garden

I went out shopping again yesterday for housewares. The local hardware box store, Bunnings Warehouse, is roughly equivalent to The Home Depot in the States. I've finally found the big box stores near where I live. For me, they are in Carindale and Cannon Hill. And I've only scratched the surface of them....lots more stores to explore. Bunnings has a parking lot the size of Nebraska, which made life much easier. I spent a couple of hours wandering about, looking for garden tools, cleaning supplies, push brooms, and eventually settling on a barbeque grill.

The grill I chose has a timber frame, so I spent a bit of time assembling the frame when I got home. I had a great time putting it together in the the late afternoon. It gave me some time to spend on the deck. I got a great deal on the thing, and it was cheaper than the black or chrome all-metal grills, so I think I did well. It's very satisfying to assemble kits. And this grill will be a beauty and the source of so much enjoyment, I can't wait to get it all together and fire it up the first time. Flame grilled food...yum!

I also spent some time with the garden tools hacking away at the hedges and the palm trees. The picket fence in front of the house is backed by a hedge that had gone to flower and seed. It is too tall, too wild, and had grown through the fence. Quite messy. There's something very calming about pruning and shaping plants. It can be hard work, but hedges are really easy...I had a small hedge back in San Francisco, so I've had a bit of practice with them. Since the hedge at my new place is overgrown, my biggest challenge is being patient enough to not over-prune. So, I pruned it back just enough to leave some spaces between the leaves. In a few weeks, they'll grow back, and the interior spaces will come alive, and I'll be able to prune it back some more. It's too bad the owners let it go, but it's understandable. I think they spent most of their time on home improvements in the interior, which I'm grateful for.

Cutting back the palm trees was simple, and I really only wanted to get them out of the way of the walkways and stairs and deck. There are a couple of trees that look ill. It's hard to tell if it's because they over-grew with all the rain this year and are now dying back to a more sustainable level, or if they are really sick. I'll have to keep an eye on them.

It's nice to have a garden and green, growing things to look after again. I hadn't realized how much I did miss gardening. I'm not a master at it, but I did somehow manage to coax my backyard in the States into some semblance of order. More importantly, I learned how to keep plants alive, and how to prune and weed. Gardening is a skill that is undervalued in urban society, I think. I'm glad I had a chance to learn it in San Francisco. What little I've done so far here in Queensland has been wonderful, and I'm really looking forward to looking after the backyard.

I met my neighbors yesterday. They have the cutest little boy. He was running around in a Spiderman costume all afternoon. He and his Dad ran around their backyard. The whole family seemed happy. They seem like good people. I saw the neighbors on the other side; didn't get to speak with them, but they do seem to keep a tidy house.

Overall, I seem to have landed in a nice neighborhood. I still have lots of exploring to do. There are several restaurants I have to check out, including Mexican, seafood, and Indian. There's even a pub up the road a bit, a tackle shop, and cake shop. I had a pizza from the local Pizza Hut, which is just steps away from home...uninspired pizza, but I was really, really hungry. Way better than the last Domino's pizza I had, so it'll do in a pinch. I have to find a real pizza place, though. Sadly, the local video store is a Blockbuster, so I need to find the real video store.

Anyway, I'm starting to settle in to the new place. I'm getting a lot of things delivered in the middle of the week, so at least I'll be able to start making my meals, cleaning up after myself, and eating on a table. It'll be another few days after that before I get my bed, so I'll be sleeping on the floor for a little while. I don't mind, but it does make for late nights and early mornings. There's lots more to do to move in completely, but I'm making some real progress now. I hope I can be out of the high rise by the end of the month.

Oh, yes. I've seen the bats go hunting every evening I've been at the house. I saw the flight last night. I also saw three species of birds in my backyard, and saw the lizards climb down from my roof back to garden level. Yay! Another benefit of the garden and the park are all the living things. I missed the natural world, and I'm glad to be in a small slice of it in my new home.

Shopping and the Suburbs

After running around shopping for home furnishings today, I was reminded of a key fixture in suburbs: the shopping mall. I really hadn't wandered around a true Aussie mall until today, and I can now say they aren't that much different from their American cousins. Clothing, food, and children's items seemed to be the focus. This particular mall had a couple of major grocery stores, which probably isn't all that weird, but not something I'd seen very often in California. Usually, the supermarket was its own big box store off to the side, or perhaps part of a Walmart. I can say the place didn't have nearly enough parking. And, now that I have a very tall vehicle, I can say there are some real problems finding a spot to fit it...most of the garage space is too short. That's definitely a major difference. In the States, most of the malls I've seen have probably twice as much parking lot space as floor space in the mall. Here is Australia, they all have parking garages.

The Bats Go Hunting

I popped over to my new house this evening. I was on call all weekend, and tied to home, so I thought I'd take a look at the new place at the end of the day, take a few things over, and enjoy some time on the deck. Somehow, I managed to catch the sunset and gloaming. It was very peaceful.

While I was sitting back, I looked up through the trees to see the bats go hunting. Wembley park abutts the rear of the property, and there's a drain running through the center of it, heading down toward the Brisbane River. As I looked up at the clouds underlit by the sunset, I saw hundreds of bats flapping their way from some roost to go feeding. They all seemed to have half meter wingspans and were very well fed. I hope I get to see lots of their flights; this one had an eerie beauty to it. I'm certainly grateful they're flying about the park; I'm sure it keeps the insect population under control.

I also discovered an interesting and hopefully useful little web app called Twitter. It lets me post short blurbs about what I'm doing. It only takes a maximum of 140 characters at a time, and the interface is really simple. So, for now, I've taken to providing regular updates. It works fairly well with the blog. You'll see my entries in the upper right hand of the navigation bar on the right of the main posts. Let me know if this is interesting. Depending on circumstances, I might keep it up. Or, it may just be another flash in the pan. Guess we'll see!

It's cooling down a bit in Brisbane, as the summer wanes. It's now typically 25-28C during the day. At night, it's been getting down to 17-18C. Surprisingly, the night feels a bit chilly. There was a week or so there that felt really cold at night, cold enough to sleep with a light blanket on. Usually, I've been so warm that a thin cotton sheet has felt like almost too much. Those days are coming to a close.

I still have a lot of details to work out to really move into my new place. Utilities to get transferred, furniture and clothes and books to move and organize, and a whole new set of furniture to find. I'll go out shopping for the house next weekend. I couldn't this past weekend since I was on call. But, I'm only backup next weekend, so I can start shopping and moving for real. One of the first things I plan to get is a table and chairs for the deck, and some garden tools. The hedges need trimming, as do the trees and bushes. As for the deck, since I plan to spend a lot of time out there, I want a nice comfortable set of chairs and a good table to enjoy.

I also plan to get a nice gas grill so I can finally get back to grilling my food. Back in San Francisco, I bought a portable Coleman grill and used it almost all the time, rain or shine. It only took an hour or so on Sunday to grill up meats for the week, and any time I wanted some veggies, it took 15 minutes to have freshly grilled peppers, zucchini, and asparagus. Easy, healthy, and fast: gas grilling is a great way to cook. Just up the street from the house is an organic butcher, so I plan on visiting the shop on a regular basis for some good cuts of meat. Next, I have to find a good seafood shop, a deli, and a place for fresh vegetables near the house, and I should be good.

Anyway, lots of things to do to get fully moved in. I'm looking forward to all the great new places I'll find. But, most importantly, I am so looking forward to the relative peace and quiet in the new home. I'm so sick and tired of the constant fan noise from the buildings adjoining my high rise flat. It will probably take me weeks to get used to the quiet, but that's something I'm looking forward to. I've already seen more stars at night in the new place than I've ever seen from the flat. It's not quite the same as being out in the bush, which is really spectacular, but it's still quite an amazing difference. Truly, "the stars be strange" here in Australia.