Beer ads and 40s

There is this series of really funny ads in Sydney for Carlton Draught, one of the more popular beers here. They feature unattractive, portly, middle-aged men mimicking ads for beauty products like l'oreal and neutrogena. One shows a man with his shirt off, looking all sultry and the caption on the bottom says, "Because you're worth it." Another shows a man splashing beer on his face and the caption reads, "Deep-cleansing formula." Very amusing.

On another beer-related note, I met this girl from California last Monday while hanging out with some co-workers. She was the girlfriend of one of the guys, an Aussie. We were having fun talking about things the Aussies had never heard of, such as 40s. I remarked a while ago that I wished they had 40s here because that would be so cool to walk around with, since you can drink alcohol openly here. Well, on Monday, they had brought home some 40s and I got very excited. Of course, they wouldn't call it a 40 here...it's more like a 750 mL, but you get the idea. Another thing we talked about was the band Sublime. We were both saying how awesome the band is and how much Australians would love them because it's great lazy, beachy music, but most had never heard of them. She was even considering burning a whole bunch of CDs and just handing them out to people on the streets.

Operaaaaaaaaa

This was a major workage weekend...worked hard but played hard as well. Well, really just Saturday night for the playing. Come on, I needed some sort of weekend after I spent all of Saturday trying to get wine stains out of my work shirt...

The Opera House events were so cool. Location, I think, really makes a difference on your work experience. Somehow overlooking Sydney Harbour made stuffing a bunch of people with food and drink not so bad. Friday night was a company awards dinner for Cadbury Schweppes...awesome for all the free chocolates. Saturday was the wedding reception for the daughter of Roger Fedderer's coach...so lots of tennis players were in attendance. But despite the reception being in a lavish location (inside a tent right on the Harbour)and the bride's family being wealthy, the party was very tastefully decorated...really simple but elegant. It was beautiful and really fun to work. The people were great, drank a lot, and were very friendly. I keep getting asked where my "lovely" accent is from. One guy actually asked if I was from County Cork! Granted, it was loud in the room. I'm also asked a lot if I'm Canadian because most people (including me) can't tell the difference between the accents. So whenever I tell people I'm from NY, they have the best reactions. Some of them launch into the ubiquitous New Yawk accent...quite a funny thing to hear on an Aussie. One guy called it the Big Pink Lady, a type of apple. Upon further discussion, we both discovered that Pink Ladies are one of our favorite types of apples. This was a wedding guest, mind you. Australians really are the friendliest folks. I happened to work a bit at a dinner for an American tour group and they seemed so grumpy! The difference was palpable. They had bad manners, hardly any said please or thank you, and they had such airs of entitlement. Not one asked where I was from--not like they would care, but I do happen to hail from the same country and I spoke quite a bit so they definitely heard my accent--but just in comparison to the Aussies who had a genuine interest in me despite being part of the waitstaff, they didn't seem to take much notice. I guess it's because I'm more of a novelty to the Aussies, but if I were in a foreign country and I heard an American accent, I would be curious. I don't know, maybe I got a bad batch, but it embittered me toward my countrymen.

Tonight Li is teaching the roomies how to make sushi, so I'm super excited. I'll let you know how it goes. Until then...ttfn.

I'm feeling very succinct today

Skippy is lovely. Skippy is the emcee for trivia night at Forrester's. He's this sweet old man who likes to flirt with Jaki lol. I'm sure it's completely harmless. No trivia last night due to not enough teams=disappointment. We were all there and ready to go, even had a new teammate...Carl from Vancouver, Jaki's 19-year old Canadian classmate. Too bad.

Beautiful beach day today. Went to the beach yesterday...Bondi. Beautiful but too many tourists, probably won't go there again. A group of Asian acrobats or something did some kind of formation whereby two guys got on the shoulders of two others and lifted the remaining members off their feet. Very cool so Becca took a picture.

Working at the Opera House tonight and tomorrow. Have no idea what the event is, but it should be swanky whatever it is...

Eaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

So yesterday I was at work and I suddenly felt something in my left ear, sort of fluttering about. Convinced it was some sort of insect, I proceeded to freak out, making a complete fool out of myself. I couldn't help it...I have an ear thing. It always reminds me of that scene in "So I Married an Axe Murderer" where Harriet pretends to stick a needle into Charlie's ear and he completely bugs out, claiming he has an ear thing.

I went to this walk-in clinic (in a mall of all places) and the doc had a really cool ring tone: it was Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto...but I digress. I told him I didn't know if there was anything in there and, frankly, I didn't want to know. So he checked it out and said it was nothing, but for all I know he was simply adhering to my wishes. Then he poured some peroxide into the ear while I lay on my side for 10 minutes...not a very comfortable experience I must say, especially since I was thinking about what may be bubbling to the surface. When Doc came back, he proclaimed my ear bug-free. But I'm convinced there was something there. What do we think...psychosomatic freak-out or legitimate bugging?

Couldn't be arsed to update, so here ya go...

Here's a hilariously spot-on e-mail Anna forwarded to me...

To all backpackers, ex-backpackers and wannabes:
Having trouble readjusting to life back at home now that the traveling is over? Here's a few handy hints to help you settle back in

1) Replace your bed with two or more bunk beds, and every night invite random people to sleep in your bedroom with you. Ensure at least once a week a couple gets drunk and shags on one of the top bunks. Remove beds one by one as symptoms improve.

2) Sleep in your sleeping bag, forgetting to wash it for months. Add some bugs in order to wake up with many unsightly bites over your arms and legs.

3) Enlist the help of a family member to set your radio alarm to go off randomly during the night, filling your room with loud talking. This works best if the station is foreign. Also have several mobiles ringing, without being answered. To add to the torture, ask a friend to bring plastic bags into your room at roughly 6 in the morning and proceed to rustle them for no apparent reason for a good half an hour.

4) Keep all your clothes in a rucksack. Remember to smell them before puting them on and reintroduce the use of the iron SLOWLY.

5) Buy your favourite food, and despite living at home, write your name and when you might next be leaving the house on all bags. This should include mainly pasta, 2 minute noodles, carrots and beer.

6) Ask a family member to every now and again steal an item of food, preferably the one you have most been looking forward to or the most expensive. Keep at least one item of food far too long or in a bag out in the sun, so you have to spend about 24 hours within sprinting distance of the toilet.

7) Even if it's a Sunday, vacate the house by 10 a.m., and then stand on the corner of the street looking lost. Ask the first passer-by of similar ethnic background if they have found anywhere good to go yet.

8) When sitting on public transport (the London Tube would be ideal) introduce yourself to the person sitting next to you, say which stop you got on at, where you are going, how long you have been traveling and what university you went to. If they say they are going to Morden, say you met a guy on the central line who said it was terrible and that you've heard Parsons Green is better and cheaper.

9) Finally stick paper in your shower so that the water comes in just a drizzle. Adjust the hot/cold taps at regular intervals so that you are never fully satisfied with the temperature. Because of this frustration, shower infrequently.

These simple but effective instructions should help you fall back into normal society with the minimum effort. Good luck!

Dick Cheney shot a man!

This is supremely sad to me. I mean, the guy is like 300 years old...should he really be trusted with a rifle? Did this even make headlines in the U.S. because it was only briefly mentioned on Australian news? Somebody has to tape The Daily Show today because I bet Jon Stewart will have a field day with this.

In other non-related news, I spent 8 hours at the beach this weekend (apologies to those who suffered through the blizzard this weekend). I went to Coogee on Saturday and Bronte yesterday. Gorgeous! OK enough, as I feel I have some hate mail coming to me. Let me just say that the rips were so strong it was scary. I went swimming but couldn't stay in too long because the waves were plowing into me. I know, poor me.

Saturday night the house celebrated Anna's birthday, which is really Tuesday. Jaki cooked an awesome dinner and the 6 of us were actually in the same room together for the first time! It was amazing...we had lots of wine and plenty of laughs (which was probably a direct result of the former). It would be cool if we could repeat that every now and then but I doubt it will really happen. Li and Eduardo are kind of hermits as they are always doing work for school and stuff.

Life is really quieting down now that I am no longer a tourist...I may actually be able to call myself a Sydneysider. I won't start work for a few days so I still have this restless "what am I going to do with myself" feeling. Once I start working I'm sure I'll cherish my free time, but now it seems as though the days are really long. I feel a bit lazy and definitely uncreative. This is something I am mourning...my creative side seems to be on vacation as well. I might pop on over to the University and see what's going on in terms of intellectual pursuits. I can't keep going to pubs and the beach all the time. I know it seems like an awesome time, but it gets old really quickly. OK, enough complaining. This is still the best time I've had in a while...

A new week...

...and hopefully a better one. Last week was rough mainly because of the job situation. But yay! I think I've actually managed to land one! I'm not going to get my hopes up, but I met with a woman today at a catering company and I'm going to a training session on Monday. I don't know if this guarantees a consistent job, but it's something, right?

Today I'm a little sad because my good friend Rojda left to go to Malaysia and then home to Switzerland. She became such a good friend over the past two weeks. We spent a lot of time together and I think we've developed a lasting friendship. She might come to NY in December actually which would be awesome!

Yesterday, we went to the Blue Mountains and got driven around by a friend of Rojda's named Maria who lives in Sydney. It was cool because we had a local guide with us the whole day and she knew of all the good places to go. The Blue Mountains were absolutely gorgeous and the weather was perfect...warm, sunny and dry. First we went to this little town called Leura. There were a bunch of cute cafes and some great antique shops. Then we visited the 3 Sisters, a trio of rocks that rise up from the mountains, hiked around the trails, and took an old coal mining railway down (the steepest in the world!) to where the coal mines used to be. We ate lunch beside a waterfall and then headed to this old hotel for some great views from the lobby. The whole day was just amazing. Maria drove us to Paramatta (supposedly the "second city" for business...looked a lot like NJ to me) and we took a beautiful ferry ride back to the city.

Friday, we all went to the Mercantile to see this Irish woman, Shaylee Wilde, perform. She was great! She played so many great songs by The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles and various Irish songs as well. For a while I had this little dancing competition going on with some random guy...he was a really good dancer! I think he won but that may have been the alcohol's fault. I think Kate and I frightened the cab driver on the way home, as we were continuing our bitch fest.

Sunday was another lovely day starting with the Chinese New Year parade with it's beautiful costumes and bright-colored floats. Then we had a barbie on Bronte beach (which I just found out is pronounced Bront-ee, not like the novelists). This is one of the nicer beaches in my opinion, so we decided to go back this weekend. Hope the weather is good. It's been so temperamental lately...

This week should be a lot more low key since Rojda left, but I think Becca's coming back on Thursday!

I'm starting to feel more at home in the city. It took me a while, but I really think the next 3 months will be great. I can't believe I've been here for almost a month. It's unreal, but I really feel as though I've settled quite a bit.

Theme of the week: Men Suck! I know, slightly juvenile and melodramatic, but it's totally true. All my girlfriends here are single so we spend plenty of time bitching about men...how they don't call, how they haven't a clue, how they stink, etc. On the other hand, we spend so much time talking about them and it gives us such amusement that it would be a shame for a guy to actually sack it up and call (credit to Marissa)!

The move into the house is good for the most part, but having it's ups and downs. The day I moved I was feeling really good with a huge sense of freedom and independence...no more hostel bunks! My new roommates (well, the ones I met) are awesome! Jaki is from Galway in Ireland and has the sweetest accent, but the things (or should I say tings?) that come out of this girl's mouth...hysterical. Anna is from Tampa, Fla and I met her the first night I was here when I went with the IEP group to Scruffy Murphy's for $5 meals. Of course, there's Kate...no need for introductions. Li is from Taiwan and is here getting her Ph.D in Nursing. I hardly see her and haven't had much time to bond, but everyone says she's nice. Then there's Eduardo...the elusive Eduardo from Spain. I saw him exactly once the day I moved in and it was only from afar as he was at the top of the stairs and I was at the door. Supposedly he is nocturnal. Too bad Seamus had to move out. He's the guy whose room I overtook, also from Ireland and a pisser!

The ups have included staying up and chatting with my roomies, having my own room, having a kitchen that doesn't close at 2 in the morning (like at the hostel), and not having to climb up a ladder to go to bed. Surry Hills is also a groovy place to live with a pub on almost every corner (including one 2 doors down from our house). The downs are mainly due to the traffic flow outside my window (very heavy), not getting much sleep because I'm not used to the bed (that will get better over time) and the steroid-pumping cockroach Jaki found in her room (thank goodness I didn't see it). Supposedly there are cockroaches everywhere you go, especially in cities and I have seen them outside on the sidewalk at night. But I am so not used to them since we don't seem to get them on LI, at least not in my house. I'll try not to freak out about them but I know I'll have to face them sooner or later (hopefully not literally face to face). As for the traffic flow, I bought a fan yesterday and it did wonders. I can close my window, decreasing the amount of noise AND mosquitoes at the same time, and the white noise drowns out most of the traffic. So yay me! I actually got a decent night's sleep for the first time in 3 days.

I took the RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) course last night. Everyone who serves alcohol in the hospitality industry has to get one. It's a 6 1/2 hour course and costs $70. It was relatively painless, despite being mind-numbingly boring and full of basic commonsense. So now I have my trial at another cafe, this one in the QVB (Queen Victoria Building), this amazingly beautiful shopping center. I'm trying not to take this one seriously considering my last experience. The Strand cafe never called me back, even after I went in there and asked what's what. They said they're still trialling people. Apparently a lot of places do this so they get free labour...this does not make me feel hopeful about today's trial. I asked the job people at IEP what I should do and they said that it's normal and basically there's not much I can do about it. Really frustrating! But on a good note, I got a call from a catering company I applied to and I'm meeting them next Tuesday. I really hope it works out...