Movember

Mario & Luigi look alikes (Rocco and Alex)


The Mo Bros at Friday Night Drinks with Mr. Movember on the far right

Movember is an opportunity for men to sport their most unfashionable mustache to raise awareness of men's health issues (specifically depression and prostate cancer) throughout the month of November. Our office had a healthy competition to see which guy grew the best mustache. The women supported our mo bros with a morning tea Friday and the Mr. Movember sash was awarded at the office meeting that afternoon. Do we do this in the U.S.?

This day marks my final day off the booze to win the bet of not drinking for a month. Yes! I did it. Casey and I shared a cab home at the end of the night. We started looking for a cab around 1:45AM and didn't snag one for 45 minutes. We walked up and down the streets of the CBD looking for available cabs and saw only three cabs with lights on in 45 minutes. When Casey finally flagged a cab down, two random guys jumped at the chance to share the cab to nearby neighborhoods. Crazy!!

Tour of the MCG

Today I went to work at a football stadium. I'm working on a project for Melbourne Water which involves conducting a series of hot topic workshops related to water sensitive urban design. The workshop of the day was focused on asset maintenance, and as such, the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground - footy and cricket oval) was used to lure maintenance crews to attend, with a much anticipated tour to follow the workshop. My role of the day was designated gopher - I welcomed people, doled out name tags, ran the sound, raced microphones across the floor to various council members, and did some overall schmoozing. Right up my alley. The tour was interesting but short. I did learn that the stadium holds 100,000 people, but was most full when Billy Graham addressed a crowd of between 125-140,000 people packed in the stands and on the turf. There are 97,000 members of the MCG with only 23,000 seats designated for members. There is a waiting list of over 167,000 people to become members with an estimated wait time to exceed 15 years.

Tonight I met up with a group of people from my third Landmark course. We went to the Belgian Beer Garden on St Kilda Rd, about halfway between my old St Kilda stomping grounds and the city. I hadn't been to the beer garden before but I was in for a treat. There were heaps of picnic tables with big white light bulbs strung across a giant yard. The atmosphere was very chill and enjoyable with lots of beer on tap. Can't wait for December!!! Only a couple days now.

I ran into a girl from my boxing class on the tram back towards the city. It was bizarre to see each other in normal clothes and out for the night, as opposed to our normal sweaty messy state. Her Saudi Arabian friend lived near me so I chatted with her on my way home.

Cooking School

Alex and her girlfriends (same crowd from the tulip farm in Tasmania) have a tradition of conducting "cooking school" at someone's house each week. Monday night was dinner at Alex's house. What was once actually learning to cook has evolved into someone preparing the meal, then everyone arriving to eat it, chat, and watch an all-important TV show. The pick of the week was America's Next Top Model. Oooh, aaah. Alex made sweet potato and chickpea burgers which were very tasty, and we followed the TV session with gathered viewing of various face book pages. They're all so addicted. I still haven't caved to the pressure of creating my own page, but I suppose this blog is close enough.

Around the Bay in a Day

Hanging with bollards along Geelong waterfront


Just one of the girls


Point Lonsdale lighthouse


Entrance to Queenscliff Music Festival with these freakishly tall monster men who chased after random crowd gawkers


This blues/jazz corner band was surpringly impressive


The Queenscliff market reminded me of a downsized Salamenca Market from Hobart


My pick of the day, the London Bridge


Mini-waterfalls cascaded into pools of ocean splotched between rock formations

The colors of the site were sensational

Sunny Ridge strawberry farm


Casey laps up every last bite of his "best ever" sundae

Overview from Arthurs Seat

Casey and I set out with the aggressive task of circling around the Port Phillip Bay in a day. This is the bay that abuts Melbourne, along which resides all nearby beaches. We set off in a counterclockwise 200+ km loop around 9 AM. Our first stop was the Eastern Beach in Geelong, where we admired over 40 bollards (painted wooden statues) along a peaceful waterfront. An inventive swim area was grated off from the rest of the bay, enclosing a myriad of water activities including diving boards, decks, platforms, wheel slides, and an adjacent pool. From Geelong, we headed to the lighthouse at Point Lonsdale, the most outward jetting portion of the Bellarine Peninsula on the west side of the bay. We then went to nearby Queenscliff, where we happened upon their annual Queenscliff Music Festival. It was $100 for a day’s pass, so we just walked along the streets of this quaint town, strolling through their Saturday market and stopping for lunch. We drove our rental car onto the Searoad Ferry to transport us across the mouth of the bay, referred to as “The Rip”, from Queenscliff to Sorrento. The ferry ride was about an hour of pure relaxation in the sun. We even spotted a fairy penguin (so named because of its small size – I nearly mistook it for a fish). Upon arrival, we drove out toward the most outward jetting portion of the Mornington Peninsula on the east side of the bay. The tip of this peninsula is not drivable, as it is part of the Point Nepean National Park. We ran out of time, so we’ll have to do some of these trail walks on a future trip. Our next stop was the highlight of the trip for me. We went to see the London Bridge, a rock formation on the southern side of the peninsula. The site was magnificent, among my favorites in Australia. The water was several shades of blue, with the greenest algae, ferns, and moss growing atop rocks scattered in location and elevation in the water. Waves crashed into the shore and small waterfalls cascaded off the rocks into ponds of water in the ocean. The next stop was Sunny Ridge, a strawberry farm near Red Hill. We intended to pick strawberries but arrived 15 minutes before closing time. Instead, we enjoyed strawberry samples and ice cream sundaes, the highlight of the trip for Casey! Our final stop was to see the overview of the peninsula at Arthurs Seat. We ran out of juice and daylight, but there was so much more to see! We’re already planning another trip to do the Point Nepean hikes, pick strawberries, visit a sculpture garden maze, and sample some wineries.

Happy Thanksgiving

Danny, Belinda, Mel, Casey, Warren, Bec, Brad

Belinda, Mel, Lesley (host), Casey

Random bra fitting bus outside of work - you never know what you're going to see here

Thursday night Casey came to my house to prepare our food for the Thanksgiving party Friday night. Casey made pumpkin pie and I made green bean casserole and spinach dip. Australians call all squash pumpkin, and therefore cringe in distaste when you suggest the idea of a pumpkin dessert. It is a completely foreign and novel concept for them. Casey rose to the challenge, duly impressing the Aussie crowd with this American tradition.

Friday afternoon we left work early to head to the southwestern suburb of Hoppers Crossing where our co-worker friend Mel and her husband Warren live. We finished preparing all the food at her house, then made the 10 minute drive to her friend Lesley’s house in Werribee. Lesley is engaged to an Enrique, an American guy from Wisconsin, and the reason for the festivities. There were over 20 people at the dinner, including Mel’s close friends Lesley and Belinda and sister Bec along with all their partners. The evening was loud and a lot of fun.

Word up to Jackalack! Happy 3rd Birthday buddy, can’t wait to see you at Christmas!!

33 days and counting...

The Christmas garb is decking the streets of Melbourne. The Myer's Day parade took place Saturday, which is similar to the Macy's Day parade in the U.S. I'm thrilled to see the Christmas decorations popping up everywhere, as they serve as an excellent reminder that I have only 33 days until I board a plane to come home to Texas for Christmas!!! I arrive in Texas on Saturday Dec. 22 and I don't leave until Monday Jan. 14 (arriving back in Melbourne on Thursday Jan. 17 - how wild is that?!). I've happily adopted the Australian way of taking extended holidays. What will I do when I get back to the states with two weeks of annual leave? I have a 15 hour layover in Fiji on the way back to Melbourne, so I'm looking forward to a mini-vacation/day trip tour of the islands. Just packing it all in. I look forward to seeing many of you during my time in Texas!

Op Shop Sharp

Saturday morning Casey and I went to the USA Food Store in Bentleigh to gather ingredients for an upcoming Thanksgiving party. No, Australians do not celebrate the pilgrims and indians arrival in the U.S. However, I managed to invite myself to a friend of a friend's annual Thanksgiving party thanks to her friend's American transplant husband. Casey and I went for pumpkin pie and green bean casserole ingredients. The store is about a 30 minute train ride south of the city and is three short aisles wide. Until I arrived at the store, I didn't really know what I was missing. However, after seeing so many familiar brands and typical foods we take for granted in the states, I began to miss everything, even things I don't eat! Hunts tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, cocktail sauce, chex cereal, crystal light, red licorice, bounce dryer sheets, etc. The prices were prohibitively astronomical with a box of cheerios costing $13, so I'll reserve these purchases for emergencies.

Saturday night I went to a housewarming party in Thornbury, a couple suburbs northeast of where I live. The theme of the party was "Op Shop Sharp". Australia does not celebrate Halloween, but with the number of themed dress up parties they have, it seems like Halloween year round. This party was to dress up in thrift store garb. As you may or may not be aware, I have a genuine distaste for thrift stores, finding them smelly and overall yuck! I sported my self-designated most op shop-like bohemian skirt and vintage shirt. As evidenced by the array of creative ensembles at the party, my sentiments were mostly not shared by these party goers, and in admiring their get-ups, I almost found myself wishing I'd made a stop by the op shop. One girl had a full-on wedding gown with fluffy feathery white high heels. The weather is getting warmer, and being hot, she decided to cut the gown just above the knees and elbows. It lost nothing in translation!

Shanghai Dumpling House

I went out with some guys from work (Robo, Dills, Texas, Keithy) and Sammy to Chinatown for dinner Thursday night. We went to the Shanghai Dumpling House which is known for having some of the best/cheapest dumplings around. They are also known for being shut down every few months for health code violations. We took our chances and ordered round after round of steamed and fried dumplings. Yum!! After dinner we headed to Red Hummingbird, a bar with an open rooftop level not far away. Narelle met us there. I'm halfway through winning my bet with Sammy that if I refrain from drinking for one month, he'll not drink for a week - a fairly equal challenge. So once again no drinks for me, but a fun night nonetheless.

Cheeky Buggers

I started the third and final Landmark course this weekend. I was in an all day seminar Saturday for what will span four months including three Saturdays and one night a week for twelve sessions. The course is designed around self-expression and leadership. You know how restrained and inhibited I am when it comes to expressing myself, so expect some real breakthroughs!! We will create a project and implement it by the end of the course, so it should be interesting.

Sunday I went for some retail therapy at Vic Market. Mistake! My wallet was stolen out of my backpack between purchases in what spanned less than two minutes and 50 meters. The cheeky buggers ran up over $2,000 in charges in the hour it took me to get home and cancel everything. I've replaced most things, but my drivers license will be a challenge. Good thing I'm headed home for Christmas!

Izakaya Chuji

After boxing Friday, I joined Ritz (furthest left) and her friends at her favorite Japanese restaurant in the CBD - Izakaya Chuji on the corner of Russell and Lonsdale. We ate everything from sushimi to cow tongue to raw beef. Ritz did the ordering and the rest of us just agreed to try everything that went around. The concept of raw beef really grossed me out but the taste was surprisingly wonderful, with a texture not at all what I expected. It was a great relief to go with someone who knew what they were doing and took all the uncertainty out of ordering.

Houlette

Dan's mom Robyn made a lasagna with garlic bread and Robyn, Dan, Jade, Joe, and I all sat down for a lovely family dinner. At the end of dinner, Joe said he was headed off for a concert. Eventually we pried the information that it was his housemate and best friend Liam's band Houlette. I hadn't heard Liam play yet, so I decided to go to the concert as well. Five minutes later, Joe and I were in a cab on our way to Waverly Anne on High St in Northcote. The venue was gothic and resembled a castle, and their music style ranged widely with a folk overtone. The lead singer was classically trained, so their collective sound was really nice. As the city continues to sprawl, Northcote (northeast of Brunswick where I live) is becoming more central and is considered an up and coming suberb for a hip nightlife.

The Melbourne Cup

Narelle and I ready to head off to the races


My pre-hat photo shoot of Dan's stylish do


Up under the exquisite hat Narelle lent me


The horses came through this gate to enter the racecourse


Our seats (grass) were just off the racecourse - prime viewing!


Where everyone gives their money away


Mad cheering for the actual Melbourne Cup race


A lucky encounter with Phill

Joe, Tom, Brendon, Dan, Jade at Il Primo's on Lygon St

The day the nations stops. Tuesday was a National Holiday in honor of The Melbourne Cup. There's a month of racing leading up to this day and two races that follow this day, but for some reason, Tuesday is THE day. The races started at 10AM and were still going when we left around 5PM that night. The actual Melbourne Cup race occurs at 2PM. All other races before and after that are not as highly regarded.

People get dressed to the nines for the horse races - suits for the men and dresses for the ladies. Accessories are essential including either a large brimmed hat or a fascinator (the fancy feather headpieces). Everyone drinks plastic bottles of champagne, which starts off seeming very classy and turns rather sloppy later in the day. The races were great fun to watch especially after placing a whopping $5 bet on #13 Laser Sharp to win The Cup. He failed me though and did not even place. Narelle backed the winning horse, #6 Efficient, so at least we had something to celebrate!

Among a crowd of 130,000, I somehow managed to run into my old flatmate Phill. I did not even know he was back from Perth, let alone attending the races. What are the odds we would actually have a chance encounter? Amazing!

That evening Dan, Brendan, Joe, Narelle, Robyn (Dan's mom), and I headed to Lygon St to Il Primo, where Jade and Tom were working their first shift together. Staff mingling with the tables? Tables kissing and hugging the staff? Yep.

Kings Canyon or Bust

Sunday we had planned to take a bus tour to Kings Canyon in Watarrka National Park, about 300 km north of Uluru. Although lesser known, I’m told it is even more spectacular than either Uluru or The Olgas. Unfortunately our tour was already cancelled on Friday due to flooding. When I overheard a tour guide on Saturday say that Kings Canyon was open again (confirmed by hotel staff later), I was determined to make a way. I set out in mad pursuit of an elusive rental vehicle. Wanting to get a jump on the long day ahead, we paid extra to take an early shuttle to the airport at 7:30AM so we’d be there and ready when Avis opened at 8AM. Being only 5 minutes from the airport, I overshot that one a little. As luck would have it, the airport did not even open until 8:30 AM, at which time still no one manned the Avis counter. I called from their hotline phone only to receive a lackadaisical response of “yes, I know the website says we open at 8, we should be there by 9”. Had we known all of this, we could have taken the free airport shuttle and slept an extra hour. When they finally did arrive, I was denied. I was told the road to Kings Canyon was still impassable. The rental agent must have sensed my distrust since he invited me into his office behind the counter to see the official government website for myself and to watch him call the phone line for an up-to-the-minute report on the road conditions. Bust!

The morning was filled with a tour of the various hotel gift shops and visitor’s centre at Ayers Rock Resort. There’s really only one place to stay if you want to see Uluru and The Olgas. Ayers Rock Resort has the market cornered, offering a variety of lodging, from campsites to dormitories to apartments to luxury accommodations. However, because they’re it, they get away with charging prices you would never pay if you weren’t in the middle of nowhere. I even stole an afternoon nap before we headed out for our afternoon walk. We made our first and only wildlife sighting as we were waiting for the shuttle - a lone dingo scouting the bushes of the resort. We took a leisurely 2.6 km stroll along Walpa Gorge / Tatintjawiya, which is between the two tallest domes at The Olgas. The walk was uninteresting aside from the rain which made the stone path rather slippery. What is it with me and rain? Is me in a poncho beginning to look familiar?! Everywhere I go… it’s me! I bring the rain with me. Do not travel with me, warning, do not travel with me. I’m very good for Australia and this apparent drought they’re having, because I don’t think it’s been dry since I arrived.

Kata Tjuta / The Olgas

Saturday was our one beautiful day of perfect weather – sunny and just the right temperature. Foolishly, we spent the morning inside at the Cultural Centre learning about Aboriginal heritage. If only we’d kept that for Sunday. I had a yummy kangaroo wrap for lunch, just seemed so appropriate. That afternoon, we did the 7.4 km “Valley of the Winds” hike through Kata Tjuta, otherwise known as The Olgas. The Olgas consist of 36 domes covering 35 square kilometers, the tallest of which is 546 m, nearly 200 m taller than Uluru. I found the Olgas to be even more intriguing than Ayers Rock. The hike was certainly more interesting and challenging. We were treated with a different scenic panorama around every turn, with valleys and gorges and sun-stricken ravines. We hiked up to a couple lookout points and down through the valley (where it was very windy). At one point we just had to scale the rock to continue on the path. It was a very rewarding hike on an exquisite day.