5 Down, 9 To Go!

Wow, so we are down to single digits on the weeks remaining countdown. Time is starting to fly by here. And things are just going to start going even faster in another week, once I get going on my audits!
So the weather here has gotten a bit crappy. I am starting to think I am in the middle of winter, but I can’t tell for sure. It is raining again today. So I have had more consecutive days of rain this week than the rainy days I have had scattered about through my entire visit so far. It was pretty obvious that the weather was bad today, because the public transport was really crowded. I managed to get a seat on the bus without too much trouble. But the train was packed! I was able to shove in on the train. Just barely. I was shoved against the door and there was no room to move. The lady next to me on the train was pressed up against the glass on the door, trying to hold onto it for dear life. Although there was one girl standing behind us who managed to answer her mobile phone when it rang. Go figure.
So I got to work and found out that since next week’s audit was pushed back a week, I was being put on another special project. I guess I did a decent job on the last project, because it is the same partner who is pulling me into this project. The senior manager on the job was giving me a hard time about it, and started calling me the “special projects expert” around here. I could have a worse title, I guess.
The rest of the day was pretty normal. Although there was a lot of hype in the office about the big rugby match Saturday night. I was talking to Glen, one of the directors here, who is from New Zealand. I sent him an email and asked him if he was going to the game. He told me he was, and asked who I was cheering for. When I told him it was the Wallabies, he sent me an email giving me a hard time about it. “Oh come on now, you can’t cheer for Australia! They’re a bunch of losers and their uniforms look like bogeys.” (The uniforms are yellow and green.) He then provided a list of the past matches between the two teams, showing me that NZ was well ahead in past victories. So yeah, I guess this game is a pretty big deal when it comes to the pride of these teams...
After work, a bunch of folks went out for drinks. One of the girls here was leaving after doing temp work for six months. I went out to have a drink and tell her goodbye. I ended up hanging out with a bunch of different folks. Most of the evening was spend with Glen and his friend Guy who had come up from Melbourne to go to the rugby match. I think the most I said was “Hi, how are you?” before he asked, “Where in the States are you from?” I laughed and said, “What gave it away?” Everyone started laughing. Then he said, “You’re from the South, aren’t you?” I said, “How’d you know? Do I really have an accent?” One of the ladies cracked up and then proceeded to throw out a very Southern rendition of “Dew aah hayev an ahkscent, y’all?” It was funny with the Aussie twang to it. She then said it wasn’t that bad, but the accent was definitely there. And then she assured me that I had not slipped up with a “y’all,” yet. Although I am thinking I need to throw one out there every now and then, just to catch people off guard. I have no idea where this "accent" is coming from, but it has made for some entertaining conversations with people here.
Anyway, the guys were both giving me hell for cheering for the Wallabies. But they eventually forgave me for it. Especially when they got their minds off of the game by reminiscing about the time they spent touring the US. They were big on the Southeast. Guy made some comment about the ribs in Memphis. I said, “As much as people like to pick on the South, we sure know how to eat down there.” They went nuts talking about all the good food. Cheap food. Then Glen looked at me and said, “Wow, you must really be having a hard time with the food here. I didn't think about it. You can’t get that kind of stuff around here.” I laughed and said, “Yeah, I have to say, I’m a little hungry. Especially for a real Southern blue plate special.” Then I had to explain how the blue plate special works. But these guys are ready to come back to the US and let me take them around to some good places. Guy was all excited about it; he was big on the US and is ready for some down home cookin’! Man, I am making myself really hungry right now...
So after a couple of drinks, I caught the train where I could catch the ferry back home. While I was waiting on the ferry to show up, I figured I would grab something to eat at the little counter on the wharf. And since I had had a few beers, chicken schnitzel and chips (fries) somehow sounded like a really good idea. Boy was I wrong about that one! So my lesson for the day: Don’t eat ferry food.
On the up side, I managed to sit down on the train next to a copy of the day’s mX. So, to close out the Friday Spectacular-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r, here you go:
TEXT VENTS:
“How peaceful is the train ride home during school holidays. Now it’s just headaches.” – Al, Killara (AMEN, BROTHER!)
“I’m sitting next to a guy with a surgical mask talking on a phone.” – Eddy, Parramatta (Okay, glad I wasn’t there, but a little disappointed, too. I might have had to snap a photo of that guy!)
STORY OF THE DAY:
So a New Zealand girl got her day in court. Her parents named her “Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.” (Seriously, I couldn’t come up with that one on my own.) So this kid is in the middle of a custody battle, and the judge feels so sorry for her that he made her a ward of the state so she can choose a better name for herself. Even better is the discussion by the judge about how horrible some names are. He listed off some that are blocked by registration officials in NZ: Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy, Sex Fruit, and, for twins, Fish and Chips. However, there are others that are still allowed: Midnight Chardonnay, Violence, Benson and Hedges (twins), and, my favorite, Number 16 Bus Shelter. I really don’t want to know...