Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

So the client is happy and life is pretty good. My commute today was shorter than yesterday because I only had to pick one person up. And I think I found a route that is shorter than my original one, although it is too late now, since I think I will be wrapping up here this week. Maybe. (I am running ahead of schedule. I think it might be a first for me during my entire career in public accounting...) And I managed to make it home tonight without getting lost in downtown Sydney. Bad thing for you guys because I won’t have any people-watching stories from the city. But it is a good thing for me because it saves on gas. I had to fill up my tank this morning. You folks should never complain about gas prices again! I am driving a Toyota Camry, which takes the “cheap” gas here (10% ethanol). I filled up, looked at the pump, and about had a stroke. I just paid $89.32 to fill up a Toyota Camry. Holy crap! Are you kidding me? So I don't think I'll be complaining about the price of gas when I get back. No, wait, that's probably not true. I'll forget about it once I turn the car back in and get back on public transportation...
The day was pretty quiet today. Every once in a while, a random conversation breaks out in the middle of work. (You guys know I can't sit quiet all day - I might keel over if I can't be social.) There is a guy who I work with who has been sitting next to me at the client the past two days. He’s a really nice guy and pretty funny. But he keeps asking me some random questions. Example: Today, someone here at the client got a phone call, and the phone started playing the song “Low.” So I made some joke about how the person sent a text to the commercial on TV and downloaded song #24. (There really is a commercial where you can download this song by texting the words "Song #--" to some number, although I have no clue what number the song really is.) The guy started laughing and then made some joke about finding your perfect mate. I think we might have been the only two people here who got it, but it was still funny. Then he asked me if we have crazy commercials back in the US. I told him not necessarily to download stuff to your mobile, but that there are some pretty good commercials back home. Then I froze! I can’t think of one to describe to him! So help me out, folks: If you’re up for a little game, add a Comment on the end of this post and let me know what good commercials I should tell him about. Better yet, if you can find them on YouTube and send me the link, I’ll show them to him. The winner gets, uh, well, I’ll put your name in a post to announce the winner. Other than that, you get nothing. But you had nothing before entering the contest, so you may as well have some fun in order to get your fill of nothing.
You Southerners reading this post will appreciate the next story... There are three people from the office out here working with me (on a different project, though). One is from Scotland, one from India, and one from Fiji. (The latter two have been in Sydney for a while already, though, because they both have slight Aussie accents.) So it came time for afternoon tea, and Charlotte (Scottish girl) offered to get some for everyone while she was getting up, and asks how much sugar. Bhavesh (the guy from Fiji who discussed commercials with me) asks for “one sugar.” I honestly have no idea what that means, because the sugar is in a canister when you spin a dial to get it to come out. But she brings the tea back, and mentions that the dial was a little stuck, so it might be sweeter than he is used to. So he drinks it, says it’s sweet, but fine. Then they say something to me about tea, and I have to tell them how hot tea, to me, is kind of weird. Yes, I have been drinking one cup each afternoon (it is the only way to keep warm in this office since I don't drink coffee), and yes I have “taken it” with sugar and milk. But I then have to explain to them how tea works in the US, namely in the South, and how you basically make hot tea, add sugar, and then let it get cold. And yes, they asked – no milk! So I offered to make hot tea tomorrow morning and let it sit out in the cold office so that we could have iced tea with lunch. I was only joking, but that comment spurred an idea, and I think Arundathi (the girl from India) is coming in here tomorrow with tea bags to try to make authentic iced tea to make me feel more at home. I am debating if I should go all out (Bojangles sweet), but I think I might scale back so that they do not overload on a sugar buzz. There are going to be some auditors bouncing off the client walls tomorrow afternoon. Sweet!
Other than those couple of stories, I don't have a lot more to share about today. I will say that I am pretty excited tonight because I am getting to sit on my couch, drink a beer, and watch the Home Run Derby on TV. (The All Star Game in on tomorrow night.) You all know what a big baseball fan I am, so I am pretty excited that it is on the next two nights. Usually they show one game here (the MLB Sunday Night Baseball game) on ESPN on Tuesday nights at 10 or 11:00. So I only get a little bit of baseball while I am here. So watching this guy Josh Hamilton crank out something like 28 home runs in the first round of the derby, setting a Derby single-round record (the second place guy had 18 total in two rounds), was pretty freaking cool. Even more interesting is the guy's story. Apparently he blew a $5 million signing bonus on drugs, got kicked out of baseball for 3 years, found God, came back, was able to play against big league players despite being out for 3 years, and he now talks to kids about how drugs can take away everything from you, and is now on track to be the Derby champion. (By the way, the guy who pitches to him is a 71-year-old coach from Cary, NC, so even more excitement for the story.) I am just excited to see a guy like Hamilton getting such great publicity for his abilities and his great attitude, as opposed to a guy like Barry Bonds who deserves as asterisk next to his name in the record books. It's just kind of nice to hope that baseball is coming back around to the "good" guys.
Before I go, I have posted some new pictures in the "Photos From Home" section, and added a new slideshow of some of the pictures that have been sent my way. No worries - I checked them all out before posting, and everyone looks great in the shots. If you want me to take a picture down, let me know, but you'd better have a good excuse! And if you want me to add a picture to the site, just send it my way.
So to close this post out, today’s funny story will have to come out of my World Youth Day (WYD) Update:
Big news today for all teenagers in Sydney for WYD! Apparently the Pope will be sending text messages to those youth here on the pilgrimage that signed up for this available service. I believe the direct quote was that the Pope would send “divine direction via technology.” Seriously? I don’t think a text message has ever sounded that lame before. (I'm going to hell for making that comment, aren't I?) Although I did hear about the Australian national chant (seriously) breaking out during Opening Day activities. Apparently groups started in on the “Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi” chant in the middle of the St. Mary’s Cathedral here this morning. I can’t wait for that one to start up in the middle of a sermon later this week...