Practice Makes, Well, Better...

Okay, so I am starting to get used to the driving thing. Today I had to figure out how to get to the client from my apartment. I was close. Of course, the thing about the freeways here - if you miss an exit, you are screwed. So I missed the split I needed (I headed towards Harbour Bridge rather than Harbour Tunnel) and had to pay $3 to cut back through the city in order to get going in the right direction. Luckily I only lost about 15 minutes of time, and managed to get to the client with no real trouble. My day was pretty complacent - no big surprises, nothing huge. I did hear from some of you via email, so keep those coming. It is nice to hear how things are going back in the US for all of you! And to address the question I keep getting - I will try to post a new slide show next week. I'll try to take some new pictures this weekend to put out there.

So what can I include on today's post? I am starting to run out of stories! Wait... What am I saying? I'm talking about me. I always have a story to tell!

Well once again I made some observations while driving around today and running some errands after work. I just thought I'd share some of my findings:

1. Whatever agency is in charge of highways is a big fan of driving underground. In fact, I would say that a good third of my daily commute is underground. For those of you who are fans, I always think of the Ben Folds Five song "Underground" as I drive through the tunnel. I am going to have to bring my iPod along one day and listen to that song as I drive through...

2. While I'm going on about driving through tunnels... Should I think it odd that every time I drive in one of these underground tunnels, some big drops of water (I assume) hit my windshield? And I don't mean when I first drive into the tunnel; I mean halfway through the thing. Now, I am sure that the tunnels are all safe. However, I have no idea what I am driving under in most of those tunnels. So maybe it's a lake, maybe it where the water from the backwards drains go to die, maybe it's just a pile of dirt I'm driving under. But somewhere is some sort of leak that is attracted to my car.

3. I have figured out how to control speeding in the US. Now I will be the first to admit - I pretty much never drive the speed limit. I am one of those 5-10 over people. (Any young people reading: For fear of ticking your folks off, I will throw out the disclaimer and tell you to do the right thing and drive the speed limit.) But I think it all comes down to perception. As I drive along, doing between 100 and 110, I feel like I am going pretty fast along with everyone else going about the same speed. And it takes too much to think through the conversion to figure out how fast I am actually going. (Divide by 10 and multiply by 6, then round - you get pretty close.) So what I think would work is to just make up arbitrary speeds that no one really understands. But the higher you make them, the better it makes drivers feel. So if you say that the speed limit is 300, and people get to drive 300, they won't know how it equates back to MPH, as long as it feels like you are going pretty fast, because everyone else is going that speed with you. Throw up some signs that say you have speed cameras, and you will no longer have jerks tailing you too close or cutting you off in traffic. People here do their own thing, are relatively courteous, and I have yet to see a wreck on the side of the road. I think they might be on to something...

4. I was asked once again today what would make me come to Sydney for a short-term secondment. I think I have been asked this question a good 6 or 7 times. I can't tell if people are more surprised that I would come from the US to Sydney or that I would come for such a short period of time. (I have gotten comments that would imply both.) Now, to explain, let me say that pretty much anyone who is a manager or above here is not from Australia, but from somewhere in the UK. All the Australian experienced accountants go to the UK, and all the certified accountants in the UK come here. Most of those who come here start off with an 18-month or 2-year deal, and just keep extending it. And several staff here have asked about living in the States, because they think it might be fun to come do a secondment in the US. But people all leave for a pretty long period of time. I think it is mostly to find somewhere new to live. So people are either just wanting to hear me talk (it's possible) or they really are amazed at why I would only want to leave my house, my friends, my family, my job, and my cats for 3 months, rather than a longer period of time. Go figure...

5. I was listening to the radio this morning, and two DJs were giving another DJ a hard time about never having gone to eat at Subway. Yes, I know. I can't escape Subway here! But the two guys were enthralled that the girl had never been. They were going on and on about how great Subway is. Now don't get me wrong, I'll eat there. But I can't say that I would even rave about how wonderful the food is there. So I have figured out how to get rich: If I ever decide to come back here, I am going to come open up a real deli. If these people go nuts over Subway, can you imagine how well a NY-style deli would do?

6. Someone in my building owns the loudest freaking cat I have ever heard. I can occasionally hear it over the TV. Early in the morning, late at night, whenever. I first thought it was a little kid crying, but after hearing it tonight, I am pretty sure it is a cat. There is a chance it is a little kid, but if it is, that little kid does the best cat impressions I have ever heard!

7. A story I forgot to tell yesterday that made me think of home. I was here in the apartment working out, and I was interrupted by a phone call. Since it was something like 5 am EST, I was trying to figure out who was calling me from home. But no, it was just my lucky day! You see, I have won a prize - a trip to the Caribbean! All I have to do is wait on hold, and I will be connected to - I don't know. I hung up at that point in time. So my life here is just like the US - junk mail and telemarketers!

Okay, I'll wrap up by telling a couple of entertaining stories I heard on the radio today:

The first is just to share how enamored the people of Australia are with the birth of Nicole Kidman's and Keith Urban's daughter. I have to say, I about lost my concentration while driving when I heard they named her Sunday. Of course, the only thing funnier was the fact that the DJs on the radio were making jokes about guessing which day of the week she was conceived. The radio station even managed to track down a neighbor of the Kidman/Urban family, who proceeded to tell about how everyone in Nashville was buzzing with the news. Dude, Nashville has nothing on the entire continent of Australia!

The second story comes from the fine people of the public transportation industry here. For any of you who have not heard, the Pope is coming here to Sydney next week for World Youth Day (WYD). I am planning to stay the hell away from the city for the next week. There are warning signs everywhere about how the transportation system will have high traffic, there will be delays, and there are phone numbers and web sites where you can see what the anticipated problems and route changes will be. Some locations will be accessible only through public transportation. I even heard on the news that they expect more people here in the city on any one given day for WYD than were here for the Olympics on any single day. Not sure I believe that one, but whatever. Anyway, so I think I heard the biggest crowd expected is next Thursday. Well, there is some other stuff going on here with the public transport authority. I really don't know all the details, but basically the mass transit workers feel that they are being backed into a corner and threatened to strike on Thursday. That's right: Screw you, Pope, we're on strike! I don't know why, but I think it is pretty funny. Of course, the government scrambled and I heard tonight that they have prevented the strike. For now. But I just think that of all the events for the city workers to propose a strike for, it is pretty hilarious that they are choosing the day all the Catholics on pilgrimage here.

G'DAY!