6 Down, 8 To Go...

Holy crap, it's August! I can't believe July is over! Although maybe it means that winter is almost over... (I think September is officially spring.) The weather today was a little nicer. It felt a lot warmer this morning. Although this change may be because I was wearing a sweater. No heat on the trains has made for some cold morning commutes. But it looks as though the weather is gradually starting to warm up some. Just in time for me to head further south, into the colder corners of Australia.
Before I continue with this next story, I think I need to explain. The area where we have been working is a conference room above an auto service department. We can hear stuff going on all day long. They like to crank up the music. The other day, “We Are The Champions” came blaring through the walls. (It's a different song every afternoon.) But today, I could hear one of the guys down there, in a falsetto voice, sing along with Alanis Morissette’s “You Outta Know.” The only thing better? As I was walking between buildings to go ask someone a question, I passed by the car wash and detail center. There were a few guys working in there. And, as they worked, blasting out of the speakers was Kelly Clarkson’s “Miss Independent.” All I could do was laugh…
The past few nights, one of the managers on this job has been giving a couple of us rides to a train station closer to the city. Having him drop us off shaves about 20 minutes off the commute, which is nice. But even nicer? I noticed it last night, but forgot to put it in yesterday’s post. But I managed to remember tonight... As we were driving down the motorway, I noticed ANZ Stadium off the road. (The stadium where the rugby game was played last weekend.) I really had no idea the Stadium was in that part of town. But it was pretty cool to see from the motorway. And yet, it gets even better...
So as I was staring out the car window, I had my first official sighting. There it was, in all its glory. The bright red neon sign just off the motorway: Outback Steakhouse. Hilarious!
Nothing else super exciting happened today. Tonight I rode home on the train with a girl I work with from Canada. She’s over here for 18 months, and has been here 2 months already. We chatted about getting used to the city. It was nice to talk to her, because we were on the same page with things. She asked what all I had gotten to do, and I told her that since I only have weekends, it is hard to do a lot. But at the same time, little day trips can be nice. She said that she tells her friends that her activities include walking around her neighborhood, just to see more of it. She said that her friends back home have a hard time understanding why she’s not travelling to all of these wonderful and exotic places in the new country. But she’s just spending time trying to get to know little parts of a big city. I understood exactly. Kind of cool to find someone who is going through the same things I am on the weekends...
Well, folks, it has been a long week. I’m a little tired from the long days and early mornings. So I’ll just end the post here, leaving you with today’s mX updates. (Yes, they are a little better tonight!)
TEXT VENTS:
“After seeing a flying saucer up close late last year, I have no doubts about the existence and government cover-up of alien life. Let’s hope that the world’s leaders have enough faith in the public to disclose this information to us.” – Blake, Wollongong (Well, I guess that proves it. “Those people” are here, too...)
“Last night, I saw that Westfield was starting to put up its Christmas decorations. Who thinks the first week in August is too early?” – A, Chatswood
HONORABLE MENTION:
I can’t decide between the story and the picture of Lebron James grabbing some Turkish basketball player’s groin while going after the ball during a game (pun intended). But since I can’t access the photo to show you guys, I guess the story will have to be what makes honorable mention. This one almost made story of the day, but I think instead it should just be a Redneck Observation. Apparently, Jamie-Lynn Spears (17) is getting married to her baby daddy before year-end. Yes, Britney is expected to be the maid of honor. But the redneck highlight of the wedding will be the baby, who will be a part of the ceremony. Rumor has it that the baby will be placed in a basket decorated with flowers, and carried into the ceremony jointly with the bride and groom’s mothers. Oh dear Lord...
STORY OF THE DAY:
I can’t tell the story any better than what is written in the paper, so I’m just going to re-type it for you guys:
A 34-year-old man was impaled through the groin on a 20cm rusty nail while sunbaking nude on an English beach. The man was drinking with two friends and his girlfriend near Haslar Lake, Gosport, Hampshire, when the accident happened on Wednesday. The BBC reported the man slipped on his way to the toilet and became impaled. Firemen had to lift him off the spike. He was then given oxygen by paramedics and taken to hospital.