7 Down, 7 To Go!

Well, well, well… Believe it or not, I have been working here for seven weeks now. And I only have seven left to go. Yep, we are at the halfway point! I keep thinking back to how the first part of this trip went; how challenging it was and how slowly things started off. Now the weeks seem to just be flying by!
I don’t have a lot to share with you about Friday and Saturday. We didn’t get to leave the client until 5 on Friday, so it was about 9 before I got home, after grabbing dinner and dropping Yudith off. Although I will say - I was talked into stopping at KFC for dinner. (Yes, Sally, I know that Bojangles is going to take away my free t-shirts and 50% discounts for eating at KFC. Although I could make a killing by opening up a Boj with some tasty biscuits, which they do not have here!) Yes, I was a little curious about it, anyway. It wasn't bad, but holy crap it was expensive! Just to show you guys how much higher to cost of living is here: I got some little 2-piece meal with mashed potatoes, slaw, and some sort of dinner roll thingie. NINE BUCKS! I almost told them for $9 I got an entire bucket back home! But the guy didn't look too happy to be working fast food at 8.00 on a Friday night, so I let it go...
The ride home was fine. The best part about it was that as we drove by a field while leaving Canberra, I looked over and there were the kangaroos! They were hanging out in the field by the side of the road! One was kind of hopping across the field when I looked over, which was pretty cool to see. So I turned the car around and jumped out to take a couple of pictures for everyone. I haven’t had a chance to upload them, but I plan to post those photos later this week, once I get back into the office.
Even though my Friday night was pretty much shot after getting home so much later than I intended, I managed to unpack and start the laundry, all while watching the Olympics opening ceremonies. I’m starting to think that laundry is my life here! But since I have the race on Sunday, I had to have everything ready on Saturday night in order to head back to Canberra on Sunday afternoon.
The opening ceremonies were interesting, I guess. About 30 minutes into it, I figured out that I was clearly supposed to have done some drugs or something in order for the artsy stuff to make sense. I still don't really get it. Way too many colors! And weird music. The best I can say for those of you who missed it was that it was almost like watching the boat tunnel scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the old, good version). You know, the one that is supposed to be some sort of acid trip. (Great movie for the kids, right?) Oh well – whatever works for China, I guess. I would have been just as happy to see a slideshow or some little movie thing, but I suppose there is a reason why I haven't been asked to design an Olympic opening ceremony. Oh, and since people are asking: I believe I am two hours ahead of Beijing. So we get pretty current Olympic events here, which is pretty cool.
The only other big thing about Friday was that I managed to call into the Charlotte office staff meeting. So it was good to hear from everyone there. Although I think I have had almost as many conference calls from here as I would have had while I was in Charlotte! But no big deal; as I said, it was good to hear everyone who was there. After the meeting, I decided to call it a night, since it had been a long day!
On Saturday, I headed out to the race expo. For those of you who are not runners, I will explain: Race events have expos where they have vendors on display. Usually these things take up large meeting rooms (often entire floors) at convention centers. A ton of vendors show up, and they set up tables to sell running gear, shoes, food, etc. There are usually some free things you can pick up, too. So I wanted to be sure I checked out the expo for this huge race!
Yeah, the expo was crap. It was pretty much a double-wide trailer where you picked up your race number in the front part, then head back to look through three racks of clothes in the back part of the room. I have to say – the one thing that pissed me off about this race was the fact that you did not get a shirt with your registration. I really think this race is the only one I have ever run and not received an official race t-shirt. But on the up side, the office had some really nice microfiber running shirts and hats made up for everyone, so I at least got something. But still – to run about 8.5 miles and not come away with a shirt is kind of crappy. And in case anyone is wondering, the registration fee gets you the following, according to the official website: Saturday’s newspaper (why Saturday’s, I don’t know), a trip on the bus from Bondi Beach to the train station, your race bib (they seriously list it on the website as a perk from the entry fee), and a finisher’s medal. Woo hoo!
After bombing out at the expo, I walked back through Hyde Park. The Park is pretty cool, and it was pretty busy, so I stopped and took some pictures for you guys. I also got some shots of St. Mary’s Cathedral, where the Popemobile was parked during WYD. It’s a pretty cathedral, so I just wanted everyone to be able to see it. I’ll have those photos uploaded later this week, I promise! But it was a nice day out, and the weather was pretty. So it was a really good day to walk through and enjoy the Park. Plus it got me a little exercise in since I slacked off all last week and did absolutely nothing! Consider it cramming for the race!
Now you know all about my Saturday. Yep, that’s it. But tomorrow is race day, and I have to get to bed early. I’m sure there will be some good stories for you guys out of the City2Surf! I'll chat with you soon...