RAIN!!!

It's been very rainy for the last few days, but it's not too cold, so I can go out in it :)

Went running with Frontrunners this last Saturday and picked up my Frontrunners shirt (hehe prolly only one of the things I will actually buy here to take back... limited luggage + limited budget = limited souvenirs). And the run was nice because it rained a ton before and then right after, so I got a nice, rain-free run.

Later that day I went to the Youtube Symphony finale matinee (the grand finale was the following night). The program was visually amazing, along with the sounds and songs, of course. They projected images and art all over the inner chambers of the concert hall. During the grand finale they did the same images on the outer sails as well. Highlights for me were 4 pieces. One was conducted by a 17-year-old conductor which was very relaxing and enjoyable: Danza Del Trigo from the ballet Estancia. Another was the premier of Mothership, which featured electronic artists and improvisational pieces by four special guests... it was visually great as well. The third was a violin piece called the Ascending Bird (not to be confused with the Lark Ascending), which was written by two guys in their 30's/40's who were present and playing in the piece. The highlight of the particular piece was sand artist, Kseniya Simonova, who did live sand art accompanying the piece. If you've never seen sand art before, definitely check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=518XP8prwZo . Finally, I loved the finale, which was the final 3 dances of Stravinksy's Firebird. I got hooked on the song when it was written as a suite for Fantasia 2000, which you can check out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oSTyWYGJ6E . I found that piece to be the finest of the film... the one most like the original Fantasia.

Anyways, all of that was very fun to go to and I might go to another show mid-April which will have Nobuo Uematsu's work from the Final Fantasy series performed.

This week is pretty laid-back. I am most likely going to plan a trip for Monday through Wednesday of next week to Uluru or Canberra, but will update before it's finalized.

On a completely random note, I tried my first custard apple yesterday. If you have never had one, I suggest you do... it's a bizarre fruit that is quite delicious. The outside resembles a mix between an avocado and an artichoke. This is broken open or cut to reveal a pulpy-soft inside. The inside peels apart similar to the flakes of a fish fillet (yeah, weird) and the consistency is almost that of a soft custard). It is called different things in other areas of the world, but here is some info on them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vet2wp5j7dI

OK, that's it for now :)

Katoomba on a whim

So I decided on Sunday that I was going to go to the Blue Mountains in Katoomba the next day. Booked my stay at the YHA there and packed for a short trip. Took the train, which was lovely and got there in about 2 hours.

As I left the station, there was this thick mist/fog everywhere that gave a really cool feel to the town. I wandered around a bit and called it a night. Got a somewhat early start the next morning in the same thick mist. It was really nice, because I think a lot of people avoided going out in it and it ended up being a great hike. I started around the top and headed to this "grand staircase" which is about 900 steps, steeply descending along the cliffs. The mist made it all that much cooler. Once I got down all the way, I walked along and eventually back up on another side right around Katoomba Falls. Spent the evening in Katoomba and had some delicious Indian food... I am hoping to get better at cooking Indian recipes... This means you, Biryani! :P

The next morning I had to be out by 10, but it was a drastic difference from the day before, so I took a quick walk to the 3 Sisters lookout and got some great photos.

Took the train back and that was that... short and sweet :)

Now I am continuing to volunteer and find volunteer work. Next on my plate is the youtube symphony at the Opera House this weekend.

:)

Catching Up

OK, Here is part two of my catch-up post

Once I got back from my trip, I moved into my apartment. I found a good group of 3 other people in Redfern, which is super close to the city and I am literally a 5-minute walk from the train station.

Redfern is an interesting area, that somewhat reminds me of something the Mission District in SF would have resembled 5 years ago or so. The area is home to the infamous Block, which was a housing project for Aboriginal people. In the 70's (I think... maybe the 60's), it began to develop some bad drug problems and was rather crime-ridden... something most cities have at some point in their growth. In 2004, a local boy was impaled on a fence and died. It was thought that the police had been chasing him. Locals claimed he was chased down by cop cars and thus killed. Police claimed that the boy was involved in drug activity and that is why they were chasing him. Either way, riots erupted and the area became incredibly volatile... especially between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. In the following years some drastic changes began to happen. In 2009, the crime rate began to sharply drop. The Aboriginal Housing Commission developed plans to raise the Block and build a mixed-use development. All residents in the Block were given eviction notices. Finally, the once feared areas of Redfern and Chippendale began to gentrify and fill with couples, students, and other young professionals.

I found out I moved in near the final stages of plans to demolish the Block. There are about 10-15 remaining residents who do not want their homes torn down, so demolition has yet to begin, but the area has drastically changed, and it is slowly shedding its reputation. Unfortunately, not everyone sees this yet, but it will get better.

Anyways, I am now living with 2 girls and 1 guy. One of the girls if from Sydney and is going to patisserie school, meaning there are always baked goods coming into our house each evening. The other girl is from the UK and is working as a nurse in a mental health facility. The guy is from Sydney and is studying at uni right now. It's a good mix of people, and the Aussie girl has 2 staffies that visit us on the weekend... Lillie and Zach... both incredibly friendly and fun.

Last weekend was the end of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. I still don't get why it was given the Mardi Gras title, as it originally was in June or July and has no affiliation to Mardi Gras, but who cares? It's a party. The events are about 2 weeks long and kicked off with Fair Day, which was a huge festival in a park right by my apartment. It gets around 60,000 people a year, and it was fun to walk around and people watch, but very hot and humid, so I was spent for the rest of the day. Other events went on for the two weeks, but the main event was the parade and after party. The parade brought roughly 250,000 to 300,000 spectators and performers this year, so it was a little crazy. It was fun, overall, and I would compare it in feel to Bay to Breakers in SF, although this was certainly bigger in numbers and happens at night, while B2B is around 50,000 to 70,000 I believe, and everyone tends to be involved (rather than just watching). It was a great experience to see, and I was really happy with how much the city has embraced the event.

OK... finally, since moving in at my new apartment, I spent about 2.5 weeks looking for jobs. I interviewed with a couple of places and sent out many resumes, but no luck. Seeing how I only have about 6-8 weeks left, I am going to begin volunteering around the city instead, and will take a few, smaller trips. Yesterday I worked on forest/parks cleanup and bush regeneration in Pyrmont, which was fun, but exhausting. I am in contact with ACON and hope to do some work for them as well. Aside from that, I am running with the group, Frontrunners, every Saturday morning, followed by brunch (this group is all over the world, and I run with them in SF as well). I also am a member at a gym fairly close, and have been cooking a lot as well. So yeah, things have become a bit more normal, which I like.

A couple things on the horizon: I just booked my ticket to see the youtube symphony perform at the opera house, which should sound and look amazing. I am also about to book my trip to the Blue Mountains, and am planning on setting up my trips to Uluru and Canberra... and possibly Darwin or Adelaide.

Alright, that's all for now

:)

Oh Yeah, I Have a Blog :X

Apologies to anyone who reads this... Yes, it has been 1 month since my last post (almost 1 month).

I promise I will try to update more often... Try is the key word there ;P

Anyways, last time I was about to head to Hobart for the rest of one of my longer trips while I am here.

-Hobart: I spent the first couple of days in Hobart, which is really quite charming and fun to explore. Fortunately I happened to get there during their wooden boat festival, so there were interesting things to see and booths and food and whatnot.

-Mount Wellington: I took a day trip to the top of Mount Wellington and saw a beautiful view of the city below and all around the shoreline and waterways. It was a bit chilly up there, but well worth the trip.

-Port Arthur: I booked a ride to Port Arthur and we stopped in Richmond, which was really cool... Everyone said it reminded them of a small, New Zealand town, so I will put that to the test when I go late April. There were a ton of small, historic buildings and whatnot, and a really delicious bakery... mmmm, Curried Scallop Pie :) (one quick note: Aussies say "Sk-ah-lop"... while in the US (or at least Utah) we say "Sk-al-lop").

We then headed through wine country and other farms and bays and finally made it to Port Arthur, which is home to a historic site that used to be a prison. Touring the grounds was very interested, and it was also striking to see the remnants of a building where the Port Arthur Massacre took place. In 1996, a gunman killed 35 and injured 37 in the site... Quite tragic. The memorial that now stands on the grounds is a very nice tribute to those who died and those who helped others that day.

I spent the night in Port Arthur and explored away from the site the next day. It was very pretty just walking around, and I came across Safety Cove Beach, which reminded my of a beach you would find in Mexico, but with the hillsides and farms of Switzerland. I explored the tide pools and saw some crab, sea stars, and anemones. I later caught the bus back to Port Arthur and planned my final TAS trip to Wineglass Bay.

-Wineglass Bay: If you ever go to Australia, this, so far, would be one of the places I would highly recommend. I think people have a skewed idea of what Tasmania is like, and as a result, tend to avoid it (even Aussies). I spent a day with some fun people hiking around Freycinet Park and it was amazing. Every beach was perfect and had that beautiful, teal water and white sand. There were few people here and there... Normal beaches this nice are packed with tourists and sun bathers. We hiked to a lookout where you can see Wineglass Bay and learned a bit about it before heading down. It is called Wineglass Bay for 2 reasons: The shape resembles the top of a wine glass, and the bay used to serve as a cleaning station for whalers... meaning the water would turn red with whale blood. After that not-at-all-gruesome story we walked down to the beach, which, once again, was perfect. I realize that I have called many of the beaches in TAS perfect... but the reality is, they pretty much are. The temperature might be a bit colder than ideal, but the beaches themselves are amazing and abundant. Before we headed back, we saw a wallaby and got some photos.

-That was at the end of my trip, and I headed back to Sydney a day later, and to my new apartment... This post is already long enough, so my next one will bring you up-to-date on things here in Sydney

:)

Trip!

Sorry for the long overdue update… I’ve been too busy having fun and not being on my computer, so hopefully you understand.

I am now on the second leg of my Melbourne/Hobart trip, and have 5 more days before I go back to Sydney.

Melbourne has been a great experience. It heavily reminds me of San Francisco in the sense that everyone has a little more laid-back of an attitude and the area is so walkable and has great public transportation. I went to a ton of stuff, so here are a few things:

-Melbourne Museum: I went here on a whim and it was a fun place to go. It had exhibits on Melbourne history, Aboriginal history regarding the conflicts with Europeans, and two really cool exhibits on the Melbourne environment (animals, evolution, minerals, etc) and the mind (a very quirky exhibit, but probably my favorite part).

-Federation Square: A big area near the center of Melbourne (on the southern end though) that has a lot of beautiful buildings and places to explore. I went to the ACMI (Australian Center for the Moving Image) and saw a very cool exhibit on media and how it has changed through the ages, as well as another exhibit on Disney animation.

-One of the best parts of Melbourne was just walking around and looking at all the little micro-environments they have. Cool areas like Chinatown, Chapel (and Commercial) Street, Brunswick Street, and the Docklands all had their own feel and niche of people.

On the Sydney end, I did find an apartment, which is in a great place for public transportation and walking. Now I have to find a job for the next couple of months (maybe 2.5 months). I’ll still do trips, but smaller ones. I plan on going to the Blue Mountains (perhaps a couple of days rather than a day trip), Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), and possibly Perth and/or Adelaide.

OK, I am off to Hobart and the rest of Tasmania. I’ll post something about that half in a bit

Advance Australia Fair

I finally got back early last week. It's HOT... and HUMID... and I love it ;P

We celebrated Australia day which involved eating, drinking, watching the ferrython, and then fireworks later that evening... Oh, and I finally got to sing the national anthem (both verses... that's right... both).

Now I am in the process of accomplishing 4 things. The first two are trips: Blue Mountains (day trip from Sydney) and Melbourne/Hobart (for about 7-10 days, and possibly going to Canberra). The other two are finding an apartment for the next few months and looking for a job. Apartment hunting here may be about as bad as it is in San Francisco, which, if you have tried to find an open room in SF, you can understand is an ordeal. I am positive about it, though, and will find a place that suits me well.

:)

Decisions decisions

Yes it's been a while since I posted anything... been a bit busy going to Gold Coast, Brisbane, Ipswich, and then additional trips to the states.

Christmas in Ipswich was very fun... got to meet friends of Damien and Dan. We had way too much food, good drinks, and played games. Trying to leave to go back to Sydney was a story in itself... as it was raining horribly. We drove to Gold Coast to fly out, but nothing was landing or taking off, so we tried our luck in Brisbane (thanks to Damien driving Dan and I all over in the rain). Our flight there was delayed, but we made it... amazingly, and I was able to catch my flight the next day to the states.

20 hours of not sleeping on my flights and making connections later, I was in Salt Lake again... there for friends (practically family). It's been fun here... freezing cold, but fun. I am incredibly bummed that I missed new years in Sydney... for a taste of it, check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48ulv6KnRts But it was more important for me to be with my friends in the states and I can always try to make it again in the future :)

Through all of this, and leading up to it, I finally figured out what I want to do... for the time being, at least. I am going to head back to Sydney on the 22nd after a short visit to San Francisco. From there, I will find a temporary place in Sydney... preferably somewhere around Newtown, Redfern, or Oxford Street. I'll get a job... something fun that will let me meet people and make some spending $$$. Then do some trips... I plan on doing Melbourne and Adelaide in the same trip... maybe a week. I'd also like to visit Hobart and Canberra and maybe Darwin and Perth... oh and hopefully a trip back to Gold Coast if the weather and flooding improves. Then around the end of April, I will do a week-long trip or so to New Zealand... finalize everything in Sydney and whatnot, and move to San Francisco... indefinitely.

It's been an exciting process in figuring everything out, and I am really excited to enjoy the rest of my time in AU (which I will blog more regularly) and then my move to SF.

Stay posted... more to come... maybe I'll even start posting pictures, instead of putting them all on facebook ;)