Swinging the World by the Tail

Best Songs of 2011

2011-12-28T13:37:00.000-05:00

I've gone through quite a few music posts throughout the year and it's time to compile a list of the best. Take a look back at my previous posts for 2009 and 2010 (the 2010 post happens to be my #1 post of all time on this blog).

Honorable Mentions

Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
I know, I know, I know. Everyone is sick of this song by now. I first blogged about it back in April, before you could hear it on every pop radio station in the country. They're still a good band though, and this song has logged 52 million + views on YouTube.
Drake ft. Lil Wayne - The Motto
A lot of people don't like Drake but this collaboration makes me bob my head.
Kings of Leon - Back Down South
Hopefully this band hasn't broken up for good after they canceled their tour. I've had a lot of good times cruising to their music over the years. This song reminds me of my old Kentucky home.
Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks
Half of the time I can't tell if he's serious, but he's also a comedian so I guess that makes sense. His metaphors are pretty clever.
Katie Herzig - Lost and Found
You're just starting to hear this song in TV shows and on movie previews. Expect it to make its way to radio soon.
Chris Brown ft. Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne - Look At Me Now
I was tempted to post Karmin's cover version, but I'll stick with the original. I'm still dedicated to memorizing this and pulling it out on a karaoke night.

Top 10

10. Madi Diaz - Let's Go
I heard about this artist via NoiseTrade. It's a great place to legally get free music.

9. TV On The Radio - Will Do
This band can put out some weird music, but I can listen to this song on repeat.

8. Jay-Z and Kanye West ft. TI - Niggas in Paris Remix
The original is good but I think that TI's verse makes it even better. I heard that they rap this song 5 or more times in the Watch the Throne concert. It's a good song, but really guys?

7. Josh Garrels - Ulysses
This is another artist I heard about on NoiseTrade. The whole album is good... the song says that it was recorded in 2010, but it didn't come out until this year. So it still qualifies for this list.

6. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
This local Atlanta band has made it big and they're great to see live.

Click here to see the Top 5!

Best Songs of 2011 - Continued

2011-12-28T13:34:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to check out songs 10 - 6 and the Honorable Mentions here.

5. Adele - Someone Like You
I had to include SOMETHING by Adele since she's the #1 selling artist of the year (worldwide sales of the album have passed 13 million!). This video gives some background behind the song, which is always interesting since she's the one that wrote it.

4. Cults - Go Outside
I expect a lot out of this band in the near future. Mark them down as someone to go see live in 2012.

3. Dirty Gold - California Sunrise
This was my summer song and it will forever put me in a beach mindset. It makes me want to go surfing right now... as I sit in Atlanta in December.

2. The Naked and Famous - Young Blood
I saw this band live in Austin back in April at the best concert lineup I've ever seen (along with Freelance Whales and Foals). You're probably starting to hear them on the radio, but they just finished their US tour. Catch them when they come back around.

And the #1 song of the year goes to...

Gotye ft. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know
I first posted this song back in April. I've actually heard this song on the radio a few weeks ago, so you might see them become popular. The lyrics are powerful and personally relevant to me. Enjoy!

I know I'm leaving off some really great music. The Black Keys, Noah and the Whale, Motorcade, Two Door Cinema Club, Grouplove, Matthew Mayfield, Death Cab for Cutie, Peter Bjorn and John all come to mind. Looking back at this, I definitely could have made it a Top 20 list instead of 10! But I'll stick with the format, and you'll just have to use the keyword 'music' in the upper left corner of this page to see the posts I've had throughout the year.

So, what else did I miss? Let me know. Post links in comments

Here's to more great music in 2012!

New Music For Your Consideration

2011-12-15T00:28:00.000-05:00

Here's the last submission I'll do for the year before I pick my favorite songs from 2011. Stay tuned for my Top 10 list!

Madi Diaz - Let's Go

Crystal Fighters - Follow (song is a year old, but heard it on a new Puma commercial)

Madeon - Pop Culture (mashup of 39 songs... this kid is 17!!! Pretty cool to see him mixing them live on his mixing board)

Drake ft. Lil' Wayne - The Motto

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-31T01:20:00.000-04:00

Jess and I carved our pumpkins a few days ago. I set up my camera and filmed the whole thing. Then I got some editing software called VideoPad to put speed it up and add music. Here's the finished product. Happy Halloween!

That S%$& Cray

2011-10-20T01:17:00.000-04:00

Loving this song, I can't get enough of it. They even mixed a little dubstep in at the end.

Vegas Wedding

2011-10-06T23:06:00.000-04:00

The Strip from Matt & Jenny's room

My friend Matt and his fiancée Jenny have been planningtheir wedding in Las Vegas for quite a while now. Matt is one of my oldest friends... we met in 3rd grade and hung out all of the way through college until I moved to Atlanta. I usually see them around the holidays, but my visa issues while in Australia kept me from coming home last year. I can’t complain about spending Christmas on the beach, but it did keepme from hanging out with them.

I’ve been through Vegas twice – once on a family road tripthrough the southwest when I was in middle school, the other on a cross countryroad trip with Amanda. Both timesit was just for a night, so I can’t say I had done a proper weekend there. Matt and Jenny planned their ceremony at theWynn on a Monday, so I blocked off Friday through Tuesday to spend in the city. Four nights in Vegas? People warned me that any more than two istoo many…

Matt and Jenny weren’t getting into the city until Saturday afternoon, so I decided to bring along a date to keep me company. A few friends were busy and it just sohappened that Sheila, a friend from Atlanta that I met this spring in SanFrancisco, could take the time off of work. I threw her some frequent flyer miles and we met up at the airport onFriday night.

With the wedding at the Wynn and the wedding party stayingat Treasure Island, I decided to use Priceline to see what kind of deal I couldget on a hotel. I had never used itbefore, so I thought I would give it a shot. It asked for the general area of town that I wanted to stay, number ofstars and a price. The software choosesyour hotel for you – you don’t get to see that until you’ve already paid forit. We got put in the Stratosphere at thevery north end of the strip. It was agood deal, but not worth the taxi fares we ended up paying all weekend to getto everyone else. Lesson learned.

Sheila and I met up with my friend Jon on Friday night atTreasure Island. He, Matt and I weregood friends in college but I hadn’t seen him in 4 or 5 years. We walked around the strip for a while andthen went to a ‘locals’ casino a few blocks away called Terrible's. The blackjack tables were only $5 per hand,while you couldn’t find anything under $10 at the strip casinos. I’m not big into gambling, so that was enoughfor me

Unfortunately I had to spend most of my day on Saturdayworking in my hotel room. I spent about10 hours loading data for my client – they were pushing some of their customersinto their new software system on Monday morning, so I really didn’t have achoice. I took a mid-afternoon break togo up to the top of Stratosphere. We gotin for free since we were staying at the hotel – that was the only real perk ofstaying there.

Jimmy on stage with P&T

I was just finishing up when Matt and Jenny along with ourhigh school friend Jimmy and his girlfriend landed and came to hang out. We allwent out to dinner and then walked around for a bit before they all went tobed. Sheila and I stayed out on thestrip for another few hours, playing penny slot machines and bouncing around todifferent bars.

On Sunday morning I had a few follow-up items for work totake care of before we went out to the pool for a little sun. We spent the rest of the day with the weddingparty and then went to Penn and Teller’s magic show that evening. Penn is really entertaining – you shouldcheck out his show on Showtime called Bullshit!. Jimmy got taken up on stage for the first trick of the night, which waspretty cool. They took his cell phoneand somehow got it inside of a fish underneath a random person’s seat in theaudience.

Happy couple

The wedding was on Monday afternoon so we spent most of themorning getting things ready and hanging out with Matt and his parents. There were only 20 people at the ceremony andthe service was short and sweet. Aftertaking some pictures we headed over to the famous ‘Welcome to Fabulous LasVegas’ sign for Jenny’s usual Thriller dance (check out her YouTube channel - she does it everywhere). A rainstorm came out of nowhere and drenched us while we were there; I'm sure we were quite a sight for other tourists.

We had the reception dinner at TI that evening. I had never given a speech at a wedding although I've been to a lot over the past 6 or 7 years - but I knew exactly what I wanted to say at this one.

That evening Matt and Jenny went to a Cirque du Soleil show,so Sheila and I had another night to ourselves. We ended up going to a show at our hotel called Bite. It was a rock and roll vampire show – it soundedkind of lame but he had nothing else going on. We got 2 for 1 tickets and it was really a waste of time.

Assortment of signs at the Boneyard

We found out that night that Matt’s mom won ~$1200 on pennyslots, hitting jackpots 3 different times. Sheila and I were determined to do the same since it was our last nightthere. We failed miserably... I think Sheila was up $1.34 at one point, but quickly lost it. I was in even worse shape.

We met back up with Jon, his girlfriend, Matt and Jenny tovisit The Neon Sign Boneyard. It’s aplace set up by a non-profit where hotels put some of their old signs. The tour cost $12 and the guide gave a lot ofhistory behind the different hotels through the years. Definitely check it out if you ever go toVegas. It’s not on the typical list ofthings that people do there, but it’s unique and cheap.

Sheila and I both had flights around the same time, so wesaid our goodbyes to the group and went to the airport. It was definitely a long and somewhat tiringweekend, but I’m really happy that I got to be a part of the new Mr. and Mrs. Hosley’s wedding!

Big Facebook Changes

2011-09-26T22:32:00.000-04:00

Your own personal online timeline

You've probably read status updates on Facebook from people complaining about the recent News Feed changes. Get ready to hear some more because the next one is big. It's being reported in the news, but just in case you haven't heard I'll tell you how to get a head start on everyone else.

How do you enable the new Facebook Timeline? It's pretty simple - check out the details here. You have to add the Facebook Developer app to get an advanced update.

As you can see in my screenshot, the most striking feature is a massive 'cover photo' pic that you choose for the top of your page. On the far right side there is a timeline. You can scroll by month and skip down years and decades to view posts, pictures and updates. You can choose for certain items to be ignored from your timeline, giving you full control of what appears.

It'll take a while to get used to and you're going to hear a lot of whining. Personally, I think it's pretty cool. I don't have a lot of data before 2004 (when I joined Facebook), but I'm hoping to add some over the next few months to give a full (edited and abridged) autobiographical story.

7 Cover Songs > Originals

2011-09-08T01:53:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite websites to waste time on (and get free music) is CoverMeSongs.com. Artists can't sell these songs without giving royalties to the original artists, so we get them for free! I started collecting covers I came across and I have enough for a post. Cover songs often don't live up to the originals. These do... and maybe surpass them.

Birdy - Skinny Love (Bon Iver cover)

Dred Scott - Purple Rain (Prince cover)

Bon Iver - Your Love (The Outfield cover)

Ellie Goulding - Heartbeats (The Knife cover)

Matthew Mayfield - Fix You (Coldplay cover)

Jodi King - Street Lights (Kanye West cover)

The Avett Brothers - The Prettiest Thing (David Childers cover)

Have a cover you like? Let me know.

NYC vs Irene

2011-09-02T00:51:00.000-04:00

Graffiti artist with a sense of humor

My company holds a competition every year during our TechEd conference for consultants to present new applications. I've presented a few and won an iPad a few years ago. It has become so popular that they decided to hold a midyear competition in New York City. I submitted an application that I developed at my current client and it was accepted. They put us up in a really nice place in Soho called Crosby Street Hotel.

A few days before my flight out of Orange County the weather reports started coming in about Hurricane Irene. It was tracking up the east coast and it could become the first hurricane to hit the state since 1903. This could make for an interesting weekend.

I landed at JFK for the first time - previous trips to the city brought me through LaGuardia. I hopped the Airtrain and then took the subway into Manhattan. I've never really taken the subway before (except north and south along Broadway). I didn't use a map and it was surprisingly easy, despite the cobweb of lines on the subway map. I guess they make it easy to get into the city from the airport. When I got to the hotel I met up with some colleagues and went out to dinner at Raoul's, a really nice French restaurant.

The best part about this whole weekend was that we only had events scheduled for Friday. Saturday and Sunday were all free for us to wander around New York. I was on a project for 3 months on Long Island but never got a chance to see anything since I only ventured into the city after work. I visited back in 2001 right before Christmas for a UK basketball game (the best game I've ever seen in person even though we lost).

Washington Park

I didn't end up winning the $1000 prize but I did get something almost as good - 2 extra nights in the city. On Friday afternoon the hurricane was bearing down on us and Delta preemptively canceled all flights on Sunday. Delta couldn't get me anything until Tuesday afternoon. Fine by me! We went out on Friday night and then walked around the city on Saturday until the storm started to roll in. I explored NYU and Washington Park (location of a really good movie called August Rush) and took some photos.

On Saturday afternoon the subways shut down and the taxis stopped running. I checked out the World Trade site before the clouds opened up. We bought a bunch of snacks (and drinks) since we really didn't know how bad the storm was going to get. The hotel even went out and got a bunch of board games to keep us occupied.

The storm came through overnight but in the end it just rained a lot, not too much to worry about. On Sunday I met up with my elementary/middle/high school friend Toa, owner of Thai Orchid Cafe, for a few drinks and catching up. She just happened to be in New York for a little vacation - thanks to Facebook for helping us realize that we were both there at the same time.

Doing important thangs

On the way back, my coworker Cody and his wife Melissa and I were walking down Broadway when a limo pulled up. The driver got out and dropped people off, and I joked to Cody that this was our taxi back to the hotel. The driver heard me and offered us a lift. $60 for a half hour loop around the city seems kind of steep, but the taxis were all charging $10 per person for the emergency hurricane rate. Since it was only $10 more, we went for it. Totally random.

On Monday I met up with another friend - this one from Sydney. Milan is a musician that I met and saw perform a few times. She was in New York for vacation and was looking to do some sightseeing. We went to Rockafeller Center to check out the view of the city and maybe get tickets for the NBC studio tour. While we were in the lobby, a girl came up to us and offered us tickets to Jimmy Fallon's rehearsal monologue for Late Night. It was pretty funny... Jimmy tried out 2 or 3 different jokes on the same topic and he made notes on which ones got the best reaction.

Later in the afternoon Milan and I went to the to Top of the Rock to get a view of the city from above. I definitely recommend it - you get great pictures of the Empire State Building and Central Park. We met back up with Cody and Melissa along with Martyn, another BOA consultant, for dinner at The Capital Grille in Midtown.

On Monday night I stayed at an apartment owned by my company's founders along with Cody, Melissa and Martyn. It's a 3 bedroom place in Soho and Kiefer Sutherland supposedly lives a few floors above them. On Tuesday I flew back to Orange County, with Milan promising to hang out again when she comes back through LA on her way back to Sydney.

There's still a lot I want to see in the city. The Empire State Building (from the inside), the MOMA, the UN, the World Trade Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Brooklyn Bridge, the list goes on...

Somebody That I Used To Know

2011-08-22T01:58:00.001-04:00

Check out this song by Gotye (an Aussie) featuring Kimbra (a Kiwi), called Somebody That I Used To Know. I've been playing it on repeat all evening. Not only is the video cool, but the lyrics are very relevant to my own experience (see full lyrics below).

Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end
Always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger
And that feels so rough
You didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records
And then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
And I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know...

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger
And that feels so rough
You didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records
And then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

I used to know
That I used to know

Somebody...

Aquabumps

2011-08-17T02:15:00.000-04:00

Soon after I came back from Australia I signed up for Aquabumps daily emails picturing Bondi and the nearby beaches, beachgoers, surfers and sunrises.

Eugene, or 'Uge' as he signs off on most emails, has been featured in a documentary of his daily routine. Sign up for the emails - his photos are amazing. And if you're anywhere near Sydney, stop by his gallery and buy a print.

Check out the video and a few choice images below.

Check out these videos

2011-08-10T01:11:00.001-04:00

If you've never heard of Vimeo, you should check out the videos on their site. Imagine if everyone on YouTube shot with a high quality camera, had artistic talent and good editing equipment. Yeah, me included. Put that all together and you get Vimeo. Here are a few favorites I came across recently.

El Cielo de Canarias / Canary sky - Tenerife from Daniel López on Vimeo.

LA Light from Colin Rich on Vimeo.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

10 Songs for Summer

2011-07-28T02:16:00.003-04:00

I've been hanging onto some of these songs for a while until I got a good playlist for you (and the time to post them). Make sure you go all of the way down and check out my summer anthem by Dirty Gold.

Like what you hear? Comment and send me links for more new stuff!

10. Kings of Leon - Back Down South
This song really reminds me of growing up in Kentucky... I haven't been a big fan of the latest Kings of Leon singles, but this one is more like their old work than the stuff you hear on the radio.

9. James Morrison - If You Don't Want to Love Me
Not new, but new to me

8. Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks
You might recognize Donald Glover from the NBC show Community (he's also a writer for 30 Rock).

7. Adele - Someone Like You
Adele, still going strong on the charts

6. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
Some of ATL's finest - I saw them in concert a few years ago.

5. Blue Foundation - Eyes on Fire (Zeds Dead Remix)
Just hearing this for the first time, it's been out for a while. It kind of reminds me of a trippy version of The XX.

4. Grouplove - Colours
Another song you hear every now and then on XM.

3. The Black Keys - Next Girl
One of my favorite bands of all time.

2. Cults - Go Outside
I'm starting to hear this on XM a lot and I'm guessing you'll hear it on mainstream radio this fall.

And the number one song goes to...

1. Dirty Gold - California Sunrise
And finally, ending strong with MY SUMMER ANTHEM!!!

Honorable mention: Frank Ocean - Novacane

Watts Towers

2011-07-25T01:20:00.000-04:00

Ever since I visited The Beer Can House on my trip to Houston this spring, I've had the Watts Towers in Los Angeles on my radar. Both places appear on the World's Top 10 Most Eccentric Constructions List. It's in a bit of a shady neighborhood but I definitely think the $7 tour fee is worth it if you have time to spare.

An Italian immigrant named Sam Rodia built the towers (without help, training or blueprints or machinery) from 1921 to 1954 on his home property. The exhibit includes 17 connected structures, including the three main towers - one coming in at 99.5 feet (at 100 feet he would've needed a building permit). He modeled them after an obelisk procession in his hometown of Nola, Italy, that pays respect to St. Paolini.

Broken tile, bottles, ceramic, mugs, plates and glass were all imbedded into the steel and concrete framed structures. After Rodia 'retired' and walked away from his masterpiece, the city tried to condemn the property for safety reasons. A preservation group was formed and proved through a stress test with a crane that the towers were stable enough to withstand an enormous amount of leverage (the crane actually started to tip as it pulled on the towers).

At some point the tiny house on the property burned down but the towers remained unharmed. It is now fenced in to prevent vandalism and receives funding from city, state and federal government programs as a National Historic Landmark.

Here's a short documentary on the towers that goes into more detail.

And here are a few more pictures.

Matthew Mayfield in Hollywood

2011-07-13T16:43:00.001-04:00

Over the weekend I got word through Matthew Mayfield's Facebook page (like him!) that he had a concert coming up in Hollywood. Make sure to check out his website - if you're stingy he gives away free tracks. I first heard of him through the internet... it's hard to keep track these days. I think I got an email for a free download from NoiseTrade. Mayfield got notable buzz at 2010's SXSW, so keep your ears out for more from him.

The venue, Hotel Cafe, is a good 50 miles from me. With LA traffic, that's no small feat. I have been a fan of Mayfield's music for a while now (check out a winter music post that included him), but I haven't gotten the chance to see him live. The last show I saw was The Foals concert in Austin back in April and the tickets were only $12.50. I jumped at the chance.

I invited Christine along and we fought through the tail end of rush hour to get to Hotel Cafe right at 8 pm. My GPS stopped me in front of a place that said "Peep Show"... hmm, interesting. Or was it a Peeps show? (edit - I later found out that this is a gallery) There was a small parking sign with "Hotel Cafe" at the corner so I pulled around back.

I didn't see a true venue sign but there was a small piece of paper posted on the door as I drove up that had the lineup listed. The doorman was standing there talking to who... Matthew Mayfield himself. Yep, we were in the right place.

The venue foyer really reminded me of my favorite Atlanta music hangouts - Variety Playhouse and The Roxy. You could feel the age of the place, but it wasn't run down. There were velvet curtains, wood paneling and the lighting was just dim enough to make you want to whisper as you walked through.

Two swinging glass doors brought you into the performance area that was about the same size as The EARL. A female trio called The Wild Reeds was opening and crowded the small stage. They traded instruments for each song and each was multi-talented on banjo, guitar (electric and acoustic), piano and some kind of tabletop accordion (I'm sure there's a real name for it). Their vocal harmonies reminded me of something out of O Brother, Where Art Thou? or a county fair. It was a good warmup.

After a short break Mayfield walked up to the stage and sat on a stool, only holding his guitar. As I had hoped, he had no backing band. He stopped a few times between songs to engage the audience and give song background/introductions. At one point he plugged his merch, but confessed that he hadn't set prices for anything with the merch girl. He told us to "Pay what you want," which I thought was pretty cool. It's truly about the music.

Here is the set list as I noted during the show.

???? (Stumped on this one. Going through the tracks that I have but don't have his full catalog...)
Missed Me
Element
Grow Old With You
Now You're Free
Come Back Home
Fact or Fable
Cover medley*
Fire Escape
Cover of Coldplay - Fix You

*Played riffs of Metallica's Enter Sandman and Guns N Roses' Welcome to the Jungle, just goofing around

Check out the videos I recorded of my favorites.

Fire Escape

Fact or Fable

Most of the songs can be found on Matthew's latest album, Now You're Free. He uses a full band on the album, so the sound is a little different than this live show. Some work better with the band (Now You're Free) while others are much more powerful as a stripped down solo (Come Back Home, Fire Escape). My favorite songs of his are the minimalist acoustics that really focus on the lyrics and his voice.

Hotel Cafe was a perfect place to watch a singer-songwriter like Mayfield. It offers an intimate setting, where the songwriter revealed that a few of the songs (Fire Escape and Fact or Fable) are very hard for him to play. This is understandable when you listen to the power of the lyrics - it's why I like the songs so much. So if you like his music as much as I do, spread the word, see him live and buy a CD.

I waited around for a few minutes to see if he would be out meeting fans but I eventually left for the long drive back down south. I was going to ask if he ever had wanted or been asked to play Unplugged in the Park in Atlanta. I've seen bands like Civil Twilight, Joe Purdy and Band of Horses there and I think it would be a perfect spot to showcase his talent. I just found out on the Tour section of his website that he is already slated to be there on August 7th. So ATL friends, you have no excuse not to go. It's a free show!

And Kentucky friends, HEADS UP! He's coming to Lexington to Natasha's Bistro on August 4th!

Download YouTube videos!

2011-07-01T13:13:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure how long this has been around, but I just found this article that tells you how KickYouTube lets you to download any YouTube video. I wish I had found this years ago since, according to my channel stats, I've watched 10,766 videos since 2006. Wow, I need a hobby.

Check out my channel!

Words With Friends

2011-06-30T16:33:00.000-04:00

Big Boi from Outkast inspired me to join Words With Friends after I read a Paste Magazine article describing his challenge to fans. If you've never heard of WWF, it's a version of Scrabble on your phone that is free to use. You can play simultaneous games with different people at your leisure. It even has a chat function so you can talk smack in real time. I downloaded the free version of the application but unfortunately Big Boi had too many game requests. I'll see if I can find any other celebs to play...

I am very anti-iPhone (it's a horrible phone) and am generally anti-Apple as well, but it's not offered on my Blackberry. I do have an iTouch, so I can still play WWF when I'm near a WiFi hotspot. If you want to play me, search for Jayhorn5!

Great Song

2011-06-23T17:08:00.000-04:00

If I could write good lyrics, it would be like these. Simple, powerful, beautiful.

Josh Garrels - Ulysses

I'm holding on to the hope that one day this could be made right
Cause I've been shipwrecked, and left for dead, and I have seen the darkest sights
Everyone I've loved seems like a stranger in the night
But oh my heart still burns, tells me to return, and search the fading light

I'm sailing home to you I won't be long
By the light of moon I will press on
Until, I find, my love

Trouble has beset my ways, and wicked winds have blown
Sirens call my name, they say they'll ease my pain, then break me on the stones
But true love is the burden that will carry me back home
Carry me with the, memories of the, beauty I have known

I'm sailing home to you I won't be long
By the light of moon I will press on

So tie me to the mast of this old ship and point me home
Before I lose the one I love, before my chance is gone
I want to hold, her in, my arms

On to Catalina

2011-06-19T00:14:00.091-04:00

There's a small diving shop around the corner from my house called Beach Cities Scuba - I bought my underwater camera housing as I mentioned a few months ago. When I was in the shop back in April they had a white board displaying all of their dive trips. The next one went to Catalina Island on June 18th. You might say that Catalina is well known as a good dive spot. People also take day and weekend trips to explore the island but we weren't going to make landfall.

If you've ever heard of Catalina, it might be from the song Pasadena by a great band called Modern Skirts. I can play that song on repeat for days.

Anyway, Catalina is also known for its kelp forests and cold water marine life. I'd never done any cold water diving and I heard it was really different than all of the reef diving I did in Australia. I signed up for the trip but was nervous about the water temperature. They rented me a 7 mm wetsuit with hood, gloves and boots but I was still skeptical. All of that plus three meals and a full day on the boat with three dives came out to about $250, so overall it was a pretty good price.

I got up at about 5 am on Saturday morning and drove for 45 minutes up to the marina at San Pedro. The day started off kind of gloomy and uninviting until we shoved off and cruised through a pod of dolphins.

I had forgotten to even worry about sea sickness pills and I was pretty tired from the early morning wake up. I found a spot in the middle of the boat to minimize the rocking and dozed on and off for the 2.5 hour ride. I felt it coming on at one point but managed to keep my breakfast where it belonged. On a day with rougher water, I'm not sure I would've held out.

The dive master paired me up with another solo diver named Alex and they let us all do our own thing. Every other time I've gone diving, it's been with a small group that sticks with the lead. We were really just left to wander on our own. Neither of us had any idea of where to go and I think we probably missed out on the best parts of the dives. Lesson learned - even if you don't have to stick with the dive master, do it. You'll probably get more out of it.

That being said, it was still a pretty cool trip. The wetsuit kept me surprisingly warm and I got a few good pictures. The fish weren't as varied or colorful (except the bright orange Garibaldi pictured below), but I did see a horned shark... not as scary as it sounds. A few of the others saw a 4 foot eagle ray which would've been cool. Again... stick with the dive master.

So here are the pictures. I'm considering another trip to make full use of my camera before the water temperature drops. A day trip to explore the island itself is probably in order as well.

Garibaldi, the California state fish

Weaving in and out of the kelp forest

Horn shark - they have stingers like rays

Sea hare - the size of a small cat

Spotted this rock fish for Alex

PCH to San Francisco

2011-06-01T00:12:00.234-04:00

One of the best drives in the land

After my solo two week odyssey through Panama, I still had two weeks of (forced) vacation from work. I spent an entire week chilling out in Atlanta with some friends and Zabba, then made my way back to Newport. My girl Daya just so happened to be going to a wedding reception in San Francisco that weekend and invited me along. I had been looking for an excuse to drive up the California coast on the scenic PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), California State Route 1. It's on every website's top 10 drives in America, so you should, too.

My first time in SF was a whirlwind visit two years ago after a wedding. This time I was hoping to catch a few of the things I missed the last time around, plus soak up the view on the drive north. I packed a bag for the weekend and took off early on Friday morning to face the LA traffic.

The PCH actually goes right into Newport Beach just a few blocks from my house. It cuts through all of the beach cities - Huntington, Seal, Hermosa, Redondo, Manhattan... it would've taken me 3 or 4 hours to get through all of the surface street traffic (plus it's not scenic). I skipped it and hopped on the 405 and cut over to the coast on the 101 until it met up with the PCH in San Luis Obispo - a cool little town where I just had enough time to grab lunch. If you're in a hurry you can take the 5 all of the way up to San Francisco in 6 hours but you sacrifice the view.

Up close and personal with a mangy squirrel

From the beginning of the scenic section as I hit the coast, I was quickly reminded of my drive with Nat along the Great Ocean Road on the coast of Victoria, Australia. No wild koalas or helicopter rides this time though. :( I stopped pretty frequently along the way to take pictures of the windy route and mostly empty beaches. I saw a few good surf spots but I had a long way to go and a short time to get there (thanks Jerry Reed). I wasn't listening to that though... XM was having a Death Cab for Cutie weekend, playing all of the songs off of their upcoming album called Codes and Keys.

I was making pretty good time despite my stops when I started seeing signs for Hearst Castle. I vaguely remembered that William Randolph Hearst was a newspaper tycoon from the early 1900s. When I got home I researched him a bit and found out that he was the inspiration for the lead character in Citizen Kane. Also, his legacy company now owns Cosmopolitan Magazine, Esquire part of ESPN, a dozen or so newspapers and a really cool building in New York City (a modern skyscraper built on top of the original stone structure). But I digress... the mansion was now a state park and they gave tours so I went to check it out.

Water colors reminded me of Whitsunday Beach

There were packs of old people and Asian tourists everywhere as I pulled up to the visitor's center. I spotted an employee that told me tickets were $25-35 depending on which part of the house you visited. The shortest took 2.5 hours. I didn't have that kind of time so I took a few uninspiring pictures of the mansion from a distance, looked at a few pictures, read some factoids and I was on my way. Before I left I got a good tip - there had been a landslide a few weeks ago that totally blocked the PCH. I would actually need to backtrack a few miles and take some switchbacks to get around it.

I stopped at a gas station to make sure my directions were correct because there were hardly any road signs and my GPS was trying to take me back to the PCH. I had the right route and drove through a military base called Fort Hunter-Liggett. Their training ground had littered shells of tanks and old cars. It looked like I was driving through a firing range... gulp.

The winding road narrowed down to through the foothills of the Sierras to almost one lane at some points. I passed the infrequent cars going surely taking the PCH south and then accelerated like a rally car around the next corner. The road actually gave some hilltop views that wouldn't have been seen down on the PCH so it wasn't so bad of a detour. It did take a 2.5 hour chunk from my timeline because I was going 25 mph or less for a lot of it.

Bixby Bridge, built in 1932

With the detour over I got back on the PCH and was going the speed limit (plus) again, but every now and then I would hit construction. I recommend checking the highway warnings before starting this drive so you know of any road closures. It looked like there had been more landslides over the past few years that required them to totally rebuild some barriers and sections of road.

One of the coolest parts of the drive had to be the Bixby Bridge near Big Sur that has become a regional landmark. It's supposedly been featured on car commercials and is coincidentally in the name of a song by Death Cab. The arch spans the steep valley and displays a great blend of nature and engineering.

A long way down

By that time it was starting to get late so my roadside stops became more infrequent. The projected 9 hour drive ended up taking closer to 12 with my stops and the detour. Yes, I-5 will get you there in under 6 hours, but who wants to drive inland? I had brought my new camera tripod along but never got it out. And yes, it would've been nice to have a passenger for conversation, but I had gotten used to the solitude over the past few weeks of traveling. I also knew that it would be short lived once I got to San Francisco.

I soaked it all in because this would be my last vacation of the year. By the time I got near Monterey I was starting to get impatient. I could've taken the PCH all of the way into San Francisco but I decided to hop on the 101 for the rest of the route. It probably saved me another hour. This is definitely one of the best road trips and scenic drives I have ever seen. It's something you must do and will definitely make my Best of California list.

I finally pulled into downtown San Francisco to be greeted by Daya - a fun weekend was in store. Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!

Panama Vacation - Panama City

2011-05-27T23:40:00.252-04:00

With two days left of my two week vacation, I came full circle and touched down in Panama City. After the remote, untouched waves of Morro Negrito, the crisp air of Boquete and the humid island vibe of Bocas del Toro, I was thrust into the middle of the biggest city in Central America outside of Mexico. The contrast couldn't have been greater. Maybe that's one of the unique things about Panama... with a few hours of travel you can see the country from a totally different perspective.

I caught a taxi to Luna's Castle in the Casco Viejo (Old Town) district of the city. WARNING - history lesson: Panama City was founded in the 1500s as the Spanish shipped gold and silver from Peru, up the Pacific coast, through the port of Panama City and across the isthmus to the ships waiting on the Caribbean side. Obviously, this made the city both highly valuable for the crown and highly sought after by pirates. Over the years the port was subject to attacks but none were successful until Captain Morgan burned the entire city in 1671. Yes, that Captain Morgan. The ruins of the original city are known as Panama Viejo (Old Panama) - see my visit there below for more - and Casco Viejo was built a few miles away as a new start.

Reviews were mixed about the area. The architecture was obviously hundreds of years old and many of the buildings were just shells with collapsed roofs and hollow interiors. Luna's seemed to be THE place to be for travelers but I heard that parts could get dicey at night. The well reviewed Relic Bar was located in the basement of the hostel and Lonely Planet advised that I would have to look no further for nightlife. That was enough for me.

After paying the whopping $13 per night fee for a dorm bed, I asked about scheduled trips from the hostel. It just so happened that they had an open spot for a trip planned to the Panama Canal's Miraflores Locks in an hour. I went with a group of five (two of whom were from Atlanta) and we were each charged $6 for the round trip taxi ride. I found out later that an independent taxi would have only charged us $12 total, so the hostel must have gotten a kickback. I wasn't stressing since it's just a few extra dollars, but the budget backpackers with me weren't too happy.

It's not the size of the boat...

We got to the locks just in time to see the tail end of a massive ship exiting. From then on not much happened... an announcer would come on and broadcast little facts about the locks every few minutes. A few small sailboats passed through and we got to see the water level rise and fall. For the most part I wasn't impressed. This was just one of multiple locks and a lake between the Pacific and Caribbean, so I probably would've gotten a better impression had I seen the whole thing.

A few things did interest me. From what I can remember, the lowest fee paid to cross the canal was $0.36 when a swimmer did it back in the 1920s. Cargo ships are built to exact specifications so that they can pass through the canal, with just inches to spare on either side. About 40 ships pass through the canal every day at an average cost of $50,000. This will increase when the canal finishes an expansion project in 2014 that will increase the traffic capacity by 60%. That's about all I retained... the canal museum was pretty interesting and it is a thing you HAVE to see while you're in Panama, so go for it.

There was still time in the afternoon so I explored the Causeway that offered a good view of the skyline. Note that most attractions in the city will say "... and you get GREAT views of the skyline!" I didn't spend a lot of time there. Next I wandered around Casco Viejo with a map from the hostel. The desk clerk had Xed out a third of it, saying "Don't go in this area. It's not safe."

I wandered through the old buildings and a few churches. Here are a few shots.

City buses are all personalized and tricked out with neon lights

Barely standing build

Golden altar of Iglesia de San Jose

Later that evening the Peace Corps girls finally made it to Luna's after the 6 hour bus ride turned into 12. There had been a strike that blocked the highway, so note to you - cheaper is not always better. We got a few drinks in Relic Bar which smelled like, well, an old dusty relic, but the patio was nice. I sweated the night away in the dorm room filled with probably 20 bunk beds, ready to absorb as much as possible on my last day in the city.

In the morning the first thing I did was to buy a few souvenirs from a shop a few blocks away from the hostel. Then I started walking around the bay toward the modern part of Panama City. I stopped in the fish market and had the best ceviche I've ever tasted.

If you didn't know, ceviche is made from raw fish that is 'cooked' by soaking it in citrus. The acid breaks down the proteins... or something. I got the combination option which mixed white sea bass, octopus, shrimp and conch. It was served in a simple Styrofoam cup but I was blown away. You must, must, must go here if you like seafood.

I ended up walking about 3 or 4 miles into the heart of the city before I took a taxi for the remaining few to Panama Viejo (see above for the history). The taxi driver noticed my new camera and warned me in Spanish, "The ruins are on this side of the street. Do not go on the left side. You will lose your camera." I heeded his advice and got some great shots of the crumbling stone houses and churches. Luckily the plaques dotted along the route had pictures and were translated into English, so I could understand the significance of what I was seeing.

First cathedral in the city

Muchachos

Old and new

From Panama Viejo I took another taxi to the biggest park in the city - Parque Natural Metropolitano. I was hoping for sloths, monkey and other cool animals to photograph. I caught a glimpse of some kind of large rodent the size of a cat running through the bushes but I didn't get a photo. I also saw a Jesus Lizard run across water but I wasn't fast enough to get it on film. I hardly passed anyone on the trails for the two hours I was there. It was so quiet that I think I warned all of the animals away despite my attempt to tiptoe through the dead leaves. The park offered a good break from the craziness of the city and it had, you guessed it, great views of the skyline. It took me a while to find an available taxi since I was on the city outskirts, so be prepared for that.

Relic Bar with the Peace Corps crew

That evening I met back up with the Peace Corps crew and went out to dinner on Calle Uruguay. This was supposedly the center nightlife for foreigners (we were told that although they were fluent speakers we probably wouldn't want to mingle with the local crowds because things could get rough). We tried out an English style pub and then bypassed the clubby bars with a cover before leaving unimpressed. We finished the night at Relic Bar again. Most of the girls were heading down south to Columbia the next day while a few of us had flights back to the States.

I got up at 5 am for my early morning flight pretty happy with the way my vacation turned out. I saw some amazing places, got to practice surfing, met some cool people and didn't have to spend a lot of money along the way. For being someone that tries to plan everything, I think I did a pretty good job of going with the flow and figuring things out as I went. It would've been nice to have a travel companion, but it gave me a lot of time for self reflection and a pause from life - it was a true vacation. I'm not going to lie though, air conditioning feels soooooo good right now.

All of this is just a 3 hour flight from Atlanta. Yup, that's all. I'm not sure where my next trip will be, but I am certain that I will hit the rest of Central America in the next 10 years and hopefully South America as well. Feel free to contact me if you're interested in visiting Panama, and like the rest of my trips, I'll compile a 'Best Of' post to give you the highlights you should see if you go.

Panama Vacation - Bocas del Toro

2011-05-26T00:25:00.171-04:00

Morro Negrito and Boquete down, Bocas and Panama City to go.

I took an early morning bus from Boquete back to David on Monday morning. Unfortunately there were no direct buses to Bocas because of the terrain (see the map for details). I was the only gringo on the 5 hour bus ride from David to Bocas which left me to zone out with my music and watch the countryside slowly change from coffee plantations and higher altitude forests to beach shacks and palm trees. When the ride ended taxi drivers yelled and herded everyone on the bus to get the fare to the port.

Bocas del Toro generally refers to a group of 9 islands, with 'Bocas Town' being located on the largest island named Colón. Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón en Español) discovered them in the early 1500s while trying to find a passage to the Pacific Ocean. The archipelago was later used by pirates because of its many natural harbors and lack of nearby Spanish colonization. In the late 1800s the banana industry started to grow and United Fruit Company (now part of Chiquita) built much of the infrastructure that exists on the islands today. Many immigrants came from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands to work on the plantations and their culture has survived throughout the years. So there's your little history lesson about the area and why its different from the rest of Panama.

After a half hour boat ride to Isla Colón I definitely felt like I was in a different country. I decided to walk from the marina toward my hostel despite the heat - I wanted to get a feel for the town. I heard a few people speaking English with an almost Jamaican accent. The buildings were brightly colored but obviously very old. There were a lot of small food stands and souvenir trinket shops along the main streets. A lot of people rode bicycles but most were on foot. The island was small enough to get around without much need for a car (and taxis were really cheap when you got lazy).

I had been warned by a few people in Boquete that Mondo Taitu, the hostel I selected a few days before, wasn't that great. It seemed to be one of the centers of activity and a friend had stayed there, so I wasn't deterred (and I'm glad I stayed there in the end). I opted for one of the air conditioned rooms and I'm guessing the backpackers that gave me bad press couldn't afford the extra cost (jumping from $10 to $12 per night for A/C luxury). The main reason I picked it was because one of the most popular bars on the island was in the hostel. That made it likely that it would get noisy at night, but I was willing to take the risk.

I went to the front desk to check in and I got a weird look from the guy at the front desk.

"I know you. Where are you from?"
"Atlanta."
"You play soccer."
"Yeah, I play at the Georgia Tech rec fields a lot."
"No, in the ADASL."
"Yeah..."
"I played against you on the AMG Silverbacks for a few years, my name is Jacques."

Trippy, he totally blew my mind. After he said his name I remembered him and recognized his face. Jacques was a top goal scorer for his team and I used to defend him for a few years when I was with the Pelicans. He told me that he graduated from Emory and had been living in Bocas for close to a year.

I got settled in my room and had another small world experience. First, there was an Aussie couple from Geelong. That wasn't too weird. Then I met a group of American girls from the Peace Corps that had been working in Guatemala for the past two years. They were on a whirlwind tour through the rest of Central America before heading home. One was from New Jersey, another from Iowa and two from the LA metro area. One of those two was from Orange County. And her parents owned a Thai restaurant. That I went to when I first moved to California. Bocas was turning into an episode of "This Is Your Life."

Endangered species

It was after noon and I only had until the end of the day plus another full day before I headed back to Panama City. Although there were a few good breaks at the islands, surfing was out because the swell forecast was flat for the next few days. I asked around at the hostel and it looked like Red Frog Beach would be a good place to spend the afternoon. I took a short water taxi ride to Isla Bastimentos and through my Spanglish and his Englañol I understood that he would hang out on the island and wait for me (otherwise I would be stuck since it was barely inhabited).

On the path to the beach my driver hopped off the trail and started poking around tree trunks. He waved me over and we saw this strawberry poison-dart frog. It was about the size of my thumbprint and wouldn't hold still for more than a second. When I got to the beach I had it all to myself. There was a hotel with a few people about 500 yards away but that was it. I took the camera in the water and didn't see much (except for what I got on this video):

I saw a sloth in a mangrove tree on the way back to Bocas town but I couldn't get a good shot of it with my camera. It really just looked like a ball of hair through the leaves and branches. I went out with the Aussies for dinner at Bambu and drinks later at that night at the hostel bar in what ended up being very low key. The next day the three of us rented bicycles and rode from the hostel to another empty beach called Playa Bluff. Sea turtles nest here at certain times of the year but I couldn't tell that any had been there. I did a bit more snorkeling and hung out in the shallows. Here are the best shots (story continued below):

The Aussies didn't go out that night so I met up with the Peace Corps crew. The Mondo Taitu bar was dead so we went to La Iguana, another bar on the island. The dance music they were blasting wasn't really my thing but their back deck was a dock that you could hang your legs off of (or jump off I guess). The Bocas del Toro baseball team won their Panamanian league semifinal and the locals were going nuts in the bar.

Bocas Town from the plane

I had an early flight so I didn't push it too hard. The girls, by coincidence, were also going to Panama City (by bus) and didn't know where they were staying. I suggested the hostel I had looked into and we agreed to meet up when we got there. I recommend taking the $60-80 flight rather than the $15 bus ride... that lasts 8 hours.

There were a lot of things I didn't get to do in Bocas. There were plenty of other beaches, some decent dive spots (according to the girls), you could take a tour of a native/traditional village on one of the other islands, and if the surf had been nice that would've been fun.

The next morning I went to the airport... there were kids walking across the runway on their way to school. I got on the plane (with no assigned seats) and chose the one right behind the cockpit. There was no flight attendant, no safety speech, no greeting from the captain even. They just hopped in, started the propellers on the plane and we were off. Next stop - Panama City.

Panama Vacation - Boquete

2011-05-25T02:03:00.007-04:00

Although my primary reason for going to Panama was for a surf vacation at Morro Negrito, I HAD to see the rest of the country while I was there. I did some research beforehand through my trusty Lonely Planet series of books and decided that I could see a decent amount of the country in an additional week. I was only traveling with one medium sized backpack plus a smaller day backpack for my camera equipment, so any extra time would've involved laundry or a bigger bag.

The three places where I decided to spend time after Morro Negrito were Boquete (pronounced boh-KHET-eh), Bocas del Toro and Panama City. I read through the best places to stay and things to do but I didn't book anything in advance. I'm a planner, so this was a pretty big step for me. It wasn't the high tourist season, so I was pretty confident that I could find accommodation on the fly. Here is my basic route plan.

Route through Panama

Jamie and Sam were a part of the Canadian group with me at Morro Negrito and they had planned a few extra days into their trip to travel to Boquete as well. We agreed to travel together for the next few days (and they were happy to have me along since their Spanish was very basic). Everyone said their goodbyes at the surf camp and the three of us took a boat back to the port, a taxi to the bus station.

Of course it wasn't so easy to get to Boquete. First we had to change buses in David, a major city and transportation hub. I had flirted with the idea of staying there for a night but I was convinced that there was nothing much to see and no nightlife to speak of. Everyone uses that city as a means to get other places... it's halfway between San José, Costa Rica and Panama City, as well as being the kickoff point for Boquete, Bocas del Toro and pretty much anywhere else you want to go in western Panama.

With relative ease we switched buses in David and took the 1.5 hour, $1.75 ride to Boquete. We got off of the bus in the middle of the town square at around 9 pm and it looked exactly as it was described in my guide - a quiet, sleepy town. The draw to visit here isn't the city, it's the natural beauty and exploration jump off points that exist nearby. Since the early 2000s AARP has rated Boquete one of the best places to retire abroad. I thought it was very random, but apparently the government gives huge tax incentives and travel discounts to expat retirees.

The biggest feature of the landscape is Volcano Barú which has been dormant since 500 AD. Jamie and Sam planned to rent camping gear, hiking up the mountain, spending the night and coming back down. I wasn't quite as ambitious and would be just happy exploring on a lesser commitment level. The area is full of outdoor activities from ATV tours to horseback riding, birdwatching (I'm not into that, but it would've been cool to see the quetzal), bus trips, camping on the mountain, rafting and more. It really reminded me of central Costa Rica near Volcano Arenal (my visit there in 2008 during grad school predates my blog, but I'll try to go back and remember some details later for a future post).

We found a Hostel Mamallena conveniently located in the town square and there was room available. Jamie and Sam were comfortable sharing a room with me, so we split the cost of one of the double bed private rooms for around $30 per night. After a week of sleeping in the heat on uncomfortable bedding, the night chill and larger sleeping area were great... not to mention the long shower after the short, temporary cooling ones at Morro Negrito.

We didn't have to go far to find good food - Restaurante Barú (no link available) was right next door. The pizza hit the spot and it was very affordable. I sampled all of the local beers: of Balboa, Panama and Atlas, my vote for the best goes to Balboa. Although it was a Saturday night we were exhausted enough from the past week to turn in early. From the sounds outside the hostel, we probably did miss a little nightlife.

Kid selling pineapples out of his parents' truck

The next morning we explored the central market, walked through the square and up some random streets to get a feel for the quiet town. Once we were satisfied with that we spoke with people to see what we could get into during the day. The hostel had a few organized trips planned to the hot springs and another to some waterfalls, but not enough people signed up. Jamie and I spoke with an ATV operator about riding partway up the volcano but we were concerned about getting caught up there when the daily rains came. That might not be so much fun. In the end we decided to hire a taxi and chill out at the nearby hot springs in Caldera (Los Posos Termales de Caldera) on our own.

Sam packed us some sandwiches and we hailed a taxi to the springs. The $15 ride took about a half hour down an empty country road and ended at a dirt path and crude sign. I was worried that we wouldn't have a way to get back to Boquete so I tried to communicate with the driver about coming back to get us. He kept using the same word - 'seguro' - and I had no idea what it meant (*I looked it up when I got back and it's 'insurance'. I think he wanted us to pay something up front for the return trip). In the end he said he would be there when we got were finished.

100+ degrees

I visited some "hot springs," and I use that term loosely, in Chile, but haven't experienced real ones. The owner had placed stones around each spring to form a little grotto that was really peaceful since we were the only people visiting at the time. The admission was only $2. And take my word for it because the picture doesn't convey it well - these had to be over a hundred degrees. You had to do bob up and down, slowly lowering yourself into the water to get used to the heat. We quickly got over the heat and spent the remainder of the time cooling off in the river about 50 yards from the springs.

The absolute coolest part of the springs and the highlight of my time in Boquete was meeting a spider monkey there. We later came to know that it was the pet of the owners, but when we first came upon it we weren't sure if it was wild. He let us pet him before he warmed up and started climbing all over Jamie. When we walked between the springs and river he would come up to us as if he wanted attention. As we left the springs a local came down the path and gave the monkey a banana treat. He had been half eating mangoes and then throwing them on the ground, but he gladly accepted it. This is the video I shot of the meal.

We talked about going out that night but since it was Sunday nothing was open. We had another relaxing dinner at Barú since most other options were closed and went to bed at a reasonable time. I was up early in the morning to catch a bus back to David and on to Bocas del Toro while Jamie and Sam were planning to hike and camp on the volcano.

New favorite picture of myself

Part III: Panama Vacation - Bocas del Toro coming soon.

A Man, A Plan, A Vacation, Panama

2011-05-24T00:00:00.011-04:00

Morro Negrito is near the western town of Tole

I just got back to Atlanta from Panama - ahhhhhhh AC. Time to catch up on all that went on.

Surprisingly, the flight to Panama City from Atlanta was only 3.5 hours. I've been flying out to California a lot lately, so that was a breeze. I landed in PC at 9 pm, picked up my bags and met the driver the surf camp arranged for me. Morro Negrito was a liiiiitle bit harder to reach. I felt totally comfortable touching down by myself in a Spanish speaking country after all of the time I spent in Chile.

The taxi driver took me on the half an hour to the bus terminal and instructed the bus driver where to drop me off. Luckily the bus was a proper tour bus with reclining seats, although I sat in the very back row and the AC unit dripped on me every now and then. Annoying, but manageable. Steve, the owner of the surf camp, sent a bunch of email instructions that included - do not fall asleep on the bus. Since the bus left at 10:45 I definitely didn't make it without nodding off a few times.

The driver remembered my taxi drivers instructions and dropped me off at about 4 am. I realized why I was warned to pay attention. The bus stop was nothing more than a police checkpoint (for drugs) in the middle of the jungle. I sleepily staggered off of the bus and saw a car flash its lights at me. This was Jefe, the driver that was to take me to the port. About a half hour later, we pulled into the port for Morro Negrito. After a few honks a young Panamanian came out and unlocked the gate. I understood enough Spanish for him to tell me that the boat captain wouldn't be there until 6 am and I could sleep in a hammock on the patio until morning.

About a half an hour later a rooster started crowing, and has anyone actually tried to sleep in a hammock? Honestly, I don't know how. The boat captain finally arrived and I met a few of my campmates that had gotten to the port earlier in the day. They were lucky enough to get rooms since they got there earlier in the evening.

Morro Negrito

We all hopped on the outboard motorboat for the beautiful 45 minute to the camp. So after a plane, taxi, bus, taxi, boat, I finally arrived around 7 am just in time for breakfast. I don't want you to think I'm complaining. I was really tired but so pumped to start surfing.

Morro Negrito is on a peninsula but it can't be reached by road so they consider it an island. There were a few locals driving the boats and working in the camp along with our surf guides, Keith and Lucas. Keith is from Redondo Beach and comes to MN once a year to surf, fish and guide the guests. He was an expert surfer but also brought his spear gun for something else to do. Lucas was German, not very experienced and was planning to stay at the camp for about two months. They were both really cool guys.

As for the other guests, it was a Canadian invasion. The leader of the group was a guy named Warren. He visited MN a few years earlier and came back with his fiance, three friends (one of whom was a 2006 freestyle moguls Olympic skier) and their girlfriends/wives, plus a few other friends. Another Canadian couple
rounded out our group of 13. The guys were pretty good surfers and also helpful with tops on positioning and timing.

The 6 days were spent surfing, eating, sleeping, with a little bit of snorkeling in between. I surfed Snickers and Chapel with the beginner group and attempted P-Land and Nestles with the more advanced guys. The swell wasn't big enough for the other breaks and I'd be tempted to come back to see it. The week after we left they were getting 20 foot waves!

I brought my camera out every now and then to get some underwater shots. It was no Great Barrier Reef, but I'll take it. I added a few at the bottom of this post but you can check out the full album on Picasa. Keith and I went out for some night freediving to try to find lobsters (the ones there have no claws) to eat, but they were all too small. Keith did get a wicked jellyfish sting and I flirted with danger as I tried to take a picture of it.

Most evenings were really hot and humid until the rain came. May is the beginning of Panama's rainy season but don't let that discourage you from going. It provided a cool off period after the long, hot day. I heard stories about the conditions during the dry season and I'm glad I picked May. We even used the runoff from the roof to take group showers. The surrounding community shared the same water source and we were happy to conserve what they had. The first few nights were really uncomfortable since I wasn't used to the heat. I was expecting this from the time I spent in similar accommodations in Costa Rica back in 2008. I ended up popping a Benadryl (or two) every night to help me cope with all of the mosquito bites and knock me out.

Should've gotten stitches - it's deep, trust me

I got to see a turtle, eat sushi 5 minutes after the fish was caught, and gained a lot of confidence in my abilities (the whole point of the trip). I tried to push myself and surf with the guys on the reef a few times. The wave faces were between 6-8 feet which were really big for me. Unfortunately I got taken by a wave I wasn't trying to surf and dragged across the reef. I gashed my leg pretty badly and spent the rest of the trip trying to superglue it together to keep out an infection.

Despite that setback I kept at it for the last few days. I really lucked out with the guides and other guests - they could have easily made or ruined the week. I started this adventure on my own but I was happy I didn't spend the week by myself. I know have some people to see up in Vancouver on a trip I hope to take in the not so distant future. I submitted my experience to Trip Advisor as something I'd definitely recommend to anyone that wants an atypical vacation and enjoys surfing (note that there's more to do than just surf, but it's definitely the focus).

Check out parts II (Boquete), III (Bocas del Toro) and IV (Panama City) of my series of posts on Panama to see all of the other places I visited during my second week.

Swellshots

2011-04-30T21:20:00.074-04:00

Over the past few weeks I have been doing research on cameras and underwater housings. After the disposable underwater cameras on my trips to Fiji and the Great Barrier Reef produced (the expected) poor quality photos - I didn't even post them because they were so bad - I decided to make the jump to a better camera.

I have been using a point-and-shoot Kodak for the past few years on all of my travels and I wanted to upgrade to a DSLR. I went to Beach Cities Scuba, the local dive shop in Newport Beach, to get some more information. A really knowledgeable guy named Chob was their camera expert and he filled me in on all of the details. Even if I went with the lowest level Canon (the Rebel T2i), when you add the lens(es), housing, flash and other accessories, I was looking at spending $7,000 at the very least.

The new rig

Because of the costs I started looking at "prosumer" cameras (designed with the serious amateur in mind). Chob steered me toward the Canon Powershot G12 digital camera, Fisheye FIX G12 underwater housing and Sea & Sea YS-110a flash. That's the one I went with and I've been pretty happy so far.

I'm still surfing a lot but have been taking time out to practice with the camera in the water. There are many more things to take into account with this camera - aperture, white balance, ISO, shutter speed. It makes it even tougher to adjust these controls with the knobs of the housing... and then you have to take the waves into account. If you don't watch out you'll be slammed by a wave while you're trying to change something. I went out the first time without any tether and just help the camera with my hands. I quickly realized that wasn't a good idea when I had to swim out of a weak rip current so I bought a wrist leash just in case I had to let go of the rig.

The first day I went out and shot some body boarders one of them asked me how much it would cost to get prints of him. I hadn't even thought of that, but maybe I can make my money back. I realized that I needed a name that people would remember (like Aquabumps), so I came up with SwellShots. I'm hoping to add more to the linked Picasa album as I spend more time in the water. Make sure to save it as a bookmark!

Why am I doing all of this? I have a month off from work because the project got extended. There is a big gap in the month of May and they asked me to go on leave to save money on the budget. I started researching surf camps and vacations and found one called Morro Negrito. It's a full week of surfing and nothing else. I'm going to extend it another week to see the rest of the country, though I haven't figured out the details yet. I already got the flight (with points) and put the deposit down for the week.

But back to the photos... here are a few of the best pics I've taken so far.

This Girl Can Flow

2011-04-28T01:40:00.001-04:00

I can't stop listening to this covered song by Karmin... I think it's better than Chris Brown's original.

Karmin - Look At Me Now (Chris Brown cover)

Austin Part II

2011-04-26T00:11:00.179-04:00

After The Foals concert on Thursday night, we still had two full days left in the Austin. I had to put in some hours for work and stopped into the BackOffice Associates to hang out with the team and get online. The guys in the office pointed me to an awesome lunch spot in downtown that consisted of a collection of food trucks. They highly recommended the Korean Mexican fusion truck called Chi'Lantro. The kimchi tacos and kimchi fries were the best.

6th Street is hopping

I met up with Rameen, his girlfriend Katie and their Austin friend Christy that afternoon. We all went out on 6th Street for some bar hopping but I couldn't tell you which ones we visited. I would compare 6th Street to a mix between downtown Nashville and Bourbon Street in New Orleans (minus the open containers). It has the country flare of Texas mixed with the concentration of bars and street closures to cars that you get in New Orleans. 6th Street is the center of South by Southwest and even though we were about a month late to see it. Maybe next year.

On Saturday Rameen and Katie left to spend Easter with Katie's parents but Christy was cool enough to let me hang out for the rest of the weekend. She brought me over to a friends' place and we hung out for a while, then took their boat out on Lake Austin (actually a reservoir created by a dammed section of the Colorado River). One of the guys was Australian, so we had a lot to talk about.

Zappa wake surfing on Lake Austin

A few of the guys took turns wake surfing. I had never seen it before, but they start out being pulled by the boat like a wake board. Then they eventually let go of the rope because the forward force of the wake. I never took a turn - growing up I never had any luck wake boarding, water skiing or anything else, plus I was having fun taking pictures with my new camera.

The guys were drinking a cocktail from a big thermos called Cariboo Lou that was pretty good. I'll have to remember it whenever I'm looking for an easy drink to make. They got the name and the ingredients from a TECH N9NE song, and I quote:

Half a bottle of 151
Off of the jug one cup of Malibu rum
Baby that's what's up
Then you fill the rest of the jug
With pineapple juice, and it's cracking

On Saturday night we hit 6th Street again and started out at a whiskey bar called Tenoak. I noted this bar in particular because the bartender served me what might be my new favorite bourbon - Willett Reserve. It's sippin' whiskey, not for mixing - just how I like it. Thanks to Christy for putting me up an extra night in her house even though we just met!

On a side note, my friend Will got his undergrad degree at UT and made these recommendations. I didn't get a chance to check any of them out, but will the next time I visit the city. And there will be a next time.

Brunch/Breakfast tacos

Juan in a Million - really cheap and really good, probably won’t leave hungry
Maria’s Taco Express
Torchy’s
El Chilito

Lunch

Texadelphia - great cheesesteaks, chips & queso, the one on the main drag is the original and the best
Chuy’s - good Tex-Mex
El Arroyo - good at Tex-Mex at the end of 6th Street
Dirty Martin’s - good, greasy burger close to campus

Drinks

Trudy’s - home of the Mexican martini (they’ll stop you after 2)
Iron Cactus - good place to grab drinks and watch 6th Street from bird’s eye view

BBQ

Franklin’s - someone told me that this place was really good, it started as a food truck and just opened a regular restaurant
Stubb’s - food is ok, but usually have good live music
County Line - all you can eat, not as far of a drive as the Salt Lick; probably 20 minutes from downtown
Iron Works - good spot close to downtown

The Foals in Austin

2011-04-25T02:25:00.001-04:00

Taking a break between sets

Rameen and I reunited in Austin this past weekend although it has only been a few weeks since I saw him in Houston. We planned this trip to see The Foals play live months before UK made the Final Four. I've been listening to a lot of XM radio lately, and coincidentally both of the opening bands (The Naked and Famous and Freelance Whales) are in rotation on Alt Nation. This was going to be a rocking show.

We decided on Austin because it was a city I'd never been to and was supposed to be really fun. The band came through LA and Dallas - boring. Let's try something new. Disco, an American friend I made in Sydney, was back in the States (temporarily - he got the bug and is moving back to Oz) and lived in Austin so he joined us at the concert.

My flight was delayed so the guys picked me up directly from the airport and we headed to the show. I took my new camera along and got some pretty cool shots throughout the night. The venue was La Zona Rosa and it was a pretty good place to watch a show - intimate, but not too small.

As far as lineups go, this was probably the best show I've ever seen. All three bands really rocked out. Here is the set list of Foals as I tried to note it during the show. It was kind of hard because some of their songs blend together.

Blue Blood
Olympic Airways
Total Life Forever
Cassius
Miami
After Glow
Black Gold
2 Trees
Spanish Sahara
Red Socks Pugie
Electric Bloom

Encore:
(Unknown) - (New Song)
The French Open
Two Steps, Twice

I took a ton of pictures; here are some of my best shots from the night.

What Women Want

2011-04-12T21:30:00.001-04:00

I'm glad this guy finally cleared it up.

Shout out to Anna

2011-04-11T20:33:00.002-04:00

Anna and I circa 2000

My girl Anna was interviewed for a story on fashion by CNN. Check out her blog - yes, I'm a guess blogger on her site!

XM Music

2011-04-09T00:11:00.001-04:00

I get XM radio in my bumping Hyundai rental car. Here are some songs you may not have heard if you're on the main stream airwaves...

Peter, Bjorn and John - Second Chance

TV on the Radio - Will Do

Ellie Goulding - Heartbeats (cover of The Knife)

The Limousines - Very Busy People

Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks

And for those of you that insist on the poppy stuff, this is the first BEP song I've liked in a long time. Yes, it's mainstream, but it still gets my head bopping.

Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough

I have some more to dish out but I'll let these marinate in your ears for a bit before I drop the next batch.

Final Four - Houston

2011-04-05T01:04:00.001-04:00

Rameen <3's denim

I can’t believe that Kentucky made it to the Final Four this year. We had a lot of disappointing losses and most of them were by less than 5 points. The guys started clicking at the right time and swept through the SEC tournament, then beat OSU and UNC on the way to Houston. I knew that UConn would be a tough opponent – I actually picked us to lose to OSU in my bracket but I did choose UConn to go to the Final Four.

Since I had the time and frequent flier miles, I started looking up ticket prices on the internet. I found tickets through the NCAA website that ranged from $150-3000. You could buy a semifinal and final combo but I went with the semifinal only (but you can watch both games). I found some decently priced seats in the upper level for $200 (plus a $40 surcharge that I didn’t find out about until later – ouch) and convinced Rameen to buy one. He only lives 4 hours away in Dallas and was going to ride in with a friend. The upper level was waaaaaay up there in Reliant Stadium, but I hoped that it would be worth it.

The tickets were mailed to me overnight and that’s when I found out that they retailed for $90. In hindsight it may have been cheaper to scalp lower level seats. I think we could’ve gotten them for around the same price that we paid. There is also something to be said about the peace of mind that goes with guaranteed seats and not having to worry, haggle, and hope they’re not counterfeit.

Our friend Mark moved from Atlanta to Houston a few years ago for work, plus after Brandon graduated from GT he and Kelly moved there for his job. The fact that so many of my friends have moved to random places out of Atlanta has been one of the reasons that I have been so happy to travel all of the time and be away from home. They offered up their places to stay but I have to give a shout out to my friend Tag that got us a free room at a Hilton closer to the stadium so we wouldn't be spending too much time in commute.

Rameen and I met up with Kelly and Brandon along with Mark and some of his friends at Dog House Tavern in Midtown, one of the main nightlife spots of Houston. We took it easy on Friday night and then just relaxed in the hotel on Saturday morning. The official Final Four tailgate started at 1 pm but we didn't stroll in until after 2.

There were all kinds of events going on and at least half of the crowd was for UK. There were some confused Duke, Kansas and OSU fans walking around... I guess they didn't want to waste their tickets. It wasn't that great and we ended up finding a random tailgate party in the parking lot with some UK grads. We didn't know each other in school but ended up having mutual friends.

Snagged lower level seats at upper level prices!

Rameen and I went in at halftime of the Butler/VCU game but immediately left because we didn't realize that they didn't serve beer at NCAA events. Rookie mistake. Luckily, they let us scan our tickets out so we could re-enter later. We rejoined the dwindling tailgate for another hour or so. I hatched a plan to bum lower level tickets off of VCU fans leaving the stadium. We could get back in with our legit tickets and then just use the stubs to sit in the seats of people that were leaving.

After VCU lost and fans poured out, we walked up to a guy and got his tickets for section 105, row 15. That was easy. The seats were so much better than our original seats, I can't even tell you. Our new friend Peyton tagged along with us since all of her friends had their tickets together.

It was a great game and although we didn't win I wasn't too upset. A one point loss was a long way from the shellacking they gave us in November. The 2010 team had much higher expectations and next year's team has the same, but no one expected these guys to make it this far. Next year's tournament is in New Orleans. I don't want to jinx it, but is anybody down for the trip?

After the game we met back up with Peyton and her friends and went to Sawyer Park, a bar in The Heights part of town. They had all been there the night before and met up with some native Houstonians that were absolutely crazy. They kept taking off their shirts and pouring drinks on each others heads like they were water boarding. When a bucket of beer was emptied, they would put it on as a hat and beat each other over the head. It was great to watch but you had to keep your distance or else they would try to get you to participate.

We had to walk for about 15 minutes to find a taxi but we made it back to the hotel on the campus of the University of Houston. After sleeping late, Mark met up with us again and we had lunch on campus. Rameen said it reminded me of Louisville's, but I guess I haven't enough time there to recognize it. He had to catch a ride back to Dallas and Mark was going to take me to the airport.

I got an email that my flight was going to be delayed so Mark drove me around the city for a while. We stopped at a folk art museum in the middle of a neighborhood called The Beer Can House. The owner started siding his house with old beer cans in the late 60's and continued the project until he died. What you see in the picture is the result. The curtains hanging from the eaves were links of aluminum can rims connected by pop tabs. Beer cans were cut and stretched, then nailed to the siding. There was a movie and gift shop as well as a few other small works of art inside the house. It's really the only unique, must see piece of Houston that I would recommend (and only cost $2).

Mark also took me to the Art Car Museum which was only about 5 minutes away from The Beer Can House. An artist/mechanic/engineer created all kinds of automobiles out of parts from junkyards. Some were actual cars, but more were random collections of wheels, hoses, metal and propane tanks to shoot fire.

I wasn't that impressed with Houston... but with all I heard about it from friends, I didn't expect to be. It's not a place I would vacation and not a great place to do sightseeing. Everything is spread out and there are strip malls and big box stores everywhere you look. I'm sure there is some culture somewhere, but even my friends that live there have said they're getting out as soon as they can.

Next up for me is Austin in a few weeks to see a concert. I have high hopes for that city - I've heard nothing but good things!

Another Miami Weekend

2011-03-28T01:11:00.002-04:00

Just like last year, my company held its annual conference in Miami. This year it was at The Fontainbleau - a hotel/resort that held performances by Sinatra and Elvis, had been the set of famous scenes from Goldfinger and Scarface, and continued to be an exclusive, posh and overwhelmingly over the top hotel. It was a nightmare to get into Miami after a fire at the airport. My original flight got canceled and I had to get rerouted through Ft. Lauderdale. I had planned a little beach time before the conference kicked off but the 7 hour delay squashed that. The only bright side was that the delay allowed me to randomly meet Lou Ferrigno at LAX!

I was lucky enough to be nominated for an award this year which allowed me to bring a date. If you read this you know why that might be funny at this point in my life, so I was torn. Bring a friend or bring no one? I decided to take my friend Kristi since she came with me to a company event in 2009. She just had a birthday so I thought it would be a nice present to get her a ticket.

Most of the weekend was filled with networking, reuniting with colleagues from past projects and catching up on the latest and greatest technological developments with the company. Some people value the classes the most, but I make no secret of the fact that I connect with the senior consultants and project leads. I'm going to need another project whenever I roll off of this one and I'd like for them to know me. It can't hurt! We got to sneak off to the beach a few times, but I can't complain too much since there's another one right outside my Newport Beach pad.

Pic with Jeff and Linda from my current project team

Our Saturday night banquet and awards ceremony was 60's themed so I rented a tux with a white jacket and got some cheap black framed glasses. I ended up winning the 'Young Gun' along with a few other younger people in the company. I've been around for 3 years and am not exactly 'young,' but I'll take it.

The hotel had a convenient club and bar in the lobby. The club cost $200-300 because of the Ultra Music Festival events - we didn't even try to get in. The lobby bar was cool so we never left the property throughout the weekend. There were celebrity sightings by seemingly everyone but me - McLovin from Superbad, Tommy Lee and Jaime Foxx were all at the hotel at some point.

OC Living

2011-03-20T20:11:00.047-04:00

The past few weeks have been great - I'm surfing after work pretty much every day. I see dolphins about every other day when I'm out in the water. I'm not catching the big waves yet, but I am getting better. The water is cold enough that I had to buy neoprene boots to keep them warm, but I'm still enjoying it.

I have a friend from high school named Anna that moved to Orange County after we graduated. Every time I've come through LA over the past year I've tried to stop and have dinner with her and Eric (her once boyfriend, fiance and now husband). I got a text on Sunday afternoon from her asking me if I was interested in some Lakers tickets. I was just sitting around on the couch, so I was in.

I dropped everything and drove 15 minutes over to Anna's house. Eric and I left almost immediately and drove to Staples Center. One of Eric's friends had a vendor that had a connection to Lakers owner Jerry Buss' assistant. Our tickets got us seats at a table in the restaurant on the mid-level baseline. We had a waitress and didn't have to get up at all. The Lakers were down for the whole game until Kobe pulled through in the clutch in the last minute for a 4 point win.

After the game our tickets also got us access to a bar underneath Staples Center. When you see cameras following players through the concrete block lined passageways - that's where we were. The guy that got us the tickets said that the bar was right in between the locker room and player exit, so if we stood outside we would see them all walk by. He had also seen players and Khloe Kardashian (Lamar Odom's wife). We decided to go inside and hang out as well as thank Buss' assistant for the tickets instead of standing around with cameras like groupies. We did see Buss' ex-wife and an assistant coach, but that was it.

It was a very unplanned event, but lots of fun - especially because the tickets were free!

Frankfort Comes to the Beach

2011-03-15T00:41:00.133-04:00

Meghan and I - Halloween 2002

As soon as I started telling people I was leaving Australia for California the the reservations started pouring in to visit. The first was from Meghan and her twin sister, Danielle. I had known the twins since middle school and had a major crush on Meghan through most of my early teens. We went to separate high schools and only saw each other every now and then. When I went away to UK and eventually Atlanta, we still kept in contact. There had been a point when we were in college where we met up for dinner and I thought something might be getting started, but it never ended up happening - I don't remember why. Every other time it seemed like she was dating someone or I was dating someone and the timing was never right. Regardless, I hadn't seen them since 2004, so it was going to be a fun reunion.

The got in on Thursday night and we had excitement first thing on Friday. The earthquake in Japan put us on a tsunami advisory that closed the beach and my streak of surfing before work ended only a few days after it started. The girls are into running so we ran down the boardwalk to find a bunch of people standing around, waiting for the waves to hit. They were only expecting 2-3 foot waves... to put it in perspective, when storms come in the waves get 4-6 feet and really big storms 6+. But they still closed the beach. I delayed going to work hoping to see SOMETHING, but you couldn't even tell.

Our first night in Newport was quiet. One of my roommates cooked us dinner and we stopped by The Blue Beet for a little while before turning in. The next few days were going to be busy.

Moses stays at the...

On Saturday morning I drove the girls into the heart of Hollywood to Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. Since the golden age of Hollywood stars have been immortalized by putting their hand and footprints into squares of the sidewalk out front. We walked around the Walk of Fame for a little while and then went into Madame Tussards Wax Museum. It cost $25 (unless you have a student ID) but was worth the price. There were all kinds of props you could use to pose with the figures and they didn't care if you touched them - just not the face.

After that the girls wanted to go to Robertson Boulevard for some star searching. Lots of paparazzi swarm the area's boutiques and cafes because so many stars go there. We also drove through parts of Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive just to say we did. Every time we saw a car with tinted windows or a woman with extremely large sunglasses the twins would whisper, "Is that someone?" "Who is that?" etc.

We got a star homes map from a street vendor and started circling houses we wanted to visit. I've heard that these maps were highly unreliable and even if the celebrity did live there, most had 10 ft. walls or ivy to prevent you from seeing anything. The best chance I guess would be to catch them as they're coming or going from the gated driveway. I liked driving up into the Hollywood Hills on Mulholland and getting a view of the city. There are a lot of scenic pullover spots to take pictures and admire the smog.

I took them for lunch to In-N-Out Burger, a southern California must, and then we went to Venice Beach. Venice is a cool spot because of the characters you see there. You have hippies, gypsies, street performers, beggars, weirdos, freaks, stoners and of course tourists. You've also got 'Muscle Beach' where there is outdoor workout equipment if you want to get pumped up. There are a bunch of basketball courts (where they filmed a lot of White Men Can't Jump). It's a mandatory item on the list of places to see in LA.

We caught the sunset over the water and then went to get cleaned up for the evening at our hotel for the night, the JW Marriott in the LA Live district. It had only been open a month or two and was right next to the Staples Center. It includes bars, restaurants, hotels, museums and event space to try to lure people into the city instead of the suburbs.

I made a friend, Lindsay, through Rameen a while back that went to UK and moved to Santa Monica after college. We had never met in person, but had spoken via Facebook several times. She gave me suggestions on places to live and things to do. Since we were up closer to her we met for dinner and drinks that night.

Sippin' on bubbly

Lindsay got our names on the list at the rooftop bar of the Standard Hotel (it's good to know someone with connections!). I found out later that it is partly owned by Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. It had a great view of downtown LA. Lindsay said hi to the manager and he brought us a bottle of champagne on the house. How about that? Four Kentuckians sipping champagne on a rooftop bar in LA. Big thanks to Lindsay for setting that all up!

The next morning we checked out of the hotel still without a celebrity sighting. I heard from the concierge that some active celebrities hike in Runyon Canyon Park right at the edge of Hollywood. The weather was perfect so we decided to start our day there (parking was really tough, good luck if you want to go there). I didn't know until we got there that most of the park was dogs off the leash friendly. When I say park I don't mean flat grassland with shade and benches. This was all hills, foothills, dirt paths and switchbacks. As we hiked up the hills you would see a dog either running in front of or trailing behind their master. The view was as good or better than Mulholland Drive. We didn't see anyone famous but there were some decent views of the Hollywood sign.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Santa Monica, shopping and walking around the 3rd Street Promenade that sat just a few blocks from the ocean. We finished at the Santa Monica Pier and watched a few more performers and artists. The girls left on Monday morning, and although they were unfulfilled on the celebrity sightings I still think they had a good time. Meghan and I didn't rekindle any romance, but I did get her to promise that she would be my backup wife if we were both single at 35. That's on the record.

I hadn't done any of these touristy things in LA since Matt and I were here for Spring Break 2003. It was good to get reacquainted with the city. So anyone else that wants to come to the west coast, I'm ready for you!

Moving to Cali

2011-02-28T17:17:00.020-05:00

I'm on the next phase of my project in Santa Ana and have been flying back and forth from ATL to SNA twice a week. The company is trying to cut costs so they asked me if I could find an apartment near work. Taking the flights down to once a month and getting a long term rental car would really help on the budget. I asked around on the best places to live and it looks like Newport Beach is the best.

I searched around on Craigslist and found a few cool places on Balboa Island. They're not near the beach like I was in Sydney. They're ON the beach. I sent a bunch of emails and ended up interviewing with three different places. I narrowed it down to two places with people that seemed cool. I ended up choosing a place with two girls around my age, with a place that was walking distance to the bars, and most importantly - a 30 second walk on the beach. I bought a bed and the rest of the room was furnished. I'm all set up within earshot of the waves crashing and the best part is it's less then 20 minutes from my front doorstep to sitting at my desk. I technically still live in Atlanta, but this is home for at least the next 6 months.

See a bigger map

Best of the Great Barrier Reef

2011-02-20T19:28:00.039-05:00

As a part of my Best of Australia recommendations, these are my opinions on the Great Barrier Reef. When you go to Australia, you have to go to the reef. That's all there is to it. I took 7 days for my drive up the coast, but you can do quicker if you fly. There is a lot to see between Sydney and the Whitsundays if you decide to drive. Byron Bay is a cool surf town and the scenery is much different than Sydney or Melbourne. I didn't spend any time in Brisbane, but I'm sure there are things to see.

You'll have to balance between time and budget on how you want to get there. You can find one way flights to Hamilton Island from $100 up depending on the season. You'll want to book a sailing trip from Airlie Beach. I took a boat called Summertime and spent 3 days there. It was the best vacation of my life. There are all kinds of different boat trip packages, styles and formats. Do a little research on Google and find one that works for you. If you're into diving or want to be, get your license before you go. But even if you can't do that, a lot of the boats will let you do introductory dives without one.

If you love the reef as much as me and have even more time to see it, I would also suggest adding Cairns to your itinerary. It's further out of the way from the bigger cities and is only mildly different in sightseeing options, but any excuse to go diving and sailing is worth it for me. #1 is the Whitsundays, #2 is Cairns as far as priorities. If you can do either, you'll have an amazing time.

Best of Melbourne

2011-02-19T18:53:00.026-05:00

12 Apostles during my helicopter tour

As a part of my Best of Australia recommendations, I'll take you through my recommended things to do, places to see and restaurants to visit in Melbourne, Australia's second biggest city and cultural hub. If you're touring the whole country, 3 days is a good amount of time to spend in the city.

One full day should be spent traveling The Great Ocean Road out to the 12 Apostles and back as I did during my trip last year. You'll need to rent a car and leave early in the morning. You're likely to see wild koalas and some of the most breathtaking land formations along the coastline that you will ever see in your life. After the Great Barrier Reef, this is the next best natural attraction that I saw in Australia. If you have enough time you can turn this into a 1.5 day trip instead of driving there and back in one day. You're going to do at least 4 hours of driving each way, maybe more if you want to extend it.

For your other two days you can walk through the city and make sure to save some energy for the awesome nightlife. There are a lot of good musicians and acts trying to make it in Melbourne - get a local publication or ask around to see a good show.

I got some further advice from Nat, an Aussie friend is an expert on Melbourne:

They should check out an AFL game in Melbourne for sure. It's the home of the AFL... The fans are so much more out there than Sydney. The MCG or Eithad stadium would be the best place to see a decent game.

Take a trip down to Phillip Island to see the fairy penguins parade across the beach at dusk. It's an afternoon/ early evening event about 90 odd min out of the city... You can either drive there or get a tour group to take you...

If you come in spring (Oct-Nov) they should go to the races.... If they are here on Melbourne Cup day they should go for sure, it's always the first Tues in November and they will have to buy tickets online before the day.

Walk the city to see Flinders St Station, Fed Sqaure, Bourke St. mall, Sandridge Bridge, and the Yarra River. Always lots of graffiti, street art and crazy people to look at!

If they are girls and like shopping send them to Chapel St... always a good place for lunch, ppl watching and shopping.

If they want to see a more funky grungy side of the city send them to Brunswick for dinner (thai or vegi) and lots of little old Aussie pubs. There is a lot if live music in Brunswick also.

Lastly, the Melbourne Crown Casino at Southbank and Eureka Skydeck viewing platform of the city.

Best of Sydney

2011-02-18T02:54:00.029-05:00

As a part of my Best of Australia recommendations, I'll take you through my recommended things to do, places to see and restaurants to visit in Sydney, Australia's biggest city.

Sights

Opera House – you can walk around it (free) or take a tour (~$80)
Harbour Bridge – I don’t recommend the bridge climb ($175+). You can climb the pylon for $10, that is a must do.
Customs House – in Circular Quay… just walk in the lobby to see a small scale model of the city under the glass floor. Only takes 5 minutes and is pretty cool. It gives you a good perspective of the city
Bondi to Coogee coastal walk – 6 km paved path. My favorite thing to do in the city
Ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach - $12 round trip, awesome views of harbor and back of Opera House
Botanical Garden – free. Find the trees where all of the bats sleep.
Hyde Park – free. Middle of the city. Have a picnic or walk around late at night. Check for food, art and music festivals that sometimes come here.
World of Wildlife or Taronga Zoo – both are cool… WoW has only Aussie animals and is more accessible. You can touch some of the animals. Taronga is massive and you get there on a quick ferry ride. It takes hours to see everything and includes animals from all over. Best zoo I’ve ever been to.
Bondi Beach – relax in the sun and take some surfing lessons (~$75+) if you have time

Other options if you have time

Featherdale Wildlife Preserve
Blue Mountains tour
Sydney Tower
Manly to Spit coastal walk
Chinatown
Restaurants
Din Tai Fung (dumplings)
Madang (Korean)
Mamak (Malay)
Pancakes on the Rocks
Longrain (Thai)

Nightlife

Opera Bar – awesome location just next to the Opera House. Full view of the bridge as well.
Sky Bar (top of the casino) – great view of the Sydney skyline at night
Ivy – upper crust club where everyone dresses to the nines, there are lines to get in, cover charges and high priced drinks. Very popular but if that’s not your scene, stay away
Surry Hills – my neighborhood to go out. There are lots of bars within walking distance: Clock Hotel, Flinders Street Bar, White Horse, Beresford, Crown
King’s Cross – crazy nightlife area. Just look for the massive Time Square-esque Coca-Cola sign. If it’s 10 pm or 5 am, there’s always something going on here. Think Bourbon Street meets the big city. I always had a good time going there. Best bars: Goldfish, Sugar Mill, World Bar, Hugo’s, Piano Room
Coogee Bay Hotel – this place gets a lot of bad press because it used to be a pretty rough place. It was my local pub and it is really big. There is a beer garden, dance club, and sports bar all located within the bar. It’s a great place to relax and get some pub food during the day as well.

Accommodation

I only stayed at the Circular Quay Marriott, so I can’t offer any other specific recommendations. Staying in the CBD (central business district) is going to be more expensive, but you won’t have to take as many taxis or buses to see the sights. There are a couple of hotels that overlook Hyde Park that looked good, but again, you’re going to pay more for those.
Staying near the coast is nice as well, but accommodation can be hit or miss. Some places are geared toward backpackers and won’t be as nice. They also can be too close to pubs which can cause noise at night. There are some really nice places with access to and views of the water. If you want, just check with me before you book and I can give you a more specific opinion.

Best of Australia

2011-02-18T02:49:00.012-05:00

Over my time in Sydney I have had multiple friends send me questions on the best things to do in Australia. I didn’t get to see the entire country, but did get to sight-see along most of the east coast. I played tour guide when both friends and family come to visit me during my time in Sydney in addition to my own explorations.

One of the frequent questions I received was about trip duration. On a two week vacation, do you have time to visit both New Zealand and Australia, or Fiji and Australia? My answer is absolutely not. I did not get a chance to go to NZ, but from friends that have been there I know that you need at least a week, if not more, in NZ. So assuming you’re going to focus the entire trip in Oz, here is what I would recommend.

First of all, there’s no way to see the entire country in two weeks. Let me put it in perspective. There are far fewer tourist centers in Australia compared to the US, but imagine trying to see NYC, DC, Miami, New Orleans, LA, San Francisco and Chicago in two weeks. Yes, you could probably do it, but you’re not going to get the full experience.

The three must-sees in Australia are Melbourne, Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef. They’re all on the east coast, so let’s narrow your trip down to that section. You’ll probably fly into Sydney, so we’ll start there.

If you’re not used to international travel, especially flights over 10 hours, you’re going to be majorly jet lagged when you land. You’ll fly out of LAX in the evening and land at SYD in the morning, totally missing one day. Keep that in mind as you plan your flights. I found that the best way to beat jet lag is to sleep as much as possible on the plane (with the help of Ambien if available) and do a lot of walking/sightseeing on the first day. If you sleep during the day after you land, you’re only prolonging your pain. Fight through it and you’ll be better for it.

I’ve broken each area down by how many days I would spend there. Click each link for more detailed information. Note that I only accounted for 12 days – if you’re truly doing a 2 week vacation you will need some buffer time to book flights or spend extra time seeing things you like. Click on each for details.

From Paradise to THIS?

2011-02-10T02:14:00.030-05:00

After my last week of surfing and record heat, I came back to Atlanta to snow. SNOW. I have a tan, my best attempt at a beard and haven't had a haircut since June. It makes me a little hard to recognize and I'm definitely not the same person. A few days before I left I got together with some friends in Surry Hills and had a little going away party. It's such a bittersweet feeling to leave a place I have grown to love. I am going to have a tough time living anywhere that isn't near waves and sand. I joined a daily email list called Aquabumps that I read every day. The guy that runs the site gives a daily surf report for Bondi and has some amazing photography skills. He shoots a lot of sunsets and wave shots, which I have been a fan of long before I went to Australia (if you've seen the painting above my bed, you'll understand).

I am truly going to miss everyone and everything in my second home. I've made lifelong friends - some that will always live in Australia, some that are from the US, and some that are from random corners of the world. I'll be back someday, hopefully soon.

On the upside... I'm home for a week and get to see my friends and then I'm off to the OC to continue working on this project that has taken me all over!

I Brought Some Music Back

2011-02-09T21:12:00.002-05:00

I've been collecting a bunch of music over the past few months to put together another music post. Some of this stuff I heard in Australia, like Angus and Julia Stone (whose song below was voted #1 on the world's largest music poll Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2010). Others I found through friends or randomly searching related videos on YouTube.

Matthew Mayfield - Maybe Next Christmas

Weepies - World Spins Madly On

Angus & Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane

Cocoon - Comets

Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know

Tim & Jean - Come Around

Noah and the Whale - 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.'

Motorcade - Holy Moly

The Script - Nothing

Michelle Featherstone - I'm There Too

Last Week in Oz

2011-02-07T01:17:00.031-05:00

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working a lot, so not much has been going on. We had a birthday/goodbye dinner for Carolien at Opera Bar that also served as my brother’s farewell. It had been the most continuous time we spent together in the past 10 years… it wasn’t always smooth but we both had a great time.

As soon as I got back to work I had to hit the ground running as we went live with SAP at the client site. Nothing too exciting happened and I stayed really busy. After 3 weeks of long hours and weekend work, we finished the project and everything is running smoothly. We scheduled my return to the US a week after go-live just in case there were any problems. Since there weren’t, I really had nothing left to do except a few clean up items every day. That being the case, I skipped out of work early every afternoon and hit the surf.

Krista and I said our goodbyes early... she had planned a two week trip to western Australia and left a week before me. We made tentative plans to have a surf vacation somewhere in the world... Hawaii, Bali, California... it was all very vague and pie in the sky. One of our last days together was Australia's version of Independence Day - Australia Day. We found a party on the rocks next to Tamarama that was amazing. Every outcrop and spot of sand had people dancing, laughing and drinking. Someone brought a generator and set up a DJ booth. It was one of the coolest parties I've ever been to.

I rented a car during the week so that I didn’t waste too much time on buses getting from work to home and home to the beach. I had lived the past 10 months without a car and I forgot how nice it was to be able to get places quickly. It was a week of record heat in Sydney, with 6 days in a row over 95 degrees. One day it got up to 105 but I didn’t really notice when I was in the water. If you tried to walk across the sand your feet burned.

I went down to Maroubra one afternoon and saw a pretty scary incident. I was surfing in the chest deep whitewash (I’m still not up to the green waves yet) and I saw a few people crowded around someone laying down at the edge of the rip. I got out of the water because they were talking with animated motions and pointing out to the water.

I got out and started scanning the waves and a woman with a surfboard came up to me. “Do you see anyone out there? I pulled that guy in (pointing to the one laying down) and I swear I saw another one.”

Over the next few minutes the lifeguards towed two jet skis across the sand and put them in the water. I went back out and continued surfing for a little while, still keeping my eye on the action 50 yards away. A few life rafts came and then two helicopters joined the search. The lifeguards eventually waved all of the surfers in so they could search the entire beach. As I left a news crew showed up but they never found the guy’s body.

I advise everyone that goes to beaches in Australia or anywhere else with big waves to understand rip currents and how they work and how to swim out of them.

Summertime - Day III

2011-01-15T01:53:00.002-05:00

Curious Priscilla joins our dive

See Days I and II for the other parts of the sailing trip.

Our first dive when we woke up in the morning was in the same exact spot as the night dive from the day before, but it couldn't have been more different. We were swarmed with all kinds of fish. Flo picked up a few pieces of dead hard coral and started clicking them together. The next thing I know, this massive - I mean MASSIVE fish cruises into the middle of our group. His name is Priscilla - yes his name. Supposedly there used to be a pair of these Humphead wrasse, Elvis (male) and Priscilla (female). When Elvis died, Priscilla switched sexes.

On our second dive I set a new personal depth record at 27 meters. We dropped down a bunch of reef faces which felt like cliffs as you looked over the edge. I had bought a few disposable underwater cameras for the trip but most of the pictures didn't come out well. The one you see here was taken by Flo with a professional underwater camera. As you get deeper bright colors fade out (I won't bore you with the science) and all you are left with is blue and green. Professional units have a white balance setting that will color correct shots taken at different depths. The next time I go diving I'm going to get one. I have wasted over $100 on disposable cameras over the past few years and I'm guessing a good one will run about $500.

Great pic minus the finger

As we wrapped up the afternoon a bunch of us went snorkeling one last time and I got a highlight of the trip. A Hawksbill turtle glided past me so I started to follow it. The others weren't close so I waved them to come over. We followed him for about 10 minutes and he didn't mind a bit. I dove underneath him and really wanted to grab onto his shell for a ride (though I didn't). I got one of the guys to take a picture of me but he put his finger partly over the lens. I would've taken another one had I known before they were developed - another reason to get a real camera. The turtle finally turned out to sea and we let him go. We got back in the boat and headed back to Airlie Beach for one more night at Magnum's.

The entire group all met out for drinks with the crew later that night. I had done five total dives so they gave me a t-shirt and DVD with all of the pics from the weekend. I really hit it off with Kat (something about the British accent gets me - even Minnie Driver from Good Will Hunting). We said our goodbyes to everyone and caught the ferry back to Hamilton Island in the morning. It dropped us off right at the airport and we were back to Sydney.

Summertime passengers and crew back on shore

All in all, this was absolutely the best vacation I've taken as an adult. From the drive and the surfing up the coast to Surfers Paradise to Hamilton Island and everything that we did on the boat, I really encourage everyone to #1 go to Australia and #2 book at LEAST a sailing trip on the Great Barrier Reef, if not the entire trip that Brian and I completed. Now it's back to the real world where I have 3 weeks of work left before I say goodbye to everyone and go home.

Summertime - Day II

2011-01-14T00:22:00.002-05:00

See Days I and III for the other parts of the sailing trip.

After breakfast the next morning the crew unloaded the kayaks from the roof of the boat and we got to paddle around the shallows of Hook Island. Our main focus was in a mangrove forest because that’s where the juvenile sharks feed. Brian and I quietly paddled through the trees and roots along with the rest of the group. After a while we saw 3 or 4 black tipped reef sharks, maybe 3 feet in length, darting in and out of the shallows. We also saw a sea turtle a little further out but we didn’t get too close.

We went back to the boat and coasted around the edge of Hook Island to our first dive spot. I went diving once in Cairns back in April, but the last time before that was in 2004. I had some difficulty with the provided masks that time, so I brought my own on this trip. I recommend that you bring your own if you snorkel and/or scuba dive. It's an extra thing to pack but it can prevent a ruined dive if your mask won't stop leaking.

There were only a few certified divers which was nice because it wasn't too crowded. The water was crystal clear and the colors in the reef were indescribable. I have never seen so many fish - you will just have to see it for yourself. My only regret is that I didn't see any sharks or turtles (while diving). We ended up doing two dives and though I was nervous at first, I started to get comfortable in the water. One thing about diving - the faster and deeper you breathe, the faster you use your air. You can extend your dive by up to 15 minutes or more just by taking calm, measured breaths. Certification classes teach you to not hold your breath because of the damage it can do to your lungs when changing depth. Also, the dive depth also determines the dive time. So our first dive only lasted about half an hour because I was the first one to run low on air. The second dive lasted 7 minutes longer, with dives the next day going even longer.

Brian and a few others interested in diving were allowed to go down in an 'Intro to Diving' type course. The crew gave them the basic instructions and they went down to depths that were safe even if you shot straight back up to the top. Brian had difficulty the first time, but after some one on one instruction he got it down and had a blast. In between dives we could jump off the boat and go swimming or just lay on the deck to rest and catch some sun.

We docked near Hayman Island and after dinner Flo convinced me to go on a night dive. Everyone else was relaxing on the boat after dinner and we started gearing up. Some of the procedures are different since it's pitch black in the water and the only light came from our two flashlights. We tied glow sticks to our tanks and took the outboard boat to a spot fairly close to shore. Going into the water was so different compared to day dives. When you go under water it is always quiet - all you have to hear is your own breathing and the bubbles from your regulator. When the water is pitch black it takes on a whole new level of silence.

I never thought about it before, but I guess that fish retreat to the coral during the night to sleep. Every now and then we would see a head peek out from the reef or catch a glimpse of a tail fin at the edge of the flashlight beam, but for the most part the ocean was empty. Flo went to a spot he frequented where a big grouper or cod (I don't remember) hunted at night. If you shined your flashlight on a small fish the big guy was supposed to dart in and eat it. Unfortunately we couldn't find him so the dive was mostly disappointing when it came to wildlife. We did see a crab and a big lobster, but that was it. I still enjoyed seeing the reef in a different way.

When I got back to the boat it looked like one of the other boats anchored about a quarter mile away from us. You could tell it was one of the party boats that I mentioned in the last post but I don't remember its name. We ended up sitting up on the deck and looking at the stars - I have never seen so many, even in the Kentucky countryside. Cap'n Pete pointed out some of the constellations, including the Southern Cross (also, Orion is upside down below the equator). There was no way to take a picture without some serious hardware, so you'll just have to believe that I saw the entire Milky Way across the sky. I found this picture online which gives you an idea, but imagine that it stretches from east to west, all of the way across the sky above you.

Sleeping was pretty easy that night from all of the activity during the day. We had one more day to get a few more dives in before it was time to go home.

Summertime

2011-01-13T23:47:00.003-05:00

Airlie Beach was way smaller than Cairns and looked to be in existence solely as a launch off point for tourists to get to the reef. A friend in Sydney told me about a trip they took a few months before from Airlie. They stayed on a sailboat for a few days and had a great time. I planned this whole trip around doing something similar. I found a website that displays all of the boats, trip lengths and prices.

Note the start of a beard coming on

Brian and I stayed at a hostel called Magnum’s, the most popular hostel in Airlie Beach. It cost $20 and was set up differently than other hostels. There was a central restaurant with the bar, pool tables and travel offices clustered together. Our room was in a two story building with 2 rooms on each floor. There were 5 bunk beds per room, but plenty of room. We didn't really try to hang out with anyone in the room since we had to be up early the next morning.

When I started picking which boat we would take, I found that each had a specific reputation. Some are party boats for young people, others are for couples. Some are more focused around diving, others do the bare minimum. In general, cheaper trip lead to backpackers and young travelers joining you on the boat. I definitely wanted to do some diving and spend two days or more on the trip, so that narrowed down my options. I ended up choosing a boat called Summertime – it had snorkeling, diving and kayaking over 3 days. It cost $515 per person and included a free dive (special offer at that time).

We got to the boat early on Thursday morning with 11 other people... an Australian couple and their Aussie and British friends, two other British couples, a Canadian couple and a solo guy from Poland. I was hoping for some young and single types, but it’s really the luck of the draw I guess. Everyone was really friendly and we got to know each other when the boat took off. Summertime was manned with three crew – Flo (short for Florian, the German dive master), Trish (Irish cook/second dive master), and Cap’n Pete (Kiwi boat captain).

View from a lookout just above Whitehaven Beach - amazing.

Our first stop was to Whitsunday Island and Whitehaven Beach, a place that is always on top 10 lists of the best beaches in the world. The sand is 98% silica and is so pure that NASA used it to make the lens for the Hubble Telescope. When I walked along the water’s edge, my feet sunk in almost like mud. The weather was a little overcast for the first few hours, but Brian and I made the most of it by slinging some Frisbee and kicking a soccer ball.

We put on stinger suits and got in the water to find a few sting rays swimming in the water. They swam away pretty quickly unless you went really slowly (and we made sure to stay out of the way of the stinger). We took a hike to the highest point in the island that overlooked the beach. It was one of the most picturesque places I have ever seen. Small islands dotted the blue water and the tide created swirls of white sand. The currents and tides made every day’s beach look different.

That afternoon we did some more sailing (although there was almost no wind which means we used the motor). A storm rolled in that evening which made it rough once we anchored. I had been popping sea sickness tablets since the day before, so I luckily didn’t get sick. The crew warned that they could make you dehydrated and drowsy, but it was worth the risk. My bunk was near the bathrooms and it sounded like one of the other passengers wasn’t so lucky. I did wake up a few times during the night from the boat rocking back and forth.

See Days II and III for the other parts of the sailing trip.

Surfers Paradise to Hamilton Island

2011-01-12T02:23:00.004-05:00

Despite the name, Surfers Paradise doesn’t have waves like Byron. It’s very glitzy and done up compared to the laid back atmosphere at the bay an hour south of the state line. It reminded me of a combination between Miami and Las Vegas. All of the high rise condos, flashing billboards, restaurants and clubs were located on one main strip through the city. Brian and I booked another hostel called Islander. It was only $32 per person, but it was a bit dirtier than Aquarius. It looked like an old hotel from the 60s that had been converted. We met up with Krista’s brother and had dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant and then just crashed – we were so tired from the day.

The next morning we got up early and drove to Brisbane to catch our flight to Hamilton Island. We didn’t time it exactly right and were in a bit of a rush so I skipped filling up the tank (which ended up costing about $100, about $40 more than it would’ve cost at the pump). The car rental agent also found a scuff on the front bumper. I didn’t do a proper inspection when I got the car – NOTE TO EVERYONE: INSPECT YOUR RENTAL CAR BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE LOT – and I definitely did not hit anything while I was driving. It either happened while I was parked or was already there. Either way, I had to shell out almost $400 which was more than the rental in the first place. What a rip.

So we flew from Brisbane to Hamilton Island for only $50 each, the flight lasting about an hour and a half. It was resorts, condos and residences. It had a thick upper class feel... very manufactured and too perfect. I’m glad we weren’t staying there. We walked around the island in the sweltering heat for a few hours, taking pictures of the great views. We could have flown directly to Airlie Beach, but Brian and I landed on Hamilton Island for one purpose – to hold a koala. Holding koalas is illegal in New South Wales but legal in Queensland. I had petted a koala a few times and got close up to a wild one but I really, really wanted to cradle one in my arms like a little fuzzy baby. There was a wildlife sanctuary on the island that let you hold one of the animals for $20. Once we checked that off, we took the ferry ($45 each way) to Airlie Beach – the backpacker party spot and launching point for all of the sailing trips through the reef. Ours was on a boat called Summertime.

Driving Up the Coast

2011-01-11T02:17:00.001-05:00

I had planned for weeks to rent a car to drive up the eastern coast. It cost about $300 for a rental car, so I thought it would be a good idea to find people to ride with us. I created a little flier and posted it in a few of the popular hostels. It said "Need a ride to Byron Bay/Surfer's Paradise/Brisbane?" along with my contact info and a few other details on the dates. By the next day I already received 10 calls or texts, all from females. Why there were no males interested, I have no idea. If you ever get lonely in Sydney, just rent a car for the weekend and start posting fliers in hostels – you’ll make friends really quickly.

The first people to call me were Germans Melanie and Britta, who needed to get to Brisbane on the same day that we were flying to Hamilton Island. Brian and I went to meet them for a quick drink to make sure we got along (and they wanted to be sure we weren't weirdos). They agreed to pay $75 each which covered about half of the cost of the car excluding gas. It was a deal for them since bus trips up the coast are really expensive.

We left Sydney early on Monday morning and headed north. We passed through Port Macquarie for lunch and made it to our goal of Byron Bay after about 12 hours. Byron is less than 500 miles from Sydney but there are not true interstates in between. We went through a lot of towns and two lane highways along the way. It was kind of nice because we got to see more scenery which included a random water tank with ‘Kentucky’ painted on the side and some wild kangaroos.

Coincidentally, Krista had already planned a trip up that way with her brother and flew into Gold Coast a few days ahead of us. She drove down to spend the next few days surfing with us instead of playing golf with her brother. We stayed at a popular hostel in Byron Bay called Aquarius. It was only $38 per night and was within walking distance to the bars. I read a lot of reviews that spoke poorly of it, saying there were bed bugs (sometimes a huge problem with backpacker hostels), but we had no issues.

The waves at Byron Bay

Byron Bay is famous around the world for its world class waves. It’s a cool, relaxed beach town that is centered on one thing – surfing. When we rented our boards from a corner shop, the cashier told us that Jack Johnson had stopped in a few weeks before (he owns a house in Byron). On a side note, I learned that Johnson almost became a pro surfer before he was injured while surfing Hawaii’s famous Pipeline wave. He lost a few teeth and had to get stitches, then switched to music.

The nightlife in Byron Bay reminded me or Cairns. The city was laid out in a less touristy way (if that even makes sense), with all of the bars and restaurants concentrated in a 3 or 4 block area. We didn’t stay out too late because we wanted to be fresh and ready to surf in the morning.

We took some steps down a hill to the beach to find it fairly empty compared to Sydney. The entire beach stretched for about 2 miles with the best surf on the south end at ‘The Pass’. We hopped on our boards and were immediately slammed with the strongest rip current I have ever experienced. Within 5 minutes I was about 50 meters out in the water behind the break, which is great. But the current also pulled me 200 meters down the beach where no good waves were breaking. I lost sight of Krista, but she was after bigger waves anyway. I tried to paddle against the rip and even hopped off my board, letting it drag behind me as I swam – no luck. I finally gave up and paddled back to shore. From that point on I stayed in the relatively shallow water and only caught the small waves. Even then, the current was so strong that you could barely walk against it.

After we were exhausted from fighting the waves, we drove up to a lighthouse and lookout nearby that claimed to be the easterly most point in the country. Next we packed up the car and drove to Surfer’s Paradise.

Field Day

2011-01-02T01:38:00.001-05:00

Krista convinced me to go with her to Field Day, an electronic music festival held in The Domain every year. I wasn’t interested in most of the artists and some I didn’t even recognize. The ones I knew were Sleigh Bells, The Rapture, Tame Impala, Public Enemy (random, I know), Art vs. Science, Chromeo, Duck Sauce and Neon Indian. For $125, I’ll recommend to anyone reading this that you better REALLY be into the music before you go.

I learned very early on in Australia that you have to lather up on the sunscreen. It was a really hot day and the shade was minimal, so it was a must. We loaded up on water as we walked around and it was about what I expected it to be. We didn’t get there until after 2 pm and missed a few of the recognized names above, but I was happy to see Duck Sauce (see video below). You definitely have to been in the right mood (or altered state of mind) to enjoy the repetitive music, and we ended up walking away from the DS set after 30 minutes.

It was hot enough for us to abandon the concert for a while to find food that wasn’t a rip off. Our tickets allowed us to re-enter the enclosed area after 5:30, so we went down to Pancakes on the Rocks for some dinner and air conditioning. After the sun went down we headed back to Field Day to watch Public Enemy rock the stage. They performed their entire "Fear of a Black Planet" album from 1990. I must say, Flava Flav still has it after all of these years.

New Years Eve

2011-01-01T01:19:00.007-05:00

My New Years Eve started off by taking a surfing lesson with Brian at Maroubra - $50 for 2 hours. I definitely recommend taking lessons here over the other beaches in Sydney (especially over Bondi, which is twice the price and 10 times as crowded). I had also heard that if you can surf at Maroubra, you can surf anywhere. The waves are a bit more rough and currents stronger.

I used an 8.5 footer and Brian had a 9. By the end of the lesson I was getting the hang of it and rode a wave for a good 5 seconds. I don’t think Brian had the same success but he still had a blast. I got stung by a Blue Bottle on my ankle at one point but didn’t let that stop me – I was hooked. We chilled out for the rest of the day and Brian made plans to meet up with a friend from Valdosta for New Years. Carolien also went to meet up with Dutch friends that were posting up in the botanical garden near the opera house. That let Krista and I make our own plans to watch the fireworks together courtesy of Daniel, who I know through MeetUp.

When I first met Daniel and Carol (aunt and uncle of my friend Laura) back on the 4th of July, they invited me to watch the harbor fireworks from the top of the Four Seasons Hotel. I immediately accepted although I didn’t know how serious he was or if he would even remember six months later. There are two rounds of fireworks – one at 9:30 and another at midnight. Daniel was only able to get us up to the roof for the early showing which was good enough for me. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.

The downside to the hotel roof was that there was no bar or restaurant. It was all air conditioning units, pipes and gravel everywhere. We made our way to the edge with glasses of champagne and had a great view. I didn’t have a tripod for my camera so almost none of my shots came out, but seeing it was enough. It was definitely a great experience and I would much rather do that than post up on the grass to reserve a good spot near the opera house. You have to get there early in the morning and there is a strict no alcohol policy. If you want shade, you’re not going to get a good view that night. If you don’t take the shade, you die in the heat during the day. But tens of thousands of people suffered through the heat to reserve a spot – that’s not for me. Thanks to Daniel for making it an easy, stress free and free way to celebrate the new year.

On the red carpet

Krista and I joined the mass exodus with all of the other observers and hopped a train to northern Sydney where we met up with her brother at a party of a friend in a high-rise condo. The crowd was young and flashy, dressed to impress. They set up a red carpet and photo board (see pic) where everyone was taking pictures... it was mostly there as a joke though the pictures look legit.

We mingled and ended up crowding out on the balcony for the midnight fireworks. I had visions of the whole thing collapsing down the 30 stories since there were so many people crammed out there. The view wasn’t as good as our rooftop spot but the fireworks weren’t that much better. We got our fill and headed back inside to dance and hang out. Toward the end of the night a girl had her purse stolen and got mad enough to hit a glass table with a champagne bottle, shattering them both. She was a friend of the host (can we say crazy?). We all left after that and luckily found a taxi back to the city. Happy New Year!

Holidays Continued

2010-12-29T01:02:00.002-05:00

A few interesting things have happened over the week... I’ve been in contact with Carolien as she traveled the South Pacific on her most recent adventure. She has been crashing at my place for the past few days. It’s been cool to hang out with her again in country #4 (the others were Chile, Argentina and Holland).

Surfing with Krista

My brother and I have been going to the beach a lot to body surf. Growing up in the Eastern US and vacationing in the Atlantic/Caribbean, you don’t get real waves like you do out here. We can go out in chest deep water and catch a wave for 20 yards by just paddling as it approaches and then stretching out. Sometimes you get tumbled over the top of the wave if you don’t catch it exactly right which can be scary if you don’t get a full breath. Then you come up for air and another wave is slamming down on top of you. But once you’re used to the wave periods and intensity, you can figure out the best place to catch them. It’s almost as fun as surfing, but 1000 times easier.

Other than that, I have been seeing Krista pretty regularly over the past few weeks. The way I looked at it, we have nothing to lose. The chances of us staying together after I leave are pretty slim, but it’s still worth the effort. It took some convincing on my part to give this a shot, but I think she feels the same way I do. Besides, she’s a cool chick and it’s nice to have someone around that knows how to surf.

Best Songs of 2010

2010-12-28T20:42:00.001-05:00

It's the end of the year and time for me to review my top 10 songs. Check out last year's list for a look back. A few of these songs came out in 09 but they didn't come on my radar until after my last list.

10. Snowden - No One In Control

9. Mike Snow - The Rabbit

8. Mumford and Sons - Hold On To What You Believe

7. Civil Twilight - Something She Said

6. Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

5. Jukebox the Ghost - Empire

4. The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

3. The XX - Islands

2. Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over

1. Lissie - Everywhere I Go

Honorable mentions: Passion Pit - Little Secrets, Band of Horses - Laredo, Kanye West ft. Dwele - Power, The Foals - Blue Blood, The Decemberists - Down By the Water, La Roux - Bulletproof, Girl Talk - All Day (entire album), Cheryl Cole - Three Words, Duck Sauce - Anyway, Cee-Lo Green - F&^* You

Guilty Pleasures: Far East Movement - Like a G6, Usher - OMG

So what do you think? Did I miss anything?

Christmas Week

2010-12-27T00:48:00.002-05:00

As mentioned in a previous post when I almost got deported, my parents and brother came to Sydney this week for Christmas. My friends Daya and Sarah tag teamed to take care of Zabba. I got a few weeks off of work because the project was shut down for the holidays, so I could take them anywhere they wanted to go. I met everyone at the Marriott in Circular Quay and we proceeded to hit all of the highlights… ferry ride to Manly, coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee, Harbour Bridge pylon climb (see the video below for the view), Featherdale Wildlife Park, plus dinners at Din Tai Fung, Madang Korean Barbecue, Chili Box, and I’m Angus.

A traditional Christmas in Australia is spent on the beach eating seafood. I bought fish, scallops and shrimp at A Fish Called Coogee. We cooked everything up at my flat and went down to the beach for a picnic wearing Santa hats. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect – it was about 85 degrees and sunny the entire day. We threw some Frisbee and spent the afternoon jumping in the water.

After a whirlwind 6 days my parents headed back to the US while my brother stayed for NYE and our planned trip to the Whitsundays.

Facebook Hack

2010-12-23T05:46:00.000-05:00

I found this cool Facebook hack today that lets you get really creative with the new site design. There's even a template available if you're any good with Photoshop. I don't have any really good pics to use at the moment, but here's a screenshot of my current one (took about 20 minutes to crop together).

Here are some more examples of people that are way more creative than me.

Porcupine's Dilemma

2010-12-21T00:35:00.001-05:00

Have you ever heard of the Porcupine’s Dilemma? It’s an analogy to problems with human intimacy, and goes like this: A group of porcupines are trying to stay warm in the winter by huddling together. The closer they get, the more they prick each other with their quills. For this reason they have to keep their distance, sacrificing warmth for comfort. The human comparison is obvious, but real. What do you do when you want to engage in close relationships but are unable to because of unavoidable circumstances? Closeness causes ‘mutual harm’ which causes tentative interaction with others which causes weaker relationships.

This is the discussion I had with Marianela, an Argentinean friend I made through Mark (my Cairns friend). We were at a get-together at Marianela and Julia’s house and somehow came upon the topic of how we both traveled a lot and were single. In my case, I’m in Australia for a limited time only. Why try making connections when I’m leaving in a few months? She said that you just have to be open because anything can happen.

Cue the hot girl.

Krista went to grad school with Marianela and came late to the party. She had a bit of an Aussie accent but was actually from Finland. She spoke 6 languages, was studying marketing and surfed. Yes, I had found the elusive surfer chick. We hit it off from the beginning, but she is hesitant. Porcupine’s dilemma, story of my life.

Sydney's First Annual Epic Water Pistol Fight

2010-12-20T20:54:00.000-05:00

Kill shot - right in the ear

My friend Ben found out about a water pistol fight in a Sydney park. People were supposed to show up in green, white, blue or red shirts packing the gun of their choice. 15,000+ people RSVPed to the Facebook event including a handful of my friends. We all decided to not join one of the teams and wear whatever. I went with a black rashie (plus snorkel, just in case), Nathan went shirtless, and Ben went as a gay urban cowboy.

We based ourselves out of Steph’s apartment since she lived across the street from the park. The weather was perfect – a bit hot and very sunny. When I showed up at noon, everyone else was in full preparation mode. They were filling half a dozen canvas shopping bags with water balloons (called water bombs here in Australia – I kind of like that term).

We lugged everything over to the park where I would estimate a few hundred people were gathered. We seemed to be one of very few groups that didn’t adhere to the dress code and had the foresight to stock up on bombs. Note for those doing this in the future - guard your water bombs carefully or else others will steal them. A few of the organizers got the teams together to play games of capture the flag, protect the base, I don’t really know because I wasn’t paying attention. We were walking around smashing people with balloons from close range and giving kill-shots with our guns (eyes or ears). Yes, I targeted a few people under the age of 12. No, I am not ashamed.

The people involved in the fight were mostly from the early 20’s, I-like-Twilight-and-Harry-Potter Society, others from the I-Loved-The-Matrix-and-I-Still-Wear-a-Trench-Coat Club. There were a few parents with kids and others our age. We felt a bit out of place, but part of that was on purpose. I had a naked baby doll companion and switched my backpack to the front to serve as a carrier. There’s a quick story about how I acquired the baby…

Dan and I went to a house party in Bondi a few weeks ago. The host pushed everyone out relatively early so we made our way down to the beach for a few drinks. After some wandering, we made our way to some loud music coming from the Bondi Pavilion. We ended up crashing a 90’s theme party and we stuck out like sore thumbs. We got to talking to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, eventually taking her baby because she was smashed and kept dropping it (she was playing the part very well). After a few minutes, Courtney went to sit down while I was still holding the baby. The party wasn’t that great, so I told Dan we should leave. “What about the baby?” he asked. “Don’t worry about it, let’s get out of here.”

We ended the night at the kebab stand at 2 am with a plastic baby doll. We got quite a few weird looks, but I knew it would come in handy someday. That day, as it turned out, was the Water Pistol Fight. I named her Carlita (after Carlos from The Hangover). But anyway, back to the story.

Using Carlita as a human shield

I had the baby strapped to my chest and I was walking around with Brokeback Ben, so we were quite the targets for all of the other participants. That made it all the better, because people would seek us out to soak us. We were also causing quite a bit of havoc by disrupting their structured games. There was also a guy in an authentic storm trooper outfit that got a lot of attention. The key to the whole day was the fire hydrant that was partially opened to give us an unlimited supply of water, with enough pressure to serve multiple people quickly.

There are a few YouTube videos of the day that I’ll try to find and post. I’d love to bring something like this to Piedmont Park in Atlanta. If we can get access to a water hose or other source of water for refills (and there isn’t a water shortage), I’ll be all about it.

Second Thanksgiving Abroad

2010-11-27T07:44:00.000-05:00

I dubbed last year's Thanksgiving the most interesting ever, and it probably was - for the novelty of being away for the first time if nothing else. I don't get any days off, just like last year, but this time I have a whole network of people with whom to celebrate the holiday. Everyone I met at the Expat American MeetUp Group's 4th of July Party planned a feast at Bronte Beach (halfway between my home in Coogee and Bondi, along the coastal walk).

Steph, Kylie and Ben

Everyone was instructed to make a dish and I kept it simple with mashed potatoes. It was more challenging than back home because I had to mash them by hand instead of with a mixer, but they still turned out quite normal. I made them the night before since the party started at 6 pm. I left work, changed clothes, heated the dish up in the microwave, and hopped a 10 minute cab ride to the beach.

There were about 40 people huddled around picnic tables draped with American flags, making it very hard to miss. I saw Ben, Steph, Kylie, Clint, and a few others I had hung out with at Halloween and Urban Frisbee Golf. It was nice to be around other people that were in the same situation.

There was a lot of turkey this time around. I couldn't find any in Santiago last year, so that was a good upgrade. I didn't have any pumpkin pie, but there was a graham cracker crust pumpkin cheesecake... good enough for me. Being right on the ocean was nice as well, but dinner with the rooftop view of my Santiago apartment rivals it. When the sun went down it got a bit chilly, but as we walked down to the surf after dinner I kept telling myself... "You're in shorts on the beach and it's November. Suck it up and stop complaining."

So passes another unique Thanksgiving to remember. I miss you all back home and hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Ending to the Deportation Saga

2010-11-19T05:52:00.001-05:00

As soon as I got home from my near deportation, I emailed my company (a bit ticked off) about the incident. I was sure someone had screwed up my visa but it turns out they have sent plenty of consultants to Australia on the 977 visa with no problems. No one knows why I was singled out this time. We scheduled a conference call for the next day to discuss my options. It basically came down to this:

Work remotely from the US - possible, but not ideal. The whole reason I was in Sydney was because they wanted someone on site to run the project. That would also prevent me from my NYE and beach vacation plans right after New Years (more on that in a future post).
Train a replacement over the next few weeks - also possible, but probably wouldn't happen. There wasn't anyone available locally and it would take too long to get someone up to speed. We are at a critical point in the project and it would put the project at risk. I also would like to see the project through, so I didn't want to do this.
Get a different visa - this was my favorite option because it would allow me to keep my travel plans back home as well as coming back into the country. However, after a lot of online research on Australia's immigration website and a few conversations with people on long term visas, it would take too long, cost too much and be more hassle than it was worth since I am leaving relatively soon.
Stay in Australia through Christmas and stay until the end of the project - not desirable, but the easiest way to go. I didn't want to stay through Christmas for obvious reasons, but we were all drawing to this conclusion.

I finally accepted this fact and said, "Now I'm just going to have to tell my mom that I can't come home for Christmas."

Ok, so I played it up a little. There was a collective "Awwwwwwwwwwww" on the other end of the phone as our deployment, travel and legal representatives (all female, all mothers) showed their sympathy. They told me they would get back to me with I was expecting some kind of compen$ation. I was pretty down because I had been looking forward to some time at home as well as my family's traditional trip to Kentucky to visit family and friends. And let's not forget about my puppy love. About a half hour later, I got a phone call from our deployment manager that went something like this:

"So, Jay, we talked to Tom and Trish (*husband and wife team that own/run my company*). They would like to fly your parents to Sydney for Christmas."
"Uh...... WHAT?"
"Since your brother is coming out for New Years, maybe you can move his flight up and you can all be there together. Do you think your family would go for that?"
"Let me think. YES. I don't know what to say... thank you!"

I need to find a Santa hat ASAP...

How cool is that? Did I mention that I love working for BackOffice Associates? Even before this saga, I have been lucky to have the opportunity to travel and grow professionally among such a great group of people. I've learned a lot in the past few years and owe them a lot already. I'm really glad I went with a small company out of grad school instead of one of the big consulting firms, because something like this never would've happened at Accenture or Deloitte.

We worked out most of the details and my parents will be here from December 21st-27th. My brother is going to fly in with them and leave, as originally planned, on January 12th. I depleted all of my Marriott points to put my parents up in the Circular Quay Marriott overlooking the opera house which is where I stayed during my first two weeks in the city. It's not that close to my apartment, but I figured it was the best spot for such a short time. Now I'm figuring out all of the places I want to show them. I've already played tour guide a few times, so I think we will have enough to do. And of course, we'll spend Christmas Day on the beach. This will probably be the most memorable (and unexpected) Christmas of my life. I can't wait!

Deported... almost

2010-11-17T02:41:00.001-05:00

As I returned from my trip to Fiji, I went through Customs expecting some scrutinizing for my souvenirs containing wood. I stepped up to the official and handed them my passport plus declaration card. They promptly asked me to come through and step to the side because someone needed to talk to me. When I asked if this was about my souvenirs, they said no. Hmm...

After a bit of a wait, a lady started asking me about my visa (a 977 short term business visa). It's good for 90 days at a time for up to a year, as I understood it. I made the trip to Fiji because my 90 days were up and went home twice for the same reason. No big deal, right?

They sat me down in the Customs area and I watched in envy as everyone else filtered through the lines, off to freedom. I looked back longingly as I was escorted into a little room with a camera in the upper corner, large window in the back plus a small table with a chair that was bolted to the floor. I had this vision in my head of The Bourne Identity when he plays mute through his interview at customs until he whooped up on the agents and escaped. I couldn't find a YouTube video of it, so this approximate reenactment will have to do. PS - I am the one in the American flag shorts.

While I had already busted out in my head, a guy came into my interview room putting on blue rubber gloves. Suddenly my big cajones shrunk and drew inward and I tightened my... other muscles... and took a big gulp. I think he saw the fear in my eyes as he stepped toward me and picked up my bag off the floor. "I'm going to look through your bag now."

"Oh."

I silently sighed in relief and watched as he pulled out and carefully expected all of my clothes from the trip. Penetration averted. After he was satisfied that I wasn't smuggling anything, he left (I totally could've taken him out if I wanted to) and a woman came in. For the next hour and a half she asked me questions into a tape recorder and took notes. Why are you here? What kind of work you do? Do you get paid in US or Australian dollars? What other countries have you been to? How much money do you have in your wallet? When do you plan to leave again? And on and on and on.

The interrogator would come in and talk to me for half an hour and then leave for ten minutes to speak with her manager, then come back in and repeat the process. I'm not sure if they were trying to make me sweat or change my story, but I just went back to reading my book every time they left. They even asked for my local coworkers' phone numbers

About two hours later we got down to the heart of the matter. One of the stipulations of the visa is that it cannot be used for "ongoing work". They felt that I was breaking this rule. The 977 was only supposed to be for conferences, meetings, training, etc and even then for six weeks at a time. Why is it valid for 90 days if it was only designed for six weeks? Well, they couldn't answer that one. I didn't want to make them mad enough to ship me out, so I let it go.

My plans were to go home from December 16th-27th, come back until the end of the project and leave on February 5th. The lady told me straight up, "We are going to let you in this time, but if you come back into Australia on this visa you will not get in."

By that time three hours had gone by and as they released me from interrogation there were no other passengers left in the airport. The baggage belts were motionless and there were only a few employees milling around. They had to go find someone to turn on the X-ray machine for my bags, because apparently doing a hand search wasn't enough. Then they had to find someone else to unlock the exit doors - I was lucky there were any taxis in the queue.

"Home" at last.

More on the outcome in my next post.

I Bless the Rain Down in... Fiji

2010-11-15T19:47:00.000-05:00

For a few months I have been talking about going to Fiji to satisfy my visa requirement. I'm on a 977 temporary work visa, good for a year but only 90 days at a time (more on that saga in the next post). I got the approval from my client to make this trip instead of going all of the way home for a week, just to go back again for Christmas and then again when the project ends in February. I'm glad I could save them the money for the plane ticket.

On Thursday afternoon I flew into Nadi, one of the larger islands of the more than 200 that make up Fiji, on a 4.5 hour flight. My resort had an office in the airport, so I met with an employee who arranged to have me driven out to the pier. From there, a driver took me and another late arriving guest on the half hour (somewhat choppy) outboard motorboat ride to Beachcomber Island, pictured at left. The other guy on the boat, Darren, was from Oregon and in Nadi for a conference. On a whim he decided to take a few days off.

We got to the island and had to jump into a bit of surf since there was no dock. As we walked up to the buildings, we were greeted with a drink from the sand bar before we checked in. I was put in a 10 bed dorm with some other random travelers while Darren had rented a private 'bure'. The resort took up the entire island and you could walk around the whole thing in 15 minutes. There were multiple paths once you got into the canopy of trees that covered the central portion with sand paths to the different buildings.

The first night was pretty quiet for all of the hype I had heard. The high season doesn't start until 'schoolies' start to vacation in late November, which is a post-high school trip for a lot of Australians. The next day was sunny and Darren and I took advantage of the boat trip for free snorkeling a few hundred meters off the island's shore. I got a few pictures with my underwater camera that haven't been developed yet, so I'll post any good ones. A few of the things I saw: crown-of-thorns starfish, blue starfish, sea cucumbers, clownfish, parrotfish, and unicornfish among others.

We met a few cool people during the day, mostly Brits, and I stumbled upon the second unicorn sighting of my life (unrelated to the fish mentioned above). I documented my last sighting in this post. This was unicorn 2.0. Musical taste, height, looks, brains, accent, personality, all there. The last unicorn I never expected to see again, but did. This one was a world traveler from London, making it much more likely to be a true unicorn.

The resort provided all meals, which were a buffet mix of fish curry, chicken, fried eggplant, coleslaw, spaghetti, fruit and other random foods. It wasn't bad, but definitely got worn out over the next few days. The weather turned bad, as it was the rainy season. It ended up raining that night (and every night thereafter), but there were enough people on the island to make it a good time. The DJ played typical songs you hear in a club and we all got out in the sand and broke it down. There are two types of beer on Fiji - Fiji Bitter and Vonu. I definitely recommend the latter.

Darren left but I met a few British guys (Paul and Elliott) that came in on a boat the next morning. The storms really dampened the air and the attitude of the island. I spent most of the time hanging around with the guys and playing cards or reading my latest book, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. We talked about going on one of the day trips that bounced between other islands in the Mamanuca and Yasawa archipelagos. Castaway and Blue Lagoon were both filmed on islands that you could visit for the day. Unfortunately, the chop was so bad that the boats weren't running. I saw enough surf to know that even if they had the trips, I would've been seasick. The same went for scuba diving. They had some great wreck dives planned at a boat and WWII plane, but both were canceled for the weather. Even though they were in deep water (~26 meters), just getting there would've been really rough.

Piling in a bunk with the pommies

The night was mostly the same as the previous night - literally. The music was pretty much repeated and most of the people there had been on the island for a few days. We goofed off on the dance floor as most people weren't really dancing. I had a nice, peaceful night in my bunk because all of the other bunkmates in my room had moved on and I had the whole room to myself. They were putting all other guests in a massive 100 bed room that was separated on the guys and girls side. The next day was spent much like the last, listening to music as we laid around under cover in the rain. The girls introduced me to a British TV show called The Inbetweeners and I loved it. I got the first 3 seasons off of Nicola's hard drive, so I'll be bringing that back to the States. I found out that the guys would be in Sydney for NYE, so we're going to try to meet up.

All in all, it was a relaxing weekend, but the relaxing was forced upon me because of the weather. I got to snorkel a few times, but no scuba diving. I'd like to go back and travel between the islands on one of the 7 day passes. The snorkeling was great right off the beach and at a better time I'm sure the diving would've been spectacular.

I also picked up a few good souvenirs (pictured below). The first is a tiki mask that cost about $10. The second is 3 cannibal forks in a hand carved frame. I had no idea while I was there, but Fijians practiced this all of the way until the late 1800's. Yum. So I came back to Sydney on Monday and so begins another story...

Cleveland's Response to Lebron

2010-11-09T06:02:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I posted of Lebron addressing the fans of Cleveland (oh yeah, and to sell some shoes). Cleveland now has a response, and I think they've one-upped him.

In other news, I'm going to Fiji in a few days. Expect some great posts next week!

Crowded House Concert and Flugtag

2010-11-08T06:02:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I got an invitation from Steph to go see Crowded House in concert. Crowded House, now what did they sing again? "Hey now, heeeeeey now, don't dream it's oooover!" I got on YouTube to hear some of their other songs which were vaguely familiar at best. I still thought it would be a good time, so I accepted.

The concert was at Hordern Pavilion and was one of the more interesting places I have gone to see a concert. The venue was tucked into the 'Entertainment Quarter' of Fox Studios, near Centennial Park. As we entered Hordern, it reminded me of a circus tent with bleacher seating on three sides and a stage at the other. The entire middle of the venue was just flat concrete for standing room only tickets, which is what we had. The crowd was a bit older on average, as expected since they were most popular in the mid to late 80's.

Crowded House is an Aussie/New Zealand band (depending who you ask) and have a big following. Everyone around us knew most of the songs and were singing along, except for the annoying couple beside us that were either texting or talking during the ENTIRE show. The set was pretty long and included 5 or 6 songs in the encore, totaling about two hours. I must admit, by the end I was definitely ready to go.

I'd still recommend seeing Crowded House live, even if you don't follow them. The band was very engaging with the audience, letting them finish popular lines for them (and most were very happy and able to join in). One of the best parts of the show was when the lead singer announced that a contest winner was going to come out on stage to sing a song. They had posted a 'backing track' on their website with the instructions to write lyrics and submit yourself singing them, with the winner performing them live. It must have been a pretty amazing experience for the girl that won. I've never seen that at a show before but would like to see other artists do the same.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pics or video :(

On to Sunday...

The highlight of the weekend was the Red Bull Flugtag. (FYI - Flugtag is German for Air Show) I attended the Red Bull Soap Box Derby last year in Atlanta... and somehow forgot to post about it. This is the original Red Bull event and has been held since 1991. I first heard about it a few years ago and have had this day marked on my calendar for months. The event bounces around to different cities throughout the year and had last been in Sydney in 2008. I got really lucky that I was here at the right time.

The basic idea of the Flugtag is this: you enter a design to Red Bull and they select the top 40 to be contestants. There are 4 people per team and there are certain craft dimension and weight restrictions. Three people push and one rides the creation off the pier and into the water. Your team gets points for creativity, design, style and choreograph of the pre-flight dance. Four judges rate each team out of 10 and you get an extra point for every meter the pilot gets from the edge of the pier. The world record was set in Minnesota earlier this year at 63 meters (most didn't make it more than a couple though).

I met up with Steph, Mark and a few of Mark's friends for a day in the sun. Here's a video of The Flintstones team's routine and launch:

We walked around for a bit through the staging area and then found a seat in the grass really close to the ramp. Here are a few of the pictures of the day:

Halloween weekend

2010-10-31T19:50:00.000-04:00

Today is Halloween but we obviously went out hard last night instead. I had a full weekend...

On Friday night Jaime invited me to a place called Shh Bar in Kings Cross. Now we all know that I love Kings Cross, so the answer was obviously yes. We went with one of his friends that I had never met, and no one really knew how to get there. We had the address, which turned out to be around the corner from World Bar and Hugo's, in a dead end back alley that reminded me of my weekend in Melbourne last month.

We didn't see a real entrance and asked a few guys smoking beside a backdoor if this was Shh, and they said it wasn't. We got to the end of the dead end and saw a few cooks dumping water out of a door to the right and a glowing keypad on a door to the left. One of the girls with us walked up and punched in a code given to her by a friend and the door opened. How random. This article does a pretty good job of describing it.

It was a pretty small bar with a locked door in the back that connected it to Le Panic, a bar that fronted the main street next to World Bar. Once inside we were greeted to everyone in costumes... except us. Pretty awkward. We made our way to the bar where the bartender hooked us up with a great drink without a name, so we called it "The Shush":

Shot of vodka
Shot of Midori Blue
Shot of Malibu
Two squeezed limes
Sprite
Splash of Grenadine
Served over ice in a tall glass

Later in the night everyone was pushed out of the bar into Le Panic, where we spent the rest of the night. It's definitely a place I will go back to, I just have to get that password. I didn't stay out too late because I have gotten in the routine of playing soccer every Saturday morning. I met up with the Russians and played for about an hour and a half and then rushed home - I wanted to get some beach time before our Halloween party.

I bought a wetsuit a few months ago and haven't had a chance to use it. I went down to Gordon's Bay where Tim and I went snorkeling back in July. The water was cold and there were more people out of the water than in it. I took my waterproof Sanyo camera to try to get some shots, but it wasn't as waterproof as I thought. I got one picture and then dove about 10 feet and it stopped working. Oops. I guess it wasn't THAT waterproof. It's ok though, since I found it at a bar.

I didn't see all that much, which was disappointing. There is supposedly big blue grouper live in the area, but they have eluded me so far. I saw a bunch of Sydney Lifesavers walking along the rocks, easily recognizable by their yellow shirts and goofy looking hats. They had a few boats in the bay that were driving around, so I thought they were doing training. I went about my snorkeling and then got out after about an hour to give me enough time to get ready for the night. As it turns out, I was wrong about the Lifesavers... very wrong.

I was browsing the Sydney Morning Herald online when a headline with Coogee in the name caught my eye: Shark warning: Coogee Beach closed. So while I was snorkeling, the beach just on the other side of the bend had been closed for a shark sighting. Now I really don't think that the shark picture is representative of the shark they saw, but still. I guess I should keep my eyes open.

I rushed home and cleaned up and then went over to my friend Steph's house in Glebe. She lives near a costume shop so I went there and picked up a top hat, bow tie, cane and mustache to complement my black slacks, white shirt and black coat. Charlie Chaplin... easy costume and someone that has been in the news recently. We went to a party at The Argyle, a bar in the middle of The Rocks that was hosted by a Canadian Ex-Pat club.

Australians as a whole don't celebrate Halloween, but these did to some degree. They all seem to dress as someone scary, so more than 50% of the crowd was a vampire, devil, ghost or some other traditional Halloween character. Most kids don't trick-or-treat and there were almost no decorations, except at the bar. Steph went as a ballerina, Ben a cowboy, and Francisco a Mexican (see pic). The bar was pretty full, but no where near the full capacity crowd at Park Tavern's Spiralween last year.

On Sunday Steph and I walked around Darling Harbor and had lunch at the Sydney Fish Market, which is a great place to go if you love seafood. I also walked by a bunch of guys playing soccer at Wentworth Park and found out they play at 3:30 every week. Now I have a Sunday game, though it's a bit of a trek for me to get there.

Should I...

2010-10-27T02:26:00.000-04:00

I'm no Lebron lover, but this is a great commercial.

Here's another great one from a few years ago:

New Music Tuesday

2010-10-26T08:19:00.001-04:00

I've been getting into some new music recently. Most notably, I was reading Paste Magazine online and came across a blog called Cover Me, which posts famous and not-so-famous artists covering famous songs. You should really check the site out, it has some quality stuff. I have already spent hours there. Speaking of wasting time on the net, have you seen Dear Girls Above Me? Another good site, but not music related.

Now for a few YouTube links for your entertainment...

First, Mike Snow - The Rabbit
I'm still scratching my head over the video, but the song is good.

Second, The Foals - Blue Blood
I gave the band the #1 spot on my favorite songs from 2009 and this is their new single. Another good song, another odd video.

Third, Atomic Tom - Take Me Out
This video was played live on an NYC subway only using iPhones. It reminded me of a song I downloaded in 2005 of a band that played a song totally with childrens' instruments. I can't for the life of me remember the band or song, but a glockenspiel was involved. I'll try to find it because it was a good song, but I digress from the song here:

Fourth, Jukebox the Ghost - Empire
I don't remember how I came across this band, but they have a couple of good songs that I like. This one tops the list.

Lastly, Jack Carty - Hey You
I went to see my friend Milan (I think I can call her a friend now, after all - we're Facebook friends :) ) play with Massema at the Newtown RSL on Saturday. She sang well, as usual, but I forgot my video camera so I have no evidence of her voice. I'm trying to convince her to put up her own YouTube videos. This guy, Jack Carty, opened up for her and I really got into his music. If I could sing and play guitar to go with my lyrics, I'd probably go for a sound a lot like his.

Let me know what you think and share your new music with me!

Vacation Plans

2010-10-18T08:41:00.000-04:00

I'm here in Australia on a short term working visa, which means I have to leave every 3 months. I've gone back to the US twice (in June and August) and my next 90 days is coming up in November. I had the opportunity to go home again, but I would just be turning around in another 4 weeks to make the same trip for Christmas, then again when the project finishes in February. So instead, I've been plotting to make a trip to an island somewhere near Australia.

My visa requires that I leave the country for 24 hours, so I could do something in as short as a weekend. I looked into Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand, but then I thought, 'Why not Fiji?' It's fairly close, it's cheap and I'll have a good time. I was a little worried that the client would have a problem with paying for me to fly on a long weekend away, but I could always request that they send me home and double the flight cost (not that I would). I spoke with my company's travel coordinator and team lead back in the US and they were all about me getting a few days away.

I did a bit of research online and learned a lot about Fiji. I had always thought it was just this remote little island, but it is in fact a group of 200+ islands. The main island hosts the two largest cities of Suva and Nadi and the rest you can mostly reach by boat. I found a cluster of islands called the Mamanucas that looked promising. There were a bunch of islands to choose from that ranged in prices and I finally settled on one called Beachcomber. From the pictures I saw, it looked like you could fit it inside my high school's track.

After I booked 4 days at the resort I posted on Facebook that I was ready for some R&R on Beachcomber Island. My friend Dan quickly informed me that this is the party island of Fiji, so I probably won't be doing much resting. Ah, well, I guess it's destiny. We'll see what happens, I'm definitely looking forward to it in about 3 weeks.

More Friends Rolling Through Town

2010-10-13T08:59:00.000-04:00

Nick, one of my old UK college roommates, informed me that he and his girlfriend would be coming through Sydney a few weeks ago and they hoped I would be free to show them around. Caroline, sister of my friend Laura, joined us from time to time throughout the week since she was looking for things to do while her sister was out of town.

Nick and I have known each other for 10 years - wow. Around this time in 2000 we were stumbling through the dorm halls in Lexington. We lived on the same floor our first year (Haggin Hall), the same building our second year (Blanding Tower), then moved out of the dorms halfway through that year to live in a house with some other friends in a 6 bedroom house near campus for the next year and a half. I saw Nick a little over a year ago when I spent a week in DC for work. He went to grad school there and met Camelia, who I met at dinner during my trip.

It's funny... I've had just about as many people visit me in the past 4 months in Sydney as I've had in 5 years of living in Atlanta. KY friends, I'm looking in your direction. Just because you're busy getting married and having babies doesn't give you an excuse.

Camelia came over here to Canberra for a work conference and Nick tagged along to see Australia. They allotted a few extra days to see Sydney and came to stay with me for a few days. I spent the next few days showing them the sights - pretty much everything I did with Tim and Erin. We did the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk, walked through the botanical garden and saw the bats (check out my video documenting them from a few months ago), went up to Manly Beach on the ferry and walked through Hyde Park. I finished the day with one of my favorite restaurants in town, a Taiwanese dumpling restaurant called Din Tai Fung. They hadn't fully acclimated to the Australia time zone, so I didn't get to show them the full night life of Sydney. I was kind of bummed about that, but I'm not sure how much they would've enjoyed it. Maybe if Nick had come by himself, hahaha...

All of that walking gave us all a bit too much sun, but the next day the weather turned worse to even it out. I had talked to Nick over the previous few weeks about going to the Blue Mountains, and the weather provided a good opportunity since we couldn't take advantage of the beach. I took the day off work on Monday (my first day off since I came on the project in April) and booked a trip through Dal Myles for $175 per person. It seemed somewhat expensive, but Tim and Erin gave it good reviews in July so I figured it would be worth it. My friends Nat and Jenna went on an Aboriginal walkabout tour that looked pretty cool, but it was booked solid on Monday. I might do that one eventually but it would have to wait.

We set out on the tour on a rainy Monday and first stopped at Featherdale Wildlife Park. A lot of the animals there had been injured and rescued in the wild. I finally got to pet a koala, as we had breakfast in a private function room and one of the handlers came in and spoke with us. I'm still on a mission to hold one, but will have to go outside of NSW because it is illegal here. There were also kangaroos, wallabies (see picture at left), emus, kookaburras, pretty much everything typically Australian. We didn't get to explore the whole park, which I've heard is a lot of fun. I'd still recommend Taronga Zoo and the World of Wildlife before this park based on my experiences, if only for the proximity to the city. The one advantage is that you're walking amongst the animals most of the time and there is a much more limited amount of this at the other two venues.

From there we drove and drove and drove, out of the Sydney suburbs and into the rolling hills that lead to the Blue Mountains. Our guide was almost constantly talking (some of it interesting), lulling Camelia and I to sleep. Nick kept nudging her to wake up and enjoy the scenery... such a Nick thing to do. The guide stopped the bus every now and then to view the scenery as we got into the Blue Mountains. We pulled over at one point to see a troop of wild kangaroos. Yes, a group of kangaroos is called a troop. Now you know. They weren't that impressive though - the rain was continuing to start and stop, creating a lot of mist that made it hard to see clearly. The kangaroos were about a half mile off and weren't moving at all - they could've been dummies set up for our entertainment for all we knew. We stopped for lunch at a golf course/country club and then made our way to the national park.

The Blue Mountains aren't so much of mountains as they are canyons. You're driving along and you come up to these drop offs where you can see for miles. The canyons are mostly filled with eucalyptus trees which emit a fragrant oil with a bluish hue (hence the name). There are random outcrops that pop up here and there which give the appearance of mountains, but they are more like massive impressions in the earth. At the start of the tour of the park, you take a cable car from one side of the ridge to the other, getting a good view of The Three Sisters, the most famous rock formations in the area (see picture at right). My camera was pretty inadequate because of the contrast between the light sky and the dark terrain. Add the mist to that and I didn't get very many good shots. Nick had his heavy duty professional camera and tripod with him, so I'm looking forward to seeing those pictures soon on his website.

There are a few different stories of how the Aborigines explained the rock formation. One says that three sisters were being pursued by three men from a different tribe so they were forbidden from marrying them. A battle ensued, so a witchdoctor turned them into stone for protection. He was later killed in battle and so they have remained in stone.

The other legend says that three sisters were in the area and stumbled upon a monster. The witchdoctor turned them into stone temporarily to protect them from being killed. The monster then turned on him, so he turned himself into a lyrebird but then lost his wand. Now the lyrebird digs around at the ground, looking for his wand and the three sisters wait to be unfrozen.

Two tickets to that thing you love

The tour then takes you on a short hike through the ancient rain forest where people used to do mining in the 1800s. There was a horse and cart statue that they allowed you to get on and take pictures, so of course I took the opportunity to imitate the Old Spice Man. Nick really didn't want to take this picture and I think Camelia was a bit embarrassed as the Japanese tourists walked by with confused looks on their faces. Worth it.

We rode up what was supposedly the steepest rail in the world... it was pretty steep, I'll give it that, but not a lot different from the vernaculars I rode in Valparaiso. These were proper rail cars and the Valpo versions were more like a gondola on rails. The ride only lasted about a minute, so don't go there expecting this spectacular train ride.

The last thing we did was go to another lookout to have a glass of champagne. There was a nice shot of Wentworth Falls, although I wish we were able to stay there longer. There were trails that led down to the falls, but since we were on the tour and a timetable, we didn't have time. I'd really like to go back there and properly explore the mountains on a full day hike when I have time... which will be never. If you're going to do a trip to the Blue Mountains, this one was ok. You get to see a lot, but not for very long. I think all of the guided tours are probably like that, so it would be best to rent a car and explore at your own leisure.

When we got home, I took Nick and Camelia to meet up with Caroline and Laura since she was back in town. We went to Darling Harbor to I'm Angus Steak House for the best kangaroo steak I've had in the city. If you've ever wondered what country eats the most kangaroo meat, it's Russia. Thank you, Blue Mountains Tour Guide. Anyway, the meat is delicious and you should try it.

I had to return to work the next day, so I left Nick and Camelia to explore the city on their own. They made it up to the zoo and did some shopping on their last day before returning to the States. We had talked about having Thai all weekend, so I did some research and found a place called Longrain in Surry Hills. It was in an old warehouse and pretty trendy (i.e. expensive). I must say that it was the best Thai I've had in Sydney and I'm definitely going to go back.

Nick bought a 5.5 foot didgeridoo, so I expect him to be an expert the next time I see him. It's surreal to think that we've seen each other twice in the past 6 years, but it's like we pick up where we left off each time. I'm looking forward to the next time, for sure.

New Art

2010-10-08T08:26:00.001-04:00

Nat introduced me to the work of an artist named Shannon Crees a few months. You can find her work on her website as well as in a few select galleries in Sydney. I'm usually more into impressionism and more realistic painting (like my friend Jessica Harms), but I was really drawn to a few of her pieces. My favorites from her online gallery include La Madre, Tempest, and Delerium.

Nat had been in contact with Shannon over the past couple of weeks to see about buying a piece for her new place in Melbourne. She invited me along and we visited Shannon's studio in Manly during a long lunch break from work. It was a pretty small space that was stuffed with all kinds of canvases (finished and unfinished), paint, material, books, brushes, tarps, you name it. It was really interesting to see the place where Shannon worked and to hear her explain a few of the stories behind the paintings.

Nat was really interested in one that had already been put on hold for sale and didn't see anything else that she absolutely wanted. I browsed through and found this one called Drift (pictured at left). I had seen this one on her website, but seeing it in person really made an impression on me. It is very different from the other paintings in Shannon's collection and it really had a lot of emotion. I think I liked it for the same reason that I like blues music. There were only three things that prevented me from walking out of there with it - the fact that it was as tall as me, painted on a piece of wood (preventing easy transport) and the price tag.

I found out that Shannon was on the Australian version of The Apprentice a while back and I bet that is why she can demand high prices for her work. Hey, more power to her. I'm just not QUITE at the point where I'm ready to drop a couple of grand on a painting. Maybe one day, so I'll keep her in mind.

She was really nice and I'm definitely going to go to one of her upcoming shows in the Sydney area. Maybe she'll cut me a deal!

Melbourne Weekend - Part III

2010-10-07T07:23:00.001-04:00

Note: See Part I and Part II of my trip for the other adventures of the weekend.

On Sunday morning we caught the last few teams sign in before they got on their bikes and took off on the 200 km (124 miles) race. The first 25 km was from Melbourne to Geelong, followed by 11 circuits of the 15.9 km loop around the town. We took the train to Geelong and made it just in time to see a part of the first lap.

We found a good spot on the second steep hill of the loop. See the race profile here. It was getting pretty warm so we found a spot in the shade. There were a ton of people there because you can actually see them come by instead of just a blink when they hit the straight stretches.

It just so happened that we sat next to a sleeping kid with a t-shirt that said "Go Daddy". This kid was knocked out, sleeping just under the shade on a steeply graded hill. Nat recognized the cyclist on her shirt, who turned out to be Stuart O'Grady, one of the most famous cyclists from Australia. That meant that the hot mom checking on the kid every few minutes with the diamond studded Coach watch (identified by Nat, I just knew it was blinging) and D&G shoes was a WAG. They had a big group that went crazy every time the cyclists came by every 25 minutes or so. I think some family from Cadel Evans were with them (he was the reigning world champion as well as 2007 and 2008 Tour de France runner up) because they were wearing the colors of the world champ. I felt a little creepy taking this picture of the kid, but everyone around us was laughing at how oblivious she was, and the mom didn't seem to mind. It was too funny to pass up.

We watched 6 or 7 laps from that location and then walked to a pub along the route because we knew the finish line would be crowded. Every time the guys rode by, everyone rushed out of the bar to watch and then came back in to catch it on TV. Evans was poised to repeat, but was beaten out in the end by Thor Hushovd (who was the defending champ of the race I saw in Ghent, Belgium, back in February).

After the train ride back to Melbourne, we took it easy after the full day out in the sun. Nat took me to Fitzroy, an artsy little suburb with good restaurants. We didn't make it to any bars on the list, so our goal of hitting them all in a weekend was a bit ambitious. On Monday I had to fly home in the afternoon, so we did a little sightseeing around the Melbourne Botanical Garden before some shopping on Chapel Street. I bought a cool Politix blazer and a pink button up shirt. That's right - I now own a pink shirt.

With the weekend over, it's back to work. Melbourne was really cool and Nat was a great tour guide although she has only lived there for a few months. Many people say they prefer Melbourne to Sydney because of the friendliness, culture, art, music, etc. I see that argument, but I'm still voting for Sydney because of the beaches, if nothing else. Regardless, I'll definitely try to make it back to Melbourne before my time here is up.

Melbourne Weekend - Part II

2010-10-06T07:59:00.001-04:00

Note: See Part I and Part III of my trip for the beginning of the weekend.

On Saturday morning after my Vegemite, butter and toast breakfast, we got up early and drove out of Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road toward the Twelve Apostles. I have read up on Australia and even did a report on the country in middle school, but I don’t remember ever hearing about or seeing pictures of these amazing natural rock formations. Apparently until the 1920s the site was known as Sow and Piglets until it was renamed 'The Apostles' for tourism purposes. Somehow this turned into 'Twelve Apostles' even though there were only nine of them (now there are eight, as one was reclaimed by the ocean in 2005).
After seeing them, I would put it at #3 on my list of things to see in Australia after the Opera House and Great Barrier Reef. Scroll down for pictures, but back to the story for now.

Nat and I used my Lonely Planet guide to point out sights along the route that twists and turns along the Victoria coast. I'd love to come back and cycle at least a piece of the road - the twists and turns along the coastline would make for a very scenic and difficult ride. The only downside is that the roads are so curvy that it would be a bit dangerous, but definitely worth it.

At one point the guide suggested that we go to Cape Otway lighthouse, the oldest in Australia. We turned off the main road and were told in the description to keep our eyes above to spot the wild koalas hanging from the eucalyptus trees. A few miles down the road we stopped and saw this guy.

The lighthouse ended up being not worth seeing, but we stopped back by the koalas to get a few more shots, then it was on down the road. We made it to the Gibson Steps in another few hours and took the short walk down them to the beach.

Just a little further down the road we saw the visitor's center for the Apostles, and a little further to a helipad. We walked up to the short line ($95 for a loop of the Apostles, $145 for a bigger loop that includes the Apostles and London Bridge formation, and a few more even larger loops that were more expensive). We quickly decided that a flight was worth it.

After the ~20 minute flight, we walked around and took a few more pictures before starting on the drive back to Melbourne. We didn't follow the coast on the way back to save time, so there wasn't much in the way of excitement on the back. Highways are highways.

We planned our night around the Deck of Secrets from Friday night, this time focusing on the highest concentration of bars. It was near Chinatown, so we walked through the streets until we found a restaurant for dinner. We met up with a few of Nat's friends and bar hopped to Lily Black's, Loop, Double Happiness, New Gold Mountain, Meyers Place which were all OK. A few we just peeked inside and then left before you think we were doing a true pub crawl.

The best bar by far was called The Carlton Hotel. When you walk in, there is a soft red lighting and a huge bar. A massive stuffed ostrich with a pearl necklace guards the door and multiple stuffed peacocks line the shelves. A mounted giraffe head was posted on one wall and a psychedelically painted rhino was on the other. I'm not sure if they were real/legal, but they added to the uniqueness of the bar. The crowd was very eclectic, with tattooed hipsters and trendy socialites alike. It had multiple rooms as well as an outdoor patio that looked out over the street. Not only that, we went up a few flights of stairs to their roof bar, called Palm, for a view of the city. It had more of a beachy theme, but provided a contrast for those looking for a different vibe.

Although we multiple places, we still turned in fairly early to rest up for the Cycling World Championship the next day. Stay tuned.

Melbourne Weekend - Part I

2010-10-05T07:02:00.000-04:00

Melbourne... pronounced "MEL-bun" by the locals. It's been on my short list of places to see since I've been here. Australia’s Labor Day is the first Monday in October, which gave me the first chance to see the country since I went to Cairns.

Nat, One of my friends and coworkers for my client on this project, recently got reassigned when she got a promotion a few months ago. She had to move to Melbourne with the new job so we have only been able to stay in contact through email over the past few months. Months ago we had talked about taking a trip to Melbourne in October to see the UCI Road Cycling World Championships, and it made it so much easier to work out now that she actually lived there.

Melbourne is an interesting, artsy city that resembles large cities in Europe more than it does to Sydney. It's cultural and artsy and they love their Aussie Rules Football - 9 of the 16 teams come from the Melbourne metro area. Everyone talks about the little pocket bars hidden down random alleys spread throughout all parts of the city. My American friend, Laura, gave me a deck of cards called Deck of Secrets last week of 52 recommended bars in the city. One side had a picture along with the address, phone number and a short description; the other side had a map. These turned out to be really useful throughout the weekend. On a side note, this company only has a few cities covered (and only NYC from America). I’ve never seen a product like this in the US – if anyone wants to start this up with me back home, let me know!

Nat picked me up from the airport and we went out to a few places on the cards on Friday night. She has only been in Melbourne for a few month so everything was still new to her as well. I got some tapas and dumplings at a place called Golden Monkey. As promised, it was on a side street and down some stairs. The restaurant/lounge was Asian themed and pretty dark so we only stayed for one drink after I finished my food. Next up was Cookie, which was on a main road and not as hidden. It was also very open and large inside and resembled a 1920s general store. The third place we visited was Sister Bella, which the card promised to be ‘grungy’. We turned down a side street and then had to turn again into a dead end alley, going past 20-30 dumpsters and trash cans. With our expectations lowering by the second, we weren’t surprised to be disappointed when we saw that the inside was a reflection of the outside. We didn't go to hard since we had an early morning ahead of us. See Part II and Part III for more.

Urban Frisbee Golf

2010-09-26T06:44:00.000-04:00

Back in July at the Meetup 4th of July party, I came in contact with a guy named Ben. Coincidentally he worked in IT consulting with SAP as well and we quickly became friends. Ben is one of those guys that always has something going on. If you thought I was a social butterfly, this guy redefines the term. He's always planning nights out, socials, parties, and events for his circle of friends.

Ben invited me to an Urban Frisbee Golf tournament through Sydney. If you've never played frisbee golf before (technically, I guess it's called disc golf), it's really simple. You throw a frisbee at a designated target, hitting it in the least amount of throws as possible. Yes, there is even a professional league. My brother is really into this and plays on designated courses back home, but our course was set up randomly throughout the city.

Another caveat to our event was that you had to wear golf attire (see picture above - lots of argyle) and take a shot of liquor at every hole. This was going to get interesting... and sloppy. The only exception was Ben's dad, who wore lederhosen. Why? I'm not sure. I just wore some dress slacks that I tucked into argyle socks. I didn't have much else to work with, so that would have to do.

We started off around dusk at Observatory Park which had a great overlook of the Harbor Bridge. There were two different wedding parties taking photos near us, and I'm sure they loved the fact that we were dressed the way we were, being loud, and flinging discs every which way.

We made our way from the park to a tunnel under the bridge, then into Circular Quay where I may or may not have pegged an innocent bystander in a sari. I yelled 'Fore!' What else do you want me to do? We got some interesting looks from tourists in the Quay because of our attire and all of our gear. All of us had drinks in hand, I'm sure it was quite a scene to witness.

The course took us beside the Royal Botanical Garden and through another tunnel where we interrupted a few bums that were sleeping. One proceeded to heckle everyone that had a bad throw - he was such a good sport that Ben gave him a beer. Only one frisbee was lost, and Ben ill-advisedly tried to rescue it by scaling an 8 foot iron fence with pikes atop the bars. Luckily, and I mean VERY luckily, his injuries were minor (and the frisbee was lost).

As we entered Hyde Park we got some grief from security guards about our open drinks. We had been prepared for this to happen all night and we're lucky it didn't come up sooner. We got through about 8 holes and decided to call the rest of the game off. Ben invited us all back to his place for pizza and we spent the rest of the evening on his rooftop.

After tallying the scores, I think I won. I guess that makes me the Southern Hemisphere World Champion (according to Ben's Facebook invite of the title of the event).

T-shirt company

2010-09-24T05:41:00.000-04:00

I randomly found this t-shirt company online today. I think this is Venn Diagram my favorite because it reminds me of Graph Jam.

Rameen and I have been talking about forming our own company for a few years and have a lot of slogans similar in punniness to this site. I have a list of about 30 that I won't publish now. If we only had a graphic designer...

//Late edit: I actually saw someone with the platypus shirt in Sydney on a week after I wrote this post.

Local Music

2010-09-20T06:20:00.001-04:00

I stumbled upon a band called Alphamama a few months ago when walking through Darling Harbor. Some friends and I walked into the Tokio Hotel Bar to see this all chick band rocking out. They played a lot of funk, soul and reggae covers, including Shaggy, Ginuwine, TLC, Destiny's Child, Erykah Badu, along with some original songs. They were the house band on Saturday nights - I had such a good time that night that the next time I was out with my friend Ann (colleague from BOA), I got her to come with me.

This time I was blown away for a different reason. The guitarist was different this time and could really play well. Oh yeah, and she was smoking hot. I'll try to take a picture with her the next time I'm at a show, but trust me. She got the chance to sing during one of the sets and I was absolutely blown away. Ann kept snapping her fingers in front of my face because I was so taken with this amazing musician.

During one of the breaks the band went to the bar and Ann kept nudging me to talk to the guitarist, who turned out to be named Milan. She was pretty shy but really nice, as were all of the band members. I'd like to get a chance to go to an after party with them, they seem like a pretty fun group.

At the end of the show I got up the nerve to ask Milan for her number. She very sweetly declined, saying she had a boyfriend, but still invited me to see her solo work with her group called Massema a few weeks later. She was playing in a weekly show called Sun Sets Sundays at Fringe Bar in Paddington. Despite what you may think about my intentions, I am really amazed by her voice and promised to come out and see her again.

I found out my British friend Mark, whom I met in Cairns, was in town so I invited him to come to the show. I was glad to have some company because I would've felt pretty weird showing up there by myself. I also invited along a girl from Dallas named Laura, whom I got in contact with through the American expat group on MeetUp.

As I thought, the show definitely lived up to my expectations. She played some covers and a few originals (I thought the ones she wrote needed some polishing, but they were hers and I'm sure had meaning - that didn't take away from the quality of her voice though). Mark was pretty blown away as well. I'd have to describe Milan's voice as somewhat smokey and bluesy, somewhere between Erykah Badu and Norah Jones. I'll try to get some video and post it.

Alphamama was also playing there that night (I didn't know that when I decided to go), so Milan played back-to-back. I said a quick hi to all of them after the show and that was it.

This past weekend I was out with a bunch of people I met through Ben (from the American expats group) when we found ourselves in Darling Harbor on Saturday night. I steered everyone to Tokio to check out Alphamama and we ended up staying there for the entire night because everyone was having such a good time. I saw Milan during a break between sets and had about a 10 minute conversation with her. She remembered me, which was a plus, but was REALLY shy and totally insecure about her talent. I gave her a good ego boosting pep talk and she promised to rock out for me. I guess I'm a groupie now?

I've really got to get some video of a live show and I'll let you judge for yourself. To be continued...

El Dieciocho de Septiembre

2010-09-19T07:15:00.000-04:00

My friend Jaime invited me to celebrate Chilean Independence Day with him and his friends yesterday. He was born in Australia but his parents and sister, Veronica, were all born there. I spoke with him a few times about my experiences in Chile and looked forward to seeing how their independence celebration differed from ours.

I wore my Colo-Colo jersey that I bought at the game I attended last year to try to fit in as well as I could. I was surprised at the amount of Chilean nationals at the Coogee Beach barbies - many weren't with our party, they just also happened to be there. Pictured at right are Jaime, our French friend Helene, Jaime's sister Veronica, their cousin Annabel and myself.

As more people joined us and we were introduced, most everyone was speaking chileno Spanish (which involves dropping off letters and entire syllables - muchas gracias becomes mucha gracia). One woman actually thought I was chileno (although she hadn't heard me speak yet). She went on to explain that in southern Chile there is a strong German influence, so she thought that I was from there. I got a good kick out of that. She had two kids that I could actually have a conversation with in Spanish and I spent a lot of time kicking a soccer ball with them.

Veronica performed La Cueca, a traditional dance, with a guy from a neighboring set of picnic tables. As she explained it, there are no set steps, the whole point is that the female is trying to run away and the man keeps preventing her (see the video in the link). She said to think of a chicken trying to get away from a rooster.

Annabel explained to me all of their traditional dishes, including sausages, some variation of potato salad and of course Carménère, a wine made from grapes exclusive to Chile that I fell in love with last year. It was nice to get to practice some Spanish, eat food with friends by the beach and experience some chileno culture. It really brought me back to my time there.

Oh yeah, and I got to play with this guy that reminded me of Zabba (when I could get him away from his bone).