Jan 2007 - Getting settled

We started 2007 off in an incredible way, watching the fireworks at a park with thousands and thousands of people. We got lucky and found an incredible seat on some rocks right on the Harbor edge and had a view of the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor bridge in the background. They shot fireworks from several different locations *in* the harbor, so the views were so good in front of us we often didn't know which way to look. I can't hold my camera still enough to photograph them well, so here's the best I could do. If you have the time though, I think the videos are really good (they are big, be patient).



Our first place to live was a very nice furnished little 1 bedroom apartment. It was perfect. However, that was only for 28 days, and since everything shuts down over Christmas until like Jan 7th and sometimes 14th, we had little time to find an apartment after that expired. Thank GOD for the internet. Just how did we survive before the internet? The apartment game here is mad...you can't just call them and stop by and look at it; you have to show up at their one 15 minute time showing on Saturday. Of course, all of the other available apartments are also showing, so you either split up, or do your best to string together as many as possible. Of course, when you don't know the area or roads, it can be quite crazy. I think we set a U-turn record the first Saturday. :) Fortunately, we got a great little apartment right on the water in Drummoyne starting Jan 21. It's been nicely refurbished and we love it. See where we are on Google Maps (click on satellite view to get a really cool look). Here is the view from our apartment balcony:

My job at SAS started January 2nd, and Polly didn't work in January. Well, let me rephrase: Polly didn't get paid in January. She definitely had a full time job every day of doing all of the little things to arrange our life. Things that we all take for granted like that you need: cell phones, finding a car, getting an e-Tag (electronic device for tolls), car insurance, renters insurance, bank accounts, credit card, cable, internet, utilities, etc. She did an amazing job. As the list winded down, she began looking for employment. Funny thing was, she was so busy that she wasn't responding to many emails, and people kept asking me if she stayed in Hawaii!

We were very fortunate to have our very first (and only so far) visitor so soon in January. Polly's cousin Amanda had been traveling in Thailand and came over and stayed with us for a few weeks. We had a wonderful time, and I'm so happy for and impressed with Amanda going out and seeing the world as she has. Amanda, I hope you can make it back to see us. Our furnishings were quite scarce at the time, as we had just moved in from a furnished apartment to an unfurnished one. Amanda, sorry we couldn't provide more comfortable accommodations, but please come back as now we even have things like a table to eat on and stuff. :)

We bought a car...it's both weird and cool only having just one car. We went the practical route, and bought a 2004 Toyota Corolla Wagon. I'ld like to think of it as a "Sports Wagon", but really that just helps me to feel better about myself. It does have roof racks though. :) Got a whopping 1.8 liter engine! Of course, at $1.25/liter, which equates to about $4.75/gallon, we wanted something fuel efficient.


Gotta take a moment to talk about driving in Sydney. While in Ireland in 2000?, I drove for 4 days and covered almost half the country, so I wasn't worried too much about the driving on the other side of the road. However, I've been driving on the right-hand side of the road for over 20 years, and am used to the turn signal being on the LEFT side of the steering column. Well, guess what. Just for giggles, they put the turn signal on the right-hand side of the steering column here. So, for the first 6 weeks, when we'ld go to turn, we'ld turn on our windshield wipers! People sure could spot these Americans coming on a sunny day from quite some distance!

I must say to date the most frustrating thing to date for me has been moving our money over. I tried to be smart (I know, never worked before) and I put cash we saved in an HSBC online savings account. HSBC is a huge international bank, and their slogan and even phone message says "Welcome to the World's Local Bank". They had free bank to bank transfers. So cool, when I get over and get a local account, transfer the money over when the exchange rate looks decent. Well, NOT SO EASY. Come to find out they only allow transfer to and from US banks! What a load of CRAP. And, I couldn't write a check, as it would take 4-6 WEEKS to clear. I exhausted a gazillion other options, and finally went through a service called OzForEx, which actually worked out quite well. So while we had put a down payment on our car, we actually had it sit there for about a week before we could get our money over. UGH.

We did get furniture and other necessities. We got pretty lucky and found a posting on Craig's List from a wonderful couple Nick & Peggy who were moving back to the US and were looking for someone to buy "everything" in one lot. Turns out to be just what we needed, as it had a frig, washing machine, bed, futon, dishes, towels, boogie board, desk, etc. Certainly helped us get started, and then we could replace stuff as we made time to (Nick & Peggy, if you are reading this - the couch was quickly & lovingly adopted by our neighboring Univ girls). By the way, if you want to see what a real blog looks like, check theirs out at http://www.oz-blog.com/. Nick is a great writer.

Nick & Peggy also kindly invited us to a bar to watch the Super Bowl, and low and behold, there were more Americans. I must say, taking a lunch break on MONDAY to watch the Super Bowl live does loose some of the effect. Not to mention, they didn't show any of the commercials.

Sailing. Wow. What can I say. January started out pretty good, as we met some wonderful people at two sailing clubs nearby where we live, and would race every Tuesday and Friday nights with them, and then have drinks/dinner afterwards at the clubs. The Drummoyne Sailing Club is beautiful, with a restaurant, bars, incredible view, etc. We joined this one and enjoyed it for a bit. The twilight races were fun, but I was looking for more. I kept hearing about the "big boats" at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) who hosts the famous Sydney to Hobart race. We went to check it out, and a walk on the docks and I had to pick my jaw up. Wow...these are some serious boats, both racing and cruising. We immediately got on the crew list. More to come on that.

Sydney life. January, while it can be hot during the day, is amazing. I've been told it was a mild summer, and I found it perfect. Fairly low humidity which made wonderful nights where you would always have your doors and windows open. We took some great walks after work if we weren't sailing, including the Bay Walk, and others:

Cremorne Point


Bondi to Coogee (very popular beaches), including a cliff shot for Stephanie!


South Head (Watson's Bay, the southern cliff bounding the entrance into the Sydney Harbor):

Amanda & Polly


Shot for Poker guys - yes, they have nude beaches here:

Another cliff shot for Stephanie:

Cruise ship leaving Harbor


Palm Beach


Manly Beach


You know us; we love water, and water is EVERYWHERE in Sydney. I think it really helps the city feel spread out a bit more. I have to go over 3 bridges to get to work, and the office balcony even has a view of the water!