RobotBlogger

Australia isn't easy to figure out, which is weird since it's so much like Canada or England. The differences are in the details. Any details.

It's all rather unlike what i was expecting.

To answer a number of inquiries, i've yet to determine if water swirls 'the other way around' from up north. The toilets at our place aren't of the swirl variety, and the sinks don't really swirl either. I tried for about 10 minutes today. Jetlag does this to you. I also watched the front loader washer - for about 5 minutes straight - before i realized i was sitting on the floor watching a front-load washer.

Rather Above Expected Is how i'd describe it so far. The people are embarrassingly friendly. Ridiculously kind, even. Everyone including gruff looking people do whatever they can to help you. It's nice, yet weird. I'll get used to it.

Stylish Everybody here (or in this neighborhood at least) dresses very sharply. Yesterday i thought that the whole city was off to a casual wedding or going out to a nice restaurant. They can't all be. Not just nice clothes, but interesting ideas. Bold outfits, not in an attention getting way, just because, it seems. Outfits that the typical Vancouverite might have a few of, for those special occasions, people here seem to only have. I've yet to see any polar fleece. As i'm typing this at one of the patio restaurants in my building, there's a couple across from me that look like they just tumbled from an expensive photo-shoot within pages of Stylish Urban Couple magazine. (I don't know if there's really a magazine called Stylish Urban Couple)

Architecture / design A great very many places are of really interesting design. The typical bar or pub is better designed than all but a few places back home. It's crazy. The style seems to be north European minimal, but rarely sterile. This is probably one of the most surprising aspects. Walk down the street until you hit a restaurant, look at it, and it will probably work just fine as a cover for Wallpaper* or Fancy Interiors magazine (i don't know if there's really a magazine called Fancy interiors)

Being the Land Down Under, apparently has had it's effect on things. Light switches are backwards. They're UP for OFF, which i guess means they go the same way as ours factoring the upside-downness. Australians also make more than necessary work for themselves during moves. I thought the English were retarded for taking the light bulbs with them when they move (they actually do), but the Aussies have one up'd them in bizarro culture. They take their refrigerators and washing machines with them. Not the dryers, no, they can stay, but take the fridge and washing machine. Nothing says 'slipped disc' like a move with the additional generosity of a washing machine and refrigerator. Why? I'll bet there's not a single person alive that knows. But its true.

I've asked 3 locals about the logic of moving such items, and not one person had a proper answer. Each person replied something like 'We just do' with a veneer of confidence, slightly showing a brief inner thought of "Yeah... why DO we do this?". I could smell the internal doubt and perplexion but pride held tight. Luckily for me, there was a washer here already - i was told this was very rare - but had to buy a fridge. So, now Brianna and i own a fridge and will celebrate moving it with us in support of Australian weirdo-tradition.

The apartment is very nice, on the river, lofty 2 floor thing in an old converted warehouse. In a popular area. The building has a restaurant, a night club, breakfast spot, hairdresser, real estate shop, furniture store and i think some kind of yoga or pilates something on the ground level. Nice.

Work is cool. Pandemic is located about a 15 or 20 minute walk from home in a fairly buzzing part of town. Think Robson street meets a European outdoor walking mall. Similar to Santa Monica blvd i guess with a bit of London and Berlin mixed in. Pandemic is very small. 3 small open floors. Maybe 70 people total. The tools section for EA was larger than that! Everyone is of course ridiculously friendly. It's weird to see two old friends there together from completely separate sections of my life (Adam Mackay and Kirk).

I'm tired. Woke up at 4:30 last night and couldn't get back to sleep. I feel i'm in a bit of a haze, in some strange universe where England suddenly got fantastic weather, tropical plants and animals, and of course, proper food at reasonable prices. The edibles here, so far, have been fantastic. No tax or tipping, so what you see is what you pay. It feels weird not to tip.

I'm a little scared of summer when it comes. People are wearing jackets and stuff and it's 24 degrees. Not a good sign. I'm wearing shorts and haven't seen practically anyone else doing the same. It's a beautiful warm summer day today, except it's not, it's the dead of winter. I guess i get to acclimatize slowly to it, which is good. The sun is definitely a different kind here. Whiter, hotter, purer. Meaner.

It hasn't rained in ages, apparently, and my mailbox was filled with flyers touting government subsidization of water saver shower heads and mini-flush toilets and some other things i had no idea about because the names for them were something utterly foreign. It has been the hottest winter on record, which i guess fits the global warming thing. Just when are people going to wake up about this?

Someone told me that in the summer here, you don't really go outside between 11 and 3 because it's too hot. Initially that filled me with a mild horror. They don't go OUTSIDE during the day?? What did i get myself into!? However, you have to look at it a different way. In Vancouver, you don' t go outside much between November and February! - at any time really - unless you're sliding down a snowy mountain. So really, it's just an inverse Vancouver winter with the upgrade of useable warm evenings. Besides, work and home are air conditioned. It should be fine. That's what i keep telling myself.

Oh yeah, everyone does say 'No worries' and they 'reckon' everything.

Tropical plants and flowers are everywhere abloom with unbelievable colours and big showy designs. People don't seem to notice them.

Oh yeah, doves. There's a lot of doves. Doves are basically pigeons with better PR firms. They make weird noises. I was walking down the street and some doves started hoowing and i stopped abruptly and looked to see what it was. The people behind me must have thought i was schizo. On that same walk a little later, a large monster flew in front of me and landed on a fence. It again made me jump a little. One might guess that it was a grasshopper but.. it wasn't to me. It was about the size of hot dog. The legs on it were HUGE.. i've seen smaller things at pubs in baskets called 'chicken wings'. Overall though, and this will be a relief to Brianna, i've seen basically zero insects. Minus the 'grasshopper' of course, which wasn't really one of those, it was a mutant flying green set of chicken drummettes with eyes.

Outside of pigeons, budgies and doves, i haven't recognized a single bird. The trees are full of crazy winged things, all of them really pretty. I can't wait to see some cockatoos and lorikeets. I bet they're a little further out into the countryside.

Another guy just walked by in a puffy ski jacket. WHAT'S WITH THESE PEOPLE!? IT'S HOT OUTSIDE!

I bought a yellow rubber ducky for the bathtub. It looks cute in the corner.

So, i think i'm digressing into loosely lucid ramblings and should end it right here.

Take care, all's well here
g'day
/A