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Since Christy and Sydney have left, there is more undivided time to get my blog updated. Here a summary about the most recent developments.
Visa for Australia: still waiting. Christy is getting used to the stop and go process an international transfer seems to be subject to. At this point of time, we have submitted all the necessary papers and are waiting for the things to come. Slightly surprising is that a buddy who submitted the forms from Switzerland is already all done with the process. I always wonder why my sponsoring company charges internally so much and gets things always done with delays.
Then last week, Christy and I enjoyed some quality time at Macaroni and Grill. On the way back we were hit by a driver who admittedly fell asleep. Some more trouble. Now our lease vehicle (the only mode of transportation remaining) has to undergo repairs. We had the assessors from both, our and the other driver’s insurance out. It is interesting to see how their estimates differ in the amounts. Now I need to get the repairs actually done.
This Saturday, Christy and Sydney left for the long planned trip to Brisbane. I left with them to the airport and managed to get a gate pass. This way I could stay with the two till they departed for Los Angeles. Sydney was all excited about watching the planes. She had a hard day with lots of changes, to which she did react with crying. All started with checking Shadow into her boarding. The loss of Shadow barely overcome, Sydney had to try on new shoes, something she hates. In the afternoon then, she had to see her luggage being taken off on the conveyor belt and lastly her beloved car seat had to be gate checked. On the positive side, she usually gets happy rather fast again. Some pringles can go a long way!
Meanwhile the two have arrived in Brisbane. Stay tuned for pictures from the trip on this site. (Cashing out on points, I also got a little video camera. I am amazed how small they have gotten. Anyway, with a bit of luck we may see some amateur films here.
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As you may be aware from the previous entry, Christy and Sydney are in Australia. afrer a long flight, they arrived well but tired in Brisbane where Summer picked them up from the airport.
Sydney has since shown her typical age 3 tantrums (terrible 2 phase). However as she got a chance to get more accustomed to the new environment and could catch up on sleep she is back to being her sweet herself. Especially her buddy Noah is of great interest. Sydney is completely baby crazy and has to be present to "help" when Noag gets a bath or when his diapers need to be changed.
After Asia's birthday lunch and dinner on Friday, Christy, Summer (and Jay) and Jill headed up to Mooloolaba to spend a few days at the beach. Some of you may remember this place from our trip when we visited last. Latest update I got is shown in the pictures below...Sydney having fun.
Meanwhile Tyler and I are in Phoenix. Last week, I had to travel to Boston for a short meeting with a client. The weather there is definitely turning into fall. It is getting cooler and my appearance in shirt only was borderline to being cold. Bostonians expect the first snow these days. Phoenix on the other hand is beautiful The weather is warm but not hot. I took the opportunity and got a few chores done (now we can walk in the part of the garage that used to be a storage shed!)
Can't wait to be back with my family and see all the great pictures.
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I started the trip on October 26th, 2009 leaving Phoenix on a 6:45pm flight. We arrived early since I did not have any idea about the timing to check luggage. I have not done this for many months. Once the baggage was checked there was plenty of time to get Sydney some French Fries.
Security was a challenge due to the content of my computer bag. I had equipment that could have made any data center manager proud. Cables, two laptops, a router and then of course the converters, cameras etc. Well, the folks from security were not technology inclined and I ended up unpacking most of the equipment. Finally I made it past TSA's protecting eyes.
The flight was short (Phoenix to Los Angeles) and smooth in first class. In Los Angeles I collected my luggage and walked straight to the Virgin Australia check-in. Much to my surprise the lines were incredibly long.
This is the picture of a 2 hours line. I was very happy to see Melissa. She fought her way back from the Qantas terminal and we spent most of the two hours talking. (Melissa took a flight leaving at about the same time heading to Brisbane as well, but with Qantas.)
After check-in there was not too much time and we said goodbye, wished each other a good flight. After getting past the security check -- same procedure with unpacking most of the equipment -- I spent the last time to talk to Christy. Explaining her all that is going on, so that hopefully her trip will become more predictable.
I got seat 43A. The good news: it was so far back in the Economy class, that I got to board first. Second good news, a window seat, so I was safe from having to get up multiple times throughout the trip.
The flight in itself was uneventful. Two meals (good food for an airline), many movies, some work on the computer and a few hours of sleep. We arrived well in Brisbane. Upon clearing immigration and customs (thanks you folks for not making me unpack everything!) I got into the main hall of Brisbane's international terminal. The usual text messaging to Christy and Summer before I made my way to the check-in desk for Virgin Blue. I was to get a continuation flight to Melbourne. The line was not as long as the one above, but it moved significantly slower. At some point of time, 60 minutes before scheduled departure, the staff pitied me and asked me to take my luggage onto the next terminal shuttle, to go and check in at the domestic terminal.
Meanwhile Summer had a hard time to find Melissa. While on the bus, I got the message that the two actually met up. Good!
When I arrived at the domestic terminal I skipped the lines and got checked in despite the short time before departure. A final time through security and this time I really got to unpack every single thing, then an Olympic Games worthy sprint to gate 40 and ...
... nothing happened. No boarding everybody is waiting. I realized quickly that there must be a mechanical problem. My years of waiting for planes proved valuable and right. The announcement came 20 minutes later. With this confirmed knowledge I made my way to get a sausage roll and a drink. (The sausage roll was not planned, but when i saw it sitting in the heater, I remembered Christy's love for this bakery and had to have one.) Shortly thereafter a new plane was readied and I boarded for the last leg to Melbourne.
I arrived around noon in Melbourne and was super glad to have the hotel right next to the terminal. At this time precisely 24h have passed since I started the trip in Phoenix. I was sweaty and tired. The news that my room was upgraded barely made it past my ears. I got into the room, contacted Christy and just kicked back.
After having had some time time to breath I started to make use of the gadgets I got. Connected to the internet and started looking into what had happened at work and at home in the past 24h.
I also got to take a snapshot of my room (small but nicely decorated) and another one from my desk onto the terminal.
That's it for now...updates will follow.
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After having spent Wednesday and Thursday in the hotel, I made the trip from the airport to Melbourne on Friday. There is a nice bus connection that gets passenger to the city within about 40 minutes.
The trip itself is quite uneventful. The buses run every 15 minutes almost 24 hours a day. Prices for a ticket are 16 AU$ for a single and 26 AU$ for a return ticket. Additional details can be found on the skybus website.
The bus stops (the only stop from the Melbourne Airport) at the Souther Cross Station which is at the south west end of Melbourne's Business District.
From there I walked to Accenture on Friday. The walk is not too long however I am no longer used to the humidity. Found the place relatively easily and got my reserved space.
Hardly having sat down, it was time for a fire drill. Unlike in the US they whole building was involved and we had to evacuate to the outside where rain start to drizzle on all participants. Recognizing how long it will take to have employees from all 25 floors re-enter the building I split the scene and went to run some errands. I had plenty of time to setup a bank account and by the time back the whole fire drill was over.
The view from the Accenture office was splendid (see picture to the right. The scene is dominated by the large slim building (left part of the picture.) The skydeck there is open to the public. Something Christy and I definitely will have to visit once she arrives. (We have gone to the Hancock building in Chicago together, so the comparison with this one will be interesting.) To the left of the Skydeck building the sea and beach are dimly recognizable. I am sure this will make another place to visit, especially now that we are heading towards summer.
Saturday marked the beginning of the week long Horse Race excitement. It was Derby Day and as I arrived in the city there were lots of couples dressed up to go to the races. The colors for Derby Day at least were black and white. Formal dress is expected and the ladies get to wear their head decoration and extravagant hats. (For a moment I thought of the Ascot race.)
This trip brought me to the Victoria Markets. They cover about a block and if there is anything that can be sold, it can probably be found there.
From shoes, clothes, belts and hats to groceries (vegetables, fruits, meats, seafood, breads) to flowers. Everything was on display. For the first time in a very long time I heard the merchants calling out their goods. This reminded me immediately of the markets in London.
After having seen enough I moved on and walked back towards the Accenture office. Close by to the office is Chinatown. I walked up and down but there was not a lot going on. Also, the area is quite small. It is dominated by Dim Sum and small Chinese restaurants. Still, I found a few places Christy and I may visit. Among them is a Beijing Duck place and a Korean BBQ restaurant.
A quick trip to Coles yielded the Ginger beer syrup I learned to love.
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Here the first video cut together from multiple pieces...it is a collection of short movies from my visit to the Queen Victoria Market