A beach day

Today is the public observance of Australia Day. With a day off and beautiful weather, the only thing keeping us from the beach is a quick trip to the neighborhood book store. So far, we've been good about reading and find ourselves in need of some new titles. Typically, our first step would be to Amazon.com but shipping to Oz is $5 per book - nearly half the cost of the book itself. I'm sure we'll be able to find comparable prices here...

No such luck. We walked out of our neighborhood bookstore a lot lighter in the wallet than we anticipated. We spent over $50 and for that amount you'd think we each doubled up and got a couple of paperbacks each. Wrong. Two books. We walked out with a total of two books. The book I secured was at least pretty thick, which makes me think it should be more expensive. It would have been better to order them discounted through Amazon.com and pay for the shipping. All I have to say, is that Mr Folsom's "The Machiavelli Covenant" better be one GREAT read for as much as I paid for it.

Don't let anyone tell you the cost of living is less over here. The cost of living in Melbourne is significantly higher than DC. I believe the cost of living here is more in-line with San Francisco or New York. And with the US economy not doing so well [at least, that is what the news over here is reporting] and the Australian economy doing too well that they are working to curb inflation, the cost of living discrepancies seem to be exasperated.

For example, to go to the movies on Friday night cost $32 - and that was for the two tickets alone. Btw, we saw "Juno". I very fun movie to watch. We enjoyed it.

Well, with books in hand, we were off to the beach. Now don't get me started on how hard it was to find beach chairs... ;-)

Happy Australia Day!!!

Yes, that's right, another holiday. It is summer remember, and it seems the country wants to make sure everyone has ample opportunity to enjoy it! So what is Australia Day and what do people do for Australia Day, you ask? Here's a quick overview...

January 26 celebrates the "founding" of Australia in 1788. "Founding" is a stretch, as Capt James Cook claimed Australia for Britain 18 years earlier. [To be completely accurate, many different European sailors ran aground or stumbled onto the Great Southern Continent dating back to the early 17th century. Too bad none had the wherewithall to plant a flag or the ability to survive the first meeting with the natives.] January 26 is the day in 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain and the first governor of New South Wales, arrived at Sydney Cove. These days Australia Day is an opportunity to celebrate everything Australian and to promote "an enduring spirit of mateship and fairness." That's right, mateship, mate! Those in the UK might refer to the day as "Ungrateful Day."

And what do Australian's do for Aussie Day?! From talking with locals throughout the week, it mostly involves beach, barbie, and beers - the order of which is up to you. Similar to our 4th of July. This year, Aussie Day also meant the Police. [And no, not those police ;-) ] Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland - The Police. The show had some interesting history (i) it was the first concert at Melbourne Cricket Ground in 10 years (ii) the last time The Police played in Melbourne in 1984, they broke-up shortly after. I'm not a big Police or a Sting fan - their music is OK. But I must admit, those "old guys" sure did rock the stage and delivered on the all the favorites. Check out the sound clip. Fergie - of the [former?] Black Eye Peas - openned. That confused me as well :-)

We also hit the beach and had a few beers, so as Meatloaf would say, "two out of three ain't bad."

Australian Open Weekend Part II

When we were in the city on Sunday, we popped our head in to check out the availability for Australian Open tickets. (Another thing you will learn about Australia, you have to do a lot of things in person. Even though they have the internet Down Under, it's rarely used to make our lives easier.) Anyway, all the evening sessions for the final week on the main court were sold out - big surprise. We bought tickets for the Monday day session in the 3rd from last row hoping for the best.

When the schedule was released later Sunday evening, we were PLEASANTLY surprised. The day at Rod Laver Arena would start off with Ana Ivanovic, followed by Venus Williams, and finished off by the #1 seed Roger Federer. Add James Blake and a Venus/Serena doubles match on the outside courts and we were set. With all the Aussie's clamouring over their own Hewitt's match later in the night, the Open was buzzing with great tennis.

All the favorites won, and we had a great time. Our seats were great - I don't imagine there is a bad seat in that arena. Check out the new slide show to the left of pics from the day.

Australian Open Weekend

This was a weekend of big plans. We originally planned to fly to Syndey to check out some of the main attractions in Australia's more 'famous' city. After last weekend's lengthy drive, we decided to check out some of the happenings in town.

Saturday was a soooo exciting. It was rainy and cold - we did absolutely nothing. (For more on the weather, refer to Melbourne 101.) The highlight of the afternoon was when I ran an errand to the pharmacy, but aside from that we napped and watched the Open all day. So much for staying in town!

Sunday was better. With the clouds giving away to sun in the morning, we headed out to the Scandia Dcoklands Invitational - a local sailing competition. Boats of all classes were represented. There were quick races in Flying Scott's and Sunfish style boats in Victoria Bay and longer races in Port Phillip Bay involving Olympic and America's Cup competitors. As you can tell from the picture, the sun was lost again and small showers ended our day early. We did finish with a water taxi ride up the Yarra River which was nice. Stay tuned for more on Monday's outing!

WELCOME RJ!

Very late on the 16th of January, the Murray's welcomed their first grandchild - Robert John (RJ)Sciarrotta! If he waited just a few more moments he would have shared his birthday with his cousin Bucko :)

Jeanna and RJ are both doing well. The family is not quite sure what to do with a baby boy :) Do boys play barbies?

Congratulations Jeanna and Bob!

More pictures of baby RJ:

http://picasaweb.google.com/RJSciarrotta/FirstMonth

Sean and Melissa Get Fit

Finding a convenient gym in the neighborhood has been challenging. There is a great one on the bay front - the equipment set up has you running/climbing/biking as you overlook the water - but its about a 20 min walk from home and lets be honest, I may walk 40 mins in addition to a workout in the summer, but I'm not so sure about the winter. :) Melissa did not give this option 2 thumbs up either.

On our street, there is a personal training studio and a yoga studio. I've opted for the personal training studio and Melissa has opted for the yoga classes. My experience with personal training has only been through Bally's - where I see knuckleheads making out of shape people do bicep curls as their first activity. This studio is a bit different, there are no memberships, and you just show up for your session time. There are 4 pt's and they are all serious athletes and very nice. My pter is a professional (or aspiring professional) triathlete. He has done some serious competition and coaches other triathletes away from this gym. We were matched based this common interest. I've enjoyed my sessions with him and as Melissa can attest to, I come home very sweaty and smelly. Its a good outlet to meet others that live in the neighborhood. I've actually had a couple of run-ins on the street so its nice to start to know people.

Too Funny not to watch

The big news over the weekend was a local teen throwing a crazy party while his parents were away for the week. I know, this happens every weekend in every country, but this story is unique. The party drew 500 people. Needless to say, the party was not contained to just the suburban neighborhood home. Kids were all over the streets and his neighbors' properties were damaged. The "riot" drew the full Melbourne police force including the k-9 unit and the aerial squad. When all was said and done, the unapologetic host had cost the city about $20,000 in emergency services. He's refused to speak to his parents although he's not had a problem speaking to the media. Here are a couple of youtube videos with Australia's "A Current Affair". They're priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm61svN4U5g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6JpLKhdRsQ&feature=related

Notice the field reporter swatting away the flies. Read "Melbourne 101" for more details.

The story has gotten much coverage so you should be able to find a similar write-up on CNN.com or other national outlets.

First Road Trip - Great Ocean Road

We took our first road trip this past weekend. Once I got over the whole 'driving on the left', 'give-way to trams' and the fact that distances and speed limits are in kilometers, driving wasn't actually that bad. Getting into and out of Melbourne can be a challenge for even the natives. What's more surprising - if not alarming - is how many signs along the road say "stay left" or "keep left in Australia". Maybe I'm not the only one who forgets?! ;)

The drive from Melbourne to Cape Bridgewater was 9 hours. This destination is about half way to Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia and our original destination. It quickly became apparent that we could not see all the wonderfully amazing sites along Great Ocean Road and hope to make it to Adelaide in one day. A visit there will have to wait for another trip.

The trip can only be described as breathtaking. Think of the Pacific Coast Highway near Big Sur. We saw everything from the legendary surfing beaches along the Surf Coast, the natural rainforest along Cape Otway, and the famous 12 Apostles rock formations. Our destination was an untouched bay, with a sweeping white sand beach bookended by green rolling hills that end in cliffs at the waters edge. We also saw koala bears sleeping in the trees and a pack of kangaroos grazing in a river basin. On the drive back, I almost fell victim to the mindless 'roos as I nearly clobered one as it darted across the roadway in front of the car. We literally saw it all.

Check out the slide show (top left) and click on it to see all the amazing pictures.

Our new Wii

The best delivery of the week had to be when we received the Nintendo Wii. If you've been living under a rock for the last year, the Wii has become one of the best video game innovations. The wireless hand remotes let you play games like tennis as if you are really swinging a racket. I played it once at Manna's and was quickly sold on its value. Melissa and I have played a few times, we've created our Mii's - our digital Wii characters - and we can't wait to hook up with our friends for some virtual games. I'm sure Wii will make it into some more blog entries.

The best thing about the Wii is Melissa won it from CEB!! Guess all those late nights were worth it!

Christmas Day is Here! (Part II)

I know we were really excited to get our belongings from home but we are also very excited for the deliveries we got this week. With much of the city - and country its seems - shut down for 2 weeks over the holidays, some of the basics we had ordered prior to Christmas were severely delayed. Our Internet and cable TV installation took over 2 weeks - cable is still not installed, a long story. Tuesday, we received a new bed and some patio furniture. The bed replaces the rental bed that prevented either of us from having a good night sleep. The new bed is great! I've never owned patio furniture before but found a great deal and couldn't pass it up. This set also replaces a rental set that Melissa was not happy with a daily referred to it as 'ghetto'. Slowly, everything is coming together.

Cricket Fallout

Melissa and I have quickly adopted Cricket as our summer sport to watch. There are a couple of reasons: (a) we only have 7 channels and Cricket usually plays on half of them and (b) its amazing that a sport can be played for 5 days and there may not be a winner. Cricket is bizarre.

This weekend's events will explain. The Aussies are playing India in a Test Match. This is basically a month long, best of 3 matches international friendly. The first Test was in Melbourne - our entry for Boxing Day. The test that completed over the weekend was in Sydney. Controversy arose when an Indian player called one of the Aussie players a monkey - mind you, he is the only black on the team. The controversy mounted when the Aussie captain filed a complaint again the Indian player. An Aussie bowler (pitcher) was also sacked (dropped from competition) for calling one or more Indian players bastards. As if the school-girl name calling isn't bad enough, the final day of play was riddled with horrible officiating.

Now, I understand that I don't know much about Cricket. I've done my best to learn the game quickly so that I can understand what I am watching. But I do understand sports. Cricket is a gentleman's game. The captains of opposing teams meet prior to the start of a match or series and determine 'how the game will be played'. They decide if players can challenge the calls of the on-field umpire. And by challenge, I don't mean throw the red challenge flag like in the NFL. I mean appeal the the ref as you would for a foul in basketball, a possession after the ball went out of bounds, after you thought you were being held in football, etc. They decide how to handle discipline for actions on the field. I'm confused because they have rules of the game just like any other sport.

So the biggest news story this week thus far is the suspension of the Indian player for calling the Aussie a monkey - which i agree with and is wrong on so many levels. India threatened to withdraw from the final (3rd leg) to take place next week in Perth if the officials were not dealt with. This I agree with as well. The officiating was horrid. Now understand, Cricket is akin to baseball, but the ruling are much more subjective. In baseball, its a strike, a ball, an out, etc. In Cricket, a bowl (pitch) can result in so many things. An out can occur without the player swinging based on his body position. The umpires really have control over the play. Repeatedly, the umpires called Indian players out that were not out and did not call Aussie players out that looked out. And they have instant replay, so there is no excuse.

I think that there is just not that much news out there so they make a big deal about the littlest things. And after all this, I'm still not convinced Cricket is a sport. We'll keep watching and keep you posted!

Christmas Day is Here!

While most of you celebrated Christmas on Dec 25, Christmas in our house occurred today. Our stuff from the US arrived today! We are overwhelmed with boxes and packing (just like wrapping) paper. It's great to get new clothes, our kitchen stuff, and all the odds and ends that will make this house feel more like home. After a day of furious unpacking and organizing, we've got this place looking pretty good. Picture to follow.

Melbourne 101

There are a couple of things you must know about Melbourne - the weather and the flies

(1) The locals will tell you that you can experience 4 seasons in one day. That's a bit extreme, but it can change without warning and not two days seem to be the same. Our first couple of nights in our new house were freezing - we had no blanket and it was getting down to 15C (mid 50'sF). After a few chilly nights, we bought a quilt. Later than night, the temp never got below 26C (upper 70'sF). After a couple nights of that, we went back to the store to buy a fan. :)

There is not much between the southern coast and Antarctica - just the great Southern Ocean. When the wind blows out of the southwest, its very cool. Similarly, there is not much between Melbourne and the desert bush of the northwest. When the winds blow from there, its like living in an oven. For NYE night, the temperature at midnight was a mild 31C (87F) - it made watching fireworks seem like the 4th of July. The only relief for those of us without air conditioning (mind you, we neither have heating or A/C in this house) is to go to the beach! Seems like a good trade off.

(2) I've been searching high and low for a good explanation of the 'fly experience'. I was worried that they didn't exist and that they were only in my head since no one ever complained. We second guessed this move Down Under almost immediately after we were attacked by our first fly swarm. I was relieved when my manager was swatting them on the way to lunch and cursing them - as I often do. He said its just something to get used to in the summer. The weatherman one night mentioned that they ride the winds from the north where there are acres of sheep farms. Either way, they are the most annoying flies you will ever encounter. When the flies are bad, you will be attacked by several and all they want to do is crawl into a crevasse. Their sticky and persistent. To better illustrate my point, I've included an excerpt from "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson. In his book, Bill takes the reader on a tour of Australia from a US visitor point of view. It is a great read for anyone interested in learning more about Australia before they come to visit. :) Here is how Bill describes the flies:

"...I was joined by a fly - smaller and blacker than a housefly. It buzzed around in front of my face and tried to settle on my upper lip. I swatted it away, but it returned at once, always on the same spot. A moment later, it was joined by another that wished to go up my nose. It also would not go away. Within a minute or so I had perhaps twenty of these active spots all around my head and I was swiftly sinking into the state of abject wretchedness that comes with a prolonged encounter with the Australian fly.

Flies are of course always irksome, but the Australian variety distinguishes itself with its very particular persistence. If an Australian fly wants to be up your nose or in your ear, there is no discouraging him. Flick at him as you will and each time he will jump out of range and come straight back. It is simply not possible to deter him. Somewhere on an exposed portion of your body is a spot, about the size of a shirt button, that the fly wants to lick and tickle and turn delirious circles upon. It isn't simply their persistence, but the things they go for. An Australian fly will try to suck the moisture off your eyeball. He will, if not constantly turned back, go into parts of your ear that a Q-tip can only dream about. He will happily die for the glory of taking a tiny dump on your tongue. Get thirty or forty of them dancing around you in the same way and madness will shortly follow.

...lost inside my own little buzzing cloud of woe, waving at my head in an increasingly hopeless and desultory manner - it is called the bush salute - blowing constantly out of my mouth and nose, shaking my head in a kind of furious dementia, occasionally slapping myself with startling violence on the cheek or forehead. Eventually, as the flies knew all along, I gave up and they fell upon me as on a corpse."

Brilliant! I especially like the last paragraph.

It was funny to watch Melissa content with a swarm as we walked to lunch the other day. She lost the battle, and to add insult to injury, one successfully flew into her open mouth and was swallowed. They are fearless! Needless to say, she was not very happy - or satisfied with the appetizer.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our friends and family. Thanks for all of your cards and gifts. We appreciate all your comments on the blog. It's great to hear from you!