Bizarre Australia

I keep talking about some of the weird things that the Aussies do or have, so I thought I'd actually start a list. Here are some of the things that I have noticed so far:

- hook turns: See link for the most awesome/scary driving innovation I've seen in years
- petrol prices: They go up and down. Not over periods of time. No, it's cheaper on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and very expensive on the weekends.
- drive-thru bottle O's: Quite literally a drive-thru liquor store. Like drive-thru McDonalds, but you buy alcohol instead.
- AFL: Australian Rules Football. Although the 'rules' bit is a little exaggerated. Oh hang on, you're not allowed to push someone in the back. Other than that, anything goes!
- chicken & champagne: It's an Aussie-style Champagne breakfast. With chicken pieces.

I can't think of any others at the moment, but I'm sure my list will keep growing.

Chat soon,
DelBoy

She's back!

I got my PC back! Finally! And she's been upgraded too! With a new motherboard, processor and memory. And I still have all my files on the hard drive. Only prob is that she's not connecting to the internet, so I get the feeling that I've lost some drivers along the way. Better than nothing.

I've been riding again. And it feels great. Nothing huge, just enough to keep me puffing a little. But it's raining tonight and me being a fair-weather rider and all... you get the idea.

Back to house-hunting again this weekend. Did I mention that I hate real estate agents? Nothing personal, of course, it's just that they are always looking after the seller (and their own commission) first!

Chat soon,
DelBoy

TFI weekend

Thank goodness Its weekend! Not 'cos my job gets me down or anything, but 'cos I get to do what I want to do, not what I have to. (Well, that's not entirely true either 'cos I have a fiancée and a kid to entertain too!)

I did do two things that I love: rode my bike and watched the Boks. The ride was fantastic; 22km through the city all in greenbelt (Australian style - I'll post video later) with amazing scenery and wildlife.

The rugby, although we won, was NOT so great. Bloody Tongans nearly beat us! Jake White, WTF??

I also spent time working on our website (let me know what you think). Did I mention that my PC is fixed and I haven't lost anything! And it's been upgraded to a Dual Core P4 in the process! For AU$150! Bargain!

Chat soon,
DelBoy

White Van Man

Melbourne (and my job) are turning me into that proverbial white-van-man. You know, they guys who cut you off in traffic, make U-turns whenever they like and double park 'cos they can? Well, that's me.

When I'm in a work vehicle, it's either a white van with the company name on the side or a red Zafira with a 'courier' sign on the door, I pretty much drive where I want, when I want.

I double park, I take up loading zones for as long as I need and, yes, I even make the U-turns whenever I want; more importantly, whenever I need. Which, with my sense of direction in this city, is pretty often!

AND, I've managed to stay out of the way of the trams so far!

Chat soon,
DelBoy

On yer bike!

I finally got out on my bike again today. I had it serviced this week and brought it home on Friday night. With the great weather we've been having, I couldn't wait to get out there!

So this afternoon I took a gentle ride through Dandenong Creek, up the killer hill that is Moorak Road, back down Terrara Road and then home through Bellbird Dell. I was a great 12km ride and now I'm not even stiff!!

With it getting dark later every night, I'm hoping that this will become a regular thing on week nights!

Chat soon,
DelBoy

The new job

I've been in my 'new' job for three weeks now. And still enjoying it. To be fair, my general manager has been away on holiday for the past three weeks too, which has made life pretty interesting. Not only that, but the guy I replaced actually got the boot the day before I started - literally! That all adds up to zero on-the-job training!

On the bright side, being thrown in the deep end is probably the best way to learn to swim. I wouldn't say that I'm heading to Beijing* just yet, but I could manage a few lengths of the local pool.

I enjoy the fact that I don't spend all day in the office, but driving in the Melbourne CBD can be pretty hairy. Ever heard of hook turns? Melbourne has them and is the only city in the world that I know of that uses them. (Leave me a note if you know of anywhere else that has them). I'm definitely adding them to my "Bizarre Australia" list!

Enough chatter, time to finish up and head home. It's BBQ for dinner tonight!

Chat soon,
DelBoy

*Next year's Olympics