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

Boredom leads to creativity

Sorry, not much to blog about, but I was sent this link and I really enjoyed the video!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nWVc_jmuf7w

Chat soon,
DelBoy

Blog blank

It's been a while and and I've had some 'complaints', so here's a little catch-up.

Last week was pretty busy between job interviews, house hunting and getting ready for the wedding. No, not MY wedding, my brother-in-law's wedding. I was the official photographer for them.

I spent most of last week commuting into the city and back again, going to interview after interview. On Wednesday, while mid-commute, my mobile rang. It was the agency who had set-up the interview that I was on my way to. I started getting nervous, expecting the worst. But, low and behold, it was good news. I was no longer on my way to an interview, but on my way to sign contracts!

I met my future boss, chatted about work and money and then signed the contract! I started this Monday past!

My title is Business Development Manager and the company I work for is the biggest corporate catering company in the Melbourne CBD. The best bit is that I get to stay in the hospitality industry AND work 9am to 5pm with weekends off! I don't think I've ever worked a 'weekends-off' job before. I'm really enjoying it so far. And to top it all, my boss is on holiday in Scotland and Ireland until September 10th!

The Melbourne weather has started to settle down again with nice sunny days and really cold nights. This weekend I'm off to watch the Aussie Rules game between the Bombers and the Tigers. Looking forward to it.

Apologies for not posting Foto Friday, but my PC and my back-up hard drive died last week on the same day! Hopefully I can rescue my data else I've lost all 12 000 photos that I own!

Chat soon,
DelBoy

Melbourne update

Almost one month since we arrived in Melbourne and things are still going fine. I finally got my PC set up (no more messing about with the old laptop) and I feel much more at home now. I also have Skype up and running again, so I can call my family and friends around the world for free.

The past two weeks I have been pretty busy with interviews, but so far no jobs! I'm starting to get a little edgy 'cos I need to keep myself busy or I just sleep/eat/mess with the computer. I spent Saturday helping my broter-in-law-to-be at his cabinetry business - we installed desks at the Melbourne Business School in the city.

On Saturday night I caught up with some friends at the casino for a drink and to watch a game of soccer (Sunderland v Spurs). Needless to say, it was a pretty boring game so we bailed after the first half. It was great to catch up with the guys though; I haven't seen them since November last year!

That's about it for now. Back to job-hunting on the net for me. I missed Foto Friday last week, but I promise to have it done this week.

Chat soon,
DelBoy

Foto Friday

Another belated photo. Mainly 'cos I haven't yet set up my PC and had time to move, resize and edit my pics.

So, enjoy this one. Taken in Leicester Square, London last Christmas. I was messing about with different speed settings and came up with this one.

What do ya think?

Chat soon,
DelBoy