Swiss Precision
October 5, 2009 at 12:50 am | In Swiss Observations, Switzerland, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentThere is a running joke amongst those who have visited Switzerland that you can set your watch by the trains. I used to think this really was a joke until my first visit back in 2002. It is a pretty accurate statement really.
I started German Classes (that’s for another post…) and was waiting for the train and looked at my watch. Ah ha, it was two minutes late, bloody Swiss precision… then I realised my watch was two minutes fast by the station clock. Sure enough, the train came along. I laughed no more.
We were at dinner with A’s brother and his partner last week. I asked her how long it took for her to get to work here in Zurich. Her reply, 27 minutes. Not half an hour, 27 minutes. Again, Swiss precision. I love it.
The public transport here is simply amazing. They have trams, trains, trolley buses (overhead wires), normal buses, boats you name it. And in the nine days since we arrived I have been on every mode. The efficiency and planning are simply awe inspiring. LCD TVs on trams tell you exactly how long until you reach your stop. And, if the stop correlates with a train station, the screen then displays the upcoming arrival times for all trains at that station so you can make your connection. Sydney buses can even get a common ticket system in place. It will be a decade before they have anything like this.
I Thought I’d Seen Everything
June 4, 2009 at 6:40 pm | In Life Observations, Sydney, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentLast night my fiancée and I finally got to see Samson and Delilah. It is a remarkable movie, even more so when you learn that neither of the lead actors are professionals and that it was the first movie Warwick Thornton has directed. It gives insight into the problem of petrol sniffing indigenous youths, and the day to day battle they face to overcome their addiction. A must-see in my book, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
When we left the cinema we were walking back to the car along King St, Newtown. I am used to seeing purple hair, pierced faces and studded vests along there, but this took the cake. A couple were walking two goats on leashes down the main road. Not something you see every day, certainly not in Darwin.
Weekly Cramming
March 14, 2009 at 9:22 pm | In Life Observations, Sydney, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentI was just reflecting on what I was doing this time last week. It made me realise just how much you can cram into a short period of time when you want to.
In the 9 days I was in Sydney, I went out for dinner 4 times, attended a Birthday Party, went to work drinks for my Fiancée (on the night I flew in), had Sushi Train for lunch twice, and even attended the Musical Buddy. No wonder I arrived back in Darwin exhausted.
Road Rage
March 4, 2009 at 1:23 pm | In Darwin Observations, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentThere are both positives and negatives to living in Sydney or Darwin. Darwin has wonderful sunsets, a relaxed atmosphere and rarely gets cold. For obvious reasons I love being in Sydney with my Fiancée, getting to go to Restaurants with her as I did last night (Kuali Malaysian in Lane Cove which was very good I might add).
One thing I am not enjoying about being back down here is the bloody traffic. I generally work from home when I am here, but both yesterday and today I went into the Pitt St offices. It took me an hour and five minutes to travel the 7.4kms on the bus yesterday, and 55 minutes today.
My Darwin office is 14kms from the CBD where I live. It takes me no longer than 15 minutes to drive this distance even during ‘peak hour’, which is called peak 15 minutes in Darwin. I’ll be glad to get back up there to miss all the traffic, but that means no Fiancée. Hmmm. A difficult trade off.
Getting Old
March 3, 2009 at 1:06 pm | In Life Observations, Sydney, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentI’m back in Sydney this week having flown down for my younger brother’s 30th Birthday celebration last Saturday. We had a wonderful night at Maggie’s Restaurant, an Austrian/German place in Potts Point. It was great to have my family together given we all live in difference places now.
I made an observation when we were there. It is rare that I get to interact with my Brother’s social group. The last time I would have had such an opportunity, other than seeing a few of his closest friends from time to time, would have been his 21st Birthday. As I looked around the room there wasn’t a single friend who attended both functions.
This got me thinking about how my own social group has changed over the years. There are about a dozen or so people that my Fiancée and I see on a regular basis, but only three of them I knew back when I was 21. What really interests me is how this group will change again over the next 10 years. Where we will be living of course will have a significant impact on this. Even I can’t guess where we will be, but I am looking forward to finding out.
The Weekend
February 10, 2009 at 4:46 pm | In Sydney, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentI have been a huge fan of Top Gear since it arrived in Australia a few years ago. So when I heard about Top Gear Live I just had to see it. So, last Friday four of us went along excited about seeing Jeremy Clarkson in person as he is brilliant on TV.
Unfortunately it wasn’t anywhere nearly as good as we had thought it might be. They seemed unpolished and not in the slightest bit funny. The highlight was seeing three Ferraris flying around sideways but even that got monotonous. The four us agreed we could do a better job at hosting such an event.
As I mentioned previously it was my Fiancée’s birthday last Thursday, and we went to Dinner and the Opera House on Saturday night to celebrate. Dinner was great down at Sydney Cove Oyster Bar, one of our favourite restaurants. Magnificent view and great weather.
I know today’s post is bordering on become a huge whinge, but the Percussionist’s show at The Opera House was simply terrible. She looked like she had sat on a large mound of fire ants and couldn’t get them out of her underwear. If it were a dance party you would have assumed she had taken too many elicit drugs and needed urgent medical attention. It was that bad that we left at the intermission. A first for everything. We have both chalked it up to experience.
Weather
February 5, 2009 at 1:42 pm | In Darwin, Darwin Observations, Sydney, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentNow I am definitely glad I am flying back today…
NYE in Darwin
January 2, 2009 at 1:33 pm | In Darwin, Darwin Observations, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentI can now say that I have experienced NYE in Darwin. From my apartment block I had a great view of the fireworks put on at Stokes Hill Wharf. Not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I will never look down upon the Sydney fireworks again. I think I could have done better with a packet of sparklers and some throw downs.
My Fiancée and I are very lucky to have lived on Sydney Harbour for the past five years and usually host a small gathering at out apartment for New Years. It was very different being by myself when I am always surrounded by my friends on the night. Still, I did manage to have a good night.
I started to think ‘what would I do if I was in Sydney’, and landed on the answer, eat great food and drink great beer. So, that is what I did. I made Oysters Kilpatrick (one of my favourite meals) and got my hands on some rare Weihenstephaner German bier. Best beer in the world in my book, it’s amazing what you can find at Vintage Cellars.
At midnight they showed the Sydney fireworks on TV and pretended it was live. Of course, that would have been 1:30am in Sydney with everyone already heading home by public transport. But it was good to see it even if I wasn’t there in person.
So, now we are in another year. I am certain it will bring even greater surprises. I am looking forward to it already.
Signs of Christmas
December 23, 2008 at 9:34 am | In Sydney, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentFor most people the signs that Christmas is approaching include carols playing in department stores, decorations in the big shopping centre and the inevitable carols by candlelight showing on Channel Nine hosted by Bert Newton.
For me it’s a bit different. Having worked at my previous company for eight years I managed to amass a large groups of colleagues, friends and acquaintances. As a result I would be invited to numerous Christmas drinks and lunches, about half of which I would normally attend. Last year I think I attended 10 functions in all, a new record for me.
This year, having just started with a new smaller company, I have only attended one event which I ended up leaving soon after arriving due to my Fiancée’s flight cancellation. I read the calendar on my PC and it says Tuesday 23rd, but it just doesn’t feel like it. I am sure Christmas day with my family will change that.
Need to check the TV guide for Bert as well.
No More Hugo Boss
December 11, 2008 at 12:07 pm | In Darwin, Darwin Observations, Sydney, Sydney Observations | Leave a CommentA few years ago I used to think that to earn peoples respect you had to look the part. That you needed nice suits, hang out in the right bars, buy the rights drinks and know the right people. I then met a manager who changed all this. He gave me some very direct feedback about how I was acting. He basically said the only way you can earn peoples respect is through your actions, not anything else.
I took this to heart but it took some time to change the way I was, a period of years in fact. I learnt that you don’t have to buy champagne, go to The Establishment on Thursday nights or hang out trying to get the attention of General Managers. You just need to do the best you can and people will respect you for doing so.
The reason I am raising this today is that all of this gained knowledge will come in very useful tonight. I have been invited to attend the Australian Institute of Management’s Darwin Christmas Drinks. I won’t be wearing a Hugo Boss suit, I won’t be buying any drinks, and most importantly, no one will know me or know anything about what I have achieved in my career.
All that I will have is by ability to talk to people, find out what they are all about, and hopefully make some good acquaintances in the process. I am looking forward to it.
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
