Wake Up Magpie

Fourth entry. 6:30 AM this morning and there’s a bird screaming outside my window.  Now when I say “screaming,” I’m not applying the verb in lieu of “calling” or “singing” …I mean this bird literally sounds like a small child YELLING outside my window.  The noise comes in a pattern of three: short cry, short cry, long loud wail. Repeat.  I’ve been searching on YouTube for the better part of 15 minutes now trying to find a species to match the creepy, crying baby ghostbird I heard all morning, but to no avail.  My roommates say it’s a magpie.  Someone at the office suggested a barking owl.  I’m convinced (based on no justifiable parameters whatsoever), that it is in fact a toucan.  So the first night in my new place, and theres a toucan living outside my window.  His name is Tom, in case you were wondering.  Both because Toucan Tom is a cool-sounding alliteration and also because he’s by far the most annoying thing I’ve heard since that Talking Tom Cat was released as an app on the iPhone.

While we’re on the subject of flying animals (yes it’s my blog and I get to dictate the subjects at my own discretion), let’s talk about bats.  When I studied in Valencia, the Liga football club was called Los Murciélagos… leading me to believe that bats were commonplace in Mediterranean Spain.  Yet I never saw one.  Down under, however, the bloody things are everywhere!  About 7pm every evening, heaps of them start cruising around the city, by the tens.  Apparently, you get rabies almost instantly if one touches you. I sure am glad that’s a mandatory shot every couple years in the States.

Yesterday (Monday) morning, I was up at 7 to watch the 2nd half of the 49ers game before checkout.  It dawned on me that American football will forever be extremely inconvenient.  I could really get used to this waking up early thing though… I made use of my time and went on a run this morning since I had 2 hours to kill before catching the train.  I’m now afraid to turn down any sort of incline due the possibility that I’ll end up having to hike back up a mountain like last weekend.  I came back around 7:45 and, despite showering, I didn’t stop sweating until 9:30, well after I'd arrived at work.  I had to wipe my head down with paper towels in the men's room before I took a seat at my desk this morning. Welcome to Australia, they said. Well this is the hottest damn January I can remember.

If you're wondering about work, send me a message on Facebook or something. That's not what these entries are for. Not yet at least (I make the rules, remember). Same shit, different continent -- actually that's not true at all but I really wanted it to be in here somewhere. There’s no ping-pong table at the Sydney office.  Boo-hoo, right?  But seriously, I really enjoyed my three-set match after lunch every day.  On a larger scale, the Australian Open is in session right now.  I had thought it was hosted here in Sydney and was hoping to get a grounds pass this weekend, but alas I realized it’s actually in Melbourne.  Both Cam and Sanam are flying there this weekend to attend.

I finally went grocery shopping last night.  I discovered an Aldi just a few blocks down the hill inside a mall complex and, while the prices are still outrageously gouged, they crush the competition by 30-40% I’d say.  In true tourist fashion, I took my rollaway suitcase down the hill and packed it up with groceries to tote back to our place.  I even thought it was a laughable idea at first but by the time I made it home, I was convinced I was a genius.  $70 worth of groceries packed into a hard shell suitcase... so what if I’m not from around here?  Have fun carrying 20lbs of food in both arms for half a mile, you locals.  I had to go to separate store for Sriracha hot sauce and Ranch dressing… at least I found them though.  I’ll may just survive here.

Couple things I’ve picked up on since I moved in here yesterday:

• Not often do you see dryers down here… hanging your wet clothes up is standard.
• Nobody knows about ceiling fans. I can’t imagine a world without them, yet I’m in one.
• Not only are grills (barbies) allowed on porches, they are on every porch and are used for cooking at least 3-4 times per week.
• Colonies of spiders can just pop up out of nowhere. Fortunately we’re on the 6th floor.
• There aren’t nearly as many dogs here as in Atlanta… pets seem to be an afterthought.
• A bedroom with one electrical outlet is perfectly suitable.
• If you’re a 20-something-year-old male, and it’s not work hours, you’re wearing a tank top.
• People eat kangaroo. Like you can just buy it. Like at the grocery store. Like for real.
• The light switches for the bathrooms are usually located out in the hallway (i.e. never shower at night unless you trust your roomies)

I apologize in advance to all my friends who have visited third-world countries.  I’ll admit, it’s not quite Little House on the Prairie, but it’s not the Meriton Hotel I was at last week either.  No worries though, I’d trade the accommodations for two cool roommates ten times out of ten.

Here’s the pretty little “corporate” apartment I left when I checked out yesterday morning:

And here’s what I’m looking at now as I type this (pretty solid, eh?):

For kickers, here’s a view of the Eastern Suburbs from our living room at 6pm:

Thanasi Kokkinakis is my new favorite tennis player.  At age 17, he is 570th in the world and just won his first-round match in five sets, which sets him up to play Nadal next week.  Imagine being 17-years-old and playing the top-ranked player in the world... in anything.  No matter that I just moved halfway across the world, this kid makes me feel like I need to DO something with my life!

Yeah… maybe tomorrow.