I had big plans to go out in Sydney one last time on Friday night but I got sick. Came down with a head cold and some nastiness that just drained all of the energy out of me. Friday night was full of sleep.
The trip to the airport was good. The first leg of the flight wasn't ideal but it wasn't bad. We flew on a 747-400 but it was a little bit old. The in-seat entertainment system was broken for the first 3 hours of the flight so I got pretty bored. I was hoping to watch a movie or two but that didn't happen.
The LAX to DFW to MCI flights were pretty good. The MD-80 plane that we were on is old and crappy but I had plenty of room to stretch out since it wasn't a full flight. My ears had a hard time popping though because of my cold.
Once I made it to Kansas City I found the energy to make a stop to the Power and Light district to meet up with friends. The plane landed at 4:00 and the KSU vs KU - Big 12 Championship started at 5:15. I made it to the bar at tipoff! Too bad we lost the game. :( I spent the night partying since I was not tired. Jet lag is a crazy drug!
Sunday was a sleeping and laundry day. Nothing exciting happened. I'm back in KC!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Hotels of Sydney
So I mentioned the hotels situation, here is why I complain:
Day 1 - I arrive in Sydney and check into the Vibe up in North Sydney. It is a nice hotel. I am there 2 days. It was Valentine's weekend so most hotels in the city were booked.
Next I switch to the Metro on Pitt street. This has been my place of residence for most of the trip. Thursday night was the AC/DC concert in Sydney so I think the majority of Australia came to watch them. Once again, no hotels. I moved to the Grace hotel in downtown for 1 night. The next day I was back to the Metro again.
Another week at the Metro and I forgot to check out on Friday. Oops. It was the big Mardi Gras party in Sydney so once again all of the hotels were booked up. I moved Friday afternoon to the Bayview hotel on the east side of the city and Saturday I moved even further away to the Metro hotel at Edgecliff. It is the last stop before Bondi Junction (the beach).
Sunday I moved back to the Metro again. The next Saturday I moved to the Sebel hotel, which was lovely, and then back to the Metro again on Sunday. All-in-all I will have stayed at 6 different hotels during my 4 week trip and will have checked in a total of 9 times. I guess I am lucky to have a place to stay...
The best hotel I have stayed at: The Sebel
The worst hotel: Metro at Edgecliff (by far, although the window AC was very cold)
Day 1 - I arrive in Sydney and check into the Vibe up in North Sydney. It is a nice hotel. I am there 2 days. It was Valentine's weekend so most hotels in the city were booked.
Next I switch to the Metro on Pitt street. This has been my place of residence for most of the trip. Thursday night was the AC/DC concert in Sydney so I think the majority of Australia came to watch them. Once again, no hotels. I moved to the Grace hotel in downtown for 1 night. The next day I was back to the Metro again.
Another week at the Metro and I forgot to check out on Friday. Oops. It was the big Mardi Gras party in Sydney so once again all of the hotels were booked up. I moved Friday afternoon to the Bayview hotel on the east side of the city and Saturday I moved even further away to the Metro hotel at Edgecliff. It is the last stop before Bondi Junction (the beach).
Sunday I moved back to the Metro again. The next Saturday I moved to the Sebel hotel, which was lovely, and then back to the Metro again on Sunday. All-in-all I will have stayed at 6 different hotels during my 4 week trip and will have checked in a total of 9 times. I guess I am lucky to have a place to stay...
The best hotel I have stayed at: The Sebel
The worst hotel: Metro at Edgecliff (by far, although the window AC was very cold)
And the beat goes on
I survived the weekend. Friday night was a bust. It rained all night so going out was no fun. Called it an early night and got some much needed sleep. Saturday was another hotel change day. I moved to the Sebel and it was a nice place. My only complaint was that an ant bit the bottom of my foot and it has a little misquito bite looking lump on it, making it hard to run.
Saturday evening I met up with Jamie, Tim, and Nicola to go to the Waratahs rugby game. It was a challenge even getting in the door! Jamie told me to wear a collared shirt but jokingly said shorts and flip flops were fine. Apparently I didn't get the sarcasm through the thick Australian accent and wore shorts and flip flops anyways. To sit in the "Members" seats you must have pants and we were to be going out to the bars after the game so shoes were a necessity. I had to catch a cab back to my hotel and get pants, and go back to the other hotel to get shoes (left them in my other bag). Finally I made it to the game properly dressed!
The game was a good time. Rugby is fun to watch; for me kind of like baseball. We drank an awful lot of beer and were all feeling pretty good when we left for the bars. I think the Waratahs won. I remember it being a close game. We continued the boozing at the bars and I eventually made it back to the hotel, something like 4:30 in the morning.
Sunday I switched hotels back to the Metro on Pitt street. I miss the bed at the Sebel. It was comfy. In the afternoon I met up with Jamie to do some work and get prepped for the demo on Monday. The demo went well. Hopefully we get another customer!
Saturday evening I met up with Jamie, Tim, and Nicola to go to the Waratahs rugby game. It was a challenge even getting in the door! Jamie told me to wear a collared shirt but jokingly said shorts and flip flops were fine. Apparently I didn't get the sarcasm through the thick Australian accent and wore shorts and flip flops anyways. To sit in the "Members" seats you must have pants and we were to be going out to the bars after the game so shoes were a necessity. I had to catch a cab back to my hotel and get pants, and go back to the other hotel to get shoes (left them in my other bag). Finally I made it to the game properly dressed!
The game was a good time. Rugby is fun to watch; for me kind of like baseball. We drank an awful lot of beer and were all feeling pretty good when we left for the bars. I think the Waratahs won. I remember it being a close game. We continued the boozing at the bars and I eventually made it back to the hotel, something like 4:30 in the morning.
Sunday I switched hotels back to the Metro on Pitt street. I miss the bed at the Sebel. It was comfy. In the afternoon I met up with Jamie to do some work and get prepped for the demo on Monday. The demo went well. Hopefully we get another customer!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Sad, no KSU game. :(
I wish I could watch the KSU vs KU game tomorrow. It is on at noon here and I'll be at work. Not that it really matters because it probably isn't on here anyway, I think I read that it is only being televised regionally. That's crap!! 2 top 5 teams deserves ESPN or something!
They closed the beaches here on Sunday for a while due to the earthquake in Chile. Supposedly some big waves were making their way to Australia but there wasn't much difference from what I hear. I'm glad I made it to the beach on Saturday!
Last Friday night I ended up at a mexican restaurant. It is a local joint without tourists. I had a great time! They party started around 10:00 PM and the bartenders played their drums, cymbals, music, etc and everyone at the bar got free shots of tequila. The bartender accidentally spilled a drink on me so I got 2 more free shots. It was a quite the evening!
I haven't made it to the Blue Mountains nor the Toronga Zoo yet. I hope to get time for 1 of these by the time I leave. This Saturday I am headed to a rugby game with Jamie (sales guy @ Optim2). He has a mate that has premium tickets. Should be fun!
Go Cats!
They closed the beaches here on Sunday for a while due to the earthquake in Chile. Supposedly some big waves were making their way to Australia but there wasn't much difference from what I hear. I'm glad I made it to the beach on Saturday!
Last Friday night I ended up at a mexican restaurant. It is a local joint without tourists. I had a great time! They party started around 10:00 PM and the bartenders played their drums, cymbals, music, etc and everyone at the bar got free shots of tequila. The bartender accidentally spilled a drink on me so I got 2 more free shots. It was a quite the evening!
I haven't made it to the Blue Mountains nor the Toronga Zoo yet. I hope to get time for 1 of these by the time I leave. This Saturday I am headed to a rugby game with Jamie (sales guy @ Optim2). He has a mate that has premium tickets. Should be fun!
Go Cats!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Mardi Gras
This weekend was a crazy one. Last night was the Sydney Mardi Gras parade and party. There were 135 floats and 9000 people in the parade. They say some 300,000 people were there for the parade. Was quite the spectacle! I took up a window at a bar named the Local Bar. It had great beers and fun people to party with.
The quote of the night came from a guy from Brisbane who flew in for the party. We were discussing Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
"I would drown a puppy to get a chance to go to New Orleans!"
The best business opportunity I saw was selling plastic milk crates for $5 each. There were thousands of them on the streets after the parade was over. I ended up with 2 that we took on the bus. It was a good thing because the bus was full and we needed seats! Lost them at the next bar when the bouncer wouldn't let me take them in.
Ended up in Bondi at a bar near the beach. The English bloke that I was hanging out with really wanted to watch the Chelsea play Manchester City in soccer. Ian, Teresa, Katie, and I boozed it up until the wee hours of the morning. I caught one of the last buses out and finally made it back to my hotel (which was an absolute crap-hole, but more on that later).
The quote of the night came from a guy from Brisbane who flew in for the party. We were discussing Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
"I would drown a puppy to get a chance to go to New Orleans!"
The best business opportunity I saw was selling plastic milk crates for $5 each. There were thousands of them on the streets after the parade was over. I ended up with 2 that we took on the bus. It was a good thing because the bus was full and we needed seats! Lost them at the next bar when the bouncer wouldn't let me take them in.
Ended up in Bondi at a bar near the beach. The English bloke that I was hanging out with really wanted to watch the Chelsea play Manchester City in soccer. Ian, Teresa, Katie, and I boozed it up until the wee hours of the morning. I caught one of the last buses out and finally made it back to my hotel (which was an absolute crap-hole, but more on that later).
Monday, February 22, 2010
Hi
Week one is done. Weekend 2 is done. There has been an awful lot of activity since I got here! It seems like I've been in Sydney for a month!
I met up with my friend Joe from college who moved here not too long ago. He and his wife Belinda got married about a month ago and reside in west Sydney. They invited me over for dinner last Wednesday evening and we did the Spit Bridge to Manly Beach hike. About 10 km. Twas a good one! B is an awesome person! Joe snagged a good Aussie girl!
I haven't been too crazy here yet. I had a long week of work and knocked out the prospect's demo on Friday. I hope they sign and become a customer! Maybe this experience will blossom into a job in Sydney?!? That would be a big change in my life but I think it would be an excellent thought. :)
I have had my fair share of beer while in Sydney. There are so many different kinds that are tasty! I did have a Guinness on Friday the 19th for the Great Guinness Toast 2010! Hopefully I had some of you joining me!
Time for bed. Monday is gone. Have a great day!
Oh, P.S., the USA is cleaning up at the Olympics. Canada still sucks. :)
I met up with my friend Joe from college who moved here not too long ago. He and his wife Belinda got married about a month ago and reside in west Sydney. They invited me over for dinner last Wednesday evening and we did the Spit Bridge to Manly Beach hike. About 10 km. Twas a good one! B is an awesome person! Joe snagged a good Aussie girl!
I haven't been too crazy here yet. I had a long week of work and knocked out the prospect's demo on Friday. I hope they sign and become a customer! Maybe this experience will blossom into a job in Sydney?!? That would be a big change in my life but I think it would be an excellent thought. :)
I have had my fair share of beer while in Sydney. There are so many different kinds that are tasty! I did have a Guinness on Friday the 19th for the Great Guinness Toast 2010! Hopefully I had some of you joining me!
Time for bed. Monday is gone. Have a great day!
Oh, P.S., the USA is cleaning up at the Olympics. Canada still sucks. :)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy St. Valentine's Day
Happy St. Valentine's Day!! Or should I say Happy Hallmark revenue day!! It is big here in Australia too. There are crazy people selling roses at the bars & weekend getaways are common. I tried to get me a valentine for the day but struck out. On the plus side, I spent a good 4 hours at the beach!! Too bad it was not sunny and rained for most of it. Wettest that Sydney has been in like 50 years or something like that.
Went for a run today from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach and back. Also stopped by the lawn bowling club http://www.bowlsaustralia.com.au/ (bocce ball). It was a nice, peaceful afternoon. Had a pretty good steak sandwich for lupper and caught a bus back to my new hotel. The room is a bit nicer and it is closer to bars and restaurants. That's always a plus.
Tomorrow I start working with the first customer. It should be a good day. Am hoping I can catch up with Mr. Joe Freach this week and also hit up a rugby or cricket game. Looking forward to it!
Cheers!
Went for a run today from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach and back. Also stopped by the lawn bowling club http://www.bowlsaustralia.com.au/ (bocce ball). It was a nice, peaceful afternoon. Had a pretty good steak sandwich for lupper and caught a bus back to my new hotel. The room is a bit nicer and it is closer to bars and restaurants. That's always a plus.
Tomorrow I start working with the first customer. It should be a good day. Am hoping I can catch up with Mr. Joe Freach this week and also hit up a rugby or cricket game. Looking forward to it!
Cheers!
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