Andy - Day 7

On Saturday, I got up early to go row with my new friends from the Yarra Yarra Rowing Club.  I had to be there before 6 am to warm up so we could get on the water by 6:10 since one of the guys had to work early.  We did four 2,000 meter pieces, and I survived!  They put me in five seat, in the middle of the boat, I think because I was the tallest guy in the boat.  Overall, it was an average row, with not much speed, but it felt GREAT to be in a big boat again, even if I felt stiff and out of shape. After the row, a few of us walked along the river to Southbank to get a cup of coffee (I had a “long black” which I think is a double espresso), after which it was time for more pictures.

The guy who invited me was Colin (the guy in the middle with a big “07” on his shirt), and the most talkative and helpful was Stuart (on the left).   Eddie was taking the picture, so he’s not in it.  The other photos are of the boathouse.  I took a few videos of other crews rowing, but just realized that the file sizes are way too large to email (20+ MB).  I’ll have to show you those when I get home.  I also got invited to row with another group of guys early on Tuesday morning.  They call themselves the “prostrate crew.”  I didn’t ask.  But it looks like I’ll be able to become a regular substitute and get on the water frequently.  Very cool.

Yarra Yarra Rowing Club

Andy and his new rowing buddies

Alexi here. Yes, the water of the Yarra river looks brown to me too. My Aussie friend Ben tells me it's the world's only upside down river. The reason it's brown is all the clear water is at the bottom....

After rowing I came back, showered, had breakfast and read the paper before heading off to Costco. The store was just like at home, only with a different items.  Parking on a Saturday was atrocious, and on top of that, there was road construction near the store, and a huge tropical storm had rolled in, and the traffic was crazy because of the Melbourne Cup.  I took a whole bunch of photos in Costco using my cell phone, but I haven’t figured out how to get the photos off the phone yet.   Most of the photos were of prices and items we normally buy, plus things like washer/dryer and refrigerator. While looking at the dryers, I met a woman named Jodi, who comes from New Jersey and has been here for 8 years.   She recommends Brighton Elementary, by the way, and she gave me her phone and email should we have any questions.

I was trying to get out of Costco in time to get back to the hotel to call you guys, but with the traffic and storm, it took me well over an hour to go just a few miles.  Also, it had to do with my driving in the city center, where “hook turns” and one-way streets complicated the driving on top of the manual transmission.  Note to Alexi – avoid driving in the Central Business District (CBD).  Way stressful.  The hook turns alone will take your breath away.  Somehow, to make a right turn, you have to get in the far left lane, then wait in the middle of the intersection (be sure to not get hit by a train), then when traffic is clear from your left, and when no one is coming from behind you on your right, you turn right.  YIKES!  I just made a whole bunch of left hand turns to drive around the block, rather than try a hook turn.  Of course, I think I went under a toll road sensor (twice) and will probably get billed for using the toll road, even though I’m not exactly sure if I used it or not.

Anyway, I got home from Costco, and headed to the south east to drive around a few neighborhoods (Caulfield, Chadstone, Oakleigh,  and Glen something).  Nice neighborhoods, and not too far away.  The houses didn’t offer much curb appeal, since most seemed to be hidden by fences, but looking at Google Earth, the yards are nice, so we’ve got to remember not to judge a book by its cover.  It looks like realestate.com.au will be our best bet for finding houses for rent.  In addition, the guy who sat in front of me in the boat, Francis, is a realtor, so I’ll hit him up for some information and maybe enlist his help with the rental market.

Andy - Days 5 & 6

Since I was sitting in the way back of the airplane (row 26 out of 26), I got to board from the back of the plane, which meant walking out next to the plane and up the stairs in the back.  See attached for a few photos from an angle you don’t usually get to see.

Airplane 1

View from the back

On Friday, I went into the office to keep working, but it was lonely, so I left early and spent the afternoon walking around the city exploring streets and alleys, researching prices, and shopping for new rowing shorts.  Unfortunately, the photos I took didn’t come out, so there’s nothing to show other than info on prices.  For example, a bike like Alanna’s new one would cost $1,000 here in Australia.  A pair of running shoes starts at $120 and goes up to $350! And BreatheRights cost $30 for a pack of 30.

Andy - Day 4, Adelaide Pt 2

My favorite stop was near a pier where the Brighton Surf Life Saving Club (imagine the HB Junior Lifeguards).  I parked and walked down to the water, wanting to feel how cold (warm) it was, and it turned out to be on the warm side.  Nice.  And the beach sand was wonderfully soft and powdery.  I introduced myself to one of the moms, and talked with her for a while about the program.  The junior program is open to kids from 5 to 14, then then try out for the senior program.  It turns out that all lifeguarding in Australia is strictly volunteer.  Go figure.  In HB, the lifeguards get paid extremely well, but not here.  Debbie, the mom I was talking to, said that there are a similar programs in Melbourne.  

Andy - Day 4, Adelaide

Andy went to Adelaide to visit and do some work at the Mobil refinery. He was warmly welcomed there, and he was assured that there was plenty of work for him there. So much, in fact, that he could probably work full time in Adelaide. That's not going to happen, of course, but Andy will probably commute each week there.


My plane to Adelaide didn’t land until after 10 pm, and I’m now exhausted.  Or it could be the jetlag catching up to me.  Nonetheless, I got up early for a few conference calls, printed a few letters, then headed for the refinery about 20 km (14 miles to the south). The map I had printed out told me to get on the M2 South Expressway, but when I got there, the on ramp was closed, and I had to practically navigate by the sun (and my Blackberry GPS, which I now love, by the way).

I managed to get to the refinery by 11 am,a bit late due to navigation issues, and taking the long, slow route instead of the Expressway which I could not figure out how to get on.  I was greeted quite warmly by my (former) ExxonMobil colleague, Brian, and he promptly indicated that he needed quite a bit of help to keep projects moving along, and that I was in the right place at the right time to help him out.  It looks like I’ll have work coming out my ears quite quickly.  

After a long day of meetings and watching safety videos, I was pretty tired.  I aced my test on the safety program (100% correct, 17 out of 17, even getting the trick questions right).  I met with Brian one more time, then headed home, taking the scenic route along Brighton Beach.  It was absolutely beautiful. I pulled off the road a few times to take pictures. (more in the next post about this)

I drove for a while more, but not wanting to go back to my hotel room, which leaves a lot to be desired, so I stopped off at a Thai bistro for a bit of Pad Thai.  I was going to go with the curry, but with my stomach still a bit queasy, I went with the bland dish.

Mobil refinery

Another view

Walking trail

Beautiful beach

Andy - Day 3, Going to Adelaide

More updates from Andy:

Today was a slow day, focused on work, so not much new to see.  I’m at the airport right now, waiting for my plane to Adelaide.  Sadly, it’s been delayed for a while. But I did get two photos to share:

• 1.      Donuts from America.  Alanna, do you remember when we went for a long drive to find Krispy Crème donuts?  Well, they’ve got ‘em here.
• 2.      KitKat Bars.  They’ve got those here as well, but with a strange looking wrapper.

In other news, here are a few items for mom:

• 1.      A copy of The Week magazine goes for $5.95.  I passed.
• 2.      A 600 mL bottle of water goes for (hold your breath), $3.60!  Yes, I paid this, since I forgot my sports bottle back at the hotel.  Bother!
• 3.      Gasoline is $1.20 per liter, or about $4.50 per gallon.  Expensive, but not outrageous.  Diesel is only a few cents more expensive.



Krispy Kreme store in Melbourne Airport



Different packaging, 65 grams.

Andy - Day 2 in Australia Part Deux

More from the Andyman:

Just thought I’d send another brief update on Day 2 in Australia.  Today was busy with getting the office setup, getting cell phones, and picking up the truck.  The interesting part is the truck. The truck is a nice little white pickup, with shell on the back.  It’s a 4-wheel drive, manual shift that takes diesel fuel. 

I went for a drive this evening, after rush hour, to get the hang of driving in Australia, and I must say that I used every brain cell while driving on the left side of the road, shifting with my left hand, remembering that the rear view mirror is to my left, and trying not to turn on my turn signals using the wiper lever (the turn signal lever is on the right of the steering wheel, and the wiper lever is on the left).  Several times I indicated my intention to turn by activating my wipers.  And I had to remember to make sure my left turns were tight, and my right turns were wide.  In addition, I found it mildly challenging to position the vehicle properly in the lane.  I had a tendency to ease toward the left edge of the lane, since I felt like I was too far to the right in the lane when seated in the right side of the vehicle.  Also, everybody here obeys the speed limit…exactly.  The limit is just that, the limit.  So it’s easy to keep from speeding.  I’ve been told that the police will issue a ticket if you are just 2 kph over the limit.  So, the driving thing will be a challenge for a little while.

In other photos, you can see the hotel, rowers on the river (I think I might join the Yarra Yarra Rowing Club--cleverly named after the Yarra River, twice), and a funky statue along the river (which I’ll have to investigate during a future walk along the river).

While walking along boathouse row on the river, I stopped in to the YYRC and talked to a guy named Colin.  He quickly sized me up and invited me for a row on Wednesday.  But I’ll be in Adelaide then, so he suggested I come down on Saturday morning.  They row in eights, which will be fun, since I haven’t been in anything bigger than a four or quad in a decade or more.

As you may recall, I had decided to bring some office supplies along in my luggage, but only today realized that the US paper sizes are all wrong for Australia.  Oops.

And now for the pics.


Andy's hotel/apartment building



Rowers on the Yarra river

Funky statue along the river

Andy's new truck

Andy - Day 2 in Australia

 Some comments and pics from Andy's second day in Australia:

I made it to the office without any trouble, and took several pictures along the way (see attached).  It’s a beautiful day, and the walk from the tram station to the new office was nice.  The office is a bit small, as expected, but the office staff for everybody on this floor are wonderful.



Tram in Melbourne



Donut shop



Boats along the Yarra River





Front row parking for motorcycles