Skies Behold

Wildlife in Sydney isn't all it's cracked up to be.  There isn't a koalla hanging outside my window, no herds of kangaroo and I have yet to see a platypus crossing.  Although the most well known native Australians are rare in the city, we have heaps of these things.

Awww so cute.

I mean there's sparrows and crows as well, but these dudes are everywhere.  At every park, fountain, any any open area... I think their numbers are greater than seagulls.  Though when they band together, you better not mess with them.

they've got the bodies of turkeys and the head of another type of turkey.

As you can see, they've got one big ass weapon... those piercing daggers attached to their heads... wtf?! 

And they can probably sense motion and thermal energy ... similar to the evolved graboids in Tremors 3.  Everyone tells me they're pretty harmless, but I'm not taking any chances; if they try to take me down, I'll use my pocket flamethrower and torch those suckers.  Nah>> in all seriousness, they just scavenge for food and eat bugs or whatever..... they're birds.

Another bird, the cockatoo, is one I did not expect here.  They're pretty cool and look majestic, with their white coat and bangin hair-do.  They're usually around big parks, but you'll most likely hear them before you seem them.  Whenever they're flying/soaring, they have the urge to rock out to heavy metal and screech til your eardrum explodes.  

'take a picture of my right side...

Anywho, they don't bother me... simply cause they're birds and they don't shit everywhere.

Most of you guys will recognize this wrapped up mammal.  all snuggly with a scarf.

it's even got its own sleeping bag.

I've never been familiar with bats.  And even at davis, I've heard some bats under overpasses, but they were pretty small so you couldn't even see them.  Here, they just chill out in the open and sleep (as nocturnal animals they're pretty boring during the day).  But I've seen them fly in groups (swarms?) and they're just cool.  There's no other word to describe it: 2 foot wingspan and dozens soaring in unison.  pretty cool sight... pretty.... pretty......... pretty cool.  as far as flying things go, i think bats have moved up on the list.. just below airplanes and free willy.

sydney water

The weathers been pretty crazy this week.  I'm talking rain, wind, and cold.  yep, contrary to popular belief Sydney does have seasons and winter is no exception.    It's getting to a chilly 18*C .....~65* F.  yep.... that is considered cold (it might get colder).  Everyone is starting to get bundled up in sweaters and putting away their flip flops (thongs, as I understand they're called).  As a bay area native, I'm immune to the cold and still sporting shorts and t-shirts.

Sydney, the coastal town that it is, has some of the greatest modern water features ever made.  As a water park enthusiast, I am one to appreciate water features and, what really caught me off guard, was the cleanliness of the water.  I mean it is maintained and cleaned daily.. WTF!!  People play in the water and it looks clear?!!.  I mean there's no leaves, dirt, food wrappers, or anything of the sort.

water tunnel (of sorts)

 Some of their designs kinda funky, but i'm not complaining.

I have no idea what this is... but it's pretty cool

tripping hazard

WTF!!

Even this last one was pretty cool.. i mean a sub-surface water feature?  I imagine the conversation went like this:

Guy 1:  

Hey guys..

what if...

guys, listen

..... what if we just dig a hole and have

guys, guys!  

we'll have the water INSIDE the hole.

Guy 2:

uhh.... sounds like you need another beer.

Anyways, sorry about the delay of this post.  i'm getting bogged down with school work and such.  You can expect better next week!

the scavenger

Last week, the uni (it's what Australians call college) had Orientation-week.  O-week was something I never paid attention to at Davis (did we even have such a thing?), but here it's a big deal.  Some +150 booths full of clubs and companies trying to recruit with enticing items and giveaways for 3 days.  3 days of wandering students, 3 days of looking at campus maps, and 3 days of free BBQ.  That's right, with every big club that can afford it, comes with a BBQ that lures you into learning about something (usually not BBQ).  Oh, the deceit! The deception!  You mean... you're not white? (10 points for knowing the movie reference)

... Well, I've always been one to rise above the influence and seeing my situation as a starving student, who was I not to take advantage of the system.  Sociology Major BBQ? Yes, I'm taking sociology 101.  Women's Right BBQ?  Yes, separate but equal.  Catholic BBQ? Yes, say hi to the big guy.


And as a connoisseur of free food, I'm well accustomed to incomplete burger patties and 2 bottom halves of the buns.  But in Sydney, they do it well.  I'm talking about sausages, and good ones at that.  There's no frozen, pre-cooked, need to be boiled, cylinders of pink; these are all hot, juicy and fresh-off-the-iron sausages.

hello gorgeous

Though that was not the thing that won me over..  At every free BBQ, there was always someone to offer grilled onions.  GRILLED ONIONS!!  the only place I can think of that even offers grilled onions is In-N-Out... and you have to order that from the 'secret menu'.   And to add to this ingenious they've replaced the hot dog buns with a slice of bread!  A SLICE OF BREAD!!! lets dig deeper and look at the pros and cons of this technology:

Bread Slice:

Arrows: Not to Scale

Pros:

1. Delicious and Fresh (due to short shelf life)
2. Flexible to fit the hand and ergonomic goals
3. Due to the porous nature of bread, it absorbs ketchup evenly
4. When placed diagonally, the sausage: carb ratio is optimal.  Also, when biting on one end, the other end doesn't spill out and prevents the 'grenade effect' (source needed).
5. The corners that stick up, act as a reservoir for the grilled onions.

Cons:

1. Texas Toast is unheard of.

Hot Dog Bun:

Why would you eat this?

Pros:

1. It is made of bread

Cons:

1. It sucks.

Anyways, so now that classes have begun, I'm reminiscent of the good old Davis days: hanging out on the quad, late night trips to McDonalds, yelling at people in bike circles, etc... and in that instant I've realized, I'm a grad student.  Has my outlook on studying changed?... well i'm supposed to be reading papers, but instead I've written this.

College: the sequel

So, I've arrived in Australia a couple weeks ago and finally, I have a place to live!!  So to celebrate this momentous occasion, I've decided to start a blog to document my experience.  Also, got the idea from my 02 homie William Christmas-Farnsworth Long. (if you get a chance, peep his blog)



The first thing I noticed about Sydney was the air.  It's humid and hot, but there was something in the air that made it different.  It was a combination of the ocean, moisture and something else..  A secret ingredient of sorts.

Before I left to the airport, I took a deep breath.  I could sense the bay, the trees, the reservoir, the specific aromas that the wind brought from the Pacific Ocean.  I miss the crisp cold air of California, but Sydney has its own flavors (flavours?).

Anyways, the past couple weeks, I've been bumming at hostels and pretty much being a bum.  I got to see the sights; taking my time to do 'touristy' things was pretty fun.  Besides, I had to get that out of the way since I would be occupied with school and such in the upcoming months.

From the boat travelling from Sydney to Manly Beach (checked out that surf comp)

 After a week or so, my parents came over (good to see familiar faces) and we trekked to the Blue Mountains National Park.  Now I've been to many national parks in my life time and I plan to see many more; however, this one will stay in my memory for a while.

The 'blue' haze (that the name derives from) comes from the shear number of eucalyptus trees.  The oil from the trees saturate the air, though it didn't clear my sinuses or anything.
The park itself is pretty big, it was like a shallow Grand Canyon with a healthy dose of forest... and everyone travels here to see these 3 rocks.  The Three Sisters, as they're called, are just some unique formations created by erosion.

total babes

To be honest, it was pretty cool for the the first 10 minutes, but then it got hot so I had lunch.
Since we were there for a couple nights, we got in a fair amount of hiking.  A rainforest (as it is technically labeled), will hold some of the most relaxing hikes and astonishing views you'll experience.. It's like hiking through the windows 7 wallpapers.. you know the one with the waterfall.

Anyways, I've settled down now and have a place to call home.  I'll try to write something on a regular basis (haven't figured out a schedule yet).  Classes start tomorrow and I will be just another chump studying for exams, writing papers, getting lost on campus, etc.  It's been a while since I've been to Davis, but I'm excited to start college life again.