Grand Theft Larceny...

Haye, mates.

I'm not sure who the scottyinoz audience is anymore these days. I've been a rebel and haven't blogged much this trip to Oz...probably a bit of anti-blogging syndrome and a bit of not a whole lot to post.  Seeing that I'm killing time before an evening meet-up with a buddy...and considering that for the first time in months I'm logged in outside of the office, I figured I'd shoot a few syllables your way.

Main headline form the past few weeks is that I got robbed.  Some fargin bastage hopped over the wall to my carport, pulled the screen, slid open my window and proceeded to pilfer my laptop, my backpack, 40 or so dollars in loose change and a boomerang I was going to send to one of you folks there in the USofA.  My backpack had my external hard drive, digital camera, car keys for the Mazda...that joker even took my favorite lid...my wool Gatsby cap.  Could have been worse...passport and bank papers were untouched and no damage to the apartment.  Cops came by (3 days after the crime!), dusted for prints and basically said I was SOL...Sounds like burglaries are an everyday shindig here in Perth.  So much for having faith in the goodness of humanity...travel insurance through Golder kicked in, so I'll recover the cost of the items...unfortunately, a ton of sensitive info was on the computer and hard drive...no signs of stolen ID, but the idea of it drove me nuts for a few days...nothing I can really do about it at this point...if it happens, will deal with it then. The other bummer is that my digital archive of all things engineering and photos is gone.  Time to start again, I suppose.

Work has been a bear the last month or so...a bit of a respite this past weekend, but the task in front of us the next four weeks is monumental.  A bit bewildering to think about....that's why I haven't thought about work in three whole days.  Will be going all out from now until early October. 

Plans are to fly through Chi-town for Christmas.  Already looking forward to that.  Planning to make the traditional stop by Gene's on the way out of O'Hare, grab a load of kielbasa, kraut and other assorted Polish goods.  May fly through Houston after Christmas to visit friends down there...haven't been through TX in awhile...will be good to catch up with folks there.

Rode with the 6:30 group this past Saturday...hardest and fastest ride I've done since I quit racing.  Got dropped on the climbs, but never flicked...hammered alright on the flats and dropped a few guys on the leadout to the sprint, but zero snap...still not too bad for a slacker, though.  The biggest thing has been recovery...holy smokes...legs never got sore, but I've been a tired fool the last few days...the old bones can't recover like they used to!

College football started this past weekend...NFL starts on Thursday...and I'm going to miss it all or at least 90 percent of the NFL season.  Pretty hacked off about that, but what you gonna do?  Hopefully Drew plays like a champ again this season.

That's about it from this end.  Hope you're all well and enjoying the long weekend...whoever may be reading this stuff.  Not sure when I'll write again, but until then, take care and God bless.

Scotty

Still Tickin Here...

Hey folks...

It's been awhile.  Just haven't been in a bloggin mood as of late.  But that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you all or not having a good time down here.  I may go so far to say I'm having a dandy time down here...or as my Uncle Dick used to say...a "nifty" time.  I'm not sure I know of anyone else who used that word "nifty" as much as Uncle Dick.  It's sort of been mothballed the last twenty years or so.  I think I may have to implement it into my normal adjective usage.

Some words and/or phrases that sum up the last few weeks here in Oz:

• Coastline
• Homemade meatballs (damn good)
• Sinus infection
• Pontifical High Mass
• Margaret River Valley
• Boxing kangaroos (real nifty to see that)
• Principles
• Little bike riding because of the third bullet point
• Little Sisters of the Poor
• Finished two books...onto some C.S. Lewis now
• 33 Days
• I see eye to eye on a few things with John Henry Newman

That just about covers it.  Some new pictures uploaded...check 'em out.

I hope all is well on the other side of the pond.  Peace and love.

Scotty

Settling In...

Greetings, fam and friends.  I hope this post finds you feeling good and enjoying your 4th of July weekend.  They have a 4th of July here in Oz too...but it's just another day on the calendar...no reason to celebrate down under.  I heard that the US Consulate in town was throwing a party of sorts, but that turned out to be a false advertisement...so instead I'm celebrating my 4th by hitting Mass in the AM and then doing a bike ride with a few guys into the foothills that run along the Swan River Valley north of Perth.  My climbing legs were lost somewhere between here and the Spring of 2007 in Seattle...they were last seen near Bellingham along the side of one of the cold and wet chip sealed country roads.  No sign of them since. 

Life in Perth has taken a positive turn the last few weeks. I mentioned last time that I met up with a young adult group from the archdiocese that meets just down the street on Wed nights.  That gig is still rolling well.  I've hung out with a few of the people from that group a couple times.  Fun, solid group.  I joined a few others today on a winery hopping tour of the Swan River Valley.  Good times.  After tasting a few local vintages we went to Elmar's German restaurant...Every kind of "wurst" under the sun...and then some.  Good grub and a few micro-brewed beers.  To top it off, we stopped at a local chocolate factory, sat out in the sun and enjoyed a cup of joe. Near cloudless day with perfect long-sleeve temps.  Feels sort of like Halloween time around here.  On the way back home, I learned that on the first Saturday of the month this group along with a couple others meet up with a few Little Sisters of the Poor and stroll around Lake Monger and recite all four mysteries of the Rosary! They asked if I was in...and I said "roger dodger".  So that's how I spent the end of my afternoon today. 

Last weekend a group from the office came by my place for a BBQ to say farewell to a colleague, Jill, who headed back to the US.  Jill and I work together in Redmond and she was in Oz working as well...We had a good time shooting the breeze and having some laughs over a plethora of grilled meat, cold beers and a few giant samosas.  I uploaded a few pictures from the last couple get togethers.

To keep the music theme going, I figured I'd post a couple tunes from one of my favorite artists recently...Jackson Browne.  I mentioned him a few posts back, but figured I'd share a few of his tunes now that I can successfully imbed youtube videos in these posts.  JB specializes in melancholy songs that seem to sum up exactly how probably each of us have felt at one time or another.  Two of my favorites are Late for the Sky and These Days.






I'm not so sure about the video accompaniment for These Days...but that aside...man, what a song.  Not bad for a 16 year old...he wrote that joker when he was 16!  Though nothing fancy, that closing guitar solo, at least for me, totally completes that song in soul and emotion and is probably one of my favorites.  And Late For the Sky...I've heard it dubbed as his masterpiece song.  One of my favorites for sure.

Just looked and the clock is about to strike midnight and that means LIVE coverage of the prologue of the 2010 Tour de France is about to start!  My butt is outta here.  Remember that sparklers are dangerous and aren't toys.  Play safe and have a great holiday weekend.  God bless America, baby!

Peace and love to you all. 

Scotty

Swing it...

About that time to post something new, I suppose.  I hope you guys are doing well in your neck of the woods.  Can't complain here.  Food, water, shelter...all the bases covered.  Just got done skyping my sister Kim.  Had a heck of a laugh goofing around with the smiley faces you can send back and forth. Spontaneously busted a gut and laughed for a good minute non-stop.  Felt good!  Ahh...the simple things in life.

Probably made the best discovery in my first two months that I've been here this past week.  I got wind of a young adult group from the Perth area that meets at Sacred Heart monastery, which is right next to the church I go to.  Wednesday evenings...Mass, exposition, holy hour, benediction, and then dinny afterwards.  I got to inhale that sweet smell of incense for the first time in two months!  That hit the spot.  A group of about 25 or so showed up.  One guy from France just cruising around Australia stopped in and a girl from Belgium found out about the group too.  Nice people with warm welcomes and good conversations.  I was probably one of the older fogies in the group.  Mostly everyone seemed to be in their 20s...a few in their 30s, so I wasn't totally alone.  A couple people who asked how old I was said they thought I was 26...so at least I got that going for me.  I guess all them years of hard livin...the boozin, gallivanting with loose women and rock and roll...haven't caught up with me yet!  Super glad to have met up with these guys...sort of rekindled the Wednesday night routine that I left behind in Seattle.  The five-day work week just got much better.

Don't know what it was, but some situation this past week or so got me thinking about 90s music.  I've been playing this Sponge song in my head and on the music box recently.  A good throw back tune...didn't care for it too much then...probably because everyone and their brother liked it....but now that it's old and mostly forgotten...not so bad now:



Another thing that happened was a highly intellectual conversation a few of us had in the office the other day.  Fancy technical phrases like geological model, time-rate of settlement and paleo-channel resonated off the Wheatstone war-room walls at 6:30 pm on a Friday evening.  At that time of day, it got to the point where I couldn't think of anything else better to sum up what I was thinking than this:



Man, I love those guys.

That just about does it for now.  23:00 and Scotty's dishes are done. Time to saw some logs.  Don't forget..."I" before "E" except after "C"...most times...

Peace and love,

Scotty

The Quiet Place...

I'm sure we've all been in a place or situation where there was a lot of noise.  A concert.  A ball game.  Maybe the dinner table!  Trying to hear what someone right next to us has to say can be difficult or impossible.  Too much noise and too many distractions seem to get in the way of the conversation.  It's possible to catch a word or two, but not the whole thing.  It's possible to hear something completely different than what was said.  Or, nothing at all may be heard. 

I'm learning more and more that finding a quiet place is not so much about me being able to be heard...but more about me being able to hear...

Kind of a drag...

Good daye, friends.  I guess it's Wed morning where most of you are.  Hope you had a good night's sleep and are ready to hammer through the midweek hump.  Late in the day here, 19:15 as I type these syllables, in fact.  Still at the office...thumbing through the news and sending an email here or there...Virtually impossible for me to catch up on news or email during the day...pretty much wide open and full throttle from the get go of each day.  No real plan for my evening except to stop by a buddy's place for an hour or so, then eat left over bangers and mash that I made a couple days ago.  Man I love HP sauce...The UK's favorite brown sauce since 1896!  Goes great with them bangers.

Just got done listening to that 60s tune Kind of a Drag from The Buckinghams. Reminds of me driving with the windows down in the old station wagon or the Honda during the weekly summertime drive home from Grandma's with Mom...Dick Biondi spinning oldie tracks on 104.3 FM in Chi-town.  "Where the heck does this stuff come from?", you may say.  One too many bike crashes, I guess...broke more than my wrist and a few helmets apparently...seemed to have jostled something loose in my brain along the way!  On the topic of the UK, I was flabbergasted to learn that The Buckinghams were not from England, but from Chicago!  Blimey, I say!

Made it to that footy game Sunday afternoon.  Perfect weather outside.  Alfonso and I made the 20 minute hike from West Perth to the Subi Oval on foot.  Huge playing field...36 players on the field at one time...18 a side.  Constantly moving, kicking, running, bouncing.  Freo (The Freemantle Dockers) took the opening possession off the bounce and scored a goal (6 points) in the opening minute...then they proceeded to pile on a load of whoop arse for the next 99 minutes.  They routed the North Melbourne Roos by nearly 70 points.  One of the wildest parts of the match was when a few guys got in a scrap and started throwing down.  I'd say about six or seven guys were involved in the pushing and punching.  A couple guys went to the ground...all the while, the other guys were playing on as a player was lining up and kicking a goal!  No stoppage in play, no whistles, no officials went in to break it up...it was hilarious. The scuffle ended soon after the footy soared through the goal and everything went back to normal.  Pretty wild. The crowd was intense and into it the entire game.  36,000 fans packed the oval.  The Dockers poured it on until the final whistle.  After the game they played the Freo fight song and then quickly followed with AC/DC's "TNT"!  The late AC/DC front man, Bonn Scott was from Freemantle, so I guess they play a tribute song after every win.  I was probably embarrassing Alfonso to death as I rattled off "Oye...Oye" and "lock up your daughter...lock up your wife...lock up the back door and run for your life..." in my best Bonn Scott impression.  Pretty good way to close out the afternoon!  Unloaded some pictures to the link over dere ------------------------->

Well, my buddy's waiting for me, so I need to bail.  More to jot down here, but will wait til next time.  Until then, you guys take care and make it a great day.

Cheers and God bless.

Scotty

Back on my mind...

Hey yous guys.  What's the good word for you this Memorial Day weekend?  How about FREEDOM! 

I'm just about done with a book on the battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War.  Words like U-boat, sailor, and rationing, and imagery of abstract qualities like selflessness, swagger, and commitment abound throughout the pages. The book focuses on the lifeline that supplied the European Theater of the war: the convoy routes from the US to Britain and beyond.  Many unsung heroes who never made the front page of Time and who never made it to the other side of the pond.  These sailors and merchantmen were just a few of the countless faces and souls that were integrated into the noble undertaking of mammoth proportions that preserved the freedom that we get to enjoy every single day here and now.  I read recently about a veteran who had to go to court to be able to fly the Stars and Stripes outside his apartment.  I don't know the details.  Maybe the flag location was obstructing a fire lane.  I don't know.  But this isn't the first time a story like this circulated around the news wires.  I also recently read a few articles about a war memorial, somewhere in New Mexico, I believe, where a cross was erected years ago as a sign of remembrance for the local soldiers who lost their lives in battle...I think the cross was stolen.  A replacement was erected, but later had to be covered because the cross was offensive and crossed that church and state line we hear about all the time. I'd like to know what church they're talking about.  As far as I know, some 30,000+ churches claim the cross as a religious symbol.  I won't go on listing all the religious symbols such as elephants, moons, and yin-yangs that should be outlawed from public display based on the separation of church and state "logic".  Confusing.  The saddest thing about the case in New Mexico is that the beloved dead are the ones that are truly mocked in this case.  A whole 'nother issue perhaps the same church and state minority would like me to warm up to; namely, "forget about the dead".  Shoot, the lines are already being/have been drawn to forget about the living!  Pass the elderly or "undesirables" to the side, forget about them...so with that attitude, why should I even consider remembering the departed?  It's ironic that the blood shed by those fallen men and women fortified the foundations that the so-called civil liberty contingent set their pedestals on...For what it's worth, to the men and women that did so much for me and preserved the opportunity for me to do what is right...I solemnly thank you and pray for you this holiday weekend and beyond.

I spent a good chunk of time in bed yesterday thinking about summer time as a little kid.  Cousin Joey shot me an email earlier this week and mentioned that the upper peninsula of Michigan was a place he'd like to visit some day. The UP of Michigan may very well be my favorite place in the world.  About this time of year some 20 years a go or so, I'd be getting amped up about school letting out in a week or two.  Little league would just about be in full swing.  More and more lightening bugs would be coming out in the evenings.  And the quiet hum of the air conditioner would probably be the last sound I'd hear as I drifted off to sleep on a warm and humid night...many times with Michigan on my mind.  The yearly trip to Michigan always took place in the summer.  Sometimes in early June, a few times over the 4th of July, other trips a few weeks later.  Whenever it was, I looked forward to it and couldn't wait to go.  Looking back on it now, it may have been the reality that, even though I was just a little kid, I got to be a part of an adult experience: waking up early, trolling for hours on end, peeing over the side of the boat without falling in...these were all the things Dad did...these were the things that Bob Clark and Uncle Mike did.  The UP rarely if ever crosses my mind without Bob and Uncle Mike somewhere in the memory. In fact, the place and the people are inseparable in my mind.  Every year leading up to the week-long get-a-way, it seemed that Uncle Mike had to make a point to say that he would not make it that year.  "Nah, not going in July. Too late to catch the bluegill on the beds" was a common reason...and each year I'd get upset, plead with him to come at the same time we were going, or try to see if we could go when he'd be there.  But just about every year, a few hours after we'd get to the cabin, the White Scottsdale Custom Deluxe would pull into view much to my delight. Or, the little camper would come into view on the left-hand side of the descending dirt road that lead to Peavy...what a wonderful sight!  The Clarks were always in the UP when we made our trip...fun was always a given fishing on their pier over the Paint River, burning gallons of gas riding the tractor around, or tip-toeing around the woods and quiet side roads looking for deer. The vacation was partly the place but largely the people. 

Uncle Mike was probably the single most influential person in my first 20 years.  Uncle Mike was blunt and stubborn and I don't think I ever remember hugging him or him hugging me, let alone telling him that I loved him or him telling me (for which I regret)...but I looked to him with a reverence and love that I can still feel today.  His longevity and consistency at doing what he loved, fishing and hunting, were for me as a kid everything that I thought was awesome.  The coolest person I knew when I was 12 was my 70 year-old great uncle.  The place I wanted to be more than anywhere else on a Friday night in mid-October in 1993 was in Uncle Mike's trailer, thumbing through the same worn out deer hunting magazines and listening how to set up a tree stand in the dark or about the time when the bears splashed across the brook he was wading in with a fish on the line. Uncle Mike was a story teller.  He'd captivate me with stories ranging from beagles chasing rabbits to homemade golf clubs made from choke cheery tree shoots to even mushroom picking. Those stories and memories will be with me until hopefully one day, I get to meet up with Uncle Mike again.  I suppose I share this sentiment for two reasons.  One because being the end of May, my mind tends to automatically wander to the "what used to be's" of summer time fun and I enjoyed placing myself in the size 5 Converse shoes again.  Two because Uncle Mike was a veteran of the Second World War and as part of the Memorial Day weekend, it seemed fitting.  He was a cook.  He served in the Pacific theater.  I know he spent time in the Philippines, but aside from one very short episode when he explained briefly how his unit got ambushed, I do not know anything about his service. Hopefully there's a little bit of Uncle Mike in me today.

Changing sentimental gears, I head to a footy game tomorrow...err...today.  My buddy Alfonso from work and I are heading to the Subiaco Oval to watch the home team Freemantle Dockers do battle with the North Melbourne Kangaroos in live footy action.  Looking forward to the experience.  The Dockers are kicking some footy arse this season, so hopefully we don't jinx their luck.  A full report to follow next time.

Seeing that it's now, oh, almost 1am Perth time, it's time to call it a night and pedal my sleepy butt way back to the apartment.  Have a great weekend whether you're sailing on a lake, swimming in the pool, or just grilling out burgers in the back yard.  Be safe, have fun and God bless.

Scotty

Quokka what???

Greetings, folks. 

Sitting here reading up on Giro D'Italia reports and listening to some Jackson Browne tunes.  If you haven't listened to Jackson Browne before, I highly recommend that you do.  He's a great musician and his songwriting is something special.  He can get political sometimes, and I'm not a fan of all he has to say...but that aside, the way he orchestrates his lyrics is truly a pleasure to listen to.

Had a long weekend so far that started Friday night with Golder's 50th anniversary shin dig.  What started out as a few guys working out of an apartment in Canada has turned into a global enterprise the last 50 years.  Quite remarkable and I'm proud to say I'm part of the team.  Dinner, cocktails, and dancing.  A good way to end the work week.   

Saturday started out early with a ride to the Fremantle to catch the Rottnest Express ferry to Rottnest Island. Rottnest Island is a get-away location of sorts near Perth.  An hour bike ride to the ferry, then a 45 minute ferry ride and boom, you're there.  Well, that's how it's supposed to go. And it sort of did for me and my Golder colleague, Glenn, but not quite.  The plan was for Glenn and I to meet up at the ferry terminal at 9 am to catch the 9:30 boat.  I left a few minutes later than planned, but blasted along the rail line bike path from Subiaco to Fremantle and pedaled along the ocean front roadway until the ferry terminal signs started to pop up...the Indian Ocean on my right and shipping containers stacked several stories high to my left.  The twisting road took me through the heart of the Port of Freemantle and after nearly getting taken out by an unwieldy semi on a sharp 90-degree turn, there was a sign for the Rottnest Express.  I got off the bike exactly at 9 am.  I didn't see Glenn, so I putzed around the dock area, ate one of the PB&J sandos I whipped up and aired up my tyres (that's how they spell "tires" here in Oz)...15 minutes later, still no Glenn, and it hits me that, even though I'm at a Rottenest Express ferry dock, I may not be in the right place.  Just as I was starting to ask one of the ferry personnel, Glenn calls.  I didn't answer as I was asking the ferry guy what the deal was...sure enough, I rode to the wrong terminal!  Seems that there's another Rottnest Express terminal around the corner...but at least a 15 minute bike ride away...considering that it was already a quarter after nine, I crossed my fingers and asked if I could stow-away on the boat floating in front of me...luckily it left at 10 and had plenty of room for a gibroni like me.  After I sorted out what could have been a real debacle, I called Glenn to fill him in.  Glenn started laughing and said, "That ferry leaves at 10?  Great, I'm at the wrong ferry terminal too!  I'm heading your way.  Will be there in a bit".  I started rolling.  Both of us wound up riding to two different and incorrect terminals.  So much for Google maps.  While waiting for Glenn I struck up a conversation with an older couple who overheard my conversations with the ferry guy and Glenn...they were quite amused!  Glenn showed up, we loaded up the bikes, and joked half way to the island about screwing up on the directions. 

So Rottnest Island measures only about 6 miles long and 2 miles wide, but it's a gem of a place to visit.  As a cyclist I was happy to hear that there aren't any cars on the island...only the tour buses and other cyclists roam the roads.  Another friend and fellow North American, Alfonso, took the train (and the right ferry!) and met up with us out there.  Alfonso trotted around via bus and foot while Glenn and I spun the pedals over the rolling, chipsealed roads.  The skies were crystal clear and the temps were mild...warm enough for shorts in the sun...cool enough for a sweater in the shade with the sea breeze that was blowing.  The views were fantastic as we rode along the perimeter of the island...turquoise and light blue coves and white sand beaches, rolling surf out a-ways.  A very enjoyable ride. 

One of the primary motivators for going to the island was to see a little creature called a quokka.  As I'm sure you're aware, Australia is full of interesting animals, and the quokka fits that description.  It's a marsupial (has that pouch thingy) and is about the size of a cat.  It's furry, hops around like a kangaroo, and lives all over the island.  Glenn and I met up with a quokka at the end of our ride.  We saw a bunch more at the little village where we grabbed a bite to eat...they were hopping around under the tables and mingling among the crowds with no reservations. They must be used to the tourists! 

After eating a chicken sando from Red Rooster, Alfonso, Glenn, and I roamed around the water front as we waited to board the ferry back to the mainland.  As we were walking around, we saw a big ole sting ray skating around a pier next to the beach, so we decked over to the pier to check it out.  The ray was just moseying around the pier, putting on a show for us and the rest of the interested folks that came to take a look.  I uploaded some pictures of the island...give 'em a look when you have time.

Soon thereafter, it was time to head back to town. Bikes stowed, the three of us grabbed a seat on the top deck of the boat and got to watch the West Coast Eagles play the Melbourne Demons for the short jaunt back to port.  Glenn filled Alfonso and I in on the rules to footy...now terms like "marks" and "behinds" make a lot more sense.  Once to port, Alfonso jumped on a train and I rode with Glenn along the coast towards his place before I took a roger and worked my way through City Beach in search of Holy Spirit Church.  A friend of mine from the States knows the parish priest there, Fr. Kettle.  I got directions from a lady exercising along one of the footpaths and found the church just as she described.  I tried to find the church once before but didn't have any luck.  I walked in as quietly as I could, but the "clop clop" of my worn-out cycling shoes echoed throughout the narthex and sanctuary.  Much to my surprise, adoration was taking place, so I stuck around and said a few syllables for awhile. I had hoped to meet Fr. Kettle, but it was getting late and I needed to head back home before the sun said goodbye for the day.  Will make another visit sometime down the road.

After all that riding, I was toast.  I cooked up some sassages on the grill, whipped up a salad and scarfed down dinner soon after I got home.  An hour later, I was sawing logs.  I've been tired all day today as well.  Here on the computer to skype a few folks and then call it a night.

It's about time to start skyping.  I hope you all are having a great weekend. Enjoy the company of family and friends. 

Peace and love,

Scotty

p.s. I wanted to ask for your prayers for a few people who have passed away recently. A colleague from here in Perth passed away over the weekend in a car accident. Another colleague's mother passed away a few weeks back.  Please keep them and their families in your prayers.  Thank you.

Mother's Day

How's it going today?  Hope all is well in the Northern/Western Hemisphere.  Happy Mothers day to all you moms, mums, madres, matkas and so forth out there!  Tis a special day, indeed.  Without you, none of us would be here...thank you for the gift of life!

Had some things to share with you, but I'm way tired and going to call it a night.  A few people asked, so I posted a few pictures of my apartment to the link on the right.  Will catch up with you all soon.

Cheers and a special blessings to all the moms out there.

Scotty

Snarky...

ood morning/afternnon/evening/yaddi/yaddi...never can tell who may be reading this when, so I figured I'd cover all the bases.  So how's it going on your end of town?  Anything new or exciting happen last week?

Three highlights from this past week: 

1. Snarky is a real word...
2. Going out on a limb here, but I contest that Windows 07 is a pain in my arse
3. Shopping for houeshold goods makes Scotty snarky. 

Last weekend I heard the word "snarky" used for the very first time.  I learned that one of its meanings is "testy, irritable". I must have repeated it to myself a few dozen times in a host of voices and in various contexts just to say it and to amuse myself (perhaps a self-depricating admission, but what else you gonna do when your riding home after work?).  Snarky is a catchy word, methinks.  Snarky is so catchy that it caught me a few days after I heard it...may I introduce you to Windows 2007...yes folks, the great minds at Microsoft have created yet another masterpiece of an operating system....comparable to great accomplishments of man like the pyramids, the Great Wall, and, err, I mean, Pepsi Free, the SARS debacle, and the Yugo. Some of you may recall a tirade I penned in a post while in Peru after a day-long battle with Excel.  In much the same way, I battled with that handy-dandy, nifty little geotechnical program called gINT.  After nearly two days of mickey-mousin around with this file and that directory, I realized that gINT is not so compatible with Windows 2007...or should I say Windows 2007 is not so compatible with gINT?  I was a pretty snarky fella come quitting time Friday afternoon.  In the end, I learned two "new" words...compatibility mode.  Thank you Windows 2007.  Since I was pretty snarktified Thursday and Friday, it was only natural that the snarkiness would weasel it's way into the weekend.

I moved into a place for the long-term last night (pictures coming).  It's a new remodeled townhouse set-up...one bed, one bath...upstairs and downstairs.  Nice place to call home for the next six or seven months.  Came pretty much furnished: bed, couch, plates, forks, spoons...even a flat-screen tv and a few paintings on the wall.  What it doesn't have though, caught me by surprise (after my trek to the store to buy everything I needed to settle in).  In the mad rush to find a place in the ultra-competitive market out here, I saw the plates and forks, etc...it never dawned on me that it didn't have bowls, pots, pans spatulas, etc.  Interestingly enough, again, in one of my Peruvian posts, I shared a bit of my anxiety of shopping for household items with some of you. I'll refrain from a lengthy discussion of my shopping psychosis, but needless to say, after four hours of looking here, then there, then remembering this and forgetting that (and still pots- and utensil-less)...well, let's just say Scotty was pretty snarky. 

I guess the one positive from the shopping fiasco today was that I got a lot of practice driving here in Oz...No real problems and after a few clicks I was shredding air guitar riffs on the steering wheel and waving to the pretty girls as I passed by in the stylin Golder utility van...Naw, the right-hand turns are a bit dicey...not used to the width of the van or the "blind" side of the car on the left there.  Got another day to practice.

But alas, the evening came and I got to video skype compare Nick and cuzin Joey.  Good to see and talk with friendly and familiar faces. And wouldn't you know it?  I can't seem to find a bit of snarkiness anywhere.  So, before it comes back, I think I'm going to call it a night and end the day on that good note.  Mass, then another couple two-tree hours of shopping tomorrow, but hopefully I'll get some bike or run time in there too.  

Yous guys enjoy the weekend and have fun doing whatever it is you plan to do.  Until next time, much love and God bless.

Scotty  

Guitars, Cadillacs. Hillbilly Music...

You guys know that song?  Dwight Yoakam hit from the 80s.  Not sure why it popped into my head, but it was the best post title I could come up with this evening.

Winding out Sunday here in the office...watching Leige-Bastogne-Leige live on the net.  Long way to go in the race and wanted to catch up with yous guys.  Talking about bikes, I got a little over 50 miles under my belt yesterday.  Did 25 miles first thing in the morning with the local club.  Good ride and was able to mix it up a bit when it got "fast".  Feels good to hammer every now and then again.  Did 25 or so miles in the afternoon after washing clothes and picking groceries.  Had hoped to make it to Joondalup which is about 15 or 20 miles north of Perth, but didn't have the time and then I got nailed with two mechanicals on the way back...hopped a curb onto the road going down a hill and the chain wrapped around itself in two spots.  Got it fixed up pretty quickly, but not after getting my fingers loaded with chain lube...About 5 miles later I noticed my rear tire was low, but couldn't find any sign of a puncture...pumped it back up only to have to change the tube a mile later.  Spent half the time back off the bike!  Good practice.

So I've been going to a little church near the city called St. Brigid's.  St. Brigid's is an interesting parish with a small church and an ethnically diverse community. Fr. Alphonsus is Lebanese...There's a temporary priest who's from Indonesia and a visiting priest, Fr. Stanislaw stops by on Sundays...in addition to the regular English Masses they have Masses in Italian, Spanish, and Polish! Busy priests, indeed. I got up this morning debating what Mass to go to.  Yesterday I planned on hitting the 11:30 am Polish Mass at St. Brigids, but since I was up and raring to go by 7 am this morning, I thought of just hitting the English Mass and rolling with the rest of the day.  But, I stuck to my plan and made my way to the little church on the corner of Aberdeen and Fitzgereald. Memories of St. Casimir filled my mind when the opening hymn started.  I don't know a lick of Polish except for the likes of how to say "thank you", "grandma/grandpa", and "give me a kiss", but hearing it again in full-force like this morning was pretty cool.  The last time I heard Polish talked so much at one time, besides the occasional stop to Gene's Sausage Shop, was when my busia (boo-sha) and dziadzia (ja-joo, yeah, I know, how the heck do they get ja-joo from that, right?!?) (grandma and grandpa) would swear and argue with each other.  It was nice hear the Mass like that again after such a long time.  

 

Getting out on the bike has been a great way for me to experience the city and see things that I may have missed if I was driving in a car.  After being in town for about 2.5 weeks, I've mentally recorded several observations that I'll share with you:

• Traffic Lights...From what I can tell, there's no such thing as signal loops at the intersections...only timed lights.  This may be fine and dandy for rush hour traffic, but not so dandy for Saturday mornings.  On top of that, I think I've only hit two green lights in a row a time or two since I've been here.  Seems that the timing of the timing isn't dialed in too well.  Makes for a lot of stop and go when there's little or no traffic out.  On the plus side, I'm getting good at track stands.

• Tattoos...Whether walking through the mall, hanging out at the local bike shop, or reviewing project drawings at the office, I can't help but notice that a large number of people sport ink down here...not sure if it goes with the former penal colony mojo or what, but tats are really popular down here. Back in college when I was sporting 15 pounds more muscle, dreaming of a Harley, and listening to heavy metal on a frequent basis, a tattoo seemed like a great idea...now that I've shrunk, drive a little Mazda, and spend more time listening to Chopin rather than Pantera, a tat just doesn't make sense. 

• Subdivisions...Not a whole lot to say here except that once you get out of town a little ways, suburbia around Perth looks very similar to suburbia back home.  Subdivided neighborhoods...greenways and parks here and there, young couples pushing their children on swings, boats parked on trailers next to the garage.  Maybe not as many brick facades as you see in Chicagoland, but a familiar scene just the same.

• Cheddar Cheese...I've made a few grocery runs since I've been in town...no major shopping escapades as I buy only what I can fit in my backpack, but I've snooped around Woolworth's (not the old-school Chicago store) enough to notice that cheddar cheese is a rare item...at least the 2-lb bricks you can find back home. I was able to snag a small pack of cheddar the other day that I wound up taking to Nihal and Nisha's place for dinner this afternoon...but it took me two trips around the cheese island thingy at the store to find it.  Jarlsburg queso is popular here, so I've been giving it a go...not too bad.

• Store Hours...Now that the topic has migrated from traffic lights to stores, I've got to mention something about hours of operation here in town.  I'm not sure if this is an Australian-wide set up, but at least here in Perth, stores are mandated to be open only a limited number of hours a week.  That translates into a vast majority of stores closing at 5:30 pm every night except for Friday nights, where they're open until 9pm.  Makes running out for an emergency bar of soap or toothbrush difficult.  A jab at capitalism, I say!

• Anzac Day...From the Internet's number one information source, Wikipedia...Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.  It now commemorates ANZAC's involvement in other campaigns in history.  I understand Anzac Day to be equivalent to our Memorial Day.  I, like a buffoon, got my days mixed up and missed the pre-dawn memorial service in Perth this morning.  Military history is something I eat up and to witness an ally's memorial celebration for their fallen heros...well, I feel I owe them my gratitude as well.  I regret not being there to watch the commemoration.

Just checked and there's fifty clicks to go in L-B-L...going to be a late night taking in the race, but that'll give me a chance to get a little work done.  7:30 am ride tomorrow with a fellow North American (a Canuck) named David that I met on the Saturday morning club ride.  Not sure where we're going, but I'm sure it'll be fun.  So with that, I'll leave you to the start of your Sunday.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend and have fun with family and friends today.

Peace and God bless.

Scotty

Airplanes and ATM Cards...

Greetings, all. 

I hope you're getting to enjoy the weekend wherever you may be.  Unless you're an early riser, my guess is that you're in the middle of sawing logs right about now.  It's a sunny Sunday afternoon here in Perth. I've got an icon of Seattle's weather on my desktop and notice that the sun has been shining and the temps have been warm the last few days in the jet city.  I imagine the trees are in full bloom and the Lake Washington Boulevards and other byways are filled with the sweetness of spring.  Sunshine with snow on the mountain tops, trees and flowers showing off their prize, and the sounds of life all around...postcard Seattle...perfect Easter season weekend, I'd say!

Remember that Red Bull Air Race I mentioned last post?  I was fortunate enough to get nearly a birds eye view of the action.  John from the office invited a few of us newcomers to watch the race from his 10th floor apartment overlooking the Swan River.  Awesome views and what was really cool was that the planes flew in and out from a makeshift landing strip located about 200 feet from his balcony!  I learned that there are eight places in the world that hold this event...never would have thunk I'd catch see such a thing...let alone in Perth.  There were a few Americans in field...one guy made it to the second-to-last round, but didn't qualify for the finals.  An Austrian fella took the gold and a local Perthian(???) took second much to the applause of the crowd.  I posted some pix of the planes and other things.

Yesterday after Mass I was strolling home and was debating whether or not to grab a bite on the way back or to eat a makeshift dinner at the apartment.  I had a taste for Italian and a Moretti or Peroni.  So, I decided to deck into the first Italian place I found.  I came across a place called Venizia a few blocks away from the cathedral and grabbed a table outside so I could enjoy the plesant evening air and take in the sights and sounds as people came and went by.  I ordered up a ravioli dish with a side salad...and yep, a bottle of Peroni.  I prefer Moretti, especially draft, but it's hard to find...in fact, the only place I've found it on draft is the place I was introduced to it...The Lasagna House on the corner of Westheimer and Eldridge in H-town.  The LH was actually the very first resturant I ate at when I moved to Houston back in 2001.  Vinny, one of the best servers I've ever known, got me hooked on the blue collar Italian brew.  My mom, dad, and I ate there after moving my stuff into my apartment and Vinny took care of us that first time.  Good grub, but a bit out of the way.  It was probably six or eight months later that I popped in there again for supper.  And sure enough, Vinny was there and I sat in his section.  Right off the bat Vinny asked, "Hey, buddy.  Haven't see you in a long time.  How are you doing?  Settled in by now, I imagine?  How's your mom and dad doing?"  I couldn't believe it.  I ate at the LH at least once a month thereafter...Anyway, I threw down the dinner and beer and when it was time to pay I realized I didn't have my US ATM card, but only my Aussie ATM card and credit card (still figuring out what to carry when and where).  I'm trying not to use my credit card here because I get shelled with a 3% international transaction fee when I do, but in a pinch, it's there. So, no problem, right?  Not really, except Venizia doesn't take plastic and the Aussie ATM card in my pocket was pretty much useless to me because I forgot the blasted PIN!  So there I was with a bill of $41.90 (ridiculously expensive for a basic plate of pasta, little salad, and a beer considering that the Aussie dollar is nearly 1 to 1 with the US dollar...I just realized that the bastages charged me $3.50 for the glass of tap water!...welcome to Perth, I suppose...probably one reason why dinny didn't taste too good.) and no way to pay for it.  I went up to the lady behind the counter and explained my situation, frank and to the point. Much to my surprise, she simply said, "No worries (a common Aussie phrase).  Just come back and pay tomorrow."  Surprised indeed!  I swung by the resturant this afternoon on the two-wheeler to pay my debt, but the doors were closed...I just called and no one home.  I ought to mail them an envelope with $38.40 in it, tell them thanks for allowing me to leave the resturant premises without some guy named Guido coming out to teach me a lesson...but tell them they can kiss my blarney if I'm going to pay three-fiddy for a glass of tap water.  Perhaps I'll just stop by during the week, pay the bill, and try a new Italian resturant next time around. 

Reminiscing of Vinny serving up homemade lasagna and yesterday's dinner has got my belly barking.  It's pushing 18:00, so I guess it's right on time.  And whaddaya know?  A colleague from Redmond who is working here in Perth too, Jill, just called and asked if I wanted to grab a bite.  So by golly, I'm going to go grab a bite with Jill.  You kids have a fantastic Sunday.  Til next time, take care and God bless you. 

Scotty

Finding the Right Fit...

Happy Tuesday morning to those of you east of that invisible boundary called the International Dateline. 

Not much to report on from this end, but felt like saying hey and rattling off a few syllables before I split for the night.  It's a rainy Tuesday evening here in Perth.  I just got back from viewing an apartment.  Fully furnished minus a few towels and an extra pair of sheets.  Nice place but it's located just about a block or two from a shady part of town.  I've got a few more viewings tomorrow, so I'll see how they compare.

Still adjusting to the everyday odds and ends that I took for granted just a week or two ago: where to put my keys when I get home, what mode of transportation I'll take to get to work based on the weather (foot or bike), whether I order lunch at the counter or at the table, etc.  Adjusting at work still as well: timesheets, how to tackle assignments, who's who.  After only a few days, I suppose I wouldn't expect anything else.  But, after being in Perth for just about a week now, my initial observation is that I'm not sure I fit in very well here. As a comparison, and on purely a superficial level, back in Peru, I really didn't fit in: I was a relatively tall, way pale-faced, funny-talking gringo.  Here in Perth, I'm not so tall, but I'm a way pale-faced, funny-talking Yank. There are several things beneath the surface where I may not fit in all that well too...but those will take awhile longer to confirm one way or another. I guess in the end, it really doesn't matter much, does it?

One of the senior fellas in the office, John, invited us to his apartment this upcoming Sunday to watch the Red Bull Air Race.  It's a coincidence because my good buddy Johnny P gave me a heads up about this race before I even left Seattle.  John's place is located on the shore of the Swan River.  The Swan River is situated along the southern boundary of the city.  The race takes place over the river with the city as a nice background for the cameras.  You may have seen this shindig on TV before...it's basically an obstacle course for sooped-up prop planes.  It looks pretty cool and the weather forecast looks really good.  I'm going to pick up some brews and a tray of eats and stop by for the festivities. 

Well, it's pushing 19:00 here and I'm late for supper. You kids have a groovy Tuesday.  

Scotty

First Two Days...

What's shakin, everybody?

Scotty Z reporting live from the Riverview on Mount Street, Perth, Western Australia.  Tis the blogging season once again. Figured I'd scribe a few thoughts now and then like I did when I was in Peru.  So, here goes...

Just as a quick background, I'm working in Perth for the next six to eight months, still with Golder on the geotech engineering for the Chevron Wheatstone Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project which is located about ten clicks southwest of Onslow, WA (WA = Western Australia round here).  Here's a map of the job site.  If you zoom in, you'll see that it's a pretty barren area.  It's underlain by soft, compressible soils and overlain with sand, snakes, and spiders...the kind that you've seen on TV.  I'm not scheduled to visit the site yet...perhaps at some point down the road.  I'm working on a team that'll be cranking out the both onshore and nearshore geotechnics.  The scope of work is ginormous and the amount of engineering data collected that's being collected is quite extensive.  Unlike the Peru gig, nothing is being built yet, this is all front-end engineering.  Same concept, just a different phase of the project.  Friends and colleagues from both the Redmond and Houston offices are on the team as well.  Many of you may remember my friend Nihal...we worked in Peru together...he's here with his family.  Alfonso from Houston is here as well.  I worked with Alfonso on an LNG project a few years back.  Deb is here from the Redmond office too.  In all, there's probably about ten of us who will be doing the engineering work in the office.  I look forward to helping out and I trust that I'll learn a ton.

I've been in Perth for about four days now.  I got into town Wednesday night.  The voyage into town was pretty laid back.  I flew SEA-LAX-AUK-PER on United and Air New Zealand.  Total flight time in the neighborhood of 24 hours...total travel time +/- 34 hours.  Slept 80 percent of the flight time from SEA to AUK.  I didn't get a chance to roam around Auckland, but from what I could see from the airport and flying out, it's beautiful.  My buddy Mark is planning a trip to New Zealand in July-August...I hope to meet him for a few days.  I underestimated the flight time from AUK to PER by about 3 hours, so that sort of stunk, but besides that and United Airlines playing a dirty trick with my baggage weight allowance, everything was smooth and ontime.  I transitioned pretty quickly to the 15-hour time change, but felt a bit sleepy Thursday and Friday afternoons.  It's Sunday afternoon now here in Perth, and feel 100 percent adjusted.

The weather has been as clear as the photo above and the temps have hovered in the mid 70s each day.  They're calling for rain the next few days, so we'll see. Perth is a very clean and well-to-do city from what I've observed so far.  Public transport is everywhere...buses, taxis, trains.  The city and surrounding area is situated atop sand dunes.  There are rolling hills here and there, some steeper than others, with stretches of flat landscape.  All types of trees and plants abound the landscape.  There are some interesting birds flying around the sky too.  Interesting calls and sounds, distinctively different from anything I've heard back in the States.  There are many parks in the area, none bigger than Kings Park.  The office is located just north of the park.  It's perhaps the equivalent to Central Park in NYC.

Besides the strange bird sounds, just about everything here in Perth is the same as any large city back in the US, except the traffic flows in the opposite direction, the water drains counter-clockwise, just about every word is abbreviated, and the electrical plugs are funky.  I learned first-hand about the traffic flow difference.  I was strolling around town Thursday morning and what seemed like a clear shot across the street quickly turned into a mad dash for my life as a city bus was barrelling down towards me.  My first lesson learned here in town:  look RIGHT then look left and repeat no less than three times before taking a step off the sidewalk!

I jumped into the office just to get the ball rolling on Thursday and Friday.  Work officially starts on Monday, 12 April, but I wanted to pop in and meet the folks that are a part of the geotechnical fray.  I also wanted to get my apartment search going in full gear.  Real estate is ridiculously expensive out here. We're granted an allowance and I'm trying to match it to location, bike paths, and Mass times.  I hope to find something soon. A few principals took Nihal, Alfonso, Deb and I out for dinny Thursday night.  I ate a barrimundi fillet.  Barrimundi is a local fish.  Good stuff.   

I brought my rain bike with me and got it set up Friday night.  I took it out yesterday for what I had planned to be a short, easy ride around town. I found myself totally disregarding the fact that I haven't ridden but a time or two the last nine months and wound up logging about 40 miles over rolling hills and partly into a brutal headwind dubbed by the locals as a sea breeze that'd make any Belgian cyclist feel right at home. As I was pondering the vastness of the Indian Ocean, and resting the kicks near Freemantle, I caught sight of a cyclist zipping by and figured I'd see if they were up for some company. I jockeyed around picnic tables and sign posts from the scenic viewpoint and cautiously jumped back onto the road only to see the target a good half "k" up the way. A few lackadasical pedestrians made me light up the brakes to avoid carnage, but I was hell bent on catching that bike...now further away than before...not so much to get to meet someone new at this point, but more so to see if I had any spunk left in the legs after months of near bike solitude. Three or four clicks later, I pulled up along side of a gal named Serena. Turns out Serena is quite the cyclist...strong gal! We rode for a good distance along the coast and had a good chat until I needed to head back east towards the city.  Legs feel remarkably good today, but my arse is sore as hell!

So that about sums up my first few days here in Perth.  I've got a few key objectives that I'd like to accomplish this next week or two, including: 

• Find an apartment
• Buy some sunglasses
• Pick up some groceries
• Buy shammy cream
• Learn the rules to Aussie football (aka "footy") 

I'm heading out to pick up some of them groceries and hopefully find a pair of shades.  The shammy cream may have to wait a few days, unfortunately.  I'll post pictures as I take them to the link you see on the right.  I'm not a picture taker in general, but I'll make sure to get some on there.  Give 'em a look when you have time.  If you're a skyper, my id is sdzajac (I think)...give me a buzz if you want.  

Even though we're half the world away, I'm thinking of family and friends often. Until next time, much love and God bless.

Scotty