3 Months in Melbourne

Well... 3.5 months actually. Hard to find time to update the blog.

Getting fat on the fine food and abundant beers and wines. The hot weather is here, and it's 2 days before christmas. Driving down Sydney Road on Sunday and very surprised to see a group of carol singers on the steps of a church. Don't they realise it's summer? They looked a bit odd to me in the blazing sun and wearing shades.

In the city at the weekend there were crowded pavements full of festive shoppers, but a closer examination revealed that most were empty handed at 5pm... maybe the economy is in trouble, or maybe they were tourists. Or simply waiting until the last possible moment before deciding on which packet of soon-to-be-forgotten plastic gadgets would represent their kindness to others.

Everything (well almost) is made in China. Apart from HP sauce which hails from Holland. The orient is also providing the average Melburnian with some great food. I'm on a diet of Japanese cuisine about 4 times a week... fresh, healthy, cheap, long queue.

Pork sausages, which are necessary as a base for HP, are hard to find. Beef? Yes. Kangaroo? Check. Turkey? No worries. Pork? Nah.

Car shopping was a bit weird... looking for an oldish Japanese car (which have reached plague proportions) involves viewing a car (if the seller bothers to answer the phone or email) then some discussion of price, how long it will take to obtain the roadworthy cert, then discussion of a scheduled handover date. Some people have custom made 'for sale' graphics on their car. I just thought I could turn up with the money and drive home, but it's rarely that simple. Got a bargain though so maybe worth the hassle.

Work is good if a little tricky. Nice to be using the grey matter. Good people too.

Overall, so far, still going great - slightly homesick but a few phone calls and lack of any reports of interesting events back home take the edge off.

New year in Sydney and then a road trip along the coast means that work is now a distant 3 weeks away.

Our new air con unit has a remote. I set it up next to the new games console in preparation for a few days of relaxation. Ice cold beer seems to cool things down too!