Minnamurra Rainforest and Carrington Falls

Yesterday morning we got up early for a day of bush walking. First, we went to Minnamurra Falls. I was so impressed with that walk from my previous trip there, I told Michelle she just had to see it, too. The parks in Australia are numerous and vast, and bush walking is a healthy, low-cost, active, and relaxing way to spend time here. We bought a couple of decent backpacks for hiking earlier this week so we'd be properly equipped (the back support is extremely important for long walks). At the Minnamurra Falls visitor center I bought a 2-year multi-parks pass. That allows us unlimited access to all the state-managed entry-fee parks in NSW (except one) for 2 years.

The Minnamurra rainforest was just as beautiful as before. By getting there early, we beat the crowds. Since the walk is fairly easy, the park attracts lots of visitors: families with small kids, Aussies with guests from overseas, etc. We finished the walk in about 2.5 hours, so we went to another nearby park to finish out the day. There are two large parks in the immediate area, Budderoo National Park and Barren Grounds Nature Reserve. I checked online the night before to see how long the trails were, and Budderoo had the best options for us. The staff at Minnamurra told us about Carrington Falls in Budderoo, so that was our next stop.

Getting to Carrington involved a very winding drive through the hills, and the entrance sign to the Falls could have been easily passed by if I hadn't been paying attention. The bush in this area was strikingly different than at Minnamurra Falls, despite only being about 18 km away. The waterfall was very impressive. The view overlooked both the falls and a huge valley. We soaked in the scenery for awhile, then decided to explore the nearby trails. The forest there, while still interesting, was not as pretty as the Minnamurra rainforest.

Capping off the day, we had dinner at my supervisor's house in Kiama. It was nice to visit him outside the office, in the more laid back family atmosphere.

Holiday Fun

We've been running all kinds of shopping errands here, but not really for gifts or other useless stuff. It's mostly been for food and kitchen items. We will be having Christmas dinner with Kathy & Kevin's family (they are our upstairs neighbors, and their daughter owns our apartment). We volunteered to bring a dish and some desserts. Michelle made her shortbread cookies and some raisin tarts. I'm going to make two trays of chicken enchiladas -- one with mole sauce and one with a sour cream sauce. I had to go to several places before I found jalapenos. All the usual places were out for some strange reason (they are not really the pepper of choice for most Australians).

After finishing up the errands today, we went to the beach for a bit. The photo shows what we did. :)

Current Research Status

Alright, here's an update on my research progress towards the PhD. I've managed to make batteries using the inkjet printer, but the performance of those batteries was simply ho-hum. Since they were printed onto glass, there's not really anything novel about the batteries that makes it worthwhile to publish an article specifically about them. However, my supervisor will combine some of the results of my battery project with a paper he is writing about his work using some of the same chemicals. So in the end, I still get my work published, and it's a small notch towards my doctorate.

I am probably more critical of my work than my supervisor or anyone else here. I did get lots of practice in the lab and on the printer. As a result of that, I'm certainly better able to direct my own research from here on. After complaining about issues with the printer for the past several months, I've finally been able to get enough attention that it looks like we will be doing something about it. In my last monthly meeting, I volunteered to put together a presentation outlining all our options, and there is a meeting in early January with my supervisors and several other researchers to discuss the future of the printing options in our lab. We have some angel funding we can tap into -- and the biggest surprise to me was that we may end up buying two (TWO!) of the printers I want.

My future research will likely involve a number of different methods of printing. After the holiday break I will begin working on the crowning achievement of my work -- which will be trying some new things with bio-scaffolds. That topic covers a very wide area of currently ongoing research around the world, but on a basic level, it's exactly what it seems to be: engineering micro-scaffolds that can then be used for things such as tissue engineering or other biological applications. This next project will consume my remaining time in the program, but there are multiple milestones along the way that should yield publications.

For now, I'm going to enjoy the two-week holiday break. I'll be doing leisurely things, certainly, but this kind of free time also allows me space to read up on bio-scaffolds and think about what kind of problem I would like to solve. Next year will be exciting, indeed.

End of Year One

The end of my first year (or nine months, rather) as a PhD student has arrived. One year ago, we had already sent our pets to live (along with a truckload of our stuff) with Michelle's parents in Canada, and were preparing to celebrate our last Christmas in America for a few years. At this time last year, I had only recently accepted the scholarship and was making all the initial arrangements for our move here: accommodation, banking, shipping stuff in advance. Nothing was official, yet, as the visa application had to be sent in and approved (that wasn't finalized until February). Packing up and selling the house was the largest hurdle, though. We spent the latter part of our holiday break packing up everything we didn't need for display while selling the house. I also had to work like mad on a few outstanding house repairs before we could put the house on the market, like finishing the fence, cleaning the gutters, and removing odd bits of do-it-yourself repairs/enhancements that didn't quite turn out right.

I had to be in Australia no later than March 31 in order to retain my scholarship. From that point until about late August I/we spent a great deal of time on 'settling in' details. Michelle arrived on our anniversary in July, and by that time, I had purchased broadband, kitchen appliances and wares, linens and pillows, mountain bikes, and office appliances. Late July, Michelle resumed work with her Dallas job, but could not take the university housing anymore after about two weeks -- largely due to the screaming kids at the daycare across the street and the noisy neighbors next door. That sent us on to experience the joys of apartment hunting here without a car (meaning we walked tens of kilometers and/or rode our bikes). Once we had that taken care of, we got to buy furniture, and several months later, the car -- which brings us to where we are now.

Although I've had many frustrations with the settling in process here, I have to say I have no regrets about this move. When I gave my notice at my last I.T. job, I passed off my reasons as neutral as possible: it's a fantastic opportunity; I get to see Australia; I feel more at home in science; blah, blah, blah. All of those reasons were certainly true. But I didn't provide the company with the real reason. It's the same reason I left the four previous jobs I held since finishing my bachelor's degree. I was too late to the party. All the good times, lucrative positions, and respect were gone by the time I arrived at those jobs. To be fair, I did move my salary up enough that we were able to buy our house, drive decent cars, and I paid cash for my masters degree. But nearly every annual review I had came down to a script: "The company is tight on money, our market looks a little uncertain for the near future, 3% is the best we can do..." There was only one year that I got a surprise 8% raise, but by that time, I had already plotted my course to get out of I.T. The annual review excuses were disingenuous given that the management teams at the companies I worked at were always driving very new luxury cars, living in opulent houses, and getting to spend a great deal of their working hours playing golf or attending social functions. I was clearly outside that circle with no hopes of breaking in. I saw many other people wreck their lives killing themselves for their jobs with vain hopes of breaking in to that inner circle getting all the perks. The annual review script is nothing but HR playing psychologist on company employees, giving people a 'road map' or some other distraction to keep them working the same or harder, but without any tangible promises for benefits other than the base salary -- which is the same thing a person would get anyway just sticking to a 40-hour work week. The game was so obvious to me early on during my I.T. career, that after seeing the same pattern over nearly ten years, I knew nothing would change. It made no difference what new skills I learned, what courses I took, or what degrees I obtained. It wouldn't matter what company I joined or what position I joined at -- the same game would begin anew each time.

There was no way in hell I could play along on the losing end of that game for another thirty-odd years. I was already getting depressed after enduring just ten years. More of the basic perks, stuff like insurance, pensions, would be eroded away each year, leaving me with a very real risk of having almost nothing near retirement. Everyone at the top of the economic food chain in the States continues to burn through the fuel supporting it -- a collapse at some point in the near future seems inevitable. Life is way too short for such nonsense. By refusing to play such a game, I have essentially taken greater control of my own life. If I had not gotten this opportunity, I would have started my own company or something (and likely not in I.T.!). I've never felt so in touch with my life and my place in the world. The work I'm doing is purely for my own benefit, and I am already being rewarded for it -- no dumb HR department or corporate structure involved. This holiday break, we plan to do lots of day trips to see many of the natural wonders here. There is no HR department telling me I only have two days left of vacation time (out of the generous five to ten I might have begun with). I don't have to show up on campus if there's no work to do. I'm not on call. In short, I'm truly free. :)

Our Car

We are now happy owners of a 1995 Toyota Camry station wagon.

We had really hoped to be able to live without a car for a few years and only rely on public transport, but due to public transport costs and scarcity here in NSW, that just wasn't realistic. It was inevitable that we would eventually reach the point where we could no longer tolerate not having a car.

That time has finally come, and this past Friday I went into Sydney and bought a car. We had already settled on the type of car we wanted -- a station wagon. It's about the closest we could get to an SUV for the money, and station wagons are not unsexy cars here, like in the States. We also wanted the car to be reliable, in decent shape, and to get reasonable fuel economy. The Toyota Camry wagon was the only car fitting all those details. There are Holden, Ford, Subaru, and Hyundai wagons here, too, but those were either too expensive, too unreliable, or guzzled petrol (some even all three).

The journey on the train began at 5:26 a.m. (ugh -- had to wake up at 4:30!), putting me in Sydney around 7:00 a.m. I walked to a Gloria Jean's for coffee, then came back to Central Station and bought a one-way ticket on the Blue Mountain line for a station along "auto alley."

I went up to the city for one particular Camry wagon I found online, but when I inspected it, I found it was a complete turd. It had lots of rust; the interior smelled, was stained, and falling apart; the engine was dirty; more smoke came out of the exhaust than expected for a Toyota, combined with an unusual amount of water. There were even some parts of the car that looked like someone had done a bit of a homeade repair job. The sales lady could clearly see from my reactions what I thought of the car, and while she weakly attempted to comment on some of the items ("All the Camrys have that problem with age," etc.), it was obvious to me she didn't believe a word of what she said. That car was listed at A$4999, but I wouldn't have even paid A$1500 for it. I walked straight away from that one.

While I was waiting for the first dealer to open, I had a look up and down the street. Just a short walk down I noticed another Camry wagon that was two years newer, at a comparable price to the first one, and noted that it appeared to be in great shape (this would have been a bargaining chip if the first car got to the negotiation stage). Since the first car wasn't even worth considering, I went immediately for the newer one. (I had an additional two ads printed from the websites, but since this next one was so close by, I didn't have anything to lose.) The dealer was a friendly guy, but the car really sold itself. The price was listed at A$5999. When I looked the car over, it was very obvious it had been taken care of. The logbook showed regular service at a Toyota dealership (the last included replacing the timing belt in 2006, so that was one expensive piece of maintenance not needed for awhile). The engine was clean all over; there was no obvious rust anywhere; the upholstery was in great shape; the oil, transmission fluid, and coolant were all normal; and the car performed well in the test drive. The only things I could find to haggle on were the fact that the rego (registration) expires in a week, which will cost around A$500, and the 200000 Kms maintenance will be due in 5000 Kms. The dealer voluntarily lowered the price down to A$5500 when I asked about those things. Beyond that, he wasn't budging, and from the first experience that morning, I knew I would be hard pressed to find a better deal. I found that A$5000 is generally the cutoff between a car in decent shape and a quality grab-bag (and Lemon Laws don't exist here for used cars). The best deals go quickly here.

So the deal was essentially done by me at that point, and I contacted the insurance company to get all that set up, then called Michelle for final approval before signing away. It took about an hour to wrap up all the details before I drove off the lot. Then I think I missed the exit I was supposed to take, got lost and drove around some neighborhoods before stumbling onto another highway, which took me to a different suburb area... Anyways, I eventually saw signs noting "South Coast" and followed them, ending up on the Princes Highway southbound, which I was familiar with. The car drove great on the highway, and the automatic transmission shifted cleanly. The fuel economy on this car should be perfect for us, as it has a 2.2L 4-cylinder engine, and a button inside to allow for switching between optimized fuel economy and a little more power. I expect to get about 400 Kms (city driving) - 700 Kms (highway driving) per tank, since I drove about 100 Kms from Sydney and used less than a quarter tank. Filling up will cost around A$65.

Overall, we are real happy with the car, and particularly excited that now we don't have to ride our bikes or walk 8 Kms for grocery shopping, carrying the entire purchase in backpacks over four large hills. This means we can do grocery shopping in one hour instead of three, and now we don't have to base our purchasing decisions on how much we can carry. We will also be able to get out for weekend excursions or longer road trips (with room for friends, bikes, luggage) -- and we are very excited by that prospect!

Impressions of Melbourne

Last Friday night we went to the Crowded House concert in Melbourne -- which is essentially where that band began. I must say from the beginning I was struck by the contrast of Melbourne versus Sydney. Sydney seems to me a bit dull. The architecture (aside from the Opera House) is 'blah'. I haven't really seen the arts district, if Sydney even has one. To be fair, the parks are nice. By far the biggest contrast was the public transport. Sydney could really stand to learn something from Melbourne here. Melbourne's public transport system is top-notch. During the week, there is a train every 10 minutes; on weekends, every 20 minutes -- even out to the suburbs. Compare this to Sydney, where during the week, the train runs every 30-40 minutes during peak hours and every hour during off-peak; and every hour on weekends. Not to mention Sydney nickels-and-dimes riders for every little distance they go -- but in Melbourne, it's only two zones of fare distinction. Melbourne also allows riders to pay for a full route (as much as you can ride on the train, tram, and buses) during a 2-hour window (this fare is A$5.30).

The city architecture is complete eye candy. Everywhere, it's obvious that the city was built with an emphasis on design. Very few of the buildings are traditional-looking and dull. All creative elements were used: color, shape, texture, and an assortment of mediums (concrete, wood, glass, steel, plastic). I've never taken so many photos of buildings before.

There is a great variety of shops and restaurants. We enjoyed several used books stores, a neat game shop (where we found a Scrabble game done with playing cards instead of the traditional board), tons of cafes and coffee houses, and the obvious assortment of traditional retail. The people are also quite friendly and helpful. I think the food highlight of our trip was the Mexican restaurant we found, called Taco Bill's. It wasn't as good as some of our old favorites in Dallas, but still quite decent. After that we went to the James Squire Brewery and I downed a sampling of six different beers (porter, amber, india ale, red, pilsner, and pale ale).

We stayed at the apartment of some friends we met at Jen's wedding in Brisbane -- Chris and Iris. The funny thing was that at the last minute, Iris' job had her going to Sydney on Friday, and Chris decided to go as well to catch up with some of his old friends. We got to have a wonderful evening with both of them Thursday, though, and will be seeing them again over the holidays. Like Brisbane, we found Melbourne very welcoming and definitely plan to travel there again. So far, it's my favorite city in Australia; however, I did really miss the beaches, cockatoos, and the escarpment near our home.

Jervis Bay: Lots of Wildlife, Beer, and F*cking Flies

Last weekend was the Chemistry Department's annual retreat to Jervis Bay. All the first and second year PhD students are required to attend and present their work. The weekend basically consisted of presentations all day, a big dinner, fun and games, and lots of beer at night. Most everyone arrived around 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon. After a brief period of settling in, the group went right into the first presentations. Around 6 p.m. those finished, and the beer came out. Once dinner was done and it became dark, the bonfire was lit. Although the fun, drunken revelry lasted quite late, I went to bed at about 11:30 p.m. A bunch of people were getting up to surf in the morning, and I had a brand new wetsuit that I bought a couple months back and not yet used. My supervisor was up around 5:45, and we left in his car with one other professor at about 6. We went to Cave Beach, which has a long and very gentle slope into the sea -- so if the waves are good, they will ride for a long ways. Since I didn't have a surfboard, I was stuck just swimming (but that was still fun); the waves were a bit flat for surfing, anyways. I was very glad to have the wetsuit, as the water was cold. My feet were numb, in fact, by the time I finished swimming.



Breakfast followed when we got back, then another marathon of presentations, lunch, and a long afternoon break. Most people went to the beach during the break; I went on a short bush walk with a handful of professors. The scenery was quite nice. The path followed the coast a bit, then went upwards until we were high on a cliff overlooking the ocean. At that point, the vegetation was sparse, sort of Texas-like. A bushfire had started spreading earlier that day, and we could see it from our vantage point. Along the walk, we saw a kookaburra and some wallabies, and could hear black cockatoos. During the daylight hours, there was also a pestilence of flies -- lots of fucking flies. And that's just a normal part of summer here (do a search on the 'Aussie salute'). Out in the bush, there will usually be several hundred flies harassing each person. Never have I hated flies so much. We all had to wave broken twigs around our heads non-stop until we finished the walk.




After the bushwalk, the group of us went to a different beach (Cave Beach was closed due to the bushfire). Most everyone else was already there, and it was nice to get another swim in. When we got back to the base station, we had a huge hamburger dinner, and of course, more beer. After dinner, I went with a handful of other students to a nearby field where we saw kangaroos grazing. At about 8 p.m. the trivia game began. The questions covered all kinds of topics, from rare music tracks to random oddities. One question was how many beers were consumed the night before (the answer was 230 bottles -- about 6 per person since we had a number of non-drinkers). When the points were added up at the end, my team won. The prize was a couple of bottles of nice wine, a bottle of port, and some chocolates. Not long after that, I found a couple of people feeding a possum that had wandered into the camp area. Possums here look quite cute -- nothing at all like the disgusting, nearly hairless creatures in North America. We fed it bread, bits of banana and an apple. It would walk up and take the food from people's hands, then sit up on its back legs and nibble away. I stayed up until about 2 a.m. that night, and had a number of great conversations by the bonfire.



The next morning wrapped up the presentations, and awards were given for best presentations, best posters, and most outrageous drunken revelry (this one was called the Cheeseman Award, and was won by one of the professors). I was told my presentation got an honorable mention and was in the top ten. We had a big lunch, but there were still tons of leftovers that got handed out. The remaining people at that point all pitched in to clean up, and I got back home around 4 p.m.

Such an event would never be sanctioned by a university in the States, and certainly not with alcohol being served so freely. Altogether, though, it was a lot of fun, and a great atmosphere for mentoring, exchanging ideas, and relaxing together. I'm looking forward to next year's event.

We Saw Whales

This past Saturday evening we went down to the beach one last time with Michelle's parents before their departure. Michelle mentioned they saw whales the prior evening, and that we might see them again. Sure enough, just off the coast near our apartment, several whales were making quite a scene. We saw the fins flapping and water spewing from blowholes, and one whale put on a show by slapping his tail against the water repeatedly for several minutes.

These are humpback whales, and they are migrating to their feeding grounds this time of year. We thoroughly enjoyed the sight of them. They swim past our area from early October until mid-November, so we will have another show to look forward to each year we are here.

We also went to the beach earlier during the day to get some sun and get in the water a bit. Despite appearances in the photos, the water here is very cold. Most surfers here wear wetsuits because of this. From what I've heard, the water never really warms up much during the summer. Perhaps that's why the whales migrate along this coast. Another creature we encountered during our daytime trip to the beach was the bluebottle, which is actually a variety of Portuguese Man o' War. The waves and wind were both strong, so there were a few clusters of bluebottles that washed up all along the beach. The tentacles on these things can get quite long, even though the body itself is no larger than the size of the average thumb. It's the broken-off tentacles that will likely get you if you happen to be in the water when these things wash up, as one poor kid nearby found out (fortunately, the lifeguard had a spray balm). The stinging cells are still active after the bluebottles wash ashore, of course, so one has to be careful even just walking about.

Lost in Translation

We bought this at the local Woolworth's tonight. Somehow someone in the marketing department didn't get the double meaning here.

Kiama Blowhole & Minnamurra Rain Forest

This past Friday I took Michelle's parents to see the Kiama Blowhole and the Minnamurra Rain Forest.

The Kiama Blowhole is a natural rock formation in the shoreline cliffs of Kiama. A gulley has been carved out of the rocks over time, and connects to a small opening at the top of the rocks. The force of the waves will frequently send varying amounts of sea water spewing up through the hole like a geyser. I found it fascinating to watch the force of the waves concentrate at the mouth of the gulley before shooting through the opening. It's just another example of how powerful the sea is.

The Minnamurra Rain Forest was a 30-minute scenic drive inland, at the top of the escarpment. The trail leading through the park consists of wood planks or rubber grid tiles, so it's an easy walk for people of all abilities. In the forest, there are about 70 varieties of ferns, dozens of types of magnificent trees (fig, red cedar, eucalyptus, pine), stinging plants, parasitic vines, and a few foreign plants that have since become weeds in the area. The trees are over 30 meters tall, some with a girth of a medium-size car. The forest exhibits a distinct canopy that filters nearly 70 percent of the light that reaches the ground. Common wildlife in the area includes lyrebirds (we saw two), echidnas, and water dragons. Obviously, the list of creatures native to the area would too long to list here. The highlight of the walk is the waterfall at the top of the hill. All the way through, the park is very picturesque, and the waterfall is certainly postcard worthy.

As we left the road leading to the park, we noticed this kookaburra sitting on the sign.

Notes on Flying Within Australia

One very stark detail I wanted to note was the experience of plane travel within Australia. In America, every airport feels like Guantanamo. Every American citizen is presumed to be a terrorist the moment they enter a U.S. airport. Homeland Security staff are often rude; the airport security procedures invasive and for the most part, frivolous and ridiculous (not to mention the rules are different for each airport fiefdom); the security lines outrageously long and SLOW. As Bruce Schneier often says -- it's nothing but security theater.

Well, in Australia, none of that nonsense exists. We didn't have to take off our shoes for the x-ray scanner. We were allowed to carry on a beverage (bottled water in my case). The most striking difference was the attitude of the security staff. They were happy about their jobs, and didn't treat everyone who walked by like a presumed terrorist. I felt incredibly more relaxed going through the Australian airports than any I've been through in the U.S. Michelle ended up having a small metal nail file confiscated, but the security staff was very courteous about it. In America, we would have had a supervisor or two called over, been forced to unload our entire carry-on contents (maybe in case we had -- gasp! -- another nail file!), and pretty much been made to feel miserable about the oversight.

The experiences I've had in American airports made me not want to take a trip by plane at all if I could avoid it. I could give a shit about being a victim of a terrorist attack. What bothered me more was enduring the miserable experience at the hands of security rookies each and every time I went through an airport in the States. We would have taken far more trips around the country if it weren't for that. As it happened, though, we took nearly none and just spent most of our vacation time locally.

At first, I was worried that the airport experience would be similar here. But now that I've seen that the airport security staff is so much more professional here, and the atmosphere much more relaxing for travelers -- I look forward to taking lots of plane trips to see as much of Australia as possible.

Wedding in Brisbane

We flew to Brisbane on 3 October for a wedding that Saturday. Michelle's cousin, who was at our wedding eight years ago, was getting married. This was our first trip within Australia. Our upstairs neighbors took us to the local train station so we didn't have to walk over a dirt trail with our luggage (thanks Kevin!). Although the train ride all the way to the airport was still overpriced, in my opinion, it was still less expensive than a taxi.

Our flight was on Virgin Blue. It was strictly no frills, but was OK for the one and a half hour flight. The small LCD screens in front of every seat kept recycling an annoying set of commercials for the duration of the flight, unless you swiped your credit card for a $5 charge to watch "premium" entertainment. This "feature" bothered me enough that on the flight back I draped a barf bag over the screen so I could concentrate on reading my book. Virgin Blue also charges for EVERYTHING (except the stupid earphones). You want a beverage or a snack? Be ready to cough up about $6AU (more if you want booze). Or just plan to bring your own when you fly Virgin Blue.

Michelle's cousins picked us up at the airport, and we went to a small family party that evening. I really liked how cosmopolitan Brisbane felt. The people and the city life felt very welcoming. Brisbane is noticeably cleaner than Sydney or Wollongong. About the only thing we didn't like was the heat. It was just like Texas -- Spring time and already in the mid 30s (90s F). Queensland itself has been suffering pretty badly through the 6-year drought that has plagued all of Australia. You could easily see the effects in the city's botanical gardens. A lot of the plants looked distressed and dry -- but water is so scarce there, none can be spared to make the garden more lush.

The wedding day was as crazy as expected, but everything magically came together to be the perfect day for the happy couple. The reception was quite fun, and we met a number of the couple's interesting friends and family there. During our stay we got to spend more time with the bride's parents (we hadn't seen them since our wedding), and that was nice. We will see them again when their tour of Australia takes them to our area around the 18th.

The Happy Couple

The Other Happy Couple

Finally -- A Pic of the New Apartment

At last, I finally took a moment to snap this picture of our new apartment. This shows the living room, dining room, and kitchen. The space is not huge, but considering how small the university apartment was, this place feels very large.

The rest of the apartment looks similar throughout, so it didn't make sense to take pictures of every single room like I did at the university apartment. (That place was just so bad, I don't think anyone would have believed me if I didn't take pictures of each room!) We have two bedrooms, a marble tiled bathroom (tiled walls and floor), a laundry room, garage, and a nice patio. For the lifestyle we have for the next few years, this place is perfect. It's easy to maintain, yet large enough to have friends and family visiting. The apartment came unfurnished, so everything you see is what we had to buy recently. It's a different experience to outfit a home completely all at once versus buying stuff piecemeal over time, but in our situation, we are glad to have it all done.

Running on the Trails

This past Saturday we participated in a small race on one of the local trails up Mt. Keira. To sum it up, trail running is hard. However, that's actually what made the race more enjoyable. Given the scenery of raw bush country and 20 meter trees all around, and the uneven terrain, the run required a decent amount of alertness. On some of my previous running attempts on ordinary, flat terrain, I've often become bored. Lots of runners attest to this problem. That's one major reason I never really got into running seriously before. On an uneven surface, though, not paying attention will almost certainly lead to a fall and at least minor cuts and bruises. Such a trail also means that the body gets quite a thorough workout, and injury due to repetitive motion is not as much of an issue. With such beautiful scenery as what's found here, I would be amazed if anyone became bored on such a trail.

The entire race was 14 km, but I only did the first leg, which was 8.5 km. The ascent at the very beginning of the race was a 100 m incline, fairly quickly. (Michelle did the entire course, which included the even steeper hill at the beginning of the second leg). Indeed, we were both quite sore for the next few days. I still rode my bike to campus on Monday, and Michelle still went for her late afternoon run in the neighborhood. Working through the soreness helps alleviate it, combined with good stretching.

I'm looking forward to doing more of these trail runs. I can satisfy my nature addiction and fitness requirements at the same time. In regards to health and fitness, this move has been very beneficial to both of us.

Not A Smooth Move: Part 3

It's finally over, we are done with the move. The last appliance delivery was this morning, so now we have a dryer and a microwave. I do find it somewhat amusing that after selling off so many major household items before coming here, we have had to buy most of them again so quickly here. The ADSL was connected today, as well.

I'm actually updating the blog on the new connection. Now we will be spending much of the next few days unpacking everything and arranging the place. About half the furniture remains to be assembled. But we can do laundry without needing coins -- not to mention the wash/dry is actually completed properly now.

The new neighborhood is definitely much quieter, and the new apartment is a better place for accommodating guests. It's easier to wind down in the evenings here, and we don't have to wake up to the sound of heavy traffic outside our window. About the only drawback is the dependence on the train when the weather is bad -- and it's been raining all week. Public transportation in Australia really is somewhat of a joke. It's too expensive to allow for more casual use, and the schedule is not as frequent as it should be to offer real convenience. I haven't seen any country's public transport hold any weight against that of Moscow, Russia.

Time to retire and read for a bit. Pics of the new apartment will be posted as soon as we are done moving in.

Not A Smooth Move: Part 2

The morning came quickly and we loaded up the van with the few remaining items from the university apartment. We grabbed a quick breakfast at a local McCafe along the way. Yesterday, it was dry and partly sunny for a good part of the day; today, it was rainy all day. Driving the moving van was easy after yesterday's running around (it was a Toyota HIACE Diesel). We unloaded the items at the apartment, ate our breakfast, and made a quick check of everything before heading back. We spotted a gas station nearby that was three cents a litre cheaper than one near the rental place, so I filled up the van there. With all the driving we did the day before, the van only used about 10.4 litres, costing me only about AU$14 to fill up. (For rental cars in Australia, the standard practice is you get the car with a full tank of petrol and return it full -- unlike in the States, where you get the tank at any level and have to return it at least at that same level.) We also checked out the small selection of groceries at the station, since our food situation was a bit more improvised than we had hoped, but the prices were typical for a convenience store, so we passed.

We returned the van a little earlier than 8 a.m., and walked the familiar route back to the old apartment. The real exhaustion finally set in. We did it. We completed a full apartment move in another country -- and this was only a couple of months after completing our international move! Overall, the move has taken about five days, including the time spent furniture shopping.

The rest of the day was low-key. Michelle got ahead on some of her work. I did some reading, then walked into town for a big lunch and some groceries. Thankfully, the rain was negligible during my walk. After reading a bit more back at the apartment, I took a long nap.

Early tomorrow morning I'm heading to the new apartment for the television delivery, and will remain there until I can confirm the electricity is hooked up. I'll probably pass time putting some of the furniture together. (Michelle and her friend, Laura, got a decent start on furniture assembly yesterday.) If we get power well before the end of the day, I'll head to the university to turn in the keys to the old place, and then we are done! Or, if the power is not on until after 5 p.m., then I'll turn the keys in to one of the senior residents at the old place. Absolute worse case scenario, if the power is not turned on tomorrow, then we spend yet another night in the ghetto.

Not A Smooth Move: Part 1

Despite all our planning, it was inevitable that some things would go wrong during our move. Earlier in the week we purchased furniture for the entire apartment and scheduled the delivery for today. The sofa was delivered fine, but there were a few discrepancies with the larger order for the rest of the apartment. Obviously, with a few phone calls, it was easy to get that straightened out, and the missing items will be delivered in about three weeks with no additional delivery charge. That was the easy part to deal with.

When we signed our application for the apartment, we went ahead and decided to let a service submit the orders to get our electricity and gas set up. The realtors spoke highly of the company, and there was no charge to us for the convenience. It turned out that the company only submitted our order for gas, but somehow "forgot" to submit the order for our electricity. So while we were able to move all our stuff to the new apartment, we still had to spend one more weekend in the university apartment. Ugh.

In between loading the van, I made some frantic phone calls and sent a nasty email to the service company. A rep called me and asked us to check some basic things at the new apartment. Michelle was there to handle all the deliveries while I was at the old apartment loading stuff into the van, so she checked out everything and verified that there absolutely was no power. The rep called the provider after I relayed these details and seemed genuinely surprised that this got overlooked at their end. He assured me that he would make certain that my order was escalated immediately on Monday, and promised me that the connection would be taken care of then as well. In addition, we will be getting AU$150 off our first bill (they bill the electricity quarterly here), so that was a reasonable compensation in my view for the major inconvenience.

After we unloaded everything at the new apartment, we made use of the van to do some further shopping. We got a small television, dvd player, vacuum cleaner, drip coffee maker, patio furniture, grill, miscellaneous office items, cleaning supplies, and non-perishable groceries (had to skip the perishables...no electricity for the fridge). We unloaded all that, got coffee to go from a local McCafe, and headed back to the university apartment.

The day was long and exhausting, and we have to get up around 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning for the final sweep of the old apartment, drop all the remaining items off at the new place, then return the rental van by 8 a.m.

The Way Real Estate Works Here

The real estate market is hot here. It is completely a seller's market. I'll describe the rental situation, since that's what we just went through. The buying situation is similar but has additional nuances. Basically, all the apartments in this entire area are condos that people have bought. There are no traditional apartment complexes like we are used to in the States. So when a condo owner puts a unit up for rent, the listing goes through a realtor like anything else.

The main reason the market is so hot here now is because there is a severe housing shortage. That has caused housing prices to skyrocket. The average home price in this entire coastal area is about AU$380,000 and climbing. That average amount will likely only get you a really old home that would basically need to be demolished and rebuilt. A really nice home here would set you back closer to AU$500,000 minimum.

So it's not hard to see that only the rich can afford to buy a home in this area. Everyone else has no choice but to rent. This is causing rental prices to soar, so the lower class and students are only squeezed more. Realtors don't have to do much work to sell or lease property here. It's the buyers and renters who have to do all the work. The unit we finally rented had only just been placed on the market, and we were in the group of people who got the first viewing. Almost always, people from the first viewing will submit an application, so those who come later only have a slim chance of getting that unit. It's so competitive in Sydney, though, that people are out-bidding each other on rent!

I don't think the market can endure this much pricing pressure for long, but Australian lending practices are a bit more conservative than in the States. There's no subprime time bomb here. It will certainly be interesting to watch from the comfort of our new apartment (until we have to repeat the process again in twelve months).

We Got A New Apartment!

We just found out this morning that our application was approved at an apartment we really liked! Needless to say, we are ecstatic! The university apartment served its purpose, but we've had enough. Much of our misery involved the extremely noisy neighbors next door, the tiny kitchen, and the tiny bathroom. (And the laundry facilities SUCK! There are two coin-operated laundry rooms for 12 (low estimate) families! WTF?)

The new place is utter luxury compared to the university apartment. It has an elegant and decently-sized bathroom; two bedrooms each with built-in closets; a large kitchen with a stainless steel dishwasher, stainless steel gas stove, lots of cabinets and plenty of counter space; a nice, open living/dining area; a garage; a laundry room; and a beautifully done back patio.

It is located in a small town about 10 kilometers north, called Woonona (pronounced 'woo-NOO-na'). The town has a lot of charm to it, and is close to a number of scenic overlooks and other small towns.

I'll post some pics of the new place in about a week or so. Tomorrow afternoon is when we pay our bond, sign the contract, and pick up the keys. We will move this coming Saturday.

Royal National Park

Yesterday, I was planning to try surfing for the first time with my friend, Keith -- but when we got to the beach, we discovered that the waves were essentially flat. It just wasn't going to happen.

So we opted to go for a hike, and Keith suggested Royal National Park, located just south of Sydney. The train cuts through some of the land, so I had an idea what to expect. I certainly wasn't disappointed. The forest is decently dense, but the signs of land management are evident if one looks carefully. I think the right balance has been achieved in that regard. There are trails for hikers of all abilities. We took a trail that led to some nice cliff overhangs and eventually wound down to a small beach inlet containing a squatters colony. (We later found out from a local that during the Great Depression some of the coal miners built the shacks there and lived off the land and sea in order to survive, and have somewhat of a historical and unofficial claim to the land.) From there we headed back up to the top of the escarpment to circle back to our entry point. The hike was a little longer than we anticipated, but still a great workout! The total distance we traveled through the park was about 13 kilometers.

Sydney

We spent July 13 - 15 in Sydney. Our room at the Marriott Circular Quay overlooked the opera house, and each sunrise and sunset provided a postcard cameo of the landmark. Our experience at that hotel was very pleasant and relaxing. The staff provided fine first-class service, and I would gladly stay there again.

Though our stay only lasted a couple of days, we got to experience quite a bit of the city. We visited Chinatown and the Paddington market during the first day. On the second day we went to the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife Exhibit, both which were fascinating. I learned how to use the video function on my digital camera at the Aquarium, as well as a few other advanced features. I just may accumulate a few nice photos while I am here. :)

On our final day there, we got up early. I took photos of the sunrise (including the one shown here of the opera house) while Michelle went for a nice run along the harbor. After breakfast, we spent several hours walking through the Royal Botanic Gardens. Of all the places we visited in Sydney, this was my favorite. The garden is very inviting, well laid out and open. It's full of numerous different trees, flowers, and birds. We saw a large flock of white cockatoos cackling and screeching as they flew from tree to tree. When we neared the final loop of the walk, we stumbled upon a large colony of fruit bats. There were hundreds of them sleeping in a section of the garden -- and they are huge! We found out more about them later. They are some of the largest bats in the world, and the city is working on a plan to move them at some point because they are killing the trees in the garden. They strip the leaves off the branches, and a couple of historic trees have already had to be cut down after dying from the colonization.

New Set of Wheels

Just before Michelle arrived, I happened to walk into a local bike shop to check out their prices. The timing couldn't have been better, as the shop had just begun its annual inventory clearance sale. Originally, I had planned for Michelle and I both to get bikes during our weekend in Sydney at a shop there, but the deals were too good to pass up. (Not to mention, handling the transaction locally was easier.) The bike I got was an Iron Horse Warrior 4.0. It has full suspension, disc brakes, and is just all around well built. Since bike theft is an issue here, I had all the quick-release knobs replaced with parts that require a special wrench, and bought two locks (a cable lock and a D-lock).

The ride home only took me 20 minutes without really trying (versus nearly an hour walking to the bike shop). I don't regret getting a bike with full suspension. It really makes a difference in the city, as nearly all sidewalks and streets have potholes and other uneven parts -- just a concrete version of a trail. And as a typical oversight of intersection design, there's always at least one corner where the ramp on the sidewalk has been located way off to the side instead of on the actual corner lined up with the other ramps. This is no problem with a mountain bike -- just ride over the curb where the ramp should be. Ta-daaa.

The next day when I went into the lab, several of the other researchers had brought their bikes in and were planning a late afternoon ride. I asked if I could join in to break in my new bike. By about 4:00 p.m. we were on a trail about 40 km north, just on the far outskirts of Sydney. The trail was an easy one, relatively speaking. But it had all the proper features for a good ride: bumps, gullies, hills, mud, water puddles, rocks, and hidden turns where a rider could veer off into the trees if not prepared. What an exhilarating experience it was, though! I am totally hooked on mountain biking!

By the time the ride was over, I, like my new bike, was covered in mud. I learned why riders use a camel pack for water instead of the under-the-frame water bottle. I bought Michelle the same bike a week later.

Tranquil Beaches

The scenery around the escarpment is beautiful enough, but Wollongong and the whole south coast area also have many beaches for everyone's enjoyment. The beaches are clean and well-maintained. It's the perfect getaway any day, without having to go too far. From our apartment, it's about a 45-minute walk to the beach (or 30 minutes running). At some point we hope to live even closer to the beach. We may never get such an opportunity again.

All the beaches in the area have running/walking/biking trails along the shore or nearby. People are generally quite active here, and with the scenery and climate here, it's hard not to want to be active outdoors. There are a few swimming pools on the beach, too: one that is a traditional pool, but waves sometimes roll into; a few others that are built right into the shore, so you can safely swim in ocean water.

One thing in particular to note here are the rip tides. They are quite powerful, and not to be taken lightly. Every year there's at least one major news story of a tourist who drowned by swimming out too far and getting caught in the rip. If you do as the locals do and heed all warnings, the water can be enjoyed safely.

Friendly Neighborhood Spiders

The spiders here are fascinating and scary. Some of the most poisonous spiders in the world live in the area, though I have not seen them (except at the wildlife exhibit in Sydney). My first encounter involved the common huntsman (pictured). It looks far scarier than it really is. Huntsman spiders are shy, and can move quite fast. They don't bite except as a last resort in a life-or-death situation, and the bite is not poisonous. I didn't know this before killing this one that showed up in the apartment one day. The size of this thing put me in "kill first, ask questions later" mode.

Another common spider here is the St. Andrews Cross spider, which makes large webs in brushland and gardens to trap insects. Like the huntsman, this one looks scarier than it really is.

Black house spiders are somewhat common, creating messy webs around windows. These spiders are not lethal, but their bite can sometimes cause nausea and other discomforts.

The truly dangerous spiders are the funnel webs, red backs, and mouse spiders. I've yet to see any of these in the wild. The wildlife exhibit in Sydney did have a funnel web in a glass cage, but it's not the same as seeing one in its natural habitat. The red backs are relatives of the black widows, and often live under houses, scrap wood piles, or other out-of-the-way, shaded areas. Red backs are most lethal to the young and the elderly. The mouse spiders look scariest of all. Again, I have yet to encounter any of these, but the general rule applies -- leave them alone and they will leave you alone.

Birds, Birds, Birds!

The variety and population of birds here is greater than I've ever seen. The first thing that struck me was the colors. Even the most ordinary birds here have some kind of exotic color or pattern. I've seen small finches in some of the brush areas, and huge pelicans at the beach. The remaining birds fill the range of sizes in between. There are lorikeets, galahs (pronounced gal-AHZ), white and black cockatoos, magpies, ravens, kookaburas.

The lorikeets chirp all day, and fly very quickly -- darting this way and that as if playing tag among the trees. The galahs are mostly quiet, but become more playful in late afternoon. Black cockatoos are more rare, but white cockatoos are everywhere. To find them, simply listen for the really loud screech -- it's unmistakable. The ravens' chirp sounds like Snoopy crying. The kookaburas have one of the most interesting cries. People here say it sounds like laughing (hence the song many learn as children about the kookabura), but I think it sounds a bit like monkeys. I will try to upload the sound at some point if I can record it.

The UoW Campus

The University of Wollongong campus is absolutely beautiful. Against the backdrop of Mt. Kiera, the grounds present a number of tranquil ponds, meandering paths, year-round flora, an abundance of tall trees, and large numbers of birds. It's basically a very well-maintained garden paradise allowing faculty and students a serene escape from the stresses of university life. I can't imagine many people beginning the day without a smile in a place like this.

Compared to large universities in the United States, this campus is small, almost like a community college. But that gives it more appeal, as well, since many students often just feel insignificant if the campus is too large.

Catching Up: The Apartment at UoW

The apartment is definitely a humble place, but it was the most convenient option to start with. I didn't know if the town was very spread out or not, and when people say "close to" whatever, that can be open to interpretation.

While I like the fact that the apartment is directly across the street from the university, I dislike that it is so far from town. The university is surrounded by nothing but suburbs, so by sundown the only thing to do without going into town is work out at the gym or just stay at the apartment (yawn). Complicating that issue is the penalty that the state of NSW imposes on international students for public transportation -- it's full fare, which means a bus trip is $6 to town and back. I've never ridden the local bus. Although walking to town takes 45 minutes each way, I estimated I've saved about $500 to-date by not taking the over-priced public transport. Australian students only pay half fare. NSW did lose a landmark court case for discrimination over the fare issue, but rather than make things right the government chose to simply rewrite the law so the continued discrimination would be legal again. It is a bit disgruntling to see how alike governments around the world are...and politicians can't seem to understand why people despise them.

Opening up the blog

Now I can check another item off my to-do list. I've set up a blog to help others keep in touch with me and as another place for me to store information. I will be adding much more to this blog over the next few weeks, and will link to photo galleries as soon as I can figure out where I want to post those.