Life in Australia

Wed – 5/10/06

And to think I wasn’t going to visit Sydney!

Sydney skyline at sunset from Manly ferry

It’s funny how attending WOMAD, introduced me to several people who have meanwhile helped show me around much of the country. For example, at WOMAD I met Tjintana and Alison who convinced me to go to the Blues & Roots festival, got me a photo pass, and provided accommodation. At the festival I met Angela, a festival-goer and resident of Sydney. After a few hours of chit-chat, she invited me to Sydney where she’d act as my tour-guide, and I accepted. 2 short weeks later I found myself in Sydney and immersed in its culture and overall impressiveness.

Sydney’s a huge city, a conglomeration of inner-city skyscrapers and the famous harbour, suburbs, and even several beaches named among the best in Australia. Within the city we spent a good amount of time in the ‘Rocks’ area, Sydney's first European settlement. The Rocks used to be quite the shady area, known mostly for its convicts, gangs, and prostitutes in the early 1800's. In the 1820's it turned around, but was nearly wiped out by bubonic plague in the early 1900's. Since the 1970's, the area has been on the up with great redevelopment, and is now home to an exciting area full of pubs, restaurants, and galleries for the passing tourist and local alike. Near the Rocks and ferry dock, the harbour boardwalk is home to a number of street performers of all kinds to keep the afternoon strollers entertained by a variety of arts.

Street-performers

The accessibility of the Harbour Bridge makes it truly spectacular. On initial glance I didn’t find it overly exciting, but once getting directly underneath it and grabbing a few photos (after climbing through and over the construction & security gates), I quickly changed my opinion. On the other side of the bridge was the South end of Sydney and Luna Park, whose lights shone quite brightly (as seen below)! During the afternoon we took a stroll about halfway over the bridge and admired the city down below. It’s also possible to walk up the bridge on tiny stairs, while harnessed onto a cable system, but I could think of better ways to spend $180 (can’t bring anything up either – no cameras, no nothing, for fear that it could fall and kill someone... understandable). Since passing up the opportunity, I have indeed heard what an amazing experience it is though, so... I suppose I'd recommend it based on other people's opinions!

Sydney Harbor Bridge Start of the bridge from the sidewalk from below Looking down over the Hyatt hotel

Outside of the city centre are the beach towns of Manly and Bondi, among many others. On Saturday, we caught a ferry to Manly where we wondered amongst the outdoor market and ended up at the beach which was fairly sparse in comparison to a warm summer’s day (remember, it's now winter in Australia). Sunday we made our way out to Bondi Beach where we walked along the cliff-side trail from Bondi to one of the adjacent beaches, Brunti. The walk was very nice, reminding me of Newport’s Cliff Walk, only the water is much cleaner/clearer here! The rock formations along the walk were amazing and kept leading me off the trail to photograph them. Two other tourists had a similar idea, but they added an element I was surely missing. As Angela and I turned around the bend and looked up, we both nearly threw up. There was a guy, dressed in a yellow Speedo bathing suit (hiked up quite high) and t-shirt up on one rock and posing in front of an another overhanging rock, some 5 feet up and off the trail. His female friend was meanwhile taking photographs as he held up his shirt (to expose his suit more fully) and attempted to strike every cool/seductive pose he could rock in his yellow Speedo. After a few shots, he jumped down and anxiously asked “You sure they look alright?!” That alone had us both rolling as he looked completely ridiculous!!! (Sorry, in shock, I failed to get a photo.)

Bondi Beach Stone wall on walk from Bondi to Brunti beach < Same walk

For an additional taste of culture, we randomly attended the Buddha’s Birthday/Multicultural Celebration in the city. It was a beautiful day in Sydney and the festival brought together many races of people to partake in the birthday celebration. There was inspirational song and dance, and a brilliant display of costumes and colour to capture. After some time at the celebration we walked around the Chinese gardens next-door. The Garden's ponds, waterfalls, flowers, etc introduced peace and quiet in the hustle of the city. On the outside edges of the gardens it was interesting to see both the Chinese prayer building with the city’s contemporary apartment buildings as a huge distinction in the backdrop.

During my last night in Sydney, we went out to Lady Macquarie's Chair in the hopes of catching a good sunset, followed by night views of the city. While the sunset was unfortunately a disappointment, the subsequent views of the city, reflecting in the harbour, were wonderful. From this location, I was able to shoot many sections of the city, and the with the exchange of lens I could capture large landscapes or zoom in for details. It was amazing to see how the comparably small signs on the buildings cast such colour on the water with a timed exposure. In the image below, most of the colours are created by the signs at the top of each building... with some of the gold reflected by the building's inside lights.

Sydney's Opera House Sydney's Central Business District (CBD)

For all the Sydney city and beach photos, click HERE!

Sun – 5/14/06 – 12:06pm

Last night I attended my first Australian 21st birthday party with Chantal. 2 of them actually. 21st's are huge here in Australia, even though their drinking age is 18. From what I've been told, 21 is the age when a child/young adult gets the key to the house, and are therefore considered an adult. By then the irresponsible drinking, etc should be out of the system. Should, being the key word! ...The first party was in Bonnie's backyard, under a tent, with a dance-floor, bar, tables, bonfire, etc... it was very nice. The 2nd was inside Alex's (girl's) house with a dj, balloons, and quite the dance party going on. Part of the 21st's are speeches/roasts from the parents and best friends of the birthday girl or boy. From what I saw last night, Bonnie was a lucky girl, having not received too serious of a lashing, as she had delivered to Deece who was giving her speech, obviously without retribution. Although there were still a heap of embarrassing stories, with her parents standing around and hanging on each and every one. ...Everyone was very friendly and inviting, which was especially nice since I knew 3 people at the first party and just 1 at the 2nd.

And this morning I had my first bagel since being in Australia! At home I must eat a bagel for breakfast 3-4 mornings a week... now it's been 3.5 months without one and I'm still alive. Shocking!

Yesterday morning I visited the Adelaide Central Markets with Chantal. It was my second time, the first being last month. The markets are inside and sell all types of fresh and prepared foods, flowers, herbs/vitamins, and make for great photographs. The hustle and bustle, colours, and overall excitement are surely a nice Saturday wake-me-up, in addition to the photographic opportunities.

-----------------

And speaking of colours... April and May are Autumn in Australia, which brings along the changing foliage. It's something I've been looking forward to, to experience my favourite time of the year on the other side of the world. To compare the changing foliage and see how Adelaide's mild weather, in comparison, would treat the foliage and in what sort of time frame. For example, the tree across the street from my apt has been slowly changing color now for a month and it's still retaining nearly all its leaves. And on the 29th of April I made my way up to the Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens, up in the Adelaide Hills, a 20 minute drive from the city. The foliage was nice, and I wish I could have spent more time there, but it surely didn't come close to that of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, etc... Here's a peak though, take a look for yourself... and see the remainder HERE.

-----------------

And on a completely different subject, some of you may be happy to hear that there is a serious 80's resurgence happening in Australia. I don't have photos, but you should see some of the haircuts and clothing I've seen. The mullets, hair gel, mohawks, lighting bolts, tight t-shirts, jean jackets, and the list goes on. I would be laughing every day I was out on the town, I thought it was hilarious. And definitely one of my favourites was a guy I saw in Sydney who had checkered slip-on Vans. Only that wasn't all, he had two different colours on, each fluorescent... orange and green. So this guy has SUCH great style that he bought two pairs of these sneakers so he could mix it up. Surely defying the laws of coolness.

Tues – 5/16/06 – 10:00pm

So I just went to indulge in some celery and peanut butter before going to sleep for an early meeting tomorrow and I've found that I mistakenly FROZE my celery in the 'Chilled Room' of my refrigerator. Now it's a big f'n icicle! Several icicles. Doh!

And here's a little story of my new camera for ya....

I tried to buy the camera several times from B+H out of NYC where I always order from. Due to the Jewish holidays, they closed 10 minutes before I called to place my order. They stayed closed for one week. (and to make this long story not so long...) I called back and ordered a week later. I was told it was all good and was to be shipped. A week later I still hadn't received the confirmation/shipping email and so I called again (remember, these calls are during the week at midnight due to the time difference). I was told that they decided not to ship it b/c my billing and shipping addresses were different, something we had resolved during the first call... or so they said, and I believed. So the following conversation lasted well over an hour and also consisted of talking with American Express to verify my address. And with that, it was finally on it's way!

The camera arrived in Sydney at UPS/Customs. I was erroneously charged around AU$800 tax on it, then had to fight for days to get it refunded, which hasn't happened yet. I got charged another AU$800 for a security deposit which I can supposedly get back when I leave the country and prove that I'm taking the equip with me. The paperwork is still being processed for that as well. It's been almost 2 weeks now and I'm down almost AU$1700, which I SHOULD get back at one point or another. Should.

I picked up the camera from Sydney and I'm very excited to have it after trying to order it and get it for about 4-5 weeks now!!! The 2nd day I take it out, one of the main dials is not working properly.

A week later, still not working right. There's a Canon service center down the street from me but when I call customer service USA, I'm told that I need to ship it back to someone in the US and have them forward it to a US service center to get it fixed by the warranty. Down the street NO, send it back to a friend in the US to have them forward it to the center to fix it, then send it back to the friend, who will send it back to me in Australia YES. Wow, the service from the biggest camera manufacturer in the WORLD!

Talk about a kick in the jewels. This is surely one of the most frustrating ordeals I've experienced in a long time. So for those of you who think this is a total walk in the park living over here, this is some of the wonderful bullshit you can experience living in a country even so similar as the US. I can't imagine what it's like living in a non-English speaking country!

(And this was just the tip of the iceberg! I'm getting sick of writing about it though...)

Thurs - 5/18/06 - 11:03pm

Today I found out that I got 3 speeding tickets in March and that I owe over AU$700 for them! 2 of them are for 11 and 12 km/h over the limit (which is around 6 or 7 mph) and the tickets are AU$173 each (US$130)! 2 of the tickets also came with 5 MINUTES of each other on my way to the airport to catch a plane. And you may be asking yourself why I just found out??? Well that's b/c they ticket mainly by camera here. It's a real gutless way to ticket if you ask me. Part of a ticket is to inform the person of their wrong-doing, tell them to slow down, and provide the ticket, thereby f'ing up the person's day or night. This nonsense with the cameras doesn't do that, hence me getting 2 within 5 minutes. Have some balls Australia, step up to the car. And while I'm loving my time here, Adelaide's terrible drivers and shit like this will make it easier to go home...

UPDATE - 7/23/06

I challenged one of the tickets and got it taken away which was nice. But meanwhile I received two more tickets shortly before leaving Australia. Now I'm home in RI and they can get f'd if they think I'm paying those. I've been driving in the US for 10 years with 2 tickets, 1 of which was excused because of my good driving record. Meanwhile, I accrued 5 tickets in 5 months in Australia! Maybe if they're concerned with speeding and traffic safety they should ban parking in the middle of the street as people do during rush-hour. I see it as a cowardly way to infringe on the citizens rights to make a quick buck... f'n thieves. And now I hear that the cameras are in the US. Doesn't surprise me... guess I'll have to keep searching for a country in which to live...

UPDATE - 8/23/06

Got another ticket. Up to 6 now. Pray for no more updates!

Sat - 5/20/06

This morning, after roughly a year of consideration back and forth, I SHAVED MY HEAD!!! And boy, does it feel good!!!

See the photos HERE!

Sat - 6/3/06

Well you know what they say, good things come in three's... so here's this week's drama...

But first, some quick background info:

Before leaving for Oz, I was instructed by work to get a visa from United Airlines (who I was flying with). I did just that, but they could only provide me with a 3 month visa without charging. After the 3 months, I could call back and get another 3 months. When I asked what the consequences would be if I didn't call I was told that the WORST case scenario would be getting hauled off to the airport and then I could renew the visa then and there without further consequences. ...Or so they said...

So February, then March, then April passed in a flash and it was time to renew. The procrastinator in me pushed it off, and pushed it off some more... after all, no one had contacted me about it, and well sometimes I guess I just need that push. And after speaking with a co-worker who had just seen a show on someone who's visa ran out and they were banned from the country for 3 years, I decided it would be a good time to act. I made the call to United but without my passport on me at work I wasn't able to renew the visa. Tomorrow's another day.

Unfort that night I got home to a letter from the South Australia Immigration office informing me of the expiration of my visa and requesting that I contact them immediately. The next morning I awoke and made the call before leaving for work. The writer of the letter was out of the office, but another woman was kind enough to cop an attitude as she said it was necessary for me to come in ASAP. "Sure, I'll just call work and let them know I'll be in late" I responded. "I would call work and tell them you won't be in at all!" she pleasantly answered. Bitch. So I called Jeremy at work, informed him I'd be in shortly (she wasn't getting the best of me), and headed off to the Immigration office.

At the office, I was treated with extra-special care. Unlike the other guests, who were helped in the main room, I was promptly taken into a secure back room, via a sliding door, accessed by the officer's security badge and then taken in another conference room behind a glass door. At that time, the fine woman from the earlier phone call joined myself and the other, young male officer. The very condensed jist of the proceeding conversation went something like this:

"Mr. Rubin, I assume by now you're aware of the fact that your visa expired a month ago, and hence, you have been working illegally here for the past month. You only had a 3 month visa and since you hadn't renewed it, we now need to determine what the repercussions will be. The most drastic being detainment here (locked up), but hopefully it doesn't come to that."
"I know, I'm sorry. I assume, based on what I was told, I can renew it now?"
"No, now you would need to file for a new one, since the old one is expired. And this takes time."
"Oh, ok."
"What is it that you do here Mr. Rubin?"
"I work for the US Navy and am here working on a joint program with the Australian Navy, up at DSTO in Edinburgh."
"Oh. Do you have proof that you do the work you say you do? Can we contact your supervisor?"
"Sure, here are my gov't travel orders. And yes, feel free to call my supervisor, do you want his number?"
"Hmmm... ok, can we borrow these for a few minutes? We'll be right back."
...about 5-10 minutes later...
"Ok, we've reviewed your situation and we don't want to interfere with this gov't program, so we're going to provide you with a 'Bridging Visa' for the remainder of you're time here, which will also include the vacation you plan to take at the end."
"Great, thank you."
"The only catch is that since you overstayed your visa by more than 28 days [it was now 30 days], you're unfort banned from returning to Australia for the next three years, whether for work or personal travel."
...and as I was just looking to get the hell outta there...
"Ok, no problem, thanks for your help."

I successfully made it out without a worry and made it to work, like I promised, just an hour or so late. And you'll have to read ahead to the next journals to hear the remainder of this story... it couldn't possibly end here!

--------------------------

Went Go-Karting the other day with a fellow photographer friend and a bunch of his buddies. My first time out on a (indoor) track, it was great fun. We ran a series of different 'events', from everyone (11 of us) at once, to timed trials of two at a time. For the most part we were good about steering clear of each other, but there were also surely some hard hits! I thought my head was going to leave my body with one rear-end collision. In the end I finished near the middle which I was pleased with since some of these guys are weekly regulars.

Wed - 6/7/06 - 12:23am

It's funny, I've become the daily entertainment for the group in which I work. As I arrive in the lab in the morning, I'm greeted by "Hey Shrubin! So whatcha get up to last night?!" And on the rare occasion when I've stayed in to work on photos, journal, etc... I'm then responded to with a "booooooooooring...". So rest easy, you're not the only ones living vicariously through me over here. Even the folks here take part! ; )

And I read in the paper today that an AFL (Aussie Footy) player was fined AU$50 for driving without his P plates. Again, to make a long story short, it seems like young drivers over here have a lot more to go through (depending on which state) than American drivers. You start off with an L plate, then graduate to a P plate, before getting a full license. The 'plates' are just small labels thrown up on the dashboard or rear window when driving. So this guy didn't have his P plates, got the fine, and for some crazy reason, the local paper cared enough to print it... talk about a lack of real news. That's it, just thought I'd share...