I'm not the author Alan Glynn (click here for him) but fully recommend his novels Winterland & Darkfields

Saturday, October 30, 2004

Civ Eng Reunion

The Civ Eng reunion was a good laugh, reminiscing about the nonsense we got up to in Edinburgh. I've such a bad memory so it was good and bad to be reminded of a few things.

We all meet up out at the Coogee Bay Hotel which was the first time we saw one of the eastern suburb's famous beaches not that we saw it properly it was more a glimpse as we got off the bus and walked the two meters into the hotel.

Smile!

Big Willie couldn't make it which was a pity. We started in CBH and after several rounds of jugs we sensibly went for some food in Ranwick (12euro a head - eating out in Sydney is ridiculously cheap) and on to a proper Aussie local (bookie beside the bar) to finish. Great night.

Some more photos here.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

When it rains it pours

Well last week was postitively miserable here. It rained all week and when it rains here it tens to rain! Everyone we met keep joking that we'd brought the Irish weather with us. We weren't finding it funny, we were feeling pretty down, the job hunting wasn't going to well and we couldn't even go outside. We even sat in over the weekend to conserver our precious euro.

With a break in the weather on Monday we also had a break on the job front. Sal has started in a salad bar across the road from the apartment. It looks like a quiet little cafe from the outside but its turned out to be one of the busiest in Sydney. It's not her ideal job and its very hard work but she's just glad to get working.

I've a couple of job interviews tomorrow so fingers crossed I'll get sorted by the weekend. This weekend is a mini Heriot Watt Civ Eng reunion in the Coogee beach Hotel, Colin, Chris Cuthbert, Big Willy Dorethy, Kenneth Anderson and Me. It should be a laugh hopefully I'll have a new job to celebrate too.

Saturday, October 16, 2004

Sunny Sydney

We arrived in Sydney from Fiji expecting some restbite from the heat only to arrive on the hottest October day in 150 years. It was 37C! Not the nicest weather to be running around trying to get stuff sorted. Thank God that was a one off and the heat has abated to the mid twenties.

We got ourselves a very swanky pad in the city centre. Fully furnished which right down to a selection of DVD's for the DVD player which isn't the norm here most pads come unfurnished but we're not complaining. Its got that show house look about it plus it has a gym and swimming pool. We're sharing with Derek a Corkonian we meet in Russell NZ.

All we need now are jobs to pay for it all. I should be able to find some contract work easily enough, well, so everyone keeps telling me. Sal has it a bit harder. She has to get approved before she can teach and that can take a bit of time. She's a bit apprehensive about what she'll end up doing till then and doesn't really want to be doing nothing!

So far so good, it been quite a soft landing a lot of it due to Colin and Claire help and connections.

Monday, October 11, 2004

Bounty Island - Fiji

After an over night on the mainland which was well needed,ordering from menus and hot showers become luxury's after a week on the islands, we arrived on Bounty Island. We stayed here for 5 days. Bounty in comparison to the earlier resorts was luxury. It had hot showers, dvds and the food was amazing.

Bounty

You can walk around Bounty in 20 mins so its exactly what you expect from a Fijian Island. We walked, swam, snorkeled, eat well and generally chilled out for the next few days.

Monday, October 04, 2004

Kuata - Fiji

When we got to this island we found out sals bag had gone awhol.We did get it back the next day but it was a bit of a scare. To make things worse they had over booked and we ended up in the Dorm instead of a double room. This didn't really bother us but because I snore, esp after some beers, its a problem for everone else. So I ended up sleeping out on the beach in a hammock which was quite cool. Got to see a really nice sun rise. But as I was dropping off to sleep a english guy who obviously couldn't see in the dark tried to get into the hammock with me. He got a shock when I said "hello". He'd just fallen and seriously cut his leg but assured me he was fine as he had half a bottle of vodka in him. He hopped into the next hammock and we had a Waltons moment before we both started a blissful soring session.

He was gone in the morning and I didn't see him again but a week later, on another island, we bumped into an English couple who meet him since and his gash had got quite infected and he had told them about some irish guy he met on the beach that night who was kicked out of the dorm for snoring!!

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Korovou - Fiji

Korovou was more of the same but a bit more civilised. The accommodation and food was getting better. Korovou had a huge beach side deck on which we ate our meals as the sun set over the cove. There was more Meka and Kava drinking and even a fire dancing show which was different.

The second day I went snorkeling with Manta Ray which was truly amazing. The Manta Ray are huge and if you are brave enough you can ride their backs. Did some reef snorkeling after the Ray which I hadn't done before and I'm now hooked on. You can swim for hours and still see fish you haven't seen before.

Korovou Sunset

Four of us sat up till 5.30am drinking and playing cards with two of the locals. We played presidents and assholes which is a great game but needless to say I never made president even though everyone else did. It wasn't helped by the Fiji Bitter, Jim Beam and some home grown. I think the last hand took about an hour to play. At one stage I thought I was playing the game under water and expected to see Nemo swim between us. Memorable night.

Friday, October 01, 2004

I'm a shithead

After dinner each night the Fijians put on some music and would ask everyone up to dance and while this was really nice of them, all we wanted to do was chill so one way to avoid dancing was to play cards. Some of us were playing shithead and I mentioned doing a forfiet who ever is the shithead. I suggested that the looser ask a Fijian up to dance. As soon as I suggested it I knew I was going to loose. Its happened me before: Princess St, run, nearly naked. I ended up being the shithead and had to do my own forfiet. At this stage the dance area was totally empty. So in front of about 80 people I asked one of the Fijian girls for a dance. As soon as I asked her my heart sank as she was absolutly delighted to be asked to dance(the Fijians love to dance). I felt really quilty that it took a dare to get me to ask a Fijian to dance. As punishment the CD player stopped for what felt like and eternity just as we started danceing. There I was with the Fijian girl standing like a pleb in frount of the whole resort while they struggled to fix the CD player. They eventually fixed it and I got the dance out of the way but it felt like I was in one of those bad films where the jock does something for a dare then falls in love with the girl who in turn finds out about the dare and breaks it off and he spends the rest of the film trying to win her back. I don't think the Fijian girl found out but what a shit head.