The Journey Home, Sydney Final Journal 4
(ContentDesk) September 21, 2005 -- This is it for the journals, so thanks for hanging in there. We leave tomorrow, Tuesday here, to start our journey home. Much to Dave's annoyance, I insist on stopping over for one night in LA, so we won't get back until Wednesday, U.S. time. By the way, stopping is the best in order to stand upright for 24 hours before the last leg.Our brother, Eddie Oppenheimer, from Mobile, blew into town right on schedule, on the 13th.
Considering that he came in from Hong Kong, he was in great shape. Before napping, he wanted to go to Balmoral beach and run! We never knew that Eddie had taken up running and we were very impressed. He looks great, quite amazing, actually. His room was at the bottom of the Japanese steps which had me worried for weeks. But, he learned to navigate them post haste, even schlepping down one suitcase (the rest were left on level one)! Through circumstance, we had quite a social whirl while Ed was here.
More on this later under social life!Moving Day: We were collected right on schedule by Jens, the Swain (my wholesaler) driver for our move to the city. We settled in to the Quay West Apartments. It is about 3 blocks from Circular Quay, the home of the famous Sydney Ferries and lots of street life. It was fun to be able to walk everywhere and not have to drive and ferry first.
So, it was farewell to our much loved Balmoral beach and to the daily ferry rides.
The first night, we walked to the Quay and had dinner in a great Chinese restaurant. We listened to a street performer sing John Denver songs and sauntered "home". ACTIVITIES: We went to the Opera House for a performance of Der Fledermaus. It was done in English and set in New York, not Vienna! Acts I and II were amusing, very cute. ACT III, a bummer! The Opera House has a translation panel above the stage, way above the stage so that you have to crane your neck to read it!! Even though the opera was in English, mostly, you still needed the translation.
Aussiespeak demands it!
Before the opera, we had dinner in the Opera House Restaurant, the Bennelong. The view is stunning and ever changing, and overlooks the Botanical Garden and the Harbour.Spectacular Sydney Tour with Jens: we did this tour with the Swain driver at his request. For a first-time Sydney visitor, it would be super. We were with a Brit and an American couple. Jens hits the high points of the city and then drives out through the suburbs.
He showed us the statues of the National Bird and the National Animal, the emu and the kangaroo. Why are they the national symbols, you didn't ask. Well, it is because they can only move forward!
We drove through the Fox Chapel and Sewickley of
Sydney. Being in a prime location in these places means overlooking the water and the sail boats. What could be bad?Yacht Sail: While Eddie was here, we did this Harbour Sail.
It was a glorious day and Colin, the skipper put the jib sail up. I think that he doesn't often put up the mainsail because the tourists would have their bottoms dunked in the sea when the wind is up. Colin sails his 6-8 person boat in among the coves and inlets in the Harbour and then anchors for a wonderful lunch. This is a special day that we finally got to do after getting rave reviews from others.Royal Sydney Easter Show: What in the heck were Dave and Alece doing here, you might rightly ask. Well, it was Good Friday and we were looking for something that was open! We took a city train, changed at "central" and got off at the Olympic Site for the show.
We toured the barns, saw the livestock and then grabbed a seat in the main arena. We were treated to a parade of hundreds of horses and cattle, riders with flags flying, a horse show jumping class. Like most things in Australia, it was great fun and the best part was talking to the people around you.Bridge Climb: done by moi only! I did try for a "mate" to go with me but the locals had all done it and "the spouse" decided against it for reasons of height panic!! Having been goaded by e-mail by my brother Tim, I went last minute. What can I tell you? First you get with your group (12 people), train like an astronaut, take off your watch, put on a jumpsuit, radio transmitter, belt with a guide-wire clamp, hat, handkerchief and an eye glass holder. All of the aforementioned have straps and clips which one attaches to an O ring at the top back of the jumpsuit.
First you walk along a catwalk, then you start to climb, first a series of only slightly tilted ladders, then a great many steps; to be exact 1,400 steps round-trip. My "house steps" training stood me in good stead. Fright did not occur because you are hooked onto a guide wire and you have solid rails to hold on both sides. However, this is serious exertion!! I knew I wasn't dead yet because some of the younger people were suffering more than I!
The view from the top, where you see the Aussie flags in pictures, was stupendous and accompanied by an explanation of what we were seeing by Heidi, our guide.
One walks up one side, crosses over and walks down the other.
For happiness, see the attached photo!SOCIAL LIFE: We never expected to have a social life at all!
However, due to the generosity of our hosts' friends, our old Swain buddies from Philadelphia days now back in Sydney, our cousins Martin and Vivienne from Melbourne coming to Sydney to visit and some acquaintances from many years ago, we have had a ball. Needless to say, all of these people being so nice has added immensely to our fun. Re the couple from the past, their names are Gwen and Keith Singh. We met many years ago on a day tour in the Northern Territories, had dinner together twice, have exchanged holiday cards and notes ever since and really never lost touch. They live in a town called Tamworth about 4 hours away.
They called and said they were coming down to see us in Sydney. I recognized them at once while we were still in the taxi outside the restaurant. We had an absolutely wonderful evening. Eddie was here then and will testify to same! We hope they will visit us in the U.S. AUSTRALIA: Easter takes 4 days!! Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays.
Except for tourist shops and restaurants, everything is closed up tight. Aussies know how to take holidays, short and long, like no other people on earth!!There are 2 things that you will find in Sydney and every other city or town big or small: a botanical garden and an ANZAC memorial. The Botanical Garden here is the Central Park of Sydney. It is lush, with old trees, rose gardens, herb gardens, cafes and walking paths. ANZAC memorials celebrate and remember those from Australia and New Zealand who fought together in the World Wars.Half of the people who live in Australia today were not born here.
Like the U.S., it is a country of immigrants, but even more-so. The immigrants here are not only from poor countries but still come from Scotland, England, all over western Europe and even the U.S., for work and for a better life.
The politics are strikingly similar to ours but the newspapers make the ones in the U.S. look positively staid!For those of you who have read this far, thanks for sticking with me! It is with gratitude for our luck at this wonderful opportunity to live here for a bit that we bid farewell to Australia for 2005. The National Anthem is called "Advance Australia Fair", an apt description of this blessed land.Love to all and see you soon,Alece and DaveJournal 1: http://www.ContentDesk.com/releases/2005/6/ContentDesk252298.phpJournal 2: http://www.ContentDesk.com/releases/2005/7/ContentDesk267363.phpJournal 3: http://www.ContentDesk.com/releases/2005/8/ContentDesk275888.php.
Latter-day Saints Mobilize 4000 Volunteers in Chainsaw Brigade?s First Wave
Atlanta, Ga (ContentDesk) September 17, 2005 --
"We have not had such help since we were liberated by the Americans after World War II."
So concluded a retired Hungarian couple finally able to enjoy a respite from the overwhelming task of digging out from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
They had been trying for some time to chop up the seven uprooted trees that littered their yard, using a Boy Scout hatchet, when volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, moving through the area with ladders and chainsaws, stopped and offered help.
Within a couple of hours, the yard was cleared of debris.
In a weekend that saw a massive mobilization of Latter-day Saint volunteers from throughout the Southeast, the Georgia crew of five was part of a force of 4000 who took the buzz of chainsaws to hurricane-stricken areas throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.
Setting aside their weekday routines as bankers, accountants, contractors,...
Ladders > Latter-day Saints Mobilize 4000 Volunteers in Chainsaw Brigade?s First Wave
With Pretendables Young Careerseekers Research And Role-play A Range of Dream Professions
The Professional SeriesVictor & Vikki: VeterinarianLet Victor and Vikki Veterinarian take your pooch's pulse or check Miss Kitty's blood pressure.
Acting as kindhearted vets, kids don lab jackets and sling stethoscopes around their necks while playing along with an interactive CD-ROM featuring veterinarians Victor and Vikki.
The two tend to their feathered and four-legged patients in their very own hospital and along the way take care of Mister Bulldog, Miss Turtle, Miss Python, and even scary Mister Lion. Through Victor and Vikki, children learn about a variety of fascinating animals, medical tools, and the various responsibilities of a real veterinarian.Peter & Peggie: PilotWith Pretendables, children can opt for a more "lofty" experience: flying a Boeing Jet. With a pilot's shirt, toy headset and airplane, youngsters can play along with Peter & Peggie Pilot.
Through the interactive CD-ROM, children will attend flight school to learn to become pilots.
Ladders > With Pretendables Young Careerseekers Research And Role-play A Range of Dream Professions
How to Modify Your Landscaping to Protect Your House from Burglars
Believe it or not, landscaping can be an important part of a good home security plan. A burglar who is "casing the joint" from the street will choose the house with tall shrubs and trees that provide hiding places. Homes with little or no outdoor lighting are preferred targets as well.So, how can you landscape to protect against burglars while still creating an aesthetically pleasing yard? Here are a few tips:You don't need to eliminate trees, but keep them trimmed back from your house; tree branches can be used as a ladder if they are next to a window or skylight.Mow your lawn regularly; an unkempt lawn can suggest to a thief that the owners are away on a trip.Store ladders, lawn chairs, and picnic tables out of sight lest they be used as a means to reach high windows.Trim back shrubs growing near doors and walkways, keeping them 3 feet or shorter in height. Also, don't allow shrubs to block any of your windows.Adding gravel under windows makes for noisy footing for would-be thieves.Consider...
How to Modify Your Landscaping to Protect Your House from Burglars
Ladders > How to Modify Your Landscaping to Protect Your House from Burglars
Corporate America, the naked truth exposed in a brilliant book introducing the AQ Principle?
(ContentDesk) February 12, 2004--How's Your AQ Today? offers a fresh, new humorous look at the business world we all live in. It takes you on an enlightening tour of corporate life through Ed Rychkun's view of his lifetime of climbing corporate ladders. This provocative and hilarious expose' focuses on what really goes on behind those boardroom walls. It cleverly reveals the flip side of a company's naked underbelly by showing how people universally conform to laws on how they feel about each other? called AQ'ism. Ed examines the social behaviour of corporate citizens and develops universal laws about how this feeling is quantified as an AQ? a measurement that can have a direct impact on how fast you can climb or fall from the corporate ladder.
Ed tells it like it is, revealing how the real professionals? the executives, use a set of secret AQ Arsenals to hide their incompetence? and maintain their positions of power in the corporate hierarchy. You will immediately recognize a...
Corporate America, the naked truth exposed in a brilliant book introducing the AQ Principle?
Ladders > Corporate America, the naked truth exposed in a brilliant book introducing the AQ Principle?
Need Storage or Work Space? Consider a Utility Shed.
Whether you just have lots of miscellaneous stuff to store or you need room for a specific purpose, the range of utility sheds on the market provides a valuable addition to your living space.
We all tend to gather up belongings as we live our lives; hand and power tools, ladders, painting supplies, and so on accumulate along with the list of home improvement projects we tackle. Sporting goods like bicycles, kayaks, fishing rods, tennis rackets, and exercise equipment go in and out of use, and need to be stored, hopefully out of the way, when we're not using them. Woodworkers and gardeners need space they can devote to their hobbies.
Luckily, a wide variety of preconstructed and build-it-yourself utility sheds can meet our storage and avocational needs. From giant plastic Rubbermaid sheds to beautifully designed wooden structures mimicking home designs to assemble-it-yourself kits, these sheds offer many...
Ladders > Need Storage or Work Space? Consider a Utility Shed.
Escaping "Paid Slavery"
February 3, 2003 I remember that day well. I even celebrate it every year. That was the day I finally decided to make my escape from the Rat Race. For Ten years I lugged Welding Equipment up and down Train Car Ladders, doing the repair work on them so the company could make a fortune in their shipping business. Corporate downsizing required me to work 12 hours a day 6 to 7 days a week to fill the void of layed off workers.
And any complaining I did was met with the same response: "You should be lucky you even have a job". But the pain in my legs and back were telling me something different. It was telling me to GET OUT, NOW!
So I did (God Forbid we should listen to our own Instincts) But every ending is a new beginning. Thus started my two years of Internet Marketing Purgatory. Buying every product promising me financial freedom.
Throwing failed project after failed project out there on the internet while I paced the floor at 4:00 A.M. wondering how I was going...
Escaping "Paid Slavery"
Ladders > Escaping "Paid Slavery"
How Travel Board Games Make The Journey A Little Easier
Ever go on a family vacation that no one enjoyed because of the tedious travel time? Your next vacation doesn't have to be that way. Travel board games can keep the kids busy in the back seat while the the miles quietly disappear.
Board games have always been a wonderful way to get family and friends to spend time together. They encourage communication, imagination, and teach children about winning and losing. In today's world of video games and online games, board games make for a breath of fresh air.
We all need a vacation once in a while, but the traveling can be quite a horror story, especially for families with young children.
In the past, board games have been more trouble than they were worth, due to the lack of space and the ease with which pieces go missing. But with the arrival of travel board games, children can enjoy their favorite games, whether in the car, on a plane or riding the rails.
Classic Games
The...
Ladders > How Travel Board Games Make The Journey A Little Easier
The Advantages of Programmable Hearing Aids
People need hearing aids for a variety of reasons. Perhaps your hearing is degenerating due to normal aging, or perhaps you have undergone a serious illness that resulted in moderate hearing loss. Whatever the reason, if you have mild to moderate hearing impairment, it is likely that a hearing aid can help to better your quality of life.
Conventional hearing aids are the analog variety and are non-programmable. This means that they have one setting that cannot be changed or altered....
Ladders > The Advantages of Programmable Hearing Aids
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