Satisfying my Inner Tourist

I have booked my first official "holiday" of the year! I am heading up to Sydney in May to meet up with a girlfriend who is coming to visit me (invasion of the Yanks). It will be so refreshing to be able to act like a tourist, which is something I usually avoid like the plague. As I mentioned in my last post, it has been a bit frustrating trying to communicate to my friends that I am (unfortunately) not on a year-long vacation. Come May, I will have the chance to take as many obnoxious photos as I like and act a fool because, well, I don't live in Sydney! I am beyond excited, if you couldn't tell.

My agenda so far includes goal #37 - completing the Harbor Bridge climb, catching up with some more friends from my Contiki tour, a Bondi rendez-vous with Daisy (I hope!), and a meander around Kings Cross (I missed out on the Red Light District in Amsterdam, so this will have to do).

Anyone have any suggestions for what to see or do in Sydney?

Also, I need some inspiration for post for a rainy day:
What do you want to know about life in Australia?

Traveling v. Moving

I have the feeling that most of my friends think that my journey "Down Under" is just a repeat of my European travels. To their dismay, the pub crawls with strangers have been lacking, the new friends from around the world aren't as plentiful, and every day is not filled with new experiences. Traveling by yourself to a new part of the world and moving there are two wholly unique experiences - especially when you are not moving for a job or school or something that puts you into a network.

Traveling alone is an adventure. A constant adventure. Your accomodation fosters interaction, especially in backpacking and hostel environments. The people that you are surrounded by are, for the most part, in a similar situation as you. Everything is fun! and new! and over the top! and deserving of an exclamation point!

Moving is static. Moving somewhere new is not all fun and games. It forces you to put yourself out there and trust people who you don't really know well enough to trust. You have to push yourself to your limits and step outside of your comfort zone. It gets lonely. It gets boring. It fosters freak-outs instead of interaction.

I'm not saying that I'm unhappy with my decision to move or that I'm thinking of coming home anytime before my visa is up (that would happen over my dead body). What I am saying is that the perception that I'm sitting on the beach with a drink in my hand being fed grapes by tanned men is getting old because that is just so far from the case.

I'm managing.

The Art of Picking a Footy Team (or Why I go for Carlton)

I am a loyal sports fan and I believe whole-heartedly in home team pride. That's why I am a huge Philadelphia sports supporter (and I accept all of the good, bad, and ugly associations with that statement). When I got to Melbourne, I was excited to cheer for my new home team.

In footy, there are 16 teams (soon enough to be 17). The thing is, 10 (I think?) are from Melbourne. That made me wonder: how do people choose the teams that they go for? It's not as simple as being a Phillies fan (2008 World Series Champs!) or an Eagles fan because there are so many teams in one area.

After asking around, I found out that many people either follow who their family goes for, follow a certain player that they like, select a team based on their colors, or (as I was instructed to do by many people) "just look at the team rosters and see which team has the hottest players."

Now, I'm all for watching good-looking guys run around for two hours, but I was also pretty certain that there was bound to be at least one attractive man on each team, so I decided to do a little more research. Plus, I actually like to watch sports games for the GAME. Beautiful people are merely a bonus.

I live in a suburb called Brunswick, and the nearest home team to me is the Carlton Blues. I literally live up the street from their grounds. As they say in our famous baseball song "root, root, root for the home team!" (as per earlier discussions of the word root, I will not be singing any version of this song while in Australia). I was set on buying my Blues scarf.

My friend had different plans. I was instructed that I had to go for her team upon arrival in Melbourne. I "wasn't allowed" to choose my own team. I didn't like the sound of that game very much. I would never make someone be a Philly fan - I would respect their team decision and then proceed to explain how much their team sucks. I'd probably say something like "Oh god, I HATE the Cowboys. Almost as much as I hate the GIANTS. We're so going to kill you. I can't believe you actually LIKE that team. My Eagles are going to kick your ass on Sunday. Fly Eagles Fly!" We'd have a fun rivalry and when I lost I'd probably pout and have a beer and ignore my calls for a day or so.

However, after humoring her for a game, I understood why she didn't want me to be supporter of any other team. She is a die-hard Demons fan. Yes, the wooden spoon of the league. The team that is dead last. The team that cannot hold onto the damn ball for the life of them. I give her credit for sticking with her team even in times of awful play, as I would do the same thing (and have - before this past October, I had never seen a Philly team win a championship... no one had for 25 years). After a painful game at the G, I decided to go and buy a footy scarf to show my support... for the team that I had originally intended to go for.

Plus, I personally think that navy blue and white look great on a girl with dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin. Can't beat that. Go Blues!

A Note on Fashion

Last month there were tons of activities and festivals going on around Melbourne: The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, The Grand Prix, and Melbourne Fashion Week.

The fashion in Melbourne is something that stood out to me immediately upon arrival. I think that the trends and attitude toward fashion is what I expected while I was overseas in Europe this past summer. What I mean by that is there are no rules. Anything goes. You can walk outside wearing something that you think is just totally ridiculous, only to pass about 20 people walking down Elisabeth St. wearing outfits that are ten times more outrageous.

Note: It has been pointed out to me that something I think is completely normal and tame may be off the wall for someone else. I get that, but I hope you also get my point.

In Europe, I expected people to take more risks with their attire. I expected people to be really put together. They weren't for the most part. I remember being pretty shocked with the sloppiness that I observed. I was also prepared to see more diversity in style. I do acknowledge that the areas that I visited were primarily tourist hubs, but still. I definitely thought that all the hype about Europeans being chic and Americans lagging behind was a crock. (Just to clarify, this is in regard to normal people, not designers).

It's kind of nice being able to experiment with different styles and atypical trends that I would never be comfortable enough to try at home due to scrutiny (real or imagined - I am quite paranoid). I'm still pretty J. Crew at heart, but there's a flair waiting to come out. So I say, take out those liquid leggings, layer twenty mis-matched items, wear those ripped tights, button up that cardi, and bring back the catholic-school-girl-gone-punk thing and the 80's. Melbourne is ready for it.

98 to go!

A few months ago, I announced that I would be participating in the 101 in 1001 project and posted my own 101 list. I know that I haven't updated much about my progress, so here's a little glimpse into what I've been up to:

Completed tasks
35. Before I left for Australia, I saw a movie in a movie theater: Slumdog Millionaire. I love movies, but never seem to get out to see them, so this was an accomplishment for me.

47. Even though I'm missing out on the enthusiasm at home surrounding March Madness, I did make a bracket for the NCAA tournament. Sure, it was trashed after the first day of play, but the goal wasn't to win - just participate! Thank you CBS Sportsline for streaming the games online so that I was able to watch them in Oz. No thanks to Melbourne for seriously lacking in the American Sports Bar department!

58. The AFL season started last Thursday night, so I figured it was time to learn about footy. I solicited help from friends to understand the rules (really, the lack of rules) in Aussie Rules football. No high contact, no throwing (you have to handball - think of a serve in volleyball), and after you run for a bit with the ball, you have to bounce it. Otherwise, just keep running. I went to my first footy game on Sunday and was surprised how into it I got - I definitely understood the basic flow of the game.


I have a few goals in progress, including
17. Keep an accurate log of food and exercise for one month

32. Keep a journal while living in Australia

55. Read 100 books

80. Reunite with ten people I met in Europe (I'm up to seven!)

84. Make an excel sheet of addresses, phone numbers, and passwords

99. Blog about each completed task



I'll be posting more regular updates on my progress now that I have time to focus on getting some of these tasks accomplished. No excuses!

Remember, if you decide to create your own 101 list, let me know so that I can follow your journey!

Learning to say "No"

I use many different milestones to gauge my independence. Being financially independent, in particular, is a huge goal of mine. I'm getting there! Paying rent, utilities and all that is a pretty good step. This move to Australia has brought me even closer to feeling more like a grown-up because I feel like I've learned to say "No" ...

Well, to be honest, more like "No, thank you." That's a minor detail. Moving to a new place with limited contacts and a rent to pay creates a sense of urgency in the job department. The economy anywhere doesn't exactly help my cause. Hire a foreigner over a local! Right.

I didn't have a job set up coming to Melbourne, but I did have a job interview. Through some connections, I was lucky to find an organization that was willing to meet with me. As I walked into the office, I was prepared for an interview. What I walked into was basically "How much do you want to work? What hours are you looking for?" It was overwhelming: One week in town and I have a job? A job that's not at a restaurant? A job using my degree? Sign me up!

We discussed tasks that I would be assigned to including writing marketing materials and learning new software to create videos. I was really excited to put what I learned in school to use. I spent my first few days reading and researching in order to become more well-versed in the language used in the healthcare industry.

I walked into work mid-way into my first week and was given a new job: telemarketing. Um, excuse me? I was in utter shock, but I figured that I would give it a go and call a few people - anyway, that wasn't why I was hired, so it'd just be a sporadic task. Or would it?

I was expected to make cold calls for the next week. I had a few issues with this. Firstly, I did not feel comforable enough with the company to be able to sell it. I felt that I would have to be putting my callers on hold to relay questions, and that's the last thing that someone will stand for when being harassed. That leads me into issue number two: it felt like harassment. I felt pangs of guilt every time I picked up the phone. I was supposed to be asking for a cell phone number if the point-person was not in the office, but I just could not do it. I couldn't! I was miserable. The third major problem I had with telemarketing was my accent. Now, I know I need to get over the fact that I sound American - I mean, I am. However, I know, personally, that if I were to get a call at home from someone with a foregin accent, I would be even more inclined to hang up the phone. It just seemed like an overall horrible idea for me to be telemarketing, and it wasn't what I signed on to do.

I was torn. I needed a job. I may be in Australia on a Work and Holiday visa, but I do have bills. I am living here, not traveling around going from hostel to hostel. I thought about trying to stick out the telemarketing, but after a few four-letter-word-latent phone calls outside of Flinders Street Station at lunch hour (hi Mom!), I knew I couldn't keep doing what I was doing. I tried to address the issue with my boss, but then I took on the roll of office gopher. I knew that I wasn't happy, and I also knew that I didn't move to Australia to be unhappy. I could have found a miserable job in Philly and would be a few grand richer!

And so, I quit. I thanked my bosses for the opportunity to work and save up enough rent for two months, but it ultimately was a case of "Thanks, but no thanks."

This past week was my last week. I had the opportunity to help plan and coordinate the first of five national forums for the year. It was a great opportunity to see some behind-the-scenes action that goes on at a conference, specifically dealing with venue staff. Interstingly enough, on my last day at the office, I was given a marketing brochure to restructure. How funny, I was actually doing what I was hired to do! My bosses said it was a shame that I hadn't been writing the whole time I was working there, to which I bit my tongue. No use in arguing. They said they were looking to put together a body of work for me to rewrite, so if that happens I would gladly work on a project basis.

In the meantime, I have some plans to do some consulting work to add some content to my portfolio. Honestly, I want to be able to enjoy the city before it turns to winter. I want to be able to explore. I'm really proud of myself for making the best decision for my situation. Yes, I will need to work, but since I'm not in "dire straights" as my uncle would say, I am taking a step back to appreciate where I am. I couldn't be happier with my decision.

I'm a big girl now.

Attitude is Everything.

The past few days I have been working at the Planning 4 Reliability National Forum, which has been taking place at the G. The conference participants included maintenance staff, engineers, and reliability workers. It was nice to see a field that is not known for their communication skills engaging in networking opportunities and open forums. I remember how much I enjoyed participating in the PRSSA/PRSA conferences in 2007 and how much I learned from those few days.

I’ve been assisting the Event Manager, so it has been a great chance to gain some experience working with venue staff and seeing what kind of issues go wrong behind the scenes – and more importantly, how to fix them before the attendees notice.

Yesterday morning, I had the opportunity to take a break from chasing down the catering staff to sit and listen to one of the conference’s keynote speakers. Fred Delahunty. The theme of his speech was about the power of attitude.

Delahunty was the casualty of an electrical explosion at his plant. Today, the native Kiwi looks like an average man – a physically-fit grandfather of sorts. Ten years ago, he was given a -22% chance of survival after sustaining third-degree burns over 60% of his body. Delahunty did not want his story to come across as motivational or inspirational, rather as a testament to the importance of having a good attitude and holding safety as the number one priority in the workplace.

The accident at his plant could have been avoided with more open lines of communication. He called for the audience to guard against complacency. He reminded us to make sure that when we deliver a message, the recipient not only hears, but understands what has been said. He explains that bad work habits are a direct result of a bad attitude, which enables accidents to more-readily occur.

Unfortunately for Delahunty, it is impossible for his story to not been seen as inspirational. The drive demonstrated by a man who once had essentially lost his independence is unbelievable. Before he concluded his speech, Delahunty made a lasting point: [Recovery] is 20% expertise and 80% attitude. I believe that this can be applied to everything. Will-power is what ultimately sets those who overcome ailments apart from those who don’t. Drive and determination are what set two job candidates apart when the skill-sets are comparable.

Communication is not something to be left solely to those in the field of communications. We are all communicators, whether we like it or not.