Work and more work.

October 30, 2013

Hello! I realize I don't have very many interesting things to blog about anymore. I spend most of my time at work. Then I come home and I'm tired so I don't do much...whoops. Anyway brief update and I will include a bunch of pictures from Saturday, just because they are pretty or cool looking.

Since my last post, I had work Tuesday-Friday. As I mentioned, during most mornings, I work with Andy, our Chief Engineer. Last week, I spent a lot of time helping him prepare reports to send to the General Manager and/or owners. We are working on a lighting project, an elevator upgrade project, and a general refurbishment project. Basically, he has to make a case for why these things need or should happen so I have been helping with that. I spend a lot of time typing what he says, but it is not that bad. I do learn about what they have to show for each case.

My afternoons with Kim were a bit slower last week. I spent a little time replying to online reviews. Then, I spent a fair amount of time imputing guest complaints into their hotel profiles. Honestly, it is ridiculous what guests complain about sometimes. I really wonder if their lives are so great that they have to look for things to complain about. One writer kept referring to his/her fourteen year old daughter as a princess while speaking with the staff at the hotel. He/she (I really do not remember) also complained about everything possible, so what can I expect? I did feel for other people who wrote letters though. They had very legitimate reasons to be upset and I was glad to see how the hotel responded to them.

On Friday, I met up with Denise after work. We wanted to get free oysters, but the place that was offering them were bringing them around very slowly, which was not a surprise. We ended up leaving, but we had not purchased anything anyway, so it was okay. That night, we went to Chinatown because there was another Good Food Month event. So much delicious Asian food! I miss home for the food and my mom's cooking very often, but I realize I will be back before I know it. Time passes so quickly now that I have my internship.

On Saturday, Denise, Inez, Kunchy, Denise's friend, Nick, and I went out to Coogee so we could walk back to Bondi. It was so beautiful! Also why the pictures on this post are pretty much from a single day. This was also the start of Sculptures by the Sea, which is an art installation along part of the walk close to Bondi. Some pieces were very cool while others a bit odd. After reaching Bondi, we went to grab a bite at a Japanese fusion restaurant (sushi!) then headed to Darlinghurst to wander around.

Ken and I went to brunch on Sunday at Four Ate Five. I question why they did not name it Seven Ate Nine, but that's just me. It was pretty delicious, albeit quite salty. I still enjoyed it nonetheless. That afternoon, Denise, Kunchy, and I went to watch the 40th Birthday Concert at the Sydney Opera House. It was pretty good, though I was not very found of their main act--the orchestra. I enjoyed the previous acts much more. Still, it was a pretty nice day for the most part and an enjoyable concert.

This week is more work with a couple essays sprinkled in. On Friday, the engineering department is going go-kart racing and invited me to join. Can't wait!

By the way, I found a minion :)

Work, play, and some delicious food.

October 21, 2013

Hello again all! As mentioned in my last update, I am interning at the InterContinental Sydney. I finished up my first week this past Friday and I will be starting my second week tomorrow. Between my internship and class, I have still been trying to explore Sydney, though sometimes I am falling into my old habits of hiding in my room and watching TV or reading...oops.

Many people have asked what my internship consists of. Honestly, I do not know exactly what I am. For half the day, I work with either the Chief Concierge, Dave, or the Chief Engineer, Andy. The other half of the day, I work with the General Manager’s Personal Assistant, Kim. During the first few days, I entered data for a project to improve and create consistency in training and knowledge of InterContinental Sydney (ICS)’s colleagues. It was pretty interesting to see what types of questions guests ask, and additionally, what questions the colleagues recorded. It explained a lot about the hotel and the guests who visit.

When I was working with Kim, my assignments varied day by day, or really, whenever I finished the task she had assigned me. I wrote responses to guest satisfaction surveys, recorded distributed gift certificates, and prepared picture frames for the colleagues who performed exceptionally well during Sydney’s version of fleet week. The tasks seemed pretty random, but I could understand the importance of doing each of them.

After my work week, my friends and I wanted to just hang out and explore. On Friday, we headed to the Night Noodle Market, which is a part of Good Food Month, where there were dozens of food stands. There were also small exhibitions, including a really pretty display of lanterns. After the Night Noodle Market, we headed out to Opera Bar and shared a cocktail jug of “Summertime.” Afterward, we went back to the Night Noodle Market, bought dessert, and headed back to the dorm, where we called it a night. I think most of us were tired from the week due to work and class, so it was no surprise.

On Saturday, Inez and I decided to visit the Powerhouse Museum, which has a focus on gadgets and trains. I think the building used to be a major station. Anyway, it was pretty cool. They had an awesome light exhibit with lasers and projections, and a video game exhibit with old fashion games (PacMan, etc.). There were also other exhibits with robots and typical science museum objects and activities. Additionally, there was a strange furniture exhibit, which made me feel like I was in Ikea, except I could not touch anything, boo. After the museum, we headed back to the Night Noodle Market, and I actually bought some (DELICIOUS) food this day.

Sunday was the 40^th birthday of the Sydney Opera House. The venue was open for the public to walk through, which Denise, Laura, Kunchy and I did. It was pretty nice, though not the most spectacular thing I have seen. When we exited, they gave us mini cupcakes, which resembled the fake giant cupcake placed outside the building. The cupcakes were surprising yummy! After this, we walked to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, which provides a stunning view of the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Harbour Bridge behind it.

October 22, 2013

Whoops, I never finished the post. Well, that was about it for my weekend anyway. Had steak for dinner at Abercrombie (not the clothing store) last night; it was pretty good. Started week two of my internship today! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. As always, thank you for reading!

The zoo, the beach, and the Great Barrier Reef!

October 12, 2013

Hello all! I left off here with my Melbourne post. During the following week, I had two papers due and two finals to study for so nothing great happened. This week on the other hand was Spring Break! My friends and I flew up to Cairns, Queensland. Cairns, pronounced "cans," is where you go if you want to take a trip out into the ocean to see the Great Barrier Reef. Seeing this was my mission since I knew I was coming to Australia.

My friends and I left bright and early enough that it was still dark outside. Our taxi picked us up at 5:30am. Mind you, this would not be as bad if it weren't for the fact that NSW lost an hour on the same day due to daylight savings. Anyway, we made our way to the airport and through security for our 8:00am flight. The plane ride was nothing special, except that the woman that had the seat next to me claimed she heard my seat was empty. Sorry lady, I did not randomly sit in the seat next to you. Other than that, it was a pretty smooth three hour ride up.

We arrived in Cairns at 10am. Cairns is almost directly north of Sydney, but Queensland doesn't use daylight savings--something about how the schedule would confuse the cows. After we checked into the hostel, Travellers Oasis, we changed and headed to Esplanade. There was a man made lagoon that served as the pool and beach for Cairns, since there wasn't actually any nice beaches nearby. The lagoon was fun though and we all tanned a bit. Actually, we melted in the sun, but that's expected when the sun is so much stronger here. At night we headed to the Night Market for dinner, which is pretty much an Asian market selling souvenirs, jewelry, food, and massages. That night, we also went to Woolshed, which is a bar/club place. Apparently, dancing on tables here is encouraged (though at your own risk, of course). We were all pretty tired, so we called it a night around 10:30/11ish.

On Monday, we took a bus ride up to Cairns Tropical Zoo. It was a pretty small zoo, but they let you get pretty close to many animals--especially the kangaroos. I bought a bag of food and got to feed them right out of my hand! They were so cute. I saw all sorts of Australian animals, like koalas, bilbies, wombats, dingoes, and various birds. I love going to the zoo with my zoom lens and getting closeups of the animals. While we were at the zoo, I had the chance to "Cuddle a Koala." In New South Wales, it is illegal to hold koalas, so one of my missions during my trip to Queensland was to hold one of these fluffy marsupials. Queensland allows you to hold koalas but each koala can only "work" for a maximum of 30 minutes a day. I held Kyla who was seven years old and seemed to not have a care in the world as she was passed from person to person. I wish I could have taken this little creature home with me, but I don't think customs would approve.

After the zoo, we headed a little father up to Palm Cove. We ate lunch then headed out to the beach. Honestly, the water and the sand weren't great, though it was good for a relaxing afternoon. Inez and I dug giant holes for no reason and then continued digging holes to look for clams. We actually found four! When we finished at the beach, we headed back to our hostel for a bbq dinner. I tried kangaroo, emu, and crocodile! I think the emu was the best; it tasted most like steak. The crocodile was pretty good too. It tasted like chicken, but with a slightly tougher texture. The kangaroo was nothing special, though it is supposed to be one of the leanest red meats you can have. They are also in abundance, outnumbering humans in Australia 2.5 to 1. Still, I don't think kangaroo is something I will incorporate into my normal diet.

Tuesday was the day many of us were looking forward to--we were going snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef! We took a boat out to Green Island, which is a small island about 50 minutes from Cairns. Denise, Cara, and Deni wanted to go on the snorkeling trip in the morning, but Laura and Ken wanted to practice on the beach first. Inez and I stayed with Laura and Ken, so in the afternoon, we boarded a small boat and headed a few hundred meters off the beach. The views were spectacular! First of all, I've never snorkeled, so it was pretty cool to be staring in the water and able to breathe. Second of all, the fish were so colorful and interesting to look at. With the corals as the background, I felt like I was inside a giant aquarium. I took a bunch of pictures, but they don't do it justice. If you ever get the chance, go out and snorkle the GBR. My friends and I already didn't go to the really nice parts of the reef (it would've been much more expensive), but what we saw was great. With global warming and the environment changing, the reefs are in danger of losing their color and getting destroyed all together. It doesn't seem promising that anything is being done about it, though hopefully these reefs will still be here for decades to come.

After returning from Green Island, we went back to the hostel to shower and relax. Most of us went out for sushi for dinner, then Inez, Laura, and I got one of the $15 40 minute massages from the Night Market. Since most of us were tired, we just headed back to the hostel afterward and just talked and relaxed before going to sleep. On Wednesday, Laura, Ken and I went to brunch, while others found breakfast elsewhere. Inez, Denise, and Ken were leaving around noon for the next leg of their journey. That afternoon, Laura, Cara, Deni, and myself headed to the airport to return to Sydney. Yesterday, I went to Tree Top Adventure Course with Laura. Not as great as Adirondack Extreme, but still pretty fun. Now, I've just been spending time doing errands and being a bum before our next semester starts. I will have one class, Australian Social Policy, and an internship at Intercontinental Sydney. It should be great. I can't wait to start!

More photos