photodump

*Forgot my notepad, I'll give you guys a wordier post later. For now, pictures.

Whee! Flying!

Proof they let me in. Suckers!

I think it looks like a shark eating another shark eating another shark, personally.

My luggage was heavier than it looked.

Ain't that purdy!
Oversize picture hidden here

*Saw a great inscription at the New South Wales State Library, too:

In books lies the soul of the whole past time, the articulate audible voice of the past, when the body and material substance of it has altogether vanished like a dream.

And here I thought they were just for levelling desks.

*Aussieism of the Day (of the Post) is a place name:
Woolloomooloo.
I swear I only said it out loud once, and not over and over. And over.

*Short story.
Nighttime. Ben and Xiao are rooming with two random French dudes. Xiao farts. From the darkness, Xiao hears a spritzer fire twice. Cologne-y stench permeates. France wins.

I feel like there's a joke about French people being used to stench, but really, I'm just happy not to be the guilty party this time.

Seppie?

My main two trains of thought as of late:

1) It's unsatisfying to think, but Sydney for the most part feels like any other city I've been in. It's too early for me to be actually justified in saying that, and probably due in large part to most people I meet being travellers. I'll write more later.

2) Leaving Sydney feels like it'll be the real jumping off point of this trip - not stepping on a plane in Boston, San Francisco, or Honolulu. That's definitely because this is the unplanned part.

Speaking of plans, it seems like at this point I'm going to fly out to Perth and look for a bike, after I look around here for awhile. Shipping bike out to Perth would be an option, too. I'm being a total wuss about picking a route - I really need to just buck up and start rolling, either by bus or bike - as Sydney's really not doing it for me. When I look around I see it as full of shops full of people looking at the latest crap - be it electronics, clothing, whatever. Getting down to Bundeena to hike has been the best thing so far, and meeting people in hostels has been a blast, but I ought to get a roll on sometime soon.

bullets:

*Further research with Brits has revealed that 'septic' can be shortened to 'seppie', and that its not used England-wide.
*the bus driver called me 'good lad' when i had exact change, and that'll have to be the Aussieism of the day.
* the G'day Count is frightening low. 'cheers' everywhere, few g'days. curious
* Jack got carded. hilarious. more hilarious because the drinking age here is 18.

Whoops

Hang on a second.



Ok, here we go



much better. forgot to configure for American internets. (ha! sorry, had to)

This is from some point on my hike in Royal National Park near Bundeena, probably aboot here-ish

Aussie Sun: 1, Ben: 0

I'll flesh this out later, but now you get bullets

*Flight from Hawaii was super easy, actually pretty much enjoyable. Not bad for 10 hours stuck in a tube. Got fed like thirty times.
*I think this note says 'voting home'
*Lost my lid - the ratty sox visor, gone forever?
*Found my lid - flat as a pancake, but fine
*Scrollbars are on the left in Oz
*Crossings streets in right-hand-driveland is creepy.
*As is riding bikes
*Lightswitches are backwards
*Lemmingtons. Mmmm... lemmingtons.
*The seats on the suburban trains
*Place names are impossible to remember without flashcards and study hours. Cronulla and Bundeena are the only two that stuck, and they're probably wrong
*Riding bikes. Scary. My note to myself says - I think - 'Hammer time'. Right.
*Got a phone. The number is 0420783292 if you're in Oz. 2078 3292 if you're on an Oz mobile, i think. From the States, it's 011 + 61 + 427083292 (drop the leading zero), i think. The phone is a janky piece of garbage. Takes good Fung Shui and percussive maintenance to get it to work. Text messages work well.
*Want a postcard? Shoot me an e-mail, text message, or phone call. Actually calling is the only guarantee. FYI, the time's 16 hours ahead here - so eight hours earlier, but the next day. Give a ring if you want to know what the future is like.
*everyone thinks i'm canadian. someone asked me to pronounce 'o-u-t' as a test, which revealed my american-ness.
*talking with taxi drivers about gas prices, which lead jack busting out some super articulate argument about how if we can't handle haiti, it was rediculous to think we could handle iraq. Also, the taxi driver thought i was russian.
*Up escalators are on the right in Oz.
*Everything you know is wrong. Well, just reversed. Australian tables are upside down.
*The Aussie sun is merciless, and my shoulders and back are fried. Backpacks let way more sun by than i expected. And i was by *far* the whitest person there. Tannest people I've ever seen. Way more than summertime Dad. There were babies with better tans than me.

Aussieism of the Day, Wednesday:
'Not on'. Dodgy. That's just not on.
Aussieism of the Day, Thursday:
'Way Out' - Exit, or 'Rockmelon' - Canteloupe
Aussieism of the Day, Friday:
Britishism, actually: 'Septic'. Yank rhymes with 'Septic tank', so I got called a septic.


Picture:
was

Streets that start with K for $800, Alex

Just about to cash out after the first twelve hours of the twenty-four hour layover in Honolulu. Made a full day out of it - hung out with Jim and Aurora, drove up the east side of Oahu with Jack, Xiao, and Allison, swam at a random beach (where i lost my sandals), got a passionfruit from a stranger (which tasted great but was totally gross process to eat), and caught the sunset from the appropriately named Sunset Beach on the North Shore. Honolulu itself didn't grow on me, but the Hawaiian countryside is gorgeous and the beaches the definition of what any beach wants to be. It was also way less humid and cooler than I expected - a tame 81 degrees out.


Xiao says these little dudes draw blood. I say he's a pansy.


Apparently Hawaiians (Hawai'ians?) only use about half of the alphabet, and they really dig words that start with K. While it sounds awesome, and damn near musical, it makes driving a pain. Next time you to have to take a left off of Kapahulu to Kapiolano, you'll see what I mean when you don't remember if you meant Kiluahiao. (That last one may or may not be made up, I can't really tell anymore)