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Showing posts from October, 2011

Sydney: Oct 11 - Oct 17, 2011

So my first week in Sydney is now over. Tues-Thurs was fairly uneventful. We spent the week in “induction” (aka training) re-learning how to do basic things like send emails and use our computers. It was pretty boring, but I can’t complain about a slack week. On Tuesday night, a few of us new starters and one of my friends went for drinks after work. There are a few people in my starting group that I get on with quiet well, so that’s good. Wednesday night I spent house hunting – I think I saw 5 places in about 2 hours. The housing market is really tough. Some of the places I’ve looked at absolute dives; I’m talking stained carpets, dirty walls, tiny kitchens, etc. The biggest issue with most of the places is the size; the bedrooms in some are the size of a bed. In others, the kitchen is literally a stove and a sink. Some don’t have closets, some don’t have dishwashers, and some say “internal laundry” when they actually mean “there is a place to hook up your own washing mac

Sydney: October 5 – October 10, 2011

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Ok. Blog entry number one from Australia. I debated whether I should keep a blog on this trip because it’s not like I’m travelling and doing exciting things. I’m moving for work…. and lets face it, my glamorous life as an auditor does not exactly make for interesting reading. But with that said, I do like to write and I think there will be enough non-work related events to warrant the odd post. I imagine there will a fair bit to write about at first, and as I get settled, there will be less to discuss. I arrived in Sydney on Friday October 7, direct from Vancouver. I can’t say the 15-hour flight bothers me too much…. what does bother me is the Sydney airport. After 15 hours in the air, I do not feel like circling the airport for 45 minutes, nor do I feel like sitting on the plane for 15 minutes after we have landed for “quarantine”, waiting in an hour long customs line or having all my bags sniffed by a dog. Oh well… I made it. The 18-hour time change that comes with the flig