Happy belated anniversary

... to me!! With too much going on at work and on my mind, I forgot to wish myself a happy anniversary on Aug 20 (I celebrated last Thursday night without knowing it :) ) . 1 year ago I became a temporary Australian resident. One of the best days of my life!!... just thinking about it I could cry!

It felt so good to spend the past 12 months without worrying about finding a job with a sponsorship offer, then putting up with all the paperwork and then waiting anxiously for the department of immigration's decision to grant me a 4-year visa.

I'll have to go through that again when I apply for permanent residency - oh.. in case you had not worked it out by now I confirm that I want to stay in Oz forever and ever :) - but you know what?? I can't wait!!! It's not going to happen just yet though, I'll spare you the details of why/how but I will definitely keep you updated!

Happy anniversary to moi!!

Thank you rugby

Most of the time I don't do go out on school nights, but last Thursday I couldn't miss Gin Wigmore performing in Sydney. Caribou #2 couldn't say no to the cheapest concert in town ($11.50) and joined me for an evening to remember, all thanks to rugby.

Just after work C#2 and yours truly make their way to the Civic, and kick off the night with a couple of glasses of bubbles for C#2 and vino fur mich, a bit of chit chat, a bit of a laugh (by the way C#2, what's that thing we said and laughed so much about?? I can't remember... was it another SYFA quote???).. then we were hunting the place for food - the Civic has a few levels of restaurant, bars and pokies - and were told by a waitress that we would have drinks and nibbles at our Universal function. Our what?? What's that woman talking about??? If she says so...

Anyway, we go downstairs, the doors have opened, we take our seats, C#2 gets us some drinks and when she comes back she goes: "they were FREE" That's brilliant!!! This is indeed an industry party to launch Gin's album in Australia and they were kind enough to let some fans mix with them! Awesome! While Gin was gracing us with her amazing voice we had more free drinks and a bit of free food, thank goodness for that because alcohol and empty stomach spell disaster for your truly.

After only 4 or 5 songs it's already over. Pity though Iwas just starting to enjoy myself. Oh well, let's have one last drink before we go. Then I fobbed off C#2's recommendations to take a taxi after all it's only a 10-15 minute walk home, it's only 9pm and I feel good enough to do it or so I thought but I did get home.

Then it's all a bit of a blur. Next thing I remember is waking up at 4am, head pounding, parched and worried that C#2 would be worried because I did not text her when I got home, as per our agreement.

2 hours later I don't really feel any better. It was such a struggle to get up, get ready for work. The weather was on my side: heavy rain meant I had an excuse to take the bus to go to work, my usual stroll to the CBD would have felt like climbing Mount Everest. I check my mobile and read C#2's text message "Me 2!"... Oh.. that means that I DID send one to say that I was home safe but not quite sound. Wow, I'm impressed with myself.

Anyway... you're probably still wondering about the title of the post. Rugby brings so much joy to my life and it does not even know it! Had I not travelled to Christchurch for the Super 14 final back in May, I would not have bought Gin's CD and loved it, I would not have joined her fan page on Facebook, I would not have heard about this gig thanks to an update from her Facebook fan page and I would have missed out on a bloody good time. So.. thank you rugby. Thank you.

News of the baby whale

Earlier this week I was telling you about a baby whale that was found befriending a boat thinking it was its lost mum. Well I'm the bearer of sad news, Colin - yes, that's the silly nickname it was given, had to be put down (read the article). How sad. I would have loved to see a happier ending but unfortunately you can’t take a baby whale back home and leave it in your bathtub and bottlefeed it. I guess it’s just nature following its (cruel)course.

Sydney v Melbourne

From the Sydney Morning Herald (the photo is mine!)

Sydney is the only Australian city to be included in the first international version of the famous board game, Monopoly.

The harbour city will appear on the game's red strip alongside New York and London, following a world wide poll on which cities should be included.

Voting was conducted in 58 countries earlier this year and Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition was unveiled today naming the 22 cities which made the cut.

Among the other cities in the running was Melbourne, which did not record enough votes for inclusion.

"Eat your heart out Melbourne ... nowhere to be found," NSW Premier Morris Iemma said at the board game launch in Sydney today.

Cities included in the world edition are Montreal, Riga, Capetown, Belgrade, Paris, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Beijing, London, New York, Vancouver, Shanghai, Rome, Toronto, Kyiv (Kiev), Istanbul, Athens, Barcelona, Tokyo, Taipei, Gdynia (Gdansk) and of course, Sydney.

More than five million votes were made during the poll.

The World Edition will include some changes to the traditional monopoly, including houses and hotels reflecting styles and icons from around the world, and a new currency.

The game is due to be released on August 26.

The 22 cities which won spots on new international Monopoly board:

Dark blue - Montreal, Riga

Green - Capetown, Belgrade, Paris

Yellow - Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Beijing

Red - London, New York, Sydney

Orange - Vancouver, Shanghai, Rome

Magenta - Toronto, Kyiv (Kiev), Istanbul

Light blue - Athens, Barcelona, Tokyo

Brown - Taipei, Gdynia (Gdansk)

Do I really need to tell you how delighted I am that Sydney was included and not Melbourne??? .. Yes I do... I'm ecstatic!!

Isn't ugly the new beautiful??

The mayor of Mount Isa in Queensland caused a bit of a stir a few days ago. His town is experiencing a shortage of women for the single male population and he came up with this idea.

That's Australia for you, they tell it like it is :) Anyone wondered what the single guys in question look like??? Who knows, they might be beauty-disadvantaged too... Anyway .. it looks like the dude's plan is doomed to failure. A couple of suggestions: a new TV show "Mount Isa guys want a wife", or a charter plane full of Eastern European women.. how's that???

Today's word

Cranky ... from the Macquarie Dictionary:
ill-tempered, cross

Throw in the F-word with that and you'll know how I feel. I'm having one of those days when you hate the whole world or 99.9% of it and wish you hadn't got out of bed in the first place.

Aaaah ... it's good to vent a wee bit though.

Still on the whale theme

I'm warning you... there might not be a happy ending...

From: ninemsn.com.au

A humpback whale calf has lost its mother and despite rescue efforts will most likely beach itself over the next few days, a whale expert says.

The calf is only one month old and it has injured itself — most likely by rubbing up against boats at Pittwater off Sydney’s northern beaches.

Observers say the calf has mistaken an 11m yacht for its mother, swimming around the boat and nuzzling it.

The National Parks and Wildlife has stepped in and towed the "mother substitute" yacht away from the harbor.

"We’ve successfully enticed the calf to deeper waters between Broken Bay and West Head, Barrenjoey," said regional manager Chris McIntosh.

"Over the next little while, we’ll experiment to try to separate it from the yacht." But Mr McIntosh said the outlook was not good.

"Most likely it will move around the entrance to Broken Bay and in the next few days will strand itself on a sandbar or beach itself," he said.

"There is a slim chance it might move out to sea… but we can’t predict exactly what might happen."

"It is only one to two months old and would not have been weaned yet from its mother. "

“It can’t be fed, and in fact we wouldn’t know what to feed it."

Helicopters in the area have not yet sighted any other whales but Mr McIntosh said they were hoping later this afternoon it may hook up with another whale or find its mother.

A NSW Department of Environment spokesperson urged the public to stay away from the young whale.

The annual whale migration season is underway and several have been spotted off Sydney beaches in recent days.

Humpbacks breed every one to three years, with a gestation period lasting up to 12 months.

Scientists believe the mammals can live up to 80 years.

Awesome Saturday

Many of you probably think that living in Sydney I spend a lot of time at the beach. You're wrong! It's the one thing that I take for granted here. I'm only a 15-20 min bus ride to a few beaches but most of the time, I'd rather do something else than go to the beach. And it's winter the water is too cold to go for a swim and I'm quite happy with the colour of my skin so I have no reason to go really. But I thought that it's been too long, so yesterday I went to Coogee, tiny compared to Bondi but it's not full of tourists and/or backpackers. As I got off the bus I could see quite a lot of people lining up the beachfront and staring at the sea. At first I thought someone was being rescued but coming closer to the beach I realised that the something in the water attracting a lot of attention was not human but animal... a whale!!

And the whale was not alone, I'm not talking about these 2 crazy swimmers, sure they had the best seat but it's a bit dangerous.. ... she had brought her baby with her.

I have another photo where you can see the tip of the calf's nose but Blogger won't let me upload it for some dark technical reason.

I spent about 90 minutes just looking at these two frolicking in the water, I could have stayed even longer, they were enjoying it so much they were not going anywhere. I just wished they had jumped out of the water and put on a show.

Looks like the tail is waving goodbye.. After that I walked from Coogee to Bondi, enjoying the sights, stopping on the way at Bronte beach to dip my feet in the water, feeling the sand between my toes and listening to the sound of the waves. I'm going to fall alseep after writing these lines, it was sooooo relaxing! And I promised myself I will do it more often.

C'est la fete-euh, la fete-euh

Un vendredi apres-midi tres productif: apres la pause dej je me remets a bosser vers mmmm 14h30, je rentre quelques depenses dans mon merveilleux logiciel de compta, je prends un the, j'envoie un cheque a notre assureur, 16h: on prend un verre et on mange du delicieux gateau au chocolat pour feter l'anniversaire d'un collegue et de mon inferieure hierarchique, echange d'emails avec ma momette, qui gentiment me rappelle que c'est sa fete aujourd'hui - oups.. j'avais comme qui dirait oublie, fille indigne! - le tout en gardant un oeil sur les JO.. au boulot nous avons 2 ecrans de TV, habituellement branches sur Bloomberg (d'ailleurs je me demande comment je n'ai pas encore fait de cauchemards a cause de cette maudite chaine) mais mon boss a decide qu'on allait regarder les JO, donc je disais.. 2 ecrans, dont un qui se trouve juste derriere moi. Si je ne chope pas un torticolis d'ici la fin des jeux je m'achete un billet de loterie avec 9 chances sur 10 de toucher le pactole. Et bah c'est pas le tout mais c'est que ca va etre l'heure de non pas rentrer au bercail mais continuer sur sa lancee: au bar!!!

J'adooooore les vendredis.....

The sound of silence

It's been quiet on the blogging front because yours truly is:

• busy watching the Olympics, especially the men's swimming competitions ... I can hardly take my eyes off all these broad shoulders and waxed chests!!
• busy at work - I've been MYOB'ing like a mad idiot
• busy sleeping
• busy cursing the French for getting ANOTHER long weekend

Baby, it's FREEZING cold outside

I'll share with you part of a conversation I recently had with my mum:

- What's the weather like on your side?
- Oooh it's cold!!
- Really?
- Yeah! I put the heating on the minute I walk into my room til I switch the lights off
- Are you serious?
- No kidding
- What kind of temperatures do you have? 5? 0?
- Erm, no 10 degrees.
- (Sniggering) That's not cold!
- ... pfff

Well.. I guess that after 2 years down under I have slowly but nicely adapted to the environment and shiver when the temperature falls below 15 degrees and nothing prepared me for the severe cold AND snow I experienced yesterday!

Yup, the blurry stuff on the photo is snow! Caribou#2 suggested we head to the Blue Mountains and we did. Two hours on the train and we ended up in Leura, a cute little town in the Blueies, surprisingly busy, and proud host of an estate called Everglades Gardens. As we started walking around, the blue turned into white, much to the delight of Caribou#2 and a little bit to my dismay because I did not even bother to bring a coat with me.. why would I?? I know that it is colder in the Mountains and I was told that it was going to be windy... sometimes, I wonder what is my problem. Here is a closer look :

I survived in these extreme conditions only just! :) heehee, it wasn't that bad, but my fingers hurt for a while, my gloves couldn't fight the sneaky cold. Then, up the hill we went and back to the "city" for a much deserved hot chocolate and a choc mousse so sweet that it almost made me sick, but it was delish!... A wild ride on the train later I was home sweet (warm) home... aaaaah that's better!

Your feedback is important to me

I can tell from the stats that there's a few peeps out there who read these pages, willingly or not... If you'd like to make yourself known, send your comments, suggestions or just to say bonjour, here's the address: frenchsydneysider@gmail.com I'd love to hear from you mystery readers!

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!

Guess who spent a fabufantasticulous weekend in Auckland??? Moi moi moi!!! And it was the best weekend I've had in a long time!! I was still buzzing yesterday, even though I realised that my Shuffle had enough of me and crept out of my bag on the plane to find itself a new owner. As suggested by the cabin crew I checked my front seat pocket but not the floor! Ah well.. I'm just grateful it's not my camera that I lost, I'd be devastated. Anyway... I digress.

The reason why I was going there was to catch some more rugby action, the second episode in the Australia v New Zealand saga. Just before the game, the men in black graced the fans with this:

Oooooh scary...The Wallabies did not repeat last week's performance and the All Blacks won 39-10. Both teams will be travelling soon to South Africa - I'm not :( - to play against the Boks, then will meet again in September in Brissie and we'll find out who will be crowned kings of the Southern Hemisphere.

Now .. the touristy stuff. Auckland is called the City of Sails - they have more boats per capita that anywhere in the world - well.. I'm tempted to call it the city of rainbows, I have never seen so many in my life! Not that I mind, there's something magical about rainbows... I like them, especially when they add a wee bit of colour to a very grey sky.

On Sunday I caught a ferry to Waiheke Island, 40 minutes from Auckland, then on a bus for a guided tour. 12 000 souls, a handful of tourists, beautiful sights and even a few wineries! The island offers the best conditions to produce wine similar the Bordeaux ones. I'm no expert in wine and I prefer white so I can't confirm these facts!

Palm Beach, Waiheke Island

And the locals have a wicked sense of humour:

Far behind? You would not think so when you know that the island has its own online encyclopedia. How's that, eh??

Then back on the ferry and to the city to go up the Sky Tower, the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere at 328 metres high and 360 degree views of the city, the burbs and the bay, either from the safety of the observation deck or if you feel adventurous/slightly crazy/totally insane (delete as appropriate) you can walk around or even jump from the tower - have a look at the photo on the right you will see someone dangling from the tower:

You would have to pay me bucketloads of cash to do this and I certainly would not let go of the cable!! After a bit of shopping it's back to the hostel to meet up with my British roommate, we had agreed earlier we'd go up the tower to see the city at night. We did just that with a couple of glasses of white wine at the bar!

Monday: on the ferry again, to Rangitoto Island (Auckland's iconic landmark) a volcanic island formed around 600 years ago. Relax..... the volcano is inactive.. or so they say!

It feels a bit strange walking the rocky road to the summit and it is amazing to see the vegetation that grew on the island.





When you reach the top, this is what you see

Aaaaaaaaaah... priceless! Well after that trek it was to time to get back on the ferry, grab my baG from the hostel and head to the airport to catch the flight back to Sydney. There's heaps more to do in Auckland, so I'm afraid I will have to go back!

Viens je t'emmene

Et encore une semaine de dur labeur (en Aussie "hard yakka") qui s'acheve (et juillet par la meme occase - c'est pas que, mais il faut commencer a penser a Noel) et c'est surout un tournant dans ma carriere: je me diversifie. L'avantage d'etre assistante dans une petite structure c'est qu'on fait de tout ou presque et dans mon cas je commence a dompter un logiciel de compta. Moi qui deteste les chiffres (sauf les gros sur mon releve bancaire avec un + devant) ce n'est pas rien et tous ces chiffres m'ont bien farci la tete et c'est avec une joie immense et difficile a contenir que j'accueille ce wikend de 3 jours! Alleluia!!!! Je me souhaite du fun et a vous tout pareil!!

I'm smiling at you.