ANZAC Day in Melbourne

After spending 10 days in the "Natural State" of Tasmania, it was time to head back to reality - or in my case, Melbourne. I had scheduled a job interview for a while while I was going to be there, but other than that I did not realy have any other plans. As it seems to happen when I'm in Melbourne, the weather could not decide what it wanted to do. Most days started out sunny and warm, but by the time I put on my bathing suit, got off video chat with someone or the other, and made it to the beach at St Kilda, the clouds had come out and rain was not far behind.

The job interview went well, and I was even offered the job to start the following Wednesday (one week later), but I politely refused. The problem with not working for almost 3 months is that I am not in a hurry to be back anytime soon. It has been really nice not having any stress or worries. In fact, I have found myself saying more than once, "all I have is time", and it is true. If the weather is not good or I cannot do something on one day, I can always do it the next, or the one after that. That is the beauty of this trip and travelling the way that I do. By not making plans too far out, or commiting to too many things, I am more free to make sure I get to do the things I want. I had been saying since I started this trip, that I wanted to travel until around June, and at that time, I would be ready to start working. Now I am thinking more along the lines of July!

While in Melbourne, I had a close call on the tram, which is basically the San Francisco equivalent of the trolley. For some reason, I did not purchase a ticket and almost did not get away with it. At one stop, three workers got on and checked to make sure everyone had a ticket. I had to play dumb tourist, and pretend that I did not know how to use the ticket machine, to get out off a fine of at least $100! I did get away with it, thanks to my amazing acting skills, phew!

I also came to find out that ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day was on the weekend, and Monday was a public holiday. For those of you that do not know, ANZAC Day in Melbourne is their version of the Superbowl. Two Melbourne teams, (Essendon and Collingwood) play each other at Australian Rules football (AFL or "footy"). I almost had the opportunity to go see the game live. I really want to go see one, but did not end up finding a ticket. Instead, I went with Renee and some friends to a pub to watch the game. We met up with James Dean that night, and he was wearig gold shoes (that his Dad bought him), dancing on the corner, and snacking on some jerky (he thought he was Usher).  Thanks Renee for that addition - she was nice enough to type this blog entry for me.

And one of the best things about ANZAC Day? ANZAC biscuits! Renee made a couple of batches, and they were yummy. Made with some combination of brown sugar, butter, oats, flour, coconut and a few other ingredients. ANZAC biscuits quickly became a problem for me...

I had a great time, but this is the first time that I started to feel homesick, so I was glad that Humme was coming the next day! I was not looking forward to waking up at 6am for my flight to Sydney, where I was meeting Humme.

As a side not to this entry, there are many Australian versions of American things. So I thought I would list a few.

• Cold Stone could not enter the market because of a mysterious chain called Cold Rock, that does exactly the same thing.
• Burger King had to change their name to Hungry Jacks in most areas in Australia. Strangely, it was because there was already another chain called Burger King.
• There is no Taco Bell, but they do have Taco Bill.
• The nightly news program is called Lateline (Nightline or Dateline anyone?)
• Something mysterious is going on with the Target stores here. They even have a Target Country store (think plaid shirts and cowboy hats).