Australia Take 2 - Part 2

This post has all the boring week days combined.

Monday, August 16, 2010

On Monday, I awoke before the sun, around 3:00 I think, but managed to drift close to sleep until 6ish, when the sun started coming up. Since I had forgotten my badge, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get into the office until 8:30. I waited until 8:15 or so and took the train to North Sydney. Once I finally found the building, I think it would be nearly as quick to walk up from Milson’s Point.

I ran into Michelle in the lobby and she got me to where I was supposed to be going. The girl I was supposed to do the workshop with was out sick so I was pretty much alone in the office. It was very quiet there. The view is pretty good, and you can see part of the bridge. I’ll have to get a tour of the office when I go back on Thursday.

I spent the morning working and getting prepped for the workshop and getting everything printed out. In the afternoon, our project manager and I took a taxi to Macquarie Hospital for a pre-workshop meeting with the client’s learning coordinator and project director.

Afterwards, our project manager and I walked down to get a taxi and the taxi stopped and let him out on the way back to Milsons Point. I had leftover lasagna for dinner and managed to stay awake until 8:00. My only entertainment was a quick train ride to Woolworths to get some lunch fixins.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

I thought I had cancelled all the meetings on my calendar, but apparently not. I was awakened at 11:45 p.m and 2:45 a.m by my calendar reminders. It’s just a short vibrate, but enough to wake me up I guess. I had to sleep with the bat phone right next to me because there is no clock and I was using it for an alarm clock. Luckily I went straight back to sleep until 5:30 or so.

It was pretty breezy in the morning, only 46 degrees. I was glad for my jacket but wished I had thought to bring gloves. I had to catch a train at 7:15 a.m. to Hornsby, where someone picked me up at the train station. The room we were meeting in at Hornsby Hospital was part of the old emergency department so was a unique space. Also a bit chilly so we had a few space heaters.

Since my co-facilitator was still sick, I was on my own for the workshop. It was a large group but I think it went okay. The workshops make for long days and I was relieved when it was over and I was back at the train station again. The train from Hornsby is about 40 minutes into the city.

When I got back to Milsons Point, it was already dark. I went to the Mad Italian Café and got a pizza for dinner and pretty much ate the whole thing. Very yummy. After dinner I set out to Darling Harbour, walking across the bridge. I was hoping to take the ferry but the Milsons Point wharf is closed right now and I wasn’t sure the schedule was the same from Jefferys Street Wharf.

I didn’t have too much luck shopping, and I headed back to Town Hall to catch the train. I stopped at Woolies to buy some Tim Tams to take back to the office and then headed home. This time I didn’t go to bed until nearly 9:30.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I slept straight through the night with no phantom calendar reminders to wake me up, and I didn’t wake up until 5:20, then managed to sleep until 6:00. It was a little bit cloudy this
morning so the sun wasn’t quite so blazing in the windows.

I caught the same train to Hornsby and between Hornsby and the next to last stop, the train stopped and sat on the tracks for about 15 minutes. They made an announcement but of course you couldn’t hear or understand what they said. I tried to text my ride to let her know, but I wasn’t sure whether I needed the area code or not. I must have because she said she didn’t get it.

Eventually the train got going again and pulled into the station. I certainly could have walked faster! Luckily she didn’t give up on me and was waiting in the car park and we went to Hornsby Hospital.

I think the rest of the workshop was pretty uneventful. I did manage to get them out early, around 3:00, which was nice. I took the train home and was back by 4:15. I went back to the train station and caught the train to Circular Quay, then walked along George Street to Town Hall. I stopped and bought licorice along the way, and then had an orange Fanta and salt and vinegar chicken tenders from Woolies for dinner. I was back at my apartment by 6:00 and spent the next two hours working to catch up on email from the past two days.

The national election here is on Saturday, and pretty much everybody says they are tired of hearing about it. I remember the election from last time, and that I thought it strange it was on a Saturday. But I suppose it makes sense – much easier for everyone to make it to vote, especially since voting is compulsory.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

This morning I opted to walk up to the office in North Sydney rather than take the train. Of course it was freakishly warm this morning and I was carrying the leftover workshop materials and was quite hot by the time I arrived. I had to wait to go in until 8:30 as that is when reception is open and someone could let me in.

Mike asked me to call him so I got on a call with him. He wanted to ask if I would be willing to stay two more weeks because my colleague was likely too sick to go to Queensland. She hadn’t turned up in the office yet, although I was expecting her. When I said I couldn’t do two weeks, he asked if I could do one. I turned him down on that, too, because it’s just too much to keep up with all the health conference work, plus arrangements I’ve made at home and all.

My colleague did turn up in the office around 11:00. She had gone to the doctor and thought she would be in much sooner. One of my clients had asked on Wednesday if I wanted to grab lunch, but without a phone it was hard to get in touch with him. He did finally text one of my co-workers to say he couldn’t make it and we rescheduled for tomorrow. Planning for just this scenario, I had brought my lunch!

The afternoon was uneventful. I did a call with a client in Queensland about a project they have coming up. I won’t be doing the work but needed to do the kickoff call.

After work I headed into the city and met Alison for dinner. We ate at a pizza place in the Rocks that I had been to before. It was great to catch up with her. Afterwards I walked home across the bridge. For all the walking I did into the city, I hardly ever walked the other, towards Milsons Point. Thursday night was the first night I slept on a normal schedule.