Territ'ry FM is waaay my favorite radio station around here. I remember my first weekend here, being totally thrilled to hear Neverending Story, and they have not stopped surprising me with the random half-forgotten songs they choose to play.
Today, when I got in the car after work, Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" was on, so I cranked it and was rocking out. Obviously, "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" was the clear choice for the next song. Especially considering it's a blistering hot September day in the desert. Amazing.
Today was a rough day at work (somehow everyone ended up leaving early, leaving me with all of their rooms to clean solo. blergh). But it's amazing hoe music can 100% change your mood. That, and knowing that you get to go on vacation (again! I know!) tomorrow with your awesome aunt and awesome little cousins. Roadtrip to Darwin!!! w00t!!!
Showing posts with label absurd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label absurd. Show all posts
Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
What do you do with a river without any water?
I have mentioned the Todd River before; it is a long and wide and dry river bed that cuts through The Alice. You can't miss it, really. It is water-less almost all of the time, filling only after some really determined rain.
So naturally, what better place to have a regatta?
The Henley-on-Todd Regatta is an event so distinctly Alice Springs, it really just wouldn't fly (or float?) anywhere else in the world. Lucky for me, I left the hotel early enough on Saturday in order to see the bulk of the event.
Basically, the afternoon was filled with all different kinds of boating events, and teams and individuals compete with their "boats." The boats are basically metal frames roughly suggesting a boat, draped with banners and carried by the crew. Some of them are relatively tame, like the kayaking, which is the smallest boat manned by one person each and amounts to just a really awkward foot race. But you haven't seen awkward 'til you see the rowing Eights. Eight people stand in the frame of the boat in single file and hurl themselves along the river bed as fast as their feet can carry them; all well and good until someone in the middle wipes out and the people in the front don't stop and every one gets dragged into the coarse Todd sand... such good times. Another good one is the "Maxi-Yacht", which is teams of 8-10 carrying a considerably wider boat, but still hurdling along the same sandy expanse of river. There were some pretty spectacular collisions at the turning buoy in that one. And then there's the bathtub derby: 4 people carry a bathtub with someone in it up and down the arena (the two smart teams put a kid in theirs; the third team collapsed, including the adult in the tub).
The big end event is an all out naval battle, pitting three tricked out boat-trucks against each other. The weapons include hoses, water and flour bombs and flour cannons, and they all just chase each other around the river bed until the time is up. The winner is decided by applause, and you'll be happy to know that the pirates in their ship "The Nauteus" totally won. Apparently, it's the first time in recent memory that the Vikings haven't won. Which is cool. Because the vikings were wankers.
So this event has been happening for 47 years now. Only once has it been cancelled... due to water in the river.
Unbelievable.
(check out my pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030328&l=7838a&id=173701181)
So naturally, what better place to have a regatta?
The Henley-on-Todd Regatta is an event so distinctly Alice Springs, it really just wouldn't fly (or float?) anywhere else in the world. Lucky for me, I left the hotel early enough on Saturday in order to see the bulk of the event.
Basically, the afternoon was filled with all different kinds of boating events, and teams and individuals compete with their "boats." The boats are basically metal frames roughly suggesting a boat, draped with banners and carried by the crew. Some of them are relatively tame, like the kayaking, which is the smallest boat manned by one person each and amounts to just a really awkward foot race. But you haven't seen awkward 'til you see the rowing Eights. Eight people stand in the frame of the boat in single file and hurl themselves along the river bed as fast as their feet can carry them; all well and good until someone in the middle wipes out and the people in the front don't stop and every one gets dragged into the coarse Todd sand... such good times. Another good one is the "Maxi-Yacht", which is teams of 8-10 carrying a considerably wider boat, but still hurdling along the same sandy expanse of river. There were some pretty spectacular collisions at the turning buoy in that one. And then there's the bathtub derby: 4 people carry a bathtub with someone in it up and down the arena (the two smart teams put a kid in theirs; the third team collapsed, including the adult in the tub).
The big end event is an all out naval battle, pitting three tricked out boat-trucks against each other. The weapons include hoses, water and flour bombs and flour cannons, and they all just chase each other around the river bed until the time is up. The winner is decided by applause, and you'll be happy to know that the pirates in their ship "The Nauteus" totally won. Apparently, it's the first time in recent memory that the Vikings haven't won. Which is cool. Because the vikings were wankers.
So this event has been happening for 47 years now. Only once has it been cancelled... due to water in the river.
Unbelievable.
(check out my pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030328&l=7838a&id=173701181)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Ooh, and it makes me wonder
I think I mentioned the music they play at the steakhouse I work at before. It's kind of kitschy outback stuff, like "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" and "Home Among the Gum Trees" (those particular songs make up the diner-participation aspect of your dining experience.) But there is a true gem on the CD.
There is an outback/bush/folk version of the Led Zeppelin classic "Stairway to Heaven." Complete with wobble-boards.
It always puts a smile on my face.
There is an outback/bush/folk version of the Led Zeppelin classic "Stairway to Heaven." Complete with wobble-boards.
It always puts a smile on my face.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Where everybody knows your name
"Thank you!"
~"You're welcome!"
A fairly basic exchange, neat, tidy, familiar. We are taught these phrases from the earliest possible age, and as children, we would rattle them off at the slightest twitch from a parents eyebrow. As we grow older, we become more adventurous with the tested, tried and true phrases. "Thank you" might be abbreviated to simply "thanks." "You're welcome" goes through any number of transformations: "No problem," "my pleasure," "don't worry about it," "any time," or even the locally ubiquitous "no worries." There are many more, I am sure, but you get the idea.
The point is that the function of "thank you" and "you're welcome" are familiar and comfortable.
So, when I put down a plate of food at the steakhouse, how am I supposed to respond to "Cheers"? It's not quite "thanks," but I think that they are expressing gratitude. Should I say "You're welcome"? Or would that be assuming too much? If someone said "Hello", you wouldn't necessarily reply with "Fine, you?" because, thought the person might very well inquire after your health, you don't want to anticipate them too much.
This is my quandary. People say it all the time and I never know how to respond!
Even more befuddling is the equally over-used "Ta." Just two letters and I am supposed to glean it's meaning from what, the inflection? That's not much to go on!
"Ta."
~"And ta to you as well, sir!"
I'll keep working on this one.
~"You're welcome!"
A fairly basic exchange, neat, tidy, familiar. We are taught these phrases from the earliest possible age, and as children, we would rattle them off at the slightest twitch from a parents eyebrow. As we grow older, we become more adventurous with the tested, tried and true phrases. "Thank you" might be abbreviated to simply "thanks." "You're welcome" goes through any number of transformations: "No problem," "my pleasure," "don't worry about it," "any time," or even the locally ubiquitous "no worries." There are many more, I am sure, but you get the idea.
The point is that the function of "thank you" and "you're welcome" are familiar and comfortable.
So, when I put down a plate of food at the steakhouse, how am I supposed to respond to "Cheers"? It's not quite "thanks," but I think that they are expressing gratitude. Should I say "You're welcome"? Or would that be assuming too much? If someone said "Hello", you wouldn't necessarily reply with "Fine, you?" because, thought the person might very well inquire after your health, you don't want to anticipate them too much.
This is my quandary. People say it all the time and I never know how to respond!
Even more befuddling is the equally over-used "Ta." Just two letters and I am supposed to glean it's meaning from what, the inflection? That's not much to go on!
"Ta."
~"And ta to you as well, sir!"
I'll keep working on this one.
Friday, August 8, 2008
A mark, a yen, a buck, or a pound
Isn't foreign money fascinating?
So here are their coins! Starting at the top left, they are: $.05, $.10, $.20, $.50, $1.00, $2.00. (Interestingly, they don't have any pennies; instead, they just round the total to the nearest 5 cents. I think it's a great plan, too. Stupid pennies.) To the left are what I would consider the "tails" of the coins. You can't see them too clearly, and for that I apologize, but I did my best with the equipment at hand. Now, in true tricky Australian-ness, the tails on the dollar coin changes pretty regularly, and possibly on other coins, too, but I just can't be sure. This particular one features kangaroos, but I've seen other images as well. I guess it's similar to the state quarters back in the states.
The paper money is equally intriguing. Their bills fall into the same categories as ours, excluding the $1 bill, as it is unnecessary thanks to thier advancement in coinage. The first thing that you notice is the color (colour). I have been told by many people on many occasions that US money is boring because it's all the same color (colour); I try to assure them that we are branching out and that the new $10 bill is quite exciting, but they're just not buying it. And who can blame them? They have money shot in Technicolor (Technicolour?) for crying out loud!
I mean, American money is so familiar, that I forget that there are other ways to do it, you know? People here have openly laughed at me when I tell them we have a 25cent piece, but isn't it equally bizarre to have a 20cent piece? And what's all this about dollar and two-dollar coins? I mean, I've seen the odd Sacajewea, but I wouldn't say that it's common.
So here are their coins! Starting at the top left, they are: $.05, $.10, $.20, $.50, $1.00, $2.00. (Interestingly, they don't have any pennies; instead, they just round the total to the nearest 5 cents. I think it's a great plan, too. Stupid pennies.) To the left are what I would consider the "tails" of the coins. You can't see them too clearly, and for that I apologize, but I did my best with the equipment at hand. Now, in true tricky Australian-ness, the tails on the dollar coin changes pretty regularly, and possibly on other coins, too, but I just can't be sure. This particular one features kangaroos, but I've seen other images as well. I guess it's similar to the state quarters back in the states.
To the right, I took a picture of the heads of all the coins, and lo! it's all the same person! "Then, Jo, why did you bother to take a picture of all of them? Isn't that rather silly?" No, dear readers! While it is true that every coin features your friend and mine, Queen Elizabeth II, they are each subtly different. Once again, I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures, but if you look very closely, you will see that the Queen's image is different based on her age at the mint of the coin. For example, the center 50 cent piece (in the middle) features a young and elegant queen, while the 20 cent piece (top right), portrays the queen much closer to her present age. Fascinating, no?
The paper money is equally intriguing. Their bills fall into the same categories as ours, excluding the $1 bill, as it is unnecessary thanks to thier advancement in coinage. The first thing that you notice is the color (colour). I have been told by many people on many occasions that US money is boring because it's all the same color (colour); I try to assure them that we are branching out and that the new $10 bill is quite exciting, but they're just not buying it. And who can blame them? They have money shot in Technicolor (Technicolour?) for crying out loud! 
Once your eyes adjust to the vivid color (colour) scheme, I would like to draw your attention to the size difference between bills. I had a really hard time with this at first. Each bill is its own length, so that when you have wads of cash, you can easily discern the $100s, or "greenies" as they're called, from the far inferior $5s. Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't part of the fun of money that you can hide $1s in a stack of $20s? Exhibit A: My Cousin Vinny; where would the comedy have been if, when J.T. tried to hustle Mona Lisa and Vinny, they could easily discern the different bills by size from a distance? But I digress...
I just had a thought: Is there a concern about getting the bills sizes confused when they are all drastically different colors (colours)? I think I need to investigate this further. Perhaps there's more to it.
I wish that I could tell you fun things about all of the people featured on these notes, but I have no idea who they are. Most of them don't even have names on them, which I think is pretty silly. I wouldn't be surprised if most Australians didn't know who they were, either. They all look pretty important, though. I mean, they made it onto money, which is more than most people can say.
And finally, here is the coveted 100 dollar bill, the elusive "greenie". "Jo, you're loaded! Why do you have all this cash lying around?" Well, friends, that is because, while the hotel insists on direct deposit, the steakhouse just hands me an envelope of cash each week. Classy. Anyway, check out the little plastic window in the bottom left-hand corner. They all have them, all different shapes. Quirky, no? Such funny money.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
What's the rumpus?
Sometimes, when I really miss my family, I watch Miller's Crossing. It makes me miss them less.
Just kidding, family! I'm glad I could remove the DVD from the hemisphere for you =-)
Just kidding, family! I'm glad I could remove the DVD from the hemisphere for you =-)
A Town Called Alice
I mentioned a little bit ago that I went to the Telegraph Station for Liam's birthday party, but really, it warrants a little bit more than a side note in a post about kangaroos. (Really, I think I need to stop posting about kangaroos so much, but they are so darn fascinating!!!)
Now, as some of my more dedicated readers may have caught in the aforementioned side note, the town of Alice Springs was born at the Telegraph Station. It was established in 1872 as a stop along the Overland Telegraph line from Adelaide to Darwin. Stops on the line existed solely to boost the strength of the signal as it travelled along the line, so the operators would sit in the station and listen to the messages coming from Darwin and Adelaide and resend them along to the next stop. It was a boring life.
The Telegraph Station sits right on the shore of the mighty Todd River, or rather, the occasionally mighty Todd River. It is bone dry most of the time, just an expanse of flat sandy river bed, but when European explorers came to establish the station, they happened upon the river shortly after several days of rain.
Now here's the good part:
The men saw a particularly turbulent bend in the river and assumed it to be a spring; in actuality, there was an underwater cave that filled and emptied about once every 5 minutes, not a spring at all. So, in an attempt to suck up to their boss back in Adelaide, they named the spot after his wife, Alice. After years of good intentions, Alice passed away before she ever made it to the town named for her.
So Alice Springs is named after someone who never went there, and for a spring that doesn't exist.
(Cue Linda Richman: Discuss)
Only in Australia, friends.
Now, as some of my more dedicated readers may have caught in the aforementioned side note, the town of Alice Springs was born at the Telegraph Station. It was established in 1872 as a stop along the Overland Telegraph line from Adelaide to Darwin. Stops on the line existed solely to boost the strength of the signal as it travelled along the line, so the operators would sit in the station and listen to the messages coming from Darwin and Adelaide and resend them along to the next stop. It was a boring life.
The Telegraph Station sits right on the shore of the mighty Todd River, or rather, the occasionally mighty Todd River. It is bone dry most of the time, just an expanse of flat sandy river bed, but when European explorers came to establish the station, they happened upon the river shortly after several days of rain.
Now here's the good part:
The men saw a particularly turbulent bend in the river and assumed it to be a spring; in actuality, there was an underwater cave that filled and emptied about once every 5 minutes, not a spring at all. So, in an attempt to suck up to their boss back in Adelaide, they named the spot after his wife, Alice. After years of good intentions, Alice passed away before she ever made it to the town named for her.
So Alice Springs is named after someone who never went there, and for a spring that doesn't exist.
(Cue Linda Richman: Discuss)
Only in Australia, friends.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Vocabillary
Australia is a strange land. This is not news. But it is really fun finding out exactly how strange a land it is on a day to day basis.
One of my first days here, my cousin Imogen and I sat down and made a list of things that we have different words for, and I have been adding to it since.
Here's what we've come up with:
flip flops = thongs
sweater/hoodie = jumper
candy = lollies
ketchup = tomato sauce
grill = barbeque (both the noun and the verb)
tank top = singlet
toilet = dunny
ping pong = table tennis (does this one count?)
cell phone = mobile
trash can = rubbish bin
airplane = aeroplane (you already heard this one)
underwear = knickers
bathrobe = dressing gown (doesn't that make you think of Scrooge in Christmas Carol?)
hat = cap
But my most favorite one that I've discovered so far is, without question:
pepper = capsicum
Isn't that beautiful? Doesn't it have a musical sound to it? "Would you like some capsicum on your salad?" "Care for some roasted red capsicum tomato sauce?"
Love it.
One of my first days here, my cousin Imogen and I sat down and made a list of things that we have different words for, and I have been adding to it since.
Here's what we've come up with:
flip flops = thongs
sweater/hoodie = jumper
candy = lollies
ketchup = tomato sauce
grill = barbeque (both the noun and the verb)
tank top = singlet
toilet = dunny
ping pong = table tennis (does this one count?)
cell phone = mobile
trash can = rubbish bin
airplane = aeroplane (you already heard this one)
underwear = knickers
bathrobe = dressing gown (doesn't that make you think of Scrooge in Christmas Carol?)
hat = cap
But my most favorite one that I've discovered so far is, without question:
pepper = capsicum
Isn't that beautiful? Doesn't it have a musical sound to it? "Would you like some capsicum on your salad?" "Care for some roasted red capsicum tomato sauce?"
Love it.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
All day, every day
Coming to Australia has thrown a few curve balls my way. One of them has been remembering to write the date dd/mm/yyyy, as opposed to the preferred American way: mm/dd/yyyy. I don't think it would be that big a deal except that I am so bloody employed and I have to write the date on EVERYTHING.
However, it has it's perks.
Today is 24/7.
Am I the only one who thinks that's hilarious?
However, it has it's perks.
Today is 24/7.
Am I the only one who thinks that's hilarious?
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