6-26-2007 

I think I pinched a nerve in my back today.  I say “think” because I’m not quite sure what the symptoms of pinchnervitis are.  (Michelle or Liz, care to elaborate?)  I can, however, elaborate on the signs and symptoms that I have been experiencing…

For example, whenever I stand up, try to lift something, or even inhale too deeply, it feels as if a medium-sized skyscraper were being thrust between my left scapula and backbone and then twisted until all of the broken glass fragments from the ensuing shattered windows of said skyscraper are ground into a fine silicon powder.  It’s moderately inconvenient.

Yeah, so that’s the physical update.  Surprisingly, no problems at all with jet lag.  And I get plenty of fruits and vegetables here, so I’m set for vitamin C.  That little bit of information is specifically for your benefit, Mum!

Weather.  Well.  It’s been raining for the last couple of days.  I’ve never seen it rain like this before… it’s not that the rain is falling very hard, because it’s really not (when compared to

OH!!!  Ha!!!  So I was going on break today for a bit when this older couple that I had talked to previously walked by.  They had just gotten back from a guided walk and they were both wearing rain ponchos.  I said g’day as they walked by, and when the woman turned to say hello back to me, I couldn’t help but notice the CASCADE of blood running down from the front of her throat all the way down here poncho.  Like I said, I couldn’t help but notice.  She had no clue, and neither did her husband.  Upon closer examination, I was able to discern the most contented little leech that I’ve ever seen… right in the middle of the wound.  Long story short, she went to take a shower and discovered about 6 more on her and 2 or 3 on her 82-year-old husband.  Hooray, anticoagulant-secreting parasites!

6-29-2007 

Yo.  This entry might seem kind of random and a little bit scatterbrained, but therein lies the proof that it is actually me writing all this!  =)

Anyway, so the kids here are so much more literate than American kids!  Of course, the only kids that I have met are staying at the guesthouse, and considering the prices that we charge, they’re mostly doctors’ kids, so that might influence my perception.  Notwithstanding, they’ve ALL been much more polite, literate, and well-spoken than Yanks.  Kind of embarrassing, if you ask me.

So yeah, the coolest part about working with the kids down here is that they are also much more trusting than American kids are (because the large majority of Americans value skepticism as gold, in my opinion).  So this high level of trust that the kids have in me combined with the “shock and awe” that the uniform and name badge produce in most of our guests has led to some rather humorous encounters.  Most of these have to do with kids thinking that I know, understand, and can do ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING.  In fact, I covertly overheard this little girl named Rachel telling her older brother that I was “invincible.”  The best part was that he, in typical know-it-all older brother fashion, replied with “Of course he is.”

So now pretty much everywhere I go I have a veritable horde of children following me, waving at me, and generally just wanting to grow up and be just like me.  Poor, poor, misguided little victims!

All humor and joking aside, however, I see that this is an excellent opportunity for me to have a significant impact in their little worlds as far as environmental responsibility is concerned.  I’ve been trying to come up with some activities that I can have them do in Scrub Club (the children’s program that I’m in charge of) that will teach them basic principles of preservation, conservation, and etc.  I think that the seven Leave No Trace principles would be a good place to start, but how does one make learning said principles creative and entertaining?  I’m fishing for suggestions here, y’all.  Anything at all would help!

6-17-2007 

So, I left Oregon on Fathers’ Day.  After having spent the night at my sister’s house in Portland, I was driven to PDX where I boarded my flight to LA.  But first, a few words on what I think about the whole “really obese people should buy more than one ticket” debate…They most certainly should.And now, to continue my story.  I had the good fortune of being seated next to the window on the right side of airplane, so I had an assured view of the ocean while landing in Oakland.  Notwithstanding this outrageous fortune, the gentleman who seated himself next to me weighed approximately 350 pounds.  After spilling a full third of the way into my seat, he promptly decided to fall asleep while leaning against me and snoring.So there I was, window against one cheek and drooling obese guy against the other.  C’est la vie, no?Anyway, landed in Oakland, transferred flights and sat next to a sweet older couple (I learned my lesson) and landed without ado in LA an hour later.  Michelle picked me up, and off to her apartment we sped!6-18-2007 

Met Liz Blankenship and Michelle’s roomies last night, and Nathan dropped by this morning.  Good to see him again!  It had been almost 2.5 years since we had last seen each other, so that was good.  He hasn’t changed at all; still same ol’ Nathan.  Good man.  Good pirate.

So he and I helped Michelle move to her fabulous new house, then off to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner.  Mildly ironic, no?  Especially considering that, REGARDLESS of the fact that I was flying to Australia the next day, the freakin’ waitress wouldn’t give me a discount!  What a gyp. 

6-19-2007 

Finished unpacking Michelle today, bought coffee with Liz and Nathan, and waited.  Saw Nathan off around 1:00, then left for the airport avec Liz and Michelle around 1:30.  Arrived at the airport to find the entire international terminal completely evacuated and roughly 3.7 million police officers swarming hither and yon yelling indistinctly and generally making themselves look really, really, ridiculously important.  The effect, however, was completely lost on us, mainly considering the fact that Michelle’s flight was set to depart in two hours.  Notwithstanding the general state of “emergency” (which, no doubt, constituted an abandoned cell phone or tube of toothpaste somewhere in the terminal), Liz and I kicked Michelle to the curb and said “good luck!” then quickly drove off in the general direction of the beach, laughing our heads off. 

Not to worry.  Michelle’s flight left a mere 55 minutes late.  And Liz and I got to enjoy Manhattan Beach to its fullest in the ensuing several hours that I had to wait for my flight.  Huzzah!

6-20/21-2007 (Damn you, international date line!) 

Got on the plane to Melbourne last night at 11:00.  After a moderately uneventful flight (which I believe to have been an event in itself!), we arrived in Melbourne 14 hours and 45 minutes later.  I sat next to a wonderfully conversational Aussie named Simon who was more than glad to tell me his life story.  Fascinating bloke.  He sells boats.  And he has a pet Blue-ring Octopus!  Another of

Anyway, Melbourne airport was heaven after having spent freakin’ 6 hours at LAX.  Did you know that they haven’t done any major construction at LAX since 1984?  The place is antiquated beyond all reason.  But Melbourne!  Ah, glorious Melbourne!  Very stylish, nice fixtures, clean bathrooms, and free wireless.  And the people that work there are soooo kind.  It took the customs guy right about 32 seconds to send me through.  I guess that I just don’t look that terroristical (terroristy? terroristatious? terroristifying?).

Anyway, arrived at O’Reilly’s at 4:30 pm after a long drive up a very winding mountain road.  I hadn’t even had to time to brush my teeth before I had been introduced to the HR Manager, the GM, the CFO, and the entire kitchen staff.  Wonderful, wonderful people.  They fed me dinner in the dining room as a special treat.  I had the smoked haloumi as an appetizer followed by a medium rare Scottish fillet the likes of which I’ve never tasted before.  I think that it was actually made out of a real Scotsman!  Then, after not much ado, off to bed.

6-22-2007 

So, I diligently set my alarm last night for the correct time to get up, but I accidentally switched the am and the pm on the time on my clock.  Consequently, I was 15 minutes late to my first day of work.  Yikes.  They all understood quite well, though.

So, yeah, I spent most of the day walking along the trails (or “tracks,” as they call them) that I will be guiding folks along.  Saw Moran’s Fall for the first time.  A small creek near the resort cascades about 120 metres down this cliff a few kilometres from my apartment.  Quite lovely.  I get to take a bunch of kids there tomorrow. 

These people are crazy about their food!  It’s amazing!  They get breakfast at 8, morning tea at 11-ish, lunch at 12.30, afternoon tea at 4, and dinner at 6.  After dinner, it’s quite customary to spend at least an hour and a half at the bar upstairs having appetizers and, of course, beer.  They are quite proud of their beer, and with good reason. 

I had to complete lots of paperwork today and learn how the Discovery Centre (DC) works.  It’s quite basic, and it cruises right along with O’Reilly’s mission statement, which is to “Make every guest feel special.”  So, essentially, when I’m working in the DC, I sell different guided activities to the guests, make myself available to answer questions and, more often than not, joke around.  It’s quite fitting for my personality!