Saturday, June 30, 2012

"It's hot in the city, hot in the city tonight, alright"

Hi Everyone!

Long time, no write... I can't say it's because I've got nothing to report, actually I've had a great few weeks, and it's not that I've been soooo busy that I can't write... the fact is I've been lazy, yep, just plain lazy.  But lucky (or unlucky!) for you I am in the mood for writing tonight.

So, first thing is a correction from my previous blog.  I feel like such a fool, but I have learnt that it was not a beaver that I saw...  a bit embarrassing given it even featured in the title!   Beavers live in water, not on land, and have a big wide paddle like tail... gee, I'm as sharp as a bowling ball.  Then I thought it might be a badger, but I wiki'd it and it's not a badger either.  If anyone can help me in identifying what type of animal it is, please let me know - there might be a prize in it for you!

I know you're all waiting in anticipation to know what I've been up to, or maybe not and you're just reading this to take a break from work, either way, here goes... So let's start three weeks ago, in Colombia.  So, when I knew I was moving here into a Regional role, one of my first thoughts was that I am worried about and want to avoid travelling to Colombia.  So, upon arriving in my new job I learnt that Colombia is one of the larger markets in the Region, so resigned myself to the fact that I would need to go, and I knew I wouldn't be sent somewhere that I'd be in danger.  So around came the opportunity to roll out some training and to spend time with Juliana (from my team), so off I set to Medellin - a city in the north west and in the middle of a valley.   Think 360 surrounded by mountains, but I guess that's stating the obvious... "Captain Obvious" aren't I?



I come in for landing, the plane rocking side to side and see lush, beautiful mountains.  Though bumpy, it was a safe landing and after getting through customs I was welcomed by a crew of two with my name sign.  I was quickly escorted to my vehicle - a bullet proof Toyota Prada.  How exciting, my first bullet proof car, along with my own personal body guard for the week.  Okay, so with all this security it seems a little bit scarier than what it actually was.  I am told by the locals that 10-15 years ago, the town was very dangerous, popular with the mafia, but the government did a huge amount to clean it up, which has seemingly worked.  In saying that, it's a brave soul that would make the decision to reduce the level of security that is provided to employees.  One thing that Medellin is famous for is fake boobs.  This stems from the mafia days where the men would buy their mistresses fake boobs.  Now, it's embedded in society and is something that is commonly given for 15 or 16th birthday presents. Medellin is also known for having amazing weather - consistently around 28 degrees every day, all year, 1/2 the year wet, the other half dry.  It's now dry season in Medellin, but as luck would have it, there was torrential rain the entire week.   Here's a couple of pics from the top of the factory, the best view in the city (better when it's not so cloudy)!

 With Juli (left) and Monica (right)... and me in the middle in case you forget what I look like.

 

After four days in Medellin, I then took the 45 minute flight to Bogota.  Bogota is the capital of Colombia and is considered a savannah, or a high plateau in the Andes mountains.  It's strange because it is really flat (captain obvious again), but it is at a decent altitude - 2625m (to put in perspective Mt. Kosciuszko is 2228 metres).  I got a mild case of altitude sickness whilst I was there - I was all woozy and my body was all tingly... I guess no climbing everest for me!  I was only there one night, but had arrived late the night before, but my flight out on the Friday night was not until 11pm.  I was told I have to go to this restaurant that "is Bogota" that for the life of me I can't remember the name of.  This place was awesome!  Luckily I went early because of my flight,  because when I left, there was a queue of over 100 waiting to get in.  This restaurant basically had like 5 floors, and a menu with 55 pages!






Here is my delicious meal - prawns with rice and veg, which came out sizzling


... and me with a bib.  

Leaving Colombia, I caught the real red eye flight - it level at 11pm Colombia time (midnight NY time) and it arrived at 5.30am NY time - nasty nasty nasty.  I managed to fall asleep on the runway, but woke up during take off, then fell back asleep about 25 minutes before preparing to land.  I managed to fit in a couple of movies in between - The Vow being one of them... what a tear jerker.  I have a theory that when you are flying that your emotions are heightened, I either seem to find movies extraordinarily sad and end up bawling my eyes out (The Notebook, Soul Surfer etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.), or excrutiatingly funny and end up laughing inappropriately loud, and let out a frequent snort (Death at a Funeral, The Hangover etc. etc. etc. etc.).  When I see them again at normal altitude, although I thoroughly enjoy them again, I certainly don't have the same emotional reaction. 

The following week I went to Rock of Ages (the stage show) and oh my god, it was so awesome.  I must say it would be up there as one of the best shows I've seen, maybe even the best (though being on stage on Priscilla would have to be my fave moment).  It had the best soundtrack for a bogan like me, and I discovered at that show there are many bogans in the city.  That same week, I also caught up twice with Pina, who I work with (and who coincidentally knows my aunty Collette and her husband Dennis, and the family they were travelling with know them as well - very small world).  We went out for dinner, which was really lovely.


Last Sunday I went and saw my friend Lindsay's new show - Triassic Park, which is a parody of Jurassic Park, and really inappropriate and funny.  After the show she was having a get together for the crew working on the show, so I joined them.  It's funny, the acting scene is very different to my own world and it's really intriguing to me, but then on the other hand I am as equally intriguing to them (I don't know how).  One of her other friends Cameron came over with her boyfriend, who coincidentally enough was Stacy Jaxx from Rock of Ages that I had just seen that week.   It was a fun evening and my first exposure to American Ribs and Macaroni and Cheese - delish!

Other than that, the week has been nicely uneventful - I didn't really get up to much (beside work of course) and that suited me just fine.  The weather has been really hot - record breaking temperatures.  Yesterday was 36 degrees and super humid - there was a really loud thunderstorm early yesterday morning; and then today was 35.  There's some major fires burning across the country which is not good.  

Today, I had nothing planned so went to the movies, and for the first time ever, saw two in a row!  I saw Snow White and Huntsman, excellent, and then Rock of Ages.  I hadn't wanted to see the movie until after the show, but I must say I was a little disappointed as they changed the story quite a bit, and quite frankly the actors in the stage show were better singers than the ones in the movies.  

Anyway, I'm now coming home again in August (as long as it gets approved at work), so if you are wanting to order things in the US, nows the time and I can bring them back with me.  Clearly the amount of things I can bring is limited, so it's first in best dressed.  Just drop me an email and I can give you the delivery details.

Signing off for this week (or 3!),
Michele 

Sunday, June 10, 2012

"Nice Beaver!"

Hi Everyone,

It sure has been a couple of exciting weeks...
Most exciting and most important - Brett's visa was approved!  After sitting on the desk at the consulate for months and months gathering dust, it finally got looked at two weeks ago and was approved within a couple of days - unbelievable.  Now, that's a classic case of bureaucracy.  So now we're in mode to get Brett here.  He has the task of getting the place rented out and storing all of his cars and getting our little Jack ready to board the plane.  We're thinking it will be around the end of July by the time he gets here, but at least we know now, which is the most important thing.  I've got two weeks travel in July to Miami and Argentina, so it doesn't make sense for Brett to get here when I'm not.

So with more excitement, Friday week ago, I got a last minute invitation to go to Radiohead concert with Lindsay (Broadway friend)  As a lover of live music, I was an instant yes!  I met her after work (unfortunately dressed daggily from work having not planned on going out the night), and after a battle of finding each other at Penn Station, we boarded the train to Prudential Center at Newark, New Jersey.  As we line up to get in, Lindsay explained she got the tix from her husband's cousin, who is the location manager (I think that's the title) for the band.... you know the one that makes sure there are 250 green M&Ms, or a fountain with 10 white swans, or a room of 500 hookers... you get the picture.  Anyway, very excitededly, we make our way to our seats, through the section that has it's own private bar, and then she proceeds to tell me we also have wrist bands for us to go to the after party!  Though, as Lindsay's in rehearsals for a show at the moment, she wasn't sure if we would go.  Onto that later...  Anyway, walking in the stadium there's a huge waft of dope smoke - clearly those on security are not so strict on the anti-smoking laws, let alone anti-drug laws.  It was extraordinary.   Anyway, the concert was excellent - super energy charged and visually awesome.   Hyped up from the show (and possibly the passive smoking!), Lindsay said we have to go to the afterparty - like I needed any convincing!  We made our way back to Manhattan to the Jane Hotel in Meat Packing district, and walk towards the room, and the bouncer at the door says "I'm sorry, this is a private party girls"... smuggly, we raise our wrists and flash our bands and proceed on into the party.  It was pretty cool, but most excitedly Jude Law was there!!!  Obviously not channeling my cultural roots, I didn't build up enough dutch courage to ask for a photo.  Here's the two of us there.


So, then I was in Miami for the past week doing some training and having a meeting with my team - it's always good when we can get together face to face.  I got back late Friday night after having to take off just after one of the most extraordinary storms I had ever been in - the thunder was so, so, so, so loud - I was seriously so close to moving my flight to Saturday, but pushed through and luckily the storm cleared up by the time I took off.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Teena and Matt's for Matt's sister's 21 birthday.  Teena had been sick all week so I wanted to be an extra set of hands for them.  It was a Mad Hatter's tea party theme and the dress was 'quirky'.   Very sweet


Matt's sister, Chelsea, is living in NYC to go to film and acting school and has made a really nice bunch of friends who are also actors.  One of the girls there was recently on NYPD Blue, another was in a music video, and Chelsea has written a play that is being produced.  Anyway, one of her friends Brian, definitely went full quirky with the theme....


... what can I say, actors are an individual bunch (with Teena on the right and Matt's sister Simone...or should I say Alice...on the left)

We went afterwards to a bar "LeBain".  Matt, Simone and I were on chaperone duty... gee, I'm getting so mature :)  This place was another quite extraordinary one... there was a really nice rooftop bar, but then one floor down was a dance floor with giant jacuzzi (or spa in Aussie) next to it (bizarre)... and people were actually going into it.  I personally wouldn't recommend it unless you want to pick up some sort of mysterious bacteria.  So, after seeing Jude Law the week before, the first celeb after a huge dry patch, I then saw Emma Watson (Hermima from Harry Potter).  She looked completely unassuming and I really had to stare to see if it was her - her hair was really plain and she was wearing quite a daggy outfit.  After being frustrated at myself from the previous week for not asking Jude Law for a photo, I built up the courage eventually and asked her for a photo, but she said no :(  Oh well, at least I tried.

I've been also taking much better care of myself.  I've been walking or jogging nearly every day, either along the boulevard or around the nearby park.  Yesterday, it was really funny, I came across a beaver!



He looked so funny!  He was a decent size, the size of a small dog.

Then on my walk at the park today, I noticed in the lake a whole lot of turtles!  Check these ones out:



So, after a couple of very exciting weeks, tomorrow I'm flying off to Colombia for the week - my first time there.  Don't worry, I'll make sure I leave the boogy board bag at home!

Ciao!
Michele