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Friday, 26 September 2008
Thai Festival
Mood:  happy

Celebrating the Thai Independence Day, the Thai embassy opened their grounds for a festival, and invited all of Canberra to come experience Thai culture, dancing, some shopping, oh, and of course, food.  They had been advertising this thing for months!  So, we went...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


It was packed!  Apparently all of Canberra DID show up, because it was wall to wall people in there, on what isn’t one of the smaller embassy grounds.  They had about a dozen food venders, they had shopping tents set up selling brass ornaments, clothes, Thai silk, spices, pretty much everything.  They had a traditional dance troupe, a few bands playing various types of music, ranging from traditional Thai to American Blue Grass, I kid you not!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thai fruit carving.  That thing on the right is a watermelon!

They also had this fund-raiser/game set up that was pretty funny.  They have a fairly large tree, into which they attached probably thousands of little foil stars of different colors.  The idea was that you would use this bamboo pole to “catch” a star, which had a little number sticker inside of it.  The higher the number, the better the prize.  We looked at the prize tent, and had a BUNCH of stuff.  Bicycles, stereos, home theatre sound systems, bags, toys...Jacoby wanted to try.  Again, and again.  In the end, even Kimberly “had a go.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think we won one “earth-friendly” hand bag, one pack of noodles, and a can of broth...  J

 

It was a really well done festival. The food was good, the shopping, nice, and really it wasn’t a bad way to spend a few hours, celebrating with the Thais.


Posted by kisajaja at 9:52 PM MEST
Updated: Friday, 26 September 2008 10:02 PM MEST
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Archery 101
Mood:  happy

Kimberly found an add in the paper for the Holder Archery Club.  Apparently, every first and third Sunday of the month, they hold an Archery clinic for beginner (read:  first time) firers, to sort of expose them to a few hours of introductory archery lessons and have some fun. 

 

It sounded like fun to us, and Jacoby has been a sort of archery kick lately.  I still don’t know why.

 

We went!  We had to haggle with the guy to let Jacoby participate (we didn’t make reservations), but in the end, they signed him up and started fitting him with the appropriate long bow, guards, and such.  Jacoby then looked back at me and said, “Aren’t you going to shoot?”  The guy said he could probably “squeeze me in,” so I signed the forms, paid the money (cheap), and then joined Jacoby.  Kimberly was the photographer for the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve shot before, so there wasn’t much in it for me, other than an hour or so of target practice, which I don’t get often, and I’m a little embarrassed to say how much fun I had shooting the balloons the guy kept putting on our target, all of about 25-meters.   Really a good time...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacoby had a ball, and finally got to send some arrows “down range” which, like I said, he’s been talking about for some time, now.  As soon as we were done, he asked if he could come back the next week.  I said sure, but “Only if mom signs up, too.” 

 

I’ll be the photographer, the day after tomorrow...

 

 

 

 


Posted by kisajaja at 9:44 PM MEST
Updated: Friday, 26 September 2008 9:51 PM MEST
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Saturday, 20 September 2008
Last Weekend, in Review (Finally)

 

Actually, as I was writing this, Kimberly wrote to Sabrina and summed it all up pretty well!  So, stealing shamelessly from a private e-mail sent to Sabrina by her mother, here you go:

“This weekend we went to Floriade. Each year Canberra picks a theme - this year's theme is Australian movie legends. Then they haul a bunch of dirt into Commonwealth Park and make large garden patches where previously there was nothing. In the gardens they plant a bunch of different kinds of flowers to represent something from their theme. The problem with all this is that the flower beds are flat and massive (probably 50 feet x 50 feet or more) so unless you happen to be freakishly tall, walking by on a pair of stilts, or flying your helicopter over the park, you have no idea what the picture is they are trying to convey. They have little signs with drawings of what it's supposed to look like, but honestly it could look like just about anything and no one would ever know. That being said there were a lot of flowers in bright vivid colors and it was rather pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is, of course, part of a piano keyboard...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, this is all temporary, built just for Floriade... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also went to a church festival where they advertised that they were having Tongan food. Having never had Tongan food before we were curious. They had three food options. A pig wrapped in foil, a fruit drink with smashed fruit bits and watermelon juice (I don't like watermelon), and a dessert made from spinach - dessert should not be made from spinach. Ryan decided to try the spinach dessert. I had a bite too. It tasted like pureed spinach that was made into a pudding and then had gelatin added to it and then they took the jello after it had set and stirred it up so that it was lumpy and then they put a caramel sauce on top. I stick by my initial assessment - dessert should not be made from spinach.”

Well summerized, indeed!  Except we also had lava-hot spring rolls and a few dim sums at the church festival...It’s all about the food to me...


Posted by kisajaja at 6:25 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 20 September 2008 6:36 AM MEST
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Wednesday, 3 September 2008
A Day on the Mountain
Mood:  mischievious

Peter skis.  I ski.  Jo and Kimberly can ski, but don’t really like to.  Jacoby snowboards.

What I’m getting at is this...Peter and I went skiing and left everyone else at home.  It sounds mean when I say it like that, but that’s what we did.  Jacoby didn’t come because he would have been expensive, and I don’t know much about the slopes here in Australia.  In hindsight, it was a good thing, because some of the slopes were pretty rough.  –More on that later.

Peter and I registered for a one-day ski trip, organized by Murray Bus Lines.  We were to board the Murray’s bus at something like 5:30 in the morning, they would take us to Threadbo (the same place we hiked up Mount Kosciuszko, only with more snow) for the day, and then the bus would get us home in time for dinner.  All equipment rentals were included, so we didn’t have to have our own stuff.

It was a great day at the slopes!  We made several runs throughout the day. The lines were a little crazy at the chairlifts, and we had some equipment problems with the rental ski boots, but all in all, it turned out just fine.  There were more runs than we had energy for, so that’s good!

The slopes are different here in Australia then they would be in the states.  For instance, when you get on a chairlift, there is no run-map to tell you what you’re going to find at the top.  It was my first time there, so I had no idea what we were getting into most of the time.  The second thing is that while the runs were labelled at the top of the mountain, there was no guarantee that the Green Circle (easy) trail you were following down the mountain a few hundred meters wouldn’t end at a point where the only remaining options to get down the mountain were all Black Diamond (Expert) runs.  Neither of us had been skiing in quite some time, so when this happened (a few times, actually), we did the best we could to make a controlled descent without getting too banged up in the process.  We eventually found a couple of good runs for our ability level, sort of in the middle of the mountain, but that was towards the end of the day, and the only way to get to them was to accept the expert slopes at the top,  and the time delay that was necessary to get down and not damage ourselves.  We also ended up on one long run that was seriously snow challenged.  It was a muddy mess, but we made it!

All in all, it was a good day!  Neither of us was comfortable enough to take a camera, so no pictures...Sorry...Go back and look at the other pictures and add more white stuff and less green stuff. 

It was fun to hit the mountains just once in Australia.


Posted by kisajaja at 6:56 AM MEST
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Friday, 22 August 2008
The Long Awaited Update
Mood:  happy

Okay, so I haven’t blogged in a little while.  While several things have happened in the last few weeks, not much of it is fun, sharable news.

For example, Sabrina went home, in order to get ready for her sophomore year at Shippensburg University.  An event, to be sure, but not fun to share.  She stayed pretty much her entire summer enduring the Canberra winter, which is not good by Australia standards, but not really all that bad...

I went to Puckapunyul , spelled something like that, for a week in order to run some battlefield simulations (wargames).  It was school work, but it was fun and not a bad trip.  I am going back there next week for another simulation.

We had a few smallish events that were fun that I’ll mention.  The first was that went to the Indian Independence Day at the Multicultural Centre.  It was pretty good with dancing, music, and food.  We left before the speeches... J  We also went up to the Mount Stromlo Observatory the other night.  They had set up several telescopes to view the Southern Hemisphere stars. That was actually pretty neat, since it was a crystal clear night.

Then we found a small restaurant that is very similar to Chipotle in Virginia.  We’ve gone there a few times in the last week, and probably again tomorrow.  The place is called Zambreros.

Tomorrow is the Indonesian Independence Day being celebrated at their embassy, so we’ll go check that out.  We’ll go to the Thai one, as well, but that’s not until September.

So, what event has happened that I found suitable for sharing?  We got our RFO (Request for Orders) and I now know where we will go next, after Australia.  Here’s the story...

About a month ago, I got an e-mail from my assignment officer who reminded me that I was due to move in December.  Roger that.  Got it.  While he said he didn’t know what jobs were available, he would let us know soon and that we should start thinking about preferences.  I replied to his message by saying, “I don’t suppose you know if you’ll have anything in Japan?”  He replied by saying, “Yes!  As a matter of fact, I do.  No promises, but I’ll keep you in mind...”

Then time went by.

About a week ago, I got another message that said “hey, folks, here’s the jobs list.  Rank these jobs in order of your preference and return it to me.”  I read the list.  No Japan.  I wrote back to confirm.  He confirmed, no Japan.  Apparently the guy in the job decided to stay. 

Okay, well, maybe next time.  We ranked the jobs with my top 2 being Hawaii and Italy.

Two days later, I find out that We didn’t get Hawaii or Italy, but instead, would be spending our next three years in balmy Anchorage, Alaska.  –Or at least Kimberly and Jacoby would.  I’d be going back to Iraq as a SIGO for the 4th Bde, 25th ID (Airborne).  Okay...Not bad, could be worse.

Two days later, we find out that I will NOT be going to Alaska.  Apparently I couldn’t get there in time for their unit MRE (rehearsals, taking place in November), so they had to take someone else.  My new choices were Colorado Springs, Colorado, or Ft Hood, Texas.

I replied, “Great!  Either one would be fantastic! I’ll take Colorado!”  We’ve been to Ft Hood, Texas.

Next day, I get an e-mail, “Okay, you want Colorado, but based on the needs of the Army, I may have to send you to 173rd Airborne BCT (SETAF).”

I wrote immediately, “That’s Italy!  That’s my second choice from the beginning!  I’ll take it!”

Three days later, it was confirmed.  We’re going to Vicenza, Italy, about an hour west of Venice.  We report on 22 February, or before.  Before I get there, I have to complete the S6 (SIGO) school in Georgia.  It takes five weeks, starting 5 January, so it looks like the end-of-Australia leave will be shortened to accommodate that.  Then it’s back to Italy, this time to live for a while.

It’s a great unit with a proud history and I’m glad to have the opportunity to be a part of it!

-But we will be overseas, again.  Let the teeth gnashing begin.  Like Australia, I’ll do my best to ensure we have a guest room waiting!


Posted by kisajaja at 12:30 PM MEST
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Saturday, 2 August 2008
...And on the way home...
Mood:  happy

 

The next day, we did something that I thought was a great deal of fun.  You may wonder about this one, so let me explain.  There is a place near Dubbo called Parkes.  There is nothing there.  Really, the whole place is a sheep paddock and a road that takes you somewhere else.  However there is one unique thing worth seeing there.  There is a large Radio Telescope in Parkes that was featured in a funny Australian movie called The Dish.  If you’ve seen it, and I’m guessing you haven’t, then you know the story, but for the rest...

According to the movie, at the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Parkes had the largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere.  As such, it was NASA’s primary communications site when Apollo  was out of range of California.  It was the ONLY one in the southern hemisphere large enough to receive a television signal from the moon.  As it turns out, it was the Parkes dish that received the video feed from Neil Armstrong’s first steps, which was then broadcast live all over the world.

So we went to see it.

For the record, Parkes is really there, they really have a radio telescope, it really participated in the Apollo missions (and continues to support NASA today), and it really is featured in the movie. 

You should really see that movie....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Posted by kisajaja at 8:15 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 2 August 2008 8:20 AM MEST
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Last Weekend in the Greater Dubbo Area
Mood:  happy

G’day, all!  How ya’ goin’?

Once again, I admit freely that pictures taken of zoo animals do not count.  That being said, we went to Dubbo’s Western Plains Zoo with Peter and Jo last weekend.  Well, to be honest, Peter and Jo set the whole thing up, including the cabin we stayed in, so basically WE went with THEM.  

What a cool zoo!

To start with, it is a bit of a drive to get to Dubbo.  It’s five hours north of Canberra, further west than Sydney.  It’s another of the few land-locked cities in Australia, and there is really nothing there except the zoo.  That being said, it’s a big “conference town” for the business world in Australia due to its “strategic” location.  That means it has a lot of hotels/motels, but really nothing else.

The zoo is something of a mix between a normal zoo and a safari.  All of the animals are in habitats, but there are few that have gates/walls/cages.  Most of the animals are corralled by natural means, such as non-swimming animals being on a small island.  That sort of thing.  The zoo grounds are HUGE, and all of the animals had plenty of space, that I could tell.  It was so large that visitors are encouraged to drive tot he habitat they want to see, park, and then spend as much time as they want, and then drive to the next bit they want to see.  As it turns out, Peter and I rented golf carts for the day and cruised the zoo in those.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, zoo pictures are cheating, but this is the first echidna we'd seen here, and the bird was wild, not caged.  The meercat was cute, so we posted it anyway...  :)

All thanks to Peter and Jo!

 


Posted by kisajaja at 8:05 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 2 August 2008 8:14 AM MEST
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Saturday, 19 July 2008
Cairns - Day Six, Homeward Bound

Once back in Sydney, we picked up our luggage (bulging with our purchases), found the car, and headed to our hotel for the night.  The plan was to spend the night and then hit “Paddy’s Markets” the next morning.  We got to hotel at around 10:00pm (the flight was delayed a bit), but that didn’t matter.  We got checked in, got to sleep, and hit the markets in the morning.

Great market!  One of the funny things about it is that we could tell immediately that we were back in Sydney based on prices.  That being said, they had EVERYTHING and we got some more stuff.

World Youth Day 08 is going on right now, and the Pope is in Sydney, so the place is overrun with “pilgrims” there for that.  Everything is a little crowed right now, but it was still a fun day. 

After shopping, we came home to unpack and to get some rest.  We go back to Sydney on Sunday for hockey.  Jacoby has a double-header...


Posted by kisajaja at 8:28 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 19 July 2008 8:30 AM MEST
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Cairns - Day Five, Day of Koalas

Our last full day in Cairns we spent out at Kuranda.  Again, it was another small town with some fantastic markets.  We went through every gallery, shop, and vendors table, buying cloths, looking at opals, seeing what other things these people make and then sale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kuranda has a really neat place called “Batreach.”  It’s just a lady, and I guess her husband, that took in an injured bat a while back and rehabilitated it back to health.  Then another.  Then another.  Today, they have their own license and outdoor living areas set up to care for all kinds of bats, big and small.  The lady called them all by name, which the bats responded to, held them, brought them over for pictures, fed them, whatever.  She was totally at home with them, and they with her.  She told us all about several of them, including the ones that have been released already, but keep coming back for whatever reason, sleeping outside the cages, but still amongst the other bats. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We spent roughly ½ hour talking to the lady and taking pictures.  Kimberly got a t-shirt and we went back up to the markets.

Also in Kuranda is a small “zoo” called the Koala Gardens, where we saw wallabies (Sabrina’s first time to feed and pet them), snakes, crocodile, and, of course, Koalas.  We all got to hold “Cheebi” the koala for photos. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was back to the markets, and then the short drive back to Cairns.  The next day was mostly travel, and we headed back to Sydney that night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by kisajaja at 8:16 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 19 July 2008 8:27 AM MEST
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Cairns - Day Four, Day of Snorkling

The next morning was our trip to the Great Barrier Reef.  We went out to Green Island as part of a ½ day package we got because it seemed like plenty of time.  We got to the Island, got all of our gear assembled, and snorkled for about 30 minutes before it was our time to ride on the semi-submersible on a guided tour of the reef.   We spent roughly ½ hour seeing the reef and wildlife (fish, turtles, even a stingray, and TONS of corral and plant life).  After the semi-submersible, we raced back to our snorkling spot (after buying a disposable underwater camera) and snorkled for another ½ hour before it was time to leave. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We thought we had plenty of time going into that trip.  Now I can TOTALLY see what people do for hours on end.  We could have easily spent another hour out there looking around.    As it was, the weather turned bad almost immediately after we got out of the water, so the day ended up being perfect!  We took the boat back to Cairns, headed to the room to cleanup and get dressed, then headed to the mall to get the pictures developed.  Then we did some more shopping and got some dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Posted by kisajaja at 8:09 AM MEST
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