So midway through this week I was feeling down and needed to treat myself, on the company of course. I really enjoy keeping my receipts now and I think I’m getting to the point of pushing the limit on how far I can expense meals. Last time I was able to expense a bar of soap. I think it comes to my boss not really reading through my receipts and just replying “Approved”.
So I had been talking with one of the bartenders at The Curve Bar at my hotel and was recommended to try Milson’s. So, considering I’m staying near Milson’s Point and Milson’s Point Station, etc the name fit. It’s a short walk to this restaurant from the hotel – 10 minutes if you’ve only got one leg and are limping with the other. So I got there a little early and had a schooner of Carlton’s at Kirribili Club. A beer later I made my way back to a table for one.
Milson’s is a one of those nice places where if you don’t go all out you will surely regret it. Why go to a great restaurant if you can only order within your per diem? Per what was that anyway? So off the bat I was impressed. First they had my favorite Sydney Rock Oysters which I’ll get to in a moment, but they also served in a shot glass a white tomato juice with some drops of basil oil. In my own cooking I try to push the defined realm of what you’re ‘allowed to do’. This did it. I’d imagine they pealed the tomatoes and then juiced them while filtering all the flesh from the water and then added the basil oil. It was a most refreshing surprise and I can’t compare it to anything else I’ve ever had before. Following the shot came the Sydney Rock Oysters with Wasabi Sorbet. So you have your oysters with an ice sweet wasabi along with a fruit seed called ‘finger limes’. At first I thought the finger limes were a fish roe of some type – they pop in your mouth and have a slight tartness to them. Again, unique and something that is outside of the perceived ‘allowed’ cooking. The main course was a beef tenderloin steak perfectly cooked rare with oxtail cannelloni, which was so rich, and buttery I saved it for my last bites on the plate. The spinach had a slight bitterness to it that offset the richness of the cannelloni. The glass of cabernet sauvignon was also marvelous.
Now I had ordered dessert but wish I hadn’t after being served a pre-dessert. Again, a shot glass full of a cream-custard strawberry mixture which was perfectly sweet and tart. On to the actually dessert – I had ordered a chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, cake or mouse served with a cognac and banana liquor overlay. It was not too rich, a somewhat disappointment, but excellent nonetheless. Oh, and the ice cream in the middle of the cake was another nice surprise you wouldn’t have expected. $108 AUD later I had my challenge to my finance team in the United States.
This evening I had diner at a Malaysian restaurant. It was good (Sambal Prawns), but next time will order something that I hope will be making the blog. One note I will add is that I’ve yet to have overcooked prawns (they don’t call them shrimp here) in Australia.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Resolution 19:53
Tonight I’m writing from the Curve Bar at The Vibe Hotel just across the street of the Milson’s Point Station in Sydney. I’m enjoying a nice cabernet sauvignon by the window overlooking the street. I like this bar quite a bit actually. They have Carlton Draught on tap, a number of microbrews in bottle, and what seems to be a good assortment of wines so far. The décor is quite colorful and it completely matches the ambient trance music playing in the background. There are some tennis ball green colors, deep reds, yellows, browns and so forth. I’d say it has a modern look to it. The view from the window is of the train station, but the reflection of the bar itself is mainly what you see.
This cabernet is very nice – it’s light for a cab and not overly dry. Having some knowledge of DJ Tiesto, 4-Strings, and PVD helped me get a few tastes of other wines before choosing this one. The food here is good, but not blog-worthy good. At least the wine made it in.
So here I am, 30th May, and nothing written since last weekend. I suppose I could get into my hesitation with this whole Australia thing, but I prefer to discuss its resolution. Here I am in Australia, employed by a company that has increased my income by 500%, allows me to be creative in what I do, and has enough confidence in me to put me in charge of a country (which used to be a prison). Well, I suppose when I pull my head out of my ass I realize how fortunate I am to have that. It’s not that I didn’t feel fortunate for all this, or appreciate it, but rather that things are now moving very quickly around me and I’m forced to challenge myself to keep it. The kid’s in the big time now and needs to step it up. I’m scared of not keeping up.
I spoke with my boss Sam about this today, which has really taken a lot of weight off my shoulders and given me a new level of respect for my boss. That in itself is important to me. So what’s happened is that my time or tour here has been chopped up more so it’s easier for me to manage and understand. As of this afternoon my schedule in Australia ends at the end of this year and with that change I am still guaranteed employment at my company in the United States. The “reason” I am here is to obviously sell our products, but also to show a presence in this part of the world; to educate the market; and also to impact our Asia-Pacific team with my experiences out of our headquarters in the US. Being out of HQ has it’s advantages over being hired out locally. First, I know how the company works. I know who is a pain in the ass, who needs to be called for what, and the limits to how far you can push people at HQ to get stuff done. That’s not in any training and regardless of being told who your go-to people are you never ‘know it’ until you truly know it. It’s also a brand new team and I have the most tenure within the company, so now there’s some longevity and experience on the team. Oh, and I know our CRM/database the best of any sales person in our company, plus the fact I used to work for the manufacturer.
That is why I’m here and that is how I can start to act. I’m good with that and being able to look at this in six month commitment terms and not just two years. Plus I’m a badass.
It’s now 20:19.
This cabernet is very nice – it’s light for a cab and not overly dry. Having some knowledge of DJ Tiesto, 4-Strings, and PVD helped me get a few tastes of other wines before choosing this one. The food here is good, but not blog-worthy good. At least the wine made it in.
So here I am, 30th May, and nothing written since last weekend. I suppose I could get into my hesitation with this whole Australia thing, but I prefer to discuss its resolution. Here I am in Australia, employed by a company that has increased my income by 500%, allows me to be creative in what I do, and has enough confidence in me to put me in charge of a country (which used to be a prison). Well, I suppose when I pull my head out of my ass I realize how fortunate I am to have that. It’s not that I didn’t feel fortunate for all this, or appreciate it, but rather that things are now moving very quickly around me and I’m forced to challenge myself to keep it. The kid’s in the big time now and needs to step it up. I’m scared of not keeping up.
I spoke with my boss Sam about this today, which has really taken a lot of weight off my shoulders and given me a new level of respect for my boss. That in itself is important to me. So what’s happened is that my time or tour here has been chopped up more so it’s easier for me to manage and understand. As of this afternoon my schedule in Australia ends at the end of this year and with that change I am still guaranteed employment at my company in the United States. The “reason” I am here is to obviously sell our products, but also to show a presence in this part of the world; to educate the market; and also to impact our Asia-Pacific team with my experiences out of our headquarters in the US. Being out of HQ has it’s advantages over being hired out locally. First, I know how the company works. I know who is a pain in the ass, who needs to be called for what, and the limits to how far you can push people at HQ to get stuff done. That’s not in any training and regardless of being told who your go-to people are you never ‘know it’ until you truly know it. It’s also a brand new team and I have the most tenure within the company, so now there’s some longevity and experience on the team. Oh, and I know our CRM/database the best of any sales person in our company, plus the fact I used to work for the manufacturer.
That is why I’m here and that is how I can start to act. I’m good with that and being able to look at this in six month commitment terms and not just two years. Plus I’m a badass.
It’s now 20:19.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Lowenbrau
Well, after my near overly dramatic self-pity The Real World episode of the previous night, I made the decision to venture outside of my hotel back into urban Sydney. Keep in mind that I had been up past 2 AM the night before, so sleeping in until 10 AM felt justified. My goal today was two-fold. One, find the walkway and walk across the Harbour Bridge from the North into Sydney and two, explore the Sydney natural history museum or whatever it is called. In retrospect I probably should have looked up the address of the museum, but I was pretty sure I passed by it during my last visit. I was prepared with my Canon 20D camera fitted with its EF 24-105 f/4 L lens, my Canon SD850 IS, and my now-running-retired since the marathon pair of Nike running shoes, wallet, and passport.
I expected it to be a task to find the stairs, elevator, or just plain beginning of the walkway on the Harbour Bridge. I haven’t seen any maps that really go over this as most maps go over the driving lanes, not the pedestrian route. Not really, the stairs are literally across the street from my hotel. It’s not that I was disappointed with this, but I expected this to take thirty minutes of walking time. So off I went over the bridge. Let me restate that – off I went to *walk* over the bridge.
It’s a nice walk. The sidewalk is on the east side of the bridge, so as you walk south on it you see the Sydney Opera House to your left, and a glimpse of the open ocean as well. I’m not sure what the distance of the walk is – I’d guess around one mile, but I’m sure it’s documented somewhere online. There are a couple ways to walk off the bridge into Sydney, one is a group of stairs which lead you into The Rocks, the other extends further down closer to the Central Business District (CBD). My walk through the city was similar to the last time I had been there. I made my way through The Rocks to Circular Quay (pronounced “key”) and then back north to the Opera House. It really is an architectural marvel, but I’d seen it once already so I didn’t take the triple-digit amount of photos this time through. From there, through the way I’d imagine the way to the museum I also went through the Royal Botanical Gardens. Again, been there – done that, but it’s all very beautiful just the same. Actually, from a tourist point of view I think I prefer the gardens over the Opera House. The Opera House is there, you see it, you walk around it, and if you want, you can get an indoor tour of it for just under two-hundred Australian Dollars. The gardens on the other hand are free and the area is much larger than the Opera House. You can also walk through the garden for hours on its own. After exiting the gardens I made my way down a street and found the Sydney Museum of Art. It really wasn’t on my agenda, but then again I’ve already saved thirty minutes by finding the walkway over the bridge so easily and the museum is free. We like free.
The Sydney Art Museum has been there for a long time. Again, I’m sure you can look up the exact date of it’s opening, but I just don’t care. The fact that its here now makes it important. When I walked in I expected either tile or marble styled floors, but instead I found wood floors. Squeaky wood floors like you’d find in a mountain cabin. Each floorboard was less than two inches wide, and was laid out in opposing sets at a 45 degree angle to the room. It’s either a three or four story structure, has white walls, skylights, an overpriced café, and art on the walls. That’s the difference. I’ve been to a few art museums in the United States and I found the art here to be noticeably different. US museums have your Monet’s and such, and art from the 15-1700’s, but the art in this museum was more “English” and military based. In most rooms there is one large mural painting taking up half the room – and I found most of them to be to be very detailed and of a military hero or story. Most of the paintings I saw were very detailed down to hairs on a man’s beard. There is also an Asian art area which I also enjoyed – especially the Japanese section with katanas on display. There was a modern art area as well, but I’ve dropped food into the disposal before and wasn’t in the mood to see someone else’s mess.
I probably spent close to two hours in the art museum if that says anything about how much I enjoyed it. Keep in mind, I’m not an artsy fartsy guy. After a short walk I was now in the CBD. At this point I realized I hadn’t yet had breakfast or lunch, and it was getting close to 2 PM. There were a number of restaurants I had passed on my walk to the art museum. There was always the Opera House Oyster Bar. I’m sure I could find a way to have another sixty dollar lunch there for one, but I wanted to try something new. My friend Jim had mentioned this restaurant where he ordered these Lowenbrau beers, and sure enough I had passed a restaurant called Lowenbrau in The Rocks. Once I arrived I ordered and ice water and a beer – Lowenbrau of course. The catch with that order was that the water was in a small glass and the beer was served in a one liter mug. Let me mention that a bottle of wine is 750mL, and I was having 1L of beer. When it came time to order my meal I just pointed to someone else sitting outside on the patio and asked ‘what is that, and I think I’ll order that’. Schweinshaxn – oven roasted pork knuckle, sauerkraut, bier sauce, and mashed potatoes. Just excellent. So the sauerkraut and mashed potatoes were just as you’d think they’d be, and the bier sauce was also very good – a light brown sauce obviously made with beer, a roux most likely, and other assorted spices – maybe even butter. The pork knuckle now was something new altogether. I believe ‘knuckle’ could be substituted with shank. My first thought was it being similar to a ham hock, but that’s only by size. This piece of meat had two bones through it, and I believe was roasted skin on. If you like fried pork skins you’d like this as well – it was very crispy, salty, and also created a layer to keep in all the juices of the meat. Penetrating the shell you find meet with a slightly more firm texture than carnitas, but very moist and flavorful. It matched the sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and the beer sauce very well. It was such a simple dish with many levels of complexity; I’d recommend it highly and hope to visit it again with some friends. After this I walked my way back through The Rocks, a small outdoor market, over the bridge and back to my hotel, The Vibe North Sydney.
I expected it to be a task to find the stairs, elevator, or just plain beginning of the walkway on the Harbour Bridge. I haven’t seen any maps that really go over this as most maps go over the driving lanes, not the pedestrian route. Not really, the stairs are literally across the street from my hotel. It’s not that I was disappointed with this, but I expected this to take thirty minutes of walking time. So off I went over the bridge. Let me restate that – off I went to *walk* over the bridge.
It’s a nice walk. The sidewalk is on the east side of the bridge, so as you walk south on it you see the Sydney Opera House to your left, and a glimpse of the open ocean as well. I’m not sure what the distance of the walk is – I’d guess around one mile, but I’m sure it’s documented somewhere online. There are a couple ways to walk off the bridge into Sydney, one is a group of stairs which lead you into The Rocks, the other extends further down closer to the Central Business District (CBD). My walk through the city was similar to the last time I had been there. I made my way through The Rocks to Circular Quay (pronounced “key”) and then back north to the Opera House. It really is an architectural marvel, but I’d seen it once already so I didn’t take the triple-digit amount of photos this time through. From there, through the way I’d imagine the way to the museum I also went through the Royal Botanical Gardens. Again, been there – done that, but it’s all very beautiful just the same. Actually, from a tourist point of view I think I prefer the gardens over the Opera House. The Opera House is there, you see it, you walk around it, and if you want, you can get an indoor tour of it for just under two-hundred Australian Dollars. The gardens on the other hand are free and the area is much larger than the Opera House. You can also walk through the garden for hours on its own. After exiting the gardens I made my way down a street and found the Sydney Museum of Art. It really wasn’t on my agenda, but then again I’ve already saved thirty minutes by finding the walkway over the bridge so easily and the museum is free. We like free.
The Sydney Art Museum has been there for a long time. Again, I’m sure you can look up the exact date of it’s opening, but I just don’t care. The fact that its here now makes it important. When I walked in I expected either tile or marble styled floors, but instead I found wood floors. Squeaky wood floors like you’d find in a mountain cabin. Each floorboard was less than two inches wide, and was laid out in opposing sets at a 45 degree angle to the room. It’s either a three or four story structure, has white walls, skylights, an overpriced café, and art on the walls. That’s the difference. I’ve been to a few art museums in the United States and I found the art here to be noticeably different. US museums have your Monet’s and such, and art from the 15-1700’s, but the art in this museum was more “English” and military based. In most rooms there is one large mural painting taking up half the room – and I found most of them to be to be very detailed and of a military hero or story. Most of the paintings I saw were very detailed down to hairs on a man’s beard. There is also an Asian art area which I also enjoyed – especially the Japanese section with katanas on display. There was a modern art area as well, but I’ve dropped food into the disposal before and wasn’t in the mood to see someone else’s mess.
I probably spent close to two hours in the art museum if that says anything about how much I enjoyed it. Keep in mind, I’m not an artsy fartsy guy. After a short walk I was now in the CBD. At this point I realized I hadn’t yet had breakfast or lunch, and it was getting close to 2 PM. There were a number of restaurants I had passed on my walk to the art museum. There was always the Opera House Oyster Bar. I’m sure I could find a way to have another sixty dollar lunch there for one, but I wanted to try something new. My friend Jim had mentioned this restaurant where he ordered these Lowenbrau beers, and sure enough I had passed a restaurant called Lowenbrau in The Rocks. Once I arrived I ordered and ice water and a beer – Lowenbrau of course. The catch with that order was that the water was in a small glass and the beer was served in a one liter mug. Let me mention that a bottle of wine is 750mL, and I was having 1L of beer. When it came time to order my meal I just pointed to someone else sitting outside on the patio and asked ‘what is that, and I think I’ll order that’. Schweinshaxn – oven roasted pork knuckle, sauerkraut, bier sauce, and mashed potatoes. Just excellent. So the sauerkraut and mashed potatoes were just as you’d think they’d be, and the bier sauce was also very good – a light brown sauce obviously made with beer, a roux most likely, and other assorted spices – maybe even butter. The pork knuckle now was something new altogether. I believe ‘knuckle’ could be substituted with shank. My first thought was it being similar to a ham hock, but that’s only by size. This piece of meat had two bones through it, and I believe was roasted skin on. If you like fried pork skins you’d like this as well – it was very crispy, salty, and also created a layer to keep in all the juices of the meat. Penetrating the shell you find meet with a slightly more firm texture than carnitas, but very moist and flavorful. It matched the sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and the beer sauce very well. It was such a simple dish with many levels of complexity; I’d recommend it highly and hope to visit it again with some friends. After this I walked my way back through The Rocks, a small outdoor market, over the bridge and back to my hotel, The Vibe North Sydney.
Friday, May 23, 2008
1:17 AM, Local Time
I can’t sleep. No, I haven’t had coffee or anything like that – I just can’t sleep. For me I’ve found that there are three reasons this happens to me. One is having caffeine too late in the day – I’m sure you’ve done this. Oops, one too many espressos too late in the day. Two is being excited about something so much that you just want it to happen right away. Maybe it’s an interview the next day, or a trip. You just get so excited that you can’t keep still and your mind is going 100 miles per hour. Third is similar to the second, except it’s not being excited about anything, it’s just that you have so much going through your mind. That is me right now.
So here I am, sitting in bed in my hotel room 8,000 miles away from home and those I love. It’s not that I’m second-guessing my decision to come here. It’s not that at all – I admit I’ve never been 100% about all this and I’ve just been going with what comes at me. In my opinion this is still a win-win opportunity for me. Perhaps it’s the reality that I will be living out of two suitcases and in hotel rooms for another three weeks. It’s one thing to do that as a vacation, but it’s another thing entirely to do that for business and already being two weeks into it. So today is Saturday now, my weekend. Today I do want to walk along the North Shore and get some pictures facing Sydney, the Harbour Bridge, and of course, the Opera House. I’d also like to walk across the bridge – it’s either a beautiful or god-awful structure depending on our point of view. After that, I’m not sure. I don’t have a car, and I don’t think it’d be a good idea for me to rent one quite yet down here. Maybe I’ll just keep walking all day until the sun goes down – get a cab back to the hotel after that. Mmm, hotel. Then I suppose…
Okay, let’s face it. I think I’m bored with all this (already). I suppose if I had a place to live I’d feel much happier, but right now all I have is a place to stay. I am beginning to resent that quite a bit. Maybe it’s ironic that Australia used to be a prison country. I think it would be great to live and work in Australia, but right now I am just working here. M-F is a walking commute to work, or a conference, or an airplane, then back to the hotel to drop off my bag and then to a restaurant and most likely the bar. Okay, positive thoughts, positive thoughts – it’s the weekend! No work. It will be nice to walk around and be outside tomorrow, but when it all comes down to it I’m just in another city as I’d be in San Francisco, or New York, or even Phoenix. Today I got online to look for some flickr events that might be going on, as well as meetin to “meet” some people. Nothing. I suppose I could just go to the bar and strike up a conversation with someone, but that’s really not my style either.
My advice to anyone thinking about working/living abroad is to do your initial “familiarity” trip after your work-visa is approved. I have no set date of when mine will be approved, so inherently I don’t feel any of this is long term – I’m just on a long business trip right now. It’s really hard for me to look at apartments when I can’t seriously consider anything, and it’s really hard for me to think of myself living here when I don’t. Plus I still don’t feel supported by the company that wants me here.
This last week my phone stopped working, as did my boss’s phone. Why? Oh, somehow the bill didn’t get paid. Guess what? I was asked to pay it – still don’t know why (yes, it’s going to be fully reimbursed), but really, how do two remote sales people have their phone bill not paid? How does a $70MM company not pay two people’s mobile phone bills? How does no one get a call from the provider to follow up on the bill? My boss says it was the provider’s fault, but I don’t think so. I suppose just turning off the phones is how they let you know that a bill was skipped. Sounds reasonable.
Maybe I’m just complaining, but as I see this progressing I am being more uncomfortable than comfortable with the situation. Maybe I’ll feel better after this weekend.
2:09 AM. Still awake, but I’m going to play BrickBreaker on my Blackberry. Hopefully it works.
So here I am, sitting in bed in my hotel room 8,000 miles away from home and those I love. It’s not that I’m second-guessing my decision to come here. It’s not that at all – I admit I’ve never been 100% about all this and I’ve just been going with what comes at me. In my opinion this is still a win-win opportunity for me. Perhaps it’s the reality that I will be living out of two suitcases and in hotel rooms for another three weeks. It’s one thing to do that as a vacation, but it’s another thing entirely to do that for business and already being two weeks into it. So today is Saturday now, my weekend. Today I do want to walk along the North Shore and get some pictures facing Sydney, the Harbour Bridge, and of course, the Opera House. I’d also like to walk across the bridge – it’s either a beautiful or god-awful structure depending on our point of view. After that, I’m not sure. I don’t have a car, and I don’t think it’d be a good idea for me to rent one quite yet down here. Maybe I’ll just keep walking all day until the sun goes down – get a cab back to the hotel after that. Mmm, hotel. Then I suppose…
Okay, let’s face it. I think I’m bored with all this (already). I suppose if I had a place to live I’d feel much happier, but right now all I have is a place to stay. I am beginning to resent that quite a bit. Maybe it’s ironic that Australia used to be a prison country. I think it would be great to live and work in Australia, but right now I am just working here. M-F is a walking commute to work, or a conference, or an airplane, then back to the hotel to drop off my bag and then to a restaurant and most likely the bar. Okay, positive thoughts, positive thoughts – it’s the weekend! No work. It will be nice to walk around and be outside tomorrow, but when it all comes down to it I’m just in another city as I’d be in San Francisco, or New York, or even Phoenix. Today I got online to look for some flickr events that might be going on, as well as meetin to “meet” some people. Nothing. I suppose I could just go to the bar and strike up a conversation with someone, but that’s really not my style either.
My advice to anyone thinking about working/living abroad is to do your initial “familiarity” trip after your work-visa is approved. I have no set date of when mine will be approved, so inherently I don’t feel any of this is long term – I’m just on a long business trip right now. It’s really hard for me to look at apartments when I can’t seriously consider anything, and it’s really hard for me to think of myself living here when I don’t. Plus I still don’t feel supported by the company that wants me here.
This last week my phone stopped working, as did my boss’s phone. Why? Oh, somehow the bill didn’t get paid. Guess what? I was asked to pay it – still don’t know why (yes, it’s going to be fully reimbursed), but really, how do two remote sales people have their phone bill not paid? How does a $70MM company not pay two people’s mobile phone bills? How does no one get a call from the provider to follow up on the bill? My boss says it was the provider’s fault, but I don’t think so. I suppose just turning off the phones is how they let you know that a bill was skipped. Sounds reasonable.
Maybe I’m just complaining, but as I see this progressing I am being more uncomfortable than comfortable with the situation. Maybe I’ll feel better after this weekend.
2:09 AM. Still awake, but I’m going to play BrickBreaker on my Blackberry. Hopefully it works.
Garfish Restaurant
G A R F I S H. Gar-fish. Say it with me! GARFISH! Give me a G! Give me an A! Give me a… okay, I’ve successfully annoyed myself. That’s a talent I have, and if you know me… well, nevermind.
So I had dinner at the recommendation of my Scottish bartender at The Vibe Hotel in North Sydney. So if you check out www.garfish.com.au you’ll fine the standard website of a per-schnickity restaurant, although the restaurant itself isn’t overly pretentious. You walk in, friendly staff, “can I get you some water – sparkling or tap?” etc.
The glass of shiraz was very nice – Sweetwater was the vineyard, and at $10 AUD I’d say it was a justified markup or cost. This shiraz had a light sharpness to it, maybe it had a slight raspberry flavor to it. I’d imagine it would go very well with dark chocolate should I have stayed long enough to experience their $12 desserts. Moving on from that I also ordered the Blue Eye Trevalla which is a cod apparently. Roasted, it was served with a basil, almond and ricotta cannelloni with roasted pepper and thyme sauce. The trevalla itself was very light – your standard white fish, and I could imagine this fish as being grilled as well. Seasoned with salt, it’s seasoned skin definitely added a lot to the fish, but not too much. It was served over three cannelloni along with the roasted red pepper sauce. This is where simplicity turned into disaster. The sauce itself was bland, and I am not saying that in tasting it by itself, but in having it with the ever so subtly flavored fish. The cannelloni filling was also very light considering it was made from basil, but the pasta itself was cooked very well. In short, it didn’t match, but then again this is coming from someone who now considers Vegemite a penance for sins committed. From my most extensive culinary background of no formal training, believer in chasing Jose Cuervo Especial with Pabst Blue Ribbon and thirty-one years of solid… perhaps only thirty years of solid eating and one year of non-solid eating, I found such a light sauce accompanying this fish comparable to Jimmy Page’s looks to his guitar playing. My suggestion would be to keep the fish just as it is, but to add just before finishing a rich butter, garlic, and white wine glaze to it with a sprinkle of basil just at presentation. That said, you could also grill this delightful fish and serve it as a fish taco with a chipotle mayonnaise dressing, cabbage, and chopped jalapenos. But, then again, what do I know? So, in writing this back at the hotel bar along side me a double of Johnnie Walker Black with water, I hope I have given Garfish it’s just adieu. Or perhaps I just expected better considering the main dish was frigg’n $32. At least in Australia that included full tax and tip, so maybe I got off light.
So I had dinner at the recommendation of my Scottish bartender at The Vibe Hotel in North Sydney. So if you check out www.garfish.com.au you’ll fine the standard website of a per-schnickity restaurant, although the restaurant itself isn’t overly pretentious. You walk in, friendly staff, “can I get you some water – sparkling or tap?” etc.
The glass of shiraz was very nice – Sweetwater was the vineyard, and at $10 AUD I’d say it was a justified markup or cost. This shiraz had a light sharpness to it, maybe it had a slight raspberry flavor to it. I’d imagine it would go very well with dark chocolate should I have stayed long enough to experience their $12 desserts. Moving on from that I also ordered the Blue Eye Trevalla which is a cod apparently. Roasted, it was served with a basil, almond and ricotta cannelloni with roasted pepper and thyme sauce. The trevalla itself was very light – your standard white fish, and I could imagine this fish as being grilled as well. Seasoned with salt, it’s seasoned skin definitely added a lot to the fish, but not too much. It was served over three cannelloni along with the roasted red pepper sauce. This is where simplicity turned into disaster. The sauce itself was bland, and I am not saying that in tasting it by itself, but in having it with the ever so subtly flavored fish. The cannelloni filling was also very light considering it was made from basil, but the pasta itself was cooked very well. In short, it didn’t match, but then again this is coming from someone who now considers Vegemite a penance for sins committed. From my most extensive culinary background of no formal training, believer in chasing Jose Cuervo Especial with Pabst Blue Ribbon and thirty-one years of solid… perhaps only thirty years of solid eating and one year of non-solid eating, I found such a light sauce accompanying this fish comparable to Jimmy Page’s looks to his guitar playing. My suggestion would be to keep the fish just as it is, but to add just before finishing a rich butter, garlic, and white wine glaze to it with a sprinkle of basil just at presentation. That said, you could also grill this delightful fish and serve it as a fish taco with a chipotle mayonnaise dressing, cabbage, and chopped jalapenos. But, then again, what do I know? So, in writing this back at the hotel bar along side me a double of Johnnie Walker Black with water, I hope I have given Garfish it’s just adieu. Or perhaps I just expected better considering the main dish was frigg’n $32. At least in Australia that included full tax and tip, so maybe I got off light.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
At Gold Coast Airport - the suckage factor continues...
So, sitting here at the Gold Coast Airport – which by all standards should be considered a regional airport, I’ve discovered other facts of life that I must accept.
First and foremost, I was not upset by the fact of staying in Gold Coast for an additional day even though there was absolutely no business reason to do so – that’s the way our marketing department had scheduled my time, and I am, of course, a team player. That being said, I believe our marketing team does not use our corporate travel company, BCD Travel. That said, my hotel expected me in Sydney last night, not tonight, and naturally cancelled my entire reservation through 15th June. That in itself was not as so dramatic as it sounds because after a quick phone call I was able to resolve it. The conversation went like this “no worries mate, no worries mate, no worries mate, no worries mate, blah, blah, blah, yes we have your room sorted out through 15th June, cheers mate, thanks mate, no worries mate, mate, mate, and mate. That’s not a literally transcription of the conversation, but it is close.
Moving on however I ran into what I’d categorize as a larger problem – being that I missed my flight the day prior and had no ticket to get back to Sydney from Gold Coast. So whose fault is that? I’ll be the first to say that it’s probably my fault considering I booked this travel while in the United States, put it on my Outlook calendar in the United States and probably did not take into account that 2:00 PM on Thursday corresponds to 9:00 PM on Wednesday in Phoenix. I suppose it’s really not all that confusing considering it’s only minus seven hours from Phoenix during their summer, Australia’s Winter, and you need to subtract a day and account for potential daylight savings time issues in Australia, OR add seventeen hours to Phoenix local time, which then adds a day, in order to find out exactly what time it is here. Considering this amount of simplicity I am quite surprised at how often the subject of “what time is it there?” comes up over an international telephone call. Really people, just do the math.
Again, moving on, the dilemma was resolved fairly quickly with a $97.00 airline ticket, which I’ll expense to my company. Delighted with my most recent accomplishments I waited for the actually check-in time where a new level of suckage needed to be overcome. Please keep in mind that I am traveling with two checked bags and one carry-on bag containing two laptops, lots of power cords, magazines, my leather jacket, and my receipts to be expensed. Notice how I keep those receipts with me at all times. So, considering I’m traveling for over a month’s time I find that to be justified. Regarding their weight, I have my red bag which recently weighed comes to 19.4 kg or 43 lbs. My black back was 24.9 kg or 54 lbs. I haven’t yet been asked to weigh my carryon. So, all that said, Australia has a weight limit to the checked luggage you can bring onto a plane. I still don’t know the amount for one bag, but the second bag would be charged at $10 AUD per kilogram, or in my case now $190 AUD. So speaking with the attendant I negotiated down to $150 AUD so I could get my second piece of luggage onboard my $97.00 AUD flight.
What a bunch of crap.
First and foremost, I was not upset by the fact of staying in Gold Coast for an additional day even though there was absolutely no business reason to do so – that’s the way our marketing department had scheduled my time, and I am, of course, a team player. That being said, I believe our marketing team does not use our corporate travel company, BCD Travel. That said, my hotel expected me in Sydney last night, not tonight, and naturally cancelled my entire reservation through 15th June. That in itself was not as so dramatic as it sounds because after a quick phone call I was able to resolve it. The conversation went like this “no worries mate, no worries mate, no worries mate, no worries mate, blah, blah, blah, yes we have your room sorted out through 15th June, cheers mate, thanks mate, no worries mate, mate, mate, and mate. That’s not a literally transcription of the conversation, but it is close.
Moving on however I ran into what I’d categorize as a larger problem – being that I missed my flight the day prior and had no ticket to get back to Sydney from Gold Coast. So whose fault is that? I’ll be the first to say that it’s probably my fault considering I booked this travel while in the United States, put it on my Outlook calendar in the United States and probably did not take into account that 2:00 PM on Thursday corresponds to 9:00 PM on Wednesday in Phoenix. I suppose it’s really not all that confusing considering it’s only minus seven hours from Phoenix during their summer, Australia’s Winter, and you need to subtract a day and account for potential daylight savings time issues in Australia, OR add seventeen hours to Phoenix local time, which then adds a day, in order to find out exactly what time it is here. Considering this amount of simplicity I am quite surprised at how often the subject of “what time is it there?” comes up over an international telephone call. Really people, just do the math.
Again, moving on, the dilemma was resolved fairly quickly with a $97.00 airline ticket, which I’ll expense to my company. Delighted with my most recent accomplishments I waited for the actually check-in time where a new level of suckage needed to be overcome. Please keep in mind that I am traveling with two checked bags and one carry-on bag containing two laptops, lots of power cords, magazines, my leather jacket, and my receipts to be expensed. Notice how I keep those receipts with me at all times. So, considering I’m traveling for over a month’s time I find that to be justified. Regarding their weight, I have my red bag which recently weighed comes to 19.4 kg or 43 lbs. My black back was 24.9 kg or 54 lbs. I haven’t yet been asked to weigh my carryon. So, all that said, Australia has a weight limit to the checked luggage you can bring onto a plane. I still don’t know the amount for one bag, but the second bag would be charged at $10 AUD per kilogram, or in my case now $190 AUD. So speaking with the attendant I negotiated down to $150 AUD so I could get my second piece of luggage onboard my $97.00 AUD flight.
What a bunch of crap.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
And then there was Brisbane, but why am I here?
So I’ve accepted the suckage (my new word) that I took a flight to Sydney in order to get to Brisbane from Auckland, even though I could have taken a flight direct to Brisbane from Auckland and could have saved the company a good deal of money, but that’s what our Travel people are for, right? Anyway, after landing and getting a cab and getting to the hotel I was so happy that I was at a Marriott. The pillows are perfect – they aren’t too soft, nor are they too hard so you can’t sink into them. Same for the mattress – I want one. Generally I like a firmer mattress, but so you can sink into it just a little. Marriott has it and I plan to steal one and bring it back home with me. I’m sure they won’t notice. Past that there are the finer things that most guys don’t care about – hand cut marble tile in the bathroom, an actual bathtub which serves no purpose to me other than to throw my wet towels into, silk drapes, and… Oh, they have a plug by the desk where you can plug your iPod in and it will play through the TV just by selecting “iPod/MP3 Player” on the remote.
So I arrive at the hotel, sink into the bed with perfect pillows and blanket and… I can’t sleep. I go downstairs and… the bar is closed. After replying to some US originated emails I finally fall asleep.
The following day I make my way around the harbor finding the city gardens. I think all Aussie cities have these – just an area where large areas of grass are maintained surrounded by paths covered by high trees. In Oz it’s kinda like going to the zoo because you always come across some new bird that you’ve seen on the National Geographic Channel, Discovery, or even the Travel Channel. I say “kinda” because in all likelihood it’s just another stupid bird that’s going to try to shit on you. Those birds aren’t extinct for some reason, and therefore won’t be on those channels, but perhaps as our own species we can strive to change that. Sorry, another topic for another day.
Past the shitting birds the gardens are beautiful – open spaces like New York’s Central park and paths shaded by the trees above. Another aspect of Brisbane’s park is that you wan walk along it on the waterfront as well, which gives you the garden trees and the view over the water. On the walk over and back I noted a number of restaurants to pick from for dinner. For lunch though I went to what I’ll call the Australian Burrito that is actually called the kebab. Lamb, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, some hummus, and finally chili sauce in a pita and you’re on your way. Ordering one will set you back $5-8 depending on where you’re at, and today with a bottle of water I was now expensing $7.90 for lunch. Such a deal as the breakfast buffet was $30 – and yes, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, weird bacon, the coffee is absolutely wunderbar and toast. I think toast is a mainstay here – it’s thicker, you can order it to go all buttered and vegemited up or whatever at a coffee shop, and there’s a large variety of breads you can choose. Today I went with this English muffin looking thing, but it wasn’t that – it seemed to be more “eggy” but had dimples all throughout which caught my peanut butter, raspberry jam, and honey very well. It almost looked like a pancake gone wrong. Anyway, I think they’re very good. Oh, and you toast it with this conveyor belt oven – I think Quizno’s uses a similar one for their sandwiches.
That evening after doing a SalesLogix training and making a few customer calls I walked back down to the waterfront for dinner. So, as you can imagine I would just have to try the Sydney Rock Oysters in Brisbane to ensure they have the proper freshness as you’d fine in their home; and they do. I went with lemon as the garnish that night and enjoyed their richness and most likely heart attack cholesterol containing fats. Following that I ordered their seafood hot and sour soup. This isn’t like the Chinese soup you’ve had a cup of for $4. I’d imagine the soup I ordered was Thai based considering the sour fish sauce, chilies, ground peanut, and lemon grass – and that’s just the broth. Along with that was salmon, snapper, and tuna, along with mussels and a monster-sized prawn. It was more like a small lobster tail! It was wonderfully spicy but still allowed you to taste all the nuances of the fish. Fab.
Cricket is a sport which I tried watching after dinner. I really did try to watch it, but after a few minutes I caught myself blinking only to look over at the clock to see that it was now 3AM. I’d slept six hours! …and from what I remember of the game I don’t think I missed much.
What else, what else… Ah! I went to the mall! The malls is Australia have the most unique… Okay, no they don’t. They are just like any mall in the US except they might be more spread out between buildings and the food courts are much better – I’ve already written about those though. Today I needed new shoelaces, a haircut, and also wanted to get a watch so I didn’t have to rely on my cell, er, mobile phone. Cells have a much different connotation in Australia, so you call people on their mobiles – pronounced MO-BY-EL, not MO-BIL. At the haircut they ended it with a hot towel wrapped around my face that didn’t seem to serve much purpose, and it wasn’t quite the happy ending it could have been. The watch is cool – I picked up a Tissot, which is a Swiss made watch. Cost wise it’s along the same lines as a Citizen or higher end Fossil – which was my first choice until I started walking around. It’s silver and brushed steel with a dark cobalt face – simple but elegant; just like me.
So it appears it’s going to rain tonight – the clouds just started in and the sky has changed dramatically from blue to gray and you can see the wind through all the trees. I’m sitting in the hotel bar – enjoyed their Thai wings which sere very good but not worth writing about, and Victoria Bitter beer which is much better on draught, but still not a favorite Aussie beer in my book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but I’d prefer a James Squire or Carlton Draught. Again, the Thai wings were good, but as you can see I wrote more about the beer in the same paragraph. I suppose it’s time to just enjoy my beer and wait for the rugby match later this evening.
Scratch that, I have a final thought. Why is it that the most unattractive, rude, and annoying people are also the loudest? There is this mid-50’s lady sitting close by discussing Singapore and ordering the waitress around in the most condescending tone I’ve ever seen. If she was Paris Hilton I might understand, but this lady is no one right down to her wearing all black to discuss her fat, and thicker Aussie accent to discuss her unintelligence. Ah, but I’m past this already as I’ve accepted her into what I’ve developing into the worldwide measurement of suckage.
And of course in saying that she just answered her MO-BY-EL phone in a louder tone discussing London and needing to send an email in twenty-four hours to “sort it out”.
Time for another beer so I can correctly catalog this into my suckage chronicles…
So I arrive at the hotel, sink into the bed with perfect pillows and blanket and… I can’t sleep. I go downstairs and… the bar is closed. After replying to some US originated emails I finally fall asleep.
The following day I make my way around the harbor finding the city gardens. I think all Aussie cities have these – just an area where large areas of grass are maintained surrounded by paths covered by high trees. In Oz it’s kinda like going to the zoo because you always come across some new bird that you’ve seen on the National Geographic Channel, Discovery, or even the Travel Channel. I say “kinda” because in all likelihood it’s just another stupid bird that’s going to try to shit on you. Those birds aren’t extinct for some reason, and therefore won’t be on those channels, but perhaps as our own species we can strive to change that. Sorry, another topic for another day.
Past the shitting birds the gardens are beautiful – open spaces like New York’s Central park and paths shaded by the trees above. Another aspect of Brisbane’s park is that you wan walk along it on the waterfront as well, which gives you the garden trees and the view over the water. On the walk over and back I noted a number of restaurants to pick from for dinner. For lunch though I went to what I’ll call the Australian Burrito that is actually called the kebab. Lamb, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, some hummus, and finally chili sauce in a pita and you’re on your way. Ordering one will set you back $5-8 depending on where you’re at, and today with a bottle of water I was now expensing $7.90 for lunch. Such a deal as the breakfast buffet was $30 – and yes, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, weird bacon, the coffee is absolutely wunderbar and toast. I think toast is a mainstay here – it’s thicker, you can order it to go all buttered and vegemited up or whatever at a coffee shop, and there’s a large variety of breads you can choose. Today I went with this English muffin looking thing, but it wasn’t that – it seemed to be more “eggy” but had dimples all throughout which caught my peanut butter, raspberry jam, and honey very well. It almost looked like a pancake gone wrong. Anyway, I think they’re very good. Oh, and you toast it with this conveyor belt oven – I think Quizno’s uses a similar one for their sandwiches.
That evening after doing a SalesLogix training and making a few customer calls I walked back down to the waterfront for dinner. So, as you can imagine I would just have to try the Sydney Rock Oysters in Brisbane to ensure they have the proper freshness as you’d fine in their home; and they do. I went with lemon as the garnish that night and enjoyed their richness and most likely heart attack cholesterol containing fats. Following that I ordered their seafood hot and sour soup. This isn’t like the Chinese soup you’ve had a cup of for $4. I’d imagine the soup I ordered was Thai based considering the sour fish sauce, chilies, ground peanut, and lemon grass – and that’s just the broth. Along with that was salmon, snapper, and tuna, along with mussels and a monster-sized prawn. It was more like a small lobster tail! It was wonderfully spicy but still allowed you to taste all the nuances of the fish. Fab.
Cricket is a sport which I tried watching after dinner. I really did try to watch it, but after a few minutes I caught myself blinking only to look over at the clock to see that it was now 3AM. I’d slept six hours! …and from what I remember of the game I don’t think I missed much.
What else, what else… Ah! I went to the mall! The malls is Australia have the most unique… Okay, no they don’t. They are just like any mall in the US except they might be more spread out between buildings and the food courts are much better – I’ve already written about those though. Today I needed new shoelaces, a haircut, and also wanted to get a watch so I didn’t have to rely on my cell, er, mobile phone. Cells have a much different connotation in Australia, so you call people on their mobiles – pronounced MO-BY-EL, not MO-BIL. At the haircut they ended it with a hot towel wrapped around my face that didn’t seem to serve much purpose, and it wasn’t quite the happy ending it could have been. The watch is cool – I picked up a Tissot, which is a Swiss made watch. Cost wise it’s along the same lines as a Citizen or higher end Fossil – which was my first choice until I started walking around. It’s silver and brushed steel with a dark cobalt face – simple but elegant; just like me.
So it appears it’s going to rain tonight – the clouds just started in and the sky has changed dramatically from blue to gray and you can see the wind through all the trees. I’m sitting in the hotel bar – enjoyed their Thai wings which sere very good but not worth writing about, and Victoria Bitter beer which is much better on draught, but still not a favorite Aussie beer in my book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but I’d prefer a James Squire or Carlton Draught. Again, the Thai wings were good, but as you can see I wrote more about the beer in the same paragraph. I suppose it’s time to just enjoy my beer and wait for the rugby match later this evening.
Scratch that, I have a final thought. Why is it that the most unattractive, rude, and annoying people are also the loudest? There is this mid-50’s lady sitting close by discussing Singapore and ordering the waitress around in the most condescending tone I’ve ever seen. If she was Paris Hilton I might understand, but this lady is no one right down to her wearing all black to discuss her fat, and thicker Aussie accent to discuss her unintelligence. Ah, but I’m past this already as I’ve accepted her into what I’ve developing into the worldwide measurement of suckage.
And of course in saying that she just answered her MO-BY-EL phone in a louder tone discussing London and needing to send an email in twenty-four hours to “sort it out”.
Time for another beer so I can correctly catalog this into my suckage chronicles…
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Whose chopper’s is this? Zed’s. Who’s Zed?
Well, on my flight to Sydney from Auckland, New Zealand or N-Zed as they call it, and then onwards to Brisbane I finally have some time to type out a few thoughts. Right now I’m not sure who this is really for – you or me? Either way it gives me something to do while on an international flight.
Speaking of “international” flights, the only differences I’ve found are these:
1. You need a passport, which in my opinion is nothing more than an international ID with stamps.
2. People look at your passport and then yourself in the very same odd way and for the same amount of time no matter where you are or where you are going.
3. You have the opportunity to fill out “incoming passenger cards”.
4. Free alcoholic beverages.
Now I’d love to say better service, more in-flight activities, better food, and so forth, however United does not apply to those therefore I can’t add them to the list.
Auckland, New Zealand. First off I can safely say that I’m getting used to 14 hour flights and can safely say that they do indeed suck. After you ‘accept’ the suckage factor and the fact that you’ll be on an airplane for that amount of time things seem go to by smoother. You accept that you’re back will hurt for the following few days, and in my case I accept that now that it finally feels better that it will hurt again for the next few days again as I am on a flight again. Other things I now accept include the replay of Charlie Wilson’s War which I already saw on my flight to Auckland, the lack of video screen on the Auckland-Sydney flight because it’s shorter, and…
Oh, so Auckland? Right, that’s the topic. I like New Zealand and I’ll say that I like New Zealand more than Australia right now. New Zealand has a total country population of around four million. Four million. Phoenix, Arizona has five million and this is an entire country, although sometimes in Phoenix heat I do feel like I’m on another world. Yes, so four million, which also makes the country’s population smaller than Sydney, Australia; therefore Auckland is far less. I like it. In Auckland, walking around you probably see 1,500 people less per block than you would in Sydney.
The City of Sails is what Auckland is. When I woke up I would walk to the elevator and while waiting would look out the window towards the harbor. Sailboat masts are everywhere. I estimate almost a half-mile of sailboats going into the harbor, and it going the length of 3-4 miles. That is just one side of the bridge and only one side of the bay. When you walk around Auckland I found it very similar to Sydney, minus the people. There is a large Asian population, great seafood restaurants, tourist and duty-free shops around, and water all around. Business-wise you have your end user customers who are all in the big buildings, and all your resellers or distributors are working out of smaller offices outside of the main city. It makes sense to me – no sense paying a lot of money for a fancy office if you’re always in the nice offices of your customers.
So going back to the suckage factor for just a moment; I recently accepted the fact that no one is going to take my dinner tray away anytime soon. I’m fine with that as the seat next to me is empty and it’s in the open seat’s tray-table, but was annoyed until I accepted this additional suckage factor. That being said - and perhaps this is an act of God – they are now coming around to collect the used dinner trays. Brilliant, and I have another glass of the Cab-Merlot!
Going back to Auckland I can tell one story, but only one story which I’ll comment on in a moment. John who is with our distribution partner in N-Zed suggested a restaurant by the name of Hammerhead’s; yes, like the shark. So arriving there, with John and his wife Angela we sat down and I was given the task to order the wine. Personally I am not a fan of ordering for the whole table because there is a chance that someone will not enjoy even though I am infallible in my decisions. That being said, the red wine I chose (already have forgot what it was) was received well. John Dory was dinner. Yes, John Dory was dinner. John however is a type of fish, and in this particular case was broiled and then served with a coconut based sauce along with scallops, green-lip mussels, and shrimp. The fish itself is light, but with the broiling its skin came as a slight crispy texture with the meat itself being very moist. The scallops are somewhat different than I had been served in the US. In N-Zed they leave the “foot” or “tongue” on the scallop. This additional part or piece was an additional treat for me – and there are white ones and orange ones. If I were to compare this to green-lip mussels I would guess that is a signature of the mollusk’s sex. John Dory. Excellence. Moving on from that the wine was also very good and I’d recommend N-Zed wines to anyone.
New Zealand beer is very good as well. My recent favorite is Speight’s Old Dark that has a smoky and sweet taste to it. The other beer I’d recommend is Mac’s Gold Lager, which is an all-malt lager. Again, it’s sweet – almost like Singha, a Thai beer, but rich in its flavor and texture. Both of these N-Zed beers were on tap, so I can’t comment on how they would be bottled. Speaking of Thai beers, I was able to try a new one – Chaang was its name I believe. It was very similar to Singha – sweet, perfectly carbonated in the bottle, but it was slightly different. I had the opportunity to try this at a Thai restaurant that the other partner of the disti took me too. We ordered three dishes – Tiger’s Milk Chicken, Gai Fai, and California Beef. The California Beef really had nothing to do with California. It was obviously a beef dish along with spices, peppers, and a soy sauce based sauce. The Gai Fai was listed as the restaurant’s wining dish in an all out spiciness curry competition. It was hot; I’d estimate it to be a #9-10 per my Mr. Sushi spiciness rating scale. Finally, the Tiger’s Milk dish was sweet. Chicken and bananas in a very rich coconut sauce helped put out the flames of the Gai Fai. It was an outstanding meal and next time I am there I hope we can find a reason to have dinner there. I wish I had remembered the restaurant’s name.
So with an hour left to Sydney I’ve changed my MacBook’s time zone to Sydney and might also do the same for my Dell and again with my now addicted Blackberry. Yes, addicted. God forbid I miss an email or call now, right? I suppose that is part of my evolution becoming an international business traveler.
Speaking of “international” flights, the only differences I’ve found are these:
1. You need a passport, which in my opinion is nothing more than an international ID with stamps.
2. People look at your passport and then yourself in the very same odd way and for the same amount of time no matter where you are or where you are going.
3. You have the opportunity to fill out “incoming passenger cards”.
4. Free alcoholic beverages.
Now I’d love to say better service, more in-flight activities, better food, and so forth, however United does not apply to those therefore I can’t add them to the list.
Auckland, New Zealand. First off I can safely say that I’m getting used to 14 hour flights and can safely say that they do indeed suck. After you ‘accept’ the suckage factor and the fact that you’ll be on an airplane for that amount of time things seem go to by smoother. You accept that you’re back will hurt for the following few days, and in my case I accept that now that it finally feels better that it will hurt again for the next few days again as I am on a flight again. Other things I now accept include the replay of Charlie Wilson’s War which I already saw on my flight to Auckland, the lack of video screen on the Auckland-Sydney flight because it’s shorter, and…
Oh, so Auckland? Right, that’s the topic. I like New Zealand and I’ll say that I like New Zealand more than Australia right now. New Zealand has a total country population of around four million. Four million. Phoenix, Arizona has five million and this is an entire country, although sometimes in Phoenix heat I do feel like I’m on another world. Yes, so four million, which also makes the country’s population smaller than Sydney, Australia; therefore Auckland is far less. I like it. In Auckland, walking around you probably see 1,500 people less per block than you would in Sydney.
The City of Sails is what Auckland is. When I woke up I would walk to the elevator and while waiting would look out the window towards the harbor. Sailboat masts are everywhere. I estimate almost a half-mile of sailboats going into the harbor, and it going the length of 3-4 miles. That is just one side of the bridge and only one side of the bay. When you walk around Auckland I found it very similar to Sydney, minus the people. There is a large Asian population, great seafood restaurants, tourist and duty-free shops around, and water all around. Business-wise you have your end user customers who are all in the big buildings, and all your resellers or distributors are working out of smaller offices outside of the main city. It makes sense to me – no sense paying a lot of money for a fancy office if you’re always in the nice offices of your customers.
So going back to the suckage factor for just a moment; I recently accepted the fact that no one is going to take my dinner tray away anytime soon. I’m fine with that as the seat next to me is empty and it’s in the open seat’s tray-table, but was annoyed until I accepted this additional suckage factor. That being said - and perhaps this is an act of God – they are now coming around to collect the used dinner trays. Brilliant, and I have another glass of the Cab-Merlot!
Going back to Auckland I can tell one story, but only one story which I’ll comment on in a moment. John who is with our distribution partner in N-Zed suggested a restaurant by the name of Hammerhead’s; yes, like the shark. So arriving there, with John and his wife Angela we sat down and I was given the task to order the wine. Personally I am not a fan of ordering for the whole table because there is a chance that someone will not enjoy even though I am infallible in my decisions. That being said, the red wine I chose (already have forgot what it was) was received well. John Dory was dinner. Yes, John Dory was dinner. John however is a type of fish, and in this particular case was broiled and then served with a coconut based sauce along with scallops, green-lip mussels, and shrimp. The fish itself is light, but with the broiling its skin came as a slight crispy texture with the meat itself being very moist. The scallops are somewhat different than I had been served in the US. In N-Zed they leave the “foot” or “tongue” on the scallop. This additional part or piece was an additional treat for me – and there are white ones and orange ones. If I were to compare this to green-lip mussels I would guess that is a signature of the mollusk’s sex. John Dory. Excellence. Moving on from that the wine was also very good and I’d recommend N-Zed wines to anyone.
New Zealand beer is very good as well. My recent favorite is Speight’s Old Dark that has a smoky and sweet taste to it. The other beer I’d recommend is Mac’s Gold Lager, which is an all-malt lager. Again, it’s sweet – almost like Singha, a Thai beer, but rich in its flavor and texture. Both of these N-Zed beers were on tap, so I can’t comment on how they would be bottled. Speaking of Thai beers, I was able to try a new one – Chaang was its name I believe. It was very similar to Singha – sweet, perfectly carbonated in the bottle, but it was slightly different. I had the opportunity to try this at a Thai restaurant that the other partner of the disti took me too. We ordered three dishes – Tiger’s Milk Chicken, Gai Fai, and California Beef. The California Beef really had nothing to do with California. It was obviously a beef dish along with spices, peppers, and a soy sauce based sauce. The Gai Fai was listed as the restaurant’s wining dish in an all out spiciness curry competition. It was hot; I’d estimate it to be a #9-10 per my Mr. Sushi spiciness rating scale. Finally, the Tiger’s Milk dish was sweet. Chicken and bananas in a very rich coconut sauce helped put out the flames of the Gai Fai. It was an outstanding meal and next time I am there I hope we can find a reason to have dinner there. I wish I had remembered the restaurant’s name.
So with an hour left to Sydney I’ve changed my MacBook’s time zone to Sydney and might also do the same for my Dell and again with my now addicted Blackberry. Yes, addicted. God forbid I miss an email or call now, right? I suppose that is part of my evolution becoming an international business traveler.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Flight to New Zealand
According to the display immediately in front of me in Coach Class I have nine hours twenty-three minutes remaining on this trip. Currently the plane is immediately east of Hawaii per the display immediately in front of me in COACH CLASS. Coach class on Quantas means that you receive a menu on which you can ponder the thoughts of dinner far prior to it being served. Tonight I had the choice of “Seared Salmon with Caper Butter and Sugar Snaps” or “Chicken Cacciatore with Orzo Pasta and Peas”. I went with the later as the Seared Salmon was no longer available due to popular demand. So, all in all the Cacciatore was very good by most standards. Was it like I would make it at home? No, but considering I am at 35,000 feet I have no complaints. I accompanied the dish with a Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon which was just delightful. Also with the meal was a roll which was warm and not overly hard or dry, and a salad which seemed to be fresh as it was turgid and crunchy. For breakfast I am looking forward to the “Mushroom and Herb Frittata with Sausage and Sautéed Spinach”. United Airlines has a lot of learn from this Australian airline, dot, dot, dot.
As it is 1:00 AM Sunday Phoenix time and 8:00 PM Sunday Auckland time I plan on staying up for at least another 3-4 hours hoping to sleep on the final few hours into New Zealand where I can wake up during their morning. Yes, that whole time thing I speak of so much. I suppose at some point I will need to change my personal computer’s time (13-inch MacBook) to either Auckland time or Sydney time. My thought process on the work computer (Dell Latitude D630) is to set it to the local time regardless of any nostalgia so I am awake and on time to appointments. It is nice, in over a month, to feel the support of the company sending me on this journey by their giving me a laptop computer to assist me conducting business. Surly there had been a shortage of laptops in the US, or perhaps even worldwide, so account for the delay of delivery in such a commodity, dot, dot, dot.
Moving on from time, Quantas also has been gracious enough to provide me with a pair of socks and sleeping blindfold, or whatever those eye-masks with the elastic band are called. I’ve also just been given a “snack bag” containing a bottle of water, some apple-oatmeal cookies (which are wonderful), trail mix and M&M’s. None of these go with my scotch on my right so I’ll keep them close by for the right time.
Yes, I’m sitting in coach with no one in my row and I’m in the middle seat so I can make use of both tray-tables and seats to either side of me. Oh, another thing United could learn from Quantas is to make the headrest adjustments usable. United’s headrest adjustments do assist you from tilting your head from one side to another while sleeping, but as compared to Quantas’ they do not help very much. That and the individual display for every passenger which gives movies on-demand, television shows, music, and video games – the armrest controller comes off and can then be used as the video game controller or a phone. For being on this flight for nearly five hours already I am actually enjoying myself. On to watching a documentary on Australia’s landmarks – this episode is on the Harbour Bridge.
Okay, fell asleep watching the Harbour Bridge episode. Apparently I did something different on this trip than the last – I’ve been sleeping on the plane. With only one and a half hours remaining I’m really surprised how quickly this flight has gone. It’s 3:48 AM New Zealand time and I feel somewhat refreshed from waking up. Like from sleeping in a bed? No, but I don’t feel as cramped as my first flight using United. Ah, breakfast… what do we have here? There’s my frittata…
The Frittata was very good for being on an airplane. The mushrooms were canned, however the rosemary seasoning was very good and also complimented the roasted tomatoe, spinach, and sausage link. A blueberry muffin and fresh fruited also accompanied the meal. All in all, very good.
Now I have on a documentary over the Sydney Opera House with an interview with Jorn Utzon, the building’s original designer who never saw his drawings turn into reality. I suppose this will keep my interest for the remainder of this flight.
As it is 1:00 AM Sunday Phoenix time and 8:00 PM Sunday Auckland time I plan on staying up for at least another 3-4 hours hoping to sleep on the final few hours into New Zealand where I can wake up during their morning. Yes, that whole time thing I speak of so much. I suppose at some point I will need to change my personal computer’s time (13-inch MacBook) to either Auckland time or Sydney time. My thought process on the work computer (Dell Latitude D630) is to set it to the local time regardless of any nostalgia so I am awake and on time to appointments. It is nice, in over a month, to feel the support of the company sending me on this journey by their giving me a laptop computer to assist me conducting business. Surly there had been a shortage of laptops in the US, or perhaps even worldwide, so account for the delay of delivery in such a commodity, dot, dot, dot.
Moving on from time, Quantas also has been gracious enough to provide me with a pair of socks and sleeping blindfold, or whatever those eye-masks with the elastic band are called. I’ve also just been given a “snack bag” containing a bottle of water, some apple-oatmeal cookies (which are wonderful), trail mix and M&M’s. None of these go with my scotch on my right so I’ll keep them close by for the right time.
Yes, I’m sitting in coach with no one in my row and I’m in the middle seat so I can make use of both tray-tables and seats to either side of me. Oh, another thing United could learn from Quantas is to make the headrest adjustments usable. United’s headrest adjustments do assist you from tilting your head from one side to another while sleeping, but as compared to Quantas’ they do not help very much. That and the individual display for every passenger which gives movies on-demand, television shows, music, and video games – the armrest controller comes off and can then be used as the video game controller or a phone. For being on this flight for nearly five hours already I am actually enjoying myself. On to watching a documentary on Australia’s landmarks – this episode is on the Harbour Bridge.
Okay, fell asleep watching the Harbour Bridge episode. Apparently I did something different on this trip than the last – I’ve been sleeping on the plane. With only one and a half hours remaining I’m really surprised how quickly this flight has gone. It’s 3:48 AM New Zealand time and I feel somewhat refreshed from waking up. Like from sleeping in a bed? No, but I don’t feel as cramped as my first flight using United. Ah, breakfast… what do we have here? There’s my frittata…
The Frittata was very good for being on an airplane. The mushrooms were canned, however the rosemary seasoning was very good and also complimented the roasted tomatoe, spinach, and sausage link. A blueberry muffin and fresh fruited also accompanied the meal. All in all, very good.
Now I have on a documentary over the Sydney Opera House with an interview with Jorn Utzon, the building’s original designer who never saw his drawings turn into reality. I suppose this will keep my interest for the remainder of this flight.
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