Everyone Counts

Australians only seem to take a few things seriously:

1. Sport: Aussie Rules Football and Rugby

2. Chucking Sickies: Using sick days to chill on the beach

3. Food: Beetroot on burgers, throwing a shrimp on the barbie (they actually do that, but Foster's is not Australian for Beer), and meat pies

4. Utes: The front is like a car, the back is like a truck, the front is where you drive, the back is where you...

5. The Idea of Surfing: They love to talk about it, drink in the parking lot and watch it, but not many seem to actually know how to surf

And one that I was not expecting: The Census

You need to scream, shout and beg to get any waiter service at a restaurant but if the thought of the census even creeps into your head then the "Census Guy" just magically appears at your door. He has visited the apartment at least 10 times over the last 3 weeks dropping off forms, reminding us to fill them out, attempting to collect the forms (multiple times) and warning us of the hefty fine if we failed to hand it in ($110/day fine starting Sept 1 if you fail to submit it). With the threat of the fine, Kelly and I officially became Australian "statistics" as we submitted our form yesterday and hopefully never have to hear from the Census Guy again.

So unlike New York City, which claimed to have missed at least 50,000 people in the 2010 census costing them desperately needed federal funds (suckers) everyone counts Down Under.

If I were king of the fore-e-e-est

We packed A LOT into 9 days (and still had a little time to relax)!  Here’s the rundown:

·         Flew to Cairns, rented a car, drove to Port Douglas.
·         Disregarded the warning sign that the bridge over Mossman Gorge was out and thus had part of the Daintree Rainforest to ourselves for a little hike.  (The bridge was just fine.)  The Daintree Rainforest, at 120 million years old, is the world’s oldest rainforest.  The trees and their root systems were unbelievable.
·         Traveled the Daintree River in search of some salties (saltwater crocodiles).  Apparently we were supposed to see the 3.7m male croc who inhabits the area, and apparently we were the only boat in 2011 not to see any crocs.  
·         Indulged in a 6 course meal in the rainforest while listening to aboriginal stories and tunes on the dijeridoo. 
·         Visited a wildlife sanctuary where we held a koala named Glenn, petted wallabies and emus, saw the cassowary (giant flightless bird), a tree kangaroo, a giant salty and his giant teeth!

·     Crossed the Daintree River by car ferry and continued on the twisty and narrow road to Cape Tribulation.  Warning signs of cassowary crossings everywhere, and this bird definitely would have done some serious damage to our golf cart-esque rental car.  Fortunately we didn’t encounter one (though it would have been pretty cool to see in the wild!).

·         Camped for three nights on the beach in Cape Trib.  Saw a couple of amazing sunsets, beautiful blue Ulysses butterflies, and had wild turkeys and a lace monitor lizard as daily guests to our campsite. 

·         Visited an exotic fruit farm and tasted the following fruits:  West Indian Lime, Pommelo, Abiu, Black Sapote, Davidson Plum, Longan, Yellow Sapote, Solo Papaya, Rollinia, Soursop.
·         Sea kayaked around the Cape.  Tried to surf with our kayak (we need a little work on that).  Saw a giant sea turtle. 
·         Returned our rental car and took a ferry to Fitzroy Island on the Great Barrier Reef.  Whales were migrating in front of the resort.
·    Adam visited the outer reef during the first day of my dive course.  
·    Saw the clown fish go in and out of the anemone (it really is just like Finding Nemo).  

·    Heard the whales when I was 20 feet deep. 
·    Encountered a 4m tiger shark on my fourth and final certification dive.  Luckily he wasn’t hungry and we have all of our limbs. =)
·    I completed my dive certification!  

The cassowary's claws, the croc's teeth, and the tiger shark's mere presence reminded us that we were much more cowardly lions than kings of the forest.  

We had an amazing trip that only could have been better if it was shared with friends and family.  


Love, 
Kelly and Adam

Career Expo

As you might expect, my early "retirement" of exercise, watching sports, and reading was not really sustainable. On a day where my body was too sore to move, the only sport to watch was cricket and I finished reading my latest book, I came across an ad for a Career Expo. I thought I'd check out what kind of careers were available Down Under. There were about 150 organizations participating in the Expo. I perused/scanned/smiled at nearly every booth and quickly realized they wanted me to pay them and not the other way around (i.e. schools, volunteer programs, websites on job searches, etc). Of the 150, one, and only one, was an actual employer looking for future employees: Wagamama. http://www.wagamama.com.au/home/.

Both of my sisters, at one point in their lives, have been obsessed with Noodles (or Noodle Oodle Os as we like to call them) but I never before realized there were career opportunities in Noodles. Sign me up!!! From Math Teacher, to Investment Banker to Noodle Guy. Another smooth transition appeared ready to take fold. After some serious thought I realized it would be best to leave my sisters to the noodles and instead I signed up at the Australian Institute of Fitness. Although I like a noodle as much as the next guy, my real passion is fitness. So in two weeks I start a new path in fitness which I'm equally excited and scared about.