Mr Huntsman

Just to avoid confusion - huntsman is a species of spider that grows relatively large and disgusting but is generally harmless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider

I had forgotten to mention that I moved houses just recently. About 2-3 weeks ago. I am pretty much in the same area, just five minutes down the bike path from where I was earlier. The suburb I lived in before is called Naremburn. I have moved five minute walk away and my address is now Willoughby. It's an old house at the bottom of a cul de sac street, pretty much in the bush. I was wary of the fact that there's "too much" green around it and spiders might be an issue but I did not expect one to crawl into my room in less than a week! I should have anticipated it considering I kept my bedroom window open 24/7 - I mean, what was I thinking being so naive? I must have forgotten the country I live in.. The reality struck on a Sunday night around midnight when I saw something moving on the floor. The instant chills that took over me in split seconds. Yuk, a huntsman in my room, the size of my hand and it looked like it was missing one leg. Gross. I felt immediate cold sweat and panic taking over me. I did not know what to do about it. I was on my bed in my underwear and I had no tools to kill it. Mind you, I can't even kill it. I am too scared and too disgusted to go anywhere near that thing.. So, I took a risk and left it in my room in hope that it wouldn't move out of my sight and headed off to the kitchen to find Raid or anything that could kill. Surely, an Aussie house must have some sort of a spray in their household supplies? Of course not. The only thing I could find was a foaming oven cleaner. That wasn't going to do much damage, so I ditched that idea and rushed back into my bedroom. The huntsman was still there. My only weapon was my deodorant which had absolutely zero effect on the spider. It seemed to become more lively when I sprayed it with that pleasant scent. As it started making its way up on the wall I just threw a towel at it and was feeling victorious when it landed on the spider. I was 60% confident I had killed it. SO WRONG! My next thought was what to do with it and how to get rid of it without going anywhere near that thing. So, I headed back to the kitchen and got a broom and started smashing the towel with the broom. No luck still. I ended up "brushing" the towel all the way to the kitchen and attempted to kill the spider again from a very far distance. Not sure if it died in the end but as it curled up I brushed it on a dust pan and threw outside. I did not find a dead body in the morning. I hope the snakes ate it... I cannot describe what a shocker it was to actually find a spider that size in my bedroom. I had thought these things do not happen to me. As a result, my window is only open during the day and under my close supervision. Plus I always inspect my room before I enter or when I wake up in the morning not to have some nasty surprises looking at me. Not quite sure how I would react if there was another one...

Not much time left

Went for a big 90k Sydney to Gong ride this morning with a pommie bloke Ben from work and just as I hit 60km mark and got off the freeway and the scenery was about to turn very picturesque and hilly, I managed to get a staple in my tyre. What are the chances of getting a flat tyre from a freakin staple?!! That was so unlucky and very disappointing. I suppose the upside of it was that I was right in front of the train station and could get a train back into the city. Otherwise, I would have been walking for maybe 20-50kms or hitch-hiking! Lucky from that perspective... I will give it another go next weekend and hopefully will conquer the hills to Wollongong once again. I do aim to finish that 90km ride. It is pretty spectacular.. and I am confident I have picked up the one and only staple from the 90km radius, so I should be alright next weekend ha.
I have around 8 weeks left until I have to leave Australia and head back to Ireland. Considering how time flies, I am starting to get a bit nervous and panicky of what's going to happen and how I am going to set my life up again. In a way it is exciting - I love the feeling of not knowing what future might hold for me. I am sure it will all work out for the better in the end.
I suppose there might be an opportunity for sponsorship at work if I really wanted it but the question is do I really want to stay here long term? It could be a nice idea, however, not sure if I want to do the job they could possibly offer to me. It is not the kind of job I had in mind. It is the second best option but would it all be worth it long term? Looking at the pros and cons of Australia vs Ireland. Yes - I agree the weather is much better over here and there are tonnes of beaches to choose from but would that determine my whole life? Ultimately, it may not be the decider.. I find other things more important like people I have and have had in my life. Staying here would mean that I have to start all over again. Build new relationships, friendships etc. How about friend and family that have stayed behind? Surely, that is worth more than golden sandy beaches and 35C heat and of course amazing cycling!
There is plenty to think about and as I said to my Irish friends a few days ago when we met in a fancy cocktail bar in Shangri-La (overlooking Sydney Harbour): "Home is where your heart is" and I think I could call Ireland my home, even though I actually don't own a home there!
So the next eight weeks I will try to enjoy myself as much as I can and make the last few months the ones to remember in the years to come!

Down Under

I've been meaning to quote a paragraph from Bill Bryson's book "Down Under" for a while now but never got around to actually do it. It is very well written and describes Australia just the way I see it. It's all true but not to be taken too seriously :)

Australia is the home of the larges living thing on earth, the Great Barrier Reef, and of the most famous and striking monolith, Uluru. It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Of the world's ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. Five of its creatures - the funnel-web spider, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, paralysis tick and stonefish- are the most lethal of their type in the world. This is a country where even the fluffiest of caterpillars can lay you out with a toxic nip, where seashells will not just sting you but actually sometimes go for you. Pick up an innocuous coneshell from a Queensland beach, as innocent tourists are all too wont to do, and you will discover that the little fellow inside is not just astoundingly swift and testy, but exceedingly venomous. If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles, or carried helplessly out to sea by irresistible currents, or left to stagger to an unhappy death in the baking outback. It's a tough place.

-Bill Bryson-

Work rant!

I’ve never experienced this mentality in a work environment where team members are afraid of getting into trouble for showing new employees (in which case it is me and I’ve been here for 3 months!) how to do stuff. Everything needs to be approved by the boss. Absolutely ridiculous. I cannot believe every single small thing needs to go through the ancient boss. I thought delegation was a good thing and everyone being able to do various things would surely be considered as a bonus? Turns out, not the team I work in. I was told in the beginning I would get more stuff to do but so far it has been very demoralizing and demotivating and makes me feel like I wouldn’t be good enough? In fact, I think I am too good for the actual job they’re doing here. I am capable of much more. I have heard that my name was mentioned to the big boss but I personally haven’t heard any positive feedback. We are short staffed and yet they’ve hired another contractor who’s got no experience and is getting trained up to do the job. How about training me up to do the job? Wouldn’t that be a logical course of action? I am not that dumb. All I can do is really blame the manager for being incompetent. We had a funny situation at work the other day. I was sorting out some letters at someone else’s desk (the system was down anyway) and the boss walked past and asked why I was sitting at someone else’s desk. I said I was going to be there a few minutes only. He replied and said that he decides where I sit! And he repeated that about three times – no joke. If he had asked me to move, I would have told him: “I didn’t realise I wasn’t allowed to leave my desk”. I think that would have resulted in me having to leave the office. And did I mention I would have couple of improvements to suggest at work to avoid errors from happening but I do not see a point in it since I don’t get included in the team meetings either. I just use the ideas to my own advantage in the job I do. First world problems.Second, I am getting my degree assessed by CPA to find out if my qualification meets the criteria for General Accountant in Australia. If their answer is positive, I can lodge an EOI (expression of interest) to get permanent residency in Australia. So far what CPA have come back to me with is that I have completed 8 out of 9 compulsory subjects. The irony here is that they claimed I hadn’t done Accounting Theory. Out of all subjects, it is the basics they’re referring to. In a way it is a positive outcome since they have accepted everything else. I have given them a breakdown of accounting subjects I’ve done and asked them to review my application. I really hope they will accept it. If they don’t, I’ll have to pay them another $600 and sign up for an exam. I wouldn’t have to do a whole course at least. I’d get online materials and then just study a bit and then sit the exam. Nevertheless, that would be an effort.

Sydney to Wollongong

My life these days has been more and more about bike riding and fitness. Since I cycle to work almost every day anyway, I  thought I might as well cycle with a goal! So the goal was to participate in a charity ride called Sydney to Gong to support people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. Total distance of the ride being 90km and number of participants reached around 10,000. That was an amazing ride! I exceeded my own expectations in terms of how much I could push out of my legs! I aimed to finish the ride in around 4hrs 15 mins but managed to squeeze it just under 4 with 3:52. I must mention I would have been faster if there hadn't been thousands of riders on the roads. Nevertheless, what an achievement, considering the second half of the ride had multiple difficult ascents! Those rides to work & back home really helped me on the hills. Riding across Harbour Bridge to the North shore of Sydney isn't a walk in the park and is a significant cardio exercise, no matter how slow I go! In fact, it's better to go faster :) Oh, and P.S. I beat a number of blokes while climbing hills. The satisfaction of being better haha. I also beat two guys that started the ride with me by an hour. I can pat myself on the back for this!
That was the highlight of spring here. I will have to think of any other activities I could do while I'm still here in Australia. Beach volleyball would naturally be on top of my list but strangely I have only played it once. I've been participating in weekly social indoor volleyball trainings though. Starting to get back into it! I'll have to upload some pics from the amazing ride when they get uploaded to the website.

Alice Springs, Ayers Rock / Uluru

Another post long overdue from my two-week holiday in Northern Terrritory back in July/August. I have really left this one late. Have been rather busy working and working out and riding my bike at weekeends on long rides and then just haven't had the motivation to pile up my long distant memories from this awesome holiday. Actually, I've already been to another short one to Sunshine Coast a week ago.
I had initially planned to take a train from Darwin to Alice Springs and then bus from Alice to Ayers Rock Resort (near Uluru) where I had booked a couple of nights stay. To my surprise there were no buses between Alice and Uluru, or if there were it would cost just as much as flying and would take six hours, so I decided to pick the easy option of a 40 minute flight. Plus the benefit would be to see Uluru from high above. I specifically picked a seat on the plane where I  thought I would be able to see the rock. After a few google hits I figured left hand side window would be my best shot and I wasn't wrong!
I had pre-booked my tour to Uluru and accommodation on Ayers Rock Resort at the Pioneer Hostel. This is the biggest dorm I have ever stayed in, with about 20 bunk beds but it felt very cosy because there were walls in between each two bunks, so it made the room look more intimate. Worked for me! I was pretty damn tired after my long 24 hours train ride, so I went straight to bed and had a good few hours of sleep. I can't remember if I wrote much about the train "The Ghan" but it was pretty damn expensive for the quality of service offered. I would expect at least a pillow and a blanket for the night (something along the lines of an airline service). The aircon was full on and it was freezing in the carriage throughout the night. The food on the train was average and you couldn't get you wanted - had to wait until they started "serving dinner". Plus the bar/cafe closed at 10pm while were the only customers trying to most likely drink all the beers available at the cafe. At least we had fun. I ended up sitting next to a Dutch girl I had met on the bus before boarding the train. She had a Canadian friend who had apparently hiked the MacDonnell Ranges around Alice Springs ALONE which is like 200km and takes around two weeks. He said it was the best thing he had ever done. Crazy and scary! He was a bit of a hippie anyway!
Back to the train ride - after departing Darwin we had a stop at Katherine (around three hours train ride away) for three hours, so we got a chance to check out Katherine gorge. The weather was scorching 30+ degrees and following our short hike up  the mountain we thought the best idea would be to go for a dip in the gorge. The only problem was that we didn't have our swimmers with us, so we jumped in in our shorts and bras. Wendy's looked like a black bikini top but mine was clearly NOT! Leopard print bra.... got them old men staring for sure haha. Our dip in the gorge was somewhat nervous because there were not supposed to be any crocs in there as they get removed by the rangers, however, they can never guarantee that there would be absolutely none in there. Didn't think swimming for long was a good idea, so we headed back to the bus which would take us to the train again. Nevertheless, great experience!
Ayers Rock Resort is a great place to stay when exploring Uluru and Kata-Tjuta. I think 3 days is just enough to see everything. There is probably no need to take a separate tour to Uluru as the resort has buses running to Uluru all day allowing people to go and explore the rock on their own. I had a tour booked though - I just didn't think the rock was that close to the resort. The tour itself started from Alice Springs and they picked me up at the resort and from there it was maybe a half and hour drive. We had an overnight campsite set up nearby as well - it's a great experience if you haven't slept in a swag before but I had already done it, so I could have just done Uluru exploring myself and then gone back to the hostel for the night. The weather was clear but temperatures dropped to zero overnight and these are the coldest conditions I have ever slept in outside. I was pretty well prepared, so I had a good night sleep while others were freezing in their tents. I told them swag would be a better option but for some rich German / French tourists it seemed to be unacceptable to "sleep outside". Their loss. The second day started around 6 am when we headed to watch the sunrise at Uluru. Absolutely freezing but beautiful at the same time. From there onwards we proceeded to Kata Tjuta and commenced an 8km walk through the National Park. It was magnificent and a total surprise, something not to be missed!! It was a real surprise to me how amazing it was to walk the tracks along the 36 dome of Kata Tjuta. The tour company I used was Wayoutback - same as for Kakadu & Litchfield. The tour itself was "Overnight Dingo Dreaming Red Centre Safari" - cost 325AUD - probably not worth the money but you won't find out until you try I guess. Well at least in the situation when you're staying at Ayers Rock Resort.
That was my last tour in NT and it was time to head back to Sydney to find another job and start replenishing my cash supplies!