Slangictionary (Eighth Installment)

Busy as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking race: (phrase) very busy

Busy as a one-armed wallpaper hanger: (phrase) very busy

As ugly as a hat full of monkeys bums: (phrase) very ugly

Poms: (n.) British people

Avo: (n.) afternoon

Night at the Ballet

On Tuesday night I went to see The Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House with a few of my girlfriends.  It was a gorgeous summer night so we all met up at Opera Bar, which is situated next to the Opera House, and got a bottle of wine and a tasting plate.  It was my first time going to a performance in the Opera House and I absolutely loved it. I hope to make somewhat of a habit of it as long as my finances allow it. The inside of the Opera House is beautifully modern and the acoustics and unbelievable.  We were sitting toward the top of the theatre, but I could still hear the touch of the female dancers' point shoes on the stage.

Thanksgiving in the Summer

I am also thankful for cornbread. Next
year I want to try to make this  pumpkin cornbread. 

On Saturday Jane and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for a large group of friends.  They were all excited to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with two Americans. Australians have no comparable holiday outside of Christmas that is all about spending time with family and I think that many of them wish that they did.  Before we ate dinner we all went around and said something we were thankful for. Most of them did not know that that is one of the common traditions and I think they quite liked it.  I said I was thankful to be in Australia with all of them and for my wonderful friends and family back in the states.

Our 5 kilo (11 pound turkey)

Happy Turkey Day!

I hope that you are all having a wonderful day and watching lots of football and eating tons of good ol' American cuisine. I am celebrating Thanksgiving this Saturday and will be sure to post some pictures of my first solo attempts at Thanksgiving cooking.

Also, this made me smile...a pancake shaped like a turkey. This dad makes incredible pancakes for his daughter. It is worth checking out his pancake masterpieces. They are unbelievable!

Movember

The month of November is "Movember" here in Australia. Men grow "mos" (moustaches) and raise money and awareness for prostate cancer and other male health issues.  Sydney is full of men with hilarious mos during this time of the year, everything from full blown handle bar moustaches to puberty baby staches. One of my coworkers is participating in the Movember and has grown a pretty impressive mo.  If any of you are interested in donating to the cause here is a link to the Movember website (http://au.movemberfoundation.com/ and the link to my coworker's donation site http://au.movember.com/mospace/814266/ . My company is going to match the amount he raises up to a certain amount.

Angus & Julia Stone

I have gotten really into Angus & Julia Stone recently. I bought their most recent CD, Down the Way, after reading that they had cleaned up at the ARIA (Australian Record Industry Awards) winning Album of the Year and Single of the Year.  They are brother-sister duo from the North shore of Sydney with a cool indie sound.  They are definitely worth checking out on Pandora or YouTube.

Jacarandas

In late October and into November, jacaranda trees come into bloom all over Sydney.  Their purple flowers offer a striking contrast to the calm greens of the gum trees and palm trees.  I think they are some of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen, but many Aussies have interesting emotions connected to them.  Around this time of the year uni students have to start studying for finals.  Whenever the jacarandas go into bloom it is a sign that their exams are eminent.  Some of my friends have even told me that to have a jacaranda flower fall on you during finals week is a bad omen.  I think that I will always have positive emotions connected to jacarandas, because around the time of them starting to bloom, I figured out employment for the second half of my year here and started looking for apartments. 

Jacaranda outside my window

Melbourne Cup Day

Australians are serious about horse racing. This past Tuesday was the 150^th Annual Melbourne Cup Day.  It is a public holiday in Victoria and might as well be a public holiday in the rest of the county as the entire population of Australia stops whatever they are doing to watch the three minute race at 3:30pm.  Work provided us a special lunch and also gave us cider, beer and wine in the kitchen during the buildup to the race.  At the moment of the race there was barely a car on the road or a boat in the Harbor and there was certainly not a single person from my office working. Everyone was dressed to the nines (by work standards) in fascinators and hats cheering on the horses. It was unlike any other work function I’ve attended.

Even Google got into it on Melbourne Cup Day

This year the favorite to win was a magnificent horse named So You Think.  A week and a half before the Melbourne Cup, I watched him easily win the Cox Plate race (a much shorter race). His trainer Bart Cummings is a legend in Australian horse racing having won 14 Melbourne Cups.  He is 82 and is training two of his rather fetching grandsons to carry on his legacy, but has no plans to retire any time soon.  In an interview; in typical grumpy, wise old man words; he described his relationship with them as “If you spoil a horse you ruin it.” Sadly, So You Think placed, but did not win due to the fact that longer races are not his strongest.

So You Think

Bart Cummings (His eyebrows are legendary too)

I bet on three horses to go either way, meaning to win or place.  I chose So You Think, Americain (because of the name of course) and Harry Tweed.  Americain was the victor (obviously) and So You Think placed and as a result I won $60.  Not too bad for my first time betting more than $10. 

Amercain