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Removed?  Yes - as in Australian for “moved” - and not of the emotional type.  This is likely old news to a lot of you - but Makiko & I have packed up and left Australia as of about a month or so ago.  Ironically enough, one of the “removers” (at least the guy who owned the van) was a Scott Harris:

What are the odds!?

We’ll miss Sydney.  It was a great home for us for a couple of years.  I know I for one will miss:

• Laughing at snowed in nothern hemisphere dwellers in February, while enjoying week after week of +25C sunny weather
• “Aussie burgers”, meat pies and sausage rolls
• Living near countless beaches - even though we rarely exploited them!
• Big Brother, Kochie and Mel
  
• Saturday morning Japanese classes at Sydney Uni
• Working in a 2 (well now 3 or 4) man office
• Harbour ferry rides… *sigh*
• Monthly fireworks and festivals
• Surry Hills and its amazing selection of restaurants within walking distance of our apartment
• Our rooftop pool and BBQ area - complete with Sydney skyline views

What I won’t miss are:

• Deadly snakes and spiders
• The isolation of being so far from loved ones
• Overpriced everything ($3 for a canned soft drink - get real!)
• Crappy Internet service providers
• Rowdy drunkards parading down our street at 2AM on a Wednesday night

We tried to make the most of our remaining time in Australia once we knew we were on the way out, but now it seems there was never enough time to cross everything off that “to do” list.  Now how am I ever supposed to go streaking at a cricket match…

There’s pictures of the move if you want to dwell on it any longer.  I’m happy to move on though.

Hey Tokyo - we’re back!

Apparently, Australia has its fair share of bad English too…

Still - you gotta wonder - how good could these new arrivals be if they’re giving them out for free?

On the rare occasion that I’m actually in Sydney, I walk to work. Our offices are both within the CBD so it’s just a 30 min walk for us on your average day. It’s quite convenient really. That’s the main reason why we don’t need - or even want - a car.

When I walk, I prefer to walk through this nearby park. Makiko prefers the noise and pollution of the main streets. Why would anyone prefer that to the glorious nature of a park? Well - it’s the birds. Not just a few birds - hundreds of birds. The birds flock here for one main reason:

The Bird Man. This hunched over old man shows up almost every afternoon with bags upon bags of stale bread.

The birds then leave drops upon drops of fresh white turd.

Polluted Street vs. Poopy Park … Which would you choose?

Has it really been a month and a half since I posted? Damn. Yes, it has. I guess we’ve been too busy with company and work and what not to bother keeping you all entertained. That should all calm down in the near future…

For now, let’s get back to the insanity.

Like pizza? Like meat pies? Ever wish you could eat them both at the same time? Thanks to Domino’s Australia - now you can!

Introducing the meat pie pizza!!!

Sweet! This is too good to be true. Two of my favorite junk foods have been fuzed together. This is indeed a historic event in my junk food filled life.

While Murf was visiting last month, we decided to throw caution into the wind and order ourselves one. Being the bachelors that we were (Makiko was in Japan for work for a couple weeks) it seemed like the ultimate bachelor chow.

So, what’s in the box with the dots?

It’s…

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Christmas? No. Easter? Not yet. My birthday? Well - that was a few weeks ago (BTW - I’m now the big 3 0!).

No - it’s Aussie barefoot season! Yes, every year around this time - hot, redneck Australians walk the city streets in search of ways of cooling down. Unfortunately, this is what a number of them resort to:

Even after a year and a half here, I still find this disgusting. Buy a pair of sandals, loser.