Well, starting this post again, as trying to upload a picture erased the two paragraphs I'd just written. Sigh, technology.

It's been about a 48 hour day for me since I left Toronto. My initial impressions thus far are a bit frenetic, as my entire world has literally been turned upside down. I had to pay cash for food on American Airlines to LA, something I apparently shared with the airline staff. Qantas, on the other hand, was great. Two meals, unlimited booze and snacks, a huge video-on-demand library and arcade games to boot!

My cousin Norm was gracious enough to pick me up at the airport at 6am, get me fed, and de-airline-dirted. I spent the day walking around Sydney, specifically the chain of parks which rim the Harbour, fighting off the jetlag, learning to use my camera, and taking a million pictures of the opera house (while trying to dodge the hordes of fitness fanatics running by the water). Tried to upload one, but at this cafe there is only Win98, something I'll keep in mind in the future.

Like I said, everything here is backwards. They drive on the left (wrong side), blue apparently means red, and the smaller the coin means the larger the denomination. This of course means I'll be losing the 2-dollar coins in the couch while perpetually tripping over the 50-cent pieces. The bills are made of plastic and actually have clear patches. Apparently you can wash them, which means I can now put them in my mouth regardless of where they have been. COFFEEWell, starting this post again, as trying to upload a picture erased the two paragraphs I'd just written. Sigh, technology.

Coffee here is a new experience. Far from my Coffee Time special or Timmies double-double, I'm now ordering a half-flat, essentially espresso with milk, which has me whirring about the city thinking a mile a minute. Crazy birds here already butsomehowtherearestillallthesedamndirtypigeons......

Ooop, technological breakthrough is in the works..... (damn, I miss work already) The picture above was an improbability just a moment ago until the friendly cafe proprietor Robert (Internet Bakpak Travel, King's Cross) came up with an ingenious solution.

Checked out Hyde Park Barracks, a lovely little place built by convicts for convicts. I get the feeling that jail must be a miserable place.....

Well, I'm starting to run out of steam. I'll be hanging with family and exploring Sydney until Monday, when I fly up to Cairns, and start my live-aboard scuba course, which I just booked. Maybe I'll get a decent night's sleep in the meantime. OUT!