Vivid Sydney - Sydney Opera House

Last night was spent with a trip into the city (well, actually, I STAYED in the city after work) for Vivid Sydney...

I met up with M at Central Station, and we walked (briskly; it was cold) over to World Square where we had Japanese for dinner before heading to the car for the drive down to the Rocks for Vivid. In Campbell's Cove next to us was a fire and music show, blah, and further around in Circular Quay was Customs House but it was just to bloody cold to stay out any longer... So I got a heap of pics of the Opera House and various stages and, well here it is...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hoo roo for now...

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Blue for Autism Awareness Day

Tonight, the Opera house turned blue (Light It Up Blue) as part of the World Autism Awareness Day. I went in to get a couple of shots, and to practice my night photography skills as well...

Oliveto

I started, whilst waiting for M to arrive from Uni, to get a shot of OLIVETO Restaurant.

We then head into Harry's Cafe De Wheels, for a quick bite to eat before heading over to Dawes Point which is under the Harbour Bridge, opposite the Opera House as well, so makes a great vantage point!

Blue Opera House

I finished up getting a couple of extra shots, of course the Harbour Bridge but also opposite at Nth Sydney, is Luna Park

Harbour Bridge

Luna Park

There was even some ghastly ghoulies about the Rocks area as well!!

Ghostly Ghouls

Hoo roo for now...

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Cold Dinner, Joint Airforce Flyover and local sights

Last night, we went down into the local shopping center, where I got a couple (OK, FOUR) new tee-shirts. I also wanted to get a new pair of casual shoes, but by the time we had dinner, the shops were starting to close! But we did have, allegedly, dinner! Whilst I had a Teriyaki chicken, which was barely 'luke warm' let alone hot, and M also had a 'luke warm' dish as well... At least we were not sick today!

Today was a bit of a catch up day after loosing a day due to my work computer not playing. I spent most of yesterday swapping files from one PC to another, and due to there being a large volume on it, and limited space on the network, it was a slow and laborious project...

BUT, after a 'tip off' I wondered out just before lunch time as there was to be a joint USAF & RAAF flyover.

RAAF & USAF Sydney Flyover

On my way back to the office, I also got a few shots of some of the local sights...

Opera House

Gov House

Kirribilly House

Boy with a Thorn

Couple of GHFF

The weekend, is again, going to be a bit of a busy one, starting with my nephews Grand Final for Baseball, followed by a lot of painting, weather permitting!

Hoo roo for now...

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New Years Eve and two days of spotting

NYE

NYE

NYE

On New Years Eve, I was lucky enough to have some tickets to, basically, have front rows lawns to the biggest fireworks display in the world! For some reason, that's the way it seems! Really, our Eastern neighbours in New Zealand are the first, but the focus seems to be on Sydney with everyone comparing OUR fireworks. I wonder why...

NYE

NYE

NYE

NYE

I took a mate with me, I prepared a dip, a salsa dip as well, cheese and a Danish salami and corn chips and crackers as well... I took some drinks for us to share! When we arrived, we caught up with D&A with their son B. He's a great kid, and was very friendly! It was also great to catch up with D&A as well, not to mention D's mum B!

I had a text message from another mate who was down from Newcastle, and after a couple of text's, we arranged that he will come and stay as well, after all, I have plenty of room and there were no more trains heading back north! We all eventually hit the beds at around 3.45am... I woke, later than normal, at 7am, whilst J & N got up and about around 9. We decided that a day of spotting was in order, so we got ourselves ready and was at YSSY in around 45 mins! It was going to be hot, 41c, so after a little while at one place, we headed for lunch of seafood, and then to a new place (for me) and set up camp there. Another mate, K, had decided to beat the heat in western Sydney, so when I dropped N at the station, I collected K and we headed back to the spotting spot! It was a great day, with great company!

TT VH-VNP

UA N175UA

The following day, Sunday, was a quick day trip down to Melbourne for another day of spotting... There was four of this day, with J's dad D and my mate from Melbourne, another D! Again, a great day and great company. When we left Melbourne, there was a considerable amount of storm activity in Sydney, and as a result, we were in a holding pattern over Canberra for a little bit. I didn't mind at all, and J got some great sunsetting pics! Thanks for a great couple of days J, (and N, K, D & D) I really had a great time!

Gooney VH-OVM

TG HS-TKB

VOZ with J at the fence

I've also been back to work this week, sad, but I am already planning a few things. There is a 3 day conference I am very interested in in Brussels which I think would be good to go to for a research paper I am co-authoring. There is also a possibility of a 4-5 days away to Hong Kong, to again visit the Hong Kong Jockey Club for a visit to discuss techniques with the Track Manager, and we may fill in with a bit of spotting there as well; who knows!

Hoo roo for now...

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A morning of spotting for a 77F

Just a couple of pics I got when Emirates started the longest flight ever from Sydney to New York (17.5 hours)! Apart from the Skycargo and the Korean, I have actually been on all of these carriers!

EK Skycargo A6-EFD

QF VH-OEJ

JQ VH-EBA

JL JA705J

EK A6-EDM

Korean HL7461

It was a great morning, better than the previous morning when it was supposed to go when it closed in and then rained and rained and rained!

Hoo roo for now...

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Bon Jovi & my 10th Anniversary

Last night, I was invited to go to Bon Jovi's first Sydney Concert... I thought it would have been a great concert, but I had NO idea JUST how good it would be! Here is what the stage looked like about 15-20 minutes prior to the concert starting...

Bon Jovi Stage

And just after he started his 2 hour PLUS concert, without a break really!

Bon Jovi Opening set

Richie Sambora did one song whilst the man went off and have a change, but the concert itself went non stop!

My mate's mum (and friends) came in from Parkes in Western NSW for the concert, and as one of the family had to stay at home to attend to whats left of the crop after the recent rains/floods, this is how I got a spare ticket! I am so grateful for the ticket, and the night, thanks again Jayden!

I say this, as yesterday would have been my 10th Anniversary...

Wedding Day

I was feeling a little down for most of the day, and this concert CERTAINLY lifted my mood as did the two bits of good news I got in the afternoon!

1. I got my Electricity bill, which was a total of $9.31cr!!!! So nothing to pa now until the next billing cycle in around 2.5 - 3 months time!
2. I got an email from the Tax Department, saying that my tax is processed, I had paid too much money in places, and that my regular monthly bill will be reduced. Again, this was great timing as well!

After the concert, we got away from the stadium pretty quickly for where I was parked. We headed down to Harry's Cafe de Wheels for a pie. I had my normal Chicken and Mushroom pie with cheese and tomato sauce, whilst Jayden had the same pie, but with mashed potato and mushy peas with gravy! Its called a "Chicken Tiger"! It was his first time at Harry's and I suspect, it will not be his last!

Hoo roo for now...

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Olympics: - A 10th Anniversary of "The Best Games Ever"

Recently, Sydney celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Sydney hosting "The most successful Olympic Games ever" (Juan-Antonio Samaranch, had withheld from Atlanta in 1996 the epithet "best-ever Games", which he first delivered at the closing of the Olympics in his home city of Barcelona, in 1992, and then also accorded Sydney in 2000).

It was a busy day, in that there was a LOT of people at the venue, to witness the relighting of the Olympic Cauldron. To mark the occasion, Cathy Freeman was invited to light the cauldron, although this time, hoping that the technical glitch that had it sitting just above her for 3mins and 40 seconds did not happen again! However, her nemesis paid a visit with the Cauldron lighting itself, and later extinguished, before she got there to do the job properly! Here is what the cauldron looks like during the day:

Cauldron Close

And here it is, at dusk, with the flame burning again;

Cauldron at Dusk

Sydney, during the games, was such a great atmosphere to be in. People were friendlier than normal, the public transport ran better than it ever had (still to this day) and the vibe was just awesome! It was a time that I will certainly never forget!

Hoo roo for now...

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A sale is now, not to far (WW #35)

Firstly, WW pic is down the line a bit as this post needs some explaining, sorry!

Ok, today is the LAST day, of the LAST cooling off period for the sale of the house... And, whilst I have heard (last night at 8pm), that the purchaser has transferred the deposit, he still needs to get the printed receipt to the agent by 5pm! This is very important for them, as the deposit was done via an EFT to the Agents Trust Account, and you know that these things do take time of somewhere between 24-48 hours to transfer! So, the countdown is on until this afternoon, where hopefully, I will be able to report with some FINAL good news!

Also, there is now a very (very) slight possibility of me heading across to Dubai in mid September! I will be racking up a couple of days this coming weekend at a conference, and as such, I will be using them to go across to the Emirates Nation! At this stage, it is still very much 'up in the air' (no pun intended), but I will know a little more by the end of the week!

NOW, for the WW pic. here is a funny sight this morning, but an all to serious one as well... There is a great little spot, to sit and watch air traffic movements... It has slowly been deteriorating over the years, and things like this certainly do not help! The amount of times I have seen cars bogged in the soft sand behind is amazing, but this guy really does take the cake!

Fool Truck Driver at Sheps

Hoo roo for now...

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On and off the rails

Yesterday, I went for a bit of a drive as it was going to be such a nice day, sunny and warm. But I had NO idea as to where I was going to go and what I was going to do! I had recently purchased a new lens and I wanted to try it out... So in my travels, I ended up over in Sydney's South at Loftus and the Tram Museum, sort of...

I didn't actually go TO the Museum, but I went over the Pacific Highway where it enters the Royal national Park where I could hopefully get a couple of good 'Shots'! I even put my camera ON the rail with the oncoming tram, but that shot was not to good, and was not level on the horizon, so I have not processed it. I hope you like them!

Tram Rails Loftus, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Tram Rail and Leaves, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Tram 249 Loftus, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Tram KEW Loftus, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Tram Victoria Bridge Loftus, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

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A night out with the girls!

Last night, after MANY attempts to have a 'get together' we finally all caught up to have dinner at 'The Vintage Cafe' in 'The Rocks' and a chat. There was Mel, Sheryl, Geri and Clare. Sheryl is still at my work, where as the other girls have all gone to greener pastures...

Out with the girls 04022010, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

We originally met at Löwenbräu Keller (also in 'The Rocks') for a drink where I had a German Beer, which really, was not that nice for me... I think mainly it was to malty?

Anyway, we had a starter of Garlic Bread, yumm (there goes the diet!) and then, needless to say, we had a Seafood Paella with Crab, Prawn, Calamari, Mussels, Fish, Chicken & Chorizo. It was a MAJOR yumm!!! It wasn't until after we had finished, that I remembered I should have gotten a photo, DOH! After dinner, since I knew I had already blown the diet, I thought blow it, in for a penny in for a pound (or two or three) I would have a dessert. It was the most wicked Dark Chocolate Cake, served on a chocolate, raspberry and a sweet syrup that was to DIE for.

Thank GOODNESS for going back to the trainer today to work of all of the calories I had put on last night alone!

Thanks girls for a wonderful night, I totally enjoyed myself... We must do it again, but a bit more frequent OK!

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