SF or LA to Auckland from may 1 - june 27 2005 for U$650 book before april 15. or U$790 from SF/LA to Sydney. same dates & deadline to book
both good friday and 'easter monday' are holidays here. yes... a 4 day long wknd! imagine that! i thought i was going to have to work on sunday so we kinda decided not to go anywhere but this afternoon i found out i don't have to work.
so... it's off to canberra. canberra is the nation's capital. Like DC, canberra isn't a real state but this little area called ACT (australian capital territory). It's reputation is it's pretty, boring, full of politicians and the only place in AU where it's legal to buy hardcore porn.
wooo hooooo
we're leaving late tonite/ early morning & driving up (about 6 hours). on the way we'll go past the big trout and the big ned kelly. hot damn!!
there will be lots of pix i'm sure. speaking of pix, yesterday i got caught up in the whole photoblog idea. i really really like travis ruse's nyc pix. they are all taken along his commute from brooklyn to midtown manhattan. they make me homesick. :) (as do the fact that you can get 50 types of icing in a can and here i have to go the american store & pay like $10 for the same can).
i had a look n there's not really many melbourne photoblogs so i'm looking at software right now. took a few pix yesterday & today. so ill just add that to the list of 10 million things i have to do (of which 9.5 million are thesis related).
happy easter everyone!
just a little reminder for those of u in nyc... some aussie bands playing at merc lounge on wed 23rd. read this post for details. i think u should go. i think you'll enjoy it. :)
i've heard before that we americans know how to put on a show. maybe it's b/c of hollywood but the feeling is we know how to make things an 'event'. that is not a skill i'd say i've seen here. at least not on the same level. i have an example from today that sums it up quite nicely.
on the way to work this morning i stopped at boost for a smoothie (seriously, they're great for hangovers!!). boost is this aussie chain juice bar (though it's almost all prepackaged) that has done pretty well for itself. they target teens & young folk. think skinny tight tshirt people behind the counter with bright colours & loud music.
so... i order my smoothie & the girl hands me this little package like what you'd expect to receive your plastic silverware in if you went to KFC or the like. she explains that it's a straw. they have this contest running & if your straw turns colors when you drink, you win a prize (as outlined on the package). ok, this sounds cool. i'm excited & hoping my straw turns silver (thailand holiday) but hey, i'd even be happy if it turned pink (a free small sized juice).
while she's making my drink, i open the package. in addition to a straw, there's a pice of paper in there. ok... i'm waiting... i have nothing else to do... i read the paper. it sez:
healthy suckers... better luck next time! your straw has not changed colour.
excuse me??? before i've even received my drink, i've been told i didn't win. what a buzz kill.
am i the only one that understands the surprise factor here????!!!???? and i know when i write them an email they won't get it.
oops... bad html in that posting re pix so here's the link that didn't work there.
from australia day (the equiv to 4th of july)
if you're in the mood for a whinge about banks, read this. if you're not, close ur browser now. :)
i've just got back from 50 minutes at westpac, my bank here. i know all banks are crap (except commerce. commerce w their lollys & chain machine ROCKS). i'm on a student account in which i dont pay a monthly fee or any transaction fees at all.
i needed to show them my new student card b/c just recently i had been charged the $5 monthly fee & a 75c transaction fee. i've tried twice before to go in there but it was always too long of a wait. today i figured i'd just do it.
15 min waiting to see someone. in the other 35 min...
- the bank rep told me there was no such thing as a student account anymore. so i have to open a new account. of course they can't just carry all the information over from the old account. I don't have my social security equiv number memorized nor in my wallet so i have to go back to give them that later. great.
- the new account has things like unlimited transactions & no monthly fee like i had w my student account but it also has interest earning! oh la la. 4% interest. thanks but i already get 5.25 with my ING account. of course it's very confusing the way this new account is set up.... under 1 account number i have 2 accounts. (oh, and this is the way i thought it was but after she explained it again, i have no clue). to get this 4%, i have to put money in the account & then not touch it for a month. if i make 1 withdrawl, even if it's for 1c, i don't get interest that month. yeah, sounds great!!
- telling the bank rep, how i shouldn't have been charged the 5.75 in service fees. this happened once before & a different branch of the bank just reversed the fee for me. it happens b/c there's a time gap btwn the date my account 'expires' and the date i show them my new student card.
the rep sez a couple times how she doesn't think she can give me that money back. um, yeah. right. finally she sez she can give the $5 service fee but not the 75c transaction fees (which we had to spend 5 min on finding out what they were). um, no. i think i can use the 75c a lot more than westpac can. finally she sez she can refund that too.
ok. all set. off i go.
and when i got home, i had mail. i have a check for $6 that i'll have to go & deposit in person. argh....
check out this swiss army knife with usb memory stick. i bought a swiss army knife probably 8 years ago and i think i attempted to use it once so i def don't need this but it is sort of cute. too bad it doesn't have a corkscrew.
ok, i've finally gotten around to gettting some pictures done.
from new years eve
from australia day (the equiv to 4th of july)
from drinks on jan 14th (danielle... ur here)
from the au open (ditto danielle)
from big day out
some mini-golf
travel anytime in april on air nz for $798 to sydney from la or sf. you have to book by march 21.
btw, air nz is part of star alliance so frequent flyer it up!
lax to melbourne for U$709. leave the states btwn march 14 & 17 and return back to the states mar 21-24. if you leave on the 14th, you'll arrive on my 16th (freaking time zones). leave on the 24th & you're here for 8 days. not much at all and considering the prices of other airfare out there, this isnt exactly a huge deal. but if you can only sneak away for a week & a bit, this could work for you.
qantas is offering jfk/newark/miami to sydney @ U$1219 and to melbourne U$1295.
the better option is to get a cheap flight from the east coast to the west & then it's U$757 LA to sydney or U$833 LA to melb. SF is U$889 syd & U$965 to melb.
travel april 1-may31
but u have to book by FRIDAY MARCH 4!!!!!!!!
do it here