Saturday, October 16. 2010San Francisco![]() I'm in the states for work for two weeks and was encouraged strongly by our financial director to take a trip over the weekend. I decided to head to San Francisco, despite people thinking I'm mad (the office is in Greenville, South Carolina). Maybe it is a bit mad to travel ≅4000km for a weekend city trip, but it's nothing compared to travelling between Brussels and Melbourne! I flew to San Francisco immediately after work on Friday, via the hilariously named George Bush Intercontinental Airport (presumably because “International” just isn't enough). Well, maybe a bit before “after work” since I… err… snuck out to catch my flight… Continue reading "San Francisco"Tuesday, January 20. 2009Happy Obama Day!![]() After what feels like a sempiternal reign of incoherent belligerency, we can finally say goodbye to that imbecilic Texan simian and his band of merry idiots, and welcome something fresh — hopefully something successful. Now Barack, I might be just one voice in an enormous sea, speaking from outside your country's borders irreverently, but let me say this as clearly as I can so that it might be picked up by a whitehouse.gov flunky: Don't screw up. I don't particularly care about politics within the United States especially, but considering how inextricably tied the world is to your country — financially or otherwise — and the current state of society at large, it seems you have a hell of a mess to clean up; In particular after your predecessor. I don't envy your task ahead, but please: Don't screw up. Friday, October 24. 2008![]() ![]() ![]() Comment (1) Ghost Towns☢
Ghost towns have always piqued my interest. There's something interesting about how a large number of people can gather together to build a town, or even a city, only to have some unforeseeable event render the area deserted. Because of the Victorian Gold Rush, I'm familiar with quite a few ghost towns from an Australian perspective, however sadly there's not much left due to the Australian Government's policy of destroying them. Continue reading "Ghost Towns"Sunday, June 24. 2007Home
Seriously though, I honestly have the feeling that I've been isolated from the world. Despite what they think over there, the concept of World News doesn't really exist in the USA, so I didn't know about the murders in the Marolles, nor the bikie violence in Melbourne. I've been under a rock, and yet the rest of the world heard about the firefighters who died in Charleston. Continue reading "Home"Thursday, June 21. 2007Fantastico
Unfortunately, even as Addy himself admits, the locals aren't quite ready for a real bar with some real beer. It's only been a few months since Greenville changed the alcohol limits on beer, and if the new strength of the beers isn't enough then the atmosphere will certainly be a culture shock. Continue reading "Fantastico"Saturday, June 16. 2007![]() Comments (12) Trackback (1) Carowinds
The park is quite green however it is very dry, with very few fountains and no large body of water to take the edge off the heat. I imagine in summer the park would be stifling hot. This season marks the first year under the new management of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and surprisingly the park is very clean and in excellent condition. Continue reading "Carowinds"Friday, June 15. 2007Downtown Greenville
Freedom has come at a slightly additional expense (to the company), as I leave the company suite and move into the Hyatt Regency Greenville on Main Street. The Hyatt is a fairly old hotel and looks like it was renovated in the 1990s, compared to the Marriott which was built only a few years ago. Continue reading "Downtown Greenville"Wednesday, June 13. 2007Meat and Potatoes
An American colleague of mine, who is actually our project manager for our ERP system migration, kindly invited me out to his house for a real cook-out. This suited me perfectly. A large chunk of carefully seasoned and cooked steak and some giant spuds is always a great meal. Continue reading "Meat and Potatoes"Monday, June 11. 2007The Airport
After a long flight, with so many security checks, it was a little daunting to arrive from the soberness that is Brussels airport early in the morning to the business airport in the world. Surprisingly, people were quite rude through-out the airport in general, but in small groups they were excessively friendly. Within 15 minutes of arriving, I was already thrown into a conversation about American politics, the Iraq war, and US immigration policy. Continue reading "The Airport"Sunday, June 10. 2007![]() Comments (2) Coming to America
I'll be privileged enough to be stuck for several hours in cattle class on Delta to Atlanta, only to wait there for six hours waiting for my connecting flight. Maybe it's not so bad, since it doesn't beat my 8-½ hour stint in Dubai. Fortunately SITA have Wi-Fi hotspots all over the place there, and it'll take me at least an hour to get through customs. Whilst you all bestow me with sympathy comments (or not), I thought I'd share my thoughts (read: ramble) on some things that evoke a sense of culture shock for me. Continue reading "Coming to America" |
Calendar
Creative Commons |