House of Spa

Time: 2:52pm USA / 6:52am AUST

haven’t had time to write an update, but i’ve gone through the pics i took over the weekend and uploaded them. i’ll try to get time tonight to write up a full report on the weekend! it will be LENGTHY! in the meantime, enjoy the pics from NEW YORK CITY!

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Time: 10:12pm USA / 1:12pm AUST
 

 

  

Time: 10:24am USA / 12:24am AUST

getting very very excited about my trip to NYC, flying out from Pittsburgh Airport this afternoon at 5:45pm, arriving into NYC just after 7pm, just over one hour flight time … much like Melb > Syd. Got a full-on schedule which I can’t guarantee I’ll be sticking to, but I will definately give it my best! have lined up tonight to catch up with my old neighbour i grew up with (Kieran), whom i haven’t seen in years, and of course my gracious host and tour-guide Franky don’t expect any updates till sometime Monday, but it’ll be sure to be a good one!!

Time: 4:52pm USA / 6:52am AUST

oh my god … the snow has come EARLY! in an unusual cold snap, Pittsburgh has had it’s first snow fall of the season …! with only a maximum of 5C today (minimum of -1C!) the cold snap is expected to continue till at least the weekend, warming up again early next week. farrrrrrrr out …! whilst it’s a novelty for now, i’m sure i’ll be very over it by mid-january!! for those that cant see the background of my blog, here is a pic of the snow i took just before!

Time: 7:01pm USA / 9:01am AUST

well, my weekend was spent working, for the most part! had some big projects to get through, as well as a few unexpected issues, culminated in my saturday night being spent in the office … woohoo! so really, apart from work, and sleep, i havent really had much time to do anything else. any spare time i’ve had lately has been relaxing on my lovesac watching TV, or if i am motivated enough after a busy day @ work i go to the gym, but i only managed 2 sessions last week …

looking ahead, however, i have 4 sleeps till NYC!!!! getting very very excited about it … also get to catchup with some ppl i haven’t seen in ages … of all places to catchup!! so, whilst i dont have alot to post today, i know by this time next week i’ll be writing a full-length essay on my NYC experiences

so, stay tuned …!

Time: 2:19pm USA / 4:19am AUST

 

 

FINALLY!! enough said!!!

Time: 4:29pm USA / 6:29am AUST

wow … it’s been 11 days since an update! tsk tsk tsk … well i can give the excuse of “i’ve been really busy” and hope that you all believe me, which is for the most part true. work has really ramped up and i just haven’t had the time, or motivation, to scribble anything down. i’m taking a break @ work so here goes for an update …

back to the gym now, pretty regularly, and i can tell i haven’t done much for a while cause i’ve been sore for up to 4 days after … poor poor form! anyway, getting back into it now so recovery should be reducing the more i go. volleyball is getting better too, i actually prefer a 2 on 2 game … it’s a lot more challenging, and a faster pace which i enjoy. i go for my driving test tomorrow, so i can get a state issued photo ID card from the DMV. fingers crossed i don’t screw it up, but i wouldn’t be surprised if i screw something up, or even more likely there is some ‘technicality’ that will prevent me from getting it! i’ll be sure to let everyone know how i go tomorrow, so you’ll wake up on Wednesday morning to good news, or bad news … stay tuned to find out

in other news, i went sight-seeing a bit around Pittsburgh on the weekend. the pics can be seen here. the pics should give you a good idea of the river theme and bridges of the downtown area and surrounds, with Mount Washington in the background (which isn’t really much of a mountain). you’ll also notice the multi-coloured Ohio river, as the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers combine. you can also see from the pics below of autumn (aka fall) coming. these pictures were taken one month apart from a near identical location …

 

it’s really started to get chilly here, some nights reaching 0C which is colder than any winter you’ll get in Sydney that’s for sure … time to go out and buy some real winter clothes i think!!

in other news, i’ve been planning my schedule for my New York City visit next weekend, which also happens to be Halloween (well, technically speaking Halloween is the following Tuesday 31st October). I took the below pic almost two weeks ago of a house not far from where i am staying … they’re keen alright!!

 

 

my NYC trip, which i rescheduled to include thurs night thru sunday afternoon, will include the following:

Thurs Night - arrive 7:11pm, catch a NYC yellow cab (classic!) to Franky’s place (my host). arrive ~9pm & head out to 42nd st and walk down to st james pub on 8th, rendezvous with my other mate (Kieran) who will be in NYC, proceed to eat and drink accordingly.

Fri Morn/Day - get up early and go on a ferry ride taking pics of Statue of Liberty. Once thats done take an open top bus tour of uptown/downtown (wearing appropriate cold weather gear - which i am yet to buy)

Fri Eve/Night - 47th st @ broadway down to SoHo, meet with the Franky at Buddha Bar @ Little West on 12th

Sat Morn/Day - visit WTC ground zero, chinatown, little italy for lunch

Sat Eve/Night - head out, probably in east village area, near NYU

Sun Morn/Day - Museum of Natural History & Science sounds good or alternatively Empire State Building and/or Rockafella Centre

Sun Eve - Head to airport about 5pm for 7:45pm flight back to Pittsburgh!

it may all seem a little optimistic, but that’s what i’m hoping to fit in. if i dont get it all done, then i’ll just have to come back, which i fully intend to do

that’s all for now … i’ll update you tomorrow on whether or not i get my license! hahaha!!

PS - checkout the V shrine taking shape! booooyyaaahh!!

 

 

Time:  7:15pm USA / 9:15am AUST

just got back from the gym @ work, very sweaty, need a shower badly … luckily no one is in the office to smell me! phew anyways, quick update as i want to head home and grab some food. as i mentioned in my previous post, i was going for my driving test on Tuesday … well, stupid me didn’t look at the date correctly when i booked the test, and drove over to the DMV (25 mins one way), took a number, waited … waited some more, got called up, and discovered that i wasn’t even on the list for driving tests that day … i had booked it for Tuesday October 24th! (eg: 3 weeks away!). so, as i suspected, there would be some sort of complication in my attempt to get my license but this time i only have myself to blame! d’oh!! and for those that don’t believe me that my test is/was scheduled for the 24th, click here to see a screenshot i took so i wouldn’t forget the date! i managed to reschedule the driving test to the 17th October, so i’ll be taking it then i hope!

in other news, i’ve started building my V-Shrine again, at work. this is all i’ve managed to put together so far, but will keep pics coming through of my progress …

 

 

… and for those that were not priviledged enough to pay homage to the original V-Shrine back in Sydney (on my desk @ work), here is a ‘development’ picture i took. it grew substancially bigger since this pic was taken, but has since been dismantled

 

 

home time …!! CYAAAAAAAA

Time:  12:20am USA / 2:20pm AUST

just jumped into bed, ready to catch some zzzzz’s, and thought i’d put a few pics up! as i left the office this evening, i snapped a photo with my camera-phone of one of the buildings as the sunset, so picturesque!

 

 

you can see a bigger version here if you like what you see! and, for those wondering, YES, the buildings are not at right angles with each other! i also have some very, very good news … today my first shipment of V came in for personal consumption! after getting FDA (US Food & Drug Administration) approval to import the drink from Australia (as it is not sold in the US) i had it air-expressed to me in a week thanks to Zanteknik Enterprises! it worked out at $6/250ml can, which inclues the original purchase price, the shipping and packaging charges, and FDA fee’s, but it will be oh so worth it tomorrow when i have my first icy cold can of V in almost 5 weeks!

 

 

let the V tower construction on my desk at work BEGIN! … oooo my driving test tomorrow! hahaha … i bet you he’ll fail me just cause it would just be too easy for everyone if he passes me! i have come to realise, that in this country as an outsider, nothing is ever simple. but, i guess that just makes it all the more rewarding when you get what you want!

ohhhh, and one last thing before i go to sleep … my first DVD purchase in the US … has to be none-other than Point Break - Pure Adrenaline Edition from our good friends at Amazon.com, which was released to the US market yesterday! for those that know me well, they will know that this movie is in my Top 5 ALL TIME BEST MOVIES! and to quote a line from the movie “see you in helllll johnnnnnnyyyyyyy!!!!”

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Time:  6:28pm USA / 8:28am AUST

whilst all you people back in Oz wake up to a third day off (for Labour Day), out of interest i just looked up the history of Labour Day in Australia and found this on good old Wikipedia:

On 21 April 1856 Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne, Australia, stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight hour day. Their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as the first organized workers in the world to achieve an eight hour day with no loss of pay, which subsequently inspired the celebration of Labour Day.

trust the good old Aussie’s to come up with this protest, so they can spend more time in the pub drinking beer, or down the beach lapping up the sunshine! (although, melbourne is not known for good beaches, or good weather at all! hehe).

another quiet weekend for me, spent studying/reading my technical texts (of which i have a HUGE pile collecting on my bedside table) and watching TV. i was, as you may have read below, meant to go to the last homegame of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball at PNC Park but as the weather was sooooooooo crap we all cancelled and i spent the night in, watching the early 80’s teen dance flick Footloose! haaaaaaaaahahaha … go Kevin Bacon! the weather today started off crap but has turned into a really nice day, i went for a stroll around the neighbourhood earlier to get some fresh air.

another week of work coming up, and my driving test on Tuesday (hopefully all goes to plan there!), and i might have to start looking for a new hairdresser over here, as it’s now been almost 7 weeks since my last haircut (which is probably the longest time in 7 years - husayn, ashley, sunny would be laughing about now - that i haven’t had a haircut!). maybe i’ll grow it long? i’ll keep you posted in my endeavours to have my mop rectified.

that’s all for now, back to reading then dinner laters followed by some TV and a good sleep for the week ahead! ps - decided to change the background picture, at last!!

Time:  3:42pm USA / 5:42am AUST

what a productive day! i didnt mention this yesterday cause i was so angry and frustrated when i got back to the office, but i went to the DMV on Friday to sit for my learners permit (must get 15 out of 18 correct, multiple choice questions) but the guy didn’t accept my work contract as being ‘valid’ even though i needed one to get in the bloody country! what a useless uesless bastard … anyway, today i went back to the same lady at the other DMV i went to last weekend (as i had had my physical done) and i was able to sit the test and passed it … and was given one of these …!

 

 

WOOOHOOOOO! a LEARNERS PERMIT!! i immediately came home and booked a driving test for this coming tuesday at 1:15pm. will let you all know how i go!

in other news, at this moment i am sitting in the lounge room, on my GameSac, just got back from signing the lease on my apartment and locking in a move-in date! Saturday November 18th is my official move in date (7 weeks today) to the Cork Factory in the Strip District, which is just east of the city (see Google Earth below) … i took a measuring tape to workout how things would fit (bed, tv, lovesac’s, etc) and some pics which you can see here. it’s still under construction as you will notice. i also wandered down to the river front (Allegheny River) and snapped a few photos, to give you an idea of the location and surrounds.

it’s probably the coldest day i’ve had here, with a current temperature of 13C with a minimum of 8C, it’s pretty chilly! it is, however, expected to be mid to low 20’s during the week! i just had a squiz on Google Earth and to give you an idea of where my new place is, in relation to the city, see below …

 

 

and if you want a closeup view, click here. can’t wait to move in and unpack my BigOne lovesac and my very own bed!