Profil von LeslieLeslie's Travel Adventur...FotosBlogListenMehr  |  Extras Hilfe |
Leslie's Travel AdventuresMy life really isn't all about work and travel... sometimes it just feels that way. |
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One more Australia adventure Several years ago, about this time of year, I was staying in a one room flat near our office in North Sydney. The apartment was uncomfortably warm. (Since the temperature in Syndey is nearly always perfect, the room had only a small, portable heating / cooling unit, which was hard pressed to do anything against the unseasonably hot, humid air. The flat's one small window had been painted shut, so it offered no relief.) It was late, but I was too uncomfortable to sleep.
Lounging on the bed, I flipped through the 4 (count 'em 4) available television stations, and found a rerun of an American Cop / Firefighter drama. With apologies to all of my wonderful Australian friends, if you've ever visited Australia, you know that the local programming leaves something to be desired. Even reruns of mediocre American shows are a welcome distraction.
About a half hour into the show, I heard someone pounding on doors throughout the apartment building. My first thought was that it had to be kids, but since I was on the 7th floor of a secure apartment building, and you couldn't move between floors without a key card specifically for each floor, it made bored kids less of an option. Still, I decided that someone who was randomly knocking wasn't looking for me, and I ignored the pounding when it came to, then passed, my own door.
A few minutes later, the pounding returned to my door with vengeance. "Open the door or I'll break it in!" someone shouted repeatedly from the other side of my door. Startled, I jumped up and looked out the window, only to discover six police cars on the narrow street beneath my window. (There weren't any fire engines... another early thought, no doubt inspired by my choice of entertainment that evening.)
Well... I decided that if it was a bad guy, the cops couldn't be far behind. Since they weren't going away, I threw on some sweats and went to the door. As soon as I unlocked it, the door was thrown open and ten of the best looking people I have ever seen (in real life or on TV) came storming into my apartment. The first few police officers through the door kept saying something about being "concerned about the welfare of my neighbor" and needing access to my balcony. I didn't have a balcony (although, apparently, my neighbor did), and my small window wouldn't budge, even for these most determined, beautiful men.
I must have looked startled and disoriented, because the last person into the room was a female police officer. Again, model-beautiful, she looked at me sympathetically as the rest of the officers determined that my apartment couldn't help them gain access into my neighbor's.
Side note: You might wonder why the most memorable part of the evening was how good looking these officers were. In my defense, I need to point out that most Australians don't look like Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, and the contrast between "my cops" and the ones on the television I had been watching was startling. Mine were SOOOO much better looking, there was just no comparison.
Anyway, about 5 minutes later, another officer stuck his head in my apartment to say they had gotten in to the other apartment some other way, and they all filed out of my flat. At this point, I was not only too hot, but far too keyed up to sleep. I watched through my small, closed window for the next hour or so, as an ambulance arrived and left with someone on a gurney.
 I never did find out what had happened to my neighbor, how the police knew about it, or why it took 12 police officers to deal with the situation (although I suspect it might have been a slow night). I did, however, learn about a similar incident that had happened in Sydney a month earlier. The next day at the office, as I was telling the guys about my previous evening's excitement, one of them was nearly as startled as I had been. He told me: "Wow, it was a good thing you were alert enough to answer the door and do what they said. Last month the police accidentally broke into the wrong person's apartment in the middle of the night, and when the guy didn't respond correctly, they shot him!"
Whew...
My flight to Seattle (Sept 7) - Minor Inconveniences = Excellent RewardsA couple of weeks ago, I flew from Salt Lake City to Seattle. From the start, the trip seemed doomed to be an endless series of minor annoyances. The plane was delayed for a tire change, my reading light didn’t work, and there was so much static on my headset that it made watching in-flight entertainment painful. Annoyed and left with nothing to do but stare out the window, I watched as the sky grew dim.
When I first noticed the sky, all I could see were a series of pimples on the distant horizon. As we flew closer, it became obvious that I was looking at the mountain peaks that make up the Cascade Volcanic Range. The individual peaks divided the horizon. Beneath the mountains it was black, and they broke into a skyline that began as a deep burgundy that gradually turned to burnt orange, before lightening through shades of orange and yellow. The yellow lightened and became a light blue that then darkened into the deep blue of night. There were no clouds, and a single star, just above the horizon, accented the bright blue of the evening sky.
It was one of the most stunning views I've ever seen from an airplane, and one I would have missed if even one of my minor annoyances had not manifest itself on the flight.
It got me thinking… maybe the other "delays and inconveniences" in my life are actually the Lord lining things up so that I don't miss something amazing a further down the path. Maybe there are always a series of unexpected surprises on the horizon, and I only need to wait for them to unfold. Maybe, by keeping myself busy instead of taking more time to just look around, I miss out on what is already there.
The inconveniences of the night weren’t quite through. When I went to get my rental car, the arrivals board showed my name, but told me to go to the counter instead of directly to a car. I wondered why I wasn't pre-assigned a car (as I usually was). The worker didn't know, but assigned me a FUN blue Ford Shelby Mustang as my rental for the trip!
Once again, a minor inconvenience and slight delay turned into a great surprise (not quite on the same level as the sunset, but in business travel, I'll take what I can get…). Timpanogos Storytelling Festival - Orem, UT (Aug 08)I recently spent the weekend at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Orem, UT.
A lot people, when they think of a storytelling festival, picture old ladies reading books to children.
(Wow! I sound like an ad…)
My insights on life from this weekend are not my own. I gleaned them from an exceptional storyteller and a clear favorite at this year's event, Kevin Kling.
"When you can tell a story about something that happened to you, it stops controlling you, and you begin to exercise control over it."
"There is a HUGE difference between disabilities you are born with, and ones you achieve later in life.
Kevin would know. He has both.
Not all of Kevin's stories are about disabilities. Most weren't. (My favorite story that Kevin told was a very funny short story about running a marathon, and the runner's high he hopes someday to feel... Australia - More to the StoryOn the same Sydney / Cairns / Port Douglas trip, I was researching options for my rainforest / Great Barrier Reef visit before leaving the Sydney office. Some of the guys on my dev team started teasing me about all the mean, stingy, biting, venomous and otherwise deadly creatures that inhabit the Australian land and oceans.
BTW… You might be amazed to discover how many of the world's most poisonous insects, most venomous snakes, or most deadly creatures in the water or on land live in Australia. What an inviting place to visit! No wonder the tourists love it!
Dangers on the Great Barrier Reef Six of the eight creatures shown on this page are from Australia. (Deadly, but they LOOK cool.) Australia's Most Dangerous Animals
The guest book instructions were quite simple: In case of a severe sting, make the person as comfortable as possible, because it is likely that they are going to die. (!!!) This accompanied a warning to stay out of the waters that weren't netted for safety during the months of November to May.
Later that day, on a rainforest tour, I was laughing with new friends about the web sites I had seen and the instructions in the guest book . The tour guide overheard the conversation, and asked thoughtfully, "You're an American, right?" When I confirmed that I was, he continued, "Well, I guess you don't need to worry about Sea Crocs. They only seem to eat Germans. Make sure you stay close to your dive boat, though. They have a thing for losing Americans."
We didn't see a Sea Croc on our tour, but we did see a Cassowary wandering in the rainforest. I don't think I knew this then (since I chased it down, trying to get a picture <G>), but the Cassowary is one of the most dangerous creatures in the Australian rainforest.
Aside from all the talk about dangerous creatures and plants, the rainforest was amazing.
Did you know that rainforests have three levels of canopies, and that different species of plants, animals, and insects inhabit each level? Do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of a kangaroo eating out of your hand, especially if you are the one trying to take the picture? Similarly, did you know that it is really tough to get a well-framed, focused picture of red and green Lories (a small parrot) flying around your head, regardless of how memorable the moment?
Two things happened to make the trip less than perfect.
I was warned about how dangerous the sun is off the reef and had applied a heavy-duty waterproof sunscreen before we left. After the first dive, I replaced the sunscreen on my face, arms and shoulders, but--never having burned my legs regardless of the conditions -- I didn't reapply it to my legs.
That evening, I needed something soft against the back of my legs while I went to dinner. (The folds in the cloth of my jeans left deep, seemingly permanent indentations in my painfully fragile skin.) I pulled on some sweat pants that I had taken on dive trip in case I got cold. Apparently some sea water had splashed on the pants, because they were slightly damp, but they were soft, so I decided to live with it.
During dinner, I noticed my legs starting to sting and itch, but I thought it was just the sunburn. After dinner, back in my room, I discovered hundreds of little bites on my legs, which I later learned were the result of sea fleas. (These weren't the burrowing little crabs that create air holes in the sand after the tide sweeps over it -- these were microscopic, aggressive, and only abandoned my sweat pants after everything was washed in hot, hot water.)
The next day at the airport, I wore shorts. Someone standing behind me in line suggested that maybe I should see a doctor instead of getting on the flight. (I guess sometimes it is good that you can't see what you look like from behind.) The gate clerk took a look and decided I would probably survive, but gave me the best suggestion for dealing with a BAD sunburn that I've ever heard. In addition to Aloe Vera (that you can buy huge stalks of fresh at the grocery stores in Australia), he asked if I had some moisturizing shaving cream in my bag. He recommended applying a thick layer to the backs of my legs and leaving it to dry. Turns out, the shaving cream not only moisturizes the tender skin without holding in the heat, but also created a protective layer on my skin. It looked odd, but it felt great. I wore dried shaving cream on the backs of my legs for weeks! The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns AustraliaSeveral years ago, during a business trip to Sydney, I decided to take a long weekend and fly north to visit the rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef.
I laughed in a mixture of delight and horror at the thought. As fun as their spontaneous journey and carefree lifestyle sounded, and as much as I would love to have a "bloke of my own" along on my adventures, I can't imagine throwing my lot in with some man after a couple of hours of conversation in a bar.
Looking back, I still don't think a nomadic lifestyle would suit my personality. While I enjoy this approach to life for a weekend, beyond that I'm more comfortable having some kind of plan in mind.
How about you? Could you live a nomadic lifestyle? Where would you start? What would you do? (not complete, but I'll keep adding places as I remember them)
There are so many interesting places I still want to visit!
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) As far as I know, Kevin only told one set of stories that dwelt on his disabilities, but I was there to hear them. The stories were not only poignant, they were FUNNY! And when he finished, they earned him a standing ovation.
)
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