A full deck

I haven't posted in a while. The point of the story is no longer about being in a new place, and for the longest time the Lord of the Universe was here with me. He left back for Oz back in early October - we skype most every day if not twice a day.

Today's a special day - I'm now a full deck! Yes, 52 years: finally playing with a full deck. It's a low-key day, but the high point of just about any day, this day included, is play time with Supadog. She loves the cooler weather. Here's a little video clip of a play we did a few days ago.

Cold and Supadog

This winter has been a great time for Supadog. She loves the cold, the snow. It's like she's a young dog again.

Sydney comes here (or at least the part I want)

V has been here since late March. We went to Ireland Memorial Day weekend. It's good that he's here. Supadog is here too.

Update with some photos

In the December 2008 / January 2009 trip, we did a road trip to the north coast of New South Wales, and also a long weekend in the South Island of New Zealand. Here are some photos from those trips:





Supadog near Suffolk Park, New South Wales














Cape Byron Lighthouse, New South Wales





















Lennox Head, New South Wales

















Doubtful Sound, South Island New Zealand














Hills around Lake Wanaka, South Island New Zealand
















Queenstown sheep, South Island, New Zealand

Pics from Mount Victoria

Finally uploaded some pix ... these are from a hike V, Supadog, and I did last Saturday 13 September.








Gum Forest, near Mount Victoria, New South Wales









Sandstone Cliff, near Mount Victoria, New South Wales

Home: first the hike

I arrived in Sydney last Saturday morning around 7:30; picked up a car at the airport from Hertz and drove in. A beautiful morning soon turned into a beautiful day. It was election day - Sydney city council races, and V was in line to vote when I called to let him know I was heading into the city. By the time I got to Darlinghurst, he was already through with voting and waiting out in front of his building. He found a space for me pretty quickly. We went upstairs and while I showered, he made breakfast.

A quick breakfast and then we were on our way to the Blue Mountains. Last time the three of us went (V, Supadog and I), we found out that dogs are not allowed into National parks. This time we did a little planning and found some great hikes where dogs are permitted. We ended up going to Mount Victoria. The hike started in the southern end of the town, which is on a plateau. From near the start of the hike is an outcropping where you get this incredible view of the the mountains and valley below. Here is a pic I found online that is similar to what we saw. When I can load my photos onto my laptop, I will put some here.

The terrain is so different from North America. In the more shaded areas, in the valleys, the place becomes very green, very moist, with giant ferns the predominant undercover. It even smells differently from the other sunnier areas.  Even the soil is richer in these shaded areas.

We saw an echidna. First time ever for me. It's about the size of a rabbit maybe - a fat rabbit - but walks pretty slowly. Thank God Supadog didn't see it. They, like the duck-billed platypus, are monotremes and have some interesting characteristics which you can read about here. 

There were many small streams along the course, so Supadog was fine for water, as she had the chance to drink many times during the hike. While the distance we covered was not so far linearly, it still took us almost three hours. It was extremely hilly, with the hike starting at the top of the plateau and then descending several hundred meters down into the valley, then up again some, then down again, and of course, finally back up again to the town.

It was a great start to my short stay. 

Soon back home again (which home?)

On Thursday the 11th, I leave for Sydney again, arriving on Saturday the 13th. I bought the tickets some time ago; it's the last follow-up checkup for my rotator cuff surgery. Today I reserved a rental car - I've asked Vishnu if we can take Supadog out to the Blue Mountains on the day I get in. The funny thing about Australian national parks: no dogs. We'll have to find a local park that lets them in ... should be doable.

Saturday in Sydney

It was, like most Saturdays, spent doing chores. Supadog got some brushing; we both cut each other's hair. I went through a lot of the stuff I still have here, and we packed up the work computer equipment that is still here and took it to Fedex-Kinko's. Four forms for each box later, and we were able to escape.

Then we went to the gym. It was the first time for both of us in a long time, so we took it pretty easy. Situps, biceps, some kind of chest machine, and triceps. It was my first time since the surgery for some of these exercises, so I kept it really light. The chest exercise was more of a stretch than anything, and it felt really good. No shoulder work: still too early for that.

Monday the 24th is the three-month follow-up for the surgery. Wish me luck!

The end of the story?

Well I just recently found out I will need to return to Washington, if I want to continue to get paid. V and I decided that for now, this is the decision to make. Needless to say I am pretty heartbroken by it all. It means going back to a long distance relationship with the one I love. You know, the 10,000 miles away thing.

It means temporarily giving up the Superdog, as all the work and expense needed for her to travel internationally is just too much for her. Another month of quarantine? I don't think so.

This is how I feel:


There are tiny little patches of light, but not many.

Rain, pain, staying sane

We've had 11 days straight of rain, with the last several of the all-day-gray variety. Things are green and brown - grass and other greenery is greener than ever, the deciduous trees growing browner and more denuded daily. Definitely feeling like Autumn.

All this weather makes us a little more housebound than usual - Supadog and I still do our walks to Rushcutters Bay Park. After all, if there was ever a dog designed for rain, it's the Old English Sheepdog. We now play kong or ball every time we go there.

My shoulder continues to improve, but it's definitely not a direct path forward. Many nights (last night was one of them) I can't sleep well at all because of soreness or straight-out pain. Mobility and strength continue to improve, but here over a month later, I still can't raise my arm above my shoulder. My physio says this is completely normal, so it's all good.

I've been doing a fair amount of research on carbon trading, mostly just trying to figure it all out. Check out that blog for the boring details here. Overall life is good. This Friday we're seeing Henry Rollins.

The many names of Supadog

Supadog has many names, perhaps not as many as Vishnu (who has a thousand), but here is a list:

Danger Dog
Darlo-dog
Dinky-dog
Doggy Girl
Evil
La Fania
Fannie
Fannie Fae Farmer
Fannie Foo Foo
Fannie-Lou
Jumper
Linky
La Loba
Lobita
La Princesa
La Princesa de la Casa
Mop-mouth
Mugwump
Power-pup
Pup
Puppy-dog Girl
Puppy-duppy
Puppy-girl
La Reina
Sheepdog
Shtinky
Sneaky
Stinky-butt
Stinky-dog
Supadog
Swamp-dog
Vacuum Cleaner
Wake-up Wolf
Water-dog
Wicked
Wicked Wolf
Wolf-butt
Wolf-dog
Wolf-pup
Wolfie
Wolfie Dolfie Lolfie
Wolfie-Girl
Wolflet

Some positive differents

Many aspects of everyday life here in Sydney are simply better than in the old country. Two examples:

Attitude toward dogs
In three words, more laid back. Supadog usually goes on walks without a leash, and no one blinks an eye. Many if not most dogs are walked this way. Technically, there is a leash law, enforced as much as jaywalking.

In parks, this great laid back attitude is institutionalized: most times of the day, dogs are allowed off-leash. There are no segregationist "dog park" fenced-in areas where the dogs are all cordoned off to. They have the run of the whole park. It's so civilized.

Traffic calming
Here in Darlinghurst, just about every residential street has speed humps every few hundred meters. This, and closing off streets and alleys, keep speeding and taking shortcuts through neighborhoods to a minimum.

In response to popular demand

Because of the many requests from my adoring fans, here are some pictures of Supadog.

Supadog was the second Old English Sheepdog that we got. (Mollie was the first, RIP.)

She was my first internet-intermediated purchase - I found the ad for her and her siblings on washingtonpost.com. We got her back in July 1997 and I found the ad for her online by doing a word search. Supadog is a country dog from Virginia, and has since become a great frisbee catching, kong chasing city dog.

Supadog (one of her many pseudonyms) is originally from Massanutten, Virginia, about a three-hour drive from Washington. When we met her, she was playing with her siblings and a bunch of piglets that her owners were also raising. The piggies and the puppies were all about the same size, running around, playing and chasing each other. It was a little surreal, but she really stood out in terms of personality.

Since then, Supadog has vacationed in DC, Maryland, New York, Vermont, Ohio, Florida, and her most recent state, New South Wales.

Day 1

This morning was the first time I heard it: a kookaburra. It sounds like one of those movie jungle sounds. Really amazing. This is what they sound like ...

http://fcfhsp.customer.netspace.net.au/kooka.wav

Beautiful day. Blue skies, nice breeze, ideal temperature, like 25. Got out with V and Supadog and walked to Surry Hills. Great little streets with these really cool old houses back in hidden alleys and roads.

Saw a movie at the Academy Twin. It's a local art house cinema, maybe a ten-minute walk away. The movie was "Animals in Love" (Les animaux amoureux) - a beautiful documentary that is part of the French Film Festival. The subject was pretty much that - from whales to zebras to all kinds of birds to praying mantises. Not vulgar at all. Startlingly beautiful cinematography ...