Thursday, September 22, 2011

Watch Out Chapel Street, Here I Come!


This past weekend I worked at the Taste of Melbourne passing out Chocolate Box chocolates to any and every willing person who walked by our booth. The Taste was an exhibition of wine, food and house wares vendors passing out samples and flyers to advertise their company. Also set up were mini restaurant fronts of many of the best restaurants around Melbourne.

Talking with our customers and selling them bags of chocolates they sampled was entertaining and insightful of what our customer base is looking for in terms of consumption. (Towards the end of the evenings, especially on the last night of the event, I began just shoving chocolates into people’s shopping bags insisting that “this is the best chocolate EVER!” – hey, it is my job to market this stuff – might as well go big or go home!) I believe my favorite two customers of the entire weekend were:


  1. The dad who over and over again used his young daughter to come ask me for samples. Apparently he didn’t think I would notice – so I finally made a comment: “Are you back again!?” (in a smiling, friendly way of course) – only to have the father reply, “No, this is her sister. She would like a sample as well.” Little did he know I could NOT be outsmarted. “Oh, do you have a twin?” I asked the little girl. Stuttering, the father turned beet red and rushed his daughter to the back of the crowd. I had to have a laugh because of the number of people just wanting freebies and never actually buying product or even simply seeming slightly interested in our company.

  1. The angry hippie who could not beeeeliieve we were serving this “crap” (he used much colorful language) called milk chocolate to our customers. The only “real” chocolate in the world and that people should consume, especially women with all their “hormones and things” (his exact words) is pure 100% cacao (naturally, of course because of all the health benefits as well.) His tirade about health and obesity and the abhorrent act of the Chocolate Box serving milk chocolate, and how he has his own cacao crops and all his homes around the world and yak yak yak, went on for about 20 minutes before I finally had enough and walked away. My counterpart in crime, James graciously stepped in for me to blindside him with the questions of the evening, “So how much do you pay those illegal workers on this cacao farm of yours?” That shut the guy up real fast and we did not see his face again. Thank you James!


Not only did I eat my weight in chocolate, bread/olive oil samples and cheese throughout the course of the weekend, I just couldn’t let the many wine samples (that the vendors were so willing to share) go to waste! The weekend was deemed a great success in terms of the number of impressions we generated for The Chocolate Box brand (about 10,000 people walked through the door of the Royal Exhibition Building – where the event was taking place). We had comments made on Facebook and via email thanking us for the chocolate samples, and that they indeed would order some Christmas presents through our online store. Well-done team!



The rest of the week has turned into some time off (because I worked the whole weekend), which included: Nailing down an apartment (yay! Before and After Pictures to come), setting up utilities, appliances, signing documents, providing “100 points” of identification, background checks, you name it. Applying for and winning the bid for an apartment is like a high security CIA auction. I had dreams that we were denied and had a regret email sent to me with the closing line of, “that’s just Australia for ya.” Thankfully, my dream did not come true and this Friday, Rebecca and I will be holding the keys to a precious apartment off Caroline Street in South Yarra. About 5k from the CBD, just a jog away from the Botanical Gardens, the Yarra River and the TAM (a track around the gardens that’s great to run along) – we are in the middle of all the action, shopping, eateries and public transport. This weekend was exactly what I needed for the extra push of loving Melbourne even more! I had to say my goodbyes to my posse who have been so amazing to me over the past almost 2 months and that I have grown even more attached to. The kids asked if they would eveeerr see me again (I had to convince them that yes, I was not leaving Australia, just moving to a different part of town.) Had to tell Steph that we would still need to meet for runs and an occasional pedicure. Rebecca came to get me at 9:30pm on Tuesday and we were off to South Yarra. I felt like I was escaping in the middle of the night. That evening Rebecca and I decided, even though we have no fridge, no furniture and no washing machine, our first purchases (and this is a must) would be: 1. A beanbag for the living room that all our guests will have to sign when they come visit and 2. iPod speakers because everyone needs music in their lives. The second evening together we planned trips and activities out for almost every weekend to almost the end of the year (because naturally if you don’t plan a head, you will never go anywhere, duh.) And this is why we were destined to live together.

Not only will we have to move in, I have to work another fair this weekend (the Irresistible Gluten Free Show) – this time passing out our Gluten Free Fudge, Nougat and Lollipops. I am not a celiac, but I still plan on tasting some pretty fabulous food while I am there. I have given up eating any meat (besides fish) and have stuck to a fairly strict diet (ok, minus last weekend) of fruits and veg and sources of protein, i.e.: eggs, lentils, beans and tofu. I am hoping for great recipes from this weekend as well. Rebecca seems slightly nervous that for the next year living together all she will consume is vegetables and wine. Sounds good to me!

I am missing everyone from home, especially when I see comments about going to see the Dawgs play in Athens, or hear that GAC football is going well. I must say though, no matter how much I love it here, I do love and miss everyone back home – guess you all just have to come visit!

P.S.
Check out the amazing blog by the two creatively fabulous Greenway sisters: Something Old Something New Weddings

I did a guest post for them on best places to get married in Melbourne. (Not that I am anywhere close to the point of looking at wedding venues, but its fun to pretend!)

Monday, September 12, 2011

Footy

This past weekend was a reflection on many reasons why I love (and not so love) being an American. The reflection and ceremonies around the 10 year of September was touching beyond words and I felt the umph of patriotism and gathering as a nation from all the way over here. That is why I loved being an American.

Why I did not love being an American (and in particular an American sports fan). The Georgia Bulldogs are opening their season 0 and 2  for the first time since 1996. As much as I stand by and support my team and Mark Richt, I would much rather see my team win to help give meaning to the rush of feelings I get when watching a pre-game pump up video or a highlights reel. Needless to say, I know our team has potential - I just want to see it!

I have been trying to explain over the past couple of weeks to my new Melbourne posse (made up mostly of a unnnnbeeelievable group of Irish guys, a few of their girlfriends and roommates, a Canadian guy and the "two North American girls" ((me and Rebecca - my soon to be new roommate!)) what is was like to grow up "in the South." This explanation began with describing the most perfect Fall day in Athens, tailgating. This concept in itself took a long while to explain because of all the details including: how early you must wake up to secure a spot on tailgating premises; drinking keg beer and bloody marys/mimosas from Solo cups (which they thought was hilarious since its the stereotypical party staple in American movies); grilling out every meat possible, accompanied by a table full of potato salad (had no clue what this was), baked beans (served on sourdough toast with bacon as a breakfast item down here), and Chick-fil-a nuggets/lemonade/sweet tea (my excitement for this alone scared them a little I think). The overwhelming gasp at how many people Sanford Stadium holds left me glowing with pride. I promised them all that if they made their way to the USA and DIDN'T go to a Southern college football game, they would truly miss out.

After all the hype of college football, I got a dose of humility pie when watching the Ireland/USA rugby game (but who else in the world besides AUS, NZ, England, France and South Africa watches or even cares about rugby!?) I had no idea what was going on, there was not method to the madness - and we lost terribly, but we had some "great defense" (according to the other spectators around me.) This followed by my continued misuse of the word "football" (soccer) and my cracks at how great a rugby (these guys are masssssive) vs. NFL game would be to watch (NFL apparently wouldn't stand a chance based on the "mattresses" they get to wear during their games.)

All this combined with Samantha Stosur, the Australian underdog who beat Serena Williams this past weekend in the 2011 US Open, and the Bears destroying the Falcons did not leave my head high for too long - I got dished a big dose of humble pie for my over-excitement about American sports.

There is one saving grace, and a great reason I love being here in Australia. It's called Footy. Footy in the best way I can describe it is a combination of: running the amount of soccer games, tackling (with no pads) and method of scoring like rugby (or NFL), and high scoring like Basketball -- all on a massively large circular field. I mean, this field is so large, pigeons land on the unused sections and hang out for extended periods of time feeding off the grass seeds. Needless to say, these are amazingly in-shape (and very good looking) athletes. Not to mention - the uniform for footy players looks a bit like 1970's NBA uniforms. Now Australia, the state of Victoria in particular, is so big into footy (and very few places anywhere are) - that there is a team for every SUBURB in Victoria. I am continually being asked who I will "go for" - but that I can't be a bandwagon fan on whoever wins this year's Grand Final and does not necessarily have to be the team of the suburb you live in. It's a big deal here. They even have scarfs knitted with their team names.

There have been 3 very distinctly different scenarios which I have interacted in someway with footy since I have arrived.

Scenario 1:
Me being the worry wart that I am, thinking I would find nooo other job here, I signed onto a temp hospitality agency to work bar/restaurant/waiter shifts from time to time to make some money. My first shift (last minute - meaning I had 30 minutes to shower and get into the CBD) was working in the Medallion level restaurant at the Ethihad footy stadium during the St. Kilda/Collingwood game (two suburbs close to the CBD.) It was a fun experience to play hostess to a large group of wealthy "members" and get glimpses of the game while having other temps explain the rules to me.

Scenario 2:
Just a few rows back from the "pitch" (the field) at the Geelong/Collingwood game. The people I was with were Collingwood fans, so naturally I cheered for them, and also naturally spotted the cutest player (and famed bad-boy #2: Chris Tarrant!) The game commences with all the fans singing the team song (which sound a lot like fraternity songs) and then the madness begins. The atmosphere feels just like being at an American football games, fans act the same way and are just as sore losers too. Collingwood was losing so badly that we ended up leaving early, being boo-ed out of the stadium (I so badly wanted to say "I'm American, I don't really care!!) But needless to say - it was an amazing experience to see the game live and experience what the hype is all about.

Scenario 3:
Another temp role. Except this was as a cocktail serving at a AFL (Australian Football League) event where one of the players was being interviewed and a lot of high-end people who are members of various teams mingled with fancy hors d'oeuvres and drinks. I was running late from work so I had to rush to get changed, throw on a black tie (yes, I had to wear a tie) and run up to the event. I was opening up and pouring champagne when they pulled me into the back to start taking plates of hors d'oeuvres around to all the guests. Out with the first platter (these things had to of weighed 15 pounds each!), all the food was scooped up almost immediately so I turned to go back into the kitchen when the door swung open, and WHAM. I collided with another server coming out, knocking my platter unsteady in my hands and sending the bowl of tomato sauce (ketchup) that was the dip for the meat pies I was carrying (yes, they eat meat pies dipped in ketchup - sick!), to the floor. Bouncing off the other server's foot, the bowl unfortunately did not break, but did make a grand splash not only all over the floor , but up onto the back of the stage narrowly concealing the kitchen to the rest of the room, the entire wall along the kitchen, up onto an extremely expensive painting hanging in the event venue (a part of a temporary art installation currently being displayed.) My attempt at making a good first impression: FAIL. I used almost an entire roll of paper towels to quickly wipe up the damage before having another tray shoved at me and hurried back into the crowd. I became known as crazy tie girl by the end of the night and had little hope of redeeming myself (especially when intoxicated old me asked if they could take pictures with me.)



All three scenarios - completely different (and somewhat humiliating) experiences, but all in the name of footy. My weekend of sports came to an end, along with my American sports pride, but there is always this coming weekend to look forward to, and hopefully a second chance at cocktail serving and not making a fool of myself.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Stereotypical Australia.

Sightseeing took up the rest of our time spent in Sydney and I quickly soon realized, this is the Stereotypical Australia everyone envisions (minus the Outback of course). Saturday we ventured to Manley Beach first. Stepping out of the car and looking towards the water was exactly what I expected: Southbeach mixed with the French Riviera with a hint of Lake Como, Italy and major Los Angeles influences.

















A towering wall full of graffiti separated the street from the beach, a perfect backdrop for the skateboarding competition taking place. Then heading further down, a mass of warm, soft sand - a perfect pathway to the amazingly clear water which was swarming with nothing but eager (and attractive!) surfers, waiting for the exactly right wave to come sweep them back to shore. This was exactly what I pictured Sydney to be.

We headed then to Manly Beach, a 45 minute drive. Here, the beach was separated from the street by a distinct line of pine trees that looked more like bristle brushes (called Norfolk Island Pines). This beach had more of charm with its waterfront shops, restaurants and hotels and a boardwalk center, all decked out with tourists, locals, and an outdoor market. Going for a long run up and down the boardwalk, as well as up into the hills (which reminded me of Austin, TX hill country) was a gorgeous and relaxing/mind clearing hour. I tracked up into the rocky hillside of overlooking Shelly Beach (crystal clear and full of coral and fish - perfect place for snorkeling). We ate dinner beachside, watching the sunset and headed back home, exhausted and sandy - but totally refreshed and fulfilled.

















Day 2 and 3 of exploring was the most stereotypical in that we went to the Sydeny Harbour Bridge (yes, this was part of Opera Winfrey's great big adventure and she got stuck at the top because she was too scared to come down.)
                                                                                
The Opera House (up close looks like it is decorated with sea shells and is more of an off-white color. The interior is completely art deco with odes to it's 1970's completion.)


We saw the aquarium (not as cool as I would have expected, but the sea animals did look like they were straight out of Finding Nemo, including Sea Gulls that made me laugh just thinking of them breaking out into: "Mine! Mine! Mine!")

The Taronga Zoo (a cliffside zoo that you had to take a sky life to the entrance and work your way back down the hillside. Filled with every native Australian animal you can think of, plus elephants, zebras, crocs, etc. We were entertained by a baby elephant for about 20 minutes - watching him try to drag a tire tied with chain out of his watering hole, and after sucessfully doing so - he threw it right back in.) Every landmark was exactly what I had pictured (minus how the bay was laid out - I always pictured the Opera House and Bridge right off the ocean and both being almost like a port. Instead, the Harbour is more inland and there are tons of alcoves which ferries tour around in circles, busing tourists, including us, and professionals from one side of town to the other.) 

My favorite stop was the Botanical Gardens, which I turned into the backdrop of my runs for the next two days. There are Ibis birds flying everywhere (scavengers who literally would attack tables yet to be cleared from lunch and scour all the plates clean), trees full of bats (yes - bats) and cockatoos, turtles, you name it.







Day 3 was spent with the kids. I attempted to take them to Luna Park (the famous amusement park right on the edge of the harbour), but of course it is closed every Tuesday! So instead we trampsed around Sydney, saw an iMax movie, went to a museum and had a bayside lunch.
A great city and a great holiday leaving me itching to see more! 

Friday, September 2, 2011

Chocolate, Sydney Day 1 and Little Miss Sunshine

I've been here a month? Already? Time is flying by at rapid speed as I moved from job search to job training, roommate locating and apartment hunting. Squeeze in a few late nights (at Bimbo's, Little Creatures and Cookie) , a couple of day trips (Yarra Valley, Heallesville and the Vic Market) and a long weekend trip (Sydney) and that pretty much sums up my month in a nut shell. Not to mention the great books I have had time to read (Water for Elephants and The Hunger Games series). I can't complain about my time spent here so far. Especially now that Melbourne has been ranked by BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14716442 as the #1 Most Livable City!

So to play some catch-up on this last month. I have accepted a job as the Marketing Assistant for The Chocolate Box, a family-owned Chocolate retailer based in Melbourne that has been around since the 1950's! I started last week, working in one of the shops in Collins Place in East end of the CBD with quite the pair who have been part of the Chocolate Box team for a while now. They were there to train me (in the most entertaining environment possible with their jokes and gossip ) on how the stores operate. Hence, the reason I have felt like a Christmas Elf for the past two weeks. Each store packages their own merchandise, and have to package back-stock to store in the warehouse until Christmas. Enter Bethany: given a scale, scoop, 5kg box of loose chocolate, spools of ribbon and a handful of clear bags. For the next 6 days, my job is to fill, label and tie bows on 100's of pieces of chocolate. Next week, I will begin training in the corporate office on my official duties. I must impress them with my mad marketing skills!

Sydney was a planned long weekend trip to meet up with some dear friends visiting from the U.S. Bethany playing "mum" for the week was a huge dose of birth control for me (only solidifying that no, I am no where near ready to get married or have children anytime soon) but at the same time, the motherly instinct kicked in that (yes, I do want children one day and they will be my precious darlins'). Getting 3 dressed, packing lunches, remembering homework, racing to 2 different schools and getting to work on time was only half of it! God bless all moms out there! That is when Friday rolled around. Same routine, kids at school - I still had to pack for myself, vacuum all left over crumbs off our spectacularly red (yes, red) carpet to prevent an ant invasion, finish laundry, load the dishwasher and have a bite to eat. All before having to pick up the kids and get back to the house before the cab to the airport came to get us by 1:30. By the time I whirred down Nungerner Street, honked at the cab already parked in the driveway ( b.t.w. - you don't "call a cab" here, you "hire a taxi" ) and ran inside, frantically running from one end of the house making sure all lights were turned off, throwing suitcases out of the garage into the driveway and remembering to lock the door - we were 10 minutes behind schedule and I had worked up a massive sweat. Kids buckled in, finally barreling toward the airport - I forgot one minor thing that could have ended in not fatal, but a difficult-to-handle catastrophe: my cellphone. Insisting that the cab turn around so I could run back to get the, re-set the alarm and re-lock the door, we were now 15 minutes behind schedule and the cab driver must of thought I was a crazy person with the insanity of loading the cab to my profuse apologies the whole way to the airport.

Inside the airport, approaching the security line I chucked all the bags onto the security belt, pushed the kids through the metal detector and started taking off my coat and shoes when a large security man stepped in front of me. I asked politely, "Do I need to take off my coat?" His lips curled up in a sly smile, "Are you in the habit of taking your clothes off in airports?" Turning bright red I replied, "Well yes, in the great city of Atlanta!" He chuckled and turning to his fellow security guard yelled out, "Well, guess I should go work there!"
Mortified I politely grinned, grabbed the kids and fled down the ramp to Gate 4, headed to Sydney. Arriving to the gate a little early (quite an accomplishment considering the panicked rush I left in), Dailey wanted to visit her favorite Smiggles store (yes, "Smiggles" - selling stationary, pens, pencils, makers, etc - way over priced for the product, but a novelty that took off here in AUS. The name literally originated from Smile + Giggles = Smiggles. Gag me. ) All Austin cared about was watching the large LCD screen showing flight patterns located at our gate so while perusing through Smiggles with the kids, one minute I am looking at a $5 hot pink eraser ( or rubber as they call them here ) and the next minute I am in a mortified panic because Austin is gone! He had run back to the gate to see that stupid screen and left me almost in tears at the thought of losing one of these kids!

20 minutes later, we are settled into Business Class with 3 glasses of juice, hot towels, 2 coloring packs shaped like Little Miss Sunshine and a hostess flirting with the heartbreaker Austin with his baby blues and enormously long eye lashes. A hot meal, more drinks, (bread, crackers and pretzels for the kids) and 1 hour later, we land in Sydney. Steph was waiting for us at our gate as we are expelled from the exit ramp looking a tad like Jackie O with her two kids, it was quite the spectacle.

We settled into the hotel and found a deliciously spicy Thai restaurant recommended to us, Spice I Am - feasting on Duck Curry and Basil Chicken. Because of the large numbers of Asians now living in Australia, they have a the best authentic Thai, Japanese, Chinese and Sushi everywhere!

The next few days were spent eating great food, drinking good (but not Melbourne good) Mochas and skinny caps, and visiting all the tourist spots around Sydney (more to come complete with pictures).