On Why Flying Was Worth It

Okay, so I'm typing this at the last day of my iOS Developers Seminar thing that I'm attending in Sydney. If you haven't seen me by now...well...to be honest, by the time I post this, I'll probably already be back in Bathurst (especially given that I have a video to edit, as you'll hopefully see below.) In my last post you will no doubt recall that I approached the flight to Sydney with no small amount of trepidation - well, you might be happy to know that Spud drove me to the airport, and helped me to calm down enough to board my flight, and make it all the way to Sydney. So a big thank you to him for that - it was really really needed.

On the flight down I experienced a couple of cool things, that made flying...well...not so bad. I mean, I was kind of uncomfortable, but it was pretty much the equivalent of sitting in the back seat of a small car for 30 minutes, so it could have been much worse. Anyway, I got to see some really nifty things. I got to see what it was like to be inside a cloud (thus dispelling several ideas I got about clouds when I was a child and, although my education destroyed them, it was nice to have the certainty of seeing it for myself.) I saw storm clouds from the top. I saw the sunrise from above the clouds. These things were all remarkably cool. I also saw the apartment building I lived in, when I lived in Leichhardt - I don't just mean that I saw Leichhardt - I mean that I could actually see my old balcony. This was cool too, but weird at the same time, I started to feel a little bit like my time in Bathurst had been some weird holiday/dream and that I was going home/waking up. Still, I'll try and get some cool pics on the way home, if the light level permits it.

The Light Level Did Not, Alas, Permit. Here Are Pictures Of Paul Being Jaunty

Anyway, once I got to Sydney I pretty much had to head straight to the conference. The conference itself was pretty cool, I guess, even though I knew about 99% of the content from my own development experience, it was nice to get a refresher. I learnt some best practices that I wasn't really sure of, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to come, and hopefully it will give me some points with the uni so that, if they ever want to develop an iPhone app, they'll consider me a good option. Also, one of the presenters kind of looked like David Tennant...so...you know, it was like being taught something by The Doctor's 10th incarnation (which makes anything and everything interesting - although I would have preferred his 2nd version, because he's an awesome little imp, and chances are I would have got to meet Jamie McCrimmon, but still - you take what you can get.)

After the first day's worth of learning I met up with Roo and his girlfriend Spritza, who helped me find my hotel, and get "settled in", as it were. Not that I really needed much help. Seriously - this place was so cool. It had a bathroom, a kitchen, a bedroom, a lounge/dining room, and a balcony. It was nicer than my apartment in Leichhardt - hell, it was nicer than my house in Bathurst (only a little smaller...) There was a nice selection of AUSTAR Channels for perusal on the television (although no Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network - sadface.) There was a bathtub that was so big I could lay down fully in it (well, excepting for my neck, of course, because they don't want you to drown...) The bedroom was huge. The loungeroom was huge. The whole experience was really cool, and it was capped off by the fact that, as I left the building on Saturday, a bellboy said "Good morning, sir." I felt oddly...I don't know...not important, but...still it was pretty cool. To get across to you just how nice this place was, I'll have a "One Minute Of" video up in the coming days.

For Now - A Thumbnail

As well as the awesome accommodation (which the University totally paid for, by the way) there was also a plethora of wonderful, magnificent shopping. There are, regrettably, some things that I want that I simply cannot come by in Bathurst. This is a sad fact, but true, nonetheless. So, whenever I come to Sydney, I have to stock up on things that I might be missing out on otherwise. Things are are either too expensive to grab online, or that it just isn't feasible to order from the net. To this end I buzzed around a couple of Japanese shops, two tea stores, and some bookshops (amongst other, less notable ones) over the course of my visits, and am coming home with some wondrous swag including four manga (two English, two Japanese), some onigiri shapers, some really cool teas, and an entirely great quantity of delicious foodstuffs.

Not Entirely Related, But I Made These Really Cool Japanese Hot-Dogtopus Things

On the topic of delicious foodstuffs, I got to go out to dinner on both nights I stayed here, both times with awesome people. On the Friday night, Roo and Spritza took me out to Pepper Lunch (the first time I'd ever been there) because Wagamama (which I have never been to) was too full. Alas, I didn't take any photos of the weirdness that is Pepper Lunch, but suffice it to say, that it was delicious. On the Saturday, Andy and I went to find SECRET RAMEN HOUSE OF DOOM (my name, not theirs) which is accessed via a hidden lift off the street near Paddy's Markets. It was really really swish inside, the servers used iPads to take orders, and...the food was...well...spectacular isn't strong enough a word. Flumgobflable, maybe...Not quite - but it's getting there.

Sake Cocktails

Tori Karaage Ramen

Also, Andy - Now With New Short Hair!

And, of course, I went to the arcades that I used to love so much. Well, okay, I went to two of my old arcades. It turns out that the other one has reportedly since closed down (which is sad) but I guess that's just the way that progress works. Still, I had a great time on both nights - I played games at Galaxy World with Roo and Spritza, and tried the claw machines. All I managed to score on the claw games was a little tofu brick wearing a kimono. All I managed to score during the gaming sessions was a heightened sense of embarrassment due to trying to play DDR on "Difficult" mode. Before I go home, I might check out the site of the old arcade - just to make sure that it isn't still there, and that I've not been duped by false signage.

The moral of this story is that travel, although initially quite scary, is actually (and eventually) fun. I'm going to take some videos of the guys eating and drinking the stuff I brought back - any good reactions will be posted up in a "One Minute Of" video, and hopefully a great deal of fun will be had by all. We'll see though - there are some fairly weird things that I want them to eat. <insert evil laughter here>