Climbing and Body Alignment

Weekend Trip to Bundeena & Royal National Park

HUB Sydney and getting back to work

Moving to Darlinghurst

The Bondi Coastal Walk

Gone Surfing - Body Pass and doing work

After enjoying the past couple days of friendly weather, I decided to take up surfing. It had been something I've always wanted to do and being so close to the beach made it the perfect time to try. This was the first time I actually ever splurged on a wet suit. Recommended from a new acquaintance, I checked out a board shop in Bondi selling Vissla wetsuits for "cheap." I ended up getting one for $300 aud (~216 usd). I put it on the next day and it was a GAMECHANGER. So muchwarm. Very excite. Surfing...

The spent the next two mornings in the water and though the waves were unpredictable I caught a few. I could get used to this.

Business meeting about Startups, The Icebergs, buying a wetsuit

HUB Sydney, Meetups, and Coworking Spaces

Checked out HUB Sydney today off Williams Street in Kings Cross. The co-working space reminded me of my old office in Los Angeles so I felt right at home. The wifi was fast, the water was flavored, and the Australian accents were abundant. I'm not in LA anymore. All in all, it is a great space and I will definitely come back. The surrounding areas are a little bit corporate and banal, but I came here to work so it's all good.

Excited to meet some folks and network at this place.

Topping up and taking trains

The first on my agenda of things to do was get connected and get around. This required two things: a sim card and an opal card.

Both, can be found at a local convenience store such as 7-11. There are signs everywhere that note that you can get it there.

Once you get a sim card, you need to activate it. Because I didn't have a little pin to open my sim card slot on the iPhone, I needed to go back to my flat to put it in and activate it. Once in, the process was actually quite easy. You follow the instructions by going onto the carrier's website, register your phone number, and then sign up for a plan. I signed up with an amaysim at $29.99AUD/mo (~$21.65 US) which gives me unlimited text/calls both local and international(?!) as well as up to 3gb high speed internet. My plan back at the US was roughly the same but without international phone calls and cost me $55 US/mo. Everything already coming up Milhouse.

The opal card was a different story. The rides from where I'm currently at is roughly $3.50 aud just to hit the train. Then, it costs however much you need via the train. There is no monthly fee for unlimited rides and you pay as you go. If you are concession (discounted rate for certain cases such as being a student), you are given half price. At $3.50 a ride, it will get expensive real quick.

For now, this is what I'll be working with. Next week, I'll be closer to the city to eliminate this $3.50 commute, so it should get better then.

Times like this I miss the convenience of a car, but luckily I have my bike with me. Bike adventures to come soon.

Hit the Ground Running - SMH Half Marathon

I arrived to Sydney on Saturday at around 12:30pm. Flight was spent mostly sleeping off the stress of packing and moving. It was a great flight and actually met some nice people on the flight also doing a holiday so got some helpful tips. The first on my agenda when I landed however was to prepare for the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon. I brought my bags to my sister's place, settled in for about an hour and then figured out what I'd be running in 18 hours from now.

Here's what I came up with: 

• My Night Terrors Run Crew jersey 
• garmin watch (forgot to pack my chest band though :( )
• My brooks running shoes that I've ran with for the past 8 years
• jersey basketball mesh shorts
• Virgin Active wristband that came with my welcoming packet

Let's do this!

I took a bus to a train into the city at around 4:20am. Luckily, there were a handful of other people in run gear doing the same so I didn't need to do much navigating. On another plus side, my jetlag made it seem like it was around mid day so I was wide awake.

I arrived to find this landmark as the starting point, Saint Mary's Cathedral. The Church bells were ringing, the air was crisp, and the sun just started to dawn. Life is beautiful.

The actual route led to some very epic landscapes around the city. Here we were crossing through the city center to reach the foot of the harbour bridge. 

Going through tunnels

Running on the expressway

People's energy keeping me motivated as I fought off jetlag and ignoring the fact I haven't ran this much in a very long time.



Shout outs to the metric system!

The finish line met us with a finisher medal and this guy handing out kiwis. First time for everything.

The finisher medal, kiwi, and genius kiwi spoon.

My sis and I at the finish line inside Hyde Park.

The air was crisp, the weather was cool, and it was a great introduction to get my first look at the city I'll be staying at for months to come.