Audrey's Travel Blog

Quito & the Galapagos

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:20:00 +0000

We arrived in this big city in Ecuador on Jan 15, Jackie’s birthday. I would love to be able to say that I made Jackie’s birthday a great day, but in reality, I made it crap. Apparently, even though I had left Bogota, it had not left me, but it proceeded to do so that day in all directions. It was bad enough that they called the doctor for me to administer injections. Sorry Jackie!

Whilst the doctor was there, Jackie had some questions for him about how to get rid of the chronic hives she had been experiencing over the last week. He had an injection for her too. But when she looked it up online and it said “17% chance of respiratory arrest” and “8% chance of death” she opted to decline his kind offer!

The next day we booked a 5 day cruise in the Galapagos at great last minute rates. The guy had had a charter that was cancelled so he cut his prices in half.

So we joined the 5 day cruise, which we shared with 4 other couples (not that we were a couple!). It ruly was an amazing experience -we saw some great wildlife -penguins, lizards, pelicans, turtles, tortoises, stingrays, fish and my favourite - seals and sea lions!

Bogota - the good and the bad

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:13:00 +0000

We arrived in Bogota on January 12th. We had pre-booked a private room at a hostel in an area that had been recommended to me by someone back in Australia. It was in the area called La Candelaria, which was a section of the old city. Having been warned by our American dining friend in Cartagena that we should be careful in Bogota, we went out that afternoon without our usual appendages of cameras and handbags, only the minimum. As we had arrived from the very hot city of Cartagena, we were still wearing our shorts.

Now, Bogota is actually situated at a high elevation and everyone we talked to about Bogota before our arrival would say “mucho frio” (very cold). It was a bit chilly, admittedly, but we were still able to bear the cold with our attire, or lack thereof. Which is why it was rather surprising the amount of looks we drew . It got to the point where we were uncomfortable with the amount of attention we were drawing! It was like these people had never seen bare legs!!

When we returned to our room, my Aussie radar was acting up again, having heard some Accents nearby. I walked out of my room to see 3 Aussie guys checking into their room. I said, “I hear Aussies”, they turned around and we exchanged the usual “Where are you from” conversation. One said he was from Toorak, I said “Hawthorn and Caulfield”. He said “where in Hawthorn?” (I started to suspect where this was heading) I said “off Tooronga Rd”. He said, “I went to school in Tooronga Rd.” I guessed at Bialik and told them I went there for a few years. They were a bit stunned, as was I, to find, a half way around the world, some guys from the “community” and then I discovered later through the wonders of facebook that they were friends with my cousins.

That night, Jackie and I set out to find a place to have dinner nearby. We walked, and walked, and were amazed by the amount of places that had been open during the day but were closed now, especially when you would think they would want the dinner trade. We finally stumbled on a falafel place, with jewish art on its walls. The Israeli owner explained that we had just missed our Australian friends, who had moved on to the Israeli hostel up the street.

Now, I must say, this concept of an Israeli hostel is new to me. I have known of soon-to-be-demolished houses and apartment buildings in Australia that are rented out by room to Israelis until their demolishment, but apparently, there are Israeli hostels all around the world, just for Israeli travellers. But this hostel seemed just a little bit different. It was entirely occupied by Israeli men, with the few female exceptions being Colombian “girlfriends”. Israeli women aren’t even allowed to stay there. And there were certain rooms that I passed that were entirely devoted to the white stuff. That, coupled with the unbearable smokey atmosphere meant we didn’t stick around too long.

But those things weren’t the most disturbing things that we learnt at this hostel. One of the guys that had been in Colombia for a long time was telling us that the area we were in was extremely dangerous and there is practically 100% chance of us being mugged. At night, even the locals won’t venture out here (hence the reason most restaurants are shut) and the only people that are stupid enough to be out are the gringos and their would-be muggers. Women should not walk around here on their own, and only take taxis that have been called ahead of time. So we waited for our taxi and went home!

The next day we went up the mountain in a cable car to an old monastery called Montserrat. Very pretty. Great view of Bogota below. And we went to a museum for that artist that paints everyone as very fat. I forgot his name. So cultured aren’t I?

But that afternoon, after experiencing yet again the freezing cold of our room, the literal lack of available water in the taps and the fact that we felt like prisoners in our hotel after dark, we decided to move hotels to a much safer area in the north, called Zona Rosa. When we got there, it was so far from what we had experienced in La Candelaria that we felt like we were in an entirely different city. It was bustling with boutiques, shopping centres, restaurants and bars, similar to Surfers Paradise. We were able to exhale here. And we felt safe walking around at night.

Sailing away...

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 08:04:00 +0000

On December 25, I flew into San Juan in Puerto Rico. It wasn’t really a destination I had planned on, but rather a stopover on my way from Costa Rica to the British Virgin Islands. In fact, from what I had heard of Puerto Rico, it was a destination that one should skip. But after arriving in San Juan, I was actually surprised to find that I really liked it. I was staying in the old city and I found it to be really quaint and beautiful. The architecture was colonial and in the tradition of many Caribbean islands, very colorful.

I had arranged to meet up with another person who was going to be on the same trip as me in the British Virgin Islands (to be referred to as “BVI” from here on). Hayley had been in San Juan for a few days and we had planned to meet for a “Christmas” dinner. We went to a restaurant called Marmalade and had a really nice time there – great food, highly recommended! Hayley worked for a Boeing in LA and was an aeronautical engineer – you don’t meet too many females in that field!

The next morning we left our hotels early to join a short flight to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Now, I was still trying to get over my cold that I had contracted in Costa Rica, and the two flights I had taken to get to Puerto Rico had had a not-so-nice effect on my ears, which hadn’t yet popped, to the point where my ears felt like they were on the inside of my head.

Much to the chagrin of my mother (after the fact of course) my flight to Tortola was in a tiny little Cesna. I must admit, it didn’t give me a huge amount of confidence either. But it was actually an ok flight, with some very picturesque views of the islands, the only problem was that the flight wasn’t pressurized and I was in mind-numbing pain for most of it because of my ears!

Ok, so now onto the reason for my trip to BVI. I would be in the BVI for 9 days in total, including New Year’s Eve. I was actually originally planning on spending this time in Punta del Este in Uruguay, the St.Tropez of South America, and THE place to be the week over NYE. But organizing accommodation was starting to get difficult and it actually put my South American itinerary out of whack. So I decided to nix Punta and instead I had found this cool looking sailing trip in the BVI with a group called Adventurati.

I found it on facebook. There were 40 other people on the trip – 6 sailboats and a mixture of people for the US and Europe. And after my time on the cruise ship with the oldies, it would be really nice to hang with people my age.

When Hayley and I arrived at the meeting point in Tortola, we were amongst the first to arrive. There were about 15 others who had also arrived, most of them from Europe. What I was to learn was that most of them were Swedish and that Adventurati had partnered with a group called The Yacht Week, which is run by 4 Swedish guys. I had actually seen them before and considered joining their trip; they run a wicked sailing trip in July and August around Croatia, the Greek Islands and Ibiza. But their trips have up to 50 sailboats!!

Anyway, so there was Hayley and I and about 14 other guys all six feet tall or more. We certainly weren’t complaining and it was definitely a far cry from the short guys of NYC!

As more people arrived, I met all the people on my boat. As I didn’t know anyone on the trip, all the people on the boat were new to me. There were 10 of us in total. Two Swedish guys (one of them was the skipper), the girl I was sharing my room with was from NYC, and the remainder were from Washington D.C., a mixture of guys and girls.

Tama-Gringo

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:03:00 +0000

Yesterday I descended from amidst the clouds and arrived in a beach resort called Tamarindo. On the way, we stopped at a rest stop that had some macaws and deer hanging around. Having had a relatively active itinerary prior, I was really looking forward to the rest and relaxation of a beach resort. Tamarindo is predominantly made up of a couple of main streets, and reminds me of a Costa Rican version of Noosa Heads, in Australia. It has a high concentration of Western tourists, which has earned it the nickname, “Tamagringo”.

And I must be honest, that was its attraction for me. There are many who like to seek out the authentic and off-the-beaten-track experiences that have not yet been overrun by tourists, but I actually have no problem with visiting an area that totally caters to tourists. It doesn’t make me a bad person does it? ;)

So I arrive at my hotel, which is located right in the center of town, on the beach and actually appears to be the best hotel in town. Thanks very much to my travel agent! I decide to take a walk around and check out the town and get a bite to eat while I’m at it.

The shops tend to be predominantly composed of souvenir shops, surf shops, ladies boutiques, restaurants and tour operators. I happen to come across a falafel shop, and am not too surprised to find it is run by an Israeli – they really are everywhere! I ask him where is good to go tonight and he gives me some names of bars but also mentions that there is a fiesta on tonight in the next town, and everyone will be going to that. Sounds interesting. I purchase a falafel off him and tell him “l’hitraot”.

I continue to walk around and pause for a few seconds in front of a tour operator. I really have no intention of going on a tour as I am all-toured-out but am curious what kind of things are on offer in this area – it seems to be all the same stuff I have been doing. The guy in the shop takes the opportunity to come and talk to me and try to convince me that he has something I would like. He lures me into the shop, saying he will show me some photos of a nearby beach. I have no problem with the beach I am on, but I oblige him anyway.

There are two other guys in the shop and one says only a couple of words but my finely tuned “Aussie radar” picks up on the fact that he is one of my own. We swap the origins of our upbringing and then he says that he and his friend are looking to rent a car for the day and would I like to join them. “I could do that”, I say. But they weren’t happy with the price this guy was offering and we go in search of a better price. We go to a few places and then decide to give up on this quest and enjoy the remaining hours of sunshine. We go to the beach. My new friends are actually planning to go to the fiesta that night which they were at yesterday, and participated in, showing me the video of them in the bull ring with 100 other people (mostly men), trying to avoiding getting mauled by the bull. Crazy.

So we went that night, and I must say, it was at once compelling and disturbing. The bull ring is surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of people, locals and gringos alike, but inside the bull ring are 100 or so people, many of them gringos looking for a thrill. Myself and my new friends find a position sitting on the ground outside the fence. The Aussie guy goes in to the ring, whilst the other guy stays with me. The bull comes charging out with a rider on its back, who eventually gets thrown off, and then people take turns in trying to antagonize the bull by grabbing its tail and other things of that ilk. There are twelve bulls that come out in all, and at least half of them seem so scared that they run back to the door that they came from, trying to get out of this madness. It all seems very cruel.

This is also my first up close experience with the locals, Ticos, as they are called. There is one extremely drunk middle aged couple who have decided to sit on the inside of the bull ring, a considerably dangerous idea, in our minds. I am amazed that no-one cares enough to try to get them out of there, and I certainly lack the language skills to try. The woman is so drunk she is rolling around on the floor, exposing her underpants, it’s really not a pretty sight. The man, every now and then takes off to join the rest of the men in the ring, often taking his shirt off beforehand, stumbling back when the bull is captured.

At about the fifth bull, (just when I chose not to videotape it), someone is seriously injured. He is tossed around by the bull like a rag doll, and ends up getting dragged off by a bunch of people to the shed where the bull’s victims get treated. People crowd around the structure, hoping to grab a peek of the mutilation through the slats in the wood. He easily could have been injured to the point of serious head and back injury, if not death. I haven’t discovered his fate. But here’s the thing. The guy wasn’t wearing a shirt and when I look over to the drunk couple, only the woman is there for the remainder of the night, oblivious to the fact that her man has probably been seriously injured. It is a really sad state of affairs, and once again, I lack the language skills to talk to any of my Tico neighbours about it, or to ask the drunk woman if she knows where her man is. The horrendous thing is, that after such an injury, the show goes on, with 7 more bulls coming out one at a time.

Afterwards, we head back to town to socialize with our fellow gringos and go to a sports bar and then a night club. I have forgotten what it’s like to go to clubs where smoking is not banned and am somewhat bothered by the amount of smoke. After a few games of pool, I say goodnight and head back to my hotel.

Unfortunately the next day I came down with a cold and was really not well for the remainder of my stay in Tamarindo.

Action Packed Costa Rica

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:37:00 +0000

For my time in Costa Rica, I booked a package that included activities such as white water rafting, kayaking, zip lining, and hot springs. White water rafting on the Pacquare River was first on the agenda. As it had been raining recently, instead of the Class II/III rapids that I had signed up for, it was Class III-IV rapids which was going to be a fair bit more challenging. And it was. But we had a great guide and a strong team on my raft, so we managed to make it down the river without falling out of the boat (although it seemed touch and go there a couple times!). We even had a few guests on our raft at one stage after rescuing a few people whose raft had capsized.
The next stop was Arenal, and as it happens a couple that were in my raft had also booked with the same company as I had so they were staying at the same place as me in Arenal, and then later in Monteverde. They were from the northern part of South Carolina and we ended up hanging out quite a bit.
Arenal is the location of the volcano and also the hot springs. My trip to see the volcano was a bust as it was pouring rain and the cloud covered the entire view of the volcano. Ironically I got to see a great view of the volcano a few days later when zip lining in Monteverde. As for the hot springs, I went to this resort that had dozens of different natural pools that were of varying levels of temperature. It was nice, but there really isn’t much more to say about it!
As I am learning on my travels, the trips between places provide as much, if not more of an adventure as the actual destination. Hmmm…sounds like a phrase I heard once or twice ;)
After Arenal we headed to Monteverde. The trip up to Monteverde was one such adventure. But first, a little background on Monteverde may illuminate you on the reasons ‘for the challenging journey. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia:

What is now considered Monteverde was founded by Quakers from the United States whose pacifist values led them to defy the American draft during the Korean War. These Quakers chose Monteverde for its cool climate, which would facilitate dairy farming, and due to Costa Rica's non-violent, army-free constitution. The Quakers stewarded and farmed a large tract of land, which they eventually set aside for conservation. This reserve, which was named the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde (Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve), has become a major tourist attraction as has the Monteverde Nature Center.

In order to keep the town from becoming too overcrowded, the road to travel there is unsealed and at times steep and challenging. I would like to share with you comments from other bloggers and articles I have seen regarding this road:

“The road to Monteverde will take a couple of years off your life, but it's worth it.”
“Driving on the road to Monteverde isn't like driving in a van over an old mountain road full up wheel-deep potholes, it was like being inside a pop can being dragged behind a van driving up an old mountain road with wheel-deep potholes. I'm pretty sure I'm a few inches shorter from all the bouncing and compression on my spine.”
“At one point the van actually spun out in the gravel because the road was too steep. He turned around and asked three people to exit the van so he could make the hill.”
“The road is kept this way on purpose to deliberately discourage tourists -- at first glance a peculiar approach given that Monteverde's principle source of income is tourism.“

Case and point, at one point on the road, there was roadwork being done on a particularly steep portion, where they were using rocks to (I guess) improve the traction going up the hill. Now, one would think that the best vehicle to undertake this kind of trip would be a 4x4. And in fact, the trip that we were on is called a “jeep-boat-jeep” trip, the boat part because there is a lake crossing involved that we had completed prior to ascending on this road, but the jeep part? Apparently it used to be in jeeps, but now we are in these people-mover vans. Clearly not the most appropriate vehicle to undertake a journey like this.

Anyway, after having waited about 20 minutes for them to complete part of their roadwork to enable us to pass, our driver, having failed to get the van over the rocky and steep part of the road, reversed a fair way and then “gunned” it, enabling us to get over. I must say, I was pretty scared!

But then the van that was behind us wasn’t able to make it up the hill. So our trusty driver decided to tow him up the hill! I was having no part of this and told him to stop the van so I could get out, and subsequently the remainder of the passengers got out too.

And despite the challenging trip, the scenery was quite beautiful, with lush valleys and mountains to look at. Anyway, we finally made the 35 km in about 2 hours to arrive at a very serene and beautiful mountaintop. The view from my hotel room and the subsequent sunset was fantastic. Ironically, even though Monteverde is known as the cloud forest, the first two days were entirely clear, but on my last day there, I had the benefit of seeing clouds above and below, as if I was sitting in the sky.

During my time here, I visited a Butterfly and Frog exhibit. I liked the Butterflies best.

I also did ziplining for the first time, which I must say was pretty scary at first. Some of the lines were 700m high!

Food, Islands and more food

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:27:00 +0000

The remainder of the cruise was characterized by a lot of food and visits to the 5 islands. Oh, and we mustn’t forget that I was staying in the penthouse suite – I know no one on the cruise let me forget! I think I had become something of a minor celebrity due to my windfall. So here’s my run down of the islands I visited.
St. Maarten is apparently the smallest territory shared by two countries – it is half French, half Dutch. It has lots of shops and some nice beaches. St. Lucia – I decided to take a shore excursion and went on a kayaking trip. I met a bunch of nice people on this excursion, who decided to become my ambassadors by publicizing my new ship address to others on the cruise. Afterwards, I headed into town. I probably should have passed that up, as it was rather seedy.
Barbados had my favourite beach of all, the sand and the water were divine. The beach I went to was called Malibu beach, because it housed the Malibu Rum factory. The next island was St. Kitts which is a port that is new to cruise visitors. It didn’t have much to offer and after a short trip off the boat, I decided to enjoy my stay on the ship that day. Last, and actually my favorite port was St. Thomas. I guess being part of the US. Virgin Islands, it is much more developed and had a lot of really nice shops and cafes. In St. Thomas I spent most of the day on the other side of the island at a beach that is called one of the 10 best beaches in the world. Pretty nice, but a little too high praise, if you ask me.
One of the things about the Caribbean Islands I never realized was that there was such a jewellery market in them, most specifically diamonds. They even had a jewellery specialist on board, advising passengers on the 5 “C”s – Carat, Clarity, Colour, Cut and a new one – Confidence. Now, the only reason I know this is that I woke up in the middle of the night one night and turned on the TV to hear this woman’s lecture. And I am sure you have all had that experience where you switch on the TV to find an infomercial in the wee hours of the morning and get sucked in (or almost anyway). Well, when I awoke in the morning in St. Lucia, I decided to check out what the all the fuss was about. And what do you know – I made a purchase. Just a small Star of David necklace – I’m actually really happy with it.
But I must comment on the racket they have going with the diamonds. There is a company, Diamonds International, that must spend a lot on advertising, because what I learned in this “infomercial”, is that when you buy a diamond with them, and, let’s say you come back on a cruise next year, you can upgrade the diamond you have to a larger size, just paying the difference in price. Pretty clever, huh? And it’s clever for the cruise lines, because they are conditioning people to come back on a cruise to upgrade their diamonds.
Someone commented to me that the ship was ironically filled predominantly with Germans and Jews, an observation I concurred with. And at the ship’s chanukkah services, part of this suspicion was confirmed. But the combination of Germans and Jews is a rather odd pairing, to say the least.
Now let me talk about the food. Cruises are apparently all about the food and I must say there is strong evidence to that effect. But when you add on the fact that I was in the penthouse suite, it takes things to an all new level. They delivered extra food to my suite on a regular basis, as a matter of course. There was the fruit plate, the cheese plate, the afternoon snack and the pre-dinner canapés. No wonder I packed on the pounds. In fact, no less than 5 pounds to be exact. I have some serious working out to do now.
On my second last night of the cruise, the formal night, I arranged for pre-dinner drinks to be held in my suite, see the attached photo.

On the High Seas

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:01:00 +0000

The first leg of my trip is a cruise in the Caribbean. Why a cruise you ask? And why on earth would I consider doing it alone? (I am sure you are thinking). I admit, I would have preferred to have a companion on this leg of the trip (especially as the single supplement is almost as much as the cost for a second person). But I was quite keen to explore a significant part of the Caribbean, given that pretty soon I will be living a considerable distance from it. And as there are so many islands, and flights between them are not cheap, I thought this would be a great way to see a bunch of islands; this cruise stops in 5 of them. And, I have always been quite intrigued with the concept of cruising, so I booked it.
So, a little background on my ship. It’s one of the Celebrity line of cruise ships, and is the newest in its fleet, named Equinox. The ship is not even a year old, and it shows. The fit out on this ship is really superb - modern and luxurious. It houses 2500 guests and the cruise is fully booked. It’s a 10 day cruise, and I’m stopping in 5 ports on 5 separate days: St.Maarten, St.Kitts, Barbados, St.Lucia and St.Thomas.
Ok, let’s address one of the concerns that I had and everyone has about cruises. That it is full of the geriatric set. Going in to this I knew there would be a large contingent of them, so I did my research and looked for a Cruise line that is more supposedly more geared to a younger crowd. And when I booked, I was told that I would have set seating at dinner, at a table of 10 people aged 25-45. I thought I had it covered. It would give me a way to meet others around my age, and then I would have some people to hang with for 10 days.
But when I boarded the ship, I found it rather difficult to identify even a handful of people under the age of 45, quite a switch from my time in NY, where it is difficult to come across someone over the age of 55. I was holding out until dinner when I was to meet fellow passengers closer to my age.
The importance of having the right tablemates was emphasised to me as I entered the ship and was talking to some experienced cruisers and getting their advice. They said that how much they enjoyed prior cruises had little to do with the ship and everything to do with your dining partners. So, I was truly banking on having a good set of tablemates.
So here’s what happened. When I arrived at the dining room, I was shown to a table of 4, where 2 people were already sitting. 2 - not 10! And let’s just say that their age was at least double that of my own, and their weight individually was at least 3 times that of mine. Not ideal. I quickly told the Maitre D’ that it would not do and I was promised a table of 10 people 25-45 people! He said he didn’t have people in that age group! OMG!! I was freaking out – was I destined to have an awful cruise? I explained that I was travelling alone and that my table assignment would make or break my cruise! So, he temporarily assigned me to a table of 6 where there were a couple people born within 2 decades of me. That’s as close as I could get. He promised to reassign me tomorrow.
So I was shown to my temporary table, it was a table of 6, and I was the last to be seated. Let me just segue here and tell you that the dining room was absolutely gorgeous! OK, back to my tablemates. There were two guys dressed in suits, whom I was to learn were from Washington D.C. The remaining 3 people were a couple in their 60s and their 30 something son, all from Stuttgart in Germany.
I had an instant connection with the suited guy on my right, who was from D.C. A political reporter in his late 30s who has previously lived in NY, we had much to talk about. He and his friend were on the cruise together, his friend a few years older, was in public relations. Now, having lived in Chelsea for the last 2 and a half years I was used to seeing a different type of gay man, which was why I was surprised when the conversation revealed that they were a couple (not just a couple of guys).
My other tablemates, English not being their first language, had difficulties in keeping up with our conversation, so whilst we had a few interactions, their side of the table was considerable much quieter than ours.
After dinner, the guy on my right, Doug, and I went to see the show of the evening. We didn’t last long there. The entertainment was distinctly geared towards the silver set, with show tunes like “Singing in the Rain” and a singing quartet.
Doug and I then went in search of the Maitre D’ to see if the three of us could be moved to a different table. He was rather gruff with us but accepted our request nonetheless.
The next morning (after breakfast) I went to find a lounge chair by the pool. I found one next to two Israeli brothers around my age, who were on the cruise with their parents. We became friends and I suddenly had a couple more people who were very keen to move off their assigned dinner seating. Off to the Maitre D’ once again. By now he knew me very well. “I have 3 requests from you now, one by yourself, one with two other guests and now one with 4 other guests, which one do you want?” Well I would have thought that it would be obvious – the most recent one of course, but knowing that my fate was still somewhat in his hands, I politely told him “the latest one”.
So that night, we had a very nice dinner, the 5 of us, plus a couple from the UK. Mission accomplished.
The next day, another full day at sea, was rather a lazy day, with one noticeable event. OK, a little more than noticeable – HUGE! I don’t quite know why I bothered to enter the competition for the penthouse suite on the ship, after all I was actually very happy with the amenities of my inside cabin. It wasn’t much smaller than my Manhattan apartment, so I was quite used to living in quarters that were not altogether spacious. And as the ship is brand new, everything was modern and very comfortable.
Nevertheless, I felt compelled to join the bingo, having an eerie feeling that I was destined to do so and dare I say it, destined to win. This was, however, coupled with the nonchalance of my practical side, telling me that I shouldn’t get any hopes up, as there were literally hundreds of people who were also going to be playing bingo. There were four rounds of competition; the first 3 rounds were for cash prizes of $400, $500 and $600 respectively. Nothing to balk at. The final round was for the penthouse suite on the ship, the real prize that had drawn the hundreds of people to this bingo game. I struck out on the first three games, but in the final game, I was getting very close to completing my bingo card, my heart started to beat very fast. And just as I said “Bingo!” so did someone else! As only one person could win this prize, we went to a playoff. I was given four bingo cards to choose from. I chose one of them, and then we proceeded. And…what do you know – I won!
I felt that rush of adrenalin and endorphins in my brain as you might imagine occurs when you win a huge prize and you feel like you are in a surreal dream. Being one of the only solo travelers on this cruise, there were many people that expressed congratulations, but it was also coupled with shock that I was travelling alone and I dare say a bit of bitterness that someone like me, and that I was only one person, would be enjoying the suite that they all coveted so badly.
I arrived to my suite where champagne and fruit and a number of canapés was awaiting me, as well as my butler! Ahh… the good life!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:03:00 +0000

I have been very remiss in posting to my blog as of late. So this post will be a catch-up of everything that has gone on up until now.

In September/October I took a trip to Paris and Israel. I spent 3 days in Paris and stayed with my Aussie cousin Toby and his wife Leesa. Leesa is working there with the Australian consulate and they have a gorgeous 4 bedroom apartment in the consulate complex overlooking the Eiffel Tower. It was really nice to catch up and spend some quality time with them. Our other cousin, Steven is also living there and we actually all got together with a bunch of other Aussies for a "pre" Rosh Hashannah dinner, which was really nice, because even though Toby, Steven and I all grew up in Melbourne, this was the first time we were able to celebrate a Jewish holiday together. Coincidentally, Steven's father, Marcel was also visiting, and it was nice to catch up with another person from home.

I have been to Paris before, so I wasn't really up for doing the usual touristy stuff, just to exeprience the city like a local. Having arrived in Paris from New York, it was really apparent to me just how much more refined and beautiful Paris is by comparison. Paris really does hold its own as the style capital of the world.
Another thing I was impressed with was the bicycle system. Paris has a system where there are bicycle stations every few blocks and you can pick up and then drop off your bicycle at any of these stations - very cool! I must admit it was quite scary driving down these small streets with a car driving right next to you but I managed to survive!

My next stop was Israel. I had arranged to do an apartment swap with an Israeli couple. They were staying in my apartment in NY while I stayed in their apartment in Tel Aviv. It worked out really well! I felt a little like I was living the movie "The Holiday" as I ended up spending a lot of time with the guy that let me into the apartment! I had a really nice time in Israel, visiting with family and friends and enjoying the Tel Aviv nightlife. And I fell in love with Israeli breakfasts!

A funny thing happened whil I was in Israel. I was speaking to my mother on the phone and she mentioned that her cousin John and his family would be visiting Israel. But she had no details on when, where and how long, but said "I'm sure you will run into them" and I said, "Israel is not that small!" So one day I am sitting on the beach in Tel Aviv (each day I went to sit at a different beach) and I hear this Australian accent (living away from Australia my ears are finely tunes to the Aussie accent) and I look a few metres away, and there is my cousin John and his two kids!! It was nice to catch up with them.

So that was my Paris/Israel trip. At the end of November I returned to Australia to visit with my family and to meet my 2 new identical nephews. Very cute! Not much has changed in Australia and while I had a nice time, I found myself looking forward to going "home" to New York. I returned to New York to "enjoy" the onset of winter. It is now snowing and we just survived a number of days with highs around -9 degrees celsius! I think it is actually the coldest weather I have ever been in! This winter is definitely more severe than last winter.

Until next time....

Call Me Lazy

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:18:00 +0000

Last weekend I went to Hartford for a netball tournament. My travelling partner, Marissa wrote all about it on her blog, so I thought I would point you in the direction of her blog!

http://anysecond.blogspot.com/2008/09/its-not-how-you-play-game-its-if-you.html

Summer in NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:45:00 +0000

Before I moved here, I was advised that Summer was the worst time to be in New York City due to the intense heat and humidity. Well, I have to disagree - I think Summer is the best time to be in NYC. It is true that at times the heat can be oppressive, especially when you are in the subways that have next to no ventilation. But Summer in the city has its definite advantages. There are loads of events in the city, like free concerts in the park and street festivals and parades. Also, a lot of locals leave on the weekends to head out to places like the Hamptons and the Jersey Shore. That leaves the city relatively quieter and it is actually fantastic to walk through the city on a Sunday morning - it is so quiet that it has a totally different vibe than the rest of the week. Actually on the fourth of July (Independence Day), the city took on a new level of stillness. It reminded me of an overcast Christmas Day in Surfers Paradise.

Speaking of the fourth of July, do you recall the phrase "It was like fourth of July". It's often referred to on American shows when a woman is describing a magical kiss, as if there were amazingly huge fireworks. In the lead up to Independence Day, in true American form, I was told of how big the fireworks were on the fourth of July. As with many things, it appears that many things in this country are overstated!

That's not to say I didn't have a great Independence Day! I managed to hear about a party held by someone I don't know on his personal penthouse roofdeck in Midtown East, with a perfect view of the (just like any other) fireworks. They had limitless alcohol, a bbq, and a band. Afterward we went to a new bar at the builing formerly known as the Plaza hotel. Very plush.

So, other things I have been doing this Summer; I went white water rafting. It was sooo much fun! I went on a day trip to the LeHigh River in Pennsylvania, a 2 hour trip from the city. I play in a Summer softball league in various places around the city from Central Park all the way up to Harlem (is a little scary up there).

The city also opens up a slew of rooftop bars in the Summer and I have been making the most of the al fresco socializing. And next weekend some girls and I are renting a room at the Empire Hotel just so we can use the pool!

Until next time....

Fire Island

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:47:00 +0000

A few weeks ago it was Memorial Day weekend which is the official beginning to the Summer Season (although ironically Summer doesn't officially start until June 21st or something, somewhere close to the solstice). Anyway, a friend of mine organised a share house in Fire Island, which is a long narrow island off Long Island on the way to the Hamptons. You have to catch a ferry to cross the water and once there there are no cars and roads, just footpaths and red wagons (seriously!). It's very quaint and there are lots of families that come here and the kids ride around on their bikes without fear of being run over by cars. There is also a rather large partying contingent consisting mainly of 20-somethings. However, I would describe Fire Island as the antithesis of the Hamptons - very low key, relaxed and stress-free. But being a full fledged New Yorker by now, I could only last 2 days there before I was itching for my New York life again - so I headed back home a day early.

Work Turnaround!

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:19:00 +0000

I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 weeks of unemployment and was somewhat disappointed to learn that I had managed to land another job. I would have been perfectly happy to have been a bum for the duration of the Summer but alas it was not to be. That's not to say that I didn't think the job I had accepted wasn't a good opportunity, because on the surface it seemed like the chance for me to make a lot of impact and bring the company and it's website into this millenium.
So when I started and was subjected to an orientation session with others (who were to work in the call centre) I was considerably stunned by all the rules and regulations. Now, I have worked with government departments in Australia, but this government agency was like no other workplace I had encountered. I was not allowed to eat at my desk, nor wear headphones and I had to use a timeclock to check in and out everyday (haven't done that since I was a sales assistant at Myer) ! And that was just the start of the restrictions - imagine all their restrictions on web and phone access! There were other issues as well but I don't feel I can discuss them on a public website. So, after my first week there, I was not looking forward to my second Monday.
That morning as I was sitting at my desk, surrounded by people from non-English speaking countries (you can probably guess their origin - I am in IT) I felt the need to put my headphones on to drown out the foreign languages being spoken around me (actually that was another rule that was broken that I actually agree with), only to be chastised for wearing the headphones! That was the beginning of what I thought was the end of my time there. I informed my agency that I could not see out the contract and they asked me to hold out for a few days until they notified their client. When they finally were informed (that was a long 4 days!) the HR lady asked to speak with me to understand my reasons. I was to learn that I was not the first person to leave for the restrictiveness of the organisation.
A few hours later the CIO summoned me to his office. He asked me not to leave and promised to make changes to address all of my concerns including lifting all those restrictions and changing my reporting structure (I now report directly to the CIO) and even promised to make things more financially rewarding.
So, it's a week later and a lot has changed at the place where I work and I'm actually starting to enjoy it! Wonders will never cease!

It's been a long time...

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:30:00 +0000

I have been somewhat unattentive to my blog as of late, so I guess this post will be very jampacked! Since my last post I have seen Purim, Pesach and Yom Ha'atzmaut and have experienced all the celebrations therein. In Australia, these Jewish festivals would usually go by with little fanfare, but it is a different story entirely here in the Jewish capital of the Diaspora. Purim, the festival that encourages drunkenness was a week long instead of a day and I managed to get through the work week despite having attended 4 Purim parties that week!

For Pesach (Passover) I went with my friend Tracey to Chicago to visit her friends and family and also to visit some of my own family. On the Friday night before Pesach, we stayed in downtown Chicago with some friends of Tracey's and had a great night in a place called Viagra Circle (where men of Viagra age are on the prowl). Having come from New York where the men have a lot more of the power in the battle of the sexes, Men in Viagra circle are so much more aggressive. I think we were only at the bar for 10 seconds befure we had a number of guys wanting to buy us drinks!

The following night we had our first night seder with Tracey's family and the second night I spent with my cousins and Great Aunt (my grandmother's sister) and Great Uncle. It was great to see them all again and have my Aunty Sala fuss over me the way my Grandmother did when she was alive. It reminded me of my grandmother and was very touching. After the seder. Tracey and I went out with one of my cousin's Daniel and we went to Second City which is an improv theatre where a lot of famous comedians start their career.

I had informed my work that I was taking the Monday off due to my trip to Chicago. However, on Monday morning I got a phone call telling me that the funding for my project had been cut and I was not to come back to Pfizer until funding was again approved. Kinda killed my day off! But it looked like I was going to have a lot more than a day off!

So I'm back on the market for another job - not a great time to be looking given the current market conditions and the fact that the Summer is looming. On a lighter note, my parents arrive to visit me in two weeks, so maybe I'll be able to hang out with them more than I had planned!

Crazy Night in NYC!

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:53:00 +0000

The other night I had such a fun night that I feel that it deserves an enitre post all of it's own. It started off with Tracey and I attending a book launch party in the West Village. The book had something to do with the South Beach lifestyle in the 90s but in reality we didn't have much interest in the book, we were just up for an interesting party. There were a number of minor celebrities at this party, namely Cabdace Bushnell, writer of Sex & the City and Lipstick Jungle tp name a few, Tommy Hilfiger's daughters put in an appearance and the party was also attended by an apparent big time celebrity photographer, Patrick McMullan. I managed to meet Candace, but she wasn't too interested in talking, there was talk that she was a little sloshed! Tracey and I did meet a great woman, I would describe her as the quintessential New York Jewish woman. Her name is Fran and she is a Fashion Broker, in her 40s or 50s and is hilarious and totally says it how it is! Tracey and I had a lot of fun with her. Tracey got groped by some gay guys (not sure what the purpose of that was) and I was talking to an apparently
straight guy in a woman's fur-collared coat! Very strange already.
Then Tracey and I and some others headed off for dinner with some of our crew to a place called the Waverley Inn in the West Village. There were paparazzi out the the front, but they were rather tight lipped about who was inside. When we were seated, we could see two other parties from the party we attended - Candace Bushnell's crew and Fran's crew - what a coincidence!
Out the back there was a private room with a bunch of people and we noticed Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl and Mary Kate Olsen from every twin show on earth and the Heath Ledger drama. A bit later in the night, the celebrity crew started to leave, and I headed out to find out what had happened to the ever so cute Chace Crawford. Well, he was standing in an alcove with a bunch of people, so I walked up to him and introduced myself. We chatted for a bit and then I dragged him up the restaurant to meet my friends! They were somewhat in awe by my gall!
Later on, we went into the bar area of the Waverly Inn and met some British guys. We went with them to some Members Only club (no-not one you're thinking!) where the drinks are free for Members and their friends. It was a 4 storey townhouse on 14th street. Very cool - but empty so we left.
I'm really not sure I've done the night justice by my description. But trust me when I say it was a blast!

Philadelphia & Montreal

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:29:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I went to Philadelphia to visit some girls who I spent time with in Israel when I was 15! I found them on facebook after racking my brain for their last names. I stayed with one of them, Hadas, who lives in a part of town called Olde City, and I think you could probably guess why it's called that. We had fun catching up and Hadas, who is a minor celbrity in Philadelphia for being a reported on the News radio station there showed me her work which was pretty cool, and had a nice view of the city.

We had a bit of a reunion lunch with other girls that were on the same program in Israel and it was great to catch up with them, go through old photos etc.

Last weekend I went to Montreal to compete in a netball tournament for by netball club, Manhattan International Netball Club. We played 9 games in one day - it was very exhausting! The majority of the teams comprised of some greath athletes who originated from Carribean countries that are part of the British Commonwealth, as netball is largely unknown in North America.

Despite our exhaustion, we managed to get a second wind that night and hit the town that night and had a ball.

Happy & Sad

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:02:00 +0000

Happy - Got a new contract job! Actually had two offers on the same day. I decided to work on the project with Pfizer over the one with the New York Stock Exchange mainly due to the software I would learn at Pfizer as well as an intuition about the people I will be working with. I start on Monday!
Sad - Heath Ledger died (I'm sure you are fully aware by now). I was actually in his street today (Broome St in Soho) but I guess I didn't go past his building because I didn't see the flowers outside his building that Entertainment Tonight report were there today.

Happy - I reconnected recently with some old friends from Philadelphia that I met when I was in Israel when I was 15. I found them on facebook! I'm visiting them next weekend for a mini reunion!
Sad - The reason I thought about them was because of news of one of my Philadelphian friends who committed suicide on January 1st; Jordan Charlestein aka Dream Smith.

Did I write too soon?

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:06:00 +0000

A few posts ago I wrote about how delighted I was with certain aspects of my experience with medical professionals in the US. I think I must have jinxed it. It is entirely possible that my most recent experience has been the source of my greatest frustration since I moved here. And it's not over yet.

Let's bring you up to speed. The company that sponsors me for my visa offers a health cover to its employees with its health cover provider for the bargain price of $250 per month. It has been sold to me by my employer as a health cover that is unparalleled in the market due to its *cheap* price (I guess its all relative) and the fact that in network providers tend to have 100% of their fee covered, compared to an average copay of $20 of the fee with other providers.

Sounds good in theory. But as you would expect, there is a catch: who are these in-network providers and how convenient and available are they?

In December I attempted to see a GP before I was to head off for Cancun in a few days. So I consulted the website for my healthcare provider to find a GP that was listed as in network. I must've contacted 15 different GPs on the list and most of them had never heard of my healthcare provider and therefore would not see me. The few that would see me were booked up until January and there were a number of them that didn't answer the phone (how do they stay in business?) or the number was incorrect. By the end of this process I was frustrated to the point of tears and decided to forgo the doctor's visit.

I was amazed that I couldn't get an appointment for another month! How on Earth was I going to be able to see a doctor if and when I had a serious problem that could not wait a month?!? This did not make sense to me. I consulted some friends. It seems that if you are already a patient you could get a more convenient appointment but as a new patient you had to wait. I decided out of frustration to leave the issue for a while until I felt more tenacious and my patience level with this issue was replenished. I knew I would need to tackle this at some point so that when I really needed a doctor I had someone that would see me immediately.

So, almost two weeks ago, when I was speaking with my employer/sponsor, I mentioned the issue I was having with the health cover. He was very empathetic, and promised to take it up with the Insurance Broker. So, a few days later, I spoke with the Insurance Broker about the issue and he offered to provide me with a list of GPs that meet my criteria (female) that had been contacted to confirm that they do indeed cover my health insurance. This was a very nice offer I thought, but I guess the fact that I mentioned I was looking at alternative health covers was a contributing factor :) A couple days later I received a list of 4 female GPs, not all that close to me, but 3-4 stops away on the subway.

So I contacted the first on the list also closest to me. The first doctor on the list had an Asian name and was in 46th street. So I called them, and they gave me a different address on 56th street, further than another doctor on my list, but they were happy to see me in an hour! I admit, the immediate availability of this doctor, especially in comparison to the unavailability of other doctors previously contacted did raise some alarm bells, but I had begun on this path and was determined to see it through.

When I arrived at the address, it was simply a door leading upstairs and I wasn't sure which number to buzz in order for the door to open. Inadequate signage - not a good sign. So I called them and they buzzed me through. I then entered a room that was clearly a former Korean/Japanese restaurant. The former signage was still on the door. The room that I entered was nothing at all like a doctor's office! There were teacups and teapots and other asian wares on display in the room. There was a former bar where you could still see bottles hnging upside down ready to pour. And there were Korean people lounging around the reception area. It was explained to me that this was also a spa, but it didn't even look like that. I surreptitously tooks some photos, because you have to see it to believe it!

I sat there for about 10 minutes before I got the hell out of there! I didn't feel very comfortable putting my health in the hands of someone working out of this space!

I got home and booked an appointment 10 days in advance with a doctor that was not very close to me location-wise, but had a Jewish name which made me feel more comfortable! I guess it's silly for me not to see a Jewish doctor in New York of all places! I haven't had my appointmnet yet but I can't imagine it being worse than my most recent experience!

Old friends and new friends

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:09:00 +0000

There have been a few visitors from Australia in the last month. Simon & Skye on the way to touring through Central America, Rafi, who was here for a couple of weeks and my not so little cousin Richie.

Simon & Skye were here very briefly, but we managed to hang out a couple of times. Rafi was here for a few weeks and we had a lot fun: going to the basketball (the Knicks from a corporate box), hanging out in bars on the Lower East Side, the West Village, Flatiron, and Murray Hill (amongst others). Astoria in Queens even got a visit! We also went to a Shabbat dinner for International people, which was very entertaining.

Cousin Richie and I caught up on each other's lives and hung out a bit. My concierge still asks about my cousin with the crazy hair!

I also made some new friends recently, some cool if not adventurous girls. I'n not sure I want to play the "I Never" game with them again! One's a native New Yorker but the other two are from Sweden. The girl on the far right looks an awful lot like a younger Anna Nicole Smith!

And I went Ice skating in Central Park - two whole laps! I realized why it's been around 20 years since I last ice skated and decided that 2 laps was more than enough for me!

Weather here has been a bit schizophrenic with some days being 18 degrees (celsius) and others reaching as low as minus 9 degrees! At the moment its about average at 1 degree, not the most pleasant! But the nice thing is even though it can be this cold, the sun can still shine!

Turks & Caicos - the rest

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 01:03:00 +0000

The remainder of our week involved a lot of sun-baking, tennis, eating (as one always does at Club Med) and drinking. In general, Laura was the tennis queen, getting up at 9:30 every morning for the tennis lesson without fail. I occasionally joined her when I could drag myself out of bed. My sport of choice (other than softball) was water polo, where I managed to used my netball skills to be the high-scorer of my team. Unfortunately, half way into the game, the other team had cottoned on to me and I would end up with at least 3 people defending me (no joke).

Laura found met a guy half way through the trip and that left me a lot of time at night to figure out who to hang out with. I wasn't too impressed with most of the guests but managed to find some friends amongst the Club Med staff and 3 cool Canadian guys. That's all I'm willing to admit on a public webpage :)

Turks & Caicos - Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 03:19:00 +0000

Our trip was to begin with a flight at 7:50am which unfortunately required a start to the day at 3:45am as we had to get to the airport just after 5:30am. When Laura and I proceeded through security we were separated as my ticket had been flagged for a special security check! Us Australians are very dangerous apparently. Ironically, I managed to get through security before Laura despite the detour of being felt up by a female security officer!

Anyway, even though we left on the very important American holiday of Thanksgiving where you might expect a lot of people flying home, the airport was relatively empty. You may wonder why this is an interesting enough detail to mention in my blog. Well the reason is, I felt I needed to set the scene for another celebrity encounter. (You know how I love those!). After clearing security, Laura and I had some serious time to kill, so we decied to explore the limited number of retail outlets at the airport terminal. In Australian airports I am used to the plethora of duty free purchases to be made and I had purposely not packed the camera I brought to the US because I was keen to get a much smaller one that I could fit easily into my handbag so I could take it out with me all the time in NYC. Imagine my surprise, when I discovered the absence of electrical equipment at the duty free store!

But I guess you aren't really all that interested in that, you are probably wondering about my celebrity encounter. It's not that interesting, really. It's not like I saw Madonna or Brad Pitt. Laura and I were walking through the fairly empty airport when I spotted a rather vertically challenged, lone white haired man that reminded me of Richard Dreyfus. So I said (loud enough for him to hear) as he passed us, "That guy looks like Richard Dreyfus", and in acknowledgement of the fact that he was who I said he looked like, he said " Hi". That was it. I know, I kinda built it up to something big. Maybe the Baby Boomers reading this will be more impressed.

Back to the camera situation. (Who would've thought I could write so much and we haven't even taken off on our flight yet!). As neither Laura nor I had brought cameras with us, we were now in somewhat of a bind, with potentially no photos resulting from our trip. So we went to the newsagent and bought a couple of disposable cameras. We continued to walk around and walked into a music store, surprised to see that they stocked digital cameras! I was even more surprised when Laura asked the man in the store about getting a bulk discount if we bought 2 cameras. Laura kept bargaining this guy down further and further to the point where I could see there really wasn't a great deal of margin left and I was starting to get a bit embarrassed by her relentlessness to reduce the price even further. I stepped in and said "that's a good price" which I was heavily chastised for afterwards. But I must admit, Laura is very talented at haggling in a way that the salesman feels obliged to comply in her favour! In a short time we had gone from no cameras to 4! We promptly returned our disposable cameras.

We arrived at the Club Med village in Turks & Caicos just before lunch and we were amazed at how turquoise the water looked. Perhaps that had something to do with the name of the country! I didn't realise that Turks was part of the British Commonwealth and was happy to see cars driving on the left side of the road again!

That afternoon we joined a game of softball. At school I played first base, so I made sure I played that again. One of the guys on my team, understanding the importance of the position of first base asked me if I could catch. He soon had his answer. I don't often brag, but I rocked that game! I got loads of people out and, at one point I was pitching and the batter hit the ball straight into my rib (I still caught it though). I happened to be batting not long after that and managed to come out of my injury-forced retirement to bat to a cacophany of cheers. Ah, Club Med - it's kinda like camp for adults, but with alcohol and nicer rooms (not too much nicer though!)

Doctors, Dentists & Cosmetologists

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 02:13:00 +0000

Last week I finished up my most recent contract (yay!) and I took the opportunity of the past three days before I go away to "fix" myself. Being new to the city, I obviously don't have a troupe of healthcare and service professionals that I normally go to, so as you would expect, I have had a mixed bag of good and bad experiences. As you will discover...

A couple of weeks ago I had a deep tissue massage. Instead of improving my situation, it has caused me a great deal of back pain since, so I decided to get some physiotherapy. I found a "physical therapist" as they are called here, listed within my health network and called to make an appointment. The sports clinic was a few streets away from me and I was pleased to see that they didn't keep me waiting too long. I was ushered into an office lined with diplomas relating to being a doctor, and the lady talking to me introduced herself as Dr. Babie (pronounced Bobby). I was a bit confused as to why I was seeing a doctor of sports medicine instead of a physio, but it seemed that I required a referral in order to see a physio. So she did a few tests, and then determined that I should meet with both a chiropractor and a physical therapist. I don't even know of any clinic in Australia that would even think of having a physio and a chiro cohabiting the same space! But in the US, they seem to cohabit quite nicely and cooperatively as well. So, that same day, I was able to see both (which, again you wouldn't really experience in Oz without at leats a few weeks notice). I do have a feeling, though, that physical therapists in the US are not quite exactly of the same caliber as Physios, and perhaps that is why they coexist nicely with chiropractors.

This morning I went to see a Dentist. I had received a flyer in the mail for a chain of Dental Offices giving new patients a free appointment with the hygenist. However, there was one catch: I need to have a complete assessment of xrays etc to determine if I need other treatments. We all know how this goes, and Americans are exceptional at doing this kind of marketing. But I figured I didn't need to proceed with any program they suggested and could just get my teeth cleaned. So, I called to make an appointment last week as I wanted my teeth cleaned before I left on holidays. I was told that I could not have the appointment with the hygenist until I had had the assessment. Here we go...
Anyway, I figured I could have the xrays and then arrange the appointment for when I returned from my holiday. So I go and I have a much different experience than my doctor/chiro experience wait-wise and service wise. They get my name wrong, they leave me waiting for periods of time at different junctures; I am not happy. They took more xrays of my teeth than I have ever had before. Eventually I get to see the dentist, who sensing my annoyance, asks what is wrong. I explained that I was frustrated going through this whole process when all I really want is my teeth cleaned. He proceeded to inform me that he is an ultra experienced dentist and was definitely more experienced than any dentist I went to in Australia. A big call indeed, in my opinion, as he doesn't know my dentist! Perhaps he is of the opinion that Australia is just some backwater as far as dentistry goes, not unlikely given the ethnocentric attitude of many Americans. After all, the world series of baseball is comprised entirely of American teams. So I challenged that comment and he proceeded to reel off his list of admittedly impressive credentials. So I gave him that, but really, I still feel that I don't need the dental equivalent of a brain surgeon working on my teeth. And the result? My teeth are as good as any patient's could be and he doesn't suggest any further treatment, releasing me to book my appointment with the hygenist. So I then go to make an appointment, and as the hygenist only works on Tuesdays, I can't make an appointment until next year!!! Not good.

Yesterday, I had my hair cut & coloured. My new hairdresser is named Hector, a very camp Venezualan guy with the accent to boot. He is the ultra-stereotype. Unfortunately, his English not being quite as good as it could be means that we have a little misunderstanding between bangs and long layers and I ended up being not so satisfied with my haircut. I'm hoping to grow into it, pun intended.

There are a number of other professionals that I require in my troupe, but I am still in the process of trialling manicurists (yes - I actually get my nails done now!), waxers (they don't know how to wax here like they do in Australia, and I have sworn off Indian waxers from now on) and GPs (although here they seem to be called Internists).

Anyway, the point of my little tirade is, although I am having loads of fun here in New York, I still really miss my troupe from back home - my hairdresser especially!

Halloween and other gatherings

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 02:14:00 +0000

I never expected that Halloween was such a huge holiday here - but it really is! And it doesn't just go for one day. As with all holidays in the US, a one day holiday is stretched as far as it can possibly go. As Halloween fell on a Wednesday this year, many parties were held on the Friday and Saturday nights before. I made the mistake of going to a party for charity downtown. It was supposedly in a"ballroom" but was really more like a scout hall. Well, by the time the actual halloween came around I was totally over it!! Apparently there was a parade but I'd had enough. Oh, and if you didn't realize - I was a devil!

The previous Sunday I had a few girls over for my first gathering at my apartment. We had a great time and then we headed down to the games room in my apartment building. We played table tennis, air hockey and most importantly Wii!!! I'd never played it before and myself and all the girls loved it! Who said it's a boy's toy! To the left is a pic of most of the girls on my roof deck. Laura and Randi are missing because they are chicken!

At the end of next week my current contract will finish and on Thanksgiving day I am heading down to Club Med Turks & Caicos with my friend Laura for a week. Looking forward to it! After that it will be back to New York and looking for my next project!

Bon Jovi and other Celebrities

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:42:00 +0000

Well, it took me three months, but I have finally had my first real celebrity sighting! (Apart from a couple of minor celebrities from Top Chef and Andrew Shue from Melrose Place). "Who was the celebrity I sighted?", you ask. Well, it was none other than Bon Jovi! On my wait out last night as I crossed 5th and Broadway in front of the Flatiron building, I noticed some lights and then some cameras and then Bon Jovi. I was late to meet my friends uptown so I didn't really stop to figure out what was going on. But as I returned after my night out in a cab, My cab was blocked from going past the Flatiron building as Bon Jovi was sitting on a bed with a girl right in the middle of the street! So I got out of the cab at that point and decided to complete my journey home on foot(1 block away). There was a moment there as I headed to get out of the shot, that Bon Jovi looked my way - I think we had eye contact! I asked a cop what was happening & he told me that Bon Jovi was filming a new music video. So the next time you see a Bon Jovi video where he is on a bed in the middle of a New York street - just know that I was there!

On Thursday night this week I caught up with a girl named Sybil. A few weeks ago I ran into her as she accompanied an acquaintance we had in common to a gathering of Australians. I was shocked to see her as it had literally been more than 15 years since we had seen each other last. Sybil and I went to school together until the beginning of Grade 6 when she moved to LA. It seems she has been living in NY for a few years now and is a director of Documentaries. So it was very nice to catch up. I was also impressed to find out that her boyfriend is the manager of one of my favourite bands, the Black Eyed Peas, among others! So I expect to be going to a few good music events in the future! Funnily enough, one of the guys I was working for on my first contract happens to be a friend of Fergie, the lead singer of the Black Eyed Peas.

You may have noticed that I said "my first contract". Well about a month ago, my project finished up, at least the first phase of it, and despite the fact that my boss was keen for me to finish on the project so she could get me working on some other projects of theirs, apparently, there were some hold ups with those other projects. So I wasn't working a whole lot. Luckily something else came along. I am now doing Business Process Re-engineering for the Health & Pension body linked to the Union for Television and Radio Artists. So, once again, I am surrounded my celebrities, actually more like their records. Obviously, I can't divulge names, but typically, if you know of them from TV, film or if you have purchased their Album, then I have access to their records. It's surreal.

I expect to start back working again with the other guys from my first contact, but in the meantime I'm working at the health & pension fund. I may end up working for both of them concurrently which would probably work out well for me and give me some diversity in my work.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie....

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 15:13:00 +0000

Last week I had a bit of an "Australian" week. As you can probably tell from my picture, I went to the baseball. It was my first baseball game and I had a lot of fun. I went with another expat Aussie and two of his friends visiting from Australia. If you've watched any baseball movies, you'll know what a big deal it is to catch a foul ball that ends up in the stadium.

The boys I was there with got very excited every time a ball headed our way. Of course, it's something that happens once in a lifetime so the chances of either of them catching one of them is pretty rare. But guess what - the guy that was visiting from Australia actually caught one! It was pretty impressive.

And of course, as you all know, it was the AFL grand final last weekend. The Aussie contigent in NY doesn't miss a chance to gather for an Australian event and there were a number of venues around the city televising the game live, which started around 12:45am our time. I went to an Australian bar called the Sunburnt Cow down in Alphabet City which was far too small for the crowd that turned up and it's not the greatest setup to watch a football game. But I wasn't that really interested in the game anyway, so it didn't matter too much to me.

On the Saturday night I went to yet another Australian get together for an Aussie guy that had decided to move back to Australia. I took an American friend of mine, Dana, who had never been exposed to so many Australians in one go - I think she had a lot of fun and appreciated the sense of fun that Aussies have. I think I've had my fill of Australian events for a while. But I must admit, it is very nice to hang out with people that know how to relax and joke around, and don't take themselves too seriously!

Shana Tova (Happy New Year)

noreply@blogger.com (Audrey Melnik) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:52:00 +0000

I've been informed that my next blog post is well overdue, so here goes.

I had a very nice Rosh Hashanna, spending the first night with my Israeli cousins who are living here and the second night with Australian friends.

My cousin Eli and her husband Bris hosted a dinner for about 12 people, 10 of whom were Israeli. It was a lovely night, and I also had the opportunity to see Eli's sister, Michal,(both pictured right) who I had not seen since she was in Australia at my sister's wedding. As I was only one of 2 that were not native Hebrew speakers, I was a little bit out of the conversation,

but I managed to pick things up here and there and even managed to offer the salt when someone requested the "melach".

I managed to contribute to the conversation much more on the second night with my friends Dani and Tom Hersz, but sorry, no photos were taken.

Workwise, things have slowed down a little as I finished my project. I have not worked very much this past week and I am hoping things will pick up again this week as I only get paid for the hours I work!

I took the opportunity of the time off to go shopping and acquire a good portion of my "fall" wardrobe. Despite what it seems like when you first get here, there doesn't seem to be a huge variety of options when it comes to clothing stores here. Either you go for the chain stores of Club Monaco, Zara, Banana Republic etc who have decent to high prices or you go to the various boutiques around the city and pay exorbitant prices, like $350 for a sweater. Another alternative is Macy's, the equivalent of Myer which has some ok stuff, but when I was on my way there I discovered a great store with really cool clothes for very reasonable prices. I bought 4 jackets there! And they get new stock in 3 times a week, so I imagine I will become quite a regular there.

If you're interested, I have started to build my own Google Map of my favourite places in NY. I will keep adding to it as I find more cool places to shop, eat, drink etc.

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