March 06, 2004, 23:45: Sydney, Australia - Bree's House
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Yesterday, I visited a couple of Australian Malls. They are very much like Canadian or American malls, except with a whole lot more colour and life. I had food in the food court, at a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant. I then went out to Bondi Beach, with the intention of surfing. Unfortunately, it was fully booked, so I absorbed the sun all day. It was very nice, very beautiful beach, nestled in between two rocky shores on the Northern and Southern ends. I tried taking some pictures, but my camera stopped working. Damn technology, I hate it. After that, I met up with Bree and Gary and their friend Jasmine, and we went out to the King's Cross Hotel, an alternative music club. After a bit of music, and thrashing about aimlessly for a while, I went and took a nap in the car, as I was whipped from walking around (not to mention the flight).
Today, I woke up and tried to format my memory card on my digital camera. I spent a good hour working at this card, and it was determined to thwart my efforts to have some photo record of my journey to this beautiful country. It won the battle, and I went to Bondi to claim my spot in the surf. It was now raining pretty hard. After confirming my booking (and getting very soaked in the process), I went off to Oporto to have a chicken burger for lunch. This was something that was highly recommended to me by Gary, and it was indeed quite good. I headed off to a camera shop right after to confirm that technology hates me, and that my memory card I just bought in December, conveniently on the other side of the world, is dead. They confirmed this, and after a short time of sympathizing, they offered to sell me the equivalent storage space card for the double the price. I politely declined. I headed back to the surf shop, and I got changed for the lesson.
Surfing is fun. I can see why it's so popular here. My instructor, Shelly, was very good. After going through a few "dry" runs (pun intended), we headed out into the ocean. The waves were quite decent, and I managed to get up on the board on my feet for a couple of seconds, after which I promptly fell into the salty frothy washing machine sea. Those who can surf the large waves and not get their ass royally kicked are truly talented. It was very fun, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
After surfing, I headed back to Strathfield, where I met Bree, and we went bowling with a few of her friends. I was terrible, completely out of practice. What great fun. Tomorrow, I will be heading into the center of the outback, to go camping of all things. I'm going to try desperately to find some memory for my camera, which might be a challenge in the middle of the desert on a Sunday in a country where most stores don't even open on Sunday. That should be fun.