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From Twitter 12-02-2009
Dec. 3rd, 2009 02:01 amTweets copied by twittinesis.com
Dec. 3rd, 2009
The less than lovely arrival in Australia
Dec. 3rd, 2009 02:19 amMy trip to Australia was much complicated by my brainlessness. Sunday I had a bit of a cold and I didn't get as much packing done as I had hoped. I packed on Monday mostly and at about 3pm my computer started making horrible noises. Since it had been overheating and having screenfreezes I feared the worst. So I spent a couple of hours in the Apple Store. They diagnosed it as a fan rather than something serious but didn't have the part. I rushed home, ate the dinner Russell had made and then hopped in the car to go to the airport. Only upon arrival did I realize that I hadn't taken my passport out of the drawer. *facepalm* I called ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mr_kurt who was kind enough to go by our house and grab it since Russell couldn't have gotten to SJ and back in the hour available. I arrived at the plane just at the very last moment.
I mostly slept though the flight was very turbulent. Somehow I had also not managed to pack pain meds in my carry on. I hope this isn't going to be a theme. In Sydney everyone was very nice but they had totally mislaid a piece of Rachael's luggage. They did eventually find it but we had to take a flight two hours later than our original connection. Raul was arriving from South America at the same-ish time as our original arrival time so we asked that they contact him and tell him we would be late. They contacted him... and told him our original arrival time. So he was waiting for two hours in the Melbourne airport with no idea what was going on, despite our efforts.
We arrived at our hotel to discover that the Parliament booking office had booked us from Dec 1-4 (rather than 2-10). Thus they had kept our deposit as a no-show and they wouldn't have rooms for most of our stay. Also they put us in a very small room with one bed. It was shabby and just pretty much all around unacceptable. For $50 a night more we got a room at the Hilton which is (a) four times the size, (b) next door to the Parliament venue and (c) has better beds and all other amenities. The proximity to the Parliament has already paid off and it is totally worth it.
Oh, one last gotcha... getting into the taxi to go from our first hotel to the Hilton... I was struck by a bicyclist (hit & run) and naturally he ran into my shoulder. Now in addition to the operation soreness, I have bruised soreness on that arm. Argh!
mr_kurt who was kind enough to go by our house and grab it since Russell couldn't have gotten to SJ and back in the hour available. I arrived at the plane just at the very last moment. I mostly slept though the flight was very turbulent. Somehow I had also not managed to pack pain meds in my carry on. I hope this isn't going to be a theme. In Sydney everyone was very nice but they had totally mislaid a piece of Rachael's luggage. They did eventually find it but we had to take a flight two hours later than our original connection. Raul was arriving from South America at the same-ish time as our original arrival time so we asked that they contact him and tell him we would be late. They contacted him... and told him our original arrival time. So he was waiting for two hours in the Melbourne airport with no idea what was going on, despite our efforts.
We arrived at our hotel to discover that the Parliament booking office had booked us from Dec 1-4 (rather than 2-10). Thus they had kept our deposit as a no-show and they wouldn't have rooms for most of our stay. Also they put us in a very small room with one bed. It was shabby and just pretty much all around unacceptable. For $50 a night more we got a room at the Hilton which is (a) four times the size, (b) next door to the Parliament venue and (c) has better beds and all other amenities. The proximity to the Parliament has already paid off and it is totally worth it.
Oh, one last gotcha... getting into the taxi to go from our first hotel to the Hilton... I was struck by a bicyclist (hit & run) and naturally he ran into my shoulder. Now in addition to the operation soreness, I have bruised soreness on that arm. Argh!
The Parliament begins
Dec. 3rd, 2009 09:34 pmWe checking into our hotel and left our bags with the concierge since it was only 10am and headed over to the Parliament registration only to find it didn't open until 11am. Rachael & Raul and I sat in Caffe Cino in the Hilton and had refreshments. I had no idea there was Blood Orange Pellegrino, but it is very yummy. I don't believe Diet Dr. Pepper exists here but I have had a very nice Solo lemonade and now the Pellegrino. It works for me. :-) Don & Anna joined us and we headed over to register, running into many friends as we walked the length of the convention centre.
The lines were a bit chaotic but we eventually got ourselves all signed up. And our hotel room was ready. But by now it was only half an hour until the Indigenous Speakers Reception which Don, Rachael & Raul were attending and the Pagans at the Parliament reception that Anna & I were headed for. We all decided not to change clothes. Rachael and I are fairly low on spoons and she arranged through the hotel to rent a motorized wheelchair. It is only $14/day plus some delivery fees. I admit to a temptation to get one too.
The Pagan reception was in the Hilton in a suite that Angie & Drake and some other folks are sharing. There were probably 60 people attending including 8-10 local folks. It was very much a meet-and-greet with loud, interesting conversations on all sides. I talked to several people, including a few I was meeting for the very first time but to whom had spoken over the years. And I saw many old friends.
Afterward I went back to our room to find that the hotel had given us the "amenity" of a fruit basic and some fresh squeeze blood orange juice! So by the time Don called it see if I wanted to join them for dinner I really didn't feel like I needed more food. Huzzah for fresh fruit and being in the Hilton.
The first Parliament event, the opening Plenary started at 7:30 with a symphony accompanied by a digeridoo. Prof. Joy Murphy Wandin welcomed us to her land by offering virtual gum leaves which signify we are welcome from the tops of the trees to their roots. Then we were welcomed by Prof. David de Kretser, the governor of Victoria, Bill Lesher of the Parliament and the Hon. Laurie Ferguson, MP, and Jennifer Kanis a Melbourne City Councillor. The Australians all thanked and praised the Aboriginal Australians in their remarks which I thought was interesting. The Rabbi David Sapperstein gave the first keynote. He said some things about the environment and re-sacralizing the earth... but I was nodding off. I left as the first blessing, from the Zoroastrians was beginning. Many more blessings and performances and speeches were scheduled but I am just exhausted.
Off to bed now.
The lines were a bit chaotic but we eventually got ourselves all signed up. And our hotel room was ready. But by now it was only half an hour until the Indigenous Speakers Reception which Don, Rachael & Raul were attending and the Pagans at the Parliament reception that Anna & I were headed for. We all decided not to change clothes. Rachael and I are fairly low on spoons and she arranged through the hotel to rent a motorized wheelchair. It is only $14/day plus some delivery fees. I admit to a temptation to get one too.
The Pagan reception was in the Hilton in a suite that Angie & Drake and some other folks are sharing. There were probably 60 people attending including 8-10 local folks. It was very much a meet-and-greet with loud, interesting conversations on all sides. I talked to several people, including a few I was meeting for the very first time but to whom had spoken over the years. And I saw many old friends.
Afterward I went back to our room to find that the hotel had given us the "amenity" of a fruit basic and some fresh squeeze blood orange juice! So by the time Don called it see if I wanted to join them for dinner I really didn't feel like I needed more food. Huzzah for fresh fruit and being in the Hilton.
The first Parliament event, the opening Plenary started at 7:30 with a symphony accompanied by a digeridoo. Prof. Joy Murphy Wandin welcomed us to her land by offering virtual gum leaves which signify we are welcome from the tops of the trees to their roots. Then we were welcomed by Prof. David de Kretser, the governor of Victoria, Bill Lesher of the Parliament and the Hon. Laurie Ferguson, MP, and Jennifer Kanis a Melbourne City Councillor. The Australians all thanked and praised the Aboriginal Australians in their remarks which I thought was interesting. The Rabbi David Sapperstein gave the first keynote. He said some things about the environment and re-sacralizing the earth... but I was nodding off. I left as the first blessing, from the Zoroastrians was beginning. Many more blessings and performances and speeches were scheduled but I am just exhausted.
Off to bed now.