Okay, okay… So I was absent for a couple of days. This past week was extraordinarily busy! No joke, it has been back to back interviews, meetings, and everything else. The good news is that I am on track to exceed my placement goals for May! Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself. The key to success is having a great team, structure, and support. As an Electronic Arts employee I have them all, so if I fail it is all on me. No worries mate! It’s the weekend, so enough work talk!
Friday, after leaving Firemonkeys, I came back to the hotel and settled in for the night. I was happy as a lark just sitting here and watching television. Actually that is only half true. I did a whole bunch of sourcing while watching television. For some reason I still can't sleep though. It has been nearly two months (can you believe it) since I arrived in OZ so it surely cant be jet lag anymore! Yes, Chris… I know… Melatonin. Not going to happen. It's not like I feel tired all day or anything. In fact I get less sleep now than ever, and still I feel no different. Everybody always told me that the older I got the less sleep I would need. At this rate by the time I am fifty I will require 30 minutes a day.
Today (Saturday) I had two things on my mind. One of those items has been on my "to do" list for three weeks! The first item on my list was a haircut. I am still trying to get used to paying nearly $50 for a haircut. For 15 years I have been going to the same barber and I never paid more than $20 (pre-tip). Sheesh… I am starting to feel like one of those people! You know the type… “I remember when I paid a nickel for a pack of gum”. Yes, one of those! The stylist shared a valuable piece of information while cutting my hair. During our small talk he mentioned that there is a 10% national sales tax on everything in OZ. No wonder everything is so expensive! After my enlightening conversation with the barber it was back to the hotel before tackling the second item on my list-PENGUINS!
My second attempt to see the penguins was almost a success. The arrival time was perfect and the penguins were already out of their burrows and dancing on the rocks. I wrestled my way through the people and managed to get some great video too! That's what I thought anyway. Did you see any penguin video last week? NO! I couldn't use any of the video that I took because it was too dark. Outsmarted by penguins! Can you believe this shit? People say that the third time is a charm, or something like that, and I was certainly determined to win this battle of the penguin.
I arrived at the pier just as the sun was setting on the horizon. If I calculated everything correctly there should be just enough light left in the day to film. The only thing I had to do was wait. And wait... and wait... Was this really happening to me? Did somebody tip the penguins off? No way was I leaving without filming a penguin! Then, almost like it was on queue, the penguins started to call out to one another from under their rocks. They are loud too! Shortly after the penguin chorus began they started to emerge. First one, then two, and then they were popping up everywhere! They are the cutest little things that you will ever see!
All of the waiting and watching finally paid off! Watching them emerge from their sleep was incredible. They popped their little heads out and then waddled up onto the rocks. Yes, Chris, they walk like me. Several emerged in pairs, so I can only imagine what all that noise was prior to their grand entrance. The entire experience was really cool. When I was a kid I used to go out at dusk to hunt frogs. Tonight brought me back to those childhood memories. I have always been fascinated with wildlife. Mom and Dad always said that I would be a biologist one day. Well, they were close… :)
nice
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