This year we were fortunate to be in town for NYE, and since we are paying absurdly high Sydney rent year round to live near the harbour we were definitely going to take advantage of the location for the annual fireworks show.
People rant and rave about how good the fireworks are in Sydney, and with the exception of New Zealand they pretty much kick off New Years Eve celebrations for the entire globe with their explosive extravangza. Lets put it this way... they were right, we were not disappointed.
At the end of our street there is a park where there is a pretty good vantage point where you can see both the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. We heard that the area gets really busy on NYE, at the begining of December we received a notice in the mail basically showing all the road closures and restricted areas near us. The flyer also went on to say that the street would be closed to residents and visitors after it hits a capacity of 15,000. Thats a lot of people to cram into a tiny park. So taking all this information in we decided to make sure we secured a good spot, there was no way we waited this long just to have a blocked view.
We were surprised the day before NYE when a few tents popped up, so we decided to order some pizza and save a spot, if it didn't get too busy we'd pack up and come back early in the morning. We set up around 5pm and saved a good chunk of space. Shortly after a news reporter came by and I made it onto the Nine News channel for my 15 minutes of fame (actually it was probably closer to 2min, I'm not sure but did receive a few phones calls and texts from people surprised to see me on the telly).
After eating, playing a few games and reading we had only killed a few hours. However, long story short we were glad that we secured a water front unobstructed view because by 9pm the day before NYE there were a row of tents 2 deep along the water and by the morning of NYE the park looked pretty full. By noon it was standing room only and by 5pm I think they started to shut of the street due to capacity issues. There had to be way more than 15,000 people by then. The line up for the washroom was about 2+ hours long (thats with 3 porta-cabin washroom sites with 5-15 stalls each). Luckily we could still access our place and used it during the day (it was a life saver for us and our guests).
I'm also happy we got to sleep out there, I got one of my best shots of the bridge around 5am, which is now printed and on the wall. Besides we would have been sleeping on the floor in the flat anyway (since we had Mom/Dad over).
We were lucky this year, by the end of the night we had about 20-25 people in the spot we secured, including Mom/Dad, our visiting friends Tammy and Wouter (who also gave us a shout out on their blog), Anubhai/Pravina Bhabhi/Luke, and some local Sydney friends (including more visiting Canadians).
Now onto the pictures:
around 5:30pm the day before NYE
around 9pm the day before NYE
our bed for the night
around 8am on NYE
view from behind our camp in the morning
Dad enjoying the view
Lukester
later in the day
at one point there was a continuous rainfall of fireworks along the width of the bridge
Went down to Blacktown Airport today for my Helicopter Flying Lesson with Heli Scenic. This was special because I've always wanted to go for a helicopter ride and I'm sure once I'd been for a ride in one I'd want to know what it felt like to fly one. Today was lucky to do both.
So, what is it like? Well, I thought it would be scary lifting into the sky so quickly, but it surprisingly felt pretty normal. Definitely had a few "ohh sh!t" moments as the helicopter wobbled and tilted during the flight. It was a similar feeling to when I first started riding a motorcycle, lots to take in, lots of different controls and lots of noise. The controls are super sensitive, so a slight movement in the Cyclic meant we were rolling one way or another.
There are basically 3 controls that you need to manage simultaneously, so its similar to driving a manual car where you need to balance clutch and accelerator, but with one more element. That, and all the controls are way more sensitive and need to be constantly adjusted to keep the helicopter going in the direction you wanted to. Plus the fact that you've got a long way to fall if you totally mess up. No pressure.
And on to the pics:
Pic of the Helicopter I flew - Post Flight
getting fuelled up pre-flight
View as we were coming in for some low height practice followed by the pilot landing the chopper
With my new found freedom from the working world (well until I find another job), thought I'd check out the annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibit during the day. It was also a good excuse to visit Bondi Beach. Pics below, let me know what you think.
All good things must come to an end. And it is with mixed emotions that I'm sharing that I will no longer be employed with BlackBerry as of next month. It has been an interesting 4.5 years with the company. Now is a good time to tell you a bit more about my journey.
Back in Jan/Feb 2009 I had ended a contract with HP and decided to book a one way flight to Vancouver to see if I could start a new future there. The first day in Vancouver I received an email requesting an interview with RIM 3000 kms away back in Waterloo. So here I am about to start a new adventure in a new city and have a calling to go back to my old University town. I wasn't overly eager at the beginning but this was around the time of the global financial crisis and I was quickly discovering that the job market in Vancouver was not well suited to my skill sets at that time. Plus it was a good opportunity at a company with a good reputation. I flew back for the interview about 3 weeks later. It took a few months to get everything sorted but started the job in June that year.
Fast forward 4 years and I'm now married and living in Sydney working in a much different role. It has been a great trip and a lot of good stuff happened between now and when I first started. Thanks for the "Roller Coaster" BlackBerry. Now on to bigger and better things. Wish me luck.
copied from their site: Parramasala is an international contemporary arts festival that celebrates the global impact of the arts and cultures of Western Sydney’s communities. The city of Parramatta is home to vibrant arts and entertainment including music, dance, theatre, comedy, film, markets and visual arts from around the world and Parramasala captures this wealth and folds it into a unique cultural event.
