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| Day 9: | Thursday, 12 September 2002 | ||
| New Thing: | Shopping at Westfield Shoppingtown | ||
| Weather: | A bit overcast, clearing by noon, low 60s | ||
| Money Spent: | $20.85 AUS | $11.50 USD | |
| 6:15am | Just to throw me for a curve, Tubby set the alarm early. Something about getting a jump on the day. |
| 6:26am | I was snatched up and taken (quite abruptly) outside and to the train. Mind you, there's no sun in sight, and it's cold outside. |
| 6:54am | We connect through to the final stop, and exit the train. |
| 6:57am | The access card the boy has doesn't work at this hour. By appearing to fumble for a card, though, he's able to follow some other (more clearly authorized) folks into the building. |
| 7:12am | Plugged in and up and running, the boy puts a phone to his head, and sits in that position with the momentary hang up and dial again, for two hours. Who'd want to talk to him in any case? |
| 9:16am | He's off the phone and disappeared to do whatever it is he does. I figure it's a good time for a nap. |
| 12:21pm | I'm awoken and carried as we venture outside, on what many people call a "lunch hour." I wouldn't know... the boy barely leaves his little area unless there's a fire brigade outside (flashing lights mandatory) or a rumour of pretty girls outside wearing plaid skirts (I suspect some weird Catholic school thing from years past). In either event, we're out of doors. |
| 12:27pm | We pop into Commonwealth Bank, branch 2140, Victoria Street, Chatswood, NSW to exchange $100 US for more of this Australian Monopoly money. (I realize it has an actual cash value, but any time I encounter paper money that's tear resistant, that says to me, "plastic." And plastic, is, well, fun. And you have fun when you play games. And Monopoly is a game. Do you enjoy my transitive logic? |
| 12:33pm | After completing out transaction, paying a $5 fee (just like in the US, but there the fee was $5 US, here it's $5 Australian, which is only about $2.60... I think I'm better off, eh?), we headed to the Westfield Shoppingtown. By walking in the door, we're on Level 3. The place (not a mall, a "shopping town", remember) has 6 levels we've identified, and a decent food court. Including a McDonalds, which we will overlook. |
| 12:36pm | We ascend to Level 5 and look at Toys 'R' Us. Nope, nothing here they don't seem to have back home. So down the moving walkway we go... it's not an escalator, mind you -- there's no steps. |
| 12:38pm | The recent flip through the phone book shows there's several Wendy's throughout the area. When we got there, though, we were in for a bit of a surprise, and the boy went into vapor lock, and couldn't function for a moment or two. |
| 12:40pm | And then we walked away. To clarify, yes, it's lunch time, it's the food court, and I'm leaving with Tubby, unfed. Great. |
| 12:43pm | I made enough of a stink (verbally, not literally) that we ducked into Burger King on the way back. To protest this shabby treatment, I ordered a chicken item from the menu. My consumption of another winged bird, however, caused the boy no grief. Oh well... at least it didn't cause me any further distress. |
| 1:02pm | Back at the desk. The boy seems to have designs on more of whatever it is he does, so I'm back to cozy up with a woolen sweater in a dark corner under the desk. |
| 6:36pm | We depart the office, but in a bold move, instead of heading to the train, we go back to the shopping town. It seems this is their late night, and everything is open until 9pm, versus the overly inconvenient-to-consumers 5:30pm. Field trip! |
| 6:49pm | As noted, the place is massive (forgive the poor splice job, but it seems easier than expecting you to open two pictures and visualize). It could even be big enough to be a small city. Six levels that span the length of what seems to be about two city blocks, and level 7 is a cinema (y'know a movie theater). Opening today: XXX, and next week, Austin Power's Goldmember. And yes, they're about three months behind an American theatrical release schedule. |
| 6:50pm | Speaking of behind the times, they still have a Tandy computer store that isn't gone out of business. |
| 6:55pm | Descending from Level 5 (where we took the massive picture) down to Level 4 for the food court. With any luck, Tubby may now feed himself, which means me, by extension. |
| 7:01pm | We hit the Pizza Hut Express (they provide Pepsi, enough said). Our pizza would be ready in 5 minutes. |
| 7:12pm | It seems at when you're down under, so is time. Although upside down, a 5 still looks like a 5 -- not 10. |
| 7:21pm | The less-than-filling pizza dinner has left us on the quest for snacks. We began at Target. |
| 7:28pm | No dice. The store is more of a quasi-Target, the margarine
of Target, it's the Diet Coke of Target, just one |
| 7:32pm | We discover the Food for Less, or something to that effect... just another Woolworths. We wander the aisles, impressed that everything looks like food, yet, nothing looks too familiar, for the most part, odd. |
| 7:36pm | United States: Cheese-n-Crackers. Australia: Snack abouts. But Vegemite? What the heck is Vegemite? |
| 7:37pm | Sliced cheese? Yes -- even Kraft. No American cheese, though. Surprise. But, what flavor is it? Doesn't say, I regret. |
| 7:38pm | A bit early for this, isn't it? |
| 7:43pm | Little in the way of silly cereal; most were very practical. Although you can't swing a hammer without hitting Bob the Builder around here. |
| 7:44pm | Trying to choose between house brand Fruiti Rings or Fruit Loops? Difference is probably minor, although the Fruit Loops costs roughly double that of the leading brand. |
| 7:45pm | Oh my sweet platypus!!! Pepsi -- dirt cheap!!! C'mon, 75¢ for a 1.25 liter bottle? Even in America that's a bargain, but here, where that's roughly 41 cents (including any redemption value AND sales tax), it's an absolute steal. If it's still here, we'll be back at lunch for more... and only bring another $1.50! |
| 7:47pm | Other cute foods to be showcased from the comfort of the hotel. We ran through the check-out (cashier Sarah, a delightful lass who seemed amused at the childish t-shirt the boy was wearing... yeah, that's a first, huh?), and headed outside again, purchases in hand. |
| 7:49pm | This is worth investigating... Donut King? Beyond the name, two things of interest. First, look at the colours and assortment! (And shapes; in the lower left, yes, that's a dinosaur shaped donut for $1.90, or about $1 US). 3 for $2.80 is also about right - 50 cents each, US equivalent Secondly, and not capture on film, yet... no donut holes - they had mini-donuts, but they were decorated as fancy as the colorful ones. Sold in an apparent dozen. That, my dear ducklings, is worth a second visit tomorrow when we make the Pepsi run. |
| 7:51pm | A $2 Store? Silly sounding to you, but remember, the exchange rate is roughly 2:1 between Australia and America... so it's just your $1 American store. They're just to practical, huh. |
| 7:52pm | A chemist...? So, for kids in Australia, there's actually some function for taking chemistry, unlike the U.S., where you do little more than create sulfur that stinks up the building for everyone else? |
| 8:32pm | We finally return home/the hotel. Oh, goodie. |
| 8:34pm | Our food purchases, on parade:
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| 9:42pm | Off to sleep... we've got an early day ahead of us. Why; I'm not sure. But if I get a package of mini-donuts and some more cheap Pepsi, I don't care. Tootles! |