A Sydneysider now

It's been about a month since I landed in Sydney, and since I am piggy-backing on an unsecured net connection, I might as well write about the first few days in my new city. First impression - Sydney is really pretty! It seems less dirty, less noisy, less rude than some of the other really big cities I have in mind. It's winter here, but the weather's sexy. The idea of dressing differently for different seasons appeals to me and one of my first lessons was that people in Sydney take their dressing fairly seriously. (I had to bury my American parka - excessively bulky and butt ugly - deep into the recesses of my wardrobe. Except that it doesn't have any recesses at all, really). I'm getting there.

I live in the city... in the affordably elegant Pyrmont area. Or so I thought. The rent went up exactly 10 days after I moved in... taking affordability out of the equation. I most likely will be moving again. :( That's not a welcome thought considering I've already hauled my FOB arse through two previous temporary dwellings thus far. The prospect of house hunting doesn't exactly cheer me up either... but that's a separate post in itself. I really don't want to move though... the location is just great. I can walk to work. It's about 30 minutes one-way, which I thought would be a bit much. As it turned out, the walk is gorgeous!!! It's right through Darling Harbour and is oftentimes the best part of my day. (I know - I don't have a life... yet!) Also, as those of you who've tactlessly made fun of my expanding waistline will testify, I definitely could use the exercise.

Work is smooth... after working in the Indian IT industry, it must be! After the 60-70 hour weeks in Bombay, I could definitely get used to the sane working hours... sometimes spent with a glass of red right by my laptop on a chilled out Friday evening! The office also has a table tennis, X-box room complete with a 40" plasma and a well stocked kitchen with breakfast, fruit, snacks etc. More importantly - the people seem pretty loose, office politics is conspicuous by its absence and there's no stress. It helped that I landed in time for the annual company kickoff outing and bonded with colleagues in a manner that only the inebriated can! I mean, the CEO spilled red wine over my brand new white shirt - what more could a new joinee ask for???

So, by and large, I'm happy. I miss Bombay a little and all the people that make it special... but most of them aren't around any more anyways. C'est la vie, I guess.