Sunday, January 27, 2013

Big Day Out

One week ago last Friday I took the day off and Emily and I went to Big Day Out, a massive concert at Sydney's Olympic park featuring over 50 bands and brutal heat. The weather leading up to the event was seasonable but on the day of the show, the tempiture pushed to record levels. The high for January 18th was 46°C (114.8°F). This was the hottest day ever in Sydney. We arrived around noon and the mercury was already over 35°  We ordered frozen mixed drinks only to watch them melt in front of out eyes.  We wondered around several venues and finally chose the wrong one: a concrete bowl with local bands playing. The music was great, but there was no shade and we did not want to venture out to the most pit where water was spraying the concert goers.  We later took up shelter in the main stadium where many bands were playing but we were so miserable we don't remember much from acts like Band of Horses, Vampire Weekend and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  We soon discovered that a strong breaze was being blocked by the stadium and it was at least 10° hotter inside than outside. Water was also hard to come by. The drinking water taps were located very far from the stadium and bottled water inside was $4.50.  This should be a crime when it was so hot. We did recover nicely to take stadium seats to see the two headline acts, The Killers and The Red Hot Chill Peppers. When the killers started their set with "Mr. Brightside," the entire arena awoke from a sun-induced funk and the ground was awash with people rushing in like ants to get close to the stage. The show was awesome from that point. When we left we encountered more trouble when the Sydney Olympic Park train platforms were super overcrowded and I was very worried that someone would get trampled when the train arrived. Of course the train was 10 minutes late and it was not air conditioned. I got separated from Emily when we boarded and I was stuck on the lower level of the double deck standing with my head lilted because of the low roof. For some reason the train which was supposed to be a direct service to Central station turned into a local inner-west train, stopping at every stop to the city. A 20 minute train turned into a 45 minute cookie oven. Everyone on board looked like they were just through a war zone with many blank stares. We did finally arrive in Central safe and sound and I had time to reflect on my first large concert: It would have been totally different if it was not as hot, so I am willing to try it again. 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Its Heating Up in Sydney

Today's high was 28° C (82°F), tomorrow it will be 30°C(86°F),and Friday it will be 38°C(100°F).  Last Tuesday the high was 40°C(102°F).  I work outside and I fell every degree of the heat no matter the scale.  I have been doing traffic control outside a construction site in North Sydney since the first week in November.  I stand outside and direct traffic entering and exiting out site.  I also wave through traffic, through.  It's a pretty boring job but the pay is good and up until last Tuesday the weather was fantastic.  I learned that most union construction sites in Australia shut down after the temp reaches 40° and I learned that we are definitely not a union site, as work continued as normal.  Australia is known for oppressive heat, but at least Sydney is cooled by ocean breezes.  We also started a boot camp workout in the evenings which is fun, but definitely not cool. To add to the heat misery we have been notified that we need to find a new place to live by January 29th, and I need to sort out car registration by January 30th.  If the heat and stress get too bad, I will just have to jump in one of Sydney's amazing beaches and think abut swimming away...