You, more than me, probably...

...wish I was really working for the luxury car company.

And that's the name of the new blog:


www.wishitwasthecarcompany.blogspot.com

Admittedly. not a lot there yet, but it has begun!

Thanks to Sara for her naming recommendation! Hers was a little unweildy at:
markhadevaritbättreomdetverkligenvaritbilrollsroycedujobbadeför.blogspot.com, but hej, it was inspiring nonetheless.

So go pay a visit!

Quick Update & Last Melbourne Pics

Hello old chaps!

I've been in the UK now for 4 weeks and haven't been too good keeping up the blogging. Sorry about that. As you could imagine there is a lot to do when arriving in a new country and starting a new job so blogging hasn't been top priority. I have started taking pics and thinking about what to write about where I am and what I am doing, so it won't be long now. And stay tuned for the announcement of my new blog name!

In the meantime, a brief update: I live in a share house with 6 others, and it's not too bad. The town is in many ways very much like Luleå, a small univesity town a bit dead without the university students. But not as isolated and the town center has more bustle to it, and heaps more pubs! I have bought a car, which will hopefully not be an interesting story - I bought it on ebay, unseen and untested, so we'll see! Work is good; the team I work with is great with everyone fairly young and mostly from overseas; though the pace and pressure is a lot higher than what I'm used to at university. Believe it or not I have been at work every day by 8:30, often 8:15, a time when for the last 9 years I would be hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock. Last week I managed to 'fix' a machine that became my responsibility, only to use it to determine that I a guess I was asked/forced to make had put approximately $100,000 worth of product at risk of catastrophic failure... the timing of having a team "pub meeting" on Thur night clouldn't have been better.

And surprisingly enough, I've already had an international grocery queuing incident!

But anyway, more of that for a different space. Just thought I would post my last pics from Melbourne, taken in a very rare bike ride into the city along the Yarra. I never lived close enough or was keen enough to do it from E.Burwood, but from Hawthorn it wasn't too bad. My helmet fashion was stuck in the '80's - remember Stackhats? And after the lonely roads of Luleå riding on main roads full of cars was a little worrying. But it was enjoyable enough to finally see what the trail was like.


Pics again via Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30372&l=e6808&id=731953277

Stay tuned for Living in Loughborough news next time! Cheerio

I Need a new Blog!

Hi Everyone,

I have actually left the land of the gum trees behind and am now in England! This new phase of my life will take me to the small town of Loughborough, in the Midlands about 180km NW of London, where I will work for Rolls Royce Fuel Cells. 2 points regarding that: 1) nothing to do with luxury cars, 2) nothing to do with luxury cars running on hydrogen fuel cells.

So of course my blog needs a new name, which is why i am having a Naming Competition!!. Whoever comes up with a suitably invigorating and exciting name for the blog will receive... I dunno, a signed something from me. A print of one of my pics perhaps? A Tescos receipt? Living in Loughboroughland works but...

So please, send me your ideas. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled on this one until I have the time/internet connection to make updates and make the change.

Ciao for now.

Balloon Sunrise

A childhood dream of Dad's was fullfilled a couple of days ago with a hot-air balloon flight over Melbourne. The four of us got out of bed at an ungodly hour of 3am to get ready for the trip to the launch site which started at 4.45.

Although this was our 3rd rescheduled flight - previously due to bad weather and a death in the pilot's family, and the forecast was for showers, we got very lucky with the weather. Mostly fine, gentle winds, and the rare chance to fly over the water with the westerly wind. We hit a speed of about 16km/hr, and got to about 1700ft. After landing, which was softer than expected, everyone pitched in to fold up and pack away the balloon, before being carted off to a classy champagne breakfast at the Langham hotel.

It was a great trip, very gentle, with amazing views over Melbourne. A great look at the town 3 weeks before I leave it - I have visas, air tickets, and leave for the UK on the 2nd of January.

As usual, pics are on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25121&l=df17d&id=731953277

4WD -ing Sydney

Hej Hej! Yes, I am still in Australia, but now plans are firming up for my relocation to the UK. After a few delays with the work permit it finally arrived last week and now I have applied for my entry permit and made a tentative booking to fly on the 2nd of Jan. So it is Christmas in Australia this time, in the stinking hot heat with cold beer and seafood on the bbq.

What have I been doing? Alot, but not much - it is surprising how easy it is do to very little all day. Dad has a house building project going and so that has kept me busy, organising little things like door handles and tiles and such, and bigger things like clearing out the old house before demolition and making space in their house for the temporary storage of everything. I've also made some pocket money on eBay selling off my books and other things I no longer need to hold on to. Anyone need a kendo outfit? Or a washing machine?

Since I've been back I've caught 2 new illnesses that I've never had before - sinusitis and gastro, and developed a reaction against antibiotics. I think my immune system preferred the dry Arctic air! I also took short trip up to Sydney to visit my cousin and a friend of mine, and we went up on a weekend 4WDriving trip in the Blue Mountains, which was great. I hadn't been camping for long time, and it was interesting to see what these cars could do - climbing up tracks that were difficult to walk up by foot. So I have included a couple of pics of the trip here, but more are again on Facebook which anyone can check out:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23620&l=a723b&id=731953277

FuRinKaZan

On the weekend my former taiko group played again at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, this time with guests on shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and shamisen (traditional banjo). It was great to see them in action, and after a 2 year break I couldn't help smiling once all the big drums started thumping and the vibrations filled the air and resonated in my chest and ears. Nice to see the staging and playing getting tighter with time - it was very well put together show.

Some pics, again, are on Facebook. Click the link.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17208&l=2dbd1&id=731953277

Still Moping Around Melbourne

Hejsan Svejsan,

Just a quick post to say I am still here at home in Melbourne, waiting for Her Royal Majesties government to grant me a work visa. It has been 6 weeks since i came home, and there is at least another 4 to go, and I have been lazier than ever, sitting at home selling stuff on eBay, trying to go regularly to the gym next door, slowly catching up with people. And feeling nostalgic for the forests and lakes of norther Sweden already!


And that's about it! I haven't been good with the photos, but here are a couple.

Mum and Dad

Aussie pizza - lots of toppings! That's what I was missing!

Skiing Hotham

In what has become a Terner family tradition, and will hopefully continue for some time, a visit from me in August means a ski trip. This time it was Hotham, and a warm, sunny, 5 days were spent on the slopes. Dad and I ski in the morning, and in the afternoon fetch Mum and Paul for some dragging around the flat. This time though, after a couple of days I suggested using cross-country skis so that they would have a bit of grip and could 'walk' up the small slope under their own steam, which worked a treat. Dad, hesitantly, attacked his first blue slopes, and I overcame my fear of diving into the mountain again shoulder first, so there were improvements all round.

Almost no snow fell, but one night there was massive wind and some fine snow which led to the beautiful icicle patterns seen in the pics. But the +5 to +9oC days meant it didn't last till lunchtime.

Pics on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13743&l=6f22f&id=731953277

Bangkok

So, with the flood of Scandinavians going to Thailand trying to get some real summer, planes were full and my plans for a quick stopover became 4 days in Bangkok.

The city was crowded, hot, and hectic. A big change from up north, and initially I realised just how much I missed lively street culture. But the fun wore off very quickly. I went to the largest weekend market in the world, and had barely enough room to pull my wallet out of my pants (and none to pull my camera out of my bag) I was very quickly was over the whole "masses of people" thing. Plenty of bargains to be had, and much haggling to be done, but the crowds were horrendous.

Haggling also became tedious very quickly. Almost any taxi fare enquiry started at 200 to 400 baht (6-12$) , before bargaining down to about 80-100 baht to get home from the areas I mostly visited. The only honest taxi driver in Bangkok made me discover 70 was probably too much. Actually he was only honest because had had absolutely no English ability whatsoever except for the word 'meter', so he couldn't try to convince me that it was very far, and there was lots of traffic, or that the market I wanted to go to was closed so he could take me shopping elsewhere, or he had a sister that I could 'meet', or...

But I also managed to check out some of the main sights - the Reclining Bhudda, the Grand Palace, the Golden Tower, Jim Morrison's house, and some more markets and shopping.

Pics, as usual now on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13091&l=690e0&id=731953277

Helsingfors & The Best Coffee in Sweden

From Germany I had to come back to Sweden before leaving for good, and I had 1 hour to kill at Arlanda airport. Much to my surprise I had the best coffee I've had in my 2 years there. Yes, at the airport! The last thing I would ever do in Sweden, trying to use up the very last few kronor in my pocket, was to purchase a märkligt gott kaffe!

So next time you are in transit, it was the Razzia(?) coffee stand when you walk from terminal 5 towards 4 and Skycity. A sandwhichboard advertised that the barrista there was a finalist in the barrista world championships in Rome, and it really showed.

Then it was on to Helsinki, the capital of Sweden's arch enemy and ex-colony, Finland. I had less than 24 hours there, to basically catch up with friends from the Monash Choir Monucs, Gudrun and Al, who have survived there for 4 years.
Helsinki is a small capital city, with some nice buildings and the bay. Stockholm it isn't, but I managed to spend a pleasant few hours there in the sun. Pics, now on facebook. Click the link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13052&l=781ba&id=731953277