From: Jhalpert

Sent: June 17, 2006 12:03 AM

To: Pbeesly

Cc: JWilson

Subject: Sydney Day 7

Dear Pam and Janice,

I can’t believe that tomorrow is my last day in Sydney. Sunday morning I leave for Cairns and hopefully, some warm weather.

Today George and I went surfing at Bondi Beach. It was at least sunny, even if the temperatures were only in the high 50s. I figured that was the best weather I was going to get. Colin and Grace had some shopping to do, since they are leaving for London tomorrow. It’s too bad, because tomorrow is THE day to shop in Sydney. The reason I haven’t really bought anything so far is because there are three markets going on tomorrow in Sydney and I’m planning to find some bargains.

Anyway, George has been surfing at Bondi before, so he knew how to arrange lessons, etc. We got to the beach at about 11:00 AM, and hired "wettys" and surfboards. It seems that the bigger the surfboard, the easier it is to stand up on it, for beginners like me. I could have used one the size of a double bed. Our instructor’s name was Max, and George and I called him Mad Max, because, basically, the guy was insane. There were five people in our group, all beginners or almost beginners like George.

Now about sharks (or "shacks" as they call them here) The beach is carefully marked with red and yellow flags, indicating which part of the beach is safe from bad undertow, sharks and jellyfish. This isn’t jellyfish season, but you never know, and the box jellyfish is no joke. You’re probably better off facing a shark. There are also lots of lifeguards, both professional and volunteer. It’s considered very bad form to wave your arms unless you are in distress, and you will probably find yourself "rescued" if you wave to a friend.

Before our lesson, Max insisted on praying to Hughie, who is apparently the god of surfing. He prayed that our group wouldn’t swallow too much seawater, and that we would be able to find our footing. Not a bad prayer, even if Mom wouldn’t approve. We practiced first on the beach…the techniques of getting from a prone position to kneeling to eventually standing. You are attached to the board with an ankle strap, so that you won’t lose it, and it won’t lose you. My board was huge and blue...the basic rental board. Max had this red and white Xanadu surfboard that was awesome, and he could do all sorts of insane tricks on it.

Well, it turns out that it is somewhat of a disadvantage being really tall...it would be a bit easier to be short and squat...kind of like Danny Devito...lower center of gravity. I didn’t do too badly though. After about five tries and after swallowing a lot of seawater, I was able to stand up for about a second. The problem was, being used to water skiing, I kept wanting to grab onto something, and there was nothing to grab onto. Still...it was so much fun, I can’t tell you. Just that one second of actually standing on a surfboard was indescribable! George did much better than I did, but I didn’t care. I was a surfer, dude!

After our two hour lesson, we surfed on our own for a little while, but there is only so many times you can wipe out before being ready for lunch. So we packed it in, and George took me to this place which is an after surf tradition. Janice...you will love this. It’s a chocolate shop...and the traditional after surfing snack is a cup of liquid chocolate. Not hot chocolate, mind you, but pure melted chocolate. Talk about decadent. But it’s not a big cup...slightly larger than a shot glass. Hardly any calories at all.

There were all kinds of people barbecuing on the beach...again nobody seems to have gotten the memo about it’s being winter, but George and I went to a Thai place across the street. Okay, Pam, and Janice…I can hear you laughing at me from here. You all know that I’m not Mr. Adventurous when it comes to food…but hey this trip has been all about getting out of my rut, so…why not Thai food? I let George order, since I had no idea what was what, and we had some kind of chicken curry dish and Pad Thai which is noodles. (As you well know, I’m sure) Both were very good, though the lemongrass soup we had to start was really spicy, and I had to drink a lot of water. And we had some Thai beer, too, which was very good.

When we got back to the good old Vibe Hotel we met Colin and Grace who had just gotten back from shopping. Grace told me that I have got to go to the Queen Victoria Building, which is this magnificent shopping "mall" with two special clocks and all sort of interesting displays. I’ll have to hit that tomorrow as part of my shopping expedition. Sigh...shopping...it’s a dirty job, but somebody has got to do it. Hey...what do you want from me...I’m a guy!

Anyway, Grace and Colin had only come back to drop off their bags and then were off to the Aquarium. I decided to go along. George went off to do his thing…I’m not sure what exactly that is, and we will all meet up tonight for a special farewell dinner at the Sidney Tower, a revolving restaurant overlooking the city.

At the Sidney Aquarium, I finally got to see a platypus. Here’s a quiz for you. How big do you think a platypus is? I was picturing something the size of a beaver, for some reason, maybe because they have a flat tail like a beaver. Well, they are little…less than a foot long, and the cutest thing you ever saw, swimming frantically around in their tank like fuzzy fish.

On the other side of the spectrum was the giant salt water crocodile, who just lay there with his eyes closed at the edge of his pond, as if daring anybody to stick their hand in. He was huge, about 12 feet long at least. According to Bill Bryson, these guys are very sneaky and, unlike fresh water crocs, who will avoid humans, will eat a person before they even know that they are in danger. He gives several grisly examples of this. Later when we passed him again, he was in stealth mode, lying at the bottom of his pond, pretending to be invisible, and pretty much succeeding. We could only find him because we could see him underwater through the glass and knew exactly where in the pond to look.

The coolest part of the aquarium, though, is the walk through shark tunnel. You basically walk though an underwater glass tunnel with sharks, groupers and giant stingrays passing over and around you as though you were under water with them. After seeing some of those sharks...let me just say that I’m glad I came here AFTER surfing and not before.

There was also a very exciting preview of the Great Barrier Reef, with some of the fish and coral I hope to see snorkeling. And tanks of some of the most amazing fish...the colors were just incredible. As an artist, you would have just loved this, Pam. It’s just really almost unbelievable. Like, there was this one little fish that was half yellow and half purple, just like when you dyed Easter eggs as a kid, and got all artistic and dipped half of the egg in one color and half in another. I mean, what reason would it have to look like that? Is it some sort of natural selection that causes it, or was God just feeling really artistic that day? Looking at these fish really makes you wonder about things.

Tonight we all went out to dinner up in the Sydney Tower with its revolving restaurant. Have you ever been in one of those? I haven’t and the effect is a bit dizzying. I think the restaurant makes one revolution every thirty minutes or so, which gives you plenty of time to see the whole of Sydney decked out in lights. Just beautiful. There was a huge buffet, and along with the roast ham, roast beef and pork, they also featured kangaroo meat, which I would have expected, and camel, which I wouldn’t. Grace and Colin dared me to try them, which I did, and well, the kangaroo was better than the camel, which wasn’t saying much. Both were sort of a beef/lamb cross that was a bit gamy, especially in the case of the camel. But hey…at least I got to say I ate kangaroo while I was in Australia. For dessert I had Pavlova, which is another traditional Aussie dessert, made of beaten egg whites, and whipped cream and served with fresh fruit.

George had brought along a friend...a guy named Tony, that he’d met in that pub the day we watched the World Cup. So, that is George’s story, which kind of took me by surprise, actually. So, I guess when Grace called him a "poofter," that’s what she meant. Anyway, Tony is a "Sydneysider," and was really fun, telling all of us stories about life in Sydney that I for one would never have found out on my own. Like the fact that there is a transvestite karaoke bar, right down the street from our hotel. Who knew? Anyway, it was a fun evening. I really wish you had been with me, but nobody made me feel like a fifth wheel or anything...they are really nice people. We all exchanged e-mail addresses. Who know, if we ever get to London, we can look them up.

Anyway, Colin and Grace have an early flight tomorrow, and came back to the hotel. George isn’t leaving until later for Adelaide and wanted to continue partying, but I can’t take late nights here...my body is still half on US time, so I came back with C & G. It was a quite a packed day today and I am exhausted.

Mom sounded good when I called her, but please let me know if there is any news.

(As Grace would say) Ta ta for now.

Jim

From: Jhalpert

Sent: June 17, 2006 12:32 AM

To: Pbeesly

Subject: For your eyes only

Hi sweetheart,

I figured since you were sharing my e-mails with my sister, and through her the rest of the world, I would address them to both of you.

But I just wanted you to know how much I miss you. I’ve been looking at my photos...you know...the ones we took that last night, when you surprised me by showing up. Now I’m kind of sorry I only kept the PG-13 ones, though I can remember the other ones in agonizing detail. As much as I am loving this trip, in some ways I just wish it were over so I could come back to you. I know you’re reading this at work, so I won’t go on, but I love you very much, baby, and I’ll see you soon.

XXX

Jim

From: Pbeesly

Sent: June 16, 2006 9:46 AM

To: Jhalpert

Subject: re: For your eyes only

Hey Surfer Dude!

I’m sitting here blushing like crazy just thinking about those photos. Thank goodness the cameramen aren’t here. Damn…the phone’s been ringing like crazy this morning. I’ve had to read your letter in about 20 installments. I can’t believe you ate Thai food without me! Not to mention all of the other stuff you’re doing without me.

I’m glad you were able to make some friends while you were there. It’s more fun when you have somebody to joke around with. That’s why it’s so lonely here, now. My best friend is gone. Not just my boyfriend, since you weren’t really that while you were here, but my best friend. I miss you so much.

I wish that you were home, and by that I don’t mean Stamford, dammit...I mean here, sitting at your old desk, living in your old house, lumpy bed and all. I’m sorry…I’m just feeling blue today. Please forgive me. I do want you to move up in the world and have a better life, but here I am, still stuck in this old life, and I can’t help wishing you were still here with me.

I love you.

XXX

Pam