She Works Hard for the Money....

So I made it through my first week of work in Melbourne. I was afraid that my co-workers were beginning to think I was a narcoleptic, seeing as how I practically feel asleep at my desk every day around 2pm like clockwork. But my stream lead, David, a South African transplant of 11 years, reassured me that it takes all the ex-pats, as they call us, about a week to get adjusted. He was right.

My office is a 25 minute walk from my apartment, or a 5 minute taxi ride. I was ambitious the first couple of days, taking in the fresh, smog-free air on my strolls to and from the office. I even got lost one evening and ended up seeing quite a bit of the city - some things never change :)

Our office building is nice, lots of suits and ties and heels clicking down the marble hallway. Amdocs sits on the 25th floor - I've posted a picture of the view we have from our office window. The Yarra River runs through the city and can be seen from our office, though you can't see it too well in this picture.

I really like my project team. There are three John's, so we have to get creative with nicknames. So far, I've been doing mostly training, but I'm sure more action than I'm hoping for will come my way soon enough. Our client, Telstra, is the largest communication services provider in Australia, and the "Transformation" project that we are all a part of is the largest project, in terms of money and manpower, in Australian telecom history.

So, there's work. Then there's after work - and Australians like to celebrate the fact that it's after work. Take a close look at the sign on the left, from the doorstep of the European Bier Cafe. I thought the first line was a joke, and thus took a picture before someone explained to me that a thong is actually a flip-flop down here. Quite a funny translation blunder.