Merry Christmas.....and Australia Photos...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I will take this time to wrap up my Australian Trip.....


First… I would like to take back what I said about first class –vs- economy class. I think the fact that I was so tired and sleep deprived on the flight there, it made it more bearable then usual. The way home I was awake and cramped. I a fat pickle in a relish jar. I couldn't pull out the lap top and work, and sleeping was impossible. During that 14 hour flight, I would have given my right arm to be sitting there in first class. If you had an extra couple of thousand that would have been the way to spend it.

Actually I did some research and a 1st class flight is $12,500, $9000.00 more then my economy class. You have to be crazy paid to fly first class and actually afford it.

My last night in Australia was a bust. I was told I would be done working by 4:00 PM and instead, finished at 7:30 ish. Normally that wouldn't be a problem but they told me at 3:00 that I would still be able to leave at 4:00. That's like telling Rosie O'Donell, dinner is going to be ready in 5 minutes. So when I didn't get out until 7:30 I was a little perturbed.


The other problem with traveling so far in such a short time frame is the your stomach needs to time to digest to the various diets. I started off in the hotel with the “runs”, and it was a steady countdown so that I was normal for the 20 hours of flying. I remember thinking that I must have ate something on the flight to Australia that didn't sit well. During the return flight, we were given dried apricots, and I remember thinking….these were pretty good on the flight over……as I popped the last one in my mouth…..Putting two and two together, and feeling the rumble in the belly…I believe the apricots were the culprit.

PEDESTRIAN WALK BY THE TELSTRA DOME

HUNGRY JACKS - SAME AS BURGER KING, WITHOUT THE KING.

ONLY THE BEST........MY PALATIAL ACCOMMODATIONS

ONLY FINE FOUR STAR DINING

MELBOURNE TRAIN STATION

"CHINATOWN" - AUSTRALIAN STYLE

BIG CITY LIFE IN MELBOURNE

I USED THE RENTAL CAMRY TO PERFECT THE RIGHT HAND DRIVE GANGSTA' LEAN

VEGAS OF THE DOWN UNDER - GAMBLING AT IT'S FINEST

Australia....Baby!

Hey Sports fans…I’m in Australia. The Down Under. No, not the Down Low, the Down Under. Is that a good excuse for not posting?

The flight wasn’t so bad. My connecting flight from Detroit to LA was First Class. That was sweet. I think the major benefit to flying first class is the ability to get on board and off board first. The food is better and the drinks are “ever flowin”, but I can’t tell you how good it feels to be able to get on and off the plane first!

People could not believe that I was flying first class. The attendant that stands by the ropes at the airport put his arm out and said, “Business and first Class only economy class is over there”. When I lined up to get on the plane with the other people from first class, people were looking at me like I was cutting the line. “Yes People, I’m flying FIRST CLASS”. All the people who thought I was cutting got to see my smiling face as they walked by me to their economy seats. I was pimpin and sippin! Timberlands, Ekco hoodie and all.

I had a super long layover in LA and a 15.5 hour flight to Australia. I have to say that it wasn’t that bad. I think the price difference between economy and first class for this flight was like $4000. You really have to have serious paper to pay that much for 15 hours. That first class seat better have an automatic toe sucker for that much cheese.


The couple that I sat next to had been married for 47 years. They lived right down the street from my sister in New Jersey. Small World! Again, always be on your best behavior, you never know who you are going to encounter.

Australia itself is pretty phat. It was 114 degrees when I arrived and then cooled down significantly. Melbourne reminds me a lot of Chicago. It’s like a smaller cleaner Chicago.

What is unique about Australia is that there has been no unusual reaction to me being Black. I honestly have not felt any kind of reaction, to my race. There are tons of Indians and Asians but I have not seen any black people anywhere, but yet, it’s like I belong. Don’t get me wrong, the females notice, but it’s not negative.

They are an extremely healthy country, with people biking and running all over the place.
It’s the beginning of their summer season so the chicks are throwing it on, skirts, shorts, the whole 9.

Don’t get me wrong, they have their Chubber’s here too. They have McDonald’s and their Burger King is called Hungry Jack’s. I still haven’t figured out why; but I also haven’t seen that scary ass Burger King character in two days. (Did I tell you guys about the dream of me and the burger king guy at the club doing the “Kid N Play” dance? )

Everything here is pretty expensive. You get charged by the megabyte downloaded for your internet usage (Can you imagine?), and you get charged for every call you make on your cell phones and your house phones; even if it’s local.

Driving on the right side of the car is a bitch. It takes some time to get used to it. I have to get my gangsta lean going to the right instead of the normal left. I have a tendency to drift left while driving which can be dangerous. That’s why I opted for the additional insurance. The lady at Hertz said that I would be liable up to $3000 for any damage. I needed that number to be $0. I said, “Lady I’m ridin’ dirty…..sleepy and on the wrong side of the car”. I opted for the additional coverage.

Traveling for work is much different then traveling for vacation. There is no one picking you up from the airport or taking you out to dinner. The customer is trying to get the most out of me that he can, and I have to over deliver. My job is to show the company what we are made of, so that we can get more business. When I leave, he will be thinking that we have a building full of workaholic, funny ass, psychopaths that can get the job done.

I had to go straight from a 24 hour travel expedition, to a 15 minute shower and right to work. I worked until 9:00 PM and will kill it until 9:00 PM today. I hope my last day I will have time to shop for some novel Christmas gifts.

I am blessed to have traveled to 4 countries in 4 months, and I will probably be back to each on my own terms. Then I will enjoy myself and take in some culture, bur for now there is a job to do, that I need to get back doin.

Don’t forget I will be rich!

-MJL

P.S. Some Aussie pics coming soon! I said “Aussie” not Assy. Keep it Clean.