SYDNEY -- I'm enjoying the view of a beautiful antipodean summer day.
(Antipodean, /(")an-"ti-p&-'dE-&n/ n. or adj.: the parts of the earth diametrically opposite -- usually used in plural; often used of Australia and New Zealand as contrasted to the western hemisphere. Source: m-w.com. There. Got that out of the way.)
Total travel time, from the two-hour-early arrival at Tampa International Airport to clearing customs in Sydney: 27 hours. I do not recommend that, generally speaking. As much as I'm sure I'm going to love this place, it's not a trip that a body should be put through more than once, maybe twice a year.
I'm on the 11th floor of the Stamford Sydney Airport, watching the traffic go by on the wrong sides of the road. I'm contemplating renting a car tomorrow from the Europcar across the street to do some exploration, but I suspect I'll find myself driving in reverse, or something.
Everything here, of course, is the opposite of what I'm accustomed to. Cars drive on the left and drivers sit on the right. It's summertime (complete with Daylight Savings Time) in January. The drain swirls the wrong way. It's already tomorrow here. I half expected to come off the plane and be tall, left-handed and no longer in need of glasses.
All of that would have been nice, especially the glasses part, because I was faced with my first crisis as the final hour of the 14-hour journey started: My glasses fell completely apart. Both lenses popped out. One of the little screws somehow dislodged itself, and was saved only by clinging to the magnetic area where the clip-on sunglasses fasten. I cobbled them back together just enough to get through Customs; they'll probably be OK as long as I don't try to run anywhere. But now I'm faced with needing to buy an eyeglass repair kit in Sydney. And, of course, I must carve out some time to flog myself for being idiot enough to not carry one.
I'm watching cricket on TV right now. The Australian fans are going absolutely nuts. I think they just won, or something. If you think baseball is boring, cricket will put you to sleep faster than Ambien. It's fun to watch a sport I know absolutely nothing about. For a minute.
Time now to go find some lunch and see how long I can last before the jet-lag kicks in.
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