Aussie Wendell

A day in the life...if only it life was as it seems here in these photos. Every day, I am amazed at what a beautiful walk I have to work...that is when it's not raining. I posted a few photos of the first part of my walk, so here are the rest...getting closer to work...
That's our building on the left with the tall-ships on the right.
The entrance of the building...not a bad view, huh?

And on the way home from work, I take a different route; the footpath across Darling Harbour. I don't take the monorail...in fact no one does...it is a monorail that basically goes nowhere. Occasionally you'll see a tourist or two riding it, but even then on a rainy day.
My other office is in the tall white building to the right...Darling Park, so I get my exercise by walking between the two buildings from time-to-time. Just a little different than New York, huh?

I just thought I'd give you a glimpse into what my walk is like to work every day. OK, it is a bit glamourized here because it is a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, but a glimpse nonetheless.
At a brisk pace, the walk, door-to-door is about 25 minutes...I walk down Oxford Street, to Hyde Park, down to the Convention Center, over the foot-bridge, past Darling Harbour and ultimately in Pyrmont where I'm sitting now. Yes, welcome back to the real-world; it is a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I'm in the office for a bit getting some work done. Truth be told, of course it doesn't look like this when I walk to work at 7:00 AM...the streets are empty, the sun is just coming up over the office buildings and at this time of the year, it is pretty chilly.
The Boat Show is going on over at the Convention Center, so the streets are filled with tourists, which I'm happy to report, I am no longer in that category now that I'm paying taxes.
I'll have to put another post up with some more pictures...

So here he is again, my nephew, Cooper, being loved by everyone...his father Perry...

and my mom & step-father. I haven't been homesick since I moved here...that is, until now. Maybe I'll photoshop myself into a picture so I can feel like I'm there.

My sister actually beat me to my own blog! Yes, I'm the incredibly proud uncle to "Cooper Mitchell Herrick" as of last week. At a dinner party on Friday night, we all raised our glasses of champagne to him and of course I made everyone go to the computer so I could show off pictures of Cooper....hey, my sister doesn't look so bad either for just having had a baby huh? Yes, I am a bit biased, but you have to admit, he is adorable!!!! Unfortunately I won't be able to hold him until December when I head back to The States, but by then he'll be nice & plump and I won't be so afraid that I'd break him.

Yes, I joined the ranks of the Australian workforce last week and I am now in week two. First, I must apologize for letting so many days go by without a single post...I've been subtly reminded by some of you. I will definitely do better now that I'm back in front of a computer everyday.

Anyway, I started work with Fairfax last week and was thrown right into the deep-end with projects galore. No time to get my feet wet, but probably the best way to get a handle on everything after a very long vacation...

I thought you might like a glimpse of what I look out at every day...a little different than what I faced in New York! I'm working on both sides of Darling Harbour; these two pics show the view from my Fairfax Digital office; I'll try and take a photo from the other side of the Harbour next week when I'll be at my other desk (I haven't seen it yet, but I hear the views from there are good too). It was a cloudy day when I took this photo, much like today...rainy and cool here. I could actually see my breath this morning on my way to work. Speaking of which...my walk to work. It takes about 25 minutes, but most of the walk is picturesque....walking along the water and across the foot-bridge (not the Harbour Bridge...that's on the other side of the city). If I opted to take public transportation, well, let's just say it would probably take me 40 minutes. Public transportation in Sydney is pretty bad at best...not that I'm complaining, but I got a little spoiled in New York. Ahhh, New York. I hear it's 100 degrees there today...it was in the 40's & 50's here today. Trust me, I didn't know it got so cold here, otherwise I would have shipped my Autumn/Winter clothes here!

Well, that's about it for today...back to work. It's good to be back and I'll keep you posted (from time-to-time at least) on life Down Under!!!

Yes, the words I've been waiting, oh, about 6 months to hear...You've Been Approved! After a complicated process of non-stop meetings and negotiations with News Corp. for my first few months in Australia, I found my way over to Fairfax in April and, in short, am so glad I did. Yes, more meetings and more negotiating, but well worth it...however it led me to the hardest part....Australian Immigration. Working with my recruiter, an immigration lawyer and taking advice from seemingly everyone, I finally managed to submit all 45 notarized pages of my visa application to Immigration and the waiting game began. Long story short, some $20,000+ later, a few minor breakdowns (OK, one major, but that's another story), I received the notice from the Department of Immigration that I'm finally legal to work in this country...whew. After receiving the notice yesterday, I then went to the Australian Taxation Office to apply for my Tax File Number, then to my recruiter's office to submit the Employment Verification Application and then to the Department of Immigration to get the work visa label in my passport. Complicated enough? If it was only that simple...I won't bore you with the details regarding the 10 documents I had to submit with my application, chest x-ray, and letters stating that I'm a good guy... honest I am...that's what I seemed to be screaming for them to let me stay!
Fun and games aside, I start with an amazing company next week, John Fairfax Holdings . It is the perfect fit for me and truly exciting to start the next chapter of my career working with Fairfax Digital and the integration of some amazing titles such as The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in Melbourne.



So begins the next chapter in my life and my Aussie Adventure continues; those of you who know me well enough (which is pretty much anyone who knows me at all as I'm an open book, well at least one that's titled "Enigma"), know that where there's Wendell, there will always be some kind of "Wendell Story," drama or otherwise. Hopefully they will be anecdotes filled with laughter (at least for you anyway) and I won't be writing from a hospital bed from falling down, being hit by a car (for looking left instead of right) or drowning in a triathlon.
By the way....HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! It doesn't really mean too much here...enjoy the bbq, fireworks and a beer or two. Today I find myself painfully missing friends and family...COME VISIT!