Lucky
As I was working today I had a few thoughts as to what to call this blog post - you see, I had a lot of free time at work today. Before you assume that I was not doing anything, let me clarify. I was working all day today, but three hours this morning were spent in-field. As I ready my report that deals with Heritage Buildings in the Eastern Suburbs as relates to the Draft DCP (if that doesn't make sense to you, don't worry too much about it), I had to go out today to spot-check a few sites one last time and get a few more pictures. The work for the report, which started back in March with my once weekly trips in various parts of the City, spanned seven suburbs, totaling 333 individual properties.
Today, unlike in the past, I struck out to hit sites in six of the seven suburbs in one swoop (and in all fairness, there was only one property of the 333 in Paddington). To say I was in for a day of walking is an understatement. I started off in the CBD, and three hours later I had covered about 10k (over 6 miles) through Potts Point, Woolloomooloo, Elizabeth Bay, Rushcutters Bay, Darlinghurst, and Kings Cross. So my first thought was to simply call this post 'I Walk a Lot'.
But, then, as I was heading up Victoria Street in Potts Point I realized that this walk, as I get ready for my last week at Town Hall, was quite a fitting way to round out my time in Australia. While I have worked on many projects at Town Hall, it was my first week when I did my first on-site work for this project, and it just so happens that I retraced much of the route from my first day today as I compiled information. So my next thought was to call this post 'A Walk Full Circle'.
As I made my way southwards on my walk one thing kept being a recurring theme. Every few minutes I would pass a City of Sydeny (CoS) employee. By the time my walk had come to an end I had passed more than a dozen CoS street sweepers (people with brooms on the sidewalks), three City Rangers (who do things such as help lost people, answer questions, enforce parking rules and are generally the first point of neighbourhood contact with the City), and a whole host (I wasn't keeping track) of CoS vehicles going about making repairs, cleaning streets, etc. It really demonstrated how much government services are taken for granted, not just in Sydney, but universally. I admittedly didn't come up with a title based on that.
Before I continue with my various thoughts of the day that occupied me on my journey, I will fill you in on the journey itself... The work morning started off like any other, though instead of my usual cereal (I keep a massive box on my desk behind my monitor) I had some crumpets to offer me a bit of sustenance before my trek.
Once I had abated my hunger, I grabbed the office camera, the travelcard, and headed down the lift to Town Hall Square to catch a train - to where, I wasn't sure. While I had plotted out my walk (and had mapped it as starting with a walk through Hyde Park) I really felt Iike I could use the train to cut off a bit of walking time (or at least provide a change in scenery from my usual walk across Hyde Park from Town Hall. Realistically, I knew the trains would save me no time at all (except on the way back - I had made my last site near Central), as they tend to run north-south and I needed to head east. Still, I boarded a train to Martin Place (it was the first one arriving at the station which went in the general right direction that I was going) so that I would get a chance to walk through the Domain instead of Hyde Park on my way to Woolloomooloo.
At Martin Place I came back above ground and walked up to Macquerie Street (where I had spent Sunday going to museums) before crossing and cutting through the campus of Sydney Hospital. The hospital, opened in 1788, is by far the oldest hospital in Australia and has been in its location on Macquerie Street since 1811. While we saw some very old hospitals in Europe (sticking in my mind is Sint-Janshospitaal in Bruges, dating back to the 12th or 13th Century and used until the 1970s!), I can't think of many exceedingly old hospitals still operating as such in the US. For comparison, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where I spent my time in hospital down here, opened in 1882. Anyways, it isn't a large hospital by any means, but is quite beautiful and it is impressive that it still operates as a hospital today.
Once I crossed through the Hospital grounds, I continued south-west along the edge of the Domain (at the rear of the Courts and Hyde Park Barracks), turning west and walking past St. Mary's Cathedral along the south side of the Domain along Cathedral Street, where I began my work. After wending my way through Woolloomooloo, my next stop was up in Potts Point. I say up, because Potts Point is somewhere between eight and twelve storeys above Woolloomooloo. Sydney is characterized by dramatic level changes (ie, cliffs), and accessing neighbourhoods which look connected on maps actually involves scaling massive staircases built over a centurey ago. My point of attack on the cliff today was Butler Stairs, which I had never taken before. They ended up offering a fantastic view down into the yards of the old terrace homes in Woolloomooloo, glimpses of the Harbour (including Bridge and Opera House), and some incredible brick vaults soaring three to four storeys in the air supporting the beautiful terrace houses on Victoria Street.
After hitting the sites along Victoria Street and a few more around Potts Point, I continued eastward to go back down via the cliffs on the other side of Potts Point to Elizabeth Bay and Rushcutters Bay. The journey took me down one of my favourite (and narrowest) lanes in Sydney. It runs from MacLeay Street in Potts Point to Billyard Avenue in Elizabeth Bay and includes two 90 degree jogs and a large flight of stairs.
After the two suburbs by the water, I headed up to Kings Cross. On Darlinghurst Road I had a few sites to hit, and got to pass by the El Alamein Fountain, a landmark in the neighbourhood, which is currently under restoration by the City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Alamein_Fountain).
After hitting all my sites in Kings Cross, I headed across Williams Street to get to Darlinghurst and then continue south to Central Station to wrap up the last of my work. On the way out of Kings Cross I got caught at a light, so I got to hang around the Coke sign for a minute or two.
As I rushed through Darlinghurst, zig-zagging down a few side streets in an attempt to get to all the sites in the most efficient manner, I happened across a few fun street names.
I got to my last site at Kippax Street around midday as things were starting to get busy on the streets as office workers emerged to find lunch. I made my way through the crowds to Central and caught the train back up to Town Hall. It is always a novelty getting off on the lower platforms at Town Hall (there are six platforms, stacked 3x2) as to get up to the main concourse you ride a wooden escalator. A rarity these days, especially in underground train stations after the Kings Cross (London) fire of 1987, these are, I would imagine, some of the most used wooden escalators these days.
Finally, past midday I got back to Town Hall after my trek through the City. I was a bit tired but really excited to have completed the field-work so I could really get moving on compiling the report. Throughout the day I had to switch over to help out on a few pressing matters with another project, but most of the afternoon was devoted to the 100s of photos, database, and written report.
As I think I have mentioned before, I have done enough writing down here that the difference in spellings between Australian and US English is no longer an issue (as you can tell, at this point I default to Australian English). Grammar, however, is another matter. As the afternoon wore on, and I was going about my writing, I found myself having to use a set of quotes, and that is where things started to get dicey.
I turned to Cindy to clarify that in Australian English you are 1) supposed to put the period after the quote closes and 2) use single quotes in many situations instead of double quotes. After some strange looks I reposed my question in Australian English (using 'full stop' instead of 'period' and 'inverted commas' instead of 'quotes'). While she tentatively confirmed that, she also said something along the lines of "I'm probably not the one to ask about that" with a bit of a chuckle. I crossed over to the other Unit and asked Amy the same question. I got the same general answer and an "admittedly, we aren't really taught grammar".
When I got back to my desk things quickly morphed into a group discussion, with half a dozen people weighing in - among the opinions, the prevailing thought seemed to be 'it's personal preference, I think'. At this point, Tony jumped into the discussion, offering up the 'Australian Writing Manual' or something like that, which he began to rummage for in the cabinet behind his desk. The debate continued for some time, and Tony never was able to locate the book, so I deferred to the information I could find online, which more or less confirmed everything that had been said. It is really personal preference to use single or double quotes, and the placement of the period depends on the context. Admittedly, that makes a lot more sense than American English. If you want to know more about that, ask me.
I got out of the office around 5:30 and headed to dinner over at the Courthouse Hotel in Newtown with my friend Kim, from studio, and his partner. Kim works at an architecture firm a few blocks from Town Hall, so we chatted about work and various other things. It was nice to catch up (after all, studio ended a long, long time ago!). I got home from dinner about 8:00 and settled into my pattern of general time wasting for the evening.
To close, I suppose I should come back to the title of the post that I finally decided on. While all those things I mentioned at the beginning ran through my head as indicative of the day, I realized that the most incredible thing is how lucky I feel. I have had such an incredible experience living and working in Sydney, getting to do really engaging, exciting things along the way. Regardless of whether I do come back in the near future (an option in my head at the moment, though a lot can change in the next ten months!), I have been so fortunate to have this experience over the last five months. After all, how many people can say they have worked in their chosen profession half-way around the world from home by the time they are 21?
Off to bed now.
Today, unlike in the past, I struck out to hit sites in six of the seven suburbs in one swoop (and in all fairness, there was only one property of the 333 in Paddington). To say I was in for a day of walking is an understatement. I started off in the CBD, and three hours later I had covered about 10k (over 6 miles) through Potts Point, Woolloomooloo, Elizabeth Bay, Rushcutters Bay, Darlinghurst, and Kings Cross. So my first thought was to simply call this post 'I Walk a Lot'.
But, then, as I was heading up Victoria Street in Potts Point I realized that this walk, as I get ready for my last week at Town Hall, was quite a fitting way to round out my time in Australia. While I have worked on many projects at Town Hall, it was my first week when I did my first on-site work for this project, and it just so happens that I retraced much of the route from my first day today as I compiled information. So my next thought was to call this post 'A Walk Full Circle'.
As I made my way southwards on my walk one thing kept being a recurring theme. Every few minutes I would pass a City of Sydeny (CoS) employee. By the time my walk had come to an end I had passed more than a dozen CoS street sweepers (people with brooms on the sidewalks), three City Rangers (who do things such as help lost people, answer questions, enforce parking rules and are generally the first point of neighbourhood contact with the City), and a whole host (I wasn't keeping track) of CoS vehicles going about making repairs, cleaning streets, etc. It really demonstrated how much government services are taken for granted, not just in Sydney, but universally. I admittedly didn't come up with a title based on that.
Before I continue with my various thoughts of the day that occupied me on my journey, I will fill you in on the journey itself... The work morning started off like any other, though instead of my usual cereal (I keep a massive box on my desk behind my monitor) I had some crumpets to offer me a bit of sustenance before my trek.
 |
| Crumpets for brekkie at work before I headed off. |
At Martin Place I came back above ground and walked up to Macquerie Street (where I had spent Sunday going to museums) before crossing and cutting through the campus of Sydney Hospital. The hospital, opened in 1788, is by far the oldest hospital in Australia and has been in its location on Macquerie Street since 1811. While we saw some very old hospitals in Europe (sticking in my mind is Sint-Janshospitaal in Bruges, dating back to the 12th or 13th Century and used until the 1970s!), I can't think of many exceedingly old hospitals still operating as such in the US. For comparison, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where I spent my time in hospital down here, opened in 1882. Anyways, it isn't a large hospital by any means, but is quite beautiful and it is impressive that it still operates as a hospital today.
 |
| In the courtyard of Sydney Hospital. |
 |
| Halfway up Butler Stairs. |
 |
| Yards of terrace homes in Woolloomooloo from Butler Stairs. |
 |
| The massive buttressed arcade supporting terraces on the edge of the Victoria Street Cliff. |
 |
| Back buildings of the terraces on Victoria Street sitting over Woolloomooloo. |
 |
| Harbour Bridge from halfway up Butler Stairs. |
 |
| Turning down the laneway from MacLeay Street. |
 |
| El Alamein Fountain in Kings Cross. |
 |
| The Coke sign in Kings Cross. |
 |
| Batman Lane in Darlinghurst. |
 |
| One of the wooden escalators of Town Hall Station. |
As I think I have mentioned before, I have done enough writing down here that the difference in spellings between Australian and US English is no longer an issue (as you can tell, at this point I default to Australian English). Grammar, however, is another matter. As the afternoon wore on, and I was going about my writing, I found myself having to use a set of quotes, and that is where things started to get dicey.
I turned to Cindy to clarify that in Australian English you are 1) supposed to put the period after the quote closes and 2) use single quotes in many situations instead of double quotes. After some strange looks I reposed my question in Australian English (using 'full stop' instead of 'period' and 'inverted commas' instead of 'quotes'). While she tentatively confirmed that, she also said something along the lines of "I'm probably not the one to ask about that" with a bit of a chuckle. I crossed over to the other Unit and asked Amy the same question. I got the same general answer and an "admittedly, we aren't really taught grammar".
When I got back to my desk things quickly morphed into a group discussion, with half a dozen people weighing in - among the opinions, the prevailing thought seemed to be 'it's personal preference, I think'. At this point, Tony jumped into the discussion, offering up the 'Australian Writing Manual' or something like that, which he began to rummage for in the cabinet behind his desk. The debate continued for some time, and Tony never was able to locate the book, so I deferred to the information I could find online, which more or less confirmed everything that had been said. It is really personal preference to use single or double quotes, and the placement of the period depends on the context. Admittedly, that makes a lot more sense than American English. If you want to know more about that, ask me.
I got out of the office around 5:30 and headed to dinner over at the Courthouse Hotel in Newtown with my friend Kim, from studio, and his partner. Kim works at an architecture firm a few blocks from Town Hall, so we chatted about work and various other things. It was nice to catch up (after all, studio ended a long, long time ago!). I got home from dinner about 8:00 and settled into my pattern of general time wasting for the evening.
To close, I suppose I should come back to the title of the post that I finally decided on. While all those things I mentioned at the beginning ran through my head as indicative of the day, I realized that the most incredible thing is how lucky I feel. I have had such an incredible experience living and working in Sydney, getting to do really engaging, exciting things along the way. Regardless of whether I do come back in the near future (an option in my head at the moment, though a lot can change in the next ten months!), I have been so fortunate to have this experience over the last five months. After all, how many people can say they have worked in their chosen profession half-way around the world from home by the time they are 21?
Off to bed now.
Comments
Post a Comment