Mum and I saw a matinee performance of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the musical and really enjoyed it. Incredible costume and set design, complete with a real bus on stage. Great.
This weekend was quite social, starting with meeting a friend Friday evening at the Paddington Inn on Oxford Street. The front is the bar, with big windows looking out onto the street. The back has been recently redesigned to include an enclosed outdoor room for smokers and tables for those who want to eat. It was a wet, blustery night but the pub was packed.
For Mum's birthday yesterday, she requested that we go see Australia, the movie. Initially, she had said she wouldn't see it. She is not a fan of "Our Nic," as Australians like to refer to Nicole Kidman. But after hearing from several of her friends that they had taken the plunge and emerged refreshed, off we went.
I got a flat in Paddington and I am SO excited! 
My mother and I were given tickets to see the opening night performance of Andre Rieu, a sort of Austrian violin-playing, conducting, circus master. It was a spectacle and as they say in Oz, over the top. The set was a full size reproduction of an Austrian castle, complete with two ice-skating rinks, a ballroom, water fountains and a full orchestra. They played classical songs for over three hours. Andre likes applause and requested clapping before and after songs. The venue was homebush, where the Sydney Olympics were held and was the only place big enough for the set. But the accoustics were awful. He does tell a little history before each song and that makes it more interesting - makes classical music more accessible. And he does make it fun. He inspired a lot of the audience to get up and waltz. By the end of the encore, after the 200 bagpipes marched in, the stadium was all signing Waltzing Matilda. Crazy madcap over the top.
Went to visit our family friends who live in Binalong, in the Southern Tablelands, where Mum lived when she was first married. Binalong is in an area known for merino wool, and hence there are a lot of sheep and green grassy hills to feed them. We visited friends in the area who have reconstructed an old original country home and allow a family of kangaroos to come inside and sit on their sofas. The mother kangaroo is named Possum!
My sister took me up the coast to a place called Port Stephens for my birthday. It is right on the water and inland is the famous Hunter Valley with its vineyards. We stopped at an animal park on the way in and were able to see many animals, including koalas. Our second day, we went on a dolphin watching tour that was spectacular.
Laurent and Mattheau met me at D-Mall this morning at 10:00 so we could all go snorkeling together. They had already found a tour and we had to hurry because the boat was waiting for us. I say boat but it is more like an overgrown canoe with a cover, open sides, and huge bamboo poles out to the sides for balance. The crew were Filipino sea men, dark skinned from the sun, tattooed, sturdy balancing on the bamboo poles, and smiling.
Shoving off from the beach proved difficult so Laurent and Mattheau hopped off to help push. Off we set on a gorgeous 6 hour tour around Boracay Island with 5 stops, including a buffet lunch. The first stop was snorkeling and the water again so beautiful but not that many little fishes. We saw a purple star fish – one of the crew brought it to me underwater. Second stop was Crystal Cove – a bit of a bust. An “optional” 150 pesos to go see a cave. I opted not and stayed on the beach, chatting with Carl and his girlfriend June.
Relaxed. Swam in a perfectly warm clear ocean. Napped on the beach. Said no to many women saying “M’am, foot massage, pedicure” on the beach. 
Sunsets at 5:30 and is spectacular. Gentle waves lapping on the White Beach. Silhouetted sailboats coast in the foreground on shimmering dark cobalt blue ripples.
Jeepnees are small jeeps with benches in the back and a roof so short I bumped my head every time I entered. An honor system prevails – when you want to stop, you bang on the roof and pass your money up the bench. A typical jeepnee ride costs 8 pesos. There is no published route system and shorter hauls are done by trike, a motorcycle with a side car.
Farmers come down with all their harvest and stay, sleep at the markets on the street until it is sold. Tomatoes, onions, root vegetables and misshapen bulbous potatoes. Dried fish. Coconut plant and bamboo plants. Lumpia. Bags and bags of rice. Bootleg DVDs upstairs. We did not go to the meat section on Kacy’s advice.
The main tourist sites in Cebu revolve around a common theme – The Spanish coming and the Spanish going. [This is not Wikipedia nor Encyclopedia Britanica, so historical facts contained herein very well might be wrong. But this is what I picked up along the way.]
Filipinos said goodbye to the Spanish on Mactan Island, at the site of the Battle of Mactan. Chief Lapu Lapu (actually from Borneo) was invited by the Chief of Cebu to his ally and kick out the Spanish. And that he did. In an epic battle that is re-enacted every year using professional film stars from Manila, Chief Lapu Lapu kick Spanish butt all over the swampy mangroves. Lapu Lapu is so revered, he even has the best fish in the Philippines named after him. It is quite tasty.
The Treasury plans to hire asset managers to determine the criteria for the purchase of securities and oversee the portfolio once the buying begins. While those details remain murky, the Treasury expects to buy up large chunks of assets at a single time. The asset managers would likely start buying the simplest assets first, such as mortgage-backed securities, and then move on to more complex ones, such as collateralized debt obligations."
It would seem from the outlined plan, that the U.S. Treasury will be left to figure out the details of what assets to purchase, at what price and how to manage those assets.
The first of two really incredible nights at the Opera House with Mum was last Saturday night for the symphony in the Concert Hall at the Opera House. It was a farewell to the conductor who has served for the last 5 years. He is a jolly round Italian, full of life and passion and smiles. The symphony played his varied selections beautifully, beginning with pieces from Beethoven's 7th, interspersed with bits of Verdi and finishing with Ravel's Bolero. Bolero is kind of Mum and my song, having heard it together a few times, most recently at the Hollywood Bowl. At the pinnacle of Bolero, confetti burst in arcs from either side of the stage and green, red and white balloons suspended above the audience were released. The enormous grin on the face of the conductor Gelmetti was in plain sight from our seats behind the orchestra. The encore was superb, with Gelmetti conducting the audience clapping as if they were the percussion.
Last Tuesday night, now professionals, Mum and I returned to the Opera House for none other than an Opera - the Pearlfishers by Bizet. It was simply enchanting. The production design alone was worth it - the ephemeral Buddha on screens, the shadow box adding simple yet astounding depth to the stage and the understated effective costumes were incredible visual cues to a rich story and magnificent voices. At intermission, I ventured out to the balcony and was wowed by the sight of the Harbour Bridge, Kirribilli House, and of course, Sydney Harbour at night.
yesterday i made full use of public transportation and my legs. welcome relief from sitting in a car for 8 years in los angeles. after getting off at the museum train stop, i walked through lovely Hyde Park which is in the middle of downtown Sydney, or as they call it here, the CBD - Central Business District. Many people in suits have lunch in the park and a lot take their lunch to put on their "joggers" and run.
