A hot, sunny Sunday

Manly Beach, 10:30 am


Manly corso, 11 am


View from North Head--suicide cliffs--11:30 am


Fantastic view!! You can actually see the Syndey Bridge in there--very tiny, on the right



North Head view in Sydney Harbour National Park


We didn't find any :(


Balmoral Beach--no waves!!


Near Coogee Beach, 2 pm


Crowded Coogee, a little after 2 pm

107 degrees F in Sydney today--bloody HOT, mate! Marty and I drove to Manly beach this morning, since I'd never been there before. It was beautiful, and the water was FREEZING. Not too crowded, though it was only mid-morning. It was pretty cloudy and windy around 10:30 am, however, and we decided to head back to the Eastern Suburbs to catch some better rays. But before going home, we drove through a national park and I had my first peek as some BEAUTIFUL views from the Sydney Harbour National Park (above). We could see the city in the distance, through salt-infested ocean air and sailboats floating peacefully in the bright blue waves below. It was blazing before noon, and after a walk around the park the sun began to peak out from behind the clouds to say gidday. I wish we'd seen a bandicoot on our little hike, but no such luck.

We had salads for lunch at Balmoral Beach (above), where I was very temped to settle down for the arvo. The reason? No waves! Lots of families and little kiddies for this reason. The water was extremely calm, and as Marty said, "It's impossible to drown here." I definitely liked the sounds of that, but manned up and agreed to go back to Coogee Beach, where there are real waves, real currents, real rips, and the real possibility of drowning. I live here, so I have to face the music, right?

We headed back to Coogee, and the beach was PACKED! (see above) Not surprised, as Coogee is a huge tourist hot-spot (and my favourite beach). We absolutely got the sun we were hoping for. In fact, we were sweating within minutes, and the ocean provided the perfect relief. We were there for about an hour, until I had had enough and needed to get out of the heat.

Pasta for dinner, and a relaxing Sunday. Tomorrow: hope to hear from the Lucas Group, who I've been emailing back and for with for about a week. The company is based in the states. They offered me a job but I'm not sure if it's legit or not; all via skype and I'd act as a recruitment agent, making phone calls and asking potential employers questions on behalf of companies. I hope it's legit-$22/hour, 6 am-12 pm Monday-Friday. Tomorrow is also my first day at my new sales job in North Sydney. Tuesday, interview with insurance company, which if the Lucas Group turns out to be dodgy I'll take (if I get it) and quit the sales job. I also have to call VIP music by noon tomorrow and let them know my decision, and my Yamaha contract is arriving express post tomorrow, as well. I think I'm going to tell VIP Music that I'm willing to move, and when my Yamaha contract arrives I can have a look and see if I'm allowed to work for other music education companies. I'm going through a lot of changes right now, but I'm ready for it. Life, BRING IT!!