The past few months have seen a huge increase in the number of pests - aka cockroaches - finding their way into the living room here. And its not like we're leaving bags of rubbish lying around, or the apartment itself crumbling. But one of the downers of this place is that there's no insect netting on the windows or the balcony. So leaving them open on balmy summer nights tends to invite unwanted guests. As a result we've developed a semi-regular routine of *gasp*..jump..crunch..bin. Recently though there's been an addition to the pest line up. Say hello to the Christmas Beetle. About half the size of my thumb, at first I thought it was just a weird roach, but I'm pretty sure its one of the aforementioned beetles. The sound it made, banging of the wall as it was trying to fly, was different than roaches and getting up close they were obviously different. Unfortunately, according to wiki, there might be a load more to come.

I knew before coming here that most places to rent would come unfurnished, but it wasn't until I moved in that it became clear just how much crap you have to buy just to feel like you're living in a regular place. Among the items I've bought on countless trips to shopping malls include: Kettle, Iron, Flat pack kitchen table, Flat pack bed, microwave, cutlery, plates, pots, frying pan, phone, modem, pillows, bedding, towels, and vacuum cleaner. On top of that I'm renting a fridge, tv and washing machine. A lot of this stuff could have been picked up secondhand I'm sure but without a car, and internet access, and simultaneously job hunting, that wasn't much of an option. I think I'm just about at the point where I've got everything, except if I don't want to sit at the kitchen table then I'm be sitting on the floor watching tv. Not that I appear to be missing much - tv is as crap here as it was at home only this time theres only 5 channels of it. I always thought Home&Away / Neighbours was considered a bit of an embarrassment by the locals, but when I was staying in a hostel the tv room was always packed whenever it came on. I thought double decker trains were a nifty idea and why not have them in Dublin, but having been on a commute for only a week I can see the drawback - it takes ages for everyone to get on and off. With people going downstairs from the top and upstairs from the bottom, the area near the door gets impossibly blocked, as there are people crowded there already. Sydney Pluses: Food courts - very handy, cheap and loads to choose from Coppers - they've done away with the annoying change completely (everthings rounded up or down to the nearest 5c) Customer service - more more friendly than back home Sydney Minus: 'Strine - still can't get used to it And in lieu of absolutely nothing, here's a really cool Contact Juggling video via mefi