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March 01, 2005
The State Transition Game
As I type this, I'm sitting in an almost empty bedroom of an almost empty house as a pair of burly removalists move box after packed box into their truck for the long trip south from Brisbane, Queensland to Melbourne, Victoria. After around 14 months of being a Queensland resident and six months commuting prior to that, I'm moving back to my home town of Melbourne for a new project, new client (both as yet undecided) and a new role as a father when my darling Amelia gives birth in roughly three months time!
So with the little time I have left before my phone line is disconnected, and with it my ADSL connection, I'll do a quick recap on my fave and not-so-fave moments of my time in Brisbane.
Firstly, many thanks to my ThoughtWorks collegues who I've had the pleasure of working with whilst I've been up here. It's been a lot of fun guys... at times :-) Many thanks also to the team at Wotif where I've spent my last 9 months working - thanks for making me feel so welcome! Ditto to the guys at the QJUG, especially for being such a great audience at my last presentation.
To Brisbane itself - well, I certainly wont miss your mazes of one-way streets and too-late street signs telling you that the turnoff you needed was "back there" but now you're on the Gold Coast freeway. Ditto to the two-wheeled cycling lunatics I share pavement time with each day to and from the office. On the other hand, the paths around the Brisbane river can make cycling a far more enjoyable experience when compared to duelling it our on the roads. Brisbane is such a pretty city along the river, especially around the Southbank and Bot. Gardens areas!
Farewell to the great restaurants we've eaten at; Anise, Isis, Ecco, Cirque, Bruno's Tables, Banyan Tree (hit-n-miss unfortunately), Sono and Cha Cha Char are the one that spring immediately to mind. Pizza-wise - well I'm sure Brisbane has good pizza somewhere, but I sure as hell didn't find any :-(
Farewell to the renowned Queensland weather - a little too warm, too often in summer for my liking, but fabulous throughout the other seasons and the summer evening thunderstorms are a joy to behold. As a "Mexican", it never ceased to bring a smile to my face seeing locals wearing gloves and a scarf on "chilly" mornings of 18 degrees or so.
Not sure how I feel about the lack of daylight savings and (comparatively) early sunrises. My regular 5:30am start has turned me into a morning person and I do love being so productive before work, but every now and again I crave a long sleep in that other climates allow.
Goodbye to all the cinemas I've frequented during my visit, especially the Regent (absolutely gorgeous interiors), Centro (so close to home) and Southbank (so close to work and great value).
I must admit I'm very much looking forward to returning to a move AFL friendly environment, even with the increased focus on the Lions up here.
Dreamworld was fabulous, Surfers is a hole, Noosa was great, as was Cairns and the Reef. Rumour has it that good coffee is extremely hard to find, although not being a drinker myself, I cannot comment personally. The opening hours remind me of Melbourne 20 years ago, so I'm sure that will change.
So that's about it for my Brisbane wrap-up. I've probably missed mentioned lots of great stuff and just as much which didn't rock my boat as much. Oh well.
Posted by Andy Marks at March 1, 2005 01:34 PM
Comments
Welcome back to Melbourne (soon) Andy!
Posted by: William Luu at March 1, 2005 04:50 PM
On the Pizza front, if it isnt too late check out Castelli's in Toowong or the Pizza Cafe at the Schonell Theatre on the UQ campus...otherwise Welcome Home :)
Posted by: Perryn Fowler at March 1, 2005 08:35 PM
As a Brisso in Melbourne, I feel that I can quash the persistent "coffee is crap up North" beliefs. Consistency and quality of coffee in Melbourne is on a par with Brisbane - a generally reasonable standard in most establishments, but you need to be in-the-know for a great caffeine hit. This is particularly true in the CBD areas of both cities, where "sock-juice" is far too common.
For a great coffee in Brisbane, I recommend "Urban Grind" (West End and Paddington), "Absolute Espresso" (South Brisbane/Highgate Hill) and "Cantina" (West End again - with fantastic breakfasts). I'm obviously displaying my South-side bias; this is due more to ignorance of other regions than snobbishness.
Posted by: Darrell DeBoer at March 21, 2005 09:18 AM
Thanks for your comments on the restaurant and good luck back in Melbourne.
Posted by: Bruno at May 31, 2005 02:46 PM
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