Movember – Month of the Cookie Duster

That’s right, if you couldn’t guess I’m growing a moustache. Before you start shaking your head and wondering what other stupid things I’ll do, this one is for charity. But yeah, give me a “good” reason to do something a little abnormal and I’ll usually go for it.

Back to the point. Movember is a charity even that lasts all month. You grow a moustache to raise money for male health issues, particularly prostate cancer and male depression. According to the web site http://www.movember.com/ , it started in 2004 and has since raised over $8.5 million (yes that’s in Aussie dollars) for charity. A group of guys at work are going to participate so I decided yo join in. Really I just didn’t want to have to shave for a month. I am going to let the beard grow out and then decide what Mo I want to go for. That’s where you all can help. Feel free to send me your Mo suggestions (i.e. the Magnum P.I, Borat, Hulk Hogan, sorry not doing a Hitler). Also you can certainly donate money. Just go to the website, pick which ever country you are from (mostly that’s USA guys), select Sponsor, type in my Mo Bro Rego Number 108448 and fill out the form. You can use you credit card so it really is easy and the exchange rate is still in ya’lls favor.

The rules, and yes there are official rules – see website, do not allow for the connection of sideburns to the Mo, that’s a beard and no joining the handlebars, that’s a goatee. How ever you can grow the flavor saver/soul patch on your lower lip if you so desire. Come on, you know you want to see how ridiculous I look with a Mo.

One of the questions I’ve gotten is what was the biggest cultural difference. In all honesty the biggest difference has nothing to do with Australia. It is getting used to living in a large city. Overall things in Australia are very much like the US. Yea sure, instead of Mexican food on every corner there is some sort of Asian food. Australia is in the Asia/Pacific region after all.

Really getting used to the BIG city is the difference. Lets review the place where I have lived, actually taken up residence. Fayetteville, Chapel Hill, Greensboro and briefly Rowland. Yeah no real neck straining cityscapes in there. Learning the buses and trains and using taxis more often than the occasional evening ride home from the bar is still a work in progress. The concentration of people in one place (yea I know its still nothing compared to New York or London – been on vacations to both). To live in the middle of that is still weird. Guess that’s why I moved out to the beach suburb where it’s a little less crowded and theres more space. Otherwise Australia is pretty cool, funny accents aside. And yes I can do a fairly good Aussie accent, I tend to confuse people pretty easily with where I am from.

Random thought
I never expected to see Cockatoos playing on the power lines but they, and several birds that look like they’d be more at home in South America, are native. Who knew.