Had two good bits of feedback on my photography this week.  The Times on-line short listed one of my Burma photos in their current competition -

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/travel_images/article3103829.ece (it's in the Week 4 shortlist, shot nine), and my photography tutor wants to reference my work in an interview with one of the UK photography magazines. 

It's my last day off before starting work on Monday.  I was hoping for another scorcher so I could laze on the beach or the Botanical Gardens (which on a sunny day really are stunning). But no, it's been raining again. There's only been one sunny day this week and it's supposed to be the height of Summer. It's more like bleedin' Manchester.  It's surprising how stormy Sydney is, seems to be a big thunder storm a couple of times a week

..apparently they are going to call her clairvoyant.  WTF??   Hopefully once this is over the ridiculous inquest is over, the public will at last believe it is a mundane car accident and not some far fetched conspiracy theory/smokescreen dreamt up by Al Fayed to cover up his incompetence in failing to protect the mother of the future King of England

Well I've been flat hunting for a week now, or just under.  Man, it is hard work, even with two good on-line real estate sites.  I think finding a job was easier than this.  It is early days I suppose.   Think I've boiled the area down to three places now at least - Paddington, very nice inner area, great Federation (i.e. old style) buildings, good bars and pubs BUT a bit of a schlep to my work place which is on the North shore.  Would like to live here at some point but not sure about this year - may save it for just a going out place. Kirribilli - this is excellent, it's on the North shore but almost directly opposite the Opera House and you can get into the central city area in five minutes on the ferry.  Plus easy to get to work. It is quiet-ish but very pretty.  Downside is that it is expensive and I've not find anywhere particularly good within budget yet.  Then there is the Lower North Shore - Neutral Bay, Cremorne and Mossman - all of which are good, but I dunno, just lack something somehow.     There is also the conundrum of whether to get a place on my tod, as originally planned and have all my stuff around me, or share with someone, which is added complication but could be a god way of meeting people.  Anyway, at least I have my temp flat to tide me over, which is expensive but good.  I start work next week and was hoping to get this sorted this week but it's looking unlikely now

Shame that Jeff Raikes is leaving Microsoft.  He was for me one of the more impressive senior execs at MS

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1103

Bill didn't really have anything particularly insightful to say at his last ever CES as Microsoft CEO this year, but they did put together one of those slightly daft but funny videos, that gently take the piss out of him.  Here it is -

...as the great David Bowie once sang.  So I find myself once again in Sydney, and this time I'm staying for a while.  Flying back here, for the fifth time, does not yet feel like flying back to home, but it is at least familiar now.  I've got myself a serviced apartment in Crows Nest, which I'm going to use as a base for flat hunting over the next month or so.  It's a good local neighbourhood, not exactly picturesque, but certainly very pleasant, with some good local shops, bars and cafes.

Next week I start work running Vodafone's mobile Entertainment and Information business,  which I'm really amped about.  It's a great job, and I'm really excited about the level of responsibility, and learning a whole new business.  The mobile Internet experience is the new frontier in delivering digital content and entertainment in the coming years, and while there are some significant business challenges there, the opportunity for developing some wonderful new internet experiences for consumers, and making significant revenues are huge.  Expect lots of posts on this over the coming months as I get my head around the business.

It is going to be a bit of a shocker starting work after what has basically been a year and a quarter's worth of holiday, but I'm ready for it now, and genuinely looking forward to getting back into the saddle.

Well I've headed back to Sydney now after four weeks in Thailand and Bangkok. I think I've seen enough temples and Buddha images to last me a lifetime - I did a quick sojourn up to the old Thai capital of Arutheya, which has many wonderful temples, some of which were built by the Burmese.   So it's good bye to 2007, and an end to the freedom of gap year travel, at least for a while, as I start work next week.   I think the final tally for 07 is 16 countries and 33 flights.  My Passport is almost full now and it's only five years old.  Unfortunately the Aussie immigration guy put a stamp on one of the last remaining blank pages before i could stop him,  meaning I've no more pages for Visa's.

But I'm still looking forward to a couple of exciting Asia - Pacific trips this year - and living and working in Oz is going to be an adventure in itself. 

• Jungle canoeing and visiting the tribes of Papua New guinea - hopefully at Easter.  In Aussie terms this is just up the road - a four hour flight
• Visiting the Australian Northern Territory, seeing some of the Aboriginal settlements and Uluru
• Travelling from Beijing to Tibet on the new trans China railway.  Possibly doing this with my mum who has set her heart on doing this trip
• Driving from Melbourne to Adelaide along the Great Southern Freeway