Post 4: He Just Smiled and Gave Me a Vegemite Sandwich

I’m getting settled in a little at work now which is good. Being the new guy is never fun. You are always pestering somebody about something. It’s the only way you can get anything done, because nothing is set up for you (for example, my computer arrived yesterday, but won’t be set up until Friday) and you don’t really know where anything is or what to do yet. I find myself strategically mapping out who to pester throughout the day, so that I’m accomplishing things without bothering the same person again and again.

Anyway, one thing that I like about my department is that most people eat lunch in the same area at the same time, so you get some social interaction. Today at lunch, the topic of Vegemite came up. I had heard of this stuff before from the Men at Work song “Down Under” (see the title of this post), but didn’t know what it is. Now I know. As it was explained to me today, “after brewing beer, all the shit that’s left in the bottom of the vat – that’s Vegemite”. It looks like Nutella. A woman in the department had some, so she gave me a sample on bread. Then everybody watched me eat it to gauge my reaction. I wouldn’t say it’s terrible, but I can’t say I’d ever spend money on the stuff either. It certainly doesn't taste like Nutella. If you’ve ever been to a brewery and smelled that funky fermenting hops smell, that smell is what Vegemite tastes like, if that makes sense.

In other news, S and I might have found a place to live. There are three options in play: Apt A (very expensive and small, but nice and furnished), Apt B (expensive and unfurnished, but super nice), Apt C (relatively inexpensive, not as nice, but great location). We’ve been approved already for Apt A and Apt C, but S has her heart set on Apt B. I’m leaning toward Apt C, because price and location are more important to me than whether or not it has, say, a nice bathroom. But I’m going to mostly defer to S, because she’s the one who will be there the most. I’m in the office at least 8 hours a day during the week. Also, although we have different apartment criteria (bathroom niceness, for example), she’s practical financially and will definitely take into consideration cost differential – it’s all about the Benjamins. Or as they say down here, it’s all about the Unaipons.*

In other other news, Ice Cube is coming to town. (Or, as I saw him referred to as, Ice Cube (USA). I guess to distinguish him from impostors). What a weird career this guy has had. He started out in NWA doing explicit, hardest-of-the-hard, gangsta rap and then somehow transitioned into being an actor in kids movies**. Apparently he still tours. I wonder if he’s any good. Probably not, he’s old now, and let’s be honest, as a musical performer you get old and you can’t hack it. Anybody who’s seen Bob Dylan in the last 25 years knows what I’m talking about.


*Actually, I’ve never heard anybody say this. I am going to try to get it going, though. I’ll keep you posted.

**Although many will consider it blasphemy, I actually preferred “Are We Done Yet?” to “Are We There Yet?” – much better cinematography, in my opinion.