Crossfit and Commerce

In my hasty packing effort, I failed to pack enough workout clothes.  No problem -- Sydney's CBD (the central business district) has great shopping.  After hitting up the local Adidas store yesterday, I walked by the Reserve Bank of Australia.  It has a small museum with an exhibition about Australia's currency.  Since I can't walk past a museum without going in, I checked it out.  It's easy to forget that Australia is a very young country -- the various British colonies didn't unite until 1901.  During the pre-federal period, the colonies used a mix of foreign currencies, promissory notes, and paper money issues by individual banks.



Australia began printing its own national currency in 1913. Between the period of the 1950 through the 1970s, Australia moved from pounds and shillings to a decimal system of dollars and cents.  America wins again!  Australian currency went through many design changes, and now its a colorful polymer-based paper designed to thwart counterfeiters.  There are little windows in the bills, which are pretty nifty.

Afterwards I walked by Occupy Sydney, which has a small stand nearby.  I guess their priorities are a bit different than their Wall Street brethren.

After some more exploring, I finished my day off at a restaurant called Sailor Thai, where I enjoyed a delicious salmon dish.  It was minty and very spicy -- both refreshing and sinus clearing.

The next day, I took a taxi into the depths of Sydney for an introductory crossfit class at Crossfit Sydney.  Several of my friends have joined the crossfit craze, so I wanted to see what the fuss was for myself.  After a basic movement lesson, Andrew, the owner, kicked my butt in 12 minutes with three rounds of push ups, sit ups, and three different types of squats.  I was left a sweaty mess.

Time for a nap.

Totally random observation of Australian television -- all during the Australian Open, the local sports channel has been showing a sports bra commercial.  Am I really juvenile for finding this incredibly humorous?