Happy Australia Day

Wednesday morning, January 26.   A foggy start to Australia Day.  Ferry horns on the bay but if today is like yesterday, it will be sunny, hot and steamy.  Check out my photos from my first day at work and the evening ferry trip to the Opera House.  I over did it with photos from the harbor but the iconic building  dulled my  editing skills.    Madama Butterfly was the performance.  The performance space is smaller than the Met so a more intimate place to see an opera.   Dinner on the terrace before the performance and my first Australian Beer,  Jack Squire.  Not a bad place to have my second night down under. 

Australia Day 2011 is a bit somber this year because of the floods but I've been warned  about the fierce partying that takes place.   The beaches are all alcohol free and there are an additional 2000 police on duty for New South Wales so I'll report later on the results.   The reputation of Australians is they love to gamble and Simon, the am DJ  (Breakfast with Simon) on the local ABC station reports that they had to cut off betting early on who would win Australian of the Year.  Betting on which able citizen would be honored on Australian I have a lot to learn about Australians.  Simon Mckeon won the honor this year.    Lots of buzz about the Australians nominated for an Academy awards.  I'll check in on the odds as we get closer to the date.  

News is also full of the  way the insurance companies are behaving  on flood claims.  I've been warned by one person living in Brisbane not to tell anyone I work in insurance.  Seems as though the definition of flood is as muddy here as in the US after Katrina.  

It has been 13 years since I had a first day in an office so it felt a bit strange entering the small office of LeapFrog Investments.  I bring the Sydney office to 8.  The current group is all young, all smart, hardworking and very dedicated to changing the world by helping people move out of the cycle of poverty.   We have lunch on a little deck, a big umbrella to shield the sun.   Collected ideas on how to best see Sydney.

LeapFrog is a global group, folks in South Africa, Scotland and Australia (and one ernest attorney in DC), at the very early stages of micro insurance, insurance for the masses.   Will be thinking of the metrics to measure social progress, bringing operational experience to the group.  

I'm heading to the beach to snorkel, go to a barbie and perhaps try another Jack Squire.