The Circus Comes to Town

You've probably not heard that much about it, because I doubt it's been much publicised outside this region of the world, but various world leaders are descending on Sydney this week for the APEC conference. Given that APEC stands for the 'Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation' I am a little confused as to why a certain Mr Bush is in attendance. But I guess it's just because he doesn't like to be left out of things. Which is obviously to do with his inferiority complex.

Anyhoo - all we've heard about for months is APEC, APEC, APEC. Because, quite handily, the big brass have chosen to meet in the beautiful city of Sydney. Right slap-bang in the middle of the Central Business District (CBD) which is also where main attractions such as the Opera House and ferry terminals are situated. Why they have chosen to do this and mess up the routines of the hundreds of thousands of people who work / live / travel / etc in the CBD every day remains a mystery to most of us.

I mean - they all have private planes, right? They're all really worried about security, right? So - why not go and meet somewhere out in the back of beyond, far away from everyone (god knows there are enough options in Oz) and let us get on with our work!

So - I work just outside the 'secure zone' which has been 'ringed in steel' by the newly christened 'Sydney Wall'. (When I say 'ringed in steel' I do, of course, mean that they have put up one of those those flimsy metal mesh fences that strike fear into the heart of every dissident.) Since I am outside the secure zone, I don't have to submit to routine identity checks on my way to work this week, though I could be asked to prove who I am at any time.

And, since they are expecting a bit of trouble, they have armed the police to the hilt and even bought them a brand new water cannon. Everyone has been complaining about the cost of the water cannon. They seem to have missed the fact that we're currently under water restrictions because of the drought and it's illegal to use hosepipes...

The police are now out in force. Groups of 5-6 on bikes and foot all across the city, carrying their shiny new guns. Not on horses though. Equine flu is currently sweeping the country here and all horses are under quarantine so that they don't sneeze on us and spread it to humans...

And the prisons have been emptied. Lots of lovely criminals released early because they are expecting mass arrests...

And yes - I expect there will be trouble. But don't fret. I'll be nowhere near it. I don't agree with a lot of things that a lot of world leaders are doing, but I know there is a time and place for everything. Running with hardline protesters ain't really my thing - especially not when my visa can easily be revoked before I have seen even 2% of Oz. And there has been quite a bit of high-profile visa-revoking going on over here recently.

To pat down the murmurs of discontent about all this disruption we have been given a day off - a special public holiday - this Friday. Which is great. Unless you are a business owner who has been told they have no option but to stop trading on that day. Or, like me, you're a temp and no work = no pay... It's also a bit of a pain in the ass as I have a class on Saturday morning so I can't do what 90% of Sydney-siders appear to be doing and vacate the city for the weekend. Still, hoping that between the riots there will be some peace and quiet. Maybe I'll head to the beach.