Here I am

So today was my first day at work. I mostly took care of some administrative stuff and talked with my boss about what I will be doing. Essentially I will be a jack of all trades working on a variety of issues that he needs help on. Specifically I will be involved in doing research for the procurement policies regarding energy efficient technology for building retrofits and will be doing work on traffic lighting issues.

My boss and I are the only Clinton Foundation people in Melbourne and we work directly in the city offices of Melbourne. Everyone has been great and I look forward to working there. Thursday I am flying out to Sydney for a couple of meetings. It appears I will be going there several times and a few other places throughout the course of my stay.

I am currently looking for a new place to stay. I'm at a pretty dingy backpackers share house that is OK but I'm sleeping on a mattress on the floor with sheets that probably haven't been washed in awhile and don't have anywhere to put my clothes. Basically I wouldn't wish these living conditions on anyone. I have a couple of leads on some other places that I am checking out tonight. Still, I have no serious complaints, it is a place for now. The people here are pretty great though. There are six people from all over Ireland and some guys from England here and I'm sharing a room with a guy from Indonesia. Everyone thinks that I'm from New York when they find out I'm American.