My 2nd Xmas in Oz!

We had a Xmas eve party at the house this year for our orphaned friends (including me and LJ) for those who didn't have families around. See our pictures below. Can you count how many Santa Clause hat were worn that night?















So how many did you count? Well, there was actually just one Santa Clause hat that night.

Xmas Day - 2006: I spent some time volunteering with St Vincent de Paul for the biggest Xmas party I've ever attended. St Vinnies must have entertained more than 500 elderly and homeless people that day. You won't believe how many volunteers wanted to sign up for this day - St Vinnies had to turn them down. I think I'll do this again next year. Anyone up for it next year?

After the volunteer, I went to the Rocks to have a Xmas lunch with the Caoile and Byrne family, with LJ. The whole family was there except for Cameron. Thanks again, Tita! The food was great. Must have gained a couple of kilos just this weekend.

Wishing you all the best this Xmas holidays! HOHOHO!!!

Manny Pacquiao - Boxing

Day after I arrived from Tasmania, I went to Rooty Hill (western suburb where lots of Filipinos live in Sydney) with cousin LJ to watch boxing: Philippines' own Manny Pacquiao vs some Mexican (no need to mention).

My trip (through public transport) must have taken about 1.5hrs. LJ was already waiting for me at the station on a hot Sunday afternoon. When we got to the RSL, I easily got in. Unfortunately for LJ who lost his wallet just a few weeks ago, he couldn't provide any form of ID to get in (FYI for everyone going to an RSL club). So we came out of the RSL club thinking, what are we gonna do. We went all the way here to watch one of the biggest boxing events in the Philippines (on big screen TV), its hot outside, there's no where else to go coz I'm sure the filipino shops are closed so they could also watch the match. A few suggestions: we borrow some other filipino guy's ID and try to get in, wait until the security guard change shifts and see if the new person would let us in, find another bar where we could watch, or just go home. We waited a little bit and tried a second time with another security guard.

I go in first and LJ follows me. The guard sees LJ and asks him who he was with. He says, "I'm with her." The guard asks, "are you brothers and sisters?" I said, "Yes, we are!" LJ says, "NO!" Ok, LJ and I need to get our stories straight. Anyway, we explained to the guard that we were here to watch the boxing match. Easily enough, the guy lets us in but we had to walk outside of the casino area to get to the big screen TV. Fair enough. When we got there, LJ was mad after seeing lots of underage kids inside while he was given such a hard time at the front door.

Well, the match ended very well for the Philippines. Pacquiao won by KO in 3 rounds. Apparently during the 2nd match a few months back against the same Mexican boxer, Philippines had a zero crime rate - even the thieves and criminals took a break to watch the game.

Pacquiao for President!!!

Xmas Party - Towards 007

We were sent down to Melbourne this year for our Xmas party. The theme was James Bond - Towards 007 (as in '2007' - get it?!?). You can dress up as Bond (definitely a few James Bonds at the party), a villain, or a Bond girl. I thought of being Dr Christmas Jones with a Santa outfit but it was toooo much effort.

I flew down on Saturday morning on the week that Melbourne was having their bushfires. Unfortunately for me, bushfires = plane delays...at least 1hr for me. It was so smokey in Melbourne even after driving 45min away from the airport to our hotel.

By the way, this was the last weekend before my last day of work at VeriSign. I guess I was lucky I got to fly down to Melbourne and join the festivities. I got to say "Hi" and "Bye" to some people I've worked with and never met in person before. We got to stay at "The Mansion" in Werribee (http://www.mansionhotel.com.au/) and got a nice little Xmas gift. Thanks, VeriSign!

The morning started out with a seminar, lunch, and laser tag outside during a hot summer day (remember, bushfires!!!). The ladies said, "No, Thanks! We're going to the winery next door." And so we did for some wine tasting. Too tired after and we pretty much went back to our own rooms til the Xmas party.

Here are some pictures from the party. Can you guess who the characters are:












The day after, I met up with Paul, my friend, in Melbourne who took me around the shopping area in downtown (Melbourne is known for its fashion and shopping). Before I left for the airport, we visited St Francis Church (the oldest church in Victoria) before flying back to Sydney. See you back in Sydney, Paul!

Tasmania - 2nd half of the tour!

5th Day: We dropped off five people and picked up 11 more for the second part of the tour (east coast part). And boy did we pick up a bunch of noisy, fresh out of college girls. From the moment they stepped on the tour bus, two other people usually sitting at the back moved all the way infront to get away from these noisy girls.

We picked up the rest of the group at Launceston, stopping over at Cataract Gorge.





We passed by tree sculptures carved with chainsaws dedicated to four sons who died in the war.




St Columba Falls

And ended the night with a penguin tour by Bicheno beach (freezing!!!)

6th Day: The toughest climb I've ever done. Mt Amos in approximately 1hr. But definitely worth it!!!








7th Day: Port Arthur - penitentiary (getting lazy writing here). Check out wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur%2C_Tasmania for more details.

Convicts were sent to the penitentiary for stealing a chicken or just a handkerchief. They handed tough punishments to the prisoners but at the same time, giving them education and training to learn skills valuable in the outside world.

Port Arthur has been coined the term, "Beauty and the Beast" as you'll see in the pictures. With great views comes the dark secrets that happened inside. Just about 10yrs ago, some pyscho fired shots to visiting tourists killing about 35 people and injuring more for reasons people still don't understand.












After Port Arthur, we did a short trip to a wildlife park featuring tasmanian devils, natives of Tasmania (see previous blog entry).

We ended the Tasmania tour back in Hobart where the group met up for some beer at Irish Murphy's and another bar at Salamanca place where we almost got kicked out. They told security not to let us in next time...sounds ok with us...its not like we'll be back any time soon! Bye Tasmania!

Missing umbrella?!?!?!?

I went to a friend's party last weekend. By the time I was ready to go home, someone had taken my umbrella and left their broken one behind.

Little did they know, my umbrella was broken, too!

Haha!

Tasmania - 1st leg of the tour!

Population: half a million people. Tasmanian devils. Hobart, the capital city. Cadbury chocolate factory. James Boags beer. Cascade beer. And the beautiful sceneries of the Tasmanian island, the only island state of Australia and the main reason tourists visit this pristine land. I've got pictures to prove!

I joined a one week tour of Tasmania (from west coast to east coast) with Adventure Tours Australia (free advertising!!!). Twelve people in the first half of the 6 day tour (including our tour guide, Bruce) then 18 people in the second half. In the first group, I was surprised 5 females, including me, had joined the tour by themselves. Go women!


1st Day: I arrived in Hobart on Saturday, day before the tour started. Saturdays are Salamanca market days, showing off one of the best arts and crafts, food, and flowers produced in Tasmania. Salamanca Place is the entertainment hotspot with tons of restaurants, cafes, shops, pubs, craft shops and galleries. This will also be my last stop before I head back home to Sydney.

After a stroll and lunch, I did a cruise around Derwent river (I was the only passenger and got to drive the ferry!!!) - featuring sceneries of beautiful homes situated along the river (homes range around $600-$800k AUD - expensive!!!), Mt Wellington from afar, Cadbury Chocolate factory, seacat ferries, etc. Then I made my way to Battery point (the "old town" part of the city similar to the Rocks in Sydney).

2nd Day: 645am pickup by the tour guide, Bruce! Unfortunately, I was the first pick up = not much sleeping time! And what a bad day to start - RAIN!!! First stop, Mt Fields National Park to see Russell Falls. A nice walk (in the rain) to see a beautiful waterfall. We then headed to Lake St Clair, the deepest freshwater lake in Australia, had a picnic lunch after a short walk along the famous overland tracks.

Did I mention about four people asked me if I was German this day?

3rd Day: Montezuma Falls...3hr hike rountrip. Gosh, did that take forever, but worth it! A suspension bridge hangs just infront of the waterfall. Best view you could get is standing in the middle of the suspension bridge...if you dare! Tasmania is all about nature! From waterfalls to beaches, our next stop for the day was Ocean beach (the edge of the world...in the horizon, the next beach would be in Argentina). Si! Still more of nature, we went to the town of Strahan, which boasts plantations of Huon pine (only found in this town), a softwood similar to teak hardwood that is not vulnerable to termites (PT Tika team members, remember this is college? - Teak wood!!!).

4th Day: Supposedly the highlight of this trip. Climbing up OR seeing Cradle Mountains. Unfortunately, it was snowing this day. So as consolation, we got to walk around Dove Lake, on the foot of the mountain. But still, it was freezing cold. Not to mention, all I've packed for this trip were summer clothes. Big mistake!!! Good thing the tour guide had leftover raincoats from prior tours who'd left them behind.

Cradle mountain sort of looks like a cradle with a baby in it. The weather was just too bad. Sorry, no pictures to share here. Just look it up on wikipedia. After, we went to a lodge where we got our shoes and socks dried up infront of the fireplace and had some nice coffee/tea. Then a stopover at the House of Anvers, a chocolate factory, for some free tasting and another set of warm coffee/tea, before heading for the night at Devonport.

Tasmanian Devils

You asked for it. So here you go! Ladies and Gents, here are the devils, natives of Tasmania:

The Ashes

Apparently, this is a big thing for Australian Cricket fans.

The "Ashes" is a test cricket series played between England and Australia (see more in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ashes).

This picture on the left is the urn that was presented to the England team when they lost their first match against Australia back in 1882 (the urn is so small that the actual size is probably just three times the picture). An obituary was posted in The Sporting Times stating that the English cricket had died due to the loss and that the body will be cremated (cremation was a taboo during this time) and brought to Australia.

Anyway, the reason I was blogging this is because the urn is being featured at the Museum of Sydney, just a few blocks from our office. Our office had a field trip this afternoon to see this special urn. Cricket fan or not, there were about ten of us who went. For $10 bucks, you get to see this little urn displayed in a small box in the museum.

Because of its fragility, this urn is being displayed at the Museum of Lord's...and is only the third time its been to Australia. Sir Richard Branson (Mr Virgin Airlines) flew this little thing himself to Australia.

If you want to read more about it, here are some links:
http://www.ecb.co.uk/england/ashes-urn-visiting-australia,10418,EN.html
http://www.lords.org/latest-news/news-archive/ashes-urn,619,NS.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/cricket/3420491.stm
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Sport/Sydney-fans-to-see-Ashes-urn/2006/10/21/1160851167224.html

"The Devil Wears Prada" movie

So is your boss as mean as Meryl Streep's character in the movie? Did you think she looked like Cruella De Vil?

My coworker Melinda, who just moved here from the bay area (thank goodness, a fellow bay arean - is that what you call people from the bay area? - to talk to and someone I can relate), had joined a lawyer's club and received four tickets for a pre-screening of this movie. She invited me along with her husband and Emma, another coworker, to see it at Dendy's theatre in Circular Quay (pronounced 'key', not 'kwey' as what a newly arrived tourist would say).

Dendy's at Circular Quay usually only shows independent films or special screenings. It was my first time watching a movie there. I normally go to Greater Union at George St or Hoyts at Broadway. I heard the Hoyts theatres at Ryde is really cool. Gotta check it out sometime.

Anyway, there were also some pre screening drinks with a bunch of lawyers at the Lenin Bar about 2 mins walk from the theatre. So I met up with my coworkers at the bar and Melinda says, "just tell them you're with the 'X' party and they'll charge the drinks to this club/organization." Ok. So I go to the bar, order my drink, and I tell the bartender that I'm with the party. He asks, "which party?" I said, "what?" He replied, "the 'X' party?"...and I was like, "Yes, yes. That party!" I sounded like I was crashing the party and trying to get a free drink from whoever was giving out free drinks. Haha. Anyway, a few sips and it was time to go.

The movie was funny. And yes, I have / have had bosses like that. You guys have heard me complain about some of my bosses. Shhh!!! I don't know who's reading my blog.

A couple of weeks later, my friend sends me this voucher for free tickets to see a French movie ("Story of My Life") at the same theatre. It was a first come, first seating for this movie. I wanted to pass the voucher around the office but I thought, hmmm, I'll be fighting for seats with these people. Nevermind. Hehehhee. So I just went with a bunch of friends, two of them were French and said, translation was a little bit bad. Some were Lost in Translation. Oh well, good enough for me.

Golf Anyone?

A day after YouTube was bought out by Google in early Oct 2006, I jumped on the bandwagon and put myself on YouTube. Here is the video I took when I went to the Olympic Park to hit some balls.



I swear - this only took one shot...not that I'm any good at it anyway.

Floriade - Canberra

Ahhh! The smell of spring...in the month of September.

Every year, Canberra (in case you didn't know, it is the capital of Oz land) hosts the flower festival. Thousands of visitors come every year to see this attraction.

Canberra is about 2.5hrs south of Sydney. This past Saturday, my friend invited me to tag along with some friends (who seem to make this pilgrimage every year). I had an early start, 5am, to get to my friend's place at Strathfield (which is probably like a 10-15min drive but with someone who doesn't have a car, no choice but to take a 45min walk + public transportation. Lots of adjusting with that considering I've been driving for close to 15 years. There's just no way you can get anywhere in the bay area without a car!!!). Anyway, meeting up with the people, driving there, stopping for breakfast, then lunch at Canberra, we didn't actually get to the place til 1-130pm. And we were there for about 4hrs. Here are some pictures from the Floriade:

Wollongong

I had previously started a blog entry for Wollongong and it just disappeared. I thought I had saved a draft...it was a good effort, too. Arghhh!!!

Anyways, on a nice spring Saturday, we (LJ, JC, and I) drove down south of Sydney to get out of the city. First stop, Stanwell Top/Park. We kindda got lost but we found this nice hotel/retreat called Tumbling Waters retreat (http://www.tumblingwatersretreat.com/) by the mountains. If you want to have a nice and quiet weekend, not to mention a great view of the pacific ocean...here's the place. From there, we saw the lookout we were looking for...a great view of the pacific ocean where people go for hang gliding...and for this day, a group of Jaguar owners (old, new, classic cars) getting together and enjoying the nice sunny day. LJ was wearing the wrong shirt this day...red shirt with a Ferrari logo.




Next stop, we drove further down to Bulli Beach. Just another beach in this country of beaches! Ruby's for lunch...great, huge burgers!!! Driving around near the beaches and lookouts, you'll see a lot of signs such as no hang gliding, no golfing, no horsing around, etc.
We passed by this typical Aussie surfer dude who was selling his golf clubs and surf boards...must be one of the people banned from golf. By the way, while I'm at this subject, the next day, I went to the Olympic Park at Homebush and went to hit some golf balls. Too bad I couldn't post the video of me taking some shots. If you know how I could post videos in this blog, let me know.

How about the sign above and the next picture:
We then drove up to some mountain (Mt K...something) and had a good view of the city of Wollongong...I think that's Wollongong. And downtown, you'll get to see this postcard perfect picture of a lighthouse and some girls who dare swim in dangerous waters...watch out for those stingrays...I hear they kill people (just kidding...I wouldn't think there would be any in those waters anyway).










Last stop, Nan Tiem temple in Wollongong. I almost got my head chopped off:

This is the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere (that's LJ, by the way, in the middle of the picture).

That was a lot in one day. We could have gone further south to Kiama and Gerringong...but I guess, some other time.