Michelle's Bridal Shower

Mitch wasn't into the typical hen's night/bachelorette's party. No strippers, no drinking, no staying up late. As bridesmaids, Natasha and I organized Michelle's bridal shower...more appropriately, we had afternoon tea at the 'Tea Room' in Queen Victoria Bldg (QVB).


http://www.thetearoom.com.au/

There were 16 of us girls for the afternoon kitchen tea (FYI: most appropriate gifts to bring for a kitchen tea party are kitchen items... that makes sense). We had a few games. One of them was answering a few questions about the bride and groom. One question asks if it was Michelle or Andrew that wanted to get into a religious vocation. All but one person answered it correctly. It was Michelle who wanted to be a nun at one point. Another question asked when the wedding date was. I guess if this person didn't play the game, she would have showed up at the wedding a weekend before the actual date. And not a lot of people knew Michelle was born in Australia.

The other game we played - we asked each guests to write any advice on a piece of paper and we would read out a situation Michelle and Andrew would be in, pick any of the advice from a fish bowl, and basically, see if those advices would work. Here's some examples:

1. Michelle's ready for a night of hot romance. She's prepared a candlelit dinner and has her sexiest nightgown on. Andrew says he's got a headache. What does Michelle do?
- The Advice that was picked from the fish bowl: SAY THE "OUR FATHER"

2. The in laws pay a surprise visit. What should they do?
- The Advice that was picked from the fish bowl: WAIT A MINUTE, HONEY. I'M IN THE SHOWER!

3. Michelle and Andrew are driving around. They are lost. Michelle tells Andrew to stop and ask for directions. Andrew says no. What do you advice?
- The Advice that was picked from the fish bowl: PUT YOUR HEAD BETWEEN YOUR LEGS AND START COUNTING

4. They have their first fight. What do you advice?
- The Advice that was picked from the fish bowl: DRINK SOME TEA AND EAT SOME SCONES


Anyway, that was just a sample. I can't remember all the advices that were picked from the fishbowl but everyone seem to have enjoyed that game.

When we went home, Michelle opened her gifts and I tallied them all. There is one gift that didn't have a name and there were three people to choose from (that means there were two that didn't give a gift ;-) - I won't tell. And I won't tell which gift didn't have a name tag...just in case that person reads this and would think we didn't even keep track.

Next up - Michelle's wedding on July 22nd!

Go Soccerroos!

The World Cup in Germany!

The Australian team, otherwise known as the Socceroos (as in kangaroos...get it?), has finally made it into the World Cup after 32 years. And boy were they put in one of the toughest groups in the first round. Group F - Brazil (the best of them all), Japan (supposedly the best team in Asia), and Croatia (you can't underestimate).

So who am I supposed to root for? Of course, there's team USA but they seem to suck. And there seem to be not much support in the good old land of US of A. Maybe because the team isn't winning and getting to the semis or finals. Or from what I've read, its a low scoring game, or there are other sports more interesting to watch on TV, or there isn't that much action besides kicking the ball, etc. Unfortunately, team USA didn't make it into the 2nd round.

Then of course, there's the socceroos. Australia is known for being the underdogs.

My friend, Amin, did the pilgrimage to Germany to watch some of the games, to see his home country, Iran, fight it off with Mexico, Portugal, and Angola. Sorry, Amin! Sorry you didn't come back home to the US with a win. Maybe in the next four years.

First game was against Japan. Natasha and I went bar hopping on a Monday night to look for a bar where we can watch the game. Since our place is near tons of bars and restaurants, we just stayed within the neighborhood. Norton St was closed for any Australian games so bars and restaurants can open all night and all morning to show the games. And since its also the Italian community, the street was closed for Italian games. First half, we went to the Royal Hotel, just a block away from our house. Second half, we moved to the Vanilla Room. Nobody expected the aussies to win against Japan but what'd you know. They beat them 3-1!!!

Aussies vs Brazil - I didn't stay up for this. Most of the games are played at 11pm, 2am, 5am here so its hard to stay up or get up. Brazil was expected to win anyway...and they did.

Finally, the third and deciding game. Australia has to beat Croatia or at least get a draw (with Japan losing to Brazil) to get into the second round. I woke up at 6am to catch the 2nd half of the game. At this point, the game against Croatia was tied. And when Croatia scored another goal, the yellow and green (that's the aussie team color) crowd at the stadium was silent. It was nerve racking. The game was getting intense. Fouls here and there, right and left. Penalties. One guy from the Croatian team got two yellow cards but I guess the referee wasn't keeping track and should have given him the red card (after two yellow cards, you get a red card and out of the game). But the socceroos was able to get in one more score to tie the game. In the last few minutes, that same guy got a third yellow card and finally got the boot. The socceroos has made it into the 2nd round. Even if Japan wins over Brazil, they would have to score a lot of points to beat Australia getting into the 2nd round. If you win a game within your group, you get 3pts. A draw gives you 1pt. At the end of 3 matches within your group, the top two teams that has the most points get into the second round. If there's a tie, whoever scored the most goals gets in.

That morning when the aussies got into the second round (I believe first time ever), it was traffic all over the city. People were out celebrating, honking their cars, people getting to work late. They were all excited.

Next game: Italy vs Australia. Leichhardt, where we live, is the Italian community of Sydney. Norton St, just five houses from our home is the place to be. Natasha and her friend went out at around 10pm to check out the crowd. The pubs were packed. There were a lot of people on the streets. So they decided to come home and watch the game indoors. The game didn't start until 1am so in the meantime, I took a nap and got up at 1:30 am. The game was pretty much decided until the last 8 seconds of the game when Australia was penalized. Italy got a spot kick (penalty kick infront of the goal) and made it in. And that was the end of Australia's run for the cup...although that would be very unlikely. The game ended at 3am...I had to be in the office at an 8am training (set by the people in the US!!!! aghhh!!!)

Well now we can all go back to our normal sleeping patterns. Thank goodness! I don't think I ever got into soccer until now. Goodnight!

Diabetes Walk

I registered to participate in the Asics Walk for Wellbeing 2006 for Diabetes on Sunday, June 18th, at the Leichhardt Park. This event will raise funds needed for Diabetes Awareness, Research, Education and Advocacy programs. I have decided to participate in this event to raise funds for a good cause particularly for a disease that has inflicted my family. It is hereditary but can be prevented by having a proper diet and good exercise.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body cannot convert food into energy because of a lack of insulin, or because of an inability to use insulin. Diabetes is a serious condition that can cause complications ranging from numbness, kidney failure, blindness and coma. It also significantly raises the risk for other problems, such as stroke and heart disease.

There are more than 1.4 million Australians with Diabetes and the World Health Organization estimates that 150 million people had diabetes worldwide in 2002. This number is projected to double by the year 2025.

This Sunday, I did the 8km walk and was able to raise a little over $150. Not that much but it contributes to the cause. Maybe next year, will do better. Hey, if you join next year, maybe you'll get free socks from Asics.

Hard Rock Cafe - Sydney

I went to Hard Rock Cafe - Sydney this Saturday and as I walked in, half of the people in there started singing Happy Birthday. Moa?!?!?! No thanks. I actually walked in with another girl who didn't have a clue they were giving a surprise bday party for her.

It was nice having lunch there and listening to some old tunes. And as a tourist would do, I bought some souvenirs. One more pin to add to my Hard Rock Cafe guitar pin collection (this one has the Sydney Opera House). And one for you, Michelle, to add to your shot glass collection.

Australian Football League

Sydney Swans vs St Kilda

Time to watch some footy. The AFL (Australian Football League) is similar to rugby except that when you score, you have to kick the ball through a post...I think. You score 6 points if you get it through the middle goal posts and score 1 point if you kick the ball on the left or right goal posts (if that makes sense). You run through the field, pass or kick the ball to your teammates and run to the end and kick a score...at least that's from my observation. It didn't look complicated and there were no tackling just like American football. Anyway, for more info:

http://afl.com.au/
http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=history

The VeriSign Australia Sydney office decided to do a "team building" activity outside of work so some people came on a rainy and cold Saturday night to watch the Sydney Swans lose to St Kilda. Well, we didn't actually watch them lose to the end...we all left after the second quarter coz it started to rain real hard.

The game was held at the SCG (Sydney Cricket Grounds) next to Fox Studios. We met up first at the Fringe Bar over at Fox Studios (WARNING: the food here is sizzling spicy!!! Really, really hot. We didn't even get a warning or an option to pick. I.e. - I ordered green curry...and that's not supposed to be as spicy as red curry. Apparently, not to them. Their explanation - its Asian food. Its supposed to be spicy! Hello, not all asian food are spicy!!! Anyway, just watch out for the FRINGE BAR).

First timer at Fox Studios. Its supposed to be similar to Universal Studios. Somewhat, but in a lot smaller scale. They have the shops, restaurants, movie theatre, bowling alley, bars, and cafes. And its not as crowded as Universal Studios (maybe because it was raining on a Saturday night. Oh and take a note. Friday night at Bondi on a winter/fall season is dead. There isn't much action around this time of the year).


Oh yea! St Kilda won over the Sydney Swans - 52 to 50

Deus ex Machina

"God from the Machine"

There is a cafe next to my dance class in Camperdown where its not only a cafe, they also sell and display vintage bikes...from Yamahas to Ducatis (the Ferraris of bicycles), and from Nortons to Kawasakis. Nice cafe to sit down, relax, and listen to some Nirvana (at least that was what they were playing when I dropped by)...too bad they close 3pm too early.












http://www.deusexmachina.com.au/

From time to time, they'll feature other types of vehicles such as the Jaguar: