Merry Xmas to you, too!

I received a blue Xmas card today, posted in Australia, but forgot (or intentionally) to sign their name. They didn't even have a return address! The handwriting looks very familiar but it is not registering.

You know who you are. If you're reading this, please leave me a message. If you're not him/her, don't pretend you are him/her and leaving me a fake message =)

Thanks for the card and hope you have a wonderful Xmas and a safe New Year!!!

How do you spend $120 in 2 seconds?

Try me!

I locked the car keys inside the car on Xmas Eve! I called a few auto specialists and the first quote I got was $180. Why that expensive? Well, everyone was going home early from work for the holidays and I really didn't have a choice as I needed the car during the Xmas weekend. The second quote I got was $120 but they won't be able to do it in the next couple of hours. We even called the police near where we were at the Rocks and they turned us down!!! The next quote I got was $160 then I told him, another company was giving it to me for $120. So he gave it to me and he came in 15 minutes. He took out his metal spleen, pushed it down the car window, and in two seconds...wala! The door opened! I said, "I'm paying you $120 for a two second job? Can you give me more discount? You must make a lot of money." He says, "Sorry, I already gave you a big discount, its the holidays, and no, I don't make a lot of money. My boss does!" What a racket!!!

There you go! How to spend $120 bucks in two seconds. Can you beat that? Let me know if you do!

Government House

Day after my harbour jet cruise, I checked out the Government House at the Botanical Gardens. Another site I haven't checked out since I've been here for 2yrs and 2 months (has it been that long)? Again, I pretended to be a tourist. They asked me where I was from and I answered, "San Francisco!" Hehe! I know, they hate Americans.

The house is located on top of a hill at the Botanical Gardens, overlooking the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. It was situated there to give the appearance to onlookers arriving at Sydney Harbour that someone important lives in this house. The house serves as the Governor's residence (hence, the name). Since 1996, under the direction of the Premier, the house is no longer used as a residence. It was used during the Sep 2007 APEC summit as one of the key meeting venues and still remains as the Governor's official reception space especially for her weekly meetings.

Harbour Jet Cruise

I tried one of those jet boats that goes 75km/h along the Sydney Harbour one Saturday. Its just one of those things that I haven't done as a tourist here in Oz. It was a warm day in Sydney and it was just perfect to get wet. Indeed, I got wet, probably soaked if I didn't wear some protective gear.

You know for sure you're gonna get wet during the ride so the guy next to me had to wear gloves and protect one of his inflamed fingers. During the ride, the poor guy got stung by a bee on his other hand - how did that bee get on the boat that's running at 75km/h? The boat was doing nose dives (to get the people infront wet), doing 280 degree turns (to get me wet who's sitting on the side of the boat), and sudden stops. Now I know what Sydney Harbour water taste like.

Sydney Opera House

Its been a while since I've seen a show at the Opera House. In a span of one week, I went to see three shows. When it rains, it pours!

1. John Williams Movie Soundtracks by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra - compositions for the movies such as Indiana Jones, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Psycho, ET, Schindler's List, Harry Potter, Superman, Close Encounters, LA Olympics theme, and half of the show dedicated to the sounds of the six Star Wars movies.

2. Schubert's Great Symphony - boring!!!!!!!!

3. The Nutcracker - at the opera house forecourt. I've always heard or seen ads about this show but I never knew the story.

Sometimes when you've got nothing else to do, Plan B = Opera House

15 Blue St, North Sydney

Its sad to say, we had to move office from 15 Blue St (Fujitsu Bldg on top of the North Sydney station) to 201 Miller St. Here are some reasons why I oppose of the move:

1. I now have to walk about 4 blocks from the train station compared to not even less than a block from the old office. But I can look at it as an exercise for me.
2. When it rains (and its been raining a lot these days - its summer, by the way), I get about two blocks of uncovered walkway...compared to zero to the old office.
3. We can see fireworks from our office during New Year's eve. Our view these days is a black and grey parking lot!
4. And the main reason why:

Halloween Party

They don't really celebrate Halloween in Australia. If they did, its just another excuse to have a drinking party. I thought it'd be a good idea to get people dressed up on Halloween. I was afraid people won't participate but I'd say, it was a pretty good turnout that people actually dressed up. Some would call me to make sure they weren't the only ones dressed up. Some hired costumes at a party shop. I dressed up as an angel. We had a couple of fairies, batman, two draculas, three witches, robin hood, gypsy, pirate, an 80s girl, one of those mormon men in blacks, and a lot more. But the best part for me was when a few of us went out on the streets to buy some beer...with Borat. The lady behind the counter was talking on the phone and told the person on the other line that Borat was at the shop. Borat took the phone and started talking with the perfect accent!

The life of the party? I have to give it to BORAT!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Too many birthdays this October...on my calendar, I have 14 people listed. The cousins in Australia celebrated mama's big 60th bday...at mama's expense! Yippeee!!!

One other party celebrated was at Hard Rock Cafe this past Sunday, Oct 21st, for Vinnie!!! We didn't know it but it also happens to be the Cafe's last day before they close down...til they get another location somewhere at Darling Harbour.

Did you know that in a group of about 30 people, there is a big probability that two people will have the same birthday? We tested this theory back in my college days. We went around the whole class and indeed, we found two people with the same birthday. At one of my old jobs, in our department of about 25 - 30 people, there was me and Miss V who had the same birthday. And at the Hard Rock Cafe party, there were only six of us but I found out that I have the same birthday as Patricia! Are we gonna have a big party next year or what!

Happy birthday to Mama, Lola, Analie, Terence, Keiko, Oliver, Natasha, Michael, JC, Vinnie, Melinda, Kim, Michelle, and Alma!!!

Belly Dancer

I didn't know they had male belly dancers!!! And I didn't know I was gonna get to dance with one!!!

We went to a Lebanese restaurant called Zenobia, the self proclaimed Queen of Egypt who was from Syria. We wanted to see some belly dancers on Saturday night and to our surprise, they introduced a male dancer. We pointed one of our guy friends to get pulled up to dance and when asked, "are you gay?" he didn't really understand the male dancer and nodded, "Yes!" But he wasn't.

Here they are!!!

Labor Day Weekend

Its Labor day weekend in NSW and ACT. No other states were celebrating it except for us. What did I do?

I rented a car for the weekend which I usually take to go out of town. But this weekend, it didn't go that far. I was teaching two people how to drive on Sat and Sun. One day, we drove all around Wilson St doing some parallel parking and roundabouts (which I don't like very much) and the next day, we drove around busier streets (and almost got into an accident!!!). Shhh!!! I wasn't supposed to let these "L" license plate holders to drive the rental car anyway (coz "L" are for losers!!). We did squeeze in a little bit of joy riding to Watson's Bay and one more place I got to check off my list of places to see - Vaucluse House. Can I just add on to here that the cross street from Vaucluse House is called "Oolala St". Oooh La La!!! Not that there's anything fascinating on that street.

Ironically, on Labor day itself, I had to go to work!

7th Ritmo Brazilian Festival

Perfect time to take the Brazilian couple I just met to this festival held at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour this past Sunday. Little did we know, there was a Chinese and Korean festival going on at the same time in the area. So we tried a variety of food all day...that's all you do at these festivals. Eat, eat, and eat some more!!!

There was a samba dance number on stage and I saw my salsa dance instructor choreographing the whole thing. And I noticed that he had shaved his mohawk!!! The following day, I went to my salsa class and I shook my head when I saw the mohawk. There was only one way to find. Nestor, the instructor (wow, it rhymes!), happened to dance with me so I asked him if he had a twin brother. And that was it! Fooled me!

I got to try some of these ACAI (pronounced ah-sah-hee) - a Brazilian berry only found on top of palm trees in the Amazon rainforest. Take note: its got lots of vitamins (B1, B2, B3, C, E), iron, potassium, calcium, protein, high in fiber, lowers your cholesterol, has more than double the antioxidant content of blueberries, and is 30x more anthocyanins than a glass of red wine. So how come I've never heard of this before? I have to find this in stores somehow.

At the end of it all, I didn't even get a chance to meet up with the Brazilian couple. We were both moving targets. We'd be walking back to the Brazilian festival to look for them and they would be walking to the Korean festival where we just came from to look for us. Sigh!

Piety Stall

LJ and I went to help Mitch & Andrew with their piety stall last Sunday after mass. We took over in doing the selling. Needless to say, that was the best day they ever had. Naks! I ended up buying a children's book about Saints. I'll try to be that kid who was so knowledgeable about Saints in the movie, "Millions". That was a good movie, by the way. Go rent it!

Australian Hotel

You wanna try some crocodile, emu, and kangaroo pizza? Check out the Australian Hotel at 100 Cumberland St, at the Rocks.

My boss in San Francisco from almost 10yrs ago contacted me and told me his colleagues are moving to Sydney. So I met up with this Brazilian couple and took them to the Australian Hotel so they can try some authentic food (as in the toppings, not the pizza). Unfortunately, Vinny was vegetarian and Patricia was not too interested in exotic foods. Oh well...I still ordered the crocodile, emu, and kangaroo pizza.

Thredbo - Snowy Mountains

Australia's highest peaks are located in the Snowy Mountains. Not surprisingly, they are known for its ski resorts. During this APEC weekend, we drove down south for a ski trip. The last time I went skiing was about 10yrs ago in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. This time around, I wanted to try snowboarding.

We had an early start on Friday morning leaving Sydney, a quick drive around Canberra, one stop shop at Jindabyne for our ski gears and snow tires, and off to Thredbo. We stayed in the little town of Thredbo which was pretty cute, narrow streets, cabins and lodges by the side of the mountain overlooking the ski resort and the snowy mountains. Our house was just next to the resort and my room, waking up in the morning with a view of the snowy mountains.

Saturday was all-day snowboarding!!! I joined a group of people for the lessons and when the instructor asked, "who here is from Sydney trying to get away from the APEC weekend?" Everybody pretty much raised their hands. Yep, everyone I talked to was from Sydney.

First run down the slope was scary. But the second, third, fourth, and fifth was exhilarating. I was liking it more and more, better than skiing! The thing I hated the most was getting on the lift. The first one I got on, I couldn't get on the seat properly and fell. I quickly fell flat on the snow to avoid the lift hitting my head and they had to stop the whole thing to get me up. When I finally got on and got to the top of the slopes, I prepared myself getting off my seat. With my luck, I fell again and had to duck my head to avoid getting hit. Good god!

Sunday, we drove back to Sydney and passed by the Pauline Fathers Monastery (Hanging Rocks) at Penrose for lunch at the park. The monastery had chapels representing different countries and little chapels for different saints. If we only had more time, I could have gotten a 'Saints 101' education from these chapels. We were hurrying back to return the car by 6pm and we just made it on time.

Walking back home, we passed by Kings Cross and entered a pub to watch the Women's finals of the US Tennis Open.

...I'm tired!!!

APEC Summit

21 Leaders coming to Sydney for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. Thanks to President Bush (or the 'Shrub'), we get a holiday on Friday, Sep 7th. Yipeeee!!! Sydney was a ghost town. Of course, I had my alternatives. We planned a ski trip to the Snowy Mountains (the highest peak in Australia) by Thredbo.

Its been the buzz all year, the city preparing for a big event since the 2000 Olympics. Presidents such as Bush, Putin, and Hu (China) were all coming down under. For security reasons, during the week of APEC, there were road closures, public transport timetable changes, additional cameras installed, and fences all around the city. I had a chance to see all this when I took the train around Circular Quay passing by the Intercontinental Hotel where Bush was staying (and possibly the 699 people he brought along with him). Fences and security guards everywhere! Notwithstanding, pranksters from the TV show 'Crashers', pretended to form a motorcade and got through security at the hotel with police escorts. And coming out of the car was no other than Osama Bin Laden. Of course, that was the whole joke! But it wasn't funny to the police. They could have shot someone!

One of the highlights of APEC meetings is the traditional group photo of the leaders wearing the host country's national costume. Australia doesn't really have a national costume and we were all guessing as to what it would be: speedos, bushman outfit (as in Steve Irwin), cowboy outfit (Crocodile Dundee). But it ended up with those lame Driza-bone coats. I don't even know what it is. It looks to me like an ordinary raincoat. That's Australia???

And you can't end APEC without a Bush blunder. Here goes: Pres Bush thanking John Howard, our Prime Minister:

"Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit."

I wish we had more of these APEC meetings in Sydney. Til 21 years from now, I guess!

Salsa Class

I've missed my last four salsa classes due to my US holidays. So this week, I made up two of those. Luckily, the dance instructor for these two classes is no other than the World Champion of Salsa - Oliver Pineda. I got to dance with him and he said I was good and I dance smooth...nice!

He owns the Salsa Latin Motion class that I've been going to. Its also the same teaching school that was featured on "Dancing with the Stars" - Aussie version.

Look him up on Youtube!

Star City Casino

We went to Star City Casino for some free lessons. In all of the month of August, you can get free lessons in BlackJack, Baccarat, and Roulette. I sat at the BlackJack table as it was the only available seat. $100 worth of funny money to start off...and my money never went up! Just another confirmation why I'm not much of a gambler coz I know I'll so regret losing my money when I'd rather spend it on the food! Anyway, it felt like the dealer was telling us tricks on how to lose your $$. I'm so risk averse so I like to play safe...and I should have followed my instincts. Thank goodness it was fake money!

After I lost all of my money, I let the next person sit. And guess what, he wins $300 bucks! Gad damnit!!! To give myself some "consolation", I think I was the lucky charm...o, ano? di ba? loko lang!!!

"Live Free or Die Hard"

Whew!!! What an action-packed movie. The best action movie I've seen in a long time. You can't go wrong with Bruce Willis (at age 52), aka John McClane.

The fourth Die Hard movie comes out 12yrs after the last one (Die Hard with a Vengeance) and its so much better than his Planet Hollywood co-owner's sequels (Arnold Schwarzenegger's "T3" and Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky Balboa").

This is a must see!!!

Celestine Coming to America

9 days after Posh's coming to America, it was my turn. July 21st, the day "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" arrived...9:01am in Sydney. My departure time was 11:45am and had to be at the airport at least 3hrs beforehand. I got to the airport at about 9am, checked-in, and the first thing I did was look for a newsagent and buy the last of the 7-series book. Thank goodness, I found one. I would have ended up reading the so-far boring Bram Stoker's "Dracula" while on the plane.

I got to the terminal and started reading the book. Next time I looked up, I saw people around me reading Harry Potter. I arrived in New Zealand for my stopover, looked around the terminal and people were reading Harry Potter. I arrive in LAX and kids were walking around holding the Harry Potter book. What a phenomenom! Of the 16hour flight from Sydney to California, I was only half way through the book. My cousin finished it in 20 hours over the weekend.

Shhh...don't tell me how the story ends.

So what now? What now after HP? There's nothing else to look forward to. Any books you'd recommend?

7-7-07

Did you realize that each year for twelve years, starting from 2001 up to 2012, we will be having a triple same number date (or however you call it?)

1/1/2001
2/2/2002
3/3/2003
4/4/2004
5/5/2005
6/6/2006
7/7/2007
8/8/2008
9/9/2009
10/10/2010
11/11/2011
12/12/2012

Each year seem to represent something:

6/6/06 - the antichrist was supposed to come (did it?)
7/7/07 - supposed to be a very good wedding date (goodluck to Eva Longoria and Tony Parker!)

Live Earth - 07.07.07

Live Earth - the concert to bring awareness about global warming and encouraging people to be "greener" due partly to Al Gore's involvement (he also said he invented the internet???).

It is a 24 hour concert event spanning 7 countries all over the world starting in Sydney (I WAS THERE!!!), Tokyo, Shanghai, London, Hamburg, New York, Johannesburg, and Rio (not in that order - I don't know time zones. And yes, that was 8 countries, not 7. And maybe Washington, DC participated, too. Oops! I actually meant, 7 continents). Rio was almost cancelled (think Mardi Gras craziness!!!).

This must have been the longest concert I've been to, if not BFD4 ("Big Freaking Deal 4" sponsored by Live 105 in the bay area). The Sydney lineup included:

Blue King Brown
Toni Collette & the Finish
Sneaky Sound System
Ghostwriters
Paul Kelly
Eskimo Joe
Missy Higgins
The John Butler Trio
Wolfmother
Jack Johnson
Crowded House

The lineup wasn't too bad. Although I think the best lineup would be at Wembley Stadium in London (from Snow Patrol, Keane, Duran Duran, Beastie Boys, Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, James Blunt, Foo Fighters, John Legend, Black Eyed Peas, etc...and how can you forget the Pussycat Dolls!!!)

WYD08 - Cross & Icon

Back in 2005, before I moved to Australia, I found out that the next World Youth Day will be happening in Sydney in 2008. And I thought, I have to partake in this momentous and religious event of the Catholic Church.

The World Youth Day was started in 1984 with Pope John Paul II. On the cross, it says:

My dear young people, at the conclusion of the Holy Year, I entrust to you the sign of this Jubilee Year: the Cross of Christ! Carry it throughout the world as a symbol of Christ's love for humanity, and announce to everyone that only in the death and resurrection of Christ can we find salvation and redemption. (His Holiness Pope John Paul II, Rome, 22 April 1984).

The icon was then added in 2003 as a second symbol of faith. Both the cross and icon has travelled and carried by various groups of people all over the world. Last week, I had the honor to carry the cross and the icon on its journey through Australia.

Pinoy Mass

I attended, for the first time in Australia, a filipino mass all the way in Blacktown (St Michael's which holds a filipino mass every 4th Sunday of the month). Its the second biggest gathering of filipinos I've seen since the Manny Paquiao boxing match back in November. Most of the mass was told in Tagalog and made me realize that growing up, I rarely went to Filipino masses. That's why I could hardly respond in Tagalog during the mass.

After the mass, we went to a Filipino buffet restaurant where they served pancit, tinola, adobo, we had some crispy pata on the side...as usual, the food was greasy!!! And they served some fries (pinoy??? more of a filler). To supplement that, we bought some puto and pandesal (all for just $4 - cheap, huh?). I don't know when I'll be back in Blacktown but I always end up buying some cheap filipino food over there.

Rock Climbing

To do on a rainy day.

Big a** view!

Anyone want to be a social climber? (joke only, ha!)

Lake Macquarie

Don't ask me or LJ how to get to Lake Macquarie next time. We got lost for about 1hr getting there. Haha! Its all part of the adventure, huh, LJ?

One sunday morning, I showed up at the rental car shop, asked them if they had a rental car available, got one, picked up LJ, and drove off to Lake Macquarie. It was Mother's day and everyone was out by the lake. LJ and I did some kayaking (oi! iitim na naman ako!!!) at Warners Bay, cruising around to see some big houses, a stroll on Blacksmiths beach overlooking another beach (which was called Nine Mile Beach!?!?!?!?). LJ has decided he wants to have a place overlooking the lake.

This blog is boring! No great pictures either. I'm out!

Harry's Cafe De Wheels

Something I used to do back home - latenight drives to 'In & Out Burger' for their yummy burgers and fries.

In Sydney, latenight drive to Woolloomooloo for some hotdogs and hot pies at the original, iconic Harry's Cafe. Celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Brooke Shields have visited the place. Russell Crowe lives by the wharf where this caravan cafe now stands.

I had a rental car this weekend so I made that trip Sunday night and sat by the wharf possibly overlooking Russell Crowe's digs eating my hotdog!!!

Read more about Harry's

Luna Park Pool

I tried practicing my hopeless swimming skills at Luna Park this weekend. Needless to say I wasn't any good at it but also the view from Luna Park's swimming pool was distracting.

Try swimming next to a view that is the Sydney skyline, Harbour Bridge, Opera House, and the Sydney Harbour on a nice sunny day.

Salsa - Coldplay Style

Did you ever think you could salsa a Coldplay tune? "Clocks" in particular? Go on! Pull out that Coldplay CD of yours or search it on your iTunes collection. Listen and see if you could imagine yourself doing salsa with it.

I've taken up salsa dancing the past couple of weeks and will go on for another five weeks. I haven't given up on swing! I'll give that a rest for now. But I'm not guaranteeing I'll be doing any of these dances on any weddings any time soon (hint, hint).

I'd be really surprised next week if they started playing Keane's "This is the Last Time" for salsa.

Sydney Royal Easter Show

Its the must see and do over the Easter weekend - the Royal Easter Show at the Olympic Park. My adventures in Oz land continues.

On the website, it says its the largest annual event staged in Australia. It highlights the country's rural heritage featuring livestock and domestic animals you can pet (sheep, cows, goats, pigs), clydesdale horses, woodchopping competitions, floral arts, alpaca competitions, cooking demonstrations to carnival rides, live music, motorcross action, female cannonball, daredevil aquatic divers, to the all time favorite - showbags (I had three Twix showbags - full of chocolates).

Let me tell you, I think I'm getting too old for these rides. After a rollercoaster, we had to tame it down to the classic ferry's wheel. We gambled a little bit on carnival games but we all ended up empty handed. We did have some privileges at the member's lounge...cheap food!

It was all good fun! Reminds me of those fiestas and carnivals we had in the Philippines when we were little kids. But as they say, once you've done the Easter Show, you've done the Easter Show. That's all folks!!!

Skywalk - AMP Sydney Tower

March 31st - 'Earth Hour' starting at 730pm. Its Sydney's way of participating in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (Kyoto Protocol - Australia hasn't actually ratified the protocol. So is the US!!!). Turning off your lights at 730pm for just one hour. Sydney is the first city in the world to do this initiative hoping other countries will follow in the next years.

Of course I'll be participating! I won't be home to use any electrical devices. I'll be walking on top of the tallest tower in Sydney. And it just so happens that our booking is set at 715pm. But only lucky enough to see the lights turn on (well, we had to change to this blue and yellow suit before going up there).

It was still a fantastic view, although I was a little disappointed as they were still a lot of lights turned on. You could see the bridge on the top left but not the hanger itself. Right next to it is Australia Square (the round bldg) just turning on its lights. North Sydney CBD was blacked out...great job...including our bldg.

It was pretty exciting that Channel 10 got to interview us! I thought being interviewed on National TV was more nerve racking than actually doing the walk. I checked the news - I think we ended up on the cutting room floor.

We ended the night with dinner at the 360 degree restaurant just below the Skywalk.

Newcastle

I didn't think I was going back to Newcastle so soon after I blogged about it not having too many things to do. But so be it. I actually went there for a babyshower...surprisingly, babyshower with lots of booze served. That's how babies are made in the first place, right? Oh, don't you worry. I've got nothing to do with all that. Just a few sips is enough for me.

On the paper, they mentioned about the finals of a surfing competition. So we checked out the Toyota Maitland International Surfest Competition by Merewether Beach. I guess its pretty big coz Kelly Slater was the champion a couple of years ago (he's pretty much the only surfer I know coz he was on the TV show 'Baywatch'). Sort of disappointed...waves were too small. It was cold. No Kelly Slater.

I've got this video, though. This one's for you, Brad Pitt!!! Surf's UP!




P.S. FYI - Sydneysiders is to Sydney as Novocastrians is to Newcastle

March Madness - 2007

Here it comes! My 3rd year participating in the so called "March Madness" in the world of College Basketball (NCAA). It has always been exciting for me even before I won 3rd place out of 40 something in my first year...and to almost last place in the second year. We'll see how I do this time around. I hope the amateurs I'm competing with this year will have as much fun as I always do.

Here are my picks for the Final 4:

Midwest: Florida Gators
West: Kansas Jayhawks
East: North Carolina Tar Heels
South: Ohio St Buckeyes

Its all a guessing game!!! If you remembered last year, none of the #1 seeds got into the Final 4 - and nobody expected that!!! If you want to follow or copy my bracket (not that I can guarantee you its gonna win), click on the picture below:




There's about $50 in the pot, I think.

Here's brother Mike's picks

QM2 and QE2

The largest oceanliner doing its maiden voyage was coming to Sydney and I just had to see it just like everybody else that's making a big hype about it. The so-called "Around the world in 80 days" inaugural voyage of the largest and grandest ship of its time reminded me of the Titanic. Not that I'm hoping this will go down, too!

Queen Mary 2 remains the largest oceanliner but second to 'Freedom of the Seas' as the largest cruise ship. It towers over most of the buildings by Garden Island where its docked, too tall to go through the Harbour Bridge, and too long to fit at Circular Quay. Regardless, its only stop in Australia was in Sydney and it happens that Queen Elizabeth 2 was also arriving in Sydney Harbour. The last time these two ships actually met in Australia was back in the 1940s when the original QM1 and QE1 met up in Sydney.

So I went to Circular Quay, took a ferry, and got to meet the Queens. (I've read a Queen Victoria ship is also in the works for the Cunard Line). And the night ended with a splash of fireworks to celebrate this historic meeting. Hooray!!!

Philippines 2007 - part II

Beach#1 – Surfmaid resort in San Juan (San Juan is the surfing capital of Northern Ilocos – ata?!?!). The guy renting our house took us out to lunch (FOOD)…na libre na naman. Tsibug na naman. Hehehhe. We went to this new resort that was owned by some Danish guy. When we met him, mama recognized right away that he used to rent our house, too! Small world talaga.

After lunch, we got dropped off at Reveal salon where I spent 5 hours of more pampering. Tita Emily was getting impatient na coz we had a 630pm dinner party to go to at Mng Gidang’s place… and I didn’t get out of the salon til 730pm na…ooops! While at the salon, guess who comes out of her own massaging…si Tita Florie!!! Funny, we end up seeing each other pa dito sa Philippines. So we go to the party (FOOD AGAIN), endless eating, and after that, I told mama, “let’s go to plaza and try some of their hotcakes (MORE FOOD)” – ako pa na kagagaling from food poisoning!!! So Tita Emily, mama, and I dropped off the car at the house and went galavanting…kuno!

Beach#2 – Tita Florie invited us to check out her new beach house sa Bauang. Meron kasamang bahay kubo worth P30,000 = $600 USD. Ok no? Complete with lounge area, bedroom, and a small sink. We had morning merienda (FOOD!!!).

Beach#3 – Horizon’s View. After Tita Florie’s, we had lunch (sigh! More FOOD) at the Aquino’s. After lunch, because it was Valentine’s Day, lola gave us a surprise (sorry, only those present were concerned…should I say what the surprise is?). Well, just look at the picture. Then I pretty much spent it all when I went for my afternoon massage.

Beach#4 – Bali Hai. Again, I sort of held up everyone coz I was at the parlor. We had Valentine’s dinner (should I say more how much FOOD intake I’ve had since arriving in the Philippines?) with the Aquinos, Ortegas, mama and lola. Ngek! Doon pa naman nag-date sila Tito Andy and Tita Carmeling. Hahaha!!!

There’s a pattern here: Beach (I never actually set foot in the water), FOOD (which I had a lot of), and not enough pampering.

PAL Flight# PR209 – MNL to SYD

Enough that I had to sit next to a talkative 3yr old kid for about 9 hours from Sydney to Manila. Flying back from Manila to Melbourne, to my left sat an 80+ year old woman and to my right was a couple who had a < 1 yr old baby. Somebody kept farting and it had to be either the old woman or the baby…I couldn’t figure out which one. Thank goodness that didn’t last the whole flight. Whew!!!!!

When I got to customs here in Sydney, I had declared food. I brought with me on my hand carry a box of polvoron and another box in my check-in luggage. The lady said, “Sorry, I have to take the polvoron” – in my hand carry. But I guess she didn’t notice the one inside my other luggage. Hmmmp, nakursunadaan ata nila yung polvoron. Pang merienda!!!

Packaged ukoy – ok
Packaged hopia – ok

Maybe it depends on who’s checking. I didn’t want to bring any more food at masita but I didn’t undertand the packaged polvoron (maybe the milk in it?). Can anyone explain???

Philippines 2007 – part I

1 luggage, 1 hand carry

I arrived 9 hours later direct from Sydney to Manila through PAL and seeing for the first time PAL’s “new” terminal. Pretty modern but used only by Philippine Airlines. Another portion of the airport is being built but has been halted due to politics…not surprising! Sayang!

Cousin Marc picked me up at the airport after about an hour of waiting. Sorry, Marc! Tagal kasi lumabas yung mga luggage. With one plane arriving, I can’t believe it took them so long to get all the luggages out. At least I had company talking to a few people including one of Andre Dulay’s friend who happened to be on the same flight as mine, which, unfortunately, was not able to meet up with the night before. Di bale, Andre. We’ll get a chance to see each other when we visit Melbourne. I’ll bring along LJ with me.

We only had a few minutes (actually, make that an hour – because of traffic) to go home and get changed, then meet up with the cousins in Greenbelt, Makati at Mr Rockefellers restaurant – specialty: OYSTERS!!! I also had some nachos, pasta, orange juice, at beef. Hay naku! Too much food! Pero sarap naman. Then we had dessert…halo halo na. Ice cream, cheesecake, etc.

The Espeletas drove me to the Lloren’s place at Verdana. Very nice house, tita Evelyn! Very beautiful garden, tito Oscar!!! I felt like I was at a hotel staying there. Breakfast was ready in the morning with bangus, salted eggs, and carabao mangoes. Sarap na naman!!! (I usually don’t eat breakfast, ha!)

Then we’re off to SFLU. On the way home, we stopped over at “Isdaan” restaurant in Gerona where we had more food and I had a drink of green mango juice. Yum yum!!! This is the place where you’ll also find the Filipino Elvis!!! Kaya mun? Walang patalo mga pinoy!!!

About two hours later, my tummy started to grumble. Ano kaya yun? Oh shit! I had the shits, man!!! Buti na lang, nakaabot pa kami sa Agoo for my second stop. Doon pa kami sa restaurant called ThaiKee (as in “tae” kee or “tae” ko sana). We were gonna stop at Jollibee’s but Tito Oscar said, “there’s too many people there.” Hahhahaa. Buti na lang. Then I pretty much vomited the rest of the food. Man, those laxative mangoes are dangerous (I’m staying out of mangoes for a while). It can’t be the oysters from last night coz everybody had some and nobody else got sick except for me. It must have been the green mango juice, maybe with ice from dirty water, and me not used to eating this much!!! Nabigla. Anyway, we were about less than one hour from reaching home. And we decided (including Dr Tito Andy Astom – naku, everyone was involved na) I’m going directly to Bethany hospital – I’m having food poisoning and was dehydrated. Next thing you know, I was being poked with an IV on my hand (which hurts sooo bad not to mention, I get really “weak” with needles. So what do I do…I cry like a baby!!!). They can’t get the IV right on my left hand. Because I was dehydrated, it kept collapsing. My left hand didn’t work. Hmmm, let’s try the right hand. OUCH!!!!!! Repeat: So what do I do…I cry like a baby!!! I was hoping mama would get to the hospital quickly coz she always says her hospital would always ask her to do IV coz she’s good at it. But too late!!! One more, one more…they had to check my blood. So I get another poking. Aray!!! Isa pa pala. Next day, they needed to get more of my blood so that’s another hole in my body. Ouch!!!

Ano ba yan? Nya met ten!!! Next day, the doctor said, “well, if you feel better, you can go home now if you want.” Heck yea!!! I’ve got three days left in SFLU. So we were out before noon, went home to grandma’s (lola) house. I was gonna go directly to the salon for my first installment of pampering but lola said to go home first. I haven’t even seen her and I’m already out galavanting especially just coming out of the hospital!!! Ay yah!!! Hahahha. Di ata pwede yan!!! Had lunch at home, took a nap, then I woke up with a fever! What the heck??? What about my haircut, shampoo, hair dye, waxing? Priorities, hello!?!?!? I took some Tylenol and mama and I were off to the salon (the heck with the fever, right? It went away anyway after taking the medicine but I was really pushing it). We get out of the salon in the city and we see our neighbor passing by. She asks me how I was, am I ok, blah blah blah. And I was thinking, this just happened less than 24 hours ago…how quickly did the neighbors find out about this.

Chinese Garden of Friendship

I was running out of places to see in Sydney and my friend had told me it wasn’t really worth it to check out the Chinese garden at Darling Harbour. But I went anyway to see what its all about...being the adventurous me. And with my student ID (many times I’ve mentioned on my blog the usefulness of a student ID), I got a bargain.

The garden symbolizes the friendship between the states of Guangdong, China and New South Wales, Australia. An opportunity to see and share a part of Chinese culture. From the Chinese art of “Penjing” (creating miniature landscape such as bonzai plants), to carved Chinese lions guarding the entrance (Foo dogs – always in pairs, female with a cub guards the left, and the male with a ball of chi guarding the right), to golden carps swimming in the lotus pond, traditional moongates, pagoda, waterfalls, rickshaw made out of pure jade used to carry emperors, and the serenity the garden offers while sipping the perfect tea at the teahouse.

Check out the teahouse for traditional Chinese tea and sample authentic dumplings, pastries and steamed buns while relaxing and enjoying the beauty of the garden.

Bring a book on a Sunday afternoon, sit under a nice shaded area while listening to the cascading waterfalls. Enjoy the sound of peace and calmness that surrounds the garden located in the middle of the city. Maybe I’ll see you there next time! Don’t forget your student ID.

Have you lost your cell phone before?

I never had a cell phone until I was in college. I didn’t think I really needed it. Who’s gonna call me? How important can I be?

I lost my cell phone this week (fortunately, someone turned it in to the lost and found department. Maybe because my cell phone is so basic who would want to steal it? Although, they could have used it to make ridiculous phone calls from all over the world – don’t get any ideas! Well, I’ll find that out later when I get my phone bill). Even worse, I haven’t had internet connection at home. No communication with the outside world!

So what have I learned or experienced in the past few years of having a cell phone and internet:

- if you’ve forgotten your house keys or car keys, a friend is just a phone call away to let you in or pick you up
- if you’ve lost signal for a few hours (or people cannot get a hold of you), its good to let them know you’re ok
- if you cannot get a hold of someone, its good to receive a message on your phone that they are ok
- in an emergency situation, just dial 911 / 000
- if someone is stalking you at the train station for about a year, a phone can be handy (yes, it has happened to me)
- credit card bills that’s almost due…online payment!!!
- free phone calls on the internet to anywhere in the world just to hear your family and friends’ voices
- a happy birthday phone call is always nice
- a message that says, “I’m pregnant with my third child and I’m turning 40! What was I thinking?”
- counting down until the new year comes with someone who’s halfway around the world
- calling someone who has the same birthday as me and waking them up early in the morning forgetting the time difference between Australia and the US
- stock trading on the net (although its always 15 minutes delayed)
- blogging and reading family and friends’ blogs
- paying bills in the US while living in Australia
- chatting with dear friends from all over the world
- receiving and sending unexpected messages just to say hello
- downloading music in less than 3 minutes – I don’t think I can live without music!
- online shopping…how can I forget!!!!
- checking out your pictures on kodakgallery, snapfish, walgreens, or Costco
- three-way, four-way, conference calls with friends from different parts of the world…and its FREE!!!!
- text messages about them being late! Ugh!!!!
- making sure you have enough $$ in the bank

I’ve also realized after losing my phone, to make sure you save all the phone numbers separately somewhere else. Like today when I called my lost phone. I needed someone to pick up my phone before the lost and found department closes at 4pm (that’s just impossible for me!!!). Good thing I have my friend, Bart, who works nearby. Unfortunately, I didn’t have his number anywhere else. So I had to ask the lost and found department to go through my address book. Well, I didn’t exactly know Bart’s last name either so I had put him on my address book as “Bart Simpson”. I don’t know if the guy on the other line gave out a chuckle. But now I know Bart’s last name (I had to give his full name so he can be ID’d when he picks up my phone). But I think I’ll keep “Bart Simpson” or maybe I can hyphenate it. What do you think?

I don’t think I can go back being without a cellphone or the internet. But just make sure you make a life outside of it, too!