"I came, I saw, I conquered - iPod". I stole this idea from my brother Mike's blog. Thought it was cool so I had to make one for myself. Make your own iPod billboard here.

July 2006 - continuation part deux

July 15: Wedding rehearsal. It was raining. The church was freezing...as usual. Steven, the best man, was absent again. Absent during the engagement party. Couldn't make it to the food tasting. Steven, just make sure you show up on the wedding day!!! We only did one round of rehearsing and I don't even think the coordinator and the priest knew what they were doing. They didn't even have chairs for the bride and groom to sit on during the mass. I think they kindda just made up the whole rehearsing as we went along. Well, this church doesn't really celebrate weddings all the time...probably like once a year (maybe because its freezing in there or to be serious, the masses there are in latin so normal mass takes about 1.5hrs. This wedding will take about 2hrs). We got LJ to maybe bring a heater and place it near where we sit. Shhh!!! Don't tell Michelle. We got LJ to maybe bring some stash of food and drinks to when we go for picture taking at Sydney Uni. Coz food probably won't get served until 12:30pm to 1pm at the reception and we'll be starving then.

July 16: I met up with my friend, JC, to have lunch at Bondi Junction Mall. I was picking up some sheets and comforter to borrow from him to use for my mom and uncle. Luckily, he was needing more sheets for himself so he bought new ones for me to borrow. Thanks, JC!!! By the way, the Bondi Junction mall is sort of like a high end mall. Michelle, I think you'll like this mall...I know you'll look for it when you visit here some time. Its on the way to Bondi beach, too! First timer but I didn't have a chance to walk around. I had more errands and cleaning up to do before mama arrives...you know mama!!!

July 18: The maid of honor met up with the bride in the city to pick up the wedding dress during my lunch time. Everything is set. Had lunch with the bride after then picked up the missals at FedEx Kinko's. (By the way, is that what it's called now in the US...FedEx Kinko's?) Got a taxi cab and sent her off while I went back to work...two hours later. Oh heck! The boss is in the US anyway. ;-)

July 19: My last day of work before I go on vacation. Yippeeee!!! I went to pick up the rental car at nobirds (http://nobirds.com.au/ - cheap rental cars located at Kings Cross). My first time driving since I moved here...not to mention driving on the other side of the road. I was actually more excited than scared. My only fear was driving on the wrong side of the road. I can't believe how much I miss driving. Oh yea. The signal lights were located on the right side and the wipers on the left. It was raining today so I kept messing up my signal lights and wipers. That was fun!!! I only got a couple of honks so I think I did well. Hahahhaa. Most importantly, I got home safe without any scratches.

July 2006 - continuation

July 10: We got our dresses back from being steamed this weekend. Problem!!! The sash/ribbon for my dress was missing! Oh no! The dress is gonna look so plain without the sash around it. What happened??? I double checked my room...it wasn't there. I swear I placed the sash in the plastic bag along with the dresses. The next day, I went to the dry cleaners and they said they didn't see it. I even called the actual dry cleaning place and they don't remember seeing it. Argghhh!!!! What to do, what to do!!! I called Katrina up in the Philippines where we got our dresses made. Good thing she took back all the extra cloth from the dress and had an extra sash made for me. Thank goodness! Thank you, Kats!!!

July 11: I was already stressing about my dress' sash this day. This was the day Mitch and I were going to see her wedding dress and have her fitting. I had her shoes in my office to bring to the fitting that afternoon. With all the stress I've been having and work, when I got to the bridal shop, first thing Mitch asked me was, "Where's the shoes?" Aaaghhh!!! I forgot it in the office. So I had to walk/run fast and get back there. Ay yay yay!!! My work out for the week!!! The dress was beautiful though (I'll post some pictures after the wedding). A little long and a little bit tight. Yikes! Two more weeks, Michelle, and you'll be a Cinderella bride.

July 12: I got an email from my mom telling me that United Airlines was asking for her visa to come to Australia. Big Huh??? I thought with a blue passport, its easy to get in most countries. I got worried because they are leaving in a few days without a visa. Fortunately, UA can process it for just $20. So BEWARE! You've been warned.

July 13: I went to get my facial before the wedding. My face is stressed from work and all the errands I have to do for the wedding prep and the family coming. Facial wasn't enough. Maybe I should go get a massage next time.

July 14: The Ortegas arrive from the Philippines. Their cousin Ollie was supposed to fly with them. She was so excited and happy. First time to come to Australia. When she got to the airport to check in, they looked at her visa and it says that she can't fly after July 1, 2006. Ay yay yay!!! Didn't she look and read her visa before then? Well, the embassy made a mistake, too, coz she was coming here for a wedding in mid July and they gave her up to July 1, 2006. So almost breaking down, she didn't make the flight. She had to find her way to the embassy back in the Philippines. Later on, the embassy admitted they made a mistake...what a costly mistake coz she missed her flight, she has to pay a portion of her hotel here, missed a couple of days of touring Sydney, and a big waste of time. I think the embassy should pay for all this. What a disappointing and frustrating experience. Next time, always read the fine prints on your visa. My visa that was issued to me says my first entry has to be on or before Oct 25, 2005 (I arrived Oct 12) and not to marry before then.

Moving On!

July will be a busy month.

July 1: Michelle's last day at the house. She's moved to a new apartment in Ashfield and has moved 99% of her stuff to the new place. At the same time, Natasha and I signed our new lease for the house on Saturday morning while Michelle was taking the last of her stuff. Today was the day of moving. The plumber came during lunch time to check the leaks. Peta, our new roomie, started moving her stuff in that afternoon but not officially moving in until August (I'm claiming Michelle's room for all of July so my mom and uncle will have a place to stay when they arrive this month). Tash and I started preparing dinner for the friends who helped moved. Our new washer and dryer came at 5pm. And it was time for dinner with Tash, Peta, JC, Paul, Stephen, and Joe (by the way, I call Joe 'Superman' coz he has a very very tiny bit of a role in the new 'Superman Returns' movie. He was one of the paramedics that brought Superman to the hospital. I had to see the movie for many reasons including making sure Joe wasn't lying. His role was so fast I actually didn't see that it was really him, the paramedic. But there was a scene when they showed the people by the glass door looking in to see Superman in the ER. And all of a sudden, Joe's head popped out - I think that was him! Another reason I wanted to see this movie was because parts of it was filmed in Sydney particularly on the street where I work. And I did see the corner of Hunter St and O'Connell St and the Radisson Hotel next to our building. I noticed the logo (ACE) of one of the cafes at the corner. But it was really quick.

July 2: Everybody seems to be moving on. We picked up LJ at the airport flying in from the Philippines to permanently move here. Now, LJ has to look for a job in audit. Anyone out there who can help him find a job with the big 4? Contact me and I'll let LJ know. It was good to see LJ and had fun talking to him. With him, he brought the bridesmaid dresses we had gotten made in the Philippines. Measurements from about three months ago. Thank goodness they still fit! I have to make sure now that I don't lose or gain any weight...I've been eating a lot this past few days. Maybe because the weather's been cold. And I don't even exercise anymore. Uh oh! Hope my face won't be too round in the wedding pictures. Oh well! I'm not the center of attention anyway, Michelle is! Yay!!!!! That afternoon, I still had some time to go watch a movie. Guess which one it is? "Superman Returns"

July 7-9: I stayed over at Michelle's apartment on Friday and Saturday night to spend time with the Ortega cousins. Lots of reminiscing, laughing, helping LJ look for a job, cleaning up at the apartment. On Sunday, LJ wanted to do the ferries so we went to Circular Quay and took advantage of our weekly Red ticket. LJ, you asked for it! So we took the ferry to Luna Park (a little amusement park just below the Harbour bridge). It was actually my first time going there. The rides were mostly for kids. But the place reminds me of a version of the Santa Cruz boardwalk...at a very small scale. After that, we took the ferry to Watson's Bay and had coffee there. Came back to Circular Quay and caught the ferry to Darling Harbour for dinner. Now, that was a lot of ferrying to do, LJ. That was fun though with a nice view at night.

More to come:
July 11: Michelle and I will be going to see the dress...the wedding dress...for her fitting.
July 14: The Ortegas arrive from the Philippines
July 15: Church rehearsal with the bridal party
July 19: Picking up the rental car. Will be my first time driving since I moved here. Not to mention, driving on the "wrong" side of the road.
July 20: Picking up mama and tito Franc
July 20: Basti's 2nd bday party
July 22: Michelle & Andrew's Wedding Day!!! Yipppeeee!!!

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:

Sydney University

Sydney Uni is one of the main universities in New South Wales.

One Sunday afternoon during a bus ride to the city, I decided right on the bus to just get off at Sydney Uni and check out the campus.

The main attraction is the University quadrangle. It just so happen that they have free recitals of the War Memorial Carillon (carillons are the largest musical instruments which must contain at least 25 chromatically tuned bells) every Sunday from 2-3pm when I went to visit. The peaceful setting and listening to the beautiful music was perfect for a quiet Sunday afternoon.






After the recital, I got a chance to go up the tower and check out the carillon/bells:






And it just so happen that the day I was at Sydney Uni, they had a free organ recital at the Great Hall.








This place is great for wedding picture taking. In fact, there was a wedding entourage taking pictures at the quadrangle after the organ recital was finished. And this will also be where we're gonna have Michelle & Andrew's wedding pictures taken.

Featherdale Wildlife Park

Finally, a kangaroo!!! And koala, emu, dingo, wallaby, wombat, and a tasmanian devil.

But gosh, it was a mission going to this place called "Featherdale Wildlife Park" near Blacktown (the Pinoy town here in Sydney). It took me about 2hrs including waiting time using public transportation to get to this place. Geez!

But it was all worth it. I got close to a koala (as you will see in the picture below). Man, they look like they're on drugs (well, they eat eucalyptus...or other leaves, too). Koalas sleep about 20hrs a day (that's why they look like they're on drugs...sleepy heads).






I got to feed a kangaroo and some emu tried to steal away the food. Kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and other animals were free to roam around the park...so that means there was shit everywhere.






And there was a tasmanian devil. It kept sniffing something. And no, it doesn't look like the tasmanian devil cartoon, nor does it spin around like that. I notice though that it was just running around in a circle along the perimeter of the fence?!?!?!?!






And the dingo...the one that looks like a dog. The difference is a dingo doesn't bark. It howls...like a wolf. Below is also an emu.






A flying-fox and albino kangaroos






If you guys want to see a more extensive collection of animals, the Taronga Zoo would be it. I haven't been there but I hear the giraffes have prime real estate with a view of Sydney's skyline.

Dr Carlo de Leon

So are you a doctor now, Carlo? Phd in Physical Therapy...yea, right! Not until I get my free massage.

Congratulations on your graduation! I'm 1 for 3 when attending your graduation. Missed high school and this one. Made it to UC Davis.

Jodie Foster, a graduate from Harvard, was invited to be the guest speaker at rival school, Univ of Pennsylvania's graduating class of 2006. If you didn't hear about it, she rapped during her speech. I'm sure you know where these lyrics are from:

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo

--Eminem

Congratulations!!! (So you're class 1998, 2002, 2006...when's the next?)

Dear Carlo & Melinda

Or should I call you guys "Carlinda"...as in Bennifer or Brangelina. =)

Congratulations to both of you on your engagement! That was a well-planned out romantic proposal...where did you get that idea, Carlo?

I wish you both all the best in everything. May your life together bring you tons of love, endless growing friendship, joy, laughter, success in everything you do together, lots of travelling (ie. Sydney), tapioca express, free massages from Dr de Leon (can I get free samples, too?), continuous support for each other, and many many more. Cherish each day of your life together. And don't forget, you have us, your family, to give you support.

For your engagement, go out in the fields together on a warm sunny day, raise your hands together, look up the sky (or you can just lie down on the grass together and look up at the sky), and play this song as loud as you can together: "These Are The Days" by 10,000 Maniacs

These are days you’ll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it,
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you
Are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you

These are days that you’ll remember
When May is rushing over you
With desire to be part of the miracles
You see in every hour
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you are touched
By something that will grow and bloom in you

These are days
These are the days you might fill
With laughter until you break
These days you might feel
A shaft of light
Make its way across your face
And when you do
Then you’ll know how it was meant to be
See the signs and know their meaning
It's true
Then you’ll know how it was meant to be
Hear the signs and know they’re speaking
To you, to you

Enjoy and have fun planning your wedding. See you in 2007 (if not this year when you visit). I can't wait!!!

Love,
Maricel

"Kokoda" movie

I went to see the Aussie movie, "Kokoda", which tells the story of the outnumbered Australian Army reserves defeating the Japanese during World War II in some of the most rugged and isolated terrain in the world.

The Japanese's mission was eventual invasion of Australian soil. As the Japanese led down south towards Australia, their South Pacific strategy was to take over Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea (at the time, Papua New Guinea was Australia's protectorate). The Kokoda track is a single-file trail that leads to Port Moresby (these days, people visit PNG to trek Kokoda...my boss is doing it in June). The Australian Army reserves (called "chocos" - ill equipped, unfully trained soldiers OR could also mean bullets filled with chocolates as they were not "real" soldiers and didn't have "real" guns) were sent as stand by at PNG not knowing they were going to be outnumbered 10-1 by the Japanese...not to mention the harsh terrains they had to endure combined with hot and humid days, rainfall, cold nights, and tropical diseases. The Japanese invasion eventually failed and as we all know it, Australia is not Japan.

This has been a great significance to the country next to the Gallipoli Campaign during WWI as it was the first time Australians fought and died repelling an invader on Australian soil without the material presence or support of the United Kingdom.

Party On!!!

Eeeek!!! I haven't updated my blog for a while.

Let's do a quick wrap up of the past two weeks:

- I've discovered two main streets to stroll along lots of restaurants, pubs, shops, and cafes. Balmain Road (in Balmain) and Glebe Pt Road (in Glebe) - how original!

- we had a four day Easter weekend. Australia gets Good Friday and Easter Monday as holidays...NICE!!!

- we had Easter dinner at home (see our pix below - the lamb)

- the following day, we had an Easter Monday BBQ at the house. We decided to have a BBQ (or as they call it here, a 'barbie" - they shorten everything here and end it with an "ie"...ie: sick call = sickie, water cooler = esky (oh yea, I said "water cooler" and they said, "oh, it must be an american terminology), poker machines = pokies, christmas = chrissie, gift = pressie, etcetera, etcetera) ...wait, I think I just lost my train of thought there. We decided to have a BBQ now before winter really starts

- I started my hatha yoga class...every Thursdays now. My swim class is over so I had to find something to replace it

- I'm now in intermediate swing dance class. That's gonna continue on every Tuesday

- the following week, we had Anzac Day...another holiday. Its the same as Memorial day in the US

- Michelle had her trial make up session one Sunday. Since I was the maid of honor, the make up artist did a trial run on half my face. Michelle and I went to Chinatown after - to show off her well done made up face while I showed off my so-so made up half face at the grocery store

- we went to the Blue Mountains on Anzac Day. Had a stroll around the towns of Leura and Katoomba

- another party at the house this weekend while our flatmate, Natasha, is away in Fiji. We got permission from her to party on...but everything else, what she doesn't know won't hurt her...just kidding!!!

Famous People

I guess they're famous here in Australia.

John Konrads - was a gold medalist in the 1960 Olympics. I saw him during my swim class. He was in the same pool as I was...how cool is that...hahahahha!!! My instructor pointed out her boss. She said I had to make her look good infront of a former gold medalist/Olympian by how much I've learned. I can swim a little bit. Not much! He was one of the swimming instructors at the Cook & Phillip Aquatic Center.

Michael Leunig - an Australian cartoonist. Recently, his cartoons has been focused mostly on politics. I went to one of his charity events where he drew some cartoons and auctioned it off. One cartoon fetch about $800.

Southern Cross

If you're not familiar with the Australian flag, it consists of the Union Jack (for its association with Britain), a large seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star, and the five-star Southern Cross constellation.


Someone has finally pointed out the Southern Cross constellation to me the other night. Its the brightest constellation visible only on the Southern Hemisphere. So if you're in the US and are trying to find this constellation, goodluck! You can only see it in the southern hemisphere of the earth.

March & April Madness - NCAA & NBA Hoops

Who said you have to be an expert in NCAA to get in the March Madness guessing game of who's gonna win the championship? Not even the sports analysts would have guessed none of the #1 top seeds of the four regions would get into the Final Four. In fact, of the more than 3,000,000 entries in ESPN.com, only 4 correctly picked the final four. Unfortunately for me, I picked all the top seeds to get into the final four and so I was out of the pool.

This is actually fun especially when most of you in the pool don't know anything about the NCAA tournament. It started last year when my firm (Hood&Strong) had a pool for all employees to participate. I wouldn't think I'd participate in this thing but I ended up winning 3rd place out of 42 people last year. So this year, I asked my old firm if I could still participate even if I don't get any of the prizes (not that I would think I'd win again - actually, I borrowed my client's bracket last year who had a better idea of the teams). This year, I just picked the teams on my own. Because of that, I ended up nearly last place...at least not the last. For my final four, I picked top seeds Duke, Connecticut, Memphis, and Villanova (Villanova being my pick to win it all the way!). Well, as I mentioned in the beginning, none of them made it into the Final Four. Darn it!!!

Some highlights of the tournament:
- #11 George Mason beating #1 Connecticut to get into the Final Four
- UCLA's come from behind win over Gonzaga (down by double digits on the 2nd half)
- of course, the many upsets and close games
- my personal favorite quoted from my coworker:

Something tells me Jennifer Aniston didn't watch this morning's Bradley/Pittsburgh game. She may have turned it on but I doubt she left it there. If you saw the game you definitely know what I am talking about, if not then just picture the score that is virtually always in the lower right corner of the screen.

What happened in the game? 13 seed Bradley won, giving us our first true Cinderella in the Sweet 16!

Final Score:
BRAD 72
PITT 66

So I didn't win this year...there's always next year. At least I didn't put any money into this. Mike, Michelle, and Carlo, I think we should do this next year!

Fortunately for me, I still have the Fantasy NBA in which I've actually put money into. At the beginning of the NBA season, Carlo set up our little tourny/Fantasy NBA thing. I've managed to keep myself in first place. Its now the playoffs season and for being in first place, I've actually already won $15 USD. Too bad I never made it into the Championship. Til next year! Go Mars!!!

Weekend #24 in Australia

I did a touristy thing this weekend coz there were a couple of places I wanted to check out and just wanted to take more pictures of the city (as if the hundreds, if not a thousand, pictures I've already taken is not enough!!!). First up, I went to the Museum of Contemporary Arts at Circular Quay to see the featured artist, Sam Taylor-Wood, and his work 'The Crying Game' featuring male actors showing their 'best' acting at crying (ie. Sean Penn, Robert Downey Jr, Paul Newman, John Leguizamo, Ben Stiller, and more). Another artwork was of David Beckham being filmed while sleeping. Unfortunately, as all other museums would not allow it, there were no cameras allowed. But I can show you a picture of what you'll see just right outside the museum:
(This is fall in Sydney...well, just coming out of summer. This is where your ship will dock if you take a cruise...with a view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge).

I went to the Sydney Observatory just on top of the hill at the Rocks. Nothing too exciting really. Its just another spot that I haven't been to.
I had a few more hours to spare before the weekend was over so I headed off to the Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour. From a platypus, to an alligator, to sharks, and finding Nemo and his friend Dory, you'll find it here. I could have used these pictures as part of my diving experience at the Great Barrier Reef (except for the alligator!!!). The kids will enjoy this.

Bear Hugs

The Buddy Bears are in Sydney. Life-size bears have arrived and displayed at Circular Quay showcasing the world-renowned United Buddy Bears exhibit as part of Unicef's Unite for Children 60th anniversary.

124 Buddy Bears representing the United Nations member state were painted by international artists in the spirit of their own country of origin.

The first of these similar objects I saw painted by artists was when I went to Toronto, Canada back in 2001. I saw moose everywhere (If the plural of goose is geese, shouldn't the plural of moose be meese? Actually, no. The plural of moose is actually "moose"). An artist would paint one of these moose (not the real one, of course), display it around the city, and sell it for charity. The following year, I went to Catalina Islands in LA. And similar thing. They had painted buffalos (not the real ones) and displayed all around the island. Apparently, they had lots of real buffalos in the island. Then you've got San Francisco. Now what object would you think the city would use to represent SF? The 'heart', of course, as in "I left my hear in San Francisco'. If you noticed about two years ago, you should have seen a bunch of painted hearts displayed in San Francisco. I was at a client's site one time on one of the taller buildings in the city. I peered through one of the windows and at one of the shorter buildings, I saw an artist's work of heart displayed on the top of the building. If you missed any of these, my firm actually bought one of these hearts and is displayed in our lobby (if its still there) at this address: 60 Spear Street, Suite 400, San Francisco. Or if you are assigned to WECO SF Corp audit, see if you could find it in one of the shorter buildings next to WECO's building (if its still there???). If you see it, blog me.

If you want to see these bears, their next stop is Japan this year...in case you happen to be there.

Here's the three bears that represent the three countries I've lived in (Philippines, US, and Australia):

Philippines - featuring the 'agila' - eagle
US - featuring the Statue of Liberty
Australia - featuring aboriginal paintings

St Patrick's Day Parade

There's a pretty big Irish community here in Sydney, as well.

I didn't really do much to celebrate St Patrick's day (ie. wear any green or go out drinking). All I did was sit on a curb and watch the parade on Sunday. Men in quilts, bagpipes, irish wolfhound dogs, leprechauns, and some U2 songs being played out (U2's "I'm a beautiful gay" song being played while the gay irish paraders were passing by). They even had a group of paraders from Boston wearing Boston Celtic jerseys.

Here's some pix from the parade:

"Tuesdays with Morrie"

I went to Kinokuniya at Victoria Galleries, their 'Borders' or 'Barnes & Noble' here (although they do have both 'B's here in Sydney, too).

Today, I read the book "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom.

The lesson learned was simple:

"ITS NOT TOO LATE"

I also recommend his other book, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven".

I haven't driven a car

...in 5 months and I don't see myself driving anytime soon either. Its always been bus, train, taxis, ferries, or riding in someone else's car.

Maybe I'll take up lessons to learn how to drive a stick shift car. In fact, I can just get a rental car and start driving (they do rent stick shift over here. I didn't find any rental place in the US that rents out stick shift. They probably know people like me would rent one to practice on and ruin all its gears). The only problem is, I'll be driving on the other side of the road. That means, I'll be shifting gears with my left hand. Oh well. I gotta try it.

My mom and I used to go to a car dealer, get a stick shift car to test drive, she drives it out of the dealership, and a mile later, I get on the driver side, and start practicing. Hehhehe.

Great Barrier Reef - Cairns, Australia

To save me some time, I'll just post the email I sent to my family.

hello everyone,
i just got home from a busy and tiring weekend. my friend from oracle, tina (who i used to work with at my firm in SF) was back for business last week. she is now the 2nd and 4th friend i've seen since i moved here. when i wanted to plan this past weekend, i just wanted to stay in sydney to watch the mardi gras parade (gay and lesbian parade which seems to be a very very big thing over here). but tina said she wanted to go to the reef coz she might not be back to australia for work. i wasn't sure i wanted to go coz i had mitch's wedding food tasting this sunday. i had to be back by sunday morning to get to the food tasting.

well, i guess you already know which decision i made. we didn't actually book our hotels, the day trip, and our flights until thurs and friday of that week. this is probably the most spontaneous trip i've ever done.

thurs night, i stayed at tina's hotel, Intercontinental. its a pretty high profiled hotel coz the previous weeks, they had guests such as harrison ford and the olsen twins staying at the hotel. that was cool. before retiring for the night, tina and i checked out the Establishment, a bar in the city, where everyone seems to go. but there were too many people so we headed to the shangri-la hotel. they had a bar on top of the hotel overlooking the city. very cool! less people and more relaxing.

the next morning, friday, i had breakfast at the lounge on top of the intercon hotel. this is a VIP lounge for those clients who have upgraded rooms. tina said, all you see are americans eating breakfast there. she was right. most of the people there were americans. anyway, the lounge also has a great view of the opera house and the harbor bridge while eating breakfast. and i get in there all for free!

so i went to work, which is literally two blocks away from the hotel. our flight was at 9pm on friday. there were actually three of us: me, tina, and aaron (also from oracle) that flew to cairns (pronounced caynes...they don't pronounce the 'R'). we got there at around 11pm. they are one hour behind. it was warm, humid, and muggy over there. it felt like i was back in hawaii again...or florida. we stayed at "The Lakes" - kindda like time share type. we got a suite in a gated community. they actually have bars and restaurants inside the gated community for the residents. i think some of the units there are actually owned and lived by the owners...and maybe some are rentals just like maui hill in hawaii.

anyway, we went to bed asap coz we had to get up early for an 8am start. next day was great barrier reef day. we went to the reef terminal in downtown. there were tons of tourist waiting to get on board. the package we got was from "passions of paradise". i would recommend this company as well as the hotel we stayed in. from the terminal to the snorkelling site was actually abt 1.5hrs away...or maybe even 2hours. first thing we did was snorkelling. yes, i'm still unsure about my swimming skills so i had a life saver to hold on to with the floating device around my waist. no melinda to snorkel with me this time. i was on my own. surprisingly, i survived without drinking too much water this time. hahhahha. the corals/reefs were beautiful. very colorful. huge corals. its a once in a lifetime experience to check out the great barrier reef.

next up was diving. i've never done this before and i got kindda worried. but to really get up close with the reef, you have to go deeper into the water. but we did some testing with the breathing on the regulator of the oxygen tank. they taught us how to blow out the water if water gets into your mouth while deep in the water. you just say "two" while breathing into the regulator. if water gets into your mask, you have to pinch in the middle of the goggles, turn your face up, then breath out. it leaves a small opening in the goggles to breath out the water. anyway, we tested all of these while in the water. by the way, i think the oxygen tank and all the gears were about as heavy as i was. i could have fallen backwards carrying that thing behind me. oh yea. while in the water, i had to hold on to the instructor the whole time coz...i don't swim. so i was in safe hands. it was really cool. i got to touch some of the reefs, i found nemo and even got to touch nemo, i saw a giant clam that the instructor touched and it closed and opened. scary if you get stuck in that huge thing. i can't believe i was able to do that and not once did i swallow water while down there. they said its actually easier than snorkelling. all you do is breathe and never, ever hold your breath. and that's a skill we all know how to do since we were born. right?

next stop, we went to michaelbay cay island. its a small island in the middle of nowhere. its a bird island coz its mostly birds in it. a rest stop for them if they've been flying that far away from the mainland. how did they get that far anyway? from the boat, you could either snorkel your way into the island or ride in the smaller boat into the island. i was the lazy one and got on the small boat. hehehhe. but i went back into the water to do more snorkelling. this is where i saw a baby shark (i think its the grey nosed shark which is really harmless). but i still got scared eventhough it was probably 1/3 of my size. maybe even smaller because our goggles actually makes things bigger and closer than you really think. this is also where i got stung by a jellyfish. by the way, they have deadly jellyfish here (called bluebottles). i felt something stinging my arms but when i looked, it looked like nothing. i showed it to one of the crew members and saw two tentacles on my arm. you could barely see it. i think they were just tentacles...i didn't see any jellyfish heads. the crew said, nothing to worry about. if you start to feel getting sick later, then let us know. i asked one of the other crew members for those jellyfish spray and he said jokingly, "well, you don't really need it coz in about 5 min, you'll die anyway". and they keep scaring me and telling me that it will scar forever. thankfully, most of the "scar" went away in about an hour. most importantly, i didn't die in 5minutes. just kidding!!! hahahaha.

on the way back, we got to see some dolphins, too. and also on the way back, i started to get sea sick. the waves were really getting bigger and stronger. with lots of fresh air and a nap, i made it back safe. what a great experience!!! i didn't think i'd get to do this as early as now. its something everyone has to try. well, for some people, its not good if you have motion sickness.

next day, sunday, we have to wake even much earlier...430am to catch a 610am flight back to sydney. geez!!! but i made it early enough to relax a little bit at darling harbour before meeting up the party for the food tasting event at mitch's reception. what a deserving lunch. we got to taste six entrees, six mains, and six desserts. we were to choose two of each and i think we pretty much all agreed with what we liked among the selections. i think it'll be good food. sorry for those who can't make it. hehehehe.

like i said, this was gonna be a busy weekend for me. the food tasting wasn't the last thing i had to do. after that, natasha (my roommate) and her two other friends went to watch the finals for soccer. it was sydney vs central coast for the championship. sydney won! yay! my first soccer game. that's about it.

Sony's Tropfest

A week ago, I joined a fundraising event for the Teresa House where Natasha volunteers and where Mitch used to volunteer in. It was held at the St Ignatius College, one of the best private schools in Sydney, if not the best. Teresa House is a temporary crisis accomodation for homeless people and drug addicts. For a good cause, I went to check out the dinner/dance event and to meet more of Michelle and Natasha's friends. The event was a success and it was a lot of fun. And I got to meet a few more people.

A week later, they had the Sony's Tropfest at the Domain. This is a nationwide competition for the best short film (within 7 minutes) in the country. The theme this year is all about bubbles. Anything from water bubbles to bubble boys. So it was just appropriate that they were giving out water bubbles during the event. The most eventful part was probably when we all got rained out and soaked watching the films.