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.