Spanish Class

Que pasa, muchachos? Estoy aprendiendo Espanol. Yo hablo ingles y tagalog muy bien pero hablo espanol un poco.

Me llamo Celestine. Yo soy Filipina. Yo soy de La Union. La Union es una ciudad de Filipinas. O yo soy de San Francisco de Estados Unidos. O yo soy de Sydney de Australia. Bien bien! Hehe!

Los estudiantes en mi clase son Tim de Nueva Zealandria, Joyce de China, Kelly de Inglatera, Monique de Australia y Alex de Frances. Nuestro profesor es Maria Paula de Colombia.

Que pasada!!!

I remember taking Spanish class when I was a freshman in high school. On our last day of class, our teacher asked us to write a letter to ourselves and he would mail it out in a few years. I got the letter a few years later and I was amazed how good my spanish was at the time. So I want to continue my spanish. Below is a podcast you can listen to for free.

Free Spanish podcast: http://www.notesinspanish.com/

Balls Head Reserve

I went to a wedding at Balls Head Reserve over in the North Shore overlooking the Sydney Skyline. The bride and groom stood on top of this huge rock during the ceremony. After it was over, I asked the bride and groom individually why they chose this place. And both said this: before they were even going out, he or she would come to this place, on this rock, on their own, to pray to God. And they didn't know that long after they've been going out. What a perfect place to get married. That is fate!

Fat Tuesday Party!

Have you been to a Fat Tuesday Party? Fat Tuesday (which is also Mardi Gras) is the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. During Lent, you are supposed to fast or sacrifice something you really like for 40 days and 40 nights.

We invited a few people to come to the house and eat up on Fat Tuesday (hence, the name 'fat'). We had so much leftover from a party during the weekend that we had to get rid of most of them. Hey, eat lots now. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for 40 days! Thank goodness my birthday is before Lent.

January 28

I now share my birthday with two other friends - Victoria and Patricia. What's the probability of that?

My friends took me to Newport Beach on my birthday, which happens to be Australia Day (and we all had a day off)! It was supposed to be just four people going and it ended up 11 people showed up. Thanks, guys! Lunch at Newport Arms Hotel and swimming at Palm Beach - and I did get on the water...for like 15 min =) and I got dark! Need more whitening cream - can I have that for my birthday gift?

After Palm Beach, we went to visit one of our friend's elderly friend (we call her Lola Fey). Its so nice to see an elderly woman with that big smile when she sees five young kids (that's us, by the way) give her all the attention. I bet the other elderly residents were so jealous coz they probably don't get visits from kids like us. And that's what these old people like - to have someone talking and listening to them and give them the time of their day. And to do this on my birthday is a plus for me.

After the visit, we got so hungry we ended up at Dee Why beach. It was like a mini Manly beach to me with the palm trees and the boardwalk. Gosh, they have so many beaches here! If it wasn't a "school" night, we probably have gone swimming but its been a long day!!!!!!!

Til next year! (Will I still be here in Sydney for my next birthday??? I think so! Maybe not in Sydney but hoping to be in Melbourne for the Australian Tennis Open. That's the plan.)

Five Ways, Paddington

One night, my friend and I got lost driving around the city and ended up on this corner where five streets meet (just like the Trevi). It was a cute little area lit up by shops and restaurants around. I thought I'd have to come back here again and check it out! A few months later, another friend of mine asked if I've been to this place, described the place to me, and I remembered this was the spot we drove past by while we were lost.

So we found our way back to Five Ways at Paddington and ate lunch at "Gusto". I ordered this lovely vegetarian couscous. It was so good that we ended up figuring out the recipe, bought the ingredients that same day, and made it for dinner (and my lunch and dinner for the next three days).

Here's the recipe for you. Its an easy one:

Roasted sweet potato
Cherry tomatoes
Spanish onion
Sweet corn
Raisins
Shredded carrots
Shallots
Orange
Celery
Pepito seeds (pumpkin seeds)
Almonds (shredded)
Herbs - cilantro/coriander, parsley, dill
Garlic
Salt & Pepper
Couscous (add olive oil)

Enjoy!!!

New Year 2008

My 3rd New Year in Australia. After watching my first fireworks at the Sydney Harbour, I told myself that next time, I should get on a boat and watch the fireworks. 2008 was it! We knew someone who works for the Sydney Ferries so we were able to get tickets to get on. Unfortunately, we all thought the ferry would be in the middle of the harbour. It was actually just stationed at Circular Quay. The great thing about it was we were away from all the crowd and was able to enjoy the huge space on the ferry with a great vantage point for the fireworks.

Beware - I bought a bag of Doritos chips that night at Circular Quay and it cost me $9 bucks! It usually costs only $2.

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!!!