My dresser and no desk yet - my little black suitcase is serving the purpose temporarily.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Thursday, May 05, 2005
I'm moving!
An excerpt from my letter to various relations:
My cousin came to see the house with me and she liked it, and even lamented the fact that my room was bigger than hers :P
Im excited as Im getting visitors this year! Derrick is coming in July, Jakiepoopoowoowoo is coming in November and Pupi is coming over - when are you coming over, pupi?!? I have noticed however, that as much as i love my guy friends, i seem to have no female friends that love me except for Sanya who is coming next year for bluesfest. Hello girlfriends, when are you coming over?!?! (Oliiiiiviiiiiaaaaaa!!!)
So there you go. Im moving next weekend, which is the same time that they will be having a barbecue with friends. I hope that my cousins can hang around too, so that I actually know people. They are really into music, one of the guys has a band and according to the girl (his girlfriend, he has just actually also moved in, last week) he is planning to put in a drum set downstairs in the store room, where you cant really hear much.
Am planning to decorate room with a poster of the Sandman, if I can find one, and a collage of postcards posted on manila paper (does manila paper exist here?) . Also possibly a poster of a nice beach. Hoping to transform the room queer eye style (Naks!).
More updates as they happen!
Anyway, i am moving to a house in liechhardt, in the inner west, 10 minutes from uni by bus and about 15 minutes to the city. It is an older house, rent is 125 a week and the bills come quarterly. They also have cable internet and broadband, which we all split on a monthly basis. I think it is a pretty good deal considering this is a good neighborhood and the room is pretty big. They are lending me a queen sized bed and a bedside table/dresser. The rest i am getting somehow.
The people in my house are around my age. There is one girl and two boys. The girl is a graphic designer, the guy is in construction but broke his leg and the other guy is a sound engineer. There are also two dogs, toby (jack russel) and moses (mixed breed). They are pretty laid back and seem cool. - i actually meant the people here, not the doggies. :P
The house is fairly quiet except for the airplanes that pass overhead every now and then (this happens everywhere in the inner west). It is a five minute walk from Norton St, the main road and buses leave every five minutes for uni and arrive about as frequently althroughout the day and up to late at night. Liechhardt is the italian area and the main road is full of restaurants and cafes. It is very famous for the "italian forum" which has all the good italian restaurants. This also means that there should be a catholic church somewhere very nearby.
My cousin came to see the house with me and she liked it, and even lamented the fact that my room was bigger than hers :P
Im excited as Im getting visitors this year! Derrick is coming in July, Jakiepoopoowoowoo is coming in November and Pupi is coming over - when are you coming over, pupi?!? I have noticed however, that as much as i love my guy friends, i seem to have no female friends that love me except for Sanya who is coming next year for bluesfest. Hello girlfriends, when are you coming over?!?! (Oliiiiiviiiiiaaaaaa!!!)
So there you go. Im moving next weekend, which is the same time that they will be having a barbecue with friends. I hope that my cousins can hang around too, so that I actually know people. They are really into music, one of the guys has a band and according to the girl (his girlfriend, he has just actually also moved in, last week) he is planning to put in a drum set downstairs in the store room, where you cant really hear much.
Am planning to decorate room with a poster of the Sandman, if I can find one, and a collage of postcards posted on manila paper (does manila paper exist here?) . Also possibly a poster of a nice beach. Hoping to transform the room queer eye style (Naks!).
More updates as they happen!
Monday, May 02, 2005
Why is it that I always seem to find the jologs places in this country?
Yesterday I went to Paramatta for my interview for Coles Myer. What exactly did I apply for, well the answer is anything they would give me. First I made sure that I had everything all set out in the house, so that I could dress up there instead of in my little garage as otherwise there is a huge risk of running into an overexcited cody. (Former room mates, be proud I made plantsa my first shirt all by myself. Jenny, you can tell nene.) Then i left super duper early. In fact I was kinda too early, which was good because when I got to paramatta, well...
I switched at Strathfield to get the paramatta train and when I got there everything was being constructed so there were all these detours to get to the road. When I finally got to Macquarie St, which is apparently very long, i got told to go in the wrong direction twice before people finally pointed me the right way. There were also these lovely confusing street signs, that said "Macquarie Street, 100-115" and pointed to the right, so you would presume it was to the right. But no, this being Australia it basically meant, where the sign is, thats where that is. Thanks a lot. Not only do you guys have a penchant for not making your street numbers match (sometimes the left side is on ascending order and the right side on descending) but you just have the most confusing attempts to be helpful in your street signs. I managed to grab a coffee once Id figured out that I was near to the building.
Had a quick fix me up in the bathroom before waiting downstairs to be called with the rest of the group. The interview was okay. Its not the best one Ive done but having been three years out of practice I dont think it was too bad. They basically asked us situational questions, asked us to give answers and saw how we interacted and contributed to the discussion.
The only thing was that I forgot to bring my passport, which I seem to vaguely remember was in the email I got, so I have to go back on Friday to show them that yes, I can work. Then they will continue to process my application. We are to hear from them in 2 weeks time to see if we made it, then based on our choices they will try to match us with openings and then if we match well be called for interview by the store manager. My first choice was Myer (the department store) but somewhere down on that list I also put Coles so there is a chance I will end up as a cashier person in the supermarket.
After my interview (yep, customer service background and marketing background certainly comes in handy at this point) i walked with this nice armenian/iranian lady to westfield shopping center and from there she showed me where the train was. there was actually this malaysian guy who offered to give all of us (me, her and this chinese girl) a ride back because we all lived in epping - him and chinese girl went to macquarie uni - but i had to go to central, so no go.
And so begins an adventure of jologs proportions, or westies as we call them here. What are westies, you say? Well, the general Sydney area is divided into suburbs generalized by their location, (Obviously North South East West) but with nicer sounding names. For example, as I am based in Epping, in the North, I am close to the North Shore. Where Sacha (and uni is) is known as the Inner City. Where Im moving to (Liechhardt) is the Inner West. Now beyond the Inner West in mostly the same direction you have the more cultural centers, generally where immigrant communities have settled and grown. For example, Auburn (turkish, arabic), Blacktown (infamously filipino) and a whole bunch of other places. Obviously these suburbs have a good share of regular aussie whites, some of them are even strictly white, or whatever. Some of these suburbs dont have the best reputations (ie Macquarie fields and the riots that go with them) which in most cases are well deserved. Now, these suburbs can come in generally dodgy (eg gangs, lotsa drugs, not well off neighborhoods with lotsa criminals, etc) or generally jologs or a combination of both. Westies, are jologs who generally come from these suburbs. (Do we see the connection now?!?)
**Special note, in case I havent mentioned it before: Jojo and I have concluded that the direct translation of dodgy is nakapagdududa, which really isnt entirely accurate but its what you feel when you think something is dodgy - it makes you doubtful, like its kinda shady. Basta.**
Also, Blacktown, the heart and soul of the local philo (yep, thats what we are) community is in fairness, not really jologs. It just has jologs people in it floating around here and there.
So back to my westie experience. Basically I was walking around thinking, ano bang nangyari sa akin at para akong naglalakad sa SM Bicutan? Or possibly SM North Edsa. Or even parts of Megamall. Or more likely Harrison Plaza without the hookers. And you know most of them were kids. I got out of the interview the same time school let out and they were all over the place. About fifty percent of them looked pinoy and probably were, as Paramatta is another great philo center. And i dont know. I guess its because we were all picked up from school or had the school bus, but these kids took themselves home via train or bus so they were all there in their little groups, loud and... Now Ive sat next to kids on the trains before. Yeah, they're noisy and they laugh a lot and are somewhat rambunctious and shit but these kids were just jologs. The vibe was soooo different. Like, what the heck have i just stepped into?
To add to the weirdness, as I was walking to the train station, I saw a sign outside a convenience store that advertised phone cards, with Manila at 1 cent a minute so I walked in right after this girl. The lady behind the counter seemed to be of russian/armenian/slavic origin and was on the phone. The girl in front of me said, "Excuse me what street is this?" and so the lady told her. And she thanked the lady. At which point the lady said, "That's it? You interrupted me just to ask for directions? Its not even important!" And flabbergasted, I just left. I mean no way was I going to buy anything from this totally rude person! When I stepped outside the girl came out right after me and we had a short chat on the sales woman's rudeness. The girl said, "She said she was on the phone calling the police because there was a fight going on. And that it was important." Hello, like there was even a fight outside. The closest to that were these kids laughing and being rambunctious outside Mc Donald's down the street. Whatever, lady.
So I make it to the train, its four minutes late (no big) and there are all these kids, waiting, and shit and Im just thinking, God, where am I? Who are these people? How can you all be in the same country and be so different. And whoever bloody said Australia had no class distinction was friggin wrong. It may not be as clear cut, but its more of an invisible line. Its not like at home where class distinction is clearly defined by the amount of money you have. Here its more of where you are and what you do and the image you project. Or I should say the kind of aura you project. I got the feeling that half of these kids aren't even going to go to uni, (which is actually a good thing if they go to the trades, as Australia is running out of people like electricians, plumbers, joiners, cabinet makers, mechanics, sheep shearers - guys, if anyone's interested...they'll sponsor you!) theyre just going to run around and not care about their education, etc. and if they turn out great, which is a 50% chance then all well and good. The other 50% chance just sort of has them going down the truant way, which in an environment with that kind of vibe just looks equally likely. (And im told parramatta isnt so bad, its one of the nicer places in the west...)
I know that at some point this is coming across as elitist but rather than say, this is my blog and I have the right to say whatever I think (which is true, though) Id like to say that its not exactly that... its more off, im glad that y'all are happy with where you are and what you do, but there is no freakin way I am ever living in your part of the world. Oooooh no. I may have to work in Paramatta some day (it being the second largest city in Sydney and home to many major offices) but there is no freaking way I am living there. Ain't goin to that part of the west side.
(God, Ive just realized I sound so cono)
Seriously though, I can now say that I have encountered entirely both spectrums of Philippine society in this little large country down under. On the one hand, you have the manila society where everyone knows each other (as in 6 degrees of separation - ah you're the sister of the boyfriend of my cousins kinakapatid choovaloohlah) and the sosyal society - have I mentioned that that dinner that jojo took me to had, aside from the usual crop of white-ish spanishy looking (all nice people of course) ones, an actual coujuangco in it - except i didnt find out till a month later? Its also interesting to note that the biggest horse race in the state, and possibly the country is sponsored by San Miguel Beer, which is famous here, widely advertised, and at some point had an advertising campaign that went something like, "if you dont know what this beer is you havent been around," implying that you were not well travelled, which for an Aussie is a big no-no because absolutely everyone out here does the travel thing.
I have also been to one of the bastions of jologs society! Of course, I could not say this to my philo friend from kickboxing class (who is the only other pinoy i have ever met at sydney uni) who lives in paramatta. This weekend, i am also going to sample pinoy goodies at blacktown and hopefully have my sinigang (no maui, i havent done the cooking thing yet). In the meantime, I would just like to say, jologs or no jologs I am proud to be pinoy or rather, philo in this country. Though if I have learnt one thing from this experience is that I will never live in Paramatta or anywhere beyond the more familiar portions of the little purple squiggly inner west train line.
I switched at Strathfield to get the paramatta train and when I got there everything was being constructed so there were all these detours to get to the road. When I finally got to Macquarie St, which is apparently very long, i got told to go in the wrong direction twice before people finally pointed me the right way. There were also these lovely confusing street signs, that said "Macquarie Street, 100-115" and pointed to the right, so you would presume it was to the right. But no, this being Australia it basically meant, where the sign is, thats where that is. Thanks a lot. Not only do you guys have a penchant for not making your street numbers match (sometimes the left side is on ascending order and the right side on descending) but you just have the most confusing attempts to be helpful in your street signs. I managed to grab a coffee once Id figured out that I was near to the building.
Had a quick fix me up in the bathroom before waiting downstairs to be called with the rest of the group. The interview was okay. Its not the best one Ive done but having been three years out of practice I dont think it was too bad. They basically asked us situational questions, asked us to give answers and saw how we interacted and contributed to the discussion.
The only thing was that I forgot to bring my passport, which I seem to vaguely remember was in the email I got, so I have to go back on Friday to show them that yes, I can work. Then they will continue to process my application. We are to hear from them in 2 weeks time to see if we made it, then based on our choices they will try to match us with openings and then if we match well be called for interview by the store manager. My first choice was Myer (the department store) but somewhere down on that list I also put Coles so there is a chance I will end up as a cashier person in the supermarket.
After my interview (yep, customer service background and marketing background certainly comes in handy at this point) i walked with this nice armenian/iranian lady to westfield shopping center and from there she showed me where the train was. there was actually this malaysian guy who offered to give all of us (me, her and this chinese girl) a ride back because we all lived in epping - him and chinese girl went to macquarie uni - but i had to go to central, so no go.
And so begins an adventure of jologs proportions, or westies as we call them here. What are westies, you say? Well, the general Sydney area is divided into suburbs generalized by their location, (Obviously North South East West) but with nicer sounding names. For example, as I am based in Epping, in the North, I am close to the North Shore. Where Sacha (and uni is) is known as the Inner City. Where Im moving to (Liechhardt) is the Inner West. Now beyond the Inner West in mostly the same direction you have the more cultural centers, generally where immigrant communities have settled and grown. For example, Auburn (turkish, arabic), Blacktown (infamously filipino) and a whole bunch of other places. Obviously these suburbs have a good share of regular aussie whites, some of them are even strictly white, or whatever. Some of these suburbs dont have the best reputations (ie Macquarie fields and the riots that go with them) which in most cases are well deserved. Now, these suburbs can come in generally dodgy (eg gangs, lotsa drugs, not well off neighborhoods with lotsa criminals, etc) or generally jologs or a combination of both. Westies, are jologs who generally come from these suburbs. (Do we see the connection now?!?)
**Special note, in case I havent mentioned it before: Jojo and I have concluded that the direct translation of dodgy is nakapagdududa, which really isnt entirely accurate but its what you feel when you think something is dodgy - it makes you doubtful, like its kinda shady. Basta.**
Also, Blacktown, the heart and soul of the local philo (yep, thats what we are) community is in fairness, not really jologs. It just has jologs people in it floating around here and there.
So back to my westie experience. Basically I was walking around thinking, ano bang nangyari sa akin at para akong naglalakad sa SM Bicutan? Or possibly SM North Edsa. Or even parts of Megamall. Or more likely Harrison Plaza without the hookers. And you know most of them were kids. I got out of the interview the same time school let out and they were all over the place. About fifty percent of them looked pinoy and probably were, as Paramatta is another great philo center. And i dont know. I guess its because we were all picked up from school or had the school bus, but these kids took themselves home via train or bus so they were all there in their little groups, loud and... Now Ive sat next to kids on the trains before. Yeah, they're noisy and they laugh a lot and are somewhat rambunctious and shit but these kids were just jologs. The vibe was soooo different. Like, what the heck have i just stepped into?
To add to the weirdness, as I was walking to the train station, I saw a sign outside a convenience store that advertised phone cards, with Manila at 1 cent a minute so I walked in right after this girl. The lady behind the counter seemed to be of russian/armenian/slavic origin and was on the phone. The girl in front of me said, "Excuse me what street is this?" and so the lady told her. And she thanked the lady. At which point the lady said, "That's it? You interrupted me just to ask for directions? Its not even important!" And flabbergasted, I just left. I mean no way was I going to buy anything from this totally rude person! When I stepped outside the girl came out right after me and we had a short chat on the sales woman's rudeness. The girl said, "She said she was on the phone calling the police because there was a fight going on. And that it was important." Hello, like there was even a fight outside. The closest to that were these kids laughing and being rambunctious outside Mc Donald's down the street. Whatever, lady.
So I make it to the train, its four minutes late (no big) and there are all these kids, waiting, and shit and Im just thinking, God, where am I? Who are these people? How can you all be in the same country and be so different. And whoever bloody said Australia had no class distinction was friggin wrong. It may not be as clear cut, but its more of an invisible line. Its not like at home where class distinction is clearly defined by the amount of money you have. Here its more of where you are and what you do and the image you project. Or I should say the kind of aura you project. I got the feeling that half of these kids aren't even going to go to uni, (which is actually a good thing if they go to the trades, as Australia is running out of people like electricians, plumbers, joiners, cabinet makers, mechanics, sheep shearers - guys, if anyone's interested...they'll sponsor you!) theyre just going to run around and not care about their education, etc. and if they turn out great, which is a 50% chance then all well and good. The other 50% chance just sort of has them going down the truant way, which in an environment with that kind of vibe just looks equally likely. (And im told parramatta isnt so bad, its one of the nicer places in the west...)
I know that at some point this is coming across as elitist but rather than say, this is my blog and I have the right to say whatever I think (which is true, though) Id like to say that its not exactly that... its more off, im glad that y'all are happy with where you are and what you do, but there is no freakin way I am ever living in your part of the world. Oooooh no. I may have to work in Paramatta some day (it being the second largest city in Sydney and home to many major offices) but there is no freaking way I am living there. Ain't goin to that part of the west side.
(God, Ive just realized I sound so cono)
Seriously though, I can now say that I have encountered entirely both spectrums of Philippine society in this little large country down under. On the one hand, you have the manila society where everyone knows each other (as in 6 degrees of separation - ah you're the sister of the boyfriend of my cousins kinakapatid choovaloohlah) and the sosyal society - have I mentioned that that dinner that jojo took me to had, aside from the usual crop of white-ish spanishy looking (all nice people of course) ones, an actual coujuangco in it - except i didnt find out till a month later? Its also interesting to note that the biggest horse race in the state, and possibly the country is sponsored by San Miguel Beer, which is famous here, widely advertised, and at some point had an advertising campaign that went something like, "if you dont know what this beer is you havent been around," implying that you were not well travelled, which for an Aussie is a big no-no because absolutely everyone out here does the travel thing.
I have also been to one of the bastions of jologs society! Of course, I could not say this to my philo friend from kickboxing class (who is the only other pinoy i have ever met at sydney uni) who lives in paramatta. This weekend, i am also going to sample pinoy goodies at blacktown and hopefully have my sinigang (no maui, i havent done the cooking thing yet). In the meantime, I would just like to say, jologs or no jologs I am proud to be pinoy or rather, philo in this country. Though if I have learnt one thing from this experience is that I will never live in Paramatta or anywhere beyond the more familiar portions of the little purple squiggly inner west train line.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Central Station
Thought I'd put in a bit of how I travel. Here is a short little photo essay on Central Station, where I go almost everyday.
What did I do today?
This morning I somehow managed to take a shower, get dressed and make it out of the house in 35 minutes, no easy feat considering I had to pack a bag, go back and get my keys, hunt for the back-lock (ie pakaw) of my earrings and fend of cody at least three times. I made it to the train station, still late (yep, i didnt get outof bed on time again, although in fairness I have never been late to class and I always wake up on time. I just dont get up.) and made it to central by 11:05. Got on the bus to Liechhardt (www.whereis.com.au for details) only to find that there was a more direct route. I took the 370 and we went the back way, past annandale and lilyfield instead of straight down paramatta road. I found my way to the house to view easily enough.
I really liked the house. Nice large-ish bedroom for $125, plus quarterly bills. House has cable and broadband (paid monthly, but split by 4). Nice couple plus another guy and two cute doggies. Five minutes walk to the bus, then ten minutes to uni. Called them later on to say I wanted to get the room. Hope that I hear from them tomorrow.
After rushing to that appointment I headed over to my next one, in Surry Hills/Redfern. I had had the appointment rescheduled due to early morning lateness. I got on the bus to Coogee, as it passes through cleveland and was planning to walk from the corner of crowne street when Jojo called and said he could give me a lift. I got off on Eddy Avenue right next to Central and he passed by on his way back from Glebe. We went to the wrong end of the street first but after crossing through a coles supermarket parking lot, we found our way there.
In fairness, it was a nice house. However...
When we rang the bell, the house had a screen door. They could see us, but we couldnt see them. The girl, who was a bit squat and butchy said, "Oh, you've brought a handbag!!!" I didnt bring a bag, just a little notebook and a pen. She then proceeded to introduce us to everyone in the house as Larissa and her handbag, Jojo. Now, this is the sort of thing you would do with friends. Im sure this girl had good intentions but nevertheless to quote jojo, "hello are we friends? we've just met!!!"
It was a cool house, they had installation art in the form of a shitload of white supots (not even plastic bags, there is nothing else you can call them but supots, the fill with softdrinks sari-sari store kind) on a board on the living room wall. Nice kitchen and bathroom. The catch? No tv, no internet and no transport! Apparently the bus to uni stops at 7pm and although its a 20 minute walk, you have to pass through redfern, right near the station, aka the dodgy area where the aborigines have been known to attack people, (this is not racist, it is a fact) and where no one from our school goes except in a security bus at night. So I think Ill pass on this one, which must have been the twelveth or ifteenth or something house i saw. (Have seen an average of at least 3-4 a week for the last 4 weeks)
After the house visit, Jojo and I had lunch/merienda at "Lemon", this cafe in Surry Hills. Had a chorizo breakfast - after all had only eaten twisties and a chocolate bar the whole day - and he had bruschetta. Then off we were to visit Nic in Hyde Park. Nic, our friend through Sanya had arrived from Brisbane the Wednesday before for a mini holiday. She is in the last year of her undergraduate course, is about a year younger than me and is about 1/4th Aussie, raised partly in Manila (assumptionista ito) and in Australia (yes, she may not look it but she is the great great great granddaughter of Mrs. Donald Charles something or the other). I brought her my last pack of Winston Lights for the memory of Manila feel and we took some pictures (see below). After some yummy coffee and ambiance and a whole lotta chika, we headed off to the Art Gallery of NSW as Nic wanted to see their Asian Collection. It was mostly Buddhist sculpture and art - they were doing an exhibit on Asian Religion - but there were some great paintings, installation art and a permanent Chinese Pottery and Japanese Art Collection, which included Samurai swords.
When we were done - as the gallery closed at 5 and we arrived at around 4 - Jojo drove us by the back way so that we could get a look at the view from Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, a famous spot that is named after the wife of the guy that was one of the first governor generals of Australia (I think). Then he dropped us off at Kinokuniya and headed off to his dinner in Kirribilli (lets figure out where that is now. and how to spell it.) Nic and I hung around there for a bit, then we ended up in J&B records - where they had discount DVDs and CDs. Nic got three cds and I stopped myself from buying two dvds, as I had reserved the Firefly DVD that was on sale for purchase next week. We stepped outside for a quick smokie before heading out to dinner.
We were originally supposed to go to Chinatown, but after passing a pizza place called Macchiato at the corner of Pitt and Liverpool we decided to stay there. Sacha joined us after walking all the way from home (Go Sacha!). We had a really good all meat pizza (aka the Texas pizza) and a "Macchiato" which was all veggies and feta cheese, which we dutifully picked out for Sacha, woman who does not eat cheese. In fairness I had one slice of the veggie pizza, as I am known as the woman who does not eat vegetables. We had some pretty good discussions on thoretical physics - Sacha's masteral dissertation in particular - what we wanted to do with our lives when we were kids and now, religion, the pope looking like he had gone to the dark side and needing eye bag surgery, national anthems, john howard's teeth (sacha hates them, nic hates his eyebrows, i just think maybe he's had enough time in the house), transcendental meditation and other normal things. We also consumed two hot chocolates with soy (me and nic) and one regular one (sacha) and had exceptional service. We parted ways after that and I made my way home, taking pictures of central station to document my regular almost daily journey (see previous). I walked home to the tune of Britney Spears (yeah, I know, I like her anyway) and now am off to bed.
I really liked the house. Nice large-ish bedroom for $125, plus quarterly bills. House has cable and broadband (paid monthly, but split by 4). Nice couple plus another guy and two cute doggies. Five minutes walk to the bus, then ten minutes to uni. Called them later on to say I wanted to get the room. Hope that I hear from them tomorrow.
After rushing to that appointment I headed over to my next one, in Surry Hills/Redfern. I had had the appointment rescheduled due to early morning lateness. I got on the bus to Coogee, as it passes through cleveland and was planning to walk from the corner of crowne street when Jojo called and said he could give me a lift. I got off on Eddy Avenue right next to Central and he passed by on his way back from Glebe. We went to the wrong end of the street first but after crossing through a coles supermarket parking lot, we found our way there.
In fairness, it was a nice house. However...
When we rang the bell, the house had a screen door. They could see us, but we couldnt see them. The girl, who was a bit squat and butchy said, "Oh, you've brought a handbag!!!" I didnt bring a bag, just a little notebook and a pen. She then proceeded to introduce us to everyone in the house as Larissa and her handbag, Jojo. Now, this is the sort of thing you would do with friends. Im sure this girl had good intentions but nevertheless to quote jojo, "hello are we friends? we've just met!!!"
It was a cool house, they had installation art in the form of a shitload of white supots (not even plastic bags, there is nothing else you can call them but supots, the fill with softdrinks sari-sari store kind) on a board on the living room wall. Nice kitchen and bathroom. The catch? No tv, no internet and no transport! Apparently the bus to uni stops at 7pm and although its a 20 minute walk, you have to pass through redfern, right near the station, aka the dodgy area where the aborigines have been known to attack people, (this is not racist, it is a fact) and where no one from our school goes except in a security bus at night. So I think Ill pass on this one, which must have been the twelveth or ifteenth or something house i saw. (Have seen an average of at least 3-4 a week for the last 4 weeks)
After the house visit, Jojo and I had lunch/merienda at "Lemon", this cafe in Surry Hills. Had a chorizo breakfast - after all had only eaten twisties and a chocolate bar the whole day - and he had bruschetta. Then off we were to visit Nic in Hyde Park. Nic, our friend through Sanya had arrived from Brisbane the Wednesday before for a mini holiday. She is in the last year of her undergraduate course, is about a year younger than me and is about 1/4th Aussie, raised partly in Manila (assumptionista ito) and in Australia (yes, she may not look it but she is the great great great granddaughter of Mrs. Donald Charles something or the other). I brought her my last pack of Winston Lights for the memory of Manila feel and we took some pictures (see below). After some yummy coffee and ambiance and a whole lotta chika, we headed off to the Art Gallery of NSW as Nic wanted to see their Asian Collection. It was mostly Buddhist sculpture and art - they were doing an exhibit on Asian Religion - but there were some great paintings, installation art and a permanent Chinese Pottery and Japanese Art Collection, which included Samurai swords.
When we were done - as the gallery closed at 5 and we arrived at around 4 - Jojo drove us by the back way so that we could get a look at the view from Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, a famous spot that is named after the wife of the guy that was one of the first governor generals of Australia (I think). Then he dropped us off at Kinokuniya and headed off to his dinner in Kirribilli (lets figure out where that is now. and how to spell it.) Nic and I hung around there for a bit, then we ended up in J&B records - where they had discount DVDs and CDs. Nic got three cds and I stopped myself from buying two dvds, as I had reserved the Firefly DVD that was on sale for purchase next week. We stepped outside for a quick smokie before heading out to dinner.
We were originally supposed to go to Chinatown, but after passing a pizza place called Macchiato at the corner of Pitt and Liverpool we decided to stay there. Sacha joined us after walking all the way from home (Go Sacha!). We had a really good all meat pizza (aka the Texas pizza) and a "Macchiato" which was all veggies and feta cheese, which we dutifully picked out for Sacha, woman who does not eat cheese. In fairness I had one slice of the veggie pizza, as I am known as the woman who does not eat vegetables. We had some pretty good discussions on thoretical physics - Sacha's masteral dissertation in particular - what we wanted to do with our lives when we were kids and now, religion, the pope looking like he had gone to the dark side and needing eye bag surgery, national anthems, john howard's teeth (sacha hates them, nic hates his eyebrows, i just think maybe he's had enough time in the house), transcendental meditation and other normal things. We also consumed two hot chocolates with soy (me and nic) and one regular one (sacha) and had exceptional service. We parted ways after that and I made my way home, taking pictures of central station to document my regular almost daily journey (see previous). I walked home to the tune of Britney Spears (yeah, I know, I like her anyway) and now am off to bed.
Intermission
Before I continue with my photo essay, I'd like to answer one question that Ive been getting for a while now.
Do you have a boyfriend/Are you dating?
The simple answer being, if you were my friend, would you be asking this question?
Those who know me would know me well enough to know how much I hate this question, and how much it insults me. It implies that being single is a fault, that one should be in a relationship to be happy and that its something that everyone should have. What is bloody wrong with being single and why must everyone always ask me if I have found a boyfriend already?!?!
First, consider the facts. I have just moved to another country where I know no one, have to find a house and a job and pass all my subjects after not studying for at least three years - lets be honest, since college, since I never really studied for my last attempt at masters. Considering all that I have to go through, do you think I have time or want to add yet another complicated factor to my already challenging existence?
Second, its not that I have anything against relationships. Its not that I dont want one someday or that Im bloody lesbian (not that there's anything wrong with that, to all my dyke friends). Its just that right now, its not in my priorities.
Third, Must you all ride on the bandwagon that is being promulgated by the chick magazines that we all read that say, "it's okay to be single!" like being single is a crime that everyone needs reassurance for since its not normal or its not okay to be without someone or that its something you have to remind women to be proud of. Its a natural fact of life. Can everyone get over the whole "its okay to be single" thing and the whole "do you have a boyfriend because you should be in a relationship because it makes you really really happy" thing? I know it does, belive it or not I had one once upon a time ago. And it's cool that you're in a relationship, I have nothing against them, Im genuinely happy for you and I will support you all the way. At the same time though, Thank you for wishing your happiness on me but its not the end of the world that I dont have one, and its not the only way to acheive happiness.
Fourth, Get a life. I spent four freaking years with everyone linking me up to every single man I have been friends with and I am sick of it. All my friends are men. Get over it. If you want to see me with someone just to see me fall because Im such a fucking butch of a bitch then you're gonna have to wait and get in line because its not gonna happen anytime soon and Im not gonna do it just to make you happy. And yeah Im probably gonna get all mushy and girly and all that but y'all arent gonna be around to see it anyway because you're not here.
Fifth, If you cant think of another question to ask (either because the FAQs have answered them all or what), then fucking make something up. Im sure there are other questions to ask in this world, like the capital of burkina faso, or my favorite color, or cool spots to visit here or what else im doing in my life!!! Hello, there is more to life than being in a relationship!
In short, let me all assure you that if I do get one and I find you worthy of this information then I will tell you about it. In the meantime, it is safe for you to assume that the presumed partner does not exist.
In the meantime, the next person who brings this up will do so at their own peril.
If I offend anyone with this message, I offer no apologies. You try being a person who is happy to be single for a really long time and have people keep coming up to you and asking if youre in a relationship and why youre not in one.
Do you have a boyfriend/Are you dating?
The simple answer being, if you were my friend, would you be asking this question?
Those who know me would know me well enough to know how much I hate this question, and how much it insults me. It implies that being single is a fault, that one should be in a relationship to be happy and that its something that everyone should have. What is bloody wrong with being single and why must everyone always ask me if I have found a boyfriend already?!?!
First, consider the facts. I have just moved to another country where I know no one, have to find a house and a job and pass all my subjects after not studying for at least three years - lets be honest, since college, since I never really studied for my last attempt at masters. Considering all that I have to go through, do you think I have time or want to add yet another complicated factor to my already challenging existence?
Second, its not that I have anything against relationships. Its not that I dont want one someday or that Im bloody lesbian (not that there's anything wrong with that, to all my dyke friends). Its just that right now, its not in my priorities.
Third, Must you all ride on the bandwagon that is being promulgated by the chick magazines that we all read that say, "it's okay to be single!" like being single is a crime that everyone needs reassurance for since its not normal or its not okay to be without someone or that its something you have to remind women to be proud of. Its a natural fact of life. Can everyone get over the whole "its okay to be single" thing and the whole "do you have a boyfriend because you should be in a relationship because it makes you really really happy" thing? I know it does, belive it or not I had one once upon a time ago. And it's cool that you're in a relationship, I have nothing against them, Im genuinely happy for you and I will support you all the way. At the same time though, Thank you for wishing your happiness on me but its not the end of the world that I dont have one, and its not the only way to acheive happiness.
Fourth, Get a life. I spent four freaking years with everyone linking me up to every single man I have been friends with and I am sick of it. All my friends are men. Get over it. If you want to see me with someone just to see me fall because Im such a fucking butch of a bitch then you're gonna have to wait and get in line because its not gonna happen anytime soon and Im not gonna do it just to make you happy. And yeah Im probably gonna get all mushy and girly and all that but y'all arent gonna be around to see it anyway because you're not here.
Fifth, If you cant think of another question to ask (either because the FAQs have answered them all or what), then fucking make something up. Im sure there are other questions to ask in this world, like the capital of burkina faso, or my favorite color, or cool spots to visit here or what else im doing in my life!!! Hello, there is more to life than being in a relationship!
In short, let me all assure you that if I do get one and I find you worthy of this information then I will tell you about it. In the meantime, it is safe for you to assume that the presumed partner does not exist.
In the meantime, the next person who brings this up will do so at their own peril.
If I offend anyone with this message, I offer no apologies. You try being a person who is happy to be single for a really long time and have people keep coming up to you and asking if youre in a relationship and why youre not in one.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Okay its been a really super long while
i typed this, clicked publish and it disappeared. damn. and it was a good post, too. next time. gotta go morph into a nerdier person.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
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