St. Patrick's Cathedral
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Mamaks, Mr. Ulcer, the Prince of Egypt and "Masarap Kurotin ang Puwet mo."
So last week we had our group marketing presentation. We did our project on Zara, the Spanish clothing retailer that is now an interntional brand (if i may quote from my introduction). My group and I worked really hard on the project, its really the best group I've ever had (See picture below). Poor Stewart, as the only boy, he learned more about fashion than he ever wanted to. Hehehe.
Friday was Mamak night. It was $4, which is a bargain for eat all you can even in the Philippines. (conversion = PhP208, cheaper than Saisaki!) Met up with my friend Natasha and her friends - I am spelling this as they are pronounced - Aaliyah and Ah-liya and we walked over to uni from her house and Sydney Uni Village. Sydney Uni Village is the expensive university housing in newtown. You can have your own room in a 5 room, 4 room, 3 room, double or studio apartments. The cheapest is the 5 bedroom at a whopping Aus$ 192. This does not include the $40 that you have to pay weekly for food credit in the village. Needless to say, you gotta have a lotta money to live there.
We got to Manning Building where I met up with Dan and Sacha. Turns out the thing was in the back, we all thought it would be in the bar. We were in line, starving, for quite some time and Colin made it just in time to find us in line. The food was amazing. I checked to make sure everything was okay for Mr. Ulcer, and managed to take one bite of something curry like that wasnt so spicy before having to pass on that particular dish. There was curry, roti, satay, veggies and of course... DILIS!!! I was so excited. I ate so much dilis. They eat their dilis with peanuts (why?) and there is no suka but what the hell. I was so happy I took a picture, just to show Jojo: look I have diliiiis!!! We are on a mission to find dilis and tuyo here, food which cannot be apparently brought into the country due to quarantine. Sigh.
We all ate so much and kept going back for multiple servings. Dan especially went back for a lot, except he didnt like dilis, and I kept going back for the roti bread, which I ate plain. After all the eating they had a raffle draw. There were about 50 people there and I was the only non-Malaysian Asian and our table had the only white people in the entire place: Colin, Dan and Sacha. In our 6 person table (us plus Natasha and Kian, ive forgotten her name i think this might be it) 3 people won, and we got both first and second prize! Natasha got the $30 Myer gift certificate and Colin won the movie tickets. They gave out a lot of prizes, including "lucky" and "unlucky" draw. Lucky draw was ramen noodles, which Dan won and unlucky draw consisted of various prizes like a rubber ducky which one guy in the other table won. Since all the white men won prizes, that left Sacha as "the only white one who didnt win". We had a good laugh about it afterwards, before heading home.
When I got home I had some chocolate as dessert and then I went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night with a very bad ulcer attack. My ulcer attacks come in different variations: acid, gas, or both. I would prefer acid since it all goes away after I throw up, but noooo. This time it was combination ulcer. I was up from maybe 230 to about 430 when my housemates got up to pee (you can hear people walk the wooden floors in front of my room). Then I couldnt sleep lying down because the acid was going up my esophagus and giving me heartburn.
The next morning I went to the doctor. My housemates were all very nice and concerned, and offered to drive me and stuff. I called Sacha and she came over, brought some soup, apple and cinammon (good but a whole darn lot) and lent me her bear, Belito (named after the 3 people that gave him to her). Then I went back to bed. I woke up after my nap to go to church with Dan. Once again we were late to make the one at Andee's church - which we have yet to find - so we walked to another church off my street which turned out to be closed. So we decided, dinner today, mass tomorrow. Dan had spaghetti bolognaise and i had chicken ceasar salad without dressing and herb bread. It was semi-boring.
I have spent the week eating soup and oatmeal and grilled chicken from oporto, which has saved my life. I tried eating an instant pasta meal with tomatoes this monday but it was the wrong thing to eat. The chart I found on the internet said that I could have peanut butter but they were wrong. Moses and Handle both ended up eating my peanut butter sandwiches.
Moses, my housemate's doggie likes kickboxing. The other day I tried to practice my kickboxing in the kitchen, to the tune of the pulp fiction soundtrack and he kept jumping around. I almost hit him several times, I had to keep going Moses, go, go! But he kept coming back and wagging his tail excitedly. There's a particular kick that we do that is aimed for your calf where you slide like you do in soccer and I kind of touched him then. Thank God I wasnt being so violent as it was the first kick. I am trying to do what my instructor says I need which is develop more aggression during fighting (Yes, D.E.B. I have to be more aggressive - I told y'all it would scare my boss!).
Everytime I call Moses I feel like God. Like suddenly I've morphed into the burning bush and I go, "Moses, Moses!" and wait for him to come over. Inevitably my voice morphs into this Prince of Egypt-esque impression where I try to call the character played by Ralph Fiennes (i think) and it goes, "Mooooooses, Mooooooooses". I keep expecting him to say, "Let my people go!" and part the canal down the street. Or something. It does work though, and he responds to the "godlike" Moses call.
Monday I hung out with Laura, Dan & Colin. They ate at a Japanese restaurant that I couldnt have anything but tea in. Next week I will eat there!!! We ended up at urban bites, drawing castles and laughing. I taught them all interesting phrases in Filipino. They had specific requests. Colin's was to get funny semi-lecherous lines to pick up girls (I taught him to say, "Masarap kurotin ang puwet mo") and Laura's was "Teach me to say 'I like big butts and I cannot lie' and 'I'm looking for a soldier with a nice ass'", the latter of which she could say in Hebrew and French (She's from Montreal and is Jewish) which was really cool. Dan didnt seem to have any trouble pronouncing anything, even if he didnt ask for any specific lines and just read of theirs. Laura had a bit of trouble with the "NG" and "NGA", possibly because she speaks french and it was kind of coming out frenchy. Colin did pretty well, except he stumbled a bit with the kurotin, which was the most important line in the sentence. He has resolved to try all his lines on Andee to see if she slaps him, in which case he was being effective.
Yesterday I finished my first exam, in Marketing, where I used my Atenean legacy of making bola to the best of my abilities. I was also glad to learn that I was not the only one who felt that I repeated myself as the questions seemed to ask the same things over and over. Tomorrow I leave for Melbourne with Jojo and Dan on a 12-15 hour road trip, where yes, I will take to the wheel and drive on the other side of the road for the first time. We'll be back on Monday and my next entry should be Melbourne oriented.
Friday was Mamak night. It was $4, which is a bargain for eat all you can even in the Philippines. (conversion = PhP208, cheaper than Saisaki!) Met up with my friend Natasha and her friends - I am spelling this as they are pronounced - Aaliyah and Ah-liya and we walked over to uni from her house and Sydney Uni Village. Sydney Uni Village is the expensive university housing in newtown. You can have your own room in a 5 room, 4 room, 3 room, double or studio apartments. The cheapest is the 5 bedroom at a whopping Aus$ 192. This does not include the $40 that you have to pay weekly for food credit in the village. Needless to say, you gotta have a lotta money to live there.
We got to Manning Building where I met up with Dan and Sacha. Turns out the thing was in the back, we all thought it would be in the bar. We were in line, starving, for quite some time and Colin made it just in time to find us in line. The food was amazing. I checked to make sure everything was okay for Mr. Ulcer, and managed to take one bite of something curry like that wasnt so spicy before having to pass on that particular dish. There was curry, roti, satay, veggies and of course... DILIS!!! I was so excited. I ate so much dilis. They eat their dilis with peanuts (why?) and there is no suka but what the hell. I was so happy I took a picture, just to show Jojo: look I have diliiiis!!! We are on a mission to find dilis and tuyo here, food which cannot be apparently brought into the country due to quarantine. Sigh.
We all ate so much and kept going back for multiple servings. Dan especially went back for a lot, except he didnt like dilis, and I kept going back for the roti bread, which I ate plain. After all the eating they had a raffle draw. There were about 50 people there and I was the only non-Malaysian Asian and our table had the only white people in the entire place: Colin, Dan and Sacha. In our 6 person table (us plus Natasha and Kian, ive forgotten her name i think this might be it) 3 people won, and we got both first and second prize! Natasha got the $30 Myer gift certificate and Colin won the movie tickets. They gave out a lot of prizes, including "lucky" and "unlucky" draw. Lucky draw was ramen noodles, which Dan won and unlucky draw consisted of various prizes like a rubber ducky which one guy in the other table won. Since all the white men won prizes, that left Sacha as "the only white one who didnt win". We had a good laugh about it afterwards, before heading home.
When I got home I had some chocolate as dessert and then I went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night with a very bad ulcer attack. My ulcer attacks come in different variations: acid, gas, or both. I would prefer acid since it all goes away after I throw up, but noooo. This time it was combination ulcer. I was up from maybe 230 to about 430 when my housemates got up to pee (you can hear people walk the wooden floors in front of my room). Then I couldnt sleep lying down because the acid was going up my esophagus and giving me heartburn.
The next morning I went to the doctor. My housemates were all very nice and concerned, and offered to drive me and stuff. I called Sacha and she came over, brought some soup, apple and cinammon (good but a whole darn lot) and lent me her bear, Belito (named after the 3 people that gave him to her). Then I went back to bed. I woke up after my nap to go to church with Dan. Once again we were late to make the one at Andee's church - which we have yet to find - so we walked to another church off my street which turned out to be closed. So we decided, dinner today, mass tomorrow. Dan had spaghetti bolognaise and i had chicken ceasar salad without dressing and herb bread. It was semi-boring.
I have spent the week eating soup and oatmeal and grilled chicken from oporto, which has saved my life. I tried eating an instant pasta meal with tomatoes this monday but it was the wrong thing to eat. The chart I found on the internet said that I could have peanut butter but they were wrong. Moses and Handle both ended up eating my peanut butter sandwiches.
Moses, my housemate's doggie likes kickboxing. The other day I tried to practice my kickboxing in the kitchen, to the tune of the pulp fiction soundtrack and he kept jumping around. I almost hit him several times, I had to keep going Moses, go, go! But he kept coming back and wagging his tail excitedly. There's a particular kick that we do that is aimed for your calf where you slide like you do in soccer and I kind of touched him then. Thank God I wasnt being so violent as it was the first kick. I am trying to do what my instructor says I need which is develop more aggression during fighting (Yes, D.E.B. I have to be more aggressive - I told y'all it would scare my boss!).
Everytime I call Moses I feel like God. Like suddenly I've morphed into the burning bush and I go, "Moses, Moses!" and wait for him to come over. Inevitably my voice morphs into this Prince of Egypt-esque impression where I try to call the character played by Ralph Fiennes (i think) and it goes, "Mooooooses, Mooooooooses". I keep expecting him to say, "Let my people go!" and part the canal down the street. Or something. It does work though, and he responds to the "godlike" Moses call.
Monday I hung out with Laura, Dan & Colin. They ate at a Japanese restaurant that I couldnt have anything but tea in. Next week I will eat there!!! We ended up at urban bites, drawing castles and laughing. I taught them all interesting phrases in Filipino. They had specific requests. Colin's was to get funny semi-lecherous lines to pick up girls (I taught him to say, "Masarap kurotin ang puwet mo") and Laura's was "Teach me to say 'I like big butts and I cannot lie' and 'I'm looking for a soldier with a nice ass'", the latter of which she could say in Hebrew and French (She's from Montreal and is Jewish) which was really cool. Dan didnt seem to have any trouble pronouncing anything, even if he didnt ask for any specific lines and just read of theirs. Laura had a bit of trouble with the "NG" and "NGA", possibly because she speaks french and it was kind of coming out frenchy. Colin did pretty well, except he stumbled a bit with the kurotin, which was the most important line in the sentence. He has resolved to try all his lines on Andee to see if she slaps him, in which case he was being effective.
Yesterday I finished my first exam, in Marketing, where I used my Atenean legacy of making bola to the best of my abilities. I was also glad to learn that I was not the only one who felt that I repeated myself as the questions seemed to ask the same things over and over. Tomorrow I leave for Melbourne with Jojo and Dan on a 12-15 hour road trip, where yes, I will take to the wheel and drive on the other side of the road for the first time. We'll be back on Monday and my next entry should be Melbourne oriented.
Monday, June 06, 2005
The Interview Game
from pia
here you go:
1. what scares you the most?
the possibility of being a victim of a heinous crime. and cockroaches.
2. what movie or book best describes you right at this very moment?
view from the top with gywneth paltrow, because it inspired me to follow my dreams
also any travel book by peter moore because life is an adventure!
3. what is the most exotic dish/food you've ever tasted?
Kangaroo! had it at the winesoc dinner, tastes nice with cranberry sauce. my next target is crocodile! Have also had frogs legs and escargot.
4. why do you blog?
honestly, so that I dont have to repeat my kuwento over and over again. i just tell people who ask "how are you doing? what are you doing?" to read the blog. its so much easier, less tedious and more efficient that way!
5. what were the best years - grade school, high school, or college - and why?
I would have to say college because there was more anonymity and thus I had more chances to express my own individuality without having to conform. Also, although there was still some angst (you can't start college at 16 and not still have that) it wasnt as bad as high school. There wasn't really much pressure to fit in, and a lot more freedom came with it.
I would have to add that I loved 3rd grade, 2nd year and 4th year high school and sige nga, 5th grade na rin. Go St. Frideswida! (try putting that in a cheer!!!)
Here are The Official Interview Game Rules:
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below or in the tag board saying “interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person’s will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
If you don’t have a blog, I will still ask you 5 unique questions and you can post your answers here.
any takers?
here you go:
1. what scares you the most?
the possibility of being a victim of a heinous crime. and cockroaches.
2. what movie or book best describes you right at this very moment?
view from the top with gywneth paltrow, because it inspired me to follow my dreams
also any travel book by peter moore because life is an adventure!
3. what is the most exotic dish/food you've ever tasted?
Kangaroo! had it at the winesoc dinner, tastes nice with cranberry sauce. my next target is crocodile! Have also had frogs legs and escargot.
4. why do you blog?
honestly, so that I dont have to repeat my kuwento over and over again. i just tell people who ask "how are you doing? what are you doing?" to read the blog. its so much easier, less tedious and more efficient that way!
5. what were the best years - grade school, high school, or college - and why?
I would have to say college because there was more anonymity and thus I had more chances to express my own individuality without having to conform. Also, although there was still some angst (you can't start college at 16 and not still have that) it wasnt as bad as high school. There wasn't really much pressure to fit in, and a lot more freedom came with it.
I would have to add that I loved 3rd grade, 2nd year and 4th year high school and sige nga, 5th grade na rin. Go St. Frideswida! (try putting that in a cheer!!!)
Here are The Official Interview Game Rules:
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below or in the tag board saying “interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person’s will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
If you don’t have a blog, I will still ask you 5 unique questions and you can post your answers here.
any takers?
Thursday, June 02, 2005
On Groceries, Melbourne and Canada Day!
Yesterday I went to the grocery. Now I've always been a grocery girl. Mum used to take me when I was small and it was actually a skill I had even before I moved here. I remember living in Cebu with 7 girls that were perpetually excited about the grocery store. It seemed that we all loved food and that someone seemed to always be going to the grocery and you would open the cupboard or fridge and go, oh, food! And it was bountiful and that was good. That said, I must say that this being my first trip to the grocery since I moved (and brought groceries with me) I found myself with feelings of trepidation as I rolled my little cart down the aisle. I had a list, because, well, that's something you should never go without, and there were so many nice things lining up the aisles that were intimidating me because unlike in Cebu, I dont have a steady income coming in and its not like I could just go, oh I like that I'm going to get it. This, I think was my first actual lets live on a budget kinda grocery.
I was determined to find whole wheat spaghetti and cook myself something that wasnt out from a can but my God. The minced meat looked so lanta (I see now why my tita goes to the butcher!) and should be consumed by June 06 - hello, im one person, i cant eat that much minced meat in two days. Ive decided that I'll just buy the meats when Im going to actually cook the thing, so that it will be fresh. Then all the pasta said "made from durum wheat" aba, malay ko ba kung anong wheat yan. So I texted my mom asking if that was the same as whole wheat, but she had no idea. Am now experiencing the conflict: healthy vs cheap. For example, my cereal, which techinically since its made from wheat and stuff and has sultanas and almonds is the healthier alternative to coco puffs. Next to it is a cereal that says, whole wheat achoovalooh with berries, something something fat free. Now I would buy that. Except its a dollar more expensive and malay ko ba if I'll like it? If I dont, its so sayang. No one is going to eat it.
I was so excited when I came across the Asian section. Look, they have nissin! Something familiar. Got self some Indonesian pancit canton. I really want to buy longaniza, but Jojo and I have never made it to a Filipino store. Have asked him over next week and we're going to cook sinigang, although his exact statement was, "You think I'll be better than you in cooking it?" at which point I replied, "You're the one who owns the rice cooker so you have to bring it." On a side note, i got a non stick pan on sale for 13 bucks! Go me!
After doing the groceries I knew my laundry wasn't dry so I figured, never mind the dew, lets just leave it overnight. This morning, only half my clothes were dry. My jeans were still so damp. I took out my Napi San and proceeded to wash out some stains. I swear I love Napi San. I couldnt buy the soaking powder because it was huge and built for families of four with little boys that play rugby and slide on the ground so I bought the soap. Works just as well. I love Napi San. (i cant say that enough)
Off I went to meet Jojo. I got my stuff, including my dvds galore (Thank you John & Joey!!!) except upon inspection it didnt include the bumbay film that Sacha and I wanted to watch (Joooohn, where's my bride and prejudice?!??! :( waah.). Oh well. We had dinner in Chinatown where we suddenly created a plan to go and visit... Melbourne!!! I've never been anywhere outside Sydney except to the Blue Mountains and Canberra, which anyone who has been here will say doesn't count. Jojo's been to Melbourne but for two days with his parents so that doesnt really count either. Dan mentioned that he had a free ticket for himself and that he wanted to go somewhere during Stuvac (Study Vacation - they give us a week off to study) since he's leaving for the US right after exams. So Jojo and I conceptualized the Melbourne trip. Dan will take the plane and Jojo and I will... drive. Down south, on a Friday and drive back on a Monday for the Queen's birthday weekend. In true backpacker style, we'll stay at a hostel and well, bahala na since none of us know anything about Melbourne. The only problem is, it keeps getting longer and longer when I ask people how long it will take to drive. Jojo reckoned it would take about 8 hours. My housemate Handle, who just got back from there on his motorcycle, says it will take 12. My other housemate, Miki, who travelled around Australia in a car for a year, says 13 hours. My cousin Andrew reckons 14. Miki also said it would be better to drive and break the journey somewhere. The thing is, I've got a very small budget that generally, only driving can accomodate. Flying costs more than a hundred bucks - almost two hundred, and driving is just a heck of a lot cheaper, even if we go through 2 full tanks both ways. (Gas is 40 bucks for a full tank, Jojo reckons it will take only one tank... Im not sure) Anyway, were going to work it out but we're definately going to Melbourne!!!
After dinner we met up with Laura at the bottle shop on Broadway on our way to a party at her friend Matt's. Laura came with her housemate Victor, who is Swiss and his friend David. Colin joined us and we all walked over to Matt's house in Glebe. It was, being Australia, right off the corner (a nice corner/triangularly shaped house that looked Dutch to me!) where the next house, as Sacha discovered later was number 357 or something. The party was to celebrate Canada day, which is actually on July 1st but since most of them are leaving by then, they celebrated it yesterday. None of us had ever met Matt, except for Laura and the party was full of people Im sure he didnt know. We all brought wine. It felt like an American college party, complete with guys with beer bongs and two guys wearing the Canadian flag as a cape, standing on chairs and chugging the beer bong (yes, straight out of a movie). We met lots of people, like Heather this american who lived in Australia for 6 years, Zeb, who is this Irish chick who is moving down to Melbourne. She's a chemical engineer and this company sponsored her to work there (hey, all my engineering friends who are interested, there is a big demand for you!), and a whole bunch of other people.
Sacha arrived later and announced to me that she hated men (which she later amended to except Jojo because she was discussing it with him as well). I announced that she was in DABDA - denial, anger, bargaining, depression acceptance - specifically the first A, and that it was nice that she moved from denial to anger very quickly and let's hope she get to acceptance soon. Since she came from her capoiera class we started discussing the stuff that goes on in our respective classes and we both got up to "demo our moves" to each other. At some point Sacha said she'd do a kick and I would duck. In kickboxing when you dodge you just sort of squat and turn your body and head to the side, since you are after all blocking a punch. Apparently in capoiera you bend down and cover your head with your arm. This is why Sacha ended up hitting me on the head with her heeled boot. In fairness it wasnt strong enough to hurt.
We left soon after Dan - late due to rock climbing - arrived. As we were leaving, the busted bottle opener that we just bought (the corkscrew tip was twisted at the wrong angle) got stuck in the cork and Colin and friends were trying valiantly to get the cork out of the wine Laura got, which was a red cabernet sauvignon known as "Joey's Nose". And that was the end of my evening.
I was determined to find whole wheat spaghetti and cook myself something that wasnt out from a can but my God. The minced meat looked so lanta (I see now why my tita goes to the butcher!) and should be consumed by June 06 - hello, im one person, i cant eat that much minced meat in two days. Ive decided that I'll just buy the meats when Im going to actually cook the thing, so that it will be fresh. Then all the pasta said "made from durum wheat" aba, malay ko ba kung anong wheat yan. So I texted my mom asking if that was the same as whole wheat, but she had no idea. Am now experiencing the conflict: healthy vs cheap. For example, my cereal, which techinically since its made from wheat and stuff and has sultanas and almonds is the healthier alternative to coco puffs. Next to it is a cereal that says, whole wheat achoovalooh with berries, something something fat free. Now I would buy that. Except its a dollar more expensive and malay ko ba if I'll like it? If I dont, its so sayang. No one is going to eat it.
I was so excited when I came across the Asian section. Look, they have nissin! Something familiar. Got self some Indonesian pancit canton. I really want to buy longaniza, but Jojo and I have never made it to a Filipino store. Have asked him over next week and we're going to cook sinigang, although his exact statement was, "You think I'll be better than you in cooking it?" at which point I replied, "You're the one who owns the rice cooker so you have to bring it." On a side note, i got a non stick pan on sale for 13 bucks! Go me!
After doing the groceries I knew my laundry wasn't dry so I figured, never mind the dew, lets just leave it overnight. This morning, only half my clothes were dry. My jeans were still so damp. I took out my Napi San and proceeded to wash out some stains. I swear I love Napi San. I couldnt buy the soaking powder because it was huge and built for families of four with little boys that play rugby and slide on the ground so I bought the soap. Works just as well. I love Napi San. (i cant say that enough)
Off I went to meet Jojo. I got my stuff, including my dvds galore (Thank you John & Joey!!!) except upon inspection it didnt include the bumbay film that Sacha and I wanted to watch (Joooohn, where's my bride and prejudice?!??! :( waah.). Oh well. We had dinner in Chinatown where we suddenly created a plan to go and visit... Melbourne!!! I've never been anywhere outside Sydney except to the Blue Mountains and Canberra, which anyone who has been here will say doesn't count. Jojo's been to Melbourne but for two days with his parents so that doesnt really count either. Dan mentioned that he had a free ticket for himself and that he wanted to go somewhere during Stuvac (Study Vacation - they give us a week off to study) since he's leaving for the US right after exams. So Jojo and I conceptualized the Melbourne trip. Dan will take the plane and Jojo and I will... drive. Down south, on a Friday and drive back on a Monday for the Queen's birthday weekend. In true backpacker style, we'll stay at a hostel and well, bahala na since none of us know anything about Melbourne. The only problem is, it keeps getting longer and longer when I ask people how long it will take to drive. Jojo reckoned it would take about 8 hours. My housemate Handle, who just got back from there on his motorcycle, says it will take 12. My other housemate, Miki, who travelled around Australia in a car for a year, says 13 hours. My cousin Andrew reckons 14. Miki also said it would be better to drive and break the journey somewhere. The thing is, I've got a very small budget that generally, only driving can accomodate. Flying costs more than a hundred bucks - almost two hundred, and driving is just a heck of a lot cheaper, even if we go through 2 full tanks both ways. (Gas is 40 bucks for a full tank, Jojo reckons it will take only one tank... Im not sure) Anyway, were going to work it out but we're definately going to Melbourne!!!
After dinner we met up with Laura at the bottle shop on Broadway on our way to a party at her friend Matt's. Laura came with her housemate Victor, who is Swiss and his friend David. Colin joined us and we all walked over to Matt's house in Glebe. It was, being Australia, right off the corner (a nice corner/triangularly shaped house that looked Dutch to me!) where the next house, as Sacha discovered later was number 357 or something. The party was to celebrate Canada day, which is actually on July 1st but since most of them are leaving by then, they celebrated it yesterday. None of us had ever met Matt, except for Laura and the party was full of people Im sure he didnt know. We all brought wine. It felt like an American college party, complete with guys with beer bongs and two guys wearing the Canadian flag as a cape, standing on chairs and chugging the beer bong (yes, straight out of a movie). We met lots of people, like Heather this american who lived in Australia for 6 years, Zeb, who is this Irish chick who is moving down to Melbourne. She's a chemical engineer and this company sponsored her to work there (hey, all my engineering friends who are interested, there is a big demand for you!), and a whole bunch of other people.
Sacha arrived later and announced to me that she hated men (which she later amended to except Jojo because she was discussing it with him as well). I announced that she was in DABDA - denial, anger, bargaining, depression acceptance - specifically the first A, and that it was nice that she moved from denial to anger very quickly and let's hope she get to acceptance soon. Since she came from her capoiera class we started discussing the stuff that goes on in our respective classes and we both got up to "demo our moves" to each other. At some point Sacha said she'd do a kick and I would duck. In kickboxing when you dodge you just sort of squat and turn your body and head to the side, since you are after all blocking a punch. Apparently in capoiera you bend down and cover your head with your arm. This is why Sacha ended up hitting me on the head with her heeled boot. In fairness it wasnt strong enough to hurt.
We left soon after Dan - late due to rock climbing - arrived. As we were leaving, the busted bottle opener that we just bought (the corkscrew tip was twisted at the wrong angle) got stuck in the cork and Colin and friends were trying valiantly to get the cork out of the wine Laura got, which was a red cabernet sauvignon known as "Joey's Nose". And that was the end of my evening.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
I am a Domestic Goddess!
Today I have decided to do my fortnightly cleaning session. (aka every two weeks) I began with a nice breakfast of omelette in our nice "non-stick pan". My omelette - with garlic, onion, ham, and mushrooms - turned into scrambled eggs because our non stick pan has, to quote my housemate, "has fulfilled its purpose." Its now slightly run down so that it tips to side and doesnt quite heat up in the middle. you end up having to cook from the edges. After brekky with hot chocolate and some toast with sun dried tomato (which i ended up sharing with the dogs as I couldnt finish it) I set out to begin my cleaning. First I put in my washing (lights) and then i started vacuuming. Our house is rather old and it gets cold and dusty very very easily. I had stuff under my bed that just sort of looked like created life, except they were dust bunnies. I swear Australia has different far out dust. I remember vacuuming the garage in my old house, and then having a strange dust bunny formation under the computer table in the same evening.
There's also the wood panelling at the bottom of the walls, the tops of those get so dusty. We had that in the house I grew up in and it never ever got that dusty. As in it was like a line of blackish gray and I'm all like, hey Im hardly even ever in my room. I just freaking sleep here. Where the fuck did that come from? And so I vacuum, with my nice little vacuum thingy stuck to the wall like a suction cup (Nic! Are you proud of me yet?!?!?). I lined my shoes up in the hallway so that I could vacuum under my little closet rack. One of my heels was entirely covered in dust I actually had to vacuum it. I even tried to vacuum my quilt cover bec no matter how much pagpag and stuff I do its still got particles on it (Niiiic! how do I fix that?!?!). I could wash it... but I only own one quilt cover and I dont plan to change until the end of the month!!!
After vacuuming, I hung up my laundry and put in my other load of dark clothing including a sweater, a pair of jeans and a jacket. It was my first full load ever since usually I do half loads of lights and darks. Jojo once said to me, that you know that you're getting old when you and your friends have discussions about how to keep your house clean, as he discovered once when he was meeting up with old debate buddies in Singapore. They spent some time discussing the best cleaning substances. A few days ago I experienced something similar, when my Malaysian friends and I were discussing, of all things, clothing stains. And I said, with authority, that Napi-san (dont ask why its called that) was the best thing ever to take out stains. (Thank you Auntie Genie. Your domestic padawan is well taught) And I swear that it's true. You soak anything in that thing and when you take it out its all gone. Just like a tv commercial.
I then attempted to vacuum the hallway but for some reason the cord wouldnt stretch properly, it just kept getting caught in the corners so I didnt make it past the hallway in front of my room. (Sorry Handle. He has the room next to mine. Miki and Mike have the front room with the doggies) I have also now been told not to take 45 mintues in the shower - even if no one is waiting - not because its expensive (which is the filipino reason for everything, i have noticed, as I use that reason) but because of water conservation as in like, there's a water shortage. I have been told not to exceed 30 minutes. I don't really mind, except i use the shower to keep myself warm, you know, hot water... oh well.
After this, I intend to hang up my washing, take my 30 minute shower, go grocery shopping at Woolworths and come on back. I may treat myself to a 2nd hand book from berkelow's - I am rereading David Eddings and I am now regretting that I didnt bring my complete collection. How sad. At least with a 2nd hand book, I can sell it back... when I get my stuff sent. Then this afternoon I will apply for more jobs online, sort out the classes Im enrolling in, write my daddy-o and then hopefully take a nap before I meet Jojo for dinner. Jojo's dad brought some stuff mum sent, plus he's lending me a heater! Yaaay! After dinner were supposed to go to this party that some of my friends are having.
I've been spending a lot of time hanging around with my Winesoc friends - Laura (22, Montreal, Canada), Dan (21, Philadelphia, PA), Colin (21, San Juan Islands, WA) and then of course, Andee and Sacha. (click on the flickr for pictures) Unfortunately most of them are leaving at the end of the month as they are only exchange students. And yes, they're all young. Im like perpetually the oldest, so much so that last week, Dan, who is very nice and sweet and is one of two smart americans I know (Colin is the other one) but has that whole american thing where they dont know a lot about other parts of the world, but are very nice and appreciative about it when you tell them things, said, "I can't believe I have a friend who is 26! That's like, so old!". And he said that to me. And I was like, "Thanks, ha!" but him being Dan, you just dont get mad. He's a very nice boy and is very appreciative about learning. He is also engaged to his 19 year old girlfriend, Chas. Which kind of shocked the shit out of me the first time we met, because I couldnt believe he was engaged at such a young age (Dan reads this blog. Hi Dan!) but at the same time, it was kind of wow, because how many guys - or people, period - do you know that belive that they can already make that kind of commitment? (Also, their engagement will last until they finish university, so its up until 2009 or so, which gives them more time.)
Dan is Catholic and now I have someone to go to church with every Sunday. I almost fell asleep in the last mass. Laura is from Montreal and speaks french. She's taking psychology and this is her last semester. She is almost perpetually studying because of all the shit she's got to do, and she's the only one I know who has ever stayed in the library until the lights were shut off and you had to sort of feel your way out. Colin is from somewhere off the coast of washington and he sails and swims and does all these sporty things. He is an architecture and government student, also on his last semester. He has promised to take Laura and me sailing. I am supposed to borrow his wetsuit but since he is six feet tall or something I dont think it will fit. Laura and I have this idea of sailing where we just sit back and feel the wind in our faces and all that. Colin's idea of sailing is using those small boats where you actually have to do work and lean over and fix sails and stuff. Im willing to try everything at least once, it sounds like fun. I am, apparently supposed to dress like Im going to fall in the water, which is also apparently inevitable. All I can say is, Im glad I have a life jacket and Im glad that I learned how to swim beforehand and oh look, its probably freezing as its winter so... Go Me!
Sacha has been offered a scholarship in operations research for Cornell and she is currently thinking about whether to go or not. Of course, Andee and I are hoping she'll stay, but its really up to her. She was previously sort of dating this guy that looked just like Michael Vartan (Swear!) . He and Sacha cooked us pancakes the other day which were really good. I think we each had about four. They were actually more like crepes with ham and mushrooms and sauce and stuff. But no cheese, because Sacha hates cheese (have i mentioned that before?).
This Friday we are planning to go to Mamak n ight, with my Malaysian friends Natasha and Rosalyn. Its only $4 for a meal. On Saturday, Sacha and I are hoping to do the Bondi to Coogee walk. I hope I dont get tamad or have something else to do.
Let me end this journal entry by adding what my kickboxing instructor told me yesterday, "Larissa, you have to perfect technique but I just dont see the power. You need to be more aggressive." Hello! Someone tell my ex boyfriend! (Quick flashback to the time we got in a fight and I smashed his glasses because I couldnt move - I just laugh about this now, although sometimes I cringe remembering how immature I was - God Im so old now that I can say this!) And for the matter, someone tell the people in my office. Like the ones Ive come head to head in meetings with (Hello, Mahiar? Apparently Im not aggressive) or my dark evil bossie. I wonder if he'll believe it.
All things considered, Ive decided to take kickboxing more seriously, and get myself gloves when I have the money and practice at home as well. Anyway... its time to hang up the laundry.
There's also the wood panelling at the bottom of the walls, the tops of those get so dusty. We had that in the house I grew up in and it never ever got that dusty. As in it was like a line of blackish gray and I'm all like, hey Im hardly even ever in my room. I just freaking sleep here. Where the fuck did that come from? And so I vacuum, with my nice little vacuum thingy stuck to the wall like a suction cup (Nic! Are you proud of me yet?!?!?). I lined my shoes up in the hallway so that I could vacuum under my little closet rack. One of my heels was entirely covered in dust I actually had to vacuum it. I even tried to vacuum my quilt cover bec no matter how much pagpag and stuff I do its still got particles on it (Niiiic! how do I fix that?!?!). I could wash it... but I only own one quilt cover and I dont plan to change until the end of the month!!!
After vacuuming, I hung up my laundry and put in my other load of dark clothing including a sweater, a pair of jeans and a jacket. It was my first full load ever since usually I do half loads of lights and darks. Jojo once said to me, that you know that you're getting old when you and your friends have discussions about how to keep your house clean, as he discovered once when he was meeting up with old debate buddies in Singapore. They spent some time discussing the best cleaning substances. A few days ago I experienced something similar, when my Malaysian friends and I were discussing, of all things, clothing stains. And I said, with authority, that Napi-san (dont ask why its called that) was the best thing ever to take out stains. (Thank you Auntie Genie. Your domestic padawan is well taught) And I swear that it's true. You soak anything in that thing and when you take it out its all gone. Just like a tv commercial.
I then attempted to vacuum the hallway but for some reason the cord wouldnt stretch properly, it just kept getting caught in the corners so I didnt make it past the hallway in front of my room. (Sorry Handle. He has the room next to mine. Miki and Mike have the front room with the doggies) I have also now been told not to take 45 mintues in the shower - even if no one is waiting - not because its expensive (which is the filipino reason for everything, i have noticed, as I use that reason) but because of water conservation as in like, there's a water shortage. I have been told not to exceed 30 minutes. I don't really mind, except i use the shower to keep myself warm, you know, hot water... oh well.
After this, I intend to hang up my washing, take my 30 minute shower, go grocery shopping at Woolworths and come on back. I may treat myself to a 2nd hand book from berkelow's - I am rereading David Eddings and I am now regretting that I didnt bring my complete collection. How sad. At least with a 2nd hand book, I can sell it back... when I get my stuff sent. Then this afternoon I will apply for more jobs online, sort out the classes Im enrolling in, write my daddy-o and then hopefully take a nap before I meet Jojo for dinner. Jojo's dad brought some stuff mum sent, plus he's lending me a heater! Yaaay! After dinner were supposed to go to this party that some of my friends are having.
I've been spending a lot of time hanging around with my Winesoc friends - Laura (22, Montreal, Canada), Dan (21, Philadelphia, PA), Colin (21, San Juan Islands, WA) and then of course, Andee and Sacha. (click on the flickr for pictures) Unfortunately most of them are leaving at the end of the month as they are only exchange students. And yes, they're all young. Im like perpetually the oldest, so much so that last week, Dan, who is very nice and sweet and is one of two smart americans I know (Colin is the other one) but has that whole american thing where they dont know a lot about other parts of the world, but are very nice and appreciative about it when you tell them things, said, "I can't believe I have a friend who is 26! That's like, so old!". And he said that to me. And I was like, "Thanks, ha!" but him being Dan, you just dont get mad. He's a very nice boy and is very appreciative about learning. He is also engaged to his 19 year old girlfriend, Chas. Which kind of shocked the shit out of me the first time we met, because I couldnt believe he was engaged at such a young age (Dan reads this blog. Hi Dan!) but at the same time, it was kind of wow, because how many guys - or people, period - do you know that belive that they can already make that kind of commitment? (Also, their engagement will last until they finish university, so its up until 2009 or so, which gives them more time.)
Dan is Catholic and now I have someone to go to church with every Sunday. I almost fell asleep in the last mass. Laura is from Montreal and speaks french. She's taking psychology and this is her last semester. She is almost perpetually studying because of all the shit she's got to do, and she's the only one I know who has ever stayed in the library until the lights were shut off and you had to sort of feel your way out. Colin is from somewhere off the coast of washington and he sails and swims and does all these sporty things. He is an architecture and government student, also on his last semester. He has promised to take Laura and me sailing. I am supposed to borrow his wetsuit but since he is six feet tall or something I dont think it will fit. Laura and I have this idea of sailing where we just sit back and feel the wind in our faces and all that. Colin's idea of sailing is using those small boats where you actually have to do work and lean over and fix sails and stuff. Im willing to try everything at least once, it sounds like fun. I am, apparently supposed to dress like Im going to fall in the water, which is also apparently inevitable. All I can say is, Im glad I have a life jacket and Im glad that I learned how to swim beforehand and oh look, its probably freezing as its winter so... Go Me!
Sacha has been offered a scholarship in operations research for Cornell and she is currently thinking about whether to go or not. Of course, Andee and I are hoping she'll stay, but its really up to her. She was previously sort of dating this guy that looked just like Michael Vartan (Swear!) . He and Sacha cooked us pancakes the other day which were really good. I think we each had about four. They were actually more like crepes with ham and mushrooms and sauce and stuff. But no cheese, because Sacha hates cheese (have i mentioned that before?).
This Friday we are planning to go to Mamak n ight, with my Malaysian friends Natasha and Rosalyn. Its only $4 for a meal. On Saturday, Sacha and I are hoping to do the Bondi to Coogee walk. I hope I dont get tamad or have something else to do.
Let me end this journal entry by adding what my kickboxing instructor told me yesterday, "Larissa, you have to perfect technique but I just dont see the power. You need to be more aggressive." Hello! Someone tell my ex boyfriend! (Quick flashback to the time we got in a fight and I smashed his glasses because I couldnt move - I just laugh about this now, although sometimes I cringe remembering how immature I was - God Im so old now that I can say this!) And for the matter, someone tell the people in my office. Like the ones Ive come head to head in meetings with (Hello, Mahiar? Apparently Im not aggressive) or my dark evil bossie. I wonder if he'll believe it.
All things considered, Ive decided to take kickboxing more seriously, and get myself gloves when I have the money and practice at home as well. Anyway... its time to hang up the laundry.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Haven't got much time to post
Been very very busy what with moving to Leichhardt and academic stuff and all. Ive sort of put the job hunting on hold until I can sort out my exams, as I have a lot of projects and the like. Whoever said school in Australia would be easy was either lying or taking undergrad. Postgrad is no joke and so much work that we've even got americans saying that the workload is too much (these are americans from good universities...).
So short summary of what's happened so far
- I flunked a midterm, but its redeemable with the projects and a final. This is what you get for looking for a house instead of studying, but Im chalking that up to settling
- On the other hand, i passed and did actually do well (since passing was high in this case) my Entity Relationship Diagram Assignment for BIS, shock of my life. I spent a lot of time and consulted enough people on that damn thing, so Im glad I did it. Today I have to cram for the related quiz...
- Have moved to Leichhardt. (See notes below) The pictures are of my housemates cute doggies, Moses the Kelpie and Toby the Jack Russel who is blind and has a cute little dog tag that says "Be Kind Im Blind"
- Went to another Winesoc dinner, and have been hanging out with my Winesoc friends - aka we are United Colors of Benetton - more often. For more details on this and my friend Laura's 22nd (yes they are all so much younger), click on the flickr on the right hand side. I make no excuses for the penis balloon she made in my house. She did that one on her own. I have now hidden it under my bed in preparation for today's house inspection.
- I have successfully done my own laundry, all by myself! Go me! (nothing turned pink, too!)
- I am a starving student, literally. I am sick of instant pasta meals but I have no choice. I have to save money, because although Ive still got a healthy amount, most of it is going to go to rent and transpo over the next week or so. I will not be asking my mother for money (so no good intentioned people better mention it!) as she has this wonderful tendency to rub it back in my face when she feels like it, so here's hoping I get a job in July. In the meantime, Im eating peanut butter.
- My housemates are excellent cooks. Every night they have wonderful meals. And I have something sucky. :( oh well. And we need a non-stick pan.
- I met smart Americans! I have 2 friends now who are smart. And boys too (literally, as they are 21) People from where I used to work - they exist! (yep, im mean)
- We are having a house inspection today so my house is very very clean
- Apparently we have a literal cat burglar. The neighborhood cat sneaks into the house every now and then at night and turns things over and sleeps on the couch and messes up the food garbage.
- I have a quiz today and a quiz tomorrow and I left my marketing book on a bus and have to buy a second hand one for fifty bucks. Considering it cost 120 before its a bargain.
Must study for quiz now!!! More sometime soon, hopefully.....
So short summary of what's happened so far
- I flunked a midterm, but its redeemable with the projects and a final. This is what you get for looking for a house instead of studying, but Im chalking that up to settling
- On the other hand, i passed and did actually do well (since passing was high in this case) my Entity Relationship Diagram Assignment for BIS, shock of my life. I spent a lot of time and consulted enough people on that damn thing, so Im glad I did it. Today I have to cram for the related quiz...
- Have moved to Leichhardt. (See notes below) The pictures are of my housemates cute doggies, Moses the Kelpie and Toby the Jack Russel who is blind and has a cute little dog tag that says "Be Kind Im Blind"
- Went to another Winesoc dinner, and have been hanging out with my Winesoc friends - aka we are United Colors of Benetton - more often. For more details on this and my friend Laura's 22nd (yes they are all so much younger), click on the flickr on the right hand side. I make no excuses for the penis balloon she made in my house. She did that one on her own. I have now hidden it under my bed in preparation for today's house inspection.
- I have successfully done my own laundry, all by myself! Go me! (nothing turned pink, too!)
- I am a starving student, literally. I am sick of instant pasta meals but I have no choice. I have to save money, because although Ive still got a healthy amount, most of it is going to go to rent and transpo over the next week or so. I will not be asking my mother for money (so no good intentioned people better mention it!) as she has this wonderful tendency to rub it back in my face when she feels like it, so here's hoping I get a job in July. In the meantime, Im eating peanut butter.
- My housemates are excellent cooks. Every night they have wonderful meals. And I have something sucky. :( oh well. And we need a non-stick pan.
- I met smart Americans! I have 2 friends now who are smart. And boys too (literally, as they are 21) People from where I used to work - they exist! (yep, im mean)
- We are having a house inspection today so my house is very very clean
- Apparently we have a literal cat burglar. The neighborhood cat sneaks into the house every now and then at night and turns things over and sleeps on the couch and messes up the food garbage.
- I have a quiz today and a quiz tomorrow and I left my marketing book on a bus and have to buy a second hand one for fifty bucks. Considering it cost 120 before its a bargain.
Must study for quiz now!!! More sometime soon, hopefully.....
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.
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