Me in the Pocky hat made by one of the attendees. That's the cloakroom behind me where people check in stuff like bags and weapons, as in like the giant stuff that's carried around by the FF people.  

This is a fuzzy picture of one of the Cosplay manager dressed as Totoro, one of my favorite characters from the Hiyao Miyazaki film, "My Neighbor Totoro". It took him 3 months to sew the costume and he once took it to Melbourne for a convention and had to pay extra to fit it in a special taxi because it was too big!!!  

I have no idea who this creature is. People put a lot of effort in their costumes. One of the best ones I saw was the Final Fantasy tribute which had 6 FF couples (as in Cloud, etc) waltzing in full costume. One girl worked on her costume - a puffy dangerous liason like ballgown since January. They won best act, which they really deserved. 

This is the panty monster from all the hentai movies. (What's hentai? Ahhh. look it up.) He used tubes and yes, that is lingerie attached as wings.  

One of the events at the animania festival is called Cosplay, where people get dressed up in costumes of their favorite characters. This one is a friendly moose. People actually make their own costumes, it was amazing. 

This weekend I staffed the animania show. This is me wearing my borrowed fuschia cat ears. I regret forgetting to take a camera (twice) although considering the lighting I think my camera did ok 

Last night, the Wests Tigers won the National Rugby League Championships. By default due to my suburb they have become my team despite the fact that I do not follow the sport but sort of my default know how it goes due to us selling tickets to the games for work. Although its cool that they won, I still firmly maintain that despite the fact that there are many suburbs in the wests (thus the plural) there is something grammatically incorrect about Wests Tigers. 

Mangoes

I meant to update last week with whatever new adventures I'd had but I was so busy. This will be, in case you can't already tell, a very long entry to make up for that.

Today I got a forward that was just the right thing I needed to hear: "You may be going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith."

I woke up this morning computing my expenses for the month. Strangely enough the Australian Consulate is correct when it says you need an average of 1200 dollars a month to stay alive in this country. I discovered this the hard way, when I got taxed (given that once I am taxed I don't end up with the suggested amount monthly). I seriously think my tax is wrong. I've talked to several people - none of whom are tax experts, just various team leaders/co-employees - and some say yes, you're getting taxed too much, some say no, you're getting taxed that high because you're international. I'm calling the tax office tom to make sure, because Andee doesnt appear to get taxed that high and this whole tax thing is making me feel very bad. It works out that I'm living from paycheck to paycheck and that I can't save. I don't want to do that. I need to be able to save and pay for additional expenses.

By the way, in case you didn't already know, I work for a call centre company and this is our client

I went to see an ulcer doctor this week, and he explained what exactly was wrong with me. Apparently the muscles in the bottom of my esophagus are weak, and the way it goes is that when the acid from my stomach bounces up, its supposed to close but it doesn't, because they're weak. Since the inside of the esophagus isnt lined the way the stomach is, its like skin, i get burnt. So I have to take medicine twice a day to allow the acid to abate and let my esophagus heal. If I dont take care of it, it could get worse and then I would end up having to have my esophagus stretched (Don't ask). Its also not the average ulcer/gastritis that is caused by bacteria. Its called acid reflux and like the rest of my diseases its permanent but manageable. He assured me that I would be able to eat spicy food with medicine (like Im going to try anytime soon though) and worried that it was possible that I had been undertreated at home, although the availability of drug brands at home might be the reason for this.

Also went to see Merchants of Bollywood, with my friend Rose as well as Sacha, her housemates Kartini and Lisa and their friends. They had bought tickets, but I got free tickets thanks to work! (Yaaay!) It was very entertaining and colorful. Had lots of fun. Last night Jojo, Sacha and I also saw the movie Murderball which was about the US paralympic wheelchair rugby team. I thought it would be depressing and strange but it was great, and inspiring besides. They play rugby with wheelchairs that look like they have viking sheilds attached to the wheels and slam into each other and tip over and stuff. It was great. I highly recommend it.

I worked full time this week because of the holiday. Thursday we started selling season packages for the Australian Open, and Saturday we started selling single season tickets. The men's championship date was sold out before I even came in at 12noon, and this is considering we started selling them at 9. The thing is, to me that's expected, not only because I work for a ticketing agency but because you're competing for tickets with people all over the world, that's a big thing, and its logical. Which is why I could not understand people calling me at 6pm on the same day expressing shock, or asking for tickets in the lower foreground in the front. Hello. It's the Australian Open. It's tennis. People are fanatic about sport - like the American who called the day before to make sure he got the dates and times right, I had to run a time zone conversion from him and he said he'd call from the golf course the next day. That is commitment to sport and I hope he got tickets.

This week I cooked char-grilled chicken with mango salsa (all while chatting with
sanshine_butete) which is actually not as complicated as it seems, its all in the sauce and if you can find fresh mangoes. This week I am thinking of cooking pork or beef or mustard style chicken. (Woman's Weekly cookbooks rule!) I also bought a new cookbook. I would cook more, but its hard to find the time, and I get sawa easily, because the portions are so big, so it takes me a few weeks to finish one meal - I'm still eating my cheese fritatas up to now, I had 6, I ate 2 a week, Im finishing it this week.

I found a great recipe for my ricotta and mistakenly purchased cottage cheese, which involves pasta shells and baking, but I've got so much leftover sauce from last week (as in like more than half a tupperware) I've got to finish that first. Im trying not to eat so heavy, so that tupperware is going to take a while. I was thinking of using it as sauce but its already got beef and mushrooms in it so that will end up being too heavy.

Sacha and I were supposed to take the train to Canberra this weekend, but the 6am train was sold out and the next one left at 12 and got there at 4, so never mind. I got myself a new book on the history of africa, which I was meaning to wait for next payday for, because I worked extra hours this week, but it was sold out in most stores, borders had 9 left and the publisher wouldnt be getting them till at least mid october so I went and got it in case it disappeared. Im a nerd like that. I have a list of books in my head that I am going to ask my relatives for for Christmas. In exchange, I believe the next person who comes here will have to bring everyone's Christmas gifts, I know what to get them all, straight from Manila where its cheaper!

Ive been spending a lot of time on my groupwork, just reading and reading all the stuff I'm supposed to be writing for the various projects I need to do. I have one group which is really good, we're all working hard and we have a good leader, one group where we're all working individually and I think we'll come together in the end but so far none of us have done much and my last group where we're trying hard but its one of those cases where I have groupmates that are really nice and trying really hard to understand but... Let's just say that it has further encouraged me to study mandarin. I have always meant to but its becoming apparent that I seriously need to study mandarin. Now.

I am learning many things about different cultures through these groupwork experiences, plus a lot of things about me. Like I never knew I had all these filipino traits that I never thought I had. The articles I have read for class are true, your cultural traits become more apparent when you are outside your cultural context or country. For instance, my american groupmate has probably no idea that if I didnt have enough experience with americans I would probably perceive him as arrogrant or even aggressively determined because he's so task oriented, etc. Or I had no idea that the filipino concept of "hiya" existed in me until I came to this country. Or that the collective vs individualist concept (thinking of the good of the group vs thinking of yourself) is so true, in the sense of asian vs western. For example in work. In my old job, if you had a problem and someone else could help you with it, even if they were talking to a customer, etc. they'd help you out, because essentially it was for the good of the group. In my new work, we're not allowed to do that. Work on it by yourself, focus on your own call, even if it was handled by a diff person previously and you need their input. It sometimes requires a certain amount of adjustment, but all in all, its very interesting, when you notice the cultural differences.

Last weekend Sacha performed with her capoiera group at the Newtown food and wine festival. I have never seen such a variety in my life. I had African snacks with lentils in them and they were very good. (I may have mentioned before that I discovered I liked lentils in this country) I also found friands for 90c each that were amazing! This was where I found the 3 for 5 dollar mangoes at a thai booth, which were very sweet and uber hinog (ie overly ripe). My dad says that the Australian govt doesnt really allow for the export of mangoes into the country because of strict quarantine laws and i suppose general paranoia about tropical diseases. He also made fun of me paying $5 for mangoes. (Thanks, dad.) My uncle assures me that they should be able to grow them in Darwin, although he has a mango tree in his backyard in Sydney that does not bear fruit due to the climate. I never really thought I would ever miss mangoes, but strangely enough I do. I think its the accessibility that I used to have that I cant get used to not having - literally turn the corner and there's some dude selling mangoes - but here, even the weekend markets dont have them, or if they do its rare. And even if i've always loved bananas and apples more, much to my mother's consternation, a philo without mangoes is just well, it just doesnt seem right!

I'm looking forward to the holidays, I am hoping to go somewhere local, even if its just Brisbane or maybe even Tassie or what the heck, Melbourne again. I was originally supposed to come home for a visit in February but that's looking fuzzy, in which case I am all right with staying here and working full time until school starts. At least Im earning. I have resolved to contemplate more on these things once school ends for the summer. In the meantime, its been getting sunnier and I've been able to - shock of my life - wear sleeveless again. Go Me!

This is a picture of Sacha being attacked by the umbrella.  

Amal brought Sacha a selection of turkish pastries. By the time we got to this we were all too full to attempt an after dessert snack.  

Sacha's menu: Roast Beef appetizer with Salad, Veal with Mushroom sauce, and three desserts: Homemade strawberry ice cream, apple crumble and this: Upside down cake. The Best!!! 

This little hearthrob is the son of Sacha's colleague Amal, they are from Egypt. Him and his siblings had a lot of fun running around and providing entertainment for us the whole night. 

Kartini, Luke and Yang eating dinner. Kartini is Sacha's housemate who is Indian/Indonesian, Luke is in physics with Sacha and is Aussie, Yang is Sacha's piano partner and is from China. 

Helping prep the Apple crumble at Sacha's Housewarming Dinner, aka United Colors of Benetton. It was a very international party!  

Princess Ivy and The Last Time I Did Something for the First Time

Once Upon a Princess

Ivy was here about two weeks ago. I've known Ivy from training back at work. She's moved on to bigger things and I'm here. She mentioned she wanted to come and visit and tried to time the trip to coincide with her birthday (Aug 22nd). Having Ivy here was great. it was nice to see someone from home and have great conversation and good food. In accordance with her request, I took her out to eat quite frequently. She had the best pizza and pancakes, and together we discovered a new restaurant in Newtown called South, where we tried Spatchcock, a small roasted chicken stuffed with risotto and herbs, with accompanying cheese dip. It was amazing. (pictures below. they are in reverse order, so start from the bottom!)

After the first day, Ivy earned the nickname "Princess", which I found really funny because it kind of reminded me of how I was and how I am now. The differences from Manila and here, which I always knew, became suddenly apparent in little ways. For example, the first few days I was forever cleaning up. I made the bed, like I do every morning, and I put the clothes away, the things that normally I used to leave behind. It got so that Ivy started calling me Mommy. Then she started cleaning up, too. There was also the fact that Ivy was always late and like a true Manila girl had no sense of time management. I can't say that Ive become an expert now that Im here but I think I've improved somewhat. That's not to say I wasn't late myself, or that Ivy was able to calculate the range of distance that needed to be traveled over time, which is something you cant really do unless you've lived here for a while. This made for hilarious results such as "I think I've just missed the Bondi Explorer." or "How far is ____ to ____" and "I'll be there in ten minutes" when it was actually thirty...

We had loads of fun, she did a lot of things on her own, like the blue mountains, the bondi explorer, the bridge climb, the zoo and by the end of the week she was an expert on train, bus and ferry taking. In the end I somehow managed to convince her to consider the Australia option vs Canada, which i argued would be too cold - she wore 6 layers on the ferry here, and I only wore about three - besides she didnt know too many people there, either.

Ivy and Sacha got along really well, they played the piano together and we ate out a lot. On her last night here, Ivy and I met up with Andee and ate at the most horrible restaurant in Leichhardt, which we went to because it was always full. It was completely horrible. Dry food, and nothing special for the price. Not a wide selection either. Why there are so many people, I have no idea.

The day she left, I took her to the airport and got her some Oporto (local fastfood that sells roast chicken and chicken burgers) to take home, as she'd been wanting to try it all week. Then I went home and spent nine hours watching season 4 of alias. (Sigh.)

The Need for Speed

Sometime ago, after chatting with a friend of mine on the internet, we brought up the topic of Speed Dating. He had tried it before and found it fun. He didnt meet anyone that interested him romantically, but he had so much fun he recommended it. So Sacha and I decided to give it a go. We signed up, and were supposed to be joined by Jojo but he tried to sign up too late and it was full by the time he got in. Last night was one of the funniest experiences I've ever had.

The way speed dating works is like this. You sit on a chair and you all have numbers and a card. I was number 12, Sacha was number 11. So a guy sits down, you talk for 7 minutes, then the bell rings and he gets up, leaves and the next one comes along. At the end of the night, you check the numbers on your Match Card corresponding to the ones you like, and if they also checked their cards, its called a "mutual match" and you get their email address/they get given yours so that you can meet up.

I didn't get any mutual matches (sacha had two), but it didnt matter because I had so much fun and we made new friends among the girls. Aside from that, the consensus that no one there attracted us romantically. They were all friends material, so all the ones I checked were potential friends.

When the whole thing was over, we all met up in the bathroom to talk about the guys. There was only one remotely cute guy in the group and I think i may have scared him because of my discussion on how I thought that Aussie guys didnt do anything but try to make girls laugh and couldnt maintain serious conversations. I did tell him he was funny though.

There was this one guy who was so nervous he was shaking so much - everyone commented on that - I had to say, its okay, dont be so nervous (pat, pat), you should smile more. There was this indian guy who said "Kumusta" and said boldly, "Do you Like Me!" and I said, "uhm, I think we could be friends". He later told sacha, "I think you need to gain weight." (Helloooo!!!) There was this arrogant law student who was publishing a book on political parties, was a serial speed dater and was so full of himself. We talked a bit about harry potter and later on as he left he said "See you soon, its nice to meet people that read" and I didnt check him because, well he was full of himself.

There was this trio of crazy italian guys who were sober when they started but got funnier and flirtier as they went along. One of them asked me out, I said, "Maybe!" and I didn't think he was serious. He reminded me so much of the boys back at home, like an old friend who made me laugh. There was a french guy (who matched with Sacha) who I spoke to about futbol, because no one likes futbol in this country. There was a guy in a pink shirt who was funny but I thought was gay, an english guy who was a bookie and was only in the country for three weeks and who disappeared after the break, a guy who worked with weather satellites and one who was doing a postgraduate study on aging.

After the event, Sacha and I went out with our new friend, Rose, who is a primary school teacher planning to go to Africa in the next year or so to teach there. We had spanish tapas and talked about relationships, the difficulty in making friends once you're older and travel and generally all sorts of things. It was fun. We are making arrangements with Rose and her friend Megan to watch Mechants of Bollywood. Rose also talked about another speed dating agency that customizes things according to your interests and they have different ones with activities, and dates with cuisines, etc. Sacha and i agreed that it would be fun to give it another go sometime in the future, but not too soon. It was a great laugh.

Ivy's favorite picture. The array of gelati at the Manly Ferry Terminal. She had Gelati everyday.  

Me and the shopping. The only thing thats mine is one borders bag and my little backpack. The rest is all hers. I'd put up the picture of Ivy in a bikini in the dressing room of Roxy, but she considers it porn. 

Ivy on Manly Beach. After shopping. I got her the pink scarf for her birthday. To match her pink puffy jacket. And her pink bag (not in picture!)  

Me and Ivy on the ferry to Manly! 

Ivy and Me at Hugo's Pizza Bar, King's Cross. And yes, that's a trashy romance novel.  

Sacha attacks Jojo in anger, as he has ordered pizza with chunks of cheese that she can't eat! (Sacha hates cheese) 

Jojo's Revenge! 

At the State Theatre before watching "The Bar at Buena Vista" featuring the Buena Vista Social Club and many others. Fantastic music. (I bought the cd) The best performers were between the ages of 70-80. They were excellent! 

This is the Arroz ala Cubana I cooked for our lunch. Yes, I can cook.  

The ferry where Ivy left my book. She had this funny tendency to leave stuff on public transport. First she left my digital camera on a bus and we traced it to burwood, which concluded in a hilarious adventure of walking, walking, missing a bus stop, discovering sydney had more than one river (i didnt notice...), seeing pretty houses in cabarita and finally, finding a camera that would have been lost in the philippines in five seconds. 

Sacha and Ivy at Lowenbrau, the German beer place (if I say beer garden it means something else, to me at least.) for after birthday drinks. She had a nice beer and I had some schnappes. And more dessert. 

Princess Ivy and Me at the Sydney Opera House. This was Ivy's first day, which as promised, I began by taking her walking, walking and more walking.