Tropical Christmas

There's something about the festive season in Singapore that just doesn't feel right.

I think it's the singing of songs about snow whilst you're sweating from the heat and humidity.
Hearing about a "White Christmas" and listening to someone singing "Let it snow" really doesn't do much to provide relief from the heat either....

Mefloquine my dreams....

I've been taking Mefloquine for a few weeks now. It also goes by the name of "Larium". This anti-malaria drug seems to have a reputation that preceeds it.

My dreams and behaviour have been erratic to say the least.

Night time and sleep has brought about intense and bizarre dreams.

And during the day.... I've felt as though I have been behaving strangely. My brain feels inhibited. It's almost like there's a cloud hanging over my mind preventing me from thinking as clearly as I should. Over the last few days, slight nausea has also set in.

God I hope this awful feeling passes....

Wicked through and through!

I was in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago for work. I decided to change my flights afterwards and stay the weekend.

So, after all the work was done, I shifted myself out of the luxuriously comfortable digs I had been provided at the Stamford and moved myself to the less luxurious but still comfortable hostel I had been able to find online.

Growing up in Melbourne had been fun as a child. However, since adulthood, I had only been back to Melbourne once. I thought this would be a nice opportunity to see Melbourne properly as an independent adult.

I was very impressed.

Unlike Sydney, Melbourne is far easier to move around in. The combination of trains, buses and trams makes commuting a relatively easy issue. Heading to St Kilda beach from the middle of the city was an easy matter of jumping on a tram, unlike the train + walk or bus (that will likely end up in a traffic jam) option in Sydney.

The life in the city in Melbourne was also a surprise. Compared to Sydney, were many parts of the city die on the weekends, the city in Melbourne was bustling. There were cafes everywhere, people wandering around the shops and generally just using this as a place for socialising. I particularly liked the small arcades that seemed to branch out from all of the streets.

Another reason for staying the weekend in Melbourne was that I wanted to see "Wicked"!

This hit broadway musical was in Melbourne and I heard great things. I didn't want to pay the full price, so instead I lined up for the lottery and managed to score myself some $30 tickets!

The show was fantastic. I still have the songs floating around in my head. The cast even included Anthony Callea, Robert Mills and Bert Newton!

I finished off my trip visiting old friends and just enjoying the sites of Melbourne.

I wonder if I made the right choice moving to Sydney....

Everyone is so adult

It seems like only yesterday that Angus and I were fighting in the halls of our old boarding school and stealing Nutella from the sickbay by the jar....

Things are now certainly getting adult.

I made my way down towards Canberra for a big party.

One to celebrate his engagement.

Angus and Kirsty.

My old housemates were now FINALLY engaged.

I generally avoid going back to Canberra. But this was a different situation.

The parents were beaming and for once I didn't feel too bad being back in Canberra.
However, it is definitely a terrifying reminder of the continued passage of time....

Birthday.....

With my dear housemate turning the ripe old age of *bleep*, I thought it would be nice to remind him just how old he was by giving him a present that would help him reminisce about times gone.
Yup, I bought him "Passion Pop".

Oh, how long ago university days seem now......

How to ruin a bottle of Bollinger

Charlie and I decided to buy something for Angus since he was getting married and all.....

Charlie's finishing touches on the present probably detracted a little from the present itself....

The Cirque moves out of town

It was something that was going to happen.

I knew it was going to happen, but even with this expectation it was still hard to say goodbye.

After three months of Cirque fun, the party was over.

"Dralion" moved on as all good Cirque shows do and headed off towards Canberra.
It was a fantastic time.

I won't forget the fun I had and the friends I made.

But I am still left incredibly sad by it all.

This brief time is finished and it is even more depressing to know that it won't ever return.
Thankfully I have some great memories from the experience.

Moonlighting in the Sun

Working two jobs hasn't been easy.

The hours have been crazy and rushing from one job to the one at night has left me fairly tired.

It's worth it though. After all, Cirque du Soleil is a great place to have fun!

It's also been good to see some old faces.
My old boss from "Varekai" had shifted over to "Dralion", so once again, he was bossing me around and telling me what to do.
Just wandering around the site is a good experience with all of the music and the colours creating a constant cheer.
I even had a better uniform this year than the last with the logo having being enlarged.
Jeff was on "Dralion" too! He was one of the old "Varekai" crew as well.
Moonlighting with Cirque du Soleil is a tiring experience.

But it's definitely worth it.

Course of Chinese

I've been taking Chinese in my spare time.

My Mandarin is awful so I decided a while back that it needed improving.

Slowly but surely I'm making progress. It isn't much progress.... but it's still something.

After an entire semester with the same class, our teacher was going home to Beijing.

She had been fantastic to all of us. She had put in lots of extra work and taken a genuine care in our development.

We needed to say goodbye to her properly.
A nice dinner was what was needed.

And since she was going back to China, we decided against more Chinese food.
Instead, we went with Spanish. We couldn't really think of anything less Chinese. It seemed fitting enough....

Festimagik

A bit of time off meant an opportunity for a party in the Tapis Rouge!
Bruno and I decided to get into the fun.

Everyone was there!

Cirque du Soleil seems to bring the fun out of everyone.
Ushers galore!

How much do I love Cirque du Soleil?

So much that I'm moonlighting with them.

"Dralion" is in Sydney, and I'm working for them at nights and on weekends.

Kristina and Anderson strike a pose!

And then Kristina by herself.

While Michael demonstrates his powers as "Cirque du Soleil Man".
This really is the greatest job in the world!!!

Stuff this whole lawyer gig, I want to run away with the Cirque!

Working to the top

It's probably going to take me longer before I actually reach the top.

However, at the moment I'm fairly close in a literal sense. I'm sitting on the top floor of the building after all.
The views of Sydney are a nice distraction for when I pull my head up from the computer.

No One

Whoo!!!

I'm going to the Alicia Keys concert!!!
It may be like 4 months away... but who cares!? I'm going!!!!

Timmy's Birthday

Tim turned 21 the other day.

As is customary, a 21st b'day present was in order.

I was completely stumped though. I couldn't thinking of anything fitting for him.

That is until I stumbled onto a nice little serving tray that I found at a market.
It was perfect!

After all, it's shiny, nice looking and pays homage to Tim's alcoholism and love of gin!

The Olympics

I find it difficult to describe the level of disdain I have for the Olympics.

As an event and spectacle, I don't think it matches the ideals that it was originally created for. Rather it has become another large scale corporate event.

What I find most disturbing of all is the amount of money that many countries will spend on hosting the Olympics. They will throw billions of dollars towards the constructions of sporting facilities that very often go to waste once the games are finished (Sydney and it's "white water rafting" facilities spring to mind....) whilst other things such as health, education and basic public infrastructure are allowed to continually decay.

So every Olympic year, I personally boycott watching or caring about anything to do with the Olympics.

However, this year things were complicated by the presence of a friend who would be competing.... so a slight exception would have to be made when they raced.....

Even more disturbing was that I found myself watching the Opening Ceremony.

.... what a terrible waste.....

I tend to think that what the great Stephen Colbert had to say about the Olympics seems to ring increasingly true:

"The Olympics began in perversion: greased up naked men slapping hot sweaty body parts against one another's taut and hairless flesh in pursuit on victory, like Chippendale's dancers at an after-hours party. And the tradition of perversion continues - because as an international athletic competition, the Olympics are a warped, watered-down version of the only worthy contest between nations: war."

Know your onion

I think city living is starting to get to me.

A few weeks ago, I was doing a clean out of the kitchen when I found that one of the onions had sprouted.

.... so I decided to plant it.

Now, I was lacking a garden to plant my onion.

But thankfully, Peter's previous attempts at horticulture had failed. The wollomi pine sapling he had been given had failed to thrive on our balcony.

I decided that this pot would be perfect for my onion.
.... I wonder when I'll be harvesting.....

Buzzzzzz

I love the letters I get from Connie!

It's always great to hear about how she, Kev and little Kaela are doing in Canada, but it's also fantastic to see the cool and funky ways she decides to send the letters.
This time it came in bee form.

World Youth Day '08

Pilgrims.... so many pilgrims.... pilgrims everywhere.....
Whilst many in Sydney were complaining about the disruptions caused on their day to day lives, I have to say that I found their presence to be really uplifting.

Even walking to work, I'm cheered by their happiness and singing!
Phil and I decided to go out and have a look at the opening of the festivities at Darling Harbour.
Whilst walking around, we managed to make our way to the Cathedral.
Both of us jumped for joy!
Walking around Hyde Park, we found the merchandise shop!
How cool are the hats!!!!
Whooooooo!!!!!

World Youth Day!!!!!!!

Mid-Year Hilarity

It really doesn't seem even remotely possible that I have been a working schlub for almost half a year....

And yet here I find myself.

.... one of the masses.

.... another member of the great horde.

Thankfully, my position at work comes with some perks.

One of which was a nice trip to meet the other national new starters for some mid-year training.

We were all placed in a nice hotel and told to be nice to one another whilst learning how to be better at what it is we do... whatever that may be....

Three days in Cronulla.

Three days in THE SHIRE!

The first thing we did after arriving at the hotel was head off on a nice cruise around the region.

It was lovely way for us all to mingle and get in some of the sights. The sun was shining and the temperatures were up.
From our hotel room balconies, we had a stunning view of the sun setting off in the distance.

The Western Australians would later comment that these hotel rooms were particularly nice for them as they had never seen the sun rise over the ocean!
As the days' training dragged on, most of us looked forward to the night. Then we would be allowed to let loose a bit and have a bit of fun.

The local club "Northies" would be very useful in helping us achieve this goal.

.... and as the night wore on, we felt the need to protect ourselves from the paparazzi.

Now I'm a LAWYER

It was a big day for me.

It was a VERY big day (not just because it was the 4th of July)!

Six years in the coming really.....

I was being admitted to the Courts as a legal practitioner.

It was the day I became a lawyer!!!

My brother thought it would be hilarious to take a photo of me posing next to where many believe the legal profession belongs.

But soon the whole family was all lined up smiling before we entered into the Banco Court for my admission ceremony.

The ceremony was quickly over though and I soon found myself feeling different, feeling as though I had somehow grown up a little (at least in the eyes of the law....)

I headed downstairs to sign the roll.

Glancing down the list of names, I noticed that I was still very much one of the younger people being admitted.
My brother was clearly becoming bored of his role as the designated cameraman for the day.

He decided that a more "abstract" look at the day was more appropriate.
Hmmmm....
The boredom wasn't subsiding.
But eventually all of the formalities were over and we all found ourselves outside of the Court on a rainy Sydney day.
I was now a LAWYER!