Tuesday, July 27, 2004

You see, that is just like you Harry. You say things like that and you make it impossible for me to hate you. And I hate you Harry... I really hate you.
Tonight, I watched the OC for the first time since everyone's been raving about it like it's the new Dawson's Creek but I thought it was awful. I don't know if I can learn to appreciate it - or whether I even want to give it another chance. I guess it's just not my style.

Anyway, what's been the happs? I guess I've just been doing some catch-ups since I got back and got off my ass..

FRIDAY
* Met up with Melicious Friday arvo for half an hour of coffee (I don't know what she was doing - she previously had an almost 2 hour lunch!)
* Ran into Danny J on Martin Place on his regular 4o'clock smoke break
* Bus'd it down to Central to meet Vin and Al (and Merv). Had drinks at Star City and re-hyped ourselves up for Hawaii! Then they went to dinner and I found out I couldn't come
* ... so I tram'd it back to Central a little earlier than scheduled to meet up with Llewol. Told him my 'How to Wait' theory and he told me his shoe theory
* Had dinner with Jas, Lily, Kev, Minh and Mindy at good ol' Superbowl
* Trekkkkd it over to V-Bar for some guy named Andy's Birthday party. Had a few drinks... had to give my 'rinsed down Vodka' to the birthday boy because I couldn't down it
* Got a ride home from Kev and did not fulfill my shotgun duties

SATURDAY
Was Mindy's 21st Birthday Party @ Hotel CBD. Was a fun night overall, from what I remember. I was a little bit more-than-tipsy so I let a little su'thin slip. Mindy was beautiful - she didn't even have that worn out look when the party was over. Kudos to Melicious for the ride up and the KFC afterwards :)

SUNDAY
* Decided to go to Melbourne this weekend
* Caught up with the Camarines' at their new house

So, I'm back at work now. My manager didn't waste any time in getting me back into the swing of things. I was hoping for a bit of idle time before they threw anything new at me. But I'm coping, I'm coping...

CONCLUSION
At the end of my first week back... I've decided that many things have not changed.

Thank you and good night.

Thursday, July 22, 2004

RANDOM US MEMORIES
... triggered by the hoodness in last post's comments

Our matching GAP outfits


My digi-cam is currently out of order because somehow, on my last night in NY, the LCD screen broke. I think I mentioned that last post. Something else that almost broke my heart was that - on one of my millions of trips to the bathroom that night (Veed told me I went a lot... to pee not to throw up) - when I went to look at the pictures on my camera (a little buzzed mind you), I realised my memory card was gone! By then, it was time for us to depart. I reported the missing memory card to my cousins outside and they sent Ryan and Veed back in to look for it. I don't know HOW it happened, but they managed to find it on the floor with the help of the club's security. Lucky.

The most embarrassing that happened (it'd probably top my throwing up in Macca's Florida) was in New York after Veed and I roamed around the city for a bit. We'd met up with Mel after she finished work. It was pouring rain - this is when I bought the $5 umbrella - so we retreated to a bar on 6th Ave and 57th St. We were standing around, Mel and I had a drink in hand and Veed was holding onto Mel's sweater. Veed decided to leave us for a bit because she wanted to check out the store across the street. What she didn't realise was that she had left Mel's sweater in the bar. So Mel and I did what you'd expect of us and hid the sweater so she'd think she lost it when she gets back. When Veed came back and realised it was missing, she told the waitress. Meanwhile, Mel and I are pretending to look for it, trying to contain our laughter. Suddenly, the bar manager came up to me all worried. He was all "Are you sure you don't have it? I gave it to you when you sat down! Maybe it's in your bag" and he pointed for me to check my bag. Of course, when I opened it, it was there and I laughed about how forgetful I must have been. I was so embarrassed. What I realised after was that Mel had bolted to the bar when she saw the bar manager coming toward us - she was gonna leave me to deal with this on my own! Ass... thaaaaaaanks Mel.

I think I have a hearing deficiency because no matter how hard I try, I can't WHISPER. I don't think I could count on my two hands how many times someone would hit me because I was talking to loud. So, I'm sorry for embarrassing anyone... I'm just incapable of whispering.

RANDOM QUESTIONS
... from the US trip plus some

* Do you have sausage or bacon and egg mcmuffins from Macca's?

* Would you rather end up with someone the traditional way (meet, date, fall in love...) or would you rather end up with your best friend (think 'When Harry Met Sally', 'Love and Basketball', 'Brown Sugar')?

* (hi Jay-Z) "You can't turn a bad girl, good; but once a good girl's gone bad, she's gone forever" - true or false?

* Do you believe in destiny/fate? Or do you think that we're in total control of the final outcome of our lives?

MY DAYS...

* So I haven't left my house since coming back from Parramatta on Tuesday afternoon. Is that a bit sad? I don't know, I'm trying to make the most of this home alone doing nothing time because it's all going to go back to routine next week.

* I've been trying SO HARD to adjust my sleeping patterns. Tuesday night I managed to sleep after 10pm which I was happy about. Last night I had to sleep at 9.30pm because I couldn't take it anymore. Both sleeps resulted in me waking up at 4am ugh. This afternoon I slept for 3 hours from 5pm because it was 3am NJ time and that's what time I'd usually fall asleep. Let's hope I can fall asleep tonight yes?

* Tomorrow I'm going into the city for the first time. I think I'm meeting up with the girls for some after work catching ups. Then we'll let the night run itself. Saturday night is Mindy's 21st bash at Hotel CBD which should be fun!

Ok that's it. Bye.

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

It's never fun coming back home to Australian Winter from three weeks of US Summer. I've never done it before but I imagine it can't feel much better than this right?

Now I really don't think ya'll wanna hear the play by play on the last 3 weeks right? So I'm gonna see if I can break it down for you a little.

I'VE DONE IT BEFORE BUT IT WAS MY FIRST TIME
... I travelled to LA and New Jersey alone
... I really got homesick - yeh I missed everyone much for the first few days
... Veed and I travelled parentless
... We stayed in LA
... We went to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica (can't say it's as glamour as the world may think)
... I travelled with a credit card (eeks!)
... I was there in the Summer
... We went down to Rutgers University and stayed in New Brunswick
... I took on the streets of New Jersey behind the wheel
... I panicked on the road when I missed the GSP exit on Route 4
... I had int'l roaming and took my mild aussie missage out on the bill
... We went to New York unaccompanied and did the tourist thing
... We saw the 4th of July fireworks from South Street seaport
... We had a car towed on us - cost us $US200 to get back!
... We went to South Florida
... I saw lizards roaming around like ants... ew
... I went to different beaches three days in a row
... I went to a beach at all!
... We went clubbing in Florida
... I got plastered (ripped, hammered... drunk)
... I threw up in a McDonald's parking lot
... I used an e-ticket - they're so convenient!
... I bought an umbrella to run across the street and realise the rain stopped
... We had Gray's Papaya hotdogs
... Veed and I got our belly's pierced
... We relaxed in the 'pretty part' of Central Park
... We had Chinese at midnight in New York
... We went clubbing in New York
... I broke my digi-cam's LCD screen
... We lost luggage on the way home

LOCATION CREDITS
* Venice Beach
* Hollywood Walk of Fame
* Santa Monica Pier/Beach

* Rutgers University, New Brunswick
* Garden State Plaza
* Times Square
* South Street Seaport, East River New York

* Margate, South Florida
* Pompano Beach
* Las Olas, Ft. Lauderdale Beach
* Iguana Bar, Ft. Lauderdale
* Miami SouthBeach
* Opium, Miami
* Mizner Park
* City Place, West Palm Beach

* Applebees, Benningtons, Int'l Buffet
* Menlo Park Mall, Woodbridge Mall, Jersey Gardens
* Greenwich Village
* Central Park
* Hop Kee, Chinatown New York
* Club Mission, New York

THE PLAYLIST
* Usher - Burn
* Usher - Confessions Pt I and II
* Alicia Keys ft. Usher - If I Ain't Got You
* Kevyn Little - Turn Me On
* Lloyd ft. Ashanti - Southside
* Jay-Z - Song Cry
* <forgot> - Dude

OBSERVATIONS
* The population is quite... rude
* I love when service staff say "You're Welcome"
* They mix v concentrated drinks
* The boys are much more forthcoming and sleazy
* Dancing = Grinding
* It's okay to wear almost clothes in the mall
* Miami people are very sexy

I miss the cousins.



... That's all I can think of right now. I'll add more as I think of them yes. Bye!

*editEXTRAedit*
Update on the luggage situation: Apparently, we're getting our box of pasalubong's this afternoon. Veed's suitcase is en route to Melbourne for some reason so we should get that some time later this week. Bye!

Friday, July 16, 2004

On the home stretch now...
 
Two and a half more days...
Flying out on Sunday arvo, touching down Tuesday morning...
 
I'm ready to go...
But I'm gonna miss it here hard...
*sigh*
 
Have fun this weekend kids!

Friday, July 09, 2004

I've NEVER been blind drunk...

Until last night...

They hurt ten times more here:
- It hits you harder,
- You remember less,
- It makes you sicker,
- The hangover kills,
- You feel dumber,
- It lasts longer,
- You regret it more...

I don't even know how I'm awake now... My head is still spinning... OUCH!

Lots and lots of water... bye.

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Alisa reminded me that it's been a while since I blogged.
How long has it been? A week? Not so bad... that's my frequency even when I'm in Sydney sometimes.

Anyway, I'm having a terrific time here! Don't want to bore you all with the details but...
* I've probably gone to Garden State Plaza a kazillion times - this is apparently the biggest mall in... some geographical enclosure. I know the place almost inside out. I've spent so much money... It's so sad.

* I've done a looooot of bonding with the cousins. I say this all the time, but I hate that they're so far away - it really does make the time we have together pretty exciting.

* I spent my first afternoon in NJ (last Tuesday) at my cousin Jen's apartment by her college. We walked down "Frat Row" which is a street where all the Fraternities and Sorority houses are... it's SO like the movies! I even took a picture of a frat house... how loser!

* I watched Spiderman 2 at midnight on the 1st July with the cousins, pretty good movie - for what I saw. I fell a sleep some because my sleeping patterns are still a bit abnormal.

* Had dinner at a sushi place - y'know they don't put chicken in their sushi here? When Veed and I asked for Chicken Teriyaki sushi, my cousins looked at my VERY confused! Their sushi rolls are a little exciting... I didn't even know what was in them but they all tasted pretty awesome. When Jen joined us (she came from a late class), she ALMOST ate a roll we made which was stuffed with wasabi. That was pretty slack... but y'know.

* Spent some time with the grandparents... life's so lonely when you're old, I'm glad I got to stick around with them for a bit.

* Veed and I were let loose in New York City yesterday (4th July). Our uncle dropped us off and we wandered around a bit. We don't know where to go so we ended up walking some pretty ghetto streets before realising that the life of the city was in the totally opposite direction to where we were walking. We took some pictures at Times Square, roamed around looking like tourists with a video camera... and Veed picked up a guy at AT&T Wireless! She bought a new sim and he told her to make a test phone call... to his phone! So y'know... if we weren't punces... hehe. We took the A train downtown and found ourselves a nice seat facing the East River. We sat there for around 3 hours before the fireworks started. Ok, we're no American, but the energy, the life, the ambience of the place was exhilerating. The fireworks were amazing too! Hands down the best day of the trip so far!

* Forked out $US200 because the car I parked got towed (OUCH!). Yes, I've been driving! It was a bit awkward at first, but I've gotten so used to it... driving on their highways, on the opposite side of the road, toward the left side of the lane... it was tricky!

At the moment, it's almost 3am on Tuesday the 6th July. In just over 24 hours, Veed and I will be boarding a plane to Florida. We're going down with 3/4 of the cousins we have up here to explore the Florida summer. I LOVE SUMMER!

Anyway, we're hoping to check out the club scene in Miami, get crazy black... and crazy crunk! I'm so excited!

Sometimes I don't feel like I've left the country. Some kids have been e-mailing me over the past week, keeping me up to date with the goings on in Sydney. It's really nice because I felt so homesick at the beginning of this trip. The wonders of technology aye... I'm e-mailing like I'm sitting at my desk at work and they're somewhere nearby about to make lunch plans!

Oh and mad YEAH-HEYs to Minh and Nix who have scored jobs (for later and for now, respectively)!

Ok... love you all. See you soon...