Alive and Kicking in Sydney

After a 14.5 hour train ride down east coast Australia, I finally arrived in Sydney last night. The hostel is much like a dorm...and then some for better and for worst (more on that later). Unfortunately, I don't have wireless here, so I had to purchase an internet voucher at the hostel to use their desktop CPU. Derek, it's pre-paid so DON"T TRIP! Stay tuned for short and sweet posts in the days to come!

Today will be the touristy stuff...I'll post later on that.

Sorry there are no pics/vids...

Cheers!

Asian Tourist Lost in Oz...

To help Sam build his photography portfolio I posed for a couple of shots...hehe...more to come

'Roo Meat Me, Mate!

During downtime yesterday I ventured to the grocery store and bought a packet of kangaroo steak.  Where else could you get 'roo in a supermarket?  For ~$7.00 I got about 0.5 kg of BBQ marinated steak (in the meat section next to beef and pork).  I went ahead and pan fried the meat to about medium rare.  With some rice and cheese the meat was quite tasty!  Victorian Bitter bear (AU) made for a nice pairing.  

My quick take on 'roo meat:  It's buttery soft, almost like filet mignon.  The taste is somewhat gamey like lamb.  

Chillaxin in Brisbane

Today is somewhat of a "chill" day.  I need to do some much needed laundry before I make my 14-hour train ride journey to Sydney this Sunday.  Unfortunately, fuzzyblog doesn't work the way I thought it would - I can snap photos, but an instant internet connection is  needed to upload the pic - something I don't have in AU (my phone is off because of massive roaming charges that would occur).  However, I am able to email myself photos from my iPhone and then upload them here.  Pictured above is the Brisbane River and I (notice the boat about to collide with my dome)...hehe.   

Anywho, with the downtime on hand here are some things I checked out the last couple of days:

Australian Zoo  - saw/petted koalas and 'roos...it's too bad Steve Irwin isn't around anymore since much of the exhibits is centered around him

Mount Warning - 4-5 km trek which ends with climbing a 45 degree plus 500 m climb at the end (yes, I'm using the metric system)

More Fun Aussie Facts:

• bloke is a "dude" (e.g., This bloke Gary keeps typing away...)
  
• "he's legend" - often used to refer to someone who's kick-ass
  
• you want a regular coffee with milk?  that's a "flat white"
  
• there are no toilet seat covers!
  
• you want ketchup with your fries?  that's called tomato sauce and it will cost you extra...hehe

I'm having a blast!  I'll post more later.  Hopefully they have internet connection in the hostel I'm staying in at Sydney.

Cheers!

Greetings from Down Under!

Just checking in with my viewers (if any) about my time in Australia so far.  It took me about 2 days to get adjusted to the time difference over here (roughly 17 hours ahead in the future).  

It's somewhat of a twilight zone effect here with certain things - things that your are used to seeing are there, but slightly difference (e.g., Rice Krispies are Rice Bubbles; Burger King is Hungry Jacks; Liquor Stores are Bottle Shops).

I'm really enjoying my stay here in Brisbane.  Yesterday I went on an awesome self-guided walking tour of downtown suggested by my tour book.  It's funny, people walk on the "other side" of the sidewalk - I believe it's because they drive on the left side of the road.  I had a handful of walking miscommunication experiences during my tour.  

It's awesome (aawh-soume) to see Sam and Carly.  I totally picked up on Sam's Aussie accent!

Fun Quick Aussie things:

• Everyone says "cheers" instead of "thank you" or "see you"
  
• A gatorade plus a candy bar cost me $6.60 at the "Quickie Mart"  WTF?
  
• You go the the "toilet" not the "bathroom"
  
• Meat pies are a local treat
  
• "Dodgy" is a popular slang for "shady"
  
• Kangaroo meat is not that popular to eat...it's commonly feed to dogs
  

Why no pictures?  I've got heaps to upload once I get back to the states.  In the meantime, I've set up a photo blog through my iPhone here.  Check it out for 2 mps of random fun!

Cheers!

Bound for Australia!

Hey Bloggos,

Today I embark on my trip down under: 1 week in Brisbane then 1 week in Sydney. It should be quite the experience - I've never been out of continental North America (aside from Hawaii). I'll try to post when I'm on my "walkabout." In any event, I'll be back in two weeks!

Damn!!!

Polar Bear Poo Poo

Both equally hilarious and disgusting...can we get a clean-up in aisle pool?

tsk tsk on Spain!!!

Note: Slanting one's eyes is not the most flattering gesture to Asians.

Something got lost in translation here: For a 'good luck advertisement' in relation to their participation in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Spain's Men Basketball Olympic team posed for a photo published by Spain's Basketball Federation. No intentional harm was intended, but c'mon...these guys need a crash course lesson in Cultural Sensitivity 101. More here. For shame Spain!!!

Retro Summer Jam!

Don Henley - Boys of Summer

Hmm, is Don Henley cruising on a Segway during his close-ups!!!? Wiki.

Music from '99-'03

Buffalo Tom.

This alternative indie rock trio's success peaked in the early-mid 90s with the release of Big Red Letter Day. You may remember their hit "Late at Night". This was a band I stumbled across in a record store - back in the day when you would actually go to a shop to rummage through used CDs. Though I started listening to them post-popularaly, their tunes clicked for me. Their sounds combined straight ahead rhythms with soulful coos and melodic solos. Honestly, just simple stuff for a time of high school/college naivety.

After taking a good 5+ year break, they are back touring and recording. This video is somewhat new. It's from their 2007 release Three Easy Pieces. This song is a great homage to their earlier work. myspace here

Blainacation: Seattle

Blainacation: Seattle

Blaine finally made his way up here to the Pacific Northwest last weekend! We go waaay back - back to days of high school in good old Santa Rosa, CA. Link to slideshow of random pics is above (click on picture).

List of activities included (in approximate order):

• Pike's Place
• Seattle Art Museum
• Space Needle
  
• Experimental Music Project (EMP)
• Funhouse (Dive Bar)
• Dick's Hamburgers
• Fremont Troll
• Redhook Brewery
• Mariner's Game
• The Res (Dive Bar)
• Gorditos (Mexican Food)
  
• Ballard Locks
• UW Campus and UW Speech and Hearing Clinic
• Schultzy's (U District Bar)
• Die Bier Stube (German Bar)
• Speechie Party
• Jumping over two chain-linked fences and suffering minor scrapes...yea...
• Cloud City Coffee

Honestly...

Another Guilty Pleasure...

Liz Phair, we all know you went pop, but I still heart ya. ;)

My Pet Monkey

If only you could domesticate a monkey. A helper monkey would be grand for house hold chores and, of course, companionship. Pictured here: A Snub-Nose Monkey. I'm just sayin...

Well Said...

Pink Floyd's "Take It Back"

From their 90's pop album "The Division Bell" - I always liked the landscape imagery used in this vid (though I admit it's a bit cheesy).

Yay for Asians!

Somewhat older new news:

The 'Thrilla from Manila', Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, known affectionately as Pac-Man, is the current reigning WBC lightweight and WBS super featherweight champion. On June 28, 2008 Pacquiao defeated David Diaz to win the WBC world lightweight title (pictured above). Phillipine born Pacquiao is the first asian to hold this distinguished title. Go Asians! Source.

Yay for Asians!

Sporting the throw back high stirrup look of the 80s, Texas-born relief pitcher Eugene "Geno" Macalalag Espineli, made his major league debut with the San Francisco Giants on July 20 versus the Milwaukee Brewers. This southpaw is the first Asian American of 100% Filipino descent to make it the bigs. He was also named to be in the Olympic Team in Beijing, but may defer because of his MLB call up. Go Asians! Source.