21/9 | UPDATE:
Added new video of Soiree performance - see video section.
(personal > video)
1/9 | Soiree
performance Hey guys!!! Oh wow, it feels like so long since I updated this site!
Lots of stuff has happened ... but then again ... this is brisbane. Every
week I will have AT LEAST one time conflict ... especially on the weekends,
when you'll agree to do something ... or promise yourself you'll do no thing
... but then get a phone call, saying you're suppose to do something else.
But I digress.
This photo was taken at an event called Soiree back in August. I seem to have
a habit of posting photos a month after the actual event has occurred. I guess
it's just a lag getting photos, but it kind of makes sense right? Damn straight!
So yeah .... our uqdance group, was asked/volunteered (no idea which) to perform
at this little festival called "Soiree"
held at the international college they have right next to uni. It's best described
as a celebration of multicultural - and they had stall from all different
countries where you could try foods you've probably never heard of before
- let alone be able to pronounce. They had a silly system of buying token
to get food ... and only when you bought a "food item" from a stall,
could you also by a beer .... you weren't allowed to just get a beer. Anyhow,
Jose - who's a really great guy, and great dancer - the one the right of the
picture (if you click on it) facing forward - and some of the others help
us put together a couple of dances for us to perform, and we had a few rehearsals
before the event. HEAPS of fun, and I only messed up one of my moves. You
can watch it as a movie in the video section.
10/9 | Malasian
day festival This month I went to another great event - a Malaysian
day festival. I promised my wonderful friend Michelle and Charissa
(from uqdance) I'd watch them perform traditional dancing at this event ...
and a couple of weeks later found out it was the same night as river fire!!
River fire sounded awesome - fireworks in the city and jet planes igniting
their fuel trail as they fly down the river. I was kind of bummed this time
conflict occurred, but MAN ... I'm so glad I went to the Malay festival. It
was just an EXTREMELY well organized an fun event. Dress code was formal,
but so many of the chinese and indian malays had on wonderful colourful outfits
- I know it sounds cheese, but they really are colourful and friendly people.
We think in Australia we are friendly and multicultural ...... but hey, we
really are not. They put in so much effort too, with flowers on the tables,
male and female MC, great prizes and all fourteen flags from the Malaysian
states behind the stage. Among the performers and activities were a few lovely
singers, and a couple of girls went up to give one of the male singers a flower
as he sang. I was sitting at a table with Roger and Jason (good friend of
Charissa's) and a few others, and they told me I should do the same when a
girl singer came on. Never one to pike on a dare, I waited for the right moment,
walked over, spread out four little flowers in front of her, looked up, and
ran back to my chair, and everyone laughed. But THEN, during the next song,
a guy near the front row walked up, brushed my little flowers aside, and gave
her a huge rose! Everyone was laughing much harder at that stage .... and
I had the perfect idea. There was a HUGE bunch of flowers sitting on our table
in front of Michelle. This was a REALLY huge bunch of flowers! Seriously.
It would be the perfect gag, but as I tired to grab the flowers, Michelle
yelled out "Nooo"! I was like: "don't worry, I'll bring them
back", but she was very protective, so I let the other guy win .... for
now anyhow. It was a great night, and really good food too.
It was NOT until later that week I realized why Michelle was protective of
those flowers. For a while now CX and I have though Michelle and Roger should
be together, and it turns out they had just become official. FINALLY. Anyhow,
it was pretty funny, I was pretty clueless not to realize that Roger had given
her those flowers (well, they didn't just appear from no-where as I had assumed).
Michelle won the "best dressed" prize and the male MC tried to hit
on her, and then said "oh, I hope her boyfriend didn't see that",
referring to Roger, but I STILL didn't twig. I hope to get some photos of
that night soon, and probably at the end of the year upload some of these
photos I've accumulated since moving to Brisbane.
17/9 | Bowling
with a journalists Everything above is all old news ironically. So much for my use of
dates ... :-)
Today I did something fun though. My main man Lee Stehbens from high school,
who is now a journalist in Alice Springs, is visiting Brisbane. Anyhow tonight,
Jim ("jum jum"), Jon ("big-slim") and
I met with him, his brother and a couple of others and went ten-pin bowling.
I don't know about you, but it's been SO long since I've been bowling. It's
really something most people only do to celebrate birthdays or special events,
but the place we went to in Milton only cost four dollars per game, which
is unreal! Was good to see Lee of course ... he's such a pretty boy. ALMOST
beat him at bowling too. My first game was bad, but then I scored 120 and
in the final game 121. Lee beat me all three times of course - competitive
little bugger. :-P
No Lee is cool, and he is great at sport, which means when we played tennis
in Cairns he'd always win the game, but, as I told him, I was always happy
to come second to his mighty-prowess, and it's nice to know that, even though
he's better than me, I'm not a pushover at tennis. I usually provide some
challenge. After bowling we played pool, and Jon, Jim and I beat him, his
brother and his girlfriends brother three games nothing, which was awesome.
I sunk three balls in a row at one stage - very pro like ... I've invented
a method of lining my cue up more accurately, which I hope I remember. I had
two beers, and that was enough for me to get a pretty decent buzz. Actually
it's really late now - I probably should be in bed (I have an early morning
tomorrow). I just felt it time I updated this site!
21/9 | Stuff
ahead Currently I'm making a really cool program which I think everyone
who uses the internet a lot will find useful! I'll be a little cryptic about
the details, but come back in a month - by then I should have it available
for download. It's fun to work on, but I really should be thinking about it
less, considering my PhD is the bigger priority by a thousand times.
21/9 | The
bigger the city, the less time for romantics and idealists (Unless you are good friend of mine, I'd rather you didn't read this
entry)
Tonight I realized something. Or rather ... I've realized it a few weeks ago,
but actually talked to Jim about it tonight. I realized Brisbane
has, and is eroding the idealist in me. And hell, maybe that's
not a bad think - certain ideals are childish and unrealistic. And what type
of ideals am I talking about... hrm ..... well let me say it like this.
Back in Cairns I use to have romantic fantasies all the time. The type where
I'd meet a great girl, we'd hit it off, and I'd drive her to rainforest streams,
read with her on the beach and cuddle her in the hammock next to our damn.
I don't know how else to describe these dreams ... except to say there were
all about meeting a really wonderful girl. A girl who was genuine and not
full of herself.
I think Brisbane is taking that away from me.
I don't get those dreams anymore, and I guess it's due to several things ....
but I think most of it is just where I'm living. I don't think you can get
very romantic in a share house. Don't get me wrong, I have a nice, big room,
and it's not bad ... but it's never quiet. I shut the doors, but you can still
hear the noise of cars outside, trains ever half-hour, footsteps upstairs.
In Cairns our nearest neighbour was two hundred meters away. It was peaceful,
and my room was my sanctuary. There is just something about this ho use ...
this room ... which doesn't feel as nice. You often hear people talk about
the "feel of it", and I couldn't agree more. The house has been
really good lately with just five people - WAY more calm than it was in the
first few months .... but there was something about living in Cairns, with
a huge front yard and damn I could stare over. Hear I don't get a view out
my windows, and if I did it wouldn't be luscious trees. Maybe I'm fussy ...
But more important than my room is the fact I don't have a car. Without a
car where can I take a girl! Tell me that?! It's true, the public transport
is great here, but if I met a girl now I'm faced with the reality of saying
something stupid like: "Can I'll pick you up at 8 ..... at 8 sharp
..... at the nearest bus stop". I think it would be nice to catch
the ferry to southbank ... but without a car I can't really take her anywhere
nice, like Mt Cooktha very easily. If I meet a nice girl, my first instinct
is: chances are she's about to leave Brisbane or else lives more than one
bus trip away - and so it's almost doomed from the start....... how cynical
is that!
It sounds wrong, but I feel like less of a potential boyfriend now I have
no car, and I'm not living in wonderful big house. It sounds material, but
I'm willing to bet that those are TWO of the first questions a girl wants
to resolve. This is share-house living in Brisbane. In Cairns I use to jog
to the beach .... here I still jog ... and I jog to a small park ... but the
journey in Cairns was really nice - especially walking along the beach. Here
I run along side a busy street and pick up other people's litter. It's not
a bad trip, and Brisbane is a nice city ... it has lots of trees ....but ...
it's just feels different. Where I live is not romantic .... AT ALL. Living
in a smaller room on some college would feel even worse/smaller!
I talked to Jim about some of this stuff, and he told me I'm making excuses
no to go out with girls. I think he's right. You simply cannot expect your
first relationship to be perfect .... if you're lucky, it will be great .....
but this is uni for god's sakes! The idea of taking a camping trip, or even
spending a day cuddling and picnic at the botanic gardens suddenly seems a
world away ....
I need a car damn it!
I talked about other stuff too - I mentioned the idea of my buying a two or
three bedroom place in St Lucia or Indooroopilly next year (since everyone
else is moving out) and maybe getting a car too. I think property is Brisbane
is a good investment - not just on capital, but I would be getting in rent
too. That's the next thing I have to think about.
Living in this share house is LOTS of maintenance. I think it might be lonely
living by myself, but hopefully I'd be living with one or two other people
who are TIDY and in a place with a nice, breezy feel to it.
There is lots of other stuff on my mind at the moment too, but I won't bother
putting it ALL down here, because it IS late, and this section is WAY too
long to read. Even if I was a friend of a person I wouldn't read all this
- I'd have to be crazy!
So that's all from me. Have a good month. :-)
