Daryl's Mind --> A Scary Place to Be

The year so far.....

2007-09-16T22:19:00.000+10:00

Okay, really havent done much "blogging" due to the fact that I'm lazy and that blogger changed its format and i wasn't arsed to figure out how the new system worked (not that its hard or anything). So here is my 2007 so far...

1) Left Melbourne and moved back to Sydney

2) Put my PR application in April before the laws were changed

3) Bought a siccck flat screen TV for my Wii and PS2

4) Working in a different GP store here in Sydney... QVB to be exact. Wasn't my 1st choice but i've settled in really nicely and now i can't imagine myself in any other store. These are some of the best people I have ever worked with although I do miss the type of customer i used to get back in GP chaddy; the more family-orientated sales versus the city folk. Not that there is anything wrong with them, just requires more work to close the sale. Does get emotionally taxing though.

5) Tsubi is now spelt with a Ksubi

6) Got kicked out of my old place because the crazy lady who owned it wanted to sell it. Which she managed for an insane amt of money. Seriously the place that i lived, should not have fetched that much money given that it is really trashed. We just cleaned it up when we left really nicely so that we cld get our bond money back. Moved in with my old housemate

7) Bought more clothes... ironically no new ksubis but 3 pairs of Nudies

8) Been to heaps of Staff parties which was kinda fun due to the fact that ts free alcohol

9) Doing some accounting work down at Head Office, trying to see if that life is for me

10) Went snowboarding 3 times and on the last time, my board got stolen =( *sob*

and that pretty much is it..... at least for now

Random Update #10

2007-01-08T22:46:00.000+11:00

Hmm i know I dont blog very often but I attribute it to laziness when there is actually something to blog about; and a generally boring life lately with nothing else worth talking about

Anyways, looking back on december... I cant believe I made it through it, the days were intensely long cause I was pretty much working 6 days a week for the whole month and on those days-off, they never actually felt like time off cause there ws always that expectation of having to go back to work the next day for 6 days at a stretch. I shouldn't really complain given that my sporean counterparts prolly do much more for significantly less but STILL... I consider myself quite Aussified already and that includes worker's rights and benefits. Coming down to the last week of december, there was a perpetual frown on my face and I think I was completely over it. There wasn't anything interesting to sell, customers were rude and I didn't have the patience to deal with it. BUT now my shifts are shorter and I feel considerably rested, and I'm beginning to be back to my cheery and enthusiastic self again. Gonna enjoy my last month at GP Chaddy before I leave. I've decided that Australia Day will be my last shift here in Melb, hopeful Jo'll give me the 10-6 shift... could use all that extra public holiday $$$ to pay for my comics back in spore when I pick them up

Had a print out and it showed that in this year that I've worked for GP i have made $220,000 which is a considerable amount of cash... personally I think the figure is closer to a 1/4 of a million given that a lot of my sales in december was placed on other people due to the fact that I was rarely at the counter. I wonder how much I made per hour for the company; hopefully its enough to guarantee me getting a spot with another a store in Sydney. SO that I guess is my most major accomplishment of 2006, making that amount of cash in abt 8mths of working. If only I got commission... I only got paid a mere fraction of that amount of cash, DAMN

Also a funny thing happened at work, a customer told me to get lost when i tried to serve him and his gf cause he said that the last time I served him, he ended up blowing $320 on a pair of jeans. BUT he liked those jeans and he wears them all the time or so his gf says... he rather not be served by me because he didnt want to end up spending unneccessary amounts of money. Am i actually that persuasive???

2007 A Brand New Year

2007-01-03T21:48:00.000+11:00

Am pretty glad 2006 is over actually... 2006 gave me some pretty damn good memories and it was also the year where i hit the lowest emotional point in my life, but with all dark periods, you make resolutions and come to conclusion about the direction that your life will have to eventually take. As 2006 was one of reflection, 2007 for me will be one of discovery.... Never in my life have I ever had time to myself before, it was always school, army, university and life responsibilities in general. 2007 will be the year I say screw it all and just kick it and relax. I've got a pretty good job at the moment, although one that doesnt have any future career growth but albit still pretty kick-ass, with enough money coming in to help me live slightly more comfortably than a fresh graduate back home in spore; with eye-candy all around me; also a little bit of a nest-egg saved up in case the urge to travel hits me which I do actually foresee it happening sometime this year.

Not really big on the whole new year's resolution kinda thing cause I never end up keeping them or actually remembering them by the time the second week of janurary comes around. So pretty much I'm gonna make superficial resolutions but still meaningful to my life, such that i can look back and said... I did that in '07

Like my friend calls 2006, 2000 and sucks.... i do honestly hope that i'll have a AWESOME 2007 and to everyone else out there... i wish you all the SAME

Ksubi (formerly tsubi) Xmas Party@ Espy

2006-12-03T13:23:00.000+11:00

An incredible night... totally stoked that i "won" tickets to the christmas party by apparently having sold the most denim in the store, so it saved me havin to pay $60 for entry... if i had to pay i'd prolly wouldnt have gone; anyways scored myself 2 tickets so thats like $120 in savings.... haha, the cheap Asian in me coming through. Good night and good times with the GP family at the Espy, dancing the night away (or in my case 3hrs worth). Finally got to see Van She play live and they were awesome... as good as I thought they would be, when they started to play "Mission" and "Kelley", the crowd went wild and i really got into the music. Also got to check out this new band called New Young Pony Club which is apparently quite big in the UK, and they were so sick. I can see what the hype is all about, cant wait to get their new CD in the store so I can rip it off onto itunes, kinda electornica rock which is what i'm into right now... welcome back the 80's. Didnt stay too long and I headed back after those acts... age is catchin up with me, i loooooong for those days when i can do the "BIG" nights that I used to

2006-11-26T21:30:00.000+11:00

So this Saturday was my day off... finally, been working 8 days straight at Chaddy and was totally knackered/bummed/destroyed. Spent the day pretty much just kickin it at home sleeping and catching up on missed TV shows. Can't believe how insane the past 8 days have been... had the VIP night on wednesday and we were opened until midnite and the store was totally trashed at the end of the night. Sold more than 20 pairs of tsubi (or is it ksubi now?) jeans but it was sorta worth it given that it was 10% off current stock prices.

Anyways watched Borat with tian and some of her friends at night, the movie was absolutely hysterical although for me some parts i just couldn't watch, like the naked wrestling bit... haha, that was a bit too much. But I have to admit Sacha Baron Cohen is a comic genius, his timing is perfect and his ability to place people in akward situations is gold. I'm sure he has inspired a new generation of comedians by creating this sorta mockumentary genre

Well ended of the night with some shisha (at least i think that was how its spelt)... essentially flavoured tobacco smoke, nothing too hardcore though, it was pretty light. But this was my first time doing it and as tian so eloquently put, we popped my shisha cherry that night. But with all that tobacco, i had a little bit of a nicotine overload when i got home... but i'm all good now

cheers

end bad breathe

2006-10-24T00:20:00.000+10:00

end bad breathe
Originally uploaded by darylfoo81.

imagine an image created for the vietnam war to inspire hopes of peace and love for all mankind

fast forward 30 years... how applicable is this image today still? Uncle Sam's still at war... look closely at the mouth of the image... its where the message is

add the fact thats in fluro, makes it even more apt, given how fluro has made the biggest comeback here in Aust!

OOF

2006-10-24T00:03:00.000+10:00

oof
Originally uploaded by darylfoo81.

don't really know the artist that did this but he sure was considerate to use my surname... to see the full impact of this piece of art honouring me, hold it up to a mirror and be amazed.......

okay not really... but close enough

Words from Abe Lincoln

2006-10-24T00:00:00.000+10:00

abe3
Originally uploaded by darylfoo81.

Haha... wise and true... if only Spore was more like that

Wall Street Bull

2006-10-23T23:41:00.000+10:00

Wall Street Bull
Originally uploaded by darylfoo81.

Thats me sorta grabbing the bull by its horns. Anyways, interesting fact, Ju told me that wall street used to have bull and bear fights in days or yore. Bulls attack in an upward manner using their horns to gorge; Bears on the other hand use their fists and pound downwards. So when they say Bull market, it means stocks going up. Interesting... yeh... haha

I hope I got the story right though =p

To jump or not to jump

2006-10-22T16:22:00.000+10:00

Well that doesnt really apply to me... Was on my way to the city yesterday and the trams kinda got diverted along Swantston street because apparently some kid was considering jumping off the building. Given that this place was student accomadation and that exams are sorta around the corner... i kinda guessed that this kid was some poor international student overwhelmed with studies and pressure that he had no idea what else to do. I don't know if he jumped (i hoped he didnt) but i kinda guess that he just did this in a moment of weakness. I mean we've all had such moments, its how you deal with them that kinda defines character.

There was this guy though, older, rougher sorta fellow, like the kind u find in the country... who kept yelling for the poor kid to jump though. I heard him tell his mate that the kid was inconsiderate and wasting everybody's time and that he should stop being a pussy and just do it. I was kinda pissed off by this. Everyone has different coping mechanisms, exams are really hard and just because that older guy in his life choses not to care abt exams and live off the generosity of the Australian govt.... he should be more understanding, people here have most likely helped him through the tough times of his life, why shouldn't he show a little more compassion?

Have we become so self-centred and so inwardly-focused that everything becomes about ourselves and how it affects only us? Its really sad and I have to admit that I'm a lot like that sometimes, my ability to feel compassion only extends to the people who i care about. But I pray i never become like that.

Anyways... if i were to jump outta my balcolny to end it all, I'd only get a broken leg or back problems, I'm on the second floor...

I'm Number 1

2006-10-09T20:02:00.000+10:00

Haha, first week back in Melb and i've thrown myself completely into my job. and its paid off... they've just started to do top sales and dollar amount per hour, so the first week that I was actually around for that, I'm number 1 in Australia for $$$ amount per hour earned. On average i made about 70oish per hour which put me in top spot. Also, was number 7 in total amount of $$$ earned... and I'm the only casual staff on the list, rest were full-timers... got a big pat-on-the-back by my area manager

Pretty Cool =)

Random NY photos

2006-10-01T23:12:00.000+10:00

Okay i'll put up some photos from NY... immortalise the trip forever on the Internet and for the benefit of those many many voyuers out there

Okay... thats the Statue of Liberty and its pretty impressive. Although I wasn't totally inspired by it... I expected to feel feelings of hope and freedom like those immigrants who first saw it many many years ago but sadly I didn't... to me it was just another piece of impressive architecture. Maybe if I was holed up in the bottom of a ship for many months, had cholera and trying to escape oppression would I have appreciated it a little more. But this is something you should definately see in your life as its part of global history

A visit for me to NY wouldn't be complete if I didnt head down to FAO Schwarz the world famous toy store. Its pretty upmarket and they focus more on stuffed toys than anything else. Nothing really too mainstream; if u were a kid and looking for pokemon cards, u'd prolly wouldnt be able to get it from there. They had the famous piano keyboard on the floor and unfortunately only kids were allowed to jump on it, but u cld buy it for like 6k... psss... quite the waste of money if u ask me.

Okay this is the famous fountain outside Rockafella Centre. If it was winter, the ice-skating rink would be around this fountain, but lucky for me it was still warm although a bit rainy, dunt think i would have been able to take NY winter. The rain was bad enough

Photo of Times Square, not as glamorous as you see on TV, was pretty rainy that day... unfortunately i didnt snap a picture of it at night... but it is pretty impressive at night though. Its a full-on experience and a sensory overload... so much info and adverts, i think Singapore should have something like this... Lido/Orchard doesn't count... its lame

Went to the Natural History Musuem and its by far the best museum I have ever been to... all those dinosaur bones made me feel like a kid again... all fascinated and intrigued. Maybe if my parents had taken me to see these bones when i was a kid, i might have been inspired to be a palentologist like Ross on friends... it would have definately been more interesting. Unfortunately accounting is my choosen profession now. *sigh* I took so many photos of the different skeletons but I'll just put one up... that of the infamous T-Rex. Pretty damn impressive... would be cool if they still existed

Well thats about it for now... i still have photos of the food i ate (typically sporean thing to do) and photos from Washington so i'll do it on another day when i'm bored

My New York/Washington Adventure (Sept 2006)

2006-09-30T19:53:00.000+10:00

Unbelievable... just got back from NZ and then felt inspired to leave Melbourne again and head down to the other side of the world to have the holiday that I've been dreaming about for many years now. It was totally last-minute, was working at my store and it was pretty damn boring, no customers watsoever for me to work my magic on, and so my mind got to wondering... and i kinda decided right there that I would take a holiday. Was debating between the UK and the US but the US won out cause, I get to crash with some of my good friends there and NY has always been a place that I've wanted to visit. Although I didnt really want to go alone, wanted Nick to go along with me... guess it would have been better to have someone around to share the experience... but wat the hey, so this is officially the first holiday that I kinda took alone.

Spent most of my time in NY but moved down to Washington for a few days to crash with my best friend Ravs to see how the other side lives. HaHa, he's become a total American frat boy now

Anyways... got some photos of NY to put up but i really cant be bothered at the moment

Just take it from me... it was intense, i had fun most of the time... wouldnt ever want to live there but i'd definately go back again... hopefully when i've got more $$$ to burn

and yeah... i bought so much stuff plus a new snowboard... AWESOME

2006-08-28T19:50:00.000+10:00

For the first time, i've actually got a 2week sping break? now i'm wondering if i should go back to Singapore, even if its just for a week.... hmmmm

Random Update #9

2006-08-24T10:55:00.000+10:00

Arrrgh... I'm feeling pretty shitty today. Stuck at home with a fever, took some codrial at 6am this morning cause i woke up, feeling pretty burnt up. Still feeling slightly feverish and my ribs which i brusied snowboarding still hurts a little when i take deep breathes. YUCK. And I dunt feel up to going to work today, which means less spending money next week =(

Also had some pretty crazy dreams last night. As always, they were pretty intense and i had multiple intense dreams last night!!! wtf? First I dreamed that I was in a plane crash and i watched as the right wing of the plane shredded off and the pilot put the plane in a spin and i was upside down for awhile? can u imagine a dream where ur actually upside down?!?! Secondly, I dreamt that I got my chest blowned out by a sniper in an underground carpark because i managed to survive the plane crash? how totally random is that, my dreams actually have continuity... My third dream was a little less intense and actually a little bit funnier; dreamnt that I was back in the army and that Singapore was gonna be hit by a tsunami and we had to evacuate off Tekong... haha, that one was pretty funny and less intense. I also remember having a couple more dreams but i cant actually remember what they were. All in all, I didn't really get a restful sleep last night.

Now I've gotta finish my stupid tax assignment before friday... luckily its only supposed to be a 1st draft so not much effort is really needed.

Pretty crappy after all that excitement and fun in NZ

My New Zealand Adventure (12th-19th Aug)

2006-08-22T21:27:00.000+10:00

Took a week off school to head down to good 'ol NZ for a week and a bit of snowboarding fun. Spent 5 awesome days in the snow, wizzing down the mountain and trying to pull a few new tricks to add to my quiver. Haha, not that i'm impressively good or anything, sorta just out of the newbie stage. Well it was a big group of 15 of us who headed down to the slopes, only knew a few of them, who were my buddies from previous trips. Loads of new faces and i made some decent new friends. Although with 15 people, it was a little bit of an organisational nightmare but we managed, with most little groups headed off to do their own little thing and meeting up in the end.

I have to say that NZ is one really really beautiful country. Imagine living in a place where the backdrop to your back garden are some of the most awe inspiring mountains. It was so Blue and magnificent... will chuck some photos up later when other people with better cameras have uploaded them. So we headed to these 3 slopes called Cadrona, Coronets Peak and the Remarkables over the 5 days. The snow was so much better than what i was used to over here in Australia. It was so much more powdery and it didnt really hurt when u stacked it... it made me just a touch bit braver

Broke my new bindings in... they were totally awesome. But here's the idiotic thing i did, i put my bindings the other way around and that kinda hurt my ankle a bit, but luckily after the first day, i realised what an idiot i'd been and swapped them over. After that, they worked superbly.. haha

Apart from snowboarding, alcohol was involved, pretty much every night

and at the end of this trip, i've got a slightly bruised rib to prove how much fun i had (stacked it on a jump)

Ben Sherman Night @ GPO

2006-08-09T21:12:00.000+10:00

Mr Ben Sherman really knows how to throw a pretty good party and also given that he's 6 feet under, thats pretty damn impressive. Haha. Well, he may be dead but his clothing label is still alive and kicking. Apparently, it was his clothes that inspired the MOD revolution in the UK... and they're still pretty damn British-influenced, loads of union-jack influenced designs. Anyways... those guys at Ben Sherman took us out for a night and shouted all the alcohol we could drink. Didn't limit what we could order and pretty much everything in the bar was up for grabs... hence i drank a shit-load of Asahii beer and vodka cranberry! Got pretty tanked!

Well, those guys at Ben Sherman are pretty damn generous to say the least. They're offering up 2 tix for the Glastonbury Rock Festival as a prize for buying any Ben Sherman gear... and they're keeping the staff pretty motivated as well with some well-chosen prizes =) All in all, a really good night. I feel well and truly inspired/motivated to start pimping out good 'ol Ben Sherman now

STAFF PARTY@ 6 Links

2006-08-02T14:59:00.000+10:00

All in all, it was a pretty tame night... granted it was a tuesday night and people had to work the next day as well as school and other miscellaneous activities. I had fun though, was a pretty good looking crowd and there was free-flow of beer, wine and champagne at the bar the whole night; although it would have been better if there were spirits which were free.... but i guess this night was sort of a little warm-up, to keep us at General Pants and Jetty Surf motivated/inspired to sell more during this slow period of retail. Met up with some old friends and made some new ones. But i realised, that there are not as many staff here in Melbourne as there is in Sydney. When I went to one of those Incentive nights in Sydney, it was PACKED... but here, it was barely half-full. You kinda trade off that crazy crowd vibe for a more intimate setting over here in Melb. Funny thing was that the bar was next to a police station and i think we were making so much noise; spilling outside of the venue for a smoke and generally pissing the cops off next door that they kept coming into the club, hoping to find some sort of violation, so that they could arrest us all and haul us off to jail, or at the least shut us down... haha... but we were all pretty well behaved! Generally well behaved... haha

Left when it ended pretty smashed but very tingly with the after-effects of a good party night =)

Random Update

2006-08-01T17:47:00.000+10:00

My hair is back to BLACK!!! haha... goodbye BLUE
and might i add... i think i look younger =)

Pirates of the Carribean 3

2006-07-06T10:47:00.000+10:00

I'm possibly going to be watch the new pirates movies tonite but i just got tipped off on the Internet that the locale that the 3rd movie: Pirates of the Carribean at World's End will be set in would be Singapore. Haha... its nice to know that the western world thinks that Singapore is at the End of the World, where in fact we're more like in the middle where the equator is... but then again, given that the world is actually round, any point of it could be considered the end of the world. Also, Singapore was not actually around/founded during the time period in which Pirates is actually meant to take place, at least I don't think so. Anyways... that has never stopped Hollywood before. I guess the East India Company is going to feature prominantly in this one and I have read that Chow Yuan Fat is playing a bad-ass pirate as well... haha, that'll be fun. However I don't really think any of the actual filming will be done in Singapore cause all of it looks too modern... haha

2006-07-01T23:01:00.000+10:00

Just got some really sad news today... one of my old classmate's younger brother just passed away... although i don't really know this kid, i just feel really really sad for my friend. This guy is really one excellent friend and i do have good memories hanging out with him during JC and to think that someone i care about has to go through that shitty experience, well that really blows. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family... hope they find the strength to deal with this tragedy in the family

I guess this news also serves as sort of a wake-up call. 3 years ago one of my best friends passed away and that kinda made me realise that life is pretty short and i should try to experience as much of it as i can. Hence this lead to certain life decisions and risks that i have made over the years, most of which are playing out really well for me at the moment. However, i guess i've just been getting a little too comfortable with the way things are going... i told myself 3 years ago that i would live life and make heaps of memories enough for the both of us but now, i might be losing sight of that. I guess what we can learn or at least what i take away when i hear about these very tragic and untimely deaths is that every second counts... and that we need to live in a way that we do not have any regrets. I know how cliche that can sound but there is universal truth in it.

oh well...

2006-06-25T23:32:00.000+10:00

I'm back from Syd and gonna live it up in Melb before heading back to a distant sunny not-so-exotic- isle for a well deserved break, gonna clear my head and catch up with old mates. Be good to get home and be the spoiled little prince that i am for awhile, no need to worry abt where my next meal's gonna come from or ironing/laundry...

Sydney was awesome as usual, felt good to see all those familiar faces, it was like i never left... went out and ate loads, chilled out and drank beer... if only that life could last forever... but anyways, back to reality... need to study for that last exam that i didnt sit for and gonna be workin my butt off at GP doing as many shifts as i can possibly squeeze in to earn some cash... my reserves are dangerously low at the moment.... and will continue to be depleted once i start goin on me snowboarding adventures, which i am totally looking forward to...

Ended up buying a new pair of snowboard bindings cuz my old ones are falling apart... set me back quite a bit of coin but they look pretty wicked and they should help me get more response in the snow.... pretty much just spending my tax money even before i've gotten any of it back

So Sydney was good, hung out with Nick, Colleen, Shawn, Yiming and Koji etc... it was nice to see their familiar faces. Thanks to Nick and Colleen for letting me sleep on their sofa... haha, its a pretty comfy sofa... well its getting late and its time to head to bed.... *yawn*

2006-06-18T23:15:00.000+10:00

Exams are over... well almost over for me... had to skip a paper cause i wasn't "feelin well" and now i gotta keep m fingers crossed that i'l be granted a sub paper... anyways... most of the papers are over and i do feel a sense of relief, exams always take it outta me... nasty business examinations... haha... now i gotta keep my fingers crossed and wait for the results

Currently back in Sydney at the moment blogging this, came here on friday to sorta bum around before going back to spore... but my trip back home will be delayed cause of the make-up exam that i've gotta sit for. Really enjoying myself here in Sydney... just chilling out with old friends and such

anyways, gonna watch the soccer tonight, Australia v Brasil... i prolly am guess that Brasil will win it... but i do hope that Oz at least manages a draw... that'll be sweet

Funny Song i heard on Nova

2006-06-11T12:06:00.000+10:00

anyways... was driving home from work on friday night... i know i shldnt have been working with exams so close but i feel like work has become another commitment to me, like uni and i can't forgo my responsibilities there... haha

well they played this song on the radio on the drive home and i thought it was pretty funny... a catchy tune and catchy lyrics... its only funny the first couple of times though, after that, it gets kinda lame... found it online and i reckon the "music video" was done by some internet geeks rather than the band itself

the songs "i must be emo" by hollywood undead ... its good for a laugh, esp if ur dying under the workload of uni assignments and exams... like i am

i havent really discovered how to put the entire video on the blog so just click on the weird pict to go to the website to have a listen.... EnjoI

2006-06-05T22:22:00.000+10:00

A little under 12hrs to go before my first exam... i can't really say how prepared I am, given that I think my brain is crammed full of facts that after tomorrow, i wont really bother to think abt anymore.... *sigh*... then its off to prepare for my next 3 papers, all of which are one after the other

the problem with this paper is my exam is an open-book exam, and before you decide how easy that can be, realise that this is a law subject, i have read like over 40+ cases some of which are suprisingly similar and they cross reference each other.... also, i have SO many bits highlighted and 'post-its' all over the place that I hope doesn't end up confusing me in the exam.... oh well, wish me all the best

ironically, this subject is also the subject that i best have a shot at getting a distinction in... or hopefully a high credit which can pull my term average up

also.... why is my computer making such a funny noise?!?!?! last thing i need for it to do now is the crash on me... that would be DISASTER

Legal Assignment Results

2006-06-04T00:14:00.000+10:00

haha... remember how i've been bitching about that stupid legal assignment that fucked up my week... well i got my result back and ended up with like a 24.5 / 30... i really dont know what to say... i'm speechless... i had to whip out my student ID to make sure that the number was right... and i still don't believe it

anyways... BRING on the EXAMS!!!!

VIP Night at Chadstone Shopping Centre

2006-06-01T12:29:00.000+10:00

did a 5-12 shift for the Chadstone VIP night sale... just wondering, how can u be a VIP if anyone can just rock up and enjoy the discount? doesn't VIP entail some form of exclusivity? haha, anyway it was just a marketing gimmick to make people feel more obliged to shop in Chadstone instead of going somewhere else...

it was pretty fun... and its been a long time since i've been really hyped up for a shift... could it be the hyper session before i started or am i a more nocturnal creature, better suited to having dealings during the night. so anyways, energy levels was high and the flow of customers was constant... we did pretty well and hopefully, that night will push us up for target for the month... another gift voucher on the way... haha

all in all, cant wait for the next VIP night.... busy shifts help the time go faster...

What I thought of X-men...

2006-05-30T23:28:00.000+10:00

well i didn't think the movie sucked at all.... probably because everyone told me how crap it was that i had such low expectations. i kinda expected to see some really bad special effects and cheesy dialogue.... okay some of the dialogue was cheesy but then again, if u've been reading comics for as long as i have, u'll realise that cheesy banter is all part of the comic "experience". i have to say that the special effects were awesome though... they've really captured the essence of the x-men's powers... haha

okay i'm going to go all fanboy on you guys now... so feel free not to read the rest of this blog... why didnt i think the movie sucked? well how can a movie be bad if its borrowing heavily from all the great x-men writers out there. Kudos to Ratner from not bothering with any of Claremont's ideas... in this new millenium, he's an outdated and overrated writer... they should just retire him and let him gracefully be remembered for the great stories that he wrote decades ago, not for the current crap that he's putting on shelves these days. He is essentially destroying the work that Grant Morrison has done, building the X-books into truly great stories. So like i said, Ratner has borrowed heavily from Morrison, Joss Whedon and the guy who writes ultimate x-men (can't remember his name all of a sudden).... and made a movie that is in fact VERY VERY true to the comic.

he basically incoporated storylines that Whedon created, like the cure for mutation and the indian doctor... and the scene with wolverine killing jean grey was SO grant morrison. this movie was heaps dark and brutal. although i do not agree with him killing cyclops.... but maybe he didnt? just let me say that although Bryan Singer did a fantastic job with the first 2 movies, he could have made a crapier version than the one Ratner did... for that, snaps to him. oh and kelsey grammer as the Beast turned out to be a very very good choice, although i dont really see what was the point of giving halle berry more dialogue... she isn't really action hero material... haha

I cannot understand why people like to compare the movie to the cartoon series though... although, it was an awesome cartoon.... its essentially made for kids, the comics are darker and deal with all sorts of issues. Discrimination, alternate lifestyle choices, anger management, death all these issues do not make for happy Saturday morning cartoons... i really do not know what to say to people who tell me the cartoon was much better... haha... read the comic!!!!

as for x4.... bring on ONSLAUGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went to the Tsubi Sale

2006-05-26T23:32:00.000+10:00

haha, as if i didn't have enough tsubi items in my wardrobe, i headed down to the tsubi sale today to try and hopefully score some items that never went on sale at General Pants. Pretty much went more for the experience than anything else. It was a pretty insane experience to say the least, so much different from the first ever tsubi sale that i went for 3years ago in Sydney. Didn't have to stand in line to get into the store those days, less people to fight with and the staff were heaps friendlier. I guess if i had to work at that kinda environment now, i'd prolly be moody and grouchy too... people running and grabbing every single item they can get their hands on.... it was pretty INTENSE and i have to admit i got pretty lost at times. BUT the discounts were pretty good, i ended with a few t-shirts and shirts that GP's never got and some that I missed out on getting because I thought was too expensive even with my staff discount. Spent a fair amount of coin but i guess if i can talk people into parting with 300 for a pair of jeans retail, i dunt really have much of an excuse not to spend my own cash 'eh

anyways, don't know if it was because i was there on the first day but there were some items that i wished they had that they didn't. Most of the jeans were in the cut that no one really wears anymore, was hoping for some of the more limited editions of the dee dee's and joey's for guys but no go... maybe i wasnt quick enough. Also hoped to find some hoodies and knits, but people pretty much just grabbed everything... also all the smalls were gone, pretty much many people are wearing a small these days, or like to think that they are...

props to ailin for coming along with me and sharing this experience, she was an awesome shopping buddy... at times i felt like i was channeling a bit of my mum when it comes to sales, but i snapped outta it... haha, it was insane... all in all, had loads of fun. Dont think i'll ever do it again.... time for me to stop spending and start saving

cheers all

New Clothes from Rancho Notorious

2006-05-24T23:23:00.000+10:00

Okay so i just got paid today, hence decided to blow some of my hard earned on some new clothes. Headed back to my friend's store to pick up some of the t-shirts i left aside on friday. What i like about those tops, are they're a pretty limited release and decently priced. Pretty much what someone would pay for clothes at General Pants. They're not too mainstream and i like that i'm supporting underground artists'. And if it helps my individualism... why not 'eh =)
and yes... i know its pretty lame to blog about stuff like this, but i'm actually doing laundry and so have some time to kill... besides, i love my clothes

The name of the store is Rancho Notorious and this is their logo which i ripped off their plastic bag
By my friends label MontlaRoc... very 80's inspired. Aparently, he got the idea for this design one day at work down at GP's in Chapel St... its all pretty random

The second one i got from my friend's label MontlaRoc... again pretty 80s inspired. Aparently this song "you gots to chill" was one of his fav hip-hop tunes in the 80s. love the hair... haha

Last one is from his friend's brand "Untitled Graphic"... just like the simplicity of it, besides, i look good in white... haha. Don't know what the logo is supposed to mean though

Well and that are the new t-shirts i'll be rocking in around in for awhile... i told my friend, i'd wear them in spore and then tell people where to go get them... haha... he's getting a website done soon too with online sales and all...

peace

Stupid Shoplifters!!!!!

2006-05-21T21:41:00.000+10:00

okay... had my first encounter with a shoplifter today, well not really my first shopliftter, i've had others before, but this one pissed me off the most. The f**ker stole a pair of tsubi jeans from the store, one of the most expensive ones, its like $370 a pop, and they're really nice ones too. I've actually bought a pair for myself and those tsubis were one of the more popular ones that i've been selling... simply because customers see that it looks so damn good on me... haha

anyways, here is how today went. this guy came in to try a pair of tsubi's on, i was serving him and gave him 2 sizes, a 32 and 36. i thought it was a bit strange because of the weird size choice. Anyways, he grabs the tsubis and goes into the changerooms. Given that we provide good customer service, i kept on going to check on him but he was being very aloof. But i kinda lingered around the change room because i did think something was wrong and also because i really had hoped to make another tsubi sale. So i had my eye on the changeroom and when he came out (it was all quiet, the other people trying stuff on had left and he was the only one remaining), i went straight to him, he chucked me a pair of tsubi and another pair of LEE jeans which looked similar to the tsubi's he tried on and made a dash for the door. Obviously, i knew something was up so i gave chase and once he left the store, i yelled at him to let me check his bag. He flung the bag at me and started running. Once i opened the bag and looked inside, there were 2 shirts that i don't recall him trying on. Those were actually stolen ralph lauren shirts that he probably took from another store. He had the tsubi's inside his pants, i thought i had managed to get it back and in the split second it took for me to realise that he was wearing the tsubi's he bolted and me wearing flip-flops, i couldn't possibly run after him. Besides, short of detaining him, there is absolutely nothing i could do. I couldn't yank his pants down to get to the tsubis and that left me really really really PISSED off.

if he had only given me the chance, i would have told him to keep those damn ralph lauren shirts and give me our tsubi jeans back. Some other store benefited from my keen security sense.

i hope that dick never ever shows his face in the store again

Friday Night @ St Jeromes

2006-05-20T11:16:00.000+10:00

Okay, since Yiming is in town, Tian brought us to this little bar in a dodgy alleyway called St Jerome's. Wouldn't even know it existed if not for someone pointing it out to me. It looks kinda seedy but the vibe inside is pretty awesome. They have a shit selection of alcoholic beverages but what the lack in choice, they more than make up for it with atmosphere. This place gave off a cosy vibe and we totally relaxed there for a couple of hours before heading back to Tian's house to relax some more =). You kinda feel like you're somewhere else once u enter St Jeromes, its easy to forget that your in a busy city like Melbourne, you feel isolated from all that buzz that comes from a busy city and you can just hang there for hours. They've got grafitti done outside on the walls, people's creative expression, which unlike Singapore where you get canned for it, is appreciated.

Next to the bar, is an eclectic little store that sells clothes and art by Melbourne-based designers. It was totally random and I bumped into one of my friends who was working there. Didn't know he worked there as well as General Pants, it made more sense when i realised that he actually stocked his own clothing label there, which is called "mont le roc" (i think thats how its spelt). I bought one of his designs which i reckon was pretty mad. He claimed that Andrew G., those Australian idol hosts flew all the way down to get his hands on one of them, also, he said that one of the Beastie Boys might be wearing it... haha, but i bought it because i liked it not because B-list celebrities were wearing it.

Another Weekend has gone by.....

2006-05-15T16:56:00.000+10:00

Didn't do much this weekend, spent most of my time "trying" to finish my assignments that were due... well not really, had an extension for one of them so that gave me an incentive to slack off during the weekend instead of working on it like i told myself i would. oh well... need to kick start my brain into study mode, exams are coming up and i really need to start the studying =( Gotta get those damn assignments outta the way first. So i ended up just lazing at home with books and dvds in my messy messy house, i prolly should clean it soon... haha

on sunday i picked up yiming from the airport early early in the morning and we had a good breakfast. went home to sleep again before meeting up with them again to head down to crown casino for a good dinner. the food was decent but the waiter was rude and creepy... kept imagining he was spitting into the food before it was served, that was pretty dodgy. The manager however came over to the table for a chat and he was sharing his life experiences with us, that was good though, i really wish i had the chance to go to the places he has been to and doing the stuff he has done. maybe later on i guess

well, another weekend here in melbourne gone by.....

daz

2006-05-07T20:44:00.000+10:00

Okay... pretty eventful weekend. Went to my friends' house on Sat for a get-together / house-warming sorta thing. Was pretty chill, drank some booze and socialized. Got to meet some really interesting new people and catch up with old (but really are actually quite new) friends. I mean thats what I'm here in Melbourne for... a new adventure sort of, trying to widen my circle of friends and keep my life interesting and not falling into stagnation. My mate had a really cute doggie called chino and he helped him out with the entertaining, always coming up to you on occasion to make sure that u were alright. All in all, the little doggie made a pretty good host, he kept everyone entertained. Also he brought along 2 of his little doggie friends, they were still puppies and still in that cute/adorable stage. Made me really wanna go out and get a dog... haha... needless to say, got pretty wasted last night but since I didn't have to go to work the next day, it was all good. I'm glad I managed to drag myself outta the house, it was worth it.

Here are some random photos taken that night

Tian and Yuhan (laughing?!?!)

Why is Tian so afraid of me =(

Raj, Jermaine and me

Notice the ciggie cocktail in my hand (i blame the flash for the ambiguity)

Yuhan, Wermy and me

*note that i probably spelt some peoples names wrongly, but thats because i'm an idiot... so forgive me =)

Drinks @ Robot

2006-05-05T23:56:00.000+10:00

Okay... today was pretty decent despite the crappy weather outside. Woke up early this morning and spent some quality time playing my new computer game (The Battle for Middle Earth 2) I'm pretty much a LoTRs geek sometimes. Had lunch with my old friend Nick who is in town for a few days. Good to catch up with him, its weird that i don't really meet up with him in Spore and it takes him to come down to Melb before we actually meet up, but its all good i guess, at least we're staying in touch =)

Headed to Uni in the evening for a group meeting =(... that kinda sucked but at least we got a massive amount of work done. Went for viet noodles after that and ended up at this pretty cool bar for drinks afterwards. It was called Robot and it had a really neo-japanese vibe. Totally awesome vibe, its what i love about Melbourne, u get these sorta niched places here that sets it apart from the rest of the world. All in all, a pretty decent day i guess... off to bed now so i can wake up nice and early to go to work tomorrow

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Random Update #7: DONE !!!!!!!!!!!

2006-04-30T10:32:00.000+10:00

well almost... its like 95% completed, it just needs a quick edit and a look through... i'm frankly over this assignment, the more i try and understand it, the more confused i get. Spoke to my friend last night and he told me that the lecturer said that we didn't need to use the case study for the first 2 questions... but yet there was direct mention in the actual question to the case ?!?!?! wtf ?!?!?! okays anyways i'm done... i've tried to do it in a manner that a postgraduate student would do... all analytical and shit... haha... i'm over this assignment, if i get a pass, i'd be stoked.

anyways, the assignment is essentially about:
(i) nature of consideration
(ii) estoppel and unconscionable conduct
(iii) equitable impact on the principals of contract

for all you lawyers who think is easy, remember that i've none done law before... and he has essentially given us whole cases to read, some of the language written in the late 1800s or by old people who were prolly born around that time... its just been confusing the hell outta me because these cases refuse to come out and say what they actually mean.. they beat around the bush (like the lecturer) and that drives me INSANE !!!!!!!! i'm not trained to do this shit, he never thought us how to read cases... i'm sure lawyers even when they're starting out, get broken into this shit, not just told to sink or swim

anyways... i'm gonna have a quick break and then time to study Finance

*sob sob*

Random Update #6: Nearly done...

2006-04-30T01:23:00.000+10:00

Okay, my damn assignment is almost done, just need to write up a few hundred more words for one question and do a little bit of a re-write for another (i totally missed the plot for that question... but i'm at that point where i really don't care)... achieved quite a bit this past few days, feel really proud of myself... haha... nothing like good 'ol last minute desperate adrenaline to help me finish an assignment

All i gotta do now is start worrying about my finance exam... DAMN!!!!

Snuck out to have a pretty late dinner with Tian. Went down to that famous greek souvlaki place to have some kebabs, which was pretty decent, helped me relax a little bit and not feel too stressed out. Just got home now and i've decided that i'll go to bed and finish the rest of the assingment tomorrow... woohoo.. then i can kill myself with learning Finance

Also i might have pissed my manager off at GP's today, trying to get out of a few shifts, i feel really really bad. She's an awesome girl, who took me on when no one else wanted me... and i really hate to disappoint her but i think i'm gonna be struggling with school this week and i need a little time off... i really hope she understands..... arrrghhh

anyways... off to bed
nite...

Random Update #5: still doing the assignment

2006-04-29T01:01:00.000+10:00

okay... its about 1am and i have about 1,500 words and 1 and 2/3 questions to go... but most of it is bullshit... i hate this subject, i wish the lecturer had given us more straight forward question... i mean come on, this is the first time we're doing a law subject, couldn't you break us in a little bit slower ?!?!?!?!?!?!

*sigh*
grrrrrrrrrrr

i'm still sad =(

Random Update #4: screwed screwed SCREWED !!!!

2006-04-28T21:49:00.000+10:00

okay i now have 375 words out of 3000 words for my legal assignment... i skipped work and this is pretty much all i achieved =(. But i fully plan to have 1000 more by the end of tonight (3am) that is the plan. I have a 6-pack of V (australian equivilant of redbull... tastes better imo) and that shld help me keep the energy going... might even decide to go run later at the gym if i get desperate... haha...

sent my car in for repair yesterday... the total bill came up to 700 bucks, but a lot of work has been done on it and my 'princesses' is going much smoother now... i think she is ready to go on a road trip somewhere, now i must find some friends who wanna go on a roadtrip with me... heh. The guy fixed the engine, tuned it up, changed the filters, brand new leads, new water pump, gaskets/timing belts all replaced, essentially a LOT of work... took him 5 hrs, if it was me... it'd prolly take me 50hrs... i used to be a crappy mechanic back in the army... will post a picture of my baby soon... its kinda long overdued

also sorta had a manic depression attack last night... first time that i've ever went through something like that, it was not pleasant... too much crap swirling around in my brain... need to chuck some stuff out

well back to my damn assignment... =(

i feel depressed *sob*

Random Update #3: Another Bad Day

2006-04-28T00:17:00.000+10:00

I've just realised how screwed I am... I've got an assignment due on monday and i've only just started. I told myself I wouldn't slack off here in Melb... but guess what; I'm still slacking off... i'm done with studying... I hate it and I'm so over it. Anyways, I admit its my fault for starting late but I do take some issues with the lecturer. My legal lecturer here is one of the worst I have ever had. The sad fact is that he is not a "real" lawyer, just a consultant... so obviously there is something wrong right there; if he was good-looking, I would reckon he'd slept his way to the job(which i assume of all people who have jobs they don't deserve) but he is old and baldy so thats my theory out of the window. He has absolutely no structure to the lecture, his notes; the assignment... everything is all over the place, he goes on all these weird tangents which confuse the hell outta me (dunt think i'm the only one). I also "like" the fact that he doesnt take any stands... he never gives a straight answer, just vague responses and asks us the extract the answer from that... which blows... Okay, i've read the case study for the assignment 46 pages of lawyerese (he fucking assumes that we've been studying law for the past 4 yrs.... wtf?!?!?). He just yanked it wholesale from the Internet!!!! no write-up to help us understand it better, no emphasis on the important bits.... talk about being lazy... I'm a student, I have a life... therefore i can be expected to be lazy... he is bald and ugly, what is his excuse??? And this is the best part... during lectures... he reads from the notes!!!! like my primary school teacher used to do... i mean come on, this is a postgraduate level, show some professionalism... would he like it if i just copied stuff wholesale from the textbook????
Fuck Him...

Also got a mid-session exam the next day =( but i think i should be fine... i've been going for those classes

I've finally left the house: Indie Nite @ Laundry

2006-04-25T11:22:00.000+10:00

Okay... yesterday( monday) was an extremely long day for me, started out by arriving at 8.30 for work and cleaning the store... i dont even clean my house as throughly as the effort i put into cleanning the store in the mornings. Anyways, met a lovely Singaporean gal and her bf... sold them a pair of tsubi jeans... glad that i'm helping to influence more Singaporeans to buy those jeans. Its all part of tsubi's masterplan to takeover the universe. Apart from that, an uneventful day at work; although there was drama in the morning when i locked myself out of my room, had the effing security guard tell me that it was too bad... didnt want to tell her that her choice of career was poor and that was too bad for her.

After work at 6, i actually went to my legal lecture after a 6 week absence, only to realise that the lecturer is still a boring old man and you effectively learn nothing in class. But i had a pretty damn good dinner with my lecture-mate afterwards, so that made the effort okay

Ended up at Brunswick at midnight to the club called for their Indie night. Honestly, never really been for something like that, usually go to clubs that spin retro; house; r&b so it was a pretty good change... I honestly dont think Singapore has a place like that. Drank like a fish as usual... which was good, my liver has been complacent and needed a good workout. I've been a bit of a homebody (hence the title) this past few weeks, cancelling out on so many people when i should be out there partying HARD.... isnt that why i moved to melb. The crowd was majorly EMO and the DJ spun tunes from Artic Monkeys/Kaiser Chiefs/Strokes/Postal Service. Wasnt the best set in the world but energy levels were high so that made it aight. Most amusing part of the night was when this guy was doing a chick in the bathroom and there was a line. When the bouncer kicked the door in and both of them came out, he had to do the walk of shame pass all us queuing quys cause that chick was prolly drugged out and really really fugly. But all in all, a good night. Thanks to Clara and her crew for asking me along =)

No photos though as i walked there and had to pass a pretty dodgy area, didnt wanna get mugged. I can deal with the mugging, just not losing the camera which my dad got for me and made my sis jealous, hence the attachment to it

Ummmm more Nike Shoes

2006-04-22T21:09:00.000+10:00

Was walking by Melbourne Central yesterday and saw that the General Pants over there had the new Nike Air MAx 90 in a bone/teal colour; obviously i wanted it so i bought it... knoced 60bucks off thanks to my good 'ol staff discount... makes working retail bearable. I know I have a problem but honestly, i fully intend to wear these shoes and not deadstock them... i've already worn them to work today =)

Random Update #2

2006-04-20T21:27:00.000+10:00

Okay this is the second time this week that someone has told me my store's hiring policy was racist, and pretty much that they didnt hire Asians... which is pretty untrue... because i'm working there. Anyways, she said she applied but she got rejected, so henceforth they have a racist hiring policy ?!?! What do i say to a customer when they sorta question how i managed to get my job? I just say i got lucky... what else can i say? Oh well...

daryl

Random Update

2006-04-19T21:18:00.000+10:00

I have $0.77 or 77 cents in my bank account... i havent got paid and i need money/charity/sponsorship.... i'm broke broke broke
and my car needs repairs, the fanbelt is in a dodgy state and my engine is leaking oil =(

donations please....

After Easter; First day of holidays; feeling sick and yucky

2006-04-17T17:57:00.000+10:00

Pretty much this has been a pretty sucky way to start off my spring break. The weather is crap, not nice and balmy like it would have been if i were back in Sydney (pretty much just been missing sydney heaps ever since my holiday). I've just spent the time that i've been back from Sydney working heaps. Feeling suprisingly drained, i reckoned its not the work that gets to me but rather the time it takes for me to actually drive to work and back; its not a long drive, its just that i keep getting stuck in traffic =(. Anyways been pretty crappy company lately, not really been headed out and partying like i told myself i would when i decided to move to melbourne. just wanna hibernate at home really, but i reckon i'll snap back soon... i'm like a rubber band. But despite all that, still found time to meet up with some new friends for coffee and meals.

An interesting thing happened at work the other day, this Singaporean lady that visited the store told me that my company had a pretty racist hiring policy and that they didnt really hire any Asians. I don't really believed that for one second, but it did make me feel pretty much like an outsider. I mean there are Asians who work at GP's but they're all born here in Australia, its pretty much only me, the one and only Singaporean working there. I kinda felt pretty singled out after that, made me realise that no matter how hard i tried, i'd never fit in. Although everyone in the store is making me feel very welcomed, there is still a part of me that knows that i'll never fully be able to integrate with all of them. At the end of the day, i have only 4yrs in Australia whilst most of them have spent their whole life in Oz. But at least i'm trying right... I don't believe that I'm just filling their EEO requirements (Equal Employment Opportunity) but rather they're a merit-based organisation. I think she might have been a little bit sore because her son had previously applied for a job there but didnt get it... but well thats just my opinion
At the end of the day, its all about the money and i gotta keep reminding myself of that.

I think i'm going through winter depression... heh

Last Day in Sydney Again

2006-04-10T09:52:00.000+10:00

Well i've been back in Sydney for nearly a week now and today will be my last day here and i've gotta be headed back to Melbourne, the place in which i call home now. Part of me is kinda looking forward to going back there, to my comfy one-bed room apartment and my sorta king-sized bed; my job at General Pants where my pay is now $19 an hour (a slight increase of $1.20); and my new friends over there. However, most of me still wants to stay here and kinda ditch the whole Melbourne experience... nothing really beats what you've known for 4 years now, sydney just feels so damn right. Went back into my old store and was greeted with hugs and love... can't believe i was with that crew for over a year and now i'm starting with a whole new bunch. My new colleagues are awesome though and they've got the best stories to tell, hopefully we'll bond as well as i've bonded with this group here in Sydney

Been doing absolutely nought this whole week and i like it. Took a week off from school, kinda being a little bit slack but oh well easter break is coming up and i fully intend to make up for my "slackness" over the holidays. Just been watching countless movies like V for Vendetta on Sat which is pretty decent in my book... i've seen worse and this one does have a good message behind it, loads of parallels between the nazis, the jewish holocaust, US imperialism, Abu Grabhi (i think that its spelt this way?) prision; all mixed in with a little vaudevillian theatrics and the occasionally violence (albeit not so mindless), blood and gore.

Played monopoly last night... i won, giving full credit to my degree in commerce, hopefully its a sign of good things to come, an indication of my business savyness and negotiation skills... haha. Drank a little over the past few nights, all in all, a pretty fufilling trip. I'm already planning my next one at the back of my mind =)

cheers

PvD@ The Metro

2006-04-02T20:56:00.000+10:00

The set was pretty good, started too late in my opinion but that maniac started off the night at Canberra spinning before headed down here to Melbourne. Wonder what he was on... definately needed to be on speed to be able to spin for like 7hrs in a night. Unfortunately for me, had to work the next day and couldn't afford to drive down semi-drunk or attempt to sell stuff under the influence. So I had to leave early; feel pretty cheated too because he came out much later thanks to daylight savings time, thought it would work in my favour but nooooooo.... it just gave him that extra hour of rest. All in all a good night, brought back memories of seeing him back in Spore when i was younger at the powerhouse and somewhere else which i can't remember... i think it was the Pavillion or something. Anyways... the venue was kick-ass... never seen any place in Sydney that could really compare, it was like an old converted theatre so it had a little bit of that artistic vibe going; not like that manufactured wannabe vibe that zouk in Singapore gives out. There was a massive dancefloor with 2 extra levels of sorta walkways on both sides where people were chilling and dancing. AWESOME

New Shoes....[lunar/eclipse dunks]

2006-03-30T10:31:00.000+11:00

I was walking down Chapel Street yesterday and I happen to see these new Nike dunks that so happened to have dropped like only 2 hrs before. These are the lunar/eclipse dunks and they have been pretty sought after. I know that you had to queue in Singapore to get them and apparently got sold out within 2 mins in Hong Kong. Since I'm a sneaker head, thought I'd get them to add to my extensive collection... heh heh. So i bought both colourways... I know I have a problem

Moving to Melbourne

2006-02-25T12:19:00.000+11:00

Okay guys and girls....

Decided on an impulse to move to Melbourne for a bit of a change. Got a little bit bored with Sydney, realised that as much as i love that damn city and all my friends there, if i don't get out and explore the rest of Australia, i might live to regret it. Was become a little bit too complacent, doing the same thing over and over again and basically leading a very uninteresting and safe life there. Don't really want to wake up one morning and really really regret not doing this

Anyways, here I am in Melbourne. Although its been pretty lonely for awhile, and i'm missing Nick and Colleen A LOT, i'm kinda living off the vibe in this city. It sounds weird but it feels very arty and relaxed. Honestly, I don't know if Sydney had that vibe or have i just becomed so used to that city that i've become indifferent. There is something really different here in Melbourne and I guess I am going to enjoy it while I can

So instead of doing the same shit in the same city, i'm doing the same shit in a different city, Which at least makes me feel somewhat better... haha. Well i've started working in the General Pants here in Chadstone so thats pretty cool. Gauranteed some extra spending cash and with a spending problem like mine, that'll come in handy heaps. Also i get staffies (staff discount) at the place where i blow most of my cash anyway. In essence i'm sorta working for free. People at GP Chadstone are great, making me feel really welcomed and thats appreciated. Its only fun to work at a store like that if the people around you make it worth coming into work.

thanks for reading....

Sorta Farewell@ the Beach Road

2006-01-10T20:40:00.000+11:00

Well before leaving for Melbourne... I had to have one last drink with my wonderful crew who have been really patient and understanding with me. Its was a little hard trying to work with people from a different culture but they've been great... and they've made my time in Sydney all that more enjoyable. I call it my sorta farewell because i like to think that'll i'll be back and i always hate to say goodbye. Really Really good memories with these people after working with them for over a year.... *sob sob*

RESULTS !!!!

2005-12-23T21:49:00.000+11:00

Woohoo ... I've pretty much passed my exams ... Don't know how considering the sheer lack of effort I actually put into it. Either I am extremely smart or University of Technology Sydney is extremely CRAP. I choose to believe the latter, that UTS is Crap. Well I passed

'Nuff Said

Sounds on Sunday

2005-12-18T11:38:00.000+11:00

So it was a pretty decent Sunday, had to work (as usual), but the money earned makes it all the more sweeter. Love working on sundays where the law requires you to get paid time and a half (which means x1.5 of normal salary); but also makes going back to work in Singapore which i might have to do eventually that much more sucky. How ever will i learn to live with the meager minimum wage that the Singapore Govt deems as sufficient

Anyways, I digress... Headed down to the Greenwood for Sounds on Sunday, which is pretty much a pretty awesome party held on Sunday afternoons, to celebrate one of my workmates birthday. Good music with "Dirty Laundry" headlining the afternoon. It was totally tripped out and the crowd was all looking their best. Awesome vibe and atmosphere and against better judgement downed too many drinks in a short period of time. Well, we did manage to get in for FREE, as we scored some free tickets that the club promoters gave us, which always makes a cheapo Asian pretty damn happy.

Partied hard for a little while and then had to head off to meet an old mate who had come up from Singapore for a visit. So we went for a late dinner at pancakes at the rocks, which honestly has lost its appeal to me =(

And that pretty much was my Sunday

Peace

Staff BBQ and imminent exam failure

2005-12-11T23:38:00.000+11:00

Had a pretty awesome BBQ with the crew from the store on sunday... just chilling with a couple of beers and some susage sizzle. Really good way to get to know the new crew a little bit better ... they seem to be growing on me =) Was taught how to play some Aussie lawn bowls game and it was pretty fun. I didn't suck too badly ... who knows, with enough practise, its a "sport" i might get decent at. Well i told myself i would stay for a little while but ended up there for a long long time

Hence the imminent exam failure ... i've spent precious time that i could have used to study on mindless alcholic-fueled futilities ... but i can honestly say that when i fail, there will be no regrets =)

Finance Exam Tomorrow!!!!!

2005-12-11T13:52:00.000+11:00

OH MY GOD....

I have my make-up finance exam tomorrow ... i missed the first one because i decided to chuck a sickie on it .... discovered this wonderfully dodgy doctor who exchanges MCs for cash ... always handy to have around, especially if you can claim it back from medibank (compulsary health insurance) Well i thought it would give me more time to study but instead i decided to muck around and leave it till the last minute

I cancelled work today and yesterday; but even still i honestly do not think i will be able to pass this exam. too many classes skipped (because i decided to change uni's ... long story for another post) i like gaurantees in life and i can deal with a gauranteed failure, instead of have a 50/50 shot at passing. i'll still go for the exam tomorrow but i'm pretty much screwed for it

i shldn't even be blogging, i shld be studying

also, i've got a bbq later at Tamarama beach which i'll be going for

oh well ... guess i'll have to do it again =(

wish me luck

Buy Some Electirc Sunglasses!!!!

2005-12-04T23:18:00.000+11:00

Had another industry party the other night and did it kick ass again, it was for Electirc Sunglasses. They shouted the bar tab for the whole night and were we all pretty drunk by the nights end. Really good to head out with the crew for a pissing good time on the booze =) Stayed away from the beer this time but got really into these new Smirnoff twist things, tastes like a soft drink which can be pretty dangerous as you never can remember how many you've had. Met up with some former crew and we all had an awesome time. Had to leave early though as we had to staff the store the next day. But we all did manage to catch a little bit of the "Goons of Doom" which were alright, nothing fantastic but still decent (anyways, when ur drunk who cares 'eh)

Morale of the story: Buy Electic Sunglasses !!!! Also since they kept me happy, i'll be selling more for them

peace

2005-11-24T19:36:00.000+11:00

Okay this is the whole Bondi Crew (General Pants + SDS) Pretty much it was: Cave People meet Alice in Wonderland. To get this group photo, we had to grab a random stranger off the street to snap it for us. All she wanted as payment for the effort was a light for her ciggie. Smokers are such easy pleasers

2005-11-24T19:30:00.000+11:00

All of the crew decked out in our best "cavemen" outfits ... props to Lily for all that hardwork making our costumes! This is a photo taken pre-party before we all got pissed drunk on the free alcohol (i had like 3 drinks, a ciggie the whole night ... pretty interesting balancing act when ur drunk) Representing SDS Bondi =)

General Pant's Staff Party

2005-11-24T19:23:00.000+11:00

For those in the know, I work retail here in Sydney for General Pants and last night was my staff party which was totally totally awesome. We had a bar tab in the thousands and we were all pretty plastered by the end of the night. Really there was no theme for the party but each store came in fancy dress based on something that they had thought up. A LOT of effort was put into costume and everyone looked pretty awesome all decked out. Our Bondi store decided to go as cave people and we were dressed up in our cave outfits and we looked pretty strange. Like we just escaped from the musuem. My manager was pretty hilarious, chasing people around in costume, we must have looked pretty crazy to them. She sorta "attacked" a bus and the people in the bus were staring at us like we were some crazy freaks.

Anyways, all the stores were dressed up, some came as cops and robbers, Alice in Wonderland, Tennis Ho's and Golf Pros, Baywatch, Pirates. It was a pretty crazy night with all of us getting pissed outta our minds. Everyone at any point had like 2 drinks in their hand and it was an all out party. Dancing the night away!

The only problem for us was having to go to work early the next morning. I drew the 9 am start shift and I staggered in all hungover and ready to pass out. But it was totally worth it, only one Christmas Party a year, so should go all out!

Daz

Sunday Dinner

2005-11-20T23:37:00.000+11:00

Had a really awesome Sunday BBQ dinner, my thanks to Joe for preping an excellent BBQ feast. Had fresh prawns on the barbie (how typically aussie), fish, lamb chops ... ate too much and was totally stuffed, downed a couple of beers to top it off. Was nice to sit around the table and get to know his friends a little bit better ... always a good time =)

couldn't ask for a better sunday dinner

peace

Crazy Car Driver

2005-11-17T22:02:00.000+11:00

Woah today was really really weird .....

Started out really normal, went to a training session to learn how to better "service" the needs of the customer over Christmas ... normal consumers will never believe how much effort goes into training sales staff so that they can extract the most money outta ya

Anyways ... was driving home from EastGardens shopping centre after doing a bit of shopping and had this guy going the wrong way in the carpark. Being the nice guy i am, i rolled down my window and YELLED at him that he was going the wrong way. Of course, nobody likes to be corrected by a geeky Asian boy so he swore at me with the F-word. The neighbourly thing to do was to swear back at him, which i did ... so i F'ed him back. Well you would think it was the end of that but the nut actually got out of the car to chase mine. Crazy Driver ... well i wasn't going to get out and fight him so i just sped off with him chasing my car. It was really a very "What The" moment

Ended the day with a Great dinner at 2 Chefs on Spencer ... was pretty awesome

thanks for reading
daz

What I did on my first day of being 24

2005-11-11T00:25:00.000+11:00

Okay ... I'm officially one year older but not neccessarily the wiser. BUT ... If anything has to be learnt from this past year is probably drinking should be done in moderation.

Anyways, this first day started pretty early in the morning with me heading out to the river for some wakeboarding with Nick and some of the UNSW club members. Its pretty much getting warmer out there not although i reckon the day could have used a little bit more sun. So it was a pretty good morning, trying to work on my jumps (still needs a lot of work) and just generally chilling out in the boat

Watched a movie ... Four Brothers, which was pretty decent, pretty sad though but it kinda made up for it with the huge body count. I like a good movie with an impressive body count

Also decided to have a birthday dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and that was pretty much a last minute decision ... was pretty fun, although not as chill as i hopped it would be because of the live band which really got in the way of conversation. Oh well ... bought a round of fancy cocktail drinks for everyone (or should i say my parents and aunt bcuz i put it on their credit card).

Headed to the premier of Rusty (a surfing brand) DVD party afterwards but that sucked cuz the crew from my store pretty much left already since by the time i got there it was pretty late. So headed back home to sleep and hopefully study for exams

And that folks is pretty much the first day of my 24th year of life. I hope it gets better =)

daz

I went to Melbourne Cup

2005-11-03T13:51:00.000+11:00

Well not really .... I didn't really go to Melbourne and i didn't really enjoy the races; was still in Sydney but i think in Australia when they say Melbourne Cup its pretty much a universal excuse not to go to work on that day =)

Had to work the bar at the Randwick Jockey Club (for those in the know ... MI2 was filmed there, just a little bit) ... not those nice easy bars but those horribly busy ones in the snobby members area. Anyhoo, I'm a bar supervisor because of my incredible level of competence but I really dunt want to be responsible any more ... I really don't ... I'd rather just get on the floor and serve booze but NO... I'm middle management now ... yuck

So I sorta went to Melbourne Cup, not to get drunk and oogle at the eye candy but to work and be yelled at

honestly i had the most retarded staff member ... didn't know shit ... but it didn't really make me angry ... his level of incompetance wasn't frustrating, it was more amusing. But I was short of one staff cause he disappeared somewhere and was never found again that day. Whatever I told him to do, all he basically did was just walk around the bar and look lost, even after i explained what he needed to do he still just walked around the bar looking lost. Had a few other no shows on my staff list which lead to some dramas because there was not enough service and massive queues .... but my bar still took in like 20+k ... which tells you how ridicuosly overpriced the alcohol is at the races. MY advice to people who want to come, get drunk first, and plenty of spirits like vodka does look a lot like mineral water (u can carry it in a Mt Franklin bottle and then mix it with soft drinks once you get there).

I think this is pretty much the last Melbourne Cup i'll ever be working

Who Doesn't Love Cocktails

2005-09-03T23:54:00.000+10:00

Really ... who doesn't care for cocktails ... all mixed up in their pretty colours and no one knowing what actually is in them. Just got home from a pretty awesome Saturday night, pity the alcohol got drank out pretty fast. As usual, the only Asian around, trying to hold my own with a big bunch of white people and doing pretty damn well i must say =). Anyways, had to leave early because 1) the alcohol ran out and 2) I promised my manager that I would go to work sober tomorrow morning ... and I always keep a promise sort of

Well, all that pretty coloured drinks, blue, brown, green, purple, red ... you can't really keep track of it after awhile, but it was still good, and they were mixed pretty well ... I think this is gonna be a start of a new trend for the wakeboard club ... haha ... and I am gonna be a constant fixture at these events

Gonna sleep my buzzzzzz of now ... Nite to one and all !!!!

~daz

An Unexpectedly Quite Thursday

2005-08-18T22:22:00.000+10:00

Just wondering .... does anyone know where my stamina for partying has gone? If you've found it, could you please return it to me ... thanks

Well, I thought tonight would be a pretty decent night, had a couple of parties that i planned to go to but i only managed to make it for one ... and i didn't even last as long as i wanted to. I wanted to stay and drink a bit but I was too tired today, having worked at 10am this morning and then had a bit of school afterwards.

Don't know what is happening to me .... i think age has finally come a'calling

Well off to bed for me

The Moaning After

2005-08-16T23:01:00.000+10:00

Don't you just hate those morning afters, when you sorta ask why you put yourself through this torture? Was the fun and partying really worth the suffering? and the answer to that question is that you go out that night and do the same thing all over again

Well the morning after the Singapore dance party was pretty bad. And I don't usually get hung over, I sleep it all off in the morning. But today being special, I had to go to work at 9am ... giving me only about 5 hrs to recover. So i rocked up to my job still drunk and wondering if itwould be easier and less painful to call up and quit there and then.

Anyways ... it was a very very LONG morning and I had to wait until the alcohol cleared up before I got take some neurofen. Didn't want to risk mixing medication and trace amounts of alochol. Don't think it would be very professional of me on the job, trying to sell surfboards high =) Although it would make work a bit more intresting for my manager.

Gonna relax this weekend and recover

the Singapore Society of NSW presents a tribute to Singapore

2005-08-13T03:20:00.000+10:00

Celebrating Singapore's National Day, Australian style ....

which basically means getting drunk outta your f**kin mind. Honestly, I don't think I ever lose control as much as I do here in Australia, but then again, there isn't any good reason not to drink =)

So I started off the day at 6am, cause I decided to brave the cold winter waters of Austrlia and go for a wakeboarding session at the river. Not the smartest move on my part, having picked the coldest day Sydney has had for a long long time. It was 0 degrees in the morning, which in Sydney hasn't ever been that low before. Anyways, did a pickup in Coogee, avoided an accident with a grumpy old lady (my fault actually). So it was really quite an intresting start to the day.

Got to the river and decided the water was too cold for me to get in more than once so i had a double run (20mins) and spent the rest of the time driving the boat, making sure that people got enough runs during the day. The thing is, because it was so cold, people gave up after only 1 or 2 runs and we packed up early and headed back to the city. Which was actually a pretty good thing because it allowed me a little afternoon nap to prepare for my patriotic festivites in the late evening

So it was quite a big group of us that decided to pay tribute to Singapore this night and I was kinda excited because I have been drinking much with these people in a long long time and we were way over due to become hangover buddies =). Although I must say, drinking with the Australian has improved my tolerance for alcohol ... kinda worked my Asian liver into a super strong muscle!
All through the night it was drink after drink after drink with the occasional bopping to the mambo music on the dance floor (Gawd I really miss mambo night at zouk, with all those sychronised dancing, can't get more Sinaporean than that).

After a few drinks I decided we were getting drunk fast enough so I decided to be a little bit sneaky and buy a few bottles of champagne. Which is a surefire way to push you over the edge. Something about those little bubbles in them that promise an express ride to your happy place.

As expected. we got drunk FAST after that and that really put a BIG smile on my face.

Had to leave early though ... needed to work at 9am the next morning, wasn't expecting to but had to because of the change in my shifts

Come to realise, that the only time I actually thought about Singapore was when I was entering the club, the moment I was in, all thoughts about it were gone. Makes me realise how far gone I truly am.

The Bravery @ the Metro

2005-08-11T00:03:00.000+10:00

Who can resist the opportunity to catch this "manufactured band" live in action. Although many critics have slammed them as a wannabe band, I think they make pretty good music, very 80esque music with a modern updated sound.

So I started off the day in a pretty bad mood because my shifts at work got screwed up, they changed them but no one bother to tell me about it so I found out that I would be late for the concert, which kinda pissed me off, but oh well, you've gotta be responsible right. The only consolation was that they had the CDs at work so I was blasting it over the sound system the whole day to get myself into the mood for the concert.

The night started out with a couple of beers and bourbons to take the edge of the day and to mellow me out a little. The opening band, Faker was pretty good, apart from a very cheesy song about a very cheesy 80s movie (something about a teenage werewolf in love). Whats with this whole 80s revival ... I think i'm beginning to get caught up in it ... oh well. So Faker got the mood really going before the Bravery came out.

More alcohol later and the night really started to pick up, the Bravery was bloody awesome. They were pretty hardcore and I enjoyed the night through and through. I think I've become one of those people that you wanna kill in the mosh pits, that idiot person in the front of you that can't stop bouncing up and down; and won't let you cut in front of him. Hey ... its taking me many many concerts to get to this level of mosh pit "professionalism" that I have now achieved

Anyways, its been a good day ...
Peace

Pub Crawl in the City

2005-08-08T11:20:00.000+10:00

Whew .... still feeling the after effects of a massive pub crawl in the city. Alcohol was good, the girls were even better.... Suprisingly there were more gals than guys which always makes for a Great Nite !!!! Cannot believe the amount of booze I consumed that night, tried to follow the drink list religiously but in the end spent most of my cash on champage ... we drank the pub dry of their bubbly and I got pretty pissed off as I wanted MORE !!!! Didn't make it to the very last pub but it was a fantastic time, met some gals from the US and we partied hard, shared some stories and got pretty smashed.

Dragged some of them back with me home for more alcohol and a little bit of the happy plant ... only lasted until 1am that night, but all things considered was pretty damn lucky as i had to work the next day in the morning. Which I did, still feeling the after effects of that crazy night !

cheers

Foundation Day at New South

2005-08-06T03:12:00.000+10:00

Decided to get outta the house yesterday and head down to the uni for their foundation day party. Went at around 9pm but people were already there since like 3pm in the afternoon ... Honestly, in my years in Asutralia, I still havent developed the stamina to start drinking in the afternoon, sadly it is a skill which i am lacking of ...

Saw some fat chick get up on stage and try to shake what she had (which was plenty) and that was a totally scarring experience. All in all, was a pretty decent night, although security was anal and the drink counter closed early. But when you're at ur happy place, who really cares right ?!?!

~daz

Just another lazy sunday

2005-05-30T15:08:00.000+10:00

Woah ... went down to Oxford St for some North Indian food for dinner ... pretty damn yummy ... my fav Indian place to go to. As usual over ordered and really couldnt finish the meal ... oh well, rather over-order than actually still be hungry

Didnt do so much today really ... just went to church, chilled out at home during the arvo, killing time basically when i shld have been studying. Frantically editing my assignment now so i passed up the chance to go down to my friends place to hang out ... how dilligent of me

oh well ... school sucks, but its still better then working

thanks for reading

StarWars Episode 3

2005-05-19T20:00:00.000+10:00

Saw it and Loved it ...
Prolly worth sitting through 2 mediocre films just to get to this one ... Old Man Lucas so did not disappoint this time around

Those lightsabre battles were wicked cool ... went home and practised with mine
Was sad when everybody died ... wanted to cry ... but then realised that it would just be damn pathetic of me if anybody saw

Movie ended ... and then i realised that there would be no more StarWars movies ever ... made me feel sad again

I am such a Massive Geek 8) and proud of it ... This is what happens when you have a deprived childhood

2004-01-01T00:59:00.000+11:00