People throw out TVs in Spring

We found ANOTHER television on the street! This one is huge (probably over 45") and works perfect! So we're down to selling the first television that we found on the street -- does anyone want it? We're willing to let it go for cheap! You can take a look at my Gumtree ad for pictures and details.

I know I have said this before, but it is simply ridiculous what Australians throw out.

Anyway, I'm sorry for not being more consistent with my blog but I'm finally getting a chance to scribble something after lots of school projects. I completed my RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) which is mandatory for anyone who wants to work around alcohol -- waitstaff, bartenders, etc. I got it done with THINQ for only $65 which is a great deal and one of the cheaper classes in town. Basically, you sit in a room for about 6 hours and listen to someone babble on about how you should never serve alcohol to minors or people already drunk, and all the ways that you can attempt to explain to a drunk person why you can't serve them any more booze. It seemed like a total waste of time to me but no matter; at least now I can legally work in any restaurant, hotel or bar that I want! The next thing I want to do is take some bartending or cocktail-mixing classes... anyone interested in going with me? :)

Today Chris and I also went for our first salsa class at Latin Motion, an 8-week course for only $90. FYI, you need to book these things in advance. The beginner class was jammed to the max and it's only an hour long, but the instructors are very specific and clear with their lesson so that was good. You also get to move in rotations so you're not constantly dancing with the same person -- great if you like to meet people, not so great when you get Mr-Two-Left-Feet who is
trying to be cool and fling you around!

By the way, SPRING IS FINALLY HERE! And not a moment too soon either; the weather is gorgeous, the sun is out, and it's time to lose some weight and hit the beach! ;)




Some random pictures from campus.... minutes before one of our marketing presentations.


That's pretty much it -- I wish I had more interesting things to share!

Pictures of food... again.

In lieu of an incredibly rainy Sunday that ruined all my plans of going to the Australian Beer Festival, we stayed at home and cooked a lot of food, and ate... a lot of food. Like pigs. As usual.

Croque Monsieur... but nowhere near as good as Mme Choula's in Lyon!


Vegetable lasagne with some extra bechamel sauce on the side. The pictures doesn't do it any justice.


And finally, profiteroles (or cream puffs)! I couldn't believe how easy they were to make. Here are the pastries just out of the oven.


...and after the addition of homemade creme chantilly and some berries for fun.


In case you're inspired (or just hungry) for more, you should definitely check out my best friend's blog here; she writes kick-ass posts on fashion and food and she's an amazing chef. :) I love you Jo!

Parklife 2009 - Empire of the Sun, La Roux, Crystal Castle A-Trak and so much more!

An overdue post on Parklife 2009 from over two weeks ago! It was an overcast, slightly drizzly sort of Sunday but the rain held off, thank God!

We decided to skip the early sets in favor of a few beers before inching our way through the thick crowds. 45 minutes of standing in line, stomping about in an increasingly muddy Kippax Park ensued before we got in. Disorganization much?

We hopped from stage to stage (there were 5), trying to catch all of our favorite bands. The music was trippin'; the alcohol not so much. $10 for a miserable vodka-redbull that I'm pretty sure didn't have any Smirnoff in it at all... what a shame. We were trembling from all the ingested sugar but certainly nowhere near drunk enough to enjoy standing for 8 hours and being shoved at.


That aside, I have to say that my favorites of the day were A-Trak and Empire of the Sun. I couldn't stop dancing to either one of these and I thought they put up a damn fine show, particularly since Nick Littlemore has gone AWOL and Luke Steele had to carry the show all on his own. Instead of backing down, he gave it his all with a troupe of incredible (and insane) contemporary dancers leaping and twisting around him. I couldn't even see A-Trak in action because the crowd was so dense -- there must have been something like 10,000 people at the stage.

And just look at that headpiece. No messing around there.



La Roux, the last act we caught of the night, was pretty disappointing. She said she was sick so I guess there wasn't much to be expected from her but I still felt the music was lacklustre. Maybe after jumping around for 8 hours, I just couldn't care anymore. The rain also decided to arrive and dampen the mood, and there were used condoms littering the field... guess some people had more fun that we did!

It was a fun experience overall; a great way to spend a day outside with friends, some alcohol and good music. There are tons of huge music festivals and concerts all the time in Sydney which is fabulous, but not exactly good for my wallet...!

$5 at The Clock Hotel, Learning to Salsa and Homemade Food Porn

My neighbourhood of Redfern isn't the most glamorous, but at least it's within walking distance of a fabulous one -- Surry Hills. There's a little bit of everything here: expensive restaurants to satisfy the gourmet-lovers, rinky-dinky pubs and posh small bars, not to mention some lovely little cafes for brunch with friends.

On Sunday, my housemates and I wandered over in search of a good deal before dinner. We ended up at The Clock Hotel which does $5 drinks every Sunday evening. Perfect! We stayed on the ground floor for a while, but got bored pretty fast. Humorous bartenders aside, it was way too quiet and dull, and the pool tables and slot machines weren't really our thing. We mounted the stairs and lo and behold, we found fellow alcoholics. A narrow balcony peers over Crown Street, and a young crowd snacks on chips and other finger food. It's a pleasant, cosy joint -- not too smug and not too rowdy. For $5 a pop, it's a decent place to whittle away some spare time.



My boyfriend and I also headed down to The White Horse for a free salsa class, which happens every Wednesday from 8.30pm to 9pm, with an open dance floor after 9pm. We fortified ourselves with some beer before diving in and joining a small group of about 15 others, with instructors from the Latin Dance Australia. OK, for half an hour it wasn't like we were all going to be world champions but it's a good way to pick up the basics and meet some people. We also snagged $50 vouchers for their 8-week dance courses which knocks the price down to about $90 per person, so it looks like we'll be bona fide dancers in two months! That is, if I can convince my boyfriend to humiliate himself every week without the influence of alcohol...

And finally, as promised, some Italian porn. Food porn, that is. We cook a lot at home, and usually go a bit overboard during the weekend. My boyfriend made some drool-worthy lasagne that took him half a day to make, and was gone before I could even snap a picture. That was followed by some Homemade Panna Cotta and Berry Coulis:


On Tuesday, we also went a bit overboard and made 4 pizzas in one sitting. I had prepared the dough the night before, and we used some passata and herbs for the sauce, and threw on whatever we had in the fridge, which included tons of cheese, spinach, sausages, prosciutto and mushrooms.


*Four big babies... Beat that, Dominos!

The Genius that is GoGet Car Sharing

Technically speaking, one doesn't need a car in the city, because there's good public transport, nice sidewalks, and you could even pick up a cheap recycled bicycle from somewhere. I'll have to say that even as much as I would love to just jump into a car and zoom around town, walking around Sydney has been an OK experience. Not as magical as Rome but certainly not as pedestrian-loathing as Texas.

Having said that, there are a handful of moments when you really need a car:
- When you want to move huge pieces of furniture like mammoth sofas and BBQ grills (that you later realize don't fit through your door).
- When you can't be bothered to push a Coles trolley full of a month's worth of groceries around for 30 minutes.
- When you want to take a day trip to the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley or just somewhere beyond the city.

Instead of renting a vehicle or getting delivery services (both pretty expensive alternative) or trying to leg it (probably a very painful experience), GoGet (goget.com.au) is the best thing I've discovered since being here, and is every carless expat's solution. You basically sign up and receive an electronic key card in the mail, which allows you to access various cars, trucks, vans, etc. that are located around the city and the suburbs. All you do is book it online, pick up the car, pay by the hour and return it in the spot you found it whe you're done. You don't even have to pay for gas!

It sounds like one of those too-good-to-be-true situations. It costs far less than renting a car for a day and has different pricing options so you get the most bang for your buck. On top of that, you get to feel like a good person who uses cars only when they absolutely have to, and isn't polluting the environment. ;) So it's good on your pocket and good for being green too! So if you don't already know about this, check it out, or see if something like this is offered in the city you live in (and if it's not, maybe you should think about starting it!)

In other news, here's a quick 'More Free Furniture Found in the Streets' update:
- Outdoor BBQ grill being thrown out by some spend-thrift neighbours
- TV found lying on the street that actually works
- Gorgeous study desk that looks brand new, found lying dismally along the road
- Double mattress and base, and a gorgeous metal headboard

It really is amazing how much stuff people throw out, even though it is still in fine working condition. I've really had to stop and think about how much I buy and waste on a daily basis, and how much rubbish I spend on that I don't even need. We really are a culture of consumerism and it's not very pretty. Why is it so important to clutter our lives with as much 'stuff' as possible? The less you have, the less you need, and the more time you have to enjoy the people you're with and value the things that you do have. Sometimes, we just have to learn to say "no".

Top 5 in Melbourne: The great Sydney v Melbourne smackdown!

Here is my long overdue Melbourne post! My four-and-a-half days in the city-of-many-weathers turned out to be the fantastic trip that I was hoping for. My original intention was to see what all the Sydney-versus-Melbourne hype was all about, and try to figure out why everyone was always raving about the city. Within moments of arriving in the CBD however, it is safe to say that Melbourne has managed to trounce Sydney in a whole bunch of categories. Here's the battleground breakdown:

1) Great Ocean Road
We rented a car and drove the 4.5 hours down to the 12 Apostles. We had been blessed with bright, beautiful and sunny weather -- something of an oddity, to hear the locals tell it -- and had ourselves a grand 'ol road trip! We started at 10am in the morning, hit a couple of nice spots and small, lazy beaches along the way, and even managed to stop for some fish and chips. True, they weren't as good as the ones in Bondi but still substantial enough for a hearty lunch. We finally meandered our way down to the Twelve Apostles... with my friend driving as fast as he could through some heart-stopping, stomach-churning turns, but the sights were amazing to behold. There's nothing like taking a fast corner and catching your breath at the sight of this vast expanse of clear green ocean; so huge it seems like it's coming up right under you and you could drive straight into it.



Of course, you'd also have to be contending with the constant smell of cow poo... but Mother Nature is not discriminating that way :)

2) Shopping Galore
I've got to say that Melbourne has some great malls and shopping centers downtown, as well as a lot of pretty little boutiques to choose from. The 'Paris' of Melbourne is right down Collins St in the CBD and is full of posh names we all love to hate. They have massive malls as well that are chock full of popular brands, and they're everywhere. They do have a couple of discount outlets and Chinatown is an interesting place to trawl for some good deals. The Queen Victoria markets are also immensely popular, and there are a few more worthy markets that you should check out for a good find. Fresh produce, meats and internationally items are best bought here, and if you really fancy some Australian boomerangs and Crocodile-Dundee style hats then go ahead but otherwise, don't bother shopping for fashion here!


3) Trams
Mainly because they remind me of San Francisco and I like the way they zap and leave ash on the floor. I imagine that this is somewhat dangerous...but it's still fun. And I love the fact that it's virtually free in the city -- you just hop on and off at will! What a fabulous way to travel and how utterly convenient.

4) Small bars and clubs
Looking for a club in Melbourne? Good luck finding it. The cool ones are always neatly tucked away and hidden in some armpit corner of the city, and you'll probably walk past it three times before you realize that this is the right door and not the service exit. Chaise Lounge, Red Violin, The Workshop and Berlin Bar were all memorable experiences. Drinks were standard affairs though considering the high student population in the city, you could easily get by on a jug of bear for $10-$12 any day, any time, no sweat.


5) Cafes along cobblestone alleyways
Where Sydney just has a lot of big, posh restaurants with tight-arsed wait staff and laneways that reek of piss, Melbourne has got the European vibe down pat. Turn any corner and you'll just encounter little cafes with a hint of Parisian chic (and just as likely to be filled with French and Francophiles!) serving up heart-warming coffees or noisy, crowded Japanese takeaways with suits and skirts jammed up next to each other, slurping down the soba at lunch hour. It's a thrill and a foodie's delight and so accessible!

That's my brief roundup of my favorite Melbourne experiences. I'm already thinking about when I can go back for more fun, spending a full day shopping at Crown Casino and soaking up the uber-lush ambience and getting up on the Eureka skydeck!

A new start

Today marks the a year since I met my boyfriend in Singapore, and I have to admit that life has certainly been kicked into high gear ever since then. Whether I want to admit it or not, I've been traveling all over the world to be with him, and even though it hasn't always been an easy process it has certainly always turned out to be worthwhile, and it certainly looks set to be a major fixture in the ever-changing landscape of our relationship!

Anyway, we had been having a rough patch but I came home yesterday to a house that was sparkling clean, even better than when we first moved in. I believe even the toilet bowl had been scrubbed, and that's saying quite a lot for a man isn't it....?

Being the royal marshmallow that he is (even if he likes to look like an intimidating hooligan!), he arrived with candles, flowers and groceries and proceeded to fix an amazing dinner of baked trout with aromatics, mashed potatoes, and crumbed tomatoes and asparagus. He is such a chef, it's amazing. He can whip up these delicious dishes from the middle of nowhere and out of nothing with no references... hence the reason why I am never able to lose weight.

He also made an amazing bacon and cheese quiche but that was our working lunch for today! Yes, that's how we save money -- by cooking lunch in advance so we don't have to pay $10 for a sandwich from Oporto's.

Before you think I'm a greedy ingrate, I did help. I bought the wine! And guzzled most of it too ;)

Here's to a rather pointless, un-travel related post dedicated to my boyfriend. It should make him happy! And tonight, thanks to my job-of-many-perks, we're going to two different events with free flow of alcohol ensured (Tiger Translate and Belvedere IX). All things considered, I think it'll turn out to be a good anniversary! ;) Cheers! x