More London

My last post was actually on Christmas Eve, and that night we discovered that our les mis tickets were for a show that didnt exist.... we rocked up to the theatre and we were told that they told the sellers the wrong information and they sold 130 tickets to a show that doesnt exist.

That was dissapointing, but the Christmas Dinner the next day more than made up for it. It was my first traditional Christmas dinner and my family certainly delivered. We had roast ham, roast turkey, brussel sprouts with butter, roast potatoes, steamed vegies, yorkshire pudding and trifle. We all left the table absolutely stuffed, and Monica even bought christmas crackers which i lost 4 in a row.

The next day we took on the English Population and went shopping in the boxing day sales. It was like Pitt Street but worse, with a huge mob outside of selfridges and co, largely asian pushing and shoving to get in at 11:30 in the morning.

It was pretty crazy that day, with the whole city packed with shoppers. We all bought stuff except for Andrew, i got a few nice shirts, and im sure alicia and co will approve, i got a ysl shirt, some nice cufflinks, a few nice ties, including a dior which my cousin gave me. Also picked up a really nice suit, all presents from my cousins.

Today i saw the british museum, which was awesome, i spent about 6 hours in there, there was so much to see. It was awesome, the highlights are definitely the egyptian and greek sections, they have pieces of the parthenon and a lot of mummy and egyptian artifacts. I saw the rosetta stone, and the lindow man (peat bog).

There are also extensive european, celtic, near east, chinese, korean, african, american and there was a katana exhibition which i really enjoyed. The museum itself is beautiful, and huge, i definitely didnt see it all but it was amazing just to see all these thousand year old artifacts, the detail and quaility which is not available today. The british take entire rooms from other countries like a the palace walls from nineveh and the giant guardian statues from assyria.

Its weird to see all these things in a sterile environment, they seem slightly out of place.

London is great, best chicks to far in my opinion.
Enjoying myself immensely.

Miles

London - MERRY CHRISTMAS

Firstly, Merry Christmas to all my loyal readers, even those losers who dont comment.

With that out of the way, more about me!

We left rio without incident, driven by a guy who called himself
"Speedy Gonzales" and "Rocketman". Hey but at least he spoke english and was an entertaining man. Nothing i have ever seen will every compare with south american driving but i hear its a latin thing, i'll see the same in spain and italy.

We arrived in London to discover we were almost reported as missing persons. My family here got my arrival date wrong and were expecting us to arrive the day before. Luckily they called my parents and sorted it out before the police were involved...

Its always great to see family and moreso family that you havent seen in such a long time. We were greeted very warmly by my Aunty,Uncle, Cynthia and Thomas. The cost of living in london is ridiculously expensive. You will not find a meal for less than £3 which is about 8 Aussie. A meal at a pub, such as the fish and chips we had today will cost you about £8 which is 20 Aussie.

Cars tho are cheap, walking past the lamborghini dealership, with the aston martin db7 parked outside, we sat that a murcielago was only £206,000. The cars here are cheap cos i think there is no luxury car tax, or very little. Just 2nite, i saw a Porsche GT2, Murcielago and DB7. Carrera 4s are everywhere.

Tonight we are going to Les Miserable, at the west end, and we quickly to harrods before it closed for the night. We also went on the London Eye, but couldnt go to any of the museums or galleries cos it is christmas eve.

Tomorrow will be a write off day interms of going out as everything is closed so we will spend the day bumming with my family.

Uncles Roast Pork was as good as the legends say and im sure the others would agree the hospitality has been spectacular.

Public Transport in London is so easy, especialy since we are able to ask for directions and understand them, unlike the entire south america. I really like London as a city, its not too crowded, transport is good and the city is pretty, with its old buildings and history poring out of every part of it.

The only complaint i have is the cost of living here, but i spose if you were to work here, it would be ok. The price of housing is ridiculous, think sydney prices but in pounds.

Let me now introduce my City Love Rankings
1. London - Culture, History and Class.
1. New York - So Modern, So Busy, So Alive
3. Santiago - A south america sydney
4. Cusco - Nice little city, cheap food, cheap everything
4. Rio - Potential beach chicks, crap climate
5. Lima - Ghetto, only safe areas are tourist ones and there u can get robbed by the shopkeepers who overcharge like crazy
6. Puerto Maldonaldo - Just a Jungle/Dirt Ghetto

Alby's Rio Explosion

Day 2 in Rio:

we had an awesome brazilian bbq lunch buffet which only cost us 15 reals which is about 5 US dollars. Waiters come along with huge skewers of meat and cut it off for you. There is also a decent selection of salads and other food also. We all stuffed ourselves, but alby was weak, only managing a small amount of food. This was the first sign of things to come.

Went to the Chris the Redeemer Statue. 30 Reals. Worth every cent.
We could not even see the statue from the base of it, it was that foggy. Visibility was about 5 meters and tehre was a decent wind blowing. We had about 1 second glimpses of some parts of rio, but that was about all.

We then headed to ipanema, which seems to be a richer part of rio, more trendy boutiquey shops. After walking around for a while, we decided to catch a taxi home.
It was then that albys promises of explosions came to fruition. We got into the taxi and were in it for about 5 minutes, maybe 5 minutes from our hostel. The taxi had stopped in traffic and suddenly, alby said:

" hey guys u reckon maccas has a toilet?"

the next thing we know we heard the door of the taxi open and close and alby was running accross the street. The driver looked at us , we looked at the driver. Both as stunned as the other. We managed to explain to the driver that alby ran for a toilet, got him to pull over and we got out.

We went to maccas to look for him and calling into the toilet, we heard weak reply that he was in there. All i can say is, im glad he made it, before the explosion overcame him.

The driver must have thought we were gonna do a runner on him, alby just suddenly got up and ran for maccas. I guess u just had to be there.

Miles

The Santiago Intercontinental and Rio

So, we got in at 3am in the morning to santiago airport, which is actually quite nice, and found noone there that knew our situation. We ended up talking to the lady incharge of lost and found, and with her broken english managed to tell us that lan customers stayed at the intercontinental.

So go to the intercontinental we did, with the airport taxi and slept a few shjort hours before getting up to breakfast. the rooms were awesome as was to be expected from a 5 star, huge king sized bed, aircom, huge tvs,hifi.. the works.

definitely recommend it to ppl going to santiago!

the city itself was quiet, but that can be partially attributed to the fat that it was a sunday, but apprently it is a more quiet city. the quality of chicks has also picked up here, but i didnt get a photo, sorry sandy, cos i didnt really have the change, only being there one day.

santiago was great, comparable to sydney in fact, with like a george st pitt street area, which we walked through. The city seemed quite safe and we climbed to several points of the city where we were able to get a nice view of teh landscape. there are very few tall buildings in santiago, and it is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, some of which are snow capped and can be seem from teh city centre if you go high enough. it was all very nice.

after we left santiago, we arrivedin rio, where I am writing this from.

Rio has its bad rep, with the highest rate of killings in the world, we walked down to the beach yesterday, but cos it was overcast, there wasnt much "people watching" to be done..... today also looks a bit overcast unfortunately...

we will be leaving for the airport 2morrow, to begin our european adventure, south america has been an eye opener, lima and santiago has been 2 sides ofa coin, i dont think i will ever go to lima again but santiago is a maybe and rio i havent made my mind up as of yet.

in santiago and rio, i have found that girls get inked quite a bit... and in rio u can see tanlines from the string bikinis from all the girls....

anyway this is cositng me quite a bit...

Im outta here

Miles

The Lima Sheraton

Thats right boys and girls, i am currently on the net in the
'business centre' at the sheraton hotel in lima, peru. Yes i am a classy classy man.
Basically what happened is, lan peru screwed up and over booked the flight, kicked us off our plane and put us up in the sheraton for a day till our flight to santiago which is at 8pm.

They will also provide us with 2 nights acommodation in santiago, presumably in a hotel of at least 4 star standard, (this is 5 star btw). We will get a day to explore santiago, but we will lose a day in rio.

The rooms here are awesome, the bed is a king, the mattress is great, toilets are clean, and basically.. its a 5 star hotel room.. nothing to complain about really.

all meals are paid for, including a huge buffet breakfast, and the set menu lunch was also decent. we will leave here at 6pm 2nite so i have a few more hours to enjoy this indulgence.

we also got free tickets are compensation for this screwup. the problem is, the tickets are return from a american or south american city. Basically within the next year, i and a friend can travel say from new york to quito (equador, galapagos), for free, return.. so if any of you are interested in that, make sure u be nice to me next year, and hope that i can get a week or 2 off to use that flight...

but yeah, 5 star is great, i never thought when i started this trip that i would be spending 3 nights in a 5 star hotel... but i aint complaning...

keep in touch, tell me whats happening in sydney..

Miles

The Amazon

There isnt that much to say about the amazon.

The boat ride was ridiculously long to get there, like 5 hours, and we go to the lodge in pretty much darkness. It was interesting for us to drive down the river, not knowing if we were going to hit any logs or anything that would sink our fibreglass motorized canoe...

It is so humid in the jungle, its likke 98% humidity and i hated it. you just sit there and sweat. not to mention you have to wear long pants to guard against the thousands of insects and constant insect repellant has to be worn when not at the lodge.

i think the highlight of the 2 days in the jungle was the quote from alby about his bowel movements...

´i´m pissing outta my ass.´´

gold.

we went on a few hikes and saw some cool trees and a tarantula.. which was friggim huge, a bit bigger than my hand... but besides that, it was a bit of a low light really, just because of the climate...

anyway off to rio 2morrow

i´ll hopefully update from there.

Miles

The Inca Trail Continued..

So after making camp on night 1, with no shower, and not a real toilet in sight, i experienced my first real camping experience. However, it must be mentioned that the food was excellent, and the porters which carried our stuff for us were absolutely amazing. They carried at least 20-25 kgs on their backs, and pretty much ran all the way to each site.

Respect.

I found it hard to sleep on the ground and kept waking up in the middle of the night.

Day 2 brought us a 0530 wakeup call and at 0700 we left the campsite for dead womans pass, which would be the highest part of our hike, so for the next 2 hours, we climbed 400m to reach the pick where unfortunately the wind and fog picked up and we couldnt get a good view from the pass.

We took a quick snap on the pass, and headed down hill, where i discovered the joys of wet stone steps. Going up hill gives you burn in your muscles, but there is little mental concentration required. Going downhill however puts a lot of strain on your joints an requires you to concentrate intensely on each footstep. At this point i need to mention my trusty walking stick i bough for 3 soles. This stick saved me from serious injury on many occasions throughout theese 3 days and helped me pull my self up the steps on the uphill.

We have taken to naming our sticks 'excalibur', thats how good they were. Most likely they wont be able to come with us through customs, but we will carry them as long as we can, as they have now reached extreme sentimental value status.

So down the steps we went, slowly, painfully, slipping, getting rained on, really not a pleasant experience, and so it was for about 1.5 hours, not stop steps, it seemed taht the steps down would never end.

We reached camp for lunch and it was a 'easier' hike from that point on to the next camp site for the night, slight ups and downs, nothing as serious as the first day, but painful nonetheless. We reached camp for the 2nd night without incident, once again with me being the straggler at the end of the line. I learnt to not push as hard on this day, taking it slowly and trying to conserve my energy so that i would have something left at the end of the day and it seemed to work, i stopped much less to catch my breath and to ease the pain, and the rain cleared as the day went on, making for a much more pleasant hike.

At this point, i want to point out that at some points on this hike, the trail is usually about 1.5m wide with a sheer drop on the side and the mountain on the other. My fear of heights really didnt help in these situations. It wasnt a wide flat path, it was literally, a trail where if u were unlucky and slipped on something you could do some serious damage. Infact, a porter coming down to the lunch site on day 2 slipped and broke his kneee, and had to be carried back to the starting site on day 1.

Day 2 camp was also in a nice spot, when we arrived it was nice and warm, but the temperature quickly dropped and that night, not many people got much sleep due to the cold.

Day 3 was a more 'relaxing' day, with only about 6 hours of hiking and our group chose to take a more narrow flat path as opposed to another 2000 slippery stone steps. When the guide said narrow, i didnt realise that she actually meant NARROW. this path was like 1 m wider most of the time, and for parts it was barely a ditch in the ground. The path were a combinations of sections of mud and rock, and vegetation was barely cleared to form a walkway.

but we fought on, and even t hought it decided to rain as we approached lunch , which would also be the same place as dinner, we all made it without incident and prepared for our 0345 wake up call on day 4 and the sprint to the macchu pichu.

And so it was that on the 4th day, we woke up at night, and along with about 6 other groups waiting at the control point to be let through and pushed hard to the sun gate, which was of course at the top of the mountain. We set a blistering pace, a real powerwalk for the next 2 hours, where i really had to push my body to keep up, as our guide had said the night b4, 'dont let anyone pass you, do not stop, do not fall behind.' talk about pressure.

So at 0615 we reached teh sun gate, the and managed to not let anyone pass us, although io was practically dead when igot there. but macchu picchu was in sight and what a sight it was. The rest of the day was spent descending to the site and drinking the gatorade taht i had carried all the way from the starting point.

Heaps of pictures were taken, and macchu pichu was beautiful, but personally, more imporatnt was the achievment that i felt i had achieved in making it the whole 4 day 45 km inca trail. If you are reading this, you all know me, and you know im not the fittest person when i left, but somehow i made it, through the pain and with more than a littel help from above.

i am grateful for the experience, and i recommend anyone to do it, but i do suggest that some preparation is done before hand,just so you dont have to go through the pain and emabarassment of always being the last in line as i was. But i did make it there in the end and taht is what matters...

well that was a huge post, im signing off for now,

Miles

The Inca Trail (Long)

So here i am, returned from 4 day hike from the inca trail.

There is so much to write about these last 4 days and yet, i am kinda lost for words, which you all should know is quite a rarity.

For this trip, it truly was the journey that was important and not just the destination. Machu Pichu was beautiful, of that there is no doubt, but i think the 4 days that it took to get there was much more important.

I knew before i left for this whole trip that i was horribly underprepared to go on a hike, much less one that goes uphill for long periods of time. But i didnt realise how unprepared i was until i actually started the hike.

I think the best way to go through this is to go through each day.

Day 1:
The day started early, at 0530, which would become normal for the next few days. We started off learning to chew coca leaves, whihc are sposed to help with altitude sickness, as we were at 2800m and rising to a peak of 4215m during this trek. Coca leaves are also the raw product used to make cocaine, but anyway...

On this day, I started my hike with my buddy arrogance, and took off at a quick pace for the first part of the day, even on the first 2 initial climbs, which came after about 2 hours of flat hiking. Needless to say, after each hill, i could barely breathe and my legs were burning. But my other friend stubborness insisted that i push on as hard as I could, and i did, right up to lunchtime on day 1.

By lunch time, i was buggered and already hitting the gatorade. Gatorade would become the symbol of success and glory as this trip went on.

After lunch, we began our proper accent to our campsite for the nite, which was at an altitude of 3800m. At this time, i met a new friend, Mr pain. 1 hour after we left the lunch site, i was really struggling. My legs had pretty much died and i had 3 hours of solid climbing to go.

As i dropped further and further behind the group, Ger, an amazing 54 year old woman jono, andrew and alby, all stayed with me to encourage me in my extremely slow progress up the mountain. Literally, i would need a 5 minute break after every 5 minutes of hiking. That day will prolly rank as the most strenuous physical day of my life. It was just a pure mindless ascent with no stop, everytime i looked up, it was more stairs, more steps and more pain.

Somehow, i made it to the campsite, and the sense of achievement and the breathtaking view from the campsite made all the pain worth it. There isnt really much point trying to describe the views taht i saw on these days, but i have to say that being in the middle of the mountains, looking down on the path that you came from, not being able to see where you started, really is a feeling that must be experienced to be understood.

ill post this now incase i lose it...

Cusco

So we left lima, and flew 1 hour to a little city calle cusco which has about 300,000 people. I really like this place. This is the place that all the tourists go before they go off to macchu pichu.

You would think that this place would be a tourist ghetto, and it is to a degree, but there is less big chains here than in lima. No starbucks, pizza, maccas or burger king.

We hit the main plaza today, and it went from sunny to rain in about 1 hour, and i almost froze to death in my singlet. We then hit the markets and got some real nice bargains on some souvenirs, which ill bring back and share with some of you lucky people.

currently jono and andrew are shitting themselves cos it turns out the area for our hostel in rio is quite dangerous and they are desperately looking for alternate accomodation...

really looking forward to the start of the tour of the sacred valley 2morrow, and a mini 1.5 hour hike to test our fitness before we do the serious 8 hour a day 3 day hike.

comment u fools.
holla.

Lima Part 2

Wow, yesterday was quite a day. We took it easy at first and went down to the local plaza/park place where it is quite touristy. After lunch tho, me alby and andrew decided to cab it down to the main cathedral in the main square of lima, and what a ride it was.

There was apparently some kinda parade on and so we ended up stuck in traffic, and the areas taht we went through were the poor areas of lima, which i think is the real lima. all the parks and neat hedges is all a facade by the government to show the tourists a "friendly" lima which can be used as photos on adds. The real lima is quite poor, and got up close and personal to these people in our ride downtown.

Its hard to describe what made it so threatening but i can liken it to driving through harlem. There were a lot of people just standing aroud, and it was obvious that if a tourist walked in that area, and you looked like you had money, it would be very danagerous. In fact, our hotel receptionist told us EXPLICITLY not to walk in these areas.

The taxi driver was quite good tho, he had nice car, a mazda 3, which is about 10000000 times better than any other car in the area. The driving here is worse than i originally thought, cars turn from across 2 lanes in heavy traffic, noone cars about lane markings, and noone has heard of indicating. we had at least 20 close calls by less than 10 cms on the way to the cathedral.

I feel a lot more comfortable in lima now, i realise taht our area here is the safest its gonna get, and although we stick out like sore thumbs here, i think its best to just take what precautions you can and prepare for the worst, ie, get robbed and lose your money.

so far, this trip has no dissapointed in the slightest, images of that poor area will stay with me my whole life, and the real tour of macchu pichy hasnt even started. I will be out of contact for a few days i think, so take care everyone..

New York - Lima

Our last day in New York was spent doing different things, i went to woodberry common, which is a bigger better homebush factory outlet, alby and andrew going to the met and holding hands in central park, and jono going to a cuban cafe...

I went nuts at woodbery, spending about 300 bucks on timberland, CK, nike and polo... its all getting mailed as obviously i cant carry it around..

trip to the airport was uneventful, as was our flight to lima.

Lima is very different to anything i've seen before. Not soon after we left the airport, we passed the slum area, which is literally buildings made out of whatever is lying around. The 'city' itself was deserted, driving laws were non existant, and there are 3 metre high fences with spikes at the top for nearly every building that we could see. The cost of living here is quite low, andrew has decided we will measure everything against hte price of mangos, which is about 1.70 soles a kilo. 1 USD = 3.26 Soles from the money changer on the street. These guys literally carry wads of cash and stand on street corners changing money for anyone that comes past.

There were also a couple of guards standing at the entrance to a building carrying sub machine guns a block from our hotel. Our hotel is quite nice tho and the people are friendly.

It's a totally differnt world from both sydney and new york, but we are looking forward to the tour and the inca trail, especially macchu pichu.

New York Part 2

Ha, judging by the lack of comments, noone checks this blog at all :D
Thats ok, cos this is mostly for my personal record anyway.

Funny Stories:
We enter espnzone in timesquare, and have a quick browse, and as we leave, one of the store attendents approaches us and says to alby "hey, my friend thinks you are really cute."
Problem was, this friend was shall we say, "no jessica alba" :P
Alby then looked at her in shock, then turned and ran outta the store like a school girl.

Yesterday, we went to see the statue of liberty, and did some major walking through the financial district and lower manhattan. Alby has started his "Hall of Fame" which is where he takes photos of all the best food places that we have eaten at so far.

We ate bagels for breakfast and giant pizza slices for lunch, all traditional New York fare. We met up with some of Jono's friends for dinner at like a hogs breath, kinda restaurant where we had burgers/ribs.

Was absolutely buggered by the end of teh day, and got home in time to see LBJ and the Cavs take Carmelo and the Nuggets to school, blowing out by about 30 points at one stage before i turned it off and went to bed.

Anyway today we hope to check out a American college and also go to empire state.

We also managed to see the WTC site, which was quite sad, such a huge gap where the towers used to be...

New York New York!

So, Its 7am in the morning and i'm getting rorted as we speak, paying $1US for 10 minutes of internet time.

The flight was long, but not unbearably so, and it has really beed great so far.

Funny Stories:
Alby's Dad almost gets the information desk to page him at Sydney Airport.

I dont recognise my own bag at LAX, and tell the flight attendent its lost, only to realise that the bag we saw going around which looks strangely like mine is actually mine. Stuggle.

First impressions of New York:

The moment we collected our bags from JFK, we were approached by a guy of middle eastern appearance offering us a cab into manhattan. We followed for about 5 metres, realised he wasnt a yellow cab driver, and went back to teh cab queue.
It was pretty dodgy i spose, we were approached about 5 times by different people offering us rides to the city, the problem is, we had no idea if they were legit or not.

In the end, we ended up in the cab line behind a couple of other young aussies and was approached by a jamaican driving a limo offering us a ride for $110 US, which would work out cheaper than the yellow cabs. Seeing as there were 7 of us, we all piled into a WHITE STRETCH LIMO, and were dropped off at the door of our hostel.

To be honest, I was quite intimidated by New York. All these people approaching us, and really, it seemed like we were in a movie. You see people dressed like full homie style, baggy pants, the hats with the flat rims, so many african americans and latinos. We met up with my cousin Kitty and her husband Tat, and they took us out for dinner at a nice italian place and we went to see the big tree at the rockefeller centre, which is apparently a new york tradition to see.

They left us soon after, and we went around down 5th, saw trump tower and the playboy enterprises building and had some cheesecake for dessert.

Anyway thats all for now, running outta time. Will prolly blog more than email as this seems easier. Please let everyone know that i am blogging instead of emailing.

End of an Era

On Friday, i had my last official day of classes at UNSW. It was such an anticlimax.
I think something must be wrong with me, because people put such emphasis on certain days, such as graduations, last days of whatever, anniversaries, birthdays... and like i think im sposed to feel like its a really special day or something, like when i turned 21, i woke up and thought.... i wanna go back to bed... or something along those lines.

Throughout that day, i just wondered if i should be feeling different? As the smses and phone calls came in, sure it felt nice to be loved, but besides that, i felt no particular specialness about the day... mmmm

From what i can tell, i think some ppl really do feel different on these kinds of days, can someone explain it to me? Rob, i think u mentioned having certain feelings/emotions on that day?

Anyway i thought that the last day of uni was worth a mention thats all, i mean 4 years of the highest level of institutionalised education, and honestly, its been so fast.. i can still remember first year clearly, sleeping in bucklands Comp 1A.

Also had another interesting conversation with joseph about aiming for our dreams. At what point do we draw the line and say hey, we arent gonna achieve it, we shouldnt go for it?

What if you arent happy with your job/course?
When is it too late to change? What price can u put on a dream?

mmmmmm

Rob turns Twenty One @ Forty One

I havnet blogged in a long while, but last nights dinner deserves a post.
Rob took a small group of us out to Forty-One, which for all you "clarets" out there, is located on level 42 of Chifley Tower. It was truly an amazing experience, and for what Rob paid, it bloody better have been.

Where do i start?

Firstly, the view from the private room we had was AWESOME. Shame i couldnt get a photo of it, due to the reflection of the glass.

The food. Well what can i say? I admit that i am an uncultured swine and i really couldln't tell you why it was so good, in fact, i went home and googled several of the things that i ate.

The full menu can be found here. there were 7 courses in all, and each was spectacularly prepared.

Unfortunately, my camera skills are not up to scratch but there are photos of ...


Roast Boneless Rack Of Gippsland Lamb, Creamed Parsley & Leeks,

Sauteed Potato Gnocchi, Black Olive Infused Jus (1999)




Coconut and Vanilla Panna Cotta With Pineapple Sorbet



We got Rob some poker chips, which I hope to use soon :D



Me and the Birthday Boy

Erm. Why is it so hot?

Wednesday
Refer to Fire Weather Warning for the latest Rural Fire Service Total Fire Ban Information. Dry and mainly sunny. Hot. Moderate to fresh northwest winds.
Current Temperature: 38 C
Forecast Max: 37C
Wind Direction & Speed: WNW at 13 knots
Humidity: 11%
Pressure: 1012.0 hPa

WHY? And that 38C is prolly out on the coast. Out in the friggin west.... Its prolly like 40+. RIDICULOUS. This better not be how hot its gonna be in Peru, or Rio for that matter.... Im tempted to go swim in my pool..

More about me!

You are a WEDL--Wacky Emotional Destructive Leader. This makes you a Anarchist.

You don't give a damn. When push comes to shove, you just forget about it--it's just not worth the heartache. What this means for others is that dealing with you can be aggravating, because they find they can't get you motivated about things they care about. What this means for you is that you are happier, calmer, and saner then they are on their best days.

You are near-immune to criticism, and those who know you well acknowledge and respect that. You may come across as lazy, but the truth is that you find little to get worked up about. Regardless, you have slews of friends, because they are fascinated by your world view, jealous of your lifestyle, and drawn to the fact that you are hilarious to be around.

You are a pillar in a sea of hot-bloodedness. You have a sweet tooth.

Of the 37620 people who have taken this quiz since tracking began (8/17/2004), 2.9 % are this type.

20 Questions to being a Better Person


Your score as a human being is 83.


You are close to ideal. So close, and yet so far. Amusing, really, to watch someone squirm so close to the vaunted ranks of perfection and still remain so very, very ordinary. It is all one can do to keep one's ingratiating smile from polluting one's perfect face.

Actually, one recommends you take the quiz again and lie a little.


Stolen from danny' site.

The GARDEN

I cant wait.

You purchased 4 tickets to:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
New York Knicks Vs. Orlando Magic
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Friday December 03, 2004 7:30 pm

Seat location: section 312, row O, seats 4-1
Total Charge: $353.95

Nosebleeds... but the best i could do.

Me?

miles, your career personality type is ESTP

That means that based on the standard measure of personality traits, at work, you're the one people come to when a crisis is at hand. Your unflappable demeanor in the face of even the most unanticipated situations makes you the kind of employee all organizations value highly. You thrive under pressure and seek situations involving unpredictability and quick thinking. You prefer to leave the planning to others so you can grab an assignment and run with it. This does not mean that you are incapable of deep thinking; it's just that you use your mental strength and apply it to practical solutions.

You take pride in your work and like tangible results. In other words, you like to see, touch, and feel what you create and how that work affects others. Your drive comes from within and once a task is accomplished, you're not looking back-you are on to the next sensation.

The reason employers and recruiters might be on the lookout for you is that only about 6% of the U.S. population shares the unique characteristics of your personality type. Research shows that businesses succeed when employers create a good balance of personality types in the office. And since only 6% of the U.S. population shares your type, that means employers are looking for you.

Is this the Miles you know?
Comment.

So Busy

1. Routing Mid Sem
2. Graphics Assignment
3. Thesis
4. Thesis
5. Thesis
6. Routing Assignment

Matty Foster's Birthday

Unfortunately i arrived late, and to my dismay, it appeared that the party was almost over, with Cho leaving as i arrived. Most of the honeez, had already gone, leaving only the attached women. I had told ken to stay sober for me, but that obviously was not the case. Matty Foster was completely wasted by the time i got there, pinching nipples, handing out his clothing, and asking people not to judge him.

I had never seen matty foster like this and the first thoughts were... "Man is he wasted? whats going on here? its only 10 pm!". Add that to the fact that there was no food to be seen, and ken, Lynzy and Kwok were already beet red.


Random memories from the night.

Ken Lee on Matt Lee (Who was asking grace to make him some tea) - "Man that guy is such a pretender to the throne!!"

Matty Foster to Matt Lee - "Can you please take my clothes off?"

Matty Foster pinching nipples.

Matty Foster giving lots of hugs that were perhaps a bit too intimate...

Matty Foster asking everyone not to steal his clothes.

Matty Foster to me - "Miles, you are good at basketball."

They say a picture says a thousand words:

For the complete list go to http://members.optusnet.com.au/~tatustam/
Apologies for the large amount of pwoider photos. He took the camera and started taking photos of himself.......

Here are some highlights

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~tatustam/IMG_0067%20(Large).JPG
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~tatustam/IMG_0069%20(Large).JPG
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~tatustam/IMG_0073%20(Large).JPG
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~tatustam/IMG_0093%20(Large).JPG
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~tatustam/IMG_0094%20(Large).JPG
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~tatustam/IMG_0100%20(Large).JPG

Get Ready.

*EDIT* Photos of Raph's 21st http://cgi.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cygk526/BdayPhotos/

In the very near future, I will begin a series of posts that will change this blog forever.
Soon I will bring you "Miles' 2004 Bachelor of the year awards".

I am accepting nominations for candidates now.

To nominate someone, leave a comment on this post.

Please inform all ladies that you know of this new ground breaking event.

Current nominees are: Raphael Chan, Chung Uk Lee, Jackson Yoon, Danny Kwok.
Note: Matt Lee was disqualified due to the obvious cyber relationship with this supposed "18 year old girl" Yvonne that we all know from his blog.

Raph's 21st

After much convincing and cunningness all round, I managed to get Raph to finally hold his 21st. Not just any 21st, but a nice dinner at the Marigold in the city, and then drinks at the mandarin club and the pavillion after. More on those places later....

Dinner was great, good food, 13 guys just sitting around a table talking crap, King Way with his non-stop DOTA talk, and the rest of us just being ourselves. Thanks a suggestion from a source that shall remain unamed, we got him 2 major things for his present, a CK Crave pack, and also a soccer ball which we all used as a card and wrote on with my trusty permanent marker. Jason being the guy that he is insisted that as he was turning 21 and was now a "man", we should give him something that commemorates the occasion. Enter FHM, and Hustler Black Label Limited Edition. Raph, i know u love it. But the fun was just beginning....

After getting barred from pavilion and starbar due to inappropriate attire, we ended up at the mighty mandarin club, where we felt right in our element, hanging out with obvious pokie addicts, asians in their 40s and 50s, a Filipino Karaoke singer and some triad looking mainlander bosses who approached King Way and myself looking to recruit. (Ok maybe not, but doesnt it sound better that way?)

I started Raph off by immediately dragging him to the bar and taking a Cowboy with him straight away.
Says me: "We're gonna get u trashed tonight and you are going to throw up."
Says Raph: "Nah, i rarely throw up."
Says Me: "OK."

We then went upstairs where Raph had a beer (and some more?) and QF. The person with the wrong attire left, so we decided to proceed to Pavilion as we had had enough karaoke and middle aged asian craziness.

Upon reaching pavillion, i decided that Raph was not even close to the world of drunkeness and embarassment, so i decided to pull out the big guns, ordering him a shot of absinthe. Raph took it like a man, and we proceeded downstairs, where in sucession Raph took a bacardi, a malibu and pineapple, a tequila and a beer with 2 tequila shots inside, after which he decided to sit down. (Meanwhile, kingway, having his 3rd drink, a vodka and orange, got completely drunk for the rest of the night, turned as red as a beetroot, rambled about dota, and told us that 7 x 8 was 54).
At this point raph was starting to struggle. Really having to try hard to finish his beer + tequila. It was about now that he was struggling to walk straight and required constant supervision. Once again deciding a change of venue was in order, we went back upstairs, where i presented raph with his next drink, a red bull and vodka. Around this time, his mum called, and raph hands me the fone saying, "anwser it, i dont no who it is!". I look on the fone and it says "Mum mobile". Knowing that this was not a good thing, i tried to tell her that raph was "busy" and couldnt get to the fone right now, but she was quite insistant, saying, "WHERE IS RAPHAEL. I WANT TO SPEAK TO RAPHAEL CHAN." knowing that the game was up, i gave the fone back to raph saying "IT'S YOUR MUM." Raph takes the fone, says hello, listens for a few seconds and says "WHO IS THIS?". As King Way said, "Ah Ma doh um ying dak" ( a chinese phrase saying you don't even recognise your mum." Raph then hands me the fone back, and then i try to explain again that raph is busy. His mum, obviously frantic puts his DAD on the fone, and he then asks me "I WANT TO SPEAK TO RAPHAEL CHAN. WHERE IS RAPHAEL CHAN." Giving the fone back to raph who seemed to have more success explaining his situation and recognising this parent, we ended the conversation.
Note: At this point, raph was no longer using his hands to pick up his glass, he was simply moving his mouth to the cup on the table. Also, he coudlnt sit up straight in his chair, the constant swaying was a bit disconcerting and his reaction time was about 25 minutes.

As he nursed the redbull, he kept saying "f#$k im drunk man." Lots of photos were taken with Garricks fone at this point, i hope i can post them here soon. Seeing that Raph was close to the end, he couragously finished the redbull and vodka, upon which hearing the calls of ABSINTHE! Raph yelled "NO! NO! NO ABSINTHE. IM F#$Ked. IM GONNA SPEW." So Garrick, being the good man he is got him a gin and tonic instead.
Raph, nursing this drink for about 10 minutes, picks up the glass, which is 4/5 full and goes "F*&K! how come there is so much left?" He then goes to the toilet and returns but sits on another table with his other mates. The next thing I hear is. "OH SHIT RAPH'S GONNA CHUCK!".
True enough, raph had his hand over hismouth and was staggering to the bathroom. I followed him and Raph bravely held it in until he got into the toilet. He dashed into the nearest cubicle only to see that it was occupied by a guy taking a leap. Now desperate, and his self control at its limit, he valiantly tried to dash into the next cubicle but it was not to be. A spray of vomit erupted from the hand that was over his mouth as he ran intor the cubicle, aimed his mouth at the toilet bowl........ and missed. Spewing all over the ground. But unfortunately that isnt all. At the entrance of this cubicle stood a BIG TONGAN SECURITY GUARD. and that spray of vomit landed on his jacket. Let me tell you, the nice security guard was NOT HAPPY JAN.

"WHAT THE F*&K? F*&K YOU MAN! I'M GONNA F*&KING SMASH YOU YOU F*&K!!!!!!!" and then shoved raph int he back, which did not help his trying to get his spew into the toilet im sure. At this point im thinking "Oh shit. Miles, you cannot stop this guy. He is about twice your weight, and its not fat. How am i gonna stop him from killing raph." The best i could manage was a "Sorry man...." and tried to step in between them. Luckily, the guard was smarter than he looked and managed to calm himself down. Raph then turns around and goes, "Sorry man, don't worry i'll clean it up. Gimme some toilet paper." (Raph mentions that he thought he managed to get it all into the toilet and was talking about the kilo of spew on the ground. I thought he meant he was gonna wipe the guards jacket.) Thanking God that we were both uninjured, that guard goes "Get the F*&K out." So i motioned for the time to leave and escorted raph downstairs, where he was swaying on his feet. The other guys came out, and we thought that giving him a kebab would settle his stomach a bit, thinking that he woulda thrown up most of dinner in pavillion. So he bought a chicken kebab at ali babas, and at about 1/4 before he seemed to pass out sitting down. He was quiet. TOO QUIET. All of a suddent he bends over and spews all over the ground. But raph being the gentleman that he is, tried to catch it in his hand. Unfortunately raph ur hand isnt the size of a 10 litre bucket so u failed. All over the ground of alibabas, and impressing the group of aussies behind us, one of which patted him on the back saying "Good work champ, let it flow." We decided that it was time to beat a hasty retreat and headed to maccas where tried to clean himself up. Luckily after about 20 minutes his sister and MUM arrived to pick him up. I don't want to know what his mum thought.
I am also glad that i wasnt in the car with him. He would have reekd of alcohol and puke. Mmmm yum.

And that my friends is the story of Raph's 21st. And what a 21st it was, one im sure he doesnt remember half of but willbe talked about for years to come. Happy birthday bro.

Calling all MEN

It's been a while since im posted and there are some issues that i feel need to be addressed.

1. Lee and Yvonne.
I'm not the first person to bring this up and in fact, a few other ppl have asked me, "Miles man, what is going on with Lee and Yvonne chick?" To which i anwser: "I have no idea mate. " I think its all a bit suss right now. Firstly Lee, online dating is bad. At least meet the girl in person before she tells the world she loves you on your own website.  Secondly, shes a bit young isnt she? isnt that bordering on cradle snatching? To see what im talking about please visit the link to "Lee's Blog" on the right hand side column.

2. Karen (Mum) is now going out with some weak ass white boy.
There are 2 problems with that. Firstly, Karen is our(me, lee and alby)  mum. We havent met this guy to give our approval and from all reports it seems like he is a weakass.  Secondly, he is white. Not that i have  problem with white ppl, but weak ass and white? (Sorry matty foster and hob. Its ok cos ur not weak ass) :D

3. Why isnt anyone up for go karting? http://www.easterncreekkarts.com.au/index.asp
Go Karting is the best. Period. I havent been but i've always wanted to go. 130 bucks aint that much for 2 heats, lap times lining up on a grid and racing on 95km/h karts, all at sydney's best track, eastern creek. At the moment, the only real men i know are Danny, Raph, Chung and Wong. Everyon else seems to have given me the lame excuse of: "I have no money".  Please get back to me if you are interested in karting in the next week. Go to Kart Hire -> Reduced Mini Grand Prix.

4. 21st's
Why do people not wanna do something for their 21st? I mean, u dont have to do anything fantastic or huge, but at least something with ur close friends is called for? Especially since the people who are most likely to not have a 21st never have a party any other year either...

I think thats all the issues i have at the top of my head right now...

 

ME ME ME!

Stole this off some guys xanga, while blog jumping...
Never done one of these b4. Shows how bored i am...

Listening to: Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons
~~~~Basics~~~~

Full Name: Miles Tam

Age: 21

What school: UNSW
Righty or Lefty: Righty
Siblings: Younger Sister
Pets: Bobo, my Shih Tzu

~~~~~YOUR LOOKS~~~~~

Hair Color: Black
Eyes: Brown
Do you wear contacts or glasses: Glasses. Contacts when I'm out to impress.
Do you wear any rings: No.

~~~~~JUST LATELY~~~~~

How are you today: Mmm.. Obviously bored cos im doing this. Bit tired from washing window. Slightly reflective.
What pants are you wearing: Black Trackies from like Kmart.
What shirt are you wearing: Fitzroy Falls Conference Centre shirt.
What does your hair look like at the moment: Better than it does in the morning.. i havent slept on it yet.
What song are you listening to right now: Violin Concerto in E major "Primavera" Op.8/1, RV269
What was the last thing you ate? Dinner was Blade Steak, Medium. Just had some Smiths thin chicken chips.
How is the weather right now: Cold, but clear.
The last person you talked to on the phone: Danny
Who are you talking to right now?: Myself.
What time is it? 3:15pm

~~~~~MORE ABOUT YOU~~~~~

What are the last four digits of your phone?: 6400
If you were a crayon what color would you be?: Royal Blue.
Have you ever almost died: Well, I almost put me and Lee into a few ditch/trees back on year 12 formal night.. about 2 seconds of understeer away from death....
What makes you happy: Winning. Suceeding.
What's the next cd you are going to buy: 100 Blank TDK Golds.
Have you ever won any special awards: Special? No.
What sport do you like to watch the most? Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer, League/Union.
How many TV's do you have in your house: 1
Do you have your own phone line: Nope.
Do you sleep with stuffed animals: Yes. A little blonde doll in a blue dress.
Place for a dream house: Condo in SOHO
Have you ever sprained/broken/fractured a bone: Broke Patella in Year 6, Sprained both ankles multiple times, Broken right ankle in 2002.
Who do you tell your dreams to: Whoever's is in them.
Who is the loudest friend: Me! I'm the loudest.
What's your favourite drink? Coke? Milo? Some blue lychee drink at Musashi?
Who is the quietest friend: mm Raph?

~~~~~JUST QUESTIONS~~~~~

Is cheerleading a sport: Hell yeah. I'd watch that all day.
How many licks does it take to get to the center?: What a dumb question. It depends on what ur licking fool.
Which came first the chicken or the egg: Who knows? Who cares? God created the earth.

~~~~~YOU AND LOVE~~~~~

Do you believe in love? Yep.
Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend: Nope.
Do you have a crush: Kinda.
Who is your crush?: If you know, you know. If you don't, don't worry.
Did you send this to your crush: I cant send over blogspot.
Do you believe in love at first sight: Lust? Yes.
What song do you want played at your wedding: Who's gonna marry me?
Are you too shy to ask someone out: Nope.

~~~~~GUYS FILL OUT ONLY~~~~~

Painted nails or not: Not Black.
Cute and mysterious or wild and sexy: Cute and Mysterious.
Dressy or casual: Very Casual.
long or short hair: Long. Straight.
What color eyes: Any.
Long or short nails: Long.
Hat or no hat: Err.... Prolly not. Always exceptions to the rule though.
Hair up or down: Down
Accent or no accent: As long as I understand what she's saying, I don't care.
Pants or dress: Mini skirt. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
Tan or fair: Don't care.

~~~~~PICK THIS OR THAT~~~~~

Lights on/off: On
MickeyDs or Burger King?: The burgers are better at hungry jacks.
Backstreet Boys or NSync: N-Sync. Did i just write that?
Summer or Winter: Winter. Summer.... when its only mildly warm.
tape or CD: iPod.
Mud or Jell-O wrestling: Any form of womens wrestling with hot chicks is fine by me.
Skiing or boarding: Snowboarding... if i had the chance.
Cake or pie: Some nice French Mud Cake never goes astray.
Diamond or pearl: Big Fat Diamond
Sunset or sunrise: Sunset. Being up at sunrise means something has gone wrong. Either I'm still up , or why did I get up so early?

~~~~~HAVE YOU EVER~~~~~

Loved someone so much it made you cry: Nope
Ran from the cops: I couldnt see the cops when i started running....
Drank: A bit.
Made yourself cry to get out of trouble??: Does that work?
Do you like filling these things out? This is my virgin one. Be Gentle.

Cleaning Windows! Please Give Advice.

Just spent half the day cleaning windows of my house. I've never seen my windows look so clean before! and my room is semi clean too. Its amazing. Been kinda busy last few days, with my kids coming to sleep over on Monday - Wednesday and going Camera shopping/Bumming in the city on Wed. Still dont no what to get.

I'm split between:
Canon S60
Fujifilm Finepix F610
Sony DSC-W1

Any comments, suggestions insights, witty comments are appreciated to help me make my decision. The purpsoe of this camera is to take ur general happy snaps at parties etc, but also i want to be able to capture the memories of my trip with this camera too, so this may be scenery, landscapes etc. The price is quite similar, within 50 of each other i think, so i really don't know what to get. I need to make up my mind soon, Bahn is coming back from HK so I need to tell my aunty to buy it.

Also looking at working out how to finance the trip. I know that a bank loan is waht i need, but with my inability to get a credit card due to a lack of stable income atm, i dunno how i will get that to work exactly. Also, will travellers cheques be the go? Or just debit everything from an account through credit cards? Really not sure. Any experience travellers please give input. It'll be about 15K i have to play with, how should that money be split? In terms of Cash, Travellers Cheques and Credit Cards? What is the go with changing money overseas?

Thanks

Photogenicism?

Why is it that some people are so photogenic? More importantly, why am I so unphotogenic? I look even worse in photos than i do in real life, and thats a quite an acheivement. In pretty much every photo, i look like someone i would bag out if i saw THEM in the photo. Man.

For example, was out with Helen, Raph and Jackson tonight, after we piked on jason's poker nite. Helen is ridiculously photogenic. Some of the photos i saw of her, i would have bet money it wasn't her. She looked really good! But then the real Helen is .... :P (Are you reading this Helen? I told you i'd rag on you!)

Mmm maybe i just cant face the reality that i am an unattractive mofo. Looks like i'll need the 3 C's to get the girls instead. Thanks to the girls who taught the 3 most important C's to girls.

Cash
Cars
Career

I spose thats the reality of it. Pretty much these days, if you arent a good looking boy, your gonna need other weapons in your arsenal to snag that woman of your dreams. I better get to it then. Those 3 C's won't be easy to attain.

"21... Again

So it wasn't my official birthday last night. But damn it was a lot more exciting than dinner with the parents.

First of all, a HUGE Thank You one and all for coming and for making the the night a great time for me. Thank you for all your presents, comments and well wishes. Thank you for all the alcohol, a new PB of 8.5 drinks. An increase from my usual average of 1.5 :P

Thanks especially to Lee who gave a great speech, even though he was too trashed to remember any of it.

It was really great to see everyone there, and I really appreciate u all taking the time out to come and celebrate my "coming of age", as it were. Don't hold your breath for any big expressions of maturity or responsibility tho...

Here are some photos from lees camera.

Username: milesandalby
Password: milesandalby

Kelvin blows so the photos are all out of focus. Hopefully i can get better ones soon. Thanks again for coming, and I hope you all had a good a time as I've had.

UPDATE:
All photos can now be found here:

FREEDOM!!!

The longest exam session of my life so far is over. And what a way to end it, a all nighter, wimbledom, motogp, f1, mtv, euro2004 nite, fueled by chips, party on mix and soft drink. I feel sick. The exam was hell. It was long, it was hard, and i hadnt read all the notes properly. I left after 40 mins, i looked around, and other ppl were half way through. By no means did i know my stuff, i just wrote whatever and left. Got home and went straight to bed. Slept a few hours, got few phone calls which i didnt no who it was for about 30 seconds, but it was cool, people calling to chat, which is always nice.

Its funny seeing people try to buy presents for you without you knowing, my friends basically told me piss off, they went to towers and im like, hey i'll come and danny's like... no... we'll CALL YOU LATER. lol barred.

but yeah that means im here at home, in this "virtual masturbation" as ken so insightfully calls it.

But. Most importantly, i am now FREE. FREE DAMMIT. NO more friggin exams for another semester! and i justhave to waut on the outcome of IW and my GENED, neither of which i expect particularly good marks for which is a shame, cos im sitting on a 80 average after COMP subjects, which is an achievement and a half for me. I believe my current COMP average over 3 years is 65. Its ironic... I'm not even trying this semester. I just dont care. I just want to pass and here i am doing the best i have ever done. Just goes to show, study doesnt actually pay off. Some poor guy out there has prolly studied hard, and got crap makrs to show for it, and here is me, all blase and with my 80 average.

Hey alright so 80 isnt THAT great. but if u look at my academic transcript,u would understand my amusement.

I can see the light....

Man. So close. I'm almost done for this semester. The seemingly endless exam period i almost at an end. Monday is my last ridiculously late exam. But i have a problem. On Monday morning at 4:15 am, It is the EURO2004 Final, Greece vs home team Portugal. Greece is the Korea of 2002. What a suprise package. That header against czech literally came from nowhere. I think everyone was just stunned. So yeah, gotta watch that and then the 8:45 exam should be VERY interesting... hmmm...

Yesterday was a long day, Went to watch the soccer with Alby, Lee and Chung, then went to play ball with Daniel and his friends. Then scammed a free lunch from Daniel, then bummed at Will's place, me and lee taking turns to cane him in Q3A. Plans for Spiderman 2 fell thru, I blame danny, and then was up till the wee hours of the morning.

I realised, that i NEED to become rich cos i am not suited for manual labor. As i was brushing the cement render outside, i managed to scrape 6/10 knuckles on my hand half way to the bone. Yay.

Currently Listening to: Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles

I'm a Pioneer

You're a Pioneer
You think about why people do what they do. By understanding the motivation of others, you seek to create a better world. Changing the world around you through personal achievements is your everyday challenge.

The passionate you generates creative ideas. You are an imaginative dreamer. Your preoccupation with the future gives you the mental discipline to stay on track and direct others to do the same.
The centered you can see how to direct your life toward a greater inner peace. You are able to discern exactly what you need. When all is quiet within you recognize just what you want.
The emotional you avoids asking what's missing. Novel adventures seem to appear. Honor your forbidden thoughts. They are merely signposts to exciting new paths you need to follow.

21

Holy Crap. I'm 21.

I feel.... Nothing. I just feel kinda old. I see these kids in High School, and they seem so young. I swear it wasnt that long ago that i was in high school, and 21 was OLD. Like 21 year olds were like these old guys who did whatever they wanted, and were so independent. Now that i'm 21, either:

1. Those guys weren't as cool as i thought
2. I am just not cool.

Now that i'm 21, im an ADULT. I have responsibilities, and i'm meant to be contributing to society. In 21 years, what have a I really achieved? I look back at my 21 years and i can't really point any particular great achievments....

*sigh*

It hasn't really seemed that long, the last 21 years. I have yet to see the world, yet to become independent. Yet to move out of home, Yet to start working in a real job. Still unsure of my career, yet to find true love.

21. Whats so special about it anyway. 21 prolly isnt even the best time to be alive. I think the perfect age is 25. At 25, you are not too old, but u have money cos u work, so u can get chicks. At 20 u have no cash even if u are a bit more virile, and at 30, ur over the hill.

25. Thats going to be the one i look forward. Remember to come back here to see what the hell i've achieved when i'm 25.

Round and Round and Back Again

Life.

What a strange thing it is. The last week or so, I have spent a lot of time in reflection. I am really suprised that even though I have secured a job before i have even finished uni, that I still feel strangely incomplete. Honestly, besides the initial feeling of euphoria that came with my first offer, I don't feel any different from how I felt beforehand. Do we ever achieve all that we aim for in life? After we achieve one goal, isn't there always another? Even as a christian, until every person in this world has been told the message of Christ, we still have a job to do.

Basically, what I am wondering, when do we ever get that feelings of completeness, of absolute satisfaction that we have achieved everything that we have set out to ahcieve? Or is life simply endlessly aiming at goals that will never be complete? What do you, my faithful readers think? Who the hell reads this anyway? Roll call please :P

Lee's blog questioned the purpose of blogs. I spose the reason for my blog is to just get stuff off my chest, and sometimes it feels better just to order things by writing it out. Also, i think its a good way of getting other ppls opinions on things.

Being the materialistic bastard that i am please check out my new Wish List.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

Yesterday, I had my dodgy Ethics exam, where we had to study 16 topics to only be test on 3 on them. The format was 3 5 minute responses. The first question was free choice, which is fine. That one i prepare earlier. The 2nd question you are to choose, 1/8 cards, the number being your question. I prepared question 1-7 and left out 8 so of course i got 8. Luckily I was allowed to decline, so i got something i liked. Question 3. Choose 3/7 cards and choose one of those 3. I had not prepared questions 1,5,6. And the 3 cards i got, 1,5,6. Gold. Anyway. a pass should not be too hard.

After that, Alby and I went to finalise the details of our 21st venue, For everyone thats coming the details are.

Date: 6th July 2004
Location: 433 Cleveland St. (Cnr of Bourke and Cleveland Street)
Time: 8pm till late
Dress: Smart Casual
Starter Drinks and Nibblers provided

Alby was then whipped and took off like a maniac to meet his woman.
I stood on a street corner and waited for Lee to pick me up. We then took a LONG detour to danny's house, where we suprised him, and demanded that we go out to eat. This led us to go to Gordon, where there is "Rump's and Ribs". Roger called us as we were deciding where to go, and he also joined us on our quest.

Upon arrival, I discovered "The professional Challenge". 3 500g Steaks in one sitting, the 3rd one becomes free, and u get a brick with ur name on the wall. IF you can do it. Ladies and Gentlemen. I tell you know. I will have a crack at this challenge. To warm up, I got one of these steaks. No problem. I wasn't even hungry and afterwards, i did not feel anything close to pain. This was after a HUGE lunch at 3:00 pm too.

Here are some photos of my endeavours on that night.

A close of the 500g beast.


This is before i take on 1/3 of "The Challenge"


Easy. The big lebo guy next to me is Roger. He's a Doctor.


After that we went for a cruise to Krispy Kreme where noone bought anything except Wendy. But it was a great night to catch up with a few of the lads. Definitely will go back to etch myself in history on those walls of Rumps and Ribs.

Sooo Bored

I feel so unmotivated to do anything. I'm sposed to be studying ethics right now, and there is so much reading, all for 15 minutes of glory. They are only going to ask 2/14 topics and yeat i have to learn about 12 of the topics anyway. What a bloody waste. I've gotta make notes on the bloody lectures now.

bah. Turned down the bank today. Had a chat with a guy last night that has been in IT for a few years, and he gave me some good advice, hopefully everything will work out in the end. Also spoke to someone at the consulting firm which was quite helpful.

Well its too late togo back now.
Wish me luck!

Cos it feels right.

Well, with regard to my choice, i've kinda decided. I'm leaning very much to the consulting company, pending the arrival of the contract. Thank you one and all for all your great advice, you've made a hard decision more easy to live with.

I think the decision came from me deciding to grow up a bit, and not take the easy option all the time. I'm not sure whats gonna happen, but i believe that if i don't give myself this opportunity, i'll regret it for the rest of my life. I want to make something of myself in this lifetime, and this is my first step towards that goal.
Maybe this is my first step towards maturity, becoming a person that is dependable, trustworthy and all that crap...

relationships are such a puzzle. I think as long as we live, we can never really say "i have relationships figured out." I mean. there are just too many variables with too much at stake. I mean there are 2 HUMAN BEINGS involved. It doesnt get any more random than that. Throw in some hormones, crazy emotions, mood swings, that time of the month, a dash of uncertainty, a pinch of insecurity and it all adds up to one big mess. But then there are moments of sheer clarity, when you know that the person you are with is the right one for you, and that all the crap that u have been thru or will go thru is worth it, just for moments like those. It's at these moments when you truly believe that it will all work out in the end...

Some people wonder how i can do things with such little regard for the world. Where is my regard for: hygiene, pride, dignity, self image, ettiquette, etc, etc,.... Why do i do things and say things that seem to so often cross the border into "err.. he shouldnt have done that" territory? I really dont know. I think partly its cos im a bastard who cares about noone but himself, partly cos i dont care bout the opinions of people i dont care about, and partly cos i just do what feels right.

there isnt really a point to this blog, just felt like writing about some of the things i've been thinking..

Choices.

As some of you who read this already know, I am currently faced with a choice. It's a choice that, if i get wrong, may haunt me for the rest of my life. The question of career often comes up at some point, and how do you decide what is right for you? I mean, i've done IT for 4 years and im still not sure if this was the best option for me.. what if i had gone and done law at UTS or done some commerce degree?

I guess its something i'll never know, but i spose IT hasnt turned out that bad. I do count myself lucky that I even have the opportunity to choose. On one hand i have a job that promises a degree of stability, a good reputation, and a nice salary package. On the other hand, I have a job where the stability is less, the is global, harder work, longer hours and possibly a better chance for promotion.

In terms of the work environments, im really not sure, i spose thats one thing i'll have to look into, and i'm not even sure what i'll be doing exactly. Ideally, i think i would want to work a month in both places and then decide, but that obviously isnt possible. To make a choice now is a tough call, how do i decide something that may well affect the rest of my life?

Comments/Thoughts appreciated

Results! and Financial Wisdom?

Unlike Lee, who seems to be able to find insightful things to write in his blog, my life seems to be a plain, boring affair, with not much to inspire controversy. I'm not exactly sure who reads this blog, as i've spammed this site to a lot of people, so i'm gonna have to be careful of what i say :P

The results of the last post were that most people were in favour of the GTR, by a ratio of about 4:1. The question now is, where do i find a GTR that is not dead, hell where am i gonna find one at all? and where am i gonna find 30K?
I'll prolly have a larger list of options somewhere in the future....

One point that was raised in my previous post by some people was the financial soundness of buying a car so early on and spending 20-30K on it. I'll tell you all now that i dont have 20-30K to my name, and infact i'll prolly be in debt about 10K after my world trip. This world trip debt i intend to pay back in a year, so that'll be ok. But to take out Another loan, this one im thinking more on the 5 year term, is that really a wise option? In my mind, i know that its not, i shouldnt lock myself into so much debt early on. BUT, once my sister starts driving, the fact of the matter is that i'll need A car, cos 2 cars between the 4 of us is prolly not enough. and seeing as i will need to get a car, i might as well get one that i want right, which means a hoon car, while im still young?

I don't really wanna get some jap hoon car when im 35, that just looks bad. When i'm 35 i want to get nice, expensive european hoon car. I spose also, cars are, and probably will be, something i'll always have a passion for, and why shouldnt i get something that i want?

In my perfect future, my perfect woman will have found me by 25 and by then i'll need to settle down, and all that comes with it. Such as a place to live that isnt my parents house, not doing stupid , life endangering things on old pacific or moony moony... I want to enjoy those things before i commit to a life that is more "mature" (boring). :P

I know that some of you are very against getting the car, and believe that a property is the way to go, and i've discussed this with u and definitely see the benefits of that.. but i've always been a man that has been ruled by his heart more than his mind so i guess we'll have to see what happens..

S13 VS GTR-32 VOTE

Once again, i've managed to waste the entire day.
I woke up, rang some ppl, rang some places for my 21st, and played some war. Some weird movie called "Zero Effect" with Ben Stiller and ID4 President (Bill Pullman?) on it.
Played a bit of war, and now im thinking, where did my day go.

Other things i've been considering is the purchase of a car.
At this stage, I don't have a budget as such yet.
There are a few cars im considering atm.

Silvia S13



What im thinking of doing with this car, is taking out the stock s13 engine and replacing it with the current S15 engine. It'll be quick, but insurance? i dunno if thats going to be possible.

Prices: These are my rough guesses/estimates
S13 = 12,000
S15 Engine = 5000
Mechanic = 1000
Total = Approx 20,000

Nissan Skyline GTR-32
Thats right not some BS Gts-t but a full blown GTR.



Price: 30,000+

Thats all i've been thinking atm...
I spose the purpose of this car is so that i can be a hoon, before i decide to be mature and settle down and crap like that. It's a chance to lose my license and get myself killed, as well as blitzing some punks at the lights. Definitely looking for a RWD, or maybe an AWD, just something that handles, cos as you know, im more interested in the windy stuff than a straight road.

Currently, i am driving this :



suggestions/comments appreciated.

Blogspot

Bloody hell. This blogspot thing is so hard to use. I am trying to make changes to it , but it seems to be too stupid to update properly. Where is lee when you need him. Someone explain how this thing works? I cant even get a links thing on the right hand side of my page, nor do i seem to be able to change the title.

Go here. Do it. Do it.

Virgin Post

This is my first blog on this blogger thing. I have jumped ship from xanga, beacuse xanga blows. Who needs Eprops anyway. This is much nicer.

Man, Uni is really pissing me off. If I fail ecommerce cos i didn't do one bloody lab properly its really really gonna PISS ME OFF. It means i will have to do an extra subject next semester. The lectures are a joke, the labs are joke, the lecturer is a joke. What kind of course fails you for one completing one component of it?

I'm gonna see the LIC tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Going to uni 2morrow for no classes sucks too. I havent even started studying for exams, and me n alby need to finalise the place for our 21st too. I thought life would be much easier after i got a job, but if anything things seem even more crazy. Who woulda thought GRADUATING would be so hard?

Add that to my mum being on my back cos her computer is dying, cos she did something to it and now demands a reformat.