Freo

don't let the exposed piping fool you, this place is pretty bangin

Ah dear friends, I'm back!  A great weekend filled with fun on the west coast.  Well, to start out, I met up with a buddy of mine and headed straight to the crib in Fremantle (spoiler: I had an awesome time and had to make separate post to emphasize that it is distinctly different).  Just south of the city of Perth, this suburb by the sea seems to be the place to relax and chill.  The first thing I noticed, was the casual atmosphere EVERYWHERE>  We took a bus and I was supposed to get a standard ticket for $4, but the driver looked at me with my bags and was like... watev  $2.75 plz.  cool.   Anyways, that's the kinda relaxed, easy-going vibe around Freo (Fremantle).  There's a bit of shopping streets with cafes and shops (shopppes?) but the staple of Fremantle's tourism must be the brewery.  The Little Creatures brew a couple of nice beverages though the surprising thing about this place, was that it was really family friendly.  I mean they have a sand pit for children to play in, while the grownups get properly intoxicated.  Although a bit expensive, it's definitely a place to spend an afternoon with good company.  They also offer free tours at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm,... and somehow I missed ALL OF THEM (complicated story), but we did get a free tasting out of it so I wasn't too disappointed.  As Australia is known for sunny hot climate, it makes sense for the drinks to be complimentary.  Lagers, pilsners,  ales, ciders..  all drinks of the refreshing sort.  quite tasty I might add.

Sunset over the Indian Ocean

 Anywho, as you may recall, I went back to the states during the 'winter' break.  The one thing I had forgotten to do was see the sunset of the ocean, and I'd be damned if I missed it in Australia.  So viola!  The weird thing that struck me was that this wasn't the Pacific Ocean (obviously); I just never thought that I would ever see the Indian Ocean.. word.   The water is quite a bit warmer and just nice. (In my quiver of vocabulary,.. I think 'nice' is a pretty good description.)  So me and said buddy watched the sunset with the warm glow of light and heat emitting from the ground.  serene, peaceful, relaxed...  then we got hungry.

tourist information for a restaurant: sell out or just that good?

Hallelujah Hollaback 

 Luckily, everything worth seeing in Freo is right next to the beach.. including 3 or 4 fish and chips restaurants.  Well after going to the wrong restaurant (another long story), I finally ended up at the mythical establishment known as Kailis.  Recommended by my housemate as the 'best place' for fish and chips, there was a lotta hype.  And having many fish and chips (fishes n chips?) in my time, I think I've got a fine pallet for such tastes.  So after a long trip (also a long story), I finally made it to the holy land. Hot weather, shaded table, ever so slight breeze... yep.  perfect conditions for fish and chips.  I looked at the menu and was faced with a dilemma.. fish n chips..  or full on seafood platter.  Well in any situation like this.. gotta pull the trigger. BAM.  mussels, calamari, shrimp, scallops, and, of course, fishnchips.  (why there's salad, I haven't a clue).  Then to complete the meal.. a nice lemon bitters drink.  Yep,.. to say I was content would be an understatement (note, I did share the platter.. I think it'd be too much for just one person to indulge).  Verdict: it was a damn fine meal. on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 'delicious'.  I didnt know how much fresh fish made a difference, but it was all flaky with minimally light batter. (non of that crumbly cakey stuff).  The mussels came in a red tomato sauce.  The mussels were alright, but the sauce has a consistency closer to soup.  Also good.. just a bit messy.  The other fried food was great.  especially the scallops: lightly crispy and held together well for maximum dipping potential.  All-in-all: Awesome meal.  awesome time in Freo.  That being said, I did get to see a bit of Perth during the weekend, but I'll cover that next week. until then- keep it real.

Floriade

flower city

hipster flower was red before it was cool.

Floriade (pronounced:  floor e' a_de)  the pride of Canberra.  This flower show is the biggest in all of Australia and attracts people from all over.  Flowers on flowers.  Well this was just a pit stop on our way outta the capitol city.  We strolled around for a bit and took in the aromas and fragrances of tulips, gardenias  (is this a real flowers) and other flowery things.  I've never been to a flower show before but it was more than I expected.   I mean this is THE event for Canberra.  Everyone comes out for this event. So there's carnival stuff, stands for food, arts and crafts... stuff like that.  So the flower patches (gardens?) were in designed to make some image, .. but from the viewing angle and disproportionate growing patterns (courtesy of weather)... the designs didn't turn out so hot.  In any case we had a good time wandering around... til we saw this.

gnomes... everywhere

 So, along with any garden belongs a mischievousness gnome.  Thus.  gnome decorating contests!  They were classified into different groups, based on age.  (note: 0-6 years of age, motor skills have not been developed).  It was good to see different groups collaborate and produce a theme... though so got kinda weird .

note:  death metal gnome

So next week, i'm going to perth.  check it on the maps.. yep all the way across the continent.  (is the west coast the best coast?)  i'll find out soon enough.  with that said, imma skip out on the post next week and write when i get back.  til then, keep it real

Canberra: Parliment

It's like a crane game.... from space

Ahh,  Canberra.  located to the west in its own state, the ACT (Australian Capital Terriroty).  If look on the map, this city is an island of sorts in the state of New South Wales.  This also marks my first venture outside of the state.  Anyways, (little background) Canberra was built as a capital city.  I mean, there was no historic reason or monumental significance prior to being a governmental city.  Other than having nice paved roads, this city is well known for having no night life... which was fine, i only went for a day trip anyways to help a friend move.  Anywho, this (to the left) is the parliment building.  Government stuff goes on there.  Also the city has a cool infrastructure.  Similar to Washington D.C., there are straight lines from the 'mound' to other important government buildings and landmarks.  Similar to spokes on a wagon, the parliment building was the nexus of the city.  Well, i'm not one to dilly dally in political issues, but I like to known where government does governmental things.

red room

blue room

 There's a different governmental structure in Australia than the US, both of which I am unfamiliar with.  I have my own opinions about governments, but that might be a discussion filled with frustration and cynicism.

So there I am... just in aw of australian government stuff.  Even though I don't like politics... the interior of the bulding was all marble and steel.  It was kinda weird.  It seemed like a 30's artdeco future building.  word.   Anyways, we wandered around for a bit, but we heard rumors of some pretty cool views at the top (of the mound).  So we got in an elevator (which was a weird one at that) and got to the roof.  The first thing we noticed.. is the grass

It's like memory foam... but for your feet

Oh lord-ie lord-ie LORD.. that grass is lush like no other.  'Organic carpet' as it were to be described.  I think we spent more time admiring the grass, more than the view.  We also heard people used to roll down the hill (side of the parliment has some pretty sweet rolling grass).  But of course we wouldn't do that.  Nah, we were mature adults, besides we had stuff in our pockets.  No way we were gonna do that.... psych.   pretty good roll down.

After a nice afternoon of laying in the grass, it was time to head home and we headed through the exit/ gift shop (btw: the parliment gift shop sells boomerangs and ugg.... just something to think about).  Our relaxed and whimsical journey was at an end... or was it?  Next week, I'll capture the magic, nay the 8th wonder of the world.... Floriade (pronouced: floor e ade')

ye olde gift shoppe

Surfs Up Dude

catchin awesome waves on the boogie board...brah'

So this week was my mid semester break, which marks the midway point in the academic career in Sydney.  Of the many things I'd like to do with my time in Australia, surfing was definitely on the checklist.  So yesterday (courtesy of Clay and Bec), we headed to one of the northern beaches.  It was a little cloudy, with a hint of wind.... just the way I like it.  Well, i've never surfed before (despite Californian stereotypes), so I was anxious to give it a go.  So... when we first stepped onto the beach, it was pretty chill.. except for a couple noteworthy observations.  I was made aware of 'blue bottles'.  Contrary to the cute name associated to coffee chains from Nor-Cal, these small little jellyfish, about the size of teaspoon (or tablespoon), deliver a little sting and seemed to be in bunches (as they were washed up on the beach).  Luckily, there were some people in the water and if they weren't afraid, I wasn't gonna wuss out cause of some faceless rubberbands.  Well, we strolled along the beach to set up camp.. meanwhile passing through some lifeguard training. 12-year olds practicing saving lives? alright cool, but I didn't see any other 'adult' (read: proper) lifeguards around... so if something were to happen, my life would be in the hands of some pre-pubecent youngsters.  Luckily, I'm fairly confident in my swimming abilities.  We headed out to the waves.  As the water is pretty clear, we could see the sand for a while.  Pretty far out, I spotted some dark patches below... suddenly, i panicked.  All those news reports and tv shows (River monsters) flashed through my mind... oh god, i could see the headlines now: "Foolish International Attempts Surfing, Ignored Warnings From Internet.. More News at 6".  Luckily, Clay comforted my fears and determined I was tripping out cause I saw some seaweed or rocks, rather than sharks or rays.  Anywho, after some boogy boarding and body surfing, I decided to pull the trigger and do what I set out to do.
So we headed out to the break and patiently waited for some good waves.  During this time, I was constantly drifting away from where the waves were breaking so i was continuously paddling horizontally back to the 'spot'.... I can't emphasize how tiring paddling is.... also my balance is pretty bad already, but the board has wax to keep me from sliding off.  Unfortunately the wax is also pretty unfriendly against bare skin... watev.  Eventually, I saw it... the wave I wanted to catch.  I paddled, caught it right after the break, and stood up..  .  (even though when I got to standing up, the wave had almost died down).   It was magnificent... for all of 2 seconds.  then I 'wiped out'.. and found myself in flurry of sea and sand.

before

after

Somehow I got back to the sand (probably washed up on shore) and called it a day.  I was so exhausted.  Caught a wave, stood up,.... .  Finished off the day with some hot chips and chicken salt.  yep mission accomplished

donezo

Biennale18

buttons & cups

art ... everywhere

middle of the room art

closeup

arches & color

Alright... now that I got all that art photos outta the way.  These are some of the art exhibitions of the Biennale (an art show that comes to Sydney every 2 years).  All the exhibits above were located on Cockatoo Island, just a little island in the bay.  Note: the island used to be a prison, then a shipyard, and now  it's just a bunch of abandoned buildings (with campgrounds).  Anywho, the art show is free and I had time, so off I went!
So a lot of this is exhibition art which varied on different scales and media.  From the complex strings and colors to a video of 4 people laughing for an hour (yes, this was an actual exhibit.. 4 people, in colored suits... just laughing... for an hour).
Well describing the art work will take rather long, and i'd probably bore you to death, so i'll describe the experience and such.

To get to this island, there was a (free) shuttle, which ran from the city.  Getting around the island, though pretty small, took a couple hours.  Mostly cause we tried to inspect and see every corner of the exhibits.  Some of the art were located in a main industrial warehouse,.. others were in the old living quarters or tunnels.  To make the point short.. it was a good trek outside the city.

The great thing about the Biennale, is there are multiple venues.  Right down the street from my crib, there was the performing arts exhibition.  We checked it about, but there were no performances.. so we headed to the pub (a very Australian thing to do.. i assume).

The other venues were at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and a set of old piers (wharfs).  Again, I won't go into detail about how 'deep and meaningful' the art was, but the amount of exhibits were just too much to count.   Going to each venue, I felt more and more confused.. When I though I was getting to understand some of the art (or at least appreciate it), ther'd be something outta left field and BAM... mind blank.

I've taken a couple art classes before and have a basic understanding of 'introduction to contemporary visual art'.  Since then, I 've been trying to understand the 'soulful expression' of artists and their 'struggle to define art'.. but usually end up calling SHENANIGANS!! and realize why they usually have to make frappaccinos to supplement their income.  Though this art show was pretty amazing.. I think I was just awed with the size of the art works and use of space to display their talent. .... Yes. talent.  I haven't been to many art shows.. (usually just art and wine festivals), but here, I really felt that there was a variety of talent used to imagine and materialize thoughts and ideas.

I was a pretty good experience to see all the Art throughout Sydney and, dare I say, I even felt a little more 'cultured'.  Who knows, perhaps I may even trade in my laptop for one of those apple computers and write this blog at a cafe that only serves fair trade coffee while eating organic radishes and sport a hemp scarf, fedora and skinny jeans....  nah....

Victory!!

Well Hello readers, sorry for skipping a week, but i'm sure you've made it through the week without the guidance of my blog.  Anyways, the reason/ excuse I came up with is the bane of student life: a midterm.  Oh jesus, I had a midterm and needed to study for that, so lemme reflect on this experience (especially when I read this entry in a few years time, i'll be able to reminisce on this experience).  As many of you know, i'm a science guy.  I love science. science science science. love that jazz.  Throughout my schooling career, i've had plenty of exams.  Finding addition, subtraction, fluid dynamics, hell yeah.  Give me an equation and i'll solve it (or at least look at it really hard).  When there weren't calculations, I had to write reports (such as I'm accustomed to as a grad student).  Well all and dandy, but this was the first midterm that I had in a long time.  To make things worse, this hour-long midterm was answering a couple questions... on paper.  yeah, I had to write things.. on paper... with a pen.  SAY WHA? (what when through my head).  I can't remember the last time I had to have a written midterm with essay questions... maybe high school?  maybe regarding the heroics of Atticus Finch.

credit to  Dave MacDowell.. damn straight I cite my sources

Anyways, if I wasn't nervous enough, the midterm was for my international business class.  I have never taken a business class in my life!  so i'm in a bit of a panic.  entrepreneurs, corporate strategy,... uhhh   and to top it off, all my class mates have some sort of business/financial/marketing (read: money degrees).  Well, I studied like no other.  For days, I pondered the theory of industry markets and innovative trends.. and on exam day.. I was ready.  well, almost.  The one thing I didn't prepare for was the amount of fatigue my hand would have to endure during the exam.

my preferred method of pen holding

 The intensity of the exam just goes to your head, and you're allowed one-hour to vomit as much information on to the 8"x11" booklet.  Holding your precious pen, thoughts flying through at 100 mph (160km/h).. you're on a roll.  And suddenly, you hit the wall.  not a mental block, but the agonizing numbness in your fingertips.  It occurs without notice and suddenly, your words-per-minute rate plummet.  Try to shake out the pain and get the blood flowing back into your hand, but it's only minimally better (also, I probably looked like an idiot).  At this point, the 20 minutes I've allowed for each question needs to be readjusted due to the slowing writing pace and my atrocious handwriting begins to look even more heinous..  it was like my handwriting slowly reversed in time, and soon my handwriting reverted back to the 5th grade.   Oh boy..

10 minutes left:  i'm almost halfway done with the last question.  Good pace, I just gotta push through for a little while longer.

7 minutes left: wish there was more time.. gotta step up the pace a bit.

2 minutes left:  wrapping up the question, just about finished--HAND CRAMP! oh god,... why now.  what do i do?  switch left handed? nah, too risky.  shake it out? nah, too little time left.  last resort...switch grips and write BIG.  my scribbles seem to barely pass for words...watev, good enough

13 seconds left:  i've done it.. finished with the exam.  looking over my answers (and subsequent de-evolution of my hand writing).  answered questions as good as I could and felt satisfied.  I was proud

1 second left:  Think I heard someone fart... (maybe... still suspicious)

Time up: Pencils down and exhale.
Whew, exam done.  It's all behind me now.  Victory.

Hyams Beach

the land of lost beaches

sand for DAYS

A couple weeks ago, me and couple friends decided to head down to Jervis Bay for a day trip.  It was a nice 3 hour drive down south (I was asleep for most of the way).. lucky me.  Oh real quick sidetrack,.. we stopped by some place to eat/ get some coffee, but I had the heartiest pie ever.  it had some basic beef + gravy, then add on some bacon and an egg in the middle= delicious! ... ok back to the story.  I didn't know what to expect of this place (I guess have have a habit of not knowing what to expect).  Well, I just knew it was south and the beaches are supposed to be "nice"... Quite an understatement if i ever heard one.  Anyways, our arrival in the bay ended up with us getting lost (surprise surprise).  We must have driven 40 minutes just trying to get to this one lunch place.. and didn't even find it.  But whatev.  we found a cafe, and took our sandwiches (well, they got sandwiches, I was content with an apple strudel and juice) and strolled down to a beach.  Sitting there in the sun, with the sand below our toes, the day just drifted and swayed.  After a seemly distant time, we got up and seeked out Hyams beach.  This beach is known for two things: having a deceiving pronunciation... and the whitest sand beach in the world (guiness book of records.. check it)

waters gonna water

 To describe how phenomenal the sand is... it squeaks.  lemme explain.  the sand here is so fine that when you scruff it with your foot, so many particles (sand) rub up on each other and break the sound barrier (produce the squeak).    Now I must remind you it was still winter.  So good news,.. we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.  Bad news.... water was just a tad chilly, but that wasn't gonna stop us.  We ditched our gear and went for a swim.  This was probably the clearest water I've ever swam in.  You could see the sand below the water, even 50 yards out.  And the sand was so fine, walking in the water produced a sort of underwater dust cloud, though it seemed the sand behaved similar to a puff of flour or baking soda.  Although the water was a bit cold, we soon forgot it and splashed around the waves.. After a while, the waves got a bit bigger so we rode the waves on our backs and let the swells roll us around til we got tired.  But the sun was still up!  after a round of coffee, we took a most excellent stroll on the beach.  The consistency of the sand led a long and in-depth conversation of the 'sinkage' level and comfort between our toes.  We strolled on and on til we had lost a sense of time.  Eventually we turned around, just as the sun was setting behind the hills.  It was a good day; the scent of sand lingered on my clothes as I drifted to sleep on the drive home.

dusk