Open Air Cinema Part Deux

This time the venue is at Bondi Beach. Home of the most famous beach in Sydney. The concept is the same as the first only in addition to chairs, they offer bean bags (as seen in the pictures) some of which are the molding of a shark.

The movie of choice this evening was Riding Giants. I thought it would make most sense to watch a surf documentary on the beach where we spend most evenings catching the waves. I would definately recommend this movie to all avid sports fans. It's a movie that explores the history of big wave surfing and has some great shots of waves we can only imagine to ride.





- the lone asian

The Brochures’ fine print – what they didn’t want you to hear

Although it may appear that we lead a “champagne lifestyle”, we thought it may be time to share some of the adversities we face on a day to day basis:

1. Having to watch cricket highlights rather than NHL.
2. The feeling of being LOST because all the maps are upside down, and street name signs are knocked down by drunken hoodlums.
3. 1.5 hr commute to work via a combination of biking, train, and bus…which requires a 5:30am alarm.
4. FORCED to shop for “reduced” items at the grocery store because everything else is too expensive! (e.g., green capsicums/peppers $9/kg; mushrooms $7/kg). Some days we are forced to fight to buy leftover scraps at the local Chinese market
5. Walking past people who are homeless and have addictions everyday on the way to/from work.
6. Awakening at 2am, 4am, and 5am to the sound of mosquitoes buzzing in one’s ear.
7. Every meal preparation takes double the time due to efforts to keep cockroaches away, having no oven, a bar fridge, and having only 2 “hot plates” as a ‘stove’.
8. Lack of high speed internet and proper telephone connections.
9. 1 sandwich with ham, cheese and lettuce and tomato costs $7.50. Mcdonald’s meal that includes fries, drink AND a burger is $5. Small coffee costs $3, 1 doughnut is $2.50; compare that with 1L beer at $4. Due to ridiculous prices, we are forced to a consume the unhealthier things in life
10. Having to use one of the MOST PATHETIC (perhaps I should use MOST UNRELIABLE) transit systems in the civilized world. (though I could write a book on why this is, let's just say 16 different lines does not equal efficiency. LATE, OVERCROWED, COSTLY, and OVERHEATED are just a few issues to point out
11. Being so far away from family and friends.
12. Searching for hot wings all over the city only to find out they don't exist!

Island Rice’ wisdom: life always seems to balance itself out…total satisfaction vs. “not so nice things”…but these can all be put into perspective. Life could be worse! So we will continue to enjoy it all – even the “bad”

Trop Fest 2006

The festival is called Trop Fest 2006. It is the world's largest short film event and the screening occurs in Sydney, Australia.

After reviewing over 700 short films, the judges narrow it down to 16 finalists and show them on a big screen in the middle of the domain park(situated in our backyard). Every year, crowds of up to 80,000 people show up for yet another "free" event (I still haven't figured out where all this money comes from to pay for such events)

This year was a bit more unique as the weather didn't seem to want to cooperate with the event. As the sun set (though it was covered in clouds), the rain decided to bare itself upon us. It began as a light sprinkle and tapered off before really releasing its full force in an all out tropical storm! It took about another 10 minutes, but the show was finally postponed due to the fear that the equipment could be damaged by lighting.

As I was already soaking wet, I thought I'd sit and watch the stampede leave the grounds as it seemed like absolute chaos everywhere! Some decided to take advantage of this rare occurance and started playing in the rain. The weirdest thing I saw was seeing a person stripped down to nothing walking around as if it was the normal thing to do. To end off the night, we decided it would be fitting to head to the bar to escape the rain and watch the madness from indoors.

- the lone asian

A BIG PRICE TO PAY FOR ‘NEGLIGENCE’ – RAW'S Injury

A routine weekend surf at the beach …turns into a day where the force of nature toss us like a piece of Kleenex in the laundry.

After battling some fierce wave action for 20 min, I stumble onto shore with “RAW”. The poor thing suffered a fractured right dorsal fin. We tried to keep Raw from going into shock and rushed it home. OT splinting methods failed. Fortunately, our friendly neighbor supplied us with some adhesive products that only industrial workers have access to, and we attempted to fix it into place.

Our efforts were only a ‘band aid’ solution, as Raw suffered even more damage the second day. The fin was now fully broken off… IT WAS TIME TO VISIT THE ‘HOSPITAL’.

“The DING DOCTOR” – the only doctor in town had to give us a ‘scolding’. He said that our “negligence” has lead to only one option – ‘SURGERY’.

1 week without Raw created a void in our evenings, and the cost of our ‘negligence’ was more than we budgeted for. The Ding Doctor wanted to pronounce death, and even tried to offer money to us to put Raw “to sleep”. However, the fun times we will have with it will be priceless! We decided to go ahead with surgery, and treated Raw to a new waxing before taking it out on its first rehab surf. Just like its hardy owners, Raw withstood all blows thrown its way, and made a complete recovery.

Lessons learned:
1. If you buy slightly damaged goods, there is a good chance it will lead to further damage.
2. Band-aids, duct tape, and crazy glue can only get you so far.
3. If you get pushed off, jump back on…you may go further the 2nd time around, and if not, the ride will be enjoyable.

- Island Rice

Attack of the Jelly

Let me first retrack my last statement of "right place, right time". Don't get me wrong, I do feel very fortunate with all that we've been able to do, but read on and you'll find out my latest encounter with the creatures in the sea.

It's called the "blue bottle jellyfish". Tiny little sea monsters that have no vertebrae or spine. They have no real swimming capability other than the fact they use their bodies as a parachute and take them where the wind blows. With no natural predators, it seems strange they contain a poisonous venom (non lethal) inside them. These little buggers are often found in Queensland, but this year have found themselves as south as Sydney harbor.

My incident begins in Manly Beach. Going for my usual weekend surf, I failed to realize the several signs warning swimmers that there were several blue bottle's that afternoon. And even after I saw them in the water for my very own eyes, they still did not deter me from my surf. Looking back, it should have occurred to me that there was a good possibility of contact considering the people around me were getting stung and getting out of the water. It was the last set of the day, perhaps what could have been my final wave, only to be sabatoshed by the blue bottle as is wrapped around my wrist and released the poison.

I'm not going to lie to you, that bite was extremely painful. It ended up swelling up my entire wrist then leaving it's tentacle scarring embedded in me as a reminder. I was told that you really aren't a true Aussie until you've been bitten by one of it's deadly creatures. I think this was my ticket in.

Lessons for the day:

- read and obey signs that warn you of blue bottle jelly fish
- NEVER put vinegar on it as it will increase the pain
- the only real cure is to apply ICE to keep the swelling down

- the lone asian

Outdoor Open AiR CiNemA

Since it "rarely" rains (knock on wood) here during summertime, Sydney-siders take advantage of this weather by setting up several open air cinema's in the park. It's a great way to have a picnic before the sun sets and once it does, watch one of your favorite flicks in the park.

We were again fortunate enough to live near the best cinema available as the screen was placed in the Botanical Garden's Bay (literally in the water) with the Opera House, Harbor Bridge and City Skyline acting as the backdrop.

We decided to watch a movie called "Goal" which was a story about a boys dream to play professional soccer and the obstacles and challenges he faces along the way. Because this show was already sold out, our only option was to watch it from the rocks behind the back of the cinema (also known as the poor man's seat) which is a fine option, only you don't get a proper seat.
20 minutes before the movie starts, a man approaches all of us in the back and tells us that he has 6 extra tickets available as he had some cancellation. Before he could ask if anyone wanted it, I was up on my feet thanking him for his generosity. I think you're going to have to rename us to "RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME" because that how we feel some times. Once we entered the seated area, we discovered that this was actually the Australian Premiere of the movie and had the actual producers introduce the film!

The movie itself was decent but the experience of watching this movie with the opera house and bridge on one side, the city on your left and bats eating on top of you will last a lifetime....





- the lone asian

Rugby League

We have officially been to our first "footy match" in Australia. The league is called the Super 14. It is equivalent to the NFL (National Football League) as opposed to the CFL (Canadian Football League). What I mean to say is these players are bigger, hit harder and are promoted as the elite rugby league amongst the rest.

I'd explain the difference between these leagues in more detail but truth be told, I really don't understand it myself.

Tonight we witnessed a rivalry between the Australians (Waratah's) and Kiwi's (Crusader's from New Zealand) that has been ongoing for years. What ended up starting off as a one sided blow out turned out to be a VERY competitive game that saw New Zealand win by only 2 points. The game itself was entertaining enough, but what was even more amusing was the commentary coming from the crowds. Probably nothing I would prefer to repeat online but try and imagine what it must have been like and multiply by 10.

- the lone asian