Non-Movie Weekend

Supposed to watch Welcome to the Sticks (Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis) at St. Leonards Park as part of Helga's European Film Festival. It was cloudy and windy and started to drizzle a bit, so we decided not to go. Went to Westfield Burwood instead for Rocknrolla. Movie starts at 6:45pm. Had early dinner at Something Sweet. By the time we finished our meal, it was just past movietime. Gave the movie a pass and went back home.

On Sunday, we're supposed to watch The Orphanage at Hurstville. Went to Elica's house blessing at Ropes Crossing in the morning. GF had so much fun chatting (and eating), we decided to stay. Went to Kamayan later at Rooty Hill to buy some takeaway. Because it was already late in the afternoon, we only managed to get embutido and relyenong bangus.

Hairspray at Brett Park

Hairspray is one of GF's favourite movies. We've watched it on the theatre. We've watched it on cable TV. I believe she has watched it on DVD. She even has the soundtrack CD. Now, she also wants to watch it on open-air cinema. If I didn't know better, I would say she has a crush on that Zac Efron guy.

Organized by Communities by Communities, Cinema at the Park is showing Hairspray at Brett Park, Henley Marine Drive.

Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2008

Now on it's 12th year, the Bondi Sculpture by the Sea is again back from Oct. 16 till Nov. 2. GF and I drove down on its last day to view the sculptures. Still a lot of people from Bondi Beach all the way to Tamarama. With some of the sculptures, I get this feeling that I've seen them before. Same concept, different execution. Or same sculpture but with a little modification.

On our way back to Bondi Beach, we noticed that everyone is looking out to sea. Following their gaze, we can see a lifeguard inflatable raft moving about. Thinking it's a shooting for Bondi Rescue, we stayed around and watched. Then we saw it. A black lump coming out of the water, followed by a forked tail. Further away, another one. WHALES! First time I've seen one. Quite close to the shore, too.

After Bondi, it's off to Leichhardt for dinner at Bar Italia. Spaghetti Bar Italia for GF, Fettunicni Amatriciana for me. Almond gelato for dessert.

Canon Photo5 Entries

Competition deadline is already on Oct. 22, and I have yet to take pictures of all my mystery items. Actually not a mystery anymore. Here are the items for this year's competition:

• a green Faber-Castell crayola
• a tealight
• a plastic bottle of bubble liquid
• a cocktail umbrella
• a red ribbon

And here are the photos (minus the tealight):

Terrigal and The Entrance

Woke up from a colleague's SMS saying that they can see whales (or was it dolphins) from the beach. Looks like they did some early morning fishing again. By the time I got to the beach, the whales are gone.

After a sumptuous buffet breakfast, everybody got ready to head back to Sydney. I stayed behind because GF is driving over with a couple of her overseas friends. We took some pictures at Terrigal Beach, then had lunch at the hotel. Went to The Entrance for a short tour. The tourists (and GF) had a great time at the pelican feeding. Back in Sydney, we had dinner at Ramen Ken.

NSN Day at Terrigal

The past week has been pretty stressful. After months of testing, our customer launched this prepaid wireless broadband service. Turns out it's not yet ready for primetime. Once in a while, the servers would give up the ghost, and service go offline. When that happens, we get called up 24x7 to resolve the issue. We'll get it running, then after a while, it'll all go bad again.

Today, the whole company is off to Terrigal for a two-day outing. It's true I'm not on call, but that never stopped the customer (and our boss) from calling us at odd hours and asking us to "help out". Well, if other people can simply drop whatever they're doing and have fun, I should be able to do the same. And it looks like the only way I can stop myself from worrying too much is by having a forced break.

We just got on the freeway when we got a call from the boss. Our software team came up with a new binary, and the customer wants it put into production immediately. As in right now. Thank heavens for mobile computing. I had my mobile dialed into the conference call. Using a special dongle, we connected the mobile's audio out to the car's aux in, so everyone in the car can listen in through the car's speakers. My colleague fired up his laptop, and using a USB HSDPA dongle, we got on to the Internet. From there, we used a VPN to connect to our intranet. For power, we had a device that connects to the cigarette lighter to provide 220V AC. By the time we got to Terrigal, we've copied in the new binary to the servers and coordinated with our colleage in Melbourne to confirm that everything works fine. All this time updating the customer in the conference call. I doubt if they even know we're doing all this from inside a moving car.

That gave us a respite to enjoy the rest of the day. While everyone else went for a game of laser tag, we went down the bay to do some fishing. Joined the group for buffet lunch at Crown Plaza. More fishing after lunch. I went around the area taking pictures. At night, we have our Hawaiian-themed buffet dinner. Most of the guys simply put on a Hawaiian shirt for their costume, just like me. Easy. Didn't stay around for the post-dinner entertainment anymore. We headed down to the beach for more fishing. Way too cold for me. Went back to the hotel around midnight.

RadioBlog 2008.10.13

Last time I changed the songs on my Radioblog was more than a year ago. To keep things fresh, I've put in a bunch of Japanese ones, and kept some favourites.

• Folder - All or Nothing
• Globe - Feel Like Dance
• Misia - Everything
• Pizzicato Five - Sweet Soul Revue
• Ryoko Hirosue - Escalation
• Track03
• Track12
• Utada Hikaru - Close to You
• BoA - Feel the Same
• BoA - Goodbye
• BoA - Pit-A-Pat
• Aled Jones - Count Your Blessings
• Bic Runga - When I See Your Smile
• Carly Simon - I've Got a Crush on You
• Diana Krall - S'Wonderful
• Hayley Westenra - Pokarekare Ana
• Kathy Troccoli - If I'm Not in Love with You
• Katie Melua - The Closest Thing to Crazy
• Lani Misalucha - Ang Iibigin Ay Ikaw
• Lisa Keith - None Better than You
• Lou Pardini - What Might Have Been
• Morten Harket - Can't Take My Eyes off of You
• Paul Jackson, Jr. - If I Go Away
• Robbie Williams - Somethin' Stupid
• Sarah McLachlan - When SheLoved Me
• Shanice & Jon Secada - If I Never Knew
• The CompanY - Baka Ikaw
• Vonda Shepard - Hidden Persuasion

Like the songs? Head over to http://aching.50webs.com or check out the integrated Radioblog on the right panel.

Four Seasons at Chatswood

Been quite a while since I've visited the Zenith Theatre again. Today, the Willoughby Symphony is staging a concert entitled Four Seasons. Programme as follows:

• Corelli - Concerto Grosso, Op. 6 No. 8
• Quantz - Flute Concerto
• Puccini - I crisantemi (The Crysanthemums)
• Vivaldi - The Four Seasons

WSO’s Principal Flautist Katrina Kelvin performs Quantz' Flute Concerto, while prize-winning Chinese-Australian violinist Kylie Liang performs Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Now, this version is special because we have a narrator who recites some Italian sonnets (with English translation, of course) as an introduction to each of the seasons/concertos. Not the best, but still nicely played.

Met up with GF at Westfield Chatswood, then off to Bhudda Raksa Thai Restaurant in Enfield for dinner.

Bundeena Birthday

Drove to Bundeena for AS' birthday party. Apparently, they rented a house along Loftus Street for the weekend, so here we are. The house sits on top of an elevation with an outdoor entertainment area looking out to the sea. A few minutes walk and you're at the beach already. Since GF and I got there early, we helped set up the tables and pretty much blew up all the balloons. That gave us an appetite for lunch. While GF is having a meeting with the girls, I went to the beach with KC's kids. Left the party around 4pm. Dropped by Horderns Beach for a short walk, then passed by the Royal National Park Visitor's Centre, before heading back to Sydney.

Strathfield Spring Fair

Went to the Strathfield Spring Fair with GF. This is what's on hand:

"This year’s Fair will include 100 stalls including food from around the world, jewellery, clothes and gifts to name a few, free amusement rides, free pony rides, an animal farm, a Kidz Zone tent and roving entertainers. Centre stage will feature Channel Nine's most lovable Bear Humphrey B Bear as well as a range of live entertainment including performances from FABBA an ABBA style tribute band, Rick Allison a talented juggler, Horns Plus Big Band, the Leaping Loonies, ventriloquist Michael Fox, there will also be performances from various other live acts including local performers."

Spent a couple of hours going through the stalls. We found this stall selling discount items. GF got a 16CD case for only $3. Me, I bought two 512MB JNC SSF-F10mp3 players at $8 each. Pretty good value for that price - FM radio, FM radio recording, direct mp3 encoding, voice recording, dual 3.5mm earphone jacks, external SD memory card support, upgradeable firmware, etc. The stall was also selling mobile phones from Sagem, Philips, Siemens and Nokia for only $5 each. Didn't get those anymore.

After the stalls, we rested by watching the shows on stage. Caught Rick Allison and his partner doing his juggling/comedy routines. Listened to the Horns Plus Big Band while having chorizo roll and garlic prawns. Yum!

Dinner with family at Newtown Cocina.

Lamb Cutlets with Mint Gremolata

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1½ tablespoons lemon rind (white pith removed), cut into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 8 French-trimmed lamb cutlets
• 2 carrots
• 2 zucchini
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

To make the gremolata, finely chop the mint, parsley, garlic and lemon strips, then combine well.

Heat a chargrill pan or barbeque plate to very hot. Lightly brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cook the cutlets over medium heat for 2 minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking. Remove the cutlets and cover to keep warm.

Trim the ends from the carrots and zucchini and peel the vegetables lengthways into ribbons. Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan, add the vegetables and toss over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until sautéed but tender.

Divide the cutlets among the service plates, sprinkle the cutlets with the gremolata and drizzle with the lemon juice. Serve with the vegetable ribbons.

Chargrilled Jumbo Prawns

Ingredients:

• 8 large raw king prawns (800g)
• 1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• mixed lettuce leaves, to serve

Remove the heads from the prawns, and using a sharp knife, cut through the centre of the prawns lengthways to form two halves, leaving the tails and shells intact.

Place the olive oil, 2 chopped garlic cloves, sweet chili sauce and lime juice in a large bowl, and mix together well. Add the prawns, toss to coat, and marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat a barbecue or chargrill plate until hot. Drain the prawns and cook cut-side down first, brushing with the marinade, for 1-2 minutes each side, or until cooked. Divide the lettuce among four serving plates, place the prawns on top. Season and serve.

Half a Ratatouille, a Hotdog, and Small Fried Rice

After playing an hour of badminton at Olympic Park, GF and I rushed to Burwood to attend a free viewing of Ratatouille as part of the Burwood Spring Celebration. It started around 7pm, so we caught only about half of the movie. We each had a hotdog for dinner. Still feeling a bit hungry after the movie, we went to Canton Noodle House, where I ordered a small fried rice, and GF had a bubble drink.

Albert and the Real Girl at Hurricane Grill

Quite a busy day today. Started off the morning playing an hour's worth of badminton. Went to the airport to pick up Dad. Then to Don Heng King Crab Century at Wests Ashfield Leagues for dimsum. Finished off pretty quick because I had to be at Hurstville for the showing of Lars and the Real Girl with GF.

A touching story about a lonely, introverted young man (Ryan Gosling) having difficulties interacting with other people. One day, he orders a sex doll from the Internet and treats Bianca as if she's for real. Not knowing how to handles his delusion, his brother Gus and sister-in-law gets the whole town to play along. As days go by, Lars gets to interact with more and more people as he has to drive Bianca to the hospital, to the church, etc. Later on, Bianca falls ill and eventually passes away. In the last scene of the movie, we see Lars standing over Bianca's grave. His officemate Margo (who has a long-time crush on him) comes over to offer her condolences. Lars asks if she wants to take a walk with him, and off they go. Four stars from me.

Back at Mortlake, I accompanied GF to Mass, then off to Hurricane Grill at Harbourside to celebrate her birthday. So full!

Friday Night Dooleys

After our Friday night badminton, GF and I drove by London Road to look at this cheap house for sale. No wonder it's a bargain - right beside the property is a distribution substation. Bah!

Anyway, since we're already in the area, we had dinner at Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club. The bistro is a really nice place to hang around in - live entertainment, bright lighting, not too noisy, comfortable seats. Took about an hour before we got our food though.

Dinner with GY

Apparently, I have a high school classmate who's been in Sydney for four years now. Through the wonders of Facebook, we got in contact and arranged to meet up in Darling Harbour for dinner.

Tonight is the last of Darling Harbour's Feast and Fireworks, so we (I and GF, he and Linda) were treated to a long, magnificent fireworks show while having a nice dinner at Narita.

Moon Festival in the Chinese Garden

In celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival (a.k.a. Mooncake Festival), the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour is staging a lights and sound show telling the story of how Chang'e ended up on the moon and became the Moon Goddess. Tickets cost $10 for adults with children under 12 free.

GF and I met up after work and got to the Chinese Garden around 6:30pm, which gives us half an hour before the show commences. The Garden is not as big as I imagined. Some rock formations, a few trees and shrubs, a big pond, a few pavilions and connecting walkways. We found a nice vantage point, but come showtime, people starting sitting just about anywhere they want, so our view was a bit compromised. Prior to the show, there was a lion dance performance, with the lions meandering through the audience.

The voiceover was a bit blurred, but based on the actions of the costumed actors, this is how I understood the story. There's the emperor, his wife and his daughter Chang'e. At that time, there were nine suns in the sky, which is not an ideal situation. Along came Houyi the archer, who shot down the suns, obviously leaving one. Out of gratitude, the emperor gave him Chang'e as his wife. The emperor also gave Houyi a pill that gives eternal life. One day, while frolicking in the gardens, Chang'e found the pill hidden in the rocks. Curious, she ate the pill. It made her lighter than air, and she floated up into the heavens, where she eventually settled on the moon. As a finale, the audience is treated to a big white floating balloon representing the moon and fires and pyrotechnics lighting up the sky. After the show, everyone was given a small mooncake to sample.

Dinner is seafood combination chow mien and pork ribs Pekinese style and rice at Super Bowl.

Canon Photo5 Competition

Was browsing Gizmodo (Australia) and noticed this article about an open registration to Canon's Photo5 competition. First time I heard of this photography competition. Apparently, it only started last year.

Once you register, Canon will send you a box with 5 mystery items. Take a picture of each of the five items in the most creative way possible, and upload them to the competition website. Up for grabs are $50,000 worth of EOS products. Competition is open to both amateurs and professionals.

Gentlemen, start your cameras!

Swatch Twin Phone (Blue Moon)

I'm such a sucker for things Swatch. I'm already sold on the watches. When I found out that they also made a line of telephones in the 1980's, I just gotta have one. And so I did.

The phone itself is shaped like a bean. You pick up the phone from its base and you'll see a 10-digit LCD display, then the numeric keypad. The interesting thing is, if you pick up the base, it becomes a second handset. So you can actually have three parties on the same conversation. Apart from that, you also get:

• call duration timer
• one-touch mute, redial, and flash functions
• 3 direct-dial keys
• 10 speed-dial memory keys