First day back

What's it like? Well, it's... different. Not exactly good, but not exactly bad either. Just different.

For the first time in a year, I caught the train from Blacktown to the City. It was an express train and even then it took about 45 mins. 45 mins is a long time to wait when I'm used to 5 mins on the tube to get to Central Rondon. Looking out windows at suburbia and greenery, that's something else I haven't seen for a year.

Walking around Sydnery, the pace is a lot slower, there's a lot less people, and the thing I noticed is that people just aren't as fashion conscious *grin* Sorry. In Rondon you get all types, in Sydnery, everyone blends into the background.

Even jay-walking confuses me here. I'm so used to lights turning first red, then orange and finally green in Rondon. Orange means I have about 3 seconds to run across the road before cars start moving. Here, I forgot that I have to pay attention to lights facing traffic travelling in the perpendicular direction if I want to cross the road. It was just safer for me to wait for the green man in the end.

Good things? I met up with my brother for a DECENT cucumberless curry laksa lunch :) I had *GREAT* coffee TWICE today, from NON-CHAIN cafes :) And even though it was raining, it was freaking warm enough for me to walk around in a singlet top all day *aaaah* Seriously, 20 degrees feels like Summer to me.

Hrm, my Mum's calling me out to the kitchen for more food. Gotta go, peidaan and pickled ginger await me.

My Mum's amazing

So I land. I get home to Blacktown. My Mum has ready for me, my favourite dish of homemade Assam Laksa, marinated oven dried pork, and longans. There's still a tub of jam tarts waiting for me. Golly gosh. I'm never going to fit into Ula's bridesmaid's dress! Time to look up some gym classes *sigh*

Carb City

My hard work over the past month to eat in moderation and eat healthily was pretty much ruined by 3 days in Florence. Ahhh well. I'm sorry, but there's no way in hell I can refuse pasta or gelato in Italy.

I seriously have no idea how the Italians manage to fit in about 4 courses in one meal, but I dang well had a good time trying to keep up. Needless to say, I spent most of my money in Florence on food.

When not eating, I managed to fit in the Uffizi Gallery. Home to Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Errr, you know what? Keep in mind that the painting's approximately 600+ years old, and you won't be disappointed by how faded it is. The funny thing with Florence, it's filled with art, history and culture. Yet, the seedier side of human nature will always find a way to defile a masterpiece to make a buck. I hated the sight of all the boxer shorts for sale, with Michelangelo's David's penis printed on the front.

This trip, I tried to play around with camera angles. Not sure how successful I was. It's not as simple as turning the camera diagonally and clicking, as you can see from above *grin* I do like this shot of Ponte Vecchio though:

Packing

Ever since BA left my luggage in Scotland whilst I travelled back to Rondon, and then failed to deliver my luggage (D had to drive me to BA's warehouse to pick it up before my flight), I've had an inherent distrust of airlines. Do I trust checking in my 10 pairs of undies? NO. Having been stranded for days without a fresh pair of undies before, my Bonds babies are coming with me in my handluggage. All 10 pairs of em. So are any gifts that I've bought for my family. And my new stripey singlet top that I haven't had a chance to wear yet.

Okay, so 10 pairs is probably too many to take with me. But I never want to be stuck without undies again. Laugh at me now, but just wait... till it happens... to YOU.

Hrm, I should leave some at home.

Soft shell crab

It's been so long, that I can't remember the last time I've eaten it. I had it today at Cocoon. It was, SO. GOOD. Rondoners, if you have time in the next few days for lunch in Picadilly, take this voucher:

and get moving to Cocoon. 20 squids for 2 people! Bargain! Here's my chicken yakitori bento box, that came with soft shell crab salad, beef and foie gras (!) gyoza, duck spring roll, tuna and salmon sashimi:

10 things

With 5 days left till I get on a plane home, it's time to contemplate the past 11 months. It's really easy for me to pick 10 things I hate about Rondon (yeah, I've become a whinging Pom :) ). But what about 10 things I <3 about Rondon? In no particular order:
1. When the tube works, and there isn't a heatwave, and it's not peak hour, I think the tube is awesome. It's fast, and there's always one arriving in 2 minutes. Unless of course you're on the Circle or Northern line, but let's not go there.
2. The Oyster Card r0x0rz. Tap in, tap out. Simple and efficient.
3. Variety!!! Rondon is the first City I've been to where I can walk into 5 different shoe shops and not see the same shoes! There's just soo much variety when it comes to clothes.
4. The squids. Earning squids is nice. I don't make tons, but I make enough to live comfortably and travel on weekends.
5. The travel to Europe is sooo easy. 19 cities in 11 months. 20 if you count Florence this coming weekend :)
6. There is always people around. It's 3am, you're in the city, and it's alive.
7. I absolutely loooove walking around Rondon. I don't mind walking to work. I don't mind walking home from Oxford Circus. I don't mind walking all day. Rondon is such an interesting city to explore.
8. The best roast duck I've ever eaten is here. Four Seasons in Bayswater... But err, yeah, after last weekend, I'm a little ducked out.
9. People watching is so much fun here. Wherever I am, in a tube, in a cafe, on a bus... I start to wonder where these people are from, how they live their lives, why are they in a cafe midweek during the day? At least I'm usually unemployed when that happens :) Everyone always looks different.
10. The cheap-as-chips quality DJs! I think I paid 15 squids to see PvD. But he's been topped by Above & Beyond as my fave DJs :)

Hrm, that was easier than I thought. Maybe Rondon isn't so bad after all...

My new employers

Guess who I work for? I even get their mail ;)

48 hours

Well, we know it's possible to do Milan in 24 hours. So what can I get up to in Rondon in the space of 48 hours?

How about:
- 3 DJs
- 2 gym classes
- 1 Duck Challenge
- 2 hours of shopping (new stripey singlet top! yay!)
- 1 freebie event at the BFI

#18: Marco V
#71: Mauro Picotto
Not even in the top 100 list but free entry: Seb Fontaine
Overall impression: Meh. Marco V was alright. Better than Mauro Picotto. However, by 330am, I was bored and ready to go home. Definitely not DJs I would travel just to see. But for 10 quid to see both Marco V and Mauro Picotto, it was a deal I couldn't resist. Can't say I liked Seb Fontaine much either. Very samey throughout the night.

More interesting to talk about pick-up efforts on the night :) I find it odd that in a crowded doof doof club, a guy comes up to me and asks, "Do you want to dance?". I'm like, "Eh? No". Who dances with someone at a doof doof club? I know this sounds weird, but most of the time, people face the DJ rather than each other when dancing. Truth be told, I think he only asked me cause I had a good spot, and he wanted me to move to the dancefloor so he could take it :P

It's usually hard to distinguish the genuinely happy people, from the genuinely drunk people, from the genuinely wasted people at clubs. Friday night was a breeze. Those hyper orientals with the glowstix posing for photos - happy. That topless guy with the viking hat - drunk. The girl doing the sexy dancing and hair flicking with an inanimate object for ages - wasted.

Moving on.

So, what is the Duck Challenge? After a year of wondering if Four Seasons really has the best roast duck, we decided to confirm it by pitting it against ducks from three other other restaurants. Challengers were Gold Mine, Magic Wok and Tai Ka Lok.

D, the Duck Master:

Being the only person in the household that doesn't care anything about duck besides eating it, D was designated the Duck Master - the One Who Knows Which Duck Is Which. D was responsible for creating 20 bite sized morsels of each duck and keeping each duck anonymous.

9 of us judged the ducks in two categories.
- Best duck flavour:
1. Magic Wok
2. Four Seasons
3. Gold Mine
4. Tai Ka Lok

- Best duck with sauce:
1. Four Seasons
2. Magic Wok
3. Gold Mine
4. Tai Ka Lok

Before and After:

Results are a bit skewed though. Something about Magic Wok's duck being pre-sauced. There were also a few convinced that Gold Mine had the best sauceless duck. So there you go, Rondoners. The secret's to get the duck from Magic Wok, and the sauce from Four Seasons!

A note on Tai Ka Lok's duck. It's the crappiest duck I've ever tasted in Rondon. The only reason it was in the competition, is because the restaurant has a sign outside saying it had hired a barbeque roast master from China called Mr Tham, and had the best duck in Rondon. HAH. I should've known never to trust anyone called anything other than Sifu to be master... "Mr" Tham. HAH.

It's begun

I've started to calorie count :( I find myself staring at nutritional info on packaging and trying to work out how many calories I'm going to eat. I've even started avoiding carbs in the evening. Almost everynight is chicken soup night. Do you know how depressing that is for someone who loves food so much? After seeing this tonight, I craaaave french fries. After reading this, I craaaave chicken nuggets. It's also not easy when the entire household eats profiteroles for dessert and I have to resist! It's TORTURE when your flatmate forgets you're not eating sweet stuff, and walks into your room to offer you a plump, creamy leftover profiterole! Are you INSANE, B?!? Speaking of plump and creamy... Beard Papa... Mmmm...

Truth is, I'm not sure if all this exercise and careful eating has made a difference. I'm just worried about fitting into the bridesmaid dress :P The only thing I've noticed, is that my b00bies are shrinking :( Dang it.

You know what I dread hearing at the gym? The instructor shouting, "DOUBLE TIME!" and "HOLD IT IN! ABS ABS ABS!" Stupid pot belly. Just go away and I'd be happy.

Before I forget

Happy Steak & BJ Day, Boyz :P

Dinner conversation

There's a certain theme that runs through my conversations with new acquaintances these days:
- Living in Rondon
- Travelling
- Relationships
- Sex
Bare in mind, the "new acquaintances" I'm meeting, are mostly Aussies. At a recent dinner party of 15 people, I met 12 Aussies, and 2 Kiwis. What's the point eh?

The conversation always starts off with:
- How long have you been in Rondon?
- How long do you plan to stay?
- Where have you travelled to?

Same 'ole, same 'ole. So to spice up the conversation, I initiate relationship and sex topics:
- How did you meet So-and-so?
- How long have you two been together?
- What's the kinkiest partner you've ever had?
- Golden shower? Really?!? Tell me more!

Yes, I have met a guy who's done the tinkle. Unsurprisingly, he found it really hard to tinkle *grin* I find a lot of people have a lot to say. And they're willing to share. It's just a matter of asking the right questions.

Ohgawd, the entire household is crying, "OMG!"... They're watching episode 18 of Heroes.

Guild Wars

The Beenikster household recently acquired a new house bitch. His name is Warren. This is what he looks like:

L0L!!!!11!!!1! It's Waz's character in Guild Wars. I have to admit, when I saw his character, I questioned Waz's sexuality. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with being gay. In fact, if there's a morality issue, I'd be saying spending the majority of your time ignoring your hot gf for Guild Wars is wrong!

Waz, the only raisin you'd be kicking my ass in Guild Wars, is cause I'd be dying of laughter when I saw you *grin* I don't care if this guy only looks like this cause he's got "special armour" on :) Am I suppose to take Man Titties seriously??

Giving up

I have given up my morning M&S Madagascan Vanilla Lakemead yoghurt. It's 270 calories. And B keeps reminding me it's not actually yoghurt, but something more sinister called "whipping cream".

I have given up chocolate. Well, I have today anyway. And mochas are an exception to the rule. Thank gawd the Tim Tams are no longer around.

I have given up candy. That starts today too. I must resist those packets of evil gummies that T has brought back from Frankfurt.

I have become a gym class junkie. That's partially Jen's fault. Having a gym buddy makes it a little less painful. The rest of the blame goes to Ula and Wilco. I must get rid of my pot belly before their wedding! My after work social activities are now sadly Legs Bum Tums, Body Conditioning, Body Pump and Step classes. Ula, Wilco, you might have to sponsor my liposuction if the pot belly is still around when I get back to Sydney *grin* 22 more days...

If you're visiting us, please stop buying candy or chocolate as a gift. It's not helping my pot belly banishment regime...

24

In 24 hours, Jack Bauer "stops bombs, viruses, assassination attempts, and usually saves someone he cares about at the same time".

In 24 hours, B and I flew to Milan; ate pasta; shopped at Prada, D&G, Armani, LV, Gucci, *insert designer name here*; ate more pasta and flew back to Rondon. In fact, we did it all in 23 hours. Take that Jack Bauer.

Milan is Designer City. This is the city where Armani isn't just a shop, it's a department store! It has a Nobu bar/restaurant. It has a homeware floor (I can afford a small bowl). It has multiple levels. This is the city where I can walk into Prada and D&G and *touch* leather bags with no price tags, and not get dirty glares from shop assistants. Wooo, I also tried on every different type of GIANT SUNNIES I could find :) That's as much as I could afford to do. Others though, walked out of shops with giant designer shopping bags. Where on earth do these people get the money to buy these things?!? And why, if they have the money, are they buying clothing items that cost as much as feeding a family for a month?!? And why why why, don't I have friends who have this sort of money? :)

Here's what EU$4000 shoes look like:

Here's the scary gnome shop:

I really should've taken more photos of designer shops, but... it's just not me.