My road to World Youth Day Sydney '08

I just arrived from Sydney and it was such a wonderful experience getting everything on short notice; becoming a World Youth Day Volunteer and of course, meeting my girlfriend. Though we had plans of seeing each other this year which was put on hold for some unforeseen reasons months ago, we never thought that we could end up sooner plus on a far greater event.

Before moving here in Oz, I told myself not to get into a relationship as it would be hard dealing with everything. The distance and all the struggle that comes with it just makes a story fit for drama. But with fate or whatever people might call it, we met each other, 4 months before I migrated here.

The 4 months that we have spent was natural. It’s like we’ve known each other for years, even with the age gap between us. We complement each other. Athens, whom still was trying to explore the world as she was graduating from uni, would be “radical” but “idealistic”. I, who have far more experience dealing with life than her (I’m not perfect and still struggling to become relevant with life), would defuse her urge against life’s imperfections. We just end up half way and try to become civil with what life has in front of us. We took things lightly and enjoyed everything as we go. We love spending time with our friends at the beach, eat out, watch movies or a simple walk around Davao. The 4 months that we had was very special as our friends have seen us grow from our used to be directionless journey to life to “tomorrow’s-a-good-day-to-spend-my-life-with-you”.

What thought to be a fairy tale was cut short in my moving to Oz. I was doing my thing in supporting my family back home in Davao while Athens was finishing her studies. Internet really helped us a lot as we try to make up with lost times. It was hard but we just went with the flow, prayed harder and trust each other.

Things went harder as her plans of moving to New York seem to pick up speed as the hopes of getting together was slowly slipping away. I, for some reason, have tried losing some focus on that only hope. And again, praying harder and asking for more strength in holding the line was one of our everyday prayers.

But what used to be impossible had become within our reach. The World Youth Day celebration in Sydney has become our chance of getting back into each other’s arms. Months before the event, Athens applied as event volunteer and got her Australian visa days after the application. It was an instant hit and everything just flowed easily for us. And of course, to get things on a parallel, I also applied on the same role and got the accreditation few days after I signed in.

I guess, it’s all God’s blessing as I’ve heard some people who applied like months ago didn’t even get a slot for the job. This is one of the best things in our life. Not only did we serve the Lord, we have refreshed our relationship and made it stronger with Him and with each other. Thank you Lord.

Urinating at Darling Harbour

Feels so good. hehehe

Ready to Roll

This is it. Few hours to go and I’ll be flying to Sydney. I have finally packed my things plus a few more like my external drive, my iPod, all the chargers, camera, ticket and identifications on my messenger bag tomorrow morning.

I’ll be fetched by Uncle Rey by 12:30 pm and getting the flight at around 1:30 pm. My cousin Ricky and Athens will be picking me up at the airport and the party will be starting.

I just can feel it. As, Nicole has been saying, “its Coelho mode”. The universe is conspiring.

Thank you Lord.

...delaying the iPhone

Oh! Its iPhone launch today. Though I got a slot to get it, I chose not to secure this “Jesus Phone”.

First, the iPhone is too pricey when bundled with call and data plans. With me on the Optus network, I just want to buy it outright, as I am practically around WiFi zones. I’ve been using the Zoo services on my Motorola L6 and not much to cover when I am mobile.

You can actually get at least the A$19 cap plan and have monthly payments for the phone. What I really wanted is to pay the monthly cap and purchase the phone outright. What Optus is doing is trying to do is cash in on installments. Imagine, getting it outright would cost like A$729 for 8 GB and A$849 for 16GB. How’s that with US$199 for 8 GB as Steve Jobs promised? It’s like A$207 when converted. Should there be a way to just get the phone? Anyway, I already got my Optus SIM and all I need is to have that inserted on that toy.

The hype just makes everything cloudy.

...slowly getting there

I just can’t believe it. The World Youth Day 2008 had called me this morning as 2 more volunteer slots were available, one for catering and one for crowd marshall. Since my girlfriend is a crowd marshall for the event, I got the same slot to get things on the roll. I never thought they would get me as I’ve been calling them since last week and their hotline was disconnected. hmmmmm

Well, this is it. Things are falling into places and I’m happy with its outcome. I don’t know what God’s plans for us as I also have something in mind in coming to Sydney. I guess, I just have to get to the flow. Athens already got her uniform this afternoon and its like the volunteer pack is packed with so much stuff.

Anyway, things are overwhelming as I come to ignore the drizzle and the strong wind. I was practically blown in some areas and it’s a bit alarming, especially when going down the hill. I hope, things will be ok tomorrow as I’ll be very busy in preparing my things.

So, 2 more days.

Cold as ice.

I woke up freezing this morning. The cold weather is getting worse and it hurts like a razor especially when the cold wind hits my face. The fog also made its return that I just have to pedal, slow enough to see things from a far. I also had to turn on my indicators to be visible from other motorist. I guess, I only have like 100 meter visibility this morning. I hope, tomorrow would be fine but hell with it. Just bring it on.

It surprised me this afternoon as I tried to park my bike behind our office without chaining it. My officemate told me to have it inside until I go out. That I just have to remember that this is Australia; and even if my bike is the ugliest amongst the ugly, it would still be stolen.

Well, that was the shocker for the day as I was dumbfounded having heard that from an Aussie. As cold as ice.

...few days to go

It’s freezing and getting to work on bike just makes things harder for me. I practically can’t feel my pinkies and shaking it off doesn’t do much justice. The cold wind and drizzle also did the whole experience worst.

Anyway, everything went fine as the heater at the training room was good. Felt better as my hands were thawing. Hehehe. I could see my hands were slowly turning red from blue. So next time, I should bring my gloves.

I’m also getting excited as Saturday is getting soon. I have already asked for my leave and booked my flight. I’ll be out for 11 days to be in Sydney with my girlfriend, auntie, uncle and cousins. This would be a blast as all of them are dear to me. Yeehaa!!!

So, lights out for now.

Happy Anniversary to ME!!!

Yup! It’s officially my 1st year here in Australia. I could still remember the day when I arrived at Melbourne. It was 6 AM of July 6, 2007; Very cold and very gloomy. My first Aussie breakfast at Tullamarine Airport was just ok. Not much of a change. I just had a bottle of orange juice. hehehe

The drive going to Geelong was a “crash course” to Australia. The roads, the driving culture, the houses, the people and the community were just like I imagined. As soon as I arrived “home”, the cold weather just went through my bones. It was 3˚C, the coldest for Geelong in 3 years.

My room was ok. It has a heater; the floors got carpet, a small refrigerator, a very comfortable bed and a cabinet enough for my clothes and things. I know its way better than what I had back in Davao but I still prefer my old room.

My first few nights were horrible as I really missed my family and friends. I sometimes wake up on cold nights, crying as I have lost a lot. But my uncle and auntie were kind enough to lend me a spare PC and allowed me to configure their broadband connection to be shared among the computer users at home. That way, I have come to communicate with family and friends and minimized the loneliness.

Food was also a big leap as I tried to eat whatever they would have on their table. My first month was crazy as I had lamb on almost every meal. Lamb on sandwiches, lamb on every dinner and the kitchen smells like lamb. Uncle has just this farmer friend who supplied us with heaps of lamb that practically occupied their 6 foot freezer. Rice was also minimized as it was substituted with chips or spuds.

Job hunting was crazy. Though I got substantial amount of experience and legible to work anywhere in Oz, employers were just too “technical”, that I should have at least a “local” experience. It was discouraging but with patience, luck and blessings from the Lord, I got the job that’s fit for me.

It was a good learning experience for me with their English which was way different from my “American influenced English”. Aussies just had their way of pronouncing words; like they omit or replace some letters when they say some common words. Example: Ever will become “Evah”, No will sound like “Nowr” and What will sound like “Wha”. They also have unique way of making nicknames. Usually, they get the first syllable of the word and add “A” or an “O”. Example: Richardson will become “Richo”. Registration will become “Rego”. McDonald’s will become “Macca”.

Spelling is not much of an issue here as long as you can be understood. They also have some weird way of naming things. Things like bicycle is named as “Push bike” (I pedal with it, not pushing it hehe) and toilet for “differently-abled” persons is named as “Disabled Toilet” (I’m still waiting for that to be “Enabled” so it can be used)

Cultural diversity in Australia has also helped me in understanding diverse cultures and the respect each culture deserves. Though there are minimal cases of racism, I never felt much different as my uncle has told me that 5% of each race has rednecks. I guess, people who happen to experience this happen to be in the wrong time and in the wrong place.

I’m still learning and I’m still trying to cope up with the changes here. I hope next year would be better as signs of having a good life are slowly showing within the small gaps. I hope and I pray to get things on a roll without so much hiccups.

...discriminated

Being different is a struggle and having something different is a different story.

Though discrimination has mellowed out in years here in Oz, there are a few who also remained in the past. They were so light years behind as they try to bully people like me with their perception that they are better than we do. That having their skin makes them feel superior to any race in this planet.

In my experience, these people tend to look at me like I have leprosy. Sometimes, they just have their smirk as if I am a freak show. They also try to just intimidate me with their funny drunk Aussie accent as if they know so much about everything. And with something that I have, I know my bike (they call it “push” bike as if people push it to travel. Does “pedal” fit better?) is ugly and rusty as they try to make fun out of it while riding on their flashy Euro cars. I just can’t understand how a 5 year old retard was stuck to a 40+ year old body.

I know and I understand. They just need some flashy things (the cars and whatever that would feel good) to neutralize their ugliness.

This is it!!!

I am going to Sydney next Saturday. My girlfriend would be a volunteer for the World Youth Day celebration and it’s kinda abrupt for me to decide to be one of them too. We never had the luxury of time in getting these choices as she was waiting for her visa to be approved and my schedule of leave, but so far, we are getting on track. Hopefully, I could get a slot as a volunteer so I could book myself early.

I never thought about getting there and it’s nice that things are turning the way we wished for. It has been a year since I have never seen Athens and it would be a blast with the coming event.

Hmmm…how could you spend time together if you are going to attend the event? (My imaginary friend was asking me) I don’t know. As far as I know, we never thought we could be in the situation at the moment. We just knew that things are getting our way and I know that the Lord will still be getting His way for us. It’s just that, things are slowly unfolding between us.

Anyway, I’ll be out and be back tonight.

...just another day

I never thought I could finish the allotted 2 days of work in just 2 hours. I don’t know how they calculated it but I was able to nail it. I modified the rack so I could squeeze the proposed arrangement of the servers and fixed the wiring behind it (LAN Cable, KVM and power cables). I felt good as the client was extremely happy. The rest of the afternoon was spent on checking the Gaia system as it went dodgy ages ago. I don’t know what went wrong but getting some dummy site on IIS was working fine. I did a backup of the data as I will be trying to uninstall and reinstall the system on the next visit. Hopefully, things will be alright then.

Went home early and was able to get a cheap DVD at Cash Converters. Imagine, 101 classic cartoon episodes for just A$ 6.00. Popeye, Heckle and Jeckle and Felix the Cat are some of the characters being featured. I just love the classic cartoons as it brings back good memories.

Anyway, I’ll be back in the office tomorrow to do some checking on clients’ servers. Have to do the inventory of softwares installed and recheck the system in doing periodic checks on them.

Lights out!!!

...another day

And it’s my final day for the week at the office as I will be reporting to the school tomorrow and on Friday. I’m in a way relieved as sitting on the chair for the rest of the day is not fun. Though I have made a system for checking and monitoring our clients, there’s so much more in interacting people and knowing that they are happy with what you’ve done to them than just staring at the screen, waiting for some miracle.

Anyway, it’s like few days from now as I will be turning 1 year here in Oz. I could still remember my last week in Davao where everybody was not in the mood of my moving here. Mama was just helping me with my things, my auntie and cousins were just trying to be ok and the thought of uncertainty worried me as it’ll be far from my comfort zone. I was also too busy of preparing my stuff as I barely had 3 weeks to prepare as flight schedules were not as cooperative as I have expected it. It was so fast that trying to remember some details came to a blur.

So far, I still have this honeymoon stage as most of the people around me treat me as “the new kid”. Hmmmm… how soon would that end? I hope not.

Oh Please God help me

I’ve been busy for days and the tasks are piling up. As soon as I get home, I feel so tired and I only got enough time to get online as I have to do some chores. As much as I would like to do the cooking, auntie just wants everything her way and having auntie on anything, she is just the slowest of the slow. How would you want your dinner served at 10 pm? That’s just not right.

Anyway, I’ll make it sure I could be home early tonight so I could do the cooking. I just have to do some coding tonight and have to fix my room. I also want to watch “Spinal Tap” while doing it and sleep early.

I’m still contemplating on some things for some time and I just can’t get myself organized to do it. Things were getting hard when I started this new cycle. I know I can do it but too much time has been allotted to travel. I hope to get things sorted soon.

Oh Please God help me.

Mabuhay!!!

I’m very glad that my cousin Kat knocked on my door at about 10.00 am this morning as it was just in time to watch Manny Pacquiao’s fight with Dangerous David Diaz. The bout was set at about 9.00 pm ET (at about 11.00 am AET) so I had some few minutes to prepare myself.

I had already installed SopCast last Friday to watch it live but my friend; Nat-Nat from Ireland was kind enough to send me a link. His link was much better as the streaming video from SopCast was not good enough. I also sent some text messages to my Pinoy friends in Australia and called my uncle at Sydney to watch it online. Filipinos from all over the world were sprouting in the chatroom, waiting from the fight to begin. After 3 under card bouts, the “Lethal Combination” started.

The fight was dominated by Manny himself. He was too fast and too strong for Diaz. Diaz swelled on the 2nd round and his broken nose and a cut near to his right eye have to be glued. And after 9 rounds of fighting, Manny knocked Diaz down to the canvass, face first, with his left hook. Pretty much, Pacquiao just danced his away around Diaz to capture the crown.

Well, Manny Pacquiao just made himself to the records as the first Asian to capture 4 belts under 4 weight divisions. This just made the Filipinos proud as celebrations all over the country can be felt by Filipinos all over the world. I could just imagine the times when we were practically glued to our TVs just to watch his fight. As they say, Pacquiao should have a fight every time as ceasefire is observed between rebels and the government and no crimes committed on the day of his bouts.

Mabuhay Pacquiao, Mabuhay mga Pinoy!!!

...back

It has been a ride since my last post as I was practically dragging myself to all of the things that I have to do. With that, I am happy that I have survived the 1st week of my new cycle.

Going to work on bike, bus and foot was a success. Though the first week was really hard as the cold weather, strong winds, drizzles, body pains and even went home drunk, I have conquered them all. It was very hard but I don’t have an option to quit. It was about time to get myself into this as 6 months is enough of having been dropped and fetched to work, even if it takes me until August to get my driver’s license. I am also glad that I didn’t get sick even with people around me has colds and flu.

I felt so “free” where I could just go on anytime as opposed to waiting for ages and have to sync with people that goes with it. I have also shed some sweat as the cold weather just makes my body stuck to sitting and sleeping. At least, this is like 2 in 1, travel and exercise.

I hope this would continue as I am getting the feel of it. I hope I wont get sick and injured along the way.

...getting on track

I’m glad that I’m doing well in this new cycle. No more body pains and I can pretty go back and forth to work with so much ease. I’m actually enjoying the ride and it feels so good being “free”.

Chaining my bike at the train station is pretty funny. It’s like, among the bikes being chained at the bike posts, it’s only mine that is ugly. The rest were like $500 up. I remember my boss, asking me if my bike really came from the farm. I know it’s old, rusty and ready to give up but the good thing about it, I don’t have to worry about being stolen. Hehe.

I know, I also feel embarrassed having those eyes on me when I do my chaining but there’s nothing more I can do for the moment. Though I like to get a decent one for me, I just have to save more and deal everything that goes with it. I just have to believe in something for the moment like, “It’s not the arrow; It’s the Indian”.

What a lame excuse but works like a wonder. hehehe

6:45

I’m having body pains and it’s a bit hard keeping it on the go. Going to work and back just makes it harder for me. I know this would just be in a few days as I am still adjusting to this cycle. Very much like when I did the training for the tournament back home. I hope not to get sick as some of my friends got fever and flu.

Getting all of the users’ queries this day has been a challenge. I tried to walk as normal as I could as my legs hurt. In a way, I’m not really used to walking slow so it’s a bit weird for me not to be there “at an instant”. But I guess I just have to take things easy. I know I can do it and I am very much hyped up even on this cold weather. I tend not to care about its drawbacks as I’m more comfortable being “independent”.

So far, I go out at 6:45 am and back at about 6:45 pm. Had enough time to cool down and it just feels great being active.

...resetting myself

After 6 months of being dropped and fetched from work, I have decided to get myself on bike, bus and foot. I know this day would come but I never expected it to be sooner.

This has triggered me to decide last Saturday, after my instructor told me that I am going to have my driving exam on August 15. I was really disappointed as she told me before that I’ll have it on July. So, just to make things easier for auntie and uncle, I just have to do this.

Well, it was an easy decision but hard to execute. With the cold weather, the slippery dark roads in the morning and the exhausting climb over the hill just made things worst for me. I also have to sleep and wake up earlier. This will somewhat cut some time for myself.

And for the first day, I woke up at 5 am. I got myself everything ready by 6:30 am and went out at 6:45 am. I was somewhat fully loaded as I was bringing my extra pair of shoes. As expected, I was at the bus stop, approximately 30 min after I left and waited for the bus going to school. So far, everything was doing well.

I guess, this would be a better option for me as it was liberating. I don’t have to worry about auntie and uncle in getting me to work and it’s also a good thing than enrolling to gym class. I also “cooled down” with this “Total Gym” in my room as soon as I arrived home.

This is something to look forward everyday.

24 hours

It has been a busy 24 hours and I should say, I’m still on the roll. As much as I would want to continue, Geelong is too limited for me that I have to stay home and stare at the computer until I sleep.

Yesterday, I went out earlier to catch the train to Melbourne for Kristen’s “birthday/going away party”. 5:34 pm was the train schedule so I have enough time to catch her party which would start at 7:30 pm.

As expected, the train is taking so much time on the tracks as disruptions along the way were eating some precious time. Again, it’s better to allot some buffer time so it won’t give some hassle to your schedule. I was at Melbourne at about 6:45 pm and went straight to Collins St., to get some money.

I also went around Swanston and Bourke Sts., to find some flower shops. It was late so shops were closing and made things harder for me to look for flowers. The drizzle also made the situation worst. After few minutes of running around the area, a flower shop was visible from my raindrop filled glasses. I ran straight to it as the lady was closing the shop. Catching for breath and some “please-help-me-for-my-friend-would-be-disappointed-if-she’ll-not-have-flowers-for-her-birthday” look, she helped me in choosing a bouquet. I just asked her to produce something purple and with her magic hand, she had a quick yet classic bouquet fit for my friend. And of course, I also asked for what tram to take and continued my journey.

While waiting for the tram, a drunken Aussie approached me, asking for $2 to buy some food. Surprised and somewhat shocked, I told him that how can he afford beer but not food and added some Bisaya along with it. I think it scared him and I took the tram after he was cussing.

Arrived 7:39 pm and was glad to see Kristen with her family and friends. It was nice as the crowd was friendly and it was easy to blend with them. It’s like long lost friends but just speaking Aussie English. At first, we were having a hard time talking as we were struggling with our English. After few minutes of tweaking, we finally understand our English. Shared some funny stories and laughed as if we’ve been friends for a long time. I really enjoyed that night and I hope to catch up with them soon.

I’m also just glad that Kristen liked the flowers and the book as I am really bad about gifts. I don’t know it just takes so much effort in thinking what to give. But I guess, it helps when you know a bit something about the recipient.

The food was just ok. Not that its bad but I don’t have any basis to have it compared with. The thing is, it made me full. Hehehe

After that, I went home and arrived at about 12:25 am. Changed my clothes, slept and woke up at around 8 am for my driving lessons. Ironed my clothes at 12 noon, went to town at 2 pm, had lunch at 3 pm and heard mass at 6 pm.

Whoa! What a day.

.…going against the “know-it-all”

In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. – Mark Twain

---

Yesterday, I wasn't able to hold myself from crying as it was really not nice being ridiculed. I used to "fight back" with some healthy discussions but I guess being remote from home has its drawbacks; I've become "alone". I don't have friends or someone here at the moment that I can talk or be myself. I was crying like never been "alone" in my life.

I was just trying to explain what I was getting into but was mocked with the notion that it was stupid and not feasible. That they were "trained" and were told that what I've been trying to do will not work; with matching smirk on his face as if he's that smart.

Well, at this point of time, I have done all the tasks plus had “my thing” working. I have proven him wrong and left him puzzled. It’s really a nice feeling doing that and couldn’t help but wonder, “What was their training all about?” Sometimes, the so called “Listen-to-me-because-I’ve-been-doing-that” are actually nothing.

And now, I can hardly wipe the smirk off my face.