Happy Australia Day....!

Today we are celebrating Australia Day.... It's a public holiday which means i don't have to go to work today.... Some gathers in their backyards and public parks for that traditional Australian barbecue day, some went for a dip at the beach, and others have attended a life changing ceremony that spells the fulfilment of their dreams to be the newest citizens of this lucky country....

Ganitong ganito rin ako nung bago pa lang ako dito habang nakatayo at naghihintay na ma-receive ko rin ang inaasam-asam na certificate of citizenship ko nun.... Isa lang talaga ang hindi ko pa rin maintindihan hanggang ngayon.... Para kasing may kulang pa rin hanggang ngayon.... Hindi ko pa rin nararamdaman yung tinatawag na sense of belonging....

And though how hard i've tried, deep in my heart hindi ko pa rin matatawag ang bansang ito na home.... Ewan ko ba pero ang tulog ko dito ay parang hindi kasing himbing ng tulog ko kapag na sa pilipinas ako.... Talagang in total peace of mind ako dun.... Pusong mamon este pusong pinoy pala....

New Year's Eve! 2011 Midnight Fireworks @ Darling Harbour Sydney, Austra...

Happy New Year to all....! =D

Seafood marathon downunder....

I was planning to buy some prawns for the noche buena tonight but the queue was so horribly long.... So i've ended up making teriyaki chicken instead....

Shopping centres are in the middle of a marathon trading session, with stores staying open overnight and until 5.30pm today.

Shoppers at the fish markets will buy a staggering 83kg/min of prawns, 93kg/min of fish and almost 1000 oysters/min during today's traditional rush.

Ganyan po kasi ka-popular ang seafood dito sa Downunder specially during christmas season.... And as for my teriyaki chicken naman, it's absolutely delicious.... Better than any fish or prawns.... I think i've made the right decision going to the butcher rather than the seafood market today.... I'll just have that elusive prawns for the new year's eve.... Merry Christmas all....=D

Sydney fireworks display....

I want to share to you this short video of the new years eve celebration that took place last night here in sydney.... Taken from an amateur video in u-tube, thanks u-tube....! You will see here the streets of Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, and Opera House filled with people waiting.... A record crowd of almost 1.5 million people out partying in the streets.... I think they've already closed the streets from traffic here in preparations for the fireworks display at midnight.... Thought as usual, i was not able to go there and watch, but i was closely monitoring the event on tv....

And judging from what i've seen on tv last night, i think the fireworks display was the most spectacular that we've ever seen first thing this morning....! But i don't know, i'm just kind of feeling like as much as possible i want to avoid a large gathering nowaday dahil na rin siguro dun sa mga nakikita ko sa news about terrorism.... But anyways, successful naman ang celebrations kahit na may kunting mga lasingan at hindi pakaintindihan ay naging peaceful naman ang silibrasyon....

Then AB and i spent the night chatting with each other.... I also made a phone call to my parent's place back in pinas, but trying to take the topics away from money matter kasi pag may humingi ng pang new year ay patay kang bata ka....! Kapos kasi si Pepe ngayon alam nyo na.... Then around 3:00 AM aust. time na 12:00 midnight sakto in pinay, i had a very long chismisan with my nanay about dun sa mga bagaybagay na may sanlibong beses ko na yatang narinig mula sa kanya he-he....! Bakit kaya ganun ang mga parents natin minsan, kapag nag-litanya ay paulit-ulit from the time nung pagsalakay ng mga hapon sa pinas to the present pages palagi ang topic.... Kaya naman siguro magaling ako sa phil. history class ko ay dahil na rin dun he-he....! Tapos sa mga kapatid ko na sa awa naman ng diyos ay marunong na ring magpatakbo ng sariling mga life nila, except for one na medyo hindi pa alam kung saang dereksyon ba pupunta, pero nandito naman kaming lahat para patuloy pa rin na magbibigay ng suporta kung kinakailangan....

Nagsi-uwian kasi mga kapatid ko, one from singapore with his wife and 2 years old son, and my brother who is currently working in laguna na may plano na yatang mag asawa dahil bumili na ng bahay dun.... Also my other brother na palagi naman nadun dahil neighbors lang naman sila ng parents ko at isang bakuran lang, and my baby sister na kelan kaya balak mag-asawa....! Tatay ko naman as always, ay palaging naghihilik na everytime na tumatawag ako he-he....! Ako lang yata wala dun kaya next christmas ay sisiguraduhin ko na talagang makaka-uwi ako, fingers crossed....

After that call ay kwentuhan na kami ni AB until namalayan na lang namin na, ops, sumisikat na pala ang araw at maliwanag na sa labas....! Magsi-six 'o clock na pala, time na para matulog ang mga bampira....! Takbo bilis, baka matunaw ka....! Aaaaah....! At yun na nga, natulog na si dracula este si Pepe ng maaga dahil umaga na nga naman talaga at inumaga na nga ako ay tangek he-he....! Fast forward>>> Gumising na after a short 4 hours snooze at kasalukuyang nasa harap ng pyutirs at nagkakape ngayon habang ginagawa tong post na to.... Wow, this is my first ever cup of coffee pala in 2008....! Astig....! Anyways, i have to let you go now ligo muna ako.... And don't forget to enjoys your first of everything in 2008 today....! Happy new beginning everyone....! =D

Manigong Bagong Taon....!

Happy and blessed new year to everyone....! Alam nyo ba na ang first blast of new years eve's celebration ay magsisimula dito sa mga pacific islands sa lower southern regions ng mundo natin like the Tongan and Samoan Islands, and then susunod na ang New Zealand and Australia....? I think it has something to do with the inclination of our planet ayun dun sa alignment ng magkabilang polar regions natin, ang north and south poles.... Ibig sabihin, three hours bago ang bagong taon dyan sa pinas ay mauuna na akong mag-greet sa inyo ng happy new year mamaya according dun sa world time zones natin he-he....!

Na-miss ko tuloy yung preparations for new years eve dyan.... When i was young, we use to start buying the paputok weeks before new years day pa.... Though we couldn't afford those expensive ones dahil saving lang naman talaga from our allowances ang pinangbili namin kasi normally ay hindi agree ang mga parents natin dun sa paputok di ba....? Unless na tulak ng bawal na mga paputok ang parents mo he-he....! Of course hindi rin nawala yong kanyong kawayan, and as usual ay papasa yun sa MPRCB (Mama, Papa, Regulatory, and Censorships Board) at may one month supply ka pa ng ga-as (kerosene) as long na hindi mo susunugin ang mga kilay at buhok mo as in, Blab....! Waaaha-haaa....! Nawala ang kilay ko....! ay safe ka he-he....!

And also, don't forget the ever popular na 13 fruits sa center tables nyo....! Sabi nila, dapat daw at tulad rin to nung mga rules dun sa kasalan.... Something bought, something borrowed, something blue, something old, something new, and last but not not the least, someting stolen from bakod ng may sariling bakod he-he....! I remember, few days before the new years eve ay busy na kami shopping around for those illussive fruits na napakadaling hanapin pero napakamahal naman ng presyo....! Nakakita na ba kayo ng kalamansi na sampung piso ang dalawang piraso....?! At five pesos for bubot ng papaya....! Kaya nga siguro mas-okay pa yung option na something stollen dahil wala kang kahiraphirap at kahit may kunting kaba ay sure-ball ang success he-he....! Pasimplehan mo lang naman ang mga aratiles sa may kabilang bakod at, GRRRRR....! Baw-waw-waw....! Yaiiks! May guardia sibil pala....! =D

But however way we prepare for new years eve ay guaranteed ang excitements and kasayahan nito di ba....? Even with our little simple ways.... Anyways, all i'd like to say this morning dahil medyo napahaba lang ng kunti tong daldalan natin ay, i just like to greet everyone a Happy New Year and please try to make it a safe one dahil kung hindi ay magiging very sikat rin ang mga daliri nyo dito sa downunder na kagaya nung mga lost and found fingers last year....! Pinapanood di namin dito ang mga naputukan kang bata ka dyan sa pinas ha....! Yes, we are watching those little indians waving goodbye rin po dito....! Nakakaawa ngang tingnan pero yan po ang katutuhanan sa oras na isipin mong ikaw ay si superman, babay hinliliit....! Parang tula ah he-he....! O, paano ka pa ngayon mangungulangot nyan....?! He-he....! Anyways ulit, hanggang dito na lang po for this year, and have a safe new year celebrations lang po sa lahat....! =D

Federal Election....

Australians right across the country are casting their votes today, as polling booths in every states and territory open for the federal election.... Alam ko na hindi nyo alam pinagsasatsat ko ngayon dito at hindi nyo rin kilala kung sino-sino tong mga unggoy na to sa pictures unless na sinusubaybayan nyo talaga ang politika namin dito sa downunder he-he....! This is a big day because we are going to decide who the future leader of the country is going to be.... Just like the election for president dyan sa pinas pero hindi nga lang kasing gulo.... Australia is about the size of america but we only have less than 20 million population dito....

I just want to give you a slight taste of our politics here in downunder because today i'm going to cast my first vote for the 2007 Federal Election.... Any moment from now ay malalaman na kung sino nga ba sa mga Prime Ministerial candidates na to ang syang tatanghaling kampyon....

This is my first time to vote in a federal election and also my first to vote in Parramatta City kasi nun sa Merrylands na suburb ako nakatira kung kaya dun din ang polling station ko.... Hindi ko rin alam kung saang polling area ako kasi nung nag-check ako kanina sa net ay madami palang polling stations tong parramatta kaya medyo dapat agahan ko ngayon just in case na wala ang pangalan ko dun sa ibang polling areas para mahanap ko dun sa iba pa ng masmaaga.... By the way, the picture inset are the candidates for prime ministerial position except the person in the middle....

JOHN HOWARD - If you've heard of him ,he's the current prime minister of australia.... He's been serving australians for 11 long years now.... He's a winner of numerous federal elections and people seems to find it hard to let go of him.... But they said that he's a liar too, a mister empty promises to some, to apologise is not his cup of tea, and interest rates and things such as house prices are rising during his terms.... He's also a friend of George Bush during the war in Iraq, in short, tuta....! Sadly, if he wins this election again, at some point in time (estimates is within 8 months only) he will retire and pass the seat to his trusted treasurer Peter Costello.... No good....!

PETER COSTELLO - The treasurer, australias second big man, and the future successor of Mr. Howard.... He said that Howard promised him the seat before.... People said, let's see about that mr. treasurer....! He really thought that he could get away with the throne that easily without even competing with Kevin Rudd in the candidacy.... But put it this way, kung halimbawa tumakbo man sya for prime minister, wala namang magtitiwalang magbigay ng boto nila sa kanya....! So bakit nila hahayaang manalo si Howard at ipapasa lang pala ang pagka-prime ministro kay Costello pagkatapos di ba....? Wrong move Howard, you shouldn't have told the public about your crooked plans with Costello....!

KEVIN RUDD - Labor Party leader, not so experienced but has a lot of positive plans, he can speak mandarin while John Howard can only eat mandarins....! The asian community said that this guy's grandfather is a chinese.... His eldest daughter married a hong kong man, and his youngest daughter's boyfreind is from mainland china.... I'm not sure if that rumor is true or not.... But then if it is a correct information, therefore i conclude that he's an asian friendly person which makes me happy as an asian too....! Some aussies said that he will bring asians to control downunder in the future.... I said, who gave them that idea....? Have you heard of the word Symbiosis before....?! Howard said, he will bring back the unions.... I said, good....! A Howard supporter said, Rudd's union leaders are racists and they hate asians in particular.... I said, what....?! Almost the majority of union members are asians as well as their soon to be champion man has something 25% or so of that blood circulating in his veins....! Are you crazy....?! Basta ako at the end of the day ay kay Kevin Rudd pa rin okay....!

At yan po ang election namin dito sa downunder.... Alam kong wala kayong naintindihan dyan sa mga pinagsusulat ko at lalong hindi nyo kilala tong mga pinag-uusapan natin he-he....! Pasensyahan nyo na lang po tong astig nyong lingkod at masyado lang na-carried away dun sa first prime ministerial poll nya....! Anyways, malalaman nyo dito kung nanalo ang kandidato ko at malalaman nyo rin kung hindi dahil tatahimik ako nun at kakalimutan ko na tong topic na to he-he....! Excuse ko lang po to for not blogging and blog-hopping today....! Anyways, i'll try to visit all your blogs tonight, yan ay kung hindi pa ako lasing sa celebration....! Joks lang, i will blog-hop later tonight after the counting....! =D

PM Election Results later here....

As of 8:00 PM tonight, KEVIN RUDD wins election wooohooo....! Sabi ko na nga ba ha-ha....! Congratulations to our New Prime Minister....! Well done....! =D

Melbourne Cups fever....

Today we'are celebrating the Melbourne Cups 2007 here in australia.... The "Race" that stop the whole nation daw sabi nila he-he....! Sabi ko naman baka the "Rain" that stopped the nation kasi kanina pa malakas ang ulan dito....! Imagine na lang ang mga horses and jockeys, pati na ang mga ladies in big hats na basang-basa ha-ha....!


By the way, San Miguel Beer is one of the main sponsors of this event eversince and it makes me proud as pinoy too....! I heard that the company bought some size of land in Tasmania and turned that into a brewery.... I'm not so sure about that tip, but that's what some pinoys said.... Anyways, today there was the usual yearly MC sweepstakes....


You can place a bet at any TABs or you can simply buy your horses from an officemates running a mini-sweeps.... There are $2 and $5 sweeps, and you can win 10x the bet amount or so once your horse hits the finish line tail first....! Joks lang he-he....! Ano takbo nun paatras....! Though i'm a bit short of my budget for this month, i've decided to place a bet anyway.... I went on a one $5 and three of the $2 horses.... Then i also placed a bet of $10 outside at the local TAB in a group with friends....


Normally the company owner throws-out a party and drag the projector downstairs to the lunchroom so that everybody can watch and enjoy the day.... I was expecting that one already, so i didn't bother fixing my lunch for today, kasi pag wala naman ay pupunta na lang ako dun sa may chinese take-away.... I don't really gamble, but this is a once in a year spectacular event na hindi dapat ma-miss ng lahat kaya yun, nakisali na rin ako....! And you know how much the horse owner will get once his horse wins....? Yung talagang horse owners ha, hindi yung tagapusta lang.... It's a smashing 3 million dollars in the bayong to chong....! Astig na astig....! It's equivalent to a massive 120,900,000 pesos....! Paano na ba babasahin yan, billions na ba....? Hindi pa pala....! Pesos yan ha....?!


To make things short, at the end of the day ay nanalo ang kabayo kong tinayaan woooohoooo....! Hindi lang isa kundi dalawa pa, the 1st and 3rd places....! Then another 1st place din dun sa pusta ko sa may local TAB....! Lucky ha....? Sadly, i didn't put any large amount on the horses kaya too bad ano....? If i were a professional gambler, i would probably be throwing-out a party right now....! Sadly i still have this tiny mouse inside my chest kaya kahit 100% na ang winning trust ko dun sa kabayo ay kabado pa rin akong tumaya ng medyo malaki....!


I've even spent more on a plate of Siomai and Steamed rice for lunch than the race itself ha-ha....! Kakahiya....! At least nalaman ko naman na meron pa palang natitirang luck dito sa katawan ko ha-ha....! Better luck na lang ulit to me next year....! By the way, the video is about the three time-straight Melbourne Cups winner Makaybe Diva two years ago.... Last year's winner was a japanese horse.... This years champion is called Effecient, who was also a third placer as far as i can recall during the last run of Makaybe Diva in 2005's MC and was scratched off the listing last year's race because of some reasons unknown to me.... Anyways, Makaybe Diva for me is still the greatest amongst the greats.... She's truly an amazing horse....! Enjoy watching....!

Sydney Royal Easter Show ' 07....

The Sydney Royal Easter Show for this year opened last friday.... I don't have a track of it anymore aside from radios and tv ads because of a strange reason that i eventually just got sick of it or maybe i've simply just out-grown the the power of expectations towards it....

I don't even had a clue where they've held it this year....! Might be in the same place as last year's, Homebush Bay.... Don't get me wrong, it is quite fantastic....! There's a lot of rides, food (specially), pet shows, dogs, cats, chickens, fruits, garden designs, food again he-he, flowers, bonsais, horses, agricultural animals contests....etc, really fantastic specially the food....!

This year's one is rather not so perfect because the forecast says that it's going to rain for the rest of the holy weekend so a not so ideal climate talaga for an outdoor activity like this....

Pati nga mga Pepe-razzis ko ay wala ring ganang i-cover man lang ang event dahil may pagkalahing kambing yata ang mga lokong to....! Anyways, okay lang naman ang araw ko ngayon kahit na nasa harap ng tv at pc lang buong maghapon.... At least i was able to notice some of the un-noticiable details na hindi ko na-notice noon na dapat ko palang ma-notice at ka-notice notice nang talaga.... Ang gulo mo peng....!

Anyways again kahit puro anyways na ako rito ay wala lang, gusto ko lang naman na mai-share sa inyong lahat na mga my plens ko in blogosphere kung ano-ano ang mga sites (anong sounds pa? may narinig ka bang sounds dyan?! wala?! e di wala!) na mai-expect nyo from this kind of event that we have here in sydney....

I personally love to see the Flying Piglets perform ha-ha....!

Click nyo na lang ang mga picture to enlarge them.... There's some more in the web if you're still not satisfied, go and have a look for some more.... They're great shot....! O kayo na lang bahala dyan okay....? Exit na muna si ako at magbu-bloghopping pa....!