31st of January 2013

Woke up a little late this morning, but not so late that I missed my bus. Still managed to shower , change and head off and make it to the train on time. I think it had little to do with the fact that I rested a lot yesterday, so when it was actually time for me to get some proper sleep I wasn't that tired. I managed to catch up on a couple of hours of the TV show Arrow before finally falling asleep.

Once I got into work I pretty much got stuck into email etc. It being Thursday, I don't need to remind anyone who reads my blog constantly how hectic Thursdays can be. Without Mark, and another team member away we were a couple of men down for the day. Also we were suppose to have a team lunch, but it has been postponed to next week. Probably a good thing as I really didn't want to go out and have a big lunch today with a couple of days work to catch up on.

I ended up having lunch inside again today. As much as I sort of wanted to go outside and enjoy the nice sunshine today, I felt that it was probably best that I catch up on the two days of work that I had. Plus over the next two working days, everything is at a stand still since it is the beginning of the month.

About mid afternoon I ended up getting an email from IGN confirming my place at the IGS Black Beta Select Awards tomorrow, so I contacted my friend Jia to make sure she received hers as well, as well as a couple of other friends of mine. Now the only thing I need to do is to decide what to wear. I've been told it's pretty a laid back geeky thing, but the thing that kept going through my mind was that awards were being given out so I kept thinking fancy.

After what seems to be a long week, I decided to spoil myself a little and get a pedicure and manicure. I'm sure many females out there will understand (and maybe a few guys), that during the summer when you're mostly wearing sandals on your feet it can make them pretty dry. So after work I headed off to get them done.

The young lady who was giving me both the pedicure and the manicure must've been a very new person, as I arrived there just after 5pm and didn't get out of there till about quarter to 7pm! Because she was taking that slow. Probably a good thing that I didn't have anything planned later on!

It's mufti day at work tomorrow! Which I'm looking forward to. I guess in a way it is a great thing to wear a uniform, mostly because you don't have to decide what you're going to have to wear each and every day, but also you do appreciate when mufti day does come by. Just when I thought Friday couldn't get any better.

Just want to end by saying that it is now officially a month that I've started this daily blog about the events of my life within 2013 thus far. And I can honestly say that looking for the good in everything and to also take a photo as a daily reminder has made me feel a lot happier. I think this is mainly because when something good isn't happening, I go out in search for it. If I cannot find something to go out and do, I'm appreciating what I have even as small as getting to watch a favourite TV show.

I can honestly say that I haven't done this all on my own. If it wasn't for the help and lots of love from family and friends to make me laugh and make life that little bit interesting, half the time I wouldn't know what I write about. Just what to thank everyone of you who do take the time to read this as well, as it is a big help and gives me incentive when I notice how many people read each and everyday.

Thank you =)

30th of January 2013

As I mentioned within yesterdays blog, the decision to eat a sausage roll after not having anything to eat since lunch time did prove to be a big mistake. I still think it was totally worth it, considering what COULD of happen if I didn't have anything to eat.

I was in the midst of getting ready for work, when I decided it was just too much of an effort to soldier through it all and went back to bed. I set my alarm for another hour so I could let work know that I wouldn't be in today.

With me resting for the day I really didn't get up to a lot. Though there was a competition which I did enter while in bed, and laptop on my lap which I also managed to win! I won a double pass to the Black Beta Select Awards which is on this Friday. So a big rarity for me, going out and having fun on a Friday :-p Friends of mine are going and I'm dragging another friend Jia along as she's been stuck too much into work as of late and think she needs time away from the computer screen.

Also noticed that a friend of mine Barry has a competition going to design a logo for his ASIGN Observatory II which he built himself! If you haven't heard of Barry, you should really check out his web page http://www.barryarmsteadphotography.com. He has some fantastic astrophotography as well as amazing nature shots as well. If you'd like to join his Facebook fan page regarding the competition, feel free to post in a comment or contact Barry directly. I'm 100% sure he'll be happy to answer any questions you have.

The rest of the day I really spent just catching up on some reading and having a lot of rest. I also managed to catch up on the episode of The Following with one of my favorite actors James Purefoy which I missed the other day.

So it's only fitting that my picture of the day is...

29th of January 2013

Well it's Tuesday, and it's time for the long weekend to be over and the start of the working week to begin! Have you ever woken up and just had a feeling that today may not be a good day to go out of the house? Well that's the feeling that I had when I woke up this morning. I simple just thought I had this feeling as it was still raining outside and it didn't look like it would ease at all. I quickly checked  my phone to see how the weather would pan out for the day, and for the past two days it had told me that it would be raining all morning, while clearing up till about 32 degrees in the afternoon. Plus I had something to look forward to toady. Daryl from The Walking Dead.

When I got dressed and ready for work I headed outside in the rain to catch my bus (with my umbrella of course), and halfway to the bus stop I noticed that my shoes were already started to get wet, which meant that my stockings were getting wet also! I grumbled and walked on to the bus stop, and when I arrived at the street I noticed in a distance two big headlights which I thought belonged to the bus. It seemed it stopped at the  bus stop just up the road so I made a dash to my bus stop, which invited the water more into my already wet soaking shoes. When I arrived at the bus stop, I looked up to see where the bus was at, and noticed that it was still sitting at the bus stop up the road. I thought this was a little strange, but thought maybe the bus had arrived extra early and was sitting there to pass a bit of time so it didn't leave early. When it finally took off, I noticed it wasn't a bus at all! It was a truck! Grr!

When I got onto the bus (finally), the bus driver for the first time ever in all my time catching the bus - he was a new driver - wanted to inspect my train/bus ticket extra closely which I thought was a little odd. I then arrived at the station, went to pull out my ticket and... no ticket. I started to pull everything out of my bag! Phone, diary, purse, iPod, you name it... came out. No ticket :( Which meant that I had to buy another ticket. I thought maybe I just couldn't see it in the rush that I was in, so I only bought a day ticket. Once I got into work I completely emptied everything out with no luck. I must have dropped it on the bus.

By this stage I was already frazzled and not really enjoying what the morning had decided to give me so far. So I packed away everything back into my bag, took a deep breath and calmly walked into the kitchen to make myself my breakfast before getting started into work. 

About an hour later I found out the person who was suppose to join me to see Daryl this evening, wasn't able to make it, so I started asking a bunch of people - even posted a status on Facebook - asking if there was anyone that wanted to join in. Everybody I asked had other plans, but said they would've loved to but it was too short of notice. Which I completely understood. I also contacted the company and asked them if it was possible to get a refund, and they mentioned that there was no chance of getting a refund. *sigh* 

Oh well, despite everything that the morning lashed out at me I did get a lot done with my work and set out everything that I had planned to do. By about 3:30pm the sun did come out and looked like that the weather would be great for the rest of the day. I also left work a little early so I can be waiting in line for the Q & A. I got there 2 hours early, and thought that there would be no one as sick as me to get there this early! But boy was I wrong. There was already about 100 people waiting in line. As well as about 3 zombies which were walking about keeping us company.

As you can tell from the photos that I took, with the help also from couple within the queue who I managed to strike up a conversation with that the people who were dressed up as zombies were really into what they were doing. They didn't break out of character once that I noticed. They were also  were handing out channel FX stickers to people within the queue. They even managed to scare a few people who were waiting as well.

Apart from the zombies, there were maybe about two kids who were in line that were dressed up for the event. I had no idea that there was a competition for the best dressed, which I noticed was DVDs. 

 Once we finally got inside they showed us a small clip which showed small snippets of interviews of previous stars before. People like Kevin Smith, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to name a few. The next was a picture of Normal Reedus (Daryl) showing this:

We then all watched the mid season finale of The Walking dead before Norman came out on stage. A guy interviewed him for about half an hour before handing out questions to the audience. I had no idea what I could ask him, so I didn't ask him a question. I think it was mainly just to see his posture and how he would react to the public in general. I personal think you can learn a lot of person just seeing how they react to the environment around them. 

While the questions started flying from the audience I remembered why I sometimes don't like going to things like this. Questions like, "In Season 2 episode 6, where you were playing with the knife what were you thinking..." and "In season 3 episode 2 where you.." things like this make me a little embarrassed for the actors (or in this case actor) on stage. I really wanted to yell out 'WE AREN'T ALL LIKE THAT!' People kept also running up to the stage and handing him gifts of drawing that they made as well as soft toys of kangaroos and koalas. 

When it was all over and his 'people' were trying to pull him off stage, fans kept running up to him and asking for a photograph or a signature. So it took him a while to get off stage.

I then headed into the foyer to catch up with a couple of friends of mine who had arrived late as they had a previous engagement. In the midst of texting them 'where are you?', the next thing I knew my friend grabbed my hand and said 'Follow me' before taking me up stairs. We looked about the room, and I realised that they were looking to see if Norman was here. After a quick look around and another phone call we dashed downstairs and walked outside. Another call was received and made a run for the car of a friend of theirs. Now anyone who knows me, knows I cannot run to save my life. After a few minutes I start breathing like I've been a chain smoker for years! I felt in a way like I was in battle and wanted to yell out.."Just go! Leave me behind! I'll only slow you down." But we go into the car and headed towards the city.

They had received a tip that Norman was in the city close by and we were going to wait outside to see if we could get a photo of him. Now personally I felt a little odd - mostly a hypocrite - as I thought the people who were begging for autographs were bad, and here I was chasing him down. Though I thought, hey I guess this is what a paparazzi's who usually do and tried to pretend that I was a paparazzi for the evening. Well I can tell you one thing, it isn't fun at all.

Now when I was a kid, I always wanted to be a private detective. The only thing that stopped me, was that I never really had the patience for it. The waiting around to take a photo of someone doing something wrong didn't appeal to me what so ever. It's not like a TV show, where you wait 5 minutes (trying to make it look like they waited hours), and it's all over. Not by a long shot! We waited and waited and while we waiting there was a drunk aboriginal woman who kept walking by yelling at us to give her 10 dollars. You could smell the alcohol on her breath and as much as I normally would be inclined to hand out a little money, I'm actually broke myself. I also normally wouldn't mention that she was aboriginal, but every time we mentioned that we had no cash she would reply back with "Oh sorry I keep forgetting it's your land!" (or along those lines).

We all waited for what seem like hours with a no show of Norman, before we all decided to pack it in and head off home. I picked up a sausage roll - which ended up being the worse idea ever -  and headed off home. 

Not a bad day for a Tuesday!

28th of January 2013

Why does it seem that when you finally get a public holiday, it's always raining? It was even raining on Christmas day! Oh well, I guess we have the public holidays in March to look forward to. 

Today I honestly didn't get up to much. I was mostly watching TV until lunch time, then afterwards I got dressed as I had to pick up the last of my things from my place (now my old place.) It wasn't until we arrived where I use to live when it decided to start pouring down with rain. We cleared out the place and even tidied it all up. The walked back and worth to put stuff into the car from my place totally drenched me! I was completely soaking wet. Afterwards we made a quick stop to the supermarket to pick up a couple of things. So while mum went into the supermarket I thought it was best that I stay in the car :-p

Got home and had some lunch, then afterwards packed up my clothes into the closet while listening to music. I have no idea how this habit came to be. But for as long as I remember, if I ever have to do some kind of chore I always have music playing in the background to make whatever chore I am doing seem much more enjoyable. 

After that basically watched more TV and vedged out on the lounge. So it is no surprise that the photo that I took of today is of this:

Your essential necessity for rainy days like these, where the TV is just beckoning you!

On a side note I like to give out a shout out to my awesome friend and fellow Browncoat Bernardo, who's birthday it is today! Happy Birthday Bernardo, and remember:

Take my love, take my land

Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me.

Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me.

Leave the men where they lay
They'll never see another day
Lost my soul, lost my dream
You can't take the sky from me.

I feel the black reaching out
I hear its song without a doubt
I still hear and I still see
That you can't take the sky from me.

Lost my love, lost my land
Lost the last place I could stand 
There's no place I can be
Since I've found Serenity

And you can't take the sky from me.

27th of January 2013

Woke up this morning just a little after 8am, and got up and fed little Howard as well as give him his medicine. I really do hope this medicine works, as I really don't want to go back and see what more tests they would have to do with him. On the plus side though, he doesn't look like he is sick and is bouncing around his cage merrily. I personally don't think I've ever seen a canary that moves about as much as Howard does.

For most of the day we didn't get up to much. With it raining for most of the night and day it was basically DVD and TV type of weather. Frank's been watching Jag as of late, and I personally haven't sat down and watched a season in it's entirety. Though I have watched seasons of NCIS. So ended up watching a few episodes of jag.

About 2:30pm as we all started to get ready to head into city as a bunch of us were getting together at a Thai restaurant to celebrate Frank's niece birthday, we all heard a bit of commotion outside. Apparently the neighbours cat due to the rain got stuck in a tree and there were firemen trying to get it down. Now I've seen TV shows and even cartoons of people calling the fire brigade to get down their cat, but I have never seen it happen! What amazed me though is the method that they used. They had a small ladder (too small for the tree and where the cat was), and they got a hose to spray it at the cat. Now EVERYONE knows that cats hate water, so it didn't surprise me that while they were doing this the cat moved up further. In the end they gave up and headed off. I felt like yelling to them, "Haven't you heard the saying 'You catch more flies with honey than vinegar?'" In the end the neighbours partner just climb up the tree and got the cat down.

When we got into the city, we had arrived pretty early and decided to have a cuppa at Gloria Jeans before we went to the restaurant. I had a regular cup of white hot chocolate with marshmallows. Insert Homer drool here! I haven't had this for years, and it still tasted as good as I remember it. Now I love my hot chocolate, but a white hot chocolate is awesome!

The restaurant was at a place called Thai Foon, and as you might have guessed is a Thai restaurant. Ended up being a pretty great place with a good view of Darling Harbour, it was just a pity that there was the mist of rain still slowly pouring down. I started chatting away about my up coming holiday, as well as my incident at Israel. 

When a bunch of people started with their camera phone apps, and since I've never personally gone in search of them started to download a bunch of camera aps. One of them was called 'Face Swap,' and since a majority of people had an iPhone I wasn't sure that the Android would have one. Managed to find it, and create a horrifying picture!

After that, I came across another application where you can change the colour of your eyes. I thought this was amazing. Mum wanted to have a go and see how she would look like with blue eyes. The shocking thing is, I know a lot of people have said that I look like my mother, I think the photo of her with blue eyes shows it more!

After that I found another app which is very similar to Instagram, but you don't have the "I have uploaded this using Instagram" message everywhere. So I started to muck about with photos and see what I could get. Sad thing is, that I think I've now become one of those peoples who take photos now with camera phone apps. On the plus side, at least it isn't Sepia!

26th of January 2013

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!!

(I'm writing today's blog in blue and red in support of Australia day today.)

I was actually surprised that I woke up before 8am this morning. As when I went to bed last night, I was so very tired, that I ended up passing out at 10pm. Which is early for me. When I woke up, mum and Frank were already awake and having their morning cup of tea. While I finished making my coffee we sat outside for about an hour just chatting away. Before we knew it, it was almost 9am and we had to get dressed and ready as today we were going to take Howard to the vets for the first time. As I mentioned in a previous blog, Howard (my canary) hasn't been singing for almost a year now and especially after a visit to my aunts last week and hearing her canary sing, I knew that there was something wasn't right.

I quickly got dressed and ready, and then afterwards I also cleaned up Howard's cage. It got me thinking while cleaning his cage, that when we have to visit a dentist, doctor or in this case a vet that will check out my bird, we tend to scrub up extra well to kinda prove that we've been doing things right. Maybe to prove to whomever we'll visit that whatever is wrong isn't our fault. In typical Howard style though, after I cleaned up his cage he tossed his bird seed everywhere! I left little water as I was a little concerned that it may spill over the car on the drive over.

When we got to the vets - which was near Fairfield - I felt a little odd filling out the new customers card. As not only does it ask for your name but also the pets name. And when people find out that my canary's name is Howard there is always a bit of a giggle or a smirk. Doesn't bother me, as I love his name and the reason why I choose it. While I waited to go in mum and Frank went to a coffee shop next door and had coffee and canonli's. Before me there was a family with two small children who brought their pet galah. I have no idea what was wrong with it, but when they took it in to see the vet the father took the children out of the room as it started screeching! It wouldn't stop for the longest time. In the meantime a lady brought in her cat and kept looking at the door and at my Howard. I then said to her, "I think my canary is starting to look a little worried!." She laughed and said "Yeah he looks as though he is looking at the door then look for a way out." We had a bit of a giggle then asked her what was wrong with her cat. She told me her cat was named Storm (who was born in a storm), and is a 17 year old cat who isn't feeling well. He was a black cat and had the nicest coat!

When the family finally came out with their galah, it was Howard's turn. The vet asked me what was wrong with him, and I told him that he keeps making this sucking noise and he hasn't sung in about a year. He still whistles happily, but not the typical lovely canary song. After a check up, I was told that Howard was one healthy canary (maybe a little too healthy if you know what I mean), and he noticed that his claws were a little too long which meant Howard couldn't stand properly. So he clipped his claws and also gave him some medicine for his throat. Then informed me to put some medicine within his water everyday for at least a couple of weeks to see if he improved at all. After the pet ordeal, Howard did look a little shaken but seemed to have calm down on the drive home.

Once we returned home, I gave Howard some new water (with the medicine) and some refreshed food as well as a bit of salad which seemed to cheer him right up. Before we knew it, it was 2pm and had a quick lunch which made us all a little tired. So I and apparently mum and Frank had a bit of a nap, and didn't get up for another 2 hours later when we prepared for dinner. Which in typical Aussie fashion, because it was Australia day we had a BBQ :) While dinner was being prepared, I suggested to Frank that there are a lot of places today that will be celebrating Australia day so we should really go an do something. So he suggest that I pick the place and after dinner we'll head on over. I noticed that at The Rooty Hill (which is a park with a big hill at Rooty Hill) they were attempting a guinness book of records for the most people wearing a surgical hat. Which I later found out was last year! Bah!

With my Australian flag bandanna on my head, when we arrived at the showground I decided to have a bit of a look around and see what was happening. There was a concert, people selling show bags, rides, and people just selling just completely random stuff. One of them just happen to be a guy spray painting tattoos. Since the let down, I decided that I would get a tattoo! There wide range of Batman, Spiderman, butterflies... you name it he had it. But in support of todays showground and the event we were all celebrating today, I wouldn't have chose any other than this one:

I then sat with mum to watch a concert with mum and Frank while watched Ross Wilson who just appeared on stage. He sang a bunch of songs like Eagle Rock, Daddy Cool and Come Said the Boy. All classic songs which I remember listening to as a kid. It was a little shame that not many people knew the songs, but at least those who did were gathered around the stage cheering him on. I think a lot of people just wanted the time to go pass very quickly so we could all watch the fireworks.

What amazing fireworks they were! I think that since the location was a very large and wide open area and that everyone was sitting on the hill (with the lights turned off), it made the viewing spectacular! It wasn't until this very moment (maybe when I got the fake tattoo as well), that I was very VERY happy that we all decided to come here. I guess loving fireworks is in my blood, since my grandfather and family on my mums side contributed in some way while growing up to make fireworks.

It was a great end to a wonderful and fulfilling day! I can honestly say, that this is probably one of the best Australia days that I've ever had. Very close in second is when my cousin, uncle and auntie were visiting us last year! I've added about an 8minute video of some of the fireworks which I saw this evening. Please note that I was using my mobile, so there is a bit of shakyness going on.

25th of January 2013

What a week it's been. It seems to me that when Friday decides to show up, you left puzzled as to why you thought that it would take so long to arrive. I got to sleep in a tiny bit, as I was going into work an hour late today, and staying back one hour. As today is the last day that my friend and co-worker Mark will be with us, as he is leaving to go and study.

As much as I wanted to catch the train that I use to catch around this time, I didn't leave on time as I was putting the finishing touches to my packing. At about lunch time, Frank would arrive to grab everything to take it to mums place and I wanted to make sure that everything was in order.So when I finally did catch the bus it was a much later one, and for some reason the driver had it in his head to drive at about 40kms. So when I eventually did arrive at the station I ended up catching the slow train. By the time I got to Town Hall station it was very close to 9am, and ended up bumping into Gloria who arrive at the same time as well.

Throughout the time I was constantly anxious. Later on today I was hoping to receive an email from FX Australia to see if I got accepted to play an extra as a zombie for the Walking Dead promo within Australia. So I would catch myself constantly looking at my mobile, and also checking my personally email to see if I had received a reply. Unfortunately I didn't receive any email at all. Though a friend of mine did receive an email saying that they've received a lot of email and unfortunately could not accept everyone. So if you do not receive an email by 5pm you weren't accepted. I didn't receive any email at all, which I thought was a shame. Though it did make me realise that if I ever thought about going to acting, I so couldn't be part of it as the waiting for a phone call or email would just kill me!

I ended up having lunch at my desk as I had a few things to catch up on which I'd promised people I would have completed by the end of the week, and I wanted to live up to that promise. It honestly didn't bother me that much as it was pretty humid outside, and staying inside was a better option.

At about 4pm today everyone within accounts all gathered around to say goodbye to Mark. After a couple of speeches from Mark and also our Manager I handed him the farewell card as well as a few gifts which everyone chipped in to buy. I personally am very sad that he is leaving and I honestly wish he didn't leave to study for a whole year, as Mark is a very good person. The type of good that most people try to achieve within themselves everyday, and to him it comes naturally. He was also one of the geeks, where I could take to him about Avengers or new games that come out that are awesome to play. He would also know what I meant every time I would say 'Noob' or 'pwned!" At the same time though I am very happy that he is following what he always wanted to do.

After work a few of us gathered a the Shark bar to say our goodbyes with a few drinks and a game of pool. I couldn't stay that long as with the moving I wanted to see if everything went ok. Plus After an anxious day and an exciting week I was feeling really tired, and would feel a lot better after putting my feet up.

So Mark if you're reading this, we will all miss your humour and your loving nature. Don't forgot to stay in touch and tell us all about your exciting new path that you've decided to take in life. Also don't forget to visit once in a while!

24th of January 2013

Since I spent the night at mums place, I caught the bus near her place to head to Mt Druitt station. Since today was Thursday and usually a busy day at work, I usually dread about what lays ahead of me. Though today was a lot different, as I knew we were going to head to Madame Tussauds for lunch time today, my mood was completely different in the morning... if not a little excited as well. Honestly I was probably also a tad bit nervous as well since I had organised this outing.

When I got into work, I got started on bits and pieces here and there. I had more emails confirming the holiday which I booked yesterday so I decided to pass a bit on. For a Thursday there wasn't really anything that was major that would consume most of my time. When everyone eventually came in, Mark handed out cinnamon buns which his mum had made. I've never had one of these before, but I did hear a comedian by the name of Louis CK mention these in on of his acts. To eat one it must be warmed up a little. They were so delicious. I could have eaten the whole box! Judging by the other compliments Mark was getting, it seemed I wasn't the only one who thought that way to.

I also picked up a saying from the motivational jar today, as my boss thought it was about time she picked up another one, as she seems to be having one of those weeks and could use a pick up. I personally was very happy with the one that I received. It said something along the lines of "Happiness now runs through your life. The worst is over." It really REALLY made my day!

When 12:30pm hit, the whole team headed to Madame Tussauds, and we were greeted by a lady who I usually talk to every now and then. She offered to greet us at the door and walk us in. I originally thought she was going to give us a guided tour, but she mentioned that the best way to experience Madame Tussauds is to look, feel and touch everything.

There are so many things that you can do! I had been to Madame Tussauds many many years ago when it first arrived in Australia. But this was nothing like it. You could touch, look and interact with just about every wax model that there was it made the time we spent there so much more enjoyable. The awesome thing to was that there was a little stand that you could get your own wax version of your own hand. I didn't get to see how much it would cost (being on a very tight budget and all), but I thought that it was pretty amazing.

There wasn't just max models of famous people there as you can see from the picture above. There was a display showing you on how the models are actually made, and how that they dimensions of each model is carefully noted by what it is modelling. Even if the actor has a tiny dimple, you'll notice this within the wax model.

Even the staff were very helpful. Throughout the place there were people within the exhibits who wanted to take your photo next to the model. Yes you'd have to pay for the professional photo, but it wasn't forced that you had to purchase them. You know how in some venues if you wanted your photo taken you couldn't use your own camera (or a friend of yours take the photo for you), but it had to be done professionally? We you have the opion of both of you wanted, which is why we were able to take so many photos. Yes we also had a few professional ones taken as well, but this was because it is very rare that we have a group photo taken, so I personally thought that it was the best place to have one.

As you can tell from the photos which I've loaded here I wasn't taking the tour very seriously. I personally think on outings like these, you just let your hair down and have some fun. If I wanted to complain about the little things I could have, but it was just great in general having an outing with the team.

Afterwards we all picked up some lunch so we can have it at our desk. We spend just over an hour and a half at madam Tussauds, and we could so spent a lot more time there, but we wouldn't spend too much time away from work especially on a Thursday.

Tomorrow I'll be coming in an hour late so that I can stay back an extra hour. As it is Mark's last day tomorrow and a whole group of us will be going out for drinks after work. So when I rushed home, I started to pack what little that I could (it's really difficult without boxes!) so Frank will be moving my stuff to mums place tomorrow.

23rd of January 2013

When I woke up this morning, I honestly really didn't feel like getting out of bed as with such a big few days I really just wanted to soak it all in. The only thing that made me jump out of bed was thinking to myself, if yesterday was so awesome I can only imagine what today will bring me. Also I think mainly that I was still buzzing from all the events yesterday. Especially to finally see the TV show The Following, which I've been raving about since about November last year, and to finally see it air on TV and watch it yesterday evening was thrilling! I really cannot wait for more episodes.

Thought for a moment that I will miss my usual train, as I did miss the bus. Thankfully the second bus managed to arrive early at the station so I didn't miss my train at all, and was able to sit next to my friend Rocio. 

When I got into work, did my usually thing and had my breakfast and got right into work. I checked my email right away to see if by some miracle I had received a response regarding becoming an extra on the 28th of January. No luck. But then again the entries are to be closed by 5pm this afternoon. So I'm pretty sure I'll receive some kind of response before Monday. I just reeeeaaaalllllyyy want to be part of it!

It was also confirmed offically today that the team will be heading out to Madame Tussauds tomorrow during our lunch time. Must remember to make sure that my battery is charged, or at least locate someone with a camera and/or charger! Looks like there'll be plenty of photos to take.

I also managed to confirm that at the beginning of March I will be going with my cousin from Malta to visit Ayers Rock! I'm so excited for many reasons. First and foremost, that I'll be spending time with my cousin from Malta. And knowing each other pretty well, we'll get along famously! I'm just a little concerned with a bit of the tracking, I hope I don't slow her or the tour behind! Secondly is that I'll be going to see Ayers Rock! I'm sure a lot of people will agree with me, that since Uluru is within Australia, a lot of us abuse the fact that it is so close that we'll get to see it one day. I really didn't want to miss this opportunity at all. Lastly is the simple fact that I guess visiting Uluru will be a spiritual journey in it's own way. We'll both be able to see the famous Aboriginal paintings that are thousands of years old. So speaking as a historian... this will be amazing. I only wish that I could be spending it with a lot more people.

Ended up spending my lunch break with a good friend of mine Sandra. As with a bit of financial issues at the moment I really have to becareful with how I spend my money during this time. And Sandra is one of the best people that I know that can teach me these things. I also found out yesterday that I'll be moving, so during the next few weeks I'll be selling a lot of my stuff through Ebay. So hopefully not only will I be able to clear and be rid of a few things that have been stock piling (like my books), but also have some financial gain during the process.

During the workday I was also receiving messages from my friend Rocio who suggest that I get together with her and another friend of hers for dinner. We'll be going to Bondi Pizza, we all just had to meet at St Leonards and then make our way to Parramatta.

So after work I caught up with Rocio and made our way to St Leonards. Train was packed as per usual after the working day, but at least they had a millennium train! Which meant that the train was air conditioned! I would so prefer to be trapped like a sardine in one of these trains than the old tin can of a train that always goes to the west.

When we arrived at Bondi pizza, it wasn't your usual pizza place. It was more of a resturant which served gourmet food! They had a wide range of seafood, pizza, and pasta as well as deserts and drinks to choose from. Rocio and I even order a couple of vodka cocktails... and wow. They were like lolly water. You'd never would have guessed they were alcoholic drinks! You really need to watch how many you drink of these.

Afterwards we had a small serving of desert before we headed off home. During this time I had a call from my mum and we both decided that since I was heading out her way anyways, I may as well drop by and have a bit of a chat before I crash at her place.

22nd of January 2013

Wow! What a strange but fantastic day it was today! If someone had told me what today would have panned out I would have laughed in their face and told them that they're nuts! I'm still currently pinching myself as I still cannot believe todays events.

In the morning before work I stopped by woolies to pick up some healthy breakfast. I decided that I wouldn't spend much and eat healthy, not really because I'm concerned about my health but I've decided to cut back on the spending that I do each and everyday. I'm mostly trying to save money. So instead of buying my healthy breakfast shake that I usually do just about every morning, I bought some fruit salad and some natural yogurt which would last me about a week or so. And it would cost me about how much I spend on the shake within two days.

When I got into work I noticed that I had an email from the travel agent which I'm booking my holiday with, apparently they need some extra forms before I can pay it all in full, and also the price which they've quoted me for the flights to and from I can get a lot cheaper online. So I bought my air fair, just waiting on the finishing touches so I can pay the tour in full now. More details to come later on when everything is complete!

I also received a text message in the morning to inform that that Norman Reedus (who plays Daryl Dixon) on the walking dead will be appearing within one show next week! The tickets were only AUD20.00 so I had a quick chat with my manager who also loves Daryl and she's joining me to! The only downside is that I was planning on attending a red carpet event that day to see my boss at The Spotlight Report in action, but Daryl is beckoning me!

It was then about lunchtime, and a group of us headed to the Helm Bar as it was a group lunch to bid farewell to one of our co-workers Mark who will be leaving at the end of the week. Had a quick cool drink as the weather was so very hot during this time, but luckily there was a cool breeze. Otherwise I don't think that we would stand it! After lunch, a few of us headed near the IMAX to pick up an ice cream and headed back into the office.

Afterwards I contacted Madame Tussauds as out team has reached our goal which we've set for the month, and managed to confirm that on Thursday for lunch we'll be going as a team. We've been advised to make sure we interact with the wax models, enter the show, and pick up Obama's phone. Have no idea what that all means, but I guess we'll all find out on Thursday.

A bit later on I received another text message to to inform me that the channel FX is looking for a bunch of extras for the 28th of January 2013 - which is the public holiday Monday - as they want people to be zombies for the new promo shoot with Norman Reedus! I got really excited and sent out my email with head shot included. I think after that piece of news I was completely gone! You know when you reach a level of excitement that even you cannot handle? Yeah I think I completely lost it then. I started messaging friends and saying stuff like.. "Come on... you and me... zombieing it up". I have no idea if that made any sense at all, but at the time I sent it, I thought it was awesome.

Once work was finished I decided to pick up a scratchy, as with all the awesome things that had happened to me today, I thought I would try my luck and see if I can win a bit of cash. I didn't scratch it then as I had a movie to go see in a small theatre near where I work.

Once the movie was finished I contemplated on going to see the night time rubber ducky, but since it was about 7:45pm it was still light out and I honestly didn't want to wait around any longer until it got really dark.

On the train ride home I managed to see an awesome view of the sunset, as I'm sure a lot of people did. So I took this opportunity to take out the scratchy and see if I had one anything. And I won $8.00! Nothing major, but since I only paid two dollars for the thing, it's a big profit :-p

Now that I'm finally home I can actually relax a little now and do what I've been wanting to do since about November last year. And that is watch and episode of The Following! So please excuse me while I sit back and relax while I drool all over James Purefoy!

21st of January 2013

Did anyone else notice that when they woke up this morning it was a little dark than usual? I had set the alarm clock for just a little past 5 and when I awoken it was dark (for daylight savings time) and in my sleepy haze I honestly thought that I had woken up an hour early. So I set my alarm clock for another hour, and went back to bed. It wasn't until an hour later while I was getting ready, my mother saw me and said "Aren't you normally about to catch the bus at this time?" that I had a 'Doh' moment and realised I was in fact an hour later than usually. Luckily I called for a taxi to the station and that it arrived pretty quickly. I managed to make the train just after the usual train I catch. And the bonus thing? Train dude was on it *swoon*.

With the DVD review that I'm working on, it's actually for season two. So I thought I'd do a little bit of 'homework' and watch the first season, which I managed to do all of last week. I actually finished the finale episode within the train in the morning. 

Dashed into work only a few minutes late and got started on my work pretty much right away. Nothing much to report, apart from there were a lot of people still recovering from the conference that was on the weekend. I can only recall only once in my life that I've ever had a hangover, and that was mostly due to the heat. Other times I've had a drink or two (or more) nothing. Though I had a tad feeling that may change with a BBQ/Jedi training session that I've been invited to next week.

I also got some exciting news throughout the day. I've been asked to do an interview with Spotlight Report. It's part of my new found training, which will be going on for a while. Found out today that it'll be in front of the camera! And I'm really camera shy, so this will be very interesting. Though I must admit that a little part of me was pretty excited as well. I mean...my cousins in Malta all have something to do with the theatre and movies!

I had lunch with Gloria, and we headed off to Darling Harbour where she got to see and take a photo of the big rubber duck for the first time! I personally don't think I get tired of seeing it. So I really hope that today isn't the last day that it is on show! It's really awesome to see! And I've never got a chance to see it in the evening :(

We also got to see people playing within the soccer field. Was surrounded by cops as well, which I found a little odd. You'd think that they got the players from prison the way that the police and security were surrounding it. There were no one else really who was paying attention to the game.

I ended up staying back a bit after work today as well, as there were a lot of email which I had to go through, which I wanted to have a response to by today. But there were other concerning matters which I was waiting a response on, and wanted to wait for a reply before I went home to make sure everything was ok.

When I got eventually got home, had a quick chat with the landlord as I'll be moving out by the end of the week. I already had a chat with them earlier within the month, but wanted to remind them again that I would be leaving. So it looks like a little of long weekend will be spent moving and cleaning up... Hooray! (She says sarcastically). :-p

Then spent the rest of the evening trying to organise a date and a time for my very first interview. Seems like it will be next week!

20th of January 2013

Since I had a pretty late night yesterday, I took the perfect opportunity to sleep in today, and didn't awaken till about 11am. I remember that I had a quick bathroom break in the wee hours of the morning, but I didn't want to have a look at the time as everyone was still asleep. When I finally did awaken from my slumber, I was informed by my mum that in the afternoon we were going to visit my auntie and uncle, and while we were there my cousin was also going to be visiting.

After breakfast I quickly got ready as I was going to stop by the shops for a little bit as I had a few things to do, but writing my blog of the events for yesterday took a lot long than I expected (which was mainly due to the Internet cutting out), so I decided to make a pass and not head to the shops. Though mum did quickly have to make a stop at the shops to buy some groceries and also the paper.

When I finally finished writing up the blog and while mum was still at the shops, I quickly watched a TV show which is part of my review homework, while I waited for mum to come back. I can't mention the name of it yet, but it is a British TV show drama. Which basically means it is very interesting (for me anyways), but like any TV show the real excitement doesn't happen until the last 10 minutes of the episode... which is when mum returned from the shops.

Big surprise by mum today, she apparently was walking passed Diva when she saw an owl necklace and decided to buy it for me :) Little things like this I personally find heartfelt and amazing. The gifts you were never really expect, and the fact that someone went out of their way to get you something small for no reason at all. This is personally why I don't like Valentines Day, as it has become an expectation. Give me a gift for no reason what so ever, and I'll find it amazing. Anyways, she bought me a necklace as well as a ring and I didn't spend a second deciding whether I should put it or not. I put it on right away!

We then headed off to my aunties place who we haven't seen since the dinner we had a couple of weeks ago. My cousin Therese was there as well with her partner and her youngest daughter (whom we share the same birthday). First thing that I noticed when I arrived is that I could hear a canary singing it's little heart out. Which confirmed for me that my little Howard must be sick as that's how he should be singing. So my auntie recommended me a vet who also checked up one of their birds.

My uncle also bought out a DVD of a trip that the family had taken back in 1989 within a boat tour around Sydney harbour. It's was a big trip down memory lane, seeing everyone so young and it brought back a lot of fond memories which happened so long ago! I even remember that after that day just about everyone had been badly sunburned. I love seeing old videos like this. Especially that of everyone within the family. Which is why I cannot wait till my uncle and cousin come down from Malta in a couple of weeks! We spent a few hours there and had a great time to chat and catch up with everyone, but it was soon time to leave and we headed off home to mums place. 

Another big day for me at work tomorrow, so it'll be awesome to get a good start (as well as a good nights sleep) for the week. 

On a side note, while in the process of writing today's blog I hear on TV the ad for the show The Following. If I haven't already mentioned this within a previous blog, it's a TV show with Kevin Bacon as well as my favourite actor James Purefoy. I honestly cannot wait until it starts. What the ad mentioned is that not only will it appear on channel 9 (which I'm surprised it isn't on cable!), but it's also coming soon. Which is a shame, as it's starting this week in America.

19th of January 2013

Another Saturday where I have to get up early. Luckily this time I don't actually have to do any work, even though that is were I was first headed. I met up with my co-worker Gloria at Town Hall station just after 9am, as most of the team were meeting there so we could pick up our costumes. Meeting at work on a Saturday isn't all that exciting, as anyone who does work on a Saturday knows that the air-con isn't on during the weekend. Even though it was 24 degrees at its max temp today, the office was still stuffy that early in the morning.

After that we all headed to the hotel Sheraton on the Park where the conference was being held. When we arrived there was also a group of people from the office within Brisbane who were checking into the hotel, its was a chance for all of us within the office to chat and say hello before we went into the conference room. We then all quickly went upstairs for a bit of early breakfast snacks, and it seems everyone was feeling a bit stuffy and was dying for some water. As the waiters kept having to refill the water not even a minute after they refill it.

Once we got into the conference there were the usual chit chat about how and what departments are up to. This part can usually get a little boring, but the presenters we had this year were pretty awesome so it didn't feel boring at all. After that we did a bit of self reflection, which I ended up finding out that it had a bit of NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming). For those who do not know about NLP, it's a great way to reflect  upon situations which are happening within your personal life (even business) learn how to improve your perception with events in your life. It's great for depression or just when your in a bit of a funk. I was in a 6 week course of NLP about 10 years ago, and it's really helped me a lot. After today's course I may even pick up reading about it again.

After that we all had a lunch/bathroom break, where we noticed that there was another conference across the hall about to start. Went to have a bathroom break when I noticed this in the bathroom which made me laugh. Last time I saw something like this was from our old washing machine!

If you can't figure out what that is, it's basically a stream of bubbles which is coming out of the drain! It stared to look kinda like a bubble worm.

Afterwards we went back into the conference, where they started a bit called 'Speed Dating'. Which is basically us sitting with people that you'd normally didn't sit next to, while a representative from each department would talk a little about what they do for the company. Was really awesome, and it's also someone that a lot of us were asking for as a big company we really do not know what the other departments get up to.

The conference part ended up finishing a little early, so I caught up from my friends Jia, Sandra, Jaclyn, Jennifer and Carol up in their room while some tried to sleep and the rest just ended up talking away. I was trying to suggest another get together at Sandra's place, as the last time I was there I had to leave early. So I missed out on Guitar Hero and a lot more partying :(

At about 6pm the rest of the time caught up in a different room where we had to put on our Jumping Beans costume (yes, that's that the picture was of the other day). It was still a little struggle putting them on, but thankfully this time I was wearing light clothes so I didn't feel as though I was being strangled when I put it on. One of our co-workers Nicholas had brought with him some black face paint, so we could put on some fake bears and mustaches on ourselves to make it more Mexican. I asked Gloria to put mine on me, and when she was done the team said mine looked really sleazy! So I put a self pic and sent it to my mum, I also decided to put it on Facebook with the title "Would you trust this person?"

Gloria's costume ending up being that of a Bean Farmer, as the custom size was too small and didn't fit her. So once we all got dressed and ready (with our Mexican mustaches) I quickly took a photo of everyone. Mark with his mono-brow, and everyone with their different types of mustaches!

Once we got downstairs just after 6:30pm, we got to see what everyone else was dressed as and everyone else got to see us. There were people dressed as Chili, tourists, border control, Drug Cartel, Spring Break, Waitresses (and a bar)... you name it. Just about everything to do with Mexico was there.

We all had a fantastic night as everyone was a little bit silly, but it was just great seeing everyone with their hair down and just in general having a good time. I got to meet people from the UK, Brisbane and even the Sydney office which I hadn't met before. One thing I did notice with the costume that I was wearing, that it invited a lot of people to either punch us or hug us. I was more prone to give people hugs :-p Even the ones that came up to punch me I ended up giving a hug!

I added a little video below, as Mark and I decided at one silly point to act like real jumping beans! And he wanted photo or video evidence that he was going to do it, so I thought I'd share it with everyone here on what really a great and silly fantastic night it was!

18th of January 2013

IT'S FRIIIIIIIDDDDDAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!! Oh Friday how I've missed you so much!

I was told last night that today would be very hot, and that I should prepare and make sure I stay cool in this hot weather. In the morning, it actually looked for a minute that it was going to rain, as it was very overcast.

When I got into work I quickly got started on my little motivational jar, which I've mentioned in my previous blogs. After I cut up all the little phrases and folded them neatly, I started to hand out a couple to several teams at work. I can personally say that it seemed to lift a lot of peoples spirits. Well everyone except two. One person got the phrase, which said something like "Success is not a door, but a set of stairs." Which was taken as that they needed to work harder. Another person got "42" (which I personally added), and they just starred blankly at me. When I responded that it is the answer to the meaning of life, universe and everything they understood it that everything was right with the world. To each their own I guess.

After I let a bunch of people have a go, I decided to have a go myself. I was quiet pleased with what I had, and it also brightened my spirits a little for the day... even though it was already lifted because it is Friday :-p

While I was at work I was told that there was going to be a game of soccer that was being played within Darling Harbour. Within the harbour. Apparently there is a platform within the harbour itself where the match will be played. So when the boys went and came back from lunch I asked them about the soccer game. They told me that there was no game played which is probably due to the heat. By this time the weather was very very HOT! So when it was my turn to go to lunch, I headed off to Darling Harbour to have a look myself. As soon as I walked out of the building... *BAM* the heat hit me! It was hot...and windy! But there was no humidity which was a great thing. It's the type of dry heat that I could handle. So I went to see Mr Ducky again, and also to check out the soccer field with no one in it! It was such an awesome stroll during my lunch break. Taking in the views, enjoying the weather, while listening to the song "Yellow" by Coldplay! What more could I ask for?

The rest of the day went by pretty smoothly. Got through a lot of work again. Oh! I forgot to mention that I tried booking my holiday, but I still need to hear back from a couple of people, but I've been told to give it to early next week. Every fibre of me is thinking Monday, but I'm hoping at least by Tuesday that I'll finally hear something.

When I waddled off to the train station, I noticed that all the trains were being delayed due to the "extreme weather." It seemed as though that the Town Hall announcer didn't even know what was going on. She would mention that the next train is the train to Epping, and it would just pass through. So did the next few trains apparently. When my train finally arrived about 20 minutes after it was suppose to, the worse train that you could possibly get was waiting for me. It was the old clunky trains and there was no air con! I've already learnt to accept that just about every train to the west will not be one of the new ones, but one with no air con on a day like today? Totally unacceptable! There were elderly people, pregnant women on the train... and that's only within the carriage that I was in. People was looking about to find pieces of newspaper so they can use it as a fan, but that hardly worked as the train didn't allow the windows to be opened. I swear the whole hour train ride I kept thinking to myself that when I finally got home that I would write not only a letter of complaint to Cityrail, but also to channel nine and to the Premier. As much as I still want to do this now, all I wanted to do when I got home was have a cold show. Maybe on Sunday when I've calmed down a lot I will write a reasonable letter. And from what I've read of Facebook this just didn't happen within the train I was on, it was still happening. Would you believe that after all the heat and the sweating while waiting for the train, when we arrived at  Redfern I couldn't believe that it started to rain! It didn't last that long though.

I also didn't actually go home to my place, but I ended up going to mums. Thank goodness that I decided to do that, as they have awesome air conditioning :-p Though that isn't the reason why I went, I had already planned to visit mum on the weekend many days ago. The only kinda downside is that I'll be away all day Saturday as I'll be attending a work conference. Don't worry, I'm already planning to be taking a lot of photos during my time there! It was also a good thing that I decided to visit mum and Frank, as I finally received my present from my brother for Christmas. It is a DVD of Muse's Absolution tour! Not bad... not bad :-p Will have to watch this when I have a moment, and not working on homework!