"I felt like a tool, but I was a HAPPY tool"

Down a dark dark road there was a... well lit servo, and in that well lit servo there was a stack of newspapers, and in that stack of newspapers was a list of 65,513 names, and in those 65,513 names there was an university offer for each, and of those 65,513 names, I was one.


Late this evening my brother realised that all offers would have been published in SMH. With that knowledge he dragged me out of the house to go find out what I got offered.

There at the Caltex Servo on Military Rd, I discovered what i was offered. Today... I got offered a place in the Bachelor of Science/Masters of Nursing degree at The University of Sydney!

The artists impression says it all really :D. There we were, standing over the ice cream fridge, newspaper in front of us while we were reading through the plethora of names to find out what I was offered. When we found out what 511914 meant, Alex got all excited, went to hug me and headbutted me in the process.

Then and there, I felt like a tool... BUT i was a HAPPY tool and it also helped me feel less tool-like as i saw other HSC grads coming in and picking up a paper to find out what they got.

Me? I didn't buy the paper, but not for the reason you think... NO I'm not that cheap, It's just that Alex subscribed to SMH and we'd have gotten it in the morning.

Anyway there's a chronology of events. The red on the second last one, is a circling of my name and offer... albeit very unclear, if you click on it and look closely you'll see TIAN, CD

Happiness much?

-Charles

Parcel to be opened on a plane... Nothing Suss!

Sina is going away, off to a place that I can't pronounce (didn't hear it properly when told so I'm not going to try embarrass myself) either way, he's going for a year, so a whole bunch of us who are pals with Sina got together and had fun with him. Now if you look at the photo here you might notice what it says on the white thing that Sina is holding. If you can't read it, it says "note: only open on the plane". Now any of you smart cookies out there would realise as I did, the hilarity of the situation. Sina is Persian (a region that is mostly now modern day Iran), he's carrying a package, of which he has no idea what the contents are (does this remind you of the Bali 9 or Chapelle Corby?) and it has, marked on the side, open on the plane...
If i were a customs officer and i saw that, little red flags would be going off in my head.

I mentioned it to Sina and we laughed and laughed about the hilarity :D
Anyway It was a fun night at Pancakes on the Rocks and lots of stuff happened, including the emergence of a couple of scabbers.

Meet Pavey and Daniel DT. These boys are funny dudes, and today was a perfect example of such. For dinner they decided to split a pizza, after finishing that they proceeded to scab food off others all the while laughing at their skill in getting food off others. They went through Beavis's left over ribs, Fil's left over ribs, David's pancakes, Nitzan's pancakes and Worsely's pancakes. In fact I'm sure there's more but i can't seem to remember at the moment. To say that they felt sick afterwards, is a bit of a "go figure" kind of statement.

Still I was cracking up looking at it and joined in when I'd finished my pizza.


Either way, Sina... Thanks for the great night, we'll miss you mate.
-Charles

Picnics and Tea Houses

Interesting day this. Met up with Kieran in Macquarie Shopping Centre for tea and other such things.

Wore a pair of "new" shoes that i bought from Vinnie's (the day that i wore that hideous blue zippered number) which ended up disintegrating as i walked. By the time I'd found Kieran in Gloria Jeans, I'd lost one heel, and was creating a trail of rubber bits behind me as I went. First we went to Kiki K where Kieran transformed into a Kiki K sales girl. Very strange experience, especially when the actual sales girl came along (they both ganged up on me, selling me Kiki K products). I left with a new Diary/Journal.

Then to save myself from rolling an ankle just trying to walk, we went and bought a new pair of shoes for me, just to replace the Timberland fakers i came in.

Which means I now own a pair of white Dunlop volleys! yay!

Anyway after finding me a new pair of shoes,

Kieran and I went to the first and only T2 Tea house in Australia (at the moment) and had ourselves scones and tea (grandma's goodies {get your minds out of the gutter you sickos}, a Turkish apple for me and a silver needles for Kieran).

Afterwards we went to the T2 shop across the hall and went tea sniffing and then after nose sampling numerous teas (and taste testing some too),

then to freedom, where we window shopped furniture, then we made our way to the buses (not before noticing the Tetly Tea on Ice stall giving out free tastes of their new iced tea, to which we said "ugh, too much tea!") and went to Kieran's place.

At Kieran's we did prep for pizzas and then took them to the local park to have a picnic.

My pizza had basically everything on it (including the bits of pumpkin that we burnt :P) and it was YUMMY! Following dinner, and watching some Asian kid (I'm Asian so its OK for me to generalise, and we were in Carlingford so :P) go from vertical to horizontal in the most hilarious fashion, trying to kick a soccer ball. (We giggled... much at this :D)

followed by listening to music on the picnic rug, fending off mosquitoes, swinging, singing and dancing in the playground.

Also got a phone call from my brother saying that all the beds at home were taken up because one got moved out today. So I ended up staying over at Kierans.
The next morning, we cleaned the mess we made in the kitchen the night before and then shunted off to Kieran's Church which will soon be in the Top Ryde Complex (a giant hole in the ground which they dubbed "their hole" :D). It certainly was interesting, being there at Kieran's Church. It's just like the ones that you see on TV with all those American people singing and holding their arms up to the lord, and I, a non practising, but baptised Russian Orthodox Christian, found the experience quite nice. They have good original music.
The other part of that day was spent thinking about how much I needed a job, followed up by a bit of job searching in North Sydney and

then finishing the novel "Watchmen"-Charles

Pointing Lasers at peoples eyes

Today was fun, spent the day (and quite a bit of money) in the city (thus the quite a bit of money) with several of daniels friend's that have incidentally become my friends. Phil organised another M9, lasertag thing before he jets off for family stuff in singapore. I missed the first one, so i made sure i could get to this one.

And there, i discovered that im pretty bad at this game. always came second last (just beat sarah, but she's a more accurate shooter) but i had fun none the less, though i would like to have more time and pay less, or have more time (like hours) and a larger venue. That would make it absolutely awesome.
Must do something like lasertag again some time :D

PHOTOS!

Rushing out of the house with my breakfast

This is Phil, and this is a conversation involving phil, chris and sarah (left to right)

Charlie's Angels Much?
Jocy with the Glowing Bowling Ball at the Bowling place next to the Laser Tag

We were the pink team... and we sucked! GOOOOOO PINK!

Just more about me

random quiz

I love sleeping
I watch more tv than I used to

I wear glasses or contact lenses.
I've tried marijuana.
I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship.
I believe honesty is the best policy
I curse frequently.
I've changed a lot mentally over the last year.
I've been told I have a nice butt. However, I don't agree.
I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal.
I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, didn't hurt and scar-free
I need money right now. who doesnt?
I talk really, really fast sometimes.
I was born in a country outside of the U.S.
I have a twin.
I miss somebody right now.
I like the way that I look.
I have cheated on a significant other.
I have a hidden talen t
I enjoy talking on the phone. But it depends who it is.
I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants
I watch MTV on a daily basis.
I have never been in a real relationship before.
I am one of the most overanalytical people I know.
I believe cheese should be its own food group it is soooo good
I have a problem expressing things.
I have lost a parent.
I've had the cops called on me before.
I have dated someone at least 10 years older or younger.
I am very shy around the opposite sex.
I enjoy country music. i prefer bluegrass though

I have dated a close friend's ex.
I'm happy as of this moment
I've kissed someone I knew I shouldn't.
I strongly dislike math.
I think ramen is the best kind of food in the whole world.
I have nothing better to do with my time. hahahahahahahahaha
Bought everyone in the pub a drink
Swam with wild dolphins
Climbed a mountain
Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
Been inside the Great Pyramid
Held a tarantula
Said "I love you" and meant it
Hugged a tree
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
Seen the Northern Lights
Gone to a huge sports game

Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Grown and eaten your own vegetables does chilli count?
Touched an iceberg
Changed a baby's diaper
Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
Watched a meteor shower
Gotten drunk on champagne straight edge
Given more than you can afford to charity
Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
Had a food fight
Bet on a winning horse
Taken a sick day when you're not ill
Asked out a stranger
Had a snowball fight
Photocopied *something* on the office photocopier
Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
Enacted a favorite fantasy
Taken a midnight skinny dip
Taken an ice cold bath
Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
Slept under the stars in a tent.
Hit a home run
Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
Adopted an accent for an entire day
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
Had two hard drives for your computer
Loved your job for all accounts
Had amazing friends HAVE
Taken care of someone who was drunk
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Danced with a stranger.
Watched wild whales
Backpacked in Europe
Taken a road-trip with your dad
Been rock climbing
Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
Midnight walk on the beach
Been sky diving
Visited Ireland
Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them I don't think sushi train counts like that

Visited Japan
Milked a cow
Alphabetized your records/cds
Pretended to be a superhero
Sung karaoke
Lounged around in bed all day
Been scuba diving
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Played in the rain
Gone to a drive-in theater
Visited the Great Wall of China
Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
Dropped Windows in favor of something better
Started a business
Toured ancient sites
Taken a martial arts class
Sword fought for the honor of a woman
Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
Gotten married.
Been in a movie I worked on 3!
Crashed a party
Loved someone you shouldn't have
Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
Gotten divorced
Gone without food for 5 days
Made cookies from scratch
Won first prize in a costume contest Rocky Horror, and I wasn't even dressed in propper gear... though I did end up getting the prize (kit kat chunky) thrown at my head :P
Ridden a gondola in Venice
Gotten a tattoo
Rafted the Snake River
Got so drunk you don't remember anything
Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
Performed on stage
Been to Las Vegas
Recorded music Ugh bad music homework
Eaten shark
Gone to Thailand
Seen Siouxsie live
Bought a house
Gone white water rafting
Buried one/both of your parents
Been on a cruise ship
Spoken more than one language fluently that was a long time ago
Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
Performed in Rocky Horror well not in, but i've participated
Read - and understood - your credit report
Raised children
Gotten lost in a character
Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
Created and named your own constellation of stars
Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
Found out something significant that your ancestors did?

Called or written your Congress person
Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
Had plastic surgery
Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
Wrote articles for a large publication
Lost over 100 pounds
Seen a Broadway show live we don't have broadway as such so I'd say any musical
Piloted an airplane
Petted a shark
Broken someone's heart -  not sure
Helped an animal give birth..
Been fired or laid off from a job
Won money on a T.V. game show
Gone on an African photo safari
Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
Ridden a horse
Had major surgery
Had frogs or lizards as a pets – lizzie!!! but we left her outside in a icecream container thinking she needed sunlight... poor thing boiled to death
Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
Slept through an entire flight
Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
Visited all 7 continents
Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
Eaten kangaroo meat
Been a sperm or egg donor
Eaten sushi
Had your picture in the newspaper
Had 2 healthy romantic relationships lasting longer than a year
Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
Gotten someone fired for their actions
Gone back to school
Parasailed
Changed your name
Petted a cockroach
Eaten fried green tomatoes
Read The Iliad
Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
Skipped all your school reunions
Been elected to public office more like community service really
Written your own computer language
Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
Had to put someone you love into hospice care
Built your own PC from parts
Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
Had a booth at a street fair
Dyed your hair
Been a DJ for a total of 5 minutes
Written your own role playing game
Been arrested
Gotten a Speeding Ticket.

Lol im so hardcore :P

YUMMY BURGERS!!!

(a sign and graffiti i saw in Newtown)


















OK so I was in Newtown with my brother, Alex, and I wanted burgers for lunch. As I go get money out, Alex stumbles across this Burger bar called BURGER FUEL. Its a chain that's inspired by cars. They have environmental sustainability practices in place (they convert their old chip oil and such into bio diesel to run their delivery fleet), huge burgers and a really cool, patent pending invention called a "DOOFER".

Now this.. is a DOOFER

And this is what you do with it (thank you Alex for the Brilliant photo :D)









Basically its something to hold your burger so you don't spill things out the bottom.

Ingenious really.
Anyway I got so much joy out of that one piece of cardboard.

I made a ChairWhich i dubbed
"DOOFER chair"
and proceeded to take photos of with various things on it...

Like this little cup of Aioli
Or these two bear finger puppets
(which i found in a store with really nice scented candles)




And I made a song about them, ok not made, more like appropriated the entire "Goofy Guber Song" from Spongebob Squarepants and changed "Goofy Guber" into "Doofy Doofer". The music video will come out later, once i figure out how to do it :D.

Also went to Vinnie's in Newtown and stumbled across a very strange shirt...

It looked like a radiographers vest. which had zippers where you can see the seams in this photo.
And it was damn difficult to get off!

I ended up buying a pair of Timberland shoes and Nike exercise shorts

So there you have it. My exciting day in Newtown :D

Lots of love
Charles