Australian Open 2008 - Jankovic vs. Paszek

It's just the first day of the Australian Open, and we're having quite a drama already. World number four Jelena Jankovic plays world number 39 Tamira Paszek. Paszek came out hard and dominated the first set 6-2. Jankovic knew she's in deep trouble, but she held out and relying on Paszek's many errors, won the second set 6-2. For the third set, both players are really struggling, fighting for every point. In my opinion, Paszek is the better, more consistent player, but Jankovic is not giving up without a fight. At 7-7, Jankovic had to call for the trainer because of some back problems. At 9-8, Paszek had to do the same. It's turning out to be a match of wills and physical endurance.

After three hours and minutes, Jankovic finally won over Paszek 2-6 6-2 12-10.

Walk, Lunch, Mass, Dinner

Went to Rodd Park with some friends for a morning walk. We started around 8:50am. By the time we circled the bay, crossed the Iron Cove Bridge, and came back to our starting point, it's already 10:30am. GF made it through the 7-km. walk with just a sweaty forehead. Not too bad. Brunch is at this Vietnamese restaurant in Flemington.

Since GF missed her Sunday morning mass because of the bay walk, I brought her to St. Patrick's Church in Church Hill in the afternoon. Turns out it's the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus today. No special ceremonies though. After the 1-hour mass, we proceeded to Bicentennial Park in Rozelle/Glebe for the first Sydney Shakespeare Festival. Tickets to the outdoor play cost $25, but the organizers are offering a 2-for-1 promo for the first two weekends. I wanted to book the tickets online early on since there's no booking fee anyway, but GF suggested we buy at the gate since she doesn't think it'll be sold out anyway. Good thing I listen to her. It was drizzling earlier on, and by the time I went back to the car to pick up the lawn chairs, it's positively raining already. A few people braved the rains and sat under the surrounding trees. Not wanting to get wet, we ditched the play, and just had dinner at Broadway Shopping Centre. The title of the play? Much Ado about Nothing.

Book 2008.01.11 - Fat, Forty and Fired

A timely, insightful, and inspiring story of a man who was downsized (his company and not his waistline), and spent a year taking stock and living the life he really wanted. Among the things he did:

• giving up alcohol
• losing 20 kilos
• do some hands-on parenting: taking the kids to school, packing their lunches, helping out in the school canteen, going away on Lads and Dads trips
• week-long vacation in Tasmania with his mate
• preparing for the Bondi-to-Bronte ocean race
• picking up surfing and long-distance running again
• learning to paint
• vacation/second honeymoon in London, France, and Italy

Nine months down the road, he was offered a job, and he was back on the hamster wheel (or rat race, depending on your preference).

Forget the funny stories and the anecdotes. If there's one thing to be learned from this book, it is this. I quote:

"I have a confession - looking after four young children isn't always as rewarding as performing well in a business meeting. It is sometimes fantastic to be able to leave the domestic chores behind and go on a business trip. I do get a large part o f my identity from my role at work. I find it enormously satisfying and motivating to be part of a group of people that is engaged in common endeavor towards a shared goal..... So am I recommending all men to just give up trying to lead more balanced lives? No, I'm not recommending anything. I haven't got any answers. I do, however, look at things in a different way now. I have stopped looking for perfection. Having spent my life so far seeing only black and white, I am now more comfortable with grey. Life is hard, and as far as I can see it will be hard. The vast majority of us will always have to struggle - whatever lifestyle choices we make. Admitting this to myself was liberating in its own right. I then started to put my focus on trying to enjoy the struggle rather than attempting to create a mythical stress-free nirvana. I've started to praise myself for the small victories rather than beat myself up for the bigger failure of not having a perfect life."

Wollongong and Kiama

Already my third time to Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong, and still I managed to get lost. First two times I mapped the route using the street directory. This time, I had a TomTom GPS navigator to guide me. Go figure. We thought we entered the correct address into the GPS device, but apparently not. Worse, we gave the same address to a friend who's meeting up with us, so both cars got lost at the same time. In the end, we managed to find Nan Tien Temple the old-fashioned way - by asking directions from the guy on the street. In case I forget, this is how to get to the temple. From the freeway, take the Five Island Road exit. Once you hit this big roundabout, take the first exit (left) to Gladstonbury. Further on, you see the temple on your right along Berkeley Road.

Nothing much has changed since I last came here. The only new thing I discovered in the temple grounds is this Gratitude Bell on top of a hill. It's about 7-10 minutes walk from the main temple. Unlike the drum and bell in the main temple, you can actually ring the Gratitude Bell using a hanging log. Just remember to put in a donation.

From Nan Tien Temple, we proceeded to the city centre. Parked at the Wollongong Central Shopping Centre, and had lunch at the food court. Then, off to the Kiama Blowhole Point. There's even less to see here. Aside from the blowhole and the lighthouse, there's not much else. Spent most of the afternoon down at the fish-and-chips restaurant looking at the birds and the pelicans.

Barbecue and Tennis

It was supposed to be a day of barbecue and tennis at GF's place. Bad weather intervened, so instead we fried and grilled the steak and sausages and drumsticks, and had an afternoon of karaoke. In terms of entertainment value, that Magic Sing beats tennis hands down. Everybody had a chance with the mic. Highest score for the day was 95. Guess who set it? :-)

Book 2008.01.04 - Air Babylon

Written by the co-author of Hotel Babylon, I guess Imogen Edwards-Jones went around interviewing airport ground staff and stewards/stewardesses to come up with this book. Air Babylon basically a collection of strange stories and amusing anecdotes about the airline industry that travelers would rather not know about:

• What happens when a passenger dies mid-flight? Due to lack of space, sometimes the corpse is just stashed in the toilet, then wheeled out in a trolley. That's if rigor mortis hasn't set in yet. If the first-class passengers don't mind/care/know, dump him in first class, put on an oxygen mask, and pretend he's resting. The bad thing is, everything comes out when you're dead, so the seat covers need to be changed once all the passengers have disembarked. Also, when a passenger is taken ill or dies mid-flight, the captain is supposed to land at the nearest airport. This almost always never happens because any deviation from flight schedule costs bazillions of dollars. They don't even call the time of death in real-time because it's easier to get a death certificate at the destination on terra firma.
• What's the best way to beat the airport queues? Pretend you can't walk and demand a wheelchair. This gets you a personal porter, who'll take you through customs and passport control, and even pick up your bags. Once in the arrival area, people miraculously jump up from the wheelchairs and rush to their waiting friends and relatives. The airlines got wise to this, and some are charging extra fees for use of the wheelchairs.
• Why airline food doesn't taste good? That's because airline food is packed in preservatives, drenched in chemicals, and high in salt and fat content. They're supposed to *look* nice and palatable, and have at least two colors on the plate. Catering companies make huge profits off airline food. Just imagine how many meals are served on a typical flight. None of the cooks are chef standard - they just prepare the food.
• Why do you need to be nice to the check-in girls and the stewardesses? It's a tightly-knit gang - offend one of them and you can be sure your entire flight will be hell. The check-in girl won't give you the window seat even if there are lots available. Heck, they'll even put you between two of the fattest people on the flight. But wait, there's more: they fart silently in your face when they bend over; they wipe your steak on the toilet seat before serving it to you; they spit on the drinks you order, or worse they lace it with laxative.
• How to get an upgrade? People come up with all sorts of reasons to get an upgrade: wife is pregnant, wife on her period, wife having the flu, wife having a bad headache, we're honeymooners, etc. Easiest way to get an upgrade? Try slipping a bribe inside your passport. It's illegal to do so, but depending on the check in girl's integrity, she might just pocket the money and upgrade you. Heck, some even allow in illegal immigrants with forged passports.

There's lots more stories to tell, and they all happen during 24 hours in the life of a duty airport manager at London Heathrow.

Oaks Hotel Dinner and Kurraba Street Tea

Another last-minute dinner invitation from GF. Her good buddy is moving down to Melbourne, so the gang wanted to have a farewell dinner with her before she leaves. GF's lucky I'm anti-social and don't have much on during weeknights.

Long story as to why I'm in the office when I'm officially on leave, but there I was, so I hang around till 6:30pm. She picked me up from office and drove us over to The Oaks Hotel at Neutral Bay. The garden dining area was pretty crowded. Good thing we managed to snag a couple of tables to accommodate the group. We would've gone for the steaks, but it turned out that even at $24, you still have to DIY, so we opted for the Caesar salad and the Peking duck sausage pizza instead. Not the best, but not too bad. After we're done with the food and the picture-taking, we continued on to Kurraba Road for a nightcap.

Post-NY

Was supposed to go to Watson's Bay today, but GF doesn't fancy another long walk. So we ended up having spaghetti lunch at her place, then shopping for a rashvest at the swimwear outlets at DFO Homebush and Westfield Burwood for her cousin. Had coffee at the food court, then back to her house for some quality TV time.

NYE 2008

After a quick dinner of fried rice, grilled spatchcock, and pork adobo, GF and I headed down to the city for the NYE fireworks. As usual, this year's fireworks extravaganza is supposed to be the best ever. By 8:30pm we were already on the Pyrmont Bridge. I searched out my colleague and turned over the emergency pager to him. From here on, I'm a free man - till the second week of January.

This is the first time I watched the 9pm fireworks on the bridge. I must say it is spectacular. The firing barges are just in front of us and the fireworks display is really up close and personal. You can hear and feel the explosions, which makes it all the more exciting. With time to kill till the midnight fireworks, GF met up with some of her friends for some picture-taking before they headed for Circular Quay. Us, we just stayed around the Pyrmont Darling Island area till twelve. We had a pretty good view of the Harbour Bridge and the CBD skyscrapers participating in the fireworks display. From our vantage point, we can actually see three to four sets of the fireworks. It's not as good as the 9pm one though because they all seem so distant and the explosions a bit muffled. After 4 straight years of watching the NYE fireworks, the magic tends to wear off a bit. Anyway, it's still a pretty good show. Happy new year, everyone!