As my parents will attest, I'm a bit obsessed with this reality TV show called "Australian Border Security" which follows the work of Australian immigration/customs officers as they deal with passengers coming through Sydney and Melbourne Airports, inspecting packages coming into the country, chasing down boats fishing illegally in the Northern waters, and tracking down immigrants working in the country without the proper visa.
You can watch a clip here:
My interest in this show started with my getting charged $80 for having an illegal pine cone in my overseas shipment of my belongings from the U.S. I had this huge crate of things shipped over with everything from my coffee table, bed frame, clothes and amongst all those things - they find one pine cone amongst my Christmas tree decorations. And just to toss out this "prohibited" item, they charged me $80! See earlier blog on this here.
And it's continued as my family sends me my favorite foods and snacks from Trader Joes. I've already learned that anything with banana's is "prohibited" as are cranberries. But raisins, dried apricots, dried pineapples, dried mangoes - they are all OK.
Most recently my wonderful parents shipped me my favorite cereal from Trader Joe's and upon opening the package I realized that Australian Quarantine and Inspections had checked out the cereal. They actually opened the box (but not the bag the cereal was in inside) and probably shook the contents around to make sure it was indeed Maple Pecan Cluster cereal from TJ's. And as you'll see - it passed!
I had a bowl this morning with fresh blueberries (thank you Mom and Dad!). Note: 128 grams of blueberries = 4.4 oz and cost $4.48 at my local grocery store. I'll cover the expense of groceries here in Sydney in a later blog.
Have you ever heard the saying that "everything happens in threes"? Well I certainly hope not! February's been a bad luck month as it relates to my driving/cars with:
1. Parking ticket of $84. Parking signs are so confusing here - I looked around and couldn't immediately see any parking meters either. Now I know to pay particular attention to what's written under "2P" - it'll either say nothing (meaning you don't have to put money in the meter) or "ticket" (meaning I should have looked harder for a parking meter). Note: 2P means it's a 2 hour time zone - who knows what the "P" stands for...
2. Speeding ticket for going 95km/h (60mph) in an 80km/h (50mph) zone on the Eastern Distributor. This was the first time I got a speeding ticket in the mail because my speeding was caught not by a police officer but a speeding camera in the tunnel. When I paid online (yikes it was an expensive $197 ticket) the New South Wales State Debt Recovery Office was kind enough to also provide 3 photos of my offence which I was also allowed to download for free (and which I share with you below).
And with this offence I also received 3 demerit points. In looking online, if an Australian driver gets 12 demerit points, their driver's license may be taken away. Since I'm not allowed to apply for an Australian Driver's License (only permanent residents can get one) and am permitted to drive on my California Driver's License (which had been stolen, but I've gotten it successfully replaced), I wonder what relevance 3 demerit points have to me? Well, I'm going to be more cognizant of the speed limits so I won't have to find this out!
It's hard to believe, but there's a man named Kevin Murphy (called "King of the Channel") who's swum the English Channel 34 times! The last time he did it in 15 hours and 14 minutes. And he traveled from the UK to participate in the award presentations at the North Bondi Classic.
In addition to recognizing the "King of the Channel", three other people who have swum the English Channel were also recognized and this included my friend Dori who had the fastest time in 2008 for swimming across the English Channel and who later this year in August 2010 plans to do a "double" which means swim across the Channel and back again
Note: Swimming the 21-mile English Channel is considered the "Everest of open-water swimming." People who swim the English Channel have to deal with very cold water (60 degrees F) and the stress of dodging sea traffic in one of the world's busiest shipping corridors. Yikes!
In this FlipVideo, Kevin shares how he was persuaded to swim the Channel and Dori talks about what was unique about her Channel crossing - she did it at night!
Yahoo! Four from the North Sydney Masters won awards! Colin placed in his age group in the 1K, Dori won in her age group for both the 1k and the 2k, Helen won her age group in the 1K and Bob placed in his age group (70+) in the 2K.
One of my New Year's resolutions was to get fit again. Before I moved to Australia, I was in the best shape ever as I'd been training for a 2.4 mile swim as part of an Ironman Triathlon Relay Team. Since moving to Australia though, I've gained a bit of weight (all the drinking and going out to socialize) and have not worked out very regularly.
But with the start of 2010, I've reinvigorated my fitness routine. And part of this involved signing up for an ocean water swim.
Today I did a 1K (.62 miles) swim at the North Bondi Classic although race organisers later reported it was more like a 1.5K (.93 miles). I did the shorter distance more as a confidence booster, next time I'll definitely increase the distance.
I'm pleased with my swim time, I did it in 24:51 and I was 18th in my female age group (34-39) which had 39 people so I was in the top 50%.
It was overcast and with the exception of the rough waves at the start and finish, the water was pretty flat. I enjoyed swimming in Bondi much more than I did Santa Cruz because the water was incredibly clear (visibility was 30 ft) and there was no seaweed or gunk in the water. Oh and the water was pretty warm too considering the sun was not out!
Near the end of the Flip Video you'll see that many swimmers ran along the beach to the very end before entering the water, to catch the riptide out to the first buoy which I at first thought was quite strategic thinking. Yet upon watching a few different groups I don't think there was much advantage as those that jumped directly in pretty closely converged at the same place as the riptide-advantage seekers, although the latter may have expended less effort swimming.
There were a number of us from North Sydney Masters swimming - some did the 1K only, 2K only and a few did both!
I arrived at Credo Cafe in Cammeray on Friday night a bit earlier than everyone else, so I was just hanging out at the bar, enjoying the live band.
It wasn't until Georgina and her husband Paul arrived that I realized that I knew the singer - it was Jackie who is the Intimo Lingerie consultant that I met at both Emma's and George's hosted lingerie parties. We were there to hear Jackie's partner's band play! They played a lot of great cover songs and we had fun dancing while it poured rain outside.
Peter and his partner just moved to Surry Hills and I got invited for dinner and a special dessert! It was wonderful to also meet many more of Peter's Telstra co-workers.
My brother laughed at my "'fro", Shell called it my "poofy hair" and I'm just really frustrated that after flat-ironing my hair for 45 minutes, I step outside and it's a frizz ball!
So, my hair stylist Neil worked his magic and layered my hair and blew it out Jennifer Aniston-style so it will be a bit more forgiving when Sydney's humidity does strike next!
This coming New Year's Eve 2011 will be my first in Sydney, Australia since this past one I went back to New York to spend it with my family. And because I'll be turning 40, it's also a New Year's Eve that I'm not particularly looking forward to... so I decided to turn things around and make it into an event that for the next 11 months I will eagerly anticipate!
Tonight I put a deposit on this 34 meter Seawind 1000 Woorabinda Sailing Catamaran for New Year's Eve 2011. As you'll hear in this Flip Video, I checked it out and I'm very excited about this fantastic catamaran that'll be a wonderful way to celebrate with up to 20 of my closest family and friends the uninterrupted views of Sydney Harbour and the magnificent fireworks at midnight!
It has a fully equipped kitchen (electric fridge, freezer), gas BBQ (captain will also help BBQ), toilet and private shower with hot and cold water, CD, radio (so we can listen to the coordinated music and fireworks) and MP3 player so I can play my favorite iPod songs, a great table/seating area, room up in front to lay-out and a platform we can use to jump into the water and swim. It'll be chartered from 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. on Jan 1 from Rose Bay and we can bring our own food and drinks.
Michelle - I just saw your email that you're coming to visit this Christmas-New Year's! I'm so excited! Ana and Scott, will you be able to join us? You'll remember that we once took a booze cruise on a catamaran very similar to this one when we were all in Club Med Cancun - I'll bring the tequilla shots!
While my friend Dori was also in Melbourne and we tried to meet up a few times, we didn't. But she did give me the idea of checking out The Great Ocean Road.
It was Australia Day and after talking to the locals at work, I learned that most spend the holiday BBQ-ing with friends. I looked at a few Websites of local activities which ranged from looking at some classic cars and to wood cutting competition and nothing really interested me. So, although it was rather touristy, I signed up for a Great Ocean Road bus tour.
The Great Ocean Road is a 243 km stretch of road along the south-eastern coast just outside of Melbourne. The road was constructed to provide work for soldiers returning from WW1. The road's also been dedicated as a memorial to war veterans.
The bus tour I took made about 12 scenic stops along the way.
1. Bell's Beach is where the famous Bells Beach Surf Classic is held each year. And a point of information for my cousin Mieko who loves Keanu Reeves - the final scene of the film Point Break is set at Bells Beach, but oddly the scene was not filmed here.
2. Here's the memorial archway marking the start of the Great Ocean Road and right before it was one of the world's most photographed home that's built on a stilt and provides an uninterrupted 360 degree view of the ocean. The tour guide said that the place can be rented, but it's pricey - wouldn't that be cool!
3. For lunch we stopped at Apollo Bay which is a lovely resort town and I enjoyed Spanish tapas at La Bimba Wine and Bistro. Didn't have wine, but did enjoy a mimosa :)
4. The most popular sight along the Great Ocean Road is the Twelve Apostles which are giant rock stacks that rise majestically from the ocean. The Twelve Apostles have been created by constant erosion of the limestone cliffs that have since broken off from the mainland starting 10–20 million years ago.
Originally the rocks were called the Sow and Piglets which is not very appealing so to make it more of a tourist destination and to give it a more austere name they changed its name to the 12 Apostles but even this new name was a misnomer because never (even in the beginning) were there 12 rock stacks. And on the day I visited, I could at most count 9 "apostles" or rock stacks.
I took the 10 minute helicopter ride (the last time I took a helicopter ride was when Shell, Ana and I took a chopper over the Grand Canyon which was majestic in its own right) and really enjoyed seeing it from high above ground and a nice panoramic view along the horizon. In the Flip Video you can also see one of the other rock formations north of the Apostles that looks like a seahorse (and is also called the sea horse).
5. Loch Ard Gorge is part of the Port Campbell National Park and not far from the Twelve Apostles. It received its name because of the Loch Ard ship wreck that killed all its passengers except Tom Pearce a ship's apprentice and Eva Carmichael an Irishwoman who was immigrating with her family. Tom rescued Eva from the water and they spent one night together before Tom climbed out of the gorge and found help. I climbed down into the gorge and it's amazing to think how Tom was able to climb out on his own without the benefit of the stairs that have since been installed for tourists like me. Interesting to note, on the bus ride home we watched the first part of a two part movie called "All the Rivers Run" that was loosely tied to this true story.
6. Just before heading to London Bridge (now called London Arch) we stopped at Port Campbell. London Bridge is another example of the erosion over time as the "bridge" which attached the rock formation to the mainland crumbled and on the day it did in 1990 predictably all the newspapers had "London Bridge Falls Down".
7. After we returned back to Melbourne I headed to dinner at Number 8 which is an Australian cuisine restaurant along the promenade where the Crowne Casino is located. I had a great view of the Yarra river and the Melbourne skyline. As you'll see in the Flip Video, all along the promenade are these gas lamps that "a la gas light show" every hour "light up" and boy could I feel the heat! It was quite startling, especially the hiss and echo that bounces off all the tall buildings in the area.
After we left the Australian Open we went to dinner at Blue Train at Southbank and then went to P.J. O'Brien's which is this great Irish pub that on Saturday night had a fantastic 80's cover band called Sexual Chocolate.
We had the BEST time ever dancing to popular 80s music until 2 a.m. We didn't want to leave but one of the gals that was with us had to bicycle back home (hard to believe, but she did).
I had an "a-ha" moment at one point during the evening when the band played Men at Work's song "Down Under" and everyone in the cloud went crazy! It was akin to Bruce Springsteen singing "Born in the USA" or the Beach Boys singing "California Girls" or Billy Joel singing "New York State of Mind" ... you get the picture. It wasn't until everyone was wildly singing the song out loud that it occurred to me that this Australia's jump up and down, rallying song.
And my friend Michelle will get a laugh at this as I made another lyrical mistake many years ago ** - all this time I thought the "Down Under" lyric was "He just smiled and gave me a bacon-like sandwich" when in reality it's "vegemite sandwich". Now that I listen to the song and read along with the lyrics I don't know how I got "bacon-like sandwich" but I suppose it's in my genes (my Dad thought it was "Blue Jeans, that's my girl" when Michael Jackson was actually singing "Billy Jean, that's my girl").
Note **: Shell and I argued (and of course I lost and should have known better that when it comes to song lyrics she's always right) about the Billy Joel "Only the Good Die Young" lyric which I swear sounded like he sang "captured on her rosary" when actually (and it pains me to say this) it's "counting on your rosary".
On the way back to Val's place we got the munchies and stopped for something to eat. There at this Asian bakery (that was open at 3 a.m. in the morning!), I saw what I'll call this "Funny Man" cookie which I thought my nephew would appreciate since just a month prior we'd baked cookies for Santa with M&M's.
The next day (Sunday), we checked out Chapel Street which many, many blocks long of cutting edge fashion designer stores! And being the end of January and nearing the end of the Summer holiday, there were lots of sales! I got a great, sexy sequin top for 50% off the original price!
On Monday, I worked and that evening checked out Federation Square where thousands of people were watching the Australian Open and at the same time watching the various dance and singing groups rehearse for the big Australia Day concert performance the following night.
The Australian Open was THE ticket in town and I was very impressed with how many people went to check out The Australian Open (about 60,000 each day) yet we never waited in line for long, there was plenty of room at the Jacob's Creek Wine Bar and we got in and out of plenty of the outdoor courts.
The day started out overcast and a bit drizzling rain so of course I had to do a rain dance to bring out the sun. And fortunately, it worked as it ended up being a beautiful day, bright sun but not too humid hot.
Here's a Flip of some of the tennis matches on the outdoor courts.
After a little while, George and I took our seats in Rod Laver Arena where we watched two incredible matches.
The first was between Roger Federer (Swiss) who was the #1 seed and Albert Montanes from Spain who was seeded #31 and won in three straight matches (6-3 6-4 6-4). What was most impressive was that Federer chased down every ball, I mean he really hustled to reach the balls that most thought he had no chance of getting to in time. But multiple times he got to the ball from the other side of the court - the slow motion replays would show us his fast and fancy footwork to show us how he got to the ball so quickly. It was amazing!
We saw Federer in the third-round and ultimately he would go on to win the Australian Open. In the interview after he won this match you'll find that he was very gracious and humble.
The last match we saw was between Venus Williams who was the #6 seed and the crowd favorite Casey Dellacqua from Australia who in her bio in the program was an avid scrapbooker! In women's tennis they only had to win two matches (for men it was 3 matches) and Venus won 6-1 then 7-6(4). I didn't understand the tie breaking rules but it was quite exciting to see the second match go into a tie breaker.
The talk of the ladies match was Venus' tennis outfit. She designed it herself (she has her own design label) and it was bright yellow. At first blush, it looked quite risque because the front had quite a sharp "V-shape" but if you looked closely there was a skin colored tank underneath. Similarly, she wore a skin color bikini bottom under her tennis skirt. But when the wind wiped up her skirt, it looked like she was naked underneath and there was a collective audience gasp (and a few whistles from the men in the audience).
After the last match we headed to Jacob Creek's Wine Bar for a few glasses of the very sweet tasting muscat champagne. While appreciating the view of the river, I noticed that the parallel road was Batman Drive and George was wearing her Batgirl t-shirt. And in a previous Flip Video, her husband Paul had his Batman t-shirt which you can check out here! Holy cow, Robin, we've got a Bat-fan club!
Otherwise known as 'Stralia Day it's a national holiday celebrated annually on Jan. 26 and is a commemoration of the arrival of the first fleet of boats (of convicts from the UK) in Sydney Harbor in 1788 and the settlement of a new British colony.
It's the opposite of our Independence Day which is our commemoration of our independence from England. In terms of "controversy", it's a bit like our Thanksgiving Day which at its surface is a celebration of the first breaking of the bread between the pilgrims who'd just landed in the US after "discovering the New World" and the native American Indians. I say "controversy" because many indigenous Australians view Australia Day as the beginning of the destruction of the native Aboriginal culture by the British colonists. Sound at all similar to what the pilgrims did in "claiming" the lands from the American indians and pushed the indians to the most barren tracts of land in the US - I bet there was little "thanks" for that from the perspective of the native American indians.
Australia Day was on a Tuesday this year, but Monday wasn't a holiday so I decided to fly down a few days earlier, work from the Cisco Melbourne office and make it a long weekend!
Oh, and thanks to a conversation I had with my friend Glenn last year I was inspired to check out the Australian Open which was taking place the same weekend. That combined with my friend Georgina interest in planning a "Girl's Weekend" meant we had the ingredients for a grand weekend!
The first night we arrived, we went to one of the many outdoor pubs in the CBD (Central Business District) and then on to a restaurant with a great ocean view on the beach in St. Kilda called Republica with Val who has a great place in St. Kilda's. HUGE thanks to Val for letting us stay over at her place, she was a wonderful host and a great friend!
On my way back to Sydney, I stopped off in San Francisco to spend time with my cousin Tetsuya and his pregnant wife Chamnan.
It took me a bit of time to get to their place because I was supremely upset with Hertz Car Rentals who refused to rent me the car I reserved at SFO because they "claimed" that I didn't have an official driver's license. If you'll all remember, two months after arriving in Sydney (June 2009) my purse was stolen (and of course my Calif. driver's license was stolen too) and when I called to report it stolen I was told that Calif. DMV will only mail a replacement driver's license if I request it in person. In lieu of that (or until such time as I returned to Calif.) the only thing they would mail me was this very, very lame tiny piece of paper that said this person's driver's license has been stolen and this served as my Calif. driver's license until I could get a replacement and that I was a driver in good standing (yet it had no picture, no seal, not laminated). If you saw this, you'd think I made it myself on the printer.
Anyway, I explained all of this to Hertz at SFO, let them know that the next day as soon as DMV opened, I was going to get a replacement. But they still said "no". I even told them I was a Gold Club Hertz Member and had rented cars from them many, many times ... had my passport and everything but still "no". So, I was forced to rent from "Fox Rental Car" which didn't have such stringent policies. To add insult over injury, when I arrived back in Sydney, Hertz had actually charged me for "canceling" my car rental reservation. The nerve! I had the charge credited but I still got charged a booking fee.
The good news is that I did get a replacement Calif. driver's license at the DMV the following business day! Still, going to the DMV doesn't rank high on anybody's list of places to visit on a vacation but at least it's done.
On to more enjoyable activities! My great friend Sylvie hosted a lovely brunch for me and my friend Brenda at her home. It was wonderful to catch up with many of my friends! And the crepes were very tasty as were the mimosa's. Thank you again Sylvie for your kindness and generosity! It meant a lot to me to see you and all our friends! :)
The whole vacation I'd been telling all my family and friends to come and visit me in Australia! And in particular, coming for New Year's 2010. Here are Sylvie, Carolyn, Seth, Alain and Karen committing to come visit me in 2011!!! I'm so excited!
And thank you Carolyn for the mani/pedicure - you chose a great place because it lasted until today when I just got a mani/pedicure. It was great catching up with you too!
I was so touched that my brother and his family and Mieko and her family joined me at The Gramercy Park Hotel for New Year's Eve. We had a wonderful Italian dinner then more snacks and drinks back in the suite (the hotel manager even had a complimentary chocolate birthday cake and French champagne sent up).
I'm not thrilled about turning 39, it just feels like I'm in a holding pattern until 40. But I'll absolutely be making the most of the fact that for one more year I can still say I'm in my 30s. And believe me, when I turn 40, it's going to be an amazing New Year's Eve party...I've already started planning for it now...
On New Year's Day we checked out the only exclusive park in New York City - Gramercy Park - to which we were allowed access (there's actually a key) to because we stayed at the Gramercy Park Hotel.
And of course, I had to visit Rockerfeller Center to see the Christmas tree and decorations. Tomu and I also enjoyed a New York pretzel (a few days earlier I had New York-style pizza too)!
Arts and crafts have gotten more complicated since when I was Kalea's age.
I thought the first arts and craft was going to involve putting colorful crystals into these outlined templates and then we'd bake them in the oven and they'd become beautiful stained glass Christmas ornaments. But as you'll see in this Flip, it actually turns out that you take this super, super sticky and stringy colorful and glittery goop and poke it into these tiny little areas in this ornament. Kalea's smaller fingers were much better suited for this art project!
According to the box, the second arts and craft project was supposed to be about painting these ceramic ornaments. Yet upon opening the box, it was quickly apparent that Kalea and I had to mix and make this plaster which we then poured into molds. Only after they dried (thankfully it dried in 15 minutes) did we paint them. And as you'll see Kalea did a beautiful job!
The Saito and Calugay families hosted everyone for Christmas dinner and there was lots of food, wine, and a new tradition of a gift exchange.
In the Flip you'll see these highlights: * Toast to everyone's health! * Japanese hibachi cooking * Call out to Tetsuya * Japanese-pronunciation of "vermouth" and how to drink a bottle of Jim Beam in one night * New Jersey in the House?? * Exclusive one-night shakuhachi performance by Morimasa Horiuchi * Yasushi held on to the "Snuggie" all night during a fairly decent amount of "stealing" in the Christmas gift exchange (Note: A snuggie is a blanket with sleeves so you can stay wrapped up and warm on the sofa yet still work the TV remote control). Are you using it Yas? * Ryu's friend Amanda brought these home-baked Italian three-layered cookies and Auntie Eiko enjoyed them so much she very quickly wrapped up a few to take home in her "doggie bag"
Kalea enjoyed her first Broadway Show - Billy Elliot - which was a wonderful combination of ballet, tap and spirited dancing. While Mom treated everyone (aunts, uncles, cousins) to great seats to the performance of Billy Elliott and an official program, I treated everyone for dinner afterwards.
Dinner was at Wolfgangs Steakhouse on Park Avenue where they had HUGE portions of porterhouse steak, lobster and even the baked potatoes were the size of a guinea pig!
It was a restaurant with an intimate setting (read as dark) so the Flip is likewise dark...
Over Christmas my nephew Kai caught a cold so while it was relatively mild outside we stayed indoors to watch his favorite movies (Spiderman the Movie, Justice League and X-Men: The Series) and do arts and crafts!!!
As I have always loved arts and crafts, painting and being creative, I thought it'd be great bonding time with my nephew. Together we painted a t-shirt of all the shapes Kai learned in pre-school as well as his favorite colors. We also put together this not-so-scary shark...
In commemoration of three generations of "Masa's" I booked reservations at Masa Restaurant and treated my family to an AMAZING gourmet Japanese and sushi restaurant that's reputed to be one of New York's Top 50 restaurants. It's located in NYC's Time Warner Center and its chef is Chef Masa Takayama.
It's a very small restaurant (26 total seats, one seating only) and is equally about the dining experience (we must have had 4 people attending to us at dinner, they changed our soy sauce after every few sushi servings) as it is about the food which is exquisite (truffles, blow fish, kobe beef).
I'm third generation "Masa" and by that I mean:
1. My Grandmother's name is "Masa" 2. My Father's name is "Morimasa" 3. And my middle name is "Masako"
Other than the chef another famous "Masako" is Crown Princess Masako who is married to Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan.
