neck crick

iPhone

2008-03-08T10:45:00.003+11:00

...so I lost my phone two days ago. That'll teach me for drinking three vodkas before dinner - then drinking a bottle of wine at dinner!

I survived an entire morning without my phone - which was very, VERY difficult - and couldn't take it any more so at lunchtime I bought an iPhone. After spending three hours on the phone trying to get it activated (Apparently my company doesn't like us using them for business), it's finally alive!

In a word - HOT. I love my phone. I wish my phone could get pregnant and have little baby iPhones. Except you know...my phone is male. And also ...is a phone ...and doesn't have a uterus.

OK...gotta go admire him some more. *touch touch touch*

Song of the Day: "New Soul" - Yael Naim

A Day in the Life

2008-02-21T05:19:00.003+11:00

...so here's how a normal New York day ends up for me.

6.30 am: Alarm goes off. Turn on TV to check the weather report.
6.32 am: Hang a bog. Check Facebook on my mobile phone. Poke everyone that poked me overnight (Hi Chris!). Shower.
6.45 am: Deodorize. Moisturize. Decide what to wear to work.
6.59 am: Kiss Matt goodbye and head out the door.
7.00 am: Step outside the apartment block and decide whether to take the subway (30 minutes door-to-door) or catch a cab (10 minutes door-to-door).
7.10 am: Arrive at work. Log on to Facebook. Poke everyone that has poked me in the last 38 minutes (Hi Chris!).
7.11 am-11.29 am: Work interspersed with Facebook poking and Scrabulous.
11.30 am: Order lunch from http://www.paxfood.com/
11.31 am - 6.29 pm: Work interspersed with Facebook poking and Scrabulous.
6.30 pm: Head out the office. Decide whether to hit the gym or hit Happy Hour at [Insert name of gay bar here].
6.35 pm: Arrive at [Insert name of gay bar here]. Proceed to down Ketelone and Sodas at Happy Hour prices.
8.59 pm: Order another drink in the last minute of Happy Hour.
11.00 pm: Leave bar to make it to the corner of 28th and 6th before the McDonalds closes.
11.10 pm: Stagger into McDonalds to order 10 McNuggets meal. Try not to make racial slurs to the workers (Hi Loan!).
11.29 pm: Finish inhaling nuggets and fries at home. Ponder running down to McDonalds again to get more food one minute before it closes. Decide against that.
11.35 pm: Go up to the rooftop to have a cigarette and check whether anyone in the apartment block opposite is taking a shower with the blinds open. If yes, call Dan (if he's not already up there).
11.59 pm: Swear to self that I'm never drinking again.
Midnight: Sleep!

...rinse and repeat Mon - Thurs. :)

Song of the Day: "Butterfly" - Kylie Minogue

Hello?

2008-02-04T01:40:00.001+11:00

...so does anyone still swing by here anymore?

p.s. Happy Birthday Matty! I love you.

London-bound!

2007-08-28T03:44:00.000+10:00

...so Matty leaves for London tonight to spend two months in sunny (?) England visiting his family and eating scones at high tea. What is with 'high tea' anyway? It'd be ok if it meant you're high when you drink the tea. I just don't get why people pay like...over $70 USD for tea, scones and cold sandwiches. Someone explain this phenomenon!

Anyways...all you London people, take care of my Matt until I get there! For future reference, I'll be in London Sept 21 - 24 and October 12 - 14 for weekend jaunts. That's a funny word, "jaunt". I do enjoy those jaunts. Jolly jaunts. Jaunt jaunt jaunt. OK I'm over it (jaunt).

Have a safe trip Matt! Try and avoid getting a mohawk while you're there. :) I love you!

Song of the Day: "I'm Not That Girl" - Wicked soundtrack. I'm on a mission to get tickets to see 'Wicked' here on Broadway (without paying $300 a ticket for them).

Electric Youth

2007-08-21T00:00:00.000+10:00

...so I recently loaded up a new workout playlist to my iPod and it features hits of the 80's that I remember fondly. One of these hits is 'Electric Youth' by Debbie Gibson. To my surprise (or disgust), I remember ALL the dance moves from the video clip. In between sets I was doing the dance moves in my head.

This "talent" is not limited to Debbie Gibson songs. I can pretty much recall the dance steps from every Janet Jackson video clip in the Rhythm Nation to janet. ouevre, and Paula Abdul's 'Coldhearted' and 'Opposites Attract' clips.

FYI...the rest of my 80's workout play list goes like this:

"Borderline" - Madonna
"Been Around The World" - Lisa Stansfield
"Don't Wanna Fall In Love" - Jane Child
"Everything's Alright" - East 17
"If You Leave" - OMD
"Just Can't Get Enough" - Depeche Mode
"Water" - Martika
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody" - Whitney

Any other suggestions?

Song of the Day: "Electric Youth" - Debbie Gibson...zappin' it to ya...

New York State of Mind

2007-08-15T07:26:00.000+10:00

...so I know it's been a month since my last blog posting. What can I say? Everyone knows what I'm doing on Facebook anyway!

I've been in New York for 3 months and 5 days now - some random thoughts:

You can't walk a block without taking in a whiff of urine.
You can't walk a block without taking in a whiff of garbage.
You get used to the smell of urine and garbage.
I know I was never short of alcohol in Sydney, but the past three months have been ridiculously vicious to my poor, poor liver.
There's no such thing as a "quiet drink".
Living in Chelsea rocks. It's walking distance from Macy's, Union Square, the Meatpacking District and most of the bars and clubs we go to.
My definition of "walking distance" differs greatly from Americans. e.g. From our apartment to the Meatpacking District is the equivalent of walking from my old apartment in Pyrmont (*single tear*) into the city.
Contrary to popular belief, New Yorkers are the friendliest people on Earth.
Not only are they friendly, but somehow you end up hanging out regularly after a chance five minute encounter.
Always tip the bartender big on the first round of drinks. The karma returns to you - usually in the form of shots.
I sound more Aussie the drunker I get.
Ironically, I've spoken more to my sister (who lives in Brisbane) living in NYC than when I lived in Sydney.
I miss BYO restaurants. It's never the cost of the food that kills you in this city, it's adding the cost of a bottle of wine, plus tax and tip. Suddenly dinner for two at the local Thai place costs $80 (when in Sydney it would've cost $30)
Matt has already seen Sarah Jessica Parker walking around the Meatpacking district.
My top 5 celebrity sighting goals in NYC are: Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Stiles, Jennifer Lopez, Heath Ledger and Spike Lee. Of those, I've only seen Spike Lee.
I'm absolutely loving it here.

Song of the Day: "Wait For You" - Elliott Yamin

Not-so Legally Blonde

2007-07-18T03:52:00.000+10:00

...so you know what I hate? When you do the bend-and-snap in front of the hot, new guy at work (who sits at the desk behind you) and he doesn't notice. Damn heterosexuals!

Song of the Day: "Because Of You" - Ne-Yo (No more Avril! WOOT!)

2007-07-11T11:38:00.000+10:00

...so I just HAVE to post about this. Someone sent me what I can only assume is a birthday present, ordered from Amazon.com. The only issue is - there was no gift card!

To the person who sent me the present - thanks! I owe you a drink. Reveal yourself! Please. :)

And why is blogger not letting me put in a title? RUDE. I'm titless. HAHAHA I mean, title-less.

Song of the Day: Still "Girlfriend" - Avril Lavigne. Damn earworm. I may have to give myself many, many papercuts just to distract my brain from that damn song.

2007-07-08T01:36:00.001+10:00

...so Blogger isn't letting me enter in a title for this post - weird. Anyways!

The title for this post WAS gonna be "32...and The End?" for the following reasons:

32 'coz...I turned 32 on the weekend. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes! I totally felt the love from across the Pacific, across the Atlantic and here in the US. I had an absolute blast the entire weekend which was filled with LOTS of laughing, a few hundred litres of alcohol and surrounded by great friends - both old and new. If you're looking for pictures on here, I've posted them all on Facebook. If you're not on Facebook (what are you waiting for???), the link to the pics is here.
The End? 'coz...well I'm feeling like this blog is nearing the end of it's shelf life. *shrug* I'm blogging less often and I reckon I'll probably use Facebook to put my pics up and uhhm...be creative. Maybe I'm just being all 'meh' with post-birthday blues.

Song of the Day: "Girlfriend" - Avril Lavigne. That bloody song has been in my head ALL-THE-LIVE-LONG-DAY.

Questions

2007-07-02T12:00:00.000+10:00

...so since we've moved to New York, I've gotten a lot of questions from a whole bunch of people. Here's a sampling:

Q: How are you enjoying New York?
A: F&#*kin' loving it. I read a quote somewhere that living in New York "...is like making out with your biggest crush in high school and then thinking - Holy crap this is really happening". That's how I feel everyday.

Q: How did you and Matt and meet?
A: We met online via gay.com. See, online dating DOES work! Some of my straight friends are only discovering this fact out. I used to tell people that we met shopping for lamps in Ikea - which, personally, I think is a more interesting story. :P

Q: How's your apartment?
A: Right now (until tomorrow! Woot!) we're living in the Financial District. For you Aussies, this is like living in North Sydney. Except take away all the interesting places to eat and drink and then throw in a million tourists every weekend. Oh, and also, take away all public transport options on the weekends to make it even more of a bitch to get around. Needless to say, Matt and I cannot wait to move to Chelsea tomorrow.

Q: Do you miss home?
A: This is a toughie. I miss my family and friends every day. Sometimes it aches - almost to the point of doubt - but mostly I'm having a great time. What's kinda cool is that the time difference between New York and Sydney make it great for drunk dialling!

Q: When are you joining Facebook?
A: I've joined bitches! Sheesh!

Q: What do you want for your birthday?
A: I *DID* want a messenger bag from Louis Vuitton but I have since bought one from Calvin Klein so instead...My list is: White and lime green boardshorts from Abercrombie and Fitch, A box of cupcakes from Magnolia, A case of sauvignon blanc, Bvlgari B.Zero ring, Voucher for liposuction, Brown dress shoes from Kenneth Cole, Dinner at Nobu 57 and uhhm... world peace. *smile and wave at the crowd while adjusting my 'Mr Australia' sash*

Q: When is your birthday?
A: July 8th.

Q: What are you planning for your birthday?
A: Drinks @ Bamboo 52. Drinks are free for the birthday celebrant so no guesses as to why I picked this place!

I'm sure there are more, but it's 10.16pm and Matt and I just came back from Zen Palate where we had tasty vegetarian food. Who knew there was such a thing?

Song of the Day: "Doesn't Really Matter" - Janet Jackson

Gay Pride and other distractions

2007-06-27T22:54:00.001+10:00

...so I know it's been a while since I've posted. Would you believe me if I said I haven't had time? To sum it up, I've pretty much been partying my liver into oblivion. Sunday nights are blurring into Tuesday nights are blurring into Thursday nights - the only difference is what time I wake up in the morning.

Some of the stuff we've been up to:

Above: Matt and I met up with our good friends from home, Rock and Scott, to attend Rock's cousin's wedding. Note the wonderful bedazzling on Rock's bridesmaid dress - unfortunately you can't see the even more spectacular bow on the back. We've never been to a wedding in the US before and were pleasantly surprised by an open (WOOT!) bar. It was out in Long Island which took almost two hours to get there, and only 40 minutes to get back at 1am. Bloody NYC traffic.

Above: We also went to our first US Gay Pride last weekend which was a blast. Luckily we were invited by a friend we met at the wedding to watch the parade from another friend's apartment. This allowed us to escape the heat (and also have lots of food, lots of alcohol and most importantly - air conditioning). The amount of people out on the streets was crazy. After the parade we met up with friends in Chelsea and continued to pound our livers into a million little pieces.

Above: Riss and Steve representin' for my people. I'll let you guys comment on this...

Some of the other stuff we have comin up include:

Atlantic City this weekend for some major poker tournament action. We've both been in withdrawals (and it doesn't help that texas hold 'em is on TV almost every day)
My bday drinks @ Bamboo 52 a week from Saturday
Headin to Miami mid-July
Headin to San Francisco end of July
Puerto Rico in August, Montreal and London in September, Paris in November. Woot!

Song of the Day: "Rehab" - Amy Winehouse. I just realised the irony of having that as my song of the day...

Pregnant!

2007-06-07T07:53:00.000+10:00

...so I just asked a friend if his wife was pregnant...and he said "Can I keep a secret?"

Can you guess who? :)

Song of the Day: "Flaunt It" - TV Rock

Cold

2007-06-05T12:16:00.000+10:00

...so why is it always so cold in restaurants in the US?

They're freezing!

Song of the Day: "At The End of The Day" - Les Miserable soundtrack

Yay!

2007-05-29T11:50:00.000+10:00

...so Matt arrives tomorrow into the US. YAY!

I've been having a whirlwind of a time in New York the past couple of weeks. Prinz, Charito, Charles and Michelle have been in town on vacation and we've pretty much been going out every night (and drinking. lots). I just came back from dinner and drinks @ The Sunburnt Cow and nothing beats an Aussie restaurant in the middle of the East Village where all the food and drinks are $5 on a Monday...AND we're friends with the bartenders and waitresses so we get free drinks and free food. Total bill for 7 people: $66. Woot!

We've also celebrated Steve's birthday (with dinner and drinks @ The Sunburnt Cow last Saturday) and Girlie's birthday (with a surprise lunch @ Steve's apartment).

I start my project tomorrow. I'm a little bit nervous, but mostly totally excited. I'm gonna be working across the road from Columbus Circle in the middle of Manhattan. I have a choice between the following two apartments:

Choice #1: 777 Sixth Ave in Chelsea - Plus: Great area, close to lots of trendy restaurants and bars, walking distance from all the gay bars/clubs. Minus: 30 minute commute to work

-or-

Choice #2: Trump Place - Plus: Great area, river views, bigger apartment, 15 minute walk to work. Minus: Not close to the gay bars/clubs.

Thoughts?

I know what I'm thinking...I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU MATTHEW!!!

Song of the Day: "It's All Good" - Fantasia

Happy 40th Anniversary!

2007-05-22T03:28:00.001+10:00

...so today marks 40 (!) years of wedded bliss for my mum and dad. For their anniversary, my brother, my sisters and I all put in to get them airfare for the Philippines in January 2008 so they can attend their 50th (!) high school reunions back home.

Tonight (well technically last night in Australia-time) my family back in Australia had dinner in Sydney. I also sent them a fruit basket, for my family to enjoy after dinner. It breaks my heart that I couldn't attend, but I guess that's a feeling I'm gonna have to get used to over the next few years.

To Tatay and Nanay,

For all of the love, support and warmth you've brought to my life over the years...

For teaching myself and my siblings your values and beliefs...

For sacrificing so much to give your family a better life in Australia...

For knowing when to trust me, and knowing when to let go...

For loving Matt for the simple reason that he makes me so happy...

For accepting me for who I am...

I thank you. I'm the product of the two most beautiful people on earth and I hope you're proud of who Ate, Kuya, Julie Anne and I are. I love you both.

Song of the Day: "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby. Every Christmas you could guarantee that my Mum and Dad will play this song on Christmas morning and hum along. Nevermind the fact that it was 100 degrees in Sydney.

Settling in

2007-05-18T01:11:00.000+10:00

...so I've been living (!) in the US for a week now and here's a list of the things I've already accomplished:

Applied for my Social Security number. I love sitting around for TWO HOURS while the bloody employees take their lunch break and shut one of the (two) teller windows down. SERIOUSLY!
Setup my savings account, checking account and applied for a credit card
Looked foolish when I asked the Personal Banker "What's a checking account?"
Finished my orientation for my "new" job
Met a few of my work colleagues at Long Island University
Gotten drunk with my boss. Well, drunk and kinda woozy. God bless red wine and Tylenol Extra Strength
Farted in front of my boss (happened in the first 10 minutes of meeting)
Eaten at White Castle (happened on the first night)
Gotten drunk with Riss thus continuing the rule that "First night Ray is in NYC we must drink". And to think Riss and Steve walked into the bar and said "We're only staying for one drink".
Drunk-called friends back home. Nothing says "I love you" like slurring into a mobile phone outside a gay bar at 2.30am.

Things still left to accomplish:

Start my project (hopefully next week)
Get an apartment
Receive my credit card
Do everything else that requires a US credit card (join a gym...buy movie tickets online...)
Matt to arrive (less than two weeks! YAY!)

Song of the day: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" - Lauren Hill

The final goodbye post

2007-05-09T22:49:00.000+10:00

...so I leave Sydney in less than 12 hours and I've said goodbye to friends and family (tonight...yes, there were tears). My final goodbye is to our apartment of three years. Unit C3 has been filled with life, love and lots and LOTS of laughter over those years. Here's a sample:

Matt and Maz in Matt's "studio" -

preparing the music for Maz's wedding.

The Sunday Dinner crowd - circa 2005.

Ed dancing up a storm - New Years Eve 2005

I still remember the first day Maria and I walked into our apartment - when we were recommended to check out the place by our real estate agent after the apartment we WANTED to look at was already taken. We knew it was fate when we saw the blue feature wall and the bathroom that looked like a disco.

...and so I start a new chapter in my life. One with different accents, different spelling and hopefully just as much love and laughter. Wish me luck!

Song of the Day: "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" - Janet Jackson.

I am drunk. Goodbye Sydney!

2007-05-08T00:23:00.000+10:00

...soi I am drunk right now, and mMattt and I are watching "LaS t cOMIC standing" and it's fucking funny. I am really sad about leVING. fucking caps lock. Like, i really can't wait to movde to the UASASA but like, I really areally really am gonna miss living in Sdnyney. Especially Pyrmonst. Coz like, t's the the est. I mean , the best. HAHAHAHA I am so lsaughing at my typinc skilglls right now.l Seriously! i ROCK! rucking cap slock!!!

I love my friends. And I also love suasuagfe rolls. Matt is heating up a suasage roll for me and I love him. I LOVE YOU MATTHEW!
!!!

YAY!

OK BYE

No song of hte day. Coz like, i Cant think of one.

Poo

2007-05-01T13:56:00.000+10:00

...so right now I'm in a workshop in New Zealand and I need to poo. I think it might've been the meatballs, party pies and carrot cake I had at lunch time. The problem is that it'll be an hour until I get back to the hotel, and most of you already know that...

I don't #2 in public toilets.

Well OK, that statement isn't entirely true. There were a couple of cases that I HAD to go because of ummm...explosive rhymes-with-Korea. One time was in Madrid airport and another time was on the plane coming back from the Philippines.

Steve argues that hotel toilets are 'public' because "imagine ALL the people that have sat on that toilet" (Did anyone else just 'sing' that statement to 'Imagine' by John Lennon?). I disagree because during the hotel stay, I'm the only one with access to that toilet. Therefore, it's private.

All this poo talk is making me need to go even more. Right now it's in my feels-like-a-punch-to-the-stomach lower intestine area. What's worse is that it's past the farting-will-ease-the-pain phase. ARGH! (the cars!)

Song of the Day: "What Goes Around Comes Around" - Justin Timberlake

Goodbye #1

2007-04-26T20:30:00.000+10:00

...so last Tuesday night (April 24th), Matt and I threw our big bon voyage party. All I can say is - wow. The turnout was amazing with around 130 people from all the phases in our lives showing up.

THANK YOU to everyone who was there or wished they could've been there and a special thank you if you bought one of us a drink! Everyone made the night very, very special and we appreciate it more than you can imagine.

I didn't take too many pictures of the night 'coz I was caught up in the drinking, dancing and laughter but here are a couple that managed to make it's way on my camera.

DJ Wagyu behind the mixing deck

Some of my high school girls on the dance floor

The packing for the big move has already started with about 35% completed. I started tearing packing our fridge magnets (for crying out loud!). I figure I'm pretty much gonna find a reason to cry every day up until we leave so I'll just used to it now. At this moment I'm pretty much equal parts excited (New York! WOOT!) and deflated (How can I leave behind such awesome family and friends...AND the amazing city of Sydney?).

Still to come...Goodbyes #2 - #10.

Song of the Day: "Escapade" - Janet Jackson

Brought to you by the letter 'L'

2007-04-23T15:46:00.000+10:00

...so the letter 'L' is pretty significant in my life for a number of reasons. The End. HAHAHA I just totally cracked myself up then. I guess you have to be here. *looks around awkwardly*

L - is the first letter of my last name.
L - is for loser, which in hindsight I kinda was in high school because I was in the debating team, public speaking team, newspaper committee, year book committee and a school council representative. Lucky for me I hung out with friends who were jocks and musos and they saved me from Loser oblivion.
L - is for liquor, of which my favourite is vodka. I have, however, been known to be partial to rum (both white and brown), Jagermeister and schnapps. The one liquor that is not my friend is tequila.
L - is for Louis Vuitton who make some of my favourite things in the world. Matt and I had matching LV wallets until some cretin stole his from the gym. I hate gym-wallet-stealers!
L - is for lasagna. For the record, Matt and I make the best lasagna EVER. It's one of our signature dishes for Sunday dinner with friends. Other signature dishes include roast chicken, seafood chowder, Malaysian fish curry and pavlova. None of these start with 'L' I know - I'm just bragging.
L - is for Linkin Park. Steve got me into Linkin Park by playing it incessantly when we lived together. I became enough of a fan to watch them in concert in Hong Kong. I dragged two of my friends along who unfortunately thought they were going to see Limp Bizkit.

...and lastly, L is for L-1 visa which is the visa I just obtained in order for Matt and I to move to New York City in 17 days. WOOT!

Song of the Day: "Lucky" - Britney Spears. I have NO idea how that song got into my head this morning but it's stayed in there ever since.

Food Cravings

2007-04-17T22:06:00.000+10:00

...so until I get my 8-pack ala Stevie, I'm going to continue enjoying my food. Today I ate: two shortbread biscuits, fried rice, two fried dim sims, spanish meatballs, crispy fried potatoes (no, not fries - they were tapas style), chorizo, potato croquettes and asparagus and fetta stuffed mushrooms.

That got me thinking to what foods here in Australia will I miss the most. In order:

5. Meat pies. No, they're not 'pot pies'! A real meat pie has to be filled with that creamy, meaty gravy and real chunks of questionable beef. I have to say I am impartial to the gourmet pies with cheese in them though. Oh, and also the ones with potato. Not to mention chicken and vegetable pies. Hell I'm gonna miss ALL OF THEM! I LOVE YOU MEAT PIE! *sob*

4. Sausage rolls. Sausage rolls are kind of like pizza - you can never have a bad sausage roll.

3. Donor kebabs. Gyros in Greektown in Chicago just aren't the same. I have my kebabs with barbecue sauce and cheese - preferably after 17 vodkas.

2. Sticky date puddings. Girlie had this for the first time in Sydney and was hooked. It was until then that I realised how great they are. Lucky for me, Matt cooks a mean sticky date pudding (and, for the record, a peerless pavlova).

...and #1 is *drum roll*

1. THE CHIKO ROLL! It's hard to explain this to a non-aussie but it's kind of like a spring roll filled with cabbage and unidentifiable 'vegetables'. Except the casing isn't flaky pastry like a spring roll, but it's kinda...crispy and chewy at the same time. The chiko roll has been experiencing somewhat of a renaissance in my circle of friends thanks to Ed. Also, chiko rolls do not have anything to do with Xerxes the drag queen Persian King from 300. *looks puzzledly at Ed*

Having said that, I'm looking forward to getting decent buffalo wings, mexican food, deep-dish pizza and chicken-fried steak. I'm all about (fatty, calorie-filled) silver linings baby!

Song of the Day: "Pictures" - Sneak Sound System

Going Away Presents

2007-04-13T08:21:00.000+10:00

...so people always have difficulty buying me presents. For some reason, they think I already have "everything" (which is what my younger sister tells me all the time before she hands me a gift certificate). That is so NOT true. I don't have a pony, a mobile made out of pipecleaner toys or my very own pirate! But I digress.

In case anyone was wondering what to get myself and/or Matt (but mostly myself) for a going away present, here's a list:

Gift certificate for Electronics Boutique so we can get more Playstation Portable games. I'm HOOKED on Lumines II (Thanks Chris and Sheils for the tip!). I'm playing it in my sleep and during meetings - which I guess is better than repeating "I don't care I don't care I don't care" to yourself. Hi Maz!
While we're talking about the PSP, one for me would be great. In black.
An "I heart SYD" shirt from the men's clothing boutique underneath Fitness First Park Street in the city. It's $85 which I know is steep for a shirt, but just think how good I'd look wearing it overseas.
A Wallabies jersey or Socceroos jersey - so that when Matt, Steve and I hit up some random Aussie bar to support Australia in whatever random sport, I'll look the part.
Lunch or Dinner before we leave.
A USB key. I think I'm the only person in I.T. who doesn't have one.

Here is a list of what not to get us:

A 5 foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary.

I'll post up the pics from the past few weeks soon - I know I've been lagging behind!

Song of the Day: "Iesha" - Another Bad Creation.

Boxing Class

2007-03-28T14:00:00.000+10:00

...so my workmate Nate and I did a boxing class today at lunch time. If you've ever done a boxing class, you KNOW it takes it out of ya. Anyways, we were stretching down at the end of the class to chill out music and I was in the middle of a stretch when I started to think about Maria's owl shirt. I started laughing to myself and then let out a HUGE, LOUD fart. The rest of the class was a mix of horrified stares and uncontrollable giggles. Needless to say I won't be showing my face in boxing class any more.

Song of the Day: "Shout" - Tears for Fears

Interview with Myself

2007-03-20T21:00:00.000+11:00

...so I'm totally tapped for blog-spiration so I'm copying Riss, copying Maz and interviewing myself.

Q: What's your theme song?
A: 'Above The Clouds' - Amber. It's basically about struggling through (in the song's case, a relationship) and being really, really happy. For me, it's about being completely high clubbing when the Gay Games were in Sydney -aka- the first time I was truly comfortable with being gay.

Q: What perfume do you wear?
A: 'T' by Tommy Hilfiger. I just started wearing it after about a two year hiatus. Does cologne go off???

Q: If you won the lotto, what would you do with the money?
A: Give half of it to my parents and siblings. Throw a huge going-away party in Sydney with an open bar. Buy first class tickets around the world for Matt and I. Settle down in New York in a loft in Soho. Open a bar in Chelsea. I dunno if I'd let my friends drink for free...I'd be broke in the first couple of months if I did that. ;)

Q: What instruments have you played at one point?
A: I tried learning piano back in high school, but I only only learnt one song - "Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson. How did my friends not know I was gay back then?

Q: What inspires and drives you?
A: My older sister who has been through two heart attacks (at ages 21 and 37), a double heart by-pass (at age 26), a kidney transplant (at age 29) and brought my beautiful niece and nephew into the world when she was told she wasn't able to have kids. She also cooks a mean lamb roast.

Q: What food can you not live without?
A: All of it - except eggplant. I seriously, seriously love food. One of my favourite things to do is to eat out with a nice bottle of wine and good conversation.

Q: Who do you tend to get drunk with the most?
A: HAHAHA anyone? Matt and I enjoy a bottle of wine over dinner a few nights a week, so I'd probably say Matt. The person I tend to get SMASHED with most often is probably Maria. Everytime I drink with Maria we always end up laughing the longest and the loudest at THE-MOST-STUPID things. Last week it was Maria's irish accent which sounds mysteriously like a 'pirate' accent. HAHAHA I'm tearing up remembering.

Q: How many times have you been in love?
A: Not including my crush on Steve (*giggle*) - 3.

Q: How many times have you had your heart broken?
A: Once. And once was enough.

Q: How many hearts have you broken?
A: One, I think. But he broke mine first, so that's allowed right?

Q: What guys do you find attractive, looks-wise?
A: Tall, mixed-race guys. Yes, I realise that's an obvious answer when you see Matt, but if you took a look at my track record you would find it dominated by tall, mixed-race men.

Q: What draws you, past the looks?
A: A creative streak, strong family values and the ability to let me be me.

Q: What type of guys could you never date?
A: Guys in the closet. I understand their reasons, but I've come too far and gone through too much to go back in there.

Q: What's been the best day of your life so far?
A: The day my sister came out of her coma after her second heart attack last year. That was also the day I came out to my parents. If you think that's bad timing, YOU try coming out!

Q: Short term goals?
A: Get a six-pack. Make the finals at Poker Challenge for the third season running. Lease a two bedroom apartment at Bowery Place.

Q: What are a few things about you that would surprise most people?
A: I enjoy doing the laundry and ironing. I also enjoy stacking the dishwasher.

Song of the Day: "Everywhere You Go" - Taxiride

Lunch

2007-03-13T09:26:00.000+11:00

...so after seeing the ABS-olute f-ABS-ulousness of Steve's uhmm...abs (see previous post) I've reduced myself to eating crap like this for lunch:

Yes, that is a take away bowl of steamed vegetables. No salt. No butter. No covered-in-cheese-and-then-baked. Just steamed vegetables. It's not on the side of say, a steak or veal cordon bleu. Just plain old steamed vegetables. *sigh*

Steve isn't my only abs-piration though. I'd tell you more, but I'm saving that for an upcoming post. :)

Song of the Day: "Dial My Heart" - The Boys

Gaming

2007-03-07T09:56:00.000+11:00

...so I've never really been one huge on video games. Well, maybe for a little while when I was living with Steve and Rhands and we were forever on Rhandy's Xbox. Rhands would play Halo, Steve would play Amped and I would play...Super Puzzle Fighter. Or Bubble Bobble. :)

However, this has all changed since I bought Matt a Playstation Portable for our anniversary. I know, I know - I'm the best boyfriend ever.

The first game Matt bought was the World Series of Poker game and now I'm totally hooked. I've won two events in a row with my custom player and now I'm gunning for the WSOP championship. My bankroll is around $1.3 million and I've won three (count 'em! Three!) invitationals in a row. Needless to say, Matt doesn't get to see his PSP very often. Oopsie.

Now I need to work on my skills at Bubble Bobble Evolution. Oooh and Super Puzzle Fighter comes out on PSP this Friday! Maybe I should just get one of my own... Come to think of it, a PSP would make a GREAT going away gift. *ponder*

OH! And I know this is totally random...but check out my boy Stevie's abs! You could play chess on them! A6 to B4 - CheckMATE *growl*.

Song of the Day: "Cherish" - Madonna

Work Funnies

2007-03-02T10:40:00.000+11:00

...so everyone has things that make them laugh at work. Maria has made me laugh more than a few times with her stories about asking for someones "coconuts" (she meant 'contact details') and how she occupies herself in meetings by repeating "I don't care I don't care I don't care". HAHAHA - That cracks me up everytime.

My favourite work funnies are (in no particular order):

- After working on a project for over six months, the project manager walks past me in the hallway and says "Hi Sam".
- During a meeting with some customers from Asia, the lady from sales said "Breast case scenario" instead of best case scenario and I almost died from stifling my giggling.
- In an email, the project manager asked for the 'Headcunt Report' ASAP. HAHAHA Headcunt. Gets me everytime.

Have a great Mardi Gras weekend everyone! *throws up rainbows*

Song of the Day: "The Only Way Is Up" - Yazz. My new running song.

Four

2007-02-25T10:24:00.000+11:00

...so today marks four wonderful years of being with Matt. In heterosexual years, that's twenty-eight.

Happy Anniversary baby. I love you.

We celebrated last night with the Astral tasting menu at Astral restaurant. It was one of the best meals ever. That opinion, however, could've been altered slightly by the amount of wine we consumed. We opted for the matching wines with each course - what we weren't expecting was a full glass of wine with each course. By the time we were halfway through our meal we were very, VERY buzzed. Woot!

Song of the Day: "Heaven (Candlelight Mix)" - DJ Sammy. The first song we slow danced to. One, two, three - awwwww...

Hungover

2007-02-10T07:29:00.000+11:00

...so I got drunk last night. We were at Ancient Briton hotel in Glebe celebrating Darryl's 40th birthday and within the first hour I had managed to drink five glasses of sauvignon blanc. Some thoughts:

- When the party has an open bar, I tend to take advantage of this fact.
- Not that paying for drinks has ever stopped me.
- Matt & I had kebabs on the way home which I'm currently tasting right now with every burp. Usually we get kebabs when we walk home from the city, but last night we actually got our cab to drop us off at the kebab place. I feel dirty.
- My tolerance (which has always been high) is especially high after our holiday. I'm just conditioning for New York - kinda like training for a marathon.
- I almost always wake up early after a big drinking night. It's just past 7am here and we would've gotten to bed at 1am.
- I'll be drinking tonight at a friends dinner party and again on Sunday night when I'm in Adelaide for work. *pets liver fondly*

Jerome was there last night. You may remember his name from my previous post "Top 6 hot half asian guys I know", but I didn't include his picture for perusal. Well, here it is! (Thanks Anna!)

Song of the Day: "Too Little, Too Late" - Jojo. I'm watching music videos and that song just came on. My typing is too loud right now.

Yummy!

2007-02-08T20:52:00.000+11:00

...so what kinda burger would you like? :)

Hint: Starts with 'C', ends with 'L' and has a hump.

Home Sweet Home

2007-02-08T15:45:00.000+11:00

...so we're back! Let me tell ya, it is GREAT to be home. I missed our bed SO much. We had a great time, but there really is no place like home. I haven't had time to upload all the pics yet but here's a select few to whet the appetite.

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Matt chillin in the lagoon near my Auntie's private beach resort. Check out how clear the water is! The coral (which was alive) scared me though - there could've been fishies lurking there waiting to eat me.

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Just some of the family in Iloilo on our last night. When I say 'some', I mean around 10%.

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Our hotel room in Singapore got upgraded (It pays to flirt) and we were treated to a VERY swish suite at the Swissotel. That's me waving from the bathroom which is connected to the bedroom via the bathtub. You can watch TV from the tub! Also notice that the tub itself has it's own separate (smaller) TV above the tap. EVERY hotel room should be like this.

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Matt in front of the Petronas Towers. Phallic much? He got reverse vertigo looking up to the top of the towers.

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I'll post them up all soon! Yay for being home!

Song of the Day: "Love You I Do" - Dreamgirls soundtrack. Told you I'm hooked :P

Things I Miss

2007-02-02T14:16:00.000+11:00

...so we're having a great time in South East Asia, but there are some things I miss about home. Here are some (in order!):

- Drinking wine. NO ONE drinks wine here, probably because it's so expensive. You can get a local beer for $1 or get a bottle of wine for $40. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to calculate the cost-to-drunkeness ratio.
- Driving. Sometimes you just don't want to walk the 2 kilometres from the gym to the mall. In thirty + degree heat. After you've just worked out.
- White people. Hey, I grew up in Sydney! It's funny 'coz a white guy who wouldn't even turn my head in Sydney (let's say...a 5 out of 10) gets elevated to a 7 here in Asia because he's "exotic".

Oh, and one more thing... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW RONALD BROADFOOT! We're going out to see the Petronas towers today for his last day as a 31 year old *single tear*. Matt, you only get better with age. I love you.

Song of the Day: "Fake Your Way To The Top" - Dreamgirls soundtrack (I'm totally hooked)

Stares, Traffic and being a VVIP

2007-01-28T19:53:00.000+11:00

...so right now Matt and I are in Iloilo, Philippines enjoying the provincial life. We arrived here yesterday after spending four frantic days in Manila. We had originally planned to only spend a couple of days in Manila, but we extended it 'coz we were having such a great time - thanks to our amazing hosts Coco & Pat. Just some thoughts on the Philippines:

- We get stared at. A lot. All. The. Time. The funny thing is, I'm the one with the problem with it and not Matt. Go figure. I also particularly dislike the point-and-stare combo (which is usually employed by a group of giggling girls working at a department store).
- It's all about who you know. Matt and I really lucked out by staying with friends (the afore-mentioned Coco & Pat) in Makati. They took us to amazing restaurants, introduced us to a whole bunch of people who subsequently got us into the VVIP (that's right, two V's baby) rooms at the hottest clubs. As those of you who may know me, I quite like being a VVIP. I could definitely get used to that.
- I could not, however, get used to the traffic. It astounds me that a 5 minute trip from Salcedo to Greenbelt (which would take 15 minutes to walk) takes an hour in traffic. Before the choruses of "Why didn't you walk you lazy bastard?" start, Pat is nine months pregnant so we couldn't walk. Nyaah nyaah to you.
- I love filipino breakfasts. I love filipino breakfasts even more when you don't have to cook it yourself. Ahhh the advantages of a maid. There's nothing like starting your day with garlic rice, fried egg, longanisa, crispy bacon and lechon paksiw.
- We've been going to the Fitness First here every day (something has to counter all the calories we eat for breakfast) and you know what? The Philippines is a pretty obese country for all the poverty that abounds. There are also 25 "personal trainers" for each person working out. I use the term "personal trainer" loosely because I look fitter than most of them.
- Getting an outside table at a Starbucks after 5pm is more difficult than getting into a VVIP room. There are people lined up for them for crying out loud. People who have finished their drink should also vacate their table. Don't they know who I am??? *throws tsinelas in disgust*
- The VVIP rooms (and the nightclubs in general) are like model catalogues exploded in the place. The clubs are probably the only place we don't get stared at. *sigh*

Tomorrow we're off to a private beach resort on a little island off the coast of Iloilo called Guimaras. Gotta work on that tan before Malaysia next week!

Oh! ...and happy belated birthday to Ed for last week! May 2007 bring you an abundance of mint green pashminas.

Song of the Day: "Hala bira Iloilo" - TV commercial here that drives me crazy.

The 100th!

2007-01-15T16:39:00.000+11:00

...so this is my 100th post! *fan fare* Not that that's newsworthy or anything. I've finally gotten around to posting pics from all the events of the past few weeks. Check out the links below when you have nothing to do at work:

Pre-Rhandy & Maria's Wedding - The stress and the release before the big day
Rhandy & Maria's Wedding - The Big Day. 'Nuff said.
Maria's 30th Birthday Dinner - Yum. The food AND Maria.

There ARE photos from the Bucks Day/Night (bachelor party for you Americans), BUT I have to filter them before posting them up. To uhhhm...protect the innocent. Here's a teaser though...

Above: Can you tell Steve's been working out?

On another note, Maria moved out last week which is a bummer. We've been living together for (almost) three years and seeing her room (almost) empty is like when Rachel moved out of her and Monica's apartment in Friends. "It's the end of an era!" - that is if you define an era as "a significant period of time which was fuelled by laughter, crying-over-Amazing-Race, singing, hiding-and-scaring, teasing-ugly-people-on-TV, pot-plant-death, expired-food and many, MANY bottles of wine". We miss you, Maria! *single tear*

Matt and I are off to Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia next week to visit our roots. By 'roots' I mean "Stay in luxury hotels and private beach resorts". This trip happily co-incides with Matt's 32nd (!) birthday on February 3rd, so don't forget to wish him a happy birthday while we're gone! :)

Song of the Day: "How Many Licks" - Lil Kim. I was on the treadmill today at the gym listening to that song and I *SO* wanted to pole dance.

Boo to Philippine Airlines

2007-01-12T11:14:00.000+11:00

...so Matt and I are flying to Philippines and Malaysia the week after next and I have to vent about the Philippine Airlines booking experience. They SUCK.

1. The website times out after I press the 'Submit' button with all my credit card details
2. I email them to let them know what happened and receive no response in four days.
3. When I book the same flights again, the price has gone up 2000 pesos.
4. I call up Philippine Airlines in Manila and they have no knowledge of my reservation.
5. I check my credit card bill and I got charged for the first booking, which they cancelled anyway.
6. I called the Philippine Airlines office in Sydney and they can't access the records because it was booked online.
7. They then proceed to tell me "I should've just booked it here". Uhhh...why have a website then, bitches?
8. When they DO finally find the reservation, the "system" has put my first name as my surname and vice versa. Hence the reason why they couldn't find my reservation.

Dealing with Philippine Airlines makes me realise what a bloody great airline QANTAS is. *deep breath* OK, I have to refocus and go to my happy place before I punch the next filipino with an accent I see.

Song of the Day: "Supersonic" - JJ Fad

Hot Half-Asian Men

2006-12-22T13:23:00.000+11:00

...so Riss tagged me with a post - somethin about 6 random things about yourself. Seeing as I don't feel like blogging about 6 random things about myself, I'm gonna change it to "Six Hot Half-Asian Men I Know". Much better!

Matt - my sexy boyfriend! Matt is half Chinese-Malaysian and half Australian...and all hot!

Jonny - my ex-workmate and ex-roomie. Jonny is half Chinese and half Irish. I keep trying to convince him that he should go gay but he never seems to listen to me.

Matt - my high school friend since 7th grade. Matt is half Singaporean and half Australian. People say that I started dating my Matt because he looks like high school Matt. This was not the case...*uncomfortable silence*

Joe - my workmate. Joe is half Japanese and half American. Joe took over the title of "Hottest guy at PeopleSoft" when Jonny left. One particular female friend likes him in glasses. Joe is also a DJ - not that I have a thing for hot half-asian guys who are djs...*more uncomfortable silence*

Kelan - friend from Hawaii who currently lives in San Francisco. Kelan is half Japanese and half American. Unfortunately he's also 10 years younger than me. Oh to be 21 again

Jerome - friend from university. Jerome is half Chinese and half Australian. He once stuck several marshmellows up his nose. He may have lost a couple of hot points after that. I don't have a good pic of Jerome so you'll just have to visualise him.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Song of the Day: "My Only Wish (This Year)" - Britney Spears. I love christmas songs!

Gay Jeopardy

2006-12-15T10:13:00.000+11:00

...so last year I had a blog posting which centred around being drunk. The following post is based on the "fact" that all the people alluded to below are straight. The names were excluded to protect the not-so-innocent, but on the same tip as "Drunk Jeopardy" I invite you to play...:

Gay Jeopardy - Who Am I?

8. (Male) I get massages from a male masseuse. He asked me to turnover so he can massage my front. I couldn't turn over because I had an erection.
7. (Female) Whenever I get drunk at Cockle Bay Wharf in Sydney, I like to make out with the nearest hot chick. Sometimes I like making out with asian chicks (@ Pontoon Bar) or irish chicks (@ Home Bar).
6. (Male) I slept in the same bed with my male best friend for six months. It started off "Brokeback Mountain" with him sleeping on the floor, but he gradually made his way into my bed. By the way, I have a single bed.
5. (Male) I like to get drunk and freak the nearest guy to me at the club. Occasionally I get so drunk I stand in the middle of the dance floor and touch myself inappropriately. There always seems to be a camera when I get like this.
4. (Male) Men have taken pictures of me in naked or semi-naked state. It's OK though because I've got 9% body fat.
3. (Female) I like to fondle other girl's boobs when I'm drunk. It doesn't matter that I just met the other girl.
2. (Male) I've made out with Ray's boyfriend. It was on a dare, but I think I really enjoyed it.
1. (Male) I buy mint green pashminas from Chinatown. For myself.

La la la... let the guessing begin!

Song of the Day: "Elevator Love" - Guy Sebastian

December Thoughts

2006-12-07T15:46:00.000+11:00

...so this month is probably the busiest month EVER. Apart from the three million christmas parties (with the corresponding alcohol imbibing), here's a taste of what's on offer for the month of December:

- Stevie's back! Woot! Pecs Ahoy!
- Matt's auntie from Malaysia arrived last week.
- Matt's sister, brother-in-law and niece fly in from London next week.
- Justin's back! Permanently! Woot!
- Jayson and Ed move into their new apartment in Pyrmont.
- Maria's family and friends from the US and Philippines start arriving into the country.
- My sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece arrive from Brisbane for Christmas.
- Both Matt and I made the Poker Challenge finals to be played on December 17th.
- Maria's last month of living with us. *single tear* It's the end of an era! An era being defined as "three years of love, laughter and lots & lots of wine".
- Rhandy's bucks night. I'd tell you what's been planned, but then I'd have to kill you.

...and of course, Maria and Rhandy's wedding on the 29th of December. I'm in a drunken haze just thinking about it.

Oh! I'm holding out on the most exciting news! I found out the reason I beep! There were electronic sensors UNDERNEATH the insole of my running shoes. For crying out loud. DAMN YOU FOOTLOCKER!

Song of the Day: "Chasing Cars" - Snow Patrol. Man I miss Grey's Anatomy.

Beeping

2006-11-23T13:55:00.000+11:00

...so you know those electronic sensors at the entrances of stores that beep if you're attempting to steal something? I beep everytime. I mean - EVERY. TIME. And before you ask, no I'm not trying to steal anything.

The most annoying thing about it is - I have NO idea what makes me beep. I thought it might be the metal studs on my Seven-For-All-Mankind jeans (Yes my jeans have studs on them. On the butt cheeks. I am gay.), but I still beeped wearing shorts. I thought it might be my new credit card, but when Matt put it in his wallet he didn't beep. Then I thought it might be my actual wallet, but when I left it at home...alas, I still beeped.

Maybe aliens implanted a barcode in my brain or something and everytime I make the sensors beep they're tracking my shopping habits. OK now I'm just freaking myself out. Can anyone working in retail help me out? I really, REALLY don't want to go through the christmas shopping season feeling like a dirty thief everytime I walk out of a store.

Song of the Day: "Can't Stop" - After 7

Wedding Gift?

2006-10-30T15:30:00.000+11:00

...so from now (October 30) until the end of the year I'll be attending three weddings. Of these weddings, none of them have gift registries so we're faced with either:

a) Giving money, or
b) Buying a gift which the couple may not like

My brother and his wife received a velvety blanket with a picture of a tiger on it. See? That's what people get when they don't register!

If it's really the thought that counts, maybe i'll just get them a virtual gift. Now there's an idea. Hear that Maria and Rhands? I think I'll get you guys Barry Manilow. :)

Song of the Day: "Fantasy (ODB Remix)" - Mariah Carey. I love how he rhymes 'Mariah' with 'pacifier'. Genius.

Ch-Ch-Ch-changes

2006-10-05T13:01:00.000+10:00

...so I resigned from work yesterday after nine years and eleven days with PeopleSoft/Oracle. Still digesting it. I'll blog more later...

Great Keppel Island

2006-09-18T09:19:00.000+10:00

...so how great is this - I thought I had accidently deleted the pics that Matt and I took on our vacation to Great Keppel Island, but no! I just put them in the wrong directory! Woot! NOW I can recap our vacation!

For those of you planning to go to Great Keppel Island, there's several things you should know:

- There's a small plane that flys you from Rockhampton airport directly to the island. The trip takes 10 minutes, but when I say "small plane" I mean SMALL PLANE. i.e. You can reach out and smack the pilot from the BACK seat. What this means is turbulence city. Anyone who's flown with Matt knows this isn't one of his favourite things.

- The wildlife on the island is CRAZY! In the three days we were there, a kookaburra tried to eat Matt's hamburger while he was eating it, a possum wouldn't let me have a cigarette on our balcony and two parrots wouldn't leave us alone while eating breakfast.

- Go in the off-season. The weather was still 30oC (that's 86oF for you Americans) and there was probably another 20 people on the entire island. We would walk to the other side of the island and have the entire beach to ourselves. That meant we could frolic like Brooke Sheilds and Christopher Atkins in "The Blue Lagoon". OK, *I* could frolic. Matt doesn't frolic.

- The one crap thing about these island resorts are the eating options. Basically for dinner, you had the choice of the resort buffet and the resort buffet. No room service (Damn you Mercure!). That wouldn't be bad if the buffet was any good - but it wasn't. Ahhh well, you can't have it all eh?

The full photo album is located here. Don't we look tanned? :)

Song of the Day: "U and Ur Hand" - Pink

Beer, Boobs and Bucks

2006-09-14T11:03:00.000+10:00

...so last Saturday was my brother's bucks night - for you Americans, that's what us Aussies call "bachelor parties". It was your typical (is there such a thing?) bucks night with lots of alcohol, titties and poker. What made this one particularly special for me was:

a) It's for my brother! He's finally getting married! and,
b) It was Matt's first bucks night. Although he HAS been to two hens nights... (that's bachelorette party for you Americans)

Now everyone knows it's not a bachelor party without a stripper - but Matt and I were feeling bad for her. We kept thinking what situation she is in to have to strip for a living - which I'm sure is not the reaction she wants. I was also feeling bad for my brother who had to endure (ok...for me it's "endure", he probably enjoyed it) the stripper while his future father-in-law was in the audience.

I also did not enjoy the stripper-pouring-red-(of-all-colours)-syrup-down-her-front-into-my-brothers-mouth (yuk). I also REALLY REALLY did not enjoy the sticking-of-the-lollipop-into-her-bits-and-then-into-my-brothers-mouth (YUK TO INFINITY!!!). However, I refuse to be hetero-phobic! I remember going to a gay nightclub in Santiago with my boys Rhandy and Steve who had to watch a (very attractive) male stripper with a massive erection proceed to face slap all the guys in the front row. If they can watch that - I can watch lollipops!

All I can say is...there will be NO LOLLIPOPS at my bucks night.

Oh, and that's me and my bro in the pic up there. I'm the younger one. Don't EVEN make that mistake. Nothing makes your day like your brother's friends who are pushing 40 thinking you're older than him (who, by the way, is 36). *glare*

Song of the Day: "I Say A Little Prayer" - from My Best Friend's Wedding. Nothing washes off memories of a female stripper like a sing-along from a romantic comedy. :)

I heart NY

2006-09-11T16:06:00.000+10:00

...so I know I can't claim that I've lived in New York (yet), but I feel a certain affinity to the city. Maybe it's 'coz I've been there 5 times in the past year. Maybe it's 'coz one of my best friends lives there now. Maybe it's 'coz the last few times I went there I felt so at home. Whatever it may be...on the 5th anniversary of 9/11 my heart goes out to everyone whose lives were affected that day.

I'm sure everyone has their "I remember where I was when it happened" story. I was living in Melbourne at the time and just got back from playing tennis when I turned on the TV and the first tower had been hit. I watched the second tower get hit live which was extremely surreal.

God bless you New York. I hope we're worthy enough to live in your confines one day. Soon.

p.s. The photo on this post was taken the last time I saw the Twin Towers - January 4th, 2001.

Randomness

2006-09-04T20:16:00.000+10:00

...so Matt didn't win the DJ comp. He didn't even place! ROBBED! He was so obviously the best (and hottest) dj of the night... Oh well, can't win 'em all right? The silver lining though, is Matt has new gigs @ Bar 333 and Republic Hotel! Woot!

- That sucks about Steve Irwin passing away. I can't say I was a fan but he WAS entertaining. May he be wrangling crocodiles somewhere out there.

- Watched "Snakes on a Plane" the other night. How fun is that movie! Although I may never pee on a plane again. Probably not the kinda movie you wanna watch when you're on planes as often as I am. They should make a movie "Gays in a Nightclub" - where gay guys get attacked by poor fashion sense and bad haircuts.

- I'm still winning the poker tourney we play on Wednesdays. The even better news is Matt's coming second! Last week I came 8th and Matt came 2nd. That makes the seventh 2nd for Matt (always a bridesmaid...) Don't worry baby, you're #1 with me!

- The pic on this post is another example of the drunkeness that ensues whenever Matt DJs. For all the pics from Matt's DJ heat, Bar 333 gig and DJ final click here.

- I'm in Auckland for work right now. New Zealand looks really nice in "The Lord of The Rings" trilogy - but Auckland ain't that New Zealand. Not that Auckland doesn't have it's good points...they have Wendy's! Hello Classic Triple Cheeseburger (aka insta-heart-attack burger).

Song of the Day: "Doesn't Really Matter" - Janet Jackson

DJ Comp Details

2006-08-27T15:16:00.000+10:00

...so for those of you in the Sydney region this Thursday, 31st August - come to Kinselas @ 383 Bourke Street in Darlinghurst (near Taylor Square) to support DJ Wagyu (that's Matty B to the rest of us) compete in their DJ competition!

His set will be from 9 - 9.30pm which means he's on FIRST so don't be late you people-who-are-usually-late! You know who you are. Mmmm hmmm I'm talkin' about you and you know it... Hope to see all of you there! If you're a blurker and showing up and I don't know you - just look for the drunk people dancing erraticly.

If you're wondering why there's a picture of a beautiful little island on this post, that's because Matt and I are off to Great Keppel Island tomorrow morning for a few days to work on our tans. Gotta look good for the judges! ;)

Song of the Day: "Baby It's Cold Outside" - Will Ferrel and the sales assistant chick (from the movie "Elf". It's been in my bloody head ALL. DAY.)

Poker, DJing and Alcohol

2006-08-21T10:45:00.000+10:00

...so I finally had a good week last week. Funnily enough, I was drunk for most of it. Let me give you a run down of how it went.

Monday: Played a Texas Hold 'Em tournament @ Newtown RSL. I didn't have a good run but I got drunk. Maria came 2nd though!

Tuesday: Played a Texas Hold 'Em tournament @ James Squire Brewhouse in King Street Wharf. I didn't have a good run but I got drunk. They had $3 beers for all poker players (they're usually double that) so I proceeded to have 5 beers before the first break. Alcohol does not a good poker player make. Matt made it to the final table though!

Wednesday: Watched Maria, Ed and Jonny play a Texas Hold 'Em tournament final for $3000. After a valiant effort, Maria finished the best of the three with a 14th placing (and she got out on pocket A's!). Matt and I played our regular poker comp @ Pyrmont Bridge Hotel. It started off with around 40 players and ended up with 2 - Matt and I! Unfortunately (for Matt) I was chip leader by about 10-1 and took him out in the second game. I'm winning the tournament, by the way. Oh...and I, again, got drunk.

Thursday: Watched Matt DJ his sexy ass off @ Kinselas nightclub where he did really well (still haven't heard who won yet). Lots of people showed up to support him which was great to see. I got drunk.

UPDATE!!! August 22nd 2pm - MATT WON! He'll be DJing the Final of the DJ comp Thursday 31st August...More info to come!

Matt showing off his skills

The roomies doing our best to appear sober

Friday: Watched Matt DJ his sexy ass off @ Bar 333 in the city. I got drunk. Compared to everyone else though, I was sober.

Jayson, Elle, Chris (where are you looking?), Maria and I

Saturday: Played a Texas Hold 'Em tournament @ Newtown RSL. Matt and I both made the final table - I came 7th and Matt came 5th. We then headed to the casino where we bumped into a whole bunch of school friends and proceeded to get drunk at the bar.

Sunday: Played a Texas Hold 'Em tournament @ Darling Harbour. I didn't have a good run, and I didn't get drunk (I had to have ONE night off the alcohol!). Matt made it to the final two tables but got knocked out in 18th place.

...and now it's Monday at work and I'm in Struggletown (Population: Me). No poker tonight. I swear.

Song of the Day: "I'm Ready" - Tevin Campbell

I Ebb, Therefore I Am

2006-08-10T11:05:00.000+10:00

...so I've been at a really low ebb for the past month. Before I commence my tirade, don't you just love the word 'ebb'?

Ebb(n): 1. The reflux of the tide toward the sea. 2. A point or condition of decline.

Anyways, before I rudely interrupted myself...so about this ebb. (HA! What a great word - I'm loving that this post has used the word 'ebb' six times now! Before you count, I included the title punkasses). I'm very, very wary that I'm about to come off as whiney and self-involved but hey - it's my blog and I'll whine if I want to.

Matt and I should actually be in London right about now. We should've been in New York two weeks ago, Lisbon last week and Paris this weekend. We were going to surprise everyone on the east coast (and be there for Riss' bday - surprise!) and surprise Matt's family in London whom we haven't seen since the beginning of the year. EVERYTHING was booked - including the Hilton in Paris and a room with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

Until it was cancelled. The night before we were to fly out. I won't go into the 'why' because...well, people have been fired for less. Since that night though (July 19) I've been angry and bitter and it's compounding like how fluff collects in the dryer if you don't clean it out. And poor Matt has had to put up with it. Even the girl at KFC had to put up with it when I got angry that she got our order wrong THREE TIMES (It's CHICKEN for crying out loud - not hazardous chemicals).

I guess this post doesn't really have a point. I had hoped that blogging would be cathartic, but I don't feel better. Steve has said that I should count my blessings. I say, it's OK to wallow in self-pity for a while isn't it? "If we were happy every day of our lives we'd be game show hosts".

On the upside though, I won my first Texas Hold Em poker tournament on Monday @ Newtown RSL beating almost 60 other people (including a Vin Diesel look-a-like in heads up play). See? I can still see the silver lining :P

Song of the Day: "Just Like A Pill" - Pink

DJ Comp!

2006-08-07T14:07:00.000+10:00

...so Matt entered a dj competition at Kinsela's nightclub and got accepted! If you have no plans on the night, come on down and support him. Even if you do have plans - cancel them! Details below:

Thursday, August 17th, 2006 - 9pm to 10pm
Kinselas
383 - 387 Bourke Street (Taylor Square)
Darlinghurst

Oh, and it's free also so no excuses. Don't make me glare at you to make you go. He has a chance at winning a paid gig there (which means he can buy me something pretty) or lots of dj stuff (which he can then sell on eBay to buy me something pretty). Now don't you want that for the both of us? :)

Song of the Day: "A Public Affair" - Jessica Simpson. It makes me think of summer. *sigh* I miss summer.

Birthdays and Other Stuff

2006-07-17T21:19:00.000+10:00

...so I celebrated my 31st birthday last week and MAN does it seem like ages ago already! Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate it or who sent their best wishes. I had a great time double-barrelling vodkas all night long. The pictures from my party are available on the right hand side or you can click here. Maria has also posted her pics on her website so take a look at those too.

Work has been kicking my ass at the moment with a LOT of travel, more responsibility and blah blah blah. You don't really want to hear about me complaining about work do you? Didn't think so.

On that note though, I'm going to put this blog on hiatus until things clear up a bit for me. I haven't had much blogspiration lately (or time!) so until then...

Song of the Day: "I Write The Songs" - Barry Manilow

Birthday Wishes

2006-07-03T16:23:00.000+10:00

...so some people have been asking me what I want for my birthday because apparently "I'm hard to buy a present for". I don't think so, but here...let me make it easier for you all!

Things I would like for my birthday:
- Louis Vuitton Keepall 55. You know, for my gym gear and stuff.
- Bigger pecs. If you're gonna get me that, please enquire if they have a pecs + liposuction gift pack. :)
- Asics Gel Kayanos in blue/silver. Size 7 US.
- Biotherm Homme Anti-Rides Line Peel. I ain't gettin any younger so I might as well do something about that now!
- Biotherm Homme Hydra-Detox Anti-Dullness Peel Off Mask. See above comment.
- Clear skin for life. See above two comments.
- Calvin Klein Boxer Briefs. My new Seven-For-All-Mankind jeans are too tight to wear normal boxers.
- L'Occitane Linen Water in Spray Bottle. In lavender please, Matt doesn't like the other fragrance.
- Voucher for Borders.
- Video iPod running arm band. The Nike one is hot.
- Polar Heart Rate Monitor. This one tells you pretty much everything except alcohol content from last night's drinking binge and what song's next on your iPod!
- Australia to be magically back in the World Cup. Robbed!

Uhhhm I'm sure I could go on but the list would start to get ridiculous. If in doubt, ask Matt!

Song of the Day: "Rock With You" - Michael Jackson.

Where's the Party?

2006-06-22T11:39:00.000+10:00

...so I'll be turning the big(gish) THREE ONE in a couple of weeks and because I didn't get to have the big-drunken-party last year, I'm gonna have one this year! If you haven't received your invite yet it's probably because:

a) You live overseas, or
b) You live interstate, or
c) I don't have your email address, or
d) You're a blurker and I don't know you

If it's a) or b), sorry I can't really help you out with airfare to fly over for the party. I'm not P Diddy. :)

If it's c), leave your email address at the beep and I'll forward you the invite.

If it's d) and you're hot - come along and bring your hot friends!

Woot!

Song of the Day: "No Diggity" - Blackstreet

I (Will Always) Still Call Australia Home

2006-06-14T10:04:00.000+10:00

...so just like every other Australian in the world right now, I'm being swept up in the World Cup frenzy. I love how Aussies will support any Australian team, in any sport, with a ridiculous fervor (usually fuelled by alcohol). This got me to thinking how much I would miss Australia were Matt and I to move overseas. Things I would miss (apart from the obvious family and friends) include:

- Cottonelle toilet paper with the little doggies on it. Call me crazy ("Crazy!") but wiping my ass with ridged toilet paper with pictures of little doggies on it makes me smile.
- 24 Hour Doner Kebab places. OK so they have these in London also, but they don't have them in the US. You guys have White Castle though. White Castle vs Doner Kebab...ooooh that's a toughie.
- Roundabouts. I hate 4-way stop signs with a passion.
- The Beaches in Sydney. No other big city in the world (and no, Honolulu is NOT a big city) have beaches so close to the city that you can swim in. The swimming part rules out Los Angeles.

I could go on but then I'd have to go into a lot of specifics. If we moved to the US though, there's a ton of things to look forward to. There's White Castle, happy hour drinks @ The Cantina (LA) and The Cafe (SF), Bounce dryer sheets, Magnolia cupcakes, Cable TV, Weekend trips to Las Vegas, obesity, Karaoke @ Chelsea Grill (NY)...but will all of that trump Cottonelle toilet paper with the little doggies on it? THAT, my friends, is the question.

Song of the Day: "Around The World" - Aqua. It's on my Workout playlist. Give me a break!

Photos that make me laugh

2006-06-08T11:57:00.000+10:00

...so you know when you're in a shitty mood and you just need a reason to lighten up and laugh? That's the mood I'm in now. Occasionally when I get in that mood I peruse my photo archives and I find that THESE photos always ALWAYS make me laugh.

Photo 1: Steve @ Moonstruck Diner in New York 2006. OK so technically this one isn't in my photo archive but dude...this cracks me up no end. You had to be there.

Photo 2: Steve @ AER Lounge in New York NYE 2005. Last one of Steve, I swear - but there's SO MUCH to choose from! BTW, what is with straight guys totally acting gay when they're drunk?

Photo 3: Maria @ Hunter Valley 2003. This photo was taken just before we got kicked out of the art gallery.

Photo 4: Rhandy @ Bar Cleveland on his bday 2003. I heart drunk Rhandy.

Photo 5: The Gang @ Hunter Valley 2003. I LOVE that Matt's laughing so hard he's gonna shit a kidney in this picture. Again, I heart drunk Rhandy.

...et Voila! No more shitty mood.

Song of the Day: "Red, Red Wine" - UB40

Coming Out - Part One

2006-06-02T09:35:00.000+10:00

...so every gay man (and woman) who no longer lives in the closet has a coming out story. I, being as multi-layered as I am, have several. I'm breaking it all up into several installments so that when I have absolutely no blogspiration I can dig up a coming out story! I'm a forward planner like that.

The Best Friends Coming Out Story

It was approaching New Years 2001 and at that time I was living in Melbourne, Rhandy was in Sydney and Steve was in London. We decided to meet up somewhere in the middle for New Years and New York was decided upon. Even though it was a 24 hour flight for me and Rhands and an 8 hour flight for Steve. I digress.

By the way, NYE 2001 happened to be when the biggest snow storm in 100 years decides to hit New York. I got into New York early and checked into the our hotel but Rhands was stuck in LA until Dec 29 and Steve was stuck in London until Dec 30. Again, I digress.

Our plan before new years was for each of us to reveal a secret that we'd been keeping from the other two on New Years. After a memorable NYE freezing our nuts off in Times Square with a million other stupid people (Times Square is fun - but something I don't plan to do ever again unless I'm in a hotel suite. With a bathroom. And heating), we retreated back to our hotel and the three of us sat in the (closed) lobby bar.

Steve and Rhands voiced their secrets - and no I ain't gonna say what they were - you'll have to ask them. :) When it came to saying mine I started crying (How gay am I!) and I was like "Oh you guys know what I'm gonna say so can we just acknowledge it and get over it?". This was unacceptable to Steve who then said "Say it. It'll feel better if you say it out loud". In my head I'm thinking "How the fuck would you know - have you ever come out???". Anyway, I told them I was gay. To their complete unsurprise. It was kinda funny though that they'd defend my heterosexuality to whomever asked. That's friendship for ya.

I gotta say that was the most difficult coming out for me, personally. It only got easier from there. No less dramatic, but easier.

Song of the Day: "Bossy" - Kelis

Home Sweet Home

2006-05-29T09:58:00.000+10:00

...so today is the first day back at "work" after two whirlwind weeks in the US. Thanks to everyone who spent time with me eating, drinking, shopping, drinking, drinking and hangin' out in either San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York. I had a great time (as always) but it is soooo good to be home.

Actually, no I take that back. It is soooo good to be wherever Matt is. The past two weeks solidified even more that it doesn't matter where we are, as long as we're together. Who knows what the future has in store... :)

Stevie, I hope you had a great 30th birthday. My liver is still recovering from that weekend.

OK I have two weeks of expenses to enter into the system. Blah.

Song of the Day: "Ms New Booty" - Bubba Sparxxx (My new SF song!)

Birthday Trivia

2006-05-04T10:18:00.000+10:00

...so for those of you who didn't know, on my 30th birthday last year my friends and I were in the Hunter Valley partaking in wine-tasting aplenty (I love that word! I shall endeavour to use it more often. Aplenty even). After muuuuch wine tasting, I hosted Ray's Birthday Trivia and divided the group into three teams with the following team captains:

- The Best Friends (Rhandy and Steve)
- The Boyfriend (Matt)
- The Roomies (Maria and Jonny)

The losers of the competition had to do the washing up, which was not inconsequential with 20 people there. Anyways, in lieu of an actual post I've decided to post the questions. Get all of them right and win a free steak dinner from me - definition of 'steak' and 'dinner' to be decided by me.

1. What month did Ray join Fitness First?
2. What is Ray’s favourite Kylie song?
3. What suburb of Melbourne did Ray and Jonny live in?
4. The first night Ray met Matt’s friends - Charmaine, ChiWai, Mark and Zena, they went out to dinner – what kind of cuisine did they eat?
5. Name Ray’s three siblings. Bonus points for their ages.
6. Ray was a committee member on the Filipinos of UTS society. What executive position did he hold?
7. Ray’s boyfriend has one sister. What’s her name?
8. Name the primary school Ray went to.
9. While living in Melbourne, Ray and Jonny had different names for their daily routine. E.g. Mexican Monday, Tennis Tuesday, Wacky Wednesday – what was Thursday called?
10. What year was Ray lead in the musical ‘Oliver’? – a) Year 2, b) Year 4, c) Year 6
11. Ray first went to Europe in 2001. Which two cities did he visit?
12. The first time Ray travelled overseas without his family in 1993, who did he travel with? Bonus point for the city they stayed in for 2 months.
13. Ray has attended three PeopleSoft conferences in the USA. What cities were they in?
14. What did Ray come dressed as for Charmaine’s 30th birthday party? Bonus point: What did Matt come dressed as?
15. What do Ray, Maria, Steve, Phong and Matt have in common?
16. Who has visited the most cities with Ray? a) Maria b) Jill c) Steve?
17. What is Ray’s degree from UTS in?
18. Ray, Matt, Mark and Zena got really drunk one night at Ray’s place late last year. How many bottles of wine did they drink? a) 6 b) 7 c) 8
19. What movie can Ray quote from beginning to end?
20. What was the make and model of Ray’s first car?
21. Ray has the full box sets of which three tv shows?

After two rounds of the above questions, I threw in some bonus questions:

- What is Ray's middle name?
- What was the name of the street that Ray and Jonny lived on?
- What is Ray's favourite sexual position?
- What is Ray's most embarassing moment? a) Falling over on an escalator and taking everyone down with him, b) Crashing into a truck whilst singing Miss Saigon songs or c) Passing out for an hour with his head on the toilet bowl at his 23rd bday party
- What was the name of Ray's favourite restaurant in Melbourne?
- What did Matt give Ray for their first anniversary?
- What was Ray's most pissed off moment?
- What did Ray and Jonny do every Tuesday night after playing tennis? *giggle*
- What was the first movie Ray and Matt watched together?

After ALL of that Matt's team won (Woot!) with The Best Friends and The Roomies tied. The tiebreaker question was "What did Ray have for dinner that night?". To my surprise, The Best Friends (who weren't sitting near me at dinner) got it right, and the Roomies (who were sitting next to me and opposite me) got it wrong. Doh!

Ahhh good times...

On a side note - Happy birthday Googz!

Song of the Day: "Girlfriend" - Pebbles *finger snap*

If I Could

2006-04-21T10:52:00.000+10:00

...so it's Friday and I'm at work and naturally all I'm doing is day dreaming. I was thinking to myself and said "Self, If you could be an athlete what type of athlete would you be?". Naturally, this led to more day dreaming and subsequently, this post!

If I Could :

Sing - I'd want to have Luther Vandross' (R.I.P.) voice.
Dance - Britney Spears. Say what you want about her but the girl can dance.
Be Athletic - Male gymnast. Have you seen their bodies? They're insane! I thought I had to be specific here and say MALE gymnast 'coz I really wouldn't want a female gymnast's body.
Be fluent in a language - Spanish. So I can return to South America and do more than ask for a beer or order at MacDonalds.
Visit a country - Morocco. Africa is my last continent and I love food cooked in tagines.
Change a physical attribute - Height. I ain't greedy, I'd be happy with 5'8". At least then when Matt and I hold hands and walk down the street it won't look like he's dragging me along.
Learn a new skill - DJ.
Own something (short-term) - Louis Vuitton Keepall 55. My birthday is July 8th. Not that those two things are related in any way... *looks around*
Own something (long-term) - An apartment in Pyrmont or Balmain. Soon, very soon.
Drink like one of my friends - Riss. Although the last two times I've drunk with Riss she was arguably drunker than I. Hmmm...
Dance like one of my friends - Ooooh tough one. This would be a three-way between Joy (who's flowy), Ed (who's jerky) and Maria (who moves her ass like it's no-one's business).
Play an instrument - Saxophone.
Beat Steve in something - Chess.
Watch a concert - Barry Manilow. SERIOUSLY! Now that he's a regular in Vegas, I think that'll be my birthday present to myself next year.

Hahaha on that note I think that's it. You don't regain credibility after saying you want to watch Barry Manilow in concert.

Song of the Day: "Looks Like We Made It" - Barry Manilow. If I find this song at karaoke, look out...

Thin

2006-04-07T11:35:00.000+10:00

...so as some of you may be aware I've lost a bit of weight in the past year. 12 kilograms (26.5 pounds) to be exact. I didn't actually realise I was that fat. In hindsight I should have known because I couldn't fit into my size 28 jeans at all. My size 30 jeans were super tight, and I found myself buying size 32 jeans to be comfortable. I guess ignorance really IS bliss.

That all changed when I saw this picture:

There's Matt looking all toned and there's me looking...not so much. *shudder* Thanks Googz, by the way, for taking that picture. You really captured the shadows on my rolls. :P

Anyway, that was November 2004 on a beach in Mykonos. When we got back from that vacation, Matt dragged (YES - Against my will!) me into a gym and before you know it I had signed up for 12 months and 3 personal training sessions.

It was a struggle at first. I'd find myself dying after 5 minutes on the treadmill "running" at 8km/h (5mp/h). Gradually it become a little easier...and then a lot easier. Whereas before I was barely capable of running 3kms (1.86 miles) in 20 minutes, now I run it in less than 14 minutes.

I didn't, however, change my eating habits TOO much. I don't drink full strength (and by that I mean calorie-wise) soft drinks anymore (I really miss Mountain Dew!). I try not to snack - Matt and I don't even bother going into the aisles in the supermarket with biscuits, chocolate and chips anymore. I still eat KFC around once a week and all that good stuff, though. I'd cry if I couldn't eat KFC anymore. If they had KFC-flavoured biscuits, chocolate and chips here I'd be in trouble...

What's the best part of being thin(ner) you ask?

1. The compliments. Compliments to a gay man about how he looks are like energon cubes for an autobot. It's what we live on.
2. Being able to fit into my muscle shirts again AKA gay-clubbing-uniform. Not to say I didn't wear them when I was heavier, but as Matt put it, I was dressing "kinda inappropriately". Which is nice-speak for "Your saggy man boobs are showing in that Abercrombie muscle T".
3. The increased confidence. I guess that's a side effect of points 1 and 2.

I'd write more but I gotta head to the gym. ;)

Song of the Day: "Pump It" - Black Eyed Peas (one of the songs on my iPod workout playlist!)

Expensive Taste

2006-03-27T14:29:00.000+11:00

...so I bought a $449 pair of jeans yesterday. OK so they WERE $449 before they were marked down to $269. Normally I would baulk at spending that much money on a pair of jeans, but I really REALLY wanted a pair of 7-for-all-mankind jeans. Besides, they make my ass look great! So much so that a random woman near the change room said "it looks good from behind" when I walked out to show Matt. Thinking about some of my more expensive purchases, here's a list (from what I can remember):

Most Expensive (all amounts in Aussie dollars)...
Shoes: $220 Nikes. I've never spent a lot of money on shoes. Now I have to, though, to match my new jeans!
Sunglasses: $400 Emporio Armanis. Which I subsequently left in a locker at the gym.
Piece of Furniture: $2200 on my bed frame and mattress. You spend 1/3 of your life in there - it PAYS to be comfortable.
Jacket: $400 Ralph Lauren down jacket. I wanted it so bad I bought it in the only size they had left (Extra Large). Now Matt wears it.
Jewelry: $360 Tiffany necklace. I don't wear it anymore 'coz I got a new one from Matt for my birthday last year. Matt wears it 'coz he lost the one I bought him for his birthday two years ago.
Dinner: $200. This would be a toss-up between Nobu in New York for Googz's birthday or Rockpool in Sydney.
Night out drinking: $200-ish. Just last year when Steve and I split the bill @ Gym in New York. And that was after we got several free drink rounds after flirting with the bartender.
Impulse Purchase: $35 000. I bought my Jeep Wrangler back in 1997. The same day I test-drove it, I took it home.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Any other categories I haven't covered?

On another note, one of my male friends who claims they're straight got a pedicure last week. No prizes for guessing who. The same guy bought a mint green pashmina in Chinatown. :)

Song of the Day: "You Don't Know Me" - Michael Buble. So much better than Harry Connick Jr don't you think?

USA! USA! chant

2006-03-20T12:26:00.000+11:00

...so I'm officially going back to the US for more "training". Coincidentally, my training happens to be over Steve's birthday weekend celebrations! Talk about your good timing. :) It'll just be the usual West Coast/East Coast trip so if you're in the neighbourhood...drop me a line!

San Francisco: May 12 - 17
Pleasanton: May 18 - 19
New York: May 20 - 21
Los Angeles: May 22 - 27

Also, if anyone knows/is sleeping with/wants to sleep with anyone who works at Abercrombie and Fitch, Louis Vuitton or Bath and Body Works and is hospitable enough to allow their discount to be abused - let me know as I intend to make some purchases!

Song of the Day: "Waiting for the Day" - Shai

Welcome Tre!

2006-03-12T19:51:00.000+11:00

...so Matt and I welcomed a new addition to our "family" last week. Our new baby Audi A3! As you may have gathered from the title of this post, his name is "Tre". No I'm not going to call him "Howie" as suggested by Steve (Howie the Audi? *roll of eyes*).

It was very sad to say goodbye to Poogs (my Peugeot 206cc) after three years of reliable, if a little squeaky, driving. I'm also going to miss the ability to drive with the top down as I've had a convertible for eight years now. What I'm NOT going to miss though is the total lack of space for any passengers. I'm also NOT going to miss Poogs' lack of useable cup holders (he had two cup holders about the depth of a post-it note - why bother?).

Here he is! Isn't he pretty? :)

Song of the Day: "Falling For You" - Boom!

Happy Anniversary Matty

2006-02-24T10:39:00.000+11:00

...so tomorrow is mine and Matt's three year anniversary. THREE YEARS! That's like...21 years in straight relationship years. Before Matt my longest "relationship" (yes I use quotation marks because - ask me in person...it's a long story) was around 3 months.

For those of you who don't know, Matt and I met on the internet. At first I was all weirded out by this and told everyone that we met in Ikea, shopping in the lamp section. After talking to some of my gay friends, however, it seems like meeting on the internet is almost commonplace. I still think the Ikea story is more interesting though.

In the three years we've been together I've learnt that:

- Birthdays are important. Make an effort.
- Sometimes giving up your wardrobe space (*shudder*) isn't such a bad thing when you're sharing it with someone you love.
- I like the left side of the bed (when you're in the bed...not when you're facing the bed).
- Coming out is SO much easier when there's someone worth coming out for to catch you should you stumble.
- Matt thinks that it's more difficult to throw stuff in the garbage bin if you're taller 'coz the garbage could "float and land outside of the bin" if dropped from a greater height. Don't get me started.

Other interesting Matt and Ray trivia:

- Ray has gained and subsequently lost around 11kgs (24.2 pounds) in those three years.
- Matt has lost around 22 pounds.
- Cities we have visited together are: Melbourne, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, London, Barcelona, Madrid, Mykonos, Santorini and Athens.
- We moved in together September 2004.
- Matt takes his coffee black. Ray has a skim latte.
- I want a dog but Matt will only agree if we get a dog walker and a care taker.

Here's how we looked at the very beginning in (March) 2003...

And how we look now (January 06)...

To my man,

I love you and look forward to the next 30 years together. I promise to always bring you pastries when you are hungry.

Love always,
me.

Song of the Day: "Beautiful in my Eyes" - Joshua Kadison (thought I'd borrow Riz and Mary Anne's wedding song for today...thanks guys!)

Photos and Stuff

2006-02-11T15:49:00.000+11:00

...so work is totally kicking my ass right now. Today is my first day off in two weeks. Next week is looking cruisy though which is good. I thought I'd take advantage of the down time to update this blog with a few pics from the past month!

Me @ Bondi Beach. The guy behind me was hot but the bastard moved when the photo was taken. Damnit.

Tara, Matt, Me and Thais @ Slip Inn

Blow, Matt Blow! :)

Matt and I @ his birthday dinner. We don't look a day over 25. Shut up.

Enjoy!

Song of the Day: "It's Tricky" - Run DMC (Damn you Shaz and your ring tone!)

Thirty One

2006-02-03T17:03:00.000+11:00

...so my Matthew turns thirty one today. Happy Birthday baby! Thirty one is a damn sexy age. Of course I'm biased because that's also the age I turn for my next birthday - but still!

Matt, I love you with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns. I have the sun burn to prove it. ;) Happy happy birthday!

(Pics to follow people...we're getting ready for dinner as I type!)

Song of the Day: "All I Want Is You" - The Rockmelons

Hell Week

2006-01-24T09:01:00.000+11:00

...so last week was one of the most draining weeks in our existence EVER. You know that old expression "When it rains, it pours?". Last week was our Noah's Ark. In the span of one week:

My older sister, Maria (who is THE strongest, bravest person I know) had a heart attack on Saturday. She was in a coma on the weekend but fortunately she came out of it fully by the Tuesday. I was telling Matt that nothing prepares you for seeing a loved one in hospital. My sis has been through it all before and so she's one of those "Don't give me sympathy" types. The hardest thing was putting a brave face in front of my sister when all you want to do is collapse.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that she's doing much better now. She was out of intensive care at the end of last week and was placed in Coronary Care Unit. Today's she's getting a defibrillator fitted (You know those big paddles that jump start the heart? Do you know they make mini ones and attach it to your heart? Techno-nogical!) which should regulate things. It'll be a slow road to recovery but I'm thankful that she'll get there.

Last week also, Matt's auntie was diagnosed with cancer. We visited her in hospital on the weekend and the diagnosis doesn't look good. She's surrounded by family though and isn't in pain which I guess is all we can ask for right now.

Oh and finally...I came out to my parents last week. That's a story I'll reserve for when we're having a drink or three. :)

THANK YOU to all our friends who have lent us a shoulder to lean on. Your support has been invaluable and our families are very grateful. I'm convinced everyone's positive energy has been transferred to our loved ones in some way.

Song of the Day: "Sunshine" - Ricki-Lee Coulter

Alcohol much?

2006-01-12T14:29:00.000+11:00

...so Mikey emailed me the pics from new years eve in New York and the memories just came flooding back!

Beginning of the night:

Middle of the night:

Later in the middle of the night:

End of the night:

For the full set of pictures click here. Enjoy!

Song of the Day: "Seasons of Love" - RENT soundtrack (the original broadway soundtrack...not the crappy movie)

Happy New Year!

2006-01-07T09:56:00.000+11:00

...so Matt and I are now back home after a month of travelling the good old US of A and we just wanna say thanks to everyone who hung out with us, bought us a drink, shared a cigarette, went clubbing and ate meals with us.

Hopefully I'll blog more regularly in 2006 but I've just been too damned busy and/or drunk in the past few weeks to post anything. To give you a quick update though...

- Totally abused Mark's GAP discount in San Francisco. Thanks Mooks!
- Started tearing in the cereal aisle of Safeway when I got a text message from Rhandy telling me that he and Maria are engaged. Congratulations guys! Woot!
- Had an awesome new years in New York surrounded by new friends, old friends and Grey Goose. What more can one ask for? AND the best part of it is, just when you thought there couldn't be any more incriminating drunk photos of Steve...he created a whole new category!
- Actually, we had a blast in New York the entire week. I was happy that we got to see snow for an hour on new years eve. I was also happy that I managed to go the entire trip without throwing up once. Steve on the other hand...
- Getting licked on the face by some random guy at "Gym" (gay sports bar in Chelsea) was not a highlight.
- Got hit by jet lag on the way back which is weird because I almost NEVER get jet lag. It knocked me out for a full day and now I'm sick. My body is telling me to stay on vacation.
- Cooked dinner for our friends last night (Maz, Rhands, Jill, Eric, Ed, Shaz, Iven, Jane, Phong and Lisa) which was great 'coz no one has seen each other since early December. Matt cooked spaghetti bolognaise and four bean salad and I cooked cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook (AKA Instant-Sugar-Rush-Cupcakes)

Matt and I are on the hunt for a new dining set today 'coz we eBayed our old one a month ago and everyone has to eat on their lap. I'm leaning towards a cherry solid timber table with antique eating benches. I think the novelty of having eating benches will wear off pretty quick though. Matt's leaning towards regular dining chairs. We'll see who wins. :)

Song of the Day: "We Be Burnin" - Sean Paul

Brokeback Mountain

2005-12-15T06:58:00.000+11:00

...so Matt and I went to The Grove last night with my workmates John, Vera and John's partner Ed to watch "Brokeback Mountain" (the gay cowboy movie with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall) and I gotta say...it's pretty damnedy good. You could take away the gay sex and making out scenes and it'd STILL be damnedy good. That's saying something.

I honestly don't know how it'll play in the rest of this country (i.e. outside of LA, San Francisco and New York) but here's hoping it opens a few minds. I was talking about it with Matt this morning and it's really refreshing to go see a gay-themed movie where no one is a hairdresser or fashion-obsessed or does the bend-and-snap. Granted it was the 1960's, but still.

My point is...when it comes to your town GO SEE IT! Even you straight men! You actually see more female nudity than male. Who knew that that chick from the Princess Diaries had such huge knockers?

On our next-movies-to-watch list: Memoirs of a Geisha and King Kong.

On another note, I'd say the audience for the movie was about 75% gay male. I overheard a conversation behind me about this guy telling this other guy about his new boyfriend...and I quote "We've been dating since August and he can barely speak English but he gets great discounts at the Four Seasons!". *sigh* One step forward, two steps back for my people...

Song of the Day: "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" - Emmylou Harris

Weekend in LA

2005-12-13T04:47:00.000+11:00

...so here's a little update on the past weekend happenings:

- My iPod died on Friday afternoon. *sigh* I miss him so much... I'm going to have to wait to resurrect him until I get home. Apparently upgrading to iTunes 6.01 didn't agree with my iPod because of some random issue with Toshiba laptops. Maybe my iPod was just homophobic.
- I went clubbing @ Rage in West Hollywood on Friday night with my friend Clay. It happened to be "GAMeBOI" which is an 18+ gay asian night. Both Clay and I are in our 30's so didn't we feel like we were shopping in the junior department. Although every time some guy (almost always under 21 'coz he didn't have a I'm-twenty-one bracelet on) looked at me Clay felt the need to shout out "He's married!". (What...'coz I'm in a relationship I'm not allowed to get a little attention?) :)
- There were these two Get-A-Room couples upstairs on the balcony @ Rage and I swear I was just embarrassed for them. Although in their defense, they all probably still all live at home and this is their chance at getting some.
- Why are there ALWAYS the obligatory 65 year old men floating around solo on gay asian nights?
- I didn't get to watch "Brokeback Mountain" on Saturday 'coz I couldn't get to The Grove (which is the only place in LA showing it). I tried to rent a car during the day on Saturday but unfortunately I woke up @ 1.30pm and the car rental place closed @ 2pm. Oh well.
- I ended up going to the gym @ 9.30pm on Saturday night before watching "The Chronicles of Narnia". There was like, 20 people at the gym. I think that's a lot of people for a Saturday night. In my head I kept thinking "Losers! I'm on here on business, what's your excuse?", but then after some careful observation I realised it was mostly gay guys pumping themselves up before clubbing. Narnia was pretty good, by the way. Some of those half man/half horse guys were pretty hot. There were no half women/half horses though...so I can only assume they were all gay and had the ability to reproduce? Kinda like seahorses.
- Matt arrived on Sunday morning - YAY! "I've missed you"-sex is always the best.
- Dragged Matt to Universal City Walk on Sunday afternoon 'coz I was craving Tommy's burgers. It gave me instant diahorrea but DAMN it was good.
- We're deciding on what to do this upcoming weekend. Vegas or San Diego?

Have a great work week people! :)

Song of the Day: "Kahit Isang Saglit" - Martin Nievera. Don't ask me what he's singing about though...I have no idea.

L.A. Story

2005-12-09T05:17:00.000+11:00

...so I've been in LA for 5 days now and it's been kinda surreal. A few observations I've made:

- If the US needs to question their obesity rates, all they need to do is take a look at the portion-sizes. I haven't been able to finish a meal yet...even if my meal is an appetiser!
- Everyone is calorie-obsessed. Either they're eating them by the truckload, or burning them by the truckload.
- Having said that, the gym I joined (24 Hour Fitness @ Sherman Oaks) is a freakshow. I've never seen so much silicone and plastic surgery jiggling on treadmills before. DD cups just look wrong on a woman who's 4'10" with a waist the size of a frisbee.
- Chuck Norris is pretty short. He goes to my gym, as does Mekhi Phifer. They're very blase about their celebrities here.
- Within a 1 mile radius of my office there's a MacDonalds, Burger King, IHOP (International House of Pancakes), Islands Burgers and Chinese place. I'm kinda stuck when it comes to healthy breakfast choices.
- Don't have the breakfast burrito from MacDonalds. It shall be known from this point forth as "Vomit Wrap".
- You're screwed if you don't have a car here. Yes yes I should know that already having been here about 100 times.
- I miss Matt.
- I cannot wait to get to San Francisco and New York (aka cities-with-decent-public-transport-options).

On another note, I feel a movie watching weekend coming up. The Chronicles of Narnia, Brokeback Mountain and Memoirs of a Geisha all open this weekend. Woot!

Song Of The Day: "Wish You Well" - Bernard Fanning. One of the best feel-good break-up songs ever.

US of A

2005-12-03T10:16:00.000+11:00

...so I leave for Los Angeles in a couple of hours. My itinerary looks a little like this:

LA - Dec 3rd - 23rd
SF - Dec 23rd - 28th
NY - Dec 28th - Jan 2nd

If you're in any of those towns durin' any of those times - drop me a line! My cell phone will be working over there so you can text me there too.

For those that Matt and I won't be seeing over the holiday period, have a safe and very happy and gay Christmas and New Years. For those of you that we'll be bumping into...get your livers ready! :)

Song of the Day: "Hung Up" - Madonna. That song has just irritated me to the point of being catchy. Damn you Madonna!

New Years Eve

2005-11-16T20:54:00.000+11:00

...so what's everyone doing for new years eve?

Matt and I are deciding between Chicago and New York.
Any thoughts people?

Song of the Day: "Looks Like We've Made It" - Barry Manilow (YES I still have his Greatest Hits CD on repeat! Shut up!)

Goin back to Cali...

2005-11-02T10:26:00.000+11:00

...so guess who's going to the US-of-A for the fourth (!) time this year?

That's right! Me! Woot! I officially got the dates for my work trip to fabulous Encino, California yesterday and they want me there Nov 28 - Dec 23. This means Matt and I are planning to spend Christmas and New Years in the US. Exactly WHERE in the US is the big question at the moment - stay tuned folks!

On another note, I'll also be heading to Hong Kong for a little 5 day sojourn just before the US trip. All my HK peeps get ready for some dim sum and alcohol!

I'm getting all excited now. Homo-excited is so different from hetero-excited. When I see one of my straight guy friends get excited they usually pump their fist in the air and shout "YEAH!" trying to sound all gutteral. When I see one of my gay guy friends get excited they usually jump up and down, clapping wildly whilst squealing incoherently. I usually forego the clapping for finger snaps 'coz you know...I'm cool like that. *finger snap*

Song of the Day: "Copacobana" - Barry Manilow. I just bought "The Essential Barry Manilow" 2 disc compilation! *SQUEAL* :)

Gud Engrish

2005-10-25T16:09:00.000+10:00

...so I was recently (yesterday!) informed that my spelling was wildly incorrect on my last posting with the use of the word "commonality". I was asked whether I meant "equilibrium" or "duality". My answer was "NO I MEANT COMMONALITY. GET YOUR OWN BLOG!". ...not that I'm defensive or anything. :) (Do you like my disarming smiley?)

Having said that though, one of my biggest pet peeves is crappy spelling and/or grammar. I detest the use of "wiv" or "frendz" or in one case "fwrendz" *cringe*. Don't even get me started on the their/they're/there shit fight. That's up there (their? they're?) with the your/you're dilemma.

The funniest, unintentional typo I've ever encountered was an email that was sent by a client who had requested the "Headcunt Report". HAHAHA I just laughed out loud typing that out. *continued muffled giggles* ...headcunt... hahaha crazy.

OH! By the way...the person who pointed out my foibles with the English language is also the same person who borrowed my apartment for the weekend and left a "floater" as a present. 'Nuff said! :D

Song of the Day: "I Take You With Me" - Melissa Etheridge

Coupling

2005-10-14T15:26:00.000+10:00

...so a friend and I were chatting today about the couples we know and we noticed that almost all of them have some combination of duality and commonality. For example, I would say that I'm around 90% corporate versus Matt's 10% - and on the flip side Matt's 90% creative versus my 10%. Our commonalities would be that we both love to travel, both love fine dining and both love men's genitals.

Using this theory, we could pretty much categorize all the couples we know with the same kind of duality/commonality see-saw percentages. I don't want to single out any couples but you can all comment on your own percentages. Taking this into account, here's what I think Matt and I would be:

Height - Matt 90 / Ray 10
Athletic ability - Matt 80 / Ray 20 (Matt can beat me 6-0, 6-0 in tennis, but I can beat him in ten-pin bowling. And yes, that is a sport.)
Writing neatness - Matt 20 / Ray 80
Affinity for music - Matt 95 / Ray 5 (I get 5 percentage points for singing damnit)
Loudness on the phone - Matt 90 / Ray 10
Loudness in general - Matt 10 / Ray 90
Ability to maintain while drunk - Matt 100 / Ray 0 (Matt can count the number of times he's thrown up on one hand. I'd need half the hands in China to count mine.)
Ability to tell difference between left and right - Matt 0 / Ray 100
Love of designer labels - Matt 10 / Ray 90
Obsessive compulsive habits - Matt 10 / Ray 90 (I colour-coordinate my clothing in my wardrobe and arrange it in order of sleeve-length and pattern. I rock.)
Wardrobe space - Matt 25 / Ray 75
Love for each other - Matt 100 / Ray 100 (All together now...awwww)

I'm sure I could go on forever but you get the general idea. I was gonna percentagise "Weight" but I didn't want to upset any idealists who may read this...

p.s. Happy Birthday to my boy Rhandy. May this year be the year that all your percentages result in 100%.

Song of the Day: "Color Esperanza" - Diego Torres

Sunday Dinner

2005-09-28T14:48:00.000+10:00

...so for those who don't know, my friends usually do a Sunday dinner thing every Sunday (obviously). It usually coincides with the Australian Idol season which makes us sound like losers, but really...we're not...*looks around uncomfortably* Anyway, last Sunday's dinner was particularly noteworthy in that EVERYONE was able to make it. Usually a few people can't make it due to other commitments but everyone showed up last Sunday and to mark the occasion I took some photos (plus Steve told me to).

The Feast! Roast turkey breast, Roast pumpkin/zucchini/sweet potato/carrot, Greek salad (courtesy of Jill), Garlic bread, Stuffing, Gravy, Cranberry sauce and Pine Nut and white chocolate brownies.

Matty's dessert - Trifle with sponge cake, jelly, custard, white chocolate, berries and whipped cream!

Everyone! Me/Matt, Rhands/Maria, Jill/Eric, Iven/Jane, Ed/Sharon and Phong/Lisa.

I know...we're posers. :P

Song of the Day: "Round and Round" - Tevin Campbell

Weekend Happenings

2005-09-21T09:41:00.000+10:00

...so this past weekend had a million things going on so here comes my megapost.

Prinz and Charito's Wedding

Matt and I flew up to sunny Queensland to attend the wedding of our good friends Prinz and Charito. Had a BLAST at the wedding and it was great to see a lot of friends that we haven't seen in a while too.

Prinz and Charito

Matt and I at the ceremony

Our table at the reception. Note the three glasses of champagne in front of me. How'd that happen? *wonder*

Ray in the middle of a groomsman sandwich AKA every gay man's wet dream.

Federico's farewell

Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend 'coz we were at the wedding, but Fed left good ole Sydney after six years. Good luck on your travels Fed and see you in the Bay Area sometime!

Mikey's birthday

He's across the ocean in Baltimore but I didn't forget my boy Mikey's birthday on Sunday! He was filming a Nike commercial at the time so he celebrated it the way he would've wanted to - around scantily clad sweaty men.

Joel & Yenni's farewell

Joel & Yenni are off to sunny ...you know I really don't know where they're off to except that they're gonna be living on a little island somewhere off the coast of England. So it probably won't be sunny. Good luck over there guys and I hope that there's a Tiffany store there to keep you both happy.

Song of the Day: "Pure Shores" - All Saints

Things I've Learnt

2005-09-14T17:45:00.000+10:00

...so it's been a crazy month at work and it's gotten me to thinking about a whole bunch of stuff. Here are some of my thoughts on things I've learnt in the past year:

- Going to the gym works. It really does.
- If you don't water your chilli plant, it dies.
- You get an appreciation of life when you hear your nephew/niece laugh.
- The QANTAS Sky Bed in Business Class rocks.
- Ben Stiller is the funniest mofo on earth.
- Never burn your bridges at work. Any one of my former work friends could be the one that hires me one day.
- Stretch before you run.
- Remember to bring a towel to the gym. I once saw a guy dry himself with toilet paper and it wasn't a pleasant sight.
- When there are no expectations on a night out, you always have the best time.
- I need to be at least a little buzzed to sing karaoke.
- I love New York.
- Seeing a normally quiet friend dance like an idiot is a sight to behold.
- You can have the worst day at work but it can all be solved by a hug by the one you love.
- Turning 30 ISN'T getting old.
- The name 'Raymond' means bodyguard. The security guard at Oracle (of all people) told me that.

Song Of The Day: "Because Of You" - Kelly Clarkson

Gay Marriage

2005-09-08T10:35:00.000+10:00

...so last night whilst watching Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (not bad, I give it 3.5 stars) I get a text message from my friend Justin in San Francisco who informed me that the gay marriage ban has been struck down by a California judge which is great news. It's still sometime before Matt and I go rushing out to pick out items for our wedding registry, but without weighing into all the politics of it, I think it's definitely a step forward.

Matt and I recently "registered" as a de facto couple (which in legalese is basically getting a Justice of the Peace - in our case the local pharmacist - to vouch that we've been living in sin for at least a year). We had to do this in order to get Matt on my private health insurance and let me tell ya, it wasn't that easy to do.

I do think that if we decide to get married (*cough*Bvlgari ring*cough*) I'd definitely want a huge party. There'd be a ton of international guests invited - and maybe this time Girlie will actually press the 'Submit' button when she purchases the airline tickets! :) Pre-ceremony drinks would be served by Abercrombie and Fitch models. En Vogue would regroup for one night to sing our wedding song ("Heaven (Candlelight Mix)" by DJ Sammy). A gospel choir would sing "Oh Happy Day" when the wedding celebrant (anyone want to become an internet minister and marry us?) says "You may kiss the groom". Steve and Rhandy will do a dance routine as my best men. Jonny and Ed would make out 'coz they just get swept up in all of the emotion. hee hee I've just lost my chain of thought. ;)

One day...

Song of The Day: "Everybody" - Martin Solveig

Brain on hold

2005-09-02T17:21:00.000+10:00

...so I just navigated to my own blog wondering if I had updated it. HAHAHA I think there is a glitch in my matrix. Thank God it's Friday!

Have a great weekend everyone!

=oD

Weekend in New York

2005-08-15T16:51:00.000+10:00

...so I had an awesome weekend. How about you? :)

I arrived in New York on Friday night after circling New Jersey in a holding pattern for an hour 'coz of some stupid random haze covering the east coast. As soon as I got to Steve's place we hit up the turkish restaurant around the corner and had really good kebabs, calamari and mixed grill. Afterwards we met up with his friend, Alex and proceeded to down several pints of beer before doing the obligatory MacDonalds run at 2.30 in the morning.

Let me tell you - it's hot as balls right now in NYC. We're talking 35oC (105oF) and humid as all crap. Saturday started off with the gym, followed by watching 'The Dukes of Hazzard' (surprisingly funnier than I thought it would be). Saturday night was an all out fun-fest of good food, great friends and karaoke madness. I would write all about it but Riss' blog pretty much sums it all up.

Sunday was all about NYC experiencing monsoon-like weather. We're talking really REALLY hot with rain bucketing down like The Day After Tomorrow. Sunday night Mikey rolled into town and we proceeded to hit up several gay bars - XL Lounge, The Gym and gLounge. Afterwards we decided to go to White Castle for the obligatory 20 burger meal but our meal was cut short when Mikey decided to purge everything he had drank (a whole five vodka tonics!) on the corner of 8th Avenue and 31st Street. Aaahhh I missed you Mikey!

...so to all who made this weekend so much fun, thanks! You make New York the number 2 city in my book. Woot!

Song Of The Day: "Pour Some Sugar On Me" - Def Leppard (Thanks Riss!)

Favourite Pics

2005-08-02T11:50:00.000+10:00

...so it's been pretty quiet at work for me so I thought I'd peruse my photo albums from yesteryear and post a few of my favourites (Thanks Googz for the blogspiration!)

Me and the boys at Ariz's 21st birthday...ahhh to be young and have hair again... - 1996

Me, Steve and Rhands circa 1998. Check out Stevie's long hair!

Joy, Rhands and I in San Francisco..taken self-portrait style - 2002

My brother, sisters, brother-in-law and nephew - Christmas 2002

Drunk @ Smiths Lake 2003.

Matt and I before the B407 Housewarming (and around 20 pounds heavier!) 2003

Song Of The Day: "Slow Down" - Natalie Imbruglia

Pillow Talk

2005-07-26T10:41:00.000+10:00

...so Matt and I were in bed last night and the conversation went like this:

Matt: *rubbing his feet against mine* Doesn't wearing socks when you go to sleep give you nightmares?
Ray: I'm not wearing socks.
Matt: Oh. Sorry!
Ray: YOU THOUGHT I WAS WEARING SOCKS???
Matt: No! No! I just assumed you were.
Ray: You were touching my feet!!! Do you think I have furry feet?
Matt: I was touching your feet with my ankle! My ankle's not very sensitive!
Ray: Don't talk. I'm so upset right now.

This did not help my insecurities. (I still love you Matt!)

Song Of The Day: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" - Whitney Houston. Pre-Bobby Brown.

Weekend Goodbyes

2005-07-25T11:13:00.000+10:00

...so this weekend I said goodbye to two good friends. Federico who left PeopleSoft/Oracle after eight years had his leaving drinks on Friday and in true PeopleSoft form everyone was absolutely shit-faced by 9pm. Have a great time travelling SE Asia and good luck back home Fed!

Also leaving our country was good old Stevie, after three weeks of relaxing back home. It's been awesome catching up with him again and a bonus for me 'coz he was able to be here for my 30th birthday. Although New York can have his humour back - it hasn't improved. Want "tibet"?

On a happier note we said hello to Scott who flew in again on one of his United trips. We welcomed him with Sunday dinner which Matt and I SLAVED over (but was a total hit!). We cooked a selection of tapas including:

- Bread with sun-dried tomato tapenade
- Chorizo in apple cider
- Meatballs in spicy tomato sauce
- Ham and cheese croquettes
- Patatas bravas with spicy tomato sauce
- Garlic mushrooms
- Honeyed carrots
- Traditional spanish tortilla

Great. Now I'm hungry.

Song Of The Day: "You Are My Song" - Martin Nievera

Best. Birthday. EVER.

2005-07-10T19:04:00.000+10:00

...so we all just got back from our weekend away in the Hunter Valley for my birthday and MAN was it a great weekend. It was all about lots of eating, lots of drinking and lots of laughter. Thanks to my baby for organising it all! I love you Matt.

Totally scored on the present front! Gifts I received include:
- Tiffany Atlas pendant, "I really really really love Sydney" t-shirt (I've been wanting one FOREVER! and a pedometer from my wonderful boyfriend.
- Tiffany Atlas bracelet (matching with my pendant!) from my boys, Steve and Rhands.
- Tiffany champagne flutes from Maria
- Star Wars toys from Girlie
- One of those fancy wine openers and Gold Class theatre tickets from Jill, Eric, Lisa and Phong.
- Bottle of Absolut from Iven and Jane
- Collection of Lush soaps and shower gel from Charmaine, Chi Wai, Mark and Zena
- Diesel cologne from Jenny and Jonny
- Grilling press from Gin and Danny
- Borders voucher from Jen and Fonz
- Dymocks bookstore voucher from Barbara and Jonathan
- Bottle of Penfolds wine from Pete and Priscilla
- Bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label from Jeff and Jo
- Really cool bongo drum from Kim and Lyn
- Book from Ness and Adam
- CK Eternity Summer from Prinz and Charito
...and a 30th birthday photo frame from everyone who was @ The Hunter Valley

Sorry if I forgot anyone there but it's been a really long weekend! You'll find pics here or on the right hand side under 'Photo Albums'.

Oh my God I'm 30! =o)

Song Of The Day: "Above The Clouds" - Amber

Birthday Celebration #1

2005-07-05T17:16:00.000+10:00

...so this past Sunday was my first birthday celebration - a casual Sunday lunch with some of my closest friends. Sydney busted out an awesome day - sunny and warm. Pics are listed under albums on the right.

New pics from New York/Vegas/San Francisco/Hawaii from last May are there also.

Still 2 days left of being 20-something...

p.s. Welcome home Steve. It's good to have you back.

Song Of The Day: "First Time" - Robin Beck

Pre-Birthday Blues

2005-06-27T10:21:00.000+10:00

...so I've been in a slump the past couple of weeks and I think it's the annual pre-birthday blues. I think the whole "turning 30" thing is affecting me more than I know 'coz the blues hit me way earlier this year (usually it hits a couple of days before my birthday). Yes, yes, I know I have many blessings to count - but I choose to wallow for a little while damnit. It's 10:24am on a Monday and I want a long island iced tea and a pack of cigarettes.

On another note, some asshole ate their toast on my desk this morning and crumbed everywhere. MAN that pisses me off. But then again, everything is pissing me off at the moment. I stepped on the escalator last week and my foot was halfway on a step and when it moved I lost my balance. I got mad and kicked the escalator. Hahaha re-reading that, how gay does that sound? I digress. OK, time to take account of the past 30 years.

Numbers, numbers everywhere:
Record for 3kms on treadmill - 17:01
Countries visited - 16 (USA, Canada, Chile, Mexico, UK, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Australia)
University degrees - 1
Jobs since graduating - 2
Time spent in current job - 7 years 9 months 10 days
Times I've almost resigned - 3
Starting salary of first job - $32K
Roommates - 6 (in order - Larry, Jonny, Rhandy, Steve, Maria, Matt)
Cars owned - 3 (Ford Telstar, Jeep Wrangler, Peugeot 206cc)
Car crashes - 1
Hours spent on planes - easily in the thousands
Weddings attended - around 30
Bridal parties I've been in - 1 (Ariz and Mary Anne's wedding)
Most slices of pizza eaten in one sitting - 13
Most shots in one night - 27
Times I've been hospitalised - 1
Bones broken - 0 *knock on wood*
Current ranking in footy tipping competition - 3
Things I'm allergic to - 1 (eggplant)
US states visited - 23
Times I've been in love - 3
Times I've had my heart broken - 1

That's it for now. I'll add more when closer to my birthday. 12 days left of being 20-something.

Did you notice I have links to other blogs and my photo albums down the side now?

Song Of The Day: "My Love Is Your Love" - Whitney Houston

More Gym Ettiquette

2005-06-18T17:51:00.000+10:00

...so I've been saving this post for a while but now I feel like I have enough material. After going to the gym 15 (!) days in a row in New York there have been quite a few, uhhhmmm let's just say, "experiences" that I've encountered which have lead me to refine the rules for gym ettiquette:

- Do NOT sit in the locker room and read the newspaper. Naked. Thanks to Ed for that one.
- Do NOT open someone's shower curtain while they're showering. This happened to me one unfortunate day in New York. This leads me to my next point...
- Do NOT scream when someone opens your shower curtain. This leads to a source of much amusement to the others in the locker room (Thanks Steve)
- Do NOT dress like you're going clubbing when you're working out. Just this morning I saw someone wearing a long sleeve shirt and cargo pants with a belt (what the?) on the treadmill.
- Do NOT take a shower when the hot water has run out at your gym. This happened to my friend Steve who was subsequently asked by an old man if "he needed to be kept warm".
- Do NOT forget to bring your towel. This can lead to an uncomfortable naked run to the shower.
- Do NOT shout "Woo Hoo!" when you break your record for 3kms on the treadmill. No one else in the gym cares.

On another note, only 19 more days for me as a 20-something. *sigh*

Song Of The Day: "Oye Mi Canto" - N.O.R.E.

Hmmm...

2005-06-09T10:05:00.000+10:00

...so one of my neighbours has a dog that always barks when it's outside of their apartment and it got me to thinking - I wonder if dogs have accents? Like, does a german shepherd that was born and raised in Australia have a different bark to say, one born in South America?

Something to ponder.

It's been a while

2005-06-08T14:16:00.000+10:00

...so I'm finally back in the country and have time to blog again! My apologies for the quiet period but - hey, I've been busy!

Thanks to everyone who hung out with myself and Matt in the past few weeks. This trip has definitely been a blast and, as always, went waaaay too fast. I'd thank you all individually but I'm lazy. But thanks! Especially all y'all who partook in some alcohol imbibing (you know I'm partial to that).

I really dislike my new (Oracle) office. It's cold and personality-less. I miss PeopleSoft.

Twenty nine days and I turn thirty. Surprisingly, I'm not too stressed out about it. Maybe it'll hit me the night before or something. I think I'm just excited about Steve and Joy headin' to Sydney.

Happy (belated) birthday to Girlie! Hurry up and get here! Also happy belated birthdays to Julie Anne (my lil sis) and Jacob (my nephew).

Song of the Day: "Home" - Michael Buble

Mi Amigo Esteban (Part Dos)

2005-05-13T06:05:00.000+10:00

...so it's my boy Steve's birthday today and I just wanna wish him the biggest of birthday wishes. Stevie, may your year be filled with inner beauty. Just not the inner beauty of Uganda. I'd write more but then I'd be stomping on the sentiment of the birthday card so I'll stop here. Happy Birthday Ricarte!

On another note, Ed and I went to the Natural Museum of History today. I was hoping to see Ross from 'Friends' working there but he must've had a day off. It's amazing how a few dinosaur bones can bring out the inner geek in you. For you trivia freaks - did you know the scientific word for 'rat is 'rattus rattus'?

I've had three bacon cheeseburgers in the past 48 hours. That can't be good.

Song of the Day: "1 Thing" - Amerie (my NYC song)

fat chicks and clothes...

2005-05-06T14:54:00.000+10:00

...so we all went out to dinner in New York tonight in Greenwich Village with Steve, Ed, Riss and Mike J and I learnt many new things:

- Ed has a shopping fetish. Total clothes whore. *I* admit I'm a shop-a-holic, but I ain't got NOTHING on Ed.
- ***** is an idealist and entered the lottery of chicks and won the 'fat prize'.
- Both ***** and Mike J like rackage. AND Patricia Heaton. For those who don't know, Patricia Heaton is the wife on 'Everybody Loves Raymond'. I KNOW RIGHT? WHAT THE...?
- Riss can down tequila like there's no tomorrow and can outlast any of the males I know. And that's a lot of males.
- I miss my boyfriend. A lot.
- Mike J drives like he's a NASCAR driver. Which is a good thing when you're busting to go to the bathroom.
- Mike J has never gone to a gay bar. It is now my mission to take him to one. I don't care if he's kicking and screaming...which might actually help in a gay bar.

For my peeps back home -
Maria: I bought a shirt today just because it reminded me of you.
Rhandy: I thought of a shirt that would be perfect for you...I'll keep it a surprise though ;) Wish you were here, bro.
Matt: All the girls here miss you! I love you.

OK Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!

Song of the day: "Pour Some Sugar On Me" - Poison

New York, New York

2005-05-01T22:05:00.000+10:00

...so I arrived in New York a crazy 48 hours ago and it's been a whirlwind so far. Highlights include:

- Seeing my friends who I haven't seen in a looooong ass time
- Satisfying my craving for buffalo wings at Steve's local bar
- Taking Googz's younger bro, Nathan, to his first NYC gay bar...and watching him struggle when he was gettin hit on
- Seeing someone throw up in the urinal next to mine while I was pissing. Niiiice.
- Everyone completely wasted by 2am on Friday night. Much respect to Googz for playing catch up.
- Watching Mikey get deflated on his air bed. Literally.
- Having the 3 million egg omelette @ Moonstruck diner - our new must-visit-when-drunk diner.
- Freezing to death at the Yankees-Blue Jays baseball game
- Steve scoring a free Yankees blanket by applying for a credit card with his Australian address. "I live in Bankstown, New York".
- Steve releasing a toxic fart in the subway which somehow found Mikey and I EVEN THOUGH HE WAS HALF A CARRIAGE AWAY. I can't believe his farts come with radar now.
- Getting totally lost walking to SoHo and ending up in Chinatown.
- Satisfying my second craving for pizza by ordering 3 large pizzas...no one told us that the slices were bigger than our HEADS.

Gonna go shopping today for new shoes. Hi everyone back home!

p.s. I miss you mB. (No not you Maria Benilda...although I do miss you too...but not in the same way)

Best laid plans...

2005-04-21T14:34:00.000+10:00

...so I leave for my vacation in ONE WEEK! Woo hoo! For those who don't know, here's my itinerary and things that I wanna do:

29Apr05 - 18May05 New York City
- Celebrate Googz's and Steve's birthdays
- Hit up Splash! again
- Check out the Natural History Museum
- Spend a whole day at Central Park
- Eat a few cupcakes from Magnolia
- Go to at least one class at Broadway Dance Center with Ed

18May05 - 21May05 Los Angeles
- Eat at Killer Shrimp again!
- Hit up Rage on Thursday night for hip hop

21May05 - 25May05 Las Vegas
- Watch 'Zumanity' the new Cirque de Soleil show
- Play quarter roulette with Joy and drink numerous cocktails

25May05 - 28May05 San Francisco
- Show Matt around the bay area 'coz he's never been
- Catch up with as many friends as possible
- Go to Castro Bar on Thursday night for hip hop
- Eat at Ling Nam for Lonsilog after clubbing

28May05 - 31May05 Honolulu
- Eat at Zippy's (corn beef hash with scrambled eggs and fried rice please)
- Relax!

FYI, I'll only be meeting up with Matt for the San Francisco-Honolulu portion of my trip. Sorry to all the East Coast girls...you'll have to make do with me :P

ONE WEEK! YAY!

Song of the Day: "Sensitivity" - Ralph Tresvant

Oops

2005-04-14T15:02:00.000+10:00

...so you know what's embarassing? When you're walking along and some random person in a car waves and you wave back thinking they were waving at you when in actuality they were waving at the person behind you.

Other embarassing moments:
- Going up to a friend in the mall from behind and covering their eyes, only to realise that it's not them.
- Your manager calling you 'Sam' after working at the company for a year.
- Tripping just before you get on an escalator and taking down a few people with you.
- Answering your door with a huge booger coming out of your nose.
- Having explosive diahorrea on an 8 hour flight to the Philippines.

*cringe*

TWO WEEKS UNTIL NYC!

Song of the Day: "Color Esperanza" - Diego Torres

Boring Bits

2005-04-05T21:00:00.000+10:00

...so I haven't blogged in the past couple of weeks 'coz I travelled all around the country last week, and this week I'm in Oracle brainwashing training.

Happy birthday to my girl Regina who turned the big 3-0 last week! We were at dinner with all married couples and now everyone is pressuring Matt and I to get married (seeing as we're the last ones left and everyone wants to go to a gay wedding). How fun would that be though? I am soooo looking forward to putting together our gift registry!

What a dud post. I swear I'll blog about something interesting soon-ish. In the meantime, check out my future wedding ring! *hint hint* (Except I'd like white gold or platinum instead of the yellow gold please...)

OH! And if anyone is looking for hints on what to get me for my 30th birthday coming up...try this or this. I promise I'll feign surprise. :)

Song Of The Day: "Just The Way You Are" - Billy Joel.

Toyota vs BMW

2005-03-22T11:50:00.000+11:00

...so I'm thinking of getting a new car because my little Peugeout 206cc is just becoming too impractical. Poor Maria gets elbowed everytime she's in the back seat and Matt puts his arm out to reverse the car. I've been looking at the Toyota Prius but Matt doesn't like it 'coz it's "too family". Matt likes the BMW 120i which I kinda like also, but after adding all the options it costs too much (I need 17" rims and satellite navigation!). Hopefully this will be resolved after we actually test drive both of them.

This whole thing was the catalyst for an interesting conversation at work:

Me: I can't decide between the Toyota Prius or the BMW 120i
RWC (Random Work Chick): Which one do you like better?
Me: Well I like the Prius more but my partner thinks it looks "too family"
RWC: Are you thinking of starting a family?
Me: No
RWC: Why's that?
Me: Because one of us would have to get a uterus first.
RWC: *after a minute of thinking about it* OOOOOHHHH! *laughs hysterically*

Song of the Day: "Dreamlover" - Mariah Carey (can't you just see her in that field dancing really badly?)

Lessons Learnt

2005-03-17T21:46:00.000+11:00

...so my ex-boyfriend messaged me out of the blue after a loooong period of radio silence. It got me thinking about how different I am from a little over two years ago. As much of an implosion my relationship with my ex-boyfriend was, it taught me:

- never change who I am
- it's easier to NOT stay angry at someone, than it is to be bitter
- after you break up, certain places, meals and songs are off limits
- a relationship doesnt' work if your friends don't like him
- everyone needs their heart broken at least once in their life
- you can't get through a break up without your friends
- in the end, you want to be with someone who will hold your hand in the movies

Song of the Day: "Cool" - Gwen Stefani

*neck crick*

iPhone

A Day in the Life

Hello?

London-bound!

Electric Youth

New York State of Mind

Not-so Legally Blonde

Questions

Gay Pride and other distractions

Pregnant!

Cold

Yay!

Happy 40th Anniversary!

Settling in

The final goodbye post

I am drunk. Goodbye Sydney!

Poo

Goodbye #1

Brought to you by the letter 'L'

Food Cravings

Going Away Presents

Boxing Class

Interview with Myself

Lunch

Gaming

Work Funnies

Four

Hungover

Yummy!

Home Sweet Home

Things I Miss

Stares, Traffic and being a VVIP

The 100th!

Boo to Philippine Airlines

Hot Half-Asian Men

Gay Jeopardy

December Thoughts

Beeping

Wedding Gift?

Ch-Ch-Ch-changes

Great Keppel Island

Beer, Boobs and Bucks

I heart NY

Randomness

DJ Comp Details

Poker, DJing and Alcohol

I Ebb, Therefore I Am

DJ Comp!

Birthdays and Other Stuff

Birthday Wishes

Where's the Party?

I (Will Always) Still Call Australia Home

Photos that make me laugh

Coming Out - Part One

Home Sweet Home

Birthday Trivia

If I Could

Thin

Expensive Taste

USA! USA! *chant*

Welcome Tre!

Happy Anniversary Matty

Photos and Stuff

Thirty One

Hell Week

Alcohol much?

Happy New Year!

Brokeback Mountain

Weekend in LA

L.A. Story

US of A

New Years Eve

Goin back to Cali...

Gud Engrish

Coupling

Sunday Dinner

Weekend Happenings

Things I've Learnt

Gay Marriage

neck crick

USA! USA! chant