August 28th

This is old news.....but wtf!....some idiot stole my picture and is using it as his own. 

Auckland is so small that everything gets around. And the reason I knew was because Gym Buddy supposedly got a message from the idiot, with my picture on it.

Ah well, I guess I'm to blame for being silly enough to publish my pictures. Now I get absolutely paranoid when someone stares at me when I'm out and about.......

July 31st

So anyway, I thought I'd share a few things I got in the mail today....

(1) An Email from my ISP:

Hi "jeremy"

During the last billing month your broadband data usage was: 20.01367188 GB

This is a friendly notification that 20.01367188 GB exceeds what we consider reasonable usage on the ZeroShock broadband data plan. Under the reasonable use policy we reserve the right to move you off this plan if you continue to use in excess of 20 GB (Gigabytes).

The Orcon Team

OH DEAR! What do I do guys? I went over by 0.01367188 GB!!!! And they're threatening to move me to another plan if I keep being naughty, dowloading all those big porn files.

Seriously! 0.01367188GB?

(2) Shelter DVD

This "coming out" movie had been widely reviewed. So I thought I'd buy it and check it out. It took four weeks on back order!

I'll give you an update on how it is once I've watched it.

July 9th

"At $199, we think the iPhone 3G is going to be affordable to almost everyone. " 

- Steve Jobs, WWDC June 9th, 08

The hype of the iphone was killed after looking at the Vodafone NZ plans released yesterday.

Mr Jobs, do you think a normal income earner is able to afford a $199 iPhone with a $250 per month subscription!?!?! And then carry this nonsense on for 2 years? That's a total of $6199!!!

And I bet in a year, Apple will release iPhone with better resolution camera, a front camera, and perhaps a better GPS policy.

Isn't it so illogical that the iPhone is priced similar (maybe slightly less) than the Nokia N95?

The N95 has 5MP camera, two cameras, GPS, 3G, etc etc.

But I guess the iPhone has a better human interface- plus it looks pretty. It's like people reading London Preppy because he's hot, not because he writes exciting stuff.

Anyway, I just think Apple is weird in selling their phones. Why don't they sell the phones like normal manufacturers do?- full price. That way, we get to choose whichever carrier and plan we go on!

July 5th

While I was in Sydney, I can't help noticing things like...

"Prefer euro only"
"No Asians or Indians- no offense, just a preference"
"Sorry, Asians just don't do it for me"

This is prevalent in Auckland, but more so in Sydney.....and I think its somewhat universal.

Below is the evidence from the DNA magazine's Gay Sex Survey...

July 2nd

I'm back (in New Zealand)!

So this will be the last time I update my "Sydney Facts" list (at least for the next few months).

Updated points are in bold italics.

(1) Scarcity of rubbish bins. (I have received intelligence that there's a lack of rubbish bins due to its potential threat to national security. Apparently, it is a perfect tool for terrorists. Do not expect Sydney to be litter free like Singapore!)
(2) Sydney is not as livable as Auckland, apparently. [10th vs. 5th, Mercer's Survey]
(3) Sydney is hopeless at making espresso coffee or hot chocolate. They can't even get the milk right! (Oh yes, I've tried many outlets- all bad!)
(4) The movies in Sydney are only $9 on Tuesdays!
(5) The movies in Sydney have a 15 minute "pre-show program" before they actually start playing. It was very boring sitting through it.
(6) Sydney trains are double glazed and air conditioned. Very comfy indeed. (NYC trains are freezers in the winter!)
(7) The "top of the pops" in Sydney right now is "No Air" by Jordin Sparks (all over radio).

(8) The Pacific Highway is just a 3 lane road (extremely narrow) with a 60 km/hr limit.

(9) The supermarket conveyor belts are shorter here.

(10) "MX" is the free subway newspaper you would read if you didn't have an iPod or a book.

(11) "Ivy" is the new hottest hang out place in Sydney at the mo. (The only young people around my age were the cleaners/waiters.)

June 18th

Sydney Facts UPDATED!!!:
[A list of quirky little things about Sydney as I discover the city]

(1) Scarcity of rubbish bins. (I have received intelligence that there's a lack of rubbish bins due to its potential threat to national security. Apparently, it is a perfect tool for terrorists. Do not expect Sydney to be litter free like Singapore!)
(2) Sydney (10th) is not as livable as Auckland (5th). [Mercer's Survey]
(3) Sydney is hopeless at making espresso coffee or hot chocolate. They can't even get the milk right! (Oh yes, I've tried many outlets- all bad!)
(4) The movies in Sydney are only $9 on Tuesdays!
(5) The movies in Sydney have a 15 minute "pre-show program" before they actually start playing. It was very boring sitting through it.
(6) Sydney trains are double glazed and air conditioned. Very comfy indeed. (NYC trains are freezers in the winter!)
(7) The "top of the pops" in Sydney right now is "No Air" by Jordin Sparks (all over radio).

June 9th

Good morning world, I'm reporting from Sydney.

It has only been less than 24 hours, and Sydney hasn't "wowed" me- not yet at least.

I'm living on King's Cross' main street where Sydneysiders have their parties. Ever seen the mess in a club after a night of partying? Well the street I'm living in was filled with bottles, wrappers, cans, condoms, prostitutes.... when I woke up this morning.

I went across the road to have McD's and I was sitting next to a girl who's obviously had her heart broken. She was bitching away to her gay guy friend who was wearing a bright pink shirt, nodding and "umm-ing"- poor guy.

Sydney rail is not really up to my standards. I can't believe the trains are dirtier than the NYC subway!

This is my initial experience- hopefully things brighten up.

June 7th

So yesterday was my "last day of semester".  Well, not really. Its my last day before I go on my "working holiday" to Sydney next week. (I will have my proper holiday, after my working holiday.)

I was schedule for my hospital rotation yesterday. We all reported in on time, but the receptionist was clueless why we were there (as always). We've been going to the hospital for over a few months now, but they're still not sure which doctor we will be training under for that day.

The receptionist knows nothing, the nurses run around trying to sort things out, and eventually a senior doctor had to come in and help sort out the administrative mystery. (I would have thought it was a simple task of "oh yes, Dr. A is expecting you in room 21")

But anyway, it was all worth the wait, because after about an hour, I was introduced to a very camp ophthalmologist. Blonde hair, blue eyes, tight aqua blue polo. He said hi with a tone that made my gaydar ring alarm bells- it might have been a false alarm, but we will never know.

He quickly changed into scrubs, and we started seeing patients. His cross-leg really just confirmed it so much more.

Here comes the confusing part. During break, which he calls "Mrs. Brown" (isn't that gay?), the nurses were asking him about his girlfriend. He then chats about how he's broken up with "the girlfriend from Christchurch" and has a new one now.

I was of course a little disappointed, because really, he should be my boyfriend. 

So I'm left wondering if he's using girlfriend as a synonym for boyfriend. These two words have the same core meaning- i.e. partner; which of course can be mixed around to keep ones private life discrete (this is especially important in a hospital situation, where nurses live on gossip).

So Dr. A, if you're reading this, I hope you drop a line and clarify this confusion. 

----------

Yesterday night, GB and I went to watch Sex and the City. 

The whole cinema was filled with giggling girls and very few couples.

This movie was OK. I can't say I found it absolutely entertaining. I felt this movie was really meant for girls only. The shoes, the wedding, the dresses, the straight men. It just didn't click for me.

However I did have a favourite scene, and that is when Samantha walks out of the fashion show from Bryant Park and got spilled by an animal activist with red paint chanting "fur!, animal killer" (or something along those lines).

I was expecting Samantha to say "Fuck", but instead she smiled and said "This is why I love New York".

May 27th

So anyway, nothing has been happening much since I last updated. But I'll update anyway, because you like reading the boring and mundane stuff.

I've only been back in New Zealand for less than a week, but I've got my ticket to SYDNEY!!!!
Yes. I'll be leaving in 1.5 weeks time. And it only cost me $420!!!!!

I'll be flying Emirates. Hopefully the big and the beautiful of Dubai translates to a super luxurious economy flight to Sydney. I've read the "Inflight Services" section of Emirate's website, and found that I'll be able to enjoy 60 channels of entertainment during my 3 hours journey.

Right, about school...they've seem to have scheduled all the hard stuff into this week. Geriatrics, Ophthalmology and Clinical Exam.
Let me explain the jargon:
** Geriatrics involve helping old people who can barely see much to see something, an extremely laborious task.
** Ophthalmology means we get hospital grade patients. We work under the supervision of a specialist; which means you're under quite a bit of pressure.
** Clinical Exams are when a marker sits in one of my patient consultation/"eye test" and marks me. Because he/she is watching all the time, I'm not allowed to make any mistakes- and everything I do will be scrutinized.

Ok, enough about school.
I went to gym today with GB and he still has a crush on the skinny Brazilian guy. We saw his tattoo today on his torso (in the changing room). GB is apparently not big into tats but he seem to have liked this one. GB has also developed a sudden fascination for everything Brazilian. I can't help but see Brazilian guy exercising his eye muscles more than his skeletal muscles- i.e. he checks himself out in the mirror at least 50% of the time. But he is cute- and skinny.

Right, this is probably where you'll stop reading if I continued....I'm sure most of you didn't get this far.

OK I need a place to stay in Sydney!!!! Help!

May 17th

As you all know, I'm here in Melbourne over the weekend.

I had the pleasure of sitting in one of my WORST flight ever. I woke up at 4:45am, and didn't get to my destination until 6:00pm! (And this is suppose to be a 3.5hr flight).

Everything was well from when I woke up to when I boarded the plane.

There was a bit of fog outside, but there was still some visibility (I've seen worst fog). But before we were just about to push off, Mr. Captain said we were gonna be 20mins late. And every 20mins, we would be another 20mins late....and we were not allowed to go back out into the terminal in case it was our turn to fly next.

So...we stayed in the plane for 4-5hrs....on the tarmac.

At this point, I've not eaten since I woke up. I thought I'd get into Melbourne early and grab something to eat (and there's usually something on the plane to eat too).....so I didn't bother with McDs or BK in the terminal.
Anyway being very hungry, made me very cranky. And hunger, anger, and impatience is not a good mix (don't worry, I bottled this all up inside of me).

We were finally let off the plane to go walk around in our waiting lounge after they thought we weren't gonna fly (pretty useless), but 20 mins later we got called back.

I did not have anything proper to eat until 12:30pm (lunchtime). Everyone on the flight was still hungry after that breakfast-come-lunch, so they decided to give us ice-cream.

There was more waiting at the tarmac when we landed in Melbourne. Apparently, another plane was using our gate.

BUT, I've watched 2 movies, and 1 TV show. 27 dresses and Golden compass- PG of course.
And a travel show called "Intrepid Journeys to Malaysia", where a city girl gets to do all these outdoor-sy stuff.

So I did not hit the shops until 4pm in the afternoon. (I was suppose to start at fucking 11am!)
But once I've made it to the city, pretty boys and pretty clothes galore!