Echo

Almost the end of my second year working holiday visa in Australia and I still haven't done much, well I have but sometimes I feel that I haven't done much personally, I have done a lot, did most of the things that people usually do, like being a sheep and followed someone's dream but still wasn't able to find my own dream, I am still looking for that voice and now here I am doing a road trip and exploring the east coast, finally, I have decided to put the east coast trip on my second year due to some people telling me that not many people linger away from east coast and being the stubborn me, I wanted to prove them wrong which I did, I did the opposite of what most people do in Australia, met great people along the way and now I am doing the east coast. At the moment, I am playing a drinking game with a couple of Aussies and getting smashed, I decided to write my blog, I haven't used the internet, I mean properly to sit down and contemplate about my whole life as a drunkard, so now I am doing this while I take a sip from my glass of homebrew beer and whisky and play some drinking games, fuck the bus and screw the ring of fire!

Delirious Dream

Anxiety and disillusion can make people lose their minds. I have been dreaming about strange things lately and now it has been almost two years since I left Taiwan and I still feel lost in my own world. What is it that will ultimately fulfil my goal is still unknown to me. I am still here, in this planet, finding and searching for something that I don't know whether I should believe it or not. I am still trying to find this illusion that has been written in me since I was born, maybe it is all a facade because I am starting to lose my believe, I am starting to grow perhaps or maybe I am becoming more of a cynical than before, it is the disillusion of a broken dream that brings me here to question whether all this has been a great lie. I don't know about that but all I know is that I am starting to get the real picture of what lies underneath all these bullship that we have been told to believe. Feelings are crap, and overrated.

Dwindling Days

I have been getting stressed for the past two days and i don't know why? It is not like my life isn't easy enough, i don't work and i live in a chill town but the fact that I have less than 5 months in Australia that is worrying me, and the fact that I don't know what will I do after I leave this place is really affecting my moods these two days. I can't get it, my life seems to be getting to where I want it and was crying for it. I am having fun and getting to know this friend of mine that I am living with but something is not right, I don't know what that is, I am uneasy all the times and I just don't know, somehow I can't relax. There seems to be not enough time to do a lot of things and it's been like this for the past 3 weeks. We ended up being the cleaners of the house rather than living it. That is killing the fun out of here and the fact that I am not working is also taking its toll on me. I can't do anything fun, I can't spend too much money because I need the money for my visa to Europe, the USA and New Zealand, because of these reasons I have been trying to live a very cheap life, is it worth it, I don't know. I am worried that I won't be getting my visas but also I am really missing the fun of being in Australia, travelling and enjoying my life. S

Doggie Paddle

Daft Situation

If someone steals your stuff, would you report it to the coppers? I would, but maybe that’s me, today at the BBQ, celebrating Tobias birthday one of the guys that worked briefly with me told us he lost his electric cutters, now that is an equipment that cost a lot of money, regardless of how he lost it, even thought he left it outside his caravan park on a Friday night for a few seconds, someone stealing it would really be weird, they all knew each other and Aussies aren’t a dishonest type of people, they are usually the honest kind, especially if you live in a town like Mudgee, where everybody know each other. For me, I would have gone straight to the police because first of all that cost like 3000+ bucks and that is like working for one month in vain, screw that I am not labouring for free. Something really logic was mentioned today by Dave, he reckons that the equipment should have never left the workplace because for a few reasons, one it doesn’t belong to us and two why do they have to bring it home and charge it at home? Well besides to save energy consumption by our employers, cheeky bastards and the fact that they will be charging your for anything that will happen to it, makes you want to wonder how low these people are being treated, it is like you work to help them pay off their debts or something, in other words slavery. If those equipments were so expensive why leave it to your employees, whom by all means can steal it or sell it, especially disgruntled ones. This whole job is really fishy and the more time I spend here and hear all these stories the more I find it more peculiar and intriguing about this contractor, I mean there were two girls who really questioned my reasoning for calling the cops, I mean, It is just logical because the boss or G guy is a sneaky guy, he would cut you off just to save a few bucks, how on earth would he not screw you up? And on top of that he tells this German guy not to go to the coppers? I mean, a reasonable person would think twice about this sort of person and if you have nothing to hide, what’s the fuss about visiting the police, it is not like you are working illegally, then you are basically screw (another reason why I would never work anywhere illegally, cause I don’t want to be exploited), by going to the coppers, they might actually help you and they will be on your side and statistically stolen goods are almost never going to turn up so the chances are slim to ever finding them, unless the person who stole it is a buffoon but that is another story, the thing is by reporting to the authorities, you are letting them know about this missing items and they will be informed about your and if something like let say your employer threatened to fire you, at least you will have some kind of protection, you never know how unscrupulous people would try to extort you or take advantage of you. Sometimes it is better to position yourself in a better and more advantageous position rather than leave yourself at risk or vulnerable. All I hope now is that he goes to the coppers and try not to just go away because if he does that, then he will be doing something that will put him on the wrong side of the law because by doing that, his boss could actually call the authorities and get him into trouble and that is what you don’t want to do, to make your situation worse off, it is better to have the coppers on your side than against you. Protect yourself by watching others and by doing that you are also protecting others at the same time.

Dissection

Partied the whole week and now I am totally knackered, spend the last two days drinking but since I haven't been drinking for a while, I couldn't drink much to be honest, the wine tour that we had on Saturday was exciting and fun, I took a lot of pictures and maybe, perhaps stumble by accident a new species of insect, I don't know but nobody has seen it before, it was beautiful and new but since I was half drunk, I couldn't keep my hands steady so the picture was blurred. I hope it is a new species so in that case, I can name it. That would be awesome. Some of the wine were great but some of them were awful and I have been drinking wine for a while but not in my life I would ever call myself an expert, I don't really know what is going on when I drink the wine, people tell me all sort of things, the flavour and the aftertaste, for me it all taste the same, some dryer than others but it is just the same, maybe I am not a professional drinkers, but in the other hands, I rather not be one, since most of the professional wine experts have decayed teeth so that they can better taste the wines, that isn't a good job that I would take, I can't stand bad teeth so that ain't my cup of tea, but in the other hands I might be duped into believing that! Am I that gullible, sometimes I do think so, sometimes I am smart but that is becoming a rarity in my life

Dilemma

Time goes fast, as we all grow old eventually we fell the agony of getting old but today as I looked myself from the mirror in the bathroom I have noticed a couple of grey hair. For some people that would be an awful experience but for me it was a joyful experience, I don't know but I felt quite happy, I mean I am getting old and it is just something that people should celebrate, not a lot of people live long but in these age, people live longer than our ancestors did but the idea of growing old is such a horrendous tale, I mean I know that my skin will get saggy or that I will start to have this old man smell but I am happy and I have been living a great life so I can't complain and to live another 50 more years would be an astronomical experience but well get into that once I turned 70 and we'll see how it goes, but for now I am living at Mudgee, small town with nice and friendly people, which eventually I will move to Queensland for some nice and great adventure.

Drink Up

Drinking beer in Australia is not cheap, beer are so expensive but they are not bad thought, however are they worth they price tag, sometimes they are but since am not really working, I need to cut back those expensive vices, and since my beer gut is getting bigger than before, I have decided to drink more wine instead, not until I have found a way to save money and enjoy some beer at the same time, it was a year ago that me and some friends made some homebrew beer, they tasted really good and were way cheaper than buying them at the liquor shop so why didn't I make more then, after I left South Australia (the place where we made the beer) we went to Western Australia to live and since I didn't plan to stay there, I didn't see the reason to make beer because I have no car and travelling with 23 litres of beer can be exhausting plus then I got a job that somehow helped me maintain my lifestyle and that's when I developed a beer gut, after 6 months in Perth and then South America, now I decided to bring back the free and cheap beer.

Deeds

A deed would be something that is done, performed, or accomplished in a day, something good that I have been doing daily is to cook and clean the house, well it is something that I like to do but since I am not working it is something that does keep in mentally fit, otherwise I would be doing nothing, but nothing is just an empty words to me because I do things and perhaps it might not sound important or achieving, perhaps it is just time filler, but to me it is something, I am preparing a lot of things now so at this state I am just getting my shit sorted it out and getting ready to move on to a new phase of my life, being comfortable of what I do and appreciable little things in life. That is what I would like to achieve but before that little things like this has to be sorted before moving into a bigger territory.

Daylight Saving

What have I been doing for the past few days, ohm, besides procrastinating for doing much productive, I have been literally doing a lot, well like any other day, I wake around 10ish, boil some water for my tea, I have found this fascination for drinking tea, don't know why but I have to drink something hot to keep me warm in this part of New South Wales, which can be cold early in the morning, so while I wake up in the garden with the dog next to me, drinking warm tea and waiting for the weather to warm up, I think of what I want to eat and what should I do for the rest of the day, sometimes I write a little bit, but for the past few days. Getting tan and drinking tea, well life is very hard for me but I can't complain!

Deadly Choices

I have never expected things to turn this way nor did I ever imagine that because of this I would be thrown off from my plans that I have set in Australia for the remaining of my second working holiday. Sometimes it just happened and now I am trying to figure myself out again, I mean I really don't know what I am going to do, I like my writings as well as I would like to work, but lately I have noticed that since I took my last short term job, I have been failing to write anything decent because I have been too tired to do anything, yes so is life but I want to finish with my book and I want to work and save money so I can travel to Europe next year, I am a bit nervous about all this things and also nervous about meeting new people because new people means more distraction for me and I have so much to do and so little time, I have been trying to solve some of the things are weren't solved prior to my Kiwi trip, I am trying to find closure to a lot of things, just before I start doing something new, I guess I need to find peace with some of the things that have been hanging out there in my subconscious. I am back to being myself again, back to normality.

Daunting Task

Living with strangers can be frustrating at time as well as rewarding at some other times. Working with the people you live with means seeing those same people all the time and after long hours of labouring you might easily get annoyed by something so small and meagre like whether the a particular person likes its food with or without real tomatoes but somehow can eat food that is made of tomato paste, things like that, which somehow I still scratch my head to try to understand the peculiar logic behind that habit, for me tomatoes is the same as tomato paste, fuck it's red and it taste the same. Like if that was going to stop me from using real tomatoes on my food, I was making pizza sauce the other night and since we only bought tomatoes because this particular person didn't inform us in advance that he didn't like eating tomatoes, but just before we were cooking it. Unbelievable!

City of Grapes

Mudge life can be simple and normal, that is what you get when you work in the country side, however the most frustrating thing that I am encountering is the lack of internet accessibility, I do get connection but it is like waiting for an apple to ripe, it does take a long but long time to go to a page and it is so annoying cause I need to check emails and write my blog and on top of that I need to pay bills, since I work from 7 to 5, I don't really have time to go to the bank and working from Monday to Saturday, doesn't really help much. All I want to do after coming back from work is chill and read some news, that I can't do either. Isn't Australia supposed to be a developed nation, I mean come on, even in my city, which is a "third world" country we've got better internet than most Australian big city. This is how backward this country is, technologically. Oh, well I have to see how much will I last without going mental or ballistic with the lack of sleep, I am already a bit agro and now with the lack of normal internet, I will go berserk. Talking about job, today was a better day for me, and one of the reason is that I am getting better and tomorrow will be my first payday. J Enjoy!

Change Of Plan

The day I found out that I a friend of mine got me a job, I was quite surprised and very happy, and because I haven't worked for nearly 4 months, getting back to work was something exciting, I have been relaxing for too long and sometimes I had too much time that I was bored for not doing anything. I had the greatest four months of my life and people envied my lifestyle, not working for four months did kind of sucked my funds out of my savings but it was worth it. There is no point in life in saving all the time, when you don't even know how to spend the money and appreciate life. I, indeed was starting to worry a bit about my balance sheet that I was kind of forced to go back to work at least later next month, so this job will really help me a lot.

However after my first day at work, I kind of regret my decision to go back into workforce. I had to wake up so early and on my first day of work, I actually owe my boss 120 dollars for the purchase (forced) of a pair of pruning gloves, well and also found out that if I break the blades, 50 dollars, I have to pay for them, what? I know, it is kind of exploitation because basically, we spend a lot of money to fix the place, even thought the money is good but the amount of money that we will end up coughing up will be substantial, like if you cut your own cord, that will be another 130 dollars. Since I am almost poor, I will have to suck it up and work for a while, then our road trip to the middle of Australia will soon begin.

Cutting Vines

After 4 months of not doing much I have finally found a job or shall I say that a good friend of my found me a job a his farm, apparently the job starts around 7 in the morning and finish like 5 in the afternoon, so apparently it is a hard job and I will start next Tuesday, so my plan is to stay 2 days in the city and then I will start working again. At the moment I am feeling a bit nervous, excited about getting paid for doing something rather than spending money all the time, but at the same time I am worried because I haven’t been working for a while and I am not sure if I will be able to handle this. Wish me luck!
PS. That means that I will not be able to do the road trip with Lynne to the centre of Australia next month. Darn it, I have to make a choice, work now and chill later or keep chilling and worry later!

Catch My Star

As I arrived back to Sydney again, I don’t know but I feel that I have spent this year mostly at airports, it is something that I am not used to but always dreamed about, I always wanted to work in the airline industry but never had the chance so I am kind acting out on it but today I kind of realize that travelling is fun, but it does waste a lot of your life doing almost nothing, I mean why would I want to spend my life sitting on an airplane but then I spend a lot of my time doing almost nothing and whatever I do, whatever job I will take in the future, I will be doing something that will ultimately mean nothing, which I hope will never happen but to be more realistic, most of our jobs are meaningless. Coming back to Sydney was great, I met with my friend for some Indian food and talked about life in general. I enjoyed talking to Lynne, something we always connect and after one year travelling in Australia, she is one of the few people that I ended meeting again and again. I mean Australia isn’t that small but as we both usually say it. If it happens, it happens!

Carcajadas

Today is my last day in New Zealand, finally after 3 weeks living here, it is time for me to say sayonara to the country of the Hobbits and sheep. It has been a great place to be for the past 3 weeks, meet great people at the backpacker in Christchurch and see plenty of this country and spend loads as well, but at the end of the day it was well worth it. Money is made to be spent on luxury and things that will fulfil your life and eventually if God allows you, the things that you see during your travel will make you a better person, a person that will make a difference in this world. I am learning a lot and I am seeing so much that no matter what will happen to me after my trip, I will have this with me forever, and as I get older, which is something that is unavoidable I can see things more clearly and pass these knowledge to people who can actually use it. Travelling and seeing the world has made me a better person, a more mature person, a more understanding person but I am not much wiser than others because my learning road hasn’t finished as I am always learning.

Cruel Comedy

Today I went to watch Sascha Baron Cohen's new movie called Bruno, I was prepared for the worst, something more cruel and vulgar than Borat, but it wasn't that bad. It was funny and sometimes unbelievable but I mean how people can be that dumb and not realize that they are faking it. I mean some of the stuff are just unwatchable but funny and as the film progresses, we find ourselves into this satirical poem of Bruno's quest for stardom. We have to give this to Sascha Baron Cohen’s for his ingenuity and wit because not many comedians would even be able to pull those acts off but he has shown to the world once again that he doesn’t give a flying Arschloch.

Cost Saving

After one week of planning, I have decided to go with the one year trip all around the world ticket from Christchurch, hoping that down the road I won’t regret this decision, it has however cost me a fortune which will send me back to Sydney as a beggar, well not really but in backpackers term, I will be living under the a lot of pressure, therefore, no more drinking nice and foamy beers but occasionally the old goon box, no more take out foods but easy to make 3 minutes noodles and instead of taking the metro to the city I will be taking myself to there. The GFC has finally hit me and now I have to look for an alternative job and I have to search for a job after not working for more than 4 months. Well at least I am having fun, so these past two days I will enjoy the best I can while I can, and I will check out this Festival in Christchurch before I leave New Zealand.

Cam Action

Chilli Caliente

For the last two days I haven't been doing much here in Christchurch, I have been hiding myself in my room, trying to figure out what to do as the days go by, all I can think of is what I am doing? Things like this are really not constructive so the best way for me to get myself entertained is by booking airlines ticket, it does help a lot because it makes me plan and it gives me a sense of accomplishment and it keeps me from thinking too much. It helps me see the future more clearly. As I do that I kind of realize that I have so many things to do, but sometimes it is hard to see that, not after you have woken up from this nasty nightmare of guilt and doubts that you realize what you have been through. Live was never meant to be easy. Those who lived long will tell you their successful story, but whatever they did back then might not work again, their formula of ever happiness might not necessarily be the same as yours. As I struggle to find the right ingredients for my happiness, all I will be testing right now is a lot of hot chillies; I need those to heat up my passion, my passion of life. The flame of my will is not as strong as it was awhile ago. I need to get that back and get back on track.

Carrying Boxes

Lately I have been having a lot of strange dreams and it does get weirder and weirder, I mean I am dreaming about somebody, even thought I am not thinking about that person at the moment but when I do, I feel melancholic and sad, sometimes it is hard not to think about that person, and no, not by drinking which I haven't done in a long time, not real drinking, like getting drunk drinking but just one glass of something rather than the whole bottle like I used to do. I mean does that mean that I am subconsciously thinking about that person which is strange because I am happy at the moment so why is it that I am subconsciously trying to make me feel sad? I love my dreams and some of them are so surreal and magical that my lives seems to be boring if I wasn't able to dream. Well not that dramatic,! my life is not that dull, it is fun and all that but not like something that I would have imagined to be, lying on the beach and writing my books but lately I haven't been doing much exciting things besides convincing people to vote for me. Maybe that is a loosing cause that isn't worth fighting which is how I feel sometimes, maybe sometimes it is better to learn to give up rather than continue fighting for a loosing cause. I don't know, I always fight until the end.

Church

It is nice to go out and it is nicer to have a plan, watched Harry Potter the other day and it was not bad but somehow I didn't like it that much, I mean granted it was a great movie but it just didn't do the magic I suppose. I am however looking forward to watching Bruno and planning whether I should buy the round the world ticket here in New Zealand. It is a bit more than I have expected but it is cheaper than flying several individual tickets per say but I don't know if I want to rush into something that eventually I might end up regretting but if I don't do it I might regret for not doing it. Haha, plenty of decision to decipher in the next upcoming days. I will be trying to entertain myself by making future choices based on how I am feeling today which might change in the future. Sounds odd but it is hard to predict the future and it is hard to choose what to do. I just have to follow my heart.

Closure

People comes and go all the time, it has become like a routing in mine for the last two years, but it is the memories and their spirits that will remain with me, as I sit at another Global Gossip Internet Cafe, glancing ahead and thinking what will I do now that most of my friends are gone. I have been giving a lot of thoughts, well a lot of things have been invading my head and as I try to figure out what will my next plan be. I am just going to chill out and meet other people and see the rest of Christchurch which is a nice medium sized town. I have been walking around the whole day this morning with my friend Edward, as he becomes more stressed about going back home, which is understandable, he has booked his flight on a stand by ticket, in other words staff (cheap) tickets which is great, I would be happy to be able to enjoy that privilege but I think people will get tired after flying anywhere anytime they want. Well I am sure he is now trying to find a flight back home, somewhere in the world. Great times mate and scrubs is waiting for you, I am not superman!

Caramba

I have been thinking about going back home but the problem is I have so many homes that I don't know where I should be going so it is hard to decide because I want to keep travelling but I am tired of not having a place of my own so I have been checking out flights. Somehow when I feel like going somewhere I always check flights, just for the fun of it and also it makes me think where else can I go, it makes me happier so as I checked the price to go back to Taiwan I have found this funny thing about flying with the same airline but from two different countries. It is indeed cheaper to fly from Christchurch than from Sydney or Brisbane. If I decided to go to Taipei at the last minute I will be paying 300 hundred dollars cheaper but I will be loosing 140 dollars on my flight back to Brisbane which is not the most flexible ticket on earth but one of the cheapest thought.

Christchurch In Surprise

Today is the opening of the new Harry Potter movie which I am dying to see, they have postponed the movie for 8 months and that wasn't funny, now that it is out and I am in New Zealand, the always first country to release new films, I can actually be one of the first few millions the watch it. However since the movie is so popular I don't think I will be able to get any tickets for today and since I am surprising my friend by going with him to Christchurch, even thought he thinks I am staying in Queenstown, not having a clue about my sudden change of plan will be really interesting and cool. I am getting to know a lot of great people whilst traveling in both Australia and New Zealand and I am honored to have this chance to meet them all so even thought going back and forth is going to cost me some DINERO, it doesn't matter because DINERO can't buy the experience and the opportunity that might have been lost if I didn't do anything with it.

Oh he did it! It is something that I am considering but since I am too cheap, I won't be doing it, I don't want to spend 300 dollars for a minute of fun, I would rather spend that much and dive for more and longer hours. Diving rocks!

Changing Time

The good thing about living in Australasia is the time difference, because it does help a lot in blogging, I mean it is like writing something in the future that already happened but not something that happened at somewhere else in the world, so that I can always be ahead of the time that my blog is registered with, thought it does confused me because sometimes I am writing about things that already happened but trying to sound like it is still happening. It does help me a lot in my writing thought and yes I am a bit confused of what I have just wrote. Maybe sometime tomorrow when I have to change something I will get it.

Catching Up With Austria

This is the movie I would like to see and it does remind me of a good Austrian friend who happens not to be like BRUNO.

Cold Day

Today was so cold that I did nothing, I tried to do something but ended up playing games and watching movies. Not much but since we are moving to a new hostel tomorrow, I have also pack my bags and done my laundry and I have realized that I do have a lot of things especially a lot of undies. I can't believe how time flies and sometimes I think I am growing up because I am thinking more different than 10 years ago, now I am really considering stuff that I wouldn't have ever considered doing in my life. Life and experience changed me but life a never ending lesson that needs constant education.
After more than a week staying at the Black Sheep I have realized that I never once did I jump in into the spa pool, which is silly cause it is on all the time and with this crazy cold weather I might try that tonight and bring you some pictures of it tomorrow, and since the hostel doesn't allow us to drink our own alcoholic beverages it wouldn't be as much fun as I would have wanted to make it. I still remember the hostel I stayed in Brisbane, it had a cool jacuzzi as well but the same problem with bringing your own alcohol. Maybe next time I am there I won't book bunk again.

Cansancio

Sunday Blues, I woke up feeling strange today, I was a bit excited to check my votes but at the same time very kind of tired of being here. Nothing seems to work and it is just not the same as Australia I guess, I have the vibe that people here are not the way I would have imagined. It feels more touristic and it feels like the place is more concerned about how much tourist dollar they can get rather than making people feel like home. I don't know, there are a lot of things to do in this place but you have to spend a lot of money and I am at this stage that I don't want to spend too much money here and since I am not working and I know that there aren't much jobs back in OZ, I would rather go somewhere else and then go back home and work again. I am at this stage that I don't want to waste more time here and that it is time to go and move on again. Most of my friends are gone and to be honest I really miss a home and a place to be for a while. I am getting tired of being overcharged for a service that is so crappy and they treat people like in prison and try to milk the most money out of us, by not allowing people to bring their own alcohol and charging a lot for something that you can buy at the next door supermarket. It is just money that they are interested and they don't care whether people are really having this great experience of their lives. I think this is the impression I am getting from New Zealand, especially Queenstown. I miss the place where you can just drink cheap drinks with others and not being watched like children. And to be honest I came here to see my friend and that is it, skiing was something extra and nothing more, meeting people would have been great but at the end of the day and I will quote a something from my good old pal, M. "It is not the place that makes your adventure but the people that were in it. Maybe he didn't say that, maybe I did, but it is something that I have to agree. It is not the place but the people that are in it and I can finally see that, now I have to find that place where I can be with the people I care, but where is that place? It has become an endless search for me and an infinite journey to find it.

Cautious Water

Been in New Zealand for a week and time does fly when you are busy trying everything. the best burger in town is from Fergburger and it is also the biggest one and it only cost 16 dollars. It is so big that it took two person to finish eating them. I am telling you Queenstown is beautiful and the people that lives here are charming as well. Now that my holiday's holiday is about to end, I am left wondering what will I do next, and now that I really have to look for a job I am kind of worried since I haven't been working since 4 months and my books is nearly finish but, I still have a of things to do. I am very busy at the moment with a lot of projects that I am excited and thrill but at the same time tired and restless because those projects do not generate profits yet and because of that I will be forced to do actually work. I know but I won't stop vagando.

Campaign To Antarctica

I don't know if chatting with all my friends or spending the whole day today in front of my computer made me sick today or because of the weather. I really want to get this going but it is not that easy but who says life is easy. It is really hard thought and the idea of someone with 800 plus vote is really discouraging. I am going up against this Portuguese guy who host a radio show and can really rally people behind him, he is someone who can actually win this. However everybody can win, if you are persistent and never give up, you can win. I know I can, nobody thought that Obama could beat Hillary, but he did, he was persistent and he beat her against all the odds. Somehow getting reacquainted with all my friends was really pleasant. I mean, sometimes you see them online but since you haven't spoken to each other for a while you kind of don't know where to start and I don't want to sound like I am getting reacquainted with them just for the votes. I am truly interested in hearing what people has been doing and it is really interesting, somehow I want to see all of my friends but in this world where air tickets do actually cost money I won't be able to do that. I wish I can just teleport to anywhere I want and maybe that will stop me from harassing people to vote for me or maybe not.

Candy Shop

I have been walking around in Queenstown and I have met two old friends from the small town of Berri. I stayed there for like 3 months in South Australia, where I worked and partied but it is really strange to meet them here, unexpected thought. As I was walking around this beautiful and picturesque city to chill down and get away from "work" I have stopped this great candy or lolly shop called Remarkables. where they made they own fudge and you can try as much as you like. I got some for sure but they are so delicious. Now somehow I ended up somewhere and I found this amount of beer. Two of the things I am trying to stay away but somehow they just keep following me. I did not drink for a while and I mean beer drinking. :)

Comradery

As I sit today in front of my computer I realize that I have so much to do. I want to try to convince all my friends to vote for me. I am trying to convince people that I am the right one to go to the Antarctica Dream contest. As I sit here pondering who will vote for me, I realize that it is time for me to also get in touch with friends that I haven't heard from them for a while. It is not just for their votes but to get acquainted with them again. They are people that I have spent time in my life with, and they are people that mattered to me in so many ways. Even without their votes, they are still my friends, so rest assure, your votes will help me with this adventure but your friendship will always remain at my heart.

Competition Entry

This is what I wrote for my entry to this Antarctica competition at this website http://www.blogyourwaytoantarctica.com/blogs/entries. Please if you could go to this webpage and search for my name. TOMMY and vote for me that would be great and I would appreciate a lot since perhaps that would send one Bolivian to Antarctica and perhaps the first one as well. Please vote for me. Thanks guys
One of the reason you should vote for me is because I am unique in my own ways. I am a very easy going guy to get along with and I have traveled to a lot of place, I can bring to the team my versatility and my experience, I can bring to the team my unique creativity. I grew up in the jungle in Bolivia, I love animals and I get get along with everybody else on this planet, polar bears included. I want to show the world how a Bolivian sees the world throught my lenses. I want to share this great experience in the antarctic with you through my writing, I love writing and telling people about my travel stories and I want to show the world that Bolivia is not just about Cocaine and that there is more to it. I am a young and energetic person who has a positive approach to live. I enjoy seeing the beauty of our wonderful planet, I enjoy the mysteries of the antarctica and its unique biodiversity that lives on it. I enjoy reading books, writing and taking pictures as well as telling people about our environment and how every one on this planet should protect and cherish what's left. I am your guy because I can express my thought very clearly and I am very articulate person and I can appleal to a wider audience in the world with my ability to speak three of the most spoken languages in the world (SPANISH, ENGLISH, MANDARIN) I can convey my thought about the importance of the polar regions to the world. I am the one who can make a different and I have been dreaming about this chance to make a difference in this world

Capricho

Card And Caipirinha

The week started really nice, woke up kind of early because apparently our dorm was overbooked so there were 5 people instead of 4 people sleeping in my room last night. I don't know what happened but one of the girls had to sleep on the floor and she was charged for twin share. I don't know what happened but to me that's really sneaky. Anyways I had wake up early as well to check out because I wanted to stay with my friends at room 8 so I had to check out from room 11. I have been traveling for a while and sometimes I don't understand why hostels charge the same for 3 beds dorm and 4 beds dorm. I mean I would rather go with the 3 bed dorm since they are the same price. Because I stayed at different dorm last night, there was a newbie from the US who stayed with my friends, she is an awesome girl and just started her round the world trip. It was cool to meet her, so the next day we went for a hike. We have been told that the hike would take at least 45 minutes to an hour, however after taking many pictures (we think) and getting taking detours (lost) we arrived at the peak of the mountain in about 2 hours or maybe less, at that point, we weren't bothered with the time because it was worth it to be honest. The view was fantastic and splendid. The trek was a bit long but it was interesting because we only took 1 break, even thought we planned to take breaks every ten minutes, but after realizing that we were better than that we didn't do much break and since we were talking about things, time did fly and we reach the place in one piece.

On top of the mountain we decided to luge, something that I have never done it before and it was exciting and fun. We wanted to do the faster lane but since we have never done it before, they had this policy that don't allow first timers to go on the fast lane so we had pay to go twice but it was well worth it. After the most exciting ride of my trip here in New Zealand, we decided to take the gondola back to earth, the trip was really relaxing and chilling, and well deserving.
Before going back to my hostel I decided to rent some gear so I can ski the tomorrow. I have to be honest I never thought that skiing was such a pain in the arse. I mean first of all the shoes were so tight and uncomfortable and after trying those boots I do feel sympathy for those women who were forced to wear corsets. Man my feet were in pain but the rest of the gears were OK. They were not that expensive but if you want to do it more often I do advise you to buy your own cause renting them for a few days might be worth it but not for long termers.
After that we decided to go to our hostel and play some cards and drink some caipirinha. I taught them how to play the Swedish game called cucumber and then played some bullshit. The night ended quite early as I prepared myself for tomorrow, the day when I go to the mountain and try to ski. I bet you that I will be in pain the following day.

Captivate

We went to this supermarket called New World today, since it was quite far we have decided to hitchhike and it was so easy, Kiwis are so friendly and very helpful, they try to be as helpful as they can, we got someone to take us there after 5 seconds, literally it was the second car. The ride was great, the couple were not from Queenstown but 2 hours away and they came to town to visit family. However on our way back, something strange happened, the woman who was supposed to give us a ride back suddenly decided not to since some staff at the supermarket told her that if she did that she would have been in trouble so she declined to give us a ride. I mean that was really uncalled for and weird because what did we do that they were telling her that we were trouble. What the fuck, I think that is way out of line. I mean you can’t make false allegation against someone who has just arrived and calling me trouble. I wonder if TROUBLE is actually tattoed down at my forehead with a special ink? Anyways we got a lot of food and a speaker so after 10 minutes wandering around the freezing streets, we finally got another couple to drive us back. But what the hell was that for, some people are really bored.

Charlie's

Went food shopping today and found something very interesting, it was something that I have actually forgotten about. I used to work at this juice factory back in South Australia, right in Berri town and there was this company called Charlie’s and they are actually a Kiwi company operating in Australia and what they do is they sell juice, I mean real juice, so after working for a month over there, packing the bottles I have learnt many things about juce factory and it is fascinating to tell you the truth. You actually learn a lot of things while you are backpacking in Australia, it was an excellent opportunity that I couldn’t resist besides who would say no to a few bottles of free juice, they were really tasty, and I actually saved a lot of money, it also reminded me how delicious it tasted when they were for FREE.

Christchurch

Flying with Virgin Blue was somehow different than flying with the piece of old junk from Aerolineas Argentina, it wasn’t delayed and they were actually a serious airline. It was a great flight, and I for the first time in my life I actually wanted the flight to be delayed since I didn’t want to be stuck at the airport the whole evening, I wished the plane would be delayed which it didn’t happen. I arrived at Christchurch airport and I was quite tired and on top of that I forgot to print out my return ticket which made me quite nervous because I didn’t want them to kick me out of New Zealand yet. I haven’t even seen snow and they might not let me in, but the immigration officer was actually nicer than the ones I had encountered in the my life (UK), they were nice and were actually interested in listening to you so it was quite an experience. Got into the country and had to wait for 5 hours for my bus, I decided to stay at the airport cause there was no point in going to a hostel and pay for one night. I wanted to get to Queenstown as soon as possible so I booked the bus for the next day which was in 5 hours, but I was so tired and no matter how hard I tried to sleep on the floor, I just couldn’t fall asleep, the lights were so bright and they were vaccunning the floor at 4 in the morning and on top of that the bus was slightly late and it was so cold outside but I was prepared so I wore like 2 pants, 1 sweater, 2 jackets, 1 t-shirt, gloves, beanies and a scarf. I was full on, I was like a snowman compared to some people who were just wearing a t-shirt and a boardie? Crazy people, I think maybe they are from Antarctica. The view and the country is fantastic, as I waited for my bus I met an aussie backpacker who told me a few things about this wonderful country. We ended up sleeping on the bus, it finally arrived. I slep like a dog on the bus to Queenstown, I was so tired that I struggled to open my eyes from time to time but I was able to look at the beautiful landscape of this beautiful and exciting country of New Zealand, some parts were covered with snow and the lakes were just amazing but I didn’t do one thing, I was so tired to get my camera. Lol

Cartoon Extravaganza

I met up with my Scottish friend to watch transformer and before that we went to eat at this Japanese restaurant called Wagamama, the food was great but I still prefer the one that I used to go back in Perth, which somehow I can't the name, I have been there like almost every week and sometimes we ate both meals over there but I can't remember the name which is really annoying. Transformer was great, I can't understand why people wouldn't like this film, I mean what do you expect, it is a blockbuster film and it is what people would want to see for the summer, well American Summer, actions and all that kind of special effects and all the glory of the computer animation or whatever they used and after all it is transformers, how more dramatic would you want them to be. It reminded me of the cartoons that I grew up with and watched it religiously, and I watching it at the IMAX huge cinema was a big deal for me, it was awesome, the screen was so huge that everything seemed surreal, you felt part of it. I was like a child in a candy store, and my eyes were in chaos, they were darting from left to right. And whenever I watch a movie I have this rule if the movie you just watched felt short even thought it was a long film, that means you have enjoyed the film because it was so entertaining that you feel time would just fly, and speaking about flying I am looking forward to seeing Harry Potter at IMAX later this month.

Car Action

Comedy Of Errors

Last night, it was the last day of June and halfway throught the end of this year and the end of the financial year in Australia was quite tiring to be honest, as you all know woke up early to say goodbye to my friend and didn’t sleep til very late so woke up quite energetic but I knew I had to do a lot of things, like fill my tax return and get ready for New Zealand. Today was quite hectic to be honest, nope I didn’t get to do all the things I was meant to do and yes this new keyboard is really good and it’s really nice to type in but today was a good day, I am excited for tomorrow cause I will be able to watch the movie of the year, Transformer 2 on a great and huge scream at the IMAX cinema. That I can’t wait but today I went to many places, today seems to be this kind of day where everything you do, doesn’t really work out, like the computers internet or something was missing from the tax department which kind of delayed my application, it was really tiring to do all that kind of stuff and calculating your tax is nothing fun but it is entertaining for most of the time. I found out that a lot of my receipts are useless and after carrying them back and forth to South America, I felt quite a rat pack, I always kept things that at the end are worthless. It was really heavy, I mean a bunch of papers are not heavy but sometimes that little extra weight does tire you in the long term. But whatever the second half of the year brings me I will be ready, I kind of have to get myself sorted, after New Zealand, I really need to get a job and that is seriously. I have been VAGANDO for a long time and I am getting a bit tired of it and I haven’t been drinking lately well with the exception of last night, it was an exception. Tomorrow is going to be great, I will be watching the movie!

Born To Be

Being a backpacker and meeting all these people from all over the world has its perks and its downsides. I love meeting new people but at the same time I am terrorised for getting to know them too much that it will be hard for me to say goodbye, life brings you many surprises and one of those was meeting these group of couple from Perth, whom I love and every time I see them it reminisces the wonderful experience of my life back in Perth. It took me a while to get over it, after we all went different ways I was so full of emotions and I just wanted time to stop and go back and enjoy more, the things is I always beat myself for not doing more and regretting that I could have done more, even thought I did a lot but I always ask too much from me. I always wondered if I did enough and it is a bad thing to do but, it is something I have to learn to let control and give myself a break and let go of those feelings. I have to forgive myself for not enjoying more out of it and that I am a human who makes mistakes and somehow learn to channel this feelings through writing because this makes me believe that someday I will read this and somehow it will tell me that I did great in Australia and that I didn’t do nothing wrong and If I could do it again, I will not want to change anything. I am learning to control this feeling of sadness because no matter what people say to you to make you feel better, it will not be fine because it isn’t easy to say goodbye and it doesn’t get easier the more you do it, in fact it feels the same way as the first time if not worse. Yesterday was a great day, I saw one of my old buddy from Perth, we had a great time partying and drinking, and catching up, but today, saying goodbye was kind of surreal because somehow I was fine but then as the time passed, the idea started to sink in, it is goodbye for good, even thought we will or might see each other in the future, it is something that none of us can guarantee that because life is so unpredictable, saying goodbies is always gutting. I do miss my friend, Manuel wherever you are, you will always be remembered as the wonderful person that I met in Perth. We had so much fun and thanks for being there because Perth wouldn’t be the same without you and Benoit. It was great meeting Manuel, the Italian speaking German, and Benoit, the French guy who can be as sarcastic as a great Parisian without sounding too arrogant. Hopefully I will see Benoit before he leaves Australia, but at the same time I wish the opposite because seeing them again will meant saying goodbyes which is the part that I dread. Meeting people is addictive, is like an addiction with a bad hangover. Somehow I will be fine, because time always heal the wounded soul.

Baby Toy

I am thrilled with my new toy, after all what happened in Brazil, I went out to get a new toy for me to play with. I am tired of using the internet cafe and not be able to use my own computer. After shopping for like a week, I have found this nice Asus, which was cheaper than buying at those big brand retail stores. It was in Sydney where I have spotted this X85SE, now codenamed T6, since we are nearing the end of the financial year in Australia, things are at bargain, they are cheap and you get claim tax back so it was cheaper if you take the tax money out and in a few days I will be lodging my tax returns so I am really excited about this month, especially the end of this months, next month I am definitely going to get a real job and hopefully tomorrow I will finish my first story, which is almost finished but I need to brush the story and make sure it goes smoothly because I don’t want a story that nobody will understand it.

Boxed Entertainment

This is what I have been missing, the ability to walk around the city and explore its beauty without the fear of being rob, I don’t know whether I should have believe what people told me about Brazil but to tell you the truth, I have been robbed so after that it is different. I didn’t feel like going out and taking pictures because I didn’t want to lose my camera.

In Australia I don’t have that fear, I can walk around and take as many pictures as I please and really nobody would even care. I was roaming the street this Saturday and I found these mountains of boxed wine, something that you can’t find anywhere in the world, even though it is cheap, as you might guessed is not the best quality but with this GFC, as someone pointed out recently which means global financial crisis, the price for this 4 litre box is really a bargain, to be able to get pissed and not spend a huge amount of money isn’t a bad idea, especially for backpackers. I do have to warn you that the hangover is brutal but you will get used to it. I did but I guess I drink anything these days.

Walking around Sydney was pleasant but mind you that I go to the same place every day that it has become my routine plus it is not that far and I would rather save 4.40 dollars and do some exercise than spend like 40 minutes waiting for the train, I mean it takes me 30 minutes to go back and forth walking to Town Hall and is faster than the train, I don’t have to wait and it’s really not that far, like 2 stops, come on people, walking is really interesting. I get to see funny staff while I listen to my songs from my old Ipod

I forgot to tell you that last week was the launch of iphone and I happened to be there because Aerolineas Argentina’s office was near there and I did get to check out the phone, it is neat but a bit expensive, like very expensive and with this GFC I can’t have the luxury to spend on an iphone plus I like my Nokias so all I could do was play some games at the Mac store and go home, I do this almost everyday. Life is so interesting when you live in Sydney

This picture made me laugh, it is really smart and funny, at first I thought it was a bird who had the unfortunate luck in running thought this add but if you take a closer look, it is just a fake bird. Ha funny eh?