Friday, March 28, 2014

Crafty

Hello lovely humans.

Been fairly boring recently, I am sick as of writing this post; which sucks! So excuse my probable lack of enthusiasm.

Had the most amazing day just about two weeks ago, on the 15th of March. Woke up really early in the morning, to have a great traffic-less ride to Berowra Waters Marina! So, I was the first there; and the ferry was closed, and I was not sure if I was on the correct side to meet everyone... Usually, it's a 2 minute ferry ride, otherwise it's a forty minute drive to the other side.



After some panicking, I was extremely relieved to see Lara, Jenga, Amanda and Logan turn up! Bloody hell... Not too long later, we found out almost everyone else was on the other side; the wrong side. Mitch, Paul and Edwin had realised and raced over; and we started preparing our hire boat to head over to the other side to pick up the others; before heading to Craftys. After inflating our mini-boat, getting all our food and drinks on board; we proceeded to the other side and picked up Neil, Kathy, Matt and Jess.

1. Picking the others up from the other side: 2. Me pointing out features on the wall: 3. Chilling: 4. Our little blow up boat: 5. Jess: 6. Captain Jenga: 7. Donald Duck lips
Brooksy onsighting Not Waving, Drowning 23.

Skipper Jenga and I navigated to the wall, about a twenty minute trip from the pier. The wall was monstrous, wow! Absolutely terrifying. I'm positive that everyone had an amazing day; whether they sunbathed, climbed to the top, traversed the wall or just had a great time in the water. We had a BBQ for lunch, a few people jumped from the top; it was just an absolutely amazing day, with the best people. I put quite a few photos and videos on my Facebook, please do check!

Neil Monteith

Logan, Jenga and I
How we used the little boat

So we stayed out by the wall, probably for about six or so hours; Jenga had a bleeding eye, because he looked down as he jumped from the top of the 22m wall. Matt had also climbed all the way to the top; and Neil, Paul and Mitch also got to the top, skipping the slab at the very end! Way too committing for me, I'll let my crazy friends enjoy!

Such a massive wall

We dropped the others off, before heading back to our side of the marina and had some ice-cream and snacks at a picnic table, before heading off! On the way home, a freak storm had appeared out of nowhere; absolutely drenching me on the M2. I stopped under a bridge and tried to wait it out, even cars were stopping! I could not see anything at all anymore.

The jump sequence


Far out, woke up with a terrible stomach ache on the 16th, as I was preparing to go to work. I cancelled my shift with Vishal, he didn't seem too happy about it, but we managed to get a replacement. Napped on the couch, since I couldn't get back to sleep in bed; then got some Red Rooster for lunch; after the rain had cleared.


The next day, 17th, I was called in for a shift at Parramatta, to work with Royal, Janelle and Usha! It was a really boring shift, if only working at Auburn was this easy...

I had booked my Motorcycle P's test the next day, the 18th, at the Penrith Regatta Centre. My instructor for the day was Elaine, and I was joined by the two coolest, nicest guys from originally from New Zealand, Neil and Anthony. Normally, it's a group of six, but today, it was just us and we all got along extremely well! Turns out, they were both from Whalan and Emerton, respectively; and they had many mutual friends from work, what a small world.

My face had hurt all day from laughing and smiling with everyone, and we did some basic manoeuvering in the parking lot, before going out for a road ride. Rather than doing the usual boring circuit around Penrith; Elaine told us to keep quiet and we went on a ride towards Wallacia, taking some twisty roads on the way. We had lunch at a pub, where they had $9 specials for steak, fish and chips, chicken schnitzels and such; it went down so well!



I filled up at the servo, while the others had their smoke and we headed back to the centre. The amount of breaks we had all day, for drinks and to chat... I couldn't keep count! We all did the more formal part of the day, the MOST test; where we all passed with flying colours, and none of us lost a single point. I rode to the RMS at Mt Druitt with Neil afterwards; having lots of 'fun' on the way there, and got my provisional riding license!

Had to wear lame vests, haha!

Skipped uni on the 20th, there was meant to be a strike and some classes would be cancelled. I met up with someone on Gumtree, so that I could buy a graphics card off him, so that I could run it in CrossFire with my current card. It was another HIS 5770; with a slightly different design to mine, though. Went to ClimbOz for the evening, where I met up with Ola and a few others to climb! Did a few circuits for training, usually doing a few routes on one rope consecutively; and spent quite a long time telling jokes to each other!


On the morning of the 21st, it absolutely bucketed down with rain, so I asked Tony if he could get me. So this was at about 5am, and the rain woke me up. For some reason, my phone didn't show a notification that he had replied; so he waited outside my house for about 15 minutes until I was ready. I felt so bad, but we just managed to get to work on time, luckily.

Working hard!!

Worked with Hannan for the first time, so psyched that I got him a job here, wooh! He finished his shift early, and I went on my lunch break with him at Maccas; where he absolutely destroyed his meal, and my meal destroyed me. Brought some back for Tony to eat, the usual deal. Went home with Tony, and it started raining just a bit before I got home; not bad!




Got a random shift at Penrith Kathmandu the next day, 22nd, and it was a pleasant change! Worked with two girls, the assistant manager Kelly and a part timer, Amy. It was ridiculously quiet compared to Auburn, and that made my job ridiculously easy. I could help customers easily, to Mt full ability and not worry about juggling four different things at once. I was spoiled for choice for lunch since there is a food court here unlike Auburn... I had KFC for lunch, but by the time I was done, I wish I had gotten sushi boy was I full. I had a really good day, enjoyed working with the girls. And I asked if I could get more shifts in the future!


Had my regular Sunday shift at Auburn the next day with Kim and Benn, the 23rd, where we were busy as hell! Such a different environment working here compared to the others stores... Benn got us some coffee, and Petra came at lunch. I stayed a bit longer than usual to help out because of how busy it was.

After I left work, I went to MSY to buy some things for Daniel and myself, only to find out whatever I wanted was out of stock... I checked out PCDIY afterwards, and they recommended something else but I needed to check out reviews before committing. Maybe I'll get it next time I work. Actually, while riding to these places; I forgot to zip up the pillion seat bag and my lock and keys fell out and hit the road; everything seemed fine, except one key that was bent pretty badly.

Scared the shit out of me, when it hit my leg and hit the road. It's the yellow thing in the top right of the frame, by the crack.

On the 24th, my bike was due for a 6000km service at BikeBiz Granville in the morning; so I rode there first thing in the morning, and then walked to the Parramatta CBD to meet up with Esmeralda. She said she would walk down Church Street towards me, but in fact, we found out that she had actually gone the opposite direction, nice. She said she was starting the whole walking one thousand miles thing, hah. So, first thing we did was continue walking down Church Street, where she wanted cakes for some reason... I passed on that thought, and then we ended up walking back to Westfield without any cakes.

I went to a keycutter to see if they would be able to either fix my key, or make another copy; not knowing if I needed a key that was in good shape for him to be able to do that. He said no problem, and cut up a key for me in about 20 seconds; too easy. She really wanted to catch a train up the mountains; but honestly, there is nothing to do up there if we just went up like that; I associate the mountains with climbing and pub food!
Waffles, strawberries and chocolate topping | Bacon, eggs, sausages, hash brown and toast!

We decided to catch a train to the city instead; where we got off at Town Hall and ate at a cafe; where I had a 'big breakfast' and Esmeralda had waffles! Sent a few Snapchats to people, talked to Thanjon on Messenger; and then we walked into the Kathmandu store on Pitt Street, where I heard it looks really cool and modern! Not bad.

ZZZZ Rain
Decided to go find some computer stores to see if I can find my CPU cooler, but it seemed all of them were sold out. Daniel suggested that I go to Capitol Square and look in the shops there, so we walked in that direction; and that's when it absolutely started BUCKETING down. It was so bloody heavy and it seemed like the roads flooded instantly. Unfortunately, everything was sold out in these stores as well, and their price points were much higher than MSY and PCDIY! Took refuge in Gloria Jeans afterwards, before heading home!


Capitol Building, a.k.a Caps building; who would spend $16 to take those asian photos?! Made our own free ones.

Finally got to see Coomerbabes on the 25th, it's been way too long since I've last seen that guy. I caught a train to Penrith, and we met up in the food court in the plaza. I had some Hero Sushi, and he had something with Spinach and Feta from Ali Baba. Just caught up, talked about things and laughed at everyone who was completely zoned out watching the TVs in the food court. It was genuinely hilarious.

Went to Dymocks, where he needed to find the 7th book of The Wheel of Time series; which he had already predicted that they didn't have. Funny thing was, they had every book, except that book. Walked to the other side of the plaza, where he said QBD would definitely have it; and voila, they did. I asked him if he had ever seen a book store with a 'now hiring' sign, I have never seen one; but I imagine working there would be great, customers know what they want, are not loud, perfect.

Drove to The Climbing Centre, where the new kid was working; and me and Coomer had the whole gym to ourselves. It was great climbing Seann's new routes, the quality is so much higher than it used to be; and it was just great climbing with Coomer again after all this time!

How you doin'?


Anyway, the past few days have been pretty boring for me. I've been staying at home; sick! I have no idea why... But started off with a sore throat, now it's just coughing and a terribly runny nose. Been spending most of my time playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with all the boys.


Also, some songs you should listen to:
You're Not the One - Chester See
I'm Falling For You - Chester See

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Spring

Really just a filler post! Did a few things here and there, but nothing amazing! Had a great day yesterday (on the 15th, but I will just start the next post on that topic!)

28th, of February; another day at work!

On the 1st, it was not planned well at all. I woke up really late after some late night gaming with the boys, as usual. Sean came over to get me from my house, and we headed to Daniel's house for some games, and a little bit of table tennis. The usual, you know? We then went together to Himmat's place to... play more table tennis, and build his new computer; very similar components to Daniel's computer.

Table tennis at Himmats

Himmat's mum, kindly made some Garlic bread for us; we finished installing everything and took two cars to Daniel's house, where we took one car to Canley Heights for some food. It was between Bau Truong and Tan Viet; battle of Daniel's favourite and mine. We flipped a coin, and I won; so we went and had some awesome crispy chicken there! We went to Yoghurberry afterwards, where I just watched everyone have Yoghurt, because I'm lactose intolerant... Oh well.


Daniel's favourite.


On the 2nd, just had a half day of work. It is turning into a regular shift for me, the half day shifts on Sunday. Had an amazing ride to work, no traffic and no red lights; beautiful run. Finished a little bit later than I intended, got caught up with some customers and a huge sale! Headed to Cabramatta afterwards
to meet up with Catherine! Had some lunch with her at... yeah, Tan Viet again. I like it okay?! We originally tried having Yum Cha, but the place closed at 3pm. I just went through a few restaurants in my head, and she was cool with Tan Viet!

Delicious.

She TRIED catching her train home, but was lazy, and didn't run for it. Just strolled over, realised she could make it; tried to hug me goodbye but dropped her glasses (and I failed catching them), and they fell in between the gap... Had some Sydney Trains workers come over to help, it was a very formal procedure they have to undertake, but I guess it's an OH&S thing. Had a great ride home as well.

Who is this gumby???



Worked on the 3rd with Ethan and Kim, had Oportos before I got to work; and just did a short shift at work. Got both of them some maccas as well. A cute asian girl came in wanting a job, me and Ethan, did not mind at all. She got an interview for Wednesday, but so did my friend Hannan!


Had a boring day on the 5th, didn't really do much; so I decided to wash my bike. It badly needed one after all the rain we'd been having. The chain was also filthy, I'm so sorry Natasha!! (Nickname for my bike) Had dinner out with my parents at Rashay's that night. Had the Rashay chicken, really good sauce!

Hosing her down

Woke up on the 6th, because my brother was home, and ridiculously loud and obnoxious. Calling me stupid, yelling at my mum, he is absolutely ridiculous. Just don't come home if you're gonna be like that. Rode to uni, I always end up riding with so many trucks because of the time I start. The parking was practically full, and I was trying to plan where I would slot in, but I was lucky that one guy in a perfect spot was leaving. Great!

Had my classes as usual, did some sprints on the basketball courts for our practical class. I stole $2 off a girl I didn't know, I needed to borrow a locker, and I waited for her at the end (she was in a different class), but I think she was already gone! Sorry! Rode home, and then decided to go to ClimbOz to do some easy training, and some socialising.

Chew was working, saw the usual kids (who are still cocky, and do need some humbling). Met two girls, Ola and Antonia; they are relatively new to climbing, but it seems like they are enjoying themselves! Great to see! Mitchell said I should do this 'yellow route, you probably won't get past the 4th panel though'. I gave it a go, and flashed it; kids these days. Kim turned up just before close, she had just finished at Kathmandu for the night. Riding home, there was a ridiculous amount of traffic on Richmond Road, but thank god for filtering.


Had my usual Friday shift on the 7th, with Kim and Vish. Got to leave early as well, score! Our new POS system was finally active today, so I spent the day trying to learn it. I don't like it.

Had to cover for Ethan's shift on the 8th, worked with Benn and Tony. Great people! Was quiet for most of the day, and Benn left early so he could climb for the ClimbOz at the Tour De Corde in Castle Hill (The Edge). I've never been a competition person, not for climbing at least. It got busy right at the end of the day, but lucky it was me and Tony, and we managed to do everything efficiently; despite the new POS system, which is still a piece of shit. It made closing up extremely annoying, took us about an hour or so to sort everything out.

Rode to Outback Steakhouse in Wentworth, and had dinner with Xu, Sean, Jasmine S, Daniel, Jess and Himmat. I was so bloody full; headed back to Daniel's house and played some table tennis, before heading home.

Jess, Jasmine, Himmat, Sean, Xu, Me. Daniel took the picture!
Because Daniel was left out of the last one.

Had work on the 9th, my new Sunday shift! Worked with Benn, Tony and later on, Petra. I ended up leaving late, after a very busy period; and there were so many viet customers! Went to the cafe for lunch, before heading to Olympic Park, to an abandoned stretch of road, where I could practice some slow speed manoeuvres for the MOST (Motorcycle Operator Skills Test). Met some pretty cool riders there, the only two names I remember are Jess and Amanda.

\




On the 10th, planned to climb at ECAT with Evan and Chris! However, Chris messed things up and had actually meant Villawood. Too late, I was already at ECAT and started training, with Jenga and Mitch. Met some new people as well, getting along with everyone well at this gym, I like it! Names I remember... Angela, Connie, Neil, Andy, Ethan, Pip and Pete! Already knew Anderw and Mark, and his adorable cat! People are bloody strong at this gym, but they do specialise in just bouldering; so I don't feel too bad. My solid state drive for my computer arrived, but by the time I got home, it was too late to set everything up.

Evolution

Next day, 11th, had nothing so I installed my new SSD, formatted my old HDDs and installed Windows 8.1! Everything is lightning fast now, the difference is bloody ridiculous. Thanks Himmat for the key! :D Feels like a brand new computer.


Had to wake up early on the 13th, we had the pest control guy come over to our house and do his thing. Usually have it done once a year or so, just so all the spiders, ants, bugs are under control! Had Red Rooster for lunch, before I headed off to uni. Motorcycle parking was... quite dreadful, managed to squeeze in; and was a bit worried about leaving, but thankfully, the people I squeezed between had left first.

Class was the same, some more running for the practical, some data entry and analysis. Been bringing my scientific calculator, I've forgotten how to use that thing; but we are actually using trigonometry and such! Rode to Canley Heights afterwards, to get some groceries for my mum.

Leaving, less bikes than before!

I got home, had a little bit of food; then left for some training at ECAT. Sent a few texts out, but nobody could make it. Just did some training on my own, met a few new people; but by night time, all the familiar people were back to train!


eCat


Cutest kitten in the world! It's missing an eye :(


On the next day, 14th, I was feeling... ridiculously tired; and not from the climbing. Just wasn't feeling well, so I had my shift cancelled; and Hannan worked instead! Oh yes, didn't mention, but after all the interviews; they hired my friend Hannan, wooh! I had some Paradise Charcoal Chicken for lunch, extremely tasty; definitely gives El Jannah a run for their money. I double checked to see if Tony needed me in the afternoon, but he said all was well. I ordered a few more things from Amazon, including another SSD, a new HDD, 8GB stick of RAM and a phone mount for my motorcycle. Also sorted out my battery issue with Kogan, and they are sending me a new one!

Catch y'all!

Songs I've been going crazy over recently:

Say Something - A Great Big World
Spring - Two Door Cinema Club

Yes, listen to them.