Sunrise Over The Pacific

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, although I did write a nice one the other day, but it was on my iPod and the Wordpress app decided to crash and lose the whole thing, even after I saved it and thought I’d published it. Message: DON’T USE IPOD/IPHONE WORDPRESS APP. Just use a friggin’ web browser.

Well now that we’re off to a nice negative mood, I might as well continue by complaining about how GOD DAMNED COLD it is here (oh hey, I’m in Ballarat). One of the things that gets me most is the water, actually. Like, when you first run water in Sydney, you know how it’s usually a pretty normal temperature? Well in Ballarat in winter it’s almost freezing, and you have to run it for a while before being able to wash your hands without them getting frostbite. COLD.

But those two paragraphs were unintentional, really. I actually had a really nice story for you! See, I got up at 5am this morning, after a 2pm bedtime due to last night’s Save FBi gig (will write soon, promise, but for now here’s a link to Tom’s thoughts), and caught a cab to the airport for a 7am flight. I can’t remember the last time I caught a cab by myself, but even so I can’t remember ever having such a nice conversation with the driver. I mean, nothing particularly special or anything, but nice anyway.

So I was already in a pretty good mood by the time I reached the airport, and pleased with my decision not to take the train. But then at check-in, the lady asked me if it was okay if I was given an exit row seat, with extra leg room. Excellent, I said, I’ll take it. Then, due to cabs being more reliable and estimatable than trains (sad, but true; my cab driver said it takes on average 13 minutes from the city to the airport), I hardly even had to wait at all to board the plane. Could this get any better?

Well, I don’t think anybody is expecting me to say “no, that was all the better there was to be had”, and it’s true, there was plenty more better to go around. I got talking to the girl next to me, who has just finished studying at University of Newcastle, but is actually from the Midwest. We admired the beautiful sunrise over the ocean; it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen from an aeroplane.

Arrived at Avalon, rediscovered my love of breathing condensation (despite aforementioned freezing cold), and my bag was one of the very first on the conveyor. Then I got a reply text from Dad (I told him I had arrived) saying that oops, he didn’t realise my flight was in the morning, he thought it was 8:35pm. Was this to be the end of my magical run of good luck and happiness? Rang him, suspecting a joke, and my theory was confirmed. Good day survives! Drove home (surprisingly alert despite lack of sleep), discovered car service cost more than expected (eek), but I don’t mind, it’s pretty worth it.

Spent the rest of the morning putting the centre console and stereo back in my car, and whee, drive! Oh, heater doesn’t work. But air conditioning does? Was the other way around last time (Dad fixed the wrong one). Should be okay though, just rug up. Any sun and it warms up anyway, due to its blackness.

Spent the evening rugged up, drinking hot chocolate and watching a terribly recording of Thunderbirds. Was pretty good. Want schnapps to keep me warm.

Worst thing that happened for the entire day: Dad brought home Domino’s for dinner. Bad, but can’t really complain about that, right?

It All Started With A Big Bang (BANG!)

I’m not even sure why I’m writing this, as I don’t actually have anything planned, but now seems as good a time as any to put some words onto the web. Slowly starting to relax here again (Fiji was relaxing, but it was only distracting me from Sydney), now that I’ve finished my last exam (Web Services Development, on Tuesday). I’d like to say everything is over and done, but sadly that is not the case. My last WSD assignment was missing a few files in the submission, and the lecturer emailed everyone last Thursday saying they needed to be resubmitted by last Friday. Alas, I was not in the country either of those days, so was unable to complete his request. So I’ve emailed him twice, but to no avail. Going to have to find a contact number, or something. Slightly worrying.

Oh, I know what I can talk about! So, when I was away, my big boss and I had a bit of a discussion. We were both slightly inebriated at the time, and although it was mentioned in passing after that, I’m not entirely sure it’s really a possibility, but it’s put thoughts into my head, anyway. So we were talking about me heading off to Chile next year, which would mean me leaving the company for at least that time (they seem open to the possibility of having me back afterwards, though, which is very nice). He said he thought that was a stupid idea (he used expletives, but I won’t repeat them here), and that if I was serious about IT then I should go somewhere like Scandinavia. Then he decided he’d go one step further, and offer to set me up with a part-time job, a spot in a good uni, and help find an apartment. In Sweden.

Well, that was a shock! I was almost tempted to say ‘yes’ there and then, but I held back, and I think we’re going to discuss it further in the near future. See, it would be a fantastic opportunity to further my knowledge and everything in IT, and gain some invaluable experience. And hell, Sweden would be pretty awesomely fun, not to mention the rest of Europe! But at the same time, I’ve recently felt like I could do with a good break from studying IT, and Chile would provide just that. Almost a holiday, in a way, but all the while writing some reports and learning another language in a foreign country that speaks said language (Spanish!). A half-holiday, if you wish.

So yeah, I really need a break from what’s happening at the moment. Uni and stuff is just getting way too monotonous. I guess it depends if that break needs to be from IT in general, or just this particular way of going about it. If it’s just this particular way (which I suspect it is in a lot of ways), Sweden would be awesome. But I’m not quite sure.

I know there’s much more to it than that, too, but I’ve lost my urge to write.

I Will Never Try To Forget Your Northern Eyes

Before we start, here’s a Google Map of some of the notable places in our trip to Fiji: http://is.gd/124wr

Wow, I don’t even know where to start with this. To be perfectly honest, I don’t even really feel like writing all that much about Fiji – I’m pretty content in the memories, and hopefully I’ll get hold of some photos soon – but I think it’s probably a good idea to write things down as they’re fresh in my mind, for historical purposes.

I guess the reason for the trip is as good as any – the Emotum annual conference. Last year it was Macau, this year Fiji. Who knows what next year will hold? I probably won’t find out anyway, though, considering I’m probably off to Chile next year. More on why I said ‘probably’ in a later post, heh. So, yeah, annual conference. Well after the four-hour flight, we transferred to our hotel – the Radisson on Denarau Island (which isn’t really an island so much as a giant closed-off resort attached to the mainland) – where we planned to have the conference that afternoon, in order to get it over and done with so we could enjoy the rest of the trip more. Turns out we were really hungry, and the meals took a while, especially as it took so long for everyone to get to the restaurant, so we didn’t end up having the conference then. Actually, we didn’t have the conference at all – my boss just kind of gave up and figured we might as well spend our time having fun. I think they’re doing it this morning in the office.

I tried a few summery cocktails, which added to the atmosphere nicely, and the meal was delicious too. We also met who was to become our favourite waitress for the trip, Losana. She is one of the coolest people I have ever met, especially with her accent. Later that evening (despite our large lunch) we went across to the Sheraton next door to have dinner. At the Sheraton, we met Seloti, one of the women who worked there. Craig asked her what it is that Fijian people usually eat, and where we could try such a thing, and she invited us back to her village to participate in a kava ceremony and lovo feast, which we promptly accepted. This was to be held in a few nights’ time, so more on that later.

The next day (Friday) we took a boat out to Mana Island, which turned out to be pretty much the epitome of lovely tropical South Pacific islands. Is was simply amazing. The boat trip stopped at a few other islands on the way – dropping people off and picking them up (it’s basically a bus service) – and some of them looked quite nice, but it wasn’t until we rounded the corner into Mana Island (which we didn’t know was Mana Island yet) that Craig said “if this isn’t our island, I’m getting off anyway”, which pretty much summed up our thoughts of the place at first sight. You can imagine how delighted we were to discover that this beautiful paradise was, in fact, our destination.

Off the boat, and we were shown around the island by one of the men there, which was nice, except that we pretty much just wanted to get into the water right away (Fiji time, Fiji time!). We eventually did get to go in the water, though, and discovered that the temperature was just about as perfect as you can imagine (which is more than we could say about the pool at the Radisson, which was freezing). A-snorkelling we went, although I had to replace my hired mask due to leaks a couple of times before Craig offered for me to use his fiancée’s (she was sunbathing). Much better! And oh my gosh, it was brilliant. So much coral and colourful fish and other crazy things. We did two snorkels for the day – just a few of us went later on, but it was so worth it. We saw two stingrays and an octopus! Maybe it was because the tide had gone out considerably so everything was much closer (Rhys has evidence of this, in the form of coral scars), but that second snorkel was just amazing.

In between, we went for lunch at the buffet (part of which reminded me of Genghis Khan in Lime St, across from our old office) and then ventured over to the North Beach in search of more adventure. Turns out the north side was a bit rough for snorkelling, but perfect for lying under a thatched beach shelter. I swear, the couple of hours I spent there was pretty much the most relaxed I have felt in a long, long time.

Okay, so back to the mainland that evening. What to do? Eat! This time just at the Radisson. Got some pretty interesting food, although sadly mine left a bit to be desired. More cocktails, though, so who can complain? Rob (my big big boss, who lives in Norway and has giant red hair) also started doing palm readings for the staff there, which turned into a gigantic hit. Strangely enough, he was very good at it. He not only knows a fair bit about actual palm reading (this surprises me, but then most things about Rob do, like the fact he still gets royalty payments from Microsoft for media codecs and stuff he developed), but he is also excellent at reading people, and uncovered some interesting things about the Radisson staff. Meanwhile, the rest of us struggled to keep ourselves from laughing.

Saturday was not the same perfect weather we we blessed with for the island trip Friday, so we decided to hire some cars and go exploring. The lady at reception recommended the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, just north of Nadi airport, so we headed there first thing. Well, turns out the signpost was extraordinarily small and obscure, so we ended up seeing more of Fiji than we intended, including the city of Lautoka, which I believe is Fiji’s second largest after Suva. Speaking of Suva, the same reception lady put a big cross over Suva on the map, saying to definitely not go there, it’s dangerous. Sad, but at least the rest of the island seems to be going along fairly normally, at least as far as we could tell. I did see a few people walking around in what looked like protest t-shirts, but nothing more.

Anyway road trip. It was interesting to see more of Fiji people and life, but I really struggled with the air. I was talking to Brett about it afterwards, and he said that in his car they had the windows closed and air-conditioning on recycle, which makes a lot of sense. Our car tended to have the windows open a lot of the time. But yeah, there is a lot of smoke in the air from random fires (like, for cooking and stuff), and the pollution from trucks and buses (and even cars) was horrific. Sometimes we would have trouble seeing anything because of the amount of exhaust most of the buses were excreting. Right now I’m still feeling a bit stuffy, and I’m pretty sure that’s the reason. When we got back that afternoon, I spent a good half hour or an hour soaking in the bath, just to cleanse myself of the fumes a bit. One of the (very) few bad experiences I had on the trip.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention our destination – the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. There were lots (more than 100 species, apparently) of beautiful orchids, and a lovely meandering path through the rainforest. There was also some delicious tropical juice supplied at the end by the curators. Mmm… Tropical juice… Worth visiting, for sure.

That evening was our trip out to Nawaka Vilage to visit Seloti and her family for the kava and lovo. I was actually pretty nervous about going, considering I was feeling fairly vegetarian and I’m always nervous about new places to eat, but all my worries turned out to be pointless, and I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. When we arrived in the village, we were greeted by Seloti and many excited children, and were shown the village chief’s hut and some other things. The ceremony and stuff was actually just with Seloti’s family, not the whole village, which I think added a nice intimate atmosphere to the whole thing, despite there still being a lot of people there.

We got started with the kava ceremony, and the drinking bowl was passed out to each person (starting with Rhys, because it was his birthday), who clapped and said bula (the go-to Fijian word for everything), then drank the kava in one go. While this was happening, everyone clapped three times, and then once they’d finished everyone clapped again. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but it turned out fine. It tasted pretty much like dirt (it comes from a root, after all), and gives a bit of a numbing feeling in your mouth and throat, which is a bit odd, but nothing too weird. I skipped one or two rounds of the stuff, but ended up having four of five goes, with no particularly significant effects (well, I think so… I did participate in dancing later on, though).

After we’d had some kava, it was time to eat! The lovo feast is where they heat up rocks and stuff and bury everything (pork, chicken, taro, etc) underground to cook over an hour or so. So we ate that, along with some salads and whatnot (giant cucumber, pineapple, potato…), with our hands, and then had ice cream for dessert. There were also a few laughs in the discussion, especially when Seloti discovered how old I was (apparently she thought I was younger), and gestured to two girls sitting just down from me, cheekily saying “these two are still single, James!” Haha, funny Seloti, but I am not! I kind of wish I had talked to them more though (I was pretty nervous and shy the entire time), not because I wished to exploit their singularities, but because I would have loved to talk to some Fijians who were presumably around my own age (they looked a bit older to be honest, but it’s hard to tell), which was something I was not able to do while I was there (most people seemed considerably older or younger).

After we’d finished the meal, we sat around and had some more kava, then suddenly people came from nowhere and started singing and we were pulled up to dance around the little outdoor room thing we were in. And oh, what fun it was! I have never been so unashamed of dancing in my life (possible kava effect? That last batch was strong…), and I spent the whole time grinning, but also apologising for stepping on the toes of the girl I was dancing with (shoes had been discarded, thankfully). After the dancing had finished, the night came to a fairly quick close, with many thanks going around, and lots of shaking hands. There was some kids who seemed very enthusiastic about shaking my hand, and the guy who was doing the kava held it for a very long time, and I felt kind of special afterwards. It wasn’t Antho’s kind of long-hold either (one of the young guys took quite a liking to him…), it was one that, I don’t know, seemed to mean something. I had been quiet the whole night, and was quite clearly the youngest, and I think he just wanted to wish me the best, or something. I also asked Seloti if I could visit again with my family later this year, and she said yes, for sure, so I will make sure I find her when I return. It was an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life, and I am pretty much dying to go back and meet that family again, they were incredibly lovely, and a very special bunch.

I should mention something more along the technicality lines of the village visit, too. Although they do not do a great deal of the visits, Seloti’s family does sometimes invite people to their village for a feast, and it’s a nice source of supplementary income to people who don’t have a lot. Craig paid a fair bit, I believe, for the experience, and not only did it cover the costs involved, but it will also help the village to support themselves in general. I think Rob even gave some more cash at the end to one of the leaders, asking that it go to the children, something which I have no doubt will happen. The Fijians (or at least these particular Fijians) seem to be excellent with family and community things, and there was a complete absense of visible abusive behaviour. The community and family are paramount for everyone, and it really shows in wonderful ways. I had trouble telling who was directly related to who, just because everyone treated everyone else with equal respect and love. Okay, so I might be going over the top here, but it was pretty profound, and even though I arrived feeling bad about possibly exploiting these people, I left feeling not only enlightened, but good for maybe even helping them along.

Back at the hotel that night (we left the village at about 8pm), we found Losana and sat around drinking, discussing the experiences we’d had that evening and the previous days. I ended up having quite a few beers, which seem to have a considerably different effect on me than cocktails, and ended up very talkative. I must’ve also been pretty passionate about something (can’t remember exactly what), as I swore just a little bit, and I was told afterwards that it was the first time Brett (my manager) had heard me swear, which was kind of surprising, but I guess not that much. Rob also spent the following day warning me that he was going to call my parents to tell on me (a threat which, as far as I know, he has not followed up on).

Our last morning in Fiji was spent in the hotel pool (freezing, as I mentioned before – even the spa was cold!) and lazing around enjoying the atmosphere. I also did a little bit of sewing, after my jeans were trampled a bit in the dancing at Nawaka Village. I think Brett hired a jetski, and Shaun went windsurfing, but otherwise everyone just lazed around, which I was more than content to do. We left with plenty of time to spare to get to the airport (although I almost left my passport in the safe, eek!), and I was pretty sad to see the last of Fiji for quite a while. I think I was pretty quiet for the rest of the time, just reflecting on the last few days. I bought a couple of little souvenirs at the airport, more out of feeling like I should than any real desire to get anything. I got a nice wooden Fiji-ish photo frame, so I can put a nice Fiji photo in it. Speaking of which, I’ll have to get photos off other people, as I think I only took one or two on my phone. I don’t like taking photos when I’m on trips, I’d prefer to let other people do that while I take in the experience and just remember it later on. The one and only photo I took on my phone is the one shown above, which was taken one evening from the foyer of the hotel. I would like to get some particular photos this time around, though.

Nadi airport, as I might’ve said earlier, leaves much to be desired. In particular, the hot food place in the departure lounge. If you go to Fiji, do NOT, under ANY circumstances, buy hot food in the departure lounge. Only a couple of people ate their meals, one of who threw up afterwards. Actually, both bathrooms (from what I head) smelled awful, in the vomit-y way, so maybe lots of people suffered similar incidents. Craig actually returned the meals he bought, telling the manager that it was the first time he had ever thought “no, I’ll wait to get on the plane to eat, because the food will be better”. He got his money back. And he was right, the food was much tastier. Although the flight was also longer, due to strong headwinds, and we spent five hours on the return to Sydney. Bought a little duty-free alcohol (didn’t plan to, but who can resist? It lasts ages anyway…), went through the new heat-detector thingy (none of had the flu, apparently) and the rest of customs – no souvenirs confiscated, thankfully – and out into Sydney again! Caught a cab home with Marie in the freezing cold weather, and back home to… Well, bed, I guess. And a helluva lot of emails.

Totally looking forward to next time.

Jetting Off

So this is kind of an odd experience for me… Tom is blogging at a higher frequency! Scary, no? I just haven’t really felt like writing much, I guess – vegging out and playing football and Xbox and going to gigs and the Bavarian with friends to drink too much beer and schnapps just seems so much more appealing right now. Can you blame me?

Speaking of having better things to do, tomorrow morning I am jetting off to FIJI!!! How exciting! I know I already wrote about it, but up until, well, the last day or two, really, it’s been forcibly pushed to the back of my mind due to more pressing uni-related issues (see last post…).  But now it is at the forefront!

So um that’s about all I have to say. Oh, except I went to the Spunk Records / Save FBi night the other night which was excellent. I will write about it soon on njv, but for now you will just have to take my word for it.

Okay bye! I have to catch a cab at 6am tomorrow morning, so I will try to get a fairly early night.