weird BEER news
Recent beer news from the past couple of years.
This is a collection of news articles I have assembled based on their dark (humour) beer theme
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Utah_legalizes_homebrewing
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Czech_pub_food_eating_experiment_resulted_in_lost_weight,_lower_cholesterol
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Slovak_escapes_from_avalanche_using_urine
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Police_capture_escaped_monkey_in_Wisconsin,_USA
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Malaysian_newspaper_suspended_due_to_offensive_Jesus_picture
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Sheffield_pub_is_CAMRA%27s_Pub_of_the_Year
Monday, October 31, 2011
NEW! Beer Blog
Have to start tracking and learning about new beers that I try...
So I decided to dedicate my blog to beer...
Today I started off with a pint of Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion after work
Followed by a glass of Anti-Gravity
This led into tasting a few other beers:
Mill St. Pilsner
Not very hoppy, in fact, barely enough to be considered a Pils at all. Very Malty backbone, and nothing very exciting. A hint of hops comes through after while. Overall, very bland and ordinary.
St. Peter's English Ale
MY IMPRESSION
An explosion of flavour hits you, after a decievingly small and thin head dissipates leaving a small bit of lace on the glass and a long lasting after taste of bittering hops and sweet malt. Very dry and clean, with a crisp ammount of carbonation.
THE DEETS
English brew, from Bierzwerg Greven. Light malted barley from Scotland, with organic ’Target’ hops.
This is just the beginning...
The story of an alcoholic/brewer
So I decided to dedicate my blog to beer...
Today I started off with a pint of Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion after work
Followed by a glass of Anti-Gravity
This led into tasting a few other beers:
Mill St. Pilsner
Not very hoppy, in fact, barely enough to be considered a Pils at all. Very Malty backbone, and nothing very exciting. A hint of hops comes through after while. Overall, very bland and ordinary.
St. Peter's English Ale
MY IMPRESSION
An explosion of flavour hits you, after a decievingly small and thin head dissipates leaving a small bit of lace on the glass and a long lasting after taste of bittering hops and sweet malt. Very dry and clean, with a crisp ammount of carbonation.
THE DEETS
English brew, from Bierzwerg Greven. Light malted barley from Scotland, with organic ’Target’ hops.
This is just the beginning...
The story of an alcoholic/brewer
Sunday, September 11, 2011
My take v.s. Wikipedia
I'm having a very Irish day. Just saw my last name plastered over a street sign, so I went and bought some smithwick's. Here is my breakdown:
Irish ale
Hoppy aroma
Medium to light bitterness
Crisp and flavorful
Dark Copper-coloured tint
Wiki
Smithwick's Draught has a ruby red tone with a stable, but slightly thin head. It is produced using hops and special roasted, malted barley. Its texture is smooth and refined, with a bitter and complex finish. Although of lesser fame than Guinness, Smithwicks is often regarded as the 'local favourite' amongst Irish pubgoers (particularly in South Leinster, the province in which, Kilkenny City and County are located). Smithwick's is however, in a state of managed decline in Ireland, retaining around 4% market share for beer.[7] In 2004, Diageo PLC began distribution in the USA. Smithwick's had previously been marketed in Canada with great success.
Also worthy of note:
Regional Pronunciation
Due to the differing accent and dialects of Ireland, it is generally pronounced /ˈsmɪθɨks/, /ˈsmɪtɨks/, /ˈsmɪdɨks/ or /ˈsmɛθɨks/ there. When ordering in the USA, /ˈsmɪθɨks/ or /ˈsmɪdɨks/ is preferred, while /ˈsmɪdɨks/ is the most prevalent pronunciation in Canada.
"In the Old Kilkenny Review, year unknown, Peter Smithwick, K.M., Solicitor, wrote that the tradition of Kilkenny is that Sullivan’s Brewery was founded in 1702... Daniel Sullivan, allegedly a Protestant, bought the property in trust for Pierse Bryan of Jenkinstown, who was Catholic but prohibited by the Penal Laws from buying land... Twenty years later a Protestant informer got a decree declaring himself the owner of the property...The property was on the West side of High Street, "standing backward in James’ Street." It is believed that this was the site of Sullivan’s Brewery, the forerunner of Smithwicks."
Irish ale
Hoppy aroma
Medium to light bitterness
Crisp and flavorful
Dark Copper-coloured tint
Wiki
Smithwick's Draught has a ruby red tone with a stable, but slightly thin head. It is produced using hops and special roasted, malted barley. Its texture is smooth and refined, with a bitter and complex finish. Although of lesser fame than Guinness, Smithwicks is often regarded as the 'local favourite' amongst Irish pubgoers (particularly in South Leinster, the province in which, Kilkenny City and County are located). Smithwick's is however, in a state of managed decline in Ireland, retaining around 4% market share for beer.[7] In 2004, Diageo PLC began distribution in the USA. Smithwick's had previously been marketed in Canada with great success.
Also worthy of note:
Regional Pronunciation
Due to the differing accent and dialects of Ireland, it is generally pronounced /ˈsmɪθɨks/, /ˈsmɪtɨks/, /ˈsmɪdɨks/ or /ˈsmɛθɨks/ there. When ordering in the USA, /ˈsmɪθɨks/ or /ˈsmɪdɨks/ is preferred, while /ˈsmɪdɨks/ is the most prevalent pronunciation in Canada.
"In the Old Kilkenny Review, year unknown, Peter Smithwick, K.M., Solicitor, wrote that the tradition of Kilkenny is that Sullivan’s Brewery was founded in 1702... Daniel Sullivan, allegedly a Protestant, bought the property in trust for Pierse Bryan of Jenkinstown, who was Catholic but prohibited by the Penal Laws from buying land... Twenty years later a Protestant informer got a decree declaring himself the owner of the property...The property was on the West side of High Street, "standing backward in James’ Street." It is believed that this was the site of Sullivan’s Brewery, the forerunner of Smithwicks."
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Cape Tribulation
A couple o' backpackers wandered into the wild on an adventure they'd not soon forget. As the trees grew dense and the sun was only penetrating about one percent of the forest floor, they realized they were no longer in Kansas. This rainforest was by no means the largest, but is the oldest in the world. Over one hundred species can be found within a square kilometer; now to be one hundred and one thanks to them. The Daintree rainforest is home to less than a thousand permanent residents, but these tea and coffee farmers shared it with some astounding creatures such as the great southern Cassowary, a large flightless bird with brilliant red and blue colouring. The largest organism in North Queensland (and the world) however was not a bird or farmer, but rather the Great Barrier Reef. In fact the reef and the rainforest not only shared a boundary but also shared the designation as World Heritage Sites. This beautiful collision of worlds between reef and rainforest is the only place in the world where two World Heritage Sites share a boundary. Deep within this magical landscape was another looming collision. The second collision was less inherent but more imminent. It was in fact a collision of two hearts, two families, two worlds. On the beach, deep deep in the heart of the rainforest set to the backdrop of a sun setting over the reef, the two backpackers entered into a new era of their lives. The first on one knee, clutching a sterling silver ring, decorated with a shimmering white Australian Opal. The second, standing with hands covering her face. These two wandering souls had found each other amidst a world of chaos, and tied the metaphorical knot of commitment. A hope driven by love; a willingness driven by passion; the two became one, continuing their adventure into the wild.
Sugar, Sugar
Oz is second largest producer of sugar cane in the world. It is cut off at the roots and the leaves are plowed under. Canes are processed at one of three plants in each town between rainbow, bundaberg, hervey bay and agnes waters.
At these plants the sugar is boiled to separate out the stocks from the liquid sugar. The leftover from the boiling process is burned to power the plant. The main byproduct of this process is molasses, used in old cooking recipes or in cattle feed to fatten them up for market OR used to give race horses a boost of energy before a race. More recently molasses has been reduced into a renewable biofuel additive for petrol fuel. Another popular byproduct of the sugar cane is Bundaberg rum: the pride of Queensland, a very strong flavored rum, compared to most.
Pine tree farming is very vastly visible in Queensland, entire landscapes consumed by non native spruce. Other crops grown in Queensland include avocado banana and the native macadamia nut. Macadamias are graded, the best at seven millimeters sent to japan, the halves used for chocolate covered Macadamias, the one millimeters are used for cereal and muesli bars.
At these plants the sugar is boiled to separate out the stocks from the liquid sugar. The leftover from the boiling process is burned to power the plant. The main byproduct of this process is molasses, used in old cooking recipes or in cattle feed to fatten them up for market OR used to give race horses a boost of energy before a race. More recently molasses has been reduced into a renewable biofuel additive for petrol fuel. Another popular byproduct of the sugar cane is Bundaberg rum: the pride of Queensland, a very strong flavored rum, compared to most.
Pine tree farming is very vastly visible in Queensland, entire landscapes consumed by non native spruce. Other crops grown in Queensland include avocado banana and the native macadamia nut. Macadamias are graded, the best at seven millimeters sent to japan, the halves used for chocolate covered Macadamias, the one millimeters are used for cereal and muesli bars.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Adventures of a Thai Bucket
Whats Pink, likes to get wet and often has objects put into it?
Well hello people, its me Slutt Bucket of course! Sometimes my other Bucket Friends look down on me.
I live near Base Backpackers Hostel in Sydney, where my other Bucket friends sleep in the Nice, clean and Cheap hostel accommodation.
I was born easter weekend in The Scary Canary in the midst of a wild Base staff party. The Scary Canary has had some pretty mean parties since I have been around.
o White Party, where I even had my hurr did!
o Tuesday Quizz Nights where all the patrons chanted my name.
o Wednesday wet jock comp (and yup I was the bucket they poured the water from)
o Farewell party for Base staff, where we sang at a karaoke bar and we drank waaaaayyyyy to much beer!
o Jaeger bomb Fridays!!! my fav
o Saturdays you’ll find me in the dj both with dj Danny Simms getting down and dirty
I’m making a bar managers list and definitely checking it twice. So far my conquests include: CK (Globe Bar), Kurt (DownUnder Bar) and Josh (Scary Canary) to whom I have fallen pregnant!
The Base Sydney staff always sort me out with a room when I need to take my conquest back to the hostel. I might even have taken some reception staff upstairs too… I have already started my base reception staff list and probably have half of them ticked off already!
I am currently sleeping my way up the East Coast with some base Sydney staff. Having a great time and catching up with a lot of my favourite things on the way. Not to mention The BIG Banana! And boy was it big!
My itinerary:
June – Base Airlie Beach, Base Magnetic Island
July – Base Auckland and Whangamata to see one of my lovers
August – Euro trip including: France, England, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark
September – Rugby World Cup New Zealand (big men in short, shorts)
Well that’s it for now. I have my own facebook page where you can follow my conquests, thrills and spills…….. www.facebook.com/slutt.bucket
I’ll be the best friend you’ve ever have, because after all: I am a Slutt……Bucket.
Happy Travels
Slutt Bucket
Late breaking news flash:
This just in... The Slutt has been sleeping her way around Airlie, first with Nathan at DownUnder Bar and with Aotea at reception. After staring at lifeguards with red short-shorts down at the lagoon, she set sail for Whitsundays. Boarding the clipper, The Slutt was upset to find only 14 boys amidst the 40 girls, so she set her sights on the crew: Possum, Cupcake, James Moley Mole, and Jay the Skipper. After tieing the knot with the deck hand, she won the talent competition with a rap to be remembered. Slutt Bucket truly rocked the boat!
Well hello people, its me Slutt Bucket of course! Sometimes my other Bucket Friends look down on me.
I live near Base Backpackers Hostel in Sydney, where my other Bucket friends sleep in the Nice, clean and Cheap hostel accommodation.
I was born easter weekend in The Scary Canary in the midst of a wild Base staff party. The Scary Canary has had some pretty mean parties since I have been around.
o White Party, where I even had my hurr did!
o Tuesday Quizz Nights where all the patrons chanted my name.
o Wednesday wet jock comp (and yup I was the bucket they poured the water from)
o Farewell party for Base staff, where we sang at a karaoke bar and we drank waaaaayyyyy to much beer!
o Jaeger bomb Fridays!!! my fav
o Saturdays you’ll find me in the dj both with dj Danny Simms getting down and dirty
I’m making a bar managers list and definitely checking it twice. So far my conquests include: CK (Globe Bar), Kurt (DownUnder Bar) and Josh (Scary Canary) to whom I have fallen pregnant!
The Base Sydney staff always sort me out with a room when I need to take my conquest back to the hostel. I might even have taken some reception staff upstairs too… I have already started my base reception staff list and probably have half of them ticked off already!
I am currently sleeping my way up the East Coast with some base Sydney staff. Having a great time and catching up with a lot of my favourite things on the way. Not to mention The BIG Banana! And boy was it big!
My itinerary:
June – Base Airlie Beach, Base Magnetic Island
July – Base Auckland and Whangamata to see one of my lovers
August – Euro trip including: France, England, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark
September – Rugby World Cup New Zealand (big men in short, shorts)
Well that’s it for now. I have my own facebook page where you can follow my conquests, thrills and spills…….. www.facebook.com/slutt.bucket
I’ll be the best friend you’ve ever have, because after all: I am a Slutt……Bucket.
Happy Travels
Slutt Bucket
Late breaking news flash:
This just in... The Slutt has been sleeping her way around Airlie, first with Nathan at DownUnder Bar and with Aotea at reception. After staring at lifeguards with red short-shorts down at the lagoon, she set sail for Whitsundays. Boarding the clipper, The Slutt was upset to find only 14 boys amidst the 40 girls, so she set her sights on the crew: Possum, Cupcake, James Moley Mole, and Jay the Skipper. After tieing the knot with the deck hand, she won the talent competition with a rap to be remembered. Slutt Bucket truly rocked the boat!
Australian colonizer himself
Last week I stayed in the small country town of 1770, which was Captain James Cook's second landing in Australia. Cook was traveling with a pair of botanists.
Cook had a standard upbringing, he was an apprentice in ship building. Bored of this at 27, joined royal navy for battle against France in Canada. He was promoted for his attention to detail and good navigational skills almost immediately upon his enlistment.
When he got back he went out on a scientific voyage following an eclipse to figure out how far the sun was away from the earth. This was a voyage to correct latitude and longitude measurements.
They travelled into Tahiti where the Tahitian women would have sex with them for any shiny pieces of metal (ex. nails).
Because there was so few nails left in his ship, Cook had a dilemma to solve.
He decided to open up an envelope that he wasn't supposed to open. The orders were to find the great southern continent, believing that there was an equal amount o land on the southern hemisphere. The Dutch had named this place New Holland about 100 years ago. Cook sailed out and reached the two islands of New Zealand mapping them meticulously to prove it was not what they were looking for. When he eventually hit botany bay which he named stingray bay, naming it afte what he ate, which he usually did.
They mapped the coast meticulously, taking back over 1500 plants and animals to analyze in England. He got stuck in the great barrier reef, dumping everything they didn't need. He went up to cairns and fixed the boat in the low tide. He stopped at possession island where he claimed the land under the English law of paradulis, (sp?) meaning no mans land. He the sailed to Singapore and had his boat fixed and then home.
Years later he sailed out looking for the great landmass again the paradulis (sp?) but had to turn back because he was too cold in Antarctica. In 1788 he sailed out on his final voyage the resolution to find a trade route between China and England. Discovering Hawaii, where the Hawaiians thought he was god. He stayed a bit too long and the passage was blocked by ice. Upon his return to Hawaii they were not too impressed, however I have been told of two probable endings of the famous Captain James Cook...
1: the highest honor to a god is to eat him, so to pay true homage to Cook the Hawaiians killed and ate him.
2: Cook suspected someone of stealing, and as he was snooping around someone stabbed him with a spear, realizing he wasn't a god they killed him.
Some of Cooks greatest accomplishments were: adding a third of the worlds land mass to the British empire. While he also discovered and cured scurvy by feeding sailors sour kraut and fruit.
His maps were used up until 15 years ago because they were so accurate, you can put them up to a satellite image and they are accurate up to 100 meters!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Down Under BEER
Tasmania has the oldest brewery; Cascade Brewery was established in Tasmania in 1824. Coopers is family owned, but apart from them, all of the large breweries are now owned by Foster's or the New Zealand-based Lion Nathan.
No Australians drink Foster's Lager, and so it is made mostly for export to the UK. However, the English I have spoken to believe there is much better beers to drink, especially in the lager department.
After my visit to the XXXX brewery, I decided to put together this list; and as aforementioned , illuminate the monopolies that exist even in australia's beer industry.
New South Wales: Tooheys, Reschs, Hahn, James Squire and KB Lager
Queensland: XXXX and Powers
South Australia: West End, Southwark and Coopers
Tasmania: Boags in the north, Cascade in the south
Victoria: Carlton Draught, Victoria Bitter and Melbourne Bitter
Western Australia: Swan and Emu
No Australians drink Foster's Lager, and so it is made mostly for export to the UK. However, the English I have spoken to believe there is much better beers to drink, especially in the lager department.
After my visit to the XXXX brewery, I decided to put together this list; and as aforementioned , illuminate the monopolies that exist even in australia's beer industry.
New South Wales: Tooheys, Reschs, Hahn, James Squire and KB Lager
Queensland: XXXX and Powers
South Australia: West End, Southwark and Coopers
Tasmania: Boags in the north, Cascade in the south
Victoria: Carlton Draught, Victoria Bitter and Melbourne Bitter
Western Australia: Swan and Emu
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Let the coast begin!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Byron Bay
Two words: Kicking back.
With the bustling city to our back, a transition begun in a whole new world of exploration. Our guide for the first leg was nicknamed Hog, leading us with music and stories. Tunes included those of Slim Dusty, paired with stories about Croc Dundee. The infamous Croc was actually a common bridge painter; painting the harbour bridge year round, end-to-end and back again. Looking back on Sydney, next to the bridge at the Oprah House, the designer went more than double over his budget, and was tod his design would never pan out, however it was funded to creation, but the designer was not allowed back in the country, and died before ever seeing his creation. Even further back in Sydney history, many prisoners died on the first ships sent from England. Surprisingly the first ship was not so bad, but the second ship, the prisoners were not allowed to see the light of day, and therefore suffered awful cases of scurvy due to malnutrition. Scurvy leads to skin turning black, tooth and hair loss, as well as the reopening of old scars and wounds....
So Hog carried on with his stories, narrating the trip, helping spot wild kangaroos on the roadside. I saw nearly ten today, along with hundreds of horses and thousands of cows. This was followed by heaps of banana plantations (sidenote: banana trees are a lot smaller than I imagined). Following a quick nap we finally arrived at our first destination, SPOT X. Hog then proceeded to discuss how surf spots are all given nick names when they are discussed or published, names that you would never find on a map; names that you need to earn your stripes to find out where they actually are located. After a short look around the surf town, which was quite small, we continued our journey as the sun began to set.
Keeping a keen eye our for our hopping highway marsupials, a game of cards ensued as well as some light reading and some salt and (malt) vinegar chips... the Aussies call em crisps. Rocking up at Byron we were treated to a story about some academics from Equador who built traditional rafts in the 1970s and sailed all the way to the East coast of Australia. After a journey of 6 months, this group of three flew home; to the amazement of their peers this lucky bunch had just proved that without paddles or motors, ancient societies may have used these ocean currents for trade and transport. Three years later this group decided to do it again to prove it was not a fluke and instead did the same journey with three boats; again using traditional balsam wood and a somewhat less-traditional, but somehow appropriate hemp.
With the bustling city to our back, a transition begun in a whole new world of exploration. Our guide for the first leg was nicknamed Hog, leading us with music and stories. Tunes included those of Slim Dusty, paired with stories about Croc Dundee. The infamous Croc was actually a common bridge painter; painting the harbour bridge year round, end-to-end and back again. Looking back on Sydney, next to the bridge at the Oprah House, the designer went more than double over his budget, and was tod his design would never pan out, however it was funded to creation, but the designer was not allowed back in the country, and died before ever seeing his creation. Even further back in Sydney history, many prisoners died on the first ships sent from England. Surprisingly the first ship was not so bad, but the second ship, the prisoners were not allowed to see the light of day, and therefore suffered awful cases of scurvy due to malnutrition. Scurvy leads to skin turning black, tooth and hair loss, as well as the reopening of old scars and wounds....
So Hog carried on with his stories, narrating the trip, helping spot wild kangaroos on the roadside. I saw nearly ten today, along with hundreds of horses and thousands of cows. This was followed by heaps of banana plantations (sidenote: banana trees are a lot smaller than I imagined). Following a quick nap we finally arrived at our first destination, SPOT X. Hog then proceeded to discuss how surf spots are all given nick names when they are discussed or published, names that you would never find on a map; names that you need to earn your stripes to find out where they actually are located. After a short look around the surf town, which was quite small, we continued our journey as the sun began to set.
Keeping a keen eye our for our hopping highway marsupials, a game of cards ensued as well as some light reading and some salt and (malt) vinegar chips... the Aussies call em crisps. Rocking up at Byron we were treated to a story about some academics from Equador who built traditional rafts in the 1970s and sailed all the way to the East coast of Australia. After a journey of 6 months, this group of three flew home; to the amazement of their peers this lucky bunch had just proved that without paddles or motors, ancient societies may have used these ocean currents for trade and transport. Three years later this group decided to do it again to prove it was not a fluke and instead did the same journey with three boats; again using traditional balsam wood and a somewhat less-traditional, but somehow appropriate hemp.
A Postcard Home
Dear friends and family,
First of all I would like to thank everyone who helped me get here... my parents, my close friends and immediate family. A special thanks is due to my previous employer who owes me a months pay. Arriving in Sydney with a mere thousand dollars was a rude awakening when rent is $200+ a week. With less than a months rent I set off to work at the hostel early and soon after began working the streets for money (i.e. fund raising for charity.) My month-long charity work being fruitless, I continued my search for a job until I landed at the NRMA (the Australian CAA service.) Thanks to NRMA I was able to save another thousand dollars and make my way out of Sydney (finally.)
Leaving Base Backpackers Hostel for Cairns feels a bit like leaving home for the second time. Many lifelong memories and friends that have made lasting impressions. So now I head out of Sydney: From Byron to Surfers, Brisbane to Noosa, Fraser via Rainbow, 1770 to Airlee, Maggie to Mission, and finally to Cairns.
Sincerely,
The Reincarnation of Steve Irwin
Captain ONeill
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Saturday the Nineteenth
The floods, cyclones and fires have subsided for the moment, giving way for some more crappy weather ...until yesterday.
Prospective work is looming on the horizon, and my creative mind is sure to be stimulated. Now in the works for the past few days is a blog I'm making for base backpackers hostel http://basehostel.wordpress.com. This time would be in exchange for soft goods such as Oz Experience travel, ex. free transportation and accomodation up the east coast from Byron Bay to Gold Coast to Cairns.
In other (good) news, I recieved a job offer from Beaumont Consulting for a Desktop Publishing position at $23/hr for 25.5 hours per week. Essentially I would be able to utilize and build-on my Adobe Photoshop and InDesign skills. The appealing part about this position is the flexibility; as long as I complete the hours every week, the daily hours I work are my choice. For more info, see the attached
Needless to say, things are looking up work-wise... and everything else is good as always.
Went on the weekly beach trip on Fridays again--always a good time--free goon and sausages, beach and ocean...
...nothing better
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
1:11pm@Feb-Eighth-11
word up to the interweb...
issues on the plate today include Egypt, Sudan and Cambodia
reading the news will be sure to make you crazier
they say ignorance is bliss
but knowledge is endless
the quest to be in the know
is my life's path i'm sure
cairo's filled with violence
but cambodias voice is silenced
a ninety percent vote from south sudan
wants to separate from the rest of the land
its a fragile life we're living
australia's practically floating
and i'm not wining
just educating
reading
writing
while i'm away from home--rhyming without reason
maybe i'll join the action--help commit some treason?
Monday, January 24, 2011
Jan. the 20
Andrew zoolander, male supermodel of the year and Australian backpacker fashion icon. Yesterday, faced the world through the lens in the shoot to re-brand BASE hostel's website and brochures. From evening wear to beach gear, Andrew worked with the likes of 6 other models (most of which were found on the street the day before) in a photo shoot that will change the face of the hostel forever.Lest we forget the free lunch and dinner, the complimentary drinks during the shoot, and of course getting paid on top of it all.
It's tough being a model.
January Seventeenth
My my, i must watch my temper. It was the damned Scottish after all that gave me a chance to test my computer skills. Twice within a week I have taken typing tests, numerical and alphanumeric data entry tests, excel and word tests and not to mention the grilling interview that followed... Okay the interview was not so bad. In fact they were great, the agents were really kind and warm-hearted people who seemed to genuinely care about my best interest, taking the time to ask my preferences for wage, hours and industry. WHY THE EFF HAVEN'T THEY GOT ME A JOB YET!! I sure as hell ain't looking myself... Yeesh
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
NYE X SYDNEY
A record television audience of 1.1 billion people across the world watched the pyrotechnic spectacular.
Last night, Sydney made its mark on the world... Broadcasted out through the BBC, CNN and for the first time, the Chinese broadcaster CCTV.
A pulsing X on the Sydney Harbour Bridge reflected the Make Your Mark theme, replaced shortly after by a gold hand. Apparently, this was to celebrate the 10-years of fireworks designed and executed by the same person--this is to be her last and final year of fireworks.
A total of 56 tonnes of rubbish was collected - less than last year. Likely because we got a $1 return for any wine or beer bottles we returned to the bar.
With just 40 arrests that night, less revelers were arrested than an average night in Kings Cross (Sydney).
CHRISTMAS ON THE BEACH
Our green Christmas got hot, sandy and wet on Tamarama beach!
King-size prawns and mongolian sausages on the barby with some Aussies, Blokes, and Kiwis. Yum-didily-um...
CHISTMAS EVE BOAT CRUISE
What a wonderful world.
We cheaped out on the boat cruise, opted for the $30 boat, nothing included... But we lucked out: Same views of the harbour as the $100 boat, and our drinks were only $5 (for a can of VB)
:)
BASE X MAS WORK PARTY
DECEMBER 22
Gday mate, how you going?
Beginning of week four—feels like we have been here heaps longer. Time is moving fast and days are flying by. Quite the adventure it has turned out to be... Last week I was working for accommodation, serving breakfast at the hostel bar 7am-10am, scurrying off to any given suburb of Sydney – from Blacktown to Paramatta – to work from 11am-5pm getting charity donations on the street. I knew this was a working holiday but did not realize how much emphasis would be on the working part!
Anyhow, we got off to a work-picnic at Coogee beach on Sunday with all the hostel mates who work here. We played football, a.k.a. soccer, and some cricket, followed by a massive BBQ (which included sausage, meatballs, wings, salad, and more). Not to mention that on the graffiti-painted bus we rode to the beach, they loaded on nearly 10 crates of beer, a.k.a. 24s, mainly Haghn Super Dry and Busweiser, plus a few of cider. The cider here is much different than the cider-beer we have back home, it is much more like sparkling wine, but made with apples instead of grapes, and contains no grain. The standard back home is don't mix your beer and liquor, here they say don't mix your grain and fruit.
Our Christmas plans are starting to come together, but we expect the home-sickness to kick-in anytime now. We will really miss seeing our friends, but more so our families over the holidays—especially for the 12-drinks of christmas, and tips-eve... And don't even get me started on having a green Christmas; not only is it green, but the malls don't play Christmas music, and I am hard-pressed to find any decorations in the windows. Usually I am the biggest scrooge around Christmas because we over-do-it so much in US and Canada, but here I am starved of the sensory experience I am usually bombarded with.
Well, Dr. Oz signing off, warm wishes from Aussieland this holiday season!
Peace and love,
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