Ups and Downs Family Love is All Around

Just 2 Backpacks For a 1 Week Trip

It's not every year that your family comes together. I'm not just talking about Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. I'm talking about the entire family - the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and the obscure ones you didn't even know existed. This year, my grandpa 'Papa' celebrated his 84th birthday. To commemorate this momentous occasion, relatives all over the world - mainly the US and the Philippines - came together in Iloilo, Philippines during the second week of November. Dave and I pleaded our bosses to give us time off despite being in the dreaded 3 month probation period. We were scheduled to leave on Saturday the 13th, but of course last minute shenanigans happened eg. change of the party to the evening of the 13th and PAL rerouting our direct flight from Sydney to Manila through Melbourne. Luckily, I was able to exchange our tickets for a day ahead and so we left on Friday the 12th. I've never been so spazzed out about catching a connecting flight until now. In Manila, I had to go from one terminal to another. You'd expect to jump onto some airport monorail or bus, but this wasn't the case. We had to go across a very busy part of town to the domestic terminal of the same airport bypassing the completely separate domestic airport on the way. We jumped into an empty airport shuttle and begged him to go. We arrived with enough time to check-in and get to security. At security, we had to turn right back around because our duty-free bought Bundaberg rum from Sydney Airport wasn't allowed as a carry-on. By 7pm, we had been traveling for 11 hours and had only enough energy to sigh a breath of relief once we sat down for an hour long trip to Iloilo. Once there, there would be no more planning, just us going with the flow of my parents' plans.

We arrived 5 minutes early and found no one waiting for us. We strolled up and down the arrivals gate weaving through dozens of cabbies asking us if we needed a ride. We approached a young boy cleaning a cafe to use his cellphone. The poor boy didn't have enough credit to make a call. (The Philippines is known as the texting capital of the world since a single SMS is approx. a peso!) No return text. We stayed till the airport shut all its lights and only one taxi was left. We took it to the only part of town I knew - SM City Mall in the heart of Iloilo. Dave and I are pretty seasoned travellers. Despite this irritating circumstance, we had a plan B, enough money and most importantly a positive attitude. We checked into the nicest hotel in the clubbing district and ordered a pricey, yet totally satisfying Filipino meal on a veranda overlooking the clubbing district. Phoneless and disheartened, we ate and watched the club-goers hoping to see my cousins letting loose escaping the clutches of their parents. That Friday, all known parties had driven, flown and boated over to Iloilo because my Papa’s birthday party would be the next night. Our meal was bittersweet. We had finally taken our first vacation since moving to Australia, but were unsure if we were going to find my family when we foreigners could hardly distinguish one Filipino from the next. At this point, I have never seen my step dad’s side of the family.

The next morning, found emails from my family on the lobby Internet. By noon, my mom had found us. When we saw her, she gave me the biggest hug and started to cry. I had never seen my mom so worried and relieved at the same time. According to my parents, they had entrusted my aunt and uncle to pick us up with my Houston-based cousins who were arriving at relatively the same time. With all the excitement and commotion of the party and relatives filtering in, we were missed. At this point, my immediate family had pulled out of the reunion/ birthday party and was staying at another hotel. How could this much drama happen overnight? Dave and I were feeling pretty guilty, but we couldn’t have stayed at the dark and empty airport!

Trying to keep my mom’s mind off the drama, we spent the day – the day of the party – with her shopping and running errands. Dave, my dad and brother got facials – the kind for acne and leaves you red-faced and sorry. Eek! It was really great to see my parents in their own element. I asked them if they felt like they were at ‘home’. They answered 50/50 because they have been so removed (since the early 80s) that they love both their home country and their current home in the States. I’ve lived in so many different places, what will I call home when I’m their age?

Me and Papa at His 84th Birthday & Family Reunion

In the last two years, my aunt lost her husband and my grandfather lost his wife. If a reunion was going to happen, it needed to happen sooner than later. By 5pm, my dad and I were worried we’d miss the big reunion. After all, a lot of time, money and concerted effort were put into play to make my Papa’s birthday a success. Cuddling with my mom, we persuaded her to go and forget the entire mess and just concentrate on what was important – giving my Papa the best birthday and family reunion ever.

The Main Event - Lechon

At the reunion, all was set aside and we enjoyed a feast including Lechon (a traditional Filipino roasted pig served at big occasions). There were over 100 people all connected to my grandfather. Predictably, there was karaoke, choreographed dances and games – my favourite being the newspaper game! There are pairs dancing around a newspaper. When the music stops, the pair has to fold it in half and fit their feet on it. The winning pair is the one with the smallest newspaper square and can still stand on it even if that means piggy back style!

2nd Place in the Newspaper Dance Game

The next day, we took off for Boracay, a 4 hour ride across the island plus a ferry ride. This trip took 6 hours because of a flat tire and a stop at a resto to see the Philippines most prized athlete – Manny Pacquaio defeat Antonio Margarito. This fight was like The Thrilla in Manila Muhammed Ali v Joe Frazier to the Filipino public and was advertised as the David and Goliath fight. It was amazing to see locals so enamoured by one man. He was like Michael Jordan meets Jesus – he is almost a religion in the Philippines. As the biblical story dictates, so did the Pacman defeat his Goliath.

Never Too Old to Cuddle my Baby Bro RJ

The Road from Iloilo to Caticlan (Boracay Port City)

Boracay is one of the best beaches in the world and a guaranteed good time including snorkeling, white sand beaches and cheap seafood and massages. For the next 3 days, I enjoyed getting to know my dad’s side of the family and forgetting all the drama that had happened the day before. Poor Dave though, he endured food poisoning – we’re suspecting Yellow Cab Pizza Company because my sister got it too! – and was out of commission till our last night. Our one goal for the Boracay trip was to get a market fresh seafood dinner that we had enjoyed last year. We bought 2 lobsters, 1kg prawns and 200g calamari and had it prepared by a nearby restaurant for less than $20 a person! If you ever go to the Philippines, you have to dip your seafood in a mixture of soy sauce and calamansi juice known to my family as 'Dip dip'. You’ll want to spoon it up!

Island Hopping Around Boracay

Enjoying My Favourite Filipino Icecream
Ube or Purple Taro or Yam

Seafood Buffet for Two

Lobster, Prawn, Calamari, Rice & Calamansi Soy Sauce 'Dip dip'

My Proud Grandma and Me at the New Restaurant Bangga Vaflor

On Wednesday, we took off for Iloilo again, but this time to catch a ferry to my mother’s home island of Negros to the city of Bacolod. This was a very special trip because my mom had spent the last year tearing down my grandmother’s dilapidated house and building a restaurant for my extended family to run and earn money. The most vivid memory of the house was when I was 3 years old living with my grandmother in her huge, dark and scary house while my mom worked in the States raising enough money to bring me and my sister over. The site before us was not that gloomy house, but a bright two-part building called Bangga Vaflor or Vaflor Street set up as a café for the neighboring college during the day and a fine-dining restaurant in the evening. For the next two days, we enjoyed huge crabs and bangus (milk fish) from my uncle’s fish pond and tasting menu for the restaurant. We held a second reunion, but this time with my grandmother’s side of the family.
 

The Biggest Crab I've Ever Eaten

Hiding Signs of Extreme Fatigue

Ariadne, Bea, Daddy, Me, Dave and RJ at Waterfall #3

On my last day in Bacolod, my family went to Mambukal Resort a hidden gem an hour away with 7 waterfalls. My dad, brother, Dave and cousins conquered the high terrain and beating heat to all 7 waterfalls. As much as I dislike hiking, it felt familiar and good to do something with my family that we haven’t done since I was living under their roof. It was like I was 10 and on vacation with my family with my dad leading the way making slacker jokes at us slowpokes bringing up the rear.

Enjoying a Well-Deserved Shiatsu Massage

That night, exhausted and yet to have a proper massage, I got my wish. The very same masseuse I had when I visited back in 2002 was still in contact with my aunt. He came over and went nuts. It was one of the Shiatsu massages that hurt and tickled at the same time for over an hour – all for 200 pesos or approx. $5!

The Great Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao Singing to His Fans

On Dave and I’s last day, we decided to go to Manila early and do some last minute shopping at SM Mall of Asia. Only 15 minutes away from the airport, this was our best bet to get all the deals we were missing in Australia (the country with insanely overpriced retail goods). In the taxi, our cabbie told us Manny Pacquiao would be holding a concert at the mall! After a day of shopping, Cinnabon and more shopping, we walked out of the mall to the welcome of a fireworks display. And on the big screens, there was Pacquiao singing ‘Filipino, Filipino’. What a great way to end our trip!

The Vaflor Family

As hectic and dramatic the start of our vacation was, the rest of the vacation proved to be worth the tough start. I’m a big believer in balance and this trip exemplified how families can be both sides of angry, frustrated, and hurt and also loving, jokey and appreciative. This reunion doesn’t happen every year. In fact, this was the first I’ve participated in my 25 years. I hope we don’t go too long before another one happens. Thank you to all those involved in the planning, execution and follow up of this memorable event!

The 3 Month Review

Once getting the job, you expect that life will be full of sunshine and rainbows. In Australia, this is not the case. Once you’ve signed your contract, you will then be put onto a 3 month probation period. During that time, you’ll need to ‘fight for your life’ to keep your job. At any time if your boss feels that you’re under performing or just not the right fit, you could get canned. To avoid this, you’ll need to not only perform your job description, but also perform above and beyond expectation especially if you want a raise at your evaluation.

During this period, your peers are watching you. They’re constantly judging you, giving you more responsibility, tighter deadlines, thus added pressure that you just don't need. They’ll liaise with your boss disclosing a behind closed doors sense of your performance, work ethic, personality and ability to handle that pressure. You have no idea this is happening until the day of your 3 month review.

Two weeks before my 3 month review I was asked to fill out a questionnaire with topics like:

• What do you like about your job?
• What don’t you like about your job?
• What do you do in your job?
• How could you do your job better?
• What do you like about your manager?
• What don’t you like about your manager?
• What do you not like about your workplace?
• How could you make the work place better?

These topics, although generic, can really open up an entire account of your experience. Because the questions are so open-ended, you are at liberty to answer in your own tone and reveal what you think is noteworthy to bring up at your assessment. With confidence and a promise to myself that I would always be open and honest at any job I hold, I answered the questions in length about my experience at Taurus.

The week before my review, one of my colleagues was notified that he was under performing. This assessment scared me. His resume boasted of experience and high qualifications. He had a bright personality and the charisma any company would want. He was also one of my first friends at the workplace, not to mention Australia. In the end, he wasn’t the right fit for our company. Gosh, what if I wasn’t the right fit? What if I was under performing? Keeping my composure, I held my head high. After all, I felt that my performance over the last 3 months was actually worth me presenting my case for a raise. I had written for every publication we contributed to, done loads of research, pitched a product into a highly saturated market and even managed the interns just to name a few highlights.

The day before my actual review, I sat down with my manager and talked through my questions. I was confident about the positive questions like what do you do, how have you contributed etc. When it came to the more sensitive questions, I broke down. I hate talking about people and how I felt the department was lacking. I didn’t want my concerns to reflect on management; the person sitting in front of me. I saw the concern in her eyes and the waterworks came. I didn’t want her to think she was a bad manager nor did I want to raise the red flag of the inconsistencies and shortcomings of the office. Nevertheless, I stayed true to myself and raised the issue of being open in our small office and how fairness and individuality need to be addressed. In my mind, wasn’t it better to contribute towards a dialogue of understanding and the improvement of myself, my peers, my department and my office? I was given the questionnaire to answer in my own words and of my own accord. She fully agreed with my advice and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

The second topic of the hour was my salary. I have to preface this bit with the fact that I hate talking about salary and deserving of said salary. To justify my desired salary, I printed off salary reviews and trends from Australia’s most trusted and used source for employment – Seek.com.au. I presented the print out with graphs and descriptions. She asked, “What drives you? For some it’s training. For others, it’s money.” I said skittishly, “Money.” I appreciate training, but I felt that I got enough experience and push by working in an agency itself. Working in an agency is a fast-paced, tight deadline driven and outcomes-based way of working. Those elements in themselves gave me enough of a learning curve to push my professional capabilities and boundaries. Furthermore, I was under-hired. I had previous experience in working with internal and external communications and public relations, but I had come off of 2 years of teaching English in Korea. Australia needed to see my capabilities and in 3 months, I showed them I was definitely not entry-level. So aiming high, my first figure was surprisingly for me and gladly accepted by my manager. Happy with my own self-assurance and the much higher figure, I said nothing more of my salary.

This was the easy episode. My immediate manager wanted to go through my questionnaire as a buffer before I took on my CEO the next day. Because I was emotionally spent at this point, I breezed through the round with my CEO. I was firm, confident and most of all sincere. I had my doubts, but as any good communication specialist would do, I backed myself up with credible examples and won my case. This experience isn't a reflection on my company, but is assessment that exists to bring mutual understanding and agreement between the employee and employer. I've had a wonderful and challenging experience thus far and can't wait to see how my professional self develops until my next appraisal occurs in May 2011.

The 3 month review is unfamiliar and a strange concept to grasp. I now understand why Australia does it and can appreciate the 'try before you buy' concept. After all, there are thousands who enter Australia each year trying to land a job and obtain a business visa. On the other hand, there are just as many who go beyond their tourist visa and just stay illegally. Australia has to be discriminating and that's where the 3 month review fits in the grander picture of living the 'Australian dream'.

Happy Holidays from Shave!

Dancing our way into 2011...

Sydney to host FIFA World Cup 2022

Australia's World Cup Bid 2022

*Courtesy of YouTube

I love a good campaign when I see one, but pro-Australia campaigns seem to only love its cliches. This campaign is quite near and dear to my heart as I am an avid player, watcher and overall enthusiast of all things soccer. Living in Australia, I'm definitely rooting for Oz to host, but will I even be here in 2022?

Today, Australia is making its last bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 to the FIFA committee in Zurich, Switzerland. High-profile celebrities such as Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett, Elle MacPherson, and Cathy Freeman are ambassadors to host.  The country is in the running with USA, Japan, South Korea, and Qatar. However, speculation suggests Australia may not make such a good host being ranked 'least profitable'. The world will know by tomorrow 3 December 2010.

Seeing this campaign video is quite exciting though and reminds me of how fun Australia is and how they are able to make fun of themselves by including such personalities as Crocodile Dundee. Crossed fingers we score a goal on this one!

Spreading the Love

 

The T-Mobile Welcome Back

*Courtesy of YouTube

This ad reminds me of a cooler version of the ending of the film Love Actually.

It is a new T-Mobile ad from the UK that's been circulating my office due to its catchy tune, awesome concept, and of course, the flash mob. We can't get people to stop whistling!

Why don't more companies do more feel good campaigns?

Many people believe that the giant corporations of the world really don't care about making people feel good, but there has to be something said about corporate responsibility. With all the money corporates have, shouldn’t they be accountable towards the public or at least their customers? For most of capitalism as we know it, companies exist for monetary benefit and issuing temporary customer satisfaction. The real winners are those who look for long term relationships.

With the rise of social media, the voice of the customer has grown stronger creating a power shift away from the historically dominant corporations. Now, the public can publish news or comments within minutes (both positive and negative) without the company’s knowledge leaving companies vulnerable. Companies are now answerable to not only their shareholders, but the entire world, an audience who act as gatekeepers for the last judgment. Will the company survive or perish?

When I worked at Altria, parent company of Philip Morris International and USA (otherwise known as The Tobacco Giants), the company had undergone a transformation from Philip Morris Companies Inc. to Altria Inc. The change occurred perhaps to stronger FDA regulations or the rising negative perception of cigarettes. The company stands firm that these external factors were not the stimulus for the brand revamp, but because the company no longer focused solely on tobacco products. It had stakes in beer (SABMiller), processed foods (Kraft) and other non-tobacco related ventures. Knowing very well that branding can dictate perception, the company went through a branding makeover. They chose the name Altria from the Latin word altus – reaching ever higher – a more appropriate name for a company compromised of different non-tobacco entities and strived for higher pursuits. Sounds like they have a God complex huh? Nevertheless, I applaud the Philip Morris branding team because they understood that the public isn’t dumb and that risk management should be taken seriously.

More and more companies today find the practice of risk management a top priority due to social media’s influence. If they mute out comments, photo and video posts and blogs, companies will become muted out in the conversation taking place across social networking platforms. It is far riskier to not participate in the conversation.

Rather than shy away from it, companies need to embrace social media for customer engagement. Two-way communication is an idea of the past. Today, companies should forget the call-centre mentality and communicate with customers as if they were friends - constant engagement.

The bottom line is, companies’ priority is still the almighty buck. But in order to get it, at least provide the public with something to look at and smile. You might get some positive comments or even go viral!

What are some memorable feel good campaigns?

The Fascinator

November 2nd in America is known as Election Day. Here in Australia, it’s the Melbourne Cup Carnival…well at least this year and it's celebrating 150 years! It takes place on the first Tuesday of November.

Australia’s most anticipated day next to the AFL footy Grand Final (Aussie version of the Super Bowl) has arrived. For weeks, the media has been following race day fashion and top race horse picks. They’ve featured Gai Waterhouse – the revered female trainer. They’ve featured Jennifer Hawkins’ fashion – the former Miss Australia/ Miss Universe. Lately, the media has been featuring Bart Cummings and his old age – the owner of ‘So You Think’, the #1 Melbourne Cup pick. What I’ve been fascinated with is the Fascinator.

Examples of Celebs Dawning Fascinators

Oliva Newton-John, Jennifer Hawkins and Rebecca Twigley

*Courtesy of the Herald Sun

The fascinator, otherwise an elaborate decorative headband or hair piece, has filled every clothing and accessory shop. Since spring begun on September 20th, the fashion pages and store front windows have featured these accessories as common as scarves in the fall. I thought these headbands were just ‘trendy’ in the last 2 years when I saw them as regular hair pieces on Gossip Girl. Apparently, these head pieces are a key ingredient along with the perfect race dress and high heels. The race even awards the top dressers with careful scrutiny of the fascinator at each race. The most recognised prize is the Best Dressed at the Birdcage or on the field at the Melbourne Cup Carnival racetrack.

With all the attention on fashion, Australia seems to stop when the race is on. Even the city of Melbourne has declared this day as a paid holiday! Apparently, the race is costing the Australian economy $1 billion! According to Randstad Recruitment, Australia will incur high productivity losses due to the public’s diverted attention to the race. According to the report, 47 percent will take part in an office function, 45 percent will take more than thee and half hours off work and 12.1 percent will take the entire day off. Despite high losses in productivity, high staff morale is bolstered. If managers didn’t comply with this trend, they could damage their company culture, reputation and ability to retain staff.


Thank goodness for the Taurus Marketing staff! We’re exercising the 45 percent above and taking off of work at 1:30pm although the race is at 3pm. All over town, there are hefty packages where groups can pay anywhere between $50-$300 for a couple hours of food, drink and of course atmosphere. We’re paying $99 per person for unlimited champers (champagne in Aussie speak), Heineken and canapés for 3 hours at The Ivy – Sydney’s version of Butter in NYC.

The Taurus Team at The Ivy
Melbourne Cup Carnival 2 November 2010

After listening in on conversations at work of what to wear, I’ve become a little insecure of my Melbourne Cup Carnival debut outfit. Being an expat, new to Australia and heavily fined for overweight check-in baggage prior to arriving, I’m left with very little dress options. If you knew me at all in high school or college, you know I had an outfit for everything. Now, I’m worried that I won’t be dressed appropriately or with the cute enough fascinator. I scavenged the new $3bn Westfield Sydney flagship shopping centre that opened in October for an appropriate fascinator. Now that race season is at a close, fascinators are on sale. They ranged from $40 to $150! Thankfully, I already have a white headband with a white flower from Forever 21 in Seoul, Korea that I bought during the Gossip Girl headband craze. Will it do? Looking at my 3 dress options, all bought circa senior year of university, I am not sure white will go with them. In a panic, I texted my colleague Monique to bring me some options. What better advisor than a resident Aussie who has experienced the Melbourne Cup 6 times!

The Lovely Taurus Babes with Fascinators

Rachel, Me, Monique and Sharon

On the big day, hardly any attention was paid to actual work. All we could think about was stopping mid-day to start putting make-up on. For an hour before we left, Taurus changed into what looked like highschool girls getting ready for prom. The boys went out to make their wagers on the race. Not sure what to bet for, I looked at their names and who’s had the most media attention. So You Think was an obvious choice since it’s won so many races lately and represents Australia. The next horse I went for is Americain – can it be more obvious? I chose 2 other horses based on the previous performance. With $40, I betted for 4 horses to take first or to place. In the end, I won $90 for choosing Americain – the winner! And So You Think for placing 3rd. What a race! The same horses were leading until the last 100 meters. Out of nowhere, a French jockey donning red, white and blue blazed through the pack and beat the rest by a huge margin.

Front Row Seats and Watching With Anticipation

Melbourne Cup Carnival at The Ivy

 

I can't wait for next year. Maybe I should go buy some fascinators now for next year's race day since their on sale!

McDonald's Giant Adult Playground

*Courtesy of Mumbrella

Some days I wish I had this around the corner. This ad was filmed in Sydney near the Customs House in March 2010. Too bad I got to Sydney in June.

It began airing in October and has blown up the Australian media. The whole basis of the commercial was to get reactions from onlookers noticing the three-storey high structure included a giant Hamburglar swing, Ronald McDonald bench, slides and Fillet-O-Fish bouncers.

Now, if it were real and our bosses would let us have play time!

Bondi to Coogee Walk About

Map of the Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach Walk

*Courtesy of The Sydney Visitor

Whether you're a tourist or a Sydney-sider, one thing you can't miss out on is the Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach walk or Coast walk. It is regarded as one of the hidden gems of Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and Sydney tourism. The world famous Bondi Beach is known for both its history and controversy. The name comes from the aboriginal word "Boondi" meaning water breaking over rocks or noise of water breaking over rocks. After WWII, this beach was known for the Aub Laidlaw ordinance against the new two-piece bikini bathing suit where officials were required to measure at least 4 inches of clothing. Later in the 80s, topless sunbathing became very popular as well. Today, it is the postcard picture of Sydney tourism.

After four months of living in Sydney, Dave and I finally made our way down to Bondi (30 minutes from Darlinghurst by bus) to begin our walk about. The Bondi to Coogee walk is approximately 6km and takes about 2 hours. From Bondi, you'll pass Bondi Beach, Tamarama Beach, Bronte Beach, Waverley Cemetery, Clovelly and Coogee Beach. Along the way, you'll walk along sidewalk paths, staircases, see parks, play areas, beaches and even aboriginal rock carvings.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, we embarked on the walk, ate lunch in Coogee and walked all the way back to Bondi Junction (the town of Bondi Beach). Yes, that's over 12km! Although we wore the wrong clothing for a day in the 30s Celsius and walked double the length, we got to get out of the city and enjoy  some breath-taking views. If you ever come to visit me, we will definitely do this for an afternoon. Highly recommended!

The Path From Bondi Junction Down to the Bondi to Coogee Walk Trail

Leaving Bondi and Entering Tamarama

 

Father and Son Overlooking the Ocean and the Sidewalk Path

 

Bronte Beach and Waverley Cemetery

 

Rock Sun Bathers and Lawn Bowling in Clovelly

 

The Bay Before Coogee Beach and Entering Coogee Beach

Curb Your Dog

I Expected Aussies to Have a Cooler Term for 'Poo'

 

Waverley Cemetary and Beach Volleyball at Coogee Beach

Panoramic Shot of Coogee Beach

Panoramic Shot of Bondi Beach

The Australian Beer Festival

Aussie Pride of Vegemite Displayed in a Store Window

Before coming to Australia, I heard that Aussie’s are prideful people. In my eyes, they are most proud of their footy (strange combination of rugby and American football with no pads), surfing and beer.

Like Americans and their love of football, Nascar and beer, I feel right at home living amongst such prideful people. To showcase their pride for beer, each year The Australian Heritage Hotel (what a name!) puts on The Australian Beer Festival. This jam-packed event is held right below the Sydney Bridge in The Rocks. One street block is closed off –although cars rarely drive through anyways – and hundreds of people are packed into an area the size of a school gym. You are greeted by bouncers that look like Maori natives. Armed with only my Texas drivers license, I handed over my i.d. and I surprisingly got back, ‘Yeah Longhorns!’ Smile.

 

$15 For a Relaxing Saturday Afternoon of Beers and Friends 

$5 for a tasting cup and $10 for 10 tastings

I went straight to the counter where an onslaught of 20-30 year olds desperately fought for the attention of the register girls. For $15, you get a tasting cup ($5) and 10 tastings ($10). Although it’s a beer festival, one could purchase a wine ticket, which gave you only 4 tastings. Boo. Leaving the frenzied area as soon as I could, I headed over to the tents.

 

Shoulder to Shoulder Event

The Australian Beer Festival, The Rocks

My New Favourite Beer

Little Creatures Pale Ale

The outdoor event had two aisles with tents on both sides – one for the Aussie beers, the other for Kiwi beers. Each tent hosted a local brewery. The beers ranged from pale and dark ales to ciders to lagers. My primary goal was to find the Australian equivalent to Hoegaarden. If you didn’t know already, it’s Belgian and the best white ale ever! I didn’t find any white ales, but I did manage to find my new favourite beer in Australia – Little Creatures Pale Ale. Of 10 tastings, I dedicated at least 4 to this new found nectar not to mention the Little Creatures booth didn't skimp out on filling your cup to the brim.

To accompany the delicious beer, we enjoyed the company of some really great people. Back in September, Dave and I attended a Meet Up event with the Americans Expats Living in Sydney group for some touch football. Since then, we've hung out with our new friends at house parties, after-work drinks and the beach. Like wildfire, our friends brought their friends and our circle became larger and larger. It was great to share familiar conversation with my fellow American comrades - although each encounter seems to begin with the routine FAQs 'Where are you from?', 'What do you do here?', and 'How long do you plan on staying?' Regardless, we met up with some good friends and made new ones - always a good remedy for homesick expats. For an entire afternoon and into the night, we drank more and more beer till I couldn't handle going to the port-o-potties any longer.

Being an American in Oz, I'm constantly comparing my home country and the country I now call 'home'. Although very different in attitudes, work/life balance and extracurricular activities, I'm happy that I can still find a good beer and some good friends to share a pint with.

The Great Office War

My boss's son Oliver came in today to show us 'The funniest video ever!' So if you're feeling bored at work or it's been a long day, think of this and perhaps you can convince your boss to take a break from work and have some fun.

Rising On Up!

This is so exciting! I just transfered money home for the first time since arriving in Australia. The Australian dollar is on a 27 year high. It's not so good for Americans at home, but awesome for expats abroad. Fingers crossed that it breaks the $US 1.00 barrier!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

2nd Sunday in October

Homemade Poutine

Oporto Chips + Maggi Instant Gravy Packet + Mozzarella Ball

To celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving, I suggested to Dave that we make the most definitive dish of his culture: poutine. It is originally from Quebec and is usually made with hot fries, cheese curds and brown gravy. We didn't have the cheese curds, so we substituted it with mozzarella. Thankfully, everything else is readily available in Australia.

Having it only twice in my life, once in Korea and once in Kingston, Ontario, I can't say that I'm the biggest fan. I still prefer chili cheese fries. Dave, on the other hand, grew up with this heart attack inducing dish. The entire time we were preparing it (I just bought the chips - as they call it in Oz - at Oporto), he had the biggest grin on his face. The climax was when he poured the hot brown gravy sauce onto the fries and mozzarella. His grin just got bigger and his face just got hotter. This was the most excited I had ever seen him (as you can tell by the picture below).

Although we're far from home, I'm glad we can celebrate our traditions - even if it's just a tiny taste of home.

'This is the best poutine I've ever made.'

Dave Ready to Tuck into the Homemade Poutine

Get your hand away from there!

Today, I turned 25 years old. My mother of course was the first to wish me 'Happy Birthday!' In my mother's email subject line, it read 'Silver', which really denotes the appropriate wedding anniversary gift. She ended the note saying 'Where's the party?'. Chuckling now, the truth of her message couldn't be any clearer than the actual events of my birthday weekend.

At the beginning of the week, Dave said 'We can do anything this weekend, but Saturday night and Monday are mine.' More suspicious than curious, I went with his plan because knowing him, he's planned something good. Ref: last year's birthday. Beginning my birthday weekend on Friday afternoon, Dave invited me to his office where every Friday the GFK office shuts down and everyone goes to the rooftop and has happy hour to celebrate the end of the week. I met all of his co-workers and enjoyed pizza and karaoke back in the city. It felt good to sing again since for the past 2 years, I've spent every weekend at the noraebang (Korean version of karaoke).

On Saturday, we spent the rainy day lounging around until 6:00pm when Dave pushed me to go shower because this was his night. We left promptly at 6:45pm and walked around Darlinghurst until we reached the highly rated Universal Restaurant. We first heard of this restaurant from one of the final shows of Master Chef (Australia's version of Bravo's Top Chef). Dave had made reservations 2 weeks prior because he knew we had been salivating to go here especially since it is rated one of Sydney's best restaurants. We sat outside under a tent canopy with heat lamps. The server introduced us to a progressive menu where the dishes listed at the beginning of the menu were the lightest and progressed to the heaviest dishes at the end. At this restaurant, the server said most people order 3 dishes each  ($30/dish average). We decided to get two each and dessert each to finish. We ordered trevalla, duck, tofu/eggplant and pork belly. Although small, they were heavenly. I had never eaten something so delicate and so full of flavour. To end our meals, we got Universal's two top rated desserts, one being pear with tapioca and marshmallow and the second being chocolate with cashews and mousse. I cannot begin to describe the food and unfortunately their menu is seasonal and hard to find unless you go there. I highly recommend it. After dessert, Dave declared it was time for us to go. He clearly had an agenda. We walked a few blocks to Pocket Bar. I had been here before when my co-worker Ben invited the Taurus team out for after work drinks. It's a cute corner bar in Darlinghurst with decent prices and cozy atmosphere. The furniture is vintage and there are sketches of breasts on the walls. When we walked in, there in the center of the room sat 15 of our friends from both work and our Meetup group. Only 3 weeks ago, Dave and I joined a Sydney Expat American group to make new friends and here they were celebrating a birthday of someone they hardly knew. I was so surprised and shocked that Dave had gotten all these people together only since Monday via Facebook messages. For the rest of the evening, we drank and enjoyed Pocket Bar and then dispersed around Oxford Street for additional drinks.

On Sunday, it poured rain all day. We stayed in and had a lazy day. I did however, manage to cook some pesto angel hair pasta. Since we live in a share house, I felt that we were taking too much of the cupboard space. I tried to look in the other cupboards for extra space, and right then and there, Dave smacked my hand away. 'Get your hand away from there!' I wondered what was in there, but Dave slyly smiled and said 'Nothing's in there.' I knew something was up.

 

Hunter Valley Wine Tours Van & First Creek Wines Barrels

On Monday morning - my actual birthday, Dave woke me up at 6:15am and pushed me to go shower. He had bowls of cereal ready and made me stuff my face knowing I hate to eat right when I wake up. 'It will be worth it.' That night, Australia turned their clocks forward for Daylight's Saving Time, so when we walked outside, there was no sun. He walked me down towards Potts Point to the Holiday Inn. 'Are we going to the Holiday Inn?' At the curb of the Holiday Inn was a Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Tours van. With sleep still in my eye, I smiled and gave him a big hug. Hearing about this vineyard packed region from my co-workers, I had told Dave that I really wanted to go in the near future since it is only 2 hours away. From 10am to 4pm, us in a group of 13 people went to 4 vineyards and wineries, a brewery and a cheese shop. At each place, we sampled 6-8 whites, reds and desserts. A red fan myself, I was so surprised at how much I liked some of the whites and dessert wines. One that stood out was the tawny port. I highly recommend it if you're looking for an after dinner wine that tastes like Christmas.

McGuigan Cellars Wine Tasting

Our Tasting Wine Glasses Full of Tawny Port

 

It's 11am and We're Feeling the Wine

Dave's Surprise Picnic

While the rest of the tour group ate the tour provided lunch, Dave opted out and brought me a surprise lunch of all our favourite things - feta stuffed olives, pepper and garlic stuffed olives, garlic bread, tomato and feta salad, gouda, cheddar, camembert, apricot/almond cheese spread, blueberries, strawberries and my all-time favourite kind of chocolate, hazelnut chocolate from Haigh's (a famous Sydney chocolatier). While everyone else sat inside, we sat outside under a gazebo in the misting rain and enjoyed a delicious and romantic picnic.

 

Hunter Resort and Rosemount Cellars

*Rosemount is the sponsor of Sydney Fashion Week

Enjoying the Hunter Valley Vineyards Even on a Rainy Day

Dave and Me

My Birthday Gifts from Dave

Citizen Watch, The Filipino Cookbook, Cupcake Bakery Red Velvet and Carrot Cake Cupcakes

To end the best birthday day ever, Dave surprised me with my birthday gifts. I couldn't imagine what he would get me. He's a quite thoughtful gift giver. Last year, he color printed my entire blog, binded it and made a collage of my photos on the cover. This year, he surprised me first with The Filipino Cookbook, which I think is for him. Knowing I was desperate for a watch (my $5 Casio from Cambodia isn't cutting it in the PR world), I opened up a gorgeous silver Citizen watch with diamond detailing. The tears started flowing here. And of course you can't have a birthday without a cake. My last present was a box of 4 cupcakes from the Cupcake Bakery in my favourite flavours; red velvet and carrot cake both with cream cheese icing. They were strategically decorated with 'Happy', 'Birthday', 'Shad', 'iyah'. Simply perfect.

All week, I've been joking that my quarter life crisis was coming up. The thought of being 25 is kind of scary. It means you're no longer in your early twenties (the age of wildly inappropriate behaviour) and that you're just that much closer to 30 (where the realities of life - marriage, babies, mortgage - begin to hit hard). Never one to live my life with regrets, I look forward to each new day and year. I'm so happy that I lucky enough to spend my birthdays with the greatest people. Here's a toast to the next 25!