Lost on Cockatoo Island

Me & Shaz at London Tube Map Party

Picture on the Facebook Invite. Classic.

My former manager and good friend Sharon and I share an October birthday and so we decided to have a joint party the weekend between our birthdays October 4 and 10. We put the word out via Facebook inviting everyone we knew to an undetermined location. Lucky for me, I was unemployed and waiting for my visa, so I could do some venue research. We took to the entertainment guidebook Time Out Sydney and chose Island Bar, a new outdoor pop up bar on Cockatoo Island, a short 15 minute ferry a little past the Harbour Bridge from Circular Quay.

We had about 40 confirmations despite a TBD location. Once we posted the venue, people were psyched until the day of the party. The weather was predicted to be cloudy with rain. Plus, many of our guests including my boyfriend were desperate to watch the Rugby World Cup semi-finals. Yawn. How would we get people to go out in dreary weather and perhaps be left to watching the game in the rain? I put up a ‘In case it rains’ message.

We woke up to grey skies on that Saturday. Resilient Sharon was optimistic and determined. Her infection attitude persuaded me to go with the plan and I put up a ‘Rain or shine’ message stating we were still going to be outdoors at Cockatoo Island.

We met up at 1pm at Circular Quay and took the ferry over. Unplanned, we were both wearing bright orange. She was carrying our boxes of mini-cupcakes with American/British themed red, white and blue stars and icing. I spent the next 15 minutes putting makeup on with unsteady hands due to the waves while Sharon caught me up on life. After all, she was still working at my previous workplace and I had to hear how it was going.

Boat Ride to Cockatoo Island with 50 Mini Cupcakes

Me, Dave & Jon

Birthday Girls at Cockatoo Island

We disembarked on Cockatoo Island and walked the 200 meters to Island Bar. We arrived to a carpet of astro turf, lawn chairs, swing chairs, palm trees and large screens for the rugby crowd. The bar would not let us bring in our birthday cupcakes, but held them in the kitchen. Feeling bad for taking them away, they gave us birthday girls a pitcher of some 'tropical' orange drink. I don’t know what alcohol was in it, but it was like artwork with hanging mint and slices of cantaloupe (or rock melon in Aussie speak). We were all settled in with drink in hand by 2pm, a full hour after we had scheduled the party. Anxiously waiting, Sharon and I hoped people weren't swayed by the weather. Were people going to come?

A Perfect Island Pitcher for Our Birthdays at Island Bar

For the next hour, groups of friends began trickling in. Sharon and I had a vantage point where we could see who was approaching the pop-up bar. Our party turned out to be a success. Sharon’s British friends, my hodge-podge group of expat friends and our colleagues turned up for a great afternoon of catching up. It began to rain in the middle of the 4pm Wales v Ireland game, but no one budged. Everyone was drinking happily under large tents, watching the game.

Catching Up With the Taurus Crew

Haven't Seen Them Since I Left

Photoshoot Under the Umbrellas

From L-R: Helen, Sam, Lauren, Byron, Jenny

Were They Here For Our Birthdays or the Game?

Staying Dry While Watching Ireland v Wales

Lovely Sam. Doesn't She Look Like Samantha Jones?

October Babies

Sophie Loves MAC Makeup Just Like Me

Ready For a Pose Anytime Rain or Shine

Convincing Jon and Sam That Teeth Whitening Should be on the National Agenda

Dave had been feeding us glasses of wine and by 6pm we were done. The entire party had also decided to shift because the second and more important France v England game was about to start and they didn't love us enough to stay out in the rain. Instead, we took the Ferry to Darling Harbour to King Street Wharf. Somehow somebody remembered the 50 cupcakes and it was a cupcake fest on the ferry ride over.

Back on the Ferry for Cupcakes

Yum! American/British Themed Mini Cupcakes

We poured out of the ferry and into the pub. Party factions separated off into rugby diehards, hungry girls, the Americans and Dave. Our American friends Ben and Blake had another birthday engagement, which was luckily at the same bar. Dave sat with our friends Daniel and Lacey near the piano because he wanted to play. I went prancing around from group to group. I came back and Dave's party was over. We gave him water and kept the party going anyways. We stayed until the end of the game.

Tallest Guy at the Bar

What a Friendly Giant

Daniel, Dave, Lacey, Giant and Lauren

We moved on to Kings Cross with many sad English faces because France was heading into the Rugby World Cup Final against New Zealand. Everyone headed to Kit & Kiboodle, a club which Lacey and I could not get into because we were wearing sandals. No tears on my part because I can't stand Kings Cross clubs anyways and I will not submit to a Kings Cross club, which caters to high schoolers. After sharing a lamb pide, Dave and I took Daniel and Lacey to our ol' faithful Dragon Lounge.


When we first came to Sydney, the FIFA World Cup was in full swing. We lived on the outskirts of Kings Cross in Darlinghurst. With no TV or internet, we were desperate to watch the game anywhere. We found Dragon Lounge, a dirty old man bar that actually transformed into a decent bar at night. The bar had a huge screen in the back and sold $4 mix drinks. From then on, Dragon Lounge became our 'local'. Although we hardly go there now, we still have fond memories of it and always defend it for its charm. As suspected, Dragon Lounge did let us in and still sold $4 mix drinks. We sat down to have one last drink together and reminisced about good times. By 1am, we gave hugs goodbye and were headed home. We had been partying for 12 hours straight!


The next morning, I woke up to the familiar feeling of college yesteryears - straight up hungover. The feeling was well worth it. For a 26th birthday, the party was more than I had hoped for and will definitely cherish it. Next year, I'll be 27 - an age more fun sounding than 26, yet much closer to the dreaded 30. I'll keep my 26 and see you a full year of fun and adventure ahead.


*Special thanks to Shaz for the photos. I have lost yet another camera during such a fun event.

Where is Smiths Lake?

Biggest Wild Birds I've Ever Seen

I miss Labor Day Weekend. It’s that last weekend signaling the end of leave early Fridays, the halt of wearing white pants and the end of summer.


It happens here too - spelled Labour Day. No one calls it Labour Day Weekend, it's just 'the long weekend'. It's connotations also have nothing to do with the end of summer, but the start...living in the southern hemisphere in all.


This long weekend, Dave's colleague Jutta planned a group getaway to Smith's Lake. This was huge for Dave and I in our social lives. We had never been away with a group of friends since moving to Australia in June 2010. Our last sleep away weekend was perhaps Sokcho, South Korea in Fall 2009 and before that was a ski trip in January 2009. This was particularly exciting for me because I had been cooped up in my apartment waiting for my visa to process. Furthermore, it was one last hoorah before I started my new job at FST Media on the Tuesday after Labour Day, which happens to also be my 26th birthday!


Going away for the weekend, renting a house and a car and boozing is pretty standard for 20 somethings in Oz. Here goes assimilation.


'Where is Smiths Lake?' was a quite common question when asked what I was doing for the long weekend. I too had no idea, but was going with it.


There was more appeal to the trip than just having said you did something for the long weekend. It was a chance to get away, really get away from a city that is so comfortable. Why leave Sydney? You've got city, beaches, parks, fairly nice weather and it's all walk-able. But trust me, you can get cabin fever in one of the world's most livable cities.


So with one Facebook event created, a few messages posted among the 10 commitants, we were off on a Saturday morning.

Dave and I rode with his colleague Saskia and her partner Volker, two Germans who live on Macleay Street, our former home. With egg/bacon rolls in our bellies, we took to Pacific Highway and made our way North.

Watching the Pelicans in Swansea

We stopped half-way to Smith's Lake at Swansea, a coastal city with no meaning for our trip except to rendezvous with the rest of our caravan; two other cars filled with the 7 others. One memorable event was sitting at the park waiting for the other cars while watching flocks of Australian Pelicans feed off scraps from the fishermen gutting their catch.

Waiting for the Rest of the Smiths Lake Crew

Lunch Break at 'Uluru'

We continued our journey to the next rest area to get our lunch on because we weren't allowed to check into our house until after 2pm. Lo and behold, Uluru was right in front of our picnic table!


Not sure why this rest area decided it was a good idea to recreate this holy symbol on top of a Subway, except to draw attention. It did the trick. We were there, eating our Subway sandwiches, next to a kiddie playground.

The Great 'Ayers Rock'

After another 1.5 hour nap, we arrived at Smiths Lake. There was a lake, but not much else except for dreary skies ready to burst and pour. Our weekend house had a name - La Manda. It slept 11. With 4 bedrooms, Dave and I were bound to share our room and we did, with Jutta's new flatmate Chantal. Thankfully, there was a single and double bed.


The place had a huge kitchen a massive living area with long sofas in a perfect L, just right for weekend relaxation, chat or drinking games. 


Our group split, half to the grocery store 45 minutes away in Forster to supply our bellies for the weekend and the other half to Seal Rocks, a 20 minute car ride away and major point of interest of the area.


Being there resembled our time seeing lighthouses and lookouts on our Great Ocean Road trip along the Victoria coastline. It's amazing how years of variable weather and crushing waves can create a hole in a wall that makes your jaw drop and force your finger to click the camera.

Seal Rocks Cave Opening

Sugar Loaf Point Lookout

View of the Lighthouse and Seal Rocks

There's a famous lighthouse at Seal Rocks and at its base are a group of rock islands that do indeed look like seals. It wasn't the nicest day for a trip to the lookout, but we did see whales. Can't say that everyday.

Enjoying the View

Observing the Whales

Having a Good Laugh

Back to base camp La Manda, the Woolies crew had returned and we prepared a delicious barbecue dinner. The men braved the rain and barbecued on the porch while the ladies made salad, drank wine and chatted in the living room. This was my time to get to know some girls that I hadn't really known before - same with Dave with the two other guys at the grill.

We ate chicken, sausages, salad and garlic bread and were ready for a night of drinking games. We played the classical King's Cup where a bowl or cup is placed in the middle of a ring of cards. Each card has a rule/action. This group represented 4 different countries and we all came with different rules. One of my favourite ones I learned was if I pick up a specific card (I can't remember which one), I get to give a dare. Before I do, I close my eyes and the person to my right gets to pick 2 people from the group. I assign the dare to person A to do to person B. In this case, I made Dan do a sexy dance to Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing to Rachel.

In the end, Dan picked the last King card and had to drink the contents of the bowl. Three others had picked the other Kings and could pour as much or as little of their drink in the bowl. Dan was lucky that the other three Kings were drinking beer. It could have gotten ugly.

Dan Hesitant to Drink the King's Cup

The night went on for only five of us. The other seven went to bed. We continued to play another round of King's Cup and even rekindled our love for Uno. We stayed up till almost 4am.

The next day was even more dreary than the day before. The group split up into three. The five Germans took a drive towards Forster stopping by each beach. Rachel and Mel, two English girls stayed back, watched movies and walked around Smiths Lake. Dan, Dave, me and Lacey (Dan's girlfriend) went to Forster to pick up some rain boots for Lacey. We stopped by a few beaches on the way. Forster seemed like Small Town, USA. It was a country town, but had all the shopping conveniences including Target, a mall and a bowling alley. We ended up sheltered from the rain in the mall. Target was having a homewares sales and I bought a Tefal wok for $25. Score!

We drove back towards Smiths Lake and stopped by every beach. Although the weather wasn't ideal, the beach looked amazing. Strong winds, created strong currents and waves crashing onto the beach and ebbing back in the the torrential waters. Even if we weren't swimming in it, the look of the ocean made the trip worth while.

We returned to La Manda just as everyone else did. We made spaghetti bolognese and played a long round of Pictionary ending the night by midnight. We were too hungover from the night before and weren't going past one or two drinks.

The next morning, everyone was up by 8am. Our contract was up at 10am and so at 8am all showers were taken. I woke Dave and persuaded him to go running. Our neighborhood is quite hilly. The roads go up and down, then around and back up and down again. We wanted to go for 20 minutes in one direction and then retrace back. We instead went 20 minutes in one direction and took a street we thought would head back to La Manda. Instead, it weaved around to a completely different area of the neighborhood. It began to rain. This wasn't a Nike ad or a film snapshot of The Notebook. We were drenched, lost and nervous that we wouldn't be back by 10 for the clean up and checkout. We ended up retracing our entire journey and were back to La Manda 20 minutes later than expected. At least the showers were free now.

We cleaned up and packed the cars. It was too early to go back to Sydney, so we decided we would hopefully do a couple of things pending on weather; go hiking, view Whoota Whoota Lookout and visit Seals Rocks again for the other half of the group that didn't get to go to on the first day. The rain had stopped by the time we piled into our cars, so we decided to go hiking. The National Park was closed due to flooding.

Whoota Lookout was next. There were two entry points. We took the road less travelled and found a flooded road. Katja, the driver of the car up front decided this wouldn't hold her back. She backed up her little white car and gunned it. All of the sudden, we saw this flash of white and splashes of muddy water. She was across! We looked at each other in astonishment and she came out of her car fists in air like Rocky Balboa beating the unbeatable. I was wondering how Rachel and Mel felt being driven through without their input or a sanity check. The last two cars followed her lead until we were all on higher ground. She stopped again because she encountered another submersed road. We weren't going for this. It was a rainy day in a place nobody knows - this would be a very bad idea. The last two cars backed out. We thought Katja followed us, but she ended up going forward yet again. We waited for her. We called her. No answer. After a few minutes of waiting, we saw her white car backing out of the road towards us. Her adventure was over. It would be just too dangerous.

Going through Murky Waters of Unknown Depths

We drove through the second entry point and drove 10km towards higher elevation. We finally reached Whoota Lookout. The sun had finally come out and it kissed the horizon. The grey skies were clearing and we could see the entire outline of Smiths Lake - the lake poured into the ocean. This was the sunshine moment of 'the long weekend'. We took pictures we were meant to take all weekend, but couldn't because we were trapped by rain. Jump pics are always requisite.

Dave and I at Whoota Lookout

Lacey, Dan, Dave and I Enjoying the Sunshine

Jumping Pic Take 1 & Take 2

Group Shot

Smiths Lake Long Weekend Group

Front: Jutta, Chantal, Me

Back: Rachel, Mel, Lacey Dan, Dave, Volker, Saskia

Our last stop was Seals Rocks. It is the sight to see when you're in the part of the area. On our way there, we noticed a few beaches with people actually in the water. We hadn't noticed this before because of the damned weather. After Seals Rocks, we stopped by the beach. We watched kids playing in the sand and Dan surf among the other locals. The sun was fully out and I was actually getting a tan. Save the best for last right?

Enjoying the Beach Before Heading Home

By 2pm, we decided it was time go. We all hugged and made plans to get together again as it would be my birthday party the following weekend. We had been together for over 72 hours and in less than 5 minutes, we were all back on the road for a 2.5 hour journey to our separate lives. Although it was a rainy weekend, it was a well spent weekend with good friends enjoying the wilderness and making the best of it all. I'm excited to plan the next 'long weekend'.

Europe Is Only A Birthday Away

Being in a relationship, discussions about future plans always pop up. For Dave and I, we always talk about our next travel destination. Having already travelled through South East Asia and most of North America, we know we want to go to South America, Europe and Africa in the next 5 years – high hopes to get out of our system before we’re 30 and have real responsibilities.


With these trips in mind, Dave surprised me with a wonderful way to take me there on a limited budget.


On October 4^th, I woke up as a 26 year old. I slept in because you can do that when it’s your birthday. Yet, I heard music from one of my favourite foreign films Amelie, a French film about love and tampering with destiny.


Considering that day was also my first day at FST Media, Dave went out to get me breakfast and a much needed coffee. He called me into the kitchen and there on our dining table was a flat white coffee and a plate of German bake goods for breakfast. We ate breakfast like we really were in Europe. We sat at a our small table, decorated with droopy flowers. We sat looking out of our window at a rock wall covered in vines.


For the first time in our careers, we both had jobs that required us to go to work by 9am. My move to FST Media also meant that I would only be one station stop away from Dave. We rode the train together and when I exited the train car, I promised Dave I would take off for lunch because he had another surprise planned.

Walking Through to a New Job

FST Media Front Door

Not only was it my birthday, but I was walking into a new office that day. After two interviews and two weeks to get my visa in order, I was finally walking in as a permanent member of the staff. I was introduced to 17 new faces and was thrown right into the thick of it learning new processes, systems and ways of doing things. Coming from an agency background, I can take fast-paced work environments, but this was a new career. I was no longer doing PR – I’m a marketing woman now and everyone in the office was looking to me for marketing expertise. I loathed the day I would have to deal with Excel spreadsheets, but it’s a playground compared to doing time sheets.


In the midst of training, I noticed the clock getting closer to noon. Unsure about asking my boss for favours on my first day, I approached her anyways – it was my birthday after all.


“It’s my birthday and my boyfriend has a surprise lunch planned for me. What time would it be OK for me to take a lunch break?”


Wide-eyed and feeling bad, she apologised for not knowing it was my birthday and gave me permission to go from 12:30pm. Birthday or not, she assured me we could take our lunch hour whenever we needed to.


I met Dave at 12:30 at the Milsons Point platform. He gave me three options, 2 of which would be outside in the pending rain and the other indoors at a reserved restaurant. I went with the latter.


We took the one stop to North Sydney and entered Capitanos Pizzeria – the oldest Italian restaurant in the North Shore still operated by its founding family. With only one hour, we ordered a pasta and pizza combo. He was sweet enough to consider my palette and brought grated Parmesan and Tabasco sauce from home!


Our little trip to 'Italy' was wonderful. White sauce from our tortellini dish coated our mouths. The taste was complimented with spicy pepperoni from our pizza. I now knew his plan – we were taking a Euro-trip, but I wondered where we would go for dinner. He walked me back to the station, we kissed and I was back to the second half of my day.

Lunch Date in Italy

Tortellini Boscaiola with White Sauce, Mushrooms and Bacon

Capitano's Special - like Supreme

For the rest of the afternoon I learned more about FST’s eDM process. Having done them before for my previous job, it wasn't new, but it was still different. Every company has their own way of doing things and I am excited to have the ability to diversify my approach.


At 3pm, my boss walked over to me and asked me if we could have a chat in the conference room. When I walked in, my entire office grinned back at me. On the table was a large chocolate cake. I smiled with embarrassment. I was getting enough attention today since it was my first day. I didn't want more attention, but no one should ever feel embarrassed about a birthday, so I relished it. With little notice, they couldn't find candles. Instead, they sang the birthday song to me while one of our directors held a lighter. I blew out the lighter wishing for a good work experience with those around me.

Chocolate Cake From My New Job

530 hit and it was quitting time – a time gone unnoticed in agency work. Dave met me again at the Milsons Point platform. This time he had a gold bag in hand. He knows my favourite colour.

ACDC is So Serious in Oz it Has its Own Wine Brand

Buying Wine For Dinner

We got off at our regular Kings Cross station and walked on Macleay Street. We picked up a bottle of Pinot Noir and turned the corner at Orwell Street and arrived at Apres, a highly rated French restaurant meaning ‘after’.


This time we were right on time, unlike our 2.5 anniversary. We were the only ones in the restaurant, but we didn't care. The ambiance was very sexy. Red booths, wood furnishings and dim lights took us to another place, as if we were dining in Paris in a cool spring night.


Unsure of what to order and finding difficulty in translating the menu, we finally ordered 30 minutes after arriving. We went with a 3 course set menu with our choice of entrée, main and dessert.

First Time Snail Eater

French Baguette and Escargo

Entree

Scallop and Flathead Boudin Blanc with Pommes Puree and Bisque

Rabbit and Pork Rillettes with Fennel and Preserved Lemon Salad

Main

Braised Lamb Shoulder with Ratatouille and Tomato and Basil Beurre Blanc

Poisson du Jour

Dessert

Classic Creme Brulee

Assiette de Fromage

My Romantic Tour Guide and the Gold Bag

After eating the crème brule, Dave stopped me from slicing into the cheese plate. He placed the gold bag on the table. He insisted I open the card first, which looked very familiar - it had the same design them as the one I gave him on our 2.5 anniversary.


Dave is not usually a card writer. He's more about taking action than writing words or maybe it's his penmanship. Reading his card, the words seemed extra heartfelt. As I read the words, my breath was short because my eyes began to fill with tears. I stopped reading half-way through to look into his eyes. As I read, he studied my face knowing exactly how I felt because he too started tearing up.

“I will never stop loving you.” – My favourite line.

I finished reading the card, reached over the table, although it was so wide it dug into my hips as I leaned over, grabbed his hands and kissed him.


Also inside the card were two strips of paper. On one side were official ‘experiences’ from Red Balloon for tapas cooking class dated for 2 weeks from now. Inside the gold bag were 5 bars of chocolate, some including my favourite chocolate compliment, Hazelnut, from different parts of Europe.

Birthday Card and Tapas Cooking Course Tickets

Assorted Chocolate From Around Europe

The last thing I grabbed out of the bag were pieces of paper, which looked like photographs. There were 5 photographs of famous European landmarks. At a closer glance, I found images of us super-imposed onto the landmark images. What I held in my hand were images of us as if we had visited those parts of Europe. My tears turned into laughter, the effect Dave planned for.

Dave Showing Me the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany

Being Gladiators at the Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Sweet Forehead Kiss at the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Can't Help Ourselves at the Windmills of Holland

Smiles at the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

He had truly taken me around Europe today. We went from France, Germany, Italy, back to France and in two weeks end in Spain. In the meantime, I will enjoy my chocolates and stare at those euro-trip vacation shots. I think put them up at my new desk at my new job.