OJ Xmas partee

MERRY XMAS!!!! ha ha ha

i cant remember the last time i went to a xmas party and did krismas kringle (i dont know how to spell i know).

but this one is EXTRA special im with a new crowd, well not entirely new, but the PLace is new, the atmoshpere is new and im in Bandung again. Enjoyed the rain and free (for real this time) wi fi.

uhui...

beware guys.. im thinking Bandung might be the Place to Be!!!

here are the picts:

Santa Benedict!

Me and my gift!


Alex, Tante Gita and Santi.

J-town

nothing like bitchin about the hustle and bustle in Jakarta.

yes party peeople, im home. been driving these past days with an expired driving license HA HA. but not to worry., im still sane, not stressing out, and keeping my faith that those idiots on the motorbike will eventually come to their senses and drive appropriately (read: not having more that 2 persons in a bike). seriously those families fit all of their members mostly 4 in a single bike. i worry for their kids not their parents.

furthermore, i have yelled at stupid people who think they can drive but obviously CANT. i gave him SH&T! ha ha.

im live from oh la la cafe mal puri indah. it does say up front "FREE WIRELESS hotspot" but it's not. i was only about to get myself a tea but they said that i need to EAT and DRINK to be able to use the internet. ck ck ck. isnt Jakarta beautiful.

Last (Melbourne) Supper

cant believe it's happening. me going back home in less than 3 days.

i gathered my besties for dinner, a nice peking duck dinner at Old Kingdom. it was a treat and a memorable night. Thank you for coming out guys.

i just realized how much im going to miss Melbourne and of course you (crazy) lads. :P

Regrets

if you like Frank Sinatra's My Way, you would see that in the lyrics it says "regrets, i had a few but too few to mention", this is one of my few.

today, i regretted telling a friend of mine the truth. my (overly) imaginative and paranoid self has put me away from being classified as a good friend. i did not think of you, i only thought of me.

all im trying to say is that, i know that i cant take it back. i SHOULD have known better. I am truly sorry.

i may not be the most religious person in the world, but will all that is going on in your life, i do believe that there will be a way out. Storm always ends, rain will eventually clear. you just need to hold on tight and hang in there.

i apologise (again).

Nduts reunited

going to pick Ndut in less than 2 hours.

YeeeeeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

cant wait :) :D

The Graduate

That's rite partee people. I am the Graduate! oi oi oi!!!

got my results just now. cant wait to meet the vice chancellor. and mom is going to be here in less then 72 hours.

La vita e Bella.

missing out 2

the things that made going home that much harder.

- COLDPLAY concert march 09
- KINGS of LEON concert march 09
- PINK concer march 09

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Hell Yeah!!!!

a picture of me and the crowd on corporate box at south dragon game nov 13, 08. http://southdragons.com.au/default.aspx?s=photogalleries&galleryid=11673
i got the free corporate box tickets because i was wearing a jersey and was screaming and dancing to the music.

in the picture left to right : sexy lady, enrisa, daniel, dina, ME, you know the rest. :P

another year

it is 00.52 am AEST.

Happy birthday to me!!

just got back from gold coast, the paradise. glad to be back. enjoyed my time in paradise.

details and heaps of pictures coming soon.

Plan B

it was not until today i realized what has been interrupting my sleep. without exams and all i should be sleeping like a pig, but i wasnt. havent been able to get a GOOD sleep.
as i met Linette (a lady learning bahasa), i have come to realized that there's a possibility that ndut wont be able to get the visa in time to be here with the tickets i bought her and for my graduation. this is november and she is scheduled to leave jakarta nov 29th. the travel agent she's using suggest that it would take 10 days max to get her visa. this is if she gets her visa. today is nov 14, ten days means 24 nov. if rejected, another ten days would mean getting a refund on her ticket.

jesus christ, i have been screaming (on my emails) and telling her to get her visa application in since september, but no. she didnt listen. partly because my cousin and aunt are coming also, and the cousin admit that he has an inside connection and things will be done in a day. and then my aunt's son died, she went to medan, singapore and only GOD knows where else. bottom line, up until early this month, there was no way of knowing her whereabouts or getting her passport to be processed.
the other part was because she didnt listen to me. and because she figured nothing can go wrong.

well as much as i hoped NOTHING is going to go wrong, i need to come up with a plan.

so here it goes, if her visa is denied and she is not able to be here for my graduation, i will stay in OZ until january. the point is to postpone going back, get a job, earn some more dough. my visa expires 31 jan 09 anyway. and i inteded to say or new years in Melbourne at first, but since she was coming for graduation , i thought there's nothing wrong with going back together.
but now, if this happens, i just was to stay and earn some more money. or earn more vacation.

this decision can be or may well be considered as a punishment for her (and/or me), but i've made up my mind. it's not like i didnt remind her or anything. as for my cousin and my aunt, if they cancelled their trip, hey, more money to save or to spend on travelling.

im just sad, dissapointed yet hopeful it will not come to this.

i need to party!!!
ps: due to my frustration, another damage control measure was taken. a new haircut was done today. pictures coming soon.

Red Emperor

one of the best Peking Duck in Melbourne.

i gotta warn you though, they sell by the slice. so dont get your hopes up or imagine anything like Half a duck or even a whole duck with a student budget. they sell per 2 pieces for AUD$15. ridiculous.

thank God it was DELICIOUS.

Quote of the Day

"my ex(s) are not my friends" by Buncit.

good ya mate!

Quote of the Day

"my ex(s) are not my friends" by Buncit.

good on ya mate!

Satu Tahun

dedicated for the dearest Sonti Girsang.
since im not that much of a writer, here is a piece by Santi Hendrawati, my dearest Mom, for my dearest Aunt. May you rest in peace.

Mama ….
Di sekolah kami diajar Guru menghitung hari
Satu tahun ada tiga ratus enam puluh lima hari
Di rumah, Mama juga selalu mengingatkan kami
Satu tahun, ada tiga ratus enam puluh lima hari
Setiap tahun, sampai kapan pun, kata Mama, akan selalu sama
Satu tahun ada tiga ratus enam puluh lima hari.

4 November 2007 - 4 November 2008
Kami hitung, ada satu tahun, Ma …
Tetap ada tiga ratus enam puluh lima hari
Hanya saja, tiga ratus enam puluh lima hari tahun ini, tidak sama lagi
Tiga ratus enam puluh lima hari tahun ini, harus kami lalui
tanpa Mama di sisi kami lagi.

Sampai hari ini, Mama…
Masih rasanya kami tidak percaya
Sulit rasanya kami cerna
Mama demikian cepat mendahului kami
Sungguhkah, Mama tidak lagi bersama kami?

Kami rindu tawa Mama
Kami rindu canda Mama
Kami rindu teguran Mama
Kami rindu debatan Mama
Kami rindu pendapat Mama
Kami rindu hiburan Mama
Kami rindu semangat Mama
Kami rindu ajaran Mama …

Sungguhkah Mama tidak lagi bersama kami?

Tiga ratus enam puluh lima hari tahun ini. membuka mata kami
Begitu besar sosok Mama dalam hidup kami
Begitu mulia limpahan kasih Mama bagi hidup kami
Begitu tinggi harapan Mama kepada kami
Begitu sabar Mama membimbing hari-hari kami
Begitu dalam wibawa Mama di mata kami

Sungguhkah Mama tidak lagi bersama kami?

Tidak, tidak, Mama …
Meski Mama tidak kasat mata lagi
Mama tetap ada di hati kami
Mama tetap hidup dalam jiwa kami
Mama tetap nyala semangat hidup kami
Mama tetaplah obor pemandu hari-hari kami
Terima kasih Mama …
Kami percaya Mama bahagia di rumah Bapa
Kami yakin Mama senyum melihat kami,
Bapa, Abang, Adik, saudara dan semua kerabat
Berkumpul, berbagi, berdoa, rukun-rukun sebagai keluarga

Selamat beristirahat, Mama …
Sampai jumpa di suatu saat nanti.


Dengan Sayang dan Cinta kami,

F R E E

ALAS..
no more essays..
no more examssss

for reaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!

ye haaaaaaaaaaaa

note to self: thank Fahim for a lovely, adventurous, educational evening. Lov ya Man!!!!!

just dropping by to let you know im did my last exam. hi hi

on that point Sir!

this is the first day for all of you. i have decided to make this blog public (meaning you dont have to log in or be invited to see it). the very reason i did it at first was because i dont think that im ready to be heard or seen by the outside world or i was not ready to hear what they think of me.

guess what, a recent political move by the Indonesian government was enough get me all worked up 3 days before my second exam. i usually let nothing affect my mood simply because i need to stay focus. but this one did it. i changed my status several times in a day on FB (which is not usual), i googled the exact wording of that controversial bill and cursed the doings of so-called beloved representatives.

in order for me to get my thoughts heard, i need to be out there (read: start releasing restrictions on my thoughts).

however, i need to warn you that this blog, my thoughts, my stories, my cursing, is only a glimpse of who i am. nothing like seeing things in its true form - in the real world. thus i fully realized that i am letting myself be vulnerable to scrutiny by making this public, but i also free my beloved friends from the obligation of logging in their username and password (grudges that i attend to so many times yet nothing was done about it), and i get to share my thoughts and frustration of how stupid it was to just let that bill pass without further consideration.

there are several major effects that this bill brought into my life:
1. i now understand my people dont want to live in indo after they lived abroad. why people stay away from Indo.
2. i need to brace myself for the real world.

i was going to elaborate on the very details how stupid the bill is, but since i've read enough and had enough of it, im sure you can read that somewhere else. so im just going to elaborate how this affects my life and how i see Indonesia and how disappointed i am.

a very good friend of mine decided to never go back to indo. numerous reasons. i could never see why she would take such an extreme measure since i thought how can you not want to go back to where you grew up. she always told me that it's all fucked up and there's no use fighhting for a betterment. she tried living in indo after living for around 4 years in melbourne and found herself deteriorating and frustrating over little things - the things that has always been there.
i originally take that as an excuse. simply because she had found her soulmate here in melbourne.

how does this relate to the porn bill that i immensely oppose? living here in melbourne is an eye-opener for me. i came to realize the very use of following the rules and being aware of the consequences that is going to hurt you (or at least you pocket) at times of disobedience. for example, when you do not puchase a valid metcard (your tickets to melbourne transport) you will get fined, if you get caught. the fine starts from AUD $160 and it is multiplied when you get caught again and again and again. at one point, if you get caught without a valid ticket you can be fined up to AUD $1000 - FYI, as a comparison this can get you a trip to fiji for a week. Now, most of you will probably say that 'we have rules and regulations and fines in indo too'. I agree that we do, but no one actually enforce it to the fullest extent or money overules it when it does happen.
a very common issue of enforcement.

i never realised that knowing the rules would be so important and to just agree to any bill can contributes towards an invasion on your life and privacy. of course there is no such thing like respecting privacy in Indo, simply because we are not accustomed to it. it's all collective all jolly goody big family comes first before you. the greater good will prevail and the minority shall subside.

the porn bill does not put forth any amount of money you will have to pay just in case you get caught, but worse. the bill provides you with a very broad intepretation of what porn is, so that basically almost anything that arouses you can be assumed as a form of pornography. you can see it here http://www.lbh-apik.or.id/ruu-pornografi.htm.

what is worst is that it allows investigator to go through, copy your file, computer file and other kind of media telecommunication in the name of investigation. correct me if im wrong, but the very notion of having the bill was to prevent child pornography and its impact on the lives of indonesian children and probably parents. now how does invading a private space, your space, my space, your personal files has to do with preventing this? in the case of sicko paedophilias, it might work. nevertheless, a clear definition and parameter as to how these investigation can be done was not provided just as the broad definition of nudity. lets say if i were sitting down with my laptop in a cafe and some undercover cop "smells something fishy" from the way i laugh (making sounds) and decided to raid my laptop and found the Naylin Paylin video; would i be considered a criminal for having those? forgive me for my curiosity for the famous Sarah Palin, but am i guilty for just having those even without the intention of selling or seducing anyone?

i have come to realize some Indonesian law does not in any way appreaciate what is in our head or our rights as human being. we, indonesians, are just so dumb that our gov needs to control what is in our head. a very 'noble' quest that serve no one any good. we, Indonesians, need to be reminded of how hard life can be in an interfaith marriage by the "only those who have the same religion can marry" policy.
i was so dissappointed to see that the very representative that i voted passed this ridiculous bill, because i realised that the application of this bill can invade my life, my privacy.

guess what, i was probably overacting. a friend of mine slap me on the face and said "gracia, havent you got used to this by now? they always do that. we are surrounded by stupidity. they always figure out more ridiculous way of protecting children, citizens, intellectual property, yet, no real enforcement will come into play. a mere rhetoric"

Ironic.

i've travelled overseas to be able to enrich myself with the hope of bringing betterment to my country (and to travel for sure!!) only to find that i have been cut short. how can one not want to stay here? - in the developed country - and never go back. despite the past stigma of discrimination and bad policy attitude towards immigrants, privacy is still respected. a typical case of brain drain, all those who have the ability and opportunity to escape will and have used it to stay away from indonesia. leaving it with less and less gifted human resources. im not saying that there is no more brilliant people, but can you imagine how far Indonesia can progress with most of its educated and talented people working together? a milestone.
Indonesia has about 230 million people (cia factbook, 2008). how many is educated or hold a degree? for what i realised, only few lucky ones gets a chance to experience tertiary education abroad and sadly most are not so looking forward to go back.

man, this posting is long and still i feel that i still have more to write. but i need to stop now. there's no use prolonging this agony further. bottom line, my views of Indo changed (yes deb, im admitting that), i am not so keen of going back as i was before. However, i must go back. for what? mostly because my contract with AusAid said so, or i will have to pay them back, which is not an option. because i want to see my mom. because i still hope that progress is not an utopic idea. and because by staying away would leave my country with less and less ingredients to move forward.

this is, at least, how i stand at the moment. who knows my government will come up with even more "genius" ways to keep me away from going back.

wish me luck

done with essays. No More essays for me at least until i decided to take on another degree which would be highly unlikely to happen in the near future. the brain damage from this one will not wear off until at least 2-3 years or more.

2 more exams to go before i see the vice chancellor and get my degree..

need to focus. but cant seem to stop procrastinating. draft of updates are coming, just cant really squeeze it now.

Ganbatte!!!!

missing out

these are a list of concert that i wont be able to see because im going back in dec.
- Alicia Keys
- Kylie Minoque
- Simply Red
- Eric Clapton - yes.. "THe Eric Clapton"
- Jordin Sparks

sigh!!!

the feeling after

this time yesterday, i could barely open my eyes to finish my last major essay. But now. im wide awake. shit. i got nothing to write anymore simply because i finished it and im too lazy to read it more than 2 times.

cant believe, im this awake. i should be snoring by now. especially knowing that my exams in two weeks. yikes.

got several feedback on my previous ASSignments, some good some could be better. but all in all, i must say, this semester is one of the best semester in Monash.

ps: i want a WetSuit.

nutty sugar high

think happy thoughts...

think happy places...

think happy people...

think happy things!!!!

Photo of the Day!

Si buncit n sushi.

i was goin to post an uglier version of the pict, but the owner forbid me to and offered me this version instead. not the original pose that i wanted, but you get the idea. What i love about the pict and MISS the most is the look on her face when she nailed that sushi. Nothing looks better than success. She said the sushi tastes like sushi - i was like " Da? *&^%$%" ha ha ha.. im sure it was great.

tinggal satu lagi

this has been one of those moments when im just being my extermely-lazy-self.
it all started good, me borrowed heaps of books and read the part that i think can be used for the Massive research essay. but since last friday, i've lost the will to be diligent and especially after getting feedback from my intl institution n orgn essay.

i feel that no matter how hard i try, im still behind. still dumb. still lacking that X factor.

the feedback was not that bad, but it puts me off for sure.

need to start writing. need to get this massive essay done. it's goddamn 60% of the assesment.

sigh!

Online Chat

you might think is post would just be another silly convo i did online, IT is NOT.

i was just amazed by the Monash Uni Library. I just used their Library Online chat and actually got a librarian answering my questions. IT was really cool, Man! never seen anything like it. HA HA.
im such a geek.

unfortunately she could answer my question coz there was not any 'Endnote specialist" on duty today, so she's gonna get back to me tom via email. HA HA again.

how cool was that?

things im gonna miss when i go back to indo.

today - 3 oct 08 - i got a call from the librarian explaining the answer to my problem. how cool is that? definitely gonna miss this. btw, problem solved.

OZ outback

A weekend on the outback was a treat for me from me. After finishing three 2500 words essay, i finally got a chance to escape from reality and went to Gippsland. I went to a farm at Sarsfield - Gippsland about 3 hours drive east of Melbourne. The farm was Majella's family farm and it was freakin gorgeous.

I forgot how big exactly the farm was, but it has its own tennis court, small pool for the kids - Majella's niece n nephews, trampoline, swing, two dams, bush, sheeps, flowers farm, grape farm, barn - for shearing and Jell's 21st party venue, lemon tree, advocado tree, a small experimental yard and a million dollar view.











Since Gippslands is pretty much a tourist destination, Majella and Leo - the Dad, took me around the area, I got to see Raymond Island, Paynesville, Lakes Entrance -favourite destination for fishing and Bairnsdale. We had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf and i ordered a really good Calamari while looking out the window and enjoyed the view of the Lake and Raymond Island - which is just across the water. One silly thing was that, if you want to go to Raymond Island, you need to go on a ferry, a ride that last only about 2 minutes because it was so goddamn close and there is no other alternative. The people living at the island doesnt want to built a bridge between Paynesville and Raymond Island, they enjoyed their ferry ride. Silly but unique.






Lakes Entrance





I went to church also that sunday, and was told that the St. Mary's Church at Bairnsdale had the same mural paintings as the one at the Sistine Chapel. It was OK.



It's comforting to realize the fact that i was out in the country but i was still in touch with technology and modern facilities. The comparison becomes clear when i compared Jell's farm to Simpang bage (which is pretty much my family farm up the mountains in North Sumatra). Everything at gippsland or at Jell's farm was modern. There are still flat screen TV, comfy lazy-boy chairs, modern kitchen utilities and modern bathroom.




While Simpang bage is 'Kampung' (village), literally. It has no modern aspects whatsoever, especially when my grandmother decided not to build rooms which made us had to sleep on the living room on the floor. See the concept of a 'rumah bolon' like the ones my family have at simpang bage is that everyone should sleep on the floor and be together. There's nothing modern about it.

This trip got me thinking and planning on renovating that house in Simpang bage. Seriously, the last time i was there, i had fun, though less comfortability in terms of accomodation, but if we can just give a little effort in making that house more comfortable and more modern, I can guarantee you that most of my family would love to go there and visit. It is indeed not far from lovely tourist attractions such as Lake Toba, Tongging and Brastagi.

The creme de la creme was when Jell made us Lamb Roast for dinner. Yeee haaaa.. my first OZ lamb roast. It was delicious, yummy and it is freakin easy to make. A Glass of red Shiraz perfected my dinner. Leo told me that the 2005 Shiraz was voted 2nd best on a competition (somewhere i cant remember). It was impeccable.




One thing i forgot to mentioned earlier. This getaway gave me a picture of what it would be like if my dad was still around. I would see him spending his days fixing and playing with cars, him doing nothing sunday afternoon, probably us having lunch in a fancy resto. I almost shed tears realizing that i had missed all that. But seeing how Jell and her dad's relationship i kinda get the idea and was amused by it.

In conclusion, I had a great time exploring the outback! Thanks Jell.. it was just what i needed.
Mom has requested that we go there when she's in Melbourne. Cant wait.

Dragons vs Crocodiles

Daniel took me to a basketball game. it is said to be a dying sport in OZ, especially Melbourne. cos everyone;s into footy (australian rules football). i seriously dont get that game. trust me, i tried. i figure it would be a good experience for me to go see a real game in OZ, when i say real i mean: professional players, regular seasons, cheerleaders, hot dogs, mascots and a real basketball arena.






The game was between South Dragons and Townsville Crocodiles. the first half was kinda slow for dragons, they were behind by 20 points. geez.. but they managed to catch up on the second half, and lead for about 5 minutes in 3rd quarter and it's head-to-head till the end. Unfortunately, Dragons lost 89-91. those stupid players kept on trying to catch up by doing three point shoot all the time, a waste of time i'd say. they should have just drive-in and try to at least get a foul or dunk the ball in. they were like 6'10 and 6'8. how bad can you be when you are that tall?

The arena was awesome, not the best but it's decent (compared to the ones in Indo). although i must admit, that game was a bit dry in terms of hype and audience. seriously, it was like half empty and probably a game back in high school has more enthusiasm than that. Of course, my high school games doesnt really have sexy dancers slash cheers. i probably shouldnt compare it to NBA, but it made me realize how NBA has really turn basketball into not only sport but also an entertainment.



Luckily, the game got interesting and got me excited, especially in the last 5 minutes of the game. However, the noise, the rave and the ambience does not fulfill my expectation of watching a game in, say, first world country. Well, it is a regular season, and it;s not NBA i guess it's excusable.

Being true to my japanese-tourist disorder, i definitely took picts and bought myself a Jersey of my new Basketball Idol- Joey Ingles. HE saved the day, didnt manage to win it, but he is REALLY good.



might go the another game. next month.

when you are away

i always knew that when you go away from home you are bound to miss events, food, friends and even your old room.

being in Melbourne for almost 16 months now, i have missed several birthdays, one too many weddings, dirty cheap food, sweating like pig in the middle of the night and the "ceriwis" talks show.

you eventually adapt and adjust to not having those around, and probably because you know that you are going to go back therefore you dont really feel like you missing out that much.

however, again, i hate being away when this event happens. Funerals.
this is the second funerals i missed since im away. not to say that i like and look forward to attending funerals but how can you get over the fact that you are away when someone you know and care passed away?.

i dont get a chance to say goodbye, i dont get a chance to be there for those being left behind, i dont get the chance to see them for the last time.

how do you cope with it?
out of all the things you missed when you are away, this is probably the most uneasy, difficult and discomforting feeling.

today, my cousin died. he left behind a wife, two toddlers and a bunch of family that cares about him. we may not be the closest cousin ever, but he is my cousin. we shared memories, histories, good and bad.

i used to hope that one day after all of the diseases that has crippled him, he would rise and get better and then he would provide me with the possibilities of meeting "Aksan Syuman" , he used to be Dewa's drummer and his buddy back in junior high school, my all time favorite guy. Guess this is not happening.

Rest in peace, Bang.

ps: i handed out my assignment, did tutoring and manage to survive my presentation - it wasnt that bad after all. i Didnt quit and i did get most of the votes.

on Nationalism

i can never forgive myself for volunteering to do this presentation on Nationalism. i managed to get out of it last semester, but i cant seem to nudge it this time.

worst timing, first of all, i didnt know when it was going to be and it turns out to be the same day as my contemporary world essay. so much for careful planning.

second, i know nothing about nationalism, the ones i got talks about theories and theories and theories with limited or no examples. and my sources are the same as the one of my lecturer. i thought i can just get away with that, but i cant cause it's the same thing.

third, Pete gave me concerning comments on my essay which means i have to rearrange it more than i thought i should. Shit.

i think im gonna bail on the presentation. im not a quitter, never have been. but this time.. im almost there. shit.

....

i still need that friendship manual. seriously.

Akhirnya...

Max Brenner's Waffle Chocolate and Strawberries (on the side) with Vanilla Tea.


been craving for this the past three weeks.

Mmmhhh....

a good friend of mine told me that i should just get a dumb-goodlooking-greatINbed bloke. He reckons i dont need a guy to take care of me, i should get one that just looks good and can give me great sex.

Ha Ha..

i smiled. but then again.. this might work.. :P

Essay(s)

two down..

one to go..

and one MASSIVE research to go.

Ganbatte!!!!

I Say a little Prayer for You

this is probably the best time to really say a little prayers for my beloved friends.

I know that you are going through some difficult times, i may not be the best person to give you advise and i may not be able to comfort you the way you need me to. But one thing is for sure, regardless of whether you believe in God or not, i am praying that things will work out fine.

if i am given a choice between painful-hard-nervewrecking truth and nice-comforting lies, waste no time my friends as i will always choose truth, no matter how painful it is.

i wished "he" had the guts to tell me the truth instead of leaving me in the dark. "He" must have thought that it was a heroic thing to do, to just let me believe that he was the bad guy, while i knew he was lying. I felt undermined for not being able to handle truth and not to be able to tell that he was lying to my face. But, that's the past. i have managed to let it go.

back to the issue at hand..
my dearest friends, i know that you may know this already but i just wanted to remind you that i am here if you need me, im just a phone call away, always have always will be.

Good Luck.

Girls Day Out

no, this is not another concert.
6/09/08

this is actually the start of the spring racing carnival. No, it's not sack race, or any other independence-type of races, this is a Horse race. Yes, you dress up (with a fascinator and heels - high heels), you gamble, you drink all day long and you scream at your winnings. Thanks to Jell for organizing and getting all of us tickets.

There were 5 of us going: Jell, Jakub,Me, Phillip (Jell's first cousin), and Justin (Jell's tutor at uni - picture not available).


Since Jell is a member of the Flemington Racecourse, she got us tickets to the indoor viewing - level 4 and 5 Grandstand. So basically we are in level 4 looking over finish line, big screen and members area and we got a bar. One interesting scene is that level 5 has the same feature as level 4 PLUS a stage - live performances, a DJ and a dance floor. very very interesting concept i guess the oz just cant enjoy their day without music and dancing and booze.







the official name for this event is Young Members Cup - Decjuba Girls Day Out. it's at Flemington racecourse. this was just one day out of the whole spring racing season, you got derby day and the Melbourne Cup day coming up. I dont think i will be going to either of those, simply because the whole process of getting a dress and a fascinator for each and every occasion is just too much for me - not to mention the high heels. ouch..

My Fascinator..


The Look..

as you might predict, i couldnt hold on to my high heels for long.. so i went from these..


to these..yeay.. barefooting.
ps: new $7.80 socks from IGA supermarket at spencer street. arent they lovely?

I was ready to soak my feet on warm water with sea salt but the night is young. the races ended about 5ish. so me and the guys decided to go for dinner. It's Polish Pizza and Vodka. I wasnt too sure about the place when i first heard it, but man.. you should really give it a try. The joint is called Renix on Ackland St, St.Kilda.

At dinner, Brad & Jo (newly engaged couple) joined us, also Phil's gf -i think- and Lene-Marie (Jakub's gf). so it's all one BIG happy family having dinner. We started with Nachos and Devil wings for entree which took so long to make and there was only 3 wings on the plate (wtf???). we dug in anyway. The Polish pizza was really good, the others are average.

i didnt really know what's so special about this place until Jakub brought us a round of Polish vodka, which was AWESOME. you really should try it, i doesnt have that bitter-weird after taste, simply a masterpiece. Jakub said it's because in the filtering they got some kind of grass in the middle that takes away the bitter-weird taste.

one polish vodka..

two cheery vodka..

three honey vodka...

four more polish vodka..

and you have majella rambling n calling randomly while trying hard to sit straight.

this is the night i tried more vodka than in my entire life, thanks to Jakub.
ps: more pictures of us at the pizza joint are coming soon, i didnt take out my camera at all at Renix, it was just too intense. :P