A Farewell at Sea Bar

When I worked at my first job, I met this quiet, but lovely Filipino couple who come to Australia to earn some money and have a comfortable life when they returned to the Philippines. At the time, they had left their 4 year old daughter with family. I was 17 at the time and it was when I first really understood the sacrifices that people make to better the lives of their loved ones. They were originally meant to stay for 2 years however after 5 years, they are now returning home.

Originally, cultural differences created a slight rift between us, however we also worked 6-7 hour shifts together in a small space which meant that we eventually bonded. I have so many wonderful and hilarious memories with them, including the time that they sneakily roasted a chicken in the industrial oven for their dinner (I'm sure that the owner would have been very, very unhappy). The wife actually helped me to get my current job where she and her husband also worked at.

For our farewell, we had lunch at Sea Bar (next to Seachange).




My Cajun spiced chicken salad


Lamb cutlets with kumara mash.


Fish and Chips

Like Seachange, there was attentive service and the food was really good. I actually didn't even finish my salad which is a rarity. I was very impressed that there were two pieces of chicken (I was expecting slivers of chicken) and chunks of avocado. I may have also eaten a third of my friend's chips since they were so crispy!

I was originally a little apprehensive of meeting since we hadn't talked properly for nearly 4 years now; we would say hi and bye when we saw each other at work. But conversation flowed really easily and I just remembered why I loved talking to them before. They are so down to earth and genuine people which I find a rarity unfortunately. We just talked about children, partners and just about how to live a fulfilling life. I'm a little sad to see them go because it is change (and I'm not the fondest of that). But maybe I will see them again one day when I visit the Philippines. Whenever that is.


A very cool looking tree due to the winds. I am sure a quote about adapting to change and obstacles would be fitting here. Sadly, I can think of none.

Seachange

The cooler weather in Sydney has been much appreciated, although it seems to be heating up again by the end of this week. A. and I went to Seachange for brunch the other day at Dee Why Beach. We had never been there before but was attracted to the place due to the popularity by the locals.




  Portuguese Chicken on turkish pide

'The Local'
Although it was somewhat expensive, the food was quite good and portions were generous. They actually served me the wrong burger (I wanted the chicken and bacon one) but I wasn't fussed and still enjoyed it. There is something absolutely awesome about Turkish bread and I could eat it all day long (but I really shouldn't). The barista also made lovely coffee art - an elephant- for the next table which was very cute too.  Sometimes I forget how beautiful it is in Sydney, especially the beaches.

The Final Stretch

It is currently stuvac (study vacation) and I am preparing for my two finals. By Wednesday evening, I will have finished all my exams. Reading provisions like this makes my head spin:

(c) a reference to competition, in relation to conduct to which subsection (8) or (9) applies, shall be read as a reference to competition in any market in which the corporation engaging in the conduct or any other corporation the business dealings of which are restricted, limited or otherwise circumscribed by the conduct, or any body corporate related to either of those corporations, supplies or acquires, or is likely to supply or acquire, goods or services or would, but for the conduct, supply or acquire, or be likely to supply or acquire, goods or services.

The past few weeks (maybe a month now) have been somewhat tough. I've been dealing with insomnia and fatigue which has resulted in a lot of tv watching. A lot. To the point where it is kind of embarrassing. This is Natalie logic; 'well I am interested in Law and Order: SVU, oh look there is a crossover with Chicago P.D, I better go and watch that. Oh wait, there is going to be a three way crossover between SVU, Chicago P.D and Chicago Fire, I now have to watch both these shows so the crossover makes sense'. And that is precisely what I did.

Both of the shows are filmed in Chicago and there are a lot of exterior scenes. It really just makes me miss Chicago as it is one of my favourite cities that I have visited thus far. I loved: the architecture of the buildings, the Chicago River, The Loop, Millennium Park and Lake Michigan, which was so large that it seemed more like the ocean than a lake. I really wish that I had spent more time in Chicago, more time to explore the suburbs too.

Sculpture by the Sea 2014

It is crazy that Sculpture by the Sea is upon us once again. Unintentionally, I've visited every second year since 2008. To be quite frank, I'm not an 'arty' kind of person; generally, museums and galleries tend to bore me after the first 30 minutes (unless its tactile). But the walk from Bondi to Tamarama Beach is quite pretty and I only head down to that area for Sculpture by the Sea since it's too far from where I live.




The 'faces' of these freaked me out.










A woman doing yoga on the rock platform.






The best 'exhibit'! He was so adorable.

We had originally planned on catching the bus from Tamarama Beach to Bondi Junction to save having to walk back. However being the impatient people that we are, A. and I walked back to Bondi to catch the bus from there.


Jacaranda trees are in bloom again and they are just gorgeous!

Night Noodle Markets

Despite some hesitation, I did end up visiting the Night Noodle Market at Hyde Park.The pretty lights convinced me that I needed to visit although naturally, we ended up going when it was still light outside and therefore the lights were not turned on. Of course.




A. and I shared the beef ramen burger and also the teriyaki chicken rice burger. Hmm. Where to begin. Well the rice burger was mainly consumed by myself and by the end of it, my jaw was tired from trying to break down the 'buns' of the burger. When I was younger, we didn't have a non-stick rice cooker therefore every time we cooked rice, a layer of rice would be stuck and it was hard and almost inedible. That was basically what the rice buns reminded me of. Sometimes I feel that I can be quite harsh when it comes to giving my opinion, and then sometimes I don't. When it comes to food, nearly everything falls under the opinion of, "It's alright" and when I actually don't like something, I really really don't like it. Sadly, this fell into the latter category.


Mini pancakes w/ chocolate sauce and strawberries.

A. was still a little hungry which justified our trip to Pancakes on the Rocks. We shared the Hot 'n' Troppo with crepes substituted for the pancakes. I am actually not a big fan of pancakes and after my 3 day stint of eating pancakes for breakfast everyday in Toronto (it was free!), I have been put off about the idea of pancakes. 

My Henna Experience

Almost two weeks ago, I hennaed my hair. I'd been meaning to do it for over a year but kept putting it off. During one of my boring classes, I decided to bite the bullet and purchased henna from an online store. So why did I want to use henna? I wanted something more natural and healthier for my hair mainly. I also wanted to add more depth into my hair without committing to or maintaining something  different to my natural hair colour. One of my biggest pet peeves (which is quite silly) is: that I cannot stand looking at people's regrowth, especially when their natural hair colour is quite dark and their dyed colour is lighter or vice versa. 


Finally finding a use for my camomile tea bags (I dislike camomile tea).




I mixed my pure henna powder with camomile tea and the juice of one lemon and set it aside for two hours. In hindsight, I probably should have let the dye release for a longer period of time, however I was impatient and the dye released had already started.



From people's experiences online, a lot of people complained about the smell. I didn't mind it too much but it essentially smelt like grass. I have virgin black hair and like most Asians, each strand is both thick and coarse.

 The reason my ends are so brown is because that part of the hair was in direct sunlight.

Application was pretty easy although as you can see in the photo, I did have gaps. I left it in my hair for around 3.5hours before washing it out.


A. tells me that my hair looks healthier and shinier (the key benefit provided by henna treatments). Henna doesn't lighten hair but merely deposits colour and pigment therefore my hair is still essentially black. However, in the sun it has brownish-redish highlights. The photos were taken a few days after I hennaed my hair and I believe that it has oxidised a little more now so that it is less vibrant in the sun.





All in all, I am quite happy with the experience and will most likely be henna-ing my hair again in the near future, with a greater focus on my ends as I don't believe that they are as conditioned as the crown of my head.

Sweethearts Rooftop BBQ

On Friday night, A and I went to Sweethearts Rooftop BBQ for his friend's birthday celebration. It has been raining in Sydney for the past 2 weeks or so which I don't mind except when there is sideways rain. Luckily, it only started to pour once we got to the venue.

A green salad with halloumi. It was really tasty!

I can't believe that it is already September! It is my birthday in 3 months and I will be leaving in 80 days!

BoA Fraud Team, I Love You.

Well the only exciting part of my week was getting an email from Bank of America telling me that I had suspicious fraudulent activity on my debit card. And I did! There is a first for everything. Someone tried to buy $600 worth of electronics and pay for a $200 hotel. Jokes on them, I only had <$250 on that card and I didn't know banks were watching my transactions that closely. After a 40 minute call to America (hope I didn't spend over my cap amount ...) I will be getting a new debit card to me. It took forever to state the address I currently have and having to spell out Sydney and 'NSW' is weird. I sincerely hope that the card actually gets to me. When it does, I will finally be transferring money out of it and closing it. Originally I didn't want to pay the $50 in fees and I thought I would be doing more shopping on American sites, but after this experience it's just not worth the hassle. Also, the fraudulent activity only happened after I purchased jeans from Aeropostale. Hmm =/ I guess I never paid too much attention to online websites and assumed that they were safe, and never really thought about the work that banks do. You learn something new everyday.

When I was originally speaking to the operator, it felt like this.

N.B I don't know why her voice actually changes in her second and third try. I swear it wasn't like that in the movie.

I hate automated services. The frustrating moment when I was saying "fraud ... fraud.... FRAUD" and it refused to understand me.