Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
And hungry. Going out in search of food in the wilderness of Brisbane.
Tv sucks.
Crime investigation channel is getting stupid.
"Chain gang girls"
Robanna is getting faith healed.
This is depressing.
Stupid religious nuts.
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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Is on the way to the airport again. 8 hours to Brisbane.
Then back again.
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Friday, October 10, 2008
In plane waiting for take-off. Home! Home!
3
8
0
I love the A380.
I love the A380.
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Waiting at Canberra airport for flight OUTTA here!
My flight's at 1.10pm.
Canberra "International" Airport is small, departure area is about the size of a basketball court.
All outgoing passengers are waiting here, no one seems pleased.
I am DYING of thirst. But there is no sign of drinks anywhere.
I almost missed this flight, I booked a taxi to the airport last night for 1130am. But overslept TILL 1130am.
Gah!
Nice to know that when I jumped into the taxi at 1137am, the meter had been running since 1130am.
No worries, mate!
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Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Waaargh update: witch hunter 14; archmage 7
Teklis the archmage!
Really fun to play, I think I'll stick to caster / healer classes.
The witch hunter (Xenn) is pretty and all, with the gun and boots, but not much fun in PVP.
Not high enough range damage, no healing, not good at melee.
But when I took Teklis into BG, it was really fun!
Always at the top quarter of the score board for each scenerio!
Super long range spells, lots of insta dots, insta hots, heal-as-you-deal, crazy ying-yang balancing act really makes for a fun fun fun time!
Ack, I'm addicted again.
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2 days to go. Then home! Home!
Then pack, ugh.
Then airports again.
Canberra > Sydney > Singapore
2 days of crazy Warhammering.
Then 2 days of work.
2 days of rest.
And off again on Saturday, off again to Brisbane.
(My last trip to Australia this year.)
Coming back for an immediate 2 day workshop which I am not ready for.
*faint*
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Monday, October 06, 2008
I hate to twit abt food, but having a triple cheeseburger with a huge soda at Hungry Jack's. Damn airports.
At Brisbane airport, waiting to check in.
2 hours of economy on Qantas.
Aagh.
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Sunday, October 05, 2008
Back in civilisation. Almost. Hello brisbane.
No cell phone coverage.
No blackberry connection.
No internet.
But I did get to enjoy Honiara is all its rural glory.
Plane - 800 pm, 1st Oct.
My last post was when I left on my last leg of the journey, Brisbane > Honiara.
I have already spent 11 hours at the shitty Brisbane airport.
737-300
Honiara Airport - 1200 am, 2nd Oct.
Immigration was slow and painful, they asked me for my return ticket.
Gah! E-ticket! And I didn't print it out!
Lies, lies!
Don't believe anyone when they say e-tickets do not need to be printed. So what if modern technology is there to help with efficiency and productivity with less paper trails?
Oh yes, immigration officers all over the world still insist on seeing a paper ticket.
Live with it.
With much grovelling and apologies, the immigration officer stamped my passport and let me pass.
Dark and dank, wooden beams and low ceilings with barely working fans. Ineffective against the muggy heat, but useful for creating a tiny waft of warm air.
One lone luggage belt cranked painfully round and round while one unhappy baggage worker comically tossed bags, baby trolleys, guitar cases and fishing rods onto the belt through a tiny door in the wall.
My heart was in my mouth, almost every bag had been claimed from the belt. But mine was no where to be seen.
Its already 1230am, what to do? What to do?
Ah hah! I spied my bag, and quickly snatched it off the belt. My precioussssssss....
Then came the customs check. The solomon islands are serious about their customs check.
One by one, passengers in front of me had their luggage open and dirty laundry tossed around for all to see.
Ah gawd, I wish I packed my bag neatly this time, and not squeezed socks and underwear into every crook and cranny of my near bursting bag!!
I was next, gritting my teeth and smiling most winningly, I pushed my trolley through.
"What are you here for?" she asked.
"For work!" I answered chirpily.
Oh yes, now for the perfect question, for the perfect answer.
"Oh yes? What do you do?" She asked.
And I answered truthfully, of course.
She paused for a moment, looked at my passport and waved me through.
Joy, indeed.
No need to scramble around repacking my bag while everyone looked on!
I was met with my official transport, holding a huge card with my name on it. Gah!
Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel
Rustic hotel, the best on the island, where my shower was less than a trickle. My hotel room was a few feet away from the sea shore, perpetually damp and musty.
I needed a shower, I needed a shower. Damn freaking trickle of a shower. Had to waste time waiting for the bath to fill instead.
It was 3am before I could sleep. And I had a workshop at 8am the next day. Curses!
Isolated beach and a (not mine) dive trip
I was dragged out to dive trip by some people on saturday. At 750am, I choked down an awful breakfast at the hotel and jumped into a huge 4-wheel drive.
After about an hour of them collecting their dive tanks and such, we were finally on the way.
The drive to that specific beach took about 45 mins, and we passed many dive spots along the way. "This is where a japanese ship sunk." "This is where a bomber sunk." Etc etc.
So, why this specific beach? I asked. Oh, this is where a submarine sunk!"
Whoa!
I don't dive. Let alone swim. So I volunteered to stay while they all did their multiple dives.
I slapped on my 130 sunscreen and waddled along the shore. Dug my toes into the powdery soft gray sand and splashed around the perfectly clear water.
And I learnt how to have a picnic at the beach with minimal fuss.
Perfect day!
Honiara Airport
Its 7pm, and I have been here since 530pm. My flight to Brisbane is at 8pm.
The airport is warm, boring, noisy and absolutely inefficient. Everyone is standing around, no one is doing any work. I got my boarding ticket, but nothing else is open. Immigration is closed, the shop (1 shop) is closed.
A tiny little sign stated that SID100 airport tax must be paid. Ah crap.
I only had SID54 with me. (Exchange at hotel was AUS10 to SID54)
Smiling winningly (again!), the lady at the counter asked to see my ticket. I showed her my boarding pass, no... She wanted my ticket. My e-ticket!
Oh for the love of ... Bloody fallacy of the non-printing eticket!!!
I took out my blackberry and switched it on for the first time in days, looked for my itinerary and showed it to her.
She looked impressed and said she'll "help me" by stamping my ticket and I didn't have to pay.
Huh?
I was confused. Was that an open invitation for a bribe?
I took the idiot route and grabbed my ticket after it was stamped, thanked her profusely and backed away slowly from the counter.
Still a long long wait. I made myself comfortable amongst some smelly young men, still hungover from their wild weekend at the island.
And started tapping this long post. Yeah. I am that bored.
Damn airport.
Also I am fucked.
I am going to be in Brisbane is a few hours and I forgot to check which hotel I am supposed to go to. I think its a Marriot. How many Marriots are there in Brisbane?
Its a Sunday night! Who do I call? Ok, I asked hapless traveller next to me. Apparently there's only one Marriot in brisbane.
Some comfort there.
I need to concentrate more on preparations for these convulated trips.
Sigh.
5th Sunday
Today - honiara > brisbane
(don't know which hotel)
6th Monday
Tomorrow - brisbane > canberra
(crowne plaza hotel)
14:50 flight, QF957 Terminal D
7th, 8th, 9th Tues, Wed, Thurs
3 days of workshops.
(Yeah! I'm prepared!)
10th Friday
canberra > sydney
13:10 flight, QF1478
Sydney > singapore
16:25 flight, SQ222
From now onwards, I am going back to my crazy 1 month ahead planning for trips!
Next trip!
19th Oct Sunday to Brisbane
Then KL (oct), then Manila (nov), then Rangoon (dec), then London (jan), then tokyo (feb), then jakarta (mar).
I've just landed in Brisbane.
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Thursday, October 02, 2008
Finally sitting on plane headed for Honiara.
Just sat through a personalised one to one safety demo with a steward as my seat (1D) is too far front to see the generic demo.
Oxygen masks! Life rafts! Emergency exits! Life jackets! Whistles! Torches! Illuminated floor strips in case of blackouts!
Ok, too damned depressing.
Closing the doors now.
Goodbye, cruel world.
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Still at the Brisbane airport.
Geez!
I've been camped out there the whole day, now I'm hobo-ing it at the Gate.
At least I gained a rank in WAR. And watched 3 episodes of Bullshit!
Today I learned the truth about second hand smoke. There is NO scientific research to prove that second hand smoke gives a higher chance of cancer.
Today I learned the truth about bottled water. There is not enough governance of bottled water to ensure safety! And tests show a third of the water tested fall below the standards.
Today I learned about men's obsession with penis size. As a famous porn star said, it's not the size of the boat but how you rock it. Haha!
Today I learned about fengshui in America. The american everyman is really really stupid. If you're going to pay a person $3000 to move furniture around your house in the name of fengshui, at least hire a chinese not the typical white trailer obese woman!
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At Brisbane. 11 hours to wait till my next flight.
What the hell?
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Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Rescheduled everything. Leaving in a few hours. Honiara, here I come!
Transit (11 hours)
Brisbane > Honiara (2 hours)
11 hours at the Brisbane airport!
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