Great concert but..
Went to watch Cesaria Evora concert which was wonderful. She took a break by having a smoke right on stage, and for all the criticisms, the Concert Hall really has wonderful acoustics.

However, was late for the concert because waiting for a friend. Why can't a set time be a set time? Knew it was going to happen when person emailed saying she was going wakeboarding and would be on time. Turned out like 30-40 minutes late. Sigh. Think I should drop the Mr Nice Guy act.

Big purchase
Just bought a Dell notebook. With rebate it comes to around $2k. Painful but necessary purchase. At least I can go work in Starbucks now.

Australia report
What did I do?
1st day - Touched down on Wednesday, hung out with sis and bro-in-law and parents, got nagged at a lot, went shopping. I like my bro-in-law. Cambodian Australian; humble and thrifty. His mom works at the post office stamping mail; his dad is in Cambodia setting up an NGO for democracy and has done blue collar jobs most of his life. Their house is huge with a beautiful garden, and you wonder why people settle for apartments that are like rat warrens here. (And getting smaller all the time)
2nd day - Met up with Joselyn, told her to stay in Oz as she's been offered a $20/hour job there which is far better than what most places are offering here, went to this place that was MUCH TOO LOUD. I hate restaurants like that. Sydney's a nice place but I don't like the city that much. It's well... just like most other cities and I don't enjoy shopping.
3rd day - My sister's registration. Had some problems with parking; otherwise it went smoothly and quietly. In-law's family are a jovial and fun lot. Many of them came over during the initial troubles in Cambodia, and have made the best of their opportunities. So my sis got married! Hard to believe. Was it so long ago we, the three older brothers, were bullying her and trying to make her laugh after making her cry? Yes, it was a long time ago.
4th day - Out to the countryside to someplace called Jarvis Beach for a picnic. Touched the waters of the Pacific from the other side. As cold as it was in California. The water was a clear bright blue. Hand-fed some lorikeets who left claw marks on my arms. A kangaroo came by to see if we had anything interesting for it, but didn't seem to want our food. I really love the countryside and it's easily accessible by car. Would be great to set up a tent here and just chill for a while.
Heard about the Bali blasts on the radio. Nation in shock.
5th day - Packing and shopping and watching the news about Bali. Australia was in shock over the incident. Caught a plane that evening after my sister drove through every small town in Sydney to get to the airport.
6th day - Landed back. Much, much too short a break but had a shoot in the afternoon that went all right. Now trying to get client to pay advance first.

And that was my all-too-short Oz journey.

There's nothing for me to come back to
Good article.

She told me to learn to be happy
That was the enchanting end line from Ponette, a french movie about a young girl learning to cope with her mother's death. The little 4-year old girl acting as Ponette was remarkable. She has eyes that are like wells, and you know she's witnessed a great tragedy and is trying to learn to recuperate. Borrowed from library@esplanade. Get it if you have the chance, if only to watch her acting.

Someone offered me a $2.50 an hour job. Isn't that below minimum wage? Still was able to reject it courteously.
Hey even I have my limits!

Live blog... live! Blogger seems to be undergoing some problems...

Yes, don't any of you hurt yourselves welcoming me back now... ;)

Back and zapped!
Back and dead tired. The plane had a very rocky ride back and couldn't sleep very much. Three hours transit in KL airport in the morning with nothing to do, then to JB where had a quick nap, saw the Giants beat the Cardinals to go to the World Series, rushed out and off to a shoot for a client. Dead tired and going out later. Australia was fun and will write more about it later.