Hot… Hot… Hot…

Well, it seems like Adelaide’s summer is finally here (why am I blogging about the weather?). The forecast high was 38 degree Celsius and the low was 22 (maybe Adelaide’s extreme hot weather/temperature is worth blogging about?). But when I checked the current temperature, it was 39, and I swear it felt like it must be at least 40 degree Celsius (maybe I just feel like talking about it?)! I wonder how these forecasting system work but it seems like they always underestimate weather (or, I guess I just have nothing better to blog!).

Felix, my high school friend who is visiting me from Melbourne, and I were planning to ride around the city or perhaps go to the beach. But since the weather was so bloody hot, we just mutually reached a quiet agreement to just stay home for a while. Bike riding would have been rather fun, to be honest, if only the weather isn’t as scorching.

Felix and I went to Amalfi on Frome St., apparently Adelaide’s best pizza, and had lunch there yesterday. While waiting for the pizza, I decided that it was a good weather for some Lemon, Lime and Bitters. So I ordered one for each of us. Felix hadn’t had one before and he loved it. The fact it was blistering hot and dry that day kinda adds up to it too, I suppose.

Some googling and wikiing reveals that the Lemon, Lime and Bitters (often shortened to LLB, just like Orange Juice and OJ), is originated in Australia. Often drunk by golfers after a round of golfing. However, Ozzyfrog who plays golf pretty often doesn’t even know about that. But anyway, it’s a great drink. So here’s a recipe to equip yourselves with an awesome and easy drink to make to fight this kind of weather!

Lemon, Lime and Bitters
Lemonade
Sweetened lime juice
Bitters

Splash the inner side of the glass with a few dash of bitters, add ice. Mix in lemonade and lime juice (heaps more lemonade) and garnish with a slice of lemon.

That should make you the perfectest drink to battle the Australian hot weather! Good luck overcoming the coming heatwaves. I assure you, the weather forecast is going to underestimate the heat. So just add one or two to the high forecast of the day and you’ll be ready to combat the sun! It’s only going to get hotter and hotter!

Creepy People in Australia

Yep, just as the title says, this is a rant about creepy people in Australia. Well, just today when I was walking home from dinner with Tiffany & co., I was waiting for the lights and just before it turned green, I looked up and, lo and behold, a creepy looking guy was staring and smiling at me, really sweetly, apparently. So I just ignored him and walked away. Alright, he could well be a really friendly guy, but I just don’t like the way he smiled at me. Kinda creepy smile, IMO.

This reminds me of another instance. I was walking to China Town, waiting by the lights on King William Rd. when a white-haired old man talked to me about how hot it is (quite a common thing to talk about in Adelaide). So we talked and he asked where I was going. “China Town,” I said. When the lights turn green for the pedestrians, he put his hand on my back and bid me farewell. Okay, that’s just way too friendly! Who’d meet a stranger and start touching them like that as if you know that person for years already? You might know me as a touchy-feely kind of guy but I wouldn’t do it to someone I don’t really know.

On another odd occasion, I was minding my own business walking down George St. near Central Station in Sydney one night, when suddenly, I felt an unforeseen hand patting my head. Patted my head. I turned back, bewildered, and a figure of a guy stood there smiling at me. Gee, really, why would people do that to random people they find on the street?

All of those still couldn’t compete with this last, but not least, “incident” in Adelaide. Well, I was going home late night, around 11PM, walking to the bus stop when I felt like I needed to go to the loo. The only toilet nearby that was opened (it was late night) was the one in Rundle Mall, in one of the alley (James Pl.). I couldn’t hold it anymore and decided to go there. Another guy was walking onto the same direction and he looked slightly alarming. But since I had to go, I just quickly went passed him and went in. As I passed him, I heard him declare, “I need to take a leak too.” Uh oh, I thought, quickly gliding my way to the nearest cubicle. Locked it. Looked up and back, while doing my business. When I went out, voila, there he was leaning against the washbasins. Should I wash my hands? I thought, and in the wave of panic decided to do it. I regretted it as soon as I done so, as he came to me and put his grimy hand on my shoulder while claiming in a rather thick Australian accent, “we are mates, right?” No way, mate, we are not, I thought, but what came out from my mouth were, “I’ve got a bus to catch, see you,” and I vanished soon after. He did say something and tried to stop me from going but I was too busy making sure I walk as fast as possible. I then called Johanna so I had someone to talk to since it was late night.

This spine-tingling story does not end there. I arrived at my bus stop. Bus was late, as per usual. So, I just hoped that the bus appears before that man does. Of course I was just looking forward, in fear of seeing the man pop up from around the corner. But I eventually saw him. I quickly texted Johanna telling her that. He questioned from afar, “the bus isn’t here yet, eh?” “No,” I answered, any time now would be great! A few minutes after that, the man disappeared and the bus appeared. The distant bus lights were as bright as the light at the end of the tunnel to me and I was relieved as I hopped on to the bus.

So, yes. Those are four short exciting tales of my encounters with fascinating people of Australia. Of course, there are much worse people I could have met, these encounters could have end up worse, so I’m glad that those did not happen to me.

By the by, it is now 2010 and this is my first post in this new and favourable decade. I would like to wish the very few of you who reads this blog, if there is anyone, a very Happy New Year. And if no one actually reads this, well, I’ll just turn on my schizophrenic mode and continue talking to myself.

Resolutions

It’s that time of the year again! The festive and holiday mood is picked up again after the recent Christmas period. I lived in Sydney in 2007, and I can imagine a lot of people would be gathering around Circular Quay in a few hours time with their friends to wait for the whole day, under the blazing sun, just to see the spectacular and glorious fireworks that sets the Opera House, Sydney Harbour and the buildings around on a gigantic, controlled fire. Melbourne and Brisbane should also have their own share of impressive fireworks, I believe.

I, on the other hand, is currently living in the city of Radelaide, in the heaps good state of South Australia. So naturally, I’ve had my share of excitement too (it being the most exciting city in Australia, fact). For example, window shopping on Boxing day sale (because not one of them were opened) or staying home for the next few days (because the dryness and sun might overcook me if I expose myself to it). The New Year Eve party I’m going to is also called the “Lost Souls New Years Eve” (I love you, Tiff!), just to give you an idea of how happening Adelaide is.

This is also the time when people post their resolutions on Myspace, Facebook, WordPress, Twitter, Blogspot or other similar places. Some other people, being less narcissistic and self-absorbed, have theirs written on a mere piece of paper; or perhaps even on the back of their mind. These resolutions might range from quit smoking to start socialising more, or stop being fooled by men to get out of the debt. There are heaps of websites and blogs now with articles like Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for College Students (the what not to do version) or Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Mothers of Multiples. Of course, there are twitter resolutions like: must remember to suck less on a daily average, find a Snuggle Partner, eating as much weird meats as possible, have more sex, learning the names of flowers, actually set foot in all my houses this year – If I can remember where they all are , or how about canine’s new year’s resolutions?

Weird things aside, I always wonder, why does it take a New Year for people to start changing? Well, I guess the new year is the time when people can start anew: opening a new chapter in their lives, forgetting the past and moving on to improve things. Of course things are easier said than done. A lot of new year’s resolutions are really quite demanding and numerous. People have these resolutions without knowing what they are committing to. As a result, only about 1 out of 10 people achieve their new year’s goal at the end of the year. I think having one or two resolutions is the most ideal.

Oh well, I’m going to ignore what I’ve suggested, here’s my resolutions anyway:

1. Go gliding solo, something I’ve been planning to do since 2008.
2. Start learning how to fly, something I’ve been planning to do ever since I know it.
3. Compose better music, something I’ve been planning to do since I started composition.
4. Accompany less people, something I’ve been planning since the second semester of this year
5. Find a job, something I’ve been planning to do since I got to Australia in 2007
6. Eat better, something I really need to do!

Well, as  I said before, I never end up doing my “resolutions” due to various reasons I’ve mentioned above. It would be good, however, if I could end up doing these this year.

With that in mind, I shall conclude my last post of the year (also the third of this year) here. Have a very happy New Year wherever you are. See you in the next post, next year =D

ST

Deadly Airport

For people who know how Medan’s current Airport is like, you’d either be literally rolling on the floor laughing out loud or be plunging into the deepest pit of darkness and despair at the mention of our beautiful airport. I’m very sure not many of you even know where Medan is, and for the benefit of those whose suffer from the lack of geographical knowledge of the great country of Indonesia, Medan is the capital city of the province of North Sumatra in the island of Sumatra. Not clear enough? Well, it’s south of Aceh, the province the tsunami hit the worst in 2006.

Medan’s current airport, Polonia International Airport (MES), apparently Indonesia’s fourth largest airport, is one of Indonesia’s most pleasant airport. If you are departing Medan, you’ll find yourself fenced in by “porters” who are more than willing to “help” you carry your luggage to the check-in counters. If you are arriving in Medan, then it’s the gangster taxi drivers who will insist you travel with them, even though your mum or dad is picking you up from the airport. For anybody who is unfortunate enough to be in the airport, you’ll be greeted with the alluring aroma of local cigarettes at the first step out of your car (smoking is allowed in the airport compound in Indonesia). The buildings themselves are very new, for they newly rebuilt both terminals because they were both on fire. Of course, there was a period of a few months where the improvised immigration office and the arrival halls were made with tents.

Those are just small issues. Polonia, boasting its ability to serve over 4.5million passengers yearly while only designed to serve less than 1million, is conveniently located in the middle of the city. As the result, there’s not a single building over 4 stories height built in Medan, well of course, until someone recently decided they want a JW Marriott hotel in Medan, shoved some “coffee money” into some important people’s mouths and actually built a 10-stories high hotel.

Well, not having high buildings in Medan isn’t a big issue at all, but there is of course a more critical issue, which is the safety of the people travelling on the planes. Now, all of you should be rolling on the floor laughing out loud or be plunging into the deepest pit of darkness and despair at the mention of our beloved country’s aviation safety, or the lack of it. There were a few incidents near Polonia Airport, this includes a Garuda Indonesia Fokker F28 that hit a volcano on the approach to Polonia in 1979, a Garuda Indonesia Douglas DC-9 that hit a pylon on its approach to Polonia in 1987, a Garuda Indonesia Airbus A300 that hit a mountain on its approach to Polonia in 1997 and finally, a Mandala Airlines Boeing 737-200 that crashed to the city due to takeoff failure in 2005.

Now, I’m not familiar with the first two major incidents because they happened before I was born. I am, however, the most familiar with the 1997 incident, as that is Indonesia’s deadliest crash with total fatalities of 234, one of whom was my poor mother. The Mandala Airlines crash also claimed the award for the deadliest crash involving a B737-200, but more importantly for North Sumatrans, it killed their Govenor and Vice Governor.

Now, considering three out of the four most severe incidents happened while approaching the airport, I conclude that Medan’s Polonia Airport is not really ideal, especially for a city with a population of almost 2.5million.

The plan to build a new airport was first conceived in 1992, but only after the death of the Governor and the Vice Governor of North Sumatra did the government finally decide to start building a new airport, at Kuala Namu in 2006, that is 14 years after it was first thought. Construction began even before the first anniversary of the Mandala Airlines crash and it was due to finish and start operating by the end of 2009. This 4.4 trillion Rupiah project (yes people, that is, behold the zeros, Rp4,400,000,000,000) is, of course, not going very smoothly. By mid 2009, the land hasn’t even been prepared completely yet (the proposed site is very muddy and contains soft land), so it was delayed until the end of 2010. Then it was further delayed to 2011. The recent news say that it will be completed by 2012, because they need to modify the runway just in case Singapore Airlines, Air France, Emirates or Qantas wants to land their Airbus A380 to cater for the high demand in passengers that want to travel to Medan.

But as for me, I won’t be surprised nor disappointed if there are further delay to the airport. I should know better, Medanese construction worker cannot even complete a residential house in less than 2-3 years time, how do they expect to complete an airport in less than 3 years time when it took them 14 years to finally start building the airport?

Blogarrific

It seems like I’ve taken the initiative to start yet another blog. I must have started at least 10 blogs ever since the dawn of blogalisation when I was just in high school in Malaysia. They range from overly emotional high school rants with swear words slipped in ever 3-5 words to blogs with less than 30 words in each posts. I have also used blogs like Xanga, Blogspot, and some other ones I don’t even remember anymore. But as for now, I think I might have to ignore my past embarrassing blog lives.

Well, this blogging business just reminded me of the blog-related words invented and introduced to us in our music technology forum last year (neoblogism?). This act of inventing new terms related to blogs is, by no means, new, but it is certainly a fun one. The fact that we live in the the blogisphere where blogademia seems to prevail. Materials bloggers pick up from the world/news are called blog fodder and taking too much of those might develop a serious case of bloggarrhoea. Meanwhile, a person who keeps checking their blogs on how much hits they have had is called a blog hawk. A person who maintains a relationship by means of blogging is a blogamist. And a person who maintains multiple relationships by the same means is committing the sin of polyblogamy. WordPress seems to have also started on this neoblogism activity as I was confronted with the word blavatar when I uploaded my blog avatar.

The success of a blogger ranges quite a bit. There are some really successful bloggers who have managed to turn themselves to blogerati while in this cruel blogisphere, most bloggers fall into the sad, deep bloglivion, which, I am sure, is where this blog is heading to. On this sad note, however, I will close with an overused, often misquoted “quote” by Shakespeare: to blog, or not to blog – that is the question.