Andrea (from the UK via Cessnock) taught me this one (she learned it from a fellow backpacker), which I found repeated in the Switzerland section of the Lonely Planet Central Europe volume.
When drinking, always wait until everyone has their drink and toast each of your companions, looking them in the eye and clinking glasses. Drinking before the toast is unforgivable and will lead to seven years of bad sex, according to the superstition.
Hmmm. That would explain a great many things…since I dun drink as much as I used to!!!
Cellular Tips from Oz
If you’re stuck in the US using Cingular, this affects you…
If you happen to be travelling overseas (saaay Australia for example) and you happen to have a phone with your Cingular SIM card turned on and you receive an SMS or your phone rings (but you dun answer), guess what?
YOU GET HIT WITH INT’L ROAMING CHARGES! Frakkin’ rat bastards!
US$0.50 for each SMS received! US$1.75/minute for each call that rings! What is this?
This is the first time I’ve been hit with these kind of charges. Normally, if my phone rings and I’m awake, I take note of who called me on my Cingular SIM and then call them back on my locally sourced prepaid SIM card. You know the one, the one with the great deals…
But now Cingular charges even if your phone rings and you dun answer it overseas!! My bill this month is US$30 more than it usually is…
So lesson of the story: If you got Cingular, call in from overseas to check messages. And don’t even THINK of turning on your phone!
Also, if you have an US Triband phone (GSM 850/1800/1900) and you are mucking about in Sydney, be advised that your phone will become useless once you leave Sydney because the networks switch over to GSM 900. Solution: Quad-Band phone, world Triband phone (GSM 900/1800/1900) or a Dual-Band GSM 900/1800 phone.
Missing Tokyo?
I’ll admit it.
I’m missing Tokyo in a big way. I miss good ramen. I miss bijin. And I miss the skyline of Tokyo.
Although, I’ll admit that it looks waaay better at night. The bijin too.
This site has lots of high res pix of different parts of Tokyo at night. It helps. Just a little.
No bijin though. =\
Tuesday Night Dinner
Urggggh….
Recovering from last night’s dinner. Which consisted of:
2 slices of pizza and a diet Pepsi
Grey Goose martini, twist, extra dry
Stella Artois
Pint o’Guinness
Jagermeister shot
bottle of Bud
Jagermeister shot again
another Pint o’Guinness
Sapphire Tonic
It’s da Liquid Diet!!
Broke two of my big drinking rules (besides mixing different types of alcohol): No Jager (it’s like cough syrup without the positive side effects) and No Bud (not the greatest beer).
I’m paying for it now…can you not type so loud??
Public Service
I found this entry on National Geographic Traveler and found it important enough to share:
2. Trash your “cookies,” small files (stored in your Internet browser) that record the websites you surf—and the transactions you make. Say you go online and purchase a $200 plane ticket from Chicago to Omaha. The next time you visit that site, you could be quoted a higher rate than what’s actually available because of your spending history. Avoid this problem by deleting these files each time you log on; detailed instructions can be found under the “Help” option in your browser menu.
Now the cookie thing is common knowledge if you’ve been on the internet for any length of time. However, as (occasionally) blur as I can get, I didn’t think that the airlines would use purchasing history AGAINST you…
The most expensive part of my travel is usually airfare. I generally dun stay at fancy schmancy hotels at my destination (because that’s money best spent on FOOD and Booze); rather I stay at hostels for both the experience and economy. Don’t get me wrong, I looove fancy schmancy hotels. But unless I’m planning a rendezvous of some sort, the money spent on a fancy schmancy hotel is better used for food. And booze. And cigars.
So long entry short, delete your cookies in your browser before you do any kind of airfare hunt.
Hunter Sunrise outtake
This is the photo that came before this one.
I think this photo is more dramatic; appropriate for Australia’s big spaces. It IS a bit dark though.
Opening Day (night)
The deluge known as the spring rains has lifted, albeit briefly. Today was a sunny day! See? Blue skies over my backyard!
Almost forgot how blue the sky can get…
Which means that it will be a dry evening. What’s for dinner?
Yeeeeeah! Meeeeeeeat!
Continuing on the “let’s grill some meat” theme started in Oz, here’s dinner via the first grilling of the season!
A “natural” New York Steak, 1 inch thick and looking deeeelicious!
The grill fired up just fine. A bit surprising since the charcoal bag got soaked when the basement got flooded a few months back…
erm..Fire. Yeah, that’s hot.
A few minutes on the grill
Then, perfection!
That’s called “medium rare”. Burp.
Which is more that can be said about the Giants’ Opening Night last Friday (7 April). I got a last minute phone call from a couple of friends about an extra ticket and a pre-game party.
Hey, I’m only human! I braved the rain (that was coming down in buckets) and the traffic (nothing worse than a San Francisco driver except a San Francisco driver in rain…) and the “great parking space hunt” to get downtown for free dogs, beer and snacks. And a game ticket.
and a two hour rain delay ! Look at that drenched tarp!
The worst thing was that there was the delay and then the jints decide to walk 8 runs during the top of the 7th. It was 2300. It was time to go home.
Sooo cold and miserable and wet (because it had started to rain again), we made our way home. The Giants need pitching reeealy bad!
The All Blacks!
Saw this on the train ride over to Katoomba.
They’re everywhere!
Puzzling…
Why is it when I return back home, it’s not the same?
There is a lot of fun and adventure out on the road. Life is out there! And it IS worth it!
But when I return home, it feels cold and wrong. Especially this trip. What was supposed to be a warm welcome home wasn’t. Bummer.
Shoulda stayed in Oz…
UPDATE 9 April: Am over it now, feeling MUCH better. Amazing what a lot of good vodka and carousing about does for your outlook. And that wish and shooting star thing? A MYTH! But it was neat to see…
More Wine!
As if three days in the Hunter Valley weren’t enough…
I come home on Thurs, had a good dinner with someone nice and then spend all day at the Dr’s office on Friday. Whew! Tiring! What should I do?
I know! Head up to Napa on Saturday for MORE wine tasting! Heh. hic
These are shots from the main building in the Beringer Winery just outside St. Helena. That’s a lotta wine in those barrels…
And, of course, no visit to Napa is complete without stopping off at V. Sattui for some cheese (and wine too)!
I picked up three bottles of wine and a really soft french bleu and crackers for snacking. What a hard life!