RATM + Nas = Good times

Yeah! My favourite rapper AND my favourite band....touring Oz! Never thought I'd see these two acts perform!

And somehow got tickets to both of them - surprised especially at getting tickets to RATM...it sold out incredibly quickly. It was great to see the backlash against the scalpers. It really is unfair that scalpers take tickets from genuine fans.

Nas - Halftime


Rage Against The Machine - People Of The Sun

The way rap should be...

Two songs for y'all...love the vibe in these songs...mad production + good MC'ing, no booty shaking dancers & no excess bling - the way rap should be.

Jurassic 5 - Concrete Schoolyard (pity these guys have broken up)



Wu-Tang Clan - Can it be so simple

RICE Rally

RICE Rally last Saturday night was simply amazing. Amazing because God was truly at work - using the Gospel spoken through Sam Chan to cut through to the hearts of the youth and to touch the hearts of many of them.

Every year we seem to say, 'Wow, this year's Rally was awesome!' but this year, it was even more 'awesome' if there is such a word. It was really a special night and all the hard work was so worth it.

We had 4 non-Christian youth come to REEF on Friday night. The youth were separated so the regulars went to do their 2WTL studies, whilst James and myself went through 'Simply Christianity' with the newcomers. It was so encouraging to see them so genuinely interested and keen to discover more about the person of Jesus Christ.

Some piccies from the night:

RICE BDO

Awesome, awesome day. Praise God for the wonderful weather - it is really something to give thanks for...4 years now in a row (that I've been serving in RICE) and the weather has been fantastic. The talks were great, I especially thought Ian Powell's talk was awesome. The bands were pumping, Revive really got things started and rocking, whilst Playjerise proved they are onto something - their sound is really special. Watch out for these guys on the charts.










The youth? The ones I talked to all liked it alot, 'definitely an upgrade on last year' was the vibe I was getting.

Personally? I guess seeing it happen on the day makes you realise all the meetings, late nights, planning, time and effort and constant mental burden is worth it. It really is. Standing there, watching 1500 young people sitting under the Word of God is an amazing sight.

My mind is totally relaxed now...it's a huge relief. Body is aching, back felt some spasms (probably from the logistics standpoint). Talking about logistics, it was a heaps encouraging time even though it was physically taxing and a little bit stressful at times. Seeing guys who were tired, hungry, thirsty and wanting a shower come out to help even though they didn't need to come out kept us all going. Being able to form friendships and bonds with these guys is something I love about serving in logistics (one of the only things in fact).

But there definitely needs to be a change in the way it is done going forward. It can't be this way in the future! People getting home at ridiculous hours (2am), people waiting at the Overflow until 11:30pm, people waiting to open churches for drop off at 12:30am in the morning. But there's plenty of time to think about that - for now I'm just realizing more and more of how much in control God is and how little control I have (despite endless planning).

Can't wait until next Saturday! RICE RALLY TIME!

Tired...

Absolutely buggered...mentally and physically! I'll be glad when RICE is over in 2 weeks...it's quite a big burden off the shoulders. But don't get me wrong, it's something I am really enjoying and passionate about.

I guess in this time, the one thing I should be doing is always coming back to God, who provides strength, humbles, rebukes and corrects in these times, instead of relying on myself (as ultimately there'll be a point when I begin to crack).

I remember last year after BDO in the logistics and packing up phase when I was getting snappy and was flustered and pretty frustrated. I had lost a few things, inconvenienced quite a few people because I lost those things, was really short on sleep and just physically and mentally exhausted from a long few weeks.

Plonked myself on the couch at home whilst waiting for a truckload of stuff to arrive. I remember feeling sorry for myself and pretty frustrated at things, which is something that rarely happens to me and I guess that could've made it even worse! But the 15-20 minutes I spent there taught me so much and was just a time when God was giving me a little nudge and saying "C'mon mate, this is where you grow! It's a good thing to be getting tired when you are doing My work. Put things in perspective! Stop feeling sorry for yourself!". It was an extremely humbling time and basically I got up off that couch and my mindset had taken a 180 degree turn and I was completely enthused about getting out there and doing the rest of the hard yards for that night. In hindsight, I was really glad that I went through those different emotions at that time and I think God gave me a pretty sharp rebuke and it had a real impact at that time and taught me how to handle situations better in the future. I remember reading the verse below and it had alot of relevance at that time and still does to this day.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."

Isaiah 40:28-31

I hope this encourages any of you guys who are feeling tired doing RICE, leading youth groups, preaching or just any type of ministry. Wait on the Lord!

I think tonight I'm just going to have a relaxing one...play a bit of Wii, read a bit of Harry Potter, watch some of the footy - it's good for the mind to take a break once in a while!

This guy rocks...

Yeh...big time, made for combat...

What a bad ass...doesn't matter that he's a coward, overly ambitious and usually fails in his plan. He still kicks some serious ass. And...who survives after Megatron dies in both the animated movie and the just released blockbuster movie?

This bloke ain't too bad either...









Oh yeh...really feeling the new album by 'Musiq'. His album is just another reminder that R&B doesn't have to be raunchy to be popular. It's just good old school R&B. Absolutely lovin' the single 'B-U-D-D-Y'. Listen to it here.

Only 5 weeks until RICE! Leaders Day Out this Saturday! Exciting times...for all of y'all who haven't seen the launch video - check it out here on YouTube. I reckon it's awesome stuff - loving the aerial map effects.

Nevis

One word to sum up the New Zealand trip - aweeeeeesome!

I'll keep this entry short though - a more thorough post will come later on the trip.

In the previous blog entry I mentioned that I would do the Kawarau Bridge Bungy jump (43m). Well, I didn't end up doing it.....yep we bailed out.

Instead, we took on the Nevis Highwire Bungy jump, which was a mere 134 metre dropfall (over triple the freefall of the Kawarau Bridge Bungy). We actually booked for the Kawarau jump but because of a booking error, we were 'upgraded' to the Nevis Highwire Bungy jump free of charge. After a bit of reluctance from a few of the lads, we decided to face our fears. I think it was destiny that we were going to do this Nevis Highwire Bungy jump.

Most of us were pretty pumped up as we rode in the bus up to the site and whilst we waited in the suspended jumping platform (suspended between two valleys). But once I stepped out onto that ledge and looked down the adrenaline/hype turned into pure fear. It was one of the scariest moments in my life...knowing that I would be flinging myself off into this freefall (of course with the strapping, but the thought of it just freaked me out).

After all of that, I can say that the bungy felt something like the 'Vomitron' or the 'Giant Drop' in Dreamworld. Don't get me wrong but, it was bloody awesome and the highlight of the trip. I recommend everyone to give it a go (even if they have fear of heights).

Here are some pics of others - we didn't get many good pics - the fog was heavy so photos didn't turn out well. Wanted to buy the DVD recordings of our jumps but the fog just prevented that even being an option.














Here's an awesome video of someone else doing it on YouTube. Please excuse any expletives that the person scream/shouts out in the video. It happens when you are falling that distance!

More to come on the trip!

PS - Fergburgers are the ultimate burger.

Facing Fears...

I have a fear....one which I think I share with quite a few other people.

A fear of heights.

I remember when I was young I'd be on the top level of a multi storey shopping centre and I would peak down to the bottom levels - and I'd get freaked out. Or I would go on a ferris wheel and look down to the ground, at the people who seemed like specks on the ground. Or I might be at someone's apartment who is way up, and I'd walk onto the balcony and peer over the edge - scaring the hell out of myself.

Recently I went on the Vomitron in HK - that was probably the most hectic ride I've been on - pretty high up and incredibly fun. The Vomitron was made famous over here when the boys from the 'Footy Show' went on it. Check out the clip - it's damn funny.

In one weeks time, I'll be jumping off Kawarau Bridge, the original bungy jumping site in Queenstown, New Zealand. I'm going there for a one week holiday with some high school mates, mainly to snowboard. But the thing that's been pumping us up and getting us most excited is the anticipation of bungy jumping. I've decided I'll be going first - get it out of the way and let the others feel the fear in anticipation. Yes, it isn't the world's biggest bungy jump, in fact it seems quite small (43 metres). But the thought of a bit of rope tied around your feet keeping you from certain death is quite scary.

Funny thing is, snowboarding, white water rafting and whatever else we are going to end up doing there all have a higher risk of injury - but there's something about diving off bridge 43 metres above ground level which makes my heart beat faster.

I've also watched this video (maybe foolishly) on YouTube to prepare myself (or just make me more scared). Check it out. I think I might be like that Asian chick at the end, have about 4 or 5 false starts.

Bring it on!

Brisbane Trip

Just came back from a short trip to Brisbane to attend a friend's wedding. Was a fun trip with good company and good food. Made a few observations about Brisbane from this trip:

• They love their teams (Broncos, Cowboys, QLD Reds and of course the Maroons).
• They love rugby. On Saturday night was the rugby union test between the Wallabies and Wales. It seemed like an unusually busy night in the CBD, turned out most of them came out for the rugby. You won't see that happening in Sydney.
• More Asians than I expected. The ones I met at Andrew's wedding are heaps ocker (got mad Aussie accents).
  
• Nice, wide roads. Less cars. No traffic jams. Friendlier drivers. Less hoons. 我喜欢!
• Didn't seem like there was much to do in the CBD (Queen St mall, etc). We got bored after about 1 hour (probably because I'm a arrogant Sydneysider).

Congrats Andrew and Karen! Was great to catch up with you guys at the wedding.

Some nice scenery shots:











On the last day we were there (today - Sunday) saw this on the road....couldn't resist taking some photos with Susie's camera.











Thought to myself...that's where all the Ferraris in Australia are. Mind you, this was just a road in Brisbane (similar to Norton St in Sydney). There were alot more Ferraris - yellow ones, black ones, retro ones and just a whole stack of red ones (I just call them ones because I don't know the model names).

Ah well, back to the daily grind of work tomorrow!! Yay for the long weekend....the Queen is useful for Australia in that way!

And then.....?

Classic excerpt from the dumb and funny film 'Dude Where's My Car?' starring Ashton Kutcher.

It's basically him and his mate at a Chinese fast food joint at the drive in - ordering food through the PA system.

Chinese Lady : And theeeeeeeeeeeen? (in awesome 50 year old Chinese mum accent)
Ashton Kutcher : I refuse to play your Chinese food mind games!

See the clip here.

And then.....Facebook is evil and it wastes alot of time. Don't join! I knew I shouldn't have given in to all those invitations from friends to join.

And then....Transformers trailer looks awesome...only a few months to go.

And then....is this the start of QLD domination for a few years in State of Origin?

And then....4 player Madden on Nintendo Wii rocks.

And then.....that's all.....and then.

Finally....the wait is nearly over

Yes....huge news.....after nearly 9 years....




.....





.....




Blizzard Entertainment has announced the upcoming release of Starcraft 2!! Whilst the date has not yet been announced, the project is already far into its development.

I still remember the days back in high school, in year 11 and 12 when half the grade would sneak out to 'PC Bungs' (some korean word for netcafe) and spend afternoons playing 8 player multiplayer Starcraft. Oh it was so nerdy - there'd be like five 8-player games going on simultaneously. After a few hours, we'd emerge, sore eyed, a little tired and with a few dollars less in our pockets - but satisfied (or maybe not) at our successful Zergling rush.

Check out the website here....awesome.

I sense some serious time wasting coming up when it gets released...damn...looks like the Wii will continue to be ignored.

The nerd in me has been unleashed...

I also found it pretty interesting reading through the Starcraft entry on Wikipedia. In particular, about Starcraft in South Korea. Basically, if someone is damn good at Starcraft they are a celebrity in South Korea....that is so funny! Check out the entry in Wikipedia on this particular guy, his name is Lim Yo-Hwan (no he's not related to me). He has his own DVD's containing his greatest games (hahaha) and he has a fan club of more than 600,000! They even have TV channels over there in South Korea showing games, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...!

Silverchair

Went to watch Silverchair on Wednesday night with Grace, Brian and Nat at the Enmore Theatre. They played alot of songs and displayed good musicianship and showmanship. I guess the only dissapointing thing was the lack of old material, in particular no songs from Frogstomp (i.e. no 'Tomorrow', 'Pure Massacre' or 'Israel's Son' - what the?). I think there were 2 songs from Freak Show and 2 from Diorama. They nearly played the whole 'Young Modern' album.

This was a good thing for the new fans and I guess alot of old fans (like myself) would appreciate their musical maturity as their career plods along.

Apart from that concert, work has been good. Having just completed my 6th week, I'm starting to put in some late nights at the office (my honeymoon period is over). Keep those cabcharge dockets rolling in! The work 'convention' up at Noosa last week was good too. Heaps tiring and pretty pointless (in terms of work) but it was basically compulsory so I had to go. Not that I'm complaining! Had good fun, met alot of people and took as much advantage of the free food/grog/facilities/luxuries that were available. The only downside was that I missed a friend's birthday, the launch of REEF and the AYC meeting on Sunday - three events that I really wanted to be at.

AYC is moving along and RICE is quickly gaining momentum. The busyness of recent weeks is weighing me down but the motivation behind both of these events is keeping me going. However, personal QT is definitely taking a battering. Need to find a way to simply do it!

Weekly indoor soccer has been organised so hopefully that'll kick along! Come to think of it, I have two-three free nights a week (if there are no meetings or late nights at the office). I really miss those lazy, carefree days doing nothing.

Minutes spent playing Nintendo Wii this week : Zero....damn.

I Can Only Imagine...

"Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine! I can only imagine!"

Damn I love this song...definitely one of my favourite Christian songs. Powerful, stirring, emotional, reflective stuff....thinking of that sweet, sweet day when Jesus returns to this Earth.

"I can only imagine, when all I do is forever, forever worship You...."

Artist : Mercy Me
Title : I Can Only Imagine

Watch the video clip here

RHCP

Still as funky as ever after over 20 years in the business, the Red Hot Chili Peppers put on a slick and professional performance tonight in front of a packed crowd in the Acer Arena.

First I'll start with a negative. There was barely any interaction with the crowd. Apart from the Flea (with his usual energy and enthusiasm), lead singer Anthony Kiedis forgot that it's always a good idea to speak to the crowd. I think he might've said like one sentence to the crowd the whole night.

Back to the positives. The songs sounded even better live (a sign of a good live performer) than they do on the albums, and the improvisations were great (especially by Flea). You'll notice that I'm very Flea biased (for all y'all who don't know Flea - he's the bass player for RHCP) because his genius on the 4 strings inspired me to start playing bass. They played quite alot of material from Stadium Arcadium, but it was the older songs that I was enjoying. Best songs IMHO were 'Get On Top', 'Suck My Kiss', 'By The Way' & 'Hump De Bump'. Was quite dissapointed that they didn't play 'Under The Bridge', 'Otherside' or 'Soul To Squeeze' but must remember that due to the size of RHCP's discography it'd be hard to please everyone. To the end the night, Flea (bassist), John Frusciante (guitarist) and Chad Smith(drummer) played out a 15 minute instruments only session which was amazing - each musician having their time to shine and showing their musical prowess.

Overall I still thought U2 was more involving and 'The Roots' last week was definitely more entertaining. I'd probably rate this concert on the same level as Foo Fighters. I'm no concert guru or anything so I'm just basing this on performances I've seen.

Braggin Writes (Song of the Week)

Gonna break out of the usual hip-hop song and put in a link to a Red Hot Chili Peppers (what better time) performance of the ultra funky 'Get On Top' in Japan. Check it out (I'm loving the look on Flea's bass).

Watch it here.

Anyone want a Chili Peppers ticket?

One of my high school mates pulled out due to work so now there is one spare ticket, at the moment we have four people going (so five total when this spare ticket is sold).

When : Tuesday, 17th April, 2007 (not sure what time, I think 7:30pm)
Who : Red Hot Chili Peppers
Where : Acer Arena (At Olympic Park, Homebush)
Cost : Forget, but somewhere around the $100 mark.
Seats : Not in General Admission, but seated with pretty good views.

Let me know if you are interested!

The Legendary Roots Crew

Went to see 'The Roots' yesterday night at the Enmore Theatre with Benny & Nate.

Wow.....that's all I can say after watching the best live performance I have seen to date from any musician/group across all genres. Yep, it was better than U2 at Olympic Stadium.


There was a unanimous standing ovation at the end of the show and as we left the packed out theatre I heard "That was the best show I've ever seen" over and over again from very satisfied fans.

In terms of value for money, The Roots played a 2 hour set, which is unheard of in terms of hip-hop concerts. This included many classic hits from their entire discography, solo performances from their amazingly talented musicians and a 25 minute, uninterrupted megamix (played only by live instruments) of some classic hip-hop songs from past times.

At times the whole crowd were on their feet, dancing, singing and rapping with The Roots and just having a damn good time. At other times the crowd were just mesmerised by the genius of musical talents like ?uestlove, Black Thought, Hub and the rest of the crew. It's no wonder that 'Rolling Stone' magazine listed 'The Roots' in their top 20 live music acts of all time.

Sorry Nas, Hip-Hop ain't dead.


Braggin Writes (Song of the Week)


Title : You Got Me
Artist : The Roots (Featuring Erykah Badu)
Album : Things Fall Apart (1999)



It's only fitting that the song of the week is performed by 'The Roots'. 'You Got Me' was the Grammy nominated and breakthrough single from their album ' Things Fall Apart', where the massive potential of The Roots finally came together. This song features the smooth vocals of Erykah Badu, thought provoking lyrics of Black Thought and the innovative percussion from ?uestlove. Watch the music video here.

No longer a bum...

Because I got a job offer today at 12:33pm to work at Macquarie in the city starting next Monday!

Wooohoooo!!

Praise God for his providence and timing!

I just hope this doesn't mean an end to my life (imbalance of working hours) but I'm still prepared for some hard work. Pray that God will show me how to manage my hours in between work, AYC and RICE preparations, church, social activities, sports, uni, music and all the other things I want to do.

Can't wipe the smile off my face right now! Look forward to catching up with all you city workers for lunch.

Gigs, gigs, gigs

Licking my lips in anticipation of the new Silverchair album to be released next week. Every since they released 'Diorama' I've been itching for another album. Given the way that their new single has been going, the album 'Young Modern' should go to No. 1 on the charts not too soon after it gets released.

Talking of Silverchair, they are playing their first indoor concerts in Australia in nearly 3 years!! Tickets on sale on 30th March. They're playing a show at the Enmore theatre on the 9th May (Wednesday night). I'm there for sure (if I can get tickets)!!

Also, managed to get my hands on Bloc Party tickets (Thanks Sam) for later in August. Should be sweet, although I'm not a big fan of the Hordern as a location. Just hope they play more stuff from 'Silent Alarm' and their singles which were released between the 1st and 2nd album. I'm not really feeling 'A Weekend In The City'.

Apart from 'The Roots' who are playing at the Enmore Theatre in April, there aren't many good hip-hop gigs happening. Not keen on rocking up there by myself so I might skip the Roots and wait till they come around next time. Otherwise, underground act J-Zone is coming and so is the more commercial Lloyd Banks (plus some of his G-Unit cronies).

Braggin Writes (Song of the Week)

Title : I've Never Seen
Artist : RZA Ft. Xavier Naidoo
Album: The World According To RZA
Year: 2003

I remember during my uni days (makes me sound old) I used to watch Channel 31 if I was studying late at night because they'd often show rare hip-hop music videos (alot of old classics). This was of course before the time of YouTube (where any music video from any era can be found). Anyways I switched on the television and it was halfway through a music video with what sounded like an R&B song. But then I recognised a face in the video, it seemed to be that of RZA. For those who don't know the RZA, he is one of hip-hop's greatest producers (in a league with DJ Premier, Pete Rock, J-Dilla, Dr. Dre, etc), the de-facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan, composer of many movie scores (including that of Kill Bill) and musical genius.

I was a bit confused because I never knew he collaborated with R&B singers. Anyways, back to the song. I was instantly hooked on the song and the music video. I listen to mainly R&B and Hip-Hop and this song is one of the most heartfelt & beautiful R&B songs I've ever heard.

I'm really feeling RZA's lyrics in his little cameo...

Aiyo, shorty, I've never met someone so beautiful
From your hair follicle to your finger nail cuticle
Struck by the arrow of Cupid, this love is deep rooted
Like someone took my heart, sampled it and looped it

The singer is from Germany and his name is Xavier Naidoo. He's of Tamil/Indian/South African descent and has a really smooth voice. I'm not sure how many people have heard of this song before, but it went to #1 on the German Charts. If this song was released in the US or Australia I'm sure it'd blow up and go high on the charts too.

Watch the music video on YouTube and become a fan of the RZA & Xavier Naidoo.

There's also another version that went to #1 in Germany. The German title of the song is "Ich Kenne Nichts (Das So Schön Ist Wie Du)" . In this version, Xavier Naidoo switches halfway in the song f rom English to German, and RZA doesn't have a part in the song.

Enjoy.

Job Hunting

Yep, that's basically all I've been doing since I returned from China. Having a week or two off after coming back from a long holiday is good and relaxing, and perfect for getting back into routine. But after that it starts getting boring and a bit frustrating (at least for me).

Been applying for lots of places. Have gotten a few calls, had a few interviews - and a few more coming up. Just hope that I'd be able to get one that is suitable soon. By suitable I mean not being too monotonous of a role, giving opportunities for career progression but at the same time not being a crazy, hectic job which requires lots of late nights and overtime. I'd happily give up a bit of salary to get more balance so I can still do the things I love doing and start planning things I want to do.

Things I want to do at night during weeknights (on the assumption I have a job)

• Continue learning Mandarin Chinese.
• Complete a subject or two at bible college.
• Play in a touch footy competition or at least socially.
• Start going to singing lesson or continue bass guitar lessons.
• Finish that one subject left on my Masters.
  
• Keep regularly attending weekly CORE gatherings.
• Have time to contribute at RICE and plan for AYC 2007.

Phew! That's alot of things but I think with good time management it can be done. That is something I truly lack in - time management. Hopefulyl I'll look back on this list at times through the year and see that I'm doing most of what I wanted to do.

In a change of subject, how annoying are 'Today Tonight' and 'A Current Affair'. They have to be the two worst shows on free to air television at the moment. I never really liked the show but in the last few years it's gotten worse in its reporting of useless and ridiculous news. The recent furore about Schappelle Corby's sister and the private investigator and all the lying and scandals is just plain stupid. Why does it take up such an important timeslot? Yesterday there was a 10-15 minute report questioning if 'homework is good for children'. They call this news? They call these current affairs? Just my two cents and a bit of a rant.

Braggin Writes (Song of the Week)

Watch out for this guy - Black Milk. This guy is coming straight out of Detroit, home of the late J-Dilla (R.I.P), Royce Da 5'9 and everyone's favourite white rapper, Eminem. Not only does this guy emcee, he's also a talented producer (ala Kanye West).



This is one of the singles off his debut album 'Popular Demand'. The song is called 'Sound the Alarm' and it's H-O-T! Check it out - Black Milk. Watch the YouTube video for the song here.

GO MUNDINE!!!!

Anthony 'Choc' Mundine - New WBA Super Middleweight Champion!

Choc just destroyed Sam 'King' Soliman in their much anticipated rematch for the vacant WBA super middleweight title. In front of a packed house at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Anthony 'Choc' Mundine put on his best performance to record a 9th round TKO of his fellow Australian boxer.

The last time these two fighters met, Mundine won a controversial split decision. Many thought Soliman had the slight over Mundine in that encounter. There was no controversy or uncertainty about this rematch. Mundine gave Soliman a boxing lesson.

So where are all the Mundine haters now??!?!!? Either in denial or reluctantly acknowledging the guy has serious talent and is a real threat to capture other championship belts. They are also probably now just talking about how Mundine didn't talk too respectfully in the post fight interview, anything to take away from his comprehensive victory.

Winky Wright (one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world) couldn't knock down Sam Soliman once in last year's match up. Mundine knocked him down twice in round 9 (not to mention knocking him down in round 2!). Additionally, Sam Soliman has never been stopped inside the distance in his 42 fight career, Choc TKO'd him in the 9th round.

Regardless, I hope that this proves all the doubters wrong. Love him or hate him, Anthony 'The Man' Mundine is one of Australia's best all round athletes and as a boxer has serious talent and ability (did someone mention amazing hand speed?). Yes, he's a cocky bastard and a showman but it's good for boxing and it attracts the crowds (whether they are there to see him win or to see him get knocked out). Australian boxing has been revived since he entered into it and he is the drawcard at any fight he is at. I think his persona is something he puts on in the public. I have read stories of Mundine haters actually changing their views and saying he's a really good bloke in person after meeting him in person (and totally different to the persona he puts on in public).

Let's hope now that Choc can get a rematch with Kessler and even the score with the Dane (instead of going into politics). Or maybe even Jermain Taylor? It'd be interesting to see Choc move down to the middleweight division where there are alot of good fighters.

Finally, I think Mundine put it nicely in the post match interview, with the below comment directed at the Mundine haters :

"You can't say sh*t now"

Back into routine

Pretty much settled back to normal life back in Sydney. I think being able to catch up with family and friends has been the best part. Doing the ordinary things is something I find I really appreciate (driving a car, eating a home cooked meal, hanging up the washing, watching latest episodes of Prison Break, ironing clothes, listening to familiar music).

It has been quite a hectic time of late, a whole ton of meetings, music practices, etc. Litmus was great yesterday & Sam Mak gave a really hard hitting talk which I think great challenged not only the youth but also the youth leaders. Been getting back into the loop with RICE and that's going to be busy again this year. Next week will be the first meeting for the AYC Convention to be held at Sydney at the end of the year.

Apart from Litmus yesterday, there was also a PILOT training day during the daytime (basically for English youth of Chinese churches). Was greatly challenged by the talks and the messages and there is much I can take away and learn from them (especially given my ignorance of quiet time and reading the Word in the 3 months I was overseas).

Besides looking for a job (submitted quite alot of applications last week), I'm going to make an effort to keep up with bass guitar practices and also going to pick up the ol' guitar and give it a strum (playing Guitar Hero does that to you). Chinese language practice has been pretty good. I get alot done at church, alot of the kids in youth group own me in terms of Chinese language so they are pretty much all my "laoshi's".

Prediction for Wednesday night's fight - Anthony 'Choc' Mundine to win in a points decision over Sam 'King' Soliman.

Braggin Writes (Song of the Week)

Yep, after returning from overseas, I can update y'all faithful readers with some of my favourite songs. But for the first time, it's not going to be a hip-hop song (yep I do listen to other genres!).

Check out this awesome song by Anthony Evans. I'm guessing most of you reading this haven't heard of him. He's a Christian singer of the R&B/Urban genre. Great voice, lyrics and production to match.

There is one song in particular that basically made me buy the album. The title is 'The One'. Check some of the lyrics:

For so long I tried to please
Everyone around me
I didn't realize
I was wasting so much time
Alyways trying to achieve
Everything they asked of me
But no matter how much
It was never enough
I tried everything I had all that I knew
To give away what I should only give to You

Download the mp3 here.

You'll have to buy the rest of the album if you want to listen to it! Highly recommended.

Ooh, I'm also pretty down with the bass line on this song...yeeeh!

Home Sweet Home!

Touched down in Sydney late on Monday night. It was awesome just to hear one of the airport staff say 'No problems mate' in that trademark Australian accent. After one day back in Sydney the differences between here and China are much more obvious (having been in China for 11-12 weeks).

Anyways Hong Kong was basically shopping, shopping and shopping. To ensure I didn't go to shops everyday I went to the Peak (good view if it wasn't for excessive fog and mist), Hong Kong carnival theme park (went on the Vomitron, made famous by the Footy Show), Macau (gambling, gambling and awesome Portguese egg tarts). The rest of my days were spent shopping, eating char siu fan and gai lan, going to weird Hongkie karaoke bars and playing dice, shopping and .... shopping. But don't get me wrong, Hong Kong was still mad fun despite my increasing levels of homesickness. This was probably because I hung out quite alot with some friends from Sydney who are living and working in HK, big thanks to Sarah & Ip! After this trip I've concluded Hong Kong is THE place to shop if you want genuine goods. If you want cheap, fake goods go to China.






















Things I won't miss from China (what I can remember) :

• Super dry air or extremely humid air (nothing in between)
• Bad quality air (full of dust and other bad stuff).
  
• Excessive spitting, discharging of snot (don't know a term for it) & heavy passive smoking.
• Not being able to go to a church or having fellowship with other Christians.
  
• Crazy traffic, not knowing if you'll live to see the other side of the road (when crossing the road).
• People blatantly pushing in at any opportunity.
• Travelling solo, it got pretty lonely at times.
• Toilets that aren't clean, squat toilets, toilets with no privacy. In general, the toilets.
• People offering massages and ladies every 5 minutes (in the main areas at night).
• Getting haggled and pursued by street sellers at every tourist site (looking like an Asian meant I had an easier time of it compared to the Anglo foreigners).
• People giving random directions when asking them for help (thus ending up getting lost).

Things I will miss (what I can remember) :

• Ultra cheap and good food (will miss this the most)
• All the cool Chinese and foreign friends I met and hung out with there.
• The markets full of cheap and interesting goods, and also haggling and bargaining.
• Cheap everything in general.
  
• Jian Bing (see picture above) at 3am-4am in the morning for 2 kuai (less than AUD$0.35).
  
• The guy selling latest movie DVD's for 5 kuai (80 cents AUD) outside my apartments at Beijing.
• The general peacefulness, no hoons in cars, no drunk idiots walking around starting trouble. Generally the biggest troublemakers were foreigners who had too much to drink.
• A good rail transport system, CityRail doesn't really match up.
• The cheap taxis and the craziness/quickness of the drivers in heavy traffic (or any traffic).
• Acting immature with my mates (picture below, yellow wall) and playing the 'penis' game in Beijing (damn funny because not as many people understand English there). Ed, on the far right was always the champion, whilst John (the white guy) always got the blame from the locals.
  

Things I learnt (apart from Chinese language)

• Chinese people (in China that is) are generally damn hard working. They have crazy working hours yet don't complain too much. Old people do lots of physical activity (carry heavy loads, ride bicycles, etc). I'll try to keep this in mind next time I complain about working too hard, etc.
• It isn't easy for Chinese people to learn English, as it is for English speakers to learn Chinese. Must keep this in mind next time I feel like dissing a fob accent, because I've got a 'fob' accent when I speak Chinese (really bad pronounciation and grammar).
• People are generally respectful there. Very humble people, not too much attitude going around. As above, no hoons in pumped up cars (but there are still some super fine cars there), no drunks being rowdy in the streets, no gangs looking to start fights (as much as I saw).
• Chinese people can drink. It's a myth to say asians can't drink. They are insane drinkers. World's fastest growing beer market and world's biggest cigarette market. And the funny thing is, they don't gloat about how much they drank the next day. Still manage to keep their humbleness.
• No road rage. Despite the fact that people drive like maniacs, drivers are extremely patient. Rarely see cursing. Compare this to Western countries where some drivers will pick fights, tailgate, etc. I have alot to learn in respect to my patience when I drive.
• The Chinese have a rich history and culture. Thus they all have a great sense of identity and really know their history. The patriotism will go crazy during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

I guess looking back I have no regrets about taking this trip. It was an awesome experience and I learnt alot of Chinese (my main objective). In addition to that, travelled to alot of places & saw many amazing sites and things. I also met many friends with whom I think I'll have lasting friendships. Learnt alot from both my foreign friends and the Chinese friends I made.

Quite a few things in my mindset have been challenged or at least changed on this trip. I also like China enough that I'd seriously consider working somewhere in China in the not too distant future if the opportunity presents itself. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of going to China or learning Chinese.

Laters y'all!

Quick Observations

Just typing out this post at 8:16am in the morning.

Hangzhao - Awesome, better than expected. Xihu (West Lake) is really a beautiful site and a display of nature at its best. It was mad fun to cycle around the lake too. Also got to eat at the most famous restaurant in Hangzhao, Louwailou. Ate Hangzhao specialties such as Beggar's chicken, Dongpo Pork, Xihu Fish and a few others. Mmmmmm.

Suzhou - Like a water town. Has a series of canals running through it. Went to an old water town nearby called Tongli (old style architecture) and also checked out the famed gardens of Suzhou. It's amazing to think single families built these by themselves before.

Shanghai - One day in - got owned by the rain. Hostel is awesome. The city is basically one gigantic shopping centre. I think that is all people do here (work so they can shop). Nanjing Rd is like Wangfujing Rd on steroids (Imagine Pitt St multiplied by 50 then adding a crapload of huge neon lights).

That's it for now folks! Take care.

Little side note

Side note:

One of the best eBay auctions I've ever seen. I'm absolutely loving the picture. Frikken awesome!

I wonder if it is indeed complete or if there are any missing articles..

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dllViewItem&item=110083483658&indexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2

Thanks Wongo for this link.

Last days at Beijing

Been a while since my last post! The last few weeks have been really good in terms of learning and progressing in my Chinese (at least I think). Whilst I'm not fluent by any means, I can semi understand what people are saying if they aren't speaking too fast and my vocabulary, grammar and sentence construction has improved to the point. I think the thing which sorta motivates me is that many of my 'zhongguoren' friends are telling my Chinese is 'tigao' (improving).

It's getting to a semi practical level. I can order food at a restaurant, read some chinese menus, go to a post office and send a package to Australia, talk to and direct taxi drivers, negotiate and bargain at markets, etc. Although anything that's a bit deeper and more meaningful is a much bigger challenge.

Just been preparing to leave Beijing and go to Shanghai (this Sunday). Should be a fun time and hopefully will be able to make the most of the rest of the time I have left overseas. The plan at the moment is to go to Suzhou and Hangzhao, as well as stay a few days to check out the humongous metropolis that is Shanghai.

Finally went to BICF (Beijing International Christian Fellowship - church in other words) the other day and it was awesome to be able to go after 7 weeks of no church or fellowship. Met some cool people and had lunch with a few huarens (foreign chinese) who are working in Beijing. Was interesting and I guess a litle encouraging to hear their stories and perspectives about working in Beijing. I think they managed to plant little seeds in my head which might grow enough to convince me to look for a few years of work in Beijing.

Also finally starting to adapt to the cold weather, it's all good now!

Belated Happy Australia Day yo!

Harbin!

I survived Harbin! Woooooooooooot!

Actually it wasn't that bad but it was a trip where I was a little bit worried. This was because of the forecasted -25 - 35 degree temperatures that it gets to around this time of the year.

However, on the weekend when I went to Harbin, the temperature was above average and only reached -15 to -20 degrees so I didn't totally freeze my butt off! Having said that it was still incredibly cold and can safely say I've never experienced that type of weather.

Harbin itself was great. The city has alot of Russian architecture (being so close to Russia) and also it used to be a Russian city before China got back control of it. At night the city lights up and looks incredible. But the main attraction (and the reason to go at this time of the year) was the various ice festivals going on. We managed to look at three different parks which had ice festivals going on. The amount of work needed to create these sculptures is amazing. Some of them are so big and some of the smaller ones are so intricate. Too bad I haven't found a way to put my photos up on the net, otherwise I'd show you guys, but I definitely took stacks of photos (at the expense of my right hand) to relive the visual memories. Will put them up once back home in Oz.

So now I am into my 6th week at China. After this week I have 2 more weeks left learning Chinese then I'll be off to Shanghai. I think 8 weeks was just about right in terms of duration of stay in Beijing. At the end of 8 weeks I'll be ready to leave Beijing but also will have learnt enough to satisfy me. The Chinese is definitely improving and I can see the progress every week.

Looking forward to going back to Oz and talking in Chinese to everyone (admittedly Chinese with bad pronounciation and no tones).

Interesting statistic :

Number of jiaozi's (dumplings) eaten from Saturday to Monday - 50 (damn I love jiaozi).

Zai Jian!

Kris

Back to full speed...I think

More than 1 post in 1 week...what's going on!

Since my last post, my so called cold has deteriorated into a flu/virus/stomach bug. So the last weekend felt like a pretty crappy one (at least since i got to China). I basically slept all Friday night, Saturday, Sunday and today.

Friday was the last day for many students in the school, and most of the good friends I had made were leaving Beijing on the Saturday morning. So the timing of the sickness sucked because I couldn't hang out with the guys for one last night. Rafael, Judy and Mandi went out to various bars, nightspots on their last night, but I had to farewell them in my PJ's from my apartment. I managed to squeeze in a quick drink with Edmund & Rick before they went to Shanghai and that was only because it was at John's apartment (2 floors above mine).

Saturday I visited Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) with Ashley (fellow Sydneysider) and Maggie (local from Suzhou). When talking with Maggie I realise how much my CHinese sucks...hahaha. But it makes me want to improve so much more. The weather was cold, but the wind chill....ahhhhhhh...it got me again. It was blasting away at us, and taking photos was painful (because it required removing our gloves, thus causing frozen hands). Nevertheless, Tiantan was remarkable and probably the best sight I've seen in Beijing (Great Wall not counted). Afterwards, I felt like crap and by the time I got home I collapsed into bed and slept for like 15 hours straight.

So I missed out visiting BICF (Beijing Inter Church Fellowship) again, but my symptoms were slightly improved. I guess on a diet of plain bread and bananas (on doctors orders) you can't go wrong. I still had a major case of the 'jolly johns' so by today I decided it was time to hit the international clinic. After getting the medication I decided to sit out school today so I can go back with good health tomorrow.

But despite this short illness, I think it's been a good thing for me. With all the time I've nearly finished off the 1st book I planned to read whilst I was here ('Courageous Leadership' by Bill Hybels). I've also had alot of time just to think and for some reason my mind kept shifting to the Annual Youth Conference to be held in Sydney at the end of 2006. Yes, alot of anxious thoughts but also alot of excitement.

Random Observations

Women here spit too! Might sound like a dumb and obvious thing, but I thought women wouldn't do it so openly. I'm walking behind two student looking young women and they accumulate their spit with the oh so familiar 'CROOOOOOOOOOOIIK' and hurl it sideways...dayum! Then like 2 minutes later I'm about to get into a lift when a lady just hurls a big ass spit ball like 2 feet away from me. Then there are also guys who are experts at hurling big ass snotballs through one nose more than one metre distance. As impressive as it is disgusting!

They should add these new sports just for the Beijing olympics!

Man, I'm fully craving for a meat pie! Or a big steak! Or a BBQ chicken! But most of all some of mum's home cooked food (like Chinese food minus MSG, excess salt, etc).

Oh yeah, watch out for Mongolian girls if you ever come to China. It helps if you're not bai ren (white person) but it doesn't make you immune.

Ciao!

New Year's!

It's been a while since my last post. Things have settled down a bit, not going out every night now. Nevertheless I am feeling quite burnt out and exhausted from doing so much and I guess a lack of sleep at times. So yesterday I think I started coming down with some flu/cold like symptoms. After a marathon sleep I feel alot better today.

So what's been happening? Well, NYE isn't that big of a deal here, because the Chinese people have Chinese NY. I went to Tian'anmen square and there were stacks of laowai's (foreigners) there doing countdowns. It was pretty funny because there were about 6 seperate countdowns (there was no official timer so everyone went by their watches). We were supposed to hit a club after that but it took us around 40 minutes to find a taxi. When we finally caught one we felt tired and couldn't be bothered going to a club so just had a quiet one at home chatting and drinking with some mates.

I think my Chinese is definitely starting to improve now, I can see the progress. My ordering ability at restaurants is still very limited but is better than the 1st week when I was just pointing and not speaking one word. I can also talk to cab drivers and direct them if need be, although our conversations are pretty limited and usually about the same things.

Definitely missing everyone back in Australia, can't wait to see everyone when I get back. Will be going to BICF this Sunday hopefully (Beijing Inter Church Fellowship) with a few friends from the language school. Was chatting to a mate from the methodist church in Perth about stuff after NYE and was just encouraging I guess and it felt like God was giving me a kick up the butt for slacking off whilst in Beijing.

Zai Jian!