Halloween Whores

Shikaze!

Shannon and I studied Engineering in Edmonton together. She's backpacking up the east coast of Australia at the moment and we got to hang out a bit in Sydney before she set off. She was mugged in Surfers Paradise a couple days ago and her camera was stolen along with all of the photos she's taken.

I was jokin on the phone with her that these three pictures I took while she was here are all she's going to have to remember Sydney with...

The amazing underground express foot-way, eating pies by the sea and watching the opera house from a safe distance.

Surfers Paradise has recently been removed from my list of places to visit in Oz.

Photography?

Best House Party Ever.

Darain... the man of the hour.

Jase and "Summer Clearance"

I only smoke at cool parties.

Sydney's meanest crew.

The Theme: A Disco ate my baby...

Joyce's Sunday Bowls

If only the ground wasn't too squishy - We would have bowled great bowls that Sunday afternoon.

Happy Birthday!!

Thanks to everyone who came to our House-warming/Permanent-Residency/Birthday Party!!

It was great to see everyone on such a fab night. This last year has been all over the place for us but everything is simply wonderful now. Thanks for being there for us. We no longer live with insecurity! No more visa runs to New Zealand!! I just can't believe it! I've had such a blast hanging out here!!! I've been in Sydney for almost 2 years now!! Dats Crazy!!!!

Here's some photos from the party...

A man of many talents... I can add cake icing to my resume!

A Video of Maddy and I out for a birthday boogie

Party

Goodbye Pilgrims!

It was world youth day this weekend in Sydney. There was plenty of pope and pilgrims for everyone. A massive pilgrimage flowed through Sydney and more accurately through our neighborhood on Saturday. Our block on Bourke St. was surrounded on either side by two rivers of pilgrims.

Oh Boy!

I actually didn't mind it... even though this massive gathering of impressionable young people had undertones of "abstinence instead of condoms", "intolerance of homosexuality" and of course the idolization of a backwards thinking man appointed as the pope. Religious agendas aside it did look like a lot of fun.

Art?

I made Art

Major Update July 14, 2008

MAJOR UPDATE: JULY14, 2008

The final document required to finalize my visa application bounced into our mail box this morning. This very important letter containing evidence of all criminal acts i may or may not have taken part in over the last 22 years of my life came in a remarkably unimposing brown envelope. And with that, the very future of my Australianess in hand! I commenced my trot down Devonshire St. en route to the Office of Immigration to add the last crucial piece to my collage de visa.

...
...


...

The 2nd floor lift doors opened and i could no longer contain myself! I couldn't help but spew forth the name of the woman who held my fate in her hands!

"MONICA ZHANG!" I exclaimed. "MONICA ZHANG, IT'S HERE!"

"I HAVE THE LAST PIECE!"

"MONICA!"

...

Time stands still.

There's no movement.

It's all quiet in the reception room.

...
...

Then...

Monica reveals herself!

Seemingly uninterested it appears Monica Zhang is not nearly as excited about the current development as I.

She scans me with judgmental eyes.

Looking somehow more convinced of my identity she asks for my passport along with the very important but remarkably unimposing brown envelope and disappears behind a mysterious white door.

...

I sit.

I wait.

I watch Hi5 intently on the waiting room television.

15 mins pass.



...

Then...

Monica reveals herself again!

She presents me with a freshly stamped passport and then the words "You may now seek employment." dribble out of her mouth.

...

...


I exclaimed "HOORAY, HOORAY FOR GAYS!"

She resisted.

Then in a very firm disciplinarian tone she says, "Congratulations Mr. Halina".

... And that was that.





I'm officially a temporary permanent Australian resident!


I'm so Happy!!!

Ty

Ok! It’s been a long, long time… So let’s tie up New Zealand.

Autumn Farm was an absolutely incredible experience. I learned a lot about myself and even more about the characters passing through. Without sounding too hippie that place is so beautiful and healing… I can definitely vouch for the physical and mental improvements over the couple months I was there. These health benefits the cause of eating amazing organic food every day and of course nightly baths under the stars. I highly recommend wwoofing at Autumn Farm to every young traveller out there and I highly recommend bathing under the star to every soul on this earth.

Jason flew over from Australia for my last two weeks in New Zealand to do some trail hiking and such before I flew back to Australia with him. I hitch hiked down to Christchurch to met Jason. Martin a friend of ours put us up for a couple nights in his lovely home before we hitched back up to Takaka. We hitch hiked all the way from Christchurch to Takaka (a 6 hour drive) in only 7 hours! Again, something everyone needs to try once in their lives is hitch hiking!

We did a “relatively” short hike in the Kahurangi National Park – 4 nights, about 40km in and ~1km up. It was the most amazing hike I’ve ever done. There are a lot of times when you just can’t believe what you’re seeing. It’s that beautiful.

We hung around Golden Bay a few days after the hike at Ian and Jill’s place (Abbeys parents place) and spent some lovely afternoons with James. Hopefully these pictures will give you all a better feeling of how beautiful Golden Bay and New Zealand is.

When it was time to go we flew out of Takaka on a 6 seater plane. It was an incredible flight. The scenery from Takaka to Wellington includes some of the most beautiful parts of the South Island coast line.

We rented a car and drove to Auckland… sadly sight seeing was “getting old” before we landed in Wellington so we did a pretty terrible job of the north island. We took the shortest route to Auckland where we partied a bit and flew out a couple days later.

I’m in Sydney at the moment and still on holiday mode – I’m only on a tourist visa this time but I’m working on getting my stay/work visa extended.

Ty