this burden I carry.

as of 10 pm Saturday the 15th night of December, something major happened.  One of my Facebook friends liked something that struck my interest, which then urged me to continue with a Google search.  After further reading and additional information, I decided to take it one step further.  At about 6 am when I went out for a run before I've had a chance to go to bed, I  realize that I am addicted.

My name is Rosario Penafrancia Jackson aka Penny and I am addicted to a Filipino soap opera.  I am ashamed to say that I cannot wait until tomorrow until the next episode posts online.

I stayed up all night catching up to the series and it's all I can think about.

fml.

giving thanks....

Things for which I am grateful:

1.  Danny - enough said.

2.  my family, though crazy at times, my life is lonely without them.  I miss them sooo much... I miss my mom and her cooking; the mixture of traditional thanksgiving food and Filipino food and the endless amount of leche flan my mom and aunt would cook for me (well for 'everyone') to eat.

3.  my friends...old and new.  I miss my friends back home and friends in other parts of the world... I am thankful for the new friends I have met... they have made moving to a different part of the world much more fun and a lot less lonely.

4.  anti ageing solutions, creams & serums.

5.  my jobs... I have the best jobs in the world... I work for great people and with great people.  I truly enjoy what I am doing and I am happy to have had the chance to explore such a different profession and work with amazing teams...

6.  opportunities...this I never have and never will take for granted.  I was lucky enough to be given great opportunities.  A path that I don't deserve to have stumbled upon...opportunities for a better life, great education, the chance to help out my family, opportunities for seeing the world & meeting different people, and a most remarkable opportunity that I have long dreamed about... details to come later.

7.  descendents & bouncing souls... i thought seeing the descendents in Berlin was a once in a life time event... probably won't get a chance to seem them play again... ever... well I am thankful for the Australia tour that they have announced and that I have purchased tickets for in February 2013 with the Bouncing Souls.

8.  adventures...our lives are full of them and I am so thankful for not being fearful of the different adventures that come our way.

9.  COFFEE

10. pho

Oct - Nov

the past month has been a blur ... I know that certain things were involved:

movies
puzzles
French cuisine
movies
coffee
more coffee
coffee training
lasers
tapas
holiday party
shopping
blue hair
hair cut
work
park naps
pho at least 2x
rice making a come back in my life
birthdays
travel planning

words to live by

Take the path least travelled
It takes courage and confidence,
It has some risks but it often brings you great rewards:
the challenge of the new; the thrill of exploration; growth from the learning;
and self-confidence from success.


Patrick Lindsay

Brisbane Festival

was really coooool!

For some reason all I can think about is Santos GLNG.

Brisbane Festival was sponsored by Santos GLNG.  

Santos GLNG is cool not evil....

Sarcasm aside, I think it's pretty rad to live in a city that celebrates itself for 3 full weeks.  The South Bank was just action packed full of fun stuff with performances ranging from solo artists (Julia Stone, Ingrid Michaelson), bands (Nada Surf), Jazz on Sundays, Argentina in the evenings, DJ's that were actually pretty cool, live shows like a French Butler Named Smith at the Wunderbar, Santos GLNG light show and my most favourite of all, La Soiree.  It was nice meeting the festival workers and seeing them everyday and becoming part of a fun community for the three weeks.  It made working so much better knowing that we were going to get free pizzas, get to talk to Florence from St. Jean de Luz, see my favourite churro guy (also from St. Jean de Luz), provide the espressos served in the espresso martinis at the bar in the Spiegel Tent, and seeing my favourite acts from La Soiree and serving them coffee!!!

The TallShort van was such a trooper, getting used and abused day in and day out... but I truly believe it became somewhat of an icon in the festival and it was great to be a part of that.... 

The 3 week festival ended with the finale.... RIVERFIRE... it sounds more intense than it really is... it is pretty much the light show, extended in length with added fireworks from the river.  It was nice and pretty cool actually.  the fun part was the massive amounts of teenagers 13 to 16 dressed really slutty... that was probably the best part of the day.  

but for realzies, despite the massive amount of teenagers (an age group which I am not truly fond of in any country...except for my sisters) I had a great time during Riverfire and pretty much through out the whole festival.  My body is officially exhausted but it was probably one of the more fun times I have ever experienced as a worker... not just of in a cafe, but overall from managing, to finance, to government, to teaching English...it was truly such a fun time.  

for some reason when I think back, what I remember most vividly is the awesome-ness of Santos GLNG? 

Not sure why. 

 Light & laser show

                                      

The TallShort van in the prime spot

Laterns to support diversity and Asians.

La Soiree stage

Inside the Spiegel Tent

Behold.... RIVERFIRE!

more fireworks

don't mind if I do...

looks like Dizz and I will be chillaxin to the max in Australia mate! 

approved to stay here for up to 4 years... assuming Danny does not get terminated for misconduct or voluntarily quit his job. 

A lot can happen in four years, especially to 2 people who plan on always being on the go but still this is huge...

weeee!!!!!!

grrrr

Never in my life have I wanted world peace more than anything!

So much planning & I have worked soooo many hours for this trip to see great things, but it's not happening.

Give peace a chance
Why can't we all get along
Live and let live

I want to see every part of the world... including the Middle East.  Learn about every culture, religions, see ancient sights, meet and learn languages from local people.  I want to see art, hear music and listen to stories.
I want to learn the history of each country that  I visit, take a glimpse of their past and see how they got to where they are now.

I just want to go, for the rest of my life I want to be going... for now we will be going, somewhere different but still going.  I am heartbroken over this.

Engrish lessons.

I cannot pull off the following phrases:

'cheers' (cheeahs)
'cheers mate' (cheeahs might)
'hello darling' (dahling)
'pardon?' (pahdon)
'good day' (good eye)

I tried today -not in an Aussie accent- but used simple phrases to our customers and it made me feel very weird, out of place and down right creepy.

Oy vey.

factoids

Today was a public holiday in Brisbane, in celebration of the Royal Queensland Show, the annual agricultural show of Queensland, also known as EKKA.  It's pretty much a fair type thing, with rides, free petting zoos, overpriced food / drinks and heaps of kids, meh.  Not my cup of tea but it was nice to see all sorts of people going this morning while we were working on site.  It's nice that the seventh show day is a public holiday, no work for most people like Danny.   I love that there are 2 holidays I never thought I would be celebrating the first being the Queen's birthday and second one being the Royal Queensland Show.

here is a photo of my work at EKKA:

i and love and you

kinda love them... one more than the other

Melbourne

Melbourne was great. Our train was 40 minutes late so we took a taxi to the airport.  Of course during those times when you are in most need to rush, we get a taxi driver who was not a negligent speedster but rather one that followed the speed limit and the laws of the road. We made it just as the plane was boarding thanks to Australia's less strict airport security (no one had even checked my ID).

We finally arrived and the feeling of staying in a hostel was like a feeling of being home! ridiculous, yes but seriously... I love hostels. After a stomach wrenching all carb & simple sugar breakfast, we walked through the South Yarra neighbourhood where our hostel was located.  We walked to the Royal Botanical Gardens where we saw the governors' palace, the Anzac memorial, some cool trees and rainforest wildlife from Queensland! We hopped on a free city bus that takes a loop around the most popular spots in Melbourne:

National Victoria Gallery - had an exhibit about Napoleon but we decided against indoor activities since the weather was really nice.

Federation Square - amazing area bustling with people, checked out St. Paul's Cathedral, Flinder's Street Station, walked by / through some of the theatres and galleries surrounding the square. Then we saw the Joker painted on a side garage door in a tiny alley.  Naturally we headed that way to check it out and lo & behold our first street art encounter... the whole alley way just covered in street art.  After taking a gander we had tapas and cortado at Movida.

Queen Victoria Market - largest outdoor market... meh...it was cool until we saw vendors selling full body kangaroo skins.

South Bank - nice stroll by the river at South Bank... we took some photos of the city skyline, saw a weird large goose, crossed the bridge back to Flinder's street station were we caught the tram back to our hostel for a nap!

Lygon Street - considered the 'little Italy' of Melbourne.  We met up with Daniella & a few other friends for a lovely dinner. Chapel Street - this street is happening!  lots of bars, restaurants, cafes, people... it was busy even really late at night...A few other attractions we saw:
More street art on Little Bourke Street
Possums at the Royal Exhibition
State Library of Victoria
Parliament
Another Cathedral
Galletes on Brunswick Street
China Town
Collins Street

Possums and Opossums are different:  Australian Possums are cute whilst North American Possums are disgusting and creepy. 

After 2 days of checking out Melbourne, Danny and I ended our weekend trip with a delicious cafe cortado at the Young & Jackson's bar in the presence of the famous nude portrait painting of Chloe.

worlds apart

about one year ago Danny and I stumbled into an air conditioned cafe just a few blocks from the Blue Mosque to hide from the sweltering 40 degree heat of Istanbul.  We ended up hanging out in this cafe eating baklava, drinking Turkish coffee and watching some kind of male diving competition while waiting to beat the afternoon heat.

one year later (as I checked the date in my journal), Danny and I stumbled into a Turkish cafe just a few blocks from the Hi-Fi where we watched Say Anything in the suburb West End of Brisbane. We ended up hanging out in this cafe eating baklava, drinking Turkish coffee and listening to Balkan pop music while waiting for the show to start.

very similar events taking place in very different parts of the world, although the date was the same the seasons were different, never would have thought one year ago that I would be having the same exact meal a year later in a completely different part of the world.

(Istanbul)

(Brisbane)

...the baklava was heaps better in Istanbul but still.

for the love of coffeee

this week I fell more in love with coffee...

I took a Barista course with Katy & Dean and learned so much about the history of coffee, how they are roasted, the different types of beans, blends, origins etc.  It is believed that the coffee bean was first consumed in Ethiopia, not as a roasted bean but as a raw berry  used for tea.  Then someone thought lets roast it to make it less bitter... but then that actually made it more bitter, so they thought lets boil it! They drank the liquid it was boiled in and voila! Coffee as we know it today was born somewhere around the Arabian Peninsula.  Coffee was prepared and consumed the way modern day Greeks & Turks drink coffee prior to the Italian invention of the espresso machine.  The espresso machine forces nearly boiling water (92-96 degrees) under pressure through finely ground coffee beans resulting in a higher concentration, thicker consistency and stronger flavours, a good rule of thumb for a good espresso ensuring all other constants are fixed, is to extract 30 ml of coffee in 30 seconds.  During the class we did just that; practised extracting delicious espresso, learning the techniques of frothy and textured milk and tricks of the trade to ensure that we always have the best possible tasting coffee.  

Result: 

I LOVE coffee even more!!! I want to buy an espresso machine just so I can make delicious coffee every day.  It makes me appreciate the good baristas who have served me delicious coffee because it is not an easy trade... there is so much art to it.  (I swear it is not the extra large cappuccino I just drank talking).  For instance this latte art is awesome and I want to make cool things like this one day. 

Image taken from: http://x-weird.blogspot.com.au/2009/11/beautiful-cafe-latte-art-designs.html

p.s. filter coffee sucks 

  

in the news today

Top Stories:


Donors pledge 16 Billion in Afghan aid
Putin orders flood deaths inquiry
US heatwave leaves dozens dead
Mexicans protest over poll winners
Ole: Tapas-ok,  cafe cortado-perfection
Girl clears five levels of DDR at Cineplex
A Jackson beats another 7 to 3 at air hockey
Ted well received by viewers: "funny" "LOL" "cute"


Opinion, Editorial, Commentaries:  

Theatre owners should encourage movie hopping for Snow White & the Huntsman

Weather Forecast: 

Sunny and warm for mid winter: perfect weather for afternoon naps

Advice Column:

Should we have a Batman marathon leading up to the midnight showing of the Dark Knight Rises?

a list of bad ass stuff

working in VW van turned coffee bar ... bad ass
hanging out on south bank for work ... bad ass

Dominos pizzas in Australia ... bad ass
view of the Brisbane City skyline while at work ... bad ass

Tall Short Espresso... bad ass
having an 'accent' in a land with Australian accents ... bad ass
TimTams... bad ass
Taco Bell ... bad ass
real pho ... bad ass
Bouncing Souls...bad ass

Straddie, Brekky, Footy, Cardy, Brissy, Mainies....

a few of the many words that Australians abbreviate.

Last week was Danny's and my grandma's birthday.  Surprised Danny with an awesome birthday breakfast, 'Mexican' food dinner & la fete de la musique which entailed: rap group, wind instruments and bossa nova.

his cake was made with delicious farmer's market cupcakes and his favourite type of TimTams.

Sunday we went to North Stradbroke Island we rode one hour on the scooter and another 45 minutes on the Big Red Cat Ferry... the water was so clear even though it was over cast, freezing cold and rainy.  North Stradbroke Island was really beautiful with pristine beaches surrounded by forest-y areas AND I learned of a new setting on our tablet that takes panoramic photos!

gold coast adventures

Adventures started in Snapper Rocks where Danny surfed.  After months & months of no surfing due to ear drum, moving, working & not having a car he was finally able to get some waves... he had fun regardless of the wave quality. 

Afterwards, off too the Springbrook National Park part of the Gondwana Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The Gondwana Forests of Australia are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world.  It is so named because the fossil record indicates that when Gondwana existed (southernmost part of two super continents, the other being Laurasia, that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent some 100 odd million years ago) it was covered by rainforests containing the same kinds of species that are living there today (Wikipedia).  

Our first stop was Mt. Cougal.  We went to see the cascades surrounded by rainforest, it was pretty rad... it was late afternoon so the setting sunlight was just phenomenal.  We hiked up to the Old Sawmill which was lame, the creek and the cascades were the best part. 

Then, the Natural Bridge.  It was dark by the time we reached the hiking trail...
1.  it ruled because we had to hike in pitch dark...the only other time that I had done anything like that was hiking up Machu Pichu before sunrise... it's exhilarating knowing that the only things surrounding you are the trees, the forest creatures and the only reason why you can see the silhouette of the mountain is because it is shades darker that the completely dark sky.
2. it ruled because it felt like we were the only ones on the trail - but comforted knowing that we weren't
3. it ruled because we saw glow worms surrounding us as we walked the trail
4. it ruled because as you get closer to the bridge, the only thing you hear is the rushing sound of the waterfall...super creepy.
5. it ruled because when you enter the cave at the base of the waterfall, you are completely surrounded by the little blue-ish light from the glow worms.

We stayed in the cave for what seemed like forever... all you can see is the blue glow worms and all you can hear is the rushing sound of the waterfall, it was completely dark.

glow worms

waterfall at night 

waterfall daytime

The following day we checked out the Purling Brook Falls and a few other spots with amazing views of the the Gold Coast.  Then we hiked 4km on the Twin Fall trail.  The trail was fairly easy and truly amazing.  The hike down to the bottom of the waterfall, walking behind all the waterfalls and hiking the whole trail encountering no one in the lush subtropical rainforest...freaking cool.

All in all a great weekend... ending with a delicious cheesy burst crust Hawaiian pizza from Domino's... because its honestly so delicious here.