Champagne, crumble and comedy!

I am pleased to report that I have finally managed to return some routine to my blog writing and this post follows a mere nine days after the last one! Anyway, after I uploaded the last post a few of us watched one of the Harry Potter films downstairs before I headed off to bed and another day was done.

On Wednesday morning, the Royal couple - Kate and Wills - arrived in Sydney with Prince George, though I didn't go down to the harbour to greet them since my interest in them is limited, to say the least. Instead, my day began by doing some chores around the flat before I took the short walk to Broadway to finally buy Jessica's birthday present. I had already decided to get her an iPod, but choosing a colour was proving difficult beyond measure, though eventually purple was selected. In the afternoon, I watched a replay of the Arsenal game from the previous night, which nearly bored me to tears and it wasn't long until I resorted to playing some table tennis with Alex instead. Funnily enough, this is yet another Alex; female and Australian this time - I honestly believe I've met more people called Alex this year than I have done before in my entire life! Once I'd had dinner, I returned back downstairs to watch a film - unfortunately it was "chick-flick night" and we had to endure 'She's the Man'. Believing the torture to be over, Manisha insisted on then watching 'The Hot Chick' so most of us headed off to bed!

When I woke up on Thursday morning, I had a text from Mum telling me that she and Dad had bought a new car. Having been looking for a new, smaller tow-car for the motorhome, they had settled on a Fiat 500S which turned out to be a really nice looking car, somewhat to my surprise. In other news through the night, Manchester City had drawn with Sunderland, giving Liverpool another boost in the chase for the league title, whilst Gareth Bale had scored a wonder goal in the final of the Copa del Rey to give Real Madrid the first trophy of the season, at the expense of Barcelona. Seriously, if you haven't seen the goal yet, go and find it on YouTube - it's immense. Apparently, he was clocked at a top-speed faster than Usain Bolt managed in his 100m world record run. Stunning. Later in the afternoon, I met up with Jessica, Alex (from Glasgow) and Sam to go for a drink after they had all handed in their take home exam for a class. We went to Freda's and had a couple of drinks before everyone headed home; meanwhile, I went to get some food before the Iglu FIFA Tournament later that night. It was also Ghazi's birthday, so the plan was to play FIFA, pre-drink and then head out in the city for the night.

Ghazi receiving his birthday cake, before the madness ensued.

It's fair to say that FIFA was very mixed for me personally: I beat a guy by two goals to nil, who plays competitively for money, but also managed to lose one-nil against Jack. I think he managed one shot on goal, after a long clearance which my goalkeeper completely screwed up and he subsequently rolled the ball into an empty net. Needless to say, he was rather smug and pleased with himself. I was far from impressed. After that shambles, we all had a few beers and then headed for the Scary Canary. Unfortunately, Ghazi and Steph had enjoyed a considerable amount of alcohol by this point and we were promptly refused entry. We quickly formed a back-up plan and made the short journey to Star Bar, where once again Ghazi was refused entry. Eventually, we managed to gather everyone together and headed home, via McDonalds of course and chilled downstairs for a while - most of us almost entirely sober, whilst Ghazi and Steph passed out on the couch together. We did manage to gather an impressive amount of selfies once again though...

I awoke feeling fresh on Friday morning after our relatively early night and I was amused to hear via Facebook that Ghazi was suffering a bit! Haha! The morning was spent chilling out and catching up on some washing which needed done; I also got round to wrapping Jessica's present for the next day. In the afternoon, I went to play football in Victoria Park, meanwhile Jessica was off doing the Harbour Bridge Climb and we planned to meet afterwards; I was joining her to head down to Como for the night and start her birthday celebrations. We caught the train from Central and flicked through the brilliant photographs she'd had taken at dusk on the top of the bridge - absolutely superb! When we arrived at Como, we took on the uphill battle from the station to arrive at her Auntie's house with burning legs. It was the first time I had been down to Como and it was already dark, so I didn't manage to see much of it that night, though I was to receive a quick tour the next day. After dinner, we watched the Avengers movie and just about managed to stay awake until midnight to see in Jessica's birthday.

On Saturday morning, Jessica got up early to FaceTime her family back home before opening her cards and presents. I'm happy to report she was pleased with her gifts from myself, which is always a relief! We kicked off the day with some champagne and lazed around for a while before walking down to the local Thai restaurant near the waterfront to have lunch.

The best way to start any 21st birthday.

The waterfront at Como - definitely one of the nicest suburbs of Sydney which I have visited so far.

After lunch and a walk around some of Como, the afternoon was spent relaxing. Later on, we caught the train back into the city, got changed and ready to go out for dinner. We went to the 360 restaurant in the Westfield Tower, which is the tallest building in the city and the restaurant is located in a large, circular room with floor to ceiling windows. As it turned out, the restaurant actually slowly rotated to give you a view of all the different parts of the city - truly a 360 experience! Amazing!

Excuse my scary reflection in this picture, it was really difficult to get a good photo because of the glass and the lights. Unfortunately, the photographs don't do it justice.

The chocolate brownie birthday dessert was only barely able to be finished.

Once dinner was finished, we headed to a couple of bars for a few drinks and ended up in StarBar; we vacated the dance floor around 2am and dragged our weary selves home. The next day was Easter Sunday, so after breakfast we boiled eggs and rolled them down a hill in Victoria Park like mature adults. Has to be said, it was fun and a great laugh!

Decorating my egg - "On the 7th day, God created Man Utd" seemed appropriate.

However, my work was vandalised - "Liverpool will win the league!" Highly unimpressed.

The results off the egg rolling. I'm pretty sure I won, though does anyone actually know the rules?

We headed back to the flat and Jessica went off to catch her train back to Como, whilst I started making dinner for myself. The evening meant that it was time for the Easter "Super Sunday" football marathon to begin. There was a decent collection of us who started off watching Norwich v Liverpool, which was unfortunately won 3-2 by Liverpool, however by the end of the Hull v Arsenal game, far fewer remained. Even later, by the time Man Utd were due to kick off, it was only Alex and I left and he left for bed soon after. Having stayed up and sat through over three hours of football already, I was really looking forward to the United game. It was the first time that David Moyes would be returning to face his old club at their stadium and I was hopeful that we would turn in a good performance. In reality, we were a shambles yet again and went in at half time facing a two goal deficit. I'd had enough and feeling shattered, decided it was time for bed. I awoke on Monday morning, pleased to find that the result hadn't gotten any worse, but we still couldn't make any significant impact on the match. Everton had made us look amateur; it was easy for them. Maybe this job is too big for Moyes, I finally questioned for the first time. Never before had I given up on my team and not watched the end of a match, never mind turned it off at half time.

After checking out the score, I dragged myself out of bed, got a shower and gathered up my football gear. The Soccer Society had a game in the afternoon against the Soccer Society at UNSW. We had been asked to meet at 10am in Victoria Park to work on some tactical stuff as well as set pieces, before heading across to the pitch together. Our preparation work was pretty good, but it was really hot and I felt like we might suffer from heavy legs by the time the game kicked off, having been out in the sun all morning. Personally, I would have chosen to be chilling out at home, but of course, you can't argue with the boss! We got some lunch together and then went to catch the bus out towards Daceyville, where the match was taking place. After a brief warm up, we lined-up and the game kicked off. The sun was properly beating down on us and it was really hot; we started quite well though and won an early penalty which was weak and missed. Shortly after, we conceded the first goal, followed by another two before we pulled one back after a nice assist by myself. In the end, we were well beaten and I didn't feel like I played particularly well - I missed two or three decent chances and though they weren't clear-cut or sitters by any means, I would usually have expected to score them. Poor day at the office.

Some of the lads getting warmed up.

Shaking hands before kick off.

One of those chances which I had. Just after this photo was taken, I stretched to get a shot away which the keeper saved with his face. I really thought I had managed to sneak the ball over him and get a goal, but it wasn't to be.

After the game, I headed home and relaxed for a while, before having dinner. We were planning another "pot luck" in the flat, where everyone cooks one dish and we have a buffet-style meal, though with a few other fancy dishes already being offered up by Lian and Lin, I only had to contribute a big bowl of oven chips and we still didn't get close to finishing everything. Shortly after finishing our dinner, I headed to my room to chill for a while, though my eyes were heavy and I was soon snoozing. I drifted in and out of sleep for a while, before waking and checking my phone to see that it was 4am - I was still fully dressed and all the lights were on. I must have needed it. I got changed and climbed into bed properly and slept through until 11am, which meant almost twelve whole hours of sleep.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up to some lovely photos of my sparkling, clean car back home, washed courtesy of Mum. It was much appreciated and it looks like she did a job worthy of my usual standards, which is just as well, otherwise she would have had to do it again! I'm only joking. Actually, I'm probably not joking. In other news, it seemed that there had been some serious developments with respect to David Moyes' position at United, since most of the major UK newspapers had broken the story that he was set to be sacked around the same time. It clearly pointed towards a press briefing by the club and before long the rumours were everywhere. I spent the majority of the morning reading RedCafe for the latest news and reactions, although nothing was official yet. I did also find time to make an apple crumble - I had a pile of apples which were going soft, didn't want to throw them out and apple crumble is by far one of my favourite desserts, so it seemed like the best plan. Even though I do say so myself, it was fantastic and it got rave reviews from everyone who tried it. It lasted less than twelve hours once it was out the oven too, which speaks volumes I think!

Later that night, Jessica and I were going to see Kevin Bridges at the Enmore Theatre in Newtown; she arrived at my flat around 5.30pm so we could go and get dinner before the show started. Quite literally minutes before we were going to leave, the news flashed up online: Moyes had been sacked. I have to say, as poor as we have been this season, it was still a surprise for him to have been sacked at this stage and at this point of the season. Time will tell whether it was a wise move, I guess, but for the moment most fans seem to be feeling much better about the future.

Anyway, we caught a train from Central to Newtown and made our way towards the theatre, stopping by at a small restaurant for a pizza. After queuing outside the venue, we eventually made our way inside and found our designated seats; it was very surreal to be surrounded by Scottish people and hear Scottish accents everywhere. I think it makes you realise just how big a place Sydney is when you see just how many Scottish people had come out to see Kevin Bridges - and he had a second show later that night at 9.30pm! Needless to say, the show was absolutely awesome and time raced by as he had the audience in stitches time and time again. I had heard a few of his jokes before from his last DVD, but the majority of his stuff was new material and it was really excellent!

I managed to sneak a cheeky photo of him, but it's really blurry! Take my word for it, that really is him!

Yesterday, Jessica and caught a bus north, around an hour or so out of Sydney to Palm Beach, where Home and Away is filmed. Incredibly enough, on the bus journey there, we met Camille - a friend of ours from France, who just happened to also be going to Palm Beach on that day! What are the chances?! Once we arrived at the beach, we took some photographs and gazed at the amazing houses on the hillside. We decided to walk up the cliffs to the lighthouse where we had some lunch, before descending again and spending the rest of the day on the beach, taking an opportunity to top up our tans once again! It was another scorching day and the scenery was spectacular.

Palm Beach, where parts of Home and Away are filmed.

Looking out to Summer Bay from Palm Beach.

Looking back from the cliffs and the lighthouse, with Palm Beach on the left.

Here is me at the top of the cliffs.

A couple of dedicated surfers still waiting for a wave, even as the sun began to set.

I was getting a bit chilly myself by the late afternoon, so wrapped up in my towel. 

We jumped on the bus back home, Jessica caught the train back to Como and I had an early night again. Absolutely shattered from our day trip to the northern beaches.

This morning, I had a long lie, after which I got out of bed and tidied up around the flat, then started writing this blog post. My plan for the afternoon is to get my bag packed and ready to leave for Canberra tomorrow morning; there is a group of us from Iglu heading down on the bus to stay with Chloe for the weekend. It should be good to see another new place and it'll be another thing ticked off the Australian to-do list as well. It's ANZAC Day tomorrow, when Australian and New Zealand military losses are remembered across the country and Kate and Wills are due to be in Canberra at the same time as us, so it should be a busy and exciting day! My next post should be full of photos and some interesting stories hopefully!

Until then,
Jamie

Luna Park and Long Bay Prison Visit

Once again, it has been longer than I anticipated or intended since my last blog post and I'm really, seriously hoping that they will start to come more regularly again soon.

Anyway, I left off from Thursday, 27th March after my Apple interview and the following day I heard back that the interview had been successful. I was to return for a second interview on Wednesday, 2nd April at the Apple store in the shopping centre at Broadway. Since it is the closest Apple store to my flat, less than ten minutes walk away, I was particularly pleased and hoped that I was on my way to securing a job there. After a chilled morning, I played football on Friday afternoon before returning home, making dinner and spending the remainder of the evening playing FIFA. Beating Jack never gets boring, especially when he flips out and goes on a rampage - excellent entertainment.

On Saturday, I had another quiet morning after a long lie, with no plans until later in the day. Jessica and I had planned to go for dinner before heading across the Harbour Bridge to finally visit the Luna Park fairground. It was the last weekend of off-peak prices, so we took advantage of a buy one get one free offer on tickets and caught the train over the bridge around 6pm, after dinner at Coco Cubano at Central. Whilst it is safe to say that we were certainly amongst the older visitors, Luna Park was really excellent fun and it was a lot better than I had imagined. The tower drop in particular was the cause of a few swear words as we plummeted towards the concrete at a blistering pace.

The entrance to Luna Park, which does look somewhat creepy in this photo!

It happened to be the night of Earth Hour when we were at Luna Park, which meant that the majority of the lights were turned off for an hour. We had the good fortune of being on the ferris wheel when the lights on the Harbour Bridge were turned back on, which was amazing!

The standard fairground candy floss was a personal highlight.

We headed home via the brilliant ice cream shop at the back of Central, where the shop assistants insist on having you try several flavours before committing to choosing one. Can't complain. Later on, I watched the United game which we won in some style, beating Aston Villa by four goals to one, including Juan Mata's first for the club. I was shattered by the end of the game and was glad to finally get off to sleep. On Sunday it was Mother's Day and Mum was very pleased to have received a lovely bunch of flowers, a card and a book which she wanted, from Kerry and myself. Meanwhile, I had to crack on with a presentation paper which was due for my Criminology class on Tuesday, so the majority of my day was spent writing it.

It was back to class on Monday morning, starting with Intellectual Property in the morning and then Private International Law in the afternoon. After class, I headed straight home to continue working on my Criminology essay, which had already taken up more time than I intended, even though it was only 1200 words long. It's funny how it is sometimes more difficult to write short essays rather than longer ones, since you need to be so much more concise in the points which you make. I did manage to get it finished however and on Tuesday morning it was handed in during class; the day dragged by as I was so excited for the football later that night. It was the first leg of the Champions League quarter finals and United were entertaining Bayern Munich - widely considered the best team in the world at the moment - at Old Trafford. After dinner, I got an early night and before I knew it, my alarm was going off, I was up and wide awake and ready for kick off. We actually managed to take the lead early in the second half, before Bayern equalised and the game ended in a 1-1 draw, which was a reasonable result, I thought.

The next morning, I had my IP class in the morning before heading home to get changed for my second Apple interview in the afternoon. After a quick lunch and a short walk back to Broadway, I found myself in a small group interview; there were four of us and the person responsible for all of the staff in the Broadway store. It went quite well I felt and we were informed that we would be hearing back sometime soon. Afterwards, I caught up with Jessica and we headed out for some food before going to see the new 'Need for Speed' film starring Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad. It was essentially just a Fast and the Furious film under a different name but it was entertaining and there were some really great cars in it, which is the main thing! Thursday meant another day of classes, though it also meant the start of the weekend for me, which was very welcome. I began my weekend with some chores which needed to be completed: I emailed a couple of my lecturers regarding my research essay proposals, checked the arrangements for the Private International Law exam the following week and secured my transport to and from Long Bay prison for our visit. Later in the afternoon, I played football in Victoria Park - there was a familiar feeling of home since the game endured a handful of rain showers, beneath grey skies.

I also heard on Friday that I had been invited to another Apple interview. I considered that as a cause for some celebration, considering the third stage of this process to surely mean I was close to securing a job, so I was easily convinced into joining a group from Iglu who were heading out into the city for the night. We began with a few drinks in our building, before heading to Freda's for a beer, followed by the Palace Hotel and finally ending up in Star Bar. We caught a taxi home around 2am, which was rather interesting as the the driver stuck U2 on the radio and cranked up the volume. We caught a hilarious video of us all singing along to 'Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' in which the taxi driver took lead vocals. That footage shall remain private, though Jack is very keen for it to go on Instagram! We stopped by McDonalds and headed home.

The typical result of a night out: heaps of selfies.

Group photo in Freda's. They only have one beer on tap, which just happens to be the most fantastic ale, though I have no idea what it's called or where it's from.

Alex and Jack enjoying a Guinness in the Palace Hotel.

Needless to say, I was suffering somewhat when I woke up on Saturday morning. It seemed that the McDonalds before bed had done little to scare off the hangover and most of the early part of the day was spent in bed, only surfacing for some food before scurrying back to the comfort of my duvet. Eventually, I dragged myself out of bed and headed into uni in order to scan in the hand signed documents which were required for my Apple background check, including Right to Work forms and Australian Police Check documents. It all seemed a bit serious and over the top for a simple part-time retail job, but I didn't complain and made sure everything was completed exactly as required. Jessica was in the library completing some essays which she had for her own classes, so we headed back to mines together and ordered a couple of pizzas from Dominos. Later on, I tried my best to stay awake for the United game away to Newcastle, though I kept drifting off to sleep and only caught two of the four goals which we scored. The next morning it was rainy, grey and miserable, so Jessica and I went bowling; I'm not overly enthused by bowling at the best of times, but losing to Jessica really did compound my views. It's unlikely I'll be back in a hurry, though she seems to have found a new favourite hobby. Unimpressed.

The scene of my humiliation at the bowling alley.

After bowling, we went to Hurricane's grill for dinner, where I had a half rack of ribs - yes, that's only a half rack! It completely made up for the disaster which was bowling and I was completely stuffed, unable to finish the mountain of meat and chips which were piled on my plate.

On Monday, it was back to uni for the final week of classes before mid-semester break. After class, I rushed home and got some studying done for my Private International Law exam, so that I could watch the first episode of the new season of Game of Thrones later that night. As expected, the new season started with a brilliant episode and it totally whetted my appetite for the next one; this is the first time I've been up to speed with Game of Thrones, so I'm really struggling with the anticipation of waiting on a new episode each week! It was a similar routine on Tuesday, after a day of classes I returned home to study for the night in preparation for the exam on Wednesday. On Wednesday morning before class, I had my next interview in the Apple store at Broadway, which went very well and I was informed that I would definitely be endorsed for the next stage. I was seriously beginning to question just how long the process was considering that I was only seeking a part-time position in a retail store. Regardless, I was happy that it had went well once again and I would be hearing back soon once more. Afterwards, I returned to uni for my IP class before having lunch and then heading off for my PIL exam. The exam itself went quite well, I think; the question was favourable and reasonably straightforward, so we shall see how it goes.

Once again, I got an early night after dinner since I was getting up particularly early for the return leg of the Champions League quarter final in Munich. After a tense first half ended with the scores even at 0-0 still, our prospects of going through took a huge boost when Patrice Evra banged in a career goal to give United an away goal, as well as the lead on the night and on aggregate. My joy was short-lived though, when Bayern equalised almost immediately and then scored a second goal not long after. When they scored a third goal with around 20 minutes remaining, the match and the tie was all but finished and the game died out without further incident. We were out and our season was effectively over in April. What a difference one year can make.

I caught another hour of sleep and then it was time to surface again, since I needed to be in uni early to catch a lift to the prison visit. It is a compulsory part of the Criminology course which I am studying this semester that each student attends one of the local prison visits; on Thursday morning a group of around 7 of us were going to visit Long Bay prison, in the Eastern Suburbs. The prison is a large complex, containing several different individual prisons, ranging from minimum security to maximum security, as well as a women's prison, a witness protection centre which also houses high profile convicts and a high security hospital for mental patients. After having our identification checked and signing in, we were escorted by a prison warden to a classroom, where she detailed the procedures and itinerary of our visit. I felt that she was somewhat sensational in the things which she told us and whilst I was aware of the potential for danger in such a place, I wasn't convinced that her dramatising of the place was helpful or particualrly accurate. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed any phones or cameras inside the prison, so I don't have any photographs to show off, but I'll do my best to describe the experience.

We began by walking around a block of the prison which is minimal security and houses a voluntary rehabilitation program for sex offenders. I found it rather uncomfortable to walk around and was slightly concerned to hear the process which these offenders go through: essentially they volunteer themselves into this program, without which they cannot be released. At the end of the process, their case is returned to the court, where it is reviewed and the subject of their release is decided - if they are considered not to be ready for release, then they are returned to the prison for a period of up to five years. This cycle can be repeated indefinitely. I understand that where sexual offences are concerned, there is a highly emotive thirst for strong justice, but where do we draw the line and say that you've done the time for the crime? It's a really difficult issue and clearly raises a plethora of different arguments and conflicting ideas. Afterwards, we were shown around the industries section of the prison, where minimal security convicts work on various manufacturing process, as well as an in-house bakery which bakes all of the bread, pastries, cakes and any other food which is consumed by the prisoners. We were also given the opportunity to sample some chocolate cookies which were magic! The prisoners earn only a few dollars for their work, which includes 5am starts and 6-day weeks and allows them to learn new skills and potentially even a trade - certainly one of the more positive aspects of the prison, I thought.

The latter half of our visit was spent in the maximum security section of the prison, which was much more like the conventional sense of a prison which I had gathered from films and TV shows. There was a large yard where the prisoners were sat around on park benches, whilst some lifted weights on the gym equipment. Our presence outside the yard caused quite a stir, completely different to the rather relaxed environment we had experienced earlier in the day, in the minimal security section. We were shown where prisoners are now able to conduct video calls for court, rather than having the added cost and risk of physically transporting them in vans or trucks. That brought an end to our prison visit, with much to think about and consider and plenty of issues to discuss and debate when we return to class after the mid-semester break.

On Friday, I had a long lie in the morning and a chilled day, spending the night playing FIFA with the lads. At home, Mum and Dad were off to Oban for the weekend in the motorhome, whilst Kerry was up in Aviemore with Blair. Some people were heading out for the night but I stayed in and had a quiet night for the first weekend in a while. The next morning I had another long lie before catching up with Jessica in the afternoon; we were going out for dinner that night with some of her family, which had been arranged by her auntie. In the evening, we caught a taxi to the Norfolk Hotel to meet up with everyone, before crossing the street to Porteno, the restaurant in Surry Hills. We enjoyed a banquet-style meal, where we tried a range of tapas style starters and main dishes, as well as some excellent wine. The whole meal was really great, everyone was stuffed and there was considerable food left over, which some people took home! Jessica opened some of her presents and received some beautiful gifts and cards.

Sunday was spent relaxing, before watching the Liverpool v Man City game at night, which Liverpool won to take them a step closer to the title. I seriously hope they don't win it; I couldn't handle Steven Gerrard lifting the trophy. Monday was the first day of the mid-semester break, which meant a long lie in the morning before having breakfast and getting shower, then I played football in the afternoon. It rained again and we were cut short by fading light since it's now approaching winter here once again. Once I returned home, I got showered, had dinner and watched the second episode of the new season of Game of Thrones and spent the rest of the night playing FIFA.

Today, I had my final Apple interview, where I was informed that they would be happy to offer me a position and that they were really pleased with my interviews and CV, except I just wasn't going to be in Australia long enough for it to be worthwhile. I understood that, though questioned why they had invited me along to multiple interviews when my visa expiry date was on the CV which I submitted some months ago. I met Jessica for lunch before heading home and I'm now sitting wrapped up in my bed duvet writing the remainder of this blog post, listening to Dexters - well worth checking them out, if you appreciate guitar music along the lines of Arctic Monkeys or the Strokes. It's raining here again today and it's currently a chilly 17 degrees celsius; you could say it's baltic. I have no idea how I shall cope upon returning to Scotland.

I'm going to cook dinner now and see what the plans are for the rest of the evening. My next post will be soon I hope!

Until next time,
Jamie