Tung and I went to watch Transformers on Thursday night at Parramatta with the "guys" and I know Tung agrees with me that the movie WAS SO AWESOME! Not going to include any spoilers, but to any person interested in robots/cool graphics/3D animation or is a little bit of a geek at heart (if not a lot), then this is definitely something to watch! Barely a minute where the movie is not action packed, and barely a scene/scenario where something challenges the protagonists. Very awesome movie, been a while since I watched a good movie. 10/10!
Since we're on the topic of 3D animation and all stuff geeky - I've started FFX for PS2 the other day since David lent me his PS2. I so need to get a tv tuner and hook it up to my computer, the damn TV is killing my eyes, it's all fuzzy and very hard to see. I quite like the concept of no levels, but leveling your s.lvls and gaining skills and stats that way, it was confusing at first, but definitely very fun later on. I hate blitzball, I don't get it, someone explain it to me. I hope it's not necessary, cause I don't get it and I don't want to play it anymore.
I am a little disappointed at the lack of cool FMVs, after FF8 and FF9, the graphics of FFX was meant to be so much better, and so I expected a lot more cool FMVs and if sparce, at least longer ones. And the lack of save spots! Took me probably 16 hours of game play before I found a decent spot to do some training near a save spot and inn.
On the other hand, FFX has a very nice character development and story going on, which is keeping me on playing, Rikku turned out to be a lot less annoying that what I had previously experienced, and Yuna needs to toughen up a bit. I think I prefered Rinoa's fiesty attitude better in FF8. ___________
Hooters...makes you happy. In a non-perverted way. Seriously.
Raye: Tung and I went to Hooters last Friday in Parramatta for Simon's 20th birthday, and I guess this will be our very first official food review blog post. As a lot of people, especially those who blog, love food, and going out to eat, we thought it would be nice to give our 2 cents.
Restaurant:Hooters Type: Family restaurant. Ribs, steaks, stuff like that. Location: 132 James Ruse Drv, Parramatta NSW 2150 Phone: (02) 9633 5160
First image: 20 Hooters Chicken Wings. $18.50 Second image: Hooters Sirloin Steak with curly fries + salad. $25.90 Third image: Nachos Grande. $16.50
Raye: I ordered the 400gm T-bone Steak (medium rare) with curly fries and salad. $27.50 The steak had its own steak sauce and tasted very nice. The steak was cooked very well, and medium rare was just right, it was very tender, but still did not beat the best steak I had at Lonestar. However, the steak is probably a 8/10. The curly fries were alright, they were interesting to look at, not very practical to eat, and I prefer my chips a little fatter. 7/10. The salad was crap, either the rocket sucked, or I just don't like rocket, but the salad had a lot of damn rocket, and it was crap. 4/10. Overall meal: Very filling, T-bones are usually hard to get all the meat off the bone. Salad kind of ruined the meal. Price is pretty typical, expensive, but good quality steak (I think Lonestar equivalent is better, and slightly less expensive). Overall rating: 7/10.
Tung: The "Nearly World Famous"Chicken Wings ($18.50 for 20 pieces) were ordered for our starters and arrived promptly, followed by a few moments of silent awe. For a split second, we wondered how we could've ordered something that looked like it belonged on the "food to turn you into a fat-ass so quickly that your house foundations won't cope" list, but the allure of the glistening mountain of golden "goodness" was too hard to resist. The wings were battered in a more "grainy" or crumby batter than say, KFC, but had a much nicer seasoning (we ordered, "mild", which was only slightly spicy). Every bite was a month taken off my life expectancy, but damn it was worth it. For what they are (a slightly naughty appetiser to be shared), the wings did well and after all, who goes to Hooters if they aren't prepared for some high-calorie indulgence? 8/10 After much thinking I decided to order the Chargrilled BBQ Ribs($26.90). Described in the menu as "Rack of fall-off-the-bone pork ribs marinated in Hooters BBQ sauce. Comes with golden curly fries, fresh green salad and a bib!". While the meat wasn't exactly "fall-off-the-bone" mush, it was fairly tender and didn't take much work to get off the bone, allowing maximum enjoyment without making you look like a savage . The marinade used had a nice, balanced flavour, not overly sweet like others. The aptly named curly fries were quite nice and the accompanying salad was... a salad. Random kinds of lettuce, some tomato, cucumber, onion and vinaigrette dressing - nothing to write home about but did a good job of cutting through the grease. Overall rating: 9/10.
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Setting/Atmosphere:
Raye: We arrived at about 6pm and there were only a few other patrons there. It got busier around 7:30-8pm, and was basically packed by 9pm. The place was nicely decorated, with some colourful lights around the place, and had the wooden building look and feel. We sat at a comfortable and cosy booth, and the place was heated just right. The only disappointment was probably the fact that they served the food on big cheap white plastic plates. I had a bit of trouble cutting my steak and my plate was moving around all over the place. After going to Ribs and Rumps in Gordon, where you get a huge chopping board with your food on it, I guess the standards are set pretty high for everywhere else, and Hooters did not even come close.
But apart from that, it was over all pretty good. A lot of crazy party people who eat here (we wonder why), but still lots of families with children, so the place wasn't too rowdy. Overall rating: 8/10.
Tung: We arrived at about 6 to find a only a handful of people already dining. However by about 8 or 9, the place was swarming. Decor was exactly as I imagined. They mixed the "American West" theme (think Lone Star) with Sports. Random sports memorabilia on the walls and television screens, LOTS of them. No matter where I looked, I had at least 3 screens in my field of view. The Hooters chain was originally intended to be "Sports Bars" and that ideology has continued in it's Australian restaurants (but instead of sports, we watched bits of Stuart Little 2. Seems they skimped on the Foxtel and chose to show free-to-air TV instead). Booth seating was perfect for our group of 5 and provided comfort and slightly more privacy. Overall, more fun than classy. 8/10
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Service/Entertainment
Raye: Service being... the waiting/order taking, not that kind of service. The waitresses were really nice, well ours was, there were a few that looked a bit bitchy. She wasn't too naggy when it came to making us order, and we did take our time. After orders, the food didn't take too long to come out (unlike BlackStump, don't ever go there, ever), the chicken wings came out first as they were ordered as an entree, and the food came out pretty quickly, around 10 minutes later, but the waitress asked us before they brought the food out, which was nice.
We were there for almost 4 hours and as some other steak houses (ie Lonestar) makes their waiters do country dances, we got 3 dance shows throughout the night. Each dance was about 3 to 5 songs (but only short parts of each songs, so maybe 3-5 minutes of entertaining). The last dance they do in each session, they do it on the tables and the seats, yes, whoever the lucky men out there who get front row seats, will see these hot ladies shake their booties in your face.
It was Simon's birthday, and we bought him a cake beforehand, and the girls brought it out and sang to Simon. I give the singing 6/10 as the girls showed no enthusiasm (these were the bitchy ones), and walked off immediately. But overall, the entertainment deserved a 9/10.
Tung: Upon arrival, we were quickly greeted and seated by a MAN. He didn't even have a Hooters T-shirt on and no, he didn't have boobs either. Let's assume he was the manager. Anyhow, since we had brought a cake for m'very'good friend Simon, I asked the "manager" if he could look after the cake for us. I took the plunge and trusted that this man was not some bum off the street and that he wouldn't steal our cake to share with his hobo friends around a campfire.
Our waitress (who we shall call Emily Blunt, because she looks just like her) was friendly and talkative. As mentioned, she was quite courteous and didn't overflow with "bimbo-ness". Our dishes didn't take too long to arrive and when it came to cake time, the waitress found a few candles for us (we didn't bring any) and delivered it to our table with a trio of singing girls. The singers didn't seem very enthusiastic and basically disappeared after the final words of the song. Perhaps they were needed elsewhere.
The only hiccup we had was when Emily Blunt forgot to bring us some plates and cutlery to serve our cake. The five of us sat there with this small log cake sitting in the middle of a bare table, alone except for some sauce bottles and salt and pepper shakers. "Shit", she whispered to herself, "...sorry darl, just let me get them for you" she replied when I brought it to her attention. No biggie.
There were a few other people who had birthdays that night as well and the waitresses asked all the birthday people to come to the centre of the restaurant for a special "presentation". They made each person stand on a chair and with the aid of a microphone, each person introduced themselves and stated the age they were turning. Cheers were followed by some butt-shaking dances where each birthday boy/girl had to spell their name by writing each letter with their butt while still standing on the chair. Nothing like some slightly humiliating fun to make a birthday complete, I say.
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Conclusion/Overall:
Raye: The restaurant had pretty good food, probably the best entertainment apart from live bands or similar, and the waitresses were pretty hot. The prices were pretty expected for a steak house like restaurant, no bargains there, but not too much of a rip off either. Definitely will consider coming back, maybe for some group party. Overall rating: 8/10.
Tung: Food was good for the price (around $15-25 for mains) and the service was generally efficient and friendly. I won't comment on the girls (for fear of retribution by someone) but the place is perfect for a light-hearted (but high fat) meal with "the boys". Quite well suited to birthdays, Hooters did a great job for Simon's 20th and as a result, I'm pretty sure he'd agree with me when I say "Hooters, makes you happy". Overall rating: 8/10
Let's all stand in silence for a minute for the brave man who got shot and died in Melbourne for trying to help a woman who was being harassed by a man. (Read here if you don't know what I'm on about).
I was reading mX (my trusty source of "accurate" information) about this shooting, and mX reckons it was the worst shooting in the last 5 years in Australia. Compared to the Virginia Tech in the US, where there were "at least 33 dead", I guess US needs to rethink their gun rule a little more seriously.
Yes, arguably, Australia has had its own really bad shootings with the mass shootings of 35 people by Martin Bryant, before "better" gun laws were put into place.
I was talking to mum about this yesterday, and I guess it's sad, but she's right when she says that American government would never change the laws on guns as it would just anger the entire gun industry, and make some big money players very angry. And there are just too many people out there who support having guns. I guess that means, no living in America for me for sure now.
The long battle over the last two months has been very tiresome, lots of scares here and there, and quite the intense battle... but it has finally come to an end. A sad end indeed. One that I thought I'd come out the winner and be all proud that I won the long fight, but no... I have finally lost the battle to sickness.
I think I probably got it off someone or something (I'm thinking gym, or even possibly Tung -eyes Nam-), as I don't think it was because I was cold or anything. It hit me bad on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I was basically this blob in my room that is infectious, breathing virus, of a thing. Blocked nose, sore throat, the whole package.
There's one thing I can never figure out, what's the difference between a cold, a flu a fever, and a virus? Can you have more than one at the same time?
Smell that, Marv? Y'know what that is?....It's Freedom.
Guess what ladies and gents....
My semester is over. No more lectures or assessments. My last exam for the semester was this morning and I'm now feeling a strangely euphoric vibe. Not quite pure euphoria though, because some of the exams were quite gruelling, however I'm glad they're over and look forward to some more relaxing over the next few weeks. Had a nice celebration lunch today too!
So yeah, no more exams. After our last exam today, my uni "crew" went to celebrate (despite the torrential rain) with some Korean BBQ. We went to a place called "Charcoal Mine BBQ House" in North Parramatta. $18 for buffet BBQ lunch. You basically choose any meats (and as much as you like) from their varied range and cook it yourself at your own BBQ built into your table. I've dined at similar establishments before, but I was quite impressed today. They used REAL charcoal to power the BBQ rather than gas and considering the nice flavours of most of the meat, $18 wasn't too much to ask. Novelty + Nice food = Happy Friends.
In other news, starting on Tuesday, I'm back at NorthWest Radiology in Castle Hill on clinical placement. I did 3 weeks there earlier this year and generally enjoyed it there. Nice colleagues, reasonably good equipment and a location that is super-close to Castle Towers shopping centre. It's supposed to be a huge shopping centre, but I wouldn't know, I've only explored one level of it. There are another TWO levels I've never set foot on. I should stay back on a thursday and have my own shopping adventure... -Raye get's jealous-
There seems to be a stereotypical view that office workers have relaxing jobs in a nice environment, and that if you work in the City, it's prestigious, or some bull like that. Let me tell you, it's neither relaxing, nor is it fun, nor is it prestigious in anyway.
There are a few key factors that make working in the City really really crap: Factor 1: Just because a lot of people who work in the city wear nice neat business suits and outfits, does not mean everyone does, and those who don't, get looked down on a little. And those who do are usually all grumpy snobs who push their way around because they think being in a suit makes them better than me. Factor 2: Have you tried walking around the City in peak hours? Hell I tell you! Don't even make mention the public transport coughCityRailcough. You basically have to cram yourself into the damn trains (or buses) like sardines and sometimes you don't even get a chance of getting on (because the trains are always late, and by the time they come the station would be overloaded with people they don't fit on the lousy 6 carriage train they pulled in). Factor 3: The sole reason I'll die young: smokers. Everyday I must push myself, gasping for air through the clouds of smoke everywhere I turn. I don't care if you smokers want to kill yourself, but please, don't kill me in the process too. Factor 4: This is really the same as factor 3, but heck it needs reiterating - CityRail. Oh the wonders of late trains, and cancelled trains and trains that get stuck on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, two days before its 75th birthday. Now to put myself into perspective, I don't actually work in the City, I work in St Leonards, which is over the bridge. This sucks on many degrees - more expensive tickets, longer trips meaning less sleep in time, longer trips back, meaning busier trains, and the one I hate above all: once the trains screw up, you're screwed.
I took those photos shown above, of the number of people waiting for a bus (that does not exist) at St Leonards after the trains broke down on the bridge. I got to the station around 6:30pm or so, and started to wait for a bus since the trains had an undetermined amount of time to be fixed. There were no buses for about an hour, taxis were being called, people were fighting over taxis, and the buses just didn't come as every single one being sent out got filled up at North Sydney (how pathetic is that, so they didn't think to send a few out to St Leonards first?). I'll give them some credit, they eventually did, around 8pm or something, by then, the bus was filled up in about 1 minute. So after giving up completely, I found a few strangers to share a taxi back over the stupid bridge to Town Hall where trains were functioning properly.
So I hope that clears up some things about working in the City (or over the bridge), it's not all that fabulous and fancy and fantastic and fun - it sucks.
I woke up this morning to one of those really really loud, big, floor moving, Earth trembling, house shaking, (you get the point) bolt of thunder/lightning. Despite the sound being quite scary since it was so sudden and loud, the sounds of rain to follow was one of calming feelings that I can sleep in forever and snuggle up (preferably to someone and not myself).. until my alarm went off.
Yay, there's a lightning storm outside, buckets of water is being poured over my house and on the roads, and I have to get out of bed to go to work. But my bed was so nice and warm! And the day was so dark I just wanted to stay a little bit longer... Just a little.
So here I am, blogging at work - tired, sleepy, and craving the warmth of my bed. _________
I went to a sale the past Saturday (2nd June) at Town Hall some SUPER BIG MASSIVE WAREHOUSE sale for brands like CK, G Star, Levis, Mossimo, Wrangler, and some other jeans and urban wear brands. I was quite excited as most females get when they see SUPER BIG MASSIVE WAREHOUSE sales.
I was a little disappointed that the huge sale items turn out to be pretty crappy stuff, like real ugly jeans in super sizes, or super tiny sizes (as massive warehouse sales usually are like), and the ones nice were a pair of Wranglers and G-Star jeans. I did learn however, that G-Star Raw jeans are RIDICULOUSLY priced, much to my disappointment (uh AUD$230 AFTER 50% off anyone?).
The other pair I had tried on and liked was a pair of black straight leg Wranglers that I thought would go nicely with my boots. $49 bucks, not toooo cheap, but I guess better than $100 jeans. I was quite content with my jeans, until I got home and showed my mum my newly acquired jeans. The first thing she said to me was "they're men's jeans". Yes, I know that the size of the jeans were in inches (which is usually only for men in Australia), but everything there was in inches - including all the DEFINITE female jeans.
My mum clearly was not convinced, being the jeans professional that she is. So I checked the only sign on the jeans, stuck to the back pocket. There in plain English "comfortable men's jeans". My heart sank, then after some more close examination, they clearly were, men's jeans. The over-sized pockets (front and back), and the "roomier" crotch (which I found a little weird when trying on, but ignored as funny design), and the fly that goes all the way down to the seam.
Now - I'm here complaining (too much) about my jeans, I'm here baffled by the fact that I got confused between men's jeans and females. We know there's something wrong with men these days, when they start wearing jeans that are skin tight and have a curvy design to them. I'm not a skinny girl, and these jeans looked JUST LIKE normal girls jeans on me, apart from the fact that the back pockets go halfway down my thigh.
I'm still content about my jeans, although am a little depressed they're actually men's, but with a few small alterations no one can tell :P However, I am saddened by a world in which we live, where men and women can just interchange their clothing without noticing any significant differences.
My mum was telling me yesterday that she saw on Chinese satellite tv on some "what's hot" show (fashion, design, cars, jewellery, etc) about this "thing" that Microsoft developed where the table is a desktop, and you just touch the surface to interact. I then received a forward from Irene (work mate), to a link to a YouTube video, and it just happened to be the "thing" that mum was talking about.
After a few minutes looking around YouTube, I found this real demonstration video put together by Microsoft's crew, which shows the actual Surface in play (see below).
This seems to be the next step in computer technology, where humans can interact with a computer without the barrier of needing other peripherals, and knowing how to use the interface - this is kind of like a touchscreen that does a lot more than recognising touch.
Probably the main feature that makes this different, unique, special, and "ground breaking technology" (if you will call it that), is the direct interaction between the table/surface and other WiFi hand held devices like mobile phones, cameras, etc. Simply placing a mobile phone onto the surface, you can interact with it by dragging and dropping (literally with your fingers and hands) things like ringtones and pictures to and from the desktop to your phone.
I think this product is mainly aimed at restaurants, shops (mainly technology), coffee shops (or any other food/drink places), hotels, airports, and similar other places - basically not really something for the typical household. According to mum, this thing will cost over $10,000 (I'm assuming USD) - only the computer enthusiast will ever fish out this money for home use (or the insanely rich who has no idea what it is, but knows it's cool).
That being said, I'm sure if this product will really be that successful, it's cool and all, but it's not exactly a "no-strings-attached" item, that is perfect for use even in the field it's meant for. Yes some of the features look great, but some also seem a little impractical - to me anyway. Things like, the phone comparisons and the dragging and dropping of ringtones and other "features and packages" in a phone shop may sound great (and it is! I definitely would be hooked into buying 100 useless ringtones just to play with the interface), but this system cannot replace the face to face, pen on paper ways of sales (no shop is going to buy 10 of these surfaces to use).
Putting this in a coffee shop also doesn't seem to be that practical, yes I know it's a table, but I'm not going to like eating off it, and incase I spill my drink or drop my food, I will feel very scared that I'll ruin the screen somehow - but that's just me.
There is one feature that I don't seem to understand, in one of the videos (click here), they put down their bankcards on the table and split the bill for their order and stuff, how the hell does the table recognise cards? The magnetic strip? I wouldn't like putting my card down on a table that reads everything.. sounds so dodgey.
But overall, I am looking for the launch of this item, and so I can play with this and see it's real uses - although that probably won't be for another few years.
After reading Raye's latest entry, I've also found some questions that should give a "comprehensive" (read: light-hearted) personality breakdown of myself. If you know all of this information, you qualify as a low-level "friend".
First Name? Tung. Were you named after anyone? Nope. Gender? Male. Eye colour? Brown. When did you last cry? When I dropped my meat pie in Yr12. I still mourn sometimes now, especially when hungry. Do you like your handwriting? Absolutely not. Favourite sandwich meat? After much thinking, Chicken. Want Kids? Definitely. I will live through my children, future musicians and martial artists. If you were another person, would you be friends with your current self? Of course. Because no-one else would. Do you use sarcasm alot? *Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah….* Would you Bungie Jump? Yes. Favourite Cereal? Fuit Loops because they make the milk sweet. Untie shoelaces when taking off shoes? Never. Shoe Size? 11. Least favourite thing about yourself? I have a lazy "streak". But I’m working on it! Who do you miss the most? Raye. And my Mum. Favourite smell? Raye. First thing you notice about people you are attracted to? Raye =P Favourite Drink? Toss up between Dr Pepper and Sarsaparilla. Favourite Sport? Erm…Does Ten-Pin Bowling count? Favourite meal? A good steak. With REALLY good chips. I mean nice and crunchy on the outside while still being soft inside. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? Happy ending. I still feel nostalgic sometimes about good movies with happy endings. Summer or Winter? Summer. I can bear the heat to get more daylight hours. Hugs or Kisses? Give me both. The furthest you’ve been away from home? Which one is further from Sydney, Melbourne or the Gold Coast? When and Where were you born? 19th of August, 1986 at Westmead Hospital.
So I decided that I didn't like the blogger profile page, it was boring, and just the other week Margaret sent me one of those (back in the days) 100 page questionnaires to answer pathetic questions "about me". Since I can't think of what to say about myself, pre-made questions will push me in SOME SORT of direction.
So here is the VERY shortened version of questions about me: What is your name?: Raye Are you named after someone?: Sailor Mars (yup, I named myself after a cartoon hero. sigh) Your gender: Female Straight/Gay/Bi: Straight/Bi. Birthday: 13th April Your Family: Mum, Dad, Carol, Becky, sometimes Tung. Obsessions?: Shoes. Addictions?: Shoes. Do you speak another language?: Shanghainese and according to Tung, shoes. What are your #1 priorities in life?: Shoes. No really, family & friends, career/travel share the same level of importance.
Likes: mmorpg games, sitting in the sun in the summer, Facebook, Gwen Stefani Loves: Shoes, shopping, games, YouTube, Pink (music, hell not the colour), MJ, Hamish & Andy (podcasts <3) Dislikes: Webpages with horrible design (like what? Ask me). Websites with 1 pixel diagonal lines for a bg, or 1 pixel lines in any direction, or 1 pixel squares - oh the lines when you scroll! Hates: MySpace (with a passion). Not going to give it a plug (even though I already did). Black website with white text - OH THE LINES IN MY EYES (the only thing worse is size 8 font to go with that)
Do you... Smoke/Do drugs/Pray/Go to church?: No. Read the newspaper?: Does mX count? Sleep with stuffed animals?: Yes, they sit on my bed and take up my bed space. Talk to people even if you hate them?: Yes. Drive?: Yes. Full plates from the 27th June 2007!
Questions I stole from Tung Favourite Drink?: Hands down, V. But I've been holding myself from drinking anything but water. Favourite Sport?: Swimming & badminton Favourite meal?: Something my dad makes (see image) Scary Movies or Happy Endings?: I'm a sucker for underdog stories, or any shy girl wins the handsome prince (or similar) kind of stories. So happy endings. But the sad ones are usually the best ones, the ones that make you cry. Summer or Winter?: It's fricken cold right now, definitely Summer.
15th June 2007: So I hated those dumb questions and deleted most of them, and kept some of the simple stuff.
