To my friends:

Thanks for sticking it out with me through my little "transition" period. Your acceptance and your support means the world to me makes my journey a lot smoother, so I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You all mean the world to me and I don't know what I would do without all you guys. Consider this as a great big virtual hug over the internet.

Thank you!

Juan

Now this is why I use a mac

Photos taken from gizmodo



Long story short, the dreaded windows Blue Screen of Death - or BSoD as we geeks call it made an unwelcome appearance during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games. I think it's hilarious that despite the cost of the program reaching tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars, Microsoft still manages to stuff up.

Steve Jobs must be ROFLing his arse off.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi!

Firstly, I'm baaaaack! Yay!

Now, the Olympics are now in full swing and I usually love me some Olympic action. Thing is, I probably consider myself a bit of a bandwagon-er when it comes to sport because I don't usually watch it unless it involves national teams versing each other instead of say, leagues or clubs within the same city/state/country/continent.

I've been watching a lot of sports that usually have some Australian competing within it. Say right now as I blog, I am also watching equestrian events on TV. Yup, horsies hippety-hoppeting across my TV is not what I usually call entertaining or adrenaline-inducing. However, when an Australian is on, it automatically becomes riveting stuff. It's amazing how much bias and patriotism can blind you because automatically you think that they're the best of the bunch. Even if the Australian rider falls off, who cares - they fell off beautifully, better than the rest who suffered the same fate.

I from time to time watch the games alone in my room, which is a good thing because I tend to go a little mental whenever my team is on. Often I'd get out of bed, jump and down, curse a bit every now and then and yelp like a teenage school girl when the action begins to heat up.

I've been researching my Olympics for the past few days or so and I've learned that Australia currently sits in the top ten nations in the world when it comes to overall medals performance. I personally think that for a country with a population less than state of California USA, the amount of talent Australia produces just really amazes me. I would also extend this to things like artistic, academic and other achievements as well.

If the world and its countries were a family, Australia is like the little young brother who, as a young child sat and watched eagerly as his older siblings did their things, learning swiftly as they go along, absorbing his older siblings skills and knowledge like a sponge. Now Australia is entering his teenage years and is starting to really come to his own, doing what he's researched from the rest of the world while giving his own unique little spin to it, which gives him an edge.

Okay, enough patriotism from me...

... Oh why not - Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! OI! OI! OI!

sorry :-)

NET

I can't believe how lost I am without internet access. I didn't really realise how pre-occupied I am with the internet beforehand until our service was cut. I've realised it's sorta become habit - like, I'd all of a sudden say to myself "Oh hey, maybe I should check out Kotaku or Engadget?", both two of my favourite blogs. Then I'd realise that I don't have actually anything to view them with, which is rather upsetting. This then leads into me heading into my kitchen to find something to eat, which these days tend to be nutella (thickly) smothered on really soft bread. Saying that, I must've gained a whole lot of kilos. But it's winter over here so I don't really mind.

However, I do have internet access in the form of my iPhone however 3G reception over where I am is a little patchy so I've found only a few places in my house that I can use the phone to browse. Ironically, they're located in the couch in front of the TV and on my bed - like, two of the only places I only spend time in (except of course the kitchen).

Anyway, I'm at the local library now about 5 mins from my house using their free access. However, it is incredibly slow and I can't really go anywhere with it. So yeah, that's it for now and I've just read back what I've written and yes, it is an incredibly pointless post so sorry for making you have to read it.

A little hiatus

Hey all

I probably won't be putting up posts for just a little while. All pretty much because our internet connection at home has been cut. So basically for now I have to resort to using free internet spots (in this case, the good 'ol Apple Store) to write posts.

I will be back, don't you worry so stay put for a while and I'll be right back.

Not bored any longer

Hello all

I've actually been pretty busy as of late. Hours at work have picked up again and so I'm happy about that. It seems like my efforts there has been majorly appreciated. My boss even went so far to say something along the lines of "hang in there, I'd really like to hold on to people that deserve to be here," which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Apart from that just a few things that I have done and would like to share with you guys. I've been keeping myself entertained thoroughly so I'm pretty happy. Just a few things that have kept me occupied apart from work and the odd social event:

Videogames - Oh my gosh, I have just completed Metal Gear Solid 4 on the PS3. Let me tell you this- this game is EPIC. It is honestly one of the best games I've ever played like, ever. I had never been so glued infront of the screen in years. Everything about the game is ace - from the first-rate graphics to the amazing storyline and gameplay. Sure, the cutscenes in between may have been long but I didn't mind them one second. A must have for all those who own a PS3.

Theatre- I've never really seen a lot of theatre before but my mum got free tickets to a musical called the altar boys. You know what? I actually enjoyed it. I thought it was gonna be some all out camp event - and fair enough and some parts it was, in the end I didn't even care. It was just some really silly take on the whole evangelical christian movement type of thing so yeah, pretty entertaining it was. If the show is playing in your city, I recommend you watch it.

Music - I'm really getting into a whole lot of these great artist coming from the UK. I don't know whats happening over there but I'm liking it. People I'm digging right now include Jamie Lidell, Duffy, Mark Ronson and I'm really digging the new Coldplay album.

Movies - I haven't really seen much in terms of seeing something in the cinemas. But as per a previous blog, I've been going all out in acquiring HD-DVDs and Blu Rays at an alarming rate. And because of that I've been watching some amazing movies: Blood Diamond, Casino, Cloverfield and Ratatouille just to name a few. I think I have a new calling in life, and that's to be a movie buff.

Anyway that's all from me for now. And please congratulate me for writing this entire blog using my iPod.

Hey Look! It's me at the Apple Store

I just don't know what to do with myself

Oh Em Gee. I am so bored.

So I'm in my mid year break, all my assignment's been handed in and I haven't any exams so I can rest and take it easy. Now at the same time, there's been a bit of a rough patch at work - due to cut backs in budget, my hours at work have been curtailed, well for the while anyway and so I'm left with a LOT of time on my hands (but not a lot of money).

So I've been spending A LOT of time at home, incredibly bored.

There have been a few things that have been keeping me entertained - I've recently acquired 33 extremely cheap HD-DVDs so I've been watching some of that. I've also been playing Metal Gear Solid 4 on my PS3 which has kept me up until the wee hours of the morning. But apart from that, nada. Not only that, I've been eating so much crap and I'm pretty sure a lot of eating and not a lot of action is not very good for you.

So what am I to do? I dunno...

Any suggestions would be great, thanks.

Take it away Dusty Springfield

You know you've had a good day when...

You had a nice nights sleep and wake up all nice and fresh.

You fill up for gas and because of a mistake at the station, you end up paying 72cents a litre (or $2.50 a gallon for those in the US). Not just that, it was premium petrol, and not just premium - but 98RON premium, i.e the expensive one.

You get to campus early and get one assignment finished and hand another one in.

You head home early, take a bit of a nap get up and finish a pretty well constructed essay in record time.

You've realised you've just completed your semester and can now officially enter holiday mode.

And, the Pièce de résistance: You finish your assignments just in time to watch House.

Perfect.

You know you've had a bad day when...

You wake up at 4am because your stomach is cramping up, feeling like your insides want to burst out of your anus.

You get up to go to the toilet, do your thing, return to bed, only to find that same cramping feeling happening all over again. So you go back to the toilet and have the same thing happen once or twice more.

You try to get to bed, but can't sleep because your mind is already racing about assignments that are due that day, and are not entirely complete yet. Mind you, this is about 5 am in the morning.

After tossing and turning in bed for a few hours, you decide you've had enough and head off to University early so that you can get all your assignments done once and for all. So you take the 40 minute car trip from one end of Sydney to the other, and spend $10+ worth of freeway tolls.

You get to campus, fire up a computer, insert your USB drive only to find that the assignment that you were working on last night is NOT on your drive, but is still on your desktop at home.

After internally cussing yourself out, you decide to take the trek back home, spending another two 40 minute trips, using $40 worth of gas and another $20+ in freeway tolls.

You get back, realise you only have minutes to complete two assignments. So you start to stress and get a little restless, but eventually get there.

Yes, my friends, this is what has just happened to me today. But I'm glad that I came out of it rather unscathed - minus some weight off my shoulders. Only one more assignment to go and it's just a little essay so it's all good.

Just taking a break

My first video blog. Don't laugh.

Phases

Now, we've all gone through phases. You know, things that you thought you would take up because you thought you'd be "The Bomb Shizzz"- either to be cool with your friends, or just for the sake of taking up - we've all done it. Some may have stuck with you over the years while others just seem to fall by the way side. I've had a few, some worth reminiscing and laughing over are:

The rap phase:
Ugh, I still have some really craptastic rap songs on my iTunes playlist that I wished I had never wasted bandwidth on - oh, um, I meant my money on. I usually leave my playlist on shuffle so whenever a random rap song comes up, lets say 50cent's In da club, a sigh usually follows along with a press of the next track button. I remember trying to get into rap music so that I could be cool with my peers. Loser.

The Boy Band phase:
Now, this is going to sound incredibly horrible and embarrassing. But I had this stage in my life where I wanted so badly to be famous in some like, boy band or something. This was back in the mid 90's or so and boy bands then were flavor of the month. I did the whole singing thing, putting so much gel on my hair, practicing the dance moves and all that - I was so convinced I was going to be the sixth member of Five (remember them? Probably not). Or the replacement of the ugly guy from NSync. Thank goodness I grew out of that, I think.

The "I wanna be a tank" phase:
Okay, I fall in and out of this one intermittently - I get these short bursts of "I'm gonna be so healthy and go to the gym everyday until I'm a tank" that generally seems to sizzle out after a few weeks. I was going so well up until last week, when I couldn't be bothered to get up from bed and get my lazy ass to the gym. Why is looking good so hard to obtain? I'm too damn lazy. I don't love myself that much.

The Aquarium phase:
I guess you can call this the 'pet' phase. So I get a fish tank, set it up, and get all the fishies put in. All is well and good until I realise I actually have to maintain it. I get lazy, and so the algae starts to pile up, making the fish rather invisible. You do see them again, however, floating above said algae - albeit upside down. You know what the worse part is? I've gone through this phase like, over ten times. Same result. I never learn.

Anyway, that's just a few. I'm sure you all have some - feel free to let me know. Heck, even blog about it, just let me know where you've posted it.

Cheer up, Emo Kid.

Nothing's ever that bad. Seriously.

Instead of looking what they do have, they seem to just concentrate on what they lack. They in turn have feelings of inadequacies that lead them to a slump that they feel that they can't get out of.

I've heard of really weak excuses of why someone is feeling down - from things like:

"Oh, the work is too hard"
"I hate my job"
"My girlfriend dumped me"
"My life's headed nowhere"

...and so on and so forth.

For goodness sakes, to those people, seriously, get over yourselves. You're still alive, healthy, with a roof over your head, and have family and friends who care about you. You wake up everyday with probably the greatest gift you can ever receive: A brand new day, and yet here you are, moping because of the most trivial things.

I've seen kids cancer ridden with only a chance of survival, and yet that slight chance is enough to fuel their optimism. They have the biggest smile on their faces, even despite being constantly prodded by needles, enduring chemotherapy, and battling constant fatigue.

So to those mopers out there, remember:

Nothing is ever that bad.

For reals.

Americas Most Hated Family

I watched something really, really upsetting a few nights back. It was a documentary created by the BBC called "Americas Most Hated Family". It was a fly-on-the-wall look into the workings of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). These people are best known for picketing the funeral services of fallen military men/women of the United States Armed Forces.

They are best known here in Australia as the people who planned to picket (or did picket - I'm not too sure) Heath Ledgers funeral because of his support and portrayal of a gay character in Brokeback Mountain.

Essentially, these people are the biggest homophobes in the planet. They believe that America is doomed because of their stance on the whole LGBT issue. In short, they believe things like 9/11, fallen soldiers, or pretty much anything bad happening in the USA is caused by God punishing America for their "support" of homosexuals. Sounds crazy right?

What really, really upsets me most is that they use God as a way to enforce their agenda, and in this particular case, hate. "God Hates America", "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", "Thank God for 9/11" and "God Hates Fags" are just some of the incredibly creative sayings they have on their signs. Upsetting thing is they use the Bible to back up these statements and goes to show how open ended the Bible is for people to back up their claims. Pretty much, if you have whatever agenda, chances are you can construe some random quote from the Bible to give your agenda some backbone.

This CULT is a prime example of how people can be so deluded by their myopic view of the world. How can someone be so filled with hate that they at any chance they get go and picket any sort of event that condones national pride? I really do hope that these people can take a real good look at themselves and see that they have all been taken for a ride by false pretenses set by their "ring leader", the poor lost soul that he is.

It's a shame that religion these days have taken away the primary focus of it being one's own spiritual belief, or relationship with this greater being called "God". Instead, it has become this huge machine fuelled by agenda and propaganda. Instead of being a cohesive entity within our society, it has forced us to form groups that have socially constructed boundaries, which in turn divide us.

I know it is not all churches that do this, I know a lot that do promote equality and peace to mankind. It's just some of the few, like these people that give it such a bad name.

Please watch this and tell me that this doesn't fire you up:



Sad, huh? There are plenty more on YouTube if you search. The best ones are the backlash protests done by people against the WBC.



"That black scarf doesn't cover your red neck!" Hilarious!

'Sup, You...

I've realised that I'm really, really bad at remembering names.

So I've been working at my new job for a good two weeks now, I feel like I've settled quite well. It's a great bunch of people I'm working with - vibrant, friendly, enthusiastic bunch. Me likes. However, I have failed to remember most of their names, and I feel so horrible about it.

The first day I started, it seemed that everyone knew who I was. Like, everyone knew my name and stuff. They even were starting to do Juan jokes - as in Juan, two, three... or something along those lines. Actually, the following seems pretty much a good example of what happens.

Workmate: JUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAN!
me: HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!
(blank stare, trying not to blatantly look at their name tag, then proceed to walk away, puzzled)

Sure, I know some of them already, but I'd say 20% of people who work there I know of their names. I'm terrible.

So, I've set myself a goal for the week - that is to know each and every one of them prior to the end of this week. I will write all their names up on this here blog even, so watch this space.

And That's The End of That Chapter

So after three and a half years of working at the same place, I've now left to do other things. Saturday was my last shift in fact, so it's come and past and I have since started my new job.

What surprised me most on that last day was how un-emotional that day was for me. It was just like another day - started off like one, ended like one. Except only major difference was that I did some hardcore photo whoring after close, which of course I never do usually.

But I leave that job with no ill feelings or regrets, but I do leave with good mates and thats a major bonus.

To those I've worked with : Paul R., Pouya, Nathan, Jay, Tom, Ed, Brad, Little Nathan, Andrew, Kris, Steven, Larry, Dan, Parrish, Jason, Farzan - thank you for the experience.

To those I leave behind: Algie, Enoch, Josh, Kim V., Kim H., Aaron, Nigel - much love. Don't forget, I haven't died or anything so don't forget to invite me to them damn poker/ mafia nights okay? And keep going strong, I'm still here if you guys need anything.




Some guys at work put together this lame ass video of my leaving. It's extremely corny but I appreciate it so much - thank you! This vid is so lame that it's so funny - what's the name of the song? It says "Jesus" in it - is this song one of those christian songs? Geez...



HAHAHAHA

It's too late to apologize, it's too laaaaaaate

See that up there? In the blue shirt, that is I. I went to the Maroon 5/ OneRepublic concert at the Acer on Friday night.

Two words: Fricken Ace.

I had so much fun, I was going hardcore in my seat just dancing and singing rather badly - and no one heard because the music was damn loud. But it was fun!

Maroon 5 were awesome - but I was really excited seeing OneRepublic on stage. I've been following the lead singer, Ryan Tedder for quite some time. His song 'The Look' is one of my favourites.



LOL at the NSync dude. He looks like he wants him. So bad.

Tulibu Dibu Douchoo

Okay, there are two things that I like - singing; and foreigners. Now when you combine them both, you get funny time!



Ken Lee



This song is way too damn catchy. I sing it all the time, even with the made up subtitles. But is way hilarious, so please, respect the caviar. LOL

Be sure to check out some of the other vids made by this 'Buffalax' on youtube - particularly the Indian Bollywood ones. Hilarious!

ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, HEY!

So, something happened to me the other day...

So I applied for a job for Apple about a month ago. Days, weeks and a month or so has passed and began to think that nothing was going to eventuate from it so I let it go.

Now, at my current job, I'm hardly getting enough hours as it is to get by - damn bills and stuff is absolutely killing me. So I consider about getting another casual job to get me by.

So, I get a phone call from a mate that works at an electronic entertainment store close by to my house, and so he tells me that there's a place for me over there and that there are ample hours for me to use up. I tell him that I'll have a think about it and took about two weeks to deliberate.

Sum it up short, I'm now leaving my current job to now work at this other place. Now, I call my friend up on Tuesday, after much deliberation to tell him that I'm accepting the offer. I've also called my current boss to tell him that this is my last week working at that place - which was pretty hard, considering I've been working there for three and a half years.

Soon after this all happens, I get an anonymous call on my mobile. I answer it and of course, it was none other than Apple, well at least the people responsible for recruiting for Apple and they proceed to interview me over the phone. Twenty minutes later, they tell me that I've progressed through to the second round. I felt like one of those people who audition for Idol and get through to Hollywood/Sydney - sans a golden ticket.

I'm way excited, the second round of interviews happen next week. I don't know how far I go, but hopefully I'll get it. Thing is, if I do get it, what the hell do I do with this new job I'm starting next week? I'd feel so bad if I'm like, the guy who stayed there for a few days/weeks and left.

coming soon

I'll be doing something different here real soon - I'm actually quite nervous about it. But hopefully I'll have enough to get me going for some time.

I've been inspired by a lot of things recently - inspired by how some people out there really embrace their talents. From artists, designers, dancers and even people like singers. There are many talented people out there who aren't ashamed to show, and flaunt what they have. I'm jealous of these people. I hate them even.

I've been watching a lot of youtube lately and I've been seeing these people who do one of those singing blog type of things - people singing songs in front of their cameras and upload them. I've seen many, been inspired by many. So that's why I've decided to do some of my own, some of which I will be posting up some time soon. Hopefully, I'm okay - if not, I've got you, the unknown public of the internet, to tell it to me straight. If I suck, then tell me, I so wouldn't mind.

So yeah, check back every now and then, I should have something up and running sometime soon.

Upgrading

Sorry for the rough looking blog. Just currently updating, but still fully functional. Was thinking the old blog was looking a little drab, that's all. So please, feel free to browse around...

I has a pink eye...

You probably can't really notice it in the above pic that much, but my right eye is swollen up and is pink. Worse thing is during mornings, my right eye seems to be covered up in this weird crusty stuff. 'Tis gross. Muy gross. It must have been a dodgy contact lens, saying that, I haven't worn contacts since last week because of it.

10 seconds of fame

Okay, so we (myself Lucy, Ting, Lisa and a few others) went to a filming of So You Think You Can Dance Australia last week. And because we were a such ridiculously good looking bunch, they invited us to watch the show up on the balcony type area above the right hand side of the stage. So yes, we were on TV - as you can see in these shots here:

Trust me, we're there somewhere

Top right, those spotlighted three people Me, Lucy, Ting LOL

Boo-yah

Us during a routine

All up, we accumulated about 10 seconds worth of airtime - possibly a bit more. Still, we're moving on up. This was Ting's first appearance on TV since being shown on the news fainting from the heat. And my first appearance on TV since they showed me on the corner of the screen during a Pope's mass (don't ask).

Oh, I also went to a filming of Gladiators not too long ago too. It hasn't been shown on TV yet, but I'm so keeping an eye out for myself. I wore a bright orange shirt and was doing the robot so I could try to make myself out from the crowd LOL.

Jukebox

Every now and then, there's a song that comes along that's just really great and stays with you for years and years - and when you hear that song again after not listening to it for yonks, all these memories of yesteryear come flooding back like a raging torrent. Here's one of them - I hope it does the same for you.

Welcome back to 1993.



Why oh why don't songs sound like this anymore?

So You Think You Can Dance? No. No, I can't...

As much as I hate to admit - I've been watching this show like crazy. I dunno, to me it's such a visual treat, seeing people do things I can't even dream to do. It's MUCH better than seeing a bunch of fat shits on treadmills, and crying because they're fat - boo fricken hoo.


"I don't know how I got this big..." says one contestant. Um, was it probably because you ate A LOT? Hmm, yes, I think that might be it.

Funny how they put The Biggest Loser on at dinner time on weekdays - it really makes you think about what you're shoving into your mouth. I won't even think about going for seconds...

But anyway, back to dancing - my cousin is taking me to the Sydney Dance Company next week to do some hip hop. I'm so unco it's not funny, it's gonna be interesting to see how it all goes. Hopefully, she'll have her cam or mobile with her, maybe we can upload my unco-ness to youtube for the world to see. Watch this space...

reminiscing

Was just reading past posts just then - in particular a 'to do' list I did back in 2006 regarding things I'd really like to start/get into or complete. Funny thing is, either the years have gone by really, really quick - or I've just been completely lazy the last few months or so, because I haven't really ticked off anything in that list. Worse thing is, I mostly suspect the latter, I have been a lazy arse indeed.

There was another post I did back then, about getting fit and all muscled up by the end of that year (2006). Nup, I'm still the same lump of shit as I was back then, in fact, I suspect even heavier than then - but I blame work for that.

But you know what? I'm pretty sure it's gonna change this year, I feel it. I've told myself to get off my arse and actually do things this year instead of waiting for things to happen.

I've got myself back to the gym and going hardcore (I hurt right now). I've got my first singing "gig" in a while happening in two weeks - okay it's for a wedding, but still. Sure, it ain't really that big but still, wedding now, Madison Square Garden next. Mmm hmm.

As for me, I'm in a good place right now. I've enough time to do the things I want (such as blogging) and some. Ooh, I've been sleeping lots which is really rare for me.

So yay!

VD = Venereal Disease

To all the lovers and couples out there:

Happy Valentines Day





...motherfuckers.

stuff

Okay, so I work selling video games - however, that does NOT mean that whenever you see me all I would want to do with you is talk about video games.


person: Hey Juan
me: Hey
person: Hey, you know, like on PlayStation...
me: Ugh.

An entry about nothing. Oh and a Happy New Year

I know, it's been a while - last blog I remember doing was back in winter last year. First thing, where the hell did last year go? 2007 seemed like it just went through like... something that goes by really fast (sorry, mental block).

But here we go, start of another year. I know I probably said this last year, but I think this year is going to be big - not just for myself, but perhaps the world in general, hopefully for the good.

On a personal level, I have told myself that this is the year I finally stop saying "what if" and actually do. I know, I probably said that last year (or was that the year before?), but this year, it will stick and it must happen. It must. I mean, for goodness sakes, I turn friggin 26 this year. 26! And I ain't getting any younger and I absolutely hate the feeling of regret that I didn't get to do what I wanted to do. So I'm throwing all abandon to the wind and I'm ready to go on to next gear.

I promise to keep you (yes, you two or three people or so) updated with what's going down in Juan's world.