Pixel Me Silly | Kiwi Quirks: Pagbaba sa bus, be polite and shout...

Thank you DRIVER!

[Stagecoach 233 to Owairaka]

Pixel Me Silly: Reflections

Sabi sakin kanina ni Julia "Hey, you're Crazy."
In 3 months Kiwing-Kiwi na siguro ito.

Pixel Me Silly: Winter @ 6

Uwian na...

More here.

Pixel Me Silly: Mumu...

Wag ka sisigaw....

It's a Julianak...

Inilawan na uli ang Skytower last (last) week kasi tapos na sila magtipid ng kuryente. Buti naman, ang boring kasi ng Auckland Skyline pag absent ito.

Pixel Me Silly: Queen St. & Aotea Weekend Market

Pixel Me Silly: Typical Day in Auckland

View from the flat. Can't wait for summer.

The World's Strongest Man: Tamati Paul

It's good to finally meet a real All Black.

Met Gisborne man Tamati Paul during my injury prevention training for SafekidsNZ. Former surf lifesaving and outrigger canoe champion, aspiring international kayaker, soon to be policeman, he's also a hero by putting his baby in a child restraint or car seat in 1998. While driving home they were nearly killed by a repeat drink-driver (drunk driver to Pedro) in 1998.

He literally was put back together during a 16hr operation. Most of the bones in his left side below the hip were broken. His foot was crunched and smashed. He suffered severe haemorrhage, head injuries, and was in a coma for a long time. He now has difficulty speaking and walking, and lost 4 years of his memory. His baby, on the other hand, was saved from grave injuries thanks to the carseat.

Tamati's back on his feet (against the odds), and now a spokesperson against drink driving. Hopefully we can convince him to be a champion in proper chilld restraint use as well.

Sort of felt I shared kinship with him, being another that was given a second chance.

Thank God for the Internet

In photo: Odi, Lexi, Kuya Ommel, Pam, Muwah, Julia, Andre and Taps.

Naalala ko dati, nung grade 1 ako:

Pinsan: Ayan, wag ka maingay, pakinggan mo si Papa (Tito ni Tuny na nasa Saudi)..

Tuny: Tito?

Pinsan: Tanga, cassette tape yan.

These Boots | Sylvia Park

Since good girl si Julia sa school (at maulan na), binili namin sya ng bagong...

Boots!

NZ$11.95

Stagecoach models.

Pixel Me Silly: Auckland Domain Winter Walk

Do you see a rabbit in here?

First Day High!

Pumapasok na si Julia sa school, St. James sa Grey Lyn (wala sila website). So far success, at nag-eenjoy naman sya.

Julia: Daddy, may mga friend na ako sa school, si Stella at si Spiderman.

Daddy: Spiderma... ?

Si Spiderman asa background, kasi yun ang uniform nya sa school everyday.

Nung isang gabi, natulog sya na yakap-yakap ang bag. Naalala ko tuloy nung grade 1 ako natulog akong suot-suot ang bago kong boots (me pinagmanahan, hehehehe).

Pixel Me Silly: New Toy, K800i

Helping Aloha and Terry clear out their office.

Julia.

Officemate birth anniversary party.

The Truckie protest on my way to work.

Maxx helping me get to Sylvia Park.

ADHB & ARHB Building 15 Asian connection having yum char (or yum cha) at Grand Park Resto in Alexandra Park.

While running home, I bumped into All Blacks Rodney So'oialo waiting for the bus. Sorta.

The night it rained hale.

...

The last one is not mine (his) :).

My new K800i.

I had to retire my Siemens M65 as it was faling to pieces (Dear Siemens: we had a great time while it lasted). Got my k800i from Vodafone for just NZ$40 (or $20?) on a two year, $40 bucks a month plan (not bad).

Technically got three cameras now, a D40, Stylus 770sw, and this... I NEED them all to capture my new life in NZ, OKAYYY!!

Fine... I don't... But a boy can never have too many cameras (or sneakers), sigh.

Letitsnowletitsnowletitsnow...

Nyak umuulan!

Pero teka... Inde ako nababasa, and what are these pretty little white things na tumatalbog sa aking... aherm.. winter coat...



OHMYGULAYSYET! Its....

Ok na sana eh, kaso biglang me sumisilip na Bruce Willis. Sung by Vaughn Monroe.

To do before I die # 26: See snow, check!

Actually hail lang sya, at inde pwedeng gumawa ng snowman (but close enough, hehehe).

Pixel Me Silly: Auckland Fish Market

Julia: Ala nang leaves!

While waiting for the free bus.

1 Snapper, almost a kilo smoked snapper bones (yung tinanggalan na ng fillet pero malaman pa din):
NZ$16.57 = Php558.65

Essential Kiwi: Fish & chips

Perfect with...

Forces of Nature: Akl & Manila

View from our flat today at 7:30AM.

Story today at the inquirer. I would be freaking out.

Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.

I'll try to get an inside scoop from the boys baka sila ang namamasilya ng butas (maybe me nagtakas ng Boy Bawang sa bagahe at sumabog sa lakas ng pressure sa cargo, hehe).

Sunday Morning

The Inquirer: Ready for the polls.

The Herald: Iraqis killing each other 1.3kms from me.

A good excuse for U2.

Ka-Mate-Ka-Mate!

Forecast tomorrow:

Hooo-humm... Basa, malamig (as in MALAMEEEGGG). Masarap magkulong na lang sa bahay. Sa hapon mag oven na lang ako ng manok. At pag dating ng 8:30...

Ka Mate! Ka Mate!
Ka Ora! Ka Ora!
Tenei te ta ngata puhuru huru
Nana
nei i tiki mai
Whakawhiti te ra
A upane ka upane!
A upane kaupane
whiti te ra!
Hi!!

Wooohoooo!! Go All Blacks!! Kalaban nila ang world champs, Springboks (South Africa).

Well, for the first time, inde ko papasukin ko papasukin ang isport na ito (ano ako, bale? Baka magkabale-bale pa buto ko, hehe). Yung touch siguro, or manunuod na lang ako (or si Lexi paglaki, nasa katawan nya eh).

What I love about The Haka, especially the All Blacks Haka, is that you don't have to be Maori to do it. Many in the team are Pakeha(non-indigenous New Zealanders). You just have to prove to everyone that you're proud and worthy to wear the colours and do dance.

Maybe there should be a migrant Haka (or gasp.. a Pinoy Haka) for those who successfully settled in New Zealand.

Siguro kung ako mag cho-choreograph ang Pinoy Haka ay kumbinasyon ng Maori Haka...




... at nito.




Well, maybe NOT ;).
****

Some variations of the Haka in youtube.

College American Football Team Univ of South Carolina Trojans



Hawaii Warriors



Versus Braveheart



Ginger Breads doing the haka



The Australian haka (ata, hehe)



And.... Haka on Ice!

Tuny.V2 (buhay pa ako't maraming update!)

Buhay pa po! Medyo busy lang, at ang dami-dami kong update...



Welcome to our new fishbowl. Maliit man at masikip, eto't ang saya-saya padin. Ika nga ni L.V.

A room is a still a room, even when there's nothin' there but gloom. But a room is not a house and a house is not a home. When the two of us are far apart. And one of us has a broken heart...~~

###
Ang tagallllll-tagal ko itong inasam-asam. And after endless googling, and sleepless nights waiting, nahaplos na rin ng aking mainit na pisngi ang aking pinakamimithi...

Woo-hooo! Pixelmesilly's back, bebeh. Sample shots with my new models.

Sa zoo... hahaha nakapikit...

Tamaki drive papunta Mission Bay.

Auckland Domain.

Old Ferry Building.

###

Makinis na pala ako't matagal nang walang bulutong. Surprisingly halos wala rin akong marka (salamat kay Dra. Judy).

Pero naknamputsanamannnnn...

Nung isang lingo, habang papunta kami sa simbahan, me sumalubong bigla sakin't sabay matching making-a-cross-symbol with his fingers "Ton!! Kamusta na-naku-baka-mahawa-ako-sa-bulutong-mo-ha!!!" Someone I've never seen for over a year (Buong pinoy community ba ng Auckland alam na ba na nagka-bulutong ako??).

At kanina me pumunta dito building, at naglulundag sa takot nang makita ako. Abah, feeling ko ako ang mamang kumakain ng manok sa circus.

Sa inyo:
#1 basahin ito. I'm not disease, but your ignorance is.
#2 Salamat sa bulutong [deleted].
#3 Sa inyong [deleted].

Inhale... Exhale... Ika nga, write an angry blog entry and throw it away in cyberspace (Get over it and move on).

The sad irony of it all...

... is dadating si Pam & Julia bukas, pero ni hindi ko man lang sila mayayakap or mahahagkan. Ni indi ko mararamdaman ang init na papawi sa lamig na bumabalot sa Auckland (na ang forecast sa Sunday is 3 degrees--aguuu!).

Oh baket.... Bakettt........

BAKET AKO NAGKABULUTONG KUNG KELAN SILA DADATINGGGG....

###

Ready na pala lahat (I think) para sa pagdating nila bukas. Medyo maliit lang ang temporary home namin. Correction: maliit talaga sya. Ni hindi ko alam kung san ilalagay ng mga gamit na dadating by freight.

Pero OK lang kasi mura sya at $220 a week(thanks Aloha), including water and electricity, fully furnished, and the view is to die for.

Para kaming nakatira sa Makati (yey).

###

Niregaluhan ako ni Pam ng gift voucher para spa treatment, and since ang sakitt-sakittt nga katawan ko, nagdecide ako mag-pamasahe (Before ko ito nalaman na me tom-boluts ako, kawawa naman si Paula the masseuse. Sinasabi nya siguro ngayon "Nilalagnat akowww (in english of course)" and after 3 days "Who the f$%k! Am covered with spots!". Inde muna ako dadaan sa Newmarket ng isang buwan, hehe.

First time ko magpa-masahe sa mga Kiwi, at feeling ko alta-de-syudad ako kasi puti ang nagmamasahe. Ang treatment ko is Aromastone massage. Bato lang na panghilod na mainit, pero syet, ang sarapppp....

At inde lang yan, first time ko ring humarap sa tao na ang tanging suot ko lang eh isang disposable t-back.

Syet, buti na lang me natirang blue(lahat ng nasa box kasi eh pink na). Nakaka-ilang pala, para kang fino-floss ka sa pwet, hehehe.

Tuny and Zhang Ziyi are in a Relationship...

Well, more like a one-way relationship. To celebrate my last week as a "bachelor" (dadating na kasi sila Pam this coming Saturday, woo-hoo!!), nag karaoke kami kila Lenny. Syempre, bitbit namin ang projector ni Karl. Grabe ang laki-laki nyaaaa, hehehehe.

Baket ba kasi kelangan me score-score pa, hmp!

Syempre ang finale, Bituing Walang Ningning group performance ala Lavinia, Dorinia and Rosa Mia.

Sunday Fun with The Buena Familia

Hayy. Weekend nanaman. This is the life.

Pakape-kape. Relax. Napakain na kaya ang mga kabayo ko sa kuwadra?

Nakahanap na pala ako ng bahay, at ang laki ng yard (as in). Ano bang balita ngayon (Hmm... Kamusta na kaya ang mga stocks ko?).

Hehehe. The Little Red House in K-Road is Lenny, Armie & Marjen's. Tinulungan lang namin sila magtapon ng sofa.



The Buena Familia living the moderately good life. Ok Karl, cut! Me dumadaang sasakyan, nakakahiya, hehehe.

I Can't Fight the Feeling

Well what do you know. As cliche as it sounds, life is like a box of chocolates.

I left my job last Friday, and today is officially my first day unemployed.

Or was.

At exactly 4:30PM today, I got a call and was offered a job. A HIGHER paying job which I can start a week after Pam & Julia arrive, which is purrrrfecttt (Yes! Yes! Yessszzzzzzz! My Kung Fu eeeeezzzz strong!).

So, what did I learn from this experience?

One. Never, ever quit your job if you still don't have another to replace it with.

Two. If you do, don't worry. Strangely enough it all turns out well. How do I know?

I don't know. It's a mystery (thank you lord!).

Tabi dyan. Napapasayaw ako.

MacArthur Park is melting...

... in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again

Oh.... NOOOOOOOOOO!

Once again I've turned gay for a day, but I don't careee (shut up fool!!). Last night was the dress rehearsal of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (The Musical) and I lurveeee it (lurve it, lurve it, lurve it!). You should see it while its here, medyo mahal lang tickets ($80 cheapest). Hah, suwerte ko talaga, I get paid to see it (I lurvee this job, now only if it can feed the family, hayy).

Performance photos not mine.

Like WWRU, meron ding bonus para sa mga pinoy na manunuod. Inde ko sasabihin, I won't ruin the surprise (See it!). Nice job with the self portrait btw., (nakita ata ang tutsang ko ah). That's co-ushers Kiwinoy Pauline, adopted pinoy Caroline.

And finally, my date for the night...




... Mommy Herma, dyaran! Bonga diba? Hehe. I stayed with Mommy Herma and her daughter's family when I first arrived in NZ. Kung sabaga adopted son (Thank youuu!!!). Hay salamat kay Lord na maski nag iisa ako dito, eh hindi pa rin talaga ako nagiisa (gets?).

I Know My Kung Fu

People say that change is a good thing, but what it really means is that something that you didn't want to happen, has happened. Today I'm officially part of a statistic shared with 3.6% of the population. Good timing, Pam and and Julia are arriving pa naman in two weeks.

I quit out of frustration, and on impulse (which is so un-me). But the weird thing is I'm still. A little bit scared, yes, but maybe after over a year challenging myself, I now know my Kung Fu (and my Kung Fu is strong).

Ika nga, I'm daring to march into the unknown armed with... Nothing. Where's my sandwich?

Bring it on.

***

Ok. I still have a job which pays for next week's grocery and the rent. And excited na akowww kasi we get to see the dress rehearsal for the show. I even have a date (hmmm, intriga, sino kaya sya-- Abangan.).

Pixel Me Silly: Auckland in Black

Two Towers. Kita mo ba si Frodo?

Running home from Mission Bay.

Fishing with Dad.

Auckland City from the War Memorial in Domain.

I'm so happy the magic pixels never left me. Camera: Olympus Stylus M770SW. More here.

Something has to give

click...

Tsaa.. asan an tsaa...

Hi Ants, good morning! How are you?

I'm good, you?

Good, oh can you come here and help me with a presentation?

Ok

Hi guys, hey Ants can you PDF this for me?

ok, but can it wait? I have press releases to write.

Hi guys, good morning. Hey Ants I want you to do this first thing this morning

Sure boss, btw., this needs your signature

Ants! Something's wrong with my PC, can you help me??

Ants I need that PDF can you do it now?

Just a sec please...

Ants, why aren't we at the Herald travel section today????

Ants, how do you minimize a picture in the presentation?

Ants, where's the PDF?????

Ahh....

Ants this is not good enough, when I tell you to do something, DO IT! Btw., I'm giving you a new role. You have to start...

Ants can you come here for a second? My computer froze...

Ants, are you on the reports? Can you please check them???

Ahh....

Look you missed another feature at Eye Magazine, I think you better shape up Ant.

Ants, can you send me the press release for the visitors bureau?

Hey, there are still stuff to be updated on the website, Ants???

AHHHHHHHHHHH....

Ants??

aNTS???

ANTSS??????

AHHHHEYEEE
QUITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

I quit my day job last Thursday.

Tuny's Kiwi Dictionary

This is my little contribution para sa mga kapatid na gusto or scheduled nang tumira din dito sa Middle Earth. I'm putting together a Kiwi Dictionary on slangs, phrases and words that are foreign to the Pinoy "American-kuno" lingo. Pasensya na lang kasi I'm not an expert, and defining them as I understand it.

Para sa mga kapatid na nandito na, feel free to add things in the comments section at ipapasok ko na lang sa list.


B
Bloke - A typical guy who is not gay or mahinhin. Kamaganakan ng Jeproks. In a sentence: "Tuny is not your typical bloke kasi minsan lalamya-lamya.

C
Chop-chop - Does not have anything to do with The Chop-Chop Lady. Means Bilisan mo! In a sentence: "Dudong, ano bat nakahilata ka nanaman dyan! Hala, mag-deliver ng gas sa kabilang baranggay! Chop-chop!"

D
Dairy - Sari-sari store sa atin, at inde lang gatas at cheese ang tinda nila. In a sentence: "Akala ko ba nag da-diet si Karl, eh bat asa dairy na naman sya."

F
Full-on - Means sobrang busy, intense or todo-bigay. In a sentence: "Naku day, pila-pila ang job interview mo this week? Full-on."

Full Stop - Does not mean manigas ka sa kinakatayuan mo, or a traffic signal, kundi "period." In a sentence "My email is tuny@pacific FULLSTOP net."

P
Pee - Does not mean i-ihi, kundi Shabu. In a sentence: "Bakit ganyan ang kilos nyan, parang naka-pee."

S
Sweet-azz - Used randomly like "Ok" "Yes" "No problem" "Hataw" or "ayos!" In a sentence: "Pare, ang cute naman ng bracelet mo, sweet-azz."

T
Togs - Bathing suit. "Suot nanaman ni kuya ang kanyang pulang togs, ewww!"

Top-up - To reload a device or item. In a sentence: "Hi, can I top-up $20 worth on Vodaphone?" or "Hay, inde ko ma-text si Dudung kasi wala akong pang top-up."

Tournament Parking - Walang tournament na nangyayari dito. Means paid parking in a building or a lot.

Tramping - Kiwi for hiking. In a sentence: "Dennis & Vic went tramping up Cristobal without any underwear."

Last updated: April 21, 2008

State of tiredness

I'm so tired.

I'm so tired all I can think of is being in a state of tiredness and stare at the screen thinking of....

Nothing.

This week was absolute Hell at the office, with monthly reports at its deadest-deadline. And I've been working shows almost every night. And there's the chores, which I'm proud to say I've developed a system (Like washing clothes before taking a bath, so you can hang them while the chicken's cooking in the oven-- Multi-task!). I barely did chores back home, and thank God man invented the washing machine. Imagine if we had to do those by hand.



I also ushered/worked yesterday and today, which means my work week never ended. And it doesn't help that it's MONDAY in less then 2 hours!! I missed a f&%k$#% good sunny weekend which is expected to become rarer with winter coming.

That must be it. I feel awful because I can feel winter coming and it's getting colder and colder. Bring out your thermals and bonnets boys and girls, Jack Frost is coming. Gaano kalamig dito? Read this.

And he can see no reason

'Cause there are no reasons

What reason do you need to be shown
Tell me why - I don't like Mondays

Tell me why - I don't like Mondays

Tell me why - I don't like Mondays

I want to shoot

The whole day down

This is NZ: Whangarei Heads

I told my boss I was going to Whangarei (Pronounced Fa-nga-rey) for Easter, she said "Whangarei??? There's nothing in Whangarei..."


I beg to differ.


Oh-ah, pwede na ba akong mag mow-del ng shoes? 3 hours from Auckland CBD, on the east coast of New Zealand's Northland region are the Whangarei Heads. “Heads” is a geographic term for a hilly area at the entrance to a harbour. I guess Maculot is a head, and the climb is similar (minus the sari-sari store at the top).


I went with my North Shore buddies Deck, Tess and Marie, and we stayed with our new-found friend Kristy and her super-dooper cute bob, Alyysa. Bob's kiwi for baby.

The schlong-looking rock in the background is the summit. Madali lang ang climb, mga 2 hours para sa mga puti, 3-4 sa pinoys, 5 hours for the Japanese and Chinese (inde dahil malakas sila, kundi dahil mahilig tayong mga asians na mag-pose, hehe). Nothing to see on the way up, pero when you reach the first view point, it's a Vee-U-Teeh, veveh!



Wag kayo malikot (me nangungulangot, shhh, hehehe).




After 2 hours and a thousand photos, we reached the end of the tourist trail which was a viewing deck at the base of the tallest rock. Deck and I saw a path around it and we decided to go exploring. The trail got narrow and narrower.



We saw two trails and decided to split. Below's a photo of Deck I took.




And that's me. Ang ganda ng view noh? We met a couple climbing down, and we asked "Is the view worth the risk?" Usually they'd sa yes, but this one answered "Uh... I can't answer that for you." We soon understood why.




The trail went 30, 50, 80 degrees, then naging wall climbing na sya. Naku pow, nanginginig na tuhod ko't nagfla-flashback na ako sa nerbyos, hehehe. Maori legend says when their chief dies, the body is brought up the summit to prevent it from being desecrated by rival tribes. We never got to the summit (I could have, pero naiihi na ako eh, hehe).




My new friendster and facebook pic (add me!).

"Writing about climbing is boring. I would rather go
climbing."
— Chuck Pratt.

"I love climbing because it feels so good
when I stop..."
— Karl

Filipino English: The Mr. & The Sir

Ok, pagkakataon ko na to make things right. Doing the Samoan play