Musings of a (Formerly) Displaced Chinese RooBoy

Chris and I showed up at the Mitcham Hotel yesterday to check out the Guitar Hero competition held there. The format is 10 weeks of heats, followed by local finals then finally to the Victorian Final. Winner of the local final wins a xbox 360 and a real guitar, while the Vic winner get $5,000. We decided to compete on Hard difficulty, playing "When You Were Young" by The Killers. The volume on Guitar Hero 3 was too soft so we couldn't hear the music and the rhyme, and were placed 3rd and 4th last when we left early to practice at home :) Maybe we'll try again next week!

Went up to Mt Buller last Sunday for a snowboarding day trip with Chris. Snow conditions were pretty good (almost 130 cm depth) but the prices are steep. Let's see... Entry fee: $32 (wtf is this?) 1-day Lift ticket: $94 Season pass: over $1,000 (WTF?!? Compare this to $200 to $300 at Lake Tahoe resorts) It turns out Aussie ski resorts are among the most expensive in the world, with Buller, Hotham, Falls Creek etc. in the top-10 most expensive list. Resort operators blame in a economy-of-scale and the short season, which I suppose makes sense. If that's the case, how can resorts in New Zealand be cheaper than Australia? I smell a ripoff here. The facilities at Buller are also nowhere near the quality of US resorts...no lockers, no villages, no atmosphere! In saying this, however, Whistler-Blackcomb sets a high standard. Also, there is a lack of decent hotels in the area (hello Westin Whistler, where the hotel lobby is just steps away from the chair lift). Chris was keen to show...

Carson organized a session with the Melbourne International Shooting Club today for 2 hours of instructions and practice with air pistols, .22 revolvers and .38 revolvers. Started off with air pistols with pellets, which requires a one-hand grip and perpendicular stance. The kickback is minimal but it's not easy to get a good aim with only one hand. We moved onto .22 and .38 Smith & Wesson revolvers. Both can be gripped with 1 or 2 hands (I used 2 hands for steady aim) with a front-on stance. The kickback was stronger, but most people had better accuracy over the air pistols. Good fun, and might consider membership for $300/year in the future. Trying out the air pistol...I prefer the revolvers better. Instructor demonstrating on gripping the revolver That hits the spot! Up close and personal with the .38 revolver We killed the target backboard! Wendy, Nat & Ange

Been a bit slack in updating the blog, so this entry is kinda lengthy. We've been doing a bit of traveling along the West Coast before going back to Melbourne, including south (Tijuana) and north (Vancouver) of the border. Within the US, we visited SF and LA. The funny thing is that we are only doing the LA "tourist" stuff when we're leaving. Like a lot of people, we tend to take things for granted of the local attractions when we live in the area. It's only when you are leaving that you take time to look around. City of Angels Pink's Finally checked out Pink's on Melrose and La Brea. Pink's has been around since 1939 (it used to sell for $0.10) and is an institution around here. We ended up queuing for 50 minutes before placing our orders. The famous chili dogs were kinda average and weren't really worth the time. Pink's Hot Dogs Outside Pink's, with hordes of people lining up for the quintessential LA "taste" Hollywood Sign The...

Been back in Melbourne for a week, and here are my observations: An increase in the number of my Asian brothers from India Melbourne Central shopping mall is new and improved, with better design A lot of new constructions are completed (e.g. Southern Cross station) or underway (e.g. Eastlink tollway) Broadband internet is still expensive and priced by capacity, rather than speed The flies are as annoying as ever (sticks to your face) Summer is hotter than SoCal's I've missed the Rose Bowl (USC thrashed Illinois, as usual) and the NBA (Bulls are playing a bit better, after Paxson made a scapegoat of Skiles by firing him on Christmas Eve). Bring on the NFL Playoffs this weekend - go Chargers.