7 weeks in a nutshell (the apologetic recap)

April 23, 2009

7 weeks in a nutshell (the apologetic recap)

I think I write my best when I’m pissed or upset or frustrated about something.

In other words, my best works in my opinion are my rants and third-party abuses.

And right now I think I’m in one of those moods – think, being the keyword, as I’m not sure if I should be pissed or upset yet and I won’t know till Friday probably. =/

Aaaaaaaaaaa the suspense is probably the worst part of it all. *faints

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Anyway, helloooo!

Sorry I haven’t been updating. m(_  _)m  Things have been quite slow lately… more so than usual, which I didn’t used to think was possible but it is. For most days, I just switch onto hikikomori mode and am happy to just lounge around in my pyjamas, watching daytime tv with fellow hikikomori housemates.

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Hikikomori (ひきこもり or 引き籠もり ,Hikikomori^?, lit. “pulling away, being confined”, i.e., “acute social withdrawal”) is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive individuals who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement because of various personal and social factors in their lives.

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Ok so maybe not quite hikikomori. But we’ve just been super lazy, can?

And to prove that I’m not suffering from acute social withdrawal or seeking extreme degrees of isolation, here are some photographic evidences to show that I am, still very much, in contact with the world (more or less).

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The Work Vacation

I’ve been lucky enough to be part of the team that was sent on an all-expense-paid-for travel job to the Kimberly region of WA.

Genuinely happy stocktakers + client Dom

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I was supposed to do a detailed write up about my trip as soon as I got back but I actually got caught up with more work and social obligations cheey that by the time I got to it, I became too lazy for it. -.-

So now I’m gonna try to sum up as much as I can remember. And yes, plenty occurred within that one week in a strange and foreign land, mostly brought about by bad weather, bad-ass insects and no technology. But throw in a bit of work stress, lack of sleep and long traveling hours, and hilarity ensues (at least to me, anyway).

• We flew from Perth to Broome – on Qantas, no less** – and then took an unsettlingly small plane to Kunnunura.
• ** Click here to read about Qantas’ latest drama. It’s so hilarious it should be sued. For plagarism.
• This is Kunnunura airport

I don't know about you, but I actually think this system beats the conveyor belt shit we have to put up with. Sucks to you, high-tech modern international airports!

• We also visited another state.

The "two-place-at-one-time" scene from A Walk To Remember came to mind, but the red dirt and absence of a distinct border line just destroyed it la. =.=

The closest to Autobahn in this country.

Because we can, haha eat that Perth cops!

One of the many boab trees we encountered.

Lake Argyle - Australia's 2nd largest man-made lake.

Have another lake shot, because it's so pretty and bloo.

During the wet season, these unassuming creeks flood the roads and cause major traffic chaos

• And then there was dinner.

Tender kangaroo fillet in a mandarin-orange glaze, served with caramelized onions and brocollini.

Warm chocolate pudding with fresh berry sauce and a scoop of choc icecreamy.

• It was the only good food we had to last us till Broome.
• Then the work poured in.
• Monday: Coles Express Kunnunura – 8am to 4pm.
• 3.5 hour drive to Halls Creek after work.
• Checked into crappy, bug-ridden hotel, and proceeded to pass out from tiredness. But not before exterminating all visible creatures. And sleeping in fear.
• Tuesday: Coles Express Halls Creek – 8am to 6pm.
• 3 hour drive to Fitzroy Crossing after work.
• Checked into yet another crappy, bug-ridden hotel, exterminated all visible creatures and passed out. Too tired to feel fear.
• Wednesday: Coles Express Fitzroy Crossing – 8am to 8pm. Memorized all product lines available in Coles Express stores country-wide.
• Passed out in car during drive back to our hotel.
• Happy that we didn’t have to travel anymore for the day. Not so happy that we are stuck in Fitzroy Crossing for another night.
• Dinner was memorable because:

1. I wasn’t allowed into the hotel’s restaurant for improper footwear. Apparently, brand new Havaianas paled in comparison to dirty, half-torn sneakers in terms of appropriate footwear in Hotel Middle-of-Nowhere. In fact, the bouncer also offered to loan me a faded pair of red Crocs they had lying around, which I almost said Yes to because I didn’t want to make the bush-hike back to our room again for all the bugs that attacked us along the way T______T . Even if it meant wearing Crocs. T____T . But thankfully there was a dead leech stuck on the sole, so I had to walk back to our room to change into dirty work shoes – thus saving me from the worst fashion decision in my life.
2. Minutes later, Mo mistook the same bouncer for a waiter and asked him to bring us water HAHHAHAHAHAHAH I DUNNO WHY IT WAS DAMN HILARIOUS AT THAT TIME!
3. We had to ring up to pre-order our food cos kitchen was closing before we finished work. And in spirit of things, everyone got their dinners except for Mo HAHAHHAHAHA. In the end she had to ask for an empty plate so everyone can give her a bit of their food. Damn poor thing, some more she’s our boss.

• Next morning, we are finally headed to Broome! (/^ ^)/ Which, clearly, was the highlight of my trip because it was an actual tourist destination with proper accommodation and town centres (and phone reception)… and and the camels on the beach during sunset!

Woohoo!

• But first, the other sight-seeing along the way:

Spot the dispenser on the aptly-named Condom Tree.

One of the many quirky PSA road signs that they're famous for.

Monstrous boab called for photo opportunity.

Upclose.

Boab fruit, which is often used in Aboriginal arts and craft.

Ok, so this isn't exactly sight-seeing material. But it was part of the experience, this pit stop we made. =.= Or a weak-bladder stop, as Julian and Denise liked to call it.

Jakun betul. /shy

And here's where you wash your hands.

• On a related note, during one of our touristing hikes in Kunnunura (the photos weren’t exciting so I didn’t post any up), I went into what was probably the worst public toilet I’ve ever seen. And that’s coming from someone who’s a) been to rural parts of China and; b) lived in Malaysia forever. Out of the two cubicles, one had a lizard the size of a bicycle and the other was swarmed by what I’m hoping to be fruit flies. I was bursting to pee, so between monster reptile and unidentifiable flying bugs, I picked the latter. And the whole time I was going, I had to constantly wave my hands around and shake my legs so that nothing attempts to bite/land on me. T.T  For the rest of the day,  I remained paranoid that a fruit fly had made its way inside me and laid its eggs and I was gonna give birth to insects. T_T
• Anyway, back to sight-seeing.
• Oh wait, we finally arrived at Broome. (/^ ^)/

Look, got lobby!

And bugs-free room! (/T_T)/ And posh too. In fact, it's bloody Hilton after what we've been through all week.

Sing to me ol coconut trees.

Our beachwear finally put to use.

Camels, here we come!

• Unfortunately, we were a bit too late to catch the camels before they set off on their ‘walks’ (one can pay for a camel ride on Cable Beach it is a tourist activity). Because we got off at the wrong end of the beach. =.=
• We tried chasing after them, but they were already a few kms ahead of us and have you tried outwalking a camel? Yeah, you do that.
• Eventually we gave up, and decided to wait for them by this truck that had pictures of camels on it which we assumed to be the company that runs the camel business.
• In the meantime, we took photos of whatever we can and tried not to look in the direction of one random old naked couple.

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Haha geddit.

Easily one of my favourite shots from the entire trip. ^^

The camels took forever to come back, so I took about 10,000 sunset piccies while waiting. -.-

Oooh here they come!

Heading home after a not-very-hard-day's work.

My very own, quintessential Broome snapshot.

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And that concludes the one-week episode in Kimberly. *pats self on back

Now it’s 3.57 am so imma need to sleep.

Will post more consistently now that the biggest chunk has been completed.

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