Weary Of The Dreary

For 7 days in a row, it has been rainy, cold, and windy in Sydney.

Um, hello! If I wanted this, I would have moved to London. And what's the dealy-o on the ozzies? Take for instance today. It's not scattered drizzle, it's raining, but half the people I see walking around doesn't even have a "brolly" to keep them dry.

Oy vey, it's gross today.

War Of The Worlds

Should have been called "The Whoa Of The Wow".

It is good.

Conspiracy or Confectionary?

You decide.

Monday: Paul made fondue. Chocolate. Accoutrements of marshmallows, strawberries, and bananas.
Tuesday: He bought cheesecake.
Wednesday: Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
Today: Who knows, but it's going to be good.

Thoughtful or fat-full?

Thanksgiving Dinner in July

November in Sydney is hot- it's summertime and people are are on the beach and in the sun. Can you imagine eating stuffing and a slice of piping hot pumpkin pie while wearing your swimsuit and suntan lotion? Thought not. So Paul's making Thanksgiving Dinner for us all this weekend to celebrate 4th of July.

So while you Statesiders are having dogs, downing cold ones, and watching fireworks, we'll be dogging turkey, downing warm cider, and watching stomachs grow.

Livin' La Vida Broka

How do you spell "Ernie"? P-o-o-r!

I wish I even had a small job- walking neighborhood dogs, waitering once a week, or even working at a movie theater. Just something so I could have a tad more pocket money.

I won a poker game on Sunday night with a couple of friends. I won $30. Thirty whole dollars. Do you realize how grateful I am for that extra boost?!

Anyway, if you really want to know where my head is, check this out:

A Wishlist!
*a pair of cozy bedroom slippers
*a nice handsoap for the kitchen
*a clear understanding of what's happening on "Desperate Housewives"

Finally,
*a dozen cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery in NYC

Wishful thinking Ernie, wishful thinking.

The Bruised Cruise

You know, why can't the press lay off Tom Cruise? I am so sick of hearing about him and Katie Holmes. Okay, so Tom's not the All-American guy that you pigeonholed him to be. Sometimes he gets grumpy, and sometimes he says or does something strange. Hey, who isn't weird? And here he is, a man who gets excited and passionate about something- his fiance. Why is the media bashing someone who has and shows passion about something in their life? How many of us can say we have a passion present in our lives? I say good for you, Tom!

I don't mean to be all preachy. but just let the boy be.

"Isn't it strange, that we all get a little bit weird sometimes?" -Hanson

Grrrr.

For some reason, the computer at home can't open the page where I write new entries, so every time I have an epiphany or a need to vent, I have to run out the door, walk to the library, and wait in line until a computer becomes available. I guess you can say that from now on, my spontaneous bloggings are somewhat premeditated.

Whoa.

Something weird is going on with me. Right now I am typing this at the public library down the street, and I am freezing. I've got on four shirts (two long sleeves and two short sleeves) and a skiing jacket, but everyone else around me seems fine with just a long sleeve shirt.

My lower than normal body temperature has been going on for several days. For example, the other night I was shivering wearing gloves, a skiing jacket, and jeans, while Ellen and Paul weren't wearing as much and appeared to look not as frozen.

I know I'm not supposed to self-diagnose me, but I totally think it has to do with my medication. I point the finger to either insufficient daily dosage of my thyroid medicine, or to the fact that I am not to use any growth hormone as part of a case study I am currently participating in.

Whatever it is, I am cold and feel low on energy.

Mr. Charlottesville

Last night I dreamed that I was selected to be a contestant for Mr. Charlottesville, who took 50 people and put them on stage explaining why they should be crowned Mr. Charlottesville. I say 50 "people" because one of them was a female co-worker of mine from WAVA (who wasn't from Charlottesville anyway, but it's all a dream!)

I was the only contestant who chose to wear a tuxedo, but I realized that was too dressy for the audience, so I removed the jacket.

I was called to the microphone to explain my case. I opened up with:

Ernie: "Knock knock!"
Audience: "Who's there?"
E: "Wa."
A: "Wa-who?"
E: "Exactly!"

I proceeded. "That's me. Born, bred, and raised in Charlottesville. I had a choice to leave home for another college, but stayed so I could go to U.Va. I love Bodo's. I love Spudnuts. I crave Arch's. I shopped at Leggett. I pray that Pottery Barn does not come to Charlottesville. Are you with me?"

The crowd laughed.

Then I woke up.

The Winning Lottery Numbers Are...

When I was in New Zealand over the weekend, I caught a Lotto drawing on TV. There they went, all these little ping pong balls, dancing around in a globe shaped discotech. One by one, six of them were chosen, and their numbers were announced by some zany man announcer.

Back in college, I had a dream where a series of numbers were given to me by two witches who flew off either on brooms or in an elevator. I immediately woke up from my dream and wrote them down:

42-40-37-30-16-18

I wonder if these numbers ever hit on any lottery in the world. They had to have been, because I got these numbers through some divine intervention (don't you think?)

Next time you buy a ticket, try them out. (Will you give me a commission for making you a winnah'?)

As Usual!

Here I sit in front of the computer figuring out what's in Ernie's head. And today, it's more of the same. I'm thinking of food. Good food. Good food could only mean one thing: desserts.

Yeah, I know. Ernie obsesses about the same things:
*eating
*working out (so he could eat even more)
*toys and things he had growing up (Lego, swatch watches, dance music from the late 80's)
*Paul Frank

Today's dessert craving: cake. Like a piece of birthday cake. A moist yellow with vanilla frosting. Or a slice of wedding cake. White with buttercream frosting. Delicioso!

CHIPOTLE!

(Or something just like it.)

I'm in Auckland, New Zealand all by myself (scary!) Look where I'm having dinner!

http://www.mexicalifresh.co.nz

The owner of the company is an american from California. He moved to NZ and thought it would be a good idea to try the burrito concept in a country void of tex-mex. Possibly expanding to Australia, depending on it's success in NZ.

Smart, smart man.
Hungry, hungry Ernie. ("Hungry Hungry Hippos!")
Happy, happy belly.

Chatty Cab Drivers

Can't stand them! I just want to get to where I wanted to go. If I wanted to talk to someone, I would call someone I know on my mobile, not make idle conversation with a stranger who can barely speak english.

I don't know you sir, I'm not interested in your life, stop being interested in mine. Just get me where I wanted to go.

Is It True?

I've got it made- I've got a partner who loves me, a best friend who blows my freakin' mind, and a gorgeous sister who kicks butt. Can't ask for anything more, can I?

But is it true? Could it possibly be?! Has Ernie found candidates in becoming his first real friend in Australia?

I've met a lot of people here in Oz, but I find some to be too talkative, some superficial, some self-centered, some socially strange, and some void of common sense. (When I'm with them, I feel like I'm looking in the mirror.)

But I discovered three sistah' girls who seem to be smart, intriguing, and sincere in developing a friendship. In Ernie-language, they ain't fakey-fakey, they ask good questions, and smart enough to see when I default into superficial conversation.

And the nominees are:
Jonathan
Chris
Denny

I like these guys! They're in order of most to least potential. All gay, all Asian, and all interested in learning more about Ernie. (yay!)

Now don't get me wrong- I ain't tellin' them about this blog, I'm not completely transparent with them, and they sure ain't replacin' the boyz back at the US.

In time, we shall see how it goes. We shall see. I hope I'm right about them.

Damn.

Am I going through some tough stuff right now. T capital O-U-G to 'da H. But on the lighter side of life, if you want to know where else my head is, this girl's got my flow:

http://www.psycho-jello.com/jess/poptarts.html

She's feelin' it.

Keepin' my head above the water,
Ernie

An American Dream

Good morning! I had such vivid dreams last night (perhaps there was MSG in my thai dinner). Besides my usual recurring dream of being back at WAVA, I dreamed that my sister was on American Idol. She made it down to the final four, which was airing tonight. I was running around telling everyone about it and to support her by watching it, but no one seemed to care. She seemed a little nervous. The song she had picked to sing tonight was "All By Myself". The person who cared the least: mom.

I began to take action and decided to tell all my friends via e-mailing them. Ellen thought she should do the same. So, in that vein, hear my plea, few readers:

"My sister is on American Idol tonight! Will you please watch?!"

Tuna And Rice

Chomp chomp chew chew chomp
Swallow

Favorite Songs

Had a "date" last night with my man. It was nice- a movie, dinner, and the most important activity, dessert. Some of the conversation was meant to reacquaint ourselves with each other. So I brought up top 10 favorite songs of all time. It was a toughie for both of us.

Here's all I came up with:
"Praying For Time"- George Michael
"Love Will Never Do (Without You)"- Janet Jackson
"I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)"- Hall & Oates

Lame-o! I supposedly pride myself on my vast and thorough knowledge of Top 40 music, so I thought I would have my favorite top 10 memorized and well-rehearsed. Wrong.

I guess I could add:
"All By Myself"- Eric Carmen
"Sun Always Shines On TV"- Aha
"Careless Whisper"- Wham!
"I'm Not In Love"- 10cc
"Everything She Wants"- Wham!
"The Reflex"- Duran Duran
"She's All I Ever Had"- Ricky Martin

Whew, that took a lot of thought. Me and VH1 have something in common: "I Love The 80's!"

What's new?

Here the latest and hottest gossip on Ernie:
sniffle
cough
sniffle
inhale and exhale through mouth
blow

Stupid lingering cold. Crazy old Maurice, always good for a laugh.

'Bout Time!

Finally, Australia has a leg up on the US! My normal gripe about Australia is either:
1) they don't sell something that is available in the US (Pop Tarts for example)
2) they're slow to get something here (perfect example: PSP, which was released in March in the US, and doesn't go on sale in Australia until September)

Well, the movie "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" came out here yesterday June 9th, whereas it's not released in the US until today June 10th. Yeah. A whole freakin' day. Oh well, it's better than nothing. Take that, red white and blue!

What the heck?

Someone keeps stealing our laundry! I mean it! The past few times I went to do the wash, I noticed things were missing. The other day it was a face washcloth. Today I put six earplugs in the wash (I sleep with earplugs in every night, so they get a little dirty, or waxy I should say) and when I came back, they were all missing.

But why this thief is so clever is because we have our own washer and dryer.

I don't care.

I made the power switch.

There's this bakery down the street that I visited all the time to buy a meringue. Meringues are yummy and less dangerous dessert, because it's primarily just egg whites (zero grams of fat, oodles of protein) and sugar. Sweet and full of muscle building protein; now that's my kind of dessert!

Not only were they good, they were cheap. $1 each.

But I've upgraded. I've moved from fat-free & protein-full to just plain fat. I now eat their cheesecake. Oh it's good. On a bad night, you'll see me by the fridge, just forking it straight from the box to my mouf'.

I don't care.

And to add to the bad boy that I am, I've gotten into a bump of baklavah this week that is dee-lish-us!

I'm sitting on the couch typing this with my belly mounded up like a pitcher's mound. I feel like Homer Simpson...will you put a beer on it to see if it'll stay?

Sound The Alarm!

Whoa. Something weird happened today. Something that hasn't happened here before, at least conciously from what I remember. As I drove my way to the gym this morning, an armoured security van was ahead of me in another lane. A sticker on the back of the van had the word "Crimestoppers" written on it and a phone number below. "Crimestoppers," I thought. "That's like in the States."

Up until now, my reaction would have been "Aww, that reminds me of being back home! I miss it." Instead I thought "Eww. That's familiar and boring instead of new and unusual. I'm glad that I'm here in Sydney."

What the heck was that?! Repite por favor. "I'm glad I'm here in Sydney." Shocking! That's the first time where I thought that I didn't want to be back in DC, and instead felt better to be in a country where things were a little different.

And the kicker soon followed. I got caught in a little traffic congestion. It lasted all of maybe 6 seconds. The next thought was "Good thing I'm not in DC, where I'm stuck in traffic for about 40 minutes and traveled for maybe half a mile."

Wow. Those words: "Good thing I'm not in DC" has never ran through my head!

I parked my Vespa near the gym, and walking towards the door, I looked around with a new set of eyes. A new set of eyes that appreciated all that was different and slightly strange. I looked up at the buildings full of contemporary and colorful architecture, I looked at the funky outfits that people were wearing as they strolled by, and I liked it.

I'm amazed. Truly am. Now don't get all crazy on me. It doesn't mean I'll think "I'm glad I'm in Sydney" all the time, and it certainly doesn't mean that I don't miss home. But it does mean that I may feel a little more open to and appreciative of the web that Sydney is weaving around me.

That's pretty cool! Wouldn't you agree?

The Take 5 Audition

Mom sent me a care package of stuff (thank you please)! In it were Pop Tarts *galore*, Peanut Butter M&M's, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and all the other processed food goo that makes us Americans fat.

From a critic that I trust and subscribe to (my best friend in the world), I wanted to try the delicious new candy bar in the US that's all the rave: "Take 5". Never had one, so I asked her to buy me a couple. She did. Thirty of them.

Anyway. Bless her heart.

"Paging Take 5, please come to the room for your audition."

Unwrap

Oh- comes in two pieces. Portion controlled!

Bite

Mm.
Good.
Oh, this is good.
This is good!
Wooow.

Boom! Gone! You better try one if you haven't. It lives up to the buzz. It's like a Pretzel Bite but with caramel as a bonus!

Whew. Good thing mom bought me thirty. Thank you please!

Sex And The City

*If you've never seen the show, get back to work because this entry will BORE you!*

To all you pink drink divas and label ho's:

I discovered that the editors have made a huge fashion faux paux! Remember the intro where the theme song plays and Carrie Bradshaw gets splashed on when a city bus drives by? At one shot there are passengers riding the bus, but at the very next set of frames, there's not a soul on board. What, did the passengers all duck? Are they on the floor laughing at her?

You're busted, show producers! Can't fool me- I've unlocked the secret to your show's success!

Nah. I've just been sick laying on the couch watching reruns.

You know, as I type these thoughts onto a laptop and make edits on them, I kind of feel like I'm Carrie (except I'm filipino, way cuter, and blowing green boogers onto a Kleenex.)

(Cough)