It happened. We purchased a silver 2008 (or was it 2007?) Toyota Hilux SR Dual Cab Auto Diesel 4x4. We still need to finish paperwork and exchange of title, but the ute is essentially sold to us. Here it is...
It's going to need some work. There are a couple of areas that could use some touch up paint, but otherwise the ute itself is in fine shape. There will be some modifications I need to add to make it bush-worthy.
Tow bar (preferably with bumper bar)
Bull bar (I haven't decided between big tube at top or type 8 at middle or 4x2 at bottom)
Again to Brisbane... my folks needed to take care of some documents. I didn't have much to do. On the way back, we took a look at some utes that we were interested in. The 4x4 monsters that were mentioned before. How did I ever get from this... (I kinda miss my Accord... it did everything I wanted it to do)
... to this? (I think I may have to have a picture taken of me in one of these to let the reality of it sink in)
And yet, I feel like I am more or less the same kind of person.
This is the lunch hour line for this box sushi place in Brisbane... the line actually runs off the picture to the left. It really wasn't moving very fast.
Anyway, we were in Sunnybank, which is kinda like the Brisbane version of Monterey Park/San Gabriel/Alhambra area. Lots of Chinese people, Chinese food, Chinese markets, and, of course, Chinese bakeries...
Ah... how is a Chinese person Chinese without a Chinese market?
Finally, I got around to ordering Domino's Pizza. It's Tuesday, which means all pick up orders are only $4.90 on Large Value Pizzas, including cheese and margarita. So I ordered two larges, one with alfredo and one with tomato sauce. There's no basil. That has been supplanted by oregano. It's almost more of a pizza with tomatoes rather than true margarita. The large is a bit underwhelming. Maybe more like medium? It's about 12.5 inches in diameter. Still a good deal to satisfy one's cravings and it was tasty enough. :)
A Toyota Hilux (Tacoma in the US), dual cab, 4x4, turbo diesel, safari snorkel, all terrain tyres, IPF lights, lift kit, bull bars, tow bar... seriously.
There's this Christian church/school near where I live that also has tennis courts and a tennis club. The marquee usually contains some random entertaining blurb that is changed from time to time. A couple of months ago after Will (His Royal Highness, The Duke of Cambridge) and Kate (Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge) got married, it read "The Royal Wedding is over. Concentrate on tennis now."
Things have been really busy recently so I haven't had time to update the blog. Nothing particularly interesting has happened... except maybe Saturday. We were going out into the bush and looking at land and found our way into this muddy grove. My mum and I were passengers in this Toyota Landcruiser with all terrain tyres, which would seem safe, but alas, we got stuck in the mud... for a good 2 hours. We tried everything. Mud is a lot tougher to deal with than snow. I didn't bring a camera (thank goodness). All of our clothes were muddied up. Since I didn't take a picture, I'll show a similar picture... except we were off the road in the bush.
One of us had to go and find a farm for help. Back that person came with a 14-year-old farm boy. I must say, he was really calm and mature about the whole situation. I was rather impressed, but I guess it makes sense on a farm since they have responsibilities that force them to grow up earlier than their city counterparts. Anyway, he came by with a ute (a.k.a. pick up), but then decided he needed more heft and came back with a full-size tractor, which finally did the trick. It was an interesting experience and I'm just grateful nothing bad happened. But now, I want a real 4x4 ute with real all terrain tyres. I'll pass on the Toyota Camry, thanks.
I went down to Brisbane again to take care of some business. The errands themselves went rather smoothly. It was sunny today instead of the rainy and cloudy weather last time. I also remembered to bring my camera so the pictures this time are 100% mine.
Brisbane again reminds me of Boston, but with a twist of Taiwan in the way the commercial stores are arranged with the signs and everything. Parking has not improved since the last time I went. Still hard to find parking. Still outrageously expensive. The weather was rather warm, probably a combination of being coastal and the humidity. There were many people walking around with shorts and t-shirts.
I was surprised by the number of people walking around in the afternoon. You get the feeling that the city should be larger than the 2 million by census. I suppose if I were to examine it in greater detail, the dense number of people actually only occupies a few square blocks of the CBD. Once we got to the South Bank side of Brisbane, the number of people walking dropped off quite a bit.
Here we are driving out of Toowoomba. Note the fewer cars and greater number of trees. This will change as we go on.
This is what you see driving towards Brisbane. It's a one hour forty minute drive of mostly flat land. Toowoomba sits atop a mountain about 500-600 metres above sea level.
Welcome to Brisbane. Here we are on the motorway (or freeway in the States) heading into the city. I mean, it's just like any other real city with skyscrapers and everything.
In true British colonial fashion, there are assorted buildings that hark to the European influence of the early settlement years in Australia; however...
I would say that most of modern Australian architecture is very modern. More modern than in the States I would say. While you may see modern buildings and designs in the States, too, I think it's overall more conservative than in Australia. Europe, too, I hear.
The way signs are arranged for stores is like Taiwan. It just reminded me a lot of it, so I had to make a comment about it...
and the number of people who were walking around at 1 to 3 pm on a Monday. You don't see this in LA, but probably would in NY.
Otherwise, to be honest. Aside from the driving on the left side of the road and the Aussie accent (see below clip for further entertainment), you don't really feel that far removed from what you might be used to in the States. Maybe some things are more expensive due to import tax, maybe the names of common stores and banks are different, maybe people speak differently, and maybe a BMW costs more than should legally be allowed, but overall I think there's not that big a difference.
I want world peace really bad. I once mentioned the secret to world peace. I share some words of wisdom here in what seems like a big step in the right direction if everyone took these to heart.
Six Principle of Harmony:
1. Share same viewpoint and goals. If we shared the same views and goals, we will work together to achieve rather than allow conflict to arise between us.
2. Observe same precepts. Follow the laws of the land together. Conflict and discrimination results from some people following the law and others not. If we all followed the same laws, then everyone would be in sync.
3. Live and practise together. If we find common ground in how we live, then there will be less stepping on toes.
4. No quarrelling. This is obvious, but forgotten in the moment, especially when we put ourselves first before others.
5. Experience inner peace and happiness from practising together. We can all be happy together. Why not share it?
6. Share benefits equally. Unfortunately, this is the antithesis of pure capitalism (see USA). Nonetheless, for those who have it and those who do not, giving to those who do not will result in less envy and dissatisfaction. History's many footnotes records these negative feelings as the seeds to riots, uprisings, and revolutions. If wealth was more evenly distributed, there would be less conflict over who has what and who doesn't have what.
Is this realistic? I think it is actually, but would take an awesome commitment from everyone. So realistic is used loosely here because it is hypothetically possible. I believe in the inherent good of everyone, so I believe world peace is possible and hence worth working towards. I hope anyone who reads this takes away a little bit in themselves to say, "I believe I can do my part."
