The Night I Made Pizzas for Green Day

Last night, I walk into work at the pizza place and my boss SB turns to me excitedly, saying, “Naya, get ready to scream!”

Me: “oh ok, why?”

SB: “Green Day ordered 14 family pizzas from us to be delivered to them after their show tonight at 11pm!”

Me: (Mouth hanging open) “What…?”

Green Day performed at the Burswood Dome yesterday night, and even though I would have loved to go, I had no dough to buy the tickets to their show. (See how I made it all rhyme? anyway.)

Apparently my boss SB has a friend whose job it is to take care of artistes when they come to town, and he was so impressed by the pizzas from Pizza Express that he asked her if she could make 14 pizzas for the band. (and their entourage I assume).

So we got excited a little, saying “oh my god”at least 10 times, and jumping around a little at the shop. Imagine that – Green Day would be eating pizzas made by US at the little shop in Riverton in a few hours’ time!! OMG OMG OMG

What they ordered: 4 Cheese Pizzas

4 Double Cheese Double Pepperoni Pizzas

4 American Pizzas

2 Pepperoni and Italian Sausage Pizzas

We started making them around 10.15pm (I think so anyway cuz I was so busy and excited I forgot the exact time). SB and John prepared them and shoved them in the oven while I took them out and cut them – ME! I cut pizzas for Billi Joe, Mike and Tre!!! OMG!!! And labelled the boxes in MY handwriting. They saw my handwriting and ate pizzas that I hand-cut!!

SB playfully accused me of writing my phone number on one of the boxes (maybe I should have), then she thoughtfully added, “They must be really fat, ordering such pizzas.”

Billie Joe isn’t fat!!! hehehe.

Andrew came to pick up the massive order of 14 family-sized pizzas and drive them to the band. He didn’t get to see them but apparently the friend of SB’s said that everyone was very happy with the Pizzas.

This is hands-down one of the coolest things to happen at work.

So yeah.

*groans* my ASS hurts!!!

So I’ve been cycling about 40 minutes every day to get to and from work… oh hang on, it;s actually 80 minutes (2 ways)… wow! Does that mean I get to eat all the Tim Tams I want?? haha

Anyways. It’s been YEARS since I rode a bike regularly. In fact, the last time I got on a bike before this was in March when I came to Perth to see Ryan – we went for a bike ride in Sorrento near Hillary’s Boat Harbour which was really nice – but we only rode for… I dunno, 40 mins or less? and ONCE only.

Now, I’m riding Monday to Friday, 40 mins each way (combined), and it’s taking its, er, toll on my butt.

After Day 1 of riding to work I felt GREAT (read prev. post). After only Day 2, not so much. Day 3 rolled around and getting on the bike felt like I was being abused by it. LOL.

I know it just takes some getting used to.Yesterday (Friday) when I rode the bike it felt better than it did on Day 3, but maybe that’s because I nearly collapsed from exhaustion on Thursday (what was supposed to be Day 4) and called in sick to work. I also have been having a tension-type headache where my forehead feels like I’ve got a super-tight sweatband on. Yikes. Hope it goes away soon. Anyway so Day 4 was rest day for me and my butt, and Friday was pretty good.

Every time I cycle I make sure I ’stand’ a little when going over bumpy surfaces which is fine, cuz otherwise my butt would really get pounded (pardon the word choices). My ’sit bones’ (as they call them on cycling websites) are bound to take a beating initially until I fall into a good cycling rhythm/routine and they also get used to it. Well I can feel them getting used to it now which is great. Cycling is awesome. I sweat a LOT and basically change at work (after wiping myself off with paper towels and Dettol antibacterial wipes). So far, so good… I haven’t had any issued with smelling of sweat or whatever.. but then again it’s just started getting REALLY hot here in Perth (Friday was a realllyyyyy hot ride, I felt so completely burnt to a crisp).

I’m worried I won’t be able to take it.. riding in the morning at 730am is fine. At 5pm in the afternoon…not so much. I put sunscreen on and everything but my dorky ‘farmer’s tan’ I got from my wetsuit when I went diving (it was a shortie so I had short sleeves and all) is coming back, and well, my forearms are a totally different colour from, say, my butt. LOL.

Also, here’s a quick update on what’s been happening with me lately:

Not So Nice things:

- I bumped my knee into my bike so I have a huge bruise. Not surprising cuz I’m so clumsy.

- Got on the wrong train on Day 2 and was late to work I was in such a hurry I didn’t realise I was getting onto the Thornlie train rather than the Armadale one.

- Got chased by a dog when I was like 50 metres away from work. I was lost in my thoughts when suddenly YAP YAP YAP and this small annoying dog was running at top speed – I bet it would have bitten me if it could!! I kinda screamed and swerved my bike a little and heard its owner calling out to it so I yelled “STUPID DOG!!” hoping the dumb owner would hear. (Joe told me to get a cattle prod, or fill a water gun with vinegar and shoot the dog, LOL)

- When cycling, some drivers can be so inconsiderate and block the crossing when I want to get from one side of the road to the other. Luckily, most of them move or don’t even block the way.

- Also, I’m still so new at figuring out how and where I can ride that OCCASIONALLY I get in some driver’s way and they honk angrily at me once I was so ‘gelabah’ and afraid I had visions of being hit by a car… LOL.

Good Things

- At work, Joe asked me my age and didn’t believe I was 26. He said he didn’t think I could be older than 21 and asked me what I ate for breakfast so he could start having whatever I was having heheh. charmer.

- Saw the cute guy with blue eyes again – twice – but only smiled at him and didn’t say anything. Meh, I’m over it. Too tired working and trying to save up money, and if he can’t come and say hi or talk to me or something then TOO BAD. Haha or maybe he’s just too busy himself and isn’t interested. Well I’m over it. But he is cute.

- Joe was telling me that whenever I knock off work and cycle away, the guys at the workshop like staring after me and fanning themselves. HAHAHA. Thanks for making me smile Joe.

- Working at Pizza Express is still fun and I love meeting all the cool people working there… don’t get me wrong it’s still work and I do get tired but somehow I enjoy it more than the office job.. cuz the office job is lovely and cushy but SOMETIMES i am SO bored there, the people are really nice but MUCH older than me (except for the people in the workshop that I NEVER see) and other than Joe I don’t really talk to people there much… though there’s the senior draftsman that I talk to sometimes, Rod, he’s pretty smart and interesting too.. but if ONLY they were my age and not married / getting married? Then I’d feel a lil’ more excited. LOL.

Well… at the end of the day, I think I have it pretty good here. 2 jobs, a nice place to stay, and a lot of good friends here.. not to mention good food that I’ve been missing out on (like healthy yogurts, muesli, fruits, and of course… TIM TAMS!! hehe).

But I do miss Malaysia – I miss my family and my friends!!

*sings* “What a feeling!”

Today was the first time I finally took my little red bicycle and rode it to work

Ok, so it’s not ‘little’… It’s a men’s racing bike and I rode about 25 mins to the train station, got off two stops away and rode for another ten minutes to work. So I didn’t ride all the way but still much of the way was me on my bike.

I worried a lot about not being comfortable (esp the bicycle seat), or being so out of practice that I would ride retardedly and get in trouble/in an accident, or that I’d get lost (seeing as I’d never been to Cannington station – oh wait, I did get off there once to take a bus home… but I’d never gone directly from home to the train station, so I was anxious about whether I’d be able to find it).

I had a pretty good map that I downloaded from the Perth Bike website, complete with bike paths that were clearly marked,which was great. I had no trouble at all finding the station. Everything went so bloody smoothly. It was fantastic. My first time EVER using a bicycle as a serious mode of transportation and not just for goofing around or going for a leisurely ride around the neighbourhood. No, this was some serious riding I did today – all along busy roads and intersections and highways, I am so proud of myself!!!

You have to understand.. I come from Malaysia, where cyclists and pedestrians risk their lives when they get around on foot or bicycle simply because the city is built for cars and cars only. If you’re walking somewhere, you’re putting yourself in danger the whole time. And bicycles? HAH. There are hardly any sidewalks around LET ALONE bicycle paths. So yeah.

Anyways, I’m not 100% sure exactly how long the whole journey took. By car it’s about 15-20 minutes depending on traffic. By bike I’d say roughly an hour… including waiting for the train and stuff. I’ll time it properly tomorrow morning.

When I got home this evening, I was feeling so elated. So independent and free. I can make my way around this place just fine on my (men’s) racing bike. Joe at work was messing with me and commented that I had the wrong bike because it was a men’s racing bike… hahaha I just said that since I’m tall, it’s just fine for me also, it only cost me 50 bucks and it’s in great condition and rides like a dream

I think I’m in love

The Red Bicycle

Today I finally took my lovely bicycle out for a ride. There was some anticipation because I had waited to get THE perfect bike since I got here (heck, I already dreamed bout it since before I left KL), and then when I got it of course I was excited – but I needed more stuff to go along with it, like lights and a lock. Helmet came with the bike, which was awesome.

After getting home from work, I went into the garage where my lovely red bicycle stood, to readjust the seat and attach the lights. It took awhile because I kinda had to improv with the Philips screwdriver – we didn’t have a screwdriver per se but we did have a power drill with different screwdriver heads. I used one of the heads but manually – I wasn’t going to use a power tool to attach an el cheapo light to my bike, I mean, “what the–? ” right?

Once I had everything ready, I wheeled the bike outside and stretched a bit. I was nervous because I was a bit clumsy when I tested it at Siobhan’s place the day I bought it… it has been a while since I rode a bike regularly…

…but when I got on it today and rode around our neighbourhood, it was such a sweet, easy ride. I absolutely loved it. I went so fast and it was just… exhilarating! I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face for ages afterwards.

Boy, am I going to really enjoy myself with that bike!

But first, the seat needs more adjusting I need to move it back a bit more, cuz right now it is waayyy too much in front which makes it quite uncomfortable to ride. Otherwise everything else is sweet

Am I expecting too much…?

Just wondering if these travel plans of mine are a biiit too ambitious:

1. In March 2010, I might wanna go to Bali with some friends.

2. In April, I am DEFINITELY, by hook or by crook, going to Korea – even if the tickets are so expensive that I have to sell part of my liver – I am GOING fer sure

3. In July, going back to Malaysia for Anna’s wedding and also wanna squeeze in a diving trip (or two!) while I’m there since it’s CHEAP

4. Go diving around Australia (even tho it’s fucking CEKIK DARAH expensive here)

5. Travelling around WA in general, like to Rockingham/Mandurah/Margaret River/Exmouth/Esperance and other places of interest

6. ENJOY LIFE a little more – it’s bad enough I’m not going to the Big Day Out and Summadayze and all those other music fests… I wanna be able to… *gulp* I hate to say it but.. BUY STUFF. I want a nice new MP3 player. I want to play Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I want to go out for karaoke and good dinners. I want I want I want! Sheesh listen to me. I should be grateful for what I already have.. and believe me I am..

But I DO need:

1 pair of cheap sneaker-type shoes for work at the pizza place (and possibly for bike-riding);

A bit more furniture in my room; and….

…Bananas. Yeah I forgot to buy bananas the other day…

She’s so lucky

I have been really lucky in the last few days.

1. I managed to get a decent road bike, second hand, at a bargain. I wanted one since I got here and instead of spending hundreds of dollars on one, I spent a fraction.

2. I got a job at the pizza place I used to work at during the summer of 05/06, which is great. I’d always enjoyed working there and I may be rusty but I’m sure i’ll get right back into it

3. I’ve met so many wonderful people since I got here, it feels like it’s unreal. Made some awesome new friends, too (you know who you are – dim sum at Emma’s is awesome! )

4. Even though I am occasionally hit with mini-bouts of “wtf am I doing here”, they don’t last too long because I can take a step back and appreciate the fact that I made it here, and that’s all that matters… everything else is just a lovely bonus so even though I have a lot of plans for my time here, it’s OK if they all don’t go according to plan. It’s just great to be here, earning my own money and surviving on it. (Hopefully, I’ll be able to save up loads to go diving and travelling, but that’s another story!)

5. Friends back home still care about me and I never feel like I am lacking love and friendship. To all those who still call, sms and email me, I love you more than words can say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Oh, heck.. I haven’t only been lucky in the last few days – I always have been and only now can I really see it. *smacks forehead*

Mining is quite a sexy industry

I’m not talking about hot sexy miners or welders sweating away while they do their manly work of welding and driving trucks or whatever. I haven’t even personally witnessed any of that at all, as a matter of fact.

What I HAVE seen is the technical side of things – after all, I am a technical writer who writes up operator and parts manuals for service trucks and all, so I have had to familiarise myself with electrical schematics and hydraulic and pneumatic systems and etc.

The language used to describe the parts and functions of these vehicles is what I’m calling “sexy”. Maybe for lack of a better word or perhaps I don’t feel like using the word ‘vulgar’ because a) I’m not a prude and b) it isn’t exactly vulgar. But here are recurring words that I have to keep a straight face whenever they are repeated to me by the foreman or anyone else I’m dealing with. (My voice in my head warns me with “be an adult, Inayah” or “for god’s sake, be professional!”)

1. bibcock

2. thrust

3. ram

4. nipple

5. pump

Okay so no big deal right, just a few common words in the English language (except maybe the first one)…

But I tell you, it’s kinda hard not to notice them when you’re experiencing a ‘drought’ like I am right now!

Blue Eyes Blue

At work today, I was in the pantry/kitchen talking to Joe about travelling and stuff. Joe is really funny and nice to talk to. He was telling me about what places are nice to visit for diving and all. He’d also asked me, the previous day, where I was from, and that he’d been trying to figure it out.

Me: What places did you think I might be from?

Joe: I don’t know, I thought maybe French Polynesia or the Seychelles, you have that look.

Me: Oh, cool! I’m from Malaysia, actually.

Joe: Oh, Malaysia! I see.

*five minutes later, in the pantry as I’m washing my cutlery*

Joe: Inayah, are both your parents Malaysian?

Me: Nope, my mum’s German.

Joe: A-ha! I knew it. I thought you looked a bit different! I have Dutch heritage, you know.

So today we were talking about German/Dutch people and the language (his grandparents like eating speck-und-ei), and about places to go and travel to around WA, when we hear a knock at the door…

… and in walks this gorgeous young man with the bluest blue eyes and dark, dark hair. It’s all I can do not to stare. So I smile and say hi, say bye to Joe and practically RUN out of the room!! Gah. I am so not smooth. I wish I could have been more relaxed, MAYBE Joe would have introduced us or something, since I’m ‘new’ around here… but I didn’t even give that a chance! I ran away like a scared little mouse.

His face is still burned into my mind… he is unlike any boy I’ve seen here. Most of the ones I see have the tan/fake tan, bleached blond hair, surfie look going on – eww. This one looked… exquisite. And I wonder what he’s doing working here at a workshop.. he couldn’t possibly be a welder?? Or a truck driver?? Not with his face/skin! Hmm. All I know is, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for him…

Sights, sounds… smells.

Various interesting things I’ve seen in and around Perth.

On the Train:
- An annoying, loud teen girl on her phone on the train from Perth to Armadale. She was calling her friend on the phone and telling her to wait for her at the Claisebrook station so they could go to school together. She was seated sideways on the seat so one of her legs was folded on it while the other dangled to the floor. Attempting to eat a sausage from a paper wrapper, she bit off one end and it fell between her legs onto the seat. The dirty train seat. “Eww, I just dropped my food onto the train seat!” she squeaks into the phone. Then she continues the conversation, and what does she do? She picks up the fallen piece of sausage and eats it. Yum.

- A young teen couple, not bad-looking, get on the train from Fremantle to Perth. Sitting across me, I don’t really pay them much attention but take in a few details: the boy has scruffy, light blond hair and the girl is a brunette. Pretty normal-looking couple. I’m listening to my music and daydreaming, really, when I realise the boy, who has been fiddling with his foot, has put something in his mouth and is chewing it. I watch him through my sunglasses and I realise he is peeling the skin or a hangnail or something from his big toe… and eating it! The girlfriend doesn’t notice because she is reading a book. After a while she puts her book down and they kiss for a bit and I’m thinking, ew! He just ate something from his toe and you’re kissing him??

- On the same train, a really cute guy boarded at Fremantle and stood across so I could ’skodeng’ him nicely while pretending to read. He had these really startling blue eyes. and dirty blonde hair. But it was the eyes that got me. I mean I’ve seen loads of blue, green and gray eyes here. A lot of the time, the blue eyes are kind of a dull blue. But his were so light and sparkly, I thought they were glowing or something. Really gorgeous eyes. And he also had beautiful, full pink lips that looked really soft. Too bad I never said a word to him. Oh, and too bad he also looked about 18. LOL.

- On the SAME train, a reallllyyyy pretty girl got on at Victoria Street or perhaps it was the Claremont station. I can’t remember!! But she was wearing skinny jeans and a checked shirt with a leather jacket over it, very nicely fitted and showing off her curves just right. Her hair was mahogany, done in loose plaits that gave it a careless, yet euro-chic look. Her skin was flawless and she had gorgeous eyelashes and a pretty mouth. I suddenly had the urge to go up to her and say hello, and you know, make friends (and who knows what else maybe..?) But I never got up the courage to do it and anyway, the train was crowded and she was a few feet away. She got off at Shenton Park. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve seen in Perth. I have a girlie crush on her! I wonder if I’ll ever see her again…

In Town
- Well I’ve already mentioned a few of the things I’ve seen in town but recently I had drinks with these two Irish lads I met at a group interview for a job we all didn’t take in the end, LOL. Anyways they’re quite fun to chew the fat with and it’s really entertaining for me to try and communicate with them, me with my ‘American’ accent (really?? gah!) and them with their charming Belfast accents. Sometimes I don’t understand what they just said, but I figure it out eventually. Haha. Once we were talking about movies and they were telling me about a movie they really liked with Penelope Cruz and Johnny Depp called ‘Blue’. I was like, Blue?? What… oh, you meant ‘Blow’!!

OMFG

I am earning more money here as a temp at a mining fabrication company than I ever did in Malaysia. $20.50 an hour, for about 7 hours a day, 5 days a week.  Let’s say that ideally, I would earn around 700 dollars a WEEK here. Times 4? 2,800 dollars.

Ideally.

BUT. There’s always  but. I am being taxed 29% of that. TWENTY-NINE frickin’ percent! I get that money back when I leave the country. But I need it NOW! Fuck’s sake. And also another BUT – they don’t need me to come in every day. I missed out on hundreds of dollars yesterday because they didn’t need me to come in as the people I’m liaising with are all at training workshops and only come back on Monday. SO. I end up earning more like 370 dollars a week (after deducting the 29% frickin’ tax). 370 x 4 = 1480 dollars a month. Easily more than 4k in ringgit. LOL. BUT. My rent here is $130 a week. $520 a month.

So, $1480 – $520 = 960. For me to spend on food, groceries, and public transport (which I’ve been spending quite a LOT on – seems like every few days I reload $20 on my smartrider card, fucking hell). That is not enuff man!! I wanna save money to go travelling and to go diving (it ain’t cheap here mate), how am I going to do it??

I applied to be a waitress/bartender at Eurobar in Northbridge yesterday. I have been sending a lot of email applications from jobs I found on SEEK and Gumtree, but this particular one stated, kinda menacingly, that anyone who is ’serious’ about getting the job, should come in person to the bar and hand in their application. So er, I went.

And to my dismay, when I got there, the first thing I saw was a stripper pole. Great, so it’s that kinda joint, huh. Then I told myself, hey, what better way to meet interesting characters and experience more weird stuff – isn’t that what I want?? So yeah. I braved it, went for the interview, it went pretty well I think, and I guess at the end of the day.. I just need money. And a job that I need to work nights and weekends is perfect. So yeah. I mean, at least it’s not ME who’ll do the stripping right??

*sigh*

Anyways, on a lighter note, I have seen a lot of funny things in Perth city that just make me laugh to myself, or at least crack a smile.

1. A REALLY tall blond guy walking with his REALLY short, Asian-looking girlfriend (she looked Indian). They were holding hands and the difference in their height is so great that, well, she has to kinda hold her hand at shoulder height to reach his. It is hilarious! Her head barely reached his waist! But you know what, more power to them.

2. A rough-looking dude was doing some repair work or something, squatting beside his truck on a curb in Northbridge in the middle of the day. Wearing like short shorts (guys here like wearing really short shorts), a wife-beater, sunglasses and a backwards cap. I was waiting at a traffic light nearby for the pedestrian lights to turn green so I could cross. I hear a loud “FUCK’S SAKE!” behind me, it’s that guy. His phone is bleating and it’s in his pocket of his tight, short shorts. So he has a bit of trouble getting it out. He has a cigarette clamped in his teeth. He finally fishes the bleating gadget out of his tight pocket and answers with a grumpy “YES?!” For some reason… it just made me laugh. All the way to Eurobar before my giggling to myself was cut short at the sight of the stripper pole.

3. The people at my work. They are really kind and nice to me, and the foreman of the workshop (Mal) and the guy in charge of purchasing (Joe) are always play-fighting about something. The other day it was about these chocolate lollies called Chicos. Joe asked me if I wanted some and not to tell Mal. Mal comes by the next day to dump the rest of them on my desk and I’m like “NO, NO I really shouldn’t eat anymore” and he’s like “I’m only putting them here so Joe can’t eat them”. LOL. And Joe is like, well, Mal doesn’t really care for the chocolate lollies but put a chocolate cupcake in front of him and you’d have to wrestle him to the ground for it. Mal responds by laughing and saying “Them’s fightin’ words!”

How can you not smile and be cheerful with such people?