Blog Marco

I'm running the Sydney City2Surf (a 14km fun run) this year on Sunday, August 12th and I'm fundraising for my favourite charity Gawad Kalinga. Gawad Kalinga is all about addressing the issue of poverty by providing housing, services and building communities in Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Cambodia, East Timor, India and South Africa. You can donate some money to the charity by credit card or paypal. Or you can pledge some money by just getting in contact with me.

You can find more information about Gawad Kalinga at this new blog I set up.

So you've done City2Surf what other health and fitness events are run in Sydney? Well there's that Half marathon and that annual 7km bridge run... but here's another one: the Spring Cycle run by Bicycle NSW. I was actually doing it to raise money for my mission trip to build houses for the poor and unfortunate in the Philippines next year. (BTW: thanks to all my supporters, all my friends, family and godparents.) I know that the Spring Cycle is not a race... but I managed to complete the bicycle ride in 2 hours 47 minutes (the cycle computer stops counting trip duration if the bike is stationery for sometime - so my brief rest periods were not counted)... and according to my odometer the ride was actually 50.8km's (!) It's either the race is 800 metres longer than it claims ot be or I didn't calibrate the computer and the measurement has an error of 1.6% (That's statistically acceptable isn't it?!) I was really exhausted after the ride although surprised that I wasn't as cramped and sore as I expected to be the next day. I guess, cycling is such a low impact activity, it doesn't really damage your joints and muscles as much as running. The Sydney Spring Cycle was a fun bike ride and I wouldn't mind doing it again next year... [inset photo: Sydney Spring Cycle 2006; cycling across the Sydney Harbour Bridge]

The Sun-Herald City2Surf is Australia's largest fun run and will take to streets of Sydney again this year on the second Sunday in August: 9.30am on Sunday, August 13! You can have a look at my previous photos of the City to Surf for 2005. You can enter online today to join over 60,000 people take the 14km journey through the city's eastern suburbs to the finish line at Bondi Beach.

I'm still deciding whether or not I should enter this year... Should enter soon though, or else I'd be stuck in the back of the pack again...

Last Saturday, Carlos "Chuckie" Ibay performed at Marconi Club for the local Filipino Community Religous Association. Although the accoustics of the hall wasn't very well tuned to accomodate his truly great talents his gift was very apparent and awe inspiring. He played pieces from Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt and Chopin, all without sheet music for he has one striking disability - blindness. So all his music, every tune, harmony and beat is all committed to memory. The music was close to flawless (compared to the pieces I've heard before) but minor mistakes can't take away from his purpose in life and what he has accomplished in the 26 years of his life.

After the intermission the American-Filipino sung classic filipino songs as well as traditional English, Italian and Spanish songs. Again, without sheet music to guide Ibay while playing out these songs on piano or even guiding him has he sung the lyrics in his baritone voice.

"It took years until I finally got pregnant," says his mother. The son of Filipino parents who migrated to the United States in 1971, he was diagnosed as being a 'high-risk pregnancy'. The physician advised his mother, Carmacita, to abort him. The parents, however, disagreed. They were firm in the belief that what God had given them should not be killed. Instead, they chose life. He was born two months premature and was monitored in an incubator, where through a hospital error, he was over-exposed to oxygen and eventually lost his eye-sight.

Introducing Krispy Kreme Ice Kreme! This January you will find a Kool treat in store: Krispy Kreme Ice Kreme! Krispy Kreme Ice Kreme is a super premium, Swiss-style ice cream, which will be sold by the scoop in Krispy Kreme stores from January 21, 2006.

We know Australians love high quality treats, and we believe you guys are going to love this super premium Ice Kreme that is equal to the quality of our doughnuts!

Flavours of Krispy Kreme Ice Kreme include:

• Vanilla Bean
• Chocolate Crackle
• Caramel Classic
• Cookies 'n Kreme
• Passionfruit & Mango Sorbet
• Lemon & Lime Sorbet

FREE Ice Kreme Day!

Of course we need to celebrate this new product – in true Krispy Kreme style! So we are announcing Free Ice Kreme Day from 12 noon - 5pm on the following days, at the following stores:

Saturday 21 January – Campbelltown, Liverpool, Auburn, Chatswood, Castle Towers & Blacktown stores

Sunday 22 January – Penrith, Mascot, Chatswood, Castle Towers & Blacktown

The Sydney New Year's Eve pyrotechnic display is considered the world's largest and most technically advanced and it did not fail to impress revellers.

The harbour canon firing sequence culminated in a carillon by 11 Sydney churches at 7pm and an indigenous welcome ceremony on the harbour at 8pm.

The 9pm fireworks used two firing locations on either side of the Harbour Bridge. Six main firing locations were used for the display, including the bridge and four barges. There were 86 firing points on the bridge, 29 more than last year. Ten pontoon barges were positioned in front of the bridge on the eastern side.

The display incorporated 11,000 shells, 10,000 shooting comets and a total of 100,000 individual pyrotechnic effects.

* Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore invited hundreds to her New Year's Eve Dress To Impress Party at the Opera House, where they enjoyed a front-row view of the fireworks. Among those invited was Vivian Alvarez Solon, the Australian citizen wrongly deported to the Philippines.

* British DJ Fatboy Slim played at Bondi before 15,000 revellers in a fenced-off section of the beach.

* The Lord Mayor's Picnic, with its Mad Hatter's Tea Party theme, drew 2000 disabled and disadvantaged children to the Royal Botanic Gardens, before they went to the foreshore to watch the 9pm fireworks.

Went rockclimbing with Aidan the other day. Haven't been since high school. Stayed for a few hours.

The next day - my forearms were sore as hell. Probably bad technique is to blame. (Or poor fitness?)

These photos include two photos of us on the normal vertical walls - sticking to the easy green footholds. The other two photos were the walls with no lines, a big mat to catch us and walls that were around 45 degrees off the ground.

Rock Climbing Centre Website
This place claims to be the biggest rock climbing place in Sydney.

Photos were taken by Sony Ericsson K750i.

The world's larget commerical jet, the Airbus A380-841 visited Sydney, Australia, leaving Europe for the first time since it's manufacture.

The seven storey A380 touched down in Sydney on November 13, 2005 at the Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (Mascot) (SYD / YSSY).

The Airbus made very low passes (2000 ft) over the Sydney Harbour area scheduled between 8am and 9am on Sunday 13th November 2005.

A small accompanying aircraft carried out air to air photography.

Hundreds of enthusiasts gathered around the airport for a glimpse of the large commercial airliner.

Qantas has pre-purchased 12 of the A380, but the airline is one of several seeking compensation for late delivery. Qantas will take delivery of all 12 planes by June 2009.

The A380, with its capacity to carry 840 passengers in a single-class economy configuration, is vastly bigger than the Boeing 747, which can carry 600 economy passengers.

Qantas announced today a schedule for the visit to Australia of the Airbus A380 between 12 and 16 November. The visit will coincide with Qantas' 85th anniversary celebrations.

UPDATE:Photos of the Airbus A380 Visit to Sydney

Sunday 13 November
* 8:30am Flyover* Sydney Harbour for Qantas aerial photography (weather permitting)
* 9:10am (approx) Arrive Sydney

Monday 14 November
* 11:15am Depart Sydney

"In Sydney, the aircraft will fly over the harbour on Sunday 15 November*, with local vantage points providing excellent opportunities to view the aircraft inflight," Mr Borghetti said.

Qantas was the first airline to sign a contract for the A380 and will take delivery of the first of its 12 aircraft in April 2007.

* Note the aircraft will pass over Sydney Harbour from north to south and east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at 2100 feet and be accompanied by a small jet that will be undertaking aerial filming. This will take place as many as three times. The flyover will provide excellent opportunities for members of the public to view the aircraft.

It was City2Surf time of the year again last week. A fun run event in Sydney, Australia, usually held in the second Sunday of August every year. Sydney threw another glorious day for the event to be held. This was my third time to run it, but I know for a fact that this fun run had been held on a perfect day for the last four years...

Around 60,000 heads turned up, 50,271 officially finished the 14km run from the City of Sydney to the shores of Bondi Beach.

The photo below was taken by a 2 megapixel mobile phone camera: the Sony Ericsson K750i. I was in the midst of the "Back of the Pack" - that is the group that gets to run last... out of four groups - there are staggered starts to space the people out.

There is always a sense of positive energy throughout the day and people always have a good attitude on the day.

The photo below is the last turn into Bondi after running some 13.75km's.

The view of Bondi beach, catching the bus back to the Sydney. This is the view of Bondi from the southern end.

Bondi Beach - after the run. Another Fantastic Sydney Day!

The Finish Line!

The final turn / last stretch before hitting the final line after running about 13.75kms!

At the starting line 930ish.