March 24th, 2014- March 30th, 2014

3/24/14

For a while me and my friend Claire have been talking about getting our “busking” permits here in Sydney. A busking permit is basically a card that allows street performers (also known as buskers) to legally perform on the street. Since I play the piano and sing, Claire plays the saxophone, and we both play the guitar and ukulele, we decided what better way to showcase our talents than to become street performers! After one of our jam sessions earlier in the school year, we agreed to get our busking license right away.

Well that day finally came! I am now officially licensed to perform in the streets of Sydney! I don’t think the Big Smoke is ready for me

Later in the evening I went to the ArtHouse Hotel with my roommate Steffie for their weekly Monday night “Life Drawing” event. I’m not much of an artist but Steffie is. From the time we arrived until the time we left, our pencils were constantly moving across our sketchbooks as we rushed to draw a nude lady who was constantly changing poses. I’m so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone as this was my first time doing anything like this.

Once I got over the initial shock and awkwardness of seeing a nude female posing for all men and women to see, I started drawing and realized how fun it was discovering my hidden artistic talent. Take a look at some of the drawings I did!

3/25/14

I found out about a placed in Surry Hills called “Venue 505″ that has live music and special performances almost every night. One of their most popular events is the “Old School Funk & Groove” night which features a live jazz band. This event is free and takes place every Tuesday evening at 8:30 pm. Since Steffie and I have the same taste in music, I made sure she came with me to see what Venue 505 was all about.

When we first walked into Venue 505 we asked an older couple if we could sit next to them. The guy responded, “Yeah, just don’t sing.” I was both confused and amused by his statement. Later on in the night Steffie revealed to me that the guy we had been sitting next to was Ian “Dicko” Dickson, one of the judges of Australian Idol (the Australian version of American Idol)! His earlier statement became even funnier!

We listened to the music that was playing and boy, were we impressed! The live band was lovely and they most definitely tore up the house! As far as the place itself goes, it was a cozy little venue, which created the perfect atmosphere for an intimate night of old school grooves. We were in jazz and funk heaven allllll night long.

Some quick videos I took!

 

3/26/14

Steffie, still feeling inspired from Monday night’s Life Drawing, decided to draw me while I was surfing the web on my laptop. Later on Anton decided to draw me as well. I found it quite interesting seeing my roommates’ artistic perceptions of me.

Which one looks most like me?

Steffie’s Drawings

Anton’s Drawing

3/30/14

I ventured to Darling Harbour all by myself to visit Madame Tussauds Sydney, a wax museum that features wax sculptures of many historical and famous figures. Once I was inside  the museum, I was instantly blown away with how incredibly real the wax figures looked. Check out all of the famous figures I got to meet on Sunday!

  

As you can see from these pictures, I had a great time at Madame Tussauds!

Anton’s Birthday

Sunday was also Anton’s 23rd birthday! We celebrated by baking him a cake and giving him a new hat as a gift (which he’s been wearing since we gave it to him). Later in the evening we went to Baja Cantina, a fancy Mexican restaurant in Glebe.

  

           

The end
Hope everyone has a great week!