If I had used just one slice of cheese…

posted on Mar 08 by Floris in the Blog, Sydney category

…that peice of toast would probably not have turned into a big bowl of fat.

This is my way of saying: “Friends, I am well. My lack of interesting blog posts is a direct result of the lack of interesting things happening. There were no helicopter flights last week, nor very interesting projects or anything else worth videoblogging over.”

In the next few days, I plan to make a short video of the area I live in at night. The thing with it is, after midnight, this area just completely dies. There is not a soul around, and the atmosphere is filled with the humanity-produced sound of a society at sleep. Traffic lights blipping, air conditioners compressing, and lights turned on everywhere. I first noticed this a few days ago after an almost-all-nighter, when I had to walk home alone. It was a bit chilling (in the scary sense) to be out alone in such an atmosphere. Reminded me of movies like I am Legend.

Oh, and maybe I can show you some of the stuff I’ve been working on as well. There are a few big deadlines approaching this week, so stay tuned!

Strange Symphony song

posted on Mar 03 by Floris in the Blog category

For lack of a better name… I wrote a song some time ago, back in the Netherlands, and created this music video to go with it. I blogged about some of the technical difficulties as well, but never got around to posting the final video.

Symphony Song from Floris Porro on Vimeo.

I bought a car

posted on Mar 03 by Floris in the Uncategorized category

About a week ago. And I’m so glad I did. This is going to make my stay in Australia so much more enjoyable. I’m able to go places, and I’m able to bring stuff along (like groceries) quite easily.

Setting up the registry, insurance and all that was a bit of a pain, but I got all of that done and I’m able to drive around with no worries now.

The car has recently had a lot of repairs done, with new power steering fluid (making driving this car a blissful experience), engine repairs, new tires, etc.

Videoblog ep2

posted on Feb 24 by Floris in the Blog, Sydney category

Hey everyone! I’ve finally managed to upload my latest video blog. Youtube wouldn’t accept it, so it’s on Vimeo, but it’s here now!

Now, before you watch it, let me just warn you that the ending is rather abrupt. Unfortunately, I’ve been too busy to take a proper amount of time to edit this together.

Videoblog ep2 from Floris Porro on Vimeo.

In the video I’ve forgot to mention that I wasn’t actually on the helicopter when it was in the air, I filmed from the ground. Cool to be there though!

My new adress is:
26A Bongalong St
Naremburn NSW 2065
Australia

If you’re going to send me something, make sure to notify me in advance as I may not receive your mail otherwise!

Videoblog delays…

posted on Feb 23 by Floris in the Blog, Sydney category

The Australian internet unfortunately does not compare very well to the Dutch internet. It’s usually quite slow, and not always reliable. I’ve been trying to upload my latest video blog, but because of it’s size (it’s 12 minutes in high definition), this is somewhat of a problem. So bear with me for a few more days!

Settling in

posted on Feb 19 by Floris in the Blog, Sydney category

Today it’s exactly two weeks ago since I arrived at this office. I was sitting in this very room, wondering about how my new life here was going to take shape in the upcoming weeks. Back then I literally just arrived in Sydney, everything was completely new to me. Even now I feel the complete difference, in the way the surrounding is more familiar to me, and I’ve started to know the characters of the people that work here, and in that I’m starting to find my way around Sydney as well. I’m very glad with the way it all went. I have settled in a pretty nice, decent home, in a good neighborhood, with quite possibly the best internship position imaginable for me.

Speaking of that home, I believe it’s time for some pictures, isn’t it?

Oh, hang on, that’s the wrong picture. He was in our office the other night, and actually, now that I’ve come to think of it, he’s probably still here somewhere, since nobody has killed him. Not too worried though, it’s usually the small ones that are dangerous.

And that, my friends, is where I’m sleeping these days. There is no internet yet, and the TV isn’t connected either, but I’ve got a private fridge, a shower, a kitchen and good housemates. I’ve been making long days at the office as well, coming home late in the evening, so I only use it for sleeping and showers basically. And some cooking as well, but I’ll tell you about that later.

That last picture is my sad attempt at taking picture of myself in the mirror. And yes, I am indeed wearing a cowboy hat.

The kitchen and bathroom, which I both share with 3 other people (so far, there is still one unoccupied room left for someone to rent, so there might be more people at some point).

Okay, so the fridge is stocked with fruit and vegetables. The closet next to it… not so much. But to be fair, I bought all that on Wednesday, and I haven’t gotten around to eating much of it. I’m just not there very often.

I did cook myself dinner though. Some corn, with broccoli, potatoes and chicken. No surprises there, but it was a nice dinner. Then I put the rest of it in the fridge, microwaved it the next day and had the same dinner again. Living the student life!

Little story to go along with that though. I was in the car with Mike and Jackie (I should really ask her how to spell that), and told them about my dinner the night before. Here, have a transcript:

Floris: So I tried to make chicken last night…
*overall confusion spreads in the car*
Mike: You tried? How can you try to make chicken?
Floris: Well, I failed.
*at this point, Mike starts laughing quite loudly*
Mike: So what went wrong?
Floris: Well, you see, we have this fire alarm…
*Mike loses it and nearly crashes the car in his laughter*

You need to hear him laugh to appreciate the situation though. We’ve had our fair share of cultural differences, it’s been quite a funny week.

I’ve had some startup costs moving in here, as I had to buy bed linen, some salt and other cooking ingredients. It’s amazing how much stuff you use every day without really thinking about it. Everything from towels, to dishwashing liquid and cooking oil. Got some milk, and one of those handheld milk-creamers so that I can make vanilla lattes in the office. I also bought myself some new clothes, including that hat back up there. And my sunglasses broke, so I’m going to have to replace those. My room isn’t quite decorated yet either, so I might have to buy some picture frames, and maybe an extra light.

On another note, I’m thinking of buying a car in the next few days. It’ll bring a lot of stuff within reach, lower transportation cost and time to several locations I go to often, and probably make my stay here a lot more comfortable. It’ll also open the door to me going out on shoots by myself, and just make me more independent. I already look at the right side of the road when crossing it, so I figure getting used to driving on the left will be quite easy.

In my next blog post, which is set to arrive tomorrow, I’m going to talk about some of the projects I’ve worked on in the last two weeks. There is some really exciting stuff in there, things that make you go “fricking hell, you got to do that on your second week on the job?”. As a final teaser: some of the stuff I helped on might even be on Dutch television next week. How is that for a cliffhanger?

Berichtje in het Nederlands

posted on Feb 14 by Floris in the Blog, Sydney category

To my English readers: I’m sorry, but the rest of this message is in Dutch. This is a one time thing.

Gisteren (zaterdag voor mij) werd duidelijk dat ik uiterlijk maandag het pand moet verlaten (als bewoner). Met die deadline in beeld, ben ik hard op zoek gegaan naar een plaats om te wonen. Erg vervelend, wat ik had wel andere plannen voor Valentijnsdag. Op dit moment loop ik dus nogal te balen.

Met als enige alternatief dat ik maandag in een backpackers hotel moet inchecken, wat oncomfortabel, duur en een eind reizen is, heb ik besloten om een kamer te huren hier niet heel ver vandaan. Het is er niet erg lelijk, een badkamer die ik deel met 3 andere kamers (aantal inwoners heb ik nog geen idee van). Dubbel bed, eigen koelkast, en een best mooie keuken. Minimale huur van 2 maanden, en een borg van 660 dollar. De huur is 220 of 240 dollar per week, afhankelijk van de kamer. Die van 240 dollar is een heel klein beetje groter, maar heeft wat uitzicht en een raam dat open kan.

Eigenlijk ben ik nog heel erg aan het twijfelen of ik daar wel moet gaan wonen. Er is geen gedeelde woonruimte, alleen 3 slaapkamers, een badkamer en een keuken. Dat betekent weinig sociale interactie. Verder is er geen tv aansluiting, en het internet kost ook weer 5 dollar per week extra. Voor beddengoed vraagt de eigenaar 50 dollar, to ’sort them’… Onnodig duur dus, en ik denk dat ik gewoon eigen beddengoed ga aanschaffen. Ook het wassen van kleding kost 3 dollar per wasbeurt, exclusief waspoeder. De badkamer is best mooi, en de keuken was ook wel netjes. Maar ik heb het idee dat ik voor 220 dollar per week iets mooiers zou kunnen vinden.

Ik denk dat ik het gewoon ga huren… Echt veel opties heb ik toch niet op dit moment, morgen moet ik hier weg zijn. Mocht het er echt niks zijn, heb ik altijd nog de mogelijkheid om eerder te vertrekken. Dat kost dan 100 dollar, maar ja.

Het is ongeveer een half uur lopen, dus ik denk er over om een fiets te gaan kopen. Op die manier kan ik ook nog een beetje op verkenning gaan in de omgeving. An option to be explored.

Ik ben dus nog niet helemaal klaar met settelen.

Nog even wat over m’n collega’s, ik heb er een aantal.
Peter is de baas,  die me ook heeft uitgenodigd om bij hem te komen eten afgelopen week. Hij maakt de hele dag droge grappen, vanaf het moment dat hij binnenkomt. Daardoor hangt er ook een algemeen goede sfeer in het gebouw.
Greg is min of meer mijn stagebegeleider, en minstens net zo grappig als Peter.
Laura is een soort productie-assistente voor de radio show die ze hier produceren.
Fiona (weet niet hoe je het spelt) doet de financiële administratie.
Ben heb ik gisteren voor het eerst ontmoet, hij werkt in de geluidsstudio. Hij heeft een sterke persoonlijkheid, en zegt precies wat hij denkt.
Mike is van het video-productiebedrijf dat beneden zit, hij is erg vriendelijk en ook zo’n grappenmaker.
Jackie (is een meisje, geen idee hoe je het spelt) werkt bij Mike, en doet allerlei editing werk.

M’n collega’s zijn allemaal erg vriendelijk, en ook wat betreft het soort werk dat ik hier doe zit ik precies goed.

Ik laat snel weten waar ik woon!

Work & finding houses

posted on Feb 11 by Floris in the Blog, Sydney category

I’ve been busy the last few days! And that, my friends, is actually a very positive thing. We might go into the city to do a few interviews with the 7D somewhere in the next few days. I’ve also been working with a video production company in the office downstairs, to work on a few graphics titles. I’ll probably do a new blog post in a few days with details about my work, colleagues and the kind of things I’m busy with.

No, I haven’t got a home yet. I’m still sleeping at the office, which, as I’ve come to realize, isn’t really that bad at all. There’s a very comfortable double bed, shower, kitchen and bathroom, lots and lots of awesome equipment to play with, and I can spend time editing even in the evening! There are shops everywhere, supermarket around the corner, the only thing that’s really missing is cooking equipment. But by staying here I’m saving about 160 euro’s on rent this week, so that’s definitely a positive.

Last night I got Subway for dinner, with some fruit as dessert. Here’s a regular, everyday / week shopping list:

A handful of cherries, 3 bananas, and 3 apples: $ 8.- (€ 5.-)
Bread: $ 2.50 (€ 1.6)
Ham: $ 4.- (€ 2.5)
Cheese: $ 4.40 (€ 2.8)
Some chips & chocolate: $ 8,- (€ 5.-)
The subway: $ 4.5 (€ 2.9)

So that’s about a week of breakfast / lunch supplies for 20 euro’s, which is okay. I need to figure out some kind of system that allows me a certain number of dollars for shopping every week, so that I know how much I have left and how far over budget I’m going.

I’ve finally conquered that jet-lag, I go to bed at normal times and wake up at normal times. Took me longer then I had expected, but that is done and over with. That cold is still around a bit though, had some pain in my ears yesterday, which is gone again now so I think that’s heading in the right direction as well. The pain in my teeth is much better, and although I feel like something isn’t completely right, it’s not causing me any pain.

This week, my boss invited me to come home with him for dinner, and to stay at his house after that. He lives around the corner from Bondi Beach (the famous Sydney beach), so I went swimming there as well. The water is a really awesome 20 degrees. A very different experience from swimming at Lake Garda, very salty water, waves and all that.

The Australians have Foxtel, which is similar to the UPC service that we have. It allows you to watch tv on hundreds of channels, record it, all that stuff. It just works so much better then ours, and there are a lot of HD channels as well. It’s a pretty good service.

The weather is lovely now by the way. 29 degrees, sunny, no more rain so it’s not as humid as it was last week. With the continued absence of any form of sunlight throughout the year in Holland, I’ve realized just how much I’ve come to associate sunlight with holidays! The atmosphere, surroundings and a visible sun, really remind of Italy.

I haven’t really taken a lot of photographs so far, but I will as soon as there are some more adventures to be reported!

Right now I’m going to get some coffee at Gloria Jeans around the corner, after which I’ll return here to do some graphics effects work. I feel like I’m in exactly the right place here.

Videoblog Episode 1

posted on Feb 09 by Floris in the Blog, Sydney category

I’m not sure if I’m going to keep doing these video blogs yet, but who knows. Here’s the first one covering the first three days or so. Right now I’m at day five, and got some new stories to tell, just need to find some time to talk about it.

Coffee time

posted on Feb 08 by Floris in the Blog, Sydney category

Aaah, I believe a status report is in order. Well, I’ve got this big videoblog about my first few days all ready and waiting for me to upload it… Which I’ll probably do in a few hours. So just to quickly update everyone.

The jet-lag is still affecting me a lot, I woke up at 4.30 in the morning today… Felt quite bad as well, spent a large part of the weekend alone in this huge office (more about that later), and had a few ‘what have I gotten myself into’ moments. I was really happy to see my colleagues arrive this morning, people to talk to, and hopefully starting some work soon. I also had some coffee, and that really helped me a lot. I feel so much better now, energetic, and with more of a “it’s all going to be okay” mood.

For the first pictures, click here!