Soda Rock Diner

A relaxing Sunday afternoon outing has turned into a step back in time when we entered Soda Rock Diner, a restaurant à la Americana on the corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street (Melway ref. 2L J5). In this instance we were transported back to the 60's, a time when street-corner diners serving hot dogs and hamburgers abound. The first thing that hooked you even before you enter was the oldies that were playing at the entrance of the diner, beckoning hungry hippies to enter and let the good times roll.

Once you're in the doors you're instantly attacked by the frying smells of beef patties and fries. Settling down into one of the dining booths upholstered in bright leather, you'd notice at the end of the table a silvery widget that was in fact a functioning mini jukebox preserved from the 40's! Across the diner there was a pinball machine that reminds you of a scene in the Back To The Future movies where Michael J. Fox was picking a fight with the bully in a nostalgic diner this one could easily pass off as.

The menu ranges from hamburgers to salads, with hamburgers that are claimed to be made of 100% beef and thickshakes and malts that are best in town. I ordered Sloppy Joe, a beef burger topped with chilli con carne and really hot chilli sauce while Amazing Grace liked her hot fudge sundae and Aaronwe his chocolate thickshake and Hubcap, a big hamburger with pickle, mustard and mayonnaise. And did I mention the old-fashioned uniform the waitress has got on? If I didn't know better I would have thought that I've lept into a Norman Rockwell picture!



The menu served here isn't your averagely priced fastfood, with a combo that costs at least 10 dollars, but then again this is not one of your average fastfood chains dotting the city. With the variety of food offered and the nostalgic environment that come with it, I'd say we got a run for our money.

And to top it all off: dancing waitresses!

Varekai: a brief afterthought

Well I went for the show and didn't regret it. Felt like a kid again with all the oohs and ahhs the show managed to draw from the audience. The display of colorful costumes, lights, sounds, and twisted movements created a busy menagerie of exotic life. As I expected, the performance didn't dwell as much on storyline as its gravity-defying stunts. Although I'm not much of a juggling fan the show was well worth the money simply for its beautiful production design and diverse cast alone. But I must say that the show did a great job in creating the enchantment of another world with the acting.

Would I go for another Cirque production? I definitely would, if only to recapture that childish wonder.

Cirque du Soleil's Varekai

Today I'm finally doing what I've been wanting to do since I set foot on Melbourne: theater-going. Not the big, silver screen kind that goes along with giant popcorns that cost fifteen bucks and taste like paper. Live performances is what I mean. On this occasion, I'm going to watch Varekai, one of Cirque du Soleil's mystical performances.

I've seen the ads on TV and only barely know the storyline's about a young man's fall into a deep forest somewhere near a volcano, and his subsequent rebirth. Since it's a Cirque production, I'm expecting a lot of jaw-dropping stunts, though not as much in storyline. But I hope my expectations will be surpassed. The ticket cost me a fortune, but I believe would be worth the spend. Hoping this is the first of many interesting cultural events to come.

Te quiero

Received a letter from Maycol yesterday. He's in second grade now and is doing well, he said. And he's grown up a lot since his last photo, but looks just as adorable. He also said "te quiero" and, as always, sent me a huge hug. This kid will do well with girls some day.

Poemsville

A repository of what I've written over five years...

POEMSVILLE

"Wait Another Day"

Wait another day,
Your heart can bear the weight;
Wait another lonely day,
You don’t have to mark the date
Of your love departing,
Days in the sun are returning -
They miss you just as much,
And the way sand and skin touch.


Wait another day,
There’s no need to cry;
Wait another rainy day,
You’ll soon hang your tears out to dry,
And your Gene Kelly shoes
Will bring back those steps you loosed
On that fateful day by the Seine -
If ever there’s more to give, you can.


But don’t wait another moment
To break free from the torment
That imprisons your smiles -
People queue up for them for miles;
Don’t wait another minute
To live again, if you mean it,
But then waiting really is a virtue -
Why, it leads me to you!

"Are You Just A Face"

Are you just a face
that beseeched my desires?—
they were aching to find
a land among empires
where milk and honey flow
through souls wearied and hollow


Or are you something more
than the face I adore?—
holding out a wavering beacon
high up in your abandoned fort
when no homing ship can be sighted
out in the darkening port


My yearnings grew muscles
when I saw you by the ray;
I meant to seize the castle,
but why did I wait another day?—
until my strength was spent
before any could be lent!


Can a fair and beckoning lady
give a man his might—
or does his strength come
from elsewhere,
teaching him how to fight?
This much I know is true:
The tower must fall for you.