Jonathan Vargas as life goes on

Out in Astoria

2009-07-12T13:59:00.005-04:00

The only time I leave the island of manhattan is when I am either visiting my mom, going to the airport, and going to the beach. Other then that there is a rare chance that I would hop on a train and going to any of the other boros. I mean you have everything in the city why would you go anywhere else. So a few nights ago cornell invited me to go out in Astoria queens. When I first thought of his proposal I thought umm I think I'll pass. He told me miguel, Alma, Darwin, Felica, lila were going to be there and I thought you know what it's time to do something different and not gay LOL.

So we went to stacy square beer garden in Astoria queens and ended up having a really good time. The venue is huge and I was there by 10 and the placed was packed. We were forced to sit in the inside since there weren't any tables on the outside for our group. The beer cornell ordered wasn't that great but the sangria Falica got was super duper yummy.

I don't know what was in the air that night, it must have been the hetro’s toxic fumes seeping from there pores that made me behave stupidly. Miguel took a photo of me in which I was chugging a jug of bear and I spilled it all over my face. Also as you can see what my t-shirt says let's just say I was a hit with the fellas and the ladies were not having any of it. The women would give me the nasty looks while the men all wanted to high 5 me. I kinda wished it said I love male porn stars but whatever.

After stacy beer garden we went to Astoria’s tiny little gay bar that had about like 20 people in the place including the staff. I called it an early night by hitching a ride with Darwin at about 1230 back into the city thank god he drives.

The next morning I got up to watch Bruno the movie. It' had really funny moments but that actual movie was just alright. I thought it was great to see the extreme of things. Erica said it perfectly that the movie Bruno showed gay stereotypes on steroids. I am glad I payed only 6 bucks to watch it because I don't think it's a 12 buck movie.

Anyways that's all for now:)

Hope all is well

Jonathan

Kick your Ass

2009-07-06T19:20:00.008-04:00

My father, brother, and step mom were in town a few weeks back and that too was the first time I had seen any of them since I left to Australia. My dad gained a lot of weight, my brother got taller, and my step mom look good as always. I had a really nice time with my family and it was nice to laugh about the past. We all went to the movie theater to see Transformers in a IMAX theater. I thought the first movie was better but the action was really cool. We later walked around the city and did some shopping. We all got caught out in the rain on 9th avenue looking for a place to eat. originally we all wanted Thai but we couldn't make up or mind so my sibling's and I ended up at chipotle and my father and step mom ended up at some corner shop.

I started a kickboxing class at my gym and I am in love with the class. I never had so much fun at the gym in my life. I was pouring of sweat and my body was aching with pain but yet I still had the biggest smile on my face. I have taken abs classes in the past and I hated them but did them in the hopes of getting rock hard abs. In my kickboxing class I work all these different body parts in a fun but intensive way. It's every Tuesday and Thursday and I am going to try to make every class. Summer watch out here I come.

Another thing I missed about my apartment in new York were the elderly ladies who live in my building. Anytime I have a second I stay around to chat with them and they are so lovely with me. I think it's because I help them with there bags and groceries;) they were so excited when I got back and asked me a million questions which I thought was cute. Most of them know me by name and one of the ladies just calls me the nice boy from the top floor:) I call her mama since that's what everyone else calls her. Most of them women have been in there apartment for 30 plus years and have super cheap rent..... Like 600 dollars for a large 2 bedroom is unheard of in new York.

Hope all is well

Jonathan Vargas

NYC PRIDE WEEKEND

2009-07-03T11:35:00.009-04:00

I thought I would make a quick blog entry about Gay Pride Weekend before I forgot to post some of the videos up.
On Friday I met up with Cornell, Jonathan, and Miguel at The Dream Hotel for just a few drinks. I bumped into a few Australians that night and chit chatted. I didn't stay out long thou since I was tried and Saturday was going to be crazy.

On Saturday I went to my friend Alexia's Graduation lunch. Which was in queens. Then I went to my sisters and brothers graduation dinner afterwords. I was there till 10 then I went home and got ready for Roseland.

On Sunday I just rested for most of the night and Sunday night was insane. I went to Alegria on Sunday night with the crew and OMG the music was insane. I still cant get over it. It was the best Alegria I had ever been too. The place was packed all night long and everyone was just super festive. It was def one of the best parties with the best music and shows. The dancers and bartenders where stunning.

here are just a few video clips from sunday night
and a few pictures from Saturday and friday

Hope all is well
Jonathan Vargas

NYC UPDATE

2009-06-23T17:42:00.010-04:00

So I have been a little behind yet again on my blog. Its kinda shocking how you can just lose yourself with other little

things. To be honest I am not even sure where to begin since n

othing out of the ordinary has happened. Basically I have been seeing my friends and family and going out to eat a lot. Ill try to list things as I remember them....

Well, I am now happy to say that I am a proud owner of a Mac computer. I am in love with my little laptop. Its weightless, super fast, and so ascetically pleasing. I personally think that I would never go back to a PC unless they made some major improvements. Anytime I get on a PC I complain and get frustrated. The Mac is so easy to use and a lot more intuitive. I also uploaded a few pictures from my PC to my Mac and there is a huge difference with the picture quality. I cant believe I didn't get one before. Apple you have my business now. In addition I got a wireless printer for just 49 bucks after my mail in rebate (which I. Filed and claimed yesterday)

I also went to see my first Cirque De Soleil show. I have been wanting to see one of there shows ever since I went to Vegas and heard about them. The name of the show was Kooza and it was incredible. The core strength of the performers was unbelievable. I went with Cornell and his little sister. The tickets were originally $125 dollars for front row seats and we got the same seats for just $52. I really want to see the “O” show which is in Vegas and I hear is just spectacular. So I am going to be saving my pretty pennies for that.

So this is really gay but I thought I might as well..... I got tickets to g

o see Britney in August. I wouldn't say I am a big fan..... Yea she comes up with a couple of good songs but its nothing I would go crazy for. My friends kept telling me how great of a show she does so I thought I should take the opportunity to go see her. Besides I was able to get tickets before they went on sale because of my wonderful American Express Card. I am going with Alma, Yarenis, Alexia, and Erica.

Lets see what else can I tell you.... Its been raining in New York like crazy. I am actually getting annoyed. Oh I also just finished painting my room. It took me 2 days but its finally done. I we

nt with this amazing Ralph Lauren metallic teal paint for an accent wall and manhattan mist which is a grey for the ma

in color. I then changed the manhattan mist to an off-white since it kind of made me a little upset and home sick. It was similar to the colors I had back home in Sydney. Miguel helped me with my room which I thought was super sweet. Thanks Miguel

Wow now that I look back it seems like I did many little things. Anyway thats all for now... I still have to post up pictures from Mardi Gra and Ken’s visit to Sydney soon.

Hope all is well

Jonathan Vargas

I love this song :)

Ken in Sydney march 2009

2009-06-23T17:10:00.007-04:00

When I left New York to go to Sydney things were a little weird I would say between me and Ken. We were still living together even thou we had been broken up for about 8 months and I felt bad that I had moved on the way that I did. Ken was a wonderful boyfriend and there are many great qualities about him but the missing factor in our relationship was that I never really felt like he was my best friend. Having said that it was great to know that I could still count on him in being there for me (I just dont count on him for cleaning or picking up after himself, but thats another story)

While I was in Sydney and going through the break up Ken sent me a care package with magazine’s from New York, candy, gifts and a cute card. He was wonderful for doing that and I am very thankful for that. So when I asked him to come visit me in Sydney he didn't hesitate.

Ken arrived towards the end of March and he stayed for about 10 days. Its not a long enough visit but I made it work.

I am just going to list a few things that we did....

Went to dinner at Opium Din with Rauel.
Went to Luna park for the first time with and took the ferry over.
Went to Bondi Beach with Alex.
Nick and Jason invited me and Ken over for drinks
Went to dinner with Adrianna near the harbor bridge
Took Ken around the neighborhood
Had dinner at Napel with Dennis and then went to the movies.
Went to a house party with Ryan, and Wade.
Met up with Justin for a drink and dinner as well.
Took Ken to the night club and danced the night away

Actually I went out Saturday night with Ken and lost him for like 2 days. I didn't see him till Monday morning. I almost sent out a search crew. lol

Also ken bumped into a couple of people he knew from New York who have moved to Sydney.

Here are a few pictures from his trip down under

Hope all is well

Jonathan Vargas

Mardi Gra Sydney march 2009

2009-06-23T16:56:00.007-04:00

Here are the pictures that I had promised you all from the time Cornell visited me and we went and celebrated Mardi Gra. We had such an amazing time and met some great people. A few are from the parade, party, and after party........

Hope you guys enjoy:)

Jonathan Vargas

Hello Big Apple

2009-06-02T07:30:00.008-04:00

I am back in the Big Apple ....... so its been over a week since I have arrived from Sydney and wow how the city has changed. But let me start off with with my arrival and work my way around the other details.

I was lucky enough that my friend Alexia came to pick me up from the airport with my other cute friend Alma. They both looked just as cute from the last time I had seen them. We hugged and kissed and hugged some more and I told them about my flight. When I got home Cornell and Miguel were just a few blocks away and we met up at my house for a bit. I spoke to Erika and Hector to let them know I got in OK. Then Ken got home and he had little Welcome Home signs which were cute.

we then went over to Thai NY for dinner and it was a big group of us there. It was Me, Ken, Cornell, Miguel, Alma, Alexia, Erika, Hector, Jonathan, and Aaron. The food was alright but the company was perfect. It was really sweet that everyone there wanted to hear my stories and welcome me back to New York.

The next day which was Sunday I woke up early in the morning and went to my mother place so I could surprise her. I never told my mom which day I was coming back so that it would be a surprise. My sister let me in ( she looked so cute and big )

and I walked into my mother

s room. She was laying down.... she saw.... it took her a few seconds to process....and then like a crazy women jumped out of

bed and started jumping up and down kissing me lol. She was telling me how excited she was and that she had no idea i was coming. My mother looked so beautiful. It seems like she hasn't aged a bit. She looked exactly the same, if not better then went i left. We talked and chatted about Sydney and she cooked lunch for me. It felt good to see her and feel her warm hugs and kisses. I left my moms around 4pm and i went home so that I can get some sleep since there was a big party to go to that night.

Since it was memorial day weekend and my return my friends thought it would be fun to get festive and go to a party named Alegria. Lets just say that I had a blast!!! I caught up and saw tons of people I knew from before and I jiggled and wiggled all night long. Erika did her dance for me and hector gave us the loopy twirl lol.

Later in the week I joined Club H gym which is this gorgeous gym located only a block away from my apartment. Its luxuries like Equinox but at the NYSC price tag. I have gone for a work out twice and I love my gym. Its clean and beautiful and full of all the amenities I could possibly need. I LOVE CLUB H

That same week I went to dinner at Brandon’s place and can I just say that I love his apartment and his dog. We started off the evening with some wine and cheese platter which i thought was very classy of us.......... then a few hours later we did it college style and ordered a cheese pizza ........ good times good times

I also went to the pier this weekend and over to Uno in the meat packing district. I saw Big boy Erik Rhodes there with his Boyfriend Anthony who I actually met like 6 years ago. I took a few pictures so I hope you enjoy....

I still have a lot of catching up to do with friends and I am trying to fall in love with NYC once again to

o. One thing thats funny is that while I was away in Sydney I felt like it had been forever since I was in New york.... and now that I am here its Kinda feels like I never left. Not sure how to explain it.

Anyways that's all for now

Jonathan Vargas

PS ....My buddy Miguel works as a visual merchandiser at Saks 5Th ave and his work is amazing!!!!! Here is one of his displays in which he actually made the metal bugs HIMSELF. Miguel your so helping me out with my room.

What did I do to deserve this??? Mar 2009

2009-05-14T02:30:00.014-04:00

That’s what I ask myself every time I think about my friendship with Cornell. I have no idea what I did to deserve such a loving, honest, nurturing, funny, supportive, intelligent, creative friend like Cornell. It had been 9 months since I last saw Cornell and I was so nervous in seeing him again. Have we changed? Will it be the same or will it be weird? Will we still like one another and laugh all the time? That’s all I thought about when I walked over to meet him during my lunch break. I remember seeing him on the Corner of Park and George street and feeling my heart race just a little bit. He saw me and smiled and I smiled and from that very moment I knew NOTHING HAD CHANGED.

Me and Cornell were once again a duo that no one could mess with. I took him over to my favourite sandwich spot (big bite) and walked over to the harbour for a sit down. I have no idea what we laughed about but we just laughed and laughed and laughed. I have come to terms that whenever me and Cornell are around one another we act like 10 year old boys. We are super childish and just make the most out of any situation. We laugh at ourselves and at other people. We talk about our past trips and laugh about that. My mission for Cornell while he was in Sydney was to make sure he had an amazing time. I wanted him to meet all the people that I had become friends with.

Cornell trip to Sydney wasn’t just to have fun and see how Kangaroos get down and dirty. He came down to also help build me up again. I was still feeling really low and I had lost a lot of weight because of the break up. I would cry all the time and anytime I saw a “happy” couple I would just get into the wrong head space. I just felt a lot of pain inside and to me I felt like I had lost my bestfriend. The good news is that because of the break-up I had forced myself to go out and meet people and build friendships. Build on existing and new ones. Cornell timing was perfect. He always knew the right thing to say. He was there when I needed a hug. He pumped me back up with food and nutrition. I just felt really good when he was near by.

Anyways Cornell had a blast in Sydney and we did way to many things to possibly write about so instead I am going to make a list of things we did while he was here. Its not in order but who cares and this doesn’t include Mardi Gra.

1: We took a ferry over to the zoo and saw koalas and kangaroos’.

2: I cooked dinner for him and Christians house (I know we broke up but I still went over) long story

3: We went over to Kenny’s house for dinner. (Cornell liked Kenny and Kenny really liked Cornell)

4: went to the movies with my good friend Dennis and Stephanie (we saw slum dog millionaire which is amazing)

5: We went to dinner in surrey hills with my Citigroup friend Raoul and also to Bondi beach for dessert.

6: Went to Cronulla to have dinner at Steve and Wayne’s place. (The salad they made was amazing)

7: went to have breakfast at boy Charlton pool

8: went to breakfast with Kenny and Ben. Then we did the Coogee to Bondi walk and then got sunbaked at the beach

9: Had after work drinks at Cruise bar with Cam, Wayne, Steve, and Justin

10: Cornell went to the Chinese Gardens

11: Had after work drinks with my buddy Ruslan.

12. We walked around Paddington, Rushcutters bay, Surry hills.

Ok so the list is getting long and I can’t remember every detail since I have a horrible memory. Cornell was in Sydney for 12 days and I still left out all of Mardi Gra Weekend. So stay tuned because that is coming up next:

Enjoy
Jonathan Vargas

Steve's Birthday Feb 2009

2009-05-14T00:33:00.003-04:00

Being late is never cute FYI!!!! Back in February Steve invited me and a few of his friends for a birthday dinner at darling harbours Waggamamma. As always I got there right in time. If anything I had 2 minutes to spare. I bumped into rock star Justin and we both waited for Steve and Wayne to arrive. I had just spoken to them both and they said they were only a few blocks away. An hour later they finally appeared grrrr. I hate it when people are late and especially when they lie about where they are. Anyways it was Steve’s birthday so I let it go this time.

Waggamamma is a large chain-restaurant here in Sydney. I can’t say I was impressed by the food and that’s probably why I allowed myself to drink so much. That and the wine was super nice. The conversation at dinner was interesting and everyone was enjoying themselves. We later then walked over to another bar and that’s when things got crazy. Justine ended up ordering like 15 bottles of wine and everyone but me was playing these fun drinking games. I stopped drinking since I was already feeling funny and wanted to sober up. Especially since we were going to a club after and I hate feeling blah.

Later that night we ended up at this club named Chinese laundry…. It was off the hook!!! The music was sick and the beats were just kicking my ass…. I loved it. It was one of the best nights here in Sydney when it came to music. The crowd was a different story. I wanted to take my top off since I did get hot but it was a str8 club and the hetros would have probably looked at me funny. In the end the night was fun and we all had a good time.

Here are a few pictures that I have taken of my area when I have walked around. Its not much but I thought it was cute

Enjoy
Jonathan Vargas

The Big Two Four Jan 2009

2009-05-13T00:38:00.008-04:00

I am almost a quarter of a century old lol…. Whoo hoooo.
Being in Sydney for my birthday was a big change for me. Instead of being pale and cold I was tanned and warm for once.
This year I didn’t plan anything major… I invited a few friends for dinner at this thai restaurant called Opium Den located in Potts Point.
We had a nice meal and a few laughs plus a couple of drinks. After dinner we walked over to get some ice-cream which was perfect

That following Sunday I went to the Beresford for a few birthday drinks and celebrated with Justin since it was his Birthday too.
It was really simple birthday weekend and I really enjoyed myself too. The only thing missing was Ruslun since he too was supposed to be celebrating his birthday as well, but he decided to be silly and stay home.

I also got some really sweet gifts from my friends too.
I got this stuffed penguin I really wanted, an amazing drawing in a frame that a friend did for me, money, t-shirt, cards, and a few package from back home.

Laterzzz everyone
Jonathan Vargas

Central Coast fun Jan 2009

2009-05-11T21:11:00.008-04:00

In mid January my friend Steve invited me to go up with him and his boyfriend Wayne to their friends Justin’s vacation home up in the central coast. The central coast is less then a 2 hour drive north of Sydney and I really did need to get away for a little bit. I was feeling really down and I just wanted to spend time away from the city and bond with my buddies. This is also the first time that I met Justin and can I say he in an amazing person!!! He has battled cancer twice and was going through therapy when I met him, but he never complained if anything he was always beaming with positive energy. He can take any situation and turn it around. He really is an inspiration to me. Justin you ROCK!!!!

Anyways on our first day there we went up to beach for a swim and some sun. We took a few boogie boards from Justin’s vacation home. After the beach we went to get some food and then headed back to the house. At the house there were tennis courts and we all decided to play. We played tennis for a few hours and it was so much fun. I hadn’t played tennis since I was in the 5th grade so I was rusty but still a lot of fun. I actually play once a week now if I get a chance. Anyways then we headed back to the house just to sit back and relax. Had a few beers and just talked and took a few silly pictures. It was really helping me take my mind off CT, but then I would see Steve and Wayne cuddle and I would sort of loose it and go upstairs for a second just so that they didn’t see me like that.

It was especially hard since to me it felt like I had lost my best friend. But anyways enough of that ……. We later on we all joined in at cooking and made a nice meal. I hadn’t cooked anything since I moved out and being back in the kitchen was great. I made my favourite tarragon mushroom chicken casserole. We drunk some more and ended up watching a movie.

The next day we drove up to New Castle which is a small town just 30 minutes north of where we were. I can’t say I really liked New Castle, but it could have been because the weather was very cloudy and blah. We ate lunch there and headed back down.
The trip ended up being a positive and wonderful experience. I got to know Wayne a lot better since I usually just hung out with Steve. And also rock star JUSTIN!! There all cool peeps !!

Anyways time for me to go

Hope all is well
Jonathan Vargas

Xmas + New Years - family = ehh dec/jan 08-09

2009-05-11T01:20:00.012-04:00

Right around this time period things got pretty bad pretty quickly between me and Christian.(it was actually right around the time that Erica left if I was being honest) I don’t want to get to details into what happen but it wasn’t jolly for me at all.
For Christmas we stayed at home and open gifts at 12 on Christmas eve. That’s the way me and my family celebrate and I thought it would be nice for us to celebrate in the same way. I also cooked these amazing
empanadas that we had for Christmas dinner. I remember feeling really sad on Christmas because things weren’t going to well and I didn’t have my family close by.

A few days later Christian left for Byron bay and I stayed in Sydney. For New Years I went over to Ben's place since he had an amazing view of the harbour bridge. I later then went over to Nick and Jason’s to see the fire works since they also had an amazing view of the city and harbour. At 12 we saw the fire works go off and everyone had someone close to them near by. I wasn’t feeling really happy so after the fire works went out I said thank you to nick and Jason and went home to go to bed.

For New Years day I went to a party with Ruslun a good friend from Citigroup and Andoni and Allen. The party was nice and we all had a good time. At that party is where I also met my good friend Dennis who you will hear about a little later. This is also the first time me and Ruslun had gone out to party and let me tell you he had a great time. We all did really.

I also moved out of Randwick into Rushcutters bay around this point too. I moved to a studio apartment on my own and fixed it up.

Anyways I don’t want to write about this point in my life to much since it does bring back painful memories.

Hope all is well
Jonathan Vargas

PS Paris Hilton was at Bondi beach and thought I would take a quick picture for the hell of it.

Uecomm Christmas party Dec 2008

2009-05-08T00:15:00.007-04:00

These are just a few pictures from Christian’s work Christmas party. The theme to the party was anything that ended with an O. so people went as scoobie-doo, rainbow bright, psycho, Jackie-o, and nacho libra. Me and Christian decided to keep and simple and go as a duo. Lol we were just going to get matching outfits and a mask and call it a day. Then our buddy Andonie called us saying he didn’t want to go since he didn’t have a costume and blah blah blah. We eventually got him to come with us and instead of going as a duo we went as a trio J The party was held at the Hilton hotel in the CBD. The food was good the drinks were better. It was an interesting night.

Hope all is well,
Jonathan Vargas

Trickee Tranny FUN Nov 2008

2009-05-07T21:44:00.010-04:00

Still in the blue Mountains we decided to head over to the Jenolan Caves. The Jenolan caves are a maze of ancient limestone tunnels, subterranean rivers, and caverns richly draped with exotic mineral deposits. It was really exciting since the last time I was in a cave was back in Colombia nearly 2 years ago. The tour lasted about an hour and a half. Some of the views were amazing and there were a few pretty interesting stories. One of them was about a horse robber who lived and hid in the caves for years. Another story was about the people who fell and got trapped inside the cave ekkkk. In some of the spots we were all thinking about how cool it would be to have a large dance party inside the cave. Not sure how safe it would be but who cares right… haha

Also here are a few pictures and a video from the night we went out with Trickee. Like always we all had a great time. And just to let you know Miss Erica was a HIT!!!!!!!!

Enjoy
Jonathan Vargas

Christian's super duper present Nov 2008

2009-05-07T20:46:00.010-04:00

So Back in November Christian had been torturing me for weeks telling me he had a secret surprise for me. I didn’t know what it was but it didn’t stop me from trying to find out.

On the day of the surprise I took off from work for 2 days. He had Kenny pick me up and take me for breakfast at one of my favourite breakfast places Coogee Café. We ate there and I was trying to be as calm and collective as possible. Then Kenny got a phone call from Christian saying it was OK for me to come home. I was given instructions on when to walk into the apartment. I was given the O.K.... and I slowly worked my way in….. I looked around for a bit … and I kept walking …. And then BANG ERICA WAS IN MY LIVING ROOM!!!!!! I jumped up and down like a wild animal…. I yelled and ran inside the house with excitement. I basically attacked her with my hugs and kisses and also attacked CT with kisses. I was the happiest guy in the world. It had been 6 months since I had last seen Erica and it was amazing to have a little bit of New York in Sydney.

I had missed Erica sense of humour and laughter. She always knew how to make me smile and laugh. Having her in Sydney brought me so much joy and I couldn’t wait for her to meet everyone. I took her on the cliff walk from Coogee to Bondi. We took a tour bus around Sydney. I wanted to let her know everything that was going on with me. I was super excited about making her dinner (since I was now a good cook). I had her all to myself for 14 days!!!!

So what special things did we do you say?????…..well…..
We went up to the Blue Mountains one weekend and booked the most amazing little cottage in the town of Katoomba (and yes the Blue Mountains actually look blue). Katoomba is in the Blue mountains which is about a 2 hour drive from Sydney. The cottage we rented out for the night was amazing. It had a beautiful garden entrance. It had this charm and cozy feeling about it. The Kitchen was nice and big for us to cook. The rooms were beautifully decorated. It was a collection of different looking stuff that just ended up working very well together. The bedroom was nice and spacious. The bathroom was gorgeous with a large tub and shower.

Before we went to the cottage we also went to the town of Leura. We walked around the little town shops and had a quick bite to eat. We also went into this little store called ikoui where I bought a face moisturizer that was really nice. Erica bought some too and CT later ordered some candles online when we got home.

One of the main attractions at the blue mountains are the Three Sisters. Here is the legend of the Three Sisters that I managed to find online.

The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe.
These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry.
The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle.
As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.

While it was an amazing view to see the only draw back was that there were flies EVERYWHERE. It was disgusting. You would have thought we were in some African safari. There was about 20 flies around us each. Our arms were all over the place trying to push them away.

In Katoomba we went into a few antique shops. Erica found herself a cute little fur Stoll. Erica sure knows how to pick her friends lol. Christian bought himself an antique metal candle holder for the apartment. (its been six months and its still not up FYI lol). But its really nice and unique and will look very interesting in the apartment once its up.

That night we bought some grocery and had a really nice meal that Christian and Erica cooked. We had so much food and it was all very yummy. We had the best steak, roasted potatoes, asparagus wrapped in bacon, grilled chicken with green pepper, and bread rolls. The meal was amazing and the company was perfect. We rented a movie that night and had some apple pie with ice-cream. Then we were off to bed after the movie and CT and I just snuggled.

That’s all for now…. stay tuned for Erica and the Jenolan Caves plus a night out in Sydney with Trickee tranny
Jonathan Vargas

PS … Before I left to Sydney Erica gave me one of her favourite books for me to read. It was 1984 by George Orwell. It took me a while to get into it but towards the middle I was hooked. I would read it on my lunch breaks and on my bus ride back home. I loved the book Thanks Trickee

Housewarming party OCT 2008

2009-05-06T23:22:00.012-04:00

The housewarming party was a great success! We had a good turnout of people and people seemed to be really having a goodtime. That day I had cooked up something really special. I made my own pastry treats. It was a pastry puff filled with strawberry, honey and chocolate, or banana, honey, and chocolate. My pastry puffs were a hit. John our neighbour from upstairs had asked how I made them since he really enjoyed. Hell everyone enjoyed my tasty treats lol :) One of Christians friends used to play the piano for a rock band so he played and sang a song for everyone. Only one person got drunk which I thought was pretty good considering that Australians are known for binge drinking and getting hammered. The few people that stayed till the end were nice enough to help us clean up.

I pointed out my pastry puffs in case you couldn’t see them:) you will also notice that I gained a little bit of weight, but we won’t tell anyone :)

That’s all for now
Jonathan Vargas

PS.. This is the book Cornell gave me before I left to Sydney. Can I say its one of the best books I have read to date. It's a beautiful novel that explores, friendship, honour, betrayal and most importantly love!

A must read and btw don’t you even think about seeing the movie. It sucks!

PSS... I got to see Angels & Demons last night and it was good but the book is BETTER!

Pre-housewarming party Oct 2008

2009-05-06T00:35:00.008-04:00

So these pictures are from a day before and the day of the housewarming party. Christian’s sister Kylie was in Sydney for the housewarming party. She flew up from Melbourne and came to see our hard work and to help us celebrate. It was good to have an extra hand around the house since we needed all the help we could use. While she was here we had gone to the beach with her and Mitchell. I took some pictures of Ct which I think he looks extra cute in.

Also I took a few pictures before people arrived to the housewarming.

Ok so you see those painting on the wall. Ct bought those while on my second trip here in Sydney. He really likes aboriginal art….. I cant say I am a big fan but these ones are nice. And remember my story about the display case I painted. Well that’s on the left of that same picture. It used to be the color of pine wood YuCK!!!!!! Doesn’t it look pretty now?

I also painted the wall where the TV is...... it’s a really cool metallic green. I love metallic colors.

I am trying to keep the blogs short since I yip yap to much and I can’t really remember all the details.

Now you can see where I lived thou,

That’s all for now
Jonathan Vargas

PS...on more current affairs I went to see Wolverine a few days ago.... the special effects are pretty cool but other then that i thought it was just an OK movie. OK because it only cost us 7 bucks to see it :) I saw it with Amy, her brother, and CT

Sleeze Ball Weekend Oct 2008

2009-05-05T21:10:00.008-04:00

Here are a few pictures from one of Sydney’s biggest gay events Sleeze ball. I was really excited about this party since I have heard it was massive and that people really get into there costumes’. We thought about dressing up but then it would have been way to much work and probably wouldn’t have been very comfortable.

Before the party we decided to be ultra gay and have facials at home. We put a mud mask on our faces in order to look fresh and young ( I know how gay ).
After the mud mask a few people started to drop in. We went as a pretty decent size group. Its was Andonie, Sam, Sebastian, Martine and her group of 5, Christian and I. At the party we met up with
Jamie. The party I thought was just ok thou. The venue was massive. It was held at fox studios, which fits like 20,000 people. The stage and the lighting were amazing thou. The music on the other hand was very ehhhh. I can’t say I was impressed with it at all. On a scale from 1-10 I would have rated it a 5. Which sucks because tickets were like $130 bucks. Party tickets over here are ridiculous yuck!

We also went to DTPM that’s me in the pink mask. I borrowed it for a second just so I can take a picture. Very Lucha Libra

Hope all is well
Jonathan Vargas

Slave Labor Aug-Oct 2008

2009-05-04T21:39:00.006-04:00

So I thought I would post a few pictures from one of the days we were renovating. We had spent almost every weekend renovating our new home for a few months, and the house is still not done till this day. But it sure looks a lot better then before. It’s funny because when we first starting working on the place we would trick people in coming over by telling them we were have a renovating party. It sounded fun and I think the first week we tried it everyone had a great time. The second time around well……lets just says those laughs turned into grunts and those smiles into frowns lol. People were working during the week and now on the weekend and we payed in food not in cash lol. So it was no surprise to us when people stop showing up to our “party”

The jobs varied from painting, filling-in cracks and holes, sugar soaping the walls, sanding, taping the edges, stripping the windows, and drilling. My attention to detail I would say isn’t to great. If anything I was always trying to find the best shortcut. I had this theory and it was “ if you cant see it why bother “ lets just say that Christian didn’t agree with my theory and neither did Kenny, but I thought I would try anyways. I remember painting the inside of a display case and I thought there was no need for me to paint the edges since the doors on the display case would cover them and no one would notice unless you open the doors. And seriously who was going to open the doors anyways. In the end I painted the edges and I guess I got a feeling of satisfaction. No I didn’t hehe+

Renovating our new home made me feel like CT and I were getting closer. Yea I would complain and moan when we had to get back to work but deep down inside I Kind of loved it. The only frustrating part of the whole renovation process was that the house never seemed clean or organized.

Anyways that is all for now

Hope all is well
Jonathan Vargas

New home + friends + food = Good Times Aug2008

2009-05-04T00:53:00.006-04:00

So I was going through my pictures and found a few from when we had a few people over for lunch for the first time since we moved in. This is a little before we actually started to renovate. It was back in mid August and we had Kenny, Allen, Martine, Charlie, Adam, and Nora over. Nora is one of my Citigroup friends. She was actually the first person I started to hang out with at Citigroup. I don’t remember how it happened but I am sure she probably started talking to me and I just spoke back. She has a really outgoing personality and meets people really easily. We would spend our breaks together if we could. If not I would go to the gym. Anyways I invited her over since I wanted CT to meet the people I hung out with. Charlie is one of Kenny’s friends who is really shy and quite. He is from Africa and has been in Australia for a few years on a student visa. Unfortunate for him Nora grilled him non stop in order to get him chatting. It was really funny because Nora picked up on Charlie’s quietness. She wouldn’t ask him any questions that allowed for a yes or no answer. It was like “Charlie what do you like about Australia and why” or “what do you miss the most about home and why”. Kenny had the biggest smile on his face because here Charlie was speaking for longer then a minute.

I also remember that this was the first time I had feta cheese in Australia. I have had Feta cheese back home in the states and I really don’t like it at all. Its to strong of a cheese for me and I just don’t like it. SO when Martine was adding the feta cheese to the salad she was making I asked if I could get some before she put the feta in because I don’t like feta. She was telling me how good this feta cheese was blah blah blah and convinced me to have a small taste. AND THANK GOD I DID ….. I LOVED IT. All I eat now as a treat is feta cheese and crackers. The taste is completely different from the feta back home and I really hope that when I do get back to the states that I can find the same cheese. Aussie feta I love you!!!!

I contributed to the feast by making Muffins for dessert. I got one of those Betty Crooker easy bake mixes with real blue berries. I ate half the mix before baking it but its ok. No one would have eaten all those muffins anyways! I have a really bad sweet tooth hence the constant fluctuation in my weight but anyways who cares. No one seemed to complain (expect for those who wanted more muffins ooopps)

Anyways I think that’s all for now

Hope all is well
Jonathan Vargas

Ps Here is a funny video my friends made. This is how they speak to one another in real life :)

Sculpture by the Sea October 2008

2009-05-01T02:13:00.005-04:00

The sculptures by the sea exhibit was wonderful. Its goes from Bondi to Tamarama along the cliffs. Kenny and Christian took me back in October
I took a few pictures. I hope you enjoy

Jonathan Vargas

House hunting made easy JULY 2008

2009-05-01T00:53:00.011-04:00

I am just a Lucky Charm…… so after just a few weeks of being here Christian was looking to buy a house in Sydney. He had been looking for months prior to me getting here but on the first day that he and I started looking we found it!!!! What took him months and months to find only took me a weekend lol. So what did that mean? It means we moved again!!!! I remember that we moved in on August 1 and the place was a mess with tons of boxes everywhere.

We found a large 2 bedroom/convertible 3 bedroom apartment in the cute little area of Randwick. The space was large and the location was great. From Randwick, buses travelled every 8 minutes and it was only 12 minute bus ride into the city. Kenny too lived in Randwick so that was great and convenient. Especially when I needed someone to talk to. We had an avocado tree in the back plus a garage and laundry room. (I was scared of the avocado tree thou because the avocados consistently fell off the tree and they could knock you out!) We lived right across the street from the horse race course. Right next to us was Centennial Park and Coogee beach was only a 8 minute car drive. The place wasn’t perfect when we moved in. We had to put in a lot of hard work to make it look nice but Christian saw the potential and he nabbed it. It took months of painting, sanding, filling, before we threw a housewarming party. (More on the housewarming and renovations later).

Anyways here are a few pictures from a night out with some Citigroup work friends. It was probably a Friday night after a long days work. Christian then met up with us with his friend Jamie. Also there are pictures from Jamie’s Birthday dinner (Jamie is one of Christian’s funniest friends) The man knows how to entertain a crowd.

Hope all is well
Jonathan Vargas

Five Ways Cafe By Cornell Lemons

2009-04-30T21:05:00.004-04:00

Here is a poem that my Best friend wrote about his last meal in Sydney. Cornell Flew over to sydney this past March to cheer me up.

Five Ways Café

Each breathe you borrow
to light your cigarette,
walking up Paddington Hill,
cannot be rescinded.

At mid-morning, a famished
wind casually invites himself
to share our meal:
whispering eggs over
sourdough, circled by spiced
sausages and mushrooms.
Across the street, a chocolate
labrador’s gentle yawn excites
your retentive tongue. In two
glasses, fleshy blood-orange
juice sits patiently, unencumbered.

Cornell Rocks !!!!!!!!!!!

To clear things up .... I am moving back to New York at the end of May and me and Christian aren’t together anymore. I stop writing my blog for a whole year so I thought I would go back and try to make up for the time I didn’t write. So a lot of this is from my past experience and feelings.

Hope all is well
Jonathan Vargas

HOME!?!?!?!?! May 2008

2009-04-28T21:29:00.007-04:00

FYI THIS IS VERY SCATTERED WRITING LOL

Being back on land was a relief. I hate flying and its not because I am scared ( well maybe just a little ) but I hate flying because I hate being confined to a seat for more then 2 hours. So being on a plane for 22 hours is torture. All I did was eat, poop, and sleep. Kenny was the first one to greet us and pick us up. He was so welcoming and he got me a really sweet “welcome to your new family” card and a tub of peanut butter (at the time I was addicted to the stuff). We then to Bondi and had coffee with Adam and Allen I think. Moving my stuff in was easy since I didn’t bring much but clothes.

I remember feeling really torn at the time because I was really happy that I was with Christian but at the same time I was already missing my friends. Christian did his best at making me feel welcomed and so did Kenny. In my head I was just hoping that I could make some friends who were just half as good as the ones I had in New York. We had a dinner party with a few of Christian friend who welcomed me into Sydney as well. Dinner was good but my Chocolate treats ended up in the garbage bin.

After settling I started the process of looking for a job. I hadn’t had a “conventional” job in a very long time so my resume needed to be updated and tailored for Australia. I applied for work via online, recruiters, CT friends, and walking around to see if anyone was hiring. The biggest issue I faced with applying was that I wasn’t an Australian permanent resident and business were looking to hire permanent staff. I was feeling really frustrated since it had been 4 weeks that I had been searching and still nothing. I was bored of doing nothing and having no one to talk to other then Christian. But he was at work during the day. It wasn’t till the end of June that I got a temp role at Citigroup. I worked at Citigroup for a full 6 months and I met a few friends there that I will tell you about later on. I left Citigroup because of my visa restrictions. You see on a work and holiday visa your only allowed to work for a company for 6 months after that you have to move on and find something new.

Other things I did during my first few weeks in Sydney was to open up a bank account. I choice Bankwest as my bank since it had bright colors and it looked inviting. I got a gym membership at Fitness First. I shaved off my hair off. We went to a big dance party Called DTPM which was Awesome for the long weekend. I also set up a surprise birthday dinner for Christian. Well it was supposed to be a surprise but Adam told Christian about it Grrrr. Christian was down because he thought no one had remembered and that I didn’t bother to make it special for him. So in order to cheer him up and for him not to have a miserable day he told Christian about my surprise. I understand what Adam was trying to do, but had it been me I would have let him wait till the surprise. Anyways we ended up having a great time and I got him a cake and I made him his birthday gift. I assembled a cute photo album with pictures from our first meeting and my first time in Australia. I made little comments for each picture and it was just super cute. I kind of wish I could scan it and show you what I mean.

Anyways that all for now….Hope all is well
Jonathan Vargas

Ohhh I saw two really good movies the past 2 night.
I went to see “Elegy” with my friend Wade and I also saw “The boy in the striped pyjamas” with my friend Dennis. Both movies were incredible.

Leaving everything behind MAY 2008

2009-04-28T01:52:00.006-04:00

Saying Goodbye to my family and close friends was extremely hard. I know the day I told Cornell he was sad for weeks. I was sad that I couldn’t take him. I knew he was happy for me but was gloomy that it came at a high price. My mother did the very typical thing and worried  she loves that I am adventures and spontaneous but like all mothers she had her fears. Erika was also upset but I knew her reason and she too was happy that I was happy. I cant remember detail to detail but what I do remember was that I had the most amazing going away party EVER!!!

Christian flew into New York to come get me and this also gave him a chance to meet my friends and family. I needed them to meet Christian and get the OK…..  . I picked Christian up from the airport and booked a hotel room for me and him. I had laid out some chocolate and drinks plus a card to make him feel special and to welcome him back. That same night I took him and a few friends to see Fruta Bruta which is this spectacular show in NYC.

Anyways I decided to have a going away party on my rooftop and let me tell you it was a SUCCESS!!! I had elementary to high school friends. Friends I met in college and friends I met when I have gone out. The weather ended up working out for us since it was forecasted that it would rain but nope we had nothing but some sun and clouds. I think it drizzled for a moment but that was it. Erika helped me with the barbeque and getting the food. Everyone got to meet Christian and Christian got to meet everyone. It was truly one of the best BBQ I had ever been too.

On that day Cornell also presented me with one of the most beautiful gifts I have ever gotten. He made me a very special and unique video with clips of New York, Best wishes interviews with my friends, and just random stuff that were edited beautifully. It was creative and wonderful. No words can describe how it made me feel. I cried and cried with Joy when I saw it and its unbelievable sometimes how someone would go so far just to make someone happy. I will never in my life forget it. I cried for almost all the video which went on for like 25 minutes. THANK YOU CORNELL and everyone who helped or spoke in the video you guys are Priceless! And thank you everyone who joined me in the celebration!

After the rooftop party we had a very long and festive night at Peter’s “WORK” party then after we went to Pacha. We danced and laughed the night away and I was just so happy to have my friends and Christian all there. It was one hell of a night.

On the following day I took Christian to meet my mother. We had a small gathering with my uncle, aunt, brother, sister and a few family friends. It was a bit weird for CT since everyone was speaking in Spanish. I showed him a few baby pictures from when I was cute thing. Pictures of my family and old letter I had kept. We all ate and chatted for a bit before I said goodbye. You know what’s really astonishing…. I can’t believe I have managed to survive a whole year without having my mothers kiss or hugs. Its one of the things I miss the most and I am curious to see how much she has changed over the course of the year. she probably wonders the same thing.

The next couple of days were really hard for me and Christian. I was crying all the time because I got scared. I was afraid to leave my home and friends. I was very much bi polar and poor CT was thinking I was having second thoughts. But I knew deep down in my heart that I was doing the right thing by following my heart. I knew that it was going to be hard. I just didn’t know how hard. Before the airport I thought I wasn’t going to see Erika and that made me really upset. But I got to say goodbye real quick and she handed gave me a poem. I will post up the poem if she gives me permission. Saying goodbye at the airport wasn’t any easier but I was thankful that some friends took the time to come with us. After saying goodbye it was just me and CT from now on. I was going to begin my life as a kangaroo. Our flight was delayed so we just sat and ate at the airport. I remember having lots of cookies and treats.

Take off was awful!!!! We had tons of turbulence and I could have sworn the plane was going to come crashing down. 22 hours later I would begin my life in Sydney

That’s all for now
Jonathan Vargas