Mission Accomplished

Train

Fighting to keep my eyes open
The world rocks up and down, side to side
Darkness. Spot, spot, spot, spot,
Blinding light. Where are my sunglasses?
Red lights. Shouldn't we stop?
Suspended in air while cars flow beneath us like a river
Art everywhere, beautiful colours
Stop. Start. Stop.
Blue signs, so many blue signs
Advertising, Advertising, Advertising, ADVERTISING
Close my eyes for a second
Half the journey disappears
Green sock protects my white pod
Tunes of my life
'I'll wait for you, but I can't wait forever!'
Stop. Start. Stop.
Is Everest in India?
Transcending to a higher plane. Bridge maybe?
Repeating words until they lose all meaning
Zombie mode. 7 hours to catch up on
UTILITY!
Did you mean... google?
Is it possible to program a person to think the feeling of hunger is actually anxiety?
Stop. Start. Stop.
3 mins until I climb 'Everest'
Home beckons.....

Everyone is feeling it

The list

Initially once I decided I was going to spend a year (or three) abroad I had no idea where to start. I haven't been out of the country and only had stories from friends, travel guides and blogs to go by. So I decided to compose a list of things I wanted to see. Now this isn't your basic
list of monumental landmarks, or photo opportunities etc. I decided to list all the global sporting events I wanted to witness. The list then naturally progressed to festivals (mostly of the music variety), and a few other random things I wouldn't mind seeing. I have also started flicking through '1,000 Places to see before you die' by Patricia Schultz and I'm sure I will find a wealth of other things to add to the list. But for now it stand as such:

The Isle of Man TT - I have a couple of review dvds from this great race
and I just have to experience it in the flesh.
MotoGP world circuit - my goal is to attend a grand prix on every track.
NBA - in particular Madison Square Garden
MLB - visiting Yankee Stadium is a must
NFL
NHL
Soccer World Cup - if all goes well I will head over to South Africa
with my best mate (who is South African) for the world cup
Rugby World Cup - seeing as the next one is in New Zealand there is a
chance I will make it over there for the event.
The Ashes in England - nothing would be sweeter then witnessing the
Aussies crush the Poms on their home soil.
Cricket World Cup (one day and twenty20) - preferably when it is held
somewhere tropical!
IPL - seeing Shane Warne play again is a must on the list.

The Festivals:
Ruisrock - Turku, Finland
Austin City Limits - Texas, USA
Creamfields - England
Ibiza Rocks - Ibiza, Spain
T in the Park - Scotland
Roskilde - Copenhagen, Denmark
Isle of Wight - England
Endinburgh Fringe Fest - Scotland

Night life

Photo by Kurney Ramsey

The new plan?

Against everything I stand for I have decided to pass up on going to Mt Hotham and working for the snow season.

Why?

Mainly because I need to save 4k to get into Canada on a working visa. And I know myself all to well and being in that environment will equal me heading back to Melbourne with no savings and a severely damaged liver. Not to mention I'm heading to NZ as well which will not help the cause. If I want to make it to Whistler for the snow season / Winter Olympics I'm going to need to start saving now, and avoid any temptations to spend my money.

Overall staying in Melbourne and working is the best idea for the next few months. The less dept and more savings I have when I head overseas the better.

But in saying this my plans change every week. And the only time I will ever pass up an opportunity is if there is something better on offer ie Whistler over Mt Hotham.

There's just something about this picture

Microbreweries Showcase

Firstly, while at the beer tasting, a very passionate person from Buckley's Beer informed us that: on top of all the usual taxes any small business pays, microbrewers have to fork out 25% of their sales income straight to the ATO in the form of excise. Which is crippling the industry.

Please if you haven't already, check out the web page for A Fair Go For Craft Beer, an sign the petition.

The beer tasting itself went quite well. Two things could have made the night slightly more enjoyable:

1) 1.75hrs was not enough time to get through the 17 stands comfortably. We had to power through the last few stands.

2) There was nothing to break up the taste of the beers. Last year they had plates of warm bread going around to cleanse the pallet. Half way through I really could have used something of the sort. Even a cup of coffee beans would have sufficed.

Apart form those two things the night was great. Some of my favourite beers of the night, that I can remember and define from the rest are:

Buckley's Dark Bock Dark Lager, one of my favourites of the night. Most of the Buckley's Beer range was of high quality.

The Grand Ridge range is also of a high quality. If you like your dark beers you have to try the Moonshine. The Brewer's Pilsner is also quite nice.

Mountain Goat has been a personal favourite of mine since I went to the showcase last year. The whole range is of a top quality. They had a limited edition 'Fancy Pants Amber Ale' which really stuck out to me. Their stand was on the back end of my circuit, so a lot of the lesser quality beers had no defining qualities, but the Fancy Pants still left a lasting impression on me.

2 Brothers Brewery also has a nice selection of beers. The Trickster (Belgian witbier), Rusty (Belgian ale) and Taxi (German larger/pilsner) are all quality beers worth trying.

They are the main four breweries that stuck out to me, but all the other companies put out quality beers. Some other companies on show were: Artic Fox, Bridge Road, Temple and The 3 Ravens.

Please if you live in Victoria or plan on traveling there any time in the near or distant future. Give a Victorian beer a shot. Victoria offers over 120 different beers. Give one a go. You might just find your new personal favourite.

The Clash

Life Imitating Mario

One more time

Picspam

Here's a few more pics, just for Lou, because she called me out on my picspaming.

I tried organising a Sunday session today. I wasn't at all surprised when no one was interested. Everyone seemed to have plans, or be way too hungover from the copious amounts of alcohol consumed the night before. Or even worse, they just failed to reply. Most of my friends suck like this. It always seems to take weeks of notice and even more reminding to get them out for a beer or 12. Don't get me wrong, this isn't always the case, but it's very rare for everyone to be keen/free for a big one.

I did get an offer to head out later tonight and then to the moonlight cinemas. I think I'm going to pass considering how ill I felt this morning. My body would not at all be pleased with me if I decided to go out tonight, get thoroughly drunk, then watch a movie outside in the freezing cold. I believe I am destined to watching TV tonight.

So overseas may be coming a littler sooner then I thought. A couple of nights ago I get this message from a friend:

Friend "Arron I need to ask you a massive favour"

Arron "Yeah shoot"

Friend "Wanna come to the USA with me and work in a hotel"

after thinking about it for a whole 30 seconds

Arron "Yeah, why not"

The conversation went on for a bit more, and I convinced her that Canada would be better. So once again I will diving into a new experience, headfirst, hoping I don't break my neck. But that's what life is all about. That's what my life is about anyway. Taking a chance, living the dream, making every day count, using time as a tool and not as a couch. Right at this very second I'm not doing that. Money is a big influence on this. But when an opportunity comes along like this, I can't pass it up. I have to live up to my motto: Never Die Wondering. But I can't go anywhere until the end of May, after I go to NZ. But now instead of heading to Mt Hotham for the snow season, it looks like I will be going to Canada for the summer (hopefully staying on for the winter season as well).

Story of my life

The Shambles

This picture looks exactly like my mate Lynchy from The Shambles, well that's before he got fat. If you live in Melbourne or are going to be in Melbourne for the comedy festival. Go check out their show. They are playing at Portland Hotel from the 2nd - 26th of April.

Blowing your mind

Tools of the trade...

Old School

FFFFOUND.COM

Browsing through ffffound.com and I've stumbled across a number of images I like, so I thought I would share a few of them with you.

It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.

So nothing has really changed since my last update. I've got a job, I just haven't started yet. I decided to go back my old place of employment (only took one phone call). But they have changed their process for hiring. First I had upload my resume to their jobs site. Then it becomes a long waiting game. My department has to contact recruitment about me. Who then have to pull up my resume (and previous file) and do the paperwork. This then gets sent up to the recruitment officer in my department (who I initially called). He then has to 'interview' me, fill out the paper work, then process it. And THEN I have to wait for the next intake of staff so I can do the formal training again. It just goes on and on and on. Hopefully I start training by next Monday, because I am seriously short of money at the moment, and it's stopping me form living my normal life.

Since I have a lot of free time at the moment, I've started skating again (for the first time in seven odd years). Unfortunately I have no note worthy stories about this as of yet. In a related topic Tony Hawk and the Birdhouse crew are in Australia. Their demo today in Frankston was rained out so they will be doing a make up demo at Prahran skate park tomorrow at 11.30. It's free entertainment so you can guarantee I'll be there!

Has anyone out there read Tucker Max's book? My friend directed me toward his web site
(apparently I remind her of him) and I haven't been able to stop reading his stories since. Not to mention I probably haven't laughed so hard in my life either. I haven't read his book yet (being poor and all means I can't afford to buy it), but it's defiantly the first book I will be buying when I get paid.

Inspiration?

Photo by Zane Johnston

Reading and Writing

While I was in Brisbane I started reading. A LOT. Mainly due to the fact that I was unemployed for quiet awhile. I also started this blog (as recommended by Lonely Planet) to document my journey. All of my downtime in Brisbane rekindled my passion for reading and writing. Two things I loved to do in high school, but recently they have taken a back seat to just about everything. One problem I have right now is that I am back in Melbourne and have unlimited internet access. So my books have taken a back seat, but not always to Facebook and YouTube. I have become incredibly addicted to reading blogs. I have spent hours at a time, searching for fascinating people to read about. Personally this doesn't come as a surprise as most of the books I read are of the non-fiction type: biographies, auto-biographies, travel books etc. Stories and experiences of real people.

So I am still reading, even if i isn't always of the quality I would get from books (although sometimes it's better), but being back in Melbourne is hindering me from writing. I'm not traveling or doing anything new and exciting, so I have a lot less to write about. Racking my brain every day, trying to conjure up an idea worth writing about in my blog. Sometimes I come up with something half decent (like today) and others I draw a blank and slap in a photo just to keep the updates flowing. I guess it is just up to me to keep my life interesting, so I have something to write about, if nothing else.

The Rock

Just a typical night on Hayman. Photos like these make me miss that place.

Twitt twitt

Anyone out there a twitter as well? Check me out http://twitter.com/arron31

Flames

"Dancing to death in the flames of a fire

This long legged lad lives in desire.

And upon his shoulders where a doubt once existed

Is the weight of a thought that simply persisted" -Zane Johnston

Swing Life Away

Am I loud and clear or am I breaking up?
Am I still your charm or am I just bad luck?
Are we getting closer or are we just getting more lost?
I'll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let's compare scars I'll tell you whose is worse
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

I've been here so long I think that it's time to move
The winter's so cold summer's over too soon
Let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow
I've got some friends some that I hardly know
But we've had some times I wouldn't trade for the world
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go




I've loved this song for so long, well before I started working on Hayman Island. Funnily enough I was sitting on my front porch in the staff village when this song came up on the play list I was listening to. I sat there quietly, absorbing the words, realising how much they described my life at the present time. Elements of the song depict work, my friends, relationships and the island perfectly. 'I've got some friends some that I hardly know. But we've had some times I wouldn't trade for the world. We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go.' This lines describes the social scene perfectly. Living on that island, you learn to make friends very quickly and quite often experience some amazing things with people who have only known for a few days. I found this often is how great friendships were formed. And of course meeting people who are in the middle of traveling the world (or Australia), you often get swept up with peoples talks of where their next stops will be. I saw a number of people deciding to go on a world trip with someone over a beer at the bar. It is safe to say that I reminisce about my times on Hayman every time i hear this song.

Rise Against - Swing Life Away

Aotearoa

Photo by Zane Johnston

Ever changing directions

I love the feeling I have right now. The feeling that from one day to the next the direction of my life could change. Two weeks ago I was expecting to be in the process of finding a house on the Sunshine Coast. But instead I'm back in Melbourne, most likely heading back to my old job for a few months, then heading to Mt Hotham for the season (after a week in New Zealand). But who knows, in the next week I might get a better offer. One of the major reasons I haven't just headed overseas is I have booked flights to NZ already for a 21st. And of course the money factor.
Money is the one thing I do need so my adventure can continue. It's time to knuckle down and save some coin, so this feeling of freedom and movement can continue.

Amazing photos

Here and there I will be adding some photos to mix it up a little. Most of the photos I will be featuring were taken by Zane Johnston, a friend I used to work with who has a real eye for photography. Here are two examples.

Hayman Island

My view of Blue Pearl Bay II from atop of a rather large rock.

out of left field

You know someone your whole life and you think there is absolutely nothing they can say or do that would ever surprise you. You think you know them better then you know yourself. Then they tell you one thing which blows you away, something so contradictory their character that you have re asses on how well you think you know that person.

The great wave of sound

Soundwave Festival would have to be the best day of the year for me so far. Such a great array of bands, non stop great music from 11.50am till 10pm. I must admit by 5pm I was exhausted. It didn't help that I only had about 5 hrs sleep the night before, and the constant standing all day caused my feet and legs to throb, not to mention the massive graze on my leg but I'll get to that later.

The bands I saw are as follows: Mike Herrera (MxPx), Madina Lake, Less Than Jake, Goldfinger, Jack's Mannequin, Forever The Sickest Kids, Underoath, Anberlin, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Hellogoodbye, Funeral For a Friend, Bloodhound Gang, Billy Talent, Houston Calls, New Found Glory, Alkaline Trio and Saves The Day.

Some highlights include: the MASSIVE circle pit Less Than Jake started by getting the crowd to lap the sound booth. Of course I get floored and ended up with a massive graze on my left leg. But it was worth it just to be a part of it.
Forever The Sickest Kids' cover of M.I.B. Never heard FTSK before, but I must admit I was impressed by their show, and M.I.B was great.
Anberlin, just for being Anberlin and putting on an amazing set.
The kids in the pit at Funeral For a Friend setting up human steps and trying to launch themselves over the crowd and the barrier.
The security guard at Funeral who was egging the pit on to jump off the 'steps' and amping the crowd up. Top bloke I say.
The keyboardist from Houston Calls who reminded me of a gay asian version of Christopher Dudley (keyboard) from Underoath. Kudos to him though, for being totally consumed by the music.
New Found Glory (I think) getting the crowd sitting down to start the mexican wave.
And a point of curiosity, why the bassist from saves the day threw his bass on the ground and walked off during their last song. I do have a feeling it had something to do with the stage manager trying to shut them down before they played their last song because it was 3 mins to 10, as a consequence I believe they played an impromptu last song which would fit in the time limit. I have googled it to shed some light on the matter with no success.

Overal and amazing day, and I hope I'm in Australia this time next year for the next wave.