Hayman Island Part II?

Two nights ago I received a call from my old manager on Hayman Island. He asked me to come back and work for him again.

WHAT THE FUCK?!

Honestly this was the last thing I was expecting. As my dismissal was changed to a resignation on the books, it entitles me to return after three months. Four months has almost passed since I left the Island.

This leaves me with a huge decision to make. Do I go back or do I stick to my plans. Now my plans are by no way locked in (apart from NZ in May). But going back to the Island will change the whole dynamic of what I am hoping to do.

I loved living on Hayman and the island life. But at least 80% of my friends have moved on. So obviously I wouldn't be going back for reunite with my friends. I was in the process of becoming supervisor, however I believe someone has filled that role since I have left. So it would be very hard for me to go back for anything less then supervisor, my AM even told me not to except any positions lower then supervisor when I left the island. And I have been told that I will be doing HDs (supervisor) after a few months of returning back to Crown.

Now my manager told me he was going to check with HR yesterday, to make sure I was eligible to return and then give me a call. Yet I have not heard from him. There are a number of possibilities as of why he has not called yet: he could have totally written himself off after he called me and forgot all about the conversation (although my AM was there as well so he should have reminded him).

He never got around to checking with HR/calling me back. Or,

HR has on my record that I was dismissed and I am not eligible to return any time soon, which makes calling me back a low priority.

In any case I have been considering the options, and if the possibility of becoming supervisor is on the cards (I've heard the current sup might be leaving soon) then I think I might take the opportunity. I really did want to finish off at that place on my own terms, plus this will give me the opportunity to win the Outstanding Achiever Award I was robbed of!

But I'm not going to get my hopes up or make any decisions until I get the call back and know exactly what my options are.

I found the picture on http://www.ffffound.com/ and it is exactly how I am approaching life at the moment.

I gotta get me one of these

It's been a running joke between my friends since high school, always buying the inappropriate cards for birthdays and the such. I bought a 'So now your 2' card for a 21st and masterfully added a 1 to it. She didn't even notice until i pointed it out. Although I have a feeling it was the intoxication level over my artistic skills.

This stamp would make me the envy of all my friends.... Or maybe not

Funk

I'm in a slight funk at the moment. Haven't been given any shifts this week from the agency, and now I find out I'm going to have to wait up to two more weeks for my police check to be completed before I can start back at my old job. And when it comes to writing I have nothing blog worthy to bring forth. Well actually I have written a few things on my lap top, but I'm not sure if I'm going to add them yet.

To keep the cash flowing (and the bank off my back) I have become and Air Guitar Salesman. Below are some of the Air Guitars I am selling. Fell free to email me if you are interested in purchasing one.

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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.