Shooting from the hip!

hi

2007-09-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

ok I have been really slack or busy. Busy sounds better.

Anyway...Im not sure when Ill be back but for those of you who are interested, my email is narichards9@hotmail.com if you want to add me to your facebook.

:)

I'm alive!!

2007-09-14T18:02:00.001-07:00

The move down to LA has had me disconnected form everything so I should be back and running by next week, fingers crossed so dont think I have left you all!

Speeak soon!

I wish I was here...

2007-08-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

Second last day at work and I would give anything to be in Mooloolaba right now soaking up some rays.

Will.Work.For.Food.

2007-08-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

My last day of work is on Wednesday. It’s a little sad to see a place disappear from my life after being consumed by it for 18 months. A place I would regularly spend 40 hour weeks at I now won’t see at all, possibly ever.

It’s been strange this last week seeing things in a new light. For everything I see or do is quite possibly the last time I will see or do them and perhaps the last time I will see this person or that person. Do I say goodbye or do I let them wonder where I am when I leave? To be that elusive being sounds intriguing.

Leaving some places congers up some emotions that I did think I would have. There are many places that I go to that I have been frequenting since I moved here. My (cross country) birth place of sorts that I am no longer going to experience.

My gym is one place I have gone to from the very first day and haven’t changed since. The people know of me but don’t really know me so will they wonder about me or will I drift out of their memory like a brief encounter in a far away city? I want to tell some of them but I do not think they will care. “Why is this man telling me this?” They would ask. The friends I have made in there I will tell.

So for the second time in twenty years I am departing my place of birth with a heart full of hope and spirit full of enthusiasm. I am leaving behind me friendships that only briefly had time to mature and bonding time with family. I am grateful for the time spent with my cousins for they have given me all I have here and the opportunity to define them for myself and not from others was truly enlightening.

I have found a warm soul to confide in and shoulder to lay my head and plan on building that union into something special, far beyond what life can throw at me.

I really have no idea what Ill be doing down south. I have no job. No interviews. No connections. But I do have hope. I have faith that my hope will be fulfilled and enthusiasm rewarded.

Now, if anyone has any job openings in the Los Angeles area please call me. I need a job! Living in LA doesn’t come cheap people!

House for sale!

2007-08-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

Anyone want to buy a house? Its reaaaalllllyyy nice...

Miccy D's

2007-08-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

Don’t you just love punks who try and act all counter culture but walk into the boiling pot of American consumerism, McDonald’s? Yes, you are so cool young man, over there with the nose piercing and black makeup that give you the appearance of a dead clown. Who looks like he applied his facial paint with his left foot. Your articulate way of demonstrating your disgust in conforming to societal ways is imaginative. I have never seen black jeans with doc martins, complete with yellow laces and scuffed toe linings. If not for your flat chest I may have mistaken you for a female, maybe you were, but less fortunate? Either way, I’m still having trouble trying to distinguish the genitalia you were blessed with. For all I know you have switched back and forth and can’t decide what you want to be. Sorry if you were female. I did not mean to summon you to my car by calling you “Sir, madam, erectile dysfunctional clown” but next time you leave a half full coke on the hood of my car, ‘accidentally’ knock it over and walk away laughing as though you achieved some great comedic performance I will not be so kind. In fact, next time ill take your boy balls and wrap them around your ankles and shove a red nose down your throat. And if that doesn’t do the trick Ill take your goofy shoes and kick your ass through those golden arches so hard you’ll be ordering your filet’o’fish from the casualty ward. Asshole!

snap, camera, action

2007-08-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

I got my camera back after it being in transit for a few days from LA. And after viewing the pictures I am more than happy t report that they are great! I had put Anna and Rocky in charge of selling me on Hollywood because, as most of you know, iv been thinking of moving down there for some time now and they REALLY did a great job of showing me around and letting Hollywood do all the talking, which it did. Loudly. LA couldn’t have put on a better 4 days for us so without further adieu, I present to you (some) of Hollywood’s finest moments (if you subtract all of the rockstars, actors/actresses etc, etc moments).

This is a toilet, yes. I agree. What the?? Try not to look at the porcelain bus and focus more on the cool graffiti

The four of us went to Universal Studios on Saturday and to my dismay, 3 of the four of us (not me) were to much of babies to go on any rides except for one. Where they all got sick. This also is on a ride that doesn’t even move. It just feels like it does. You know the ones that jolt around and make you feel like your flying but your really just in one spot? Yeah, pretty fukn girly!

Hollywood here I come?

She may be small but she has the appetite of an elephant

Toi restaurant with Rocky

I am NOT gay

My first ever guitar I played on. I was so good I went and got my own and now I am taking lessons. Hopefully next time I see Anna I can play bah bah black sheep or something

I may look like I know what im doing. Don’t be fooled.

First night out. Rocky is a club promoter so we basically get VIP treatment to all of his clubs. This is Club Play. Cool little club but it was his last night there. He has bigger and better things in store for Friday nights.

Me with my new guitar…and groupie (I may only have one but how many do you have? HA!)

Rocky’s grand opening for Saturday nights at Cine Space. Great night all round. Red carpet, media wall and plenty of celebrities. Earth, Wind amd Fire, Some Russian Prince and apparently Lindsey Lohan were there. She was probably in the back getting right on it.

So with all that said, it looks like I am in fact moving to the meting pot of California and havent been this excited since leaving Australia. Iv always been one for change and if everything goes to plan ill be down there before Christmas and hopefully before Halloween.

Now, I need to go and find out how I can get the Sacramento Kings on tv down there. Im willing to pay whatever it costs to get NBAtv so long as I can so my beloved Kings play. I will contemplate not moving if I cant.

LA waiting

2007-07-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to post about my weekend in Hollywood but I left my camera down there. Until my friend sends it back, which I should get by tomorrow or Thursday, the Hollywood post will have to wait.

I will say though that I had alot of fun and it only fueled my desire to move down there. back with more in a couple of days

Hop, Skip & a Jump

2007-07-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my travels around the world with one of my buddies back in December 2001 and how much id love to do it again. I was only 19 at the time and even though I felt like I was taking in everything I possibly could, there was a lot I didn’t or just wasn’t mature enough to that I would now. Maybe it’s just that I didn’t know then what I do now that would make the whole experience so much more fulfilling.

I mean, I saw all the museums and art deco’s but did I really take them in or just see them to say I saw them? I traveled the cities and saw the people but I didn’t get to know the locals like I would now and I didn’t take in the culture as much as I saw the tourist locations that are all the same where ever you go. I spent 3 ‘wasted’ weeks in London, 2 ‘uneventful’ weeks in Miami and many lost days trolling around for underground bars.

Don’t get me wrong. I had the best three months of my life on that adventure but there were things I would do different. I would have taken notice of the smaller things that were either too trivial to expand my knowledge on or I would only scratch the surface of due to the bigger and better things coming in the next country.

The pictures have so many stories that only Wayne and I can share. He has some I don’t remember and I with him. Some of the pictures I can actually remember being in the moment taking; how cold it was, how sick I was from that damn stale orange juice or how cool it was I took that picture because I was too drunk to remember without it.

There are some instances that I remember so vividly I can close my eyes and see everything. What I would give to be there again.

I met some great people in my travels. It would be so intriguing to fall upon Jaime who we met in Niagara Falls and see if she finished her degree. A school mate who I hadn’t seen since I left school almost 10 years ago except for once, across the other side of the world in New York City. Juan who we bunked with in Miami had such a warm soul but was paid peanuts for the hard work he put in day and day out. I wonder where he is today and if he eventually made it back to South America.

Perhaps Im grasping for something that is not there. Another opportunity to hold on to and conquer the world like I know I can. Maybe I am wishing that if I had done more, seen more and experienced more I would feel that much closer to the dream again. Surely there is another opportunity on the horizon to test my will, wit and world experience. With everything I learnt traveling through 13 countries and countless cities I know there is much more to learn. To see. To experience.

check this out

2007-07-20T10:03:00.001-07:00

I saw this in another bloggers cooments. It had me laughing and trying to explain what i was laughing at to my co-workers. Its halarious!

www.tshirthell.com

Thunder Valley

2007-07-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

I am going to the casino tonight. Not for fun, nor for entertainment. Ok maybe some entertainment but definitely not to lose anything. I got a call from my cousin telling me payroll is tomorrow (ummm, like I didn’t already know) and he wants to try and win enough to cover it. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50k. I’m going to go so I can look at that much money and maybe pocket a chip or two :)

Room 401 is on tonight. Fot those of you who do not know of it it’s a show that basically scares the be-Jesus out of people. Looks fukn hilarious!

money bags

2007-07-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

As you may have read in previous posts, I am not very good with handling finances, I mean, I am, but, im also not. Ok, let me explain this to you like im talking to a 5 year old. Im not insulting you by the way, im moreso explaining it that way so I can understand it when I proof read. Anyway…first things first is I never have late payments. NEVER. Infact, since I have lived here (17 months) all of my payments haven’t even reached the period where its almost late but not quite. I mean the period between being on time and being late. You know, where the statement says “this is due on the 1st and you will incur a late fee if it has not been paid by the 15th’. So there’s those 14 days between where your not technically early but your also not late but you’d better get your ass in to gear if you don’t want to be late. This is often times referred to as the ‘grace period’.

Getting on with it.

I recently re-financed my house. Recently meaning today and from this I took some cash out of my property to basically catch up on some stuff and maybe a little bit of fun. Good on me. Smart move. Some would say it’s a bad idea but im all for having my money work for em and enjoying it and that’s what I do. I spend money. Even though I have not yet received the ‘cash out’ I have already booked a hotel in San Francisco this weekend with the intent to splurge in every store I deem fit to step inside, planned and will be booking flights down to LA to see some friends and again splurge on the fantastic LA shopping (its there, just needs to be found, I know this) and have many more ‘toys’ I have in the to get file.

To my credit I also plan on paying off my credit card and clearing half of my car loan from the books.

My problem with money is not that I cant pay bills. I can do that. My problem is I cannot save for anything. Luckily for me I have a 401k (basically for the aussies it’s a retirement plan) and I feel like that will be enough even though its probably not and I also have no idea how ill pay my taxes at the end of the year, although im hoping Christmas and bday money will cover that. So, in conclusion, even though it doesn’t seem like I have a plan I kinda do.

I will let you all know how SF is. I plan on getting a tattoo when I go to LA on the 25th so if you have suggestions please tell.

Have a good weekend!

2007-07-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Louie is trying out for the Sacramento Kings Dance team tonight. Everyone cross your fingers and toes for her and everything in between (if you have it). How cool would it be to be dating a professional dancer?!

EDIT: Louie was cut on the final cut of the day. Disappointing :(

euphoria

2007-07-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have a Apple Iphone! I could not be any more excited right now!! If I could hug you all right now I would...then chuckle at my luck to land one of these things. Yes, it is technology that will, no doubt, be outdated in a few months but for a few months ill be happy to have the coolest phone ever, yes, thankyou.

I almost feel like posting my phone number so you all can call me on my cool phone.

Corporate America

2007-06-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

Surely you don’t hate me? Would one hate their partner if he/she did not speak to them for a week? Surely not. Upset, maybe. So then, we are friends yet again, yes? I do apologize for my absence. I trust you have been well since my departure and things have gone accordingly. I am working in the heart of corporate California now. Yes, the capital of the most populous state in the United States, sporting a population almost twice that of Australia in its entirety, my previous life stop. So you must excuse me, for I am a city boy, infusing chic corporate style with a savvy contribution to the California development and investment empire. You may not like it now, but you will. I am the present, the future and all things desired, sex personified. You want me but will never have me. Welcome to the big leagues.

2007-06-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

more to come soon people. Iv been super busy. ill have you all in the know next week.

Have a great weekend!

Pistol Toting Poster Child

2007-06-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

Some funny things iv heard this week.

Black friend: So, this Rachel chick I was telling you abo…
Hispanic friend: Rachel?
BF: Yeah? Rachel.
HF: ok…
BF: Yeah, well, she was all up over me last night dawg. I got her number and ima call her tonight
HF: dawg, I don’t mean you no harm or nuttin but that girl is a poster child for abortions
Me: *spits drink out*

On a less brighter note: I was challenged to a water pistol fight at dawn. Wish me luck.

inland Cali

2007-06-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

Living inland in California makes tanning a little more difficult then what most people would think being a Californian and tanning would entail. We don’t have pristine beach’s closer than 2 hours away, we don’t have noisy pelicans waking us up at 5am instead of roosters and there aren’t guys walking in thongs (flipflops) with surfboards under their arms.

What we do have here in inland California is lakes. Lots of lakes with few beaches. It’s just not the same to sit on a beach with motionless water and it certainly isn’t the same to swim in water where you know there is no chance to be eaten by a great white shark. I mean, where’s the fun in that? We all need some excitement and if I need to find some water with festering, hungry sharks to get my kicks then that’s what im going to do.

The biggest problem I have with inland Cali is there is nowhere to tan. I don’t have a pool. My neighbour who is often out of state doesn’t have a pool. Lakes are boring to tan by – atleast at a beach you could at any time see some surfer dude eaten by a festering, hungry shark and im certainly not going to open the window of my bathroom and sit in the bathtub for an hour.

This brings me to the solarium. These things are everywhere! California is being overtaken my sun centre’s and there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it. This is how us inland folk roll. We don’t pack our towel, sunscreen, hat and radio. Hell, we bring our eye goggles, tanning lotion and face towel to our local tan centre and climb our happy asses into those uncomfortable burning beds.

This is where I have issue with our cancer inducing ways. Surely there is a better way to colour ourselves then lay in a plastic bed full of bright bulbs, and if not, can’t we make this non permanent colour change more permanent?

I walk through the doors of my tanning centre, pay the $20 per month for membership, pay an extra $39 for 250 credits so I can use the upgrade beds and only then is it time to enter the tiny rooms decorated with beautiful women with killer tans. I do this 3 times a week god damnit!

They always have young girls working at the counter, also with killer tans, always showing some sort of cleavage. They always offer to give you a deal on new cream, I always decline stating “I don’t use cream; it takes way to long to grease myself up with that stuff with minimal results”.

Once past the prancing staff they stuff you into a room the size of Paris Hiltons jail cell and lock you in where you have to get naked and lay down for 12-15 minutes having warm air blown into things you’d rather not have. After it’s all said and done you walk out of there with hair scrunched, a red face and a big smile to go with it looking like you’ve just whacked off.

I don’t know, maybe the whole tanning thing seems so unnatural without white sand, bikini’s and sparkling water close by. I think next time ill bring a bottle water in and splash it around and bring my beach towel to dry off for shits and giggles. That outta make the experience a little more enjoyable.

Miss Brazil..

2007-05-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

...Should have won the Miss Universe competition last night. Very dissapointed!

Hot, hot, hot!

Memorial Weekend

2007-05-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

Being a huge Sacramento Kings fan my whole life I always pictured myself being broadcoast across the jumbotron in Arco Arena for every one to see and cheer. So I was a little sad to see Louie do it before me. She did have a pretty damn good reason for doing so. Louie Graduated Friday with a degree in Liberal Studies from Sacramento State. Congratulations!

I dont know who this is but her nachos looked good.

Huwie, dewie and louie at the graduation party (louie in middle).

Louie and I went to Bodega Bay yesterday for Memorial day. It was beautiful out there and alot of people had the same idea. Their salt water taffy is delicious!

There were alot of field mice

My car is the one teetering on the edge (no pun intended) about to fall off. The Black SUV, Ford Edge

Our amazing sand castle complete with underground passage and seaweed flag.

I also went bowling for the first time in forever Saturday night and won 60 bucks. Louie's friend seemed to think she was *insert good bowler here* so I told her bad I was resulting in her wanting to bet. I pretty much hussled her. I hope she doesnt read this!

Weddings and birthdays o'my!

2007-05-22T15:14:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Winberry's!

Happy Birthday Danielle!

As you can see im too lazy to write anything so I posted some pictures instead.

Big week at work so I shant be writing much I dont think for a week or so but I will try.

Weekend #0702

2007-05-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

I had a really great weekend. Work has been quite stressful lately, not because of the workload but more of other issues that are going on so it was a great couple of days to (try) not think about anything but relaxing.

Friday night Louie and I went to Zocolo's for dinner. It's an upscale mexican infused with mediterranean style menu. The ambience was beautiful and the overall vibe of mid-town is full of energy. There are people walking in every direction, cars hussling through stop signs and the old style homes of the area full of people wanting to be part of the action.

I didnt get as many pictures as I would have liked. I hate looking like the tourist so I try and take as few as possible. Having an accent is enough to make myself look touristy so I try to steer clear of 'happy shooting' and wearing anything that says Australia on it.

This is walking towards our restuarant in mid-town about 7:30pm

Not exactly sure why this makes me laugh. Doesnt really belong does it? Seems like this guy has his life belongings in that truck. You can see the interesting houses of midtown too.

Sunday I went wakeboarding with a buddy who basically taught me everything I needed to know when I moved here. If not for him I would still be wondering where to get my drivers license and social securities number.

Claude just had a baby (his wife atleast) boy about 6 months ago so he and his wife were excited to get out on the boat.

oooh yeah! My first time up on a wakeboard. Last summer I attempted many times to get up to no avail. This summer, with 6 months of snowboarding under my belt, I got up straight away. In fairness, I did get on a few weeks ago but only very shortly. I have a video of it which I will try and post on youtube.

This is a duck I was feeding pringles to. Apparently I made it sick because the stuff contained in Pringles apparently makes you ooze oil from your arse so we quickly drove away from Mr. Duck in hopes that his oily arse didnt contaminate our wakeboarding water area. I hope he's ok, I only meant to feed him.

This weekend im taking friday off to see one my work mates get married at Lake Tahoe. Its so picturesque up there and a great place to tie the knot. Im looking forward to delicious wedding food and watching all the women cry over a celebration, go figure.

Let's blow this pop stand!

2007-05-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

Im sitting at work wishing I was somewhere far away on a tropical island or maybe soaking in the history of a 1000 year old temple. Where ever I am im not at work. So anyway, it got me thinking of where iv been and where I want to go next. Ever since I started traveling some 6 years ago I have had the travel bug ever since. Here is a list of my have’s and have not’s but want to’s and want to go back's

Countries iv been to:

Australia – Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Mackey, Townsville, Barrier Reef, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Canberra
USA – All through CA, Vegas, Albuquerque, Chicago, New York, Miami, Minneapolis, Hawaii, Phoenix, Scottsdale
Canada -Toronto
United Kingdom – All through England
France - Paris
Switzerland - Zurich
Germany – Munich, Berlin
Italy – Rome
Greece – Athens, Island of Santorini
Netherlands - Amsterdam
Hong Kong – Hong Kong
Thailand - Bangkok
Japan - Tokyo

Countries I want to go to:

Egypt - history
Brazil – always wanted to go
Argentina – always wanted to go
Portugal – love spanish culture
Spain – Madrid, Barcelona. Love spanish culture
Sweden – always wanted to go
Israel – different culture shock
China – Beijing. Again, culture shock
Cuba – because its bad
Mexico – many places
New Zealand – Snow boarding
Uganda – See World vision child
Bahamas – beach’s

There is nothing more exiting then engrossing oneself into a culture unknown, a terrain unexplored and an adventure beyond your wildest dreams. Traveling is a sickness that has no cure and symptoms that last a lifetime. This is one bug you’ll never want to treat because it breathes life into an otherwise mundane daily life. The sun will shine, the birds will song, where do you want to experience it?

Cinco De Mayo Weekend

2007-05-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Cinco de Mayo so I went to a margarita party with some of my work peep's and lost my money on that loser De la Hoya, damn him.

This is where the magic happened - The Bar

Louie & I

That night after I got over my lost money on 'the loser' louie captured me and Mijo

Yesterday Louie & I went downtown to Old Sac. The weather was great and the food delicious!

This was last night. Mijo was hating life! He does this funny thing where he'll go all crazy after we dry him. He runs around like a chickin with no head while Gringo looks on baffled.

50

2007-05-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

Stolen from Surfercam

1. Height? 175cm/5’10
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No.
3. Do you own a gun? BB-gun. Which I shot through a glass sliding door, shattering it and scared the bejesus out of all of my neighbours.
4. Who would you let eat crackers in your bed? Jessica Alba, but…she would have to be covered in honey and only one article of clothing, with every banned except socks
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Depends what im going for. I hate needles!
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Best hot dog ever: Yankees Stadium. Oh.My.God!
7. What’s your favourite Christmas song? Too much thought process involved.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Chocolate milk
9. Is your bathroom clean? Very clean. I am quite tidy in general
10. Can you do push ups? How many you want?
11. What’s your favourite piece of jewellery? I have a few. 1 from Italy, 1 from Australia, 1 from USA
12. Do you like painkillers? Used to, before they started causing more pain then I originally started with. Ironic really.
13. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? Accent. Ha!
14. Do you have A.D.D.? No
15. What’s your name? Neil
16. Middle Name? Same as dad and cousin.
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I have 3 cookies. So exciting. Choc chip!
What can I write here
Two’s enough. Woops, that’s three
18. Name the last 3 things you bought: Cookies/lunch
Gum –Trident
Gas - $11 to fill my bike. High grade too. Another reason to get one
19. Who are your favourite visual artists? Peter lik among others
20. You're stuck on a deserted island with two other people, who would you want to be stranded with? Dave and louie.
21. You've won a major award and have thanked your family, who else would you thank? Look, im just so happy to of won this prestigious award I don’t know who to thank. But goodness, I am so happy for all of your votes, so I thank you all.
22. Current worry? That I have won an award for something I didn’t do.
23. Current hate? foodchain order
24. Favourite place to be? beach.
25. How did you bring in the New year? Partying in Hollywood. Phew, big, BIG night.
26. Where would you like to go? Home.
27. Do you own slippers? No. Hate ugg boots
28. What shirt are you wearing? Botton down, collared work shirt. White
29. Do you burn or tan? Both. Mainly tan
30. Favourite colour(s)? Blue
31. Would you be a pirate? If I could have an eye patch
32. Are you gay? No
33. What songs do you sing in the shower? I normally wake up with a random song in my head so whatever that is
34. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? Boogie Man
35. What’s in your pockets right now? keys, wallet, business card, phone.
36. Where are you? Work.
37. Best bed sheets as a child? Cant really remember any
38. Worst injury you’ve ever had?4 ruptured ligaments in ankle playing basketball.
39. You're on a trip around the world and have to select five landmarks to visit, what would you pick? Pyramids, French/Swiss Alps, Greek Islands (again), Great Wall of China, Gaza Strip
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2
41. Who is your loudest friend? Sam
42. Who is your quietest friend? Dunno.
43. Does someone have a crush on you? I would hope so
44. Do u wish on shooting stars? Never seen one. Thought I did once but it was making a load noise so I presume it was a plain.
45. What is your favourite book? Davinci Code and Marching Powder
46. What is your favourite candy? Chocolate
47. What song do/did you want played at your wedding? Something by Lionel Richie maybe?
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Something that reflected my life. Selected by those close to me.
49. What were you doing at 12AM last night? Sleeping
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? mmm…chocolate milk.

dot.point.

2007-05-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

The weather is crazy here. Over the weekend it was 85-90 degrees. Yesterday it was 65 and raining. Today it’s 77 and sunny. I don’t get it. Global warming is really messing things up around town so turn your lights off when idle, recycle (Americans need to recycle more. I can’t believe there are no recycling bins here), car pool, plant a tree/plant and change your light bulbs to those funny lookin ones.
If anyone knows how I add people to my blog as ‘blogs I read’ please let me know. For some reason I just cant figure it out.
Very disappointed in Mr. Bush’s vetoing. That asshole is one mistake away from burning his house down. And that little grin he does when talking about how our soldiers are dying is disrespectful. If I could, id wipe that shit eating grin right off and send his ass to Iraq. Then we’ll see how quick he pulls us out.
I went to a bikram yoga class (hot yoga) the other night. Holy mother of Christ! I would have dead set lost about 3-4 pounds (1.5kg’s) of body weight just in the sweat I lost. It was amazing! Loved it! Probably won’t do it again for a while though. I’m thinking once a month. Probably the best workout iv done in years.
Hopefully im going to Hollywood next week to see The Cat Empire play at the Key Club. Haven’t seen them play in about a year and can’t even wait to!
I got a new car over the weekend. Exciting? Yes! I know. 2007 Ford edge, black, fully loaded. Love it. Only dilemma is choosing what to drive; the bike or the car.
I have been changing the address where a lot of my mail is being sent and yesterday I had received some mail to the old address saying “Dear Neil. This is a notification that a change of address has been processed. Thankyou”. Umm, well, why are you still sending mail to the old address then, dickheads!?
I am by no means an American Idol fan nor am I a closet Idol fan but I did see Blake Lewis the other night and since I dabble in spinning and mixing records when I can this piece impressed me so. Check it out

Spring

2007-05-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

is here

Happy Holidays!

2007-04-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

I think I am suffering from ‘I wish I was still on holidays lying on a beach and not at work sitting at a desk’ syndrome. Not only do I lack the basic ambition to get out of bed for work in the morning but also the motivation to write about my trip back to Oz for it will be so so long and I am so so lazy. I will try my darndest (way to American for me) to encapsulate something worth reading for you all.

Note: To make this post look longer I will strategically insert pictures for viewing. Remember – A picture tells a thousand words so this post could well be nearing 5-10 thousand words in length. Woooaaah!! Yes, thank you!

Hmmm…

This first picture was supposed to be classical. You know, an intriguing piece of mastery where you see me in the rear view mirror and my friend Dave*, however, it failed quite miserably thanks to his girlfriend Bec** who suggested such a preposterous idea.

This is the famous ‘loo with a view’ I have mentioned in prior posts. The view is beautiful and the people warm and friendly. It was a delightful 28C/87F. To the right of the picture is the loo. Btw – I have no idea how I managed to capture probably the only 4 people on the Queensland coast who thought it was a good idea to wear a suit to the beach. Anyhoo…

White sand and blue oceans is what it’s all about. Oh, and I promise I wasn’t taking a picture of that topless girl. Although that certainly was one of the beaches perks^.

Delectable desserts are always a fan fav! My friends who had me over for dinner that night know of my notorious sweet tooth and knew no matter what the night would bring, it would be A-OKAY if there was chocolate involved. They get an A+ for hospitality. Anything with chocolate involved will have me begging for more! Note to ladies: Anything with chocolate involved is going to get you in. Give me an m&m and im yours.

The Valley Markets are a great place to be after a rather big night out on the drink and you would like something, anything to get you out of the house the next day. There are lots of trinkets, clothes, jewelry, old vinyl’s and random stuff to buy. This is also the location of many a good nights out as once the sun goes down this place turns in to a melting pot of artsy, fartsy piss heads and non-prescription drug users.

This is my friend Sam*** who I would show but I think its better left that we don’t. Basically, if you take away the bag she pretty much looks like what the bag has drawn on it^^

I played putt-putt (miniature golf) with the couple who cooked me dinner with the fondue ( I have more then 2 friends, believe it or not) and at the 16th hole they have this for the golfers who arnt doing as good as they had hoped. I thought it was pretty stupid. They should have one at every hole.

So there you have it. I have some phrases those cuddly lil aussies fart out of their mouths which I shall post later in thy week. Stay tuned..

*This is his real name
** so is this
^ No pun intended
*** Real name
^^ Sorry Sam

patience

2007-04-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

I kiss my family goodbye. I turn around. There it is. Looking at the very Gate I stood before only 15 months ago. This time I know where im going. What im going back to. Who is there and what ill be doing. Strangely familiar. Bubbling to see Louie and the boys. There is a sense of relief to be going home. How peculiar to say when this was home, now a holiday destination. Odd return home. But I am going home too. Was I home or am I going home? Surreal reversal. Two homes. One residence. Yearning for stability. Hoping for change. What next? Changing tides bring different circumstances. More paths. More decisions. Pick a path. Pick a destiny. Open your eyes. Look up. See yourself. Its all there. decisions.

Hi!

2007-04-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Im back folks! Yes I know, I did not write a single post during my stay down under and for that I am sorry. I will post pics and share my traveling diaries with you when I get some time.

Ready....set....GO!

2007-04-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

Today is my last day at work before I make the long and arduous trip back to Brisbane. I have ahead of me a 1 ½ hour drive to San Francisco, 12 hour flight to Sydney and then a 1 ½ hour flight to Brisbane.

Hopefully I can get some sleep on the flight over (With the amount of sleeping pills I have packed I hope they wake me before they land!).

I love traveling from country to country and meeting new people. In an airport you could be meeting someone from anywhere in the world so I find it quite interesting and energizing to have people excited to talk to me about where im from or where they’re from.

Or plugging my Ipod in and ‘people watch’ for hours until my plane takes off. Seems very boring but I find it relaxing and a time to think about everything.

I need some time think.

I will endeavor to post throughout my stay in Australia so stay tuned, there will be some stories you will not want to miss come of this vacation.

Hollywood here I come?

2007-04-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Im thinking about moving. The bright lights and warm nights of LA are appealing to my inner senses. The urge to pack my bags, sell my house and make the road trip down there is becoming increasingly overwhelming.

There are a few things that stand in my way and its you who I choose to help me. If you so choose to accept my challenge I expect nothing other then an honest and fair opinion.

I have lived in Sacramento for about 14 months. I have a house with a dog and cat so its not going to be easy to just up and move (keep that in consideration). My house is fully furnished and I just bought a bike and a car. Work is great, kinda. See, the housing/real estate industry is very quiet right now and I am becoming bored with my position. I’ve never been one to stand around and wait for things to happen, I make them happen. Other then the fact that I have a pretty good job and the benefits could potentially be limitless due to me working for my cousins, I have options that most employees don’t, there really isn’t anything for me here in Sacramento.

Sacramento is a great city. I was born here some 25 years ago. I have some family here that I see, rarely, except for my grandparents and two cousins who I see often but other then that I don’t really know many people here, there’s not a great deal to do and overall im getting pretty bored. I guess the main thing is work is slow which is having a domino effect on the rest of my life.

North Hollywood, which is where I am planning to move if I do indeed blow this pop stand, is a great location. I know people down there, its close to the beach which I sorely miss, close to a lot of things to do and allows me to meet people more my own age and go out a little more.

Career wise it would be a hit. I probably wouldn’t be working in the same industry nor would I have anywhere near the benefits but I would/may be happier.

One option I would like to throw out there is to negotiate a deal with my cousins that would allow me to come back to my job in a couple of years when the industry picks up and spend those down years gaining experience in LA.

The grass is always greener. That damn philosophy gets me every time. This is one instance where the grass on the other side may be dead but I kinda wanna find out.

get a bike

2007-03-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of underhanded, sly, tricky and sarcastic comments related to and based solely on my decision to have a motorbike. Let me start by saying I think everyone should have a bike. Yep, I said it. You all should have a moped, crotch rocket, dirt bike or motorized scooter, anything that blows wind in your face. Why? Read on…

Remember when you were a kid and you would ride your bicycle or be swung around in the air by an uncle, parent or friend? How invigorating that was. It was such an adrenalin rush and then one day you can’t do it anymore. You’re too big to be swung around, your bicycle is too slow to really quench that rush and you’re stuck in the daily grind of everyday life.

You look for other things to quell the urge for adrenalin. Clubs, dates, surfing, movies, camping, sky diving and climbing. Some more dangerous then others. Some less rewarding too. Others far too often resulting in pushing the limits to exhaustion, injury or death but always searching for that elusive high.

I found my high in basketball, both played and watched. To this day there is nothing more rewarding then playing for a team and working towards a championship. The adrenalin pumping through is enough to satisfy any extreme sport fanatic but the older you get the less committed you and your teammates become. It’s harder to get to that place where you push for that life long rush.

I have spent years chasing the ultimate rush through sports, sky diving, traveling, fast cars, spending money, going to clubs, drugs and many other activities but nothing will ever give the ultimate high that im chasing. I’ve done some pretty spectacular things that have given me a rush I can’t describe but the ultimate is unattainable.

Wouldn’t it be incredible to have something that could give you an adrenalin rush at any time, whenever you wanted? When I know im going to ride my bike I get butterflies in my stomach, when im on my bike it gives a euphoric sense of being.

Find your youthfulness, get a bike

Aussie Invasion

2007-03-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

It feels good to be back at work, kinda. Well not really, but it makes me feel like I enjoy work more when I try and convince myself that work is indeed a good place to be during the day when the weather is perfect outside. I try and rationalize things sometimes with bogus statements such as ‘id rather be educating myself at work then sitting in the sun watching beautiful women walk past in bikini’s’. Obviously, they have no ground to stand on. I pitifully digress.

Anyway, I say this because I have just come back from a long weekend with five friends who flew over from Australia to see me. All very impressive when you consider the flight time, money and bother so for these guys to be friends 6 though 10 to have visited me since moving here I am very lucky. For those who have not visited me yet I am very disappointed in you and for the few who TRULY should have been here by now, shame on you!

The boys kept me very entertained throughout the 5 days they were here (they didn’t just fly to Cali for 5 days; they also spent some time in Mexico and are currently in transit to Hong Kong) with old stories and random ramblings.

Things said that kept me laughing in fits:

* “I need to drop the kids off”, “The kids are knocking” – None of my friends have ‘Kids’ in the context that you and I would associate the word with. ‘Kids’ refers to, in this case, going to the bathroom and doing a number ‘2’. Somehow, somewhere along my many years spent in Australia I seemed to of missed this term. Dropping the kids off is Australian for ‘I need to take a shit’.

* “When you get to ‘The Park’ (nightclub) just talk really loud, the ladies will then form a circle around us. They can’t get enough of the accents” I said. Skywalker (who I shall name) then continued “oh mate, I just have to tell them im a dolphin trainer or kangaroo catcher or pro surfer and they’ll drop their pants”.

* We were driving back from San Francisco in our family van that we rented and were talking about sending cars back to Australia and how if you did, you would have to change the steering wheel to the other side of the car which would incur some costly fees.

One of our friends has lapses of intelligence sometimes so we thought we would run with this a little bit. “Mate, not only do you have to change the cars over but you have to change the motorbikes too. Its bloody ridiculous, you gotta swap the front tire with the back one, turn the single headlight upside down and swap handlebars over” I mischievously bantered.

Tabloids (who I shall name) was stirring over what we were discussing, obviously pondering the authenticity of it all but not sure enough to disagree. We then continued “Also, isn’t it stupid how when you change states in Australia you need to change currency from Queensland dollars to New South Wales dollars, its fuckin dumb don’t ya reckon Tabloids?”. He sat there for a few seconds and said “I don’t get it, what the fuck are you’s on about?”. We continued to tell him that to change states you must also change currency and I finally said “Tabloids, do you not think you have to change currency from state to state? And he followed up with the priceless line “Fuck mate, obviously!”.

* Also on the trip back from San Fran, Honkers (who I shall name) was tossing some numbers around his head for a while and finally came out with ‘iv been doing some thinking and I don’t think our flight leaves at 1pm tomorrow. It just doesn’t make sense if we are to land there at 6am”. Natedogg (who I shall name) who was in charge of organizing all flights, times and travel arrangements piped up with “oooh, now that you mention it, I did see 1am” what followed was a chorus of boos. Needless to say upon arrival they had to pack their bags and rush out the door for the drive BACK to San Francisco for a 1am flight to Hong Kong.

They spent two hours driving to San Francisco yesterday morning, two back to Sacramento in the afternoon, two again to Frisco and then a 14 hour flight and then the day they land there is a $250 lunch for them at a conference with free alcohol. I cant wait to hear how that goes!

* I took the boys to ‘Ruth Chris Steak House’ one of the finest establishments in the Sacramento Area. The first thing out of Tabloids mouth in front of our server was “I think my credit card is maxed out fellas, you’s wanna cover me”.

That was a snippet of the goings on of our long weekend. I think we all had an absoluate ball and I cant wait to do it again. Have fun in Hong Kong boys and I will see you all (except Honkers) in Australia in 8 days!

Neily

2007-03-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Australian FAQ's

2007-03-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Below me are the 10 most frequently asked questions I get asked here in the States. You lot here are very quick to spot an Australian and the very moment you snitch me out you invariably always have one of the following questions for me.

“Do you Surf?” No I don’t but if you are hot, yes I do. This stereotype that people have with Australians and surfing is so far engrained in these people’s heads I feel like I should be walking with a surfboard and driving a 67’ V-dub. I mean, I shamelessly tan to keep up with their constant you-must-be-dark-cuz-you-surf mantra. *sigh*. I think California Sun Centers secretly pays people around me so I will tan religiously and uphold my monthly monetary deduction for their services.

“Oh your Australian? It would be so cool to see Kangaroos just hoping around.” I know this isn’t a question but it shits me more then Mijo leaving a dirty shit of his own on my expensive wooden floor. The fact is I have never seen a kangaroo or Koala or Emu or fuckin wombat anywhere other then a fuckin zoo. Actually that’s a lie. I have seen maybe 4-5 kangaroos while driving but they have all had their brains scattered across the footpath from previous motorists who probably were Americans trying to get a picture of them.

“Is your money really plastic?” Yes it is. Pretty cool huh? And no you cant rip it, even if you try to. It can be annoying at times though because it doesn’t fold easily, however, if you wash your jeans with a 20 in the pocket it’s good to go straight away. I do prefer the greenback’s though. Too much coinage in Australia.

“Do you eat vegemite all day?” Oh yeah, that’s all we aussies do all day is stuff our pie hole’s with black stanky, gel like muck that tastes absolutely horrid and smells even worse. If I had to eat that sherm all day id rather up and move to France where they eat brains and frogs legs. Atleast that has some sort of nutritional goodness and don’t let those hobo Australians tell you that crap has Vitamin D in it, I could give you something that has a lot more. if you know what I mean.

“What kind of money do you use?” I am American but I also consider myself Australian but deep down if I had to pick, I would say im American. So it deeply troubles me that Americans are so self-absorbed that they know nothing that happens around them but for their own country. The news has nothing of world events. Even your NBC world news is only called ‘World News’ because its based on news from Afghanistan and Iraq which focuses on the States being in the middle east. Com’on people! Educate yourselves on something other then what your neighbor is doing.

We use the Australian dollar. Our Prime Minister (not President) is John Howard and we have summer when you have winter. Got it? Gotcha!

“What’s the outback like?” About as boring as South Dakota only a lot more alcohol and bugs that can kill you. There is a big rock out there too that you can’t miss unless your blind and even then you’ll probably bang in to it.

“Crikey mate!” You have to imagine saying it with a funny American accent, much more like, “criky mouyte”. I also realize this isn’t a question but you would be AMAZED at how often I hear this phrase even when no one is talking to me. Ill be sitting at my desk and ill hear a “criky mouyte!” for no apparent reason. Ill pop and say ‘hey dude, like, shut the fuck up. Ok?” in my superfluous American accent.

“Do you guys drink Foster’s?” That would be a no. Why? Because they don’t fuckin sell it in Australia. What? Aaah,Yes! Fosters is probably the hardest beer to find in Australia. That doesn’t make sense?? Yes it does. Fosters is not “Australian for beer’ its ‘Australian for shit beer’. Australians drink much classier beer such as VB (better known as Vaginal backwash) and XXXX (Four X – not porn related).

“Do you know Steve Irwin?” uuuh no. He’s dead and I didn’t know him when he was alive. Why would I? Do you know Michael Jackson, Madonna or Tom Cruise? No. Granted, their aren’t an influx of famous people from Australia but that doesn’t mean that I do know the ones who are.

“Can you guys drink as much as we think you can?” This is a very interesting question. There are so many levels for which to answer this on. First of all, id love to see what they are watching to see this behavior because if its any kind of Australian football or sporting event of any kind really, they are probably getting a pretty good glimpse at how much Australians can really drink. They get belligerent, distasteful and aggressive and are supremely proud of it. The British can probably down a little more then the casual Aussie but you will be hard pressed to drink one under the table because even if they think they will lose, they wont stop. They will drink till their hand can’t lift another beer to their mouth and all the while ranting “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi ,Oi!!”.

I can’t wait to go back to Australia (2 weeks) and share with you all the 10 most frequently asked questions I get from Australians about the States.

Peace!

weekend

2007-03-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

My weekend was fairly eventful and I thought I would share the ups and downs that was my weekend.

*Friday afternoon I went home early from work. I was sick, err, sick enough to leave work early Friday. This sickness continued to bite me in the ass throughout my weekend, being the only thing to really PISS ME OFF over the past few days.

*The weather was absolutely perfect the entire weekend. 75-80 degrees, for those of you not in the know of the Fahrenheit scale, it is a delightful 22-25 degrees Celsius.

*I bought a motorbike Saturday morning to the dismay of many around me who tell me bikes are dangerous, blah-yada-yada-blah, etc,etc. I know, I don’t care, whadoya gotta say now? Shut up! I get my prized possession on Thursday. Perfect timing for the weekend.

*I went on a shopping spree. Ripping through every store I touched and leaving a trail of empty shelves behind me. I haven’t been on a rampage in a long time so it felt good to swing my fists at any price tag I looked at. At one point Louie had to slap me because I was snarling at approaching would be challengers who looked like they may snatch an article of clothing I was drooling over.

*I cleaned my house! This may seem fairly insignificant to some but for me, the relief of having everything clean and tidy is possibly one of the most supremely magnificent feelings of euphoria in the world. I dusted, mopped, vacuumed, had my carpets professionally shampooed, washed, ironed and tidied up all in one day. I celebrated with a spew in the cleanly minted toilet. Lesson for the kids – you shouldn’t clean houses when you have the flu.

I will say though, both the spew and clean house did make me feel better.

*Mijo is only one week away from puppy education class graduation. THANK GOD!! I am sick (not sick as in sick but sick as in fed up) of spending my Sunday afternoons in a stupid room with dumb barking dogs. The class has been worth the pretty penny I paid if only for Mijo being able to give me 5 when I put my hand up to him. How cool is that?! He can also fart on call.

*I took my mum to the airport Saturday afternoon for her journey back to Australia. It was good to see her but it was also good to see her go. We have a love/hate relationship.

*Louie and I took Mijo to the park after his class as a reward for his hard work which he enjoyed a lot. But, there were a bunch of lil fuker kids around the age of 15 who thought they were the coolest things since sliced bread. I don’t remember being such a snot-faced-turd-stainer when I was that age. Please, if anyone recalls me being this way plz inform me so I can crawl back under my bridge.

Also, I have changed the name of my blog to something more appropriate and with a little more relevance. I will let you all (do not think that the word ‘ALL’ and the amount of people who comment on my blog have any correlation) know why soon.

Peace

ps. I am taking the day off work tomorrow to go snowboarding!!!!!!!!!!

Breaking up

2007-03-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

I was minding my own business at Taco Bell. I rarely eat there because the food is suspiciously cheap and the ingredients have nutritional value of a rubber tire but today was different. Today I was looking for a new car. So a quick lunch was in order. My cousin who was to sell me his BMW X5 has now pulled his offer off the table, leaving me with little hope to find such a quality car for such a good deal.

As I was sitting in their dining room eating my soft chicken taco a young girl had sat down two tables infront of me. She was on the phone and talking to a friend. “Justin has brought this on himself. I’m sick of this”. She wasn’t happy with this Justin fellow and as I eavesdropped more it was obvious Justin was her doomed boyfriend.

There was another guy sitting a couple of tables from Drama Queen who it seemed was taking just as much interest as I was. He wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he was blatantly skewing his head to hear the conversation. I wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear the person on the other end of the line. “I’m doing it today” she said. “I am nervous but I have had the talk with myself, im ready”, leading me to believe she has some black paint under her eyes and a cape under the table for a quick escape.

Just as I was about to get up, Drama Queen sheiks “He’s here, I gotta go. Ill let you know how it goes”. This is getting interesting. Maybe I better take a few more bites of my taco. As breakup boy enters and sits, awkwardness ensues. Some smiles, some frowns but relative calm. She looks over breakup boy’s shoulder and catches me sneaking a peak. I turn away for only a second. This is like a real life Days of Our Lives and im a part of it.

Eavesdropper is almost falling off his chair; breakup boy is wondering why the tension and Drama Queen is trying to muster the courage for a clean breakup. Its never that easy it is? Someone always gets hurt and in this case poor breakup boy seems to be the victim of poor relationship management.

This continues for a good ten minutes. This would never happen in Days of Our Lives. Someone would be crying by now or saying they had sex with their brother/sister. I've had enough.

As I walk out it seems eavesdropper can’t bare it any longer either, although, instead of walking towards the door he walks toward the doomed couple and sadly yet proudly affirms to breakup boy “dude she’s breaking up with you bro”.

GASP! Did he? Oh my god! He did her dirty work!! She quickly turns to breakup boy and let’s a weird high pitched noise heard only at funerals and weddings where the groom says the wrong name at the alter. I can only see breakup boy from behind but I could see his body tense up, his shoulders roll forward and then let at a whimper that I think said “whaaa?”.

Eavesdropper was out the door at this time, myself not too far behind. I didn’t hear much else after that because I was already standing. I couldn’t sit back down again to hear the rest, unfortunately. Trust me, if I could have I would of grabbed a bag of popcorn and begged for a grand finish.

All I heard on the way out was “who the fuck was that Bec?”

“I have no idea” she sighs.

dismay of today and drey's

2007-03-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

Such a beautiful day outside and I am stuck inside an office staring at a computer screen. I have nothing more to write then my misfortune so if you choose to not be brought down with me please exit now.

*I am hung over from Saturday night which makes today especially difficult to bare

*My feet are unbelievable hot. I feel like there are midgets in my shoes shoveling coal onto fire

*I’m at the tiredness where my face goes all oily and yuk. I just want to lay in bed and watch 'Heroes' tonight

*but first I must go to dinner with my mum from Australia at Tahoe Joe's steak house

*Actually im quite hungry so Tahoe Joe's isn’t such a bad idea

*If only I had ice for my feet

*and a masseuse for my neck

*You’d be surprised at how noisy the hum of a photocopier is if you listen hard enough

*I’m sick of trying to get enough cash so I can get a new car. I am almost there.

*If only I could go outside and play with the birds

That brings me to a conversation I had with a work-mate last week. He asked me if I knew where squirrel’s lived. I had no idea but I ventured to convince him that I knew and quickly declared that squirrels lived in trees. Well, I was right, but not only do they live in trees but they build a quaint little house in there too called a drey. Did you know that?

Now that I know what they live in I kind of feel sorry for birds. See, squirrels live in what is basically a bird house with a roof. It’s made from sticks, twigs and funny earthly parts rolled into a emptied out ball. There is one outside my window. Now every time I drive past a tree I look for a drey. Those squirrels are quite a resourceful lot.

This post got off topic. I’m still mad at today. I must say though, the thought of a squirrel building a drey for his family is quite inspiring. I should build a house of my own.

Big Rocks

2007-03-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

I’ve always been big on sports. My mum always said that I grew up with a ball in my hand. It didn’t matter if it was a tennis ball, basketball, football or cricket ball, so long as I had a ball I would toss it around and to be frank with you all; I probably spent a lot more time playing with balls (not those balls) then I did doing homework.

I never quite made it to the NBA like I had envisioned and I am certainly not paying off my mortgage by throwing any type of balls around. I know, it’s sad isn’t it? I am stuck in a life where I my dreams have been crushed.

All is not lost though. Fortunately I did have a back-up plan and so far I am living the back-up. In fact the only thing missing from ‘the dream’ is a contract with the Sacramento Kings so I can’t complain.

Back to the topic. Recently I realized that every sport I have attempted to master have been fairly risk free. There is no chance of me falling down and having my body crushed under the weight of itself playing basketball or having a limb ripped form its rightful place by striking a tennis ball.

I guess I have always thought that people who sky dive, climb rocks and glide through the air have come to the inevitable conclusion that they will die doing these ‘sports’ and have accepted that. Whether I am scared or I just don’t want to die; I have been reluctant to try any of these until recently.

A work-mate of mine is an avid boulderer/rock climber. He often goes to Yosemite National Park and climbs rocks. He and I work out religiously after work basically every day and he has come up with a devilish angle to get me out of my comfort zone and onto a big rock.

‘Its great for your back muscles’ he says. ‘It hits tiny areas you wouldn’t even think you had’ he pushes further, as I scan his desk for something to play with. I often go to his desk to play with his thumb thimble. You’d be amazed at what I can do with a thimble. ‘Those types of sports are too dangerous for me. How can you have fun when you know your life is hanging in the balance? If you let go its over’ I shoot back.

I try and make my way to his desk whenever my legs need a stretch or I have a question for him so this particular occasion was no different then the rest but it got me thinking. I’ve always been one to live on the edge. Spontaneous was always something I prided myself on being but living here in the States has taken some of that away from me. Maybe I needed something a little daring in my life. I trip to beautiful NY or an adventure through South America.

All a little too expensive right now, particularly now that I fly back to Australia in four weeks for my much anticipated vacation with friends and family. Instead I have decided to get on that rock and climb until I hit the top. For if I don’t, I shall plummet to the ground of the beginners rocks and be carried away to first aid to recount my 8 foot drop.

If I do happen to make it up safely I will be sure to snap a few pictures for you all, that is if the elevation of my climb doesn’t restrict my breathing.

sneaky

2007-02-28T10:59:00.000-08:00

I got a call from my grandma last night.

‘Neily can you come over? I need to speak with you. Its very important’ she said in a frail voice barely audible through my cell phone. We often have trouble speaking to each other over the phone because I have an accent she can hardly understand (even though she was born in Australia and her sisters and brother live there) and she has a voice that is so quiet that she could fool one of those animals that can hear their predators from miles away – I cant think of any!

‘Ok, grandma. Is everything alright? Ill be there after work. Around 5:15pm’ with that I hung up the phone and wondered why she would make such a call. She never calls me, for the very reason I mentioned before so I usually just pop over once a week to say hello to her and my ailing grandpa who is riddled with cancer and has deteriorated so much he thinks he is still on the Air Force some 60 years after retirement.

The next day at work I had a field trip to one of our projects to assess what the recent storm had done and on the way I figured I would stop by grandmas house to see what the previous nights phone all was about.

Ding dong…

The door opens and standing before me is my mum. She sneaked into the country without anyone knowing, both of us startled because she was expecting me at 5:15pm and I was expecting the maid.

Grandma had mischievisly called me to come over so I would be surprised by mum. Everyone had gotten a shock but I was particularly happy for my grandparents because my grandpa is bored and has nothing to do all day and my grandma is finding things hard to deal with because she is lonely being with a man who doesn’t remember her or what they last had a conversation about.

My mum is here for 2 ½ weeks. She is sure to get on my nerves but I think I can handle it so long as she gives my grandpa his second wind and gives grandma some conversation worth remembering.

Home Sweet Home

2007-02-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

I’m going back to Australia in 7 weeks. It’s been 14 months since I was there last so there is an excitement in the air I haven’t experienced since I traveled around the world. I will be doing a 16 day tour of Brisbane, Sydney and their surrounding areas with stops in Noosa, Gold Coast and if time permits, The Great Barrier Reef.

My whole life I have lived by the old adage that ‘the grass is always greener’ and so far every time I have made choice to see if in fact the grass was greener, it has been. So, now that I am living in California where the beaches are long and white and the people welcome you with open arms all I can think about is how much I want to be back on the year-round warm beaches of Noosa or Mooloolaba with my friends doing absolutely nothing.

No matter how much green grass here there will never be whiter sand then that on the beaches of Australia.

Five years ago I was lucky enough to be blessed with an opportunity to travel through Europe, United States and Asia. The lure and prestige of the Greek Islands, South Beach and others seemed such an elusive destination and one I thought I would never see. Now that I have, as beautiful as they are, none compare to the Aussie beach of Mooloolaba that has so affectionately named its restroom sitting atop the beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean ‘loo with a view’. Ahh now if that doesn’t show the class and prestige that it deserves then I don’t know what does.

It is the great Aussie spirit that I am most looking forward to seeing from its people.

Gringo & Mijo

2007-02-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

Big Bucks

2007-02-14T14:53:00.000-08:00

Today is a big day for all of us here in the office. We have investors flying in from the Netherlands to inspect our offices, evaluate our land value and complete their due diligence. If all goes to plan they are going to invest $75 million with another $125 million to follow from other investors.

Its all very interesting to see how it works. See, if the Dutch don’t come on board it will have a domino effect that will filter down to the smaller investors who will also pull out. Basically what the Dutch are doing not only for themselves but also every other investor is providing a due diligence strategy that will be used as a benchmark for success.

If the Dutch are willing to invest $75 million based on the information we have provided then wouldn’t the smaller investors follow suite? Yes. If they don’t invest then why would the smaller investors want to throw their money at us? They wouldn’t. So, cross your fingers, toes and anything else you have to cross for us because today is a BIG BIG day for my firm.

Good ol' days

2007-02-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Louie and I were in the bed last night, forever trying to catch up on sleep, we had gone relatively early at 10:20pm. Sometimes when I go to bed early im not quite ready to fall asleep so random thoughts pop into my head of the weirdest things and last night was one of them.

When I was in tenth grade (almost 10 years ago, yikes!) myself and two of my friends would always get off the bus after school and go to the Video store across the street appropriately named ‘Video Ezy’. We would go in there and walk around, talk to the staff, play games, whatever. It was great. We had a fun time just hanging out ‘shootin the shit’.

While waiting for the bus on a hot afternoon at school we had come up with a devilish plan to embezzle some pornographic videos for our very own viewing. While on the bus we had drawn up a plan of attack that was fool proof. We would go in, take off the security tags, place them in someone’s backpack and do away with the videos without anyone seeing. I said it was fool proof!

Somehow Cameron was chosen as the designated video carrier. Looking back, there was no more difficult job or function of the plan that was more important then his and he possessed the most risk of any of us because he was the one who would ultimately be carrying out the stolen goods.

Maybe that’s why he agreed to be the lead in the bungled heist. He was to be the messiah who brought us hours of pleasure and we would be forever indebted to him. Sounded good to him, all he had to do was walk out of the store.

Once we were in the store we had made eye contact and agreed today would be the day. With a slight nod and a quick shuffle to the back of the store we were quickly undressing the videos of any tags, markings or such that would make the beepers go off.

After stuffing the videos into Cameron’s bag, Dj and I walked first through the security detectors as though this would secure his escape unharmed. As the two of us walked out through the electric opening doors we heard a piercing alarm. Cameron had made it half way through the detectors and somehow, somewhere a tag had gone unseen on one of the videos.

From that point on things seemed to go in slow motion. Dj and I both looked back to see Cameron looking at us with a pained look on his face of confusion and fear. His shoulders were shrugged up, his hands in the air as if to say ‘what happened? Our plan was fool proof!’. He probably weighed his options for about 2 seconds and im sure today he would agree that his decision thereafter was not the best ‘clutch’ decision he has ever made.

To the two villains who had miraculously escaped unharmed, Dj and I then saw Cameron running past, looking at us with a backpack full of illegal merchandise screaming ‘what do I do? What do I do? I’m screwed!! Oh my god, I am in SO MUCH trouble!!’

The manager of the store knew Dj pretty well so she quickly asked Dave to ‘Chase that boy, he’s stealing something!’ so Dj, caught between acting like he played no part in the act and not wanting to citizens arrest a friend did the thing that any friend would do, he ran up to Cameron and said ‘You have gone too far now, you have to keep running and act like I tried to catch you’.

So Cameron run all the way home. The manager had already called Cameron’s mother once he had made it home. It turns out the manager had called the school and through a process of elimination had pinned him for the hit. He was busted, served a good portion of his summer cleaning up the store and its surrounding gardens without neither Dj nor I ever being accessories to the crime. Thank you Cameron!

…………………….

This story took me a good twenty minutes to tell Louie because I was laughing so hard I couldn’t contain myself. Its great to be able to look back at your younger years and laugh so hard you are in fits. It truly was an instance where the cliché ‘the good ‘ol days’ held its weight.

Snowboarding

2007-02-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Lake Tahoe

'plan'

2007-01-31T16:31:00.000-08:00

I have been in this country for a year now and I still find some things to be difficult, or more difficult then would otherwise be in Australia.

For as hard as I have tried, the health insurance structure/benefits/costs here in the States baffle’s me more now then they did 12 months ago. There is a part of me that would argue, with a very strong case mind you, that knowing nothing about the medical system would in fact give me a better perspective of how it all works.

Ever since I started ‘partying’ with non-prescription medication about 5-6 years ago I have had trouble breathing; and it has gotten worse. I figured my poor life style had in some way affected my lungs, heart or some other life sustaining component of my body resulting in shortness of breathe, mini heart attacks and tightness of the chest.

Moving overseas was probably the best thing for my health, I guess. I stopped, or more appropriately, slowed down my partying ways and concentrated more on establishing myself in a full-time position with a land development firm. It has been hard not having my friends and living a lifestyle that not many people get to live in their life so I am forever grateful for those years.

I feel healthier now then I ever have but my breathing seems to be deteriorating and because of that I finally had my partner in crime and girlfriend, Louie (who I shall so affectionately name for blog security purposes) book me in to see a doctor.

Now you may ask why I couldn’t do it myself. Well, this is where the intricacies of the unpopular USA health system come to light.

See, in order to visit a doctor, it is imperative that you first check with your soon to be GP and see if they are covered by the particular insurer that you have chosen from your employer (and that in itself is problematic due to the sheer number of options to choose from). Once you have found a physician who is sponsored through your insurer you can then expect to wait 3-4 weeks to get in for a visit.

After much discussion about my family history and past indulgences I gladly paid the copay of $35 and went on my way, happy to have finally done something about my persisting problem. Three weeks later and after losing my prescription twice and almost throwing it away I went to the pharmacy to fix my broken body. Twenty minutes, thirty minutes goes by and finally the pharmacist tells me there is no record of me in any health insurance what so ever??

Instead of paying $7.76 for my prescription I am now being stung with an incredibly high $158.12. How on earth it can go from $7.76 to $158.12 is beyond me! After walking out of the pharmacy $160 poorer, a slight emotion came over me to pinch something to make up for iron-fisted pharmacist for not ‘hooking me up’, but thinking better of it I choose to walk out with with the little dignity I had left. Would me theiving an extra chocolate bar really make it all worth it? No.

Once I got home, checked the mail and noticed I had received a letter from the hospital I visitied weeks earlier, I quickly unwrapped it in hope that there was some inexplicable mistake regarding my health insurance and I would be able to recover my burnt $160. But instead I was presented with yet another cost to incur…The cost of my doctors visit!

As I have come to learn, until I have spent $1000 of my own money on my health, only then can I claim a rebate for ANYTHING. It seems I picked a plan that is better suited for those who suffer through many broken bones and viruses throughout the course of a year because once that $1000 threshold has passed, anything and everything is free from there on out.

Needless to say I have now changed my ‘plan’ to allow myself free coverage up to a certain threshold which I am certain I will not reach, although, my luck I will probably have every injury imaginable this year and wishing I had stayed the course of my previous plan.

budget's (lack of)

2007-01-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

I’m notorious for spending money. I don’t care how I got it, how much it is or what currency those dollars/yen/ pence are in, ill spend it. Infact, there have been friends/ acquaintances throughout my years who have suggested so much as to question my manhood. It is, by all accounts, a ‘problem’ I have faced for some years now. Last night was, however, my chance at redemption, at seizing the moment, the opportunity at taking back control of my finances and finally being able to say ‘Yeah, I have a mortgage but I sure as hell can afford it because I CAN budget’….

My story starts some 25 years ago, however, I will not bore you with my first words or first kiss or even my first alcoholic beverage, instead I will skip ahead 24 years to January of last year. This, my friends, is where things start to get interesting…

I had just finished my degree two months prior to this long awaited day so I had that gung-ho approach to life, ready to take on the ensuing challenges that would invariably be thrown my way. This warm, sunny January day would be the day that I packed up my life in little ol’ Brisbane and headed for the bright lights of California. I couldn’t imagine a better opportunity to grow up then by moving away from friends and family and into an unfamiliar environment.

Twelve months on from that uneventful flight over the Pacific I sit at my dining table. Signing over the last pages of a document that reads ‘Borrower’s Loan Document’. Yes, I have yet again gotten myself in some strife financially and under funded my bills and over funded my leisurely activities. I am now saddled with a loan on top of my mortgage. Due to these unfortunate and untimely circumstances I have now created a budget with the help of this very helpful web link (ignore the ‘Budgets are for sissies’ link!) - http://financialplan.about.com/msubbudg.htm

Now, I must go plan my trip to Hawaii!