We both hope 2009 is a great year for everyone.
Lots of love to all our friends out there.
Leigh & Kat
Wednesday 31 December 2008
Friday 5 December 2008
Some People Are Losers
[removed]
Suffice to say, you know who you are and what you have done.
Do not be surprised if your balls are in your mouth one morning.
Suffice to say, you know who you are and what you have done.
Do not be surprised if your balls are in your mouth one morning.
Monday 1 December 2008
My favourite album title ever (so far):
VA-Irritating_Music_for_Discerning_Snobs-(Soleilmoon)-2006-DPS
Friday 21 November 2008
Well hello there...
Obviously not that much musing going on here in Melbourne.
There are a few things I find that I'm not interested in now we're back at home.
1. Facebook - why on earth do I need to know what people are doing online when I can just ring them? I guess it's good to see what our O/S friends are doing, but they don't seem to be doing much either.
2. The blog. Nobody wants to hear me whinge about work do they? It's boring huh. Yes.
For those that are not with us here in Melbourne - we think of you each and every day and the good times we had.
So what's news here...
We have Gus the Dog staying with us at the moment who's actually been very well behaved. We may even keep him, but we'll see how he goes - poor guy must get a bit bored at home while we're at work during the day...
Work is still trundling along - Kat has started a new job which seems pretty good so far.
My hot Swedish Internet Date Kamil has been in town – nerds across the world unite!!
Until next time.
Lots of love...
r!
There are a few things I find that I'm not interested in now we're back at home.
1. Facebook - why on earth do I need to know what people are doing online when I can just ring them? I guess it's good to see what our O/S friends are doing, but they don't seem to be doing much either.
2. The blog. Nobody wants to hear me whinge about work do they? It's boring huh. Yes.
For those that are not with us here in Melbourne - we think of you each and every day and the good times we had.
So what's news here...
We have Gus the Dog staying with us at the moment who's actually been very well behaved. We may even keep him, but we'll see how he goes - poor guy must get a bit bored at home while we're at work during the day...
Work is still trundling along - Kat has started a new job which seems pretty good so far.
My hot Swedish Internet Date Kamil has been in town – nerds across the world unite!!
Until next time.
Lots of love...
r!
Wednesday 5 November 2008
Friday 31 October 2008
Geez it's been a long time...
It's all this working business - it leaves no time for the simple things in life - for example, blogging. Thankfully the new place of employment is silly enough to leave blogger.com unblocked! Perhaps a new series of thrilling tales from the workplace is coming. Perhaps not.
So a few things to tidy up - of which I do have photos, but obviously not at work.
Firstly: Congratulations to Nick and Erica who got married a few weeks ago. Whilst I've been slaving away at work they've been on their honeymoon. DIE!!
Secondly: We are nearly fully in our new place. We picked up couches last night, and have also been hitting up our favourite Swedish store, Ikea. I love Ikea. Almost as much as I love Sweden. Ahh Sweden.
Thirdly: I am back to living the dream at work. Let me tell you it absolutely rocks my world to work for a world-class organisation like AIG. Remember that 120 billion dollar bailout, I can tell you first hand why they need that...
Lastly: Thanks to the lazy bundi in my team whose gross incompetance and laziness is an inspiration to all around him...
Peace.
So a few things to tidy up - of which I do have photos, but obviously not at work.
Firstly: Congratulations to Nick and Erica who got married a few weeks ago. Whilst I've been slaving away at work they've been on their honeymoon. DIE!!
Secondly: We are nearly fully in our new place. We picked up couches last night, and have also been hitting up our favourite Swedish store, Ikea. I love Ikea. Almost as much as I love Sweden. Ahh Sweden.
Thirdly: I am back to living the dream at work. Let me tell you it absolutely rocks my world to work for a world-class organisation like AIG. Remember that 120 billion dollar bailout, I can tell you first hand why they need that...
Lastly: Thanks to the lazy bundi in my team whose gross incompetance and laziness is an inspiration to all around him...
Peace.
Friday 17 October 2008
Net!
| Connected | true |
| Operational Mode | G.Dmt.BisPlus |
| Annex Type | ADSL2M |
| Upstream | 1021200 |
| Downstream | 23312100 |
| CO Vendor | BDCMa |
| Elapsed Time | 0 day 2 hr 37 min 8 sec |
There is much to report, but not tonight...
xooxoxox
Tuesday 7 October 2008
Monday 29 September 2008
Um.. WTF?!
I've rarely been known to say that George W. Bush is smarter than anyone, but I think we have a winner!! Sarah Palin, the Governer of Alaska, and John McCain's running "mate".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxAO7cH-xrE
She's no mate of mine, mate!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxAO7cH-xrE
She's no mate of mine, mate!!!
Photography, Things I Want and Cannot Afford, Indian Food
I had a weird dream last night about shooting with an off-camera flash. Then Adam mentioned a photo competition, which I cannot enter because it has closed. Welcome to the first of many boring and random things you will see here which hold no interest for you.
I want one of these and two of these. You may send donations via PayPal to lamaison at iinet.net.au. Any donations over $500 will receive a free mix-cd prepared exclusively by me, for you.
Last night we tried our hand at some Indian cuisine. The good: Palak Paneer. The good, but not hot enough: Beef Vindaloo. The good, but not the flavour I expected: Achari Gosht.
It was a fair bit of work actually. We now have about a kilo of spices, so I think we'll be ripping out some home style Indian a bit more once we move house.
I want one of these and two of these. You may send donations via PayPal to lamaison at iinet.net.au. Any donations over $500 will receive a free mix-cd prepared exclusively by me, for you.
Last night we tried our hand at some Indian cuisine. The good: Palak Paneer. The good, but not hot enough: Beef Vindaloo. The good, but not the flavour I expected: Achari Gosht.
It was a fair bit of work actually. We now have about a kilo of spices, so I think we'll be ripping out some home style Indian a bit more once we move house.
Saturday 27 September 2008
Mother, Docklan, Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons
Yesterday afternoon I had a coffee with Mother. It was very pleasant.
After this, a couple of cheeky brews with Ben & Campbell @ Docklan - which you'll be pleased to know is still as characterless and windy as ever.
Next up, courtesy of Goldman Sachs JBWere Nick and I attended Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons @ the Crown complex.
A restaurant with no bookings is an excellent marketing strategy - breeding exclusivity from the get go. Thankfully arriving at 6pm was the perfect time.
The space is truly fantastic, although the noise levels leave a thing or two to be desired. What was that you said?
We opened with a couple of selections from the Salumi menu - an excellent Enzo Salami and Prosciutto. Paired with a fabulous Gorgonzola and a litre flask of the chilled De Bortoli house red, this was a great start to the meal.
Next up we shared a 1kg T-Bone steak - served with anchovies and a salsa that was perhaps a little to heavy on parsely for my personal taste. The meat was right up there with the best meat I've had, and I could swear it was larger than 1kg, as we didn't even make it through the whole thing. We tried. Honestly. But my gut was really beginning to strain at the belt. Mmm.
Service was attentive, except for a small faux pas with our second caraffe of wine - it had to be asked for twice, and came in the wrong size when it did.
As Nick said - this is really just great, old style, wog food done perfectly. It's not breaking any new culnary ground, but for a rewarding meal it comes highly recommended.
After this, a couple of cheeky brews with Ben & Campbell @ Docklan - which you'll be pleased to know is still as characterless and windy as ever.
Next up, courtesy of Goldman Sachs JBWere Nick and I attended Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons @ the Crown complex.
A restaurant with no bookings is an excellent marketing strategy - breeding exclusivity from the get go. Thankfully arriving at 6pm was the perfect time.
The space is truly fantastic, although the noise levels leave a thing or two to be desired. What was that you said?
We opened with a couple of selections from the Salumi menu - an excellent Enzo Salami and Prosciutto. Paired with a fabulous Gorgonzola and a litre flask of the chilled De Bortoli house red, this was a great start to the meal.
Next up we shared a 1kg T-Bone steak - served with anchovies and a salsa that was perhaps a little to heavy on parsely for my personal taste. The meat was right up there with the best meat I've had, and I could swear it was larger than 1kg, as we didn't even make it through the whole thing. We tried. Honestly. But my gut was really beginning to strain at the belt. Mmm.
Service was attentive, except for a small faux pas with our second caraffe of wine - it had to be asked for twice, and came in the wrong size when it did.
As Nick said - this is really just great, old style, wog food done perfectly. It's not breaking any new culnary ground, but for a rewarding meal it comes highly recommended.
Thursday 25 September 2008
This is what's wrong with the media...
This story published by The Age has got to be the dumbest story in the universe. Based on nothing but some bullshit facebook group started by someone who only knew this girl for a week. COME ON!!
The Fat Man Rides
So this week in addition to applying for jobs I thought I would start riding my bike.
I have but one word for you: U N F I T.
It looks better when you type it like that.
Rock on!
I have but one word for you: U N F I T.
It looks better when you type it like that.
Rock on!
Wednesday 24 September 2008
SF Fine Dining, Final Musings
There's not much to say (or should I say there's not much I can be bothered saying) about the sale of the turd and the journey back to San Francisco.
Whilst there was still a bunch of screwing around, the fine team of Marcial/Clark achieved everything on time, and under budget. I realise that I've gotten pretty good at timing and sequencing events and journeys - I should move into logistics.
It was surreal to be out of the desert and back amongst civilisation - so we celebrated by stuffing our gullets full of fine food and wine.
2 Minute Food Updates
Spork - A curious name for a curious restaurant. Situated on the site of an old KFC outlet this was obviously a place for the young and hip to dine. Noisy, warm and small - the food was excellent, and the service atrocious. Cue waitress with bad attitude. Remind me why we tip again? Not bad enough to put me off though. Would definitely dine here again. Recommended.
Paul K Restaurant - "Only 14 blocks away" - we were glad we didn't try to walk (or should that be run) for our reservation. Once seated we were the only patrons. Perfect. Fine mediterranean influenced food. Excellent cocktails. Great gay service. Highly recommended.
Hang Ah Tea Room - Advertising themselves to be the oldest dim sum (or yum cha for us Australians) house in San Francisco and sporting fabulous flourescant decor. There are no trolleys, but the dum sum are excellent, and the prices will leave you wondering whether they left half your order off the bill. Of course you could find better yum cha in SF, but at this combination of price and quality why would you bother?
Boulette's Larder - There is something perculiar about food in the US - there appears to be no good food at the middle price level. For example, Dangerous Dan and I each had a terrible plate of Mexican food at a small restaurant - total cost of meal, over $40. Or you could attend Boulette's Larder and feast on the excellent lunchtime fare, for not much more. Housed in the SF Ferry Terminal (an excellent building for gourmet ingredients) the Larder should not be missed if you are in downtown SF.
Sushi Ran - A short ferry ride over to the opulence that is Sausalito will deliver you into the hustle and bustle of Sushi Ran. We opened with a sake champagne cocktail, which I think we all agree was terrible. There is no doubt that Sushi Ran delivers excellent Japanese food, although I felt that this was in fact the weakest of the restaurants we dined in - perhaps it was the preppy crowd, or the hurried service - I'm not sure. Still if Japanese is your thing, then you can't go wrong here. The lobster gyoza should not be missed.
Whilst it wasn't a dining place, I should mention the bar at the Phoenix Hotel. Excellent happy hour cocktails, albeit slowly and in a surly manner.
The End of SF
As they say, all good things come to an end. On Friday the 5th I farewelled Dan, Ene and Frank and headed down to Alameda to wrap up the trip. I can honestly say that the Burning Man/SF experience was overwhelmingly positive, and I find myself yearning for a bit of dust in my hair.
The next week or so passed pretty quickly. I finally sold the Jeep (for a pittance) packaged up all our remaining stuff and had it shipped, and ate up a storm at my Aunties place. Finally, it was time to say goodbye, and head out to the airport.
The flights went smoothly, and I arrived in Melbourne safely. It was pretty strange to be back.
Final Musings
It's so hard to sum up 15 months of travel and experience. By now you've seen lots of photos and put up with lots of words, so I hope this has given you some insight to the wonderful experience it's been. Some quick notes and thoughts:
The Awesome
The Excellent
The Average
The Shite
Whilst there was still a bunch of screwing around, the fine team of Marcial/Clark achieved everything on time, and under budget. I realise that I've gotten pretty good at timing and sequencing events and journeys - I should move into logistics.
It was surreal to be out of the desert and back amongst civilisation - so we celebrated by stuffing our gullets full of fine food and wine.
2 Minute Food Updates
Spork - A curious name for a curious restaurant. Situated on the site of an old KFC outlet this was obviously a place for the young and hip to dine. Noisy, warm and small - the food was excellent, and the service atrocious. Cue waitress with bad attitude. Remind me why we tip again? Not bad enough to put me off though. Would definitely dine here again. Recommended.
Paul K Restaurant - "Only 14 blocks away" - we were glad we didn't try to walk (or should that be run) for our reservation. Once seated we were the only patrons. Perfect. Fine mediterranean influenced food. Excellent cocktails. Great gay service. Highly recommended.
Hang Ah Tea Room - Advertising themselves to be the oldest dim sum (or yum cha for us Australians) house in San Francisco and sporting fabulous flourescant decor. There are no trolleys, but the dum sum are excellent, and the prices will leave you wondering whether they left half your order off the bill. Of course you could find better yum cha in SF, but at this combination of price and quality why would you bother?
Boulette's Larder - There is something perculiar about food in the US - there appears to be no good food at the middle price level. For example, Dangerous Dan and I each had a terrible plate of Mexican food at a small restaurant - total cost of meal, over $40. Or you could attend Boulette's Larder and feast on the excellent lunchtime fare, for not much more. Housed in the SF Ferry Terminal (an excellent building for gourmet ingredients) the Larder should not be missed if you are in downtown SF.
Sushi Ran - A short ferry ride over to the opulence that is Sausalito will deliver you into the hustle and bustle of Sushi Ran. We opened with a sake champagne cocktail, which I think we all agree was terrible. There is no doubt that Sushi Ran delivers excellent Japanese food, although I felt that this was in fact the weakest of the restaurants we dined in - perhaps it was the preppy crowd, or the hurried service - I'm not sure. Still if Japanese is your thing, then you can't go wrong here. The lobster gyoza should not be missed.
Whilst it wasn't a dining place, I should mention the bar at the Phoenix Hotel. Excellent happy hour cocktails, albeit slowly and in a surly manner.
The End of SF
As they say, all good things come to an end. On Friday the 5th I farewelled Dan, Ene and Frank and headed down to Alameda to wrap up the trip. I can honestly say that the Burning Man/SF experience was overwhelmingly positive, and I find myself yearning for a bit of dust in my hair.
The next week or so passed pretty quickly. I finally sold the Jeep (for a pittance) packaged up all our remaining stuff and had it shipped, and ate up a storm at my Aunties place. Finally, it was time to say goodbye, and head out to the airport.
The flights went smoothly, and I arrived in Melbourne safely. It was pretty strange to be back.
Final Musings
It's so hard to sum up 15 months of travel and experience. By now you've seen lots of photos and put up with lots of words, so I hope this has given you some insight to the wonderful experience it's been. Some quick notes and thoughts:
The Awesome
- Waking up every day and seeing something new. OK we woke up every day and saw the same brown decor, but you get the idea.
- Snowboarding five times a week. It's unreal. Really. You should try it sometime. Unless you're Wilma and you break your wrist. Don't do that.
- Crater Lake - 30 foot of snow and the sun shining on a polished blue mirror. Doesn't get much better than that.
- Photographing a bear cub in the woods @ Yellowstone. More scary than sharks at night.
- The Playa - endless heat, dust and irritation. Somehow though, the little dust particles change your brain and you find yourself yearning for dust. DUST I TELL YOU!!
- All the great people we met. Tom, Barb, Bob, Robyn, The Swiss, Ian & all the gang at Riverside RV, Dan G, Prewitt, Jeff, Luke, Mason, Clayton, Paul, Tunnel & all the other boys at BSM, Booker, Claire, Rich, Alex, Zoe, Ene, Bill, Harry, Rich2, and last but not least, my fake relatives everywhere - being chinese world over. You can't buy these experiences....
The Excellent
- The Turd and the Jeep - Despite the odds, our machinery came through when we needed it most. We miss you, but you will live on in our hearts.
- Every single park we visited. There was something different at each one. As I drive through the concrete jungle I find myself missing the outdoors and being greasy all the time. Mmm.. grease.
- Mechanical repairs in the bitter cold, or the searing heat. Having a workshop will seem like working in heaven.
- The Weber. I hope the hippies who have you now get as much use out of you as we did. Blackened chicken aside, a reliable partner in our gastronomic adventures.
- Free WiFi at RV parks - why can't hotels do the same?
The Average
- Working for crappy pay. Really, it's not that good.
- The price of booze in Canada. Also see above.
- Breaking down and waiting 10 hours for a tow truck.
- Changing an alternator in the ice. Replacing fuel-rail o-rings in the snow. Actually all mechanics in the cold and hot. It only makes it into the "excellent" because I am deluded.
The Shite
- The entire Bohannan family. Enough said.
- Losing money to churchies. See above.
- Did I mention David?
- Andrew - the dog who broke my lenses. Yes, you are a dog. A spineless dog.
Sunday 14 September 2008
Back...
Well here I am, for better or for worse, in Melbourne.
I flew Virgin America from SFO/LAX - very nice. Even though you have to pay for your food, you just order it on your touch screen, swipe your credit card, and minutes later it arrives via the cabin staff.
LAX was as fascinating as always. As I wasn't sure whether I was going to get into Business I made the mistake of eating a burger at a diner there. Apparently they "serve satisfaction, daily". Must have been their day off for satisfaction, because all I got as a shitty, tasteless burger.
To my disgust I also discovered that Kirin in the USA is brewed by Anheuser Busch (of Budweiser fame) and tastes perculiarly similar to their other beverage.
As I approached the gate with my stinky Economy boarding pass, the red light went on, and I was told to hang back to wait for my upgrade. After 30 minutes of nervously looking on, I was handed the magical black boarding pass, and jumped on the bus for the plane.
Very Short Plane Movie Reviews
Harold and Kumar - Escape from Guantanamo Bay - pretty funny, worth a look, even if it's only to watch Neil Patrick Harris eating shrooms and branding a whore with his initials.
Stop Loss - A pretty solid film about soldiers in Iraq. Not as good as Jarhead in my opinion, but still worth a look.
The Square - Nothing like celebrating a return to Australia by watching some Australian cinema. Not a truely great film, but a pretty good crime/thriller.
I had a little snooze, some breakfast, and next thing I was hanging around at Melbourne Airport waiting for my bags and standing in a line for customs.
And thus is is over. Still a couple of items left to wrap up blogging wise.
If you're bored head over to Ben and Rose's Blog.
I flew Virgin America from SFO/LAX - very nice. Even though you have to pay for your food, you just order it on your touch screen, swipe your credit card, and minutes later it arrives via the cabin staff.
LAX was as fascinating as always. As I wasn't sure whether I was going to get into Business I made the mistake of eating a burger at a diner there. Apparently they "serve satisfaction, daily". Must have been their day off for satisfaction, because all I got as a shitty, tasteless burger.
To my disgust I also discovered that Kirin in the USA is brewed by Anheuser Busch (of Budweiser fame) and tastes perculiarly similar to their other beverage.
As I approached the gate with my stinky Economy boarding pass, the red light went on, and I was told to hang back to wait for my upgrade. After 30 minutes of nervously looking on, I was handed the magical black boarding pass, and jumped on the bus for the plane.
Very Short Plane Movie Reviews
Harold and Kumar - Escape from Guantanamo Bay - pretty funny, worth a look, even if it's only to watch Neil Patrick Harris eating shrooms and branding a whore with his initials.
Stop Loss - A pretty solid film about soldiers in Iraq. Not as good as Jarhead in my opinion, but still worth a look.
The Square - Nothing like celebrating a return to Australia by watching some Australian cinema. Not a truely great film, but a pretty good crime/thriller.
I had a little snooze, some breakfast, and next thing I was hanging around at Melbourne Airport waiting for my bags and standing in a line for customs.
And thus is is over. Still a couple of items left to wrap up blogging wise.
If you're bored head over to Ben and Rose's Blog.
Thursday 11 September 2008
Kim Jong-Il
Geez I love Kim Jong-Il. If I'm ever gonna be a world leader I'm going to make sure I look just as much like a bum as he does.
Burning Man 2008
Geez it feels like forever since we left for BM, and I guess it really is. Here comes the words (and courtesy of Bill, Rich and Ene, the pictures!)
Thursday - August 21st - Afternoon
Journeyed out to SFO to pick up Daniel, Ene and Frank.
Discovered the Jeep was too tall to go into the short term parking. Great. Had to drive out to the long term parking to find a berth.
While opening the door to get out a massive gust of wind nearly ripped the (already weakened) drivers side door off. Just what I needed after a pretty hectic day.
Finally made it to the terminal, and then had no freaking idea how to find arriving passengers. I wandered around the baggage carousel until I noticed some strange guy eyeing me off. Then I heard Daniel shout my name. Turns out the strange guy was Ene :-)
We grabbed the bags, and headed into downtown... and checked into our hotel, The Mosser.
After a couple of weeks on the road it was nice to have a room to call my own (well for Frank and I to call our own I guess).
Some people had been on a flight for a few hours, so they needed time to freshen up. I donned my now famous pale blue Lacoste polo shirt (the shame), caught a few minutes of Arnie in Predator, and then we headed out.
Thursday - August 21st - Night
A bottle of fizz later, we headed off to our secret Birthday dinner location - TWO.
This was an excellent restaurant, serving great food, and tasty cocktails - there was also a good wine list, which was extremely well priced.
I had some foie gras (which is no longer on their online menu) and the meat lovers pizza. Mmm. Meat. Beef cheeks may sound off-putting, but let me assure you they were great. Highly recommended.
Not surprisingly an early night was had by all.
Friday - August 22nd
I woke up with a massive headache due to my recurring sinus issues, which wasn't really all that much fun. Unbeknownst to me this would be my curse over the next few days. We spent a couple of hours buying equipment for Burning Man @ the Wok Shop.
A really friendly place if you're ever in SF and need a wok or any related paraphenalia. Anyway.
Dan and I unsuccessfully tried to pick up out Outside Lands Festival tickets. There was no signage anywhere at the Golden Gate Park, and it's a rather large place - instead of wandering around aimlessly for hours, we elected to head back to the hotel instead. Grr.
The Good: Not caring about Radiohead. Wine tasting with Daniel.
The Bad: Waiting in the "will-call" line for hours. Walking for miles to get out of the park.
The Funny: Sound going out on the main stage 4 times. Hillarious.
The Ugly: Drunken Indian food.
Saturday - August 23rd - SUPPLIES!!
After a bad start to the day (I left the Turd keys @ the Hotel) we shopped for supplies and booze. This went relatively smoothly, although it took longer than we expected. It was stinking fucking hot too which didn't help. I also had to give some of David's shit back to one of his friends (who was a pretty nice guy actually - amazing).
I vaguely remember a little tension about something or other, but don't know what.
We were kind of late getting to the Raiders/Cardinals game - but it was super exciting to see NFL in the flesh! We drank plenty of beer, and ate hotdogs. The Raiders got caned, don't forsee a particularly strong season ahead from them!!
It certainly wasn't what I expected - the view was good, and it wasn't boring at all without all the bells and whistles that you get during the telecast.
Sunday - August 24th - SF to Reno
We had to head back to the Jeep and Turd in Pleasanton - so we rocked it out on the BART.
We ended up fucking around at Home Depot and U-Haul for hours. Hours and hours and hours I tell you. Eventually the Turd was loaded up with enough food, water, lumber and crap to build a small city...
Late in the day we started off towards Reno.
We arrived somewhere just as the sun was setting to have a break. I discovered a whole bunch of water dripping out of the undercarriage. WTF? For a while I thought it was the grey water tank, until a little light went off inside my head. I checked inside, and sure enough the FUCKING WATER WAS LEAKING. Argh! So we unpacked the leaking water containers and kept on going...
Let me assure you that I was never keen on driving the Turd through the mountains at night. It wasn't as bad as I thought, although the headlights were dodgy as hell (thanks David). Frazzled and frayed, Dan and I arrived in Reno. First stop, we dropped Turdo off at the Shamrock RV Park
Phew. Next we all checked into Circus Circus (which was EXCELLENT value by the way) - went out and had an Awful Awful Burger, and went to sleep. Dont get too excited though, the burger was good, but not as big as the reviewer seems to think it was....
Monday - August 25th - Reno to Black Rock City via Wal-Mart
I can't remember why, but we let Frank and Ene to go Wal-Mart while Dan and I chilled at the Turd. Mind you we found that ALL the water was leaking, so we had to spend an hour or two repacking that, and preparing the (soggy) turd for flight.
Took us ages, but not as long as the Wal-Mart seemed to. WTF?! We were late getting outta there, but finally we were on the road. Oh, did I mention that while getting fuel I had a small incident with a barrier, damaging the rear-passenger side bumper. Man was I in a bad mood.
Anyway.
It was a pretty short drive to Gerlach, although the wind was ferocious - Dan and I had to stop because the driver-side awning was unfurling in the breeze. Scary stuff.
Finally we got to ... the back of the line. We waited for ages wondering what was going on, until the line got moving and we saw the blackened husk of a burnt out RV that had caught fire. Even more scary stuff.
We could see the dust storm in the distance, and finally we were all ushered into temporary parking (mind you, not before having to cut across 4 lanes of traffic in the turd in zero visitbility to get to the Will Call line - thanks, entrance guide). We cracked open some tinnies and waited.
...and waited.
...and had more beers...
...and grilled some snags.
Finally as darkness set we were allowed in.... to drive around for ages while Ene looked for the "perfect" spot. There was/nearly was a major meltdown and we just decided to take the next available. Let the strangeness begin!
Tuesday - August 26th - BRC Day 001 - Construction
I awoke. The heat. The dust. Where am I? I must be on the playa. Why does my head hurt? What is this sinus business?! Apparently Frank got lost and spent the whole night wandering around looking for the camp. Hmm.
You can see above the sophisticated table and bench constructions. Actually they were quite comfortable (especially for me to lie on during the heat of the day) and sturdy. Top marks all round.
We arose, and commenced construction operations. Ene had designed a shade frame, tables and a wok stand. After a few hours work in the beating sun it was finished, and looking very professional - I guess you'd expect that from a guy who sets up exhibitions for a living.
Here I am, ripping out some desert storm style chicken drumsticks.
Not sure what Dan and I are discussing, but something fascinating and intellectual I'm sure.
(D: You want a drink? L: Yeah sure. D: ORLY? L: YA RLY D: NO WAI!!)
In these photos you can see the camp setup - wok stand, BBQ area, shade construction, and giant turd looming over everything.
We hadn't intended to cook a full service dinner that night, but Richard came to our camp looking for fuel for his camp stove, so we invited them over. Soon Alex, Rich and Zoe arrived - sporting a bottle of Bacardi Mojito - a sure fire way into my heart. Alex also joined us, and later I vaguely remember heading off to bed at some point, beating a hasty retreat from the onslaught.
Wednesday - August 27th - BRC Day 002 - Hangover, Sinuses, Heat and Opulent Temple
The nights are strange and cool, filled with noises from around. Music echoes over the playa, and people roam until daybreak. The contrast in conditions makes the cool night air seem like an elixir of eternal life, and the lack of wind and dust brings new meaning to the word "comfort".
I awoke dry as a bone on Wednesday morning. Head pounding from the booze and my recurring sinus issues. It feels like someone has blown a balloon up inside my skull and is channelling a nasty sub-bass line into it. Yaya!!
Crap it was hot. The heat. The dust. Did I mention the heat? I sought solace under the shade of the .. err.. shade. How I regretted my earlier suspicion of it. Unnecessary? Negative. Much better than a fish's bicycle.
I spent the day hanging around feeling poorly. That's kind of boring though, so have some pictures of Black Rock City.
Yes, this is the man. Of Burning Man fame. He will be burnt later.
I think this is the beginning of a long night. You can maybe see we've acquired a small sound system, complete with some good minimal sounds. On ya Harry!!
After dinner, and many, many White Russians, we headed out on to the Playa to see what was to see... and ended up at the Opulent Temple. I can honestly say this installation was sporting one of the better (best?) sounding sound rigs I have ever heard... We caught Tom Real playing, and then left as the Scumfrog came on... not quite my style I'm afraid.
We wandered. Ended up having a cup of tea @ the Skinny Kitty Tea House, and finally made it back to bed. I think.
Thursday - D-Ray and Some Twisted Bluegrass Nastiness
Here is another shot of the Olde Desert Whale - complete with solar powered battery pack in the foreground. Did I mention the heat?
Some more shots from around the playa.
That night Ene had invited D-Ray and his friends over. They were a great bunch of people, although for some reason we ended up with some gatecrasher from Georgia whose sole mission was to irritate people. We were pretty much up to a full complement of guests at this point, with Rich2 and Bill also joining us.
After dinner we headed down to see the show. It all gets a little blurry for me after this. Apparently on our way back to the RV I did a runner from Daniel. No idea where I went, but I obviously got back OK because I woke up in bed the next morning.
Friday - Day o' Hell
Lets just say I made the critical error of drinking some water out of the internal tank in the RV.
I was super sick all day, missed dinner, and had a little spew. Everyone else headed out. I went to bed. I rule. I do not wish to discuss this day any further.
Saturday - The Storm Comes, The Man Burns
Gosh it was nice to feel healthy again. Due to some "issues" in the camp, Dan and I decided to vote for leaving one day early. The playa is not a place for those who are frail of heart.
...and then the storm came. Around 8 hours of wind and dust. We sat outside feeling its onslaught. After a few hours of feeling the dust beat against you, the experience becomes surreal. You can barely see more than a couple of meters in front of you. Talking and drinking become slightly harder.
It is from this time that the famous mask shot was taken.
Fine German dust masks. Despite the storm, we still cooked dinner. Some canned goodies made a pasta sauce, and there were grilled wings au-natural. Now that's radical self-reliance.
As night feel, the wind stopped, and the dust settled. We prepared for the burn.
What a bunch of street urchins!!! From left: me, Rich, Daniel, Zoe, Harry.
The burn was impressive. There were large fireballs, and plenty of fireworks. For me a little spoiled by a whole bunch of British people yelling out shite like they were at the cricket. You can take the boy out of england, but you can't take england out of the boy.
We had an early night, in anticipation of our early departure.
Sunday - Deconstruction & Return to Reno
I woke up to find that the Turd's batteries had nearly drained, so had to kick the generator on. Our annoying (late arriving) neighbours complained. I politely told them to go away. It was a great feeling to be leaving, although once gone I would find myself yearning to be back. Strange.
Three handsome blokes. I reckon Dan looks better with a beard.
A handsome Turd, and a great camp.
Um. Yes. Half and Half. No thankyou.
The playa was starting to empty out. Gosh darn it, everyone had the same idea as me!
Our trusty torches and lanterns. Note to self, ensure you use LAMP OIL in the lamps next time.
The trusty workhorse.
The deconstruction didn't take long, and Dan and I were on the road by 12. Annoyingly so was everyone else. It took us 3 hours to get out of BRC. Felt like forever.
Our first post-BRC meal? McDonalds. The irony. But it sure felt good to eat, after a week of near-starvation!
We headed back to Reno, and re-checked into the Shamrock. Dan and I had showers in the Turd. Cleanliness? What IS this business?
We then waited for Ene and Frank. When they finally arrived, we found out it took them 5 hours to get out. Ridiculous.
We got rooms at the Super 8 motel. Woohoo! After watching food channel for an hour, I needed something to eat, so Dan and I cruised downtown, and had an awful meal. For which we paid dearly the next day. Mmm..
And so it was over.
What an experience. We met some great people, and had some fantastic times. It was also pretty challenging at times. There are things I would do differently next year. I've also found myself saying next year a lot. Weird.
I think this update it long enough for now. Sorry it took so long. Next updates: Turd Sale, Lake Tahoe, SF and The End!
xox
PS: More pics from Bill here.
Some cool drawings by Bill here.
Thursday - August 21st - Afternoon
Journeyed out to SFO to pick up Daniel, Ene and Frank.
Discovered the Jeep was too tall to go into the short term parking. Great. Had to drive out to the long term parking to find a berth.
While opening the door to get out a massive gust of wind nearly ripped the (already weakened) drivers side door off. Just what I needed after a pretty hectic day.
Finally made it to the terminal, and then had no freaking idea how to find arriving passengers. I wandered around the baggage carousel until I noticed some strange guy eyeing me off. Then I heard Daniel shout my name. Turns out the strange guy was Ene :-)
We grabbed the bags, and headed into downtown... and checked into our hotel, The Mosser.After a couple of weeks on the road it was nice to have a room to call my own (well for Frank and I to call our own I guess).
Some people had been on a flight for a few hours, so they needed time to freshen up. I donned my now famous pale blue Lacoste polo shirt (the shame), caught a few minutes of Arnie in Predator, and then we headed out.
Thursday - August 21st - Night
A bottle of fizz later, we headed off to our secret Birthday dinner location - TWO.
This was an excellent restaurant, serving great food, and tasty cocktails - there was also a good wine list, which was extremely well priced.
I had some foie gras (which is no longer on their online menu) and the meat lovers pizza. Mmm. Meat. Beef cheeks may sound off-putting, but let me assure you they were great. Highly recommended.
Not surprisingly an early night was had by all.
Friday - August 22nd
I woke up with a massive headache due to my recurring sinus issues, which wasn't really all that much fun. Unbeknownst to me this would be my curse over the next few days. We spent a couple of hours buying equipment for Burning Man @ the Wok Shop.
A really friendly place if you're ever in SF and need a wok or any related paraphenalia. Anyway.
Dan and I unsuccessfully tried to pick up out Outside Lands Festival tickets. There was no signage anywhere at the Golden Gate Park, and it's a rather large place - instead of wandering around aimlessly for hours, we elected to head back to the hotel instead. Grr.
The Good: Not caring about Radiohead. Wine tasting with Daniel.
The Bad: Waiting in the "will-call" line for hours. Walking for miles to get out of the park.
The Funny: Sound going out on the main stage 4 times. Hillarious.
The Ugly: Drunken Indian food.
Saturday - August 23rd - SUPPLIES!!
After a bad start to the day (I left the Turd keys @ the Hotel) we shopped for supplies and booze. This went relatively smoothly, although it took longer than we expected. It was stinking fucking hot too which didn't help. I also had to give some of David's shit back to one of his friends (who was a pretty nice guy actually - amazing).
I vaguely remember a little tension about something or other, but don't know what.
We were kind of late getting to the Raiders/Cardinals game - but it was super exciting to see NFL in the flesh! We drank plenty of beer, and ate hotdogs. The Raiders got caned, don't forsee a particularly strong season ahead from them!!
It certainly wasn't what I expected - the view was good, and it wasn't boring at all without all the bells and whistles that you get during the telecast.
Sunday - August 24th - SF to Reno
We had to head back to the Jeep and Turd in Pleasanton - so we rocked it out on the BART.
We ended up fucking around at Home Depot and U-Haul for hours. Hours and hours and hours I tell you. Eventually the Turd was loaded up with enough food, water, lumber and crap to build a small city...
Late in the day we started off towards Reno.
We arrived somewhere just as the sun was setting to have a break. I discovered a whole bunch of water dripping out of the undercarriage. WTF? For a while I thought it was the grey water tank, until a little light went off inside my head. I checked inside, and sure enough the FUCKING WATER WAS LEAKING. Argh! So we unpacked the leaking water containers and kept on going...
Let me assure you that I was never keen on driving the Turd through the mountains at night. It wasn't as bad as I thought, although the headlights were dodgy as hell (thanks David). Frazzled and frayed, Dan and I arrived in Reno. First stop, we dropped Turdo off at the Shamrock RV Park
Phew. Next we all checked into Circus Circus (which was EXCELLENT value by the way) - went out and had an Awful Awful Burger, and went to sleep. Dont get too excited though, the burger was good, but not as big as the reviewer seems to think it was....
Monday - August 25th - Reno to Black Rock City via Wal-Mart
I can't remember why, but we let Frank and Ene to go Wal-Mart while Dan and I chilled at the Turd. Mind you we found that ALL the water was leaking, so we had to spend an hour or two repacking that, and preparing the (soggy) turd for flight.
Took us ages, but not as long as the Wal-Mart seemed to. WTF?! We were late getting outta there, but finally we were on the road. Oh, did I mention that while getting fuel I had a small incident with a barrier, damaging the rear-passenger side bumper. Man was I in a bad mood.
Anyway.
It was a pretty short drive to Gerlach, although the wind was ferocious - Dan and I had to stop because the driver-side awning was unfurling in the breeze. Scary stuff.
Finally we got to ... the back of the line. We waited for ages wondering what was going on, until the line got moving and we saw the blackened husk of a burnt out RV that had caught fire. Even more scary stuff.
We could see the dust storm in the distance, and finally we were all ushered into temporary parking (mind you, not before having to cut across 4 lanes of traffic in the turd in zero visitbility to get to the Will Call line - thanks, entrance guide). We cracked open some tinnies and waited.
...and waited.
...and had more beers...
...and grilled some snags.
Finally as darkness set we were allowed in.... to drive around for ages while Ene looked for the "perfect" spot. There was/nearly was a major meltdown and we just decided to take the next available. Let the strangeness begin!
Tuesday - August 26th - BRC Day 001 - Construction
I awoke. The heat. The dust. Where am I? I must be on the playa. Why does my head hurt? What is this sinus business?! Apparently Frank got lost and spent the whole night wandering around looking for the camp. Hmm.
You can see above the sophisticated table and bench constructions. Actually they were quite comfortable (especially for me to lie on during the heat of the day) and sturdy. Top marks all round.
We arose, and commenced construction operations. Ene had designed a shade frame, tables and a wok stand. After a few hours work in the beating sun it was finished, and looking very professional - I guess you'd expect that from a guy who sets up exhibitions for a living.
Here I am, ripping out some desert storm style chicken drumsticks.
Not sure what Dan and I are discussing, but something fascinating and intellectual I'm sure.
(D: You want a drink? L: Yeah sure. D: ORLY? L: YA RLY D: NO WAI!!)
In these photos you can see the camp setup - wok stand, BBQ area, shade construction, and giant turd looming over everything.
We hadn't intended to cook a full service dinner that night, but Richard came to our camp looking for fuel for his camp stove, so we invited them over. Soon Alex, Rich and Zoe arrived - sporting a bottle of Bacardi Mojito - a sure fire way into my heart. Alex also joined us, and later I vaguely remember heading off to bed at some point, beating a hasty retreat from the onslaught.
Wednesday - August 27th - BRC Day 002 - Hangover, Sinuses, Heat and Opulent Temple
The nights are strange and cool, filled with noises from around. Music echoes over the playa, and people roam until daybreak. The contrast in conditions makes the cool night air seem like an elixir of eternal life, and the lack of wind and dust brings new meaning to the word "comfort".
I awoke dry as a bone on Wednesday morning. Head pounding from the booze and my recurring sinus issues. It feels like someone has blown a balloon up inside my skull and is channelling a nasty sub-bass line into it. Yaya!!
Crap it was hot. The heat. The dust. Did I mention the heat? I sought solace under the shade of the .. err.. shade. How I regretted my earlier suspicion of it. Unnecessary? Negative. Much better than a fish's bicycle.
I spent the day hanging around feeling poorly. That's kind of boring though, so have some pictures of Black Rock City.
Yes, this is the man. Of Burning Man fame. He will be burnt later.
I think this is the beginning of a long night. You can maybe see we've acquired a small sound system, complete with some good minimal sounds. On ya Harry!!
After dinner, and many, many White Russians, we headed out on to the Playa to see what was to see... and ended up at the Opulent Temple. I can honestly say this installation was sporting one of the better (best?) sounding sound rigs I have ever heard... We caught Tom Real playing, and then left as the Scumfrog came on... not quite my style I'm afraid.
We wandered. Ended up having a cup of tea @ the Skinny Kitty Tea House, and finally made it back to bed. I think.
Thursday - D-Ray and Some Twisted Bluegrass Nastiness
Here is another shot of the Olde Desert Whale - complete with solar powered battery pack in the foreground. Did I mention the heat?
Some more shots from around the playa.
That night Ene had invited D-Ray and his friends over. They were a great bunch of people, although for some reason we ended up with some gatecrasher from Georgia whose sole mission was to irritate people. We were pretty much up to a full complement of guests at this point, with Rich2 and Bill also joining us.
After dinner we headed down to see the show. It all gets a little blurry for me after this. Apparently on our way back to the RV I did a runner from Daniel. No idea where I went, but I obviously got back OK because I woke up in bed the next morning.
Friday - Day o' Hell
Lets just say I made the critical error of drinking some water out of the internal tank in the RV.
I was super sick all day, missed dinner, and had a little spew. Everyone else headed out. I went to bed. I rule. I do not wish to discuss this day any further.
Saturday - The Storm Comes, The Man Burns
Gosh it was nice to feel healthy again. Due to some "issues" in the camp, Dan and I decided to vote for leaving one day early. The playa is not a place for those who are frail of heart.
...and then the storm came. Around 8 hours of wind and dust. We sat outside feeling its onslaught. After a few hours of feeling the dust beat against you, the experience becomes surreal. You can barely see more than a couple of meters in front of you. Talking and drinking become slightly harder.
It is from this time that the famous mask shot was taken.
Fine German dust masks. Despite the storm, we still cooked dinner. Some canned goodies made a pasta sauce, and there were grilled wings au-natural. Now that's radical self-reliance.
As night feel, the wind stopped, and the dust settled. We prepared for the burn.
What a bunch of street urchins!!! From left: me, Rich, Daniel, Zoe, Harry.
The burn was impressive. There were large fireballs, and plenty of fireworks. For me a little spoiled by a whole bunch of British people yelling out shite like they were at the cricket. You can take the boy out of england, but you can't take england out of the boy.
We had an early night, in anticipation of our early departure.
Sunday - Deconstruction & Return to Reno
I woke up to find that the Turd's batteries had nearly drained, so had to kick the generator on. Our annoying (late arriving) neighbours complained. I politely told them to go away. It was a great feeling to be leaving, although once gone I would find myself yearning to be back. Strange.
Three handsome blokes. I reckon Dan looks better with a beard.
A handsome Turd, and a great camp.
Um. Yes. Half and Half. No thankyou.
The playa was starting to empty out. Gosh darn it, everyone had the same idea as me!
Our trusty torches and lanterns. Note to self, ensure you use LAMP OIL in the lamps next time.
The trusty workhorse.
The deconstruction didn't take long, and Dan and I were on the road by 12. Annoyingly so was everyone else. It took us 3 hours to get out of BRC. Felt like forever.
Our first post-BRC meal? McDonalds. The irony. But it sure felt good to eat, after a week of near-starvation!
We headed back to Reno, and re-checked into the Shamrock. Dan and I had showers in the Turd. Cleanliness? What IS this business?
We then waited for Ene and Frank. When they finally arrived, we found out it took them 5 hours to get out. Ridiculous.
We got rooms at the Super 8 motel. Woohoo! After watching food channel for an hour, I needed something to eat, so Dan and I cruised downtown, and had an awful meal. For which we paid dearly the next day. Mmm..
And so it was over.
What an experience. We met some great people, and had some fantastic times. It was also pretty challenging at times. There are things I would do differently next year. I've also found myself saying next year a lot. Weird.
I think this update it long enough for now. Sorry it took so long. Next updates: Turd Sale, Lake Tahoe, SF and The End!
xox
PS: More pics from Bill here.
Some cool drawings by Bill here.
Wednesday 10 September 2008
Jeep is Gone
Wow. It's really over.
The Jeep just got sold moments ago, and the cargo was picked up an our or two ago.
So I'm officially vehicle-less!
The BM update is in progress. Really.
The Jeep just got sold moments ago, and the cargo was picked up an our or two ago.
So I'm officially vehicle-less!
The BM update is in progress. Really.
Saturday 6 September 2008
Christmas is coming...
....so are my BM2k8 and SF updates. Honestly.
There was a small earthquake just then. Weird!!
There was a small earthquake just then. Weird!!
Tuesday 2 September 2008
Burning, Burning, Burnt
I am alive, I am sane, I am back from Burning Man 2008.
I need time to meditate on the experience, and will update very shortly.
Until then, As-Salamu Alaykum y'all!
I need time to meditate on the experience, and will update very shortly.
Until then, As-Salamu Alaykum y'all!
Friday 22 August 2008
Chinese Tour of Quebec
Saturday - Toronto to Ottawa and Montreal
Man there's something inhuman about arising at 0430. I think that from now on I will try to only organise afternoon/evening travel plans. Correct.
It's hard to convey how annoying it is to sit on a bus, full of Asians, listening to Cantonese and Mandarin, with snippets of English thrown in (e.g.. "University of Blah") over and over again.
Maybe annoying isn't the right word, but nevertheless, it's not that much fun. Nor was it that much fun to be with the parents. Sad, but true.
So what did we do? One of the highlights of the day was a cruise around the Thousand Islands region of South-eastern Ontario. I could see myself living here, although I get the feeling I might be a couple of million dollars short....
You may have heard of Thousand Island Dressing - allegedly it is named after this region - although like many foods or dishes, this isn't 100% confirmed.
Another interesting (but short) item was a visit to the Canadian Museum of Civilisation.
What was not interesting was random drive-by "sightseeing" of various other bits and pieces, and a weekend tour of the Royal Canadian Mint, which was of course closed, cause I imagine they don't mint coins on the weekend. Did I mention all narrative was in Cantonese/Mandarin? Hm.
We arrived late to Montreal. As nobody had asked me I had no plans for dinner, and neither did the tour, so we had one of the worst meals I've ever had in the hotel restaurant, and some of the worst (if not THE worst) service as well. By this time the parentals were starting to get to me, so I quickly snuck in a few drinks at the bar....
Sunday - Monreal to Quebec
Sunday morning was some church action. I love church, as you know. First up St. Joseph's Oratory. Yeehar. Nice building, but the fact that some guy's heart is stored in a little box is kind of weird. Next stop, Notre Dame. I didn't go inside, but wandered the streets instead - there were some very cool shops and such around. Pity we didn't get to see anything of "real" Montreal.
Lunch was at the Mandarin Buffet. This was more or less what you would imagine that an all-you-can-eat-white-man-Chinese Buffet would be like. Yuk.
I think after that we arrived in Quebec City. We were told we couldn't check into the hotel until 6pm which was really irritating. My parents were irritating. I had to leave them and sit in the hotel bar for a couple of hours. When I left, I was pretty sloshed.
Dinner that night was awful as well. Frozen vegetables from a packet, pasta and gravy from a packet, and a piece of steak that ... yes, well let's just say it was nasty.
After dinner I sat in another bar chatting to some people (whose names now elude me - SORRY!), and finally in a drunken haze wandered around the town before returning to the hotel (which was VERY nice).
Monday - Quebec to Toronto
I woke up with a RIPPING hangover. I was looking forward to lunch SO much until we pulled into another shopping centre parking lot and to my horror approached the Mandarin Buffet AGAIN!!
Oh dear.
It was even worse than the first one. I'd quickly scouted around for some other food, but didn't see the Subway just next door. So now filled with greasy food, and an even more unsettled stomach, we continued to Upper Canada Village - which despite me thinking it would be super-cheesy, it was ok. It was quite cool to walk around the village which is next to the St. Lawrence river, and see they actually still bake bread and make cheese and such in the old way.
We journeyed on towards Toronto, through a ripping storm, and some Big Apple place. LMAO. Some of the comments on that link are hillarious. Tour buses. Who'd go on one of them? Err...
Finally we made it back to Toronto, where we ACTUALLY HAD NICE FOOD for the first time in 3 days. I nearly fainted. It was great to be back, where there was some buffer between me and the crazy-show that is my parents. Oh well, lesson learnt.
Tuesday - Lunch & Waterdown
Dunno what was with the old man this morning, was already in a super-bad mood. Whatever, I ignored him as I wasn't joining their tour to Niagara Falls. I got a ride out to Wilma's place in Waterdown and we headed downtown to hook up with Cherie.
We had a ripping 3 course prix fixe on the patio at Urban. Very nice, and deceptively large. By the time lunch was over my rippling one-pack was straining at at the fabric of my t-shirt - how alluring!
Wilma and I headed back to her place, where we had a few more beers, some dinner, talked some shit with Kang and Kira. Finally it was time for my Toronto adventure to be over, and kindly I got a lift back to John's house.
Had some strange confrontation with John about taking a cab to the airport (despite him having some major tooth operation business the next morning) but oh well.
Wednesday - Toronto to Oakland
At 0540 I awoke, threw on some clothes, said goodbye to Mum, and jumped in a cab. Man was I tired. An uneventful flight to Denver, some tasty Egg McMuffins for breakfast, and another uneventful flight to Oakland. A short cab ride (in which the DIRTY BUNDI cab driver tried to rip me off) later I was back at my Aunty's house. Ro was at home so she let me in, and I headed down to the Turd to get it out of storage.
For some reason the Turd's brake warning light was on when I started it up, so I spent the next few hours looking at that (no brake fluid?!?!) and cleaning the water tank and such.
I headed back to Alameda for a lovely dinner, some innernet, and some freaking out about the laptop's power supply which was on the blink. Argh.
Thursday - Worst Buy
Today the thrills continue with a trip to Best Buy for a new power supply, and here I am waiting to go to the airport to start the German Invasion. Oh, and it's my birthday.
Tonight I believe there may be some partying, and then tomorrow we're going to the Outside Lands Festival. I don't even recognise most of the people who are playing. I think my friend Mr. Beer may accompany me though, so it doesn't matter.
I feel really disorganised at the moment. Not sure why. I guess there's a fair bit to do over the next few weeks to get back to AU. I'm also worried about Kat, who has turned to the bottle :-)
Oh wait, nothing wrong with the bottle....
Anyway, not sure whether I'll be online too much over the next few days, but will try to make a pre-Burning Man update before we leave.
xox
Man there's something inhuman about arising at 0430. I think that from now on I will try to only organise afternoon/evening travel plans. Correct.
It's hard to convey how annoying it is to sit on a bus, full of Asians, listening to Cantonese and Mandarin, with snippets of English thrown in (e.g.. "University of Blah") over and over again.
Maybe annoying isn't the right word, but nevertheless, it's not that much fun. Nor was it that much fun to be with the parents. Sad, but true.
So what did we do? One of the highlights of the day was a cruise around the Thousand Islands region of South-eastern Ontario. I could see myself living here, although I get the feeling I might be a couple of million dollars short....
You may have heard of Thousand Island Dressing - allegedly it is named after this region - although like many foods or dishes, this isn't 100% confirmed.
Another interesting (but short) item was a visit to the Canadian Museum of Civilisation.
What was not interesting was random drive-by "sightseeing" of various other bits and pieces, and a weekend tour of the Royal Canadian Mint, which was of course closed, cause I imagine they don't mint coins on the weekend. Did I mention all narrative was in Cantonese/Mandarin? Hm.
We arrived late to Montreal. As nobody had asked me I had no plans for dinner, and neither did the tour, so we had one of the worst meals I've ever had in the hotel restaurant, and some of the worst (if not THE worst) service as well. By this time the parentals were starting to get to me, so I quickly snuck in a few drinks at the bar....
Sunday - Monreal to Quebec
Sunday morning was some church action. I love church, as you know. First up St. Joseph's Oratory. Yeehar. Nice building, but the fact that some guy's heart is stored in a little box is kind of weird. Next stop, Notre Dame. I didn't go inside, but wandered the streets instead - there were some very cool shops and such around. Pity we didn't get to see anything of "real" Montreal.
Lunch was at the Mandarin Buffet. This was more or less what you would imagine that an all-you-can-eat-white-man-Chinese Buffet would be like. Yuk.
I think after that we arrived in Quebec City. We were told we couldn't check into the hotel until 6pm which was really irritating. My parents were irritating. I had to leave them and sit in the hotel bar for a couple of hours. When I left, I was pretty sloshed.
Dinner that night was awful as well. Frozen vegetables from a packet, pasta and gravy from a packet, and a piece of steak that ... yes, well let's just say it was nasty.
After dinner I sat in another bar chatting to some people (whose names now elude me - SORRY!), and finally in a drunken haze wandered around the town before returning to the hotel (which was VERY nice).
Monday - Quebec to Toronto
I woke up with a RIPPING hangover. I was looking forward to lunch SO much until we pulled into another shopping centre parking lot and to my horror approached the Mandarin Buffet AGAIN!!
Oh dear.
It was even worse than the first one. I'd quickly scouted around for some other food, but didn't see the Subway just next door. So now filled with greasy food, and an even more unsettled stomach, we continued to Upper Canada Village - which despite me thinking it would be super-cheesy, it was ok. It was quite cool to walk around the village which is next to the St. Lawrence river, and see they actually still bake bread and make cheese and such in the old way.
We journeyed on towards Toronto, through a ripping storm, and some Big Apple place. LMAO. Some of the comments on that link are hillarious. Tour buses. Who'd go on one of them? Err...
Finally we made it back to Toronto, where we ACTUALLY HAD NICE FOOD for the first time in 3 days. I nearly fainted. It was great to be back, where there was some buffer between me and the crazy-show that is my parents. Oh well, lesson learnt.
Tuesday - Lunch & Waterdown
Dunno what was with the old man this morning, was already in a super-bad mood. Whatever, I ignored him as I wasn't joining their tour to Niagara Falls. I got a ride out to Wilma's place in Waterdown and we headed downtown to hook up with Cherie.
We had a ripping 3 course prix fixe on the patio at Urban. Very nice, and deceptively large. By the time lunch was over my rippling one-pack was straining at at the fabric of my t-shirt - how alluring!
Wilma and I headed back to her place, where we had a few more beers, some dinner, talked some shit with Kang and Kira. Finally it was time for my Toronto adventure to be over, and kindly I got a lift back to John's house.
Had some strange confrontation with John about taking a cab to the airport (despite him having some major tooth operation business the next morning) but oh well.
Wednesday - Toronto to Oakland
At 0540 I awoke, threw on some clothes, said goodbye to Mum, and jumped in a cab. Man was I tired. An uneventful flight to Denver, some tasty Egg McMuffins for breakfast, and another uneventful flight to Oakland. A short cab ride (in which the DIRTY BUNDI cab driver tried to rip me off) later I was back at my Aunty's house. Ro was at home so she let me in, and I headed down to the Turd to get it out of storage.
For some reason the Turd's brake warning light was on when I started it up, so I spent the next few hours looking at that (no brake fluid?!?!) and cleaning the water tank and such.
I headed back to Alameda for a lovely dinner, some innernet, and some freaking out about the laptop's power supply which was on the blink. Argh.
Thursday - Worst Buy
Today the thrills continue with a trip to Best Buy for a new power supply, and here I am waiting to go to the airport to start the German Invasion. Oh, and it's my birthday.
Tonight I believe there may be some partying, and then tomorrow we're going to the Outside Lands Festival. I don't even recognise most of the people who are playing. I think my friend Mr. Beer may accompany me though, so it doesn't matter.
I feel really disorganised at the moment. Not sure why. I guess there's a fair bit to do over the next few weeks to get back to AU. I'm also worried about Kat, who has turned to the bottle :-)
Oh wait, nothing wrong with the bottle....
Anyway, not sure whether I'll be online too much over the next few days, but will try to make a pre-Burning Man update before we leave.
xox
Thursday 21 August 2008
Happy Birthday to Me!
Yes it's that day of the year, the day that I am another year older, and the day that my parents wonder why on earth they ruined a perfectly good world by giving birth to me!
I have plenty to write about, but the power supply on this laptop is on the blink, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow... I will be reporting to you live from the German Invasion!
xox
I have plenty to write about, but the power supply on this laptop is on the blink, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow... I will be reporting to you live from the German Invasion!
xox
Saturday 16 August 2008
Tronno
Well here I am at "Uncle" John's. It's all been quite peaceful, and the parentals have arrived.
Yay.
Tomorrow morning I have the privilege of getting up at 0430 to go on some tour. Can't bloody wait!
Fingers crossed it's not too much of a disaster, although I can't say my hopes are high.
Back in Tronno on Monday evening. I'm tipping I might need to have... ooh... about 20 beers to recover....
The humanity!!!
Yay.
Tomorrow morning I have the privilege of getting up at 0430 to go on some tour. Can't bloody wait!
Fingers crossed it's not too much of a disaster, although I can't say my hopes are high.
Back in Tronno on Monday evening. I'm tipping I might need to have... ooh... about 20 beers to recover....
The humanity!!!
Thursday 14 August 2008
NYC to Toronto
Monday
For some reason my sleeping patterns are all fubar again, so I ended up hitting the sack quite late on Sunday night. After saying a goodbye to James and Luvena I jumped into my (early) taxi.
On the way to the airport I noticed some dark clouds and lightning in the distance, and hoped they weren't over the airport. Turns out they were. Awesome.
Must have been a pretty good storm because most of the flights due to head out of JFK that day were cancelled, and mine was delayed from 13:30 to 16:30. Still it didn't bother me that much I guess. I'd started reading the new William Gibson book, "Spook Country" which was keeping me amused pretty well.
Besides, it was easy to be all calm and shit when those around you were starting to behave like little spoiled children, although the girl who had been waiting for more than 24 hours for a flight to St. Louis was still pretty calm when she was told she'd be waiting for another 24 hours.... talk about being stuck in an airport!!
Anyway, I finally arrived in Toronto, to be grilled by the border patrol agent (I must look like a terrorist or something) and then to be looked at suspiciously by the exit guard. Argh!
Wilma had a nice "Leigh Clark" sign which was very cool, and I got a nice ride in the Turbo Bug out to the burbs of Toronto. I finally got to meet the famous Kang... and after a great steak dinner, and many beers, we finally hit the sack at 2am. What a late night! Or am I getting old?!
Tuesday
Not surprisingly, nobody rose particularly early... After a slow start - Wilma, Kira and I headed into downtown to have a little cruise around. Toronto is pretty cool, but like Vancouver, erring on the side of emo and/or the 80s in the fashion stakes. After a tasty roll that was nearly as big as my head, and a quick shop for a nice polo shirt, we headed back to Chez Lee to freshen up.
Thankfully my new Boss pants still fit me (that tailor must be a wizard) and I was looking quite sharp, if not a little preppy, in my new pale blue polo shirt.
We headed down to the waterfront of the lake, and met up with Cherie and Marion and had a delightful dinner... it was great to catch up with everyone again as it's been a few years!
For some reason I couldn't sleep last night, and I think I only got into a vaguely deep sleep around 6am...
Today
Today I hung around the house, checked my e-mail, took Coco for a walk with Wilma, and then Kang kindly dropped me off to my Uncles house here in Brampton.
I've had a spot of dinner, fired up the laptop, admired the fish, birds and turtles, and it's all rather good....
Toodles!
For some reason my sleeping patterns are all fubar again, so I ended up hitting the sack quite late on Sunday night. After saying a goodbye to James and Luvena I jumped into my (early) taxi.
On the way to the airport I noticed some dark clouds and lightning in the distance, and hoped they weren't over the airport. Turns out they were. Awesome.
Must have been a pretty good storm because most of the flights due to head out of JFK that day were cancelled, and mine was delayed from 13:30 to 16:30. Still it didn't bother me that much I guess. I'd started reading the new William Gibson book, "Spook Country" which was keeping me amused pretty well.Besides, it was easy to be all calm and shit when those around you were starting to behave like little spoiled children, although the girl who had been waiting for more than 24 hours for a flight to St. Louis was still pretty calm when she was told she'd be waiting for another 24 hours.... talk about being stuck in an airport!!
Anyway, I finally arrived in Toronto, to be grilled by the border patrol agent (I must look like a terrorist or something) and then to be looked at suspiciously by the exit guard. Argh!
Wilma had a nice "Leigh Clark" sign which was very cool, and I got a nice ride in the Turbo Bug out to the burbs of Toronto. I finally got to meet the famous Kang... and after a great steak dinner, and many beers, we finally hit the sack at 2am. What a late night! Or am I getting old?!
Tuesday
Not surprisingly, nobody rose particularly early... After a slow start - Wilma, Kira and I headed into downtown to have a little cruise around. Toronto is pretty cool, but like Vancouver, erring on the side of emo and/or the 80s in the fashion stakes. After a tasty roll that was nearly as big as my head, and a quick shop for a nice polo shirt, we headed back to Chez Lee to freshen up.
Thankfully my new Boss pants still fit me (that tailor must be a wizard) and I was looking quite sharp, if not a little preppy, in my new pale blue polo shirt.
We headed down to the waterfront of the lake, and met up with Cherie and Marion and had a delightful dinner... it was great to catch up with everyone again as it's been a few years!
For some reason I couldn't sleep last night, and I think I only got into a vaguely deep sleep around 6am...
Today
Today I hung around the house, checked my e-mail, took Coco for a walk with Wilma, and then Kang kindly dropped me off to my Uncles house here in Brampton.
I've had a spot of dinner, fired up the laptop, admired the fish, birds and turtles, and it's all rather good....
Toodles!
Monday 11 August 2008
Windy Cities, Big Apples
Thursday – SFO to Chicago
It was my privilege to drag my sorry, sick ass out of bed at 0430 to get a ride to the BART station (thanks Aunty). Man was I starting to feel like crap.
I didn’t get a chance to hit up the chemist, so I was stuck on the flight sans medication, wanting to die. A nice english bloke sitting next to me donated some pills, so at least I stopped coughing and sniffing for a while.
Al Auda, a buddy from GE, was kind enough to pick me up from the airport, and we headed to the South Loop to wait for his brother-in-law Mac and have a few brews.
Several beers (and a parking ticket) later, we met up with Mac, who is an all-round great guy, and one of Chicago’s finest firemen. There were more beers, and some steak, until I had to bail due to rising sickness.
The night was rough, Mac (who had kindly offered to let me stay at his place) had to deal with me coughing and spluttering my way through the rest of the evening….
Friday – Chicago, Baseball, Drinking
Mac and I woke up pretty late, and met his new girlfriend for breakfast. The rest of the day was spent just hanging around, as I was feeling a little under the weather.
Al attended an exclusive work baseball function, but neglected to get us an invite… however he arrived after a few beers and suggested we go see a ball game.
We got pretty good seats, quite cheaply from a scalper, and proceeded to drink our way through my first game of baseball – the Chicago White Sox vs. the Boston Red Sox. Hey it was pretty good, but I get the feeling it was more the company than the game itself…
Al headed off, and Mac and I roamed around a bit more. I got a tour of the firehouse, and my very own souvenir shirt.. You will be seeing me model it when I return to Melbourne.
Alas it was time for me to head off to the airport. I cannot thank Al and Mac (who only met me the day I arrived) for an awesome time…. I hope to be able to repay the hospitality some day!
Saturday – Chicago to NYC
Somehow between checking into my hotel, and arriving at the airport, I managed to lose my bloody Wizard card. Awesome. I was in a fine state on awakening as well…. Double Awesome.
Anyway. I arrived in NYC, and caught a cab to my friends place. I haven’t seen James and Luvina for … ooh… about 12 years when they moved to Sydney. Not really sure why, but hey.
We cruised around mid-town, had some dinner, and then wandered around. It was strange to see things like Times Square and the Empire State Building in the flesh.
Took a few photos. Ironically this first one is outside the International Center for Photography. Good thing they didn’t notice me taking it…
You can see the Empire State Building in the top-right of the frame (it’s the building that’s all lit up).
Next stop was Grand Central Station, which was very cool…
…both inside and out.
It was about time for bed after that… man was I tired.
Sunday – NYC
Today we cruised around the city a bit more. I got to see Wall Street, ate some food in Chinatown, sampled the various doughnuts and such that are to be had, and also checked out the Statue of Liberty. Woo!!
Not much to say really, but I got a really good cross section of the city (well as much as you can do in one day I suppose) and it was a lot of fun.
Well… it’s been a great 4 days. I’ve been shown fantastic hospitality and am really looking forward to Toronto!
Bye Bye!
Sunday 10 August 2008
Alive and Unwell
ARGH!! Of course the day before leaving for Chicago I started to come down with a cold. Let's just say I wasn't at my fighting best on the first day/night of my time in the Windy City.
I'll present a thrilling wrap-up tomorrow... needless to say it was a blast.
xox
I'll present a thrilling wrap-up tomorrow... needless to say it was a blast.
xox
Wednesday 6 August 2008
Merriment with the Folks
Yes, well here I am with the parentals. Sadly the excitement I felt about seeing them has all but evaporated by now... ahh hell.
Friday - Day of Running Around
Friday was the day of much public transport, and the stress of piloting the Turd without my trusty co-pilot. Thankfully the (long) day went without a hitch, but took freaking forever. I left Pleasanton at 1100 (a couple of hours late) and finally made it to Alameda at around 1600.
Hmm.
I had discovered the hard way that buses generally only run once an hour. Fine if you make your connection, but of course I did not, and had about a 45 minute wait for each of my buses. Ahh ripper.
The parentals were already in residence, and seemed to be in good spirits. I also hadn't seen my Aunty and Uncle for many, many years (in fact so many years, I didn't remember when I last saw them). For those who are not asian, you should realise that they aren't technically my aunt or uncle, just everyone is an aunt or uncle.
I also saw their daughter, who I met when I was really little (and she was even more little). Sadly we're both grown up now, and she even has a younger sister (of whom I was not even aware).
Some dinner shenanigans:
Saturday - Muir Woods
Muir Woods are a small remnant of the forest that I imagine used to surround San Francisco. It's more or less pine and redwood (brothers and sisters of the Giant Sequoias we saw at Merced Grove). So I fiddled with some HDR.
Pretty pleased with this next one....
Sunday/Monday - Yosemite Take 2
Well it was really nice to back in Yosemite, and frankly I'm not going to go into all the other crap that went down. Let's just say relations got a bit strained. Woohoo!
This little guy was posing for me in front of our cabin:
The falls were nearly dry:
Amazing when you compare them to just a month or two ago.
The chipmunks had given birth to babies since we were there, so there were lots of little ones running around. The only other thing of note is that I hired a 'Stang to take us there. I'd forgotten what it was like to drive a car that wasn't a total piece of shite.
Today we went to Alcatraz, but I haven't had a chance to get the photos done. Until tomorrow.
xox
PS - If anyone knows how to get in touch with Bonne, please let me know, before I am forced to release the hounds....
Friday - Day of Running Around
Friday was the day of much public transport, and the stress of piloting the Turd without my trusty co-pilot. Thankfully the (long) day went without a hitch, but took freaking forever. I left Pleasanton at 1100 (a couple of hours late) and finally made it to Alameda at around 1600.
Hmm.
I had discovered the hard way that buses generally only run once an hour. Fine if you make your connection, but of course I did not, and had about a 45 minute wait for each of my buses. Ahh ripper.
The parentals were already in residence, and seemed to be in good spirits. I also hadn't seen my Aunty and Uncle for many, many years (in fact so many years, I didn't remember when I last saw them). For those who are not asian, you should realise that they aren't technically my aunt or uncle, just everyone is an aunt or uncle.
I also saw their daughter, who I met when I was really little (and she was even more little). Sadly we're both grown up now, and she even has a younger sister (of whom I was not even aware).
Some dinner shenanigans:
Saturday - Muir Woods
Muir Woods are a small remnant of the forest that I imagine used to surround San Francisco. It's more or less pine and redwood (brothers and sisters of the Giant Sequoias we saw at Merced Grove). So I fiddled with some HDR.
Pretty pleased with this next one....
Sunday/Monday - Yosemite Take 2
Well it was really nice to back in Yosemite, and frankly I'm not going to go into all the other crap that went down. Let's just say relations got a bit strained. Woohoo!
This little guy was posing for me in front of our cabin:
The falls were nearly dry:
Amazing when you compare them to just a month or two ago. 
The chipmunks had given birth to babies since we were there, so there were lots of little ones running around. The only other thing of note is that I hired a 'Stang to take us there. I'd forgotten what it was like to drive a car that wasn't a total piece of shite.
Today we went to Alcatraz, but I haven't had a chance to get the photos done. Until tomorrow.
xox
PS - If anyone knows how to get in touch with Bonne, please let me know, before I am forced to release the hounds....
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