What a FEAST!!!
We had dinner at a lovely beachside seafood restuarant tonight near the Shangri-La in beautiful Sabah, Borneor and ate WAY too much. Not surprisingly, we were the only white people there. CASH, CASH, CASH. Anyway, we had about 8 chilli garlic prawns, some Kang Kung with Belachan (chinese water spinach) and about a kilo of lobster) all delicisious, but way too filling!
They had a local dance group performing local songs and dances and about three quaters through our meal they decided to walk through the crowd and round up unsuspecting diners.. I was ONE (actually, only one) of those diners. At this point I had drank ab0ut 8 beers, so to me, it seemed like a GREAT idea to go up onstage with the dancers.....
I was instructed by one of the male tribal dancers to hold a three foot pipe, which he loaded with a toothpick type spear, and aim/ shoot at a balloon about 4 metres away.. All a while, tribal beats were playing. Doo Doo Doo- di di- Doo Doo- Di Di. So, the spear was in, I took a deep breath, and fired at the balloon, To my surprise I hit the damn thing and the crowd applauded my efforts. Then I danced in a circle with the local tribal ladies and that was that. Mum, you would have been proud!!
We left soon afterwards just as one of the dancers was requesting my presence in the gala dance ensemble!
What a night, Kat - OUT!
Friday, 29 June 2007
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Photos photos everywhere...
Ok, some random KL photos, butterflies and flowers...
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rogue303/KLButterfliesAndFlowers
....and some photos from the Batu Caves - I must make amusing comments shortly.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rogue303/BatuCaves
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rogue303/KLButterfliesAndFlowers
....and some photos from the Batu Caves - I must make amusing comments shortly.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rogue303/BatuCaves
Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Dodgy ATMs
Righteo then - this post is going to be a little devoid of pictures, as using some stoopid internet terminal thingy rather than the laptop - but I will post them as soon as possible...
Sorry for the delay, but KL has been annoyingly sans free wireless, there wasn't even a kind soul with an unsecured network for me to piggy-back off either! The humanity!
So... on our last day in Melaka, we decided to head off to Pulau Besar in search of some white sand, and clear water, and relaxation. Getting the bus to the jetty was the easy bit - alas, I had mis-timed the bus ride, and we had a 1.5 hour wait until the next ferry.... with nothing to do, and no food to eat. Packets of stale crisps have never tasted... well actually they've tasted much better.
A short ferry ride took us to the island, and it's run-down resort, and hordes of stinky bundi campers. Alas, the water wasn't clear either, and the beaches looked kind of funny. After 15 minutes we caught the same ferry back to the mainland. Our vote: poo.
So I guess to sum up Melaka - it's kind of nice, but there's not much there to do, apart from eat. And such eatery is possible - the food there is dirt cheap, and amazing - especially the local fusion stuff. I must also direct you to our new favourite desert: cendol. You may look it up at your leisure, but it's basically ice, coconut milk and palm sugar with some other random bits and pieces. Mmm...
Next stop was KL. Poor Kat had her first experience with the local squatter toilet. Teehee. I laughed a lot. Too bad I'll be laughing on the other side of my face when I had to use it and fall in.
The bus ride to KL was pleasant enough, and we arrived at our hotel feeling OK after another little snooze. Next stop was the rail station to go and visit the famed Petronas Towers. I decided to use the ATM. This was a bad move. It ate my card, with no prompting or anything.
It's a long story, but the most peculiar thing is that (1) the back of the ATM was unsecured at the time and (2) when the bank went to open the ATM up to get my card - it wasn't there. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that - however the Wizard card appears to be cursed. Damn it!
So in KL we've been to the butterfly park, and the orchid/hibiscus gardens. Very nice, but I'll spare you the description - stay tuned for pics asap.
Yesterday we went to the Batu Caves. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves
At this risk of being culturally insensitive the caves were tacky. Best part was seeing a monkey getting angry with some bundis...
We did a guided tour of the Dark Cave.
Oddly this is very dark, and has no sculptures.
It stinks like bat guano. Twas very nice.
Amazing to turn all the lights off, and it be ... black - even darker than diving at night....
To summarise...
Highlights: Eating, eating and eating.
Lowlights: ATMs eating my card.
Next stop: Borneo. Hopefully pictures will arrive from KLIA.
/out.
Sorry for the delay, but KL has been annoyingly sans free wireless, there wasn't even a kind soul with an unsecured network for me to piggy-back off either! The humanity!
So... on our last day in Melaka, we decided to head off to Pulau Besar in search of some white sand, and clear water, and relaxation. Getting the bus to the jetty was the easy bit - alas, I had mis-timed the bus ride, and we had a 1.5 hour wait until the next ferry.... with nothing to do, and no food to eat. Packets of stale crisps have never tasted... well actually they've tasted much better.
A short ferry ride took us to the island, and it's run-down resort, and hordes of stinky bundi campers. Alas, the water wasn't clear either, and the beaches looked kind of funny. After 15 minutes we caught the same ferry back to the mainland. Our vote: poo.
So I guess to sum up Melaka - it's kind of nice, but there's not much there to do, apart from eat. And such eatery is possible - the food there is dirt cheap, and amazing - especially the local fusion stuff. I must also direct you to our new favourite desert: cendol. You may look it up at your leisure, but it's basically ice, coconut milk and palm sugar with some other random bits and pieces. Mmm...
Next stop was KL. Poor Kat had her first experience with the local squatter toilet. Teehee. I laughed a lot. Too bad I'll be laughing on the other side of my face when I had to use it and fall in.
The bus ride to KL was pleasant enough, and we arrived at our hotel feeling OK after another little snooze. Next stop was the rail station to go and visit the famed Petronas Towers. I decided to use the ATM. This was a bad move. It ate my card, with no prompting or anything.
It's a long story, but the most peculiar thing is that (1) the back of the ATM was unsecured at the time and (2) when the bank went to open the ATM up to get my card - it wasn't there. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that - however the Wizard card appears to be cursed. Damn it!
So in KL we've been to the butterfly park, and the orchid/hibiscus gardens. Very nice, but I'll spare you the description - stay tuned for pics asap.
Yesterday we went to the Batu Caves. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves
At this risk of being culturally insensitive the caves were tacky. Best part was seeing a monkey getting angry with some bundis...
We did a guided tour of the Dark Cave.
Oddly this is very dark, and has no sculptures.
It stinks like bat guano. Twas very nice.
Amazing to turn all the lights off, and it be ... black - even darker than diving at night....
To summarise...
Highlights: Eating, eating and eating.
Lowlights: ATMs eating my card.
Next stop: Borneo. Hopefully pictures will arrive from KLIA.
/out.
Saturday, 23 June 2007
Melaka, Malacca, Malaysia
Well we have finally left the palatial surrounds of Hotel Curran in Singapore.
We cannot thank Michelle and Andrew enough - their hospitality and support has been nothing short of amazing.
Anyway - a short bus ride to Lavender MRT to find a whole lot of confusion on how to check in and get on the Singapore --> Melaka bus awaiting us.
Not just us, but every other non-local. Oh well. I'm REALLY glad we went their the day before to suss it out....
A couple of immigration checkpoints later, and we're in Malaysia.
The next 4 hours that it takes us to get to Melaka flies, as we have a little snooze...
I guess it's pretty obvious that you've left the strange, pristine democratic-dictatorship of Singapore. Things are dirtier here, and people stare. Ahh I'd forgotten that lovely feeling.
The image below is the centre of Melaka.
I'm not sure why it's painted red - but allegedly it was the British not the Dutch, so...
This is the Christ Church in the main square - if you've ever read anything on Melaka, you'll probably have seen this picture - although it's more pink than the red that was in one of our guide books!
Just a view of the fountain in front of the church.
This is St. Paul's church which was originally built by the Spanish in around 1521.
It's pretty much in ruins now, but it's kind of amazing to be standing in something that was built so long ago.
Inside the church are still a bunch of tombstones from the 15 and 1600s...
This is a detail shot of one of the tombstones, I believe it's from one of the Dutch people who lived here.
Seems like back in the day they had plenty of time for:
(a) taking over foreign lands
(b) dying and
(c) carving tombstones.
Guess you get good at it with a lot of practise.
I liked this tombstone because of the nice skull and crossbones.
Who's THIS handsome chap though... and how did he manage to wear a matching t-shirt to the tombstone?!
The local cuisine is amazing - last night we had the best Kang Kong and Rendang I have had in my life.
Tomorrow we're going to go to some island that's near here, and then on Monday we're off to KL.
Stay cool....
We cannot thank Michelle and Andrew enough - their hospitality and support has been nothing short of amazing.
Anyway - a short bus ride to Lavender MRT to find a whole lot of confusion on how to check in and get on the Singapore --> Melaka bus awaiting us.
Not just us, but every other non-local. Oh well. I'm REALLY glad we went their the day before to suss it out....
A couple of immigration checkpoints later, and we're in Malaysia.
The next 4 hours that it takes us to get to Melaka flies, as we have a little snooze...
I guess it's pretty obvious that you've left the strange, pristine democratic-dictatorship of Singapore. Things are dirtier here, and people stare. Ahh I'd forgotten that lovely feeling.
The image below is the centre of Melaka.
I'm not sure why it's painted red - but allegedly it was the British not the Dutch, so...
This is the Christ Church in the main square - if you've ever read anything on Melaka, you'll probably have seen this picture - although it's more pink than the red that was in one of our guide books!
Just a view of the fountain in front of the church.
This is St. Paul's church which was originally built by the Spanish in around 1521.
It's pretty much in ruins now, but it's kind of amazing to be standing in something that was built so long ago.
Inside the church are still a bunch of tombstones from the 15 and 1600s...
This is a detail shot of one of the tombstones, I believe it's from one of the Dutch people who lived here.
Seems like back in the day they had plenty of time for:
(a) taking over foreign lands
(b) dying and
(c) carving tombstones.
Guess you get good at it with a lot of practise.
I liked this tombstone because of the nice skull and crossbones.
Who's THIS handsome chap though... and how did he manage to wear a matching t-shirt to the tombstone?!
The local cuisine is amazing - last night we had the best Kang Kong and Rendang I have had in my life.
Tomorrow we're going to go to some island that's near here, and then on Monday we're off to KL.
Stay cool....
Thursday, 21 June 2007
Zoological Excursion
Sometimes, looking like a tourist can't be avoided. Today was one of those days as we made our way to the Singapore Zoo.
Some observations: Even in Singapore, you can expect the same crazy price inflation/ variation that is reserved for places that attract loads of western visitors and/or any airport. Can of Coke lite - normal brother price : $1.20, Zoo price : $3.75, then a whopping $4.50 at the Night Safari.
But now, the animals. Pictures supplied by Leigh.
If you have ever been to Wereebee Open range Zoo and not seen the Rhino because it was hiding kilometres away (like us) then here is an Asian Rhino, drinking no less.
This is a foreign specimen of what is commonly known as the tired and perhaps cranky girlfriend. (exhaustus- crankus)
A monkey. I don't know what kind.
An Indian Elephant. They have 5. The largest male is 53 years old..
A creative shot of a giant turtle. I didn't get too close because the last one of these I encountered at the Melbourne Zoo, aged 6, bit me and crushed my fingers :(
An Iguana - just chilling. One of his brothers in the enclosure was shedding it's skin. Ewww.
This looks fake doesn't it? It is real.. An esturine croc, which was happily holding this position.
One of several African penguins. So I guess they don't mind the weather.
Filthy Baboons.. The pink bum is a bit disturbing. It's a sign of dominance in the males, and shall we say, 'ripeness' in the ladies.
I don't remember what these are, but it's a great shot.
Another ass shot.
I believe this is a bearded lizard, one of two varieties of lizard which are considered dangerous to humans.
Very cute monkey that randomly jumped out of the trees to frolic with us.. Until the little Singaporian girl started jumping and pointing at it.
A backflipping Otter. These little things STANK. They urinate to mark their territory..
The majestic white Tiger. We were lucky to see all 3 tigers right after a feeding session so they were quite playful and active.
A large foreheaded fish.
A small fish.
A Fantastic day. We waited around for the Night Safari which takes you on a guided tram ride around the Zoo.. It was good but not $28 good.
Some observations: Even in Singapore, you can expect the same crazy price inflation/ variation that is reserved for places that attract loads of western visitors and/or any airport. Can of Coke lite - normal brother price : $1.20, Zoo price : $3.75, then a whopping $4.50 at the Night Safari.
But now, the animals. Pictures supplied by Leigh.
If you have ever been to Wereebee Open range Zoo and not seen the Rhino because it was hiding kilometres away (like us) then here is an Asian Rhino, drinking no less.
This is a foreign specimen of what is commonly known as the tired and perhaps cranky girlfriend. (exhaustus- crankus)
A monkey. I don't know what kind.
An Indian Elephant. They have 5. The largest male is 53 years old..
A creative shot of a giant turtle. I didn't get too close because the last one of these I encountered at the Melbourne Zoo, aged 6, bit me and crushed my fingers :(
An Iguana - just chilling. One of his brothers in the enclosure was shedding it's skin. Ewww.
This looks fake doesn't it? It is real.. An esturine croc, which was happily holding this position.
One of several African penguins. So I guess they don't mind the weather.
Filthy Baboons.. The pink bum is a bit disturbing. It's a sign of dominance in the males, and shall we say, 'ripeness' in the ladies.
I don't remember what these are, but it's a great shot.
Another ass shot.
I believe this is a bearded lizard, one of two varieties of lizard which are considered dangerous to humans.
Very cute monkey that randomly jumped out of the trees to frolic with us.. Until the little Singaporian girl started jumping and pointing at it.
A backflipping Otter. These little things STANK. They urinate to mark their territory..
The majestic white Tiger. We were lucky to see all 3 tigers right after a feeding session so they were quite playful and active.
A large foreheaded fish.
A small fish.A Fantastic day. We waited around for the Night Safari which takes you on a guided tram ride around the Zoo.. It was good but not $28 good.
Zoot Suits and Bubbles
Ok before the zoo pics, firstly I would like to showcase the Cuz's new body, bike and ... zoot suit:
He is a very handsome man, n'est pas?
Oooh ooh ooh and now this is my new underwater housing and associated paraphernalia:
To the left is the 8" dome port which will be used with the 16-35" for ultra/wide angle stuff. In the middle is the housing, strobe and strobe arm, and to the right is the flat port for the 100mm macro which will be used for close up stuff!
Next up a couple of my VERY FIRST underwater pictures:
Watch out David Doubilet! By the way the watch was not shot like that. I accidently rotated it when I was rotating the zoot suit pics, but it looks kind of weird so I left it....
He is a very handsome man, n'est pas?Oooh ooh ooh and now this is my new underwater housing and associated paraphernalia:
To the left is the 8" dome port which will be used with the 16-35" for ultra/wide angle stuff. In the middle is the housing, strobe and strobe arm, and to the right is the flat port for the 100mm macro which will be used for close up stuff!
Next up a couple of my VERY FIRST underwater pictures:
Watch out David Doubilet! By the way the watch was not shot like that. I accidently rotated it when I was rotating the zoot suit pics, but it looks kind of weird so I left it....
Monday, 18 June 2007
Someone is Stupid
I have spent many a CPU cycle on this blog lambasting SOMEONE for forgetting phrase books and losing their lift pass - however when it comes to REALLY stupid things it appears that I am a real contender...
Looks like on Sunday morning I lost my frickin' mobile phone in a cab.
I win. Especially since the phone has my PIN stored in a code memo. Double win.
A big thanks to Garen for helping me sort out my PIN and plastic woes, and James for agreeing with me that it's very odd and might be a bigger issue than just the plastic.
Tomorrow we'll go to the zoo, so fingers crossed it doesn't piss down with rain.
Stay tuned for my new blog: "What Leigh Lost Next". Rockin.
Looks like on Sunday morning I lost my frickin' mobile phone in a cab.
I win. Especially since the phone has my PIN stored in a code memo. Double win.
A big thanks to Garen for helping me sort out my PIN and plastic woes, and James for agreeing with me that it's very odd and might be a bigger issue than just the plastic.
Tomorrow we'll go to the zoo, so fingers crossed it doesn't piss down with rain.
Stay tuned for my new blog: "What Leigh Lost Next". Rockin.
Friday, 15 June 2007
Singapore Sling #2
This was our first experience of Singapore culture, right here, coming at you live and direct:
Correct. McDonalds coffee. Or should I say "bucket o' coffee flavoured milk". These crazy yellow people really love their weak coffee!!
So given it was stinking hot and humid we thought it would be a good idea to walk across Singapore - not literally the WHOLE of Singapore, but almost across the entire central district.
SOMEONE chose inappropriate footwear for the journey, so a stop was required to purchase tourist-style sandals. At this point my new Wizard Clear Disadvantage card was declined. Not sure WTF is going on there.
We ended up at the botannical gardens, which are massive, and fed my obsession for wildlife photos.... I'm afraid you'll have to put up with smaller, unedited versions on ye-olde-blog, fine art size prints will be available for purchase on our return....
Feature wall at the gardens...
There was a pond filled with cool fish - they're obviously fed by the public because they come up to you when they see you. Either that, or my luck with fish is going to improve soon.
There's a lake with Swans in it. Oddly it's called Swan Lake.
I think this turtle thinks it's a swan though.....
Here is the turtle up close. You can also see the dust on my f**king sensor. Noone in Singapore (so far) has any methyl alcohol for cleaning it :(
This is a nice sculpture of some swans. Again oddly enough, this is in the Swan Lake with the other swan-turtle-hybrid things.
This is a flower. Note the ant.
This is another flower
This is a flower. Please note more ants are present on this one.
I believe this may be the long lost ancestor of the platypus....
Some turtles doing what we would like to have been, lying by the pool.
To break with convention, this is a leaf.
And the last flower for today....
By jove it knows how to rain here. It's also putting on a bit of lightning and thunder for us as well.
At last, but not least, this is JoJo - lady of the manor:
Toodle-pip!
Correct. McDonalds coffee. Or should I say "bucket o' coffee flavoured milk". These crazy yellow people really love their weak coffee!!So given it was stinking hot and humid we thought it would be a good idea to walk across Singapore - not literally the WHOLE of Singapore, but almost across the entire central district.
SOMEONE chose inappropriate footwear for the journey, so a stop was required to purchase tourist-style sandals. At this point my new Wizard Clear Disadvantage card was declined. Not sure WTF is going on there.
We ended up at the botannical gardens, which are massive, and fed my obsession for wildlife photos.... I'm afraid you'll have to put up with smaller, unedited versions on ye-olde-blog, fine art size prints will be available for purchase on our return....
Feature wall at the gardens... 
There was a pond filled with cool fish - they're obviously fed by the public because they come up to you when they see you. Either that, or my luck with fish is going to improve soon.
There's a lake with Swans in it. Oddly it's called Swan Lake.I think this turtle thinks it's a swan though.....
Here is the turtle up close. You can also see the dust on my f**king sensor. Noone in Singapore (so far) has any methyl alcohol for cleaning it :(
This is a nice sculpture of some swans. Again oddly enough, this is in the Swan Lake with the other swan-turtle-hybrid things.
This is a flower. Note the ant.
This is another flower
This is a flower. Please note more ants are present on this one.
I believe this may be the long lost ancestor of the platypus....
Some turtles doing what we would like to have been, lying by the pool.
To break with convention, this is a leaf.
And the last flower for today....Well that's the botannical gardens. At this point we were tired of sweating and walking (we'd been going 4ish hours at this point) and took a taxi home. Taxis are cool in Singapore. A journey across town only costs around $5, and a ride to the airport costs around $20-25.
This is the scene that greeted us shortly after getting up this morning:
This is the scene that greeted us shortly after getting up this morning:
By jove it knows how to rain here. It's also putting on a bit of lightning and thunder for us as well.At last, but not least, this is JoJo - lady of the manor:
Toodle-pip!
Thursday, 14 June 2007
Singapore Sling #1
We have arrived. The moment Asia has been waiting for.
I am fascinated by the fact that Sydney Airport is the only airport that I have been to that requires you to PAY to get on a train between the domestic and international terminals.
FIVE BUCKS TO GO BETWEEN TERMINALS?! It's an outrage, someone call Today Tonight and expose them.
10:00EST until 02:00EST was the total journey time. Met up with an old friend of mine The Cuz, who we're staying with for a couple of nights before breaking out into hostel stylez to acclimatise.
This morning we will tackle our first asian breakfast, if only I knew what we were going to eat!!
I am fascinated by the fact that Sydney Airport is the only airport that I have been to that requires you to PAY to get on a train between the domestic and international terminals.
FIVE BUCKS TO GO BETWEEN TERMINALS?! It's an outrage, someone call Today Tonight and expose them.
10:00EST until 02:00EST was the total journey time. Met up with an old friend of mine The Cuz, who we're staying with for a couple of nights before breaking out into hostel stylez to acclimatise.
This morning we will tackle our first asian breakfast, if only I knew what we were going to eat!!
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Dinky Drink Drink!
Yes it is our aim to revitalise Melbourne's Thursday night drinking scene, singlehandedly.
Frankly singlehandedly is the only way that seems possible. It's a sad state of affairs when we are the best looking men in an entire bar. If only we'd been on Commercial Road we'd have had more luck.
The Itinerary:
- The Royston
- Hubcab (empty)
- The Vic Bar
- Random Pub @ Church Street near 7/11
- The Terminus
The damage:
- Meat Pies
The result:
- Ferocious hangover
Frankly singlehandedly is the only way that seems possible. It's a sad state of affairs when we are the best looking men in an entire bar. If only we'd been on Commercial Road we'd have had more luck.
The Itinerary:
- The Royston
- Hubcab (empty)
- The Vic Bar
- Random Pub @ Church Street near 7/11
- The Terminus
The damage:
- Meat Pies
The result:
- Ferocious hangover
Thursday, 7 June 2007
Dissatisfaction
They say the grass is always greener, and I guess they're right.
This week has been oddly irritating - I feel like I should be relaxed, but I'm not - there seems to be too much (but not really) stuff to organise, people to see, things to do.
Had a great lunch yesterday at Movida courtesy of Nick P. and Goldman Sachs.
I recommend people go and check it out. http://www.movida.com.au/
Yesterday I rode the Broadmeadows train, hot on the heels of the day before attending Broadmeadows shopping centre. These are truly highlights of Melbourne that need to be seen to be believed. John So doesn't know what he's missing.
Today: Tax time with Dr. Clark (thrills) and then drinks with Mags (spills). w00ty!!
This week has been oddly irritating - I feel like I should be relaxed, but I'm not - there seems to be too much (but not really) stuff to organise, people to see, things to do.
Had a great lunch yesterday at Movida courtesy of Nick P. and Goldman Sachs.
I recommend people go and check it out. http://www.movida.com.au/
Yesterday I rode the Broadmeadows train, hot on the heels of the day before attending Broadmeadows shopping centre. These are truly highlights of Melbourne that need to be seen to be believed. John So doesn't know what he's missing.
Today: Tax time with Dr. Clark (thrills) and then drinks with Mags (spills). w00ty!!
Monday, 4 June 2007
Saturday, 2 June 2007
Farewell GE
Well yesterday was out last day. How crazy is that?! We are now unemployed!
We of course had the obligatory departmental morning tea which was rather strained and fake. People mainly only turn up for the food, and food was a bit poo. No expense was spared on the two plates of slices and muffins from Degani.
The most hilarious thing is that when asked to give a speech, my boss said, "I haven't worked very closely with Leigh, so .... Kipp could you say something". HAH!!!
Friday night was party night, so a HUGE thank-you goes out to the following (although I apologise for passing out before the action had finished):
Mags, Jay, Ivy League, Meat Factory, Minas, Kipper, Arnold, Rai, Belinda, Simon, Trez, Mel, Ben, Fletch, Gerome, Martin, Phil, Camo, Wix, Knox, Belinda's Mystery Guest, Warren, Justin, and last but not least Rabbi Shinners.
Thank you all so much for a great night - I was in such a good mood today thinking about what a great bunch of friends we have!
A special mention should also go out to Dave Morgan who ate a mixed grill with us at lunchtime.
And to those who couldn't make it, you can all go die in a fire... well that's not very nice, and not really true either.
I have wound up with a couple of nasty grazes on my knee and left palm. Allegedly Mags and I were skipping towards the car, however we accept no responsibility for any skipping that may or may not have been performed.
Must be nearly time for dinner....
We of course had the obligatory departmental morning tea which was rather strained and fake. People mainly only turn up for the food, and food was a bit poo. No expense was spared on the two plates of slices and muffins from Degani.
The most hilarious thing is that when asked to give a speech, my boss said, "I haven't worked very closely with Leigh, so .... Kipp could you say something". HAH!!!
Friday night was party night, so a HUGE thank-you goes out to the following (although I apologise for passing out before the action had finished):
Mags, Jay, Ivy League, Meat Factory, Minas, Kipper, Arnold, Rai, Belinda, Simon, Trez, Mel, Ben, Fletch, Gerome, Martin, Phil, Camo, Wix, Knox, Belinda's Mystery Guest, Warren, Justin, and last but not least Rabbi Shinners.
Thank you all so much for a great night - I was in such a good mood today thinking about what a great bunch of friends we have!
A special mention should also go out to Dave Morgan who ate a mixed grill with us at lunchtime.
And to those who couldn't make it, you can all go die in a fire... well that's not very nice, and not really true either.
I have wound up with a couple of nasty grazes on my knee and left palm. Allegedly Mags and I were skipping towards the car, however we accept no responsibility for any skipping that may or may not have been performed.
Must be nearly time for dinner....
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
The last remaining minutes...
It's 17:41 Eastern Standard time.
I have 1 day, 23 hours, 18 minutes to go in my current incarnation as a working man.
I'd like to say that this causes anything other than joyful feelings. But I can't because I would be lying.
So a brief schedule for the next few weeks (yes I know you are all giddy with the excitement!).
Week of 11th of June:
MEL --> SIN - we will hopefully be staying with an old mate of mine, The Cuz. Yes he warrents the word "the" in his title. I will spend another small fortune on camera equipment. Inspect the goodness at www.ikelite.com.
Once done there, we'll cross the border into Malaysia, and probably head up the west coast to Malaka and surrounds, on the way to KL.
Sometime early July we will fly from KL to Kota Kinabalu and do some Borneo stuff.
13th of July we will be on the Seaventures oil riggy thing for some diving at Sipadan.
Hopefully after this I we will either shoot into Indonesia to check out Derawan etc, and then I'll do muh D I V E M A S T E R stuff.
Correct. Stay tuned for post-work, pre-flying update.
/out.
I have 1 day, 23 hours, 18 minutes to go in my current incarnation as a working man.
I'd like to say that this causes anything other than joyful feelings. But I can't because I would be lying.
So a brief schedule for the next few weeks (yes I know you are all giddy with the excitement!).
Week of 11th of June:
MEL --> SIN - we will hopefully be staying with an old mate of mine, The Cuz. Yes he warrents the word "the" in his title. I will spend another small fortune on camera equipment. Inspect the goodness at www.ikelite.com.
Once done there, we'll cross the border into Malaysia, and probably head up the west coast to Malaka and surrounds, on the way to KL.
Sometime early July we will fly from KL to Kota Kinabalu and do some Borneo stuff.
13th of July we will be on the Seaventures oil riggy thing for some diving at Sipadan.
Hopefully after this I we will either shoot into Indonesia to check out Derawan etc, and then I'll do muh D I V E M A S T E R stuff.
Correct. Stay tuned for post-work, pre-flying update.
/out.
Tuesday, 22 May 2007
Is nothing fucking sacred part 2...
The long suffering Charade has suffered another indignity.
This morning one of the West's finest managed to run into the back of it....
The rear-right has been pushed in a few cm, and now the boot doesn't quite close properly!!!!
Grrr...
We have now entered the second last week of work. The countdown to the world tour is truly on!
This morning one of the West's finest managed to run into the back of it....
The rear-right has been pushed in a few cm, and now the boot doesn't quite close properly!!!!
Grrr...
We have now entered the second last week of work. The countdown to the world tour is truly on!
Thursday, 19 April 2007
The terrible gun tragedy...
C'mon mate... learn to laugh at yourself, cause maybe, just maybe, everyone else is...
Peash..
Wednesday, 18 April 2007
SLAYER! SLAYER! SLAYER!
How on EARTH could I have forgotten the most important thing of last week.
Fresh off the big move... the Gun Team shook off the tiredness, the football, and the lack off pass-outs to attend...
It's been many years since I have attended a metal gig, and I must sadly admit that my wardrobe is about as metal as a drawer full of Glad Wrap.... James has never knowingly heard a Slayer song in his life... BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Mastodon were supporting. I have not heard them, and they kind of sucked for the 3 minutes we heard them.
3 Tooheys New's and 3 JW and Cola were quickly slammed down in preparation.
It's hard to sum up Slayer. Sure they might be getting old, but still as fast and as brutal as I ever imagined.
Dave Lombardo's double kick has the strange ability to warp reality...
So here's the alleged set-list:
Disciple
War Ensemble
Jihad
Die By The Sword
Show No Mercy
Captor Of Sin
Cult
Bloodline
Mandatory Suicide
Seasons In The Abyss
Supremist
Eyes Of The Insane
Postmortem
Silent Scream
Dead Skin Mask
Raining Blood
Angel Of Death
ROCK ON!!!!!!
Fresh off the big move... the Gun Team shook off the tiredness, the football, and the lack off pass-outs to attend...
S L A Y E R
It's been many years since I have attended a metal gig, and I must sadly admit that my wardrobe is about as metal as a drawer full of Glad Wrap.... James has never knowingly heard a Slayer song in his life... BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Mastodon were supporting. I have not heard them, and they kind of sucked for the 3 minutes we heard them.
3 Tooheys New's and 3 JW and Cola were quickly slammed down in preparation.
It's hard to sum up Slayer. Sure they might be getting old, but still as fast and as brutal as I ever imagined.
Dave Lombardo's double kick has the strange ability to warp reality...
So here's the alleged set-list:
Disciple
War Ensemble
Jihad
Die By The Sword
Show No Mercy
Captor Of Sin
Cult
Bloodline
Mandatory Suicide
Seasons In The Abyss
Supremist
Eyes Of The Insane
Postmortem
Silent Scream
Dead Skin Mask
Raining Blood
Angel Of Death
ROCK ON!!!!!!
Go West! Life is peaceful there...
We have followed the advice of the venerable Pet Shop Boys and headed west.
North if you actually believe what Lady Katherine says, however, if one consults the fine folk at Google Maps one will notice that whilst there is certainly a northerly aspect to our current location, there is also a WESTERLY aspect...
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=22+westfield+blvd+westmeadows+melbourne&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,59.238281&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=-37.679609,144.901455&spn=0.002085,0.003616&t=k&om=1&iwloc=addr
Now in fact our residence (well Lady Anna and Lord Vlado's residence) is the one to the left of the pool... perhaps if you're lucky one day the Google Satellite Network will be able to penetrate the cloaking device of Team Charade (TM).
Many thanks must go out to Jimmy "Guns Of Navarrone" Maglaras for his invaluable assistance during our move.
The award for "most useful guy during the move" goes to..... Vlado "The Titan" Presljak .
He drives trucks, lifts fridges, and manoeuvres a trolley... well... like a professional. What else can I say... a true champion.
Dishonourable mention goes to Big Al for his complete lack of assistance, and breaking the front of my TV.
Shameless commercial plugs go out to: Atlas Truck Rentals and Mark the cleaner (041248238).
This message brought to you in part by GE Money.
.out
North if you actually believe what Lady Katherine says, however, if one consults the fine folk at Google Maps one will notice that whilst there is certainly a northerly aspect to our current location, there is also a WESTERLY aspect...
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=22+westfield+blvd+westmeadows+melbourne&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,59.238281&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=-37.679609,144.901455&spn=0.002085,0.003616&t=k&om=1&iwloc=addr
Now in fact our residence (well Lady Anna and Lord Vlado's residence) is the one to the left of the pool... perhaps if you're lucky one day the Google Satellite Network will be able to penetrate the cloaking device of Team Charade (TM).
Many thanks must go out to Jimmy "Guns Of Navarrone" Maglaras for his invaluable assistance during our move.
The award for "most useful guy during the move" goes to..... Vlado "The Titan" Presljak .
He drives trucks, lifts fridges, and manoeuvres a trolley... well... like a professional. What else can I say... a true champion.
Dishonourable mention goes to Big Al for his complete lack of assistance, and breaking the front of my TV.
Shameless commercial plugs go out to: Atlas Truck Rentals and Mark the cleaner (041248238).
This message brought to you in part by GE Money.
.out
Saturday, 7 April 2007
Is nothing fucking sacred?!
Honestly. Who the fuck breaks into a car worth $2500.
Well apparently people who live around here do.
The damage:
- Front passenger door lock rooted, scratches and shit on the paint.
- $50 stereo stolen, center console fucked up.
- Digital clock stolen (ASSHOLES!!!)
- Wait for it.... slab of pepsi max stolen
- Ralliart backpack
- Burton board sleeve.
- Inexplicably, also the front right indicator has been smashed up...
FOR FUCKS SAKE. I FUCKING HATE YOU ABBOTSFORD.... DIE JUNKIES DIE.
Well apparently people who live around here do.
The damage:
- Front passenger door lock rooted, scratches and shit on the paint.
- $50 stereo stolen, center console fucked up.
- Digital clock stolen (ASSHOLES!!!)
- Wait for it.... slab of pepsi max stolen
- Ralliart backpack
- Burton board sleeve.
- Inexplicably, also the front right indicator has been smashed up...
FOR FUCKS SAKE. I FUCKING HATE YOU ABBOTSFORD.... DIE JUNKIES DIE.
Thursday, 22 March 2007
PIctures pictures everywhere...
Well this is the last post for a while I guess, just popping some random pictures up.
There IS one thing that annoys me about this blogger interface though, PICTURES ALWAYS GET ADDED AT THE TOP?!?!?!
Grrr...
Anyhoo..
I dunno what this is, but it looked funny so I took a picture of it.
I also can't remember the name of this mountain, I'm sure a quick google would sort that out, but it's known as the "Mt. Fuji of the North" - due to its resemblance to it's southern cousin, Mt. Fuji.
A view from Hirafu back towards Mt. Annapuri at dusk - you can see the night-skiing runs lit up!
This is the interior of our room....
The guy on the left (in the blue top) was like a bus coordinator guy - while we were waiting for the first bus, he made a whole bunch of snowmen on the cafe near the bus stop....
Check this out:
This is erm... a river... from the bus on the way to Sapporo...
Now for some randomness from the beginning of the trip - first the view from our hotel at Haneda airport!
This is the fire station in Hirafu village:
Mr Potato Fireman...
Back to sweating and being flu-ey. Rockin.
There IS one thing that annoys me about this blogger interface though, PICTURES ALWAYS GET ADDED AT THE TOP?!?!?!
Grrr...
Anyhoo..
I dunno what this is, but it looked funny so I took a picture of it.
I also can't remember the name of this mountain, I'm sure a quick google would sort that out, but it's known as the "Mt. Fuji of the North" - due to its resemblance to it's southern cousin, Mt. Fuji.
A view from Hirafu back towards Mt. Annapuri at dusk - you can see the night-skiing runs lit up!
This is the interior of our room....
The guy on the left (in the blue top) was like a bus coordinator guy - while we were waiting for the first bus, he made a whole bunch of snowmen on the cafe near the bus stop....
Check this out:
This is erm... a river... from the bus on the way to Sapporo...
Now for some randomness from the beginning of the trip - first the view from our hotel at Haneda airport!
This is the fire station in Hirafu village:
Mr Potato Fireman...
Back to sweating and being flu-ey. Rockin.
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