Can You Feel 2010?...I Can

Imagine This:

- Sydney Botanical Gardens
- A group of friends
- One of the most famous sights in the world, Sydney Harbour
- The largest and most technologically advanced fireworks display in the world.
(over 3,000 kilograms of explosive devices, including approximately 10,000 shooting comets and 100,000 individual pyrotechnic effects fired from Sydney Harbour Bridge and seven barges on Sydney Harbour)

What you get with all of this???....arguably the best new years celebration in the world.

Ever since I saw Sydney's new years celebration on the tv, I always imagined how great it would be to be there experiencing it live....well I am less than 36 hours away from that becoming a reality.

Walking around the city, I see hundreds of meters of steal fences/barricades, and an influx of tourists in the roadways....its here, The New Year and 2010 will be here in no time....but not until one extremely proper farewell to 2009. Tomorrow will be great, even if it does rain as the forecast predicts.

It will require some commitment however, I have heard rumors that the can reach capacity as early as 10 am New years eve morning. A group of friends and I were planning around getting there around 1 to 2.  Hoping for the best.  You are not permitted to bring alcohol in....so that leaves me from midday all the way thru the new year of purchasing drinks, most likely around 6-7 dollars a drink.  That is something that just wont be affordable. Following the advice from an aussie, I am minutes away from embarking on a covert mission. I will be taking a bag of goon to the botanical gardens and will be conveniently placing(hiding) it somewhere inside the gardens..where it will then stay for 24+ hours until I retrieve it tomorrow afternoon after passing security alcohol free. I will be seen as a hero and legend among peers and will have a great new year without a too  serious of a bar tab. 

Happy New Year, be safe, drink responsibly, and careful who you are next to come the New Year, don't make a mistake with the fat girl next to you.

Past Few Days

Well i thought I could hold out till the New Year for a new post but too much has happened the last few days to ignore it. (wouldn't want to forget some great moments)

2 days before Christmas had my off day from work and with only a few free days left in Sydney I knew I had to do something productive.  With the weather being average...a bit windy with several clouds I thought it was a great day to bid farewell to my favorite Sydney beach...Manly.  Im not sure if ill ever have the opportunity to go back there so I wanted to make sure I went there one last time.  It had been almost a month seen I had visited there.  So I hopped on the ferry and took in some great views of the city skyline/harbour and arrived in Manly within 25 minutes. I strolled the corso for about 30 minutes, got lunch and hit the beach for the next 4 hours.

Manly Corso

The waves were real small but knew this going into the day as I checked the surf report, but nonetheless there were a few sets that provided some great body surfing.  When i wasn't in the water I caught up on the latest aussie news and read part of my travel books, of course while glancing at some of the great looking women along the beach.  On a similar note, topless tanning is pretty popular here in Australia, must be from the influx of european travelers here in town.

My day in Manly was great and relaxing, and although the sun wasn't fully out I still had a great beach day and will definitely miss the sights and sounds of Manly beach.

After returning from Manly, my roomate Nigel and I decided to go to the Sydney soccer (football) game.  While watching the game I realized that this was a great aussie culture experience...one of my first.  I enjoyed the chants, team support and game atmosphere. Soccer isn't too popular here and the 40,000 capacity stadium was pretty empty, i would imagine the same amount of people that attend US soccer games. They played the Central Coast Mariners and won 1-0.

The next day was Christmas Eve.  Didn't do much in the day except plan more of my trip, (final details/tour bookings will be done by the New Year hopefully)

That night Nigel and I were originally going to follow thru on our mission to try our first Kangaroo Pizza, but we got word that day that this hotel was putting on a free christmas eve buffet.  The kangaroo pizza immediatly was postponed.  We headed there with a few people from the old hostel.  The "free" buffet was not totally free as you had to purchase a drink with your meal, but by that time in the night after already a few drinks, one or 2 more drinks were only gonna help the cause.  The meal was suprisingly great, one of the best  meals I've had yet. The meal was All you Can Eat which was a great deal for the price of a drink.  There was some delicious turkey, ham, polenta, ceasar salad, potato sald...etc.  It truly was a great meal.

After the buffet we headed to Darling Harbour to catch some Christmas carols by the tree and xmas eve fireworks.

I don't think I have ever seen fireworks on Christmas Eve but I was definitely a fan.  Although it was a very very short 5 minute display it was jam packed with fireworks and were synchronized amazingly with some great Christmas songs, including Hallelujah, Carol of the Bells and closed with Santa Clause is Coming to Town.  If anything, it definitely set the vibe for New Years Eve fireworks...gonna be great

After Darling Harbour we searched for some open bottleshops to continue drinks but failed, was pretty stuffed from the all you can eat buffet anyway.  We ended up walking thru the city to see the other tree and more light projected buildings.  You may recall the town hall projections I posted up a few weeks ago. These buildings were parliament buildings and the New South Wales Library.

After that we headed back to the apartment, shared a box of goon and opened up my Panetone that I bought that day, a true italian Christmas tradition, it was so great and definitely felt in Christmas spirit while enjoying it.

Christmas morning came in a hurry.  It came without any presents under the tree but without losing sight on the real meaning of Christmas I headed to church for the 1030 mass.  There I met up with my German friend and coworker Timo and his german friends.  The service was pretty good, but it was super hot inside the huge, beautiful cathedral. The choir was definitely the downside of service as they did not sing many of the typical great Christmas church songs (was real bummed about "Silent Night" not being played).  Anyway, all in all a good service and was out by a little after 12 (longer than preferred).

St. Mary's Cathedral

Timo and I in front of the Cathedral

At 3 oclock I started work and working Christmas couldn't have been any better. It ended up raining on Christmas and the popular thing to do is go and have a barbie on the beach with friends. When I asked my friends how their Christmas on the beach was, they all said miserable. Meanwhile I worked 7 hours and got paid around 41 dollars an hour. To top that, the chefs prepared us a great Christmas dinner, the notable food included a great tasty macaroni salad, salmon, turkey and cranberry, and free soft drinks. (yes, it was better than your average airline food)  I had the best of both worlds on Christmas. I made great money, had a great dinner, and worked with some great coworkers (including Timo and the other German backpacker girl)

After work we decided to celebrate Christmas evening with a few boxes of goon.  I headed over to Timo's apartment and drank with 4 german girls.  It was raining still so going out looked unlikely.  I learned that Christmas in Germany is celebrated on the 24th with the 25th, and 26th being post Christmas days but still time for family. Christmas night with the germans was real fun, with the highlight being Timo being upset about Hungry Jack's (Burger King) being closed and him not being able to get a soft serve chocolate dipped ice cream cone. He was so frustrated he threw his elbow back and broke the sliding glass door behind him.  After a few rounds of drinks and the sudden occurence of broken glass all the girls and I started laughing hysterically, leaving Timo in disbelief of what just happened and seeing his just earned christmas day pay go down the drain. Oh man it was great.

Well anyway, it wasn't the traditional Christmas for me but it sure was a good one under the circumstances. A few skype calls with the family made me feel right at home.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.  

2010 is 4 days away...can't wait for the celebration, however it is currently supposed to rain here...BRUTAL

Take care everyone...see you in the New Year

Over and Out

The Beat Goes On

Christmas is coming, New Years in coming, my 2 month travel trip is coming, and a job packing airline food is coming to an end. A lot to look forward too over here and the anticipation is building. We are 3 days out from Christmas and it doesn't feel like it at all. The heat, lack of Christmas songs and not being around family, it is easy to act like these days are like no other. Having first planned this trip, knowing I would miss Christmas was a small concern, but at the same time, the timing of this trip worked well and a skipped Christmas had to be done. Next thing I know Christmas will have passed and will move on. I am pretty happy I am working Christmas day and getting holiday pay, my work family is a great substitute to my real one. Been building some great relationships at work and all the koreans seem to really enjoy my presence.  We have had an influx of new Korean workers lately, and to be honest I can't put a name to any of their faces because with their hair nets on they all look the same. But one thing for certain, they are serious, fast, hard workers...something perfect for the line of work. I have been loading a lot of flights lately, including 2 entire flights yesterday (main meal, light meal, breakfast)....i woke up sore this morning in my legs due to all the bending and squatting of putting trays into the airline carts.

Tonight I put in my final notice of when I will be leaving work.  January 5 is my last work day and have chosen January 7th as the day my travels commence.  Already looking back on this job I think of 2 main things, 1) It is pretty sweet that I am working in another country, 2) I am packing airline food!!!, it is almost laughable but at the same time I enjoy the job and love the experience in a new work industry.  It has been a great job and definitely adds to some of the great times I will have on this life long memory

With Christmas and New Years creeping up, the amount of Aussies and tourists in the city are rapidly increasing. Sydney IS the place to be for the holidays, i can tell just by the amount of people on the trains and in line at the pubs recently. With that, there are loads of backpackers coming in, and a lot leaving.  Last night I said goodbye to my Irish buddy who I became good friends with at the hostel.  And with my trip coming up, I will soon have to say goodbye to some of the great people I have made friendships with here.  But thanks to  social networks and technology it won't be the last time I ever speak with them.

Here is a picture of me and the guys before heading out to the bars last night. (note the 2 boxes of goon and my VB)

Been doing some extensive trip planning the past 3 days...it is a gruesome task but at the same time I find it entertaining as I have full control of what I want to do and get to see the things I have to look forward to.  I've got my bus ticket to the entire east coast and have my flights booked, just need to get the in between details and locations down.  Highlights are: Great Barrier Reef Snorkel Trip, 3 day 4x4 on the largest sand island in the world(fraser), 2 day sailing trip around 60+ islands(Whitsundays), Steve Irwin Australia Zoo, Surf Lesson in Byron Bay, 1 month of meeting new friends and enjoying the hostel pub life.  Be jealous everyone, be jealous

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, See you in the New Year....maybe slightly before if there's something on my mind

PS. planning on going to see this movie Avatar in 3d on Sydney's IMAX, the largest movie screen in the world...hope it lives up to the hype

Tiger Woods Jokes

Let me first say that this whole Tiger Woods fiasco is starting to annoy me. I am in Australia and I cannot get over the media coverage on this...literally every newspaper over the past 3 weeks has had some news on Tiger. I do believe most of the gossip is probably true, other than the 2 porn stars that saw this as an easy way to get their name out. Why he cheated on one of the hottest wives in all of sports is beyond mind blowing. What Tiger did was wrong, but like all celebrity mistakes, the media has turned this into a nightmare. It really is none of our business what is going on in his personal life. At the end of all this and whenever Tiger eventually retires from the game of golf, he will be remembered as one of the greatest golfers of all time, not for cheating on his wife.

With that said, i guess i am adding to the media frenzy, but at the same time you always have to take the lighter side of things and these jokes that are swirling over the internet are pretty funny, despite tiger's serious personal life problems. Tiger if you come across this page, just know I still respect what you've done for the game of golf, I will always remember when you walked past me during the US Open at Pebble Beach, and will always take an autograph no matter what your public opinion is.

I'de like to think I keep my blog PG rated so I couldn't include some of the better sexual ones but here are a few I got laughs out of.

Why did Phil Mickelson call Elin yesterday? To pick up some tips on how to beat Tiger.

Why did Tiger crashed into a fire hydrant AND a tree? He couldn’t decide between a wood and an iron.

What is the penalty for getting it in the wrong hole? Ask Tiger, he knows.

Nike wants to drop their endorsement due to accuracy problems. Apparently, Tiger’s spraying his balls everywhere.

Tiger Woods won’t be winning ‘Golfer of the Year’. He just won ‘Player of the Year”.

What’s the difference between Tiger Woods and Santa? Santa stops after three Ho’s….

Why was Tiger’s wife mad at him? She heard that he played a-round in Australia.

Nike’s new ad slogan: Just do it – Tiger would

Did you hear Tiger changed his name to Cheetah?

Tiger is starring in a new movie: Horn Dog Billionaire

I thought the idea of the game was fewer strokes.

Tiger should have taken a mulligan on that drive.

Q: What are 18 women that have sex with Tiger Woods called?

A: A Golf Course

2 Month Update

It is hard to believe I have been in Australia for two months. Today marks my 2 month anniversary of arriving in the land down under and also marks my 1 month anniversary of starting my job.  In a nutshell, i couldn't be any happier to be here and truly believe my decision to embark on this adventure at this stage in my life was one of the best calls I have ever made. One unfortunate thing is how fast time is going by. I would like to think that I am making the most of my time here so far, but with such little time left, i will need to have a true carpe diem mentality for every day left here. I have a little less than 2 months left in oz, and around 1 month in New Zealand. The glory about that is that the major part of my trip is coming, having not traveled too far out Sydney the past 2 months.

Looking back on work, i am pretty grateful to have landed the type of job I have. Location, hours, wage, and the fact i actually got a job.  With the abundance of backpackers in Sydney, the jobs available are far more slim than i originally anticipated them to be. Ive met backpackers that are fruitpickers, guys selling magic tricks, and ones that sell housing insulation by door to door. Yea im packing airline food, but at the same time,things could be worse. This job has been a great experience, i enjoy the people i work with, and best of all, weekend pay is where its at. However saving up money isnt as easy as I thought it would be. Without any more financial support like i had in college, you see your savings dwindle when you pay rent every week and as you see the prices as you plan your upcoming trip. The reality is I will run out of money during my 2 months straight of just travelling and entertainment.  Budget maintenance, survival, meeting new people, learning transportation systems, trip planning....just a few of the life lessons you learn as a world traveler, whose to say those arent just as important as a college education...you just never know where the world will take you.

Thats about all i got, but would like to some up my thoughts of these 2 months with a small list of points, because studies show, people like lists rather than lengthy paragraphs.

- Didn't enjoy my first meat pie, but they have really grown on me...a truly great tasty snack
- The weather here hasn't met my expectations, blame it on global warming/climate change/whatever, but with the exception of a few hot days, weather has been pretty inconsistent...Ive seen alot of sunny days but are ruined by alot of wind and have experience great days but in the night turn into thunderstorms
- girls are pretty attractive here, yet to meet an aussie chick but like what i see so far from backpackers, germany produces some good lookin blondes
- In all my travel books, they warned not to leave the house without applying ample sunscreen. This should have been intended only to the pasty british as the california sun has prepared me well.
- With the point above, it is quite enjoyable to see girls bright-tomato faced red after only a few hours in the sun
- I miss my daily pull up bar exercises in my doorway and occasional basketball pick up games
- Australian kebabs aren't as good as the ones in Europe, but the chicken kebabs here still give any "drunk" food a run for their money.
- Too many people smoke cigarettes in Sydney, so dirty
- no matter what I do when I get back in the states, i will never regret taking time off and going on this trip

Now awaiting xmas, new years, and traveling...great memories already had and many more to come

Town Hall Cheer

The city of Sydney is gearing up for the holidays.  More decorations and trees around the city are popping up, including this light display on Town Hall. There are 12 different projections, meant to represent the 12 days of Chirstmas, these 12 things have to do with Sydney and its culture.  anyway, pretty cool how they turned out on the building. Just a few.

My Top 10 Albums of 2009

This year was a pretty big year for music in my opinion. Michael Jackson's death takes the big news, but how bout the reincarnation of Blink 182, we've yet to hear new tunes but least they are back touring together.  Or the emergence of the weird yet captivating she/male that is Lady Gaga, her tunes are bound to get the dance floor going.  We never got the new Dr. Dre album, but the highly anticipated new Eminem album came out and lived up to the hype.  I've also enjoyed Kings of Leon who have had a huge breakout year and will hopefully be here to stay.

There were some band breakups in my opinion that are disastrous to my future music collection, but everyday great new artists are emerging just waiting to be heard.

Now of course these selections are totally biased but at the same time they truly are great albums, click the itunes link if you have the desire to preview or purchase the albums.

My Top 10 Albums of 2009

10. Silverstein - A Shipwreck in the Sand

The heaviest hitting album to make the list.  This band has quickly become one of my favorites over the years.   This first song comes out firing and remains that way through the rest of the album.  The reason I keep up with this band is their signature heavy metal riffs coupled with melodic rich and sometimes poppy vocals.  This album is not a new sound for the band, rather a more polished and refined sound that they've had on their previous works.  This Canadian band will always have a place in my music collection and I look forward to their upcoming works.

9. AFI - Crash Love

AFI's new release makes it to number 9 on this list. This album met my expectations but did not exceed them. With such great previous achievements on earlier records, I can imagine trying to top previous albums is getting tougher and tougher for AFI, but this most recent attempt was a damn good one.  This album is very solid and the band built on their best elements from their past albums, including their heavy punk sound, fist pumping anthem sing a longs, and sweet mellow slow songs.  AFI is on top of their genre and after 18 years of existence it is great to see this band still putting out massively successful albums. On top of that, AFI, in my opinion, puts on the best live punk rock show.

8. Eminem - Relapse

It took 5 years to come out but 2009 marked the year of Eminem's return to the music industry. The hugely successful white rapper is one of the few rap artists I have in my music collection.  A fan since early school years, I view eminem as a very talented musician.  His portfolio backs it up as he was recently named this decades most successful artist.  He also had the largest album sales in 2009. Mr. Mathers, from what it seems has had a tough early life and even though he may be living the celebrity drug fueled life now, his musical rap/flow talent is second to none.

7. Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg

It may be that they are an Aussie band but when I first heard Wolfmother's "Cosmic Egg" I knew it was something special.  Having not really got into the band on their first release, I gave them a second chance on their second effort and I was hooked after the first song.  This album is very consistent and enjoyed every song. Very well could have been one of the top 3 albums on this list had not so many great reggae albums came out this year

6. SOJA - Born in Babylon

S.O.J.A.(Soldier of Jah Army) - Born in Babylon.  This reggae rock album was one of the best of the year from this Washington DC based group.  Born in Babylon is a great piece of artwork. The album features some heavy roots, pop reggae and great instrumentals, a great album to say the least.

5. Pearl Jam - Backspacer

Backspacer is the 9th studio album from the legendary rock/alternative group Pearl Jam. This album opens surprisingly a bit heavy and fast paced. Their previous self titled record released in 2006 just seemed to be lacking certain things.  Backspacer is a phenomenal recovery and brings back some older Pearl Jam style as well as their new more mature/not as grungy sound. Lead singer Eddie Vedder's heart on fire vocals are always the main attraction on their records and good old Ed is still belting out great sounding vocals and powerful lyrics. I must admit it took awhile for the album to grow on me but when it did I knew I had another great album from one of the greatest bands in this generation.

4. Tribal Seeds - The Harvest

The Harvest, Tribal Seeds sophomore effort, one ups their previous 2008 self titled iTunes reggae chart topping release.  The Harvest is an impressive and vibrant album.  It shows how versatile this band is. It covers roots reggae, dub, to the harmonious island vibe sound while still encompassing the bands California reggae roots. A must listen for any reggae fan.

3. Bob Marley & The Wailers - B is For Bob

B Is For Bob was compiled by the international musical legend's eldest son Ziggy Marley. It included many of Bob's most famous songs such as "Three Little Birds", "Jammin", "Redemption Song" , "Stir it Up" All but 4 of the reggae greats songs on the album have been remixed by Ziggy, and have been done so greatly without altering too much with the legends reggae classics.

2. The Used - Artwork

My favorite band of the decade as most of you know. The Used have continued to captivate me on their recent release "Artwork". Something about this band that just clicks for me.  This album is not their best album to date but in my opinion is their most musically talented they have produced. They have combined their old sound and mixed it with their new and the outcome is pleasing.  This is from a Billboard.com review of the album "The Used make some adjustments in their sound and end up with an album that will require a few listens to really sink in."   I couldn't agree anymore with this statement. A few listens is exactly what it took, after that it was constant repeat of finishing the album and playing it all over again. 

1. Stick Figure - Smoke Stack

Stick Figure is the music of the man, the legend, Scott Woodruff. Scott writes, plays, produces all the music for his albums, he is the one man band. His first release "Burning Ocean" was Top Ten Reggae Albums of 2008 on Itunes. If you remember, Burning Ocean came in at my #2 album of 2008. This year Stick Figure has topped my chart with his best album yet. "Smoke Stack" has already topped the reggae charts for 2009 and his fan base is rapidly growing and expanding all over the world. He has grown as a musician and this album shows it. Stick Figure is sure to keep any reggae listeners vibes alive. Listen and pick up the album today.

Honorable Mentions

311 - Uplifter

Thrice - Beggars

Rebelution -  Bright Side of Life

Silversun Pickups - Swoon

My Most Dissapointing Albums of the Year

Saosin - In Search of Solid Ground,   a toss up from an honorable mention and a disappointing album. Well Ill list it as disappointing because I was disappointed after listening to "In Search of Solid Ground"  It is a great album and there are some of Saosins best songs on there, but the fact that I know they were capable of producing a much better album is why I was disappointed. It was a much more mellow, almost overproduced sound.  Saosin is still one of my favorite bands today but this album could have been so much more in my opinion.

Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown , a once great punk band, is now a theatrical performance and have lost touch with what got them big in the first place.


Until next year, enjoy the music and keep the beat goin

Picture of the Day

Who hasn't?

Living the Endless Summer : An Update

Hello there from down under. On my Saturday here on a Wednesday and once again the weather is crap and probably wont make it to the beach on my days off. . Work consumes my weeks as of late working 5 days a week with 7-8 hour shifts.  I am in no means excelling in my duties at work but lately i have been climbing the ladder in operations. A couple days ago I started "loading"  Loading is the term used when you place the finished food trays into cart that you see go up and down the aisles of the plane with the flight attendants. It is a pretty complex procedure as you have to make sure everything is on the trays that needs to be and that you place it in the right place in the cart. There are many special meals and places where the hot food trays go, let alone the countless number of carts you have to load. For example, on United flights i believe there are a total of 20 carts, all for main meal, breakfast, snacks.  Each cart stores about 56 trays.  Loading is ok, it requires a lot more thinking and bending up and down than just putting 500 cakes in dishes and putting lids on them.  But either way, work has been pretty good lately.  Coworkers are pretty entertaining and I enjoy working with them.  Recently we have had about 5 german backpackers join the crew, so able to get some travel talk in while working. Got about 1 month left there and after that, if i haven't spent all of my paychecks, sail swimmingly financially for the last 2 months of my trip.

The apartment is great and have no regrets with the decision whatsoever. I found out that the hostel raised its prices to 200 a week and I am paying 150 with a lot more comfort and luxury so great move on my part.  The location is a bit shady, but knew this before. Not where our apartment is, but just the over all suburb of Surry Hills. After a late night at the bars i had a drunken stumble in with some blokes on the walk home. It was around 3 or 4 am and was real close to the pad when I came upon two guys walking towards me. They seemed intoxicated as well. As I was about to walk passed them, one guy said to the other guy "take a swing at him. Next think i know the guy as he walks past me takes a swing.  I dodge it a bit and it hits me in the shoulder, upper arm region. Without hesitating i bolted off, not knowing what to expect next. Call me a wimp but 1 on 1 fight would be a tough enough battle for me, 2 on 1 would be no contest for a man of my build. It definitely startled me but after pondering the situation I dont think those guys meant harm. If anything they wanted to do exactly what they did, scare me away.  Had they wanted to beat me up or take my money, 2 of them would have came at me at once, not one guy throwing a somewhat erratic punch towards me.  EIther way, it will keep me on my guard and cause me to be more aware of surroundings in such a situation.

Anyway,  I think me and the roomates have decided to purchase an small fake xmas tree and some decorations to get the apartment some holiday feeling.  Talks of an apartment holiday party are in the works but we shall see. I will be working christmas and almost getting triple pay but besides that, wont be too eventful of an xmas other than a few drinks, a nice xmas eve dinner and a trip to church.

Since the weather wasn't up to par with my idea of beach weather today, I spent the day hittin the hot spots around Sydney to take photos and videos that will eventually make it into a video I will be producing with an unknow released date. My creative side was pumping today and had some great ideas. Excited to see what it will come out like.

Since I work almost every night, it has been awhile since I actually made a meal for dinner. Having a time to prepare a solid meal for dinner tonight I decided to cook up some tacos.  Since mexican food really isn't too common here in Oz, i figure i could try to bring the spice myself.  They turned out great and made up for the 2 months without Taco Bell or Taqueria Guadalajara.

*Note: Tacos seen in picture are actually the tacos I made.  They are authentic joe's tacos with aussie ground beef, lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, spicy taco sauce and slices of avocado.

Next post will be my Top 10 Music albums of 2009, cant believe the year is almost over.

Stay classy

Coogee Is Where It's At

Today was my Sunday as I head back to work tomorrow after a great revitalizing 3 days off. After 2 straight days of rain today was a day of sunshine and light cool breezes, a perfect set up for a beach day. Decided to go to Coogee beach, went with about 6-8 people, friends from the good old Home Backpacker Hostel.  I think I found the beach that I will be going to every week on my days off in the upcoming month.

A quick 20 minute bus ride from the bus stop right down the road from my apartment and we were on the beach. After a great day today on the beach, I still don't know if it tops Manly Beach but definietely a close second. I really enjoyed the surrounding town and the beach. Not too big, not to small. And to make things better, the waves were pumping today. Biggest waves yet I've swam in here and my bodysurfing fun was at a good high.  Had some great rides today, but also ate it pretty good as well on some big kahunas.

There were alot of foreigners out, like most sydney beaches on the weekdays, but it is funny seeing them in the water. They either are scared and dont know what to do, or think they do and just gasp at the big waves coming at them thinking they can catch them, either bodysurfing or bodyboarding. there was this total clown trying to swim as hard as he can to catch the wave, his timing was terrible and the effort he put into his arm strokes was pretty comical.

i got a good kick out of these two large chicks in the water today. it was in the middle of a giant set coming in. I was closer towards the shore since i just rode in a wave so had the opportunity of having a great view of the pummeling these two fat girls were a bout to get. There was a huge wave coming and broke right on top of one girl sending here face first into the sand below her. She got up flustered with her top half off, meanwhile her other friend is just laughing at what just happened. Without paying attention, the next wave sneaks up and completely engulfs both girls sending them into an underwater spin. The faces on them after getting just wrecked by these waves were just priceless. Meanwhile im sittin back and just couldnt hold back a laugh after seeing these girls just get smashed wave after wave.  It was great.  The waves were great today, and was a beach day that was needed and looking forward to heading back there on my days off.

Got a bit careless with sunscreen application today, got a bit sunburnt, but didnt get it half as bad as those pasty english and scottish chicks!!

friday is my new monday, and tuesday is my new friday..likin it

Work, Eat, Party, Sleep, Repeat

Things have been real good lately. Working 5 days a week, including every weekend. Kills into partying time but at the same time making almost double pay on the weekends.  Having an income is great but I swear seeing money deposited in my account every week causes me to spend more.

After constant laughs from family about how I wear a hair net and white robe during work I decided to take a picture of my great work outfit. So below is for all of u to enjoy.

The people at work are fun to work with, some more than the rest but they are pretty nice people when its not me slowing down the process line. Lately we have had several new workers so sometimes they get all the attention and its not me getting harped on for going too slow.  Yesterday almost all the flights got new menues. Pretty sweet, new food to pack.  You sometimes get tired of the same plates day after day. But with that said their are new challenging food portions and cake to tackle, wooo.

Right now I have 3 days off and was hoping to hit up the beach but it is currently raining.  And its supposed to rain tomorrow too. For some reason, everytime I am not working there is shit weather and when I do work it is hot and nice. Hoping maybe thursday it clears up and i can head to Manly or Bondi Beach, before starting the work rotation again on Friday

The new apartment is great, really liking the location and people I live with. The free internet and laundry are sure nice. I live down in a basement area in a room me and my roommate Nigel call "The Bunker"  There is no doorway, rather a hole in a wall that we climb thru as an entrance.  You need a chair on the ground to get in and out of it. Quite entertaining and may lead to some drunken falls. The benefits of the bunker is that it stays very cool, especially with the fans we have put in.  Additionally with no windows there is absolutely no light. I have been getting some of the best sleep lately, i am just glad I dont have to work early in the morning or i would never be able to get up.  pictures to come soon

Today I headed to Newtown, the town where I went to the music festival about a month back, to explore their downtown.  It was raining pretty good but they got some good shops there. Pretty laid back mellow crowd with a few grungy/druggies around the street.

After newtown headed back to the apartment but decided to stop in for a haircut. I have been eying this place for weeks since they advertise 10 dollar men haircuts and knew i was close to needing one. the place was called Wei Lins Hair salon, so being used to asian haircutters for the past 10 years of my life i knew i wouldnt have an issue. It signified my 3rd haircut in another country, 2 back behind those great haircuts in florence with the non english speaking old italian men.  The lady today was pretty nice, during the haircut she complemented me on my great head of hair and how thick it was.  It was then when i knew i scored a great haircut shop.  she was pretty personable and i obviously appreciated the compliment, no one has said that to me before. Tipping isnt mandatory here in australia and being on a budget i originally only planned to give the 10 dollars, but after my great cut and good service i tipped her 2 dollars. All in all a great experience.

Thats is about it around here.  Just keepin on truckin with work and cruisin around the city. Sooner or later within the next few weeks I have the daunting task of planning my travels.  should be exciting


Got some plans for a few upcoming posts, pretty stoked for them as well.

-Currently beginning early filming and production on a Sydney video, the video will incompass all my favorite spots in sydney

-Joe's Cribs
     - Video tour of Home Backpackers Hostel where I stayed for a month
     - Video tour of new apartment and the bunker room i live in.

-2 month recap

Alright readers, feels good to catch up on this thing. Hope all is well.

Pearl Jam Concert Recap

The Pearl Jam concert in Sydney encompassed several new things, the first big concert I've atteneded in another country, the most expensive concert ticket I have ever bought and the first stadium concert I have been too. Well with Ben Harper and Pearl Jam as the headlines, it was sure to be a good night and it didnt dissapoint.

Before arriving in Australia, i already had the Pearl Jam concert on my calendar for Nov 22. It was a concert I was going to go to no matter what. Originally i was planning on doing a solo show since i didnt expect any other backpackers to fork over 120 dollars for a rock show, yet days before I met a french guy (Yann) at the hostel who said hed go. He was a huge Ben Harper fan and never really heard to much of Pearl Jam.

So we bought tickets a few days before and were set for the show.

On show day the temperature was a very hot 41 degrees celsius. That converts to 105 degrees fahrenheit. The 41 degree day was the 2nd hottest day of all time in Australia in November. It was quite hot and it will probably be a sign of the weather to come in summer. It was a bit odd since it was around 25 degrees the day before and a 20 degree rainy day the day after. But regardless, it was a hot hot day and it was time to get sweaty for a rock concert. we got a little gooned up before the show and took the short bus ride to Moore Park where the Sydney FOotball Stadium was located. Supposedly there were 35000 fans there so you can imagine the entrance lines were long and tons of people outside the stadium just talking with friends and hangin out before showtime. Yann and I managed to cut in line and were in the door within 10 minutes.

We had general admission tickets for the field area, the first act was Liam Finn, the stadium was pretty empty but thought this guy owned it. Plays sort of rock/melodic/jam/blues sort of music. He also had a woman backup singer and instrument player in the band, she wasnt bad either. THe energy was great and loved the tunes, going to look into his cds cuz I deifinetely liked what I heard

 

After Liam Finn, it was time to head to the beer gardens and get some grub before Harper took the stage. It was then when I realized I didnt like concerts at stadiums, especially with thousands of aussies. the lines for beer, oh man. First i would blame it on terrible organization from the even planners, not enough booths,beer locations etc. But we waited in line for about 25 minutes just for 2 $6 beers. And to top it off, you could not bring the beer back in the stadium field area. SInce we waited so long for beer the set had already started so rather than wasting our beers we had to stand at the gate and watch the stage from miles away while we finished our beers. Poor design or too many drunk aussies but that was definitely a buzz kill. But on the bright side, i bought a great meat pie(with added tomato sauce(ketchup)) that accompanied the 6 dollar vbs..it tasted great!

We then headed back in to catch the rest of the set. It was getting a bit dark so the concert ambience definitely picked up. This was my second time seeing Ben Harper and he was just like the last time, amazing, talented and absolutely jammed. He played mostly his new songs and there were a bit I didn't recognize. He didnt play to much of his popular singles and dont think the fans liked that as not too many were very active for his set, probly all waiting for Pearl Jam or maybe Harper isnt big here in Oz. He played a quick 1 hour set but in my opinion definitely an enjoyable one. The highlight of the set for me is when Eddie Vedder for Pearl Jam came out and sang Under Pressure, the David Bowie/Freddy Mercury song cover..it was pretty great.

 

After Ben Harpers set we debated about getting more beer since our alcohol buzz was dying. I did not want to go thru another 30 minute wait and take the chance of missing Pearl Jams opening so decided to just stay on the field. It was unfortunate but at the same time probably a good call, saved myself some money and the hell of trying to patiently wait in a beer line.

Well anyway it was now the start of Pearl Jam's set. Immagine a giant stadium, 35000 screaming fans, a giant stage with lights and banners, a 90 degree hot aussie night, and one of todays greatest rock bands...yea you can bet energy was high when the band took the stage.

 

Here is the setlist they performed.

About 4 songs in Vedder told the crowd he had contracted a bit of a flu in Melbourne and wasnt 100 percent. Personally i couldnt tell he was sick, thought he sounded great and gave it his all. The unfortunate part is that towards the end of the 2 and a half hour set his voice was absolutely drained and couldnt perform the planned 2nd encore featuring some of pearl jams biggest hits. I wasnt aware of this until the day after but in the moment what they played were great. The 2nd encore had alot of guest vocals and were all cover songs. For having the flu, i thought vedder was phenomenal and after seeing Pearl Jam for the 2nd time, think he is one of the best musicians out there today. He brought out Ben Harper for a few songs and absolutely jammed together. Vedder told the crowd that Ben "Sang like an Angel, and plays like the devil", couldn't agree any more.

 

 

 

Pearl Jams set closed with Rockin' in the Free World, definitely a crowd mover and great song to cap the night.

It truly was a great show and a great night, yet it would have been better had Vedder's voice been top notch but for what we got, it was still a great one. The beer situation sucked but all in all a good time and this show will definitely always have a special place in my fast growing list of attended concerts

I have videos from the show but uploads to youtube take a real long time with this weak internet here, so no guarantees ill post em, but u never know