Oh Hello

Long time no write. Sorry.

Quick update for now. Moved into an amazing penthouse apartment in an awesome neighborhood by the river. Loving Brisbane. Working lots and having heaps of fun. Some new pics up:

http://picasaweb.google.com/andersn8

Check em out and drop me a line to say hey whenever you want! Talk soon.

Peace

Development Arrested (3:13)

After yet another successful stint in Brisbane I find myself leaving once again. This time to another country! Tomorrow morning I will be getting on a plane bound for the promised land. The land of opportunity! The new free world! America.

Much debate took place and many sleepless nights ensued, but I decided to take a vacation back home. I will be sad to leave Brisbane and all the great friends I have here, but it just came time to take a break. I will be spending time in MN, LA, ORD, and hopefully NYC! I don't know about a phone or anything so if you want to get in touch please email. I will be in MN for the 4th and some of you better be around. Party.


After the 4th I will be spending a good chunk of time in LA catching up with many of you and some old habits as well. Hope everyone had an awesome Memorial Day! I've got a hell of a last day planned for here, starting with golf in a little bit! And partying all through the night later.



Can't wait to see everyone again and get me some good ole americana. Apologies in advance for my terrible and irregular irish/aussie accent! I swear almost everyday somebody asks me if I am irish. I don't get it. I had 4 people ask in one night of work! I think I still sound as canadian as ever though.


Take care and drop me an email!


Nick





"I should call the Hot Cops and tell them to dress up as something more nautically themed. Hot sailors, maybe. Or better yet, hot sea— "

Staff Infection (1:15)

I've done it again. I came back to Brisbane. After a great craic up in Cairns however. The money wore thin and I assumed (correctly) that I could get work again in the pub. I also missed all my mates here.

Up in Cairns I got to do two trips. I went out on a boat to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) to try my hand at diving for the first time ever! Not a bad place to learn either. I did one intro dive that eventually will count towards getting certified, which I obviously need to do. There were reef sharks, sea turtles, schools of squid, clownfish, and some wicked coral. The turtle had to be the coolest. That was actually when I was snorkeling. He was about twenty feet below me and he looked up and saw me. He then proceeded to swim straight at me. I swear he was looking into my eyes. He wanted it. He swam all the way up to me on the surface and then swam beside me a bit before diving back down. It was so friggin cool!


My second trip was up the coast to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation. These are in the Daintree Rainforest which is another World Heritage Site along with the GBR. I think it's the only place in the world where two WHSs are right next to each other. We went on a crocodile cruise and saw a couple on the river. My first time seeing one in the wild! We walked through the rainforest and learned about all the foliage. Saw huge spiders and jungle lizards. We got to go to a remote beach and also to a famous swimming hole called Mossman Gorge.


On both trips I actually met a couple Americans! My first people from LA too. I partied with a guy from NorCal my last night. I obviously didn't learn my lesson in South Beach. At least this time I made my flight. I did sleep through the airport bus though and had to rush out of the place to catch a taxi. The other American from the same trip was also on my flight back to Bris. It was nice to speak American for a couple days at least.


So I came back with hopes of turning the $46 in my bank account to $460 and I struck gold! This week already I have 4 shifts AND they are putting me behind the bar more. So everything is great, and I am taking over the pub again. All my mates are still around and doing well. Let the shenanigans begin again. Late night debauchery at the Casino and at the bosses apt. cause "I'm a scholar. I enjoy scholarly pursuits."


Hope y'all are starting to get some nice warm weather and shakin the winter blues. Unless you're in LA and soakin it up all year round. I will let you know if I get some more pictures up too.



"What's next, Michael? Are you going to make dancing illegal? Is this the tiny town from Footloose?"

Spring Breakout (2:17)

"Oh, please. I’ve been drinking since before you were born. So if alcohol’s the reason I’m here, I got news for you, bub. It’s the only reason you’re here, too."


I've made it up the East coast! I just got to Cairns the other day and it's party central. Spring Break ALL the time! My friend Tom and his mate are up here right now too so we're soaking up the beach, the drinks and the beautiful people. "Don't call my escorts 'whores'."

From Airlie Beach I boarded an old wooden ship, unfortunately not called Diversity, and we set sail for the Whitsunday Islands. I spent three days on the ship and it was awesome. We saw pure whitesand beaches, slept below deck, and went snorkeling in a couple different reefs. Met some Canadians, Irish, and English. Typical.

After living the life in Airlie Beach I went to the small coastal town of Cardwell. I was in it now. Giant green tree frogs in the bathroom, geckos all over the walls, and butterflies everywhere. I took a boat shuttle out to Hinchinbrook Island to do a 4 day trek on the Thorsborne Trail. It was absolutely amazing! Sleeping on remote tropical beaches and hiking through rainforest to get to waterfalls and swimming holes. It was a really surreal experience because I really felt like I was on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. It felt like a movie probably because it was. So far I have been to filming locations for Castaway, Nim's Island, and Fool's Gold. So watch those, or don't, and think of me. Laying on the beach and listening to the light ripple of the waves and the tropical parrots chirping away. Holler.

I think I will spend a week or so up here partying hard and taking advantage of the perfect weather. Someday here I will book a boat out to the Great Barrier Reef to do some snorkeling and maybe diving! My camera has gone to shit for some reason. I have most of the pictures up to now and they are on my website! Check out all the sweetness.

"This objectification of women has to stop!"

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/andersn8

Tropics Bound

My birthday was absa-fucking-lutely amazing. Sorry for the language, but it was that good. The festival was good and we had a great time getting drunk and all. Then it got dark, The Killers came on, and the torrential rains brought me to an absolute high. I was rocking out with randoms and we were all soaked from head to toe. Jumping up and down and singing every word. It was perfect. The best outdoor shows I have been to involve rain. It makes everything more fun.

Hannah and I caught the last train home and met our friends at a pub for a couple drinks. Then we took it back to our bosses apartment for all night shenanigans. It was brilliant. Thanks to everyone that dropped me greetings. Great to know people are thinking about you when so far from home.

I left Brisbane yesterday after another all night party bender with the bosses. I took a 7.5 hr train up the coast to Rockhampton. I am spending today here and leaving on an overnight train later for Airlie Beach. Rockhampton sits on the Tropic of Capricorn so I am crossing the threshold to the tropics! Bought some new boardshorts and I am ready to hit the beach starting tomorrow. Then I plan on doing a sailing cruise around the Whitsunday islands! Everything is going great and I can't wait to get in the sun again.

Take a look at the pics I posted http://picasaweb.google.com.au/andersn8
I just filled up my first memory card so I gotta go out and get a new one. Taking tons of pics lately. If you don't like them, get over it.


"There's not a lot of logic to it. It's kind of like on a boat with "Women and children first." I mean, why should they..."

Quick Update (Qupdate?)

Party. I have 4 days left in Brisbane before I head up the coast. Everything here has been great. My mate, Hannah, had her birthday on Wednesday and mine would be tomorrow. We went out every night this week. I also got to play golf for the first time in ages which has been all I have wanted to do lately. Thursday night was a massive dance party until 4am. Brilliant.

Tomorrow is the big one. I splurged for some tickets to V Festival (http://www.vfestival.com.au) and it's going to be absolute mayhem. My favorite band on my birthday should be priceless, right. Hannah and I are both going for our birthdays. Then we are taking the train back up from the Gold Coast for a night out with Everyone we know. Sunday's have become the night to go out 'round here, and I reckon tomorrow night will be a total shit show.

I am also really looking forward to seeing the east coast and laying on the beach every day. I will be trekking an island up there that is completely national park. Waterfalls, rainforest, and tropical beaches. I just shaved my head today too. It looks like it always does shaved. Deal.

Have a memorable weekend.

"If this were a Lifetime 'Moment of Truth' movie, this would be our act break."

Notapusy (3:4)

Well hello again. The Banana Stand has been restocked and is ready for business. A lot has happened in month. I hired a car and drove the Great Ocean Road, trekked across SW Tasmania, and am now back in Brisbane!

The Great Ocean Road is just SW of Melbourne so I hired a Yaris and took to the wrong side of the road. Getting out of the city was nerve racking as hell. It's weird turning mostly. Once out of the city I was getting the hang of driving on the left side. Rolled the windows down and blasted the radio. I hadn't driven in 4 months and it felt great to be back behind the wheel.

I got some great sunny weather and stopped to take lots of pictures. It's like the PCH in Cali, but on a much smaller scale. All the beauty was there though. Winding coast roads, huge eucalyptus forests, wildlife, secluded beaches, and rock formations galore. My goal was to see my first wild koalas and I scored big time. They just chill in the eucalyptus on the side of the road and the best part was walking up to one on the road. The pictures show it all. They have no fear of humans at all. It's so crazy. And they are damn cute, there's no denying that.

The two nights I was out there I camped finally. I've been waiting to break that tent in and I did just that over the last month. The camping along the GOR was all free and there were some beautiful sites with koalas in the trees even! I also saw some kind of marsupial. It wasn't a kangaroo, but there are about 5 of them and they all pretty much look like kangaroos.

After getting back to the city I got to stay at my new friend Brad's place. He is a friend of Charles in LA and was nice enough to let me crash at their beautiful old house. It was really nice. So after spending the weekend there I flew to Hobart, Tasmania. It was only a 45min flight. I spent a few days in Hobart seeing the city and trying to figure out my trek. I wasn't really sure what I was doing or where I was going so it was a lot of guessing. Luckily it all worked out perfectly. I couldn't have planned it better.

I took a bus from Hobart to Geeveston, a tiny town SW of Hobart about 90 min. From there I thumbed a ride up the tourist road which is where I planned to enter the park. 25% of the state of Tasmania is preserved parks. So it's a pretty wild and beautiful place. My destination was SouthWest National Park. There are no roads into it, just walking trails. The closest one I could find was at a rainforest tourist attraction near Geeveston so that's where I headed.

I got dropped off on a fire access road and started walking. After about an hour I got to the Houn River trailhead and commenced my adventure. I carried everything in my backpack, including all my food for 9 days. It ended up being 10 days, but I had just the right amount of extra food.

The first day was wet. It was all through the rainforest, which had recently got torrential rains. On the second day I got out into the plains all along the Western Arthur Range which was my ultimate destination. The plains were all a bog. So the entire ground is basically floating on water. I would step down and water would squirt out of a hole 4 feet away! Walking through here sucked cause it was all flooded and muddy as hell. I would step and immediately be ankle deep in sludge.

The third day started shitty cause it was really windy and light rain kept coming. By the afternoon though it cleared up and I was loving it. Walking along the plains was relatively bland landscape, but then I would come to these creek crossings and they were amazing. I would walk into the woods and it was like another world. Everything was completely covered in bright, green moss. It was hanging from everywhere. I had to crawl and climb to get through the dense, tangled mess. Very surreal.

By mid-day I started crossing the plains south towards the mountain range. It was late in the day, but I was behind schedule so I plowed up the side of that mountain with everything I had to get to some campsite before dark. I finally made it to the top in dense fog and 70-knot winds. I literally could jump and I would land somewhere else. It was the worst weather I have ever been in I think. I still had at another hour to go too! So I blindly followed whatever trail I could see. I was so disoriented in the fog that I really thought I had walked in a circle. Everything was a blur. I saw a lake and thought I must have passed camp, but kept going a little over the next ridge. The wind stopped dead after I was on the other side and way down below me was Lake Cygus and tents! I had found it. Thank god, and it was still sort of light out.

I descended the hill and got to camp just in time to set up my tent and meet the neighbors. There are a few established campsites along the mountain range that have a toilet and wood tent platforms. So there were usually other people at these. During the day I was always alone hiking though. Then I would see the same people at night again. It was kinda cool. Most of the people I met were over 50, and I was by far the youngest person out there.

The next day the fog cleared and I got some good sun. From then on the sun shined down every day. I was the luckiest person ever. It rains there pretty much everyday so to get that many days of sun was a miracle. I hiked along the range for 5 days before descending back to the plains and out through the same rainforest. The range was full of beautiful lakes and tons of rock formations. The trek included legitimate rock climbing, walking, and rappelling. I've never done anything like it. I was the little hobbit on his big journey. So many times I looked around and felt like I was in a movie. It was part Willow, part Lord of the Rings. By the way, there's no way Elijah Wood could handle that little trek of his.

Tassie Trek

Distance: 108.6 km (67.5miles)

Walk Time: 67.75 hours

Duration: 10 days

Each day was a totally new adventure and was so different. It was an unbelievably cleansing experience both mentally and physically. My metabolism increased ten fold. I can eat an unbelievable amount of food now. I am also 18 lbs lighter than when I left LA! I weighed myself in Melbourne and couldn't believe it. I actually freaked out a little. I feel like a runt. But it's really because I was training hard 4-5 days a week in Brisbane and I eat a lot healthier and drink a lot less. The last time I weighed this much I was in middle school!

The trek worked out much better than planned and I was so lucky with everything. I want to start doing these more often and around the world. I am looking at a 12-day one through the outback near Alice Springs. There is also a 4-day across a tropical island up north which is where I am headed next.

After a couple nights of detox in Hobart I flew up to Brisbane for St. Patrick's Day and drank for the first time in two weeks. I'm going to work a few nights to make some spending cash and hang out with all my mates here. I am planning on staying here until my birthday (March 29) and then going up the rest of the east coast. That's the tropical part, finally. I haven't been beaching it since last December. So that will be good again.

So Melbourne was good fun, and Tasmania was epic. And now Brisbane is like summer again and I love it. I just uploaded some 400 pictures so check them all out. Everything will be explained through those. I took a ton on the trek and some really cool ones too. All the Melbourne albums are updated as well.

Hope everyone is doing well and that the bad economy isn't getting the best of anyone. I'm scared to come home and try to find a job. Could be rough. Might have to keep up the travels for now. Other than that, the new Kit Kat Darks are amazing, The Killers are doing a show on my birthday that I am trying to go to, I miss cheap beer and take-away food, and I have no idea what I will be doing one month from now. Miss you all and take care.

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/andersn8

G.O.B.: Hey, can you do me a favor? A young neighborhood tough by the name of Steve Holt will be dropping by, and...
Michael: Your son?
G.O.B.: According to him.
Michael: And a DNA test.
G.O.B.: I hear the jury's still out on science.

The Ocean Walker (3:6)

Alright, alright, alright. Wipe those tears kids, cause things are so much better now. After a bit of a bump in the road I have plans to do awesome things.

After driving the Great Ocean Road and seeing a couple shows next week I will be crossing the ocean to the island state of Tasmania for some bush adventures. I have been hauling all this camping stuff around since I got here and haven't even busted it out. I somehow lost track of why I really wanted to come down under. What?

Anyway there is a ton of backcountry "bushwalking" as they call it here, down in Tassie. So I am going to make the most of the last month of summer there by packing it in and leaving civilization for a couple weeks to explore the great wilderness. This is exactly what I want to be doing right now. Straight up Into the Wild. But without all the dying.

Friday I had a proper night out with Melbourne locals. Our friend Alex W. back in Cali has cousins here that I have been hanging out with this week. They showed me the town last night. And in a city where all the action is packed into alleys and side streets, it's no easy task on your own. The best part of the city is the graffiti though. Unreal. And it's everywhere.

I also scored some free tickets to the "footy" match tonight. That's Australian Rules Football. Stoked to finally see what that's all about. But I do eternally hate the word football. It means something different in every country. Malarkey.

Thanks to those few that sent me some music. The ten songs I have been listening to on repeat where starting to sound terrible. I also posted some pics from Melbourne. Check em out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/andersn8

"Instead of building houses, maybe you should be building land. On the ocean. There's no land on the ocean, Michael."

Need Your Tracks!

So I caved and bought a new ipod. But it's empty and I am starting from scratch. All my playlists. All 3,700 songs. Gone.

What I am thinking is if you have a song that I need you can email it. If everyone emails one, I might have an hour of music? Sweet.

So send me your favorite MP3. Thanks.

Melbourne is getting better. Still no idea how long I will stay.

The One Where Michael Leaves (2:1)

So we meet again. It's been a rollercoaster of a week and I was about to crack. I book a flight to NZ and then that's not happening. I'd already quit my job. I talk to Jeremy again and get stoked to meet him in Sydney. Then I go out and have a huge night of partying. Then Sydney's not happening. Then I waste and entire keg at work. Then my ipod completely bites it. All 3,700 songs gone, and me with nothing to listen to. Then I decide it's time to move to Melbourne. Then I find out the free place to stay in Melbourne doesn't exist, but I am still going. The last night at work was the busiest we have had and it's a madhouse. I break glasses and can't even come close to keeping up with the crowds. Ugg. All this going down and the only thing I want is to listen to some of my god damn music but I can't.

I had two huge nights out before I left Brisbane yesterday. Oh yeah. I moved to Melbourne yesterday. I got home at 6am after a a very serious heart to heart - in front of McDonalds of course. Slept a few hours and then had to sprint to the train station to get to the airport in time for my flight.

It was sad to leave as I had made a lot of great friends in Brisbane and had a good steady job. Now I am in a whole new place and don't know what to do. It was 115 deg. here over the weekend. It was 60 yesterday. Melbourne is know for its terribly sporadic weather. The wild fires are ragin shortly north of the city. I am thinking after the weekend I will try to line up some volunteer work that I can do to help out in any way possible. It's the worst natural disaster in Australian history, with hundreds dead and so many more with homes lost. I would love to help out in any way I can. Donating money is not an option so it might have to be time.

I have a couple mates from Brisbane that are currently in Melbourne as well. I will be hanging out with them soon. My good mate/my manager at my job is coming down to Melbourne today for some work. He is staying til Saturday so we will be hanging out too. So I have a couple connections and it will be very helpful in getting a grip on the new city. Which I love so far. it's much more New Yorky than Sydney. Sydney was a lot more like LA. Most people have strong opinions about which one is better. Knowing me, I probably won't, but I have only been here one day so I can't say much yet.

Initial observations are that it's not growing nearly as rapidly as Brisbane. Last count there were at least 40 construction cranes around Brisbane downtown. It's growing almost too fast according to the government. They can't keep up. Melbourne has it's fair share and Sydney had none. Melbourne is more artsy fartsy if you will. Cultural if you want to french it up. This is not a bad thing, and I am excited to get to the museums and maybe a show or two.

There is so much shit going on over the next couple months I am going to have to pick and choose. A couple great music festivals. Formula un(1) racing is coming. There is the international auto show. There is the australian Air Show. Death Cab is playing next week. Kings of Leon are coming. It's my birthday next month. St. Pats day.

After Melbourne I am thinking I will head back to Queensland to do the north end of the easy coast. This is where it's tropical and it will be nice and warm still. Right now it's all completely flooded so it would not have been a good time to go. So Melbourne it is!

I know some of you have friends here and I have already gotten in touch with some. Let me know though. Also if you have an extra iPod......

Hope everyone is doing well.

"Do you remember that French film we snuck into? Dangerous Cousins?"

Picture Updates.

Congrats to Obama and all the optimistic Americans!

New pictures are on my website from Big Day Out Festival and walking around the New Farm neighborhood of Brisbane.

Check:
http://picasaweb.google.com/andersn8

And my Neil Young clip:

Shock and Aww (1:14)

Sunday turned out to be pretty epic. I got my ticket to the Big Day Out festival for free, and purchased three others with the promise of a good sale. The sale didn't happen and I went to the festival out money and with 3 extra tickets. Luckily they sold at the gate, and quick. I made a profit of $100, $50 of which I spent eating and drinking all day. So I saw one of the best festivals ever and ate and drank my way through it all for free and walked away with money in my pocket. I take nothing for granted. I've been incredibly lucky.

The concert was out of control fun. I think it is the biggest I have been to, which is saying a lot. 50,000 plus people. My day kicked off with Black Kids and they got me amped up. From there it was a whirlwind of running from stage to stage trying to catch everything I could.

TV on the Radio
Pendulum
My Morning Jacket
Simian Mobile Disco
Cut Copy
Arctic Monkeys
Hot Chip
Neil Young
and topped it off with Dropkick Murphys

Favorites had to be Neil Young and Simian Mobile Disco. They were the most entertaining for sure. And at complete opposite ends of the musical spectrum.

Cut Copy got the biggest crowd as they are the Australian indie rockers that everyone loves. Hot Chip put on a hell of a show as well, and Dropkick Murphys rocked out. I was the rowdiest one in the crowd for them, which is saying a lot about the tameness of the australian fans. All in all it was amazing. Some 50 people got arrested for drugs and one guy even got caught with 38 Ecstasy pills according to the paper.

Do people dress up for festivals in the US? Maybe I missed something, but so many people here treat music festivals like Halloween. I saw folks in all kinds of costumes. Cops, superheroes, and various fruits. If not in costume people wear matching outfits. And the hipsters are of course over the top.

The last train home was packed all the way to Brisbane. I got home around 12:30am and rallied to meet some friends at a club. We danced until 4 and then it was time to pass out.

I'm working the next five days and this weekend is a long holiday weekend here. So parties and clubs will be happening. Of course I can't wait to start it all again.

I spent today walking around a neighborhood called New Farm which is along the river and full of new architecture. Then I sat in the park and read for the afternoon. I took lots of pictures that I will try to get up soon on my website.

At this point it seems that roughly half of the hostel is Irish/British people. No offence, but I am a little over it. There was a point were I was in a room with 7 Irish guys. Seriously? I guess they must just need to get away from their countries for some reason. The accents are killing me though and I think I am picking one up, when I should be picking up an Australian one. Just needed to get that off my chest.

Things continue to roll on well and I can't wait to see what will happen in February!

Key Decisions (1:4)

So still in Brisbane. And still rockin hard. I am living it up whenever I am not working. I have probably three weeks left here? It depends on Jeremy and when/what he decides. He is coming down under from LA sometime. Can't wait to see a familiar face!

Last weekend I tried one of the big clubs for the first time. I got tickets to Fedde Le Grand at The Met and it was awesome. He does 'Put your Hands up for Detroit' for all you kids unfamiliar. DJ Funkerman was better I think though. Check him out if you're into electrohouse at all. The club was so cool and we had a killer time. Some pics up on facebook and my Picassa albums.

Sunday I decided to take the train down to the Gold Coast (GC) for the national rodeo finals. It was fun, but laughable. The place was maybe half full at best. You could hear a pin drop with the level of excitement there. But it was great to see some rodeo action regardless.

This week I have already put in 30 hrs of work and am working Fri and Sat night in the bar. It's fun and I am saving big money. Tomorrow I am going back down to the GC beach with some local friends. It's about an hour south of here only. For Sunday I got cheap tickets to the Big Day Out festival, headlined by Neil Young. http://www.bigdayout.com/goldcoast.php
I know quite a few of the bands, but if you have any recommendations from that list please enlighten me. Then I have to jet back up here for a big night out Sunday night. I'm going to try the Other big club. This one is supposedly bigger than The Met. Looks for pictures next week.

I've been meeting lots of great people through work and at the hostel here. Only one American since Sydney though. I keep meeting people that hate Americans too. And they tell you right to your face. I am doing my best to give us a better image, but I think Bush sunk us nearly six feet under. Can't wait to see what Obama can do starting next week. Sounds like closing Guantanamo will be his first big step.

Hope every one's year started off with a bang. I sure know mine has. 0-60. Km, not miles. My current situation is trying to decide what I want to do and when. I still have my train pass all the way north and I want to use it before it expires. I might go to NZ and then come back. I might party to death. I might fall in love and never leave Brisbane again. It's all come down to some key decisions. "I'll be in the hospital bar."

I've got some more pictures up on my site. http://picasaweb.google.com/andersn8 Please have a look see.

Til next time.

'Best man for the GOB'

That's me. I was working all last week to get my free accommodation, and it turns out I was so good they hired me and put me on the schedule without even asking me. So I have a job working in the bar downstairs and I am an actual employee so I will be getting paid AND getting free accommodation. How could I turn that down? I couldn't, and I didn't.

So Brisbane will be my home for a bit, and I'm down with that. I am meeting lots of locals and having an awesome time. I am even recognizing people here that I met in Sydney. It's weird but I love it.

Watching lots of movies and eating a ton of sushi. Pretty much every day. There is the most amazing sushi place in the city that has lines down the block every day. Uncredible.

It's really nice and hot here. I've been running and sweating out all my party and staying in great shape. Lets just say most backpackers aren't too in shape. So I have been feeling great and haven't gotten sick once. I'm picking up the lingo more and more too. It's growing on me, mate. How ya going? What you doing this arvo? What?

Christmas was tough and I tried to not think about it cause I was getting really homesick. "I don't want to blame it all on 9/11, but it certainly didn't help." Hopefully everyone had a great Hanukkah and/or Christmas. I'm jealous. I was painting an apartment and polishing off beers all day which kept me occupied at least. For New Years I will be working too which will be alright cause I like the people I work with and the bar is having a moustache(mo) party so how could that be bad? It couldn't. Exactly. Party.

The national Rodeo finals are coming to the Gold Coast in two weeks so I will be heading back down there to watch some of that action and party. Thank god for summer.

Missing everyone a lot lately. Everyone have an awesome New Years Eve wherever you are. Stay alive and drink one for me.

Missing Kitty [Season 1.Episode 16]

After a week in Brisbane (said Brisban) I have decided to stay for a bit. In fact, I decided to stay after the first three days. It's just that good.

It's not as big as Sydney but it's just as fun. The architecture is great too. It feels like a brand new city because the buildings are all very new and there are construction sites everywhere. I can count at least five new high rise projects, one of them to be the tallest building in Brisbane. While I was in Sydney I didn't get the feel that the city was developing. I think they poured their hearts into the Olympics and have been paying for it since with nothing left for new projects. Sydney is so 2000.

So the main reason I want to stay is for all the great shows over the next couple months. There is a huge house music festival, a punk rock festival, and the national rodeo finals are coming up. I kicked things off yesterday with a 10 hr electro-hipster-clusterfuck. It was called Nevereverland and it was incredible, despite the hipster scum. I've never seen so many skinny shorts in one place. I mean, everyone there looked the same. Klaxons, Cut Copy, Van She, The Presets, etc. I loved Van She. The Presets were a killer time too. The lasers were sick. I danced my face off.

My dorm is packed with really cool people and we have been kicking it. Unfortunately they leave this week, but we have been rocking out. Wednesday we went out for a birthday and the girl that won the wet t-shirt contest looked so much like Kitty it freaked me out. Friday night=2D2F. Consumed and danced for 10 hrs Saturday and then came back, got my drink on and went out despite exhaustion. Woke up somewhere else. No comment. My hostel is at the heart of the nightlife area too so, much like Sydney, there are bars up and down every street around me.

It looks like I am going to be able to work downstairs at the bar here in exchange for my living costs. I might try to get another job to pay for concerts and party. The music scene seems pretty solid here. There are some great DJs coming through soon that I won't not go to.

After my first week in Brisbane I am craving more. Check out the picture updates too.

R.I.P. SPARKS

SPRING BREAK 2008!

That's what I did this weekend. What did you do?

I'm trying to sober up in Surfers Paradise, but I don't believe it's possible. This is the tourist beach spot for all of Australia. It looks just like Florida. It's South Beach. The clubs are open all night and it's hot as balls. AND it's the first time I have heard TI or gotten to listen to any hip-hop in a club. They are too big on it here. When all the kids finish school for the summer they come here for weeks. I caught the tail end of it.

I danced Friday night away between two girls that took a liking to me. Who knew? I went out with some German guys from my hostel and made them drink whiskey. I find that I am teaching a lot of people the pleasures of whiskey. Everyone says it's so American that I drink it, and I say, damn right it is. Saturday night I club hopped and even checked out the local gay bar. Scary. So it's to the beach this morning for some R&R and then on the train to Brisbane.

The weather has finally turned to summer. It's hot and only getting hotter. Byron Bay was grrreat but a little expensive. The walk along the coast to the lighthouse at the point was unreal. So beautiful. I will share pictures as soon as I can.

Big Picture Upload.

Check out everything from Jackaroo school to Nimbin.

http://picasaweb.google.com/andersn8

Western College?

I'm back. I spent the last three days in the rainforest sans internet or phone service. I walked 20 miles to this little hippie village called Nimbin. It was a social experiment back in the 60's and it just kinda stuck. I don't know what the experiment was, but it must of had something to do with drugs cause the town is governed by the weed. It's like Western College all the time, but without the classes. They even make their own chocolate chip cookies and sell them on the street. They made me feel goofy though.

Nimbin is two blocks of brightly colored little shops and the streets are packed. If you're not a tourist, you are selling. I stayed at this awesome hostel up in the hill too. It had a pool and a big landscaped property with panoramic views to the national parks. It was great. The last three hostels I have been to I have run into people I have met before too. So it's fun.

I hoped on a random tour bus in Nimbin that was full of people from Byron Bay. I joined them for their afternoon BBQ and waterfall swim and then got a ride to Byron myself. So now that's where I am. It's a backpackers haven. Lonely Planet refers to it as "The Promised Land". It's alright I suppose. A nice little beach town with a party atmosphere. I can dig it even though I haven't even been here 24hrs.

When I came here I never thought I would be watching so many movies. There are always movies on in the hostels though so you catch them pretty easy. So I have been catching a lot of things I have missed before. Hot Rod was actually pretty damn funny, and not JUST because GOB was in it.

So I am in Byron Bay for a few days and then I might head north some more. I have no plans for the holidays and apparently it gets really hard to find a hostel cause they all book up. So I might have to work some connections.

Thanks for reading and come visit! It's really cheap for Americans here. Everything is .6% for us! So it's not expensive and it's all tropical beaches from here to Cairns, so no winter either. Think about it already.

Coffs Harbour Update

Final it's starting to seem like summer. I took a 6 hr train ride north to Coffs Harbour and it finally feels, and looks, different. I was getting a little worried that all of the Australian coast was going to be the same. I got here and it was hot, humid and looking tropical. Love it.

I am making my way to the Gold Coast, which is very comparable to Florida's east coast. Long beaches with high rises all the way and all the kids go there to party. It's the area south of Brisbane. Tropical warm weather all the time and rainforests inland.

We watched Dodgeball last night in the hostel and Michael Bluth is amazing in it. Bateman can do no wrong.

It's been great getting emails from people. Keep 'em coming. There's nothing like paying for internet and then not having any mail when you log in. You are appreciated.

Im supposed to check out this morning, but have not bought a train ticket yet so I might end up staying. I've run into somebody from Jackaroo school here so we might try to travel together, but as for now my plans are completely up in the air as usual and I wouldn't have it any other way.

No pictures yet, sorry. Take care kids.

Country Life

November 17. I just barely catch the train from Newcastle to Tamworth. I was literally running down the street and they were closing the doors as I ran up. I got on though and began my journey inland.

I decided to head to Tamworth for two reasons. The country music and Jackaroo school. There was no real country music to speak of. It's only called the capital because of the big festival they have in January, which I will unfortunately miss. The Jackaroo school came through big time though.

There was a week in Tamworth that I actually really enjoyed. It's a town of about 35,000 people that range from farmers to gangsters. It's a great town with a beautiful tree lined main street and big hills to the north with great hiking trails and a marsupial park of koalas, 'roos and emus.

For the first few days I was the only one here, but then I was joined by a really cool girl named Lisa from Amsterdam. We hung out a lot and explored the town a bit. We then met a girl whose cousin runs the hostel in town. The three of us went out with some of her friends and partied it up. There is actually a big bar here that is like a club on the weekends and fills up with young, attractive people bumpin to The Presets.

Over the weekend everyone else doing the Jackaroo course showed up and we all started to hang out. There were 19 people in our course and only 4 were guys(blokes). I guess it's popular with the ladies. Some interesting people for sure. I am absolutely the only American I have met in the last two weeks. Which is actually quite a nice thing as I am continue to learn about other countries.

On Monday morning we were all picked up in a big bus and driven an hour out of town to thw farm. The drive in was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever done. Rolling green hills with wild roos hopping around and creeks swimming through whitebox and willow trees. It felt a little otherworldly. Can't wait to share the pictures.

We shacked up in a big bunkhouse and all the meals were cooked over the fire. We ate pretty well. Most of the staff was young backpackers that had done the course before and came back to run it. All of them were really cool. The course was Monday to Friday and I got to do so many things I have always wanted to. We got a little taste of everything on the farm including:

Fence Building
Natural Horsemanship
Mustering
Sheep Shearing
Calf Wrestling
Lassoing
Whip Cracking
Swimming Horses
Sheep slaughtering and butchering
Castrating! (ouch)

It was a lot of firsts for me and it was so worth it. I am really glad I decided to do it. A few people have found work on farms around here as they hire backpackers all the time for short periods. I am going to continue travelling up the coast starting Wednesday though and look for work up in Queensland when I get there. There are a lot more cattle up there and I could do some mustering work perhaps. I will also be passing through the town where they filmed Australia.

After we got back from the course we all went to see the film and it was fun to see a lot of the stuff we had just learned. As a little bonus, Paul Hogan(Crocodile Dundee) was in my row and the entire cast of his movie he is filming in town here. It was a lot of fun and a pretty authentic Australian experience.

So I have a couple of days to kill now in Tamworth and then I head back to the coast for some beach and sun. We had torrential rains on Friday night here and the river swelled up and flooded the town. The government declared it a state of emergency and the whole town was nuts. It was cool to see, but unfortunate cause there was a lot of damage back at the farm we came from and some of the dogs drowned as they were chained up. So today everyone is coming down from a bit of a crazy weekend.

So Jackaroo school was awesome and I recommend it to anyone who has ever wanted to be a cowboy. I will hopefully be able to get some pictures up soon. I don't think there is a computer here I can use so it might be later this week.

Hope y'all had a good Thanksgiving and ate way more than you should have. We had a big dinner at a buffet so I ate myself sideways.

I'm dedicating this post to the incredible, and Australian, Portia de Rossi.

-"I hate the Wetlands. They're stupid and wet, and there are bugs everywhere, and I think I maced a crane."

Storming the Castle.

My week in Newcastle, NSW is soon to come to a close. I depart tomorrow on the train to Tamworth. A week was a good amount of time to spend here. I found plenty to do and enjoyed the quiet town. Saved some money and took it easy after Sydney.

I spent a day on a wine tour of the Hunter Valley, getting slanted on free wine and liqueur samples all day long. It was a terribly beautiful day and we got cheese samples too! That was my favorite part. I do love me some cheese. I also did beer tasting, and counted each stop.

I spent a day at a wildlife reserve. Hiking walking trails and visiting the wildlife exhibits with koalas and kangaroos and all kinds of local birds. The forests are filled with parrots which is kinda cool. The koalas were feeding and you could pretty much reach out and touch them.

A couple days I got to kick it at the beach. I watched the kite surfers for a long time and today I played volleyball with some Canadians from my dorm. We have been watching lots of movies in the hostel as the nightlife is pretty low key and I am trying to save my money for more adventurous things. We have watched some classics. Cliffhanger. Reservoir Dogs. Ransom. Cocktail. Who doesn't love Cocktail. We have also been drinking boxed wine. Classy's the name of the game kids.

I made it a point to take the bus out of town too so I could see the surrounding area and get a locals point of view. It's pretty suburban. Everything so far seems a perfect blend of England and the U.S. The influences from both cultures seem pretty 50/50. It's kinda cool though.

A little side story:
I was going up to my room to bed the other night and heard loud panting from the room next door. It's a private room and I think I don't need to explain what was going on in their. I smiled and continued to bed. So in the morning the couple checked out. My buddy was cleaning their room and said when he walked in, a pair of pigeons flew out the open window. When he looked down at the floor he saw that they had laid an egg in the corner of the room! Is that a sign or what? That chick's so knocked up and she doesn't even know it yet.

There is an old army fort here that used to protect the harbour. Fort Scratchly. I wandered around there before it started pouring rain. It was cool to see. They are turning it into a museum and opening up the buildings soon. There is also an area down by the beach that had some wicked graffiti. I am a big fan of this stuff and you might see lots of pictures of it. Deal.

Everyone I meet has the same damn Lonely Planet Australia book. It makes me want to throw mine away. Instead I am laughing at it and have started taking pictures of everyones.

Wish me luck as I head to the bush tomorrow. I might even get some camping in soon. Which would be nice since I just bought this expensive new tent. And I am shaving the stache tomorrow. I had to let things grow out a bit. Adios for now and check out my Newcastle pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/andersn8/NewcastleNSW


-"She’d love to get at me any way she could. That’s why she’s been flirting with G.O.B. She’s trying to prove that she’s closer to my children than I am, but the joke’s on her, because she doesn’t know how little I care for G.O.B."

-"I think that makes the joke on G.O.B."

PICTURES.

So I finally found a computer that would let me use Picassa. This is how I will be posting my pictures hopefully from now on (since not everyone has sold their soul to Mark Zuckerberg).

http://picasaweb.google.com/andersn8

I'm in Newcastle now and it is a lot quieter than Sydney, but I like that. I am ready to lay by the beach for a while and not spend so much money.

Adios

Adios Sydney

So I am down to my final hours in Sydney. I leave on the train this morning to head north to Newcastle. Then after a few days there I will be going inland to the country music capital of Oz. Then after that I will be doing a week of Jackaroo school, which is basically just cowboy training to help get a job in the outback. I can't wait. We will be running cattle and learning how to lasso and it's pretty much perfect for me.

I have loved Sydney and found it to be a great starting out point for me. It is just the beginning to my trip though and I really look forward to what I will encounter next. Anxious for the outdoors and some real adventures and trying new things. I am keeping a list of new things that I haven't done before.

The first notable one had to be the infomercial that I was in for a lovely(cheap) little kitchen product called the Reseal and Save! "I want one just for my RV. We go on RV trips on the weekends and this would be perfect!" I think it is airing in Australia and South Africa? It was 4 hrs of work and it paid well too. Plus it was hilarious. The thing kept not working and we had to reshoot the demonstrations. It was shot in a shopping mall out in the suburbs and it's exactly how you are picturing it.

The government taxes things like crazy here so random stuff is really expensive. I got a small bottle of 7UP and it was $3.50. I then bought a glass of beer and it was $3. Then a bottle of water was $3. But a meal only costs $6. I don't get it.

Saturday night was my last(and sort of first) really big night out. The sun was coming up when we left the club and absinthe is legal here. Nuff said.

Some final thoughts from Sydney:
-Most people are German, Asian, French.
-Germans love fanny packs. Gay.
-Germans can get away with it cause most of them are completely attractive.
-I've learned more French than I have Aussie slang.
-People are drunk everywhere at night. And out of control drunk at that.
-Most people have very little respect for the U.S. Obama is helping though, everyone loves him.
-Australians abbreviate everything they can.
-Meat pies are the greatest things ever.
-You're my third least favorite child.

OBAMA, and mustaches of course

Well after 21 days in Sydney, and at least as many meat pies, I will be setting sail north. I will be in Sydney until Monday Nov 10. At that point I have a ticket for the first leg of my train journey. Only 2 hrs north, but it's cool. I bought a pass to Cairns and can do as many hop-off/hop-ons as I like. So I am going to try to see as much as I can.

Today is the first nice(hot) day in a while. I think I will dominate the beach. I am checking out of my hostel today and moving to a hotel downtown. It will be a nice change of pace for my last weekend and it's cheaper! I will be closer to all the action too. I feel like I finally have a light grip on the nightlife here. People are drunk by 10pm, people are slanted by midnight, and people are absolutely out of their f'ing minds by 2am. Then the bars stay open for another 8 hrs. Makes sense right? Not really, but it's a sight to see non the less. The streets are like High St, Oxford at bar close, but on an acid trip. Pandemonium is the word that comes to mind. It's fun.

I watched the election with a bunch of foreigners yesterday and answered all their questions which I was surprised I even knew the answers to. Hello Obama. I think it will be a great change for us and the rest of the world. 'Nuf said.

Now that the Melbourne Cup is over with its photo finish, let Movember begin! This is a month long celebration of all things mustache. Everyone is encouraged to grow one, even capable women, to raise awareness for mens cancers. I've got a nice 2 day stubble. I will take a picture when it comes into full bloom. Get excited kids.

That's all I got. Time to hit Bondi.

Saddle up yur horses

I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween weekend. Saw some great costumes on the book of Face. Turns out the rest of the world doesn't exactly appreciate this holiday for what it's worth. I did find a good party though on Saturday night and met a cool group of people. Quite a few people were dressed up too, but mostly just fake blood on themselves. Nothing close to the Weho Carnival.

On the other hand today is the Melbourne Cup, their equivalent to our Kentucky Derby. Except they get work off and it's pretty much a national holiday. Parades, big hats, tons of drinking and all that. I plan on getting involved any way I can. Especially the drinking. Then tomorrow is the election, which I will be watching. They have been covering it like crazy on tv here. It will be an epic couple of days no matter what happens.

I think I have walked to every corner of this city by now. Still working out my plans to leave. The camper van isn't happening so I might go old school and take a train journey. I am heading to the country music capitol of Oz and cowboy land. Tamworth. Like Nashville but much smaller. Obviously I am excited about this. Sorry nobody else is. Get over it.

Hope you are all doing well. Don't hesitate to email me. It would be great hearing from people. Especially you.

-Hey, Mom. Remember we had that conversation about trying to cut back on things that aren't necessities?

-Like it was yesterday.

-It was this morning.

Bondi, Mexican, Reggae, and Party

I will start today with a quote from Tender is the Night to get everyone in a good weekend mood:

"I want to give a really bad party. I mean it. I want to give a party where there's a brawl and seductions and people going home with their feelings hurt and women passed out in the cabinet de toilette. You wait and see."

It finally warmed up after being the coldest 48 hrs in 35 years. It was lovely. So the weekend has been good so far. I went to a Reggae show at this awesome bar last night with Katy, Chase and their friends. The nightlife here is questionable though. The bartenders measure each shot and put exactly one in each mixed drink. Lame. Their are people all over the streets, but not a lot of people in the bars. And everyone is absolutely shit faced. It's like college. People puking their brains out and guys wrestling in bushes on the highway. I guess it's fun? I'm not sold on their nightlife though.

I need to find a Cabo cantina. I got the 1 week Mexican itch big time. I found the only Chipotle like place in the city and got tacos and a margarita. Mediocre at best. Then I bought salsa and the closest thing I could find to tortilla chips. It's rough, but I am survivng. Katy says I will eventually replace mexican with thai. Not a bad deal I guess.

Since it got warm I headed to the famous Bondi beach yesterday. It's pretty amazing. The setting is awesome, and the water is so blue, and the waves are unreal too, and women tend to lose their tops. They had a big sculpture festival going on along the whole coast walk too. Some cool stuff going on.

I might spend another week around Sydney and then it's time to venture out. I have been talking to someone about buying a camper van and driving it up the coast. It would be sweet, but of course that brings about all the hassles of car troubles. Sa-weet. I think it would make it more interesting though.

So everyone party hard for me. Get in a brawl. Give in to seduction. And don't take the Mexican food for granted.

Hostel

I have spent a few days at the hostel now and it has been good. I am in a big room with our own bathroom which is clutch. Nobody is from america. At least not that I have met. It has been good though. The guys is my room are cool and it's just a lot of chilling. I am reading Tender is the Night and loving it. Best quote I have ever heard was in it. To come soon.

The weather has been shit for since the weekend. It is cold and pretty rainy. The wind today was out of control. I almost was being pushed over and have never experienced anything like it. I got down to the botanical gardens though and they were awesome. They lead out to the bay and the Sydney opera house which I finally saw and took lots of pictures of. It's quite amazing and the setting on the harbor is unreal.

I had to buy a jacket and shirt for the cold rain. All I had was shorts and t-shirts cause I was expecting summer, but it's not quite there yet. The rain has kept me in every night. So I have yet to black out, cause trouble and wake up in a random room on the other side of the harbor. Hopefully this weekend it will warm up. The night life goes all night which is obviously one of the best things in the world.

I am slowly planning my journey north. I might take the train up the coast and camp as I go. I am on an awesome tree lined street now and there are people around all the time. I am craving a little outdoor adventure though so I probably won't stay in the city too much longer. My soundtrack of choice lately has been the new Kings of Leon disk, since you all wanted to know what is going on in my head.

It has also been brought to my attention that the only people that have blogs are Rosie O'Donnell and myself. Thanks Marty. Sounds like something Molski would say.

So Sydney is amazing and I am doing well despite the weather. It really is the most diverse place I have ever been.

Take care of that face.

Pictures!

Kids-

I have posted my Fiji pictures on Facebook. I don't know a better way to get them out there. I am open to suggestions. There were some amazing sites to see there, and hell yes to the underwater camrea.

I am on my third day in Sydney and I have finally booked a hostel. I will be moving in today and spending a week there. Then? I might move out to the beaches. I will be right in the center of the nightlife area where there a lot of hostels and young people. Should be interesting as it will be my first real hostel stay. Ever.

Sydney so far is amazing. It's a perfect combination of the best things from every city I have ever loved. The diversity is like LA. The people are all young(and mostly good looking). The landscape downtown is like Chicago. The city has distinct neighborhoods like San Fran. The residential streets are narrow and historic feeling like Buenos Aires was. It's incredibly walkable, but huge at the same time. I have yet to check out the beaches, but I hear they are sick. Can't wait.

The city has really surprised me with it's diversity. I have never heard so many different languages in one place. Not even LA. It's a very worldly place. A lot of Asian cultures have taken a liking to it, and the city practically has laws that prevent them from taking over.

I have always felt that life is all about balance and apparently Kit Kat agrees. It's on their wrapper. But I am trying to stay in balance and keeping myself level headed. I don't want to spend too much time in one place just yet and am anxious to travel and see the rest of the country.

I've Arrived

I am in Sydney!

The rainforest hikes in the east coast of Fiji were awesome. There were pools you could swim in, which I did of course. And I jumped off one of the little waterfalls. Some local guy was following me through the woods and it felt like that scene in the beach where it's all video game and what not. I was walking really fast and he wasn't even really following me, just happened to be behind me.

Anyway. I caught the coast bus back to the west side where all the tropical islands are and that was a completely different change of pace. White tourists everywhere as opposed to me and two other people being the only people at the previous resort. This island marina is uber posh, Charles you would love it. Point Denarau it's called and that is where all the fancy resorts are. The marina there takes boats out to the island chains just off the coast. Tourists go island hopping cause each island is a different resort. I was on Bounty Island only. Surround by crystal waters and coral reefs. I went snorkeling for the first time and was out there for 3 hrs I loved it so much. I got to put my underwater camera to the test too. Got some awesome shots that I will try to post sometime. Un-real. I also got to do some sea kayaking too and play drinking games with a bunch of Brits. By the way, everyone I have met backpacking is British. Are Americans just not travellers? I think we just have so much to see in our country and they don't. BOOYA.

I have spent the afternoon walking Sydney. Going to meet up with Katy and Chase(friends from LA) in a bit as they have welcomed me into their home for the night. They live right in the middle of everything and it looks sweet. Sydney is awesome so far. Big city with lots of people everywhere and a little european feeling. So far so good, and I love it.

More to come from Australia(known as Oz by everyone else). Take care, and don't forget your lunch Jess!

Holy Fiji

All- I got to Fiji in like 2 hrs. Maybe cause I slept the whole way. But it went quick. I only got to watch 5 minutes of What Happens in Vegas and then the were already shutting the TVs off. I think I already figured out the whole movie though.

Anyway. Fiji is awesome. I took a bus along the coast to the main city on the east side of the main island. I am staying at a cool eco-tourism resort in the rainforest. Very similar to the Hans Cottage in Ghana we stayed at. Hiking to some waterfalls tomorrow at the big National Park across the street and then have one more night here.

Thursday I head back to the east coast where I am catching a boat to a resort island in the crystal blue waters. Holler. Beach time to get my sun on and forget about everything. Except for all my awesome friends obviously.

Then I head to Sydney this weekend. Summary: Fiji is an incredible place so far. Flying here only takes 2 hrs. And relaxing is awesome.

Take care. Talk soon.
Nick