'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

Welcome

Things are set up and I am preping myself to depart soon. I will not have internet with me, but will try to post whenever I get some internet and have anything worthy of sharing.
Get excited.
I am.