Beer Fuelled Epiphanies

I am Aliiiiivee!

2009-06-13T17:22:00.001+10:00

Herrroooooooooo!

update by the end of the week I reckon.

I'm still alive and well...so far :)

me

It's time like these you learn to live again.

2008-10-25T13:37:00.004+10:00

Hello readers and friends,

So it’s been a while and I keep promising updates but I just really haven’t been feeling creative in any sense recently.

I’ve had a tough few months and it started to get the better of me, I lost my Job, housemate moved out, broke up with Lindsay had a great addition to the family die and due to some of this I’m now in a rather large turmoil with finances and became a conflicted emotional wreck and stress head which nearly got the better of me but you know what? You hit rock bottom there is no way but up after that.

My ex-boss at the lovely Broadway turned out to be a tool of the biggest proportions, liked to just fire people for no reason or silly reasons and you can’t talk sense to the guy. He knows all and although the opening line of his great suck you in bullshit “nobody is perfect, everyone makes mistakes” made you feel he was going to be a great manager it quickly turned around. From things I witnessed in that place he was “perfect” and everyone else was a piece of shit, nobody was there for more than a month due to his behaviour, lack of direction and lack of any sort of training for anyone. He even sent me a great message about fucking up my chances of immigration if I didn’t get my hotel key and wristband back to him by 8am the morning after my birthday, Karma please sort this bitch out.

Jeremy (my flat mate) surprised most of us by making a conscious decision to move in with Belinda, all the best to those 2 is all I can say really! I think it’s good old Jez has made some commitment and wants to move on with his life although other people were shocked and hurt by the move, give it your best old pal.

I went out for drinks with Hayley and Liza ‘tother evening, was great to finally have a laugh and be around people who I now know care a lot, helped me put a few things in perspective and realise I have to struggle through to Christmas holidays when I can work my ass off and pay off some debts (although I have to beg borrow or steal $2000 by mid November for college or I’m out with only 5 months left to completion :( ) and just keep my mind open and look for every opportunity to better myself, It gets hard when you feel alone in a country miles away from people you really really know and that doesn’t understand you or you it but I suppose it’s one of life’s big lessons and will only make me stronger.

And that’s my mini update for now, I’d say I’ll blog more often, maybe I will but we all know it will be ages again before you hear from me :)

Peace and love to all

Lee

P.S. I also read this somewhere and it stuck in my mind "Love and hate are poweful emotional feelings, indifference is the lack of emotion therefore loves true opposite is indifference".

HTC Touch HD, Forget the Iphone!

2008-10-01T08:56:00.002+10:00

I soooo want one!

oh and update coming soon.

Death comes to us all in the end.

2008-09-06T11:40:00.004+10:00

I’m a bit drunk and as my Auntie Carols better half, Uncle Barry sorely died of a second heart attack 2 days ago which leaves me feling quite sad I'm contemplating (thank fuck for spell checkers)the fragility of life and how those you love and those you knew, and occasionally those you hardly knew but wished you learned more of but didn’t realise it until they went on to the next world affect or affected you in your life, also what is the next world?
Heaven? Hell? stoke on trent?

Philosophers have studied it for centuries and got no closer, scientists say that parallel universes and multiverses exist! Maybe that’s where our ‘Soul’ goes on to. Heaven moves you into the next dimension for a whole new experience and growth of the spirit , hell is failing and coming back and back again like a video game, dying only to start the level over and over until you get it right! Maybe that explains Déjà vu! Cos we have already lived this life and souls and spirits don’t adhere to father times laws as our fragile and small minds do, therefore we relive and make mistakes over and over looking for the goal before we can choose the next path.

Love is a fickle thing too, you get attatched to people and comfortable, tell them everything about yourself and they throw it in your face in arguments, I’ve done it myself and I kick myself for being like that. You then have a bit of hate for each other but love each other all the same. Partners are wonderful when they aren’t around but within an hour of them being home it goes back to arguments and fights about past problems and misgivings, it grates on your soul.Some people put up with it forever, some people work it out, and many move on. I still miss hanging around with some of the people I have called my 'better half' none more so than Lindsay and I'm sorry I had to do what I had to do. It just wasn't working at the time.

Anyway rantings over, I'm going to leave this and post it in the morning and laugh at myself :)

I need a holiday (still) and a new brain!

2008-08-15T17:50:00.004+10:00

Wassup y'all?

Things have been a bit hectic recently for me with all this Ekka work and extra college crap that I've not had much time to myself recently and I think I'm starting to hate people in general.

The Rum post below can be completely disregarded, The price hike didn't deter anyone from drinking the stuff and as a result Ekka went off with a few bangs and tens of people being kicked out due to stupid behaviour, we're not talking funny stupid we're talking pissing on heaters, stools, tables and in plant beds, climbing marquee's and generally being disgusting idiots with no manners or any idea how to act in public.

Those idiots aside its been a good one this year, pub full to capacity most evenings and many many of the country folk have been kind and generous with tips and manners and telling us what good jobs we've been doing so for that I thank them as its made the busiest fortnight ever enjoyable and made the staff work happily together for the first time in ever.

After work last night I popped up to the Stepp Inn to see VNV Nation, bloody good band live I tell thee, a mixture of Irish, English and Germans and man did they work the crowds well, great time had by all, included myself as I talked to a funny little goth lady and she talked back in a broad yorkshire accent everytime I saw her around the place which kinda cheered me up for a couple of hours before I had to Stepp Out (ooooh good one) into the freezing cold and wander off home, its amazing how a couple of coopers can hit you when you get into the fresh and you haven't eaten properly all day, I dont think I managed to get 100m without walking into some inanimate object and telling it to get fooked, I'm sure one of them laughed at my ineptitude to navigate a perfectly flat and straight footpath. The best part was walking down to my flat as its very steep and then I have to go back up some steps, it was like an obstacle course for my poor tired and alcohol fuelled little brain so I gave in and kinda sat on each step in turn and shuffled down them before coming face to face with a possum and shitting myself and then shushing myself for the outburst. Realising it was cold on the floor where I lay drooling I dragged myself up inside and woke up this morning wearing everything I had on except one shoe which I found outside.

Great night.

Me.

The Only benefit of Kevin Rudds RTD Policy.

2008-07-30T11:42:00.003+10:00

You know thoses mornings when you just cannot for the life of you stop pressing snooze or saying to yourself '5 more minutes'? Well for me this morning was one of those and now I'm missing college, I'm only allowed 5 absences this term so thats 2 down already, so to counter balance my non-productive day I'm having a rant as such.

Ekka is just around the corner, busiest time of year for the pub I work in, this will be my 3rd! It's hard to beleive I've been here so long, I dont think I've spent more than 6 months at home since 2005, I haven't seen my sister for more than 4 hours since June 6th 2006 god I miss home and everyone. The Ekka or Royal Brisbane Exhibition as it is named in English, fucking Ekka, I'm as pedantic as my good friend Dave B when it comes to lazy talk and the good old Aussies have it nailed so well I dont seem to be offended anymore and that worries me, any Veg, the Ekka is much like the Great Yorkshire Show and the Stray Fair all rolled into one but imagine no Chavs and introduce Aussie Cowboys........Craziest bunch of people I've met in my life, as with all groups of society you get your good ones and your bad ones but there is a tried and tested method to tell who's going on your cut off list or being frogmarched outside by security, Those that drink Beer and those that drink Rum.

Your typical beer drinker will be jolly and fine most of the night with the occasional rant into the meaning of life and why the government are screwing everyone over, complain about the flies and the how dry the year has been and they will get slightly rowdy but not uncontrollably and maybe sing a song too.

Your typical rum drinkers however will do all of the above, leer at the barstaff complain about everything and then start fighting and ruin everyones night by just being rude, arrogant, disgusting arseholes.

I never thought I'd say this but the mistake Kevin Rudd made putting the tax on premixed RTD's (Ready To Drink, JD&Coke and stuff) up so high a Bundy rum and cola costs $9 instead of $5 is actually going to benefit all Ekka goers an staff that come in over the next 14 days as beer is still $5.50 a schooner or bottle so there will be less arseholes about the place, I hope.

I still think the whole tax on RTD's is bloody ridiulous, they've been finding kids just mixing a litre of Jack with a 1.25litre coke or just trying to get drugs instead because they are cheaper, its alo endangered bottleshop workers as we are being targetted for theft as the drinks are too expensive, our place has had shoplifters 5 times over the last 2 months from a good all round 3 a year.

Another round of applause for Kev.

I'm over babbling now! peace out brothas and sistas.

Oh and anyone who wants to donate $5000 so I can come home it would be muchly appreciated ;) or just click a few ads, I'll get there by 2010 I reckon.

Yay.

Why do Businessmen buy bars, attempt to run them and wonder where they fail?

2008-07-08T12:58:00.004+10:00

Hi peoples.

It's been a while I know and I promised to update often I know, But I've had a strange and slightly stressful few months recently a laptop that got rained on and caught fire and a new Emily The Strange Epiphone SG guitar and 100w Kustom Amp to get to grips with.

I finished my first year of college in May so once I get my references and go to the Trade Recognition people I'm shall be a qualified Chef in the eyes of the Orstrayan government which is good, another year to go though on the business management and hospitality operations bullshit I've already done before in various places and I'll be able to aply stay here permanantly and open a decent bar hopefully, I wish that day was sooner rather than later though as I'm over the place I work in now.

The lovely new owners that took over the bar I work in are abunch of amateurs on the hospitality side of things. It's not just me that thinks so too, at least 90% of the staff and customers that know them agree. They have gave my manager and friend, Jeremy, notice that he would not be needed after the Brisbane Exhibition, which is a Great Yorkshire show type thing to those at home, AFTER he did all the planning for what is essentially the busiest 2 weeks in the Pubs life and after he nearly ending up in hospital for the bastards because of fumes from the workmen when they stained a room without ventilation and this is how they repay a hard working guy!

Jez has run the place on an evening since our old manageress left in november/dec they have just now got their heads out of their arses and actually started to care about the place and give us staff and equipment to work with although it has taken a complaint to Environmental health about the cold dish and glasswashers and the danger some of the building areas posed to people.

This is the icing on the cake though as far as their morally wrong and stupid idiotic work methods have been put in place. they have built 3 bars that are the shittest to work in EVER, they are either too high, wrongly built for service or have bad workmanship as taps dont work and tiles and stuff are coming off. They have taken staff discounts, bonuses, knock off drinks and incentives away but put prices up 4 times in 6 months 'Because of interest rates' and have also started to kill off the live music gigs, I've seen the GP and sales reports and its good too see them down since they destroyed the pub with their inept ability to treat people as humans and the ripping off the customers we used to have.

Anyone who wants to run a bar needs to treat staff well or they will rip you off left right and centre and not care about anything that happens to the place, its good having all these systems and easy ways to do paperwork but its no good knowing what to do back of house if you cant even fathom the actual face of the business itself.

Another warning I would like any would be bar owners or businessmen looking to open a venue, learn something about it first, whether that means jumping behind a bar for 6 months to get the feel or reading ALOT about it. Stop spoiling the fast dying art of Hospitality and Bartending with your greed and stupid ideas and start giving something back to the patrons and staff, you will make more money and your venue will also get a good reputation, higher prices do not mean more money, it means people spend less and seek cheaper watering holes.

Now lets move on, I'm getting annoyed! I met a guy I used to go to school with here whilst waiting for a taxi at 4am on fri or sat, crazy shit. I was soo drunk but it was good to see and hear homely peoples! More people shall be coming soon too, The lovely Janine will hopefully be catching up with me when shes in Brisbane and also I hear a rumour a Mr Matt whom I used to work at Gamestation will be here soon too for a week or so so hopefully they will alleviate some of my homesickness alongside the Mighty Boosh and the shop that sells twiglets and cherry coke....I'm the moooon!

On another note I'm quite happily healthy at the moment, although the social smoking is getting out of hand in the last few weeks (sorry mum). I lost between 20-25kg from christmas to May by cutting out beer Mon, Tues, Thurs and occasionally Sun, walking lots, eating more homecooked stuff now I'm chef boy and volunteering to do the harder jobs at work (they can get fucked now tho).

And thats that, lots missed out and a funny story saved for next time but I'll make up for it and this time I'll update at least monthly.

Love and miss all my friends and family! COME SEE ME!

Lee

PS. If you want to check out a cool bar in Brisbane check out the Lychee Lounge in West End. Just like I want my first place to be and it has a Yorkshire bartender, it rocks!

Honestly, somehow it always seems that I'm dreamin' of something that I can never be.

2008-04-23T11:42:00.008+10:00

WHAT AN AWESOME NIGHT!!!!

I'm still buzzing a little here from seeing Korn at the Brisbane Riverstage stage after all these years and man did they put on a good show. They even incorporated a little of queens "We will rock you" into a verse of a song I now cant remember because of the awesomeness and the fact I regressed to the mental state of a 15 year old once again.

Mr Jonathan Davis was a bit more talkative than usual and was smiling like in insanely happy person which was cool although I wonder what the oxygen mask was actually needed for!?!?! Munkeh was being as rocking as ever and Fieldy has got to be one of the best alternative or just one of the greatest bass players ever. I loved every minute of it. They performed in no order Faget (dedicated to the old school fans)moved onto some Freak on a Leash, A.D.I.D.A.S and then did a couple from the new album.

The support line up was pretty good, Throwdown had the unfortunate first slot when the place was no where near full but they played a great set and got most of the lazy bastards on their feet.

Next up were an old favourite of mine Chimaira! THESE GUYS KICKED ASS!! They played it loud and proud and had the whole place kicking off in a circle mosh! Before the main act we then had another old great in the form of Biohazard, still putting on a good show after 20 years (anniversary gig apparently) albeit after a slow start they also rocked up the joint but I couldn't help feeling something was missing from their act, maybe it was the beer wearing off :)

All in all an awesome gig! Just a shame they didn't take Cards for the Apparel, I'm sure they lost out on a few thousand $$$$ due to that and also pissed off a few people, especially Lindsay who has been to quite a few of Korns appearances here and has yet to be able to buy a T-shirt, If its not size or lack of Ladies tops (she is over 6ft) its the bloody card machines absence.

Keep up the good work guys, and get an eftpos machine (for cards, real $$$ are for beer).

Over and out

Lee

Aren't arachnids wonderful?

2008-04-17T06:33:00.003+10:00

I took this photo a few weeks ago, its on my facebook but I thought I'd share it with the rest of you.

This is a Golden Orb Weaver and his little buddy, He made a web over my bins so I took it down, as I moved to take a picture he shot that golden silk at me, was awesome, you can see it coming out of him if you zoom in.

The problem with these buggers is they are everywhere and by British standards 'Fooking massive'. Rumour has it they cause more deaths than any other spider because the huuuge webs they weave (can be 2metres across)are generally across footpaths or between trees and posts and people walk thru the web then have heart attacks looking for the great big spider thats somewhere on them. Maybe an Urban Legend, may not but they sure are pretty and freaky looking.

My absence is noted

2008-04-12T13:23:00.005+10:00

Hello there my furry friends!

It's been a loooong time since I updated this thing, my excuses are I have been busy and too lazy at the same time, sorry folks but you'll need to take a break reading this one.

So whats been going on in my life? well I went to V fest a couple of weeks ago which was pretty good and had that homely feel of slop and mud to your ankles as it rained all day before the event. I went to see the Rakes(nearly Roisin Murphy, stupid map), who were pretty damn good and jet lagged as they told us. Queens of the Stone Age rocked as ever whilst people flung mud at each other and slid in the fetid watery parts, this only to be topped when the Smashing Pumpkins grabbed the main stage and we had alot of mud wrestling going on, and not the good kind. I think Billy Corgan tried to take advantage of this mentality when he wanted to incite a fight with the other stage (as it was called) when the Presets were pumping their way over the top Bass into the Pumpkins arena, although he claimed no responsibility. What the Pumpkins can claim responsibility for is making me feel 15 years old again playing some of the classics that I grew up with! It was AWESOME and a great end to a good day.

So apart from V fest there hasn't really been much else going on, I'm still restricted to 20 hours of stupid work a week due to the limitations of the student visa, due to this I'm still trying to pay stupid school fees on time. Only stupid because my bank balance looks all nice only for it to be sucked out which means I cant buy Wii games and occasionally beer!!... all for a good cause I suppose.

Work is work, its been fun recently apart form drunken idiots fighting my friend and manager Jeremy, poor old Jez been hit in the head I think twice in as many weekends. The best one was last weekend when we had the Hip Hop tribute on, now most of these guys are cool and respectable but there was a bunch of absolute wannabes and when some guy baited them they went off on a crazy 8mile tryout failures spiel and attempted to 'rap' the guy into submission, this ended in a glass to the face and Jez and I trying to pull apart idiots who cant have a bit of fun and have to take offense at everything cos they can handle like five drinx maaan!!! kids!

So the best part of this is when we throw the 'Wind up guy' out only to have the G's jump the beer garden fence and attack the bloke five to one. We broke that up and everything was going fine until Leader of the 8mile rejects has a pop at me giving me all the jibe about running me down and as he actually said it 'pop you' whilst making a gun motion and walking towards me aggressively, I stood my ground and simply said in my dry sarcastic way that those who know me love (or hate) Dude, you're so black and Gangsta right now, you feel like a real maaaaan?? at which point I think I was about to be headbutted by this toothless bogan when Jez saved the day and pushed him away and the police finally turned up, which brings me to my next point......

....Brisbane Emergency Services! I've encountered them 3 times now and they are utter shite, a disgrace! I'd get faster medical or police attention in New Orleans and the only reason I can say straight up is because 2 Ambulance headquarters and 3 local police stations are all within 2minutes of my work which is what the next scribblings are about.

Encounter 1, Old guy falls down steps, smashes his head into the concrete and is unconscious and bleeding, I ring 000 and get an answer, it takes the woman 7 minutes to get thru to the Ambulance dept, the woman then takes another minutes trying to get more info than I know as I am on the work phone around 2 corners and 100m away which she doesnt seem to get and then finally the Ambluance comes a total of 50 minutes later....Disgraceful really.

Encounter 2, Fight ensues between a drunken punter whom we cut off and Jez as he takes a beer off him which he procured by deceitful means, he then decides to provoke Jeremy and a small scuffle ensues which I help to break up and then call police and securtiy! Get thru to police as Jez comes downstairs and is jumped not only by the guy but 3 or 4 of his mates and has blood all over his face, takes me 4 minutes to get thru... fight getting out of control.. Police or on there way..cool I relax... fight spills onto street and up the road....10 minutes have passed... random chick tries to intervene like and idiot and gets thrown to the floor for grabbing fighting men from behind and hurts herself.... Im trying to call police again and restrain folks with security and a rather wild blood strewn Jez, instigators run off and fight calms down 40 minutes have passed I go in clean up with Paul and sign off and after 1 hour and 10 mins no police came.

Encounter 3, the story of hip hop battlas above, the police took over half an hour to come then too.

And thats that, I'll try update more often! peace and love to all!

Lee

A Big Day Out!

2008-01-23T12:46:00.000+10:00

Helloooooo!!

So how is everybody? having a fun new year yet? over your resolutions and hate being back at work? Me too, although I've had a good start so far to my New Year.

This Sunday was the highlight of the year so far, Lindsay and I managed to procure tickets to Big Day Out on the Gold Coast and what a day it was.

This was my first real Aussie music festival and I have to say, although its got a long way to go to compare to V, Download, Glastonbury and such, it was a great venue with 50,000+ in attendance and a great atmosphere as everyone anticipated the headline acts.

We managed to get into the parklands and settle down at around 1pm and have a beer or 3 whilst listening to Arcade Fire who were pretty good, after what seemed like 2 minutes had passed, it came the Hilltop Hoods turn on the main stage, It was as usual a great show but the sound was pretty terrible, could hardly make out any of the lyrics (good job we know them all) the music and bass were awesome on the other hand.

After the Hilltops we hung around a little while at the back listening to Silverchair and Grinspoon and promptly left to go see Brand New as Bjork attended the main stage! I don't get the fascination with her music, I dont honestly see it as arty or cool, its just wailing and noise like a deaf kid with a synthesiser and a mic, anyway Brand New were pretty awesome to listen to live and after a bit of jumping around and sitting down we made our way to see the main event.....

....RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE....FUCK YEAH.!

Man these guys were awesome. I've wanted to see them for years, I managed to get to the front after losing everyone in the crowd but as excited as I was I couldn't stay around. Headbutts, pushing, shoving, punching and all those shenanigans were going down as everyone was full of 12 hours of beer and RATM fury so I got out, stepped back a bit and had a better time chanting the words to "Killing in the name of" and jumping around like an idiot.

All in all it was a great day but nothing like the 2-3day festivals we get back home! maybe one day it will happen.

Cheers all

Lee

A new year comes and old year goes and I'm still wearing my christmas clothes.

2008-01-09T14:10:00.000+10:00

Wassup y'all!!

I hope you all had a good festive season and didn't get too hungover/fat/sick/frustrated/stressed, Welcome to the new year, 2008 should be a good one although the flying cars are still 8 years late, goddamn those automobile companies.

For my festivities I wandered off to Adelaide to see the family I have there and have many merriments with them, Lindsay had gone a day before to Moree to be with hers and I missed her lots but it was great to see everyone and I'm thankful for my Grandad for cooking all that glorious food on Christmas day and as usual providing much conversation and alcohol. It was rather strange though staying in the house with no Grandma and quite sad at times but we all know the old girl was there in spirit and hopefully saw we are getting along fine and dandy although missing her immensely.

The old heaven nightclub had re-opened (shutdown due to bikie gangs selling drugs and letting in 16 year olds and taking over the joint) they renamed it HQ although not much changed decor wise, We had a great night out there drinking and dancing and listening to some cool music and the Hilltop Hoods 'what a great night' brought in boxing day which was awesome (beers to the boys, you gave me a great evening on Xmas eve too).

When the hangover subsided (2 bloody days) and the time came I wandered back up to a lovely sticky Brisbane where Lindsay and I celebratd our Christmas and NYE in one.

We had an ok evening out on NYE, went to check out an overhyped retro club which sucked balls, saw in NYE and then went to the Valley for more boozes and merriment, I have to say the doormen in Brisbane are turning into a proper bunch of cunts, I wasn't allowed into Birdee num nums as I was 'Overdressed' even though they let in some dicks just before us who looked as if they had dressed up to go to the races, I also heard some guy in a kilt get refused entry and told to go back to his own country as "we dont dress that way here mate" bunch of idiots, Unless you are an Aboriginie you are an immigrant too you cocksucker, have some respect, this country is culturally diverse in all respects and everyone is welcome here.

For Christmas I got a minor haul of goodies including a pink t-shirt that I will never wear (sorry, its getting exchanged) and a few books and lots of beer. I thank everyone who sent stuff/bought stuff/wished me a merry Christmas.

And thats it, now the festivities are over I can get back to my Nintendo Wii and finally complete Resident Evil 4 and Super Mario Galaxy.

Happy new year everyone, much love.

Lee (Miggzeh, Mister MigginZ).

xxx

So i'm left sitting here, staring into a beer, shaking my head at the same ol' loathing and fear.

2007-12-13T09:15:00.000+10:00

Why Hello there fellows and fellowesses!

I know its been a while but I've been very busy with end of year college stuff, Super Mario Galaxy (it rox) and work so I haven't had even the slightest inkling to post anything.

The last couple of weeks have been quite fun, For our college module of managing projects we, instead of doing a full on theory module, decided to organise a trip to Stradbroke Island and it went off without a hitch. We departed from Runaway Bay marina at around 8:30am and were on the island for 8:45am which was alot quicker than I expected.
On the way there we saw one of the coolest things ever, a big black helicopter was chasing a guy on a jet ski through a track laid out by big cones, I have never in all my life, even in movies, seen anyone manouver a chopper the way this pilot was. He almost had the guys head off with the precision flying as he kept the nose of the Aircraft almost on the jet skis tail weaving and bobbing through the course, I felt like a kid watching Airwolf again.

Once on the Island we set up our area and partied a little, had an Indian breakfast and then meandered over to the other side and did a bit of body surfing in the sea which was fun, we then proceeded to cook the biggest BBQ ever and fill ourselves to the brim before playing some cricket and chilling for a while whilst I played with the spiders feeding them flies (they shouldn't have flown onto my beer bottle). All in all it was a great day out and a good change, I thank all my college buddies for organising this and Max the lecturer/teacher for letting us actually do the trip.

As I stated earlier I have been playing SM:G on the Wii recently, its damn addictive and very very different, especially the way you use the entire sphere of 3D to play the game and the different gravity and physics tricks throughout coupled with beautiful graphics makes it the best Mario game ever IMHO, I wasn't going to play it until I had completed LOTZ:WW and RE:4 but they are taking a back seat now as the temptation was too great:) although I'm slowly getting the feeling I want to be blasting mind controlled villagers to peices again! some of the enemies and scenes in RE:4 are very reminiscent of the creature in John Carpenters The Thing.

On another note its nearly Christmas! Although being here in this damn humidity and heat It really doesn't feel like it so I haven't got the Christmas spirit yet although I'm sure that will change once I get to Adelaide and see some family and have some good old English/Irish style celebrations.

So thats pretty much it, a bit of a bore for you all but it saves me writing a hundred emails.

To those I know at home I miss you all, except Colin, hahaha! only joking! to everyone else Thanks for reading (now please click some adverts so I can buy Lindsay something nice for xmas).

Tata for now.

Me

Bruised and battered with a self repaired ipod.

2007-11-15T14:32:00.000+10:00

Hi guys and gals.

Its been a while I know but I've been a busy little bumble bee with college and work and Lindsay and I really haven't had much to write about.

College is good as can be, great now the weather is picking up as we can muck about on the beach at din dins and I've been wasting my time with Windwaker, I had a Zelda craving after finishing and selling LOZ:TP so as I never finished Windwaker I thought I'd buy it and I'm well into it.

Had a fun weekend at work last weekend which resulted in me falling down a flight of stairs. Clark and I were having a laugh and a good time and we finished work early so we were in high spirits, I went upstairs to get a beer and check out the bands and on my way down again I slipped and trying not to spill my beer fell twisting my knee and pulling my shoulders and back! good job I had a plastic cup really as it landed next to my face covering me in said beverage and thank god not smashing and blinding or maiming me, quite funny in hindsight that I didn't want to drop my beer but it was a painful decision only to drop it anyway. Damn!!

I also had a little accident with my ipod which resulted in the headphones cracking the internals of the headphone socket whilst it was crammed into my pocket so I had to get it repaired, $135 I was quoted as the ipod was out of warranty (by a week) so I got the part for roughly $25 inc P&P and did it myself, full guide on my Facebook

and thats all really! I'l have a more exciting update soon I hope

Meee

Woohooo! Completed at last!

2007-10-31T15:32:00.000+10:00

I'm quite happy today, I finally completed a Zelda game, that game being Twilight Princess on the Wii.

My first attempt at Zelda was the Snes version where I just got frustrated and left it, second was the Gamecube version, Windwaker which was bloody awesome (one of the best Zelda games EVER) but upon copying my save file after 60% of the game had been done I deleted it accidentally and never got back into it.

After weeks of hacking, slashing, shooting bomb arrows and riding spinners I finally got through the game to Hyrule castle to kill Ganandorf which happened to be the easiest Dungeon but most frustrating boss in the whole game! 4 times you have to defeat him and it took me a while to figure out I had to target him when you get to fight him horse back duel style and the final sword battle is cool.

I played the game for 43:28 according to my save file (I did most of the mini quests and got all the heart peices)and almost every minute was worth it, a few cut scenes are unskippable which gets frustrating if you die and have to start that certain segment again and sometimes the camera angles are funky, especially Hyrule castle when you get blocked in energy rings and can't see who you are fighting properly. That apart transforming into a wolf with new senses, fighting on Horseback and the general addictiveness and graphics of the game make it almost perfect as well as the many crazy weapons you have to use and the way you use them with the Wii-mote.

If you have a Wii or Gamecube get out and buy it, if you don't have either go buy one.

Now for Resident Evil 4 once I sell Zelda on Ebay

Happy Birthday!!!

2007-10-10T10:13:00.000+10:00

I'd just like to say Happy Birthday to my Lindsay! Hope this is a good one babe x x x x x x x x x x x See you tonight x x x x x x x x x x x

Someone get me a taser!

2007-10-10T09:32:00.000+10:00

For some reason this didn't post yesterday;

Hello there.

I'm in a bit of a bad mood today! I got up early for my first day back to college and had a bit of a barney with the Mrs because she was tired and I woke her(sorry babe)and it kind of set me up for the day with everyone I came across and, I think, made me more susceptible to annoying pricks on public transport.

First things first, what the balls is this new craze of playing music through mobiles really loud on public transport? IT’S ANNOYING!! I was on the 6:33am train to the coast as per usual and on get the "Stereotypical Terrorist" crew as they do everyday, I'm not being racist or offensive before I get shit for it, the media makes people think this way and introduces these stereotypes and you can see it! a bunch of Middle Eastern looking guys get on the train sometimes with tool boxes, they must be engineering or mechanic students or something but anyway, half the train cowers in fear and gives them funny glances as they walk, as usual, from the carriage they get on to the end of the train toolboxes in hand and muttering in their language.

With this group is one guy who looks both ways at the same time and he seems to love playing his badingi dingy dingy ding music through his phone to the whole carriage, you know the kind I mean, like that wailing Bollywood music but worse, usually however they walk to the end of the train and I have my ipod on but not this time. I had to sit for 45 minutes listening to this crap as the sun rises and everyone in the carriage gets irate but seems afraid to even say anything in case they get Jihaded or some rubbish, wel the train journey finishes and I have to get my connecting bus only for some completely different tosser does the same on the bus with the same CRAP music! FFS!!! I needed a bat or taser or some shit I tell ya! I'm all for cultures expressing themselves and doing what they do but do it in your own time and place for gods sake, we know you have a new mobile phone or magic box or whatever the fuck you call it in your country but GET SOME BLOODY HEADPHONES, its not in my culture to be annoyed by some inconsiderate fuckwit blaring shit music in the early A.M. generally the people are quiet and as tired and annoyed with the world as everyone else at that time of morning.

Now onto my other problem, Emo kids! not the kind that dress in dark clothes and heavy make up, some of the chicks look quite good and all round they are generally cool people. I'm talking about the bitching and moaning ones that cut themselves cos daddy decided to cut their pocket money or not let them use the car that weekend. I overheard a conversation and the basics of it were that some guy around 14/15 got caught smoking weed and drinking and his dad caught him and grounded him and stopped his pocket money. Dad thinks he know better than the kid so kid decided he's going to make him feel as isolated and bad as he does by cutting himself real bad, yeah that will show the world your pain you imbecile! OMG the whole world is against you because you are grounded FOR SMOKING WEED AND DRINKING @ 14! Sure your dad knows nothing about anything! fuck me he's probably done more drugs and alcohol in his life than most people and seen the ills of thw world and doesn't want you become a drug fucked moron living in the valley like the rest of the smack addicts not even able to get a job at Maccas to feed your addiction and in turn robbing passers by or asking for change whilst bitching how your parents did fuck all for you, GET OVER IT! If the world is against you so much and you’re not right for it there is a solution, it’s called the Story Bridge, take a dive!

And finally! My biggest gripe of the morning, people who don't have money ready for their bus fare, or anything else for that matter I'm going to get crap for this one as I'm pointing out its always the bloody females that do it. Every stop on the way from Robina to Palm Beach there were people getting on, and it’s always the same faces. They complain the bus was late, then take 10 minutes to pull change from every crack and crevice, THE BUS IS LATE COS 5 PEOPLE DID THE SAME BLOODY THING THE LAST 5 STOPS!!!!! If they know the bus is late they must have been stood there for a good 5 or 10 minutes TIME ENOUGH TO GET MONEY READY FOR THE TRIP YOU TAKE EVERYDAY YOU IDIOTS!!! Its the same in supermarkets and shops, If you can remember the 200 items you need for home and stand there and watch them be scanned as the cashier ALSO packs your bags at least remember to get your cash ready or the card you are going to use instead of shuffling through a whole deck of them and performing some sort of trick for 5 minutes whilst everybody is waiting in line, only for the person behind to piss and moan about it then do the same thing over. I thought cards made life faster and easier, it takes a good while to authorise and sign the bastards! Bring back cash I say.

Anyway! rant over I feel better Now.

England 12 Australia 10

2007-10-08T14:46:00.000+10:00

I'd just like to say WELL DONE BOYS!

Living here in Brisbane is kinda hard being English when it comes to sports, especially England Vs Australia games such as Cricket & Rugby.

It was a great almost even game, some good tension and some pretty stupid mistakes on both sides but in the end England prevailed and for that I'm a little bit happier.

A few of the Australians I know would think I'm rubbing it in but really I'm just happy to have something I know meant something to us all on my side for once, considering they beat us shamefully in the Ashes and also beat us down in the last Rugby game we played its nice to know we can still beat the old colony at something, even by a small margin.

So a Beer to all my boys back home! Just tread carefully in the next game boys, I want to see squashed frogs on every boot.

Good luck.

The Birthday Week.

2007-10-01T09:24:00.000+10:00

Why hello there fellow friends and readers.

Its been a short while since I updated, mainly due to being blind drunk, working and partying this week as it was my birthday on the 21st (and Hannah's too, My friend Dave's lady friend) Lindsay decided it would be the "right thing" to celebrate for the whole week.

It was a good week all in all, I finally got my very own Nintendo Wii from the lovely super fantastic Lindsay and I have been hooked on LoZ:Twilight Princess, Wii sports, Harry potter and Wii play ever since, Lindsay feels she has become a wii widow, or a wiidow but she bought me it so ner ner! your own fault.

As well as celebrations and birthday wishes my good friend Jeremy got me a fantastical ticket to the Parklife festival here in Brisbanes botanical gardens, although I don't think there will be much botany left after the amount of people there! It was a good gig all in all. Waiting half an hour to get a damn beer sucked and the Herd and The Sounds were on different stages at the same time which sucked more as I missed the best Herd songs and the opening songs of the Sounds as I rushed over to catch the last half of their set. The Scratch Perverts and Stereo Mc's did some good Djing sets and the atmosphere was pretty care free and relaxed overall, with the exception of what seems to be the gayest 80's fashion revival of dayglo/flouro outfits assaulting my vision. Every man woman and child were wearing the horrible stuff! A few guys actually commented to us on the way in saying "its good to see someone in normal clothes" I think I almost went blind, I'm going to have nightmares for weeks.

And thats that really! thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday, sent cards and gave me pressies or got me wrecked! you know who y'all are. I'll leave you with a dodgy video I filmed of the sounds, I apologise for the shaky cam but its hard to film when some dick with a dayglo fan is hitting you in the head constantly (you'll see me look for him) I'm off to get breakfast and finish the final level of Zelda, weeeeeeeee!!

Ps: Happy Birthday Trelly with a wooden belly (for the 29th).

Nine Inch Nails BABEH!

2007-09-18T18:54:00.000+10:00

Wooooooo!!!

Lindsay, Jez, Clark, Hayley and I flew down to Sydney on sunday to see NIN in concert and it rocked my sox!

Trent was his usual rock and roll self, even at one point telling the whole concert to steal the NIN albums due to the still heightened price of CD's over here which got a huuuge reaction!

Video is here, although not mine cos I was warned by security my phone would be destroyed if they caught me filming again, bastards!

I'll post my vids and photos shortly, for now heres the youtube vid.

I want that one!

2007-09-07T10:50:00.000+10:00

Ok so I've not really been a fan of ipods as such, I just got one for free from freeipods.com a while back and it has served me well.

However, I just saw the press release and pictures of the new Ipod touch and it looks frikkin awesome!!!!!!!! the only drawback is the 16gb max memory size, especially when the new Ipod "classic" as the touchwheels are now called, comes in a 160gb version. Maybe generation 2 of the ipod touch will have a higher capacity and my current 30gb video will break or something :)

More details at the Apple website

The Bourne Ultimatum

2007-08-27T21:48:00.000+10:00

Woooo!

I won tickets to the advanced screening of The Bourne Ultimatum for this evening and it was pretty good.

Lindsay and I choo choo'd over to the Southbank IMAX thanks to channel TEN and found our seats in front of what must have been the hugest screen in the world and awaited the action.

It started out pretty much where the Bourne Supremacy left off and the action came thick and fast! I wont spoil it for any of you but Mr Bourne kicks ass in the usual manner and makes for a great 2 hours entertainment with car smashes, rooftop chases, kersplosions, some lighthearted funnies and ass kickings galore. My only complaint is its filmed in "shaky cam" and on the screen that filled my entire field of vision it made me feel a liiiittle motion sick but apart from that it rocked almost as much as Die Hard 4.0

I give it an 8/10

Thanks again to Channel TEN for the tix!

Wahoooo! Disease free!!

2007-08-21T15:48:00.000+10:00

Thank God!!! well not god cos I don't really believe in god in a religious sense, Thank whatever/whoever made people! (evolution?)

I got all my test results back and the were all good. My bloods showed no sign of any diseases or ailments that would have needed astronomically costing treatments and I have no problems in the liver or pancreas.

There was however the presence of Helicobacter Pylori which could mean I have the beginnings of an Ulcer(gay) but not in quantities to worry about yet, as long as I keep on the medication till it runs out and dont drink alcohol or too much caffeine(GRRRRRRR) for a while and then only in moderation ill be ok! (fuck the moderation, what doesn't kill ya makes you stronger, muhahahahahahahah) I managed to avoid the endoscopy too so far which is great cos the last time I had one I totally empathised with any girl who tried to unsuccesfully deep throat! it was bloody 'orrid.

Now my google adsense is gonna find that sentence and put porn links on my blog. Ah well at least Woggzeh will be entertained!

Lee

Nokia N95, My thoughts!

2007-08-17T10:12:00.000+10:00

Howdy guys and gals!

So I've been playing with my new N95 for a week or so now and I figured I'd write a little something about it.

When I first received this marvel of technology I was in awe of the size, its not much bigger and feels slightly lighter than the K800i. It was boxed better than the old Ipods used to be with everything in hard plastic shells and presented pretty well with a thorough manual and a decent CD with some useful software on it as well as a provided TV-Out cable, in line remote for headphones and I got some free JBL "On tour" travel speakers which actually don't sound bad at all

I unpacked my new baby and found it comes with a screen protector! upon trying to apply this fiddly device I dropped it so I got covered in dust on the sticky side! never mind I thought, I'll buy a new one, still haven't got around to it and I really think I need to as it doesn't have that Anti-scratch glass the SE models do.

The memory card came next, The SD micro doesn't slip in as easily or as smoothly as the SE M2's do and it feels a bit rocky getting it out but it works fine.

After that I dropped in the (U)Sim and battery and booted her up. THIS PHONE IS FAST!

There was no waiting for contacts or software to load up, it was just there! My K800i used to take a good 2-3 minutes before you could even use it. The screen quality took me aback too! its bright, huge and crisp. It has a light sensor above it so it can control the brightness and the key lights saving on battery too.

Phone calls are crisp, the voice recognition for dialling works great most of the time with no need to train it and if you put the option on to tell you who's calling, that Stephen Hawking like voice saying someones name phonetically is quite a giggle, as is the txt to speech function (who didn't make their Amiga say rude words right).

The music player is AWESOME! the quality puts the Ipod Video to shame, I thought I just had dodgy headphones but using them on the N95 the Bass difference was immense, the great thing is it takes 3.5mm standard phones, I think a 4gb card may be in order and the Ipod can stay hooked to the stereo.

The camera! what can I say! QUALITY by far the sharpest camera I have used so far, I compared it at 3mp to a Fuji finepix F450 and an Ixus 5mp version and its better than both with a little tweaking of the settings, my only gripe is the LED flash and that there is no option to silence the camera sound.

The ringtones and sound are LOUD and playing with the 3d settings is fun for a while. the GPS is good but not great, I found the route planner useful though a few times. on Wi-Fi and 3g its fast and responsive MSN works perfectly but I'd get the opera browser, it is better than the nokia one. The addition of skype and the possibility to use the phone as a Wi-Fi VOIP phone is a great extra, the quality is good but you gotta stay in a full signal Wi-Fi spot.

Now the bad points! The build quality isn't as good or solid as the K800i, or any SE phone since the T610 to be honest, the buttons are slightly tacky and I find my fat thumbs close the SMS screen accidentally sometimes and the slider has a slight rock to it although that is apparently fixable easily. The battery life is dismal. I think it couldn't be helped that I was installing lots of things on it as well as using the GPS and wi-fi all the time, I just never got a full day out of it until the last couple of days (maybe the battery is conditioned or I'm not using it as much.

Overall though this phone grows on you! I just cannot put it down. I've been browsing symbian sites and putting allsorts of apps on it to test out.

I give it a 7/10, 2 points off for battery and the other for the slider wobble.

I'll post a Flickr show when I get around to taking some pictures other than from my balcony :)

Lee

Illness that requires the elimination of alcohol!

2007-08-14T16:03:00.000+10:00

Stupid body! It seems its giving up on me for a while. I've been down and out for a couple of weeks now feeling really sick and having pains in my abdomen just under the ribcage. I managed to pile on 6Kg in 4.5 weeks and almost pass out doing nothing this morning. After waking up and crying in pain and peeing an almost orange trickle every hour and feeling my pulse strongly thru my body every now and again I figured something was wrong.

So today I thought enough is enough. I went to the doctors and paid $75 to find out I could need treatment anywhere between $500 and $2500! I was felt up and probed all over and have had bloods taken to test for ulcers, pancreatitis, diabetes and liver problems. The main suspect is apparently the pancreas and ulcer combo as my kidneys have been affected quite badly and I'm concentrating my urea. This why I've been tired all the time apparently. On Thursday I gotta go for a C-14 breath test an endoscopy if the C-14 is positive, or an ultrasound if its negative! Yay.

I've been advised no more alcohol for 8 weeks or so and been given some lovely tablets that will make Lee feel sick, If its a pancreatic issue no more beer ever is advised! FUUUCCCCKK!!!

Hopefully its just an ulcer and not a diabetes/pancreas problem.

wish me luck, Im gonna sit on the balcony and savour my last Coopers Sparkling Ale for a while before I start my meds.

Lee

Somethings on Fire!

2007-08-10T12:27:00.000+10:00

I Dont know whats happening but out towards Brisbane airport is a huge plume of smoke, more details when I actually find out whats going down!

UPDATE: It seems there was no big plane crash or anything, thank god. Something caught fire and managed to wipe out a large area of scrubland near the airport. Still dangerous but not a horrible disaster.

RIP K800i, You were a good soldier!!

2007-08-10T08:26:00.000+10:00

It seems my plan to go onto a contract with 3 was a good plan indeed! My poor poor Sony Ericsson K800i has died a premature death. After 4 long hard months and for no reason whatsoever the screen has turned into a multiple coloured line display.

He lived gracefully in my pocket, keeping warm from the heat of my leg and slowly tickling me now and again. He purred with delight as phone calls and messages came through. He called out when he was hungry with his delightful little beep and woke me in mornings with his enchanting variety of melodies, oh how I miss him so!

what caused this premature death of a $600 mobile phone? only Sony Ericsson will know and to find out I have to send my little friend all the way back to the UK as an international multi million pound company can't fix or replace a UK phone of the exact same make and model as its Australian cousin because it was bought with UK pounds and not Aussie dollars.!GAY AS FUCK!

It annoys me that, in this day and age with tin foil suits and flying cars, that a multinational company cannot fix or replace its shoddy products no matter where you bought them! Its disgraceful to be honest. Nokia manage an international warranty, Asus, Acer and even the evil Apple manage it too. Now I have to spend money to fix a problem that wasn't even caused by me (for once) and is supposedly covered by warranty. The poor little thing hasn't even been dropped or exposed to liquids of any kind.

So well done SE, for your awesome warranty services and fantastic customer support.!! NOT!

Rant over :) I'm going to play with my new internationally covered Nokia N95

Gadget Time (Nokia N95)

2007-08-03T15:03:00.000+10:00

Wooooo!! I just signed up with 3mobile here for a $49 cap on contract which gets me $300 of calls and texts and 200mins 3 to 3 plus upto $120 calls to the UK (out of the cap) and got a special offer on a Nokia N95.

I've Been reading news and reviews for the last few days and it looks like a beauty, apart from the battery life, but there are ways around that by turning stuff off thats not needed. I'll never get lost again thanks to the GPS and Google earth and I can use MSN messenger at college on the Wi-Fi connection!

Got to wait a few more days to get hold of it though cos its out of stock but as soon as I do I'll post my mini review of it.

Isn't she pretty?

A rant of sorts....

2007-07-25T19:50:00.000+10:00

Today I'm slightly miffed!

I get up at 5am Mon-Wed and get a train to the coast for an hour and a half to get to college! the train gets in with 10 mins to spare to get my connecting bus which is usually ok, but not today!

In todays day and age with the internet and everybody using plastic and electronic payments you'd think an advanced western civilisation would be able to take that emergency card when you have no cash on you, well it seems Queensland rail do not take cards to purchase tickets neither will they install ATMS, even their new ticket machines with card facilities dont work properly and the stations that do take cards for tickets require $20 minimum which is basically the price if you are going on a 4 hour ride.

With the slack ticket checking in Brissy (they dont even have conductors)it seems you don't actually need a ticket unless you are using the main city stations. This means you can get free rides. Which it seems, after conversations on the train, many people do due to the lack of EFTPOS facilities, but thats not the point, I pay every day to keep my self guilt free just in case. Anyway the nearest ATM is in central station where you need a ticket (sometimes, they never even read them so you prob don't) to get out of the station with, so thats a lose lose situation as I'd have to leave the train and get to college very very late. I figured I'd jump on the train and buy my ticket at Robina and all would be good!!! How wrong was I?

After arriving in Robina and using the newsagent to get some money out I proceeded to the desk to buy my ticket, like you can do in Brissy if you jump a train at the last second, The unhelpful (and slightly strange looking) counter bitch tries to fine me for not havng a valid ticket!!! She must have been 18 and she had a real bad attitude and wouldn't help me at all, The bitch wouldn't even let me buy a proper ticket until she got my details, so with a swift few sentences involving the words "get fucked" and "I'll sort it out with your head office" I got away but the unhelpful dickhead had made me miss my bus connection so I ended up having to spend my last cash until pay day on a fucking taxi to get to college on time because if I'm not it go's on my record and immigration can kick me out for bad attendance.

I was so damn angry with the whole fiasco I almost bust a nut (tired and being pissed off by an insolent little fuckwit really grinds my gears) the only saving grace of QR is that on my way home I explained to the guy who served me recognised the girl "has issues" and only made me buy a single ticket!

The sooner I pass my driving license the sooner I can stop feeding this poor excuse of a late, unhelpful, backwards public transport system! grrrr!!

Rant over, I'm off to sink a 6 pack of coopers and chill for a while!

take care guys!!

Lee

Help me get a free Wii!

2007-07-20T13:04:00.000+10:00

Why hello again!

Those of you who know me will remember I got a free Ipod from freepay.com. Well I'm using them again to try get me a Nintendo Wii of my own! so if you fancy trying yourself ( it doesn't have to be a Wii) or just helping out CLICK HERE.

It works and its fully 100% legitimate, I have posted a piccie of my shiny happy face when I got my Ipod :) just to convince the nay sayers, if you CLICK HERE you'll see the rest I took when I got it.

Have fun guys
Lee

A few Pictures!

2007-07-20T10:42:00.001+10:00

Hi Guys,
I haven't really been anywhere recently with a camera at hand but I've uploaded the few piccies I do have for now! Enjoy the scenery of Brisbane and the Gold Coast! They are a bit squished in the blog layout so if you want to see them full size Click Here

And yet another year passes by.

2007-07-13T08:29:00.000+10:00

'Twas my friend Robins birthday yesterday, the oldest git of our group by a whole 3 months (then its my turn) Strange how time flies, seems like it was only last week my mum was cutting my hair and Rob was still wearing his specs.

I need this on a tshirt

2007-07-10T21:38:00.000+10:00

I think this can explain my weakness for beer, its not my fault at all!!!!

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

A long awaited update part two!

2007-07-09T09:24:00.000+10:00

Wassup peepholes?

Hope you enjoyed reading the first half of the update, now its time to catch up to the almost present day!

After a much awaited move to big but relaxed city life we made our way to Brisbane and Lindsay's old flat, now occupied by Lindsay's magical fantastical sister Rachel, after a tolerant couple of weeks on Rachel's behalf we finally, after much searching, found ourselves a nice little 2 bedroom place in Bowen Hills, a hefty trek to the summit of a huge hill and then back down a part of it but the river view and scenery are fantastic and worth the hard work although personally I think the place was sold to Lindsay due to the shiny wooden floor and the sexy oven but she won't admit it.

After applying and gaining access to the property we ventured back to Pallamallawa (try saying that drunk) for a hefty trailer to fill with Lindsay's belongings, all fun and games and minor grievances aside as well as a bit of chuckle brothers 'To me, to you' comedy moments that were wasted on the unknowing Aussies, we managed to tuck all the stuff in and drive back the 5 or 600 kms back to Brisbane in a very nervous and tired fashion park up and after an almost disaster of a runaway trailer incident when we uncoupled the thing on a rather sloped street and I panicked for a short while we managed to unpack and settle into our domicile and chill on the balcony with a beer or 5.

As many of you will know My Nan died just after I got back to the UK, after a lengthy battle with colon cancer and the effects of its aftermath so I felt it was needed to go see my Grandad and Auntie Carol down in Adelaide for a few days, It was good to catch up and hear some stories and have a few beers and tears, It was kind of a strange feeling at first seeing all my Nans things and pictures but remembering her and her sense of humour was fun, I think she would have especially liked to have been on the houseboat with the family and gone on the 'long toothed guinea pig' hunt with my cousin and Grandad.

My Grandad had conviced my cousin James that he had eaten 'long toothed guinea pig' at a bbq for his birthday and he liked it so much that when they went on a house boat my Grandad kept up the pretence and promised they would hunt for them. So they set out early one morning when they are sleeping so as to catch them unawares with trouser legs rolled up so they dont scurry up your pants, helmets, or in this case Leprachaun hats from St Patricks day in case they fall out of the trees where they live and a handful of crackers and an air horn to scare them out of the trees and catch them, from what I hear they went hunting a multitude of times and came back with nothing to James' dismay (not knowing they don't exist) but I can imagine my little cousin getting right into it, as well as my Grandad acting like a big kid himself, its just a shame that there weren't any Kangorillapigs around either.

And thats it so far, I finally got enrolled and started at Mackintosh College on Palm Beach doing Hospitality Management and Commercial Cookery Diplomas so I'll be a fully qualified Gordon Ramsey wannabe with alot more swearing in 2 years, I wanted to do Electromechanical Engineering and Refrigeration but I couldn't get an apprenticeship the bastards so I figured I'd get a piece of paper to cover the last 10 years of my lifes work and finally get some recognition.

I'd like to thank the Hyles family for helping make all this possible, Especially Lindsay, Rachel and Possum for being fantasticaly brilliant and helpful over the past few months, I'd also like to thank Micheal Bay for not screwing up Transformers too much and making me feel 10 years old again, heheh! IT ROCKS!!

And thats me for now, Hopefully my next update will have a few piccies if I can get this damn laptop to recognise the Digicam.

See y'all later.

Lee

A long awaited update part one....

2007-07-06T13:33:00.001+10:00

Hello everybody,

To the people that don't know me, Howdy! To my friends and family, here is the long awaited update, I've given up on Myspace as its too slow over here so I've entered the wonderful world of blogspot.

So here go's, it may be a bit of a long read so get yourself a nice beer/tea/coffee, hold all calls and put on your best reading glasses.

After a mega leaving party in Yates' Harrogate (thanks all) and a great final weekend the time finally came to leave on a jet plane and make my way back to Aussieland!
The flight was as uneventful as flights that long are, a mix of sleeping, drinking and looking at the world below, that is until the final Singapore to Sydney leg where I was introduced to the worlds largest German who practically fell asleep on me and stole my arm rest whilst slobbering and snoring for 7 hours. During this time I couldn't get out of my seat for a much needed toilet break which tortured me almost to the point of 'letting go' luckily, as I was almost overwhelmed, we started our descent.

After touching down and peeing for Blighty for almost an eternity I made my way to the immigration desk where , as usual, I was taken to one side and questioned about my seedy past and reasons I was visiting the country, after a good 20 mins and as much charm as I could muster I convinced the lady I was no threat to anyone or the eco system (unless I had a good spicy meal) and I was sent on my merry way.

After collecting my luggage and waving to the Airport Security camera crew that were filming for that crazy channel 7 program I finally exited the airport and was dazzled by the sight of a tall leggy blonde with whom I instantly had an inkling to check out and sure enough it was Lindsay, car keys in hand, smile on face and most importantly 6 coopers sparkling ale chilled and ready to drink in the back of the car, I was in heaven as we made our way to her homeland of Pallamallawa, middle of nowhere N.S.W.

After driving for what seemed like forever I briefly met the family and the multitude of work dogs that would be my bestest buddies for the next few weeks, had a small chat and a beer and passed out with jet lag.

Lindsays family farm was quite welcoming, although absent of broadband being so far out and having no mobile phone service I wasn't dismayed and busied myself planting grass and trees for Lindsays father and wandering with the dogs down to the river and having a couple of uneventful fishing trips, the first mainly due to the deaf but sweet dog Alma snapping at dragon flies and getting tangled in my line and also stealing my only catch as its back showed above the waterline and caught her eye.

Easter came and that was an event in itself, a few boys and friends of the family from the city came down to muster the cattle and brand them and also do a bit of surgery and turn the baby bulls into steers, having a slight aversion to harming stuff and riding horses I decided to carry on planting trees and hang out with Lindsay until the evenings when we made our way to the river and played camp fire and song time.

After a month or so it came the time to leave the farm and countryside and find ourselves a place in the city so I could start college and earn some beer tokens in the good old sunshine states capital Brisbane.

and thats the end of part 1, I'll give y'all time to catch up and post part 2 in a few days, take care people.

Lee