Correction, last half day of work.........and with a heavy heart I say goodbye...hahaha, just kidding I am over the moon excited to get out and travel again before coming home to see you all.
Sometime later today/tomorrow depending on where you live, last Aussie blog coming out. Its going to be about 90 today, so I might be outside for quite a while.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
First and Only Australia Day
This post is not going to have anything to do with Australia Day, I am just typing it that day before things start to get out of control.
I am entering my last week in the country and am about ready. It an amazing city and I have loved pretty much the entire time I have been here, but I am ready to move on. The exciting part will be traveling again, that and not working in an Office. Ok, the exciting part will be first not working, and then ANYTHING else that I am doing. A major reason why I took this mid-life (who sees me living past 60, I've put some miles on this body) crisis trip was that I could not handle the 9-5 office life anymore. Cut to July and I have signed on to 6 months in an office. Life lesson I guess. Been learning a lot of those lately.
CARMAGEDON Part 3-
I almost got hit again, fell on my ass again, shattered my I-Phone 1. People laughed and I ran away........ugh.
NFC Championship-
Since I am trying to save money for my upcoming unemployment and trip to Asia, I had to work during the NFC title game. No big deal. The game started at 10:30 AM my Monday, so I went in to work at 6am, took an extended 3.5 hour lunch break and saw everything from the first quarter on. In summation everyone in the office thinks I am crazy, they all told me how stupid they think American football is, and I could not have cared less. What a game, so good. I will be watching the Super Bowl in Thailand, kickoff is at 6:30AM, and this time I will not miss a second.
I have been living the majority of my time in Sydney in a Hostel. If you have never stayed in a hostel you get to sleep in bunk beds, and share a tv with 30+ people. If you need your space it is not the place for you. However, one bonus that comes with the hostel life is that you make some pretty great friends. Over the past month our group of long-termers have been slowly breaking up. Many have gone back home, or on to travel more, or even........moved out! (I moved out for 5 glorious weeks.) I will say that without these people my trip would not have been nearly as rewarding and fun filled. When I was moved out I watched 3 full seasons of the Simpsons, time well spent if you ask me, but not really when you have a limited time to live abroad. I just wanted to take a section to mention you all and say thank you.
Fun news, without really changing my lifestyle at all I got on a scale for the first time this trip. I weigh under 14 stones, or 90 kilos, so exciting. I have not been under 14 stone since High School. I think the key is to losing weight is, eating food when you are hungry and working out only when you feel like it. It has been a stellar diet for me. Oh, and being poor, that helps.
Since it is Oscar season I wanted to take some time and do reviews of the movies I have seen on this trip. Instead I think I will just rank them and post a little comment.
#1- Have to give to Wolf of Wall Street, fun movie, kind of reminded me of my life, which shouldn't have surprised me as I was consulted for the story.
#2- Fast 6, what a great time at the theater, terrible story, terrible acting, impossible stunts, I could not have loved it more. No jokes this might have been my favorite film of 2013. Did not hurt that I saw it on the world's biggest Imax screen
#3- Star Trek 2, I think I have a man crush on Benedict "Sherlock" Cumberbach, I wanted him to win the whole movie.
#4- Catching Fire/Iron Man 3- very acceptable equals that you can sit back and enjoy without too much thought. I give Catching Fire the nod because I snuck a ton of food into the theater and that makes any movie better.
#5- Captain Philips- Good movie, I am not a big fan of all the angry Somalians though. There is a way to take over a freighter without yelling at everyone the whole time, including your fellow pirates. The crying at the end seemed like really good acting, but also was hard to watch.
#6- American Hustle- Fun watch, bad story, and really well acted. I am not a Jermey Renner fan at all, but who did not want him to get away with it all. Very likable. The girls were the really story here, that was some great acting. Bradly Cooper was too much for me, one of my least favorite roles of his by far.
#7- Frozen- Eh, I don't why it was so big, doesn't even come close to cracking Disney's top 10.
#8- Anchorman 2- By far the worst movie I have seen in a long long long time. Had some parts that actually made me laugh and had some parts that made me laugh because I wanted them to be funny, but they really weren't. In all it was sad and made me dislike the first movie even. I almost asked for my money back, well not really but walking out of the theater and going to watch anything else crossed my mind.
- Someone at the hostel downloaded Dallas Buyers Club and that movie was a really good, it would be right around Star Trek on this list.
Those are all the theater movies I have seen in the last year. By far my lowest since the Issaquah Cinema opened in 1995?? and I saw Bad Boys.
I am going to make this one short as its time to go celebrate Australia for doing....lord knows what, but we will all be wearing our blue, green and gold. Next post I will wrap up this whole Australia life experience, give you some crazy travel stats, and try to tell a funny story or two. Sorry I have been so bad at posting lately, anything you want to know just ask, I have 8 hours a day at work to kill and email is much easier for me.
I am entering my last week in the country and am about ready. It an amazing city and I have loved pretty much the entire time I have been here, but I am ready to move on. The exciting part will be traveling again, that and not working in an Office. Ok, the exciting part will be first not working, and then ANYTHING else that I am doing. A major reason why I took this mid-life (who sees me living past 60, I've put some miles on this body) crisis trip was that I could not handle the 9-5 office life anymore. Cut to July and I have signed on to 6 months in an office. Life lesson I guess. Been learning a lot of those lately.
CARMAGEDON Part 3-
I almost got hit again, fell on my ass again, shattered my I-Phone 1. People laughed and I ran away........ugh.
NFC Championship-
Since I am trying to save money for my upcoming unemployment and trip to Asia, I had to work during the NFC title game. No big deal. The game started at 10:30 AM my Monday, so I went in to work at 6am, took an extended 3.5 hour lunch break and saw everything from the first quarter on. In summation everyone in the office thinks I am crazy, they all told me how stupid they think American football is, and I could not have cared less. What a game, so good. I will be watching the Super Bowl in Thailand, kickoff is at 6:30AM, and this time I will not miss a second.
I have been living the majority of my time in Sydney in a Hostel. If you have never stayed in a hostel you get to sleep in bunk beds, and share a tv with 30+ people. If you need your space it is not the place for you. However, one bonus that comes with the hostel life is that you make some pretty great friends. Over the past month our group of long-termers have been slowly breaking up. Many have gone back home, or on to travel more, or even........moved out! (I moved out for 5 glorious weeks.) I will say that without these people my trip would not have been nearly as rewarding and fun filled. When I was moved out I watched 3 full seasons of the Simpsons, time well spent if you ask me, but not really when you have a limited time to live abroad. I just wanted to take a section to mention you all and say thank you.
Fun news, without really changing my lifestyle at all I got on a scale for the first time this trip. I weigh under 14 stones, or 90 kilos, so exciting. I have not been under 14 stone since High School. I think the key is to losing weight is, eating food when you are hungry and working out only when you feel like it. It has been a stellar diet for me. Oh, and being poor, that helps.
Since it is Oscar season I wanted to take some time and do reviews of the movies I have seen on this trip. Instead I think I will just rank them and post a little comment.
#1- Have to give to Wolf of Wall Street, fun movie, kind of reminded me of my life, which shouldn't have surprised me as I was consulted for the story.
#2- Fast 6, what a great time at the theater, terrible story, terrible acting, impossible stunts, I could not have loved it more. No jokes this might have been my favorite film of 2013. Did not hurt that I saw it on the world's biggest Imax screen
#3- Star Trek 2, I think I have a man crush on Benedict "Sherlock" Cumberbach, I wanted him to win the whole movie.
#4- Catching Fire/Iron Man 3- very acceptable equals that you can sit back and enjoy without too much thought. I give Catching Fire the nod because I snuck a ton of food into the theater and that makes any movie better.
#5- Captain Philips- Good movie, I am not a big fan of all the angry Somalians though. There is a way to take over a freighter without yelling at everyone the whole time, including your fellow pirates. The crying at the end seemed like really good acting, but also was hard to watch.
#6- American Hustle- Fun watch, bad story, and really well acted. I am not a Jermey Renner fan at all, but who did not want him to get away with it all. Very likable. The girls were the really story here, that was some great acting. Bradly Cooper was too much for me, one of my least favorite roles of his by far.
#7- Frozen- Eh, I don't why it was so big, doesn't even come close to cracking Disney's top 10.
#8- Anchorman 2- By far the worst movie I have seen in a long long long time. Had some parts that actually made me laugh and had some parts that made me laugh because I wanted them to be funny, but they really weren't. In all it was sad and made me dislike the first movie even. I almost asked for my money back, well not really but walking out of the theater and going to watch anything else crossed my mind.
- Someone at the hostel downloaded Dallas Buyers Club and that movie was a really good, it would be right around Star Trek on this list.
Those are all the theater movies I have seen in the last year. By far my lowest since the Issaquah Cinema opened in 1995?? and I saw Bad Boys.
I am going to make this one short as its time to go celebrate Australia for doing....lord knows what, but we will all be wearing our blue, green and gold. Next post I will wrap up this whole Australia life experience, give you some crazy travel stats, and try to tell a funny story or two. Sorry I have been so bad at posting lately, anything you want to know just ask, I have 8 hours a day at work to kill and email is much easier for me.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Rounding out 2013
This one is going to be fast and furious. I have been trying to email myself anything worth talking about, so I should have the last three weeks pretty well covered. Its going to be all over the place, so if you don't like Tarantino movies, you might be lost.
Last I checked in we said goodbye to some friends, I moved into an actual room (moving out on Saturday), I booked my flight to Thailand, and there were about 38 workdays left. We are down to around 19 work days and that is just about the greatest thing I have written on this thing. Flight to Phuket leaves Jan 31.......I think a month in Thailand and ???? is the best way to end this adventure.
Lets start with New Years Eve. I am going to get descriptive and actually try to think about what I type rather than just what pops into my head, might even use the delete key or god forbid spell check. New Years in Sydney Australia will put all of the rest of the New Years I experience to shame. You could use any number of adjectives to describe the 10 million dollar just a hair under 25 minute firework display..........majestic, cosmic, enchanting, stunning, and booze filled, so much booze. I guess very few people have to work from about December 23rd till January 6th and a good portion of them spend that time drinking. Literally the day they get off work till midnight December, 31st. I was behind in the game as it was a workday for me (fingers crossed). When I showed up to the spot where we were to watch it was a madhouse of police, angry drinkers, happy drinkers and a view to die for. Now I took pictures and a looooooong video, but Ill just post some of my buddies as they were much better than mine.
If you know me it takes something special for me to get amped up and fireworks normally doesn't do it. Others on this list include Christmas and Birthdays, and until a few nights ago, New Years Eve.
Here is two shot off my buddies camera. This was not the end or the best part, just that he was smart enough to actually take a picture rather than just stare at the sky full of rockets red glare. The next three will be from the internet as lets face it, those are taken by professionals. Just know that this is what we saw
If those don't make you want to book a flight down here for next year I don't know what would. Fantastic!!
Other stuff.........................
-Aussies call office Secret Santa, Kris Kringle, that made me laugh and I did not participate, win win!
- In the area I live they have a mall that has been patrolled by "Hipster" Santa. It was a concept I thought was dumb until I read the tagline. "Hipster Santa, chill with me at Central, or don't, whatever." That was all it took for the concept to win me over.
- Travelers from other countries will go out and for the whole night only drink Smirnoff Ice, and doing it with zero intention of being ironic or "icing a bro." (that was hard to type).
-My iron stomach streak is over. Much like Seinfeld I was taken down by a pastry. Had a muffin from 7-11 in the morning. 12 hours later and that being all I had eaten all day, I was yaking in the shower. Want to know the worst part. It was a Friday night.......the horror. Last muffin ever.
-My raging battle with Big Cell Phone is rounding into month 9. Wins: my account has been cancelled with T Mobile. They have refunded me the early termination fee they promised they would not charge me. Losses: The early term fee cost me to $35 overdraft charges, I have been trying to get my fully charged bills from May to November refunded (phone stolen in June, last used in April, seems fair to pay full price). I have to email them in order to make contact regarding the issue, so its hard to yell, but a full email in caps lock is pending. Consider this issue not closed T-Mobile and you will be hearing from one of my two lawyers. Benn or Stacey I mean you!
-In keeping up with tradition of my US basketball rec league teams, I am currently serving a one game suspension over my choice of words to an official and where he could stick his flagrant foul. This came after I almost cost my team the game up by 2 with 25 seconds left, got called for a flagrant foul, went down 2 with 5 seconds to play, hitting a three pointer as time expired (A two would have ended the game in a tie, WTF????) and then having a healthy heart to heart with the official. Worth it!
I am going to watch The Wolf of Wall Street here: Heard the movie is amazing, but really, does it matter:
And I guess lastly just had a great visit from the Lawrence Boys. Joey and Brendan thanks for breaking in the New Year with me, night to remember for sure, and the best part is we actually will. When we tell the story for years to come I was there the whole time, ok?
See you all in just a couple of months, oh and I was not joking about emailing, messaging me. I really do like hearing from any and all of you!!
Scott
Last I checked in we said goodbye to some friends, I moved into an actual room (moving out on Saturday), I booked my flight to Thailand, and there were about 38 workdays left. We are down to around 19 work days and that is just about the greatest thing I have written on this thing. Flight to Phuket leaves Jan 31.......I think a month in Thailand and ???? is the best way to end this adventure.
Lets start with New Years Eve. I am going to get descriptive and actually try to think about what I type rather than just what pops into my head, might even use the delete key or god forbid spell check. New Years in Sydney Australia will put all of the rest of the New Years I experience to shame. You could use any number of adjectives to describe the 10 million dollar just a hair under 25 minute firework display..........majestic, cosmic, enchanting, stunning, and booze filled, so much booze. I guess very few people have to work from about December 23rd till January 6th and a good portion of them spend that time drinking. Literally the day they get off work till midnight December, 31st. I was behind in the game as it was a workday for me (fingers crossed). When I showed up to the spot where we were to watch it was a madhouse of police, angry drinkers, happy drinkers and a view to die for. Now I took pictures and a looooooong video, but Ill just post some of my buddies as they were much better than mine.
If you know me it takes something special for me to get amped up and fireworks normally doesn't do it. Others on this list include Christmas and Birthdays, and until a few nights ago, New Years Eve.
Here is two shot off my buddies camera. This was not the end or the best part, just that he was smart enough to actually take a picture rather than just stare at the sky full of rockets red glare. The next three will be from the internet as lets face it, those are taken by professionals. Just know that this is what we saw
If those don't make you want to book a flight down here for next year I don't know what would. Fantastic!!
Other stuff.........................
-Aussies call office Secret Santa, Kris Kringle, that made me laugh and I did not participate, win win!
- In the area I live they have a mall that has been patrolled by "Hipster" Santa. It was a concept I thought was dumb until I read the tagline. "Hipster Santa, chill with me at Central, or don't, whatever." That was all it took for the concept to win me over.
- Travelers from other countries will go out and for the whole night only drink Smirnoff Ice, and doing it with zero intention of being ironic or "icing a bro." (that was hard to type).
-My iron stomach streak is over. Much like Seinfeld I was taken down by a pastry. Had a muffin from 7-11 in the morning. 12 hours later and that being all I had eaten all day, I was yaking in the shower. Want to know the worst part. It was a Friday night.......the horror. Last muffin ever.
-My raging battle with Big Cell Phone is rounding into month 9. Wins: my account has been cancelled with T Mobile. They have refunded me the early termination fee they promised they would not charge me. Losses: The early term fee cost me to $35 overdraft charges, I have been trying to get my fully charged bills from May to November refunded (phone stolen in June, last used in April, seems fair to pay full price). I have to email them in order to make contact regarding the issue, so its hard to yell, but a full email in caps lock is pending. Consider this issue not closed T-Mobile and you will be hearing from one of my two lawyers. Benn or Stacey I mean you!
-In keeping up with tradition of my US basketball rec league teams, I am currently serving a one game suspension over my choice of words to an official and where he could stick his flagrant foul. This came after I almost cost my team the game up by 2 with 25 seconds left, got called for a flagrant foul, went down 2 with 5 seconds to play, hitting a three pointer as time expired (A two would have ended the game in a tie, WTF????) and then having a healthy heart to heart with the official. Worth it!
I am going to watch The Wolf of Wall Street here: Heard the movie is amazing, but really, does it matter:
And I guess lastly just had a great visit from the Lawrence Boys. Joey and Brendan thanks for breaking in the New Year with me, night to remember for sure, and the best part is we actually will. When we tell the story for years to come I was there the whole time, ok?
See you all in just a couple of months, oh and I was not joking about emailing, messaging me. I really do like hearing from any and all of you!!
Scott
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