Australia Sum Up Part Deux

We left off in the camper van in Brisbane, and getting out of that was another highlight for sure.  Put that on the list.  Thank you Sam and family for that amazing break from the road.  You have no idea how much I needed my batteries recharged.  There are more ins and outs of the trip, but I don't want this to get too wordy and I am going to tell you all the stories in person soon anyway!

- Next I booked a flight to Sydney for some happy reunions.  I was able to spend some time with a great friend Ashley Scott when I arrived before he jetted off back to England.  Next came the bevy of American guests.  Jessica Plowman, thank you so much for making the trip to come spend a SOLID amount of time with me and the family.  I think your addition to our road trek was just about perfect.  The teacher connection did not hurt.  Obvious thank yous to Mom and Sister for flying all the way down to spend a month in cars and motels and let me show you a bit of my life while I had been there.  Many memories that can be shared and re-experienced for days to come.  Sharks, trivia, snorkel driving on the wrong side of the road, the koala, airplane ride, and all the rest.  By the way, not sure if any of you ladies were awake, but that stretch of highway up the mountain when it was pouring and we were driving by all the semi trucks might have been one of the most scared I have been in my life.  You all should have pitched in for a massage after that, I white knuckled it the whole way.

- After a relaxing week in Cairns with Kim and Karly, we headed back to Sydney for what would be one of the most relevant experiences of my trip.  Kudos to them for staying in, well lets call them what they were, sh*thole "motels, in Sydney.  BUT, more kudos for me for staying in them so much long.  If you ever get bored google "The Strand Hotel."  I stayed there for three weeks because they were the only place that would take American Express and cost under $25 a night.  Why, well I covered this extensively before, but in case you did not read, after being robbed at the basketball court and no way to access any money, the strand had my card on file and told them to keep billing it.  Thank you again to those of you that helped me stay a float during the period when I was about 50/50 I was going to be sleeping on the street for at least a night.  I could have handled it though!

- Another round of visits from some amazing Americans were just what the Dr. ordered.  That and some time off my again stress fest working at Costco Australia, no joke, the job was stressful, I mean put me in the jewellery (aussie spelling) and handbags department and then put the London girl the in liquor/alcohol department just seemed cruel.
Thank you again to Lindsay Bushnell for her outstanding visit (never would have gone to the zoo without you, probably would have seen Hunger Games II.  That care package was outstanding (diet coke, Hersey's chocolates, a UW shirt just to name a few.  Then for "New Year's" Brendan and Joey Lawrence.....or days of fraterntites past.  3am on a Tuesday and making the decision to stay out later brings back old times for sure.

Next post I will get into Thailand as much as a Google blog read by lord knows who will allow.  Too be honest though the trip was fairly tame for what I hear/see goes on over here.  I have pretty much just been on a long vacation for the past 3 weeks.

I did have some travel stats that I had been thinking about that I found rather staggering though.  These stats begin on April 15th 2013 and extend into today.

# of razor blades used- 8
# of pairs of underwear- 6 + 2 bathing suits in case of emergency
# of unforgettable moments- 15 or 16 I can't really remember
# of times rechecked in to the same Sydney hostel- 4
# of times up and down the Australia East coast- roughly 1,500 miles one way- 2, freaking two, what was I thinking
# of total visitors- 6- I think I thanked you all, but thanks again
# of bromances- 2- You both know who you are, but I'll name names, Stuart and Ashley, one came first and the other lasted longer.
# of failed romances, so many, only one that was worth my time though, I think if circumstances were different we would of had a shot. (Happy?  I mentioned you, was planning on it the whole time by the way)
# of total basketball suspensions- 1
# of suspensions that were worth it- 1, and it got overturned because my team only had 4 players that week and they needed me.....had the same ref the next week, gave him a wink and smile.
# of times struck by a moving vehicle- 1 and so close to a second, guys if its wet out and you have on dress shoes, your ability to stop and turn on a dime is greatly reduced, so don't jaywalk.
# of weekly pub trivia competitions won- 2.  Not bad since many questions were "Who is on the Australian $10 note, or what year did the Sydney Stooges win the Grand Final"  We never had an Aussie on the team and the answers are Banjo Patterson and that is a made up team, but seems like a team name is Australia, right?
-This one is staggering to me-
# of pairs of shoes used worn/ 4.5- A pair of Adidas basketball shoes for hoops, Nike cross trainers, 2 pairs of Kmart dress shoes for work and to get into bars, and then 1 pair of sandals.  THAT IS IT!!!!! and I lost the Nikes early January.  I have spent a majority of my time in Thailand barefoot.

I swear I have more Oz pictures but blew it and left them all on my computer in Australia.  I think I'll do an all picture/caption post when I get back in America in 7 days!!!!!!!!!!  Flight out of Phuket tomorrow then leave Sydney on Monday.  I'll post Thai pics and some amazing videos before then.

Oh and have you guys seen the video of what Ringo and Doc actually say to each other in latin in Tombstone....awesome.  I only mention it because that movie is free on youtube and I've watched it about 4 times on this trip and it's easily Val's best role.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gSj1G4Vf0w


Talk/see you all soon!!

Scott

Last Call Australia...Part 1 (21 days late)

Today I am heading to Wet and Wild, tomorrow I am boarding a plane for Thailand, and yesterday was my last day of work.  Things are good!  I spent 2 hours yesterday emailing bars in Phuket to see if they will be playing the Super Bowl; found 3.  Things are good, life is good.

Its been roughly 10 months since I left the US and this has been quite the life experience.  Ups and downs have been plentiful along the way.  Having my wallet stolen and not having any money, to making some "lifelong" (hope so) international friends that I can stay with when I get the itch to travel again.  Many highs and lows.  The biggest low was taking the same job I left for the past 6 months.  And as I have said before it is almost worth it to know for certain that is not where I want to end up when I am back home job hunting.

I finally got a request for something to write about, so I will take a second and cover that.  Top things that I have missed while traveling.

-Obligatory friends and family
-The NFL and college basketball, and all American sports
-My old men's hoops rec league (although have loved being the best again out here)
- American dialect
- Riding in a car (I think I have been in a car for about 20 hours this whole year, maybe
- A cool and crisp Pacific Northwest day
- Diet Pepsi and Bud Light
- A regular gym to visit, not my fake made up one from an earlier post
- Cell phone internet access.  This year I have spent about $120 on cell phone bills
- Texting freely
- My own bed, for that matter my own room.  Enjoy it everyone, its an amazing luxury
- Issaquah High Hoops
- Safeway
- TV!

That is about the gist of it.  I am sure there is more, but off the top of my head it did not make the list.

I typed all this before I left for Thailand, its now 20 or so days later, but I figured I could get the rest of the thoughts off my head.  And I can't get started on talking about Thailand yet.  My GOD.

****************

I know everyone is waiting on how Wet and Wild was, two words.......Amazing!

I thought of some more things that I miss in the us.  Our peanut butter, the radio, current music, going to the movies without taking out another mortgage, Internet access, steady paychecks, US currency, College Hoops, showering without sandals on, US holiday/three day weekends, short plane rides, and last but not least as I have to say it again, all of you.  Seriously, a lot!!

After being is Asia for 3 weeks, I do already miss Australia though.  Not the prices, but you get a daily routine, and friends, and a certain comfort level that I took for granted as I am never in once place for more than three days at a time.

I think another good topic would be Australia Highlights, these will be semi broad and then I'll try to go into more detail (please no offense to anyone as these are off the top of my head and not in any kind of order)

- Getting off the plane in Sydney- I am a semi seasoned traveller, and the plane journey was so long (read post 3 or 4 or something), but once I was off that plane in Sydney it was all real.  I had done it and was unpredictably terrified.  I think I hung around the terminal for an extra half hour just to calm my nerves.  Once I got to the first hostel and checked in I felt much more comfortable, but those first few hours were jarring.

- Booking a flight to Cairns on a whim, just cause I could- The problem with being young is you don't have the $ to be free, and when you are old you have the $, but don't have the time.  Quitting work and just going for it was obviously not the best financial decision I could have made, but you literally can't pay for kind of freedom I have experience the past year (Well really you can, its pricey).

- Scuba on the Great Barrier Reef- Amazing, nuff said

-Getting in a camper van with 3 Brits and travelling the Australian West Coast- It was crazy how many Australians were jealous of the trip we just did.  I feel like most of them have not even seen their own country.  In that van we had the ability to come and go as we pleased and stay in a city as long as we wanted.  Downside being I "was living in a van down by the river," and sleeping next to a guy my size each night.  When you are able to follow a tour bus from waterfall to waterfall and do all the same things they were doing, knowing that you were paying 1/4 the gas only and they were paying at least $149, helps put the crappy living conditions into perspective.
(plus there was that awesome all night drive from Brisbane to Byron Bay/ and my night bike steal that will be an all timer)

This will be part one.  I am staying in Phuket for 7 more days with nothing to do and insane Internet/computer access so I swear much much more to come.  It is just that come $1.40 pad thai is calling my name.

LAST DAY OF WORK!!!!!

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.

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.

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