2010 was an amazing year for me. Probably one of the better years of my life. This blog is actually one quite contrary to all my other year ender blogs that I have posted in the past. I see this to be a very good thing. I set out to do things this year and I accomplished ALL of them. Everything went my way. I feel very fortunate and lucky to be able to say that. I've also met a ton of new people this year, I'm pleased to have met all of them, everyone is so awesome and respectful. Its great. I look forward to the lifetimes ahead with everyone. 2011 starts off amazing and I have only a vague idea of whats in store. Heres to having just about everything I could ever want.
April 2010: I moved out of my parents into the city of Providence.
July 2010: I was referred by a friend to talk to his boss/co-worker about a band he was working on. Thats when I met TJ, who is a dude thats totally on my level. TJ needed a better and more available drummer. Thats when I joined The Fortune Healers. Our Bass player wasn't working either, so I took the pleasure of getting my good friend Derek in the band as well. Not to mention I've known Jae for about 7 years. I'm excited to be in a band with good people. August 2010: After over a years wait, I FINALLY received my custom drums from Dark Horse Percussion. September 2010: I visited the country of Australia. This is me on the steps of the Opera House. December 2010: After months of "dating", I have a new girlfriend. Its nice, different. Wish me luck! I'll need it!
I think its fair to say that anywhere you go there are things that feel familiar. People are people, cities are cities and the world turns as it should no matter where you are in it.
However sometimes you go some where or see something that really puts you in your place and it says "YOU ARE NOT HOME ANYMORE".
This is the first thing that I saw in Australia that really proved to me that I was there. It wasn't the airports, the conscious thought that I was leaving, the 14 hour flight, the fact that they drive on opposite side of the road and from the passenger seat or even seeing the Opera house 30 minutes after getting off the plane, it was this beach.
This beach was in Nelson Bay, New South Wales. How far out of Sydney I don't really recall. We landed at 6 in the morning, got carted around the city the "long way" from the airport and stopped by the Opera house. Finally getting to the house where we would be staying at around 930am. Took a 2 hour nap and had a shower. Then it was a blur.
We stopped by Kristys fathers to say hello and her step mother cooked us an amazing pasta dinner. Where her fathers house was, I don't even know but what I do know is that they had a handsome dog named Gus.
After dinner we made our way to Nelson Bay to the "caravan park". Caravan park basically being Australias trailer park where they will go off on holiday in the summer. I hear its a really good time too. This is where we stayed for a night. Its a friend of the families and they were nice enough to let us borrow it and stay there. That morning we had gotten up around 6am. Since the girls do not wake up that early, the gentleman and I being Americans in a new country, we went off to explore and thats when we discovered the beach. Since its about a 2 minutes walk from the caravan. I have to be honest with you. I really didn't know what I was going to see. I had no sort of preconceived image in my mind when I walked over the sandy grass covered knoll. You could say that I almost took whatever could have laid over that hill completely for granted.
It was an amazing time! The flight was utter hell but as soon as I got off the plane, both going to and coming from, all was worth it. I feel blessed for being able to have met the friends I had there which opened the door to this and made it possible.
I've tried to make a phony "Bucket List" consisting of small joys I'd like to accomplish. However it never really took off and it only had 2 things on it. One was to ride a tandem bike with 3 friends and the other was hold a Koala bear. Well you can now cross that off the list!
I got the opportunity to be driven up the coast of Australia 11 hours from Sydney to Queensland. It reminds me a lot of the drive to Syracuse. Lots of open land and cows, So many cows. Its nice though, with little towns in between.
This photo was taken at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane and hour north of Queensland. I would argue on whether or not the drive was completely, "worth it" but it totally was. Considering Queensland is awesome and the only state in Australia where physically holding a Koala is legal. So its what HAD to be done because THIS was the WHOLE point of my trip! Lone Pine is the same place where all my other friends have gotten the chance to do this same thing. Not to mention the wall of photographs of bands/famous people in the gift shop who also cuddled a koala.
I'll slowly but surely start blogging about my trip or just posting a few cool pictures. I have a lot of pictures to start acquiring not to mention getting back into the groove of life and work.
You'd think I would look more excited? Well, in reality, I truly am. This is so huge! I'm going to be the first one in my family to go VERY far away. Everyone in my family is really tight knit and secluded. I'm sure other peoples families are like this too and I'm not alone here. Some people just don't have a desire to travel I guess? Members of my family get really stressed out even driving into Providence because of a simple merger onto a highway. Yes, its THAT bad. My sister has lived in Ohio and Kentucky. My grandparents have been to Montreal Canada, Cancun Mexico and Jamaica but I am going to be going to the other side of the globe. To places my mother, father and aunts have never and may or may not ever make it to.
However, booking flights gives me the biggest case of anxiety ever! It turns my brain to mush! After many many many and many months of procrastination, considering I've had the appropriate amount of money saved for a while. I finally buckled down this past week and scoped out flights and costs. No more than an hour ago, I got my ass off the couch and said "I'm booking a god damn flight, right now" and I did.
So for the last 2 weeks of September I will be in the land otherwise known as OZ. I'll be back just in time for the Autumn lovin. While I am in Australia, you can bet your ass that I will be crossing off 1 thing on my "Things I'd Like To Do Before I Die" List . Which is something I have really been slacking on.
This experience is going to really open my eyes to the whole "Live your life" cliche. I've always really enjoyed traveling. Theres SO much of a world out there and YOU have the choice to see it. You can go anywhere you want to. So GO.
The first interaction I've ever had with anything to do with "Australian Food" is this video right here. Its a Warped Tour video from a band called The Academy Is. One of the members of the band is Australian. That member being the infamous Michael Guy Chislett.
So needless to say when I first met my Australian friends I immediately asked them about Vegemite. After watching this video, my expectations weren't all that high...
And after trying Vegemite you can see that my expectations were right on this one. Its SO salty. However, Australia has plenty of other great things to offer. They also seem to be A LOT better than things here in America. Using the word "healthy" I don't think would be correct, but they are still leaps ahead of us.
Here is a Cadbury "Crunchie" bar, which we do not have over here in the states. Another Cadbury product "Furry Friends" showcasing the fine wildlife Australia has to offer Here is what Dunkaroos look like in Australia. Not only is the Kangaroo different than the one advertised in America but instead of using that gross processed frosting, this uses Hazelnut Nutella. Last but not least, The Nestle Milky Bar. I can't even begin to explain how much in love I am with this. I'm a large fan of white chocolate. This bar takes it to a whole new level.
Thats right, Snack Modeling. Its going to be the newest craze sweeping the nation. And YOU, yes, YOU are going to have the pleasure to know where it all began.
I recieved another Australian care package from Kristy this week! Its a continuation of the first one that she sent last summer and this package blew it out of the water! Its a wonder what 6+ months of telling me "im terrible and im sorry, youll get this package eventually" can do!
This package totally exceeded my expectations completely and made me so extremely happy!
I got: - a wicked cool hat - a australian track jacket! OI! - australian flip flops!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - a koala tissue box cover - pens, tattoos, magnet, oven mit, pencil sharpener, fake money - vegemite - a delcious australian Crunchie bar!
The perhaps bizzare stand out of this package is my flip flops. I cannont explain in words how friggin pumped on Aussie flip flops I am! It seems so god damn ridiculous and silly, but then again, thats TOTALLY me. I CANNOT WAIT TILL SUMMER! Summers going to get itself all kinds of fucked up in my aussie flops. Get ready for a shredding summer!
I also LOVE my boxing kangaroo pen! So cool! It has two little buttons on the back to control each arm! Thank you Kristy! SO MUCH! YOU ARE THE BEST! I wish that I could reciprocate and send you cool shit from America. Even though I know that all you would want is single serving Ben & Jerrys ice creams. Sadly, those would totally melt by the time they arrived there. So Ill just send you myself instead. Sound good?!
So many koala bears! I got a package from my friends in Australia today! They sent it out before they flew out of California, which was probably...2 days ago, i think? They were SUPPOSED to give me them when they were here in New England, but noooooo.
Im pumped on it! I love gifts! Even if its Dave & Busters frisbees! Which I only recieved because I was in D&B one time talking to Kristy and told her I was there and she had no idea what it was until she came across one while in Cali.
THANK YOU LADIES! You are too sweet!
Ill be awaiting my second package! Since apparently you forgot something, I cannot imagine what it could be!
I hope that I'll be seeing yous by next summer! <3
All this came about so strange. I recieve a message from a young lady claiming that she is from Australia and coming to the US. At first I thought "okay, yeah, so what, why the hell are you telling me"? So, I replyed anyway haha. Turns out that she was coming to Mass and also attending Metal Fest. Which is extremely close to me. So after some more talking, it came to be that she also knew/was going to meet lots of people I knew in the Western Mass area. So needless to say, I then became interested in meeting these, what turned out to be 3 females from the country of Australia.
from left to right: Ashleigh, Kirstie, Kristy & me! I'm very glad that I got a chance to meet these 3 ladies. They are extremely nice people and seem to have no attitudes at all. They were all very funny and witty ladies and we got along great right from the get go, it was fantastic. I had a lot of fun being around them and hanging for what was sadly the one and only night I got to spend with them. I didnt think they would be as awesome as they were! I do feel I missed out but having to work on weekdays and them spending their time in Mass an hour and a half away prohibited maximum hangs, but ill make up for that next year!
Kristy was sweet enough to just GIVE me money from her Country. One of the questions that I had asked her was if Australian currency had Kangaroos on it. Since anything to do with Australia, I always assume it has to do with Kangaroos. It turns out it does! Australian dollar coins are WAY cooler than the USAs Sacagawea dollar coin, that thing is stupid! Theirs has cute animals on it! The large 50 cent coin also has Kangaroos on it! Im very much pumped on having money from Australia and I definitly plan on using it! Since Ive met nice and awesome people from there, it has given me lots of ambition to actually get going on it. I now have friends to see and a place to stay so the stress of going on this trip completely alone is now gone! After I finish paying for my drums that will be finished in the next few months, I have nothing else to save for. They were the most expensive goal in my life, other than buying cars. So now that thats out of the way, its travel time!
It feels nice to have a goal. One that I know I can reach. Because the only thing thats holding me back is the money for a plane ticket. Which is something I can easily raise. I love to travel, I know there is a whole world out there and I want to see it! Im surrounded by it always, friends are off in bands, doing something they love and I also love, MUSIC. I wish I could catch a break on that part of my life. Though it doesnt matter, music will always be there, its something that im always going to be doing or trying to do. If I cant mix traveling and music together, so be it. Its not going to hold me back from raising the money to go off and see other places. It just makes it easier haha. Ive filled out my passport form. I'm going to go get my photo taken in the next coming week and then drop that off and await the 1st very small step towards making my journey to a beautiful country to arrive in the mail.
Plus I have this to look forward to!
Im going to be hanging out with all these ladies! Its going to be awesome! Hopefully there wont be much singing involved! HA!(this is actually them! this isnt a random video I picked off youtube!). I cant wait to see all the cool things the country has to offer from scenery to FOOD and Of course holding a koala bear! I'm not sure where Ill be going in the country but im sure that I wont be disappointed.
These are my friends, Scott, Dan and Scott. They are lucky enough to have their picture taken with one of these fine, terribly cute animals that just so happens to be one of my favorites.
I dont know where you would go to have this pleasure, it could very well be Australia. Which is a place on my list of countries to visit.
So, before I die, I would love to visit Australia and have my picture taken with a Koala. I will snug it until it pops like a basketball!
