View a brief history of my jobs in Oz!
September 13 2003
Well the final leg of the journey went really well. Landed at about 7pm and waited for what seemed ages for our bags. Karen and I also took time to freshen up...and then it was onto Arrivals. All quite daunting if i'm honest, and very emotional. Helen Hartley was waiting and it was her who I saw first. Without her knowing (and a couple of hundred people were at Heathrow) she was standing in front of my Mum, Dad, Sister and Brother. It was emotional seeing them all...and it all came and went in a flash! Rachel Brawn was also at the airport, but I didn't see her! Mum took me back home with my brother, whilst Dad dropped my Sis back in London. Helen came over for an hour. I was really touched that she went to all that effort. I spoke to Rachel Brawn on the telephone. Went to bed at about 10pm. So thats it (for now). This Journal and website will not be updated from now on. As I said to Karen as we were about to get our bags, "I'm getting off the ride". The Dream is over!
TO BE CONTINUED...........
September 12 2003
Well last night we went to the Singapore Night Safari. I did this last year with Naomi, and again both Karen and I were left really impressed. It's fantastic. The Lions and the Rhino's were out to please! The licensed bandit in a taxi ripped us off on the way home, by about 5bucks, but thats only 1pound something I guess. Right now we are at Singapore Shangi Airport, minutes away from boarding our flight to London...a short 14 hour trip (lovely). We tried to text Vicky last night, my phone isn't working. I've had a wonderful year, it doesn't feel like it's all over....I feel quite departed from emotion. For those of you who i'll see tonight or over the coming weekend - I can't wait. For those who i'll see in weeks to come - I can't wait. And for those i've left behind - I can't wait to see you again.
September 11 2003
Well, after I wrote yesterdays journal, I went home and made a bunch of goodbye calls. Andrea my cousin took me to the airport with my Aunt, Tea and Ethan. We met Karen and Karen and I went to check in. I'm proud to say my bags were over x2 the limit...but we didn't get charged any extra. We then went over to the departure gate. I showed Tea the Jumbo's from the window. We had a little bit of time on our hands, but I just wanted to get it all over with....So I cried lots and said goodbye. Tea wouldn't even look at me, which was sad, she was obviously a little upset and confused. We went through and Karen and I got a Coffee. I got on the plane, and Sheona my boss from Planit phoned. I had a brief conversation, and was told off afterwards by an air hostess. I wasn't at all scared of the flight (for the first time ever), but upon take-off I cried LOADS...Loads and Loads...I'm really going to miss Australia. Flight was fine, 7hours to Singapore, I watched "The Italian Job" which i'd vowed never to watch, "Daddy Day Care" a few documentaries and that was it really. Got to the hotel and had a cup of tea and then bed. Today, we woke up nice and early, had breakfast at the hotel, and then caught our free shuttle bus to the Botanic Gardens. Really really beautiful. It's VERY hot here (being on the Equator) and Humid. After that we went to Raffles, where Karen tried a Singapore Sling (she liked it), but I didn't as I had one last year and hated it. Then we headed to the shops, just browsing really, and we had lunch at Burger King where I had a Double Turkey, Bacon Cheese, Burger thingy...YUCK! I just went and got two pairs of Trainers...and tonight we'll go to the Night Safari. I really like Singapore...LOADS!
September 10 2003
This is it...My last half-day. Woke up, packed. Tea asked a zillion questions as to why i'm going etc...I just had to go and argue with my bank as to why they must close my account(Retards). Andrea and my Aunt will take me to the airport where i'll meet Karen. Said goodbye to George and Dorothy in the morning...oh, oh - dear, I'm really quite sad by it all. I guess I've achieved now a dream I had since I was 8 or 9 years old. It all reminds me of a quote of Nelson Mandela's that I once read..."No matter how High and hard the mountain you climb is, all that you'll ever realise when reaching the top...is that you still have many more mountains to climb"...On that note, I'll say goodbye to the Yellow Brick Road...I have to pay thanks to my relatives, John Koletti, George his brother and Sister Dorothy...I thank Gavin Mattig my first boss who has consistently tried to help me whilst here. James Romans for a wonderful friendship, Vicky for being the best "not" Girlfriend but "kinda" in the world....ALL of the Planit staff who made my time with them extra special. My Mum and Dad who forked out goodness knows how much to get me here, keep me here, send cash, look after my home, buy me a car all this stuff (send clothing). My Sister and Brother who have shown me unfaultering love. My pals in the UK who showed so much love by sending sweets, emails, letters, parcels, papers, video's, CD's, tapes, oh...so much! For those who visited me whilst in Oz, and for PAUL TAYLOR, SIMON OSAMOH and KAREN GREGORY who blew me away by visiting!! THANK YOU...THANK YOU SO SO MUCH.
September 09 2003
My last full day. Met Karen and had a spot of breakfast. Did a little last minute shopping and browsed at the shops around the Rocks. At 1pm we met up with Vicky. Karen and Vicky then went off to do the Bridge Climb, whilst I video'd them and nipped over to the Botanic Gardens. Vicky is so so cool, gutted i'm leaving her behind. Anyway...Later on, I went home and the whole family (except Ethan and Andrea as Ethan is ill) came over to wish me all the best. Thommo John and George then took me to Bankstown Sports Club so that they could gamble on the Poker machines. I can certainly think of better ways to have spent my last night...sleeping being one of them. Got to bed at 3am.
September 08 2003
Karen and I caught a ferry over to Manly. We had lovely pies for lunch and an ice cream for pudding. Walked by the sea for a while before doing some shopping. Karen got me a lovely t-shirt (which i'm wearing right now). Afterwards we nipped over to Circular Quay and got some Rugby Memoribilia stuff for Karen's bloke in the UK...Oh, and had a coffee in Starbucks. In the evening I went home to pack.
September 07 2003
I had Peanut Butter and Jam on toast today, it was actually quite nice!!! Got home at about 11am and spent the day with the family mostly as it was Fathers Day in Aus. I gave my Aunt a combination Picture Frame and my Uncle some Whiskey as a goodbye and thanks gift...In the evening I met Karen and we went to China Town...the meal was rubbish, but we had a good laugh..Karen does like laughing!! I mean, she also likes bending my ear, but the laughing compensates for the tellings off!
September 06 2003
Met Karen in Town, and went around the QVB (Queen Victoria Building) shopping. After a while I popped back to Karens hotel to relax whilst she carried on!! She came back and did some more ear Candles for me, something i'd also done earlier in the week. In the evening I went over to Gilta my cousins new pad for a meal. My Uncle Nic and cousin Dorothy went aswell as Albert, Paul and Tea. Gilta's pad is lovely. After that I bailed back to see Karen and then went out...what can I say, i'm feeling quite patriotic all of a sudden...This is a Partly Hysterical Message.....Yes indeed, the QVB provided what can only be described as a top night!! But, what exactly could or would QVB Stand for? Queen Victoria Building? Queer Victors Bed? Quick Vote Blair? Quality Venetian Blinds....I don't know, I really really don't know...I ain't got a clue...I've lost the plot!
September 05 2003
Today was Friday, and it was a brilliant one at that!! It started off with missions for me....Karen was doing the Opera House tour, so I had to bail over to the Opera Bar to meet her. I had a lovely cup of Tea whilst I waited. As soon as Karen turned up it was Panic Stations, we had 45 mins to get ourselves over to North Sydney...which actually was more than possible...but I didn't want to be late. Got to North Sydney and went to Planit, the company I was working for here. Luisa and Suzanne (both looking hot) joined Karen and I for lunch at the Commador. Lunch was fun, and after about an hour we went back to the office where Karen sent e-mails whilst I spoke with our MD Chris and caught up with the latest pictures of his daughter Iona. Karen went off shopping while I waited for Luisa to get back to the office. Now, we've all left companies, and given leaving gifts...but the girls had an amazing gift made for me! A personal T-Shirt, I can't wait for y'all to see it...I plan to wear it when I land. I know i'm always going on and on...but they are both really good looking and fantastically funny birds...I've honestly never worked with anyone quite like them both, it was a pleasure and really really sad to have to say goodbye. (He says with a knowing smile). Anyway, Karen and I then walked down to Milson Point and Luna Park, to take photo's from the North of the Harbour Bridge. After that, we walked over the Bridge and I gave Karen a brief History of Port Jackson (what most people wrongly call Sydney Harbour). Went shopping, Karen bought a few gifts and I got myself a Rugby Fleece. In the evening we bailed over to Kingswood, which was wrong as we should have gone to Riverwood (But I didn't listen) and met up with Thommo, George Koletti (not my cousin) and Paul aswell as Iggy for a farewell drink. I haven't seen George (my Cousin) for ages!!
September 04 2003
Got up and posted yet more boxes to the UK, todays cost me 80bucks...Goodness, it's an expensive move back home. Met up with Karen who caught the train to Hurstville, and we travelled together to Cronulla. At Cronulla (A beach town) we walked by the sea, watched the surfers and had a bite to eat. After this, we did something which I really love...caught a Taxi to Kurnell. Whats at Kurnell you ask? Well I reply simply that if you'd been reading this, you'd know!!(joke..see April 19th). You see, Kurnell is where Captain Cook and his bad boys landed in Oz, and claimed Terra Australis as English Soil (and don't you Aussies forget it!!). We had a quick look around the museum, and I bored Karen with the History I offered on the subject. Karen is now saying that I didn't bore her...Anyway, I did. We then went and sunbathed by a monument to one of Cooks Yobs, for about an hour. We had a look around and had a lovely time...then Jimmy came upon a stupid idea...lets walk through the bush back to the museum...this was all very good, until James heard a frog in a stream ribbiting...Out came the Video Camera and James had a look around, but then he thought he saw it so he crouched down....AGGGGHHH and words of a similar meaning, right by my feet was what can only be described as Trianasaurus Rex's BIG BROTHER!!! I'm telling you, this thing was the size of 5 double deckers, and 4 houses...well okay, not quite...but it was a meter long..Iguana i'm told! I totally flipped out man, freaked me to the core. Karen saw it, and I got it on tape also. Evil beast. We legged it away and saw Kookaburra's red chested Parakeets and normal dumb Cockatoo's. In the evening I had Soccer and Karen met up with a pal in Sydney. I'm glad to say that my team (The Desperado's) won! Yes, we won 2-0. First Quarter I played, 2nd Quarter I was in goal and I sat out for the last half. Fantastic result all thanks to George Koletti (not my cousin George, but his cousin).
September 03 2003
Nightmare....the nightmare began with getting on a coach that broke down as soon as we got on it!! We did finally get going and went to "Australia Wonderland", we popped in to pet the Koala's and feed the Roo's which I think Karen really enjoyed it, but didn't enjoy feeding a nasty Emu...We then headed for the Blue Mountains, it was so so so beautiful, we saw Katoomba Falls and then went on the Cable-Car, which wasn't as nasty as when Simon and I went on it. Down the Steapest Railway in the world, and around the rain forest, and then back up on a Sky Rail, pretty amazing stuff really. We came home via the 2000 Olympic Park and took a sail on a boat down the Paramatta River, back into the Harbour and home. I headed off home to pack whilst Karen did a little tour around Sydney alone.
September 02 2003
I was late to meet Karen, but all was good as we caught the Ferry to Watsons Bay. I think Karen was impressed with the views, and my amazing ability to show her unusual sights....such as the Nudist beach!! We went up to the Lighthouse and then down to the famous "Doyles" Seafood restaurant for a bite to eat.Then we caught a bus over to Bondi and did about a quarter of the Bondi - Coogee Walk, we or rather, I was too lazy to do it all. We grabbed a nice ice-cream aswell. In the evening we popped over to Balmain so I could show Karen the scene. We found a beautiful Museum which covered the history of the Monarchy in Australia, and in particular the affection that Queen Victoria showed the people of Sydney. I was quite surprised really, she really did all she could to accomodate them. I say...GOD BLESS THE QUEEN!!
September 01 2003
Missions (again). Jippy Bank gave me 50bucks, but I asked for 100, and it charged me 100...so I had to go to Westpac to complain and then my bank St.George to report the fact that Westpac had stiched me up...typical of a convict country!!! Met Karen and started our walk. First though Hyde Park, and then behind and the the back of the Botanic Gardens. Really weird-weird thing happened. I was opposite Russell Crowe's house with Karen and telling her how he lived there and how Paul, Anne and I had seen him (see May 31st). I explained that his wife was pregnant and that he didn't often live in Sydney...and then who walks up to us...only Russell and his wife...now that was a cool welcome to Sydney for Karen!! Then we walked up to Macquarie's point, and turned the corner for the postcard scene of the Opera House and Bridge...that blew Karen's mind a bit. We went around the Gardens, admired the wildlife (bats, fish, birds) and then went over to the Opera House, checked that out, pottered around Circular Quay and then went up the AMP Tower to see the views of the city. All in all a hectic and tiring first day. Luisa called me (from work) to say that she was in Melbourne getting ready for the seminar i'd been organising...and that 67 people were attending Melbournes (that's mega good)..then we had a cuppa in the Queen Victoria building...and urmmm now we're here....!!
August 31 2003
Got up nice and early as today was Ethans first birthday party...all the family (plus another 50 guests) over to Andrea's house (my cousin) for celebration. Paul, Andrea's husband (and a proper good sort of guy), did the old BBQ, and chatted for some hours, whilst Gilta, Andrea and my Aunty got the food ready indoors (my aunt had been cooking all weekend). The party began at 1pm, and lots of friends and family I wont see again came over. (I'll particularly miss George Koletti (not my cousin George, but his cousin George) and his wife Gina, really nice couple who've been good to me, even though i've not had the pleasure of spending much time with them. At 3pm, some Steve Irwin type-a guy came over to the house to have an animal show for the kids. First he had a Possom, the kids stroaked...then a Massive Fruit Bat, then a Snake, then a blinking Crocodile...okay, it wasn't 12ft, but it was a 4ft Salt water Crock...then a Python...really FANTASTIC entertainment for everyone, not just the kids. At 5pm George (my cuz) gave me a lift to the train station, and as i'd lost my wallet his cousin John loaned me 20bucks so I could wing it to Kingsford Smith Itnl airport as Karen was coming. I didn't have any cash to buy her flowers, so I bought her an Aussie Flag. Now, a little bit about our Karen...She's important to me...Let me see now. YES, we went out, sometime ago, and yeah she's really ace and I do love her to pieces, but sadly, she was so angry with the way I was being used and willing to be put myself in that position (by a certain ex) that we fell out in June 2000...I haven't see her since. We went out in '95, so it's nothing for any of you to read into (her being here)...she's just ace. I don't think many people if anyone on this earth knows me aswell as Karen..she's seen me cry, she's seen me happy, she's touched my soul and she's listened to my idea's...she's just fantastic. I've been trying really hard for the past 18mths to get her back into my life, and before I left the UK asked her to meet me for a Coffee...she couldn't make it, so we do have a laugh about the fact she's flown 12000miles to have that Cuppa!! Shes tuned into my frequency I think. We do see things differently, we are both hot-headed...but, she cares...she really really cares. I mean, I'm bowled over. Paul Taylor, Simon Osamoh and Karen have thought so much of dumb stupid rubbish me...that they came over to see me...WHATS THAT ALL ABOUT? Fantastic people, goodness i'm lucky! Karen landed, we checked her into her hotel and then we went for a Coffee in Darling Harbour, it was 8pm by then, so she went off to bed, and I went home.
August 30 2003
George woke me up to ask if I fancied going shopping with him. We went to Hurstville, I felt like absolute death..so conversation was limited. In the afternoon all the family popped over so-as to celebrate Gilta's 40th, she looks about 28...but she's as old now as my mate Johnny L. was when he kicked-it...We had a wonderful time, Gilta seemed really happy, she's moved into her new apartment, and she's got a new job...everything is looking rosey for her. I tried to have a snooze after that, but I couldn't drop off. In the evening I went on missions...I left my house at 6pm, walked to catch a train, caught the train to Sydney...walked to the Harbour, caught a Ferry to Balmain and had a 7:45 cup of tea at Vicky's place. It was really nice to see her again, and the pad looks so different now that Gilta has moved out and all the furniture has gone. Vicky and I watched a movie on TV and drank Port (she's quite a civilised sort of fish), and then we kinda fell asleep....I woke in a hurry at 1am, caught a cab, caught my train...and got home at 3am...it's missions, but worth it, coz she's a lovely lovely person who makes me smile with her silly ways...oh, and her hand was badly bruised from Skiing, which was quite funny (for me)...
August 29 2003
Well let me start by saying, that miracles do indeed happen...and here is the proof...Yesterday, I only scored a goal in our Soccer match. Paul Scored one aswell, however we still lost 4-2. Today was flat-out at work, and it was also my last day. I started the day by buying Suzanne, Anka (new bird) and Luisa Coffee's from Starbucks. A Starbucks chick called Lucy gave me her details yesterday and wants to keep in touch as she is coming to London (in two years!!). Sheona and Chris came in to see me, and say bye. In the evening, Chris (our MD) and another colleague Graham joined Luisa, Suzanne and I and we went off to the Opera bar. Chris got us several rounds of wine and beer and it wasn't long before I was Sloshed. The Opera bar is (obviously) at the Opera House, and really lovely. Luisa and Suzanne made me laugh no-end especially as Suzanne managed to totally embaress me...Chris had a little chat with me about the work i've done, and the evening was really good. They are fantastic (fantastic) people, and I'm honestly going to miss them, especially Suzanne who mocks me, and Luisa who laughs at my expense when I tell her of the stupid things i've done (that classic George Harrison "Bet your worried 'bout getting paid, is a fine example). Got home, George was out, I didn't want to wake my aunt up...why should she suffer because i've been out, after all, it was 3am...so I slept for an hour in the freezing yard until George came home.
August 28 2003
Will you regret the charges taken, would you regret the objections raised,
won't you regret a single moment, wish this debt had not been paid,
Can you confirm your isolation, and the fact that you are wrong,
Won't you service this resolution, with the barrel of your gun.
The Captain orders forward marksmen, and the bells ring out the time,
Blindfold adds to my idignity, So I leave all thats behind,
This cross that you must carry, is from what you reap and sowed,
For the steps that I have taken, are placed within lifes road.
Triggers poised and aims are spoken, red stripe to mark my heart,
I am me, the person chosen, and I loved you from the start,
Guilty, yes, of being human, happy in this state of mind,
Shot rings out, my heart is broken and i've left this all behind.
James K. August 29th 2003.
August 27 2003
Today was really good. Had a pretty major chat with my boss Sheona who gave me a few things to think about...(oh how Cryptic). Worked flowed well, I'll miss Suzanne and Luisa once I've left. In the evening I got home and watched TV. Gilta and George went out to the cinema to celebrate Gilta's birthday. Gilta also moved out of her beautiful apartment in Balmain today.....Spent quite sometime in reflection. I'm really looking forward to seeing you all, but my family in particular. I've really missed my brother, he's so cheeky, and funny..He's cool aswell. Nathan has been really good to me this past year, calling me up, sending me stuff (like his art work from school to look at). I found Nathan to be the hardest person to leave in the UK, the thought of not seeing him for so long reduced me to tears several times before departure (months before), during my flight and also whilst here. It's not soppy, it's just a natural reaction to leaving someone who I love, and someone who is at a stage in his life where (maybe) a big brother can add extra-value! My sister has equally been so good, firstly she flew out to Singapore to spend a day with me whilst I was on my way over (that was a surprise, as I'd not seen her for over 2 years). Secondly she's spoilt her little bro. (me) like you really wouldn't believe! She bought me a couple of pairs of Sneakers in Singapore, she took me out. She flew me from Sydney to the Barrier Reef, paid for me to dive twice, and get all the extra's, took me to the Rainforests, paid for the accommodation. Loaned me cash in Sydney, took me out in Sydney to tourist spots, bought me a Video Camera (which I did pay her back for, but the point is, she gave me the cash when I didn't have it), and has sent gifts, cards, and texts throughout the year. More important than any of this (any) is the fact that she's been a constant source of strength. Sydney has been great to me, but sometimes I've needed advice, needed a kick or needed someone to say the right things. My sister isn't blind, and she's advised me as she could. She probably know more about my past year than anyone.Naomi is now (for the first time in a long time) living back in the UK, so I look forward to seeing her.
Much of what I've written these past few days makes little sense I guess to you (the reader), but for me it's something that upon reflection in many years time will show significant emotion. I can't always write what my mind thinks, sometimes words fail me, sometimes I simply cannot let that part of my life be seen. Those of you who I consider my advisors are aware of my heart and my mind, but all of you I embrace as people who have shown me a great deal of friendship, love and care during the past (surprisingly) challenging year.
Instant Karmas's gonna get you, Gonna knock you right on the head, You better get yourself together, Pretty soon, you're gonna be dead
.
August 26 2003
I have been inspired by Peter Cook (comedian) and Vicky Burrough (angel), to read some of the literary works of Lewis Carol. As a result, today I got myself a copy of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice through the looking glass". Strange you may think, but somehow this tale has bypassed me...I've never actually seen or heard the story, and so I look forward to reading it. (I know John Lennon was heavily influenced by the book too). Work was fun, and we achieved quite a bit today. Luisa had to fly up to Brizzie for a Seminar tomorrow, so Suzanne and I got on with the work that had to be done. On the way home I picked up a nice new yellowy shirt. George and I chatted for half an hour. About 8 months ago Thommo gave him a Phone charger for me, George can't find it as he's lost it in his room (a real den). Went to bed early. Called Vicky, she's off to the snow tomorrow, skiing.
August 25 2003
Today was pretty flat-out at work. Didn't do anything of much importance in the evening. Sat and chatted to my Aunt for a few hours, before making an itinerary for Karen's visit and a phone call to Vicky. It's warming up nicely in Sydney now, just in time for my return to freezin' cold Blighty!
August 24 2003
Woke up, and as it was quite late, ate some of yesterday lunch for breakfast. Headed into the city and spent an hour in Starbucks reading the newspaper. Then I headed for a stroll. Initially I'd only planned to go as far as Bennelong Point, that's where the Opera House is. In all my visits to this site over a 20year period of having first come to Oz, I've never been to the very back (or front, depending on where you are) of the Opera House, and so I did. Afterwards I went for a stroll around the Botanic Gardens. I only planned a short stroll, but I discovered (as I always do), a new part of the gardens I'd not explored before. I actually spent about 4hours in all wandering around. I found amongst other things, a tree which is the only home in all of NSW to a rare butterfly. It was really mega windy, so the butterflies were not to be seen. I got so close that I could touch a cockatoo, and a duck pecked my big toe!! After all of this I went along George Street and did a little window shopping, before finally sitting in a Net Cafe for 2 hours and polishing it all of in Taco Bell. Got home to a massive power cut. I did try reading for an hour by Torch light, then I listened to some music, and phoned Vicky. I can't believe I've missed so many Grand Prix's. TYPICAL!
August 23 2003
Got up at about 11am. My aunt made me breakfast and I awaited the family. All the family came over to celebrate George's birthday. For some strange reason though, George didn't hang around for long. So we didn't really see much of him. It was a lovely day with the family. Andrea makes the best sweets, Lemon Cheesecake which she made for my birthday was wonderful but she equalled that with a lovely Banana cake today. In the evening I went over to Paul's and Andrea's, I feel really relaxed with them, like you do with friends...not just cousins, but close friends, that's how I feel...like I could confide in them, and that to me is something that I've lacked in the past year, having people to turn to. We got a movie out "Stealing Harvard"...what a crock.
August 22 2003
Friday was a fun day. Suzanne and Luisa are the funniest people to work with, we get the work done and have the odd laugh aswell. Sheona and Chris (the company owners) came in with little baby Iona....goodness she's cute. Anyway, in the evening I met up with Vicky. We went for a drink first, and worked our way through a lovely bottle of white. Then we popped over to Darlinghurst, which is right next door to Kings Cross, which is always an eye-opener. We went to Govinda's, which is a lovely restaurant. Now, some people who read this are going to judge this next bit, but I've at no time asked for opinions on the subject,one religion is as good as the next, as far as my eyes see...all they do is create conflict, either physically or mentally. Govinda's is a Hari Krsna restaurant, we went in, ate fantastic vege food...and then went and watched a movie...it was really funny, as it was in Spanish, and as you'll have read these past few days, I've a little joke going on about the Spanish "Spaniard in the works". The movie was deep, and moving, though weird at times, about a girl in a Coma and a nurse who falls in love with her. Anyway, the film was good. Afterwards Vic and I took a stroll through Kings Cross, and found a pub to have a few glasses of red in. It was quite funny as Vicky was telling me she always ends up getting red wine spilt on her, and guess what...someone spilt wine on her...we also kept getting bothered by a drunk chap who called us a "something, something, Flaming Mongrel" real Alf Stewart stuff!!
Now lets talk a little about Vicky shall we, I have to try and paint a picture in your heads...so, here's the facts. She's blonde, She's English...though an Australian resident, she's good looking, she's the best artist I've ever known, (urmm...that's no reflection on Nathan, Jenny, Marc, Katie or Claire, you're all fantastic too)...and she's really funny. She laughs at my jokes, she makes lots of jokes, and she can quote comedy...that impressed me no-end. You see, we all have our gods or what have you, and I think my god at this point in my life is simply comedy. Alan Partridge saved my life (how funny is that), as has Ricky Gervais, I can imagine a few angry minds reading this...but you've not lived in my shoes, or trainers, or indeed sandals and thongs (flip-flops)! Vicky has a depth to her that I've never experienced before, but something I've identified long-ago as an attraction. She's clever, but not full of herself, and seems to understand...I just felt really relaxed in her company. I can't really go into more detail, because it's feeling and vibes...how can I explain that? I've found an amazing friend, really cool. I think Ian Jay and Marc would also seriously rate her, as she shares so many things in common with us all...you'd rate her. Anyway, we had a funny experience with me legging it for the train to get home. The last train is at 2am, and I just made it...thanks to the station master who told me to hurry up! Got home at about 2:30. George had gone out, and I really felt bad about knocking on my aunts bedroom window (as she'd told me to in such circumstances). So I got a garden chair and tried to keep myself warm until 4:15am when George got home...my goodness it was freezing, I swear I nearly turned into an Eskimo!
August 21 2003
George can't make Saturday now. I think the whole family is getting together in the morning though to cut a cake for him. That will be nice. Life has a good feeling to it at the moment. I guess it's typical, the kid finds what he's looking for and then leaves. Work was fun. I reckon Luisa is fantastic, real laugh, but she also works so hard. I also work with a girl called Suzanne, she's fun...Canadian, and funny. In the evening it was supposed to be Soccer...AND WE WON.!!!!!!! Sadly, we didn't actually get to play, and won on default as the opposition couldn't make it...BUT, a result is a result!! posted some books back home today, 41bucks...41 flaming bucks...I can't believe it, I'm working to simply send things home! That's a complete lie actually as I managed to find 100bucks to buy a few T-shirts also today. Yeah, I'm going to miss Planit (who I work for) loads. It's really like Keltec, the sort of company you don't mind bustin' ya nuts for....but, it's small, and really friendly, and very very successful. Urmmm.
August 20 2003
E-mailed Vicky today. She wants us to go to some Vege Movie place. Man, Ian would dig-it. You eat your food, and then afterwards you go into a movie room and watch a film...a proper film-film, but you chill on bean-bags, how rad is dat? And you know what, you lot can't do it...coz you're not here in Sydney!! So Vic and I will go instead!! It's my cousin George's birthday today. I didn't see him though George is taking me out somewhere on Sat, it's nice when it's just me and him, so i'm sure we'll celebrate. I haven't really spent any time with him for months, just visits to Thommo or popping to the shops...so i'm looking forward to it. Should be a fun few last weeks. In the evening I went to another George's house, and his wife cooked a fantastic meal for me...Salami pasta, was lick. And then I helped George set up a small website, but from acorns grow mighty tree's!!
August 19 2003
Called my folks last night. Was on the Dog for over half an hour to my Mum and Dad. I look forward to seeing them. Today started off well. Was really excited about seeing Vicky tonight. Work went well, it's a little up-hill at the moment, we've loads on...Anyway, Vicky got snowed under, so she had to knock tonight on the head...Just my luck, another boring night! I just went home and watched Jamie's Kitchen on Network Ten...In bed by 10, listened to a loads more Partridge....
August 18 2003
My boss Sheona gave birth this morning. It's her and our MD's first kid, Sheona was at work on Friday and apparently she'll be back in next monday...you have to admire that don't-cha! Chris came in at about 11 with pictures of the new baby (Iona), and he seemed proud as punch. Work was pretty flat-out as we finish off the initial seminars I was working on and start booking people in for the next batch of Seminars. My Sister sent over 3 packets of Revels for my workmates. I tried to explain a few weeks ago all about them, and couldn't get them to understand how you have loads of nice Revels and then the nasty coffee one!! So cheers sis. Going to the movies tomorrow night with this Vicky girl, I'm just happy to spend time with someone fun and interesting, i'm gone in a few weeks so honestly this is nothing to read into....That is if I can keep the Spaniard who keeps getting into the works, out of it!! (That Spanner in the works joke means nothing to you, but will amuse me for years to come).
August 17 2003
Woke up and found out that I'd been invited to lunch with John's parents. This did mean that I had to knock the plans with Vicky on the head, which really was a great shame as she is a lovely girl. It's nice to have someone who shares British knowledge and humour...but alas it wasn't to be. To quote an email I sent to some of you recently, and if you didn't get it, you won't really understand my quotation, but it'll make me chuckle....lets just say "a Spaniard in the works"....The lunch itself it has to be said was superilliousocious, very good....George went to the beach and didn't turn up to the lunch, so I spent my time with Thommo's brother George and Thommo...but it was lovely to relax in the heat of an Australian Winter (real shorts and t-shirt stuff) and eat lovely food. In the evening Andrea my cousin gave me a lift to my cousin Dorothy's house where I watched "Just Married" with Emnie. It was a lovely evening, it's a shame I've not seen more of Emnie whilst being here. She showed me all her plans for her trip to Europe (looks fantastic) and her 21st bday plans..her invites are brilliant, quite an imaginative young girl that one! Got home and listened to more Partridge..."I could be King...King Alan"........."The 1st"....Amazing stuff. Alan Partridge...(Steve Coogan) = Genius! Now "Kiss my face"!
August 16 2003
Woke up and joined George, Emnie and Aunty Dora in going to "Blind" shops to buy...blinds! I was quite impressed actually with the many types of blinds available over here. Before you start thinking that my life has dropped to such lows as "Blind shopping", fear not...we did progress as the day went on to bigger and more memorable events. In the evening I met up with Gilta and headed to her pad in Balmain with her. I had a bit of a headache and Gilta gave me a few pills. Chatted to her and Vicky, Vicky invited me to join her tomorrow to do the Bondi Coogie walk. "That sounds like a nice way to spend Sunday", thought Jimmy. Anyway. Gilta and I met up with George and Thommo and we went over to the "London" a local pub. I wanted to take the three of them out for a bite, my way of celebrating both George and Gilta's birthdays aswell as thanking Thommo for all he's done in the past year (he's an amazingly consistent person who's manner doesn't fluctuate, this has helped me no end at times this past year, one of the few people I've been able to tune into - a valued friend indeed). So we popped over to Trojans a Greek restaurant in Balmain, where George, John (Thommo) and I opted to eat the traditional Greek meal of...Kangaroo (Ha, ha that's the last time Skippy gets away with acting all Smart)...Lovely food, though John and George got me wrecked on Red Wine....The best part had to be when I (drunk) called a waitress over and asked her to call another waitress over "Jo". Asked Jo for her pen, and whilst writing down my phone number (this is classic Partridge style stuff), said "Now your challenge is to call this number...infact, no, don't call...I don't do calls, text this number...and I'll reply"...Very funny! After the meal George and I went for a drive and then home.
August 15 2003
After work I popped into the local web-cafe just to chat to Rachel Buckland on MSN, her connection kept dropping though, so I spent an hour or so on MSN to Roy Gould, which was really good fun (and helped me pick my spirits up). Went home after that and went to bed at 9pm...such is life! God I'm making the most of my time here (right!?). Luckily, Luisa who I work with loaned me her Walkman, so I listened to Partridge for an hour. What a sad conclusion.
August 14 2003
Work was great. Gutted that I'll leave this job soon...really good fun. Classic moment, I was asking my boss Luisa if she knew where I could buy a really cheap rubbish Walkman. Simon sent me some Alan Partridge Audio Tapes, and as I neither have nor need a walkman I didn't want to shell out for the latest and greatest model. Luisa said she'd lend me her own, at which point Chris the Companies owner asked what tapes I was referring to...So I told him. He's an Englishmen and a bit of a Partridge fan so he suggested I bring the tapes into work for everyone to listen to...class! Posted 2 jumpers back to the UK, TWENTY ONE BUCKS!!! I'm going to get hammered posting stuff home, and thats a three month delivery!! In the Evening Paul picked me up and we went to Soccer. We were one player down, so a guy (who I don't know) played for us...with me in Goal. Not the best position to play when you have an amazing fear of getting hit by the ball....Anyway, we improved from last week, we lost 6-2, but it's an improvement, and we were only 4 players as one of our Girls "Mel" or Captain as she's known got an ankle injury and her replacement got a hand injury.....Yesterdays little message was the lyrics to a fav. REM song of mine. It's really apt at the moment, but it has nothing to do with any girls I have or do like (some of you mailed me thinking I had some secret bird out here which i'd not mentioned). I reckon I would only have time for two girls if I was staying here, and neither of them know I like them (what's the point, I'm outta here soon). However the message was relevant, you just have to look deeper than the surface of it all. I'm just being second guessed an awful lot and it's causing me stresses, I think i'm cracking up. Can't wait to see you all, really can't!
August 13 2003
(Youre mean, mean, mean)
(you tease, tease, tease me)
If I were you Id really run from me
Id really really wish that I were you
When I get loose Ill climb a tree
And drop a load on your head
This monster in me makes me retch,
you messed it, messed it up
Do you smell jealousy?
Do you smell jealousy?
August 12 2003
Work was flat-out. It's a funny feeling, knowing that I'll be on my way home in a month. It's been a lot harder this past year than I ever really thought it would be. I guess I was wearing the eyes of someone who's only ever seen Australia and the people I know here, whilst on holiday. Reality isn't a sun-drenched, money pouring, 3 week vacation! It's been quite honestly, tough! The analogy I've used to my family in the UK is that of someone being thrown into a Lions Den....But, I'm okay! I'm lucky to have an Aunt and Uncle who were willing to be so generous with accommodating me. I've had a few knocks, but I've walked it through. The funniest thing is that I've had to adjust to holding back on anger, not being quite so open with emotions in that sense which for me is a first!! That's not all I gained, I gained a whole bunch of strengths. I've (obviously) never lived with any family but my own, so its been interesting to see how another family functions. It's been nice to see how a very close, large family works. And it's also been amazing to see how a Cypriot family works. I've got no regrets from the past year, and I can honestly say that...I would change the odd job or move I've made...but not regrets. Australia remains a beautiful place, Australians on the other hand are seriously lacking in good manners (in a general sense), though they are great fun, very laid back and do have an amazing pride for the nation. The chicks are hot, as is the weather for 9mths of the year!! Another tough hurdle I've had is the fact that I've not felt like I've got anyone here who I can trust or confide in, even my Cousin George would rather take the mick out of a situation, and Emnie who I was so so close to when I left to come here, she's always too busy to see nowadays. I've missed having my mates to turn to and to go out with. I look back on the past year with a grin, some parts will forever make me smile..some parts will forever make me sad. I think, I know...that I was really really lucky my Sister was here when she was. If it wasn't for her, I'd have quit long ago. My Dad twice told me to come home, and as many of you who have called me know...Wow...Boy-o-boy did I get homesick! It's a shame I didn't get close to anyone, I could have done with a best buddy, James Romans was a cool pal whilst here....Never mind though, because it means I miss you guys all the more...and very very very soon you'll have me back! Warts and all! I guess I confused what I want with what I need.....What I need is my mates and family, What I wanted was a dream.
August 11 2003
Was feeling quite chirpy this morning. Work was busy as the Seminars i've been booking people into start this week. Didn't do much other than work today. Went home and spoke to Gilta briefly on the telephone and gave her housemate Vicky my number. It's nice having English pals out here. Watched an interview on TV with Russell Crowe which was entertaining and also Yank Crankers.....In a months time i'll be in Singapore, on route home...
August 10 2003
I really don't want to be wasting these last few days, so today I set out on a trek. Firstly I caught the train to the city to do a bit of window shopping, went to Starbucks for half an hour and then walked over to the Hotel Karen will be staying at...just to check it out and it's location. Then I walked to Circular Quay, if you read my entry for June 21st you'll know about the guy with Straight-jacket....well he broke his "personal best record" on the day, and the crowd cheered and filled his hat....well I saw him about two weeks ago "Break his personal record", and you'll never guess what happened today...he only went and broke it again!! I felt like asking for the 10bucks Si and I gave him back...Street Artist, more like Con-Artist! I then went for a very long walk around the Botanic gardens, stopping for a snooze on the lawns and also to admire Russell Crowes pad...(it's nice, but the view ain't worth 14mill, not with me being in it!!). Then a slow walk home again. Went out in the evening with Paul to see "American Wedding", seriously made me laugh...very very funny!
August 9 2003
A few missions today, went into the city to buy some Sneakers, as I'd seen a pair I quite liked. Also popped into Starbucks for an hour. Got home and went over to Gilta my cousins, she was having a meal at her pad in Balmain. Lovely food, the whole family showed up so we had a nice evening. I had a chat with Gilta's housemate for a while "Vicky", she's a Pom and it's always nice to talk to someone who can construct a sentence the way one should (geddit!!??). In the evening I went out to Bankstown Sports Club with George and Thommo (11pm), which is more of a Poker-machine Club...but we had a coffee, and returned to Thommo's to watch TV. Got in at 3am.
August 8 2003
Didn't sleep very well, my knee is a right (well, left actually) mess, and it kept me awake. In the morning (you'll love this girls) I had to peel my PJ bottoms off my scab...."ughhh" you say...."AGGGGGGHHH" and a few other words, are what I said!!!I'm reading a book about Peter Cook at the moment, I remember once seeing him on Clive James' chat-show in the UK and thinking he was a funny chap. Work was good, you can't believe how brilliant the company is.God (if such a word has a meaning), is probably playing a little game with me. If God does exist, he must have the most fantastic sense of humour, and it is for this reason alone that i'd like to meet the great G. The fact that i've been here so long and only now find a place that makes me happy to work is proof enough, let alone the fine ladies and lovely weather that this island has to offer. Only one fact goes against the company who now employ me...the girls are killing me with the strange taste in music they hold....Yesterdays comments by Luisa (obviously) can't be topped, but I was somewhat dissapointed to hear my colleague Suzanne speak of her love for "Stereophonics". I'll avoid digs at them for being Welsh, because my Uncle Barrie is also, and he's got to be one of the smartest and funniest people i've ever known...with a heart the size of an African Nation! But, they are simply rubbish (which reminds me, Aussie radio is always playing "Simpy Red", or as I call the "Simply Gash"). The evening was wasted, I watch TV...what a waste! My pathetic existance here needs to be picked up a notch. I can't see my final weeks out waiting on other people to join me in going out, so I feel I may have to create my own fun! All this said, I did listen to a few albums before bed and I packed a little. Goodness it'll hurt leaving Oz!
August 7 2003
Work goes so fast. I got myself some new jeans....after work I went and played Soccer...yep, that's right, little ol' me on the 5-aside mixed soccer pitch! The line-up was tremonderfulicious, Thommo John in the Goal, Thommo Paul as a Striker with his wife Andrea (my cousin) up front with him, which I am Marianne hung back....I took the kick-off...and the game began. Within one minute I'd fallen and suffered two pretty nasty cuts/burns to my knee....it made me look 'ard....so, instead of detaining the entire game, the long and short of it is that we lost...7-0!!!!! Star played had to be Andrea, she was hardly puffing by the end and never stopped running, really fit I reckon.....I swear I thought I was going to die, too much exercise!! Went to Riverwood Inn afterwards to have a bite to eat and a drink (of Lift - Lemonade).
I've grave concerns for the Opera House guys, I've mentioned it all before, but the security at the venue is terrible. This whole Bali Bombings verdict does make me worry for it's safety....When I asked them (as you've read previously) what they did to enhance security I was told that they only react to intelligence information detailing threats....so in other words, they beef up security if they hear through the grape-vine that an attack is planned. It's this foolish attitude that resulted in what I mentioned on MARCH 19th....!!
Whilst I remember, we have a real problem guys....my boss at work Luisa, declared her love for Craig David today! Can someone inform immigration at all major UK airports and shipping ports, it's high time we stopped such adulation. If Luisa represents Australia in her love for the great C.D...then why don't we all buy him a rowing boat, pack it with a tape recorder which repeatedly plays the words "Craig David", "Craig", "re-rewind" and "Bo"...and set him on a course for this paradise. Let's do what we originally set-out to do as a nation...............Send all the dregs of society off to Oz! If the Beatles could live in a Yellow Submarine, Mr Craig David, you can live in a Convicts Colony!
August 6 2003
I need to buy a walkman, I want to listen to the comedy tapes Simon sent, but don't have a walkman...this is going to cost isn't it!!??...but it'll be money well spent, just to listen to Alan Partridge! Today was really quite sunny, now I know that in the UK it was the hottest day ever recorded, and I can assure you that it's not that hot here...but it's not so bad!I had to drop by the Opticians on the way into work. In the evening I watched TV. I'm building myself up for the great return now, I'm really so lucky to have you all in my life...it sounds soppy, but not many people get to actually see how much other people think of them. I really find it amazing that I get calls and letters all the time from you guys, that you're willing to do this for me...I'm really lucky, and I want you all to know that. I don't know why you bother!!
August 5 2003
Woke up to a call from my Dad at 6:56am...meaning I had to get up 4 mins early....but the call really put me in a good mood. The sun was shining and I was really happy to be able to wear the coat Simon sent over to me from the UK. Got to work stopping at North Sydney Starbucks, as is now the tradition (not as good as Martin Place Starbucks though). Work started off on a terrible note though....I only went and deleted the entire list of acceptances I'd compiled over the past 3 weeks....luckily, all was not lost and I fed them back into my PC Manually. The day was pretty normal other than that, posted my tax returns off to my Dad at lunch. Spoke to Leanne Caffyn-Parsons,in the UK, poor girl is really really really unwell and sounded awful...but very sweet! Met Denise in the evening, we went to Bondi for Ice-Cream which was nice, and watched an electrical storm over the sea which was good. Denise decided to do an impression of Ayrton Senna or, considering Ayrton crashed and died...Michael Schumacher....I was less than happy with it, firstly...it was raining quite hard, and secondly (as some of you know), I've always had a fear based on a childhood dream, that I die in a Silver car...and Denise drives a Silver car...Got home to a lovely letter from Callie Hart, good gal, and a few pics of her and some of my other mates.
August 4 2003
Work went quickly. Got home to a fantastic surprise! Simon had sent his coat which I really like, a few bucks and a bunch of comedy audio tapes....good lad! I also got a lovely card from Christine Ramshaw and some tax papers from my Dad. I sat up for 2 or so hours doing the papers, which had mostly (95%) been filled in by Dad. It must of taken him ages as I counted over 20 pages which needed to be completed. Cheers Dad, really appreciate that. I also appreciate the fact that Rob Freelove was able to tell me the exchange rate which I needed to perform a few rough examples of tax from AUD to GBP.
August 3 2003
Paul picked me up in the morning and we went over to his parents house to have lunch. Mr and Mrs Sorial (Pauls Mum and Dad) always pile my plate full of food, and offer moreI was stuffed, and to top it all off, Mr.Sorial also stuck half a bottle of Merlot down my neckI felt like having a good sleepbut it wasnt to be. We went to a local park, Paul, Tea, Pauls sister Marianne and his mum Mrs.Sorial. I managed to video some fantastic shots of two rainbow LORIKEETS. Beautiful Parrot like birds, bright Green, Orange, Blue and Yellow in colour. In the evening I went to the cinema with Gilta and Paul. Got home at about 9pm. Couldnt be bothered to stay up until midnight to watch the Grand Prix, not only do the retards on Network Ten show more commercials than F1 Coverage, not only is it on late due to obvious time-zone issues, but the idiots AGAIN delayed it by an hourso by the time I finally got to bed, my roving F1 reporter Paul Taylor had given me the race results?youll never begin to understand how much of a joke Aussie TV is, until you sit down to witness an evenings worth. To top it all off, they only seem to import the rubbish UK shows, obviously they have no cash and this means they can only afford our trash! It really is a shambles, a joke! God bless the British TV Licence, Ill pay my 100 odd quid next time with a twinkle in my eye and skip in my stride!
August 2 2003
Woke up and had my breakfast. My cousin Dorothy came over to see her mum, and she gave me a lift into Hurstville. I had to get my eyes tested, and they are doing what time does to eyes?getting worse, we are now at a -2 in both eyes, Ive also got a slight StigmatismI think thats like Beatlemania but for people who loved Stig of the Dump as a kid, so seeing as I didIm sad that its only slight, I wanted to be his biggest fan! Afterwards I met Andrea and Gilta and we all went shopping in Hurstville, quite boring after 3 hours. In the evening I got a train to Redfern and went over to see Anne. We went out for a Pizza, to celebrate the end of her Australian adventure, tomorrow she leaves for New Zealand. It was sad, shes a good lass, and it seems a pity when people leave. Left her at about 8:30 and met George and Thommo (I had to catch a million trains to get to Riverwood where they were). John pumped me full of booze and I got home a little tipsy!!
August 1 2003
Work was the same as ever, really good bunch this lot though, I like this job. I put new pics on the website (under May and June) and had a chat with Roy Gould on MSN Messenger. That was it really, didnt go out at all.
July 31 2003
Got home to quite a nice surprise today. Sally Kempster had taken the time to send me a picture of Bethany and a lovely letter. Bethany seems to have grown up fast, and looks so much like her grandmother (I thought). Didnt do anything, too cold at night to even think about doing anything other than cuddle my hot water bottles!!
July 30 2003
Happy birthday Rachel...thats the way to start today. Number 1 girlie-girl called me up bright and early...as a result of running late for work, I held the conversation with Rach whilst having my hands free plugged into my phone and chomping down some toast. Rachel often calls and has been a real pal during the past year, so I hope she had a fabbo birthday. After work today I went to Brighton-Le-Sands with Denise, she wasn't hungry, but we went to a restaurant and I ate a Salmon sandwich. Quite a lovely evening, got home about 9ish and watch TV with George.
July 29 2003
Today ticked along nicely....really cold, but as ever it's really sunny. I tend to buy the UK Express most weeks now and spend the week reading every single story, with an hour on the train to work and then home again, it's not very difficult to do so. It's all out in the open now what my return plans are, so I thought i'd tell you all. I'll be going back to work for Keltec...yep, back to my routes you could say...I like the company and the staff and so it's a very logical move. I should thank Ian Rutherford, Sarah Axton and Kelly Griffiths for helping me (or giving me a kick up the bum). So anyway, today...urmmm...Got those pics I mentioned yesterday....now all I need to do is get them online!!
July 28 2003
Work was nice, quite productive. Put some pics in to be developed, so we may have new images on this site soon?Im starting to count-down now, and Im sad about it all?but also looking forward to my future (whatever that is). After work I chilled with George at home. I saw a really funny American show called Crank Yankers? Its basically crank calls, people phoning record shops pretending they are Snoop-Dogg etcbut the voices are put to puppets that look like Sesame St, dollsreally funny stuff. Click here to check it out, it's classic stuff...really made me laugh:
CRANK YANKERS
July 27 2003
I'm getting bored of doing nothing, it seems too cold and windy to do anything much...but today I found an excuse to get outside! James Romans had asked me to get him a "Red-Back" Spider keyring. It's basically a Red-Bank Spider which has been stuck in a plastic keyfob...like a fly may get stuck in Amber...Anyway, two things about this, firstly...It took a good hour to get to the Markets down by the Rocks, and secondly it cost 30bucks...so Romans, you best be grateful! I sat and marvelled at the Opera House for a while and then headed back home. Just as I got home I bumped into Gilta, my cousin. She was leaving and invited me to join her at her sister, my cousin Andreas house...and so I did. We have a lovely evening, hired our "Mr.Deeds", a funny movie, and ate Pizza. Really good fun evening.
July 26 2003
Got up and chilled. George was unwell, though at 11am he made a surprise recovery and we headed with his mate Craig to KFC and then whilst he went off to play on the Pokies I went to an opticians. Spent a few hours in the afternoon on the web, oh-and updated my jobs profiles (link at the top of this page). Quite a slow day. In the evening I watched a comedy with George, Emnie and Giltathe one with that guy from Deuce Biggalo? where he swops bodies with some birdI didnt see it all, as I went out with Denise in the evening. It was a really nice evening, we drove to the far side of the bridge and I saw views of Luna Park and the Bridge Id not seen before, so Im going to go back with my camera at somepoint. We also drove through Kings Cross, I find it most amusing seeing all the Trans-Gender Prostitutes, Its a real weird experience wondering whos more messed in the headthem, or the people who pick them up!!
July 25 2003
Couldn't be bothered to shave, even though I had that interview today. I went to it, knowing i'd do well...i'm quite good with interviews and sure enough,the Director who interviewed me wants me to go to some Assesment Centre...But I won't bother going.oh, thanks to all you gals who sent replies to my e-mail...goodness, my ego did well!! Special thanks to my little Angels, H, Simone and Karen M...see, i'll be the Charlie...you be the Angels! Went out with George to watch John play indoor Soccer. I'm going to play on Thursday...god help the world of sport!
July 24 2003
Work was work, what can I say? I do like it though?At the end of the day Shoena my boss gave me a map to help me on my trek down the road to a local bar The Commodore?, Anne had invited me as her mate Catherine whos a lesbo from overseas was leavingAnyway, it was too cold to hang about drinking in the beer gardenso I made my excuses and belted home to watch Road to Perdition? a good movieIn bed by 10!! Oh, one thing I should mention... If another person e-mails me to say "you look like Jon from Big Brother in the UK" or words similar to this, i'm not coming home!!!
July 23 2003
Didnt do all that much today. Got home, and tried to watch Road to Perdition? but couldnt get into it, so I just turned it off. Spoke to Denise for an hour on the phone. Cant add much more to todays events sorry. Its quite cold here at the moment, not by UK standards, but I do go to bed with hot water bottlesbut its always so nice and sunny!
July 22 2003
Last night was pretty rubbish, I wont go into itbut it would appear that taking the correct path and being honest and a gentleman has left me looking more heartless than if Id played the game as the majority do. Anyway, went over to see Georges Cousin John for a while, hes doing his garden upit looked really nice. Today was work as normal, I like it here, and its a cool company. Got a call from Hays on the way home, they want to interview me for a Sponsorship role; I said yes to the InterviewI dont know why! I wont take it, I dont think I will, I meanI dont really know, I guess its a psychological brick wall thats getting me into trouble at the moment with lots of peoplebecause to admit Im going is to admit my dream of 19 years has been realized and turned out to be a failuregreat! However, Ive signed a contract with a UK Company, so I am coming back ?thats the reality, I just find it hard to say it (but typing is easy)Im looking forward to joining that company also (loads)I was asked in May not to talk to people about it, so Im not sure if that is still the caseotherwise Id be telling you who it is and what Ill be doing. Goodness, that makes me sound like James Bond?
July 21 2003
If I had some more time to spend,
Then I guess I'd be with you my friend,
If I needed someone.
July 20 2003
Quite a laid back morning. My brother Nathan called for 45mins, that was good. Watched some UK TV my bro sent months ago afterwards, stuff like The Office?and Harry Enfield? After lunch I met up with Denise, I caught a train out to where she lives (Rockdale), and we then went onto Fox Studios. Thats where Star Wars episodes 1 and 2 and both Matrix movies were shotin reality though, its just an excuse for a shopping malland thats where we were, youd never guess that it was a film production area. We had a lovely time and sat down for a coffee after wed window-shopped! Its quite difficult making close friends and people I think highly of here. I dont believe that anyone can honestly understand what its like to have your heart split between two places (Sydney and Reading), unless you have been in that situation, but it is. Its upsetting when people assume that such a choice should be obvious, but without direction and without the ability to know where Im goinghow can I go forward? In the evening Roy Gould text me to say that some idiot had ran onto the track at Silverstone. Our TV coverage was an hour delayed (as Big Brother took Aussie TV preference). He continued by saying that Da Matta was now leading the race (and pigs fly was my initial thoughts). My cousin and I thought it was complete rubbish and both of us were wondering why yet another UK pal had made up a story regarding Silverstone and disaster (we assumed by the wording of the text that the person had been hit and the top runners had all crashed)?Anyway, I should therefore apologise to Roy for doubting him?.How funny was that? And wasnt it just the best race in ages. The over-taking that Couthard and Barrichello did was phenomenal, or as our dear Murray Walker used to say Ammmmmaaaazing? I was really chuffed to see loads of top moves by Barrichello, who I rate as a driver and whom I currently follow alongside Ralf Schumacher in the absence of a Title-challenging ENGLISH Driver. Really enjoyed it, but going to bed at 2:30am as a result of it was rubbish!
July 19 2003
Day started out cold, as it's warmer outside than inside I went for a walk. In the evening I met up with Denise and her mate Helen, and the three of us went to Darling Harbour to see a Beatles Tribute band play called "Beatnix". The sound was pretty bad, but then again, thousands of people had turned up to watch the free concert, and the stage was in the harbour itself. I had a great sing-a-long. The final song was Hey Jude, which upon commencing with the La-La's at the end a massive fireworks display began...class guys, class...a fantastic moment in anyones books i'm sure! After that, we headed off to Balmain. One of Denise's pals, Denise is leaving for the UK for a year, and was having a leaving party. I know quite a few of Denise's mates now so I didn't feel left out. However, I'm not going to go on about this, as it's all in the past...but.....At about midnight I received a text from a pal in the UK saying that Silverstone had been bombed, this was followed by a further 4 texts. I naturally got really worried, knowing people who are going, especially the fact that my best mate and his bird are probably sipping Pimms in the Ferrari VIP area right now...So, I went text mad....I also borrowed Denise's mobile and called the UK (thanks Denise). I want to thank Paul Taylor, Rob Freelove, Simon Osamoh and Roy Gould who all bounced as much info regarding the situation as possible. I should also thank my brother Nathan who I called, whom I had to rudely cut to the chase with, and was unable to talk for an extended period with (due to my being on Denises mobile). I'm sorry that I put you guys out so much. I was really really profoundly upset with this prank and to be honest it ruined a good night. When you're 12000 miles away from home, when you have no TV to get news on, and when your passion and that of your friends is F1 it's a sick joke to play. I dont think everyone understands just how removed one can feel from ones country. However, it wasn't supposed to cause all the worry it did. I'm disapointed, but it is none the less water under the bridge...the little lady who pulled it and I are close as ever, and she should know through reading this that I was very upset and worried, and that it is for this reason that it has to be included in my journal, but it wont be mentioned again, its all in the past. Anyway, the rest of the evening was spent chatting to Denise's pals. Denise has a fantastically funny mate called Nicki. I wish you could meet these guys. Nicki cracks me up, she looks and acts like Victoria Wood, now I don't find Victoria Wood all that funny...but Nicki isn't charging me thirty quid to spend an hour in her company...so Nicki is funny. She's a hot chick aswell, so some of you lads may wanna zap over here to meet her. (Thats a joke, don't want any of you flee infested idiots visiting!!). Denise and I had a fun evening and her mate Helen tried to crash the car into a pole on the way home...well close, luckily I had my eyes open and shouted to watch-out?..Aussie chicks, goodness me....So, it's the eve of the British Grand Prix....I'm so excited, COME ON Rubens, come on my son.
July 18 2003
Not much to report, same-old, got myself a new shirt! Wow. George on the other hand (no pun intended) needed to have an operation (see July 5th), he basically had to have his nerves fixed etc...it took over two hours and he was in loads of pain...so we tried to treat him like a king.Got some mighty sad new from Roy Gould back in the UK. His mum passed away on Monday, it was unexpected, and words don't take away any of the pain Roy is going through. All I can say mate, is that you're a good person, you're the only person i've ever shared my home with, and i'd like to think that those 7 months were a great time. You've a massive heart, a great personality and you're clever aswell (remember the wiring you did on my landing? Or the Cooker you fixed?? The loft hatch and the bathroom stuff)...Your mum made you into a fine lad Roy, and I rate you amongst the very best friends that a guy could want or have.
July 17 2003
Woke up to a phone call from Helen Hartley. She sounded like the old H I left back in England, all happy and ting! Went to work, I think i've a cold (which is no surprise as it's freezing at night here)...got a headache. When I got home I watched "Grease" on TV, until it bored me...hit the sack by 9pm.
July 16 2003
Worked, that was okay. Got home to the funniest care-pack i've had in ages from Rachel Brawn and Ian Jay, Ian...why did you send me so many Reading FC clippings? These days I tend to go to bed by 10pm, sometimes even by 9pm. Nothing much was on TV, but George and I stayed up past my normal bedtime to watch "Sporting Disasters"...an American show, showing loads of sports accidents, some resulting in death (Like Le Man in the 30's, where over 70 people got killed by a crashing car)....
July 15 2003
Work was nice, really like the people I work with. Only about 3 or 4 people in the Office most of the time, so you can't get away with doing no work, but you can concentrate on doing work as it's so quiet. In the afternoon the Marketing Manager Luisa took me to a conference at Star City Casino in Sydney, so that I could learn more about the products we sell. The highlight has to be the fact that I saw a new Porsche 4x4, which one text to the UK (Rob Freelove) confirmed that it's called the CAYANE, looked nasty to me....In the evening I met up with Denise in Darling Harbour and we went for a meal. Had a lovely time, and then went window shopping for an hour, before strolling by the docks and going home.
July 14 2003
Started my new job today, a small firm called Planit, specialising in Test Management Solutions. Sat down with one of the owners for most of the day. The actual company is really like Keltec, and it's a good bunch of people. Got home at around 6pm, just chilled, wrote a letter to Hannah and Pippa Crighton. Had an early night.
July 13 2003
Got up as I do most days. Tea (Tia) has stayed over, so she had me up at the crack of dawn. Took it easy for most of the day. Dorothy, Emnie, Gilta, Andrea and Paul came over in the afternoon. I went out at 3pm with Denise, and met her mates, including Nikki a pal of hers thats just returned from Greece after spending a year smoking or something?she was a good laugh actually. Had a good evening and got home ready for an early night.
July 12 2003
In the morning I went car-shopping with Paul who needs a new motor. I popped into Toyota, I like Toyota's so I had a look around. Also saw a Honda NSX like the one Carl Ogden has/had...(for all of those who know Carl). In the afternoon I went to Pauls parents house for lunch, it was really nice. Then Andrea, Paul, Paul sister Marianne and Tea (tia) went to the Park with me. Gorgeous stuff, Rainbow coloured birds in the tree's and loads of Cokatoo's, and I saw a Kookaburra, but it wasn't in an old Gum tree, and i'm not even sure if it was Gay or not...(urmm for those of you who know that stupid song)...and he can't be the "King" of the bush as i'm sure the wild cats would make a meal of them!!Evening was a bore, still feeling a little ill...watched Beverly Hills Cop 2...then bed.
July 11 2003
Tea (tia) impressed my today by counting to Grey hairs in my head...cheers! Went out with Andrea my cousin and her husband Paul. Paul sold his WRX today and had tears in his eyes at it was driven away, it was a nice motor though. We then went to a kind of shop you don't get in the UK. Where you buy a design for a home, and the builders then come and build it on your land...you have 8 different designs to choose from, it's quite weird but very popular here...Had a nasty headache so I went to bed early.
July 10 2003
Woke up to a phone call from Marc, that was nice. Chatted for quite a while, and I promised to call him this coming weekend. Met up with Denise in Hurstville and we went to see "The Real Cancun" at the cinema. Sadly the cinema was jam-packed with 15year olds who had the attention span of a goldfish...Anyway, the film was rubbish but it was nice to see Denise. Went home and called my cousin Michaela who's birthday it was today. Watched some TV before going to bed early.
July 9 2003
What a retard...I got a call, thought it was probably an annoying agency regarding jobs, so zapped it onto voicemail...but it was Marc in the UK, so we sent each other a few texts. Right now i'm listening to Suspicious Minds by Elvis on WSFM. JAMES ROMANS, This one's for you Son....Enjoy being back in Blighty!! As for today, Tea (Tia) told me that I was nearly going to be Very Old, a lovely outlook from my 4yr old 2nd Cousin. Went shopping with my cousin George who went to get his hair cut and back waxed. I got myself a jacket. In the evening I went to Redfern, Anne cooked me a meal and we chatted the night away. Quite a relaxed day really.
July 8 2003
Didn't do much during the day. Spent a good hour odd in Blockbusters whilst George and I pondered on what Movie to rent...he then proceeded to rent two kids movies, one called "Rent a Kid" and the other called "Jack Frost"...Questions have been raised!!! In the evening I met up with Denise and we went to a lovely little Cafe for a drink before going for a stroll around an area called...."I can't remember", no, it's not called "I can't remember", I just mean...I can't remember...but it was really nice, with lots of little botiques...In the evening Marc Ramshaw text me, it's been a while, but was really great to hear from him. Oh, and Rachel Buckland phoned, which was really lovely.
July 7 2003
It's just too cold to do anything. Want to know how cold it is? When I breathe out, you can see the mist formed by my own hot air...like in the winter back home...but thats in my bedroom! I mean, my goodness...So I didn't do much today. I did go to Blockbuster Video to rent "Man on the Moon" but the chimps gave me Disneys "Man on the roof", I could of screamed as it's a good 20minute walk away. Anne invited me over for dinner, but I declined as I was going to see Denise tonight, however, she got delayed at work so we had to cancel...It's all understandable though and I felt quite sorry for her as she'd worked 13 or 14 hours. And who says Crime doesn't pay? Thanks to Crime and all her overtime, she'll be earning a fortune!!
July 6 2003
Goodness I have an interesting life! However, no matter how low or bored I am, i'm constantly amazed by how much all of you think of little old me!! I used to think that I didn't really offer much to my mates, but now it seems that I mean quite alot to an awful lot of you. It's not big-headed, infact, I feel really humble. I can't believe that so many of you e-mail me or text, send me gifts and letters and call. Why state all of this? Well, today I secured a job for my return, and its thanks to friends that this came about. But even more amazing, and i'm shocked...is the fact that a very good friend of mine, Karen, is going to fly all the way over here to see me, and come home to the UK with me. It's the third time that someone has specifically come out to see me, and i'm amazed...I appreciate my friends so much now. In Australia i've not really found anyone who I feel I can trust, and as such you all mean so much to me...But Karen, deary me, you've blown me away!!!
July 5 2003
George's mate Craig was over today, taking down the old Porch and putting up a new one. I gave him a hand as George badly cut his own hand whilst trying to help...so he had to go to hospital and get it sorted out. In the evening I went to see Charlies Angels 2 with my cousin Gilta. I was slightly disapointed, really liked the first movie, but the second was a little boring.
July 4 2003
Got up early and got ready. Denise picked me up at 10am and we drove over to Cronulla. We took a short walk by the rocks and sea, an area of Cronulla i'd not seen before, before sitting down and having a chat. However, it was quite cold, so we moved onto Northeys, a Pub, and had a few drinks whilst playing pool. We had a bite to eat and then we headed home as Denise had work. Didn't do anything else all day really. It's freezing cold. Heard from Karen Gregory, seems like she's got something up her sleave...but i'll tell you more about that, once it's all confirmed.
July 3 2003
Well, today I thought i'd take it easy. I headed into Sydney and went to the "Australian Museum". I thought it would kill an hour, but I spent 4 in it. It was fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the section on Evolution. They had a whole section on Skeletons, and had a human skeleton riding on the back of a horse skeleton...Other area's of interest were the Terracota Warriors which are on display all the way from China. What else? Oh...loads of things, well worth 15bucks. Afterwards I went for some lunch and spent an hour reading Starbucks, getting VERY wet AGAIN in the process. My lifes a little empty now all my mates have left, I can't wait until tomorrow as hopefully i'll see Denise...
July 2 2003
What a day. I woke up in the morning, half an hour before bedtime...(an old Python Joke)...Yeah, early start. I had an interview in Rosebury which involved a train and then bus ride. By the time I got to the interview I was soaked (due to it raining). Had the interview with a really good looking (but pregnant lady). The job sounds easy enough, i'm im 99% certain she'll want me...Then I had a few hours to kill, so I went to Starbucks and grabbed a sausage roll (Aussies make weird sausages normally, but starbucks seem to have nice sausages...strange!!)...I sat down and read for an hour, and then left for an interview in North Sydney. Got to the trainstation, and then realised I'd left my wallet in Starbucks. I had 50bucks in it, which is all I have until Thursday, but far more importantly (in the short-term), I had the contact details and address of the interview I was going to in it...Got back to Starbucks, and was really surprised to see that someone had the decency to hand it in - with the cash still fast asleep (but ready for action) within it. Anyway, got on the train, went over the bridge and had an interview with a company called Plan I.T. or PLANIT, I never did work it out....brilliant interview, and again i'm rather confident. Really nice people, very small. We'll see. Got home soaking. Denise had tried to call me three times, so as to offer me a lift home, but I missed her calls. How thoughtful is that? I guess the best thing to happen today (by far) was a phone call I received in the evening. My old H.R. Director, Manager and Office Manager (from Keltec) - David, Sarah and Fran called me up. We spoke for what seems like ages and the call put me in a good mood for the rest of the evening. All three have always been very decent people and offered advice both on a professional and personal level on many times. Sarah visited me whilst she was out here, Fran called me a few times whilst she was in Perth, and I have to admit...i've been terrible at e-mailing David (like I am you all)...But the three of them really made me smile yesterday...GOOD ON YOU GUYS!!
July 1 2003
Got up, had a shower and went to the local Mall at around 11am. Didn't have much to do so I just window shopped. Bumped into my cousin Andrea, so I spent 15minutes with her, and then went to a Cafe and had lunch. I had got myself a copy of "UK MAIL" which is a weekly newspaper, condensing all that weeks News from the "Daily Mail". I read this and then met up with Denise. We went for a Coffee, but we were interputed as I had to have an interview, kinda ruined everything. I did well, but the point is, it ruined mine and Denise's afternoon. I went home at around 5pm for a sulk. Watch TV, went to bed. It was so so so so cold, you can't even imagine how cold this place gets at night!
June 30 2003 - MY BIRTHDAY.
Well, I woke up today to a call from my brother and father wishing me a Happy Birthday. I then went back to bed and opened all the lovely cards I had received and also a gift from Sally Offin at Keltec. (Tanks everyone at Keltec who signed my card, it means loads to me!!). I then went into Starbucks and ordered a Grande drink to help celebrate. Today was my last day at Clearview, so I tried to do as little work as possible. I managed to put details of my return flights etc...on my homepage, so go back and click onto the boomerang logo for that!! After work I went to have a drink with Anne and Christina, Christina is a Portugese chick I met some time ago, her birthday is on July 1st, and she was also born in '76, so i'm just a few hours older...so we had a few drinks. On the way home I called Ian Jay and Rachel Brawn, those kids crack me up. It wasn't a bad old birthday....quite relaxing.
June 29 2003
Woke up and spent an hour reading the papers out in the Garden with George. Paul (my cousin Andrea's husband) has bought 2 boats, he's doing them both up with his pal Damien and plans to sell 1, I popped over to see the boats. In the afternoon my entire family in Oz (that I communicate with), came to visit me...thats cousin Dorothy, her husband Albert and Daughter Emnie. Cousin Andrea, her husband Paul and Children Tea and Ethan, Cousins George and Gilta aswell as my Aunt and Uncle. We had a massive meal, with barbecued food, to celebrate tomorrow. I had a Lush Cheesecake that Andrea made me, it was honestly beautiful, and I got vouchers from Andrea and Paul, Tea and Ethan, a brilliant John Lennon book from Gilta and a CD I wanted from Albert, Dorothy and Emnie....I had a nap (like all old men do after a good feed) in the afternoon. Simon Osamoh called me from the UK, that was cool...it's always fantastic talking to people I miss, and Si makes me laugh. In the evening Paul, Gilta, Tea and I went bowling along with Paul's sister Marianne...I won. Got home and watched Charlies Angels on TV, my goodness, Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz are seriously hot women...watched the opening laps to the GP, but it was past midnight, and so I went to bed.
June 28 2003
Got up and played with Tea (Tia) for an hour or so, and also chilled with George. About lunchtime I went into the city and met Anne. We walked through the Botanic Gardens and then went for a Chinese. Anne and I walked all over the city looking for the Fijian Tourist Board...but didn't find it. We ended up at the Sydney Observatory, just chatting about stuff. It was a nice relaxing afternoon. In the evening I went home (about 6ish) and just watched TV, some Alan Partridge Vids, and Wimbledon. Today I predicted to Paul Taylor that Ralph Schumacher would win tomorrows GP, as it's his Birthday on Monday....
June 27 2003
Well, work was fun, I slacked all day...oh, and I gave a customer a piece of my mind down the phone. The customer called back and complained, I was actually thinking I'd get the sack...that would of suited me down to the ground as it would mean I get Monday off(my final day here anyway). I can't be treated like a chimp by someone who came to Australia with a ball and chain!! I came with a Passport - MATE! I was really cheeky all day, took my normal breaks, had my lunch and left 2 and a half hours early....My cousin Gilta met me outside my work, and we caught the bus back to her pad in Balmain. Got to Gilta's and ironed my clothes, I decided to wear the Pink shirt I got for my leaving party in the UK, this is a brilliant shirt, but it has a lip-stick stain on it, which isn't the best fashion-stamp to wear on a "date"...Anyway, made my way into Balmain and spent an hour walking down the isles of Woolworths (which is like Sainsburys and isn't related to the UK Woolworths)...just to kill time. At 8 I headed for the restaurant, a nice little Italian and sat down at our table, waiting for Denise....What is it with women and time? Can someone answer why it is impossible for a female to keep to the time she sets? My poor little heart was beating like Ringo Starr by the time WPC Kojak turned up! Anyway, the meal was good, we had a laugh, and my rubbish Greek made Denise smile. Denise paid for the meal, as a birthday treat for me, which was nice. We then went onto a bar and had a couple of drinks (I was really in need of several more glasses of Whisky than I had). It's weird, I've had countless evenings with girls before in the "date" respect, but I've never officially used the word "date", it's an American Term they tend to use here more than the UK...so that made me nervous. I really quite like Denise, the one thing I've learned since being here is how much I miss laughing, she makes me laugh lots....We had a lovely evening, and I look forward to seeing her again, which will be soon.
June 26 2003
Deary me, it rained and rained today. I need to make a special mention to Kelly Reed, Matt Foskett and Simon Osamoh who have been running around like headless chickens trying to answer requests sent to them by me. Thanks guys! Today was quite boring really. Work sucked like a Dyson! I did my best to surf all day long, this was fantastic as it meant that Simon and I could relay e-mails via hotmail, and so could Robby F and I. I'm trying to think of todays highlight, but it's not coming to me easily!! I really miss Nathan, my bro. I keep listening to Acquiesce by Oasis as this reminds me of him. Got home, had my dinner and then went to my bedroom and read my book. I wasn't homesick today, it's hard to write down how my emotions fluctuate, but they do. I constantly miss home, but somedays I find it easier than others. I could easily, easily live in Sydney forever...easily...but I'd need to address certain issues first (Like rubbish Australian TV).
June 25 2003
It's so cold at night here, it's awful...and today it rained loads. Before Paul and Simon visited it rained loads and didn't really rain whilst they were here.....whats that all about? I was thinking today about natural gifts, I've come to the conclusion that my natural gift is the art to make people believe I'm interested in the endless rubbish they waffle on about. Like agencies....I've an agent who is "supposedly" looking for work for me, supposedly, as she's about as useful as a pair of sunglasses whilst taking a night-hike! Wouldn't it be humorous if she had my website URL, I think she probably does...so,just incase, here's a message to you Emma...GIDDY-UP, (That's English for GET A MOVE ON)....
Today was alright. Broke all known records, Norris McWhirter would of been proud of me. I'm glad he wasn't around though as if he had known that I'd made 11 sales, he may have turned up with Chris Akabusi (He's a C grade celebrity, so who cares if I can't spell his name, do you think he can spell mine?).Nothing in this life, or the next, can be as annoying as Chris Akawakabusi laughing, I'd rather marry Bob Monkhouse (probably the worlds most unfunny comedian)....(urmmm unless George Bush and Tony Blair have been promoted to Court Jesters). Although, in saying all of this, I'd rather Chris popped along than Roy Castle...bless old Roy and all he stood for...but lets face facts, what was all that Trombone and tap-dancing rubbish all about??.
The day went well, in the evening I called Denephew (rubbish joke, I know). She's a Big Brother fan, I don't tend to watch the Aussie version, but the UK version sounds fun at the moment. I also gave Denise the URL to this site, so goodness knows what she now thinks of moi!!
"State of Origin" was playing this evening. NSW thrashed QLD, and that pleased Mr.K, as NSW is his home state of Australia. My mate Russell Crowe opened the game. I watched it with James Romans, he came into Sydney today, so as to catch his plane to the UK tomorrow. Another one bites the dust!
Phoned my mum on the way home. That cheered me up, seems that so much has happened in a year.
James Romans is a fantastically funny chap, I'll miss his jokes, and in his honour I'm going to leave you all with an Alan Partridge quote or two:-
Sonia: I love you Alan.
Alan: Thanks alot!
The temperature inside this Apple Pie is over 1000 degrees. If I squeeze it, a jet of molten Bramley apple will squirt out. Could go your way; could go mine.Either way, one of us is going down!!!!
Flatley my dear, I don't Riverdance!
June 24 2003
Woke up and got a call from my agency, basically saying that my contract will expire on June 30th. Not the best wake-up call ever. I got into work and told my manager how I felt, I asked her how she'd like to get 4 days notice, and "It's rather unprofessional, wouldn't you agree". Although I spent most of the day surfing the web, I did get quite a high amount of sales. Anne e-mailed me, she invited me over for dinner, and I thought it would be nice....besides, I've not really been seeing her in a good light recently, so figured I should make an effort as she is a lovely girl, and she really went out of her way to cook for me, which was very sweet. Went over and had steak and mash!! However, Denise called just as I was about to tuck-in, so it was cold by the time I actually ate it. This isn't a bad thing though, Denise carries a gun, loaded with hollow-point bullets, so I can't write anything bad about her! (hollow-points explode on impact, thats why John Lennon died when he got shot in the shoulder).
June 23 2003
Well, today Simon left Australia for the USA, to catch his flight back to the UK...all-in-all, a 35hour door-to-door trip...sucker!! That will teach him for trying to be flash and travel to both America and Australia!! To be honest, the past month has been fantastic. I'd been really home sick and having Paul and Simon visit helped me no-end. I think most people who read this think that being in Australia is none-stop fun, maybe I thought it would be...but it's not. Not only do I have to fit into a new culture, a rude society who barge and push past people, but I also have to find new employment every few months due to my visa, and I've no mates....I've made only one or two friends since coming to Australia who I think I could trust...the rest are all just people who I've befriended. It hurts me deeply being here at times. Why don't I come home? I can't really answer that one, honestly...I think I'm ready to, but....I don't know...something tells me to stick it all out. Simon and Paul made me laugh so much, Paul and Simon did so much and I think they enjoyed Sydney. Today passed quickly, I recorded my record sales in one day (7) today at work. Had a 5buck Chinese lunch with Melissa. Denise sent me 16texts, so she actually really cheered me up. We're going out for a meal on Friday which I look forward to. She's a top girl, really funny and well cheeky! Oh, her colleagues in the Police told her that I was "The cheekiest witness they had ever seen in a court case" in regards to last week....that is the greatest compliment I think I've ever been paid! I'm still buzzing from the fact I showed that Lawyer up!! Idiot! So, yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing Denise. Anyway, Melissa says it's time for a fag, so I'm off for a passive smoke!
June 22 2003
Oh-dear, I forgot to mention yesterday that Rachel Buckland called on Saturday morning, rather drunk as she'd just got back from Ascot....it was great to chat Rach...Sunday today, what did I do??? In the morning I went out with my Cousin Andrea for a bite to eat and her husband Paul and daughter Tea (tia). I love spending time with Andrea and Paul, probably one of my biggest regrets (if any) from Australia is that I've not found the time to spend with them...I should make more of an effort once everyone is gone from the UK. We had pancakes and Milk Shakes...yummy, then I went back to my place (my aunts) with them for lunch!! I was supposed to meet Simon at Bondi at 1pm....so you can imagine he was a little bored when I turned up at 2:30!! We looked around Bondi, he saw the beach, and we went to the market. At 4:30 we met up with Denise (female copper I made friends with at court last week) and two of her mates. We sat down in "Bondi Hotel" and had a drink. Denise kept getting calls from work, and in the end she was called in, so although we had a nice time, it was short-lived. In the evening Simon and I went to his Sisters new In-laws house to have a BBQ. It was freezing cold, but we had a lovely meal. Finally, I should ask...Emma Hales, are you alive? Hows the house building coming along?
June 21 2003
Woke up at 11ish, and wasn't feeling like a heavy day. Met up with Simon in Circular Quay at 2:30pm. We watched a street performer for 30mins, he was fantastic, got out of thumb cuffs, escaped from a straight-jacket and put a nail in his head...brilliant, very funny guy also. It's sad because some people watched and then just walked off. The guy said, if you can afford it, give me 5bucks, if not, give me what you can, if you have nothing, have fun....real decent guy. Si and I gave him 10bucks. We then walked over the harbour bridge, so Si could admire the views...Went off to China town for a bite to eat, and then went to the movies to see "Bruce Almighty", well funny...I'd love to be God for a day, if I was I think the first thing I'd do is get you over here...I miss all my family and mates. The second thing I'd do is get Cameron Diaz over, thirdly I'd buy some Steal toe-capped Doctor Martins, and the fourth thing is sort out a National Butt-Kickin' for Tony Blair. We'd get him to stand on the empty podium at Trafalger Sq, and the country could stand (neatly, in single-file) behind him, "no pushing...you'll all get a turn"!! After the movies we tried to meet up with Denise, the Police Officer I made pals with, but the bar she was in mistook Si and I for US Army, so we were turned away...
June 20 2003
Work was alright, went to lunch with Melissa and had Chinese. This is something my Mum, Dad, Sister and bro will find surprising as I've never liked Chinese before....but now I love it. Anyway, after some pickled dog I walked back to the office with Melissa and stumbled upon a little kid (13ish) crying his heart out...so I tried to see if I could help, but he didn't want to talk. In the evening I met up with Simon and his brother-in-law Jonno, we went to PJ O'Briens to have a few drinks. Met up with Lorna, a lass I've made mates with...she's leaving Oz, so it was her leaving party. Today was also Simon's birthday, so a joint cause to celebrate. Anne turned up, and to be honest annoyed me. I can't stand accusations and she accused me of meaningless rubbish twice within seconds of joining us, not in a serious way, but as a joke...but i've no time for smart-arses nowadays. It was nothing major, but it annoyed me, plus she was drunk, and that's unattractive in itself. Jonno wanted to go to another bar, and after taking this into consideration...we left. Had a fantastic evening in "Jacksons on George", 5000 US Marines were in town having a weekend break on route home, so everywhere was full of Yanks. I got one a beer actually whilst in PJ's, told him his President was a retard but I admired the bravery the Army boys had! He laughed and agreed, we chatted about Michael Moore a little. God bless any members of any Forces, brave boys...Stupid governments. Whilst in "Jacksons" I met a girl called Jen, nice girl...made us all laugh, funny lass, she actually showed me a view of the Harbour Bridge I'd never seen before!! Left at 2:30am with my cousin George, don't think we're going to forget tonight easily...Funny as on the way home, Jenny Barrett called George...George committed to flying down to see her....his face was a picture, I reckon I'm related to Bill Gates, not George Koletti...he certainly needs his bank account!! Aghhh young love (sweetness follows)....
June 19 2003
Even though this is Thursdays diary entry, I'm sitting at my desk at work, on Friday...it's 12:30, and I'm working my way through my Starbucks. I'm feeling like an old man, really weak...Last night was the warm-up session for tonight (which I'm not overly excited about)...But before I tell you all about Thursday evening...I need to take sometime to talk about Rachel Buckland. Rachel phones me more than anyone, and she was a little mad at me for not mentioning that she called this week. We've always been close mates, and we have a genuine friendship. Last time I saw her was the day I moved out of my house, the house was empty, but we didn't want to go to bed, so we went back to my empty house, I grabbed 2 or 3 bottles of rather expensive Lansons Champagne which I had stored at my parents (I had no other alcohol), and we stayed up until 8am, just chatting and making one another laugh. It's a special memory as it was my final time within my home, and Rachel and I hid "Pringles" all over the house, so when we get back together we can search for them....whats more, I poured half a bottle of Classic Lansons down the toilet as a ceremonious act, now that's what I call a Royal-Flush!! It was funny, so anyway, she's an amazing pal, and I look forward to seeing her and Marcus again soon. Anyway, as for yesterday....let me see, work was alright, went to lunch with Melissa. After work I met up with Simon and headed into Kings Cross to meet with Andrea from Starbucks and her bloke John. Kings Cross is a nasty part of Sydney, it's the armpit!! You may compare it to Soho as it's full of sex shops and prostitutes (that's a legal trade over here)...it's also dirt cheap, so loads and loads of back-packers live in and around the Cross. Anyway, Andrea came along with her pal Jen. We had a great evening just chatting, and then I decided at 11am to go home........Simon asked me to delay for an hour, as Friday is his birthday, so I agreed...and at midnight the games began. I got Simon a bottle of Stella and a shot glass, to down the Stella from. At first Simon objected, saying that Stella makes him violent (Isn't that what it's famous for - "Wife Beater"?)...Anyway, he did that, followed by a shot I got him. The group chipped together and got him a tea-pot, full with a cocktail...he then had to shoot the lot, about 10-15 shots, which he did. The girls were telling him to stop, I was busy laughing and filling the shot glasses. He did the lot in less than a minute, and so as to help him wash it down, I got him another Beer and Shot...The guy was smashed...HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIMON!! Classic moment, the Canadian chicks were saying that they don't like English in large groups, and Simon (being English himself) says "I don't know, I think they are alright"...what a muppet!!
June 18 2003
Work was quite good, Melissa who I work with was looking nice, so that helped the day pass quickly, ha ha!! You can't live in this country and not get wrapped up in all the eye-candy. Anyway, seeing as I'll be giving her the URL to this website I'll stop all this rubbish talk and go buy a tin hat just incase she objects to my compliment...Work was,as I say, good...mainly because I got 4 appointments which is my level-best. Funny moment, work with a gay guy from the US, Steve. We all contributed cash to have a bowl of fruit in the office, a lady I sit next to, Gail, went and got it...when she arrived she called out "Fruit", to which Steve yelled back "You called"....very funny, great sense of humour that guy has! Met up with Simon in the evening at "Scruffy Murphys", so we could get cheap grub. Simon's Burger was under-cooked AGAIN, so he wasn't very happy. I thought I'd organised for us to meet Andrea (Starbucks chick) and her boyfriend from Wokingham....but I hadn't (like a retard I'd text the wrong person), so Simon and I (and his pal from the hostel he is in) went to Sydney's Casino...don't panic folks, I'm well against all that rubbish, don't gamble in Casino's (though I occasionally have a bet on an F1 race at the TAB, but not often, and I'm up by 60bucks on that!)....Anyway, it's an impressive place, and Simon was pretty amazed with the thousands of people playing all kinds of gambling games and the decorative building...it is an amazingly impressive place, with a massive Volcano in it. Then I caught the train home and spent an hour listening to BBC World Service, and reading my book on "Nissan-Main-Dealer" (Nobody said the jokes on this website would be of a complex and extremely humorous level)....
June 17 2003
Missions! Simon asked me to look after his Gold Clubs whilst in Melbourne, and then asked me to take them to him today. I live about 20minutes from the Trainstation and the clubs were really heavy after about 5minutes of carrying them. Met up with Simon in Starbucks. Not much happened today, I'm totally skint so couldn't see Si after work. However, "Shannon" who we met a few weeks back in Starbucks sent a text to say we should meet-up soon (she'd been told off for not texting Si and I by Starbucks Manager Roy)...Also, Denise, no relation to der nephew, sent an e-mail, she's the copper I befriended yesterday. My Sister sent a card, but I figured it may be a birthday card, so I've not opened it. Oh, Roy, Paul T and Sally Offin...I can't text you at the moment as I'm spending all my cash on these bloomin Poms who keep visiting me!!! Got home, and went to bed, didn't watch any T.V. though I read a few more chapters of my book. At the risk of sounding like a complete raving Queen, and I can imagine most of the guys I know now will be laughing out aloud and thinking "I always knew it"...but has anyone got Boy George's Autobiography?....(Roy stop laughing now!!!).
June 16 2003
Simon met me at 8:30am at Hurstville Train Station, why? Because today was my day of fame...I had to go to court (see December 6th). Got to court. We had to hang around an awful lot, so I got talking to a WPC, and in the end about 6 or 7 of her Police Chums. Her name was Denise, and she's a good laugh...Good looking also, but that's the reason why I spoke to her if truth be known...Anyway. Simon was in the Court Room listening to the trial, I wasn't allowed in...and then, I was called for....
It started off okay, I was mega confident, and not even a tiny bit nervous. Swore I'd tell the truth, and spelt my surname...The prosecuting Lawyer was first to hammer me with cross-fire (it was tough). I stated that I'd been in the Police as a Special in the UK, thinking this would add credibility to my statement, the Defence Lawyer objected, but the judge over-ruled saying that it was relevant information. (I thought to myself, I'm going to get you sunshine). So anyway, I said my bit, including answering the Prosecution question of "Why didn't you call the Police when the fight broke out", with a reply of "999 doesn't work very well in Australia", which got a laugh...And then it was "Sunshine's" go, the Defence Lawyer...Smary git was going to pay! Object: make him look an idiot....First line of questions were Police related, questioning what and who the "Special Constabulary" were, the powers they have etc...He wouldn't shut-up so I said "It's what your Police Service originated from", this got a few quiet giggles and certainly a smile from both the Prosecuting Lawyer and the Copper I was reporting to. (It's true aswell, which makes it all the more beautiful), so that put him in his place. Then he went on. Don't get me wrong, I was being very helpful, but he's trying to trip me up, and I'm a cheeky guy by nature and don't take abuse without cheek.....then came the clanger...it went like this:
Defence Lawyer "Do you know the difference between a bite and head-butt".
James "Pardon"
Defence Lawyer" a Headbutt, do you know what one is?"
James "Pardon"
Defence Lawyer "Being English I suppose you know what a Headbutt is?".
James "Sorry, could you explain what you mean by that comment"
Defence Lawyer "You've seen many head-butts being from England, am I right?".
James "No, you're wrong....
. DAFT RACIST.
So anyway, that got a few smiles, because I challenged him. The rest of the case went smoothly. Basically the guy got found guilty, my evidence was commended, infact the Prosecuting Lawyer actually thanked me and said I had a lovely accent. Simons a Detective for Thames Valley Police, he reckons i'd have been done for contempt of court in the UK, but I did nothing more than question his racist comment, i've become quite patriotic, and actually felt like punching the idiot....Anyway, I did my job, made him look silly and the Judge was happy with the information I gave! Si tipped me and said that if I had enough of the Lawyers (Solicitors), that I don't have to answer them, and direct my answers to the Judge, and so I did, just to belittle the idiot more, it doesn't sound good...but I looked great and he looked an idiot, and I was proud. Job done!! Plus i've made quite a number of new NSW Police pals!! Simon and I met up with his sister who's on honeymoon and doing a world-trip in the afternoon and her new husband, but a bite to eat and a Starbucks!!
June 15 2003
When I got up I nipped over to Iggys house, he's a pal who lives by Thommo Johns. Iggy showed me his lovely new kitchen and Garden, he's got a real show house. Then Thommo and I went to his sister Dorothy's for breakfast, that was nice. I spent an hour talking to Dorothy's husband Michael and then went home to my aunts. In the afternoon my Uncle's brother Peter who is 60 popped over with his girlfriend of 22, she was going home and had a flight to catch so they popped by enroute. Evening was fun, Met Simon (who's back from Melbourne) and went to Sam and Anne's in Redfern to say good-bye, Sam leaves for Melbourne with Jenny tomorrow. Jen hasn't had much time for her mates since meeting George, which is somewhat disappointing, but if she's happy..... Sam, Anne, Simon and I went for a drink and then we went back to the girls place and Sam cooked us a Curry. Sadly, Sam was on the phone to her mum when we had to leave (to get the last train), so our good-bye was a wave....Still, top bird!
June 14 2003
Woke up, and thought "Happy Birthday Dad", which it was in Australia. Went into the city and met up with Sam, she's a top girl girl. Anne then joined us and we caught the Manly Ferry. The idea was fantastic, we'll do the Manly to "Spit Bridge" walk....the views amazing, but it took three and a half hours and the final 45mins were in the dark. It was really tiring so we had a lovely meal in "Harry's Fish Restaurant", which at 30bucks a head totally killed my budget for the week!! In the evening I went out with Thommo John, we had a laugh in Sydney, and I crashed over at his place.
June 13 2003
Got into boring work. Started to read "Long Walk to Freedom", the autobiography by Nelson Mandela, or as one South African Car Salesman said to another "Nissan Main Dealer"!! Quite good so far. In the evening I met up with the Starbucks crew in a bar and had a few drinks. My dumb agency stuffed up pay-day, so I've a whopping 100 bucks to last me a week, and that's going to cover my train and my life!! Lucky for me Andrea gave me a free drink in Starbucks today...
June 12 2003
Had a really good nights sleep, woke up at 7:30am with a plan to go running, however my exercise routine actually ended being simply a quick stretch (to turn my alarm off), and a roll, to the otherside of my bed where I slept for another two hours. On my way to work I popped into Starbucks, Andrea (Canadian chick) was working, and how weird is this....she's seeing a fella from Wokingham. Anyway, she's leaving on Friday and I've been invited out with the Starbucks gang, which is kind, for her goodbye drinks. How sweet is that? Which reminds me....Naomi, thanks for thinking of me, but Rob Freelove reported back to me that Coconut Mocha's are available in the UK. Work was the same old work, though everyone was surprisingly friendly. Went for a quick Chinese at lunch with a new girl, Melissa. Finished that book I've been reading, 700pages sunk, fantastic read. "April Fools Day" by Bryce Courteney. True story about his son Damon, who was born a Haemophiliac and basically contracted HIV by blood transfusion.
June 11 2003
Woke up nice and early, finished packing and got the train into the city so that we could have breakfast with Jenny and Sam. I guessed correctly that my cousin George would be around, and so he was...We had our meals in a lovely pie shop (once I'd located it), and then went and sat at Circular Quay, it was a very bright but hazy morning, which made both the bridge and Opera House look spectacular, a lovely parting memory for Paul. The three girls we went to the AMP Tower with bumped into us, though we didn't chat for long. Popped into Starbucks, and that was it...We grabbed a cab and headed for the Domestic Terminal at the airport via our hotel (to get our bags). We bumped into some Aussie chicks in a coffee shop, so passed the time chatting to them, and then waved Simon goodbye...(he's off to Melbourne for 5 days). Paul and I then got a cab to the Int'l Terminal. Took Paul ages to get his luggage checked-in. Then we did a little final shopping, Paul treated me to the new Eels album (Eels being my second favourite band), bad news...I don't currently have a CD player! That was it really, we went to McDonalds so that Paul could have his last McOz Burger (I hate them, he loves them), and then he left...back to the UK. I was actually quite jealous, I mean that...Australia is nice, but I'm finding it hard to carry on without people who trust me. I miss my family and friends. To be honest, I'm going crazy in the head, isolation is such a powerful emotion which I love and hate in equal measures. Sydney is a zillion trillion times better than any city or place I've ever been, but Australians are an ignorant bunch, tunnel-visioned, perhaps because of Australia's remote location. I don't mean all Aussies are like this, but on a whole, they barge past people, they grunt and mumble and they do nothing fast. And I'd challenge anyone who could show me as diverse a bunch of daft racists.....Though, give them credit, they certainly can play sports and whip us at any sport we challenge them to it would seem, and the chicks are....HEAT WAVE!!! Went back home to Hurstville for a quiet night with my Aunt and Uncle...and an early night to bed.
June 10 2003
Got up early and headed by train into Sydney. Paul, Simon and I went into Pancakes on the Rocks to grab some breakfast. Jenny and Sam came and met us, as Simon was doing the bridge-climb with them both. So off they went to do that, and Paul and I went off for some shopping. We also went over to the Opera House to do the tour they offer. It's quite a good tour, and certainly offers great information about the building, but don't expect the building to look that fantastic from the inside...it's really just concrete...though the main theatre is fantastic. I guess it's an engineers dream building. As ever, I took this as an opportunity to be jippy. Asking the tour guide "Why are the security measures so awful here", he kinda tried to sweep that away ASAP. It does amaze me that nobody checks bags or people entering the building and that they have so many bins within the masterpiece...The guide told us that they raise the levels of security based on information handed to them...Wise move that one....I mean, how pathetic!!! So any terrorists reading my journal, if you'd be so kind as to inform your next target before you strike, they will, in return, step-up the level of security so as to foil your plans.....After that we met up with Si again (he loved the bridge climb), and went home to get ready for our "Last Supper"...We had arranged to go to the AMP Tower, with Sarah, that Yanky bird i'd met in the Aquarium and 2 of her mates. AMP Tower AKA Centre Point is the tallest building in Sydney and it holds a revolving restaurant. Had a lovely evening, Si kept going back for Starters (3 times), and I ate Kangaroo...yumm!!The girls were great company, and we all had a laugh (though I broke my camera). Afterwards we went to a bar, but were all tucked up in bed by midnight.
June 9 2003 - QUEENS BIRTHDAY
What a mission this morning turned out to be. Today is Australia is a Public Holiday to celebrate the Queens Birthday. The fact that the Queen doesn't have a birthday anywhere near todays date, and the fact that a high percentage of Aussies want Australia to become a republic, isn't going to stop this nation of blaggers to blag YET ANOTHER days national holiday....no wonder they all look so great, they've never worked a whole week since getting off the convict boats!!! Talking of boats, got to Circular Quay so as to catch the Manly Ferry...to urmmm Manly!! But the boat had broken down. Today we were going diving with Sharks (Paul, Si, and myself). Sam had kindly offered to be our photograher aswell as filmograher, and was already in Manly...with that in mind we had no option but to grab a Cab....agggghhh 40bucks later, we're with Sam.
So anyway, we get into this Aquarium and the three of us are taken for a few hour training. Both Simon and Paul hadn't Scuba dived before, so I guess they were a little nervous. We had a practice and lessons in a specially designed Freezing cold pool, and did basic stuff such as replacing your mouth piece under water, getting water out of your mask whilst under and a few other moves. Si had a bit of a beginners freight and the result of my trying to help was being at the receiving end of a punch in the face from PC Osamoh...quite funny though, he was trying to get out of the pool, but you can't swim when you're weighted to the bottom of the pool, so while I tried to physically lift him out, he got in a panic, and while splashing his arms, belted me...classic, I loved it, very funny. Then it was time to go into the main pool. It was 17degrees and to say I was freezing is an understatement....goodness me!! Anyway, we get in, and start walking around in this giant fish tank...massive fish, no probs, huge Turtles, maybe 3ft long, no probs, tiny fish, easy, sharks of about 2ft, no sweat.....then suddenly, Jaws and his 6 or 7 mates are in front of us...and when I say in front, we're talking less that 2ft...maybe 1...I could easily have tickled the chin of these Nurse Shark bad-boys....Don't worry, only one of them has ever attacked anyone (great!!)...seriously can't put it into words, these sharks were amazing...massive beasts, maybe as much as 7ft-9ft long...Huge, but to be honest with you...and i'm not trying to be hard...I really wasn't worried at all...just cold!!! In the evening Sam was very kind and cooked us all a meal, it was lovely...and then home, for an early night!!
June 8 2003
Got up at 1pm...Headed into Darling Harbour and grabbed lunch in an Italian restaurant. We then thought we'd go and look around Sydney Aquarium. Very nice. About half way around I clocked a lovely looking girl, and in a style that my teachers in school would have been proud of, slowed down to look interested in all the wonders of sea-life. I think Paul and Simon were quite worried as to why I was taking it so slowly to move from display to display...But you see, the Aquarium had two types of sharks, the type that gobble up humans, and the type that ask girls for coffee...anyway, before we knew what had happened we were all sharing coffee with the delightful SARAH, Now Sarah is a yank (we're getting to become quite familiar with our American friends arn't we), and is a real nice girl. I gave her my number and invited her to join us out sometime, she's only here for a week...but a nice girl to make a pen-friend outta...After that we met Sam and Jenny for a Coffee (not Starbucks) and after they went, Simon, Paul and I went to watch the amazing fireworks they put on for us!! (seriously 2nd only to the Y2K fireworks I saw with my cousins in London). After that we went for a bite to eat and Anne joined us. We subjected her to some jip and teased her for a while (which was funny), and then she went home and we went to the IMAX. Paul and I enjoyed the show, Simon spent 20bucks on a comfy seat to sleep in!! We watched a Space program about the assembly of the Int'l Space Station.
June 7 2003
Simon got in at 10am....Seems that he went on a tour of Surrey-Hills, a nice area of Sydney where a certain American bird called Lisa was staying. We didn't do much, we went shopping in the city, the boys were spending those pounds like it was a race!! Met some bird called Lizette in Starbucks, she was really nice, but I couldn't be bothered getting her number. Came back at 5pm for a sleep. Then we headed to the city at 9pm. I told the boys to go to "Kings-Cross", and ask for directions to a club called "Carwash"...an error, as it took them forever. Meanwhile, Sam and I nipped over to Darling Harbour to have leaving drinks or something with one of Sams old housemates "Olga", or something like that...he's German, so we'll not waste time talking about him. Then we bailed over to "The Cross", had a mission finding the club and danced the night away with the three American chicks aswell as Sam, Paul and Simon. Quite a good laugh, though I didn't feel overly like a heavy night (urmmm...we got in at 4am after a quite trip to Hungry Jacks to by our Whopper meals).
June 6 2003
Had to get up early for our trip to the Blue Mountains. We met up with the group we were going to do the trip with and boarded our train. Slept most of the two hour trip up. Got to Katoomba and realised that it was minus a zillion degree's. I've seriously never been that cold. If you tell me I was colder when I went to spend time with my cousins in Russia I wouldn't believe you....It was horrible!! So we set off on this cold trek, and saw some nice things. Waterfalls, rocks etc...Very nice. Our tour guide was a complete idiot who was making up the history of Australia, lucky I read that book on Captain Cook so that I could tell Paul and Simon what really went on. Classic moment, the tour guide "Vic or Victoria, don't call my Vicky", rubbed her hands on a bush and said.."this smells lovelyyyoooowwwwwwwwwww", retard had got the wrong type of bush and the one she was rubbing her hands on had thorns...not quite Crocodile Dundee...!! Another Classic was going up the light railway, Simon and I were at the front and it was so so so scarey, the greatest inclined railway in the world...but the best moment HAD to be the cable-car. 1000ft up (or 3seconds down), windy as anything...we were all being brave...Simon, myself, these two people we made friends with and the guide...the guide stays brave and we all crash to the ground in fear as the winds rock the car...Probably the funniest thing in my life ever...PC Osamoh and I spread out like a bunch of babies on the floor of this car....Paul was smart enough to not even contemplate going on the Cable-Car, we were warned not to go on it twice by people working at the site. After seeing the three sisters we all went to the pub. The Tour guide actually left without telling us, so we had to make our own way home. In the evening I bumped into Anne and her mate Katherine, so we all (Paul, Simon, Anne, Katherine and myself) went into China Town for some nosh. In the evening we met up with the Yanky girls, and some of the people from todays tour. I was busy telling my favorite jokes, such as "Whats the difference between an Iraqi Soldier and an English Soldier"....."None, Welcome to the U.S.Army"...Classic Joke, which made the girls smile (it's all banter Aunt Sandi - I love you yanks really)... And besides, they tried to teach me the U.S. National Anthem!!
June 5 2003
To be honest, I haven't a clue what we did on this day, so i'll have to get back to you?????
June 4 2003
Woke up (as you do most days), and went and paid for 1more week in our hotel, and got Macca's breakfast for the boys and I. Decided we'd head onto Manly. We went to the beach as it was nice and warm and relaxed for a few hours. After that we grabbed some chinese food and made our way over to Manly Aquarium. Paul, Si and I are going to swim with Sharks on Monday, so we had to book it up. Headed back home on the Manly Ferry and went into Starbucks. Today "Roy" was working, a guy from London who always seems happy. Anyway, some fine looking girls were looking for seats so I invited them to sit with us. Thats, "Shannon" from Canada and urmmm "Anna" from Sweden...We spent an hour with them, and Roy was teasing me, even modeling a love-heart with cream onto my coffee...CLASS!! Got the girls numbers and promised to meet them soon. Then we got a cab back to the hotel, got changed and got a cab back into the city so-as to meet George my cousin. Went to a few quiet bars, nothing much happening, but then, then I met a chick called urmmm (just check my mobile) Amber...now Amber is quite a sort, she had her boyfriend working behind the bar (a Spaniard)...Anyway, she informed me that she's coming to the UK in Oct. for a year or something. Aghhh the night was young, we bailed onto Scruffy Murphys. Simon met some American Chicks, and inparticular a real nice one called...(ooops can't remember - LISA)...Anyway, they were students from the Uni George used to go to. Classic moment though had to be Paul. Some girl grabbed his hand and started dancing with him...what does he do??? Falls over on top of her....I didn't see it, but i'm told that it was very very funny!!! So, what can I say? How fickle one's emotions can be? Who sang that song "What a difference a day makes"....
June 3 2003
Yesterdays bad-luck kept at me until I went to bed! From locking Paul and I out of our hotel room - to the light in the hotel room dying on us...it just all went to pot. Anne also wanted some advice about something or other, and I think my advice was rubbish...infact, so bad that I got angry with myself for being so dumb...Anyway, woke up at 6am, and booked a cab to the airport to meet Simon. Si was landed and out of customs within 20mins so he'd rung me on the way to the airport to find out where I was. Met up with him and headed back to the hotel. Grabbed some brekky in Maccas and then took him up to the room to relax. At around 10am Paul, Simon and I went into Sydney and went up the AMP Tower, it has fantastic view and though i've gone up before (see Feb 26th) it was a lovely hot day so the view was excellent. After that we headed for Circular Quay and the Opera House. Being the kind Englishmen we are, I offered our services to a fine young Aussie set designer struggling with some bags, so we even went up to the stage door. We passed the time whilst waiting for Sam and Jenny by asking nice looking girls to take our photo's....you may laugh, but so did we...so thats okay!! Sam and Jen turned up and we all popped over by Ferry to Watsons Bay (again i've done this, see March 30th). A lovely walk, up to the Lighthouse and the Entry to Sydney Harbour. We worked up a hunger, so finished the afternoon off with a meal at "Doyles" Fish Restaurant.
June 2 2003
Today was one of those days when EVERYTHING goes wrong!!! Told the girls (Sam and Jen)we'd meet them at "Central" at 11...woke up at 10:30..owch, the girls wanted to meet us at Redfern, but I told them Central would be better (another mistake, they were right!!). Anyway, we met them at 12, and headed to OLYMPIC PARK, so that they and Paul could see all the Olympic stuff from 2000. We did a rubbish tour of "Telstra Stadium" and I was very jippy to the host (in a subtle OTT interested way), marvelling in the wonder of the technology used to create a moving stand!!!...Anyway, then the main mistake of the day was made. I told the girls and Paul that i'd take them to a discount Outlet Village...what a mistake...we must have walked for an hour and a half in the wrong direction. In the end giving up, calling a taxi and heading home. Popped into Starbucks (as is now a daily ritual) I'm addicted to Coconut-Mocha's, hey, someone check-out if Starbucks do that in the UK please. Anyway, gave Tanya and Andrea this website address...so if you're reading this, don't be shy, sign my guestbook!!!(and that goes for you all).
June 1 2003
Well, days certainly arn't any better than this...Woke up, and Anne came in and gave me breakfast, my fav. brekky...Raisen Toast...Sadly, I had to down it all quickly as I promised Paul and Ben that i'd meet them at the airport (Ben was flying home to the UK) at 10...Got changed and legged it (urmmm via train) to the "Arrivals" section of the airport...upon realising my obvious error I had to leg it to the "Departures"...MISSIONS! Made it in time and saw Ben. It's a real shame to be honest, he's a fantastic guy with a very unique sense of humour. He has played a big part in my life this past year and I'm certainly better for knowing him. Anyway, chucked him on the plane. Paul was wearing one of those French Connection "COOL AS FCUK" T-Shirts, and as we were due for lunch at my Aunts I told him it wouldn't do, so he had to go and buy a "Cheap" T-Shirt...in an Airport ha ha ha ha anyway, fifty bucks later we were on our way to Hurstville. Has a lovely lunch at my Aunts and then we headed back to the hotel for a shower. In the evening we went to Balmain to have a meal (which Paul made) with my Cousins Emnie, George and Gilta (who's pad it was) and her flat-mate Vicky. Vicky is from the UK and a really good laugh. Paul made a fantastic Traditional Sunday Roast, with Yorkshire Puds and everything...lickity-lick, my first taste of reality in 9mths!! And Vicky put on "Tears for Fears"!! We all had a great evening, with great food and conversation. Gilta made a superb vege-Lasagne. Got home, Paul went to bed and I watched the Monaco GP until 2:30am. It's so weird hearing Martin Brundle's voice and knowing you guys are hearing and seeing the same stuff!!
May 31 2003
Well, woke up and spent one thousand hours getting ready. Headed into the city and for Paddys Market...did a bit of a shop, Ben and Paul buying gifts for people and then headed to Darling Harbour. I wanted to go into the Chinese Gardens and so we did. You can dress up in traditional Chinese dress if you want, and so I did...it was quite funny and 3 complete strangers (all girls) asked for a picture with me...(Note to myself: possible career move). After leaving the Chinese gardens we headed for the Botanic gardens, just to relax. Paul was quite amazed by the wildlife and bats. We sat down on some grass and admired the view of the Opera House/Bridge. Ben wanted to do an experiment which (in short) involved my nose and his Orange Juice...It was painful for me, but we certainly haven't had such a laugh in ages. Anne came over and joined us (the idea being that we'd watch the sun-set) and whilst chatting to Anne about last night, I said...Quote....
yeah we just went out with Lorna and Jenny and Russell Crowe is right behind you....
And sure enough, Russell was taking a walk through the gardens with his new wife...pretty cool hey? Ben and Paul took photo's, Anne and I were just amazed!! Sam joined us and we all watched the Sun come down. More amazing was watching the bats take off and follow the channels of the water. In the evening we Ben and Paul wanted to stay in (aye-aye-captain)....So I went out with Sam and Anne to "Jacksons on George", pretty boring really. I opted to sleep in Jens bed at the girls house as she was away with George (think I can say that now)...I have spare toiletries at the girls house, so thats cool. I can't let today pass though without mentioning that Vicky Ramshaw was really kind today to me. I had some pretty awful news (at the time of seeing Russell Crowe), don't want to talk of it, but those of you who need to know about it, do....Vicky sent quite a number of texts and spoke to me on the phone. All I will say is that my thoughts of with the issue.
May 30 2003
Woke up and Paul went and got breakfast from Macca's. Ben had already left for his excursion so Paul and I slowly headed to the city. I had to pop into work, so Paul went shopping and then we met in my favorite Starbucks!! Really warm today! We met up with Caz (From SU) and I explained that Paul needed his hair cut, but sadly I insist that only my hairdresser chicks touch his hair...This sounds fine, but it did mean we had to travel all-in-all an hour out of our way. So the chicks did a fine job, and afterwards we headed to Bondi. I have to say, it was lovely weather (remember it is winter here) and Paul got to see a quite Bondi with Surfers surfing and Blue-Bottle Dead Jelly fish on the sand!! After this we headed back to the hotel and Caz went on her way. Ben came home so we all went into town and got drunk with Lorna, Jenny, Sam, Paul, myself and Ben...We did a little bit of pub swopping, but soon I decided that we really had to go and waste cash at the Opera House. It wasn't too expensive, and we were all smashed anyway (well not us all...I was though!!)...So we drank and played games and then made our way home. Bumping into 6 fine young things wearing little and wishing to have a photo taken with us...I called them our "Dixie Chicks", the finest one "Blue-Dixie" gave me her number but God taunted me by making sure my phone played up at the wrong moment, and her number is now gone...FOREVER!!
May 29 2003
Got up quite early, as Paul was first ready...he went and got the Coffee's in!! Then the three of us headed off to the city. Ben wanted to book an excursion to the blue mountains, so we did that for him and then we went off on our trek to Circular Quay. Once we got close Paul was amazed to see the Opera House and we were equally amazed at how many photo's he insisted on taking!! One thing is sure, if you visit Sydney, you tend to always take loads of pics of the Opera House!! Then we went to do the Bridge Climb. I did it last on November 8th 2000, and so knew what to expect. I had forgotten how personally scary I found some sections, being 50m above the roads below and being able to see through the metal walk-way is really worrying...but it's fantastic. The tour guide was brilliant and the weather perfect. All of us were tired after it, but to write more than "Amazing" really would be a waste of time. Some people say it's too expensive, but I think for 70pounds, and 3hours fun it's brilliant....Afterwards we went to Scruffy Murphys for a $5 Steak and Chips...again for 2quid who can argue...following our feast we went to the cinema where Paul had a good sleep and headed home after that!!!!
May 28 2003
No work today, fantabulous!! Got up at about 10am, had breakfast, packed all the things i'd need, found 14bucks, which was all I had to my name, and slowly made my way to "Kingsford Smith Airport", AKA "Sydney Airport". Whilst waiting for Paul to land I checked out car rental prices. Then suddenly Paul turned up...first off the plane! Incidentally, PT flew with Lauda Air, owned by 3 times World F1 Champ, Niki Lauda, which I thought was cool. We made our way by Taxi to our hotel, (a bit of a theme here) call "F1", it's seriously basic stuff, but will do us nicely. Situated between KFC and a Macca's, we got the KFC view, which is much better than any Sea view you'd get in Spain!!! Especially when i'm getting changed with the curtains not drawn...!! Then I went off and left PT to rest. I had to go and meet Ben Taylor, my mate from my first job here (his pics under Nov or Dec)...He's also staying with us. In the evening the three of us went into "Newtown" and met up with the Stunning Anne, the Gorgeous Sam and the two ball breakers Jenny and George...Mistake of the night...calling George "My boyfriend" instead of "my cousin". It was an honest mistake to make though...but none of you'd believe it. Highlight of the night....(other than Paul having flown half way around the world to say "hi")...Has to be Anne passing the "taste-test" on the jokebox....Arrested Development business was in the house! Messed up the room booking, this means Bens in a single and Paul and I are in a double...YEAH BABY!!!
May 27 2003
Got up at 7am to call My Dad and check my mate Paul was okay. Spoke to Paul, who was slightly nervous and my brother. Then I got ready for work. Popped into Starbucks. "Tanya" asked if I wanted my normal Mocha with Coconut, so I said yeah, and she also made me a "Chi" some dodgy Asian Tea which I told her tasted nice, but it didn't...so I got two drinks...and then get this, "Andrea" gave me a Starbucks flask "for being a regular". The same flask I'd got a few years back in Nottingham for 12quid...so that was a bonus...what a fab start to the day!! Work was same-as, though I tracked Pauls flight on the net, and he sent some texts once he was in Vienna. I won't be in work for a few days, so these may not be so regular, we'll see!!!
May 26 2003
Quite an unusual start to my day. I was getting off my train at 11:30am, planning on grabbing a coffee and heading to work, when Anne sent me a text asking if I was free for a drink. I told her to meet me at *bux (Starbucks) Martin Place. When I arrived I was quite shocked to see Anne in tears, with really red eyes....Anyway, luckily, she was (emotionally) okay. She's got Conjunctivitis, and looked really bad and sore, poor girl. We sat for an hour and chatted, I fobbed work off with some Carbon-excuse. To be honest, this was the days highlight, though in the evening my cousin George came back from a 4 day trip. He decided to spend a couple of hours teasing me, something he found amusing, but which I find frustrating...I mean, my opinions of anyone here are built on my finest memories of them...and things that upset or play on my mind will impact very deeply, obviously, on that opinion. Cat and Mouse is a game I never have, and never will indulge in. Anyway, I need to draw all of your attention to the following, so i'll write it in bold.
May 25 2003
Woke up and Sam made me a Lemsip again, good old Sam hey....and I went and made myself and Anne Crumpets. Anne (to my memory) can claim to be the only woman I've ever made brekkie in bed for...I'm going quite weird in my old age. Didn't hang around with the girls today, though they are both fantastic, I didn't want them to become bored of me...so I went home to spend time with my cousins. Emnie and Gilta came over and we talked loads about the UK and Europe as Emnie is planning a visit (so you'll get to meet her maybe). In the afternoon I met up with Andrea my cousin and her husband Paul, and then in the evening the 5 of us went to see "Phone Booth", I really liked it, though the cinema we went to, in the suburb of Sydney called "Beverly Hills" was comically rubbish, my old portable TV in my bedroom at home is bigger than the screen they had!!! Then I got home and watched "The Eurovision Song Contest" with my Uncle...just can't escape that rubbish, though it's no surprise, Aussie T.V. is 99% rubbish, they couldn't make a decent show if you gave them access to all of Hollywood!!!!!
May 24 2003
Woke up, and Sam made me a Lemsip. Quickly got dressed and caught the train back to my home in Hurstville. Got home, but the house was empty, so I jumped in the shower, tracked my aunt down by phone to tell her my plans, I went and added new pictures to "April" on this site, and then headed back to Redfern to meet the girls. All of us just wanted to relax, so we opted for a nice afternoon over in Bondi, a short train ride away. When we got to Bondi, we did a little window shopping and then went for a meal at a pub. After the meal it started to tip down with rain, and instead of going home, the three of us, looking like complete retards, went onto the beach for a walk...WOMEN!!! We got back home, very wet. I went and called Helen Hartley, Hay Helen, if you're reading this....text me if you need a chat - okay? And then I called my Dad, which was good. The rest of the evening was relaxed, watching "Total Recall", or "Total Rubbish" which I'm sure describes the film better than the title it was given, and then I slept again in Jens Bed!! Lucky old Jenny hey, what a claim to be able to make!! "Jimmy K slept in my bed"...FANTASTIC STUFF!! And Lucky Sam can say, "I slept with Jay Kay"...and everyone will think she'd pulled the funny fellow with the odd dress sense from Jamaroqui!!
May 23 2003
Went into Starbucks today, I think they thought that I was quite weird, I ordered Milk and Honey, to me it's a treat that I welcome when feeling ill...Anyway, it was lovely, and helped me no end. I also booked tickets for myself, Paul Taylor and my pal from my first job here, Ben Taylor to do the Bridge Climb, next Thursday...After work I met up with my girls, Sam and Anne, both are quite motherly towards me...which is funny, and sweet. Both insisted that I eat before we did anything. Anne had a friend with her, Catrina (urmm is that spelt correct?). Jenny was away this weekend, so I decided to sleep in her bed (she had offered it to me), however, this did mean that I had to go on a "Contact Lens solution" and "Toothbrush" mission with the girls...After which we went to Gloria Jeans Coffee House for a drink and then home to bed!!
May 22 2003
I've a really sore throat, and feel quite under the weather. This is partly because it's so cold here at nights. It's a surprising fact about life in Oz...It's mainly because homes just aren't designed with heat in mind, massive windows, high ceilings, thin walls, no heating...but then, during the 9months of OTT heat, it all makes sense...so it's a two edged sword! Didn't do much, had a record day at work booking three appointments, urmm...did my usual, went to Starbucks to chat to Andrea (Canadian chick) and Tanya...you'll probably be hearing a bit more of these two young barristers!! Really planning to have a semi-quiet weekend as Paul Taylor is flying over to see me next week, Simon Osamoh the week after and my mate Ben who I met in October, is back from Perth next week. (Plan to do the Bridge Climb with Paul and Ben). More on Paul and Simon later.....
May 21 2003
One of the many phrases that my cousin George and Thommo John use is "Ball Breaker", other versions of this are also used, "Bustin' m' nuts", "Breakin' m' balls"...and probably several others....Why share this with you? Because in the words of George, the only person who lives in Redfern who doesn't Break anyone's balls has to be Samantha...Jenny and Anne are honorary members and experts at ball breaking! Without boring you, (and with an element of humour), two things happened yesterday.
May 20 2003
Been trying of something smart to write, but it's not flowing. Yesterday I woke up at about 7:30 so as to call Anne and make sure she'd got up for work, she didn't answer, but later called me to reflect on what we couldn't remember of last night with the girls and George. Went off to Starbucks, it's like my own local, i've always been anti-local pubs (and all that goes with that, darts etc...), but local Coffee shops appeal...I walk in, and the Canadian girl (who's name I always forget) asks if I want my usual...I had two shots of coffee today as I was feeling very i'll and had serious DT's (Delirium Tremens AKA the shakes), was sweating like an Eskimo in Egypt, but had no headache, so that was cool! Despite all of this, I had a good day at work and was most productive (when not surfing the net). Got home, watched "Rove Live", Aussies version on TFI-Friday, and the only thing worth watching in the flat-tele nation! Spoke to Emnie on the phone and downloaded some Digi-tapes onto VHS. Then I retired to my room to write, read and listen to "The Eels".
May 19 2003
As I write this, I'm busy with Suzanne at work completing an Impossipuzzle, you know, those jigsaw puzzles with a repeating image which makes it very hard to therefore work out. As it happens, I think I take after my Dad with puzzles and I'm not finding it overly hard. Yesterday I did some maths to work out how long completion will take, and I forecast that we should be able to complete it within 14 working days. Suzanne is good at it, and although we've already discovered that a number of pieces are missing, we are making good progress (ahead of my calculated targets!!).
May 18 2003
Got up, and after spending 10minutes talking to my aunt, went out. I headed for the city and met Jenny and Sam in Starbucks. If I don't visit a Starbucks once a day, then I visit one twice! I'm not addicted, they just seem so convenient. I opted for a Peppermint Tea, which I'm sure Roy Gould will find most amusing. I've been drinking lots of it recently, it's yummy! Anne joined us, and we went for a bite to eat in a pie shop, within an area of Sydney called "The Rocks", that's where the Southern part (the Opera House side) of the Harbour Bridge is. After the pies we went for a walk around the boutiques and markets, sitting down under the bridge to eat "Baileys" flavoured fudge...yum!! Jen and Sam had bus tickets, so Anne and I caught the train back, stopping first at Coles (supermarket). Anne got off at Redfern and I stayed on until I got to Hurstville where Gilta my cousin picked me up. Gilta took me over to my other cousin Andrea's house where my Aunt, Uncle, Thommo-John, Thommo Paul, Tea and Ethan were. We had a lovely meal and a few laughs. I got home at about 9:30, my Aunt and Uncle had left earlier, and everyone was in bed...so I went into my bedroom and started to read a 665page book my sister left me. It's called "April Fools Day", and is about a guy who has Aids...It's pretty good, though he's only 3 at the moment. At the moment i'm listening to "Raspberry Beret" by Prince, classic tune!
May 17 2003
Saturday began with me waking up at 11am! Went into Hurstville and got my hair cut. It was the normal chit-chat with Lana and Rose my hairdressers, and they took the normal 30mins to do a 2min job! However, they charged me 15bucks for the pleasure...jippy! (Now that's a word I've not heard or used for a long time). Caught the train over to Redfern and met up with Anne and Sam. Anne and I had a few things we wanted to do, so we went off to North Sydney for a while, which in itself was a mission as the trains weren't running, so we had to catch a bus. We then went back to Redfern, and went off shopping for a few hours. For lunch Anne and I had a Starters of "Salt and Vinegar" potato chips and a main of Ice-cream!! Got back to the girls home, Jenny and George were home and invited Anne and I to see "X-Men 2", sounds like rubbish to me, and thankfully Anne didn't fancy it much either, so George and Jen went off and Anne and I spent the evening with Sam. Sam cooked us both a fantastic meal, and i'm talking super-dooper! The two girlies (Sam and Anne) seem to go to great lengths to accommodate me and look after me. It amazes me how willing they both are to make me smile, and cook me meals, make me drinks, offer me raisin toast or crumpets, when I give nothing in return. I'm really rather lucky to have them both in my life, and I've no plans on losing contact. They both make me laugh loads and are both very sweet and thoughtful.
May 16 2003
Work was rubbish, really boring, tried to surf as much as I could, but even that gets boring after a while. Finished workshire, and met up with Gilta and Emnie (Gilta is a cousin and Emnie is my 2nd Cousin). Went off to Gilta's work to drop my bag and pick up an umbrella for the three of us. Then we hit the bars, but the vibe wasn't in place, and the evening was quite flat. We hailed a taxi for Gilta at about midnight, and then Emnie and I made our way to Kingsgrove. It took over an hour to get to the pub we were heading for in Kingsgrove, and as it was dead, we called Emnie's mum, my cousin Dorothy and she came and picked us up.
May 15 2003
Really rainy again....Not much to report really. Spoke to my old boss in Customcall, Gavin today. He's no longer working for them. I liked Gav, by far the best boss i've ever had. Anne rang as I was making my way home, and I called her back later on. Had a KFC for dinner as my Aunt was poorly. Watched Big Brother, man-o-man, is the Aussie version different to the UK version!! For example, they show the contestants in the showers!! Also, one contestant, a well fit Doris called "Belinda" confessed the other day that her sister had taken part in a murder. Basically two guys killed another guy for being gay (C4, you been in Oz?), by slashing his throat and putting an axe in his head...and this was all on live TV...whats that all about. The sister basically kept watch with a Police-radio to scan the airwaves and check the coast was clear. The media doesn't seem as obsessed as
ours gets in the UK though.
AUSTRALIA'S BIG BROTHER WEBSITE, CLICK HERE
May 14 2003
Really poured down all day today, none-stop. It's unreal, really it is! Didn't do much, during the day, Starbucks, the norm. In the evening Anne sent me a text and invited me around to her place, so I spent the evening watching TV with Sam and Anne which was nice. Anne cooked me a lick Stir-fry, wolfed that down and then waited for about 2hours before my hints were picked up and Sam made me a coffee...It's like getting blood from a stone sometimes, those girls don't know how lucky they've got it! Girls went to bed at 11ish, so I stayed around chatting to a German housemate, "Yence" (Spelling!?), he's a smart chap, and funny...we talked about economics for about an hour, it was interesting. However, another German housemate called "Weirdo" or "Mika" interrupted us and started going on about how racist the English were and how Nazi jokes weren't funny...Where that came from I don't know!!! She then proceeded to tell me that jokes were offensive, whereas sarcasm was okay and humerous...so I explained that a sarcastic joke would be worse...I gave a great example, to which Yence and I laughed, but I'd be wrong to repeat it here...Dumb woman did my head in! George came around at 1am and we went home.... (I'd like to point out that I'd not made any jokes about the Nazi's to instigate this conversation, and as mentioned, was talking about the economy and the Euro Dollar, besides, in the words of Basil Fawlty "I didn't start it, they did.........they invaded Poland!!".).
May 13 2003
Raining today (and we ain't talking no poofy English sprinkle, we are talking Power-Shower busines to the max), couldn't be bothered with work so didn't go. Just hung out with my Cuz George. I'm actually currently in the state library with him right now. He's working and i'm typing this. Met up with Gilta my other cousin for a coffee earlier and I think we'll be meeting up with the girls later. I did want to load-up the new pics today, but sadly I can't do it here. Last night the radio was playing "Ice-Ice-Baby"!! Always reminds me of our little dates Emma, for those of you who don't know Em, she's a cool cool chick. Why? Because I offered to take her to any restaurant she wanted on our first date...and she opted for the worlds number 1 "McDonalds"!! How romantic!! Miss you heaps Em, hope you and Neil have fun watching your house getting built!! "WORD TO YA MUVVA."
After the Library George and I went off to meet Jenny and Sam outside where they work. We had a hot chocolate, and then headed back to the girls place. It was far too wet to go out, so we ordered in two Pizzas and watched "Cold Feet", I'd never seen it before and quite enjoyed it, especially the fit Aussie bird married to the fat guy who's always in the Sun Newspaper for beating up his real-life wife while drunk (is that right?)..... Like the UK, Australia only has 5 free channels on TV, Channel 7, Network 9, Network 10 and SBS. (why not 1,2,3,4 and 5 like the UK, I don't know!!). I spent most of the evening chatting to Anne and Sam. Anne and I chatted whilst she made herself dinner and I went up to Sams room to see her. Got home about midnight and George and I watched Big Brother for a while.
May 12 2003
Woke up, fell outta bed, dragged a comb across my head, found my way downstairs and drank a cup, and looking up, I noticed I was late. Grabbed my coat and grabbed my hat, made the bus in seconds flat, found my way upstairs and had a smoke, and somebody spoke and I went into a dream.......Well, I if I was Paul McCartney maybe. In reality I got up, lay in bed for half an hour, went and had a shower, my aunt made me toast and coffee, I caught the train, went and got myself a coffee and worked for 8hours. Got home and my aunt had swallowed part of a skewer from some meat we'd bbq'd at the weekend. Couldn't get hold of George who had the car so as to take his mum to hospital. So I stayed up until George came home at 1am with the car and took his mum to get the skewer removed. Highlight of the evening......the family Cat, "Shiea" who caught a massive mouse in the yard somewhere...
May 11 2003
Woken up at 8am by Tea. Got up, and was treated to a family breakfast prepared by my cousins Gilta and George. It was Mothers Day in Australia today, hence the family breakfast. George and Gilta popped out for an hour, so I played with Tea, and teased her by saying that I was going to marry her idol "Shakira", Tea objected and asked why I wouldn't marry her instead! Bless the little monster.
Met up with Anne at Circular Quay at about 11:45, and we headed off to Taronga Zoo by ferry. It was beautiful weather and we had a really nice day. Neither of us were any good at map-reading so we kinda just stumbled our way around. My favourite part had to be the Chimps. One of them was eyeing up a big metal door, kept knocking on it with his hand and then jumping in the air before launching himself as fast as he could head-first into the door. Classic stuff, and the dumb chimp did it plenty of times (I saw it three times). Other fab moments, a Komodo Dragon took a liking to Anne, and followed her around his enclosure, and two birds that went mental at Anne and I, squawking like mad as we stood and viewed them!! At 5pm the Zoo shuts, but as I've mentioned, neither Anne or I have the surname "Columbus"....So we were left ambling around the zoo looking for the south exit! Finally we found an exit, with a little help from a Zoo Keeper who was patrolling the grounds for the likes of us. Caught the Ferry back into Sydney and went back to the girls place with Anne. Watched a little bit of Big Brother. Anne walked me to the train station, you may wonder why I got a lady to walk me to the train station, especially in a dodgy area!! Well guys, all the women I know are always spouting on about equality and sexism...so I see this as my way of bridging the gap in equality...call it Jimmy's "Girl-Power" movement! Truth be known, I hate doing the walk and Anne is braver than I am...plus she had to go and get some food. My very own bodyguard, how cool is that? Got home at 9:20pm, everyone in the house had gone to bed, so I did the same.
May 10 2003
George woke me up at 8am telling me I had 7minutes to get ready!! ("What for?" was my reaction). At 10am we finally left the house (Hay, I needed to get ready - right!?). Went over to Jens and Sams. Jenny and I went out for half an hour to check-out e-mails. Jen's Hotmail account was over it's size limit so she lost the mail she'd composed, and my machine crashed...GREAT, Cheers for both those events William Gates. I spent the next hour explaining to Jen how I'd get revenge on Billy Boy Gates and what I'd do if I were to bump into him! Then George, Sam, Jen and I set off for a day out of Sydney. We travelled for about 2hours to an area known as "The Entrance". Once we arrived we spent about an hour in a shopping Mall, and then went off to the beach. However, because it was so windy, it wasn't much fun. Sam and I hid under towels, and had a laugh in our mini-tent. Later on Jen and I watched some kid on a Boogie-board, stuff-up! He wasn't in the sea, which was his first error, he was trying to surf down a grassy hill...And did he buckle, yes he did, It made me laugh loads. Nothing like watching other people suffer (Thats why you watch the news - right!? - JOKE). We then watched the local Pelicans for a while before heading back home. The four of us went out for a quiet meal in Newtown which is close to where the girls live. Sam and I stayed up and watched "Twins", "Bad Moon" and the beginning of an old black and white movie called "The Headless Ghost". Got home at 3ish.
May 9 2003
Work was hell, and I mean hell!! My boss was monitoring my calls from 6-8pm, and noted in the monitoring-report that he'd never heard anyone handle as many rude and nasty customers in a row as I had and not be affected or bite-back. I can handle people on the phone, kill them with kindness is my response to idiots who are rude. I hope that nobody who reads this is rude to people who cold-call, to be honest, it's inexcusable, everyone has a job to do! (I just had another one when typing this, what is wrong with listening first and then saying "No thankyou".Anyway, I left work Met up with George and Jenny, and we went to watch George play Soccer with other Thommo's. Jen and I missed most of the game though as we went off for a Pizza. Then popped back over to see Anne and Sam at Jen's place, before leaving at about midnight, popping over to Thommo-Johns on our way home, Thommo had a mobile phone he didn't need, a funky little Seamans that he's going to let Sam borrow for a while.
May 8 2003
Listened to 2-Ten FM all day at work, I tuned in between 3am - 11am GMT, this may sound sad, but it's amazing how much pleasure one gains from hearing adverts for "Lafford and Leavey" and "Reg Vardy"!!Got home, didn't really do much, chatted to George. Phoned Anne, chatted about work and our weekend plans (or the lack of them). Then I went to bed. 2:30am, Rachel Buckland called me, which was nice. We chatted for about half an hour, I got off the phone feeling quite sad and couldn't sleep for what seemed like hours afterwards. Your advice was really really logical and did make sense, but Rach, your analogy broke my heart, and at 3am, that wasn't an emotion I wanted to deal with...But I loved the call, and let me know how the job goes.
May 7 2003
Not much to report really. My Dad mailed me and asked me to clear-up who exactly "Thommo" is...So here is the explanation. "Thommo" is the name of a Pub chain which specialises in "Poker" machines (We call them fruit machines). My Cousin George became such a frequent visitor to "Thommo's" a few years ago that he was nick-named Thommo...Since then many others have joined the exclusive group
Thommo - George (My Cousin)
From time-to-time other people are also blessed with the title. When we get together, we call each other "Thommo", which is rarely confusing, even though it sounds like it would be. The funniest thing is that John's nieces only know me as "Pommie-Thommo"!!
May 6 2003
Nothing much happened today. Got a letter from Claire Cullen which was nice. I should also mention the restaurant ladies at my work, who'll never ever read this, but who make me smile every day. Both speak pigeon English, and as my lunch break is at 4pm, both give me free cakes or discounted nibbles, which is fantastic...By putting them in my journal, I'll never forget them!! In the Evening George was doing this card-fortune thing, it was quite funny and quite spooky, but a load of mumbo-jumbo. Now before anyone freaks, it was playing cards and not Tarrot.
May 5 2003
Didn't get to bed until 3am, as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum didn't get back until 2am to take me home (See yday).Woke up to receive a big parcel from the UK, full of Vinyl records (Drum 'n' Bass) from the U.K. Marc had sent them over for my 2nd Cousin Emnie who aspires to be like the great C4 (Marc). Enclosed was also a letter for me. It was quite deflating receiving such a big parcel and none of it being for me, but Emnie was very grateful...cheers Ramshaw. Work was, well, work...Unlike the UK, today wasn't a public holiday. It rained again lots, gone are the days when i'd complain of the heat!! I'm totally skint at the moment, maybe 20bucks to my name...so that's why no texts are being sent. In the evening I tried to call Marc, but as he wasn't in, had a lovely chat to his Mum Christine. Marc has got a stressful day tomorrow...so my mind at the moment is 100% focussed on my buddy, and not much else. It's going to be okay mate, I promise you...PROMISE, and what's more, in years to come you'll look back at these days with a glint of humour in your eyes!! Love you loads mate, and don't worry. Relax, and go with the flow, whatever happens, you'll always be you...and that's what matters to me!! Whilst I've not much to say, I should make a mention of a special chick I work with Suzanne. She's my own little personal adviser, advising on many aspects of my life including what to do at weekends, how to get mugged in Redfern and the type of Aftershave I should buy. She's a cool chick with very, very good dress sense, the type of babe that my brother would like..Everyday wears something nicer than the day before....She also has a beautiful Tiffany necklace, which I plan to steal and sell for kazillions!
May 4 2003
Sunday, well, I woke up at about 7am which was rather foolish considering I'd not gone to bed until 4-5am...Pottered around the house, wasn't really suffering a hang-over, but my brain just wasn't in gear...couldn't get it going. Anne and I had planned to go to the zoo, zoo, zoo...but it was raining. At 2pm I went over to Anne's, it was so cold, you're all reading this in the UK thinking that I'm talking rubbish, but I'm not...it was like a typical oooohhhh October day in the UK. Anne met me at the Station, we just chilled and then went to the cinema to watch "How to lose your brain in 2 hours"...I mean "How to lose a guy in 10 days"...It was alright, very funny in parts. Then went back to the girls place. Sam made the most wonderful meal, a black-bean sauce based dish, lovely....I think she was sucking up to me for the GBH I endured last night! We then watched "Hollowman" on TV. Afterwards I realised I'd missed my last train home, luckily my cousin had taken Jenny out for the evening to his mates BBQ, however I had to wait until 2am for him to come back. Anne stayed up with me until 12:30, and I watched the Spanish GP until George came back. Wasn't impressed with my day, my brain just wouldn't function and by the end of it, I'd had enough of myself, and the fact everything I said sounded stupid, didn't make great company today.
May 3 2003
Last night, Friday, oh-my goodness! Met up with Samantha after work, and headed over to "Martin Place Bar". Met up with Anne and Christina. Foolishly I was under the impression that young Anne was sober...Why do I always insist on learning things the hard way? I'm going to zip through the events now...Anne felt sick, I wouldn't go into the girls toilets with her, she went in the guys (twice), we were asked to leave by doormen (who were very polite actually)...It took me 30mins to get Anne a couple of hundred yards down the road to a Macca's, I ordered us both food...as soon as we got the food Anne felt sick, so we had to dump the meals, and leave...Anne throws up in a bin on George St. (The main drag in Sydney)...And eventually we get her in a taxi and home....only for her to fall asleep on me...Now a few other things occurred, but for the sake of not making either Anne or I look any worse than we now do, I'll keep them to ourselves!! My goodness, any other female I know would have been deep in my bad books...but it was funny, very very funny. I found it quite amusing, Anne makes a very sweet drunk. The more I remember, the more I laugh...!! One funny part, which I'd like to share....Anne comes out of the toilets, and props herself against me, I turn to her and say "You smell nice" (which she did...)....and she replies "James, I've just thrown-up!!".
May 2 2003
Well it's coming up to 6pm here in Oz on Friday afternoon. I thought i'd do this now, instead of tomorrow. Today was a lovely warm day. I had some news today which made me smile, but more on that another day. My cousin George got in at 5am today...goodness knows what he was up to!!! I awoke at bang-on 7am today to a phone call from my bro, we were on the phone for ages, it was good to talk to him. After the call I went back to bed for a few hours. Tonight i'm meeting Sam outside my work, and heading off to meet Anne who's out on the beers with her pals from work. I'm trying to get Jenny to come out, but she said she didn't get much sleep these past few nights...so I don't think she'll make it.
May 1 2003
Well, today (as a result of yesterday) was a mobile semi-free day. I didn't take my phone to work in other words.
Started having a chat with a new Barister at Starbucks (Flash name for Coffee maker), anyway, I asked her where in the USA she was from...she said "Canada" and then asked me where in Wales I was from, which I found most humerous, I get on well with the Starbucks staff as i've been a regular since getting here. Its far more expensive and not necessarily better quality than other Coffee houses, but the staff are friendly and ask me how things are going. You can never pay too much for good service!
I've been having quite a few e-mail chats to good ol' Kelly Griffiths recently, cheers Kel! Not much happened though today. My cousin George was taking part in a pub quiz, and sent me a text to ask where Jesus was crucified. My answer was Calgary...However, I checked it up in the Bible and it said Golgotha, but George says that the answer was indeed Calgary (not the same place as those famed Winter Olympics I must add)...So to all of you who understand such things, whats going on? Did they move him down the road at half time (and who had the oranges if this is the case)??? If you want a giggle at this point, think of the scene in "The life of Brian" where the King and Queen are being crucified with hundred of others, and turns to the Romans sent to release Brian. The Centurion looks up to the people on crosses and says "We are here to release Brian, where is Brian", to which Brian says "I'm Brian", followed by another guy who says "I'm Brian", and another, and another...and then the King say, (and this is the funniest thing i've ever personally heard)... "I'm Brian, and so's my wife"......Classic, brilliant, goodness me I'd never get sick of hearing that...maybe we'll add it to the site somewhere!! If you haven't seen this scene, you won't quite get the value in the comment, but believe me, it has me on my knees crying!!
April 30 2003
Well, it was a beautiful day today, warm in the morning, and calm. So I set out early (well 9am), and sat in Hyde Park. I watched men play "Giant Chess", which is relaxing, and listened to endless British Comedy MDs, and then focused for an hour on Monty Python....Whilst doing this I also read my book. It's an amazing book, I was reading about a guy called Robert Sanders, a convict on the run in the USA. At the same time a guy by the name of Kerry Sanders (a registered schizophrenic), was out and about enjoying his two-lives!! Anyway, one day poor old Kerry fell asleep on a bench outside his hospital (and this is during Clinton's Presidency, so is recent)....The cops swing past, notice him and do a check on his details....Poor old Kerry, just so happened to share the same birthdate and surname as Robert...So anyway, 3 years later, Kerry finally gets released from jail (where he'd been raped by other inmates), after the real Robert Sanders was found...and right up until that moment, nobody had even thought to check the first names, the identity or even the official records of poor local nutter Kerry....It's funny, yeah...laugh, but it's also quite serious, and the books full of similar tales. Like a class in an American Uni, who studied the facts of Death-Row inmates in 1 U.S. prison and had 7 of the inmates acquitted as a result.....Amazing stuff!!
April 29 2003
April 28 2003
Work was awful today, it started out okay....but then after lunch, the
internet connection was down....this means that I had no option left but to
work....that's right guys, W-O-R-K, the most evil of all 4 letter words,
and I was subjected to at least 4 hours of it. I'm surprised I'm here at
all today, the exercise on my brain cells alone will render me useless for
any form of serious conversation for at least the next 12 weeks!! Seriously
though, work was okay. It's a bonus having the net, as my job is so so so
monotonous, and boring...After work I went over to Darling Harbour, and met
up with Sarah Axton (Keltec), her husband Tony, and the boys Taylor and
Ellis. We went off for a bit to eat, and had a wonderful evening of chat.
They are only in Oz for 3 weeks and by the time they go home will have
spent time in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, The Glass Mountains,
Noosa, Uluru (Ayers Rock), and probably other places we didn't cover...now
that's what I call a schedule!! I'm here for 52 weeks and I've been to,
urmmmm Sydney and Cairns!! (but then again, I do visit Redfern where the
girls live, and that's an experience next to none!!). They all seemed well,
though the boys fell asleep at the table (they were so well behaved, and so
tired), we sunk a bottle of Red, had a few cocktails and talked about many
things. I wish I'd had my camera, but sadly it's been sleeping at Anne's
and I forgot to get it off her at the weekend. It was wonderful to see the
Axtons though.....And even better to get spoilt to a meal by them (thanks
guys!!). On the way home, John Farrow called me. He's the guy sorting out
my sponsorship to stay here in the Lucky Country....It would seem that I've
realised a dream I've held since the tender age of 8. I've got the
sponsorship!! However, what would seem as an easy option, is causing me
much much distress. I'm not prepared to say firmly what my plans are on my
site, but I think those who have asked now know my thoughts. Regardless of
this, I was up last night being sick, and again this morning. For someone
who has a history of dealing with stress quite well, I'm not dealing with
this particular issue at all well!! It's not just this, I've other things
floating in my head causing worry...but this is 99% of it, the other 1% is
what I do when I return to blighty. I'm not necessarily low, just feeling
very sick all the time, worried and confused. Although the meal the Axtons
got me was fabulous, I did an Elton with it within 2hours of
consumption...though I must say, the red wine looked fantastic upon
release!!
April 27 2003 - GREEK EASTER SUNDAY
Well, considering I didn't get to bed until 5:30am, the fact I was up at 8:30am is equal in my eyes to that clever little miracle Jesus performed when he turned water into wine. (I wish I could do that, I'd call myself Jimmy Threshers, and make a zillion quid). I spent the morning relaxing with family, and popped out to the shops with Gilta, George and Tea (someone please tell me, what's the keyboard shortcut to get a hyphenated e?). Anyway, lunch was a massive affair of traditional Greek food, and the smashing of eggs (great fun, but I lost every go I had, I think my cousin Dorothy's husband Albert won!). After lunch George and I ventured out into a pouring Sydney to go and visit Sam and Jenny. We watched T.V. and relaxed really, only staying for a couple of hours. We got home at about 6am, I was shattered from only a few hours sleep, but managed to fight away sleep and watch the first edition of BIG BROTHER (the third episode in Australia)...GASH! Aussies couldn't make a decent show that is none Soap-Opera related if you gave them all the money in the world. The presenter is a wooden version of Davina (Channel 4 - UK Big Bro. presenter), and the contestants were reading auto-cue, what's that all about? Anyway, as it's reality T.V. once they are all tucked up inside the house it should make interesting viewing. So far....5 contestants have gone into one house, 1 contestant has gone into another house (yes they have two houses next to each other), and six are yet to be placed...Not sure as to what's going on, but have a feeling it may be like last years (2002) Big bro. in the UK with rich and poor houses....I know it's a terrible thing to admit, but I for one love Big bro...!! I then went to bed at around 8:30pm.
April 26 2003
Got up at around 10am. Just chilled at home really. Gilta and Andrea my cousins were over, and I helped my Aunt get ready for Easter by eating some of the cakes, biscuits and food she was making. (I'm always helpful!!). Went into Hurstville shopping with Thommo Paul, and joy-of-joys, some bint gave me her phone number. Sadly, she was from Manchester, so we'll not be contacting her, I couldn't live with a female version of Noel Gallagher in my life..."I well lyke Sydney ey do...I've ad a crackin' idea, why dount wee get ourselves a bevvy and get boozed up, Iym mad furrit"....Ughhh, no thank you....to apply for the vacant position of Girlfriend, a basic grasp of the English language is necessary! Then I went home and got ready to go out with George my cousin. We got ready and headed off on the train to Kings Cross, meeting up with Jenny and Sam, and Anne and a bunch of her mates in "World Bar". We had a few drinks, and then headed off to "Carwash", a fantastic club playing Cheesy 70 and 80s music....One of Anne's mates (who was a great laugh) looks just like Tiger Woods, well, he did to me, but I was wrecked by the end of the evening! Highlights....well we have a few, Firstly, George went off to get us both some cash, the ATM gave him his card back, his receipt for the cash but not cash...which was very funny!! Later on George got the 3 girls and us both shots, and my eyes nearly fell out when I found out they were $7.50 each....(compared to a Beer at $2 at the same bar). And finally some idiot who knocked my drink over us both. He was about to wipe his arm on my shirt, so I warned him that this may be a mistake, (even though he was much bigger than me and would have snapped me in two), again he protested, so I again played the psycho and told him to proceed with caution...eventually the chimp saw the light and walked away. My cousin was waiting on stand-by (not with his fists but with bandages which I'd have needed if this guy had decided to go for it!!). I spent most of the evening dancing with Sam and Anne, and laughing lots. I was in a highly hyperactive mood (Emma, typical James style evening mate, so wish you'd have been with us). Now listen, I'm going to risk death from plenty of you girls out in the UK, but so as to kill me, you'd have to fly over here....so it's worth the risk when I say, in no uncertain terms that this Anne mate of mine, has got to be one of the finest girls in this (and I've travelled a high percentage of it) world, or indeed the next world....I would say that she is indeed the finest, but I'll save that compliment for whoever complains at this statement!!! No seriously, she's a great laugh, and to me, that's all that counts really....a pal who makes me laugh loads (and not because she has a funny looking face, walk or twitch, though if she did...it would also make me laugh!!).
April 25 2003 - GREEK GOOD FRIDAY
What a way to wake up....My Aunty knocking on my door and saying "James, get up, the Police are here".....Indeed, I got up, and standing outside were three Law Enforcement Officers, my Aunt and Uncle....Talk about shock. However, it was all okay, they wanted to issue a Court Sapoena, as I am needed in Court to give evidence. (See December 6th 2002). I then went back to bed. Today is Anzac day, a war memorial day, and also the only legal day of the year to bet on "Two-Up",an Aussie game based on "Heads or Tails", and highly addictive. I met up with Jenny and Sam, and headed off to a pub in Newtown called "The Warren". We sunk 3 bottles of wine whist betting in legal games of Two-up. I walked in with 50bucks, and went home with 35bucks, which isn't bad considering I also got food and wine from that cash!! At my best I was up 45bucks...We'll organise a totally illegal night of it upon my next visit to the UK, or return, whatever.....It's fantastic fun!! After that I headed home to meet up with George, but instead found myself at Redfern station for an hour waiting for Anne. When she finally turned up (If you're reading this Anne, I hope you still feel guilty), she was welcomed to the station by a local Aborigine, who upon greeting Anne, Spat at her...nice! Still, Anne is English, so whilst he may spit, our flag still sticks in his land...(oooohhhhhh touchy subject, but fair, given the nature of this Dingo's attack). We went back to Anne's, and (against my wishes) I made my own coffee...and watched T.V. George came and got me at around 12. We then went into Kingswood and picked Emnie up, and went home.
The day wasn't all fun though. I can't let today pass without conveying my deepest and most sincere sympathy to Christine, Marc and Vicky Ramshaw. All three are very very special to me. Christine's father, and Marc and Vicky's Grandfather sadly died. I remember him being as Christine reflected to me "a character" and someone who had a great sense of humour, even though at the time I always thought he was angry with me. He had a great love for those model trains which kids can sit on. I visited his track in Prospect Park (Reading) in 96, and had brilliant fun. It always hurts to know that people you love are suffering, and the Ramshaws have always been very good people to me, Marc being my best mate during the past 10years. I can't really say anything to make a difference, but I can offer my thoughts. Both Jenny Barrett and I are here, and you are all close in our thoughts. I really love you Marc and your family, if you need me...I'm only a phone call away.
April 24 2003
Well, work isn't really all that fun, so I won't bore you with the details. However, I should take the time to once again thank Leanne Caffyn-Parsons who I didn't know all that well when I came out here, but who takes the time to text at least 4 times everyday, and sends me care-packs. I should also thank Rob Freelove for an insight into his mind today. And Roy Gould who not only has downloaded the Radio-clip MP3 onto his server (you can access and listen to it from my home-page), but also sent a really nice e-mail regarding some pretty evil and nasty decisions my little brain has to cope with. I realise so clearly now how lucky I am to have so many friends, I thought it was normal, and now I can see that it's not...which is fantastic as it means that you all realise that I'm either not the retard I like to act, or you actually believe I am a retard and you're all trying to be charitable!! Ha ha ha....Hay, nobody loves a smart-arse, infact, everybody loves laughing at smart-gits who try to impress by being smart...it's true, look around you!!?? Anyway, Thursday evening I met up with Sam after work, we decided to catch a movie, after I caught a Quarter-Pounder Burger and Cheese Burger whilst walking past McDonalds!! We saw "Anger Management", which made us both laugh, but the highlight had to be my choking after my Coke went down the wrong way, and laughing at the same time!! (can someone explain that to me, as my memory of Biology leads me to think that the Trachea is the only passage for drink and food to travel down... (urmmm but don't laugh at me for being smart). Afterwards Thommo John, AKA Delboy came and met us, so we went to McDonalds Cafe (do you have those in the USA/UK??)...and ate cakes. Anne had been out on the beers and met up with us. Drunk, urmmmm Totally wrecked is probably a better way to describe her. She makes a very funny drunk, if only I'd had my camera...We sat her down in McDonalds, and I got her a Hot Chocolate (which must have mixed well with the alcohol) and chips....Given her state of intoxication, we opted to go back home to the girls place...Tommo went home, and Anne, Sam and I watched TV...Well, Sam and I did. Anne died on me. Sam and I watched a doco on Panda's, some rubbish American Soul band, how to invest your money...and then some naff American Soap-Opera (over a period of about 3 hours)...Sam then went to Bed and I stayed up waiting for George (my Cuz) to come home with Jenny. I decided to read my book, Anne made a fantastic Book rest, I must invite her to get drunk again so that I may use her as a book-perch again! I'm reading a fantastic book by Michael Moore, about the American System (Stupid White Men), so go and buy it....Now, this bit will make no sense to most of you, and if you e-mail me, i'll decide upon who can be told as to what it means, and who can't (sorry, itz da rules)....I found myself reading the book, singing "Let it Be" and having to give myself electric shocks. Yep, I told you it'd make no sense...but believe me, it's the funniest thing that has happened to me so far. I had to maximise agony, focus on the Zebrugger Ferry Disaster (Hence singing Let it be)...and read as quick as possible....Oh, my goodness....what a laugh....But it's true, electric shock therapy works, you soon learn to focus!! (My cousin cracked up when he found out). Got home at about 4:30am.
April 23 2003
Today is one year since I left Keltec. Goodness me does time fly! So much has happened since then. As far as days go, this one wasn't anything amazing. However, in the evening I received a voicemail from Rachel Buckland saying she was going to call....so I was excited about that, and when she eventually called we spent half an hour chatting about lots of things including a new PG Tips product...Then it was time to download another home movie for Paul Taylor, and a relay of texts between my cousin George and I...which was a waste of cash really as he was only 10ft from me at the time. The nights are so cold now.
April 22 2003
I was really depressed today. I've so much on my mind at the moment. Do I take sponsorship here? Do I get a job back in the UK? Can I get my unclaimed tax back from the UK? Hows my home in the UK? Do my mates miss me? Will I miss England if I stay? Will I miss Australia if I go? Can I save enough cash for Paul and Simons visit? Does she love me? Does my bum look big in this? Do I have spots.....aggghhhh. The day was alright apart from that. I called Leanne Caffyn-Parsons. Now let me tell you all that Leanne has the perfect accent, and I really mean that...and Lord Russell her husband wants to send her off to elecution lessons, my goodness Russ, you crack me up!!! Also Russ, I think it's about time in our friendship that you told me who you really are. The fact you have a BMW with a TV in it, was a surprise, but now I find out you have a speedboat out in Barbados, i'm starting to suspect you work for the government as a Spy....00-zero!! Ha ha ha ...I got home in the evening and Tea and Emnie had just come back from "The Easter Show", urmmm...a big fair I guess, with an agricultural background, which George my cousin had taken them both to. They were really pleased with all the gifts they had. George and I then stayed up and chatted about girls whilst watching T.V. My Dad had sent me a P50 to claim back tax owed to me, so everyone...cross your fingies for me please, Cash my friends, Cash!!
April 21 2003 - EASTER MONDAY
George woke me up and told me I had 20mins to get ready...missions!!! My life is full of missions!!! Super-quick shower, semi-shave, got changed (changing my shirt 3 times)...and then left the house. We had to swing by Tommo Del-boys house as i'd left my keys and Winston my Walph Wallet in his bedroom on Saturday. Then we headed to Redfern to see the girls. Jenny was going out somewhere with urrmmmm "someone" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. So I spent the day with Sam and Anne. We started off by going into "The Rocks" and having savory pancakes at "Pancakes on the Rocks", Anne cracked me up as she opted for Ribs, and got a huge plate full!! After the meal we headed over to a small Artists Gallery, which Anne recommended, and we spent 15mins admiring his work. We didn't really know what to do with our day, and so we decided to walk over the Harbour Bridge, now this isn't the bridge-climb, just a casual walk along the footpath. It was so beautiful, the three of us were silent for about 5minutes as we took in the views. It was brilliant. We then found a cafe on the far side of the bridge and whilst I had some Earl Grey the ladies opted for Hot Chocolate. We then walked back over the bridge and had several in-depth conversations. With still no real ideas of what to do, we headed to the Botanical Gardens, and again found ourselves leaning against the harbour wall and soaking in the views. We must have stayed like that for half an hour, just chatting. Anne invited me to join the girls for dinner, so I went back and enjoyed Pizza whilst watching on TV a documentary from the UK about Charles Ingram, the guy who tried to cheat in "Who wants to be a Millionaire", it was weird seeing and hearing Chris Tarrant again. The girls between them made me 4 cups of coffee, which I was most grateful for...A great day, with fantastic company. I can't leave today without quickly mentioning Leanne Caffyn-Parsons, who's been very sweet to me recently.
April 20 2003 - EASTER SUNDAY
George turned up at Tommo Johns, (AKA Delboy as he seems to be able to get everything and anything free tickets for the girls to go and watch Rugby, Mobile phones, tickets to the Easter show, plants.....and much, much more!!!), at about 8am...he came and got me and we left the girls with Tommo, whilst George and I went home (both having been out all night). Got in, George made us all (his Sister Gilta and parents) a fried breakfast, and after that...I went to bed, having slept little last night. Woke up for Lunch, which the whole family came to, and then went back to bed!! But don't worry, I did get up again in time to watch the Grand Prix from Imola, it's quite weird hearing Martin Brundle commentate, when we are a zillion miles from my sofa in Reading!! Bit of a waste today of Easter. It was nice to see all the family, but I spent most of the day in bed!! However, next weekend is Greek Easter, so i'll make it all up then.
April 19 2003.
Got up early, facing missions ahead of me...firstly, I needed to go and get a hair-cut, and then I needed to buy Easter eggs etc...To add to the stresses facing this challenge, it was pouring with rain. However, luckily, my cuz George also had similar battles to win...so he gave me a ride to the shopping mall. Yet again I had my head shaved by Rose and chatted away to both Rose and Lana. Halfway through though my cousin George came into the salon and started chatting to them...made me laugh, he's moving in on my turf, this could result in war!!! Met up with Jen, Sam and Anne who'd come to Hurstville so that we could go out for the day. George couldn't join us as he was off fighting crime, or whatever he does when he's "busy"....
We caught the train to Cronulla and walked to the beach. The wind was quite strong, and the waves were fantastic. Jenny had her umbrella destroyed in a comedy fashion by Mother-Nature. We all had our lunch (fish and chips) and then walked back to the trainstation, so as to catch a cab to Kurnell. Kurnell is on the southern point of Botany Bay. We had planned to visit, so as to take in the scenes of the first fleet, HMS Endeavour, the ship of which Lieutenant Cook sailed to Australia upon discovery of the East Shore. The museum hasn't changed much in my memory since my last visit to it in 1985, however I have!! I found it amazing, whilst it's true that it lacked more depth and a better lay-out, I got a real buzz from reading the information and seeing relics from this amazing feet of human achievement. After plodding around the museum for an hour we went outside to look at the landing site. It's not difficult to imagine Cook coming into the bay, spotting land and lowering anchors. The experience was fantastic, I had to hide my interest though, as I got the feeling that the girls didn't share it with me (As Sam pointed out, I have just stopped reading a biography on Cook). Points of interest are marked out, such as a watering hole which Cooks men had used, this provided entertainment for the girl and I as we could hear thousands of noisy frogs, and dispite our best efforts, failed to spot any. The highlight of the trip had to be making our way off the shore and onto rocks, especially a rock which held a stone-etched sign explaining that this was the first point of contact that Cooks Cousin (who'd sailed with Cook) had made, being the first man on Australian soil. We then made our way back to Cronulla train station, with a very funny Greek taxi driver. I told him that I was a comedian from the UK, called Lenny Henry....and we enjoyed general banter, and fantastic rubbish which was flowing from my mouth. Hay Dad, I even got him to sing that song you used to sing to us as kids about the Little Rabbit!!
Thommo John invited the ladies and I over for a BBQ, so we made our way to his place and let him fill us up with wine and other toxic spirits and good food. After the meal we watched "Four Weddings and a Funeral", a classic movie, with one of my favourite actors Hugh Grant. Sam fell asleep quickly. George and Jen went out to meet up with his mates. Thommo was also sleeping so Anne and I spent a few hours just chatting about stuff. She's a good girl that Anne, i'm glad I met her. Very intelligent, very funny and very honest. Fine qualities. Fine qualities indeed.
April 18 2003 - GOOD FRIDAY.
I'm really not in the mood for the Journal today. It's not you guys, it's me...i'm really low. I woke up fine, but then I got an e-mail which has cut in! Where are we, oh-yeah...good friday. Went into the city, met Sam and Jen and got a ferry to Balmain to see my cousin Gilta and her wonderful apartment (featured in my December photo page). We ended up chatting in Starbucks for about 2-3 hours. A lovely day spent in rainy Balmain, followed by a short ferry ride back to Circular Quay. Met up with Anne, and we headed off to McDonalds for a meal. However, halfway through my burger, some old codger came up to me and told us all off for eating MEAT on Good Friday.....Since then (and from watching the edition of "Who wants to be a Millionaire", filmed in the UK, where Charles Ingram cheated, and this question was asked)...I've found out that this is a Catholic tradition. We then walked Anne to Circular Quay to meet some of her friends, and Sam, Jen and I went back to Redfern to watch TV...(I actually fell asleep). Headed home, after leaving anything of real value at Jens. Redfern is a dodgy neighbourhood to live in!!
April 17 2003.
Work was alright. During our afternoon 15min break, I nipped out to the pub with Ryan one of the chaps I work with to sink a quick beer. I also managed to drop my pass somewhere, which is going to cause me no-end of trouble now!! After work it was a quick dash off to the Hood AKA Redfern where the girls live...Sam had made what can only be described as "fantastic" my favorite dish, lasagne. We just sat around really, drinking lots and talking even more. Anne got a text from her friend/boyfriend/man/husband...i've lost track...anyway the text featured the word "Discombobulate", which a few people at the party had heard of, but which I hadn't. Or so I thought, but it turns out (after much research on my part) that Sir Edmond Blackadder used it, good ol' Ben Elton and Richard Curtis...Urmmm... that was it really...I could write about my cousin George right now, but I won't!!
April 16 2003.
Well work was same-old, same-old, nothing amazing about it. Very windy and rainy today. After work my cousin George drove into the city and picked me up. We then headed over to Canterbury Leagues Club (which is like a social club, but very lavish...like a top hotel I guess)...We met up with George's cousins John and George. We joined them in celebration of George (my cousins cousin) wife having baby Peter earlier this week. After having a bite to eat we went back to George's and chilled.
April 15 2003.
Days certainly don't start off like this very often...Had another interview at the company which if they employ me will give me the 457visa required to stay here in Oz for another 5 years. Half way through the interview the conversation turned to my time in the Special Constabulary. The Interviewer a bloke called Joe, asked "how would you deal with this"....!!??...He told me to come over to the window (and we were on the 20 something level of the building I was in), I looked out of the window and up, and some bloke was sitting on the edge of a neighbouring skyscraper with Police a few feet behind him obviously trying to talk him out of jumping...It was quite an ice-breaker and made us both laugh...but how weird is that? Anyway...after the interview I went outside. A huge crowd had gathered below the building, but I thought it was a little sick to hang around so I left...I presume that Mr.Nutter didn't jump!! I went off to work. George Koletti, cousin of my cousin George Koletti (if you follow me), became the father to his first son today, Peter. So congratulation to both George and Gina. I'll try and get a snap of the latest recruit to the long list of Thommo's very soon...Thommo Pete!! I got home to a Care-Pack from my Sister. Two pairs of Mitten-socks for my Nike trainers...good on ya sis! And x4 tubes of Yotuel Toothpaste. Now your probably wondering why she's sending me toothpaste, well I seem to have an allergy to normal paste. The Sodium Llaurel Sulphate gives me mouth ulcers, so I use this particular paste. I can't find it here, and it was very kind of Naomi to send me some. The tubes (which are small) cost nearly 8pounds each, so sending 4 of them was very generous of my Sis. Thanks Naomi....Love ya!
April 14 2003.
Woke up quite late, about 9am, and went into work. The day was alright. I like working for Clearview, it's a fantastic office...I'll have to remember to take a photo of it sometime. After work, Thommo (John) picked me up, and we went to Darling Harbour. John had organised to meet with Christina (from Sat), but asked me to go along with him. It was a great night, had a lovely time. Rachel Buckland phoned me up, and that was nice to catch up with her, she's getting married in May, but I forgot to ask if thats May 2003 or 2004...I assume 2004!! Either way, it made my evening talking to her. It was also nice to spend time with Christina and John. Got home at around midnight.
April 13 2003.
Woke up to missions!....I got on a train to "Edgecliffe", and then walked down to Double Bay, where all the Toffs of Sydney live (the likes of Mel Gibson and Nicole Kidman). The plan was to meet up with Helen (ian Rutherfords girlfriend). She'd stayed an extra week in Oz, whilst Ian had left last week. My back was agony, and i'd forgotten my medication, so I went into a Chemist and asked for painkillers...the lady gave me some, and told me that they would also help with Period pains, which struck me as a stupid thing to tell me...!! I met up with Helen, and we had a meal in a pub in Double Bay, my first taste of "Bangers 'n' Mash" in 7 months...lick! We then went for a walk around the bay, Helen stole a Lemon from a tree...and then we went off for a cup of tea (Peppermint tea actually). We sat down, and enjoyed our tea, whilst viewing the hotel where Mr. Michael Hutchinson finally let weirdness get the better of him, The Stamford Hotel, Double Bay...where the Hairy Monster hung himself in his weird Pop-Idol, Sex-Suicide...in the words of Helens boyfriend Ian...WEIRDO! After finishing my tea, I said goodbye to Helen and her friend Sarah who had joined us. Got myself onto a train to Redfern, dodged the abbo's. And popped over to Jens and Sams. Jenny was going into the city to meet my cousin George for a few drinks, so Sam, Anne and I headed out to watch the new Rowan Atkinson flick, "Johnny English", I thought it was quite funny. We then went back to Sams place. Sam wanted to call her boyfriend Darren back in the UK, So Anne and I watched "Face-Off" on TV and just chatted. She's a very cool lass, a good laugh, and someone I get on well with. George and Jen got back at around 11pm, and George and I caught a Taxi back to Hurstville.
April 12 2003.
Went over to Jennys new place, which is handy for Mr.Jimmy K, as "Redfern" is on the same line as Hurstville. I got off at Redfern, and Jen met me although the local Abbo's made me feel like I was a "Boy in da hood"...we managed to get to her place with our mobile phones and without gunshot wounds! We then got Samantha, and headed off into Sydney. We decided upon a cultural afternoon, and went to the Museum of Contemporary Art...or as I renamed it, "Museum of Contemporary Gash", as it was rubbish. It was very small, didn't really explain much, and although it did have a few items of interest, it wasn't my cuppa English Breakfast Tea!! We then popped over to Starbucks in Circular Quay to have a drink. I like spending time with Jenny and Sam, I can truely be myself with them. not a lot of you know Sam, she's Jennys mate from Uni, who i'd met a few times back home in the UK. She is, it has to be said, a great person and I can see quite clearly why she is such a valuable friend to Jenny. She has a fantastic sense of humour and keys into the subject of the joke very easily, playing along with it, and willing to be the subject of it many times. I really like that quality. She's also a great thinker and has some fantastic points of view to add to a conversation. So times spent with both Jenny and Sam are always memorable, for one reason or another...My brother texted me in the afternoon, which was fantastic as I didn't hav his new number. I always love getting his texts, and with the exception of my sister...they obviously mean more to me than most texts because he's my bro. I love him so so so so much, and miss him more than these pathetic words can write. I think it's important to say that, and the same for my sister also. I'm not too manly to point out that on occassion, i've been in bed at night and had tears roll down my face at the thought of my bro, and how I miss him. Anyway.....In the evening we went back to Jen and Sams home. They introduced me to a house-mate "Anne", we had a brief conversation. Then we headed out into the city. We met up with Anne, her mate from Portugal Christina and both the Thommo's, (my cousin George and his cousin John). We had a few drinks, though due to my medication (for my back) I was on rubbish Coke, and thats Coca-Cola! We walked up to Oxford Street and into Kings Cross for a few more drinks. Highlight of the evening has got to be Jenny going into a gay bar to use the toilets. I didn't realise and followed her into the bar with my cousin. However, upon realising...I left, but George stayed inside waiting for Jen...Questions need to be answered!!! We then left the girls, and George and I caught the night bus back home to Hurstville. Got into bed at about 4am.
April 11 2003.
I haven't completed this for quite a few days now. Mainly because my new job started with "Clearview" part of the "NRMA" (which will mean nothing to you in the UK), on Tuesday. In addition to this, as you'll have no-doubt noticed, I've added pics for March and April. This process takes about 2 hours, it'd be quicker for me if it wasn't so difficult to actually download them...So I spent time doing that. To top it all off my back has been a nightmare. I spent both Tuesday and Wednesday evening sleeping on the floor, thinking this would help. I certainly slept well, but i'm not sure it helped. If your not up to speed with my ailment, I've suffered back problems constantly since around Boxing day...It came to a-head yesterday (Thursday), I really felt faint at work, i've never felt faint before so I knew something was really wrong, felt very sick, and the pain was unreal, hence the feeling faint. So today I went on missions to get a medical card and see a Doctor. All is well, i'm all pill'd up, and although it still feels awful (with these supposedly strong pain killers)...I'm confident that they will do the trick. I'm starting to get excited about the visits of Paul Taylor and Simon Osamoh in May/June...I'm lucky to have mates like all of you, as i've mentioned many times, and i'm touched that these two (who don't yet know each other), cosider me such a good mate, that they want to pop over and visit...Your all fantastic to me, and I miss each and everyone of you loads!!This weekend i'm going to have to take things very easy, because of my back...but I really want to meet up with Ian Rutherford girlfriend, i've texted her several times since Ian left, and promised him i'd meet up if possible. At the moment everything depends on my back! One final point, Last Friday Rob Freelove sent me a really really really nice letter, and very funny too. Robs a mate who has been in my life for many-many years. He's very important to me, and dispite distance both over seas and sometimes in opinion, he remains a very valued and special person who I love loads..It's good to see life un-fold so wonderfully for him, and I can't wait to let him buy me lunch somewhere on my return...Infact, hay...your all so kind to me, your all so great, how about everyone shouts me lunch...that's my meals sorted therefore until...ohh 2006!! Cheers! ....Have a fab weekend!
April 7 2003.
Well, woke up...came here really...spoke to Natalie Danvers on MSN, and thats it. My backs "gone" again. 3rd time in 4months which is slightly worrying. I'm listening to 2-ten FM as we speak over the net. I've put a request into the morning crew to say hi to you all for me...so let me know if it happens!! I'm still smiling over the events of Friday. Rutherford made me laugh so much, fantastic evening!!
April 6 2003.
My aunt woke me up by asking if i'm alright, I think we all know that manual labour is not a strength of mine!! My Cousin George and his builder mate Craig were knocking out one of the bedroom windows and replacing it with a modern window (eventually the whole front of the house will have it's windows changed)...So I helped with this today. Well tried to help, George found it amusing to watch me struggle to remove a nail from the wall...It was quite interesting and fun...And my aunty kept us well fed. I went to bed quite early as I was so tired.
April 5 2003.
My little bro called me at 7am or something painful. Feeling like death I answered the call and had a fantastic conversation with him. Had some toast, and then went back to bed. Got up at 10:30, and my cousin Andrea came and collected me....why? Because today I turned my handy help to Andrea's Cousin George's house. Andrea, George and I painted three rooms. His wife Georgina is heavily pregnant, so George wanted to paint before the baby comes along. It was a nice day, and the food "Gina" made was wonderful. Went home and downloaded a video from my Camera, it's missions to download video's...so thats why they're few and far between for those of you who get them.
April 4 2003.
Took me ages to get to Riverwood on the train last night to meet George. Went to see him play mixed-soccer. His team lost. Today I got up early. My Mum sent a huge parcel over, a polo shirt for me, and a jumper aswell as gifts for my 2nd cousins over here...I think they were Easter gifts, but I gave them out now. Then I went into the city. At 1pm I met with Ian Rutherford and his girlfriend Helen. We went over to a restaurant by Circular Quay for lunch, and a chat. The lunch was really nice, and we certainly did a whole load of talking. Karen Lancaster joined us for a few hours. After a few hours and 3 bottles of wine, we left and headed for my favorite eating haunt...Pancakes on the Rocks. Again, we had many laughs. I can't believe how much Ian managed to pack into 2 weeks in New Zealand and 1 week in Oz. At around 6pm I headed off. I had a friend to meet. Didn't hang around with her for long...and quickly made a dash over to James Romans. James is going to New Zealand this week, so I went for a quick drink with him...and then to a cyber-cafe. I picked up a whole load of Alan Partridge vids from James, so looked a little stupid walking around with a shopping bag!! At this point, quite drunk...Ian texted me, and asked me to join both Helen and himself for a few evening drinks....Helen had checked them into the ANA Hotel,and let me just say that unless your surname is "Gates", your not going to get a room like Ian's easily...Directly overlooking both the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, this was one hotel room that blew my mind. To get into the bar in the hotel required me to wear shoes..and as I didn't have any, we couldn't go in. Instead we went into a local pub to drink pints (which is rare in Oz) and play pool. Helen and I versus Ian...and he seriously thrashed us!! After many more laughs, I went downstairs in the pub to the main bar, so as to get change for my $5 note...so we could play more pool. The lovely, wonderful, fantastic barmaid helped me out no-end by giving me five one dollar coins, one five dollar note, and two twenty dollar notes...basically, she mistook my $5 for a 50...so I did the Christian thing to do in such times of good fortune...said "Praise the king, for the cash he did bring!!"...stuck it in my pocket, and felt most good with my dishonest actions!! We left at closing time, and I squeezed into Ian's size 8 shoes ...And went into the ANA bar. Very expensive, and we quickly got stuck into $18 drinks...the night ended for the three of us at around 1am. It was fantastic to see Ian. He made me really happy, and we got on very well. Thanks for all your advice Ian, i've taken it on board, and will be in touch. Whilst Ian flew home on Saturday his girlfriend is still here, so i'll try and meet back up with her before she leaves. Anyone interested, here is the views and the hotel Ian stayed in...simply amazing:-
Whilst Ian and Helen were sleeping off hangovers, I was still trying to get home...I was smashed and did an act i'm not proud of...using the video's as a pillow, I slept for 45mins on a bench!! Eventually my train came, and I got home at 3:45....
April 3 2003.
Today I walked into work, the clouds parted, down floated rose petals, and the smell of vanilla wafted by my nose. Soft music eased my stride...and why, why....because I quit...and nothing on this...OR THE NEXT life, could possibly bring me more satisfaction!! More good things happened today, infact you could just say that it was fantastic...it's probably more like English weather at the moment that you'd believe!! All rain and stuff, makes me miss home all the more. This morning I was very homesick. VERY...You can't quite understand what it's like unless you get yourself into this situation, all my mates suffer it over here...it's the little things, like watching Eastenders, or listening to my music, or buying a decent paper....
April 2 2003.
Well, i've not been in touch with ANYONE for a while on a personal note, because of the hours I work. However, all this is to change....so i'll be replying to letters and e-mails very very soon...more on how and why this will change soon later! Yesterday was a typically rubbish day, however, I did manage over 40sales, which is brilliant really, even if I do say so myself!! In the evening I scooted over to Darling Harbour to meet up with Karen Lancaster who was celebrating her Birthday and Ian Rutherford who is visiting Sydney (both from Keltec days of old)...Anyway, neither were at the bar they were supposed to be at. I couldn't get hold of Ian, it's a pain as I have to phone his mobile in the UK, so i'm not sure if he has access to voicemail here?? I did get hold of Karen, and at my suggestion we met up for a few Scooners at the Opera House's bar. Quite expensive, but it was Karens birthday, so I thought it would be nice. She had loads of news to tell me, as i've not seen her for a while. Great girl, always able to make me laugh...KAREN, YOU NEVER FAIL...DO YOU??? (that's a joke only she'll get!!)...watched a few fireworks also, which were coming from the otherside of the Opera House, it was a most relaxed and enjoyable evening. Got home at about midnight and went to bed. Had to be up at the crack of dawn today for an interview...now when Ralph Lauren offered me a job back in September, they were offering me 12bucks an hour. The best i've done over here is about 17...and today I went for a job offering 20bucks an hour. Basically it's booking in Financial advisors, meetings with old folk...for NRMA. They are a major, major Aussie business...Kinda a cross between Prudential and the RAC...though I doubt thats going to make much sense to any of you!!! I was very confident that i'd get the role, it's only a 1month contract, but it gets me out of Customers1to1. I should thank Gavin Mattig for a glowing reference...cheers mate. Yep, I got the job...start on Tuesday...Hours are better 12-8pm, suit me, and it means i'll be able to get back to e-mailing and writing...Anyway, i'm off home now. Nanite!!!
April 1 2003.
Cherie Blair died and went to heaven. As she stood in front of St.Peter at
the Pearly Gates, she saw a huge wall of clocks behind him. She asked, "What
are all those clocks?"
St. Peter answered, "Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone on Earth has a
Lie-Clock. Every time you lie the hands on your clock will move."
"Oh," said Cherie, "whose clock is that?"
"That's Mother Teresa's. The hands have never moved, indicating that she
never told a lie."
"Incredible," said Cherie. "And whose clock is that one?"
St. Peter responded, "That's Abraham Lincoln's clock. The hands have
moved twice, telling us that Abe told only two lies in his entire
life."
"Where's Tony's clock?" asked Cherie . "Tony's clock is in Jesus'
office.
He's using it as ceiling fan".
March 31 2003.
Yesterday afternoon was really nice, had a lovely family BBQ, and spent time with all the family. My cousin Andrea is the best woman alive...she's 30, married with two kids, and declared to us all that life would be so much easier for her, if her husband had two wives....so they could share all the duties...What guy isn't going to agree with that idea...So, i'm going to try and get Danni and Kylie!! When I came to Oz, I compiled a list of 306 people to keep in contact with...of those 306, not one has failed to get in contact at least twice in the past 6 months... May I therefore ask why not ONE of you lot thought it might be a good idea to inform me it was Mothers Day yesterday????????????...you don't want me back do you, it's a plot to get me in trouble with m' mummy! ha ha ha...Over here Mothering Sunday is in May...however, Jaimie last week informed me on Thursday, so I managed to get a card sent...and I believe Rachel sent one for me in the UK. Guys...next time, ANY important dates...work with me!!! You're gonna get me shot, arn't you!!! Today was work as usual...stuffed up on Chinese food at lunch aswell as the food my Aunty made me, I needed to cheer myself up...and foods the way I went to do so!...You'd never quite believe the people I work with, i'll not name names, but apart from Jaimie (who's left), John and Tim...most of the rest are bunch of weirdo's...John and Tim visit this site, so that's proof alone that what i'm about to tell you is no lie....I'm in a team of 15 I guess...One guy is 40, has a shaved head with a tuft, and supplies many types of drugs to the team including Magic Mushrooms and GBH...GBH is a drug which is taken in liquid form, (a electric blue liquid)...It's famously known as it has often been a drug used in date-rape cases...How do I know it's electric Blue????Because I sat between two guys on Friday who whilst on the phone took shots of it...And they arn't the only ones...at least 5 people of these 15 are regularly on GBH at work...it's unreal...The management are all gays, and very open about it...it's the weirdest place in the world EVER...the sooner I get OUT the better....and before any of you retards ask...No, I'm not going to try any drugs....especially DATE RAPE drugs in an office full of Homosexuals!!! You all think i'm lying or joking...I only wish I was!!!
March 30 2003.
Well i'm not sure where we got up to....On thursday Jaimie resigned from work, I was really rather upset as she was told basically to leave right-away, and other than a quick "Goodbye", we didn't get to say or do much...Shes a great girl, and i'll really miss her. However, for her benefit alone...I should point out that within 1 hour of her leaving, i'd sold x4, on the cold list to 1 customer...which made me smile!!The winner of the funniest parcel/care-pack sent to me was also won on Thursday by Paul Taylor who sent me x4 copies of the Sun, x1 copy of AutoSport, x2 Copies of FHM and various other mags...the humour however was not in Pauls gifts, but in the fact that the Post Office had stuck (and I counted) 60 (bang on) stamps onto the parcel...60 stamps...at a cost of over 35quid...Paul you crack me up!!!On Friday I was (at last) moved onto the "Warm" database...but it doesn't do much for me, I miss Jaimie, she used to keep my mind OFF work. That was really my week at work. Friday night I opted to not go out. Saturday was a nice day. The "James Caird", a famous lifeboat, in which Sir Ernest Shackleton, sailed to "South Georgia" after his failed South Pole adventure. The exbidition was between 1914-1916 on the ship "Endurance". The ship was crushed in the ice in 1915, yet Sir Ernie led his men to safety against all odds-making an incredible journey across 800 frozen miles to South Georgia to get aid--a testament to his skill as a leader of men.The Sydney Maritime museum had the "Caird", and other artifacts from the adventure, so I went to see them. I then met up with Jenny and Sam and went off to explore "Watsons Bay", a most breath-taking area, half an hour outside the heart of Sydney. (Where the opening to Sydney Harbour is). After that we met up with Thommo (John) and saw "Gangs of New York" at the cinema. Thommo and I then went off, for a few hours, but Roy and Paul T, made me realise it was time for bed (by text...THANKS GUYS), and so I retired for the evening!!Today started off Kinda rubbish...woke up finally at 9am...except, thanks to the clock-change (yeah we got it also), we went back an hour...meaning it's now only 9hrs difference between Sydney and GMT. I got changed, and went to phone Rachel Buckland...who made me smile...Aghhh, Rach...I miss ya!
March 26 2003.
Sorry, it's been a few days. The problem is that I don't get home until 9pm at night, as I live an hour and a half from work, so by the time I get home I'm shattered. Saturday evening I met up with Sam and Jen, and we pigged out at Pizza-hut. We then met up with my cousin Gilta and went to see "Dare Devil", a waste of 15bucks if you ask me!!! Afterwards we went to the normal Cinema Starbucks which we always tend to visit after watching a movie at "George St"...and then Gilta went home, and Jenny, Sam and I went to the Opera House...to see it at night. Security is so awfully bad it's untrue...you can walk right up to the Opera House with a back-pack and not get checked. To add to the stupidity, they have bins everywhere (which could easily become a home to a bomb)....However, unlike most Australians, I really doubt Sydney is high in the Terrorists list....Aussies really are, in my opinion paranoid about this. It also upsets me that they don't get behind the nation during this time of war. Whilst I know that many people in the UK disagree with the war, at least Ian Duncan Smith had the decency to wish the Labour government his best and add support to the cause....It seems a mess to me here, but to be honest...I don't think most Australians would even know where Iraq was, let alone why they are involved. Why be so harsh? Because i'm starting to get wound up and profoundly frustrated with all the opinions and people here that consider themselves more knowledgable than those in power in respected countries of the world....Sunday was fun, went to a motor show with Andrea, Paul and some friends....it was lovely, and in the evening we went and watch the Ali-G DVD my bro. sent over. The Australians don't have "Bling-Bling". Monday was work as usual. Jaimie and I spent most of the day just e-mailing one another. I've never met a girl who's opinions are so alike my own, and it's cool working with her....I know that we risk the chop for miss-using the e-mail, but "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn"...I can't quite put into words how rubbish this job is....Monday evening was a chilled affair, basically just watched the war and went to bed. Tuesday was very similar, however....I got home to a really lovely letter from Simone, you asked some fantastic questions Simone, and your right...I do miss Ian loads and loads...I also miss al my friends, and my God-daughter is fine thank you (on my last check). Can't wait to see you munchkin, and your story cracked me up loads....It was my Uncles Birthday, so I got him some Biscuits and chocolates as whenever he has them, his daughter Gilta tells him off...so I thought i'd spoil him a little. I like my Uncle Nic loads, he's funny, and we do manage to communicate in Cyp-lish, a little Cypriot from him and I, and a little English. Today is Wednesday, and I've had some FANTASTIC news. Chris Coates may be coming out to see me with Paul Taylor...Can't wait, and hope you can make it mate!!
March 22 2003.
Getting up was a fantastic idea today?Tried to call Kelly G. as promised, but only got as far as her answer machine. Then I called my Mum and Dad and also managed to speak to my Uncle Barry which was nice. I then had breakfast and watched a bit of the War on tele, which was fun!! Always nice to watch a few explosions whilst chewing my marmalade toast!! Anyway, my luck and form is so far today second to none. As explained to my Dad, I had to go to the bank?oh-boy! A fine teller girl called Bianca served me, shes obviously fantastic because not only did I clock her within 5 seconds of walking into the branch, Id also sparked up a long conversation, given her my contact details and walked out with cash within 15mins?You may see it as Hit and Run?.!! Oh, your thinking thats quite good (some of you will remember previous UK attempts on Bank Tellers and wonder if there is indeed a bank left in the world which Ive not made a move within?.)?Well, this is nothing! Got my cash from the bank and went to get my hair cut. Lana my hairdresser was halfway through cutting some womans hair and handed the job over to the Saturday girl to finish offstarted cutting my hair and then, then she said the words that will make me chuckle until the end of the day?We should go out for a drink sometime?..Aggghhh, you see, you see what comes from war?people realise that its now or never. Two good looking chicks in less than an hour?and its only mid-day!! Off out tonight, not sure if Ill be out with my cousin Gilta, or my mates Jenny and Sam from the UKor both??? Paul Taylor just rang me whilst doing this?Im glad he called, we tend to crack each other up. Believe it or not, we are still able to cause havoc even with 11,000 miles between usmaybe I will or wont tell you about it sometime?
March 21 2003.
And so the war has begun....You wouldn't have known it where I work as Mobiles are not allowed on, we don't have web access and no radios or TVs were on. I thought that was a little out of order, especially for the Aussies who I work with....surely they should have been given the right to watch Prime Minister Howard address his nation?? Anyway, work sucks, if it wasn't for this girl I work with Jaimie and two lads John and Tim, i'd have died of frustration, boredom and cold ages ago (our offices are over air-conditioned)...I must thank Paul Taylor who has been texting me like a trooper recently with War-updates. Australia tends to be a few hours behind when it comes to news, and I don't know why!!?? Paul even called me at 4am today to say that ground troops had started moving into Iraq. All I said was "Okay, thanks", and I hope he doesn't see this as rude, I really really appreciated it, but it was 4am...Im really grateful for any updates anyone can give me whilst i'm here!!
March 20 2003.
The idiots who started to clean the Opera House did a bad job, Paints dripped all down the sides of that sail and it looks a right mess! Makes me laugh though. Today was fantastic. Nathan called at 6:45, which was cool as it got me up and wide-awake quickly, and I was really pleased to here his voice!! Good luck with this Hayley chick bro. Then my aunt gave me a huge parcel from Karen, filled with Clarins for Men products, now thats what I call a good start to the day!! James Kirby sent me this very funny link, and I thought you'd all like it...BUT YOU NEED VOLUME really...
CLICK HERE TO WATCH GEORGE AND COLIN SING ABOUT SADDAM!
March 19 2003.
Well I was wrong, it wasn't a banner that was flown from the spine of the Opera House, though it did look like it from the train, but indeed a work of vandalism,
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OPERA HOUSE YESTERDAY
As you can see, it had been painted on, with pavement paint. As my train went over the bridge today they were still having a job removing it. If you want to read more about the story visit:
Opera House News
Apart from that, everything is okay. Carried on reading my book and living my life in Oz. Had a second interview yesterday, but i've a load more to come for the job in mind...so we'll see.
March 18 2003.
Internationally awarded war correspondent Esther Keene was at the front again today! Reporting live from her News Desk in Sandhurst, Royal Berkshire she contacted to inform me of news to both shock and almost stop my heart! I never thought i'd see the day where I not only applauded but also admired a member of the British Labour Party. Robin Cook, the guy who looks like a Munchkin has done me proud!! Yesterday was a truely fantastic day. First off, Lord and Lady Caffyn-Parsons, and Maisie sent me a Care-pack. It was brilliant! It had a little soft-toy, a long letter and some pick and mix, plus a pic of Maisie, which is now safe and sound asleep in my wallet! Also, Esther Keene sent me one of the nicest letters ever....thanks E and thanks the C-P family, who I believe are currently living like billionaires in the Carribean somewhere...alright for some! Yesterday was apart from that uneventful. Bethany turned 3, so I attempted to call and wish her a happy birthday a few times.Got a new book, it's pretty heavy going 600 pages, bio on Cap't Cook, I wonder if i'll have read it within a month, it's a goal!! This morning as my Train went over the Harbour Bridge I noticed that some war protesters had climbed the Opera House and thrown a massive banner off it's spine saying simply "No-War", it looked pretty impressive I must say...!!
March 17 2003.
Well Yesterday was 6 months since I got here. That final morning was brilliant. It was a perfect English day and my memory of saying goodbye to my brother is never far from my mind. The Airport with my Mum and Dad and Ian and Rachel is also often being re-run in my mind. Today is Bethanys third birthday, and indeed St.Patricks day....It seems strange to think that 3 years ago today it was a bright morning and I was busy cleaning my house...wow time flys!! Saturday day I spent in the Botanical Gardens, and Opera House. I then went to the Cinema at night with my cousin Gilta and a German friend of hers who's name I never asked. Sunday was a lazy affair. Went to watch Thommo,Thommo and Thommo (George my cousin, John and Iggy) play soccer, which bored me and besides, it was far too hot to be out, I was really burning up whilst watching them. Then I came home, and slept a little, before going over to Johns for more relaxation.
March 15 2003.
Yesterday was rubbish...My job bores me, i'd rather watch songs of praise than be put through the pain of "Customers 1 to 1" again and my Gay boss, who incidentally went to school with my cousin George...ayyyyaaaa draw your own conclusions!!! Good ol' Blighty has been heavy on my mind, Infact I drempt of my return last night. Talking of last night, went over to Thommo (Johns) house last night with George, and George ended up finding more donations for John's Garden!! I tried to help, but sadly, I am of a lesser courage, and only managed to give a tree trunk a shave before both George and I collapsed in fits of laughter at my inability to use an axe...as a direct result, my donation had to be left for another day. Anyway, it's very weird the emotions that one feels whilst here. People who have upset me I find have many more times the resentment and anger thought of them than I would usually. Equally so, my family and friends who shower me constanty with love in many many ways, have a warmth in my heart that I've never felt before. I truely am a very very lucky man....boy...child...
March 12 2003.
It's a tough job this one, I was joint top with the girl I mentioned from Surrey yesterday (Jaimie) and today I came top in the Cold-call team with 12 sales. I've not much else to say...oh, this is interesting...Everyday when I walk to the train station (about a 12 min. stroll), I count how many lizards I can spot. Now although you get large lizards in oz, the ones who live in the suburbs are small, the size of a middle finger, maybe slightly longer...Anyway, today I counted 22!! Since getting here I've only seen 1 spider in Hurstville, and that was outside our house. A Wolf Spider, they give a nasty bite, but thats it really, besides, my Aunt killed it...and no snakes!! I spent ages looking for red-backs with my cousin George once, but we never found them! You see, Lizards are liked over here and not killed as they eat the spiders...the circle of life!!!
March 11 2003.
Work was alright today. Made friends with a bird from Surrey, who's nice. We chat over e-mail during work which passes the time. Oh, you know yesterday how I mentioned my boss was gonna give me a lift home after work at 5pm...well at 7, I asked another manager if he'd seen Spiro my boss...he'd left, so I ended up getting home at 8:30 and was quite angry...oh well. Spiro gave me a lift home last night so that's not so bad...Last night we had a big family get together with everyone present as it was my sister Naomi's last night in Oz. I'm going to be really sad to see her go today. She's been an incredible support to me these past few weeks, infact i'd go as far as to say that psychologically this past month has been one of the toughest tests of my life. I've not touched on it on my journal as the beauty of my journal is that i'm able to show and tell you guys only what you need to know and see...and fear not, lifes great. I've also learned what a great cousin George is to me. This morning I had an interview, which looks good as i've been called back for a second one next week. Naomi however flew off whilst that was going on, so my cousins took her to the airport. She's been amazing these past few weeks, for the first time ever i've felt the need of an Older sister, and enjoyed her company. Finally, it's been awful awful weather these past few days, but fear not...I'm sure we'll be back to the 90's in time for the weekend!! Oh, and Ian, if you read this (Ian Jay that is)...Mate, I got Rachels email, tell her that her Uncle owes me 'cos I lost out on my bets on Ferrari...and also mate, what's all this about ya job mate??
March 10 2003.
I can't believe this....!!! Coulthard only went and won the Aussie G.P. yesterday, giving me even more reason to be mad at him..!!! Anyway....Saturday was a really fab day. Went out in the evening with my cousins Gilta and George, and Sister Naomi. We started off having pancakes at "Pancakes on the Rocks", and then went off for some heavy drinking. It didn't take long before we were all talking complete rubbish and spilling drinks. I started chatting to three lovely ladies, all I should point out were stunning, from Melbourne. They had got cheap flights from home to Sydney as the G.P. was on in Melbourne. So we had Tess, Mary and Hayley. From here on in, as insisted by these three fine specimens of wonder, known simply as "Jamie's Angels"!! George and I stuck our Sisters in a Cab at around 2:30am and then went over to the casino to meet back up with the "Angels"...We got in at about 6am, which for me was fine, but George had to be out at 8am...sucked-in! Went out to Canterbury RSL last night for a meal, lovely evening with my cousin Andrea and her family and her cousins George and Dorothy and there families. Went into work today, started working on a new campaign which looks alright, it's to basically generate funds for a rescue helicopter. As i've mentioned before, it must have rained for maybe 7 days since I got to Oz, well yesterday was hot and lovely...but today, it's rainy rainy rainy...and not the slight drizzle you get back in the U.K....NO-WAY, this stuff would make Michael Fish dance with excitement...it's belting it down! Lucky for me, my boss knows my cousin George, (small world) and has therefore offered me a lift home.
March 8 2003.
WHY did I waste cash on Coulthard...I just don't believe myself sometimes! I put 5bucks on Coulthard for Pole today, and he managed a lousy 11th...I don't know why I bother! I also put 10bucks on Rubens to Win and Michael to come 2nd tomorrow and 5bucks on an optimistic fastest race-lap by Mark Webber....Yesterday was fab. Met up with Jenny and Sam and went to the NSW club to watch Friday qualifying. We then went and had a picnic in the Botanical Gardens, with beautiful views of the harbour. In the evening we went over to my mate James' pad for his birthday bbq. It was fantastic. The garden area has tennis courts and is the size of a couple of football fields, beautifully laid out lawns etc...Now this may not sound impressive, but it's 6 stories high! After the food we played silly games, well one...called "Dizzy", which made me laugh loads. And then we went up to the 32nd floor (I think) to James' mates place for a while. I really had a great time, thanks to James for a superb evening. On the way home Marc called from the UK. Now Ramshaw (Marc) is one of lifes "blaggers"...for example he's flying to New York for a Week, with top flights, (I think first class), Top hotel and spending cash after winning a competition on Sony's website!! Anyway, he cheered me up. I got quite low before going to bed. Woke up today and watched the Formula one...
March 7 2003.
I must sound like an old man, but my back is killing me. Anyway, had that interview. I thought it went well, but i've not heard back yet. It's all pretty exciting. My sister came over last night and we went to my cousin Dorothys house. Do you guys in the UK have "Joe Millionaire" on TV. Man that show cracks me up, shallow bunch of females!! Today, I had a bedroom tidy, and posted a few bits and pieces off to some of you, postcards etc...Right now i'm going into Sydney to meet Jenny and Samantha. Now don't be fooled by the rocks that she's got, cos she's still, she's still, Jenny from the Block, she used to see me a little, now she see's me alot, cos she's still, she's still Jenny from the block....WHATEVER....Urmmm, yeah, we're going to watch the F1 qualifying (Friday), i'm honestly so excited about the race. Chucked 10bux on Rubens to win on Sunday and Rachel Brawn your family will be more than happy to hear i've back your Uncle for the Constructors and his main man Michael for the Drivers Champ...only snag, if I do come home in Sept...how do I collect my winnings....???
March 6 2003.
It doesn't seem like 2days ago that my Mum and Dad got me a ZX Spectrum...why reflect upon this? Well it amazes me that the ZX Spectrum + , which I had, had only 48K of RAM. This Journal page alone, not including the sound or the lovely pics of Australia in the background is now at 100k....A little odd of me to act amazed, but oh-well. Last night was pretty nice, I met my sister in Sydney after work, and we went for a coffee at the old Starbucks I used to go to before work at Customcall. We sat down and chatted, and took the short 2minute walk to Circular quay which is where the Opera House and Bridge are. Obviously it's quite a normal sight for me to see now, so I wasn't amazed, but it was lovely for us to just chat about stuff. Today "The World" Cruise-ship was in port. The world is not a holiday-cruise vessel, but indeed a living home for the rich. A room starts at US8m and you own that room, and basically it's full of old rich guns who just sail around the world on this massive ship...Anyway, flash as it is, it kinda ruined our view a little. My backs still awful, i'm still popping pills for it...tonight i've a rather mega important Interview with a pretty exciting job role in mind...Keep watching, half of me wants it, the other half is actually (a rare feature in my life) nervous. IIAN JAY i've note heard from you for nearly a week, have you died and not told me? And hows my brother doing....Nath, give us a call buddy, I'm not sure if you got my mail mate...I miss you loads and loads and love you even more.
March 5 2003.
God help me. Alanis Patel as we'll now call her wouldn't stop telling me how the air conditioning is playing havoc with her vocal chords and how she's due in the studio this weekend....You know, theres alot to be said for DEAD rock-stars....though she's hardly a rock-star, I mean, Sydney is hardly a world player when it comes to the discovery of legends (though Rolf is close to my heart). Anyway, My backs really really bad. George gave me a few magic pills and I got some pain killers from the Chemist so I can't feel the pain as much now. Dad e-mailed me the other day and I've cut and pasted part of that mail, as it sums up my thoughts exactly...I'll never EVER forget those people who HAVEN'T found the time to respond to my letters or texts and e-mails, luckily few of them exist....who don't text or haven't rung but who have ignored me (Infact I can think of only 2)...The rest, those of you who have contributed to this site. Who write to me, send videos, e-mail me,send me pictures by e-mail or snail, send Magazines and Newspapers, carepacks and postcards, who text, who phone...or who let me know that i'm in there hearts...well, i'll also NEVER forget you...my opinion of friends has changed, and in a none-faggoty way, I love all of you who have shown the slightest care for me, anyway...this is how my dad put it, in far better way:
One of the good things about your extended trip to Australia has been the fact that you can now honour the friendships that are withstanding the time and discard the ones that have been superficial.
March 4 2003.
Old Man K, today YET AGAIN (see Boxing day) did his back in. It's been very sore for about a week and at lunchtime today gave up the ghost. I've got about half an hours worth of walking ahead of me this evening to get home. I hope that this aids it and doesn't cause more pain. Not much else to report. The job i'm working on, is about as sellable as my pants...the team of 3 of us are getting nowhere! One girl from London looks like a female Ricky Gervais...bbbbrrrrr, and is about as Interesting as a Caravan Site! And the other girl is a squarky Canadian who calls the search engine "Google", "Goggle" which really annoys me no-end....She's also a wannabe pop-star or something as every other call she makes is in regards to her demo tape...Love Alannis as I do...This world only has space for one famouse female Canadian Singer in my books, thats why we've not heard from Celine "SHUT IT" Dion for a while....yet alone an West-Indian Canadian singer....sorry to say it, but It'd be pretty close to Apu from the Simpsons singing....Oh well, if George Harrison were alive i'm sure he'd dig it, him and Ravi Shanker....but he's not...so she won't be getting my vote.....urmmmm unless i'm very very wrong and she becomes mega famous...in which case I never wrote any of this (right!?) and she was my lover (right!?) and i'll split all money made with you!!!! One final thing, whilst on the subject, and it cracks me up big time. Theres another campaign going on here that i'm not part of...selling Teddy-bears for charity, and this really friendly Indian guy called "Paul" works on it...anyway, he's got a strong Indian accent, but insists on calling me "Dude"..He just called over and said "so your doin' overtime are you Dude"...which sounds particularly funny...Is that racist? Well it's not intended to be, it's just really funny to hear, but Im not going to claim not to be racist when we all know how much I hate the Turks!!
March 3 2003.
This reading Bug is getting a little crazy. 11pm on Friday night my cousin George gave me a biography on "Prince", or whatever you or anyone including he himself want's to call him...Anyway, it's now Monday and it's finished....Saturday was a really really fun day. Got up and went to Thommo (Johns) house. He was in Melbourne watching Kiss who I am sad to report, still have an amazing following in Oz....Anyway, George and I cut his lawn and video'd the memorable event for Mr.Ian Jay....(If Ian is still alive)...Then I went and finished off my website.... A BIG THANK YOU AND HUG TO EMNIE FOR LETTING ME NOT ONLY USE HER SCANNER BUT FOR ALSO HELPING ME USE THE SOFTWARE . In the evening George took his nieces (Tea and Emnie) and myself out for a meal, and then George and I went into Sydney. This weekend was Mardi-Gras and as most of you know, i'm not really a lover for all that gay-pride junk, and although it's cool with me...I don't really dig the whole idea etc...but, with that said...George and I went to Mardi-Gras..."My eyes have been educated"..Saw this hot chick and asked her what FTM on her t-shirt stood for (I love my FTM)...she turned to me and cut me a horrible look and said "I love my Female to Male Trans-sexual"...stone the crows....so anyway, George took me to a bar and we had a few drinks. I then phoned Jenny and she and Sam came over to our bar and met my cousin...we kinda just chilled, and then gave the girls a lift home....3am found George and I back in Thommo (Johns) back garden, watering his plants (the one's from Thursdays entry)....!! Sunday was pretty chilled also, woke up and called the UK. It was my God Daughter Roxanne's birthday, (kinda she was actually born on 29th Feb 2000). So I called her family to wish them all the best etc...A great start to my day. I then went out for a meal with my entire family to "The Cypriot Club". As Australia is built up from every nation on this earth, and over 50% moved over during the last 40 years, ALL nationalities have social clubs. You get the Greek, Turkish, Spanish...everything...and this meal was at my families club...the Cypriot club...We went to celebrate my cousin Dorothys husband Alberts birthday. Afterwards we all came home for cake (and for me a sleep). In the evening, Thommo (Paul) and I went to Botany Bay...thats where Captain Cook first set foot on Australian soil, to fish...yet again I caught nothing, but Paul is improving, he caught a crab!!! Oh and we both got bitten loads by mosquito's, maybe therefore we'll both catch maleria! The most amazing part of the evening was that the sea was washing up illuminous sand...illuminous blue in colour. It was unbelievably beautiful. I can't quite explain why or how, though i've seen such sands and rocks in museums and aquariums in the past. When the light was off they shone so bright, but when the torch was pointed at the area, it just looked like normal sand....Fantastic fantastic experience....
Today I started a new job in Chatswood, it's sales again but is only (at a push) so-so....The highlight of the role is that it means every morning my train goes over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and overlooks the Opera House...now that beats the views of the M4 any day of the week!!! Im off home now to watch the new series of "24" i'm hooked!!! One last point, my xmas pics are now on the site. I'm rubbish at working out the sizes, so sorry that some have come out massive and others tiny.
February 28 2003.
Yesterday was indeed a comedy event! First of all, I had a few agency (kinda) companies to meet with. They are both practically the same. What they do is pay you and sort out sponsorship for you, they try and help you to find a job, but really that isn't a responsability...the key is the sponsorship aspect. Well anyway, the first company, Geoffrey Nathan, comes across as a very professional organisation. I've never thought much of them as when I first came here they chimped me around a little. So I go in for an interview with "Carly", Carly does her pitch and then says that she'd like "Dawn" to come in. Dawn comes in and gives me her sponsorship waffle and says she'll go and get Carly whilst I fill out some forms. 30 mins later i'm getting a bit bored, so I go out to reception and ask the receptionist to remind Carly that i'm still here. The receptionist calls Carly, who tells her that Dawn is looking after me....So I take a seat in reception...nothing, nobody comes!!! So I wait a little longer, and then then receptionist calls both girls again...40mins after the initial "I'll go and get Carly"...They both turn up...CHIMPS! Anyway, then I went over to FreeSpirit and met with a guy called Stephen, really nice chap. We sat down and went through my C.V. which he basically gave feedback on, so I spent the afternoon taking his advice and changing sections of it. In the evening I met up with George (Thommo), John (Thommo), Iggy (Thommo) and Iggy's wife...We went out for a meal to the local RSL Club and relaxed. Then the games began. Now Iggy has a beautiful garden, with many tree's and bushes, flowers and plants....Many of these have been generously "Donated" by the good people of the Sydney suburbs. You see, there is two ways of obtaining plants and shrubs etc...the Garden Centre method, which involves queing and parking etc...and the "donation" method, where the good people of Australia welcome you into the gardens they so carefully tend, to help yourself to whatever they have. Now i'm sure you get my point here. I'm being very careful not to blatently say how they become "donated" because we all know that judgement is a sin, so I figure that if I don't write and only imply...those who may cause me grief, can't as it would mean they would have to judge me.... Anyway Thommo (John) wanted more tree's for his garden, to be specific..."Goarva's"...So using the magic ingredients of an Axe, a car, and a pair of sneakers...Thommo George kindly donated Thommo John with 13 whilst I gave Thommo only 2 and Iggy Thommo 1.
February 27 2003.
The delicious urmm forgotten her name, urmmm oh-yeah...Laurie called me yesterday. She thought she's sorted out a job which would sponsor me, but once i'd looked into the Legal side of it, it turned out to be a no-goer. I went into town, met up with Andrea and Tea (I really need to work out how to put accents above the "e" in Teas name)...And my sister. Today in the UK my Bro's Godfather had his funeral. My pal Paul went, and I should thank him. I should also thank Rachel, Rach honey, your phone-bill, your crazy. Good old Jenny is at Bondi today, I can't meet up with her as i've a few things to do, it is a scorcher today. I wish you lads were here right now, because the hottest bird just walked in....Oh which reminds me...RACHEL OSHOROV, when are we meeting up? We need to sort out Melbourne...As you'll all note, i've put sound on some pages...I really wanted to put something other than the Wizard of Oz on the Home page, but what I do want I can't find. HELEN H. I'm so so so so so so sorry i've not mailed you, I will I will I will, thanks for your mails and texts...
February 26 2003.
There is many things going on at the moment which i'm keeping from the vast majority of you...so if my daily Journal enteries seem a little contradictory, you'll know why....Anyway, yesterday I carried on hunting for a job...And in the afternoon found myself sitting on the steps of The Opera House or "Big Bird Plop" as I've now started to call it. I was waiting for Jenny and Sam to turn up, I really am enjoying the company of two people who i've known for longer than 6months. The weirdest thing, and it baffles me really, is the fact that the Opera House is NOT white at all. In Photo's it always seems to be a bright white building, when in reality it's a very dirty off Cream colour made out of millions of tiles....This makes it so much more exciting to view in person,as you get the real picture. Anyway, the girls wanted to shop, so I tagged along...and then we went into the AMP Tower AKA Centre-Point. We went on a simulator that took you through all of Oz and to be honest was rubbish, and then up to the observation deck. Centre-Point is the 2nd tallest building in Australia and the tallest that humans can go in. In 1985 I went to the tallest, then called Telecom-Tower, just outside Canberra I think, but it's a radio mast and you don't go far up it. Anyway, The AMP was brilliant, and I look forward to going again with Paul Taylor when he gets out here. In the evening my Aunty made me my favorite meal, and I sat down to watch ANOTHER Michael Jackson Show.....I've just been reading on the BBC that it's all kicked off in Coronation St. Deary me, I'm missing all the fun!!!
Rachel Buckland phoned me twice today, no...sorry, 3times...Rachel, I love your determination when It comes to our calls...Thanks for calling honey, you're making a very very tough period flow nicely. I hope the move goes well for you this weekend. Hope to get my CHRISTMAS shots posted in the next 48hours.
February 25 2003.
Got up and did a whole bunch of things I had to do. Met up with my Sister in the city at 2ish and we chatted and then went over to "Hyde Park Barracks", thats where convicts used to live. It was alright. Nothing special. I then went home to watch "24" and the "Grammys"...
February 24 2003.
*Well, I had quite an eventful weekend. Firstly on Saturday I went over to Homebush, thats where the main site for the 2000 Olympics was, so I pottered around and visited the museum etc...It was really peaceful, so I spent a few hours just reading by a fountain in the grounds. I then in the evening went a big BBQ/Party at my cousin, Andrea's home. It was a really fantastic evening. My Sister Naomi is back for just under 3 weeks, and we caught up at the BBQ. Sunday was a different matter.....at 4:07am I got a phonecall from an angel back in the UK. However, the conversation was somewhat complex for 4am, and I found myself unable to fall back to sleep. At 6am I had to get up anyway, as i'd promised another friend from the UK that i'd meet her and her pal (Jenny Barrett and Sam Cheeseman), at the airport when they landed. If it's at all possible for you guys to take Jenny and Sam back i'd appreciate it, as it bucketed down with rain from the second they got here!! I met them, and found them a really clean and what seems a lovely Hostel to stay in for a few nights. I then took them on a tour of Sydney. Sydney is small when you compare it to the likes of NYC and LDN, so it took only maybe 2hours to walk the main CBD, whilst stopping and taking it all in. I was actually amazed at how much useless and useful information I had for them. I took the girls over to the Opera House, and we got drenched on route, and also to see the Bridge. However, the highlight for everyone is that I took them to eat Pancakes at "Pancakes on the rocks"...My-oh-my, that place is my idea of heaven....Got home and chilled with my cousin George, thats my weekend really!!
February 21 2003.
This computer has just confirmed an old suspicion of mine that Osama Bin-Laden isn't the most evil man on earth, but infact it is BILL GATES!!! Yep, just used Bill's Hotmail service, wrote my parents the longest mail they would have ever got...and Hotmail instead of sending it...wiped it and redirected me to my inbox!!! Cheers Billy Boy....!!!
Click here to see Bill Bin-Laden
Works going fine, i'm kickin' Butt as per...and i'm top (way top) in the sales league by probably a clear 40 sale lead....I'm probably now at the 50sales mark. However, my mate James Romans who i've worked with in two previous jobs called me up yesterday looking for work, and started with us today. He's always given me a run for my money, and although i've sold more in both jobs previous, he's never far behind...so I best watch him. My sister is back in Sydney tomorrow. I've nothing planned for Friday night, it's a shame really...I'd like to have gone out tonight, never mind...maybe i'll sort something out for tomorrow night...Oh and if Leanne Caffyn-Parsons mate Sally is reading this "Hi"...!!
February 19 2003.
I was thinking today how weird it is now for me. It's not like a holiday as such, i'm working full-time, so it's kinda similar to being in the UK. Except i'm nowhere close to the social scene as I was...I used to be doing something with a pal virtually everynight in the U.K. Nathan sent me an MD of Beatles, Oasis and the Lars yesterday..thanks bro!! When I got home I did probably the strangest thing of my life...I just sat down and read, read until it was time to go to bed...I've now finished Captain Corelli's Mandolin. It was brilliant, i'll try and watch the film once Naomi is back in Sydney (on Sat I think).
February 18 2003.
compliments where they are due. Royal Mail, youre the best mail delivery service in the world. Aus-Mail sucks better than a Dyson. Yesterday I got a lovely card from Rachel Buckland, she'd sent it on Thursday, so a Thursday - Monday delivery can't be bad, can it??3 days in travel!! Didn't do much else, went to work, sold sold sold, and came home to watch "24" I love that show now. Do any of you watch it? Mum phoned this morning as Nathan had his operation yesterday. I was really worried about him. It's weird being so far away from him, I keep looking at Tea (Tia) and remembering when Nath was a monster!! Anyway, he's doing fine and is well. All bandaged up and my mum said sleepy. At least it keeps his mind off the passing of his God-Father.
February 17 2003.
Didn't do anything in the end on Friday night, just watched T.V. with my Aunt and then went and saw Tommo and Tommo play footy (thats George and John). Saturday I went and got my haircut by Lara (I think) and Rose, the best hairdressers in the world (i'm sure). They even give me a discount now, and had tried to set me up with a customer earlier in the week, which made me laugh!! Spoke to Nathan at length on the phone. He's having an operation on Monday, so thats on my mind quite a-bit. Went out in the eveing with Rachel, we met up in the city and went to the movies to watch "1-hour Photo", it was okay. Then we headed off to "Pancakes on the Rocks", again i'll say that this place is the best place under any kind of catagory on the earth. It is Gods gift to Sydney, i'm certain. We then took a stroll back to her car and for me the train station. Stopping to take in the wonderful view of the Opera House with it's lights turned off. Got in at 3am.
Woke up on Sunday to some pretty awful news. My brothers Godfather, and I guess the closest thing i'd had as a Grandfather in my life "Uncle Philip" had died. It really did upset. He was a great man of faith and in his dying days requested of my mother to read him Psalm 23. I thought it was amazingly corageous of him, and so i'll print it below for you to also read:
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Moving on to the rest of my day. Rachel Buckland called 3 times, the third time we managed to talk for a long time. Rachels been a great source of calm in my home-sick life and always makes me laugh. Rach, i'm so excited about getting your letter!!! I went out to a market wity that the land he owns could not cope with the mass-delivery it had received from the good men and women at Australia post, all addressed to me. Obviously i'm unaware what these letters and parcels were, as they were getting burnt, but strangly they were all red in colour!!?? Anyway...then I woke up!!
last night I went to Balmain, which means a train-ride, then a short walk to Circular Quay (thats where the Opera House and Bridge live). To get to my cousins in Balmain you have to catch a ferry, that takes you under the bridge. More amazing than both of these sites (well I thought so, as i'm used to them now), was the fact that the QE2 was docked at Circular Quay...Ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong called me last night also, several times from the UK...eventually getting hold of me. It was great to speak to him and even better today to read his e-mail and see how much the parcel he's sending me has cost him!! ha ha ha. If Alison is reading this, Ali...I need more help mate. Alison has set me the talk of buying her "These super pink dish cloths that my mum got from Australia and she says they sell them everywhere"...I need more clues than that buddy...But I've bought you a sponge so far!!! Anyway, it's the weekend, off to Bondi with Karen Lancaster tomorrow. It's a tough tough tough life...enjoy England!!!
p.s. SO FAR Aussies are being quite kind about the footy result!!!
February 13 2003.
Well so far i've made 4 sales, and nobody else has made any...so that to me is all-good! I know those in England who read this will think it's rubbish. But I really was the top Salesman for G.E. and for my week (!!!) with ACE (selling AMEX Insurance)...and now here!! Anyway, enough of that. WHAT IS GOING ON IN ENGLAND!? I woke up today to watch the footy, kick off 7am, and can't even begin to explain the level of abuse and teasing i'm having to endure. Thanks should go to Marc and Paul T for keeping me up to speed with the score whilst I was on the train to work...Going over to my cousins pad which overlooks the harbour for a meal tonight.
February 12 2003.
Well this new job has started and it's actually fantastic. I so-far really enjoy it. Basically it's a new product aimed at (mostly) secondary schools throughout Australia. It's getting launched now, hence why i've been recruited. And i'm being asked loads of advice by my boss and the company owner re-sales. I'm very enthusiastic and if it works, and the product sells then sponsorship would be deffo...Except, I have to pay the fees myself, which could be a reason for my departure, as I don't think i'd have the cash in-time for such expense..
February 10 2003.
Well Robs alive, so thats always good!! I started my new job today. Didn't actually do much, working in a very small team, and we're all new. Seems i'm the most experienced, which has many-many disadvantages, mainly the fact that the pressure is now well and truely on to exceed. Yesterday was Ethans Christening, a fabulous affair. Tea also celebrated her birthday. Over 100 guests turned up and a magician kept the young kids happy. My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin Gilta only had 2 hours sleep the night before as they cooked for the guests...I've never seen so much meat in a kitchen (And I used to work in a butchers...many many years ago when I was 15). Went over to Thommo (Johns) work to surf the web (a Primary School). I actually really really wish that i'd been brave enough to become a teacher, it's no hidden fact that this was a job i've always desired but somehow feel i'm not accademically suited to it myself!! Spent Friday night writing a poem for love-struck Paul Taylor, he'd put in an order for the poem for some bird he likes...It took all of 10mins and will probably result in Paul losing all chances with the woman! It was my Mums Birthday yesterday and was quite weird not being able to speak to her (she's not phone contactable as she's not in Reading at the moment).I've got to walk home now, and it looks like we're about to have a gigantic storm!!
February 7 2003.
Where is Rob Freelove has he died and not told me? Anyway, on with my update...Goodness its a hardlife, the waves were really really mega powerful at Bondi today. I love just floating on the sea, you know, when you lie like a star and just float, and cruise over the waves....Karen Lancaster and I chilled and just had a really relaxing day. Off to my Cousin Emnie's for a BBQ tonight...and tomorrow will be more of the same....Starting new job on Monday.....urmmm, nothing else to report really....
February 6 2003.
Well it's a hot day and i've done very little. Read the first 50pages of my new book (Cap't Corelli's Mandolin) which seems alright, i've not seen the film. I finally got to watch the Christmas Special of Only Fools and Horses that my bro. sent me, and couldn't believe my luck when Rodney told Del what the above mentioned book is all about....GREAT, Now I don't have to read it I guess!!!(I will)...I also watched the celebrity Boxing which our local Reading Lad won i'm pleased to say (Ricky Gervais).Right now (and get ready to laugh) Im about to go to the cinema alone. I can't believe i've just written that, but all my mates have seen 8mile, and I get the feeling that my cousins here don't fancy it....ESTHER, where are you for Cinema runs when I need you....!!
February 5 2003.
Well, today was quite manic...I got up early and went to see my old agency to hand back my pass for ACE Insurance. I like visiting them as the lady who sorted me out with the job (Laurie) is lovely, and we ain't just talking about personality here...My luck must have been in today as she phoned me twice...All you who know about "The Letter L" thing....I don't think this is the one...sorryBut it's not up to me, is it now God!!?? I don't make the rules...I just tell you what i'm told...and thats that the letter L is supposed to feature in the great plan somewhere...(Mrs Axton...i'm holdin' onto your cousins words you see)...
I then went to see my mate James, he lives in a high-rise in down-town Sydney, so we spent an hour together phoing agencies for him and then went and checked our e-mail. After that I met up with my Sister (who leaves for Tasmania tomorrow) and Gilta and went off to sunbathe at a beach called "Freshwater" Naomi and I swam for a while, but the sea had loads of seaweed in it, which I didn't like...The new job I start on Monday sounds great, they asked me to look over the sales script today, something i'm getting familiar with, what with all my short-lived sales roles...I'm really eager about this job, and want to hit the ground running! OH RAMSHAW called me a 5am as he got his time wrong...people, people, it's on this very website, just look on either the homepage or contact page. Finally, Can I urge people not to send me large files such as jokes and Powerpoint presentations, it blocks up my access...If you want to send me photo's please email me and i'll send you my other e-mail address with Yahoo, which can handle the storage. Thanks.
February 4 2003.
Nathan sent me a video jam packed full of decent comedy...and the Queens speech (as requested)...Bro your a diamond!! I've been missing my brother quite badly these past few days. I'm going through a low period...but i'll bounce back...I'm back to work with the Software company selling into the Education Sector next week. It's a FANTASTIC Opportunity as it's a very small business even though they are market leaders in Australia, i'll be one of 4 who are starting in the tele-sales team, a brand new venture...and hopefully it'll all go well.
Today I went to HOMEBUSH, site of the 2000 Sydney Swimming event for the Olympic Games...funnily enough I went for a swim! I also purchased a copy of Captain Corelli's Mandolin to read...Thats it really...Now i'm off home to the Only Fools n Horses Xmas special and a bit more Alan Partridge....Oh and Simone, hurry up with your letter....!!
February 3 2003.
Well I lost my job today, but I don't care..and I mean that, it's like water off a ducks back...I really don't think it was right for me anyway...besides, in the one week I worked for them, I was top salesman...and thats the truth. I feel bad that my mate James ain't working though, I've hopefully got the job I mentioned on Jan 30th...(hopefully) so i'm also hunting jobs for my mate James, he's a good lad...
I should thank today Leanne Caffyn-Parsons for sending me an e-mail of her and her daughter in the snow, it's always great to keep in touch with people. Apart from that I did very little, went to see Tea (pronouced- tia) swim, and thats it....I'm really homesick at the moment, and had a dream about going home and wishing I was back here....GREAT, thats all i'll need in life!!!
February 2 2003.
Look you lot...I'm depending on you to keep me informed of major news...at 2AM Australia time, Columbia blew-up...How come nobody texted me about it....LUCKILY George my cousin told me at 7am...so I watched the news and went back to bed. Only to be awoken by my own personal Angel-Baby, Mrs J-J-J-Jemma Gould, back in blighty...Roy, how come we never spoke?? Anyway, Jem, you made my day....I'm going through a "realisation" period of realising that it's not all gold over here...and that just like anywhere Australia has faults. Went out for a massive walk Bondi-Coogie beach with Gilta and Naomi...Man I wish you could have seen this one place we went to, apparently a "vision" of the Virgin Mary had appeared, and THOUSANDS had turned up to see it...people with roseary beads praying aloud, chanting, laying flowers...bunch of idiots...yeah, you may not like me mocking them...but come on, The Virgin Mary is always seen, as my Sister pointed out, why not Peter, or Gabriel???Anyway we didn't see old Mary, we heard several reasons for this (and these were proper full-on religeous people)...It's too windy for her!!?? She doesn't like crowds and a few other equally ludicrous reasons....
February 1 2003.
Went to a cypriot wedding today, a second cousin of my cousins or something, no relation to me...was really quite a nice day. Spent most of the day with Tommo (John), and Tommo (George)...yeah, it was all good stuff.
January 31 2003.
WOW...Got to the trainstation at the normal time, but was gutted to see that my train was 9mins away...so I sat waiting, however, within about 1minute another train had turned up to go into the city via another station (Central) and my original train had vanished from the screens...!!?? Anyway, got to work and my Mate James asked why I hadn't answered my phone (he'd been trying to call)...turns out a train on my line, had crashed and 8 or 9 people died...Anyway, I want to say thanks to Helen Hartley and Paul Taylor who rang as soon as they heard, and say sorry that I couldn't talk (I was at work)...I really love hearing from people, and I get sad when for one reason or another I miss or can't speak to them....In the evening Ian Jay called, using his works profits wisely and calling his old Buddy....Both he and Brawny (his bird) have got a house-trained rabbit as a pet!!?? And called it Jimbo after me...we'll have to get pics of it/him/her on the site!!! Cheers for calling Sanjay, made me day....
January 30 2003.
Sorry this hasn't been updated for a while. I started my new job at ACE Insurance, and my times been kept busy. Firstly, thanks Nathan for sending the EUROPEAN Version of the Ali-G video with Posh and Becks, the AUS.Version has some dumb Austrian character in it's place...Obviously of Sasha decided it wouldn't work in the UK. I went for an Interview with a Software company yesterday, it's too early for me to detail my thoughts and action/reaction on my journal...but i'll keep you all informed. My Uncle Philip looks pretty ill, he's riddled with Cancer from what I understand, and I feel sorry for Nathan as my parents are taking it in turns to visit him in Lincolnshire.... Urmmm...I'm busy with my new toy, which I really don't want to tell anyone what it is yet....And thats about it...OH, and i've got the NEW (not for you in the U.K.) ALAN PARTRIDGE Series on video...it's probably worth more than Gold, but not worth as much as the Christmas Only Fools and Horses Nathan sent me (and God bless ya bro for sending me the Queens Speech. I know you think i'm quite mad, but I love ol' Lizzy, and Crimbo just wasn't the same without her)...So i'm off home to watch some DECENT Telly!
January 24 2003.
Yesterday (Friday) was pretty cool. Went over to Balmain and met up with my Sister. We went to the Botanical Gardens which i'd wanted to do for ages. You can see Bats sleeping in trees during the day, and these ain't no small bats...we're talking massive beasts...Then we met up with Emnie and her Boyfriend Mario (Emnie is a 2nd Cousin to me) and had coffee...Both Naomi and I headed to Balmain again and we spent the night with my cousin Gilta there. Woke up bright and Early and headed for Bondi where two mates, Natalie and Karen (Lancaster) were meeting with me to sunbathe....Can't wait to get home, my Sis did me a massive favour today and got me something I wanted...but I can't say what...it's a surprise to some of you...!!!(give me a thousand years and you'll find out what)...New Pics will be posted on Sunday AM EST, so thats Saturday PM GMT...DEC and JAN...
January 23 2003.
Had the interview...the worst thing about any interview I've ever had, is that I leave them feeling depressed. It always happens. They'll call me if i'm to go for a second interview...sounds okay. Really hard work, they told me that much, and the possibility of a Visa is only so-so...but you know, we'll see. Naomi my sister comes into town tonight for two weeks, so that will be nice....Oh and G.E. Yeah, I didn't go back, yeah, I feel a little bad...but then again, Filing...I mean, no wonder i'm depressed if thats the kinda work they offer me over here!!!
January 22 2003.
Firstly, on Dec. 25th I asked where Simone was....well she's FINALLY mailed me, so thanks for that honey! Well today has been quite good. For starters, I got the job I went to the interview for yesterday with ACE Insurance. So i'll be starting that on Tuesday (as it's a public holiday on Monday). I got a call totally out of the blue this afternoon. My old Boss in my last job here, Gavin had given his son my C.V. Now i'm not sure where Gavins son works...but a lady from a Telco company called saying she'd like me to come in for an interview tomorrow. The role is that of an Account Manager, and as I currently understand it Sponsorship is likely. So it's a bit of the old Armani and Thomas Pink, and off to the interview I go....I'm actually REALLY nervous, as I haven't had an interview i've given a stuff about since 1999 when I went to the second of my interviews with Keltec...so i'm worried...but what can I do, but be myself? If I don't get it, it's not to be....As for G.E. my current employer...I've no plans on going back really. I'll phone in sick tomorrow. My Sister Naomi is coming to Sydney tomorrow night and staying at my cousin Gilta's house, so i'll ring in sick on Friday aswell and spend it with her...Then i'll quit Friday night. Join ACE on Tuesday and if necessary quit them to join this new company, who's name i'm keeping under wraps for the time being.... IAN JAY, WHERES MY CAREPACK?
January 21 2003.
Well, I got into work todayEnd was bored before the working day had even begun. I wanted to e-mail, but access is denied hereEo I suddenly thought of how Russell and I used to communicate in the office at Keltec, using good old?Netsend promtsExcept, I couldnt remember the codes?So I had to text him back in the UK. Leanne then acted as a go-between (thats his stunning wife)End then she phoned me, and put Russ on the phoneEe had to talk very briefly as my office is silent during the working dayEnyway, just incase I re-forget it Im going to put it all here:
netsend ID message?
ID located in network neighbourhood under properties.
Query = netsend /?
Sorry about that, but I didnt want to loose it againEnyway, the day got even more boringEve come along way in the dizzy world of business?.today I was putting files away, all day longEeah right! However my luck was not all lostEy mate James Romans who I used to work with at my last job, smsd me and told me his place needed an extra person in a tele-sales roleEell, Id much prefer that, so I spent lunchtime with the agency in-charge, and Im off to an Interview with the Tele-sales company in half an hours time?Before I vanish for today, I must thank Leanne and Russ for calling. Im just sorry I couldnt talk much. This office is the worst place to receive calls in?Sorry.
January 20 2003.
STUPIDLY HOT on Saturday, it turns out that it was a rather chilly 48c, which is about 119F....I've never before, ANYWHERE in the world...and never again EVER want to go through that living hell! I went to bed to relax and cool down, and woke up with sweat dripping from my face....now i'm not a facially sweaty kinda bloke...so It surprised me!! Sunday was my Aunts birthday, and we had a lovely family day. In the Evening my cousin
and I went to see a newly released film over here, which you lot probably got a thousand years ago "catch me if you can"...It was good.Today I was back at boring work....Met James R, and Kirsty who I used to work with at my old job for lunch. Right then, RUSSELL AND LEANNE....I've a MASSIVE Bone to Pick with you two...I was on my train going home textin you both about "Justin Timberlake"...a went through and PAST my stop, and whats worse (and i'm not joking)....I went 4 stops before realising!!!!! CAFFYN-PARSONS, Even here your causing me no end of trouble!!! TYPICAL ME!!!
January 18 2003.
Way too hot today. It must be the hottest day since I got here....it's around 105-110F today....and thats the only reason i'm typing this...to get away from the heat and into an air conditioned Cafe...
January 17 2003.
Well, I came home yesterday. I had a lovely flight as I met and sat with two nice people. An Aussie called Paul and his girlfriend (I pressumed) Gill. Today has been boiling. Woke up with a headache which i've had all day. However, I met up with Karen Lancaster who is now over here (Keltec). We went to Manly together and had a laugh in the sea, her swimsuit bottoms wouldn't stay up...so she was holding onto them and getting knocked over by the waves...funny stuff! We then just sunbathed, and went for an Ice-cream Being greedy I decided we needed to buy the biggest ones...WHAT A MISTAKE....With the wind and heat at it's full...we had no chance, I looked like I was 3 years old, and I didn't make anywhere near as much mess as K. My shorts which i'm wearing right now have no less than (Too many)...loads of Ice-cream stains...We then caught the ferry back, and here I am...updating my Journal...Fran Naish called today. Alison sent me a letter, which is nice....Cheers hon.
January 15 2003.
I don't quite no what to say today. God could end my life and i'd probably be satisfied with my lot....Today was by-far the most amazing day of my life. Got up at Stupid-O'clock, and boarded our bus to Port Douglas. Got to our Boat, and sailed for two hours out to the heart of the GREAT BARRIER REEF. Now, some of you may be like me, and have always wanted to dive...well when it comes to the crunch (and taking the fact that Tiger-Sharks are giving birth at the moment)...Nerves come natual! I was quite surprised how cool I was about it all, usually i'm pathetic when it comes to any kind of risk...But, kitted up I got, leared the basic ropes of how not to die...and In the Soup I went!
My mind was within 0.5seconds blown away! Forget having to get used to breathing, or how to empty a full mask, or even the pain of going lower and having to sort out the presures...It was the most amazing thing i'd ever done (or so i'd thought).....The corals were amazing, the fish blew me away...Sharks were spotted (but luckily I didn't see any)...I can't even try to put it into words, whats the point? Saying it blew my mind should be enough...I got out and met Naomi who'd been snorkeling. I just can't put this experience into words...I'm currently in a Cyber-cafe in a boiling hot Cairnes, and I just can't take in what i've seen and done today....Anyway, we then went to Dive-site no.2, I opted not to dive at this site (purely financial) and instead snorkeled with my Big.sis...I'm glad I didn't dive as although it was again beautiful it wasn't as great as the first dive, which inturn was nowhere near as amazing as the third and final which I did....Electric blue fish, fish that looked like Zebra's-skin. Fish who's colours changed...Fish that came right up to you, or skools (or is it schools?) of thousands of pink or purple or electric blue fish...Massive Clams. Sponges that moved, or weeds that reacted to humans...corals of amazing colour and fish as big as a child...This does the experience zero justice....so you'll all be pleased to know...i've bought me a video copy of my adventure...I also took underwater camera's, I just hope I got some nice shots....My mind is blown away...My arms are also bitten to pieces by the smallest yet meanest mozzys EVER!! So i'm off....
However, before I go...thanks to Mark Upson and his girlfriend Sharon who recommended Quicksilver as the best divers to go with.Fantastic stuff!
January 14 2003.
Today was really good, hired a car out and my sister and I again went back into rainforests. We went on a mamouth trek through one forest which is home to a few Abbo's (not actually in the forest though). Man I nearly died as a huge Trianasaurus-Rex (mini-me style obviously), ran through my legs....We also saw some mighty ugly bugs and stuff....Oh and a snakes shreaded skin....Vines, weird looking tree's, fresh water rivers, I could have sworn I also saw Teebo and Wicket the Ewoks!!! We then went onto HARTLEYS CROCODILE FARM. There was this one Croc, who was about 15ft long and massive, i'm not sure of it's variety but it's the variety which is known as the hardest in the world...the "don't mess with me" type...Anyway, it was caught in a local river after eating a dog which had gone in for a paddle....Naomi and I later went a booked some diving for tomorrow (at the Reef) and the lady in the info. booth proceeded to tell us that we'd be okay with the sharks, but that Salt Water Crocs sometimes go that far out and that her brother had lost half his backside in an unfortunate disagreement with a Croc out at sea...Lovely!!
January 13 2003.
Well scarey flight here yesterday/ I thought the end had come early...but i'm now in Cairns, it's a really quiet place. Today we went to a rainforest, it was massive and something like 30% of the worlds species live in it (it was in a place called Kuranda). Anyway, we went on this Cable-Car ride for about 30 mins, and i'm telling you that we were higher than high...Just me and my Sis in this TINY car, guys...I nearly died....We then looked around, so some beautiful butterflys (I know it sounds dumb, but they really were beautiful, so all of you who are laughing at me...shut it!!)....Went on this scenic railride home...It was amazing, we went on these bridges that were so high up...(pics will be posted)...Bad news, I lost my Visa card, so i'm having to use the Bank of BigSis for the time being.....
January 11 2003.
Didn't do all that much...went into Bondi to watch my mate Sinead play in her band in an Irish Bar (Cock and Bull)...REALLY GOOD STUFF!! off to Cairnes tomorrow
January 10 2003.
It's been a horrible couple of days, it's raining quite hard right now outside. I was planning to go fishing again tonight, but i'm not stupid...well, urmmm...don't e-mail back re. that one! I added Andy, Michaela and Daniel's homepage to my links page (this bit is for my family), so you can easily access it to catch-up with news from them. (Michaela is a Cousin of mine). I have to quickly thank Sinead Knell for e-mailing me, and wish her every ounce of brilliance for the coming year (she's about to give birth)...As for me, some of you i'd promised new pictures on my website today...I've let you all down! I frankly couldn't be bothered, it's going to have to wait for 2 weeks now. I went back to Polo to buy some Swim Shorts, I have to be the only Backpacker in Australia who's on firstname terms with the Sales Assistance at Ralph Lauren...but it's dirt cheap..the Shorts only cost me 50bucks, thats roughly 18pounds, whereas my UK Polo Swimshorts cost me 60pounds....so you can't blame me...
My Cousin Gilta made me the most amazing SEAFOOD meal last night, Muscles (is that hows it's spelt?), Squid, Octopus and Prawns...it was lickity-lick and thats from a guy who hates fish! On the way home I got all down and started to think particularly about Roy and Jemma, I don't know why I focussed on them...but I got really homesick...and then just to make it a zillion times worse, my bro. sent me a whole bunch of texts....
COME ON SUNSHINE!. I'm not sure how often i'll update this in the coming week, as i'm flying up to Cairnes tomorrow...It's ONE state away from me here in Sydney...I'm going on a 757...and it's a flight of 3 hours...Goodness this country is big, I could get to Cyprus from the UK in that kinda time!
January 9 2003.
Now I woke up to a disturbing text from a buddy, who'd heard through the Grape-vine that I now had a "Fantastic" job...well, I best be careful in what I say as i'm typing this from Work....but it's anything but Fantastic...awful would be a better way of describing the hell to which i'm now becoming accustomed. Basically it's boring work, filing, and paper shifting, and the office is as quiet as space...
Last night I went out with Thommo and Thommo, (George and John), we won a bit of cash on the Poker machines. And then went back to John's as the wind was so bad last night that a tree (of quite some size) had blown over into his neighbours garden!! Funny sight though...
January 8 2003.
OH-DEAR, Today for me started at about midnight...Ian Jay got his clocks and times all wrong and woke me up. I can't remember much of our conversation mate, but I was sky-high to talk to you. I do remember you telling me about crashing Ross Brawns Scalextric Ferrari, and that the Ninja (Ian's 4x4) has been dumped. These two facts remain in my head...Thanks for calling buddy, I was really touched. I'm going to try and learn how to put a clock in HTML on my website, if I can, i'll put it on the Contact page...Well work was work, booorrrring. Just filing all day, though the office well reminds me of the programme "The Office", and my desk over looks a few skyscrapers and is well close to a swimming pool (which is on the roof of a highrise apartment block) so thats always fun to watch, other people having fun....I can't complain, by 8:30am I was honestly sweating from the heat, by 6pm we were having torential rain...
January 7 2003.
'you jus' gotta do da bits when dey're watchin'.... You know dat' (Savacentre 2001)
January 6 2003.
Started my new job, 8:30am starts are going to kill me i'm sure.....It's okay, it doesn't look like i'll get what I want (agghhh how cryptic) from them, but we'll hang in it for a while. Started with another girl "Sally"...(MERCURY RETROGRADE)...Anyway, she's well nice and we chatted lots...I was tired so I could have talked more, but just wanted to turn my brain off and pretend I was concentrating...Typical James that! I reckon i'll enjoy it, BUT...the coming weeks will be telling...
January 5 2003.
Went to Bondi and met up with Natalie. Rather awkwardly Rachel was also at Bondi, but about a trillion miles up-coast (well when your walking on sand it feels like that...in reality a quick 5min walk away)...So I kinda had to go between them both. I mean, they are both only mates (gorgeous mates I might add), but I couldn't go snubbing them...besides, they both rock and make me laugh.
January 4 2003.
It's a tough life...went into the city as my trousers needs picking up and Gilta and I planned to go on a scenic walk...Rachel Buckland called me up, it's always fantastic to talk to Rach, or anyone who calls. But this call was extra good as we chatted about normal stuff and not just the weather. Both Rachel AND Gilta should be feeling mighty special as I knocked back the opportunity to see Anna Kornikova open the new Adidas store in town, so as to spend time with them...However, judging by the crowd (of about 10), most of Sydney had better things to do than spend time looking at the worlds worst but yet most popular tennis star...It reminds me of an incident when the Beatles first toured the USA. An interviewer asked Ringo what he thought of another article that had been published, calling Ringo the best drummer in the world. John interupted and said "Rubbish, he's not even the best drummer in the band"....Ringo and Anna, both struck gold by being rubbish at what they do!!! I should be so Lucky, Lucky, Lucky, Lucky!
January 3 2003.
Mark must have eaten something bad during the day.It's his own fault for being VEGE!!! He was up during the night being violently sick, as none of us had drunk more than 2 bottles or maybe 3 of beer, it certainly wasn't the drink...I said goodbye to the guys in the morning, and then hit the Sales..well Ralph Lauren actually. You see, I've realised since being here that I am the official deffinition of Having your cake, and eating it!...I've hardly any cash left, but Ralph over here sells trousers and shirts at 75 bucks...(in the sale) which is ohhh 25pounds maybe...so you can't blame me. And they altered them for free for me! (I need clothes for 6th Jan). Met Gilta and Emnie for Lunch. In the evening I went out with Paul and his Sister Marianne fishing, we were out until 1am ish, and caught nothing...conditions wern't great we were told by professional fishermen who also caught little-to-nothing...Though I did catch a towel!!! (photo's to be posted soon).
January 2 2003.
MISSIONS! Mark and Sharon wanted to meet me at Bondi at 10am, so I had to go on a mamouth mission to get to them...by urmmm 11:30am!! Anyway, the day was really hot, Mark and I went into the sea, talked loads and just relaxed with Sharon. We then decided to go into Sydney to try and catch a scenic ferry-ride. We'd missed the one we wanted so we just got on a ferry and popped over to Manly, another famous Sydney beach. By this time the sun was cooling, so we sat out at a restaurant and had a beer. Mark and Sharon invited me to kip over at the hotel they were staying at, this was fantastic for me as I didn't have to get on a bus or train home. We went out for a meal with friends of Sharons,Claire and Shane. Then went off to "Cheers" a pub "Where everybody knows your nammmmeeeee". And then back to the hotel. I should thank Mark and Sharon really, as they helped me loads with my homesickness, just by being able to talk to them about England and people and situations we both know and share in common.
January 1 2003 - NEW YEARS DAY.
Well, it started for me soon after going to bed. 3am my aunty Colleen and Uncle Mike rang to wish me a happy New Year, from Russia...It was lovely to speak to them, and to John and Matthew. Today it rained ALL day, so after going home and having a celebratory meal. I headed to Tommo's, with my cousins George and Gilta to play Poker...I got a call from Mark Upson, and went on a mission to get from where I was, to Darling Harbour in the centre of Sydney to meet him...We went for a drink, and I got a Beer that smelt of Egg, pipes must have been dirty (I remember that happened to you once Ramshaw). I then went home early. Thanks to all the people, to many to name who texted best wishes to me....
December 31 2002 - NEW YEARS EVE.
Well, I had planned to meet up with my mate Mark Upson, but that fell through. Paul asked if i'd like to go fishing, i've never been before, so I said yes. I quite enjoyed it. In the evening I went to my cousins pad in Balmain. As some of you know, her place has a fantastic view of the bridge, so we played games and waited for the 9pm fireworks. However, these got cancelled due to high winds...At Midnight the birdge exploded. It really was the best firework display i've seen. I took photo's, but these may not come out. either way, here's a few images of the bridge... Click here to see them:
Sydney 2003 - NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
December 29 2002.
My Back is still sore, muscles were tight, but that sneaze sorted it all out...weird! Had a FANTASTIC rally of texts with Russell and Leanne. Really made me smile. My cousins Gilta and Andrea, along with Paul, Ethan and Tea took me through a national park (where we went rowing Rob), to the most amazing beach i've been to in Oz. I spent the day relaxing on the beach, as it was a scorcher. Got a bit sunburnt. At night Gilta, George and I went off to see "The Tuxedo" a Jackie Chan movie. I expected to hate it, but actually really quite enjoyed it all.
December 28 2002.
Back was stable, didn't get much worse. Just relaxed for most of the day. Paul went out and bought a DVD player with Andrea. Gilta and I then went over to watch Harry Potter with Tea. Harry is her idol at the moment. She also likes Bob the builder (no escape). Andrea made a buffet fit for a reception of 20 people, so I proceeded to scoff as much as possible. It's very calming spending time with all my cousins...Afterwards Paul and I went over to meet George at his Cousins Johns house. Now the deal over here is that this bunch of friends, to which i'm now apart all call each other TOMMO, except me, i'm POMIE TOMMO. We played Poker. I'm rubbish, but it's enjoyable. During one game I sneazed and my back clicked...whatever was wrong with it clicked back into place and is now better(ish).
December 27 2002.
I had to text my cousin to tell him I couldn't move in bed. I've NEVER experienced anything like it, my back was simply locked. George went out and bought a special heat plaster, which my Aunt put on. Finally got from my bed to the TV room by 2pm. And proceeded to watch a bunch of video's. Gilta bought a heat cushion for me, I honestly couldn't move an inch I was in maximum pain...God knows how my mum managed breaking her back. I got a voicemail from my Aunty Colleen, but I couldn't have my phone on. I could hardly breath let alone speak...so sorry that I missed your call.
December 26 2002 - BOXING DAY DAY.
Got up and read some of my new book. My back was feeling quite bad, but I continued as normal. Went to the shops (which were all closed) with Paul, Andrea and Gilta. It was raining all day, so I got out three video's from Blockbuster (where i'm a proud member, mainly because it has the most wonderful array of assistance). Just had a lazy day. In the evening my back was getting really bad, went to Andrea's and they had a group of pals over to watch the 2nd Ali G video (the one where he interviews americans). I laughed so much, and that didn't help matters (incidentally the Oz tape doesn't have the Posh and Becks Comic Relief interview, but some dumb new German role Sacha plays, so Nathan can you send us the European tape, as the Posh and Becks sketch is fantastic). My back finally gave up when I got home, I had real problems breathing as I tried to get into bed, it took about an houe to go from sitting to lying on my bed.
December 25 2002 - CHRISTMAS DAY.
Well, last night ended on a high! I went to my cousin Andrea's place to drop gifts off ready for tomorrow. Her husband Paul dressed up in a Santa costume, and at midnight Andrea woke Tea (thats pronounced Tia, but I can't work out how to do an accented "e" in html). Paul then legged it down the drive from the house, and all Tia saw was Santa running from the house with a bell ringing which he was holding...bless. I'm telling you,it was magical!
So anyway, I woke up on xmas morning with a stiff back, nothing major. And we all went over to Andrea's to have breakfast (except my cousin George as he'd been out drinking that night). On the way over Paul and Helen rang me up, which made me really happy....We got to the house and had pancakes for breaky in the garden, and not your lousy UK pancakes, we're talking mighty pancakes...LICK! I then went to the car for Andrea and got some beer I'd won in my previous job, upon lifting them though I felt my back "go"...We then (and i'm highlighting this) opened gifts, and I was really touched by what I received from my cousins and Aunt and Uncle. I also had a few fantastic gifts sent to me. My Aunt and Uncle Barry in the USA sent me a fantastic Carhartt Cap, socks and two packs of Peanut Butter M&Ms, as I love those (Simone, if you read this...you can't have any!..Actually, anyone here from Simone? I've not for a lonnng time)...My Mum and Dad sent me a book, Michael Palins Sahara adventure. Thats amazing mum as I've been catching the odd show of it over here, and sneaked a few reads on a mate of mines Myles' copy...so thanks, it's fantastic. It's also fantastic that i'm even here in Australia, which is thanks to my parents, and all the other gifts you send to me...like the shirts which are brilliant....We had a BBQ, one fact I learned, they don't call Prawns "Shrimps in Oz" thats just a myth...so "Put some Shrimps on the Barby", isn't what is said i'm told...either way, Paul sister Marianne taught me how to eat Prawns...So thanks for that! It was a lovely day. I spent the afternoon generally relaxing and talking to family members. George later came over and really liked the Reading shirt I got for him (thanks for that Alison). On the way home Paul and Helen rang again (this time it was Xmas in the UK also). It was fabulous to be able to share the moment with them, as it was with Rachel Buckland who found time to call just before the Queen spoke to her nation (although she'd already spoken to Aus, the same message, some 7 hours prior)...George then took me to his cousin Johns House, a group of lads got together, and we all played Poker....And that was my Christmas...in a nutshell.
Before I end this entry, a trillion of you took the time on xmas day to text, and I just want you to know that I was really touched. It means so much to me. Thank you.
December 24 2002.
Yesterday turned out to be really good. Bought some food and beer and caught the ferry over to Balmain where I went to a pals house (Myles and Mrs Myles) and we had a big old BBQ on his rooftop terrace. About 20 people showed I guess, including our old Team-Leader Gavin. The apartment overlooks the water, you can see the bridge and part of the Opera House, it was really nice. Ben (from Louth) did my cooking and I ate bloodied Chicken, i've not felt fantastic today as a result of that...I left at 6 caught the Ferry back to the CBD (Central Business District) and just sat down with the Skyscrapers to my right, the bridge to my left and the Opera House in front of me...I just sat there mesmorised for easily 40mins...I just can't get bored of that sight. I'm lucky, I've travelled quite a bit in my life, but this view...it's unbelievable..to me, nothing can even try to come close. I then met up with Rachel. We went for a drink and a chat. It was a realy nice evening, but if i'm honest..I wasn't comfortable at all, I just felt on edge and this whole homesickness rubbish has been dragging me down like a fool all week. Whilst in the pub though I noticed a tiled bar area with (amnogst the tiles) a tile of "Huntley and Palmers"...That really didn't help my homesickness at all. (Huntley and Palmers are a now out of business biscuit maker, who exported fine biscuits through-out the world, and were made in Reading, my home town in the UK). Being Homesick is having dumb effects on me, like this for example...I'm logging into the RFC website and following the Footy...Whats that all about? Oh I need to thank Jenny, Jenny sent me a carepack yesterday which had a long letter and a copy of MOJO in it, the MOJO was a special edition about the Beatles....As for today, it's quiet, weather isn't ace...but i'm still in shorts and t-shirt. I really hope you all have a fantastic Christmas, thanks for being in my life...
December 23 2002.
Well I got all my Christmas shopping done. Weirdest thing happened to me last night, really weird...I was sending my sister Naomi a text to say that Christmas just doesn't feel festive here in Oz. I wrote that this in my mind was due to all the cultures and the fact that many of these don't believe in Jesus and therefore don't celebrate at Christmas time...Anyway, I sent the text off and then this voice in my head (yeah, you think i'm loopy right)...tells me to open up Ezekiel Ch12v15....So I did, because it was bugging me...and man, it blew me away!! Maybe it's ironic and i'm going nuts, but it certainly gave me food to eat...here it is:-
And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries.
December 22 2002.
Well I tried and failed to get Christmas gifts. It was a pretty quiet day on the whole. In the evening I went to the cinema with my cousins George and Gilta to see "Bowling for Columbine". I'd go as far to say that it was probably the best picture i've ever viewed at a cinema. It's a comical documentary focussed on Hand-Gun issues in the USA. Really humerous, and very like the UK's MARK THOMAS COMEDY PRODUCT. (On C4). Really enjoyed it. Did you know that last year 68 people were killed by Guns in the UK, 65 in Australia and over 11,600 in the USA...Also, in the late 90's the U.S. government gave Osama Bin Laden 3Billion US Dollars. It was a fantastic documentary, and certainly one you shouldn't miss. Marilyn Manson is interviewed and he speaks absolute words of truth and wisdom. I used to think he was a freak, but now I see that it's not him...he's just a genius earning money off people like me thinking he's a freak and therefore promoting his cause!! They also interview the South Park creators...So look, go and see it, here's the link to the website:
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE
It's also very serious, showing and interviewing people who were injured during the Columbine incident, and revealing actual CCTV footage. He also goes to a bank that gives you a gun when you open up an account and makes a complete idiot of Charlton Heston. For you guys in Reading, i'm so eager for you ALL to see it, that i've looked up and can tell you that it doesn't seem to be showing. This is probably because Australia is SERIOUSLY behind the UK on new releases...so keep your eyes pealed and grab it on tape from Blockbusters if necessary...just watch it, it's really funny, really sad, and really serious!
December 21 2002.
Went to that party, it wasn't all that...Anyway, my cousin Emnie was also in the same bar, so I blagged her a free drink. Here's a story....A few days back, had lunch with this lovely girl, really beautiful...well actually, I didn't have lunch, I just sat down by her and started talking to her....In a typical stalker fashion. Anyway, we walked back to work together and sensing my opportunity fading away, I asked her for her number as the lift door opened to let me out...she kinda stammered, so I said "That's okay, don't worry, it's cool" and legged it, so embaressed...Anyway, last night she comes up to me in this bar and said how she had wanted to give me her number and that she'd been trying to get mine ever since...how cool is that, and we ain't talking no middle of the road business!!! Anyway, we got chatting, and then I went off with my mates to an Irish Bar, lucky for me I wasn't drinking much...She turns up, we left and, tried to find somewhere to sit and chat, but Rachel spotted Rats and Cockroaches, so I wasn't to eager with the streets of Sydney...She took me to the most fantastic restaurant on the face of this planet, but on the way a car drove past (and I can just imagine Ramshaw laughing at this) and egged us, (Nathan it ain't funny bro)...Man, properly egged us, I got a little bit on me, but poor Rachel got the full force...(actually it was well funny, just not when your trying to impress a lady, anyone of my other friends, it would have had me in stitches, a drive-by-egging, funny as)...Anyway I challenge ANYONE, ANYWHERE to EVER make me pancakes like "Pancakes on the Rocks", which as the name suggests is in the "Rocks" part of Sydney (thats where the harbour bridge is). So we were just chatting until about 4am...just chatting about everything, especially religeon, we spent a thousand years talking about that one...Anyway, we shared a cab back...but get this for funny, she's got two degree's or something, and she's wanting or she's going to Nottm Uni. next year (she's Aussie)...ha ha ha...that made me laugh. Urmmm OH YEAH!...Last night GARY BAWDEN called me up from the U.K. using good ol' Eveshams phone bill...a good 17min.chat, Gary your a star, mate thanks so much, I know you check this page everyday...so hows about calling again before you leave...it's the least Richard Austin and his millions could do for us, after all we did for him...Those meetings we used to book in, and then go back to my house to watch movies, those memories crack me up, and I still owe them 80quid for the Grand Prix tickets...!!...I also have to thank Simon Osamoh who also called me last night, Simon, Big Brother will get back to you re. accomodation, but fear not...Finally, Esther...man i'm an idiot...Can you send me Lisa's e-mail addy for the 3rd time? She sent me a lovely Chrimbo card I thought i'd like to reply to...
December 20 2002.
It just can't be December 20th, not when it's over 90F outside. My sister is in Perth at the moment, it's quite weird thinking that she's the otherside of Oz, and 4 hours behind me...I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of my insomniac buddies who text me when I text them...especially Paul Taylor, who i'm sure never sleeps as he always replies!!! It's fantastic to wake up to texts from you guys. Liz, you make me laugh, did I tell you I found out how to say my favorite word in the whole dictionary, in GREEK!!?? Yep, I can officially now say RUBBISH whenever and however I need...Went to see G.E. It wasn't really an interview at all, more of a " this is the job, this is what we'll pay, these are your chances of sponsorship, sign here mate"...I was totally blown away, and really really chuffed...It's only a general job, nothing dazzling, but the point is that they've taken me on thanks to my achievement in my last job...(Oh yeah, if you have problems with my spelling and punctuation, visit the ABOUT THIS SITE link on my home page). Goodness me, jobsworths get on my nerves...chill, get a grip, I don't care if I ain't spellig how you want me three...go away, I didn't ask you to judsge me!! ha ha ha....The view from the latest Bin-Laden friendly Skyscraper i'm working in is FANTASTIC! It's over-looks both the bridge and the Opera House. I'm really happy to have landed this one...I start on the 6th and plan to spend a few days later in January at the Barrier Reef with my Sister who will then be up North in Queensland. I need to start the searches again, Leanne and Russ sent me a card, so thats all okay...but Rachel where have you gone now? It's not that i'm overly possesive of my mates, it's just my bestest ones who keep vanishing, and don't answer e-mails...Rachel I'm missing you like a trillion-zillion times more than Eastenders (and I well miss that), so please please phone again soon...I've like 12 pics of you, and everytime I open my photo album to see my mates i've left behind I get all sad...Also, I need a fresh CRIGHTON search, it's been about 1 week since i've heard from Hanky Crighton and about 5 days since Flipper Crighton was in contact...not overly worried yet, but just to let you know, you official search won't be long away!!!........
December 19 2002.
Well yesterday turned out to be quite a day. Got given a presentation from G.E. a guy called Fidaa, for having the best sales on the campaign I was working on. I started a week later than most of the team on the campaign and still got over 50 clear sales as a lead...Anyway, I took the opportunity of the award to go behind my manager (a guy called Nigel, with the management skills of David Brent - BBC2 Office), who'd told me G.E. wouldn't recruit and that he'd already asked...to ask Fidaa if they recruited, to which he said yes. Nigel (bless his Scottish socks), said he'd give me Fidaa's details...which never came, but luckily (and for reasons of not landing my source in it I won't say who), I acquired Fidaa's e-mail addy off someone else and fired off my C.V. to him.....Anyway, back to today...Woke up at 9am, My cousin George is a teacher and should have been taking kids out on school trips, but he and 3 other P.E. teachers decided to bunk the day off, and tell the school that they were indeed on trips with the kids...(can you believe that, teachers blagging days off!!??)...funny as, anyway, George and his two pals, one looked like a spitting image of Jacques Villeneuve, went for a drink and then off to Cronulla beach where I slept on the sand while they went swimming. We only spent 2 hours at the beach, but i've never been so burnt in my life...funny though...I also got bitten over 10 times by some weird bugs...Then George and I did what we do best...I love spending time shopping with George, he's just like me...exactly on the same wave-length, many times we even say the same sentences or words at the same time...generally shopping with George involves teasing the assistance...for instance yesterday we were teasing some guy who was standing on a step-ladder. We were asking if he was okay, I volunteered to hold the ladder...the guy told us: "I am a professional", to which we replied, "we'll see"...Or, we went into "Carol's Furniture Shop" and asked if Carol was in (which she wasn't) and I enquired why they didn't have a "Clear-Desk Policy"...I went into a bed shop, and while George was seriously looking at beds, I took the time to try out Water beds, guys, get this...1000bucks, thats like 300quid, for a king-size water bed, with built in heater and cooler for seasonal comfort...and thats supposedly expensive!!??Our visit to Toys 'r' us was based around asking if Geoffrey was in...would you believe how many employee's didn't know who Geoffrey was!!??....Does this sound stupid...well I don't care, I loved it, we must have spent 2-3 hours teasing and laughing....Whilst in Toys 'r' us, G.E. phoned, they want me in for an interview tomorrow.Anyway, in the evening we went to Kingsgrove RSL, had a few drinks, ate a meal and spent time with George's best buddy Craig and his girlfriend.
December 18 2002.
Before I do anything, I should thank Liz for all her texts (you text-aholic), they always make me smile!! And Cheers to Fran for that long e-mail which i'll reply to, I promise! Well, I decided against that job with Air NewZealand, it wasn't going to be financially viable, so today is my last day here...Weather is okay today about 70-80F, nothing special, may just have to start off unemployment by visiting Bondi tomorrow (after all, it'd be rude not too!!!).
December 17 2002.
Jemma Gould signing my guestbook, wonders will never cease! Jemma, as a member of "Jamie's Angels", along with several other fine young English gals, i'd like to thank you for taking the time to sign my guest-book...It's about time that all visitors did so, so I don't have to ask people if they visit!! I should also thank your dear husband, Master Roy Gould, who's helping me to add sound to my site...Roy, your a HTML Genius! Kaytie Massey has also been in contact, and that made me smile lots...hay guys, what's wrong with pen and paper??? This morning I woke from a nightmare, I haven't had one for years...Basically I was in Rushmoor Gardens (where my house is), and had twins, and we were being chased by two female Lions....Lionesses or sumink! Anyway, that was it....Any interpritations welcome....(personally I think it's cos I was watching a nature programme on Lions with Albert and Dorothy on Saturday night). I got offered a job today, which i've accepted. It's with Air NewZealand at Sydney Airport, checking customers passports. It's 16bucks an hour, which isn't too bad for Oz, but only shifts of 4hours, so the pay won't be fantastic...but, i'm not overly bothered today...Nathan, I texted you earlier bro. can you re-send your number to both Naomi and I, at Hotmail addys. I didn't store it. Finally, thanks to Amanda Craddock, Esther, Fran, Matt and Sarah for my Crimbo cards that came yesterday.
December 16 2002.
Well it's started off hot again, the Police phoned this morning to see how long i'll be in Oz. It seems that I may need to go to Court as a witness to the events of December 6th. Oh, and stone-the-crows, Russell's wife Leanne got into contact, quickly followed by Russell, so that search is now called off....Now we're tracking down the man with my Stereo system, Mr.Luke Morgan...Though he's a fireman, so I hear that all Firemen are currently on holiday or something in the U.K.!!?? Saturday evening I went back to Emnie's house (my 2nd cousin). I fixed up this site and then watched T.V. with Albert and my cousin Dorothy (Emz went out). Got in at around 3:30am. Sunday was my kinda day! Got up at 11am, packed my bags and headed off to Cronulla beach with my cousin Gilta. Cronulla is pretty famous for surfing and supposedly has better waves than Bondi and Manly (the more familiar beaches). Since I was 8 Cronulla has been my favorite Aussie beach, and infact I read recently that waves off Shark Island, which is an island just off the coast of Cronulla, are classed the best in the world for surfers! (pitty I can't surf, but once i've got another job sorted, I do intend to get a boogie-board). In the evening, Gilta and I met up with Emnie and her boyfriend Mario. We went and saw that new 007 movie, it was alright, not as good in my opinion as the last one...but at least this time I didn't have to annoy everyone by staying until the end to put the name of Bonds suit designer into a mobile phone for me (Rob, funny memories huh?). It was quite good to see images of London, and the Eden Project, brings back a flood of GB memories...To be honest, i'm really at a loss as to where I want my future to be, here or in the UK....decissions, decissions!!! On a seperate note.....Keep on signing my guestbook!
December 14 2002.
Well I'm actually at work at the moment, sneaking a go on the Internet.I just spoke to "Jesus" on the phone, and tried to sell him Insurance. One Interesting point, is that Jesus is indeed alive and well, he lives in Forest Lake, Queensland, and his birthday was yesterday Dec 13th, so that means we all missed Christmas!!! This particular Jesus was born in 1967, so i'm not convinced he was Heaven-sent. Besides, he didn't buy from me, so I can't believe it was the Jesus, as i'm sure Jesus AKA #1, would have loved the opportunity to help me out!! Don't nobody go getting offended by that...it's just me joking...I've now revamped the website, hope you like it...it's been a nightmare to do as i've been teaching myself HTML. Tonight i'll put on a whole bunch of new pics, and i'm off to the beach on Sunday!!
December 12 2002.
Haven't been on-line for a few days...well not to update this as i've been busy at work, doing 10hour shifts. I finish my job next week, so i'm really trying to get all the cash I can, now! The past few days have rained loads, but today is really hot. Met up with a pal (Dale) who I met in Lismore in September, she's popped down for a few days, so we met up for an hour this morning. My website is going to have a complete over-haul this weekend, i've been working hard on it!! Thanks to Paul "Super" T. who sent me 5 copies of English Papers, and FHM, amongst other bits and bobs. Russell is still missing, but i've written him a letter (so I'll keep you all posted on that).
December 10 2002.
Well, it's now over 22 years since the great JL became a Legend! Sunday was a brilliant day. Woke up early and went Canoeing with My Cousins George, Gilta, Andrea and her husband Paul. It was Fantastic (pics will be posted eventually). In the evening I decided to go to a local Church, to check it out. It was alright, and i'll probably go back sometime. Lots of you are asking how close I am to the fires. Well Sydney had 78 burning I believe, however it is raining lightly today, so this should help! I can't give you a deffo distance, but I think it's around 20KM that the closest fires burn, but it could be closer. I'm okay, the area I live in should be fine as it's so built up. But you can't escape the smell of burning wood anywhere. In the heat it's quite a yucky experience.
Whilst I remember CONGRATULATION to Matt Foskett who has been accepted into the Police. All the best mate. You'll all remember that last week I launched the search for Rachel Buckland (who has been in touch and is fine n' dandy)...well today I'm launching the Search for "Welsh-Boy". Russell Caffyn-Parsnips....Russ, where in the world are you? Whats happening mate, lost on your Dads farm or something??
Finally, I got a lovely shirt sent to me by my Mum this morning, so thanks Mum. It's brill, and before anyone moans at me...it wasn't a Christmas gift..so ner ner na ner ner...I got 24 bottles of beer yesterday from work, so that'll go down nicely...
December 7 2002.
What a rubbish way to start your weekend, having to work. Well it was okay, got 11 sales and we had Pizza delivered. I've won about 10 bottles of wine since joining now, haven't drunk 1, give them all to my Uncle (I don't think he drinks them either), I'm owed 2 more for hitting target this week (stretched target at that) and a case of beer, which probably will last a day or maybe two at the hands of George and I. It's always FANTASTIC to wake up to texts from the U.K. Today like EVERYDAY I had a few, Pippa C. was complaining that she'd played badly at a performance in London...I doubt that very much Pip, and Helen and I sent a few texts back and forth, basically organising my wedding with Kylie Minogue!! Incidentally, Paul B, your E-mail cracked me up!! Simon O. Called to say he's going to fly over and visit me for a few days in June and is booking tickets this week (brilliant!!), I know Mark Upson is meeting up with me in 2 weeks, and Karen L. is over shortly after that...Paul T. and Chris C. plan to visit (hurry up. BOOK)..
December 6 2002.
WOW, days don't start off more unusual than today. I was trying to get to the Post Office to send a Letter and my parents and Bro Christmas gifts....Anyway, I've created a seperate link so that you can read why. The link is a copy of my Police Statement, and the fight was all over a car-parking space!!! click below:
Apart from that, everything was alright. Didn't go out after work, just went home to relax...I heard from Rachel B. so the panic is off...!!
December 5 2002.
Yesterday was a hotty, easily hitting the 100mark on my favorite aftershaves scale (F). The whole of Sydneys CBD (central Business District) had electricity cut, and went down to emergency power as a result of the fires. As my cousin George pointed out, this must be a great sign for terrorists, knowing that Sydney is so easy to knock-out! Trains stopped, businesses, it was a real mess. Ian e-mailed me to say he's going to a party at Ross Brawns Gaff this weekend which Schumacher will be at, so I had to go on a mission to get my Dinner-Suit to Ian for this. Thanks Mum for helping on that one. Ian...Tickets for the Melbourne GP if poss mate!! Rachel, make sure that wing-nut takes his camera and we'll post a few of the snaps on the site if you like. So at least my suit gets to meet loads of F1 celebs!! Life is ticking over nicely at the moment. Rob F, e-mailed to say that i'd not mentioned Emnie for a while....she's fine, very busy working in her store as it's nearly Christmas, she recently got a digital Camera and a DVD player, so i've not seen her for a few weekends. Nathan (my bro.) is following in his brothers fine footsteps by working at the Superbowl!! However, I think I started on (pounds) 2.75p an hour, so he's already no-doubt ahead of me on that one!!! Where in the world is RACHEL BUCKLAND? I had correspondence up to last Friday (aus) and now she's vanished...Rach, i've tried texting, my mate Paul in the UK has tried texting you...are you okay?
December 3 2002.
Well it's only 10:30am, but it's already well over 90F, and horrible outside...I've not much to report on yet today, so I thought i'd take a second to say some thank-yous...Firstly, I want to say how sad it is that's it's taken me to travel over here to realise how many friends I have. I was really touched by those who came to my leaving party. Everyday I log into this site and see how many people have visited, and it blows me away...I'm very touched. I've a correspondence list of over 300 people, so i'm sorry if I'm slack sometimes with replies...I want to especially thank all of you who write me letters, that's the sweetest gift to get. To those who e-mail, thanks for baring with my rubbish responses. To Marc and Rachel who call me up on the telephone. To Ian, Rachel and Paul who send me papers and info. Mum, Nathan and Ian for sending comedy my way (thats fantastic). And to those of you who can text me, and who do with regular news. I'm honestly touched that we are now rapidly coming upto 700 hits on my website....Thanks everyone for being such great pals.
December 2 2002.
Well the Beckham story was in the News of the World, however it turned out to be rubbish:
Today has been okay, watched the Ashes yesterday and Man Utd v Liverpool (I must be home-sick to watch sport). And got my new phone, my third since getting here, back to Nokia! It's brilliant though, has a built in radio....I interupted some guy who was dressed flash in Starbucks today, Omega watch, shiny shoes...PA, goodness knows what he does, but I gave him my CV!! He said he'd look at it and gave it to his PA...was funny though, thats how desperate the job-hunt is turning!!
December 1 2002.
Well Friday got messy again...however, I pleaded that we didn't play Roxanne again, and so we all got drunk the more traditional way. Had a really good night and stayed at my Buddy James Romans pad. He's renting it, and it far out-plays any flash pad i've been in before. Up on the 37th floor, and he only pays like 40quid a week for it...makes me laugh.
Went to work on Saturday, but to be honest I just messed around, made 6 sales, and then made a dozen paper-aeroplanes. It's all good fun, I get on so well with my team-leader Gavin, i'll deffo be keeping in touch with him. Got home at about 5ish and came onto my site to creat the "Free Reading One" page. If you don't know him, don't let it concern you (it's just a joke)....Anyway, got caught in the biggest Thunderstorm EVER on my way home, which my Aunt tells me "it's nothing, wait until the big one's come"...!!
November 29 2002.
A YEAR AGO TODAY, one of my hero's in life, George Harrison died...time flys!! I nearly crashed on the M4 when I found out, i'll never forget that...I actually had to pull over as I was so upset. Anyway, I got told off today by RACHEL BUCKLAND, who phones me all the time, writes to me, e-mails and texts...but yet i've failed to mention her on my site..So thanks Rach, I love you loads and loads, and you really mean the world to me...I can't wait to do a Pringle hunt in my house with you when I'm next over...we need to remember where we hid them all! Today is okay in Sydney...out again tonight and actually staying at a pals pad in Darling Harbour. Missing my bro. loads, any sightings of him, it's been 2 weeks since I last heard from him...and I believe my Sisters also not heard from him for a while!!?? NATHAN THAT WAS THE HINT OF THE CENTURY! I've sent you all Christmas cards and you all should know it's cost me over two days wages in stamps!! So you better be thankful!! Finally, rumours rife over here that the Beckhams have split and David is now with Michael Owens sister????? Could be rubbish but it's in the news...apparently the News of the World is ready to print photo's and a story, but Becks is trying to stop them, and it can't be mentioned until the injunction is lifted in the UK...Is that true??? Let me know...YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.
November 28 2002.
Well woke up to the sound of my Uncle Nic, saying "James Kyriacopoulos", which means I have mail and he's reading the name on the parcel or letter...So I dashed outta bed and picked up my parcel from Marc. Most of it was a CD, and tape aswell as flyers for Sets he's had recently in the U.K. and Netherlands. If you want to know about Marc and his Drum and Bass Successes and info, click below:
CRYSTAL FORMZ
I was most amused, but shortly after VERY concerned to read the story of his recent problems. Marc mate, don't worry, i'm going to organise a FREE RAMSHAW APPEAL...WATCH OUT EVERYONE...HA HA HA Seriously mate, i'm sending you a name of a solicitor i've used, and i'm sure you'll be okay...just hows your mums car (and the guy you hit?).
November 27 2002.
During the past 2 weeks we've been holding an "Olympics" at my work, basically competitors get to compete if they sell a certain amount over the previous day. Such events include Long Jump (who can push themselves the furthest on an office chair in one go), Swimming (racing backwards on an office chair around the boardroom table) and Javlin (who can throw a paper aeroplane the furthest)..aswell as many others..Anyway, yesterday I took gold, i'm quite proud of that, it's my highest sporting award ever...a gold at the Olympics!!!The Show lastnight was okay, it was mainly about cards though, and as i've never liked card games, it wasn't fantastic. However, he was a funny guy...and for 15bucks it was worthwhile.
November 26 2002.
Yesterday was horrible, just the hottest day i've ever experienced. Today was Hot, easily 90, but nowhere near as bad, and actually, I quite like it at this temperature. The worst thing about yesterday is probably something you wouldn't have thought of...You can't really open windows in the heat of Sydney, as Fires start easily in the bush areas, and the winds pick up the smell of smoke. The smell is awful and quite intoxicating, so yesterday we had all the windows shut. Luckily, my aunt recently had Air Conditioning put in, so my cousin George zapped that on...HEAVEN! Tonight, i'm off to the Sydney Opera House to see an entertainer perform "SUCKER", it's a one-man show, where he shows how street fiddlers can rip people off by stealing watches or money, or how Poker players can cheat...it looks good fun and has good reviews...
Click on this, and type "SUCKER" in keywords for details.
November 25 2002.
Well, firstly, up until right now i'd been dating all the below dates as October, and nobody mentioned a thing to me...??? This weekend started off in normal "Roxanne" (see below) fashion, and again I got wasted with my work-pals. I met up with my Cousin George at around Midnight on Friday for more drinks and got home at around 3. Saturday was a relaxed day, went and got my haircut by my hairdresser "Rose", George was not pleased as he and I constantly compete for compliments from Rose, it's all good fun and makes us laugh (she's old)...Then I went to the cinema with George and Gilta to see an Aussie movie called "Crackerjack", it's funny, so buy it off Amazon or something when it's out on DVD. Sunday was pretty fun, went to the beach with my cousin Andrea and Tea before going to her in-laws home for lunch. We all ended up with an Ali-G need, so after hours of tracing, we found a copy and sat down for a good old Giggle....Andrea father in law also showed me a video of a guy (I forget his name) who was answering the question that nobody seems to want to answer me...Why Christianity, whats to say Islam isn't the way forward...Well this guys video was pretty cool and gave me food to chew on....Urmm? But then, he was Christian...!! I'll get his name for any who are interested. Last night I went out again with George. My mobile should be replaced next week, this will be my THIRD Brand-New mobile since getting here...so fingers crossed on this one.
Today is disgustingly hot, it's far far far hotter than any weather i've EVER experienced anywhere in the world...except Atlanta USA during the Olympics in '96. It's really Yucky hot 110degrees F today, or 41c. I'm off to work now, but before I go I should thank Jenny who offered to do me a favour, and Alison who is doing me the favour. M' little Angels...Ian, keep the big-bro updates coming, you crack me up. Hows the new series of Partridge? Paul and Chris, you booked your flights yet...and finally my brother Nathan... ARE YOU STILL ALIVE???
November 21st 2002.
Well, yesterday was another fantastic waste of time at work. Basically we all got sent home after 3 hours as the database emptied again! However, this was also a blessing as we all headed to our fav. spot the NSW Sports-club...Where you can buy pints and enjoy a video-Jukebox. The best thing I can say about today is that the said Jukebox had "Travelling Willberries" tracks on it (the Willberries were George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and a few others who formed the band in the early 90's just before Roy joined Heavens Choir(maybe late 80's)). Due to a dispute between artists the albums can't be traced anywhere, and hearing tunes by them is a very rare pleasure as again due to the dispute it virtually never happens...I think Simon Craddock will be most impressed that I got to hear them. Thats it really, my mate James Romans gave me a Video of Alan Partridge to help me through the serious lack of British comedy here, it's honestly frustrating having no real humour to relax to here....And when I do find some, it's Lenny Henry!!
November 20th 2002.
Osama "Bad-Boy" Bin-Laden, reckons he may attack Australia next. He recently sent a tape to Al-Jazeera ,talking about the bombings in Bali and How he will revenge Australia for backing the USA, and that Bali was only the start...So everyone here is in panic-mode! I was woken this morning by my Cousin Andrea who wanted to tell me she loved me, as today is supposedly a "High-Alert" day...Lovely!! I find it all quite amusing and wish Ian or Marc were here as i'm sure we'd all be sitting around doing nothing and laughing about it all...You'd have thought they could give us the day off work, just on the off chance!! I mean, its boiling, and I feel like i'm being rude when I neglect the beach on such days!! More info. on the threats below:
November 18th 2002.
Well, days don't get much better than this. Turned up to work only to find out that we hadn't been presented with a new Database of customers to call...So we all knocked off early (started at 12, finished at 4) and went down to the Pub. I then came home to catch-up on some letter writing. Received a Letter from Alison, a post-card from Alison and a fantastically funny Letter from my Cousin Alex...That Crimbo card is brilliant!!!
Watched some boring aussie TV, waited for George to come in so that we could complete our daily ritual of teasing one another, and then hit the sack!!
November 17th 2002.
Well, Friday turned into a carnage of sorts. Went out with my mates from work, and we all got smashed. We've found a place that serves Pints (Aussies use Scooners and Midi's, both smaller but equivalent to Pints and halves)...Anyway, we played this game to the song "Roxanne" where everytime "Roxanne" is mentioned the girls neck some beer and everytime "Red-light" is mentioned the guys neck the beer...Moved on from that to meet my cousin. Got the bus home, which was the dumbest move EVER, as I'd never gone home on the bus so spent over an hour working out where I was...but I got home in the end okay. Saturday, started the day watching about 3hours worth of comedy Nathan has sent me over, I seriously miss English comedy shows, and recently caught Monty Python on TV which made me laugh loads.
Today however i've been somewhat reserved. Got up early and headed North to Bondi, takes about 30mins to get to I guess...and met up with Natalie (a pal Luke and I made friends with in Greece back in June). We spent the day chilling, and then went for an ice-cream.
November 15th 2002.
Today is the first day in 2months since getting here that it's rained during the daytime!!...And believe me, it's raining hard! I woke up today to two big parcels, one was all my expensive stuff i'd shipped over, Palm-Pilot, books and a jewellery (that sounds dodgy...!!)..Anyway...The other parcel was even better, my Mum and Bro had sent me two tapes full of the entire second series of "The Office", fantastic...
Tonight Jamorquai is playing an open air concert at the Opera House, but I won't be bothering with that rubbish!...I'm off into Sydney with some pals. My phone is playing up, so i'm sorry to say I won't be able to text for a while, but you can still text me. It seems that when I do text people it comes out blank at the recipients end...Sorry...Anyway, on with the weekend, I hope this weekends hot as every Sunday since getting here i've spent on a beach, and i'd hate to end that tradition!!
November 13th 2002.
Well, today is dull, very English, looks like we could have rain on it's way. Last night I put my hand in my trousers only to feel something move inside the pocket...It was the biggest Moth EVER...and worse-still, at the same time my phone vibrated (on silent), and I had the biggest scare ever...so thanks Liz for texting!!! Anyway, the Moth hid under my bed and I couldn't find it, so it took ages to get to sleep...
November 12th 2002.
Your going to have to be patient as i'm really finding HTML quite difficult to grasp...So, we'll see how things go! The idea of the Journal was Glynn's, so cheers mate. I'd also like to thank the Queen who replied to a letter I wrote to her (well her Lady-in-waiting did), offering my services if she's ever in Sydney and wants me to show her around (I pointed out that she'd have to pay for herself). I'm now working for "Custom-Call" in Insurance Sales, it's okay, but i've been having meetings to try and sort out a 457 Visa (which would be my next step if I were to stay longer). My mates Paul and Chris plan to visit, that'll be ace, and Jenny B and Karen L are due out next year. Natalie (who Luke and I met in Rhodes) is already out here, plan to meet her tomorrow. And Mark U, Sarah A and maybe Fran will also grace me with a visit soon...!! On a whole I'm loving it, it's fantastic. I want to thank anyone who has taken the time to e-mail, and especially those of you who have written (it means the world to me). A few of you have phoned me which is really amazing. Especially big thanks to Ian and Rachel for the monthly Care-packs which include a copy of the Reading Evening Post, a video (home-movie) and other stuff...Finally I should say cheers to you all for being great people and my parents who I love. Along with my family...I do miss you all, and i'm so lucky to have so many pals...your all ace...So check back regularly now that it's working!!
Last but not least, thanks to my family here who without them i'd never be in Sydney, they are all fab. I'd like to thank Emnie for giving me tonnes of help with this website. And finally my Sister and Bro...I miss you both and can't wait until your over soon Naomi...
Keep checking back guys and mail me...
James K
1. Anne bust m' nuts
2. My name is officially BINKY
My inspiration for this name comes from the film "Shakes The Clown" with Bobcat Goldthwait, Adam Sandler and Robin Williams...which reflects my day yesterday.Mail me if you want me to explain the logic, but trust me, my name is officially BINKY!
Work was pretty much the norm today. In the evening I caught the train to Newtown which is by Redfern where the birds live. I was supposed to meet the girls and my cuz George at "The Warren View" pub, the same pub I went to for the Anzac day celebrations. However, I took a wrong turn once getting off the train, and got really lost. Now Newtown/Redfern isn't the kind of place you "just go wandering around at 9pm"...I was off the correct route for about 15mins, and didn't enjoy any of the sight-seeing adventure! Finally found the pub and sunk straight into my favourite drink...Vodka. Now quite a few of you, particularly Roy, Emma and Rob Freelove will have fond and vivid memories (unlike mine) of what I'm like after a few Vodka's. Infact, During England's opening World Cup game last year, whilst in Greece, I even enjoyed the delight of Vodka and Cornflakes with my good mate Luke (I only saw half the game as I'd actually drunk half a bottle of Smirnoff, and didn't get out of bed for 24hours, I was so so so unwell! Luke drank the other half and was fine...What-a-boy!!)....Vodka is my choice, why...because it gets my energy up unlike beer which depresses me. Though I do get loud, cheeky, mouthy and have a tendency to throw things (money, watches, glasses, tantrums...anything really). Anyway, I sank into the Voddy, and my cuz got me a few also...I had 4 glasses, and then shared a bottle of wine with Anne...I hadn't eaten since lunchtime, so I was smashed....totally railroaded! I don't recall all that much. I know Anne looked really beautiful and made me laugh so much, she's funny, quick, and makes a great drunk. I remember teasing my cousin loads, singing Elvis to Sam, and getting a rubbish cuppa tea from Jen and George...Oh and Anne giving me an English lesson at 2:30am by text! Complete write-off. Fantastic night though. I needed to let off some steam, I've been building up for ages and I'm glad I got smashed, it's been a while.
Thommo - John (George's Cousin)
Thommo - George (George's Cousin)
Thommo - Paul (George's brother-in-law)
Pommie-Thommo - ME
Saturday was a day of missions (again). Met up with Caz, a bird I met in Sutton-on-Sea last year. She's over here for 3months. Anyway, we spent a while in Sydney's Hyde Park, just chatting. Caz is s Christian, and we talked about religion for most of the day. I'm very sceptical about it all now, and see most "Christians" as phonies...the simple answer to that is not to judge and to look only at ones self, but I'm not here to start a war, I'm only saying how I feel. It's like football to me. I think both are okay, I don't mind going along occasionally, I enjoy the concept, and follow...but I'm not devoted, and I don't want a season ticket at the moment!! We then walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens, and caught the Manly Ferry. We spent an hour or so at the beach, chatting more...and then headed back to Sydney (where I had to do some quick shopping). It was a nice day with Caz. After getting her off to church with her mates, I jumped in a cab and headed off to the girls (Jen, Sam, Anne) at Redfern. One of Anne's mates was throwing a BBQ party, so we all went along (And Thommo Paul, Thommo George (my cuz)). Good laugh, but I got wrecked, really smashed, I was doing these home-made cocktails, fantastic, but deadly. Can't really say I remember much about the end of the evening. I remember Sam was playing a game (and I'm still not sure why) of slapping my face...the first 5 or 6 times were quite funny...but then came the slap from hell, I'm sure she strapped two Jumbo Jet style Rolls-Royce engines to her hand just before launch!! It was so brutal that my cousin interjected....I think I'll have bells ringing in my ears for another 2 weeks at least. Very funny though, made me laugh and that's the main thing! Oh, and as a special 1 off treat for the people of Sydney...Anne didn't get drunk!!
Ive ever seen
Turn to a miracle
In my life
My mind is racing
As it always will
My eyes tired my head aches
Im half a world away

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