Speaking Aussie, etc

So, if you want to understand the Aussies, well... try shortening words, pretty much all words. Oh and sometimes loose letters in the middle of the word too. Accents can make it more difficult and where I live is the strongest in Australia, mighty Queensland.

Christmas = Chrissy
Sun Glasses = Sunnies
Swimming trunks = Swimmies

Cairns = Cans
Melbourne = Melbin

Liquor store = Bottle Shop = Bottle-o
Service station = Servo

and on and on...

Photos: Here is a photo of the large Rhino Beatle (size of a golf ball). An interesting Kiwi/Butcher told me a story of when he bit the head off of one of these, Wow! Check out the mushroom too as it doubled in size in only 24 hours. Lots of Wild turkeys in the area as you can see. Last shot is taken from the Noosa National park looking back at Sunshine, Sunrise and a couple other beaches (probably spanning 10 km).

Merry Christmas

What is an Aussie Christmas like? Pretty much the same except it is 30 C and people hang in a pool all day while they get drunk! I never made it to the pool. Here I am sipping Dom Perignon on Christmas morning after opening a free surf lesson and a 45 min. helicopter ride around Maui in May 2007 when I will be in Hawaii for my brother's wedding. That's all for now, Merry Christmas to all and Happy New year.

Got friends, Got Job, Got Bike?

A couple of Calgary buds that I met on the way down to OZ stopped in last week and we went out for a couple of beers. Jeremy and Kris, Both engineers from U of C, Kris I briefly knew then and he is also the son on our recently departed Dave Ritchie from Colt. Both bike riders too!
As for the job, I got a couple of shifts in a bar called "The Reef" as a "glassy (bar porter)", we will see how that goes.
Finally I have a bike now and some may say it's a bit girly, but it gets me around (see photo).

October 2006 Bike in a Bar, worth a read.

Quick note, I am living at my cousin's in Noosa until Feb 2007 . Here's a story from Canada...


For those of you that I told about my motorcycle being in a bar, here's the proof. I was going through a bunch of photos, finally, and found this one. For those who don't know the story... In a nut shell; I rode to SASK to see the Grandparents and on my way back took the alternate route down to Medicine Hat (Southern Alberta) where some of my favourite cousins live. While I was waiting to meet up for dinner with them I stopped in at my other cousin's bar for an afternoon drink. Having a couple of drinks in him Kevin thought it would be a great idea to bring the bike in the bar and do a burn out on the floor. Since it was already 4 pm and he said he would buy my drinks all night I roasted his floor and made a hole about 2 cm deep. Needless to say he bought my drinks all night and let me be the celebrity bartender (not much working, mostly drinking) for the evening. Goodtimes, oh and it was actually harder getting the bike out of the bar with a hangover the next morning.

31 and there is nothing I can do!

So, it's true, you can not stop the aging process no matter where you move to. Check out the customs note my mother put in my luggage so they wouldn't open my presents. I guess even Uncle Sam won't mess with mother's notes. I just hope the terrorist don't figure this one out. Chilled out at the beach for a bit of the afternoon and then went to a Chrissy Light turning on party. I don't know if I have ever laughed so hard on a birthday as we had a mix of Kiwis, Aussies and Pomes.

Hope everyone is gaining important knowledge on this blog.

Lookout Southern Hemi!

I'm back! Left Dec. 2 3:45 pm Calgary and after 3hr flight+2hr in SF+13hr flight+4hr in NZ+3hr flight+2hr bus ride got me to my cousin's home in SunRise Beach North of Brisbane by Dec. 4 1pm. Wow! It really wasn't that bad except for the fact that the good old reliable United Airlines in SF managed to miss adding 70 passengers bags. So, I have no toothbrush,etc!!! Hopefully sooner then later I will have all of it delivered to Marilyn's front door.
Luggage showed up wrecked and with notes from the American Customs Service letting me know why my bags weren't packed anymore. Should these experts be able to put them back the way they got them (My red bag was originally in a plastic shipping bag and the top was secure, see photo).
Other shots; Good old Canadian boy and baggage line up in Auckland.

Plan for Australia and New Zealand

For those who don't know the plan...
On Dec. 2, 2006 I will be flying to Brisbane via San Francisco and Auckland. I plan to hang out at my cousin's for a week or so while checking out Universal Studios on the Gold Coast. It just so happens that Marilyn lives very near the beach, I can't help it!
Then I may end up in Sydney around Christmas time and until Feb. 1 if nothing pans out on the Gold coast. Sydney has a Fox Studio and a lot going on for film and modeling.
On Feb. 1 or so (my OZ visa expires Feb. 5) I will fly to Wellington New Zealand, which is the home of Peter Jackson's studio and the capital of NZ. There I will try to work in special effects or Production Assisting and get married...just seeing if anyone is reading this. I will buy a motorcycle and fly around the great roads of the country taking photos for the next three months until I return for my brother's wedding in May in Hawaii. Leaving my NZ bike in storage for my return somewhere between Aug and Oct 2007. So I will be back in Canada for the summer to ride to Alaska on my VFR, which I hope to take to NZ in Oct 2007. My quest to miss winter for the rest of my life is underway! Too bad I have to sacrifice hockey.

Modeling, What???

So I picked up a couple of gigs where I was paid for my look. Hey man if people are willing to pay I'll take it!!! Look for me in the Sait recuiting brochure and here you see me in last weeks "Coast Mountain Sports" flyer. Life's good even if they made me look like Hansel.

Acting... What? In a German Film, What?

So one day in October I went to pick up a pay cheque from a german production company that I had been working for as a special Effects guy and they were in the middle of a casting. The casting agent and I had been introduced before and she thought I would be perfect for one of many different parts. I was sent in to meet the first AD and we discussed my acting experience, which is the level of a few high school plays (background roles). So needless to say I got a role with no dialogue. "Harry the Lumberjack who gets his leg cut at the saw mill". Check out the photos. Oh yeah, I even got my own trailer!!!

Working in Special Effects

End of September I hooked up with a Special Effects company called "Bleeding Art", who proves Film and theater Effects (and some stuff for millitary training). Here I am trying to make this upper half of a body look really burnt up. I just finished working on a bunch of films doing smoke, water and wind as a trainee. Hopefully I can continue doing this in Australia and New Zealand.