Australia Day means listening to Triple J Hottest 100 and going to a BBQ and/ or going to Big Day Out, where Triple J interviews artists and plays acts live. Either way, lots of good tunes float around in January and here are a few that have been following Ryan and I:
Feel So Close - Calvin Harris
The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
Nero - Promises
There's also been a lot of Lana Del Ray - the featured artist this week and she was the featured artist on MTV while we were in Bali. Ryan kind of loathes her but I'm digging it:
Video Games
Born to Die
Big Day Out itself was an absolute gong show - cracked the first Canadian Club & Dry can at 7:30am and went to bed about 24 hrs later at Ryan's sister's house... where I slept in a bed with Alex for 3 hours while all three of the Scott siblings went to titty breakfast at the top pub. When they came back around 11am we set up the beer pong table and get 'er rolling again, crashing hard and sudden at 8pm at Ryan's parents place who had surprisingly few questions considering they hadn't seen us in 2 days
Not even joking, I felt hungover for about 3 days afterwards and heavily relied on Jimmy for runs on the beach to create natural mood elevation. Dogs, hey? Even when you've been tearing it up for 2 days straight and then are surly as shit about it they still just want a stick and a cuddle.
Today Ryan helped out his buddy Wade pour a concrete slab in the back so he can build a Pagola (sundeck shed thing). While the boys tooled around with this, I went to the beach with his 2 yr old daughter and Grandma. It is so embarrassing how an Australian toddler shows stronger abilities in the water than I do - just stuck her face right in there! Ryan says, "at least you're getting there" which is very close to what I told the little girl today when she made wee wee in the potty. :-P
Monday, January 30, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Australia Day! 5 Terrifying Aussie Facts
Happy Australia Day!
Actually, it's tomorrow, but I'll be at Big Day Out in Sydney all day so I figured I'd do up a post now.
This is my 2nd Australia Day, and I've really become immersed in Australian culture this year - I feel like I'm no longer a tourist here, and am constantly learning new and surprising things about this land. In honour of Australia Day, here's 5 specific things I've learned recently that make this country as unique as all the freakish critters that live here.
1) Australian Fishing is Fucking Crazy
Last year I only went lake fishing, enjoying a nice calm day on the water with Ryan's parents in their large flat-bottomed boat. I got the impression that this was what most Aussie fishing was like... and I was wrong.
Like most things in the Australian natural world, the ocean here wants to kill you. I went out on Gamble's boat last week and it was a lovely calm evening, no wind and very mild in temperature. As soon as we got past the harbour, I realized that the swells are MASSIVE ROLLING JUGGERNAUTS that want to SMASH YOU. And this was a calm day. It's so strange - the top of the sea has no whitecaps or chop, but the whole thing is just pitching and rocking like a horrorshow. Ryan tells me the worst swell he's been out in was over 10 meters, and I believe this was at night in a "tinny" (Aluminum skiff). Jesus.
Keep in mind here, the Aussie spirit is not one to be defeated by something as pissy as a little swell, and I understand that it's common to not have any seats in the boat. Imagine standing in a little boat in a giant rocking ocean and holding onto the holy shit handles for dear life. It's like when I rode the bull in Queenstown, with similar results - disgust and horror. Ryan and Gamble, being used to this type of boat, don't even hold on, certainly don't wear life jackets, and somehow were able to drink 6 beers while constantly baiting and setting the lines. I have some work to do in this area of my Australian Immersion program.
2) Wetting the Head
Out at the pub the other week, the topic of a friend's baby came up and the boys started talking about how crazy it was when he "wet the head". I naively asked what this meant and the table fell silent... and then burst into thunderous Aussie laughter. Oh dear god.
It is an Australian tradition for a new father to "wet the head" as soon as the child has been safely delivered. Pretty much, once the baby is popped out and bundled up and mum's in recovery with the grandparents, the husband goes out and gets completely shitfaced. I asked Ryan's Dad about this and he said he only had something like 4 drinks and some cigars when he "wet the head" for Dean but probably more for Ryan. That's right, the husband goes out on the piss after EACH CHILD IS BORN.
Lisa, Ryan's sister, explained to me that it's best to have the baby in the middle of the night, because the boys would only come out for a couple pints in the late morning. But if you have your baby in the late afternoon or early evening, then it's a write off. Wow.
3) Aussie Sweet Tooth > Norwegian Sweet Tooth
Growing up with the last name Knutson, I often hear jokes about the Norwegian Sweet Tooth. Oh how we square heads enjoy cookies and cakes and things. In comparison with Australia, however, I can only say - Nah uh.
There are so many different types of candies (lollies) and cookies (bikkies) and ice cream treats here it's like Willy Wonka was secretly Australian. And it's not even like the candies are just different versions to what we enjoy in Canada - they have all the Canadian candy and treats PLUS a million other kinds. Some favourite chocolate bars:
Cherry Ripe
Summer Roll
Violet Crumble
Twirl
Flake
Peppermint Crisp
Picnic
And everyone eats at least one of these and/ or an ice cream treat every day. And coca cola, most chicks drink at least a litre of cola here in a day... and that's not including bundy & cola at the pub later.
This leads me to my next point...
4) Meat, Meat and then More Meat
... And then pour gravy all over it. Oh, no more thank you. Oh... oh still pouring, ok then. Thanks. :-|
Massive lamb chops, steaks and slabs of roast beef the size of my Uncle Fred's giant hand. And always, sausages on the side (at least 2) and usually mussels, prawns and/ or salami as an entree. PS - there are no appetizers in Australia, there are entrees. And the entrees are called mains. Quite confusing.
Combine the sweets, cola, meats, gravy, potatoes and breads and you get the 2nd highest obesity rate in the world. Among Ryan's parents and their friends, to not eat meat is rather un-Australian. You want to see a bunch of baby-boomer Australians get in a frenzy? Tell them you don't mind occasionally eating tofu. :-@
5) The Aussie Spirit is Unbeatable
This photo was taken last year somewhere around Cairns after cyclone Yasi ripped through, the category 6 storm I narrowly missed on that epic road trip.
Whenever I think of the Aussie spirit, and why I love this place and ultimately want to live here, I think of this photo.
This guy's house just got majorly fucked up. Like, beyond repair. His neighbourhood and all his neighbours are screwed...
What better time to have a beer!!! It's not the end of the world, mate.
After the apocalypse, I am certain that there will be cockroaches and Australians. They clearly have no problem living off various types of terrifying meats and aren't so fussy about fresh veg. Nearly dying in an ocean storm? That's a Tuesday night out with the blokes! Life is to be celebrated, whether you've just become a parent or your house has been ripped apart. Because, when you really get down to it, money comes and goes but a good bullshit with friends and family will always be priceless.
Happy Australia Day!
Actually, it's tomorrow, but I'll be at Big Day Out in Sydney all day so I figured I'd do up a post now.
This is my 2nd Australia Day, and I've really become immersed in Australian culture this year - I feel like I'm no longer a tourist here, and am constantly learning new and surprising things about this land. In honour of Australia Day, here's 5 specific things I've learned recently that make this country as unique as all the freakish critters that live here.
1) Australian Fishing is Fucking Crazy
Last year I only went lake fishing, enjoying a nice calm day on the water with Ryan's parents in their large flat-bottomed boat. I got the impression that this was what most Aussie fishing was like... and I was wrong.
Like most things in the Australian natural world, the ocean here wants to kill you. I went out on Gamble's boat last week and it was a lovely calm evening, no wind and very mild in temperature. As soon as we got past the harbour, I realized that the swells are MASSIVE ROLLING JUGGERNAUTS that want to SMASH YOU. And this was a calm day. It's so strange - the top of the sea has no whitecaps or chop, but the whole thing is just pitching and rocking like a horrorshow. Ryan tells me the worst swell he's been out in was over 10 meters, and I believe this was at night in a "tinny" (Aluminum skiff). Jesus.
Keep in mind here, the Aussie spirit is not one to be defeated by something as pissy as a little swell, and I understand that it's common to not have any seats in the boat. Imagine standing in a little boat in a giant rocking ocean and holding onto the holy shit handles for dear life. It's like when I rode the bull in Queenstown, with similar results - disgust and horror. Ryan and Gamble, being used to this type of boat, don't even hold on, certainly don't wear life jackets, and somehow were able to drink 6 beers while constantly baiting and setting the lines. I have some work to do in this area of my Australian Immersion program.
2) Wetting the Head
Out at the pub the other week, the topic of a friend's baby came up and the boys started talking about how crazy it was when he "wet the head". I naively asked what this meant and the table fell silent... and then burst into thunderous Aussie laughter. Oh dear god.
It is an Australian tradition for a new father to "wet the head" as soon as the child has been safely delivered. Pretty much, once the baby is popped out and bundled up and mum's in recovery with the grandparents, the husband goes out and gets completely shitfaced. I asked Ryan's Dad about this and he said he only had something like 4 drinks and some cigars when he "wet the head" for Dean but probably more for Ryan. That's right, the husband goes out on the piss after EACH CHILD IS BORN.
Lisa, Ryan's sister, explained to me that it's best to have the baby in the middle of the night, because the boys would only come out for a couple pints in the late morning. But if you have your baby in the late afternoon or early evening, then it's a write off. Wow.
3) Aussie Sweet Tooth > Norwegian Sweet Tooth
Growing up with the last name Knutson, I often hear jokes about the Norwegian Sweet Tooth. Oh how we square heads enjoy cookies and cakes and things. In comparison with Australia, however, I can only say - Nah uh.
There are so many different types of candies (lollies) and cookies (bikkies) and ice cream treats here it's like Willy Wonka was secretly Australian. And it's not even like the candies are just different versions to what we enjoy in Canada - they have all the Canadian candy and treats PLUS a million other kinds. Some favourite chocolate bars:
Cherry Ripe
Summer Roll
Violet Crumble
Twirl
Flake
Peppermint Crisp
Picnic
And everyone eats at least one of these and/ or an ice cream treat every day. And coca cola, most chicks drink at least a litre of cola here in a day... and that's not including bundy & cola at the pub later.
This leads me to my next point...
4) Meat, Meat and then More Meat
... And then pour gravy all over it. Oh, no more thank you. Oh... oh still pouring, ok then. Thanks. :-|
Massive lamb chops, steaks and slabs of roast beef the size of my Uncle Fred's giant hand. And always, sausages on the side (at least 2) and usually mussels, prawns and/ or salami as an entree. PS - there are no appetizers in Australia, there are entrees. And the entrees are called mains. Quite confusing.
Combine the sweets, cola, meats, gravy, potatoes and breads and you get the 2nd highest obesity rate in the world. Among Ryan's parents and their friends, to not eat meat is rather un-Australian. You want to see a bunch of baby-boomer Australians get in a frenzy? Tell them you don't mind occasionally eating tofu. :-@
5) The Aussie Spirit is Unbeatable
Whenever I think of the Aussie spirit, and why I love this place and ultimately want to live here, I think of this photo.
This guy's house just got majorly fucked up. Like, beyond repair. His neighbourhood and all his neighbours are screwed...
What better time to have a beer!!! It's not the end of the world, mate.
After the apocalypse, I am certain that there will be cockroaches and Australians. They clearly have no problem living off various types of terrifying meats and aren't so fussy about fresh veg. Nearly dying in an ocean storm? That's a Tuesday night out with the blokes! Life is to be celebrated, whether you've just become a parent or your house has been ripped apart. Because, when you really get down to it, money comes and goes but a good bullshit with friends and family will always be priceless.
Happy Australia Day!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Past Month :-P
I have seriously neglected this blog, and it's due to the best reasons. I've been traveling, or visiting with family and friends, or doing work around the house, or studying, or reading. I have been reading A LOT actually; books to date include:
"Remains of the Day" Kazuo Ishiguro
[just started, kind of boring]
"Town Like Alice" Nevil Shute
[my favourite book, re-read as I found a 1961 Pan copy for $2 in the Blue Mountains]
"Gone With The Wind" Margaret Mitchell
[So so so so good!!! A must read, even though it's massive]
"Bloodletting and Other Miraculous Cures" Vincent Lam
[a bunch of ER-style short stories, meh C+]
"Salt" Gabrielle Lord
[Random find in an op-shop in Melbourne and it's SOOOO GOOD]
"Booky Wook 2" Russell Brand
[Hillarious, as expected, and better than Booky Wook 1 in my opinion]
"In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made" By Norman Cantor
[Nerdy find in an op-shop, read about 2/3 of it during my first days in Melbourne]
"In a Sunburned Country" Bill Bryson
[Kind of like this blog if it were written by a grown up, highly recommend it!!]
Most of these books I found in Salvation Army stores, or Op-Shops, as it seems that's the only way to get cheap books in Australia. Next on my To Read list are "The Stand" by Stephen King (a re-read of an old favourite) and "Tai Pan" by James Clavell which apparently is about Hong Kong. I got both of these books and a flannell shirt (Flan-o) for Ryan for $2.60. :-)
What else have I been up to in the past month??
Bali & Lombok
Ryan recovered from Bali Belly and we had some fun snorkeling trips in the Gilis, ate amazing food, drank Bintangs and walked around the islands chasing kittens. The Gilis really are a magical place and I recommend you get there as fast as possible because Gili Trawangan is already turning into Kuta, and Kuta resembles some kind of boozy version of hell.
Aussie Christmas
We arrived from Bali on the morning of the 24th and immediately got on the piss with Ryan's brother and sister as this is their family tradition. We were SMASHED by 4:30 in the afternoon and stumbled to Ryan's cousin Laura's house for a BBQ. We managed to drink an entire 26 of duty free Jim Beam there and got home at 10:30... where Ryan proceeded to stagger around naked, threw the dog in the pool and peed in a laundry basket in our room... which contained my hair dryer.
Christmas morning we opened presents, Ryan's mum and dad are so sweet and got me a pajama set and a journal and some weird Aussie candy they knew I hadn't tried before. Had a MASSIVE bbq at the auntie's place that afternoon.
New Years in Ulladulla
After weighing out the options of which club to go to hemorrhage money on drinks and taxi fare, Ryan and I decided to have a more laid back New Years' and headed to a friend of a friends' place in Ulladulla. This place is kind of like Parksville with awesome surf, and the locals are a nice hippie boozy sort. Camped out in a trailor and went on a 3 day bender with Ryan, Gamble, Wade and met a few other folks who were camped out on this guys' property as well. Boys went surfing, I went shopping at Op-shops and read, and drank lots of rum and beer.
To Orange!
After New Years' we came home and found that Dean, Ryan's brother, had been working on a bender of his own so we had a couple quiet movie nights with him and his girl Alex. Unfortunately, when Dean left, he forgot his entire toolbag in the garage which is somewhat necessary for his work as an electrician in the mines. So Ryan and I took a last-minute road trip to Canberra where we got to visit Alex's parents' farm again - yay!! I love that place - all kangaroos and alpacas and crickets and frogs. Delivered Dean's tools, and then offered to assist them with their move to Orange the following day. Which was good because Dean had a refrigerator, washing machine and 2 Datsons to pack and Alex had never operated a trailer. So Dean drove the Datsun out front, Ryan took all the gear on the trailer and Alex and I drove Ryan's Dad's truck in the rear making sure nothing fell off... and having lady chats for 3 hours while driving through the boonies of New South Wales.
Stayed in Orange and helped with the move and Dean and Alex shouted us a hotel room for all our help so we had a little party there hahaha Some notes on Orange PS - it's scary. There's a massive mine there which pays big big money... but the trade off is you have to live in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of mutants like in "The Hills Have Eyes". No offense to the kind country folk of Australia, but as we sat having breakfast on a patio in downtown Orange, I counted 1/3 people with some kind of... abnormality.
Back in the Illawarra
So now Ryan and I are chilling out at the parent's place with me doing dishes, laundry and pet care while Ryan renos around the house. Rent is cheap, food is good and the company is lovely. :-)
We go to the beach when the weather is nice and Ryan's been doing a lot of surfing, it's funny watching him learn to surf on his short board again. Go to friend's places the odd night, but mostly I'm just settling into life here. I like to think of this time as my Australian Immersion - watch cricket and try to learn the rules, trying new kinds of beer, getting acquainted with Aussie celebs and tv shows with Ryan's mum, learning how to cook Aussie style (ie meat, butter, cream and then more meat) - basically learning how to be Australian. :-P
Besides reading and housework, I've been brushing up on my Excel skills with online courses which is good for when I return to work. AND I found out last night that Ryan's sister Lisa still has all her homework from her Admin courses and will give me her old study books and software so I can learn about Australian Quickbooks etc.
So what I'm doing now is pretty much what I'll be doing for the rest of the month: tooling with courses on the computer before going off to do some housework. Ryan's at the beach surfing and will be back for brunch and then we'll get back to replacing the tiling around the pool. Pretty chill! :-P
Of course, January 26th is Australia Day... and we have tickets to Big Day Out. mwa ahahahahaha
"Remains of the Day" Kazuo Ishiguro
[just started, kind of boring]
"Town Like Alice" Nevil Shute
[my favourite book, re-read as I found a 1961 Pan copy for $2 in the Blue Mountains]
"Gone With The Wind" Margaret Mitchell
[So so so so good!!! A must read, even though it's massive]
"Bloodletting and Other Miraculous Cures" Vincent Lam
[a bunch of ER-style short stories, meh C+]
"Salt" Gabrielle Lord
[Random find in an op-shop in Melbourne and it's SOOOO GOOD]
"Booky Wook 2" Russell Brand
[Hillarious, as expected, and better than Booky Wook 1 in my opinion]
"In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made" By Norman Cantor
[Nerdy find in an op-shop, read about 2/3 of it during my first days in Melbourne]
"In a Sunburned Country" Bill Bryson
[Kind of like this blog if it were written by a grown up, highly recommend it!!]
Most of these books I found in Salvation Army stores, or Op-Shops, as it seems that's the only way to get cheap books in Australia. Next on my To Read list are "The Stand" by Stephen King (a re-read of an old favourite) and "Tai Pan" by James Clavell which apparently is about Hong Kong. I got both of these books and a flannell shirt (Flan-o) for Ryan for $2.60. :-)
What else have I been up to in the past month??
Bali & Lombok
Ryan recovered from Bali Belly and we had some fun snorkeling trips in the Gilis, ate amazing food, drank Bintangs and walked around the islands chasing kittens. The Gilis really are a magical place and I recommend you get there as fast as possible because Gili Trawangan is already turning into Kuta, and Kuta resembles some kind of boozy version of hell.
Aussie Christmas
We arrived from Bali on the morning of the 24th and immediately got on the piss with Ryan's brother and sister as this is their family tradition. We were SMASHED by 4:30 in the afternoon and stumbled to Ryan's cousin Laura's house for a BBQ. We managed to drink an entire 26 of duty free Jim Beam there and got home at 10:30... where Ryan proceeded to stagger around naked, threw the dog in the pool and peed in a laundry basket in our room... which contained my hair dryer.
Christmas morning we opened presents, Ryan's mum and dad are so sweet and got me a pajama set and a journal and some weird Aussie candy they knew I hadn't tried before. Had a MASSIVE bbq at the auntie's place that afternoon.
New Years in Ulladulla
After weighing out the options of which club to go to hemorrhage money on drinks and taxi fare, Ryan and I decided to have a more laid back New Years' and headed to a friend of a friends' place in Ulladulla. This place is kind of like Parksville with awesome surf, and the locals are a nice hippie boozy sort. Camped out in a trailor and went on a 3 day bender with Ryan, Gamble, Wade and met a few other folks who were camped out on this guys' property as well. Boys went surfing, I went shopping at Op-shops and read, and drank lots of rum and beer.
To Orange!
After New Years' we came home and found that Dean, Ryan's brother, had been working on a bender of his own so we had a couple quiet movie nights with him and his girl Alex. Unfortunately, when Dean left, he forgot his entire toolbag in the garage which is somewhat necessary for his work as an electrician in the mines. So Ryan and I took a last-minute road trip to Canberra where we got to visit Alex's parents' farm again - yay!! I love that place - all kangaroos and alpacas and crickets and frogs. Delivered Dean's tools, and then offered to assist them with their move to Orange the following day. Which was good because Dean had a refrigerator, washing machine and 2 Datsons to pack and Alex had never operated a trailer. So Dean drove the Datsun out front, Ryan took all the gear on the trailer and Alex and I drove Ryan's Dad's truck in the rear making sure nothing fell off... and having lady chats for 3 hours while driving through the boonies of New South Wales.
Stayed in Orange and helped with the move and Dean and Alex shouted us a hotel room for all our help so we had a little party there hahaha Some notes on Orange PS - it's scary. There's a massive mine there which pays big big money... but the trade off is you have to live in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of mutants like in "The Hills Have Eyes". No offense to the kind country folk of Australia, but as we sat having breakfast on a patio in downtown Orange, I counted 1/3 people with some kind of... abnormality.
Back in the Illawarra
So now Ryan and I are chilling out at the parent's place with me doing dishes, laundry and pet care while Ryan renos around the house. Rent is cheap, food is good and the company is lovely. :-)
We go to the beach when the weather is nice and Ryan's been doing a lot of surfing, it's funny watching him learn to surf on his short board again. Go to friend's places the odd night, but mostly I'm just settling into life here. I like to think of this time as my Australian Immersion - watch cricket and try to learn the rules, trying new kinds of beer, getting acquainted with Aussie celebs and tv shows with Ryan's mum, learning how to cook Aussie style (ie meat, butter, cream and then more meat) - basically learning how to be Australian. :-P
Besides reading and housework, I've been brushing up on my Excel skills with online courses which is good for when I return to work. AND I found out last night that Ryan's sister Lisa still has all her homework from her Admin courses and will give me her old study books and software so I can learn about Australian Quickbooks etc.
So what I'm doing now is pretty much what I'll be doing for the rest of the month: tooling with courses on the computer before going off to do some housework. Ryan's at the beach surfing and will be back for brunch and then we'll get back to replacing the tiling around the pool. Pretty chill! :-P
Of course, January 26th is Australia Day... and we have tickets to Big Day Out. mwa ahahahahaha
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