Stuff it!
I love when you drag yourself out of bed after a "Late Night" shift to make your way to the mountain only to realise, upon arrival, that it's Friday and you only have a "midweek" pass (Mon-Thurs). By the time you make your way back home its taken and hour and half out of your day.
I also love how I am suppose to recieve 2 tax returns this month but one is seized by the Australian government and the US edition lost within the postal system.
But probably the best thing of all is realisation that you have spent the last two years working towards a new career that seems extremely difficult to break in to. While I have only applied for two positions within Australia, the most recent was unsuccessful. Over 160 applicants are vying for a part-time position in Orange. The fact that a
part-time,
country position, is so hotly contested for, seems to indicate that employment prospects are minimal.
Now that the foregoing does not play a factor in my decision as to whether I return to Australia in June or December, I must consider want I
want to do, despite any obligations I feel I have. By not making a decision, I guess decisions are being made for me (my boss asked me again the other day what city I fly into).
On a sunnier note, I had one of my best days of skiing yesterday; mainly for the fact that I went really fast, the weather was fantastic, and I went along with Matt who provided some laughs - most memorable being his plowing through a fence, the other a flirtatious text he accidently sent to his boss. Very amusing!
I've joined a racing team!!! Yeah, and you didn't think I was that good, hey? Well don't worry, I'm not. Nevertheless, I'm being "signed" to Terry Jensen Racing and we will be going into competition late April.
Lastly, as you can see I have four links to the right of this page, that navigate to other corners of the WWW. One of which is
Fleamail.
Fleamail is Flea's blog and I am happy to see he has resumed updating it with some sort of regularity. I find the happy disposition of the Melbourne-born bassist to be inspiring (tho it probaby is easier to be happy when you make millions of dollars doing what you love). I have included his latest entry below as it probably illustrates, in similar ways to mine (although for mine, fare less eloquently), that life is never without its complications. I like to hear that he is in Oz too:
03.30.07
Fleamail, March 30, 2007
From: Michael Balzary
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2007 5:55 am
To: members@redhotchilipeppers.com
Subject:
hi everyone
yesterday i received very disturbing news that someone has been
impersonating me on a myspace website
i do not want to give the name of this idiot's website and grant him
an iota of dignity that he/she does not deserve
but i understand that this person has been sending out notes that are
racist and insulting and disgusting
i fell terrible that someone would send out racist messages period
and even worse that it is done in my name
so if anyone has had contact with this asshole
please know that i am doing what it takes to get him to stop carrying
on in this way
on a brighter note
i am down in australia getting ready to begin our tour down here
i am a happy man
seeing family
and communing with nature
sorry we had to postpone our shows in japan
but it was our only option
i love everyone
This is my life at the moment; getting home at 5am from work. 5am is a funny time of day - a good time to start a religon or plan a murder - but Ill probably just be lazy and go to bed.
Writing of scallywag behaviour the pic below is of me posing with promotional headwear given to me when I bought my beer. See how u can learn about cultural differences when abroad; in Australia you usually get the stubby holder, but here in the north u get beanies. I have a couple of promotional beer beanies.
It was shortly after this photo was taken that my pal from Thunder Bay, Matt, and I headed into town (minus the hat). The slow drinker that I can often be, I hadn't quite finished my can of Kokanee so took it to drink the last bit on our walk - knowing quite well that I only had a small bit left and would finish it before arriving. So as we're walking, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police happen to drive by, do a u turn, come back towards us, turn their lights on and get out of the car. (By the way, the mounted police dont have little lights on the tops of the horses heads - RCMP get around in cars. Ive never seen one on a horse and question if they even have any horses). So they ask Matt and I for our ID and then the female police officer asks for my address. I had to apologise as I don't know it (cos all mail in Banff is sent to general delivery at the PO so there is no real need to know your address). She said well I better start to remember it bcos Im about to get a ticket. I politely told her it wasnt a matter of remembering, I never actually knew it to begin with. I told her I could show it to her (as it was only about a 100 metres up the road). Anyway, $115 fine which I thought was a little unfair. So Im going to have to head down and see the JP cos I don't care to pay it. And the reason why is because I see people throw their cigarette butts on the ground and they don't get jack. And when Im walking around town, if I see McDonald's trash on the ground, I pick it up and dispose of it thoughtfully. And what thanks do I get? $115 fine. I dont care too much for the RCMP - Ive heard of the same thig happenning to other people but they've also been thrown in jail for the night and made to sleep in a cold cell with only their singlet and boxers. It happened to a female fellow workmate and Australian. It seems I missed out on the jail time which kinda sux but then I guess in some ways not.
Anyway, it seems, 5am blogging only gives way to writing utter rot so back to the planning of that murder.
Eurasia Tour
I have started organizing
Smoov's Eurasia Tour which will be taking place in less than 2 months. I will make my way back to New York City to hang with MC Casper in Crooklyn for a few evenings. This will be a funny time as I feel it will be somewhat of a closing to my relationship with The Big Apple... well at least for while. What a city!
Then its across the pond; "Yes, London. You know, fish, chips, cup of tea... bad food, worse weather, Mary-friggin-Poppins. London!" where I will see Ac and Daniel-son and baby. That will be a right laugh. I can't wait to see London again. Not much there that I didn't get done last time, tho u can reserve me a seat at
The Prince Charles cinema (my favourite hang out). Also, I find West End shows to be a more affordable alternative to Broadway. Oh yeah and
Courts!!!
From there, I will probably take the Eurostar under the English channel into France where I cant wait to meet with Caroline and Tito again and hopefuly stay with Amaury in his hometown Paris. (You may remember Amaury and our chance encounter with Jared from Subway). Yes it will be a feast for the ages with copious amounts of vin rouge and frogs legs in the Latin Quarter. Yeah, yeah, yeah!!!!
I'm thinking about grabbing a Eurail pass from there and heading into Germany (as I haven't been there) to see Mike the Mechanic. You may remember my video of Mike working on the Cobalt in Cleveland en route to Toronto. Yeah, yeah, yeah!!!!
From there I have to make my way back to London so I can fly to Norway. The chief reason for choosing my flight path to include Scandanavia is because I have always wanted to experience the phenomenon of the "Midnight Sun" that occurs in latitudes north of the Artic Cicle (and south of the Antarctic Circle) where the sun is visible at midnight (perfect for sitting back and listening to some Zeppelin; "We come from the land of the ice and snow where the midnight sun and the hot springs blow") . Nordkapp is genereally denoted as being the northern most point in Europe and has many days of midnight sun in the summer. Unfortunately, Nordkapp is not accessible by public transport and rental cars are an expensive aternative so this plan may or may not come to fruition. But I have a buddy I met in
Hollywod Hostel, Arnulf, in January 06, who lives in Oslo so it will be cool to hang with him.
I then fly back to Heathrow to get out of Europe. I will spend a few days in Hong Kong which I can't wait to see!
Then its back in OZ. Yeah, yeah, yeah! This is where the difficult decision comes in. My boss here proposed that he give me 3 weeks off to go home but then he will fly me back to continue work at McDonald's until just before Christmas when he will fly me home. There are certainly benefits to this including:
* It would allow me to save enough money to support myself when I go back home in December
* I would have completed my management training at McDonald's and while I don't care to continue with a career in the corportaion, it would be further experince.
* I would be able to enjoy some warmer weather here in Canada, skip Adelaide's winter (which in reality is probably not much unlike a Banff summer) and then return to Oz for yet another summer. I like summer
* Be able to take my Eurasia tour with just a bacpack - and could leave all my stuff here and only have to deal with it during my direct return flight in December
Gaining a position at WIN Television would almost definetely have me return to Austraia for good. And while I look forward to returning to Adelaide and question my interest in spending such an extended period of time in the "Banff bubble" and McDoanald's, such a commitment could be worth it. Time will tell!
Bugger
The last entry ended abruptly as did the Bulldogs quest to make the
Elite 8 for the first time in school history. I guess this was expected and they can be proud of how well they did. So close.
I guess I was looking for the season to continue as it also meant my involvment (in a passive sense) with Butler University. Now that my international studies are finished, I've left Indy, recieved my grades (3.93/4.00 GPA... sweet!), and the basketball season is finished, my association with the school is pretty much over. This is ok, I ony want two things from it; employment and fond memories. I think I'm guaranteed the latter.
As for employment, I sent a resume off to WIN Television in Orange, NSW (that's Banjo Patterson country) for the position of Trainee Camera Operator/Editor. This is what I want to get into and feel that my resume was quite impressive for application to a trainee position. It is strange that I have not heard back as I was told I would - maybe its just taking some time. While I would be less than ecstatic living in Orange, I would jump at this oppurtnity to break into the industry, albeit part time.
I'm half way through my stints at "Late Night". It certainly is different serving the inebriated and in some ways more enjoyable, but I won't mind getting back to a semi-regular schedule at the end of the month before I go zombie . Looking back at my blog I see that it's a year since I was in Mississippi, so I thought it would be appropriate to re-post my pic of a Macca's I took while down there. I remember it being very early mornng, very muggy and quite disturbing.
My hosuemate Karine and I decided to take a walk from Alberta to British Columbia the other day. While that sounds like a great effort it really just means we drove to the province border and made the short wak from one welcome sign to another. While over that way we visited Lake Louise and gatecrashed a party of Macleod Dixon Law firm in the Chateau. Lovely people.
I feel ill
I have found an internet cafe that is fast enough to play the cast without buffering every 2 secs. And while I am still subject to commercial breaks throughout the game, I though I may as well give updates throughout.
Butler 25: Florida 18. We're doing what we do; forcing turnovers and turning them into baskets. We're 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
7 minutres to go in the half. We're poised but we need to stay that way. Florida is one tough, and big, and talented team!!!
....
Oh no, we're getting a little frustrated - 0 from our last 7, and scoreless for the last 8 mins. Florida's backcourt is starting to find range. Florida up 6 at the half!
...
16 minutes left in the game. Butler back up by 1. C'mon!
...
7.30 to go. Butler still by 1.
...
3.33 remaining. Florida by 1. Butler to the line. I cant take this!
...
3.33. Butler by 1
...
Our man Crone is out. This can't go into OT. We have to do it now. 2.34 - Flordia by 3
...
1.29 - Florida by 4. Butler ball
...
How sweet it may be!
Here's hoping that this is the scene tomorrow night in St Louis, Missourri after Butler take on the Gators. The bookmakers don't think it's going to happen; every Vegas and offshore line that I've taken a look at has Florida extremely strong favourite accross the board. (At this point int time, you'd have to plonk down around $800 to make a 100 bucks from a Florida win).
This is the second time in 5 years that the Dawgs have made the Sweet 16, but only the third in school history - the other years being 1962 and 2003. You know it's a big event when broadcast during primetime on a major network. I will be relegated to a local internet cafe to watch it at CBS online (the home pc doesn't have enough power for video).
The pic above does little to help promote Butler's diversity but is probably an accurate representation. The good thing about attending a school with a small enrollment is that one comes into contact with many of the players. Crone (the guy hugging AJ) and Betko (far right) came on the whitewater rafting trip - such encounters creates a greater personal desire for me to see them succeeed.
Oh yeah, national newspaper
USA Today had this to say about the Dawgs. While the term, "The Butler Way", does not appaear, it certainly is alluded to:
When it comes to basketball IQ, Butler could start its own Mensa chapter. The Bulldogs (29-6) are back in the Sweet 16 for the second time in five years despite having a lineup that — as one NCAA Tournament broadcaster noted — does not look very impressive in the airport. "We're challenged a little bit physically," admits junior point guard Mike Green. "But as far as thinking, we might be one of the best-thinking teams in America." Physical mismatches are nothing new for Butler. At 6-feet, Green is the squad's top rebounder. The tallest starter is 6-7 senior Brian Ligon and junior guard A.J. Graves, the leading scorer, is generously listed at 160 pounds. They aren't very athletic, either. In the second-round win against Maryland, the Bulldogs had zero blocks and zero dunks and were out-rebounded by a 37-23 margin. No worries. Their genius-level hoops intelligence more than levels the field and creates a knack for being in the right place at the right time, whether it's senior forward Brandon Crone drawing a charge from Terrapins star D.J. Strawberry with 40 seconds left, or Green corralling an offensive rebound with less than five ticks remaining. "Our system is set up where you really have to know the game," says Crone. "You definitely have to be able to think at times. We've shown that when 12 players play together, anything can be done."
Go Dawgs!
Skiing, BB, Flicks, Macca's
Looking at my posts I see that I've only been going on about:
Skiing
Butler basetball
Movies
McDonald's
Sorry about that - I really need to get myself some stories ("take back your tales you vagabond" ahh Seinfeld). I was telling JKOB (aka Jacqui Smith) that I dont do much else. So as you've become accustomed I will make a note on each of the above:
.
Skiing - the snow continues to fall and Sunshine is in pretty good shape. I'll be there for the next two days. Some local told me the other day that he thought it might be the best season in quarter of a century.
Butler Basketball - Yes, No. 1 seed and defending national champions, the Florida Gators won their bout so we will take them on Saturday to advance. Get your updates here!
Movies - so I did go see Zodiac and I wouldn't beg you do so. Had they cut an hour and half out of the middle it would have been ok. 6th of April marks the release of the Tarantino/Rodriquez double-header, Grindhouse.
McDonald's - what can I say? You wanna upsize that? Actually I'm moving to late night till the end of the month. I like saying "I'm moving to late night". It makes it sound like I've been a daytime tv personality and I'm moving to the 11.30 time slot to take on the big boys. But, no, it just means I will close the place at 4am and have to deal with the drunks during my shift.
I felt like I was in Edward Hopper's Nighthawks wiping the upper lobby tables last night, as my sole patrons, two members of Banff's most transient population, sat silently staring into their cups of coffee, as they do each and every night.
Ahh, kids, they say the darndest things. I was presenting one young customer with his Happy Meal toy yesterday. He inspected it for a few moments and then handed it back telling me he didn't need it. I asked him if he was sure - this was Roboriffic, possibly the most exciting toy we've had during my time at Macca's. He informed me that it was made in China and that he was against child labour. Fair enough! So I sheepishly placed Roboriffic back under the counter and while doing so got the bright idea to reward this socially conscious tyke with some McDoanld's cookies. "No thanks" he replied, "I'm allergic to peanuts!"
.
You just can't help some people can ya?
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Sweet 16
More news about the men's basketball. I'm aware that 95% plus of the visitors to this blog don't give a rat's, but I like to document for future reference. An hey, if you can share in the excitment all the better!!!
So the Dawgs arrive back on campus tonight after their 3 point vicory in the second round of the tournament - next week they'll be competing in the Sweet 16!!! Who they face next will be determined by the result of tomorrow's match between the Purdue Boilermakers and Florida Gators. The latter being last year's champions and the No. 1 seed this year. I am obviously hoping for a Purdue win but whatever the matchup, I hope to be able to catch the game
if televised here in Canada.
This is the first time since 2003 that Butler has made the Sweet 16. Reasearch as to whether they have ever ventrued beyond has proven difficult but it seems they haven't. There are three Indiana teams represented in the tournament this year which is no suprise being Indiana; Butler; the aforementioned Purdue Boilermakers; and dynasty team, the Indiana Hoosiers who, at the time of writing this blog are in a first half battle with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). UCLA is the winingest team in tournament history with 11 penants, and coincidently, my first choice when applying for international exchange.
The Bulldogs basketball program's system has been dubbed "The Butler Way", an unselfish team style that has been called "the way the game should be played". So will a basketball team consisting of no known future NBA draft choices, representing a school of less than 4,000 enrollments, become the cinderella story of the tournament? Time will tell. I do bet tho, that if we win the next game it will be front page of
USA Today.
Below are some pics I took on the old camera that never got uploaded... until now. Last November, I took a trip with Butler schoolmate, and sports freak, Troj, to catch a home game of his blessed Hoosiers. Troj's love for that team is equalled to that of his love for Notre Dame football as evident by his sweater and the banner hanging behind him. (However, I recall this love affair for Indiana and Notre Dame playing second fiddle to that of his hometown Chicago Whitesox. Yes he is one sports freak!)
You can see that I have donned the Indiana t-shrt for the event (which was given to me for my birthday by Indiana law student, and former Butler school mate, John).
While I wanted to see a Big Ten schol in action, I have always been intrigued by their home arena,
Assembly Hall - note its simplicity and the lack of advertising.
March Madness
College basketball fever has arrived with the 64 best teams in the country going to the NCAA tournament in what is dubbed as "March Madness". Number 5 seed in the midwest, the Butler Bulldogs, have had an early win in the first round to advance to the final 32. A win on Saturday will take us to the "Sweet 16" and only four games away from a national championship. (I write 4 games tongue in cheek - those games would invariably be against teams such as Florida (last years champions) and perennial favourites such as Duke and North Carolina). But hey, keep on believin'.
If Butler got to the "Final Four" I would debate flying back to Indy - not that I would see the games live (they will be played in another city and besides, tickets to the NCAA tournament are some of the most expensive and hardest to acquire in all of American sports). But it would be great to be a part of the action on campus.
Skates
Along with my skiing, I'm trying to improve my skating skills. Unfortunately, the town's outdoor rink was ruined early in the season and the indoor has limited public skating times. Thus, my ability level hangs somewhere around crappy.
Tunnel Montain Trail
This was not easy. Due to the warmer weather, the compacted snow along the trail has turned to ice. Reaching the top was a slow process, the descent proved more difficult. But it was worth it.
There are many trails around Banff and adjoining national parks.
In the photo below you can see part of Banff township. While the trains can often be heard running through the woods, you'll never hear or see planes fly overhead - law prohibits them from using the air space. Pretty cool hey? Also, Banff is easy to get around on foot as building codes assure it does not sprawl.
Below, the best view; untouched wilderness!
Note the elk traveling across frozen Bow River
Zodiac
I have been inundated with emails this week and I guess you were about to send one too. I know, there has been no movie review this week!!!! I missed TA Tuesday as I am now doing quite a few 4pm-Close shifts. But had I hit the Lux Cinema, I would now be writng about
Zodiac. (God, you wouldnt have thought my reviews could get any worst and now I'm just informing of movies I
would see, given the oppurtunity). The flick tells the story of a serial killer, known only as "Zodiac" who haunted the San Francisco Bay Area in the late '60s. Given my interest in prolific American killers I was suprised not to know about this one and I guess will remian the case. But most interestinly (or maybe not),
Zodiac was the first feature length movie to be created without film or video tape. And to boot, it was edited with the same software I use,
Final Cut Pro. So anyways, while I can't give a review on this one, if you like searial killers on your silver screen, 1974s
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was inspired by Wisconsinite fruitcake, Ed Gain (Gets my vote for scariest movie ever made). For those with a less macabre palate, David Berkowitz' (a.k.a.
The Son of Sam) reign of terror in the summer of '79 is the backdrop for Spike Lee's
Summer of Sam (S.O.S.) A film which primarily addresses the oppressive effects of the atmosphere of fear and paranoia on a group of young Brooklynites as a result of the Son of Sam killings. And if that's not enough fun and excitement for ya, one can't beat the leader of the pack, Charlie Manson for whom numerous a script (and book and song) has been written. And lastly, while on the subject of real life killers in the movies, David Berkowitz' fellow inmate at Attica State Prison, Mark Chapman, is the subject of a film to be released later this year, entitled
Chapter 27. While Mark Chapman's character is played by Jared Leto, John Lennon is portrayed by little known actor.... Mark Chapman. It's a crazy world isn't it?
Spring is in the air
The weather was not good yesterday. I walked to work without my jacket and without my gloves. And on my way home I noted a small amount of precipitation - in the form of raindrops. This is a first in the 65 days I have been in Banff. It is not good - I want snowstorms, not sunshowers! Yet my fears were unfounded when I went skiing today at
Sunshine where the higher altitude gave way to falling snow. This was a relief.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Chateau Lake Louise - Spring
Ditto - Winter
.
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In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.
I wish I had some video editing software so as to create a tongue-in-cheek montage (in much the same vain as these opening comments) of my rise within the McDonald's corporation. It would invariably have a soundtrack by Journey and would include all the stereotypical images of corporate success; soaking in a hot tub as I chomp on a big fat Cuban (cigar, that is); having my hair cut, pants tailored; and perhaps ending with me climbing atop the peak of a snowy mountain as the music reaches its crescendo (that last one may actually be a little more Rocky - but that's okay, its my montage and I can montage any images I care too). But, alas, I don't have the editing software and, anyway, such montages generally aren't an accurate protrayal of reality.
Infact, I find my role as manger to be much the same as when I was dogsbody. Its just now I do it with a tie on. But I guess there are some perks; slightly better pay, a very small cut of possible pofit, and having to taste test the fries. (I'm not kidding on that one, its part of my responsibilities. But, it's not so much that I care to eat the fries as it is just an amazing sense of power to be able to stand by that fry bay and pull out a chip for personal consumption, all in the name of quality control). But the most amazing perk, according to some young kids who were quizzing me about it the other day, is that as manager its all the food you can eat. Of course this could be a deadly trap, thus I keep my indulgences to the odd salad and parfait. And while said are a healthier option to traditional Maaca's fare, not much can be done about the monotony.
I have continued to ski up at Sunshine and at times the resort has lived up to its name with some partially clouded blue skys. Still cold tho! I hitch my rides and have been lucky to not have long wait times. Infact, yesterday, a fellow Adelaidean pulled up before my buddy, Matt, and I even got to our hitching spot. The same occurred upon my return - this time the ride was shared with some retirees from Canmore. I was going to include a photo of me at the start of "The Top of the World" run at Lake Louise, but cant as the person who took it lost their camera. Anyways, many of you will be familiar with the images above - its Chateau Lake Louise on the eastern shore of the emerald coloured lake of the same name. From where I was standing, the Lake is merely the size of a penny and was missed until someone pointed it out to me.
Below is a reverse shot of Lake Louise - it shows all the ski runs (minus the snow) in the background. From this image, you could pretty much work out where my photo was taken. And check out those glaciers -they were there when JC was getting around!!!
Oh and one more for good measure - I love this, Lake Louise at dawn.
Stadium Arcadium
Having lost my copy of
Stadium Arcadium in LA, I was happy to get an opportunity to hear it again last night. God I love RHCP - Frusciante's genius - they all are. What a perfect outfit! I'm dissapointed I will miss them when they play Adelaide next month. Even tho I can probably catch a gig somewhere else, it is greatest to share these events with friends.
Dreamgirls
I was only joking when I mentioned I was going to give a review of the movies I see at the cinema - despite holding two-thirds of a degree in film appreciation any review I give usually just consists of a plot or ending spoiler. I was, however, going to keep record of each film I see at the cinema. This week it was
Dreamgirls. It was a fine looking and sounding flick (despite some uncomfortable breakouts into song that would have even Colonel Tom Parker cringe). Eddie Murphy is a cool man!
Mmmm, yeah good review! Tho I will add; I often wonder at the marvel of films and how one can have, for mere pocket change, full ownership of something that cost millions of dollars to produce (obvious exception to copyright, etc). Crazy hey? $100 million dollars are invested to produce the film and then they give it to me for six bucks. I dont believe there are too many things (with he exception of other forms of media) that are sold for a minute percentage of the cost of production.
I love when you drag yourself out of bed after a "Late Night" shift to make your way to the mountain only to realise, upon arrival, that it's Friday and you only have a "midweek" pass (Mon-Thurs). By the time you make your way back home its taken and hour and half out of your day.
