Final Words
With only a few days left in North America I thought I would make some final comments using this entry, which will probably be my last. I never thought I would be a blogger (mainly for the fact that I didn't know such exsisted), but having spent close to 16 months making contributions to
Smoov Goes to College, I consider myself a good citizen of the blogosphere bcos:
* I make regular entries
* I'm arrogant enough to think that what I have to share is worth doing so
And despite its lexical misgivings and frequent errors in syntax, it is complete, being;
206 posts(142 posted in the US, 64 in Canada)
41,996 words
295 images (197 personal, 98 pulled from the web)
31 videos (13 personal, 18 pulled from YouTube)
(A notably more comprehensive body of work than the product of my scholarly pursuits in 2006 - which may suggest the most relevant education is that of life)
Smoov Goes to College is really a tale of two stories - my time at Butler University and the US during 2006, and then in Banff National Park in the winter season of 2007.
It is difficut to pinpoint my time abroad somewhere along a spectrum of enjoyment but the last year has helped to fullfill an enduring desire I've had since a young age; to see what's over that hill.
And while the far side of that hill does not present too many talking Trans Ams or 8 foot 2 inch yellow birds hanging out on street corners, I do agree with one fellow South Australian blogger who recently posted, "(America) is a place where so much of the mythology of my youth is set and it's a real mind spinner. A living fiction."
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Anyways, thanks for visiting and as always...
Keep Rockin' in the Free World!
Working Holiday
I still have the statement of my bank account balance that I printed on a LAX ATM on the first day of this year. It was a little scary. However, I had already booked into, and paid for, two weeks accommodation at the HI Hostel in Banff in hope of securing work in that time. If not, my dream of skiing the Rockies would be shattered and I'd be forced to make a quick b-line for home.
Of course, my fears were unfounded.
I think I made good use of Banff considering the main reason for my stay being to ski. I guess I hit a mountain close to 30 times - the majority of which being
SunshineVillage. While I would have loved to have gone more, it is difficult to do so when one works five days a week.
There are, of course, other things to do in and around Banff, chiefly connecting with nature by day and partying by night. I did not partake in the latter on too frequent a basis (heck! you can do that anywhere).
I look back at my time in Pincher Creek with fond memories - while it was only for 2 weeks it was an unusual experience and one that I was not expecting to have.
And while I constantly complain about Macca's, I consider myself fortunate to have acquired regular, relatively well paid (in Banff terms) employment, which was requisite to achieving my goals. Also, the fact that it came with a place to stay was most serendipitous.
While I appreciate the oppurtunites afforded by city living, home amongst dense coniferous forest and alpine landscapes has been a feast for the senses: it smells better, it sounds better, it looks better!
Ahhhh!
It's not exactly a seller's market at the moment so my pair of 170cm ELAN skis, along with my boots and poles, will sit here until someone arrives in Banff next winter. I hope they enjoy them.
I slept until midday today knowing that the next time I will go to bed will be around midnight tomorrow night - some 36 hours from now. Tonight at 9 I will head over to the Greyhound station with a mate from work, Josh, who is also heading to the airport to make his way home to Ontario. We will spend the wee hours of the night in the airport until our respective flights leave early in the morning. Mine will be heading to Phoenix and to prevent more wasted time at an airport I am thinking of hiring a car and head out into the Valley of the Sun.
The weather is teasing me with a warm last two days - its paradise!!! While I have great things to look forward to, I really am sorry to say goodbye to my surroundings.
Bon Voyage!!
Having a good time at my going away party:
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Marie-Lou hits the ground
Helping Eric back on his chair 
Bit of dancing
"Problem?"
Haha!
How cool is this kid? Excerpts from the Herald Sun:
A 13-YEAR-OLD boy who lives with his gran has been exposed as one of Britain's biggest internet conmen.The boy earned more than £250,000 by posing as the boss of several multinational companies.
He used the cash to revel in a luxury lifestyle way beyond his years: he wore designer suits, drank vintage champagne and travelled by chauffeur-driven limousine.
He even employed a personal bodyguard, flew abroad on business trips and claimed he was going to buy a private jet.
Working from his bedroom at his grandmother's house in west London, he set up a website purporting to sell discounted plasma screen TVs.
Despite not supplying the goods, the money started to roll in.
He eventually set up a stationery and office supply firm, a dating website and a modelling agency.
He moved into a succession of offices, always moving out without paying the rent. He also employed dozens of people after placing ads in a job centre. Unsurprisingly, many weren't paid.
He made bulk purchases on credit from expensive stores and took "business trips" to Paris and Edinburgh.
He hired women from escort agencies and went drinking in exclusive clubs.
The court was told his latest project was a genuine online lingerie store.
Despite this, he was warned he could face a time in jail when he returns to court this month.
His victims are now likely to unite to sue the boy.
He conceded the idea of buying a private jet was "a bit silly - I was only 13 at the time".
Matt
Here's Matt. Matt was pretty much the first person I met when arriving in Banff; down in the bar of the hostel up on Tunnel Mountain. Thus, he became my friend. It was January 2nd and he'd just arrived from his native Thunder Bay in the boondocks of Ontario. Since then Matt and I have found a combined interest in sharing self-depricating humour and an assortment of scallywag behaviour while sharing some Kokanne's (that's glacier beer) and listening to rock'n'roll on the old MP3 player. Matt always has a good story; be it one about some girl he has met, his housemates (a pair of 65 year old drunks) or perhaps something from his workplace at
The Phone Store.
But probably the greatest thing about Matt is his mother because she was the high school sweetheart of Paul Schaffer (from the CBS orchestra (Yeah Dave!)). I have spoken to his mother in length about her relationship and she commented that she still has all the letters that he has written her over the years. I often comment to Matt that he could have been the son of Paul but he suggests that it doesn't really work that way.
Raising Hell in the Seventh Veil
I have been having some weird dreams lately. You may have read of my Hitler one last week. Well this time Ive been lending a not-so-caring-ear to the concerns of Brad and Angelina on their breakup. I'm not sure why they were confiding in me as all I wanted to do in the time they were sharing their innermost feelings was to get a photo for the blog. As a result I can't tell you about their relationship problems but the dream has had me thinking how it's weird that a pair of desirable people, as such, can't find fulfillment. (This, by the way, is all based on the notion that the supermarket mags are correct in their predictions of a Brangelina split).
A more meaningful pair of dreams are two that were shared during back-to-back evenings - both strikingly similar. One set in Mount Gambier, the other Adelaide. In each I was pensively roaming around its respective town.... which was surrounded by snow-capped mountains. No point in me reading into it too much... altough I'm sure I could.
Some silly woman complained about her chicken nuggets this evening. The crew member who was dealing with her did the right thing and had some fresh nuggets cooked and exchanged them. However, she brought those back and complained to me that her nuggets were hard and crusty. I contemplated agreeing but decided that would be irrespnsible, so I told her to shove her nuggets! No not really, I just refunded her money as per company policy. But it did have me thinking about those KFC nuggets, as I often do. Man, I use to love their nuggets when I was a kid. I often wonder if I would still like them as much or if, like with Dave Evans' Turbo, they were just a thing of my youth. I guess I will never know as I don't eat KFC anymore - haven't since I saw that Pamela Anderson video. Not the one with Tommy Lee (although I did see that one too), but the one with the chickens,
Kentucky Fried Cruelty. Of course I still eat Macca's because they really are the shining example of corporate responsibilty!
(NB: I may have actually had KFC in the past year (once) - on Sunset Boulevard with Rick and Daz - but after all our bacchanalian revelry upon the Strip, a little southern fried chicken didn't seem too evil).
Here we are picking up the horse at LAX. We were just about to head down Pacific Coast Highway. Throughout our time riding the city's freeways and byways we did so without the aid of maps. I had spent a considerable amount of time creating 'Mapquests' for our journeys but left them on the train, along with my CDs and DVDs, about an hour before this photo was taken. So we decided maps were for wimps and let our gut instincts lead the way. The only time we had any concern was when we made our trip from Vegas to our place in Venice Beach, but I successfuly guessed my way back into Los Angeles County and from there Daz and Rick were able to guide us into Venice. We celebrated with Jack Daniels and then headed over to a local neighbourhood party.
With only a few days left in North America I thought I would make some final comments using this entry, which will probably be my last. I never thought I would be a blogger (mainly for the fact that I didn't know such exsisted), but having spent close to 16 months making contributions to Smoov Goes to College, I consider myself a good citizen of the blogosphere bcos:
