HAPPY HOLIDAYS

December down under is a thing quite different than what I have grown used to living in the states. Christmas being the all encompassing thing that is projected on your every waking moment and even while you sleep sugar plum fairies dance in your dreams. Here the stores have subtle, tasteful window displays. Myers, the Macy’s of Australia did have a big unveiling of their holiday window displays a couple weeks back. Beautiful decorations of all the usual fake snow, with moving trains, sleighs and trees, excited little ones with presents all around. I think I saw little Cindy Lou Hoo. Christmas music is in all the bigger stores, but not all the little mom and pop places. Most definitely the malls are doing their best to dress up the image of the shopping season. The stores are having sales; the people are running their holiday errands. The major streets in downtown have hung stars and red bells between the over head tram lines. Even my band is doing some carols by queerlight. But the feeling you get in your day to day travels, at least from my perspective, is that the big day we all wait for is months away. There’s no Salvation Army person ringing the little bell asking for your change in every shopping centre. There’s no boy/girl scout troop in the vacant lots selling you a lovely blue spruce or flocked fir tree. There’s no breaking story of Old Saint Nick popping up in the usual places on all the TV stations. Only maybe 1 in 50 houses have any sort of visible outdoor decorations. And I’ve only seen 1 house, ok it’s was just a balcony in a complex on my street, that even had Christmas lights. A single strand of white lights that I’m not 100% sure aren’t there year round anyway. I have heard no carols on the radio stations. There’s no talk of a white Christmas. But the most sobering factor that it’s just not anywhere near Rudolph time is that fact that our days are long and warm and the trees all are full of leaves. The sun is up before me, 6:30am and sticks around till at least 8pm. It has been rainy and grey at times this spring. But the sun peaks out every day and the average temperatures are in the mid 70. Luckily on my 40th birthday it even rose into the low 80s. Now that’s a first for me! I have pulled out the few decorations I saved that made the long voyage over here. They’re scattered about the living room (or lounge in Aussie).

Last week I did get 2 care packages from home. Which were huge boost to my holiday spirit. My mom sent me a host of items from girl scout cookies and grape jelly to tapioca (thanks to Grandma!) and 24 individual packs of Oreos. There was even a new set of sheets, which I greatly needed. The flannel ones I brought just aren’t right on these warm December nights. Phyllis and my friends at URS in Portland sent me more grape jelly (I really love this so 2 is most welcome) some Safeway fliers reminding me what a turkey should cost and a 50’ extension cord (I specifically asked for this, it’s a camping thing) and a book of fortune matches from The Mandarin Cove ( a Chinese restaurant/bar in my old building) with a fortune some one very wise wrote. “We’re laughing at you, NOT with you”. But the sweetest thing of all that Phyllis sent making it Christmas at the push of a button is my new Santa “Sax player” Claus. Just watch the video and you’ll understand so much more!






Since Christmas isn’t sucking the oxygen we breathe out of the air, there’s time to focus on other things. Like this poster I recently noticed in my neighbourhood. As they say a picture is worth 1000 words. This one should give you a little understanding of how much Australia and the rest of the world is looking forward to the change in Washington DC. I wonder if the Australians have ever heard of separation of church and state?

I spent last weekend clinging to one of my winter joys. While satisfying my unique desire to explore the unknown by renting a car and driving up to the Cross Country skiing area, Lake Mountain. In doing so I was able to visit another Australian wonder, this time the Yarra Ranges National Park. I had to pass little towns like Healesville and Marysville (yes all chuckle, I went to Marysville, without a frock or even a baton!) to get up into the high hill country Victoria has to offer. Lake Mountain is about 80 kilometres outside of town. Along a very windy narrow road. A place I wanted to find in good weather so when there’s snow I’ll have a better idea on the path and time it takes. It’s looking good that I’ll be able to still do some day trips up to the frosty white stuff. HUGE YEAH! It’ll just be in July and August while most of you are thinking of how to keep cool. The dead end road takes you to a place with more than 20 kilometres of groomed trails, there’s a rental shop, cafeteria, 4 HUGE parking lots with shuttle buses and a real bathroom. All things Ed, Corina and I never had at Teacup on Mt Hood. With that said I’ll be without the part that always made skiing the most fun, Ed and Corina (and Roger too)! So don’t you guys be surprised if you get a phone call from the slopes next summer!

This particular day wasn’t meant for skiing it was meant for exploring and hiking. Once I wandered the buildings I changed into some more appropriate clothes for 1433 metres in elevation (maybe 4400’) and set out on the Lake Mountain summit loop trail, 4 km and 4 viewpoints to enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature. At my first stop I just sat listening to the birds, the wind in the trees and the roar of the fluffy clouds passing by. Taking in all the wonders of the outdoors and releasing the tensions of city life. This helped restoring a balance within my body that only the sweet nectar of fresh national park air can do. The next view point was equally breathtaking. But had one more tid bit of detail, a sign marker naming the peaks off in the distance. Some one at the parks service even has a sense of humour. Click on the sign photo to enlarge it and see if you can find what I thought was amusing.

I spent several hours out on the trail. Trying to soak up as much peace and solitude as possible before getting back into the rental and heading for the big city. I continued on my loop drive to Warburton where I found a great little fish and chips shop for dinner. Also along my travels I located a home improvement store where I was able to acquire some camping items Ed always had that I never realized how much I needed. A good hand saw, axe, leather gloves for tending the fire with. Just imagine the looks I got from the people in my apartment complex lugging a big ax into the house in this urban environment. In all it was a GREAT day spent wandering, investigating and absorbing new experiences. This has helped quell my itchy britches for a little while longer.

Monday brought back work and the realization that I can’t avoid turning 40 much longer. The gym and sax practice kept the week busy, before I knew it was the big day. I went to work just as any other day. I got many well wishes from co-workers and several ecards from friends across the US. Thank you to everyone! In the evening I had band practice and it was our last one before the holiday concert. At practice I learned it was another band mates 29th birthday on the 12th. So several of us went to a local bar and had a few celebratory drinks watching my b’day turn into his. I took Friday off of work and slept in a little. The rest of the day was spent making a list and checking it twice for my trip to the Australian island state of Tasmania! I leave for 12 nights of camping on Saturday the 20th and there’s a long list of things to get in order to ensure my days and nights are filled with comfort. Friday evening Michael and Giacomo and I went out for dinner to a nice Italian restaurant to celebrate my old age. Then it was out for more birthday drinks. In all it was a good birthday. I was flush with well wishes from new and old friends. Had my share of birthday drinks and realized 40 really doesn’t feel any older than 39 did! Don’t get me wrong I still wonder how the hell I got so old so fast! I don’t feel 40. I don’t really have any idea on what 40 should feel like. I remember my parents, Aunt and Uncles turning 40 and thinking it’ll be 2008 when I’m THAT OLD! Crash bang boom! 2008 is here! Where the hell did the time go? Time has barely moved since Shelley and I were getting totally smashed in Willimantic and I was turning 21. It seems like only a few years since John and I left Connecticut to explore the US living in a van. Who knows what the next 40 years will bring. All I can hope for is that they filled with more friends like all of you reading my blog now. Thank you to everyone for making sure I felt loved from so far away.

Saturday evening the members of the Melbourne rainbow Band gathered with our friends from the Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus to perform Carols by Queerlight in Pahran Market. (Micheal and I at the intermission) The event went very well. This did start making it feel more like Santa was on his way. A large crowd had gathered for this free sing a long and many people were donning the Santa hat and Rudolph antler head gear I’ve come to expect at this time of year. We played the perennial old favourites like twelve days of Christmas (or "boredom" as our sheet music called it), Jingle bells, Hark the herald angel sing. With the chorus and crowd singing along. We played a medley of standard songs, like Frosty and Mama kissing Santa, with Deck the Halls and several others mixed in. There were solo performances from the chorus and Melbourne Gay Youth Chorus (the only one of its kind in Australia). The entire show was broadcast live on Joy FM, Melbourne Gay radio station. I hope some of you braved the dark cold hours of the night to listen in on line. (my band mates, Bob and Adrain Fellow saxophonist. Then Chris and Luke with the chorus behind them)

That's it for a few weeks everyone here is preparing to break for Christmas and New Years. So I have a few Holiday parties to attend. More trips to the gym, band practice is over until 2009. Before long I’ll be soaking the sun from even farther south than where I sit typing this entry. This will be my last update before 2009 arrives. I want to thank everyone that has helped me through 2008, it was a good year. I want to wish Robin Melin a HAPPY 46th Birthday on December 23rd. I want to say I love and miss you to my dad. I hear his voice in my head all the time and take comfort in knowing there’s a part of him inside me. Lastly, I want to wish everyone a VERY WONDERFULLY HOLIDAY SEASON!!! 2009 will bring us many things and I hope for each and everyone one of you. There are many moments of joy and happiness in your lives. Take I love and miss you all!

Until 2009, Brian

Thanksgiving 2008

Today’s entry starts a few days before the big Turkey Day….

The weekend before I spent some time preparing the menu, going over recipes to pick the perfect food items to show off our national holiday to my new Australian friends. I had to make several trips to various stores. Of course one of them being the previously mentioned USA food Store. Where I picked up just a few items this time. A box of bisquick to make the biscuts with for $10, a can of cranberry sauce for $5, plus a few other things and a Whatamacallit candy bar. I had forgotten how much I loved those as a kid.

I spent some time searching my neighbourhood for all the right things needed. Items like a pan that will hold a good sized bird and fit in my oven. Which proved harder than you would think I had to bring one pan back because it was too big. I found another one that with a little manipulation I was able to get into the oven. I ended up taking some pliers and bending the handles down flat. The oven in our apartment is brand new. Which is nice, but it’s only 43 cm wide (about 17”), small by American standards. I think I could fit the entire unit into the oven I had back in Portland. I also spent about 2 hours looking for a turkey! There aren’t giant freezer sections with piles and piles of turkeys waiting for every Australian to come pick out that special one. The grocery stores, Coles and Safeway, in my area don’t even stock small turkeys at this time of year. So I trekked to the 4 or 5 butcher shops along Carlisle Street. (the main strip just a ½ block from my apartment) All of these places are locally own mom and pop shops. Some are more like delis, with some raw cuts of meat. No where did they stock turkeys here either. I compared prices at the 3 shops that could order me one (with a 1 week notice) and placed my order for a 6 to 7 kilo fresh bird at $9 AU a kilo (about $2.70 per lb US). Once I had my lists created, as many items completed as possible, all my things in order. (If you’ve been to one of my dinners you know I like EVERYthing to be in order.) There was a little weekend left for me to do some relaxing.

Sunday (Nov 23rd) afternoon, I took the book I’m currently reading (a gift before leaving Portland by Rob and Michelle Lennox), entitled "The Brothers K" by David James Duncan. Which is about a family of 8, baseball and 7 day Adventists from Camas Washington. 2 topics that I don’t hold a lot of interest for me. However the book is very well written and I’m finding the 600+ pages hard to put down. But I digress…
On a beautifully sunny, windy, near 75 degree day I grabbed the book and head down to the beach. Hoping to find a beautiful place to do some reading along the shore line. My stroll to the beach takes only about 15 minutes. All kinds of people are milling around on this lovely afternoon. Tourist, young lovers, screaming kids, and sweet older couples holding hands are scattered about. Near one of the piers I notice off in the distance there are some paragliding surfers. Tony and I saw some of these while in Florida back in June. People jump into a elaborate harnes thing that goes over the shoulders, around the waist and up between the thighs, with a good size parachute attached to it. Strap a small surf board kind of like a wake board to their feet and let the wind sail them along on top of the water. I watch these guys come very close to the pier and then sail off into the distance again. As one guy did I noticed a lot more of these crazy people doing the same thing farther down the beach. I thought to myself I have to get a closer look and besides this must take a lot of upper body strength which means a good chance at seeing some hot men all wet! As a draw closer I can see they have set up on a small stretch of beach and seem to be having some type of competition. There’s a guy in a tent with coloured flags, a fog horn and a megaphone. All the participants (men and women alike) are wearing full wet suits so maybe the water isn’t as warm as it could be in late spring. The beach is littered with more parachutes and I tried several times to count the people out on the water coming up with somewhere around 30. This looks fun to watch so I plant my butt on the sea wall and enjoy the show for a while. The MC blares into the megaphone that in 5 minutes the leaping round of the event will start. With this 5 or 6 more contestant hurry to get their giant kites strapped on and into the water. There are so many of these people out on the water I wonder how they can sail in all directions without getting their lines all knotted up with each other. It seems to be utter pandemonium. After a few minutes I start to see a pattern develop. The people farthest from the shore are widely scattered and going from the left end of the bay towards the right. Then there was another row of people going from the right to the left. This is more densely packed but in a fairly efficient organized manor. Then there a row that is the closest to the shoreline and these people are neatly one at a time running from left to right in front of the judge’s tables. The MC is back on the Mega phone announcing the start of this time period. They change the flag from red to green and lay into the fog horn. All of a sudden people are literally flying in the air. Each person takes their turn coming be near the tent and leaping off of the surface of the water 20, 30 or even 40 feet into the air. Boards strapped to the feet, kicking them back, trying hand stands, doing turns and some moves I can’t really explain. All to impress the judges. I tried to get a movie clip for the blog but it was just too difficult to get a still set of images with the wind so strong, not to mentioned the shear awe of watching all of these people at once made it difficult to do more than just stare. I must have sat there for 30 minutes or more watching in amazement. I couldn’t tell you who was winning. In my book they all got awards for skill and expertise beyond words.

After this amazing display of fun I wandered a little more down the beach road and found my book reading space. A little bench in the middle of some dunes between the roadway and the beach. A quiet spot without a lot of foot traffic where I could still watch the adrenaline junkies and have enough solitude to read. As the evening wore on I found my way back to a restaurant along the beach for some dinner, to get out of the sun and wind, but let’s not forget the real driving force here a glass of vodka. Shortly after dinner I wandered home and before you know it Monday morning was at hand and I had to work all 5 days while my American counterparts were looking at the short work week of thanksgiving.

Monday evening the gym, Tuesday evening Sax practice, Wednesday evening the gym again, Thursday something a little more exciting! I picked up the 7 kilo (14lb) fresh turkey from the butcher shop and left them my thanks along with $60, ($40 US). Has anyone reading this blog paid $40 for a turkey EVER in their lives! My guess is probably not! Typically, Australians eat turkey and seafood for Christmas. The clerk mentioned that at Christmas the price goes up to $12 to $14 a kilo! What I had forgotten is that turkeys aren’t native to Australia. They don’t gobble through the forests looking for grubs in the leaf litter here. They all get shipped in, from you guessed it, the good old US of A.

After taking Tom the turkey home and putting him in the fridge I was off to band practice. We only have 3 more rehearsals until the Christmas concert on Saturday Dec. 13th. Taking place at Prahran Market and we’ll be joined by the Melbourne Gay Chorus. The whole show is to be broadcast live on Joy FM 94.9. The gay radio station here in town. They do broadcast on line so if you want to listen in check out their website at http://www.joy.org.au/. Keep in mind we’re 19 hours ahead of the west coast and 16 hour ahead of the east coast. 8:30pm Saturday night here is 4:30am in the east and 1:30am Saturday morning in the west. (if my math is right).

Friday evening I ran through all of the recipes one more time making my list and checking it twice. Another trip to the store for the freshest fruits and vegetables. Then a little time for Brian, which means I went out for a drink… After all it is Friday night and I had 2 days of cooking ahead of me.

Saturday morning I’m up at 8am and off to the store for the last few items. Back at the house around 9am to start prepping the menu items. First it’s chopping all the items for making the stuffing from scratch (there’ no Stovetop stuffing and not even a generic brand I could find) I had surfed the web for a few recipes and remembered Grandma’s sausage stuffing with "Tom’s" organs…. After sautéing up some onions and celery with spices. I open up the turkey and realize there’s only the neck, no little bag of internal organs. I'm not sure where they went but they weren’t there. I boiled up the neck with some pieces of fat I cut off and made a nice broth which I saved to use on the turkey when I cooked it. Michael (my flat mate) was up now and very helpful. He takes direction well and was trusted peeling potatoes and sweet potatoes along with making the shrimp stuffed devilled eggs. All ingredients in a bowl and put it his 1984 food chopper turn it on and POOF a bang and a big cloud of smoke. We broke the darn thing. Michael justified it by saying it hadn’t been turned on in 2 years, luckily there was no fire and the smoke alarm didn't go off. The picture doesn’t do the scene justice. This thing was really smoking. It smelt like burnt plastic and metal. It was good for a laugh and we were able to salvage the devilled egg batter. The prep cook day ended about 3pm with a nice pumpkin pie. Nice because I burned the crust a little and the pie dish was more of a deep dish apple pie plate then a pumpkin pie plate, not to mention this is the first time I used the new oven. Any cook knows too many variables and things just don’t always go as planned.

The rest of Saturday afternoon was actually spent in bed napping so I could go out again that evening. My band friend, Andy, (See Numurkah entry) had invited me to come along with him to a private party that was taking place as a warm up to “Beyond” A big leather party that happens 3 or 4 times a year in a warehouse in the central business district. This was my 1st private party invite and I didn’t want to miss it. But going out on Friday night and up early cooking all day left me wiped out. Unfortunately, I’m not 21 anymore no matter how many times I say at least I’m NOT 40 yet, I really needed the nap. I got up around 8 and got ready to go. Stepping out on our little balcony I caught this beautiful sunset. Being the good little boy my mother always hoped I’d be (but never was as a child) I was home by 1am (skipping the big warehouse party that went until 9am) and back up at 7:30am prepping Tom for the oven. Dinner was to be served at 2pm and there were still several hours of cooking to be done. Around noon the first guests arrive on schedule and in true “I am my father’s son” fashion I put them to work. There were appetizer plates to be put together and I still had to get a couple things in casserole dishes so when the turkey was done they were ready to go into the oven. Right on time the turkey was done and I pulled it out of the oven. The room quickly erupted in Ooohhs and Aaahhhs (As any good cook would expect) 1 golden brown turkey done and now back to the remaining dishes. I learned that I can fit 3 casseroles in the oven at once. But which ever one is on top will burn. I also learned the Australian marshmallows melt instead of puffing up and browning. Good thing there was only one other American that knew what dishes should taste and look like. So I scrapped off the burnt Durkee freeze dried onion from the green bean casserole and placed some tinfoil under the sweet potatoes. Then dinner is served. (They’re several more dishes on a small table behind the photographer.) After all of the guests had filled their plates I went to fill mine and would you believe it BOTH drumsticks were still there! I pointed out that people fight over these legs of savoury tender dark meat back home. The only thing I forgot in all that preparing was to open the can of cranberry sauce! Which I didn’t remember until I was at work on Monday. The guests gobbled up turkey, potatoes, Bisquick biscuits and so much more. We drank wine, beer and my beloved vodka. We laughed, we cried (tears of joy) and we even dropped a bouquet of flowers all over the kitchen floor. (a hostess mishap). The guests from left to right are Brian (back of his head, not me another one), Giacomo (my Italian friend that reminds me of Sven), Jock (Michael's’ boyfriend) Sam (the other American) Peter (stuffing his face) , Ian ( a friend of Michael’s he used to live with), Peter and Darrin (Darrin was a friend of Michael’s that used to live in Byron Bay and Peter is his boyfriend) Then my flat mate Michael is seen just barely on the right. A couple others showed up later but by then I was done cooking and taking photos. I had moved on to the drinking part of the afternoon. Once our stomachs had settle enough to fit more food in I served up the best dam pumpkin pie ever seen outside of America! You must understand that Australian’s eat pumpkin like any other squash they roast it, put in curry stir-fry, grill it or, boil it and mash it like potatoes. But no one in the room except me and Sam had ever had it in a pie. Like with all my dinners the guest lingered all afternoon and as they departed each took a little bag of goodies for them to enjoy later. Around 8pm when the last guest departed, Michael and I practically fell on the floor in exhaustion. By then most of the cleaning had been completed and everything in our home was back in its place. I was in bed at 9pm and this is after falling asleep in a chair out on the balcony.

The holiday, in all, was a GREAT one. Michael was a HUGE help throughout the process and many times during the party came up to me and asked what he could to do help. This was our first dinner party in our new home and I hope it is the start of many more to come. I think a new tradition has been started here and I invited the guests to come back next year for more turkey. The only draw back to the entire event was that I had to work the next day and couldn’t properly enjoy all the leftovers. I was able to save some stuffing from the bird and some dark meet for my lunch the next day.

Monday morning came too quickly, as it always does. Dragging my but out of bed at 6:30am was tough. All morning at work there was a little piece of happiness in my heart, knowing that I had my lunch leftover waiting for me in the fridge.

This so ends my first thanksgiving in Australia. I hope you all had a fabulous time with your families and friends. You were thought of many times through out my day. You are all welcome and now officially invited to attend Thanksgiving Dinner Australian Style next year.

Next up on the horizon is the previously mentioned Christmas concert with the band, my 40th b’day (arrgg can we skip this part PLEASE), the company Christmas party on the 19th and my departure for my next big adventure. On December 20th at 7:30am I get on a auto ferry for a 8 hour ride to another part of the land down under. 12 nights, through Christmas and New Years, camping and travelling all around Australia’s Island State… that should be a big enough hint for you all to guess where I’m going. So stayed tuned for future updates to Brian’s Travels Down Under!


Happy Birthday to Michael Gustafson, on the 5th (I think that’s the right day)

Mundane Daily Life

This week’s exciting news is not as flashy as a 3 day camping trip and playing with a fox. But here goes….

Tuesday evening I went to Acland Street and had a few drinks with a friend Tony Wilson. He recently closed his aquarium store, The Funky Fish after 10 years in business and needed someone to have a few drinks with. You know me, if there’s drinking to be done and a friend in need, I’m the person to count on. Acland Street is a main drag in St Kilda (the neighbourhood next to the one I live in) We sat at one of the sidewalk tables and watched all sorts of people parade by. One really young queen with his Chihuahua in a little pack back came into the restaurant. Not a very butch looks at all. But his dog was comfortable. That was 2 or 3 glass of vodka on the rocks into the evening. Tony and I had several comments, none of which I can really repeat here. The evening itself was pretty warm and there was a beautiful sunset. Sorry, I didn’t have my camera with me. This was a day that hit 34 degrees (95 Fahrenheit). So a lot of people were out and enjoying the summer weather until late in the evening.

Wednesday cooled off a bit and was only 30C (86 F). I had my first sax lesson with Justine. She’s a jazz musician that is doing lesson to make a little money on the side. Justine is teaching me some tone exercises that allow me to make multiple notes holding the same fingering for all of them. I’m told this will greatly improve my embrasure (the way I hold my mouth while playing) and my overall abilities. We’re also doing some rhythm exercises too. She’s not as formal as Meg, my instructor back in Portland, but I think I’ll learn a lot from her. My hope is that she can help me get through some of the more difficult parts of the Rainbow Band’s holiday pieces.

Thursday night was band practice. Our conductor, Mark, is trying out a bunch of pieces to see what to put into the Christmas concert on Saturday December 13th. This concert we’ll be joined by the Melbourne Gay Men’s Chorus and will take place at Pharhan (pa-ran) Market. It’s one of the open air, local vendor produce, meats and other goods markets like the Queen Victoria Market I have mentioned in earlier blogs. This particular market has a court yard area and restaurants all around, kind of like a food court at a mall but with NO chain food. It’s all mom and pop places with a great variety of yummy things to eat. Also, on Thursday Michael flew up to Byron Bay to visit some friends for a week and left me the house, his laptop and his car all to myself.
Friday evening I went to a gay bar I hadn’t been to yet called “DT’s”. It’s a local neighbourhood kind of place in Richmond. One of my band mates, Eric, currently sings with the Melbourne Opera but is moving to Florence Italy to sing with the opera there too. He’ll travel between the 2 cities performing for both groups at their events. He won’t be back in Melbourne until February so some of us wished him well. That bar closed at 1:30 (the first time I’ve managed to close a bar here) so a few of us went over to “The Market” to dance the night away. This place is the young hip techno music club that doesn’t even start to get busy until after midnight and closes at 9am. I left there at 4:15am which was a lot later than I expected the evening to be when I got started at 8pm. It was fun. I hadn’t danced like that in a long time.

Saturday morning I was up by 10 am. I know I’m quite surprised too. But the dancing had worked out most of the alcohol I consumed at the first bar. I took Michael’s car and ran to the frame shop where I was getting my dad’s charcoal print framed and picked it up. It looks really good and is now the only piece of art work up in our apartment. Because the walls are all concrete and we’re not allowed o make holes. I just put it on top of one of the book shelves. The rest of Saturday was spent running errands and farting around the house. I reorganized my bedroom a little. The closet had just been packed with stuff when I moved in and needed to be re arranged to be more functional now that I have all my clothes in too. I managed to find a bag of stuff to donate to charity and was able to finally get all of the stuff out of one corner of my room. So now you can walk around the entire bed. Saturday evening I was to meet Giacomo (my Italian pastry chef friend) at Sircut so I needed to nap for a few hours to have the energy to meet him at 10pm. He had a friend in town from Brisbane and we partied the night away there. This time I managed to leave the bar shortly after 3am.

Sunday I was up at the early hour of 10am ( 2 days in a row this is VERY surprising even to me) and then finished up some left over tasks at the house before practicing the sax for about 2 hours. Around 4pm I went to another new gay bar, The Prince of Wales in St Kilda to meet yet another band mate, Andy. (He’s in the overalls picture from the Numurkah bus trip in an earlier blog) I met some of his friends which are all very nice. We chatted for a while then went to a Malaysian place to for dinner. Another beautiful day in Melbourne came to an end I was home by 8:30 and in bed at 9…. I SOO needed to catch up on my sleep and to get ready for Monday morning back to work… putting me here and now typing up this blog.

I am planning on making a Thanksgiving dinner for a few friends on Sunday the 30th. So part of the weekend was spent looking and pricing items for the dinner. I found 2 places where I can get a whole turkey. (Australians eat turkey at Xmas and save ham for Easter I guess) They are about $8 a kilo which works out to approximately $2.50 a lb US. One place could only get them up to 4 kilos (9lbs) another said they could get them up to 10 Kilos (22lbs) I’m going to place an order this week for a 7 kilo bird. This should be enough for 6 to 10 people. The best thing is this bird comes fresh not frozen. This will allow me to marinate it for a couple days before cooking. I don’t plan on stuffing it. We have Stovetop here so I’ll just buy that. I haven’t cooked a turkey in years but I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out and all will go smoothly. I was able to find the Durkee Onions for green been casserole at the USA food store a few weeks back. But I can’t find cranberry sauce. I’ll have to keep looking for that one.

I also booked my auto ferry ride and my car rental for my big camping trip at the holidays. Some of you know where I’m going but for some it’s still a secret… and here’s another clue. It’ll take an 8 hour boat ride to get there and once I arrive there’s only open ocean beyond to Antarctica. Anyone want to make a guess where I’m going??

I don’t really have any pictures to post and this week is proving to be just as exciting as last week. The gym Monday, Wednesday, Friday, practice the sax on Tuesday and band practice on Thursday. I’m sorry this blog is a little boring but that’s how it goes sometimes. They all can’t be big exciting trips.

Take care and I’ll see you all next week. Brian

Great Ocean Road

Ok this is going to be a long one…… hope you have the time…..

As many of you know I greatly enjoy the camping and hiking in any national park. So this trip out the Great Ocean Road has been a highly anticipated event. These are my first real days off since arriving. The couple days before I started work don’t really count as I was fumbling around with the most basic of life’s necessities. Like how to change the lint trap in the dryer and how to turn on the vent above the stove. Not to mention the efforts it took to find the simplest things like a post office, liquor store and a grocery store. The one day I took on Wednesday October 8th doesn’t count either because I spent the day moving, which was a good day just not a day off!

A 4 day weekend! and a chance to see the countryside on my own. As stated in my last blog, Saturday Nov 1st was spent getting and loading up the car. Since I skipped the after hours party most of my band mates went to I was able to rise early and hit the road by 9am. I navigated my way out of the city and on to the Western Highway (M1) by going over the Westgate Bridge. The next couple hours were spent speeding down the highway. In Australia, mostly that means a 2 lane, each way, separated travel way. But the farther you get from a big metropolis the more basic the “highway” becomes until it’s just a 1 lane in each direction road with occasional passing lanes. I passed through mid size and small towns such as Geelong, Wye River and Skenes Creek. All very cute little coastal towns much like many you’d see in America. My first stop was Point Addis north of Lorne. This is where the Great Otway National Park begins and it stretches along the coast 100 kilometres from Geelong to west of Apollo Bay. The national parks in this stretch of the coast are all small in comparison to the US counterparts. But they do not lack beauty at all. Point Addis is a lovely little peninsula with a bay and nice sandy beach. It was a great start to my journey. I stopped in a couple information spots along the way looking for details on the Glow worm hikes I had heard about during my research for this trip. I was told there are 2 places to see them and attempted to find a camping place near one of these locations.

After much driving, stopping to check the view, lunch, reading the map again. I came to a campground named Blanket Bay, 7km down a dirt road just east of the Otway lighthouse, situated almost right on the beach. It was about 2pm on a long weekend, so I figured the sooner I find a place to camp the better. This particular campground didn’t allow fires and had no showers, but there was a toilet and the beach was a 1 minute walk from my spot. Once my tent was set up I headed down to the beach for a look see. The beach area itself wasn’t huge, but a nice size for short walks and listening to the surf. In places the ocean came right up to rocks which quickly turned into the hill side and dunes. Some areas of the beach had sand that flowed into the sand cliffs that are much more common in this area. I headed off in the direction away from most people. The afternoon had turned a grey with a passing drizzling shower every so often. Nothing to stop an Oregonian from his adventures. I found a nice large rock to climb up on and view the horizon from. This area had a large rock shelf that led out to the sea. Along the cliff face was the rounded nooks created by the tides ever changing erosion. Here I found a GREAT spot for a self portrait and set the timer on my camera. I spent an hour or more here exploring the tidal pools, snapping photos, and contemplating the bigger meanings of life. I had more plans to accomplish on this day so I headed back to the car and went off searching for hiking trails. Driving back the dirt road I started to see some of the locals. A Koala bear crossing the road, A Kangaroo hopping along, rabbits (a lot more than you’d think) and of course the birds. There are many large varieties and all of them are loud! After about 30 km I found something I just couldn’t pass up without taking a picture. Here a photo is worth 1000 words. “TK” is an abbreviation for track. Most of the back roads are considered tracks. This is barely what I would call a road to begin with. Dirt and gravel defines the tire lanes while the middle part of the road is covered with tall grass and other vegetation. A short distance later I found my first hike of the afternoon, a very short trail to a stand of California Redwoods planted in 1938. This really wasn’t much more than a grove of trees in a picnic area. There are about 200 trees neatly laid out in rows along a creek. Someone had recently planted more Redwood saplings in an effort to reclaim a grass area for the forest. Reforestation is a nice concept to see here, even if it’s with a non native species. More forest land is a good thing! A little farther down the gravel road and I found a hike slightly more worthy of throwing on a backpack. The Hopetoun Falls Hike was a just over a 1km each way and in total rain forest. This trek took me past the giant tree ferns, eucalyptus and gum trees along a stream. A very beautiful trail that comes out to be a spectacular waterfall. (Ok it’s my first one and after 17 years in the PNW you just can’t get enough waterfalls) Another good moment to reflect and take in the beauty that Mother Nature has created. it was getting late in the day and I was still hoping to see these glow worms. A few kilometres back down the road and I got to Maits Rest Rain forest Walk. It was about 7pm and sunset is after 8pm. So I thought I’d make the trek around the loop trail and kill a little time waiting for sunset. As it turns out a leisurely walk only took me about 30 minutes and I was back at the car. Along came a ranger and I asked about the worms. He told me that now was not a good time for the glow worms and if I’d see them at all it probably wouldn’t be until well after dark. So I decided to change the plan and head back to camp for some evening cocktails and dinner.

There were still a lot of clouds and the occasional drizzle. Some time after sunset I took my large, very full plastic cup of vodka and walked down to the beach. It was totally dark. Not just the dark you get in a city where things are in shadows but a complete dark with only a sliver for the moon.Which is hidden by the clouds most of the time anyway. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust as I walked away from the light of the other campers. But once down on the beach you could tell the tide had come in and I could see the white tops of crashing waves. I found my way back to the rock outcropping and stood with my face into the wind and sea. To stand on the edge of a continent in the total darkness, just listening to the waves all around you makes you lose all sense of time and the concerns of daily life. I’m not sure how long I stayed there. My legs got tired so I sat for a while. Then the right cheek was sore so I swapped to the left one. I could tell the moon had risen quite a bit, but I didn’t want this experience to end. However, time does continue on whether you want it to or not. So I had to make my way back to camp.

I had earlier decided to sleep in the car. Being as my tent leaked a little and the weather man was predicting thunderstorms. Not long after getting into my sleepwear, placing all the pillows correctly to minimize hard car parts not meant for sleeping on, the predicted thunderstorms arrived. Now these are more than what I was used to in Oregon. But far from the worst I have ever experienced. The rain did come down fairly solid for more than an hour. I know because it was kind of hard to sleep with the crashing thunder and sparks of flashing lights. Eventually, I did fall asleep and enjoyed what only other campers will understand as a night of car camping sleep. To make matters more fun the Saab couldn’t run CPAP machine on all night so that compounded it to a night of 30 minutes of sleep at a time. Roll over and sleep for another 30 minutes.

Just before 6am I heard something climb up on to the roof of the car. Now whatever this creature was it just woke up a sleeping bear. All the crazy thoughts run through your mind in a moment like this. Is it dangerous? Should I open the door? Am I now trapped in the car? What seemed like an hour was only a minute or so. My mind racing to far off wild places! All of a sudden the creature runs down the windshield across the gravel roadway, up on to the car in the next campsite. Now I’ve gotten a look at it. Not a good one, but a look. It’s still pretty dark outside as the clouds are masking the sun that has surely risen. I peer though the windshield and the raindrops on it to be able to discern that the ravenous create terrorizing the campground is a large cat like animal. Too small to be a Dingo I thought, Tasmanian tigers have been extinct for 70 years and you’re not in Tasmania Brian! Ok so what can it be? I open to door to try to get a better look and maybe snap a picture. Wearing just socks on my feet and still not a clear idea if the thing will eat me alive I’m not quite ready to actually step out of the car. So I peer around the door and snap my photo. What ever it is, the eyes glow red in the picture. I can see it has a bushy tail with some dark colour at the end. As I try to snap a better picture it runs off into the woods. Now I’m awake and of course I have to go pee. I throw on some jeans and shoes. Grab my camera and head out in search of the always lovely, fresh smelling and clean camp toilet! Not on the list of things to experience first in the morning but it had to be done. From there I decide to head back down to the beach. A place I’ve had lovely time at twice already and a dawn view of the ocean must be good. As I walk down the 4x4 road I hear something in the brush, as I turn to look I get a glimpse of a creature running across the road. GREAT! I think now this man eating ferocious animal is following me! I turn back and it darts across the road about 6’ in front of me. This time I can see it looks like a fox. I didn’t realize Australia had foxes. They’re not the normal marsupial, deadly reptile or spider you hear so much about when travelling down under. But I’m sure it was a fox. As I reach the beach I decide to go to the left this time (my viewing rock is to the right)
This is a 2 fold plan, the fox is off to the right somewhere and I have yet to explore the left side yet. As I walk along the sand and rocks I can’t help but think I should have brought my sax with me. I know it’s VERY early and people are sleeping but playing on the beach is something I really enjoy doing. There I stood and watched the waves; exploring the snails and other sea creatures living on the rocks At some point I look back to the hill side behind me. What do you think I see about 10’ from me but that fox. I realize he is following me hoping to find some scrap of food I might have dropped. Sorry Charlie I haven’t had breakfast yet. As I make my way up some stairs back towards the camp spot. The fox gets even bolder. Running almost right up to me, in and out of the woods, jutting back and forth, dropping on to his front paws with his head down looking up at me. I go one way, he goes a few feet the other. Back and forth, back and forth until it dawns on me this is a game to him. He’s very playful, running circles around me. As I move into my camp spot he starts to realize I’m not going to feed him and wanders off. I’m happy to have had the exchange with him and glad I wasn’t eaten by a very dangerous Australian creature.

After eating some fruit and packing up my tent I set out for another days adventures. Since I was near the light house and hadn’t actually seen it. I thought I’d make my way there first. The time was about 8am and the visitor centre wasn’t open yet. Not to worry I’m a fairly independent person and I don’t need a park ranger to tell me the history of a light house. (Many years in New England and the PNW have given me all the light house information I’ll need in life) They did have a 30 minute hike to a viewing point and a old cemetery There are only 7 people buried here. All seem to be from the same family and all passed in the 1890s and early 1900. I would imagine that life was extremely tough in this remote part of the world back then. Life spans for this group only go into the mid 40s.

After that little side trip I left the Otway National Park and soon entered Port Campbell National Park. There really isn’t much difference. Both follow the coast line. Otway’s go from the Cape Otway Lighthouse easterly and include the hill country up to the coastline. Port Campbell starts west of Johanna (another little town) and goes west to encompass the famous 12 Apostles formations and mainly staying nestled close to the coast itself.

I stopped in Lavers Hill Victoria to visit THE store. By capitalizing “THE”, I want to inform you it was the only business. It had a post office, gas station, groceries, restaurant, and gift shop all in one. There is a very nice couple running the shop. The sort of place where the town grandpa has his very own special chair. Where momma comes out from behind the counter to see the babies and tell the little ones how big they’re getting. Where no one is in a hurry and everyone is welcome to stay as long as they want. In all a very sweet comforting place. I poked around a little in the gift shop area before ordering a beef and Guinness pie. Just a little snack to help supplement my fruit breakfast. I sat at a little picnic table out front by the gas pumps that was covered. Beef cooked in beer gravy with a flaky pastry shell. MMMMGOOD! On the side of the house/store a dear lady, I can only assume is grandma, was feeding the local birds and from the look of them, This was a daily occurrence.

I think this was the point I realized I had left my fabulous reclining camping chair at the Blanket bay campground! Now this is very upsetting to me. I LOVE that chair! I had spelt in it out under the stairs at Yellowstone last year. I paid more than it was worth to have it shipped half way around the world and now had no place to sit when I got out of the car. Bummed I decided I’d lose too much time and spend more in gas than the chair was worth going back to get it. Not knowing if it hadn’t been found by someone and claimed already. So I pushed forward resolving to find another along the way someplace.

At this point in time the clouds and drizzle have given way to a constant rain. Making it difficult to want to leave the car or play my sax at some scenic view point. Which were my 2 main objectives for the day. What can you do but get back in the car and drive on hoping for a little clearing in the clouds. I passed the town of Wattle Hill and came into Princeton. The beginning point for the 12 Apostles formations. Even in the rain and wind on a day you would expect more at the Oregon coast over the Australian coast, these sandstone towers are awe inspiring. Think of the constant rolling of the waves, the majestic vista of a long cliffs coastline, with the sandstone colours and smell of ocean air. All of a sudden it doesn’t matter that it’s raining, it’s only about 60, and it’s windy as hell! You just stand there being humbled by the beauty around you. There really are 12, the pile of rubble in the foreground are the remains of 1. The others are hidden by the first few and some extend around the bend. Here there are several short hikes taking you to different vantage points. Since the rain was letting up I took my time and explored what I could.

The next stop along the way was the town of Port Campbell. One of the bigger towns along the coastline, traffic lights, more than 1 store, and as aptly named a port to dock in. I was able to find a new camping chiar at Ray’s Outdoor store. In the back corner there was a clearance stash of items and in it a good chiar with only a slight tear in one arm. $30 ($18 US) later it was mine. Nothing else to really to right home about but it ties you into the national park theme a little more. Just after this oasis of the modern world was another triumph of Mother Nature. A sandstone formation named The Arch followed closely by London Bridge. One of the plaques states that the opening to the left was still in tacked until recently (geologically speaking) and only collapsed into the surf in 1990. I tried to find a place to get down on to the beach but access is restricted. Maybe too many well intending but ignorant hikers have been swept out to sea? Probably a good thing to keep tourist away.

From this point on I started to think about finding a place to spend the night. Since Port Campbell was a much smaller national park there are no campgrounds in it. I thought about getting a motel because of the rain but decided to push on and try to fit in 1 more national park. My thinking was if I headed inland maybe I could avoid another night of thunderstorms and headed north to Mt Eccles National Park. I’m glad I did because this place was not disappointing at all. There’s only 1 campground and since it’s not as picturesque as the coast line there really wasn’t anyone around. I found my self a LARGE 3 tent site spot with a big pile of wood and a fire pit. All of the wood was wet but that can’t stop a well seasoned camper like myself. We laugh in the face of wet wood! I found plenty of dry bark and some small twigs. Throw a little toilet paper in the mix and in no time at all you have a fire! The next step is to try and dry out the large pieces of wood so they’ll be good to burn. I did this and placed them under the table to keep them dry. While the large wood was drying by the fire I set up my tent and continued the hunt for smaller pieces. Everything is better when you have a fire! So there I sat for a couple hours tending my fire and my cup of vodka. Enjoy the peaceful sounds of screeching!! Cockatoos and Magpies. One of my neighbours walked over and informed me that I was a guest in someone else’s home. At first I thought the lady was crazy! What is she talking about??? Then she pointed out the koala way up in a tree. Not a great picture but there he was all quite and comfy. She did let me know he won’t be so quite and still come sunset. So in and effort to make him feel more at home I thought I’d play him a little diddy I learned. Around dusk the koala did get more lively and started to grunt and holler to the others in the area before climbing down the tree and walking off into the night. I spent the rest of the evening enjoying the campfire and vodka. I grilled my dinner in heavy duty Reynolds Aluminium foil I found at the USA store a couple weeks back. Chicken in a satay sauce and steamed veggies. MMM Campfire food is the BEST! Another night in the passenger’s seat. This one was more restful I was very tired from the night before and a couple glasses of vodka always helps your sleep patterns.



In the morning I cooked up some BACON, veggie and egg scramble, with too much cheese and a big glass of milk. Ed and Corina can taste it I know! A little clean up and loading the car. Being careful not to forgot anything this time. Then I’m off for a hike Mt Eccles is a small park with a lake and a mountain about 500’ high! Now remembering that this giant island is mostly a desert and as flat as a pancake, it’s then no wonder why they made this spot a national park. The mountain is to the right of the photo and really the highest point for miles and miles around. The lake is formed of 3 old volcanoes craters. A large crater in the middle and 2 small ones on either end. Something of an oddity in Australia since historically there aren’t a lot of volcanoes.

About 10:30 am I need to start thinking about heading back to town this little trip was quickly coming to an end and the unavoidable work thing was not so far off in the future. One more stop was the coastal town of Portland! I couldn’t come this far and not stop in. So I made the 45 minute drive farther away from Melbourne and went to the place of my last home. I did stop in the information building and picked up a couple little items for xmas gifts. Having 4 hours drive back made me not want to linger long. So I took a shot of the port. Filled up my passenger seat supplies and hit the road.

Glad to have a road trip under my belt and am now planning more of them. I learned a few things. Like I need a saw and axe. I need a better way to run my CPAP and that the kangaroos like to crap in the middle of the trail! You’ll thank me for leaving that story out.

I'd like to give my condolences to the friends and family of Bill Sapios. He passed away on Oct 28th from a heart attack and will be missed by many people. Bill was a person full of life and wisdom beyond his years. I’ve known him for more the 10 years.He was always a helpful, happy and caring person. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for Roger and Bill’s other friends at this time of sorrow. Good bye Bill. I’ll always value your friendship.

Happy birthday go out to several people this time.
My Nephew Matt in the 12th,
A friend from Israel I met here, Effy on the 13th
My Mom’s is on the 16th along with Jamie Snook
And Corina’s is the 19th I think maybe the 17th?


Until next time friends I hope you are all well!

MRB concert

Melbourne Rainbow Band – Unplucked

Well my first formal concert with the “band” went really great.
We had our last practice Thursday night and there was some apprehension in the air. In weeks prior to the concert more and more faces I had never seen before started to show up at Will Sampson Hall to practice. I found it a little strange that people whom hadn’t been in a single practice in months would show up right before the big event and jump in the festivities. The band is very welcoming and open to all people so I guess part time participants are part of it. The more people that come and actually play helped cover up the spots where I’m not playing.

The day of the event, Saturday Nov. 1, 2008 was a fairly busy day for me. I had to pick up my rental car, a dark green Saab 900 S, for my little camping/trip on Sunday. So most of the morning was doing things to get ready to hit the road. (More about that trip in the next blog) Around 2 pm I needed to iron a shirt and get ready for the concert which started at 7pm. The band members had to be at the hall, Gasworks in Port Melbourne, at 3:30pm and I was driving the rental over and needed to pick up a friend before. Upon my arrival I was surprised to see so many people working to get every little detail right. I had never been involved in the staging of such a large performance and it was very interesting to see all the details. Like specific placement of the spot light, the sconces bright enough to read music by but not too bright to over take the other light effects. Did some one tape down all the cords so the band members aren’t tripping over them. Who’s going to bring out the keyboard for the big piano solo in the 3rd song (turned out to be yours truly but more that later.)

After getting everything perfectly set we had a few minutes for pizza dinner before changing into our MRB blue polo shirts. At 6:45 we were all fed, dressed and tuned up ready to put on a show. Michael and Jock volunteered to work the door for us and I had a few minutes to chat with them before the big event.

As we walked on stage I could feel a little nervousness in my stomach. The audience of about 100 people were seated and applauding our arrival. The band was in a single file line for perfect placement and professionalism. As we walked onto the stage there was a feeling of excitement in the air. We were finally at the point we had practiced for so much. I took my seat on the left side of our maestro and right in the front. All of a sudden I could feel the heat from the lights on my forehead and thought CRAP I didn’t put on sun screen! ( funny what runs through your head at certain moments) Our first number was “Hounds of Spring” an upbeat fun song that was perfect to entice the audience and settle the nerves in the band. The audience roared with applause and we went right into our next piece. After that there was a little break and our emcee for the night, (One of Melbourne own GAY radio station, Joy 97.4 DJs and yes you can stream it on the web too) welcomed the crowd and thanked our sponsors. Our next number, a piano concerto by Stofachovich ( I know I spelled his name wrong but just think some old European dead guy), needed a keyboard moved up front into place. Andrew (another saxophonist) and I walk off stage to get it. When going from the bright lights of the stage into the dark corners of the curtains. I couldn’t see anything and walked right into a microphone that was to be used later. Using my head quite effectively, I knocked it over and you could hear a crash in the whole auditorium. THANK God the mic wasn’t on. So there was no feed back or anyone hearing me swear. Some one else fixed the mic while Andrew and I placed the keyboard into the tapped off spot on the stage. Now I have settled my nerves by playing a few pieces and knocking stuff over. All that was left to do was to play the music and enjoy the serenity it brings to my soul. We had 3 more pieces before the intermission. At which point the band walked off stage and a huge sigh of relief could be felt. We had nailed the first half and the second half was going to be even more fun.



We were allowed about 10 minutes to say hi to our friends and family before all 45 of us crammed into the dressing room to do a costume change for the second half. Our new outfits consisted of black slacks, white dress shirts with orange handkerchief in our pockets and a yellow bandanna around our necks. This was to align us with our theme for the evening, “Unplucked”. A reference to the fact that the band is all horns and percussion, with only a base as a string instrument. The logo of the advertisement featured a duck. There was one drunken night after practice when we were throwing around movie and book titles changing everything to the “duck”… Like The duck flew over the cuckoo’s nest, first duck, night mare on duck street…. You get the idea. I’m not sure where the duck thing started but it ended at Gasworks that night.

In the 2nd half we played songs like the Typewriter, Misty and a Ray Charles medley and an operetta song Granada. This was sung by one of the band members, Eric. He’s a German guy that was the conductor of the band for 5 years and but is moving Italy to peruse a more lucrative singing and music career. We received a standing ovation at the end and gave in to the crowd’s desire for more by playing Pirates of the Caribbean as our encore. I had played parts of all of the 11 songs where I could keep up and almost entirely played 2 pieces.

Everyone was in a good mood from the fabulous performance and the foyer was all a buzz with people congratulating band members. Lots of hugs and kisses were given and then all that was left was to pack up and hit a bar! I had volunteered to clean up and jumped right in. There was a lot more stuff to pack up then a regular practice. Flags and banners, scones for the music stands, and numerous cords. Right down to the lighting up in the ceiling and the risers the percussion instruments where on in the back. Everyone that could pitched in and surprisingly this only took about 1 hour to get everything put away. Since I was driving the rental, had early morning road trip and the DUI laws here are VERY strict. I decide to skip the after hours drinking event ( I know this shocks some of you) and headed home around 11pm to do my final tasks before the trip.

I a few days I’ll have worked out another blog entry with all of my adventures along the Great Ocean Road. So stay tuned for more….

Happy 3rd Birthday Ava Hanson, Happy Birthday to daddy, Eric Hanson too. More b'days to come with the next blog too

DRIVING and the USA Food Store

First I want to let everyone know that you can click on any of the pictures for a larger view of them. This was something I figured out recently and thought I’d pass it on.

Next, Erica Ann Harris, my 15 year old niece, (pictured in this year's school photo) has informed me that my blog is BORING! So in an effort to spice it up a little, I’ll be taking some of her advice. Let me know if you see a difference and if you too have any pearls of wisdom to make this more enjoyable for the reader.

This weekend’s adventures started with a little road trip! It was the first time I was able to drive since coming here and it was a fun day. Let me back up a little and give you some more details to set the stage. Saturday morning, I awoke around 8am to a beautiful blue sky and warm temperatures. The day was forecasted to be 30 degrees (86 degrees Fahrenheit) I laid in bed with the blankets snuggled up around me thinking now would be a good time to call my mother. She wasn’t home so I tried grandma and got a busy signal. With that I climbed out of bed, stretched and took in some fresh morning air on our balcony. It was going to be a great day! You could smell it in the air, but maybe it was just the bacon I was cooking for breakfast, which did seem to get a rise from my flat mate. After breakfast, Michael said I could use his car to run some errands. It’s a mid 90's Diatshu (probabaly spelled that wrong) little hatch back with 230,000 kilometres on it. I think at some point it must have been a shade of grey in colour but now it is the most sunburned car I’ve ever seen. The doors rattle, the brakes squeak and there are cobwebs in the corners. But the engine runs good and it gets great gas mileage. Since I don’t actually own a car it’s a god sent blessing! I showered and tried Mom one more time. I was able to reach her and we talked for a while. She filled me in on my brothers and other family events. I explained the finer details of living in an apartment again.

Around 11am the time had come to actually start the errands. I needed to find a camping supply store to get some items for my GREAT OCEAN Drive road trip for this weekend. Then go to the famed USA food store a co-worker told me about.

First thing is first, I needed to get the car out of the driveway. After fiddling with the mirrors, stereo and seat. I found out that while the car has power side mirrors it does NOT have power steering! Michael warned me that I might stall it a couple times until I found the gas to clutch ratio. So like any good American I just gunned it to be safe and backed out of our parking spot. Once out on the street I made a mental note to KEEP LEFT and started down the road. In no time at all driving a stick came back to me and keeping left is pretty easy. All I had to do was avoid hitting the other cars coming at me. So with the windows down, the breeze blowing through my hair, sunglasses and sunscreen on, Off I went cruising down the road at 80 kph.
My first stop was Ray’s Outdoor store. Here I found the much need Coleman propane fuel that will light my camping stove. I also found a few other little odds and ends I didn’t realize I couldn’t live with out. $40 later I’m out the door and back in my beautiful little beater car trying not to get sunburned on my right arm. Next stop the FAMED USA food store. Here I couldn’t help but feel a little bit like a kid in a candy store and candy is mostly what they had. The store itself is only about 400 sq feet With a lrge warehouse to one side. The biggest display is of a rack of Jelly Belly’s. It took my all of 1 minute to make the loop the first time around, but more like 15 minutes on the second trip. There was a lot of debating on items to be done. Do I really need a $10 box of Bisquick? Or a $15 bottle of Vermont Maple syrup? Having tried what the Australians called syrup I settled on a $9 bottle of Ms. Butterworth’s lite syrup. It comes in a plastic, kind of rectangular, bottle instead of the classic old round glass full figured girl we all know Ms. Butterworth really is. They had Durkee freezed dried onions, only the small cans for $4. What Thanksgiving Day dinner would be complete without Green bean Casserole? I must have 2 of these. (I’m still going to make some of my old favorites that weekend and treat my friends to an American style of gluttony) They also had FLUFF! Now this particular item made me positively giddy! FLUFF!! (not Fluffanutter or Marshmallow cream) It brought back visions of childhood with a spoon and a jar of peanut butter! I resisted buying the entire stock and settled on 2 jars. A few other things in my basket, 1 bag of groceries totalled at $83! I did grab a can of A&W cream soda ($2.50 a can) to quench my thirst. By now it was mid day and the sun was blazing down allowing the sweat to evaporate off your skin faster than you can produce it. This leaves everything outside and inside your body parched and hungry for moisture. Now I know this is nothing like what Jan Newton experiences in the United Arab Emirates or what it’s like for Tony in Fort Lauderdale. But for this all TOO pale white boy from the New England and the Pacific Northwest. The end of October is the early stages of the rainy and cold season not the beginning of.. get used to it a 40+ (104 F) degree summer.

At this point it was time to return home with my goodies and show Michael what treasures I had acquired! I had earlier told him about Reese’s Peanut butter cups and did pick up some for him to try. He found them salty and rather liked MY Fluff instead. I let him know people have died for lesser transgressions against Americans. So he’d better stay far far away from the jar without express written permissions. I’m willing to share but there are limits to my kindness. (no comments here Phyllis).

After a light snack lunch of hummus, olives, cheese and crackers, and a few spoonfuls of the childhood delight (PB and Fluff) I was out the door one more time to find the last few things on my list. Most importantly being a Eskie (cooler for the non Australians) This particular item was going to allow me to bring a few more interesting food items on my up coming road trip. I was told that there was a LARGE Target store at the ChadStone (pronounced Chad-Stun) mall about 15 minutes away. So back in the grey freedom giving death trap and off I went. Low and behold a Target store was there anchored at one end of what can only be describes as the closet thing to America I have seen in 2 1/2 months (excluding the McDonald’s that are everywhere) A GIANT all enclosed with hundreds of stores genuine, good old fashion mall! After the typical 20 minute search for a parking space I was able to acquire my Eskie from the well known Targe and stow it in the back seat of the car. I had to wave off 3 people who quickly lined up hoping take my parking spot. I can’t imagine what this place is like at Xmas (and no real decorations yet in the stores). I went back inside to wander the shopping extravaganza and see if I could maybe pick up a few more things on my holiday shopping list. I was able to find some things but the perfect B’day gift for my dear mum is still eluding me. She just might be getting it with her Christmas present. I’m sure she won’t mind having to postpone recording another year for a few more weeks. I am her favorite son after all.

From here the day only gets more boring and mundane. Michael and his boyfriend Jock cooked a lovely (a word used quite often here) Green curry stir fry for dinner. I then dressed for the evening and went to the Laird (Melbourne’s true all men bar) It was their birthday weekend and I had some plans to meet my friends from the band there for a few drinks and laughs. This was accomplished quite well and along with a $20 cab ride home the evening topped off a very fun day (Sorry Erica I’m OLD so shopping, and drinks with friends constitutes fun?)

During my trips on Saturday Michael got our new washing machine into the apartment. So Sunday morning I made us a big stack of pancakes (of course with Ms Butterworth’s) for breakfast and then went down to the St Kilda beach for a stroll. Pictured is the Melbourne sky line looking northwest, the tall building kind of by itself on the right side is the Eureka Tower mentioned in earlier blogs.The afternoon was spent doing laundry, reading and a trip to the grocery store. Sunday was very nice. It was the first day where I didn’t have a list of things to do. It’s proving that my life is becoming more settled. That my transitional period is ending. I was able to relax and just enjoy the day.
More updates next weekend after the road trip!

Happy Birthday to Laurie Wrobleski!