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!

Numurkah Victoria

Pronounced “New Mer Ka”

This week’s exciting adventure was a trip, with the Melbourne Rainbow Band, to a little town in Northern Victoria for a performance at the towns "food bowl festival". The town is near the border with New South Wales and is about 3 hours due north of Melbourne, lying in the heart of the region’s produce area. It was a beautiful sunny day with highs around 31 degrees (87 Fahrenheit). The band rented a coach bus for the trip and about 25 gay guys and lesbians jump in for the adventure. We left at 9am and most of the people were still half asleep. Several brought pillows to sleep on the way up. I stared out the window and watched the rolling hills of southern Victoria turn into the flat plains that are farther north. This being my first real trip inland, (besides Nimbin), I was curious about the countryside. Eucalyptus trees scattered the roadsides with little farms about with a few cattle or horses along the way. No kangaroos or koalas as far as I could see. I did see one kangaroo on the way back, but sadly, it didn’t make it across the road. Some one before us must have had a nice dent to fix. There was a DVD player on the bus and some people watched Pirates of the Caribbean. While our conductor tried to instill a few last hints to help us along, as the theme song was one of our performance pieces.

Upon our arrival to Numurkah it was painfully apparent how SMALL this town really was. They did have a bottle shop (liquor store), an IGA grocer and 3 pubs. As the bus pulled up to the town centre we saw our venue for the performance. It was a little pavilion to give us some shade and not much else. The band performing when we arrived was the Numurkah town band. A group of locals that ranged in age and ability, much like our band. There were about 15 people in the audience. At first, there was a look of horror on all of our faces in the bus. The thought of 25 gay people unloading on to this little town seemed like a flash back to Priscilla Queen of the Desert’s scene when they arrive in a similar small town and walk the strip in drag. But we were there and ready to play. That old saying "The show must go on!" so we unloaded the bus and prepared for our Numurkah debut! Our apprehension quickly faded when we realized we out numbered the town’s folk and that we could play better. (I know that sounds conceded, but it was true) Our performance went off without a problem. We played a 45 minute set with songs form a wide range of genres. A 1942 swing song called American Patrol, A Ray Charles medley, a medley from the modern version of Hairspray and some others. I sat in the front on the right side and played along as best as I could. Most of these songs are beyond my currant abilities, as the speed and tempo change quite often. So I’d chime in here and there when the notes are held long enough for my fingers to work and I could stay in time with the rest of the band. Sometimes I just faked playing. Moving my fingers in time and not blowing into the sax. My guess is that without a musical background most people didn’t even notice. Overall the performance was a very good practice for our big concert coming up on November 1st.

After the set ended our host provided us with refreshments of coleslaw sandwiches and water. Being that it was a fairly warm day the water was nice and cool. I can’t say as much for the sandwiches. Which were served without any dressing and on plain white bread. So it was basically some cabbage and carrots (you know I LOVE my carrots) on very cheap bread. It was apparent that more sustenance and beverages were in order. A friend, Andy (seen in the overalls) and I walked to the left and checked out what Numurkah had to offer. We were hoping to find where this so called festival was taking place. It couldn’t just be the little pavilion we played in could it. After about 2 blocks we hit the edge of town and turned around, finding the rest of our friends at a pub at the far end of town. So for about 90 minutes Numurkah had a gay bar. Because when we walked in it was now a gay bar! That’s me (yes I am drinking beer) and some of the band members relaxing after our gig. We never did find anything more to do with the festival.

The return trip was a little livelier. We were all awake and had some beer in us. So while the beer buzz lasted, we watch Hairspray (the John Travolta version) and had a sing-a-long in the back of the bus. I really thought at some point we’d all break out into ABBA songs but it didn’t happen. As we trekked closer and closer to the city the hills and variety of trees slowly came back until we could see the Melbourne skyline again. At which point you could feel a sigh of relief on the bus. We’ve made it back to civilization and survived the bush! After unpacking the bus and loading up our cars we all parted our ways for the night.

Sunday was a totally different day, overcast, cooler and windy. But that’s spring in Melbourne, nice one day and cloudy the next. I spent the morning running errands before heading out for a little Christmas and birthday shopping (Mom, no thimbles I promise) at the “stalls” along St Kilda Beach and eventually back to Southbank (near my office) where there are more little booths. All of the items are locally made and most of the artists staff the booths. There was lots of hand made jewellery, aboriginal artwork, fridge magnets, scarfs and purses. I did find a few things but I’m not telling….

At the beginning of the stalls in St Kilda is the only amusement park in Melbourne, Luna Park! There's one in North Sydney too. It's a kiddy park basically with an old wooden roller coaster following the parameter of the park. It takes up 1 city block maybe a little more.

I’ve included a new more pictures of my flat. Just so you can see the progress. Last weekend Michael and I did more unpacking and have reduced the box pile to a more manageable size. We also set up the stereo, DVD player and dinning table. It’s starting to become a real place where entertaining and relaxation are actually possible.

Work is work…. The American, I supervise, is still a pain in the ass and I’m hoping he’ll self destruct himself all together, very soon. Between him and GWB I can see why we’re getting a bad reputation around the world. The other people I supervise are all hard working and able to handle the deadlines we face every day quite well.

Upcoming things for me are the big band concert on Nov. 1st and then it’s off to the GREAT OCEAN ROAD and my first little camping trip of the summer. This will test my camping gear and allow me to see where I’ll need improvements so I can get a full summer of trips in.

Take care I miss you all and hope someone is planning a trip to come visit me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUTH! And welcome to the world Olivia Wrobleski

7/109 Westbury St Saint Kilda East, Victoria, Australia, 3183

Almost all of the hurdles to transitioning my life from Portland Oregon to Melbourne Australia have been completed. The biggest one was actually finding a place of my own to live. Through Gayshare.com.au, I found my new flatmate and friend, Michael Riches. He’s an Australian from Byron Bay and works for the Victorian AIDS Council. We searched high and low for a place that met all of our basic criteria for living with some level of comfort. A dishwasher, only 1 flight of stairs, a balcony, a place with some style, and close to public transit. After many attempts and at the last possible moment, as previously outlined in this blog, we found our new home. So yesterday, October 8, 2008 we moved in!!! As with all moves there are little details that go a rye and need to be taken care of as you go. The day started with a train ride to pick up our keys at LJ Hooker and Assoc., our landlords. 2 people, a 2 bedroom apartment, 2 set of keys, right? Seems only sensible! But no only 1 set of keys and there are 3 different locked doors to get from the street into the apartment. However, the most major obstacle of the day was to coordinate the movements of our belongings. Items that were spread over 4 places throughout Melbourne, 1 large load of Michael’s things from Byron Bay and 1 pile of boxes of mine that Australian Customs had so graciously allowed me to keep. (Hint: don’t try to bring a large can of bear spray AKA pepper spray into the country it’s a banned substance) The Melbourne items went fairly flawlessly. Michael had hired “A Man with a Van” and this guy helped us load up all our things from the various places and got them to our flat in 1 trip. The other deliveries of the day didn’t go so smoothly. Michael was expecting a shipping company to arrive with his belongs from Byron Bay around 11:30. I was hoping the firm helping me through customs would arrive around 2pm. This turned into about 3pm and 6pm respectively. It wasn’t all bad because this gave us time to get our local items unpacked, time for a little grocery shopping (trust me we had NO food in the house),get the extra keys made (at $5.95 PER key) and even some time for lunch. When Michael’s stuff arrived the 2 mover guys had a great idea of standing on top of their truck and passing everything up over the balcony railing. This worked like a dream for most of the lighter items. The few heavy pieces had to be carried up the flight of stairs. Thanks to the movers Michael and I got to direct and not lift! We spent the next several hours looking what he had packed away for what he hoped would only be 2 months and what turned out to be 18 months. While I checked dates on pantry items and started washing the dust off his kitchen wares. Michael (standing) and his friend, Jock (kneeling) set out to piece together some of the larger furniture. The one they’re doing in the picture is a day bed for our over night guests. So the gay inn is now officially open!







When my boxes arrived it took only a few minutes to move 39 years and the 16 boxes of my life from the US into my new bedroom. I finally have all my stuff. The first thing I did was make my bed with the blankets my mother had made for me years ago. This immediately gave the room a sense of home. The day was long but very rewarding. Near 8pm we headed out for some dinner and a few drinks to relax. Sitting after such a long day made us sore and not waiting to move again. Upon our return to the box kingdom, Michael and I had a few drinks to celebrate our new life and then puttered around some more before hitting the hay.











Thursday morning my first day with the new commute to work took about 30 minutes from the Balaclava train station on the Sandringham (sand-ring-ham) line. 5 minute walk to the train, 15 minute train ride, and 10 minute walk to the office. Not too bad and I don’t have to walk by that damn casino multiple times a day.







The outlook for this weekend is nice. Weather forecasted to be 27 degrees (81 F) and sunny both days. I have an extra band practice to get ready for the big concert on Nov 1st , the usual household errands to run, hoping to get a few more boxes unpacked and maybe get down to the beach with my sax. Hope all is well wherever you are! Please come and visit! Happy 50th Brithday to ED SHARICK back on October 8th!