Yesterday...was great.

After a beautiful run down by the harbor, I was up and ready for another big night. Girl Talk was playing at The Forum, so I threw on my best 80's skirt, broke up a couple of glow sticks, and headed out for two hours of daaaaancing. Sweaty, sweaty dancing. Check out this sick video. Gillis tore it up, once again.

LOVELY DAY

This is one of the most beautiful days I've ever experienced. And here I am, inside, blogging. Ah well, I reckon there will be another one tomorrow. I've been thinking a lot about how I can extend this trip, and parlay it into more of an around the world travel. I'm thinking...till September, at least. Tons of people go on holiday here, for weeks at a time, and it's been really inspiring. Thailand and Laos have made their way to the top of a very long list. See if we can't make THAT happen. In just two weeks, we'll be off to New Zealand. My friends Courtney and Fiona will be in Auckland visiting family, and we figure we'll go visit them for a few days, and then travel down south to Christchurch and Queensland and tackle some of these amazing adventure expeditions that people can't shut up about. After the NZ trip though, I think we may have to bite the bullet and rent a place. Couchsurfing has been unbelievable, and has introduced us to some fantastic people, but a nice clean bed would be pretty fucking great. I also think I may pick up a job. I'm trying to understand why I'm feeling a bit guilty about not working, especially since I haven't been for so long. Perhaps it's because I'm technically on vacation, and I feel purposeless. I always thought I was the type of person who could move to an island, play an old acoustic guitar on the sand all day, fall asleep in a hammock. In theory, it sounds just right, but I'm realizing as I get older that actually accomplishing something is an absolute necessity toward finding out who you are, why you're here - all that good stuff. People out here definitely appreciate life in ways I can understand. In ways that seem to make more sense to me. Working to live, taking holidays, and truly enjoying people for who they are. Obviously there have been some losers who've crossed my path along the way, some wanker bankers, some full on depressed assholes, but they're definitely not the norm. Living in New York for the past 5 years has made me more impatient, angry, and high-strung, and anxious than I would ever want to be. I have so much love for that city, and I miss it like crazy, but it does breed sarcasm and create antagonistic people, does it not? Waiting for the bus yesterday, I took a look around and saw that no one was checking their watch, growing restless. It then took another 20 minutes to board the freaking thing, and about an hour to get back into the city. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that I used to lose my shit if the 6 train took longer than 3 minutes to arrive. Seriously, I would get fucking pissed off. It's crazy, right? I'm hoping being here will bring me further into a place of contentment and solitude and peacefulness. At the end of the day, all I really want is to be happy thankful for the things I have, the people I know, and the exciting unforseeable future that lies ahead.

Fuck , I'm tired

It feels like I've been here for a month already, and it's only been a week and a half. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but its definitely something. The sun is a killer out here, and it seems even my 60 spf can't stand up to it's powers.

Where have I been since Monday?

Australia Day was on a few days ago, and Jess and I finally arrived in Bondi Beach. Sunday was one of the most amazingly fun nights I've had thus far. Hanging in King's Cross, dancing my life away with the Mundey, and loving life. As fun as it was, packing up and making our way to Bondi was quite the pain in the ass. The transportation here is for shit, and it takes f'ing forever to get anywhere. When we finally did arrive, the rain was pouring down, and the people we were couch surfing with didn't have much planned for the big day. We ended up just grabbing beers and dinner at some backpackers bar down the beach, and went to bed early. Probably a wise choice anyway. We spent a few hours at the beach yesterday, and even with 30 spread all over my body, I still was able to burn and streak up. Obviously. On a brighter note, Bondi beach is awesome, and I'm thinking after NZ we may get a place here. A place with actual beds, and sheets and everything! Can you imagine? No more couches! I know it's a month away, but still looking forward. Oh, and it's Jess's Bday today. 26! We're going to jump on the train and head back to Mundey's for a big night, most likely followed by an even bigger weekend. STANDAAAAAD! I'm writing on someone elses shitty pc, and it's hurting my burn, so I'll be back later for a better update. Peace out for now....

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

Trying to motivate and get over to Bondi!!!!

Day, um, 7 is it?

Dude, what a day yesterday. After the debacle that was Big Day Out, we woke up, or rather, were unabashedly awoken at around 10 and started out yet another day o' fun with the fairly disgusting Passion Pop. Gross or not, it still put us in a nice place for the day that was ahead of us. With this being Australia day weekend, most Aussies are in 72 hour party mode. So off we went once the noon was after to the rocks, otherwise known as the famous Ozfest. Timmy Trumpet, Cut Copy, and Ajax were only a few of the amazing acts that went on throughout the day. I don't have to remind you that Australians are completely out of control, I'm sure you'll be able to tell from the pictures. We spent the day with our boys, and in classic fashion, Mundey was a hysterical train wreck. The music was dope, and the rocks is Sydney's most historical place. Reaaally good times, with some awesome new friends. It's now nearing 5 pm, and people have finally crashed after a sleepless night of partying. I'm sitting here watching Jumanji, waiting for everyone to get up for round 2. It's a big night tonight, we're all going over to King's Cross to hit up some club. I'm sure it'll be rowdy and restless, only to be followed by the biggest day of the year - fuckin' Australia Day mate! We eventually have to move to Bondi to surf our next couches. I'm psyched to meet some new people, but also super depressed we're not crashing here anymore. Big ups to Mundey, Luke, Scotty, Brendan and Steverino for letting 3 days turn into 7, and really taking care of us. Love you guys!

And we're off....

Our first real 'night out' in Sydney proved to be as fun and spontaneous as I had hoped. After a truly fun filled day with Steve-O - drinking our way through Newtown, eating delicious thai, and stopping in every vintage shop along the way - eventually led us to the Sydney Festival where Bon Iver was playing. Unfortunately, I could only get one ticket, so I had to leave Jess's sorry ass in the beer garden while I popped inside the amazing Spiegeltent to catch a few songs. The band definitely lived up to the hype, as they rolled through their catalog with the faux starry sky behind them. The room was small, 200 people at the most, and Justin sounded fucking beautiful. We ended up chilling with the guys after the show, attempted to see MMJ at some club, and swallowed some cherry pop rocks we picked up at Happy Herbs. Was a great fucking night. Needless to say, the thought of jumping on the train and heading out to Big Day Out for the day was a little frightening this morning, but another glance at the lineup put me in the right head space. Hot Chip, Ting Tings, Lupe, MMJ, TVOR, Neil Young, Holy Ghost, Ajax, and a shit ton of other amazing acts are the only thing on my itinerary for the day. Life is pretty fantastic right now. Check out QuietColor.com tomorrow for a full review of the festival. Until then, happy friday suckas!

Holy Hell, it is HOT

It's 8:30 am, and I am watching the start of the inauguration n TV. I am so happy, I might cry if I hadn't just woken up sweaty and tired. I guess it already happened. Fuck me for trusting all the Aussies that told us it was going to be live on TV tonight. And fuck me for not knowing how to figure out the time difference yet. Ah well, the beauty of YouTube. Anyway, it's a happy day.
SO, thus far there are a couple of things I've learned about Australians. One, if you go to a bakery and ask for an iced coffee, expect one of the most delicious drinks you've ever tasted. I opened the lid, and discovered two shots of espresso covered with ice cream, whipped cream, and cinnamon. Whaa? Not exactly the bitter morning beverage I'm used to, but that shit was yummy nonetheless. The other thing is that Australian people have no sense about precision when it comes to money, temperature, or time. A $20 cab ride can oftentimes cost 40 bucks, and a 15 minute bus to the beach got us there in an hour. No worries, but I'm starting to wonder how anyone gets any baking done. The other thing that's been hard to miss is how fucking expensive this city is. And when a New Yorker complains about prices, you know it ain't cheap. It's tough being a traveler, and not being able to walk down to the wharf for a nice lunch, but $16 for a hamburger is just retarded. Whatever, we'll make it work. There's this neighborhood called King's Cross that's supposed to be filled with backpackers, and cheaper and cooler than the rest of the city, so that's up there on the list of places to go ASAP. The other thing that must be mentioned is the what the holy fuck amount of beautiful men here. I mean, it's simply not normal. There are beautiful women too of course, but they are entirely outnumbered by the hottie hot men wandering around probably searching for mirrors or anything reflective. Sort of makes up for the inflated expenses, right?
Well, no beach for me today, as you can see by my burnage. As our roomate Brendan told us last night, his face and shoulders on scorched from the sun, "A tan is never healthy." The beaches, by the by, are fantastic. To me, they are what california beaches should look like. Soft, silky sand, water that's somewhere in between the Hamptons and the Carribean. Profiled by tall pine trees and silhouetted by beach front houses, hanging on cliffs, I was loving every second of my sweaty, clammy life.
Today we have plans to hit up a pool that's on the water and have a nice long swim this afternoon. It's right next door to the beautiful and enormous botanical gardens, so we might stop in and take a gander, see some flowers and shit. Good times, man.

DAY 2. Boom.

I will write this tomorrow. I have so much to say concerning last night and today, but one full day in the Manly sun, the backs of my legs burning and red, I am just so tired. We made a dinner tonight for the boys, angel hair laced with chorizo, garlic, and eggplant, an after went out for a couple of bottles of wine with our new friend of friend Wombats at the local pub - well, I'm having a hard time not slinking into the couch across the way. Jess and Josh are on the deck, and the night breeze might cool my burn, so I must retire. More to come....

OHMYGODIAMHERE

This is crazy. Finally Australia is real. I'm sitting at a beautiful hotel bar in Sydney called the Ivy, waterfall-ing around me, sun streaking through the wicker tables and white umbrellas. It's about 75 degrees, nearing 5 PM. Jess is across from me, sunglasses covering most of her face, rifling through her Sydney guide book. We promised ourselves we wouldn't be tourists (or at least, appear to be), but for now, far from the crowded streets and finally at ease, nothing seems to really matter. Besides the awful and ostentatious Woody Allen flick, Vicky Christina Barcelona (someone please off Scarett Jo, please) the flight over here was relatively painless. Jamie Oliver and a couple of ambien put me to rest, and I woke up with two hours to spare, ready to land and conquer. Sydney so far is amazing. Bustling and vibrant, it's been a treat walking around, poking our heads into shops and trying to get acclimated. We had lunch with Josh, one of the many we've been in touch with on couchsurfing.com, and he's a doll. We're meeting up with him shortly to head home and meet his roomates, who want to take us to their local pub tonight. We may go on a bike ride to Manly beach tomorrow, and hopefully get some cellurals, but besides that, the coming days are free and open. With the inaguration tomorrow, big day out on friday, and australia day the following monday, there is so much to look forward to, it's hard not to smile right now. I'll post a picture, so you can understand my glee. Until tomorrow....