home

Well, I lied to my friends and family for months about going to New Zealand for Christmas. I never intended of actually going to NZ. All along my plan was to come home for Christmas and surprise everyone, most importantly my family. Details of my return never made it to Canada, which made the surprise just as I had invisioned it to be.

I had the surprise recorded, which can be viewed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H_REhL4DD0

From the time my alarm went off, to the time I rolled into Drew's driveway,(where I hid out for the first night) I had been travelling for about 38 hours. It involved lots of naps, hanging out in Hong Kong, a bump up to business class, and a sigh of relief when the plane landed in Vancouver.

I had a terrific time on my travels, but home is just about the next best thing. I met some awesome people, some of whom I will be friends with for life. I will keep these memories with me forever.

Thank you for reading.

my new hat

On the last night in Byron Bay, I acquired a hat from one of the aussie guy's that was staying at the hostel. My intention, was to try to buy it off him before I left, but he was no where to be found before I left. So, I got a new hat. I've been wearing it out in Sydney, and the girls just can't seem to keep there hands off it. My new friend Cristian, calls it a 'magic' hat.

Cristian is half Italian, and half German, but lives in Germany. Although, if you met him, you would thinks he was 100% Italian. He's pretty much the only person I've hung out with the last three days. We both checked into the room at the same time, and I later found out that it was his very first day in Australia, and his very first day outside Europe. He's 27, but you wouldn't know it. He's here for 3 weeks before flying to America, and South America.

Today, we were out shopping because he forgot to bring a beach towel from home. I was walking in front, and I guess at some point he had stopped. "Steve!" he yelled. I turned around, as did many other people in the mall, and I walked over to where he was. Well. He was squatting down, looking at speedo's. Now, I have never been speedo shopping, nor have I been around when someone else is speedo shopping. I stood next to him for about 20 seconds. Then I got quite uncomfortable. There he is, picking up different speedo's and inspecting them all over, and I have no idea what to do. I finally decided I'd have to let him go, and I went off and looked at other things.

Tonight I have a set at O'Malley's Hotel. It's the Irish pub in which I first played in Oz. The same guy is still there, and when I asked him about playing he said he remembered me. I'm pretty sure I've improved quite a bit since I last played there, and having a 'magic' hat while I'm up there shouldn't hurt either.

Tomorrow, my adventure takes another turn. I'm off to the land of lambs. I will be flying to New Zealand to catch up with all the awesome kiwi's I've met on my adventure over here, for Christmas, New Years and beyond. Some of them are still kicking around Oz, but most of them are back home for the holidays. I really hope they have comfortable couches.

niiiiice.

the nimbin bob marley

I guess we met a celebrity?

Liz, Amy, Lucy and I rented a car in Byron Bay, and drove to Nimbin.Nimbin is classed as the Amsterdam of Australia. Hippieville. When we got out of the car, I looked across the street where there was an outdoor cafe. I have never seen so many dread-locks in one place before. Almost everyone in there had dreads. Old ladies, young men. When we walked passed, there was a guy playing guitar. Liz asked if he could take a picture of him. He said okay. We saw him again later on, and I snapped this picture of him. He then told us that he was the 'Nimbin Bob Marley', and that we could look him up on the Internet if we wanted to. Maybe later.

The city itself is tiny, so we just walked down the main street. Apparently everyone in Nimbin sells drugs. Half the people we walked by tried to sell us this or that. We went to the museum, which wasn't really a museum at all. It was more like a 'Legalize Pot' convention. Most of the stuff in the 'museum' had to do with Marijuana. There were documentaries on the tv's explaining the benefits of pot, pieces of VW vans, neon lights, and more marijuana paraphernalia. When we walked out of the back of the museum, that's where the magic happens. Drug deals going down all over the place. Old ladies selling there 'special' cookies, and old men insisting that they are the best around.

I purchased a hemp bracelet, it seemed like the right place to get one, but I somehow managed to rip it last night, so I don't know how long it's going to hold together. Liz, Amy and I jump back on the bus tonight to take an all night bus trip to Sydney. Byron Bay was fun, but I was sick for about 3 days, and my sinus was blocked so I had a killer headache all the time. It did keep me in at night so I didn't spend to much money here. high people are honest people.

Surfers Paradise

This hostel in Surfers Paradise is one of the best yet. Good people, good atmosphere. At one point there must have been about 15 other Canadians here. We won the international drinking contest a few nights ago. I put my Halloween costume on for the festivities.


The beach here is really nice, I've been playing in the waves almost every day, but it also has rained everyday since I have been here. The rain has even kept us in at night, because no one wants to walk into town when its pouring down.


There's a pub crawl tonight, which I think I may have to sign up for. It will be my last night in Surfers, I'm heading to Byron Bay tomorrow to rejoin the 'Mental Express'. Go team.


(this is usually where there would be a stupid photo. I can't upload any photos. So just imagine me dressed as Levi Jeans, and a few other guys in a swimming pool cheering, one of which whom is wearing a Canadian flag.)

no doot aboot it.

good news, bad news.

I'll start with the bad news.

James and Gavin didn't return with James's car. It needed a new transmission, which obviously couldn't be afforded, so it took a trip to the car wrecker. The next day, Seb's car got stolen from outside the hostel. Fortunately, 2 days later he did get it back, but they had got in an accident with it, the steering is all messed up, and his Nintendo DS is gone as well. He left a few days ago with Frankie, and his friend Kon, to go to Byron Bay.

Gavin, Amy, and Natalie left for Noosa to try to find work, but are having trouble. Clint went up to Coolum to visit a friend and when he gets back he is giving me a ride to Surfers.

Amy #2, Lucy, Camilla, JoJo, James and myself are still here in Brisbane. They are trying to find jobs, I am relaxing.

The good news....

Back in June, I filed a tax return. When I filled it out, I made a mistake, and to make a long story short, the ordeal ended with me having a sore hand, and the locker in my room having a dent. I was told there was nothing I could do, and that my return was going to be $47.19. Afterwards, I decided to file another one with a professional, even though filing 2 would make them both void. I had to take the chance. I'd rather take the chance and end up with nothing rather than having $47.19 and never knowing.

Anyway, I hadn't heard anything for months and figured I was never going to get my money, then I got an email. An email stating that maybe I was getting my money after all. Well, to make another long story short, today, the money has finally arrived in my account. How Much? I'll tell you how much, Twenty-Three Hundred FREAKIN BUCKS! So, it's safe to say I'll be going out with my friend bourbon tonight.

If that doesn't make me smile, nothing will.

Anyway. A few more nights here in BrisVegas. Nic, my kiwi mate from Perth arrives here tomorrow, so we will have at least one big night before I head to Surfers. Other than that, I'll catch ya on the flipside.

i make up my own dance moves.

Whitsunday's and Fraser Island.

Whitsunday's was a blast!
We boarded our sailboat 'Habibi' and I was keeping my fingers crossed that I wouldn't get sick. About an hour into the trip, I realized that my body was alright, and that I would be fine for the rest of the sail. We sailed for a few hours the first day, and anchored in Hook Bay for the night. There was a cook on the crew, so all the meals were provided. We had a bbq the first night. We also had quite a few drinks. Amazingly, no one fell overboard.

The next morning, we sailed to Whitsunday island, and chilled out in the sun on the beach. Since it's stinger season out there, we had to wear stinger suits, which I thought were just fantastic. After a few hours on the beach, we sailed further on, and stopped at the reef for some snorkeling. The captain was really counting on turtles being there, but unfortunately we saw none.

The second night was much like the first, only everyone knew eachother better. We rocked out on my guitar, had some drinks, and were having a good time, then the captain said he wanted to show us something. What was it? A mask and snorkel, only the snorkel had been turned into a beer bong. Uh oh. Everyone was drinking goon that night, except for me. Lots of goon was poured down that snorkel.
Once we returned to Airlie Beach, we grabbed some supplies, and headed back out on the road. That night we stopped at a free camping spot on the outskirts of Mackay. Once we set up camp, most people went to bed. But a few of us decided to go check out the local pub. The Eton Hotel. We walked in, and we could tell this was a very local pub, that probably never saw backpackers before. Frankie, Gavin, Jon, Seb, and myself ordered some beers, and before we had even finished half of them, one of the locals ordered us another round. Before we had even got to those beers, the same man ordered us a jug. He came down and started talking to us, and we purchased him a jug this time. Meanwhile, the bartender just stood at the side of the bar where we were sitting and chatted to us about things from James Bond, to Rugby, to Bundaberg Rum. He asked us if we knew how to drink Bundaberg(which is Australian Rum, and is horrible). We said we didn't. "Well, I'll show you." He gave us some free shots and told us after you get it in your mouth you have to swish it all over to get the flavour out. I'm sure I got the flavour out. It was terrible. I think Bundaberg is gross even when it's mixed with coke. Nonetheless, it was free and we were grateful.

The next day we set out for Hervey Bay. We camped outside of the town. In the morning, we went into the town, shopped around a bit, and then James's car broke down again. We tried to press on, but it broke down yet again. In the end, we had to leave it outside a ranch, because we didn't have time to get it fixed as we had to be in Rainbow Bay by 3:30pm to check in for our 2-night,4x4 trip to Fraser Island the next day. We made it in time, had our orientation, then hit the sack.

Fraser Island is the biggest sand island in the world. There was a lot of sand. We didn't get there to till the afternoon, so we set up camp and started the festivities. There were 3 4x4's, and 11 people in each. A pretty good amount of people to start a party. No one was awake passed midnight. In the morning we packed up, and set out for Lake Mckenzie. It had been so long since I swam in fresh water. It was gorgeous. After that, we drove to Lake Wobby. A few times it felt like the truck was going to flip because the roads were so treacherous. Once we left there, it was time to go back and set up camp again and make dinner. Night two was much like the first.On the third day, we started the day with a drive to an old shipwreck, followed by a drive along the beach to Indian head. We had to be at the ferry before 3:30p. We left at 1pm, which we thought would be plenty of time. Once we realized we might not make it in time, we flew along the beach. Fortunately, all three trucks made it just in time, even though we had been separated that day.Today, Gavin and James headed back to get his car(hopefully), and Seb took a car load down to Brisbane. The rest of us are staying in Rainbow beach tonight, and heading for Brisbane tomorrow.if i were a superhero, i'd wear that stinger suit.

the mental express

"So Steve, what did you do for your birthday?"

"Well, I rode on a ferry, had some chicken, then sat in a car for about four hours!"

If that was it, it wouldn't have been a very good birthday. Eventually, after James's car broke down the second time, we got to a Liquor store in Airlie Beach. I purchased a bottle of Slate Bourbon, which after drinking goon for the last few weeks, was a real treat. After I bought it, I noticed they had a Slate promotion going on. I asked the guy behind the counter if I could have a shirt, seeing as it was my birthday, and I bought some bourbon. Unfortunately, you have to buy the pre-mix to get the gear. But, after a puppy dog look on my part, he said, "I can give you a hat?" "SURE!" Well, when he was grabbing the hat he looked up at me again and said, "Medium or extra large?" SCORE. Hat and a shirt. Birthday's rule. Afterwards, we headed to a camp site, and had some drinks. Yadda yadda yadda....

Now, for the adventure thus far....

We left Cairns, and our first stop was Mission Beach for a night. On the way, we went to Josephine Falls, which was absolutely beautiful. Then it was off to Mission Beach. Guitar, goon, laughs, camping, self explanatory.

From Mission Beach, we headed south, and stayed in Saunders Creek, at a 24/hr rest stop. Nothing exiting to report, sorry.

The following day, we set out for Magnetic Island. Took a ferry out, and tried to book into a camp site. They were both full. The girl behind the desk said, "If you can't find a place, you guys could stay in my back yard?" And so it was set. She gave us directions, and we drove to her house, and set up our junk in the backyard. It was a fun night. Since everyone on the 'Mental Express' has heard me play guitar before, most of them already sing along with some of the songs I've written. We partied it up with goon, then retired to our tents.

The next day we checked into a campsite, and celebrated Clint's 26th birthday. Unfortunately we were all pretty tired from the previous day's, so we didn't tie it on very tight.

In the morning, which was my birthday, we packed up and headed for the ferry. (see opening paragraph)

Tomorrow, we begin a 2 day, 2 night sailing trip through the Whitsunday's, which I've heard is quite the little party, and you can better believe with the 'Mental Express' crew on board, there's bound to be a few people leaning over the edge.

frankie loves birthday's.

cape tribulation

The free Internet at the hostel has been down for about a week, so I was unable to get on here.

During that week, we headed up to Cape Tribulation. We took Frankie and Liza along with us as well. It was awesome. Slept in a tent in the rain forest. That's a first for me. The beach was spectacular. We sat down in chest deep water and drank champagne, then we headed into the shade where I rocked on the guitar for awhile. It was 2 days of relaxing, and 2 nights of goon for everyone but me. I decided I'd take a night off, because I know what is in store for me down the coast.

On the way back, we went to a lookout that looks out over the Daintree Rainforest. Again, a spectacular view to say the least.

Afterwards, we drove to the crocodile boat tours. Wow, again. When we were at the farm in Broome, we were protected with a fence. Now, we are in a boat that the Croc's could easily flip over if they wanted to. Luckily for us, we got to see the biggest croc that lives in the river. 5.5 meters long, and about as wide as they get. Our tour guide said he saw 'Fat Albert' take a full sized bull down, and swam with the bull on his back after he had drowned it. He warned us that we couldn't get too close because if he got agitated, he would come at the boat quicker than we would be able to get away. We started floating closer, and then the croc dropped under. Everybody's heart stopped. We all survived.

The drive was also quite amazing. We drove right along the beach with the ocean only a stones throw away.

What's next?

The 'Mental Express'. 'Cairns - ?'

12 of us from the hostel have teamed up, and are going to do the East Coast as a group.

We just booked our trips to Fraser Island, Whitsunday's and the Noosa Everglades. If these few weeks in Cairns were a sign of things to come, this trip is going to be a bloodbath.

such a tourist.

life's a garden, dig it.

Halloween is one of my favourite day's of the year. Mainly because it's an excuse to dress up and act like a jerk. This Halloween was no different.

We started of the festivities at the hostel, with an all you can eat, $4 bbq. It was good to get a good solid meal in, because I knew it was going to be a big night.

Clint dressed up as 'Nanna Jo', Amy dressed up as a mermaid, Gavin as a Chippendale, and me, I was 'Levi Jeans'. I have never stayed in character for so long before. From the time I left my room, to the time I returned to my room at the end of the night, I only broke character a few times. The best part of being a redneck/trucker ect, was it gave me a good excuse to shotgun a whole bunch of beers.

From the hostel, a bus came and picked us up and took us to 'The Woolshed'. Obviously, in Australia they don't take Halloween as serious as we do. I'd say only 60-70% of the people in there were actually dressed up. But, all that mattered was that I was dressed up, and I was having a good time.

Today, is Mad Monday here at the Asylum. I haven't participated in a Mad Monday since Drew, Matt and myself were last here at the beginning of March, so this should be a good time.

Until then, keep on keepin on.

Good ole' Nanna Jo.

back in cairns

Well, we drove a lot.
The drive here was pretty fun, but it took 6 days. I ate a lot of ham and cheese sandwiches.

The highlight was the 'Daly Waters Pub'. It's one of the oldest pubs in the country. The walls are covered in crap. Bra's, money, jersey's, photos, and pretty much anything that can be fastened to a wall. When people go there, the point is to leave something behind on the wall. Gavin stapled his old youth card up, and I stapled up my treasured 'Point Pub' card. We found a great spot right as you walk in. Clint also donated his ram's skull he got on the farm he worked at. We all signed it, but left it in the hands of the manager to put up. Hopefully she puts it up.Out in the back, there's even more junk. On a wall of licence plates, we found a British Columbia plate. Sweet as.

We began constructing our Halloween costumes yesterday, and hopefully I'll find the missing pieces today so I can 'Giv'r' this weekend.just an average morning on the road.

make party

We arrived in Darwin yesterday. Camped for free all the way up. We didn't do very much sight seeing or exploring though. The only nature stop we took was to go see the 'Geike Gorge'. Other than that it was business as usual. Drove as much as we could so we could get here. We saw heaps of dead cows and kangaroos on the way. The smell was rancid, even when driving past them at 100km's. The reason for all the roadkill is road trains. Imagine an 18 wheeler at home, and add two more trailers on the back. They can be as long as 52.5 meters long, so you can imagine that they don't stop for nothing, and even a full size bull doesn't even faze them.

We could have made it a bit quicker, but we got off to a slow start on Saturday, and then we had a little bit of car trouble on the way, but we made it nonetheless. We checked into a hostel and I got to sleep in a real bed for the first time in months. And, best of all, the room is air-conditioned.


Tomorrow we exit Darwin as quick as we arrived, and have about a week of driving until we arrive in Cairns. We are hoping to be there in time for Halloween, so we can hit up the Woolshed.
numero uno.

its like a party, but its better than a party

Last night we celebrated birthday's, even though no one in camp was having a birthday. But, back home in Canada, three of me and Drew's comrades were. My brother Colin, Nate Byron, and Matt Junker all share October 10th as the candle and cakes day.

I picked up some sparklers, we got some beers, and we pretended we were at a birthday party, although, we sort of were.

We are leaving Broome on Saturday morning. Gavin bought a Nissan Patrol, that we can easily fit all our stuff in. Him and Amy will ride in that, and I will roll with Clint in his Ford Laser. We will have room for two more people to ride with us, so I'm going to put up a sign on a few message boards around town. Drew is heading back to Perth, then flying home for a short vacation to Canada.

I think my last day of work will be Wednesday night. Definitely going to miss working at that place. I'll especially miss the guys in the kitchen. We had a lot of great laughs. And, I'm not sure I'd ever have the opportunity to tell anyone I've worked as a sandwich maker.

Yap.

crocadilly

Drew Dow arrived last Wednesday.
On Sunday we went to the Crocodile Farm.

It was quite a nice little day. Clint drove Gav, Amy, Drew and myself 18km's out of Broome to the Farm. We walked through a giant croc's mouth and into the lobby. Just outside the lobby was one of the lakes, which is home to seventy salt water crocodile's. We had an hour to burn before the tour started, so we walked around and looked at the other animals. Dingos, roos, peacocks, snakes, emus, owls, bats, wallabies ect. There were a ton of different kinds of animals. The tour started at the big lake, where he started throwing big fish onto the beach. Then it really started. The croc's came flying out of the water for a feed. Crawling over each other, snapping at each other, kind of like the scene in 'Indiana Jones'.

The next few stops were at specific croc's pens. Croc's from movies, croc's captured for murder and so on. One of the croc's was 5.5 metres in length. It was a giant. All in all it was an awesome day, and I made it to work afterward just in time.

We moved out of the M.C.G yesterday because they close it for the wet season. We moved outside the fence, where we are no longer safe from the sun in the morning. But there is a plus side. Adam, a buddy from camp checked into a hostel and hooked me up with some goodies. A giant 6 man tent, which I can stand up in, and a double size air mattress. I slept great last night, but the sun was pretty terrible at around 8:30 this morning.

October 15th is the target date for leaving Broome and heading to Darwin. Hopefully I can save up a nice amount of cash before then.

you could be next.

"Why are you guys dressed like pirates?"

"BECAUSE WE AHHRRRRRRRR!!!"

Pirate night was awesome.

When I showed up for work on Saturday night, I was already wearing tattoo's underneath my uniform. I told Brian about my predicament and asked if I could go as early as possible. He said he would see what he could do. Things were looking up when he got me to show one of the girls what they should do if i go, then he sent her home early. I was a little bummed, then he sent another one of the girls to me. This time, after I showed her some stuff, I was allowed to go. I peddled home so fast.

We didn't play Centurion, but we did slam some beers and yarr'd a lot.

We first went to 'The Oasis', one of the nightclubs here in Broome. When we got there, I asked one of the bouncers if he knew if we would get into 'The Bungalow' after, still dressed as pirates. He assured me that we would not get in.We partied like pirates, or at least what we thought pirates might party like. We got quite a few strange looks, but I just looked back at people as if they were the ones dressed as pirates, and I was the normal one. Like most events, we took lots of pictures, and drank drinks until it closed. Most people were tired, drunk and sleepy, but since I had been working so much, and didn't have to work the next morning, I insisted in trying to get into 'The Bungalow'. I walked over with Liam, who looks like he's a pirate even if he's not dressed as one. We waited in line for awhile, then when we got to the door, we were let straight in. YARR! Bungalow is pretty hazy, and since me nor Liam had a camera, we aren't really sure what went on. When we got back to camp, after a stop to Mcdonald's it had to be near 5am. There were still people in the camp up carrying on from the night before. We tried for what felt like an hour, to levitate this guy sitting in a chair. One guy thought he knew what he was doing, and was coaching us, but everyone was confused, and doubtful when it didn't work the fifth time.

I eventually decided to go to bed at an unknown time. At 10am, my phone rang. "Steve, its Brian, do you think you can fill in a shift at 11am?" I scrubbed off my makeup and tattoo's in a hazy shower. Luckily, the girls' at work took care of me and forced lots of coffee and liquids into me so I would feel better.

I am now 'The' bartender at Lustre. The other 2 guys are gone, which makes me numero uno. Last night I trained a new girl behind the bar, and this morning, I trained a new guy to sandwich build. This week I put in 52 hours, would have been much more, but we closed pretty early a few nights. Tonight I have the night off, and tomorrow morning off, so I am going to enjoy myself. Today marks my 18th day in a row without a day off. The new schedule is out for next week, and I work every day. Two Sandwich shifts, and six bar shifts. Cha-Ching. I really don't mind working that much, it's pretty fun work, and I know by sacrificing a little bit now, means a little more fun when we get to the east coast.
Yarr.

gettin' the hours.

W.A, stands for Western Australia.

For me, it means Workaholics Anonymous.

This week, I have 10 shifts.

The sandwich making was going great. Then Brian, the manager, asked me if I'd like to do a shift behind the bar. I said "Sure!". I had already worked from 7am until 2:30pm. My bar shift started at 5:30pm. I ripped home, ate, showered relaxed then headed back into town. I worked until 9:30, giving me a nice 11.5 hours for the day. The next day, Jaz came up and asked if I wanted to move behind the bar full-time. "But what about my sandwiches?"

For the moment, I'm doing both. I'll probably do about 60 hours this week. Starting next week, I'll be full time bar, and filling in on sandwiches when the new sandwich maker has his days off.

The bar is awesome. I've done 2 shifts so far. It's a pretty classy place, so I'm blending together lots of new cocktails, and daiquiri's. It's also a lot more chilled out then The Shed. Most of the drinks I make are for the waitress's tables, so I don't have a line up of people waiting for me.

A major investment I made was buying a bike. One of the girls at the M.C.G. was leaving and was asking $30. I haven't seen a bike go for less than $50 yet so I think I got a pretty sweet deal.It takes about 15 minutes to bike into town so it's pretty essential as walking takes about 40.

Pirates night didn't happen because Lee was still on a pearling boat, and we weren't really ready for the extravaganza. Supposedly we are doing it tomorrow, but I work until about 10pm, so I'm hoping it gets put off again.
that's how i roll.

Steve Pearson, Sandwich Maker.

At the moment, I have 2 jobs.

Kitchen hand at the Black Pearl Restaurant, and a 'Sandwich maker' at Lustre's. The job at Black Pearl is pretty much being a dishwasher, but I needed a job so i took it. Fortunately, Lustre's called after 2 shifts at the BP and offered me a job. I have 2 shifts left at the BP, then I'm leaving, although, if I don't get to wrecked working at both places on Friday, I'll ask if I can just work on Monday nights.

The job at Lustre's is wicked. I start at 7am, 6 days a week(7 if I wanted). First task is to make toasted breakfast sandwiches. Next is to make approximately 30 various sandwiches. After that I make 6 bagelwiches, 6 Turkish bunwiches, and lastly 10 rollwiches. Once I've completed that, I help the kitchen out with whatever they need done. Usually it involves rolling out pizza doughs, but today they had me preparing garlic bread, and peeling vegetables. Since I'm busy the whole time, the shifts have been flying by.

Every Tuesday night, Murphy's, an Irish bar, goes off. It's open mic night. I've got up the last 3 Tuesday and rocked out. The last 2 times I've played some of my own songs. While I was in the washroom someone walked in singing my song 'Leah Tequila'. It was a moment of triumph. Every time I get offstage I get bombarded with people telling me they really liked it. Next Tuesday though, I may not be getting on stage. Our family at the M.C.G. has something planned for Tuesday;

Step 1: Dress up like pirates.
Step 2: Play Centurion. (100 shots of beer, in 100 minutes)

Step 3: Drink Pirate drinks like Captain Morgans.

Step 4: Go to Murphy's.

Step 5: "Yarrr" until we can't "Yarrr!" no more.

After all that, I don't think I'll be able to put on a show without embarrassing myself.

English Rob bar tends at Oasis. We go there on Thursday, and sometimes Saturday nights. Those nights usually get a little crazy. We take turns buying rounds. Many rounds get bought. Last Thursday, Ben, Lee, Joe and myself ventured down. Rob was hooking us up with 10 middies for the price of one. We were getting the equivalent of 5 pints for $4.50. It works like that every week. No wonder we get crazy.

Tonight is an important night for me. I haven't eaten fast food in a whole month. The last time was the day I left Perth, when we took a stop at Hungry Jacks. Tonight at 6pm, my 1 month is complete. I'm going to Mcdonalds for dinner. Big Mac meal. I've never had so much control. On numerous occasions, we've all been walking back from the bar, and passed by Mcdonalds. We walk through the drivethru. Everyone orders but me. They offer bites, fries, and tastes, but I haven't cracked once. Dodey figures I'm going to feel sick after eating tonight because my body won't be used to it, but I will worry about that after I consume the tasty goodness.

I pinned up some pictures of Al in our camp at the M.C.G. I see him everyday looking at me from the tree. I still miss him, but I'm not depressed like I was before. I have some great friends here that helped me get through it and made me laugh so I would forget I was sad at all. That's the thing about travel friends. You get to know them so fast. For instance, I see some of my best friends at home for about 10 hours a week, most likely, Friday and Saturday night. Here, I see the same people for 10 hours a day. So in the last few weeks, I've hung out with friends here that at home would add up to 3 months or so.

The world must be a really small place. Not only is Gavin from Burnaby, but while I was on the phone with my mom a few days ago, we discovered that Gavin's dad graduated a year before my mom did at Burnaby North. But, it gets smaller. I met Marc at Murphy's last week, hes from New West and he is staying at the M.C.G. We discovered our dads both play oldtimers hockey for Port Moody. When I emailed his name home to my dad to see if he knew him, my dad said he knew him and had actually phoned him to see if he wanted to go golfing the last week. How weird is that. Freakin weird.

Other than that, life in Broome is good. Word on the street is Drew is flying up here in about a week and a half, yet another Canadian to join the family.

yep. only $4.50.

Al.

Today I received the news that I had been expecting for the last few days.

Al, who was more of a brother than a cat, passed away. He had been really sick the last few days, which had been diagnosed as a tumor on his kidney. He was one month shy of his thirteenth birthday.

The last few days have been rough on me, and I expect the next few to be much of the same.

I woke up at 8:13am this morning, and wondered if I should call home to see how he was, or should I wait a few hours until the time I designated my mother to call if something had happened. I went back to sleep for awhile longer. When I woke up the second time, I wanted to get it over with so I could stop thinking about it. I called home and was informed that he had passed away. My parents were by his side. They said he went peacefully at 5:15pm, Vancouver time. After sometime, I thought about the time zone difference. 8:13am(Australian), is the same time as 5:13pm at home. Now, I know some people say that when they lose a loved one, they feel it whether or not they are there. I wonder if it was a sign?

I'd like to think he woke me up to say "bye".

October 12th 1995 - September 5th 2008.