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o who am i kidding, of course i will!!! Friday night was the big Avis party. Always such a good night, although this year not as big as previous years but it was fun to get dressed up for no reason at all!! This year it was a Red Party and being that I am who I am and prefer to be a bit different, I went as a Red Neck. Thankfully Sarah decided to come along as a Redneck with me, we was Redneck Cousins!!

It was a good night, I am pretty sure i drank a little to much (ok a LOT to much) cause i was pretty sick but i sucked it up and went to work yesterday still. That was the hardest struggle was going to work the next day!!! o how much trouble i would be in if i didnt go to work… but i sucked it up!

here be the photos!!

Avis Party 2009

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So i went in to see the agent today and sign a few forms to show that the trip is fully paid. Had to resign a new e ticket itinerary cause they added my FF number to the QF/JAL portions and a slight time change on the BNE>NRT sector due to aircraft change.

Looked at the itin… hey cool bit longer in japan on departure, o crap not cool, flights dont connect anymore. So agent has a bit of a look. No flying via detroit any more 🙁 🙁 🙁

Have to fly now via Mineapalos St Paul (MSP). So now have a 2 hour flight on the Embrarer compared to the 65 min flight i had previously 🙁 Also means i dont have 3 or 4 hours to explore the airport and get some spotting in, I have 2 hours in the terminal and that has to include my time in immigration etc which hopefully wont take up to much time, being at the pointy end of a plane hopefully has its benefits!

Although MSP is meant to be a big Northwest hub i was looking forward to detriot cause the airport looked pretty sweet. O wells!!

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Its that time of the year again. Every year about this time i have to spend 2 days doing stuff for work that thankfully I only have to do once a year. The tourism industry doesnt work on financial years. We work April>March. So all the new brochures are finally out (well all but WA but thats a different story). However as the 1st of April comes closer it means one thing for me. Brochure rack changing. A few years ago when I first started i never had a brochure rack. I got one about half way into my job, after some people from Melbourne brought theirs up. They ROCK. The brochure racks are the ultimate thing in making my life easier at work. I dont destroy brochures from constant usage.

HOWEVER for 2 days a year I have to spend my time, stripping brochure pages out of display pockets, then cutting up the old brochures and eventually putting new pages into the same display pockets. The best way to do this is to sit in front of the tv and do it (i watched the last season of Macgyver but thats another day). It’s a tedious boring task but it has to be done!!

Here is what they look like originally and then the finished product:

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Virgin America finally released their flights for October which meant i could book my flight. This is awesome because it brings my total Airlines on this trip to 4 new airlines never flown before (JAL, Northwest, Compass, Virgin America).

The fare was pretty good at $220USD all in for First Class from Los Angeles to Seattle. Econ was only $100USD all in so thats a pretty good buy if you ask me! I was quite pleased with myself. Anyway this means my flights are all booked, I just need to pay the remaining of the accom by the end of the month (might do a transfer this week) and then its all done and dusted. I might start saving more $$$ away so that I can make sure I have enough $$ for spending money.

In other news i crashed my car… again.

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I would just like to take this opportunity to tell the world that I am extremely proud and touched to of had the chance to be with my best mate Brendan as he got married yesterday. It meant a lot to be there for him and get him whatever he needed and to be his right hand man (funnily enough i sat at his right side at the dinner… hahaha).

It was an amazing day and I know that everyone there had a good time. I know that there was stress for everyone in the days leading up to it and on the day but it all was worth it. Suzanne looked stunning, Brendan was cool and calm and did not have a worry at all!! (I made sure of that).

All was good and a fantastic day was had by all!!!

Photos are here:

From Brendan & Suzannes Wedding

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So in just under a week my best mate Brendan is getting married. It has been a fantastic process to be involved as I am not sure if you know but I am the best man. I have been trying everything to make sure I am there for him and to make sure he is not so stressed.

Last night was the bucks party and it was a great time. Even though i piked early (im getting to old for this stuff) I know Brendan had a good time. With just under a week to go I am starting to get nervous. I have a speech to right, I have to make sure I look presentable on the day and that i don’t say or do something to stuff up the day. pressure!!!!!

I know that it will be a fantastic day!!! I hope the day lives up to everything for them!!

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Well it seems like everything is just about done!

The flights are all paid for, deposits paid on both the land arrangements and the contiki. Rail part has been paid for and all thats left to do is start saving for spending money and book one flight (that i cant do for another month).

At last update there was still a few open spots. I decided to stay in Anaheim for 5 nights after the tour finishes. It just allows me to relax and chill out. Might hit up disneyland and perhaps spend some time with my LA friends. I ended up choosing the Anaheim Hilton. Looks good, close to the contiki hotel so i can see my new friends if i want, and a trusting brand I know has decent rooms.

Then in Seattle im staying at the Executive Pacific Hotel. Looks ok, looks a good spot and pretty good price to. Its all been doing ok. Booked and paid for the Acela from Washington DC to New York City. That should be a nice easy journey.

The trip is coming together rather nicely! Time to start saving for the spending $$$

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It is time for a change. I am looking at changing the way i live my life. I have over the past just been lazy. I will admit it, i can be lazy a lot. So today i bought a treadmill. I am sick of being treated like i am a second class citizen because of my size. I know i shouldn’t care what other people think but its a bit hard.

So I intend on using this new machine to help me change who I am. To slim down. I don’t think I will ever be a thin person but whatever I can take off and keep off would be awesome. I have already been eating less junk and upping the fruit and veg intake. One thing you will not pry away from me will be my coffee. You will become a very dead person if you try to take that away from me!

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So things have been doing pretty well lately. Been focusing on work and trying to get in some organising of my big trip to the states. Its not only 9 months away. My flights are booked (gotta pay for them this week) and plans are slowly coming together. I had to scrap my West Coast Canada visit (couldnt visit warren) but am still heading up to Seattle.

So far the plan looks as follows.

September 11. Brisbane to Tokyo – Flight with JAL – Overnight Hotel Nikko Narita
September 12. Tokyo to Detriot to Washington DC – Flight with Northwest Airlines
September 12-15 – Washington DC – Staying at the Liason Hotel Captial Hill
September 15. Washington DC to New York City – Amtrak
September 15-18 – New York City – Staying at the Marakech Hotel (contiki hotel)
September 18 – October 12 – Contiki Grand Northern New York to Anaheim
October 12 – Overnight Anaheim – Best Western Stovalls Inn
October 13-17 – Unsure
October 17 – Los Angeles to Seattle – Thinking of Flying with Virgin America
October 17-21 – Seattle – unsure of where im staying
October 21 – Seattle to Honolulu
October 21-25 – Honolulu – thinking of staying Aqua Waikiki Wave (recommendation from Jacq)
October 25 – Honolulu to Tokyo
October 26 – Tokyo to Brisbane
October 27 – Home!

It is going to be an amazing time away i can’t wait to go.

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Well well. If it isnt my old enemy, Mr Hangover. I thought i wasn’t going to see you again for a while. O how you torment me with your headaches, sore eyes, and acute hearing. So what does my dad do as punishment for having Mr Hangover around today. Starts mowing the lawn right next to my window for half an hour, then keeps opening and closing my door. Bastard 🙁

The hangover was thoroughly earned though. Last night was Dan & Scott’s engagement party. It was a glorious night. Most of the time in a beer garden type atmosphere, having a few drinks (few to many!) with friends and just enjoying the summer life. Before you knew it, it was dark, the strippers were making their way into velvet cigar (and some of them were pretty good) and the beer was ice cold. The company was excellent and it lead to a great night. However I somehow managed to make my way to a taxi (im quite suprised since i was MAJORLY drunk) even without the benefit of being able to walk properly.

I have to admit that i wasn’t expecting much of a night. I had an invitation to go to the valley and thought that i might actually go out with the others, however I just couldn’t make myself leave, I was having to much fun. It will be crap to see Scott & Dan leave for melbourne because they know how to put on a party and are the two nicest people i know! It will be shit to see them go.

Wednesday night will probably be another big night. Still tossing up if I should drink (being that its a work function, I probably won’t) as I am actually hosting and organising the next star night. This one should hopefully go off without a hitch. Big night though with a Hawaiian theme so need to practice on my ucalale before wednesday night.