Well it is new years eve. The end of the world.. i mean 2007 is nigh. As today draws to a close so does this year of big events for me. It will be a sad time (yeah right) but the future for next year is bright and the horizon looks clean (apart from the smog?).

Some of the past achievements and highlights of my life for 2007:
* My first Anzac Day with the 2nd/2nd Machine Gun Battalion Association
* Meeting plenty of new friends and spending time with them
* Constantly winning work awards for top performer
* Winning Top Performer of the year
* Going off to my first ever All Stars (big work trip where its all luxury) thanks to my own work and not cause someone was away
* Plenty of travelling during the early parts of the year to sydney and the whitsundays
* My worst birthday ever.
* My first trip overseas on my own.
* Getting plastered in Vegas to make up for my birthday
* My first American Football and Baseball games
* Seeing my friends Michelle and Kenna in Orange County and being driven around in a Hummer
* Going to Disneyworld’s Epcot Center. Something I have wanted to do all my life
* Getting so blind drunk at the christmas party i was throwing up (thankfully afterwards in the hotel room).
* Catching up with old high school friends.

There has been so much that I have done over the last year but typical of me my brain has not been working that great. So feel free to suggest some of the good times we have had together over this year to bump up my memory.

Here is to a good 2008 and for those who are going out tonight, stay safe, drink lots and don’t forget to party HARD!

Oh my god (i would of written zomg but half the people who read this blog don’t know what that means so i wont) I drank WAY to much last night. By way to much I mean way to f#$king much!. I am not exactly sure how much it was. I do know I had a couple of beers at Jade Buddha, that was nice and slow and easy and then after that Once I got to vino’s for the xmas party.. well thats when the wine started getting consumed… quickly. I am not exactly sure how much I drank but I know that it was at least 4+ bottles of white wine, just to me.

It was definately a good night, I was happy, mucking around, had some fun and drank myself stupid. Took lots of photos (what else is new) and then somewhere around 11 (i think not quite sure) i somehow walked to a cab, jumped in and then next thing I know I was in my hotel, chatting with the porcelain king.. everywhere.. it was eww

But by 11am this morning I was fine. Its amazing what 2 panadol at 5am and lots of sleep can fix. But yeah. Lots of booze, nice people, my friends, a good time, what more can you want…. well being able to remember the night would be nice.

Today was good. Just hung out with Yena had a very late breakfast at Alibi room. I had the “Truckers Breakfast” and it was awesome! Although I did miss out on my eggs and my chips but hey, who cares I still had savoury mince, spinach, baked beans, hash browns, bacon, toast, coffee, steak, sausages, mushrooms and tomato. It was great, but I didnt finish it all.

Photos from last night are up in the usual spaces.

AOT Xmas Party 2007

Ok its about time i released my plans from what has been happening the last few weeks. Since I returned back from the States I have wanted to go back, to work, to live, to travel, to explore and experience more of the country. So since returning once I was settled in groups (which I am now) I decided it was about time to start focusing on my next portion of my life. I had already contacted HR & the Inbound manager about this position and was getting it all ready, working on my NZ knowledge, planning to go over and visit NZ so i got some experience. actually in the country. But all of that changed on Wednesday. The Job ad came out earilier than expected. A LOT earlier. So its now all real.

I’ll explain a bit about the job. I would still be part of the AOT Group, working with Tourplan (damn) but working in San Diego in the office of one of inbound’s partners. This is something I have wanted for a while and although the short lead time seems daunting (2 months) I should be ok. The position would start in Feb and at present thats about as much of the info I can get. I will try and get more during the interview process and I will keep everyone up to date. I have had a look online at the company and where its located (its near Quallcomm stadium home of the San Diego Chargers and close to a couple of Airports) and also at the history of the company.

At times it all seems to good to be true but then also my brain does its usual self doubt as well and also the overthinking things that I always do to myself. I have to try and make sure that I clear my head often and not think about it to much. I don’t even have the job yet so I need to make sure I just take it as it comes. If i do get the job though…. Its gonna be one big ass going away party 😀

Anwyay its early and im bored already… i hate it when my body decides to wake up at 630am.

Wow.. what a big weekend. The one thing I love about living in Queensland is the ability to go from the Big City to the relaxing feel of a Beach town in around an hour (less depending on where you live). Its great to be able to have this change, to get out and away from the big city to the relaxation of the beach and just relax. It’s good. I mean the Gold Coast is by no means the perfect beach area (well Surfers isn’t but Burleigh is getting pretty close). But its close enough and to my tastes.

The Federal Election was on Saturday and that saw me having to work out who to vote for. In previous years I have donkey voted and this year seemed like a great time to keep up the tradition. Now I don’t mean the illegal kind of donkey vote where you draw your own box or just write stuff or maybe draw a penis or two on the voting form (not that I have done that!). I am talking a throw away vote. I didn’t care who I have voted for in the past (apart from the occasional local election) and this year was no difference. I mean I didn’t care who ran the country as both options seem pretty good (despite what my parents, the staunch liberal if labour gets into power the sky will fall kinda people they are, say). I mean it’s not really going to impact my life to much so I never care.

But then the problem was this year. What way do I donkey vote this year. I have in the past always chosen the dumbest sounding party for the senate (i think i voted for the fishing party once, although had I had a person from the What Women Want party up here I would of voted for that straight away). So that was the big white sheet taken care of. But what about the all important Green sheet. Do I vote the idiots in (Family First, Greens etc) or do I take on a previous approach of voting for the person with the dumbest name (did that for a council election back when Tamara Tonight ran and she came 3rd!). But no being in a new electorate I decided a new approach was in order. We had a few female applicants for the electorate. So the vote was going to the hottest female applicant! I won’t say who I vote for but just be sure… she was the hottest of bunch, although that Greens candidate for the senate would of won had she been on my green ticket 😉

On saturday night I finally got to the concert that I had booked for almost 6 months ago. Back when the tour of the Whitlams was only a rumour. I have waited 6 long months for this and the day was finally here. Finally got to see the Whitlams with the Queensland Orchestra. Realised on Saturday morning I had booked a cheap seat up the back rather than down the front in one of the boxes like I had though I had booked (idiot!). The concert was phenomenal though, some very good old school whitlams songs not much of the new stuff (what I am mostly familiar with). Only one song I did not like but that was mainly cause they had to much orchestra in it and not a more prominent mix of the two but overall… AWESOME!

Sunday I spent the day, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, I escape with Ang, Suz, Brendan and Ross to the Gold Coast. Returned to an old stomping ground of mine, The Burleigh Heads esplenade. Now the esplenade has changed a lot since I was a child. It used to be a raggity pathway/footpath along the grass between the road and the beach. Not anymore. With BBQ’s, shelters, toilets, play areas, fitness equipment and a beautiful meandering path, it looks so different. What a few years away can do to a place!.

It was good to escape and spend time with my friends, enjoying the sun, frivolity, stupidity and the just down right fun!

O boy I tell you what. I don’t know how I did it on holidays. Had the first night out on the town fully drinking last night since i returned in country. And today I am just shattered. Slept till 1pm this afternoon. I really don’t know how I did it. I was always up within a few hours of going to sleep, always managing to be awake all day. Today I have just been a walking non sensical blob (nothing much different there).

In other news, the mo has been shaved due to a bad trimming accident, where a botched job meant having to shave the whole thing off, although I probably look much better without it. Haircut, mo shaved, I hit the town looking good. Didn’t pick up though (on par there).

Been invited to sydney for new years, unsure if I am going to go yet, dunno where to stay and dunno if I will be working or not as roster has not been released that far in advance (i think im like halfway through december at the moment). So not sure what to do. I would love to catch up with some of the people from the states trip but not sure if i can afford to or even get down there etc.

anyway photos from last nights shenanigans.

BTC's Birthday

Yes it is that time of the year again. Its Halloween. That means that little boys and girls will try to roam the streets in the endless pursuit of their favourite friend. Sugar. Unfortunately for most kids, Halloween is more of an american thing. However most adults my age will see it as any excuse to get dressed up and get fucked up. So endless weeks of Halloween parties happen. Hell I am going to one next friday.

The good thing about these parties is usually the hottest girls will wear the least which is great for everyone! Me though. I am not quite sure what to go as this year. Part of me wants to just grab a sheet, throw it over my head, cut two eye holes and ta da.. Ghost. One part of me just wants to grab my army helmet (used it for an avis party last year and it has since been repainted and looks spiffy, although it could do with a clear coat or something like that to make it shiny) and just go with that. However another deep down part wants to go all out, however then my wallet pipes up and tells my brain to STFU and get back to work.

So at the moment unless I can find a white sheet, *edit found one* then i will just use the helmet. Halloween parties are always a good excuse to get drunk. Cause if your face is covered. no one can see who you are! Which means you can drink yourself stupid and chat up all the randoms you want!

Another good thing about halloween is all the sugar! gotta love sugar. one of my favourite things beside alcohol. I mean who doesn’t like sugar? So since we are having a food day this week, we are having a Halloween food day. So usually when I want a really good sugar rush and I want something easy to make. Rice Krispie treats to the rescue. When I was in the states in Orlando they had big Rice Krispie treats but they had them all flavoured and with stuff in them like m&ms, skittles etc. So I took my usual Rice Krispie treat recipe (which is pretty much marshmallows, butter and rice bubbles) and poured them into the tin over a layer of M&M’s. Had lots of mixture left over so made a Rice Krispie cake. I haven’t got photos of the end product yet but when I do, I will throw them on the net somewhere.

So a couple of weeks ago I received a Think Geek care package. Inside was some random stuff. A Little metal Bender figurine, My “I See Fragged People” band, some hazardous waste lunchboxes and a book that I had wanted to read for a while. The Zombie Survival Guide. Not really like any book I usually read. This book seems to be semi serious & semi comedy. It’s hard to tell exactly which one it is but it is a good read. Zombies, Pirates and Ninjas’s seem to be a staple for the internet community. Ninjas and Pirates are always constantly being fought over which one is better but Zombies is like this endless topic that everyone knows about. So I decided to get the book and read it.

The book is full of so much information pertaining to how zombies arise, where they came from, the different sorts of outbreaks and also how to deal with an outbreak. The book goes into quite a bit of detail about the ways to escape zombies but also how to hunt zombies and ways to dispense with zombies. I’m enjoying it immensly.

Bessie has also had a good day today. I pulled her open today, gave her insides a good cleaning and swapped out some old parts and put in some flashy new ones. Enough of the suspect female references. Put a new Video Card and some ram into the PC today. 4 x 1GB DDR2 667 DIMMS today along with an Asus EN6800GT 512MB Video Card. She is working sweet right now I tell you what. Battlefield runs like a wet dream. So smooth and loads UBER fast compared to what it used to. Love it! Bessie wont need a good update for a while now (till the CPU’s get a decent update in speed but till then, she can sit and relax for a while).

not a very exciting weekend this weekend but I might be heading to the airport tommorrow to get a shot of “pinkie” which is Qantaslink’s new Dash 8-Q400 painted half pink. Work is not doing to bad however my co worker (there are only 2 of us in groups) has decided she is going to resign so it means I will be on my own for a while. DAMMIT! Hopefully they hire soon!

Yes I have been slack and not updating. Then again nothing really that interesting has been happening. I’m off detox at the moment, although only really had 1 beer since Sunday. Work has been pretty full on the last few days since there is only two of us in Groups and my co worker has been off sick. Last weekend I went to the OCAU meet. Didn’t drink though (which was a dumb idea cause I would of had much much more fun!) but still had a good time. Went to Brewhouse, Omalleys for dinner, Bowling at Strike, then onto the Brewhouse again for a little while. I went home early as I was intending on going to White Water World the next day but I stupidly fell over. O how smart am I! Took a nice big chunk out of my heel and then also a few big chunks out of my shins. I’ll live. Just like Uncle Chop Chop says. Harden the FUCK UP!

In other news I have found an awesome little extension for firefox called “Bork Bork Bork”. It changes all of the text in any website as though the Sweedish Chef from the Muppets is talking. God its funny. Sadly though when looking at my own website I can pretty much understand it. 🙁

I think thats all I have at the moment. Pretty boring life at the moment. Might take some time out on the weekend and go take some photos somewhere. Maybe some night shots in the city with the new lens. l8r

So I’m home. The flight home in Business was well worth the $$$. The space, the comfort, the privacy, all add up to an experience that I must go back to. The Business Class suites (yes they are called suites on Air NZ) were just so comfortable. I managed to get 3-4 hours sleep which for me is a miracle. And in the little privacy of the suite your able to just sit back and watch movies if you want and you won’t really disturb the person next to you which is great. I managed to watch only a couple of movies and a few tv shows because of the sleep and got off in Auckland after a wonderful Supper (4 courses) and Breakfast feeling amazingly refreshed. Went to the lounge in Auckland and cleaned my teeth etc and missed saying goodbye to Amy 🙁 Amy was rushed off to her next flight as we arrived late so she almost missed her connection to Wellington.

My flight from Auckland to Brisbane was uneventful, watched a few TV shows and just relaxed as the final 3 hours of the trip sank in. I got home realising it was all over. Depression didn’t really set in I guess thankfully as I know during the tour we talked about how rough it can be coming home from a big trip and just feeling like its back to the grind. I didn’t get that feeling (yet) thankfully. It was wierd to come home and a lot had changed. Beattie no longer Premier (WTF!), the dollar hitting an all time high while I was away (dammit!!!), Mum and Dad had been away and even they had been out of touch. I had changed a bit from this trip, I realised I need to be more tolerant of other people and have looked a lot more at the history of things. Hitting all the museums and memorials in DC (a lot of them War memorials), part of me sort of looked at the memorials and saw just how much people sacrificed for our freedom and I know that I need to pay that back by being a good person.

So after one day off and catching up with Suzanne & Brendan and hearing all the stuff that has been going on, caught up with the lovely Yena and told her about her body double in Cairns. Lizzie in Cairns scared the crap out of me as I thought it was Yena to begin with and I was like “WTF she didn’t tell me she was coming to Brisbane” but all was fine and Lizzie was a great person, hopefully can catch up with her in the future. The big thing that I have been doing since I got home was unpacking and putting stuff away. My 2nd bag turns out was screened in NY or LA as it was opened and a nice little note was placed inside my bag by the TSA. I was a bit suprised that it had happened but I didn’t have any locks on it which was probably a good thing in the end.

I have been working on the photos I took which worked out to be a total of 2500 photos. I still have to work on my panorama from the Grand Canyon (i’ll probably do that on the weekend) and still scan in all the group photos, but I have cut the 2500 back to 379, touched up, adjusted, removed red eye where needed, captioned, ordered and reviewed everything and now they are online. I could not believe how long it has taken with all of these photos. Captioning them last night took almost 2 hours! plus another hour to save them all and then upload them. But I want to share all the photos with everyone so they can see the amazing things I did. Some of the shots from the Canyon look stunning!

Anyway it is time for me to go to work. 2nd day back. Found out yesterday when I got to work that I am now permanently in Groups which is good as I don’t have to worry and can just put my self back into concentrating on work for a while. It has been good to be able to just relax while away, come home refreshed and now can start a new chapter in my life!

USA 2007

Its good to finally be resting on my day off after an amazing weekend. Friday started the weekend of the AOT Holidays Conference. It was the first time anything like this has ever been done so it was a bit different. I have to say that it was enjoyable. I was a bit uncertain to begin with considering I had to come home early Sunday morning to work but it all turned out good. Friday night was something that will sit with me for a while. I headed down after work with Tanya and Dominique in tow for the Platinum dinner at a mystery location. Now I hate suprises but I sucked it up and didnt push it with this one after my efforts of finding stuff out for All Stars didnt go down to well… But luckily when Richard arrived at our shared room on Friday afternoon, he blabbed we were going to Big Brother. Now I went to Big Brother last year for the Reward famil (there are photos around somewhere of it), but I was really wanting to see how they had changed the house from last year. So Big Brother does his usual rules etc etc everyone tries joking around and he starts picking on certain people. It brought back plenty of memories of Stretch, Windy and Shezza. The diary room photos were flooded as usual but this time there was an Intruder to the house. Rebecca from this years Big Brother. I was shocked. She was so beautiful and fun and didn’t drink. I didn’t think such a woman existed. She was an amazing person to speak to and hear her stories of BB this year. Got a few photos with her and she spent just about the entire night with us. It was a great experience.

Saturday was the conference itself and it was mainly about the coming year ahead and how things are going to bee improved. We had a Product Race in the afternoon to help us learn some things and also do some team building. I had a pretty good team from a wide cross section of the business and we did pretty well we thought. I had a lot of compliments about my product knowledge that afternoon and I have never really thought of it as that good but everyone seems to think different. We spent the rest of the afternoon outside learning some basic samba music and rythym. I was learning to play the floor toms and it was good but had to concentrate a lot.

That night was the Innaugrul AOT Holidays Awards. I was roped into being photographer for the night but I didn’t mind as I had my new camera lens to test out and some new set ups if the card runs over. The only downside to the photographer side is I now have like several hundred photos to process, and most of the shots are in raw. The awards were fantastic, It was such an experience and I loved it. The entertainment for the night was Millsy from Australian Idol and all the girls were drooling like little school girls. It was such an amazing weekend. Although I didn’t party on with everyone till 3 or 4 or even 5 in the morning, I still had a good time.

Now I have photos to process 🙁

*edit* photos finished

AOT Holidays Conference