I was dreaming of a White Christmas!

Christmas Day 2010 - Jasper, Alberta, Canada,  a Northern Hemisphere's winter Crimbo - It was probably something in the minus teens!...

...And Christmas Day 2011 - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, a Southern Hemisphere's summer Crimbo - I think it was plus 24 when I checked on my computer (in the morning)! - Despite what this picture shows it was a really clear and blue day!

After waking up with the boys here at Kangaroo Point, I headed to Rosie's, took the above picture, headed to Rosie's parent's then headed about 2 and a half hours out of Brisbane, into what can only be described as "the middle of nowhere". I still don't really know where we were, but we passed Kilcoy and Woodford on the way there. Until we arrived at Rosie's Auntie and Uncle's holiday retreat home, and the pictures below are where I spent my Christmas day:

After spending all the day eating and drinking a fair amount, spending the day with a small part of Rosie's pretty big family, NEARLY seeing a kangaroo (still yet to see a live one), quad biking round the garden, we decided to go cow tipping at midnight, only to find that we couldn't find any cows...and just 'tipping' just seems pointless. It was another amazingly clear night though, so the skies were perfectly clear again (like my first night in California last November) to the point where you could see the Milky Way, and the stars and planets were so clear and bright. Ended up crashing in a tent over night. We then found out in the morning that the local farmer didn't have any cows, only balls, so in a way it was kinda lucky we didn't find anything that night.

We got distracted on our way home through Woodford....

....Still on the way home through, near the Glass House Mountains

My Christmas presents, the crappy air football was from Rosie's parents on Christmas Day, and ALLLLL the Saints stuff is from my parents, which I only got to open last night (Boxing Day), I waited until I could FINALLY get on Skype.

And apparently I have another parcel on the way...boom!

And thanks to all for my Christmas cards!

Still sorting out what I'm doing for New Year's, but I should have decided and booked my flights by the end of the day. Still waiting to see if I have a place to crash in Melbourne, if not then I'll be heading to Sydney. As long as I get out of Brisbane I'll be happy. This will more than likely be the last entry in my blog for 2011, 2011 the shortest year of my life (as I started it 7 hours after GMT, and will be finishing it 11 hours prior to GMT assuming I'm in New South Wales or Victoria), and a year in which I would have started it in the most Northernly place I've ever been ever (Jasper, Alberta, Canada), and will be finishing in the most Southern place that I've ever been (either Sydney or Melbourne), that's some serious miles (or Kilometers to all my Canadian and Australian readers).

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas, and a Happy New Year to everyone. Much love!

Catch up

Holy crap, I can't believe I haven't added to my blog since the 23rd of November, saying my visa application was being processed. Well on 24th November, my 457 visa was approved in one of the most casual phone conversations I think I've ever had....so I'm now allowed to stay in Australia until 24th November 2015! Whether I will or not is another issue, I still have the travel bug in me, so here's seeing whether I can cope that long in one place!

So, what have I been up to over the last few weeks, I suppose it'll just be a bit of a re-cap (yet again, I haven't taken too many photos....oooopsie)

So that weekend I went out and celebrated getting my visa be going to Dub Day Afternoon. Then celebrated even further by crippling my neck the next day pissing around in Kangaroo Point Park. Also, the last Friday in November was my last Friday working at the Groove Train...I've got my Friday evenings back!!!!

The following weekend was MJ's leaving weekend.

Even though it took her a week to actually leave:

This is the following week at Brisbane Airport as she's finally heading off to Melbourne, before Thailand (where she just left today), then onto Norway, before moving to The Netherlands to live early next year. Tom and I also went car hunting that weekend with no great success, so I sadly think that buying a car will be on hold for a while! Also I finally got to watch a full Saints game that weekend (the one home game that they didn't win), and also catch up with Rich who I haven't seen since I left school. I also had a BBQ with Jeremy and Mel later that week as they are both leaving too........They always leave in bundles!

The Friday just passed was work's Christmas party, we had free food and beer on a roof top at the UQ campus.....where I got a $50 David Jones voucher (it's a shopping chain...not the pedophile), but I've been told that $50 in David Jones won't get me anything....ah well. That turned into a messy Afternoon / Evening / Night that later involved early morning tree climbing, roof climbing, and roof top pool jumping...fun times!

And that was followed by more rock pool diving on the Sunday just passed. We headed down to Currumbin Valley to hang out here:

Doesn't it just advertise it all.....And, make it so much more appealing!

Peacock!

And we're all still alive to tell the tales (hence why you can read this!!!)

Finished my weekend with derby day.....Skate were so lucky to get that point! Still, top of the league Saints, keep it up! I still get so psyic up for these games from half the world away!

My next post will be more exciting, I promise, I have two more days at work then I have no idea what I'm doing for Christmas and the rest of my time off yet, but I have manged to get time off until Wednesday 4th January next year, so I will be getting out of Brisbane somehow and somewhere to enjoy my first ever Christmas, New Years, and Birthday in a summer...boom yeah I'm excited! So I doubt I'll be posting before Sunday so I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas....I'm currently in the process of making my holiday season plans as I type!

Feliz Navidad a todos! (That's Google Translate, my Spanish aint that good yet!)

Only in Australia-Stilllllll

Well, I have been here for a long time, making it easier to notice more things, but they just make it too easy. Like the other day I saw some woman walking home with a scarf on, a scarf, it's like 30 degrees c here, there is no need for a scarf, I know it's spring...but IT'S 30C!!!! They're starting to get all the Christmas decorations up over here, which I can understand (I don't like it this early but I can understand), but I can't understand why they put snow in the displays....Australia, snow, and Christmas really, surely do not go together. Not even to mention the abbrevoooos...oh, that's Australian for abbreviations! I thought I was getting used to the language (cos it is a different language) but over the last few weeks all these new words have come into play, like "Can I borrow a little nicko off of someone"....!?!?....this equals, "Can I please borrow a permanent marker from you"...my spell check is red lining all of these "words"

.... Apparently I am wrong...

Apparently I'm a banana bender then...

That's just WRONG!!!!

Anyways, onwards....

Really exciting...and original!

Scary...

.....Not so scary

What..."New"...how did Aussies ever have a proper childhood!!!!

This is a real place

You've been warned!

In case you forget...I think the people that need to read this, can't

...So don't look up and read pointless signs!

The gate on the left is always closed, and the traffic light man is always red...

Party on

Something to look forward too....

My Australian pension or superannuation...kinda depressing really

Pork and Roo! Yum!

Whata deal

Cos it's hard

Now I really wanna enter

As stylish as I want my poo paper to be!

Translates as!

Helpful

Next they'll be claiming they invented the alphabet

Are you as excited as I am.....this is for a pack of fags!

And finally, to any Canadian or American who has mocked me for having to wear a school uniform, at least we didn't have it this bad back in England:

Right, I am aware there is a lot of photos above, but these have been building up for a few months now. But you'll be pleased to hear that I haven't really taken any photos over the last couple of weeks, so no more to look at in this post....oooooh.

As for me, work's going well, the sun's going even better. The weekend before last I was sailing and kayaking on the Saturday, then went to the Brisbane Roars game on the Sunday, A-League football seems OK, very one-sided even though it finished 1-1. Randomly met some Saints fans there, good to talk to some people who are loving the heights at the top of the league!

Played with fire last Monday (only hit myself in the face once (the other time it just rolled over the top of my head)). Then last Wednesday morning headed to the airport to pick up Tom straight from England, 14 months and one week since I left he's finally joined me on my adventures. We picked him up, along with his mate Mike. So last Wednesday we had a BBQ with Kangaroo Burgers (of course) with the two of them and MJ...I mean Miranda.... Then for the weekend I took them out around Brisbane, then we went surfing somewhere down the Gold cost on Sunday.

Went out for Rosie's last Uni piece last Thursday. Congrats to Rosie for finishing her Music Engineering coarse, and to all other Aussie students have finished they're courses and exams over the last week.

And my visa application finally has a case worker working on it...think I just need to sort out insurance stuff...so getting there!

SIGN OFF!