Happy birthday

For my birthdayi took derek and Trevor to the Gold Coast for surf lessons, patio drinks, and site seeing. This is the only pic we got of the sites...



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Puma juice

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Went to another party.


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Mt warning

Boxing day hike up a mountain with derek and travis. This is where I made my Christmas calls home from, doesn't sound as adventurous when there is still a cell signal!

Half way:


The top, what a view... Haha


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Dunno

In....yah.





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Stupid tourists...

Kangaroo Point BBQ

BBQ with friends before everyone splits for xmas. Queensland is great, they have public and free BBQ areas everywhere. You just show up with food, drink, plates, and friends... push the button on the gas BBQ and grill away. This one was up on the cliffs at Kangaroo Point overlooking the city and a thunderstorm off in the distance.

Before:
The view:

During:

Aussie Burger

Beef patty, bacon, lettuce, tomato, beet root, cheese, sauce, and a fried egg.

Queen at Xmas

Da tree.


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Don't stop till u get enough

"company" Xmas party... Open bar!


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SSS

The Normanby for a Sunday session, no regrets!






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Tis the season

The Company (I've officially been asked by IT to not mention the name or tell any bad stories about the Company anymore) xmas party was night. And in an effort to make myself behave I booked a scuba trip the next day, which meant I had to get up at 5am and be in tip-top shape. After getting to the xmas party I realized this may have been a mistake because the party was circa 1998 hay-day engineering/oil company xmas parties in Calgary. Dinner, dancing, awards, laughs, and an open bar. I faced the challenge though, drank moderately, and when the clock struck 11.5 I drove home at top speed.

Diving was awesome. I've bought all the equipment necessary now except for tanks and weights (BCD, Regulators, Fins, Gogs, etc). Also, a mandatory accessory for diving in Queensland is a dive knife, which I was super stoked about (ask Greg and Lisa). In Egypt they were banned, and in Australia they're mandatory, I love it. I actually met a dude at the xmas party who has his own boat and scuba stuff and we're contemplating going diving on our own... I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I think I'll do it anyway. But anyways...

We departed the East Coast Marina in Manly and headed for Stradbroke Island. For long term subscribers to my life story this is where a girlfriend had a house and we went surfing a bunch of times when I was here in '06. This time though I was there for underwater activities... The first stop was Shark Alley at Flat Rock:

We saw a few very large Wobbegon Sharks, which are bottom feeding docile beasts. They were fat and numerous. Unfortunately other than that Shark Alley didn't live up to it's name, but it was a good dive nonetheless with the standard mix of small rays and other fish that I don't know the names of.
Next stop was Manta Bommie:
Here we had a bit more luck and spotted two giant Bull Rays (Steve Irwin killers), Leopard Sharks, and another species of shark that was a proper looking shark. I'm not sure what they were, most likely a pair of Grey Nurse Sharks, but they looked cooler than this pic:
Leopard shark:

Bull rays:

Tomorrow is golf, ice hockey, and then a SSS. Super Sunday Session at the Normanby hotel, where professional rugby league players frequently get into dust-ups with drunken patrons and many a Brisbane filly has lost her way.

Sunday night!


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After work drinks

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Random stuff

This weekend I helped my good friend Ed take some stuff to the TIP (dump), buy some material for a retaining wall in his garden (yard), and general man stuff. The dump in Brisbane is awesome. You drive up to a weigh station, they weigh you going in, you drive into the big building in the pics, throw your trash into the pit Mad Max style, a giant bulldozer crushes things in front of your eyes and pushes it around all transformer like, then you drive out, they weigh you, and you pay per the kg you unloaded. It's like an orchestrated ritual of testosterone and human waste all mixed in together into one harmonious right of passage for all Australian males.

Exhibit A, Ed:

Exhibit B thru Z:

In another demonstration of Australian bureaucracy and feaux regulation here is a Brisbane pedestrian with a license plate:

dark & stormy night

It's been a little stormy around here lately... here's a video I took of the third storm in five days from my apartment...

My thoughts are with Becc (regular commentor here) who's house and pool and garden and shed have been hit by the hardest of the storms here. Look on YouTube for more crazy video, here's one that's quite amazing. The Gap is a suburb in Brisbane where Becc lives...

Howzatt

Here are morecricket photos... I won $53 on $20 for my team winning. I feel too far away from Vegas.









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On course

Today for work I went to a session held at the company's Brisbane head office in an area called South Bank. They've moved into a brand new building that is modern and ergonomic and all that good stuff. Best part was I got to take the very to and fro as well as walk thru the gardens at SB.



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Gabba

I've got $20 on the all-stars, it'll pay $53 if Gilly hits for a half a ton.



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Lest we forget

Skipped out at lunch to attend Remembrance Day services in Brisbane and was able to wear a poppy pin I've had ever since a trip to the Canadian War Cemetery in Holden, Netherlands.

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I went to a party last night.


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New Hockey Stick

I bought a new hockey stick today (big game tomorrow). It's a Bauer OnePro, Stall curve, stick'um grip, 102 pro flex. Here's a pic, I had to lean it on the car I picked up last Wednesday...


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Rainbow beach

The first trip to the beach for surf and ycamping is in the bag. A great weekend with Steve, janine, moochy, and a few more of their friends!

On the way to our camp site:


The spot:








The crew:


My new tent:


My photgenic self:


Rob and moochie:











The ute on the beach, good times:


There's even camels in Australia!!



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