Fizzle

Ode to My Family

I quite enjoy living away from home, and with friends. My life is like a sitcom with some pretty entertaining characters. There is the guy that talks to himself in his room, they guy that paces and looks in the fridge every few minutes. There is the girl that breaks things and the girl that bounces her netball around everywhere. There is the guy that works a lot and no one is exactly sure if he is even enrolled in university anymore. Don’t forget the guy whose room always smells, though no one is exactly sure. There is the girl who thinks everyone is judging her and the girl who sometimes drinks too much and cries and her next door neighbor, though come to think of it she is pretty normal. Then there is me. I guess I’m pretty normal too, my room smells fine and I don’t pace or cry. I’m sure I fit in there somewhere though.

Catch my Disease

I think my nine day abstinence from fast food and alcohol is starting to take its toll. I’m feeling pretty dizzy, weak and exhausted, though that could just be from the excessive World Cup watching and lack of any proper sleep. Better not risk it though, maybe I’ll head down for a spicy cheesy bacon tender-crisp meal.

What’s my Age Again?

What is it with vintage and antiquity that we so love? Is it the history that comes with it. Is it the feelings of nostalgia and the memories. Being a bit of an inner oldie, maybe it’s just that it reminds me of a much simpler time. Back from the 1930′s to 60′s a suit, overcoat and hat were probably just run of the mill outfits. Now when I see them on TV, I just think they ooze cool. But anyone that wears a hat like that nowadays is just a ‘drama hat douche’ and an overcoat wearer…well they are probably concealing a gun. Smoking in old movies seems classy but at the pub I find the smell of cigarettes pretty repulsive. Is it just the mass media’s glorification of old stuff? I think it’s more than that. People spend thousands of dollars on furniture purely cause it’s old, where they could spend a lot less for a table much more sturdy or a chair more accommodating to ones bum. People are intrigued by history but I guess that’s different. Sometimes I enjoy nothing more than to lie back for hours on end listening to music from 40 years ago thinking how much better music was then.The reason I have been thinking about this is because I’ve been watching a show called Mad Men recently. It focuses on a few high flying New York advertising executives in the 1960′s. I appreciate the cultural, racial and sexual themes the show focuses on and I love the outfits as I said, but I do seem to find the show a bit drab at times. I’m always expecting something to happen, but it never really does. Maybe I’m too used to Dexter or Californication. Maybe in 40 years time, my grandchild will be sitting in the backyard on the moon or wherever we end up, Ipod Generation 32 blaring Calvin Harris in his ears, thinking of a much better time.

Happy Monday!

It’s not tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday or sunday!

Vecka Time St

Had a sweet lil holiday with Megan + Nick Arr-Dev to katoomba. Checked out some sights, some shops & some dvds.
We went to an incredibly large antique shop/dealership in Blackheath. I was busy looking at lusting over these incredible expensive ($500 each) original van der rohe chairs while megan spotted this watch and showed me. I liked it; it was different but still beautiful, what with its delicate spinning face yet bold chamfered edges. I didn’t buy it because it wasn’t moving, although it was much more agreeable to my wallet than the chairs.
We went and had some afternoon tea, fed croissants to swallows and put too much sugar in coffee.
I decided to go back and have a look at that watch again, to check if it worked, and decided i’d probs buy it if it did. I asked and discovered it was one of those watches that need to be shaken to power them up. It ticked and held its time for a few minutes but the lady said I should probs get my watchmaker to check it over when i get back to syds. I said i don’t have one and she suggested i befriend one. I’ll put it on my to-do list.
Anyway, it seems to be going fine, so i’m pleased with my no-refunds risk purchase. It’s also mad fun to shake your wrist and listen to it whirring. I just hope i can’t over wind it…

So Many Activities

Things I have learnt recently…

-More and more people are joining stupid facebook groups, mostly about some common issue such as “kicking in your sleep” or “thinking about impossible scenarios before falling asleep.” This annoys me enough but the countless “i thought this only happened to me” wall posts border on intolerable. Seriously people, go poke yourselves in the eye.

-I don’t get scared in movies anymore. Blair Witch Project sucked badly and I was more frustrated at stupid annoying characters than scared.

-Second year uni doesn’t seem harder than first, in fact probably easier. My only instructions this week were to watch the news and more sport and maybe listen to the radio once or twice, I think that’s pretty manageable.

-I suck at swimming. My friends started doing laps at the local pool, so I felt obliged to give it a go. I don’t recall ever doing laps and the last time I went proper swimming was like when I learnt when I was five. I did 10 laps (500m) before feeling pretty ill and struggling not to throw up.

-Cocktail parties bring me bad luck. In the space of 15 minutes yesterday I managed to get called ‘Fall out Boy’ by some random douche at the bar, got whipped in the face by my own suspenders and had my glass of sangria spilt all over my trousers by some girl.

What have you learnt peeps?

Merry Australia Day

Tomorrow Night, 9PM!

I’ve read a few travel blogs in my time, and I pretty much think they are all lame. Too many superlatives and an overabundance of adjectives make them a bit unappealing. Hopefully this one might be a bit different but Phuket if it isn’t!

I guess when you leave your wallet on the plane you may start questioning the enjoyment of a holiday, not me!, I’m loving it.

I feel like a king here. I can afford to eat lobster, beer is $1 and the locals seem to really love me. I don’t think they are used to festively plump individuals. When I walk past massage parlours, every lady(boy) wants a squeeze, tickle, rub or pat of my tummy (tummy?). One even shouted quite vividly from accross the street what she wanted me to do to her, which prompted me to think, why would I pay for that? All day tours to Islands cost peanuts (literally) and I’ve bought 40 dvds for about 80 bucks (keep that one quiet). Also, they have Maccas delivery, which I haven’t caved into yet, which quite frankly is truly amazing.

I’ve suprised and impressed myself with the manner in which I have been able to handle the heat. It’s not heaps warm here, around 33 degrees, but the humidity is like a wall of death! Sure, I probably sweat out a couple of litres a day (that’s twice the amount of water I’m drinking) but it’s been alright. Chaffing (yes I know, I’m fat) is a bit of an issue with the amount of walking but that’s also bearable.

I’m a big fan of animals, but not here. On one of the main roads there is this guy who keeps cornering us and putting an iguana on our shoulders. They trick you by putting one on thre ground, so you are looking at it, then BAM! there is a skin eating lizard on your shoulder, horrifying really. Also, I was at a bar playing Jenga with a prostitute (as you do here) and some guy came up with a gibbon. The thing about monkeys is that they are so humanlike, so I could read the look on this monkeys face when the guy put it on my head. He was thinking, I’m scared of this guy but ready to kill him if needed. Thankfully I survived this encounter. Also I’ve been to a place called monkey beach. So now, when a monkey attacks you where do you go? Trees, land and water are a big no no. Pretty much you are a goner!

Driving here looks fun. I haven’t done it yet but we will hire scooters at our next town. The driving style suits me fine, see a gap and go for it with confidence. Road markings and rights of way are overated anyway.

I got a shockatoo of a singlet tan/burn. In our hotel pool one New Zealander chick asked me why I was wearing a singlet in the pool, prompting me to start to rebuke her for her error before realising the degrading nature of her joke and swimming away, taking with me whatever was left of my precious self esteem.

Other highlights so far include a trp to Maya Bay (where they filmed The Beach), having a drink at a hoorahouse where you pick girls from one side of a glass window, meeting some Finnish guys and trying to speak Swedish to them when I happen to only know dirty words in Swedish and getting my arse kicked at beach soccer by a bunch of locals.

Still here for another two weeks so keep checking back for more of Huw’s amazing adventures.

Peace out Australia!

gaarn

RIDING

When i was younger, i had a bike. It was a blue BMX that I painted black with a gold saddle bar. sounds nice in theory but in practise only the frame was repainted, so it had blue brakes, white pedals, blue & white hand grips and a white saddle.
Being a rather eXtreemX kind of kid, i thought BMX/mountain bikes were the business, while road bikes were for pansies. Then after seeing mr winky being awesome as well as watching le tour with albury kids, i worked out that roadbikes were pretty cool too, just in a different way.

then dan got a rad bike, megan got a rad bike (though not a road racer), tristan got his silver bullet …i wanted one for me.

so today, walking through the flea markets on the way back from the station, i saw a sleek black racing beauty, just resting against a cardboard box. all the other (inferior) bikes were holding their distance in reverence. I asked the guy how much, he said $45, then changed his mind and said $40 (I must be getting a bargain if he dropped the price without even haggling). I tried to get it for $30, but he was much more experienced at these things than I am, and he won the shortlived battle leaving me paying the full forty. it’s probably not worth that much, but I like it enough to justify it.

and hey, it’s heaps cheaper than a le tour bike…