Afternoon Swim

After a killer night last night, it was nice to go for a swim in the late afternoon (after sleeping most of the day). Even if the kids were hyper.

Happy times.

Stugglin

Stugglin
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

Wow. Lots of tequila shots, plus beer. I'm gettin rather pissed.
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Tequila Shots

Tequila Shots
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

Havin shots of Tequila with Leanne's cousin's husband.
This is awesome tequila. I just hope I'm not allergic to it like I was Mickey's mescal. We will find out tonight.
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Oops!

Oops!
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

Swimming is a dangerous sport.
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Turkish Coffee

Turkish Coffee
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

Lilly and I decided to take a break from house hunting and stop for some Turkish coffee at Harem in Paddington. It's fucking awesome coffee and I really want to come here for food one time.

ONE DOLLAR SASH CD!

ONE DOLLAR SASH CD!
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

SO 1997! I love dollar cd sales!
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Wrong Turn Again

Wrong Turn Again
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

Goddamn! We just took the same wrong turn (or rather, missed the same correct turn) as yesterday and now we are stuck in traffic travelling across the river INTO the city rather than away from it.
And just when you think you're getting used to a place...

--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Iced Coffees and Gin

Iced Coffees and Gin
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

The new TASTE SENSATION!
Available at all good New Farm cafes.

--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Brisbane and Our Journey North

Hello all, and welcome to my long delayed blog post.
On Friday 18th January 2008, Leanne and I finished packing our shit, and headed north to our new city of residence, Brisbane.
As is our style, we understimated just how long t would take to pack, and we didn't leave until after midday. It didn't really matter though, as we were going to stop off at my Uncle Bruce's place in Fernleigh (in between Byron Bay and Ballina) and spend the next day there.
The drive was good. Neither of us grew too weary, and the driver reviver stops helped us on our way. We had dinner at Coffs Harbour. A delicious fish burger each. Holy cow, it was *exactly* what I wanted. In fact, I want one now. Damn. So tasty.
We arrived at Bruces around 10pm, and talked for a little while before going to bed.
The next day we heard that the Mullumbimby makets were on, and thought it would be a great place to go. Unfortuntely, after driving out there we saw a sign informing us that they had been cancelled due to all the recent rain. Shame.
Well, not so much, because Leanne and I went for a beautiful drive through to Main Arm. Wow, so pretty. I'd love to live there for a few years. We followed the winding roads across fords and up into the mountains, and eventually turned around when it became a national park. We then took a different path back to the Pacific Hwy, but not before stopping off at a pie shop for some pies, peas, mash and gravy. Once again, yum yum.
We had a BBQ for dinner that night, and afterwards went down to Lennox Head pub as a band that Kate (Bruce's girlfriend) wanted to see were playing. A whole heap of Kate's friends and their families were down there, too.
So we went along. Not a bad band, but a cover band so they held no real interest for me.
Funnily enough though Casey Rickets (from primary and high school) was working there. Strange world. What's even a little stranger is that he has married a girl from Louisville, Kentucky. What's strange about that is that that's where Megan went to College. Funny how two boys from Turramurra end up going with two girls from Louisville.
The night went well. Leanne and I spent most of the time talking with Bruce, who's rather entertaining.
Strangely, during the night a man walking past reached out and stroked my sideburns, smiling. He then left, silently. Strange man.
After the pub we went back to Bruce's and lit a spliff. He had some hash, so we had some of that, and Kate rolled two fat joints. Holy cow. I went to another planet.
It was great talking with them through the night, but Leanne and I had to be up the next morning to meet Alex before he went to Gold Coast Big Day Out (which is about an hour and a half from Bruce's place).
Leanne and I woke up around 9am. We promised Alex we'd meet him by about 10am, which wasn't terrible when you consider the fact that Qld doesn't observe daylight savings. So we weren't doing too badly.
Of course, this "not doing too badly" quickly turned into "late" because we had a lazy breakfast, a lazy packing session, and then had to wait for Dad to stop by.
On top of this, the traffic was terrible so Alex ended up missing some of the bands he wanted to see. Of course, I was doing him a favour (playing mule), so he couldn't be too upset. Also, in the heat and the traffic, the car started to over heat.
We ended up getting into Brisbane some time around lunch, and to save the $$$ we ate pasta that we cooked that morning. The night's activities began to take their toll, so we bought some V, which helped us get by and made us excited about moving to Brisbane.
Rather than heading straight to Leanne's cousin's house, we thought we'd take a tour of the city.
It's small.
Very small.
Like about as big as Parramatta or maybe Chatswood. A teeny, tiny CBD. And then it's Central Coast-esque suburbia. And maybe 90% of the houses look the same. I unerstand now why they call them "Queenslanders." Every fucking house in Queensland is a fucking Queenslander. It's strange. If it's a nice house, it's a renovated Queenslander, if it's a shit house, it's a run down Queenslander. Rent varies dramatically between the run down and the renovated, but they're all fucking Queenslanders!
Of course, I'm exaggerating a little.
So Leanne and I are staying with her cousin, her husband and their two kids. They're all nice, so at least it's not terrible staying with them, but I'm keen for my own space - as is Leanne.
But the search for housing isn't going as well as it could. We viewed 5 or 6 houses yesterday, and only one of them was what we wanted, and one other was worth considering. So that sucks. Today we didn't see any good houses. Tomorrow is a big day though. 9-5 drivng around Brisbane kinda day. It's gonna be tiring. But, hopefully, we will come out with some houses having been applied for - and maybe even a house to call our own - although I'm feeling that could be a somewhat optimistic viewpoint at this juncture.
Either way, wish us luck.

Thoughts on Brisbane:
Hot & muggy.
Small but quaint.
More obviously bohemian.
A strange older brother of the Central Coast.
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Brisbane?

Brisbane?
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

I'm currently sitting in the Nandos in Paddington, Brisbane.
Looking to my left, I snap this photo. You wouldn't think that we're only about 2km from the CBD, considering the photo looks like it was taken in a small country town.
Brisbane is a funny city.
I'm not yet sure what to make of it.
I will post more details to my blog tonight.
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Wrong Direction

20080122415.jpg
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

Haha!
Simon and I are checking out places in brisbane today and we just spent an oblivious 10km going in the complete wrong direction while I drew old lady glasses and hair curlers on the photo of a man in our street directory. The worst thing is, that Simon was getting SO excited by the diverse array of shops on the drive that he thought he could be living near. Fucking hilarious. I love disappointment.
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Packing for Queensland

Packing for Queensland
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

Simon rediscovers new friends and old friends while cleaning and packing for brisbane.
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Birthday Dinner

Birthday Dinner
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

Shared this platter with Lilly. Oh my Gods. Also had a stein of Weit Bier. You won't believe how full I am. Holy shitballs.
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

Divine Sentence

'... It's a ludicrous use
Of your personal caboose!'

Best sentence ever!

See you at the pirate party!
--
This message was sent from my mobile.

New Years Rock

New Years Rock
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.

I know, I know. I'm a total loser. I brought in the new year playing Guitar Hero 3.
But shit man, I'm havin an awesome time ROCKIN!
--
This message was sent from my mobile.