Small World

It has been a rather uneventful week with Veronica being away in Canberra. However, the week became slightly more interesting yesterday afternoon when I went to pick up some camera gear from a shoot at Clovelly Beach. As I am walking around gathering gear I see a guy who looks really familiar surrounded by six women. I realize quickly that the guy is in fact Jensen Ackles. Being a tad dumbfounded, I walk up to the group, tell the girls excuse me, and say, "Hi Jensen. Matt Luttrell" and shake his hand. A look of recognition comes over his face, and Jensen says, "Dude, we need to catch up" as I continue on gathering gear.

I head outside and then when I get back in the Surf Club Jensen comes up to me and we start chatting. We mostly talk about how I live in Sydney, what he is doing out in Sydney, his show, the writer's strike, Hawaii, Vancouver (where his show is shot), and of course Dallas. It was completely bizarre seeing someone else from Richardson, Texas here in Sydney. But I guess it makes quasi sense when you factor in that I was picking up a camera from a shoot. Still, it seems proof positive that the World is in fact a rather small place at times.

Powerhouse Museum and Heath Ledger's first film

This weekend the weather forecasts warned us that it would be rainy and overcast, so as such Veronica and I made plans to enlighten ourselves by planning a trip to the Powerhouse Museum. The Powerhouse showcases design and technology, and incidentally it is one of the only museums that charge an entry fee. I will admit that I am prone to dogging out a lot of what Sydney has to offer, but I was genuinely impressed with this museum. From getting to see Angus Young’s guitar to checking out Australia’s earliest locomotives, Veronica and I had a very enjoyable time sampling ‘culture’.

That night we went and rented 5 movies from the video store. Topping the list was 2 Hands, which was Heath Ledger’s first starring role in a film. What can I say, I caved in and caught Heath fever like the rest of the world. Released in 1999, this film is set in Sydney, primarily Kings Cross (the seedy red light district) with some scenes shot at Bondi Beach. There were some cool things about the film, however that does not include the clothes. If ever there was a film that sums up the shite fashion sense that radiates through Sydney, this is the film. Per good buddy Jaime, this fashion (track suit pants and singlets – Australian for life beaters) is called bogan. Apparently bogan refers to the backwards people of Australia. Our equivalent would be white trash. Anywho, the film was directed by the same guy who did Buffalo Soldiers, a far superior film, but nonetheless, it was interesting to see late Heath’s first starring turn in Oz film.

Sunday the weather was horrible. The rain continued unabated for the entire day, so we spent it indoors. Not exactly ideal, but lucky for us we had quite a few movies to watch.

Veronica gave her notice to Coffey on Monday, so she will be starting her new job with PB at the beginning of March, pretty exciting stuff. Today is the first day it is not raining, however it is just a momentary respite as the rains will continue this afternoon and then for the next 5 days. Yeah, the thought of another rainy weekend is a bit of a bummer, but things could be worse as we could be suffering through winter right now.

Big Day Out and Australia Day

It is now Tuesday evening, and I feel like I am just beginning to recover from the long weekend that was afforded by it being Australia Day on Saturday. Friday Veronica and I attended Big Day Out, an all day music festival out at Sydney Olympic Park. There were at least 50,000 people there, not exactly my cup of mass humanity flavored tea, but it was the only way I was getting to see one of the greatest bands ever, reformed Rage Against the Machine. Plus Spoon, a great band from Austin, Texas, was also playing the festival. Despite the insane number of people swarming around the hot grounds the day was glorious. Spoon played an incredible set, and seeing RATM was something of a religious experience. Even 4 days after the concert I get chicken skinned just thinking about the encore the band played. The crowd went absolutely mental when they started playing ‘Killing in the Name’ with 30,000 plus bobbing up and down like a living sea. Tom Morello is an absolute guitar god, and the sounds that emanated from his axe was the heaviest, funk induced, reverb heavy rock-hop. I can safely say that if I never went to another concert I could die a happy man, because Rage’s set was the end all be all.

Saturday morning saw Veronica and I waking up late at noon, because we were fried after the long day before. We headed down to Barefoot for a flat white and waffle and then ran some errands. After a light lunch we headed to Manly Beach for an afternoon of sun. The day was perfect with not a cloud in the sky and a subtle breeze cooling things down. Of course, the beach was packed since it was Australia Day, however, we found a nice little place in the sand and vegged out from 3 to 5. That night we ambled over the hill to Freshwater to enjoy a Barbie with our friends Jase and Brenda. Delicious sausage sandwiches were a tasty Aussie treat, and later that night we watched ‘No Country for Old Men’ which was a tour de force. See it, study it, and worship at the altar of the Coen Brother’s cinematic splendor.

Sunday I woke early to go for a surf with Smitty. We hit Narrabeen, where 3-foot closeouts were detonating on the sand bar. I had a pathetic surf, which bummed me out considerably. I pushed it from my mind though and Veronica and I went and enjoyed our favorite meal at the Bavarian Café, the Roast Mediterranean vegetable linguine. The dish is so good I could almost consider becoming a vegetarian. Afterwards we headed to the mall to go see ‘Juno’, another great film, although much cheerier and light in nature than the Coen Brother’s film. Adding to the great film experience was our partaking in popcorn and pickles. After going a year with no pickles, we were finally clued in that they do indeed carry pickles that aren’t sweet here in Australia. The rub, they are called Dill Cucumbers. Don’t I feel like a jackass! Later that afternoon I went for another surf with my buddy Morgan at a place called Little Narrabeen. It is a pretty little place and we had a great session practically alone. My faith in surfing was restored. After some pizza Veronica and I watched the final of the Australian Open, which was an outstanding display of tennis by an unseeded Frenchman and a #3 seeded Serbian. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so captivated watching a tennis match, but these dudes were truly gladiators.

Monday we slept in late again. On our way down to a few loads of laundry we picked up a coffee to help ease the boredom. For lunch we went to try a new burger joint that had recently opened in Manly. It was good, but probably a tad overpriced like everything else here in Doucheville. You would think that after having such an exciting weekend we would have a ton of photos to choose from, however, we took practically no photos the entire time. Veronica and I finally took a photo of us eating one of our favorite treats in Oz, the Cyclone Popsicle. Made with all natural fruit this delicious treat should be exported to the rest of the World as it is an absolute triumph. We hit the beach again after having a massive cleaning spree at our casa. The thorough cleaning was long overdue, but now it is done and we feel much better with ourselves. For dinner we cooked a stir-fry for our first home cooked meal in over 4 days.

No doubt this was one of the most memorable weekends that we have spent here in Sydney. Good times.

2 Year Anniversary

This past Tuesday Veronica and I celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary. Since our first anniversary was spent in a hostel where we slept in bunk beds, I figured I had better step it up this year and do something nice. I booked a room at the Kirketon Hotel in Darlinghurst, which is described as the SoHo of Sydney. Seeing as I have never been in SoHo in NYC, I cannot confirm or deny whether the description is apt, however I digress. Our digs were delightful and we enjoyed sleeping on the king sized bed, but the best part of the stay was our dinner at the hotel restaurant. Both Veronica and I enjoyed an Angus steak, which turned out to be a deliciously tender steak that renewed our faith in Australian cuisine. We decided to get a little crazy and proceeded to each order a $15 Mojito. What does a $15 Mojito taste like you might wonder? Well, it tastes like a Mojito with an expensive price tag. In no way does it taste like the $10 milkshake in Pulp Fiction. Moral of the story, be wary when you decide to order such an expensive cocktail. Regardless of the drink, we had a majestic evening. Going back to our double bed in Manly last night was a tough endeavor.

Tomorrow we are going to a huge concert festival, the Big Day Out. Should be a good time.

Back Down Under

Veronica and I are back in the Southern Hemisphere after a glorious Xmas break in Dallas and Hawaii. The good news is we ate some of the most delicious food for a full month. The bad news is we put on a few pounds. Hopefully we lose our holidays pounds pronto so we can fit into the smaller clothes we bought in Dallas.

Highlights of our trip include:
Eye surgery - Yep, we have robot vision now, it rules.
Old 97's concert - New Year's Eve we saw the boys perform an epic show. The only thing not so epic were the drunken HP kids and the drunk hillbilly who informed me that Karma 'is an Eastern, kung fu'ey load of sh**'. Truly, I love meeting intellectuals across the globe.
Schlotzky's - The Original is the best sandwich on Earth, bar none!
Our condo in Hawaii smelling like an ashtray - Turns out our tenants smoked inside the unit for a full year. What's better, the morons smoked in bed, as evidenced by the burn in the comforter as well as the two empty packs of Menthol 100's and cigarette butts found underneath the bed. (On a side note I have prayed that I never run into either of those filthy bastages for as long as I live, because otherwise I am gonna go mid evil on them.)
Surfing in Aina Haina - I had a glorious surf on our second to last day on the island. The waves and water were perfect. The reef shimmered underneath me as I had several glorious rides that left me grinning from ear to ear. However, watching the sun rise over the cliffs of Portlock made the session absolutely magical.
Family and Friends - Of course the most important facet of the entire trip was getting to spend time with the great people in our lives.

We miss you guys already, but we really hope some of you decide to go into debt and come visit us!

Hunter Valley

Veronica was talking to coworkers this past when she found out about the three R’s her Australian mates learn at school. They are reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic. Yeah, dig on that retardation!

This past weekend Veronica and I were given concert tickets and a free stay at a Bed and Breakfast in the Hunter Valley, which is Australian wine country. The concert ended up getting rained out, but despite the rain we managed to have a great time.

Lucky for me my buddies at Video Australasia needed a driver for the week, so I have been able to occupy my days this week with something other than surfing and writing. And some extra money for the holidays doesn’t hurt either.

Veronica and I are getting excited about leaving for the States in two-weeks, we can’t wait to eat inexpensive, fatty foods again. Bring on the monster American portions!

Forresters Beach

Another weekend has come and gone, always a bit of a bummer. Friday continued the week’s tradition of grey skies and rain, definitely not a promising start to a weekend at a beach house. Veronica had to work late, so we ended up leaving our place for Forresters Beach at about 7:30. Even though it was rainy, luckily the traffic wasn’t bad, so we made good time and arrived at to the house in 2 hours. That night was long as everyone there was ready to party after a long week. Poor Veronica was extremely tired as she had been working almost 12-hour days that week, trying to finish two reports.

I woke early the next morning to go surfing with Magnus and an Aussie named Matt. The waves were windblown and a bit crap, but while in the surf we witnessed a waterspout about 200 meters out to sea. Amazing stuff I must admit, seeing as I have never witnessed a water tornado in all my time living near the ocean. After the surf we headed back to the house where everyone was taking it easy and making lunch. It had begun raining on us out in the surf, and the rain continued until about 4 that afternoon. Once the rain cleared the clouds parted and the sun made an appearance, definitely a nice surprise after a gloomy day. I headed back out for another surf with Aussie Matt, but again the waves were a bit junky and lumpy. After watching the sunset we had dinner, some delicious Lemon Garlic Chicken and vegetables. Afterwards everyone again hung out on the huge deck outside, but luckily it was a bit warmer than on Friday night when it was damp and cold.

Sunday morning we awoke to a gorgeous day. Not a cloud in the sky, crisp air that was a bit humid due to the hot sun and leftover moisture in the air. After an egg sandwich, Veronica and I decided to walk the length of the beach over to the next town Terrigal. It was a nice walk, however, since we had started it a bit late we decided before reaching Terrigal to head back to the house. Unfortunately, Veronica still had work to do on her reports, so we needed to get back to Sydney so V could go to her office. We left the house after having lunch a little past 1, and we made good time back to Sydney, arriving at V’s office at 3. After catching up on some emails while Veronica worked, I decided to go see a movie at the Rhodes Mall, situated right next door to Veronica’s office. ’30 Days of Night’ was actually quite entertaining, and the movie theater was empty save for 3 other people. We ended up staying at V’s office until 11 that night, but unfortunately she still did not finish her work. We drove home, arriving back in Manly at midnight. A long weekend, but good times nonetheless.

Both Veronica and I just read a book called ‘Marching Powder’ by Rusty Young and Thomas McFadden. It is the true story of Thomas McFadden, an Englishman who gets thrown into jail in La Paz, Bolivia at the most bizarre jail, San Pedro Prison. The prison is it’s own economy, where prisoners have to buy their own cells, restaurants are everywhere, and of course where cocaine is manufactured. A great read, pick it up!