SPLENDARO

meander, keep moving, that's what it's all about isn't it?! not the hokey pokey, that just CAN'T be what it's all about...

Sunday, December 19, 2010

packing...

would be easier if i had a scale!

indeed. the only thing with international travelling is what you accumulate I guess.

I never leave Australia with much. But always come back with little treasures and tid bits. This time, kind of unfortunately there was a trip to Mexico involved (ref. rather heavy hand made hammock). Mostly in recent years I have tried to come back with things I can certainly wear a lot or use a lot. The hammock is one of these things :)

xx


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

nervous...

flip flop stomach kinda right now...

it occurs to me that i will be living out of my backpack for some time to come.

so i'm just looking at the Open Universities Australia website at some possibilities for training leading up to my grand business idea. I'd like to get the business cranking in mid-2012 if possible, and though the training will take some time to complete, I think it would be worthwhile.

and that in itself makes me nervous. i've never completed any University course. i plunged head first into the business world at an early age and everything I know I have learned either at a short course or on the job. I mean I think i'm pretty knowledgeable in office administration, training and other things but actually looking at a Degree kind of scares the bejesus outta me.

I do want to get this travel out of my system (i mean, maybe it will never leave my system, but we'll give it a red hot go, eh?) and on the list for next year other than returning to Canada is FRANCE and VIETNAM. Oh and to annoy Mikey in the US as well at some point.

xx

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion feat. Beck - Flavor


THE BLUES IS NUMBER ONE!!!!!
wheeee!!
xo

so i was just reading...

....way back at the beginning of this blog. kinda for shits and giggles but because i was thinking, what on earth did i write so much about?! and now i see.

festivals. art. strange websites. playlists from my radio show. recipes. in-jokes. rants. the occasional vox-pop. and now, travel.

and i guess really, when i think about it, and after discussing it with various people over the years, you don't really change much as you get older.

mostly your ideals are the same. you gain more knowledge and maybe your theories or thoughts may twist, but all in all you are the same.

you are that same little nervous person when it comes to conveying feelings, steer towards certain music when your mood changes, offer an opinion or advice when you feel someone can use it, sometimes hold on to things for too long and let your brain steep on them, and basically never EVER raise your voice to anyone.

At least thats me.

I think in the last 5 years I have SERIOUSLY yelled at two people that I can think of. And that doesn't include someone who you may think obvious.

(calling Cint a shtcnt in Coles doesn't count)

One was a dude at a party for a friend in Brisbane who was leaving their job and invited us along. He was just an all round self-important douche. And he deserved a good 'look mate, you are a rude, arrogant, fuckwit' which is exactly what he got from me. My heart beat a hundred miles a minute at that moment, but damn, I'd probably say it to that particular dude again!

The other one was someone who recently got in my face whilst working at the Hostel. No biggie. Tiredness and retarded behaviour on their part.

I go through big phases of being creative and of being determined. I do lose faith in myself and my abilities sometimes. When deep down I know that I am quite capable of many things that I may never accomplish because of lingering doubt.

And when nothing makes sense there are the same handful of people I go to immediately. I have been very lucky with the close girlfriends I have that they are so open and we can always bounce things off of each other in times of doubt and trouble.

The friend base stretches far and wide, these days over many countries, and I am blessed in the way that even though years may go by, we can always reconnect with ease. Like no time has passed.

Sometimes I wonder where my energy goes. I know this is partially health based, but also I guess it's part of getting older. Certain days you'd think I was full of beans, literally. Other days you could be mistaken for thinking that perhaps I will shortly explode. Or implode I guess.

I say it's part of getting older because when you're young, in high school for example, your ideas of the world I guess are more limited. Once you're completely responsible for yourself, and out in the job market, your own property, all that kind of thing, you are exposed to more ideas and more people. Therefore you see the good and the bad. I tend to ignore the bad, at least the things they have to say to me personally.

Luckily I am mostly surrounded with sweetness and light.

Thank you universe.
xx

one of the most inspirational shows...

i have seen is a while is this one whilst I was working at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver.


had i more money at the time i would have certainly bought probably all albums or at least their DVD of visuals.

xx


Thursday, December 09, 2010

ok so... it's almost time...

Yes. It's almost time to finalise my 2011 list and it's almost time to close this little travel chapter.

I have mixed feelings about it. I'm not really sure what I wanted to achieve here in Canadaland.

Okay so I kind of feel like I started out strong but then took a small step backwards again. This country really is huge and I feel like I haven't seen quite enough of it yet. So I will certainly be back, and if all goes according to plan I predict early May 2011.

Volunteering for the festivals when I got here was just amazing, met some great people, enjoyed the sunshine (and sometimes the rain), discovered more amazing music, and learned a couple of lessons...

like.... don't get so drunk that you give your cell number out to COMPLETE randoms!
well i guess a lesson learned is a lesson gained!!

Anyways, so if I had have stayed on that artsy path, the smart thing to do would have been to keep pushing to get paid arts based work here. But I didn't. I do kick myself a little for that, because it really has become more of my focus in the last two years.

I'm not saying that being in Banff wasn't fun, but I do think I should have left at the end of October like I had intended. It was great spending time with Leni the crazy cat and meeting the other fun folks up there. I still don't know how people do so much partying all the time, but I guess my idea of partying is slightly different somehow. Work 16 hour days at 3 day festivals, no worries! Too much to drink for me... results in a very long hangover. Well each to their own I suppose.

I have met some people who I feel are really important to me in both Vancouver and Banff, people that have taught me things, made me feel valued, or made me swoon. I could never forget any of them, and I hope to keep them in my life.

So back to Australia I will go shortly for the festival season and I will try, hopefully without fail, to do four months of arts based work and not have to fall back on any sort of lame temp job that I will end up getting stuck in for months and months like has happened in the past.

I do feel like I really need to concentrate on my health whilst I am back at home. Not that I have been feeling particularly bad (as in, don't panic or anything), but there are definitely still (stupid hereditary) things going on that are well within my control that I should be paying closer attention to. I hope with some advice and treatment back in Aus that I can start to do this properly and make some real life changes. Because it often does stress me out and sometimes makes me grumpy. And it's no way to be. By no means is it as bad as post-fally-downy-stairsy years, but sometimes it becomes uncomfortable.

Ultimately, well I'm still searching for the happiness within. I think we all are. And sometimes I feel like a stupid sad sack because I don't know what the ultimate happiness is or even should be. I mean who knows. I certainly shouldn't complain about circumstance because I put myself in the position I am in and only I can change it. We should all be wiser to remember that sometimes.

I guess I will know when I find it.

xx

Sunday, December 05, 2010

back in VanGroovy...

after a 4 month stint working at the SameSun Hostel in Banff, Alberta, I have returned to BC!

Banff was pretty in the summer time, I managed to do some hiking around Banff and Lake Louise, get up to Jasper as well with Milen on the Moose bus one weekend, went to Calgary for the Calgary Reggae Fest, and also get down to Mexico with my old mate Leni.

I want to write much more about this... so let's save the rest of this post for tomorrow!
xx

But I will leave you with a link to this little gem, if you're on faceCOOL and like my little story, please click the LIKE button at the bottom!!