As I type this journal, the first thought to go through my head is my life is very different to how it was a day ago.
Actually that's not true in any capacity, I thought no such thing, and my life is much the same as yesterday, it just seemed like a good opener.
Another night that was low on sleep, largely due to the remnants of a cold that will hopefully be realising it's outstayed it's welcome any day now, but also because my brother is buying a new computer and is very excited (understandably) and is frequently seeking my advice. This is very flattering as he obviously feels I 'know stuff', at least when it comes to choice of computer hardware, but does mean I am assaulted at all hours with questions such as "But can the 5870 out perform the 4870, when direct x11 products have not even been released yet?" He's very considerate and doesn't bother me once I've gone to bed but woe betide me should I wander past the study to take some pain killers, as he'll humbly ask if I can run over the latest build for him, and I haven't the heart to say no.
Emboldened by a large cup of caffeine; I thought I would update everyone on where I stand creatively at the moment.
Current and Future projects:
1 Play (Current main project)
3 Novels (2 active, 1 archived)
3 TV Shows (2 active, 1 future development)
1 Flash Game (In Learning phase)
In reverse order:
Flash Game - The Dead Shall Walk.
Surival Horror game inspired by older games such as Sword of the Samurai and The Oregon Trail. A slow paced game about the preperation and execution of your escape from an invading zombie horde. Choosing which supplies to take and leave behind, whether to use faster but noisier transport, whether to fight or to run, whether to travel into the day and risk being spotted or lose time and supplies by waiting till nightfall. A learning project in order to teach me Adobe Flash and Action Script 3.0.
TV Shows - 2 Comedy/Dramas, 1 Review Show.
These are projects created by a collegue of mine that I have been recruited for to assist in a writing/acting capacity. More will be revealed once they have moved further into production.
Novel - MI8
Not in active production, but an old project I intend to return to. Crime Thriller with a supernatural twist, this story deals with the fictional MI8 division of British security, that handles magical crimes. The story of a Witch Finder and his companion Witch Smeller, and their attempts to uncover an alchemy crime ring. Delves into the Witch Smellers and their origins. The first twelve chapters can be read at http://thefibber.deviantart.com/
Novel - The Great Red
Murder Mystery set on the Indian Pacific, a train that runs from Sydney to Perth through the Nullabor Plain. Theft and eventual murder breaksout on the train, and everyone assumes it must be an inside job as the crimes occur during the middle of the desert. But all is not as it seems...
Novel - Midas
Fantasy Adventure set in the dream world of Midas, a girl who disappears into her dreams when her boyfriend is turned into a tree due to magic leaking through from the dream, and attempts to wake the princess before reality collapses. All in day's work.
Play - A Guy, A Girl, Two Fruitcakes.
Situation Comedy about 2-3 nights in the lives of three people, each 7 years apart. Extremely silly and farcical, full of rapid fire dialogue and humour. An extended version of a previous short play that was performed in 2003. The play is scheduled to be performed in April at the Mechanic's Institute in Brunswick.
The big change is less than 24 hours ago, this was not the play we wre going to be perfomring.
Since the end of January I and my two collegues have been working on a script entitled "Scarred For Life" which we had developed after a previous production had fallen through due a lack of suitable actors. The basic premise was a girl, oppressed by her controlling father, retreated into her own little fantasy world, inspired by the fairy tales of old.
After 4 drafts and back and forthing we eventually sat down to a meeting yesterday and had to admit the harsh and unfortunate truth that the script simply wasn't working. Faced with the option of either performing a lacklustre script or cancelling production, we instead turned to our backlog of old works, and discovered, in one of those "why didn't we think of this earlier, no, really, WHY didn't we think of this earlier?" moments a script I had previously written, which was performed in 2003 as part of a short lived living room theatre group, which sort of fell of the wagon when real productions became a possibility, and a lack of availability from a university based acting community.
It was short, it was funnier than our existing script, and it called for the bare minimum of props and only three actors (which is how many actors we had). In short, it suited our needs perfectly. Plans were made to extend it to a full length 40-60 minute play, and we were back on track.
The fairy tale script has promise in premise (or premise in promise?) and after extensive rewrites, replanning and a complete change of track, may still see the life of day in the future. but certainly not in it's current form.
So there is plenty to keep me busy over the next 12-24 months while I pursue this writing thing.
I am starting to feel the drag from lack of sleep so I'm off to make another cup of I-really-can-believe-it's-not-coffee.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Diary of a Mad Writer #1 - It was early and I was tired
As I type this journal, the first thought to go through my head is my life is very different to how it was a year ago.
Actually that's not entirely true. In fact almost none of it is entirely true, so allow me to clarify. While my life is indeed very different to a year ago, it is also different to three months ago, and since I only got 4 and a half hours sleep last nigtht, in fact the first thought to go through my head is bluuururughgh buh... huh... what? Only after fighting past that initial incoherence do I arrive at anything approaching the philosoophical.
Still, as I count down the minutes until I click "Log in" and begin my day job work (at which point my behaviour will not change very much) and sip idly at my boiling hot cup of international roast (I am my mother's son and could never bring myself to refer to it as coffee), I can't help but agree with myself. My life is very different to how it was a year ago. On the whole this is for the better.
A year ago, I was a Team Leader in a call centre working for a company that worked for a leading telecommunications company (or "telco" if you're in the biz, apparently). On the whole I enjoyed being a supervisor. I got to work with people more than I worked with customers - the key difference being I could see my employees - and my pragmatism, compined with a loyalty to my staff unto death and a depressingly encyclopedic knowledge of systems and product information meant that my staff and fellow employees seemed to hold me in a flattering but bafflingly devoted light. I was earning more money than I knew entirely what to do with, and life, for all outward appearances, appeared to be good.
Except, I began to realise, it wasn't. While being a Team Leader was in many ways satisfying work, I would be lying if I said it was what I hoped to achieve in life. Everyone expected me to progress further into the company, up to a Project Manager and beyond, and I didn't have the heart to tell them that I had absolutely no interest in this kind of work. The higher up the chain you go, the less people you work with, and the more the work becomes finance and contracts focussed, topics of which I will say nothing for fear of causing offence.
At the risk of sounding artistic and whiney, it has always been my dream to write, act, and direct, otherwise be involved in the creative arts. It's something I hold a great passion for, and something I (at the risk of sounding immodest, which is thoroughly unlike me) feel I have a talent for.
The earliest thing I remember writing is a story about my soft toy Spot dog, and one of the thrilling plot twists contained within was I once went to bed and cuddle my soft toy all night! (since then we've sadly fallen out of touch) This was followed by the hilarious "Sam's joke book" of which I can sadly (or fortunately) only remember one joke which follows:
Q: Why did the buildings roll all the vehicles flat?
A: Because they wanted to play cars!
Do you see? Do you see what I did there? It's like, cards, as in playing cards, only I've left out the d, you see, so now it's cars! Cars!
This only goes to show that you're never to young to pun, and badly at that. Some would argue since then my punning skills have only decreased.
The earliest thing I remember acting in was a play of the fairy tale "The Worn Out Shoes" (and therefore it is somewhat fitting that my current project is putting the finishing edits to a play that featurs a retelling of this story) which was put on by my grade 4 class. Our art/drama teacher in primary school was a delightful old soul who believed that the old tales were at their best when they were at their bloodiest. Spurred into a bloodlust by the recently released Beauty and the Beast by disney, he embarked our class on a serious of fairy tale projects, some art, some drama, spurring us on with the uplifting mantra: "Don't forget the blood!"
After grade 4 this teacher sadly departed for better prospects and was replaced by a new teacher who while no less skilled, was far less bloody and therefore far more boring. We did however put on two excellently entertaining (from the perspective of people who were in them, the audience's perspective may differ somewhat) productions in grade 5 and 6, "The Sign of The Seahorse", based on the book by Graeme Base, and "The Pagemaster", based on the book by someone or other, and several years before the lacklustre film. Seahorse was a wonderful meld of puppetry and costumes, and in Pagemaster I was lucky enough to play the lead, forcing me to wear glasses for the part and hinting at my future optical impairment (and nerdom).
It was during this production of Pagemaster that I did my first ever directing (if you can call it that) when, at the humble age of 11, I began to coach the other actors on performance and staging. I didn't really notice I was doing this at first, it just sort of happened, and I first realised I had taken on this role after this memorable exchange:
Me: How about we both be a little angrier?
Other Kid: How about you shut up?
I was, of course, a little more subdued after this particuliar conversation, no matter that they quite clearly took my advice to heart.
So, even when i was a child, this is what I wanted to do. And so it was with a bit of a shock that I suddenly found myself working full time as a supervisor in a call centre 14 years later. My creative exploits (short films, stories and an online comic) had dried up as the exertion of managing full time had begun to take it's toll. My holidays were no longer to go and do a project or go travel somewhere, they were to sit at home and do nothing until I got my energy back. The evenings when I had so confidently claimed I would be doing all my creative work, were spent tiredly procrastinating before retiring to bed and oversleeping. What's more, having a large disposal income was proving to be thoroughly too tempting, and I was not only spending most of my funds on random purchases, thanks to a credit card I was spending more than my income on them. Combined with the late hours, I wasn't eating properly, and my health was suffering as a result.
This, coupled with the fact that my work had recently doubled in size and were about to change it's archaic but functional computer system to a new, swish, pretty but entirely less functional one, and the fact that I was shouldering most of the weight myself until the new supervisor got up to speed, left me convinced that a bit of a change was in order.
I made plans. Given that this is me and I'm not particularly spontaneous in many respects, there were fairly long term ones.
First, I would slog through the recruitment and system changes at work, because say what else you like about me, but I will not abandon my workplace in it's hour of need. But once the project had found its feet, I would quietly withdraw.
Second, I started planning a holiday. A proper holiday. One of my oldest friends was coming to the end of their 18 month stint overseas, and I had been vaguely planning for most of that 18 months to go and see them at some point. So we made plans for me to visit them over Christmas. (you can read about this in my earlier blog entries)
Third, I refinanced my personal loan, paid off a lot of my other debt, bought my plane tickets, and began to save in ernest. (I also borrowed a little more and also bought a tv, but nobody's perfect)
Four, I changed my diet, replacing one of my meals each day with a meal substitute, cutting down on the amount of take away I was consuming, and ensuring what I was eating was healthy and covered the basic vitamin requirements.
Five, I started a blog. I decided one of the best ways of getting writing again was to, well, start writing. I decided it didn't entirely matter what I wrote about so long as I was actually writing, and nothing says "doesn't entirely matter" better than a blog does. Once I had changed jobs to part time, I intended to begin writing again properly.
Now, life is a fluid and flexible thing, and almost none of the above plans went entirely to, well, plan.
Work did indeed eventually find its feet, but only after doubling in size and completely changing its method of business, and then downsizing because it became too efficient to employ all the people it had recently hired. I was honest and upfront with work about my plans to eventually depart (something that surprised them, but they appreciated), and accepted an on phones position rather than kicking out another team leader, and then leaving anyway. They very kindly kept me on as a casual but with full time hours (something that cost them a great deal of money in wages and something they were under no obligation to do), which enabled me to increase my savings for my holiday. After my return (literally, right after my return) I was recommended by a friend to another position in part time accounts for another call centre, and was successful. Work was sorry to see me go after nearly five years with them, and gave me a suitable fairwell of which I am still eternally grateful.
My finances were for a time greatly improved, and I successfully saved enough funds to be able to have a affordable but largely unhindered holiday around the UK. However an error on the part of the scottish youth hostel association left me out of pocket approximately seven hundred and fifty dollars, and due to the nature of the travel card I had stored my money on, I was unable to use it to pay off the resultant credit card debt this created, which unfortunately increased the amount owing on the credit card. (This was also increased by what can only be referred to as an incoherent spending spree brought on by holiday euphoria). The new part time work is a mixed blessing, offering far less funds per week, but as an upshot my budgeting is vastly improved, and brining my lunch from home has dropped my daily expenditure to effectively zero.
My diet has now improved, but did not straight away, as one of the offshoots of working casual with full time hours is I had to do the 11:30 finishes at work until my holiday. These paid well and I didn't mind work late hours, but it is very very hard to eat well when the meal you need to eat at work is your dinner. The options are either to eat sandwiches for dinner or get takeaway, and I will be honest and say the latter happened the majority of the time. It is only now with part time shifts and finishing mid afternoon that diet has finally settled down to a fixed and healthy pattern.
The blog has been hit and miss, I updated consistently for the first month, then fell off a little til my holiday, during which time I blogged regularly (because there is so much more to talk about when you're on a new continent), then fell back while I organised changes of positions and new plans for the year.
The holiday, however was a complete success. Amazing and restful.
I ruminated on all these plans as I walked to work from the station this morning, while walking past the breakfast places, smelling the freshly fried bacon, and cursing my new healthy diet and the budget that makes it so easy to adhere to.
With a new job, a new budget, and copious new amounts of free time, I feel finally able to pursue some of the things I've always wanted to pursue.
Near work someone had spray printed a single snowflake onto the ground, which seems bizarre in itself, but they'd also printed below that the optimistic sentence "It's snowing!"
On the whole I found that oddly uplifting.
Actually that's not entirely true. In fact almost none of it is entirely true, so allow me to clarify. While my life is indeed very different to a year ago, it is also different to three months ago, and since I only got 4 and a half hours sleep last nigtht, in fact the first thought to go through my head is bluuururughgh buh... huh... what? Only after fighting past that initial incoherence do I arrive at anything approaching the philosoophical.
Still, as I count down the minutes until I click "Log in" and begin my day job work (at which point my behaviour will not change very much) and sip idly at my boiling hot cup of international roast (I am my mother's son and could never bring myself to refer to it as coffee), I can't help but agree with myself. My life is very different to how it was a year ago. On the whole this is for the better.
A year ago, I was a Team Leader in a call centre working for a company that worked for a leading telecommunications company (or "telco" if you're in the biz, apparently). On the whole I enjoyed being a supervisor. I got to work with people more than I worked with customers - the key difference being I could see my employees - and my pragmatism, compined with a loyalty to my staff unto death and a depressingly encyclopedic knowledge of systems and product information meant that my staff and fellow employees seemed to hold me in a flattering but bafflingly devoted light. I was earning more money than I knew entirely what to do with, and life, for all outward appearances, appeared to be good.
Except, I began to realise, it wasn't. While being a Team Leader was in many ways satisfying work, I would be lying if I said it was what I hoped to achieve in life. Everyone expected me to progress further into the company, up to a Project Manager and beyond, and I didn't have the heart to tell them that I had absolutely no interest in this kind of work. The higher up the chain you go, the less people you work with, and the more the work becomes finance and contracts focussed, topics of which I will say nothing for fear of causing offence.
At the risk of sounding artistic and whiney, it has always been my dream to write, act, and direct, otherwise be involved in the creative arts. It's something I hold a great passion for, and something I (at the risk of sounding immodest, which is thoroughly unlike me) feel I have a talent for.
The earliest thing I remember writing is a story about my soft toy Spot dog, and one of the thrilling plot twists contained within was I once went to bed and cuddle my soft toy all night! (since then we've sadly fallen out of touch) This was followed by the hilarious "Sam's joke book" of which I can sadly (or fortunately) only remember one joke which follows:
Q: Why did the buildings roll all the vehicles flat?
A: Because they wanted to play cars!
Do you see? Do you see what I did there? It's like, cards, as in playing cards, only I've left out the d, you see, so now it's cars! Cars!
This only goes to show that you're never to young to pun, and badly at that. Some would argue since then my punning skills have only decreased.
The earliest thing I remember acting in was a play of the fairy tale "The Worn Out Shoes" (and therefore it is somewhat fitting that my current project is putting the finishing edits to a play that featurs a retelling of this story) which was put on by my grade 4 class. Our art/drama teacher in primary school was a delightful old soul who believed that the old tales were at their best when they were at their bloodiest. Spurred into a bloodlust by the recently released Beauty and the Beast by disney, he embarked our class on a serious of fairy tale projects, some art, some drama, spurring us on with the uplifting mantra: "Don't forget the blood!"
After grade 4 this teacher sadly departed for better prospects and was replaced by a new teacher who while no less skilled, was far less bloody and therefore far more boring. We did however put on two excellently entertaining (from the perspective of people who were in them, the audience's perspective may differ somewhat) productions in grade 5 and 6, "The Sign of The Seahorse", based on the book by Graeme Base, and "The Pagemaster", based on the book by someone or other, and several years before the lacklustre film. Seahorse was a wonderful meld of puppetry and costumes, and in Pagemaster I was lucky enough to play the lead, forcing me to wear glasses for the part and hinting at my future optical impairment (and nerdom).
It was during this production of Pagemaster that I did my first ever directing (if you can call it that) when, at the humble age of 11, I began to coach the other actors on performance and staging. I didn't really notice I was doing this at first, it just sort of happened, and I first realised I had taken on this role after this memorable exchange:
Me: How about we both be a little angrier?
Other Kid: How about you shut up?
I was, of course, a little more subdued after this particuliar conversation, no matter that they quite clearly took my advice to heart.
So, even when i was a child, this is what I wanted to do. And so it was with a bit of a shock that I suddenly found myself working full time as a supervisor in a call centre 14 years later. My creative exploits (short films, stories and an online comic) had dried up as the exertion of managing full time had begun to take it's toll. My holidays were no longer to go and do a project or go travel somewhere, they were to sit at home and do nothing until I got my energy back. The evenings when I had so confidently claimed I would be doing all my creative work, were spent tiredly procrastinating before retiring to bed and oversleeping. What's more, having a large disposal income was proving to be thoroughly too tempting, and I was not only spending most of my funds on random purchases, thanks to a credit card I was spending more than my income on them. Combined with the late hours, I wasn't eating properly, and my health was suffering as a result.
This, coupled with the fact that my work had recently doubled in size and were about to change it's archaic but functional computer system to a new, swish, pretty but entirely less functional one, and the fact that I was shouldering most of the weight myself until the new supervisor got up to speed, left me convinced that a bit of a change was in order.
I made plans. Given that this is me and I'm not particularly spontaneous in many respects, there were fairly long term ones.
First, I would slog through the recruitment and system changes at work, because say what else you like about me, but I will not abandon my workplace in it's hour of need. But once the project had found its feet, I would quietly withdraw.
Second, I started planning a holiday. A proper holiday. One of my oldest friends was coming to the end of their 18 month stint overseas, and I had been vaguely planning for most of that 18 months to go and see them at some point. So we made plans for me to visit them over Christmas. (you can read about this in my earlier blog entries)
Third, I refinanced my personal loan, paid off a lot of my other debt, bought my plane tickets, and began to save in ernest. (I also borrowed a little more and also bought a tv, but nobody's perfect)
Four, I changed my diet, replacing one of my meals each day with a meal substitute, cutting down on the amount of take away I was consuming, and ensuring what I was eating was healthy and covered the basic vitamin requirements.
Five, I started a blog. I decided one of the best ways of getting writing again was to, well, start writing. I decided it didn't entirely matter what I wrote about so long as I was actually writing, and nothing says "doesn't entirely matter" better than a blog does. Once I had changed jobs to part time, I intended to begin writing again properly.
Now, life is a fluid and flexible thing, and almost none of the above plans went entirely to, well, plan.
Work did indeed eventually find its feet, but only after doubling in size and completely changing its method of business, and then downsizing because it became too efficient to employ all the people it had recently hired. I was honest and upfront with work about my plans to eventually depart (something that surprised them, but they appreciated), and accepted an on phones position rather than kicking out another team leader, and then leaving anyway. They very kindly kept me on as a casual but with full time hours (something that cost them a great deal of money in wages and something they were under no obligation to do), which enabled me to increase my savings for my holiday. After my return (literally, right after my return) I was recommended by a friend to another position in part time accounts for another call centre, and was successful. Work was sorry to see me go after nearly five years with them, and gave me a suitable fairwell of which I am still eternally grateful.
My finances were for a time greatly improved, and I successfully saved enough funds to be able to have a affordable but largely unhindered holiday around the UK. However an error on the part of the scottish youth hostel association left me out of pocket approximately seven hundred and fifty dollars, and due to the nature of the travel card I had stored my money on, I was unable to use it to pay off the resultant credit card debt this created, which unfortunately increased the amount owing on the credit card. (This was also increased by what can only be referred to as an incoherent spending spree brought on by holiday euphoria). The new part time work is a mixed blessing, offering far less funds per week, but as an upshot my budgeting is vastly improved, and brining my lunch from home has dropped my daily expenditure to effectively zero.
My diet has now improved, but did not straight away, as one of the offshoots of working casual with full time hours is I had to do the 11:30 finishes at work until my holiday. These paid well and I didn't mind work late hours, but it is very very hard to eat well when the meal you need to eat at work is your dinner. The options are either to eat sandwiches for dinner or get takeaway, and I will be honest and say the latter happened the majority of the time. It is only now with part time shifts and finishing mid afternoon that diet has finally settled down to a fixed and healthy pattern.
The blog has been hit and miss, I updated consistently for the first month, then fell off a little til my holiday, during which time I blogged regularly (because there is so much more to talk about when you're on a new continent), then fell back while I organised changes of positions and new plans for the year.
The holiday, however was a complete success. Amazing and restful.
I ruminated on all these plans as I walked to work from the station this morning, while walking past the breakfast places, smelling the freshly fried bacon, and cursing my new healthy diet and the budget that makes it so easy to adhere to.
With a new job, a new budget, and copious new amounts of free time, I feel finally able to pursue some of the things I've always wanted to pursue.
Near work someone had spray printed a single snowflake onto the ground, which seems bizarre in itself, but they'd also printed below that the optimistic sentence "It's snowing!"
On the whole I found that oddly uplifting.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Travels in London - Day 25: Now With Bonus Extra Day!
Of course, it was not that simple.
Getting to the airport a couple of hours before my flight, I wandered the shops for awhile, was tempted by some blu-ray and PS3 games, but decided if I were flying out I would behave and not purchase anything. The minutes ticked closer and I eagerly awaited the announcement that the plane would begin boarding.
8:35 came and went. After a few minutes the board was updated. "Delayed until 22:30. Gate will open at 21:30".
So I waited. Again I was tempted to go blu-ray shopping, but again I resisted.
21:30 came and went. 22:00 came and went. Eventually the board updated again.
"Delayed until 22:30. Gate will open at 17:00."
This struck me as a little odd.
I decided someone was playing silly buggers and went to the information desk to see if they had any information, and found a very large group of people demanding to know what was going on, so I decided I was probably in the right place, though feeling a little too well behaved for the situation at hand. We were advised to head down to baggage collection (not to collect our bags, which were locked in the plane). What they neglected to mention is that between us and baggage collection was passport control. Me and a few other non british or europeans looked despondantly at the "All Other Passports" line which stretched most of the warehouse sized room.
The British/EU people had a single small straight line to walk. They responded to this by yelling, grumbling how they weren't going to stand for this, and eventually, storming customs. In response to this they especially set up a special line for our cancelled flight, which I took advantage of. Down in baggage hall they loaded us to on buses and took us to various hotels around London. I ended up at the Thistle Hotel, which was quite flash indeed. After feeding us breakfast and lunch, and after Lexi very kindly coming to visit and bringing me a toothbrush and some deodorant, they bundled us back on a bus and took us to the aiport. This was about 4:30, and our flight was at 9:35 that evening.
This time I decided I darn well was going to buy myself something and got a couple of blu-rays in a 2 for 1 deal.
The flight was an hour late to take off but actually took off so I counted that as a win. Bangkok flight was on time to depart and was actually early to land. Customs was, much like my arrival into the UK, bafflingly easy. "Anything to declare?"
"Um, some tea."
"Is there fruit in it?"
"Um, maybe?"
"Ok, off you go!"
This strikes me as a slightly lax approach to customs, but perhaps I'm missing some of the hidden steps and anyway it got me out of the airport quickly so I'm not complaining.
Just outside customs was MY DAD!!!!! whom I hadn't seen in a while, and would have been more visibly excited if I wasn't nearly asleep from jet lag.
I had successfully made it out of the UK.
I was in Australia again.
But holiday wasn't over yet!
Getting to the airport a couple of hours before my flight, I wandered the shops for awhile, was tempted by some blu-ray and PS3 games, but decided if I were flying out I would behave and not purchase anything. The minutes ticked closer and I eagerly awaited the announcement that the plane would begin boarding.
8:35 came and went. After a few minutes the board was updated. "Delayed until 22:30. Gate will open at 21:30".
So I waited. Again I was tempted to go blu-ray shopping, but again I resisted.
21:30 came and went. 22:00 came and went. Eventually the board updated again.
"Delayed until 22:30. Gate will open at 17:00."
This struck me as a little odd.
I decided someone was playing silly buggers and went to the information desk to see if they had any information, and found a very large group of people demanding to know what was going on, so I decided I was probably in the right place, though feeling a little too well behaved for the situation at hand. We were advised to head down to baggage collection (not to collect our bags, which were locked in the plane). What they neglected to mention is that between us and baggage collection was passport control. Me and a few other non british or europeans looked despondantly at the "All Other Passports" line which stretched most of the warehouse sized room.
The British/EU people had a single small straight line to walk. They responded to this by yelling, grumbling how they weren't going to stand for this, and eventually, storming customs. In response to this they especially set up a special line for our cancelled flight, which I took advantage of. Down in baggage hall they loaded us to on buses and took us to various hotels around London. I ended up at the Thistle Hotel, which was quite flash indeed. After feeding us breakfast and lunch, and after Lexi very kindly coming to visit and bringing me a toothbrush and some deodorant, they bundled us back on a bus and took us to the aiport. This was about 4:30, and our flight was at 9:35 that evening.
This time I decided I darn well was going to buy myself something and got a couple of blu-rays in a 2 for 1 deal.
The flight was an hour late to take off but actually took off so I counted that as a win. Bangkok flight was on time to depart and was actually early to land. Customs was, much like my arrival into the UK, bafflingly easy. "Anything to declare?"
"Um, some tea."
"Is there fruit in it?"
"Um, maybe?"
"Ok, off you go!"
This strikes me as a slightly lax approach to customs, but perhaps I'm missing some of the hidden steps and anyway it got me out of the airport quickly so I'm not complaining.
Just outside customs was MY DAD!!!!! whom I hadn't seen in a while, and would have been more visibly excited if I wasn't nearly asleep from jet lag.
I had successfully made it out of the UK.
I was in Australia again.
But holiday wasn't over yet!
Travels in London - Days 22-24 The final three days
While waiting to be able to check in to our hostel in Earl's Court (the first hostel we stayed in when I got to London), we went and checked out the Natural History museum, something we had been trying to do ever since we first got to London, but were continually prevented by lack of time, or a fire alarm, or a second fire alarm, so it was with no small amount of tension that we entered the museum. They didn't immediately evacuate, so I assumed we were safe to proceed.
There were dinosaurs. They were awesome, and therefore they were dinosaurs that were awesome. Including a giant animatronic t-rex that frightened small children. There was also a giant blue whale but it was closed for cleaning. (Um. Ew.)
That evening we waited in the hostel for our friend Jana to arrive. Jana was a German exchange student I met back in year 12 but hadn't seen since, tho' Lexi had seen her a few times overseas (though only once in Germany, oddly enough). She was flying over to spend a couple of days with us before my return, and after a fun evening getting caught in delayed trains (something I can relate to), she finally tromped in at about 12:30. We celebrated by immediately falling asleep.
The next day we hopped on a bus and went out to Stonehenge!!! Stonehenge was awesome, all big and stone and hengey. Standing in the snow, clutching an audio guide to our ear, we slowly circled the monument, taking in all it's splendour and it-looks-smaller-in-real-lifeyness. As it turns out this is partially due to design, the way it is placed makes it appear to tower over you as you walk up the hill towards it, and was possibly used to add a sense of power to those who approached it (although the giant calculator and alien theories were there too).
The next day was my last planned day in London. We started out by finding a twinings shop for Jana so she could bring some goodies back to her family, then said our farewells as she headed out to her (hopefully not snowed in) flight back to Germany.
After that we went shopping! Our venue of choice was Foyles, the one time largest bookshop in the world. Naturally this was a very dangerous place for me to be, and I proved it by stocking up on books and graphic novels for the flight home.
After tea in a little cafe, we headed back through the steadily building snow to the hostel, got my bags, and went to the train station, where I said my goodbyes to Lexi. I owe her a huge debt for the organisation (and decision making skills) she did for my holiday, it was a great success and this was largely down to her planning.
From there it would be fairly straightforward. A flight to Bangkok, a short 6 hour stay in a hotel room, before catching a flight to Perth, getting me in the next morning...
There were dinosaurs. They were awesome, and therefore they were dinosaurs that were awesome. Including a giant animatronic t-rex that frightened small children. There was also a giant blue whale but it was closed for cleaning. (Um. Ew.)
That evening we waited in the hostel for our friend Jana to arrive. Jana was a German exchange student I met back in year 12 but hadn't seen since, tho' Lexi had seen her a few times overseas (though only once in Germany, oddly enough). She was flying over to spend a couple of days with us before my return, and after a fun evening getting caught in delayed trains (something I can relate to), she finally tromped in at about 12:30. We celebrated by immediately falling asleep.
The next day we hopped on a bus and went out to Stonehenge!!! Stonehenge was awesome, all big and stone and hengey. Standing in the snow, clutching an audio guide to our ear, we slowly circled the monument, taking in all it's splendour and it-looks-smaller-in-real-lifeyness. As it turns out this is partially due to design, the way it is placed makes it appear to tower over you as you walk up the hill towards it, and was possibly used to add a sense of power to those who approached it (although the giant calculator and alien theories were there too).
The next day was my last planned day in London. We started out by finding a twinings shop for Jana so she could bring some goodies back to her family, then said our farewells as she headed out to her (hopefully not snowed in) flight back to Germany.
After that we went shopping! Our venue of choice was Foyles, the one time largest bookshop in the world. Naturally this was a very dangerous place for me to be, and I proved it by stocking up on books and graphic novels for the flight home.
After tea in a little cafe, we headed back through the steadily building snow to the hostel, got my bags, and went to the train station, where I said my goodbyes to Lexi. I owe her a huge debt for the organisation (and decision making skills) she did for my holiday, it was a great success and this was largely down to her planning.
From there it would be fairly straightforward. A flight to Bangkok, a short 6 hour stay in a hotel room, before catching a flight to Perth, getting me in the next morning...
Travels in the UK - Days 19-21 - All you need is a large, weird looking Cathedral (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!)
We got in to Liverpool shortly after lunch and, after checking in to our large (and as we found that evening, not sound proofed) hostel, went to check out the two Liverpudlian Cathedrals.
Liverpool has two giant 20th century cathedrals, and they are opposite as two giant 20th century cathedrals can be. The first we saw was the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (say that three times fast backwards in Spanish with a lisp), and it was built and designed in the 1960's, which probably says as much about the look of the building as you need to know. It is large, circular, and honestly just a little bit weird. The inside is full of a set of chairs surrounding an alter, and around the walls were four confessionals, a number of little exhibits, and the stages of the cross. There's also a crypt, but if the church was anything to go by it probably had a disco ball in it, and in any case it was closed.
The second catherdral was the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool, and looks much more like a Cathedral in the traditional sense. What makes it stand out is it. is. huge. All the other cathedrals I'd seen would probably fit comfortably inside it and you'd still have room to hold an actual service. There are bridges inside, for goodness sake! The fact that it's only the 5th largest Cathedral in the world frightens me a little. It also looks very old as only a cathedral can do, which is odd, because it's actually one of the youngest Cathedrals in the world, starting construction in 1904 but not finishing until 1978. So it's actually younger than the cool and funky Metropolitan Cathedral.
That evening we went and checked out the Tate gallery in Liverpool which was full of, well, art. Including a glass of water that had been turned into an oak tree. It's actually just a glass of water, but the artist had managed turn himself into a "git." However, the following story amuses me to no end, and says a lot about Australians.
The Oak Tree (as the glass of water is referred to), is by Michael Craig-Martin, and he has staunchly insisted it is an oak tree in every way, it just happens to look like a glass of water.
So, when he entered Australia, it was promptly quarantined and barred from entering the country, under laws that prohibit bringing plant matter into the country.
It wasn't allowed into the country until he explained that it was actually a glass of water.
It turns out that the version we saw wasn't the original oak tree, as I've just found it the original was bought by the National Gallery of Australia in 1977. But it's ok. The artist made a copy.
As in he filled up another glass of water.
This is one of the reasons I am a little disparaging of post modern art.
The next day we went to visit the Beatles Story, the world's only permanent Beatles exhibition apparently, (although I can't exactly recall a stampede of non permanent exhibitions either but there you go)
The Beatles fan that I am I enjoyed it greatly, most immediately because it got us out of the screaming rain and hail that had been battering us for half an hour before we got there, but after I dried out I enjoyed purely on its own merits. I may have gone a little mad in the gift shop.
After the exhibition we caught the train in Cambridge.
The next day we walked over to see some extended relatives of Lexi's, and they very kindly offered us lunch and a tour of the colleges that hadn't closed for the winter. The colleges are rather beautiful and in many ways it's a shame that studying there isn't really an option, but mostly they were just nice to look at.
The next morning we were on our way back to London.
Liverpool has two giant 20th century cathedrals, and they are opposite as two giant 20th century cathedrals can be. The first we saw was the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (say that three times fast backwards in Spanish with a lisp), and it was built and designed in the 1960's, which probably says as much about the look of the building as you need to know. It is large, circular, and honestly just a little bit weird. The inside is full of a set of chairs surrounding an alter, and around the walls were four confessionals, a number of little exhibits, and the stages of the cross. There's also a crypt, but if the church was anything to go by it probably had a disco ball in it, and in any case it was closed.
The second catherdral was the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool, and looks much more like a Cathedral in the traditional sense. What makes it stand out is it. is. huge. All the other cathedrals I'd seen would probably fit comfortably inside it and you'd still have room to hold an actual service. There are bridges inside, for goodness sake! The fact that it's only the 5th largest Cathedral in the world frightens me a little. It also looks very old as only a cathedral can do, which is odd, because it's actually one of the youngest Cathedrals in the world, starting construction in 1904 but not finishing until 1978. So it's actually younger than the cool and funky Metropolitan Cathedral.
That evening we went and checked out the Tate gallery in Liverpool which was full of, well, art. Including a glass of water that had been turned into an oak tree. It's actually just a glass of water, but the artist had managed turn himself into a "git." However, the following story amuses me to no end, and says a lot about Australians.
The Oak Tree (as the glass of water is referred to), is by Michael Craig-Martin, and he has staunchly insisted it is an oak tree in every way, it just happens to look like a glass of water.
So, when he entered Australia, it was promptly quarantined and barred from entering the country, under laws that prohibit bringing plant matter into the country.
It wasn't allowed into the country until he explained that it was actually a glass of water.
It turns out that the version we saw wasn't the original oak tree, as I've just found it the original was bought by the National Gallery of Australia in 1977. But it's ok. The artist made a copy.
As in he filled up another glass of water.
This is one of the reasons I am a little disparaging of post modern art.
The next day we went to visit the Beatles Story, the world's only permanent Beatles exhibition apparently, (although I can't exactly recall a stampede of non permanent exhibitions either but there you go)
The Beatles fan that I am I enjoyed it greatly, most immediately because it got us out of the screaming rain and hail that had been battering us for half an hour before we got there, but after I dried out I enjoyed purely on its own merits. I may have gone a little mad in the gift shop.
After the exhibition we caught the train in Cambridge.
The next day we walked over to see some extended relatives of Lexi's, and they very kindly offered us lunch and a tour of the colleges that hadn't closed for the winter. The colleges are rather beautiful and in many ways it's a shame that studying there isn't really an option, but mostly they were just nice to look at.
The next morning we were on our way back to London.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Travels in the UK – Days 16-18: Now With Updated Title. (Also: Edinburgh and York)
Edinburgh was a big place, and slippery as hell, though that probably had more to do with the snow than Edinburgh itself.
After settling in at the hostel, (which was HUGE) we ventured out into the cold and went to see Edinburgh Castle, which was about as different from Castle Caernarfon as you could get while still being a castle. For starters, it was massive, occupying a whole hill top, and full of its own buildings and towers that held a half dozen different exhibits, which also unfortunately meant that it was littered with large plastic “Did you know?” signs, which didn’t look like they were part of the original castle design (although you never know). So while it definitely had more to see, it felt more like a tourist spot than Castle Caernarfon did. But it was awesome nonetheless. We spent a good few hours wandering through the exhibits and walls until 1:00pm, when it was time to watch them fire the 1:00 gun, something they’d be doing for several hundred years to tell ships docked nearby what the time was so they could reset their chronometers.
The audience gathered as the soldier entered the courtyard, carrying a shell in his arm.
The audience tensed as he loaded the shell into the artillery cannon and prepared the mechanism.
The audience held its breath as the solider glanced at his watch and swung down the trigger.
The audience waited while nothing happened.
The audience started to snigger as the soldier frantically tried to unjam the gun before unloading the shell and headed back inside.
It turned out that the gun had frozen overnight and wouldn’t be able to fire, and of course it either fires on time or not at all, so there was no firing that day, which left me feeling sorry for the solider more than disappointed. So we went and had a cup of tea instead, which wasn’t a bit a spectacle but did have the advantage of being a cup of tea.
Lexi roasted a ham for dinner that evening which was a bit of a luxury.
The next day we headed out to Calton Hill which was, well it was a big hill, but it gave a fantastic view of the surrounding city, and looked rather wonderful covered in snow. Going up the hill was a bit tough in the snow, but quite doable.
Going down was a slow and treacherous descent of holding desperately onto railings and trying to find the less slippery patches of snow, and getting the vague feeling that Lexi was quietly rather amused by the whole thing, or at least would be if she wasn’t holding on for dear life herself.
That evening we popped down to the cinema to see “Sherlock Holmes” which turned out to be a rollicking good action film with everyone in top form.
We got into York late on Day 17 (30th of December for reference), and aside from a rather lengthy wrong turning got to our hotel without much issue. York. Is. Amazing. I’ve remarked before how old London felt. York feels older. The fact that it’s smaller probably contributes, but this kind of heightened the feeling of the weight of history of seeing yet another 800 year old building every time you turned a corner. Every block has at least something ancient on it, and the town is littered with small modest plaques saying things like “on this spot in 1292...”
What dominates the town is Yorkminster, a giant abbey that could probably give Westminster a run for it’s money, looking all the more imposing because there’s no other building in the town that even comes close to matching its size. We went to evening prayer, which was held in a small side chapel. Earlier in the day we went to the Castle Museum, and the National Rail Museum.
There isn’t actually a Castle in York anymore, so the assumption is that the museum is where the castle used to be. This is heightened by the fact that there isn’t really any mention of castles in the museum. There were some very good history sections, including one wall exhibits about the history of vacuum cleaners or funerals etc, which were actually very interesting because most museums I’ve been to seem to think that this kind of thing would be beneath them, which is a shame because I learnt more from these walls than any giant dinosaur skeleton. Not that dinosaurs are not awesome, you understand. They are.
The National Rail Museum turned me into a 5 year old, and I merrily wandered between the engines, marvelling and the size and feeling again the romance of train travel, torn between two thoughts, one half of me wishing I lived in an era when steam trains still ruled and I could become a train driver, and the other half reminding my first half that being a train driver was a downright terrible job.
There was also a Thomas shop, but they didn’t have the complete collection of Rev Awdry stories, so I didn’t bother buying anything from there.
After all the museums we headed out for a bar and grill dinner then back to the hotel, for it was now only a few hours to the new year. Shipping our champagne and orange juice (from a can, no less), we watched the clock tick down to midnight, shouted “hooray,” went outside to watch the fireworks for a bit and then went to bed.
This morning we are on the train to Liverpool, where I intend to find something to do with the Beatles.
Interlude: An Intimate Interview With 2009
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Went overseas; stayed up for 48 hours; made a career change decision; MC'd a wedding, participated in a group photo shoot; had my email account hacked; the list goes on.
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any resolutions this year, or at least I've forgotten them. Hopefully one of them wasn't "Improve my memory."
For 2010 I resolve to make something of my writing and do something with it, to always have a story to write and a project to work on. To clear up my finances and settle into part time work.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My cousin became a father, but they've in another state, so maybe not literally close.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My friend's poodle passed away, I've known the poodle as long as I've known them. Otherwise, fortunately no.
5. What countries did you visit?
England, Scotland, Wales.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
More writing.
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
October 12th. Stepped down from being a Team Ldear, and took my first step towards my new work plans.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Realising what I wanted to do, and that it was more important than stability.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Taking as long as I did to realise the above.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
A few colds here and there, fortunately nothing worse.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
The ticket to the UK. Also a playstation 3.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
So many. The friend who has basically planned and executed my holiday. The friend who involves me in their creative projects and inspires me to work harder in my own. All the friends who have been there for me in one way or another.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
The men I know who tried to take advantage of the women I know.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Travel, and random splurging on treats for me.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Foreigner. The new TSO album. The Beatles. Going to the UK. The Alice Shoot. My new plans.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Don't Stop Believin' by Journey (Glee version, and original)
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i) Happier or sadder? Happier!
ii) Thinner or fatter? Thinner!
iii) Richer or poorer? Poorer, but I've spent it better.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Writing, time with friends.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Random spending.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Went to Inverness Cathedral for a morning church service, then a quiet afternoon with presents, then fancy dinner out in the evening.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I wouldn't feel confident to go as far as love. But possibly.
23. How many one-night stands?
None. How many next year? None. How many for ever? None.
24. What was your favourite TV program?
Castle was a late challenger, but I'd have to say Cowboy Bebop.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Not hate. But I have extreme dislike for the men in question 13.
26. What was the best book you read?
Nation by Terry Pratchett.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Beatles. Foreigner.
28. What did you want and get?
A wonderful holiday. A goal.
29. What did you want and not get?
As much saved as I'd like, writing opportunities.
30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Sherlock Holmes was pretty darn good, but possibly Up as the favourite.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 25. I had friends over and we had pancakes. It was good.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
In the long run it was completely satisfying. I just kind of wish I had worked things out sooner.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
2008, back for one more year.
34. What kept you sane?
My friends, my iPod, my sense of purpose.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I didn't. Sorry.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Swine Flu. Not political but it was the ONLY issue I got stirred up about. Stupid panic.
37. Who did you miss?
My family, and in alphabetical order, Bec, Cat, Debbie, Jen, Jules, Lexi, Thomas.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Mostly it was the old friends that mattered most this year.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
You're only human. You can't do everything. But you can do a lot.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year
Don't stop believing, hold on to that feeling.;
Went overseas; stayed up for 48 hours; made a career change decision; MC'd a wedding, participated in a group photo shoot; had my email account hacked; the list goes on.
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any resolutions this year, or at least I've forgotten them. Hopefully one of them wasn't "Improve my memory."
For 2010 I resolve to make something of my writing and do something with it, to always have a story to write and a project to work on. To clear up my finances and settle into part time work.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My cousin became a father, but they've in another state, so maybe not literally close.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My friend's poodle passed away, I've known the poodle as long as I've known them. Otherwise, fortunately no.
5. What countries did you visit?
England, Scotland, Wales.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
More writing.
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
October 12th. Stepped down from being a Team Ldear, and took my first step towards my new work plans.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Realising what I wanted to do, and that it was more important than stability.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Taking as long as I did to realise the above.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
A few colds here and there, fortunately nothing worse.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
The ticket to the UK. Also a playstation 3.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
So many. The friend who has basically planned and executed my holiday. The friend who involves me in their creative projects and inspires me to work harder in my own. All the friends who have been there for me in one way or another.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
The men I know who tried to take advantage of the women I know.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Travel, and random splurging on treats for me.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Foreigner. The new TSO album. The Beatles. Going to the UK. The Alice Shoot. My new plans.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Don't Stop Believin' by Journey (Glee version, and original)
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i) Happier or sadder? Happier!
ii) Thinner or fatter? Thinner!
iii) Richer or poorer? Poorer, but I've spent it better.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Writing, time with friends.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Random spending.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Went to Inverness Cathedral for a morning church service, then a quiet afternoon with presents, then fancy dinner out in the evening.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I wouldn't feel confident to go as far as love. But possibly.
23. How many one-night stands?
None. How many next year? None. How many for ever? None.
24. What was your favourite TV program?
Castle was a late challenger, but I'd have to say Cowboy Bebop.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Not hate. But I have extreme dislike for the men in question 13.
26. What was the best book you read?
Nation by Terry Pratchett.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Beatles. Foreigner.
28. What did you want and get?
A wonderful holiday. A goal.
29. What did you want and not get?
As much saved as I'd like, writing opportunities.
30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Sherlock Holmes was pretty darn good, but possibly Up as the favourite.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 25. I had friends over and we had pancakes. It was good.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
In the long run it was completely satisfying. I just kind of wish I had worked things out sooner.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
2008, back for one more year.
34. What kept you sane?
My friends, my iPod, my sense of purpose.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I didn't. Sorry.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Swine Flu. Not political but it was the ONLY issue I got stirred up about. Stupid panic.
37. Who did you miss?
My family, and in alphabetical order, Bec, Cat, Debbie, Jen, Jules, Lexi, Thomas.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Mostly it was the old friends that mattered most this year.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
You're only human. You can't do everything. But you can do a lot.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year
Don't stop believing, hold on to that feeling.;
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