This Is The End (Again)

Travelling is like a box of choclits...

It makes happy, but broke and FAT!!

Welcome back to the kingdom of BLOGSTON!! Shout out to ma peeeeps!! I was planning on writing a TEENIE WEENIE little paragraph about our last couple weeks in Sydney, in my NEXT blog for Bali. But its not the way the cookie crumbled blog fans... There’s quite a lot to report from our final 2 or 3 weeks here. And im sure ill have some absolute SCANDAL in my next blog. So put on the kettle, and let Gretel settle with a metal petal... boom...

So.. Where were we? I think in my last blog i wrote about working odd shifts as a labourer, saying bye to everyone, and blah blah blah... Cat got in contact with her old catering company “Nosh” to ask for work. They put her back on the system, but they only really give her work on the weekends. So, she had a really good idea to get work for accommodation in our hostel. That gave her something to do, other than picking the skin off her fingers... Psst... She just had to work for a couple hours, 4 days a week, for free accommodation and laundry. I was also only working here and there, so most of the days she worked, we did it together and wizzed through it. I was expecting more bed sheets to be covered in piss and puke. But it wasn’t bad at all... guess its just me that pukes everywahh...

I got offered a few shifts from my old removal company... Theyre such a shit company blog fans... For some reason they require everyone to be clean shaven.. Just to move some furniture. Its bullshit. I was quite liking my beard, and now im coming up to my 30^th birthday, looking like a bloody 13 year old! But i needed the money, so i did it...  Also had another stroke of good luck – I texted Ferenc (the guy i used to do the soccer coaching with) Just to say we’re back, and we should meet up for a drink and catch up. He replied, then later he texted again saying his current coaching partner is away, and asked if i wanted to help him for the next 2 weekends. Which was perfect! So i was able to help him out, and see all the kids i used to coach... They all got a little taller and better... They all remembered me... Naturally... They still do some weird shit. One kid showed me his Shrek DVD, and then forced me to hold it through the whole session. So i was running about, dribbling, doing skills, instructing, all whilst holding a Shrek DVD case for a whole hour. Mad skills...

We got our tax back!! All on the floor!!

Tax back, give me some more!!
Tax back, til you get sore!!
Tax back, ooohoohohooo...

Cat got back almost double what i did. Not surprising considering how much she worked. My coaching was always cash in hand as well. But we were still really happy with what we got. Had some good luck with money actually. My removal company gave me a shift for an hour, but they pay me 3 hours minimum. Then they gave me another shift the next day, but texted me the wrong time. So I turned up with my can of energy drink, revved up, and they had finished! Got paid another $60 for NOTHING. $120 for one hours work in total. Didnt even do much in that hour!... And it was only a 10min walk from our hostel... Awesome as shiiit... Other than working, we met up with a few people here n there. Maeve, Jente, Josh, Lisa, Rachels dad Paul... Unfortunately we couldn’t see everyone, but we did actually have quite a bit to do. We met up with Cats mate Kirsty, who works behind the bar of a strip club. I didn’t really wanna go, coz i knew id spend a lot. But Cat kinda forced me and this young Kiwi boy to come along. Straight away Kirsty lined up 4 shots and 3 cocktails for $15... Not a bad discount... But cheap drinks usually means i spend MORE money, as i make the most of the bargain. So yeah, I DID spend a lot. Got totally wasted, then argued with Cat. Totally ruined the Kiwi boys innocence. Was classic Shmose...

After that I tried to spend less. Started to cook in the hostel rather than eat out, but only once or twice... Which reminds me.. I was speaking to a girl in our hostel whilst cooking, and she told me my sausages were burning... I said “Yeah, I like my sausages brown” Then when she told me she doesn’t see me around here much, i said “I eat out a lot...” I don’t really know when its acceptable to use the “THATS WHAT SHE SAID” on a total stranger... So I just laughed, and said nothing... It was hard though... (thats what she said).

Cat continued to spend spend spend. Guess she has the right to. Shes the “money money money bagsss” over here... She keeps buying clothes that she don’t need, and cant pack though. Plus it’ll all be cheaper in Bali. I get dragged round the shops a lot. When i tell her off she goes “But its so prettyyy...” I said “So is Mila Kunis, but i don’t get to shag her”.... 1 – 0 me, blog fans....  1 – 0 me...

Tomorrow is the day we leave Sydney for the 2^nd time. Its emotional... We just met up with Maeve to have leaving drinks at O-Bar. Its a posh revolving bar that has really cool views of the city. Was a fitting end really. But who knows... We might be back! :o

We fly to Darwin late tomorrow night. I decided we shouldn’t get a hostel room, as we arrive there at 1am, and all the hostels are expensive anyway. So we’re gonna TRY to sleep in the airport, then go in the city for a bit in the day, then come back to fly to Bali the following night. We got some good news – It looks like we might have a place to settle down in after Bali. I’ve been contacted from my ad on Gumtree, and a really nice lady is offering her “granny flat” to us when we return. Its a good location, self contained, decent price, has internet, and a swimmingpool. Bosh! We’ve arranged a viewing on that day between flights, so hopefully we would of cemented a place for our return. Good times blog fans J

Next stop BALI!! 30 YEARS OLD!! OMFG!!! WTF!!! MUAHAHA!!!!

Shit is hitting the FAN!! Shit is hitting the BLOG FAN!! WHOA, SHIT EVERYWAHH!!! CHUNDER EVERYWAHH!!! AAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Be sure to tune in to THAT!!

Until then... Keep them tighty whiteys, TIIIIGHT!!!
Camel toe tight!! 

See you in Bali bitchezzz..

POW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! x

 

Sydney - The Sequel

Living in Australiaaa! - eye ta eye, station ta station
Living in Australiaaa! - hand ta hand, across the nation
Living in Australiaaa! - got ta have a celebration!
Duh duh duh da duh!!

(James Brown, special guest appearance there)

Welcome back you sexy blog fiends! Coming back for your next fix are ya? Well don't O.D. on me now! Coz Robbie G has cooked up a strong, potent dosage of BREAKING BLOG NEEWWSS!!

The last time you left me, I was back in Sydney! And everyone had GONE! Left this land forevveerr - except me, Cat and Ambika... I was tour guide AGAIN, and Ambika happened to be a true Australian tourist. Showing her around was fun. We did beach walks, city walks, mountain walks, sightseeing - all with a bottle of goon in hand. NATURALLY! :) So she settled into the lifestyle well. When I wasn't drinking goon publicly with her, I was mostly job hunting... I felt more experienced in what I should be aiming for, and applying for as a backpacker now. I wasted too much time applying for stuff I was never gonna get last time. I got back in contact with my old casual jobs as a removalist and labourer, and also some new ones too. I got told that work was available at Base backpackers. I know for a fact that if you work for them, it's mostly for free accommodation and food n drink tokens at Scary Canarys (Cats old bar). But it was better than nothing I guess, so I went for an interview... Well he said it was a interview, or a "chat" but he looked me up and down and asked me if I had work boots. I said I had (meaning at home), but I then realised he was expecting me to work there and then! Plastering and getting dirty in my semi-fancy interview clothes! I was like "Whoa, wait a minute! I don't know what the hours of work are, what I'm doing, if I'm getting paid, or anything yet!" We then agreed I was gonna find out about my other jobs on that day, and start tomorrow if nothing else came up. Ideally, I wanted to work for cash. Not to stay at Base! And I needed it for Bali... But luckily, by the end of the day, I had the choice of 3 jobbies, and I took the one as a labourer - not at Base :) Hoorah!! I was starting the next day, and it was WAY out in the south of Sydney. But I set my alarm 4:30am and was ready... That night the girls decided they wanted to go "Ivy" (nightclub with rooftop swimming pool) with an Italian guy, Spanish guy and a Dutch guy. The Dutch guy was fresh off the boat, and Ambika convinced him her box of white wine was really expensive and special - he felt really guilty drinking it.... It was actually a $12 box of goon... Ah, naive goon virgins. So naïve to the goonage... My alarm was set for 4:30am, but the girls came in at 4:20, so I didn't need it... Plus, Ambika snores like a bloody buffalo with asthma.... So, it was back to early starts for me! :)

So I worked for a couple days at this big house. I just basically needed to get all the floors ready for carpeting. It was ok.. but dusty... Really dusty! I was like Scarface with a serious dust problem.. Had at least a kilo of dust up my honker every time I breathed. But that's life.. My bank accounts been "exit only" since the farm, so i was happy to get some sort of income at the end of the day... Ambika had an old uni friend (Bonnerly) moving to Sydney. So we met up with him. We were told he moved into a place in Bondi Beach.. And guess what he found!?.. 128 WARNERS AVENUE, Bondi! Aka - Where we all used to live before! He lived in apartment 4, right next door to our old place. We went back there and had a house party with all our old neighbours. About 6 of us played F#*@ The Dealer. Some French guy was coming off the worst. It was his first time playing it, and he threw a massive strop because of the amount he was drinking :p Its so funny... He threw his cards down (which somehow ended up in his drink), got up angrily, then started dancing to "The Next Episode" with a smile on his face lol. Was classic Shmoseby... A couple days after the house party, we were back in Bondi. This time it was for Ambikas last day out. So we had a bbq and lots of drinks. Me and Cat wernt really hungry, but stupidly, I let Cat do the food shopping for us. I said "Dont get carried away, just get a few burgers, and buns." (We had ketchup, cheese, oil etc)... So she went into Coles as I waited outside - then came back with like 60 million bags! She had camel burgers, chicken skewers, sausages, salads... Bare in mind this is just for me and her, and other people made their own contributions... I asked her what she spent, and she was like "...$40." Me and Mark used to do a bbq for $2 each! Bread and sausages! I already had $30 of alcohol to get through! I wasn't hungry, and I don't like eating much when im drinking... ANYWAY, we went down to the beach, and had a really nice time. It was a nice sunny day, and we ate and drank a lot... (As you can imagine)... Later in the evening a storm broke out, and we packed up our stuff and ran back into Bonnerlys place. I managed to cram a load of sausages and burgers into a plastic cup, and I rescued them for later ;) Drunken logic ay... After a few more drinks at the flat, we went to Beach Road Hotel (our old local club), and got smashed. I got a few more drinks, plus I tricked Ambika into drinking black Sambuca, which she hates, and I ended up spending over $100 more... So, I guess Cat can be forgiven lol... Kinda...

Ambika left to fly to Perth the next day, leaving just me and Cat looking for more work. Cat managed to get casual shifts at a company she used to work for (Nosh), and I got put back on the rota for my office removal work. Cat had to re-buy a load of uniform. She got some boots and said "These boots are perfect for Nosh"... psst, that's what she said!... Other than that, ive just signed up to an agency, and Cats also taken on working for accommodation at our hostel. She makes beds for a few hours, 3 days a week now. I wanted to work there too, but the manager only wanted female cleaners, and reception roles wernt available. I also had a night out with 3 guys I knew from the farm, but other than that, I might try to get my head down a bit, and start saving cash for Bali and onwards... (Key word is TRY)

So that's whats gwarning in Sydney right now blog fans. DOUBT they'll be TOO much to write about between now and my 30th in Baliiii! OH MY DAYZ - 30! Our plan after Bali is to go to Darwin and try to get work there. Also see a bit of the northern territory. Don't know if we'll ever be back in Sydney, and this makes me a saaaddd pandaaa... I worked at a Fujitsu office in Northern Sydney the other day. The views from there were AMAZING. It was at night and you could see the whole city lit up... I was early for work, so I waited there looking out, and getting nostalgic... I could see the Harbor Bridge, and I remembered walking across it with Cats parents over a year ago. I saw the hill where me, Mark and Shona drank goon and rang people up about house viewings. I saw the Westfield Tower, and remembered going up there with my old school mate Nick. And also had a great view of Luna Park, all lit up. And I remembered how good our Halloween night there was, and how good it was to have that big group of friends all there together. Ah, this city holds so many memories now, and has become a massive part of my life really... Emotional...

On that note blog fans...
Get yourself a good strong belt, because I have no idea what the future holds...
And youre gonna have ta keep them shorts TIIIIIGHT
For my NEXT - BREAKING - (possibly a 30th birthday special) - BLOG - NEWS!!!!

Zeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!
(birthday presents accepted)
POW!!
xxx

Yellow Brick Road - part 3

Brace yourself blog fans. Coz Robbie G's about to blog all over your FACE... Yellow Brick Road - part 3 is heeerrrreee.... It's a bit late - I've checked the date - I hope it's great! For goodness sake!! CHECK IT OUT BETCHEZ!...

Last stop of the eastcoast before hitting Sydney was... BYRON BAY! Another place hyped up by the masses. Everyone that's been has nothing but praise for the little town. We were actually considering a visit to Surfers Paradise before Byron, but opted to spend more time here to see what the 411 was.... So... We arrived on a gray, cloudy day... Which was a bit worrying, as we had our 2nd skydive attempt booked in on the next morning. But we remained optimistic... We wondered around the small hippy town and looked at the shops. If you were looking for a tye-dye tshirt, or something with Bob Marleys face on, Byron had you covered. I bought a pair of trainers and some tracksuit bottoms... Neither were tye-dye or Bob Marley related.... We didn't do much on our first evening there, as we were getting up for skydiving the next day. I thought I'd get up even earlier to watch England vs Uruguay... (psst) After THAT disappointment, we walked to the bus stop to get picked up by the skydive company, and the weather was looking pretty gooood.... After getting there, signing in, and getting kitted up, I met the guy I was jumping out a plane with... It was some Man United fan with a big nose... He asked me where I was from and I said "England". Then he said "Cool!..... Where abouts are you from mate?"....(I swear I just told you?).... I was hoping he wasn't this forgetful when it came to pulling parachutes.
About 6 of us got in to the little plane. Cat hadn't seemed nervous or excited about the whole thing, and even before take-off she was all 'nonchalant' about it. But she was placed nearer the sliding doors and was gonna be jumping before me... I can't lie, I was shitting it a bit by this stage. We went up, and the views of Byron were amazing! We could see the whole town, beach, lighthouse, Bob Marley t-shirts, even some WHALES swimming in the ocean below us. Made me feel a lot less disappointed about the cancelled dive in Mission Beach...
The doors went up... NOW Cat was SHITTING BRICK! Ha! About 2 people went before her, then I saw her shuffled to the edge of the plane, and VROOOMP!! The suction took her... I didn't know whether to laugh of feel nervous for her, but I didn't have much time to dwell on it, as I was being shuffled next.... There was only one way down at this point... Sat on the edge of the plane, legs dangling for about 6 seconds, head back, then VROOMP... I was gone........
Opened my eyes, looked down, and there it was. Mother earth. And I was doing something very unnatural for a human being. But by this point... Fear had gone, and I was loving it! We had 60 seconds of free falling, and admiring the views, before the chute was pulled.... The first thing I said to the guy I was strapped to was "F*ck, thats the biggest wedgie of my life". Not exactly poetic, but my testicles were almost ground down to a powder... We floated down calmly, then landed safe on the ground next to Cat... Skydiving ticked off the bucket list! :) Hell yeeeeah...

We met up with Natalie after the dive, and she was playing tour guide to us again. She had been Byron once before with Shona... She recommended a walk to the lighthouse past all the nice beaches, and view points... We even got to see a bunch of humpback whales migrating again... Awesome as shiz... We went in the lighthouse, took photos, then strolled back for the evening... We didn't have much planned the next morning, so tonight was our night to get waste stained... That's when I found the biggest downfall with Byron... THEY DONT SELL GOON! :o ANYWHERE. What else is a decent backpacker supposed to drink with no gooooon!? We settled for cheap wine... Its no Fruity Lexia, but it does the job. After predrinks, we headed out... First thing we saw was a guy playing the banjo to a sheep... Yeah, a real, living, sheep in the middle of the street. Was a bit of a mind f*ck, but I have photo evidence, and it did actually happen... We went to a bar called Cheeky Monkeys. Its the most popular in town. We saw a bunch of the guys from Fraser Island there, so we hung out with them a bit too... Towards the end of the night, the bar staff started handing out free chips for everyone. In hindsight, it's a sad reminder that I'm back in NSW, and the drinking laws here SUCK! "Ooooh we don't want people intoxicated! Give them chips or they'll diieee!" So lame.... Of course this is all hindsight, and at the time I was loving life, shoving handfuls of fries down my FACE.... :o

Next morning - the girls got up early, and.went to one of the nicest beaches about. I decided to have a lie in, then met them with BBQ stuff later. Probably wasn't the best idea, as the bags weighed a ton, and the beach was further than i remembered... Was all worth it in the end though. Nothing beats a beach BBQ for a hangover cure... (Apart from swimming pools, magic water, and chocolate milkshakes) After spending the day there, we headed out for casual drinks at the "Railway Friendly Bar". I know it sounds like the gayest bar in town, but it's def not gay though blog fans... The building itself, is an abandoned railway station. You can see the tracks and platforms through the back windows. But what makes this place great, is the live bands they have playing there. When we were there, they had a folky, rock n roll type band playing. They were pretty sick... We didn't stay up too late, as we had a day trip booked to Nimbin for the next morning...

NIMBIN: "The Amsterdam Of Australia".
Stoners paradise... That's basically why people go there. Weed and weed cookies. Its pretty funky there, and has cool little hippy stores and markets. But no ever goes there JUST for that... Apart from me, Cat and Nats of course ;) I was innocently looking at a market stall, and a lady asked if I wanted some cookies... I was hungry, so I said "yes please". Coincidently, they were weed cookies... I was recommended to eat 1/2 a cookie at a time. So I had 3/4 - naturally... Cat and Natalie had just under 1/2. I think it effected me the most. Even though Natalie couldn't manage to step up a little brick wall for a photo afterwards, and just sat there and giggled about it. Pssst, Natalie... We took the rest back to Byron, and ate it before we watched "22 Jump Street" in the cinema. Unfortunately I didn't feel much of the effect until I left there. There was one part in the film, when they ate a cake full of a new drug called "WhyPhy" and they started tripping balls. Got me a bit paranoid that it was gonna happen to me whilst watching it lol. But I was cool... After spending the night with planet earths two loudest snoriners, we checked out of Byron for a night bus to Sydney. We hung around a while, and got some fruit for the journey. Cat got caught weighing everything as "carrots" at self-service to make things cheaper. Was proper embarrassing.... 14hrs later, we were back in Sydney...

Hello Sydney!
Feels good to be home! Arriving back here felt emotional... I remembered how I first came here over a year ago, and all the expectations I had when I first got here... We arrived at our old hostel we loved so much, Elephant. We spent many months here before, and was strange to be back. It looked so much cleaner! But it didn't take long for us to realize 80% of the showers and half the toilets were still not working. Ah, the memories. Emotional... Cat noticed she left her Kindle on the coach. We luckily got it back, but it's classic Cat.... We spent some time doing the old things we loved doing here. The walks, bars, and restaurants we liked. We then even visited our old place in Bondi! Our old home for half a year :( ... Emotional... It looked the same, but different... They had the mirror I bought, the shoe rack, all the dvds I got, even my big goon chalice that I used to drink from! ...Emotional!... Then - duh duh duh!! We get another visitor from home arriving to see us... AMBIKA!... Was the first time we saw her since the amazing surprise leaving party she organized for us in London... Emotional... We went out with her, got drunk, then woke up early to go back to the Blue Mountains....... Emotional...

Since then the rest of the time has been... Emotional... We had Rachel's birthday celebration, but also her and Shona, and Natalie, and Gemma and Roslyn all leaving... Forever...... Emotional!... Natalie has gone New Zealand, Shona and Rachel to Philippines, and Gemma and Ros back home. End of an error! Last few days we were busy with all the meeting up, BYOs, goodbye drinks, and plain ol goodbyes... It was pretty emotional... and then, they were gone... :( ... Ah emotions.... Since then, I've been playing tour guide for Ambika, and job hunting. Ambika might stay in Sydney a bit longer than expected. She likes it here... Obviously - we're here... But Cat and her might go off and do some more day and weekend trips from Sydney. Whilst I'm staying, and hopefully getting some cold hard cash for Bali :D

So... Guess that's all I gotta say for now. I'll let you know how the job hunt goes, and how Ambikas trip went (from my point of view - not hers) in my next blogtation... Keep one eye out, and one pair of shorts tight for that!

And if I don't see you through the week, I'll see you through the...ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa!!..........

(poof)

....I'm out like a rocket
x