Never say no to Pandas

They're almost extinct, so they'll be pissed they're dying for nothing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ9xM1FFSxU

It's been a while

Hello, world!

I decided to check in, seeing as a lot has been going on in my life. I want to share some of the many experiences I've had in the time we've been apart.

I've been doing many things since I got back from australia. First off, we moved, which was a big event because now we live in a house! That's a first for us, so we're all excited. There's been a lot of adjusting to this lifestyle, many more responsibilities. I've had a kitten, and gotten harsh into longboarding. I've climbed a tree to cut the branches down and taken a trip to chase BC for a weekend of flips off the dock and flipping off the train. I travelled to Vernon BC in search of new, unexplored territory, and I've ventured to Plateau and Belcarra in search of new hills to bomb. I biked for a while and learn to cook steaks very well. I've hacky-sacked, learnt to play the ukulele and the harmonica better, worked on my beatboxing, and sketched a lot more. I've worked at painting houses and DJ'ing Music bingo. I've read more books and met more people than i have at any point in my life, i think, and I'm very happy for it. Some people have moved away and gone their ways, and that's the way it is. I love my life right now, and I hope all you do too! Here are some glimpses into my life!

Going home!

Well, The time has come to go home. I'm happily done with Australia. I have lived in a van and toured the east coast with my friend Dan. I've done the Great Ocean Road, which WAS the Greatest ocean road I've ever done. I've worked at a potato factory and surfed in what felt like the arctic ocean. I've spent a month and a half in the desert, and been there when 4 different cars broke down. I've gotten pulled over and watched terrible Australian commercials. I've been poor and been up hours looking at the stars. I've skated wicked hills and surfed wicked surf in Prevelly. I've snorkelled at Ningaloo reef, and had search and rescue called on me. I lived on a beach for a month and a half, and eaten lots of sand. I've busked the streets of Melbourne and gotten a thousand dollars worth of parking tickets. I've bought 3 kilos of nutella in one month and been sunburnt only twice. I've had sand in many meals and flies in many corners of my ... existence. I've learnt Hebrew, French German and Finnish. To an extent. I've missed my family and made new friends. I've rocked and been to a couple house parties, and opened my eyes to the magic of saltwater. And I've had a pretty phenomenal time.

Darwin and Beyond

For the past two weeks I've been in wonderful Darwin, NT. -That's Northern Territory for all you civillians out there. After Emilia's car broke down indefinitely- as in Kaput, no more, a bare husk of a car for us to sleep in- we've been spending our nights at Lake Alexander. It's a place where Vannies go to live it up. Every night there are tens of vans parked by the public toilets there. Pumping loud music, utilising the free BBQ's, -at lest that's what I've been doing. At night, you're not allowed to stay there in your van to sleep, however, if you drive 500m around a fence, there's a dirt field where EVERYONE goes. Its a mecca, so to speak. So after two weeks looking for work, living off rice and trying to find a car, Emilia and I are just about ready to leave Darwin. Now, if you'll excuse me, we have a meeting with a prospective addition to our group in ten minuites. Its because the Frenchies left for Vietnam today that I think we're having success. We just couldn't leave eachother until one of us left the country, it seems.

Northbound ho!

G'day mates!

So, although Marylin dumped me in Nildottie, I hitched a ride with my good friend Emilia, a girl of Finnish descent, and we've gone with Francois and Clem to travel up through the centre. We've done 3000 kms on our way to Darwin because we keep doing wicked detours to other and better places on the way. We're right now taking a needed vacation after so much vacationing. After seeing Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings' Canyon we're resting in Alice springs. Soon, though, we'll be on our way again up north and then the west coast. So long, everyone back home!

Po Polsku:

Czesc wrzyscy!

To navet ze Marylin mnie zostawila w Nildottie, zalaczylem sie z kolegami I kolezankami I Jadziem teraz przes australie. Po zobaczeniu Uluru, Kata Tjuta i Kings Canyon, jestesmy bardzo zmeczoni I robimy odpoczynek w Alice springs. Przeczes zrobilismy 3000 kilometrow! Ale zaraz bedziemy na drodze jesce raz zeby surfowac jescze raz!

Still in Nildottie

Hello all my distance-ed friends and family,

Just a little quick heads up from your ol' pal Gregatron. Life on the farm is pleasant. It's quiet and it's quaint. And it also has just flipped 189 degrees. Yeah, that's right. MORE than half way around. I got fired from my job at the potato factory, and my van died. In the same day. And so then i had to walk home from my ex-job. So now, I'm looking for work at the orange farm, to raise enough money so sam and I can put a new engine into the van. It's less than buying a new car, and Marylin is just worth it. Besides, with her, we have our accomodations on wheels! So, life goes on, with new twists and turns.

Po Polsku:

Tutaj wrzystko jest jak zawrze. Zycie jest chiche na wiosce. Wrzystko jest tak samo oprucz ze dostalem zwolniony z pracy, i moj samochod sie zepsol. To teraz szukam prace na farmie pomarancz, i bede oszcedzal pieniadze zeby kupic nowy silnik. Ale oprocz tego, wrzystko idzie jak gladko i jak zwykle jak normalnie.

Nildottie

So, I'm in Nildottie. It's a small town about 100 kms north of Adelaide. It's got a shop, a post office, and a liquor store... all in one shop. The same lady works at the shop almost every day, and there's one mechanic. If you go about 20 kms south, you get to the bar. Getting here was an experience. About a week ago, Jarrod and I set out from Adelaide with what we thought was a bent axle. So I decided that, since the shaking wasn't too bad under 70km/h, i would just take it slow. We needed to get to work at 8am the next day, so we had to make it either way. 30kms out, we get a flat tire. THANK GOD. I was so happy that the bang i heard on the side of the road wasn't a bent axle. So we had quite an adventure at that time of night in that part of the neighborhood. Quite a ride.

Honorable mention: our tow truck driver, Bill

Po Polsku:

Jestem w miescie nazwano Nildottie. Male mjasto, ma jeden sklep. W tym sklepie sa warzywa, listy, i piwo. Pub jest 30 kilometrow na polnoc. Jest fajne miasto, i mierzkam z 3ma kolegami w tym czasie jak pracujemy na chodowni ziemniakow. Mielismy strach jak jechalismy tutaj: Opona plaska! Ale to jest okay, bo myslawem ze bylo to os przekrecona. To jest naprawde frajda!