Goodbye Australia

So my last day in Australia consisted of watching the Redskins lose 59 to who cares and saving an abandoned dog.  When I went to the beach before the game I found this dog who was alone just sitting in the shade.  He quickly came over to me and layed down.  It was pretty much the saddest sight I'd seen in a long time.  The dog was all ratty looking with dried out fur from the ocean salt.  I sat with the dog for 20 minutes hoping his owner would return but nothing.  There was no way I was going to ditch this dog or it would follow to me for the rest of my life.  I walked with it on the beach looking for it's owner but still nothing.  Finally, some people with a car said they'd drive it to the shelter, which is better than being all alone on a beach in the sun.  I hope they don't gas their animals here.  I also hope that the owners get the dog back and treat it well.

After the game I walked to Coolangatta and ate thai.  The people made me wait 3 minutes for their happy hour.  Is it really that big of a deal?  3 minutes?  Assholes.  I would have gone somewhere else but there wasn't anywhere to go.  I walked back to the hostel on the beach and went into deep thought.  The trip wasn't even halfway through but the thoughts of what I was going to do with my life returned.  Still clueless on the other side of the world. 

Today I'll fly to New Zealand and meet Peter in Auckland.  I'm excited to have a constant friend to hang out with again and also a car.  I've been stranded here for over a week and am ready for a change.  Still need to decide if I want to extend my flight.  Need to figure that out fast.

Melbourne

For the last week I've been in Melbourne walking around and exploring.  There's nothing like being on your own in a foreign city and wandering.  I think I walked about 10 miles the first two days.  I found this amazing Asian bakery called Breadtop, which sells a lot of mini things like cheeseburgers.  Ordinary things are funny when they are mini.  Things are about double in prices here so just going to McDonalds is going to be costing you about $10.  If you live in Australia it's alright since minimum wage is $15 an hour but most people are making around $20.  If you are American you will pay.  This country seems to be "socialized" but everyone is living pretty good.

Halloween here is slowly coming along.  It's nowhere near the level it is in the US.  We found one place that was celebrating it - a gothic club.  I walked in and immediately thought I was in the Fifth Element with all the neon people and glowing eyes.  "Ahhh..here we go..Halloween", I said.  Then one guy replied "It's like this everynight here."  So Melbourne has a Fifth Element bar 24/7.  We proceeded to get trashed and have a good time.  I had some absinthe, which tasted like blackout.  Since Australia is great..the last call was at 5:30 A.M. and we stayed till pretty much then, stumbled home, grabbed some McDonalds and passed out.

The next day consisted of recovery and gambling.  I dropped some cash the night before so I was hesitant on losing but I came out ahead.  After getting Thai and some candy I actually made money on the day - $4.  I am now addicted to pokies (slot machines to us Americans) and will most likely be gambling everyday from here on out.  It was nice knowing you. 

Getting ready to go on a roadtrip up into south central Australia.  It's called Adelaide but I thought "South Central Australia" sounded way more hardcore.  After we get back I'll jump on a plane to Gold Coast and will stay at a hostel 1 block from the beach.  Eventually I'm going to get to New Zealand...I hope...

Down Under

We'll the journey has officially begun.  I landed in Melbourne yesterday in high winds.  I thought how shitty it would be if I ended up dying in a plane crash in the last minute of a 16 hour flight.  Atleast have it crash during the first hour...  Don't leave me high and dry on a plane for 16 hours next to a guy with face melting body odor and 2 shitty movies (Dinner for Schmucks/The Back-Up Plan).  I thought movies were supposed to make it go by quicker?  I'm pretty sure the script for Dinner for Schmucks was just a thousand pages with paint drying on them.

Met up with James after a few dogs smelled my bags for drugs.  We drove through Melbourne and then he dropped me off at his place while he went to work.  Extremely jetlagged, I managed to watch the Giants neuter the Cowboys and stay awake.  I walked the dog through this wildlife preserve and saw wild parrots.  That's when you know you are somewhere good.  Instead of rats and pigeons, they have green and red parrots littering their land.  I'm crossing my fingers that I see a parrot-rat hybrid come out of their sewers.

Got back from the walk and watched Jeopardy with James' parents while we drank some beers.  I felt chuffed (proud) when I answered Jordan correct.  Not Michael Jordan...the place with Petra...obviously...(roll eyes).  It was 9 pm and I was a zombie.  I felt bad because we were watching an extremely depressing documentary on the corruption in China and I was just dosing off.  So insensitive...  I think I had been up for 24 hours straight but atleast it got me on Australia's time zone.  For your information when it's 9 a.m. on a Wednesday in Australia it is 6 p.m. on a Tuesday in NYC.

On a serious note, I feel amazing about coming here.  The fear and pressures to stay home and get back in the rat race are gone.  I know I made the right decision.  Life is about experiences.  Life is too short to let the fear control who you are.

Purchased!

It's been a long time coming but today it went down. I purchased my ticket to New Zealand. Actually, I'm arriving in Melbourne, Australia and from there will loiter that country for a few weeks. I went to Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast last November/December and loved it. What I'm eying is Cairns or Tasmania for this stint. From there I will catch a flight to Auckland, New Zealand where I will meet Peter and continue on this wild ride.

What can I say about this experience? It's been so draining. I feel like I've climbed a mountain with this decision. So many negative forces telling me not to go and instead be practical and give up on dreams. At times I believed them and others I was angry. Just because you're afraid doesn't mean you have to fill my world with black clouds. "Life is a state of mind." I love this. It's on Peter Seller's grave and was featured in his masterpiece "Being There". I believe this saying even more now.

Never give up on your dreams. Never let naysayers alter your vision. It won't be easy..because if it was then everybody would be doing it.