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.

Less than 2 weeks away...

This trip came together at the last minute and suddenly I'm leaving in less than 2 weeks.  The first leg of the trip will be on the west coast of America.  Peter and Ryan have already left and will meet me in Seattle on October 2nd.  From there we will head to Vancouver, CA and explore that area.  Things feel right when you are exploring uncharted territory (uncharted for yourself).  It must have been a whole new level of excitement for explorers back when they didn't know what the world even looked like.

Anyway, after Vancouver we will head down to Portland for a day or two.  We will spend a lot of time at Rogue Alehouse and Voodoo doughnut I'm sure.  After Portland we travel to Crater Lake to camp and then to Redwood National Forest.  Next on the list will be San Francisco, where Taquerias are a must.  After a drive down the PCH, we finish in LA.  I fly back for sisters wedding and a week later I'll be in LA boarding a flight for Australia.  After a few weeks in Australia, I will make my way to New Zealand and meet Peter in Auckland.  From there it's roaming aimlessly time.


We all need something to look forward to.  This is mine.

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.

Clarity

I feel like I've come through the chaos and now there is finally clarity. For the longest time I've been trying to figure out what to do with this trip. Peter has his motivations and I have my own. I've decided to do this on my own and if we meet up then that's great. A huge weight has been lifted and now I can finally come to the final leg of this tour that is planning the trip. It feels like I'm days, maybe even hours away from pulling the trigger. All I can say is that this trip will test me in ways I've never been tested. Being on my own in a foreign country will be great for me. It might be more than one country as well. Asia is looking like a very good start to the trip. It would be a huge culture shock. It's scary and that's why it attracts me. This blog will start picking up very fast once these tickets are purchased. I think the next update will have the title "Purchased."

Maybe people will start reading this blog soon, too. I haven't shown it to anyone, fearing that I could somehow back out and be embarrassed and more importantly waste peoples time. So if you are reading this...I'm probably already out there in the world. I think it was important to have this first act of the blog. Maybe you are going back and forth thinking if you should do something like this. If you think you are crazy for having conflicting thoughts all you have to do to feel better is read these last 20 blogs and see how off the wall I was.

In the end I think it was a quote that pushed me in the right direction. I hope it helps you like it did for me.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.” -Mark Twain

GAP YEAR - Alaska

So I actually forgot to post this on the website. It's been done for about a month. This blog isn't very professional... Anyways here is GAP YEAR: Alaska. Hope you like it. Also, if you click on the video link you can watch it in a bigger format and in HD.

Gap Year: Alaska from Brett Line on Vimeo.

Travel Music

So back in 2007 I randomly flew to Hawaii on a whim to try to get on the film "Tropic Thunder". I bought a plane ticket on July 5th and flew away the same day. I only had a few hours to grab what I needed. I grabbed some clothes, a friends gps and an ipod shuffle. It was one of the free giveaway shuffles that could only hold around 20 songs so I had to choose wisely. I decided to go with an album I hadn't heard yet - Paul McCartney's Memory Almost Full. I flew to Oahu for the interview. The day of the interview I realized I was on the wrong island, which might have granted me the award of most stress ever from a person visiting Hawaii. So, I made up some bs story and pushed the interview 3 days as I hopped on a plane to the right island - Kauai. Went to the interview and after some promising calls eventually didn't end up with the job. Meanwhile, during the 2 weeks that was my adventure in Hawaii, I was listening to Memory Almost Full. Now, even three years later, that album is and will forever be linked to that trip. When most people think of Hawaii they think of surfing and palm trees. I think of a British guy's album about the winter years of his life. Completely random but I love it.

Anyways, I thought that I'd post my suggestions for great songs to bring with you on your next journey. Here are my top 10:

#10 - "Red and Shine" by Blue States - This song must be played in that moment where it hits you that you are somewhere far away and you love it.

#9 - "Snow Spectrum" by Seekae - Play this song when you are lost in nature and you will be at peace.

#8 - Any Siqur Ros song - Seriously...any of them. They can make anything 10 times more epic. Chilling at the Great Wall of China? Cool. Chilling at the Great Wall of China with Sigur Ros playing? Amazing.

#7 - "Ever Present Past" by Paul McCartney - It's Hawaii for me, what is for you?

#6 - "Long Time Fish Pie" by Seekae - I imagine that this song would be a really great companion if you were lost in some Asian country. Try it out and let me know.

#5 - "Look to Your Laurels" by Blue States - If life were a film, this would be in a redemption montage scene. It wouldn't be over the top like Rocky but it would still be just as inspirational.

#4 - "Happy Up Here" by Royksopp - Such a poppy song that screams night out in Europe.

#3 - "We Are The People" by Empire of the Sun - This song has such a dreamy sound that I can't get enough of. I love the break in this (the part right after chorus). This song reminds me that I am young.

#2 - "World Citizen (I Won't Be Disappointed)" from the Babel Soundtrack - This song is the perfect song to listen to if you are far far away and alone. I'd prefer to hear it in a Japanese cigar/jazz bar at night.

#1 - "Allies" by Blue States - This song is in queue for my next inspirational films ending. It just hits you. It injects you with this amazing euphoria and makes you feel like anything is possible. Definitely check out this artist.