Gold Coast (Australia) - Return of the boy from Oz

GOLD COAST (Australia)
07 March - 11 March 2017

Arriving back 'home' felt good. I think what you miss when you're away are more of the small things, happenings in your daily life that you might take for granted, a way of speaking, a friendly smile, a typical joke, items in the supermarket. These aren't major concerns or elements that cause a nuisance when you're away, as they're always replaced with either something different or better, but something needs to be said for the substance of familiarity. Things that are familiar are safe. Not that I'm concerned about safety but being home gives you a level of comfort where you can feel safe.

Working from home? Gold Coast - Queensland - Australia

International Woman's Day - Gold Coast - Australia

A visit to Brisbane to see if the Gold Coast to Brisbane daily commute was a viable option.

Answer - NO

Brisbane - Queensland - Australia

The Gold Coast wasn't meant to be any sort of extension of our Arrival holiday, in fact, we had originally had it slated as the place where we would live. A decision that we originally made for reasons of weather and access to, well, everything cool. The issue with the Gold Coast, for the moment, is that it's not a mecca for jobs, and I didn't really consider us to be in the position where we could wait around for 6 months until something eventuated. It may however be our final destination in the future but that needs to remain on hold for a little while.

Arriving in Melbourne!

Welcome Home!!

We spent a few days on the Gold Coast before heading to our new home, Melbourne. During that time we caught up with Jay, who at that time was at the start of a journey that would take him to California. One going, and one coming back. Little did we both know that at this very time the next year both of us would be in the same cool position, excited and nervous expectant fathers.

And to kick-off the ARRIVAL HOME - here's a few photos from our first months in Melbourne

Elizabeth Street - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

First day of work with BAPL - a view out to the 'G'

Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

Our first rental - Garfield Street - Richmond - Victoria - Australia

Garfield Street - Richmond - Victoria - Australia

Garfield Street - Richmond - Victoria - Australia

Garfield Street - Richmond - Victoria - Australia

Our first car in Melbourne - the Ford Mustang Fastback EcoBoost

Good story - Inga & I rode up to the dealership on our bikes. Inga parked her pink bike at the front door. As we walked in the salesman looked as us, not quite sure what to make of two people turning up on bicycles.

20 minutes later he had a sale!

Garfield Street - Richmond - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

Garfield Street - Richmond - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia

San Franciso (USA) - Don't Haight me

SAN FRANCISCO (USA)
02 March - 05 March 2017

This was it. The last stop on an incredible ride over the last three years that has taken me from Australia, and Inga, from Latvia, through South America, back to Australia, back to South America, through Europe, back to South America, to Europe, to Central America, to Europe, to South America, to the Middle East, to Europe, to the Middle East and now through the US. When you say it exactly like that, it's a little too hard to grasp, and even when we think of the time from 2015-2018 it feels like a hurricane of thoughts, images, hotel and airports. But for me at least, I wouldn't of had that time any other way. 

Not that I justify the amount of travel completely but when looking at my life from 18 yrs of age I spent nearly all of my time out of high school both studying and working. First I completed a B.Business, then a Masters in Economics, then a Juris Doctor, all the while working without purpose or direction, in the hope that my studies would elevate me to somewhere that I wanted to be. Of course, in hindsight that strategy was the arse backwards approach, where really, had I have started in an industry where I had a real interest and then studied something in parallel, well, I may have lined up things with far more wisdom and direction then I have up until this point.

The three years that we took to doing what we wanted is the trade-off for the 20+ yr grind. And I recognise that people may say do you think yourself entitled? To that I say, absolutely not, but why not take the opportunity when its there for you? How many people dream of doing things and then regretting the opportunities that they never took? I won't.

San Francisco surprised me. Occupying 75 square kilometres of hills at the tip of a slender peninsula around the southern entrance to San Francisco Bay, its actually very small. In my head I always considered San Francisco to be a major US metropolis, in the 2.5-3.5 million vicinity, and perhaps that's true if you take into account the combined area of San Jose - San Francisco and Oakland, but on it's own, San Francisco has a population of a little under 850,000, although, it is one of the might highly densely populated areas in the US, and certainly the most on the West Coast.

Presidio of San Francisco - California - USA

San Francisco - California - USA

San Francisco - California - USA

To get in here you need to have some type of wealth, the scarcity of land means that you're going to be paying through the nose for anything reasonable. Real estate prices are on par with Sydney, in fact, Inga and I, with the assistance of my friend Tia, went to an open house for a 2bdr/2bath/no car space in the cool suburb of Ashbury Heights and found an asking price of $1million. Probably not the extreme disaster when exchange rates were at parity but these days the conversion would get you close to $1.5m AUD. So when I think about what that could get you in either Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, then I'd say San Francisco is now forming a league of its own.

Alcatraz Island - San Francisco Bay - California - USA

San Francisco - California - USA

San Francisco - California - USA

To me San Francisco is kind of like the Australian version of Melbourne, being on the coast however still doesn't give it the power, or the right, to be identified as a beach bunnies getaway, it's not any sort of L.A. Temperatures are consistently in the mid 20's and Winter will get you into the 15's, which aligns to what we experience here in Melboutne. With that said, a lot goes on here, in spite of the weather, in spite of its small footprint, the ideas, political movements, hippie boho vibe, artistic endeavours, anything that you could want to be developed or imagined will probably get a creative spark from right here, and that makes the city desperately cool. What it packs into a small area is exactly the fist to the jaiw that can knock you out for the night - if you missed the idea I was going for there what  mean is that it packs a punch.

Pier 39 - Fisherman's Wharf - San Francisco - California - USA

Haight Street - Haight-Ashbury - San Francisco - California - USA

Hobbson's Choice Cafe - San Francisco - California - USA

Despite being a hilly town it's still relatively accessible and quite the attractive city. It's harbour is open &l arge and its entrance, punctuated by the Golden Gate bridge, quite the dramatic statement.

One of my favourite areas that we went to was Haight Street, as invited and directed by my friend and former OzEmail/UUNet/MCI WorldCom colleague, Tia Barnard. This street cuts through the well known Haight-Ashbury area and gives you access to cool bars, BoHo stores, restaurants and all many of other great things. It's very much like Brunswick Street in Melbourne or King Street in Newtown, you know its different and that's what makes its such a welcome change.

San Francisco - California - USA

San Francisco - California - USA

San Francisco - California - USA

And that my friends, was that. Three (3) years after leaving Australia, for what at the time I thought was going to be a permanent departure, now sees me coming back home, albeit to a different city. 

The Year Full of Saturdays has certainly had a wild ride and there were times when I thought that I'd dropped so far behind with my entries that catching up with be a total impossibility, and whilst I'm still not quite 100% on the mark, my arrival back to Australia puts my in a place where I consider myself to be very much in the ball park.

And so we wait for the next adventure. 

Las Vegas (USA) - Drinking prior to an interview? Obligatory!

LAS VEGAS (USA)
28 February - 02 March 2018

Vegas is all go and no whoa, it's 24hrs of casinos, amazing shows, decadent nightclubs, & equally engaging bars, its a complete sensory overload. Outside of New York & London, this the other place in the world where you will be well and truly spoiled for entertainment choices. A-listers are part of the Vegas fabric, being bored in Las Vegas cannot be an option. If you are, then really, you need to have a good look at yourself.

Paris Las Vegas Hotel - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

The Strip - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

Inga attempting to 'Go Big'

Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

This time Inga and I decided to stay on the Strip at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino. The location, on the southern end of the strip was very central and gave us access to the bright lights and casino extravaganza that draws all the moths to the eternally burning flame.

The great thing about this city is that it allows you to get a fix of any or all of your vices, and then hopefully, lets you get out with your sanity in check also. 

From the Bellagio - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

The Strip - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

The Strip - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

Now somehow, both on our last visit to Vegas, and now this one, we were hyper reluctant to gamble. Well actually, Inga was 'super' reluctant to gamble and her position kind of influenced my hand too. With that said, it's been many, many years since I encountered a short, sharp bite of the gambling bug, which occurred in my first or second year of university (the first time at university), so we're talking 1994 or 1995. I recall at that time, having a few easy wins on roulette and then believing that I had formulated a strategy where easy money could be made. A few times when I should have been in lectures I headed off to what was then the temporary casino site on the first wharf at Pyrmont Bay.  I had a few ups and downs but on one of those occasions I lost more money than I should have. Walking out of the casino I had an overwhelming urge to withdraw more cash with the aim of winning back my losses. The internal debate lasted a few minutes before I chastised myself and made a conscious effort to walk away. So, I recognise the buzz and the thrill associated with both winning and wanting to chase your money, the later of which I've never done, but I recognise that I may have come closed.

           Every gambler knows, that to lose, it what you're really there for

                                                                                                  -  U2

'O' by Cirque du Soleil - Bellagio Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

'O' by Cirque du Soleil - Bellagio Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

'O' by Cirque du Soleil - Bellagio Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

The Flamingo Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

'O' by Cirque du Soleil - Bellagio Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

'O' by Cirque du Soleil - Bellagio Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

There's so much competition in Las Vegas in terms of shows that you can't afford to be an also-ran. You have to be quality otherwise people will simply cast their dollar votes elsewhere, because as you know, Vegas is the ultimate democracy, your dollar votes will elect whomever you want to be on stage, just like that. No votes, no show, and that's that.

  Las Vegas - Nevada - USA

Absinthe - Caesars Palace - Las Vegas - Nevada

Absinthe - Caesars Palace - Las Vegas - Nevada

Absinthe - Caesars Palace - Las Vegas - Nevada

Now a kind of funny thing happened to me whilst I was here. As we were still a few weeks from touching down in Melbourne, I was earnestly commencing the process of finding myself a job. In all honesty I had allocated myself a time of 4-5 months from arriving to be in full-time work but was secretly hoping that the pick-up time would be much shorter, say 1-2 months. On one of the days I was contacted via email by BAPL who were requesting to interview me. After explaining my position and the fact that I was currently transiting through the US they stated that a Skype interview would be more than satisfactory for them, which we organised for midday on 01 March.

Absinthe - Caesars Palace - Las Vegas - Nevada

New York, New York Hotel & Casino - the scene of the pre-interview Margaritas!

I can't remember any occasion where I've had drinks prior to an interview, but hey, this was Vegas and I thought if anything, a few margaritas prior to getting online might just be a bit of fun.  So after having a bit of lunch and a few drinks at the New York, New York Hotel & Casino, I felt ready to have a great discussion. And that's exactly what happened. Feeling confident and pretty damn good about things the discussion went swimmingly, with some good humour and a few oddball jibes about my Bon Jovi-esque hair being thrown into the mix. After a few additional email interactions and some BA style exercises that I completed on the flight back from Los Angeles to Sydney, I ended up getting the consulting gig and was gainfully employed within a week of touching down in Melbourne. Now that's 'for the win'.

As always Las Vegas was a lot of fun, but once again, I left feeling as though we hadn't really taking it for all it was worth. Both this occasion and the last one I felt we had been more timid than the city demands. I promise right now that the next time WILL be different!

Caye Caulker (Belize) - Meet you at the Split

CAYE CAULKER (Belize)
23 February - 28 February 2018

Caye Caulker is an idyllic Caribbean location that hasn’t had the misfortune of encountering, or needing to be host to, a wealthy jet set type that has unashamedly placed it out of reach of the common man. It’s just a laid back, easy going type of settlement where you can jump off the end of a dock into the warm waters of the Caribbean and genuinely be satisfied with your lot in life.

Caye Caulker - Belize

Caye Caulker - Belize

Caye Caulker - Belize

Caye Caulker - Belize

Gentle breezes, swaying palm trees, sand roads and a barefoot compulsion.  How aggressive and faced paced a lifestyle can you form when your chief mode of transport is a golf cart? Not that you really need a buggy to get around, on a flat, sand laden island (caye), your two legs and the two feet you have attached to them will be just fine.

Caye Caulker - Belize

Caye Caulker - Belize

Caye Caulker - Belize

Caye Caulker - Belize

Caye Caulker - Belize

Both of us love Caye Caulker. It’s hard to even imagine now that on our trip through Central America one year earlier it was our plan B, what we could afford to do if we had spare time.  Thankfully we did find ourselves with a few days spare and this is how we were rewarded in turn. Who says there’s no prize for being well prepared and ahead of schedule.

Caye Caulker - Belize

Caye Caulker - Belize

Caye Caulker - Belize

Also, as a minor additional prize, I managed to run into an old OzEmail acquaintance, Daniel Vandervaere, who is one of those people that probably travels more than us, and thus, it was kind of inevitable that somewhere around the world we’d catch up, even randomly, which is exactly what happened on this occasion. Both of us did our Caye Caulker check-in and we advised by mutual friends that we were here at the same time. You know what that means – DRINKS.

‘Meet you at the split, mate’.

Belize City (Belize) - Not your Caribbean dream

BELIZE CITY (Belize)
22 February - 23 February 2018

Arriving on the edge of the Caribbean once again we were looking forward to getting out to our favourite little treat, Caye Caulker, and unless you head out to the Caye from somewhere else or fly in with a local flight, then its fairly inevitable that you'll have to make a pit stop in Belize City. Either for a very short period of time, or for an 'extended period', all of one night, like us. I say 'extended period' for the simple fact that Belize City is not particularly outstanding.

Belize sign - Belize City - Belize

It's rugged, some would say gritty, and its dilapidated wooden buildings are built to stand right to the edge of the road, pushing you out into the street where you can choose to dodge the traffic as much as you like. There is of course a little bit of colour here in the building exteriors, it is the Caribbean after all, but there's not a lot else to keep you engaged.

Belize City - Belize

Belize City - Belize

Most of the fun we had was on arrival and that involved finding a tourist agency at the airport that was going to hold most of our luggage whilst we headed out to the Caye for a few days. Coming from Europe on our way to Australia, we didn't really find the concept of heading out to an idyllic location with full suitcases, suits and jackets, to be all that appealing. Thankfully $35 USD sorted that logistical problem for us in a rush.

And so we stayed overnight in Belize City, not a marvel, not a weathered dame, not a place that ever really had its time in the sun. In my view its probably ilike the little mongrel dog that may in its time have had a bath and for one brief moment felt slightly normal. Apologies to you Belize City, I'm sure underneath your tough exterior you're really very much a kind, soft hearted city but more than likely we'll never stay long enough to ever find out.