Adventures in Australia

Big Party

Last night I had a little party downtown in the city at a local bar. They hooked us up and gave us all you can drink well drinks for $5 dollars for two hours. Let me tell you, I got smashed! I started drinking at around 7:30PM and didn't get home until 3:45AM! It was loads of fun, but also a little sad to say goodbye to a lot of people.

After I woke up and popped about three aspirin, I realized that I am now under one week on my countdown. In fact, from today, it is 5 days until midnight of Feb 5th, 5 bloody days! I can't believe it has come up so fast! I'm frickn' excited!

5 Days till Australia.

Packing

Hold the Presses! I'm actually starting to pack! 8 Days before I leave, and I've already begun to pack. I can't believe this. Normally, like most people, I don't pack until the day before, but wow, I'm actually packing!

Why? It's simple, boredom. I've gone tanning and have 4 more appointments setup before I leave. All I have let to do for me is to go wire money, go into work and back up everything I did, and pack. I have nothing else to do between now and the day I leave that is going to require an all day event, so I might as well start to pack. I know, crazy...

8 Days till Australia.

Single Digits

Holy Shit! I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. My countdown till I leave for Australia is now in single digits! Thats right baby, in 9 days, I will be leaving for Australia! I'm so excited, yet at the same time overwhelmed with the simple fact that I only have 9 days left here in the States.

I've been getting a couple emails about when I exactly leave, so to set things straight, let me explain the countdown. The countdown is to 12:00AM of Feb 5th 2006. My flight doesn't leave from Chicago until later in the evening on the 5th, but I decided to countdown to the day, as the entire day is really the start of the trip. Due to the time the flight from L.A. takes off at, and changing the international date line, I officially will be in Australia on Feb 7th Australia time, Feb 6th here in the states. So there's the explanation :)

I'm frickn' excited! All my shopping is done, I just have to cancel a few services I have here in the states, and I also still need to go tanning. I'm going to be entering Australia in the heart of summer, and I need to get my body prepared so I don't burn. I grew up working as a golf caddy, so I'm used to being out in the sun. I'm not looking to get a perfect tan, but just something to start off with so I don't end up as red as a lobster!

9 Days till Australia.

Shopping

Today I went shopping with my mother to pick up everything I needed before I left for Australia. I spent way too much than I wanted, but hey, screw it. It was all clothing, I needed a lot of new shirts as mine were almost 3 years old. I got four shorts, 2 blue-jeans, like 10 shirts, and a new pair of shoes. I still need to pick up two new pairs of dress/club shoes as my current ones are old.

I'm not a big shopper, but today was fun as I never go shopping for anything except electronics.

11 Days till Australia.

I promised I wouldn't

I promised myself I wouldn't do it. Ever! At last, I failed. I have finally joined MySpace!

It wasn't that bad, and it's a way for me to stay in touch with friends here in the states. However, I have now been sucked into the world of MySpace, and I've spent way too many damn hours already playing with it!

My MySpace Profile.

12 Days Till Australia.

Work

Today is my last day at work. In just under 12 hours I will be at my place of work for my last day of work with this company I have been with for over two years. I've been able to do amazing things with this company, most importantly the opportunity to do nothing except film work for a good 5 months, which allowed my portfolio to get thicker and a much needed boost to professional "paid" work.

The next day I start a one week paid vacation from work, of which I plan on getting most of the things on the "Things I have to do before I leave" list done. Sure, it's errands, but more importantly, I'm getting paid to run them!

More importantly, it is now, from today, 14 days till Australia!

14 Days till Australia.

Breathe

Today I decided to call in sick to work and just take a "me" day. I know that with my last official day of work being only 2 days away I really shouldn't have called in sick, but I needed a day just to sit on my ass, relax, and do absolutely nothing. If they bitch about it, I'll just work one extra day, though I doubt they'll bitch.

I'm no longer scared or nervous about leaving the states, my home, or family. I've gotten some great comments and emails, so that definitely helped, but the biggest factor was the pure excitement racing through my body. In 16 days, yes, 16 days, I will be leaving for the airport for the long flight across the Pacific Ocean.

Sure, it is sad to say goodbye to friends, but I'll see them again, and with todays technology, there is always email, instant messaging, and of course the phone.

So today I plan on doing nothing but sitting in my bed, surfing the net on my notebook and watching TV. Feels good just to relax for once.

16 Days till Australia.

Comfort

Sitting in my bed just surfing the internet on my notebook and listening to music I started to think about comfort levels, specifically places where we feel safe. I started thinking of places that I feel safe, places where I feel like I truly know who I am and understand who I want to be.

I feel very comfortable in the city of Chicago. I know who I am here. I know my way around this crazy city I live in and am proud to be from this great city. There is a great quote from the television show The West Wing. Martin Sheen's character asks: "Why is it that everyone I meet from Chicago can't stop talking about how great Chicago is and are living anywhere but Chicago." The late John Spencer's character replies: "you wouldn't understand". The fact is, that no matter where I am living, wether it be in Australia or America, I will always be a Chicagoan, and I'm damn proud of that.

I feel very comfortable behind a film camera. It is something that to me just is second nature. I truly believe that I have found my calling in life. I simply cannot describe how it feels to sit on a dolly and control the movement of my shot as a cinematographer. To choreograph the movement with the stedicam, to sit in the telecine and time my footage. I feel safe here, I feel like I am starting to become the man I want to be.

I feel very safe at home, as I'm sure many people do. There is something about walking in to a place you know that just takes down your guard, and allows you to relax and breathe. Home for me is a strange place. I have moved a lot in my life. I really have no attachments to an actual "house" as people do who grew up in the same place their entire life. When it comes down to it, Home is family.

Now, after saying this I must stress that I am a very independent person. As most people would say I believe, I love my family, but would probably go crazy if I had to spend every single minute with them.

What this post comes down to really is that I realized tonight that in 18 days I will be in Australia. I don't think it has really sunk in that I'm leaving everything and everyone I know. I know no one in Australia. I am loosing that sense of home, that sense of comfort, and maybe I am now starting to feel a little scared and nervous.

However, I then realized something. Australia is going to become my comfort. I will meet people, and I will begin to feel at home once I settle in to the everyday grind of life. I have spent so much time thinking and planning my studies and life in Australia that I don't think I've ever allowed myself to comprehend the sheer enormous event that this actually is going to be in my life. I really don't know what I am going to do or how I am going to handle it when it comes time to get in the car and leave for the airport, but I sense that when I land and I step foot on Australian soil, from the deepest part of my soul, I am going to feel comfort, I am going to feel safe, I am going to feel home.

18 Days till Australia.

Worst of 2005

So everyone is making their lists of their favorite and most dispised movies of 2005. So, I thought that I'd jot down my most dispised films of 2005, these are the ones that I still cannot believe that I actually paid money to see.

Son of the Mask
I saw this film as a video rental when I was baby-sitting one of my younger cousins. What a piece of crap. This is a film I hope to flush out of my thoughts right now.

Miss Congeniality 2
I thought the first film was cute, not great, but cute. So, I decided that I'd check this one out. I'd rather have emergency dental work.

Monster-In-Law
Jane Fonda and Slapstick comedy? That's a no. This film had potential, but went downhill after plot point one.

Dirty Love
I give Jenny McCarthy props for putting her self so out like this and even more props for attempting to write a screen play. I emphasize the word attempt as any script that has dialogue of "Price check on maxi-pads for the woman bleeding all over the supermarket floor" just belongs in the trash.

The Dukes of Hazzard
Three words: Jessica Simpson, Actress.

Fantastic Four
Jessica Alba, the only highlight of the film, should not be invisible. Rather, this plot should have been, and was invisible.

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
I did not see this film, I didn't have to see it to know that it was going to be bad.

I'm sure some people will disagree, you might love the film, but that because you must have slept during the film.

19 Days till Australia.

Party

The next few weekends are going to be insane. I have a party almost every single night. Everyone wants to see me before I leave, because as I've said before, they don't understand that I'll be back for the holidays next year. Anyways, its a lot of partying.

Tonight I have a party out in the suburbs with all my friends out there. Before I lived in the city, I lived out in the suburbs and commuted to school, so a lot of my friends are back up there. So, tonight is the small party with 15-20 of us, but I'm still probably going to be trashed. This is the going away party with this group. I have no plans on driving back up to the suburbs before I leave, so this is the last time I'll see a bunch of them unless they drive down to the city before I leave.

Next weekend I am having the party downtown for all my friends in the city. Friends from college and work. That party is going to be insane. We're going to bar that all of my friends from work frequent, and we got hooked up with a great deal. $5 bucks per person gets you all you can drink "well" drinks (no name brands) for two hours, after that beer is just $2 a bottle and mixed drinks at $4. So, you can understand why a lot of people are going to that party.

I forsee myself having quite a bit of headaches and wearing sunglasses over the next two weeks.

21 Days till Australia.