ok, so hillsongers are pretty damn good at chucking a party... this is proof :D there has been a week of parties across london, church encouraged people to get together and have a kick ass time, so we did.
we had actually planned this a while ago for Grace and Katie's birthday/ a flatwarming for no37 (my weekend foster home ;) anyway it was great!!! see for yourself
Wed we hopped on a bus and spent the day wandering around Oxford. Its GORGEOUS. wow . dont ever go to England and just visit London. Its like going to Australia and only seeing Sydney. They are cities... and sure they are English/Australian cities... but wow go explore. So there are a few pics from there.. I was looking particularly unphotogenic. But anyway that trip gave me hope.
EAGLE AND CHILD woooo! me looking dorky...
pretty oxford
Oh the other reason I had a good day was that I had an interview the next day for a live in position at a boarding school, helping out in a dining room. Boring but I would get paid for school holidays and have them off to travel. So I would get to go to Musikmesse and to go for a 2 week tour around Italy with Jess and her sister. Id also reeeeeally love to go to Carnival in venice....
The lady was really lovely aswell and they were so excited about me coming... and you dont know how good that is after trying to get a decent job for forever.
Wed night I found a message on my phone.... I called voice mail and then burst into tears. After looking forward to finally being secure in a place to stay and a job it had fallen through. Mrs Barber, the lady who I was going to work for left a message apologising profusely and explaining that another girl they had interveiwed months before had just turned up on the doorstep with nowhere else to go,so they gave her the position. She wasnt happy about it at all, and she was even more sorry. I just felt like shite.
So yeah not fun. Thursday I just stayed home and hung out with God cried alot and applied for a few jobs. Home group was at Andy and Liz's that night and Im so grateful it was. The people in their group are so lovely, I met a new lady from Australia! shes cheeky and a real character. She prayed for me and gave me some wonderful advice and wisdom. reminded me about how Gods got it all under control and not to freak out. She also gave me some tissues for my bawling eyes.
Friday we went to the Globe theater and lusted after all the overpriced merchandise, then came back and to China town and cause it was Jess' last day we had the best dinner at some little restraunt mmmmm.
On Sunday after many choices over and over again to Trust God no matter what, I met a girl at Hillsong with a camera, we were in the loos and I commented 'nice camera', we got talking and she is putting together a media team with professional photographers...she asked me if i was one.... urr... urrrr.... I enjoy it. Her name was Tiffany believe it or not, She asked me to bring a folio next sun morning. YAY and EEK at the same time. YAY cause oh my gosh creativity at last!!!! EEK cause i dont have a folio and seriously doubt my talent etc. oh and most of my good photos are back in Aus. but thats good.
I got invited out for coffee by a lovely saffa (south african) guy with a group of people. It was a costa coffee place downstairs in virgin music on tottenham crt rd.... theres also a guitar store! It didnt look like it would stock EBMMs but I was so desperate to play a bass that I decided to go have a wander anyway. Guess what I found!!!! WOOOO!!! 2 stingrays and a 4HH Stealth Bongo which I played for as long as I could. :D yay. So after having a wonderful chat and feeling energized by being around great people I went home to sleep with invitations for stuff happening during the week.- Location:London. UK
- Mood:
grateful - Music:Jeff Buckley
20th... 10hours of travel with ryanair. no tailbone. flo had a tiffy sign lol.
21st.... flo went to uni, went to hauptwache with his mum, met up, went to christmas markets....gluwein, funny nut things. history lesson with the buildings. lots of people lol. iron bridge.... thai food after trekking around the city for an eternity.
22nd.... oh shite cant remember. flo and i did somthing.... maybe club 101?
23rd.....
24th...something with christmas eve. strong wine lol. my german improves. pressies! very funny funny christmas. i think flo enjoyed himself. lol
25th....sleep in lol. lunch at 1pm at his grandpa and grandmas on mums side. met his uncle with the basses. ate rabbit and red sauerkraut, no wine today lol. bum pain. grandpa slipped me 15euro. we went to visit uncle and his basses. well one. chatted about musikmesse and ernieball stuff. went home and taught flo bass. robi came over with jasmine?
HELL YEAH BABY!!!! fireworks!! hands up if youre a pyromanic!!!!
Flo and I at the christmas markets, why can no one use my camera? oh and yes im the evil laser eyed albino again. lol, jon should like this photo ha ha.
Flo and his first experience with a sterling. He loved it. 
You OWN this?? what IS this?? a bong what? oh hell the extra string confuses me. Maybe sterling is right... 'real men do play four strings'
'Let me show you how its done tiger' ;) MMMMMMMM i like sterlings too!!! I miss my bass SOOOOOOO much.
Me, Christine, and Flo...
I think the phototaker was a little tipsy...
Ok so going to London.
It was in rather a hurry that I needed to find somewhere to stay. Poor Az and Trev weren't really used to guests and it was probablly a good thing cause I had to face big ugly London at some point.
My cousin came through for me, getting in touch with one of her aussie friends who she used to hang out with while she was here a year ago. So I packed up and took the £5 national express bus to the big city.
Tip for young players: NEVER EVER lug 3 bags around London, especially not on the tube, and especailly not to Oxford Circus. So my first hours in London were sweaty ones as I dragged my stuff around the crowded underground. oh PS...the tube has steps. lots of them. grr.
I met Anita at her work and we took the no 25 bus back to her place. Anita lives in waaaay east london, in a suburb called manor park just near the big ringroad that goes around greater london. Because its so far out, it means you can afford a nice place, hers was nice.
So I had 2 weeks of exploring London and going for Job interveiws, most of my time was spent traveling, it took at LEAST an hour and a half to get anywhere. I worked out quite quickly that my prospective employers wanted people who would stay for christmas, this was a problem as I had arranged about 6 years ago that I was going to visit my german exchange student who came to Australia in 2000. So no boring job was going to hinder that, I was hoping that Frankfurt was going to be worth it cause I could have made some good money.
I went and saw all the tourist stuff and it was kinda fun. Harrods was depressing, £300 for a business shirt....are these people on drugs?
Speaking of drugs I was offered some by Anitas friends. You go for dinner, you stay for the crack. Bloody hell people. Not cool. They really were lovely, I went to bed before anything could change that impression.
Anyway, Everything was looking good for me to stay till I left for Frankfurt on the 20th of Dec. This was not to be. Anitas landlord decided that she didnt want anyone staying in the flat while Anita went back to Australia for Christmas holdiays. I had 3 days notice and I didnt know anyone who could have me stay. I didn't sleep for the next 2 nights. I cant tell you the feeling of having no where to go, but I can tell you its not fun, and I hope you never have to go through it.
Dad had everyone back home asking anyone they knew in London. Then Andy and Liz came to the rescue. Caitlyn Taylor is teacher at my old school who wasnt there when I was, she and her husband were in London a year ago and went to Vinyard church, their home group was at Andy and Liz's. These guys are the most lovely people who have a beautiful 1905 victorian house in Mortlake which is in South West London. They know they have been blessed with it and offer the attic room to whoever needs it, in this case me. I turned up on a thursday night, which is homegroup night. It was the most wonderful feeling of relief to be somewhere safe with people who cared about me even though we had just met. I cried alot, but it felt good. The girls prayed for me and I finally felt peaceful again.
After Dallas I spent a week in Brandon, MI before flying over to the motherland.
Everything is expensive here... my money is worth less than dirt. haa haa.
Iv'e been staying with great people (Azzy and Trev) who cook great meals and give me lots of wine. So much so that they took me to a wine tasting where I tried a champagne made by Winston Churchills favourite company. Rather cheeky at £50 a bottle.
But alas I have to leave my friends and my favourite swans to embark on another journey, I'm moving to London!!
Yes some say I'm a lunatic, but It's just one of those unspoken things every Australian must do... I've heard that they won't let you back into Australia unless you can prove you've worked in a London pub lol!! Just Jokes.
So here goes!!!!
Dallas. Friday night @ Love and War
Jack Williams, a friend of mine, was turning 50. He's a great guy and a part of the Ernie Ball Musicman online forum that I visit. I have made friends with alot of people on this website including the CEO of Ernie Ball Musicman, Mr Sterling Ball.
Sterling and Jack are good friends and Sterling decided to throw a birthday party. (There is no end to that man's generosity. I adore him)
So friday night was a casual BBQ paid for by Sterling where the "forumites" could get up and play through some of the one of a kind guitars they brought from the Ernie Ball factory. Because I was staying at Jack's house I was there when fed ex delivered them and was one of the first to play them!!! Woo!!
So I met alot of my friends in person for the first time and it was SO much fun.
Oh I also got up and played the 'Flaming Biff' ... a one of a kind bass with painted flames that Sterling gave to Jack.
Dallas. Sat. Hyatt Regency, Jacks 50th Birthday.
This was the real thing... the event I had been waiting for!!! The big birthday bash!!
It was held in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency, so we got to get all dressed up YAY!
We were wined and dined and Sterling gave me lots of free drink tickets after the open bar had ended so I enjoyed a few tequila sunrises hee hee.
It was one of those events that you can't really explain to people ... you had to be there. And if you were there, you were just in awe of every thing that was going on around you and everyone that was there and wanting to meet you. WOW
I will always remember this night.
Me, my favourite hilarious engineer drew, my superhuman sales girl beth, my personal hitman jon, and the hottest young basist in the world stanky.
me, arin who i adventured with in san fran, the chick magnet and my general favourite BP. (sterling ball), and adlleucia
cowpilot guitarist brian, the man of the hour jackie, me, a very happy aunty luke, and the ever wonderful inspiration of the martini inlay, scott ball.
crazy travis who believe it or not is a year older than me, his hat however is er...older. stanky who gives the best hugs, erika who checked the boys licences, and moi enjoying yet another tequila sunrise mmmm.
- Location:peterborough
- Mood:
nostalgic
ok so short summary that i truly will edit later and add to.
saw things. did things. took photos.
oooooh and we went to san louis obispo for the ernie ball "balloween" that was SO much fun. we got a tour of the ernie ball musicman factory wooo. i met jon (jonguitarz) who is the best set up man in the universe, and an all around cool guy as he bought us tequila shots at midday and we hadnt had lunch. lol jon u rock. we were at a guitar comp thing. and for some reason i won coffin shaped guitar pedal board without entering. where did that get to guys???
costume party that night where we met a tonne of other ebmm ites including another jon who is great, and aziah who i was so glad to see as i had not really been hanging out with girls and well sometimes you miss them, plus aziah was the funnest, my kinda girl. so we partied till we dropped lol and it was great. MXPX were really good, i hadnt hear them for ages and nearly wet myself with excitement when they played chick magnet woo. i bet that one was for sterling lol.
ok so then went back to san fran and there was more of the above activities, seeing, doing, taking.
flew out to dallas on wed the first of nov for the time of my life.
for those of you who think im swearing and owe a 20c to the swear jar, SOB stands for school of bass. it was held in Scottsdale Arizona from the 19th to the 22nd of oct. i helped out with it, only im not sure how much help i was. i did have fun though. lots of fun. and the people i met? the best.
after falling asleep on the hour and a bit flight to phoenix i caught a cab to the days inn where i met steve, jack and ray. yay! its strange when people youve only seen in photos end up acutally being real people.
aside to friends/ family/ coworkers etc. who have no idea what im on about...: you know that bass guitar i bought that i was crazy about...well these guys also own one or two... or fifty. they are great people who have been taking care of me and watching my back. another dude ill mention is sterling ball. hes wonderful. he is the ceo of ernie ball musicman and my best friend ;) we have those cool broken heart things that say "be fri" and "st ends"
i step out of the car and i get to chat to sterling in person for the first time yaay. his phone sucks though and so all im saying is "pardon?" im still getting used to the accent aswell.
the days inn is great. im used to spare couches and stuff so to have 2 double beds and my own bathroom wooo.
ok so without going into EVERYTHING, i had an incredible couple of days.
if you dont know who chuck rainey, bobby vega and lynne davis are. find out. (ps i didnt know either)
how much better can it be than to say "ive played bobby vega's bass." or "ive had dinner and vodkas with chuck rainey" or "im lynne davis' favourite photographer"
lol
crazy times. these guys are the most friendly humble players. and bloody good too. and thats just the famous kids....
meeting fellas from the ernie ball forums was great :) jack, ray and larry are the best!!
we also got to meet some cool guys from fender. now im not normally a fender fan but these guys were lots of fun, and had personalities apart from being fender reps. when we went on the factory tour the ceo insisted on saying hi. how cool is that. he was very down to earth aswell. i like that. then they gave us free stuff. i like that too. ;)
i have a tonne of pics from SOB but havent been able to get them up just yet.
i managed to fit a whole lotta clothes and crap into my bags yaya... i finished that at about midnight before i flew. then i got up at 4 am to finish making prezzies lol. yea im a twit i know but i figured id sleep super soundly on the plane.
drove to the airport and my friend/roomate, jo, met mum n dad and i there. the poor thing had just finished an all nighter shift at the hospital. shes a sweetie for coming. mum bought me "the terrible underpants" book while we were waiting for one of my most funnest friends zach to come from the sunny coast and bid me farewell.
zach turned up just after id headed downstairs through security. poor guy sped the whole way. i swear i dont know how he doesnt get done. lol. zach i luv ya buddy.
i got frisked for the first time ever and they searched my presents/aussie food (ie. tim tams and milo) bag for the first of many many times. and the bastards pinched my vegemite. im going to jeapordise our safety with vegemite damnit!!! what the? ah well.
so vegemiteless now im heading on to the plane aware of the majority of american accents and realising while im off on a great adventure, most of these guys are heading home sweet home.
i get on the plane to be so wonderfully surprised to find 2 people i could never have guessed to be on the other side of the asile. tracy and renae. tracy was my manager at sunglass hut for a while but then took up a managers position with renae at curves...the gym i went to! they were going to a curves convention. it was so bizzare to have toowoombaites on the plane.. but so good for company and follwing through american immigration and customs.
LAX is big i walked forever to my connecting phoenix flight, but it felt deserted. it also looks like the QE2 hospital. all old and vinl-ish. i thought itd be like brissy. bris is much prettier.
waited for 4 hours for connecting flight to phoenix and my mate phatty (arin) entertained me on the payphone for a couple of hours. yay! he also posted on the ernie ball musicman forum that i was stranded at the airport and the phone number of the payphone lol. people tried to call lol. i didnt think anyone would so i tried to brave mac donalds for lunch.
big mistake lol. it tastes just as crap as in oz but they give u more of it.
ok long story short i flew in to phoenix safe and sound and the school of bass adventures began :)
- Mood:geeky
im procrastinating with all my packing oops. hee hee ...nah im not doing too badly. i did sleep on the floor last night cause all of my stuff was on my bed...and i had dumped it on the floor every other night so i decided it was only fair for me to have floor duty at least once.
am trying madly to finish making all the pressies!! its fun though.
have had soo much fun seeing everyone before i go. on sunday arvo we had a wonderful huge picnic with all my friends and family, took a tonne of photos so i remember what they all look like ;) then dad n i went for a drive in the fiat woooo! theres a pic of me in it somewhere under pics or something...its just super hard to get to. damn me and my computer ignorance. its a challenge...go find it!! win a prize!!
um so now im just wetting myself haa haa. and hoping i dont have too much luggage.
see u on the other side :D
im excited wooo!
my 2 bags are tiiiny and i have to bring a million packets of tim tams and vegemite and berrocca and wine and ...well everything. ps. thats not all for me... its for the wonderful people im visiting who are having me stay with them. arent they great! yes they are. blow some kisses to them.
im figuring out quite rapidly that i reeeeeeeally want to do more than is possible lol. and that im making friends with people who i will want so much more time with than a few days. *sigh* so im tring to convince them to come back to australia WOOO. i will be the best tour guide EVER. ;)
i kind of feel like a dork that i have a blog (its very pre teen emo of me) but ive had so much fun reading jess' that i figure its a great way to update u all... and then theres only you to blame if youre un informed hee hee.
ok well ill shut up cause im still in australia and not actually doing anything yet
send me presents write me love letters!!
Tiffles
- Location:australia
- Mood:artistic
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