That's me auld didge! A didge is a didgeridoo Aislinn, you gettin' excited bout headin' ta Texas?!
So the main part there has a kangaroo or wallaby carved into it, and on the back a Guanna - which is a big lizard, really big lizard! The four foot lizard we saw in WA was a guanna. On top, the circles with lines going through the middle symbolize the sky/stars/lifeline I think. On the back of the top is a turtle and on the bottom, dolphins.
How cool is this didge?
And check out those funny looking plug sockets eh?!?
I can get the sounds out of it now, but I think it'll be along time before I get circular breathing goin' on. Stay tuned....

Lots of cleaning

The apartment is spotless.
Only my surfboard adorns the wall in the corner of our living room.
Loose cigarette butts waltz with the wind upon the balcony.
A sole pair of flip flops rest against the chair, the empty chair.

It's mad how clean and big this place looks.
It's because it is.
It's staying this way til inspection for Tim and Smeels checkout day on friday.
And it will continue to stay clean until my checkout day next wednesday.

Smeels and Tim have left a hole here, that can only be filled by the people who will move in.
Hehe!

Ah no, they've left a hole....
In the couch!

Ah no, they've left a hole....
A hole in my heart - Tim shot me before he left...

Ah no, I'd be dead by now, as they left monday morning.

But they've left a hole....

Dunno anymore than you do Ciara, I'm out of the loop too.
Anyone who knows more about this riotin' gimme a shout.

A big hello to my great friends Helge and Jessica, who will be married 23rd of May, glad ye got the date ye wanted!!! And I'm sad I won't be there for it, get workin' on a satellite link Helge!

www.lightholders.com/riley/ has some great pics of the mini lightholder.

I'm off to make a backpack of stuff to leave here when I go to NZ, need to see how much stuff I can fit for bringing.
The surfboard(along with the booties and wetsuit etc.) and guitar take up alot of space so need to think about this one.
I think Mam is gonna have some shtuff ta bring home when she comes out!!!
So don't pack too heavy Mam!!! :)
It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate...
And I'm beginning to wonder, what the hell am I gonna do with me board when I'm travellin' around Asia again?
And suggestions(besides selling the board) will be greatly awarded when I get home with Guinness.
I've thought of leaving it in a locker type thing in Bangkok. That's my best idea for now.

Yes-sir-ee.....bob-ah

The wiggles, tell me more about them.
I've been doing this thing where I shake my fingers towards someone, in a sort of pointing way - is this what the wiggles do?
I here they do, and they've become very rich from doing so....

Who's Katie Scarlett?
Who are ya?
EH?
Who are ya?

I rescued 20bucks for myself from the landlord, who is nice, but almost overcharged me 20buicks - Hehe buicks - can you imagine!

I phoned Irene in NZ, I'm getting excited about going. It's gonna be so nice ta be on the road again.

I got the forms sent to me house for the loan! This is a good sign...
Fingers crossed I get it. :)

Went to a trad sesh tonight, it's gas to see how good aussies are at Irish music, some alot better than the Irish!

I'm drunk.

Only slightly.

Only slightly.

I've been avoiding writing on the auld blog when I'm drunk, because I'm afraid I'll write some shockin' shutff altogether. But I realise, it wouldn't be a true representation of me out here if I didn't write when I'm drunk, as a lot of things and ideas and plans come to mind when I've consumed a few!

Once again, I don't view it as a medicine.

But as Christie once said: "Helps me laugh, helps me cry"

I'd like to give a shout out to Mr Macleod! It's great ta hear team Scotland follow the blog!

Macleod is just gone ta bed.
He came ta the sesh, fair play ta him.

I'm looking forward ta playing an awful lot when I get home. But also looking forward ta learning an awful lot more when I get home. It's time I picked up the melody as well....

Riots in Dublin - wha were they thinking'?
Are they stupid?
That was just askin' for trouble.

Who's on for cutting Northern Ireland off from the mainland, letting it float out to sea, and let them sort out all the hissy fits they've been throwing.
Possibly even cut off Scotland and shtick it on in its place?....
How cool would that be.

Right I'm shite-talkin'

Goodnight

I don't know how many years I've dreamed of going to the Grand Prix. I never thought I'd see the Australian one, this is savage! 

Porter and Sternum

So Cathy called from Byron, she's lovin' it up there. Fair play ta ya Cathy!
And after our brief, but colourful surf at Bells Beach, Cathy had a bad bruise on her sternum. I dismissed it as a bad bruise.
Turns out it's a cracked sternum.
Oops!

On another note, I've just realised how expensive drink is again. Now that I won't be working in a pub anymore, I'll have to pay for my medicine!

Just kidding.
I don't view it as medicine.
Or do I........
Nah.

Hehe!

So everyone is at the same thing.
Smeels and Tim are on the couch here, shite talkin'.
They are leaving tomorrow, for the end of Tims career in the drinkin-peoples-coffee-and-eating-their-biscuits-business and moving onto the furit pickin business next week.
They'll be missed.

Does anyone know of a TV programme for kids called The Wiggles?

I left for work yesterday and the place looked like professional cleaners lived here.
I got home and wait.....
OK 51 beer bottles.
And the worrying part: two empty bottles of vodka.

What happened here last night?!

I do hope it wasn't just the three of them. You'd have to be pumped after all that!

OK it's time to turn around and watch Family Guy.
It has been the bread and butter of our trip.
Family Guy!!!! Wahoo!

The forecast

So up until yesterday, it was high thirties, with a sticky humidity level, even choking at times.
But yesterday, when I woke up, I heard thunder, hailstones and saw the flash of lightning.
Isn't that mad!
The other folks apartment block has a swimming pool with a glass roof. The glass cracked with the hailstones!
Isn't that mad.
Imagine swimming in your auld pool, and next thing the inch thick glass roof comes down on you.
Not good says you.

Thoughts....

So I've ta go to work in a few minutes.
But I've been sitting here with Smeels for the past half an hour talking about life...
You know, one of those conversations.

I think you all deserve to read the minutes of the conversation.

Here goes:

Where to start....

Maybe with my profession, when I decided to take the path of a musician, it was not met with scorn, nor was it met with enthusiasm. I think it was more of an acceptance.
I'm very happy I decided to see it through.
I love playing.
And to have made money, made a living off what I love, has been a great, rewarding journey.
One which proved alot to me in my head.
That I can apply myself.

Now that I have a trade, of sorts, under my belt, it has given me confidence to go try something else, whether it be recreational or not.

What I'm trying to says is,
I'm ready for change again.

But not a complete overhaul, just a fork in the road.

I always get excited when this happens in my life.

We were also talking about parents.
And the relationship between kids and parents.
We've come to the conclusion that during the teenage years, the kids run off to find a base away from home, send out the feelers if you will.
And parents know this, but the kids don't know the parents know, well they don't make a conscious decision to that end.
But at the end of the teen years, a child comes back to try and find the base it had left before, to find the comfort, and innocence of childhood.
Only it's gone, and that's what finishes the teenage period.

For a child to openly converse with a parent as a peer leaves a deep mark on the child, the child will always hold on to a bit of that childhood "My Dad and Mam said so, so it must be true"
so anything the child here's in these conversations, and opinions or facts, it takes very seriously.

Parents are great.

Parents have lived the years we are in now.
They have resolved some of the situations we find ourselves in.
They have left some behind.
And maybe this helps the child realise at some stage that, maybe the folks were right, they've been here before.
Maybe it creats a barrier, as the child is still on the journey, and so has to finish it.

Maybe I'm rambling.
Maybe not.
But I know I'm late for work.

Found them....found them all

Since getting here, we realised we have lost the Laos/end of Thailand photos. We were so sad, so silent about the issue. Until this morning, we decided we'd scan through the cds again. Nothing. Got a notion to check the duplicates, and sure enough one of them, somehow, had not copied everything onto the disk we were using.

Dear Diary....Jackpot!

This morning was spent perusing over the forgotton photos of Laos. As a celebration, I've put up some for you to look at. Hope you enjoy them.

So the Canadians friend, Brandy, arrived at the beginning of the week. She's gas craic, a good guitar player and an excellent voice. Sings country style, which is a welcome change!

Speaking of singers, myself and Ann Marie had a band related meeting yesterday to discuss songs, after over 90 on the list we said that was enough! Now we just need some gigs says you...

New Zealand wednesday week - soooooooooooo excited about that.

Ciara (www.ciachicken.blogspot.com) got shafted by Qantas, but on the bright side, I didn't! Haha! Ah no, only messin' Ciara. But I did get a good joke email about Qantas.

Let me see......

Here's some interesting things about Melbourne:

1. Melbourne has the highest population/area ratio of anywhere in the world for feral foxes.

2. The Dublin tram system has a catchy acronym: D.A.R.T. (Dublin Area Rapid Transit)
The Melbourne Tram system acronym: B.A.T.B.Y.G.O.B.S.T.O.P.L.
What sort of a "Catchy acronym is that???
Here's what it stands for:
Buying a ticket before you get on board saves time or problems later
That was the best they could do!

3. The Joint, a hostel/backpackers in the city centre, has a pub that stays open 23hours a day! So the entire city center goes there for beer after work - things get crazy there....

4. The old Aussie nick name for homelss people was "Yarrabums" - which stems from a load of lowlifes hanging out on the side of the Yarra river, which runs through Melbourne.

5. The Rialto (One of the buildings beside my apartment) is the sixteenth tallest building in the world - if you don't work there, they have a 13dollar charge to go up to the 60th floor( which isn't near the top) and take photos for a platform.

6. Hook turns. Melbournians execute hook turns - which mean: (Here's where you get confused)
Coming up to a crossroads in the city with two lanes, you move into the left lane to turn right, pull out into the leftof the intersection, sitting across the face of the cars to you left, and in that tiny window when your light turns red, before the one the people you're sitting on front of (possibly waving at) turns green. You zip off to the right.
Where is the sense?

I've got a Little Creatures Pilsner I've been neglecting, which I must get back to.

Over and out.

A mudslide on the "Road" to Luang Namtha. 

A Laos village, it's not Ballinasloe anyway. 

My hands after holding on to the metal bar in the jostle-cart for ten hours. Ten hours I can never get back, but will most likely endure again when I get bacl there! :) 

This is the sort of money you have to bring out in Laos! it's mad isn't it. I think this is around 60Euro here... 

So you come home, hot and tired, you go to open the door, and this is waiting for you.... 

Here's a typical Laos menu. Keep in mind 13,000 Kip to a Euro (or 16506.60 to the Punt, for all those still not used to this Euro gimmick) I got great laughs from the menus, the spellings were priceless! Keep in mind though, the teachers of the subject have no better spelling. 

All our belongings were shtuck in under the bamboo tarp there, and we were ready for off! 

Here's our boat for sailing the Namtha onto the Mekhong, I'll never forget it. 

Rapids came and went, I don't think my bamboo raft I wanted to make would have survived this! 

When all was quiet again, I had a quick afternoon snooze... 

Here's our house! Well for the night anyway. Home to the biggest spider known to man. 

Under almost every house in the village, was a weaving machine, and I'm sure you'd pay a hefty price back home to get one of these mats/scarfs/sarong etc. They swap stuff too, and collect any old belongings you don't want, including empty water bottles and pictures. You can see all the really old magazine cut outs they've stuck to the wall of the house in the next photo....

I'm so happy I got these photos back, and this one in particular, this is the children of the family we stayed with. They gave me and address in Laos and I wrote Laos on the end of it, I have to send them this picture!... 

The next day saw us back in the boat. Alot calmer waters, a bit of rain, a lot of sun. This trip in the boat has been one of the highlights of my adventures so far. 

Everything about the place is different enough to make it feel you are seeing mountians for the first time, or trees, or rapids. 

The view from our room in Chiang Khong. That's the Mekhong, and across the water is Laos. 

The best dog ever, this wee fella was almost in my bag leaving the restaurant... 

Here's the gang in Chiang Khong. Raychel, Mike, Smeels, random bar goer, and Ao (pronounced O) at the Teepee bar, a must stop on your trip through Thailand. Mike is the owner, and is sound as a trout. 

Mike and Ao, two friends I look forward to seeing again when I'm back in Thailand. Legends! 

What would Steve Winwood do?

Well he wouldn't neglect his leg like John Martyn, that's for sure.

So here is some news, in fact alot of news:

I handed in my notice in the apartment, leaving this day fortnight! wahoo! Hopefully all goes well with the deposit...

Cathy left for Byron Bay, she will be missed, also she got me a savage didge before she left. Thanks Cathy, Gay Freddie is learning it as well! I'll email you a pic, good luck up there! :)

I handed in my notice at work, as you know, sunday was my last day, but now it's the following Sunday, "Why?" I here you say from 5,000 miles away "Why would you prolong leaving?"
Well it's because of this:
I booked a flight to New Zealand! That's right, leaving this day fortnight!
March 8th to March 28th - Back in time for the Grand Prix :)

Also I booked my return flight home - Wasn't I a busy bee today....
Leaving Oz July 3rd for a 5week detour through Asia again!
Flying into Bangkok, and leaving Bangkok August 7th for London- Dublin

So that's August 7th I'm home!
Get a sesh organised and put on a Guinness for me :)

I'm off to chill out before work
Be in touch folks
Bean
:)

Slicin' and Dicin'

Hello!
Shazza, glad you're still enjoyin' it! I havn't been around the lads enough these days, but hopefully with leavin' the job, that will all change.
Ciara, I dunno where I'm gonna go next, I'll let ya know though....
Nellie, so you did....so you did Hehe!

OK well last night in worh at about 11 o'clock I cut my fingers pretty bad when a glass smashed in my hand.
I went to hospital and got me auld tet injection and waited almost three hours for the doc to put steristrips on it because the nerve endings where it was would be too damaged by stitches. Me guess is a long story so I won't go into it, all I know is I need stitches, it won't stop bleeding.
SO I'm gonna go back in a few days if it doesn't look like it's heeling.
For all people who don't want to see my finger, don't look at the pic at the end of this post.
For all those who can't wai, go look at at now, I'll wait here....
Cool eh!?!
I got anti-biotics, which I won't be taking, but if secondary infections occur, I will.
All in all an eventful night!
Great fun actually, cool nurse, crazy nurse more like it.
They leave you in a room with all these surgical things to play with, it's great!

Well I ghot a phonecall around 3 or 4 last night from Mam, was great to hear from her, and what's more, she was at Sean and Kims baby, Rileys baptism, so I got to talk to a load of my friends which was great.

Now I can't tell you of my plans for the next month or two, but by next week I will be able too.

Gotta go shower, should be fun tryin to keep the hand dry, I suppose a plastic bag is the way forward.

Miss most of you, and look forward to meeting the rest of you so I can miss yall too!
Bean

So that's me finger, the line you can see carries on down towards 7o'clock and everything to the right of it opens back. Pretty nasty, Luckily the nail bed wasn't damaged They say I may get feeling back in it eventually. Fingers crossed! Hehe! 

Take your job and fill it

You can scrap that last post from yesterday.
I went ahead and handed in my notice.
I couldn't wait for someone to reply with thoughts.
Oh well!
Back to what I love doing again......

To unsubscribe, click here ....

Hello,
I recently heard of a few people trying to text me, and having me not recieve the texts.
I think this is because you're texting my Irish number.
Don't do it!
I can't find the sin card for that, so I can't even check to see who text.
Here's the real number: +61431542934 - or if you are ringing from a house phone mam! the international code for making international calls (oo1? 011? I cant even remember what it is anymore, the phonebook will have it in it though) followed by 61431542934.
Or if you are ringing, +61396299350 gets me apartment, I'm rarely there, but it would probably be alot cheaper to phone that.

On another note, my email is beandolan@gmail.com, I'm giving you this (well most of you have it already) because I want you to answer a question for me....

Should I quit PJ's, get a small loan from Bank of Ireland, and get back to active enjoyment of this place?

I've been contemplating getting out of melbourne, well at least for awhile.
My only ties to here are the Grand Prix (March 30th - April 2nd)
and Mam when she comes over (April 10th - April 2?Th) will want to come back down here, from Sydney, with here travelling mates to visit relations of theirs.

So should I up and out of here for awhile?

Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

OK.
The gang.
I realise I've neglected updates on what everybody else is up too.
So here is the latest news on everyone:

Tim and Smeels:
Tim still has his door-to-door job, and is making a nice wage. Smeels, after many valiant efforts, is jobless. They've handed in there two week notice in the apartment yesterday. They are going to get out of Melbourne, possibly Taz? I wish them the best of luck on the travels! We'll all be around again when the parents get out.

Macleod:
Still working at ungodly hours (When I get in the door, he gets up for work - usually 6.ooAM)
Working very hard and long, with powertools and degutting buildings and all sorts. The boss loves him. He wants to open windows for Macleod. He also went clothes shopping. Stay tuned.

Neil:
Oh Neil. I think he might need to be signed in when he gets home....But until then, he also has the same job as Macleod. The boss feels the same way about him and also has offered him a possible future in the business...who knows. Fair play ta the two lads.

Iain:
Working in the same place as the lads. In a different area though. I ain doesn't have the backround with all the operating of the various tools they have, so the boss probably doesn't feel as strong about offering him opportunities, but he is still working hard and bringing in the same money as the lads. Good man Iain.

The Canadians:
Steph and Katie are both working in a pub/hotel/nightclub around the corner from where they live, although I have barely seen them in the past few weeks. It's a shame, with my hours I rarely get to see anyone, but such is life says you!

Dave and Marr:
The latest addition to the crew, Dave and Marr have got a place out in St. Kilda, a beachside suburb of Melbourne, about twenty minutes from ourselves. They spend most of the time the other side of the bar at my work!

Well with Tim and Smeels moving out, I'm sure some shifting of the gang will happen, I'll keep you posted.

Better get some food.
Stay safe.
Bean

Itchy travelling shoes....

Back to Melbourne again. Sometimes when I get back to my flat, I feel, happy I suppose to be back.
Back in the comfort of my own home.
Back with all my belongings.
Back with all my technology.

That's not why I came here.

I think I'm going to have to change the way things have gone here.
I'm only going to be here once, once like this anyway. I should be making the most of this.
So I'm going to contrive a plan from somwhere and put it into action.

Life has too many possible outcomes for me to be here working in an Irish bar, in a city.

I can do that at home.

That is what's going on upstairs right now.

On a lighter note!
Good news: Met up with Ann Marie Hynes, a fellow Athlonian - she also comes with musical talents which include a stunning soaring voice.

A band is brewing.

The surf was terrible on our trip to Portsea and Gunnamatta. It happens. The landscape made up for it, as did the sunsets and the company.

Well I'd love to finish what I've started but I just realised I'm running bang on time for work if I leave now.

Good day to you all
:)

Headin' out at Gunnamatta, the surf was crap, but the rips were savage. This is the beach a family of five went swimmin' in a few years back and they were never seen again. Savage currents.... 

Sandcastle competition. 

That wee orange dot, is Ann Marie behind us on the chairlift. Shane couldn't make it.... heights and him don't get on so well!