Yep, its been a while...

Well, what a month... or two... I have to appologise for how slack I've been with this blog. In my defense I haven't been sitting in my room twiddling my thumbs and purposefully blowing it of. Then again if I'm appologising to any one its really just my future self (the only person that will ever really care about the thoroughness of my records).

Moving on, in order to keep this entry from expanding into the next dimension I'll try and just cover the basics of what I've been doing...

Work.. there was three weeks there were it was almost nothing but.. that is until I got fired and now in contrast its been a few days of pj wearing relaxation. Why did I get fired you ask... well to be honest, your guess is as good as mine. If I was quick to emotion and furious about the whole thing I'd say its because my boss was a complete nut job with no thought of anyones feelings but her own. But I'm not, and in hindsight I guess I just did something that rubbed her the wrong way... I have no idea though how I went from Golden child, "do it like Lesley does, well done for helping us get 98 our of 100 for our surprise inspection" goodness, to "You don't fit in here" ~sigh~ but what's done is done, and I now have no excuses not to catch up on art projects left by the waste side.

Rest assured it hasn't been all work and no play - there were a few Cha days mixed in there. A She and Him concert which was so excellently dream like I'm glad there was a witness there I can confirm with that it actually happened.

Took a visit to the LA Natural History museum to take a look at bones, bugs and bisons... we even stumbled across a live show that included a "Scientartist" - thats Scientist and artist combined (not my idea) - and a roaming roaring Dinosaur. There's nothing like watching small children wet themselves with fear... make that anyone... Don't judge me, how many times in your life have you waited behind a door to scare someone.. go on be honest!

Saw Kick Ass at the movies, which I really really enjoyed. If your still wondering whether or not to see it, I thoroughly recommend it - just um, don't bring the kids.

Tony and I also visited Whimsical Alley. SO AWESOME, I was geeking out so much I was worried I'd start hyperventilating. If I wasn't broke right now I would have walked out with a full set of Hogwarts robes and a wand... Oh and a quill set thrown in for accentuated authenticity. For other Harry Potter fans out there I recommend checking out their website, full of everything a budding young wizard.. or witch, could need ^_^

After almost killing ourselves to get to the shop it was then straight to the LMU third year animation screenings to cheer on the gang - CONGRATS again guys - the films were absolutely awesome!

And finally just a small comment (as I'm sure has been previously mentioned) on how many crazy people I seem to attract or find myself in the vicinity of. The other day while catching the bus I honestly felt like I'd walked into the twilight zone. Either that or a very elaborate hoax. When I arrived at the stop I was pulled into conversation with an epileptic that regaled me on the problems with her husband and attempt to be published in order to show the world what its really like to be an epileptic. Then attempting once again to read I was interrupted by a girl singing Michael Jackson songs at the top of her lungs... badly... to the point were even the crazy guy behind me was telling her to shut up.

On the bus we were joined by a homeless man a few stops in who was promptly told by the singing girl that he stunk and had he ever heard of shower, finally removing herself from the bus after liberally spraying him with deodorant. It was squashy the whole way thanks to the bus being late, so I made friends with a man sitting down who offered to hold my bag. Finally arriving at Glendale I couldn't believe that in only a couple of hours I'd been squashed, pushed, yelled out, sang at, complained to and generally just plain wigged out.

I can only imagine what the future holds ^_^

PS. if I happened to have missed anything - let me know :)

To grandma's we go

Always pack it yourself

I realise I should be putting up a run down of what I've been up to this last week and a bit (as is customary and expected on a travel blog) but as I forgot my list and this will probably be the only opportunity in a while for me to write something you'll have to put up with something a little different ^_^

Being Human is to participate in the weirdest rituals ever known. Your probably thinking - that's all very well to say, but there isn't a whole lot to compare us to - this is true - but when you hear of fetishes involving dressing up in leather, being whipped into submission whilst pushing a hard boiled egg across the floor with your nose, you honestly have to wonder.

So now your thinking - yeah but Lesley, that's incredibly rare... (either that or how could he (yes it was a he) possibly have come to that realisation and particular combination of oddities - process of elimination?)

Ignoring the later, I agree with your point - its rare, so lets look at a fact much more common - so common that its performed by more than half the population on a regular basis(monthly if your of Mediterranean descent like me) I'm referring to the removal of hair from our bodies - more specifically the most painful way - that is the process of lathering your skin in hot lava like goo then waiting till it dries slightly and becomes sticky enough to rip of (along with your hair and at least two layers of skin) with strips of roughly torn calico.

Waxing

In a society so focused on aesthetic sensibilities I can understand why it continues to this day - but how did it begin, what were the Egyptians thinking when they decided body hair was no longer an attractive accessory? Furthermore, should we be taking beauty advice from the same people that brought us mummification, that's right, the process of yanking your brains out through your nasal cavity along with other essential organs only to then store them in ornate jars alongside your decaying body ready for the possibility of a prosperous afterlife...

As I lie there once a month on a hard slim bed, my legs spread at odd angles, my hands above my head exposing my vulnerable armpits wearing only bra and panties I really wonder about the rituals we consider necessary. Then as if having all my hair and skin yanked of for an hour by a big bossumed lady with a thick accent sweating and squinting I have to shell out 60 dollars afterwords - I actually pay for what sane people would perceive to be torture!

So to reiterate - "Being Human is to participate in the weirdest rituals ever known"

I leave you now with my advice for the week:

Always pack left overs yourself; I learnt this the hard way when dining at the cheesecake factory today I asked them to put what was left of my meal (a significant amount) in a takeaway container - all I found in there once leaving the restaurant was two pieces of chicken and some lettuce... you've been warned

Breath through your mouth

I'm sitting in the library right now, listening to the girl next to me burst out in spontaneous bouts of laughter, looking at the clock and wondering HOW THE HELL we ended up in MID MARCH! I know I've mentioned this before... once or twice maybe... but it is honestly freaking me out that only yesterday I was staring into the sky watching the 2010 fireworks display and hugging myself to ward away the brisk winter chill and now its the begining of spring, and we're already 2 and a half months into the new year... thats almost a quarter of the year gone (for those that struggle with maths). I'm 24 this year - no not old I know... but still along way of from that 10 year old that sat on her bed thinking, this is it.. probably not going to feel any older than this... only two years away from a projected life plan (made when I was 7) of being married with a kid in a nice cottage perpetualy dressed in overalls and painting the cieling, with a roaring fire in the hearth and some good jazz music in the background (preferably Ella Fitzgerald) - I thought it was important at the time to be visually specific when describing my future. Is this it - is this how fast life is going to go from now on?? If so I wish someone had told me - those times when two hours in the car seemed like an eternity of sitting, singing and looking at a monotony of trees speed by - someone had said - "hey" (cos in this fantasy my person of knowledge and leadership is fairly abrupt and not really polite) "hey - just appreciate alright! Because in ten years time an hour will be a milisecond, a day will be an hour and a year will seem like a really long day"

So with that of my chest I continue with my week - but before you go get yourself a snack - or just piss of entirely know that I wont continue as normal... for one thing not a lot happened this week - and as much as I don't want to bore your pants of I mostly don't want to relive it. I thought instead I'd just give you the bare bones - the straight facts - The "highlights" if you will.

Monday's highlight was missing the bus whilst wasting time in target finding out about store brand vitamins then catching 4 buses through woop woop to make it home before the next day.
Tuesday's higlight was seeing snowy mountains whilst walking to Cha - A rare and startling phenomenon when coming from a relitively flat country perpetually plagued by drought.
Wednesday saw Tony and I finally living up to our saintly persona's by visiting ASIFA for a bit of volunteer work and meeting a new friend that amazingly sat through my extremely eclectic taste in music.
Thursday was the day I discovered the podcast "The Tobolowsky files" a hark back to good old fashioned story telling. As well as small but nice sketch meet that night - I also came accross a fellow countryman who was nice enough to regail us with various highlights from his IMDB page and give my the contact information of the man that used to own Disney in Australia - he thought I'd appeal to the man based on the fact I'm young, Asutralian and a girl...
We'll skip over Friday
Saturday was more time at CHA - Cha being a highlight in itself
Then Sunday I worked all day with the lowlight being an almost three hour chat with my boss after hours that ended with me walking home listening to slit your wrist music and crying like an idiot trying to re-evalute my life and personality...

Well there you have it - not as bad as I thought - and for once a nice breif summery - something I used to think meant you only had to leave out the bits about you breathing and going to the toilet.

Hope your all well -

I'll leave you with some advice -
when travelling on public transport allways remember to breath through your mouth - This not only stops the mix of BO and homeless man stench perminently lining the sides of your mostrils but also stops you from passing out and missing your stop.


Lesley

when it rain it rains pennies from heaven

Sorry its another long one...

Go Anthony its your birthday - gonna paaarty like its ya birthday

Plus a little ode I wrote whilst waiting for the bus

I feel sick

The air stiffens around me as midday heat reaches a climax.
I look with searching eyes into the rippling distant horizon

Nothing

Not a thing moving in sight. My eyes try and try and trick me, finding
anything of bus stature or likeness to give me hope.
I check my wrist for the 20th time to watch time tick away with malice.
My stomach is in knots, beads of sweat litter my forehead, I know the feeling well

Panic

It sets in like the flu, giving you small hints of its presence before it envelopes
you in pure cold fury. I lick my lips and swallow what's left of my saliva on this
morbidly hot day
"don't worry" I said "The bus will be on time"
My voice rings in my head sounding strained and unfamiliar

Shit

Why did I say that? I jinxed myself! things always go badly when you least
want them to... I curse myself
My life
My dependancy on a transport system that continues to fail me when I need it most

Waiting
Waiting
Waiting

I hate this! I hate the bus! I hate the driver, I hate everyone that hindered me from
getting a license - I'll tell him.. I'll...

Suddenly the screech of brakes
The hiss of machinery relaxing to a stop.
He opens the door with a hard jerk, looking down on my squinting red face
He smiles as I climb heavily onto the steps and thrust my dollar in the slot.
In one swift nod of of kindness my anger dissolves and sitting lightly in a cozy
corner near the back I forget it all and am ready to begin again tomorrow

You got a nice booty

Sorry guys - its a looong one

what can I say, I love hearing myself talk ^_^

Does this bruise go with my outfit?

Always wear a helmet

If its not working...

click on the entry title "Always wear a helmet"
Then try a few times till it says its "buffering"

If it still takes too long - let me know and I'll
email you the vid ^_^

Write right ^_^

Yes, thats right folks, I've gone back to writing my blog - well at least for this entry, partly because I may just have some time on my hands (provided no last minute distractions come up) and I'm looking really bad at the moment due to a severe lack of sleep - The other day I was trying to draw and literally fell asleep right on top of my drawing, pen still in hand poised and ready... I woke up startled about 15 minutes later with a red mark on my forehead, a little pencil on my nose and a significant amount of drool on my picture... not to mention some odd looks from the people next to me...

But I think I've caught up a little now and am ready - NO, excited to blog away for all three of you lovely people ^_^

First things first HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONY... Hope your having an awesome time on the ski fields - wish I was there!
Another little shout out - its now officially 6 months since I've been in America, and therefore 6 months till I'm home - So for those of you who are missing me terribly or are dreading my return were half way there...

And now for my wondrous adventure this past week...

Monday BAD DAY
was horrible - yep I said it, I was on my way to class as usual, looking back with disgust at the lady down the back that burped for 30 minutes straight, but excited at the prospect of teaching the littlies how to draw backgrounds - knowing full well I'd probably only get through teaching them how to draw a straight line... they are only 5 after all... was half way to Culver City (which may as well be in another country) and the bus never showed! Now for those that know me well you'll know that I HATE letting people down, more than anything, and this was the ultimate disappointment - my boss's were upset, I was upset and they cancelled the class so I imagine the kids were too... I turned around and went home totally dejected, spending the next few hours drinking away my troubles (don't worry it was only Chai tea) and pouring every ounce of knowledge I had into a booklet for each kid, hoping it would make up for them missing out...

Tuesday AUSTRALIA DAY
And my first customer for the day - AUSTRALIAN - unfortunately I was so tired I completely forgot to wish him a happy A day, and tried to make up for it on the next guy that came along, luckily he was a good sport and played along pretending to believe in its significance... After work I loaded up on chicken salad then went with Tony to ASIFA to do some solid archiving whilst listening to good Ol Hamish and Andy podcasts - then further celebrated by watching countless you tube videos of Australian comedians and snippets from classic movies (hows that for spreading Aussie cheer). We rounded up the day at an Animation Nation meeting, listening to great artists talk about their rise to success - how to get self published and then I got to spend ages getting advice from a great artist I met previously at Comic con! Thanks again for everything Gary ^_^

Wednesday CHA DAY
I was so happy to make my way to Cha today, on the verge of serious withdrawal symptoms, it sat on the bus absorbed in my new book (the Golden compass - soooo much better than the film) practicing the art of ignoring people so I wouldn't be disturbed - I'm getting better! I even stopped myself from looking around to find the person that seemed to be making weird puppy noises... That night I rode home after stopping in to Coffee Bean to say hi to Peter and finished the night with a big bowl of soup (Yes... its still going...)

Thursday HORSE DAY
Ok so not quite - I did see a horse though, right after my class at Chatsworth - Gary picked me up this time so I didn't have to treck the few miles there from the bus stop. This gave me time to grab a drink from the local liquor store (just got flavoured water) A WORD TO YOU ALL - always ask them to break down the cost if you think they may have over charged you - I did and my purchase went from $5.50 to $3.20... which may not seem a lot for you but for me is at least one serving of yogurt ^_^ Tony and I continued our Thai tradition after class (minus luke unfortunately) then made our way to a crowded Pricillas for sketch club - they were having a mixer that night - I think I was the greatest mixing success of the night though as I had to introduce myself to almost everyone there in order to bargain tables and chairs... I even got a new Badge out of it!! (A james jean one that I swapped with a bird one I had - I felt like I was 7 years old, playing of the importance of the one he had and talking up mine - after the exchange was made and he was out of ear shot I completely geeked out over it and proudly placed it on my bag much to the raised eyebrows of my peers)

Friday CHA DAY
More Cha adventures, I got to stay a while this time as well as Tony picked me up, staying to draw and drink for an hour then it was of to Loyola (his old university). Thanks to insane LA traffic we were almost an hour late and literally ran like idiots down through campus and snuck into the back of the theatre to settle into the most comfy seats I've ever sat in IN my WHOLE LIFE!! The panel was hysterical and finished on a high - brought down momentarily when I got busted for having my feet up on the chair in front of me (woops) We stayed around at the end shmoozing and getting some great advice from the artists there - among them was Beth (the best creature designer I know), Brianne (responsible for potato factory girl blog), William Wray and Eric Canetet!! and more ^_^ As it got really late and people filled out of the theatre we stopped by the labs to say hi to Kiki and the gang working late on some animation projects then started on the long drive home.... I even got to talk to Lil when I got home - all up it was an awesome day! ^_^

Saturday WORK DAY
From 1-9 although I managed to get out at 8 for some dinner and to wait around for Eric and Tony to pick me up for the movies... Reading in Coffee Bean with Chai in hand I fell into a conversation with a guy that ended up offering my VISA advice and a contact in immigration then was on my way to Hollywood for a screening of the "The ROOM" Due to a miscalculation we ended up parking miles away so therefore had to run/jog/power walk to the theatre and join the endless line to get in - for a movie thats supposed to be the worst ever made, it sure does have a lot of hardcore fans...) Once inside and having heard the director (who looked like edward scissor hands and seemed a little high) give a brief intro and Q and A we quickly discovered that the idea was audience participation with people constantly yelling at the screen and pelting plastic spoons at certain scenes - kinda wish we hadn't sat in the first row...
That night after two nights of going to sleep at 4 I fell into bed with my clothes on and didn't move till my alarm went of the next morning

Sunday SLEEP DAY
I had work early that morning and discovered today what it must be like to have narcolepsy as I'd go to start something and wake up a few minutes later... in the same position... That night I fell asleep watching the grammies and knowing I had a later start the next day finally let my body catch up... more or less

Till next week
Lel

rain rain, go away...

I've also included a couple of the images I've been working on this week. I've been spending more time on illustration and composition... there's more examples on my DA page - comment if you can ^_^

Lazy me lazy you

No more procrastination!

a sneak peek at the revision for my book character ^_^



Ok, so I'm now thoroughly convinced that it is impossible for me to multitask when watching tv - SERIOUSLY I set about writing this blog entry at 7:30... its now past 11... no thanks to live free or die hard... I know what your thinking - why don't you just turn the tv of?? well that would have been the easy option, unfortunately I was somehow convinced the entire time that I could do it and it just perpetuated into this massive waste. Of. Time.

~sigh~ Its now midnight - yes folks I spent a whole hour writing one paragraph - I'm not sure why these entries take me so long... I guess I blame cable... and the internet... But the tv is muted and I refuse to look at the internet until this is complete... OH shoot.. I have to have a shower.. Alright - hang on...

I'm back... You can't tell but its actually the next morning... no it didn't take me that long to have a shower... I pretty much gave up at 1am.... No more procrastination! I'm doing this now.... actually thats a good title...

Well I left you at New Years Eve and a very late night... Unfortunately I had to work the next morning at nine, so wobbling along on my bike before anyone else had even considered getting up I made my way to a quite day at work. High fiving Elsie at one, when asked how I'd be celebrating the new year I truthfully replied - "with good food" and proceeded to pig out at Octopus Bar, followed by a mossy around the shops till Brad and Amber came to take me back. On a side note I found an AWESOME book by Mucha that was only 15 dollars! It should have been $100 - I hope that means the year will be filled with insane bargains ^_^

On Saturday morning I woke late and sat with Amber for a ages whilst Brandon crawled around my legs, then finally rolling myself of the couch proceeded to Burbank to shut myself away in the library and write my blog as well as get a quick massage and some groceries (not form the same place). I Got lost coming home that night when I tried to go a different way, I finally made it an hour later than it should have taken me but looking on the bright side there were still some great Chrissy lights on display ^_^

Monday was a work day followed by some Thai and a drawing session with Tony - then Tuesday was my first lesson at Willow community school teaching comics - its great! apart from being miles and MILES away, its a really cute little school and there's only 6 boys in the class... with some really strange names... Bruno.. Makaie... Remy and... Korfy?? It was pretty much get to know you games making up signatures and drawing barry the sheep this lesson...Next up is shapes ^_^

Tuesday was more work... suffering CHA withdrawal symptoms then heading home after as poor Tony came down with a bad cold and our trip to ASIFA was postponed. I woke up early the next day extremely excited that I was finally getting to go to Pasadena again! A good book on becoming a freelance illustrator tucked under my arm and my Ipod fully charged I made my way there, stalled only slightly when our bus almost collided with an oncoming car - lucky he had quick reflexes and the confidence of a much larger vehicle ^_^ I was also hit on by a homeless guy that would not stop trying to get a conversation out of me... I'm not sure how but he ended up finding out where I worked, wrote his name and number on my hand and was happy to meet up again in the next week to go to the movies - Dad before you fly over here - I promise I did not engage this conversation... The guy just did not get the hint! But the rest of the day was fairly un-eventful and with headphones and a book covering my face I made it home without talking to anymore strangers ^_^

I was Back at Pasadena the next day Hungry for more - only to see the entire strip of shops down in Old P completely decked out in Red and Orange as people mingled about getting ready for the big College football game of Alabama vs Texas - Dad I know what you mean now about how much Americans get into their football! I didn't even recognise some shops as they were completely covered in merchandise! That night Sketch club was back on, this time I took Luke with me as he's now in Burbank and wanted to check it out - It was so great seeing everyone again, and after being pulled into some pretty crazy hugs (I think being small people feel compelled to lift you in the air) we settled down for some serious drawing and chatting - ending the night with a page of penis illustrations everyone contributed to... I was happy to provide the most non-confrontational one, then hand it to the barrister who had made the suggestion of a collaborative project - I tried to explain to him that this was the result when you have a bunch of very sick men in the room.... ^_^

Friday Tony and I finally volunteered down at ASIFA - staying for three hours to sort and archive old Annie comics - I was proud to get through over 200 pages spurred on through the last hour by some good tunes.

The next morning I headed into Burbank around lunch time to meet up with Tony again - after a bite to eat we made our way to his friends 24 themes party - a 7 hour bar crawling marathon that had him completing tasks Jack Bower style - We made it to two bars with them as we arrived towards the middle and after chatting to his uni friends and meeting a fellow Aussie we left for Hollywood to line up for a free screening of When in Rome. It was packed outside the mall as countless crew and extras filmed a roof performance of a band I didn't know - we weren't sure if they were speaking another language or it was just because they were so high up - but it made for good entertainment while we waited. The movie was sooo great! I really recommend it when it comes out your way - just fun and funny ^_^ We ended the night at a farewell for another friend at the air-conditioned bar - and giving up trying to hear or talk to people I settled on watching Gi-Joe that was being screened on the wall then later drove a very tired and coughing Tony back to mine. Luckily he made it home ok!

Sunday was a nice quite end to the week, I worked that morning unfortunately arriving an hour and a half early so went to sleep on the booth till it was time to start. food and reading carried me through the afternoon until I finally worked up enough energy to ride home...

Until next week - I'll try and figure out a dot point system of entry for the next one.. but we all know the likelihood of that happening - Let me know what you got up to for new years ^_^

Over and out

HAPPY 2010!!

I'm sitting in the library right now, realising with mild surprise that the seats here are actually extremely comfortable... I've banished myself here until I finish this entry... In truth I wanted to have it done before the end of the year, a sort of farewell to 2009 one might say.. A sign of dedication and maturity as the world heads into double digits in this brand new century.. instead I write to you two days late.. hopeful that this isn't a sign of what things will be like in the new year.

But theres no more excuses, I have a full tummy (large Taro should take me through the better part of this entry) I'm comfy and am surrounded by people intently typing away and setting a good example for the type of work ethic I'd like to employ right now...

Before I start I would just like to say that this entry will be done a little differently - as I have regretably left it a month between entries I plan to put this in point form, I realise if I attempted to sum up everyday in lavish (albiet unnesicary) detail as usuall I'll not only have a major brain burn out trying to remember everything but I'll also bore you stupid - consider it a belated Christmas present...

So In point form (what I remember) of the last month...

CTN

CTN was absolutely awesome... I finally found my scedule today... ok thats a lie, I stole it from Anthony when I found a copy in his car the other day... So a full blown down is on its way (promise) for those of you not jumping up and down in sheer excitment and anxiousness I'd like to point out that the break down is more for me than you... a way to let everything that happened sink in...

The Next thing worth mentioning that happened after that was Alex's Birthday on the 20th... ok so I realise that came three weeks after my birthday but all that really hapened in that time was more days in Pasadena,
a weeks worth of rain,
Some more interesting run ins with homeless people
Three more boys trying to get my number (don't worry Anthony... I quickly declined)
Some serious drawing
Christmas Preperation (like decorating the tree)
and an awesome night at ASIFA that gave me a lifetimes worth of artistic inspiration I'm still sifting through (thanks again Steve)

Ok side note... I'm being seriously distracted right now by the man next to me that keeps flicking out his hands every two minutes and muttering... maybe the library wasn't the best idea...

So the 18th rolled around and I spent about a week really working hard to finish Al's video so I could send it of in time for her to get it... $60 later it made its way to Australia to a happily expectant Yvette and a crazily realieved me... Its not easy forking over that much cash when the guy behind the counter tells you it MIGHT get there in time... but it did, and after some playing around with it at the party... (all buig occasions need an appropriate amount of technical dificulty) they got it working and I successfuly made Alex cry! booyeah! Hey I didn't collect 21 years worth of pics and memories for nothing ^_^ It was great being a part of the festivities too, even if I spent most or the time sitting on Lils lap...

It was really awesome as well keeping her company that night (lil not Alex) We swaped songs, sang Part of your world with the help of Yvette on her end and Amber on mine, then I showed her how to make a BLT and we spent the rest of the night watching Icarly - Love you and miss you Lil!

Christmas Eve came steaming along shortly after and festivities were started of with a short day at work then a concert at night. Hamid and Eman came to pick me up at 6:30 to make for the Hilton near Universal Studios... We spent the early part of the night around the bar, egging on Carolers, eating dry peanuts, stealing strawberries and proving to Eman that I did indeed have 6 jobs before I left... A fact that won my a ticket to see Avatar in 3D ^_^

Passing the buffet that spilled lavishly into the halls and was filled with everything from a sushi to roast and anything else you could want or imagine we got to our own Persian delights then sitting down near the stage got ready to hear Hamid and the Blackcats rock out.

The Music lasted till 2am - broken only be a huge fist fight that had people screaming anf performing high kicks, for some well over tipsy I was surprised how fast eman had me under his arm to take me out of there.

The Next day Santa had been and it was Pancakes curtisy of Brad... I provided fresh oranges I'd stolen from the buffet the night before (I managed to get six out under my jacket... mum, you taught me well) After breacy and a present from Dad and Yvette - I'll use it well - I went for a walk to Burbank to meet Gary for a movie - surprisingly it was packed and I was thankful Gary had shown up early and gotton tickets as the line stretched all the way up the bllock. We decided to pass the time with drinks at Bobaloca then took up our place in the line for Sherlock Holmes.

The movie was pretty good, unfortunetly due to a late night before I almost fell asleep in the middle - but I recomend it if your a fan of the franchise.

We ended the night with Thai then it was home to bed

Boxing day I had to work in the morning and after two late nights left the house feeling extremely crusty and worse for wear.. but I made it through a slow day at Haagan Dasz and later met with Alina to see Avatar and have dinner at Pho... mmmm chicken salad.

Avatar was great... better than I expected... but then I had pretty low LOW expectations... But as promised it looked beautiful and incredibly expensive... It turned out the story really did resemble Atlantis but I think it was about half way through when I realised I liked Atlantis so the simalirities weren't really such a bad thing...

Before I wrap up christmas I'd just like to Thank everyone again for all my presents - I really did feel loved and incredibly spoiled this year

Dad/Yvette and Lil - for the money which I'm still spending (just bought myself a massage) and my Disney Game
Mum - for the rent
Brad/Amber and Brandon for the Blanket
Gary for the Meal
My Boss Seni for the voucher
Jen for my card
and everyone else for the well wishes ^_^

The next major event was of course New Years.. Finding at the last minute I had the day of work I started with a sleep in on the Eve and bummed around the house till midday when I finally got dressed and headed to Burbank to meet with Guss and Tony... the day was a surprise so making sure I had everything on the list Tony sent me I met with them at 2:30 for a late lunch and a long trip down to Long Beach.
After seeing some awesome motercycle tricks set up by the pier we met with Tim, and deciding against skating on the fake ice that odly resembled rubber we made for the acquarium - I think its the most fun I've had at an acquarim ever!! we rushed around like idiots making whale sounds (ok that was just me) pretending to swim with the fish, discovering the difference between Sea Lions and Seals, Getting our guides embossed (something I made my personal mission) and topping it of with ahealthy dose of sarcassm - summed up in Tony's brilliant line towards a leg spreading starfish that seemed to resemble his Ex wife - much to the caretakers horror - totall classic!

Giving up on the final embossing station we made our way to the crowded pier to watch a dareldevil with a name that resembles cold meat (pastrami I think) break a world record for the longest car jump over water from one ramp to another.. pretty sweet stuff.

We then spent the next two and a bit hours wondering around trying to find dinner as everywhere was either closing the kitchen or completely booked out... or of limits due to the fact I'd forgotton my ID (sorry again guys)

But we finally came across Baba Gump Shrimp (literally where we had started) and had an excelletn dinner of fresh prawns - I got the salad which was one of the best I've ever had ^_^

Just as the temperature dropped and the crowds started to gather we rugged up and headed to the water for the fireworks - not as good as Home but still loud and colourful and as always a slightly extravagant waste of money ^_^ when the last explosion rung out accross the water lighting up he boats and happy drunk faces of most in the crowd we head to PF changs to warm up before we headed back to the cars...

Thanks again Everyone for a fantastic 2009 - thanks to those of you that actually took the time to read my blog - it really does make it worth while - Thanks for supporting me and giving me feedback, I hope my lengthy entries haven't scared you away so you'll be back for more this year

In other quick news

I've written a song that I'm trying to compose
I'm still working on my book
I'll have my stuff in Karen's shop at the end of this month (hopefully)
I have three new classes with Gary and Shaun - I'm teaching comic books and Science again
I bought a Calender and plan to actually use it!

Some pics from New Years