Diary of an AUstralian Jaunt 10-17-10

5am on a Sunday... BOO. Melbourne isn't even awake yet. Turned on the tube and got ready to go. Packed one bag 5 kilos too much and ended up having to pay a fee.. Stood in the wrong line LITERALLY 5 times before I finally got checked in to my flight. In Sydney, Customs was a PISSER. I forgot you can't bring Diet Coke through the line and the customs dick told me it would have been easier if I had taken it out before I got there. DUH.. I forgot it was in my bag Mr Arsehole. SO.. got through THAT and spent a little mula at the airport shops.... Finally got on plane and what a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG flight.. I couldn't find the remote for my TV.. it was in the other arm of my chair. I watched Curb Your Enthusiasm and Modern Family.. Flight flew by... I got off in HELL.. er LA.. NIGHTMARE of customs.. Line went on for literally days.. The mo fo's confiscated my boomerrang and tested my low carb sugar for bomb components. Finally... Finally got home and the best end of the trip was little Jilly running up to me and giving me the best hug ever...... GOOD TO BE HOME.

Diary of an Australian jaunt 10-16-10

Got a wee bit 'o' mud on my boots

Can you see the cutie with her yellow sign?

Left Bendigo EARLY.... On the road to Melbourne. Kind of a waste as my hotel in Melbourne was not ready when I arrived (still a fabbbbb room). Melbourne is filled with a CRUSH of people. UGH. I spent the time waiting for my hotel in a local mall. Sad to see little puppies in the window of a pet store. Wasn't aware that ANYone still did that.. Got back to the hotel with an hour to get ready.. freashened up the coif and the face... left for Ballarat a LITTLE nervous as I did not have any idea where the show was in Ballarat. (Last minute show .. no time to prepare) Luckily, stopped at a gas station and this QT knew where I needed to go (BTW, you pump and then pay in AUS.. very trusting.. ) Got to the FIELD and found.. (surprise) MUD..MUD..MUD! Had a few beverages and was SO happy. Jet ROCKED the house. Held up my lil yellow sign.. got a sexy nod from Nic and Chris's drum stick.... Cheers, Mate..

Diary of an Australian jaunt 10-15-10

Bendigo. Day 2. Went shopping early, after a fabulous breakfast. Went downtown and walked around. Found another Golden Shred Doll... ;) Returned back to the hotel.. showered and dressed. Got to the venue at 3:45. Thought that would be early enough. NOT. About 20 people in Q. It was bitterly cold and rainey. Met 2 freaks.. FREAKS. Knarly teethed looking chicks. They did help me jump the Q, so I guess i heart freaks!! Found out their is a Powderfinger Mafia and my friend from Canberra, Deb, is the don. Found out that she posted on some website that she found a "loser" to unload her extra ticket to. BITCH. Saw her and ignored the hideous cow. Got my drink on and LOVED the show. Nic is pretty darn HAWT. I think I saw Pia (Nic's fiance') .. :(

Diary of an Australian jaunt 10-14-10

Drove and drove and drove ALL morning. Took detours through many smaller cities along the highway... went to a few shops.. Dead kangaroo count is at 5. Arrived in Bendigo and LOVE the hotel. No concert tonight, so I was able to relax. (sigh) Drove to the venue for tomorrow's show to plan route. Looked around the city, a bit.. Like it a loooooot. Plan to have brekki in suite in the AM. Went to the laundryland to wash .. my staple clothes were muddy and rain drenched... Ordered a pizza and watched a movie.. AHHH Life in Bendigo.

Diary of an Australian jaunt 10-13-10

These sheepies are giving me the stink eye

I paid attention to these signs

FAB room

Oh MY MY! What a frenzied day. Woke up at 6am knowing I had to run to the airport to exchange money. UGH. It was raining like crazy! Checked out and hit the road to Albury. LOOOOOOONG rainy trip. Loads and loads of lamb-ies and sheep-ies in fields of purple flowers.. such a site. saw ANOTHER poor little dead kangaroo. Stopped at a local wool factory and bought some toasty warm socks. And after what seemed life forever, arrived in Albury. Love, Love the hotel. Cutie Patootie behind the counter. Ran up to the room and redid my face and hauled ass to concert. Got in line and am almost positive someone asked who's mother I was. I wanted to beat some little Aussie ass... Jason and his hideous dwarf wife let me get in front of them for Jet. WOO HOO.. Rockin show. Kinda freaked out that I didn't see Deb.. So, I ebay'd a ticket for Saturday's show. Having heaps of trouble understanding what these people are saying. Feeling like I am ESL. Man at gas station said I was a site based on his usual customers.. I ****think**** it was a complement.. WHO KNOWS.

Diary of an Australian jaunt 10-12-10

View of Canberra's main drag ..

War memorial - for Iraq

War memorial - for Sailors

War memorial - the Wall

War memorial

Hungry Jacks... (Jack ate the King, apparently)

Chris

Sea of people under tent in field (sigh)

Oh Canberra. Apparently, I pronounce it incorrectly. I pronounce quite a few things wrong. Who knew? Woke up at 6am and got a jump on the day. Went sightseeing in the AM. Went to the Australian Intelligence agency and parliament. Looked SUPER important. I guess maybe the King or the President .. or the CEO of Australia does his business there. It is VERY fortified. The building that is... Went to the Australian War memorial. Sad to see all the names.. Fell down stairs when I was trying to look cute .ugh. Went to Westfields and had Sushi. Had dinner at Happy Jacks. The dude in the drivethru kept calling me sweet. That is what I expected of all the people of Australia.. An overwhelming amount of sugar.. NOT. Just an occasional Happy Jack employee. :( Considering Ali Baba's Drive thru for tomorrows dinner. hahahahah Came "home" showered and got ready. Drove to show extra early and was sad to see a super long line. Finally got into the venue and talked my yank ass to the mo fo front. GO MEGHAN! Excited that new friend, Deb, has an extra ticket to Saturday's sold out show. Who needs to spend the day in Melbourne?!?!? Mental note.. most Australian women are hideous... Left after JET.. people surprised. GOOD SHOW.

PS Saw first kangaroo.. but it was smashed on side of road... :( also, shows WAY different here.. In USA small clubs, here 10,000 peeps in a field.. booooo

Diary of an Australian jaunt 10-11-10

Tasman Sea

Yawn. Yawn. It is only 5pm local time, but my brain thinks its 12 am yesterday. How did today go? So far, so good. Got off the plane into a sea of people. Who knew Sydney on a Monday would be SOOO busy... And so many different steps to get into the friggen country. First immigration.. "what is the purpose of your visit?" Then I had to wait for what seemed like an eternity for my bags.. Then the real test,they scan your bags. I had almonds in my bag and fearing that I would be on the next "Locked up Abroad", I mentioned them to the officer.. I had to give them up.. Oh well.. God forbid I have a snack! Did I mention I was sweating up a storm? I only had the same 3 layers as before on.. (sigh) On to the car rental place.... Of course it was on the opposite side of the airport and it was the only place with a huge line.. Did I mention the man in front of me in line was ESL and he had to question everything..?? ugh. The chick behind the counter became my bestey when I told her the purpose of my trip. "REALLY?" the word dedication keeps coming up. ... Finally got to my wee car --- through the pouring rain :( VERY nervous about the driving .. GULP> Ironically found a McDonalds straight away. Confused the crap out of the dude in the drive through. They apparently dont have a sugar free ice coffee down under.. BOO.. Thankfully, I paid extra for the GPS .. So, I could kinda explore. Found Bondhi Beach which looks over Sydney harbour. very very very windy. Finally got on to the M5 (freeway) to Canberra. Quite a drive. Lots of Kangaroo crossings and sheep.. (Sigh.. Meggie and the Thorn Birds) Drove 110 kph.. very weird.. Drove into Canberra .. wonderful hotel.. Damn bed is a bean bag and the toilet has a #1 button and a #2 button. hahahahah Didn't wake from my 6pm nap until morning.. :)

Diary of an Australian jaunt 10-09-10 (part 2)

From plane

I am Fabulous. On plane. OK yes, I am literally the last row on the plane, but no one is sitting next to me.. JOY!!! The stewardess made me comfy .. I am right by the lavatory. Life is GOOD. Must be a good sign, (sigh) its 11pm and in an hour or so we are going to have dinner.. WTF? Oh well, I will be enjoying the salmon with mashed potatos and I believe tiramisu for desert. Mental note, thank god for close proximity to crapper. HERE WE GO! plane is moving. Loving Quantus. But have no idea what these people are saying over the intercom. Something about escape routes.. Oh my goodness, I am right by the slide.. yippee.. BTW thank goodness I submitted my marketing paper due on Sunday early. There is NO room for my huge laptop. Eventhough there is no one next to me, the seat in front of me is ridiculously close. I had a wild idea that international flights would come with a wee bit more room. I believe Southwest has more friggen room. I guess taking this big ass bus to Australia costs a few sheckles.. Gotta cram the thing with people. I walked past the first class, the business class, the elite economy (sigh) Oh well,, whatever. ... .. ... .. (elapsed time) .. ... ... 3 hours outside of Sydney. dinner was delish. Yummy.. watched modern family and fell asleep. bad night. bumpy over the date line. hahahahah Cannot handle all these freaks exercising by my exit door. This one dude is doing a full radu workout. Fine.. I get it.... Sitting 14 hours is a bit tough .. but move on. JEESH. I went in t o the potty with 3 hours left on the flight to put my contcts in and apply some eyeliner.. no more then 8 minutes later, there was a friggen line..BOO.. and people were glaring.. 1 time to the damn toilet.. elapsed time...2 hrs from Sydney (Sigh) you would think we went east..this flight is taking so damn long... but in actuality we went pretty direct over Hawaii .. I guess the world is pretty big, eh? the coolest thing on theplane is the flight tracker.. you can see where you are and how much longer to get to where you are going.... (see photo)

Diary of an Australian jaunt 10-09-10

At the airport.. about 9pm.. SHEW .. what an interesting trip so far. I went through the metal detectors that see you naked. It was weird. I felt strangely violated, but in a fun way. I am here (wait for it) 2 hours before the boarding time.. SURPRISE!! Can you imagine I would be early? Oh well.. I was able to switch to an aisle seat -- but I am in the back of the plane.. OH NO! Does that mean something signifigant?!?!? If we explode, am I going to be any less on fire? Whatever?!?!? Trying to take every minute... breathe and enjoy... NO RUSHING!!! I am finally cooling down, I only wore 3 layers... No, Not the trench or the contraption.. just toasty..want to be prepared for everything... on my tombstone it shall say she was ready for everything!