Some Stuff Since Tassie

Nothing major has happened since I got back from my trip. My first week back I was busy finishing assignments, but now I'm just working on two final papers, and keeping up in classes until exams, which I only have one of, unless you count a take home paper. Since nothing is due for awhile, I've been able to relax a bit more. Although now that winter is setting in it, the sun is already beginning to set when I get out of class at 5:15, so skating after school usually means night sessions in front of the museum or the state library or somewhere around town. Whenever I go skating at night (around midnight) people in my building are like "are you going skating now?!" or "Where you out skating?!" when I return. I usually tell them I'm not tired or that night time is best for skating in the city because less pedestrians are around. Below is the main obstacle at the state library. Its a photo I got off google, so it doesn't really show the face of the bank, but you get the idea. The museum is mainly flatground, a few ledges where kids took off skatestoppers, manual pads, and some big gaps that are in a lot of videos (it says Melbourne Museum in big letters in the background).


I've been trying to go to some more shows. I went to a metal show a week and a half ago. The bands weren't great, (the screaming/growling was a little much, although it wasn't quite new hardcore), but it was fun. Simon bailed on going to the show because he was too tired/hungover from the night before, so I went alone but happened to run into a guy from the Fitzroy bowl, Pete, and talked to another guy who skated, Shorty. Pete is also the bassist of the band Team Rad that I had wanted to see a few months ago, although I didn't mention that. I saw him in the moshpit and he looked at me, must of realized he recognized me from somewhere, looked down at my shoes, realized I was a skater, and gave me a high five. I hung out with him for a bit and chatted. He was also going up to random people and saying "hey, I heard Fallout boy is playing a secret show tonight!" as a joke. During the last band I ran into him again at the front. He let me take a chug from his jug of beer, then when it was done he threw it at the band, but the singer had already opened up a scab on his forehead from jumping into the crowd a few times so it was appropriate. Tomorrow I'm going to see an acoustic Chuck Ragan show at a bar in Richmond (which is actually a heavily Vietnamese neighborhood). On Saturday I'm going to go see a The Gimmies, for free apparently in St. Kilda, a beach neighborhood a bit south of downtown. They're from Japan and are influenced by Radio Birdman, MC5 and the Stooges.

This weekend it was my friend Caroline's birthday who lives on my floor. We (me and some fellow Unilodgers) spent the afternoon/evening pre-gaming in the 4th floor kitchen and ate some pizza and garlic bread with vegemite (actually I think I was the only one to eat the vegemite, but my friend Priscilla did sing the vegemite theme song twice over the course of the afternoon). We then headed into the city to a dance club that played techno music and I was one of the few guys without gelled hair, a low cut shirt and dress shoes. So basically it wasn't really my type of place, but it was fun because I had already drunk enough that I didn't need to buy their over priced beer and I was with friends from UniLodge who I don't usually go out with.


Above: Having some fun. Below: Pure excitement


I also bought plane tickets for when I'm done with finals. I'm going up to Queensland with Simon. Were going to stay at his house on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane which is supposed to real nice and less commercial than the Gold Coast (there are some sick skateparks, too). Tomomi is going to meet us up there as well. One destination of ours is the Australian Zoo which is the culmination of Steve Irwin's life work. Apparently you go in a gate and get to chill in a big open area with Kangaroos and other creatures. Were going to go down to the Gold Coast as well, both the normal people attractions, and Tomomi and Simon can go off and do stuff while I check out more sick skateparks, like Pizzey! After a week and a half in Queensland I'm flying over to New Zealand, to Auckland, where I'll start my journey and work my way down the country, through Wellington, over to the south island and on to Christchurch where I'll fly back to Melbourne. I don't have many concrete plans, although I've done some research on skateparks, so I'll probably base my various destination points on where sick stuff to skate is, and get to see cool scenery on the bus/train rides and do touristy or other stuff in my downtime. Most of the people I've talked to who went to New Zealand are like "yeah bro, skydiving!" or have gone bungee jumping, or river rafting, horseback riding, etc. Tomomi fired a gun there. I'll probably avoid most of these overpriced activities unless any specifically catch my eye. Anyways, I'll end the post with a photo of my first destination in New Zealand which made me decide I had to go to Auckland. Kudos if you recognize what skate video it was in (although it could have been in others than I'm thinking of). Sorry the picture is kind of small. That full pipe is somewhere around head height and the snake run leading to it is very tight. Very.