My Christmassing

I will start by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope your holidays have been fun and enjoyable.

Christmas celebrations started Christmas Eve with the girl and I heading out to one of her Aunties house's for a Christmas bash with her fathers side of the family. I suffered through it last year for the first time but this time to my surprise was a lot better. Last year I was the new boyfriend so no one really talked to me and it was a struggle but this year I spoke to a few of the family and actually spoke to the girls dad. It hard because her dad lives about 5 hours away so we don't see him a lot or enough for me to have regular conversations with him so having a chat was good. We ate a lot that night. That side of her family is German so there was a lot of German food and a lot of seafood which I don't like so I ate a lot of German food.

Christmas day was celebrated at the girls mum's house. My mum and dad came round for brunch and we ate and opened presents and ate and ate and then slept for a little. After tea with her mum we headed back to my house to say hi to my parents and there guests before heading over to Sam's place for drinks. For the last few years we had all caught up Christmas night at Susi's house. This year the tradition was going to be broken because Susi is over in Europe but Sam decided to have drinks at his and he did it well. There was so much food, wine, beer and food and even presents for us chums. In the end it was a really good night and a pretty good crowd turned up.

Boxing day was a slow day. The girl and I got up pretty late and just watched the cricket on the couch all day. We drifted in and out of sleeping and eating tomato soup and it was a good day. In the night we hit the Coopers Ale house for chicken parmy's and to say goodbye to our friend Celeste who is heading overseas again. It sucks to say goodbye but the parmy's were really good.

Going back to work after a few days off was hell. It was the last thing I wanted to do and it was hot. God it was hot. Today was the same and its only going to get warmer, but I guess it is summer.

So far its been a good festive season and for a person who doesn't enjoy Christmas that much that is saying a lot. Hope you all got good presents.

I also posted more photos over on my Photo Blog. Bye now.

My Weekend Of RestPartyRest

Well it was another big weekend. I was dead Friday night after work o the girl and I just chilled out and watched movies. Saturday started pretty early and the girl and I headed to hers so we could see her mum and head up to the Christmas tree farm in Blackwood to get their Christmas tree. We went up there in the girls car and only just managed to squeeze it in the back. Her mum had to sit next to it was a bit squishy. The whole car still smells like pine needles.

After putting the tree up and decorating the girl and I got ready to head out for Calvins 21st. Tilney picked us up and we headed into town to the Adelaide lawn bowls club. It was a really cool place for a party and with beer and a few games of bowls everyone was in celebration mode. There was a lot of people there and so we cruised around and chatted to everyone. I had a few interesting conversations and different experiences which was awesome. I learnt that when I get drunk people cant really tell apart from the fact that I tend to walk off mid conversation. I thought that was pretty funny. I had a few puffs on one of the bows cigars which I hadn't done since I quit smoking a few years back which was awesome and brought me back to the old days. As usual I cruised around having a conversation here and there and it was a good good party. After the bowls club closed up we all headed into town to the London Tavern, which is where Calvin works. We had a few more beers and then the crowd started to dwindle. I don't know what time the girl and I left but it was late and I was quite toasted.

Sunday morning was bad. Really bad. I was incredibly hung over and pretty much felt like a corpse. The girl managed to rouse me and fed me an omelette which was very nice of her and very nice in taste. After a lot of water and orange juice I managed to stand up and so we went down and got some movies to watch and some Gatoraide for me to drink and we went back to bed. After watching Welcome to the Jungle, Black Hawk Down and Underseige it was sleep time already, lol, and so we did. I woke up this morning tired somehow. Crazy world. Byes

My Wet Cold Shit Day

Today was absolute hell. We planned to pour concrete even though the forecast was for thunderstorms and heavy rain but we had no idea what we were in for. As soon as we got to the job we rigged up a tarp from the roof to some timbers to keep the rain of the actual slab but in the process we got absolutely drenched. That was just the start though.

The concrete pump turned up and not long after the first concrete truck came. It was going pretty well until the second concrete truck came with concrete that had the consistency of water. It was that wet that when you walked in it you would almost make waves. We couldn't do anything with it. We couldn't screed it, couldn't shovel it and definitely couldn't make it flat because no matter what you did it would just move and swell up or sag down. It was shit. After screeding the floor for the third time we finally finished. I have never seen concrete that bad. We order concrete at whats called 80 slump and this came at about 180 slump. The slump is the water content and if you shovel 80 slump concrete into a pile it will stay as a pile and only slump a little where as the concrete today was like water. I could barely keep it on a shovel let alone put it in a pile.

We had lunch before trying to finish the slab. It dried out pretty quickly but only the underneath was tightening and getting hard whereas the top centimeter was still slop. In the end we scraped all the slop off the top of the slab before finishing it flat. It was a shit day. I was drenched to my jocks for the whole day and just everything was hard. I was so glad to be home so I could have a shower.

Last night on the other hand was good. The girl and I headed to Marion to do some Christmas shopping and I also got a haircut because I was starting to look like a palm tree. We cruised around buying prezzies and went and saw Steve who was working before heading to the movies to see the new Nicholas Cage movie, National Treasure 2. The girl bought the first one a long time ago but I had only watched it recently, it was a good movie and the second one was just as good. It had the same sort of wandering storyline but it was a good movie to watch.

I take a lot of pointless photos so I created a photo blog so go and check it out too. The spud photo blog. Enjoy.

My Christmas Tea

Last night I organized to go out for dinner with all my friends. We all met at the Coopers Ale house and even though I was late and so were half the people, we all made it and it was a really good night. After everyone arrived and we chatted we decided to order. Their specialty is their chicken parmigiana's but when we went to order they ran out half way. I had to get a beef one and I was absolutely devastated. I ate my beef schnitzel and it was good but it wasn't as good as a chicken one. I ordered the girl the last chicken schnitzel so I ate some of hers and it was soooo good.

After eating our meals we all sat around for a while mainly because we couldn't stand up but to chill out and chat before people started heading home. The girl and I got home and hit bed pretty early due to big working days ad very full bellies.

Today was a big day. It got really hot early and it was incredibly humid. We had a few different jobs to finish so I started in the morning by steeling up an addition that we are pouring Friday. My sister flew out today to go to America to see family and the country so my mum and dad went there in the morning. I met dad later on at another job where we were pouring a concrete boarder and a small slab. It was a pretty small job so we were done quickly. After that I had to go and get a job ready so I can pour it tomorrow morning and then I met up with dad again to dig out some garden beds at another job. We took out about 22 tonne of soil so it was a lot of digging. All day no matter what I did I was sweaty. It was terrible. I'm so glad I don't live in a humid climate even a few humid days are bad enough. This week has been good so far but damn I can't believe its only Wednesday. Byeee

My Time

Isn't it weird how you can go from not doing anything one week and then being flat out the next. Last week was a really quiet week. I didn't do much after work and most nights the girl and I just chilled out. This week I have something on every night already. Its crazy. It sucks because I have been trying to catch up with a few people that I haven't seen for a while but either I'm too busy or they are. I know its getting close to Christmas and thats kind of the reason but damn its getting crazy.

Work today was a bit more relaxed than it was at the end of last week. It was still a pretty hard day but we took it easy and it didn't get too hot. We had a few closedown jobs that we were doing over the Christmas/New Year break when factories close down but we weren't going to be flat out but that changed and now we have a lot of work on so I don't now what sort of break I will have. Oh well I guess I will just have to take time off in January. Byes

My Exhausted

I need another weekend to get over my weekend.

I had a huge day at work Friday. I knocked down two walls from inside a house and then ripped up a bathroom floor with a jackhammer. It was about 35 degrees on Friday so as you can imagine I was sweating like anything. By about mid afternoon I was stuffed but ended up working till after 5. The girl and I were both in the same boat and after getting a bit to eat we were both in bed and asleep by about 9:30.

I had agreed to work Saturday but was incredibly sore and stiff from the day before so regretted it immensely. It was a pretty easy concrete job and I was finished by about 2 in the afternoon so it wasn't too bad in the end.

Saturday night I had wanted to be good all week because I hadn't done a lot after work during the week and wanted a bit of a change and a release. The girl and I met up with Tilney and her boy Luke down at the Jetty Bar at the Bay before Layno, Nicole and Hannah cruised down. We had a few drinks there before heading over to the Dublin to meet up with Hoggot, Sam, Sam and the gang. I bumped into a whole lot of people I knew at the Jetty Bar and the Dublin was the same. We kicked on at the Dublin until it closed before heading back to Hoggots house were we chatted, beered and then decided at 4am to go and get McDonalds. I got home not long after and crashed in bed.

This morning, I wont lie, I felt like death. The girl woke me so I could go to Marion Shopping Centre with her so she could look at phones and phone plans. In the end she signed up to the same company as me with a new Mobile. After the new purchase we popped in on one of the girls family friends 60ths. We were the youngest there by a good 15 years so didn't stay long before heading down to Calvins place for a beer. Its his 21st birthday tomorrow and party next weekend so he was just having a few quiet ones today to celebrate a bit. We only stayed for a half hour or so because we had to rush home for my sisters going away.

My sister and he friend are heading over to America to tour around with all my relatives and to see the sites so my family had her friends family down for tea as a celebration. They are only going for a month so it is nothing major. After a huge tea and a massive slice of cake I'm done and its bed time. Bye bye byes.

My Week From Home

I just finished watching an episode of American Dad and it was freakin hilarious. This week the girl and I have stayed at her house because we haven't been here much lately. Its cool cause she has a queen size bed and its awesome comfy styles. Tonight we made possibly the best burritos I've ever had and we just did the norm and chilled out and watched some TV. I'm working this weekend which will be weird because I haven't worked a weekend for a few weeks. Work is going to be a bit crazy before Christmas so the next week and a bit will be long. Its getting hot too which makes life a struggle. Meh. All good.

Night night.

My Concrete Week

This week so far has been all concrete. I felt terrible Monday morning but we put down a 260 square meter concrete pad anyway and it just about killed me. Today was a bit easier with just a concrete plinth but we still worked hard. The weird highlight of the week so far was Monday when we went to get lunch, Benito, the Italian concreter that works with us bit into his cake and his tooth fell out. Instead of worrying about it he just through it into a pot plant and kept eating. Crazy. Made me laugh too.
Byes

My Awake

I'm awake and I shouldn't be. I felt terrible before at about 7:00pm so I lied down in bed and fell asleep. I woke up about a half hour ago and now I'm awake. I have to be up early tomorrow for a 250 square meter concrete pour and I can't sleep. Not good.

This weekend was pretty lazy. Friday night the girl and I double dated with Cat and her boyfriend Sean and Montezumas. We had plans to go into town after for an Indie night but after all that Mexican food we headed home and fell asleep. Saturday night we hit the Backpackers bar down the day for a guy I went to school withs 21st. It was a huge school reunion really and there were quite a few people there who I hadn't seen since school. Its always good to have nights like that. We weren't up for a huge one so caught a lift home with Tilney and Luke and then the girl and I chilled out and watched a bit of Transformers.

Byes

My Week Back

This week has been crazy. Every time I get back from holiday it takes me a few days before I catch myself and realize whats going on. This week has gone already and I have just caught my tail. Work has been flat out and the nights have been about the same. Last night we all caught up for tea at Cafe Primo. Smithy, a mate of ours is back in town for a few days so it was a good catch up session. Smithy has a very different was of perceiving situations and his recollections are always hilarious. It was good to see everyone as well because it had been a good week or two since I had seen Tilney and the guys. After tea the girl and I headed out to Unley Highschool to watch Tilney and her team play netball. They lost but it didn't matter.

Tonight, since it was Smithy's last night in town, we decided to head into town. They all started at the Havy and the girl and I went in for a drink before heading home. I have to get up early early tomorrow so we only stayed for a bit. This weekend is already booked out and then double booked but I cant wait because this week has been quick but also dragged. Byes

My Island

The holiday started early Thursday morning with us getting ready and packing the car. We were off and up the freeway before I had really woken up and it was breakfast time. We stopped quickly at Tailem Bend for breakfast and then continued through to Kaniva for lunch. We were all very sick of the drive by then but still had a few hours to go. We drove on through Horsham and Ararat before making it to Balarat. We normally stay in Balarat to break the trip up.

We checked into the motel we always stay at and headed straight down to the pool. The hotel has a huge indoor rec centre with an indoor pool, sauna, tennis court, gym and ping pong table. I whooped my sister at ping pong. We swam and played tennis for a few hours before hitting the restaurant. I was starving and ended up eating two chicken parmigiana's. After tea the girl and I hit the poker machines. I was unlucky and lost my ten dollars but the girl won 50 which was cool. We were stuffed from the day and swimming and eating so we all got an early night.

It was another early morning and a quick bite to eat in the motel restaurant before heading off to Melbourne and down to Phillip Island. Its a long drive but we caught some good scenery in Melbourne and made it over the West Gate Bridge and through the tunnel pretty quickly.

It was pretty warm Friday and by the time we got to the Island and then to the track it was late after noon and the sun had bite. We just stopped off in time to see the last V8 Supercar practice session for the day. The flies were absolutely shocking and were swarming us. We only watched the V8 from outside the fence for about 20 minutes before heading into the main town of Cowes to find our accommodation.

Instead of booking hotel rooms like we normally do we rented a house because there was five of us and it was going to be cheaper. The house we got was a brand new, two story place that was really nice. We unpacked, settled in and had a few beers. We decided on our usual Italian place for tea and walked down the main street to the restaurant. The food, as always was incredible. I have eaten a lot of food in my short 21 years but I have to say that Isola De Capri is the best Italian resturaunt I have eaten at. After our huge day of driving and our huge meal accompanied by quite a few beers we all hit bed pretty early.

Saturday was another early day with us up and at the race track by 6:30am. Even though we were very early we were still about 20 cars back from the gate. The way the Phillip Island Track works is on the main straight there are grand stands but for the rest everyone just backs their cars up to the fence. You have to be there early otherwise you don't get a good spot. From the place where we normally park/sit you can see about two thirds of the track so its pretty good.

It was hot Saturday, I mean hot. We were in the full sun all day and even though it was only about 30 degrees it was so so hot. I put sunscreen on about 4 times and managed to not get burnt at all. The race line up was V8 Supercars, Formula fords (open wheelers), Fujitsu V8's (the second tier V8's), V8 utes and Classic Touring cars. The qualifying sessions were pretty exciting and the first few races were even better. In between races in the morning the girl and I headed over to the main straight where all the tents and merchandise stands were and looked around. There was so many incredible cars, displays and awesome merchandise trucks that we got a bit lost. The girl bought some things and I bought some flags because we were flagless. It was a great day of racing and it ended perfectly with Garth Tander winning the first race. We were all happy because a Holden won.

After a huge day in the sun we drove back to the house for showers and more beer before heading out for tea. Our resturant for the night was the Phillip Island RSL. It is a huge place and probably one of the largest RSL's in Victoria. We played some pokies and had a delicious meal. On our way home we stopped off at a place called Grumpy's to play our annual game of mini golf. I won in the end and there were a few hilarious moments as my mum struggled with a few of the holes. After golf at Grumpy's it was back to the house and sleep.

Sunday was an even earlier morning. We were at the track by 6am but walked right up the front and jumped in the back of some blokes ute. He drove us down to where we were the day before and we jumped out and marked our territory with chairs and junk. We got some shade which proved to be a life saver and made the day so much better. We were joined by a few different people who had sat next to us the day before which was great because they were all very funny. Two of the old blokes got very intoxicated and were just about legless by the e were still way back in the line of cars so the old man and Ind of the day. It was another great day of racing. There were a few smashes in front of us and plenty of slipping and sliding by the V8's and the utes. The championship was to be decided at Phillip Island and we were all hoping Holden's Garth Tander would win and we had to wait until the last lap of the last race. In the last few laps Fords Jaime Wincup passed Tander and had to pass Holden's Todd Kelly to win the championship but after a few tries could not make the pass. In the mean time Craig Lowndes was trying to pass Tander which also would have lost Tander the championship. It was really intense and any mistakes would have lost the championship for Tander. Thank god it all fell into place and Tander and Holden won the race, the round and the championship.

There was a record crowd at the track so it took ages before we could leave. We hung around and had a few beers and spoke to the people we had sat with all day. We waited about an hour before driving out and heading back to the house. We showered, drank and then headed back to our little Italian restaurant for another night of great food. After dinner we stopped to get Gelati and bumped into a couple who had been at the track with us which was weird but funny. We were all a bit tired, a bit drunk and a bit sunburnt so we walked back to he house and hit the hay.

The worst thing about traveling to Phillip Island is the drive back. Getting there isn't so bad because we always break it up with stops in Balarat and Melbourne but on the way back its one long drive. We left early and drove and drove and drove. After 12 hours of driving we were back in Adelaide. We broke the drive up by stopping in Horsham to have lunch in a pub on the main street and then coffee's in Tailem Bend. It was an ok drive but by the end of it we were all very sick of being in a car and we all had very flat asses.

I have always loved going to the Island. Its a beautiful place and the motor racing is always great because it is such an incredible track. I think we have already started to plan our trip for next year which I cant wait for. Woot, go Holden!