Ordnung muss sein

This is one of the stereotypical characteristics about Germans - There must be order.
I believe it's actually one of the few ones that is really true.

I have been on a multi-flanked clean-up endeavour myself!

• It started with my music collection (ouch, ouch, ouch...)! It's all fine and dandy to rip my CDs into my MP3 collection, but the TAG consistency is not always the best. XBMC sometimes does not correctly read the data... V1 and V2 are not the same, etc... this is where MediaMonkey comes into play, my new favorite order and consistency enforcer! Thanks to Paulo for being so nagging about this software. It really made my collection easier to sift through (after some serious long and hard-working hours) ;
• Lifehacker is a website always proposing new and innovative software (or tricks) to accomplish stuff. I am FED UP with the amount of software to do all those little things, a vain attempt to organize a life behind a screen (and an increasing hassle to maintain all that softwar). I reckon that only some of the things are useful, I am thus cleaning up the computer and starting to use only the BARE necessary stuff and even then, look for the best online solutions, meaning, I avoid using software installations. Some good examples are Google Reader, MindMeister, Google Notebook... all of which with some little tweaks in Firefox (which has been updated to 3.0.1) do make online life easier;
• not to mention my whole flat, as I am putting everything in 1 room and will start deciding (once again) what to discard, give away or sell;
  

Speaking of tidyness...
... Couchsurfing just got some improvements:

• only 3 types of feedback now: Positive, Neutral or Negative - much easier to decide now;
  
• profile pages show obtained and given references side-by-side - REALLY COOL;

... here's the related news flash - link

I am done with today's tidying up. Time to go outside and get some air, come back, practice some more on my guitar, think about which simple recipe to cook for dinner and eventually go out at night for this weekend's Munich 850 birthday celebrations with some live shows.


n.-

Couchsurfers on TV

T-Mobile did it around May this year, I only caught news about this now. Ain't it just so effin'cool?

What if you don't know what a "couchsurfer" is? Google will have the right answer ranked first.

Still about CS... there's also another pretty decent video news report (in San Francisco) and from this online piece, my favorite quote is:

• As a host, George explains, “I love how the culture comes to me when I am not able to travel myself.”

n.-

PS: I'll let you know when I am famous too... this should happen around September...

appearances are just that, appearances

Under those black&white tones, hides a natural and skilled poi spinner, Chris.
I now never evaluate anybody's agility by their main activity.

I wonder if those natural coordination skills are hereditary.

I compared a guitar player and a drummer. The drummer was the one I would expect to be really good with it, but in the end, the guitar player was the natural one.
Chris is just a regular guy and was the most promising padawan so far.

I learned the old lesson again, not to make judgments without first seeing things done.

n.-

PS: another cool and cheap shop: www.poi-store.de

the latin secret agents

Portugal and Italy representants ready for action on a sunny morning.
Rossella, a (really, really!!!!) brilliant CSer.
Her Bologna ragout is just sublime!

n.-

A park, beer, music and friendship

Augustiner Helles, the (almost) perfect companion to an early afternoon gettogether in the english garden.

The artist is Pierre, a fabulous guitar player. Pascal, the other Canadian, unfortunately couldn't fit his drums in his backpack:(

The instrument is a backpacker guitar, can be carried onboard a plane. I'm getting one of those the day I have some $$$, reckon I can play some guitar and start backpacking again.

n.-

Leover, Bernadette, Sandra and Number Five

Number Five, just like Elvis, is still alive.
He and his brother are still on the lookout on top of the Old Peter's church.

In an odd order and with a mix of different origins, Sydney, Philippines, Poland, Germany and England are represented here.

Great guests, except for N.5 who us quite a useless fellow unless you slide some coins in.

n.-

Couchsurfing 2008

The Couchsurfing (adventure) goes on and 2008 started in a great way. And to start this year's stats, let's see the first participants:

• Yong (Korea)
• Gil, Luis, Daniela & Tiago (Portugal)
• Elsa & Jan (Colombia & Germany)
• Jessica & Mayo (US/Colombia)
• Amy (London,US)
• Claire (Switzerland/Canada)
• Natalia & Anca (Berlin/Romania)
• Nick (US)
• Nina, Steph & Kate (USA)
• Pascal (France)
• Chris (USA)
• Kimberly & Monika (USA)
• Anna (Poland)
• Pavel & Daniel (Czech Republic/Russia)
• Irina (Ukraine)
• Rossella (Italy)
• Panos (Greece)
• Penny (Australia)
• Joanie & Liane (Quebec)
• Tim (USA)
• Carrie & Amy (USA/France)
  
• Agnieszka (Poland/Germany)
  
• Pierre & Pascal (Quebec)
  
• Franchesa & Bradley (USA)
• Sandra (England)
• Leover & Bernadette (Australia)
• Skye (Australia)
• Lani & Tricia (USA)
• Patricia (Portugal)
• Karie & Mateo (USA)
  
• Halley (USA)
• Danielle & Race (USA)
• Jeanne (USA)
• Emily (USA)
• Valera (Russia/USA)
  
• Patrice (Quebec)
• Karla (Canada, not CS yet)
• Emilie & Sasha (France/Canada)
• Valerie (Quebec)
  

UPDATE - 02 Jun 2008: between Feb.26 and May 31, 51 (fifty one, yes) people surfed my couches/floor.

Funny how I get less CS requests than I would expect - as a CS ambassador, I come up pretty high (first...) on the Munich search results list. I can only attribute this fact to the way my profile is setup, after I changed it since my return from Aus. It shows pretty clearly about how I do or want to do things around here (am I germanizing myself too much or was I just myself? Where's my shrink when I need someone to answer that doubt in my mind?). Actually, it should only attract people interested in what they can read and that apply an effort in making a request I will value. I have to clarify, I don't take requests in the kind of: "Hello, I'm John and need a couch from the 22nd to the 23rd. Are you available?", I am a strong believer of the bilateral effort, show me some and I will show some too, which is for me MORE than fair.

2008 has been filled with quite some good times, the continuation of a give & take experience where some of them become friends, people I would really want to see more often. If only I could decide (in a god kind of way) who would just move to my neighborhood and allow us to meet more often - Norb Almighty, in theaters, soon!

My admiration for artists never ceases, I just love to have them around. They have a glow that just inspires me to get back to my pencils, pens and markers. That is in fact one of the best thing I can be given, the motivation or push to get back to my modest-wannabe-artist side and create stuff. Well, the drawings I started with, were sketches of Batman. What can I say? I love comics and the Dark Knight's, my personal favorite, image was floating in my head at that moment.

Sidenote: only now did I notice that in Nolan's next cinema take on Batman "The Dark Knight", The Joker is played by Heath Ledger, seemingly even more demented and scary than Jack Nicholson's in 1989.

Besides the brilliant colombian cooking, the crazy drinking games, a couple of city tours, the ride to Neuschwanstein, one of the moments I most appreciated was to attend an exhibit at a gallery. We were looking for a piece of Jeff Cowel's work, the one Natalia was portrayed on (she's not in the link's gallery). Art, for me, works when the image stays in my head and that particular piece hasn't vanished since the moment I laid my eyes on it. Unfortunately I don't have 25.000EUR to spend on and keep that piece of work.

Couchsurfing, more people to come (and go) but some do stay in a special way.

Hugs, what is that?

[ just for starters, a cool LifeHacker article on XBMC 2. ]

This last Saturday, the 22nd of March was the international Free Hugs campaigns day. No need to go into further details if everything is under that link, suffice to know that it's about giving hugs to people on the street.

24 MILLION views of this video can't be wrong:

The local CSers set to meet last saturday at Marienplatz, the busiest square in town, at 13 o'clock, each one bringing his self made sign. Oddly enough, there was a peace-related demonstration on the same square, actually, it was a protest against the german army's presence in the middle-east countries.

I took on leaving the place as I did NOT want to be mistaken for them - not that I am against it, but giving hugs away had no political meaning, just a social one.

All kinds of looks are given when you hold a huge sign in the middle of a busy street crossing or while slowly walking down the street. Some people walked past with a smile and a shy look, others would take pictures from a safe distance - which means that I will be on so many people's photo gallery to be shown to their friends, family and pets...

The start is just like the on the video, I just stood there holding the sign, slowly turning myself to people and searching for an eye contact. It took a little while but eventually, after 5-10 minutes, the first signs of human acceptance were displayed. From that moment on, I was sure the afternoon was bound to be great.

I repeatedly heard people saying/whispering "free hugs...", "free hugs?" or "free hugs, hihihi...". Many would just see me look at them, turn their head forward and pass by me with a smile. Some germans would complain why I was using a german sign, to which I responded that as long as they asked, I would explain what it means, "Gratis Umarmung".

There was an explanation to the lack of a germanic translation on my sign, 8 letters took me 2-3 hours to draw, while its counterpart would take me some 3-4 and it was already 23h when I finished the first side. I will work on one for the next time.

It is quite a social experiment. I am not selling anything or publicizing a religion but I am walking down the streets with a huge sign. Some people knew about the campaign, other were very interested in knowing why I was doing it, many would just establish visual contact and come to me for a hug!

It can sound very silly... actually, it doesn't at all! Hugs are f'in great and I wish I gave/got more all the time and by that I mean DECENT and heartfelt hugs. I certainly felt very uplifted by the whole experience, in the end, it is a give and take action.

UPDATE #1 START
1 hour after posting this, I decided to remove a bad ranting about the experience in the shopping area (which isn't even that posh). I guess that a hug isn't anything anybody needs there. Shopping makes people happy... so they say... This was where mostly only tourists were open to hugs.
UPDATE #1 END

It feels so good

A living proof of the good a gesture as simple as a hug can make someone's day. Meet Annika, a very nice girl from not too far away who is about to end her time in Munich and move to Dresden.

After sharing a hug with me, she accepted to hang out and participate! She admitted to have had such a shitty day and that hug was just what she needed.

She would definitely take part in another Free Hugs day, I just don't know when that will happen but I will be sure to remind her to join!

The salvation
Again, a group of people offered me salvation through Jesus. It's the 4th time since I live here that I am approached, just as if I look as I need to be saved (which I actually do). It usually happens without me bearing any kind of sign though:P

Machismo
It was funny how some men would NOT hug me. They were either from Spain or Italy, very macho of them indeed. I am sure their masculinity is still intact by avoiding that very compromising front contact with another man:) Dedicated to them, there is a very helpful video - How to give the perfect man hug.

Age matters?
A statistical fact: if I separate the people in the streets into 3 age groups, young, grown and old, I would say that the young and old were MUCH more open to hugging then the grown.


Hugs are easy, free, warm, human and great.
I would ask you to give me a hug the next time you see me!

a hug

n.-

Resuming it up in pictures and words

After a couple of days, I managed to trim the trip pictures down to around 180.

The Australia Show

Here are my quick thoughts on Australia, build up with the cunning use of a list and bullets:)

Australia...

• has the most uncommon and straight-to-the-point road signs I ever saw;
• is HUGE and I mean, REALLY HUGE;
• has an immense desert in the middle with a big red rock in its center (Uluru aka Ayers Rock);
• has the cities as far apart of each other as capitals in Europe;
• 's Queensland is packed with German backpackers;
• has some decent beers, but the best one is still James Boag's from Tasmania;
• is going through an economic boom, people have money and everything's expensive;
• 's ware transport is via trucks, which makes food prices fluctuate directly with the petrol's;
• can be extremely hot;
• has fantastic sceneries;
• has the most amazing sunsets;
• has some VERY touristic spots;
• has some GREAT music going on and I would like dedicate a "The Panics" song, "Get Us Home" to australia (it's unfortunately only a short clip);
• has the best public radio service I can remember of, Triple-J;
  

Australians:

• are easy-going, talkative, like to take a piss at themselves and have no problems expressing themselves;
• avoid the sun as if it was the devil, the skin cancer warning ads are real shockers;
• are real binge drinkers, they just don't know when to stop (just like brits);
• love to party (just like everyone else);
• have a great girl fashion item, the hot pants! Remember Kylie Minogue's "Spinning around" clip?
• have a great coffee culture, some places (like Perth) even kicked Starbucks (who likes that stuff?) out;

The city of:

• Melbourne is my favorite, alternative, cultural, flat, green, clean, the buildings look old, very classy, has a cool graffiti scene;
• Sydney is busy, large, expensive and not so alternative, lots of buildings are very modern and has a great harbor area;
• Perth has a small population and everything is so far apart, hence a desperate car need, but there are cool places and it is becoming more and more expensive;
• Brisbane has a nice Southbank, is kind of a mix between Melbourne and Sydney, tiny though;
• Cairns is totally tourist oriented, not very interesting indeed

These are my opinions based on my experience. I am sure some people would for example prefer Sydney over Melbourne. The fun factor was so influenced (totally influenced in fact) by the people I met, being it friends made in Europe (Judd, Noel or Mike), local CSers or my favorite travelmate, Heydi.

I would recommend anyone (who likes to backpack) to travel through Aus, being it alone or not, for at least 2 months. I leave a word of notice though, take some cash with you because it is NOT a cheap country, prices are very close to the european ones and there are LOTS of things to do and see. Couchsurfing is a really valuable asset to make the interaction with people living there a lot better. If someone's there to just go out, party and shag all the girl/guys he/she meets at a pub crawl, he/she is better off staying at hostels and leave CSing the f*** out of it. On the long run, the most affordable way to travel is to buy a used car, but make sure you know what you're buying:P

Getting to know the aborigines must be interesting and I shamefully admit I only read stuff, attended exhibits at the state museums and heard what people had to say about them:( There are lots of places where people can have the aboriginal (good and touristic) cultural experience, throwing the boomerang, playing a didgeridoo, painting... but then again, it's only part of their culture, the part with "Crocodile Dundee" written all over it and where no serious issues are explained. So a choice can be made, to get to know the dark side or not.

I hope to make this my last post about Aus. One month has passed since I got back to Munich and during that time, I managed to change some little but meaningful things about my CS activity and the way I see people and travels. The ideas for my next travels having been adjusted, I am decided to not travel alone anymore. In fact, more than ever, I believe that traveling with one's girl/boyfriend is a really tough test for the relationship and I sure will "use" that in the future. It's like cutting the crap and removing all the vernish by putting two people together 24/7, sharing the same space, meeting the same people all the time, experiencing each other's initiatives and influence on the decisions to make - every day, the path to take has to be chosen, everyday, at least one decision has to be made, being it simple or not. I particularly like sharing the "leadership", I could never be with someone that would always leave decision making to me or would write the whole travel plan without any room for flexibility.

Cheers to Australia and the Australians!

Aussie, aussie, aussie...

Oi, oi, oi!

Cheers guys,

n.-

lazyness is not just a word

... and I should know, I've been affected by it for a couple of weeks now - the date of my last post is a good witness.

I felt that an update would be a good way to refresh my thoughts and put the stories up-to-date.

First, I resumed couchsurfing two weeks after my return and could not have had a better start. The week began with a super sweet little modern dancer corean girl, Yong, and was complemented with four portuguese Erasmus students (Gil, Luis, Daniela and Tiago) currently living in Dresden. As good nationals as we, Portuguese, can be, they share a little game they learned with Germans back at their foster home. It involves vodka and flavoured drinks powder.

The hosting continued the following week with an american couple (50% colombian... such a coffee blend would really suck but as people, they were F'IN GREAT) then another columbian/german one and then my friend Amy from London.

All of this culminated with my new CS status of "City Ambassador" for Munich:) I am at this moment the only local city ambassador. There is also a global one living here too, Brie. As an Amb, my responsibilities are increased, the main points are: I should represent the living CS spirit, organize events to bring people together, keep no-one out and help out members, mainly new ones.

It was quite a coincidence to finally get a reply to my Amb application just after my first organized CS trip. Amy, who's staying with me, chose to stay longer and I thought of heading down to the Neuschwanstein castle, the famous Disney/Cinderela castle. It was one of the multiple fantasy castles imagined by Ludwig II, the crazy Kaiser, and also one of whose construction was never concluded. After his accidental death (lead poisoning?), the castle was almost immediately made available for paid visits. The art lover and crazy Kaiser managed to bring down the bavarian finances and this was one way to get some cash back.
So, after a quick notification to local CSers, we got together and made a group of six travelers traveling down by train on a glorious sunny monday morning. If there is such thing as a blessed weather, we experienced it. We were back by 20h completely nackered from the 2hr train rides and the hiking in the little towns.

After two years of living in Munich, I had soooo many guests traveling to that castle because it is on every single frickin' Munich tourist guide. It took me so long to go there myself because I always try to avoid touristy spots but this time I tried to avoid staying ignorant. It's all-in-all a good trip if done with several people, with good weather conditions, good hiking gear and an early train. Having a car would allow to drive to other castles (good for castle freaks, hey!).

So thanks to Amy, Travis, Bron, Dave and Charli for a REALLY great day.

Note worth mentioning: out of six people, we were one portuguese, one american, one english and three Aussies:D

On our arrival in Munich, Travis told us a ridiculous story about the "platform ticket" at the train station. People would need one if they want to wait on the platform. My first thought: "Riiiight... sure..." ... but it is true (or I would not write about it) but applied to a specific situation.

20 cent/hour is the price to pay for this precious (my precious... my precious...) item. I will definitely include it in my own Munich Tour information. 20 cent for a piece of ridiculousness is just a bargain! In fact, this ticket is NOT for the train platform, but for the S- and U-Bahn platforms (suburban and subway). So waiting on the platform without a ticket is in theory NOT viable. Munich is not the only place where the Bahnsteigsperre is in vigor though.

More hosting to come and more trips/events to attend, organize or help with.
St. Patrick's day is close and it will be as always celebrated with a parade next Sunday, 16th of March. Now there's a good opportunity to take the dust out of my analog camera and shoot some B&W pics. Shout if you're around and let's have a nice Guinness (or Kilkenny if you prefer)!


live long and prosper

n.-

PS: on the lazy side of things... no, I did not yet write up about my aussie trip although I have some drafts in my head

The Sydney Experience

It is a limited one but still very positive.

I feel as if the whole scenario here has been a progressive return to my previous life, a fade-out of the travel mode into the "back to a cold and rainy winter" one. It's not that bad, really.

Slowly, while walking in the rain, over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, I realized how good it had been so far and the weather is just part of it, being neither bad or good (it's honestly shit, but I'm trying to be poetical, ok!).

It wasn't easy to get out of Bonnie's place today. I had no motivation whatsoever to put on my crappy thin and leaking rain jacket and get driping wet on my way into town.















My first 3 nights in Sydney were spent with Martin, an austrian guy living on Bondi Beach for 10 years already. I was his first real CSer (being the inagural guest is becoming a habit) and we got along pretty well.

Not only did we thrive on each other's music collection, we also had great Guitar Hero III jamming moments!

It's stupid, but it really made me wish I knew how to play a music instrument. One year ago, I bothered Hazel if she would teach me the piano, if I'd get one first of course... but then I never bought any! CSers and other things got in the way, adding a new occupation to my schedule would make me have to sacrifice another one. But the fact is, I also spent heaps of time playing Counterstrike CS until late at night:P or stupidly browsing the internet for videos and pretty much useless shit. I just had a call with Judd, another reminder that if I'd knew how to play, I could learn with him, he's absolutely great with one!

Martin had a guitar and that reminded me of the time my dad bought me one. I then traded that for an electrical one, worked a summer to buy a nice Marshall amp and ended up selling it all without making any progress. I guess I wasn't ready or motivated. I needed an external influence that would pull me because I was not able to do it by myself. Now, more than just a caprice, I will seriously consider it! A guitar is always something to take with while traveling and then learning/teaching with other people, just like I do with my poi.

Again, while walking on the bridge in the direction of its SE pylon, on the right was the Sydney Opera House. I do have clearer daylight pictures of it, but this one has a special meaning to me. It represents the moment I just thought "I am here, in Sydney".





Not that this city has any particular meaning to me, it's more the moment, the combination of this moody weather, a lone walk, the realisation that I flew to the other side of the world and finally the opera to represent the flag to symbolize the whole adventure.



While here, CS was again a good thing, Mike, the city embassador I had previously met in Munich, incentivated a meet-up.

I don't like to stay more than 3 days at a place, visits are like fish, they smell after that time. So I was REALLY happy to get a positive reply of Bonnie who lives with Eliza and Thomas. They're a good mix of good vibes, chilled out and young folks. Being very new at this (CS), they are still adjusting and doing their best to cope with the wave of people staying here before me. Two of them have this fantastic project, to drive around the world in a solar-powered car. Another guy is Ryota, a japanese traveller improving his english. I just wrote him some essential words on a mirror for him to practice his french (not english?) too:)

It's 9PM, I'm about to reach the end of this post, Bonnie is right now next to me sorting some papers out, we're in the living room (also her room) and if I step out the window, I can walk on this suspended roof with this view.

There are things that really look amazing and totally different from what you could have been experiencing so far but it doesn't mean you'd do it. Bonnie told me about this ConFest, the most awkward festival I ever heard of but very hippie and free-minded. I am not material for this kind of events but I liked the concept. People get together at a specific place in the bushes surrounded by water, take their tents and build an ephemeral town. There is no effective music stage for bands to play, basicly anybody does his thing, plays music, paints and all converse, comunicate and live in that little environment for a week. For anyone interested, it's in March:)

Enough for now. I am flying to London tomorrow and will land around 6AM on Wednesday. I will reach Munich by the 15th and get back to mi casa, where a broken washing machine awaits my care:) (and my cash:( ).

n.-

PS: I sent a postcard to myself, let's see who gets there first. I reckon the postcard has very good odds!

Why do the tourist when CS is there?

Untold scenes between the ones from the last and the next episode...

• left Townsville after staying with Lana and then Jason;
• Maria traveled to Airlie Beach first and did an initial hostel scouting as I found no available host;
• after doing not much in AB, said goodbye to Maria and take on an 19hr coach ride from there to Brisbane;
  

Mie Yamamoto, a smiley, tiny, cute little japanese girl living in Brisbane was my first host in the city. She lived very close to West End, the hip neighborhood, a tiny version of Melbourne's Brunswick St.

Another guy was aready crashing there, Gabriel, a very, very easy going American who had done a fair bit of traveling and living outside the US. It was real fun to hear him comfortably speak in japanese with Mie, it made me envious:)

I thought I'd take a look of the city, check out the Andy Warhol exhibition at the GoMA and other worthy sightseeings.

Almost none of that happened! I ended up going to the GoMA when it was closing, at 5PM!!!! Djeezus Kreist!!! Are the employees all in a hurry to go down to the pub or what?

Whatever!

After a couple of visits to the state library's free internet access computers, I spotted and joined a CS meeting, a post-Australia day trip to Springbrook. The forum was a bit foggy, it was not confirmed how many people would show up and how many cars would be available to take us.

Beni, one of the most, it not THE most active CSer in Brisbane offered his flat as a place to meet and drive away. Everyone and more showed up, and by the time we reached the beach, we had 20 people in 5 cars!

The beach... I can only think of how awful it must be to have such a white and sensitive skin that any extra ray of sun results in a sunburn. I just say that because, thanks to my origins, I am a tanneable and tanned little man. But rest assured, I sunburned too while snorkeling and eventually, part of the skin on my shoulderblades peeled off already. By the look of the weather forecast for Sydney, I don't think I will get any more sun to remediate that before I leave on Tuesday:(

We had fun at the beach. The silica sand was squeaky. Every hard step in it felt like I had rubber boots:P This was the ideal place and time to get to meet everybody. This is one of the marvels abouts CS and the meetings. Nobody's really judging or restricting contact with other people, joy and fun and easily expressed without any remorse. Buuut... it can happen that I encounter people I (or anyone else) consider really boooring... but this was not the case, not by far!

Megan for example, she's absolute brilliant! Sparky, funny, has a fab laugh and heaps to talk about. I absolutely loved that girl. In her honour, I leave one of my favourite pics of the day where she's the star:)

Earlier last year in Munich, I met Noel at a CS meeting in the OF premises. Brie was the organizer at that time, Noel and his mom were there. He was part of this group and he hadn't changed at all. I like him but now, after how this trip has influenced me to interact, I found it so much easier to talk now. The whole environment was better now, but I believe I was so much more open. Staying too long in the same spot is not good for me...

After the beach, we finally headed out to Springbrook. Beni's plan was to go on a bush walk but there was not enough time for that after our picnic. So we stuck with other plans that sublimely filled our day through the night.

First, the waterfall... a-m-a-z-i-n-g!

Let's make a deal, we all agree that pictures never pay real tribute to the real thing, right?

Then, the natural bridge. Water comes down into this cave, the pond it falls into is swimmable and we all decide to take a dip in this freezing water.

This cave is the home of little bats and glow worms. When the night comes, the first ones fly away and the latter do what they are supposed to... they glow:) The most amazing items are actually not the worms, but the mushrooms found on the way. I am sure a junkie would think about taking them trying to make his own eyes glow. It's almost as if they were growing next to Springfield's power plant.

Checking out nature and all its wonders (I am about to shed a tear now) is really great, but the whole day was good because we were a big group and we all got along. I mean, if we'd go for something longer, I am sure, the people's cranky side would show up and conflict... but then again... that's not what this was about.

As always, I carry my toys around, just like kids do. When the night is at its darkest in the middle of a hill between the trees, my LED glowing Poi come into play and do what they do best, entertain and impress. I love them and I love meeting people willing to spin them, even if they are not particularly gifted for it. I am definitely not gifted to spin poi, I can what I do thanks to practice. After a little snack on the road, we ended up at Warren's place in Surfers Paradise, had a beer and left home to sleep!

Most of us met up the following day at a park in Brisbane. Our whole day event went so well that an additional meeting was just a natural thing to happen.

For that occasion, I thought of taking my new host in Brisbane with me, Elizabeth. I had to leave Mie's and it's always good to surf other people's couches and have them integrate the local community if they desire.

Once more and definitely better this time, we had a poi spinning teaching session. The most curious moment in these teaching sessions happened with Sivan, she could do a forward 3 beat weave (low-complexity forward spin), but could not do the most easy thing, spin backwards and do eights:)


I ended my days in Brisbane with a little solo tour on a rainy day, met up with Sivan (a beautiful israeli girl, with a great sense of humour and a very good human touch feeling) and Mie for a last meal, drink and conversation and set myself on the way home to Elizabeth's. The next day I took the bus and met with my next great fun provider, Gabby, to get a ride in her car down to Sydney.


Before moving on, this is all to say that although I did not visit Brisbane per se or as it "should" be done in the regular touristy terms, I had a blast and do not regret not having seen more city things.


My favourite pic of Brisbane... just a bronze man... contemplating...



More about Gabby later on. It's already 18:30, I haven't done much, Martin and I will



N.-

Arrived in Sydney, now what?

Wow, it has been a while since I had a moment to sit at a computer and type something more than emails and picture descriptions.

I arrived in Sydney yesterday and as it is so brightly told by the picture on the right, I have many reasons not to want to step out of the house today and visit the city.
I'm staying at Martin's place on Bondi beach (the picture's background IS the ocean).

















I'll start by summing up what happened since my last post (after the pub crawl and the sailing cruise the following morning):

• Booked a hop-on/hop-off coach (Bus) from Cairns to Brisbane and chose Townsville as my first stop;
• stayed for two nights in TV and traveled further down to Airlie Beach where I did not do much, mainly because I had to reconsider costs;
• took a deep breath and enjoyed a last coach ride down to Brisbane;
• in Brisbane (Brissy or Bris Vegas), had a blast with the local CS community until I traveled further down to Sydney;

n.-

The Melbourne Experience

Kudos to Alisdaire, who is the MelbournExperience, a CSer that just thrives on CSing, who was mainly hosting and we could truly feel his drive and energy. He organized a trip down the Great Ocean Road - what better way to thank the soldiers for their effort during the war? Have them build a road, this road! -a place where a car accident is so easy. In a car, the driver has a hell of a hard time to keep his eyes on the road and not on the scenery. It's so beautiful. Well, the initial sensation is great, after a while and many stops, beautiful sceneries composed of a clear blue sky, strong currents smashing against huge rocks are just "one more scenery". Still, looking at the pictures today gives me great pleasure.

This trip was superbly organized and we were 8 CSers sharing 2 cars.

It took us 2 days, monday and tuesday, departing from Melbourne at 8AM and getting back at night. He, Alisdaire, already knowing the place knew where to go and what to see. Following his lead we saw waterfalls, Koalas, the twelve apostles, etc...

We camped somewhere quiet for the night and there we could see how well we all got along. I am not saying we were behaving like brothers (or cousins even) but we got our stuff pretty well sorted out and had our camp was setup in no time and lifted the camp again in no time the following morning.

As I am frequently joking about myself, here goes my own gag.

I went to a barber on Saturday and he was quite prolific with his cair clipper. Let's just say that my head feels fresh right now:) Unfortunately, he left the neck like I don't like, with a square cut and I politely asked him to make the transition smoother... Surprise, I suddenly had a white horizontal stripe at the back of my neck because I am so darn tanned and my skull did not enjoy the sun as much as my neck! Let's just say I was not "going out material". Luckily, H had some cosmetics to cover the... stripe. That surely saved the night and nobody noticed it but I used the trip to GBR to shine some light on that poorly exposed area of my head.

So, yeah, it was great and I'll leave only these 2 pics for now:)

Thanks Alisdaire and the rest of the folks for the great time we spent!

Melbourne is a great city, I truly loved it. Starting with its beach, St.Kilda, reachable by Tram, the bars going from the classiest to the most fucked up ("Cherry" and "St. Jerome's"), the architecture.

Once back, I spent one more night at Mandy's place. She is a great girl, friend of Judd's who in his turn I met in Munich at Ilka's (see the connection?). He was a fuckin' great host! Jesus, that guy runs on atomic power, he's totally unstoppable and would stretch the furthest possible to help me and Heidi getting sorted out in Melbourne. Before Mandy, we stayed at Andrew's, another of Judd's friends and a GREAT guy! He works for a beer company which owns (among others like Carlton Draught) Foster's. I invited him to fly over to Munich, all for the sake of beer market research!

With these folks, we went to some cool restaurants, checked out the Italian neighborhood and its plenitude of restaurants and Ice Cream stores. Met up with mooooore people, invited some more CSers, went to some more cool places. On ACDC Lane (yes, there is one!!!), the Cherry Bar was rocking hard'n heavy on... drumroll.... ACDC!!! but when I left The Strokes came up... oh well, I'll give the joint another go when I move in... oops! Did I just write that?

Anecdote: As the lane's sign was quite often stolen, they replaced it with a painted version:)

The city's more urban than initially thought, the graffiti scene for example seems to be very fruitful with the city hall even supporting artists. Another CSer organized a "graffiti tour" where we ended up checking out some great art on quite a number or narrow lanes.

We happily remained quite a long time close to Brunswick St, an arty/alternative road in Fitzroy where some cool stores and bars can be happily checked out. I loved Bimbo's, a bar with LOTS of couches to chill on, have a pizza, admire the (fu**ed-up) interior decoration. The place's mascot is a baby plastic doll, very often suited with a strap-on, masks etc... groovy baby!

I read that the coffee culture was quite present and it's true, it quite felt like Munich but with less Starbucks. H being a vegetarian, she had a special pleasure eating out, in such a way that she considered the pizza she had at the Vegie Bar the best she EVER had! I have a pic of the place, but it's not available... just imagine a restaurant where I took the pic from the 1st floor which oversees the ground floor, there's a square bar, people, tables and chairs... I'll leave it to your imagination but make it very cool!

Other than that, it was quite easy to find our way through the city (H is so much better in orientation than me) and the tram services are good. Walking home was not a problem either, living on Brunswick makes it easier! (this was the "Lonely Planet" kind of information...)

Back in '99, I was an active ICQ member, and my number was/is 14401843. Aaaaanyway, ICQ had a "find random contact" feature and while I was online at 4AM (back then, I really did not have a life) I met a couple of foreign people, one of them being Keryn! We kept in touch for quite a while with diferent frequency levels but we never met in person until like... 5 days ago. I was tired but it was great to meet her (and Luke) and check out her great appartment in St.Kilda. Guys, see you very soon, most surely in Melbourne!

And here's my contribution to our hosts and all of those we met in Melbourne... a bit of humor please:)

(H, I know you don't like this photo but I just adore it:)... and I hope you don't mind me posting it...)

Thanks again Alicia, Andrew, Stu, Alisdaire, Penny, Judd, Mandy, Matt, Keriann, João, Kelly, Gerard, Paul and everybody I forgot to mention (I am composing this post for an hour or so, so give me a break).

Heidi's still in Melbourne while I flew up north to Cairns. It's the first time I ever went to a place WITHOUT ANY plan! If only Bron could see me, she would be so proud of me! snif snif...

She knows what I am talking about, I usually stress out if there's no plan and I have nothing planned for when I leave the city (Cairns does not look like it but she's one...) on Monday except that I want to hitch-hike my way down to... somewhere. Until then, I'll be checking out an aerial cable car travel over the Rainforest and a 2day sailing cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. Too bad I don't have a sub aquatic case for my camera - I am (still) so happy about it, it kicks some serious ass!

I was thinking about taking a 4day OWD Padi course, but I will leave it for another oportunity. Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are so much cheaper:) and they're all on the travel map I want to share with a future travelmate.

n.-

PS: While reviewing this post, I tried logging in to my ICQ account and it still works:) I wonder who's still on from my old contacts! I have an idea I have to write more about later on involving a cheap, light but sturdy film camera and some people I know from around the world I know but never visited.

PPS: Posting with pictures is so difficult! It won't accept line breaks now! Just great!

H&N through South WA

Resuming the tale of the portuguese guy and the finnish girl through WA...

In a chronological order, going down from Perth and back, we spent our nights in Bunbury, Margaret River, Big Brook (Pemberton) and Walpole. Couchsurfing was our friend for the first 2 locations and all our hosts were great in their own way.
As promised, we had a little dive (so-to-say) in Geoff's Spa. The night was cold but the 36 degrees warm water and a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon recommended by G made it all sooo much better. It was the last night of our time at his place, a house where I immediately felt the "neat-freak" hand on. I loved it!

On our way further south, we h-hiked to Pemberton. We asked the retired couple that took us to leave us at the Gloucester tree or the Bi-centennial tree. As we found the bi-centennial one, we had a got at it. It's basically a tree with steel rods inserted in a spiral all the way up to the tree. There is NO security measure whatsoever, under the steel rods is the ground... I climbed up 1/3rd of the tree to the little platform and I immediately felt I should not go further up. Heidi, as Malcolm our "driver" said, has got some monkey in her and she climbed all the way up to the 75mts high platform. For the moment we were on it, the tree was all german. The rest of the climbers were either swiss or german...
Malcolm and his wife were patiently waiting next to our backpacks, they did not want to leave us alone and our luggage unattended which was very sweet of them. So after this little walk in the heights, they drove us further to our intended destination.
Pemberton is a little town where nothing happens but is surrounded by walk tracks, camping places, woods etc... We took the afternoon to walk part of the Bibbulmun track - it's an almost 1000km long track that crosses from Perth to South WA - until we reached the Big Brook Dam and its closeby camping site.
This would be the first and only time we'd use the tent we had with us:) We got settled pretty easily and spent the rest of the day speaking in german to a nearby couple. They're currently travelling through Aus in a motorhome with their three sweet little daughters.
No matter how sleepy I was, not having a foam mattress or alike to sleep on, made me wake up to turn around x amount of times on the unflattened ground:( But it was all good, the sore back was just a reminder of what camping can be/is about. Relatively early in the morning we had a ride from some other campers back to Pemberton where we hh'ed further from to a better located road crossing.

There, the best ride ever shows up! Two guys in a red car stopped 50mts down the road to give us a lift. They were on their way to Walpole which is the closest place to the famous Tree Top Walk. Coincidence enough, they were also to check out that same attraction:) Before going there, we stopped at a cabin next to a lake where these guys (Damien and Ryan) would stay.
So, not only was Damien a CSer, but they invited us to stay at the cabin. In a matter of minutes, we got:

• a ride and company to the Tree Top Walk;
• a place to stay for the night;
• a ride back to Perth, as Damon was driving back um the following night.

After a walk with the boys on the 38mts high metal structure (TTW) we had a blast at their party the same evening and some wind-in-the-face fun boat ride to fish on the lake the following morning. Damo hadn't been hosting for so long, this was in some way a contribution to the CS community and the whole traveller's experience.

For H and I, that week ride down south WA was the chance to enjoy the hospitality and kindness of so many people. Again, people make any place worthwhile. I would recommend hitch-hiking the same way we did. The two difficulties involved are the risks taken and the important amount of time needed.

Heidi is really really a great person and traveler. It was all so easy with her. In the end, it was a great expereince with the things we both brought to the journey.

That whole week was relatively unplanned, we had some markers on our map but no dates, the journey unfolded on the go and I reckon it ended up pretty good:D

That was it, more to write about next time...

N.-

splash splash in the indian ocean

Perth is behind us. Heydi (Hey-Dee and not Hi-Dee) and I met up and decided to travel together for a while. We're flying to Melbourne on the 3rd and we'll see how long until we split, she's staying longer in Oz than I am and has thus another agenda. We took off from Peth on monday, Christmas eve, to hitch-hike our way down south of Western Australia.

Our first stop was Bunbury. Nothing's really worth mentioning about this place except for Jen, the CSer that took us in for 3 days. Yes, we spent christmas with her and her family by the pool. We really did not have a choice, people here either have a pool, a spa (jacuzzi) or both.

In the beginning, telling people we'd be hitch-hiking put an expression of surprise and fear on their face, we were then warned that WA is not the best place. As always, that is quite a subjective piece of information and we ended up having no trouble at all. The first guy (big jeep), who showed up after we barely waited for 10mins, told us we were not on the best road for h-hiking. He dropped us further down the highway and it took us 5 mins to get those 2 cool guys (and a big jeep) who took us right to where we needed. Again, we can't really complain. Fact is, H a girl, which accelerates the process of finding a ride. Me and my 5-day beard, must be able to give assholes a second thought about giving us a ride. A match made in heaven:)

In one of these cars, Heydi and I were deciding about what to do next, Jen was cleaning the garden and we heard the beaches here were fab. We chose to be good people and show up sooner to help her with the cleaning. I think we deserved our little place for those 3 days, the place just outside their house where we were having the BBQ looked fab after our work.

So, after the h-hiking, the BBQ at christmas and nights by the pool, we're in Margaret River, which is a world renowned place for its wine. We're going on a winery tour tomorrow. After some tips, we know which companies to avoid. It looks like 80 aussie dollars will get us a tour through 3-4 wineries and a brewery with lunch included. I can't wait:)

The CSer we're staying at right now is 5* (he has a big jeep). He took us to the beach where he met up with some of his folks (and their kids) and we had a great time, all were really cool and relaxed. I got a special treat during our time there. While snorkling, I spotted a stingray! Just 2 meters away, I saw what I thought was "just" a big fish, it was in fact one of these beautiful flying creatures (one of the kind that killed Crocodile Hunter this year).

I might get my tan before flying over to the east coast after all. Not only did we have a sunny christmas, it was a BOILING one, something not seen in a looong time. I was twice at the beach today. On the first time, I could feel the roast effect of the 1PM sun, 40degrees, ouch!


Being the good boy that I (can be) am, I already contributed with some computer troubleshooting at our CSer's place. So tomorrow, after a day spent at the wineries, I'll enjoy a time in the spa... yes, he's got one!

One of the oddities I will bring back home (as dumb as it sounds) is a Stubby Holder. It's a neoprene cup for botttles and cans. Come on, how can they not have this in Portugal? It looks really... stupid... but it DOES keep the beer fresh longer:) and even avoids the can/bottle from sliding down your hand.

Our time here is getting short, H has got a bad cough and fever (she's recovering in the guest room while I compose this post) and we still want to hit down south to Walpole, Denmark and Pemberton for the karri tree forests (Valley of giants) and its Tree Top Walk. After all that, we're going back to Perth and get ready for a new year party.

cheers

n.-

P.S.: No pics, I am sorry... later on, ok?

sin and enjoy

Music
Jes** Christ, I sinned!
The latest 50Cent single (Ayo Technology) is killing me in the best way possible. The high-tech video adds quality to the tune. I admit (for a log while now), I am less of a snob music appreciator than I act like. I look at my library and I see Timberlake, Gwen, some HipHop... I used to be an Eminem fan and still think Britney's Toxic is just too good.
Another Wow, Kenya's Stronger's video is... aweeee.... just... a beautifully mashed "Akira-Daft Punk-Tron-cyberpunk-manga" video. Let me keep a link to story of its making. The song is pretty good too!

Travel
Another weekend came and went, it rushed by like a warm and fast imaginary southern wind. Lyon was cold, not as cold as Munich, but enough to make us (me and the over-french-sweet Marie) shiver more than once. The City is really gorgeous and again more time (on another trip) is needed to see and live more of the place. Traversed by 2 rivers, there is an "almost-island" (presqu'ile) in the middle. It's a good place to cross by foot. Food is excellent, french people are... french (I just love'em) and the city is bright, old and broad. Being in France, I saw the usual extra amount of cops and security folks everywhere and even got the chance to walk past a demonstration (they cultivate them like flowers).

Breathing from the whole ambiance and inspired by Marie's taste, I decided upon a new hair style... the scruffy hair-up mess. It could also be called... the pseudo-artist look.
For real, I will keep the memories and what I felt during those 3 days for ever. I was cracking and enjoying every damn single moment of it. You got a special place in me Marie!

Looks like CS is saving our ass and Bron has got a place for us in Brunei! We shall not stay long at that guy's place but at least we have a little base to start from.

I am so eager to leave for 2 months. Travel with friends, see a whole new continent and country, meet new people... but then very nervous about leaving my appartment, afraid of forgetting to deal with a little bureaucratic detail, afraid that someone I rent this place to does some stupid shit.
My excellent experiences have effectively been possible because of the people I meet, or better, I am introduced to.
Not being the very outward talking guy I would not just go to someone and chit-chat. I'd rather meet friends of friends. If not through friends then through opportunities like CS meetings or even CS itself. I admit it is a capacity I lack, the one to just talk up to folks, but I have not been able to overcome it, sorry.
I wish, but I don't believe that this great upcoming trip will be much different from any previous one. I already know some folks in Aussie-land, in Perth at least, and will rely on them to expand the mesh of my very fresh and ephemeral network.
Sometimes I ask myself, if I was really in a really lonely situation, would I change my behavior? Rewinding the 2 last years back, I reckon I won friends by establishing connections after having them introduced to me. From Susan, my crazy landlady, to Hazel, to Babsi, Manu, Couchsurfing, Ilka, Bron, Beth...
Coming to think of it, the only person I know from 1st contact is Barth, the groovy french dude I met at the LCD Soundsystem concert.
Oh well, I will survive. If I wouldn't, I would not be here now.

Ina Marie, my current CSer went out to visit a room to rent. A very friendly girl, she's been quite busy for the last 2 nights looking for a place to stay for her 6-month internship!

I'm feeling a very happy bunny (booooooooooooooring I know). I'll keep on remembering last weekend for a while (it's amazing the things a girl can do). The Little Miss Sunshine OST is playing in the stereo and I got back home with my hair cut.
I'll try not to be a night-owl tonight, I'll just check out the anime Whisper of the heart (Mimi Wo Sumaseba) and try to find out why it has such a high quality rating.
Allez hop, posting, closing and putting the blasted computer to sleep.

n.-

stitch the world a little bit tighter

Australia
My big trip to Aussie-land is getting closer and closer, there are still so many (little) things left to do.

• Having somebody stay at my place (and pay the rent) while I am away would free me from that nasty bill - let the search begin!
• The last banking and legal details should be setup in order to not become an issue while I'm on the other side of the globe - It's awful to have so many dependencies...

Meanwhile, some other details are clearing up. I recently met through Ozzie, our favorite Munich Tour guide, an aussie from Perth. He's currently crashing at my place until I leave to Lyon. This fellow, although being loaded with cash, prefers to backpack and stay at hostels and actually meet people and get to know the city. He kindly offered to host me in that aussie western city, this way I will not be abusing of Bron's folks' hospitality and will also avoid having us (me and her) from getting on each other's nerves.
As a sidenote, it's really funny to see how people think we and Bron are a couple. We just get along really well, which does not mean we don't get pissed off at each other:) That situation type can be a fuck-blocker, but after clearing up that detail, the individual runways are back to a clear and open state.
Even with available places to stay, Couchsurfing and/or hostels are not out of the scheme, at all!!!
Before reaching Perth, we're staying 9 days in Brunei, which will be a great opportunity to get some tropical fun and organize a CS meeting with the half-dozen members living there!

Music
Radar was playing a decent musical choice this morning (quite usual for Lisbon's best radio station) but I am currently looking for a stream of Smashing Pumpkin's latest Zeitgeist.

Techie
Yoohooh!!!... MacOSX's Leopard is so much secure, or as we could call it "HOWTO: use long-worn keywords to fill out Security Bullshit Bingo". It's an effort anyway, I am not complaining. Let's just say that marketing people use whatever they can put their polished hands on to pack a webpage with juicy details.

Techie II
I can't stop looking at the OLPC XO laptop. There's a fun review (direct link: Geeksugar -> New York Times) from a well known tech reporter. Here's the video:


n.-