80's Obsession

Dont know what it is, but I'm obsessed with 1980s music, especially those really cool power ballads from bands with BIG permed hair!lol Was listening to a number of golden oldies on You Tube and got shivers down my spine remembering how much I used to love listening to these songs as a band obsessed teen. lol

Perhaps you will remember these songs too. I bet you cant listen to them without singing along... or at least humming.... lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujnH4yNqL8E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yUZvw-Ps30&feature=related

You may also notice links from these to a number of my other favs - pretty much anything from Def Leppard.... and Van Halen.... and Europe....and...... you get the drift... lol

Mmmmmm the 80s... lol

Confession

Well if Im gonna lead a double life... might as well make it a juicy one... lol

Restless Gypsies

Was sorting through some of my old photos recently and reflected upon these shots which brought back so many funny memories. They're from the year 1993, which we aptly named "The Year of the Gypsies". My girlfriends and I set our sights on forming a band and named ourselves The Restless Gypsies. The funny thing about this story is that noone in the "band" could actually play any instruments, so in essence I was the only one with an ounce of credibility when I referred to myself as the lead singer! lol

We used to be the dedicated fans of the band the guys (pictured) were in, but we turned that around to make them in fact fans of our "quasi band" lol. We even had a band t-shirt made which the lead singer of the band used to sometimes wear at his gigs. It was a fun time, filled with hopes and dreams and............ delusions of grandeur... lol - Isn't that what everyone does while they are at university? lol

Oh, and by the way... will leave it up to you to work out which one I am...

Weekend

I can't sleep in. I guess I'm a morning person. So this morning, while my hb slept, I ventured off to a nice cafe for brunch where I read the newspaper then started further developing the outline for the book Im writing (always easier to do over good strong coffee! lol). Following that I went to see a movie called "What Happens in Vegas" and was the only person in the cinema! I LOVE it when that happens. For a few hours you are able to delude yourself into believing that the world is in fact turning just for you... (note: reality check was swift when finally home doing laundry! lol).
A SL friend and I were discussing seasons and I mentioned that I love Autumn (fall) cause the colour of the leaves turn a beautiful shade of red and then you get to see them fall to the ground and cover the floor so beautifully. Attached is a photo outside my front door. We live at the top of a battleaxe driveway and our house is to the right. The house directly in front with the large tree that I love, is actually the house that we have been asked to rent. Its the two story place with 4 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms and an inground pool! (which is really needed for just two people! lol) We are negotiating with landlord to see whether we can agree on a price for rent before we decide. Exciting prospect, which will allow us to invest our savings for one year and still search for our dream home..... waiting.... waiting....waiting...

contemplation

THE Holiday

So here you have it. A carefully selected sample of holiday snaps (making sure to remove all incriminating evidence! lol).

We started in Chicago for the work conference. Not too bad having a full week's travel, accommodation, food and drinks covered. We stayed in the very beautiful Palmer Hilton (pictured). Chicago was a very impressive city. Amazing architecture with the stark contrast of modern skyscrapers against gothic cathedrals and buildings.

We were very fortunate that on our last night in Chicago the city came alive with a celebration called Looptopia. Shops and restaurants stayed open until dawn and there were street fairs, performers and concerts. Fantastic! We also went to a cool blues club and ate delicious cajun food.Speaking of food, there was plenty to be had in the USA. We had a couple of great burgers and fries meals in nice cafes, but overall I would have to say the takaway meals are crap. Having said that, there are some beautiful fine dining restaurants where the food was great!! We also had the recommended famous Chicago pizza which was delicious! My colleagues insisted that I order cocktails with every dinner, which means I had a cocktail every night for the first week. In Australia I would be lucky to have a drink once a month! No wonder I felt a bit hazy.... lol

We then flew to New York city for three nights and saw all the sites (after missing our plane due to the bloody airport signs being out!). Was an exciting place to visit, but very tiring. Sooooo many lines for everything and also tedious security checkpoints which became very draining. The ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island was one of the highlights of our trip as the weather was perfect.

Times Square was just two streets away from our hotel (the Warwick, in which Cary Grant apparently used to live and the Beatles and Elvis used to stay). Times Square was where it ALL happpened. Lights, lights, and MORE lights! Crazy busy all the time, but quite an interesting cultural experience. The Empire State Building was a bit of a fizzler. A nice building, and view OK, but we waited in line two hours from 10pm until Midnight to get to the top and then just went.... "Ok, this is a nice view, do you want to go down now?" lol
Central Park (pictured above) was an oasis amidst a concrete jungle. We took a horse and carraige ride through the park which was soooo lovely on a perfect day. Would love to have spent more time there to explore the many facets as what we did see looked amazing!

We also would consider visiting ground zero another highlight of our trip. This is the view of the demolition site from the tour bus. We then got off and went to the museum where we saw photos of the missing people and personal items from the site. Was quite emotional and a bit surreal.

In stark contrast, I have to say there were some things in the USA which made me just shake my head. Where else but America might you see a fashion parade dedicated to Barbie and a life size Batman made out of lego selling for $27,000! lol

We then flew another 6 hours from New York to Los Angeles. Only spent two nights there so was a bit of a rush, but we managed to hire a car with my colleagues flight attendant brotherinlaw and his friend and drove around LA. We were intending to see the stars on the footpath when we noticed all the papparatzi around for a movie premier for VICE, so we hovered and watched hollywood do its stuff. We then drove to Universal Studios, and NO, this isnt a picture of the plane we flew with after it crashed, it is from a movie scene... now if I could only remember which one?... lol The other photo speaks for itself! lol

Overall was a great trip, and of course this is only a summary. We were blessed to have our friend be the flight attendant on both flights to and from Australia so were spoilt all the way with extra gifts and seats with extra leg room. Probably wont travel to America again as this was my third trip, but it was a great experience. Surprisingly my friend and I didn't drive each other insane, but having lived out of a suitcase for two weeks, by the end of week two, I knew it was time to come home.

Ciao from the weary traveller....

She's baaaaack!

Arrived back this morning, exhausted and jetlagged. Heaps of stories and photos which will share as soon as I can keep my eyes open... Did anyone miss me?..... anyone? lol