The West Best End

Can't. Blog. Now.

Having. Too. Much. Sex. Fun.

But one quick point to ponder...

Why is it that these past two times I've come to Vancouver for brief visits that I've managed to meet great guys who never seemed to be around when I lived here?

I met someone this trip and pointedly asked him, "Where the hell were you from 1998 through 2003?" The answer: living out in the 'burbs. He's since moved to the Gay Ghetto (God bless the West Best End!), and is part of the soccer group that I used to play with. Jeepers, it was great to go out with the soccer boys for some festive cocktails on Thursday night.

Maybe Soccer Boy and I never connected until now, but it sure was a reminder of how much Vancouver boys rock. Hmmmm, I wonder how he feels about touring with the circus as an official spouse... : )

A blast

I have caught up with a few more friends, saw the Drag Show on Sunday night, went for a run, watched a hilarious DVD of Chan's birthday, have organized all my "stuff" (which is all in one place for the first time in 2 years), have a lunch scheduled this afternoon, am hoping to go for a swim lounge at Second Beach Pool after that, have drinks with some of my old team after they're done work today, and get to go to a BBQ at Sindee's tonight.

The weather continues to hold, there are more lunches and drinks on the schdule (including Wiggs, Muffin and Caro), I get my teeth cleaned on Thursday, and the weekend will fill itself out magnificently, I'm sure.

On a sad note, I won't get to meet the New York boy and his Canadian fella. And speaking of New York, I need to call P...

Sorry if I'm boring you all to death, but I'm having a blast!

Picture Perfect

Last night was the outdoor concert at Burnaby's Deer Lake with Michael Buble and 8000 fans. It was better than I had anticipated, with a lower reading on the "Cheese Meter" than I had expected. Sure, there were some cheesy "this one's for the ladies out there" moments, but his voice was quite stunning, actually Plus you could tell he was pretty stoked to be in concert about 2 minutes from where he grew up.

Today, Suzie and I are heading to a brunch at Willy's place. Then I get to see another friend before heading to the world famous (OK, West End famous maybe) Feather Boa Show at The Odyssey.

The weather is picture perfect again today. And I need to get a hold of Muffin and Caro...

Despite missing Caro...

...Fountainhead Friday was heaps o' fun. Apparently there was a whole boatload of Atlantis Gay Cruise boys there -- mostly cornfed boys and their partners from Middle America -- but I didn't chat to any of them. Instead, I was content to catch up with a couple of friends I expected to see, plus a few other surprises. All good.

I got my Jeep yesterday afteroon, and the first thing I did was take the top down. I'm about to head out for some driving right now, in fact. It's a gorgeous day and it's time for some wind-in-the-hair time.

Ahhh, life in The 'Couv: it's hard to beat.

Have a cocktail

I'm sitting here in my green Summer party frock, enjoying a few pre-Fountainhead cocktails with Suzie. (Don't ask about the frock!) And it's nearly time to head out and partake in the fun of Fountainhead Friday.

I invite everyone to enjoy a concurrent cocktail in their own home! It will be nearly as good as being here with me in person!

I bet Luscious Lorna won't have any problem complying with that request : )

Yay me!

It's Friday morning and the temp is supposed to hit 30C today. I have a very busy agenda today: dropping in to surprise a few friends, a belated birthday lunch with Scary Red Wine Girl, picking up my Jeep, hanging out enjoying the weather, and then hitting Fountainhead Friday night.

Tomorrow: a few administrative stuff (dealing with a lease issue, organizing a parking spot for Jeremiah Jeep), more hanging-out-enjoying-the-weather time, and then I'm going with Suzie to see Michael Buble in an outdoor concert in his old stompin' grounds, Burnaby.

Yay me!

And it's only Day #1!

First day in YVR: awesome weather and a great day. I rented a car at the airport to squire me around until I pick up my Jeep tomorrow. Oddly enough, I had some mental challenges driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Wouldn't you know it -- just when I'm completely comfortable driving on the left, it's back to the right side just to test my wee brain.

Nevertheless, I didn't have any accidents, and I managed to see a few great friends, exercise my credit card, and enjoy life in the City by the Sea.

God, I love this town!

And it's only Day #1!

Home free

Bridgeclimb was cool, with perfect weather and wicked views. As I suspected, I splurged on some ridiculous spectacular souvenirs to commemorate the event. I rationalized it by reminding myself that I had to get rid of my Aussie dollars somehow.

My flight to Hong Kong was fairly uneventful. I actually managed to sleep for a while, so it seemed quicker than 9 hours -- always a good sign. Now I'm in Hong Kong International as I await check-in time for my HK --> YVR flight. Only 3 more hours 'til I can check in, shed my luggage, and have a shower!

And then? I'm home free!

Woo hoo!

Today's my last day in Sydney. And to celebrate, I'm doing something I've thought about for a while, but just haven't done.

Bridgeclimb, here I come!

And then...

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

"Nice load!"

This country is soooo ovah. Well, at least the circus' run in this country is. We had our last two shows yesterday, and starting promptly at 6:35PM, the insanity that can only be known as Tear Down Madness started with a bang.

And only 3.5 action-packed hours later, our part was done. Holy hell, Batman! We expected to be working until midnight (a conservative estimate), but instead we had already enjoyed a few glasses of wine in the kitchen by that time. Halleliujia!

• donning of "Earl the Pearl" vest, hardhat and steel-toes: check
• hauling, pulling, dragging, and pushing of road cases: absolutely
• driving of a forklift: only had to do a bit
• farewelling of local temp staff: yup
• crawling over, climbing on, and lifting of various other things: oh ya
• rolling of carpet: left to other people this time!!
• closing of our sea container: done

You never know the extent of the Tear Down Fitness plan until the next day, when your legs are sore, your back aches, and your shoulders feel like they've been carrying a midget on them for a few hours. Today, remarkably, I don't have any of those signs. Instead I only have bruised knees and shins, a result of squeezing myself into small spaces in order to get everything completely packed into the sea container as efficiently as possible.

Loading our road cases and other assorted paraphernalia into the sea container is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle: fitting everything together as neatly and orderly and tightly as possible seems to be the way you earn your Tear Down stripes. The best compliment anyone can pay you -- and I kid you not -- is taking a look into your sea container and uttering those words you long to hear: "nice load!"

It's over and I'm on holidays for a couple of weeks. How freakin' good does that feel?!

One or two episodes to go, damnit?!

Fucking Australian TV. I know from reading the official ABC TV Lost site that there's only one episode to go. The episode that just aired last night is #23, and there's only a single additional episode listed, which is #24: "Exodus - Part 2."

So why, then, did Channel 7 finish last night's broadcast with an advisory to stay tuned over the next two weeks as the most anticipated viewing event of the season unfolds....blah blah blah.

Is there one or two to go? I'm convinced that 7 will do everything in its power to drag it out as long as possible. Maybe it was a two-hour finale in North America, and they'll split it into two episodes here. Maybe it's only an hour, but they'll keep us waiting by showing a "special encore presentation of the first episode of Lost" to prime us for the finale. Maybe they'll keep us waiting with another wrap-up-of-the-action-so-far background filler like a few weeks ago, followed by the finale. Maybe there's only a one-hour episode, but they decided to pump it full of so many commercials that they space it out over two weeks. Who knows?

I am, however, frustrated. In fact, I'm nearly at the point where I'm going to read the synopsis of episode #24 on the website just in case -- by some odd fluke -- that I don't ever get to see it. Just like the last 15 minutes of the last-ever episode of Friends. I'm still pretty damn bitter about that one. Fucking Australian TV that doesn't fucking start and finish its shows when the fucking TV guide fucking lists them.

When the TV guide says 8:30 'til 9:00, shouldn't you trust it? I even gave it the fudge factor and programmed the VCR from 8:25 'til 9:10. And I still missed the last 15 minutes!!! Un-fucking-believable.

To this day, I still haven't seen Rachel get off that damn plane and....well, whatever the hell else happened while I was in Canada last November. I tell ya, if I don't get to see the end of Lost, you'll be reading the posts of one pissed off blogger.

Don't piss me off, you fucking Australian TV network programmers! I bite when I'm mad.

Glenn, I'll be in touch

Back at home my comfortable hotel suite now, and apparently my ISP hasn't gone out of business, because I'm on the internet and blogging about...

...preparing to watch the second-last episode of Lost, which goes to air in 30 short minutes. Can't wait! But have I told you that I'll miss the last episode?! Yup, I'll be on a plane to Vancouver while Australia finds out what happens to Jack, Kate (who we now know is not Canadian), Locke, Sayid et al.

Glenn, I may need you to bring a particular videotape to Vancouver with you. No, not that videotape, the Lost videotape with the season finale. I'll be in touch.

Excruciating farts

I think my ISP has gone out of business. I can reach their dial-up server, but keep getting an authentication failure. And when I call the Support number, there's no answer at all. Normally they have 24/7 coverage....

So I'm at an internet cafe, and someone keeps letting out these excrutiating farts. Excrutiating, I tell you!

I've been staying up late to watch the World Championships on TV, but not tonight. I'm in desperate need of sleep to get ready for Tear Down Madness over the next few days. Tear Down Fitness Plan, here I come!

As of Monday afternoon, I'll officially be on holidays. A couple of quick days in Sydney to take care of my belongings and have a quick dinner with some friends (including the Birthday Girl, Number One), and then off to Vancouver. Unfortunately, I have a less-than-stellar routing: arriving in Hong Kong at 5AM for a 6-hour layover before heading to Vancouver via Taipei. But the end result will see me in beautiful Vancouver. Yay!

Posting will be fairly sporadic in the next few days, particularly if my ISP has given up the ghost. But I know your thoughts will be with me as I head to Vangroovy. I'll be in touch again when I'm on Western Canadian soil.

Peace out non-circus freaks. I now have to leave to escape the smell.

The camera loved it

Sunday was really busy with two shows and it's always hard to get any other work done when there's two shows and you know you have to get it all done because Tear Down is coming up and it seems like time is running out but all you can focus on is making sure that both shows run smoothly and you're servicing guests and then you keep having that niggling feeling that you're just not gonna make it through the week without a major panic to get everything done and then suddenly all you can think about is World Championships and all the great track and field you're missing.

Deep breath.

I didn't get everything done that I needed wanted to on Sunday, but that's life. Somehow it'll all come together.

And somehow, Sunday night none of it mattered anyway. There was a party at the casino and it was damn fun. Lots of pictures were taken by lots of people, so I'm sure I'll see the damning evidence before too long, but no regrets. Drinking, dancing, carrying on -- it was all good. And the fact that I kept hitting on the hotter-than-hot security guard just made me glad to be a man. He liked it, I liked it, the camera loved it.

Yesterday: day off. Borrowed Diver Boy's car yesterday and drove and drove and drove. And listened to CD's full blast. And pulled up to a beach and slept in the sun. And had lunch in Freo. And ate Peanut M&M's for dinner. And had one of those moments where you get goosebumps because all of your senses collide with this sense of "This is where I'm supposed to be in the world at this particular moment in time."

Even if that's not the case 5 minutes or 5 hours later, at that particular time I was meant to be feeling that brilliant sunshine while listening to that amazing song while gripping my right hand on that steering wheel while caressing my left hand on that gear shift while watching that exhilarating view of the Swan River. It was brief, but such is the nature of goosebump moments.

Today: another day off from work became chore day. Laundry, packing, filling out inventory sheets for Singapore, getting rid of stuff I don't need. All good, all in need of getting done.

Tonight was dinner with Diver Boy and Tape Girl -- Korean BBQ. Yum. But right now Helsinki is in an electrical storm delay and my precious track coverage is on hold. Rain rain go away!!

Tomorrow: back at work. Jeepers, I need to get all my outstanding work done and then I can concentrate on gettin' ready for Tear Down. Give me strength!

Seven days

Friday night, I did end up getting showered and going out for a multitude of few drinks. I joined someone from my division, plus two other people I didn't really know well at all. It was nice to meet new people and feel comfortable starting to stretch my social muscles a little bit.

And Saturday morning I still had the gumption to get up and go for a one-hour run. Yay me! Saw more kangaroos and felt pretty good afterwards. The achilles injury seems under control (knock wood) and I feel like I might actually be getting back on the path to fitness. Slowly.

Saturday night Diver Boy and Tape Girl came to see the circus, and I got to show them some of what we do. It's nice to have that opportunity with people you like. Plus, we're gonna try and get together one last time this week for the last time in what will probably be a dog's age. Despite the fact that they'll likely be in Vancouver at New Year's when I also expect to be there, who knows if we'll end up catching up.

Today, I've got tons of work ahead of me. Plus it's a two-show day, which means I likely -- sorry, definitely -- won't get it all done. No worries, cuz it will somehow, miraculously find a way of gettin' done somehow, some way before we leave this city in (gulp) a week. What?! We leave in a week?! Oh dear, that means that Tear Down is only seven days away.

But before even that happens, I have several days of World Track and Field Championships to obsess over. There's plenty of TV coverage planned, but it's all late night viewing (like between midnight and 5AM). Coincidentally, this may also be the week that I actually start drinking coffee : )

It ain't exactlythe nightlife capital of the world

Yesterday, I had my second yoga class. Very cool. And today I found out that it probably won't be economically feasible to bring my bike home to Vancouver with me. Bummer. But really, I haven't exactly ridden it a whole hell of a lot. Maybe someone in Sydney wants to buy it off me. Most likely, I'll just leave it to the Opera House Couple for them to do with what they want. It couldn't go to a better home.

It's Friday night. I'm on the internet. Typically pathetic : ) But I'm gonna get my butt in the shower and get psyched up to go out. To where? Not sure. Perth ain't exactly the nightlife capital of the world.

It's not like I can find an experience like a Fountainhead Friday in this town. But soon enough I'll be able to partake in a FF in person. And I'm drooling at the thought.

Could be cool

Nothing to report today. Sorry.

Just getting excited about my upcoming trip to Vancouver, and seeing great people. Spoke to Suzie today and heard all about -- well, a bit about -- Vancouver Pride weekend. Wish I coulda been there to partake in the fun.

Oh well, soon enough I'll be in the West Coast city myself. And probably not blogging about it. Although I think there are plans afoot to meet another blogger during my trip -- the first time I will have ever knowingly met a blogger.

Could be nerveracking cool.

Doin' the downward dog

This morning I went for my second-ever yoga class, and first with circus freaks. The Yoga Guy, the same coach who's organized our running group, teaches yoga a few times a week. Tuesday morning just happens to be one of his beginner classes, so I thought I'd give it a go.

It was cool; just like a long extended stretching session. And that's always a good thing, cuz I feel like I've lost a lot of my flexibility (not that I was a contortionist or anything) during the past eight-month achilles-injury-induced vacation layoff.

Can't wait for the next one on Thursday morning!!

Minus the hangover

Beautiful day. Beautiful day off -- despite the hangover. Last night we had a staff party, which was waaaay fun. Met lots of new people; took lots of incriminating photographs : )

Today, we had a boat cruise to a winery on the outskirts of Perth. How can it be Winter when it's hot, sunny and gorgeous like this?! Thank goodness the ride wasn't too rough, cuz my tummy was doing tumbles inside me as I struggled with the post-night-out effects. Needless to say, I didn't touch a drop of wine when we got to our destination, but by then I was hungry enough to eat a horse.

A great day was had by all, and I had to laugh as one of our biggest and friendliest performers kept pointing at me and saying, "Nightmare! You're a nightmare!" in reference to last night. I have to be honest: I'm not sure what I did to him last night to deserve that kind of attention today, but I do remember talking to his wife and hearing the sweet story about how they met and fell in love. Never mind what I did to the husband, cuz it was all in good fun.

Why can't every day be like today -- minus the hangover!