The Mother country ain't mothering me

London town. Been here for 2 days now. It was quite a shock to the system after sunny, friendly LA. I'm just not a fan I've gotta say. I'm staying right in Piccadilly. All the cliches are true - too many people, waaaaay expensive, overcast...I'm subsisting on a diet of almonds and beef jerky. Sure it's a blast to be around all this history but i've gotten over it quite quickly. Glad I didn't set off for London to work after finishing uni like so many of us seem to do. I think this place would have eaten me alive.

My first night here was amazing though. I was winding my way through SOHO aimlessly and stumbled across this interesting looking club. On closer inspection I realised that the seminal aussie band The Church were playing there! I couldn't believe my luck. The gig was a stripped back acoustic one. Steve Kilbey is a bonda fide genius songwriter. He's channelling some serious spirits or something through his tunes and dreamy lyrics. 25yrs strong as a band after starting in little old Canberra!

I feel pretty tired today after a night out in SOHO with a couple of guys I met at the hostel - one a young record producer from Melbourne and the other an American who's moving to LA to do film making at graduate school. He's got a job working for a beer company and they're paying him ridiculous amounts of $$. Cool guy. I hope LA and the movies doesn't steal his soul.

I'm catching a late bus to Oxford tonight. Can't wait to get out of the city and see a bit of the countryside.

MG

Another day in LA

Not much to report today. At midday I took the bus into Downtown LA, wandered around and grabbed a slice of pizza. Before that I stumbled across an unreal record store called Ameoba Records. It was a music fan's wet dream and left the old Impact Records in Canberra for shame. I know I should have walked out with an armful of quintessential LA records but I'm a patriotic SOB and took great pleasure in presenting a 2nd hand copy of the Birthday Party 'Mutiny' EP to the cashier. Might go back there tomorrow.

On the bus ride back from Downtown I got off on Melrose drive and walked down the strip. Not my natural habitat at all. I chatted to an English girl on the bus back to the hostel. She designs clothes for a living and divides her time between Sydney and LA. Sounds like a sweet life. A drunk guy stumbled onto the bus and somehow caused offence to this teenager who started swearing his head off and abusing the poor guy. It was ugly, big city stuff.

One more day in LA to go. I've definately had enough of this place. I'm going to buy a ticket to see the Smoking Popes play tomorrow night at at a club around the corner. They've been around for awhile and I've heard great things about them.

MG

Supersize 'lil Matty

I only spent half a day in Auckland before flying to LA. I read somewhere that Google has listed the most miserable cities in the world according to how often people type in words like 'misery' into the search engine. Apparantly Auckland came in at #1. Not sure why. It seemed ok to me. Not as pleasant as Wellington though. Interestingly Calgary, Canada come in at #2 and that's one of the cities I was thinking of looking for work..!

I've been in LA for a couple of days now. The last time I took an Air New Zealand flight to LA was 1986, almost 20yrs ago to the day. It was Disneyland with the family back then.

LA is monstrous. The traffic is a complete nightmare. The weather is to die for though. Hollywood is just like i'd imagined it to be - completely over the top. Like it or not Hollywood is part of the psyche of us Aussies due to all of it's product we've digested. It's fascinating to stoll around it in real life. I can't really afford to do all the touristy stuff like Universal Studies but this is a good taste nonetheless.

The first night I dived right into the US cultural experience at the hostel with a super great all-you-can eat BBQ cook-up of Homer Simpson-esq proportions. Today I took the bus to Venice Beach and spent the afternoon strolling along just taking it all in. I even punched out a few sets on the bench press at Muscle Beach! I was half expecting Governor Schwarzenegger to pull up in an SUV and say 'move aside you little Aussie girlie-man so I can lift some real weights...'

Not sure what I'll get up to the next couple of days but there are some bands i'd like to check out in the evenings if I get a chance.

MG

Hamilton - Auckland - LA

Last day in NZ. With my limited time i've only been able to see snippets of the North Island. Just arrived in Auckland and I've got half a day to kill before flying to LA. Rotorua was fairly uneventful. I checked out some geothermal action. Played some pool with an English chap who's in a simlar life transition to me - studied law, got bored with the work and now he's travelling around, racking up a nice credit card debt. His dream's to become sports journalist. I hope he finds what he's looking for. Chatted with a lovely German girl too who's going to get into international business when she get's home.

I spent the last couple of nights in Hamilton. Funnily enough the odd guy who ran the backpackers immediately launched into this tirad about how the Nth islander Kiwis are a nasty lot and the Sth islanders are so much better. What a faboulous ambassador! I edged out slowly while asking the obvious question, 'so you dislike your fellow citizens so much and you've chosen to live here how long...?

The couple of nights I spent in Hamilton I shared a dorm room and drank with three guys who work for Greenpeace - a mad German bass player and two kiwis - one a hippy and Jane's Addiction fan and the other an older guy with a kid who usually works 'fixing and selling things'. Last night was a lot of fun. We went on a bit of a bar crawl and ended up at a quiz night where our performance was so ordinary we were actually given two free jugs of beer out of pity for handing up one round of answers that scored a big fat 0 out of 10! My music and Australiana expertise allowed us to save a bit of face on other rounds.

So the Greenpeace guys are onto a good thing. They travel around raising money for the cause. Pay is only a bare subsistence wage but what a great way to see some of the world and be on the side of good while doing it. Who knows, perhaps I could sign up when I arrive in Canada and see a bit of the country that way.

Can't wait to see LA. I've booked a backpackers somewhere in Hollywood. Should be an exciting few days checking out beaches and nightlife.

Big-ups

MG

On the Ipod: 'Forty Licks' - Rolling Stones

What's that smell?

In Rotorua today - famous for its natural hot spings and gushing geisers. I spent yesterday in Taupo, a small town one hour away. Taupo sits on the banks of a lake formed in the wake of a massive volcano eons ago. Quiet little place. It's probably packed out in warmer times of the year like the NSW coast.

It was a crappy overcast day yesterday but nonetheless I set out for a days hiking along the shores of the Waikato river (I'll probably be sweating it out in some office soon enough so better soak up as much of this nature as I can, while I can). Saw some awesome waterfalls and I haven't seen water this clear sparkling blue since Rotnest island in WA. Eventually I stumbled on a spot called the Craters of the Moon. It's what they call a geothermal field where superheated water just under the surface causes bursts of steam to shoot through the crusts. Pretty spun-out in a post-apocalyptic sorta way.

I checked out a much larger geothermal field today in Rotoura. Plenty of mudpools and much bigger geisers. A pugent sulpher-like odour follows you everywhere. Got some great pics.

Man this place is touristy. Just gonna hang out this afternoon and buy some provisions. I've been trying to find a gym where ever I stop. I figure I should keep my health and strength up since I'm be hitting the streets looking for work as soon as I get to Vancouver. Better stay away from boozy British backpackers(!)

Saw the film ''Enron" the other night about the collapse of the Enron corporation in the US. I reckon it should be compulsory viewing for all uni grads emerging into the real world. My eyes almost popped out of my head in disbelif in that scene where the CEO creep was lieing through his teeth to the rank and file employees, saying that business was booming, just days before it all came crashing down. And these people aren't actors!

MG

On the Ipod: 'Cyborgs revisited' - Simply Saucer

I'm off!

Well a 3 and bit year tour of duty in the APS is enough for me. My car's sold and I've only left a few boxes of books under my parents house. I'll try to find a job in Vancouver asap after I arrive mid-June but until then, adventure on a tight budget awaits...NZ - LA - London - NY.

I arrived at Central station Sydney on Monday night after farewelling with Mum n Dad in Canberra. I stayed at old friend Matty V's place in Redfern before catching the morning flight to Wellington. Matty V's been making music and corporate videos for awhile and it looks like this year's his big break. He's on the production team for the new file 'Gabrielle' that's rumoured to be one of the biggest independent Aussie files since Mad Max. From the shorts Matt showed me it seems to have a dark sort of vibe like 'The Crow'. I think it's about some bad-ass avenging angels. Filmed in Sydney. I hope they release it in Canada so I can check out the finished film. Vancouver has a big film industry and I've promised Matt I'll scope it out for him. I may even look for work as an extra! 'Dead guy #23'!

So first up is New Zealand (I can't believe I have no Kiwi tunes on the ipod. Not a Finn brother to be found!) Wellington is a cool city. Out of the three major NZ cities I'm glad I landed here. It reminds me a bit of Melbourne with its cafes and vibrant artistic scene. This would have been a great place to go to uni and I'd sure like to stick around longer if I could.

I checked out the national museum this afternoon. My knowledge of NZ history is pitiful and I was hoping to learn a bit but I was immediately distracted by this awesome Lord of the Rings exhibition. It had video displays of the making of the films and lots of the models and costumes that were used. What a massive cultural force those movies were. The video interviews really showed what a genuine enthusiast Peter Jackson is. What a national hero. People from my dorm room were off to see the new Mission Impossible but i'm going to give it a miss. With LOTR still floating through my head I think Tom Cruise's dumb Scientology-loving head n screen would just piss me off.

MG

Reading: 'Naked Lunch' - William S Burroughs ; Lonely Planet, NZ
ipod: 'Snow White' - Magic Dirt