The Merry Ol' Land Of OZ!

Wow, Ubie slackin' on the blog entries...

I have been chillin' in Melbourne, Australia for a few weeks and getting a 'plan' together for this MASSIVE country. Australia (or "Oz" as they call it) is about the size of the United States, but with much fewer roads, and smaller population. The roads mainly hug the perimeter of the coasts and there is one road that goes north-south through the red center. 90% of the population lives on 2.5% of the land of this country (mostly on the east coast). In fact, Melbourne alone has 3.5 million people, which is an overload after New Zealand (with a population of 4 million in the entire country!)

Because of Australia's shear size and deceaving distances between places, you can only see a limited portion with a 3 month visa. So, it's almost like having to determine what not to see. However, I've already inquired about a 3 month extension of my visa just in case...

So, tomorrow I am flying to Perth (a 4+ hour flight waaaay to the south-western coast) to buy a car from an Irish couple I met in NZ several times. They are finishing their Oz journey on Thursday and need to sell their 1985 Subaru 4WD station wagon named "Mary". I couldn't pass up the deal. Then "on the road again" finally!! I believe I will travel all the way up the more isolated, sparse and less touristy west coast, then through the Kimberley and into the outback of the northern territory.

It is mid-summer here and hot, as in HOT!! The last few days were nearly 100 degrees. Dry heat but..ya know...HOT! Makes Africa seem like Pittsburgh. BTW, Thanks for keeping me updated on the winter weather situation back in the N'oreast USA. Brrrrrr...I do not miss that. But at least it's not so damned HOT!

I have not spent much computer time, thus a lack of blog updates or pix. I can't wait to sit down to finish the stories I started about New Zealand. Oz has some big shoes to fill after NZ's magical experiences. We will see, one day at a time...

Ubie Jammin' with Neo

Now for a cool freaky story:
My friend Brenda, from Akron, has a neighbor with nephews in Oz (Will is in Melbourne, where I am, and Jack is from Darwin, all the way in the North Coast). She sent Will's email address to me, which I forwarded to him with my mobile phone number. He texted (is that a word yet?) to say that he was out of town but coincidentally his brother Jack was in Melbourne to play two gigs with his band, 'Neo'. Jack called and invited me to meet them at the "Open Studio" at 4:00 as they set up and did a sound check. After meeting the other three members of the band, Jack informed me that usually there are 6 members, but the drummer had an operation on his wrist and wasn't touring, so these gigs were more acoustically based. (Hmmmm, can you guess what happened next...?) I told Jack that I was a drummer and did some soundboard work. I helped with the sound check and they asked if I would be interested in sitting in on some percussion (They only set up a bass drum, snare drum and hi-hat cymbals). Well, I played the second set with them, caught onto their funky vibe and fit right in. We had a blast! Afterward, they asked me, "Do you want to come and jam with us tomorrow night at the bar "Glitch"? Of course I did.

Although the band is from Darwin, many of their friends came to see the show in Melbourne. It was like a homecoming of sorts and made the room feel like a big party. Afterward, I was rewarded by hearing band members discussions about how they hadn't had that much fun at a gig in a long time. The energy level and funky groove was infectious. The dance floor was packed with friends and the band is very interactive. We sat on the tour bus outside of the bar until 4:00AM, then they gave me a ride back to where I was staying. THE END!
Not really, but that's it in a nutshell.

The following day we all met at the annual St. Kilda Festival just outside of Melbourne. The streets of this bohemian community are closed to traffic and 300,000? people converge for a day of fun, sun, food and music! There are 5 themed stages with bands all day long, ethnic food stalls throughout, street buskers and various entertainment and demonstrations. An epic day!

Two days later, I was invited to join them on a journey down to the Mornington Peninsula, which separates the mighty Southern Ocean from calm Port Phillip Bay. We stayed at Drew's bungalow "Rancho Relaxo", just off of St. Andrew's Beach. Miles of beach in either direction with no one around!! We waded 100's of yards into the low tide waters and body-surfed huge waves for hours. Then, back to the bungalow for an outdoor patio candlelit dinner followed by a gentle jam session with guitar, flute, clarinet, two hand drums, etc.
Next day, same thing....

You might think it's just luck or something, but this type of synchronicity, serendipity, karmic situation has been happening to me consistently since I started this journey. Soooo many times, in so many ways! Coincidence? I think not...

Quotes n'at

Some are mine, some I heard in conversations, others I read somewhere:

--Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.

--I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company that you keep in the empty moments.

--The legs are willing, but the knees are weak.

--"Go to the edge" the voice said. "No, I will fall."
"Go to the edge" the voice said. "No, I will be pushed over."
"Go to the edge" the voice said. So he went, and he was pushed. And he flew...

-- You have to let it go, to keep the flow.

--Life is a tune. How will you dance to it?

--How can you be a beacon to others if your own light is out?

--The meek are getting ready.

--Walkin' on these streets alone
By myself and on my own
Seldom seen and quite unknown.
(Xmas evening)

--Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness. -Mark Twain

--Knowledge comes from learning. Wisdom comes from letting go of what you think you know.

--A meal of 1000 flavors begins with one ingredient.

I have studied many times

The marble which was chiseled for me—

A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.

In truth it pictures not my destination

But my life.

For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;

Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;

Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.

Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.

And now I know that we must lift the sail

And catch the winds of destiny

Wherever they drive the boat.

To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness,

But life without meaning is the torture

Of restlessness and vague desire—

It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.

-- "IF" by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!