Melbourne Cup Day, The Killers & Dream World!
Trip Start
Apr 30, 2007
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24
69
Trip End
Nov 29, 2008
Coomera, Brisbane,
Australia
Monday, November 12, 2007
So last week kicked off nicely with Melbourne Cup Day on Tuesday 06th November. Melbourne Cup is the Aussie's version of Ascott (horse racing). It's a massive celebration over here and all of New South Wales get the day off. Up here in Queensland we don't though. So Chris at work organised a massive lunch for everyone for us all to celebrate. Chris and I set off at 8.30am and headed over to Coles (supermarket) to collect our meat platters and cheese platters that we had ordered and to Brumby's (bakery) to collect bread rolls, sausage rolls and desserts. Then we headed back to the office and spent all morning making up salad bowls and laying all the food out in the conference room. We then sat and picked the horses for the sweepstakes and put the lists up on all walls. Then we opened all the champagne bottles and the afternoon started. Everyone was meant to wear a hat and I went to extreme efforts to decorating my otherwise boring cowboy hat...
My Own Service
. Turned out no one else could be bothered other than me and Meg! So I won best hat award!! Although I barely wore my hat, everyone I the office, especially the Director-General Jim Pekin!! He took much interest in my hat and proceeded to walk around the office with it until someone else stole it! I didn't see it for most of the day! At least everyone liked it though.At 2pm the race kicked off, everyone sat around in silence hoping that they win the big one.. the $5 sweepstake!! We did 4 lots of $1 bets, 3 lots of $2 bets and 1 lot of $5 bets. A guy called Peter who had been back one day after spending a year in England ended up winning it!! I managed to win $22 though so not bad for my first time!!
1st place was number 8, Efficient. I won $12
2nd place was number 1, Purple Moon. I won $6
3rd place was number 6, Mahler. I won $4
In total $22.. Thank you kindly!
After the race we all cleared up and I headed into town for a bit to pay the rent and for The Killers tickets for Friday
Dream World Entrance
. I finally got back to work just after 3, sat around discussing the race with everyone, sipping champagne and then headed home!! A verrrry hard day in the office for me!! I actually felt a bit tipsy at lunch.. oops!So that was Melbourne Cup. A very nice relaxing day in the office!!!
Stef took a phone call from her friend Emma who is currently in Melbourne and she said her friend Helen is on her way to Brisbane and would it be ok if she stayed with us for the night... she stayed for the week. She came up from Melbourne and then decided to head back again as her bank card was duplicated and someone took loads of money out of her bank. She had to go back to get it sorted so she only stayed a couple of days until she could get on the bus again. She was really sweet and it was lovely to have her with us for a few days. She cooked a lovely pork stir-fry and got us a bottle of wine and some beautiful red lily's to say thank you. She also made me a scat.. a scarf which can also be used as a hat!! She's really into knitting and sat there every night making this scat things as Christmas presents for her friends and family at home and then she made me one as a thank you gift and she made Stef a little necklace. My scat is a coral colour and it's made with that fluffy wool so it's really soft. It's not really the sort of thing I need out here in the 32 degrees plus heat every day, so I will send it home and look forward to wearing it when I get back!
Dream World
! Hands off mum.. I know how you like your scarfs! haha!!Dermott is all moved in now and seems to feel comfortable with us, although he's slowly starting to take over the apartment and he smells like a boy... yuk! Thankfully he has his own en-suite though so we don't have to share a bathroom! He has brought a PSP and has loads of gadgets with it like a steering wheel and pedals for car racing games and a projector so he can have it projected on the wall.. so there's bloody wires everywhere which Stef and I keep falling over. He has a laptop though which is very convenient although no internet. It's wireless though so we're hoping we can pick up on someone else's connection and use that! Not any luck yet though. He's also getting surround sound and foxtel (like sky) put in as well this week. He keeps leaving his stuff everywhere though which is annoying the hell out of me and he doesn't wash up very well or clean the hob... I am turning into my mother.. someone help me! haha!! Also, Stef was sitting on the sofa with her legs up and he put a cushion on her legs and laid down! She got all flustered and didn't know what to do! I was sitting on the balcony chatting on the phone and she came out and muttered something about the air conditioning and then went back in again! It was really funny, she didn't know what to say to him as she thought it was really inappropriate.. clearly he has a soft spot for our Stef
Char & Ging on the River Rapids
. I think it's hilarious, personally I think she should move in with him and I can have a room to myself again! haha!So Friday (09/11/07) after work, I grabbed a bottle of 'Pink' and headed to Char's for a few drinks before heading off to see The Killers!! We all sat on the balcony chatting and had a few drinks and then when Bendy (Brendan) turned up, we grabbed a cab and headed over to Boondall which is North of Brisbane, about 30 mins away. Once at Brisbane Entertainment Centre I grabbed a hotdog for dinner (which tasted like cardboard and cost me a fortune) and then headed to the bar for a couple of drinks. We all stood chatting and then they announced The Killers were due on stage so Stef and I legged it up the stairs to door 4 where we finally found our seats. We didn't bother to see the supporting bands as they were Aussie bands and Aussie music is gay (in a word). We were absolutely shattered by the time we got to our seats!! Running through the crowds to the door and then running up loads of stairs wore me out!! Once settled, we were sitting chatting and trying to get our breath back and then Char, G, Ging, James and Bendy walked up the stairs, they were sat in the next row of seats!! Out of all the seats in that stadium (which is 11000 and then the standing area.. so holds 13500 people in total!!) they ended up right next to us!! The Killers were amazing and I have to say out of everything I have done since being away.
Stef
. this was the highlight! Oh my God, it was immense. Stef and I were jumping up and down, screaming the words to the songs and basically going mad. Then when Mr Brightside came on, we screamed even more!!! The atmosphere in there was pretty lame, loads of people remained seated the whole way through. Luckily Stef and I were on the back row so we didn't have people behind us so we could jump around and dance!! What a bunch of bores.. people like that shouldn't be allowed tickets to see such great bands!!! My new camera proved to be amazing and took really good pics.. as you can see!! When Mr Brightside came on, the whole stadium stood up and sang along, it was brilliant. Me and Stef jumped around like absolute loons! Stef kept elbowing the boring man who was seated beside her. I had a random guy next to me who came to the gig alone... ended up making him stand up as I kept jumping on his toes. They must of all thought we were on drugs or something!! hahaha!! Oh well.. Carpe Diem and all that. After the gig we headed back to the bar to chill out for a bit and then jumped in a cab home. It was 12.30am by the time we got back and we were all shattered so we split and went to our own places. Stef and I crept in as Helen was asleep on the sofa and got into bed, giggling and making up about how Brendan Flowers had definitely spotted us in the crowd and clearly he wanted to marry us...!Saturday (10/11/07) we were up early to get ready to head to Dream World (http://www.dreamworld.com.au/content/home_v4.asp?)
Wanted
. Char and Ging picked us up at 11.30am, we said goodbye to Helen and then jumped in the car and headed South down the Gold Coast. It took us about 30-40 mins to get there and it kept raining every so often, we were all panicking thinking it was going to be closed or we were going to get drenched but thankfully the weather turned out to be pretty good. Warm, not too hot and no showers thankfully!! I got a coupon off a McDonalds drink the other day which entitled 4 adults to enter paying children's entrance fee's. So instead of paying $64 we paid $42. Sweet. We headed straight for the water rapids, which ended up to not have any rapids at all. It was more like a lazy river, although Ging got a little wet. Then we headed over to the Big Brother studio! We wandered around the house and I recorded it and then when we got into the diary room I got told off.. they charge $15 to have your photo taken on the chair so your not allowed to take your own pics or video's.. I got some footage though!! Stef and Ging enjoyed bouncing on the beds, even though there's a sign saying no entry!! Then when we walked out of the house, you walk through an alley and then end up on the stage where they interview the people that got evicted. Stef ran out as if all her adoring fan's were sat in the audience and started dancing on the stage!! Me, Ging and Char legged it in embarrassment laughing!!! Then we headed to the Giant Drop which is the tallest free falling ride in the world (according to the Guinness Book of World Records), there are 8 people seated and then it takes you up slowly to the top, where you hang for a full minute and then your plummeting 120 metres at terminal speed!! It was soooo scary! Apparently it's the closest thing to sky diving!! You forget what's going to happen when you are up in the sky.. you can see for miles. We were so busy trying to spot the car in the car park and then all of a sudden we dropped. We all held on for dear life and clenched our teeth together. It was pretty scary
Scary
. We all came off shaking!!! We then headed to The Claw, which spins you around whilst rocking you back and forth. It was hilarious, I was sat next to Char, we both caught each others eye and Char starting screaming with laughter, we all had tears of laughter streaming down our faces after it!! It actually goes really fast, it says on the map... You'll be propelled 9 stories high, swinging up to 75km/h while spinning 360 degrees. So much fun!! Then after a much needed bite to eat we headed to Wipeout which was the same as the Ripsaw at Alton Towers, just without the water soaking you. Then we headed over to the newest ride which is called Mick Doohan's Motocoaster. It's basically a rollercoaster with motorbikes on. It was pretty good but it broke down whilst we were waiting to go so we all ended up with backache from the straps. Then we headed over to the Cyclone which Stef really wanted to go on as it had "four loop de loops" as Stef put it. It was actually quite amusing, we all sat together and giggled the whole way around... then it was time to go. We managed to squeeze enough time in to run into the sweet shop first though. After all that adrenaline we really needed some E numbers!!! We then headed home, absolutely shattered. I was laying on my bed writing a letter when Rob and Adam rang (who we lived with in Cairns) and asked me to come and see them. They were out in the Valley and were only here for the weekend as they are heading to Melbourne so Rob can pick up his jeep. I was shattered but ended up being persuaded and went out at 11.30pm!! Headed to a club called Empire, where I had a good catch up session with the lads and then stopped on the way home to get a kebab with Rob and then once at home sat on the balcony and caught up with all the gossip!!!
Sunday I woke up relatively early considering I had had a busy weekend, so I headed to the gym for a workout
My Own Showdown
. Decided to push myself quite hard and even did a bit of running (when it was empty!!) and a few weights. Rob and Adam came over and Stef cooked us all roast Lamb and then we sat and watched Pop Idol (which is sooooo lame, none of them can sing and wouldn't even get through the first step in x factor in England! Simon Cowell would slaughter them all!!! It makes it worse that the judges are so deluded as well, they keep telling them they are really good etc... clearly they cant sing!) as Katie was in the live audience sitting behind the friends and family. We endured an hour of the crap and didn't see her once... what we put ourselves through for friends!!! Then the boys hit the road and Stef and I retired to bed. So all in all it was a brilliant week and weekend, The Killers were immense, Dream World was so much fun and then it was lovely to catch up with the boys and enjoy a nice roast.
I am paying for it today though, I am soooo tired and my body is aching. I cant walk in my heals and my stomach feels bruised and sore. Oh well, back to the gym tonight after work for more. I only have 6 weeks until Christmas... I refuse to be on Bondi beach with all the skinny mini's whilst I look like a beached whale.
So it's off to the gym I go and carrot sticks for lunch.
Yum.
Anyway, much love to you all as always.. another week closer to coming home!
Muchos Love xxxx
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