In 2008, I...

Went surfing at 6am on New Years Day at Manly Beach Sold my queen-sized bed for $2 on eBay Moved to Thailand Holidayed in six different countries: with Angus, Clare and new mates in Thailand, Clare in Malaysia, Clare in Singapore, Em in the UAE, Myself in Cambodia, and the O’Connors & Bells in Australia Went fishing with my old man and caught my first Bream in years Wrote 72 blog posts Caught 20-something flights Got my first grey hair Drove twice Scored two tries in rugby Broke four pairs of sunglasses Gave my old employer six weeks leaving notice to be a good bloke and got screwed for four Ate tarantula and flipped out Ate BBQ’d prawns on the beach and loved it Ate Som Tum (Spicy Thai green papaya salad) and hated it Ate Chili crab in Singapore with Clare and made a mess Was often addressed as “Herro, Massa’a” and heard “Skoomy sirrr, sexy DVD, ping-pong, you want??” at least 500 times Started playing rugby again, and went alright Started playing cricket again, and sucked! Started wakeboarding, and was ‘stoked’ Started drinking ice with my beer Played golf at some of Asia’s best courses Went surfing with Clare on an artificial wave, also being filmed live in Malaysian travel show Went caving in a Thai National Park Was admitted to hospital for a total of 2% of my 2008 Was unemployed for a total of 34% of the year Lost 10% of my body weight Rode a mountain bike 24km across the Northern Thai countryside in 43 degree heat and vomited four times Rode a scooter, an elephant, bamboo raft and a mechanical bull for the first time ever, but not at the same time Lived for more than a month in four different places

Stopped living in the Moodie Street ‘Dog House’ with one of my best mates Visited the middle east for the first time ever Grew a strong affinity for ‘rice with egg’ or Khao Kai Dow, as they say in the business Started using internet on my mobile Probably didn’t keep in contact with my family and friends enough Moved in with Clare Helped prepare my Mum’s rose garden Started paying for my laundry to be washed, dried, ironed and delivered, with the only drawback being that my boardshorts now have dweeby razor-sharp creases ironed down the middle Went to a Thai winery and got pissed Went snorkeling in the Gulf of Thailand Went wind-surfing in the Andaman Sea Went to Thailand’s highest temple and got blessed by a monk Only occasionally saw a sky full of stars Watched Kylie Minogue, live in concert Celebrated my first Christmas away from home Missed all of my family’s birthdays Bought new boots Bought a new mobile phone Bought a new laptop and got connected, baby Bought a new fish, ‘Nit Noi’ Found an amazing tailor Survived Bangkok protests, bombings, fires, an economic downturn and several drinking sessions with my rugby mates Sweated more than the previous five years combined Got pissed in three separate swim-up bars Learned to surf Learned Thai cooking techniques Learned Cambodian cooking techniques Learned a bit of Thai language Learned a bit more about myself Read 18 books Started reading The Economist and love it Supported the pirated DVD trade with the purchase of about 70 new DVDs Enjoyed my first ever ladyboy show (Painfully) enjoyed my first ever Thai massage Fell asleep before midnight again on New Years Eve

A day for yolks, folks!

What a time to celebrate! A day of perennial excitement, children across the world are salivating at the thought of omlettes, quiches and mayonaise.

Today, friends, is World Egg Day. A day of protein and nutritional benefit for all!

To celebrate, below are two photos of a poached egg-off Willis and I had last weekend. On the right-hand side of the page, you will find a poll...feel free to vote - left or right - which egg you'd most like to wake up to on a Sunday morning.

The eggs in full form.

Exposing the yolk.

Our new flatmate - Dan

A couple of weeks ago we trialled a new flatmate named Dan. A funny story actually - we found him down on his luck and sitting out the front of our building, left to rot by his previous flatmates.

He passed the trial with flying colours and now resides in our living room. He's a really top bloke - always a cool customer, and whilst not being overly conversational, he's often the first to give you a nice coldy after work.

As the past few weekends have shown, he can also hold his piss remarkably well.

It's all fun and games

It's been quite an active few month. Here's a few pics:

Phil Waugh, Al Baxter and myself sing the national anthem in front of le Eiffel Tower. Emotional stuff.

Wales vs. Australia @ Telstra Stadium, May 26th. Australia wins the game 29-23 in the final few seconds of the game, after Stephen Hoiles scores a try in the corner right in front of Willis & I. Thanks to Weens for the free tickets!

A depressed trio of Welsh supporters lament the fact that their team came within only a few seconds of beating the Wallabies at home for the first time since 1969. Willis celebrates.

We then went to GC's for a celebrationary feed. Angus - Julie Lo Mo said to say hi and that she wants her Burberry skirt back.

Sunday afternoon golf - the 6th hole on Cammeray Golf Course, May 27th. For anyone who knows anything about golf, my stance is absolutely shithouse, which is probably why I nearly killed a pair of Asian golfing enthusiasts with a stray ball on the previous hole.


The Swans at the SCG, June 2nd. I had the pleasure of accompanying Ms. Karla L. Paff to the very salubrious Trustees Box, where the beer, wine and pretzels flowed. That's ex-Australian Test bowler Geoff Lawson sitting in front of us. The Swans lost 73-74 due to two very contentious umpiring decisions.


Falcon St North Sydney, June 3rd, circa 2am. We all went out to Oxford St after the Swans, then Willis and I caught the bus home. This is a picture of me chasing after my wallet which I conveniently left on my seat. Being the well-oiled athletic machine, I was able to chase down the bus and retrieve said wallet. Yeah!


June 6th, Casino de la Wright (AKA the Wright's place in Huntley's Point). Poker and ribs night with the boys. This is a picture of Willis, just before he was about to go all in (alllllriiiight!).

Thanks, Juanita: Mike Bailey moves toward Federal Parliament

"The local member Joe Hockey is extremely popular. It is very much an uphill battle, but at the same time it's a challenge and I've never shirked a challenge."

- Mike Bailey on his recent affirmation that he will run for pre-selection in the Federal seat of North Sydney, as reported in the SMH this morning.

Strong words this morning from a man who many* predict will rain down a flood of whoop-ass against the incumbent Liberal member for North Sydney, Joe Hockey.

For many years, Willis & I have been lobbying long and hard for Mike Bailey, current ABC weatherman and part-time commedian, to be installed as a member of Federal parliament with a view toward bunking down at The Lodge. All reports say that Kevin Rudd is stoked to have him on board, but I can't help but perceive an underlying fear from the current leader that Bailey will win public support within a couple of years.

Why do I give so much of a shit?
1. It's my electorate. Yeah!
2. With his meterological skills, Mike Bailey could possibly be the saviour of all mankind.

Aitken has blogged on this this morning. Willis has created this site long ago, in admiration for the talent, poise and amazing ability to articulate the effects of impending stratocumulouses, or even the Southern Oscillation Index. I've just heard on the grapevine that Willis is creating a similar site in anticipation of the Bailey's pre-selection. Watch this space.

Sunny days ahead indeed...all we need now is for Bronwyn Bishop to stand down and make way for Juanita Phillips in the seat of MacKellar for a three-pronged Labor-ABC political assault. Imagine that!

McKew in Bennelong, Bailey in North Sydney and Phillips in Mackellar!!!

It's a great day for Australian politics.

* May only include myself and Willis.

A loose nut, but thankfully the wheels stay on

Well, it's been a festive few Saturday nights out of late. Instead of spruiking multiple posts of me essentially getting pissed and acting like an idiot, I thought I throw it all into the one drunken melting pot.

Millgate's housewarming

Elton John even made an appearance at Millgate's housewarming.

What a host! I arrived at a very flash Marrickville home to be greeted by a smiling Mr Millgate with a 100-pack of spring rolls and glass of sparkling in hand. A bevvy of fantastic people there on the night, I got to meet the rest of the housemates, a few random mates of Tim's, and of course - the gorgeous CSU crowd.

I indulged in 4 long necks of Coopers Pale Ale and about 40 spring rolls. I made my exit just before the crowd moved onto a few gay bars - as much of a confidence boosting exercise it could have been, I had another engagement for the evening to attend to...

Pillaging & plundering with Traill et al

Wow. What a party. Seriously up there with some of the loosest I've experienced. Made me miss Bathurst.

Traill decided to co-host a party with a few mates at a three-tiered terrace in Glebe. Theme: Viking.

• Three levels
• Two DJ's
• Live band
• Suckling pig on the spit (I only caught the carcass-end of this particular facet, so have decided not to post photos of it on the blog for fear of offending an animal liberationist swine-lover something...)
• Fur, leather, swords and other 10th century Scandinavian paraphernalia
• A room titled 'the dutch oven' with projected movie about a midget motorcyclist named Little Wang Wang

A picture of Traill consuming the blood of a virgin calf from a jewelled war helmet. Or maybe it's some Absolut Citron and lemonade.

At about 1am, a couple of polite gentlemen dressed in blue decided to quieten the festivities down somewhat, so Lloyd, Morgs and I headed to the city to continue our discussions into the finer points of politically-motivated environmental rhetoric leading into the 2007 NSW state election.

For some reason, we struggled to get in anywhere - perhaps it was the viking helmets sitting proudly on our heads, combined with our glistening swords and shields? It would be a different story if there were a pack of unruly Saxons wreaking havoc inside...

Morgs successfully deflecting a strike from one of the bouncers metal-detectors.

We ended up getting into the Shark Bar, agreeing to leave our weapons at the door. It was fun.

Footy, mates and other shenanigans!

Willis managed to get some free tickets to the Waratahs for Halter, his bro Andy and myself. I thought it would be rude not to go.

But on one condition - I'm not drinking. "OK", I thought, "I'll take this thermos and drink hot beverages instead of schooners at the footy". Top idea - and it lasted, until I hit Paddo RSL after the match and felt like a cheeky scotch.

The Waratahs sucked that night - losing to the Stormers 16-10.

After a few extra scotches at the Paddo, we wandered down to Fringe Bar. Did you know it was St Patrick's Day that day also?

Check out:

• My thermos. Thanks mum.
• The guy's vacant arm. Obviously he was escorting some young lady, who managed to slip out of his outstretched grasp after he passed out.
• The drool patch on this dude's shirt.

So here's a few pictures from the night:

This is an arty picture of the inside of Fringe Bar, taken with a long exposure. I really like the ripples from the disco balls - kind of 'liquifies' the light.

Willis crumping, Dave wondering what he's doing out with these two fools, me shocked at an ever-receding hairline.

I met Jules there - we danced for about 2 hours...awesome!!! However, my upper left trapezius may have cramped awkwardly, just as I was in the middle of a lifting movement with her.

This is a picture of the half-cow's ass we slapped on the BBQ for breakfast when we got home.

La Fiesta de Steve (part 1)

Did you know it was my birthday last week? A bloody fantastic time indeed.

On Friday morning Willis cooked me a breakfast fit for a Romanian prince. I believe he got up at about 5:30 to start cracking the eggs. What a delectable treat...

I tried to sell World Psoriasis Day to national print and broadcast media at work later that day, with mixed success. Apparently the chronic loss of skin just isn't sexy enough for Mornings with Kerri-Anne.

I also had the pleasure of coming home later that night to Clare and:

1. A ready-chilled glass of my favourite beer, Coopers Pale Ale
2. A beautiful fettucine with calamari and prawns in a creamy lemon and garlic sauce.

It wasn't all about food though...the day was interspersed with much appreciated messages and phonecalls from family and mates.

Oh, and by the way, it was Willis' birthday the following Monday if you didn't know. We're so hot that the Morning Crew from Wollongong's i98FM felt compelled to tell their 100,400 listeners that it was our birthdays. Listen here. (Thanks Beth...)

A fabulous prelude to La Fiesta de Steve...