Karen's adventures in Australia....the Welsh way around!

First month in Brisbane and my first job here too!

So it’s the end of my first month in Brisbane and FINALLY I have a job! Woop woop! No more lazing around in the sunshine, site seeing and eating chocolate and drinking beer…oh, wait a mo this doesn’t sound right!
Seriously though, I am very happy. Don’t get me wrong, I love sitting around and holidaying: exploring, reading books, taking pictures, etc but it does become a bit mind numbing after a while and you do get to missing the social side of work too. So, finally, the wonderful recruiters at Robert Walters got me a job (a special mention also goes to Pure Source Recruitment who also worked hard to try and find me work, the other SIX agencies that I signed up with or attempted to sign up with – none of you get individual mentions as, frankly, you didn’t life a finger and I’m not impressed! Anyone looking for any type of admin/ office/ EA or PA work in Brisbane should definitely try the two aforementioned recruiters).

I’m working as a project secretary for a company that has a hand in the WICET project (Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal). Basically it’s a project put together by a consortium of about 8 coal companies here in Australia. They are building a 2km long jetty out to sea so they can transport the coal to the ships out there. Well, that’s my very basic understanding of the project. Anyway, there’s a lot of different companies/ contractors and sub contractors working on the project.
My job is to do the general office/ project admin for my company here in Brisvegas. This involves answering phones, typing, organizing and more organizing.
I started on Tuesday and got to meet about 30 people in my office (Tuesday also happened to be the night that the new boss had chosen to have welcome drinks/ team building for everyone – now that is my type of boss!). It was a lovely, civilized affair which involved a nice little speech from said boss about the project and the hard work ahead of us and also he chatted a bit about himself telling us how he got where he is today. After an hour of chatting and a glass of wine or two, I headed off home.
Everyone in my office seems lovely, and I’m really looking forward to learning some new stuff and meeting some new people! Exciting!

Chris’ company is also working on this project (small world), and they also had a drinks do on Thursday to welcome everyone to the project, but this time they were allowed to bring their partners, so I got to meet some of Chris’ colleagues, who all seemed lovely.

Another exciting thing we have to look forward to is a snow holiday!! Woop woop!
Chris, myself, Jen and Chris’ friend Tim have all booked to go to Queenstown in New Zealand in August. Cannot wait! I’m gonna try snow boarding for the first time and so is Jen (although suspect she’s an expert skier). Both Chris and Tim have done snowboarding before so I suspect they’ll be off throwing themselves down black runs (or whatever it is you do).
The one and only time I’ve ever tried skiing of any sort (aside from sliding down a dry slope on an upside down plastic picnic table at Plas-Y-Brenin when we were drunk at 4 o’clock in the morning) was on said dry slope at PYB when I was about 14. This mostly involved me falling over a lot. For those of you that don’t know what one is (Chris claims they don’t have them in Oz and he’s never seen one) a dry slope is a slope with man made, plastic bristle set out in a crisscross pattern, with water constantly running over it so you can “ski” down, and it blinking well KILLS when you fall over – think, like when you fall of your bike and graze your knee, only it’s more of a burning sensation and you loose a loge more skin/ blood!! Anyway, the holiday should be fun! Eek!
It’s also Jen and Chris’ birthday whilst we’re there, so am very excited. I suspect Chris will do some sort of bungee jump for his birthday, whereas Jen and I have found a gorgeous spa to celebrate hers. Winner!!

I’ve been doing my usual thing of meeting fellow Poms online (when I first moved to Adelaide I used www.pomsinadelaide.com to meet new friends) this website’s called www.lifeinqueensland.com and is exactly like PIA. So far we’ve met two couples off their and plan to meet some more soon too. It’s such a great way of meeting people who are in the same boat as you and are new to the area.
I’m lucky enough to know a couple that just moved here from Birmingham, UK. I’ve known Dan for a few years but, for some strange reason, until now, had never met his girlfriend, Charli, who he’s been with for 12 years. Probably due to the fact that I know Dan from the live music scene and would mostly see him in venues and/ or recording studios. Anyway, we’ve all been hanging out together and exploring various places, which is great. We’ve also been dragging them along to the meetings that we t up through LIQ, which are loads of fun, and it doesn’t hurt that Charli is an amazing cook and has made us a few gorgeous meals now, including chocolate chilli – nom nom! Don’t worry though, we’ll be returning the favour.

Also we’ve moved into a different apartment (nothing wrong with the last one but it didn’t have a an oven), so anyway, we’ve now moved about 15 minutes walk further away from the city to an apartment building with a swimming pool and tennis courts. Winner! I can honestly not complain one little bit about my life. I am a very very VERY lucky lady!

So this week at work is a 4 day week as we have something called Anzac Day on Wednesday, which is similar to remembrance day in the UK, (which they also have here). On Anzac day everyone gets up early and attends services to remember Australians who have given their life for the country. After which, many people go out to celebrate their memories. Of course, it’s also a public holiday so pretty much the whole country gets the day off. Can’t argue with that!

Friday sees us heading back to RAdelaide for the weekend to catch up with friends and family too.

Right now, life is very very good!

Pictures to follow!

Getting to know Brisbane

 

So the past few weeks has been mostly about job hunting, job hunting and more job hunting – it’s involved signing up with countless recruitment agencies, having meetings and interviews and generally treating the job hunt process as a full time job in itself. You see my problem is that aim on my second working holiday visa, which is great: I get to holiday and work in Australia, however the downside of that is there are limits to this visa (I know many of you have heard me talk about this before, sorry, but for those who are new…), I can only work for 6 months for anyone employer, after which time I must cease to work for them. Now I understand that, amongst other reasons, this is to protect jobs for locals/ residents/ Australians, however it can play havoc with your CV and make you look like someone that loves to change jobs ever few months. Not great!
On the plus side it does allow me to try new jobs and organizations on a regular basis, which means meeting new people, learning new skills and generally learning a few new things, which is always good.

Obviously I’ve managed to fit in some holidaying fun in between – what sort of a tourist would I be if I didn’t do that?! But more of that in a mo….

So far in the past 3 weeks I’ve had 2 jobs lined up (had interviews, completed reference checks and been told I can start the following week), only for the company to change their mind/ find an internal candidate. Very annoying. What is wrong with you people?! You’re just wasting my time, your time, the other candidates time and the recruiters time. Sort it out.
That said, I’m still ploughing forward, applying for jobs, trawling the various job sites, careers papers and sending speculative applications (“Dear Sir/ Madam, I know you’re not currently advertising any jobs but I think would be a great fit for your organization and bring some great experience and transferable skills….”) to no avail, but there you go, if everything was easy then life would be boring, and believe me when I say I’m not complaining, I’m just sayin’

So what have I been doing in my “spare time”?! Well, my good friend and bad influence, Ms Jen Whelan has been kind enough to grace Brisbane with her presence for the past week and it’s been brilliant! Highlights included:

 

Jen enjoying a cup cake from Brisbane Market

Eating our own body weight in chocolate (Max Brenner Chocolate Shop), muffins and cakes at the local market (support local produce – yep, we did that thank you to Bow & Daisy Cupcakes)

Visit to Australia Zoo – that’s right, the home of Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter! It was amazing! It cost about $60 ( about £40) and was worth every penny! We saw a Tasmanian devil being taken for a walk on a lead! 2 cheaters being taken for walks on leads and eating iced lollies! We got to feed the elephants, and saw crocs chasing the keepers who were trying to mow the lawn in their enclosure (I’m pretty sure this wasn’t part of the show! Ha ha). W also saw two keepers laying down next to a tiger in it’s enclosure – I kid you not. What a great way to skive work – go sleep with a tiger, your boss isn’t going to bother you there! We also saw Terri Irwin and her kids who were feeding an echidna (like a porcupine or big hedgehog) – her son is the spitting image of his dad and, like his dad, he couldn’t sit still and was climbing up rocks in search of creepy crawlies, etc. Brilliant! All of these experiences were included in the price of the zoo ticket, as was the shuttle bus that transports people round the Zoo. A truly brilliant day and I would recommend it to anyone! We also popped into the animal hospital where you can observe the staff and vets looking after and operating on the animals – we even saw Stuart the Koala who had been hit by a car and damaged his spine, fortunately they were able to operate on him and so, he could move his arms and legs but was unable to sit up on his own so the staff had the brunt idea of putting him into a kids high chair so he could eat and chew food properly. Great idea and it seemed to really work.

This was all that was left of our desserts after visiting Max Brenner Chocolate - nom nom!

We also popped to the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Noosa and Byron Bay all of which are gorgeous, but very busy – especially on Easter Bank Holiday which is when we chose to go!
We caught a game of Aussie Rules, AFL at the Brisbane Gabba which is a massive stadium. Now don’t ask me what the rules are as I’m still struggling to grasp them myself, the best description I can give you is it’s a cross between rugby and footie on an oval pitch with 4 goal posts at each end. There are around 15 players on each team, about 3 refs, then 4 ‘zone umpires’ then two linesmen (one at each goal end). Its played in four quarters, 20 minutes (approx.) each quarter. A team scores a goal (6 points) for kicking ball through the middle two goal posts and just one point for putting the ball past the other two posts. Is this making any sense to anyone at all, because I think I’m just confusing myself and everyone else!!
Anyway, having been to a fair few Premiership Footie matches in the UK, I can honestly say it’s a totally different atmosphere. There’s no chanting or shouting – there’s a lot of clapping. The are also a lot of families and kids. The stadiums are generally very clean and tidy with excellent facilities and very rarely any queues for bars or toilets etc. Amazing! I’ve got to admit I do love a good sing along that you get at live Premiership matches, but it’s just not the done thing here. However, its a very family friendly atmosphere and much fun can be had!

I’ll update you on the rest of my Brisbane experiences soon!
Pictures to follow too!

Jen at SouthBank ‘Beach’ in Brisbane

Jen enjoying a cup cake from Brisbane Market

Me and Jen enjoying a rare beer in Brisvegas

This was all that was left of our desserts after visiting Max Brenner Chocolate – nom nom!

Jen and I on the Brisbane Wheel

 

6 Week Challange the final update

So as many of you know, I completed a 6 Week Health and Lifestyle Challenge through Mitise Health & Fitness. I already do Boot Camp with these guys and love that, I also like the way the instructor, Josh or Joshingtonizzle as I like to call him, is so enthusiastic about everything, without being pushy!

The Challenge basically involved eating healthy (so cutting out processed foods, sugar, alcohol, etc for some or most of the 6 weeks). It also meant trying to get plenty of sleep and exercising as well as practicing breathing tecniques and learning to switch off at night bother literally and metaphorically.

I signed up the Challenge and recieved a full booklet detailing each and every Challenge and including a blank diary so you can record diet, sleep and exercise. The idea is that you can do the Challenge anywhere, regardless of if you’re on holiday, at home, in a foreign country or whatever which suits me! 

Also as an added bonus we were able to get professional pictures done showing the ‘before’ (eek!!) and ‘after’.

Well I can honestly say the whole 6 Week Challenge was just that – A CHALLENGE!! I’ve got to be honest and say I had the occasional cheat day and indulged my cravings a few times but all in all I did well and the results speak for themselves!

I lost 2.8kg (6lbs) and a total of 32cm from across my body.
My skin is clearer (well it’s always been quite clear anyway, but it’s really clear now and there’s no dryness). They say a pictures says a thousand words so (deep breath), here are the pictures!!

6 Week Challenge Photos "Before and After" front view

6 Week Challenge Photos "Before and After" side view

Since finishing the Challenge 2 and a half weeks ago I’ve stuck to the healthy eating and exercise and lost another 1.5kg (3.3lbs) – I don’t have pictures for that yet!

Also through doing the Challenge, it’s lead me to do my own research into diet, foods and ‘healthy’ eating in general, this includes articles and scientific studies on diabetes, cholesterol and insulin which all makes for very interesting reading!

Anyway, if I’m happy with the results. There’s another 6 Week Challenge starting on 2nd April so if you’re interested you can read all about it here.

For the men out there who are wondering what sort of results they might possibly achieve….

Another person who did the challenge is Craig and you can see his results and read his story here.

Craig 6WC Before and After

Leaving Adelaide for Brisbane….

 

Joshingtonizzle, boot camp instructor extraordinaire and part time cross dresser!!

So it’s been an exciting time recently…after the fun of my birthday and the various BBQs, it came time to say ‘goodbye’ to Adelaide, our friends, families and jobs here, oh and nutty people at my Boot Camp…as it turns out they all dressed up as me (ok, so I wear the same red top and black bottoms to boot camp each week) – how was I to know that Josh AKA Joshingtonizzle, or Jizzle for short, would get the entire boot camp crew to dress up as me?! Not to be out done, Jizzle himself also dressed up as me: red top, black bottoms and a the words “Welsh Warrior” scrawled across the front of the top in marker pen and “Kacymru” scrawled across the back – and, of course, since he was dressing as a woman he felt the need to make himself some boobs – that’s right, my boot camp instructor got some gloves, stuffed them with tissue paper and shoved them up his top, that combined with the rest of the outfit and the long, blonde wig (yes, he wore a wig), was enough to send me and the rest of our boot camp into hysterics, it was also enough to freak out the other boot camp of about 40 people that also happened to be training in the same place as us at 6 o’clock in the morning. The worst part was when Josh started saying (in a high pitched voice with limp wristed hands that were stroking his hair and boobs at the same time), “I am sooooo much more attractive than your instructor.” NOT. ALLOWED. OUT. ON. HIS. OWN. The finale came when he produced a massive card signed by everyone from the camp, of course this story wouldn’t be half as funny with out the pictures to prove it, so here you are….Mitise Boot Camp at its best…

 

Mitise Boot Camp bid me a fond fairwell, by dressing as me!!

 

Last day of Boot Camp before I left for Brisbane

The rest of the week prior to that was spent getting ready for our big move to Brisbane in Queensland. Chris has got a job there (he’s an engineer), so we obviously had to get the house in order, which meant replacing a small pane of glass that broke in one of the lounge windows, this was owing to the fact that they are sash windows and the runner rope in one had broken and therefore when you lift the window up it doesn’t stay up and so on the first day we moved it we opened that particular window only for it to come crashing down and a single pane of glass to break – great!

Preparing the frame to hold the new window pain

Anyway, I started to phone around glaziers in the local area to get quotes. Now this is a single piece of glass about 32cm square – so not massive and certainly not double glazing, the frame is also wooden. Now I’ve seen my own parents replace windows at home and I know there’s not too much too it, so imagine my amazement when I was quoted around $200 (about 130 British pounds) to replace this small piece of glass. WTF?! Are you going to replace it with solid gold?!! I phoned four different glaziers and the price ranged from $175 to $230. Now when it comes to this sort of thing I definitely take after my dad. This is the man that decided to convert a stables (when I say stables I mean a broken old building with 2 stone walls and no roof left), into a 2 storey, 5 bedroom house on his own (well, with the help of my mam of course). Anyway, my dad decided to do it all himself. Which is great, but he’s not a plumber or an

Putting the new pain of glass in

electrician, or a brickie, so what did he do (bearing in mind this was the days before the internet)? He went to the library, got a load of books out on it and then went and actually built the house, complete with electricity, water, roof, brick work, tiling, plumbing, etc. Seriously. That’s my dad (& mam) for you. My parents are great believers in the following 2 mantras: “if you can read you can do ANYTHING” and “why pay someone else to do it, if you can do it yourself?”. Well, I am definitely my parents daughter!!

Craftmanship at work

What did I do about the broken window? I went online, looked up what tools I needed, phoned a local glazier who agreed to give me the pane for $20 (about 12 pounds) and then I went to the shops, spent about $35 on putty, etc and then replaced the window. In your face glazier type people!!! – job done $55 (about 30 quid) not including my quite considerable labour ha ha. I swear, you can do ANYTHING if you can read – but don’t worry I won’t be attempting brain surgery anytime soon.

Anyway, if anyone has any glazier related questions please feel free to get in touch, ha ha ha

Adelaide Fringe, Birthdays, BBQs and TropFest Films – February in SA

Well then, what can I say? It’s been a busy month that’s for sure and I am one VERY lucky lady!

TropFest big screen at Glenelg

It was my birthday this month and, suffice to say, I was treated like a princess and spoilt rotten! To begin with Chris made me breakfast in bed then brought in a pile of presents which included: bike lights, a bike lock, loads of Clinique skin care products and a picnic hamper complete with a  BBQ set and cutlery, crockery and glasses, after that Chris took me clothes shopping, then for a gorgeous lunch and THEN as if that wasn’t enough he surprised me with a 2 hour spa appointment where I had the best massage, facial and pedicure ever, this was at Endota Spa and King William Road (at the Unley end) – I cannot recommend them enough. Then after all of that, I had one more surprise…we packed the picnic hamper with food and headed off to Glenelg to watch films on the grass outside the Grand Hotel at sunset as part of TropFest, which is held in Sydney and showcases around 16 films by up and coming directors. Nicole Kidman and several other prominent Australian film industry people are all there on the night to judge it, it’s then broadcast live across Australia to various big screens set up in different cities. So free films and a picnic with some great mates (Chris had arranged for a load of them to turn up. The perfect end to the perfect day!!

Cricket with the 6WC crew

Other highlights of the month included more BBQs, fun, food and frolics at Leah’s with the Mitise Bootcamp crew, which brings me to the 6 Week Challenge…I am now in the final week (thank goodness), and it’s definitely been a challenge…a few of us got together a couple of weeks ago for a work out (throwing some tractor tyres around and generally sweating a lot), then we played cricket and then it was time to eat  so, yet again, Leah put on a fantastic spread with plenty of salads, veg, meat, homemade burgers, etc – gorgeous! It was a fantastic chance to chat to other 6 Weekers and find out how they were getting on. I’ve got to be honest, I had a bit of a wobble around the 3-5 week mark which included eating and drinking my own bodyweight in chocolate, alcohol and dodgy foods on a few occasions, BUT it’s a challenge, so I resolved to get back on the wagon and give it another go – so far so good, and now that the end is in sight it doesn’t seem so bad!! I certainly think that the thought of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos has kept me going – definitely a motivation!

About to watch Morgan and West Magic show at TGOUD

The Adelaide Fringe opened this month, basically it’s a fantastic fringe festival with several hundred shows on at various venues across the city, it encompasses all different types of genres…. a few of us went to see some shows in the Garden of Unearthly Delights (an outdoor area which hosts several tents/ shops/ bars/ food outlets, etc), one of the shows we watched was The Morgan and West Magic Show which was very entertaining.

Jen, Kathryn, Me and Chris at TGOUD

Another show we saw was a Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, which was different but quite funny, but the best event by far was the Hot Dub Time Machine Disco – which basically was a disco running on the Saturday night from 11.30pm until 3am playing hits from the 50s through to 2012, with a hit from each year. It was fantastic!! They had a VJ who played videos and songs, and really kept the dance floor jumping.  I think we definitely danced off a few kilos that night!

Firies Calendar Selection CHARITY night competitor

Me, Lisa and Sharon doing our bit for charity

Of course, this month was also the month to do my bit for charity. I know I’m all give aren’t I? So a group of us (organised by the lovely Yung McArthur) headed off to the Fireman Calendar Selection night. Basically a load of real life, genuine firemen (about 20 of them) perform individual dance routines along a catwalk in front of 300 encouraging (read: ‘screaming and slightly tipsy’) women in order to raise money for them to go to the Police and Fireman World Games, 30% of the money raised goes to the Burns Unit at the local hospital too. The reason for the catwalk routine (which also involves them stripping down to their undies – did I forget to mention that part? Oops!)  is so that us lovely, charitable, ladies can select the most ‘suitable’ 12 firemen to then be in the Firies Calendar, which is then sold to also raise money for the Games and the Burns Unit. It’s an extremely intricate and well thought out process; men must be critiqued, votes must be cast and encouragement must be given….in other words, we drooled, we scream, clapped, chanted and shouted and then we screamed some more. It was a great night and was really well put together. Joking aside, the firemen had all worked really hard on their different routines and put on a great show. The final calendar night itself is in August if anyone would like to go then check out the official Facebook page here.

Chris taking in the Downhill Mountainbike Championships

Finally, the month was rounded off with a trip to see the Downhill Australian Mountain Bike Championships here in Adelaide. Chris is really into the sport and so a group of us went along to watch – and it was brilliant! Basically, lads and ladies of all different ages (I’m guessing 12 years up to about 30 odd years in age) literally throw themselves down massively steep, rocky hill tracks as fast as they can, whilst jumping over rocks and jumps on the way down. Redbull were there with their car-come-DJ-Booth – basically blasting out tunes, whilst a guy with a microphone commentates the whole event and each riders ride. There were a few riders that fell off every now and again, but no serious injuries thankfully.

So, all in all, a busy, fun-packed month with friends. Next on the plan? Moving to Brisbane! Chris finishes work this week (I finished nearly 2 weeks ago), so we’ve hired ourselves a campervan and we’re driving over to Sydney then flying to Brisbane in time for Chris to start work on 12^th March, and for me to start job hunting! We’re really looking forward to taking in some sights and catching up with friends across the country. We’re definitely going to miss all the fantastic friends we’ve made here and our families, but we’ll be back every now and again so it’s not the end of the world – just the start of another new adventure.

Don’t worry though – I’ll keep you posted

Me, Lisa and Sharon – charity baby!!

Nicole and the girls doing their bit for charity

Jen and I enjoy a cocktail at The Garden of Unearthly Delights 2012

BBQ after work out and cricket with the 6WC crew

I have no idea why this guys kept his shoes and socks on!

BBQ time with the 6WC Crew

Two of the competitors

Firies Calendar Selection CHARITY night competitor

Lisa and Sharon enjoying the evening

Chris and I enjoing the Downhill Mountainbike Championships

Cricket with the 6WC crew

Me, Lisa and Sharon doing our bit for charity

Lisa thinking about who should get her vote!

Jane, Mark & Chris at the Downhill Mountainbike Championships

The ladies in the front row

Firies calendar night

Competitors having a chat with the host

Cricket with the 6WC crew

Cricket & BBQ with the 6WC crew

A few of the firies showed us how to do press ups

Cricket with the 6WC crew

Firies competitor

Cricket with the 6WC crew

One of the firies

Firies charity night

Cricket with the 6WC crew

Redbull car-come-DJ-Booth and tent

BBQ after work out and cricket with the 6WC crew

Jen, Kathryn, Me and Chris at TGOUD

Chris, Kathryn, Jen and Rich getting ready to watch Morgan and West Magic show at TGOUD

Scott, Mark, Jane and Chris at the Downhill Championships

The entrants on stage ready for the calendar selection night

Lisa and I doing our bit for charity

About to watch Morgan and West Magic show at TGOUD

Chris taking in the Downhill Mountainbike Championships

More birthday presents from Chris

Firies charity night

Nicole and Fran enjoying the Firies night

Cricket with the 6WC crew

Cricket with the 6WC crew

Rich, Chris, Kathryn and Jen enjoying TGOUD

One of the competitors speeds down the track

Jen at TGOUD 2012

BBQ time with the 6WC Crew

Cricket with the 6WC crew

TropFest big screen at Glenelg

Chris and I at The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Adelaide Fringe 2012

 

Big Day Out Festival, Adelaide and 6WC update, wk2

Me, Sian and Leah (and AJ the doggie) after our work out!

Well, I’m pleased to tell you that the 6 Week Challenge is going well! Thanks in part to the antibiotics I’ve been on for the past two weeks, which means I can’t drink! I’ve also totally cut out Coke Zero and pretty much all sugar (except for fruit – which has natural sugars in it). In the past two weeks I’ve had just 6 (very small) pieces of Organic, 70% Cocoa dark chocolate. Aside from that my diet and exercise have been (surprisingly) good!! Bootcamp 3 times a week, work outs with the girls on the oval at least once a week (sometimes twice depending on motivation), and I’m feeling GREAT! One brilliant part of the challenge is to turn off all electro-magnetic equipment an hour before bed (that’s all phones, ipods, computers and the TV); it’s a great idea, I’m getting so much done in terms of preparing for the next day, washing, tyding then relaxing by having a good talk with Chris or reading a (real life) book! I would recommend it highly. I am an absolute FB/ ipad/ ipod/ Blackberry addict and at first it was hard, but now I’ve gotten used to it (and with the help of Chris), I’m really benefiting from it
So far, I’ve lost 800g and 9.5cm from across my body (that’s week 1′s measurments, week 2 measurements are due until Monday).

Kathryn and Jen are also doing brilliantly – they’re starting to tone up and both tell me that they’ve lost between 1-2kgs. Happy days!

All smiles me, Chris, Kathryn & Chrisine at BDO 2012 Adelaide

So this week saw The Big Day Out Festival arrive in Adelaide….and a little message appeared in my inbox from my friend Shippo (now Shippo went to university with one of my best friends, Godz – whom I used to live with and forms 1/4 of XxxX – I’ve worked with Shippo before, when he was teching for The Cribs and Ryan the singer lost his t-shirt, a very long and comical story illustrating how a band member can sometimes blow things a little out of proportion – we (Shippo, myself and Godz) then went out and got horrendously drunk after the show and had a great night. This pretty much sums up my Shippo experiences, however from this, and GOdz’ stories about him, I have garned that he is an absolutely lovely person, very affable, laid back and lovely). Anyway, Shippo sent me a message saying that he’s coming to Adelaide for BDO as he’s working with The Vaccines (a British band) and would I like to meet up? Of course I would!! He then went onto to say he might be able to get me a couple of tickets to BDO (bands tend to get given free tickets/ guest list for events), which I thought was a lovely thing for him to offer.

Me and Shippo - the man who made it all possible

As it turns out, Shippo managed to get us 6 free guest tickets (apparently he and the band “didn’t know anyone in Adelaide” apart from me) – great news for me, and I was more than happy to introduce them to my friends

All in all we had a fantastic day, Chris, myself, Jen, Kathryn, Tim and Christine all got to watch some decent bands and, thanks to our ‘guest’ status, we were able to watch the bands on the main stage, from the comfort of a calm and relaxing guest area, complete with bar and toilets. Shippo joined us after he’d finished work and we got to have a few drinks and chat (of course, I was on the water – thank you antibiotics). Highlights for me were Hilltop Hoods who have recently released a chart topping song with SIA called “Love it”, HH are from Adelaide and have been around about 20 years and so when they hit the main stage the atmospher was fantastic; they put on a really energetic show, and added a live drummer and keyboardist to their usual line up of a DJ and 2 MCs. Drapht was another act that I enjoye, he’s a hip hop artist from Perth, and again, put on a great show; even giving away t-shirts, signed CDs and his own watch to the audience!

Is that Hilltop Hoods or Kasabian on the main stageJen, Me, Kathryn in the guest area with main stage behind us

Kasabian made an appearance; not really my thing so I spent the set chatting to Shippo (he’d seen them every gig and so wasn’t going to miss anything by talking to me), Jen, however was absolutely loving it and spent the entire set dancing around and singing all the words – it’s great when you see people really enjoying themselves at gigs!

The rest of the guys watched Foster the People and then Noel Gallagher whilst I dropped Christine home, by the time I got back the festival was over and several thousand drunk people were stumbling around next to the Showground. Shippo offered to take us to the afterparty at the hotel, but by that point we were all shattered (it was nearly midnight and we had been there since about 1pm) so we called it a day. It was an absolutely fantastic day and I’d like to thank Shippo for the free tickets, the guest status and the great company! Hope to see you back here soon Shippo!!

Chris & I in guest area with main stage behind us

Me, Sian and Leah (and AJ the doggie) after our work out!

Jen, Chris, Kathryn & Christine enjoying the festival

Chris, Jen, Shippo and Kathryn LOVING the festival!

Jen, Me, Kathryn in the guest area with main stage behind us

Chris and I

Having a dance in the guest area

Err your stubbie seems to have something on it Christopher!!

What it says in the pic! But look at the sign…

Chris and I enjoying BDO Adelaide 2012

Tim, Chris and Jen in the guest area

Entertainment at the Farmers Market

Me and Shippo – the man who made it all possible

Collecting Guest Wristbands

Jen loving Kasabian and Shippo trying to enjoy his 5 consecutive Kasabian show!!

…sign on guest services!

Hello beer!!

Just chilling!

Is that Hilltop Hoods or Kasabian on the main stage

All smiles me, Chris, Kathryn & Chrisine at BDO 2012 Adelaide

Guests watching Hilltop Hoods smash it in Adelaide

Me and the man who made it all possible: Shippo!! (Thanks!!)

Hanging out and watching Kasabian

Great view of Hilltop Hoods

Pre festival drinks

Chris, Kathryn & Jen enjoying the guest area

Australia Day, beach times and 6 Week Challenge Update

Work: Australia Day celebrations...a BBQ in the courtyard!

So the Australian’s have a public holiday called Australia Day, now guess what that’s about…!

That’s right, they celebrate all things Australian and it’s brilliant! Firstly most people across the country get the day off (I say ‘most’ as there are still the emergency services, public transport and some shop workers who have to work, thanks for that you lovely people) – in the middle of the week or whenever AD falls, this year it fell on a Thursday, but of course, you can’t let AD pass in the work place without celebrating and since everyone is off on the Thursday we decided to celebrate with a BBQ in the courtyard at work on Wednesday. I. LOVE. THIS. COUNTRY.

Sharon (the fantastic receptionist and also my partner in crime at work) did a brilliant job of ordering all the food and decorations and then preparing everything; blowing up balloons, putting Australian flags up, etc and given that it was a gloriously sunny day we all enjoyed some ‘snags’ (that’s ‘sausages’ for those of you who don’t speak Australian) and put our feet up.

 

Leah, AJ (the doggie) and I after our Australia 90 minute workout

So what did I do on Australia day itself? Well, I got up at 6.30am to go and meet Leah and her doggie AJ and do a work out – get in!! 6 Week Challenge I am owning you! For those of you that haven’t read my previous blogs; I am currently doing a 6 Week Challenge which is all about eating healthily to give my body energy – non of this ‘lettuce leaf for lunch stuff’, just plenty of meat, vegetables and a bit of fruit and loads of water. The Challenge also involves exercising, sleeping well (8 hours a night) and practicing de-stressing.

 

 

So far the food aspect is going well, obviously there’s always room for improvement, but at present I’m eating healthy meals regularly, have cut out Coke Zero entirely and now drink water with the odd soda water and squash thrown in when I want to live dangerously. The sleep side – well, those of you that know me, know that I average between 4 and 7 hours a night (maximum), owing to the fact I come from a long line of women who seem to be able to survive on very little sleep (apparently Margaret Thatcher only used to sleep 4 hours a night – and no, I am not  related to her!). Anyway, I managed to get between 5.5 and 7.5 so far (the target is 8 hours a night), so we’ll see what the weekend brings. With regards to the ‘stress‘ factor, well, aside from the dentist (read the post below and you’ll know what I’m talking about), I’ve had hardly any stress; I am on antibiotics for my bad tooth, but aside from that, I live in a wonderful country, have some fantastic family and friends and a wonderful boyfriend. What’s not to love? HAPPY DAYS!!

 

Chris & Karen on Brighton Beach, South Australia

Mam, dad and Chris enjoying a paddle in the sea

Chris and I went for a paddle in the sea with my mam and dad the other day on Brighton beach and it was heavenly. Only 2 weeks from today until my parents fly back to the UK, it’s been fantastic having them here and I really hope that they’re able to come over again soon! I suspect they would live here if they could, my dad seems particularly taken with the place!

 

 

 

 

Shippo - coming to visit this week

Well, it’s Friday, it’s nearly the weekend and I’m ready for some more fun….coincidentally a friend of mine, Shippo (well, he’s actually a very good friend of my very good friend Godz back in the UK, but Shippo’s been dragged out around some pubs in Brum by myself and the rest of XxxX* so he’s in the ‘friends’ group now – poor guy ha ha), is here with work, so I get to catch up with him – I love it when UK peeps come over to Adelaide, so much fun!!

 

 

 

*XxxX: no this isn’t a perverse group of people – it’s actually me and my 3 besties from Birmingham, UK – it all started when one of their then-boyfriends nicknamed us “Triple X” (no idea why), and then we became 4 so now we’re XxxX (or 4 X – which I think is much more apt given my present location).

XxxX, L-R: Me, Amy Jones, Jo Godfrey (Godz) and Caroline Beavon doing what we do best; eat, drink and LAUGH - A LOT!