Much of this space is devoted to travelling, which is really the only thing in life I care about enough to write about. I need to find myself on a plane at least every month, and tend to become anxious and intolerable when I don't. I'm often found inhaling books by travel writers like Michael Palin, Bill Bryson, Tim Cahill, and David Sedaris.

In addition to this space, I host out-dated, unofficial websites for two of my favorite bands: The Wonder Stuff and Vent 414.

Below you will find a half-assed blog containing the highlights of my life in Australia, as well as a few photo galleries.

September 14, 2009 I've gone a bit nutty with SCUBA diving this year, with 4 trips to Cairns and one to Costa Rica. I've taken hundreds of photos.. and I've posted the best of the bunch in a new photo gallery. I'm hoping to get my Advanced certification soon and spend some time on a liveaboard dive boat. However, I'll be having a surgeon scrape out my evil sinuses before I embark on those adventures.

November 4, 2008 I had intended to go watch the election results with Democrats Abroard yesterday. As the time drew close though, I sensed I was probably better off staying at home. I had felt a little uneasy and anxious of the past few days, and I knew that being in a pub with 300 strangers (and TV cameras!) was probably not the best idea. We had the choice of Channel 7, which was broadcasting MSNBC feed, and SBS, which was piping in CNN. I happened to be on CNN, tolerating Wolf Blitzer when he called the election. I immediately burst into tears; it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off the planet. I knew that at that moment, the planet was experiencing a moment joy I had not witness in my life, and like will not again. I've loved living in both England and Australia, but during all my years abroad, I have always been called upon to defend the dumbfuck actions of the U.S government. I've always felt a sense of shame for how we've treated other countries. Most Americans have no appreciation for how poor our international reputation has become in one short decade. The people of some countries do hate us, but most, like Australia, are profoundly disappointed and saddened at what we have become. We are not a nation of egomaniacs. We CAN do what most modern countries already do: provide health care to all our citizens, listen to the opinions of other countries, and respect other cultures. SBS News here in Australia did a lovely job covering the world reaction to Obama's win. From Jakarta to Paris to Sydney, everyone is proud of the United States. I can only hope that we're taking the first step in becoming less insular, more caring, and more respected.

October 5, 2008 I've always loved trains. I know I'm going to do well as an old man, since I'm already trainspotting and birdwatching. I recently took the train over to Adelaide. I was a bit annoyed that after 2 years in Australia, I had not yet seen out closest 'big-city' neighbor. The rail trip on the Overland, was quite pleasant; between a few good books, and constantly interesting scenery, I always find a certain peace on a train.

Rape Seed Blossoms

The city of Adelaide was also better than I had expected. It was a holiday weekend, and there were several festivals on, keeping the wide streets lively. It certainly wasn't Sydney or Melbourne though. It seemed like a massive version of Townsville: pretty, friendly, all the amenities you'd expect of an Australian city, but I wouldn't want to live there.

The most interesting moments of the trips occurred at Adelaide Airport on the journey home. Immersed in 'Sins in the Second City' at the Qantas Club, an announcement was made that the Qantas A380 would be landing in 5 minutes, and if one would like to view the world's largest passenger airliner, run on over to gates 20-21. 100 people, including myself, abandoned their Coopers and ran out to the terminal and joined an impressive crowd. Next to a 717, this animal is huge, and I found myself in one of those rare human-bonding moments where everyone in the room feels completely at ease chatting to the person next to them. 10 minutes later, it took off back to Melbourne, and despite knowing it could, the crowd was geniunely impressed that something that big could leave the ground.

Qantas A380 Landing at ADL

I returned to the QF Club, pleased to find that my beer was where I left it. I sat down, had a drink, glanced up and observed that only in Australia would they turn off the airport arrival/departure screens so the passengers can watch the Rugby Grand Final on the monitors. Coming up on 2 years now, and I still can't believe how lucky I am to live here. July 10, 2008 I've just returned from a very pleasant 2 weeks back in North America. As always, it was wonderful to see my friends, dine at Hot Dougs, see a baseball game, and ride around Chicago's tree-lined streets. Each time however, I feel slightly more a foreigner. It's subtle, but as I'm now accustomed to life in Melbourne, life in Chicago seems abit father away. Coffee is generally terrible (exception: Intelligentsia), people aren't as friendly, transit is appalling, and the minds I encounter are a bit more closed. I didn't spent much time on those thoughts during my trip, but the anticipation of getting back to Melbourne found me seeing the comparisons clearly. Despite being an 'old pro' at trans-Pacific travel, I'm always filled with child-like excitement and awe when my inflight entertainment of endless ocean pans into the Queensland coastline. May 02, 2008 The Indonesia Travelogue is now online over in the Travel Writing section. Melbourne is now in the peak of autumn, and I've been putting quite a few kilometers on the bicycle. It's stunning to me how much there is to see just a short ride from my home. I'm slowly putting together a photo diary of Melbourne cycling routes. When I'm not clipping past kangaroos and cockatoos, I've also been riding to work, which is a far more pleasant 23 minutes than being wedged into a packed train for the same length of time each morning.

March 01, 2008 After several weeks of comparison shopping, I bought a bicycle today. For the last year, I've exhausted the trails I can explore on inlne skates. Melbourne is the most bike-friendly city I've ever seen, which is why after 15 years of being bikeless, my butt hurts again. Mind you, I over did it. As soon as I bought the bike I put 32km on it, cycling the entire Merri Creek Trail. I'm in better shape than I thought I'd be. In other news, I've moved out of the CBD and up to Northcote. It's about as close to Chicago's Andersonville as you can get in terms of price and style (except for the parrots and occasional marsupials on your roof).

Brushtail Possum

December 09, 2007 I spent the weekend in Sydney for the Homebake Festival, which is an all-Australian music festival held in The Domain, next to the Botanical Gardens. Between Kisschasy, Gotye, Josh Pyke, Missy Higgins, and some suprisingly decent Mexican food, it was a splendid day. About 8pm the scene was absolutely unreal, with Goyte playing 'Learnalilgivinanlovin' against the Sydney skyline and the setting sun, and hundreds of Flying Foxes emerging from the Botanical Gardens overhead. Where was my camera? November 25, 2007 Yesterday Australia had an election. Next week we will have a new government. Can someone explain to me why the U.S. needs to keep the useless old president in power for 2 1/2 months after the election? I'm hopeful that Kevin Rudd will do his best to reverse the damage done by John Howard to Australia's reputation abroad. I sincerely hope Mr. Rudd won't be kissing George Bush's ass. I've now been in Australia for just over one year. After one year of living in England, I was ready to move back to the U.S. One year here, and I'm looking to buy a house. I'm not going anywhere. September 1, 2007 Having been in Australia for almost 11 months now, I think it warrants saying that I adore it here. By this point in my residency in England, I was ready to return to the U.S. That's not happening here. I still routinely have moments when I find myself in disbelief that I actually live here. Still, one of the hardest (and most annoying) questions I'm asked is why I moved here. It's a myriad of 'little things' really. I recently spent a weekend in Perth. Unlike Melbourne's trams and trains, buses were the way to get around. I noticed something fascinating. Nearly all the passengers, even the bogans and kids, would verbally thank the driver, or give him a little wave when they left the bus. I was witnessing one of those 'little things' that make life here so pleasant. On a Chicago bus, if you shouted a word of thanks to the driver when you exited, the entire bus would probably give you a strange look, and the driver would probably assume you were one of those 'special people'.

29 August, 2007 This evening I spent a very peaceful couple of hours on the banks of the Yarra, observing and photographing the total lunar eclipse. The Moon was in total eclipse for over an hour. Victoria won't see this again for another 4 years.

Lunar Eclipse

August 5, 2007 Melbourne grinds through one of the 'coldest winters in decades'. Being one of my warmest, I'm very amused to hear people moaning about temperatures not even near freezing. Though, it is winter, and things slow down a bit. People travel less, and succumb to living to work for a few months. As for me, I've finally joined a health club, and am slowly working through five seasons of Moonlighting on DVD. One thing that's significantly brightened my days has been the Melbourne International Film Festival. I've always been a hugh fan of film festivals, and was elated to find the MIFF is about 3 times larger than the Chicago International Film Festival. Trying to narrow the programme down to 15 films to see was excruciating.

10 June, 2007 I'm back in Melbourne after a short trip back to the States, and my, what a different place it is! Approaching Melbourne Airport, I was stunned to see green fields and lakes with water. The drought is nowhere near over, but it's amazing to see how a couple of weeks of good moisture has changed the landscape. Ski resorts have opened early due to good snow cover, and for the first time since I've moved here, the 'rain' icon is frequently being seen in long-term weather forecasts. Too bad it's cold, windy rain.. that English kind of rain I never much cared for. Winter is fast approaching, and despite inaccurate American impressions, it does get cold in Australia. Melbourne isn't the coldest spot on the continent by any measure, but it's safe to safe that I've already missed the 'light coat' weather, and had to grab my 'warm coat' to head out this evening. At 39 degrees Fahrenheit tonight, we're still a couple of weeks from the start of meteroroligical winter.

14 April, 2007 Desperate for new ways to spend my time in lieu of working, I've spent 10 days in Townsville. After a few days of volunteering and koala watching on Magnetic Island, I completed a 5-day Open Water Diver course. I had some SCUBA experience in high school, but I wanted a complete refresher before diving again. Unfortunately, the 3-day reef trip turned back on Day 2 due to 4-5 meter waves that had most of the passengers turning quite green.

28 March, 2007 I recently had the pleasure of spending a week in Tasmania on a guided tour organized by Conservation Volunteers Australia. It was one of those experiences that I couldn't do justice to with a small blog entry, so it gets a page of it's own: 2007 Tasmania Experience Tour.

Dove Lake

4 March, 2007 It's been a busy month. My primary goal, finding a new apartment, was an exercise in anger management. The rental market here is very tight, and most viewings had 20-40 people. Thankfully, after about 30 viewings, my housemate and I were able to secure an apartment in the CBD, and we will be moving soon. Now that I have a permanent address here, my next task will be to start buying furniture. One can sleep on an air mattress for only so long. Other than apartment hunting and exploring Melbourne, I've started doing some volunteerings. Most of the outings have been weed/tree and trash removal projects. It sounds dull, but many of the projects are in national parks set amongst awesome mountain ash forests and rolling hills. It's a spectacular way to spend the day, despite the blisters and sunburn. 31 January, 2007 After returning to Melbourne in mid-January after a pleasant trip home, I was thrilled to be welcoming my good friend Sapna to Australia. During her two week visit, I did my best to make her fall in love with Australia. Our trip included 4 days in Sydney, a week in Melbourne, and a 3 day tour of the Yarra Valley and Wilsons Prom. When we arrived in Melbourne, I was thrilled to find one of my favorite musicians, Andrew Bird, playing his first concert in Australia, a mere mile from my home. I've seen Andrew at least 15 times over 10 years, from empty Chicago pubs in the mid 90s, to Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo last year. I'm please to report his Melbourne showing was the best I've ever seen, and I've never seen an audience quite so mesmerized. In the Yarra Valley and Yarra Ranges National Park, Sapna and I sampled wines from about 5 vineyards, hiked forest trails around Marysville, and drove through magnificent mountain ash forests. Beginning our tour the Monday after the Australia Day weekend, we were amused to find ourselves staying at a 150-room resort, as the only guests. Envision a late night game of ping pong in the deserted lobby, while wearing my pajamas. Finally, before I put Sapna on a plane back to an unusually frigid Chicago (-13C high temp), I knew we had to see Wilsons Prom. It was worth the drive, and I'll let the photos speak for themselves: Wilson's Promontory National Park. 10 December, 2006 I hadn't planned on posting while back in Chicago, but I can't resist posting some photos from last night's Bad Sweater Party, hosted by Drew and Maria. 30 November, 2006 After 1 month in Melbourne, I can happily report that I see no reason to move to Sydney. Melbourne is more than I could have hoped for, and I'm now planning on signing a 1-year lease with my current housemate. I'm now heading back to the States for the holidays, and will return to Melbourne in January. 19 November, 2006 The Merri Creek Management Committee has put on a guided interpretive walk of a grassland reserve about 20km North of Melbourne. About 15 people, including myself, spent about 3 hours walking the reserve, learning about the plants and animals in the area. The non-native species which competed with the native species were particularly interesting, as this is a constant problem throughout the continent. It was an excellent tour, and I suspect one of many I will attend as I do my best to learn about Australian Wildlife. Despite my incompetence with the camera, I managed to capture a few Merri Creek Plants and Animals.

8 November, 2006 I've settled into a routine of taking a different tram line each day and exploring a new Melbourne neighborhood. I've been walking around with a big, stupid smile on my face, making passersby assume I'm flirting with them. In reality, I'm just happy to be here. IKEA has provided me with a livable room, and Chris and Pete's recent visit from London provided comforting familiar faces. On a perfect day, the three of us took in the views from the Melbourne Rialto Tower Observation Deck.

Melbourne, Victoria

4 November, 2006 Melbourne has a fantastic collection of sights, from Victorian and modern architecture to native parklands and gardens of century-old imported oak and elm trees. All this diversity made it hard to choose a few favorite photographs around Melbourne. 27 October, 2006 Arrival. I began the migration 'process' in September 2005. After assembling the sum of my life in 45 pages, receiving skills certifications, peeing, bleeding, waiting, waiting some more, and confirming my suspicion that I was indeed not a felon or wanted by the FBI, I was granted skilled independant migration to Australia. The 22 hour journey from Chicago to Australia was underway. My condo in Chicago was packed up and rented out, my job was history, and 2 suitcases contained my entire world, slightly condensed. My intention is to spend 3 months in Melbourne, 3 months in Sydney, then decide where I would be calling home. Having spent a few weeks in Sydney, but far less time in Melbourne, I decided Melbourne would be home first. Upon arrival, I quickly found a spare room in Fitzroy North and began to discover a city full of beauty, art, and excitement.