The Great Cull of 2013

Early in the new year when it started looking like the move to Palau was going to come off I decided to start getting rid of some of my stuff that I have been accumulating over the years. I've badly needed to do this for quite some time and the prospect of moving overseas was the best motivation possible. So I started with some items that wouldn't be missed if the move fell through. As the move became more certain we both ramped up our selling and chucking. It is truly incredible how much crap you can keep in a small two bedroom unit! (And yes almost all of it was mine). 

For someone who is more of a hoarder than a chucker I thought it would be much harder to sell or throw stuff out. However only 2-3 items have caused me any confliction in deciding what to do with them and again those were the only items I've felt any regret in letting go. The worst was my drum kit and I expect similar when I handover my car this afternoon. 


Not to go all philosophical on you but with the culling I have become aware of just how rewarding and cleansing the process has been. I don't think I can accurately put into words just how great it has felt to reduce and simplify our lives. I've come to understand and appreciate that even in a big 1st world country you just don't need that much stuff. Obviously there is a minimum you need (especially in an increasingly technological world) but the rest just clutters up the place and I wonder if it reflects on our stress levels and state of mind in some way.

If you've always wanted to spring clean your place then do it! It feels great and you'll probably end up with a lot of spare cash ($1000 for me, not including the car, drum kit nor push bike).

Official Japan Flashback Day!

I hear-by decree that the 21st of May each year will be "Official Japan Flashback Day"! For some time now I've been having regular flashbacks to any of my three trips to Japan. I had another one this morning, flashing back to hanging out in Osaka, drinking boss coffee (or Asahi Dry Black!), eating kombini chicken karaage and just watching the world go by. It was so realistic that I felt if I could just concentrate a little bit harder I'd go through some sort of portal and I'd suddenly be right there back in Hotel Raizan South, Osaka. Maybe with the addition of one of those movie special effects where the air seems to wobble and shimmer as I port between Brisbane and Osaka.

Guess who this is...

The past two years running I've spend almost all of May in Japan with the 21st of May 2011 spent checking out various parts of Tokyo with my mates Al & Shinsuke before drinking some big talking Polish guy under the table at nomihodai (all you can drink). After a brief stop so I could play silly buggers in a kids playground (hey i was drunk!), we proceeded to the laundromat do our overdue washing before we left for Hiroshima the next day. Unfortunately for him, old Polish mate passed out in the laundromat and in my drunken state I decided we needed to adorn his head with a pair of girls underwear. Despite it being late at night and the laundromat being completely empty the universe did indeed provide! The very first washing machine I opened had a full load of clean washing sitting there all lonesome without an owner in sight. On the very top of the pile was a pair of female underwear sitting right there, just waiting to become the new stylish hat of a passed out, drunk Polish man. The rest of the night is rather blurry (well actually all of the night it is rather blurry) but I recall doing my best Henry Rollins impersonation while wearing only a small pair of gym shorts, then I recall being kicked by the manager who wanted to lock up. The best bit of the whole night was that somehow we managed to account for every item of clothing. We leave none behind!

About the best photo I took of a cloudy Fuji-San

...And just because you probably think I'm a bogan Aussie drunkard after that story I'll tell you about the 21st of May 2012 now. It was a polar opposite day to the year before but just as memorable. For my second trip to Japan I tagged out my mate Al and tagged in my (future) wife Amanda. We caught up with Shinsuke again who kindly drove us out to spend an amazing day around Fuji-san (Mt Fuji). Fuji-san is a very beautiful mountain and I can see why it is held in such reverence in Japanese culture. It really is quite incredible to behold up close and has a very serene shrine at the base of the mountain.We spend many hours slowly wandering around the shrine and watching the clouds roll over the top of Fuji-San from an opposite hill. We finished the day having a couple of beers and eating some Tebasaki (Nagoya specialty deep fried chicken wings). There were no repeats of the 'all you can drink' craziness, the panties wearing Polish man nor the drunken Henry Rollins impersonations this time around.

So this brings us to today the 21st of May 2013 - The first annual Official Japan Flashback Day! The best I could do today was to drag my mate Ben down to the local Sushi Train for some overpriced but passable Sushi. While the company was still good, being in Brisbane and not in Japan was a little disappointing. I think a trip back to Japan (Osaka in particular) will be high on the cards if Amanda & I need a break from the laid back, small town, tropical island lifestyle of Palau.

Duped!

Over the last few days I thought I would try (yet again) to get into a band called The Dillinger Escape Plan. They are quite a bit heavier and crazier than the normal heavy rock I listen to. But they have odd time signatures (which i typically like, being a drummer etc) and lots of my friends gush about them. So I had a good few listens to the new album and it's definitely growing on me, I think I'm starting to "get it".

This morning on my walk to work I thought I'd give one of their older albums 'Ire Works' a go. Both tracks 1 and 2 were very heavy, very repetitive (which i thought a big odd as they tend to change it up a lot) and they even faded in and out multiple times. I was thinking about how this was a really arty and inaccessible album but I thought I would persist. The third track was someone softly playing piano for a good few minutes....talk about random! The 4th track starts and the intro is The Beach Boys 'wouldn't it be nice'... I'm waiting for TDEP to burst into some crazy metal but as 'wouldn't it be nice' kept going and going I realised I'd been completely duped. This was a fake album I'd downloaded at some point only for me to never listen to properly until now. (Don't pretend you haven't downloaded an album some point either!). I had a pretty good laugh my own expensive and quickly swapped to another album.

Pretty much the same thing right?

...And the super secret special code for those in the know: X7N8UGEQVQVX

Now that's a tasty burger

Ladies and Gentlemen, without adding further suspense you'll be glad to know it was indeed the same Phone Wong (different owners, same chef), and the Chilli Salt King Prawns were still on the menu.

The verdict: Maybe not quite as good as I'd built them up in my head to be but I did thoroughly enjoy them and would definitely go back again for more. Just don't be too keen to hoe into that first one as it very closely resembled a freshly cooked blisteringly hot Takoyaki ball for a few moments.

If you are around the Kallangur area go check these guys out. Just make sure it's the Kallangur one not the Rothwell one.

Is the search over?

For the How I Met Your Mother fans out there: Do you remember the episode where Marshall spent years trying to re-find the restaurant where he ate the best burger ever. Well tonight I'm hoping to end my own search to re-find the best Chilli Salt King Prawns ever.

Around the late 90's/early 2000's a Chinese restaurant existed at Bardon (in Brisbane) called Phone Wong. The Chilli Salt King Prawns were unbelievably good. My mate Darrin and I would patronise the restaurant frequently, regularly dragging along other friends and family. The $20 all you can eat deal was incredible value for a couple of young blokes who played ice hockey endlessly all week then recovered by eating like Homer Simpson at the Frying Dutchman. Darrin and I would often order multiple plates of the Chilli Salt King Prawns in the same sitting, the dish was that good. I often wonder if despite being regular customers and introducing many other people to Phone Wong that we probably contributed to them having to close down!


So the restaurant in it's location at Bardon would have closed about 10 years ago but I understand it briefly popped up at another Northside location before disappearing again.

So yes as you've guessed Phone Wong lives again! Tonight Amanda & I are visiting with Darrin & Claire, I sure hope it's the same Phone Wong and they still have the Chilli Salt King Prawns. I must say that like Marshall I'm rather nervous that the CSKPs wont live up to my memory of them. Stay tuned to the station for a full recap.


P.S. The only thing I've ever found to replace the CSKPs with is the Salt n Pepper Calamari (with a side of chilli) at The Vietnamese Restaurant in the Valley. They've been consistently awesome for the 7-8 years I've been going there. 

Marriage, Montreal, Manflu and Memes

Yet another hectic period of organisation and social events is over. This time it was for our wedding. (Wait! What!?) Yep that is right I am now a married man, something that a lot of people probably thought would never happen :o

We had an amazing day, getting married in the rotunda at New Farm Park in front of close friends and family, followed by an outdoor reception overlooking the river. It's funny how much effort you can put into organising an event like this for it to be over in a flash. All that remains now are the memories, photos and some cake (but not much as I've been getting stuck into the leftovers! NOM NOM NOM).

And just to show my dedication to hockey and the Montreal Canadiens, not only did I spend my wedding morning watching what would be the Habs only 2013 playoff win. But both Amanda and myself happened to mention them in our vows. Pity they couldn't repay my dedication with a better playoff performance but it was a remarkably better season than last year.

Unfortunately the morning after the wedding I woke feeling sick with a nasty head cold/manflu. Eight days later and i'm still not 100%. I think all the stress and lack of sleep has finally run me down. No rest for the wicked however as we are now just under 4 weeks until we depart for Palau. We've got a fair bit to do with the selling of cars, renting the unit, sorting of bills, etc etc etc

So what is this in the blog title about memes you might ask?.... Well for our wedding I wanted to surprise Amanda with something. I thought about something nice to buy her but it was just another thing we'd have to pack away or transport to Palau. Then I thought about doing a flashmob (maybe the 'Shake a Tailfeather' dance from The Blues Brothers) but that seemed like it would required too much effort and co-ordination from my mates. I ended up settling on a Harlem Shake which the fellas and I filmed on my boys weekend a few weeks out from the wedding. The video quality and my editing leaves a bit to be desired but it gets to the point and when i debuted the video at the reception it definitely got the laugh i was after. People are still talking about it. So here it is for your viewing pleasure: