IO: my avatar means a whole damn lot, and i want you to ask me about it

[Irvine511]

do you like extremely lethal jellyfish?

why does everything want kill you in Australia?

 

[Irvine511]

Come to Geelong. We're close to Melbourne but are much better. You can drive along the Great Ocean Road, go surfing at Bells Beach, swim at the waterfront and get an unusual rash, hang out at the mall and get stabbed. But best of all you can visit me and Mysterious Jen.

(i have heard about this Great Ocean Road, and it sounds lovely)

 

[UberBeaver]

Rhode Island?

I love Newport. Used to go every year. Great town.

November 2010: the adventure begins. in cairns.

where to go after that?

convince me where's best.

keep in mind that want to have my mind blown by the amazingness of the landscape, the wonder of the cuisine, and yet at the same time i need to make sure all my stereotypes of enthusiastic khaki shorts, the ladies Minogue, and "THAT's a knife" are wonderfully fulfilled as well.

a tall order, i know. but it is a big place, i hear.

I've never heard of Cairns. Is that near Newport? Either way, Rhode Island isn't that big. After Cairns head to Newport. They have great food there. You're right about the "THAT'S a knife" accent they have up there - it's like Boston-lite. So cute. Little Rhode Islanders, I just want to pat their cute little heads and bring them home with me.

 

[redhotswami]

I had a job offer in Newport and almost moved there. It was lovely, but definitely more of a visit-type spot for me. I couldn't see myself living there. Good for you, though, Irvine! I found a place that serves excellent Indian food. Didn't see an Ethiopian restaurant there, though.

 

[Irvine511]

i've been to Rhode Island several times -- it's where kids from Connecticut go when they want good beaches and moderately less brutal police officers trying to crack down on underage drinking.

i hear that's what Australia's like.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

only with more spiders

 

[The Sad Punk]

You like Ethiopian food, Irvine? There are a few good ones in Adelaide. In fact, this Adelaide place has more restaurants per head than basically anywhere else in the world. Affordable ones. Pretty much all the best wine, beer and food comes from around Adelaide. Also despite popular belief you probably won't get murdered in Adelaide.


adelaide

ps: not many jellyfish; there are koalas!

 

[redhotswami]

only with more spiders

and snakes!

 

[Irvine511]

adelaide

this is in Rhode Island?

 

[No spoken words]

Well, shit, Irvine, have fun.

 

[UberBeaver]

I like that the state symbol of Little Rhody is a cock anchor.

 

[No spoken words]

There are a lot of maps of Rhode Island out there....I didn't choose this one by accident, Michael.

 

[UberBeaver]

What other cock themed maps do you have?

 

[redhotswami]

if you turn Rhode Island upside down, squint your eyes, and down 5 shots of whisky real fast, it kinda looks like a cock at a podium.

 

[No spoken words]

What other cock themed maps do you have?

Well, I saved my Mapquest provided route from my old apartment on Long Island to your Mother's. That counts, right?

 

[Irvine511]

here's a map i found. how accurate is it?

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Sharks with frickin' lasers

I think Danni Minogue frightens me the most..

 

[Thora]

Is it sad that I laughed the loudest at Steve Irwin's spot?

 

[UberBeaver]

Well, I saved my Mapquest provided route from my old apartment on Long Island to your Mother's. That counts, right?

So 2?

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Too Soon Thora...

 

[Lila64]

here's a map i found. how accurate is it?

I have friends who moved to Western Australia about 5-6 years ago. The husband even wrote a book: Americans' Survival Guide to Australia and Australian-American Dictionary. Don't know if it would help or not, since you aren't exactly moving there You can google that on Amazon or Barnes & Noble...

 

[No spoken words]

So 2?

Yeah, I guess.

 

[UberBeaver]

Yeah, I guess.

Here's #3. Apparently if you rearrange all the continents and other land masses in a cool way, it's a big cock.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

some people have way too much free time on their hands

 

[coolian2]

here's a map i found. how accurate is it?

i always thought the backpacker murderers were further south, but yeah.

 

[dan_smee]

here's a map i found. how accurate is it?

Close. The babykiller dingoes are closer to the bakpacker murderers, and we let the giant spiders get Dani Minogue

 

[mysterious_jen]

here's a map i found. how accurate is it?

that is frickin win !!!!!!!!!!

 

[Zoots]

some people have way too much free time on their hands

oh the irony!

 

[Angela Harlem]

you know what? screw you all! irvine, it's wonderful here. you won't want to go back to being canada's butt after you move here. we might have snakes and spiders and stuff, but you have republicans and guns. and unlike snakes, they're not more afraid of you than you are of them. and you can't smack them over the head with a shovel. unless they're retreating and you're in texas... but anyway.

 

[Irvine511]

you know what? screw you all! irvine, it's wonderful here. you won't want to go back to being canada's butt after you move here. we might have snakes and spiders and stuff, but you have republicans and guns. and unlike snakes, they're not more afraid of you than you are of them. and you can't smack them over the head with a shovel. unless they're retreating and you're in texas... but anyway.

the only correction i'll make is that Canada is our hat, we are not their pants.

i much prefer snakes and spiders -- especially if they eat the Sisters Minogue -- to gun-toting Republicans.

in a moment of honesty, while this has been an insanely difficult year for me, work has gone very, very well, and i'm finally able to take a "dream vacation." Australia really was at the very top of a long list, and there's a gay scuba diving group in DC that's doing a "liveaboard" trip for a week on the GBR in November of 2010. i gave notice where i work that i would like to take that entire month off, and the plan will be to arrive in Cairns, scuba all week, and then i'll have three weeks to go around and see what i can see. i have a cousin-of-a-friend in Perth who's offered me housing if/when i pass through, but i'm also quite aware that the country is massive. i

the plan is for Memphis to join me for a good 2 weeks, if not more, and we're just starting to get a plan in action. we're at the beginning of the beginning, and i would love any and all opinions on places to go, things to see, etc.

i actually got emotional when i put my down payment in the mail for the scuba trip. it sort of "forces" me to commit to going, and i really and truly have wanted to go to Australia since i've been a small child. it was all those weird animals that drew me in as a child, and i don't just mean the members of Midnight Oil.

so i'm super excited. it's 15 months away, and it really is a dream come true.



(of course, watch something happen and i'll eat my words, but i swear, i have every intention of going)