Movie Review - Rewind This

OK, so somehow, I've been "dobbed in" to do a regular movie review for work as part of a new internal communications/social network for our company. that is to be launched soon. They wanted something "fluffy" (their word not mine) to go with all the business info stuff. So I thought I may as well share it with this blog, add a bit more content!
For a bit of background info for you all, I'm not generally a big movie buff - sport is obviously my major thing, but it just so happens we're about 3/4 of the way through a 2 week period of the year where I become a movie geek rather than a sports geek, thanks to the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) which is in its final days for 2013. If you're looking for an alternative to your major Hollywood blockbuster, or interested in seeing a different side of the movie genre, MIFF would be well worth a look - be it a lost classic, an International film, an independent movie from an up & comer filmmaker, a Night Shift classic late night cult film, a Documentary, or of course a Homegrown Aussie film getting its first ever release, MIFF has lots to offer. So it is the highlight so far from MIFF 2013 which is the the 1st cab off the rank for a movie review.!

REWIND THIS!

USA, 91 min

Dir: J.Johnson

 If you're a fellow Gen X'er like myself, then you'll have grown up with the humble home video cassette. Sure today, we have Blu Ray, VOD, Netflix, etc but back when our generation was growing up, it was all about this brand new concept that allowed us to first watch movies at home, known as a VHS. Rewind This is a really interesting, very funny, & poignant documentary that takes us back for a look at the video cassette - from its beginnings, right through until its demise due to the DVD.   

We hear from movie geeks still devoted to the VHS genre (& we're talking some SERIOUS geeks still with literally wall to wall VHS movie collections), archivists & various filmmakers themselves as they discuss how they see how the video cassette changed their lives, & dominated the movie media market for the 80's & most of the 90's. We look at the uprising of video stores across the land, & how Hollywood blockbusters could sit side-by-side on the shelf with cheesy direct-to-video releases. We even briefly delve into how this changed the adult film business, & how the landscape in Japan was also changing rapidly. We get a heap of clips from a bunch of so-bad-its-good horror & cheesy movies from the era & that had the audience in fitfuls of laughter. The film looks at the making of a home movie thanks to the video camera, & we witness the lengths that some everyday people went to in their quest for making a film - to the extent of recreating Raiders Of The Lost Ark in its entirety - now that's dedication!

Rewind This! wraps up with a look back at all involved in the documentary on how they see the positioning of the VHS in the modern era. The true value of nostalgia is not lost upon most fanatics & collectors, to the extent where video cassette conventions around the world are gathering storm, proving there is still a strong fan base for this part of  film media. There is also a belief in physical media possession, which flies in the face of the way the industry is headed today - e.g. Netflix, YouTube.

Obviously I'm right in the target audience for a feature documentary like Rewind This! Hey, I can still admit I have a VCR in my room still too! But a person of just about any age would find some value in this film. Even if its for the classic clips from movies you never though could possibly have existed back in the 80's! It is a well constructed & very well put together piece, giving you a decent history lesson, & an insight to what the genre still means to many dedicated VHS fans out there, to throwing in plenty of laughs along the way, Rewind This! is a really great feature, & well worth checking out. Look for it on VHS at your local video store, haha! :)   I'm giving it ****

 

 

 

What Footy Meant to Me Growing up

WHAT FOOTY MEANT TO ME GROWING UP

  

Sorry for leaving nearly 5 months between posts: never said I'd be any good at keeping this going! I guess 2013 has been a fairly up & down year so far, but seeing its Friday, & things have been into perspective somewhat over the last month or so (something I might discuss down the track if I remember to write again soon) I'll write about a primarily positive topic, & one of my passions in life.

So, footy. Australian Rules Football. Our great homegrown game that only true Australians really grasp, though that is slowly changing around the world thanks to the good work of many people - though its something that you won't find on the front or back page of the Herald Sun anytime soon.

 Its been my lifeblood, so to speak, pretty much all my life. Sport has always been an integral part of the Croft family for at least a generation or two, much to Mum's anguish - part of marrying into a Croft clan I guess!   

My Grandfather was a supporter of Collingwood believe it or not, but luckily for me, when my father first moved to live in Geelong for work as a young man, he went along the line of "when in Rome...." & decided since he was now a local, he'd better take up supporting the local team - the mighty Geelong Football Club. So when I arrived into the world, Dad was keen to pass that support down the line. We lived in Mildura for my first few years, but moved back down to live in Geelong when i was 5. While I still do have a few faint memories of Mildura, my most vivid memories from early childhood days will always be down at Kardinia Park. Even back in the early 80's, Dad was a busy man & worked long hours. So on Saturdays during footy season, it was father & son quality time together, & whenever Geelong was playing at home, he'd take me to the big game. I was fortunate that I took interest in the games very early on, & really looked forward to those Saturday afternoons.

 Of course, being the 80's, all games were played at 2pm on Saturday afternoon at suburban grounds with a reserves match on beforehand.  We'd park in South Geelong, stroll along the railway lines up to Kardinia Park, with the whistle of the V-Line footy special train in the background, quite often rugged up in a dufflecoat & beanie as we endured a cold & often rainy or foggy Saturday down at G town. Back then it was only standing terraces only for the most part, unless you got to the ground early enough to grab a spot on one of the wooden rows of seats that surrounded the fence on the Moorabool Street side of the ground. Don't think we ever got there that early though - you'd literally have to be queueing at the gates at 11am when they sprang open to get one of those elusive spots! Nope, it was always top deck of the terraces on the half-forward flank, just to the right of the traditional old scoreboard. Sometimes we lucky to arrive early enough for me to get a spot against the railing. Especially in my early days I could lean or even sit on the rails if I got a little bored, or at the breaks in the game. Mum usually packed us some sandwiches & fruit drinks, or often Dad would come home from a couple of hours work Saturday morning with some fresh rolls from the bakery, & some fresh strassburg, & we'd knock up some lovely rolls to take down to the footy.

Back then, it was first-in best dressed as far as viewing points were concerned (which i why it was a bonus to get a spot at the railing). Sometimes supporters made concessions for a kid, but often it was a case of leaning over people or swaying to see the action depending on where the play was on the ground! If it was raining, out came the umbrellas, making it virtually impossible for a kid like me to watch the game. Plenty of arduous fans muttered "get the umbrellas down" the instant it looked like stopping! 

Also there were little food options at the ground itself. I have fond memories of the crabby old lady at the hot donut stand proclaiming "It's only me serving, sorry", as you spent your entire half time break queueing for a warm bit of dough & faintly warm jam in the middle to ward off the cold! Then of course you had to squeeze past dozens of people on the terrace on the way back, & remember where Dad was situated amongst hundreds of other supporters sitting down & giving their legs a rest, or consulting the footy record to find out the codes of the other games' scores posted on the main scoreboard. Not to mention trying to find your way down to the packed toilets with very basic facilities! I remember on my 14th birthday Dad getting us & my grandparents who were down visiting reserved seats in the R.J Hickey stand behind the goals (this is the the stand that was just recently torn down to make way for the new stand being finished off now) - pure luxury! Pity the boys just came up short against the West Coast Eagles that day, spoiling my birthday! :(  

We usually take a footy along too for a bit of kick-to-kick on the terrace.. On extra special occasions, if Dad judged we'd had a good win, we'd even head onto the hallowed turf of Kardinia Park itself for a kick, & even once or twice head down the players race to pat the boys on the back. There were many times on Dad's orders that we'd slip away well before the final siren, tails between our legs, as Geelong crashed to another defeat. One time that almost came back to bite us on the behind - a game v the Swans in 1988, we looked done & dusted & Dad said that's enough, time to go. Optimistic me tuned on the radio on my brand new Walkman, locked it on to 3GL with Teddy Whitten calling the action as we strode back to the car. Turns out Robert Scott had a shot to win after the sire, but hit the post! 

While attending the footy is much more different experience nowadays, & is certainly more comfortable & enjoyable, I wouldn't trade those early days for a kings ransom in money. I got to see the likes of Daicos, Doull, Johnson, Salmon, Duntall, Flower... all the big names from the 80's & early 90's go through their paces at Kardinia Park well before things like switching games to bigger grounds became the norm. I saw many great players donning the blue & white hoops of Geelong come & go. Robert "Scratcha" Neal, Peter Johnson, Neville Bruns, Micky Turner, Darren Flanigan, the list goes on. Of course that gradually gave way to a more successful era as we entered the 90's - Brownless, Couch, Bairstow, the Hocking boys, Darcy, Stoneham. But still there was 1 player that stood above all - Gary Ablett snr. Even in the days when Geelong weren't a great team, it was worth it just see the great man wearing No. 5 in action. some of the stuff he could do & goals he could kick left me in disbelief. to this day, I rate him at the greatest player I've ever seen play our great game.

As the years rolled on, we even started going to some games in Melbourne. More great experiences as I was now old enough to understand the game well, but like the old saying goes, "theres no place like home". and that would always be Kardinia Park to me. Despite the heartbreaks of going so close to wining a Grand Final in the late 80's & early 90's, my father had taught me well - I was a die-hard cat fan for life, & a footy follower forever. 

As our game started to change & the ground facilities with it as footy was gradually evolving into what we know it as today, I grew old enough to start attending games by myself, or with some mates from high school. Dad also started working more often & more hours on Saturday, but he would still come down when he could - he always knew where to find me at the ground! That flank in the outer on the Moorabool St side was always our spot, & remained so right up till the end of the 2003 season when they began construction of a new stand that was to become the new Hickey Stand. After a season of using the standing room behind the goals at the city end - now known as the Ablett Terrace - I saw the writing on the wall, & upgraded to a reserved seat for 2005. By this time, Dad rarely came to many games, content I guess in the knowledge that the Cats footy fan gene had been passed on, & happy to watch the game on TV! So it was just me, though occasionally I'd organise a seat nearby if a mate wanted to head down for a game. 

We are about to enter a new era at Kardinia Park (OK, call it Shell/Baytec/Skilled/Simmonds Stadium if you wish) next week with the introduction of lights & the unveiling a new grandstand, truly bringing the Geelong Football Club& its home base in the modern era.We are very lucky to still have our own ground, when you consider most other Melbourne suburban clubs' home grounds have fallen victim to the evolution of AFL footy. Credit must go to the current board at Geelong, & those that have served over the past 10-12 years for their vision in bringing the club into the 21st century, & taking an old & rapidly declining stadium into what we know it as today!  My niece also has taken on the Cats as her team, & has started coming to home games the last few years, which has led to Dad also coming back to some games too - he & my sister take turns in bringing her along & letting her cheer on her beloved cats in person. So there are 3 seats waiting for us in the Gary Ablett Terrace next Saturday evening for what will be a historic night, & we can't wait!!

GO CATS!!

First for 2013!

 That Was The Year That Was

Happy New Year!! Hope everyone had a good Christmas, & a bit of time off over the festive season. So 2013 is here, 8 days in already. I had hoped to write over the break, but inspiration didn't strike alas. Having 10 days in a row off work for the first time in 12 months didn't inspire me to do too much in the the way of writing, even though I didn't do a lot over the break - more on that to come.

I got nothing specific to chat about today, just quickly to look at my highs & lows of 2012, my pretty unspectacular Xmas/New Year break, & a few things on the horizon in 2013! Only my 2nd full day of work here, things still fairly quiet - I guess a fair few of our suppliers still on their break - so lets do this now.

I look back on 2012 with mixed feelings - it was my 1st full year in the new job, & after a busy start to the year which involved settling in & organising the new office & completely getting my head round the job tasks, I settled in to a pretty good routine. A good group of people & modern facilities certainly helped. And before I knew it, the footy was back & I had a very big year, getting to over 50 games by my count if you include NAB Cup, VFL games & finals!! Adding in everything else socially, I kept busy for most of the year, while manging a couple of trips Harborside - including getting to the GWS Giants' 1st ever game for premiership points - a trip to Adelaide, this time last year, & a quick getaway to Cairns in October for a few nights.

On the flip side, we had a few family health issues which made you think twice about things. I felt I didn't quite achieve a few of the things I had hoped to - in financial terms mainly. Though I guess a new queen bed, a new MacBook, & a ticket to the AFL Grand final at the full retail rate will take the edge off your bank account in a hurry! Also, I sadly had to put a big black line through the names of some people who I either thought were my friends, but thought wrong (as I've spoken about before), or others I just continued to drift away from, as happens over time. I know that people coming & going from your life is perfectly normal part of life, but its always something that I personally find hard to do. Especially as I'm far from the best at replacing them with new friends & contacts.

So, to wrap it up, my highlight & lowlight of 2012: The highlight was definitely my 20 year high school reunion in March. I guess there's not much in-between with these things, either it really clicks, or you spend 90% of the night sitting in the corner sipping a drink, feeling very awkward & totally out of place. Luckily it was the former for me - the girls who organised the night picked a perfect spot to have it, & had things planned very well. Drinks, finger food, some old high school photos that had re-surfaced... all led to a very engaging night that I really really enjoyed. Great to catch up with so many familiar faces & catch up on 20 years worth of news. Head was spinning from so many memories & laughs & moments in time from some of the best years of your life! Especially as you know by now, I'm a bit socially awkward - but this night I mingled & chatted with almost everyone! Its amazing how some people looked exactly the same, & had barely changed, while others I honestly didn't recognise at first! The night went so well in fact, that there was serious discussion about making this an annual event! The next few months will determine whether that happens or not I guess, now that 9 months have since passed.
The lowlight is a bit more generic - that pathetic game of footy the Cats played in the elimination final at the MCG against the Freo dockers. Considering what was on the line that night, & as many predicted, 2012 would be Matthew Scarlett's last year in the game, that was just such a terrible effort that night to put it mildly - what a way to send off one of the greatest players to ever pull on the Blue & White hoops! :( I haven't been as angry as I was that night in a long, long time. My brother paid witness to that - come half time, he had re-located halfway down the aisle of seats, & i didn't blame him at all! I only need to track back to my tweets that night - I was seriously pissed off!!

Sorta ironic that both my highlight & lowlight of 2012 involved a Geelong-Fremantle game! Of course, the only other meeting between the teams last year was in Rd 1 on March 31st -the same night as my high school reunion!

Xmas/New Years

This section will be brief! We finished up at work on Friday Dec 21st, with a Xmas lunch celebration, complete with giveaways, the work KK, etc before an early finish. Was a nice way to wrap up the year, especially seeing  i won one of the door prizes - a $50 Coles/Myer gift card, very nice! I actually popped out & caught up with some old work colleagues at dimmeys Head Office (the ones still there at least) & to say Merry Christmas. Reinforced how glad I am I left too - it was deathly quiet, hardly anyone left anymore. Was quite depressing in a sense, actually!
My Christmas itself was fine - just spent with the family at home (one advantage of being single - only 1 set of family you need to visit, haha) My niece & nephew were over round 8.30ish to drag me out of bed & go open the presents with everyone else! My brother & his partner came down for lunch which was really nice, & after the traditional afternoon snooze, I ducked up to my sister & brother in laws place (within walking distance) for an evening drink & to reflect on what we all got from "Santa"! Nothing spectacular, but very enjoyable notheless.
I usually go to the cricket at the MCG on Boxing Day, but I have to admit on being totally uninterested with Sri Lanka being the opponents this year. Plus the prices seemed higher, too. Just not worth it - I popped up to the big smoke, did a bit of shopping, then found a good pub with a nice beer garden to watch the cricket on the big screen. Could think of worse ways to spend Boxing Day!
Rest of the break was mainly R & R. I got down to to Torquay for a couple of days (love the new Geelong Ring Road, makes it a lot easier) when it wasn't too hot & too crowded, & just basically took it easy. Was nice just to forget about the usual grind & not have to worry about going to bed at a reasonable hour & wake up to a darn alarm every morning!
Even New Years Eve was low key this time. I'd pretty much decided last new year's that I was just over the whole big party scene for New Years anyway.. A BBQ at home with family was more enticing, complete with drinks on the patio courtesy of the esky filled with cold ones on ice, with some tunes from the radio counting down till midnight. Was in bed not long after 1am! Also, it was back to work on January 2nd, so not really worth doing anything too huge.

2013?

So we had a quiet roll in to the new year at work, too. Was just a skeleton staff last 3 normal working days after New Years last week, with a short work day too - wasn't complaining! I'm not really a big one for New Years resolutions - was actually asked this at a End Of The Word/Xmas Party I was at just before Xmas - and I think the world just turns too quickly to set too many goals these days. Just look at these terrible bushfires in Tassie right now - sure the people who have had their lives disrupted the last few days had goals they were aiming for. Things just change too quickly in the modern world for mine.
That being said, I was looking medium term at another overseas trip. for the last year or 2, I'd envisioned going to the UK in June-July 2013 & catching some of the Ashes Test matches. But you have to face facts sometimes: its realistically not something I'm going to be able to afford. Not at the moment anyway, I know things can change. Anyway, I have to admit I'm not as sold on going as much anymore, seeing that the next set of Ashes Test matches will be just a few months later on, back here in Australia. It sort of de-values those matches in England a little for me. Next time we tour will be 2015 I think, so that may be a better long-term goal? We'll see. In the meantime, seeing I came back on Jan 2nd, & have a few days of leave still owing. (only problem with the new job was having to take almost 2 weeks of leave just 7 weeks into the job owing the re-location of the office over Xmas/New Years 2011) I'm thinking of settling for a few night sessions of the tennis, & taking a week in late Jan/early Feb instead while the weather is still good but after the school holidays are over & taking off somewhere. Right now that somewhere is... Fiji! :) But keep it under your hats, haven't booked yet, or even put my annual leave in either, though I'm not anticipating an issue at a quiet point of the retail year. Stay tuned, come next post I should have the details, whoo-hoo!!

One Thing to go On...

So NYE was the final trading day for Dimmeys Richmond -  where I began my 14 year career with the company in October 1997. Early 1998 through to early 1999 when i was working at Richmond is what I would rate my most enjoyable time with Dimmeys - it was before the cutbacks, staffing issues, mismanagement, etc. I could do a whole post on my time at dimmeys, so I won't go into details now. But when I walked past it on the weekend for the 1st time since it closed, I kinda expected to feel something - sadness, nostalgia, memories of the best times I had there..... but I felt nothing at all. Good in a way that I've fully moved on, sad that I had a lot of friendships & good times there, that seem to have been permanently scarred by more recent memories & how I was treated in subsequent years. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing? In a more general sense, its certainly a loss for the area - so now the building just becomes another supermarket with some upmarket apartments on Level 1?  Hmmmmmmm...  At least the tower & wall along Green St has been Heritage listed & can't be touched. Still a sad occasion, especially for the staff still working there. Hope my old big boss has enough heart to find a role for them at another the stores.
.

Following Up/Big Bash

Upon Reflection.....

  

So reflecting back on what I wrote on a grumpy downhearted Monday evening about something which really bothered me big time, on a breezy Friday arvo (with only a fortnight till the xmas break, yay) was definitely interesting. But I sure as hell stand by what I said. and it sure as hell needed to be said. Some people just really need a good, hard look at themselves sometimes. That night was something that meant a lot to me, & getting it out there off my chest was a good way of properly moving on from it. If it causes a few frowns out there, so be it. I'm not going to sugarcoat everything I say on here - this is simply me speaking from the heart. And theres plenty, PLENTY of bad stuff in there as well as good.
I have had one or two persons reach out & communicate this week re my last post, & to them I do thank you. Particularly the one person who knew me the best during my time at Dimmeys, at least she has kept in touch & was kind enough to get back to me & say sorry. I  knew she would struggle to make it - becoming a Mum a short time before this would be a daunting task!
 It doesn't dilute how crap & worthless I felt that night, but we are just 3 weeks off 2013, that was in 2011. The past is in the past. We gotta keep looking forward, right? I'm certainly no Saint myself, I'm guilty too of not keeping in touch with some old friends.
 So lets move on....

Big Bash

 To quote of bit of Billy Birmingham (aka the 12th Man) when its summer, in Australia, if you don't like Cricket that's a real bummer that cause cricket is the number 1 game in town! Yo!! :)  And while to me the footy it still streets ahead, Cricket has its rightful place in my sports calendar at this time of the year. Its as traditional as a beer & a BBQ over the summer months!
While I'm a traditionalist at heart, & therefore enjoy Test Cricket, the rise of 20-20 can't be denied, & it certainly has its place. I challenge anyone to recall a memorial 20-20 game a month or 2 on, where as most cricket fans could quote a good dozen quality or spectacular Test matches off the top of their head going back decades! Even the good old one dayers (50 overs) a good few stick in  the mind from days & eras gone by.
But for a hit & giggle, & for 3 hours of entertainment, I don't mind me some 20-20. Could do without the fireworks & cheerleaders - just makes the game feel even more artificial, but then I know Cricket needs to cater to a younger audience this old stiffs & traditionalists like me.
Going from a State based local comp to a city based one has certainly taken a lot of real passion in who really wins out of it for me. Being a proud Victorian through & through, it very easy to get behind them in the longer forms of the domestic game, & in the earlier 20-20 days - you generally just barrack for your state. So now its the Melbourne Stars, & the Melbourne Renegades. Doesn't inspire a lot of passion for me, either team. Its a pity the Geelong bid for a fanchise didn't get up -that would have made picking ateam very easy. Alas, mainly becasue our stadium didn't have lights, we got turned down. pity cooky, we were just a few years too late with lights for K.Park!! Ahh well, if they ever expand the Big Bash Comp, you reckon Geelong would be favourite to gain a berth.
 Last year I generally followed the Renegades - seeing as they were a little less high profile, sorta seen as the underdogs. Also, I'm a big fan of Brad Hodge - its absolutely criminal he didn't play more cricket for Australia! So the Renegades it was.They had a fairly average season, finished 7th I think.
It was a fairly entertaining season, & I attended the vast majority of the games both the Renegades & the Stars played at home. but thinking back to last year, nothing really jumps out at me as a really amazing match. Only remember the Melb derby sadly being rained out.
This year, Hodge has jumped across town, & is playing for the Stars (based at the MCG, where the Renegades are based at Etihad Stadium). and so I've jumped ship too to the Stars, mainly cause of Hodge, & the MCG home ground effect - it is the best stadium in the world - where else would you rather watch cricket? Anyway, I thought what the hell & bought a Stars membership the other day - based more upon better value for money, better seating & saving the ques to buy a ticket on game evening rather than real loyalty. I know, changing team loyalties is something I detest, but them this really doesn't count, does it? Especially as this is just the 2nd years of these teams' existence! :)
So the first game is tonight, the first Melbourne derby (they have scheduled 2 derbies this season I think) but its at Etiahd, so the Renegades home match. Another reason I got a membership this time is that you get entry to this game as well. So for what works out to be around $20, a Level 1 prime seat to see the likes of Warnie, Murrili, Hodge, Hussey, Samuels, & Finch to name a few in action is pretty good value I think!! Lets hope for a good game, looks like it will be a nice evening weather wise for it.
While it sure as hell doesn't beat the footy, or an exciting Day 1 of the Boxing Day or New Years Test match, it certainly entices a good, entertaining evening. So long they don't overdo the ground announcing, or fireworks, or other side attractions - let the entertaining cricket be the forefront, says I!! :)

Go Stars!!

 

Real Friends v Work Colleagues

Alright, time to get a bit snarky tonight. Wanted to do this on the weekend, but the only night I felt really ranty was on Friday night, when I was out at a concert. Yes I admit to going to see Rick Astley Fri night, so sue me! ;) You should have an understanding of my love of 80's music by now! Actually, I was planning to go to a gig Sat night too, Monsters Of Rock - featuring Bon Jovi, KISS, Guns n Roses & AC/DC tribute bands. But seeing I didn't home till 1.30 Sat morning, rather shaken after a VERY scary drive home in those storms (but spectacular with all that lightning too - ahh Mother Nature) then felt productive when i got up, & organised some Xmas stuff, including getting a present for the Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal - something I remember to do every year - so come early arvo, I was beat! Add in it was totally 80's on Music Max all weekend, including the option to choose from 4 different styles of 80's on Party Max that night, I ended up vegging on the couch for the rest of the day. Sunday was fairly similar after going out for a breakfast & a walk - I guess after a busy few weekends where I wasn't home much, it was good to have a relative quiet one.
Anyway, I've been distracted, onto my main point tonight.....

Making A Differentiation Between Friends/Work Colleagues

What really defines a real friend, as supposed to, say people we work with on a regular basis & get to know pretty well? 

I  guess I've always held proper true friends as very important people, maybe that's part of my problem. Its the way I've always been - unlike my father, I work to live. Along with my family, my friends mean the world to me. My best mate has been my best mate for all of 31+ years - we've been best mates since shortly after I moved to Geelong when I was 5, & have been through pretty much everything together. If I had to ring him at 3.30am on a Tuesday morning, I'd know he'd understand. 

So needless to say I put a lot of trust in friendships. Trust is a key word here I think. I've also always been a quiet, private, non-talkative person. I guess for a lot of my life I've lacked self-confidence & that's affected my social skills. So, in stark contrast to my best mate, who is the kind of guy who could walk up to a female stranger he fancied in the street, & 10 minutes later he'd have her phone number, (just through sheer charisma, not through being sleazy or anything), I only had a few circles of friends. Mainly through primary/high school, & a few sports I played in my latter years in high school & post education.  Around people i don't know I've never been much chop alas. And if the situation involves females, especially good-looking ladies I'm even worse. Seriously, the brain just goes blank & I have no idea what to say or how to act.

So when I entered the workforce, this obviously presented the chance to interact with a whole new group of people, including girls. Now I'm not one to pump my own tyres up or anything, but I do like to pride myself on being a friendly, considerate & easy to get along with person. So once I settled in at the company I worked for, I found i got along with everyone really well. In particular, the guys I worked directly with I would consider my friends. Back in those days, on a Friday night we'd head down to the pub & have a few beers, egos were left at the door, & whether you were a manager, director, causal worker & a cleaner, we'd have a laugh or get along great over a frothy. 

Alas, times were a changing, & the company was going through some.. unfortunate..... changes. It resulted in a large staff turnover, & re-location of others.  In days pre Facebook/twitter, & in the early days of email & mobiles (both of which I was slow on the uptake of) it was easy to lose touch with co-workers. Sadly, bar 1 or 2, I have lost touch with the majority of people I worked with in those early days.

I should take to take this to the point of my issue here. I worked my way up in the company to an accounts role at Head Office, after spending a few years in our distribution centre, located in the same building. So I now was familiar & got along with a whole new group of people. It was in this stretch of time I made what I thought was a lot of friends. Especially with a number of girls, who worked in our buying office., which was/still is rare territory for someone like me. When we're exchanging email/mobile numbers, & of course adding on facebook & myspace (this was 2007-2008) I honestly felt like I'd really made a good group of friends. Which was good, cause as happens over the years, you gradually lose touch with old friends from high school days. Particularly as I was one of increasingly small group where were still single. Many of my old friends were now married/engaged/in a long term relationship, often with kids. They had their own families now. 

We still had a fair turnover of staff - I might as well name the company, they've been in the news - Dimmeys. Stay tuned for a major, & i mean MAJOR post on them sometime down the track. And no matter who it was, if I knew them, I always made an appearance at his/her farewell. Being based at Head Office, you talked to plenty of people on the phone, & there still a few in the system from when I first started, so I knew plenty of people. 

Also, often I'd go out for lunch with said (so-called) friends. If someone had a birthday, we'd occasionally go out for a drink or 2. Normal things that friends would do?  Eventually, a couple of the girls tied the know with their partners. I went along to a couple of weddings, was really wrapt for them. And after several left Dimmeys to move on with their careers, they'd still keep in touch via email& Facebook. 

I guess there was no real definite point where I noticed that things were changing. People left, others came in, & I made friends with a few of these guys too. 

But things in the place were pretty glum. It really wasn't a nice place to work for the last few years I was there. After my long service in 2008, I was going to think about looking elsewhere myself. But for one reason or another, it wasn't really until after my 2nd o/s trip in early 2011 where I finally resolved to move on. By now there were only a few people who i really close with left. Most had moved on. OK, we didn't get to catch up very often any more. They were leading their own lives, I realised that. New work friends, new challenges, etc.

But when the time finally arrived for me to move on, I was sure I could count on my old friends from work to turn up for a send off for me. I attended every single one of theirs. I even gave up movies I'd booked to go & see to make it one farewell. I was just planning on going for drinks & maybe a bite to eat a the Pub at Crown for my send off - a friendly, down to earth place centrally located, a place we'd had several farewells before. I put the word out through Facebook several times, to give my old friends(?) plenty of notice. Was hoping for a good turnout from current colleagues too. Although I wasn't hugely close to many that were still there, I had worked with many for years & years, & got along well with them. There were still a few people down n the distro centre who were probably more saddened to see me leave than some in the office, who said they'd try & come along. Thought I could count of some of them popping down, even if it was just for a quick drink. It was Friday night, I know people may have had other stuff to move onto, even if I gave 2 or 3 weeks notice. For me, it was an occasion to look back on good times/bad times & share a good night with people who had meant a lot to me over the years. Maybe even 1 or 2 of the bosses might stick their head in, it had been customary in the past, though not in more recent times.

All in all, I had been with the company for just over 14 years. I'd worked with maybe hundreds of people over the course of those 14 years?

Three people turned up.

Three.

Yes, I said 3 people could bother to come down & say goodbye. In the off chance you're reading this Darren, Justin & Brendan, thanks - appreciated it. Also thanks Rob who contacted me the following week apologising for not being able to make it.  

The rest of you - well, thanks goes to you guys too I guess. Thanks for waking me up to the fact that people you work with really aren't there for you when it counts. Thanks for clarifying the line between proper friends & people who you work with. Maybe that was my fault for blurring that line. Thanks to those people who have never bothered to even see how I'm going in the new job or how I'm going in general. 

To say that night was the biggest kick in the guts just about ever would be an understatement. I still have a couple of people from the Dimmeys era I still call friends - my closest female friend, for instance, had moved back to Turkey a few years prior. (She just arrived back in the country last Thursday - can't wait to catch up with her!) & maybe 1 or 2 others, but essentially I've learned my lesson. When push comes to shove, when shit gets you down, when you really need someone to call on - make it a true friend you know inside out, not a person you work with who many seem like someone you can trust on the surface.

It was a tough lesson to learn, & its sadly had some affect in my new job I have to say. I'm a lot more reluctant to open up to others I work with, despite the new workplace being a lot better than Dimmeys was., & the people I work with being very nice people in general. Only the 3 or 4 guys I work alongside in accounts at the new job have I really opened to. Even then, its hard at times, & I often keep quiet even if its something like footy being discussed round the water cooler. 

I don't know, maybe I'm being harsh & unreasonable. Maybe I'm overplaying the effect of one single evening. But on a night which meant a lot me, a lot of so-called "friends" let me down, & have never really explained themselves or bothered to reach out in the year thats since gone by. One or two have, & we've maintained some sort of contact I suppose.  Largely I've moved on from this, though that doesn't mean it still doesn't hurt like hell.

Just to end this post on a positive note - any girls reading this, never fear! Those days of my best mate chatting up the chicks on the street are long gone - he is a happily married man with 2 beautiful daughters nowadays! :)

Viva Las Vegas!

VEGAS!!

So continuing on from talking about Barbados yesterday. Onto Sin City, if only for a 3 day side tour on the way home. I was certainly looking forward to this. And I wasn't disappointed. All the reading up on what the strip in Vegas would be like, all the TV shows, just plain don't do it justice. Wow, it was just jaw dropping! I'm obviously no travel expert, but in my narrow list of places I've been, walking the strip would be on my list of things you simply must do, along with a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It was just amazing seeing all the huge casinos, ostensibly in the middle of the desert! 

I stayed at the MGM Grand, one of the biggest hotels on the strip. Was just so damn HUGE! I seriously got lost just finding my way through the place so many times it wasn't funny! You had a food court, heaps of restaurants, a huge lion enclosure, heaps of gaming tables & poker machines of course. Was a battle to remember the way to the lifts & the actual rooms themselves! And they were pretty darn cool themselves! Big TV, big windows boasting a great view - from my room only the outlying desert alas, but still an awesome view with the sun going down. Luxury Queen Beds & towels etc.Even a large 24-7 room-service menu for those who may have overdone it! And then there was Wet Republic - a massive pool area for guests only. It was like Wet & Wild for adults!! cocktails, waterfalls, dance beats pumping out over the complex, even a VIP area for big names & rich guests who really wanted to party! Only in Vegas would you walk through the gaming area of a hotel & see people sipping from huge cocktails of Eiffel Tower replicas, wearing a bathing costume!

Now, while in Barbados, i was lucky enough to have had a room to myself. But for this section of the trip, I was happy for the Fanatics to pair me up with another single person doing this side tour of Vegas & share a room. It was only for 3 nights right, & despite my glowing report of said room, its Vegas - not a place you spend a lot of time in your room unless you are too hungover for anything else!! :) Pity was none of the group of friends I'd made in Barbados were doing this section of the holiday - a couple were staying on in the Caribbean for the 1 day cricket games, a couple were heading straight home, & a few were visiting other places in the USA on the way back. So I was paired up with a guy I didn't see much of in the earlier part of the trip, bloke named Todd. Seemed fine, if a bit of a larrikan. But then, we'd just had had 2 1/2 weeks in the paradise of Barbados, so who wouldn't be in a joyous mood? Seemed quite friendly too. Essentially, he had his plans for the few days, & I had mine, so I didn't anticipate it being an issue in any case. I did check in first & put my credit card on the account, but didn't give it much thought  -our pre-paid voucher clearly stated we were 2 singles just sharing a room, & thought they'd set up a separate account for him. That assumption was to cause many issues, & many headaches down the road, which we'll come to.

Anyway, I had am awesome few days. Both day & night, the strip is just amazing, & that's before I even set foot into any of the other casinos! You could easily spend the whole of your stay without  leaving the hotel you're staying at! Of the others I explored, New York-New York & Caesar's Palace we both spectacular! And without a doubt the best buffet meal I've ever eaten in my entire life was at the spice Market buffet at Planet Hollywood - be sure to check that one out if you're heading to Vegas! The neon lights make walking the strip at night just incredible - & much easier weather wise! The view from the top of the Effiel Tower casino was just unbelievable!
The only real drawbacks, were a) the weather- to be expected of course when you are located in the middle of the desert in late June, but still wasn't quite prepared for a dead heat 41-42 degrees for most of the day. You felt it even if you were travelling just a few blocks up the strip. This was tempered a lot by bikini clad ladies selling $1 can of bud on street corners,. Ahh Vegas! :) Also, b) creepy dudes also on street corners, trying to shove girly cards into your hand. They were just relentless, & it got very annoying after a few times. Yes, I was a single guy in Vegas, but I'd done my research, & stayed away from that seedier side of Vegas! Settled for seeing a few of the famous Vegas shows at night, including Mamma Mia for the 2nd time. As a big ABBA fan, it was great to see again! Gambled only a bit cause there was that much to see & do, so didn't lose too much $$.
So all in all, a wonderful few days in Sin City, even despite the idiot taxi driver dropping me off at the wrong terminal at the airport when I was heading home! Alls well that ended well, & a few days later I was safely back home in Melbourne, only it was a damn site cooler than Vegas! :)

Was It an Accident or Not??

The real drama began a couple of days after getting home ironically. I logged on to check out my bank account or pay a bill. Only to find a charge of $1700 on my credit card from the MGM Grand! WTF?? Our accommodation had been pre-paid, & seeing I hadn't made any purchases or charged anything back to my room while in Vegas, I assumed there had just been a mix up. After a few emails back & forth from the MGM, I finally got a copy of the related bill.  Only to find my roommate had decided to stay on an extra 5 nights, make international phone calls, dine out at the top line restaurants in the hotel, & consume a heap of top shelf drinks... & charge it all back to the room.... which ended up on my credit card. Because i hadn't made any purchases, & owed nothing, I used an express check out form,, which just involved filling out a small form left in your room, & you depositing this with your electronic room key in a box near the lifts. All done, & you're on your way. But the hotel only had the 1 credit card registered to the room, despite my earlier assumptions. So even after I'd checked out, my credit card had still been registered to the room due to my roommate staying on an extra few days.And it was during this period, after I'd already checked out, that all the charges started racking up on the account. Very suspicious.
So started a very frustrating period which I was calling & emailing first the MGM Grand hotel to explain the situation to them. All they could do was give me a form  to give my roommate to fill in so they could charge him instead. But of course, I didn't exchange any contact info with him! We only talked a few times, it tuned out like I said - he did his stuff, I did mine. So then I tuned to the travel company to try & sort this out with. As expected, they couldn't give me any of his details due to privacy laws, so they attempted to send it on to him, with little success from what I gathered. Meanwhile, the bank were stacking on interest for that $1700 which I sure as hell wasn't paying!! Nightmare stuff!
I finally ended up having to ring my bank, go through recorded messages & lower down people till I finally got put through to a manager, & was able to explain the situation. The amount was put on hold & my card cancelled, a new one issued, while they "investigated" the matter. I was pretty confident I wouldn't have to pay it - if it came to it, surely it wouldn't be hard to prove exactly when I flew out of Vegas & back home to Melbourne!! And at long last, just before Xmas time, the situation was indeed found in my favour, & I didn't have to pay the $1700.Phew!!
 But boy was that a frustrating 4 or 5 months :( I guess the question of whether this dude deliberately set out to take a ride on the high life knowing his credit card wasn't on file & wouldn't be paying, or whether it was just an honest mistake, I'll never know for sure. I often think one way, then look back & think surely it couldn't have been a mistake - too many coincidences  Yes, it was also at least partially my own fault too for making assumptions, & being a little niave about that whole process.
Ah well, one of those things I'll always wonder about I guess. In the end, it didn't detract from amazing first up overseas holiday, & warned me to be more vigilant in the future when sharing rooms with people I didn't know! The next time I visited Vegas (another post in the making) I sure as hell insisted on checking out in person!! :)

Barbados

BARBADOS

I'd never really had the opportunity to travel overseas when i was younger. In hindsight, I wish I had. You really realise what a big wise world there is out there. Still, our great county - our island home, Australia has plenty to see & do. And after finally getting over to Perth in Western Australia in August 2007 for a weeks holiday, & getting to see the mighty Cats give Freo a thrashing at Subiaco (first footy reference - score!) I could now say I'd been to every state & territory in our great land! Not too bad! Just Darwin to conquer in terms of capital cities too - only been as far as Alice Springs on my 2 trips to the great north!

But as the end of 2007 approached, an opportunity properly presented itself for the 1st time. I had Long Service Leave available after clocking up 10 years at the company I worked for. And seeing what I'd put up with through some of those years (that's another post - would be a length & ranty one too), I wanted to do something special with my time off. I had a bit money in the bank, too. So i hankered at getting away & seeing a bit of the world. As none of my friends were really in a position for a trip of that sort, I guess I was from early on looking at guided holiday of some sort, so i wouldn't totally be on my own & get horribly lost or anything!

I looked quite closely at a number of Contiki tours through the USA. Though i was close to the edge of the age limit that they did tours for. And I just couldn't quite find one that fit into my tastes & budget. Then some adds appeared over the summer during the TV cricket coverage , advertising trips to the West Indies where Australia would be touring in June-July 2008. It suddenly occurred to me - what about a cricket tour to the Caribbean?? Wouldn't that for a way to do your first overseas holiday? In a place well known for their love of beer, rum, relaxed lifestyle, and of course, cricket!
It certainly wasn't cheap, but sometimes you just have to say, What The Hell! Your 1st overseas trip is generally a pretty momentous occasion, & who knew when the next opportunity would present itself? So a few months later, it was all booked, & my long service leave was lodged. Had a bit of drama before I left when the tour company I booked through didn't get minimum numbers, so I was teamed up with another group - The Fanatics! Interesting!
To say I was nervous on the date of my flight was an understatement! Had never left the country before, now here I was flying halfway across the world by myself! After going over things like safety, security, local currency, overseas phone use, etc it was finally happening!

Without going through every facet of my trip, & writing a novel, I'll just sum up my trip. If you really  want it simply - BEST HOLIDAY EVER :)
The flights were fine, despite me panicking about US customs. Its certainly a long way, hey! I went via the US, so my 1st stopover was LA. Only an hour or 2 before off to Miami. That was all a bit of blur, though it was nice to see Dr Pepper on the menu! Love that stuff! So a slight delay on the way to Miami, & a got mini lost at the airport, but finally it sorted itself out, & i had a great 2 day stopover there. Amazing beaches - was like something out of a Baywatch movie. Just minus the people, seeing it was a Monday!!
Then it was onto Barbados. You knew there were plenty of fellow Aussies on the flight over, cause they quickly ran out of cans of beer on the flight. David Boon look out? :)  Barbados was both impressive & a little sad, a really interesting place. Theres not much in-between there. Either its a well designed airport, lovely beaches/parks/ovals, nice city, or a poor countryside. But then, as we quickly learned, that's the way the locals like it.
I met up fine with our tour host & fellow cricket fans, & before we knew it, we were bused out to the Barbados Beach Club. Now my greatest worry about an overseas trip by myself was feeling out of place, & not fitting in. This is where the Caribbean trip won itself over though - having a group of fellow Aussie cricket fans made it pretty easy to slot in, & make friends - which is not my strongest suit. But by 2 weeks later, I'd made a great group of friends!

From night 1, which was a welcome party at an outdoor bar/pub on the edge of the main city, Bridgewater, where we all enjoyed free drinks (ahh rum punch, good memories) & a local BBQ & got to meet up with none other than the big bird himself - Joel Garner - through a good, entertaining Test Match which the Aussies won on Day 5, though a 20-20 game marred by rain, a boat & bus tour through Barbados & plenty of extra-curricular activities in the evening, i knew this was the best damn holiday ever. I mean, how many people can say they've hung out with Desy Haynes at his own rum-shack, downing rum & cokes while discussing the state of West Indies cricket?? :)
It is such a relaxed lifestyle over there. You really have to experience it yourself to get a proper feel for it! We were also made to fit in really well - all the locals were really friendly on learning we were Aussies. Just be careful on the road - basically when it comes to driving, there are no rules! Literally, our hotel was only a normal 15 min drive to the cricket ground, but on the weekdays, it was nearly an hour to get there. Barbados has peak hour traffic nightmares, who've thunk?
Kenningston Oval was the venue for the Test & the 20-20 match between Australia & the West Indies. Was a nice looking ground. We were in the party Stand - which was basically a beach area with deck chairs & umbrellas - like a scene outa a fancy beach, expect the ocean was the cricket oval, obviously. Best thing was free drinks all day!! We had a voucher for morning tea, lunch & afternoon tea, but open bar all day!! Whoo-hoo!!  To day some of the guys on the trip were totally wasted by the end of the days play was an understatement!
In the evening, we had optional nights out at local bars/clubs. I stayed in a few nights, but went out a few as well - I was there to enjoy myself, plus plenty of the other guys in the Fanatics group were heading out, so it was good to go in a group. Also, that was the other great thing about Barbados - everything was so cheap! Highlight was on the Saturday night after the Test had concluded if I'm remembering right. lace was called McBrides, I think. Sort of a pub that turned into a big part indoor part outdoor club later on in the evening. They had a drink special for us Fanatics - 2 for 1 drinks all night. And seriously, a rum & coke would work out to round $A3. And their beer - Banks beer, which sadly isn't available anywhere here in Australia, was bloody beautiful & cheap! But on this night, they had a theme... 80s music. Now you might have worked out by now, I'm an 80's music nut. and buoyed by cheap & free drinks, I (apparently) danced like crazy & put the rest of the tour group to shame! The rest of the guys I went with couldn't drag my off the main stage, & i was there till closing. :) That also sealed my nickname for the rest of the tour, especially as there was already 2 other Matthews in the group of friends I made. Yep, I was "Disco" for the rest of the tour, hehehe.
I could go on & on. Meeting a legend in D.Haynes & kicking back at his own little rum shack (very popular over there) was a surreal experience. But then, the whole trip was in hindsight. Just an amazing experience. Was rather sad that i had to have an early one the following Saturday at McBrides as my flight out was early the next morning.

The trip wasn't over - I included a day 3 side tour of the world famous Las Vegas as well! That was amazing & quite eventful in the end so I'll save that for another post. But for my 1st overseas holiday, it was damn amazing! It will be hard to top, & made some good friends out of it too. . Alas they all live in NSW & QLD, but thanks to facebook we've kept in touch! A few stayed on in the Caribbean to go to some of the 1 day games, lucky buggers. Also a shout out to our host, Phil VB, as we soon came to know him - a funny guy who often drank more & got into more trouble in the small hours of the morning than his tour group did!

So in summary, this was one occasion where the holiday was worth every cent, plus some. So glad i went with my heart on this one -Barbados was an amazing place, & had such an incredible time. Even a few of the females who did the tour & weren't big cricket fans had a great time. It would have been hard to have a bad time!! :)