One week to go!

I know I have been blogging like a mad man lately but, I figure I better do this now while I have the time to do it! I only have one week left in Australia! I seriously can't believe how fast it has gone! It has just flown by for me for sure. For those of you back home it may have gone slower but for me it has just flew by. Almost a year ago I had just landed in Australia with nothing really but a work visa, a little cash and an open mind. Now here I am a year later and I can speak "Stralian' I can navigate the public transport system,cook myself a fairly decent meal and generally get anything I need really. So I have really learned a lot about myself this year alone (even though I have never REALLY been alone) and it has been great.

I got my taxes done and dusted and now in 6 to 8 weeks I will be a rich man haha. By then I will be in Auckland for sure. Luckily they can mail it to me :) I have really enjoyed my travels in Oz and loved almost every single minute it has been great. These past few weeks have been amazing traveling up the coast with Ben and seeing Frazer Island and Bundy and Airlie Beach (LOVED IT!) and Whit Sundays and Townsville and Cairns.

I do have a few people I really need to thank big time though.  I have met a ton of really awesome people far too many to name and really had a great time but, these people get extra special mention from me. First and foremost I have to mention my good friend Sandradee from Sydney. I actually met her on the flight from LA to Sydney. Just total fate/luck that we were sat next to each other and we had 15 hours to get to know each other haha. She helped me out right away and really gave me a leg up. Not only that but, I helped her move house and after that she let me stay on her couch. She really was awesome to me and I will always consider her a great friend and she knows she has a place to stay anytime she comes to Texas!

Secondly I have to mention my good mate Bernie from Queensland. Ben and I showed up at his house and had planned to stay a week or two but due to work and whatnot, two weeks actually turned into 6 months haha. He was totally awesome about the whole thing and we had some good times and it worked out good for all. So I won't forget his kindness either. Brisbane was of my top favourite cities in all Australia and I will really miss it there. It is a great city to live in!

I can't forget to mention "The Wolf Pack" from Thailand. They all know who they are and the experiences we shared. I won't ever forget them and I doubt they will forget either! haha. Good times had by all and now I have 4 life long friends in the UK :)

Last but definitely not least I gotta mention Bernd (Ben) my German traveling mate. I met him on the bus in Sydney in December and he was looking lost and a little uncertain. His English was not as good as it is now but we clicked right away! So here we are almost a year later, best mates living and traveling together. We like to joke that this is a marriage haha. Well he is the closest thing I have to a wife anyway lol. Sometimes we fight like a married couple :P but never anything serious! He will be a mate for life and I can't wait to travel New Zealand and South America with him! It will be awesome to travel America with him too and show him my homeland. I am going to tour all over Germany with him as my personal tour guide in the near future too :). Good on ya mate!

Of course I can't forget to mention Josiah my American mate who is now in New Zealand. He is from Boston but I won't hold it against him for being a Yankee haha. He was the coolest American I met in Australia and it was great to talk "home" stuff with him! I am looking forward to seeing the East Coast of America with him as my tour guide! I won't forget our karaoke night in Sydney. I got to feel like a rock star for my 15 minutes of fame haha it was awesome!

One other person who deserves a special mention is my ex facebook wife haha. Tori is an amazing girl and we have had some great times together. Sadly I haven't got to see her as much as I would have liked. But, she is one of the few people in Australia who really "gets" me and I won't forget her for sure!

Well that is really all I have for now. I will keep you updated as I go but, unless anything super amazing happens in the near future this may or may not be my last blog before I hit New Zealand in a week! Take Care,Tyler

Late Edit: I thought I would just tack this on instead of writing a whole separate blog on it. Ben and I saw the new movie (new here anyway) called The Town. Appropriate since we are in Townsville haha. It had Ben Affleck,Chris Cooper and some more big stars in it. It was about Bank robbers in Boston and it wasn't exactly your typical bank job movie. It has a non typical ending and I quite enjoyed it. Kept me entertained until the end. I would give it 4/5 stars.

I also thought I would add a little about my weight. I have never been what you would consider "fat" I seem to be incapable of gaining any significant amount of weight as I have weighed pretty much the same since high school!  But, I used to be in pretty good shape and now that I have been traveling I am still not "fat" but where I used to have muscle it has now been replaced by fat lol. So, I look at myself in the mirror and I am slightly disappointed/embarrassed/sad that it has gotten this way. I mean I can't exactly join a gym and just go work out everyday while I am traveling but there is more I can do. So, I have decided that by the end of 2012 I want to be in top shape again. I will do it!

late edit: just a little disclaimer, I know I mentioned people up there who I really connected with and had a great time with but don't feel that just because I didn't mention you up there I didn't have a great time with you. I met tons and tons of awesome people and had some great experiences I just couldn't mention everyone! -Tyler