Hey Guys,
I thought I’d share some footage from the cartoon I’m working on for school. This is a simple scene still without music. *Viewer discretion is advised for foul language. Enjoy.
Cameron:-
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Customer Service WHAT?????
wow I tell ya... the aussies arent into customer service at all. We just came back from town, visited 3 stores and the most any of the people working at the damn stores siad was "$11.96". THATS IT!!! what the frick!! No hello, goodbye, how are you, f&#@ you....NOTHING!!!
I would be bloody embrassed if those were my staff.
I am embrassed for the image this protrays to all the tourists that all come to Byron Bay thinking this is the best damn place in Australia and they get served by people who have the personality of a rotten egg. AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
I would be bloody embrassed if those were my staff.
I am embrassed for the image this protrays to all the tourists that all come to Byron Bay thinking this is the best damn place in Australia and they get served by people who have the personality of a rotten egg. AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Back where it all began
Cam enjoying his first dip in our new hot tub
Me not happy about packing AGAIN!! But its worth it
Oliver and Charlie enjoying their new beach
Our living room
The dining room, kitchen and down the hall. There are 2 bedrooms along the right of the hall and then our bedroom at the end of the hall
This is the sharow in Cam and I's bathroom. Its very open. Creepy at first but now loving the whole nature thing
Our bedroom. messy already
Cam in the hot tub
Anyway we have officially moved. We have left bitter ol Ballina and now thriving back where we started in Suffolk Park (Byron Bay). We are living exactly 4 blocks from our old house and lucky for us its 4 blocks closer to the beach. We are about 50meters from the sand of Tallows Beach. Its AWESOME to be back. Cam and I get up every morning and go for a nice walk along the beach with Oliver before starting every day. We have seen the reliable and amazing dolphins jumping and playing in the waves as we walk along. And we are constantly saying aloud "man this is where we live!!!" with a look of amazement on our faces.
Other than the beach (which of course we are LOVING) the new house is great too. Its smaller than our Ballina house but nice. Its got an 8 person hot tub which has been a huge hit so far. And of course we are planning a Hot Tub party in the next couple weeks.
We have moved here with 2 friends Laura and Quintin for those that didnt know. Friends from Canada who are here for awhile. They also have their dog Charlie. Oliver has surprisingly taken quite well to Charlie which is great. Oliver being the snob he is, we were worried how it would go. But all is well.
Anyway we have a new address and phone number now. I'll email this info out next.
Hot Tub party coming soon. You better be there.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Lets see how good my memory is
When we arrive in Norfolk and a bus took us from the airport to the hotel. It was like stepping back in time. both Cam and I kept looking at each other like what the frick..... hard to explain but nowhere near advanced in architecture and just the general feel of the place. After we checked in we drove around the island which as I mentioned is only 5x8 kms big so we had fun exploring.
Next Day - we decide to go to main street and pay for our tours. Walk into one place and the woman was amazingly wonderful. Her name was Alison Christian.
Now for a quick tidbit on Norfolk Island - the island is mostly populated by 8 main families. These eight families are from the men who held Mutiny on the Bounty and their families. 3 of these men - Fletcher Christian, John Adams and the other had slipped my mind (bloody memory), all married and had children with women from Tahiti while they were there (dont want to explain too much into that but the Bounty spend 3 months in Tahiti before they left and then half the ship men on the Bounty held a Mutiny and turned around to go back to Tahiti to get their women).
anyway back to Alison Christian. We were sitting there having some laughs and paying for our tour when she and another gentleman named John Christian (yes seriously... everyone just about has the same last name) made a smart ass comment about the Evans family.
Now of course being an Evans I got defensive and of course lippy back. WELL... this is where it all began.
I wish I was better at writing and able to tell you all the amazing events that happened over the next 4 days. When Alison found out I was an Evans she had me on the phone within 2 minutes with another family member Nellie Evans. SERIOUSLY!! 2 minutes I am not exaggerating. I spoke with Nellie and then another Evans named Mitch. It was all very strange and overwhelming so i just rolled with the punches and went with whatever happened next. Well what happened was Cam and I went hiking (sooooooo beautiful) and when we got back to our hotel room.... the phone was ringing. SERIOUSLY!! it was hilarious. We answered of course and I spoke with Lou Evans. All these Evans are related somewhere in my past. Lou arranged for Cam and I to sit with the Evans table the next day at Bounty/Anniversary Day.
This day was the whole reason Cam and I went to Norfolk when we did. Every year on June 8th they celebrate the arrival of the mutineers of the bounty and their families arriving on Norfolk Island. Its a huge day where they re-enact the arrival (everyone is all dressed up in old school gear) and then march through town. Go to the grave yard and remember their loved ones and then go to Government House for morning tea. Then all the families have a lunch and celebrate and pig out. Now the amazing thing about this whole day is you must be a family to take part which of course I am. So we were able to join the lunch with all the other families.
Honestly the next day I was really quite nervous. I didnt know what to expect and I felt like I was about to have the answer to soo many questions I have always had about my life which was exciting but freaky as well. We went down to watch the re-enactment and the whole march. Then we waited for the lunch to start.
The lunch was held in this open air compound and when you walked in the main families could be found in each corner with the smaller families in the middle. The Evans were in the back left corner. As we walked up I could tell they knew exactly who I was. They were super friendly and the introductions took forever. There were TONS of people. and TONS of food. It was great to hang out and get to know each other and really for me to sit back and observe everything happening. It was great. In good islander style there were many many beers and drinking became the number one activity. It was fun.
In this whole process we met members of the other families and one man in particular named Norm Quintall. Such a nice man. He was head of security at the Norfolk airport. Again they were very generous and we talked with the Quintalls and Norm for about an hour before we took off. Norm was really adamant that we take his car keys and use his car instead of the rental. I mean this island the the people are something else. Something I have always hoped there was somewhere like this out there. So friendly. Safety is never a concern. generous, respectful, very culturally involved and proud. The highest speed limit is 50kms/hr, there are 4 street lights on the whole island, everyone is definitely on island time and cows have the right away. And they do not like moving for you. they take their time that for sure. Its my absolute favourite place.
Over the next few days I met more Evans family, got to see our family flag (aka family tree that is on a flag) and would be walking down main street and have people calling my name out to come meet and talk to me. SOOOOO COOL!!!
I learnt more about where I come from in 5 days than I thought was possible. If we had stayed longer I would have met so many more family members and learnt so much more about my background. But now I know which sailor from the Bounty I am from and that he has one of the main men involved with the Mutiny. he is also one of the 3 men who fell in love, married and had babies with one of the Tahitian women and I even know her name. So I can now connect my blood line to my family in Tahiti. I learnt how my looks is soooo very Tahitian and is still very predominant in my appearance and now I must go to Tahiti to finish my search. Cam has made me promise I dont book a trip to Tahiti while he is still in school so he graduates Oct 17th so close after then I MUST go to Tahiti and keep researching and discovering my (Evans) history. Anyone want to meet us in Tahiti?? Towards end of the year??
And to finish the perfect trip……. We had checked in at the airport to return to Australia and were going through security and you’ll never guess who we ran into…our buddy Norm. So it was nice to say our goodbyes to him and of course spoke of staying in touch and hopefully meeting again one day. Right before we were to board the plane, a man came up to us and told us we had to wait till last to get on and they had moved our seats to 1A and 1B. So I was pumped thinking we got an emergency exit. Well when we went through and entered the plane we had been bumped to business class. OH YEAH BABY!!!! It was AMAZING!! It was the best flight I have ever had and business class is bloody amazing. Now I don’t know if I can ever go back…ha!!
Next Day - we decide to go to main street and pay for our tours. Walk into one place and the woman was amazingly wonderful. Her name was Alison Christian.
Now for a quick tidbit on Norfolk Island - the island is mostly populated by 8 main families. These eight families are from the men who held Mutiny on the Bounty and their families. 3 of these men - Fletcher Christian, John Adams and the other had slipped my mind (bloody memory), all married and had children with women from Tahiti while they were there (dont want to explain too much into that but the Bounty spend 3 months in Tahiti before they left and then half the ship men on the Bounty held a Mutiny and turned around to go back to Tahiti to get their women).
anyway back to Alison Christian. We were sitting there having some laughs and paying for our tour when she and another gentleman named John Christian (yes seriously... everyone just about has the same last name) made a smart ass comment about the Evans family.
Now of course being an Evans I got defensive and of course lippy back. WELL... this is where it all began.
I wish I was better at writing and able to tell you all the amazing events that happened over the next 4 days. When Alison found out I was an Evans she had me on the phone within 2 minutes with another family member Nellie Evans. SERIOUSLY!! 2 minutes I am not exaggerating. I spoke with Nellie and then another Evans named Mitch. It was all very strange and overwhelming so i just rolled with the punches and went with whatever happened next. Well what happened was Cam and I went hiking (sooooooo beautiful) and when we got back to our hotel room.... the phone was ringing. SERIOUSLY!! it was hilarious. We answered of course and I spoke with Lou Evans. All these Evans are related somewhere in my past. Lou arranged for Cam and I to sit with the Evans table the next day at Bounty/Anniversary Day.
This day was the whole reason Cam and I went to Norfolk when we did. Every year on June 8th they celebrate the arrival of the mutineers of the bounty and their families arriving on Norfolk Island. Its a huge day where they re-enact the arrival (everyone is all dressed up in old school gear) and then march through town. Go to the grave yard and remember their loved ones and then go to Government House for morning tea. Then all the families have a lunch and celebrate and pig out. Now the amazing thing about this whole day is you must be a family to take part which of course I am. So we were able to join the lunch with all the other families.
Honestly the next day I was really quite nervous. I didnt know what to expect and I felt like I was about to have the answer to soo many questions I have always had about my life which was exciting but freaky as well. We went down to watch the re-enactment and the whole march. Then we waited for the lunch to start.
The lunch was held in this open air compound and when you walked in the main families could be found in each corner with the smaller families in the middle. The Evans were in the back left corner. As we walked up I could tell they knew exactly who I was. They were super friendly and the introductions took forever. There were TONS of people. and TONS of food. It was great to hang out and get to know each other and really for me to sit back and observe everything happening. It was great. In good islander style there were many many beers and drinking became the number one activity. It was fun.
In this whole process we met members of the other families and one man in particular named Norm Quintall. Such a nice man. He was head of security at the Norfolk airport. Again they were very generous and we talked with the Quintalls and Norm for about an hour before we took off. Norm was really adamant that we take his car keys and use his car instead of the rental. I mean this island the the people are something else. Something I have always hoped there was somewhere like this out there. So friendly. Safety is never a concern. generous, respectful, very culturally involved and proud. The highest speed limit is 50kms/hr, there are 4 street lights on the whole island, everyone is definitely on island time and cows have the right away. And they do not like moving for you. they take their time that for sure. Its my absolute favourite place.
Over the next few days I met more Evans family, got to see our family flag (aka family tree that is on a flag) and would be walking down main street and have people calling my name out to come meet and talk to me. SOOOOO COOL!!!
I learnt more about where I come from in 5 days than I thought was possible. If we had stayed longer I would have met so many more family members and learnt so much more about my background. But now I know which sailor from the Bounty I am from and that he has one of the main men involved with the Mutiny. he is also one of the 3 men who fell in love, married and had babies with one of the Tahitian women and I even know her name. So I can now connect my blood line to my family in Tahiti. I learnt how my looks is soooo very Tahitian and is still very predominant in my appearance and now I must go to Tahiti to finish my search. Cam has made me promise I dont book a trip to Tahiti while he is still in school so he graduates Oct 17th so close after then I MUST go to Tahiti and keep researching and discovering my (Evans) history. Anyone want to meet us in Tahiti?? Towards end of the year??
And to finish the perfect trip……. We had checked in at the airport to return to Australia and were going through security and you’ll never guess who we ran into…our buddy Norm. So it was nice to say our goodbyes to him and of course spoke of staying in touch and hopefully meeting again one day. Right before we were to board the plane, a man came up to us and told us we had to wait till last to get on and they had moved our seats to 1A and 1B. So I was pumped thinking we got an emergency exit. Well when we went through and entered the plane we had been bumped to business class. OH YEAH BABY!!!! It was AMAZING!! It was the best flight I have ever had and business class is bloody amazing. Now I don’t know if I can ever go back…ha!!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Pictures from Norfolk
My roots
well I have just had the most amazing experience so far in my life. And Cam says the same. We have just returned from Norfolk Island. Its a tiny (only 5x8kms) island off the coast of Oz, closer to New Zealand. Bout 2.5 hour flight from brisbane.
Now why would we go to this island?? Well for anyone who really knows me, who I am, my skin colour and appearance and where I come from has always been HUGE questions and parts of my life. Well Norfolk was my first step into finding out some answers to questions I have always had. Here's some history for you.
Most people know about the H.M.S Bounty or most know it by The Muitny on the Bounty. Well I m a direct descendent of John Adams (who went under the name Alexander Smith, which is a whole other story in itself....ha!!) who was one of the seamen that took mutiny over this ship. Anyway the reason they mutinied was because they had been in Tahiti and there the men had fallin in love with the Tahitian women. 2 of the men (Fletcher Christian and John Adams) had married and their wives were pregnant when they left Tahiti to continue their journey to the West Indies. BUT of course the men wanted to go back so they held a mutiny took over the ship and turned around and went back for their women.
Now they were smart enough to know they couldnt stay in tahiti cause they would come looking for them. So they took their wives, 12 tahitian women, 6 tahitian men and feld. Long story short they ended up in Pitcairn Island. where they stayed for many years until the island which is also extremely tiny was becoming to over populated and the left and arrived in Norfolk Island on June 8 1856. This date is known as Bounty Day or Anniversary Day. This is a large part of why Cam and I went over at this time so we could see and be apart of the day and celebrations.
How our trip unfolds I will have to write again tomorrow. its a long but awesome funny story I will share. But I am dead tired right now so dont feel up to wirting tonight. Until tomorrow......
Now why would we go to this island?? Well for anyone who really knows me, who I am, my skin colour and appearance and where I come from has always been HUGE questions and parts of my life. Well Norfolk was my first step into finding out some answers to questions I have always had. Here's some history for you.
Most people know about the H.M.S Bounty or most know it by The Muitny on the Bounty. Well I m a direct descendent of John Adams (who went under the name Alexander Smith, which is a whole other story in itself....ha!!) who was one of the seamen that took mutiny over this ship. Anyway the reason they mutinied was because they had been in Tahiti and there the men had fallin in love with the Tahitian women. 2 of the men (Fletcher Christian and John Adams) had married and their wives were pregnant when they left Tahiti to continue their journey to the West Indies. BUT of course the men wanted to go back so they held a mutiny took over the ship and turned around and went back for their women.
Now they were smart enough to know they couldnt stay in tahiti cause they would come looking for them. So they took their wives, 12 tahitian women, 6 tahitian men and feld. Long story short they ended up in Pitcairn Island. where they stayed for many years until the island which is also extremely tiny was becoming to over populated and the left and arrived in Norfolk Island on June 8 1856. This date is known as Bounty Day or Anniversary Day. This is a large part of why Cam and I went over at this time so we could see and be apart of the day and celebrations.
How our trip unfolds I will have to write again tomorrow. its a long but awesome funny story I will share. But I am dead tired right now so dont feel up to wirting tonight. Until tomorrow......
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Near death experience...
Tonight I had the horrible experience of Oli choking on a treat and gaging..... HOLY CRAP!! He was choking and he couldnt get it out of his throat. He then started vomiting and vomiting and vomiting and still choking.....I was FREAKING OUT!! but the treat dislodged and came out. THANK GOD!! My heart is still pounding and I have the shakes. Scary stuff.... I couldnt imagine having kids.. I would be freaking out every 2 seconds.... and die of stress...
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