Life in General...
Hey Guys :)
It's been a while. It's been difficult finding time to sit and think or sleep lately and I have been dying to post an update here for ages. Not that many people really care what I have to say or what I have been up to and I haven’t been great at keeping up to date on what everyone else is up to … but I'm gonna update you anyways..
First before I go on, I am sure that anyone reading this knows that I am Australian. Just like back this time of year in 2009, I am shocked to see what mother nature has in store for my country. I have always felt safe that we were the lucky country because unlike other countries we don’t generally get Tornadoes, we don’t often get earthquakes, or cyclones, or Tsunami's … or many of the other natural disasters that seem to happen to others. Sure, we have had some of them in the past and on the rare occasion they have been massive on in general we are pretty lucky down here (apart from the freaking hole in the Ozone Layer we seem to have going above us. That's a bitch, believe me LOL)
Then the 2009 Victorian bushfire … the first real disaster I personally remember in my lifetime that came remotely close to me. It's one of those things, like 9/11 where you will always remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard about it, when you first witnessed the carnage on the news. The kind of thing that has you for days and weeks with it always in the back of your mind, always keeping your ear close to a radio to hear an update.
Those fires were raging 20 minutes from where I lived and while I have serious doubts they would have ever reached us where I am, it was still scary to see the devastation of the people we knew, to suddenly have people loose their whole lives, a lot literally was definitely an eye opener that life definitely has its surprises and not so pleasant ones.
Now here we are again, start of 2011 and now my country is being devastated again. This time a different enemy, opposite in its form but just as deadly. I have always been fearful of the power that water holds. It's not to be mistaken. Deep sea water creeps me the hell out.
Queensland (way up North at the top of my country, for those who don’t know) is dealing with one of the worst floods they have seen in a while. You gotta love the irony that this happens during our summer. People have died, animals have died, houses and livelihoods have been destroyed by flashfloods, damaging winds and cyclones have teased us, looking like they might join the party.
What surprised me though was the amount of flood that decided to attach Victoria as well (my home state) I heard on the radio today that a quarter of my state has been flooded and I think at one point Melbourne was cut off from Adelaide. Wow. I have friends in Pyramid Hill and Horsham and friends in Queensland. All affected by the floods. I sit here and count myself lucky that I have never had to run from a fire or flood or any natural disaster. I've never had to deal with watching my whole life go up in flames or be swept away by raging floods. But it still hits hard watching fellow Aussies go through that.
But out of all of this, the one thing that really strikes home in my heart? Is that these times makes me proud to be who I am, proud to be from this country. I am proud to be Australian. We band together, we give all we can and we help our mates and all while doing so we keep our sense of humour, even if at times it is a bit dark (What? Us Aussie’s are great at the defensive mechanism that is dark humour in a crisis) I think we're pretty bloody awesome.
What I also think is pretty awesome is fandom. I was notified by a couple of good friends from the states gaelicspirit and thruterryseyes posting support for the Australian Floods and it made me smile as much as the picture of the guy who saved the young Kangaroo from the flood. I dont remember life before fandom. It is made of awesome and we can do truly amazing things together.
Here is the link if anyone is interested -
http://community.livejournal.com/fandom_flood_ap/
Now onto some more fun … but probably less interesting stuff. I am going to update you with what has been happening :)
So my new job that I started in September. It's going well. I have gotten through my 3 month probationary period and signed a new contract that gives me a raise in pay, a Christmas bonus and half of my weekends back. Something I asked for and didn’t think I was going to get. I admit the days are draining and I cant believe how many stupid and rude people there are out there (wasn’t I just talking about how people were so great?) but my boss is pretty awesome and he really gives a shit about his employees … really. Which is why working later than normal most days and working the Saturday doesn’t hurt so much. I worked hard those first 3 months and he thought about my suggestion of one full weekend off a month and gave me two. I rotate with my other colleague now. I have one full Saturday instead of a half saturday every week and then he works the next one where I get the weekend off. Works out awesomely. I am lucky. But I am finally doing something that doesn’t shatter my soul. Because I kinda needed to do something I could stomach.
Onto other things …
This last month was crazy with trying to catch up with everyone before Christmas came. I had a trip to Geelong with my con girls (minus Stacie *Hugs* we Missed you!!) where we stayed at a friends house, ate out, saw Carol's By Candle Light and watched all the different TV shows we all love to watch. A nice mixture of Supernatural, Torchwood, White Collar gag reel, Hawaii 5-0 and Vampire Diaries. It was fantastic and just made me realize how lucky I am to have fallen in with such an amazing group of girls that I can catch up with, not just online but in person, girls who get me and I get them. Every single one of them are fantastic and I feel blessed :)
The weekend directly after that was just as busy. That Friday night we had a full house. Lisa and her family came over and so did my friend Caroline and her mother Hillie. My Aunty Robbie naturally showed up as she does every Friday and we all went silly with my video camera in an effort to cheer up a friend *waves at Emily* We talked and played and had several games of singstar. It was fun and full of laughter.
The next day after I got out of work I headed into Etihad Stadium where I ran into my friend Casey and once again Caroline and Hillie. Earlier this year I helped Caroline organize a surprise birthday present. We had poor Hillie that she hadn't got tickets. Caroline had bought them. But because we had such trouble getting tickets and because Caroline desperately wanted her Mum to have a good time, Caroline took my money that I had given her for my ticket and gotten us both VIP tickets. She told me not to worry about it, that it was an early birthday present for myself also. I was astounded and oh so grateful. I don't know if Caroline really knows just how grateful I was. We ran into my friend Lisa (the one we all visited in Geelong) and took some photos before we went our separate ways, had dinner (Nandos Chips ..mmmm...) and then said our goodbyes to Caroline and headed into the Stadium.
It's funny, you know. I have always been a Bon Jovi fan but not to the extent of Casey, or my brother, or Hillie. I liked him and his music but I honestly never really thought much about him. That changed after this concert. There is nothing better than seeing a band live that really still enjoy what they do even after all these years. Bon Jovi are epic. They have been around for years and they havent lost their touch. They are what bands should aspire to be like. Jon moved around the stage, came close by, joked with his band members and with the crowd and for the first time ever in my history he appealed to be in looks as well as just music. The guy is adorable.
By the end of the concert it took us a while to get out but we eventually did make it through the sea of people and even managed to find Casey. What I found even more amazing was the fact that by the time we caught our train? It wasn't packed. We could relax ... well Hillie and Casey could lol I jumped on the train without a ticket and had I been caught it could have turned out to be an expensive night for me ... more than it already had been lol.
Caroline picked us up from Preston Station and drove us all to my house where my Mum, Nan and Lisa were waiting. Casey came in and we all spoke for a bit before I drove her to her Mum's.
Back at home Lisa was staying the night as we had to go to the "Gate To Sanctuary" convention the next day. Lisa and I bunked together in my room and as usual we turn into giggling teenage girls when we share a bed. I don't know why that happens but I don't think we got to sleep until about 3am.
The next morning I decided I would drive us in. Usually I get my Mum to drop us off but I had a good feeling about parking. Coz of where the con was I was able to get parking right out front and because it was Sunday the parking was free all day. Fantastic.
So for those of you that dont know "Gate To Sanctuary" was a Sanctuary/Stargate Convention. I have been a Stargate fan for years and I am now a very big fan of Sanctuary. There are a couple of reasons. For one Sanctuary is run by Amanda Tapping and other people involved in Stargate and Robin Dunne was a main character. I have loved Robin since he starred in Cruel Intentions 2, which was a crap movie by the way.
Here's a little story before I get into that ...
It was announced earlier this year that Robin Dunne would be attenting the Sydney Armageddon. After some decision making I finally decided i wanted to meet him bad enough that I was going to make the trip. There were other people in the line up that made it all worthwhile. Then I saw online a couple of weeks before the Sanctuary Con that Robin was now not attending Armageddon. I nearly died. I had bought dinner tickets, I had made plans .. and all because of Robin ... and now he wasnt going to be there. And to make things worse he was going to be replaced by an actor (Ryan Robbins) that I was meeting in a couple of weeks at Sanctuary. After a few helpful and much more intelligent friends I realised I wasnt losing out with Robin. They had done a swap. I was now going to meet Robin at Sacntuary and Ryan in Sydney. I could deal with that.
So there we were lined up waiting to get in when we ran into a woman and her daughters that we had been in line with to get into Armageddon in Melbourne. Then we saw a guy and his mother that we always see at cons ... and many more. This is all very cool or very geeky lame LOL
Anyways we get in and I am familiar with this venue by now. I like it. I went downstairs with Lisa and jumped straight in the line to buy my photo ops. I had a plan. I was going to buy a single photo with each guest and then a Carter family photo (Carmen Agenziano and Amanda Tapping) I get my chance to buy and I see another option ... A Sanctuary Sandwich photo. A photo with Amanda and Robin. This sounded awesome because I love both these people and who am I to deny myself another chance to be face to face with Robin? I was naughty and spent the extra $100.
We sat down and waited to be told when to get our photos done. It was so exciting. They were playing Stargate Episodes and Sanctuary Episodes while we waited for our turn for photo ops. The actors were amazing. Amanda Tapping is just so sweet and bubbly and fun. She is like a big kid and I have to say that I really like the black hair on her rather than the blonde she had in Stargate for years.
The first photo op I had was the Sanctuary Sandwich between Amanda and Robin. What I love about these actors and most I have met lately is that they really get in your face. They take your hand and lean forward and meet your eyes. Both Amanda and Robin have amazing blue eyes. And what i love about these two is that they really look like really good friends. They are so comfortable with each other and OMG Robin Dunne is gorgeous. He is so nice and attentive. It was fantastic to be able to meet Amanda and Robin together as they are the lead actors in the show.
My next photo op was the Carter Family Photo with Amanda and Carmen who plays Amanda's father Jacob in Stargate SG-1. I loved this guy. He was an awesome character. His sense of humor was always so dry and sarcastic which is my favourite kind of humor and his interactions with Jack (Richard Dean Anderson) were gold. I told Lisa she could join me for this one so that she got a chance to meet Amanda and Carmen. I told Lisa to jump in the middle of Amanda and Carmen and I jumped on the side. Carmen took my hand and I found this man to be incredibly sweet. I watched him and his wife while I was waited for my Sanctuary photo and they were just so sweet together, totally in love and very easy going. As I walked away from the photo I told him that I was SO glad to finally meet him. He was so sweet about it and looked genuinely surprised and happy.
My next photo was my single with Chuck Campbell. Chuck is awesome. He was a gate technician in Stargate Atlantis that never had a name until Torri Higginson (Dr. Weir) accidentally said his real name in a scene and then they left it in, his name even appeared in the script as Chuck after that. Chuck is awesome. Not as Awesome as Walter in SG-1 (who has the same job and managed to get his name on the show in a very similar way) but he is awesome nonetheless. And OMG what a fun guy. I watched him with people as I waited in line and he was bouncing all over the place and hugging people and as every person left his photo booth he would say "See you tonight." As if he expected the whole convention to be going to the cocktail party LOL
I walked up to Chuck and told him it was great to meet him and he said likewise and then he looked at me, stood back and opened up his arms and said "Should we hug it out? Let's hug it out." So we did. he bend his knees and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders while he wrapped his arms around me. He is adorable. As I was walking away he said thanks and "I'll see you tonight." I said "No, unfortunately you wont." to which he replied "I'll see you today then." LOL I walked away with the biggest smile on my face because he was just so damn cool.
My next single photo was with Carmen. I spoke with the line controller about her cool t-shirt while I waited for my turn. Once it was my shot, I walked in and he took my hand. I told him it was great to see him again and he looked so sorry as he pulled me in against him and said "I'm sorry, Love, but can you remind me where we have met before." I replied "In the line just before." He apologized again to which I told him that it was okay. He met so many people during the day at these things that I would be surprised if he did remember. He held my hand through the whole time and as I was walking out he stopped me and asked what my name was. I told him it was Tara and he told me it was nice to meet me and then stopped and pointed and said "Gone with the wind" LOL
I jumped straight back in the line to get my photo with Amanda Tapping. I ended up talking to the two people behind me. That is what I love about these things. None of us knew each other but the three of us chatted the entire time in the line and what seemed like a massively long wait soon saw us up at the front of the line. It made the time go very fast.
I had my photo with Amanda and I told her that I thought the dark hair colour looked fantastic. She thanked me and said she was still getting used to it. She smiles so big and she has the biggest blue eyes and she is such a nice person. I wasnt that phazed about meeting her aside from being a fan of the show for 10 seasons. I admit I was more excited about meeting the guys (I'm shallow, I know lol) But I am really glad I got the chance to meet her.
So after that I took off and ran down the stairs into the merchandise room (because i seem to have a condition that makes me have to run up and down stairs LOL) and then headed straight for the auditorium where Lisa was waiting. I waited with her til we were called up to get our Photos with Robin.
I found I was sitting right next to the same guy my brother, Matthew, was sitting next to at the first Michael Shanks con we went to in September 2009. Amazingly small world.
Finally we were called up for our Robin photos. We stood in line for a while and when we finally did get to the front Lisa had her turn with Robin and then it was my shot, only I didnt get my shot straight away. A couple of the Con Workers jumped in ahead of me and then Amanda Tapping jumped in ahead of me. She took a few photos with Robin and then kissed him on the cheek and pulled away to leave. Robin pouted and and complained that she hadnt kissed both cheeks. Amanda kissed his other cheek and then he jumped around like a fan boy calling out "She kissed me! She Kissed me!" LOL Amanda laughed and then they hugged and I was smiling like a goof because you can tell when a friendship is real and it was so cute to see.
Once Amanda left it was my turn again. Nothing spectacular happened. I walked up, said hi, thanked him for coming and he looked at me with those damn blue eyes and I got to snuggle :) He's a joker, a real funny guy but he is also really sweet and nice too. It's a great mix.
So Chuck was the first person to have a panel and boy did we laugh. This guy is hilarious. I love that this actors that have such small but regular roles on these shows have big and fun personalities. Even Lisa who didnt really have all that much of an idea of who this guy was laughed. Fantastic guy. I cant remember a lot of what he said only that I know it was funny. I do remember one part when the Hub guy with the microphone leant on one of the cubes alone the wall and it broke off. I tell you this because it comes into play later in the day.
After Chuck's panel we were let out for lunch. Lisa and I decided against going to that cafe across the street like we did at the Tru Blood Convention. We (and another guy we have met at a few cons) decided to head up towards KFC. It was a bit of a walk and it started raining but once we got to KFC we separated ways. Lisa and I sat down to eat lunch and then started walking back to the con. On our way back we ran into the same guy.
I felt terrible once we got back inside because we arrived after Carmen Agenziano had taken the stage. I felt so small walking in and finding my seat while he was talking. I hate that. I also missed out on the 5 minute photo chance. Carmen was just as sweet during his talk as he had been upstairs. When asked who his favorite actress was he looked over at his wife and smiled and said her name. Awwwww ...
Next up was Robin Dunne. This guy is a mad man. He swears, he runs about, he plays pranks ... he is hilarious! As I had come to be a fan of his while he was making movies, I really wasn't sure what to expect. Most of the celebs I have met have come from TV shows that have been filmed in Vancouver ... they are laid back and insane up there if Stargate and Supernatural is anything to go by. I love it. I had no idea what Robin was like though. I was pleasantly surprised. We found out that he has a habit of dropping his pants and naturally one of the first questions was about his Bollywood Dance number from the Season 2 Finale. He actually showed us a little bit of it but he said he thought it was a joke when he had first read it in the script and that he was terrified. He remembers starting the dance on the day and the end ... he reckons he zoned out for the rest LOL
He went to lean on one of those white blocks jutting out from the wall and fans yelled at him not to, which he jumped ... it's probably one of those things that you have to be there to find hilarious but it was damn funny.
He told us about the long 3 year joke he played on Martin Wood (Director on both Stargates and Sanctuary). How he had played a writer, emailing Martin. Martin had been laughing and showing the others until eventually he started getting freaked and wouldnt talk about it. Robin started feeling terrible about it and told Damien Kindler (Melbourne born Canadian writer/producer of both Stargate and Sanctuary) and Damien told him to keep it up and that they would tell him soon. The had Martin believeing that this guy was turning up at Comic Con this year and Martin was that freaked that he booked into the hotel under an alias LOL Robin was feeling guiltier and guiltier. After the Sanctuary panel at comic con Martin was told that the guy was waiting for him outside. He went out and found Robin standing there with a Video Camera ... 3 years!!! What a determined and committed prankster LOL
At some point during Robin's talk, while we were all laughing, I realized that Amanda Tapping was watching from up the back. She had this amused grin on her face as she watched and listened to Robin recount stories. It was cute.
Then it came time for the t-shirt auction that Hub always run. Now every other guy (Jensen and Jared included) have teased and pretended they were going to take off their actual top but never did it. Robin Dunne had no such worries over anything like that. He took his top right off. He was shirtless god dammit. He put the white shirt on and started to draw but then decided he wanted us to draw on him.. So a few fans got the chance to write on Robin's t-shirt while he was wearing it. and then Amanda decided she wanted a shot at writing on it as well. Then the man took the top back off and stood there, shirtless ... yummm ... he did however pretend he was going to take off his jeans ... but didnt lol
After Robin was finished and someone bought his top it was Amanda's turn to have her panel. She sat down next to some fans in the front row and excitedly watched her fan made intro video. Amanda told us about working with Richard Dean Anderson and how she just wanted Sam and Jack to get it over with. She wanted Sam to sleep with him and get it out of her system LOL She discussed her and Michael and Chris being together through the original auditions through to the end. She spoke about her daughter, about working with various people, about Christopher Heyerdahl as John Druit.
When it came time for her to auction off her T-shirt, Amanda joked about taking her top off but then said she wasn't going to do that ... too bad for the guys in the audience LOL Once again I happened to notice that up at the back, Robin was standing at the back smiling and grinning and eventually came down to do his own artwork on Amanda's T-shirt. The pictures speak for themselves.
After that we had to go up and purchase autograph tokens. I had I needed to get an autograph from Amanda for my friend Patricia and i needed to get an autograph from Robin for my friend Evelyne. Then I saw picture while I was waiting in line of both Robin and Ryan in Sanctuary. Since i will be meeting Ryan in Feb I decided to get myself an autograph from Robin which I can get Ryan to sign in February which i think will be nice.
We stood in line with the guy I was sitting next to the whole day and chatted with him. Finally I got my chance to go and get Robin's autograph. I walked up to his table and he looked up at me with his amazing blue eyes and smiled and I melted. I told him that the first photo was for a friend of mine in canada and as per usual I had fun as I had to spell out each letter of Evelyne's name, which he made me spell out one letter slowly at a time LOL Then I got him to sign the picture I had chosen of him signed. He asked me my name and i have to admit that I love the reaction I get from these celebs when i say my name. They are so used to pronouncing my name the american way that when they hear me say my name they copy my pronounciation.
I sort of crouched in front of his table as he was signing and i told him that I had originally bought tickets to Armageddon in Sydney to meet him and that now i would be having dinner with both Christopher Heyerdahl and Ryan Robins. Robin looked up at me with a grin and told me ... "Tell Ryan to eat with his mouth closed." LOL You can bet you I am going to do just that. It provides the perfect starter for me LOL
So then I jumped back in line with Lisa and the guy whose name I dont know or cant remember. We eventually got to the front of the Amanda autograph line and I told Lisa to go ahead of me. She got a photo signed for her daughter Sam. When it was my turn I told her I was getting an autograph for a friend that couldnt make it. I told her Patricia's name and as Amanda was signing I told her that Patricia had already paid to come from Western Australia to see Michael and wasnt able to afford the second trip so soon. Amanda looked up at me and said "Oh, so she picked Michael over me?" I replied with a yep, he's awesome. She laughed and smiled and I thanked her so much for coming because it truly was fantastic to get to meet her finally.
Then the day was over ... or at least the con part of it was. But anyone who has been on a full day at a con with me knows it doesnt end there. i have to have all my photos scanned and ready to post as soon as I get home ... because I am pedantic like that. I drove Lisa and I over to my Dad's work and scanned all of our photos and then finally drove us home to my house where we ate Hungry Jacks for dinner before I drove Lisa home.
It was an awesome day.
Christmas 2010
Christmas for my family has always extended over two get-togethers. One for my father's side and one for my mother's side. Back when me and my brother were kids my Dad used to pick us up on Christmas morning and take us to our grandmother's house for a few hours before dropping us off back home around 2pm at Mum's where we would celebrate the rest of Christmas day with my mother's side of the family. But ... we haven't done that since we were kids. Now days Matt and I make our own way over to my Grandmother's house where my Dad's family meet up and exchange gifts. It's usually a bizarre and strange affair. But as insane as my family is, I do enjoy attending.
On Christmas day we usually have family over, my Nan cooks a fantastic roast full with all different kinds of meat and potatoes, vegetables and trifle. This year it was busier than it has been in a long long time as my best friend and her family were going to be attending. I woke up Christmas morning and headed over to Lisa's to help her cart people over to my house. Once at my house it was crazy as everyone started handing out presents to everyone. it was chaos of surprised gasps and wrapping paper going everywhere. I think everyone got spoilt ... I know I did.
My Aunty and Uncle brought my Grandfather (who has recently been put into a home) over and we all ate and chatted and had fun. It was a good day.
I need to take this moment to thank everyone that was there on Christmas day for their amazing thoughtful gifts. And I also want to say that i hope everyone had just as an amazing day as we did.
New Years Eve 2010
Lisa had decided that she was going to host a New Years Eve Party at her house. Everyone brought food and drink and from the beginning of the night it started to be fun. Everyone was there, my nan was sat in front of the air-con, my Mum and Aunty Robbie were sat on the other side of the room and soon we had all the kitchen table chairs scattered around the living room and things got loud. But that's the way we all are. Our friend Lauren showed up and brought these delicious marshmallow things and also a Christmas gift for both me and Lisa (A Doctor Who Desk Calender). Our other friends Caroline and her mother Hillie then showed up and the place just got louder and louder. We spent the time chatting, eating and Caroline and I put together a Pavlova ... well we made the topping anyways. We also had many rounds of Singstar on the PlayStation 2.
Just before midnight hit a few of us decided we wanted to take a walk to see if we could see the Melbourne City fireworks from where we were. There was Me, Lisa, Caroline and Hillie and the 3 kids Sam, Caitlin and Connor. not only could we see the city fireworks from the park down the road but there was fireworks going on all around us ... despite them being illegal. It was so much fun.
My brother called me a minute or so after it hit 12am to which I endured his friend Kennedy singing drunkenly to me on the phone before we put both Matt and Emily (who Caroline had on her phone) on speaker and tried to get them to wish each other a Happy New Year LOL
We walked back and popped party poppers and played some more singstar and some wii Just Dance ...good night was had all around.
Happy New Year everyone. May 2011 be fantastic to us all :)
So there you have it. That's me in a nutshell. Supernatural will be back in a few weeks. White Collar is finally back and my current new obsession is the new Hawaii Five O … in that spirit I will leave you with my new creation. Enjoy peeps!
Hawaii Five O - Hot Stuff