Keep on plannin’

The past two weeks I’ve had off work ... as a freelancer that works in the film business these opportunities to stay home and catch up with life don’t come frequently and as most of my colleagues know , we work some crazy ass hours ! I mean I totally laugh when anyone tells me they worked a long day .... 10 hours :) we average 14-16 hour days and work 20-25 days a month . Do the math ! It’s mental isn’t it ? Doesn’t leave much time to socialize , do laundry , sleep or plan my trips which is more important then anything else I’ve mentioned . I’m joking 🙃.... kinda .... 

During this two week span of freedom I didn’t even dream of putting the call out to get any work , nah f$&k dat ! I took full advantage of it and got shit I needed to do at home in order and spent as much quality time with my best friend and partner in crime Kathleen :) don’t get me started , I’m not trying to be a sappy sucka but it was nice being with her and I’m realizing this all as I sit in a parking lot working today on a Sunday . It’s actually nice to be at work , especially after realizing how much this trip to Australia 🇦🇺 & New Zealand 🇳🇿 is gonna set me back . As I mentinoned in my last post we are not holding back on anything , booking everything in advance such as hotels and tours and adventure stuff ! And we aren’t going cheap on the hotels either , I’m not the Air B’n’b  kinda guy .... I wanna make a mess leave my room and come back at night and have my bed made and my room cleaned ! I’m on vacation . I don’t plan on cooking or cleaning at all .... I might even pay a service to do my laundry while I’m travelling :) won’t be cheap but this is a big trip and as I said earlier .... no holding back , not being cheap and fully going to enjoy every moment ! 

Right now I have all my flights fully booked , hotels are fully booked in Australia aside from Melbourne and most of my schedule planned for Australia aside from ice time in Sydney . New Zealand is open for suggestions and I could use another week off work to start figuring all that out but at the moment only flights booked and I have ice time sorted in Auckland and Dunedin . Might rent a car while I’m there to see both islands instead of taking bus’ around and depending on strict scheduling ..... if anyone has any suggestions feel free to comment ? I have a lot of ideas but nothing in place yet .... just might have to wing it while I’m there and book stuff last second but will see how things play out over the next couple weeks . 

If anyone has any suggestions on cool places to stay or awesome things to do or see while I’m in New Zealand , do t be shy ☺️ please let me know as I want to make the most of my two weeks there ! 

This isn’t a cheap trip

This is probably the first time in my life that I’m booking everything and paying for it in advance as usually I just wait until the last second and book everything on the fly . This time I’m not going on the cheap either as it’s a big trip , going to Australia and New Zealand is no small matter as it’s a long flight and for a long flight you gotta make it a long trip . If you didn’t know this already .... I’m going for almost 7 weeks :) it wasn’t easy telling my employer this but thankfully I work for the best boss in the “biz” . Thank you Matt for being so understanding . Really hoping I don’t lose my spot on that Main Dish truck that I totally love driving around . I need that job to pay for my next adventure also lol ! 

As I said planning is in full force and the main part of planning is booking ice time .... so far I have not booked anything in Sydney where I go first but I do have my New Years plans sorted  in Royal Botanical Garden ) https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/whatson/the-point and my Bridgeclimb https://www.bridgeclimb.com/ booked along with my hostel at the YHA central YHA Sydney Central  which was definitely not cheap due to the rates marked up for New Year’s Eve . Hoping Justin Harrison my fellow goaltender can hook up some ice times sooner then later . My next flight is to Auckland in New Zealand where I have yet to book anything ..... hoping to find some help as my contact there is moving away and one of my childhood friends I was planning to visit is also moving away which puts a twist on those plans . I do have contact with a friend of a friend and hopefully she can help but if she can't then if  anyone knows anyone there or in Dunedin please help me find some ice time , pretty please :) !!!! I have those flights all booked and plan to be in Auckland from Jan 7-14 and Dunedin from Jan 14-21 . I am really hoping that Alicia Thomasen can help me out though …. my buddy Timo speaks very highly of her and I am hoping to get the chance to meet her when I'm there .

After my stay in New Zealand I fly back to Australia all the way over in Perth where I have a lot of old friends to meet up with . It’s pretty crazy how many people I am finding out are there now . I have been hooked up with some ice times there and my hotel is booked up even with one night that we are spending in a prison cell .... Fremantle Prison Fremantle Prison YHAwill be my home for a night . Hope Kathleen likes it hehehehe ! I’m really excited about this part of the trip .... so many people to have pints with and get on the ice with . James Brown ( not THE James Brown ) will probably be my main man out there and yes I’m getting him on the ice ! I’m planning to see my old high school teammate Will Carey-Hill who’s good friend Lara Irons is hooking me up with ice time . I definitely have to go for an ice cream at Mati Kuld’s ice cream parlour Kuld Creamery and hoping to see former Ghetto Blaster Brandon Bailey on the ice and in the pub after also . Phew .... so many people and I’m sure I’m gonna make a few new hockey buddies there too . 

Flight to Melbourne after is booked and we are currently looking at hotels . The Melbourne Nite Owls (Melbourne Nite Owls Hockey Club) are gonna get me on the ice for a practise or two and I haven’t done much research there yet but I’m sure there will be plenty to do .... Kathleen has already been researching a few gin bars she wants to visit and I really have to make time for things she wants to do also or I might come home a single man 😳. Don’t worry I keep my promises *most of the time * 

I have not booked my flight to Adelaide yet for the tournament I’m playing in there but I’m currently planning with Kevin Mingoia from Okinawa Sniperz team I’ve joined . He might be in Melbourne also and when we can sort everything out I’m hoping to be on the same flight and we have a room booked in Adelaide together . He likes IPA’s .... you gotta know we are gonna cause some trouble lol 😝 apparently the plan is to have a keg in our room …. sounds like a recipe for disaster ? or the beginning of a joke …. a goalie had a hotel room with a keg in it ….. regardless , count me in . 

Lots to plan still and time doesn’t seem to slow down but I’m really hoping that I will have my ice times all sorted in the next month or so this way I can book some things Kathleen will be interested in doing and some other crazy (expensive) things ! So this being all said .... if you are reading this in Auckland or Dunedin , please hook me up with some ice times ! 86 more days to go ….