Thursday, December 26, 2013

The Last Couple Of Months... Part One..

Well The last couple of months have gone really fast with life and quite a few things happening. Also The Brookvale Show happened, accidentally bitten by dog, going to a few different cafes, catering & trade fairs, voluntary work amongst other things which I'm going to show you with a group of pictures.... I hope you like the pictures.... This is part one....

Yummy Durian my parents gave me..

Yummy Durian my parents gave me..

Yummy Durian my parents gave me..


Yummy Durian my parents gave me..

My Bandage....

My Bandage....

My Bandage....

My Bandage....

My Wound/ accidental dog bite with 2 stitches

My Wound/ accidental dog bite with 2 stitches

My Wound/ accidental dog bite with 2 stitches

My Wound/ accidental dog bite with 2 stitches

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

My September Birthday

My parents, myself and Cam's fiance Rachel on right.
My birthday was in September and the night before my family and I went to Effendy Restaurant . It's a Turkish place with lots of different and nice food located in Balmain. I have been wanting to go there for the past 2 years. We finally all got there at last...  So we all feasted on the Turkish food which was provided for us all. We were all so full after the big meal that we took a doggy bag home with us all. Yet it was a quadruple big celebration because it was a late Fathers Day, my brother's engagement to his girlfriend Rachel, My birthday the next day and Rachel's birthday the coming week.
So it was decided we all wrap all the celebrations in one because we don't get time to see each other that much...
 So all in all it was an excellent night of catching up and great food.. For some reason the computer decided to put the photo's in the reverse order... So I'm sorry about that...


My parents and my brother and Fiance.

The beautiful huge Turkish pie

Fish that Rachel had.

A Turkish decoration.

A beautiful sweet Turkish dessert my brother & I got.

A beautiful sweet Turkish dessert my brother & I got.

Turkish decoration.

The huge Turkish pie

A beautiful aniseed flavoured Turkish chilled liquor drink.

A beautiful aniseed flavoured Turkish chilled liquor drink.

Bread with dipping oil

My beautiful de-boned sheeps head mixed in with vegie's, tongue and brains. Turkish entree

My beautiful de-boned sheeps head mixed in with vegie's, tongue and brains. Turkish entree

Turkish entree

Turkish entree 
The food place we went to was called Effendy Restaurant.  http://www.efendy.com.au/index.php

The  very good night was had by one and all and it was a very special time as well... I think a family who eats and share's food together is a family that stays together and grows together. I can now also include Rachel into our family because she is engaged to my beautiful brother Cameron... I'm so happy for them both... Also at last I've got... A SISTER.... Yay...
Until blog post I hope you are all well....

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Australia Votes Today...

An Aussie Citizen
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Australia goes to vote today over this wide vast brown southern land of ours. Where everyone over 18 had the right to vote and the right to say what they want about Australia's government. So between the hours of 8am to 6pm you have to go to your local voting booth if your in your area to vote. I rocked up to mine at 7:45am to discover a line of about 50 people ahead of me and the line about 27 metre's long. I wanted to try and avoid the crowds of people and look what I got?! Heaps of people... What was the worst was seeing a coffee van guy setting up and I wanting to get something yet couldn't leave because I didn't want to lose my spot in the queue. with my Asperger way I felt like asking the person behind me to mind my spot while I got something to drink.. Yet I didn't have the guts...

Another Aussie Citizen
Anyway about 20 minutes later at about 8:05am a lady came down the queue with fresh baked muffins for $2 each and I bought a mixed berry one. Then the coffee guy came about 1 minute later and I asked him if he did Chai Lattes to which he did so I got one.... He went and got my order ready coming back quicker then I thought because I had my hands full with a half eaten muffin, wallet and the rest of it. By this time about another 40 or so people joined the queue and I felt all eyes on me because I was the only one of these people who had bought something to eat and drink. I was scared that I was going to drop something and I'm sure I looked very awkward with both my hands full.

Election, election, election! Tonny Abbott, Kevin Rudd, Greens party, Labor party, Liberal party, votes, polls, campaigns, song-and-dance, TV, media, kissing babies, promises, ads, photo opportunities amongst all the other publicity etc.... on the way to this final voting day when Australia comes united together and decides the prime minister for the next term. Is it just me or is everyone else sick of all the election campaigns? Is everyone else sick of the media frenzy surrounding it as well? To be honest I was over it by the the first few days. I think with My Asperger's I get overwhelmed by too much information about elections... Yet thinking of countries that are controlled by dictatorships  and the like then I am lucky to be able to vote. Because there are countries out there who don't have the same freedoms of Australia.

Election Day Information.
http://www.aec.gov.au/






Saturday, August 10, 2013

Who Are You May?

Yesterday I was looking for something on the internet and ended up stumbling onto some very interesting  also old pictures. They were amazing photo's from the 1920's to 1930's in Sydney which were of criminals both ladies and men at the time. Going through these photo's and looking at them also the poses that some of them did were amazing. Some of the looks of the faces and what they were wearing left me with a sense that they were speaking to me through the ages.

I came across one photo which clearly stood out to me and I don't know why. The picture of this lady called May Russell taken on the 31st January 1922 in Sydney.

Courtesy Barrelhouse Files.
 I don't know what drew me to her picture yet I found she had a beautiful yet sad face. She somehow reminds me of someone I know. The left pictue I felt said a lot with her eyes and expression on her face. Her hair looks a bit ruffled and stood up a bit obviously from wearing a hat in the next photo on the right. I wonder what brought her to the police cells where this mugshot was taken. Did she pick pocket something? Steal something from a shop? Was a prostitute? Maybe she got in a fight or altercation? Did she kill someone? Or sold sly grog to people? Or was a illegal abortionist or helping it? Maybe some other crime that I can't think off at the moment? Did she get into trouble for some type of drugs?

Also what strikes me is that she is very well dressed with her shoes, stockings, skirt, coat, shirt, bag and hat that she was wearing on that day she was arrested. I also found it interesting how she was holding the bag in front of her trying to protect or cover herself with a strong determined look on her face. Her stance in the second picture also looked forlorn which led me to ask myself a very simple question.... Who are you May? What was or is your story?

I've had a multitude of questions going around my head for the past day just wondering about her and what happened to her for the rest of her life. Did she have a boyfriend? Girlfriend? Husband? Or did she have any children? How old was she when the picture was taken? Are there any more details about her? I looked up her name on the Internet yet couldn't find anymore information on her anywhere. May I should try to do some more to find out. Where in Sydney did she live? What work did she do? What kind of music did she like? What was her favorite food? Did she watch any movies back then if they were around? What kind of friends or family did she have? How old was she when she ended up passing away? What happened to her after this picture? Both in the near future and the rest of her life? Did she find happiness at all?

Yet in the first photograph you could see all her vulnerability with her slouched body posture yet her face was very attractive, human just looking at the camera and seemingly beyond that into my soul with those eyes of hers. For me having Asperger's I'm still trying to work out what that look is saying and how she was thinking and feeling inside. For me it is a very mysterious intriguing look which has left me totally mesmerized indeed. I've looked at this photo quite a few times of the day and each time I look I am drawn into the picture. I have a larger version of this picture which I also include because it is with the larger photo that I am drawn in with.... I don't know why yet she has got me very intrigued and will be a mystery to me... Maybe forever.....

Courtesy Barrelhouse Files.



Thursday, August 8, 2013

New Computer... At Last!

At last I've got a brand new computer which I've been slowly saving up for. After much discussion with my parents I was out with them last month and got one. The reason being is my old computer which I think I got in August 2009 or 2010 had ran out of memory. That was because of my big Itunes library and also photos which were somehow locked into my Iphoto gallery. Yes I did put as much of it as I could on to back-ups and the like yet it wasn't working anymore which was so annoying.

That was a big reason why I couldn't blog very much over the past few to 6 months because I had trouble putting more photo's on the computer so I could put on my blog. Now the problem is solved and you will see more blogs from me from now on.... So a big YAY......

I'm still getting used to the new computer big time because it is quite different from the last one. I've been finding that sometimes the littlest differences are the most annoying with my Asperger's. I find it hard adjusting to new changes and everything that's different. It feels so good because it's got loads more space which I'm now being very careful with. Here's a couple of photo's of my new computer for you....




Sunday, July 14, 2013

Expo

The Sign To Find It.
Some time in May I want to a voluntary work expo at Dee why RSL. I had a quick look around by myself then rang Pam a friend of mine from bible study to come have a look with me. Looking around the room was very interesting because it almost had anything and everything on the Northern Beaches you could help out in.

It looked like the expo had a good gathering because there were people milling about everywhere looking at a whole lot of different things. From looking after animals you could help take care off or visit old people, to gardening, art and craft, helping with driving, computers and a whole lot of other things also. Almost anything you can think off.

Part Of The Expo... (Sorry it's a bit blurry.)
Pam and I were there for about an hour or so and by the time we finished looking we were both exhausted. We went downstairs to the cafe and had a cup of chai for me yet coffee for her. It was such an amazing day just to see how one could help out in the community. It certainly did make me think about the importance of voluntary work. There are a couple of things in the pipeline yet I don't want to jinx myself. So I have found the start of something I feel which is good... See what happens as they say...

A Little Penguin Statue For The Wildlife Carer's



Tuesday, May 7, 2013

ANZAC Day 2013

Statue of "Simmo" Simpson & wounded soldier
Another year is flying past really quickly and I've finally found a way to remember my password. Another ANZAC day has come up where I always have mixed feelings for the day and how much it does impact people. Not just the servicemen and women yet all their family and friends even today in this present age. Of how acts of war, terrorism and political unrest still touches the lives of nearly everybody in the world today. Each year I'm always interested in watching all the documentaries of war related events and stories to try to understand what it was like for people living through it. I also like watching the march and the services on TV as well just to see and hear the stories and the people.

For the love of Australia
I've had family members who have went to war and one never came back. My Grandfather 'Max' was a ambulance aid  person or helper in WWII before he got captured and became a POW in Germany for many years. He didn't talk much about the war yet whenever he heard fireworks it used to scare him which wasn't good. I don't have a photo of him yet I miss him a lot. he also loved photography. I have also known and met other people who have served in wars as well. With each one person I've met they have been affected by was and what it does to a person. 

Victoria Award people 
Pictures of service men, chaplain and women
I feel no war is fair and I don't understand it. It brings out the best and worst in human nature in everyone. Expect things never to be the same again after a war because it changes the fabric of time and man's minds. There is left a massive hole where young men once stood looking at the battlefield where-ever it was. It could been with Alexander The Great, Masada, Waterloo, The American Civil War, The War of The Roses, The Crimean war, The Boer War, The Falklands war, The French Revolution, The English Civil war, The Battle of Hastings, The Battle of Culloden  or one of the many battles and wars over all of history to name a few. I could've gone on to name more yet it would've been a very long list indeed. Yet the idea is basically the same where there is some type of conflict between two or more parties. Also where war seems to be the only option at the time.

People are funny things.... Like me with having Asperger's there is a whole lot that I don't understand about the goings on of this world. Yet I know one thing is that I still feel things and sometimes the feelings get so strong that I can't even put them into words or write about it. Yet I know that I am one of the lucky ones who has published a book and has had it released and also read. I have put my voice out there to be heard by people and the general public.  Yet for also those untold soldiers who lost their lives and didn't even get a chance to have his or her stories told.... Then ANZAC day is the perfect way to remember them all who have lost their lives. May they alway rest in peace not only in the ground where they fell yet always in out hearts and memories.... God bless them all....


A moving statue


A moving wall. With each single poppy representing a name.

A few names... surrounded by red

Passer-by looking at the wall

Red poppies

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Australia Day Weekend


The Australia Day Long Weekend was one hell of a verrrrrryyyyyyy long and tiring weekend which started catching up with two different set of friends both on the Friday night. I didn't get home until about 1:40am and then was getting distracted with computer and internet for the rest of the night. I also uploaded heaps of pictures from my camera to my computer which I really needed to do.

Photo thanks to Darren.
Early Saturday morning at about 9am I had to meet people down at Berry Reserve down in Narrabeen for 'The Big Breakfast' down there. As it turns out I wasn't the only one running late and other people were also say that was interesting to see what happened there... Luckily we all had mobile phones to contact one another not like ten years ago when they weren't really around.... Of course I brought my camera down and was taking heaps of photos just to capture the day around about us which I like doing. A few plans fell apart where a couple or few of us could take surfing lessons yet something happened to the instructor. So it was decided we go to a pub in Collaroy overlooking the beach which we did.... I only had one beer because I was driving and I was meeting a friend of mine in the city for Symphony in the Domain later on. Sitting outside was quite windy even with the umbrella mainly still covering us. Something strange happened because a guy turned up who I hadn't seen in about 6 months came up and we recognised each other so he joined the group. It was also getting to around about the time when I had to leave to start getting ready for that night. The group decided to go next door to the Collaroy Beach Club for a bit so I texted my friend and told them what was happening and  unexpected things were happening. A text came back saying that plans had changed on their end and they were at some party called the Cruise Bar or something.

With my Asperger's I was really feeling the tiredness came on and notice I got quite a bit sunburnt even being in the shade most of the time.  This group wanted me to keep hanging yet I had to be strong and say I had to leave because I still had my mind set on the symphony yet first meeting my new friend at Circular Quay. On the way back to my house I worked out that there was no time to bus or ferry it in which wasn't good because that meant parking was going to be expensive which I didn't need. As soon as I got I home I got changed quickly, had a small something to eat then left really quickly. Drove into the city and just near Wynyard I got a huge big branch stuck under my car which was bad because there were cars behind me. I put on my hazard lights got out and carefully dragged the big branch out, got in and then drove to the parking centre. It was so laughable because I had to drive about 8 levels underground to get a cat spot with it also being about $20 flat rate.

I took this a couple of years ago.
I legged it down near the Four Seasons Hotel and gave my friend a call to meet me because I had no idea where this silly place was. I had visions of my friend just standing at this bar waiting for me alone.  Also with my Asperger's I was really anxious because there were heaps of people around and I was really outside my comfort zone being there plus I didn't know this new person that well. So it was a situation which I didn't like that much. Anyway I was waiting so nervously for about 10 to 15 minutes and when I saw my friend I felt so relieved and gave a quick hug. So to confirm that we were still going to the symphony in the domain I asked that were were still going. The answer came back saying no didn't really feel like sitting down for a few hours listening to music from Stanley Kubrick's films. My heart fell and I felt so stupid for all the effort I had put into getting there the city. Then My friend said how about we go to the dance party thing instead. I asked how much it was found out it was about $40 to $45 for only a few hours which was very expensive for me. Anyway I agreed drew some money out then we walked up to where it was. It was so strange because the Cruise Bar was at the International Terminal where I was going to pick my parents up from early the next morning from their cruise. I started to have a really uncomfortable feeling because I was so tired after being around people all day and wanted a relaxing night listening to music. When I was paying to get in my friend didn't wait and said she was going in anyway. I was left there feeling confused because I had no idea where to find her in such a big place. After a few minutes I found that she was talking to another friend of hers who she obviously came or met up with. At this point I was way overtired and was completely peopled out, as well as feeling quite teary.  To put it quickly and simply I stayed nearly until it finished. I safely walked alone to my car even when I was freaking out because my friend didn't want to walk to the car with me for safety yet decided to do something with her other friend instead. My this time my whole back, neck, shoulders and legs were in so much pain because of  the tension I was feeling after the day.

Next morning I got a phone call from my Mum at about 6:30am saying that they were back home and I could pick them up. Going out to the car it was raining a lot which was so different from the day before where it was so hot and sunny. There wasn't that many cars driving into the city at the time in the morning and it felt like de ja vu as well with being there the night before. When I picked my parents up it was so good to see them because they were away for about 2 weeks. It was really good catching up with them on the way back home... They dropped me off at home and I had quite a quiet day and had a really sore throat. As it turned out I did get a coldy flu type of thing which took me about 3 or 4 weeks to get totally over it. Then my brother a few weeks after Australia Day was playing with my camera or looking at it. I asked him not to touch anything yet he did and he deleted about 250 to 300 images from that weekend and afterwards a few weeks. So I was not a happy camper yet it was a huge weekend with so many things happening... Sometimes we all have things happen in life that are interesting... Sorry the blog was so long yet so much happened. Sorry about no pictures also yet I'm looking into trying to get them fixed or something.... Until next time.....Hope you have fun....

Friday, February 1, 2013

Boxing Day, New Years & Rocks Away!

The engineer looking at the place
Hello again... As I said in my last post Christmas went off without a hitch yet Boxing Day was different. About 6:25am in the morning Dad heard a sound which was like a very loud thunderclap. I think I heard something also yet fell back asleep again. Around 9:30am I heard the phone ring upstairs yet dozed through it. A few minutes later my Mum came down and told me the big news which was a huge boulder which was 10 metres high, long and wide came down near a neighbour's house just down the road. Mum invited me along to have a look also. I hopped out of bed got some shoes on and grabbed my camera to take a few pictures.

My Dad looking on.
Down the side of the neighbour's house
Sure enough about 500 metres down the road from my parents house there stood a huge boulder blocking the whole road. They had already put some sort of barricades up so you weren't allowed to get close. Yet Dad, Mum and I just went around them to have a look what it was like. There was a structural engineer scampering around looking at the rock and the place to see what damage there was. My thoughts were that because of all the rain the day before on Christmas it loosened up the ground around it then it decided to go for a bit of a fall. I was partly right because the engineer saw that there was a tree root underneath it which destabilised it also. My parents friend had to evacuate the house because it was deemed unsafe and her poor cat went missing for the day also poor lady... So what a bad thing to happen on a public holiday hey! I am going to put up a video and photo's of what it looked like so you can see for yourself... On the short walk back my poor Mum had a fall of her own. I just managed to grab her shirt yet it slipped out of my fingers which wasn't good. She found out later that she broke her nose and it's a hairline fracture. Also her shoulder is still painful and playing up a lot which hasn't been nice. All this was less than 2 weeks before their cruise of all things to happen before then.

My New Years was very quiet and quite good. I spent it with it a couple of friends and also had a really nice dinner. With having Asperger's it was nice having a small one yet I would have liked to catch up with a couple of other people yet that didn't happen. So there was a bit of confusion yet I think stuff like that happens on New Years... I hope that everyone else had an excellent and very Happy New Years... May it be the best one yet!!






Where the rock fell from & it's path.

Showing how close it got to the house.

The huge rock itself....

Looking back at the barriers.

The branches are actually touching the house....

Another view of how close it got...

Nice pic amongst the rubble.

How big is it?!

What we first saw....