Made in Melbourne: Stuff.

It has been forever since I have blogged. Recently, this has been due to not only my hunk of crap computer and/or gaylord internet service being broken (and not exactly fixed now, I am, in fact, laying face down on the floor and propping myself up to type as my monitor has to be on the ground for my modem to reach...oh, to have my wireless working...) but also due to the fact I am very much enjoying being a student...yep, I got into vet school (ok, 'Animal Technology', but it'll be a vet qualification I gain at the end if I work hard enough...). Not so much enjoying, but loving. Being around like minded people who actually understand what I mean when I speak of skin pinches, anterial cruciate ligaments, the diet choices of rats... it's almost like I belong. I'm so used to the blank stares, eye rolling and complete cut-off that comes with talking about my passion, it's nice to speak with people, literally all day, about the things that excite me and to have an animated, two-sided conversation in return.

As well as that, I'm spending as much time as I can with the horses and riding at dusk with Cam, as well as swimming the dogs at the beach at sunset most nights, which, after the 35+ degree days is a gorgeous way to end the day. I'm also busy being completely addicted to How To Look Good Naked - I love me a gay man, and Gok just knocks my socks off. It's also pretty gratifying to realize I'm not as hideously and grotesquely fat and bulgy as I've been feeling lately, and as well as eating nothing but good stuff for the past few weeks and the extra exercise riding, swimming and climbing of horrendously steep stairs by the Slave Driver, I'm feeling a whole lot better about myself and my 6 stomachs. Cam and I have also been having a hit of tennis, which aside from making me produce some shocking obscenities (tennis is one of the 3 things in my life I want more than anything to be good at, and hate that I'm not as amazingly talented as I dream myself to be) makes me laugh - and run, something I usually despise. I'm looking forward to our membership at the country club - the courts are elevated to look out over the bay to the city, and the club rooms have a deck to watch the sunset over the ocean, as well as our own beach box on the sand for BBQs and parties.

View of the Petronas Towers from our room in KL

I don't even think I've blogged since Borneo...which was incredible. We had our first day in Kuala Lumpur, shopping and sight seeing and getting our feet eaten by fishes at the massage place we went to, and enjoying a 6 strong police escort to dinner through the hills of Malaysia.

Looking out our room in Borneo ... paradise, no?

We were treated like royalty for a week - 5 star hotels, amazing food, free drinks, private islands and all day massages, and having flower petals thrown as we walked when we entered restaurants and hotels. Absolutely amazing. The view from our resort in Kota Kinabalu...just incredible.

Feeding frenzy fishes! Soooo ticklish...

There were so many fantastic days and moments - the day we had our own private island, where I took on 4 other guys and Cam at water sports and held my own through complete and utter horror on the banana boat and fly fish - a huge inflatable raft attached to a speed boat that flies 3+ meters in the air behind it, weaving and flipping as it flies...one of the most incredibly fun yet terrifyingly scary things I've done.

Our private island

The Gala Dinner that evening was just mind blowing - the ballroom had been done up in a "jungle green" theme to match our "jungle green" attire (remember me wondering what to wear?) and was decked out in wall to wall trees and vines, with the floor covered in leaves.. our own little piece of the jungle for the night. Every got merry on the all you could drink alcohol, and we danced the night away to the live band, and carried on at the hotel nightclub after - no one told me the guy I was grinding on was the MD of the company, we were all just having a blast!

- Gala Dinner photos -

Our little room of jungle! Even the waitresses were safari-inspired.

We got a bit messy after the jugs of Long Island Iced Tea came out...

I was absolutely besotted with our 'palate cleanser' - mango gelato served in our own individual ice caves.

Unfortunately, due to my 'lady problems' I had a fit on the morning we were flying out to the jungle for the orangutan sanctuary, and missed the flight. I felt absolutely awful for wrecking Cam's day, so I asked around at the hotel and found a local wildlife park, where we got to spend time with the keepers, feed the sun bears and tigers and see otters and gibbons, and even get up close and cuddle up to a baby orangutan, Mowgli...turned out the people who flew to the orangutans only saw 2 or 3 in the bushes, while we got to play with our very own one - turns out we had the better day!

Mowgli and I :)

We had an amazing trip, I coped relatively well with the flights (after 2 Valium and a lot of scotch on the way over...) and came back with some great memories, and even better photos! Here's some randoms... and next years rewards trip from Cam's work is Africa...!