And even better?

Happy 92nd birthday NANNA!!

 

Someone should totally show her this vid

She’d be so proud.

 

Our week in Japan for MateRock went so fast, and was full-on times a bazillion. I didn’t get time to blog on the trip, because I was lazy and drunk a lot so I’m going to break it down over a few blogs, before I forget everything…

read day one (part 1) here

read day one (part 2) here

read day two (part 1) here

read day two (part 2) here

 

After paddling gorillas and mountaintop lunches

Our day was still going strong

But we were a bit knackered and gladly accepted offers to carry our guitars

It was sound check time!

For part of the year, this location is covered in snow and skiers

At this time of year, it made the perfect location for an outdoor music festival

I’ve played in a lot of places over the years

But none, matched the beauty and scenery of this stage’s backdrop

Not even Narrogin *cough*

Luckily all signs were in English too

Making it all a little less confusing for us Kalgoorlie kids

Did you know that Japan has mosquitos?

Me either

But now….NOW… I know

We weren’t at soundcheck long

We got off easy

Between the local crew’s efficiency

And the Kiwi and Aussie crew’s making sure we had everything we needed

It was a short & sweet end to the day

Just seeing the stage, and the fabbo location

Got me all excited for the gig the next day

See? This is my excited face

Not to be confused with my, holy-shit-I-am-being-eaten-alive-by-killer-mossies-that-don’t-speak-Australian face

But wait, there’s more…but not right now, ’cause my flight’s about to board (wait, didn’t I use that BS excuse already?)

Our first stop on this mini tour of the Northern Territory was Granites Mining Site

It’s the first time I’ve been to a mining site where it’s ONLY a mine site

I’ve played plenty before, but they were towns, built AROUND a mining site

Granites is just the site, with accomodation

A recreational area, bar

And not a lot else

I left all my winterish clothes in Darwin

I figured I wasn’t going t0 need any of that stuff until I get to New Zealand on Sunday

Any mining gig I’ve ever done before has been hotter than a well-digger’s arsehole

Except this one

Oh-my-mother-fucking-hard-nipples-was-it-COLD!

And this, coming from a girl that has lived in Chicago for more than a decade

So the first I thing I did when we reached camp was grab myself a stylin’ Granites hoodie

That only come in size XXXL

Those miners are big boys

I didn’t care, I was just happy to have something that was too big for me be warm

Heiny & I got to stay in the VIP quarters

Our own rooms, double beds

AND bathrooms

The rest of the dongers on site aren’t nearly as flash

We felt a bit spesh!

We got to eat all our meals in the mess with all the crew

Where Heiny’s pervey eyes just about fell out of her head 3 times a day

She didn’t come home with a husband

But the trip’s not over yet

When we took a walk around camp, we got to see the fun way some of the boys make the scenery their own

We came across so many great characters while we were there

Including Tyson

A funny little fucker who, after 20 or so drinks at the first show

Decided to yell out to me that he only had one testicle

And in case I didn’t hear him the first time

He continued to tell me all night

And was sure to inform me, that he didn’t need the extra nut anyway

He has two daughters, so obviously his one testicle is suffice

We called him POWERBALL

Then there was the young girl who was so into ‘The Waxing Song’, and let me know she felt my pain

“…I’ve been there sister!”

So I called her BALDY

I handed out a few fun nicknames while we were there

Because I’m an arsehole

Before we left, I told the bosses that I would love to come back again

It’s such a different experience

And the 7:30am show just about fucking killed me

But, I loved everything about the place

So, it’s all booked

I’m headed back to Granite’s the last week of November

And you know what’s going to make it even better?

DAD’S coming too!

I read, and loved this *story earlier this week

And for those of you who haven’t seen it

What better day to share it with you than Australia Day

SAS Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith says he is extremely humbled to receive the Victoria Cross for gallantry but he has urged Australians to always remember the digger heroes who have died fighting in Afghanistan.

The 32-year-old was awarded Australia’s highest military honour by Governor-General Quentin Bryce at a special ceremony in Perth on Sunday.

Also present at the Campbell Barracks for the ceremony were Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Defence Force Chief Angus Houston.

Cpl Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia for conspicuous gallantry shown when taking on Taliban machine gun positions near the village of Tizak in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province on June 11 last year.

After the ceremony, the father of two-month-old twin girls, told reporters he was “extremely humbled” by the award but every member of his unit showed gallantry on the day and they too would be recognised with honours.

He also urged Australians to remember the digger “heroes” who did not come back alive from Afghanistan.

“These are the guys who put their hands up willingly and they didn’t come back.

“They are our mates and their families live with that every day,” Cpl Roberts-Smith said.

“So I will really urge the public to remember they are the heroes, they are the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

Cpl Roberts-Smith said that in the middle of intense fighting there wasn’t time to think and a soldier’s training kicked in.

“I just looked across and saw my mates getting ripped up.

“I just decided to move forward because I wasn’t going to sit there and do nothing. I thought I’d have a crack, not to let my mates down.”

He then single handedly assaulted two Taliban machine gun positions and took them out.

“We won and we hurt the insurgency. I’m very proud to be part of that,” Cpl Roberts-Smith said.

“I think for everyone there, including myself what’s going through your mind is you just won’t let your mates down.

“You just go as hard as you can.”

He said he could not do his job if he did not have the support of his wife and the rest of his family “and they do support me 100 per cent”.

“I do what I do because I believe in the country that we live in.

“I believe we are making a difference in stemming the flow of terrorism into Australia,” Cpl Roberts-Smith said.

“I want my children to be able to live as everyone does now without the fear of getting on a bus and having it blow up.”

Cpl Roberts-Smith said he was ready to serve on the front line again if deployed.

Praise from PM

Australia’s newest Victoria Cross recipient is a humble family man who prefers to stay out of the spotlight, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

Ms Gillard spent some time with the family last week and saw that the war hero was a dedicated husband and father.

“Ben is actually a very humble man, reluctant to be the centre of so much fuss and attention,” she said.

“(He is) keen to also remind of the bravery of the mates that he fought alongside and also a man determined to keep his family in his protective and loving embrace.”

Ms Gillard said Cpl Roberts-Smith was one of the greatest living Australians.

“Exhibiting those characteristics: humility, mateship, love of family, Ben is clearly one of us,” she said.

“But Ben is also different from us … because he will always know as we know now that in the heat of battle he did not fail when mateship and duty called.

“And though it might have easily cost him his life he was fully prepared to give it.”

Happy Australia Day!

Aaaaaaand…

Happy 91st birthday Nanna!

x

(*story from perthnow.com)