Coming Out of My Cage

A long road snakes its way up to a majestic structure sitting atop a small hill.  The building facade is well lit with incredible uplighting, but even its beauty is overshadowed by the eeriness of its history and the stories of its past occupants.  A cold, damp evening along with a pitch black winter sky further accentuates the freakish feeling that surrounds the property.  

My train pulled into the Ararat station at 3:30pm.  Roughly nine thousand residents occupy this small town, and there is nothing unordinary or extraordinary about Ararat.  In fact, Ararat could just as easily be situated in Ohio as Victoria.  The Ararat residents are overly friendly and their streets are clean and quiet.  Ararat's main street turns into a ghost town by nightfall.  I arrived on a Saturday night, and aside from the two local pubs, everything else on the street was closed by early evening.  The city's quietness didn't bother me though, because I was in town to visit the majestic building that sat atop that small hill. 

Ararat wasn't always a sleepy little town.  There was a time, albeit a long time ago, when its streets bustled with activity.  The discovery of gold in 1857 transformed this city into a boomtown, and the structure I was there to visit wasn't even built yet.  Another eight years would pass before the ground was disturbed to build the structure that now draws people to this sleepy town.  The structure known as Aradale, which is now Australia’s largest abandoned lunatic asylum-their words, not mine.  At its height, Aradale consisted of 68 buildings and was home to over 2000 patients and staff, making it a self sufficient town.  The building hosted more than ten thousand people described as “lunatics” and “imbeciles” during its 100+ years of existence.  It was closed as an asylum in 1998, and has since been sold to the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE to establish a campus of the Australian College of Wine on the site.   The building and its history draws tourists in search of the paranormal and a good scare, which is the reason I was in town.  

The tour kicked off at 8pm, and the winter sky was already pitch black.  Roughly thirty people arrived for this particular tour.  A young man dressed in period clothing guided our group through a myriad of buildings.  We paused at various locations along the way to hear stories about the history of the building, a particular room, and its residents.  What a gruesome place this was!  The entire tour took about two hours to complete, but it was well worth the trip and the adventure.  I have met some loony tunes in my life, but I wouldn't send any of them to this place!  Well, maybe a couple of them…

I am quickly approaching the halfway point of my stay in Australia, and I can say that this adventure has truly been a life changing experience.  Being “alone” in a new country forced me to step outside of who I knew myself to be, and I am now discovering things about myself that I never knew before.  Some of you may not understand, and others will know what I mean right away, but I hope to never know myself ever again.  My complacency and ritualistic nature prevented me from experiencing everything that life has to offer.  Now more than ever I appreciate my mom and dad for all of the family vacations and the opportunities to explore new locations.  Finally I understand why Chris likes to move around (my words, not his) rather than root in one place for a lifetime.  I now realize that the friends in my life are true friends, and not just a byproduct of the place I call home.  

Up to now I have only explored the greater Melbourne area, and I have had a great time doing it.  I realize that there are many more places to see and experience while in Australia, and I am committed to experience as many of them as possible while I am here.  That said, I can’t forget that I am here to accomplish a job.  Electronic Arts believed enough in me to spend tens of thousands of dollars to send me to Australia and complete a mission of sorts.  I will complete that mission, and I will do everything that I can to ensure that its done completely and better than expected.  To be honest, I am not sure if the decision makers at Electronic Arts will ever understand how much they have impacted my life for the better.  It is really strange the way life works out.  I know that I am rambling now, but writing this entry brings a recent conversation to memory.  The conversation was with the bartender downstairs (shocker), and he was telling me how he worries about the future and what it holds for him.  

The bartender's name is Marcus, and he is here from Brazil.  Anyway, his story begins when he moved here from Brazil to attend university.  Once in OZ, Marcus had to choose a field of study, find and keep a job, and now figure out a way to become a permanent resident of Australia.  I listened to Marcus' story and then offered him a piece of unsolicited advice.  My advice was, “Don’t worry too much about what the future will bring.  Work hard and do your best at whatever it is that you are doing at that moment.  Never stop learning, be it from structured education or just plain observation, and know that life will unfold and provide you with experiences that you never imagined possible.  It is likely that you will not be where you thought you would be twenty years from now, but where you are twenty years from now is exactly where you should be.  As long as you keep pressing forward without giving up or getting lazy, life will reward you.  It may not be the reward you thought you wanted, but it will be the reward that you really wanted and needed.”

I am not sure if my advice to Marcus was meant for him, or if it was really me just talking to myself.  My life looks nothing like I thought it would twenty, or even ten years ago.  That said, I wouldn't change a thing.  As far as I am concerned, I am the luckiest man alive.  I have the worlds best partner, a job that I truly love, a loving family, and incredible friends.  Now that I think about it, I got exactly what I wanted! 

Since it has been a while, HERE is a hodgepodge video of my last couple weeks in Australia.  You’ll see a few clips of the Aradale Asylum in the video as well!  Additional pics below…

God Bless….

PS-I love you Chris & Moomy!

No Such Thing as Routine

When you are thousands of miles away from your family, you get to choose the ones in your life who become your new family.

-Victor

Two months have passed since I landed in Melbourne.  The newness is wearing off, and what was once fresh and new is quickly becoming my norm.  I have to admit that it feels a bit strange.  The streets that I explored with trepidation are now familiar to me and the events once worth chronicling now exist as unwritten stories.  In two months time routine replaced adventure. I still feel the emptiness associated with missing Chris and my family, but the rest is changed.  Is this another lesson?

How many times in life does this happen?  I experience something as new and exciting and as time passes it becomes my norm and all of the magic is lost.  Most of the time I don't even acknowledge that it has happened because I am so wrapped up in the day to day of whatever it is that I am doing.  Life as I know it becomes familiar, and I live it as such.  In this process I virtually kill off any possibility of excitement or thrill, yet I still expect to be excited by something and I become disappointed when I don't find it. 

Before the wheels of my plane ever touched down on Australian soil I had already created a vision of what Australia would look like.  This vision of mine was likely put together by the bits and pieces of information that I had taken in over the years from movies and television.  It was influenced by news stories and of course further tweaked by chance encounters I had with Australian natives.  The Australia that I created in my head looked absolutely nothing like the Australia that I encountered when I arrived.  It was not better or worse, it was just different.  The excitement came from discovering the real Australia.  Naturally it would be the real Australia as seen through my eyes and experiences.  When the experiences no longer felt new, well then it must be because I have come to know Australia.  HA HA HA!  That is a good one.

My lesson is that I created another zone of comfort.  This particular zone of comfort extends about four square miles.  I exist inside of this zone of comfort and I look for something to occur as new.  When nothing new occurs life begins to feel as routine.  Its pretty arrogant to think that I know Australia, or even Melbourne, given that I am only operating inside of my comfort zone of a few miles.  This is a bustling city filled with god knows how many people.  Each person has their own story and something to offer.  The trick in life, my life, is not getting so comfortable that the people and possibilities available no longer seem relevant.  It took me a while to open my eyes to this newest lesson.  The lesson is that life is much bigger than I know it to be, but I have to allow it to unfold and not get trapped inside of a comfort zone.  Excitement is all around me and there are stories to tell and experiences to share.  I have a choice in determining how my life looks and how it feels.  

I broke out of my comfort zone for just a few hours today, but it was long enough to inspire me and learn this valuable lesson.  Over the past several weeks I have become friends with many of the hotel restaurant and bar staff.  Victor manages both establishments in the hotel, and a few weeks ago he invited me to his wedding party.  He and his wife were already married but the party was being held tonight in the hotel penthouse.  Everyone knows that I get nervous when attending these types of events, but I was honored that Victor thought to invite me as his guest.  

The penthouse is extraordinary with sweeping views of the city.  I was initially overwhelmed by the number of people in attendance and the diverse makeup of the crowd.  Victor noticed me standing just inside the suite and he headed in my direction welcoming me with his usual smile and bellowing voice.  He instructed me to help myself to the food and beverages and told me to introduce myself to his guests.  If he knew me a little better he would have known that this was exactly the thing not to say to me because I tend to be quite shy.  I made my way through the room and found myself a spot on the balcony.  It wasn't long before I was talking to all sorts of different people.  My routine was replaced with something new, and I was still within the walls of the hotel. 

If it wasn't for Victor and his invite, I don't know how long it would have taken me to realize that I was back to my old self again.  I may have never realized that I was limiting myself and settling for routine.  His invitation was more than an invite to a party, it was an invite to reexamine what I was creating in Australia.  This country is full of great people and I am blessed to have met so many of them in two short months.  At one point during the party there was an opportunity for people to speak about Victor and his new wife.  In between the many people who participated, Victor took the mic and spoke a few words of his own.  I was stunned and honored when he acknowledged me as the newest member of his Melbourne family.  There is nothing mundane or routine about that!  

Thank you Victor, and may god bless you and your new wife!

Sunday Follies

Me:  Can I have a vodka, soda, and a splash of cranberry please?  

Bartender:  A what?

Me:  A vodka, soda, and a splash of cranberry please…

Bartender:  Well only if you say cranberry correctly!

Me:  Okay… May I have a vodka, soda, and a splash of crahhhhhhhnburry please?

I wasn't very amused and it was clear that the bartender wasn't either.  We exchanged smiles, each of us with our own meaning behind the smile, and then she poured my drink.   Time to eat my own words and not “create” her to be a… Well, you get the idea.  How did I end up at this place anyway?

Just like the days prior, Chris made me promise to get out and explore.  It was Sunday and I didn't feel like leaving the hotel, but I promised.  Off I went!  Since I didn't have a clue where I was going, I decided to play a game.  The game was actually kind of frightening too!  

I trotted over to the tram stand and waited for the tram.  Now keep in mind that there are six trams on this particular line!  Whichever tram came first was the one I would take.  There is only one tram that I haven't been on yet and it travelled to unknown territory.  Secretly I wanted that tram to come first, and it did!

The weather was crap on Sunday so the tram was relatively empty.  I settled into a seat and began to stare out the window.  The first 15 minutes or so was all good because the area was still familiar, but once we passed that point it was all new territory.  Anxiety began to set in as  the tram continued down the line.  Every stop was one stop further into uncharted lands and we all know that I am a nervous nelly when it comes to getting lost or doing anything new.  I was nearly 30 minutes into my tram trip when almost by instinct my arm raised and my hand grabbed the line signaling the driver to exit at the next stop.  Here we go!

Past exploration has taught me to watch out the window and signal a stop when the area looks exciting, or at the very least, interesting.  Unfortunately this time around the area I was traveling into looked less and less interesting, and more and more inhospitable.  I would imagine that was the reason my arm and hand decided to think for itself and grab the signal line.  The tram drops off in the middle of an intersection, so my first thoughts involved safe travel across the street.  Once safely on the sidewalk I began to take in my surroundings.  Nothing around me caught my attention so I decided to walk up a block, and that is how I wound up in the small bar (the only person) being served by the ever so friendly bartender.  Yuup…  Here I am.   

I had one drink at the bar and left to find someplace more exciting.  Suddenly there was a ray of hope!  I was standing on the corner waiting to cross the street when the 3a tram drove past, which means that if I followed the tracks I would be in a familiar area.  The fun begins.

To be continued…