No. 72 - FAMILY OUTINGS

Not too long ago my family decided that once a month we would have a major family outing. Shane and I were both in high school at the time and Dad and Mum were busy working during the week, so it was a great idea to keep us close and let our hair down.

I think the "official family outing" idea only lasted for one month but we talked about our one outing many more. Go-karting was our adventure and it was clear from the way we reminisced about our day it was super fun for all.

I missed out on the first lap and consequently the "how to work the kart" and more importantly "how to stop it" lectures. My lap ended with me driving up to the two rows of go karts and slowing down. When it became clear I wasn't going to stop I steered towards the gap the two rows formed. Luckily one of the instructors helped me out at the last minute, after a little crash.

No. 71 - STEPHEN

Stephen was one of our next door neighbours over 20 years ago!

Stephen and his sister Jessica are older than my brother and I so it felt special when we got to play with them. I don't know too many kids that enjoy playing with younger kids. Stephen had a bike with trick pegs on it and Shane was able to ride around standing on those.

Our families would regularly get together for meals and drinks, so the trudge through the two vacant blocks to one another's house was made often. In fact I made that walk with my roller skates in one hand and a bottle of sauce in the other, with a freshly broken arm.

Stephen's family was very much into river life, particularly water skiing. I remember going back to visit them some years later and realising that their "huge" boat wasn't the ship I remember it to be.

Possibly on the same trip, Stephen decked my brother out in his hockey gear. At the time we didn't know he would someday win gold for Australia.

No. 70 - AMIE

Amie is Kevin's cousin, his Mum's sister's daughter.

As with most of Kevin's family I haven't had the privilege of spending much time with them. Amie is happy, fun and stylish. It's very easy to be jealous of her perfect hair = )

I remember running into Amie and her family in the parking lot while they were picking out a Christmas tree in 2006. Choosing a tree is something I had never experienced but have seen quite a lot in movies. I must say that it was a surprise to see that the event was just as magical and exciting as they make it seem on screen. I think I credit Amie for making me feel the magic that day. An Australian Christmas is so different from a white Christmas that it's easy to lose the spirit that is the season. Seeing someone who is no longer a child exude that magic was wonderful to watch and very inspiring.

Thanks Amie for making me see that the magic of Christmas doesn't end when you are an adult.

No. 69 - EMILY

Emily Falconbridge is a famous scrapbooker. We have never met and I wouldn't even say we are friends. I'm one of her many blog readers and am thankful she blogs.

Emily is one of the wonderful bloggers that encourages interaction and she won't hesitate to answer your questions. I love that I get a glimpse into her life and I love to see how Emily and her family embrace the natural side of life.

Some of my favourite of Emily's posts have been the scrapper's habitat, sharing her Christmas list for her children (including her budget), and her open and honest posts about the birth of her children.

No. 68 - SUE

Sue was for a short time our next door neighbour, and the buyer of our first house.

When Sue moved in next door to us we realised that it might be time to capitalise on our investment, so we begun the big clean up. We introduced ourselves to our new neighbour and apologised for the mess she could see in the garage. We also happened to mention it was because we were considering selling. Instantly Sue's eyes lit up. Her best friend's had joked that she should throw rocks on our roof to get us to move out as they liked the area. Within a few minutes Sue called her friends and they were interested. A few inspections and a lot of phone calls followed. Eventually Sue's friends had to pull out, it was bad timing for them. Sue saw the potential and ended up buying our house.

We always try to buy a house that will someday make us a profit, I guess that's what we all want. I'm thankful that Sue helped us achieve that, and minus the real estate agent fees too!

No. 67 - JAMES

James (I hope I've remembered his name correctly) was my driving instructor. I'm sure Dad would say he is a very brave man.

Clearly driving is one of those things that we easily take for granted. I'm thankful to James for teaching me the skill and although I'm sure he wont ever be reading this he might like to know that I still have his voice in my ear every time I cross a railroad and parallel park. And no, I don't parallel park on the railroad!

No. 66 - TRISH

Trish is the Mum of one of my brother's footy friends. Thus someone we used to see weekly.

I hadn't seen Trish in a very long time until fairly recently when we were at my parent's local shopping centre. I felt special to know that she just couldn't resist meeting Brian. She's a lovely lady.

No. 65 - ALEX

Alex is the head of the Queensland division of a film school that provides a lot of support to local industry.

I'm grateful to have people around like Alex. On occasion she met with me for career advice and guidance. She also interviewed me for a role that would have been a bit of a dream job (not freelance) for me many years ago. I wasn't successful but was happy for the chance to apply. Success in the film industry relies a lot on networking and it's great that people like Alex make the process easier.

No. 64 - RUSSELL

Something I don't like to brag about, yet something I think Kevin enjoys telling people in his "I'm so proud" voice = ) is that I have worked with Russell Crowe. My biggest claim to fame happened in mid 2002 when Russell directed a film clip for his wife Danielle Spencer.

I enjoyed learning the ins and outs of working with someone so famous. There are certainly advantages and pitfalls. One advantage is that a signature can sometimes turn a situation around. One disadvantage is paparazzi. They will break laws to get photos and that's not good for anyone.

No. 63 - DOCTOR

I don't know the name of this Doctor, but he is the one that decided Brian's birth date. The best recollection of this story can be found here.

I'll leave it at that as it tells you all I wanted to say.

No. 62 - NIKKOLA

Nikkola and I went to high school together.

One of my most memorable moments with Nikkola was our work on a school project. I'm pretty sure it was for an accounting class, which is kind of weird seeing as we did some baking! I don't recall the parameters of the assignment but it involved coming up with a product or company. I don't think actually making your product was required but going that extra mile always made oral presentations so much better! I always went for the "grab your attention beginning".

Nikkola's product was a chocolate bar which had everything in it from chocolate to wafers and sprinkles. I made two flavours of icecream, one was butterscotch - which I made from scratch in the microwave, it was soooo divine I can't even remember the other flavour. I don't know what our marks were but I didn't have to take any icecream home with me.

I think for the same assignment we also did a commercial. It was at a time that NO ONE had video cameras so it was new for me to be using one. I remember panning the camera across Nikkola's living room and us singing the intro. Nikkola wasn't too shy to tell me that I can't hold a note! Nothing's changed.

No. 61 - DAN

Some 365 posts come easier than others, Dan's is one of those. He's responsible for a memory I will never be able to forget, even if I tried.

Dan and I went to uni together. He wrote and directed a film called The Tall Poppy, on which I was the Production Manager. It was about a "think I'm all that" kind of guy that went to an interview with his (insert more correct term here), shall we say "manhood" hanging out!

On a small crew the role of the Production Manager is really the "do everything" kind of job. And one sunny afternoon I had to head off on a little trip to the sex shop with 3 guys....I know, how fun =( What would such a classy film be without the appropriate prop? So here I was, young innocent me, never having stepped foot in this kind of store before, wondering where exactly I should put my eyes. The guys, being guys had no trouble at all, picking up and joking about with the biggest and apparently bestest of everything.

The decision was made and Dan and one of the other guys went to the counter to pay. Once the transaction had gone through the guy behind the counter said "have a nice weekend boys", to which Dan, who had obviously never bought this kind of thing before, replied "oh no it's not for us, we are making a film"! Cause that line just made it so much more right?!?!

No. 60 - MRS TANAKA

Mrs Tanaka is Mr Tanaka's wife and Mum of my friend Hiromi.

There is three main things I admire about Mrs Tanaka. One, she's a great housewife. Mrs Tanaka made caring for the kids (now adults) and making yummy bentos and fancy dinners look effortless.

While this may not be the case anymore, when I stayed with the Tanaka's, Mrs Tanaka, like many Japanese housewives kept house while her husband worked and lived away from home during the week. Mr Tanaka would come home on weekends. I can only imagine the strain this would put on a marriage, the children and daily life. I think it takes a strong patient person to life like that.

Thirdly I admire Mrs Tanaka for stepping out of her comfort zone. When I was staying in her home she made a tremendous effort to speak to me in English. I had been studying Japanese for about 5 years and wasn't confident enough to use it at much as I should have. Mrs Tanaka, who hadn't studied English at all, used more of it than I did Japanese, during my stay. It made me feel comfortable and when I think about shows just how much of a wonderful host she is.

No. 59 - DAD

The random number generator is starting to freak me out. Today is Dad's day, the day after we celebrated his 60th birthday. And he's No. 59 - the age he was only a few days ago. Freaky!

When writing a 365 post for those you most care about it's hard to know where to start. So I'm going to start at the beginning.

When telling a story, some people might say "before you were born...", but not my Dad. His favourite starting line for a story from long ago is "before you were a twinkle in my eye". His second favourite is "back when I used to have hair"....hehe.

If Dad and I had a song it would be "A Little Ray of Sunshine". It came about as Dad and my older brother Dallas were driving about town trying to find somewhere to eat. I had recently been born, in mid December, and as it was the holidays I believe a lot of places were closed. This song came on the radio and I guess the words spoke to Dad. It's nice to know I'm sunshine.

Here's the famous/infamous first day of school story. I get nervous, very nervous. Dad took me to my first day of school, I think because Mum knew I was nervous and Dad said something like "She'll be right. I'll take her". Well he never took me again because waiting outside to go in I said "I'm going to be sick". Dad said "No you're not". I said "I'm going to be sick". And before Dad could say "No you're not" one more time, I was sick!

When we lived in Melbourne, Dad had a vegie patch. He's had them most places we have lived but this one was special. We used to grow zucchini. I'm not sure exactly what I did to help the growing process but I do remember admiring how huge they got, and posing for a photo with Dad in the yard, both of us super proud of the home grown zucchini we were holding.

Through my teenage years Dad and I had a lot of arguments. It had a lot to do with my messy room, which he named "Chookuspigaramus" - my nickname is Chook (which you will hear more about in another 365 post). I think that it was after we moved back in with my parents (when the landlord sold our first home), that I begun to realise how much Dad and I were alike. I'm thinking that might have been a major reason for our arguments. Now our similarities just mean that we love to chat about kitchen appliances over a nice Thai lunch. Or we look at Brian and feel sorry for him for inheriting our "sweat like crazy" genes.

Dad is good with people. He always knows what to say and my family and I are proud of that fact. I remember sitting in the car with Shane and Dallas, I can't remember why or where we were going, but we were all talking about Dad and saying that we love his nack for choosing the right words and his problem solving abilities. It's a great memory because you could really feel the love and appreciation for him in what we were saying and most importantly how we were saying it.

Dad is also Kevin's problem solving go to man. Some days when Kevin comes home from work and he's got some major controversy he can't get on the phone to Dad fast enough. Obviously he prefers when the major issue happens on a weekend because they can then discuss it over a nice steak and a glass of red!

I believe that our car conversation also covered Dad's working life. As a youngster I never aspired to have the same career as my Dad. (Notice how I avoided mentioning exactly what he does/did? The truth is I have no idea how to describe it.) Now, I would love to have even half the career that my Dad has. He's top of his field. He knows everyone you need to and people want him for his knowledge and experience. I think that's the kind of role and career that most people aim for, but many rarely achieve.

Dad is my go to cooking guru. He loves the colour green and has every shade known to man, in all kinds of places from the letterbox to his wardrobe. All three of us love to spend time with Dad, he is fun, great for advice - even better on payback advice, and like us enjoys good food - and wine, hey Kevin?!

We don't have many friends but we are super happy that Dad (and of course Mum) are among our best.

Love you Dad.

No. 58 - VANJA

Vanja (or Vee as most people call her) and I met at uni.

One thing I remember about Vanja is that she always looked comfy cosy. Maybe it was all those crazy hour film shoots we were on. She's also an avid cat lover.

If my memory serves me correctly I also think that Vanja was present when my Picnic chocolate bar got stuck in the vending machine. It was sheer disaster. Luckily the storeman had a coat hanger and fished it out for me!

Vanja is also famous for using the word "meh".

No. 57 - AARON

Aaron is my cousin, my Dad's sister's son.

Most of my memories of Aaron are when he was younger than Brian is now (19 months). I will never forget going back to visit our family, and Shane and I being absolutely shocked that Aaron could talk. It wasn't unexpected, he was about 8!! He could walk and ride a bike too, but I think there is something special about hearing someone's voice. It's an instant lesson on who they are.

Often I wish I could live both the city and country life, but it's hard to be in two places at once. My Nan raves about Aaron. He sounds like a fun-going but hard-working responsible adult. Way to make me feel old cuz!

No. 56 - REG

Reg is my late Pa's (Mum's Dad) brother.

I have only met Reg once and to me I felt like I was meeting a superstar. Sitting in the car, waiting to go inside to my Pa's funeral I looked over to my right. In a car, two parks down, was a man that was almost the spitting image of my Pa. I said to Dad at the time, "that HAS to be Reg".

An incident many years before, meant that I would never see my Pa and his brother together. In fact I'm not even sure my Mum had that privilege either. I took for granted that my Pa had family other than the ones I knew. I took for granted that there was a man out there that had the same slanted eye, same wavy hair and same hands as my Pa. Maybe it's the fact that I appreciate that Brian has the same thumbs as Kevin that makes me think this kind of thing is special. I guess it's a visible form of history.

No. 55 - ANITA

Anita is an Australian singer. Back when Britney Spears was by no means trashy, I worked on a music clip for Anita who reminded a lot of us of a punked and more adult version of Britney.

Most people are on my list because I've learnt some kind of lesson from them or I'm thankful for an experience they gave me. Anita showed me what it was like to work with a demanding client. I'm not bagging her for it, I'm thankful for the experience.

I was sent to get sashimi that wasn't eaten, and me, who doesn't drink had to take a trip to the liquor store to get some champagne. I even got to use the "make it cold quick" machine!

No. 54 - RACHAEL

I'm a firm believer that you have to take both the ups and the downs that life throws at you. So I'm embracing the good, the bad and the ugly with this 365 journey.

Rachael was to be our wedding celebrant. At the time she was possibly Brisbane's most popular celebrant, even the celebrant of choice for media personalities.

One week before our wedding, we went to her house for a rehearsal. We had had a long relationship with Rachael through Kevin's visa application process, so this was hardly the first time we had met. After we had finished the rehearsal we sat down, paid her part of our fee and then she told us that she would probably be about 30 minutes late to our wedding. What?!?! I know!!

The excuse was that she had another wedding that was across town and it would take her some time to drive to our wedding. We had had her booked for months and it really wasn't right for her to take another booking that would jeopardise our time slot. I can't recall what we said to her that day as we were flabbergasted. Obviously we weren't happy!

Later that evening we came to the realisation that we could no longer have her share our special day. We gladly ditched her (never to re-coup the money mind you) and began the mad search for someone, anyone, to marry us. Talks with other celebrants revealed that she would often book weddings VERY close together. Even that she had been known to walk from one wedding to the next, literally through a hedge at a particular Brisbane wedding venue that could cater for more than one wedding at a time.

This is one memory I would prefer not to have to revisit. I am so happy that we did what we felt was best, so that we could concentrate on having a wonderful day. A wonderful day that is coming up to 8 years ago!

No. 53 - PREP ART TEACHER

1986 was the year I started school. I only attended this school for one year as we moved, but I can still remember the art room.

I have no recollection of the teacher, except an inkling that she was the art teacher stereotype, a little on the weird side. The room was long and slender. It would be funny to go back because I'm sure it's not as big as I recall. I think there were long work benches on the left and student benches and stools on the right. The windows meant the room was bright and there were french glass doors at the back of the room, maybe also down one side of the room. Kind of like a glasshouse.

I remember clay being something we played with quite a lot. Especially, cutting clay with a piece of string. There must be something about getting your hands dirty that is creatively inspiring.

I'm sure, tucked away in her dresser drawer, my Mum has a piece of my art created in that room. Maybe I'll blame this teacher and that room for my love to create. Really though, I would like to thank them, because that's a part of me I love.

No. 52 - NETBALL

We all have a sport we played when we were young, mine was netball. Moving meant that I played on a couple of different teams in two separate states. The first team I was on was probably my favourite. I can't recall how we did in finals but I remember the coach and feel that she was there because she wanted to be. Under her wing it felt like we were there to have fun, stay fit and play a little.

My other team was quite different, as it tends to be in the older age groups. With this team it was more about winning, and we did take home a grand final win one year, but it wasn't as much fun. Maybe that's why I didn't continue.

No. 51 - CATHERINE

Catherine is one of the Playgroup Mums. I first met her through another Mum friend at a "solids" class.

The second time I saw Catherine, she walked through the door of Playgroup and saved me. I had seriously been considering finding another group as, at the time all of the other kids were much older than Brian and Playgroup numbers were dwindling, in fact one week it was only another Mum and I that turned up. I think that Catherine's appearance was almost a "changing of the guard" for our Playgroup. Since then we have gone on to have so many people that we now have a waiting list!

Catherine's son Zeke was active from day one, and a typical boy. I always enjoy stories of the mischief he gets up to and every time I see him I think he looks like he's about 6 years old, he left the toddler stage months and months ago!

No. 50 - MRS. R

Mrs. R was my forth grade teacher. I have two distinct memories of her. One, when she told us that Roald Dahl had died and two, the chocolate experiment.

I remember that most of the classes came together for the chocolate experiment. We were sitting in a large room and were asked to close our eyes. One of the teachers read us a story or a sensory piece. It was about chocolate, describing the smell, etc. We were asked to imagine the chocolate and eventually if we could smell it. We all could.

To this day I don't know how they did it. Did they bring chocolate into the room for us to smell or was it our imaginations? I know there are a couple of students out there that know the truth as some of the favourites got to help out with the experiment. Isn't it great when childhood memories stay with you as the same magical memory/experience they always were?

No. 49 - JAKOB

I've added a few of Brian's friend's to my list as lets face it, they are my life right now.

Jakob is one of Brian's buddies. He's a new big brother, to sister Isobel. Jake is a little adventure seeker, at the age of 18 months I already know that one day he will jump out of a perfectly good plane. And probably more than once. He also has the perfect "big brother" personality. You can rest assured that no one will ever hurt this little sister.

Obviously I'm not adding pictures but Jake has cute little chubby cheeks and a head full of curls that has recently been tamed.

No. 48 - MUNGO

I met Mungo during my uni days. He was (and still is) an actor, the kind you feel honored to know. At the time he was seen around the uni corridors so often he could have been mistaken for a student. If you are squeamish then stop reading now.

The role I remember him best for was a short film where he played a very scary mortician who ate his (would you say?) customers. Need I say this was written by one of the boys? Mungo did a great job, even bringing in chicken necks he had cooked up, to use as props. Gross!!

A lot of actors are a little uppity, but Mungo is the complete opposite. Whenever I would run into him he always had time to stop and ask how I was going.

No. 47 - KIM

Kim is a family friend of my Dad's.

Most of my memories of Kim are from when I was about 7 years old. We used to live in a small country town and I remember visiting Kim's house. In fact I think she may have baby sat my brother and I on a few occasions. She had a big basket full of dress up clothes and I remember the excitement of going into her laundry to see her new puppy Satin lying in his bed. I also remember being grateful for her thinking of me when she cleared out her make up drawer. I scored some glitter hair gel (it was the late 80's) and hot pink nail polish.

Kim is one of those women that are a born Mum. She has two gorgeous daughters, Sarah and Hannah, that I'm sure are still growing up way too fast!

No. 46 - JAYLENE

Jaylene is Kevin's cousin, his Mum's sister's daughter.

Jaylene is a happy, fun person. I'm thinking it's the blood from her Mum's (and Kevin's Mum's) side of the family. I first met her when we were in Canada for Darlene and Jeremy's wedding. Their wedding seemed to be a bit of a reconnection for all of the cousins. Cousins that had faint memories of playing together as children, but were now creating new memories as adults. I'm not sure where exactly, or when I heard this story but I recall Chad (one of the cousins) talking about Jaylene coming to town. I'm pretty sure he was joking when he implied he wasn't looking forward to the visit. It turns out that Chad and Jaylene (in their new adult lives) got on like bestest buds from long ago. I don't share that kind of a connection with any of my cousins as our ages differ so much, but it was nice to watch.

The last time we saw Jaylene was late 2007 when she stayed with us for a short time as part of a backpacking adventure around the world. It was great to see her again and we were happy she included Brisbane in her travels. The biggest shock I got when seeing Jaylene was her luggage. For backpacking around the world for months she had a tiny little bag. I'm known to take more when I leave the house with Brian!! I don't know how she did it but it worked for her.

No. 45 - TRENT

Here's another "Dad look away now post". Luckily (although not for him) his computer is on the fritz today.

Trent and I dated for all of a week, way back early in high school. He played for the same football club as my brother, although in a team a few years older. This was back when every Saturday night we would head on down to the local footy club for awards night and a toasted spaghetti sandwich, which was divine by the way. You can just picture it can't you, the parent's catching up over a drink and nibbles, the boys causing havoc, the teen girls hearts fluttering over the cutest boy. I think I just about died when Trent asked me out. In true teen style the relationship was very short lived, in fact we didn't even see each other for the week we were supposed to be going out.