You know it is a rare occurrence in a person’s life when you meet someone that means the world to you, it really is. As most of you will know Erin does mean just that to me… the world.

Last Saturday night Erin and I celebrated our six month anniversary together and what a night it was. I had no idea what Erin had planned for me, all I knew was to turn up in a suit and be prepared for an awesome night.

When we got in the taxi to go out, Erin directed us to King Street Wharf. Me being the dense person that I can be was *still* completely clueless as to where she could be taking me.

However… when we finally reached the wharf I thought that perhaps we might be going on a showboat out on the harbour, and that idea tickled me pink. It turns out that Erin had booked us a three course meal and entertainment on the Sydney Showboats Cruise.

The evening included a very elegant three course meal, with an entree platter containing four different items including frittata, crumbed chicken rib, marinated beef on salad and smoked salmon with onion and tomato. For mains I had a really lovely chicken breast on mashed potato while Erin had the ravioli (which was equally delicious). For dessert there was once again a platter of four mini desserts, which this time included a mini pavlova each, coffee sponge cake, a light chocolate mud cake and a creme caramel. All very tasty and wonderful for the waistline *raises eyebrow*.

The entertainment was equally spectacular, scantily clad ladies dancing around (ok ok… and one guy who had his top off at one stage), with one of the ladies singing several numbers too. LOL but really the entertainment was great, they demonstrated dance styles from Africa, Asia and France just to name a few, the music was great and I was really bouncing around in my chair half the night *hehe*. So all in all I had to give a massive thumbs up to the team at Sydney Showboats and my darling.

Anyhoo this was a first for me, no lady in my life had ever gone to the trouble and effort that Erin did for me and for that I give her a BIIIG E-Kiss.

Has anyone else ever had anything like this organised for them, hehe and did it make you go as mushy as I did. (*Coughs*, erm I never admitted to going mushy).

Stuart

In exactly six days I will have been with my darling Erin for six months. I know for a lot of people this does not seem like long, but you know what… it is a big milestone for both of us.

I have to say that when I messaged her the first time on RSVP (online dating site) I never thought that I could fall so head over heels in love with anyone *hehe*.

Erin has also done something rather special for me that is a first for me in my life… she has organised our six month celebration all on her own. All I know is the date (we will be celebrating on the 27th) and that I have to show up in smart casual wear (though we have since decided to make a night of it and will be getting all dressed up *YAAY*).

Anyhoo back to the topic at hand before I turn into a big mushy bloke LOL… I have to say that love has to be one of the greatest feelings under the sun. I adore being able to chat with Erin, confide in her, tell her about my day and find out about her’s (ok and yes I will admit I also LOVE to tickle her over and over *grins*).

So I thought I would throw this one out here to tell the world that I love my darling Erin and at the same time pose a question to you all. If you have ever been in love, what is the one thing that you love most about it, and if you havent what is the one thing that you most look forward to when you do fall in love?

Stuart
Note: Stuart is looking forward to his anniversary VERY VERY muchly.

On the way there I passed Camperdown Memorial Cemetery, I had not visited the cemetery since I was doing art in my early highschool days and so I decided I would go in.

As I was walking around, looking at the graves, some of which were in excess of 150 years old I was honestly in awe, there was a surreal and peaceful feeling that I cannot really describe to anyone unless you had been there. During my walk around and taking photos I bumped into a gentleman who (like me) was there to enjoy the peace and quiet and also take photos. Granted he was much more of a professional and was taking high quality shots focusing on things like light and shadow etc.

Anyhoo as I mentioned while I was walking around in between all the graves I felt something, a sense of peace and tranquility I guess would be the best way to describe it. So, I thought that I would share the photos with you all.

Click Here to take a look at the full album in my gallery and please let me know what you think.

Stuart

Sorry for not being around much this week, there are many reasons (some of which include preparing for a holiday, moving roles at work and much more that will come out in coming weeks).
For now I am heading on a holiday down to Merimbula with my mate Tim. We will be down there for just under a week. However I *hope* that I will have internet access so that I can post some regular photos and stories of our shenanigans.

So this is just a short one as I really should get packing. However, internet permitting I will be posting a few times this week.

Stuart

Well… here it is, it is over, I am now BALD!

I managed to raise just over $500AUD for the Leukaemia Foundation Australia, I am really stoked with this and it makes it all so much more worthwhile.

I guess I cannot really say anything but… take a look at the photos below, all the way from start to finish.

I hope you enjoy seeing the photos as much as I enjoyed having it done.

This is one thing that I can cross off my milestone register as a massive success, and what a great feeling it is.

If you want to do something fun and different, and have a great conversational topic for a couple of weeks, and at the same time do something for a great cause then I would say give this a go yourself.

Stuart

(as always you can click on each of the photos below to see a larger image)

Well it has been decided. I have (so far) raised just over $500AUD for the Leukaemia Foundation as part of the Worlds Greatest Shave. If you have not seen my earlier post have a look at it: Fundraising for Leukaemia – Worlds Greatest Shave.

This means that in one weeks time (evening of the 3rd of March 2008) I will be going to my local barber to have my head shaved clean for the first time in my life *eek*.

As earlier if you would like to sponsor me, that would be truly outstanding and you can do so directly through the Worlds Greatest Shave Sponsorship Page. If I can raise an additional $500AUD I will shave off the fuzz around my mouth as well, which has only been removed once since I was 18 years old (and that was by mistake… well carelessness). When I took it off I looked like a 16 year old again *cries*.

There will of course be photos, whoever is in the barber shop at the time I will ask to just snap away while they are shaving my hair so that you can see (and if I can raise enough the fuzz off my face as well).

Just for the record, to the left is a more recent photo of me, so that is the fuzz around my mouth that I am hoping to loose as well. So once again, if you want to see me bald and fuzzless you can Sponsor Me.

Well I thought I should keep you all updated as to the progress, and keep an eye out next week around Tuesday or Wednesday for the photos of the event and to see me BALD!!!.

Stuart

What do you get when you cross the British with a reality TV show that seems to be getting old everywhere else in the world?
Simply put you get the two outcomes below. Once again these are videos that I have stumbled across on YouTube and that I could not resist sharing with you.

The first is of a *very* young girl (6 years old at the time) named Connie Talbot. She went on Briton’s got Talent to sing ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’, and I have never heard such an amazingly wonderful voice. She made it all the way to the finals and was only beaten by one man… This man is the person in the second video…

His name is Paul Potts, and he works in a mobile phone warehouse. This man is shy, but he packs a voice that you just would not believe. I am not a fan of opera but all I could say when I heard his voice was… “DAMN!!!”.

So without further ado, the wonderful music:

Connie Talbot – ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’

Paul Potts – ‘Nessun Dorma’

Is there a better alternative to sitting around and doing nothing for us singles on valentines day? This is the question I posed to you all yesterday…

As you all know last night I went out to a singles party in the city. (If you missed the lead-up article you can read all about it here). Now it is time to get all the dirty details and gossip about what happened, the high points, the low points, and the downright bizarre occurrences that went on.

Firstly I invite you to take a look at my World’s Biggest Speed Date Gallery for a couple of photos that I took of the night and the venue.

To start off the venue ‘The Argyle‘ was positively spectacular, it was large, comfortable and had a great atmosphere. I have to say Fast Impressions have *really* picked up their game in this area and got a top venue for the night along with RSVP.

Upon arrival we were treated to a free drink and nibbles. I have noticed often at the Fast Impressions events in the past that the nibbles on the night were few and far between. However for their efforts last night they must be commended, I saw plenty of nibbles being served around the place and this was great for those of us that had the munchies.

For the moment I will skip ahead to the Speed Date and then come back to the rest of the night. I am sad to say that my impression of the Speed Date was nothing short of a catastrophe. The first descriptive thought that came to my mind was that the speed dates had been organised purely to try to get a world record number. There were 400 people in the room doing speed dating… this caused not only copious amounts of noise with 400 conversations going at once, but the heat quickly rose and conversation became near impossible.

Now I would like to say that I have been to Fast Impressions Speed Dates before and they have been positively spectacular, but to put them in comparison I would have to say the speed dates I have been on before in comparison to last night would be somewhere like comparing chess with tic-tac-toe. I do understand that it was an attempt at a world record, however for me personally I felt it was a waste of time, I would have better enjoyed myself outside in the bar.

Now for the bizarre, while I was having one of my three minute speed dates, one of the gals had obviously already consumed quite an amount of alcohol… She decided that she would unbutton my shirt (in front of all the other gals no less) and start rubbing her hand all over my chest and back. This was one of the strangest things to happen to me in the night… Scary, odd, disturbing… I really don’t know how best to classify it. (As a note looking back on it today it is pretty funny *hehe*.)

Strangely enough when I got a cab home today, it turned out my cab driver had been at the same event the night before (I thought that the guy looked familiar lol) and he had very much the same thoughts about the speed dating. So… overall the speed dating was a write-off, so that is all I can and will say about that.

Back to the fun part of the night. There was great music, lots of dancing, LOOOADS of single guys and gals for all to meet. I managed to meet someone who in all honestly caused my radar to blip… I ended up chatting with her until around 3:30 in the morning (which if we run the calculations means I had only two hours of sleep… never before on a “school night” and *NEVER* again lol). So sugar and energy drinks have been my friend today and now I am in pretty good standing.

So for what it is worth, I met a lovely young lady whom I shared some spectacular conversation with, I got out and had a dance and I participated in a World Record attempt… not a bad attempt for a Thursday night.

If you are in Australia I would highly recommend a look at Fast Impressions events, the speed dating as it was last night was not at all an indication of the regular events. As a final note I would rank the rest of the party as a vast improvement over the other parties I have been to (for space, numbers and food).

So that pretty much sums up my night… For me, the Best Valentines Day I have ever had.

Is there a better alternative to sitting around and doing nothing for us singles on valentines day?

Well first of all Happy Valentines-Day to everyone. As you all know that I am very much single at the moment, I decided that this Valentines Day I was going to get off my butt and do something about being single.

In the spirit of Valentines Day I decided what would be more appropriate on such a day than to get out and meet other singles… So quite a while ago I booked myself into a Single’s party in the heart of Sydney.

So… tonight I will be venturing out to one event which has two parts. The first is a VDay Bash, which is just a massive party with activities for meeting other singles and just overall a lot of fun.

The second part will be an attempt at the worlds biggest speed date. FastImpressions (in conjunction with RSVP Australia) have set up a Guinness World Record attempt with one hour of 3 minute speed dates with 20 members of the opposite sex. They events will be running all around Australia, however I will of course be in Sydney.
I have been to speed dating events before, however they have averaged on ~7 minutes with each person, so the 3 minutes with each person is going to be a really interesting attempt. I honestly don’t know how well you can get to know a person in that time but… I will give it my best shot.

So keep an eye out over the next 48 hours (in all honesty I probably won’t be able to get a decent post together before Friday Evening or Saturday Morning…) for all the details of the night and the party fun that transpired.

And most of all, take the opportunity today, to ask someone out spontaneously if you are single. If you are not single then do something completely out of the ordinary for the one you love, it doesn’t have to be something big, it might be surprising them by cooking dinner, turning up at their office with lunch ready made for them… be creative.

I look forward to giving you a wonderful insight into singles valentines day parties soon.

Stuart

Anyhoo… I got on the bus today going home and started chatting to a lovely woman about everything from the weather to cycling and more. It was a really fresh feeling get on the bus and just start chatting, to have some nice conversation. After a while the lady sitting across from us joined in the conversation and I have to say it only got better from there on. There were jokes and laughs and all I can say is BOY!!! it was a DAMN good feeling to end the day and start the long weekend.

So peoples, PLEASSSE do the same, strike up a conversation, throw someone a smile… it will not only make their day it will make yours too for sure.

Stu

A few good things have happened to me recently. The first, I have managed to get next semester off University, which means that I do not have any University studies for the next 9 months (give or take). Well, after I have had my exams of course, they are finishing on the 20th of November.

The second was something that I saw recently. While I was going to lunch at work I saw a young girl (she must have been only 12 years old at a guess), she had the happiest look on her face and was skipping along the footpath. I have honestly not seen a person that happy in a long time. It really did put a smile on my face.

And the third good thing that happened to me recently was that in a recent annual horse race that runs in Australia, I won $21AUD in the office pool on which horse would win (lol and I only picked the horses name out of a hat).

So all in all it has been a great couple of weeks. Of course with the exception of exams and the stress that comes with them I am coping as best as I can expect at the moment.

It is going to be a relatively quite week this week as my exams are coming up. So I do apologise in advance if my posts are a tad behind schedule.

Now for all of you still reading, tell me one good thing that has happened to you this week… and spread the feel-good mood!

Stuart

Before I go any further I would like to introduce you to George:

George would have to be one of the liveliest and kindest bus drivers that I have come across to date. While we were on the bus he was pointing out local landmarks, announced every stop that we arrived at, greeted people with a friendly smile and “Welcome Aboard”. He was telling jokes and getting everyone laughing as well. It felt more like a tour bus than public transport, and this was outstanding for a bit of a change.

For me one of the things I really noticed was how it brought everyone in the bus that little bit closer, by having a laugh and some common ground to talk on, I was able to have some really good conversations with all the people around me. This is something that normally does not occur anymore, at least in Sydney, as if you try to strike up a conversation with a stranger, even just to say hello, they are wondering what you are after.

So I would like to say… Well Done George, you really made the trip a laugh and a memorable one. Keep up the great work and don’t stop smiling.

Stuart

They have several plans available ranging from a small personal site to Enterprise site certification. So. I thought I would do my little bit for the environment and sign up to offset the emmissions of this site for the next 12 months on the personal plan. To see what this *actually* means  see their How It Works page.

Well this was just a short post to say. Do your bit for the environment and certify your Blog/Business/Personal Web site too it is a small price to pay to help out the environment.

See you all soon.
Stuart

I was getting on the bus this morning (only just made it, I had to run to make it) and I saw a bus driver who is a regular along my particular route. I said my normal chirpy good morning and exchanged a few words when she told me that she always looks forward to bumping into me as I am always so bright and chirpy. Now… this really made my day, it gave me a great kick to know that, just by being myself, I have brought a little sunshine into someone else’s day.

I always try to be happy and flash a smile to a stranger whenever I can… so I put the pledge out to you dear reader to do the same, it will not only make another member of your species’ day, but it will give you that awesome warm fuzzy feeling too.

This is just a short one to say… make some else’s day an awesome one… flash them a smile or even say hello!

Au Revoir dear reader.
Stuart

I have to live life for the now. Through a range of things that have occured to both myself in recent times and to people around me it has really begun to make me think that I have to live each moment to the max. Live life to the max so to speak.

Interestingly enough I was discussing just such a topic with a workmate a few days back and mentioned to him one of the motto’s that I try to live by “Live each day as though it was your last”. He came back with something that I have never heard added to this before… “Live each day as though it was your last… as one day you will be right”. I have to admit I had a little chuckle at this… anyhoo I guess the point that I am trying to get across is that, we never know what tomorrow may hold, each day is a brand new day and it could hold great fortune or tragic fate (personally I am an optimist so I hope for great fortune)… but the point is you never know. So live each day in the now.

On that note a little over a year ago I decided that I would go Skydiving. My workmate wanted in and so did a friend from university so we packed our wallets and headed off to Picton about an hour and a half out of Sydney.

For a start I would highly recommend taking a look in my gallery at the photos. See –> Photos of Skydiving.

In the gallery after the photos there are two videos (you will need the Divx Codec to view them {free download}) , the first if of the main jump and the second is the main jump in slow motion with the landing as well.

Anyhoo back to the skydiving. The best way to describe the sensation just after jumping out of the plane is the same feeling as when you are lying in bed and you suddenly wake up feeling like you are falling, only it is about 10 times worse… AND you are actually falling. Once you reach maximum acceleration after 10-12 seconds you just kinda feel like you are floating.The sensation is incredible, you cannot hear yourself scream… you cannot hear anything much really except the wind rushing past you and you can see the ground coming up REALLY fast (200km/h fast for the record).

The view was spectacular, for example (click to expand):

Well all in all I have to say the experience was overwhelmingly wonderful. I would highly recommend it. All in all, sure it was a crazy thing to do, and it was completely insane (and dreadfully expensive). But it was COMPLETELY worth it. If you are heading to Sydney (or live there of course), have a peek at Sydney Skydivers. They were an awesome crew, took complete care of us and made the experience that much more enjoyable. On top of that the location was GREAT.

Well that is just one crazy thing I have done… albeit the CRAZIEST thing I have ever done, and just goes to show you should live each day as it comes.

Well I think that covers Skydiving well… and remember, live each day, each moment as it comes and live it to the best of your ability… it makes life that much more interesting and worthwhile.

Stuart

Well this is just a short entry with a long read. I hope you enjoy.

Stuart

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READ THIS. LET IT REALLY SINK IN.
THEN CHOOSE HOW YOU FINISH YOUR DAY TODAY AND
HOW YOU START YOUR DAY TOMORROW.

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.

When someone would ask him how he was doing,he would reply,”If I were any better, I would be twins!”

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how they could look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?” Michael replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.Each time something bad happens,I can choose to be a victim or I choose to learn from it.

I choose to learn from it.Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,” I protested.
“Yes, it is,” Michael, said. “Life is all about choices”. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice.

“You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. It’s your choice how you live life.”

I reflected on what Michael said.Soon after, I left the company to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied. “If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?”

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was the well being of my soon to be born daughter,” Michael replied. “Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices.

I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live.” Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.

Michael continued, “…the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, “he’s a dead man”.

“I knew I needed to take action.” “What did you do?” I asked.
“Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me, said Michael.”

“She asked if I was allergic to anything. “Yes, I replied.” The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, “Gravity.”

Over their laughter, I told them, “I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.”

Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”