Obsessed New Jersey Fan

As most know, I hold the tag of "HUGE NEW JERSEY NETS FAN". I am a proud and proven Nets fan too. My friends also know that the NBA itself holds a deep place in my heart. So you will all laugh when I make the biggest self-induced purchase of my life so far (behind my Apple iMac). I walk into the best store in the world, and find two figurines of Vince Carter and Jason Kidd. These little statues are around 150 bucks in Oz so forgive me for paying 20 bucks a pop for em. But, when I come home to Melbourne and need mementos to put on my desk, well, here they are. Carter and Kidd, full baller poses, screaming "Obsessed Fan" at me every morning. I will look at them, and then proceed to nba.com for the box scores. The NBA starts on Halloween over here, and Patricia and I are getting tickets to see my beloved Nets take on The Toronto Raptors on Nov 1 in New Jersey, Opening Night of the season. Still think I'm obsessed???????

West Edmonton Mall

In Edmonton, there just happens to be one of largest shopping malls in North America. Large is an understatement. The place makes Chadstone look like Parkmore. Inside it boasts a full size waterpark with wave pool, bungee jumping, casino, rollercoasters, an ice rink, and over 400 shops. To say the bank account got a drain is also an understatement. I was looking to buy a pair of Jordan 4's, however the 200 dollar price tag put me off a little.......rent or jordans????? Anyhew, we managed to spend some time in the mall and have a great time. As for Edmonton itslf, the city has a really big shopping mall................

Moutias in Canada

Jean Rene and Rosemay Moutia came to visit our little province, and they brought some goodies: namely Barbeque Shapes, Tim Tams, and the most important Coffee exportation in Australian history. To Nescafe Gold, I salute you. We have enough now to last all season!! We took them through Banff, Jasper and Edmonton, and had laughs and good times on the road. Jean Rene taught old Nicko how to cook his famous chicken curry, so watch out when we get home!!! It is great to have them in little Banff with us, we are about to salute Alberta by cooking up the biggest steaks you've seen and down it with some Canadian Club whiskey!! Be sad to see them go!!!

Transition Part.2.

If you scroll down the blog, you will no doubt see the initial "Transition" post. That was Banff in the summer. This is Banff on the brink of Winter, trying to escape the clutches of Summer while ignoring the calls of Autumn (Fall). The mountains in the summer seem majestic and calm, in the winter, they transform into violent and chilling reminders of how brutal, yet priceless the Canadian Rockies can be.

September Snow

Well, we prayed for the white stuff for 3 whole months. What we didn't think would happen in September has happened anyway. There was an Artic Outbreak, which means that from Banff to Jasper we got snow. About 5 inches in total, but enough to get pumped for the upcoming season, and enough to remember how cold the snow can really be!! For me personally, it is amazing to see snow again, a little reminder of how magic white can look on the mountain. Our little town has another beautiful, yet different landscape.

Banff Central Park

A lazy Patricia and Nicko Sunday consists of: Waking up at 1pm. Breakfast with Coffee. Grab our blanket, books, cards and snacks. Head down to our local park on the river. Sit and either snooze, play poker, read or just laze in the sun. It has become a great little favourite of ours this summer. We are, however, happy to stop this lazy little practice in order to snowboard, where our mornings will be filled riding the white stuff. So goodbye to Summer in Banff, let it snow, let snow, let it snow..........

Ben Lee

Ben Lee decided to play in a little pub in Banff called Wild Bill's, (all of those who know of the Southland version please laugh now). For an easy 15 bucks we got to see a very witty and confident performer reel off some cool tunes. Still shaking from my TOOL and Las Vegas experiences, it's fair to say the little fella didn't really get the blood pumping. But, when in Banff, do as the Banffians do. In my final thoughts: They don't play Ben Lee on the radio, and that's the way I like it!!!

TOOL

I waltzed into the Calgary Saddledome by myself. I am inside a giant cauldron full of TOOL fans and metal fans in general. Usually TOOL has an elaborate stage setup, however, all that I see is a stage covered in white, total white, drums, steps and everything. Chatting to a dude next to me we ponder what is in store. He happens to be from Banff and works at our favourite bar: Bruno's. The place turns to black and the boys come out on stage to the roar from the stands. As they open with The Pot's screaming baseline, the stage is turned into a huge giant screen, full of fire, eyes, and TOOL influenced graphics. They belt the hell out of their songs and with their no gimmicks attitude, get in, play hard, and leave. The stage itself was extraordinary, but the sound, inside a huge stadium filled the space with ease. My favourite's on the night included "The Pot", "Jambi", "Aenema", and "Parabola". The gig in Brixton, London out did this one, but TOOL never let me down and I drove home with a huge smile on my dial.

Las Vegas

If someone could put the world into one long beer guzzling strip in the middle of america, then Vegas would be it!! Egypt, Paris, Rome, Monte Carlo, New York, Venice: It's all here in full Vegas style, neon lights, and no expense spared re-creating the world for all the Americans who do not own a passport!! Vegas itself is total excess, everything rolled into one night of your life. The strip remains a total eye opener, huge neon signs followed by slot machines, poker tables and lions inside casinos. Highlights were the Bellagio water dancing, Caesars Palace, New York New York, our own Luxor pool, and the luxury spa in our room. Las Vegas is the city in which you are excited to arrive, and excited to leave, knowing you made it out of "Sin City" in one piece. The place to party hard in america behind the big apple, that's for sure!!!

Cameron Moorhouse

It had been a long road since Cam and myself had been on the booze together. So when Cam and Sarah came down to little Banff for a visit, it was on for young and old. Patricia and myself were on struggle street after our 6th shot of something from the bar!! Let's just say that the next day was pretty hard on the body!! It was so cool to see the big fella again and meet his lovely girl, me and Patricia still claim that it's the best night out so far!!! Bring on the next one!!!