Move over Steemfest, it's time for the Team Australia Christmas party 🎄🎅🥂

in #teamaustralia5 years ago

As per usual, I'm a bit shit at getting a meet-up post out in a timely manner. What meet-up am I referring to this time? Why the steem event of the year of course, Steemfest THE TEAM AUSTRALIA CHRISTMAS PARTY!!!

Eh. What can I say? It's really fucking hot, it's a few days before Christmas, and basically I've had other priorities this week, like going to the cricket.

For the non-Aussies, I'll take a step back to earlier this year for some context. Talk of a Christmas party started in July and given the level of enthusiasm from steemians around the nation it got the green light. I like being in Australia at Christmas so it was always my intention to attend. When I booked my flights I thought about flying directly into Sydney from Panama/LA but then decided that turning up jetlagged and falling asleep by 7pm would be very poor form. So I flew into Brisbane a few days before and then flew down to Sydney on the Friday.

Unfortunately my trip didn't go smoothly thanks to Sydney's severe thunderstorms on Friday afternoon, which stopped all air traffic in and out of the city. This meant I was stuck on the tarmac in Brisbane for 1.5 hours since we weren't allowed to disembark the plane. Interestingly, waiting around took longer than the actual flight, which makes you realise how inefficient the whole getting-to-the-airport and getting-on-the-plane processes really are unless you're flying long haul. But "high-speed rail" is a dirty concept here in Australia, so nothing is likely to change anytime soon.

On the plus side (I guess) I had a fully charged Kindle with all latest episodes of The Walking Dead downloaded on to it. And no, Kindles don't typically allow you to download torrents, but I learnt how to hack mine a while back thanks to the University of YouTube. Seriously though, TWD has been a bit shit (still) so far this season hasn't it? Except for the mid-season finale where a main character was once again sacrificed in a shocking manner, it was all a bit meh. However, it's got to the point where I've invested so much time into watching this show I have to see it through to the end.

Anyway, back to the point of this story, I knew @mattclarke and @o07 were flying in from Adelaide on Friday morning. I just assumed they would pick up the car when they got to Sydney and head out to the Blue Mountains. So a few days before I asked @bearone which station in the Blue Mountains I should catch a train to. I was not expecting her to go into "mum mode" and get all worried about me catching Sydney's public transport and insisting that the guys pick me up. I thought this was a bit ridiculous cos:

  1. They would have to sit around all day waiting for me, which seemed like a dumb-arse idea. I totally wouldn't do that if I were them.
  2. I have lived in Sydney and the trains are fine. As a frequent traveller, I have caught public transport in way dodgier cities, to the point that personal safety concerns weren't even on my radar. I also pointed out that I would literally be getting in a car, at night, with strangers off the internet and that seemed way more dodgy than taking the train. That didn't go down well.

Anyway, to cut a long and possibly boring story short, Matt and o07 did end up waiting. (Thanks guys.) They spent the day sitting in the domestic terminal talking about Steem Monsters and recruiting unsuspecting Krispy Kreme employees with interests in crypto and gaming into their cult fold. So I guess it wasn't a total waste of their time since talking about, and playing Steem Monsters is what they did rest of the time anyway, when we weren't out and about.

Obviously being in the company of these two meant I got the world's most detailed explanation of how the Steem Monsters game actually works. But it was like a foreign language and I still don't really get it. There were also a lot of jokes about sucking on a bag of dicks, which then turned into sucking on a bag of flesh golems, which inspired @inertia to make this card this during @aggroed's Minnow Mayor Town Hall show last Sunday.

Shit. I've digressed again.

Ok. So I didn't end up dead in a ditch from all the internet stranger danger. But, by the time we stopped going the wrong way after leaving the airport and finished the 1.5 hour drive to Katoomba, it was pretty late. It was also really foggy and cold. In fact, this was the coldest I've been since my European summer adventures of August 2016, when it was a 'balmy' 13C on the worst days. And my British friends wonder why I don't want to move back there...

  • @o07, me, @mattclarke, @shaidon in Katoomba.
  • Our Airbnb.
  • The view out the front of the Airbnb.
  • Katoomba in relation to Sydney.

Saturday morning was still cold but warmed up by the time we went for stroll around Katoomba. For those who don't know, this is a small, tourist town west of Sydney. I'm sure it's a nice place to live if you don't mind being surrounded by Sydney daytrippers, retirees, and out-of-control bushfires burning your house down every couple of years.

Then finally it was 2pm and we could go to @bearone's house for the Christmas party. YAY!

Although brief, a storm meant we all had to move inside as the deck got drenched. The girls took this extreme weather opportunity to bond over hot Asian guys like Henry Golding 😍, which led to us watching some Meteor Garden on Netflix. At first blush, this looks like a Chinese version of Home and Away, with a cast of good-looking albeit very young and jailbait-y dudes.

Then SingStar started. I don't know why I always get sucked into this. I know I'm beyond terrible at singing, but I'd consumed a decent amount of sav blanc at this point and bearone had an impressive collection of songs. I was in no position to fight my inner karaoke urges.

Even though I still don't really get Steem Monsters, as the voice of Medusa it then seemed like a good idea to stun Matt and o07 with my glare, you know, for shits and giggles. Although this didn't work too well since in photos we are all frozen. Note to self: video.

Matt then thought it would be funny to kneel on his shoes to look like a midget next to bearone and me.

At some point @chrisdavidphoto showed up.

Then there were donuts.

Then there were shots.

Then there was a bong.

Like singing, I'm totally shit at smoking (I just can't inhale, which I'm actually grateful for 99% of the time) but the sav blancs and shots led me to think I should have a go. I therefore spent the rest of the night coughing and o07 telling me he was getting high just from sitting next to me. I think that was a bit far-fetched since my clothes didn't smell at all the next day. Surely there would have been some residual weed stink if that were true.

20181215_224459ANIMATION.gif

Despite all the wine, amazingly, I did not wake up hungover on Sunday. And I didn't even have Crimmy's magic anti-hangover drugs to help me, which annoyingly I'd left in Panama.

Since I woke up before anyone else, I took the opportunity to look through the awesome gift bag that bearone had put together. This included a gorgeous personalised resin tag, which I love.

I have to admit, I was thankful for those Kettle chips after a day/night of drinking. They went down an absolute treat at 8am.

After saying goodbye to Matt, o07 and shaidon, I left at 10.30am to get the train back to Sydney. Bearone (aka, mum) was still worried about this and had given me an iceblock stick thingy that looked like a prison shank to defend myself with. Unfortunately, I forgot it or I would post a photo. But, in a shocking turn of events that none of you will believe, no one spoke to me on the train so I didn't need to stab any random passengers attackers.

Once I was back in Sydney I met up with a real life friend for lunch. There are a few vegan places around Central Station, including Shift Eatery, which is where we ended up. Seriously, vegan food in Australia gets better and better every time I come back. I don't have any photos cos I'm shit at food Instagramming. Also, I regifted the gift bag wine to my mate since I didn't like my chances of getting it on the plane with carry-on only luggage. Sorry bearone, I know you meant well but that bottle just wasn't meant for me. Then it was back onto the train, where, after not getting into an altercation (again), I arrived safely at the airport for my flight back to Brisbane.

All up, I had a great weekend down in New South Wales and I'm glad I made an effort to go. It's always good to put faces to names and I enjoyed meeting, drinking with, pretend smoking with, and hanging out with more steemians. Attending international steem meet-ups is one thing I do not suck at.

Finally, I'd like to give a very big thanks to @ausbitbank, @bearone and @mattclarke for making this happen. You guys are total legends! 👊😎

And with that, I look forward to meeting even more people at next year's Christmas party in Australia's steemit capital, Adelaide!


Top image source
Photos by @choogirl and @mattclarke
GIF by @chrisdavidphoto
Footer by @ryivhnn

Sort:  

Lol. I'm not sad that I don't look like this.

Spaceballs references go straight to the top.

Wow nice long post!! Thanks for sharing your journey and traveling all the way!! I used to play TWD game and it was pretty good but so stressful.. I attempted to watch a little of the seasons but it was too long haha

Posted using Partiko iOS

Thanks. Oh I've never played the game. But you can probably tell I'm not a gamer so I probably wouldn't get into it. I will soldier on with the show though.

I love the dwarf/midget shot hahahaa

Posted using Partiko iOS

Yeah that was pretty hilarious.

20181222_192042.jpg
Also me.

Hmm. I can't tell if that's a giant hand or a tiny vegemite. 🤔

Does partiko post images upright?
That might be enough to convert me.

This is a great write-up. From one who couldn't make it and likes to live vicariously through others, I have to say you guys have totally done the TA Xmas Party Experience justice. Nice job everyone involved! :)

Thanks Bugged. Would have been good if you could have made it.

Agreed.

Would have even gone to the cricket with you if it wasn't so far. Maybe next year I will have my social life back in order :)

Speaking of cricket. I want to live here.
https://silkone.com.au/

Wow. That looks really nice!

You better get onto that Dan Larimer guy and see if he can get another x10 for us all. Who needs a Lambo when you can have a Skystand apartment instead!

I know right? It's not built yet. I just saw the sign on the fence when I was leaving the Gabba. Now I want it.

Fucken Dan money. That's just a never-ending disappointment at this stage.

Oh cool, you got a shot of "Baller House". Sweet.

@o07 was joking about the weed. Apparently the bong wasn't as packed as it could have been.

Yeah, I am going to start calling @bearone 'Mama Bear' from now on.
With affection of course.

It was a pleasure to meet you, even if we didn't interact much. I had a million questions but was lost for words.

It's strange about our attutude to high speed rail. It would solve so many problems.

Anyway, I hope you have a great Christmas :)

Posted using Partiko Android

@bearone ia totally a mummabear 😄

Posted using Partiko iOS

She won't hesitate to cut someone if they step out line.

Posted using Partiko Android

I have witnessed this, fortunately not from the receiving end 😧

Posted using Partiko iOS

Oh really?
I got off lightly. ;)
I'm in her good books now so we'll see how that goes.

Posted using Partiko Android

Yeah I took the photo when you lot were asleep still and I was sitting out the front with my cup of tea.

Merry Christmas to you as well.

Lol. Thank you.

Posted using Partiko Android

I literally laugh snorted at this. 😂🤣

C3DF8FDF-5730-4D70-8D74-DE8766B2D8A9.jpeg

Is it really a party if no one get shanked before the festivities conclude?

Hmm. That's a fair question.

My biggest takeaway from this video is how good my hair colour looks!

hahaha, I am super late and I love this post. This part looks like everything and more. You even watched an Asian Drama which I am a fan of. Glad to hear you survived dispite the hangover.

Thanks Kubby. Don't worry about being late seeing this. I'm not really on steemit except for Travel Digest these days. No point when you don't make any money.

Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=choogirl
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=move-over-steemfest-it-s-time-for-the-team-australia-christmas-party


Want to have your post on the map too?

  • Go to Steemitworldmap
  • Click the code slider at the bottom
  • Click on the map where your post should be (zoom in if needed)
  • Copy and paste the generated code in your post
  • Congrats, your post is now on the map!

Sounds like it was a great party. Are you staying in Brisvegas for Xmas?

It was fun. Yes, in Brisbane til 5/1.

So much fun at your Christmas party, and I with you on the heat @choogirl -Australia at Christmas time is one big hot spot!

Yeah it was really fun. I'm glad I went.

Well, that sounds like a very adventful Australia Team Christmas Party @choogirl especially after your delayed trip to the Blue Mountains. The weather is always dicey at this time of the year and one never knows what to expect.

Thanks very much for your newsy account. I do hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Oz. Have a wonderful Christmas and an even more wonderful 2019........and thanks very much for all your great support during 2018.

Thanks Trudee. And I'm always happy to see your posts in my feed even if I don't frequently comment.

Merry Christmas to you too.

Hiya, @livinguktaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made the Honorable mentions list in today's Travel Digest #398.

Your post has been manually curated by the @steemitworldmap team, and if you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider upvoting and supporting us.

Congratulations! Your high-quality travel content was selected by @travelfeed curator @mrprofessor and earned you a partial upvote. We love your hard work and hope to encourage you to continue to publish strong travel-related content.
Thank you for being part of the TravelFeed community!

TravelFeed
Learn more about our travel project on Steemit by clicking on the banner above and join our community on Discord.

Great write up @choogirl. I hope you had some time to catch up on some Asian drama and wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas :)

Thank you! Merry Christmas to you as well.

Hehehe of course our train is pretty safe, but I find it adorable that she cares for your safety so much ^_^.
                     
You look like you're having a lot of fun, and I would expect after all those time talking about Steem Monsters, I wonder if you will give it a go? Or maybe the convo deterred you for good xD.

Nope. I don't care about gaming. It just doesn't interest me at all no matter how much everyone else likes playing it. I would do more voice work though, cos that is fun.

Yeah it was a funny weekend. I enjoyed it a lot.

Wow, this looks like a lot of fun but what an adevnture to go to a Christmas party?!

So, wait you live in the US and go back and forth to AU? And you mentioned UK are you British?

I'm only curious because I go back and forth from US to UK but I'm American so it's always a hassle etc, but I'm sure if you are an EU or AU citizen, none of that hassle would exist for you (jealous).

I was just mostly curious how you find it going back and forth, that is if you do it yearly.

Happy Christmas (also I COULD not take that heat, I'm the opposite I prefer the cool temps to the UK over the heat of other places).

ADDENDUM: Never Mind I see you live in Panama. Oh well, my question makes no sense then although do you go back and forth to AU each year and if so, how do you find it over all (the splitting the year I mean)?

Yeah I live in Panama but to get to Aus I have to go via LA. I am Australian but I also have British citizenship so I have no problems in Europe.

I have been away just over 2 years and I said to myself when I left I would come back to Aus once a year for a few weeks. I like Christmas the best cos it's summer and everyone is on hols so it's easier to see people. It's good. If I didn't want to be here (or in Panama for that matter) then I would leave.

Wow, looks like you had a lot of fun there, Wish you a happy christmas. I really need to get to known with more steemians in my country to have some nice time.

I'm sure there's meet-ups around or you can try and organise one in your city. Some places are easier to get people to come along compared to others. I see that in Australia. Adelaide gets 15-25 people on a monthly basis whereas the other cities struggle to get anyone to turn up. Most of the people who were trying to organise meet-ups have therefore given up. Maybe if crypto prices go back up more people will want to meet-up.

Amazing post, choo! What a party it must have been ! It was 31C yesterday here in Melbourne and I was already dying. 35C in QLD sounds like hard mode :3

I love all the photos and the text :D You really know how to bring people in through your words !!!

Thanks Spidey. That is what I try to do with these meet-up posts. I hope you had a lovely Christmas.

Really awesome post my friend..

Taking this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year and all the best for 2019

Thank you mate, and Happy New Year to you too. Sorry for the very late reply. A combination of the Christmas/NY holidays, getting sick, and basically being a fair-weather steemian. I'm not around much these days.

I was wondering how you were doing, glad to hear from you I hope the new Year has started well for you

I had no idea that their was a @teamaustralia and it makes me so happy their are alot of us actually on here. AMAZING!! Look forward to getting to know everyone :)

Much love guys!

Thanks. You can join Team Australia if you'd like. Details here. https://steemit.com/teamaustralia/@choogirl/team-australia-new-recruits-29-11-18-a-long-time-between-drinks

Let me know if you're interested.