Different but the Same!

I just wrote a long blog and thinking all was safe, pressed the button for publishing it and little did I realise that my 3 wireless broadband had died on me. This resulted in the catastrophic event that my blog was lost. Must remember to save. A lesson learned is ummmm a lesson that really hurt!!!

I shall start again and try and remember all the funny and amazingly insightful quips I had written. The pessimistic outlook I have for such sucess means I fear my memory for such witty play will be mediocre at best, so please dear reader, imagine the coruscatingly brilliant prose that you should be reading right now and feel for me. Feel for me!

Where was I .....
I met up with a good friend of mine yesterday for the first time in around 18 years and you would think that the distance of time between such meetings would have severed any connection we once had as mates. "We are different but the same" - it was agreed between the two of us. He has a lovely wife and two smashingly goregously cute children (destined for kid modelling jobs - to feed the parent's hugely expensive drug habits - jokes!). He has not travelled and managed to change his career ages ago (we met both working in banking) and I feel he has had a very interesting and creative life since - although you can tell he yearns for a shot at the creative big time, which must only be just around the corner. I shall encourage where I can, which means I will see him rise in sucess while I languish in creative limbo (always happens I tell you!). I, on the otherhand, travelled the world, whilst maintaining a career in banking to support my expensive lifestyle. When I realised how hollow and futile that dream was, I moved on. But his creative juices have been flowing for far longer than mine I feel and have cultivated themselves into far better ideas. I am rambling - what I meant to say is that we are both so different and yet still retain some of that sameness that made us good mates all that time ago. Different but same! Which surprisingly meant our meeting was not droll and infused with awkward silences and discussions on the state of the world ecomony and the weather. Our conversation was spikey and fun and full of banter about film, food, comedy and music. We had similar likes and dislikes and our conversation rolled off the tongue like rather good duet kareoke singers, entertaining patrons in a cool bar. Bad metaphor, I hear you gasp, but it leads me to the point that I have agreed to meet again this Thursday for a kareoke night - I invited myself along more like, with eagerly anticipatory excitement that only a crack cocaine addict might feel. Cut to evening, poor lighting and a load of drunken misfits and my wailing voice emitting from a speaker in the corner whilst women moan and children in their beds in nearby homes have inexplicable nightmares. Well let me embarrass myself in front of my long lost mate if I wanna.
We went off to Tambourine Mountain to attempt some male bonding (a break for Dan from his family holiday) and we had lunch in the Eagle Heights Hotel. A bar, restaurant and hotel on the top of a mountain overlooking the entire Gold Coast. It used to be owned by Mel Gibson back in the day I lived here and it sadly has seen better days. I think the staff all needed a slap to wake them from their stupified fugue states, which sadly have infected the whole establishment. But despite that I feel it is amazing how much an ordinary meal of rib eye steak, chips and salad can taste so inexplicably nicer when in good company and in a fabulous locale. We later ventured further into the heart of Tambourine Mountain to Gallery Walk, to perhaps buy a little treat for Dan's wife. So we attempted to not look like a gay couple strolling down touristville looking in souvenir shops and looking for chocolates and fudge going ooooh and aahh. We settled on a chocolate shop at the end of the street, which had a heavenly huge selection of hand made chocolates. I saw out of the corner of my eye a stand displaying a selection of chocolates from the Cocoa Farm , they announced themselves as "wine chocolate" (now we're talking) and if I can manage to ship some to my mate Neil in London I am sure they will knock his socks off. Its dark and milk chocolate teamed with juicy vine fruit infused with fragrant Australian wines. I opted for one of each of course. The Pinot Noir was first to be tasted and it had a strong robust pinot flavour. My hands trembled as I opened the shiraz - oh my wordy lordy me! I was positively drooling by the time I opened the merlot. I even tried a mango, lime and chilli one which was delicious but was not spicy enough and left me wanting more of the wine chocolate. We settled our transactions with the grace of too men in a chocolate store (feeling ten again) and "yes can we have seperate bags, we are not together!" and "noooo.... I would love the bright purple bag thanks" - sooooo not gay!
Yesterday, I promised my brothers kids that I would cook dinner and they could have their favourite meal. More fool me - that meant I cooked three dinners last night. Calamari in a light breaded crust infused with lemon thyme and chives with roast potatoes for Brent and pasta with a light creamy cheese sauce for Alex. I then attempted to impress my brother with my baked barramundi steaks in a Balmain Bug and ginger sauce (although I swapped bugs for scallops - which worked I must add) and it went down a treat. Finishing off the whole meal with a massive tray of roasted vegetables (so Lyn could have her brussel sprouts - her favourite veggie) Mark could have his potatoes and Brent could have his broccolli and Alex her carrots. Note to self - never start a conversation about favourite foods with people. We all ate way too much (including the garlic foccacia bread) and sat swollen on the coach later watching Top Gear which was hugely entertaining. I got many complimentary comments and requests for free meals at my future restaurant so I think my stomach was not the only thing swelling last night - my now big head needed something more dietary this morning so I whipped up a blueberry, rasberry, mango and bananna smoothie for everyone this morning so now I am set for the day.

I am hoping to whip up a thai meal for guests tonight so stay tuned.
Dazza