life in Byron

I've just done a major photo upload on facebook. to compliment that I'll tell you a bit about what I've been up to the last month since settling in in Byron, and what life's like here.

yes, I currently live in a tent, and am serving people food for a 'living'. but really I'm just doing it so I can enjoy my time in Aus not having to worry about money all the time. so what do I get up to? not a heck of a lot, I definitely still have time to chill....but still you want to know about it so here you go!....

if you don't know, Byron is a "hippie" town if you will. art is super prevalent, it's definitely a huge component of the culture here, and surfing is huge given the good waves in the Bay. lots of little cafes, no big business. it's a chill vibe, and a lot of activities to compliment that.

I always have Sundays off. we'll start with that 'cause it's become my favourite day of the week. the Beach Hotel is a must, starting at 4pm live acts perform. last week was a reggae band, lots of dancing to go along with the super fun tunes. we usually walk across the street to the grass by the beach afterwards, nothing like some $4 Domino's hawaiian pizza to follow several cold beers. last week we caught the sunset. once a month the huge Byron Market comes to town, after which the keen locals (read: hardcore hippies) gather for an incredible Drum Circle. essentially a few artists sit down on some crates with their bongos & drums and start bangin' away. more drummers gradually join in and the circle grows and grows. the last couple times it's gotten so powerful I could hear it from my tent a 10-min walk away. it's really cool. if you get a chance, watch the video on facebook, I'll upload one. a good circle at the market wouldnt be complete without the 'keen locals' dancing away in the middle of the circle. tourists & wanna-be-hippies watch in awe. pretty intimidating to jump in the middle of the circle and join in with the groovy dancing, but really the hippies would welcome it so may as well!

Thursday's 8-11am there's a fruit & veg market which I try to hit to get my fresh veg (less fruit is avail). Mostly though I get groceries every couple of days at Woolies which is basically across the street from my work, and a 10 min walk from the hostel.

Nimbin is an hour away, it's the marijuana capital of NSW, if not Australia. I did a tour of that when I first got here, that was pretty crazy, again check out the pics to get an idea. this unique town provides many of the long-term residents of the AF their, um, recreational narcotics.

my tent is a 4-person with a little outer bit, my 'foyer' if you will. inside a double mattress, rented from the hostel, proper sheets, and crates to organize my belongings. Arts Factory has 3 bathrooms & 2 kitches, one of each of which is in the campsite, so it's very easy living. The downsides are the crazy bush turkeys (whose home we have infiltrated), so you can't really blame them for being bastards, but they still are. they've been known to rip through tents with their claws, although I havent heard about a first hand experience. however they do fly up & down into and out of the tree right above my tent, which is super annoying cause it just reminds you that they're out there and so close to you and they're gross so it's creepy. they also poo on my tent so that's the biggest reason I hate them. bastards. the iguanas that crawl around, on the other hand, I can deal with. they're funny when they run, with their 4 little legs and long bodies. also, when a storm comes, batten down your tent cause you gonna get wet if you ain't prepared! (note to self: buy a friggin' tarp already)

I work about 5 shifts a week, usually always Thurs/Fri/Sat nites for dinner, always Sunday and one weekday fully off. usually a couple split shifts, those are killer! I never knew. for anyone who's served they'll know what I mean. I'm now comfortable in the job, know my way around most everything I'm responsible for doing, so I can now relax and enjoy it a bit. the chef feeds you if you're on shift, so in addition to getting some really tasty food, it's a free meal. tips aren't great like they would be at home, but it's better than nothing. on average $40 for 3 dinner shifts.

hmm what else....

I try to do yoga a few times a week, which will be a problem now that the gal who does it is going back to Ontario next week. I should be able to find something in town.

ooh, Monday is also a great night at the AF.... they put on a talent show every week, where many of the long-term campsite residents perform. mostly guitars & singing, always poetry by Ben from England (possibly one of the most charasmatic fellows Ive met thus far), usually juggling by Julian, and sometimes other random stuff like hula-hoop'ing (is there such a thing?), freestyle rapping, and one time a couple dudes downed several shots in a competition to see who was quicker. ? anyway, it's always a very enjoyable evening; there really are some amazingly talented individuals hiding out there.

my biggest chores on a weekly basis are really only getting groceries, calling fam & friends, emailing, uploading pics, buying batteries for my tent latern which seems to die every few days (could have something to down with buying it from the pawn shop), and making sure I get to the beach for sufficient relaxation/self-healing sessions. yep, tough life.