Goal 42 - gentle giants.

I was up before the sun rose again this morning, and prepared for an early pick up to go on a whaleshark tour. A couple of weeks ago I had emailed all of the whaleshark tour operators in Exmouth, explaining what I am doing, and that one of my goals is to see a big whaleshark.

I was surprised to only hear back from two of the six Exmouth-based operators, and can only imagine that they are all fully booked and need no further customers this season! However, I did hear from Kat, who is manager of Ningaloo Blue, and she said she would be happy to book me on one of their tours, and would happily offer a repeat option if a big whaleshark was not spotted. She was very helpful, and enthusiastic to help out in any way she could with my goals, and so I had no hesitation in chosing to book my day with her.

I was picked up at the entrance to the caravan park, along with Stony, who was on the same tour. Along with a group of about 15 others we were driven about 30 kilomtres to the boat launch point around the cape, and ferried out to the big boat via a small zodiac inflatable.

After an initial snorkel practice on a shallow reef we headed out to the deeper waters outside the main reef, and awaited sightings from the spotter plane, which started it's work at 10am. The small plane works for all of the tour oprerators, and once a whaleshark is spotted, all the boats in the vicinity get to share time with the creature in the water.



We didn't have to wait for long before the first whaleshark of the day was spotted by the plane, and we raced off to find it. Two other boats were already there, and as we approached the plane spotted another, and we were off again, being the first boat to meet this one.

Whalesharks are not related to whales at all, but are fish, and breathe through gills like any other fish do. They are the largest species of fish in the world, and regularly grow to lengths of 12 metres or more. They are filter feeders, eating plankton by swimming along with their mouths open, filtering the tiny creatures from the water as they go. They are known as gentle giants, and are very tolerant of swimmers in the water with them.

As the whaleshark approached we quickly geared up in our snorkel gear and jumped in. It was very exciting waiting in the water knowing this huge thing was heading our way. And suddenly there it was!! It wasn't a fully grown one, but was still over 6 metre long, and very impressive as it swam straight towards us. We got out of its way, and then swam along beside it. It was quite an incredible and breath-taking sight.

After a hundred metres or so our group stopped, and the second group jumped in the water to meet the huge creature as it continued on towards them, and the boat then picked our group up. This continued for a while as the shark continued on its course, seemingly oblivious to the excitement around it. We got to swim with it three or four times before taking a break.

After a morning snack, we swam with the same shark again a couple more times, and then a smaler one was spotted nearby, and we heade3d of to see that one. It was still an impressive 4 metres long, and was much more curious that the bigger one.

Our second group was first in the water this time, and I climbed up to the bridge of the boat to see if I could get a picture of the shark in the water. All aboard were amazed as the whaleshark headed directly for the back of the boat, through the group of swimmers in the water, and came to within a metre of the back of the boat. It was like a scene out of "Jaws", but without any of the fear of being eaten!



I got to swim with the smaller shark soon afterwards, which was travelling fairly quickly, and was pleased to be one of only a couple of us who managed to keep up.

Some more snorkelling after a big lunch was an ideal conclusion to an awesome day. My huge thanks to Kat at Ningaloo Blue for making this happen for me, and to all aboard who made it such a great day. And cheers to Stony and family too for the celebratory beers afterwards, very much appreciated indeed.

Although I did not quite get to see the 10 metre plus whaleshark I had hoped to, I certainly feel that I can call this goals complete, as I got to spend quite a bit of time in very close proximity to the biggest fish I have eevr seen in my entire life. Fantastic!

Heading north to see the whalesharks.

My trip northwards to Exmouth to swim with the whalesharks has taken a bit of organising, but in the last few days the hard work paid off and things finally fell into place just in the nick of time.

Because Perth to Exmouth isn't one of the major air routes, there is only one airline that provides a service, and prices can therefore be pretty expensive, particularly when compared to flying longer distances to Melbourne or Sydney, for example, where there is more competition.

I was lucky to find a flight back from Exmouth at around the right time at a reasonable price, but as I tried to organise other parts of the trip to co-incide, prices for that flight increaced, and I went ahead and booked it before it went any higher. But all flights heading northwards were almost double the price, and I searched for an alternative.

I rang all the car hire places in Exmouth, and asked if any of them had a vehicle in Perth that needed relocating back up to Exmouth. A day or so later Rowan from Allen's car Hire contacted me, and we worked out a great deal for me to bring a small Hyundai Xcel up from Perth.

So after some hasty packing, including an old bicycle I had lying around gathering cobwebs, I made an early start yesterday morning, and drove out of Perth on the Great Northern Highway. It doesn't take long to get out into the countryside, and 400 empty kilometres later I arrived in Geralton at around lunch time. I stopped briefly to refuel, and after a quick bite to eat, I pushed on again.

I almost made it to Carnarvon, which is about 900km from Perth, but a glance at the map confirmed that I would not make it before dark, and I noticed that there was a free beach camp just off to the west of the main highway, about 40km south of town. I decided to play it safe, and stop before dark, and was glad I did, as the camp spot was lovely.



My decision to stop was prompted mainly by the huge amount of kangaroo carcasses littering the roadside. Many are pretty fresh and recent, some are just skeletal remains. They are a big problem on country roads, and tend to be most active around dusk as the day cools down, and through the night. Most people who have to travel in darkness have roo bars on the front of their vehicles to protect them from damage, as an impact with a big roo can be devastating for both vehicle and occupants, as well as to the roo itself, of course!!!

This morning I was up at first light and on the road not long after sunrise. I was glad I had stopped early the night before, as there were quite a few new offerings in the middle of the road, already being attended to by the crows and the huge wedge-tailed eagles.

I crossed over the Tropic Of Capricorn, but the scenery looked anything but tropical, as the desert shrubs got smaller and smaller, and the huge termite mounds dominated the landscape in their thousands.



I detoured off the main highway to stop breifly at the lovely Coral Bay, with its beautiful beach and crystal clear water. I couldn't resist a quick snorkel, and was amazed by the variety and size of some of the fish just offshore.

I made it to Exmouth around lunchtime and went to see the whaleshark tour operator to confirm my booking for tomorrow, and then got my tent set up at the caravan and camp park, and settled in, sorting out the mess of gear that had developed in the little car. My final job for the day was to drop off the dusty car with Rowan, where I re-assembled my bike and cycled back to my camp ground, just in time for a quick swim in the pool as the sun set.



I really enjoyed the two day trip up here. It was great to be travelling again on a long journey, sometimes with some good music on the stereo, sometimes just my own thoughts to keep me company, a big cup of hot coffee from the last service station on my lap, and the open road and exciting new adventures ahead.

Kitesurfing, Richard Branson, and naked supermodels!!

Yvette sent me a link to Richard's latest appearance in the world's media. What can I say? This just adds to my reasons for "Meeting Richard Branson" being included in my list of 100 goals! Nice work Richard! Yvette suggests I might need to upgrade my kitesurfing goal too! I hope she means I should kiteboard with a naked supermodel on my back, not join Richard in the place of the supermodel!!



UK Daily Mail

See also:
Huffington Post
Egotastic.com

WA State Finals.

This morning was another beautiful sunny Perth Sunday as I rode the motorbike down the freeway, and along the riverfront to Tompkins Reserve Recreation Centre, which was to be the host venue for the Western Australia Poker State Finals.

I played again last night at the Osborne Park Hotel, one week after beginning my poker career, and my performance did not bode well for the big game today. I managed to last past the break, but never had any really strong hands, and although I won a few small pots, as the blinds increased, my chips dwindled, and I was soon on my way home.

Registrations had commenced this morning at 10am, for a midday start, and I arrived at about 11.30am. There was a bit of a queue, but everything was very well organised, and I soon reached the registration table and handed over my money (yes, it was a real money tournement!) and was allocated wristband, giving me a seat at table 37. The main room, which housed what would become the final table, and tables 1 to 27, faced north, so was light and sunny, and had a beautiful view over the river. I realised that my table was in the darker, secondary back room.



(My apologies for the low quality of my photos. I forgot to take my camera, and the pictures that my mobile phone takes are pretty poor.)

When we sat down to play at midday, all 50 tables were full, and there was still a queue at the door. Eventually we were told that there were 76 further registrations, a total of 476 players.

The atmosphere in the back room was filled with excitement as the first hands were dealt, and within a minute or so a cry went up across the room as the first player was eliminated, having gone "All in" on the first hand, and been beaten by someone else, who had doubled his chips in the first hand, a good solid start. His consolation prize was a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon, from the sponsors of the event. It was his birthday, he announced to the whole room, and received a warm round of applause before all attention returned to cards on the tables.

Over the first hour or so, more people fell by the wayside, and the reserves stepped into the dead men's shoes and started to play too. Our table lost a player on an "All in" hand, and a new pile of chips arrived with reserve number 56. Eventually all the reserves had joined the game, and there were still 400 people playing.

I had decided to be a bit more aggressive in my play than usual, and won a few good hands early on, and found myself at one point with the biggest pile of chips at my table. Our new arrival, reserve 56 slowly reduced his stack, and eventually went "All in" with his last $650 of chips. I had a pair of jacks, and called him, and he turned up a pair of kings - oh dear! I was dealing, and turned up the flop, which helped neither of us. The fourth card made no difference either, and only a jack could win for me, and I was amazed when it came up on the river, and a cry of commiseration went up at the table, as we lost another player. I felt a bit bad for him as we shook hands, but that didn't last long when I saw the stack of chips that I now had in front of me.

After the first break I continued to do well, building my chips up, and as more players dropped out, tables were closed down and players were moved to other tables. Our table lost two more players, and we were told to bring our chips through with us, and were split up to fill in the gaps in the main room.



I was pleased to notice that at the table I joined, my stack of chips looked as good as anyone elses. I continued to do okay approaching the second break, but didn't really manage to strengthen my position for some time, until I was dealt the ten and queen of hearts. The flop revealed the jack and the king of hearts, along with a nine, and I already had a straight, only needed one card for a flush, and could possibly end up with a straight flush, or even a Royal Flush if the ace of hearts came up!

I was in a pretty stong position, and as betting progressed two players with small stacks of chips ended up "All in" against me. When the fourth card was turned up, a third player went all in too, and I called again, and all four of us turned our cards face up. I quickly saw that I had won, and as far as I could see, couldn't be beaten whatever came up on the river. The final card was another heart, which further strengthened my hand, and I collected a big pile of chips, and eliminated three players in one hand.

After the second break things did not go quite so well for me, and the bigger blinds slowly ate away at my stack of chips, but I was still doing okay as it was announced that we were now down to the final 100 players.

My chips continued to dwindle slowly, and I never really got into any more good hands. and when our table was split, I only had a very small stack left when I joined my next table. I was just playing to survive now, and eventually got six and seven of clubs on my big blind, which had left me with just one chip left. I threw it in "All in", and a minute later shook hands all round and stood and left the game.

As I did so, another table was being split, and the final six tables were put together - the last 48 players. I was amazed, and incredibly pleased. I had made it to the final 50 out of 476 entrants, in the state finals!! And it was only one week since I had sat down for my first game!

I had played for almost four hours, including the breaks, but didn't feel at all tired, despite the constant tension, but think I was still running on adrenaline and coffee. I watched for a little longer, and then headed home on the bike while the sun was still out.

I had enjoyed an absolutely fantastic afternoon. The tournament was so well organised, and there was a great atmosphere and tension about the whole event, but the reality of the situation was that I had lost my money, and was going home with nothing.

My $10 was gone! I reckon that is the best value entertainment I have ever had! My thanks to all from APL who had obviously put in a huge amount of work to organise an absolutely excellent event.

Two steps forward, one step back....

Plans are now coming together for the next part of my journey, and I have booked my flights from Perth to Nice in the south of France, where I am going to see the Cannes Film Festival. I was very lucky to find just the flight I needed with Qantas, and was able to use the Frequent Flyer points I have collected over the past couple of years, keeping costs down significantly.

I fly out of Perth on the 11th May, just over two weeks away, and arrive in Nice the next day after 33 hours of travel. From there I head straight to Cannes, where I hope I have some accomodation organised, and try to see and experience as much as I can of the festival. I have had a couple of people contact me via the website saying that they may be able to get me a couple of tickets, which would be excellent.

From Cannes I fly to London on 24th May, and head to Cooper's Hill in Gloucester for the Bank Holiday Monday Cheese Rolling Festival, which will be great fun.

I have a month or so in the UK, where there are several tricky goals to attempt to achieve:
Gather 5 Ian Ushers
Do a Wingwalk
Ride the Wall Of Death
Meet Richard Branson

I had also hoped to fly to Moscow during this time, where two goals could be achieved:-
MIG Flight
Weightlessness Flight

But the MIG flight particularly is horrendously expensive, and several financial factors are conspiring against me!! Firstly, it took alot longer to sell my house than I anticipated, which meant I had to pour more money than I had expected in to maintain the mortgage. Secondly, when the house did finally sell, it did so for significantly less than I had hoped for originally, due to the current economic climate, which leaves me with a much smaller lump sum to play with. And thirdly, again due to the current harsh financial realities, I did not get the three months of well-paid work in a mine that I had hoped for during my time here in Perth, so have not earned a cent here!!

So I have decided to postpone the Russia trip this time round and conserve my capital, hoping that I can secure a book deal, or Walt Disney decides to go ahead with the "ALife4Sale" movie, or some magnanimous sponsor steps forward, or some other financial miracle occurs, which would allow me to schedule these more expensive goals for around the same time next year.

I am running into other challenges too, which is part of the nature of trying to achieve goals, of course, but it really does feel like two steps forward and one step back at times. I suppose there would be alot less fun and satisfaction in achieving these things if everything was easy.

One problem I have run into concerns the Bognor Birdman Festival, where people in all sorts of outrageous costumes hurl themselves off the end of the pier. The pier was damaged by fire in 2008, and "due to the demolition of an 18 metre (60 ft) length of the end of Bognor pier, the 2008 Birdman event was cancelled in Bognor, as it was thought that the new water depth of less than 12 feet (3.7 m) at the new end of the pier posed a safety risk to contestants. The 2008 event was eventually held in Worthing, staying in West Sussex. Worthing look set to keep the International Birdman Rally for the next 5 years." (Ref: Wikipedia)

I contacted Worthing Council, and was directed to their new Birdman website here. I had hoped that the event would take place in early or mid July, as in previous years, but was dismayed to find that it is scheduled for 22nd and 23rd August, when I will be climbing mountains in Colorado.

The only way I could make it this year would be to re-schedule the "7 Peaks in 7 Days" trip, and fly back from the States to the UK for the weekend, an expense I can neither justify nor afford. The event is on a little earlier in August next year, but still falls outside of my 100 week period, so it looks like it might be one of my 100 goals that I don't achieve! Oh dear!

Poker face!

After my initial, somewhat less than successful foray into the world of poker playing on Saturday evening, I decided I needed to get a bit of practice in, and enrolled online for a bit of free-play Texas Hold 'Em. I also hot-footed down to the local video store where I rented "World Series Of Poker" for my Playstation 2.

I finished reading Pat Walsh's "How To Win The World Series Of Poker....(Or Not!)", which is very funny, and then dived immediately into a more serious study of the ins and outs of Texas Hold'Em with Brian McNally's optimistically entitled "How To Play Poker And Win."



So by Tuesday evening I was ready once again to pull up a seat, and headed down to The Saint in nearby Innaloo. I registered and picked my seat at my allocated table, and at 7pm sharp play started. I had a very drunk guy sat to my left, who from the outset of the game kept going "All in", much to the amusement of the rest of us, who were highly entertained by his wild and loose play. Needless to say, he was soon busted out.

I did fairly well, and won a few good hands early on, and built up a respectable pile of chips by the first break. I continued to do fairly well after the break, and when our table lost another player we were split up and seated at other tables with empty spaces.

I sat down and watched a couple of hands before I could join the play, and was surprised that I was one of the bigger chip-holders at the table. As soon as I started playing I was dealt a good hand, and when a guy across the table went "All in" I called him, and won, busting out my first other player! It put me in the position of strongest player at the table.

But the bets were increasing, and I had never been in this position, and started to play a little too carefully. Over the next hour or so my chips were slowly whittled away as the experience of some of the other players at the table started to tell. But all the while other players around the room were busting out, and I was amazed to find myself in the final 16.

My chips continued to dwindle, and I was eventually busted out, but was very proud to have made it to 11th place, out of about 50 players.

More reading and online play prepared me for tonight's game at the White Sands Hotel in Scarborough, where once again steady play, and a few good hands (as well as a little luck too, of course!) got me into the points again by finishing in 12th position, this time out of around 40 players.

I haven't yet made it to the final table of eight players, so that is my next poker goal, although I only have a couple of opportunities left to do so here in Perth, as I am off on my travels again very soon now.



Mel also came to play this evening, having learned the game only last night, and despite being incredibly nervous, and making a couple of small mistakes, she played very well, won one particularly good hand, and made it well past the break, staying in the game longer than about half of the other competitors. A brilliant start to her poker career!

I am still a complete beginner, but my early results are encouraging, and I really am enjoying playing. I can see how people easily get addicted to the thrill of this simple-looking, but fascinatingly complex game.

I am heading to France soon, for the Cannes Film Festival, and am considering visiting the casino a Monte Carlo, which I think would be an awesome location to get into a real money game. But Mel tells me that I would need a suit and tie to get in, and I don't think I have enough room in the rucksac for the one and only, all-purpose suit that I own! I think I may have to wait until I get to London, or perhaps the States, where dress-code isn't such a problem!

Aerobatics.

Back in July last year, just after the "ALife4Sale" auction had completed, my next door neighbour, Fiona, mentioned that she knew a doctor at work who regularly went flying, and had offered to take me up for a flight, if I would like to. Of course I would!

I got in touch with Rob, and we made some tentative arrangements, but both had pretty busy schedules at the time. Unfortunately in the month that I had left before setting off on my travels in early August, we never managed to find a mutually suitable date, and the flight never happened.

So on my return to Perth recently, I got in touch with Rob again, and we made arrangements to meet up and go for a flight this morning. The weather forecast for Saturday was a bit poor, and it rained a bit yesterday. I hoped our flight would not have to be cancelled, but this morning was fine and bright with no wind whatsoever.

I rode the motorbike down the almost empty freeway in beautiful warm weather, really looking forward to the day. When we had planned our flight Rob had asked, "Do you want a nice scenic tour of the coast, or would you like to try some aerobatics?"

"Aerobatics!" had been my instant response. "I hoped you might say that," Rob had replied, sounding pleased.

So I met Rob at the Royal Aero Club at jandacot, just south of the city at 9 o'clock, and after Rob completed the necessary paperwork, we went out to inspect our plane, a Cessna 152 Aerobat.



With everything checked out we were soon off down the runway and airborne, and we flew south, parallel to the coast, looking for my old house, having promised Fiona that we would do a couple of low circuits around the suburb.

We found Wellard pretty easily, and I soon picked out the house, being familiar with how it would look from the air from studying Google Maps. It was the first time I have seen the house since walking out the door back in August last year, and it was an interesting way to see the place again. Despite having been in Perth for about two months now, and having passed fairly close by on the freeway a few times, I have had no desire to go back past the house at all - it really does now feel like a part of my life that has been put behind me.



After a couple of laps of the house we headed out into the large training area, where Rob had explained that we had plenty of airspace to play around in safety. After a quick check to make sure there was no other aircraft nearby, Rob put the little plane into a dive, and then pulled up into a loop. Wow!! It was brilliant, and the dial on the instrument panel said we had pulled 4G.

We followed up with four more stomach churning stunts, completing the five basic aerobatic manoeuvres, which are:-
Loop, Stall Turn, Barrel Roll, Aileron Roll and Spin.

It was absolutely awesome, and at the bottom of the first spin we did I experienced something I have only heard of before, as my vision started to darken almost to black as we pulled out of the dive, as blood struggled to reach my brain. As soon as the g-force dropped off my vision came back almost immediately.



After trying out the set of five manoeuvres Rob asked how I was feeling, and what I wanted to do next. "More of that," I said. "Can we string a few of them together?" and Rob happily threw the plane into some more wild stunts. Absolutely fantastic!

When time ran out we headed inland and followed the hills northwards, passing over a friend's house in the bush, before heading back to the airfield to land.

Back at Rob's house we had coffee, and Rob suggested we go out to his shed, where he said he had a couple of things I might be interested in. I was amazed. In his garage, which is converted into a fully fitted out workshop, he has the fuselage, tail, and one wing of a 1930's designed plane that he is hand-building from wood. It is a Pietenpol Aircamper, and Rob keeps an online diary of his progress here:
Rob's Pietenpol Progress

He has been working on this for four years now. How long until it's finished? "Another four or five years - depends on the finances." Rob answered. And I thought my 100weeks project was a long-term goal!!



"Oh, that's nothing," Rob explained. "This is just practice for the main project. While I am waiting for some parts for the Aircamper, I have made a start on the next plane, which is a full-size, 2-seater, wooden-framed WWII Spitfire, which will have an engine as powerful as the original Spitfires, and should perform about the same too!"

What is the planned build time for that one? "Twenty five years, again depending on finances!" Wow!

More info on the design of the Spitfire that Rob is building here:
Spitfire Aircraft Company Ltd.

Many thanks again to Rob for an awesome day. It really has given me further inspiration and enthusiasm for my goals of learning to fly myself, and for taking a flight in a MIG jet-fighter.

Anyone for online poker?

Oh dear! My poker career is hardly off to a flying start! And considering the fact that my goal is to enter a high-stakes poker game, I am a little worried, to say the least.

I had been told that the the pub just down the road has a regular poker tournament on a Saturday evening, so after further investigation, frantically spent most of the afternoon reading Pat Walsh's "How To Win The World Series Of Poker....(Or Not!)", in an effort to get up to speed with the intricacies of Texas Hold 'Em.

I headed down to the pub and enrolled for the competition, and made sure the organisers knew it was my first time there. At 6pm promptly five tables of eight people sat down, and I took my place at table 2, with $2,000 of chips in front of me. Thankfully it wasn't real money, and my only cash investment had been in my pint of beer. I was still excited.

The (obviously experienced) guy to my right picked up the pack of cards, and dealt one to each of us, and my king meant I was the first dealer - in at the deep end. I dealt the cards, and my two hole cards were the Ace and Jack of Hearts. Not a bad start, and I thought I might be in with the chance of an early winning hand, thereby asserting my authority and expertise with my fellow players.

The first round of betting was small, and on the flop (the next three cards dealt into the centre, which all players share) two more hearts came up, and a flush looked quite possible. A couple of players dropped out, and three of us stayed in.

The next card up was the Ten of Hearts, making a pair of tens on the table, but I had already made my flush, and was feeling very confident. Two of us stayed in the betting, which escalated quickly, and Matt, the young guy opposite me confidently went "all in" - his full $2,000 into the pot. What could he possibly have? Three tens at best, I reckoned. I followed him "all in", feeling a little guilty to put him out at this early stage.

The final card was an eight, which didn't appear to help either of us, and Matt flipped his cards over. I hardly glanced at them, and flipped mine, confident I was off to a flying start. Someone else read Matt's cards - "Two pairs, tens and eights!"

"Eights?" I thought to myself, before someone else pointed out that he had a full house, three tens and a pair of eights! The last card, the "river" had given him his full house, and he had beaten me. I was stunned and dismayed. I had him beaten all the way until the final card, and realised as a couple of other players comiserated with me, that my game was over within the first two minutes!

I received an extra $1,000 in sympathy chips, due to spending some money at the bar, and stayed in the game, but played cautiously, just so I could study what was going on.

I managed keep playing for a while by winning a reasonable pot just before we took the first break, and afterwards just managed to stay afloat for a while longer by being very cautious.

I was dealt a pair of sevens, and thought this might be my chance to get back in the game, but was beaten again "all in" by a pair of aces in the hole.

My night was over, and even after hanging around to watch a few more hands, and share some sob stories with my fellow losers, I was back home before 8pm, less than two hours after sitting down to play.

I used to play quite a bit of cards in my older years at school, and on into my college years, and thought I wasn't too bad. But that is all a long time ago now, and tonight made me realise that I have alot of work to do if I want to be even slightly competitive, and that there really is so much more to the game than I ever appreciated. It was a fascinating and fun evening though, and I am keen to learn more.

There are a couple of tournaments in different pubs this week, and once again, with some spare time on my hands this week, I might see if I can fit in a few games online for some practice - anyone for a few hands of online poker?

This week I will be trying to get online and play a bit here:
Full Tilt Poker - http://www.fulltiltpoker.org/

I will be playing free games of Texas Hold 'Em (I need the cheap practice, I reckon!), and my username will be "100goals".
See you there!

Dreaming difficulties....

I am currently working on my goal of learning how to lucid dream (more info here), and promised to provide an update on how I am progressing.

I had hoped to have been able to report complete success by now, and am afraid I am unable to do so yet, but I have made some significant progress.

I have hardly ever been able to remember any of my dreams, but by following some of the suggestions offered in the Lucid Dreaming Course that I bought, I have been waking at all sorts of odd hours in the night, and scribbling stuff down in the darkness.

I often find that I wake in the morning, and have a vague memory of some of what I dreamt, but when I read my sleepy scrawl, I remember so much more. It is very interesting to see what your own mind has been up to while you sleep - some of it is obviously prompted by the previous day's experiences - but some of it is pretty wild too.

Like many dreams, they are almost impossible to explain in much detail to anyone else in any sort of terms that would make sense, but they are pretty clear in my head, which is very unusual for me.

One of the oddest experiences I have had is waking up the other morning, having had a dream in which a friend explained a unique business idea to me. When I woke, instead of thinking that it was a pretty wild idea, I thought that it was a great concept. And a couple of days later I still think its a great business possibility. Playing my cards close to my chest for now on this one!!

I keep trying to remember throughout the day to prompt myself to do "reality checks", by asking myself if I am dreaming, and checking using the course's suggested methods to see if I am. The idea of this is that if similar circumstances occur in a dream, it will also prompt me to do a "reality check", which could cause me to recognise that I am actually dreaming, and become lucid - to realise within the dream that it is a dream, and then be able to direct and control things.

I am confident that it will happen eventually, I just have to keep focussed on the idea, and practicing the techniques.

But in the meantime I am having fun seeing what my brain is up to when I leave it to it's own devices!

For anyone interested in joining me on my quest, the course I bought normally costs US$59.95, but you can get it at a specially negotiated $10 discount, price US$49.95, by clicking on the banner below.

Skydiving goals proving to be elusive!

Easter weekend seemed like an ideal time to go and try to achieve a skydiving goal, but I hadn't taken into account the fact that the dropzone out at York had organised a big weekend event covering the whole four days, and people had arrived from all over the country to jump there.

The place was packed, and when I arrived on Saturday morning, the manifest board was already filling fast, so I put my name down for one of the empty slots on a load scheduled for about an hour later.

I tracked down the other jumpers on the load, but they were all doing stuff beyond my level of ability, so I was going to have to jump alone, which was a shame, as I much prefer jumping with others.

The jump went okay, and I had fun doing a couple of summersaults and spins, but under canopy it was pretty windy, and I was buffeted about a bit. I misjudged the approach for landing, and went a bit far downwind, and got caught in the turbulence from some trees as I neared the ground.

The parachute got pushed over hard to the right, and dropped quickly, and I thought I might end up in one of the trees, but I managed to keep control, and gently steered to the left, and managed a well-controlled gentle landing.


I was pretty proud of my reactions under a bit of pressure, as things could have ended much more painfully! A couple of the others had also had trouble near the ground, and a few of us elected not to jump anymore until the winds dropped off a bit.

However, there were alot of more experienced jumpers still happy to keep jumping, and it wasn't long until it was announced that all loads for the rest of the day were fully booked!! And it wasn't even lunchtime!



My plan had been to do a few more jumps during the rest of the day, and then in the bar in the evening I hoped to round up a few people to do a nude jump the next morning. But with a whole afternoon to hang around, and no jumping slots available, I decided to give up and head for home, and use the time a little more productively.

Maybe next weekend, when things are a little quieter at the dropzone!

Remnants of my life now on sale.

If a real job continues to elude me for the next couple of weeks, then I think I will be departing on the next leg of the journey in early May, just a month or so away.

Because the sale of my life ended without the whole package selling as one single item, and I had to eventually sell the house in a much more traditional way, I found myself having to store most of my furniture in a friend's garage. More details on the eventual outcome of ALife4Sale in a couple of earlier blogs:-
Who bought ALife4Sale? - all the answers....
Goal 34 - A Life Sold

Well, I still have most of my household goods, and have decided that it is time to sell as much of it as I can. I am hoping that I can raise enough cash to cover the cost of the airfares for the next six month journey.

So yesterday I placed several adverts in the local free advertising paper, the "Quokka", and am hoping to start to shift some stuff over the weekend. The first four items offered for sale (there is a maximum of four free ads per household) are:-

Dining suite (table and six chairs) with volcanic stone inlays.
Queen size bed and mattress
TV and DVD/video player
Front loader automatic washing machine



More details on the first four items here.

Unfortunately all these items are pretty big and heavy, so are for sale on a "local pick-up only" basis, but I do have alot of other, smaller stuff I plan to sell too.

Over the next week or so I hope to list alot of it on either eBay.com.au (where my username is ian-usher), or gumtree.com.au, which is a sort of Australian version of craigslist. I might try craigslist too, although at the moment there are only 4 items listed for the whole of the Perth area under the household topic!

Pretty much everything I had listed at ALife4Sale is still available, so if there is anything you fancy, let me know!

Happy Easter everyone!

Join in - learning how to lucid dream....

I really don't really have much planned at all for the next week, and have decided to dedicate a bit of time to my goal of learning how to lucid dream.

A lucid dream, as defined by Wikipedia, also known as a conscious dream, is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that they are dreaming. When the dreamer is lucid, they can actively participate in and often manipulate the imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can be extremely real and vivid depending on a person's level of self-awareness during the lucid dream.

I first heard of this when I saw a documentary many years ago about lucid dreaming. It was on just before a movie called "Dreamscape", and that night I went to bed with a head filled with possible dream adventures.

Walking along a corridor I met someone I knew, and said to them, "Ah, this is a dream, isn't it?"

"No, of course not, it's real," they answered, trying to convince me that this was real, but I knew it wasn't. I couldn't believe it. I knew that I was dreaming! I tried flying, but couldn't manage, and just sort of drifted up some stairs to an upper balcony. I could hear people laughing behind closed doors, and was laughing myself at the realisation of what was happening.

In the morning when I woke, the dream was so clear, but like most dreams, hard to explain in a way that makes sense to anyone else. But I had done it! I had realised in a dream that I was dreaming.

But since that time it has never happened again.

I spoke with a friend once about this, and she said she used to do it all the time, and in her dreams she could fly, go wherever she wanted and do pretty much anything she wanted. She said it was very easy to control and direct what happened and have whatever adventure you wanted.

I did some internet research recently, and there is alot of information on the subject. One way to learn is to document your dreams for a while, and look for common occurences in them. Then when one of those occurences happens, practice doing a "reality check" to see if you are dreaming. My friend said she would try to turn her head around 360 degrees, and if she could, she knew she was dreaming.

Here's another suggestion about reality checks, that I received via email recently from Joey, who suggests, "There are only a few simple steps. All you have to do is look at your hands for a few minutes at a time on the hour, every hour, until you go to sleep. and when you are looking at your hands think to yourself, "When I see my hands that means I am dreaming." It only really takes a few days to do this, then one night you will be dreaming and see your hands, and you will remember, "This means im dreaming," and then you will be able to control your own dreams.

I would love to be able to do this. I read something once, written by someone who would spend their dreams freefalling and practicing skydive manoevres, without any of the time limitations of a real skydive! Fantastic!

So after quite a bit of internet research I bought and downloaded a 7-day course called The Lucid Dreaming Kit, which I am going to follow over the next seven days.

For anyone interested in joining me on my quest, the course normally costs US$59.95, but you can get it at a specially negotiated $10 discount, price US$49.95, by clicking on the banner below.



I will keep you updated on my progress over the course of the week.

Blowing in the wind - gusty goal 41 completed.

Perth has a long sandy coastline, and in summer has a regular afternoon onshore wind, making it an ideal kite boarding location. A drive up the coast on any summer afternoon will show how popular the sport has become, as kites regularly fill the sky over many of the beaches.

I have watched these people on several occasions, and been impressed with both the speed that they can travel, and the height they can jump from the waves, and have often thought, "I would like to be able to do that... it doesn't look too hard!"

I remember one one trip up the coast to Lancellin, about an hour and a half north from the city, when my brother was visiting from the UK. We sat on the beach analysing what the kite boarders were doing, and both being reasonably competent on a snowboard or a wakeboard, reckoned we had it figured out!

When I made my list of 100 goals, I decided it was time to learn the sport, and on my return to Perth I booked some introductory lessons with Kite Boarding Perth, who are based at Mullaloo Beach in the northern suburbs of Perth.

My instructor Tony took me through the basics of kite care and safety, and showed me how to set up the kite on the beach, and how to pack it away again. We then moved on to launching the kite and controlling it in the air. I had done quite a bit of practice with my trainer kite, so managed fairly well with the bigger kite.



Midway through the second lesson I was just about to get into the water to practice using the power of the kite to drag along through the water (it is much safer to do than on the land), when the wind dropped off, and we had to call the lesson off.



The next few days were not very windy, and then I set off on my Uluru trip, so it was a while before I got back to the beach, but on Wednesday the winds picked up again, and my final two lessons were scheduled for the next two afternoons.

I practiced dragging through the water, and re-launching the kite when it landed on the water, and the powerstroke which pulls you up out of the water onto the board. In the final lesson was ready to add the board into the equation.



On my first couple of attempts I floundered around in the water trying to control the kite with one hand, the board with the other, all the while being dragged slowly through the waves. It was very frustrating! But on my third try I got everything into the right position, my feet on the board, manoevred the kite into the powerstroke, and before I knew it, I was up on the board, and riding across the waves. "Yeay! Now we're kiteboarding!" I heard Tony exclaim in the helmet radio I was wearing.

It only lasted a few seconds, as in my excitement I forgot to keep the kite in the right place, and lost power, and as my board lifted off a wave, I ended up back in the water.

I had a few more tries, with mixed success before the lesson ended, and I made my way to the beach completely exhausted, but very happy.

Tony was happy to issue me with my International Kiteboarding Organisation card, level 2i, which means I am now considered to know the safety requirements and the basics of the sport.

It is certainly a sport I wish to progress with, but at the moment it is possibly not the right time to do so, as the summer is coming to an end here, and I am hopefully heading off on my next travel adventure soon. If I bought some gear now it would just sit in storage for the next 8 months, so for now I will have to put this hobby on the back-burner. I hope I might get some chances to practice my new-found "skills" while travelling.

I appreciate that my skills are at a very low level at the moment, and there is no way I could call myself a competent kiteboarder, but Tony said that I now have all the knowledge I need to progress. "It's all just practice now," he told me.

Thanks very much to Tony, an excellent and very patient instructor. Great fun.