Pre tour recurring dreams, 2 dollar challenges, sleep and the lack of...and rock n roll!

Wednesday 25th May

It's early. Very early. It's so early that I can't be sure of the time. Well, it's night time, that's for sure. Usually at this hour I would be dreaming. In fact I've had so many dreams of doing just this - the "going on tour take-off" - that until I'm in the shower, I'm not sure that I'm not still asleep. But yes, i am awake. And i am relieved...because I'm packed and ready to go. This is something I can never achieve in my recurring nightmares....it is always chaos and horribly stressful. I learnt from the past not to leave everything to the last minute when it comes to packing, so although it's still pitch black outside, I am ready to go. My punctual pre-booked cab picks me up and I'm immersed in a rich experience, conversing with the driver all the way to the airport. We share tales, insights and laughter most hearty. (It was actually the complete opposite of this but because of the very early hour I'll forgive my drivers resistance to my many efforts at breaking the ice. In fact, it's possible that he was a service industry zombie but he delivered me to the terminal on time, so I'm very grateful to him and hope that he finds the brains he most surely craves). 

Walking into the terminal, I'm yawning so hard that I go blind for a few seconds. When I regain focus I'm in a sea of high-vis vests garnished with scruffy beaded faces and tired eyes. This human traffic, the fly in/fly out mine workers, is to be expected at this hour, and for a moment, as I shuffle around dragging my bag, I feel connected to this depressing tide of workers in transit. Then I spot Ness and Brett and quickly snap out of my delusion. That's right - we're off on tour! This makes me happy. Although maybe not quite as happy as Brett because he has tears in his eyes and is quite obviously delirious with joy. (Looking back, well, maybe he was intoxicated, but hey, I was also drunk. Drunk with the anticipation of playing some rock shows!!!). We check in and as we pass through security I am not pulled over for the "bomb-test" for the first time ever! I take this a good omen.

Flight = Sleep.

Kev is waiting for us when we arrive and hugs are thrown around with complete abandon. We collect a car, and in no time at all are checking in to the accom. In no time after that we are at the nearest pub for a mid arvo toast to the upcoming shows. I really, really enjoy a few beers in the afternoon. It reminds me that I'm not at work. I'm on tour again and am very grateful. Plus this pub had $2 chips and gravy! You don't see that in Perth. SCORE!! We have time for a couple of rounds before Kev and Ness head to JJJ to talk shop, so after another quick one, Brett and I chance a break in the rain to go in search of a shop. We are looking for snacks and almost immediately stumble in to the mother of all asian supermarkets, standing in amazement at the endless rows of never before seen imported snack foods. Brett lays down a challenge: One item (under $2) from every aisle, the weirder the better. Is this dangerous? Who knows? It is fun, and soon we are hauling a bag of "surprises" back to the room. Like overgrown kids with their Halloween loot, with try mystery foodstuff after mystery foodstuff. Did we find any snack food gold? No. The results were overwhelmingly disappointing. Canned cuttlefish in spicy sauce - do not go there. Lesson learnt haha. The next thing I know Brett is fast asleep. I wonder whether he has been poisoned but when Ness and Kev arrive back talking of Thai food and dinner I decide that he hasn't (he is smiling, kind of..) and we leave him to his zzz's. 

Our good friend Polley joins us for a delicious Thai meal at Bar Broadway, but because the food is followed closely by a round of yawns, we decide to call it a night. When I get back to the room Brett is still asleep. He will be asleep for the next 12 hours, bringing the total effort to an impressive 16 hours. He is a champion sleeper. This is a good thing, he will have lots of fuel in the tank for gigs, and the first, Canberra, is tomorrow. Bring it on!!! 

Chris:)