tuesday oct 27th.

another reason i love facebook, re-connection of friends. alex (an old friend who studied at our high school abroad from russia from my junior year) picked kate and i up at the airport in sydney. he is doing his master's program here in aussie- we are now spending the next two days staying and exploring with him, and his two roomates (one's from norway, and the other from france.)

kate and i walked the entire city of sydney. we started at 9am and saw the opera house, darling harbour, botanical gardens, where the bats are larger than pelicans- met alex for lunch in the business district where there are so many good looking men in business suits that kate tripped a few times... headed to circular quay, and then realized our feet were killing us so much that we needed to figure out a way to get back to the house. maps are not necessarily our friends, however we had about 8 of them. between landmarks, and asking numerous bus drivers we found the house.... 


quick shower, and i managed to kill our blow dryer- first day success! time to go out and see what this place can do for us during the night time!

xoxo,
simon

monday oct 26th.

we lost this day in the air. kate and i "time traveled" to sydney, australia. lot's of drinks at the bar prior to the flight and we passed out on the flight. all in all i think we both slept 10 of the 13 hours. in fact i was alseep before we even took off. when i woke up we had a very kind lady who sat on the outside and could barely understand because her accent was so thick, and the flight attendandts - not so friendly. the food, werid and nasty, all in all a great, "short" flight! 

xoxo,

simon

sunday oct. 25th

short but sweet summary of the day. had an amazing mass by father martin, and our newly ordained deacon tom. it was an incredibly moving service, the 8 minute homily given by tom was fantastic! afterwards we had lunch at a gorgeous place over looking the ocean. i had a bloody mary with clam juice- a first, also with four priests' present- also a first who all sang happy birthday to me was quite memorable. we got lots of looks. then it was our sad good-byes to all the extended family and friends, and it was off to west fest with the rents. 

wow. picture lots of old hippies, a mass abundance of marijuana, good 60's/70's  music and bad hygeine all thrown into a free concert in golden gate park- yes this was west fest. an interesting experience to say the least- pictures will not do justice to what we saw. and to have seen it with my parents- even more monumental. we walked for at least 4 straight hours.... i was tired. we then were off to an italian birthday dinner celebration with a glass of wine to being the 13 hour plane ride to sydney. time to meet kate. 

xoxo, 

simon

rev.mister thomas

deaconate. reverand mister thomas. yes that's his formal address after today's ordination, he will forever be called till next june when we can address him as father mister tom. it was an emotional day. i think that was the most jesuits and preists i have ever been surronded by-yet, along with the bishop. however my favorite laugh of the ceremony, minus tom getting to lay in the aisle and pretend to not fall asleep... was when they were signing the song of the saints- yes that's when teddy looked to me about 10 minutes into the song and made me realize that there were over 3000 saints. the complete ordination lasted around 2 hours, followed by a luncheon.

then it was off to muir woods. imagine 100's of thousands of really giant redwood trees in a national forest. i think i got at least 200 pictures. we wondered around for a few hours, and then did some scenic drives up into the mountains until my mom had panic attacks- because even though she was on the opposite side of the rail-less cliffs she thought she may somehow get pushed over the side through the car? next it was off to the jesuit chardin house in berkley- dinner time. lot's of family car time today. thankfully we arrived to endless drinks and lot's of werid ethnic foods from all over the world. wonderful conversations with lots of diverse people. tomorrow we begin with mass given by father martin, and the promised 5-7 minute homily by tom, then hopefully some famous bloody marys, the off to golden gate park for the 40th anniversary of woodstock, and a 15 hour plane ride. wow. i'm already tired, so with that g'nite.

xoxo, simon

napa.

napa.we were off in our rental    car-it's official name...a fo rd flex. you've never heard of this car before? yah, neither have we, nor has half of america- that's why wherever we go the stares from other's are endless- in fact we almost hit a biker today, not because we made an illegal u-turn, but because he was so infatuated with the looks of the 'hearse' that he almost hit us. an hour north, we arrived to the first winery- Del Dotto. it was a great little spot, in fact they had caves where the wine was kept and they would fill up your wine glasses and give you the tour. and after about the 5th tasting, all the wines started becoming more and more similar-i'm going to go with the last wine- the $275 bottle was my favorite. i figured out in my mind that they save the most expensive bottle till the end because no matter what they tell you, after drinking that much everything tastes amazing. it was noon, and all of us were starting to feel the affects of the wineries, so next on the list of things to do. eat lunch.

 we used a recommendation from a client of mine who frequents napa every few months, and it was by far a perfect little spot. brinx. if you are ever there on a gorgeous day, ask to sit outside- it's breathtaking over-looking their vineyards. and the food is fabulous, even says my dad who wasn't all hopped up on the wine like his girls were. we made way after wards into the vineyards. the grapes, not so sweet. in fact sour to the touch, until the after effect of sweetness comes tingling through to your tounge. we made it to our final winery- franks family. it was our special day since today was the first day in history of franks' winery that they were charging for the tastings. by the time we finished up with the champagne,merlots, cabs, and sparkling desert wines, i was regretting mixing the different colors. my head was spinning, my mom was to the point that the wine guru himself was concerned enough to question how she was getting home. no she was not driving. although some may argue she thought she was- in her own little world....i became navigator at that point. we got stuck in about 2 hours of traffic, which by the way seemed like we were driving through the heart of door county during peak tourist season on a one lane highway. at around sunset we made it to golden gate bridge, it was such a picture-esq moment, and was great to share with the fam. by the time we arrived home i wasn't sure if i was coming down with the h1n1 virus, had a really terrible wine hangover, or  worse...the realization that it was only 8pm.tomorrow is the reason why we are all here. so sweet dreams to tom, for after 10am, he'll be deacon tom. xoxo, Simon  

o'hare to san fran

...i arrived to o'hare with about an hour before my flight was to take off, with what was supposed to be only a checked bag and a carry on. easy. until i realzied the carry on didn't meet standards of the size. i took it upon myself to not pay another $20 and make this more as a game and see if i couldn't just smuggle past the crazy rule stickler flight attendand. i managed, and arrived to seat 28k before there was anyone elses' luggage overhead and quickly stashed my illegal amount overhead. operation success! i took my window seat, and waited to see who would be my flying neighbor. (let's remember last time it was chatty kathy, who even when i had my earphones in thought it was okay to couinue to tell long drawn out stories.)well i didn't have to wait long until i smelt him coming closer, and all i could do was pray he was going to keep walking... oh no, he plopped right next to me and was litterally breathing as if he just competed in the chicago marathon himself (yet had a body of a hearty chef). sometimes i exagerate, however not this time. NO EXAGERATION needed,he passed out cold within the first 10 minutes. This is great you're thinking... oh noooo..he not only had terrible hygine, but to make matters more interesting snored louder than my dad and grandpa combine with a terrible cold. if only i could say i put my headphones in and that was the end of it. the flight attendants voice came overhead, and before we knew it we were completely boarded, and about to arrive 45 minutes early, until... an engine issue. drool, odd stares from my surronding neighbors, and one hour later we were ready for lift-off. at this point i felt like the flight should be landing. and for the next 5 hours was confined to loud snick-ups, short deep grunts, and werid nose twitches. of course i got this on video, and immediately after i arrived in SFO, i knew i would have much rather had a chatter, than a stinky snorer. 
off to napa today. 
xoxo, 
simon   

the itinerary.

only three more days till i depart for the adventure.

apparently i'll be travelling 30915 kilometers or to all us americans that's 18762.303 miles... 

(hmmm okay so that's visiting 8 destinations (or 8 different airplane rides).... 

for anyone who's interested here's the itnerary:

   [22 Oct 2009 - 25 Oct 2009] San Francisco, USA

[25 Oct 2009 - 29 Oct 2009] Sydney, Australia

[29 Oct 2009 - 31 Oct 2009] Gold Coast, Australia

[31 Oct 2009 - 03 Nov 2009] Cairns, Australia

[03 Nov 2009 - 04 Nov 2009] Sydney, Australia

 [04 Nov 2009] -plane transfer in San Fran than back to Chicago, USA

 ... here's to the adventure!...

 xoxo,

simon

the in between days.

today is friday. as the weekend approaches i realize i actually have no weekend because in order to have two weeks off of work i have to pick up days to make sure my clients aren't walking around the streets of chicago with white trash roots. however with this being said, now i'm starting to realize how little time i have left before i leave on thursday afternoon..

i think i may have forgotten to mention about my 3 night stay in san francisco before i actually meet kate in the airport to head to sydney. 

oh, family vacations. i'll be meeting my mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law and we will be staying under the same roof at a beach house right off the ocean. this is no ordinary vacation, extended family is also involved. in fact, no frick/simon family vacation has ever even occured to my knowledge outside the borders of wisco. so. this. is... big...so big that the planning has been something my cousin tom has been working towards his entire life, but mainly the past 11 years (tom,correct me if i'm wrong on that...). on saturday the 24th, as a member of the catholic jesuit community he'll be ordained a deacon! and to honor him i will be coloring his eyebrows a lovely shade of mocha brown so that no can mistake his true age of 34 on this special day of his. 

there are plans to visit napa. i doubt after one 
day i will be a wine snob, however am looking forward to the grapes of CA. 

oh, and somehow i'm thinking tom really prayed for us, because on the sunday that i leave (thankfully our flight doesn't leave till 11pm), there has been planned the 40th anniversary of woodstock to be happening right across the way at golden gate park... HELLO?!? could that not have worked out any better?!  live, free music- some of the ole' performers jamming out, day drinking and spending those moments with the concert goer himself-  

bruce f. simon.   

check out the link of 

     west fest!!

 so, now i really need to think about is the packing. how do you pack that many shoes for 14 days in two different climates. i'm going to need to think on that.

xoxo, 

simon. 

how it became what has become.

ONE WEEK until the big australian adventure begins. it has been quite the whirlwind of planning.... or lack there of? let's back up to how this trip all came to be...or i guess now....blog began?

so if you're reading this, you may or may not understand the friendship kate and i have. time warp back to five years ago when we became friends while living in chicago and working at michael anthony salon. kate (or shall i say emma- her salon name- i'll go into detail of what this means some point in the blogging experience) was the first person who taught me the ways of being an assistant. the high points in that year were countless meeting times at the dryers to fold laundry, sweeping up massive amounts of cut up mounds of hair, and of course making laps around the salon in hopes of the clock hitting the hour that we were scheduled until, so that we could head to the cheapest watering hole in chicago- "duffy's" and rock out to the 80's cover wannabe band, drink $1.00 waterdown tap beers, all while being underage. at the time we wanted one thing, and one thing only... to make a decent salary so 12 hour shifts, color stained clothes disguised with black sharpies and two buck chucks weren't our only hopes to a new day.

fast forward 4 years later, and we are sitting outside being porch monkeys after a long wednesday shift of 9-9. however, this time it's different we aren't living paycheck to paycheck, our hands aren't completely stained with color and we have established a  passionate job and clientle of coloring hair (for me), and cutting (for emma/kate).

just like in any other job, some days are better than others, and on this particular one i do believe having a much needed bottle of three buck chuck was in stor- (yes, the recession has even affected trader joe's and they have up'ed their wine)... it's sometime around midnight, the idea to book a flight to dublin arrises. within the hour, we have our confirmation codes via email, and the land of true green, and sexy Irish accents will be ours in just a matter of months.... 

you'd think planning for a trip out of the country you'd spend some time trying to get details and an itineray situated. however that's not how kate and i work. to be honest we made efforts to make plans for the trip, however the wine/wii time was much more exciting than logging hours on the internet figuring out what tour looked 'fun'.... in all honesty our clients were more worried about planning our trip than us. as the weeks went on they would bring in print outs of things for us to do, suggestions in tour books highlighted with their favorite pubs, and one client in particular who was from there had offered us her home to stay in. the laid back sides of us both fit perfectly for the theme of the trip- whatever happens, happens.

 knowing a lot can take place in a little amount of time, we said our final goodbyes, turned off all means of electronic devices, and started our trip on oct 31st, 2008. needless to say, the trip was a hysterical blur of 6 nights in a foregin country... and no set plans, expect to have fun and meet the locals.  just a fewwwwww, and i mean few of the gazllion moments are below:

  

kate stayed in a hostel for her first time ever. she did mention by the last night she felt as if she were more of a 'hotel kind of a gal', but that it was nice to experience different ways of life.... apparently brightly painted walls that diguised the years of old graffit, and bunk beds that squeaked no matter which way you turned didn't suit either of us during an afternoon nap, however by 4am it seemed like we were crawling into 8000 thread count sheets and a feather bed at the four seasons....

let's also not forget renting a car in ireland. i remember the pounding on the door of our hostel making us well aware of our past late check out time, while scurring around in the shoe box, we somehow managed to re-pack everything into our carry ons. (yes, we brought one carry on suitcase for the trip, to only learn when we got to the aiport we had both over packed the weight limit and it had to be checked anyways...) still semi buzzed from the night priors' event of halloween celebration in downtown dublin, and adjusting to the 8 hour time difference...  we find the car rental place. i still remember the hertz guys reaction to our 'unplanned' route to the wicklow mts and beyond-i like to tell myself he was impressed, but to an outsider they may call it utter shock? So, me being the driver and kate sitting shot-gun/navigating the GPS with no destination what-so-ever on a highway going the complete wrong way, it was like a dream...until i nearly had a panic attack while driving through the clouds when a sheep stopped us in the middle of the road with no civilization in site and the GPS failed due to the fact we were so high up in the mountains... yes, now it started becoming a comedic movie. at the time i seriously thought my last meal was going to be the bag of 'hoola hoops'- which were a bad version of bugles gone stale that i tried to wash down with a warm 'cola-cola'. 

needless to say, 3 days with our new car friend was more than enough bonding time, but when it came to making the deadline of the 5'oclock hour or being charged an extra day, you better belive we were ready to get that thing back to it's home. however, traffic in dublin at five oclock on a one way street going out of the city is worse than 90/94W  during a blizzard with a pile-up accident, and one lane closed due to construction. - yes traffic was worse in dublin. so our clock says it is 4:55, and we are less than a mile away, when i miss the turn and have to whip an illegal U'y, all while there is a cop watching me drive in the bus lane. let me mind you, we have no cell phone to call and let them know we will be there in minutes, so the only option at this point is for kate to flee the car mid traffic jam and sprint to the hertz man to make them aware we are almost there ... i think it was safe to say when i shimmied my way into the parking spot that would be too small for any typical american vehicle, i yanked the keys out of the engine for the last time and had already said my goodbyes back in the mountains.

the trip was unforgettable, and i do regret now looking back not blogging each day on the experiences. however, due to my photography complusion i took over a 1400 pictures and 10+ videos, and am pretty sure most of the moments that need to be remembered always will be-

what started out as a joke saying, turned into our favorite saying of 'god is shining down on us', will always continue with our travels...

which leads me to our next adventure.... 

AUSTRALIA. 

...here- we- come!!

7 days aways...

xoxo,
Simon.