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Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, December 23, 2010
My Love For Souths, a.k.a. New Bunnies Ink!
I started to watch the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby games in the summer of 2010, after I discovered Russell Crowe owned them. Let's face it, Souths have gotten a LOT of attention after he and Peter Holmes a Court came on board in 2006, and for good reason. They have reached for the stars and provided excellent results. I watched a bit of rugby when I was stationed in the UK, and really liked it then. Hadn't watched in over 20 years. The Bunnies' games come at at all hours in the States (usually 2130 or 0230 PST), which is actually at a decent time in Australia. I've even taken days/nights off work to watch the Bunnies and learn the game. I watch the games on omnisport.tv. My mates and I would also be logged into a chat room and discuss the game as we watched, from all over the world. I enjoy rugby much more than American Football: no time outs, replays, challenges, etc. And NO pads. Yes, a real MAN'S game that I don't have to waste a whole day watching. Since Russell Crowe is a REAL man, I thought I ought to hop on board and follow his team. Little did I know how passionate I'd become for a team about 8,000 miles across the pond on another continent. Love comes quickly, they say.
When I was in Sydney on my first trip in 2010, everyone was pretty impressed that I had a Bunnies tattoo and was from the States. We sported our Bunnies gear, even though it was the off season there. We didn't care, we were Souths Proud! I even had some Nike Shox designed in Souths colors. They loved my tattoo, and several people took photos of it, one of which ended up on a Facebook page of Rabbitohs Tattoos. We met a lot of cool people due to our love for the Bunnies on our trip. My admiration for Souths in the off season has grown very strong. Just about everyone at my local Starbucks understands who the Bunnies are now. I've done a bit of reading about them, and watched "South Side Story", a documentary aired in 2007 of Souths after Holmes a Court and Crowe purchased 75% interest in the team in 2006. I also joined a board called "The Pride" (on proboards.com, see link at bottom of the blog). I've met some fierce Bunnies fans there, and was welcomed with open arms by all of them. They were even kind enough to link my blog to their front page. (Thanks again, Moda!) I'm becoming a more passionate fan with each passing day, highly anticipating the 2011 season.
I have been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan since I was six years old. I picked the team because I thought the colors of black and gold were cool. Posters and stickers all over the room as a kid, drawings on my folder in high school, photos up in the lockers. Never anything on my cars, or tattoos of the famous Steel City logo. I have been fond of Winnie the Pooh my whole life, sort of nickname given to me by my big sister Debbie when I was little. Pooh won out, and was my first tat in 1999. Well, like the old saying goes "Lays potato chips: you can't have just one." The same is true with tattoos, at least for me. My second tat was a Harley-Davidson design, as that's how my husband and I met. My third one, in 2009, was the Suzuki Hayabusa Kanji symbol, for the love and passion of my motorcycle that I used to drag race. My hard crashing love for the South Sydney Rabbitohs won out over the Steelers, and in October of 2010, I got my first Bunnies tattoo and fourth total, at Black Wolf Tattoo Parlour, here in Las Vegas.
Well, yes, it's only December, but yesterday I counted and in just over a month, my friend Danielle (from the Netherlands) and I head back to Oz for a week, to see the Rabbitohs take on the Newtown Jets on Saturday, 2/5/11. It will be my first Bunnies/rugby game in person, and PROUD member #51815 will be attending RETURN TO REDFERN '11 in style! So I looked at some of the new 2011 gear for sale in the online Bunnies store, and am deciding on what I want to get. Then, I came up with the idea to get another Bunnies tattoo. I asked for ideas from friends. So after about a week, I collected my ideas of a black Bunnie and some grafitti font, and I took my idea to Black Wolf Tattoo Parlour. Owner and tattoo artist Jason Roofe got to work and meticulously made the Bunnie look just right. After about three hours, voila, I had new Bunnies ink, and it looks AWESOME! Thanks, Jason! If you're ever in Vegas and want to get a tattoo, go see "Roofe", he is most excellent at his craft, will hook you up and make your design come true perfectly!
So now I have another Rabbitohs accessory uniquely all mine. And my love for them continues to grow. Up the Rabbitohs in 2011!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
My "Next Three Days" in Los Angeles in November, 2010
I decided to take a short little jaunt to Los Angeles, California from November 15 - 18, 2011. I was pretty excited about it. One of the things on my to do agenda was to see “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, as one of my favorite actors, Russell Crowe, was to be the guest. I was also going to see “The Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” as Crowe was also appearing on his show as well.
Departure Day, Monday, November 15th
After getting home at around 2:30 am, I was dog arse tired! My plan of getting up at 6 am to leave for LA was in the crapper. So I set the alarm for 8 am. Oddly enough, I awoke on my own around 7:10 am, albeit in a ridiculous tired daze, and stumbled into the shower. At least that helped. After fueling up the ‘Stang, and me with a couple donuts and a Rockstar, I was off. Time: 8:22 am. Good enough.
The drive across the Mojave was boring as usual. I swear every time I drive it the boring factor increase ten fold. Good old “Highway 98 and 99” radio stations and some TOFOG on the iPod to keep me cruisin’ just above the speed limit and just below the radar guns.
I pulled up to the NBC Studios in Burbank to wait in line for the show at about 12:45 pm. I met my friends Allison and Gayle there. Not too many peeps were in line just yet. My friend Pat joined us shortly thereafter. And, we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Crowe was kind enough to Tweet that due to an appointment right afterwards, he could not stop at the gate for the meet and greet he usually does, and apologized. Bummer! Then at about 2:30 pm, the staff brought us to a security line before we entered Studio 11 where “The Tonight Show” was taped. We get through that, are assigned numbers, and we waited. Then we waited some more. Show business must be all about waiting. At least they let us sit down while we waited this time. Finally at about 3:15 pm, we got to go into the studio. I was number “6”, and we had great seats, right next to the band, just to the right of center stage. We were given instructions to clap and laugh loudly. They also said that the folks sitting on the chairs just in front of the stage (that was us) could go up to the stage as soon as Jay hit the door to shake hands with him. Jay came out and did a pre-show warm up in his regular clothes. A bunch of older folks wanted hugs and photos with him, so he didn’t take but one question. I was going to ask him “Out of all your motorcycles, which one is your favorite and why?” I didn’t get the chance to ask. But, when the show started… Well, I did what I was told! When Jay came out, I sprung out of my chair and ran up right up there, and was the first one he gave a high five to! He was really cool! Then Jay did the “Headlines” segment. It was pretty funny. All I cared about was breezing through all the nonsense until Russell came out. It all seemed to take so long after all the hurry up and wait I’d been doing all day! Finally, Jay introduced Russell, and the studio went wild! And there he was! Looking very dapper, in a black suit, with a black shirt and black tie. WOW! I was literally feet away from him. But, yet so far. He talked about the Rabbitohs, Charlie and Tenny upon Dani’s return home, TN3D, and Rocky Horror. When he spoke, the entire audience was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop in there. To die for! When it was over, we waited outside by the gate to see if we could see him leave. Sure enough, here came his black Suburban, and he had the window down. I had a Rabbitohs hat with me and I yelled “Go the Bunnies!” and waved my hat. He heard me, looked, and nodded. SWEET! The girls and I ate dinner at El Torito and said good night to each other. I hit the rack at the hotel, as I was dead tired.
Day 2, November 16th
Wake-up time: I dunno, somewhere between 10:45 & 11:15 am. I was tired and needed to sleep in. I finally got my arse in gear and grabbed some Starbucks and a danish, turned on some TOFOG, and hit the freeway to Hollywood Blvd. to find our boy's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Found it! Right in front of the Kodak Theatre!
After I found it and snapped some photos, I was feeling pretty good!
It was off to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum now! (NOTE: No RC wax figure here. Not good. Suggestion made at end of tour.) Saw some of my all time faves: Jimmy Stewart, James Dean, and Clint Eastwood. Also got snaps of Tony Hawk, Michael Jackson, and LAAAAAANCE ARMSTRONNNNNNNG. LOL. Even got a wax setting of my own hand in red and green! THAT was cool. Outside at the legendary Graumann's Chinese Theatre, I found Gregory Peck's hand and foot prints, and snapped a pic of them. He's my all-time old school favorite actor. If you've never read "To Kill a Mockingbird", or not seen the movie, do yourself a huge favor and read the book and see the movie.
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| Gregory Peck's hand and footprints |
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| Laaaaaaaaaance Armstronnnnnnng! |
After a bit of shopping, I was walking by this building and it had “Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!” signs on it. They were filming and still had tickets. So I figured, what the heck, I’m not doing anything. I went to high school with Jimmy, and thought it would be pretty cool to see his show. So I’m standing in line, and I hear my phone go off at 5:46 pm. I look, and it’s a Tweet from Russ:
I’m like “Hmmm, wonder where this place is?” I look on my phone and it was only minutes away. So I said to hell with Jimmy Kimmel, I’m going there so see if I can get a glimpse of Russ on the way in! So I parked right across the street. Oh crap! What am I gonna have him sign if I see him? And right there, on the floorboard of my car was my “Ben Hur” program from Australia, that I brought for Pat to see yesterday! So I grab it and off I went. There’s like seven or eight guys standing on the sidewalk with photos and pens in their hands. Obviously a line for something. I soon find out it’s where I want to be, and I’m like the seventh person in line of not many. The guy behind me was really cool, his name was Rich. We were chatting when I heard this from other guys in the line: “Oh no…” “What, dude?” “Here comes ‘Red Bull’ again.” “Are you serious?” “Yep.” Well, apparently Mr. Red Bull was a guy that no one liked and always seems to finagle his way to the front and cut in front of everyone else at these events. Well, I’ll be damned if that was gonna happen this time. He tried to pretend to talk to a guy he knew at the front of the line. Everyone told him to get to the back of the line, but he didn’t budge. I marched right up to him and told him “Look, dude, I didn’t drive all the way from Vegas to have you cut in front of me, so don’t let it happen.” He got the point. Everyone told him to get to the back of the line. D-bag, he didn’t. It was cold and 7:15 pm and still no Russ. We all figured that due to the event starting at 7:30pm, that he would probably just go right in and skip the autograph seekers. I hoped not.
Paul Haggis arrived, and some folks got his autograph. Finally, a black Cadillac Escalade pulled up, and it was HIM! He wore sunglasses and said nothing as he started signing. I patiently waited in line. He was signing people’s stuff, but he never looked up. He got to me and started to sign my program. There he was! Standing RIGHT in front of me! I could have died! At least I didn’t say anything stupid! I said “I really enjoyed your narration of ‘Ben Hur’ in Australia, sir.” After he signed my program, he stopped, looked up, and without saying a word, and gave me a big smile! Then, poof, he moved on! But not without making me the happiest girl on that block in front of the Directors Guild of America first! Later I wondered if he put 2+2 together and maybe realized I was one of the Twitter girls that went to see “Ben Hur.” I’ll never know...
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| My "Ben Hur" program from Australia |
So after he went inside, all the press took photos of him and the cast in front of all the “The Next Three Days” posters. I can see why he wears the sunglasses. Flashes popping constantly, I’m guessing it would get annoying. He answered many questions, from one photographer in particular. I stood and watched from right outside the window. Security left me alone as I stood there with a smile on my face. They knew what I was looking at.
Seeing Mr. Crowe for the first time up close was really cool. And that smile he gave me was just unforgettable! It might have only been an instant in his world, but thank you, Mr. Crowe for making that one moment in time stop for me, and I assure you it will last my entire life!
Tomorrow, more touristy sh*t and off to see Craigy Ferg!
Day 3, November 17th
To be continued…
Click "PLAY" below to hear Moby's "Mistake" from the soundtrack of TN3D
Click "PLAY" below to hear Moby's "Mistake" from the soundtrack of TN3D
Friday, November 12, 2010
Wow! What A Day! Our Tour of the SSFC Rabbitohs' Training Facilities
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| Sheri, Danielle, Gayle-Lynne, and Susi |
The day started like any other. Oh who am I kidding? We were on holiday in Australia, and we hopped the train from Museum Station, and off we went! To say the least, we were very excited about going to the South Sydney Football Club (SSFC) Rabbitohs' practice facility in Redfern for a tour of their facilities. As instructed by the Rabbitohs' wonderful representative Mr. Luke Byrne, we waited patiently at the Park Cafe on Chalmers, adjacent to Redfern Oval. My mates Danielle, Susi, Gayle and I had refreshments while we waited (aka, I had a couple "Pure Blonde" beers, as did Dani, to calm ourselves, as we were VERY excited). Little did we know we would be met by (the VERY handsome) former First Grade player Mr. Mark Hughes (retired, 1991) and Rabbitohs' assistant Jessica for our meeting. Both were just a delight to meet and talk to! Mark, noting my Nike Shox in Bunnies colors, said "Russell needs to see your shoes!" So I replied "Well, why don't you ring him up and have him come over for a look then!? Everyone laughed. "I was serious," I said. We all laughed again. (It's always "no" unless you ask, my Dad always said.)
We finished the introductions, and off to the training facility we went. The Club played all home games here between 1948 and 1987. Although most home games are played at ANZ Stadium, the Oval was refurbished in 2009 to its present condition, and is a treat to visit for Rabbitohs fans and also serves the surrounding community alike. This inside area we toured is not accessible to the public, so we can not share our photos of it here. But I will tell you, that what we saw was nothing short of amazing to us! To be in the same facility that our beloved favorite players like Nathan Merritt, Chris Sandow, and Sam Burgess train, get dressed for games, and get pre-game words of wisdom from Coach John Lang and co-owner Russell Crowe in, was just awe inspiring, to say the least! I got a photo in a chaise lounge in front of Chris Sandow's locker, which had a gold bejeweled "crown" hanging in it. Mark said Chris got it for something or another, perhaps as a joke. I was asked if I wanted to put the crown on, but declined, as I didn't have enough nerve to touch anything belonging to any of the players. This was sacred Rabbitoh territory! And we got to go in there! There were so many interesting photos, plaques, and quotes on the walls depicting the Rabbitohs history from their inception from 1908 to the present. I, for one, was just astonished that I was right there, in person, standing in the hallowed halls of such a historical NRL team as the Rabbitohs. I had to pinch myself. I couldn't snap enough photos of the facility. Mark had an appointment, so we had to finish our tour of the inside of the top notch training facility. We said our thank yous and goodbyes to Mark, and Jessica proceeded to show us the outside of the facility and the beautiful practice oval, referred to by us Bunnies fans as "The Holy Land." We were shown the players' entrance/tunnel, the field, the terraced hill seating around the field, and the grandstands. Absolutely beautiful, especially on this perfect sunny Sydney day!
Jessica then interviewed each of us separately, and asked us a bit about ourselves, where we were from, how we came to be fans of the Rabbitohs, and who our favorite players were. Jessica said they would do a story on us and put it on the Rabbitohs website, sometime soon. Well! It appeared on November 5, 2010, much to our surprise, so quickly! Jessica took us back to the Rabbitohs Headquarters on George Street, a very short walk from the Redfern Oval. Susi and Danielle renewed their International Memberships, while I joined as a new member, as did Gayle-Lynne. I also purchased a "Return to Redfern 2011" ticket, so I'll be going back to Australia in February 2011 with my awesome friend and fellow Bunnies fan, Danielle. I am so excited to see my first live NRL game , and our beloved Bunnies play in person for an exciting 80 minutes (against the Newtown Jets), for the first time ever! The Rabbitohs are in the process of packing up and moving to a brand new headquarters nearby in Redfern, and were pretty excited about it. They were also very generous with their time in meeting us, giving us a dream come true tour and experience, and having us be a part of their business day, which we most certainly appreciated! Afterwards, we went downstairs to the Official South Sydney Rabbitohs Store, and loaded up with a bunch of cool stuff! Many, many thanks to all that made our day possible: Mr. Luke Byrne, Mr. Mark Hughes, Jessica (sorry, I didn't get your last name), Kate (for going to get the footy ball for me to take a photo with), "Richard" down in the SSFC Official Store, and the entire SSFC Rabbitohs Staff!
So, in short, we had an A W E S O M E day, to say the least! We couldn't have capped off a "dream come true" day like this any better, but we did! We went and saw Danielle Spencer in concert at "Raval" in Surry Hills. She was outstanding and put on a most wonderful show!
Interested in becoming a South Sydney Rabbitohs member? Just go to http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/ and click on "Membership".
Stand tall together with us, become a true "Red & Green" supporter, and help us Up the Mighty Rabbitohs in 2011!
Stand tall together with us, become a true "Red & Green" supporter, and help us Up the Mighty Rabbitohs in 2011!
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| Click here to see the SSFC Rabbitohs in person for their first game of 2011! |
Monday, November 8, 2010
So There I Was...
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| The Domain, view from the Bay |
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| The Woolloomooloo Wharf shops, view from Cowper Wharf St. |
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| The Wharf and the many slips, view from the Botanical Gardens |
Laying on a wall on the east side of Domain Park, adjacent to the Botanical Gardens.
Daydreaming, almost asleep, but not quite.
Relaxed and enjoying the beautiful Sydney day near the charming, small, and peaceful Woolloomooloo Wharf.
I had my iPod on and listening to some TOFOG tunes.
Several people came and went up and down the old rock-like stairs built into the side of the hill, that led from the park to the wharf, and I paid them no mind and likewise.
In an instant, for some unknown reason I arose and awoke to someone coming down the steps.
I had dozed off but had to quickly adjust my eyesight to figure out who this was.
Same stature, same build, dresses the same…and I wondered.
Then suddenly, he turned his head and I realized it WAS Russell Crowe.
By the time I realized it, he was already about thirty feet away, walking quickly, perhaps cooling down from a run .
I was sitting on the wall, and I sure wasn’t going to run after him or yell his name out.
I mean, this is his community, and he’s enjoying his day.
So there I was, and my dream of my daydream on October 26, 2010 was as close I got to seeing Russell while I was in Australia. And so is life. ♥
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