Marti Gras 2014 - Experience of a lifetime

This weekend found me escaping on an adventure to Sydney.  Ever since I was in high school I wanted to experience the fabulousness that becomes Oxford Street, year after year for the celebration of the Marti Gras Parade in Sydney. This year after over a decade of dreaming, my best friend East and I finally got there and it couldn't have met my expectations any more than it did. 

After an expensive taxi ride with an inexperienced driver in the chaotic Sydney traffic, we arrived to our hotel an hour prior to check in.  After they took a $20 key deposit we were introduced to budget backpacker accommodation to its fullest, complete with unmade beds, lack of air con, and a communal bathroom and toilets. We took a blocky so that the house keepers of The George Street Hotel could attend to making our room presentable. I felt a little embarrassed that I had picked the hotel, with it's appeal being extremely affordable and in the general vicinity of the street to be on! Surprisingly the room radically improved with simple comforts as little as made beds and fresh towels. My highlight of the room was that we had our own window with a view. It was a charming sight of an old style brick wall belonging to neighbouring buildings and a rickety old tin roof, but a view none the less. 

After an early dinner we arrived a good three hours before the parade actually begun to secure our spots along the front fence line so we wouldn't miss a moment of the experience. The event was pumping way before the floats made their appearance with team members hyping up the crowd in anticipation of the fun to really begin. 

Entire streets were blocked off with the help of police officers as thousands of people lined the sidewalks of Oxford St to watch as fantastic dance beats screamed from speakers of floats with countless out and proud people feeling the music and expressing their sexuality openly with a justified sense of pride on and around the extravagantly made floats. Groups of people hung the pride flag from their balconies as others sold them to spectators on the street. There was countless rainbow flags, crazy and colourful outfits, stunning drag queens, a celebration of same sex love and a mind blowing parade that tied them all together.

There was something for everyone: dykes on bikes, drag queens, mermaids, marching

bands, nuns, superheroes, leather daddies, lifesavers, fairies, go go dancers, federal police, navy, army, airforce, Delta Goodrem and to our pleasant surprise even an appearance of the ever so nerdy DR WHO and Star Trek fans out there, one of which was standing right beside me. I got an elbow to the arm that almost led to me poking out my own eye! We watched on as giant pink daleks passed us by with signs reading, "Exterminate Homophobia!"  It was nice to see the same excitement on Easts face as I got from drag queens or same sex couples outwardly being free to express their love for one another without judgement. 

After hours of standing on our feet unable to move (thanks to an ever so considerate mother pushing her daughter in between us even though she had lacked the patience to arrive early for good viewing) it didn't stop me from smiling like a Cheshire Cat at such an overwhelming display of equality. Unlike my legs, my camera gave up on me well before the parade was over.  Disappointing our inner party animals that enjoy a nice glass of rum and coke and a side of floor shaking music, we got some refreshments and retreated our tired selves back to our hotel. Even our eyes were tired from ogling at the gorgeous men of Sydney who made wearing contacts from 4:30am well worth it. There's some things a girl just can't not notice. 

Sunday found us at China Town, Darling Harbour, Tumbalong Park, Chinese Garden of Friendship and a free bus ride later, at Circular Quay. After taking in the spectacular view of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge we enjoyed a nice lunch and had iced coffees as we watched the gentlemen pull out their umbrellas to guard their girls from the rain as the seagulls enjoyed showering in it. Such a small gesture that reminded me there was still romance in the world and that maybe chivalry wasn't completely dead and to my surprise, even that it could still possibly be just around the corner.

We managed to successfully use the train transportation to get ourselves back to the airport. Krispy Kreme and Boost Juice made the wait for our flight back to Cairns more bearable. I sit here now ignoring the slight rocking motion of the aircraft 30,000 feet up in the air and I look back on the entire trip as a wonderful confirmation that love is still very much the heart of life and that gay or straight, you owe it to yourself to open up to it completely.  Even if you've been unfortunate enough to have been hurt in the past, or have people looking down on you for being guilty of nothing more then being true to yourself.  If you are yet to find the love that lights your life, or the courage to pursue it, one guarantee is that no matter who you are or what your differences, you are worthy of it. 

I hope you all had an extremely Happy 2014 Marti Gras and that the sense of pride and freedom to be yourself doesn't just wash over you for the duration of the parade and Marti Gras celebrations, but ideally that it lasts you a lifetime. 

Tips for Moving in Together

Moving in together for the first time is a big step. It opens your eyes to your partner’s imperfections, which may have gone unnoticed when you were living apart. Irritations may occur during the initial stages of the move. Try your best not to take them out on each other.  This is something that you are in on together.  Here are a few tips to make the transition unproblematic on you both.

Ground Rules – Set out the ground rules in the early stages so that you are both aware of what each other consider acceptable and unacceptable to ensure that you are not treading on each other’s toes.

Budget – Before you take the leap be sure to work out a budget that you are both willing to stick too. Divisions can occur if the expenses keep falling on one person.

Alone time – Moving in together gives you access to each other 24/7. But you do not want to be in each other’s faces all the time. To guarantee that you do not get on each other’s nerves, it is important that you take some time out for yourself. Do not expect to be constantly at each other’s side. You each have your own hobbies that should not be neglected because you are no longer living apart. Give each other the space to continue being you.

Get out of the house – Just because you have now got a place of your own, does not mean that you still can’t get out of the house together. Do not allow yourself to be stuck in a rut. Doing your own thing is essential, but you must also be willing to make the effort to spend time together outside of your new home.

Respect privacy – Respect that some things are private. You may be sharing a place, but this does not mean that you cannot still have the privacy you are entitled too.

House Work/cooking – Divide the house work and the cooking between the two of you. Do not expect your partner to do all the work. It should be a combined effort.

Share the decorating – Re-decorate your house together to express the visions of who both of you are. Have fun with it and let your new house express who you are individually as well as put across both of you as a couple.

Communicate – If you are not happy with something occurring in your new place, be sure to talk about it. Remember that nobody is perfect, nor are any two people the same. You have to be willing to compromise to keep a happy environment alive. Expect differences and disagreements to occur as a result.

Keep it interesting - Do not stop making effort in your relationship.  You can find affordable lingerie and accessories here for your partner to appreciate.

Do not be afraid to open yourself up to a new adventure.  Moving in together can be a scary thought, but if you respect each others needs as an individual, it can also be a fulfilling experience for you both.

Valentine’s Day on a Budget

Valentine’s Day falls soon after the greatly expensive Christmas period and due to this reason, a lot of couples choose not to celebrate this day of love. Here are a few ideas to make your next Valentine's Day one to remember.

Second to waking up next to your partner on Valentine’s Day there is breakfast in bed. If you don’t have the luxury of having the day off to celebrate, straightforward pancakes are inexpensive and quick to whip up. Heart shaped silicone rings can be inexpensively brought and stashed for further use for Anniversaries and future Valentine’s Days, not to mention any time you just want to spoil the one you love.

Instead of going out to an expensive and almost certainly crowded restaurant, surprise your partner with his/her favourite meal. This will allow you both to feel more comfortable and if truth be told, focus solely on one another.

Take a stroll on the beach or pier and take along desert and a blanket with you. This could be something you handmade yourself. Find a secluded spot and enjoy your sweets while watching the water.

While your partner is relaxing in a bubble bath that you have run, spread rose petals on the bed in the shape of a heart. This can be an expensive gesture, but you can make it affordable from buying artificial rose petals instead of tearing them from real roses.

Candles are also good to set the mood – just be sure to put them in a place that is impossible for the hot wax to drip down on places it shouldn’t. Unless it is something you have chosen to do. It can be quite a mood killer to unexpectedly have wax dripping on you.

Instead of going to the movies hire love themed DVD’s from the video shop, or choose a few of your partners’ favourites that you already have at home to save some money. You could also consider re-watching the movie you saw on your first date, could also be sentimental.

Inexpensive Gift Ideas

The acknowledgement of Valentine’s Day is more about commemorating your love then it is about buying or receiving expensive gifts. But if you like to spoil your partner here are a few ideas that will not break the budget.

Give your Valentine a Valentine’s Day Card. Not everyone is comfortable writing their feelings down therefore this is a guarantee that your partner will appreciate it all the more. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be a Romeo incarnate to achieve this with success. It can be easy to neglect the little things when you have been with someone for a long time so a card with a mere Happy Valentine’s Day message is worth a thousand words. It may be a cliché but remember there is nothing more powerful then saying “I LOVE YOU.” Try making your own card to give it that extra meaning and save some money. You could also try leaving romantic messages around the house or anywhere your Valentine will be that day on heart shaped post-it notes or cut outs.

Although tradition/media leads us to believe that a dozen red roses is the way to go for such an occasion, a single flower can be just as effective. A sure winner would be your Valentines favourite flower – not always typically a rose.

A box of chocolates – it is a rarity that anyone can resist the incredibly delicious taste of this creamy milky goodness. You can easily dress up the packaging with a ribbon around the house.

When it comes down to it, the only thing that matters on Valentine’s Day is enjoying the company of the person you love and showing them just how much you care. Because whether you are an overly sentimental person or you don’t have a romantic bone in your body, it is how you feel when you are with your Valentine that you are both going to remember.