Hey everyone :)

Well, loads has happened since the begining of the year so I thought it was time for an update on where I've been and where I'm headed. Sorry if any of this is repetitive for some people :)

After leaving Australia in Jan 2001, I had been in London for the last 2 years and my contract ended at the begining of January (2003).

To all the geeks at Kalido, thanks for a great 2 years. It was great working with you and I miss the daily jibes. Nige, I haven't heard from you in a while but I'm sure you're still a tosser and haven't yet learned how to dress properly. Coman, Chris and Andy... Only 7 fixtures left but don't worry, Arsenal are just playing around with the top of the table and you have NO chance of winning. Of course, I've still got a tenner with each of you for the season. Like taking candy from a baby... Alex, I trust that you're doing a good job after inheriting the title of gadget man. Glyn, stop worrying about all those UI bugs :) Mike, hope all is well after your jaunt in NZ. Will be there in May. Know any good places to go out in Queenstown ?? To Karen in Tazy. Hope the weather isn't killing you and sorry I'll miss you on this trip. And finally, to Dave (Momento Man). Actually, I won't bother saying anything to you as you probably can't even read your screen through all those Post-It notes.

Right, so back to me...

I had wanted to leave England for a while so decided to pack up all my stuff and take off. I also was at a point where I was tired of working and wanted to take a break. So, I decided to take as much of this year off as possible. At least, if I was going to work, it wasn't going to be doing software development. No geek stuff this year. OK Coman, loads of gadget stuff
but no work :)-

I left England on 22 Jan and haven't looked back since. I spent some time in Toronto (Bruno and Lori, cheers for a great time), then I headed to visit my parents for 2 weeks. It was fantastic being home and meeting my nephew (Sebastien) for the first time. So cute when they're one month old. It wasn't very nice being exposed to the cold though. The worst day was when I had to drive to my parent's cottage. It's only an hour away but when I got up at 07:30 that morning and looked at the themometre outside the window in the kitchen, it was -40oC. And that's WITHOUT the windchill factor. Needless to say, the little fellas had a tough time that day...

I then headed to Vancouver to spend 10 days there. It was nice and quiet on Vancouver Island as I spent 2 1/2 days in Nanaimo with the Bands (thanks for the lovely time). Then it was off to Vancouver itself to visit my cousins (merci Jules et Sylvie). Nico, j'espere que vous vous etes bien amuse avec mon petit cadeau de depart ;)- Of course, no trip to Van is complete without hanging out with Liz and the crew. A few late nights and loads of partying was had and a huge thanks for all the fun. Liz, the CD with the pics should be on the way later today. Treen, you're a LOSER. At least you two have some class and our going to see PVD in Vancouver...

After Vancouver, it was off to LA for a week. Stayed in a great hostel (http://www.orbithotel.com/) in West Hollywood. They organise lots of tours/activities and we went to Universal Studios, Man's Chinese Theatre and a few clubs (of course). There are too many people to thank but a special cheers goes out to Tanje, Damian, Avi and Tim at the Orbit. Avi, hope the gigs are going well and I'll hopefully get to see you spin sometime soon...

The only reason I stopped in LA was to see my favorite DJ at a gig there. Now most people (except of course the Bethnal crew) won't understand this kind of devotion. Why on earth go to a city just to see a DJ play ?? Well, 'cause he's GOD behind the decks. That's why. The gig was fantastic in a place called The Mayan (http://www.clubmayan.com). It's completely done up like an Aztec temple and when you're inside, you really feel like Indiana Jones has invited everyone to a huge party. There were over 1700 people there and it banged all night long. A very special thanks to Tanje, Chiara and Ian for making it such a great night. It was all worth it in the end as I got to meet PVD (Paul van Dyk - http://www.paulvandyk.de) and the music was unreal. Well worth going to a city to see him (more on that later)...

It was then off to New Zealand for one day, yes just one, to get my working holiday visa stamped and to visit my great friend Kaz in Rotorua, a 3 hour drive South of Auckland. Loads and LOADS of drinking (Kaz, I'm never trying to keep up with you again) was had and a really fun night at the pub. Thanks to Denise for letting me stay at theirs and looking forward to seeing you in May. So after going to bed at 06:30 and getting up at 09:30, it was time to drink 10 bottles of water and then drive back to Auckland for my flight to...

SYDNEY !!! Yipppeee. After 2 years away, it was wonderful to head straight back to the beach in Manly. I've been here for 5 weeks now and it's been one huge party. Went to the Gay/Lesbian Mardi Gras (we weren't allowed to take cameras inside but if we had, he he he...). Have seen Groove Armada (http://www.groove-armada.com) and Beck (http://www.beck.com/) in concert in Sydney. I've bought a surf board because it was embarassing to tell people that I'd lived in Manly twice and never even touched one before. I'm still total crap at it but it's fun playing in the waves. And it gets looks from the birds ;)- A HUGE thanks to Dave/Estelle for letting me stay with them while I'm here. And it's been far too much fun. Caught up with a bunch of old 'mates too (Matt & Ainslie, your new house is BEAUTIFUL).

And now to describe the past weekend, one of the best I've ever had. The Bethnal crew will understand what I'm about to write but the rest of you might not. By sheer coincidence :)- PVD was playing in Australia at the end of March. He played in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and finally Sydney. It was 4 nights in a row from the 27th to the 30th of March. I thought about
it for a long time (OK, 5 minutes :) and then finally said f--k it and bought plane tickets and gig tickets for all 4 nights. Mere words cannot describe what it was like. But I'll at least take a shot at it...

For those not interested in clubbing, skip the next 4 big paragraphs...

Night 1 - Adelaide @ Traffic
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The first thing that hit me about this gig was the size of the club. They only sold 400 tickets and it turned out to be a really intimate setting. The main room was only about 30 feet across and was directly when you walked through the front door. There was only one bar on the main floor. Stairs led up to balcony/floor that overlooked the DJ and main floor. Very good views as it was such a small place. Another bar up here and a really cool huge leather couch that had video panels embedded into it that played funky fractal animations. Great when candy munching. The crowd were really not what I was use to. We got there at 22:15 and they just stood there waiting and not dancing. Weirdos. There were only about a dozen of us moving right from the start (Giselda & Danny, you guys rock). Good tunes. PVD finally came on at 01:05 and played just over 3 hours. It wasn't the hardest set but the mix of tunes was really good. The usual ones were in there too (1999, Another Way, For An Angel, etc.) We got to stand right beside him most of the night as it was such a small venue and I was able to get my first PVD autograph which was great (yes, massive stupid grin on my face when he signed it). Had him sign the booklet from his new DVD/CD double that just came out (it's wicked by the way). What made the night really good though was how friendly the people were. They may not have danced earlier on but it got hot and crazy when PVD came on. He slowly built it up over about 30 mins and then really had everyone jumping around and screaming. Met some wicked people and shouts go out to Giselda and Danny and of course, Phill, Ryan and Tom who as it turns out, were doing the same thing as me but skipping Perth (more later). Cheers to Bianca and Eve for driving me around and hanging out in Adelaide and Deco and Amanda for putting up with me before the gig. That KFC rocked !!! Deco, how's the turtle ?? The hightlight of the night was seeing PVD autograph a cap for Danny's son (who loves PVD). Very nice moment. Left the club at 04:30 and was in bed by 05:00. Up at 10:30 to make it on time to the airport and catch my 13:99 flight to...

Night 2 - Melbourne @ Club QBH (http://www.clubqbh.com.au/)
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Now, in VERY stark contrast to the first gig, Club QBH was HUGE. I'm not kidding. About 10 times the size of Traffic and if felt like I was lost in a cavern when I walked in. They sold 2000 tickets for this gig !!! Now, Melbourne turned out to be one of those rare nights where coincidence took over and things just came together. I had expected to be by myself the entire night and maybe chat to some people along the way. I missed the boys from Adelaide as I didn't have their mobile numbers with me and that was sad. But, after arriving at the club at 22:15 and waiting in line outside (god knows why there was a line in the first place as the club was EMPTY when we got in) I met Claire and Liz who were standing there in front of me. Some idle chit chat later and some bitching about the lineup and I had made 2 new friends. Wicked. Also in stark contrast to Adelaide, as soon as we got inside, the music was full-on. It was only 22:30 and we were off. By the time PVD came on at 02:30, it was NUTS. He started hard and kept it hard for his whole set. The crowd went ballistic and the atmosphere in the club was unreal. Everywhere you looked, there were hands in the air, glowsticks flying around and every single balcony in the place was overflowing with happy faces and dancing freaks. We also bumped into two wicked guys (Paul & Cam) who made the night just that little bit more special (quite looking forward to seeing you guys in May when I'm back there). By 05:30, I had probably lost 5 pounds in sweat from dancing so much. But it didn't end there. Because PVD came on so late, it messed up "the plan" so I decided not to go back to the hostel and pull an all-nighter instead. We danced until the club closed at 08:00. Then it was a quick taxi ride back to the hostel for a 2 second shower, grabbed my things and headed to the airport for my 10:00 flight to...

Night 3 - Perth @ Metro City (http://www.inthemix.com.au/photos4/030328-paulvandyke)
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Perth was actually quite interesting. I got to meet up with my great friends Rob and Kaye that I hadn't seen in 2 1/2 years and they took great care of me by picking me up at the airport, taking care of all my "resting needs" and then coming out with me to the gig. Thanks heaps !!! Metro City was another big club. Very misleading when you walk in as you think it's only on 2 levels (enter from the rear and then drop down some stairs to the bar and main dance floor). But, once you're on the dance floor and look up, you are amazed to see about 7 other levels above you !!! Made for a great vantage point during the sets. For the third night in a row, PVD's set was different. Before he came on, the crowd was warmed up with some decent house music but that's not what everyone wanted to hear. The man himself came on at 02:00 and then eased everyone's fears with some very very good tracks. Unfortunately, about 2 hours into his set, he really slowed things down for about an hour (he played a 4 hour set) and that kind'of broke the rythm for the night. Oh, and not once, but twice, the music completely stopped because of power surges that blacked everything out for 5 seconds !!! The lights stayed on but the music just went kaput. The crowd went nuts the first time and then cheered like banchees when the tunes started up again. Slowly 'cause the turntable had slowed down but then within 3 seconds, all was back to normal and people were dancing again. Ended up spending the last 1 1/2 hours of his set sitting down as my legs gave out from all the dancing in Melbourne. Just couldn't stand anymore. And it was quite shitty at the end with the crowd yelling "ONE MORE!!!" for about 4 minutes after the set was over but the club wouldn't let PVD play it !!! PVD seemed pissed off and so was the crowd. Overall, not a bad gig but not a great one either. So, off to bed at 07:45 and up at 11:00 to catch my 13:00 flight back to...

Night 4 - Sydney @ Gas (http://www.gasnightclub.com.au)
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Back home for the 4th and final gig. Met up with some 'mates beforehand for some drinks and I just couldn't shut up about the previous 3 nights :) Thanks guys for putting up with my chattering. Gas is a medium sized nightclub. The main room was downstairs and it was very dark and dingy. It's quite hard to see the DJs as they aren't well lit at all. The other thing that sucked about Gas was the crowd. It was way too aggressive and that made it quite hard to move through the crowd. Trying to get up close later on in the night to get another autograph, I was met with elbows and serious "F--k Off And Die" stares. Bunch of twats. PVD's music selection though was the best (in my opinion) of the 4 nights. The set wasn't as hard as in Melbourne but I liked the tunes better. And, half way through he night, while on the dance floor, I hear "Yeaaaaaaaaaahhh!!! Paul van Dyk!!" and I say to myself, hang on, I know that voice. I turn and standing right next to me is Phill, one of the three guys from Adelaide that I missed in Melbourne. They were there in Sydney and from then on, the night was just banging. Stayed on after for the last DJ and it was a glorious ending to the entire weekend at 06:10 when he played PVD's own "For An Angel". So, coffee with the 3 amigos from Adelaide at 06:30 and then it was off back to Manly at 07:30 to finally get some rest.

All in all, the best 4 days I've ever spent. Worth every penny. Thanks to everyone who made it such a great weekend and hopefully see you all again soon...

So my future plans...

I'm currently staying in Manly but am off up the East coast tomorrow. I'm sailing/scuba diving in the Whisunday Islands for 3 days/nights. Then 2 days rest in Airlie Beach before heading down the coast to Fraser Island for 3 days/2 nights of 4x4 driving and camping. It's then off to Brisbane to meet up with Lee (call you soon legend) before heading to Byron Bay for 10 days. Finally, I'll be doing a 6 day surfing sufari from Byron down do Sydney. I'm then in Sydney for a week before heading off to Melbourne to catch up with the PVD crew there for some more dancing (can't wait guys). Back in Sydney in mid-May for a few days before heading off to New Zealand again to try and get a job for the ski season in Queenstown. That should carry me to Sep/Oct. After that, who knows. If I have any money left, I'll probably just throw a dart at a map and head off in that direction...

I hope that everyone's doing well and sorry for not writing individually but that's just how it goes. I've got pictures up in a few places for those of you that want to waste time at work (most of you :)

http://www.sylvainw.com/pics/index.html

Cheers from Sydney and beyond...
Sylvain
xoxoxoxoxo

PS - Patty, congrats on the house !!! Sorry can't make the house warming ;)

PS2 - Julia, what happened to moving to Brisbane ??

PS3 - Julia (Sydney), need to suss out when I'm free in May for that dinner party...

PS4 - Geoff & Leanne, all the best for your new arrival in April.

PS5 - To the Bethnal crew in London, hope the tin foil in the windows is still holding up.

PS6 - To all those currently or about to travel. Safe and happy journeys and let me know where you are in case we can catch up.

OK, that's it... Cheers.