Well, while the other guys (band, Singer, Matrix and Rob) went to an animal zoo to look at the Wallabies and Kangaroos, I slept in, nursing a hangover and starving for a slice of pizza. Finally got out of bed monday (when i wrote those diaries) and then went for a weird slice that had chili sauce on it (EVERYTHING IN AUSTRALIA HAS CHILI SAUCE ON IT!)but wasn’t half bad…then felt so tired and (still) hungover…went back to the hotel room and slept till those guys returned, which was about, oh…I’d say 6pm. Got a call that we were to all have dinner at a curry house at 8:30 (the Singer treated us all to dinner!)

At that point, Daddyo, Rusty, Chapple and myself went to a bar a short walk away called GEORGE’S PUB BAR, which seems to be the “Spot”, from what I can tell. No sooner than we’re on our 2nd pint when a guy named Larry walks up and says, “Aren’t you guys in LOVE? I saw you last night…great show!” Turns out, Larry writes for the main newspaper there, “The Age” and was there to review the show. Unfortunately, he spelled my name wrong and also wrote that Arthur had blond hair, HOWEVER, he sent me the review and it’s great. But since it was unedited, I didn’t include it with this diary…BUT, Larry has agreed to write another review STRICTLY for the Diary and from the perspective more of a fan than a journalist! He e-mailed me to say he had to write up some sprots stuff and then he’d be on it. Nice bloke. Nice bar. Hangover was gone.

Dinner was spot on and we got back to the hotel around 10:30, went out for a few more beers then called it a night. next morning, wake up call from Rob was around 6:45 but Chap didn’t really make it up till 7am…showered , got dressed and was at the airport by 9am. There was a 45 min delay on take off but the Qantas pilot had the pedal to the metal and we got to LA in about 13 hours and 30 min. Our pal, David “Cookiehead” Jenkins, met Rusty and I at the airport and gave us a lift. And it was nice to be home again, since I REALLY hadn’t been here since march 26 and it was now April 22.

On the flight I must have slept 6 hours but also mostly played video games, kicked some ass at Solitaire and Hangman, and watched a funny movie called, THE GURU. Thought about watching ADAPTATION but just can’t look at Nick Cage…the guy just drives me nuts with that face…and that HAIR! (No wonder they cut him out of FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. I mean, c’mon, Sean Penn as JEFF SPICOLI is all you wanna see…who wants Nick Cage and his hair? not me, bud.) But on the flight i just thought about how happy people in Melbourne and Sydney were to see LOVE, finally. I thought about a 6 year old boy who waited to get an autograph after soundcheck in Melbourne….SIX YEARS OLD! I remembered these two Aussie guys, stone drunk, who were so drunk that they both passed out in the middle of a fight outside the CORNER HOTEL, where we played Sunday night. Both guys were just laying on the ground!

So, I left Australia with a special, wonderful warmth in my heart. Not to mention those gorgeous Meter-Maids that would give you a ticket if you parked too long (which, of course, made EVEYONE park too long…) Maybe it was the people or maybe it was the city (it wasn’t the pizza slices, that’s for sure) or maybe the music in just the right setting. But i’m very glad the Aussies got to experience the LOVE live show and i am truly glad I played a part in it. So I left with good memories-we all did-and hope we do come back someday soon.

Mike Randle