2010 - 2019: The Decade That Was - Part 2

I am going to try and keep this one a little shorter than the previous but I will see how I go.

2013

01/01/13 @ 00:01 - at East Perth foreshore party with the gang, reasonably drunk 
2013 started at the East Perth foreshore with the gang and finished in Stu’s house in Viveash, playing on my phone. In between these two pivotal events there was also a lot of important stuff going on. 

2013, the year of the ressies grand final and East Perth Mantra Hotel. Everyday drive to work in East Perth and then rush out to try and beat traffic so can make Crossfit and footy training on time - tough.

Every night was busy, except for maybe Friday when I walk into the city after work and look at clothes. This was probably my favourite part of the week.

I loved working in the city and commuting between the East Perth and Perth hotels via the Red CAT. I loved walking through the city on a Friday night, looking at clothes etc before going home. I never knew the city that well before I started working at Mantra but by the end of this period, I knew Hay St, Murray St and East Perth really well. There were also a lot of parts of fulltime worked that I really liked but my organisation, sleeping habits / exercise habits needed to be adjusted. Sometimes I drink too much on Saturday night and feel the effects on Monday. Too much vodka. One time I feel like I’m going to faint when I’m in the Murray St bathroom on overcast Monday afternoon. Nick and Sull drink a lot too and I cannot help myself. 

June long weekend go to Villa for What So Not on the Friday. Kiel and I are late so we miss the taxi... Kiel convinces me to drive. Night is good, I try not to drink too much but drink more than I want to... am with Kiel, Nick, Yakk & Sull. Kiel convinces me to drive home but I’m like “I’ve been drinking, I can’t drive”, Kiel say “You’re fine”. Kiel and I walk outside Villa, walk 50 metres to my car and head home - not good but make it home ok. This was also the weekend that Nick pressured the doctor to take his cast off so he could go out drinking #hectic.

Finding it hard to balance work with everything else so decided it was time to leave. Last day was Friday the 6th of September. Went out for a bit later but night was hijacked by two unnamed friends from footy and next I knew it was 2pm on Saturday and I had missed our third last training before our grand final. I felt so bad.

Grand final was memorable for all the wrong reasons. We should have won but we didn't. I had an eight week break between jobs, I didn't know if I would ever go back to accounting, I just didn't think I was made to be an accountant. Worked in a container yard in North Freo for the end of 2013, this was pretty outrageous too but so be it. And that was how 2013 ended: working and not knowing where I was heading.

Other points: CrossFit was still going well; missed both seasons of Survivor; had decent visibility with women through footy, CrossFit and work.


2014

01/01/14 @ 00:01 - on a bed at Stu’s Viveash house, playing on my phone, hiding from life
The year starts and things pick up. I am still at the container yard and they offer me fulltime. I get offered two other accounting jobs at the same time and not sure which to choose. I answer my phone on the walk back to my car on my lunch break and say yes to the West Perth accounting firm. We moved in May to Port Coogee - 18 months in High Wycombe. Kept playing A Grade ressies but no trainings. Got dropped to thirds because of this.

The feeling at this accounting firm was a lot different from the 2013 jobs. There was no shouting. I had a good mentor so this was very reassuring. The office was vibrant and there were many young people and also maybe 50 people in our office. I still found aspects of this job challenging but was not going to give up. Had to give up CrossFit because we moved; started going to Coogee Surf Lifesaving Club. I could write a lot about 2014 but I will keep it simple. Was doing intense CrossFit workouts at the gym to stay fit for footy; started doing CPA in July #hard ; had a good night in Subiaco for our Christmas party.

Other points: going to Ya-Ya's a lot; Ya-Ya's closing down in November :( ; started sleeping in my car after nights out in the city.


2015

01/01/15 @ 00:01 - upstairs in my Coogee bedroom, trying to sleep
Friends seemed to dissipate post Ya-Ya's closing down, Jas was seemingly the only one that still wanted to go out. I thought I would give up going out for good but I drove and met Jas a few times to give him company. I really thought this was the end of my going out days.

Found myself in Seduction, Phuket at the end of June / start of July, thought this was no longer a part of my life but then I heard a song which I hadn't heard before. The sound was unique. It made me realise how much I loved music and how I had lost touch with music a little in the last couple of years. I decided I wasn't going to give up on nightclubs.

2015 was a CPA year so I probably won't write too much. Other important points: stopped playing footy because it was too much; kept going to the empty Coogee Surf Lifesaving gym most nights; slept in my car many times.

2016

01/01/16 @ 00:01 - back area of Tigerlil’s with Sull, JC, KC, Vesper & Derek (if he hadn’t already left 😂)

Wrote blog about this New Year’s Eve. Start running at Kings Park on Fridays. Year just do two CPA units and lots of intense CrossFit workouts at Coogee Fitness Club by ownself. I still uptight because I studying and working and most night when I go out I being careful not to drink too much. Sleep in my car like 7 times in the first 6 months. I remember in 2016 being at Lost Society late on a Saturday night until the lights come on. 

2017

01/01/17 @ 00:01 - walking the streets of Mt Maunganui, lining up for nightclub 

A few weddings, engagement parties, JC has girlfriend now. Oscar & Ellie have now both moved on, I get told by psychic that I should move out. Do another CPA unit in second semester. Have good nights out.

2018

01/01/18 @ 00:01 - at Brisbane Hotel in Highgate/North Perth

Finally finish CPA. When get to June I am so fatigued I think I have put on some weight, I miss the gym sometimes because it close too early. In Sept I check out Goodlife, I like this one a lot, I make the switch, start going hard on the rower.

2019

01/01/19 @ 00:01 - on the roof at Sull’s house watching fireworks

2010 - 2019: The Decade That Was - Part 1

It is the 28th of December 2019, three days before the decade comes to the end, deciding if I should write a blog or not, on a decade which I liked a lot. In the words of TE (Trav) "Sometimes it's better to just post it. Pretend you are in an exam. You've got 30 mins. Do your best." Wise words.

2010

01/01/10 @ 00:01 - Deen dance floor with KC & JC
The decade started off with me on the dancefloor of The Deen with JC and KC. We had gone to JB's house in Wattle Grove to see in the new year but had soon departed after Jas and Kiel decided that there might be more action in Northbridge. A few days later I headed south to Southbound with a lively Wattle Grove crew + JH & BB. This was a long trip: departed Thursday night and arrived back Monday afternoon. We camped hard with three tents and drank a bit. I had my wristband confiscated shortly after arriving and subsequently had all of the alcohol in my shorts taken away from me - not a good start. Apart from that, this was a good trip.

2010 was one of my favourite years of the decade but it started off shaky and I was once again put on conditional standing at uni after I failed another two units. This was another wake up call - post grad was harder than I thought and I have attention from women which is new for me. My drinking was probably out of control too *shakes head, but young Scott was a loose unit. The real narrative of 2010 for many of us was that of redemption. Cougars had lost all three grand finals in footy the year before and we had entered all three of those matches as heavy favourites. In that hostile environment on that ground that I don’t really like, we lost and I felt that I had let the club down. 2010 looked to be a much tougher proposition than the previous year, as we were always going to have to beat Scarborough to make it up to B Grade and they were effectively an A Grade club.

Towards the end of July and during September, I remember trying to apply myself more at uni and thinking to keep taking footy one week at a time because I did not think we could beat Scarborough - I didn't see any point thinking too far into the future. I also remember going out to Rubix and Capitol most of these weekends and these were good nights.

Our last five matches went LOSS - Scarborough (big loss), LOSS - High Wycombe, WIN - High Wycombe, Loss - Scarborough (even bigger loss), WIN - High Wycombe (only by about a goal - I had only had 1.5 - 2 hrs of sleep before this game because of a uni mid sem test, so hectic) and then somehow we were in the Grand Final. This was going to be a big game. The lead up week to this match was pretty intense and I knew how much it meant to everyone. I was going into this match prepared to get hurt, just to redeem myself... intense. The day finally came and I rocked up half time of the ressies match as usual. It was overcast which I liked and this time colts had won and ressies were ahead at half time, which was a direct contrast to the year before. The pre-game addresses were pretty deep and very moving, you could see this meant a lot to everyone. There was no mucking around like usual and it was pretty intense.

Ressies won and our game was about to start - the pressure was on. If we won, we would go up to B Grade and if we lost we would stay in C Grade for out fifth straight year. The match started and we were just managing to hold on, this continued on during the second quarter. He were down at half time but nowhere near as bad as our previous two outings. I still didn't really think about winning or even that we could win, I just kept thinking about focusing on every single moment and just trying my best in every contest.

The third quarter things seemed to pick up a bit in our favour and people started to believe that we could match it with S'borough. This was the first time in the match that I felt some level of optimism. The fourth quarter came and it was pretty tight and we were still behind. I was now thinking that we were actually going to run out of time and we would end up losing by less than a goal but literally out of nowhere Merce kicked a goal from a throw in and for the first time in probably two months, the idea that we might actually win was possible. I nearly messed up again with only one or two minutes remaining, if things didn't go our way they would have taken the ball that went through my hands and ran 75 metres into an open goal... this would not have been good. Fittingly though, the god that is B Baker was behind me, he kicked it to Toby and then Toby kicked it to Cory. Cory literally marked right on the boundary 45 metres from goal and yet he still converted his kick to give up a seven point lead. The siren went and it was crazy! I was so cathartic and was trying to hide the fact that I was crying - I felt so relieved, like an enormous burden had been lifted off of my shoulders, one that I had been carrying with me for 12 months. This was the start of a good period for me, perhaps my favourite of the decade.

These celebrations went on for at least three days. I was trying to focus on uni but Kal Cup came, so did Parklife and a few nights out and then it was late October and we were going to Phuket. This Phuket trip was one of the most enjoyable trips of my life - I guess drinking every night wasn't ideal but it was pretty amazing listening to music every night, having zero worries (except uni for me) and spending time drinking with friends every day and night for eight nights, in such a vibrant environment.

This good energy continued on for the remainder of the year. It was a good year.


2011

01/01/11 @ 00:01 - at Black & White party on Crawley foreshore with Lesmurdie crew 
2011, interesting. My sleeping habits perhaps the most out of control of all time? Lots of winter Saturday nights at Capitol? Have good fortune, can housesit in Freo for four months. Footy not going well, I have groin injury and cannot play, my sleeping habits became the most extreme that they had ever been. The worst it got was when I went to bed at 11am in the morning, woke up at sunset i.e. 530pm, had an afternoon nap anytime between 12am - 3am and then went back to bed around 8am or so in the morning. Sleeping in a big, empty house by yourself I felt like I could forget about time, live in my own world, fall asleep whenever and watch 150 - 170 Naruto Shippuden episodes undisturbed at night, thanks to Goat’s internet. One time I even tried to walk home from Hip-E club to Freo in May but only made it to the Perth Zoo - so cold.

My 5.5 year tenure at Curtin University finally finishes - I will miss this place. Decide to go to Phuket again so book holiday. I was basically out of money and this is when I signed up to "The Brotherhood" (Toll). My first shift was with T-Man at a refrigerated warehouse in Welshpool, loading and unloading meat boxes into trailers at 5am in the morning. This went for five weeks, along with work for two other Toll employers and I was ready to leave but thankfully I was offered work at the Toll Ipec depot in Hazlemere, which is what I wanted all along. I will never forget my first shift there on a Friday afternoon, it was like a ray of light had come into my life. I will try not to make this post too lengthy so I will cut things short.

End of September = Phuket. Phuket quiet, lots of rain. Go to nightclub every night. Some NRL players there, Dustin Martin too? One night go to nightclub, maybe 8 people there, then go on Saturday, now more like 200 people there... this definitely rainy season. 

After Phuket I vowed that I would stop drinking as much. This was an end of old ways in some regards. NYE for 2011 was not as lively as the one prior also. Where 2010 ended with lots of excitement, 2011 not as much. 


2012

01/01/12 @ 00:01 - East Perth foreshore Nautical Party with Noonty, Bird, Will
Year starts, low on money so work at Toll and unload trailers every morning. 5am starts are tough, 5am used to be my bedtime. Do this for a few months until I pay off debt with mum. Sometimes I drive to Spanish lesson after Toll - I am so tired, I make sure I not crash. Start applying hard for accounting jobs on Seek. First interview I go to in West Perth I get offered the job. This is a tax job but I have to set up my own ABN to do this? I think job market must be good so I hold off until I get another job offer, hopefully no ABN either... bad move, next job does not come for a long time, I must wait.

One night, walking to my car after footy training with KC & Coote, here about Coote’s secret fitness class, I am not sure what to expect but I am def interested. I have been searching for this for awhile, I need to get stronger. This is when I met CrossFit - intense! I am hooked.

In footy I am playing back pocket every week, not much going on, our team too strong, I go for a run Saturday afternoon after I get home from footy to make sure I stay fit for CrossFit. CrossFit had become life and ressies was all about staying injury free until the finals.

Somehow get knocked out of finals in footy, must not ever let this happen again.

We go to Ginger a bit in 2012, I feel perhaps that I don’t belong but perhaps what I really feel is that I really want to focus on getting a serious job.

2012 about YaYa’s, Northbridge, becoming a super Saiyan with Crossfit, running 17km’s home from YaYa’s in October, being in Phuket one night eating dinner in restaurant, it’s rainy and lively, Gangnam Style comes on again and young aussie guy with parents, siblings on holiday, gets on outside stage and starts dancing. These nights always seem to be overcast, 2012 is weird too because world is coming to an end?

To end it all, we left our beloved house in Wattle Grove - this was tough. One night week after, I wake up with strong dream about 22 years of memories from this house, I cry #tough very intense dream.