Merry Christmas and Bon Voyage

I'm writing from my cousin's pc in Nelson Bay (where my photo id here on the right was taken this time last year). My extended family migrates here for Christmas these days and I've just driven the 300km or so to get here. My cousins are night-owls like myself, and at 2.30am they're both up and about, as normal. I always feel right at home here. The Frenchman has gone back to France for Christmas, so we're spending it apart for the first time in years, and while he was still on his delayed flight home I was already missing him. Sad isn't it!?

Anyhow, tomorrow night after the festivities here, rather than stay a few days here in paradise I'm headed back home and thence to the airport because on Dec 26th both the Frenchman and I head to South Africa, from very different continents. I've been warned of mugging and personal theft/assault and I'm trying to mentally prepare for losing my cameras, phone, and the rest of my looks. I haven't backed up my phone contacts as the bloody pc connection thingie won't work for me, again, so if this is the last you hear of me - you know why. (That or I just decided that I didn't like you any more, and have made this post as an elaborate excuse).

I'm going to have a hard think about my plans for 2008 over my time away and the real value of continuing Superchilled (which I will update regardless, pending physical incapacity).

Help with my decision making by answering the final poll for this year...

Should Superchilled Stay, or Should it Go?

Regardless, I do wish you all a Fantastic Christmas & New Year. It's been a pleasure to have you on board. Thanks for persevering with me, my posts and my 12 Days of Christmas which is now so big it takes almost until 2008 to load.

X

Trevor.

The 12 Days of Christmas : Day 12

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Twelve Swimmers Swimming
Eleven Chefs a-Cooking
Ten Goat Herds Bleating
Nine Jet Planes Flying
Eight Models Showing
Seven ipods playing

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

If you'd like to send a gift of goats or alpacas or wells, or the like to people who really need them, go to this World Vision site for details. Give a gift that won't go to E-bay...

The 12 Days of Christmas: Day 11

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Eleven Chefs a-Cooking
Ten Goat Herds Bleating
Nine Jet Planes Flying
Eight Models Showing
Seven ipods playing

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 10

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Ten Goat Herds Bleating
Nine Jet Planes Flying
Eight Models Showing
Seven ipods playing

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

If you'd like to send a gift of goats or alpacas or wells, or the like to people who really need them, go to this World Vision site for details. Give a gift that won't go to E-bay...

intoxicant intolerant

I go to the cinema and see these fantastic ads for beer, wine, and spirits, and while they're spectacular, there is never any drive for me to have or hold one of these magnificent glass vessels. Similarly the sensational ads for coffee have me looking around for signs of when the movie might start. People talk of coffee as their must have in the mornings: "Don't even talk to me before I've had my 2nd espresso" they say. It's an experience I'm familiar with, but from the sense of me saying "Here, you need this," as I hand The Frenchman his coffee of a Saturday morning. I don't even drink tea.

I'm the person people end up apologising to and explaining away their drinking patterns when I say no thanks to their offers of all of the above. The one who people try to get to drink more at parties both to see what might happen to me and to feel better about their own drinking habits. I'm the designated driver, always. The social outcast who isn't. I go to dance parties from time to time, but while others see elephants on my shoulders and stare at the lighting effects like it's a whole new world out there, I'm having a great time laughing at them, enjoying the music and feeling fine the next day.

I guess it started with a family who had no alcohol apart from gifts my dad got at Christmas which sat forever in the disused downstairs bar that came with the house. They refrigerated vintage red wine before serving, and mostly used it for cooking. Coffee they drank (and still do) in bucket loads "a mugaccino please" orders my dad, but I never caught that bug. So while I enjoy the smell of freshly ground coffee, that's where the romance ends. My siblings have moved into normality and indulge in all those beverages I decline. From time to time I'll drink a little alcohol to see if I enjoy it much, but rarely do. I've been wine tasting in all parts of the world, and can identify the style of wine and region where its produced reasonably well, but more than half a glass - and I'm giving it away. A whole glass? Under duress!

Of the 4 times I recall drinking beer, 2 of them were from decidedly gorgeous men who thrust them in my hand. But on none of those occasions did I make it beyond the first serve (of the beer).

While it is a little socially estranging these (lack of) habits of mine. I'm managing to cope. Though I do think it does limit my social invitations from time to time. I'll keep buying the wine beer & spirits for events we have and inviting people out for 'coffee' and 'drinks'; just don't expect to see me actually drinking much of the stuff any time soon.

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 9

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Nine Jet Planes Flying
Eight Models Showing
Seven ipods playing

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

Christmas Gay

Last Sunday we had our annual "Christmas Gay" where some of our gay friends come for a relaxed lunch and afternoon - (and for some dinner as well) . It's a no-gift event and more of an escape from the traditional Christmas than a celebration of it. We usually head to the beach at some point in the afternoon for a swim en masse, but this year the rain kept us indoors eating and chatting - at length, which was loads of fun and a great annual tradition. I decided against taking photos this year as I didn't want people to be worried about the threat of being "blogged" and sometimes keeping the camera at bay makes an event a lilttle more special - dont' ask my how or why, it just does. The fact that everyone brings an item of food to add to the menu makes it a lot more fun both for the variety of food, and the fact that we have more time to spend actually interacting with people and not all the time in the kitchen (where it seems everyone else wants to be anyway!). Thanks everyone for helping create a great afternoon, evening & night. Same time next year!

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 8

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Eight Models Showing
Seven ipods playing

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 7

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Seven ipods playing
Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

Wild End-of-Year Wednesday

With Christmas upon us, and the New Year just a step away, it's time for the ultimate wild wednesday. Do the unexpected. Surprise yourself, and do something that scares you. It could be telling someone you love them, it could be going to that gay bar you've always been too scared to, telling your parents you're gay, eating carbs after 7pm, getting naked on a beach, contacting a friend you've lost touch with, doing something special for someone who's been nice to you all year but who least expects it, buying a one way ticket to somewhere else... there are no bounds.
It's been fun being wild with you this year. I hope you've managed to get into the wild wednesday spirit at some point through the year. If not - here's your final chance. If it all goes pear shaped, there's always next year...
End 2007 with a BANG.
Surprise everyone.

Surfer Man

Now this isn't the guy I saw at the beach today - this guy isn't as cute, but he's close. I was walking Norten, who seemed oblivious to my instant infatuation when he appeared in my world. There's something about tall blonde surfer men, with muscle definition everywhere, that takes my mind away from everything else. He had with him two other guys who, on a normal day, would be equally distracting. They left wrestling together, packed in the front bench seat of their ute. Damn it - I'm going to dust off the surfboard and spend more time out in the surf. I might even catch a wave or two.

The 12 days of christmas: Day 6

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 5

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 4

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

Zap # 3

I've posted him here before - but here's the 3rd of Michael Chilelli's ZAP series - because they're good. You can see them all live here at his youtube page.

3min 56sec

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 3

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

London Preppy in Oz?

London Preppy is selling himself, or at least an old photo of he and his boyfriend, and Superdrewby wants to bring him to Australia - 'for promotional purposes' - and for FREE. (Read: to deface our public spaces in the name of commercialism - see artist impression above).

We've had enough things sent to Sydney Harbour from the UK that they didn't want any more, it's time to end it all, one queen already is too much!

The photo deserves a good home - a shrine built to honor the deep committment of two men to muscle definition, and a serve of love along the way, (I might be able to find a spot) but don't let it be Our Opera House, Our Harbour Bridge, or Our Kylie (?) . Go to London Preppy's blog and suggest better places for him to stick it.

Surf's Up

It was a spectacular day at the beach Friday. Sunny, warm, awesome surf; it reminded me of why I like summer so much... all the gorgeous men come out of the woodwork. I had a quiet work day - with people to see who lived near this particular part of the coast. So this is where I had lunch. Surfer's galore. Sweet as.

The 12 Days of Christmas: Day 2

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

2 Purple Bugs

and a model with a peace prize.

Jingle Bells or Jingle Hell?

In the middle of summer we have jolly men sweating in Red Suits chuckling 'ha ha ha' because it's now considered politically incorrect to say 'ho ho ho' for fear children might think they're being called prostitutes. There is tinsel strewn all about and fake frost sprayed onto windows because Christmas is supposed to be wintry, yet we're all in shorts and t-shirts. We're buying gifts for people we see once a year and have no idea what they really want. The religious Christians of us are preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ, but many of our 'gay families' have left religion completely because it's not tolerant of us, or we've simply moved on. The obligatory time with family can be stressful because of family rifts and intolerance, and isolation from family can mean loneliness and sadness.

It's no wonder that a lot of people are hating Christmas.

But I quite like it. I like buying things for friends and family, trying to find something that they'd like, even though I know it's hit or miss. I like spending time eating great food in copious amounts (though I'm much better now at limiting that quantity- it's taken me years), and spending time with family I may not have seen for some time - but have missed. I like the fact that it's summer and we have a few days free to just chill out in the long warm days and not think about anything other than chilling out and spending time, although this year I'll be travelling hundreds of kilometres just for said celebrations and escaping thousands of km afterwards for summer in another world. But it's something about the tradition of it all, of seeing family all together that is fun and homely and even a little nostalgic.

I'd happily forgo the whole commercial slant of it - remove the gift giving and the religious side of things and just use it as time to reconnect and spend time. But without those specific events, we'd probably eventually lose that family time & connection. For some that would be a godsend... For me; I'd be a little sad.

Do you love or hate Christmas? Or is it a mutually tolerated thing?

Feel free to Comment or Take the poll.

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 1

You need to sing this (at least in your head) to the music of the same name.

Officially The 12 days of Christmas start on Christmas day, but who wants a climax on January 5th? So here we go...

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me,
A model with a peace prize.

okay yeah, I know it isn't Shakespeare but work with me on this one... there are 11 more days to redeem myself...

The 12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas ....

COMING SOON

Wild Wednesday

Embrace the ice

Expose yourself to the elements and be a Wild Wednesday Enthusiast today. You might be in an extreme winter or a heatwave summer and if so you have the best chance to get into it - and enjoy the chill or burn, if just for a while - test your endurance (not your life expectancy). Walk in the rain - without an umbrella - sweat it out in the heat, roll in the snow, sail in a storm... if the weather is mild, you might need to be a bit more creative - find a sauna, perhaps do that hot yoga class I recommended here, have drinks at an ice bar - but don't wear the winter woollies they provide. It's all about going beyond your comfort zone. Find your zone, and then take a step outside.

The Perfect Weekend?

Utterly sensational, the weekend just gone.

The festive season brings with it the usual parties and gatherings of course, but above and beyond all that this weekend was some great connection with some great people. Sometimes when I least expected it.

The inimitable Sam returned home from Sudan, and while he looked somewhat waif-like in his "don't feed the models" t-shirt, he ate well and told us stories of great adventures, Jaclyn being probably the most significant one. (If you're reading this J, it's time to say g'day/ hi howareya... or whatever it is you Americans say. I know what you look like now... so there's no escape.)

Ain't love grand!

Colin introduced us to a brand new puppy who gnawed us just a little, then took us on a backstreet tour to Bondi, where we wandered upon a collection of men so buff they bounced.

With Jon & Gordon we discovered how early cafes close on Saturdays in Sydney, and wondered where the international city we thought we had really existed. Jon then joined us for a perfect swim at the Boy Charlton pool. All in all a most excellent afternoon in the setting sun.

Sunday started delightfully hot, even before the sun rose. We spent time with my folks (and some family friends) in their new apartment, now so funky we're kicking them out to hold all our parties there! They have the most kick arse sound / video system, stunning views and a constant sea breeze that makes you feel like you're floating on the ocean - I can visualise things we could do there they haven't ever imagined.

Closer to home we had the yearly street party chez our good friends Sean & Philip. Their newly renovated beach house, also seemingly floating on the ocean, was the perfect venue for a summer evening. (Thanks guys - you're both stars!) Apart from catching up with friends, locals, and a few newbies, what stood out for me was probably the very easy intermingling of the heavily mixed crowd. Sexuality wasn't an issue and life experience was fluid. Being a local doctor here it was very satisfying to have people, including the local surfer lads, say that they really appreciate me being their GP. It's nice to feel wanted, and for my being gay to not be an issue. But above all - it was a load of fun.

The Perfect weekend?

Pretty damn close.

Zap

I was over at Just Beautiful Men, and found this impressive youtube video by a budding filmmaker which I thought I'd share. I watched the 2nd installment as well.. you can find it, and more, at his youtube page .

ZAP #1 - 4min 51sec

Update: His name is Matthew Chilelli, and he is now linked under 'blogs to watch' here. With both his general work and the continuation of this ZAP series.

Opportunity Awaits

Sexy, hot, gorgeous...

Sex sells, there's no doubting it. But does it really satisfy? Or is it fast food on our way to somewhere else?

At the gym today, despite self imposed exile under my headphones, I overheard some of the god-like men conversing. It was an unfortunate event. One tends to associate great things with those whose looks are cover material, but today; as is all too often, the converse was true. The depth of their godliness ended with their musculo-skeletal systems. I'll never see them the same again, the mighty have fallen in these eyes. But am I unreasonable in wanting more of my model men?

We do have a culture that enshrines six packed, bronzed masculinity. And I have posted more than enough photos of same here to show I'm certainly embedded in this culture. But I need more than that. A leading man without a leading brain falls off the mark, a leading man with brain and brawn is most excellent, but higher still is someone who has managed to use all of these things to make a better world of ours. Scientifically, in humanitarian quests, formidable business success with social responsibility... I think it's time we started looking to success in more ways than solely physical and financial.

Can anyone think of people who have managed success in all these areas? People who are still likable and down to earth? Who take care of themselves, and the world around them? I want names!!

I see great opportunities to make a difference in this world. We have everything at our fingertips quite literally. Is there anything you can't make happen from where you're sitting right now? But what do we actually choose to make happen? And what opportunities do we let slip by? Do we want to purely entertain ourselves, or do we want to make a better world?

Summer Storm

An intense start to the working week sees me taking a break Tuesday afternoon and I walk in to the beach to chill out in the summer warmth. As I'm walking in there are cracks of thunder overhead but it's still hot and sunny, and from the cliff top I see a rain cloud hovering over a perfectly blue ocean. I wish I had my camera for this because it's spectacular, but instead imprint it in my mind. I keep walking, the rain seems quite localised and I can cope with a passing shower. I get to the beach and the water is vibrant - it's like a photoshopped postcard. Blue-green waves fringed with white froth and a sky of various shades of blue with prominent white and grey clouds. There's a very cute guy (who preceded me on the path) and a handful of others scattered over this postcard and I'm glad now that I pushed past the thunder. I deposit my backpack, towel, and most of my clothes in the shade and wander the beach, contemplating a swim and enjoying the scenery.

Right when I think things just can't get better, I feel spot of rain, and another, and then someone opens the trapdoor and all the water falls out of the sky. Instantly drenching. It's suddenly dark, there's even hail, the cute guy has bolted and I see no one else on the beach. I cover my head in case the hail gets bigger, which it doesn't, and I rush to my gear which is already saturated by the time I get there. I've turned off my mobile on the way because my shorts are already wet, and soon it will be too, and throw it into a seemingly dry section of the bag. I stuff everything I have under a rock and a bush and try to form some kind of water management plan which seems futile anyway in this rain. I leave my shorts too and stand there naked in the rain. The ocean has a matte finish from the rain and the clouds make it feel inviting and cosy, like the summer lake we used to camp at as a kid. So I decide it's time for a swim, there's nothing better than swimming naked in the rain anyway is there? And there isn't. As I swim I see this guy standing naked back from the beach, bulging out from under an umbrella. It seems absurd. I laugh and dive back into the water. I feel like a kid again and dolphin dive around in the waves watching the huge drops of water rising out from where others have fallen.

Eventually I get out, and it's still raining. I stand on a rock overlooking the beach looking back at the waves. It's still warm, spectacular and then it starts to hail - again - I just stand there and laugh uncontrollably. The beach is all mine now and I think it would be the perfect time to be making love here now in this rain, but alas as I have already said I'm alone on the beach - so I just keep laughing - surely that will ensure no one will make it happen anyway. The rain fades and the sun edges out from the clouds. The water is cool on my skin, but the sun is hot, all at once. I retrieve my gear and find my phone dipping in a shallow pool of water within it. I hang my clothes on bushes and rocks and wring out my towel which now weighs a tonne. My backpack contents scattered, I head for the water again - it's now glassy, crystal clear and even more spectacular with waves perfect for bodysurfing, so I oblige.

Eventually I emerge, shivering in the hot sun. I have no idea of the time, and it feels like I'm on summer holiday. Work, what's that?

Notes to self : Always take waterproof camera to the beach. Novels and water don't mix. Consider better backpack. Take The Frenchman (or equivalent) for next beach rainstorm.

Todays Wild Wednesday activity is anything with the theme: naked, wet, stormy and hot.

The Weekend in Pictures

Here are a few photos from the weekend. Brighton Beach with all the colourful sheds and sunset over the ocean a little farther south on the Melbourne Coast.

Melbourne 1

The Frenchman gets home from a work Christmas party at 1.30am Friday Night - we have to leave home at 6.45am for the airport and he's grey from a very well enjoyed party... We rest well - but way too short and in the morning he's still looking ill and I (unusually) drive us to the airport. Thankfully he is a Qantas Club member and we check in, snack and download The Chaser's War on Everything before I collapse onto the plane and sleep for much of the flight.

Melbourne is sunny and warmish on arrival, and our hire car is upgraded about 4 levels from 2 door runabout to an impressive Toyota Aurion (think family sedan) in which we explore the coast south to Brighton Beach. There a party of brightly painted beach huts iconicise the place and entice me to take loads of photos because one just must. We head to St Kilda and eat our third breakfast in the open air at a funky cafe, vacating our table to celebrity Andrew G and his dad. He's very cute - Andrew, not his dad. So we shop Chapel street for things we don't really need - and manage to find surprisingly little. Is 80's memorabilia today's fashion? I'm not really too keen to wear flouro t-shirts again but they're ubiquitous, and the Frenchman and I argue about how everyone is looking gay - I say they are gay - he say's they're straight but in what they're wearing - I'd be very surprised. So from what I'm lead to believe, straight guys are looking and behaving gayer than gay men these days. It's a pity as I used to like the look of straight guys...

We catch up with our good friend Michelle who takes us to ever fashionable locations where we catch up on bits we've missed since last we were here, and then head deep into the suburbs where Mr & Mr Suburbia have established a little gay haven in an otherwise dessert. A sunset swim with them at the beach closes the day perfectly (it has turned into a very warm one) with dinner at theirs afterwards. The day has been full, I'm going to rest well, still out here in the quietness of this oasis.

Thanks Anon. for your recommendations for here in Melbourne - Tomorrow I'll see if we can check them out.