bye to a great country and fun time!

bye to a great country and fun time!
Originally uploaded by Daryl Makk.

Well it is finally over. 4 1/2 months of fun, sun and adventure. Good bye Australia, you are like a second home to me. I will return.

I had many tell me that it was a great country to visit. It exceeded my expectations.
I will miss the people the most. All the new friends I made.
To Byron McDonald who let me stay with him for such a long time, see you in Sept. mate! It is my shout! (Aussie term for those not in the know)

To all my new Aussie comic friends, Dave Williams, Kai Tier, Mickey Dee, Wayne Deakin, Dave Grant, Sam Bowring, Kent Valentine, Terry North, Jackie Loeb, Marcus Ryan. Dianah Star. (my apologies to any I may have missed) You guys have a great circuit and close knit group that supports each other. It felt like home, like western Canada.
The Melbourne festival was the most fun! Some of the best comedic talent in the world was present for a month of laughs and late night socializing. I look forward to going back next year with a show all my own.
Unlike other festivals this one is not just by invite. Comics are allowed to promote their own shows, to show off their talent all in the hopes of selling out. Their only income is from the door.
A gamble for some but an educational experience and one of the fastest ways, in my opinion, for comics to push themselves to their peak.
I was lucky in that my show was promoted by the club. Thanks to Greg and Wayne for making it sellout after sellout. The Last Laugh Comedy Club upstairs at the Atheneum is one of the best venues I have ever played.

To all my new Aussie fans. You guys are some of the best audiences I have ever played in front of. Polite too, not bad for a country full of ex-cons!!
LOL

I am now in a visitor lounge in the Hong Kong airport on my journey home. The odd thing is, after being away for so long, in a place that was so much fun....it feels more like I am leaving my home than returning to it.
I guess I now have 2 places to call home and I think of myself as not quite an Aussie but no longer a full Canadian. I guess you can say I am Can-stralian! The two countries are so different yet so similar. You have to see both to understand.
I know my time there has changed me forever.