Wam Bam Animation Competition

The last weekend in March brings with it the Western Australia Film and Television Institute and Wanimate Animation Club's Wam Bam 09' 48 hour Animation Competition. The competition started 6:00pm Friday, March 27th, and ran through the weekend concluding at 6:00pm Sunday evening. The competition is followed by a screening of all the team's animations and voted on by both the audience and a panel of judges. The team I was on "MAD Toons" was made up of Mike Rosenbaum, Andrew Buckley, and Daniel Archer, we won both the popular vote and the judge's vote for our animation called Kok-a-rok-a-doo. It was a great event, and I enjoyed working with my team, meeting new people and creating a fun animation.

A Day in the Maze

While interning at Last Pixel I met Ursula Dixon who's family own an entertainment center called "The Maze" they have kangaroos, koalas, emus and other wildlife native to Australia, plus the maze is just that...there are several human size mazes to try and find your way through. They also have a 9 hole disc golf course. Ursula was very nice and gave me two free passes to visit The Maze, so Ali and I made a day of it and went out there and had a great day. We got to feed the kangaroos some grass, lost ourselves in the different mazes and got to see koalas up close. We even played a round of disc golf where I hit my first ever ace (hole-in-one) on hole #4. It was a fun day and we appreciate Ursula's generosity in giving us the passes.

Josh's Fancy Dress Birthday Bash

One of the new friends we have made turned 30 this year. He and his wife hosted a fancy dress party, a.k.a. costume party. The theme was sci-fi / fantasy. Ali and went as Dorothy and the Scarecrow from Wizard of OZ. It was a good party, and we enjoyed celebrating with Josh, Lisa and all their friends.

The Pelican Brief / Mandurah

We took a drive, one Sunday, down to a little town called Mandurah. It is a little town that sits on the banks of the Indian Ocean. I didn't take many photos here, but while we were walking along the sea wall a pelican stopped us in our tracks and posed for a few pics.

Perth Zoo / New Years Eve

Ali and I spent a morning at the Perth Zoo. We saw a lot of great animals. The kangaroos are in an open area and you could go right up and touch them if you wanted. But they kind of spooked me. I really enjoyed the huge sea turtle and oragutangs. Actually, we enjoyed the zoo so much we became members. Now we can go whenever we want.

Christmas BBQ / Secret Santa @ Ben and Blanche's house

While we haven't made a lot of friends, the friends we have made are top quality! Ben Morris is a guy I met during my internship @ Last Pixel. He, his wife Blanche, and daughter Ruby have been so good to us, inviting us to be a part of there group of friends and including us in several gatherings. This was a Christmas BBQ where all the couples picked names and exchanged gifts, Secret Santa style. Ali and I were gifted an eskie or cooler as we know it in the states, from the Morris family. Other friends we have met in this clan are Josh and Lisa, and Kevin and Sarah. We really enjoy spending time with all of them.