At the moment I'm spending a lot of time volunteering. At Woodford, Vippassana (a meditation retreat in Pomona) and soon Regrowth Festival in NSW. I'm packing up my things as I type (I’m meant to be, but typing takes a lot of hands - two - so I'm mostly just doing that right now).
Why do you do it?
It makes me happy. I like being around people and I like working hard as part of a community. It feels like I'm contributing to something worthwhile. At the same time I get to have fun and make memories with the other vollies, who by the way are just some of the most amazing people. They don't know it yet but one day I'm going to bastardise them all into a novel of some kind.
What do you love about the city you live in?
About Brisbane? I like that there's trees intermingled with all the concrete and glass. I love the weather. Especially the pregnant calm before torrential rain.
Where did you go for your last holiday?
To be honest my life is kind of like one, big holiday. My last time abroad was southeast Asia. I full-moon partied on the southern islands, stayed in my father's monastery (he's a Buddhist monk), motorbiked along the great ocean road from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi, and taught English to little Vietnamese kids for a few months.
What's your favourite item of clothing? Why?
A Technicolor singlet I bought in Pai, Thailand. It has purples, blues and pinks crashing against each other in what is either the shape of a heart or very colourful vagina. I can't quite decide. I think there are some seagulls in there, too.
What was your favourite TV show when you were a kid?
‘Ninja Turtles’ no doubt. Bit of ‘Power Rangers’ and ‘Samurai Pizza Cats’ on the side.
If you could travel back in time for a day, where would you go?
I'd go say hi to Jesus. See what all the fuss was about.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us?
Tonkotsu flavour, two-minute noodles. I'd chop some carrots, shallots, mushrooms, chicken if you're lucky, and let them stew with some chillies. Once sufficiently tender I would crack an egg in and place the noodles on top for about a minute and a half. The trick is to not cook the noodles entirely in the pot, because they continue to soften in the bowl. Then I would line the bottom of your bowl with frozen sweetcorn (for quick cooling) and fill it up with delicious noodley broth. Then you would eat them with chopsticks or I send you home.
What's the best lesson you've ever learned?
Attachment is the root of all suffering.
Tell us one thing about yourself that nobody else knows...
I have a recurring, mental fantasy about ‘1v1ing’ people at DOTA for the hand of a fair maiden.
Are you happy with your work/ life balance?
Sometimes.
How do you define success?
A warm bowl of noodles in front of me.
What's your spirit animal?
You Garry [Ed’s note: that’d be me folks]. You may not know it but you frequent my dreams with mustachey [sic] wisdom on a nightly basis.
