Callan Mulvey's wife reads my blog! Some wedding photos.

I always wonder who reads my blog. When I look at the google statistics and keywords I wonder why someone was thinking of me enough to google me. Once someone googled 'what does Carly Findlay look like naked?' at 3 am. I thought I'd hit the big time. My Mum said to me (and the doctor because we were discussing my blog in the emergency ward) that the googler was probably drunk. Because according to my Mum, apparently someone will only think of me naked when they're drunk and it's 3 am. (I look hot naked, in case anyone is wondering. It'll save you a google.)

I digress. I am always excited when readers reveal themselves.

I was walking down the street one day with a colleague when someone stopped me mid tram track to say 'great blog'. Recently I had a lady in the lift at work ask me for my autograph because she's watched me on TV and reads my blog. I had to laugh!

So about month ago when I got an email through my comment form from someone called Rachel Mulvey I was equal parts excited and nervous. As some of you may know one of my idols is Callan Mulvey, the Australian actor in Rush and Underbelly. I've met him at the season 2 premiere of Rush, filming, at the season 3 premiere of Rush, and at the Logies. And he wrote me a letter.

Rachel Mulvey is Callan's wife.

Oh my gosh!, I thought. Callan's wife knows there's another woman out there who admires him almost as much as she does. And I worried she may have seen a picture of me kissing the TV screen when I had that Rush themed birthday party and I had to kiss the nearest man in the room - Callan in character as Sgt Brendan Joshua.

Her email was really nice - very complimentary. She said she has been reading my blog (and Callan has too!) and wanted to send me a message of thanks for my support and admiration, and offer me some photos. We've been emailing for a few weeks now.

Callan told Rachel about me after he'd met me, and Rachel found my blog. She came across my post about their wedding. She has been kind enough to send me some good quality pictures of the wedding and given me permission to share them on my blog. So here they are :)

I am incredibly grateful and lucky for her to take the time to email me and give me a little insight into their lives. She's passed on a few messages from Callan too, and he seems the loveliest. I am so looking forward to seeing Brothers in Arms this year - it's coming soon I think.

Blogging. You never know just who might be reading. Wow.

And it turns out we both like Callan looking long haired and scruffy! ;)

Callan Mulvey got married

Though the locusts are flying thick and fast in country NSW, the internet, or interNOT, is chugging along like me on a hot day. S L O W. I believe the locusts could somehow play a part in delivering faster internet - there are many and they are very fast.

Due to my lack of (limited because of speed) internet, I missed the news of the week and was alerted to it via Twitter today while I sat at the tyre place having my front left tyre replaced. iPhone coverage is good in Albury, not good 20 minutes north of it. I am three days behind the eightball of celebrity news gossip.

My celebrity love, Callan Mulvey got married (not to me).

He married school teacher Rachel Thomas in Byron Bay.

There is a New Idea magazine spread. I RUSHed out to buy it today.

Rachel looks beautiful! I love her dress.

Congratulations to them both - I wish them much happiness together. Callan is one of the nicest celebrities I have ever met - Rachel is a lucky lady.

From the Herald Sun:

ROMANTIC Callan Mulvey has Rush-ed down the aisle and married his schoolteacher sweetheart Rachel Thomas.

The pair tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in the Byron Bay hinterland after a whirlwind, long-distance romance.

"It was hands down the most beautiful, incredible night of my life," Mulvey told New Idea.
The blushing bride looked stunning in a dusty pink 1930s vintage gown and lace-edged veil.

Her young son Charlie, 6, was ring bearer in a little pin-striped suit as his mum and Mulvey exchanged vows in front of 25 guests.

The ceremony was written by a meditation teacher and a local chef prepared a vegan wedding feast.

Handsome Rush actor Mulvey met Thomas in 2002 when he moved to Byron Bay to focus on music.

A year later, Mulvey was fighting for his life after being injured in a head-on car crash.

He has since recovered, but he lost the sight in one eye and still suffers headaches.
Mulvey told the magazine it was not until this year that "the planets aligned" and their friendship blossomed into romance.

With Mulvey in Melbourne filming Rush and Thomas based in NSW, the pair managed a long-distance love and Mulvey proposed on holiday in Bali in June.

"Rachel is my lover, my best friend, my everything. It is just so special and so right," he said.

Edit; Callan Mulvey's wife reads my blog! Some more wedding photos.

Enough about me, let's talk about YOU for a minute: Rellacafa

Welcome to the Enough about me, let's talk about YOU for a minute series on my blog. It's to celebrate my birthday and blogiversary week. Each day until and including 15 December I will feature a guest blogger who I admire. I hope you enjoy the series as much as I did collating it.

I first 'met' Hayley Cafarella from Rellacafa on Twitter in 2009. I was tweeting about how much I love Sgt Brendan Joshua on Rush. I searched for the #rush feed, and found a few other girls also tweeting over their love for Josh, or Lawson Blake. Soon it became a regular Thursday night event - watch Rush, and me, Hayley and a few other (excited) women tweeted our commentary about the episode of Rush, particularly what we might like to do should Brendan Joshua arrest or save us. Like this: 'Josh on Rush. Reliably keeping me satisfied.' and 'I am loving the BROmance between Josh and the Sunnyboys in this season of Rush.' and 'Wow! Next week Josh has his shirt off!'. Fun times.

There was more to Hayley than her Rush tweets alone. I discovered she had a blog before I started mine. I came to know Hayley through her blog. She blogs a lot about her journey with her disability - chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS). And she inspired me to write about my own illness.

Hayley is so articulate and creative in her writing. She explains her disability so clearly - including all of the emotions associated with it. Sometimes it is difficult to read or watch (she does videos too) - the reality of disability - the pain, the loneliness, the financial stress - is confronting. But it's so important that people like Hayley tell their story to raise awareness about the situations, and also form communities with others online. Hayley uses her blog as a form of therapy, and in each entry, no matter how bleak she feels, she always finds some positivity. I am always moved when I read her blog.

We finally met in person at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival earlier this year, and then again at the Rush premiere in July. She came to my birthday party last week (and blogged about it).

Hayley and I have become great friends through blogging. We email, tweet and chat on the phone frequently. We understand what it's like to be physically limited by a chronic illness or disability. We are both creative. And still both love Josh. I also recommended her to the ABC Ramp Up editor, and she was also asked to contribute her brilliant writing to the website. Here is her first brilliant article!

Thank you for writing this guest blog, Hayley! You're a really special friend.

Guest blog by Hayley Cafarella:

The internet is a pretty wonderful place, once you get past the psychos and porn. A couple of years ago, I was completely unaware of the amazing world of blogging. Thanks to being struck by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in 2006, I ended up surfing waves all over the web in order to distract and entertain myself. I was amazed to discover the calibre of writing that appeared on blogs and found myself fascinated by writers adding a personal touch to many different topics.That’s when I decided to get in on the action and start writing for myself.

My disability is a pretty hard thing to understand, even for the doctors who specialise in it, especially for the patients who experience it and perhaps even more so for the families and friends who support them. My blog began as a way to try and communicate what I was going through; to spread awareness about CRPS and hope that some day my condition would be understood and accepted. Something that I never expected when I started writing was the way in which I started connecting with other people suffering from the same condition and the comfort and support their existence would provide me. When there are no cures, comfort sits atop slippery anxiety and simply sharing stories and rants with people who understand has meant that, often, I am able to get a better foothold in my mind and stay sane.

As I became more confident about interacting online, I began to meet more and more people through Twitter and Facebook who were dealing with disabilities different from mine. Quite often, I found that I have a lot in common with anyone suffering from a condition that limits their activity or causes pain, as my condition does both. Chronic pain or illness brings about a lot of psychological changes that one must deal with and I think the support that patients can offer one another in this area isn’t limited by the specifics of their condition. Sometimes, we just need to reach out and feel another hand take ours; a cyber hand can feel just as reassuring as a fleshy one.

Carly is one of the few online friends that I have made and had the pleasure of meeting in person. At first, I was incredibly hesitant about meeting up with people from the internet - they could be anybody, right? Well, yeah, but the times are changing and the separation between online and real life identities is getting smaller. I have found that most people whom I reach out to and form relationships with through social media turn out to be who I expect them to in the real world. Usually, what I have learnt about them online is just a small taste of their awesome and it’s nice to go out and basque in the whole deal. Meeting up with Carly has been great, I think almost every occasion she has introduced me to other new and fascinating people that are now a part of my world. That’s the run on effect of making new friends, you see, they often come with a whole bunch of other potential new friends to get to know! Some friendships might begin in the online realm, but the real world effects of taking time to meet up and broaden these relationships brings even more rewards.

The most wonderful thing about meeting up with people who have gotten to know me through my blog is that they are already aware of my CRPS and, to an extent, how it effects every aspect of my life. When I meet people randomly, this can be kind of hard to explain and also hard to avoid. “What do you do?” is right up there at the top of most small talk conversations! My answer usually leads to a little disbelief and then pity. When I meet people who already have a little background info on me, that dark shadow is lifted from our interaction and I am not left feeling misunderstood or disconnected. Once upon a time, not very long ago, I approached an internet social meeting with a bit of trepidation. Nowadays, I look forward to these outings and often find them less stressful than a social setting that will have me small talking with people that I don’t know at all.

As a species, we tend to focus on the negative aspects of things. This has great ramifications for surviving in the wild; remembering a plant that made us sick or a place where we tripped over and hurt ourselves is important in a biological sense. How many times have you asked someone about a holiday or an event and had them reply “It was a pretty good day, but, my food was cold/the bridesmaids looked awful/the bed was lumpy...”. When it comes to the internet, people often focus on the negatives and find themselves hurt by comments from strangers. Exposing parts of yourself in order to connect with other people can make you feel vulnerable and cause anxiety about how your words or actions will be perceived. I have had unpleasant experiences myself, however I choose to let those go and keep focusing on the positive interactions that I have and the supportive relationships that I have built with others. The warm fuzzies that they bring into my life far outweigh any small minded comments from people that I don’t know.

Having a disability can lead to a very lonely lifestyle. I could not be more grateful that the internet is here to allow me to share my journey and learn from the experiences of others. Blogging allows me to stay connected with old friends as well as connecting with new ones. To an outsider, bloggers might appear to be self indulgent, narcissistic or frustrated writers who are unable to get published. Those bloggers do exist, but they aren’t the whole community and it is worth going to the trouble of weeding through them to find the talented gems. I am so glad that I share parts of my life in this way. Blogging has already allowed me to find great new friends, like Carly, and I am looking forward to connecting with more amazing people over the years to come.

www.rellacafa.com

Wish list

I don't think I've ever done a wish list on my blog before. I find that I see things in magazines before I see them online, and then visit the website or store and buy them myself if I like/can afford. And sometimes I think wish lists are a little self indulgent. I have so many beautiful things already. What the hell. Throwing caution to the wind and being self indulgent.

Here's what I am loving at the moment.

Maybe Santa will read my blog?

 Made by White brooch

Rush series 3 DVD set

Offspring DVD set

 

Angus and Julia Stone For You box set

Paul Kelly How to Make gravy memoir

Portmans maxi dress

Made by White necklace

The Auction Rooms Cafe - North Melbourne

When Jentopia suggested we do Saturday morning breakfast at The Auction Rooms Cafe in Errol Street North Melbourne, I squealed with delight. Twitter told me the first scene in episode one of the latest season of Rush was filmed there. It's one of my favourite ever moments of Rush. (The scene is at the 1:34 mark of the video.)

The Auction Rooms Cafe is wonderfully rustic. Jen and I loved its ambiance. Sugar in positively antique tiny Heinz pea soup tins, flowers and drinking water in old long neck beer bottles (the only time I've ever drunk from a long neck beer bottle), pipes turned into lights hanging from the high ceilings, and amazing lead lighting features.

I'd loved to have captured the lead lighting clearer, but I was worried I was taking too many photos.

This is an artwork of colourful milk crates strung together, hanging with the slope of the roof in the courtyard.

Saturday morning was brilliantly sunny - it was nice to have the sun streaming in through the windows, providing us with delicious warmth.

The front counter is atop a baked goods cabinet – grainy breads, tarts and beautiful cupcakes. I fell in love with the flourless chocolate one with blue sparkly icing.

Though it's a bustling and uber trendy cafe, frequented by uber trendy customers (I need to rethink my striped hoodie and jeans arrangement for next time) the service is friendly and attentive. The male waiters are cute and unshaven, like they've just rolled in from playing a gig the night before. They wear a range of hats, jingly chains and bracelets, and I saw a kerchief tied to one waiter's wrist.

The menu combines breakfast and lunch and is available until 3.00 pm. It's a menu full of simple dishes – mostly eggs, stews, salads and sandwiches – made very interesting. Prices range from $6.50 to $19.50

Jen had the Opening Bid – toast with deep orange yolked free range eggs, field mushrooms, spinach, bacon and tomato. She said it was healthy and delicious.

I had the French toast. It was certainly the most unique French toast I've ever eaten. And quite possibly the best. It was made of beautiful fluffy bread stuffed with toasted coconut, drizzled with tamarind and maybe chilli sauce and served with vanilla crème fraiche, lime and coriander. It was sweet and zesty and rich all at once. Fantastic!

Jen said her coffee was so good it didn't need sugar.

My hot chocolate was great too – very chocolatey and no milk taste, though could have been hotter.

Jen and I had a great chat - about work and food and plans for new blog projects. I'm so glad I met her because of blogging.

We ate breakfast around 10.00 am, and despite me only having an election day sausage after bellydancing to see me through to 6.00 pm when filming finished and I was served dinner, it sustained me well.

Jen gave me a mix-tape CD, which unfortunately I'd left behind when paying yesterday. I called them to check if the CD was there, the staff said they had it at the counter, so this morning I went to collect it.

I couldn't resist another breakfast – so I got the Counter Bid – a vegetarian breaky with a side of smoked bacon. The Counter Bid contained the delicious poached eggs, buttery garlic mushrooms, roquette, pesto all served on a rosemary-parmesan baked polenta cake. This polenta was full of flavour, unlike so many bland and gluggy polenta dishes I've tried/cooked. Another awesome dish.

I think I've found my new favourite breakfast cafe. Can't wait to head back there soon.

Auction Rooms on Urbanspoon

Offspring on Channel 10

I must be in the minority because I love Australian movies and television drama programs. Hell, I even like some Australian comedy, particularly of the ABC ilk. Not many people I know enjoy, or admit to enjoying Australian made film and television.

Little Fish is one of my favourite movies of all time. So is Candy and Looking for Alibrandi. And Look Both Ways is pretty good, too. I have the post September 11 telemovie Marking Time on DVD. Surburban Mayhem. Noise. The Black Balloon. Clubland. I could go on... But it's tiring searching then hyperlinking.

I like family shows like Packed to the Rafters and Always Greener. And Seachange, as reminded by Jen.

You know my thoughts about Secret Life of Us. Adored it back in the day. I watched the first series again recently and loved it. Especially Claudia Karvan, Sam Johnson and Deb Mailman.

I've been watching Heartbreak High on ABC3.
The younger Callan Mulvey melts my heart. As does the present day Callan.

I watched five episodes of season 1 of Underbelly. Mainly because of Callan Mulvey. See below.

I stopped because Callan's character died and I needed time to recover from seeing his wonderful acting in the coffin, and the excessive violence and sex. I don't know if I've recovered yet – I might just perpetually watch the first five episodes.

Rush is wonderful. It's fast paced, full of action, a little romance, and funny. You know that I think the men of Rush, or the Sunnyboys, as I refer to them in my tweets, are the hottest ever.

And I regard Love My Way as the best TV show of all time.

I once watched the entire first season of Love My Way on DVD one New Years Eve. Alone. I bawled my eyes out. Because I was alone on New Years Eve and because I was exhausted from the drama. I was once again in love with Claudia Karvan because of Love My Way. Love love love this!


I want to watch Tangle and Spirited but these are on pay TV. And I don't have enough time or money for that. I will wait for the DVDs.

So when Offspring was advertised on Channel 10, I was excited. I loved Asher Keddie in Love My Way, and in Rush. And I loved her dress in the Offspring ad (I have searched and searched on Google but can't find it for your reference.

The show looked quirky. Like Secret Life of Us. Only grown up. I especially love TV shows set in Melbourne. And this one is. I find something identifiable about shows set in Melbourne – not only the setting, but the way the characters live. I think in these shows, you see characters similar to people you really know.

The cast is good looking. Extremely good looking.

I was super excited about Offspring until last week when my excitement levels dropped lower than a rapper's jeans. It was because it was advertised EVERY FRIGGIN' FIVE MINUTES. Seriously, Ten. Every friggin five minutes. I was seriously thinking that I wouldn't need to watch the show with the amount of advertising Channel 10 was throwing at me.

So I was delighted to find that I could download the episode for free from iTunes yesterday, so I could watch it ahead of time, without ads – I actually feared Channel 10 would advertise Offspring DURING Offspring. The advertising was that damn excessive. It was on par with the election campaign.

My expectations of Offspring were met. It was quirky. Funny. Well written. A great cast. And I loved Asher's clothes. She is gorgeous.

Asher plays slightly neurotic Nina. A lot less neurotic than Julia in Love My Way. Waaaay less. But still neurotic.Offspring also stars Don Hany as Dr Chris (niiiiice), Deb Mailman as Cherie (love) and Kat Stewart as Billie (beautiful and versatile).

Nina is a successful obstetrician who has a lot of self doubt. The story revolves around her slightly dysfunctional family - though I expect most families are like hers. All three adult children have not achieved in certain areas of their life.

I enjoyed the music, especially the bits performed by Eddie Perfect's character.

The setting was not instantly recognisable as Melbourne though. And there was excessive use of the iPhone ring tone. It's the xylophone one. That shitted me. There was too much ringing of the iPhone. Me, I prefer the harp. There was also quite a bit of Apple placement. Macbooks galore. I saw at least two, and an iPod too.

I also thought it was far less sexual than the ads insinuated. The sexual innuendo in the ads was probably to sell the program to women and men.

I can see a few openings for some good storylines in Offspring. Cherie's situation with Darcy, her baby's unexpected father. Chris's missing wife. Billie and Mick's on-again-off-again thing may get repetitive though.

As a whole, I enjoyed Offspring. I don't think it will match Love My Way, and I don't think I can hope for another Secret Life. But I think I will enjoy it.

Read a proper review at The Age.
(Click on all pictures for their source.)

My first YouTube appearance. Meeting the Rush cast.

Well, I'm holding my breath and posting me on You Tube. Reliving the experience of the Rush premiere. Hope you enjoy and have a laugh!

(Photo taken by Megan Burke)

So my first appearance on YouTube is a little ... ummm.... exuberant.

The lovely Hayley who came along to the Rush premiere last night was so kind to record all of our encounters with the boys from Rush.

In this video you will see Megan being sensible. And me not so. (Future employers - please note, I do not behave like this in the workplace - unless the Rush cast should be there!) I am usually quite calm.Though I was told today, I am always like a kid at Christmas.



I am so thankful I have great friends who appreciated my excitement! And recorded it. When the day comes that I become shy and reserved, I'll need this video.

Thank you :)

Season 3 Rush premiere

Hoyts Melbourne Central
19 July 2010
(All photos are featuring me or have been taken by me, please don't reproduce or alter.)

It was a fantastic night! I was giddy with excitement, and maybe hormones!

I am so full of energy now, and still so excited so forgive me if my writing is a little rambled - maybe I've missed things out? I know I told two men I loved them - and they weren't Callan Mulvey!

I was lucky enough to win tickets to the Rush premiere from both TV Week and Mix FM.

I went with about five friends and made two new friends, met an old friend and saw some people from the Rush forum.

This is my outfit.

The crowd was huge this year compared to last year. There was champagne and canapes, though in my excitement, I didn't get enough of either.

Unlike last year, there was a stage set up and the announcer from Mix FM came to welcome us and introduce the cast.

It was Rodger Corser, Ashley Zukerman, Sam Johnson and Kevin Hofbauer, the new recruit. Rodger said that the girls had gone to the Jam Factory and Callan's helicopter was on its way.

We squealed. I was so excited to see Sam Johnson.

Callan Mulvey came out a few minutes later. The girls went wild.

"Can we like...OOH THERE'S CALLAN!!" That was said by me!

I had a photo taken with Rodger Corser first. He said the girls were really at the Jam Factory - they'd gone to the wrong cinema. I asked what kind of policewomen are they? 'Bloody hopeless' he replied.

I then had a photo taken with Callan and Rodger.

Look at me, surrounded by genetically blessed men! I was very excited!

Megan had a photo with Callan.

It's a weird angle as I took two photos at once with both cameras.

When I was waiting for my photo to be taken with Callan, he saw me and acknowledged me in the crowd by nodding and smiling.

After the photo, Callan asked me how I was, he called me by my name! I told him about my role in the Channel 31 show and he said that's excellent, he will tune in! I congratulated him on his engagement and thanked him for his letter. He was so lovely.

My friends and I then slowly made our way through the crowd to meet Sam Johnson. The crowd was so thick. My shoes were hurting!

Sam Johnson. Wow. What an amazing guy. He was so funny and so nice. I told him about how I loved him in The Secret Life of Us and how I wanted to be Alex. He said he wanted to BE WITH Alex and that's why he did the show! He gave me lots of hugs, including the 'couple pose', which he only does once a night and I'm it. I said 'I think I love you more than I love Callan Mulvey, Sam' and he said 'nah, I'm nothing like those guys, I'm just...I'm just..' and I finished his sentence: 'a douche' and he laughed and said yeah. He thanked me for loving the show. I was taken away by his charm. And that voice!

I was laughing so much my eyes were shut!

Here is Megan with Sam.

We then snaked our way around the back, where I got a nice rear view of Callan, on our way to meet Ashley.

Though I'm not a fan of 'Muppet' in Rush, I liked Ashley a lot.

Poor Kevin was standing with a very small crowd. I felt bad for him.

After Ashley we made our way back to Callan. And waited. And waited. Hayley got a photo with him.

And he posed for a group photo with Hayley, Trudie and I. Sweet guy. So obliging.

There wasn't time to meet the girls - Nicole Da Silva and Jolene Anderson - but I got this photo of Jolene's head.


We then made our way into the cinema. The cast came in to introduce Rush. Sam Johnson made a moving speech welcoming their guest of honour - a little boy who has fought some hard battles.

My photos aren't so great.

And they sat down, in the same row as us, abeit at the other end!

Episodes one and two of Rush were brilliant! So much action. One episode had scenes from where I met Callan in March, and many streets I know well. And it was so funny in many parts. The script is great. I loved the opening scene of episode one. I really like how in the characters have developed and seem to be bonding again.

It was an incredible privilege to be a part of the audience and meet the cast. And boy did Sam Johnson make me laugh!

Thanks Channel 10, TV Week, Mix FM, the Rush cast and my friends for making it a great night.