!!!

Nothing but good things to report to you, my friends. Very rarely does this happen to me (although I must say, it's been happening at an increasing rate since I've entered the southern hemisphere...), so please forgive me if I seem a bit over exuberant.

Week two of classes went off without a hitch. I managed to get every minuscule bit of reading done for all of my classes (a feat in and of itself), attended all on time, and remained conscious amidst the entire thing. Granted, I did fall asleep a few times while reading, but that totally doesn't count. Also, I attended my first and second successful spin bike classes. Quite a workout, but I liked it, and I'm going to do everything in my power to continue to do that. Also, I managed to allow myself to be talked in to beginning a program of sorts at the gym. I tested for it last night, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I'm very much in shape, according to Australia's standards. Apparently no one on this continent can do more than a few push-ups... the instructor was a bit floored when I was still going strong at fifty. Guns, I tell you. Don't mess... they've been known to go off with very little provocation.

Things have also been on the up and up in the realm of acquiring things. I gave in and bought a hair dryer today for $12... sweet! Money's no longer a super huge issue, seeing as both of my checks cleared and I now have pretty mad Aussie dollars in the bank. Gold star for that one. Also, I got not one, but two packages in the mail! From the BFF and the madre... a badass lamp and converter, and maaad peanut butter themed candy, respectively. Keep 'em coming! Also, in un-acquiring things, I've kicked the death illness that's still somehow circulating around res. I suppose there's something to be said about drinking lots of juice and tea, and sleeping a whole lot.

But, what takes the cake for making me the most excited this week has to be what I've been up to in the past two and a half-odd hours. I just got back from an evening of pasta, Grumpier Old Men, and (most importantly) travel planning next door in Evatt 1. Janis, Rachel and I decided to start discussing our semester break plans. Our break runs from 21-30 of September, and we set our sights on Cairns. We had a conference call (Rachel was still in her unit), complete with Lion King soundtrack, and discussed the many ways of how we could spend our break and, inevitably, end up in Cairns. We decided on a trip that basically looks like it'll be the trek of a lifetime for me. Here's our basic itinerary:

Train from Melbourne on Thursday night (20th), over to Sydney for our first stop. Spend a few days in Sydney, check out the opera house and all of the city's various offerings, then hop a train to Brisbaine. Hang out in Brisbaine, where I will visit the one and only AUSTRALIA ZOO and fulfill one of my life's dreams. Hopefully, meet Bindi Irwin, but I'm not getting my hopes up. At the very least, pay my respects to the one and only Stephen Robert Irwin and his wonderful establishment. I'm pretty much banking on this being one of the greatest days of my life... like, ranking up there with meeting Conan, and the twenty four hours that encompassed 1 July 2007... among others. So yes, from Brisbaine, we're going to fly to Cairns (trains take waaay too long, and it's only about $20 more to fly), and spend the last leg of our trip there, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef and hanging out with koalas. Then, we'll fly back to Melbourne from Cairns, thus completing our tour of the eastern coast of Australia. Sounds pretty sweet, eh? And, according to current price estimations, it's going to cost me a little over $700 American for travel, round trip. Not too shabby, considering I'll be stopping and seeing the best of the eastern seaboard.

So yes, that makes me incredibly happy. Tomorrow we're heading into Geelong for the day, and we're going to consult a travel agent on the whole ordeal. We had intended, originally, to go to Warrnambool tomorrow, but decided to postpone the trip for another handful of weeks to see if the whales are going to arrive. Good fun. I haven't explored Geelong yet in the daytime, so it should still be a fun day. As long as I'm doing something and not sitting around being sick like I was last weekend, I'll be fine. Plus, Rach and I are on the lookout for a good irish pub to remind us of our respective homes. Hopefully I'll have some fun Geelong pictures for you in the near future, but for now, I think it's dvd time. So, until we meet again... cheers!

+K+