Ahhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
I'm on the frontpage of the Flyers website for being in Australia. Check it:
http://flyers.nhl.com
AMAZING.
Aside from that, I suppose I have a few other things worth reporting. Yesterday was our field trip to the Aboriginal Culture Centre, Narana. I wasn't really sure what to think of it on the way there; we hadn't really learned all that much about Aboriginal culture, aside from some stuff about terra nulus, or the theory that Australia was an empty continent when it was first settled by the British in 1788, as well as some pretty heart wrenching stuff about the Stolen Generation. This was basically the period of time spanning the better part of the 20th century when the Australian government tried to "weed out" the half-castes, or half-white, half-Aboriginal kids. They went to Aboriginal communities and took the children from their families, and brought them to "civilization" in an attempt to force them to behave like white Australians. So yeah, I suppose it's not all Vegemite and kangaroos over here-- every culture has its dark side. But in an attempt not to get all political and preachy and start thrusting my own political beliefs on you, I'll go back to talking about the cultural centre.
We started off by talking with a guy named Norm, who was an active member of the local Aboriginal community. It was relatively boring at first, but then he started talking about hunting and the initiation ceremonies for different communities. Pretty fascinating stuff. He concluded his session by playing the digeridoo for us. AWESOME. Yeah, Alicia's interpretations in high school weren't entirely off. I found it to be excellent, though. After our little presentation, he took us a bit further around the centre, where we were offered a snack consisting of smoke emu and bread made from grass-- both considered Aboriginal delicacies. In the spirit of adventure, I tried both. The smoked emu was pretty gross, not gonna lie. But the bread wasn't bad, especially with a bit of jelly on it. We finished up our snacks, then headed outside to check out some boomerang action. I gave it a shot... not entirely terrible for my first try! It came back a few meters away from where I threw it. The technique is entirely different from what I thought it would be, but it's pretty amazing when you see someone who knows what they're doing throw it successfully. After our field trip, we returned back to campus and I hopped to the gym for a bit. A sub-par caf followed, then some bothering of a hungover British kid, and the start of our HOUSE marathon! SO pumped about it. We watched the first three episodes, while consuming lots of tea and chocolate. Tonite shall bring more, once Janis is done work. It was pretty nice getting a full night's sleep for the first time in a week last night.
And then, today, I woke up to an e-mail from my dad, informing me of the Flyers website business. Love it, love it, LOVE IT! Haven't really done much since then... I finished up the X-Files episode I started last night, and now I think I'll try and catch up on some of the reading I neglected while in Sydney. It's pretty violently windy out. I think I'll be okay staying cooped up in Evatt 2, listening to Frank, Dean and Sammy, and reading away. So, that's all I've got for you for now. Until next time...
+K+
Friday, August 31
Thursday, August 30
I MISS SYDNEY.
Yes, it was that good. To provide further proof, here's some photos from my excursion:
http://deakinedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027017&l=c0ee5&id=17500696
Check 'em out, comment away if you so desire. Just thought I'd give a quick update to link up the photos, nothing new has really gone down since the last massive update. I did, however, get my first Aussie grade-- HD! I was pretty proud. For those unfamiliar, HD stands for High Distinction, and HD's are few and far between Down Under. Good deals. I've got an excursion for AusToday class in about an hour, then the usual caf and Thursday night ridiculousness. I think Janis, Rach and I are starting our HOUSE marathon. Pumped about it. Until then, I think I'm going to take some music down to the Ponds and have a bit of lunch. Today's a beautiful day for some easy listening and a picnic. So until next time... enjoy the pictures!
+K+
Yes, it was that good. To provide further proof, here's some photos from my excursion:
http://deakinedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027017&l=c0ee5&id=17500696
Check 'em out, comment away if you so desire. Just thought I'd give a quick update to link up the photos, nothing new has really gone down since the last massive update. I did, however, get my first Aussie grade-- HD! I was pretty proud. For those unfamiliar, HD stands for High Distinction, and HD's are few and far between Down Under. Good deals. I've got an excursion for AusToday class in about an hour, then the usual caf and Thursday night ridiculousness. I think Janis, Rach and I are starting our HOUSE marathon. Pumped about it. Until then, I think I'm going to take some music down to the Ponds and have a bit of lunch. Today's a beautiful day for some easy listening and a picnic. So until next time... enjoy the pictures!
+K+
Wednesday, August 29
Adventures in Sydney
Well hello there! Yes, I am still alive. Contrary to popular belief, against all odds and throwing skepticism to the wind... I have successfully made it to Sydney and back, completely on my own, and in one piece. It was one of the greatest adventures I've ever had... and for any of you who know me even remotely well, this is certainly saying something. So, without further adieu, I feel it is my sworn duty to uphold the integrity of this blog, and update you on what I've been up to for the past week or so. Get comfy, faithful readers... this is going to be a long one.
I suppose the whole ordeal began early last week, when I made the conscious decision to book myself a trip to Sydney. Not knowing anything other than how I was getting there and how I was returning, I was pretty sure it was going to be a ridiculous time. What I was unsure of was if such a journey would fall under the "ridiculously good" category, or the "ridiculously bad" one. I am more than pleased to say that it was a million times the former. After a relatively uneventful week, I was pretty pumped and a bit nervous to embark on my overnight train to Sydney Central Station on Thursday night. Things were off to a bit of a rocky start at first-- I ended up missing the bus I was going to take to get to the Geelong station. Luckily, I've got lots of good people who've got my back here in Evatt 2, and Eliza kindly drove me to the station. This ended up being a blessing in disguise-- I didn't have to wait around the station for 45 minutes to catch the train, which gave me time to update Diane's iPod (which she kindly let me borrow for my adventure... again, I've got peeps who've got my back, yo!) a bit further and relax before the train. So, I made it to the Geelong station, and it was an hour's trek to Southern Cross in Melbourne. Hopped off one train, and onto the next in the span of about a half hour. Southern Cross introduced me to one of the most delicious advertisements I've come across (and would come across about another thousand times in the next handful of days) in quite some time-- the new CALIFORNICATION ad, picturing David Duchovny looking all suave and handsome in a convertible. Ehhhhh. But more on that later.
The train ride to Sydney was surprisingly uneventful. I managed to sleep a decent amount... I got lucky, there wasn't anyone sitting next to me, so I could stretch out a bit. We ended up being delayed outside the city for about an hour and a half, which put my arrival time at about 8 AM. So, I stumbled off the train, and began wandering. At this point, I was still a bit tired and more than a bit hungry, so I went in search of a cafe. Found a delicious $5 breakky right across the street from the station, which was exactly what I'd been hoping for. I've found a new love in butter and jelly toast. From there, I began my search for a place to stay. Wandered a few blocks around the greater Central Station area, and came across quite a few hostels. I ended up going with a place called wake up!, which ended up being probably the best decision I made while in Sydney. Checked in, dropped off my clothes in my new eight-share, seventh floor dorm, and headed back downstairs to embark on a free tour of the Sydney beaches that the hostel was hosting. This also ended up being a fantastic decision. On the bus ride, I befriended our tour guide, Wil. We bonded over the X-Files and music during the drive there, it was excellent. Oh, might I also take this time to make note of the brilliant idea I had during my train ride to Sydney. I decided that, throughout my adventures in Sydney, I would introduce myself as 'Scully' to everyone I met. I cannot tell you how fun this was for me. And if anyone happens to be reading this who I spoke with, please don't be angry with me. To be fair, there are a few people who do call me Scully... just not everyone. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that for the past six days, I've been Scully. Gregor, if you're reading this-- get jealous.
But back to the adventures. Our arrival spot was Coogee Beach. Pretty nice, but nothing overly exciting. I got lunch at a cafe with Wil and a few of the other kids on the tour-- Sarah from Wales, Shane from England, Sebastian from Holland, and a few others. Soon enough, we were off on our tour. It was a six kilometer walk; highlights included climbing things I shouldn't be climbing (what else is new, really), some pretty excellent rock formations, Jimmy the homeless guy who lives on the rocks at Bondi, and chatting with Wil and the rest of the kids. We ended up in Bondi Beach, which is probably the most famous Sydney beach. We just beat the rain back to Bondi, which was a definite bonus, despite the fact that we were given wake up! ponchos before we left. We had to split the group up for the bus trip back, and Wil and I continued our bonding over piercings and awesome body mods. A+ for that. Upon returning to the hostel, we were awarded with a free drink at sidebar. Canyousay free Strongbow?! YES! More bonus points were awarded to wake up! for the video juke box they had. I requested "November Rain," and it was as glorious as always. GnR = amazement.
Two pints of Strongbow later, I headed up to my room and met the kids I'd be hanging out with for the next few days. They were all from either England or Ireland, hilarious, and ridiculous as all hell. Ducked back out shortly after, and met up with Shane and Sarah for dinner. We wandered a bit down the street from the hostel, and ended up eating at a Pasta and Pizza place. Pretty tasty, and good company as well. Shane's got a pretty insane/awesome thing going on... he's been working on special/CGI effects for movies like Harry Potter, but now he's on his way to New Zealand to train to be a skydiving instructor. Insane. Didn't do much after dinner... it had been a long 48 hours. Day one in Sydney: in the books.
Saturday was probably the most adventurous day I had during my trek. Got up early and met with Shane and Sarah at 9-ish to walk down to the Opera House. It was a walk I would become quite familiar with in the next few days. Made it to Circular Quay a little before 9:30... we were scheduled for the 9:30 tour, but ended up missing it. No worries, though, this gave us time for breakfast. We ate at a little cafe just off of Circular Quay. I got pancakes with maple syrup and strawberries, which basically equates to a puddle of maple syrup with two pancakes marinating in it. Whatever, it was still pretty tasty. We were off to the Opera House soon after breakky. It really is spectacular. Took some pictures outside of the Harbour Bridge, and commenced our tour. The inside is pretty insane... definitely the coolest architecture I've seen in a long time. I didn't realize that it's actually two buildings. The coolest part was probably the symphony orchestra hall. It's amazing. I wish I had the money/time to see a concert there. After finishing up at the Opera House, we decided to walk through Circular Quay to the Harbour Bridge. After getting mildly lost on our way, we made it to the Pilon, which $9 later, we had climbed. It offered a stunning view of Sydney city, as well as the Opera House and Darling Harbour. Pretty amazing, and waaay cheaper than doing the actual bridge climb (~$179, plus souvenir photos you feel obligated to buy). Spent a good half hour up there admiring the view (I could've stayed all day if they would've let me), then climbed back down and walked across the bridge to check out Luna Park. Shane made a pretty excellent observation that the face in front of Luna Park looks like an evil Thomas the Tank Engine. It's even more creepy up close. The whole place has an eerie, haunted carnival/Coney Island feel to it. Weird. So, after wandering there a bit, we headed back up to the market that was under the bridge. I had a delicious kebob sandwich and mango smoothie, and we went made our way back across the bridge. After crossing the harbour, we advanced to the Rocks and checked out some of the shops there. Came upon a pretty amazing little bar that I've decided merits Rach, Janis and my return next month. The bathrooms there are also worth mentioning-- hose-type things suspended from the ceiling to wash your hands, as well as pods for urinals. Love it. Parted ways with Shane and Sarah shortly thereafter to do some further exploring of the Rocks (they were headed to Sydney Tower). Went in and out of a few stores, and ended up in the Museum of Contemporary Art for about a half hour. Not all that neat, but maybe I just don't understand contemporary art. After that, I walked back over to the Opera House, where I sat on the steps and watched the sunset over the Harbour Bridge. Breathtaking. Made my way back to wake up! after that, just in time to come across the businessman rush from the business district to the ferries. Yum. Stopped by an internet cafe for a bit, then came back to wake up!. Got a quick shower, and then it was time for wake up!'s Swedish-themed party. Amazing. The aforementioned crazy roomies were dressed in Swedish flags, with the head crazy all suited up as Bjon Bjorg (probably butchered that spelling, my apologies). The party was a blast-- I ended up getting third place in the limbo competition, doing a bit of dancing, and a bit more Strongbow consumption. Good company and good times, overall. Needless to say, by the time 2:3o rolled around, I was completely exhausted.
A full day's adventure on Saturday certainly didn't hinder Sunday's journeys, though. I met up with Sarah around 9:3o, where we hopped the train to Blacktown to check out the Featherdale Wildlife Park. Sydney transit systems are heaps better than Geelong and Melbourne's. It was a pretty neat train ride there, what with the double decker trains and all. The 4o minute trek there was well worth it, though. Featherdale was AWESOME! All of your stereotypical Aussie animals were represented, plus an awesome area where you could pet wallabies, kangaroos, and koalas!! Ahh, I got so many good pictures, including one insanely scary one of an emu about to bite off my hand. Ridiculous. But yes, I can officially say that I've pet a koala, hugged a kangaroo, held a blue-tongued lizard, and confronted my fear of large, flightless birds. They still scare me, though. Being at Featherdale just got me really, really excited for Brisbane and the Australia Zoo. After a thorough investigation of the park, Sarah and I made our way back to Sydney, where we met up with Shane for an evening adventure of Circular Quay. It's equally as beautiful at night. Sydney really reminds me of a mix of Philly and Chicago. Much more than Melbourne does, at least. I could definitely see myself living there. We wandered around the Harbour area for a few hours, then walked down George Street to check out some new sights. It was an earlier-ish night to bed on Sunday after the past three days' ridiculousness.
Monday was, simply put, amazing. I had decided at some point on Sunday to dedicate Monday to either cycling or surfing. The Aussie side of me opted for the latter. So, I got up at about 7:3o to try and get on one of the surf school day trips, but the travel place wasn't open until nine. So, it was off to Central Cafe for another tasty $5 breakky and some serious suit oogling. Ahh, I'm such a creep. Made my way back to wake up! just in time for the travel desk to open, and I found a pretty excellent deal for the Manley Surf School. Soon after confirming an 11:oo session, I made my way down to Circular Quay and caught the Manly ferry. What a great ride that was. Upon arriving in Manley, I headed for the beach, and walked along the boardwalk-equivalent to get to surf school. I ended up meeting a family from Philly while waiting to hit the water! Excellence. Got suited up in a wetsuit and rasher, and after a short intro-to-surfing lesson, hit the waves. Ahh, the waves in Manly are quite a bit bigger than those in Lorne! I got tossed a few times, not gonna lie. But, by the end of the lesson, I was pretty much standing up on every wave. Sweet surf, brah! The funniest thing had to be when I got completely wrecked by a massive wave, though. I was on the board, paddling towards shore trying to catch this seven or eight foot wave, and I look ahead, and the surf instructor is giving me the waving arms not-a-good-wave-to-catch-if-you-like-air-instead-of-water-in-your-lungs gesture, but it was too late. Ker-SMASH! No worries, though, made it up okay. Overall, the instructors were pretty impressed with my improvement. Score one for the mildly not awful surfer girl. It was a gorgeous day in Manly, so after shedding my wetsuit, I laid on the beach for a decent while, working on my tan. Grabbed some lunch at a local fast food place, and headed back to the ferry after popping in and out of a few stores. The ferry ride back was so enjoyable, I decided to repeat it. Ahh, I love boats! Stayed on from Manley to Sydney back to Manley and again to Sydney. Tres enjoyable. I had an equally enjoyable walk back to wake up!, courtesy of the 5-6:oo departure of Sydney businessmen. I. Love. Suits. Hung out and read for a bit after I got back and showered, and soon enough it was time for the much-awaited premiere of CALIFORNICATION!! AH this show is the new love of my life. David Duchovny, you wound me with your wit and libido. Fantastic. Can't wait for next Monday's episode. And, as I mentioned before, LOVING those bus stop ads all over the place. I slept pretty soundly after another exhausting day of surfing and adventure.
Tuesday brought forth my last full day in Sydney. Sad. I got quite attached to the place during my five and a half day stay. I'd love to live there, no doubts. Wil was hosting another tour during the day, this time of Sydney city. I opted to join in, even though I'd seen a good deal. It ended up being an excellent decision, because we ended up touring more parts of Sydney that I hadn't seen than those I had. We checked out a few markets, walked through Darling Harbour, had lunch on the steps of the Opera House, and wandered through the Botanical Gardens and Hyde Park. It was a tad warm for another day full of walking-- about the same temperature as it was on the beach at Manley (hard to believe this is winter...), but it was still an enjoyable tour. After making our way back to wake up!, we enjoyed our free round, and I opted to head back down to Hyde Park to do some reading and chilling. Was a very relaxing way to spend the later part of the afternoon. Oogled some more suits during my stay at the Park, then headed back to wake up! to participate in Pub Quiz night. I joined Team Croc (consisting of me, an English couple, a German couple, and a guy from Switzerland). We were pretty respectable participants. I ended up winning a free breakfast because I knew who the Prime Minister of Australia was, and, as a group, we took the fourth round by storm (despite a faulty Empire Records question that drove me up a wall for a good five minutes, haha). Had dinner at sidebar, and stuck around to hang out with Wil and listen to the acoustic guitar set until about 12:3o. Wandered back upstairs, only to find Pirates III playing on the tv. Naturally, I watched. Didn't make it all the way through, though, and I was back on the seventh floor for a final night's rest after a short while. Did I mention the view I had? Amazing. Especially at night. I was on the top bunk, right next to the window, overlooking Central Station. It was incredibly soothing watching cars pass and the overall serenity encompassing watching a city function from a few stories up.
Ahh, this leads us to today. Woke up earlier (check out's at ten), packed up all my stuff, and checked out. Redeemed my free (delicious) breakfast at sidebar cafe, said bye to Wil, and it was off to the train station. Uneventful and easy trek from the train station to the airport, and then the flight back to Melbourne. I was the only person on the shuttle bus back to Geelong, hah. No worries, though. Made it back here at about 2:3o, and I've been catching up with people, wandering around, unpacking, doing laundry, and writing this damn thing since then. My apologies for the length of it all-- but I felt you'd want to know about Sydney. After all, that is what this blog is all about.
Some parting shots on Sydney before I head off to caf: I loved it there. As I mentioned before, I can honestly see myself living in that city. There's so much to do, and it reminds me of home so much. I like it better than Melbourne, and as I'm sure you can tell by my detailed adventures, I had a blast and a half while I was there. Met some really cool people, and I'm immensely pumped to return to wake up! in less than a month for best trip ever with Janis and Rach. But, if I type any longer, I reckon I'll have carpel tunnel, and I'm sure you'll need glasses for staring at the computer screen for too long. That being said, Sydney rules, and mad props if you made it this far. I'm off to caf, so until next time...
+K+...er.... +Scully+
I suppose the whole ordeal began early last week, when I made the conscious decision to book myself a trip to Sydney. Not knowing anything other than how I was getting there and how I was returning, I was pretty sure it was going to be a ridiculous time. What I was unsure of was if such a journey would fall under the "ridiculously good" category, or the "ridiculously bad" one. I am more than pleased to say that it was a million times the former. After a relatively uneventful week, I was pretty pumped and a bit nervous to embark on my overnight train to Sydney Central Station on Thursday night. Things were off to a bit of a rocky start at first-- I ended up missing the bus I was going to take to get to the Geelong station. Luckily, I've got lots of good people who've got my back here in Evatt 2, and Eliza kindly drove me to the station. This ended up being a blessing in disguise-- I didn't have to wait around the station for 45 minutes to catch the train, which gave me time to update Diane's iPod (which she kindly let me borrow for my adventure... again, I've got peeps who've got my back, yo!) a bit further and relax before the train. So, I made it to the Geelong station, and it was an hour's trek to Southern Cross in Melbourne. Hopped off one train, and onto the next in the span of about a half hour. Southern Cross introduced me to one of the most delicious advertisements I've come across (and would come across about another thousand times in the next handful of days) in quite some time-- the new CALIFORNICATION ad, picturing David Duchovny looking all suave and handsome in a convertible. Ehhhhh. But more on that later.
The train ride to Sydney was surprisingly uneventful. I managed to sleep a decent amount... I got lucky, there wasn't anyone sitting next to me, so I could stretch out a bit. We ended up being delayed outside the city for about an hour and a half, which put my arrival time at about 8 AM. So, I stumbled off the train, and began wandering. At this point, I was still a bit tired and more than a bit hungry, so I went in search of a cafe. Found a delicious $5 breakky right across the street from the station, which was exactly what I'd been hoping for. I've found a new love in butter and jelly toast. From there, I began my search for a place to stay. Wandered a few blocks around the greater Central Station area, and came across quite a few hostels. I ended up going with a place called wake up!, which ended up being probably the best decision I made while in Sydney. Checked in, dropped off my clothes in my new eight-share, seventh floor dorm, and headed back downstairs to embark on a free tour of the Sydney beaches that the hostel was hosting. This also ended up being a fantastic decision. On the bus ride, I befriended our tour guide, Wil. We bonded over the X-Files and music during the drive there, it was excellent. Oh, might I also take this time to make note of the brilliant idea I had during my train ride to Sydney. I decided that, throughout my adventures in Sydney, I would introduce myself as 'Scully' to everyone I met. I cannot tell you how fun this was for me. And if anyone happens to be reading this who I spoke with, please don't be angry with me. To be fair, there are a few people who do call me Scully... just not everyone. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that for the past six days, I've been Scully. Gregor, if you're reading this-- get jealous.
But back to the adventures. Our arrival spot was Coogee Beach. Pretty nice, but nothing overly exciting. I got lunch at a cafe with Wil and a few of the other kids on the tour-- Sarah from Wales, Shane from England, Sebastian from Holland, and a few others. Soon enough, we were off on our tour. It was a six kilometer walk; highlights included climbing things I shouldn't be climbing (what else is new, really), some pretty excellent rock formations, Jimmy the homeless guy who lives on the rocks at Bondi, and chatting with Wil and the rest of the kids. We ended up in Bondi Beach, which is probably the most famous Sydney beach. We just beat the rain back to Bondi, which was a definite bonus, despite the fact that we were given wake up! ponchos before we left. We had to split the group up for the bus trip back, and Wil and I continued our bonding over piercings and awesome body mods. A+ for that. Upon returning to the hostel, we were awarded with a free drink at sidebar. Canyousay free Strongbow?! YES! More bonus points were awarded to wake up! for the video juke box they had. I requested "November Rain," and it was as glorious as always. GnR = amazement.
Two pints of Strongbow later, I headed up to my room and met the kids I'd be hanging out with for the next few days. They were all from either England or Ireland, hilarious, and ridiculous as all hell. Ducked back out shortly after, and met up with Shane and Sarah for dinner. We wandered a bit down the street from the hostel, and ended up eating at a Pasta and Pizza place. Pretty tasty, and good company as well. Shane's got a pretty insane/awesome thing going on... he's been working on special/CGI effects for movies like Harry Potter, but now he's on his way to New Zealand to train to be a skydiving instructor. Insane. Didn't do much after dinner... it had been a long 48 hours. Day one in Sydney: in the books.
Saturday was probably the most adventurous day I had during my trek. Got up early and met with Shane and Sarah at 9-ish to walk down to the Opera House. It was a walk I would become quite familiar with in the next few days. Made it to Circular Quay a little before 9:30... we were scheduled for the 9:30 tour, but ended up missing it. No worries, though, this gave us time for breakfast. We ate at a little cafe just off of Circular Quay. I got pancakes with maple syrup and strawberries, which basically equates to a puddle of maple syrup with two pancakes marinating in it. Whatever, it was still pretty tasty. We were off to the Opera House soon after breakky. It really is spectacular. Took some pictures outside of the Harbour Bridge, and commenced our tour. The inside is pretty insane... definitely the coolest architecture I've seen in a long time. I didn't realize that it's actually two buildings. The coolest part was probably the symphony orchestra hall. It's amazing. I wish I had the money/time to see a concert there. After finishing up at the Opera House, we decided to walk through Circular Quay to the Harbour Bridge. After getting mildly lost on our way, we made it to the Pilon, which $9 later, we had climbed. It offered a stunning view of Sydney city, as well as the Opera House and Darling Harbour. Pretty amazing, and waaay cheaper than doing the actual bridge climb (~$179, plus souvenir photos you feel obligated to buy). Spent a good half hour up there admiring the view (I could've stayed all day if they would've let me), then climbed back down and walked across the bridge to check out Luna Park. Shane made a pretty excellent observation that the face in front of Luna Park looks like an evil Thomas the Tank Engine. It's even more creepy up close. The whole place has an eerie, haunted carnival/Coney Island feel to it. Weird. So, after wandering there a bit, we headed back up to the market that was under the bridge. I had a delicious kebob sandwich and mango smoothie, and we went made our way back across the bridge. After crossing the harbour, we advanced to the Rocks and checked out some of the shops there. Came upon a pretty amazing little bar that I've decided merits Rach, Janis and my return next month. The bathrooms there are also worth mentioning-- hose-type things suspended from the ceiling to wash your hands, as well as pods for urinals. Love it. Parted ways with Shane and Sarah shortly thereafter to do some further exploring of the Rocks (they were headed to Sydney Tower). Went in and out of a few stores, and ended up in the Museum of Contemporary Art for about a half hour. Not all that neat, but maybe I just don't understand contemporary art. After that, I walked back over to the Opera House, where I sat on the steps and watched the sunset over the Harbour Bridge. Breathtaking. Made my way back to wake up! after that, just in time to come across the businessman rush from the business district to the ferries. Yum. Stopped by an internet cafe for a bit, then came back to wake up!. Got a quick shower, and then it was time for wake up!'s Swedish-themed party. Amazing. The aforementioned crazy roomies were dressed in Swedish flags, with the head crazy all suited up as Bjon Bjorg (probably butchered that spelling, my apologies). The party was a blast-- I ended up getting third place in the limbo competition, doing a bit of dancing, and a bit more Strongbow consumption. Good company and good times, overall. Needless to say, by the time 2:3o rolled around, I was completely exhausted.
A full day's adventure on Saturday certainly didn't hinder Sunday's journeys, though. I met up with Sarah around 9:3o, where we hopped the train to Blacktown to check out the Featherdale Wildlife Park. Sydney transit systems are heaps better than Geelong and Melbourne's. It was a pretty neat train ride there, what with the double decker trains and all. The 4o minute trek there was well worth it, though. Featherdale was AWESOME! All of your stereotypical Aussie animals were represented, plus an awesome area where you could pet wallabies, kangaroos, and koalas!! Ahh, I got so many good pictures, including one insanely scary one of an emu about to bite off my hand. Ridiculous. But yes, I can officially say that I've pet a koala, hugged a kangaroo, held a blue-tongued lizard, and confronted my fear of large, flightless birds. They still scare me, though. Being at Featherdale just got me really, really excited for Brisbane and the Australia Zoo. After a thorough investigation of the park, Sarah and I made our way back to Sydney, where we met up with Shane for an evening adventure of Circular Quay. It's equally as beautiful at night. Sydney really reminds me of a mix of Philly and Chicago. Much more than Melbourne does, at least. I could definitely see myself living there. We wandered around the Harbour area for a few hours, then walked down George Street to check out some new sights. It was an earlier-ish night to bed on Sunday after the past three days' ridiculousness.
Monday was, simply put, amazing. I had decided at some point on Sunday to dedicate Monday to either cycling or surfing. The Aussie side of me opted for the latter. So, I got up at about 7:3o to try and get on one of the surf school day trips, but the travel place wasn't open until nine. So, it was off to Central Cafe for another tasty $5 breakky and some serious suit oogling. Ahh, I'm such a creep. Made my way back to wake up! just in time for the travel desk to open, and I found a pretty excellent deal for the Manley Surf School. Soon after confirming an 11:oo session, I made my way down to Circular Quay and caught the Manly ferry. What a great ride that was. Upon arriving in Manley, I headed for the beach, and walked along the boardwalk-equivalent to get to surf school. I ended up meeting a family from Philly while waiting to hit the water! Excellence. Got suited up in a wetsuit and rasher, and after a short intro-to-surfing lesson, hit the waves. Ahh, the waves in Manly are quite a bit bigger than those in Lorne! I got tossed a few times, not gonna lie. But, by the end of the lesson, I was pretty much standing up on every wave. Sweet surf, brah! The funniest thing had to be when I got completely wrecked by a massive wave, though. I was on the board, paddling towards shore trying to catch this seven or eight foot wave, and I look ahead, and the surf instructor is giving me the waving arms not-a-good-wave-to-catch-if-you-like-air-instead-of-water-in-your-lungs gesture, but it was too late. Ker-SMASH! No worries, though, made it up okay. Overall, the instructors were pretty impressed with my improvement. Score one for the mildly not awful surfer girl. It was a gorgeous day in Manly, so after shedding my wetsuit, I laid on the beach for a decent while, working on my tan. Grabbed some lunch at a local fast food place, and headed back to the ferry after popping in and out of a few stores. The ferry ride back was so enjoyable, I decided to repeat it. Ahh, I love boats! Stayed on from Manley to Sydney back to Manley and again to Sydney. Tres enjoyable. I had an equally enjoyable walk back to wake up!, courtesy of the 5-6:oo departure of Sydney businessmen. I. Love. Suits. Hung out and read for a bit after I got back and showered, and soon enough it was time for the much-awaited premiere of CALIFORNICATION!! AH this show is the new love of my life. David Duchovny, you wound me with your wit and libido. Fantastic. Can't wait for next Monday's episode. And, as I mentioned before, LOVING those bus stop ads all over the place. I slept pretty soundly after another exhausting day of surfing and adventure.
Tuesday brought forth my last full day in Sydney. Sad. I got quite attached to the place during my five and a half day stay. I'd love to live there, no doubts. Wil was hosting another tour during the day, this time of Sydney city. I opted to join in, even though I'd seen a good deal. It ended up being an excellent decision, because we ended up touring more parts of Sydney that I hadn't seen than those I had. We checked out a few markets, walked through Darling Harbour, had lunch on the steps of the Opera House, and wandered through the Botanical Gardens and Hyde Park. It was a tad warm for another day full of walking-- about the same temperature as it was on the beach at Manley (hard to believe this is winter...), but it was still an enjoyable tour. After making our way back to wake up!, we enjoyed our free round, and I opted to head back down to Hyde Park to do some reading and chilling. Was a very relaxing way to spend the later part of the afternoon. Oogled some more suits during my stay at the Park, then headed back to wake up! to participate in Pub Quiz night. I joined Team Croc (consisting of me, an English couple, a German couple, and a guy from Switzerland). We were pretty respectable participants. I ended up winning a free breakfast because I knew who the Prime Minister of Australia was, and, as a group, we took the fourth round by storm (despite a faulty Empire Records question that drove me up a wall for a good five minutes, haha). Had dinner at sidebar, and stuck around to hang out with Wil and listen to the acoustic guitar set until about 12:3o. Wandered back upstairs, only to find Pirates III playing on the tv. Naturally, I watched. Didn't make it all the way through, though, and I was back on the seventh floor for a final night's rest after a short while. Did I mention the view I had? Amazing. Especially at night. I was on the top bunk, right next to the window, overlooking Central Station. It was incredibly soothing watching cars pass and the overall serenity encompassing watching a city function from a few stories up.
Ahh, this leads us to today. Woke up earlier (check out's at ten), packed up all my stuff, and checked out. Redeemed my free (delicious) breakfast at sidebar cafe, said bye to Wil, and it was off to the train station. Uneventful and easy trek from the train station to the airport, and then the flight back to Melbourne. I was the only person on the shuttle bus back to Geelong, hah. No worries, though. Made it back here at about 2:3o, and I've been catching up with people, wandering around, unpacking, doing laundry, and writing this damn thing since then. My apologies for the length of it all-- but I felt you'd want to know about Sydney. After all, that is what this blog is all about.
Some parting shots on Sydney before I head off to caf: I loved it there. As I mentioned before, I can honestly see myself living in that city. There's so much to do, and it reminds me of home so much. I like it better than Melbourne, and as I'm sure you can tell by my detailed adventures, I had a blast and a half while I was there. Met some really cool people, and I'm immensely pumped to return to wake up! in less than a month for best trip ever with Janis and Rach. But, if I type any longer, I reckon I'll have carpel tunnel, and I'm sure you'll need glasses for staring at the computer screen for too long. That being said, Sydney rules, and mad props if you made it this far. I'm off to caf, so until next time...
+K+...er.... +Scully+
Monday, August 20
G'Day G'Day G'Day!
Fun things to update you on, dear friends. Well, at least I think they're fun, and writing is going to keep me awake for the next half hour or so, so I don't fall asleep and miss boxing for the sixth time in a row, so... yeah. Let's rewind to the weekend.
Pretty low-key goings on this weekend. Stayed on campus for the entire time, save a mini-trek to Waurn Ponds to ship my busted iPod and pick up some groceries. I think I left off with Friday afternoon... hah, ohh, the fun we had on Friday night. Rachel was complaining that we never visit her in her unit, so Janis and I wandered over to watch what we thought would be Minority Report. After a series of insults and the conclusion that Minority Report was boring and hard to follow with commercials, we opted to czech out Diane's newly acquired dvd collection that she so generously let us borrow before trekking off to Tasmania (among other places). So, the task was given to me to choose our evening's entertainment. I selected a handful of movies, including a one Corporate Fantasy, which I had never seen or heard of before, but selected on title alone. Because we all know how I am when it comes to adult entertainment. And if we don't all know, we do now. So, after much debate and a failed attempt at watching S.W.A.T., Janis hands me Corporate Fantasy. I'll pause a second, and let you IMDB it if you so choose.
*Cough*
So... we ended up watching that with Kwangu, Rach's RA. Immediately after, I felt the need to continue the evening (with the support of my peers, don't look at me like that) with the inaugural screening of Pirates. That movie is so good. Edward is amazing. Janis thought it was hilarious, Rach was scarred for life, Kwangu got scared away after the second scene, and Mel, Rach's Aussie roomate, loved it. Certainly an evening for the books... all in all, five-ish hours of quality entertainment. Needless to say, my position as resident perv of the group is beyond solidified. I'm okay with that. (Sidenote: I'm working really, really hard at not using any double entendres or loaded language right now.)
Saturday wasn't nearly as, er... exciting (hey, I made it four words). I spent most of the day hanging around Evatt 2 reading my novel for lit class. Got about 200 pages into it. It's pretty intense for young adult fiction, I like it. Then, it was group dinnertime with Janis and Rach. Rachel and I have taken to arguing and insulting each other at every possible moment. Makes for a fun atmosphere when I'm the head chef and she's my assistant. We baked a cake, while Janis made a delicious dinner of pasta, homemade sauce and Naked Chef meatballs. Mmm. We hung out for a bit, indulged in our dinner and dessert, then met up with the rest of the internationals for a mini-party in one of the Gordons. I spent most of the time watching some intense beer pong action, and talking to Jake about politics, ideology and the faults of the human race. I'm pretty sure carrying on intellectual discussions at parties makes me a nerd, but I had fun. Don't hate.
Post-gathering, Rach, Janis and I returned to Evatt 2 to watch some more House. We're addicted. We only watched two episodes, though, in an attempt to stretch out season one as long as possible. Not to worry, though. In a moment of weakness, I bought seasons one and two off of Amazon late Saturday night. Oops. Oh well, it happens. After they left, I called Sam and talked to her for a little bit. Excellence, as per usual.
Sunday, yesterday, ahh what a long day. Hung out for a while doing homework. Ov called me for the first time, which made me pretty happy. We chatted, and I finished up my PR reading and went to the gym. Came back and worked really hard on not working on my history essay. The topic? A detailed analysis and comparison of Margaret Thatcher and David Reynolds' respective dissertations on neo-liberal policies in the early 1980's. You asked. It was only 1,000 words, but as we all know, I am a master of procrastination. Thorough and elaborate mucking around ensued, including watching the final two episodes of House (damn you, House... you're too adorable), playing some serious computerized pinball, and listening to 'Reunion Tour' on repeat. All in all, I wrapped up at about four thirty. I'm awful. But, in my honest opinion, it turned out quite well. Let's hope it measures up to Aussie standards. I couldn't fall asleep after I'd finished my essay, though... probably had something to do with that green tea and coffee I drank after midnight... so I watched some Clone High an X-Files to cap off the evening. For those of you keeping track, I'm still on season one, but up to disc five. Still amazing.
Today has treated me well thus far. PR was lovely as usual. Handed in my essay at the Arts building after only minor difficulties, and chatted with a few people. But the major event of the day hasn't been class or turning essays, nay. I made the executive decision amongst the committee of me, myself and I to travel to Sydney this weekend. See, I have no lit class next week, so I basically have off from Friday until Wednesday, not counting lectures on Monday, which are pretty much optional at this point, because everything is provided for you online. This, in my opinion, mandates an adventure. The fun part about all this is I'm likely to be doing my traveling alone. Pretty pumped about it. It's been a while since I've gone gung-ho introvert... this should do it for me. But Heather told me that there's a number of kids who travel on their own and hang out in hostels, so if I do feel the need for some sort of companionship, I'll be a-ok. Still, I'm rather looking forward to having six days all to my own to explore Sydney and shake this ever-growing wanderlust. Here's to hoping my levels of self-sufficiency are as adequate as I believe them to be.
Nothing else worth noting, really. We talked about Commies in history today, which made me want to watch Dr. Strangelove. What a great movie. It also resurrected my tendency to write English words in Cyrillic. And now, after a nice cup of tea and two Tim-Tam's, I'm about ready to head to the gym for boxing. Caf after that, then an evening of glorious Monday night television. So until next time....
+K+
Fun things to update you on, dear friends. Well, at least I think they're fun, and writing is going to keep me awake for the next half hour or so, so I don't fall asleep and miss boxing for the sixth time in a row, so... yeah. Let's rewind to the weekend.
Pretty low-key goings on this weekend. Stayed on campus for the entire time, save a mini-trek to Waurn Ponds to ship my busted iPod and pick up some groceries. I think I left off with Friday afternoon... hah, ohh, the fun we had on Friday night. Rachel was complaining that we never visit her in her unit, so Janis and I wandered over to watch what we thought would be Minority Report. After a series of insults and the conclusion that Minority Report was boring and hard to follow with commercials, we opted to czech out Diane's newly acquired dvd collection that she so generously let us borrow before trekking off to Tasmania (among other places). So, the task was given to me to choose our evening's entertainment. I selected a handful of movies, including a one Corporate Fantasy, which I had never seen or heard of before, but selected on title alone. Because we all know how I am when it comes to adult entertainment. And if we don't all know, we do now. So, after much debate and a failed attempt at watching S.W.A.T., Janis hands me Corporate Fantasy. I'll pause a second, and let you IMDB it if you so choose.
*Cough*
So... we ended up watching that with Kwangu, Rach's RA. Immediately after, I felt the need to continue the evening (with the support of my peers, don't look at me like that) with the inaugural screening of Pirates. That movie is so good. Edward is amazing. Janis thought it was hilarious, Rach was scarred for life, Kwangu got scared away after the second scene, and Mel, Rach's Aussie roomate, loved it. Certainly an evening for the books... all in all, five-ish hours of quality entertainment. Needless to say, my position as resident perv of the group is beyond solidified. I'm okay with that. (Sidenote: I'm working really, really hard at not using any double entendres or loaded language right now.)
Saturday wasn't nearly as, er... exciting (hey, I made it four words). I spent most of the day hanging around Evatt 2 reading my novel for lit class. Got about 200 pages into it. It's pretty intense for young adult fiction, I like it. Then, it was group dinnertime with Janis and Rach. Rachel and I have taken to arguing and insulting each other at every possible moment. Makes for a fun atmosphere when I'm the head chef and she's my assistant. We baked a cake, while Janis made a delicious dinner of pasta, homemade sauce and Naked Chef meatballs. Mmm. We hung out for a bit, indulged in our dinner and dessert, then met up with the rest of the internationals for a mini-party in one of the Gordons. I spent most of the time watching some intense beer pong action, and talking to Jake about politics, ideology and the faults of the human race. I'm pretty sure carrying on intellectual discussions at parties makes me a nerd, but I had fun. Don't hate.
Post-gathering, Rach, Janis and I returned to Evatt 2 to watch some more House. We're addicted. We only watched two episodes, though, in an attempt to stretch out season one as long as possible. Not to worry, though. In a moment of weakness, I bought seasons one and two off of Amazon late Saturday night. Oops. Oh well, it happens. After they left, I called Sam and talked to her for a little bit. Excellence, as per usual.
Sunday, yesterday, ahh what a long day. Hung out for a while doing homework. Ov called me for the first time, which made me pretty happy. We chatted, and I finished up my PR reading and went to the gym. Came back and worked really hard on not working on my history essay. The topic? A detailed analysis and comparison of Margaret Thatcher and David Reynolds' respective dissertations on neo-liberal policies in the early 1980's. You asked. It was only 1,000 words, but as we all know, I am a master of procrastination. Thorough and elaborate mucking around ensued, including watching the final two episodes of House (damn you, House... you're too adorable), playing some serious computerized pinball, and listening to 'Reunion Tour' on repeat. All in all, I wrapped up at about four thirty. I'm awful. But, in my honest opinion, it turned out quite well. Let's hope it measures up to Aussie standards. I couldn't fall asleep after I'd finished my essay, though... probably had something to do with that green tea and coffee I drank after midnight... so I watched some Clone High an X-Files to cap off the evening. For those of you keeping track, I'm still on season one, but up to disc five. Still amazing.
Today has treated me well thus far. PR was lovely as usual. Handed in my essay at the Arts building after only minor difficulties, and chatted with a few people. But the major event of the day hasn't been class or turning essays, nay. I made the executive decision amongst the committee of me, myself and I to travel to Sydney this weekend. See, I have no lit class next week, so I basically have off from Friday until Wednesday, not counting lectures on Monday, which are pretty much optional at this point, because everything is provided for you online. This, in my opinion, mandates an adventure. The fun part about all this is I'm likely to be doing my traveling alone. Pretty pumped about it. It's been a while since I've gone gung-ho introvert... this should do it for me. But Heather told me that there's a number of kids who travel on their own and hang out in hostels, so if I do feel the need for some sort of companionship, I'll be a-ok. Still, I'm rather looking forward to having six days all to my own to explore Sydney and shake this ever-growing wanderlust. Here's to hoping my levels of self-sufficiency are as adequate as I believe them to be.
Nothing else worth noting, really. We talked about Commies in history today, which made me want to watch Dr. Strangelove. What a great movie. It also resurrected my tendency to write English words in Cyrillic. And now, after a nice cup of tea and two Tim-Tam's, I'm about ready to head to the gym for boxing. Caf after that, then an evening of glorious Monday night television. So until next time....
+K+
Friday, August 17
Can someone clarify why there's no structured narriative
No neat storyline to explain
Wish on everything
Pray that she remains proud and strange
And so hopelessly hopeful
Funny, cause i was just going to write a postcard, and it is raining here again. I suppose you have to be a Weakerthans fan to understand that reference, but oh well. If you're not, I've got a boatload of reasons why you should join the Church of John K. At the very top of that list is the fact that 'Reunion Tour', the much-awaited new album by said glorious band, has leaked on the internet, and this little traveler has gotten her hands on it. Listening to it the first time was like a religious experience. I cannot praise this band enough; everything from the bass lines to the lyrics... oh crikey those lyrics... hands down, my favorite band. Not gonna lie, I'm a little bummed that I'm going to miss them when they come to Philly in September, but I will be seeing Ben Lee and Spearhead around that same time, so... I guess that kindof makes up for it.
Not too much new, aside from the aforementioned musical brilliance. I have become addicted to HOUSE. Ohhh Dr. House, your angry, witty remarks, your addiction to pain killers, your limp, your ingenious solutions to one-in-a-million problems... I love it. Rach, Janis and I watched eight episodes of it last night on dvd. Oops? I can't help it, when I start to watch a show, I get really, really, ridiculously into it. Hey, it was cheaper than going out and spending mad dollas on booze. Healthier, too. I think tonite we're watching Minority Report or something like that, and tomorrow is arts and crafts and cake day. Pumped about it! We're working on not spending a whole lot of money this weekend. Ya know, save up for the big trip, which is about a month away!! Ahh, I cannot wait.
Err, what else. My family sent me a package! A pirate t-shirt from the Bahamas. Glad to know they've accepted who I am... a 21 year old girl with a borderline-unhealthy affinity for pirating. YARG.
I've got the urge sing, shower, shop for relatively unnecessary but fun things, and drink Bailey's and coffee. I think I'm going to go take care of one and two, then head off for three in order to accomplish four. Looks like the sky cleared up, too. Bonus points.
So, until next time...
+K+
Wish on everything
Pray that she remains proud and strange
And so hopelessly hopeful
Funny, cause i was just going to write a postcard, and it is raining here again. I suppose you have to be a Weakerthans fan to understand that reference, but oh well. If you're not, I've got a boatload of reasons why you should join the Church of John K. At the very top of that list is the fact that 'Reunion Tour', the much-awaited new album by said glorious band, has leaked on the internet, and this little traveler has gotten her hands on it. Listening to it the first time was like a religious experience. I cannot praise this band enough; everything from the bass lines to the lyrics... oh crikey those lyrics... hands down, my favorite band. Not gonna lie, I'm a little bummed that I'm going to miss them when they come to Philly in September, but I will be seeing Ben Lee and Spearhead around that same time, so... I guess that kindof makes up for it.
Not too much new, aside from the aforementioned musical brilliance. I have become addicted to HOUSE. Ohhh Dr. House, your angry, witty remarks, your addiction to pain killers, your limp, your ingenious solutions to one-in-a-million problems... I love it. Rach, Janis and I watched eight episodes of it last night on dvd. Oops? I can't help it, when I start to watch a show, I get really, really, ridiculously into it. Hey, it was cheaper than going out and spending mad dollas on booze. Healthier, too. I think tonite we're watching Minority Report or something like that, and tomorrow is arts and crafts and cake day. Pumped about it! We're working on not spending a whole lot of money this weekend. Ya know, save up for the big trip, which is about a month away!! Ahh, I cannot wait.
Err, what else. My family sent me a package! A pirate t-shirt from the Bahamas. Glad to know they've accepted who I am... a 21 year old girl with a borderline-unhealthy affinity for pirating. YARG.
I've got the urge sing, shower, shop for relatively unnecessary but fun things, and drink Bailey's and coffee. I think I'm going to go take care of one and two, then head off for three in order to accomplish four. Looks like the sky cleared up, too. Bonus points.
So, until next time...
+K+
Wednesday, August 15
Standing on the corner of sixth and time for an update. Ohh, the Old 97's. Too good.
Well, we've got some good news and some mediocre news for you today, folks. Good news is I'm on the slow road to recovery. I don't sound nearly as Anne the Mannish as I did over the weekend. I'll take that as a victory. I spent most of yesterday trying to kick the remainder of said virus by walking around downtown Geelong. It being a Tuesday, which equates to no class for this kid, I took it upon myself to catch the bus into the city and do a bit of exploring. I was probably Ponce de Leon in a past life, or something like that. I really do genuinely enjoy exploring things. Anywho, into Geelong I went. Wandered around Market Square a while, invested in some lozenges, envelopes and colored pencils, then got myself a bit lost walking around. I've found that's the only real way to get acquainted with somewhere--- to just walk around until you're lost, then find your way back. Worked for me. After popping in and out of a few stores, I wandered down to the waterfront and hung out by the carousel for a stay, writing in my little black notebook and listening to sweet jams, courtesy of the Hip Hizzle. Unfortunately, this only lasted for a bit... my iPod decided to go kaputskies on me. This fares under the "mediocre news" category. Mediocre, because although I have no portable music device, it means if I send it back to the States, as per Best Buy's repair policy, I'm going to get a brand new iPod this time around. I'll take it. It's just a minor thorn in my side for now, what, with nothing to listen to when I'm out and about. We'll see what comes of it all.
Other notables from the past few days include ascertaining a "What's Your X-Files IQ?" book from the local Geelong Salvo (oh, I'm going to have fun with that one), cultivating another television addiction (I'm looking at you, Dr. Gregory House. Oh goo.), rediscovering previous online journals from high school and my freshman year at RPI (I was an insightful little twirp.), and beautiful, beautiful weather. I love this time of year, the winter-into-spring sort. Not gonna lie, though... I can't wait for it to be warm enough to swim. I'll be on the beach seven days a week.
I suppose that's all I've got for you for now. Send me mail and e-mail and comments. Give me something to occupy my time amongst my varied misdoings, adventures, and photoshop projects. History reading beckons. I must finish before spin bike/caf/coloring/HOUSE tonite with the Musketeers. So until next time... au revior, mes amis.
+K+
Well, we've got some good news and some mediocre news for you today, folks. Good news is I'm on the slow road to recovery. I don't sound nearly as Anne the Mannish as I did over the weekend. I'll take that as a victory. I spent most of yesterday trying to kick the remainder of said virus by walking around downtown Geelong. It being a Tuesday, which equates to no class for this kid, I took it upon myself to catch the bus into the city and do a bit of exploring. I was probably Ponce de Leon in a past life, or something like that. I really do genuinely enjoy exploring things. Anywho, into Geelong I went. Wandered around Market Square a while, invested in some lozenges, envelopes and colored pencils, then got myself a bit lost walking around. I've found that's the only real way to get acquainted with somewhere--- to just walk around until you're lost, then find your way back. Worked for me. After popping in and out of a few stores, I wandered down to the waterfront and hung out by the carousel for a stay, writing in my little black notebook and listening to sweet jams, courtesy of the Hip Hizzle. Unfortunately, this only lasted for a bit... my iPod decided to go kaputskies on me. This fares under the "mediocre news" category. Mediocre, because although I have no portable music device, it means if I send it back to the States, as per Best Buy's repair policy, I'm going to get a brand new iPod this time around. I'll take it. It's just a minor thorn in my side for now, what, with nothing to listen to when I'm out and about. We'll see what comes of it all.
Other notables from the past few days include ascertaining a "What's Your X-Files IQ?" book from the local Geelong Salvo (oh, I'm going to have fun with that one), cultivating another television addiction (I'm looking at you, Dr. Gregory House. Oh goo.), rediscovering previous online journals from high school and my freshman year at RPI (I was an insightful little twirp.), and beautiful, beautiful weather. I love this time of year, the winter-into-spring sort. Not gonna lie, though... I can't wait for it to be warm enough to swim. I'll be on the beach seven days a week.
I suppose that's all I've got for you for now. Send me mail and e-mail and comments. Give me something to occupy my time amongst my varied misdoings, adventures, and photoshop projects. History reading beckons. I must finish before spin bike/caf/coloring/HOUSE tonite with the Musketeers. So until next time... au revior, mes amis.
+K+
Sunday, August 12
When life gives you lemons, you clone those lemons... and make superlemons.
Ah, the infamous words of Cinnamon J. Scudworth, principal of Clone High. This was the lesson I learned over the weekend at Warrnambool. Well, sortof. More like a combination of that, and the fact that sometimes the best adventures you have are the ones you'd never expect. The weekend was nothing like what I thought, hoped, or expected it to be. But despite our many failures throughout most of the trip, I can honestly say I still had a good time.
We started out on a pretty good (if not early) note, gathering at the bus stop just before eight to catch a cab to the train station. Our cab driver felt the need to drive at a normal pace for the entire time, until we got into the parking lot of the station, where he transformed into Dale flipping Dale Junior. Fair enough. No problems getting on the train, and it was only about a two hour trek to Warrnambool. Basically as soon as we arrived, it started to rain. Hard. And not the nice little Geelong rain showers, no, this sucker lasted all day. This required some improvisation on our part, considering we'd intended on spending most of the day outside looking for whales and picnicking and all that good stuff. Janis had promised me an opportunity to get ice cream on Thursday night, so we went in search of a dry place to eat our lunch, or an ice cream shop. We found both.
In a cumulative stroke of genius, we decided to strike a bargain with the lone employee of the ice cream shop. I was nominated spokesperson. I told him we'd buy ice cream from him, if he'd let us eat our picnic lunch first. An accord was reached, and we dined in style next to a mural of a koala surfing. Afterwards, we kept to our word, and each got what was some of the most delicious ice cream I've ever had. I had a cowboy sundae, which was hokey pokey and macadamia nut ice cream, with whipped cream, hot fudge and one of those coffee sticks with the chocolate in the middle in it, topped off with a marshmallow. It was everything I'd hoped it would be, as far as ice cream experiences go.
From there, we wandered around town for a bit, trying to find something to do. We decided on go-carts, something we'd seen in the brochures we were looking at over lunch. A siren should've gone off when we saw it was located conveniently in the Warrnambool Industrial Estate. However, this bit of knowledge did not dismay us, and we hailed a cab to take us to Shed 13. After nearly wrecking a moped, the cabbie dropped us off in Shadyville, Australia, aka Warrnambool Industrial Estate. We were skeptical, but decided to check it out anyway. We were better off walking in the rain; go-carting would cost $10 for five minutes, plus a two dollar fee for getting a license. The consensus was that our money would be better spent on beer, so we made a quick exit from the Shed and began walking back toward the main road. Immediately after walking out the door, we were encountered by a very large dog with an even larger collar. Fortunately, he was friendly. Probably can't say the same for the neighbors of Shed 13, the United Rebels, who flew not one, not two, but three Confederate flags outside their wonderful establishment. We decided we were better off hitchhiking back to town than asking them for help, so... we did. However, this was also met with failure. Apparently no one was interested in picking up four foreign chicks, walking in the rain in the middle of an industrial park. This resulted in us seeking shelter under the Destiny Church (aka the Christian Cult of Warrnambool... the windows were blacked out) and resorting to calling a cab. Eventually, we made it back to the main street and made the executive decision to go to the pub, a place we knew wouldn't let us down.
A few minutes and a pint of cider later, I know I was feeling more comfortable with our surroundings, if not a bit ill. I'd managed to catch round two of the death plague, and was coughing up a lung every two seconds. Fortunately for us, though, the bartender was intrigued by the group of girls with accents, and kindly lit a fire for us in the fireplace. We then proceeded to sit in the snook (bit of Irish Pub trivia... it seems like Kildare's is always with me somehow) and have arts and crafts time by coloring the newspaper. I left and wandered a bit to try and find a pharmacy to acquire some cough medicine, but apparently everything in Warrnambool closes at four on Saturday. How utterly inconvenient. We ended up hanging out at the pub for about three or four hours, then walking up the street to grab some dinner. The group agreed on Chinese, and four orders of fried rice, one pot of weirdo tea and a very confused Aussie waiter later, dinner commenced. Not to bad. Post-dinner we headed back to the pub where we hung out in front of the fire for four more hours. Might I mention that none of us were drunk during this; as wonderful as Irish pubs are in Australia, they're damn expensive. This only added to the hilarity that we spent about eight hours in the pub yesterday. Good times. My own personal highlight was asking the bartender if they served any Irish coffees, and his saying no, but if I went across the street and bought a cup of coffee, he'd pour a shot of Bailey's into it for me. Needless to say, it was delicious.
We were joined at the pub by Katelyn and some of her Aussie buddies at about nine, and we hung out for a bit longer before heading down the street to another club. They had a pretty amazing one-man-band playing sweet, sweet blues music (digeridoo included). I was entranced. We only stayed there for a bit, though. Exhaustion had set in, so we cabbed back to Deakin and attempted to fall asleep on Katelyn's floor. This was far more uncomfortable than we'd hoped (no one had pillows, and Diane was the only one smart enough to bring a blanket), but soon enough we switched rooms, and Diane, Rachel and Janis gathered on what I can only describe as a boat made out of two couches, while I was quarantined on the third couch. A sound sleep resulted soon after.
Day two at Warrnambool brought forth a new set of make-your-own-adventures and, thankfully, clearer skies. My RA Erin (Related to Steve Irwin, no lies. It's distant, but it's there.) offered to give us a driving tour of some of the places we couldn't walk to, so we met up with her just after nine thirty. She took us to the whale watching platform, where we looked at the decidedly split skies (the left was ridiculously ominous, the right clear as, well, day) for a few minutes, but didn't see any whales. It was cold, so we opted to continue our adventures elsewhere. Erin took us to some pretty awesome lookout points, then we headed to Tower Hill, renowned home to mad Aussie wildlife. On our way, we passed the Adventure Playground, and I somewhat demanded we make a u-turn so I could play for a bit. Don't look at me like that, they had a zip line. I love zip lines.
So, after a quick stint on the playground, we hopped back in Erin's car and made our way to Tower Hill. When we got there, we were relatively certain there was some sort of Australian native animal conspiracy against us. In a place known for having emus in the middle of the road and koalas and wallabies hanging out around every bend, we saw absolutely nothing during the first ten minutes of being there. It wasn't until I spotted a koala munching on some eucalyptus that we broke the curse. For a group of international kids Down Under, it was an important landmark. We were pretty pumped. Erin had to pick up her mom, so back in the car we went after an extended observation of said marsupial. On our drive out, we saw another koala, a kangaroo, and a pack/herd/group of emus. So all in all, the wildlife conspiracy was denounced. Erin dropped us back off at Deakin, and we hung out in Katelyn's common room for an hour or so watching random tv shows about rugby and off-road car racing. Then, it was onto the bus and back into town for a bite to eat, a walk around, and an attempt to find Rachel's wallet, which had gone missing in and around zip line time. Luckily, we accomplished all three, and even managed another stop at the ice cream shop. I'm just saying... that ice cream was really, really good. We ended up just hanging out on the beach for quite some time watching the clouds pass and the waves crash before it was time to say goodbye and get back on the train. Our train ride back was pretty uneventful, all things considered. It felt good to get back to res, though, and have a tasty soup, tea and English muffin dinner and a shower.
And now, here I am, still coughing up a storm and sounding more than a little bit mannish. I don't think I've ever lost my voice this badly before. Still quite tired from the weekend's adventures, and my bed is looking pretty intriguing right now. So put on those clothes you never grew into, and smile like you mean it for once. And if you come back, bring a new name for everything :-)
+K+
We started out on a pretty good (if not early) note, gathering at the bus stop just before eight to catch a cab to the train station. Our cab driver felt the need to drive at a normal pace for the entire time, until we got into the parking lot of the station, where he transformed into Dale flipping Dale Junior. Fair enough. No problems getting on the train, and it was only about a two hour trek to Warrnambool. Basically as soon as we arrived, it started to rain. Hard. And not the nice little Geelong rain showers, no, this sucker lasted all day. This required some improvisation on our part, considering we'd intended on spending most of the day outside looking for whales and picnicking and all that good stuff. Janis had promised me an opportunity to get ice cream on Thursday night, so we went in search of a dry place to eat our lunch, or an ice cream shop. We found both.
In a cumulative stroke of genius, we decided to strike a bargain with the lone employee of the ice cream shop. I was nominated spokesperson. I told him we'd buy ice cream from him, if he'd let us eat our picnic lunch first. An accord was reached, and we dined in style next to a mural of a koala surfing. Afterwards, we kept to our word, and each got what was some of the most delicious ice cream I've ever had. I had a cowboy sundae, which was hokey pokey and macadamia nut ice cream, with whipped cream, hot fudge and one of those coffee sticks with the chocolate in the middle in it, topped off with a marshmallow. It was everything I'd hoped it would be, as far as ice cream experiences go.
From there, we wandered around town for a bit, trying to find something to do. We decided on go-carts, something we'd seen in the brochures we were looking at over lunch. A siren should've gone off when we saw it was located conveniently in the Warrnambool Industrial Estate. However, this bit of knowledge did not dismay us, and we hailed a cab to take us to Shed 13. After nearly wrecking a moped, the cabbie dropped us off in Shadyville, Australia, aka Warrnambool Industrial Estate. We were skeptical, but decided to check it out anyway. We were better off walking in the rain; go-carting would cost $10 for five minutes, plus a two dollar fee for getting a license. The consensus was that our money would be better spent on beer, so we made a quick exit from the Shed and began walking back toward the main road. Immediately after walking out the door, we were encountered by a very large dog with an even larger collar. Fortunately, he was friendly. Probably can't say the same for the neighbors of Shed 13, the United Rebels, who flew not one, not two, but three Confederate flags outside their wonderful establishment. We decided we were better off hitchhiking back to town than asking them for help, so... we did. However, this was also met with failure. Apparently no one was interested in picking up four foreign chicks, walking in the rain in the middle of an industrial park. This resulted in us seeking shelter under the Destiny Church (aka the Christian Cult of Warrnambool... the windows were blacked out) and resorting to calling a cab. Eventually, we made it back to the main street and made the executive decision to go to the pub, a place we knew wouldn't let us down.
A few minutes and a pint of cider later, I know I was feeling more comfortable with our surroundings, if not a bit ill. I'd managed to catch round two of the death plague, and was coughing up a lung every two seconds. Fortunately for us, though, the bartender was intrigued by the group of girls with accents, and kindly lit a fire for us in the fireplace. We then proceeded to sit in the snook (bit of Irish Pub trivia... it seems like Kildare's is always with me somehow) and have arts and crafts time by coloring the newspaper. I left and wandered a bit to try and find a pharmacy to acquire some cough medicine, but apparently everything in Warrnambool closes at four on Saturday. How utterly inconvenient. We ended up hanging out at the pub for about three or four hours, then walking up the street to grab some dinner. The group agreed on Chinese, and four orders of fried rice, one pot of weirdo tea and a very confused Aussie waiter later, dinner commenced. Not to bad. Post-dinner we headed back to the pub where we hung out in front of the fire for four more hours. Might I mention that none of us were drunk during this; as wonderful as Irish pubs are in Australia, they're damn expensive. This only added to the hilarity that we spent about eight hours in the pub yesterday. Good times. My own personal highlight was asking the bartender if they served any Irish coffees, and his saying no, but if I went across the street and bought a cup of coffee, he'd pour a shot of Bailey's into it for me. Needless to say, it was delicious.
We were joined at the pub by Katelyn and some of her Aussie buddies at about nine, and we hung out for a bit longer before heading down the street to another club. They had a pretty amazing one-man-band playing sweet, sweet blues music (digeridoo included). I was entranced. We only stayed there for a bit, though. Exhaustion had set in, so we cabbed back to Deakin and attempted to fall asleep on Katelyn's floor. This was far more uncomfortable than we'd hoped (no one had pillows, and Diane was the only one smart enough to bring a blanket), but soon enough we switched rooms, and Diane, Rachel and Janis gathered on what I can only describe as a boat made out of two couches, while I was quarantined on the third couch. A sound sleep resulted soon after.
Day two at Warrnambool brought forth a new set of make-your-own-adventures and, thankfully, clearer skies. My RA Erin (Related to Steve Irwin, no lies. It's distant, but it's there.) offered to give us a driving tour of some of the places we couldn't walk to, so we met up with her just after nine thirty. She took us to the whale watching platform, where we looked at the decidedly split skies (the left was ridiculously ominous, the right clear as, well, day) for a few minutes, but didn't see any whales. It was cold, so we opted to continue our adventures elsewhere. Erin took us to some pretty awesome lookout points, then we headed to Tower Hill, renowned home to mad Aussie wildlife. On our way, we passed the Adventure Playground, and I somewhat demanded we make a u-turn so I could play for a bit. Don't look at me like that, they had a zip line. I love zip lines.
So, after a quick stint on the playground, we hopped back in Erin's car and made our way to Tower Hill. When we got there, we were relatively certain there was some sort of Australian native animal conspiracy against us. In a place known for having emus in the middle of the road and koalas and wallabies hanging out around every bend, we saw absolutely nothing during the first ten minutes of being there. It wasn't until I spotted a koala munching on some eucalyptus that we broke the curse. For a group of international kids Down Under, it was an important landmark. We were pretty pumped. Erin had to pick up her mom, so back in the car we went after an extended observation of said marsupial. On our drive out, we saw another koala, a kangaroo, and a pack/herd/group of emus. So all in all, the wildlife conspiracy was denounced. Erin dropped us back off at Deakin, and we hung out in Katelyn's common room for an hour or so watching random tv shows about rugby and off-road car racing. Then, it was onto the bus and back into town for a bite to eat, a walk around, and an attempt to find Rachel's wallet, which had gone missing in and around zip line time. Luckily, we accomplished all three, and even managed another stop at the ice cream shop. I'm just saying... that ice cream was really, really good. We ended up just hanging out on the beach for quite some time watching the clouds pass and the waves crash before it was time to say goodbye and get back on the train. Our train ride back was pretty uneventful, all things considered. It felt good to get back to res, though, and have a tasty soup, tea and English muffin dinner and a shower.
And now, here I am, still coughing up a storm and sounding more than a little bit mannish. I don't think I've ever lost my voice this badly before. Still quite tired from the weekend's adventures, and my bed is looking pretty intriguing right now. So put on those clothes you never grew into, and smile like you mean it for once. And if you come back, bring a new name for everything :-)
+K+
Friday, August 10
Hello hello, bonjour bonjour. Just sitting here, listening to some Ben Folds/Ben Harper/Ben Kweller/Ben Lee (I'm on the "Ben" part of my iTunes), and thought I'd stop by the spot o'blogs and give an update.
Not too much new thus far this week. It's been relatively low key. Classes were the norm. My history lecture was especially good this week... we had a guest lecturer from Scotland who talked about economic policy during the Regan and Thatcher years. Sounds pretty boring, but I found it rather interesting. Then again, I am a bit of a nerd. Oh well. Watched 'Fern Gully' for lit class. I never realized that movie was a) set in Australia b) starring Robin Williams and Tim Curry and c) so against the message it's trying to convey in the film's actual events. Granted, I hadn't watched it since I was about nine, but what can you do. Those were probably the highlights of class this week.
In other news, have made a discovery. A diamond in the rough if you will. Australian Idol. It's eons better than the American version. We spent most of Monday and Tuesday night watching contestants trying to advance to Sydney. The judges are brutal and the people trying to sing are hilarious; I loved it.
Didn't really do anything of significance aside from going to class, the gym, the television set, and b-bar for the occasional cup of coffee since my last update, though. Kindof caught another bout of the flu going around, thumbs down. I've committed to watching every episode of The X-Files form seasons 1-7, in chronological order. So far I'm up to disc three, season one. Season one is so amazing. <3 Mulder & Scully. True story.
This weekend should bring a bit more excitement, though. Rach and I are going bowling with fisherman and a few of his friends later on this evening, then we're up early to hop the train to Warrnambool tomorrow. I hope we see some whales. We've got a picnic planned for tomorrow after our arrival, but nothing set in stone aside from that. Should be an adventure.
Speaking of adventure, we've added another element of excellence to the spring break itinerary. There's a festival in Sydney the night we arrive, starring Spearhead and Ben Lee, who I've been listening to quite a bit lately. I convinced Janis and Rach that it would be a positive investment to attend, and after another series of executive meetings and conference calls, we concurred on the matter. I'm pretty pumped about it.... six weeks and the journey shall begin!
That's about all I've got for you now, I'll be sure to update upon my return from Warrnambool.
Peace, love and sexual healing (what? Ben Harper does a pretty excellent cover...) from Down Under.
+K+
Not too much new thus far this week. It's been relatively low key. Classes were the norm. My history lecture was especially good this week... we had a guest lecturer from Scotland who talked about economic policy during the Regan and Thatcher years. Sounds pretty boring, but I found it rather interesting. Then again, I am a bit of a nerd. Oh well. Watched 'Fern Gully' for lit class. I never realized that movie was a) set in Australia b) starring Robin Williams and Tim Curry and c) so against the message it's trying to convey in the film's actual events. Granted, I hadn't watched it since I was about nine, but what can you do. Those were probably the highlights of class this week.
In other news, have made a discovery. A diamond in the rough if you will. Australian Idol. It's eons better than the American version. We spent most of Monday and Tuesday night watching contestants trying to advance to Sydney. The judges are brutal and the people trying to sing are hilarious; I loved it.
Didn't really do anything of significance aside from going to class, the gym, the television set, and b-bar for the occasional cup of coffee since my last update, though. Kindof caught another bout of the flu going around, thumbs down. I've committed to watching every episode of The X-Files form seasons 1-7, in chronological order. So far I'm up to disc three, season one. Season one is so amazing. <3 Mulder & Scully. True story.
This weekend should bring a bit more excitement, though. Rach and I are going bowling with fisherman and a few of his friends later on this evening, then we're up early to hop the train to Warrnambool tomorrow. I hope we see some whales. We've got a picnic planned for tomorrow after our arrival, but nothing set in stone aside from that. Should be an adventure.
Speaking of adventure, we've added another element of excellence to the spring break itinerary. There's a festival in Sydney the night we arrive, starring Spearhead and Ben Lee, who I've been listening to quite a bit lately. I convinced Janis and Rach that it would be a positive investment to attend, and after another series of executive meetings and conference calls, we concurred on the matter. I'm pretty pumped about it.... six weeks and the journey shall begin!
That's about all I've got for you now, I'll be sure to update upon my return from Warrnambool.
Peace, love and sexual healing (what? Ben Harper does a pretty excellent cover...) from Down Under.
+K+
Sunday, August 5
Sweet, sweet blues.
Mmm... I acquired some new Black Keys, and let me tell you, if you have any respect for the beauty of a blues riff, do yourself a favor and czech them out. They'll unwind your problems and put you in a mellow mood. BUT... lots to report on; tis been a busy past week for this traveler, so I'll skip any further pleasantries and jump right in to things.
Rewinding back to my last post, let's discuss spring break (CHYEAAH!). I can't tell you how excited I am for this. Also, how strange it is for it to be the beginning of August, and I'm talking about spring break. But more so excited than anything... mostly because on Wednesday I booked everything. Trains and flights are accounted for, and I spent quite a few hours researching and planning an itinerary for our trek, aptly titled "best trip EVER." Well, it is. I mean, we're going to Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns for ten days. Also, bonus points are merited for the fact that I just today found out that Ben Lee and Spearhead are playing a festival in Sydney together while we're going to be there. I'll go ahead and file that one under "things I'd really like to do," right next to... oh, I'm not going to finish that sentence. It'll only get me into trouble.
Anywho (does anyone else remember Stick Stickley saying "anywho" all the time? I use it constantly when I write, although I'm relatively sure it isn't actually a word...), that's all booked and taken care of. Janis's stuff is done too (I think), and Rach is waiting to get her visa because apparently debit cards are completely unacceptable. Whatevs, as long as the Musketeers remain united for our trek. I'm so completely stoked for it. Fifty days until I'm in the Australia Zoo. I really hope I see Wes or Bindi or someone. Either way, it's pretty certain that I'm going to a) hyperventilate, b) revert to my fourteen year old self who was completely, head over heels enamored with Steve, c) cry, or d) all of the above while there. But enough about that... I've got plenty of other adventures to inform you of.
If Tuesday was trip planning day, then Wednesday was let's procrastinate day. I didn't have all that much schoolwork to do, but it took me nearly forever to get it done. I was still pretty pumped about getting everything set for the trip, so all I wanted to do was research things and even start to plan my post-semester trip. Right now, I'm thinking either New Zealand or Fiji for about a week, but I recently found out that November 15th is Steve Irwin Day at the Australia Zoo, and well, that may just take precedent over anything else. We'll see. Either way, Wednesday was pretty uneventful due to my inability to concentrate, but Thursday more than made up for it. Had the regular day full of classes, including a field trip for Australia Today. We went to check out some houses in a local neighborhood. Walking through model homes totally reminded me of Arrested Development. It was great. The houses were pretty excellent, though. All of them are one-story. No basement, no attic, no second floor, just one level, and with very little yard space. After a full assessment of middle-class Aussie living, I've decided I could officially live here for, oh, ever? Sure. I should make it my quest to bring ice hockey to Australia... then that, along with moving my closest friends and relatives, would make my life pretty much complete. Baby steps, though. Must continue my explorations here before I start displacing people.
Post-class Thursday was when the fun really started, though. After a workout and an interesting caf, we decided a night out was in order. Rach and I made a triumphant return to Irish Murphy's, this time bringing the whole herd with us. It was quite an evening. Lots of good conversation, stories, and laughs. Oh, and did I mention the cider on tap? Just like at home. We spent the better part of the evening there, and actually ended up closing the place. Cabbed back (what a ride), and finished the night with splendid (if not mildly inappropriate) conversation and some more AussieRamen. The evening's pictures can be found on facebook... quite entertaining. My vote for best picture goes to Austin's retort to the large, angry man's scowl, with Rachel's failed pole-dance attempt coming in a close second. I like these kids, they aren't afraid to be ridiculous.
Onto Friday. A day off! I slept pretty soundly after Thursday night's adventures. Did some reading and some televisioning... Erin got me into this show, Russel Coight's Celebrity Challenge. It's basically like The Office, except in the Outback. Pretty amazing and hilarious. Friday night was an entirely new sort of adventure, though. It was... a date with an Aussie! Yes, yours truly has achieved yet another milestone... dating a guy with an accent. His name is John, and he's a fisherman (that's what I call him, hah) and he's unbelievably nice and cute and well-rounded and we get along fabulously. We went to the Bended Elbow and had a few drinks, then hopped over to Lamby's after a stint out in the cold. Sidenote: Aussie weather is completely ridiculous and unpredictable. We stayed at Lamby's for a little while, where we met up with a few of his friends (also hilarious and awesome). One of them, Jarrod, was completely enamored with the fact that I was American, and kept asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions about America. He had a relatively convincing Texan accent that he'd been working on, too. We ended up hanging out at Jarrod's house until super late, just talking about America and Australia and how awesome each of our respective countries are. It was a fantastic evening, definitely something I'll be doing again in the near future.
Yesterday was a looong day. After being out super late with fisherman, I was still pretty tired by the time we got on the bus at four thirty to head to Melbourne. I don't care how much sleep you do or don't get, staying out until six in the morning leaves you walking around with one eye open the next day. But, the adventures must continue, so I joined up with Jens, Heather, Jess, Diane, Justin, Janis and Rachel to head to Melbourne to see OK Go. We had a fun train ride there, sitting with a New Zealander who was totally playing the 'I have my iPod on, but I can still hear what you're saying' card. We dined at a little sidewalk cafe down the street from the venue. Rach and I split dessert, because we love dessert, and it was pretty excellent.
We got into the venue at about 8:45 or so, only to find out the warm-up band wasn't even starting until 10. Various picture takings, drink purchases, and overall tiredness ate up the next hour, but when the music started, all was good. The first band was Australian-- The Dirty Secrets-- they weren't bad. Not my kind of music, really, but at times they had some pretty crazy synthesizer solos that were very much of a Journey/Europe nature. OK Go was a whole 'nother story though. I didn't know many of their songs, but those guys know how to put on a show. The lead singer threw his guitar during the first song because it wasn't working right. He had a bit of a rockstar complex. But, the show itself was pretty amazing. In the middle of the set, they came out into the crowd and played two acoustic songs about five feet from where I was standing. Also, the bass player and lead singer did their own rendition of Les Miserables. I think I'm going to have to acquire some of their jams in the near future... they were good stuff. The show ended at 12:40 or so, and we made our way back to the train station. I slept the whole way back, but then had to stand in the insufferable taxi queue line for about forty five minutes waiting for a damn cab. We spent our time verbally abusing people who were taking cabs by themselves. For good reason, too. We had a party of ten after we found the Austrians, so you can see how one person getting in a cab that can fit twelve people would be more than a bit frustrating. Ended up back at Waurn Ponds by 3:30, and I fell asleep immediately after walking in the door. Woke up about eleven hours later, made some breakfast, and here I am now. There's probably a long list of things I should be doing, and this entry has been more than long-winded, so I'm calling it quits here. The upcoming week looks promising-- nothing too crazy for classes, then a trip to Warrnambool (for real this time) over the weekend. I'll update accordingly. If you made it this far, thanks and kudos. Until next time...
+K+
Rewinding back to my last post, let's discuss spring break (CHYEAAH!). I can't tell you how excited I am for this. Also, how strange it is for it to be the beginning of August, and I'm talking about spring break. But more so excited than anything... mostly because on Wednesday I booked everything. Trains and flights are accounted for, and I spent quite a few hours researching and planning an itinerary for our trek, aptly titled "best trip EVER." Well, it is. I mean, we're going to Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns for ten days. Also, bonus points are merited for the fact that I just today found out that Ben Lee and Spearhead are playing a festival in Sydney together while we're going to be there. I'll go ahead and file that one under "things I'd really like to do," right next to... oh, I'm not going to finish that sentence. It'll only get me into trouble.
Anywho (does anyone else remember Stick Stickley saying "anywho" all the time? I use it constantly when I write, although I'm relatively sure it isn't actually a word...), that's all booked and taken care of. Janis's stuff is done too (I think), and Rach is waiting to get her visa because apparently debit cards are completely unacceptable. Whatevs, as long as the Musketeers remain united for our trek. I'm so completely stoked for it. Fifty days until I'm in the Australia Zoo. I really hope I see Wes or Bindi or someone. Either way, it's pretty certain that I'm going to a) hyperventilate, b) revert to my fourteen year old self who was completely, head over heels enamored with Steve, c) cry, or d) all of the above while there. But enough about that... I've got plenty of other adventures to inform you of.
If Tuesday was trip planning day, then Wednesday was let's procrastinate day. I didn't have all that much schoolwork to do, but it took me nearly forever to get it done. I was still pretty pumped about getting everything set for the trip, so all I wanted to do was research things and even start to plan my post-semester trip. Right now, I'm thinking either New Zealand or Fiji for about a week, but I recently found out that November 15th is Steve Irwin Day at the Australia Zoo, and well, that may just take precedent over anything else. We'll see. Either way, Wednesday was pretty uneventful due to my inability to concentrate, but Thursday more than made up for it. Had the regular day full of classes, including a field trip for Australia Today. We went to check out some houses in a local neighborhood. Walking through model homes totally reminded me of Arrested Development. It was great. The houses were pretty excellent, though. All of them are one-story. No basement, no attic, no second floor, just one level, and with very little yard space. After a full assessment of middle-class Aussie living, I've decided I could officially live here for, oh, ever? Sure. I should make it my quest to bring ice hockey to Australia... then that, along with moving my closest friends and relatives, would make my life pretty much complete. Baby steps, though. Must continue my explorations here before I start displacing people.
Post-class Thursday was when the fun really started, though. After a workout and an interesting caf, we decided a night out was in order. Rach and I made a triumphant return to Irish Murphy's, this time bringing the whole herd with us. It was quite an evening. Lots of good conversation, stories, and laughs. Oh, and did I mention the cider on tap? Just like at home. We spent the better part of the evening there, and actually ended up closing the place. Cabbed back (what a ride), and finished the night with splendid (if not mildly inappropriate) conversation and some more AussieRamen. The evening's pictures can be found on facebook... quite entertaining. My vote for best picture goes to Austin's retort to the large, angry man's scowl, with Rachel's failed pole-dance attempt coming in a close second. I like these kids, they aren't afraid to be ridiculous.
Onto Friday. A day off! I slept pretty soundly after Thursday night's adventures. Did some reading and some televisioning... Erin got me into this show, Russel Coight's Celebrity Challenge. It's basically like The Office, except in the Outback. Pretty amazing and hilarious. Friday night was an entirely new sort of adventure, though. It was... a date with an Aussie! Yes, yours truly has achieved yet another milestone... dating a guy with an accent. His name is John, and he's a fisherman (that's what I call him, hah) and he's unbelievably nice and cute and well-rounded and we get along fabulously. We went to the Bended Elbow and had a few drinks, then hopped over to Lamby's after a stint out in the cold. Sidenote: Aussie weather is completely ridiculous and unpredictable. We stayed at Lamby's for a little while, where we met up with a few of his friends (also hilarious and awesome). One of them, Jarrod, was completely enamored with the fact that I was American, and kept asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions about America. He had a relatively convincing Texan accent that he'd been working on, too. We ended up hanging out at Jarrod's house until super late, just talking about America and Australia and how awesome each of our respective countries are. It was a fantastic evening, definitely something I'll be doing again in the near future.
Yesterday was a looong day. After being out super late with fisherman, I was still pretty tired by the time we got on the bus at four thirty to head to Melbourne. I don't care how much sleep you do or don't get, staying out until six in the morning leaves you walking around with one eye open the next day. But, the adventures must continue, so I joined up with Jens, Heather, Jess, Diane, Justin, Janis and Rachel to head to Melbourne to see OK Go. We had a fun train ride there, sitting with a New Zealander who was totally playing the 'I have my iPod on, but I can still hear what you're saying' card. We dined at a little sidewalk cafe down the street from the venue. Rach and I split dessert, because we love dessert, and it was pretty excellent.
We got into the venue at about 8:45 or so, only to find out the warm-up band wasn't even starting until 10. Various picture takings, drink purchases, and overall tiredness ate up the next hour, but when the music started, all was good. The first band was Australian-- The Dirty Secrets-- they weren't bad. Not my kind of music, really, but at times they had some pretty crazy synthesizer solos that were very much of a Journey/Europe nature. OK Go was a whole 'nother story though. I didn't know many of their songs, but those guys know how to put on a show. The lead singer threw his guitar during the first song because it wasn't working right. He had a bit of a rockstar complex. But, the show itself was pretty amazing. In the middle of the set, they came out into the crowd and played two acoustic songs about five feet from where I was standing. Also, the bass player and lead singer did their own rendition of Les Miserables. I think I'm going to have to acquire some of their jams in the near future... they were good stuff. The show ended at 12:40 or so, and we made our way back to the train station. I slept the whole way back, but then had to stand in the insufferable taxi queue line for about forty five minutes waiting for a damn cab. We spent our time verbally abusing people who were taking cabs by themselves. For good reason, too. We had a party of ten after we found the Austrians, so you can see how one person getting in a cab that can fit twelve people would be more than a bit frustrating. Ended up back at Waurn Ponds by 3:30, and I fell asleep immediately after walking in the door. Woke up about eleven hours later, made some breakfast, and here I am now. There's probably a long list of things I should be doing, and this entry has been more than long-winded, so I'm calling it quits here. The upcoming week looks promising-- nothing too crazy for classes, then a trip to Warrnambool (for real this time) over the weekend. I'll update accordingly. If you made it this far, thanks and kudos. Until next time...
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