Series of Unfortunate Events

So no doubt you have all heard about the Tsunami that has devastated lots of countries bordering the Indian Ocean. We heard about it the other day but didn't realize the extent of what had happened. One of our houseguests over Christmas Sara left on Monday to head over to Thailand (not knowing what had just occured there). Last night as we watched the news and saw what happened, particularly in Phuket and the islands off the coast such as Phi Phi all of us in the house were pretty shocked and horrified. See the backpacker trail takes nearly everyone who leaves Australia up to Thailand and particularly to Phuket and the islands off it's coast. So as we sat watching news report after news report about it (lots on about it here since Australia also borders the Indian Ocean) all of us were racking our brains thinking who do we know that's in Phuket right now, then we start naming them off well so and so has just left and what about that guy when was he going and all of us began to realize and me particularly that something like this a disaster in a third world country has for the first time really hit home for me, that I probably know someone who was there and I can also picture the mood..no one having any clue this horrible thing was about to happen. Really makes you think..two of my friends from work were set to go over there in 2 weeks and no doubt will their plans as many others will be cancelled...can't imagine what it's like for those who are there but for the first time I actually have the slightest inkling what it's like for something like this to be real and not something that you just see on the news.

Merry Drunken Crissy

So today is Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) and it was quite a fun Christmas I must say. We ended up staying in and watching Christmas movies and eating lots of food and having lots of drinks. My roomate Mary made a full english Christmas meal while completely drunk. She woke up and started in on the champagne, then made mulled wine, then continued to drink more wine after that. Later in the night we started playing drinking games and in the one we were playing you had to basically make someone drink and she kept just picking herself..you know that you're f--ked up when you start doing that. While 3 of the girls were cooking in the kitchen me, Eric and my roomate Scott sat in the living room and drank beer and watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, always a good film, and then blared the Aussie Cricket anthem over and over again..Come on Aussie, Come on Come on!! I think the best bit though besides the drinking games and the arguments over whose party was better, the kitchen crew (who were blaring the Ultimate Kylie CD and arranging cheese plates) or the living room crew (telling stories, singing loudly) was definetly when Scott went into the kitchen with the video camera and filmed Mary putting the roast in the oven, only to see her ovenmitt go up in flames and then her scream and run across to the sink in a complete panic..all caught on film, too funny, naturally we had to watch it about 10 times. I did learn some new drinking games which is always fun, Scott claims to be a human encyclopedia of drinking games so I bet I know lots and lots more before I leave here. Also I went out on Christmas Eve which was quite fun, lots of people out and all of us had some good roomate bonding time. Mary and I ended up being up til 5am...so it's been a busy and fun couple of days..today I'm taking it easy just went to see the yacht race go through the harbor which was cool...oh and also the other day in the mall the carolers were singing Dancing Queen, acapella with tamborines and everyone in the mall was clapping along...it was too funny. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!!

Breaking News

So the latest breaking news over here in my life is that I've been accepted to Graduate School at both of the places I applied. I got accepted to a Masters of International Business program in Queensland and also to a Masters of International Public Health program in Sydney. I haven't decided which offer I'm going to take if either. The Int'l public health program sounds really interesting and it would be a totally different change for me. Most people use that degree in order to coordinate humanitarian aid projects..such as the ones that the United Nations run in third world countries or the ones that the Red Cross operate in natural disasters. Needless to say I have some big decisions to make, I will make sure to keep everyone posted but meanwhile have a Merry Crissy!!

Champagne Supernova

So summer swimming season is in full force, it was 100 this weekend and perfect beach weather, except that the sharks are out in full force as well!! Last week in South Australia someone was killed by a great white and this past week in New South Wales (where Sydney is at) there have been 4 sharks caught in the nets off the beach..scary stuff. Christmas is coming and I can't wait. My roomates are all off already for the holidays and so are the neighbors so needless to say it's been pretty loud around my house with no signs of slowing. My roomate Mary's friend came in yesterday and will be staying with us as well for the week so now we have a resident drunk brit and drunk Irish on the premisis for the holidays. Last night a whole bunch of us had girls night out (yes on a Sunday night--that's the big night out here) and I came home around midnight but the rest went onto a club and couldn't get in b/c not the one of them brought an ID!! Still doesn't seem like Christmas here, I keep thinking it's June or July, just can't get into Christmas when it's summer but it's pleasant actually I've enjoyed it. Last week was my company Christmas party and rest assured it was quite a piss up. They rented out the 3rd floor of this club and it was open bar. I had a really good time and got to meet lots of people, although it was on a Thurs. and I stayed out till 3am and had to come in to work on Friday..looong day that sure was. Good thing I was tired and passed out by like 9:30pm Friday night b/c apparently my neighbors had a rager all night long. One of my neighbors fancies himself quite the guitar player and I swear he just plays Oasis songs over and over again...it's become a problem..something must be done!!

Drunk As

You know when you know that something is a bad idea but well you go ahead and do it anyways..yep..we all know. Well last night when I went up to the bottle shop to get a bottle of wine for my roomie I passed by the bargain bin and I spied at 6 pack of Jim Beam and Vanilla Cokes for $9.99 which really is a bargain and although I knew it was a bad idea to drink 6 bargain bin Jim Beam and cokes well I did it anyways but it's all good our upstairs neighbor was having a party so I went up there and it was a cheap night..got to meet all of our new neighbors as well who are really cool and they are joining us for our Christmas Day piss up..as of now we have 13 people and a shopping cart that we plan to fill with booze and food and roll down to the beach, should be quite a party. I am paying for the Jim Beam and coke ordeal today though but I must press on because tonight they are having a free sausage sizzle and christmas carols on the beach and fireworks later tonight. This coming Thursday is my work Christmas party they have rented out the one of the big bars by my house, my local which is good so I can stumble home and it's open bar so I need to be on best behavior, definetly stories to come out of that one.

P.S.

I also get a free membership to all their gyms in Australia so I can stay fit! There are 3 of their gyms close to my house so hopefully that will actually get me motivated to go!

Fitness First!!

I'm so excited my original temp job ended this past Tuesday and on Wed. morning I had an interview and I got the job, started this morning (Thurs.). I'll be working at Fitness First Australia Corporate headquarters for the rest of the time I'm here in Australia. They are a huge chain of gyms (kind of like 24 hour fitness) with gyms all over UK, Asia and Australia you can check out their homepage at http://www.fitnessfirst.com.au/ Anyways so far everyone is really nice and friendly and their offices are cool..they have flat screens everywhere that show all the music videos that are currently being shown in the gyms...and we know how much I love music videos so the fact that I could watch them all day at work is fab. I'm working in the Accounting Dept. and responsible for vendors Q-Z that's me!! Probably the work is not super exciting but I really like the offices and the people so far and apparently they have lots of parties there. The Australian headquarters for Haviana Brazialian flip flops is on the floor above us and they were having a sale to get them 2 for $10 so of course I had to run up and do that..the guy that sits at the cube next to me says that they do that about twice a month so I will probably end up with every pair of those that they've ever made. Another plus is that the offices are at Bondi Junction (not far from the famous Bondi Beach) and also not far from my house, about a 10 min. bus ride, anyways can you tell I'm excited about my new job?? They wanted me to work there on a one year contract but of course I can't b/c of visa issues, unless I can get sponsored by them to stay in the country a bit longer who knows..but at least I know for the next 3 months I have a cool job...okay I gotta get back there before I get in trouble on the first day.

Wedding Cake Island

This past Saturday kicked off the start of the summer swimming season in Australia. To commemorate the occasion they had a swimming race around wedding cake island which is just off the shore of Coogee Beach. It was quite a sight to see, hundreds of swimmers all diving in the water and racing into the waves. Also right on cue the weather has heated up, it was over 90 all weekend and tomorrow it's supposed to be 107!!! I'm gonna be so mad that I have to be in the office instead of on the beach. Coinciding with the start of the summer swimming season is of course the summer outdoor drinking season which me and my roomates offically got off to a start yesterday evening in Darling Harbour. There are so many bars there with huge patios overlooking the water, it was the perfect way to start off the summer!

Canadian Girls are Heartbreakers-An Update

A couple of days after I wrote about our lovely neighbors to the north I was sitting outside at a cafe eating a doner kebab (which was delicous by the way) when who should I spot but Sylvane/Setine, the French-Canadian Celine Dion fan for over 21 years! It turns out that she is currently living around the corner from Five Star Kebab but is soon planning on leaving Sydney for Adelaide. She says that she met a nice man that wants to help her out and he lives in Adelaide so she's gonna go there as soon as her holiday job at Crabtree and Evelyn is over. The whole situation sounds super fishy to me so we should all pray for Slyvane because I really don't want to walk into Five Star Kebab one day and see a flyer posted for a missing French-Canadian backpacker.

Canadian Girls are Heartbreakers

I saw a girl with that on her t-shirt this morning and well it’s kinda funny. I’ve met exactly 3 Canadian Girls since I’ve been here and none of them I would say were heartbreakers.
#1- Sylvane who I kept accidentally calling Setine (Eric said that Setine was the name of some character in Moulin Rouge) anyways she was French-Canadian and our roommate for a few days in the hostel, she spoke a limited amount of English and always said it slow which made it sound like maybe she was a bit slow if you know what I mean, although if I was trying to speak a foreign language that’s probably how I’d sound too. She was always exasperated and would put her hand on her forehead and say..with a French-english accent..”Oh my god..I hate to backpack, I hate the beach, I hate to work, oh if there’s a party count me out!” I swear she hated every reason one would come to Australia..still not sure why she’s here. Also when she found out we were American she asked us straightaway if we’d ever been to Las Vegas to see Celine Dion that for 21 years she has been the number one fan of Celine..I just looove her she’d say..just like Celine would say it I bet. Last we heard she was living in some girls dorm and trying to get a job at the Body Shop.
#2-Pissy Missy-not sure what her real name is but well she always looks super pissy and I’ve heard her snap at people on several occasions. She works at one of the most popular backpacker bars in Sydney as a bartender. One night after I’d seen her pissy on several occasions me and a friend of mine went in for $11 pizza and jug of beer and got to chatting with pissy. Turns out she’s the only full time employee at the bar and she’s working to save money b/c she wants to get her PhD in marine biology here. During the conversation I discovered why missy is pissy A) she works at a super busy bar at least 40 hours a week and they don’t’ get tips here so the pay must suck. B) always dealing with lots of drunk people and not able to go out yourself ever! C) She lives in a house with 17 other people and 2 bathrooms, which she said she had to b/c that was the only way she could afford her own room and she can’t stand to room with another person D) apparently the bar closes at 4am and she never gets home til like 6am. I’m convinced that if she got another job she wouldn’t be so pissy and perhaps could one day be a heartbreaker.
#3-Julie, another French-Canadian that was our roommate in the hostel. She had lots of attitude, always yelling at our Irish roommate Viv who didn’t quite know what to make of her/probably couldn’t understand her english so well. Julie hates Sydney or so she told us after she’d been here for all of 30 minutes and she was getting out as soon as possible. She met some other French-Canadian girls and they all decided to go up to Darwin and pick Mangoes…b/c they could make lots of cash (as she said it she kept rubbing her hands together). They were taking a bus up there, Darwin is far probably at least 1,000 miles/20 hour bus ride and it’s super hot and humid up there, lots of bugs and what not and I’m sure the mango picking is horrible..I bet Julie is mad with herself that she went to pick mangoes, although I’m sure she does enjoy rolling in all that dough.

Feelin' a bit dusty today are ya'?

So yesterday was this girl in the marketing deptartment's last day, since I work in Accounting I don't even know her just know that there was some cake they had and what not. Anyways apparently last night the gals from the Marketing Department all went out til the wee hours. So this morning I hear one of the Supervisors asking 2 of the marketing girls, "You feeling a bit dusty today after your big night out?" To which one of them replied, "Very dusty, I haven't felt this bad in a while." In other words if you have a hangover you're feeling a bit dusty. So that got me to thinking, I have literally and figuratively felt dusty after many a night of drinking. Lets list some of the times I was both: The night Rudy and I wrestled in Jolly's driveway, the night we went to the Navasota cookoff, after new years in Brazil when I woke up with sand all in my bed, after the infamous UCS cookoff and although I don't remember that clearly I'm sure that I was very dusty the entire spring break week I spent in South Padre.

Coogee Beach

Just wanted to do a quick post and put up a link that has some pictures of where I live--Coogee Beach..no not pics taken by me yet..i need to get it together and take some pictures of my house and stuff, I'll try to do that this week but in the meantime you can get an idea of where I'm at.

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/mons1/

Sunday Session

So here in Australia Sunday drinking is big, in fact all week all people at work were talking about was where they were gonna go for Sunday Session, it's like church or something, everyone always saying where are you going to session? Yesterday I went to my first Sunday Session to this bar that's right on the beach and has a huge beer garden, perfect day for it, they were having live music and raffles (which incidently the prize was 15 pounds of meat, that the raffle guy was carrying with him and no I didn't enter the raw meat raffle). My Sunday Session laster from about 4pm-11pm but when I got there it was already totally packed and most people looked and sounded like they'd been there for quite a while. It was fun though, went with my brother and one of our roomates Melanie who's fun to go out with. On Friday she was telling us how most Brits think Americans are like the people on Jerry Springer so she's glad that she's living with Americans that are dispelling that rumor, although she was super excited when she found out that I've been on a talk show...it's the talk of the house at the moment. So I guess I'm not doing all that much to dispell the Jerry Springer Myth.

How you going today?

So instead of how are you doing today the Aussies say How are you going today..I like it. This week has been pretty hectic, #1 b/c I accidently ended up out on Monday night until 5am and had to work at 8:30am which made for a looong Tuesday but hell as my roomate pointed out I'm on vacation (even though I have a full-time job at this point) so it's all good. Also on Tuesday was the Melbourne Cup, which they say is the race that stops a nation. It's a big horse race that they have every year and it was Tues. afternoon, it really did stop everything, most offices were closed and the ones that weren't like the one I work at had parties. We had the races projected on the wall all day and free food and drink (lots of people had champagne which was gross) and they had all sorts of bets you could place on the race. I ended up winning $14 which was pretty cool. Also everyone was dressed up for race day and all the women had on big spring hats and stuff, really the festivities last all week it's called the Spring Carnival...very cool considering it's November. So last night my roomates and I were trying to figure out the plans for Christmas and New Years and it sounds like on Christmas Day we're have a Keg and a Barbie at the beach apparently it's the thing to do here..I can't wait!!!!

Bridget Jones Diary..

Last night Eric and I were leaving this bar and we walked a different way back to the hostel and happened upon what else but the Australian Premiere of Bridget Jones Diary!! We got to see Renee Zellewger and I got a pic of her although it's far away b/c there were crowds and they wouldn't let you close, can't tell how good it turned out until I download it, but I was hella mad with myself for not buying a digital camera with better zoom!! Didn't get to see Hugh Grant..sorry Lisa :( Also I got a job today and also started today..been a bit of a whirlwind I tell you!! Anyways it's alright so far just doing accounting stuff but it's for this company that brings all these major shows and concerts to Australia like Justin Timberlake, Cher, Lion King, etc. Their offices are pretty cool and everyone there seems younger and laid back so we'll see like I said I just started today..but I think that's quite good..been here exactly a week and got a phat place and a job..love it! Also Eric has an interview tomorrow morning with French Connection so hopefully we'll both have jobs!!! Oh and on a side note the lady at the staffing agency that placed me is constantly text messaging me!! She sent me 3 text messages today all before 2pm..I'm working which you know b/c you got me this job!!! Doesn't help that I can't figure out how to text message either so I just don't write her back. Also the other night I met this super annoying guy out and he got my number then texts me the next day saying..Do u remember me we met at sidebar...and that's it no name..nothing I mean honestly for all he knows I met lots of people at sidebar (I didn't..just him who I was trying to avoid b/c he kept saying I love hot USA babes..and another guy from Denmark--they are everywhere!!) Okay that ends my rant of text messaging I guess I'm gonna have to get with the program b/c our landlord(who incidently is named Kylie) kept text messaging tenants when she was showing us houses so it seems I'll be getting them from everywhere!!

Bridget Jones Diary..

Last night Eric and I were leaving this bar and we walked a different way back to the hostel and happened upon what else but the Australian Premiere of Bridget Jones Diary!! We got to see Renee Zellewger and I got a pic of her although it's far away b/c there were crowds and they wouldn't let you close, can't tell how good it turned out until I download it, but I was hella mad with myself for not buying a digital camera with better zoom!! Didn't get to see Hugh Grant..sorry Lisa :( Also I got a job today and also started today..been a bit of a whirlwind I tell you!! Anyways it's alright so far just doing accounting stuff but it's for this company that brings all these major shows and concerts to Australia like Justin Timberlake, Cher, Lion King, etc. Their offices are pretty cool and everyone there seems younger and laid back so we'll see like I said I just started today..but I think that's quite good..been here exactly a week and got a phat place and a job..love it! Also Eric has an interview tomorrow morning with French Connection so hopefully we'll both have jobs!!! Oh and on a side note the lady at the staffing agency that placed me is constantly text messaging me!! She sent me 3 text messages today all before 2pm..I'm working which you know b/c you got me this job!!! Doesn't help that I can't figure out how to text message either so I just don't write her back. Also the other night I met this super annoying guy out and he got my number then texts me the next day saying..Do u remember me we met at sidebar...and that's it no name..nothing I mean honestly for all he knows I met lots of people at sidebar (I didn't..just him who I was trying to avoid b/c he kept saying I love hot USA babes..and another guy from Denmark--they are everywhere!!) Okay that ends my rant of text messaging I guess I'm gonna have to get with the program b/c our landlord(who incidently is named Kylie) kept text messaging tenants when she was showing us houses so it seems I'll be getting them from everywhere!!

Big Hair

So turns out that I have big hair in Australia, don't know why perhaps it's the weather although it's not that humid here..just one of those things I suppose. I started the job search here, applied for a few positions and went on an interview today which went well. I'm gonna look at the shops by my new house though b/c it'd be nice to be able to work right on the beach. Tonight the hostel is having a pub crawl, 5 pubs and goes until 6am haven't decided if I'm going or not b/c well I do have stuff to get done tomorrow and I'm sure that the pub crawl would put me out of commission. Yesterday we spent all day at the beach working on tans and stuff and then went to this huge beer garden that they have right on the beach and sat and had a few beers and a chat..it was such a lovely day..having a great time here..gonna go and grab a bite..later.

New House!!

So big news today we found the place where we're gonna live!! Don't move in until Saturday so a few more days in the hostel, but luckily today one of our French-Canadian roomates moved out. She was a real piece of work, she asked us if we'd ever been to Las Vegas and when we said yes she wanted to know if we'd seen Celine Dion b/c she's Celine's biggest fan for 21 years, got to hear all about Celine we did. So the new place is 10 min. walk from Coogee Beach, we have a view of the beach from our house, which is 4 bedrooms and 2 baths we'll be sharing the house with 4 other people and it's a really nice place and great location, beautiful beach with warm water and great places to go out and 15 min. to get to the Central Business District. So last night I met my first husband, he's from Denmark and oh so cute but well it wasn't meant to be b/c he's going up the coast to work cleaning a hostel for free accomodation somewhere that you can swim with the dolphins apparently..it's kinda odd, also he was like 20 so it's an issue, best that he's leaving town. Tonight we're going to some crab races at this bar..I have no idea what that entails but it's $6.50 pitchers all night and it's supposed to be the biggest night out so we'll see. Also found out today that next Sunday they switch the clocks but they go an hour forward and the US goes an hour back so well now we'll be 19 hours ahead of US time!!!

Whirlwind Day

So yesterday was a good day, currently we are sharing our hostel room with an Irishman named Viv, we call Viv the Irish mathematician b/c I swear everytime you're in a conversation with him he tries to figure out, out loud how much tax back he's gonna get when he leaves Australia and then yesterday he went into this whole ordeal about how he should have changed his euros into pounds and then to Australian Dollars, also he doesn't drink or says he doesn't drink anyhow..an Irish construction worker who doesn't drink I just can't believe it! Last night we mets lots of people at Pub Crawl..few Americans--2 girls that are from Jersey and Boston who'd been drinking since noon but were fun, then another American girl who had studied abroad and her Northern Irish roomate who very badly wants to meet Viv b/c he doesn't believe that there's an Irishman that doesn't drink. Also this guy was telling us about a shot they take in Belfast and I think it's called a superhero or something there but here in Australia it's called a toothbrush so word of warning..never take this shot: it's a shot of tequila with the salt on the bottom of the glass and you shoot the tequila, then snort the salt up your nose and then squirt the lime in your eye...so yes that's how crazy people are here...just thinking about it makes me ill. Also there's this American who I won't name but he's an Indian guy and we can't seem to shake him, he's so annoying like the typical American Jerk..lived in NYC, never shuts up and knows/has done everything and just says the most unnecessary stuff. Like last night was telling this British couple that he's met another Brit--which was this Irish guy and they're like yeah he's Irish and Mr. Annoying says..British, Irish it's all the same..uh..also someone mentioned Rugby and he's all I played rugby once...uh he says that to everything..I hope we dont' run into him again today I simply can't handle it!!! By the way weather here is beautiful today...sunny and warm..so so perfect!!

I have Arrived!!

So it's offical I'm now in Sydney. Got off to a bit of a rough start this morning but we're getting our bearings together. After orientation we were even more confused b/c there are so many awesome options of stuff for us to do that it's causing us to rethink our plans a bit..we'll see how that goes. So on the plane over here there was this asian guy with a camolflauge (sp?) shirt on and written in white letters it said "Ho, Now you can't see me." Don't ask me what that meant or what would posses someone to buy a shirt like that but well it cracked me up and all day Eric and I have been saying Ho, Now you can't see me!!!! Anyways off to get ready for Pub Crawl tonight..hope I can hang in there..feeling pretty sleepy at this point and it's only like 4pm!!

Another Fine Mess

So it's almost here folks...the day I leave. In approx. 24 h0urs I'll be on a jetplane heading down under. Funny thing is if you looked at my room right now it wouldn't seem like it. I have clothes everywhere, several shopping bags and nearly all my belongings still in their places. I've been doing some major procrastinating. Let me run through the list of unnecessary things that I've done today instead of pack: 1) Decided to empty my change cup into a change pitcher then searched the house for more change to add to the pitcher 2) Took the pitcher up to my local grocery store to cash in the change at the Coinstar machine 3) Burned a CD for my dad 4) Loaded up songs on my MP3 player 5) Went and had a margarita and a beer at around 3pm b/c I needed a break from "packing" 6) Went out to dinner with some friends, watched the Red Sox/Yankees Game 7) Update my blog.
So now that I have no choice but to pack up nearly everything I own tomorrow, I think I'll be quite productive. In fact I think I better go to bed soon so that I'm rested up for my big day of packing tomorrow.

Packing Tips

So Only 3 days of work left before I leave, which I must say is quite a relief. Yesterday I went into my boss's office so that she could sign my final timesheet and she asked me if I had packed yet, normal question I suppose but you see my boss is no normal person so I knew something crazy was sure to follow. Now a little background, my boss is a very nice person it's just that she is slightly crazy, one of those people that has no self-edit button, says whatever is on her mind whether appropriate or not. In addition she is slightly manic, like one of those people who sometimes forgets to change their clothes or comb their hair everyday. So you can imagine that I was bracing myself for some crazy revelation when I was simply asked if I had packed. No I haven't quite finished getting everything together I replied. Then she says well you really don't have to pack that much I mean you can wear the same clothes for 3 days it's no big deal, I do it all the time I bet you didn't even notice did you? (As a matter of fact I had noticed as had just about everyone else in the office but well we just thought she forgets to change or something and of course no one mentioned it to her) Umm..no I never noticed I said, mostly because I had no desire to get into a discussion about her dressing habits and also well the conversation was awkward. Anyways so then she starts going on and on about how changing your clothes everyday is an American thing anyways (which by the way she is in fact American) and that it's just one of our hangups. Perhaps singlehandedly my boss will change American thinking about wearing clean clothes everyday, somehow I doubt it but I for one plan to carry my great American tradition of changing my clothes everyday off to Australia, packing tips be damned!!

2 Weeks and Counting...

Exactly 2 weeks from today I take off--thank goodness. Today someone at work(his name is James Wong and I swear he wears the same clothes everyday and has greasy hair, he's like the Asian version of Milton from Office Space, if Milton wore black cargo pants and a Hawaiian shirt everyday) asked me to get him some rare archery equipment that they only sell in Australia and mail it to him, as if, everytime I have to give him a check request to process he gives it back and finds some reason not to do it until eventually I just have to do it myself, get your bow and arrow somewhere else Mr. Wong! Also I have now officially sent off everything for graduate school, I've applied 2 places one to get a Masters in International Public Health (which I was told was very competitive) and another program to get a Masters in International Business, not sure if I want to commit to either one but it'll be nice to have the option. This weekend Operation pack up all my earthly possessions will begin. Last time I had to do that was 3 years ago when I moved from Texas to California and I had to fit everything in my car, including my guitar (which took up more space than it was worth in the car considering I've only played it once in 3 years and it's not something I ever wanna talk about again!!) This time I hope I have the courage to toss out those things I no longer need!

The Best Weekend EVER!

This weekend I had my going away party which was simply fabulous, mad props to my roomate Joey who had the house decorated so great for the party..lights going all the way up the stairs, big australian flag and posters of Australia in the living room and cardboard fish on the walls in the kitchen and tiki lights in there..it looked so great. Also we had a big piece of butcher paper up and all of our friends wrote great messages for us. We did in fact finish off all the trashcan punch, also there was a bluegrass festival and so I was at Golden Gate Park all day drinking some beer and listening to some great music so by the time I got to my own party I was already pretty tipsy but it was a very good day and I was happy that everyone came out for the party. So thanks everyone for coming to see me off and thanks Mark for driving up from LA!!!

Sue Jean

So a little over a year ago I left the purchasing job I had with the University to transfer to another department to a new job that was a promotion. The way the University works someone else who was getting laid off from another department had to be placed in my old job, regardless of whether they wanted her there or not. This fortunate soul was a woman named Sue Jean. Soon after I started my new job Sue Jean somehow got a hold of my phone number and would call and ask me questions like--how do you turn on your computer or how do you change the voicemail on the phone--stuff that someone else who actually worked there should have told her. Anyhow she's also an odd woman, she brought several plants and a stuffed parrot perched on a wooden stick into the office, it looked like a jungle in there. Not to mention that Sue Jean has gray and pink hair, big green rimmed glasses and always wears very colorful clothes, she looks like a parrot herself. So why am I telling you about Sue Jean you ask? Well I just went to eat lunch with some old co-workers and when I walked into the office Sue Jean was there and says--I heard you were going to Australia, I'm gonna e-mail my friend in Tasmania maybe you can stay with her. Thanks but that won't be necessary I told her, no it will be fine she says...we are in the Russell Crowe fan club together we've been talking about Russell over e-mail for over 6 years now. I'm sure she has a porch or something you can sleep on. Despite me insisting that I don't need a place to sleep and my other co-worker Shirley telling Sue Jean that no one wants to meet her hippy ass friend, Sue Jean got my e-mail address and says that she will e-mail Sonny Button, President of the Russell Crowe fan club right away to tell her I'm coming to Australia.

WORK

Only 13 days of work left..it's wonderful knowing the end is in sight. I can't wait to be out of my cube and the windowless office I now sit in, forced to answer dumb questions all day, fight with the copy machine, try to avoid my manic boss and worst of all listen to people constantly come up to me and say g'day mate and ask me the same questions over and over again about my trip. Soon enough I will be far, far away!

Preparations

Countdown...I leave in 23 days..still haven't packed my room, still don't have my digital camera, still haven't done almost anything that needs to get done before I leave but well I am a procrastinator..and most importantly of all the going away party is already planned and will happen this Sat. Night!!!