Melbourne!

I spent the last week in Melbourne with Loz. It was so fantastic to get away, relax (more or less) and have nowhere to be and nothing to do. We were as free as the wind (albeit sick, those silly children at kids club having given us all of their germs!). We stayed with my sister and her partner, and got to meet her gorgeous little girl - my niece - for the first time. Ruby Kate is 9 months old, very long and very skinny with an average sized head (we heard all of the statistics). I adore her. 

We were there five days. In that time, we paid for no trams, shopped every day and watched trashy foxtel tv with Pix when we got home at night. It was excellent!!

On monday, we managed to get a tad lost... you see, our map did not reflect the updated tram routed. Oopsie! Running late already, we ended up on a tram running completely the wrong way. Deciding to hop off, we ran for the doors... Loz got through but i was not so lucky. This led to the hilarious scenario of me staring at her through the glass doors as the tram moved away. Thankfully, i could jump off at the next stop and haul my suitcase back to her. Eventually Pix came to pick us up. We weren't actually lost, we knew where we were and where we had to go... but finding a tram that would take us there was hard!! We were only five minutes away really. We got in and met the lovely baby before racing to get changed, nearly missing our taxi and hauling ass to Patee Thai in Brunswick street. 

There, we met up with Robyn, the awesome girl that i met on my tour of Ireland back in January. It was so fantastic to see her!! She brought her sister along, and the four of us say on the floor amongst embroidered cushions and elaborate designs, to devour a fairly impressive amount of thai food. So much that the man taking our order laughed at us (he was odd though, he said the orange juice was toxic, but it seemed fine to me!). We got along well, there were no awkward silences and after a few hours we were sad to part ways. Robyn was off on a trip of her own, so unfortunately we didn't get to hang out more!!

Tuesday, we slept in (WOO!). We met Pix's nanny, a lovely girl our age, named Jess. She's studying law/business at uni and nannying a few days a week. Smart idea, it pays super well. She sent us on our way to the Docklands, Melbourne's newest cool-zone... and we proceeded to promptly get lost. Wandering amid giant bunny sculptures and cows stuck in trees, we went full circle with still no idea of where we were going - so we stopped at Gloria Jeans for delicious toast. Mmmmm. Eventually, we figured we'd hopped off the tram in the middle of the Docklands. The DFO (our original destination) was back the way we'd come, and Harbour Town was ahead of us. We made our way to HT first. It was incredibly huge and incredibly awesome. A few hours later, we'd bought boots on sale, scarves, various items of clothing and assorted accessories. We'd also enjoyed the fake snow area where kids were making snowmen, and the machines that blew fake snow across the walkways. 

On schedule, we retraced our steps and found the DFO. Our sense of achievement was immense. The pain in our feet was also immense. So we made it quick as we zoomed around the enormous complex. Buy of the day? Awesome top/hoodie/dress to wear over leggings and chillax in from country road ($100 reduced to $20). Melbourne sales are incredible, i swear. 

We made it home without further tram-related drama, woo!! Enchiladas for tea, then an excellent night of watching pageant babies on foxtel (complete with follow up showing the girls at 17). Hilarious. 

Wednesday, we had plans to watch the new SATC2 movie, because we were still knackered and recovering from KC last week... but we slept until 11am, took a long lunch at the Chocolate Lounge above Spencer Street Station (most amazing mocha i have ever experienced), and meandered through the DFO for awhile. JayJay's proved most surprising, yielding a cool dress and awesome tutu skirts. Not to mention the awesome earrings. We gave up early today and headed home, to chill with Pix on her day off and order thai for dinner (coincidentally from the same place that we'd eaten on monday!). More trashy foxtel viewing ensued. 

On Thursday, we again slept in. Eventually, we managed to drag ourself into the city, where Starbucks provided our morning coffee hit. Amazingly, when we ventured into Supre, we were stunned to find that 'slutty' is apparently only a clothing option in SA. In VIC, Supre is awesome. Normal clothes for normal people. Real love set in when we went upstairs and everything was crazy cheap. I ended up with a tie dye skirt for $8 and an awesome jumper for $16. Supre in melbourne is awesome. And they have an online store :P Target led to slightly less cheering rewards, but wasn't a total failure. Myers and DJs were less appealing. Sick to the death of wandering the streets, we headed home. 

With a few hundred written pages of instructions from my sister, we picked baby Ruby up from daycare. It was a scary place, with babied lined up in cots everywhere... she was glad to escape!! We walked home and spent the afternoon playing with toys that made funny noises and were attractively bright. Rubes was a cranky pants because she'd missed her nap, but food (although it went everywhere) helped. Aaron came home in time to bath her, and Pix managed to restrain her calling to check up on us to a cool half dozen times. Ruby was smiley smiley by the time she walked through the door. Indian take-away tonight, and masterchef... then Loz and i met the difficult challenge that was fitting all of our new crap into our suitcases while watching True Beauty on the telly. Ahh foxtel, how i shall miss you.

I got up early on friday to spend some more time with the bubs, who was smiley with me and grizzly with her mum and dad, so yay to me. Pix took us to the airport (where we stocked up on Krispy Kremes for the folks back home and i got 'randomly' checked for explosives) and we headed home. We got home sicker and possibly just as tired as when we had left, but we were far more relaxed and better dressed. 

It was super fun getting away for awhile. Our plans to do things other than shop required too much energy to organise, but that was just fine with us. We achieved all of our shopping goals, except for a failure to succeed in finding brown flat boots, which we both were looking for. Not bad overall. I loved my little niece, and it was fun spending time with my sister. I think she and i are very similar, which is fun. So, i'm now broke, very sick and back at work (so stress levels are sky high). But, i have a week worth of pleasantness to look back on. Yay for melbourne!!

Survival!

There aren't many ways to test human survival without the aid of a plane crash, natural disaster or end-of-the-world situation. Kids Club, however, is an excellent test. 

With only five or six adults, and a team of unreliable but lovely teenagers, looking after fifty kids a day is a zoo. Each day begins before 8am and is unlikely to end before 6pm. That in itself is a test of endurance. But it's more than that; your voice gets sore from yelling, your mouth gets sore from smiling and pretending to be cheerful for the kiddies when you just want to curl up and sleep, your brain hurts from trying to watch six rooms and once and ensure that every leader is where they are supposed to be and where doing what they are supposed to do (and, in the case of the zoo yesterday, make sure they're not bulldozing over other, non-kids club people!). It's a marathon. 

As of around 7pm last night, KC July '10 was over. WOO!! We all survived. Some in better health than others. I have heaps to do at work before all the loose ends are wrapped up and i can get to work on the next program, but i have a week off next week and am going away so i don't have to worry about it for a teeny while. Hurrah!!

Despite all of the stress, it was a great week. Most things went off without a hitch (you can't expect a 10% success rate when working with kids!) and both the kids and parents had an amazing time; we got heaps of positive feedback. And even though some kid nicked off with my giraffe painting, i did score some fluffy tiger ears from Monarto yesterday. Yay!

Happy Birthday to ME! Pt 2...

As saturday dawned, so did the day of my 21st birthday party. Supposedly, i was all organised... however, fate was not on my side. 

The day started calmly. I went to get my hair done (i now have gorgeous, shiny dark hair, and a side fringe. Love it!) - amidst calls from my mother, as she started panicking. The more she panicked, the more stressed i became. My uncle had flown over from melbourne, with his gorgeous new baby boy, whom my mother and i hadn't met yet. Except, he'd flown in saturday arvo, and was flying out sunday morning... giving us practically no time to meet the baby!! So, after getting my hair cut, we flew over to Nan's to meet him. He was so adorable!!!!!! Then, it was off to the Griffins to set up for the party. We picked up two bunches of colourful helium ballons, and a big, shiny '21' ballon pair on the way. After arranging the room, we raced home. 

Enter the really stressful period. The DVD i made full of photos didn't work, so i spent ages redoing it. The playlists i had spent hours making were finally finished - but my ipod wouldn't sync and i therefore had no music. Crap. By this point, it was 7pm and i was supposed to be leaving. I rushed to get ready (i couldn't do my dress up, i couldn't fix my eyelashes, the curls in my hair had fallen out, i had no heel grips in my shoes)... and i missed the taxi. Mum and dad took it, i kept getting ready, then i drove Nick and his friends into the city. By the time i raced upstairs, i was hot and bothered and facing a room that already had a crowd of people in it. 

It took awhile for things to calm down. I plugged my computer in, in place of a DVD. I threw some CDs on, instead of my ipod. I found my shoes. 

The next few hours were a blur. I greeted lots of people, got lots of pressies and swapped my heels for my flats. Mum wrote a poem for her speech that was really cute, then Loz and Loz K did speeches too (that were fairly nice about me). By 11pm, dad was ready to leave, so he and mum started taking pressies and stuff down to the car. Unfortunately, people took this as a cue to leave. Before long, there were only about 15 or so people left. Thankfully, there were some fun people. And we had $400 left on an open bar, so we started shots and jagerbombs and whatever we could think of. Hodgey (one of the boys i love so much, and love to party with) turned up and helped us make it a party. Then it was 1am and they kicked us out. 

I put some people in cabs (they peaked too soon), and we went to the Elephant. But that didn't last long either. Our plans for dancing were set aside when boyfriend got a little overenthusiastic with the alcohol and needed me to take him home... we got kicked out of the cab halfway home because boyfriend was feeling sick, and we had to walk the rest of the way. No more dancing!

All in all, i had a really good night. Granted, everyone pretty much left before 11, except for a few people who hadn't turned up until after 10. One of my best friends was in melbourne, another was passed out drunk, another went home drunk at 11... four of my five best friends from school weren't there, because they don't love me anymore. A few of my close friends who did come, didn't bring presents, which really just means that they don't love me. Boyfriend got drunk and i had to take him home instead of going dancing. My hair wasn't curly, and Loz came up to me and said 'you should've curled your hair, it would've been better'... lovely. One of the speeches from my bestie was written on a post-it...

Considering all those things, it was hardly a perfect night. A few friends made kind gestures though, and a reconnected with a few people, and that's what made it a good night.  Loz took the hint and made me a scrapbook for my present. Also, a friend from dance, and an old school friend who i barely ever see anymore came along and stayed for hours - it was so lovely of them. Once again, i realised that it's events like this that show me that the people who care about me are never the people that i think they are. 

So it was a good party and a memorable 21st.  Which is good, because the next important birthday is 30, and that'll be a depressing one, because i'll be old!!!

Happy 21st Birthday to me.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Hi blogosphere! I've missed you. Thanks to the hectic ups and downs of everyday life, i've had my Blogger dashboard sitting in my browser window for weeks, but i haven't had time!! So let me catch up.

The biggest thing that's happened? I turned 21! 

For the first time in a few years, there were no emotional dramas and i managed to enjoy the day. Boyfriend and i went shopping... i bought a sparkly pair of high heels (ok, so they're not the most comfortable, but they were 50% OFF!! and so pretttttty and shiny), some shiny flats (ok, maybe two pairs, because they were on sale), some cheapie gold flats to wear with my party dress so that when my heels inevitably got sore i could do a swapsies... it was a good shoe day. Boyfriend was so patient. I rewarded him with lunch. And then we went DVD shopping. And bought him a while new outfit to wear to my party. He looked so handsome. And he was so patient and lovely. We even went shopping for a shiny new camera. It's beautiful and small and shiny and AWESOME!

I had an icky work meeting with my old boss, but i'm just deciding not to think about that **mind wipe!** We had family tea, which was pretty chilled, as my auntie and grandpa weren't there. And then i spent the night having cuddles with my lovely boyfriend, who was definitely in the good books for being so patient as he wandered back and forth in the shops with me. 

As for pressies? Mum and dad gave me a painting, that i absolutely love. It's hard to explain, but it's perfectly 'me'. Thumbs up to mum for making a great pick. My brother gave me eiffel tower bookends, i got pearl earrings from Nan, and Jen (auntie) gave me a really cool, quirky necklace that i love. But the best present of all? That would be my gorgeous, shiny, silver Tiffany's bracelet from my boyfriend. He knew i loved it, and even though i told him not to get it (it may have cost a small fortune...) - he did anyway! He's so lovely. 

All in all, a lovely birthday. 

Birthday Girl!

Woo, i'm 21! 

I love my birthday. And for the first time in years, my birthday was great. I'm going to tell you all about how great it was later on. My party is tomorrow night, so i won't be able to fully asses the birthday greatness until after than. Plus, i still have heaps to do, so don't quite have time to blog at the moment!

One thing is for sure - some of my mates have proven their awesomeness. And my mum occasionally is spot on in knowing what to get me. I love birthdays!!

I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend - and i'd better see some of you at my party tomorrow night!!

#1 When you break her heart, the pain never really goes away. #2 When she misses you, she's hurting inside. #3 When she says it's over, she still wants you to be hers. #4 When she walks away from you mad, follow her. #5 When she stares at your mouth, kiss her. #6 When she pushes or hits you, grab her tight & don't let her go. #7 When she starts cursing at you, kiss her and tell her you love her. #8 When she ignores you, give her your attention. #9 When she pulls away, pull her back. #10 When you see her at her worst, tell her she's beautiful and when a girl says shes ugly then she wants u to say ur beautiful or pretty back' #11 When you see her crying, just hold her and don't say a word. #12 When you see her walking, sneak up and hug her waist from behind. #13 When she's scared, protect her. #14 When she lays her head on your shoulder, tilt her head up and kiss her. #15 When she steals your favourite jacket, let her keep it and sleep with it for a night. #16 When she teases you, tease her back and make her laugh. #17 When she doesn't answer for a long time, reassure her that everything is okay. #18 When she looks at you with doubt, back yourself up with the truth. #19 When she says that she likes you, she really does more than you could understand. #20 When she grabs your hands, hold hers and play with her fingers. #21 When she bumps into you, bump into her back and make her laugh. #22 When she tells you a secret, keep it safe and untold. #23 When she looks at you in your eyes, don’t look away until she does. #24 Stay on the phone with her even if she’s not saying anything. #25 Don't let her have the last word. #26 Don't call her hot, but gorgeous or beautiful is so much better. #27 Say you love her more than she could ever love you. #28 Argue that she is the best girl ever. #29 When she's mad, hug her tight and don't let go. #30 When she says she's OK, don’t believe it, talk to her about it, because 10 yrs later she'll still remember it. #31 Call her at 12:00am on special occasions to tell her you love her. #32 Call her before you sleep and after you wake up. #33 Treat her like she's all that matters to you. #34 Don't ignore her when she's out with you and your friends. #35 Stay up all night with her when she's sick. #36 Watch her favorite movie with her or her favorite show even if you think its stupid. #37 Let her into your world. #38 Let her wear your clothes. #39 When she's bored and sad, hang out with her #40 Let her know she's important. #41 Kiss her in the pouring rain. #42 When she runs up at you crying, the first thing you say is; "Who's ass am I kicking today baby?" #43 After she reads this, she hopes one day you'd read it too.

 

 

This made me think of my beautiful boyfriend. I'm really lucky. 

It's my birthday soon!! I'll be 21, yay! I like birthdays, i get to be spoilt, i get pressies, and i've lasted another year on this earth. This year, i also have a reason to have a big party. Woo! My last two birthdays haven't been great, thanks to some brothers who had a tendency to make my life miserable. Thankfully, one of them reformed, and is desparate to make up for his jerk-ishness this year. Unfortunately, this is involving him saving all his money, which he can't afford! But nothing will talk him out of it. However, i know what he plans on getting me, and it's gorgeous, so i'm very much looking forward to it.

As far as i'm concerned, it isn't the amount that someone spends on a present that is important. It's the thought behind it. I could get a present worth $2 as long as it shows that someone has put thought into it.

For example, the thing that i want most for my birthday this year is a scrapbook from my best friend. A few years ago, i made a scrapbook for a friend. It was amazing, and i wished i could've kept it. I love things like that; photos arranged and decorated and designed in a scrapbook. Unfortunately, i'm the person who makes things like that for other people, and nobody will make one for me, despite all of the hints i drop.

So, other than that number one wishlist item, here's what else is on the list...

* Will & Grace dvd box set
* Canon IXUS digital camera (either the 120, 110 or 105, i can't decide)
* A comic strip written/framed for me by my friend, Kath
* Bottled happiness.
* Books - anything that someone thinks i'd like
* A black ninja figure from the papershop around the corner
* Magazine subscriptions? Cosmo or Cleo or something with good articles...
* Something that could give me an unlimited amount of time to do my study
* Pretty hair slides
* 'Daisy' perfume by Marc Jacobs - eau de parfum, not eau de toilette (apparently mine is the crappy kind, as i was told recently)
* Birthday cards with lovely messages inside
* Boardgames! Like Monopoly, or Guess Who, or something with good trivia!

I have a feeling that i will get very few of those things. So i'll save up and buy them myself. I wish that people knew me well enough to give me things that mean something to me, rather than things that i never want or need or use... One day, i hope that people will learn to understand me.

Either way, i think this year will be a good birthday...

My Drug

My drug of choice is of the literary kind.

Much like zaz's addiction to cooking, books are what makes me happy. I love to read, pretty much anything (although i have to be in the right mood for different genres). Buying them is also lovely. Because it creates the promise of another world that i can escape into. My room is full of books, some that i've read dozens of times, others that i've not yet opened. Classics, mysteries, horse books, chick-lit, fantasy, biographies... everything, anything.

Reading makes me relax, and zone out. I love curling up with a book, especially when it's raining and cold outside, and i can snuggle up warm! Stupid uni takes time away from reading. Naturally, assigned readings for uni don't count as enjoyable reading material. They just take time away from more interesting books.

I want to go home and read!

Me Likey Shiny Things

Today, i spent the day with mum, sorting out my new computer. My old one is riddled with viruses and is hopeless. Finally, mum and dad have agreed that i'm not making it up, and it actually does suck. Lucky me, i'm the proud new owner of a Macbook Pro. It's shiny and pretty and i love it. Yay!!! I've spent the afternoon organising it and doing all of those things that are necessary when you get a new computer. I've not got far yet... i still have to transfer music and files and all sorts. But i've had lots of fun playing on it in the meantime!! I'm ever so slightly in love with it. Fingers crossed that it lasts indefinitely and i can stop having computer dramas!! The big switch to Mac is a scary one. The adjustment is big. Especially seeing as i don't like change. I really hope Mac (as he has been dubbed) and i live happily ever after!!

Yesterday, i was having a really bad day. I was barely functioning, i could hardly talk to Boyfriend. We were at the office together, and he sent me this lovely email...

Reasons Why I Love You...

you make me feel special
you're kind to everyone no matter what
you give the best hugs and cuddles
you took me to Goolwa for the best holiday i have ever had
you dont care about my eating habits
you are always around to cheer me up
you always text me back
your smile could make any day brighter
you love animals
you bought be wonderful christmas presents and i love them!
you care about me
you want to come to England just to make me happy
you go out of your way often just to make me happy
your voice makes me go all fuzzy inside
you never fail to surprise me with your love for me

i dont deserve someone like you baby, im so glad you let me kiss you and didnt give up on me when i was all dicky for four months.

you mean the world to me and i will cherish you for as long as you let me, i cant wait to see where this relationship takes us and it kills me to see you down in the dumps, please ask me to do stuff for you, if i can make you half as happy as you have made me it will be a miracle because you have changed my life. i was miserable and family sick until you came along. now i would rather stay here in Australia with you than anywhere else

thank you for loving me
love you lots
XXXXXX

How lucky am i to have a boy like this? Who can make me smile when i don't think i can.

Getaway

I just hot home from a three day holiday with the lovely Boyfriend. While i was in Europe, he booked a little place in Goolwa for us to escape the rest of the world for awhile. The place was on the beachfront, with just a dune before the sand. It was an old, converted church. Tiny but cozy. The downstairs was open plan, with a big living room, a dining table, kitchen and the bathroom (which had a jacuzzi, which was cool). Stairs led up to a loft that had the big double bed and the balcony that looked over the beach. I loved it. Ok, so it was badly lit, and the bed sqeaked more than a colony of mice, but that didn't bother us.

We got there monday night, after we went shopping for supplies (yum, food). I took the boy to the Ned's shop in victor (the country equivalent to cheap as chips) and Target Country (because the concept confused the boy, he'd never been to one). When we arrived at our place and settled in, we enjoyed the view until it was time to get dinner, which we brought home and ate while we watched the extended version of Friends - awesome.

Somehow we managed to spend all of tuesday doing not much. We slept in, read in bed (boyfriend made me a toastie in bed for brekkie, because he's so lovely), had lunch at the bakery, shopped for matches and candles to fulfill the romantic quota and come back for a nap. It was late by the time we went for tea, and we ate it infront of The Cave - a fairly crappy scary movie about people trapped in a cave. Not worth watching, i must say. Even if it did have Piper Perabo in it, whom i like.

It took us three hours to clean up this morning, and over an hour to get back into Adelaide. We were racing, as boyfriend had to be at work... but, once i dropped him off and went home, i got a call saying his shift had been changed and i had to go back and get him. Grr. We raced all day for nothing! Never mind.

Our holiday was so much fun, we hated having to leave! If it had been up to us (and our wallets were bottomless) we would've stayed much longer. It was so nice just to relax togehter, we literally had nothing to do but hang out. I can't wait to go back. Hopefully, we will soon!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a lovely day and got very spoilt.

Boyfriend and i had lunch with the family (geez, he's brave), which wasn't as bad as usual seeing as most of the family wasn't there and that eliminate the likelihood for huge fights. Even so, boyfriend was bored and we went back to his place later in the afternoon. It was like a breath of fresh air - his family is so great! We joined in on the tail end of their family lunch and festivities. It was so much more fun. Plus, we got cheesecake.

In the evening we played an awesome boardgame - it is now my favourite and i want it :P It's called Articulate! and it is the best. Full stop. You get into two teams, and, in a similar fashion to Trivial Pursuit, work your way around the board, according to different coloured questions. But instead of just a question and answer, you get given a word and have to make your teammates guess what is is without using the word (example: you could describe the word 'conquering' by saying 'Napolean does this, it happens in wars, violent...). However many words your team gets in one minute is the number of squares you advance. Does that make sense? I love words, so this was the game for me. Plus, playing it with Boyfriend's family was hilarious.

Boxing day was more of the same, as i came back to Boyfriend's for lunch with his family. Mmm, more turkey! And more Articulate! We played long into the night, because we played boys against girls and the girls kept winning, which the boys were determined to rectify. I haven't laughed like that in a looooong time.

At home, my stupid internet isn't working, so i can't blog much. Also, i leave for europe on friday, which means i have a million things to do... i'm fairly stressed about leaving (i don't feel organised, my accomodation just fell through, i don't want to leave boyfriend, and i'm worried i'm going to be very lonely...). But i'll make sure to keep you updated during my travels.

Enjoy New Year's Eve if i don't talk to you all before then!

Whatever, I'm On FIJI Time

Last sunday morning, at a ridiculous time of morning, i left for Fiji. Bri's mum picked us up at 6.20am and took us to the airport. Our five hour flight was made a lot more comfortable by the fact that there were hardly any people on board, so we got an entire row each to sleep on. When we arrived, we took a taxi to our hotel on the Coral Coast, the Bedarra. When we arrived, we were pretty knackered. But we were greeted with glasses of delicious chilled tropical juice, which was a plus. We went for a walk up and down the street to check out the other hotels and little roadside restaurants and cafes before having dinner. Dinner was delicious! I had possibly the best chicken burger ever.

On Monday, we slept in late before getting up to explore. We had eggs and bacon for brekkie (yum - Fiji food is so cheap!). We spent monday afternoon by the pool, sunning and swimming. Unfortunately, while it seemed like a good idea at the time to sweat it out in the heat, we ended up burnt. I'd forgotten to sunscreen my tummy. I was so burnt, it was super painful. Bri wasn't much better, she was burnt in patches. Ouchie. We're idiots. Dinner was equally delicious but far more painful.

Tuesday, we met a funny little man at the bar who said that he'd been travelling between Greece, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia since he left the Navy many years ago. He seemed to be very rich, and had yachts and a lush lifestyle. He told us all the tricks about the area. So we used one of his tricks to avoid the hotel taxis and walk down the street until someone stopped for us and offered us a $1 taxi ride into town. Saved us a good $10, so we were happy. In town, there were lots of dirty streets and shops but the people were so friendly that you didn't even notice. There was a market and a handicraft store that were our main shopping destinations. I bought plenty of crap that i probably didn't need. Souvenirs, little wooden figurines, perfume... and aloe vera for our burn! We skipped sitting by the pool and went for a walk along the beachfront instead. Dinner was at the little pizza place down the road, at the Casablanca, and was delish.

The day on the whole was rather stressful. You see, i'd been having a crappy run of luck so far. First, my suitcase was overweight, leading Bri to be pissed off at me for having lots of crap. Although i'm still not sure what was in my case that was too heavy. Then, my phone had failed to work. I'd turned international roaming on in a past trip and it should still have been working... but it wasn't. Finally, my bank cards weren't working and i couldn't get any money out. This was mae far more stressful by the fact that Bri didn't want me using her phone credit to call mum, nor did she want me borrowing any money from her until i could sort mine out. This made it very, very hard for awhile. Eventually, after some major stress, i got money out. Bri wasn't impressed with the whole situation and i was not a happy chappy. But it finally got sorted.

On Wednesday, we went on a tour. There were plenty to chose from - waterfall tours, village tours, island cruises. A few looked fantastic. However, Bri didn't want to spend much money and only wanted to do one... (from the tone of this post, you may realise that there was some friction between us at times). Eventually, we decided on the Robinson Crusoe Island tour. Early in the morning, we caught a bus to a dock, and then a boat out to the island. The island was pristine and white in a way that the mainland never is. Beautiful sandy beaches, palm trees, blue skies... We spent the morning snorkelling on the reed. We saw a Nemo fish!! And i saw a lobster. Lunch was traditional and delicious, followed by a walk through the islands forrest to see all the different trees and how they're used medicinally, which was cool. Afterwards, we went to see a 'turtle'. We were quite excited to see the large shell partially buried in the sand... and less impressed when it was a human who jumped out from underneath. Rip off. Next was a crab race. My crab was number 56. When tipped out of the bucket, the crabs fled for freedom. Mine was definitely not the first to cross the finish line, so i didn't get to win a shell necklace. I did, however, get forced to participate in a ridiculous dance involving a conga line, butt wiggling and general embarassment.

Happy hour saw us curling up in the awesome hammocks that they had there. They were called 'Chair in the Air's' and were super comfy! We sipped cocktails and relaxed in the sun until dinner festivities. Dinner was pulled out of the hot coals (lovo) and then firewalkers made more use of the hot coals. Dinner was delicious and we stuffed ourselves full of roast beef, native veggies, and delicious tropical fruit. After dinner came the show; hula girls, traditional dances (fijian, samoan, etc), fire dancing... it was all very impressive and we had lots of fun watching all of the island staff in their costumes. The boat ride back was long and we were happy to get back to the hotel at last and crash into bed!!

Thursday saw us head back into Sigatoka (sing-a-toe-ka), the nearest town. We did some more shopping and then had coffee at the Fiji Markets. The iced coffee there was divine!! We were practically drooling. While we sat there, the store was fairly quiet. So, the employees picked up their guitars and bongos and serenaded us for awhile. They sang some Jason Miraz, some ancient classics and all sorts. It was awesome!!! They loved us. We went to another little shop and got braids put in our hair with beads on the end, and henna tattoos up our arms. I love getting things like that when i'm on holiday. It's part of the culture. So that was very exciting! The woman who did our hair had pictures up in her shop of when Britney Spears had come to visit her and get massages! It was quite cool, we were in the ex-presence of famous people... In the afternoon we smeared ourselves with coconut oil and sunscreen and lay by the pool for some sun. It's possible that we then did even more shopping, buying pretty dresses and cheap pandora beads (woot for the exchange rate!!). Ugh, money burns a hole in my pocket!

On Friday we went up the road to the Outrigger Hotel. The Outrigger was crazy fancy. Enormous lagoon pool, countless restaurants and bars, lush grounds and even their very own shops! The handicraft store in town, the chemist and another little store all had outlets at the resort. We did a little more shopping!! The rest of the day was spent by the pool. At some point one of the staff cut us down a fresh coconut and we drank all the juice and ate the flesh. It was yum! The man hit on Bri when he found out i was taken and she was rill single. Apparently, Fiji boys are the way to go. Bri managed to get pretty burnt again, oops. For dinner, seeing as it was our last night, we splurged. We had a traditional fish dish for our entree (Bri didn't finish hers, so i got it) and then hamburgers, yummy!!! The fries were delish - we decided it was the Fijian novo potatoes that made them so good. We went for a walk after tea before dessert, because we were pretty stuffed! Half way down the road we ran into the bongo drum boy from the markets the other day! He ended up walking with us the entire time, keeping us company and chatting. We took photos and had a laugh... and convinded him that we rode kangaroos to school in australia!! It was fun running into him. We came back for dessert and had bananas in lolo (coconut milk), which was also super yum. We figured we should have some good Fijian food on our last night!!

We got up fairly early on saturday, as we had to be out of our room by eleven. With nothing else to do, we went into Singatoka and had some more coffee at our favourite shop. Our little drummer boy gave us free shell necklaces (woo!!!) and everyone gave us hugs goodbye. We were clearly very loved. It was lots of fun! We headed back to the resort to get photos with the lovely staff who knew us by name and were so very friendly, and to write in the guest book. We sunned ourselves by the pool, then had delicious hotel pizza for lunch. The taxi ride was long (over an hour), and the wait in the airport dragged, but finally we were on our way home. Bri was cranky and i was itchy with sunburn, so we weren't super happy buddies!! This plane was stuffed full, so we were squished up on our little chairs. Business class was empty, but we weren't allowed to sit there, which is so stupid! I don't like flying Virgin... no free food or TV - we even have to pay for water!! Six hours later we were home. A very cranky Bri left me with most of the bags and a few snide comments (i'd had enough by now) and we struggled through customs. Bri's lovely mum picked us up and finally we were home!!

The holiday was lovely in that there was just so much sun!! I love the tropicality of the place. Granted, if i'd been alone i'd have done more trips to see more of the awesome things and would've done some things differently, but on the whole everything was good. The food was divine, the people were lovely and the sky was a crazy shade of blue. I definitely want to return to Fiji at some point in the near future. I have islands to explore!! For such a cheap price, i definitely reccoment you pack up and head over there for a week. Despite low costs, our hotel was one of the bext in the area. I love Fiji!!

Tomorrow i'll tell you about the proposal i recived while i was over there, but for now i need sleep. I've got so much to do already and have been crazy busy since i got home!! I'll go to sleep with my head full of beautiful Fijian thoughts.
*saturday trip to town
*sun
*lunch
*flight

'Alias'

I'm hooked on Alias at the moment. El gave me the entire series, and i'm currently up to season three. It's awesome. Plus it has Michael Vartan, whom i love. But this post isn't about the awesome cute-ness of MV (ironic - Milo Ventimiglia has the same initials. Maybe it's something about cute people?). This post is about Victor Garber.

Victor Garber plays Jack Bristow on Alias. There's something about his character that i've become addicted to. I remember watching a few episodes on television when the progam was initially screening, and i always thought his character was a hardass and a mean guy on the whole. I don't know why, butthis time it's nothing of the sort. Jack Bristow is awesome. Not only is everything that he does that may be considered morally questionable for the good of his daughter (Sydney Bristow/Jennifer Garner), but he's powerful, intelligent, and a spy! I can't put the vibe i get from him into words, but he's the coolest. Don't get me wrong, he's awesome in a dad-type way, not a boyfriend-type way! But he's fantastic. He just knows exactly what to do in every situation! He'd be a great dad.

Kind Words

I have just got off the phone from some bloke whose name I didn't catch who was asking me questions about your good self regarding a customer position with their company.

I caught me somewhat on the hop, but I was very clear and firm and explicit in saying to him that you were an excellent, natural leader AND yet a team player, who would be very good with cutomers -- and not losing your temper, and so on.

He asked what I thought your strongest quality was and I replied, without hesitation, that you were a person of proven integrity; honest and truthful and straight-forward [eg. not some precious princess].

I said that you had been a diligent student AND that you were so friendly to me in that wretched year I spent at that school [I left all that out, of course] explaining that you showed yourself to be somebody who was cheerful, organized and made an effort to ease in a new teacher in a way which was mature and appropriate.

He asked if you could write well? I replied that you were an excellent writer and analyst, sophisticated beyond your years. That you scored an 'A' for History. That you spoke with great clarity as well.

I said that if you were suddenly asked to do a written task, you would not grumble or panic, but simply get on with it. A can-do person who would be an asset for any enterprize that took you on. I can't recommend her highly enough, and so forth.

He seemed suitably pleased.

All the best at actually getting the job, whatever it is?

Hope all that helped!

It was easy to speak positively about you because a] it's all true, and b] I do admire your character and capacities for success.

I applied for a job on wednesday, and got an interview the same day. The above email was sent to me by one of my referees. This man was a teacher at my high school in year 12, he taught me history. We got along really well, and LozK and i still catch up with him every few months for lunch to chat about everything. He's a real character. When i read this email, i was so pleased. Everything is a bit of a struggle at the moment. So to read this and see that someone us unequivocally behind me, supporting me and thinking that i'm capable of anything, means so much.

It really brightened up my week.

Also, i got the job. It's not an ideal job. I'll be working at a petrol station. I applied because i'd already applied to so many places and had no luck. I needed the job, and didn't think i'd get it. But i did. The man who interviewed me was very impressed and hired me the next day. Apparently i'd interviewed very well and was the best for the job.

I should've been happy to hear this. But Boyfriend also applied for the job - so my getting it meant that he didn't. I eventually rang the guy and asked if Boyfriend has been the next choice for the job, but he hadn't been, so that was one thing. Mum wasn't pleased with the job choice, and, ideally, i wouldn't have chosen it myself. I'd love to work in a bookstore, or in a job where shifts are shorter. Instead, i'll be working eight hour shifts, probably from 7am-3pm (otherwise 3pm-11pm or 11pm-7am...). I'll have to get up very early, and i have no idea how i'll fit it in with uni and kids club work. The only positive is that the money is good. And i need the money.

I've accepted the job, mainly because of the money. I need the money. And i'm trying hard to be responsible and stop applying to other places in case i can get something better. It's confusing. I'm not sure what to do, and have nobody to talk to about it. Mum is irrational and dad really doesn't have the energy to care about what i do. Boyfriend does, but i don't like admiting that i'm worried that i'm not going to be able to handle it or something.

As it stands, the job is mine (even though i'm away for six weeks out of the next two months - no idea why they wanted to hire me!) and i start training the week after i get back from fiji. Yes, that's the week i'm supposed to be planning kids club that week. Who knows how i get everything done. But i'll get $600 for my training week alone, as it's 9-3 each day. I need the money for travel, and mum and i have been fighting so much lately that i think i'll be saving it up to move out. I can't afford to turn it down...

Anyway, my main point was that i got that beautiful email from Hains and it put a smile on my dial. He's a legend. And it's nice having a bit of a fan club!!

Technology Hates Me, BUT...

Technology definitely hates me. This week, my harddrive blew up, i got it replaced, the replacement didn't work, so i hate to get that replaced.... and my ipod missed delivery, so i had to make a trip to the airport to get it back and more mix ups ensued....

BUT right now i don't really care. Because i have a shiny, shiny new ipod! And it's super cool. It has cool games to keep me busy (currently, i'm pleased to be running my own salon and it's super fun), speakers, awesomely organised playlists, good movies, favourite photos, the internet (woo, facebook and twitter!) and a pretty new case. And did i mention that it's shiny? Boyfriend and i are pretty nerdy and spend our time looking at all the cool new things. Love. It.

So, currently, that's what i'm doing when i'm not sleeping. Or attempting (and failing) to study. I've got sooooo much work to do that i'm scared of it, and in denial. Healthy, i'm sure. So, now i'm going to mess around on the internet instead of work. Hurrah for being a good student!

When panic ensues, i'm sure i'll let you know.

Bachata!

Tonight, after a great deal of cajoling, bullying and more or less aggressive dragging, El took me along to a special session at her Latin dance school. She is learning Bachata (and Zouk and Salsa...), which is a kind of Latin, sexy, speedy, up-close-and-personal dance. Now, it's important to note my lack of co-ordination, aversion to dancing in public, fear of judgemental audiences and public failiure, and general hatred of mirrors. Needless to say, it was not an easy task getting me there. But i arrived on time, in my totally inappropriate dancing clothes, and joined the line of girls.

Tonight was an all-ladies occasion (thank goodness, because the idea of grinding up against a stranger just isn't appealing to me for some reason!), and we were focusing on style. The nice, gorgeous, flexible, gorgeous, amazing dancer lady who was leading our class taught us a few basic moves before we started to learn a little routine, called a 'shine'. Apparently, when we're dancing in pairs, the guy can spin us out on our own and that's our opportunity to get all sexy and dance on our own - and 'shine'!

I eventually got my butt moving in a figure eight and my hip popping on the right side. The shine wasn't all that difficult to the untrained eye, but naturally, the speed threw me off balance and i generally skipped a step (ok, and i always stuffed up the quick step, because my feet couldn't move that fast!). Don't even get me started on my ineptitude for body rolls... By the end of the hour long class, i wouldn't say that i had the routine down, but i could struggle through it.

Now, i wasn't an embarassment to myself. But the other girls in the class seemed to have more of an idea about how to move their bodies than i did, or more dancing experience, which put me at a disadvantage. Add that to the fact that facing a full length mirror for an hour watching my body (ew) attempt to dance (cringe) and i think i did fairly well overall. Although i suck at dancing sexily. I don't think i could exude sex if you paid me. Which is good i suppose, because i'll never be tempted into being a hooker or a stripper if i'm broke.

El is dying for me to turn up next week for the first session of the six week beginners class. I'm not sure i can subject myself to it (or afford it!!), but we'll see. I'm balancing the desire to know how to dance with the desire not to damage my fragile self esteem. I kind of enjoyed the dancing tonight, but the self-esteem issue that made me feel like i looked actually ridiculous had me very nervous... i'll work on it. There's another friend of El's that she dragged along tonight, who seems keen to do the beginner's classes. While she's a better dancer than me, it's good to know that i'd at least have one friend!! (El is already in the intermediate class, having finished the first six weeks). I know that people are keen for me to go and i always have so much trouvle saying no!! And it's only six weeks...

Other than that, i'm pretty keen on trying yoga or some other kind of dancing. El and i think swing would be fun, or classical. Maybe i'll look into them. The idea of classes appeals to me - i like improving myself and being accomplished at things.

Who knows, maybe i'll get into Bachata and be sexy dancing in the clubs of Adelaide in no time at all... keep an eye out for that!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I'M GOING TO EUROPE!!!

Ireland, Scotland, Barcelona, London... I'm so looking forward to January.
More details to come when i figure things out a little more...

I need to be kept busy. As much as i'll complain about sleep deprivation, illness, exhaustion, no free time... i need to be busy. If i'm left alone, to my own devices, i go kind of nuts. I over-analyse, over-think. I get lonely and then i get gloomy. It's not fun.

Today, LozK had lunch with Hains, our history teacher from school. He's an amazing guy and he thinks we're great. As soon as we worked through the door, he said he liked my hat and he noticed that i'd dyed my hair (a fact that had even escaped LozK [and yes, i dyed my hair yesterday, it's nice and dark again]). We had lunch in the markets - woo, more chinese!! - and he analysed our love lives from the male perspective, which is always hilarious and rather spot on. Then we talked about the book on Jack the Ripper that he's getting published and the screenplay that is currently being read by important people over in London. He's decided that if it gets bought then he'll take us out for lunch at the Hilton, woo! Feeling the love. Lunch with him is always such good fun, he's a champ. We plan to do it again soon.

Afterwards, LozK and i went shopping. I bought shiny hot pink sequined shoes that cost a bajillion dollars and i've been wanting for months, a Nintendo DS Lite (that i'm half kicking myself over because i didn't buy the latest model... but it cost heaps more), a Poke'mon game, some jewellery, a purple hat, some books... i spent a few too many hundred dollars. But that's kind of ok, because i got my tax return and am apparently getting my Rudd bonus, so am somewhat in the money for a change!! It was lots of fun, even though none of the dresses i tried on fit my fat self (naturally, they all fit skinny LozK) and the pretty blue shoes i found weren't in my size. But on yhe whole, a very good shopping day.

I have a headache tonight and am feeling fairly sorry for myself. I thought i'd be seeing a friend of mine tomorrow, but turns out they don't really want to see me (enter the feeling sorry for myself) so now i have an entire day to fill so that i can't feel lonely and miserable... not an easy task. I'm planning to sleep late, spend some more money, try to find someone for a coffee date and then i'm off to see the new Harry Potter movie with the girls. It should be fun. I'm hoping i can stave off the impending misery that i can feel creeping slowly over me like a gloomy black cloud. Appropriate, considering the weather. I miss my people and i'm not good at being alone all the time... actually, at the moment, i'm not good at being alone for any extended period of time. Especially when i have to be away from those i love best. My own company just isn't good enough. I'm working on it.

I'm sure i'll be back tomorrow to tell you just how great the movie was. Until then, cross your fingers that i don't spend all of my money in an attempt to stop myself feeling crappy. And remind me to look at my beautiful shiny pink shoes if i need cheering up, because they truly are awesome.

2 Down, 1 To Go...

Well, i may or may not have just failed my psych exam. But i wasn't totally clueless in it, so hopefully i scraped a pass. Anyway, only one more now. By this time tomorrow exams will be well and truly over. Just have to scrape another pass tomorrow... not going to be easy. Of course, i'm not studying for it just now.. just having a little break... hehe.

I've been so busy recently, poor blog has come second. But here's the quick update for anyone who cares...

I had my last official shift at stateswim on saturday. All the parents said how much they'd miss me and how great a teacher i was, even some of the parents whose kids weren't in my class anymore. After my shift a bunch of the other teachers said they'd miss me, and THEN the coolest thing happened. My supervisor gave me a present!! It was a gorgeous mug, and a card saying that everyone would miss me. It was an excellent last shift (even though they've already got me lined up for a bunch more fill in shifts over the coming months, but whatever. At least i don't have to get up early on a saturday anymore!!).

Oh, and i went out to my car on saturday morning to find that some moron had egged it. Yup, about a dozen eggs smashed on the front and back windows. Do you know how hard it is to get egg off a car? My windows are still all weird. This isn't the first time people have done this - i don't know why! What has my car ever done to anyone? Grr...

On sunday arvo i went to Bobby's 4th birthday party. It was at the Miniature Railway place in Prospect and was so much fun! Granted, when i got there and was asked to pay, i realised that there was practically no money in my wallet. It hadn't even occured to me that i'd need money. It was seven dollars. I had about $4.50, then found $2 on the floor... i went up to the little old man and asked to go in to borrow money off someone, and the lovely man let me go it with what i had. Lovely. I spent the next few hours being swamped by little kids who wanted me to take them on the little trains that circled the property. It was kind of like sitting in a clown car - my knees were somewhere up near my chin when i sat on one of the little carriages, but it was actually really fun!! Especially when i had two kids tugging on each hand because they wanted me to ride with them - feel the love. The birthday boy loved his pressie and the kids were adorable playing pass-the-parcel... good fun.

The rest of the weekend was filled with study, study, church, study breaks, study... the usual. Nothing else of interest! Ok, really should try to get back to the studying attempt now... ugh. Almost free!!!