You Just got HelHarped!

Well, well, well... after 8 months away from home, 3 months of non-stop travel, an endless amount of bus rides (some life threatening), copious amounts of noodles, being ripped off by many, many Asians, and everything else that makes up the wonderful chaos that is traveling... the journey is finally coming to an end.

We spent 3 weeks traveling up the coast of Vietnam and falling in love with the country and people, explored the temple ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and relaxed on the beaches of Thailand. And now it's time to go back to liiife, back to reality.

Top 10 things I am looking forward to:
1. TURK
2. Taco Bell
3. Showering with no flip flops on
4. Having a big comfy bed to myself. And having a room to myself, for that matter.
5. A/C
6. Whiskey River BBQ burger from Red Robin
7. Milk shakes (although they will not compare to Fritz!) and kettle corn
8. Not being greasy and sweaty 24/7
9. Being able to walk down the street in peace
10. And of course, seeing my family and friends!

See you all after my 24 hour journey home! I'ma look goooooooood...

Final Quote of the Day: "She looked like a ghost. She did! She looked like she lacked soul."

Shameful Seamus

Hello everyone! Just a quick update on our travels. We are in Queenstown at the moment, after spending a few days in Christchurch, a charming European feeling town. On Wednesday we will be heading to Wellington for a few days and working our way up the North Island, and hopefully taking part in some adventure activities along the way! Too lazy to write more right now but that is what we're doing for now!

Quote of the Day: "Ew, the sushi at the mall looks gross. Let's go get some at the train station."-The Logic of Buck

You Know What?

The past week has definitely been the best week so far! Magnetic Island was three days of nature and relaxation. The only downside was that the bay our hostel was closest too looked like Ocean City. We were very confused as to how an island in the middle of the ocean off the coast of Australia could be anything but breathtakingly beautiful. But the fact that we got to hold a koala trumped everything. And the fact that the Koala's name was Dexter made it that much better.

After Magnetic Island we headed up to Cairns, a lovely little beach town that, oddly enough, doesn't actually have a beach. Delightful, nonetheless. But the real highlight of the trip so far has been the Great Barrier Reef. I even tried out scuba diving for a bit! Given, we didn't go down too far and we weren't under for very long since it was just an intro dive, but I still did it! And it was quite a triumph considering all the ridiculous fears I had before actually going under. (What if my goggles fog up and I swim head first into the boat and knock myself unconscious?) The snorkeling was amazing though. It was a little disappointing not seeing any sharks or turtles, but I saw hundreds of big, colorful fish, and a stingray and giant clam!

For now, I'm just floating around Cairns and taking in all the warmth and sunshine I can before heading into the middle of winter in New Zealand. Oy! I was thinking about doing a day trip to one of the beaches around here but apparently there are crocodiles in the water so you can't even go in. Oh, Australia... such an odd country you are.

Quote of the day: "What is that sound?"- Me
"I don't know. It sounds like a monkey. Or a bird. Or a monkeybird. Oh. My. God."- Ilan

Dutch Scissor Sisters

Fraser Island was... okay. It was one of the main things we had been looking forward to seeing, and had the weather cooperated, it would've been great. But it rained most of the time we were there, turning us into miserable, mean people. But, surprisingly, it also accounted for a lot of laughs, as well as the construction of the most awesome fort ever. We were lucky enough to at least have sunshine on our first day, when we saw the famous Lake McKenzie. I took a dip in the lake, which is said to make you one year younger each time you go in. So I am back to being 23, which means I have a whoooole nother year before I freak out about being in my mid-twenties and having no life path set yet!

After Fraser Island, we went to Airlie Beach, a delightful little beach town near the Whitsunday Islands. We did an ocean rafting trip to the Islands yesterday, and although we had some clouds, that didn't take away from the beauty. The big finale was Whitehaven Beach, National Geographic's most beautiful beach in the world for a few years now, and with good reason. The tide creates sand bars that weave in and out of the water across the whole beach, giving you an amazing view. Pictures to come. If I can figure out how to upload at an internet cafe. Oh yeah, I was also attacked by pigeons on Whitehaven Beach! We had out lunch there, and as I was bring my bread roll up to my mouth, a pigeon swoops down, pecked at my finger, causing me to scream and by the time I had opened my eyes again, my roll was on the sand and the birds were going to town on it. And everyone laughed :( I was also the only person on the raft to get soaked going to and from the islands. A girl just can't get a break...

We are now in Townsville, the Sears of urban development. It honestly feels like we have traveled back in time and I'm not sure I quite like it. So far we've just gone to Woolworth's to pick up some groceries and were followed down the aisles by a one eyed Aboriginal man. (no joke) Needless to say, we fled. Tomorrow we are heading to Magnetic Island where I am going to hold the crap out of some Koalas. And probably cry tears of joy while doing it.

Quote of the Day: "Look, Beaches Travel Agency! Oh no wait... it's Beaches Hostel. Hey, they have the same logan."-Ilan
2 minutes later...
"Did you just say 'Logan'?"- Me
"Yes."- Ilan

Mrs. Doubtfire

Hello everyone! I am currently in the midst of my travels up north and it has been lovely. After Sydney, which I was EXTREMELY excited to leave, we went to Byron Bay, a quintessential Aussie beach town that we fell in love with. We were originally supposed to stay for one night and ended up staying for three, spending our days lounging on the beaches and enjoying a Bulmers at night. We spent one evening hiking up to the lighthouse for some incredible views of the ocean and mountains. After a rather intense hike up, (ok not really, it's just been a while since I've engaged in physical activity) we weren't too keen on hiking all the way back down. So I decided to be a daredevil and hitch a ride down for us. (Don't freak out, Ma!) It was me, Ilan, and a girl named Natalie from our hostel. As soon as I stuck out my thumb, a crazy Italian hippie picked us up and gave us a ride into town, telling us about his upcoming trip to Seattle for a 10 day frisbee competition. It was a delightful three days in Byron.

After Byron we went to Surfer's Paradise for a night, where the only eventful thing that happened was Ilan puking his brains from his first goon experience. Haha.

We are now in Brisbane and leaving soon for Hervey Bay, where we will then FINALLY make it to Fraser Island! The one place I've wanted to see the most! Can't wait.

"I wish I had a black dad."-Ilan

Annoying Weirdos

I'm back, baby! I have no valid excuse for not updating le blog, just pure laziness. My last month in Melbourne went by far too fast. It's true what they say, it takes some time for you to fall in love with the city, but once you do, it gets under your skin and stays there forever, even when you work at a gelato shop where everyone is stupid and doesn't know how to function in society. We tried to squeeze in as much as possible during our last few weeks there, but I'd have to say the highlight of it all was the footy match we went to. Footy is Australian football, which is pretty much drunk American football, so it's 10 times rougher and 10 times more fun to watch. We supported the St. Kilda Saints, who surprised us and ended up scoring 18 points in the last 3 minutes of the game and unexpectedly winning! We picked the perfect match to attend.

I absolutely loved Melbourne and was sad to leave, but now I embark on a journey up the east coast of Australia for 3 weeks. I have been in Sydney since Sunday and can't wait to leave. I hate Sydney. It doesn't help that we are staying in the Underbelly and our hostel is full of annoying English folk. We've been rather antisocial and hung out on the glorious, smelly floor most of the time. Tonight we are taking an overnight bus to Byron Bay, followed by Brisbane, Fraser Island, the Whitsundays, Magnetic Island, Cairns, and the Great Barrier Reef. I am quite excited for all of this, but at the same time I'm terrified of sea life and am praying that I don't see any box jellyfish.

Quote of the day: "God, Tracy Chapman, how ambigious can you be?"- Buck

Not my chair, not my problem. No way.

Lazy Patch Duvet Suit.

http://www.lazypatch.com/

OMG.

Poor Owl

So the surf competition ended up being a total bust. We woke up at 7 am to catch the train to Geelong. After an hour long ride, we had to catch a bus to Bells Beach. We finally arrived at around 11:30 am... or so we thought. The bus dropped us off at the "Bells Beach" stop, but the actual beach ended up being about a 45 minute walk down a sidewalk-less road with cars zooming by the entire time. After coming dangerously close to being hit, we finally arrived at Bells Beach only to learn that the competition had been moved to another beach due to a lack of waves. Great. Where was this other beach, you ask? A 50 freakin dollar cab ride away. But, of course, it wasn't easy to get a cab. After calling the company, I was informed they need an actual address for pick up, and not just a beach. Faaaantastic. There were no buildings around. We trekked back until we came across a random house which I don't even know was real. But we used it anyway. And, of course, the cab took about 45 minutes to find us, due to the random location of the aforementioned house. While waiting for the cab, we decided to watch the kangaroos in the nearby field. While watching, we decided to pee since there were no bathrooms around. The looks the kangaroos were giving us while peeing... it's like they knew we were tainting their land. I was terrified I was going to get stuffed into a gooey roo sack. After finally getting in the cab, which we all thought was being driven by a man but ended up being a woman, (see below post: female mustaches) we arrived at 13th Beach. By this time the weather had turned fairly cold but we didn't care, we finally made it! We found a spot to relax on the beach while watching the competition, but half the time we didn't even know what was going on. There were so many random surfers in the water at the time, and the waves were so miniscule, that it really didn't seem like much of a competition. We were expecting music, drinks, food, etc. to all be provided on the beach, but due to the location change, there was nothing. After watching the pathetic competition for 2 hours, we decided it was time to make the trek back home. On the pamphlet we had read that there were free shuttle buses running back to the bus. But, as all other things went wrong, so did this. There were no shuttle buses running from 13th beach, only Bells. So we tried to catch a regular old bus. We were told they were running every hour. But, of course, they were not. I could've punched a baby out of frustration. Sooo we had to take another 50 dollar cab ride back to the train station, and we finally arrived back at 6:45 pm. Which gave me just enough time to shower and head into work... terrible. The only good part of the day was actually getting back to Melbourne. We all felt so overjoyed to be back, and for the first time I actually felt like I was back home, which was a nice feeling. The entire tram ride back to our apartment we just kept repeating "Oh my God I am so happy right now!!! I'm so happy to be back!!!!" Never again will I venture out into the countryside where everything goes wrong. Get it together, Australia. Surfing is your forte and this was the lamest thing ever. We did get to see Kyle Odom, and semi famous surfer from the States.

Besides that, I just finished book 4 of Harry Potter, I've been working everyday, and we are out of food.

Quote of the Day: "Dear Glamour, I have a crush on a fat guy, what's wrong with me?"- Nonsense at work

Crab Apples

There's a terrible epidemic spreading across Melbourne at the moment: Females with mustaches. I've seen more come into the shop than I'd care to have seen. And I intend to get to the bottom of this. I don't appreciate it one bit.

On a brighter note, I was convinced by my roommates to head out to Bell's Beach tomorrow to catch the Rip Curl Surf Pro. The extent of my surfing knowledge is pretty much whatever Kate Bosworth taught me during "Blue Crush." But I still think it will be pretty cool to actually see in person. Let's catch some tubes, brah!

Quote of the Day: "Why is there a butcher knife back here?"-Me, at work.
"For stabbing. You know, murdering and such."-Corrie

Enjoyment.

I enjoy this song. And video. And I hope you do, too. Cheers!

Rock Lobstah!

My job has made me really start to hate people in this world. 80% of the people that come in always ask some type of stupid question, whether it's what a flavor is even though they all clearly have labels, or if they can save themselves 2 dollars by getting a grande cup but putting them in two smalls. That may not make sense to you, but if we did that, we'd end up losing 2 dollars, so it's a stupid suggestion. I thought that working at a gelato shop would mean dealing with annoying kids, but it's the parents that are the bad ones. Get it together!

Corrie's sister was in town last week for her spring break. We decided to take her to the Joint on Tuesday night, and it ended up being one of the funniest nights we've had here. There weren't many people at the bar, but we kept ourselves entertained with an endless amount of hilarious conversation. My favorite, though, would have to be the one about Mariah Carey. We all agreed that Mariah Carey's "My All," was a goose bump worthy song. This, somehow, led to a dramatic rendition of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" sung to the tune of "I Still Believe," that did not stop all night. We sang it in the bar, we sang it on the tram, we sang it back at the apartment, and we sang it all the next day. In fact, I'm singing it in my head right now. Grammy worthy. We decided that we're going to be the next Weird Al, the lyrical genius he is. We'll call ourselves Weird Al Shank-A-Bitch.

I turned the big 2-4 last week, so to celebrate, we, of course, treated ourselves to some Mexican food; a tradition on my birthday. We went to Bluecorn restaurant on Barkley St, and I went to town on a giant burrito. It was so Taco Bell, but it got the job done. And since we aren't in the States, we didn't get a ridiculous portion so I didn't feel like my stomach was going to explode afterwards, much like I do at home. After dinner, we went out in an area called Fitzroy. We stayed there for a while, but, by no surprise, we ended up at the Joint. I angered Corrie by refusing to join in on singing "Blue (Da Be Dee)" for karaoke. I don't know why I didn't do it, because if ever there was a time to do karaoke, it was with "Blue," because you'd just sing like a robot the entire time, and that is fun to me. We ended our night there and, surprisingly, didn't get Hungry Jack's on our way home.

Last night, we went to Lygon Street, which is known for it's Italian restaurants. We ended up eating at the first restaurant we passed, after being hassled and pushed into it by the man who stands in front and who's sole purpose is to hassle and push people into eating at the restaurants. I guess he's doing his job right? We were lured with the promise of a free glass of wine each. The food was delicious, so we had no complaints about now exploring any further before we ate. That is, until we actually finished our dinner and walked further down the street, where every other restaurant offered a free whole bottle of wine PLUS free bread. The Horror! La Spaghetteria knew they could get customers with one free glass of wine because they were the first restaurant on the strip. We know better for next time...

Today I will spend my afternoon off cleaning our room, going to the bank, and mapping out a rough itinerary/budget for our upcoming travels.

Quote of the Day: "Never speak of that again..."- Corrie on the beach. She'd probably kill me if I wrote why she said that, so I'll have to leave it a mystery for all of you.

Sike!

Oh. Hello there. Let me tell you tales of my life. But I must warn you- they are not as exciting as you probably hope they will be. I worked every day this week. Including 10 hour shifts this weekend. I have the life of a doctor, constantly spending my days at work, and then on call incase the ice cream goes into renal failure, except instead of saving lives, I probably send these obese people to said doctors from all the gelato. Sike. Most of the people who come in are actually sticks and get giant tubs of ice cream- where does it all go!? (Those crafty asians are hiding secrets from the rest of us...)

Did you guys like the way I threw in the word "sike" up there? After years of being made fun of for using early 90s slang, I thought Australia, which is pretty much America 20 years ago, would accept my totally awesome lingo. But, last night, as we walked home from The Espy, I made a comment to Corrie followed by "sike!" A random guy walking past chuckled under his breath, but he wasn't quiet enough. Oh yeah, I heard him. I asked him if he was laughing because I said sike, to which he replied yes. I then proceeded to list the many reasons why "sike" is such a cool word, while Corrie told me to kick him in the face. I ended the conversation with a nice little zinger. I said "I'm not going to kick you in your face---SIKE!" and I kicked him in his face!!!! Jk, I didn't kick him, we ran away laughing and so did he. It was quite an enjoyable interaction.

We have finally gone to every single bar on Fitzroy Street in St. Kilda. We have 2 more bars to go to on Acland and then we will have gone to all the St. Kilda bars. We don't even like any of them, but we've set that goal for ourselves. Because one should always aim high, as my Nana always told me. Sike. She never told me that. I'm in a sike kinda mood.

St. Paddys day was loads of fun. We met up with some fellow Fritz workers in the city center, where we are going to attempt to goto an Irish pub. Unfortunately, I didn't get off of work till 11 pm, meaning we didn't get into the city until 12, and the bar we had originally planned to go to was closing at 1. All was not lost though, as we now had to valid excuse to go to our favorite bar that we always end up in, The Joint. Everyone was wearing green and we Irish jigged the night away. We hailed a cab home, but instead of taking us to Fitzroy Street, the cabbie took us over to Fitzroy, a totally different part of the city. After arguing with the cabbie for some time, his argument being "You said you tell me where to go!" (which we did) Corrie alerted me to get out of the cab and run. So I ran. And we hid. Then we got another cab and came home. But something tells me we may or may not have just gotten back into the same cab after hiding for a few minutes. Which would be a little awkward.

At the beach last week, Jenny and I were a hit when we found a starfish and picked it up out of the water. First, and awkward, fresh 21 year old (she told us it was her birthday) came over and was extremely excited. She then told us all about her birthday buffet, and how she was totally late for it because her friend who planned it died two weeks ago so she didn't get the details for it until last minute (I don't know why no one else told her about it?) I concluded that she had SAD. Social Awkwardness Disorder. After a another group of people came over to check out the starfish, we snuck away.

Corrie's sister is coming here tomorrow, so we will be doing more things this week than usual. Speaking of Corrie, I was just given word that she had dinner at Tandoori times tonight--my arch nemesis. I must go scold her now. I also have nothing else to talk about. Cheers.

Quote of the day: "The only difference between bums and backpackers is that backpackers can afford to stay in a hostel."- Urs

Hellato

Fritz has taken over my life. I work every day! This weekend, we all honestly almost lost our minds because there was a queue outside of the door 95% of the time we were there, which meant non stop scooping. My fingers look like sausages they are so swollen. At least we'll be getting nice, heft paychecks! The St. Kilda Busking Festival is going on right now too, which means that every Sunday, the street is lined with street performers. We had the pleasure of having this old man with a guitar and harmonica sit right outside our shop for 7 hours singing the most horrible tunes you can imagine. His voice was horrible, the songs were horrible, he even began to MC himself, which was horrible. (And that, ladies and gentleman, was a little diddy I like to call "twinkle twinkle little star"). We started to have a mini battle with him as we turned up our music in the shop, and he began to yell into his microphone and play louder. I could've killed him.

The amount of crazy customers we get does keep us entertained though. We had a man come in yesterday and just yell "CHOCOLATE!!!!!" to Corrie, and then told her to turn our music down. We have people come in who just point to the flavors they want and don't say a word. We've gotten some crazy eyed customers, as well. One group of adults came in and sampled about 30 flavors total before making a decision. I've never seen anyone so distressed about having to choose a gelato flavor. It was extremely annoying as it happened, but it made for some good laughs afterwards. People also grab for the used spoons on the counter when there is a label that says "USED SPOONS." Some come in a say "I'll have a chocolate indulgence, aaaand, and fritz gelato please." (All our flavor labels say fritz gelato on the bottom) And one man even came in and asked questions like "What is that yellow one there?" (The answer was Vanilla, which he could've clearly figured out had be read the giant label stating 'Very Vanilla'). Oh, we sure do get some crazies.

Despite our crazy work schedules, we found some time to go out this weekend. On Saturday, we went to Fangtasia! Jk, it's really called Fantasia, a little club tucked away between our two favorite kebab shops. We went in for about a half hour before heading up to the Tongue&Groove. We were only out for a total of an hour and a half but we honestly thought we had been out for about 4 hours by the time we left. But we had a jolly good time, and ended the night with... of course... some kebabs.

Quote of the Day:

"We did the mash! We did the PINEapple mash... PINEAPPLE MASH! It was a citrus SMASH!"- That's a little diddy Corrie and I like to call the Fritz Mash.

Stag Beetle--Love It.

Potato count for the day: 5 (baked).

Schwing Schwing!

So I started working this week, I have CRAZY hours, working a total of 45 hours scooping gelato. That's more hours than I've ever had with any other job. A full time gelato scooper! Can't wait to see the Popeye arm I have by the end of April. Ah-gah-gah-gah-gah! Corrie trained me on Monday, and let me tell you... scooping gelato is harder than it looks! I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Since it's now turning into Autumn here, it's not as scorchingly hot, so there haven't been many customers. We spent the day blasting music and eating the gelato ourselves. My favorite flavor, I'd have to say, is "Baci Kisses." It tastes like a Ferraro Roche in gelato form. The gelato shop is right across the street from our apartment, which makes for a very enjoyable commute to work. But I'll also be working a few days a week at the shop in Prahran Market, about 30 minutes from our apartment on the trams. I learned how to make donuts there, and soon I'll also be learning how to make coffee. So I'll be a jack of all trades!

On Saturday night, my roommates and I ventured out to the bars. We tried to go to The Espy, but there was a $30 cover to see some death metal band-- Nooo thanks! So we ended up going to The Vineyard; a bar that we have been wanting to go to for a while but always avoided due to the particularly douchey appearance of it's clientele. But it actually ended up being a great night and the people weren't so douchey after all. I guess it's true what they say, don't judge a book by it's cover! The bar has a really nice courtyard and there was a live band that night. I think we left shortly after we witnessed a German girl spill her drink all over Calle and then plummet into the ground. We ended our night with some Macker's. Can you believe we went over 2 months without ever going to the 24 hour Mcdonald's by our place? Go us!

Oh Monday night, we went bowling in the city centre. We played two games in which I scored a very respectable 45 in each. 45! 90 total! My final score with both games was less than everyone else's one game. I'd go 3 turns without knocking down one pin. Pathetic.

I watched "Twilight" the other night, as it was the only movie Calle and Corrie brought home when they went out to rent some. So, I was forced. Let me just say, I can not believe Stephanie Meyer is so famous for those books. The movie was so ridiculous, and I can't imagine that the books are any better.

Quote of the day: "Storks are real?"
"Yeah."
"No they aren't!"
"Yes they are!"
"Nuh-uh... Storks are like unicorns."

On The Fritz

I got a job... finally! Corrie and I are now travel buddies, roommates, AND coworkers. I'll be starting at Fritz Gelato on Monday! This weekend will be one long celebration, starting with a magical experience at the movie theater with "Alice in Wonderland" this afternoon :) Cheers!

Slampa Clause is Coming to Town.

Although I have YET to find a job, the past week has been crazy fun. The weather has been beautiful, besides a semi chilly weekend, which was actually a welcome change form the heat. We finally made it up to Fitzroy, a sort of Bohemian part of Melbourne with a bunch of cool cafes, bars, and vintage clothing stores, i.e. a WHOLE lotta hipsters. We just spent the day wandering around aimlessly and explored. Last Wednesday was also the last night for the Suzuki Night Market at the QV Market. So Corrie, Jenny, and I starved ourselves all day so that we could gorge ourselves on delicious international foods that night. I promised myself I'd avoid the Mexican food and try something new this week, but you know me. Taco Bell is my favorite restaurants, so I couldn't help but go to town on a delicious Burrito from Gringo Vibes, followed by a cupcake I had been looking forward to all week. After the market, we went to one of our favorite bars, the Carlton, in the CBD. We had a few pints and called it a night, but not before chowing down on some Hungry Jack's. God Bless the loose clothing trend that is going on right now.

Friday was one of the best days I've had so far. The weather was perfect, and Corrie and I spent the day at the beach. She had to go to work in the afternoon, but I stayed on the beach reading Harry Potter until sunset. It was... glorious. That night, Corrie and I went to the Espy after she got off from work. The Espy reminds me of the 9:30 Club, but instead of bands like Bloc Party and Vampire Weekend, it's unknown local Aussie bands that play, but it is nonetheless a great time.

Saturday nights have quickly become my favorite night of the week. It is the one night all of the roommates are home and no one really has anything to do the next morning (I never have anything to do any morning, but that's besides the point). We always just hang out in the apartment drinking goon, and although we really don't do anything, it always ends up being the most fun night out of the week. The highlight this past Saturday was our sing/dance along to Backstreet Boy's "Everybody."

Today, Jenny and I head into the city centre in search of the 2nd and 3rd Harry Potter books. I am officially obsessed, and not ashamed to admit it. We sold back some old books and ended up getting both of the Harry Potter's for 2 bucks. Score! We celebrated with some sushi burritos, and then shopped/I applied to a few more jobs.

So that was my week. I am now off to enjoy a few pints at the Prince of Wales. Cheers!

Quote of the Day: "YOU appeal to ME!"-Jenny's reaction to seeing a matured Shaun White, aka "The Flying Tomato" on TV.

Feeling Generous??

If you are, here are a few things I'd love to have sent to me.

Sunchips (original flavor)
Honey Bunches of Oats
Strawberry Pop Tarts
Chocolate Chip Cookies (Chewy if possible)
Kettle Corn
Skippy Super Chunk Peanut Butter


Quote of the day: "I don't even know where Baltimore is."-Corrie
"What? It's in MD!"-Me
"I know, but I don't know where in MD"
"What are you talking about? I took you there when you visited."
"Oh yeah, is that where Back Bay was?"
"The Baltimore Inner Harbor...?
"Oh yeah, that's it."

Silly girl.

My favorite Aussie commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgMl-iZ3tZM

The Great Parsnip Shortage of 2010

Corrie and I are now experienced Swedish chefs. Well, we can at least cook one traditional Swedish meal thanks to Calle, our roommate/chef. Last night we prepared dinner for everyone as he monitored us so that we wouldn't burn down the apartment. We cooked chicken for the carnivores, salmon for yours truly, roasted veggies and potatoes, with a delicious sauce to eat with everything. Following our bomb dinner, we made apple crumble for dessert. But it wasn't just any ol' apple crumble, we simmered the apples in goon! We had a romantic candlelit dinner and then watched "Adventureland." I am now thinking of maybe applying for a job as a Carny at Luna Park.

On Saturday night, I met up with Corrie and her coworkers at the beach when they were done scooping gelato for the night. It was a really warm night so there were a lot of people out. We ended up meeting a group of folks from all over the world; Argentina, Australia, Italy, etc. Upon hearing that there was an Italian present, I proceeded to declare my knowledge of Italian language. Upon proceeding to declare my "knowledge" of Italian language, the Italian began speaking to me in said language. Embarrassingly, I started speaking Spitalian, a mix of Spanish and Italian, and he realized I may or may not have lied. I swear, at one point in time I did speak really good Italian, but it's been years. Ma io parlo un po'! Ti ucciso!

So my interview at the Marriott went really well. Who knew that in person I was such a great interviewer? Anyway, it went extremely well, and they two people interviewing me loved me. But, of course, with my visa, they couldn't hire me because they needed someone more long term due to the amount of time it takes to train their employees. (3 months, my ass!) So, after the interview, which they conducted EVEN THOUGH they knew what visa I had beforehand, they told me it wouldn't work out, but continued to go on and on about how perfect I was for the job and I'm exactly what they were looking for. I had to sit politely with a smile on my face and nod along when I really wanted to punch them in the throat. How dare they waste my time like that! How I don't feel so bad for always stealing from them when I stay there. So, back to square one, and searching for a job once again. Woo to me!

Another funny job post:

"Drawf / Little person needed for party!

Do you know anyone?

It is for my sisters hen's party and I want a little person to play a gitted lover.
I respect the little people so there is no way this is to put them down or be of a derogatory nature.

Sat 20th Feb in docklands and will be needed for say 20min max paying $50. Happy for person to hang around for an hour or so if they wish for food and drinks! Also if they wanted to be accompanied by friend or partner ok too.

Cheers

Kylie"

If only I was 4 inches shorter...

Quote of the Day: "You're quite the creepy person, aren't you?"- Hugh Grant

Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs...

I really like the show "Frasier" now. I used to hate it. But being unemployed in Australia and having limited television to watch, I've grown to love it. I actually get excited when I see it's coming on. It's actually quite hilarious. Does this mean I'm growing up? I always thought it was a show for old people... That Frasier gets himself into some crazy shenanigans though!

Also, I came across this ad while job hunting online and thought I'd share it with everyone. How funny/awesome would this job be?

"We need someone who is good at connect 4, that game where you try to line up 4 circles in a row. You need to be really good at this game!!!
You will work 3 hours a night, and people in the bar will try and beat you! If they win, they get a free drink, and if you win then they have to buy someone a drink :)

So you need to be good otherwise we will end up giving away 1000 drinks :(

Don't bother with a resume, just let us know how good you are at connect 4.
If you arent that good, come down to The Saint on thursday night to play the person we selected!!!"

The Saint is just up the road from our apartment. I might go challenge this Connect 4 champion at some point...