Week 9

And so, I just finished up Week 9 of 12 weeks of class. (You have to realize, they don't include the two week break as part of the teaching schedule. I have no idea why... We all know sunbathing and snorkeling at the GBR should totally count as class time. Ha.)



Dark Mocha at Lindt Chocolate.

After two weeks in paradise, we got back to crap weather in Melbourne. I mean, clouds, rain, wind and everything. But it was nice to be back with everyone. We actually went straight to the kitchen and hugged/caught up with Rhi, Tom and Flo. Then we crashed. Woke up to a thunderstorm. I love sleeping to storms. It lets me know it’s ok to stay inside, that it’s ok to go to sleep. Woke up around lunch time. Figured I needed to do laundry. Got coins exchanged at the 711 and a convenient store beside Unilodge since the machine only takes dollar coins. The guy must get that request a lot because he asked, Laundry? To which I nodded.

Got my laundry finished then caught coffee with Natalie. Always good to see her again. While walking back from meeting with her, I couldn't help but realize how unworthy I am. How self motivated. I feel like it’s so easy to get so focused on yourself. You get caught up in everything you want to do and everything you want to see. The truth is that I should be more burdened by the lives of the people around me. I should be more worried about the burdens they carry instead of where my next adventure is going to be. Sigh. I bought Nat’s coffee. It was the least I could do.

Sunset in Melbourne

October brings a new month, tomorrow a new day.  I went out to St. Kilda last night with Flo, Rhi and Shayna. It was so nice to have a girl’s night out and the place we went, some lintel as anything, was so good. Not only were the veggie dishes delicious (I got pumpkin curry) but they let you pay what you think the meal is worth. All of their staff works off of donations. It was kind of a humbling place to be in and made you want to pay them twice as much as what the food was worth because it was amazing. But alas, we’re college students. 8 bucks for a strong cappuccino and delicious pumpkin curry wasn’t too shabby.

We then browsed St. Kilda’s fancy store front cake shops, balked at prices, and scampered to Woolies where we bought a chocolate cake to split between us all. Haha. Take that steep prices. Then we walked along St. Kilda pier and I spotted a penguin in the dark. It was a pretty exciting moment. I never knew penguins make such creepy noises, almost like a high pitched snoring old man that is simultaneously pissed off at you. It would have been funny to see us all jump and point our phones as flashlights at the rocks behind us when we first heard the penguins.

I’ve been trying to get myself to start my homework, but it’s hard. AFL finals were today. So I went downstairs for a free Unilodge bbq and watched the whole game. Funny, how it’s completely different from NFL in the fact that there are simply NO commercial breaks, and when there is one, it is simply that, ONE. Not an hour’s worth, cough cough. It was between Hawthorne, based out of Melbourne, and the Swans based out of Sydney, so already a huge rivalry going on between the two cities. It was honestly a close game the WHOLE time. But Sydney pulled through at the last moment. Bugger. Oh well. It could’ve been worse. It could’ve been a blow out.

I ate dinner with Tom, Flo and Rhi. Tom made an Irish dish-potato soup. It was amazing. I feel like I’ve had it before though. Cheese, potatoes, onions, garlic, and cream of something. Yummy. I had seconds. Then I stole Flo’s music and watched Shawshank Redemption. It was super insightful and put me in an intrinsic mood. Maybe I'll get some writing done...

Monday I woke up early and got on skype to talk to mom then I went to bio and it was interesting enough, but I was more excited by talking to Sally and Aurelien and the girl who is in my Bio tute about holidays.  It was nice to know I’m not the only one who’s behind in that class. Then I got some sushi and walked right into getting a free snag and Pepsi. Yus.. it made me happy. 

I made pasta for Shayna and I, and was all keen to go to library when I stumbled right into free pizza, chokkie, sodas and popcorn. I was in heaven. Apparently, the school was putting on some kind of event to celebrate coming back from holidays? Whatever it was, I approved.

 I just came back from the library where I listened to bio lectures for a little over two hours, but at least that’s out of the way. I met Alvina in the lounge after coming back from the library. She was so nice!  She picked me up an Arizona green tea because she thought I was homesick. It was so sweet of her. I’m thinking about going to an art exhibit with her on wed night, but we'll see.

Today was awesome. I woke up, went to my bio tute, grabbed a free snag and veggie burger while listening to this awesome band (One More I think) from New Zealand. I had this small moment in my day where I was just so happy. The endorphins were running. I just realized how many awesome people I’ve ran into since getting here…Aurelien, Sally, Dina, Arthur, Tom, Rhi, Nanna, Vera, Flo…. I saw them all today and it was awesome. Even that girl from my Bio tute turned around in bio lecture the other day and asked me how my trip to Cairns went. It was unexpected and I just realized how much I’m going to miss everyone.

Then after tanning it up and working on my bio lab all day (I’m still not finished) I met Janielle and we headed off to Lindt for chokkie. Man, I spend so much on chocolate and coffee. It’s a problem. Anyway, it was awesome to catch up. And we managed to catch the sun setting over the water on the bridge. It was a peaceful moment that made me remember why I love Melbourne.

That night, after taking a break from doing nothing, I played pool with Tom, Rhi and Arthur. The game is just so chill as well as the people. I love going down and taking my mind off everything. Deadlines, especially.

Wednesday…. I ended up going to Don Tojos with Shayna and Vera for lunch and skipping bio lecture because our new lecture is a wacko, and I don’t like him because his humor is vulgar and his personality arrogant. Yup, and the lectures are on conservation, which I think is viable but boring to teach/learn. Anyway, then I spent practically the whole day lying out , getting a free drink from south lawn, and finishing my bio lab. Then after printing my script in the library, I met up with Alvina and went to the Napoleon exhibit at the art gallery. Ah, it was so amazing. I mean, we all know what history tells us, but hearing it and reading it is different from actually seeing it: the steel of his sword, the leather of his hat and the stumpy jacket that was his.

And the famous painting of that valiant yet little man rearing back on his horse with his hand pointed toward the heaven was right in front of my face. The actual awe of being so close that I could touch it and the painting so lifelike I thought his hand had came off the page. I thought of Leslie the whole time and how she would've loved every moment, reading the French descriptions I could not. As I walked through, I couldn’t help but wonder where all of the other relics of history have gone. Like the swords. You know everyone and their brother used to own one. Where are they now? You can’t tell me everyone had them melted down. It just doesn’t make sense. Such relics and treasures. It makes you wonder what will be showcased in virtual boxes for generations to come. What will they remember us by? What story will they tell that may not even scrape the truth?

Thursday, I presented my script (for screen) to the class. It sounded corny to my ears and it wasn’t received as well as I had hoped it would be, as they wanted more of a draw to the main character who’ve I’ve distanced for a reason. Back to the drawing board. 

Oh my gosh, it’s Friday and I had the most amazing day ever. Turned in my bio assignment, laid in the grass, rented some movies, bought Shayna some coffee because I owed her money, got handed  a free slushy, went to a concert. Ahhhhh, so good. It was the John Butler Trio (if you haven't heard them, stop reading right now, and YouTube them. Preferably the song OCEAN or ZEBRA) and they were amazing. The guy comes out looking like a grungy hippie, but with short hair, and I instantly fell in love. He could play any instrument that landed in his hand, and trust me there were many including a banjo. Then they all three hopped onto the drums and played together and it was freaking amazing. I’ve never been so entranced.

Near the end, he told us to turn around and count to four then turn back around and dance like we’ve never danced before, what’s crazy is that it worked. Everyone in the audience started wriggling in all sorts of new ways. We listened for hours and I could’ve listened for more. I was with Nanna, Aurelien, David, Shayna, Rhi, Flo, Daniel and Phil and it was such a good time. Then Aurelien and David said they would join us for a jazz bar in Fitzroy, but it was a cold night and Fitzroy was far, so we simply grabbed cheap food and went to the Queensbury Hotel (a pub near Unilodge). It was nice to chill with everyone and talk about any and everything. Just having pub buddies is cool. It was such a good mix of personalities, too. No one was too overwhelming. That’s what made it great. On the way there, we ran into this drunk guy who said he was trying to find his way home……in western Australia. His most memorable line? “My name is Frederick, I’m famous.” Hahah.

Saturday, we went to the aquarium and saw some huge manna rays getting fed. The aquarium wasn't very big and honestly I've seen better. Not being pessimistic, just honest. If I'd been paying regular price (over 30 AUD) I would've gone. But alas, we paid two bucks. Good ol' Unilodge. Shayna, Vera and I went out to a Mexican restaurant later that night. Oz really doesn't have any Mexican food, and when Alvina suggested this hole in the wall place, I figured Shayna would jump on it. I was right. We got fee chips and salsa, ate our 25 percent discounted food, and went away happy.

Mostly, my weekend consisted of watching movies and drinking a delicious rootbeer float with ice cream from Alvina. (What I didn't realize until half way through was that it had Snapps in it. Probably why it was so good, ha!) And finally, I broke down after trying to do work and went to San Churros with Shayna on Sunday for chocolate and coffee.

Don't Judge.

JoMo