Little Bits of Missy Me

a rock made of pop

2012-03-01T03:48:00.004+11:00

Thanks for the feedback, has put a smile on my insomniac face.

That's right, it's 1am and I can't sleep. I blame Gossip Girl - am slightly addicted. I even looked up the possibility of doing my PhD at Columbia (they have a great Public Health school and even have the kind of projects I'm looking for!).

So whilst I've got your attention I want to share with you one of my favourite childhood recipes:

Poprocks

20g of copha

2tbs crunchy peanut butter

2tbs honey

1/3cup brown sugar

3 1/2 cups popped popcorn

1/2 cup rice bubbles (or cheerios)

1. weigh out first four ingredients and place into saucepan

2. melt into runny consistancy

3. weigh out dry ingredients (popcorn and cereal) into BIG bowl

4. pour over sticky toffee and mix thoroughly

5. wait for mix to cool

6. form mix into rough palm-sized balls and place into fridge to set

7. EAT!

warning: beware of unpopped kernels... ouch!

We would have these all the time when I was a kid and I know that I have asked my mum for this recipe a number of times (I now have a handwritten recipe book so I don't have to ask again). Try it out and let me know how it goes. Have you got any recipes from when you were a kid that you just love to bring out and reminisce?

excuses

2012-02-29T01:23:00.003+11:00

So I keep coming up with excuses to not blog; the topic is stupid, my life is boring, I've been gone too long, that people don't really care anyway and I'm just whinging about shit that is boring... (yeah, oh poor me). And then you just get into this vicious cycle of just not blogging.

But then I realised that I need this blog more than I thought.

Whilst sometimes life is slow, and working full-time means that I live for the weekends and lack motivation, I'm still alive and kicking, and now that uni has started back (boo yeah!), hopefully life will kick in too.

What has prompted me from my self-exile from blogging is that my big little sister has finally got a boyfriend (she's 23).

So does my big little brother (he's 21).

And my little little brother (he's 15).

My little little sister is only 10 so if she had a boyfriend I'd kick that kid so hard he wouldn't be able to sit down for a week and then I'd yell at her so loud her ears would bleed.

And I am single (and 26).

Yep.

I can see it now, come future Christmases when I fly in from wherever I am working on whatever crazy infectious diseases have decided to infect mankind, the older spinster sister with the stellar career and incredible jetsetting lifestyle, with all my brothers and sisters getting married and having kids...

Look, I am really excited for my sister, and am secretly planning her bridal shower in my head, and I know the guy and he's lovely and have thought for a very long time that they would make a great couple, so don't hear me be downing on the great news.

I guess I'm just questioning if I'm okay with where my life is heading? It's looking like a fairly certain thing that I'm going to be doing my PhD after I finish my Masters, so there's another 3-5 years of crap income and long hours, plus I probably want to do some more Epidemiology training somewhere along the lines, and it's not looking like the whole "settle-down-get-married-have-kids-massive-mortgage-pet-dog" thing is going to be in my future any time soon.

I am okay with that, and I know my parents are really proud of me for making something of myself, I think the point of this all is that I just need to stop listening to other people and just believe in myself, knowing that I am doing the right thing and whilst it's not what other people would do it's what I need to do and what's right for me is the best thing I can do.

So there.

more birthday

2012-02-12T17:27:00.005+11:00

So yesterday my awesome housemates and my friend Annette and I all went to the Swan Valley to a beautiful winery called Houghtons, where we ate and drank ourselves silly (except Alex, who was driving). Not much to say about it other than it was a beautiful day and the food was amazing! So here's some pictures of my birthday lunch:

This is Houghton Winery

Beautiful big trees

Nut-crusted deep-fried Brie with Plum liqueur sauce... mmmm

One of the platters we shared for lunch - so much food!

So there you go. Lovely lunch with lovely people. And of course, lots of bubbles...

27th Birthday List

2012-02-09T22:34:00.003+11:00

EEK! I'm TWENTY-SIX! Or as my Dad pointed out to me this morning, I'm now closer to thirty then twenty!

This is my birthday cake - a giant stuffed "Oreo"

Actually I'm really excited about this year; a full year of interesting classes, making friends and contacts, working on setting good foundations for my career and just enjoying myself! And as per tradition, I have set myself a "to-do" list in order to help me achieve having a freaking awesome 26th year of my life!

So here it is:

My 27th Birthday List

Go and take a "swim" at Swanbourne Beach
Take an Italian cooking lesson
Go sailing
Go for a weekend away to Rottnest Island
Go travelling up north
Do another language course (maybe level 2 Spanish?)
Have my name on a scientific publication
Make my own pasta (because I didn't manage to get around to it last year)
Get another stamp in my passport
Go on a blind date

What do you reckon? Anything else you would add?

this guy

2012-02-05T17:23:00.002+11:00

Don't you think that it's slightly unfair in life when what you want you can't have, and yet it's still being dangled in your face?

Sigh.

My friend Paul causes me to catch my breath. Whenever I am with him all I is loose all my senses and get all stupid. It makes me so angry, because I can't have him. He lives 4 hours away. I hate him for it. I hate how he makes me feel, and I hate that he lives so far away.

Sorry for the rant, but I just got home from having lunch with him, and I can still smell him after he gave me a hug and I am mad.

work is not work when it's fun

2012-02-02T01:25:00.004+11:00

My job as a quiz host is awesome! I work for Quiz Meisters Trivia for which I am assigned to The Gate in Success.

I usually have around 40 people come and play, cheering along, making noises, arguing about the answers. Their a great bunch of people and I genuinely don't feel like I'm at work when I'm having that much fun.

Tonight was no exception. Although I only had 20 people turn up (wtf?! where were you all?!), the people who did turn up made lots of noise and had great laughs. I even got hit on (um, hello! am definitely going to pursue this next week).

What made tonight the bomb was I gave away $1000 in cash.

BOO YEAH!

Now how can you call that work!

the set-up

2012-01-30T23:29:00.003+11:00

You know that you're getting to that age when you're single when your friends start setting you up with their friends, or in last nights case, the best friend of her new boyfriend.

His name was Mike, affectionately known as "Mikey", is 28, owns his own business as a sports coach, loves kids, enjoys football and scotch and is very much a blokey guy. Sounds pretty good right?

Nah.

In reality whilst he was a nice enough guy I have to be honest, from the start of this whole scheme I had decided I wasn't interested in this guy, partly because he doesn't do the "churchy thing" and at the moment in my life that's a big pre-requisite.

But it was a passing comment about drugs whilst we were talking about electro-house music and how I enjoy it but don't go out much because I don't do drugs and he said that he did that shut the whole operation down. After the last guy who did drugs made me miserable, it is something that I cannot or will not compromise on. I refuse to date someone who is doing illegal drugs.

So that's it. No go on the Mike show. Oh well.

Next?

Happy Australia Day!

2012-01-28T21:58:00.005+11:00

Sorry about the last post - I think I'm going insane with all this heat. Today it got to 42 degrees celsius, which I think is about 107 fahrenheit? Luckily I was at work; yes, I was happy to be at work on a Saturday, but there is AIR-CONDITIONING there! So I missed the main part of the day.

But this entry is about Australia Day! As you may know, Australia Day is January 26th, and I love it. This year I went to Cottesloe Beach to join in the Havaianas Thong Challenge. So much fun! Relaxing in the shade, swimming in the ocean, and now I am the proud owner of a giant inflatable flip-flop.

I then went to a bbq at my friends house who lives very close to the city and we walked to the foreshore to watch the fireworks. And as we were watching the fireworks it started RAINING! Brilliant! I got absolutely drenched and it felt so refreshing. Ahhh.

But now back to the heat. I have three fans circulating around me whilst I bum on the couch watching "Sex and the City" eating hamburger salad (a green salad with a homemade hamburger patty in it).

too hot

2012-01-27T23:25:00.001+11:00

'tis too hot to blog.

'tis too hot to do anything except splay out on the couch, drink ice water and watch the tennis.

'tis too hot I say.

Australian Flag

2012-01-24T21:06:00.006+11:00

According to research released today by Professor Farida Fozdar from the University of Western Australia, people who fly flags from their cars to celebrate Australia Day (January 26th) are racist.

This comes from their survey which reveals that 43 percent of people who fly flags from their cars in celebration of Australia Day agreed with the statement that "the now abandoned 'White Australia Policy' had 'saved Australia from many problems experienced by other countries'". That is compared with 25 percent who didn't have flags on their cars agreeing with that statement.

Whilst the sample size was relatively small (102) compared to the population of Australia (22, 328, 800), and I am assuming that the survey would have taken place in Perth (rather isolated from the east coast of Australia and the majority of the population), I can't help but get mad about this "research".

My reason being is that I feel as though the researcher, with her obvious ethnic background, is biased, and is jumping on the bandwagon of recent explosive comments by prominent Australians in the media.

What I would like to know is how many of the people who had flags on their cars were of a "non-white" background? How many Australians of ethnic decent actually celebrate their belonging to Australia by celebrating with flags and painted nails and tattoos, all claimed to be symbols of racism? Do people who don't associate themselves as "Australian" but have their Australian citizenship actually celebrate Australia Day and adorn themselves with such iconic things?

Whilst some parties claim that Australia Day celebrates racism, historically it is the day which Captain Arthur Phillip arrived at Sydney Cove, bringing the First Fleet, full of free settlers and convicts. Shouldn't this fact, that us "white people" are originally immigrants, mean that Australia as a nation should be accepting of all people coming to this "Great South Land" for a new chance at life?

I love Australia Day. I for one am rather glad for the day off. One month after Christmas, you feel as though Easter is ages away, and it's a nice break, a day for the beach, a bbq, some beer and great fireworks. It is only a recent tradition (1994) of marking the day with a public holiday.

Since having lived overseas, I have grown a greater appreciation for the fact that I am Australian. I have a freedom that citizens of other countries can only dream about. I celebrate Australia Day because I am thankful for this. That is what Australia Day should be about; a celebration of the freedom we have as Australian, the beauty that is our country, and the fantastic future we have as a nation, no matter what your history.

I for one would fly my flag from my car. I will be wearing my flag as a cape on Thursday, I have gold and green painted fingernails and I will be spending the day at the beach. And there is my two-cents worth on that.

p.s. the photos are from my last Australia Day, celebrated in London, where I proudly wore my flag and stuck stickers all over me and had a GREAT time with my Aussie, Kiwi and British mates.

2012-01-23T22:23:00.004+11:00

It's Monday, time for my favourite link-up at lowercase letters

Miscellany Monday - write random and link up.

1. Yesterday I went to the football (soccer), to which my team (Melbourne Victory) lost dramatically (4-1), but I did have fun joining in with the boys chanting and drinking beer. We went out with the people who flew over from Melbourne for drinks afterwards and I got a bit friendly with one guy (drought broken!), mind you he's ten years older than me and lives in Melbourne (3,500km away).

2. It's summer time here in Perth (Western Australia)... this week is forecasted to be over 35 degrees (Celsius, so about 95 degrees F) everyday. HOT! And we don't have air-conditioning at my house.

3. I have a cold. Stupid virus. Cough cough cough, sore throat, can't swallow, headache etc... wtf?! Who gets a cold in summer time?! hehe, apparently the guy from last night has the signs of developing a cold... oops!

4. It's my birthday in 3 weeks!!! I hope someone makes me a birthday cake (I don't want to have to make my own)... hint hint housemates!

They are my random thoughts. Head over to lowercase letters and let your thoughts go random.

movies

2012-01-21T12:08:00.003+11:00

Two weeks ago my housemates and I went to see "The Ides of March" at the Moonlight Cinema, which followed with me passionately verbalising my dislike of the movie (I can't tell you why, it would be a spoiler) in the car ride home.

This week we headed back out to the Moonlight Cinema to see "New Years Eve" (ohhh, I so want to go to New York!). This time my housemate James slammed the movie, saying it was a cash-cow, had no plot or cinematic value, being a melting pot of clichés leaving the girls all gooey with loveliness and the boys happy knowing they'll get laid because they were the good boyfriend and saw such a shit movie.

It's amazing how two people can have such profoundly differing views on movies.

I live a somewhat sheltered life. I know that I am slightly emotionally unstable; I am easily persuaded by the emotions of others, like in movies or on TV. I am prone to nightmares, and what I read and watch influences my life. From this knowledge of myself I choose not to watch movies that make me feel like shit afterwards. I like to spend my money making myself feel happy, believing there is a Prince Charming out there somewhere and people are good and wholesome and nice. There is enough shit going on in the world, I don't need to pay $16 to watch it on a Friday night.

But why on earth would you hate a rom-com?! James, really, what is wrong with a happy-lovey-dovey-ooey-gooey rom-com?! Is it because you saw it with us girls and you weren't about to go home to your happy girlfriend? Or are you a genuine cynic and maybe you're just like the guy in the elevator and have had your heart broken?

Honestly, how can you hate a rom-com?

p.s. the Moonlight cinema is an outdoor cinema with bean-bags and you can BYO food and drinks (even the wine!), and when it's 37 degrees (celcius) all you want to do is get out of your non-air conditioned house and it cools down when the sun falls and the stars are out; it's beautiful.

Cabbage Patch Doll

2012-01-17T22:05:00.009+11:00

If you saw my post about my favourite things to do in London, you would have seen this guy:

Isn't he cute?

(yes is the correct answer)

Let me introduce you. His name is Angus Darcy, and for the 18months that I travelled around Europe, he came everywhere with me. He even has is own travel blog -> http://angusdarcy.blogspot.com/

I bought him off ebay, and named him after the cat from "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging", and the amazing Mr Darcy from "Pride and Prejudice". Whilst sometimes it's been rather awkward being at incredible tourist spots and pulling out a cabbage patch doll, it's made for some great friends, and a heck of a lot of laughs.

It's almost been a year since I've been back in Australia, and our travels have been far and few between, but I have made him a promise to get back out there, dust off my backpack and see the world, even if it's just the city in which I currently live.

So here's some more pics of Angus, check out his blog and I promise that I'll make more effort to go and see my world, reporting back to you with the stories.

forget

2012-01-14T18:36:00.003+11:00

It's amazing how we tend to only remember the good times and forget the bad.

After my last post about what I would recommend doing in London, I became kinda homesick - more like mourning the loss of the life I've had. I've left behind some amazing friends, all my family, great jobs, good money, a social life, and right now I feel like I don't have much to show for it.

But I keep forgetting the hard parts of it - how trapped I felt in Melbourne before I moved to London, how alone and stupid I felt in London at the start, how hard it was to constantly make the effort to go and do and see and be and smile all the freaking time... You forget that, because it isn't nice and happy and worthy of facebook.

I constantly remind myself that in the future I will look back on this move to Perth and be so thankful that I was brave enough to do this, despite how frustrated and bored and alone I feel. I miss my Mum and my best friend is struggling in Melbourne and I miss Sophie and Jess and I just hurt. But I know it will be worth it.

My Favourite Things

2012-01-10T23:36:00.007+11:00

My friend is going to London for a few days on her honeymoon (jealous!), so she asked me what the top 5 things I would do in London. Whilst this list of things to do is NOT touristy, and very very biased to myself and my experiences, I was so impressed with my answer I thought I would share it with you!

Okay, so here's my guide to the London I knew and loved:

1. Go to the Borough Market, near London Bridge tube station. Incredibly good food and there's lots of freebies, yum yum yum.

Look at those tomatoes! And that cheese!

NOTE: London Bridge is NOT the Tower Bridge, but it's not far from there. My suggestion would be to do the markets, and then walk along the riverside to the Tower Bridge, and then cross over to where the London Tower is (WARNING: extremely touristy).

This is London Bridge (boring) and this is Tower Bridge (cool!)

2. The White Horse, near Parsons Green tube station - My local pub whilst I lived there. Lots of different beers and ciders, and if you're there during summer they do a great bbq! Amazing atmosphere, and it's quintessentially South-Western London suburbs pub, not at all touristy, and what the locals do. Go get yourself some pub grub and a pint and relax.

If this place is busy, go across the park to "Duke on the Green" which is on the street I lived. Other pubs to check out in South-West London are The Crabtree in Fulham, The Telegraph in Putney Heath, The Elk Bar on Fulham Broadway and Be At One - there's heaps of these but I always went to the one in Hammersmith, this place does INCREDIBLE cocktails and it's really cheap, especially during 2-4-1 happy hours.

A lot of my time in London was spent enjoying wine and cocktails

3. Harrods - the most amazing shopping experience! Go to the food hall, and to the toy section! Speaking of toys, definitely go spend some time in Hamley's. This area of London (Oxford St/Regent St) is great for shopping, but WARNING, it's BUSY BUSY BUSY full of Asian tourist! There's Carnaby Street, the huge department stores -> John Lewis (Great Food Hall!), House of Fraser, and Selfridges, plus another great pub, Bonds on Dering Street, which has GREAT food, (I had my 24th Birthday party there).

4. The Science Museum!!! SO COOOOOL! And if you're there on the last Wednesday of the month then they have an "Adults Only" session which is HEAPS of fun! All the museums are awesome! The main three museums (Science, History and V&A) are in Kensington - there's a frozen yoghurt shop near the tube station called "SNOG" <--- AWESOME! I totally fancy a snog...

5. My all time favourite thing to do in London is to get some Starbucks, find a random bus route, sit up the top of the bus and just SEE London. It's especially good to do this on a miserable cold day and you've got no agenda, nowhere to be, and just want to relax. My suggestion - the number 11 bus route from Liverpool Street to Fulham Broadway, or the Route 22 from Piccadilly Circus to Putney Heath (these were my bus routes).

Take the time to catch the bus!

So there you go! Hope this helps! Of course there's SO so so much you could do, and this is definitely not the touristy things, these are my favourite things, the things I would do if I went back. Oh, I MISS LONDON, I would go back in a heartbeat!

P.S If you DO go to London, PLEASE eat these for me:

one month and counting

2012-01-09T21:57:00.003+11:00

Today is the 9th of January (just in case you didn't know...), but what you might not know is that it's ONE MONTH 'TIL MY BIRTHDAY!

Last year's Birthday cupcakes! How awesome is that duck!

As per tradition since I was 17 years old, each year I write a list of things I want to do/achieve by my next birthday (you can see last year's list here). It started just before my 18th birthday so I could say I did these things before I became legal (we become legal at 18 in Australia). I like this kind of list better than a bucket list because I have a deadline (haha) for achieving these things. Generally there's about ten things on the list; some important, some stupid, some achievable, some miraculous, all things very "me".

So as my 26th birthday is coming round the corner, I'm starting to gather ideas about what to put on my 27th List (Things I want to Achieve Before I turn 27). I've got a few goals, but am throwing it out to you to give me some more ideas. It can be as ridiculous or as sensible as you like. And on the 10th of February (I shall be out partying on my actual Birthday), I shall reveal my list and my first give-away.

Love ya guys!

small things

2012-01-07T20:22:00.004+11:00

Hmm, nothing much overly exciting is happening at the moment; it's pretty much just work and getting a suntan at the beach. So tonight's entry is just an update on the small things...

Our cat went missing around Christmas time; I wasn't home but the reports from my housemates say that he was intermittent between the 23rd and the 28th of December. Whilst he's not officially my cat, for some reason I actually was quite saddened by Aly running away. I hate it when people leave. So I posted an ad on gumtree; I didn't feel like posting all those flyers up on telephone poles. Luckily the local vet checks the lost and found ads and apparently someone handed our cat in as a stray (huh?) and so TADA! We have our cat back!

Last night we (being my housemates and I) went to the Moonlight Cinemas in Perth to see "The Ides of March", which is outside of my normal genre of movies (I much prefer Rom-Coms), but in the end I thought it was okay; I got to see Ryan Gosling with his shirt off so it was worth it. I just loved being outside watching a movie. We took the cushions off the couch to sit on, which would have looked hilarious (our couch is this old 80's retro pattern with bright lines all through it).

Oh, I went to the local Farmers Market and got some great fresh vegetables. Oh, the cherry tomatoes were incredible on my omelette this morning! Yum Yum Yum! (crap photo because it's on my phone).

Colby and Corn Omlette with Spinach, Avocado and grilled Cherry Tomatoes

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-04T00:45:00.006+11:00

Yep, I know, Christmas was like so last year, but as I was away and very gladly enjoying my computer free holidays, I didn't get to tell you all about my extremely happy Christmas with my family in Melbourne.

I think more than anything I was just relieved to just have a Christmas without any SNOW with temperatures in the positives. 2009 I was unable to travel due to fluffy snow on the Eurail tracks in France and last year I was in Frankfurt and it was -8C, but this year it was a fantastic 30C, with incredible lightning storms.

It was also quite peaceful being at home surrounded by people who love you, and who for the last few months have conspired behind your backs to get the best possible present ever. My family is very big in giving presents; not in the materialistic sense, more that we derive pleasure from seeing their responses to the hard work you've put in to finding this present - this year I gave my sister an audio Italian course, to which she pissed herself laughing at.

As always it was nice to cuddle up with the cat again; the first few hours she stares at me and then she remembers and I get lots of loves. I miss her, especially because our cat in Perth has gone AWOL and to me it's rather sad.

Finally it was good just getting away from it all here in Perth; whilst I've made great friends and I love my housemates, nothing beats who I have in Melbourne, with my family and long-term friends. I had some incredible breakfasts out, Boxing Day sales in the city, Birthday bashing my London friend and relaxing by the pool.

So I pray you all had lovely Christmas, and got some great presents and felt loved and appreciated. Merry Christmas!

welcome

2012-01-03T00:09:00.006+11:00

Hazaah, it's 2012, the year of making an effort to do things. So whilst I'm all excited for this new year, I'm joining in 'Miscellany Monday' from lowercase letters to look back on 2011.

1. 2011 was the year of making a choice to do what I wanted; it started off with NYE, I was supposed to be spending it with my best friend and her now husband in Berlin, but whilst I was excited to be travelling with her, I made a shit third wheel, and I wasn't finding it easy to make new friends at our hostel, so I jumped on a plane and went back to my friends in London.

Fireworks at Waterloo, London last NYE

2. 2011 was the year of moving; from London, to Melbourne and then to Perth.

My attempt at packing up in London

3. 2011 was the year of brunches... YUM!

Breakfast at Innocent Bystander

4. 2011 was the year of starting to work on my dreams; Masters in Infectious Diseases

5. 2011 was the year of investment purchases; My first designer frock! (oh, and my brother bought me the most AMAZING Georg Jensen necklace for Christmas... eek!)

6. 2011 was the year of dating; some guys were amazing, some utterly ridiculous.

My 2011 was fantastic, and whilst there's regrets, there's also been accomplishments. I am proud of myself, and know that I step into 2012 with so much potential! Thanks for being with me, and here's cheers for a legendary 2012 for everyone!

Chicken

2011-12-20T23:31:00.007+11:00

Last night was Christmas Dinner at my house, and I made "Beer Butt Chicken" as my contribution to the meal. Wondering what on earth I'm talking about? Here's my recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
Chicken, can of beer, soft butter, garlic, dried paprika, chilli flakes.

STEP 1:
Open can of beer, drink half of it. Yum!

STEP 2:
Melt half of the butter with some garlic, chilli and paprika.

STEP 3:
Pour melted butter into open can of beer.

STEP 4:
Mix the other half of the butter in with more garlic, paprika and chilli and rub it into the skin of the chicken.

STEP 5:
Sit the chicken on top of the can of beer, so it kinda looks like the chicken is doing a poo.

STEP 6:
Roast the chicken in a pre-heated oven of 180C for about 1hr 20mins

STEP 7:
Let sit for 15mins covered in Aluminium foil.

STEP 8:
ENJOY!

grades

2011-12-19T02:55:00.002+11:00

I got my grades for uni... two Distinctions and a Credit, with an overall Distinction average!!! I never thought this would be possible, especially if you saw my grades from my undergraduate degree. Oh my goodness!

So bring on next semester! Bring on my future career as an Infectious Diseases Scientist! I CAN do this! I remember the day I found out I got accepted, I couldn't believe it! And thanks to Facebook timeline, I looked back on my status and so many people believed in me, so many people have my back, knew that I could do this. I sometimes need to shut up and listen to other people, because what they're saying is much more important than what I'm saying.

the start of summer

2011-12-12T21:49:00.007+11:00

It's summer! Gloriously long days, lazing around on the beach, drinking beautiful wine and working on my suntan.

There was a lunar eclipse the other night, and whilst those on the east coast would have missed it due to all the rain and storms, here in Perth we got a clear view! My camera isn't anything flash, but here's my attempt of taking a pic of the spectacular event:

I've written about "The Garden" before, the awesome outdoor bar where I met Red (*blows raspberry*), but we were back there on Friday night, and that's where I met the new guy, we shall call him Physio (no prizes if you guess what he's just graduated in). And whilst he's cute (genuinely cute), and funny and interesting (um, he wants to work for the UN?!), he's going to Austria for 4 weeks skiing with his family. I am tempted to text him anyway, but that might seem weird. Hmmm....

So it's only been 12 days of Summer so far, and whilst my tan is taking a while, my life is kicking off. With Christmas parties filling in the next two weeks, then flying home to Melbourne, this Summer is looking to be excitingly awesome.

Carols

2011-12-05T23:42:00.006+11:00

Who loves Christmas Carols?!

ME!

For the last two nights, my church C3 Crawley has hired a truck, chucked a whole bunch of musical equipment, musicians and singers with heaps of amplification and decorated the whole thing with kilometres of tinsel and Christmas lights and driven around our local area singing Christmas Carols and bringing Christmas cheer to everyone.

We had a Santa and elves and angels and lolly throwers and about 100 people with candles and singing along whilst we drove around for 3hours each night.

In the end it was exhausting and crazy, but I loved it and it was amazing to see so many people welcome this loud extravagance to their street (some people even had a street party and gave us rum balls!). I also loved performing, and getting people involved, especially the little kids. I can't wait 'til next year, am SO going to do that again!

Now I'm faced with the question of should I join the singing team at church? Hmmm. Am slightly afraid of becoming committed at church, as I don't know how long I'll be here, but also I do know that I'll be in Perth until August 2013, and it would be nice to have friends and being musical and connected in. Hmmm.

Anyways, hope you're getting your Christmas on! Only 20 days til Christmas!

working gal

2011-12-01T00:29:00.004+11:00

My summer is panning out to be long and quite repititious; I'm working full-time at the laboratory except for a week and a bit off for Christmas and New Years, and 4 days off for my 26th Birthday (which is in 2 months and 10 days!). So at least I'll be able to save some moolah...

But whilst I'm on the topic of work, let's join in on this weeks "We Want to Know" Wednesday from "It Aint Easy Being Cheesy".

1. what is the worst job you have ever had?

Hmm, probably working at the restaurant as a bar bitch/barista. Or testing faeces for bacteria. Both of them were pretty shitty jobs...

2. have you ever been fired?

Sadly yes, and it's shaken my ability to feel safe in a job; I am constantly worried that I'm not good enough or I've made a massive mistake. I was working in London and they told me I wasn't qualified enough for the job after I'd been working there for three months.

3. what would your dream job be?

Today, my dream job would be working for the World Health Organisation in some capacity.

4. what did you want to be when you "grew up"?

A Princess, if not that, a doctor.

5. how old were you when you got your first job?

Just before I turned 15 I started working at my local McDonalds, which in Australia is a pretty typical high school job, and it's rather good money, and they help you get some retail industry qualifications. I worked there for 4 years... way too long.

So there you go! So make your way over to "It Aint Easy Being Cheesy" and join in the fun!

keep looking

2011-11-29T00:28:00.003+11:00

Well, Red has decided he's "too busy between now and Christmas, and just doesn't think this will work"...

Fair enough. At least he called right?

I know I did the right thing by not sleeping with him, but it still kinda hurts being turned down again. Besides, what kind of girl is he looking for if he's thinking she'll sleep with him on the second date on a beach?! Not this kind of girl obviously.

There are plenty of fish in the sea, and I just need to get back on the horse and try again, blah blah blah. One day I will find the person who is looking for me, just as I am looking for him. Someone out there wants a Me kind of girl.

Thankful

2011-11-27T15:23:00.004+11:00

Whilst I'm not American/Canadian, I'm always thankful for what I have, so that's my motivation for joining in with this "Weekend Wander" from FTLOB.

I am thankful for my continuing education; I know that whilst I do complain and can't wait for it to be over, it will open up opportunities that I wouldn't be able to have without it.
I am thankful for my living arrangements; My housemates are the best people, and I live in a great big house in a beautiful suburb, near the beach and the city and just one ten minute bus ride from uni and work.
I am thankful for my job; I am lucky enough to have a flexible job in the field related to my career choice, and the people are great and the opportunities are good too.
I am thankful for my church family; I am slowly growing comfortable at my new church, and I'm making friends and learning to trust people.

I know that those four things are rather cliche, but if you think about it, they are some of the most important things in your life to have right; if you have a bad living situation, or not happy at work, or cannot pursue your dreams or unable to afford further education, the life is just not happy, and you stress out.

So Happy Thanksgiving for those who celebrate it, and have a great weekend!

Random

2011-11-26T04:51:00.005+11:00

As part of my "Thank Goodness It's Over" Celebrations, we (being my awesome housemates), went out in Perth city, and met Troy and some other guy who I cannot remember his name for the life of me.

After a few hours hanging with these guys, my housemates decided they wanted to go to some slutty nightclub (Capitol?), but of course I felt obliged to go with my housemates, so said goodbye to the guys. Whilst waiting in line for the shitty slutty nightclub my housemate Laura, who is a year older than me, said "I've been coming here since I was 16 years old" to which I looked at the line and thought, "you know what, I'm so not up for this" and walked off, only to stumble back upon Troy and friend.

So whilst I was chatting to Troy about something rather pretentious and hilarious, his friend borrowed my camera and ran around taking photos. Here are the random photos of him hijacking my camera:

That's actually me and Troy chatting it up on a park bench in the middle of Perth City at 1am

Check out the Kangaroo!

He managed to get a set of randoms to jump like a kangaroo... wtf?!

Lovely, public nudity

There's a whole bunch of not exactly appropriate photos, but I didn't think that you'd enjoy them (nor did I actually want to post them up here).

So there you go, give a guy your camera and you end up having a great conversation with his friend. It was a great night of celebrations, alcohol fuelled without stupidity and definitely no regrets. Now I'm home at 2am in my pj's eating salt and vinegar crisps. It's been awesome.

P.S. TWO THOUSAND "PEOPLE" HAVE VIEWED MY PAGE! Now that is awesome.

Closed for Business

2011-11-25T01:00:00.005+11:00

I've just gotten home from date #2 with Red (the Environmental Advisor for some mining firm?) so here's the goss:

We went for dinner at Soda Cafe in Trigg, right near the beach. As the sun set we had great red wine and I heard all about the ridiculous things he got up to whilst living in South Africa on a wildlife reserve. He made most of the decisions at dinner, like the wine and where we sit, which was actually a nice feeling.

This was the view...

After an amazing chocolate pudding with cotton candy, we went to the beach and drank more wine and chatted and I laughed a lot. And then it got fun... *big cheeky grin*, and oh my goodness he is so hot, and with his shirt off it's amazing and dang it! I just couldn't do it, I just couldn't have sex with him; I just felt so uncomfortable, I don't even know this guy properly, and I just started freaking out, and argh!

But he was good about it, and laughed when I ran into the ocean and got completely drenched. We talked some more and drank some more wine, and it was okay but still rather awkward (oh man!). When he walked me back to my car he said he'd like to see me again, to which I stupidly said "really?!" to which he replied "yeah".

In the end, if he never calls again then at least I've stuck up for myself, but I really hope he does call again! It was so romantic, the cafe and the wine on the beach, and the making out was good. Oh please call again! Here's hoping he does...

DONE!

2011-11-23T15:31:00.002+11:00

My first semester of my Masters in Infectious Diseases is OVER!!!

PAR-TAY TIME!

I've got (diet) Indian Tonic Water (mmm, tasty anti-malarial quinolones!), I've got strawberries, and I've got Vodka.

It's 34 degrees and I don't start work until 6pm.

THANKS so much for the comments of support over the semester, I've loved having you read on about my classes and boys and life. Cheers!

another one bites the dust...

2011-11-22T21:21:00.003+11:00

YES! Molecular and Cellular Biology is DONE! Hopefully I will never ever ever ever ever have to learn about plasmids and actin polymerisation and genetic transposition. I only needed 30% to pass the subject, so it's possible that I will never have to do it again!

There was a moment in today's exam where I audibly swore; I didn't know anything about that question. I just made something up; I drew a pile of poo underneath the microscope...

Now one more, Diagnostic Medical Microbiology, and then par-tay time! Am thinking of getting a new ear piercing!

one down...

2011-11-21T20:40:00.002+11:00

... two more to go! Exams that is.

My first exam today, Public and Environmental Health, was actually quite satisfying, for I knew stuff, and I could easily recall it, and for the shit I didn't know, I made it up. There wasn't one question left unanswered, and whilst I wrote short dot point answers, they gave what I thought was the correct information and you don't need to ramble on for five pages to say what you can say in one sentence, right?

Now onto Molecular and Cellular Microbiology, which I'm finding really hard to concentrate and study for. I can't believe they put all our exams in such a short space of time. BOO.

lack of motivation

2011-11-19T13:36:00.004+11:00

I have no motivation to study for my exams which happen to start in two days.

So I thought it would be a good idea to look at potential dream jobs to spur me on to greatness and also to legitimately waste time.

However, I didn't find a single job that I am either qualified for or interested in.

I'm going to have a Masters degree in Infectious Diseases and have no career. I will be stuck as an overqualified Technical Assistant for the rest of my life.

(I know I'm just being over dramatic)

I know, I'll go to the beach. That's a much better idea than studying.

p.s. My exams are Monday 9am, Tuesday 2pm and Wednesday 9am WST, so if you're of the praying persuasion I'd love you to shout some love for me!

p.s.s. My inspiration for procrastination comes from Lozzz123

p.s.s.s. Hmm, actually, nothing else, was just wasting time. Haha.

oh my goodness!

2011-11-18T01:03:00.003+11:00

I have to tell someone, and my housemates aren't home, and I just had the most awkwardly amazing time with the nicest good looking red head ever!!!

He's 28 and an environmental advisor and has travelled and lived overseas and likes going out and he smells nice and kisses great and oh my goodness yay! And yes, I LIKE red hair, and freckles, and his arms are huge (muscularly) and he has eyes that are great to look into and he's so tall it's almost awkward to kiss him. And he talks! He talks and has great stories and yay!

Some of you might be thinking "what about the PhD guy?"... well, nothing really. Nothing has happened with him; we've had lunch/coffee four times and whilst he's fantastic in theory and great to talk to, there's no spark. I'm not about to give up on him, and I know that normally I think the "spark" is a load of bullshit, but it honestly feels like a friends thing, and I haven't kissed him in like three weeks, where as this other guy, I got butterflies, and I haven't had butterflies in a while. I'm not going to tell PhD guy about the other guy (I need a nickname for him for you guys to follow along with; I guess I could just call him Red), nor will I tell Red about PhD guy... OMG I'm dating TWO GUYS! That's okay right?! I'm not like a slut or anything by doing this? I just don't want to be mean, and maybe one of them won't work or one of them will work really really well, or I don't know, this is a crap situation, but still...

YAY!!! Oh my goodness, I can't wait for him to call me again. Must take this slowly and not stuff it up. I'm so over first dates, they are stupidly awkward, and I actually made it through this one and got the most AMAZING kiss... ahhh.

scary life and sexy moustaches

2011-11-13T18:31:00.003+11:00

In the last two weeks both of my parents have become unemployed. It's actually quite a scary feeling, being so far away from them, and my mum not having taken it so well. I wish I could do something more, but all I can do is ring home and pray. It's ridiculous really. It's not like they're anywhere near retirement; both of my parents are 47. Technically, according to Australian law, they are not due to retire for another 20 years. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. My parents are awesome, and I'm sure they'll find jobs, but for both of them to be unemployed at the same time...! My dad has been applying for jobs all over the place; the selfish part of me wants them to move to Perth. I miss my parents.

On another note, it's incredible to see all these fantastic moustaches around! I Love Movember! At no other time would I go for a guy with a moustache, but if a guy doesn't have one in November then I'm actually turned off. Seriously. So if you're a guy out there, and you have no idea what I'm talking about then check out this link --> AWESOME MOVEMBER LINK and check out what's happening in your country.

studying

2011-11-07T21:31:00.002+11:00

It's AMAZING what happens when you study - You can actually answer questions with confidence. Sure, you can walk out of a test and think you've gone well and then up failing, but this time I think it's different. We'll find out soon eh?

I honestly hate dating. I am NOT having fun; yes PhD guy is fantastic, and things are going well, but I am SO stressed out and worrying and freaking out all the time because I just don't want to get dumped. I am so over getting dumped, rejected, ignored, used and abused to the point where I am seriously considering just giving up. Sure, it'd be nice to be in a relationship, but it's the getting to the relationship part that is sucking balls right now.

Is there anyone else out there who feels the same? Anybody who has been in the same situation and then *bam* been hit in the face with a fish?

Also, the 25th of November is International Wear A Cape Day, HOW AWESOME! So you've been warned; get your towels and bedsheets and be excited!

blubbering mess

2011-11-04T09:58:00.003+11:00

PhD guy: "So what do you feel like eating?"

Me: "Oh, I could eat Asian"

PhD guy: "Okay, Asian it is then"

(conversation seems normal, and then...)

Me: "But I couldn't eat AN Asian, (stupid giggle laugh) that would be silly eh?"

OH MY GOODNESS... I have never sounded like such an idiot before. Such a blathering idiot. I normally don't get nervous, and this isn't the normal kind of nervous that I get, so so stupid. Mind you, I have no idea what I'm doing anyway. Guys, you don't agree to go on a third date with a girl if you don't like her right? It's not just a friends thing? (we didn't kiss after the second date but it was in the middle of the street and I would've felt awkward doing it anyway, and since when did he get so tall?)

BUT, he's not taking away from my studies - I am determined to get ≥70% in all three subjects, leaving me open for my PhD later on. I had a test yesterday in which I genuinely made stuff up in. I was away for one week, and there was this MASSIVE table in the test asking about Urine Microscopy and casts and what they are and what they mean... My lab partner didn't take down any notes on them so I had no idea they'd even been discussed in the lab (although conspiracy theory me thinks she did and didn't tell me). ARGH, so stupidly not fair, but I'm not about to go complaining to my Subject Co-ordinator, it was my choice to go to Melbourne and skip a week, so I shall live with the consequences. I'll definitely get 50%, but as to anything more... (it's only a 10% quiz so meh).

pyureia under the microscope (source)

I have a massive report due on food poisoning and Bacillus cereus, which is a bacteria that is often implicated in Asian take-away food poisoning outbreaks. It can cause both emetic and diarrhoeal disease, so it's a fairly interesting organism.

So along with writing up this paper, I've got my MID End-of-Year dinner in which our Professor is paying for drinks (oh yeah!), and mine and PhD guys third date (which I'm planning), so it's going to be a busy one! Hope you guys have a great weekend too, enjoying the sun if you're in the eastern states of Australia, using an umbrella if you here in Perth, or rugging up if it's starting to snow where you are!

hibernation period

2011-10-30T21:27:00.003+11:00

update on PhD guy: had coffee with him on Friday morning (it was a public holiday here in Perth due to CHOGM and a delayed Queen's Birthday celebration) and it was rather good. I was extremely nervous though and talked about random crap, but he seemed to enjoy himself; I've got a second date! And I got a kiss, which I got heaps of after the cocktail party, but they were drunken kisses, and kissing when you're drunk is nothing like a real kiss when you're sober and standing on your front doorstep after he's walked you home from the cafe.

This long weekend I headed down to Margaret River in the heart of the Western Australian wine region (if you can get some Margaret River Semillion Savignon Blanc I highly recommend!) with the Young Adult group from my church (awesome people!). The weather was incredible. Anyway, I thought I'd share some photos with you of my great weekend. Hope you had one too!

But alas, the next few weeks are requiring hibernation from me due to the entering of the ever dreaded exam period. So I will promise to post at least once a week, but I need to stop procrastinating and actually get stuff done, so limiting myself from checking my blog is the main reason for hibernating. Keep being wonderful, and wish me luck!

cocktail party

2011-10-24T23:05:00.002+11:00

Friday night was the annual Postgraduate Society Cocktail Ball, and it was awesome! I went with my friend Annette, and we were the only people from our Masters degree, and it sure felt like we were the odd ones out not doing a PhD or anything else with our course (well, doesn't matter because I have plenty of options, so there)

At first it was rather daunting because there was a room full of people and no one was mingling and we didn't know anyone else besides each other, but after the consumption of two glasses of liquid courage, I went up to this guy and asked if he would do us the honour of coming over to our table so that my friend Annette could snap his braces (he was wearing these awesome braces with his suit, so cool), which led to the meeting of his friends, which led to an awesome night out in Perth.

I was quite surprised at how many decent looking Aussie guys are doing post-graduate studies, totally worth the $30 in going along just for the view and bar tab. But I did meet two awesome guys (a Business PhD candidate and a Law student), and had a bit of a boogie on the dance floor and got some very lovely and totally appreciated comments on my appearance (sweet!).

At the end of the night I gave the Business PhD candidate my number and said "I really like you, and I'd love to catch up again, but I don't call guys, so if you want to see me again then you'll call me"... I'm kinda nervous that he won't, but I need to stick to my guns (I've got his number), and not text him. Hmm. So here's for an interesting week of checking my phone!

On other news today's exam totally sucked and I actually physically walked out crying.

birthday cake

2011-10-23T16:22:00.004+11:00

Whilst in Melbourne it was my baby sisters 10th birthday! I can't believe that she's now TEN! I was 15 and nine months old when my baby sister was brought into the world. So to celebrate, I made her birthday cake - a cupcake tree.

I bought her a beautiful silk dress from Gumboots also, she looks amazing, tall and skinny, and so grown up! She loved the cakes, and her lunch box was full of sugary icing goodness.

Made me think about when I turned ten. My step-dad just proposed to my Mum and they were joking about how for my 11th birthday I would get a new Dad for a present and I was livid. Instead I got a new baby brother, which is another story. Man, ten was a long time ago; the Spice Girls were still together back then! I was still in primary school and my memory of me back then was me being a unpopular fat kid, trying too hard and just wanting to fit in. I'm sure I wasn't that fat or that unpopular but that was my opinion of myself. Oh, how I am so happy not to be a kid anymore, I love being a somewhat grown-up (I'm so not grown up yet).

But it was so exciting to see my baby sister all excited about finally reaching double digits. She has her whole life in front of her, so many opportunities, so many tears, so many smiles and laughs. It's sad that I'm on the other side of the country but I'm still excited to see her grow up and enjoy life.

Flights Home

2011-10-20T23:09:00.002+11:00

So the wedding was amazing, and I'll blog about it another day when I'm not so tired and grumpy, but there's something I need to complain about which is extremely irritating to me right now.

It's the cost of flying home to Melbourne for Christmas.

It's 2580km from Perth to Bali, and to flying return from Perth to Bali for Christmas is about $500.

It's 2730km from Perth to Melbourne, not even 200km more, and yet it's over $500 ONE WAY.

So whilst the government is trying to get us to stay home and have our holidays here and stimulate our own economy, why would I when I can go lie on a beach and get a tan and some dodgy souvenirs (and potentially a Legionella infection)?

I haven't had a decent Christmas for the last two years; the last two years being ruined by snow. I would just like to sit by the pool and have a cocktail. But $1000 is a lot of money. Stupid stupid stupid.

back home

2011-10-11T21:47:00.004+11:00

So here I am, back in Melbourne, chillaxing and being lazing, eating lots and catching up with heaps of friends... and baking a lot! I'd only been back at my parents house for a few hours and my mum asked me to make a lemon meringue pie!

It's been nice having the time off, not having uni or work or housemates or anything really, just sitting around, doing my assignments and drinking coffee with my Mum. I almost don't want to go back.

no vibrators allowed

2011-10-09T15:53:00.007+11:00

My best friend's Bridal Shower and Hen's Party was yesterday in Melbourne and it was fantastic! It went a lot better than I'd hoped for, no awkward silences, lots and lots of laughter and adequate amounts of embarrassment. PLUS lots of presents!

First off, I totally didn't think about the fact that some cultures don't have Bridal Showers. Like the Polish or Indonesians. So apparently some of them googled what it was and honestly I though they brought the cutest, most thoughtful presents.

Secondly, we went Pole Dancing for her Hen's Party. HILARIOUS! Am rather sore today, and have realised that I'm so not sexy. Totally not sexy. My hips don't lie. But my friend, the beautiful bride to be, has a whole bunch of sexy in her. She was amazing last night!

And as part of the functions package the Bride-to-Be gets a showbag full of goodies... including some shot glasses, a penis straw, a glow-in-the-dark penis drink bottle, and a "packet of lifesavers"...

inconspicuous packaging eh?

Oh man she was so awkward about this! Funniest conversation ever after the class, with her trying to shirk off the vibrator, half of the girls secretly curious but outward abhorring, the others secretly owning one and outwardly trying to get her to keep it, just as a joke. Her fiancé this morning said the most brilliant thing about it... "oh honey, that's great! You can use it when your missing me when I'm away for work". BA HAHAHA, she was horrified!

So in the end she had a great time, now own a fairly decent collection of sexy lingerie and some amazing crystal bowls. I'm back at my Melbourne home for the next few days, my baby sister turns TEN this week (OMG), and then wedding freak-outs start on Thursday. So if you've got any tips on how to be the most useful Maid-of-Honour I'd really appreciate them!

2011-10-06T01:03:00.001+11:00

‎'Next time I want to sit my exams in a shopping centre because the customer is always right!' - MH

Today's blog is from

1. If you had an extra hour to do ANYTHING for yourself each day, what would you do?

Well, if I had to spend it on myself, I think it would be shopping. I don't like randomly shopping for things for myself, like clothes or shoes etc. I know, what kind of girl am I? I shop for those things only when I desperately need them, like when my jeans have holes in awkward places, or my shoes are completely worn through.
2. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Hmm, actually I don't know. I'm kinda both... in the sense that I'm definitely NOT a middle-of-the-day person, that's when I'm cranky and sleepy and just want to punch everyone. Great social person I am eh?
3. How much sleep do you get on an average night?

I like about seven hours sleep.
4. When do you find the time to blog/surf the ol' interweb?

At night, when I'm just wanting to calm down and watch tv.
5. What is the ONE thing you're never too busy for?

Reading. I always have a novel on the go, generally something romantic and lovely.

monday night

2011-10-03T23:55:00.002+11:00

It's Monday night, and I'm sitting on the couch, drinking red tea and watching crappy TV whilst attempting to do some basic padding out of my Medical Microbiology laboratory reports.

What's wrong with this picture?

I'm home on a Monday night.

BECAUSE I QUIT MY JOB!

Boo yeah. No more coffee making, wine pouring, order taking, dish clearing, cash counting for me! And that also means that Chef is now out of my life also.

It's been a rather disappointing end to the relationship, with there being no actual end, no "let's break-up", no fight, no anything. I did pick up enough guts to kinda have a go at him last night when I finished my shift, saying "you know, it's common courtesy to let someone know if you want to stop seeing them", which is true. Stupid idiot. I'm so much better off without him, but it doesn't mean it doesn't sting. I'm so sick of having failed relationships.

One thing that I'm not failing at is uni. For my mid-semester exams I averaged 75% overall! Brilliant! Man, if I can keep this up, I will be one very happy little Scientist.

So there you go. Cheers people! Thanks for the encouraging words in the past couple of posts, feeling the love!

membership

2011-10-01T21:31:00.003+10:00

I am now a member of the Australian Society for Microbiology!

And whilst I still have no idea what I would like to be when I grow up (except maybe a Princess), I do know I love microbiology and would like to stick to this field, and thus my desire to be recognised by a professional organisation.

Lovely.

just argh

2011-09-29T00:21:00.002+10:00

You know that point you get to where all you want to do is ARGH!?

Well, I just kinda feel like that at the moment. Nothing specific is wrong, but I'm just agitated and annoyed and pissed off and generally just wanting to tell everyone to F*&! off (which I often do under my breath, but hey).

You know, I was a very happy single two months ago. I had a great life, had just moved to a new exciting city, was managing on my own and being strong and independent, thinking nothing could stop me and whilst I might never get to wear a white dress down an aisle lined beautiful flowers and a gorgeous man at the end of it, I was going to get qualified and move to somewhere exotic like Africa or Afghanistan and work in refugee camps and make the world a better place. Single wasn't an adjective I used to describe myself back then.

Now, I'm just a pissed off single who is stupidly boy crazy and seriously over listening to everyone's wedding/baby/new house plans whilst I'm pottering away at a Masters degree that in the end probably isn't going to get me anywhere anyway because I haven't bloody gone to medical school. I'm pessimistic, ungrateful, uninspired and deflated. Who on earth is going to want to date that?

C.S. Lewis says that "to love is to be vulnerable". In all honesty I kinda feel like it's safer to be single, to not even try, to protect my heart and allow it to be constantly aching from being unloved rather than risking it being broken at all. Tennyson says "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all". I'm sorry Sir, but I am going to disagree with you.

quitting

2011-09-25T13:50:00.002+10:00

I just quit my job.

And I've never felt more relief and sadness in one go.
You see, as much as working as a barista and waitress is fun, it's unsatisfactory and often demeaning, with nasty staff and rude customers, long hours and no sleep. Also, the chef. It's still unresolved, with my last conversation having left us not talking and yet not broken up but not together. I worked with him last night, and it was awful and awkward and heart breaking.

Also, I have another job (two in fact). I have a job as a Technical Assistant in Clinical Bacteriology at PathWest. This, although being pretty much the bottom level entry point for my career, is in my career field, and it's the start of anything, for my possibilities are endless. Yes, I am very overqualified for my job, but my managers know this, and they hired me knowing that I want to climb up the ladder, I am a hard worker, and am willing to do what it takes to get to where I want to go, even if that means moving overseas again.

So whilst the fairytale start to my Perth chapter of my life is coming to a close, with my first employment over and dating a gorgeous chef in tatters, I know that I am stepping up and moving forward, allowing the possibilities for greatness that I would before not be able to do. More time to study, more time to travel, more time to be myself.

Eek! I've made the decision and here it goes...

football

2011-09-21T18:55:00.004+10:00

I was so excited to read on the newspaper website last night that there is a USAFL! What is that? United States Australian Football League! There are a bunch of Americans playing football the way I know! Hooray!

There are teams all over the country, for both men AND women (boo yeah!), so for all my American readers, do me a favour and head to a local game. You can find a team --> HERE. One day, when I finally make it to the states (which is a possibility because there is an awesome post-doctoral training program over there which means I won't have to go to med school!), I am so going to hit up a game!

This is Travis Cloke, my favourite Collingwood player. Check out those legs!!

And whilst we're on the topic of football, Collingwood plays Hawthorn on friday night, 7.30pm AEST, so make sure you're cheering on the 'Pies!

Christmas Wish List

2011-09-17T10:39:00.012+10:00

Dear Santa,

For Christmas this year I would like:

1. A GIANT rubber duck...

2. A very cute puppy dog...

3. A shit lot of ice-cream...

4. A t-shirt with this on it...

5. And one of these awesome think geek plush toys...

Thank you,

Love from Missy Me.

9VJZC4AJSM9H

my first grade

2011-09-15T00:23:00.003+10:00

So as you know I'm back at uni studying my Masters degree in Infectious Diseases, and it is HARDWORK! Thing is I have three jobs (yes, I'm nuts) and just started a new relationship, I'm very homesick and just want to watch tv and eat ice cream.

Two days ago I had my first assessment for this course, a mid-semester exam for Molecular Biology. Every spare moment I have had for the past month I have used to study for this test. Sure, it was only 30 MCQs but it was the first assessment and I wanted to start well, start on the right foot.

GUESS WHAT! I got 24 out of 30... 80%! That's a High Distinction! I GOT A HD! I am smart, I can do this, this course is what I'm supposed to be doing and whilst it is hardwork I will get great grades. EIGHTY PERCENT! I basically know what I got wrong, so the end of semester exam will be doable. I PASSED! And whilst I'm gloating, I got better than my study partner, who is a very very very competitive American girl. SWEET.

This calls for a celebration! Ice cream anyone?!

hitting the ball

2011-09-13T00:47:00.002+10:00

So a few weeks ago I wrote about how cute chef was potentially doing illegal drugs and is a nasty drunk. And in the last two weeks nothing has really changed, other than he has admitted to the fact that his housemates do illegal drugs, and he's still a disgusting nasty drunk.

Our one month was on Saturday, and we went and watch Collingwood smash West Coast, which was awesome, and then proceeded to go to work together. It was a nice time, although slightly shaded grey because of some miscommunication earlier that morning. I also managed to speak out and say that I didn't like how much he drank and that he was really nasty to me and I wasn't willing to be a part of that. He took it and agreed, saying he thought he drank too much and would like to reduce, blah blah blah, all the nice things I want to hear.

As we walked home from work he told me that he thought it was important for me to know that his housemates do illegal drugs and if I was going to be hanging around more than I should be aware of it. I heard what he said but it didn't hit me until the next morning when I was up watching the food channel and his housemate had someone over, who then proceeded to do a deal with him on the kitchen table. I was gobsmacked. Everything inside of me screamed out "NO!" but I sat there silently, and then about an hour later I left, trying not to look uncool or shaken by what had just happened in front of me.

So that's it. I'm out. As much as I like him, I only like him when he's sober, and I refuse to have anything to do with illegal drugs. I am sickened just by the thought that I am in a situation where I need to deal with this. I don't care how pretentious, judgemental, elitist, stuck-up or sheltered I sound, I refuse to budge on my values. When I think about drugs I think about that the "Life Education" Van with Harold the Giraffe and that we had to scream out "NO" as loud as we could if someone offered us drugs. That's what my insides are doing. I'm out. I'm so far out it's not funny.

Tomorrow I'm seeing him and I am going to say "Chef, I like you, but I don't like your lifestyle choices, and unfortunately I can't be associated with illegal drugs. So it's up to you, but if you continue on with this then I'm out". Well, that's the plan of what I'm saying anyway. I am hitting the ball back into his court. Wish me luck!

consolation prize

2011-09-11T14:57:00.004+10:00

As much as I have loved moving to new and awesome places around the world, it's never pleasant to leave your dearly beloved family and childhood memories. For me, I always require consolation prizes, things that make me feel a little bit better about leaving it all behind.

For example, when moving half way across the world to London, my consolation prize was that I would be getting rid of my old life, starting a fresh brand new one, attempting a career move and pfft, whatever, but seriously, THE TRAVEL. First thing I did once I dumped all my stuff at my friends house in England was fly over to Spain, meet amazing people, get stupidly drunk and throw tomatoes at people! And whilst I missed everyone back home like crazy, it was one of the best decisions I've made in my life.

Moving to Perth, my consolation prize was the weather. And sadly, for the first three weeks it was wet and miserable and totally made my me homesick.

But now... SUNSHINE! Today Melbourne is predicted to be showers in the morning and a top of 15 degrees, whilst Perth is predicted to be a glorious sunny 25. ahhhh.

So as much as I miss my family and the east coast, this sunshine is taking all my blues away.

new

2011-09-10T12:48:00.002+10:00

I started my new job in the PathWest laboratory yesterday as a Technical Assistant. As much as I like making coffee, finding pathogenic organisms is much more fulfilling to me. It's not as though making coffee is a bad job, and I'm sure you can have a great life doing that...

Oh, just shoosh. There I go again, I constantly feel like I'm digging holes with what I say. I really need to learn to shut up.

But then again, in some areas of my life I need to learn to speak out.

I'm still with the cute chef, but now that I have my car (SO exciting!) I just get up and leave whenever I want. I haven't got enough guts to say what I want, also because I don't actually know what I want to say. I don't really care if I loose him over it, I just want our relationship to be better or be over.

Today is our one month, and I'm supposed to be going to his house to watch the Collingwood v West Coast preliminary final in an hour, but I don't even know if he'll be awake. Hmm. I don't really want to miss the football. It's rather important to me.

pfft

2011-09-08T09:45:00.005+10:00

So, Melbourne got the crowned the worlds most liveable city eh?

Meh.

When I first moved to Perth, everyone was shocked... "Why would you move from Melbourne to Perth? Melbourne is so much better!"... Nah, sorry, I think Perth is awesome.

Sure, I've still got my new people glasses on, and am slightly sun struck (oh, the blue skies here are endless), and I can definitely see how some things suck, but here's why I love Perth:

1. The weather: did someone say sunshine? Ah.

2. The atmosphere: it's a lot more laid back. People go to work earlier so they can finish earlier (or keep up with eastern time, I don't know), it's not as rude and pushy, it hasn't got that massive city harried feel, but it's definitely a city.

3. The Public Transport: say what?! Yes, I know, Perth PT sucks, but not as bad as Melbourne's. The trains are new, and clean, and air conditioned, and has plenty of room (even in squishy peak hour), and they come more often and are safer, AND the smartrider card system is great. Also, Melbourne just announced that they were getting rid of their casual ticketing system, meaning that all tourists have to buy a $10 non-refundable myki card.

okay, so there are three points where Perth is BETTER than Melbourne. Admittedly, Melbourne has the "culture" label, which is well deserved, but that doesn't mean Perth is lacking in Culture. They have theatre, and ballets, and art galleries, and comedians. They have amazing restaurants and great pubs and fantastic bars. And the wineries are just as good (uh, hello Margaret River), and don't forget the beer (oh, Little Creatures...)

So whilst Melbourne is awesome, remember when you come to visit Australia (because you all want to and just should get off your arse and do so), or if your from the East Coast, spend that extra $200 and buy a ticket west, come over and see what all my fuss is about.

You won't regret the visit.

fill in the blanks

2011-09-03T10:48:00.002+10:00

1. One thing that is completely superfluous, but that I could never give up are my soy lattes. I know that I could be saving that money, but having that coffee (especially the awesome stuff from Wok n Roll on Hampden Rd) makes me feel good. So there.

2. Meeting new people makes me feel awkward.

3. I can't imagine life without God and church.

4. fettuccine and spicy tomato pasta sauce is my favourite snack.

5. Lately I've been working and studying and working and definitely studying some more (first midterm in two weeks!).

6. If at first you don't succeed stop, breathe, think about what you're doing, make a funny concentration face and try again.

7. Fall is something you do when you trip up.

hehe, I took this from

Hope you guys have a great weekend and remember it's Fathers Day! Tell your Dad you love him, even if it's not Fathers Day where you are (yeah, us Australians have it at a different time. I think it's so that Hallmark can see all the cards you guys didn't buy to us).

learning

2011-09-02T16:07:00.002+10:00

I guess being a new relationship is a lot about learning, not only about the other person, but about yourself, and getting along with people, what you're willing to put up with and where your boundaries lie.

Lesson #1: Last night I was out with chef and his friends. I like his friends, but apparently they don't like me. Apparently I'm rude and opinionated and lack social skills; chef said I was like Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory" and used that line "it's okay to be smarter than everybody but you can't go around pointing it out"

Lesson #2: I can put up with him smoking and drinking, but I refuse to know him if he's doing illegal drugs. This came up because I think he is. I know, what kind of person am I dating?! Last night we got back from the restaurant and him, his best friend and his best friend girlfriend locked themselves in his friends room, and whilst I was sitting on the couch watching the two other guys play table tennis their conversation was like "oh, you're not doing lines tonight?" and the other one said "no, I've got work tomorrow and that stuff shits me up", and then I heard some dodgy stuff and yeah... I know I might be jumping to conclusions but I do know that he got really really angry again and this morning he is so hungover and nasty it scares me.

Lesson #3: I honestly don't know if it's okay that I'm thinking that I want out. It's been three weeks, and the loveliness is reducing fast. He drinks so much, and when he's not working or drinking he's sleeping. When he drinks he gets angry, and sometimes, like last night, he gets scarily angry. Yep, I'm not perfect, and yes, I need to learn to just shut up and let people be wrong. But I don't know if I can say something to him without sounding like a judgemental bitch.

Any suggestions? Sorry to just rant, but I have no idea what I'm doing...

one random Tuesday

2011-08-30T12:32:00.005+10:00

So it's 10.30am on Tuesday morning and I am sitting at home in the same clothes I wore yesterday eating leftover pasta from dinner on Sunday, watching tv and reading your blogs.

Thing is I'm supposed to be in my three-hour lecture for Molecular Microbiology.

Life at the moment is rather tight in terms of money, so of course I didn't eat lunch yesterday (I was waiting to get home so I could eat my leftovers that I'm eating now), and I thought that with wine class we would've been given bread, but apparently the baker was sick today so therefore no bread... all lining up for a great night. It would've been fine, had I planned better. I ended up crashing at chef's house in the city (he has the most amazing apartment on the waterfront), which I can very easily get to uni from, but I didn't have any clean clothes, and I was at uni all day yesterday in my lovely dress. Also, I'm working tonight, which means I need my uniform... yeah, you get the deal.

And it doesn't stop there. This morning, I locked myself out of chef's bedroom, which thankfully he was still inside but also fast asleep. Then when exiting his building I found myself stuck inside the elevator... seriously. I got in the lift and then when it got to the ground floor the doors didn't open, so I went back up to the seventh floor and the doors didn't open so I went back down to the first floor... I began to wonder if I was in a comedy or something! I managed to yank the doors open and I escaped from the 70's elevator into the glorious Perth sunshine.

So there you go. It's been a ridiculous day already. Now to watch an hour of mindless tv before getting ready for uni; I've got two hours of Diagnostic Medical Microbiology to sit through before I go to work. At least my cute chef is working tonight.

correct me if I'm wrong

2011-08-27T12:28:00.003+10:00

I think sometimes you just need to go with the flow and not get caught up in the nitty gritty things; just allowing things to happen and quickly forgetting peoples mistakes. Laughing despite the fact that the joke is really about you. Ignoring the glaringly obvious elephant in the room.

Not that I want to be airing my dirty laundry, but sometimes my relationship with the cute chef is just that; quickly forgetting the stupid and moving on. That's normal, right? In every new relationship it's about getting to know one another and learning how to get along and what buttons to push and how far the boundaries lie, right?

I really like him, and sure, it's only been two and a half weeks, but it's comfortable being with him, I don't feel like I have to constantly be perfect or try overly hard, I'm just being me. Sure, I want to be the best I can be, but I'm being that because I want to please him not because I have to in order to keep him. This is okay yeah? Sorry to be asking lots of questions but I don't have the best track record when it comes to relationships...

We had our first house party last night, and it was awesome! We made vodka jelly, which always goes down well, and more than ten people turn up, which in my eyes is a success. My housemates are awesome, and it's only 10.30am and the house is already cleaned up. Brilliant. Totally should have another house party.

picture update

2011-08-24T10:43:00.003+10:00

OMG, I'm at the beach, in shorts, in AUGUST. For you Northern Hemisphere people, that'd be like being at the beach, in shorts, in February... Get why I'm shocked?

So this is the beach that's within walking distance from my house (at the end of Grant Street), and this photo has been taken looking north towards Scarborough. At some stage along that strip of sand is the Swanbourne nudist beach! BRILLIANT! One day I will have enough guts to actually go there and participate with the "clothes optional" people.

Aww, look at the fat arse caterpillar I almost stood on...

Okay, so I don't appreciate modern art. It's seriously not my thing. Where as my friend Deb, she loves it. So naturally when she was in Perth we went to the modern art museum, where they had this inflatable detention cell, and these were the creepy jumpsuits you had to put on in order to get inside this creepy thing. Besides that, I love this picture.

Liquorice is this shop in Claremont Quarter which is like a giant gourmet 'pick-n-mix' - they've got the traditional lollies, but they've also got tea, crisps of various different vegetables, and almost anything you can think of covered in chocolate... like popcorn. SO AWESOME!

Notes on a Bus

2011-08-23T18:42:00.001+10:00

Ligation is the term used in molecular biology when two pieces of complimentary DNA strands are "glued" together using an enzyme called DNA ligase, along with some other important requirements such as energy and Magnesium ions.

I just had an "informal" job interview with Pathwest. Yep, another one. This time it was for the Clinical Bacteriology laboratory. Much better if you ask me. Not that I'm dissing food and water testing, but I didn't move to Perth to go back to doing what I was doing in Melbourne two years ago.
Still have a proper formal interview to do on Friday. And in the end I'll still need to keep my restaurant job, which cute chef will be very happy about, as atm it's only for one or two shifts a week. But even just one shift a week in the lab is ten times better than a shift in the restaurant.

Things with cute chef are great. Which is good because it's only been two weeks. I can't believe it was five weeks ago I moved to Perth. So weird. I certainly feels like a LOT longer.

And finally, my advice for when you're feeling blue and crapy and for no real reason other than you are, then take the time and make yourself some spaghetti. Fill it with love and then sit down and savour it. That always makes me feel better.

Sent from my BlackBerry® from Optus

hens party

2011-08-21T10:49:00.002+10:00

Look, I don't like making decisions when it involves other people because I don't want to piss people off by my being bossy and overpowering, but planning this Hen's Party is looking like I'm going to have to be, rather than just trying to please everyone.

I sent an email to the other bridesmaids as a joke saying "omg, we could go to a life drawing art class, haha" (my best friend is an art teacher) and the other bridesmaids all wrote back saying "ugh, Maria wouldn't like that", "that would be totally inappropriate" and other bullshit. Um, one, it was a joke (see omg at start of sentence and haha at the end...) and two, I actually do know my best friend and I know she wouldn't like that and I also know that she's done it before at uni, so suck it.

Sorry, but I don't do people. I think that's why I make a great scientist; I can just sit around in my lab coat and make clinical decisions without actually having to deal with sick people.

So as for this Hen's Party for my best friend, I am still working on it. Good thing I've got like a month and a half to plan eh?

Review: Cheeky Sparrow

2011-08-18T11:27:00.004+10:00

Yesterday cute chef and I went out for brunch, seeings as we both had the day off, and stumbled upon this little place called "Cheeky Sparrow"...

It situated on Wolf Lane, which instantly makes me feel like I'm back in Melbourne finding all the cool places down little alleyways, and makes up a corner spot, so you can come at it from both Hay St or King St (the lane is curved) or even Market St (there's an adjoining alleyway).

The restaurant-bar is spread over several floors, and the decor is fantastic. Bright wooden floors, lots of windows but not making you feel like you're in a fishbowl, warm browns and in keeping with the theme there are birdcages and nests and little sparrows everywhere.

In honesty we were looking for food, but despite the lack of a breakfast menu (which according to urbanspoon there is one, but we didn't see it) we stopped there anyway. I'm so glad we did, because this was one of the best soy latte's I've had in a long time, including from Melbourne (I should've asked what soy milk they were using... dang it).

According to chef, the main menu is good; classy but not wanky, decent prices, good cheese menu, wine list is decent but not overwhelming.

I am definitely going back there! If you ever come to Perth, check this one out!

molecular biology

2011-08-16T01:35:00.002+10:00

... SUCKS.

Look, I know that the investigative techniques of PCR and Southern Blotting and using vector plasmids to introduce new genes into bacteria to express gene products, such as proteins, are all useful and awesome and I'm sure that there is some nerd out there having a fantastic time working with nanograms of DNA material...

But seriously, it's not my style.

I like being able to see what I'm dealing with. I like being able to look into a microscope and see little parasites swimming around. I enjoy identifying bacteria.

look at the lovely Staphylococcus aureus!

But alas, it is necessary for me to learn about such things. Uni is starting to get to me people. Good thing I have a gorgeous distraction like the cute chef from my workplace eh?

cute chef update

2011-08-14T09:47:00.003+10:00

Sooo, cute chef and I are now dating! Hazaah!

It all started when he took me out for dinner on Wednesday night. Well, sort of. I went to his apartment in East Perth, and wow, the view from his balcony is amazing. I'm so going to have to take pictures and share with you guys! He has a table tennis table (ping pong) in the lounge room which was awesome fun, except I suck and get really competitive and then he just laughs and it's all good.

So the "sort of" part is that we did go out for dinner to the local pub and the food was so-so, but we went to dinner with his housemate and one of his housemates girlfriends. Yep, his housemate has more than one girlfriend. And a whole bunch of his friends turned up at the pub, so it turned into this massive drinking session. (Thankfully) I had uni the next day so I got on the last train home.

The next day we went to the Little Creatures brewery in Fremantle, which is always awesome. Great beer, good food, good atmosphere. Again with the housemate and another one of his girlfriends. Again with the drinking session afterwards. I live halfway between Fremantle and Perth, so I just got off the train and left him and his housemate to their ways.

And so now I've seen him every day this week now (with today being Sunday) and I'm tired and grumpy and hung over and I'm being a bitch but I don't think I can keep up with the pace of this week. He drinks a lot (not that he's an alcoholic, just works in hospitality; everyone drinks in hospitality). He smokes. He swears a lot...

BUT

He's a gentlemen; he pulls out my chair before sitting and opens the door. He always pays but lets me get something it if I make enough fuss. He makes me laugh. He lets me talk about scientific stuff even though I know he has no clue what I'm saying. He messages me random things and makes me smile. He genuinely likes me.

Early days yet, and I will admit that I haven't slept properly and I am very hungover so this does sound like a massive rant. It could also be that I'm looking for any excuse not to like him so I can't be vulnerable and be hurt. *shakes head at self*

Greetings from my workplace

2011-08-09T20:39:00.000+10:00

This blog entry has been emailed to you from the bar at the restaurant I work at in Perth, from which I have an great view of the cute chef cooking my dinner.

Infact, we're catching up tomorrow for coffee... Hehe.

In other news, yesterday I extracted DNA from E.coli, ran it through PCR and then next week we're running it through gel electrophoresis for analysis. Here's hoping we didn't contaiminate it with the DNase that are naturally on our fingers! (Don't stress, they're perfectly safe, don't go and wash your hands with dettol or anything stupid).

Hope you are all well, enjoying the sunshine and eating good food! I will get back into the swing of things and visit all my usual favourites. Cheers people!

Sent from my BlackBerry® from Optus

awol

2011-08-07T21:43:00.002+10:00

Hello readers! Sorry about the lack of posts, this first week at uni has been nuts! Not only have I completed my first week of my Masters of Infectious Diseases, but I also managed to work 31 hours, drink 2 bottles of wine and read a book.

I'm so glad to be back at uni. I definitely have a massive advantage having worked in labs for the past five years. I have a massive 5 hour lab tomorrow where we take some non-infectious E.coli, and find the cooA gene, which right now I have no idea what that does but I'm sure I'll be able to tell you after tomorrow.

Oh, we've got a new housemate, James. He is AWESOME. I love my housemates. They're chillaxed and their own people and they let me blab on and on and on. I sat around drinking with them last night, nice and relaxing.

Oooh, also, one of the chefs at work is so cute! hehe, he asked for my number earlier this arvo, so here's hoping for even just a really good friend eh?

Sorry for the rushed job, but the Masterchef final is about to start and I need to study. Love you guys!

riding a bike

2011-08-03T00:34:00.003+10:00

Being back at uni so far is like riding a bike; once you get used to it it's like you never stopped. The wind in your hair, the freedom to go whenever and wherever... ahh, maybe I should go get a bike?! 'Cause there's no freedom in uni, I don't have any choice in subjects and there's lots of wind in my hair but that's because Perth at the moment is having lots of wind and rain...

On a completely different note, we got a new housemate, James. At first I was a bit iffy about having a guy move in, but so far he's been awesome. Really good to get along, not too stinky, great sense of humour and is always willing to go to the pub. He hails from the UK, which makes for good fun. And is handy in pub quizzes as we found out tonight also (James, another housemate Alex and I went to the pub and we came 5th, not to bad for only having three people in our team eh?).

So there you go. Hope you're all enjoying your start to August. Thanks for popping past, I will endeavour to return the love. Go have a pint at the pub.

first day

2011-08-01T23:16:00.002+10:00

Hooray! Finally, today, being the 1st of August 2011, arrived!

"What's the big deal?" I hear you say...

I started the rest of my life today!

True, everyday is the start of the rest of your life, but today was significant in my life because today I started my Masters degree in Infectious Diseases. Although today I didn't do much other than sit through a lecture about lab safety and eat a few free sandwiches.

I'm actually really excited by all the possibilities and prospects of what can come from getting my Masters. Oh boy, it's going to be hard work and a lot of study, but it'll be worth it.

So, keep following me for some exciting and disgusting updates about what I'm learning about.

wet mattress.

2011-07-31T22:34:00.004+10:00

warning, this is just me having a major whinge.

Sometimes you just want to complain. You don't really care that there are people starving in Africa. Or dying in Thailand. Or being raped in Mongolia.

It's been raining a lot in Perth. Pretty much every day since I've been here. And now, my bedroom walls are leaking and it made the carpet and my brand new mattress all wet.

And I start uni tomorrow, finally after all this time, and yesterday I find out that some of the subjects I'm enrolled in are wrong and I should be in other subjects.

And I've worked a lot this week and I've got blisters on both heels and my feet hurt a lot.

BUT...

I live in a great house.

I have a job.

I'm about to start my masters degree.

My housemates are awesome. We went out and had a few pints at the pub.

I rang my Mum, whose always good for an ego boost.

I looked at my bank account and saw that I'm not entirely broke...

Sometimes you just need to get your eyes of the shit and the blues and the sads, and remember all the awesome things that you have in your life. So, if you're feeling just overwhelmed or blue, just take a moment to stop, breath, and remember all the good stuff you've got going for you. Not to de-validate the crap, because it's real and sad and annoying, but there's more to life then wet mattresses.

tick!

2011-07-28T12:25:00.006+10:00

One of my pages up the top there is "Lists of Lists"... I'm a list maker, it makes me feel like I've achieved things in life. One of my lists is the "Things to Achieve by my 26th Birthday". I write a new list, every February, of things that I want to have said that I've done. I've been doing this since I was 17 years old, and it's made for many a funny moments in life. My friends all get in on it and it's great because there's a deadline.

So on my list this year includes a trip to the Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle, which last weekend my friend Deb (from Melbourne) and my new housemate Laura and I went and had an incredibly relaxing Sunday afternoon eating and drinking and doing the crossword puzzle in the weekend paper.

One weird part was in order to get to the toilet, you had to go through the bar section, which meant you had to get your ID checked?!

I had a pint of the Little Creatures Bright Ale, which was really yummy! Not too strong, not to yeasty, not too bubbly. They have lots of different types (lagers, pale ale, pilsner etc), but the cute guy behind the bar in spotty blue pyjamas suggested we try this one.

The food was great too! Deb and I shared food; Moroccan chicken skewers and Beetroot salad with Pumpkin, Feta and Walnuts. YUMMO!

Laura had a pizza... hmmm. In all honesty I haven't had a good pizza in Perth yet. Apparently the Pizza Lounge in Swanbourne is supposed to be fantastic, but I got a pizza from them on Tuesday and it was fairly average. All of the three pizzas I've had in in Perth have been dry and weird tasting, not smooth and doughy. So if anyone knows of some good pizza places in Perth....

But back to the Little Creatures Brewery. They have lots of "little creatures" around the place! How cute is our turtle friend!

So that was my trip to the Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle, Western Australia. There's still a fair bit to achieve on my list, but I've also got just over 6 months to do it! If you haven't got one already, I suggest making a list. It satisfies the try-hard perfectionist in me.

wine wednesday #2

2011-07-27T22:44:00.003+10:00

Work has been amazing, hard work and slightly frustrating. But it's also been educational. Let me share in this education with this weeks Wine Wednesday entry.

If you're looking for a fresh, light, crisp, not too sweet, white wine that goes well with Asian flavours, like Thai prawns, then look no further than O'Leary Walker Polish Hill River Riesling.

I'm always a bit hesitant at that first sip of white wine, hoping that it's not too acidic or too sweet, and when I first tasted this wine (today after work!) it went down smoothly, no shocking first taste and no awful after-taste.

The owner of my work told me that the Polish Hill River region is a great place for Rieslings in the Clare Valley wine region of South Australia... Sweet, I'll put it on the lists of places I'd love to do wine tastings.

I could google a whole bunch of fancy wine terms, but I don't want to sound like a tosser. The point of Wine Wednesdays is to help you (and me) find a nice glass of plonk so that when you walk into your local bottle-O that you can recognise a few names and know you've heard that name before.

So drink up, blog on and link up so we can all have a great glass of grown up grape juice!

train home

2011-07-25T23:45:00.001+10:00

Am on the train home from a very long day at work. So I'm working at a restaurant/cafe and it's great, just busy and because I'm used to sitting on my bum looking through a microscope, standing up for 6 hours is physically draining.

Today I started at 7.30am, and then finished at 2pm. My friend is still over from Melbourne, so I had coffee with her and then went home. I called mum and then just as I was about to relax... *ring ring* I got called back into work.

Sure, I could've said no, but I just found out that to bring my car over from Melbourne it's going to cost me an extra $500 then first estimated. So any extra shifts right now sounds good to my ears.

Racked up an extra 4 hours and some free food. Train ticket only costs like $2, so in all have made some more moolahs. I'm getting quite frusterated not having the freedom of my own car, so shelling out that extra money isn't sounding as shocking as first thought

So there you go. Here's hoping hard work pays off.
Sent from my BlackBerry® from Optus

picture update

2011-07-23T19:13:00.007+10:00

Just chilling, watching random tv shows, eating lots and lots of avocado on toast and spending no money. It's been pretty crusy these last few days. I had my fist shift at work, and with that remembered how amazing it is to be back behind a coffee machine. But I have been taking some photos of Perth, so here's a peek into my life...

This was taken at the bus stop whilst waiting for the bus to move me to my new house. Yes, I was being a tight-ass and didn't want to pay like $30 for a taxi, so instead I lugged all my stuff on public transport and paid only $3.80.

This is our house cat, Aloysius. Strange name, but cute cat. Always manages to sit right in your way and lick itself in the weirdest positions... It's nice having a cat around, makes me less home sick.

I went for a walk one day, just had to get out of the house, and ended up walking for 2.5km. There's this shared path that runs from Cottesloe beach all the way to the city.

This is the roof of an amazing bar called Tiger Lils. I had the most craziest time last week; me and this british chick were only going out for one drink and ended up staying out for over 5 hours. We crashed this guys birthday party and now we're going out with them again this week. Fun times!

And finally, the grass is rather green here in Perth. I am liking it, am getting myself out there, making friends. Tomorrow I'm trying out another church so hopefully I will have a new "home" and uni starts in a weeks time. Now that I have my bedding and a few jobs up my sleeve I can get my car over here and buy some furniture (I have a mattress on the floor and that's it)... I finally feel rested and settled. And it's an amazing feeling.

nothing much

2011-07-21T16:57:00.005+10:00

Just quickly, welcome to all those people who are now reading my blog! Thanks for following and hopefully I'm returning the love. And I'm taking your suggestions about putting in more pictures, so hope you guys enjoy!

So, it's Thursday. And that's about it. Nothing much has been happening now that I'm in the house and have a job. I'm been bumming around, taking pictures and spending no money. I've got my student card (and despite the knowledge of making sure you look good in a photo, I still look like a dork), and my smartrider (we have these cool swipey cards like oyster cards for public transport), and about the only achievement I can claim since landing my job on Tuesday is having completed season 6 of "how i met your mother" (which is AWESOME!)...

I did get offered the job as the medical records clerk, however, I declined it because of the hours they were offering. However, they liked me so much they are looking at putting me on as a casual and then during holidays I can do more hours. So now I've potentially got two jobs... and here I was freaking out I would get none! Sweet eh?

how cute is the Henry vacuum cleaner?!

So, my new house has cleaners come in every fortnight. That's cool, I like that idea, that way no-one fights over who cleaned the shower last. Of course, when they rocked up at 10.30am I was still in bed. So I thought I'd lay low, keep out of their way, in fact, they had no idea anyone was home until one of them (there were two) tried to come in and clean my room! You're probably thinking "what's so wrong with that?"... everything!

I don't want some strangers coming in and snooping around with my stuff. Sure, clean the bathroom and vacuum the place, but don't come into my room. Okay, I'm not the most tidiest of people, but I'm not unhygienic either! I can keep my own room clean thank you very much. Would you be okay with strangers poking around your room? Or, do you actually have a cleaner come in and you're all good with them in your private space? What about all those horror stories of people stealing stuff?

Last time my mum had a cleaner come in I had decorated my desk with all these poems and pictures in pencil and then when she came in and tidied she washed them off. BOO.

wine wednesday

2011-07-20T11:54:00.008+10:00

So I started a discussion on 20sb about starting a blog hop, and whilst I don't fully understand how it works, I've seen other people do it, and it's always good to blog about a theme, so today I officially start

Wine Wednesday

The idea is to blog about anything wine related; a bottle of plonk you really enjoyed and recommend, or one that was disgusting and you want to discourage people from, a yummy recipe that includes wine, or even a funny story that involves wine. The ideas are endless. So grab the button and paste it into your post about wine.

I want to talk about the amazing wine I tried whilst on tour in France.

We were driving from Paris to Interlaken and stopped off at this little town called Beaune, in the Burgundy region, which has a lot of wine bars. My friends and I walked into this one called Le Bistrot Bourguignon, which we later found out, Prince William had drank there also. We looked at this wine list with slight confusion; everything being in French and completely different to the wine types commonly found in Australia.

So I honestly just picked the white wine on the top of the list, it was an Aligote, and it was fantastic. Light, refreshing, sweet but not sickly, it has honestly become one of my favourite wines. I highly recommend this one. I've read that it's becoming less as more people turn towards Chardonnay, but if you can get your hands on some, it's amazing.

At my new job we have over 300 different wines on the list, so hopefully I'll never be short of something to write about on "Wine Wednesday". Sure, it's a bit pretentious, but meh, I like a good glass of wine.

cat

2011-07-19T17:07:00.005+10:00

I got a job! It's working at this fancy cafe-come-restaurant in an expensive part of Perth, on the same street at Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. In fact, I live in an expensive part of Perth. My local shopping centre has Alannah Hill, Mimco and a David Jones as some of it's stores. I don't know how I always end up in these kind of places, but I do. Like in London, I lived in a relatively expensive area also. Sure, it was no Chelsea or Kensington, but the houses in my street were selling for upwards of £1.5 million. More than I could ever imagine. Not that I'm complaining. And not that I'm paying heaps of rent either. I just manage to land on my feet.

Anyway, so I've got a job, which is a massive sigh of relief. My new mattress arrived today; I splashed out an bought a brand new one instead of having a used one like a normal person on a budget would do. However, I have been saving, and it'll last me a long time, so meh. Things are working out. Maybe I am a cat; you know, how whenever you throw a cat (not that I recommend it), but it always lands on its feet? That's how this move it feeling like. Now all I do is find a church and then boom, uni starts in two weeks.

random questions

2011-07-18T18:01:00.003+10:00

Sometimes I just want to blog something random that has nothing to do with anything. Today was one of those days; I've been cleaning out my new bedroom. Once it's all set up I will blog about my amazingly awesome new home, but until then, here are the 81 random questions I googled (there were 100 but some of them were stupid):

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.
When measuring, level everything off with a knife.

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can, What can you touch?
A retro parquetry coffee table

3. Before you started this survey, what were you doing?
Looking for furniture on gumtree.com

4. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Downton Abbey.

5. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
The fridge, and the traffic. Oh, there goes a train.

6. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Standing in the sunshine because I could.

7. Do you remember your dreams?
Not often. But sometimes yeah. Depends what I was doing before I went to sleep.

8. When did you last laugh?
Um, Saturday night, when I crashed a birthday party of this guy we just met. Me flirting usually equates to me laughing a lot.

9. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Paint. And a lot of marks from random things. Oh, in one corner, we've got a painted on silhouette of a birdcage.

10. Seen anything weird lately?
These two 45+ men trying to pick my friend and I up at a bar. THAT was weird!

11. What is the last film you saw?
The whole film? Um, I think it was Cars 2, at the drive-in cinema.

12. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Putney, or East Putney, in the South-West of London.

13. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
Um, an ice-cream factory.

14. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
The sex slave industry. It's not cool man.

15. Do you like to dance?
Yeah, sometimes. I love to have a boogie on a Saturday night.

16. Would you ever consider living abroad?
I would definitely recommend it! I loved it, and I guess you could even say I'm doing it now, 'cause Perth is no where near my hometown.

17. Does your name make any interesting anagrams?
Nope.

18. Who made the last incoming call on your phone?
Um, someone trying to sell me a single bed from gumtree.com

19. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
Blackberry OS6.

20. Last time you swam in a pool?
Um, maybe February?

21. Type of music you like most?
General pop stuff, but of people who can ACTUALLY sing, like John Mayer, or Missy Higgins, or Paloma Faith.

22. Type of music you dislike most?
Most of the stuff where it's just people talking over a dance beat. Like Snoop Dogg or something.

23. Are you listening to music right now?
Surprisingly no. Normally I have background music but I kinda like how quiet it is atm.

24. What color is your bedroom carpet?
It's supposed to be cream...

25. If you could change something about your home, without worry about expense or mess, what would you do?
I would just give it a general overhaul; new flooring, new paint, new kitchen cupboards etc.

26. What was the last thing you bought?
Groceries.

27. Have you ever ridden on a motorbike?
Yes, and I hated it.

28. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
Nope. Not my style.

29. Do you have a garden?
Yes! I'm pretty excited about it actually.

30. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem?
Yep, and even the words to the second verse, which not many people do.

31. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?
What time is it?

32. If you could eat lunch with one famous person, who would it be?
Um, I have no idea?! Maybe Prince Harry?

33. Who sent the last text message you received?
A guy I met on Saturday night called Rooster!

34. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Kikki.K or Alannah Hill or Mimco.

35. What time is bed time?
Generally around 10.30ish

36. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?
Apparently when I was a baby I was in heaps! Makes me feel better knowing at some stage I was cute.

37. How many tattoos do you have?
None, yet.

38. If you don't have any, have you ever thought of getting one?
Yep, I've got the design and everything.

39. What did you do for your last birthday?
Heaps! First there was a fancy dress party at a local pub, and then we had dinner on my birthday, and then on the day my friend and I went to these beautiful gardens and took lots of photos and then I had my leaving drinks the next day, so it was great.

40. Do you carry a donor card?
No, but I probably should register.

41. Who was the last person you ate dinner with?
The german girls I made friends with at the hostel.

42. Is the glass half empty or half full?
Half full.

43. What's the farthest-away place you've been?
Farthest away from where? From home? Then probably Ireland.

44. When's the last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
When I was in Italy, at my great-great-Auntie's house... OMG

45. Have you ever won a trophy?
Haha, from all those baby contests my mum put me in!

46. Are you a good cook?
I'm not amazing, but I'm not bad either.

47. Do you know how to pump your own gas?
Huh? Like put petrol in the car? Um, yeah!

48. If you could meet any one person (from history or currently alive), who would it be?
Again, I have no idea. Maybe my future boyfriend? That would be nice.

49. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school?
In Australia we all have to. I liked my last school uniform.

50. Do you touch-type?
Sometimes.

51. What's under your bed?
At the moment I'm sleeping on a couch so I guess some dirt and some fluff?

52. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Hmm, yes and no.

53. Think fast, what do you like right now?
Ice cream.

54. Where were you on Valentine's day?
In my bed in Melbourne getting over jet-lag.

55. What time do you get up?
Generally around 7.30am.

56. What was the name of your first pet?
Emily the Cat.

57. Who is the second to last person to call you?
Um, my mum I think.

58. Is there anything going on this weekend?
My friend is flying over from Melbourne!

59. How are you feeling right now?
Hmm, hungry. But I'm trying not to spend moolah so I'm trying to stretch out my meal times and reduce my snacks.

60. What do you think about the most?
Possibly a tie between food and guys.

61. If you had A Big Win in the Lottery, how long would you wait to tell people?
When I went and bought something ridiculous, and my friend said "how on earth can you afford that?!"...

62. Who would you tell first?
Whoever asked first.

63. What is the last movie that you saw at the cinema?
At the cinema? I think it was Super-8.

64. Do you sing in the shower?
Sometimes.

65. What do you do most when you are bored?
Facebook, or play lexulous on my blackberry, or watch tv, or bake cakes.

66. What do you do for a living?
Currently I'm unemployed, but hopefully not for too long! I'm a student at UWA.

67. Do you love your job?
I don't really like being unemployed. It sucks.

68. What did you want to be when you grew up?
A doctor, or a princess. I think there was a time I wanted to be a hairdresser also.

69. If you could have any job, what would you want to do/be?
An Infectious Diseases consultant. Then I can tell doctors what to do!

70. Where would you retire to?
Spain.

71. What are your best physical features?
Hmm, maybe my smile? I don't know, it's not like I'm a model or something.

72. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go?
North America. I would buy a car on the West Coast and drive it all over until I hit the East Coast.

73. What kind of books do you like to read?
I like all kinds of books really.

74. What is your favourite time of the day?
Dinner time.

75. How far away from your birthplace do you live now?
About 3,500km away.

76. What are you reading now?
Memoirs of a Geisha

77. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Probably a morning person. I can get up and be functional quite quickly, no matter how much sleep I've had.

78. Can you touch your nose with your tongue?
Nope. Eww

79. Can you close your eyes and raise your eyebrows?
Yep. Although I had no idea I could until you asked.

80. Do you have pets?
Not me personally, but the house I just moved to has a cat.

81. How many rings before you answer the phone?
Um, generally as soon as I hear it and can actually find my phone.

Transport

2011-07-17T23:21:00.001+10:00

Whenever people talk about good public transport systems, Perth is mentioned. It's clean, efficient, runs on time etc.
So maybe I have ridiculously high expectations, but it shouldn't take two hours to travel from Victoria Park bus station to Claremont.
Since I've been in Perth, every time I get to the station, be that bus or train, I've always just missed the previous one and have to wait at least twenty minutes for the next one.
Maybe I'm just being a sook and finding fault with Perth will make me feel better, but I can't wait to get my car over here. At least I know I can travel safely at night time and know I'm not about to be murdered or gang raped.

Sent from my BlackBerry® from Optus

no stress

2011-07-15T13:43:00.003+10:00

I walked into my first job interview today and the lady was like "no stress, you'll be fine". And true, it was fine, but I walked out completely devastated and really questioning what on earth I am doing here.

It was an awesome job, working in Medical Records, but the shifts were from 11pm to 7am, on the same days that I would have uni, so it just wasn't going to work. The interview was great, I thought I answered the questions okay, they seemed to like me, and then they asked me what days I would be going to uni and bam. I haven't felt that awful after a job interview ever.

But otherwise, Perth is just a lot slower. A lot slower. And a fair bit more expensive. Everyone I've met whose migrated from the east has said it takes a while to get used to, to give it at least three months. Okay. I'll try.

So here's a picture of the CBD from where I was languishing in Langley Park (haha). It's kinda a reflection of how I feel at the moment; rather small and insignificant. Not to be all depressed or anything, it's just that moving is never easy. But I know it'll work out.

state library

2011-07-14T14:25:00.002+10:00

I'm here! Although it's quite surreal, because it's not like anything has really changed; everyone speaks english, I have the same bank account and the pretty coloured plastic money is the same, and yeah, it's pretty much all the same. I guess it's like the discussion I was having with my friend Kyle in regards to people living together before they get married; once you've had the big ceremony and gone on an awesome holiday, it's all the same even though you expect it to be different.
So anyway, I'm here in the State Library because there's free wi-fi and I need to find a job. I don't need to find a house, however. I'd achieved that after only two hours of being in Perth! Hazaah, I am slightly awesome. I've made some cool German backpacker friends and so we're just bumming around, later I plan on sitting on my bum somewhere in the GLORIOUS sunshine and finish reading "Memoirs of a Geisha".
The sunshine is AMAZING. If it's like this all the time I am so in love with this place, and I haven't even been to the beach or met any locals. The sky is that sickly blue you get on those lazy summer days, but of course it's the middle of winter...
Ahhh.
So I'd better get off this and go start enjoying the sunshine!

inconvenient timing

2011-07-13T10:26:00.004+10:00

Finally the time has come for me to move west! My plane leaves in three hours, and right now there's a whole bunch of laundry in the dryer and I've only just started stuffing things into my backpack.

So you'd think that if it's you last night in a city, you'd spend it with your best friend or your family, savouring the final moments together...

Yeah nah.

I spent last night with this guy, which sounds really awful, because he's just not any guy, I actually like him, but Perth is 4 hours on a plane, so I said to him that if he meets some amazing chick then to go after her. I don't want to leave anything behind (besides all my belongings, my parents are going to crack the shits!), I want to be free to make new friends and be myself.

ARGH, life never happens at the time you want it does it?

But never fear. If it's meant to happen it'll happen right?

I'd better get back to packing, not that I want to, I honestly hate it. I'm always afraid I've forgotten something. Hmmm.

the reason I blog

2011-07-12T09:43:00.005+10:00

Everyone starts blogging for a different reason.

Some start because they want to be writers and one day hope that their blog will get picked up and made into a movie.

Some start because they're passionate about something and want to share their knowledge and expertise.

Other start because they love taking photos, making crafts, being a mum, being married etc.

But me, I started because I wanted my own little space in the world where I could write about shit that I couldn't really talk about to the people in my life.

I'm an external processor; I like thinking out loud. When a problem arises, I like to talk it out. But as I grow up, I've found less and less people to talk to, for various reasons. Some because they honestly just don't need to know. Others because I can't trust them as far as I could throw them. Mostly because I don't want to be judged. I don't want people to know what's going on, what's happened, what's happening.

I love my blog. I love being able to write about anything and everything, about my faith, my food, my sex life, my travels, my bad drinking habits, anything. I love the freedom I have of just being able to type stuff out, being able to think about it. I feel like I can actually work things out my banging on the clicky keys of my sony vaio. I love getting comments (hint hint) and I love reading other people's blogs.

I don't want this freedom to be taken away from me.

So, if by some reason you've stumbled upon my blog and you actually know me, please stop reading it. Cheers.

facebook

2011-07-11T11:07:00.002+10:00

I finally figured out how I can connect my beloved blog with my long-term relationship with facebook. You can find my blog page here. TADA.

I say long-term relationship as I started out on facebook in 2005. It was second year university and I was quite over myspace. The Christian group I was a part of at uni had some Americans visiting us, and they introduced us this magical website that was a lot less frustrating than the current options and since then, I have never looked back. It's about six years now and I honestly can say I don't know what my life would be like without facebook. Sure, I would like to check it less, and I have turned off being notified on my blackberry, because honestly, I don't need to know when someone comments on something etc right away, but I couldn't live without it. It's like trying to live without sms or the postman. All are neccessary for the continuation of my existence as I know it.

Anyways, I shall stop rambling on, and ask that you like my page on facebook. Cheers people!

just another number

2011-07-09T15:44:00.004+10:00

So, to avoid to much gory information, let's just say that I am honestly freaked out of sleeping with a guy and never seeing him again.

And I don't mean just thinking it's not cool or something, I mean freaked out to the point where I end up in a panic attack right before that moment, you know, when you're there and he's there and you know it's about to happen. BOOM. Freeze up, can't move, start shaking kind of freaked out...

Great catch I am eh?

Anyway, it's happened more than once (not that I'm a slut okay), and it's weird, right? It's got me thinking, what the fek is wrong with me?!

I've boiled down this to two reasons:

1) I don't want to end up pregnant and have no idea who the guy is. As my friend Kyle says, you can only bang so many girls without nothing happening.

2) I don't just want to be another number. Sure, call it old fashioned, but I want to mean something to the guy I've just shared the most intimate thing with. I want to wake up in the morning and know he's still there, and that if I text him in a few days time he'd actually be happy to hear from me. Clingy, needy, high maintenance, call it what you want, but it's how I feel. I want to know that I'm not just going to be some dirty locker room talk. I want to be honoured and respected.

And after the shit that's happened in my life, I can't guarantee that.

So I guess that's why I panic. And I guess it means I'll be waiting.

good day

2011-07-06T23:02:00.004+10:00

FINALLY, I've had a day that stuff has gone right and it feels like I'm getting somewhere.

1) My best-friend officially told me that I was her Maid-of-Honour.

Okay, so I've known for ages that I was going to be her bridesmaid, but I didn't know that I was going to be her Maid-of-Honour! Yes, she's my best-friend, but I would never assume that kind of amazingness, I actually thought it was going to be her sister or something. But tada! It's me! I have the awesome privilege of not only sharing this day with her, but I also get to make sure that her day is one of the most memorable days of her life! I feel very blessed and honoured. Eek!

2) My best-friend got confirmation of her bookings today for the wedding!

When I rocked up at her place today to help with some bridal stuff she was all upset because they'd lost the tentative booking on the reception place, and in all reality there's nothing you can do but let her cry and try and see the positives in the situation (wtf?!). But we can breath a huge sigh of relief because now she's got the church and the reception place and it's going to be awesome. I can't believe she's getting married in 101 days!

3) Which means I know when I'm coming home...

...Moving to Perth is going to be a lot different then moving to London. That's why I don't want to be making it such a big deal. When I moved over to London I had no idea when I would be seeing everyone again. This time I know that I'll be back for the 8th of October (Bridal Shower/Hen's Night), and then the weekend after that (WEDDING!!!), and then of course, Christmas. I actually get to have a Christmas this year!

4) I got my first official "Welcome to the MID course" email

How cool is that?! FINALLY, something concrete, something tangible (well, as much as an email can be), something that makes this real. And how awesome does "the MID course" sound?!

5) I got my uni timetable!!!

I was totally freaking that I would have to wait until two days before uni started and how on earth was I going to find a freaking job if I didn't bloody know my uni timetable, but from that awesome introductory email I got my timetable, and I can actually work. It's going to be full on, but I didn't sign up for a pansy course.

So there you go! And, as a treat, here is a picture of the red velvet cupcakes I made. YUM!

packing

2011-07-05T22:03:00.003+10:00

Look, I don't know about you, but I seriously don't like packing. But seeing as I've spent the last eight months (I think it's about that, since end of November last year) living out of boxes, backpacks and storage containers, I think I'm getting better at it. Also, this move will be the 17th time I've moved house, so I should know what to do.

I think the biggest problem is moving stuff I just don't need, having that emotional attachment to stuff that really I'm never going to wear it and seriously, my aunty is never going to find out that I donated that skirt to the rubbish bin.

This time it's a little different though. Maybe it's because I'm growing older, or generally just don't give a shit, but I'm finding I'm able to let go and throw out a lot of stuff. I've halved the contents of my glory box (it's this really cool wooden chest I have full of homewares, which I've collected too much stuff and is now in my mothers wardrobe also), I've donated my woolly winter jumpers (because I seriously won't be needing those in Perth!), and chucked out a lot of crap that I was just keeping because I worried what other people think.

Anyway, the point is when trying to pack

only pack what's necessary. You can buy shampoo there,
no-one is going to know if you donate stuff you aren't really going to wear/use/need in the next house/city,
and it's generally a good idea to move your cat in an appropriate box...

every time I start packing Fatty jumps into the box or suitcase or even walks into the jumbo sized space bag (you know the one that you suck up all the air with a vacuum cleaner?)... Maybe it's a sign, she doesn't want me to go!

big weekend

2011-07-04T21:31:00.003+10:00

This weekend was BIG!

My last day of school (work), and surprisingly I actually cried on the way home. I remember when I got wind of the job back in November and I wasn't sure it was something I was interested in. Now I wish I was staying, and I know I'll miss my workmates and the kids and it has been the most amazing five months.

So we went out to celebrate, along with the fact that it was Canada Day (Happy 144th Birthday Canada!), to a dodgy karaoke bar in Chinatown, and silly me, sang myself hoarse. Honestly, I haven't been feeling crash hot for the past week or so, really exhausted and sore throat/swollen glands/slight fever kinda thing, so when I woke up on Saturday morning with no voice it wasn't all that surprising to me.

Which leads to Saturday, the 2nd of July. My little brothers 21st Birthday! In Australia 21 doesn't really allow you to do anything more legally then you already could (we get those privileges at 18), but it's still a big birthday party. Usually you've gotten off your P's, about to graduate from uni, and it's a great party. In true my brother style we went to a really classy restaurant in the city, which is where I got the first wear out of my gorgeous Alannah Hill frock, along with some hot patent red leather heels that laced up at the back.

The second event was that evening; my best friends engagement party! Fun times. Great house party, with a lot of whispering and gossiping and blah blah blah (I remembered why I left all those people two years ago!), however, I do know that a lot of people loved my dress and were envious of my shoes, which made the whole thing so much more bearable.

Finally, the best part of this weekend, my best-friend-from-high-school's wedding. It was beautiful. Small, classy, not over-the-top, great food, great friends, great dance floor and it was fantastic. My reading went really well, the groom cried as my friend walked down the aisle, met some great lawyer guy from Sydney and the chocolate cake was awesome.

Sigh. It's all over. This weekend was kinda the point which I'd based my whole time in Melbourne around; it was when I knew my time was over. I fly out in 9 days. I haven't started packing (am too tired to have started today), but I know my local charity will be excited with all the stuff they're going to be getting.

My lesson learnt from this weekend; always look hot, it makes life so much more bearable when you know that you look better than the stupid bitches gossiping about you behind your back.

I just don't get it

2011-07-03T12:27:00.006+10:00

"So, Miss Me, it's your last day of work, should we just make out now to get this thing out of the way"...

Good morning to you too hot PE teacher! That's what he greeted me with on the last day of school in the staff room. Admittedly there was no one else around, but of course that doesn't mean I didn't then go off pissing myself laughing and tell the other girls.

I seriously don't get guys.

So you would have read about this Saffa guy that I had a "friends-with-benefits" thing going on with... yeah, I have no idea what I was thinking, nor do I have no idea what the fek happened there either; all of a sudden we don't talk, don't text, don't facebook, don't anything. He just dropped out of my world.

But I do know he's now shaking up with one of the other teachers from my school.

A bit of a "Days of Our Lives" scandal, here's the gossip:

So there's Miss K and Mr M, they were shaking up together, and then Mr M dropped her. Miss K is DEVASTATED and cannot get over him. If Mr M tries to pick up another girl, Miss K all over him, wearing low cut tops and yelling at him, doing anything to try and get him back etc. Anyways, Mr M goes and bangs Miss B, one of the other teachers at our school. OH MAN. Miss K cracks it, blah blah blah. Meanwhile we meet Mr S at the pub (Mr S being the Saffa IT guy from another school). I thought we had a thing going on, but it turns out that Mr S and Miss B have been texting each other and gosh-knows-what else whilst we were together. Mr M didn't know about them either. So on Friday night when we were out karaoking in the city to celebrate Canada day (woot!), Mr S rocks up at the end of the night and goes home with Miss B.

Complicated? Always is isn't it. Main point of the story is Miss B and Mr S deserve each other. They break up relationships, they scheme and are always looking for someone or something better. Stupid nasty people.

I know, I didn't really want the Saffa guy anyway, but the point is that I thought we had something, and he could have at least "dumped me" rather than slithering off like a snake and go out with someone else from my school! I don't care that she's gorgeous (which she is) and they both like ice hockey, it's common courtesy you stupid shit to inform someone that you're no longer interested.

Okay, sorry about the nastiness that's come out on this entry, I just needed somewhere to vent. I just don't get it.

But what I do know is that the majority of the population in Perth is British. Oh yeah. I could totally do with a nice, fun, interesting relationship of my own please God.

thirsty thursday

2011-06-30T12:22:00.002+10:00

For all those experienced bloggers out there you will have participated in a linkup, but this is my first attempt. I always forget, and then because I'm in Australia, I go to blog and it's a different day to what it is in America... blah blah, excuses. So no more excuses, because it's THIRSTY THURSDAY!

I thought I would introduce you to one of my favourite drinks at the moment. I came across it in Vienna, and it was called "Amy's Appel Strudel", but I'm sure it has many other names.

Ingredients:
Ice
Apple Juice
Zubrowka Vodka

So apparently the cinnimony taste you get from the Bison grass infusion is actually from the bisons urinating on the grass, but I don't want to think about it.
This drink is light and refreshing and yummy. You can pick up a bottle of Zubrowka vodka in Australia for about $35. It has a green label with a yak looking type animal on it and it has a strip of grass in it.
YUM!
So there you go. Happy Thirstday!

grumpy bum

2011-06-29T09:42:00.003+10:00

These last few days I have increasingly become a grumpy bum, especially whenever someone mentions my upcoming move west.
It's not that I'm not excited about moving to Perth, to start uni, make new friends etc.; trust me, I am, but right now I actually am in mourning, and every time you bring it up my heart breaks a little bit more about leaving everything behind.
I've moved plenty of times, left people behind and started a new life, I know what I'm heading into. But I also know that when I move I'm leaving people behind, that they'll continue on in their lives and I'll honestly have no part in it. Sure, you can stay connected with people; the invention of facebook and skype have made staying in contact a lot easier, but you always miss out on the nitty gritty parts. And then ofcourse there's your own adventures that they won't be a part of either, and so every time something happens you then have to explain why you think it's funny and "when I was in London/Melbourne/foreign city" and it's just not cool after a while.
So in reality, I'm not really looking forward to doing this again. I've had an amazing job, made some amazing friends, had some incredible times, and I don't want to loose out again. Last time I went away my best friend met the love of her life, my friends bought their own house, people had babies, my parents got a cat (who now looooves me) and my sister moved out of home. All these things I had no part of. Yeah, blah blah, I had all these incredible adventures on the Greek Islands/Turkey/living in London, but it's not the same. To me it just felt like one really long holiday whilst everyone else kept going on in life, and now I have to catch up.
So in the end, the point of this blog, is that I really don't want to hear about me moving to Perth. I don't want to hear about me putting my car on the train. I don't want my parents to be worried about where I'm going to be living/working/whatever. I don't want to hear about the beach, the great weather, the hot British boys. I want to live in the now. I want to watch Melbourne tv, and drive my car in the Dandenongs, and get smashed with my workmates, and enjoy the crappy weather. So please, in the interest of everyone's safety, shut up.

p.s. to leave you feeling less heavy from my crappy mood, here's a pic of the cat I call fatty. Isn't she cute?! She stole one of my easter eggs because it made noise when it rolled around on the floor from the smarties inside it.

weddings

2011-06-26T17:36:00.003+10:00

It's starting... wedding season.

You go through these periods of your life; two years worth of group presents and 21st parties, then there's a lull, until it hits engagements and then finally wedding season.

I believe I've entered that realm.

In my life atm it's full of wedding-ness; my friends is next weekend and I'm a bridesmaid for one at some stage this year (true story; she's bought our bridesmaids dresses but doesn't have a date set for the wedding). This week there was a wedding rehearsal and dress fittings and bridal shower and hens party and of course, I went and saw the movie "Bridesmaids"...

So naturally I talk about this stuff with my mum, and this afternoon we got into an argument about where I would get married.

Seriously.

The argument was about whether I would get married in Perth or fly back to Melbourne. wtf?! I'm single! I haven't even moved to Perth, and even if I was to find someone fantastic, I don't think I would want to get married within a year of meeting them.

But that's not the point. The point is that I cannot believe my mother and I were arguing about where I would get married, when I haven't even got a potential male in my life (well, scrap that, I choose not to have a potential, I'm moving across the other side of the bloody country!), and I don't really care right now because after Friday I'm unemployed.

It just makes me laugh. I can't believe I argued with my mum about where I'm getting married

disappointing

2011-06-24T13:39:00.002+10:00

dis·ap·point·ing/ˌdisəˈpointiNG/

Adjective: Failing to fulfil someone's hopes or expectations.

Unfortunately, that is what this afternoon's class has been. Disappointing.
So the year 8's are attempting urinalysis, doing the practical exercise I wrote up in my last post, and so far they've been amazing... until today.
When asked what the kidneys were, one kid replied "they pumped blood and stuff 'round the body yeah miss?".
I really like my year 8's, they're full of potential and hormones and it's always a risk walking into their class wondering if it's going to work out or go very very pear-shaped.
Look, I probably expect too much, and I want to see every kid love science, so I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but it's honestly sad to see kids fail at science and then they hate it.
It's also made me wonder, was I this annoying when I was fourteen? And is it really that important to care if they're passing notes or sitting with two legs off the floor on their chair, or should the focus be more on learning and making sure each kid understands the concepts?
Although planking in a science classroom whilst there's bunsen burners and beakers of unknown substances is something I should care about...

Yr 8 Urinalysis Experiment

2011-06-23T10:50:00.006+10:00

Urinalysis is the analysis of urine! It generally is a quick dipstick test, or sometimes done by automated machines which can quickly tell a doctor if something is wrong according what is present in the patients urine. In fact, urinalysis can even discloses emphysema.
In Year 8 my kids did some basic urinalysis; looking for glucose, protein, pH and appearance. This is the prac outline of how they did it:

Urinalysis

Aim: To test urine for the presence of a variety of substances

Materials (per student group):
5 x “urine” solutions (water, 5g urea, 3g NaCl) in yellow specimen containers,coloured with food dye and labelled "patient" A-E
1 g powdered egg white in “patient A” container
1g glucose powder in “patient B” container
3 drops 2M HCl in “patient C” container
3mL ammonia solution in “patient D” container
universal indicator paper
clinistix glucose test paper
water bath
culture tubes
wooden test tube holder

Method:

Write observations (colour, clarity, odour) of each tube and record it in the results table
Test each tube for glucose following the clinistix test strips guidelines and record the results for each patient
Test the pH for each tube using universal indicator paper and record the results for each patient
Gently heat and aliquot of each patients specimen in a culture tube to 70c in a water bath and records your observations of its clarity (those containing protein will become cloudy).

Results:

Formulate a table with the subheadings: Patient, Appearance (before heating), glucose, pH, Protein (appearance after heating)

Discussion:

Which “urine” contained glucose?
Which “urine” contained protein?
Why might it be a problem if someone has protein in their urine?
Why might it be a problem is someone has glucose in their urine?
Why do you think the pH of urine is important?
Which “urine” would you consider most healthy? Why?
What are other things that could be found in a urine test?

Conclusion:

Did you find various substances? If yes, how? If no, why not?

Sources:
Druitt et al,. "Science Dimensions: Teachers Edition" 2006, Pearson Education Australia
"Regional Technicians Group Problems & Solutions Recipes" http://www.rtg.wa.edu.au/solution/probsoln.htm (accessed 22/06/2011)

tequilla

2011-06-19T20:11:00.003+10:00

Imagine one of those bars that have sticky floors, a crappy cover band and a bunch of 18 year olds... That was my Friday night. Admittedly, I knew what I was about to get myself into; I've been hearing about the Stam every week from one of the girls at work, but I seriously didn't expect it to be that bad. True, it was fun whilst I was there; we danced ridiculously, made fun of the girls not wearing (m)any clothes, and laughed at the guys trying to crack on those girls. I drank my decent share, and still remember the majority of the night, so I didn't think I was that far gone.

Until the next morning...

I stayed over at my friends house because I knew that I would've had too much to drink, but I probably shouldn't have driven home that next morning either. I'd had six hours sleep and yet felt like a mack truck had hit me. I barely made it home. I spent the rest of the day in bed. My head thumped like never before. I vomited until there was nothing left and then I kept vomiting. I couldn't keep one sip of water down. I felt like I'd rather die. I NEVER want to feel like that again.

And I blame the tequilla.

It was all the tequilla's fault. I've heard mythical and magical stories about this drink. I've seen plenty of people lick the salt, suck the lemon and shot the drink. I've even seen those people who do the suicide shots. I've made mixes of the sunrises, cocktails and layered shots. And yet I've never tried the magical mexican worm drink.

The reason I blame the tequilla is because I didn't drink anything different than what I would normally consume; corona's and jager shots. yum yum yum. I didn't drink any more than I normally would. The variable in the equation was the tequilla.

Lesson learnt world. NO MORE TEQUILLA!

eye candy

2011-06-16T16:58:00.002+10:00

Girls, admit it, at work, or in some part of your daily routine, there is a guy that you hope you see, hope he talks to you, that you melt a little and always pull out the big smile for. If you're lucky enough to know at what time he's going to come then you go off to the bathroom and check that you're looking fine, your hair's all good and you slip on a bit of lip gloss. He's your eye candy. You probably don't call him that; more often than not he has some form of code name like "delivery guy" or "green tie". You might not specifically want something to happen, but you can't deny that he fills some of your fantasies. It's harmless and fun and makes your day.

For example, I used to have a train guy. I would miss trains in the morning in order to be on the same train as him, and we would do that eye flirting and yeah, I then moved overseas so no more train guy.

But I definitely have some eye candy at work at the moment. Today whilst I was attempting to teach he walked past my classroom in a footy uniform, all muddy and sweaty. sigh. Good thing the kids had no idea what was going on, cause that would have led to some hilarious conversations (as it was the class was already slightly awkward, my drawing of the heart compartments supposedly was of phallic nature...)

Ahhh, yes today was a good day.

freaking out

2011-06-14T23:27:00.003+10:00

This waiting game, this knowing of change but having to pass time before the change comes, making do with what you have now because you know that in a few days/weeks/months it's going to be different, this being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel kind of waiting.

I'm sure we've all experienced this waiting. It's not a normal kind of waiting, it's a more frustrating and complicated and hurtful kind of waiting. It tears your insides out and you constantly feel like you're banging your head against a brick wall...

I should be a pro at this kind of waiting. In the past two years I think I've spent about a year of it in some form of this kind of waiting; waiting to move to London, waiting to move back, waiting now to move again.

You fool yourself that you've got ages, you've got time, you'll be back, it's not that big of a deal...

I am the best liar when it comes to myself.

My heart is seriously starting to ache with worry. What if I don't get a job, a place to live, nice housemates, find a church, make friends?

And then it snowballs...

What if this is a big mistake? What if I run out of money? What if I get to the end of this degree and realise it's all a big waste? What if nobody likes me? What if I never find the love of my life? What if I end up an old spinster and get really fat? What if I turn into a cat lady?

I hate this kind of waiting. This kind of waiting is not for the faint of heart. This kind of waiting shakes up your soul. You have no control until it all happens, all you can do is sit back, wait, and freak out.

somewhat of a solution

2011-06-13T16:42:00.003+10:00

Last week I wrote about my dilemma with my best-friend-from-high-school's (bffhs) wedding being on the same day as my brother's 21st and them clashing...

Well, there has been a revelation in the situation; I'm a blonde idiot. My bffhs's wedding is on the 3rd of July, and has always been. For some reason I just had it in my head that it was on the 2nd. Maybe at some time when she was planning it she was thinking the 2nd and that where I got the idea. But nope, the wedding is on the 3rd.

So I don't have to worry about missing out! I get to go to my brother's swanky restaurant lunch in the city AND my bffhs's wedding!

Now you're wondering " why on earth is this somewhat of a solution?"... So now my other best friend, the one I'm a bridesmaid for, has decided that she'll have her engagement party on the night of the 2nd seeings as I'm free and still in Melbourne. Brilliant eh?

So my last weekend in Melbourne is looking like this:

1st July - last day of work, drinks in the city

2nd July - Brother's 21st in the city, best friends Engagement Party

3rd July - bffhs's wedding in the Dandenongs...

That does mean I've got three different events to wear my gorgeous Alannah Hill dress at! It arrived in the post this week, all nicely wrapped up with pretty tags and shiny stickers (happy face).

However, I was supposed to go to the Collingwood v Hawthorn match on the 3rd with my mate Cam, but sadly that's going to have to be missed now (sad face). I'll just have to follow it on twitter. As much as I love football I couldn't possibly consider missing something as important as her wedding.

Speaking of football and weddings, the wedding that I'm to be a bridesmaid at is on the 24th of September, which in a normal AFL season would be the Grand Final weekend, but because of the 17 teams in the season and the byes etc thankfully it's not that weekend but the weekend afterwards. I know, I know, it's just football, but I love footy. And yes, I am a girl. A blonde female scientist who loves watching footy. Go figure.

this time last year

2011-06-08T09:56:00.005+10:00

... I was running through Battersea Park in an inflatable sumo suit. True story.

It was a gorgeous summer morning in London where the weather was crisp and fresh but you knew that by 3pm that afternoon you'd be sun baking the park drinking Pimms, eating crisps and laughing with your friends, which is what I eventually ended up doing that afternoon, but first I had to run 5km in this inflatable sumo suit for charity.
The Sumo Run is one of those events you keep in your diary because not only is it for charity, it's hilariously funny. I found out about it through my weekly religious readings of the TNT Magazine (which was awesome when I was living there but has since gone down the toilet), and actually won my registration fee but I still raised the £200.
My friends came along and cheered me on, and I finished somewhere near the back of the group (I walked after I broke my costume pump and didn't want to ruin the rest of my suit), and got a great medal of appreciation (which I wore like an idiot to the pub and felt all proud of myself).
Far cry from Melbourne today; rain, hail, snow in the Alpine regions, a top today of 11°C (Yes, it does snow in Australia, just in some parts, like in Falls Creek, where this picture was taken by Chris Hocking, that I knicked from news.com.au).

As much as I would love to be at Falls Creek playing in the snow, I'm here in my little science office with my mighty litte heater and I'm not moving, except for blowing up Alkali Metals which is very much worth teaching in a cold classroom for.

where are my benefits?!

2011-06-06T14:59:00.005+10:00

Warning, this blog entry is a whine, so you can't say I didn't warn you.
So, for reasons I cannot understand, I dumped the incredible, gorgeous and entirely frustrating Alex for this weird "friends with benefits gig" with ... let's call him Saffa guy.
Besides the reason that I don't do cheating, and so dumped Alex before he knew I'd kissed this guy in a moment of stupidity, I seriously don't know why I swapped the frustrating psuedo-relationship of Alex for the Saffa guy. I met the Saffa guy on the last day of school term. We were at a pub, I'd had two and bit drinks, he was cute (still definitely is), and I didn't know if I had a boyfriend, so gave my number out, which resulted in coffee, which resulted in stupid moment. Sure, things with Alex weren't perfect, but doesn't mean you don't give a bloke a chance to realise he's going to loose you if he doesn't reply to a text message that ACTUALLY has a question in it (long story).
So at the start, this benefits gig was awesome. Cute-guy-who-has-an-accent-and-lives-close-by-but-doesn't-want-anything-serious... amazing idea for someone who only has three months left in this city. It was hot, there was heaps of benefits, and I laughed a lot.
And then at some unknown point the tables have turned and whilst I was all for continuing on with the hot benefits, he's turned into what feels like not even a friend, like an old married guy who was only sticking around because he couldn't be bothered to get a divorce. Until there's alcohol involved, in which I then receive booty calls, and of course, I'm sober and generally asleep when I receive these calls and so am in no mood to drive all the way to wherever he is, drive him home and reciprocate his drunken desires only for him to fall asleep whilst I give him head (true story).
Of course, now that the benefits are lacking, my levels of regret are through the roof. I still miss Alex, and I wish I hadn't of stuffed things up. Even if we had've broken up later on, I am an idiot. He had everything on my list! He's going to make someone ridiculously happy.
Me, well, I'm moving to a new city, with no contacts or anyone I know over there, and so no reputations or shady pasts, a chance to kick start my dating life all over again and hopefully get me some benefits, cause I can tell you, Saffa guy sucks at benefiting me.

not fair

2011-06-05T18:50:00.004+10:00

Okay, we all have that little kid inside of us that screams "it's not fair" when things just don't turn out right. For me at the moment, it's the massive situation of July 2. July 2 sees my little brother turn 21 and my best friend from High School finally get married. And they clash. Big Time.SO NOT FAIR! I've known about my friends wedding for ages (I think over a year now), and originally I was going to have to fly home from London to attend, and that was the plan. And now my brother (or my mother more to the point) has decided that his 21st party must be on that night too. One's in the city, the other is in the hills. There's over an hour of driving, and that's without traffic. And I'm single, so it's not like I'll have a partner in crime to leave early/be late. Sadness.

*sigh*... suck it up princess.

Oooh, on another note, I'm buying a designer frock for July 2, and here it is!