Working Girl

As of 9am tomorrow, I will officially be a working girl- and not the kind on the street corner at Kings Cross. :)

I finally heard back from that job interview a couple weeks ago, and they offered me a part-time position, which is perfect because I can only work 20 hrs per week with my student visa. I am not exactly sure what my title is, or what I will be doing, or even what my pay will be... but I'm very excited (read: nervous) about it.

The company is called Gth Events, and they manage events for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Hopefully everything will work out and it all goes well tomorrow!

Sydney Comedy Festival

On Tuesday I went to see an awesome show... Lisa, who works for Time Out Magazine, got two free tickets to the Comedy Festival and asked me to go with. The show we went to was for a comedienne named, Julia Morris. I actually saw her on Rove (a popular late night talk show) a couple weeks ago, promoting her book "Don't You Know Who I Used To Be?". Apparently she's a big deal in Australia. She was really funny on Rove, and SOOO much more funny live. Loved it! Def going to go to another show!

Update: Here is the online review that Lisa wrote for Time Out Sydney

The Day I Was Called a "Cougar"

They say that there are some days in your life you know you will never forget... your first kiss, prom, the day you get married, having kids. And there is another one I'd like to add to the list... the day some kid calls you a "cougar" when you are only 25 years old!

My Saturday night was great. I spent the evening in Kings Cross, where I had dinner and drinks with Mark, Josh's friend, and some of his friends. When I got home that night, my roommate, Will, and three of his mates were just coming in as well and so I stayed up awhile and chatted with them. We were all pretty drunk, and the guys were being very flirty with me and sure I probably was flirting back, but c'mon they're 18-19 years old. I mean ewww... so it was all in fun.

The next morning when I got up, one of the guys was still in the apartment and we were laughing about the night before. I said something like, "I'm too old for you guys anyways...". And his reply back was, "Yea, you're like a cougar!"

Someone murder me now! Or better yet, murder these fools...

Anzac Day

Okay I got bored of the whole "$40 a Day" thing... especially since I haven't been doing much lately to blog about. Oh, and the other day I went to happy hour, in Manly with Jason, and I am pretty sure that I spent well over my daily allowance, so we'll forget about that for now...

Today is Anzac Day which is Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. I went out this afternoon planning on doing some shopping, but the street was closed off for the Anzac parade, so I stood and watched for awhile. And what do you know... I got a little piece of home.The flag of my old home and the flag of my new home together. It made me miss Texas just for a minute. Love you guys!!

Need New Music

Day Three:

Today was a very low key day and actually I only spent $5.00 on a coke and some candy. Here's how it went down... I woke up at 9am and had some cereal, but it was raining so I decided to go back to sleep. Then I woke up again and went to the gym... I ran for an hour (not including the walk breaks) which ended up being 9km total- sweet!! Went back home, showered, lunch and wasted away the rest of my day watching TV, doing online stuff, tried to read for class, more TV, dinner, etc... I know, I know... boring snoring...

Daily Total: $5.00

But I did realize today that I need some new music for my iPod and I'm kinda out of the loop over here so here is your mission, should you choose to accept it:

Post a comment and tell me your fav song of the moment or of life, or a song you think I'd like... then I will have some new music to keep my butt in the gym longer!!

Something to Think About

"As one reads history... one is absolutely sickened not by the crimes the wicked have committed, but by the punishments the good have inflicted."
- Oscar Wilde
(On the wall of the Justice and Police Museum)

Meat Pie, Monorail, Museum, and More

Day Two:

I got off to a late start today… even though I woke up at 8am! But I desperately needed to do some laundry and the best times to get a machine (or 4, in my case) are first thing in the morning or late at night. So after laundry, breakfast and shower… I was ready to start my adventure, but of course it started raining so I sat around watching TV instead. When it finally stopped raining I pulled myself off the couch and headed out.

My first stop was Hannah’s Pies where I had my very first Australian Meat Pie (with Coke- $6.00). Okay it looks and sounds nasty, but it is very good. Basically like a Chicken Pot Pie, but with warm meat and gravy inside and nothing healthy. They had a bunch of different types of “pies”, but I played it safe and got the regular one. Hannah’s Pies is basically just a counter with no seating, so I was eating outside on the street… then it started raining again and I had to move under a bridge. So I felt like a homeless tourist as I was taking pictures of my food. Afterwards I took my very first ride on the monorail into the city center ($4.80). The monorail goes on a circular loop around the main part of the CBD and my plan was to take the entire loop before I got off, but I started feeling yuck (probably due to the meat pie) so I got off at City Center stop. This worked out well because I wanted to go to a museum anyway (since it was raining) and there are a bunch in that area.Before I got to a museum I stopped at the Customs House. I'd heard that in the lobby there was a miniature model of the city of Sydney under the floor. Very cool- here is me standing over the Opera House... can you see me in the reflection?I’d already been to the Museum of Contemporary Art, but I'd read about this new exhibit at the Justice and Police Museum called Femme Fatale. So that’s where I headed. The J&P Museum ($4.00) was pretty cool and slightly creepy. There weren’t very many people in there and some of the exhibits were inside actual cells of the original Sydney Police House- so I was reading about murders and criminals and freaking myself out. But the Femme Fatale exhibit was really interesting- like there was one lady who dressed and lived as a man, and she married another woman who she eventually killed, but the wife supposedly never knew she was married to a woman. Strange!

So when I got back to my flat I asked Lisa if she wanted to go to dinner (since I’d had a pretty inexpensive day) and we went to this awesome tapas bar in Glebe called “Different Drummer”… very cool atmosphere even if it did make me go over my daily allowance ($35.00). Whenever you come visit me I will def take you there- let me know when and I will make reservations. ☺

Daily Total: $49.80 (converted to USD it is still okay)

$40 a Day

You know that show with Rachael Ray on Food Network called "$40 a Day"? Well I have decided that I am going to try and do something similar during my semester week break. Now, Rachael's show is mainly about eating on $40 a day, and she travels to different cities; but for my adventure I will count eating and touristy stuff, and although I should be using this school break to travel, my activities will mainly be in Sydney.

Day One:

My first stop after a quick breakfast at home was the Sydney Tower- $19.50 with Student Discount. The tower is said to have the very best views, it is after all the tallest structure in Sydney (as tall as the Eiffel Tower), and has a panoramic view of the city. It was pretty good, but I just wish it had more information about what you're actually looking at because its basically just windows with a gift shop in the middle (Souvenirs $5.90). Luckily my ticket also included "OzTrek" which is a simulated ride that shows you all these interesting places around Australia and teaches you some history. So all and all... money well spent.The walk to Sydney Tower from my flat is pretty far and by the time I finished it was already lunchtime. I'd heard, from my friend in Manly, that there was a restaurant in the area that was similar to Chipotle. It is called Mad Mex, and since I've been missing the taste of a calorie-overload wrapped in a warm tortilla, I decided to try it out. Chicken Burrito and Pepsi at Mad Mex $12.50. Jason was right it is exactly like Chipotle, except that they didn't have my favorite Tabasco Chipotle sauce to add to every bite, but it was still very delish and very filling. My tummy wasn't used to being so full... the portion sizes in Sydney are much smaller than the States- go figure.

So in order to burn some much needed calories I decided to walk to Hyde Park (free). I heard that there was this giant chess game in the park and I'd been wanting to see what its all about. It was so funny, these old men were standing around being very serious and thoughtful about the game, but they were kicking around these pieces and picking them up like they were little kids. I sat there for awhile just watching this crazy scene.Afterwards I walked around the park some more, its a pretty small park and its kind of in the middle of the city so its fairly noisy, but its really pretty and clean. On a nicer day (its getting cold here, and today was rainy) I think I'd like to go there to read or something.

When I got back to my flat I changed clothes and headed to the gym to take my very first gym class. Previously I've only been running on the treadmill, but my friend Ashleigh wanted me to go to yoga with her (free). It was MUCH easier than the Hot (Bikram) Yoga April and I tried to do back home, but still pretty tough. I liked it and I think I will go again...

That was pretty much my day, I had dinner at home and now I think I will watch a movie before bed.

Daily Total: $37.90

Expats Unite- Part Deux

So, on Friday I had my accounting test (... I don't want to talk about it...) and afterwards, around 2pm, a bunch of us from class decided to celebrate the end of the most annoying week of studying. We decided to go to Darling Harbour and sit outside by the water- we had some food, some drinks, and chatted for hours. It was actually great!

There was a group of about 10 of us, of whom I only knew about half. We were all international students from all over... Russia, Germany, Denmark, South Africa, Iran, Austria, oh and America (me!). While I was sitting there, and after several beers, I was thinking how amazing it was to be sitting in a foreign country with these strangers from all over the world telling our stories and talking about our experiences in our home countries... okay it sounds lame as I type it... but trust me it was an amazing feeling!!

Street Art

"Hi, my name is Alan, Artist & Busker. If you like what you see & would like to see more please make a donation into the hat so that I can cover material costs & continue to make Sydney a more colorful place- C'mon Sydney support your local artists before we all move to Melbourne..."

First Job Interview

Recently I've been applying randomly to all kinds of various jobs (since event jobs are scarce). And the problem is, I've not really been keeping track of who I'm sending my resume to... so when I got a call yesterday about an events job that I applied for I was pretty confused. Also I've been in a study haze so I wasn't too excited and didn't really expect much from it.

But I just had an interview today and I think I could actually like it. I won't get my hopes up or talk about it much here, until I hear back... fingers crossed!

In the mean time, my main and only focus recently has been Accounting! Gross! So all that is in my brain right now are nasty equations like:

Assets = Liabilities + Owners Equity + Revenue - Expense

and

Net Sales - Cost of Sales = Gross Margin - Expenses = EBIT - Interest - Tax = Net Profit

... I have a midterm on Friday that I'm very nervous about. Wish me luck!

Happy Easter!

On Sunday, my international friends and I had an Easter picnic in Centennial Park. It was heaps good... great weather, great food and great company. What more could you ask for?I hope your Easter was just as good! Happy Easter from Down Under!

Catherine Loves Me the Most

I received my very first piece of Australian mail, and right in time for my two month anniversary. It was from a certain gal I met when I was studying, many years ago, in another foreign country. None other than my former Londoner/Texan, my old roommate and mother of our adopted kitten. Can you guess? ....Catherine!

This must mean that Catherine loves me the most! And now I love her the most too!

Thanks Cath... I'm so glad that when I opened the card no one was around because the pictures fell out and I was even embarassed for myself! Ugly! But I loved it and it made me feel very special, and you even picked an envelope with my signature color (morepinks). Thank you for thinking of me... I miss you and love ya lots!

Hair of the Dog

You know how people are always saying that the best way to get over a hang-over is to drink more? Well, I got to try out this little experiment and I'm here to tell you it is only a temporary fix- you will still have a hang-over, except it will just be delayed and it will hit you at some weird time, like 8pm instead of the next morning like normal.

It started out innocently enough... I went out after class on Thursday night to "grab a beer" and somehow this led to a two-day binge fest that left me feeling nauseous and starving (at the same time), dehydrated, debating whether or not I was suffering from severe liver failure, without a stitch of make-up, in two day old clothes, and feeling generally unhappy.

Sure there were good parts... like the most amazing chick-nugs I've ever had, Strongbow Cider that tasted like apple juice but hurt like hell, a new friend from Papua New Guinea, learning never to order "light beer" unless you want to be made to feel like a fool, chocolate Easter candy, strange conversations probably as a result of the delirium, and lots of laughs. But for the most part it was ugly!

So, instead of the "hair of the dog" method, here is my tried and tested cure for a hang-over:
Step 1: Do not, under any circumstances, step outside of your house for any reason other than to maybe get fast food.
Step 2: Get fast food- preferably of the Taco Bell variety, but anything greasy and unhealthy will work.You will want to consume your food in the horizontal position (while laying on the couch or, in dire circumstances, on the floor)
Step 4: Hide yourself in a dark, cold place where you can watch marathons of old reality TV shows.
Step 5: Every few hours you should take a couple ibuprofen and equal amounts of regular (not Diet) coke and red Gatorade.
Step 6: Its best to avoid any kind of human interaction, but if you must speak to someone try and think of something more insightful than "I feel like crap".
Step 7: Take occasional naps throughout the day, and when you finally wake up and feel semi-normal take a long cold shower and wash away the loser complex from the previous night.

Trust me it works...

We Unfold

I just got back from the Sydney Theatre. Jackie and I went to see a contemporary dance show called "We Unfold". It was awesome... even if some people (April) think that I'm uppity for wanting to go to the theatre. Rude!

PS- I heart dancer legs... how can I get some? 

Syd-Mex vs. Tex-Mex

I finally... finally... got some "Mexican Food" here in Sydney. Lisa invited me to dinner at a place in Glebe called Flying Fajita Sistas (thats right sistas not sisters). And it was surprisingly good... I'll admit my expectations were low and it was nothing compared to El Fenix. BUT I had a frozen margarita and some tacos and I was pretty satisfied. It is kinda expensive, but Tuesdays are $3 Taco and Tequila shots. Yum!

Pavlova, Passion Fruit and Will

Tonight Will (my flatmate making his photographic debut, above, on this blog) had a friend over and wanted to make her an authentic Australian dessert, Pavlova. I decided to help him, so as to guarantee my chance to try it as well. My contribution was to cut up the strawberries and to whip the frosting.

This dessert is SO delish! It is a meringue on the inside, so its really light and fluffy, and on the outside is a crust of what tastes like powdered sugar that dissolves in your mouth. Then on top is frosting and fruit. Yum!!

In addition to trying pavlova for the first time I also had my first taste of passion fruit, which Will put on the top with strawberries and bananas. If you haven't had passion fruit you should- it is the weirdest thing! On the outside is a thick purplish skin that makes it look almost like an avocado, and when you open it up there is yellow slimy goo with dark seeds. It looks really gross (check out picture below), but tastes really good and unique... slightly sweet and slightly sour.

Jelly Shots

This weekend was my friend Jackie's 24th birthday, so for her party we decided to be true "college kids" and make Jello shots... of course in Australia Jello is actually called Jelly so I guess they would be "Jelly Shots".

On Saturday we pre-partied at Jackie's house. One of her housemates is actually American, from Denver, but he speaks in this faux-Australian accent that is quite strange. True, he has been living here for several years so perhaps it is an unintentional thing... I mean there are some words that I always want to say because I hear them so often, but I always manage to stop myself so I don't come off as a poser. Words like reckon ("Which beer do you reckon is the best?"), and brilliant ("The dessert at the restaurant is brilliant"), and my personal favorite greeting which I could never bring myself to say..."How ya going?".

But anyway Saturday was fun, after the house party we went to Darling Harbor to some club/bar. Here are a few of the party girls:
By the end of the night my feet were in so much pain! In fact they still hurt a little now. I guess with all the flip flop wearing my feet have forgotten the tortures of being in heels, and have gone soft on me. I need to remedy that quick!

Stress-City

I have been in the library for hours now! I'm trying to work on a report I have due next Monday for my Research and Applied Methods Class, and I am way beyond stressed out!

First off, the instruction sheet we were given, describing what the paper is supposed to be about, is two pages long. This report is supposed to include a literature review over a research topic of our choosing, secondary data supporting this topic, graphs and figures created after analyzing the secondary data, a concept map which will help develop a research question, and finally we are to come up with our own research question that a future project of our topic could address. We need ten sources, of which five are published journals.

Oh, and all this is supposed to fit into a 2000 word paper... WTF?!?

Maybe this sounds like no big deal to you, but I went to UT we didn't have to write papers... I only know how to take multiple choice questions tests. I feel totally overwhelmed and of course I left it to the last minute.

I decided to write about the "Impacts of the Olympic Games", so I have been reading all about the economic, social, environmental, cultural, and political impacts of the Games, but I feel like I am still exactly where I started. Plus I have started to go cross-eyed from staring at the computer screen, and I think I am going to need Botox to correct the permanent furrowed brow that I've developed today.

Uhh.... What the heck do research methods have to do with Event Management? Isn't that what I'm in school for? Can't I just plan an amazing "Olympics themed" party for my teacher? I hate papers and I hate this class!!

Okay now I'm done venting... I guess I should go get some work done. Either that or I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning surrounded by Macca wrappers and empty cans of Tooheys New.