The Sydney Bridge Run

Last weekend I did the impossible, or at least very improbable. I participated in the Sydney Bridge Run and completed the longest distance, timed run of my life- 9K!! (...pause, to wait for standing ovation).

Liv and I ran together and completed with a time of 1hr, 6mins! Check out my official time here, I placed number 9907. Sweet As! We only walked two times for like two minutes each. I would've walked much more, but Liv wouldn't let me. Which was good because my goal time was an hour and a half, and my secret goal was an hour fifteen. So I basically killed both of those times. And I even got a fancy schmancy medal. Here we are after the run.
It was actually a really amazing route. We started on the other side of the harbour at Milson's Point and they closed traffic on the bridge so we ran over the water.
You know on movies when it is the end of the world and everyone on the highway gets out of their cars to see whats going on? It was kinda like that, spooky almost. And Liv wasn't wearing any headphones, and she said it was really quiet even with thousands of people around. Creepy! The run finished at the Opera House and afterward everyone hung out in the recovery village in the Botanic Gardens. For awhile, Liv and I watched the marathon finishers. How can anyone possibly run that long... 42K and some took up to six hours!! Wowza!!

Red Skies Over Sydney

As you may have heard or read about... yesterday was quite a bizarre day in Sydney. Here is my perspective: For some reason I randomly woke up around 6:30-7:00am, and when I did I was very confused. There was a very strange bright red color filtering through my blinds. Even in my barely awake state, it didn't seem right that the sky would be so bright so early in the morning. Actually it was so unnatural that I was certain someone had put something over my window outside. So I got up and peeked out the blinds to see what was going on, outside looked like this... literally!Mind you, this was at 7am! But I guess I was really tired because I just went back to sleep. I woke up again about an hour later to get ready for work, and the redness through my blinds was almost gone. So I figured maybe I was dreaming, or going crazy or something. Then I walked outside to catch my bus and noticed as soon as I stepped outside that the sky is SO dirty... like a really thick brown fog... something like this. Also, people on the streets were wearing actual medical masks and covering their faces with scarves and such. It was actually a really disturbing and uncomfortable feeling. I hadn't see the news or talked to anyone so I didn't know what was going on and thought maybe something bad had happened.

But when I finally got to work, my coworkers clued me in. Apparently it was just a really bad dust storm... or "the worst dust storm in 70 years!" according to Sydney Morning Herald. So very bizarre! I wish I would have properly woken up when I first saw it so I could've taken pictures, but once again sleep wins! When I got back to my room that night, I realized I had left the window open and my window sill was covered in red dust. Of course!

Package From Home

Yay!! I just got a package in the mail from my sis and nephew. It was the best... among other things was a card that Rev wrote, or dictated to Melissa to write, which made me get misty in the post office- nice! :) But I already decorated my room with the pics that they sent, oh and the Texas license plate. Loves it! I just realized something about this picture... there is a rather pornographic image, on the left side, underneath pics of my precious nephew. That is so wrong! Ha, I feel like I need to explain... The card is from Clay and Matt from my b-day. It is supposed to be a light-switch plate cover (tasteful!), but the light switches in AU aren't the same shape as the US. They are more squared than penis shaped. :)

Anyway, back to my package (no pun intended)... my sis sent me a sealed packaged of some of my favorite turkey jerky which I was very much looking forward to, but the jerks at customs opened my box and took it out. RUDE!! It just made me realize how much I was missing dried meat, and so many other things from home... like:

• Blue margaritas from Blue Mesa on some random Wednesday
• Driving no where for hours with the windows rolled down and the music blaring
• DVR'ing everything (especially hours and hours of Oprah, Dr. Phil, and The Doctors)
• Real Housewives Of... Anywhere (they're all good!)
  
• Crystal Summers making me feel hideous in the gay-borhood
• Wearing orange and watching college football (Go Texas!!)
• All Mexican food, like fajitas from Pappasitos, enchiladas from El Fenix, and chips and dip from Matt's El Rancho
• Chili's dates with my Bestie
  
• The greatest friends in the world, especially the ones that post comments on this blog (do you still remember me?)

Must be Missing Home

I think Spring is officially upon us in Sydney... thank goodness because it means summer is right around the corner. And I have been desperate for some sun on my shoulders!! But, the weather has been so awesome recently that my friends and I decided to have a picnic at the Botanic Gardens, which is right off the harbour overlooking the Opera House and Bridge. Well it was a perfect spring day, we stayed out for hours reading, eating and chatting. Perfection!

There was an awkward moment however, when we were watching the runners pass by on the trail in front of us. At one point I saw a hottie and loudly said "Hey Gurl!", and my friends turned and looked at me like I had said something offensive. (See they didn't know I was saying 'gurl', not 'girl'). I had to clarify that I was indeed talking about a male runner, not female. And then when they asked, "why did you say 'girl' then?", I wasn't really able to explain it. I just said it was something my "bois" back home said and it was just meant to be funny. LOL... Who am I? I must be missing my old friends these days...

Lucky for me, I have one Dallas/Houston friend who is coming to see me! Lisa just told me that she booked her flight and will be visiting me in Sydney in November. I am so excited!! How many pounds... er, kilos.... can I lose in time for beach season?

First Australian House Party

My Australian friend, Gabi, invited me and Jackie to a house party in her 'hood this weekend. Actually, I think we maybe invited ourselves... but we have been wanting to meet more Australians and to get out of Sydney. She lives in a suburb an hour outside of the city called, Campbelltown.

This party was a dress-up/ costume party (FYI- From what I can tell Australians are in love with dress-up parties). Unfortunately, I had no time to get an outfit before the party because it was a crazy week, so Gabi said she had some random costume stuff at her house that I could borrow. I ended up wearing regular clothes and she had a pirate bandanna and sword, so I guess was kinda a pirate, but not really.

Anyway, the party was fun... Apparently having a funny accent, like I do, really helps at parties where you don't know anyone. Who knew being American was such a novelty?

Hakuna Matata

... it means no worries, for the rest of your days.My South African friend, Jackie, sent me this picture which I just loved... Its Pumba and Timone, as seen on an African Safari. Ha!!

Lost in Translation

Sorry friends... I have been such a bad blogger the past couple weeks, but the truth is that nothing too interesting has been going on around here.

I've just started my second semester of school and am already behind. But I did pass all my classes last semester... actually I did better than pass, I got a "Credit" in all except accounting, which by some miracle I managed a "Distinction". The grading in Australia doesn't really translate to American grades but it goes something like this: High Distinction (A+), Distinction (A), Credit (B), Pass (C), and Fail (D/F).

Also, I have been working a lot, which is great because I spent way too much over my "winter break" and am hoping to go on a few more trips before I head back home. On my list to see is Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bun), Cairns (pronounced Cannes)- which is the main stop for seeing the Great Barrier Reef , and hopefully one big trip after school ends... there has been some talk about Thailand. Scary! So in an effort to save up for these amazing places I have been trying not to go out as much. Boring!

But I did think of one silly story, that I'm still embarrassed about, to share with you. So, we were in Risk Management class last week, and we are discussing an upcoming assignment or something. This is our lecturer's first time teaching so he is kinda still figuring everything out, and it came up that he had mistakenly scheduled class on one of the days during the mid-semester exam week. So everyone is trying to explain why we don't have class, and the entire class is sorta talking aloud to no one in particular.

At some point during the commotion this French girl, who is also in events and all my same classes, says loudly to the teacher, "If we don't have class maybe we can go on a trip?" She, of course, means a site visit or field trip, but I guess maybe it doesn't translate properly.

I hear her say this from across the room, so I jokingly say to my friends sitting around me "Trip? I vote for Melbourne!". So, I laugh at my own joke... the people around me are laughing too, but of course my laugh somehow carries above the others. Then the French girl turns around looks directly at me and says "Actually, I don't think its very funny" (imagine this in a French accent). And the entire class goes silent, and the teacher does a nervous laugh and no one says anything for several seconds.

So, I went through my typical stages when stuff like this happens: First I am embarrassed, silent and want to die; then at some point I get angry and defensive; and when that wears off I finally get guilty, want to explain myself and make amends. I asked Jackie if I should apologize to her after class (even though I was NOT laughing at her... I was laughing at my own joke!), but Jackie said I need to let it go. It's been a week now and I still feel awkward everyday when I see her in class. Why do the French hate Americans again? :)

Miss you guys... and I promise to try and keep you updated more.

Goodbye New Zealand

We spent almost the entire next day on the road, heading back to Christchurch (where it all began). This day was pretty miserable for me since I was hung over, had no wallet (ie. no money), and my seat mate and I were on rocky grounds.
But Jackie and I got over it pretty quickly, especially since I needed her help with money and stuff, and she needed my help because she was crazy sick (with like swine flu or something) on the bus. And by the end of the road trip, when I was feeling better, I again started to appreciate the unbelievable scenery around me. My trip to New Zealand was amazing and feel so lucky that I got the chance to see it. And now I'm back in Sydney, back in school, and back to work... no wonder I have been feeling so blah recently.