anna's aussie experience

...

2007-02-28T22:38:00.000+11:00

it may not always be so;and i say
that if your lips,which i have loved,should touch
another's,and your dear strong fingers clutch

his heart,as mine in time not far away;
if on another's face your sweet hair lay
in such a silence as i know,or such
great writhing words as,uttering overmuch,
stand helplessly before the spirit at bay;

if this should be,i say if this should be-
you of my heart,send me a little word;
that i may go unto him,and take his hands,
saying,Accept all happiness from me.
Then shall i turn my face,and hear one bird

sing terribly afar in the lost lands.

SO MUCH

2007-01-24T16:00:00.000+11:00

it's hard for me to even digest how much has happened between my last post and now- even though it has only been a month and a half. just to paint the picture i will list a few of the intense things that have happened in the relativley short period of time:
* miriam came to sydney(!)
*said goodbye to my sydney girls
*went scuba diving for the first time
*spent about 25 hours on australian greyhound buses
*slept in about 12 different beds
*went to new zealand- enough said (i fed goats and all)
*went back to the states, and strait into a triple header at the doubliner (god forbit i have jet lag or something)
*witnessed my dad perform my cousin hilary's wedding, in my own living room
*said hello to my DC lovers
*saw hamoodi (enough said!)
*went to nyc
*said goobye to my DC lovers
*....and back to sydney.

*oh and throw in a few sessions of bikram yoga during all that, you know just for extra intenstiy.

and now for some of those intense moments in picture form, just so you know i ain't making this shit up.

i flew back in from sydney and strait into THIS. this madness lasted days and days. i only know this was the wedding night cause of the fancy dress.

OK the pictures are taking forever, thanks to my slow-ass internet, but ill put them up later for shizzle.

and that's just a few reasons that the past month and a half has been one of the best, most intense, most emotional, most chaotic time in my life thus far. now im back here, and suddenly i can take a breath again. it's so strange cause things have finally come to a grinding halt and im back in sydney, and everything is just the same while being entirely different at the same time. im bcak to running to woolworths for milk, and popping into the exchange to say hello, and reading in hyde park, and window shopping in paddington. it feels so familiar, kind of like home. but at the same time most of the people who helped make this home are gone, so i have to re-establish a lot. i am enjoying the solitude and the new challenge though. and finally im getting to enjoy sydney without the 9-5 job to take up all my time. i really never had this much free time to just enjoy the city. it's such an incredible city..i swear i could walk around all day everyday and not get bored. but emloyment is important, as i am going broke fast. i put up babysitting flyers and inquired in some cafes. im also signing up for a photography class that looks reallly cool, so that should be fun. ..im just a Little homesick, but i know i made the right decision to come back here.

besos x
deutsch

you say goodbye, i say hello..

2006-11-30T10:24:00.000+11:00

so there we are..what a cute family, huh? the last 2 weeks have gone by faster than i can even explain. it's been literally an emotional rollercoaster. thanksgiving was great, i thought it would be really really difficult beign away from home...but it was special in its own way. on thanksgiving night we made mexican food and andie and alex came over. we made sangria (boxed red, sprite, fruit, ice- classy) and andie made a kick ass dip and we just stuffed out face and sat around the table drinking too much sangria and having a good time. then on friday i got a real traditional thanksgiving at gloria's house with her cuosins. it was amazing...her family is so nice and her cousins kids are gorgeous (the cutest 2 year old ive ever seen..). we sat around the table talking politics, religion, pop culture...so i felt RIGHT at home. just like my own dinner tables..paris hilton one minute, the validity of faith the next. i stuffed myself with turkey and drank endless wine and beer.. it was such a nice sydney night too. then gloria and i managed to waddle out of the house- absolutly stuffed- and head to hugos..because it wouldnt be a friday night if i didnt end up at king's cross. well, one drink turned into many..and before i knew i was drinking champagne well into the wee hours of the morning...

anyway, i had a lot of anxiety last weekend. i was sitting at home saturday evening with knots in my stomach and an unesay feeling. time is just moving so quickly and in one sense i am thrilled that miriam is coming here in 2 days (!) and we are setting off to see this amazing country (i havent left sydney yet). a friend from home is absolutly what i need right now.. after so much time being independent of my life at home and seriously soul searching (cheesy but true) it will be good to sit on the beach at byron bay with miriam and discuss everything that's been going on... our trip is going to be awesome..all the way up the east coast ending in cairns. we are going on a 2 day boat in the whitsunday islands, we are going to the great barrier reef. it will be fantastic.

but then there are the goodbyes. i dont knwo how i am going to say goodbye to the people that made this experience what it was for me. gloria, andie, val, etc. and there are people im just getting to know better that i have to say goodbye to. one minute we are a happy family sharing thanksgiving dinner and the next it's goodbye. but i guess life at this stage is all about goodbyes. (nothing is constant, esp in our 20's- that's what i am realizing. the structure of school is over but the steadiness of career and family hasn't started.) when i come back here it will be amzing, but in a sense i will be starting from scratch. but i also look forward to that. you can probably tell just from reading this that my mind is spinning and im in such a state of bittersweet emotions...

i guess the big news comes now. i purchased a ticket. im coming back here jan 15th and staying at 13 mullens and working illegally (rock on) and carving out a new life for myself here. and THEN... thailand! and THEN..THE UK! this is all insane. i think despite my rather intense anxiety at times i am absolutly in love with life right now. in a way the anxiety stems from the excitement and openendedness of the future...

holy shit, check it out.... !
FLIGHTS
Sun, Jan 14: UNITED AIRLINES, UA 0215
From: WASHINGTON DULLES, DC (IAD)
Departs: 7:16pm
To: LOS ANGELES, CA (LAX)
Arrives: 9:55pm
Arrival Terminal:
TERMINAL 7
Flight Time: 5 hour(s) and 39 minute(s)

Please verify flight times prior to departure
Sun, Jan 14-Tue, Jan 16: UNITED AIRLINES, UA 0839
From: LOS ANGELES, CA (LAX)
Departs:
10:30pmSun, Jan 14
Departure Terminal:
TERMINAL 7
To: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (SYD)
Arrives: 8:05amTue, Jan 16
Arrival Terminal:
TERMINAL 1 INTERNATIONAL
Flight Time: 14 hour(s) and 35 minute(s)

Sat, Apr 14: THAI AIRWAYS INTL LTD, TG 0996
From: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (SYD)
Departs: 5:05pm
Departure Terminal:
TERMINAL 1 INTERNATIONAL
To: BANGKOK, THAILAND (BKK)
Arrives: 10:20pm
Flight Time: 8 hour(s) and 15 minute(s)

Tue, Apr 24: GULF AIR, GF 0285
From: BANGKOK, THAILAND (BKK)
Departs: 6:05pm
To: MUSCAT, OMAN (MCT)
Arrives: 9:00pm
Flight Time: 5 hour(s) and 55 minute(s)

Wed, Apr 25: GULF AIR, GF 0009
From: MUSCAT, OMAN (MCT)
Departs: 1:40am
To: LONDON HEATHROW, UNITED KINGDOM (LHR)
Arrives: 6:50am
Arrival Terminal:
TERMINAL 3
Flight Time: 8 hour(s) and 10 minute(s)

Tue, May 15: BRITISH AIRWAYS, BA 0293
From: LONDON HEATHROW, UNITED KINGDOM (LHR)
Departs: 5:10pm
Departure Terminal:
TERMINAL 4
To: WASHINGTON DULLES, DC (IAD)
Arrives: 8:10pm
Flight Time: 8 hour(s) and 0 minute(s)

"a good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." lao tzu

well, my plans are fixed, but easily changed for the fee of $25 plus rate changes...

cant wait to be back in the states and see everyone and go to the wedding .. it's all overwhelming to think about..in a very very good way.
x

things are coming together

2006-11-20T14:04:00.000+11:00

so. ive been trying to figure out what to do in january considering i have absolutly no strings attached in terms of school or a job, etc. it's a wonderfully liberating feeling- i am so fucking lucky. having the opportunity to make a decision that doesnt have to soley be based on money or a career is the best gift i could ask for. i basically realized that id be crazy not to use the advantage or my time, youth, and some money to do what iw ant to do, which is continue exploring the world. first off..i have fallen in love. with australia. sydney. i am going to return here about january 15th or so and attempt to live here legally- with a tourist visa- and work ILLEGALLY with a tourist visa. wow, i prob shouldnt be publishing this on the internet. ah well. many restaurants here pay cash and dont tax..even to residents. also i have some babysitting connections, etc. i think this could work. itll be really differnt living here without the girls- who have been just amazing. VAL... who is the best possible roomie/sister/everything girl here. GLORIA...who's like the lifetime friend i never made until now, from when we met it was like picking up where we left off every time. and ANDIE... who has been the ultimate partner in crime. tragic that we didnt know eachother at BU despite a dozen mutual friends. at least we finally met now. but you know, i will meet more people and i have a very small base of aussies that i can continue to bond with. the exchange crew (i dont know how clsoe to them i want to get haha). then last night i went to dinner at (Ok this is confusing: my parents are friends with the ambassador to the US from OZ. i had dinner with their son and his wife) these people's house and their cousins were there- 2 girls 22, 24. i hit it off with natasha the 22 year old and we ended up heading to hugo's together after dinner (my kind of girl to suggest such a thing on a sunday night after a large meal). anyway..just like that i have a new number in my phone and more possibilities.

i am thinking about getting an around the world ticket- actually not terrrrrribly expensive. i want to fly form DC to sydney. stay 3 months -ish. then go home via Thailand (bankok, phuket, chang mai) and maybe greece and then the UK (ive never ever been!) and then back to DC. i mean this is all partial fantasy..but what if it could happen?! i htink i could even save a bit while i was here doing odd jobs..... the thought really excites me. and ive never travelled by on my own- im kinda down. i think it would be a new and exciting experience. and anway this would get me back to the states around the begining of may... where upon i would turn 23, move to NYC, and begin my fabulous magazine career. sounds likke a plan, huh?

i miss everyone so fucking much. thanksgiving is next week..ill be thinking of my family and the DC crew the whole time!
xxxxxx

heartbeats

2006-11-13T15:38:00.001+11:00

so i had an incident of Heart Palpatations at bondi beach on saturday. besides being majorly embaressing becuase it is the most crowded beach in sydney on the first nice beach day in a month..it was also frightening and confusing and annoying. im not sure what exactly triggered it..as it always seems so random..but in retrospect almost always seems connected with anxiety. i mean i guess in some ways it makes sense..ive been going all out for weeks. i had just eaten fast food and smoked a cigarette. and i had gotten caught in the rip tide. there were many factors.

it wasnt that big of a deal but andie and i went for a dip and realized we were in the rip and swam super hard to get back and while i was pushing against the current i thought "whoa i see how people drown.." cause it was hard. it wasnt a very big deal but once finally on shroe i was relieved and my heart was racing with the exersion. so we went back to our towels to chill..not really thinking much of it except "damn rip." then it just kicked in. its not like normal racing heart..even the fastest you can think of- it's like it switches gears into major palpatation mode. and i have Hardly gotten it in the last few years and when i have i almost always can breath through it..but this time i couldnt. the crowds. the sun. the worry. after 20 minutes gloria and andie got lifeguards and eventually they took me to the lifeguard area..and then i had to go to the EW in an ambulance..although RIGHT before they arrived It FINALLY clicked back into normal. i was lightheaded and weak tho obviously..and they MADE me come in anyway and said my heart was still beating rather fast at about 120 per min i think. at the hospitol i got an ekg etc etc and everything checked out normal and after lots of water my heart rate was down to 70-80s. it was all in all...alarming and crappy. i have been very anxious thinking about my next step and life decisions. do i stay here? do i move to nyc now? so much is whirling around in my head it is LITERALLY hard to think about all at once. i think maybe the swimming in the ocean against the rip tide made the anxiety surface. and then it all just came out in the form of palpatations. now i am just at a loss..wondering why it happened, if it will happen again..and how to fingure things out without stressing out. anyway. the song chasing cars came on when i was in the lifeguard stand and it actually slowed my heart a bit weirdly enough. i fucking cant stop listening to this song. its all about lying with the person you love and forgetting the world, etc. its so simple and pretty and ive been loving it. which is weird cause im not terribly homesick or lovesick or sad at all.. but it just is damn good. the whole snow patrol album Eyes Open is amazing. buy it.

Chasing Cars
We'll do it all Everything
On our own
We don't need
Anything Or anyone
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel
Those three words
Are said too much
But not enough

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

Let's waste time Chasing cars
Around our heads
I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see
I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

i guess i just want things to be this simple....but i cant forget the world..i gotta figure my world out so that i can relax a little. what freaks me out about that sing is the line, "Just know that these things will never change for us at all" ... cause doesnt everything change? or are some things constant?

trouble..

2006-11-10T14:13:00.000+11:00

Best Friends 4Evaaaa!!!

Wiley. He travels with the Foo Fighters. Has crazy blonde hair. Is in a band called Chevy Metal. It is classified as Dirt Rock. And that with us, of course, is the lovely miss Val.

Almost Famous? Behind the Music? am i a band-aid or a groupie? ok so it's a little posed, but only a LITTLE.

Andie and I. At Havana. Love her.

ive got lots of pictures in my head. you better not..turn off the projector. SNEAKY baby

Melbourne Cup Day. As in Horse Races. It was so fun and i bet TWICE on winning horses. a special shout out to POLAR BEAR and POP ROCKS!

across the universe.

2006-10-27T09:52:00.000+10:00

this is the tune i am feeling right now..

Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy are
drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Images of broken light which dance
before me like a million eyes
That call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
they tumble blindly as they make
their way across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter shades of life are
ringing through my open ears
exciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me
like a million suns It calls me on and on across the universe

im feeling good...well not my head bc i am hungover and its early and im at work... but my heart is happy here in sydney. dont know whats on the agenda this weekend... probly go out with andie which is always fun. gloria is back from Tazzie, saw her last night. we might move in together if i stay through the summer (US winter). more later. love to all. esp mary cause its her bday tomorrow!

gros bisous

ladi dadi we like to party

2006-10-19T16:16:00.000+10:00

last weekend was awesome. went out both nights with gloria... out at midnight, home by sunrise both nights. she is awesome- so much fun, so down to earth. friday we were by circular quay and george st. we ended up at this place bar 333 and just danced together til super late. saturday we met at the exchange (my local) at like midnight and met this girl gina we had met earlier in the week, who i am a little unsure about. when it closed we went up to road to this other place...very balmain local spot. then the WHOLE exchange staff showed up there. the night ended up INCREDIBLY silly... gloria paired off with this cute brit (an oxford graduate/investment banker who like does architecture on the side...whoa). and so i was bsically sitting in this courtyard hanging out with all these aussies til the wee hours of the morning, and it was outrageous. the good news is i can almost definitly get a paying job at the exchange so i am really hoping to stay here through the summer (US winter). we were just laughing and drinking tooheys and smoknig cigarettes and i dunno...it just felt good. i think i liked being in this very local environment cause i usually head into the city- more of a production. it made me feel somewhat of a local. and then on monday and tues i went to the exchange again to help my friend troy film this documentary and again i just felt really like part of the neighborhood. i think i want to live in the same house if i stay longer.

anyway this weekend i think itll be back down town to party with miss andie.....so itll no doubt be fun. we'll prob head to darling harbor and partake in our usual sillyness. like EVERYONE is busy/out of town this weekend (tashi, val, gloria). its weird everyweekend SOMEONE is out of town in tasmania or up north or something..

ps ive been awful..bought tsubi jeans (amazing aussie designers- 2 surfer guys) and brown leather boots) and a cute shirt from another aussie designer Oneteaspoon. i have to not shop anymore for a while.

ANYWAY ill update on monday.

WAIT HOW COULD I FORGET THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: my office got BURGLARIZED...and EVERYTHING was taken. the livlihood of my bosses is gone! its a web puplishing company and the two computers and their hardrives were stolen. there is very little bakedup. so its been a nightmare here-forensics people in yesterday dusting for prints, etc. now i am working from a 1997 dell (screen keeps freezing) and he's on some labtop. and just when things could get any worse their close friend passed away this morning. i just feel so awful for them- such good people. anyway they have a week vacation coming up, which will do them well. and ill get that week off and prob head down to mebourne- hopefully with val, who i miss bevcause her parents are in town and she has been with them everyday!

X

how to party like a rockstar..

2006-10-11T16:25:00.000+10:00

the best way to party like a rockstar is to party WITH a rockstar. dave grohl works just fine. so i went to the foo fighters show at the opera house with valerie last thursday. we paid 90 dollars for the LAST TWO seats in the place (and it was the third and last night of the aussie leg of their tour). While we were waiting to go inside some manager of sorts came up to us..."it's the foo fighers las tnight here so they are throwing a party at the top of the shangri la (tallest, nicest hotel in sydney- 40th floor) and we dont know many people, so you two should come." and just like that we had 2 VIP passes.

so the show was awesome...it was acoustic and he played all the classics, and talked about when he first met kurt and played a song he wrote about him.. the crowd had an awesome energy. it's really rare for a rock show to be at the opera house, but apparently the foo fighters really pushed for it. they were pretty funny on stage, chatting a lot, etc. at one point he was like "Im from VA right outside of DC" and i screamed "YEAHHHH" and he looked around and was like "whoever just screamed is not drunk enough to be from DC" -- didnt expect a washingtonian among the aussies i guess. So the show ended and we headed towards the party- not knowing what to expect. when we step out of the Long elevator ride.... we are met with the MOST BEAUTIFUL view of the whole city/water/harbour..oh my god breath taking. and not to mention there was free wine and champagne everywhere (all night). free sushi. my kind of party. awesome music..lots of walkmen being played by the DJ. so dave and the band rolled in a bit later.. and mingled. i drunkenly went up to him and said i was the DC girl from the audience. he was nice, even though he probly thought i was pretty lame. i was like "yeah my sister is your age, you used to date a friend of hers, blah blah." and the crude, drunken grohl was like "we used to fuck not date" or something like that ..and i as like oOOOOkay then, whatever you say. then blond aussie girls stole him away and val and i went back to the free booze. we introduced ourselves to taylor hawkins..the drummer. what a sweatheart. he was super nice and gave us kisses on the cheek and said he'd catch up with us later. as the night progressed things got increasingly drunken for everyone. then i met wiley. http://www.myspace.com/chevymetal -- the blonde with longish hair is him (he's the lead singer). the other blonde is taylor hawkins (the foo's drummer). they are besties and in that cover band Chevy Metal. annnnnyway... we hit it off and he's like "why dont you two come back to our hotel to party more." Umm OK, sure.

so we get there around 330 am...and it was about 7 of us chilling. this guy Pat (their manager?) was there and someone who i think said he was in the band The Darkness. we raided the minibar and then hung out on their balcony which had an awesome view of the opera house. (the sydney park hyatt, i think). dave was there, but taylor wasnt. we talekd about how i went to field and how he dropped out of highschool. memories are blurred at this point. this one chick was ALL up on his grill..and he has a 5 month old baby! i honestly think something coulda happened btwn them, but whatever. grohl went to bed around 5 am (diff room). and val and i were just making mischief..wearing bathrobes, sunglasses, stealing from the minibar. the wiley guy was really fun and we were just cracking up chilling in this 5 star bathroom. ill get the pics up soon--priceless. at one point the phone rang and val answered "hello? who? what? hold on" hands it to me "hello" "yeah is pat there" "pat is passsed out right now" (he was dead asleep) "well it's his fiance, WHO IS THIS??" "Ummm" Click. does that stuff actually happen? are these people like this every night of the tour? what a weird life. i mean it was pretty tame, it was just odd. anyway..val and i cabbed home aruond 7 am..just in time to get two hours of sleep and then go into work super late smelling like a winery and an ashtray. all in all...a night to remember. thanks for the memories, dave! wiley has shot me several emails being like"call me if you come to LA..you were so fun!" haha... *sigh.

the rest of the weekend was fun..stayed in fri to recover. had another super late night on saturday. went to "bungalow 8" dont know if theres any connection to the NYC b8, but who knows. been really busy at work this week (busy writing this blog, etc). no actually we have a lot of shit on our plate right now and ive been working on some features and promotions and web designing. might learn to surf this weekend, cant decide because it's 200 bones and i am getting broker by the minute. OK...buckets full of love to everyone. i miss u all so much. im definitly coming home for new years...but hopefully getting a one year working visa and returning in jan for a PAID job. fingers crossed.xxxxxxxxx a

setting the scene

2006-10-10T09:52:00.000+10:00

what i see when i lay in hyde park and tan, which is what i do when im too lazy to go to the beach

Queen Victoria Building..where i catch the bus

looking up mullens st from in front of my house

the famous bondi beach

random little harbour

now that is a money shot, the tourists next to me were like damn, what setting is your camera on?

this is the ferry back from manly beach

took this on the ferry to manly beach

i have lots more pics....these are just some good sydney tourist ones. this city is pretty lovely, huh?

here comes the sun

2006-10-03T11:10:00.000+10:00

back in the office after a wonderful Loong weekend. it was aussie labor day on monday.. after being sickish for most of last week, by friday night i was itching to get out of the house and not be coughing on the couch for another night. it was apparently some spanish festival all weekend at darling harbor..but it was pretty uneventful. there were some pretty pathetic fireworks and that was about it. i went to a few bars there and then to the slip inn...which is well known in sydney because the prince of denmark went there a few years ago incognito and met a random aussie girl. now she's a princess and lives in denmark. i, however, didn't meet any princes...but havent given up hope of becoming european royalty. (i think theres a young prince of monaco who's single). it's was a pretty cool place, nice big courtyard. val came out which was fun... we were out with andie from BU- it was weird - in a good way- to be out with BU people cause im mostly with random international pple and feel SO far from my BU life.

saturday tashi threw a bbq at bronte beach. after the sun went down it was absolutly FREEZING. we were bundled up; it was ridiculous. it was so good though, we ate our weight in cheese, chips, kebobs, and sausages. i taught a bunch of international kids "never have i ever." it was really funny hearing german and french kids struggle to say "i havent never" "never i ever." we made a bon fire, which was awesome but busted by the cops before it had been lit an hour. they were really kind about it though and let us keep drinking. the states wouldn't have let it fly. we left around 1 before hypothermia hit.

sunday i spent all day at hyde park with valerie. gorgeous. wrote postcards, read (raise high the roof beams carpenters- salinger), and lots of i-pod. went to havana bar sunday nite. it was ridiculous- like a fashion show of the hippest pple ever. all the guys were in neons and pastels, vans and chucks. perfect tans, messy hair. probly on drugs. the girls were all in funky dresses, leggings, vintage..loved it. then yesterday tanned again in hyde park with valerie. had the worst allergy attack ever. did my usual grey's anatomy at the bar on my street last night and made the roomies come for once. still havent slept through a night in a week becuase of my fucking cough.

anyway now im back at work. jeremy is telling me stories about the wild south african days. stealing wheelchairs in hospitals and sucking the oxygen tanks. drunk driving. drug dealing hoodlems. he is soo damn chatty. meanwhile im blogging and chatting to mary on gmail chat- we are getting lots done as you can tell. actually i just finished up a redken for men promotion and feature article thing so im not a complete wasteoid. i miss everyone lots..i hope everyone's happy and healthy, etc. WRIte to me..i love hearing from you guys..
xxx

country road, take me home

2006-09-26T16:07:00.000+10:00

i've been so loving my i-pod since being here. i think it's because it's like having a piece of home with me- a friend. it's a little bit of everybody. when i miss my family, like my brothers, i can listen to woodie gurthrie (chris) or spoon (noah). when i miss highschool and feel a little emo it's time for a little saves the day ("you make me feel so tall, i always want to be this tall") or bright eyes ("eyes that burn so bright they make me pure"-- ooo sigh!). bu people- it's all about easy E, rjd2, echo and the bunnyman, blackalicious, manu chao, so many songs bring me back to chain smoking late nite in sigz/gabbas apartment, etc. johnny cash just makes me flat out nostalgic, so does zeppelin ("yesterday i saw you kissing tiny flowers, all that lives is born to die"- that line get's me every god damn time). nostalgic for what im not sure, but they have that effect. radiohead makes me heady. lauryn hill makes me feel inspired. they all just bring me back home in different ways. and to different homes- which all kind of come together as one. ONE love, man. haha oook now.

feeling a bit under the weather today, doesn't help that the weather = grey/chilly.

should have a good few days...:
tomoro nite: bars at bondi beach..or maybe ecq bar to visit my friend troy
thurs: brooklin bar with ispc pple
fri: maybe salsa at darling harbor
sat: the beach bbq party for tashi's bday/gloria's bday

ok looove to all

a few pics i got from other pple

2006-09-25T13:13:00.000+10:00

this is simon...sweetest french guy. i did what i usually do when intoxicated around frenchies..have a few too many and start singing La Marseillaise (french national anthem). needless to say he was impressed. ps- i look a LOT drunker than i am in this pic- my eyes were caught mid-blink.

ewww...weird canadian boy. this is very candid and has the appearance of intimicay and enjoyment. it was actually discomfort and disgust! but it made for a funny pic.

at a coogee beach bar last wednesday.

this is tashi....sweetest aussie girl, heart of gold. she's been showing me a good time.

this is at a club/bar on darling harbor. that's gloria..she's american from north carolina (very cool). and that guy is some dutch dude who at the time we thought resembled josh hartnett. all i got out of my brief convo with him was that likes limp bizkitand eminem. rock on.

ill get my own pictures up soon enough. for now the internet is too weak at my house, so i have to work on it.

allston reflections

2006-09-22T16:08:00.000+10:00

i think this picture is the percise reason that i miss boston and that i had to leave boston. i was just getting too comfortable at Our House (the bar), and look- i dont have my eyes open..and where are my shoes?... oooooo sigh. i hate photos that document nights you dont really remember. it's been refreshing to sober up a bit here (i mean in relative terms). i guess the same behavior in different country/new scenery makes it seem more "cultural immersion" and less depraved debauchery. okok, im being too hard on us allston-ers. all in all though, i just think this pic is priceless. erika has her fingers in my toes for christ's sake. the one below here is lovely as well. i dont know what's better my hand on brendyn's beer or looking at annie and thnking of how she got home that night (in babs's loving arms).
i miss you guys- im certainly not comfortable enough with pple here to unleash that side of myself (the one that almost got kicked out of our house twice that night) xx

rockabilly aussies, who woulda thunk it?

2006-09-22T09:47:00.000+10:00

i went out last night to a place called shark bar. actually it was called Shark Hotel (Most of you may not know that in australia "hotels" are actually just bars. but hotels can also be actual hotels- so it gets confusing). anyway- free champagne for ladies..not bad. this was right after work..so we had some dinner and drinks. and then around 10 we headed to a new bar. it was in the basement of the sydney hilton hotel...and im still confused as to weather it was part of it or not- but i think it was. it was called the marble room or something- and it was ALL marble and pillars and paintings of voluptuous nudes. i thoguht everything seemed normal enough..and then suddenly this live band starts jamming and about 50 rockabilly-ish pple come out of the woodworks and start dancing. im talking strait from Crybaby..what-decade-are-we-in style. short bangs, leather, saddle shoes, skirts spinning, ponytails, etc.. it was incredibly strange and kind of awesome. anyway time to do some work. im supposed to go to a place called pantoon in darling harbor tonight. definitly going to bondi beach tomorrow.
xx

some fun with google earth

2006-09-21T14:56:00.000+10:00

ok that didnt turn out as well as i wanted, but i just wanted to show the lay out. click on it and i think it gets bigger. the far right is where i live. the north most point is where i work...and the center-ish thing is just main downtwn sydney. the thing is..this city is MUCH smalled than, say, manhattan..it takes 10 min by bus for me to get from my house to downtown center. and about 20 min from downtwn to my office. it's really quite a manageable size.

bird's eye of manly

2006-09-21T14:53:00.000+10:00

This is manly beach- quite famous for backpackers, etc. i went there on saturday- as described below. twas lovely. it's all lined with cafes and shops.. great seafood. prob gunna be too crowded within a few weeks (as it is becoming summmmmer)

the internship

2006-09-21T14:40:00.000+10:00

here is the intellectually stimulating pieces ive written. i was a little down about the fact that the job isnt really that stimulating when it comes to the journalism..but i am learning a lot about runnign the website and im onto a bigger project working with the head of marketing at L'Oreal on a promotion for our site. i am the sole contact for this project..so the responsibility has been good. my boss thinks im hard at work on it right now...little does he know..mwahaha

eyebrows!

dark circles :(

puffy puffy

aussie aussie

2006-09-21T12:02:00.000+10:00

ok so here's how things have unfolded so far..
the plane ride was so much less terrible than i expected...mostly becuase i took an ambien an hour into it and woke up on the other side of the pacific ocean. i had a middle seat, whcih didnt seem promising...but it turned out fine. think i might have cuddled up next to the awkward boy next to me..but he had popped a sleeping pill too so he prob didnt care or notice. so i arrived at the ass crack of dawn...and it was just POURING. it was freezing and raining. it was coming down in sheets....sheets of rain that didnt let up for 4 fucking days. occasionally it would stop..only to start again minutes later with even more force. the lovely cab driver left me on my doorstep with my oversized luggage so i had to haul it in. soaking wet and freezing cold, i arrived into my cute apartment. i found the bedroom that seemed best for me and unpacked immediatly- as i always do when settling into a new place.that first day was strange because i was so hyped to be there..but i couldnt Do anything..even walk around..becuase of the god damn rain. i braved it to the main street by my hosue for a startbucks and then with even more courage i headed downtown. i was just too excited. what i discovered was that sydney was the trendiest city ever. every girl was clad in skinny jeans or leggings, brown leather boots, high waitsted belts, long tops, and messy hairstyles all around. going hand in hand with the trendyness of the people were the amazing shops that were on every street. shoppers paradise. anyway i spent sunday exploring in the same manner..running in and out of shops..getting lost looking for my bus. arriving home wet. my roommmate valerie was nice but quiet..she has since opened up.

ill cut to when the sun came out. About wednesday it reared it's goregous head...and i FINALLY got to see how incredible this city is. glittering water with countless sailboats, enormous bridges.. so pretty. my boss took me for a drive around on friday and took me to some beaches just so i could see and it just made me so excited. one minute we'd be on a winding road surrounded by rainforest...the next min we'd be driving along a cliff overlooking the ocean..and then we'd be passing shrubs and wasteland. the office is tiny...i work for a man and his wife comes in two days a week. jeremy is from south africa and he tells about 150 stories a day. he especially likes the subject of his days in the southafrican army (he showed me pics, he was really hot in his youth- im not kidding). he also has had about 100 friends die so he likes to tell me the unlikely and untimely circumstances of all of them "ken died of cancer. i mean he was diagnosed in may and dead by august. just remarkable." "john was driving with his sister and parents..got into an accident- all of them dead!" "steve got shot by a zooloo tribe- his head just blown right off." but by far the WORST was the fact thatthe american intern before me got into a car accident less than a month after arriving back in the states and just died. how comforting for me to tell me that.

it's been so liberating being here on my own. i feel SO far away from any stress i had back at home. it's amazing..when you travel so far you really can just escape your past life. i mean i think of everyone and miss them dearly..but i am so happy to just be here alone. i love my mornign and afternoon commutes to and from work. i drive over the bridge connecting sydney to north sydney..it passes the famous opera house. it's just gorgeous and i listen to my ipod and just let me thoughts flow. sometimes im thinking about a million things.other times just a peaceful feeling- barely a thought in my head. ive been only slightly frustrated by feeling a bit of cabin fever after work. i get home at around 6 and make dinner and watch ellen and friends and sometimes (oftentimes) gilmore girls. then i try to convince valerie that it's a GREAT idea to grab JuST ONE drink at our neighborhood pub... when she does indeed fall for this i can usually get her to stay for a few drinks. ineveitably our "exotic" accents attract a string of awkard bachelors..the upside of which is that it sometimes this leads to free drinks. i am totally bonded with the owner of the pub (The Exchange). i went there alone on the first monday i was there and ordered a glass of wine and just sort of read my book and smoked my cigarettes..by the end of the night i was out withy the owner, the girl bartender, and 2 guys that live on my street. aussie's are very very friendly. i have barely paid for a drink since arrivnig. ive seen them a few times since and they are good pple. i also went out with this swiss girl i met...went to coogee beach last night. it was so much fun and i made quite a few new friends. among them an adorable aussie named Tashi..we've been emailing this morning from our offices about the state of our respective hangovers. ill see them both again tonight.

made it to manly beach last weekend... it was so nice. valerie and i took the ferry there..great skyline views of sydney. the beach was crowded but beautiful. there was a great flea market around it..valerie had to drag me away before i bought every necklace and bracelet they had. had fish and chips for lunch- delicious. the ferry back was at dusk and the city was just sparkling..got some amazing pictures. this weekend ill head to bondi beach (quite famous) on saturday....and probably walk from coogee ebach to bondi with pple on sunday. supposed to be a far but amazing walk. ok ive rambled on long enough... now ill get bcak to "work."
cheers

official geek

2006-09-18T15:03:00.000+10:00

ok now i am officially a journamism nerd, but hey, it's 2006 so i need to get with the times. actually this whole set up was done out of procratination from my internet job here in sydney. i will use my boredom and long hours in front of the computer to post my random thoughts and document my random travels and experiences. ok..one step at a time.....