kangaroo sightings

I am not a huge fan of on-line Christmas shopping, but I have to admit that Amazon has made my life pretty easy today. It also amused me by knowing me so well...

What I did on Thanksgiving: Got up early in an attempt to be at work early and therefore leave early. Did not work. Completed two items from my to-do list in the morning. Went for a 3 km walk in a tunnel climbing over tunnel equipment and wading through 12-in deep muck. Got hassled by the guys in the tunnel for being short. Sat in a two hour meeting. Added 6 more items to my to-do list. Had small talk after the meeting discussing the differences between annual leave in the US (2 weeks) and Australia (4 weeks + whatever you want to buy + long service leave). Discussed upcoming work with my Australian colleague who is going on holiday (again). Added 4 more items to my to-do list. Paid way too much for a haircut (but at least it came with a head massage and a coffee). Paid only a little too much for a few bottles of wine. Came home to a Thanksgiving dinner (courtesy of my awesome boyfriend). ß highlight of the day! Ate dessert first. Drank a bottle of wine while packing for our weekend

Heard around the office again today, "I don't want to tell you how to suck eggs." I believe its from the expression, "Don't try to teach your Grandma to suck eggs." I understand the intended meaning: to not teach something that should already be known to a person who should already know it. But, what if you don't know how to suck eggs? Is the appropriate response to this statement, "actually, I would very much appreciate if you could tell me how to suck eggs?" Or perhaps its better that I ask my Grandma? In more important news, the Australian tectonic plate seems to be a bit antsy the last few days. My thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives were lost or devastated in the last two days. The earth is both amazing and amazingly powerful.

Yeah, I went there for dinner. In other news, I let an aussie sytlist cut my hair today. All I can say is 'whoops' and good thing it will eventually grow out. The good news is I think he took about 12 years off of my age. The bad news is that I look like I'm 14 again! Oh, and Australia doesn't understand the word 'bangs.' I thought the stylist was kidding but it turns out he really had no idea what I was talking about. The word here is 'fringe.' I'm not sure how to make that plural though so instead of 'I have bangs now' perhaps it is 'I have fringe?' Or 'I've been fringed?' Whatever the saying is, I have it/them now and headbands may be my new best friend until it/they grow(s) out. I must say though that the salon I went to (Room 53 in E. Brunswick) was good. I parted with far too much money and am not entirely sure that I signed up for what I walked out with, but everyone was friendly, there was free coffee, and the sham

beautiful extreme (google: 'Australia & poisonous'; image search: 'Australia & outback') unique from any place i've ever seen similar to every place i've ever seen simple and laid back difficult and uptight lonely eye-opening ... Closing thought that is completely unrelated: my current career is cool. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6471241.stm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0119_060119_jellyfish.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8155417.stm and http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070222-squid-pictures.html I wonder how big they are in Queensland?!?

So, I obviously have not blogged since Easter and I do apologize for that, but something monumental has just happened and I had to post it. For the first time since I was 16, I am 100% debt free. No car loans and, more importantly, no more student loans! I suppose its time for me to go back for my PhD now, eh? Now, off to pack for our trip to the Great Ocean Road! Hopefully pictures to follow, but I suppose you never know with me...

I had no idea that hot cross buns had any religious significance, but I suppose you learn something everyday. According to Wikipedia, hot cross buns are "traditionally eaten on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the crucifixion." All I know is there were massive amounts of hot cross buns brought to work last Thursday before the long Easter holiday (Australia takes Good Friday and Easter Monday as holidays). I made it a point to try both the traditional hot cross bun with currants and the more popular hot cross bun with chocolate chips (apparently an Australian spin on the buns). I must say, warm bread with icing and chocolate chips served with a little bit of butter... mmm. I had two! Happy Easter!

Our road trip took us on a 1500km drive from Melbourne to Sydney (yes, those cities are only 880km apart via Hume Freeway, but the easy way is never fun). We actually went Sydney to Melbourne via the Great Alpine Road and the coastal scenic drive. Both were fantastic and with a one-way rental car for less than 8 AUD /day and unlimited kilometers, why not!?! The highlight of the Great Alpine Road was the pass up and over Mt Hotham . Not as tall as many of the passes in the US (at only 1860m) but gorgeous nonetheless. There's a ski resort up there that Brendan and I will definitely be back to check out in the winter – anyone is welcome to join! We pushed on to the coast and ended up staying in a roadside motel that night. The place was packed when we pulled in. However, we determined that this must have been the entire town hanging out at the bar since we were the first people to sign the guestbook in over a month and the parking lot was not equally as packed in the morning! The next

insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. perseverance: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25012328-5001028,00.html

I caught word of this from my co-worker who apparently surfs at this beach. I had no idea that kangaroos could swim nor did I know that sharks find them tasty. But that's Australia for you. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22917219-2,00.html Best quote of the article: 'there is no way I am going out there because there are sharks that eat kangaroos' said by Fev (the footballer that I didn't see kick 100 goals last season. Go Hawks!). In other news, the heat has subsided enough to open the windows tonight. After the past 4 days of 100+ temperatures, it feels amazing! The past 4 days have also seemed to have broken Melbourne's public transportation, so that's fun. Also in other news, I went to Sydney for the first time last weekend. More to follow about that, but generally a good time. Tomorrow, we head to Bendigo, Victoria's premiere destination with charm and vibrancy (at least according to their tourism website). Another co-worker of mine said it was wo

It's hot! http://www.theage.com.au/national/tracks-buckle-and-so-does-rail-system-20090128-7s0h.html Who needs joints?

or your money market, or your high yield savings account, or your CD, or any of your money saving strategies. I was about to transfer money into my high yield savings account today, when I realized that I am losing more money via interest on my student loan than I am gaining via interest on my savings account!

I desperately wanted to scan and post some sections from Australia's mX today (a free newspaper available in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane). Unfortunately, I could not because: 1) I have had far too much wine tonight to care to track down the appropriate driver for my laptop; 2) I have no idea where scanned documents reside on the fruit (i.e., Brendan's laptop that already has the appropriate driver); and 3) Brendan is not around to tell me where scanned documents reside on the fruit. So, apologies for the lack of images, but here is one example (typed rather than scanned) of why Australians (and Irish) are great. 'Yes we can' have a punt An Irish bookie is offering odds on phrases that may be used by US President-elect Barack Obama in his inauguration speech. Punters can place bets on the length of Obama's speech, the TV ratings and what cliche he will first mention. The best odds on offer are 8-1 for "change has come," 10-1 for "yes we can" a