From the Projects to the Palace...

Above ^: The poster I bought that is now displayed in my room. I think it's fitting.

Hey guys... wooo what a long week it has been! Still have Max's tragedy on my mind, but am reliving good memories of us, so that helps a bit. 

Work's getting busier now... for example, today (monday) I got to work, opened my e-mail and had 26 messages of things waiting for action and requests from my co-workers for me to do something... geez. They weren't kidding when they said I was going to take someone's old job. Oh well, I like it because it makes the day go by faster. And when I accomplish things and actually do it right, they seem to really appreciate it. 

So let's go back to last week. I had my first big assignment... a 1500 word paper for Australian Children's literature. I procrastinated the whole week and ended up staying up until 6:45 the day it was due to finish it. I then went to sleep for 2 and a half hours and got up at 9:30 to finish the reference page.  But.. I got it done, and in my defense, I was a little distracted this week. But like they say, "No worries. She'll be right."

On wednesday when I got off  work, my roommate informed me that it had been a crazy day back at our Parklands apartment. For a few days now, there has been a terrible odor in our apartment. We thought we needed to take the trash out more frequently... so we did. Then, Katie said that when she got home from class, she found mushrooms growing from our kitchen floor underneath the dishwasher. She had the cleaning people come right away. They found a leak under the sink coming from the pipes. They then called the plumber. The plumber said that our pipes were actually never connected and that there was water running down our walls our something like that. (I wasn't there). The plumber also went into the crawl space underneath our unit and found something like a foot of standing water. Hence the reason our floor was so warped. 

Later on that evening after I got home from work and was eating dinner as the cleaning man came back. He ripped up the linoleum flooring and exposed a horrid sight and smell! Black mold between the ground and the flooring...everywhere! He mopped over it with something that made it smell even worse, put a fan on it, and told us not to roll the floor back down until it was completely dry.. ha, like it would ever dry!!! That's why it was so moldy in the first place!

The next morning, the housing director came to our apartment. They informed us that we were moving.. that we weren't allowed to live in conditions like that. The cleaning man exposed whatever mold particles there were into the air we breathe whenever he mopped it. Apparently that's unhealthy? News to me. They gave us keys to about 5 separate units all scattered within the Parklands Apartments and told us to start packing. It was early, a lot to handle and we didn't know what to do! We were all like, ok- so let me get this straight... we can't live here. we have to move out TODAY, and we can't live together anymore? Sweet. 

Later on, the housing director came back and we talked about other options since we really didn't want to split up. We have all been here a month and a half and had the roommate situation down pat. The lady said that there was another option... there was a 3 bedroom apt that they could make into 4 up the street. Katie and Ashley checked it out while I went to class... they said it was amazing.

They told us that we had to stay there at least for the night and then we could make a decision if we wanted to live their permanently together, or split up and go back to the parklands.

The dilemma was that we were concerned for our health.. if our apt was like that, I'm sure other units were too or were heading that way... and we didn't want to split up. But, yes, this new apartment (which is actually a townhouse) is amazing and really nice, but it is SO far from the friends that we have all gotten pretty close to over this past month and a half. In the end, we chose as a group health over social life... figuring that we weren't anti-social and could make new friends too, ones that lived closer to us. Plus, we decided that there would be no waiting list to get back into the Parklands aka The Projects, so if we hated it in the new place (Palace) then we can demand to go back.. even if it meant splitting up.

SO here I am now... we live in a completely different town, opposite of Parklands and on the other side of campus. It's closer to the Rec center than our old apt was, so maybe that will motivate me to get to the gym more. And I have a sweet huge room with a full size bed instead of a twin, and the house itself has a ton of just breathing room in general. 

And... there's a 24 hr. gas station/convenience store right across the street. Wish I never would have known that... but it's real hard to miss a bright yellow Shell sign glaring through your living room window when you have no food and you're considering eating your arm for sustinence. ;) 

The commute time to and from work is less than ideal, for we have to take a bus to the train station, 2 more trains and then a 10 min. walk to work. Such is life.

Here is my new address....

3/94-116 Culloden Rd.

Marsfield, NSW   2122

                                AUS

Friday night was a much needed night out. We went to the beautiful darling harbour. In the midst of the evening I lost my cell phone... oops, could've been worse.

Saturday was fairly uneventful.. a day of recovery. However, Kelli and I did manage to plan an eventful upcoming weekend! We are going to the world famous Sydney Opera House this Friday for a ballet.. it's called Firebird and Other Legends. I'm quite excited actually.

On Saturday we are going to an Australian Football League (AFL) or footy game! We are seeing the Sydney Swans play the Hawthorn Hawks at ANZ Olympic Stadium! We have also planned to go to a wildlife sanctuary saturday so we can hold and feed Koalas and such! YAY!!!

So needless to say, this week needs to move quickly so we can get to our exciting weekend ahead!

But before I get too ahead of myself, I'll tell you about this past Sunday. We ventured to the northern coast of sydney to a beach called Palm Beach. It took about 2 and half hours to get there, but boy was it worth it! It wasn't crowded AT all and it was just so gorgeous! We climbed these awesome rocks/cliffs where the ocean waves splashed onto us at rapid force! I enjoyed sitting on the edge of some of the rocks, waiting with my camera for the next big wave to splash onto me so I could capture it! (dont worry, the cam's waterproof). But it was quite an adrenaline rush. Sunday was a nice closing to a week that was considered less than ideal. When I was sitting on the rocks I felt like there wasn't a care in the world...

Hope all of you are well. That's about all I've got for now... I'll try to upload some pics to go along with this.

Always in my heart...

... I am dedicating this post to a special person. Some of you reading this already know and are friends with him, but his name is Max Vogl...a great guy, friend, and person all around. We've been buds since high school, and even though we went to different colleges and had different schedules, we'd still make an effort to catch up every now and then. 

Today while I was at my internship, I received a message from one of my best girl friends telling me that Max had died today. He has had epilepsy for a few years now, and apparently he had been found after having a seizure, one which proved to be fatal.

I couldn't believe what I was reading, my heart dropped to my stomach and my chin fell to my keyboard. I ran outside of my building and tried desperately to call Jamie, then my mom. It didn't work. I couldn't respond to her message because it was through facebook, which I can't access at work. And I didn't have her e-mail address handy.

For the first time since I've been here, I felt so isolated... like I was in a bubble as the city whizzed all around me. I feel absolutely horrible and guilty for being a world away from everyone at home. I don't want to laugh, explore, go to work, attend class, take trips, or anything right now... because I know that he can't anymore.  I wondered when the last time was that I talked to him, tried to recall exactly what was said, etc. I can't believe I'll never see his smiling face again. 

I held it together through the rest of the work day, for I don't really know my co-workers, didn't want to cause a scene, and still had a glimpse of hope that the message was all a lie. 

When I got off work, I finally got through and reached my mom via cell phone. I told her about it and lost it. The first time I've cried in the month and a half since I've been here.. the people at the train station probably thought I was nuts.. but I didn't care. I will never see Max again. And I can't go to his funeral to see him one last time. Australia isn't so appealing anymore.

I just want to tell any of my A-town friends that are reading this that I am really sorry that I can't be home with you guys. I want to grab you all and hold you for days. This loss is HUGE. He was SUCH an awesome guy, all around! And I hate the fact that I am talking about him in past tense. I will think about him, his family, Briana, and all of you every day, no matter how far away I am. I am just as shocked as all of you... and most importantly, I love you.

To my other friends and family that are reading this, I cannot stress enough how great Max was. And also, I love you. I should tell you that more often. One of my worst fears was to lose someone I loved while being here, knowing that I would never be able to afford to make it back to see them one last time. I would recommend being careful, cautious, taking care of yourself, etc... but clearly that doesn't matter. By the sounds of it, Max couldn't avoid the fate that became of him. But even still, I do want you all to be happy, healthy and prosperous for as long as you are able. Because I suppose that is the best you can do with the uncertain amount of time you have been given. 

My best excursion yet!

Yes, the posts are getting fewer and further in between. Super busy... but I'd rather write this than a paper I have due in a few days so here ya go!

Last weekend we finally had the chance to get out of Sydney and explore a bit. Since Kelli works at Outdoor Australia, she has the chance to sift through the magazine pages and be exposed to a lot of outdoorsy adventure-type activities. She found this abseiling program so we grabbed a couple of mates and headed to the Blue Mountains in Katoomba, Australia. It took exactly 2 hrs by train from the city. We booked in advance a random hotel which was conveniently right across the street from the train station. It was only 27 bucks a person.. and it was an old building that had a bar downstairs. We actually had to check in at the bar with the bartender...odd. We grabbed lunch and headed to the mtns to see the sights. The rain clouds came in and soaked the town for about 10 mins. We hopped a bus anyway. Once we got to the mounatins, the view was gorgeous! We heard about this deal where you go across the mountain by a lift.. then down a steep roller coaster type thing through the rainforest and then take a trolley back up the mtn to where you can then hike to this place called Echo point for 25 bucks. We were stoked, but it turns out it was a major tourist trap! The thing across the mtn was sweet, but the rainforest ride lasted all of about 5 seconds and it was SO dumb! The lift back up the mountain smelled like decaying bodies, and you couldn't see a thing.

The hike across the mtns was actually the best part. we found the waterfall and climbed up and played for awhile. As Kelli and I were climbing off the mtn, I slipped on a wet rock and busted it. My rumpus was soaked, but it was a humbling experience and it made us laugh. We got so caught up in all of this hiking fun that we lot track of time and missed the last bus to the hotel. So we had a long few miles of trekking back to the hotel. Conveniently, the rain gods decided to open up their clouds on us, and we got soaked. We chilled for a little while and then decided to grab dinner. We ate at this DELICIOUS thai place.. the first time I've had anything of the sort since Ive gotten here. Sweet and sour chicken stir fry, mmm!

We hit the hay relatively early since we had to rise and shine real early the next morning. I laid half awake/half asleep for awhile as the middle aged mountaineers raged on through the morning below us. I vaguely remember some dude freaking out about something and then a glass shattering across the sidewalk. Someone must have cut him off...

Next morning: headed to the abseiling company, got prepped and went to the mountain. It was a beautiful day so I didn't mind the monsoon the day before. They told us how to put on out harness and helmets and and had us abseil down a 20 ft cliff. They demonstrated how to walk down the cliff backwards (which is what abseiling is) and they said, keep feet shoulder width apart, knees straight, lead with your butt, or you could slip off and bash your face into the cliff or flip over backwards. What did I sign up for again?

We moved onto a larger cliff... after doing that once, I felt more at ease. We then went to a 100 foot cliff and that was terrifying! But it was my favorite cliff. Then came lunch time and afterwards we went to the main attraction... The 100 foot cliff with a waterfall! We canyoned through the rainforest, and it was awesome!!! We had to climb, crawl through crevices, jump off of cliff like rocks into water, slide down them, etc. It was really fun! Once we got to the waterfall, I was petrified. I immediately regretted my decision. I was the 4th one to go down and it was nuts! The water was intensely pouring all over me... it was so loud as it was pounding my helmet, and I thought I might drown. I edged down the cliff, the entire time fearing that my feet would slip off the rocks and I would fall upside down. The guides said that it happens alot. Well, it didn't and I made it down. Basically... it was one of the scariest situations I've put myself in, but SO worth it.

It was back to work on Monday. I got to go to an event for one of the girl magazines.. Australia's most eligible bachelors at Pitt Street mall. Sure didn't mind that... I got a pic with one of the blokes and a free clinique gift bag. Did I mention that I love my job?

I did a lot of fun stuff at work this week, like selecting winners for a promotion we did, went to an audio studio where they do voiceovers for this week's ZOO commercial, and I re-wrote the letter that they send out to subscribers, where I had to pretend like I was one of the cover girls named Rachel. She has a 30 HH breast size that are apparently au naturale...so that's what the boys like here.

On Tuesday I met a friend for a few drinks downtown for St. Pats.. went to some of the local pubs like Scruffy Murphys and what not.  They celebrate the holiday pretty hardcore here, which is probably why I didn't get home until the wee hours of the morning. Still made it to work the next morning though... thank you Starbucks. 

On Friday we got to go to the beach... it was a gorgeous day! They say the season is changing to Fall here, so there probably won't be a lot of beachin' it going on in the coming months :( 

We booked our Fall Break trip this week. We leave in about a month, and we're going to the East Coast of Australia for 9 days.. we start in Brisbane where the Steve Irwin zoo is, then head to the Great Barrier Reef and Frasier Island, and end in Cairns. Included in the trip is white water rafting, bungy jumping (although I really don't think I want to participate in that) sailing, etc. We also want to plan a sky diving excursion because we want to do it over the great barrier reef... I think the view would be phenomenal!

Today we had a picnic downtown at a park in a place called The Rocks. The park was set up really high and we had a full view of the harbour, and we also watched a wedding take place. It was cool. We also went to a weekend market where we got to sample lots of stuff.. my fave was the macadamian chocolate fudge. We also had bread with oil, tea, licorice, jam (disgusting), and some really good spicy salsa. 

Well... I'm sure I left out a lot, but it's time to hit the hay! Keep commenting... :)

Little Girl in the Big City...

Ello! "How are you going?" (That's the typical greeting you'll receive at a restaurant, shop,etc.)

To start, this week has been a bit more tame than weeks previous, partly because I needed to get school stuff worked out, and partly because of my internship interview. But don't worry, there's still the weekend... I'll tell you all about it!

My interview was arranged for Tuesday morning... Kelli and I took the trains to the location the night before so I could feel at ease about getting lost. On Tuesday morning, I still left super early for it...I didn't sleep well because I kept dreaming about showing up late or getting completely turned around and lost in the city! Well arrived at my location about an hour to an hr and fifteen early.. thats ok, better early than late! I peered through the glass sky rise a bit and then decided to head to a local cafe next door to have a tea and collect my thoughts a bit. I reviewed my resume and eventually made my way up to the 18th floor to check in with reception. After a little bit, my interviewer, Andy came to retrieve me and brought me to his office on the 28th floor. What I was interviewing for was the Marketing internship position in the men's lifestyle and sports department at ACP magazines. This department is responsible for boosting circulation, managing promotions, budgets, etc. for 16 titles. Andy told me that their top selling title is called The Zoo, so they spend most of their effort on this one to maintain its popularity. He spoke of things called covermounts, which are extra little gifts that they put on magazines sometimes. Things like Koozies (stubby holders), flip-flops (thongs) or in a issue coming out very soon, 3d glasses so the girls' huge breasts pop off the page, or so a kebab sticks out so much you feel like it it's going to pop right into your mouth. ( you guys out there know you would love this stuff). Sometimes they give away free cash... in 20 or 50 dollar increments. They must plan it thoroughly, however, because they can't afford to just throw away money by people stealing the magazines or something like that. He talked of what I would be doing... things such as revamping their renewal letters to make them seem more personable, which would ultimately boost subscription rates. Also, I basically would be taking over someone's real position in their marketing team that has only 3 plus him left, so I would be rather busy. Everyone is taking off more than they can probably chew, but at the same time, they're all there for a common purpose so they always pitch in with each other to help out. He warned me that they are a department based on analytics, not on creativity, simply because they are audited and they don't want to lose money that is given to them for promotions and such. Therefore, I will be doing a ton of excel spreadsheets to keep track of everything. I'm ok with that, but I'm not a pro at excel. (should've paid more attention in strat comm research) He warned that as the intern I would be expected to do some administrative tasks (not getting coffee) but packaging and mailing products to be sent to subscribers. For example, there's this movie mag called Empire that is giving away free Star Wars action figures that can't be purchased in stores to subscribers. I need to mail them out. We sat and flipped through an entire Zoo magazine, so he could show me what readers of this mag are into: basically... girls, booze, sports, some cars, blood, gore, and oh, did I mention girls? He said that some people have to edit pictures and that things could get a bit 'fleshy' on computer screens and what not. I don't mind it... it's part of the business. He says he tries to keep things tasteful in the zoo, ralph, and FHM magazines. He asked me questions such as what I thought of the position when I heard of it: My answer: my internship lady told me that it is such a reputable company that tons of Aussies would kill for this position, so I knew it had to be good. and also, that it seemed fast pace, which is something I was looking for. If I have to be at work, I like to be kept busy so that the day goes by faster. Another question he asked: "So, what do you want to do? Like with your life?" DREADED QUESTION.... I told him honestly.. I have no idea. I said I've dabbled in corporate.. liked it fine. Toyed with broadcast media... hated it. Would like to check out an ad agency, considering it is my current chosen field. He said he wasn't too keen on the ad agency world (naturally) just because he's had to work with some advertisers that seemed really cocky. Plus, the field isn't exactly booming. Who knows... maybe I'll like the magazine industry. It's struggling too, but I wouldn't cross it off the list just yet. He said that once a week we would try to get together to discuss my progress and any questions I had saved up. He asked if I had any fears about the job.. my answer: sometimes interns can just get lost in a company because everyone else is too jaded and stuck in their jobs to explain things or give them worthwhile tasks. I sometimes get afraid to bother people with questions, so I just take everything I can on for myself. But with this internship, I would try not to be so introverted, and he claimed that would be a good idea so we don't waste time cleaning up the even bigger mess afterwards. He introduced me to the three girls that would be my team, and sent me on my way! 

Fast forward to present time: I got the internship! My first day was yesterday, and I loved it. I work half days on monday (9-1) and full 9-5s on tues and wed. I felt super cool taking the trains to downtown Sydney.. but the commute does take awhile. I have to get up at 6:15 to shower and be there on time or a tad bit early..kind of a drag. But I have my own desk/cubicle that faces the girls in my team and I can see the other sky rise buildings just out the window catty corner from me. When I got there yesterday, there was a packet that told me the basics of ACP and privileges I have.. such as the kitchen, free coffee and tea, the health and wellness center, and a 1 hr. lunch break (woo hoo). And another packet that said, "Welcome Emily, we appreciate you coming to help us out." or something like that. I felt great about it. It briefed me on the audiences of some of the magazines, and they told me to just take a look at a bunch of different magazines they put on my desk to get a feel for it. Ex: zoo, Ralph, Rolling Stone, FHM, Australasian Dirtbikes, outdoor Australia, etc. I did that for about two hours and then went to a brainstorming meeting to discuss the plan for Zoo magazine in years 09-10. I actually contributed a couple of ideas for promotions that they said they liked, and they even wrote them down! I was pumped!!! I stayed until 2 so I could be a part of that meeting and then the day was over. Today I had more work, but the great thing is that the people in my team actually come over to my desk, sit down with me, and explain to me what I'm doing and most importantly... WHY and WHAT it means. This is sooo helpful to me, I don't think these people know how much I appreciate them! I went to a meeting with one of the girls to watch her discuss price quotes on stuff, and it was crazy how fast paced it all was. these two girls talked a mile a minute. loved it. One of the girls in my team is American, supposedly from San Francisco, so I can't wait to talk to her about how she got here and STAYED here. (don't want to speak to soon though)

So going back to the weekend... this weekend was the Sydney Gay/Lesbian Mardi Gras. It is a BIG deal here. I think this was the 26th running year of the parade. A group of us from the apartments headed to this place in Kings Cross for 6 dollar pitchers (such a deal for this place!!) and we headed to the parade. I had a prime location, but we got there like 2 hours in advance. The parade didn't start til 7:30. While Kelli ran to the restroom, a camera man came up to me and filmed me and put me on the big screen! It was fun, but I was trying to get the ppl around me to be in it too, but they all shyed away. He stuck around for what seemed like forever, but when he realized I wasn't going to do anything scandalous, he moved on. I was ok with that! A few small acts came by the parade route and we saw what they call "dikes on bikes" but then there was another break in the parade. I had to urinate so bad, I couldn't hold it anymore. Kelli was hungry so we decided to head out of there. We knew we'd never get our spot back, but it wasn't worth it to stick around anymore. We saw some crrrrrrazy sites! It was fun! A few of us headed back to this area called Kings Cross after the parade and it was so much fun! there were TONS of people everywhere just partying and having a great time. They all seemed pretty young too. Kelli and I stopped at this random pizza place called Rocko's and I ordered a Mexicana pizza... green peppers, onions, cheese, minus the pepperoni, plus pineapple.... SOOOO good! Honestly, probably the best meal I've eaten since I've been here. Needless to say I inhaled it. We couldn't hail a cab later on that night (or morning actually) because it was around 3 and thats when the cabbies switch shifts. So we walked for what seems like miles, actually pretty sure it was, to the Town Hall. We caught a night rider bus with a bunch of super young drunk kids and FINALLY we made it home around 4:30. I was so glad! 

Oh I forgot to mention earlier that week we went to a Toga party. Kel and I had some pretty sweet togas. They were actually these dress things that you can wear a 100 different ways. The lady at the kiosk in Town hall was so convincing, she sold us. The party was pretty lame, one of our friends got kicked out for no reason at all. He's like 7 ft. tall so he gets spotted so easily! I didn't want to be at a place that treats people poorly for no reason at all, so we left within a short time. But I plan on wearing my 'toga' again.

We tried to hit the beach on Sunday as our last hurrah before we became working girls, but of course... it was raining. So we decided to do some grocery shopping  and much needed cleaning instead. 

Last night I took a class at the rec center called Fat Burner... sounds intense. It kind of was I guess... well it just killed my legs. The instructor was all about the lunges and yelled at me for not going lower.. sorry I'm like 6 ft tall dude!

Updates on Australian life and culture:

I'm trying to pick up the accent.. it's not working well. I can hear how they say things in my head, but I can't spit them out the same. I don't really try in public. People that meet me ask if I'm canadian because they know if we are American we won't get offended. It doesn't work the other way around.. why so stubborn, Canada?

Tim-Tams are SO good. I heard about them a lot before I got here... they are this delicious cookie that can be filled with whatever. My favorite is the chocolate covered cookie with caramel inside. I try not to buy them much though because I can eat the entire package in one day, sadly.

The mcdonalds (they call it MACCA's) pretty much tastes the same... a small is the size of a happy meal though.

They love their coke products here... just coke, diet coke, sprite, coke zero and fanta orange are pretty much all you can get. I would LOVE a dr. pepper once in awhile, but it's not going to happen!! 

They LOVE to honk here... it's way worse than NYC in my opinion. Even in the suburbs... it's lovely when it wakes me up in the morn. 

There's a cyclone heading towards Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Stage 5...looks pretty nasty. Actually may have already hit, but I havent been able to stay current on the news.

So you think you can dance is pretty big here... I'm desperately trying to get tickets to a taping. 

The biggest loser is also a big show here.. I don't know why.

People NEVER move when you're walking. It's like chicken... I'm usually the one moving over, sheesh. And they walk really freaking slowly if you're behind them.

Apparently people don't eat here... unless it's at a bakery. Or if at the beach its ice cream. It's really annoying when you're looking for a hearty meal. 

The burger king equivalent is Hungry Jack's.

Oh big one... they don't make frozen drinks here. When you're on the beach and you're craving a strawberry daiquiri or pina colada, or even a frozen Marg... get over it. You won't find it. 

there have been several shark sightings on the beach lately. Last week a 15 yr old surfing boy got his leg mauled. but... he was also in the ocean at dawn. NEVER A GOOD IDEA. I've only been in the water 2xs. the waves were rough and took me and my top down... I'm not equipped for it.

I'm still dying to go surfing. ugh.

This weekend is the Blue Mountains if all goes as planned. We are going to repel off cliffs into canyons or something. Sounds cool to me!!

Alrightyyyyyy that's it for now mates! Comment as you will!