lychee berries, new room, footy game and friends!

the internet at my house is all screwy so i have to make library trips in order to update my blog... which means less updates. however there are going to be lots of pictures in this one! ill start with the pictures...

this is megan, she is wonderful and we have a lot in common. we are strangely similar... she really has to 'wee' in this picture. :P

ps pat lives with her

here is a photo of all of the girls. from left to right it goes sandi, danea, eliza, fatima (also one of pat's roommates), and olga. olga burnt her fingers at work which is why she is holding them up that way, she is also the one who got me the cafe job. this was taken in pat's living room on mexican night #2.


this is a view of my backyard.


here is my kitchen.


my living room.


half of my current bedroom, i will be moving down the hall next week. my new room will be a bit smaller, but will cost a lot less.


my room used to be a kitchen so i have my own sink!


al took us to a footy game at the mcg. it was a neat experience even though i didnt know what was going on.


it was richmond vs hawthorn. richmond won.


this is a picture of hannah, gabe, and al. leisa and josie didnt come to the game.


pat and i took some lychee berries from megan. after peeling them and eating a little i decided they looked like eyeballs and held one up to my face.


obviously it was hilarious.

this was also the same night pat, fatima, megan and i stayed in and talked about farts for about five hours. we just kept telling jokes and laughing. it was definitely one of the funniest nights of my life.

last wed pat and i went to meet with some couchsurfers at the st kilda pier. there are these tiny little penguins who live on the rocks near the pier, they come out just after dark and make some of the cutest noises i have ever heard. http://stkildapenguins.com.au/

went out after work on thursday with fatima, megan, danea, and eliza. we went to a place called bar open, it was pretty nice there. the couches were very comfortable.

friday night pat and i went to wintertones and had a blast. the bands were really good (even though i didnt know most of their names at the time). we saw local acts pikelet, bachelorette, beaches, crayon fields (my favorite, the guy is also in another band called sly hats) and love of diagrams. beach house was the headlining band, they were pretty great as well. the place was pretty empty to start but filled in to max capacity within an hour. the bands played on two separate stages, so it was a pretty large space. there were so many by the time beach house went on that it felt like a sauna!

i had to work yesterday but went out afterwards. kate (the girl who did my training) is moving to new york so there was a small going away party for her. afterwards we went to northcoate to eliza's friend's house. it was just a house party and i didnt stay too long since i was tired from working this past week. this morning danea, eliza, pat, and i went out for breakfast. we went to this tiny restaurant that only had about five tables, very cute. i had baked eggs (i had never heard of them), they were a bit strange but it was a good breakfast all in all. those girls are hilarious.

things are settling into a routine here. it is nice to finally have a job and actually be making some kind of income. work is nice, everyone is really friendly. however, i am glad i will only be working here for a few months, i really couldnt imagine doing it for longer than that.

righto. the library closes in about ten min and i still have to find a book! my reading list is running low so if you have any suggestions for what i should read next please let me know.

ira glass is my best friend these days

i have been catching up on this american life the last few days. it really is a spectacular radio show, i find myself relating the stories to my everyday life and relating my everyday life to these stories. maybe someday i will actually be on the show! probably not... ive also discovered the all songs considered concert series podcast, so ive also been catching up with those. im currently reading a multitude of sins by richard ford, it is a collection of short stories. the package from my parents finally arrived as well so i have been testing out my watercolor set. the set used to belong to my grandmother and the case was made during WWII. a true gem.

things around here are picking up the pace a bit. ive started working at cafe e torta (www.caffeetorta.com.au), next week will be my first official week. they have me part time at the moment so about 14 hours over two days which means i can get another job. i will probably get another part time job, all of that combined with the catering and babysitting should be more than enough to live on. especially since i can cover my rent with the cafe e torta shifts. i applied for a job at the melbourne recital hall, just for front of house staff, but should be pretty interesting if i get it.

this weekend has/will be pretty busy as well. i went out with my roommate hannah and her friend nicole last night. we went to a place called manchester lane, which was located on manchester lane. there was a salsa band playing so we did a bit of dancing then headed home. tonight megan's friend is having an olympics party so pat and i will be going to that. tomorrow there is a footy game, al is taking us. should be a pretty game from what i have heard. i dont know much about australian football, but going with a real aussie should be good.

here are some pictures of my new house:
again sorry there will be no new pics my connection keeps getting reset. i will try again with the next post.

busy busy busy

this past weekend went really well. on friday night pat and i attempted to see pikelet play a free gig at the forum, however there was too much talking so we left 20 min into her set. after leaving we went to st kilda to watch the olympic opening ceremony. pretty spectacular. we went to the veteran's club, which in itself was pretty interesting.

saturday night i went to the forum again. this time daniel and sandi came. we were a bit late so we missed jessica says but caught his girl named sophie grays (?? not sure if that is really her name), she was alright but i think i got enough of her in one performance to last a lifetime. after the show we went to sandi, olga, and eliza's house. they are all wonderful. megan and fatima showed up with danea. we left for a party on sydney road. the theme was glaminals or glam animals. there were some super costumes.

sunday i went to daniel's birthday gathering at the retreat. it is a pretty nice place, sometimes they have bands. it actually reminds me of a lot of the places in denver.

monday i didnt do much. went to pat's house and we bought out tickets to wintertones. looking forward to this festival. http://www.last.fm/event/621799 here is the lineup.

tuesday i worked for chris. he was hosting one of his company team building cook-offs. it was the biggest yet! something like 140 people. i had to set up all the places with jen, bartend, clear plates, and perform other general waitressing tasks. it was a long day but i made $250 which is super. over half a month's rent in one day, bam!!!

tomorrow i have a trial run at cafe e torta in the cbd. my friend olga works there and was nice enough to put in a good word for me.

well time for bed i have to get up in five hours for this trial. it will be a very long day, but i am glad to finally be making some money.

is this new move just to keep moving?

throughout all my moves the last few years i have come to realize a place can have some impact on your life, however it is the people you meet that can really make or break the majority of your experience. the relationships i have had throughout the years have shaped me in so many ways it is almost a bit scary. i have learned what i will put up with from people, learned my own personal limits, and have had a lot of support from all kinds of people. that being said i think that for me once my travels have finished it will be best to choose a spot where i have a stronger connection to the place rather than worrying about my connections with people. friends come and go; it is important to be able to appreciate past relationships and look forward to new ones. i realize people are fleeting, i have the choice to keep people involved in my life or simply let them go. just because friends drift away it doesn’t mean i have to forget what a support they were at certain points in my life. i have always considered myself to be a reasonable person, and fairly independent. one of my biggest faults is i tend to clam up when it comes to my emotions, i have a horrible time expressing great interest in people for fear i come off as a bit weak. now im going to get to the point, i would like to thank anyone reading this blog. if you are taking the time to sift through my thoughts and adventures then it means that for most of you our relationship extends past physical contact. you have taken enough interest in my life to invest your time to check in on me, and when traveling that thought is more comforting than any of you could ever realize. sorry if i dont offer you the support that you have given me and just remember that i am always available for a talk (or couch! :P) or anything else i can give that you need.

please excuse me for being such a sap, but i stayed up until 5 am the other night sifting through these thoughts. i wanted to get them out there for you all to see, and i hope that this all makes sense.

august already?

so im back in melbourne and 100% moved into my new house. it is a pretty neat place located on lygon street. it is above a shop and has five bedrooms. the bedroom i am in now used to be a kitchen, so i have my own sink. also my book shelf is an old icebox (the kind you would have to put an ice block in to keep your food cold) and my tshirt drawer is a vegetable bin. not a bad set up actually. however, i will be moving into a room down the hall at the end of the month. this will be a good thing, especially since the rent will be a lot less.

the roommates are all very nice. there is hannah, who is never really around. von (about my age) from brisbane. ron from newcastle (quite a bit older than me) who moved in after separating from his wife, a sad story all around. finally there is chris, the one who also runs the catering company.

i still have not found a full time job, but am enjoying being able to read/listen to music/explore. i am kind of bored but know that a job should come soon enough. i signed up for artshub.com.au and have found quite a few interesting prospects. i have been searching a government site and various other job sites as well. ive also walked around handing out my CV to any shop with a help wanted sign.

i helped chris with a christmas in july party last week, it was amazing. the company used their warehouse space and brought in all kinds of video game consoles. it was a bit scary to walk around with a tray of food when everyone was bowling on the wii!!! there were also fog machines, which were a bit annoying after awhile. i am helping him again on tues.

i have done some babysitting for leisa as well. her kids are wonderful, very well behaved. there is josie (9 months), gabe (2 years), and hannah (4, but turns 5 on sunday). hannah and gabe both have very red hair, ill try to get a picture to post up here.

my life has become a bit routine, which really is a bittersweet thing. while i enjoy my free time it is a bit difficult to find motivation. speaking of motivation i better finish this post and attempt to get some things done!

thanks for checking in.