1.5

G'day mates!

I got a great night's rest on Sunday so here's to hoping that I can formulate words into coherent and witty sentences to compile a read-worthy blog. Pardon the back and forth since this was composed over a 2 day period, rather than my usual 3 hour writing window.

Happy 6 week anniversary Melbourne! Time is really flying by! I feel I have done so much and so little at the same time. People hear about the sites I have seen and the places I have visited and are shocked by how much I have done in 6 weeks; in particular that I have already found a job. I am torn, since work does take away from my social calendar and getting to know Melbourne. On the other hand, aside from helping to pay rent, it gives me something to do. My friends have real jobs and there is only so much site-seeing and cafe hopping I can enjoy doing on my own. I am going to keep this job until the end of the year but when summer is in full force over here, I may well become a legitimate beach bum! Perma tan, here I come :)

The store brought in much less entertainment this week, as the races have wrapped up and sobriety has once again washed over the city. The store being located next to one of the most popular three-level restaurant/club/rooftop patio really brings in a bunch of characters, even on week nights. Friday nights are always hit or miss with the drunkards but the bouncers at the club are really good with helping me get the customers out if they start to get belligerent. Friday night, a group of 4 (two girls and two guys) walked in as I was about to close the store and all 4 of them HAD to try something on... I'm always down for a good laugh but of all things to choose to try on, these dudes decide to pick the mini bandeau dresses we just put out. Nothing was left to my imagination as I went to check on said customers... Shudder! There's a reason this material has never been used for trousers or anything that would suit a man! No one wants to see the outline of anyone's family jewels on any given day. This place has caused more mental scarring than any other place I have worked!

This past weekend was full on for catching up with friends. Friday night, I met up with An, Danny, Reg & co. for some much needed karaoke action. Party World in Melbourne Central was fantastic! The drink list was extensive, song selection was up-to-date, the system was electronic (none of this flipping through a dirty book business like at Galaxy) and the rooms were clean. I had every intention of calling it an early night but ended up belting out off tune lyrics until 3. We literally had to drag Danny out of there; I have finally met my match in karaoking. You win Danny-boy! They really crack down here when it comes to drinking and driving so there is always a fight for cabs. Cabbies here are no better than back home in terms of driving skills; getting tossed around in the backseat from too sharp of turns and being nauseated by the stench of past passengers - blech! The cabbies I have encountered are all super friendly and chat with me the entire drive home but a lot tend to reject customers because they don't want to drive out to a certain suburb. Different city, same problems!

Saturday started out really rough. I paid a hefty price for my 1.5 glasses of wine I drank. To my FHRL, I will be tapping out early from our OJ Thursday nights from now on... I can hear Larissa yelling from here but I just don't think my body can take that kind of abuse anymore. I awoke to a spotless apartment and felt sheepish for sleeping in (well, it was 10:30). Matt, seeing my hungover state went out and picked up Powerade for me; much needed and most appreciative mate! He really is a fabulous roommate and I have really lucked out in both places I have stayed in :) After a crap gym sesh, I met up with the gang from Friday for late afternoon eats at the Food Truck Fest. The festival had been running all week, featuring four different food trucks daily. I needed something greasy and have been craving fries for as long as I can remember, so indulged! For the crew back home, this is an important point to note: your beloved potato chips are called crisps; chips are skinny fries (like Joey's shoe string fries) and fries are regular sized fries like at A&W... Yes, it is as confusing as it sounds! I just needed some grease! The setup at the food trucks was cool - outdoor hanging lights, heaps of picnic tables and a well indoor and outdoor bar. I have developed a pear cider addiction since moving here, my favorite being Monteith's! I hope they don't carry that back at home because it really is one of the most unhealthy things to drink... We ended Saturday night at Johnston Street festival. This was massive! I expected it to something similar to Sun and Salsa but was nothing like it, except that there was salsa music blasting. The food vendors were endless, offering various Spanish dishes (and randomly, Korean potato spiral...) and with loads of people, even at 11 PM. The food was great but couldn't mentally handle the crowds so we called it an early night!

Matt and I went on our first roomie outing - a 7.5 km run around the park by our place. It was glorious! Amazing what one night of good sleep can do! We chilled out in the 'back yard' after our run and sun baked before I headed to the zoo with Lachie, Tessa and Duane. The Melbourne zoo is incredible! Most exhibits are outdoors and I imagine, more of a replicate of the animal's natural habitat. The monkeys were definitely the most entertaining! One spent a good 5 minutes trying to crack open a hazelnut and when it finally accomplished its mission, did a cartwheel! It was so cute and kind of dumb LOL. After its celebratory dance, decided to smash the hazelnut into bits and throw it off the balcony instead of eating it. Silly monkey. Makes me wonder which of human kind were descendants of this particular species of chimps... Maybe those two guys that came into the store on Friday?! I definitely want to go back again and see some more of my fave animals. Like our zoo back home, they let peacocks roam around freely and also the Emu's. These things are not cute and have the scariest eyes; I swear one looked into my soul! Creepy!

I was watching the news this morning (it's Monday now) and they were debating whether or not physical punishment is acceptable as a from of discipline. Not full on beat them, I don't think that's right in any capacity (and I'm Asian!) but just a smack on the hand for being bad or what not. I remember having a conversation with a few people before I moved and they told me Australia was a little bit behind the times. All I could recall was this convo, as I listened to the debate on this national news channel and think to myself how this would not fly, the act and the debate, in Canada. They then moved on to discuss government funding for gym memberships for obese people... I had to turn the TV off after that.

The start of the week looks promising, weather wise! I was so happy to get some much needed sun. I can hear the exasperated cries of jealousy! I am sitting outside and typing this in 22 degree weather :) I hope this weather is here to stay - it's the Color Me Rad Run here this weekend! The run sold out super quick and my "team" wasn't able to get any bibs so I'm running it on my own. Oh well! It should be fun regardless! Boozy hightea is also this weekend and luckily the run is the next day so I will have a good reason to pace myself and not go overboard.. Self control is apparently overrated and lacking on my part. Then it's off to New Zealand! I'm super pumped to do some white water rafting and snorkeling! No bungee jumping for me, being upside down really freaks me out but hopefully I find the courage to skydive! Always been a dream of mine!

I sat down and had a nice chat with my neighbours earlier in the week. I am surrounded by super friendly Kiwi's! I mentioned I want to decorate our shared "backyard" (we are in a row of 4 apartment units and share the same driveway) for Christmas. An idea she loved! We are now planning a block Christmas BBQ. Christmas in summer is going to be something I have to wrap my head around. I love our Christmas traditions back home: ugly sweaters (imagine that in 40 degree weather - holy sweat stains!), Secret Santa, peppermint mochas followed by zoo lights, annual Christmas play with the besties, Christmas morning at my house with the entire family... Oh it's making me home sick already! Luckily, friends here have been their usual awesome selves and making plans ahead of time for Christmas parties and New Years. I can't remember the last time I spent NYE in the city; our annual snowboard trip is always something I look forward to; FaceTime will suffice this year.

Many of you have asked if I have met any guys over here and to which I LOL and then reply, no! The likes of Liam Hemsworth are far and in between and as always, we have been duped by Hollywood's ability to glorify an entire country. Hello, stereotypes! The guys I have met have been fabulous but I am the Queen of FZ so yeah... And we all know the purpose of my adventure is not to meet someone - cue Cindy Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

That's it, that's all for this week folks. Wish me luck on my run. My ankle has been acting up again - standing for 8 hours isn't ideal and it's been swelling and hurting like a mofo. As Kelsey calls it, I have redeveloped my swagga!

xx

Food truck goodies

Johnston Street Festival madness

Tess & I enjoying some sun at the zoo

Elephants! One of my fave animals

Monkeys

Wombat - a very under-rated Aussie animal. Absolutely adorable!
Totally smuggling one home <3

Wallaby with a joey in its pouch

Creepy Emu!

Bear at play

Elephant statute painted by Molly the baby elephant
First elephant born at Melbourne zoon