Elsja Down Under

Stop Moving Away March 8, 2010

I know I have no room to talk, since 2.5 years ago I left my friends and family and moved halfway around the world… but would our friends and family in Sydney please stop moving away?

One of the biggest struggles I face working from home is that I have not had the chance to make many friends of my own here. I do have several great friends that I really enjoy spending time with but in all honesty, part of me has always struggled to get too close to some of them since many are ex-pats who will probably move away at some point . It’s hard to completely open up to someone who you know won’t be around for long. So, I’d say a vast majority of my time is spent with Andrew’s friends. I’d love to meet some more people on my own but I do like Andrew’s friends and I get on really well with some of their girlfriends. I’ve enjoyed getting closer to a few of them as the years have gone by.

I always knew that most of my American friends would end up leaving one day; but in the last few months, even our Aussie friends have started to trek off to new places around the world. It all started with Stu and Kimbo,  who we miss terribly. They had to go and move all the way to South Africa for Pete’s sake! I guess that’s ok though because it just means we get to go visit them this Saturday (yay) and they will be back later this year.   But then others started leaving too. First it was Andrew’s friend Wes… then his Brother Ben decided he was going to move to London for an undetermined length of time. Then last week I got home from California to find out that one of Andrew’s closest friends, Kris (and subsequently his girlfriend Tess, who has become one of my good friends) have decided to pack up and head to Hong Kong. UGH!

I left all my friends and family back in Orange County and now everyone is leaving me. Ok, I realize people are not leaving ME but it still makes me sad, nonetheless.

Can you all please stop moving away now?

Thanks.

Sick In Sydney February 25, 2010

Back in Sydney, feeling miserable.

My trip to the US was great. I got SO much accomplished for the wedding and now there’s not much more I can do until August. That’s exciting and sad at the same time. The lower stress levels are beneficial, but the fun of planning will be missed. I suppose there are still a few things I can do from Australia, but a majority of it will all come in the last few weeks. Only 6 months to go now!!

My trip to Georgia was awesome as well. I had so much fun spending the weekend in beautiful Roswell with all my friends. It’s rare that we all get together now that we live in 4 different places, so it seems that weddings are the only things that ever bring us all together.

Amanda’s wedding was beautiful! The Clermont lounge was not beautiful. Let me paint a picture for you. The Clermont lounge is where a group of 16 or so of us went on Thursday night. Try to visualize this…a small dive bar, horrible rock band, thick layers of smoke (seriously, get with the times Georgia, why can you still smoke indoors?) and to top it all off… 60 year old strippers! WHAT? Yes, you read that right. There was a complete assortment of strippers from a super skinny tatooed girl to significantly overweight middle-aged girls wearing heinous outfits to a cute little old lady wearing a little red riding hood costume. Weirdest place I’ve ever been. The rest of the weekend was far less weird. The rehearsal cocktail party and wedding were full of much more taste and class (and less smoke), thank GOD!

The only thing that really sucks is that there must have been some funk going around in Atlanta because Shannon, Jen, Alison and I all caught a nasty bug. I haven’t been this sick since well before I met Andrew. I never get sick anymore and I honestly feel like I don’t even know how to respond to this. I feel like the biggest wuss. Will someone please send an un-packing fairy to take care of my luggage that has made it’s home on our living room floor?

Letters February 4, 2010

Dear Jet Lag,

I hate you. I really do. You make me so tired. You cause me to sleep through my alarm for over 10 minutes. TEN!! While this may not seem a lot to some people, let it be known that in an entire year, my alarm only goes off probably 10 times total! I always wake up before my alarm goes off, so to sleep through it for over TEN MINUTES is just not right. You cause me to wake up with a massive migraine and hangover feeling even though I only had 2 glasses of wine last night. Two glasses of wine plus jet lag = feeling like I drank 2 bottles of wine. NOT NICE!

Dear US Economy,

I hate you too. I thought I was immune to your black pit of misery and despair- but no, you finagled your nasty tenticles into my life as well and you’ve put a big damper on all my plans for 2010.

Dear Vaccination,

You made me feel like I had a migraine in my arm for about 36 hours. That was a week ago. Now, thanks to you, my arm is STILL sore. It’s not terrible, but enough to piss me off.

Dear Stupid OC Housewives,

Ok of course I’m not talking to all OC housewives- there are definitely many of you I like. I’m just speaking to the pathetic, fake, backstabbing trashbags. You are all scum. People like you often make me happy that I don’t live in this yuppy, stuck-up county anymore.

Dear Bob at Sir Speedy Printing,

You sent all your customers an email today asking “how is your 2010 so far?” Do you REALLY want me to answer that question? I know you just want some business- but what if I reply to your sales pitch email and just say “shitty.” I wonder what you would say to that.

Dear Andrew,

I miss you.

Yes, I am having a bad day.

Dear Neighbors, Part 3 December 12, 2009

Dear new neighbors,

Andrew told me about you two while I was away. First to you Mr. Man neighbor- Andrew mentioned that everyone in the apartment could hear you beating your girlfriend. Evidently people heard the thuds and your poor girl was screaming and crying. Neighbors were yelling at you through the windows telling you they could hear you beating her and you still didn’t stop. Luckily some people had enough sense to call the cops. Clearly you are a douchebag.

When I returned last Saturday and heard what sounded like some serious sex occuring in the late afternoon, I actually thought I was hearing our other neighbors. But this sex did not sound like the sex that we usually can hear. You guys sounded REALLY into it. At least you did Ms. Lady neighbor. Yes, it partially did sound like you were being beat up- but when I heard “YEAH, YEAH” I figured you just like it rough. When I went into the bathroom again, I could hear you crying. Why oh why were you crying? Maybe you were just playing along out of fear because your creep boyfriend would beat you up again if you don’t fulfil his sleazy desires. I have never even met you but already I can see that you two have some SERIOUS issues.

I’m not sure what went on in the following 40 minutes but when Andrew and I returned from picking up dinner and a movie, your drunk trash boyfriend was on the ground being handcuffed by 5 cops.

While I do enjoy interesting neighbors, I don’t enjoy guys who beat up and possibly rape their girlfriends and wives. No one in the building wants to hear that. Someone needs to head to rehab and/or jail and someone else needs some major counseling. Good luck to you both.

P.S. I do like your Christmas stockings that you’ve hung in the window.

The DMV November 25, 2009

WTF is up with the DMV? I know it’s always been a hell hole but I haven’t been there in probably 8 years and I swear it got worse. I arrived at 8:20am and there were literally probably 150 people already waiting. I drove through the parking lot once and then decided to park in some distant neighborhood. The lot was like a mall lot on Christmas eve. People driving around in circles, dodging pedestrians left and right, it was crazy! Inside there were probably 100 chairs set up and they were ALL full. I REALLY wanted to take a picture to show Andrew how insane it was but I didn’t think I’d be able to do it discretely.

Did I mention that they don’t take credit cards? You probably knew that already, but seeing as how I haven’t been there in over 8 years, I just kind of assumed they would be a “modern” organization and take plastic. Do they realize how many poor people come through that place? Some people wouldn’t be able to pay the $28 license fee if they couldn’t use a credit card. (Yes Aussies, you heard that right, $28 for a 4 year license).They take personal checks (which surely bounce ALL the time) but they won’t take credit cards. Idiots. Unfortunately for me, my debit card is back in Australia with Andrew and so I’ve been living off cash and credit while I’ve been in CA. I had $23 bucks in my wallet when I got in line. I needed $28. I tried using my Australian debit card… that didn’t work. She politely said “You can run to the bank and just come back straight to me.”- Yes! That is EXACTLY what I feel like doing. Going to the bank to get out $5 measly bucks so I can come back to this hell hole and pay for my new license from a state that I don’t even live in. Some might say “why bother?” Well, unfortunately some eating and drinking establishments (i.e. restaurants and bars) don’t accept foreign ID and as I’m about to explain, some banks don’t either!

So since I was $5 short, I had to go wait for the bank to open at 9am in order to get cash out. I had to sit there for 25 minutes to get $5. How fun!They didn’t know what to do with my Aussie license, I didn’t bring my passport because I didn’t plan on having to make a trip to the bank that morning and when I showed them my US ID, they couldn’t accept it because it is expired. Duh, that’s why I need the money in the first place! Such a pain in the ass!! Finally I got the cash but seriously, not having my atm/debit card really made things difficult.

With all that said I probably would have been out of there in 15 minutes if I didn’t have to leave, walk to my car, wait at the bank, get money, drive back, park, and wait again to talk to the same lady. Making an appointment REALLY speeds things up. I felt really bad for the other 150 people waiting their turn. I hope they packed their lunches.

More Bad Luck Topped off w/ Some Suave & Sexy October 25, 2009

As if my ipod breaking wasn’t crappy enough after my good deed of helping to put out a fire, on Saturday I was the recipient of even more unfortunate bad luck. While I was simply trying to make some delicious fondue for everyone to enjoy at Yorky’s “Suave and Sexy” party, I had a little mishap.

 My hand caught on fire.

Yeah I didn’t spill something on a brand new dress or slip on a puddle causing my shoe to break or anything like that. I literally caught on fire. Note to self: After spilling methylated spirits on your hand while trying to fill a fondue pot burner, make sure to use soap to wash it off. Evidently when you simply wash it with water and then go to re-light the burner, a fireball will erupt burning your hand, the table and anything else surrounding the fondue pot.  Then you will have MORE bad luck and the brie won’t even melt properly and the fondue will be a disaster and look like a disgusting clumpy mess (although it will still taste alright).

Luckily I was able allow my hand to sit under cold running water for about 10 minutes and then I put ice on for another 15. I really think it helped because it’s just red now and I haven’t had any blister pop, unlike the burn on my arm from 2 weeks ago… yes, another burn… which left blisters and a scar.

What is with me and fire and burning body parts lately? 

Even with all the fire drama the night was still really fun! Everyone looked very suave and sexy… see:

There was tons of great finger food and loads of alcohol and fruit so everyone spent the night frequenting the blender to create fancy, tropical concoctions to sip on… or gulp down.

And oh what an awesome view we had:

Such a fun night, even if I did almost burn my hand off! Thanks to Alex, Kristin and Brendan for hosting a great party. And a special thanks to Brendan and whoever else helped put out the fire on the table while I was trying to put out the flames on my hand!

Karma… and Putting out Fires October 21, 2009

Sometimes I think karma is a bunch of bullshit.

Today I went for a nice long walk/jog… 7.4km or 4.6 miles to be precise. I was feeling good. It was sunny (maybe a little too hot) but great in the shade near the water. Whenever I go for these long walks and I get to the farthest point, I always regret my decision a little. I think… “hmmm- maybe I should have turned around a bit earlier.” But today I kept going all the way to the end, I was proud of myself for not giving up. (p.s. 4.6 miles might not seem like a LONG way… but this walk involves lots of hills… I hate hills).

On my way back up the quiet road (near the X) I smelled smoke. I looked to my right and immediately saw a bunch of smoke coming from a big pile of ash in the bush (that’s Australian for brush).

So…I actually climbed up the tiny little hill dodging branches, spiderwebs, flies and all sorts of other creatures to see if I could stomp out the fire. I can’t believe I risked seeing lizards, snakes and spiders all to check out a tiny fire! Well there were no flames, just immense heat and smoke. I tried stomping on the smoldering ground but it did nothing to calm it. Since I was super sweaty by this point I started getting attacked by all sorts of flying insects so I quickly but carefully maneuvered my way back down through the branches to the road. I didn’t have my phone so I stood wondering what I should do.  I decided to wait a few minutes to see if any cars would pass. About 2 minutes later, some bikers were riding by and I flagged them down and asked if they could call 000 (that’s Australian for 911). The men explained that the fire brigade were out in the area doing a back burn so it was probably just from that; HOWEVER, that was about 2 weeks ago, it shouldn’t really STILL be smoldering and all it would take to start a bigger fire would be a bit of wind. So he called. Might I mention that this is the SECOND time since moving to Australia that I/we have called 000 after spotting a random bushfire on the side of the road!

The man explained to the operator where the fire was and then the guys said thanks and rode off. I wondered if I should wait for the firemen. I decided they would pass me on my way back up the road and I knew it would be pretty easy to explain to them where it was if I should see them.

I then walked for another 15-20 minutes until finally I was HOME! I was hot and sweaty but feeling great about my good deed and for pushing myself to keep going on my walk when I really just wanted to turn around and go home.

Soo… back to this whole karma thing. You would THINK after doing good things for the world that I would be rewarded… or at least not PUNISHED. But no…what did I get for all my work? A massive headache. I figured I just needed some water so I gulped down tons and took a shower. Usually this is when I feel much better but no, not today. The headache just keeps getting worse and worse.  At dinner I got a massive stomach ache after eating. This is the 2nd massive stomach ache Ive gotten immediately after dinner  in the last 5 days. WTF? And FINALLY to top it all off-  I get in the car, plug the itrip into my ipod, turn it on and BAM! ipod is broken. The screen is shot. It still plays music but I have no way to actually see and/or select what I am trying to play. Seriously, I’ve heard the phrase “karma’s a bitch” before, but that’s supposed to be directed towards people who do bad things… not good!

The last time Andrew and I  spotted  a fire on the side of the road and called 000 we got tickets for not wearing helmets on our bikes. Granted we got the tickets BEFORE we saw the fire, but still!! I swear- next time I see a fire that needs to be put out I’m just going to leave it. Let it burn because with my luck if I call 000 again I may just get mugged or get swine flu or something.

*Edited to correct details… it was actually a peacock we saw roaming the streets, not an ostrich. My bad.

There Goes My Chance October 11, 2009

I’ve been quite bummed this weekend about something. About 2, maybe even 3 years ago, I came up with an idea for an invention. I thought this was a pretty damn good idea.

Fold-able/roll-up flip-flops. Why is this a good idea you ask? Because after wearing high heels for hours all night, all you want to do is put on some flats for the walk to the car, to the house, or to the next bar. I am one of those girls that carries my dirty flip-flop/thongs in my purse. Luckily I have a big purse which allows me to do this because my thongs aren’t tiny enough to fit in a small bag. But if they folded up into a small portable thong version, then they could fit in any bag… or even a coat pocket.

This was such a good idea. A good idea that I had first.

Maybe you don’t believe that I had this idea first. Well here is proof…

The guys (yes GUYS) that created these thongs thought of the idea a year ago.

“Former lawyer Ben Lipschitz, 25 stumbled on the idea for a pair of fold-up thongs on a night out a year ago when his girlfriend at the time was left sore and tired after a night in stilettos.”  The Daily Telegraph

A year ago.

Well, A YEAR AND A HALF ago I blogged about my invention idea here (and let me point out, I had been thinking about this much earlier than this post):

I guess I can’t bee too annoyed though. It’s my fault and my fault alone that I didn’t act on my brilliant idea when I had the chance. Andrew used to tell me I should look into it, Jen wanted to help and even came up with a cute name, but it was just so overwhelming! Where do you even start to try to figure out how to get a prototype made, how to pay for the prototype… surely I would have needed investor backing… and then how do you get that??  The list goes on and on. I just had NO idea where to start.I went as far as researching patents as you can see in my post above but that was where my research ended.

Now someone else will get rich. Someone else will say they invented something cool and they will always be known as the guys who created the awesome portable flip-flops. That could have been me. That might have been my one and only chance to invent something really cool and I blew it.

And no… I will not post a link to the site that sells the shoes. I just don’t think I’m ready to provide free advertising to someone who is going to capitalize on my brilliant idea.

No Cartoons Please! September 14, 2009

One day we will probably have children and when wedo, please oh please do not buy our child gobbs of clothing with annoying cartoon characters all over them. Seriously- I don’t understandwhy people think this stuff is cute! While attempting to find a birthday present for Andrew’s cousin’s 2 year old, I was faced with the challenging task of finding something cute and reasonably priced. We had a gift idea originally but then I changed our plans and startedspecifically looking for a cute little bathing suit to go with a little bucket andshovel/spade that I found. I love doing theme gifts and I thought that would be a cute one since summer is coming. So we went searching for the suit.

Over an hour later, we settled on buying one of those horse on a stick things. You know, the ones that kids “ride” around on that make the galloping noises? Yeah, one of those. Why? you ask…What happened to your beachy theme gift? you ask…

I’ll tell you what happened… the crappy Australian children’s clothing selection is what happened! And now I will share my experience with you all.

1. First we went to Big W. This is where I had the inspiration for the gift when I found the little bucket and spade. I thought it was a great idea and should be fairly simple! So we headed to the children’s clothing section to look for a suit and after searching for ages we found 1… count that…  ONE bathing suit for a child under 5 years old. ONE! It was hideous.

2. Next we stopped at Pumpkin Patch and found the cutest bathing suite for a 2 year old. SWEET! I thought we had scored in the 2nd shop. This was too easy! But then I had a look at the price tag- nearly $40! No thanks.

3. Next was some other kid store- another CRAP selection of swim suits. We had to hunt and search and finally ask someone where we could find the suits. There were about 2 choices (literally), both heinous! In the U.S. there are whole bathing suit sections in kid stores. OH GOD how I miss Old Navy and U.S. quality Target!

4. Finally we headed to Target – SURELY Target has something right? I thought I had hit the jackpot when I spotted a bathing suit section in the distance. YAY a whole section! This is what I’ve been looking for. I see 3 suits from afar that look decent. I get excited. Oooh a cute little red suit with white polka dots! Woohoo it would even match the red bucket I bought. I grabbed it off the rack with excitement, turned it around and sighed and groaned audibly. Dorthy the freaking dinosaur! WHY oh WHY must people ruin perfectly good children’s clothing by slapping on a big giant ugly cartoon character??? Turns out all the other ones I saw from a distance also were tainted. Dora the Explorer and the Wiggles had to go and ruin them all.

So there we were…Andrew was sick of shopping and I was feeling very homesick… that’s how we ended up buying the horse on a stick (which was the gift idea we had from the beginning anyways)…

When we have kids one day in the far and distant future- please don’t buy anything with Winne the Pooh, The Wiggles, Dora, Elmo, or any of that other crap. I don’t want to have to pretend to like it all and then hide it in the back of the closet only to  pull it out and put it on our child for an hour when you come to visit. Kids have a right to be stylish too!

Tsunami?? July 15, 2009

From the Bureau of Meteorology:

TSUNAMI WARNING NUMBER 3 FOR PARTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Issued by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre [JATWC] at
09:25 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009

For latest and further information call 1300 TSUNAMI [1300 878 6264] or visit
www.bom.gov.au

**********************************

In the words of Michael Doig…

Airports June 17, 2009

Airports used to be exciting places. Going to an airport meant you were going somewhere cool or picking up loved ones who were coming to visit! Now 90% of the time, airports are filled with goodbyes for me. I’m almost always saying goodbye to someone. When I flew here I had to say adios to Andrew thinking I wouldn’t see him for 3 weeks.  Then he ended up making it out here which was awesome, but tonight I just had to drop him off and say goodbye again for another 2 weeks.  I also had to say goodbye to my sister and her family from Texas tonight since they’ll be heading off to the airport tomorrow. And then in 2 weeks I’ll have to say goodbye to my friends and family once more when I head back to Australia. Seriously, there aren’t too many happy trips to the airport these days. Even when I’m really excited to see one person (or group of people) I’m always having to say goodbye to someone else I love in the process.

I don’t like goodbyes. I’ve had WAY too many of them in my lifetime (well,  really in the last 3.5 years), but I guess that’s what happens when you are in a long distance relationship forever and then move all the way across the world.

Revenge May 25, 2009

And now for the tale of Andrew’s revenge. It’s not really that great, and I’ve probably built it up over the last few days… but the truth is- I was just too lazy to post about it then.

So the other night as I was brushing my teeth, Andrew was singing as he was walking around the apartment and I made some snotty face at him. The face was NOT due to his singing, but rather something else obnoxious that he had done (I can’t even remember what it was). So he proceeds to tell me that I always make snotty faces when he sings.

Well… I DO NOT!

I reminded him that my face was due to his other obnoxious action and asked him to take his comment back. He refused. I asked again. He refused. So I finally took my toothbrush (full of foamy toothpaste) and wiped it on his face. I then went to the bathroom to finish brushing my teeth and to wait for the impending revenge that I KNEW would take place. I so wanted to lock the bathroom door, but our door sucks and even when it’s locked you can just push it open. I knew I was in for it –  I just didn’t know what the revenge would be, so I kinda just stood their brushing and waiting.

I heard him coming… I started to cringe. I kinda expected him to pour water on me or something innocent like that. If only I were so lucky.

No, he decided to come and shove his finger in my mouth and smear it on my face. A finger full of Vegemite. This is probably one of the last things you want shoved in your mouth as you are brushing your teeth. Vegemite is supposed to be spread THINLY on a slice of bread (and even then it is still repulsive if you ask me) but you are DEFINITELY not supposed to eat a big clump of it.

I just sat there with my mouth open trying to decide how to deal with this situation without vomiting. It was all over my toothbrush and face! SO GROSS. Eventually I was able to get my teeth, tongue, face and toothbrush all cleaned up by breathing through my mouth and just rinsing (without swishing). Luckily it’s not too sticky so it all washed out pretty easily with minimal contact to taste buds.

Seriously though, that was mean revenge on his part. Wiping toothpaste on someones face is much nicer than nearly making someone puke! I guess should think twice before I wipe my toothbrush on his face again!

Something New to Fear May 20, 2009

I’ve never feared rain… well, other than the times when I just straighten my hair and I don’t want it to turn into a giant fro ball! No, the rain has never REALLY bothered me. Thunder storms were pretty cool too.

Not anymore.

I was working in my bedroom this evening with the curtains open. It started raining around 3:45pm as Andrew was getting ready for work. I heard thunder twice… it was clearly very far away. I’m pretty sure I saw a flash of lightning as well, but it was no biggy. Nothing out of the ordinary. At about 4:00pm Andrew walked out the door with the rain still pouring down. He said “I’ll be home in a few hours, as long as I don’t crash.” Clearly I got annoyed… not a funny joke! And as he left I kind of had that moment of worry, like “what if something does happen to him and this is the last time I see him.”  I don’t think like that too often, but his comment just brought out the thought and so of course I was immediatly a bit sensitive when he left.

About 20 seconds later out of the corner of my eye I saw a REALLY bright flash.  Normal lightning  just lights up the sky with an overall glow, like a strobe light, and if you’re lucky you might even see a bolt off in the distance.  This was different, MUCH different. This looked more like a yellow and gold glowing fireball.  Before I could even turn my head completely to look out the window, the thunder struck. When I say “the thunder” I mean THE THUNDER! I can’t even explain the sound. It was the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard in my life. It crashed with a loud sharp (and long) clap and bang and then vibrated for a few seconds afterwards. The apartment shook and immediately car alarms all down my street started blaring.

Since this entire event took all of 5 seconds from start to finish it didn’t give me much time to think about what had just happened. But without even thinking, I immediately KNEW that  the lightning had just struck something on my street…

…and Andrew had just walked out the door.

I panicked. I started shaking and ran to try to find my phone. I found it in my purse and called him.

No answer.

I’ve been scared before- startled, shocked. I’ve had my blood pump, my heart race, my hands shake along with all those other fight or flight emotions that kick in when something makes you jump out of your skin. But never has something scared me so strongly so quickly that it made me feel like I was going to throw up. Today, it did. 

I sat there staring out the window, trying to determine if I could see anything. I wanted to run out the door to see if Andrew was out there, but considering the lightning had stuck less than a minute before, I didn’t think that was a wise idea. Luckily the phone rang about 10 seconds later and it was Andrew.  He actually witnessed the bolt hit a house across the street. Luckily his car was on the opposite side of the road, but he was still within a few hundred feet of the strike. He hadn’t answered my call because he was trying to get into his car quickly right after it happened. His ears were ringing and within 5 minutes he had a gained a nice little headache.

There was no more thunder or lightning after that.

It took me awhile to calm down. I don’t usually get shaken up like that, but even an hour later, I still felt a bit shaky. I finally felt like I was over it, but then I had to go get dinner. I ordered a pizza from the shop downstairs which meant I had to go outside to get it. It was still pouring and it didn’t help that my entire apartment building was pitch black . I assume the lightning killed the power or something. I managed to make my way downstairs,  nearly missing the last step since I couldn’t see. As soon as I opened the door I freaked. I did NOT want to go out into the rain. When the big lightning struck earlier, there was no warning. It’s not like I could hear it getting closer and closer over time. It just came out of nowhere. So how could I ever know it wouldn’t happen again?

Yes, I think I am now traumatized. I ran all the way to and from the pizza shop. When I got back, the shaky, dizzy feelings had returned. I seriously hope this will be short-lived. When I was young, if we had an earthquake I’d end up sleeping in my parents’ bedroom for MONTHS. I really don’t want to be stuck in the house forever for fear of going out in the rain. But I guess at least my hair won’t turn into a frizzy fluffball!

One is Silver and the Other’s Gold May 11, 2009

Tonight as I was sitting down to blog, I was reminded of that old song I learned in Girl Scouts…

“Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That’s how long I will be your friend.”

Ok, so does this mean new friends will never be as precious as the old?? That kind of sucks.

Every time I go back to California to visit , I remember what it’s like to have my best girlfriends there by my side! I love it and miss it and wish I could have my friends with me always. When I come back to Sydney, I kind of settle back in the comfort zone of hanging out with Andrew and his friends 98% of the time and that longing for my friends sort of dissipates. Of course I have made some friends here and they are all great, but the feeling just doesn’t compare to the feeling I have when I’m with the  friends I’ve known forever. It’s hard because some of my new friends live a bit too far to make it convenient to hang out… or, because some are really great but already have their established circle of besties that you only really join in on for special events. 

New friends are great, but do we sit on the floor in the hallway and do each other’s make up? Do I sit on the toilet while one of them does my hair and shows me how to wear my new hat? Do we sip cocktails for the fun of it as we’re getting ready to go out while we laugh and reminisce about things that happened 10 years ago? Unfortunately we don’t. I would love to… but it just doesn’t happen.

Having Amanda and Stephen here this last week reminded me what it’s like to have a best friend around. Sure I remember what it’s like every time I go home, but it’s different when your old friends come and visit you and take part in your new life. Until this week, none of my friends had ever really met any of Andrew’s best friends (with a few exceptions). Until this week, none of my friends had ever seen my apartment or my city for that matter.  Until this week, I had never had a best friend around to go shopping and compare accessory choices with. Having a boyfriend is great and all, but he doesn’t know how to french braid my hair! 

I look at my sister who is 7 years older than me and I know that some of her best friends are friends she’s made in the last  few years. So I know it IS possible to become super close to someone you meet later in life, but I just don’t know how it could ever feel the same as the closeness you share with the friends you make in your teenage years.

I miss my friend and her wonderful boyfriend. We had a great week (which went by way too fast). Now it’s back to reality. Reality of knowing that I will never have my old friends here with me by my side. Sometimes reality sucks. I am now completely dependent on new friends, the silver friends, but hopefully some day silver can become gold.  

And yes, I will give an update on what we did and where we went and all that fun stuff… but I’m waiting for Amanda’s pictures since I seem to have only taken some on 2 drunken nights. I’ll at least post 1 pic for the time being. One of me and my friend Amanda. It was a great week

Swine Flu April 28, 2009

I’d like to share with you my feelings on infected ham snot.

I am not afraid of the swine flu. It’s the flu. I haven’t gotten any sort of flu in over 6 years and I don’t plan on getting this pig  disease either.

Yet another reason I don’t care to eat swine.

Seriously though, why do people freak out so much? People die of the REGULAR flu every year. Mexican hospitals are clearly not up to par with health standards since they are the only country to report any deaths (for now). But seriously… people get flus every year. No more reason to worry about this particular one, right?

I’ll tell you what I AM afraid of…

This porky virus causing people to freak out like they did with SARS which would therefore cause flights to cancel which would therefore cause problems for Amanda and Stephen when they fly here next week!