Elsja Down Under

Winter October 7, 2009

So remember a few posts ago when I had this whole dilemma… “is it spring?  Is it summer?I just don’t know because it was coolish and now it’s hot… blah blah blah.”

Yeah I was wrong. Evidently, it is neither spring nor summer.

Winter has returned. 5 straight days of rain and it’s 50 degrees tonight (10c). With the wind and the rain, it’s basically freezing.

I HATE WINTER WHEN IT SHOULD BE SPRING.

So much for my sunny sangria Sundays. We have instead returned to hideous old navy flannel pj pants and heaters.

Spring… Summer…What’s the Deal? September 30, 2009

I wish the weather would make up its mind. Should I pack away the sweaters or not? Should I put  the heater back up in the closet?I just don’t know. Saturday at the races it was COLD! Sunny, but super chilly with the wind. Sunday was colder. REALLY cold in fact. We went to dinner and I ended up with a tank top, sweater, wintery type jacket and scarf and I was still a little chilly. I left my jacket on the whole time we ate.

So today I was sitting on my couch and I decided to go for a walk. I see the wind blowing and the birds are chirping. I assumed it must be a nice breezy Spring day. I debated in my mind… should I wear pants or shorts on my walk? Eh… it looked breezy but I figured I’d get hot once I started walking.

Then I went outside. Holy blazing hell it was hot. 33c/91f to be precise. Where did the heat come from? Two nights ago I was sleeping with an extra blanket on the bed.

I decided to suck it up and go for my walk even though I was already sweating the second I walked out the door. 40 minutes into it (and with 20 minutes to go) I was really regretting my choice to take the long route. I’ve been home an hour now and I think my face is still red. But after taking a quick shower, I feel great! Summer is my absolute favorite season and the warm sun followed by a cool shower makes me very happy. I’m really looking forward to the BBQs, beach days and picnics we’ll get to have in the heat. I’ve got iced tea practically on tap in my fridge at all times and I’m gearing up for some sangria recipe experimentation.  

I know Spring just started… but BRING ON SUMMER! (but please don’t get too hot in our apartment).

A Few Updates August 18, 2009

My life has suddenly become so exciting, and yet so boring at the same time. Exciting because I have all this wedding stuff swimming around in my brain and it’s exciting to plan and organize and browse websites looking for ideas. It’s boring, because other than that- I fee like I have hardly anything else to discuss!! So… I’ll just give a tiny brief wedding update and then I’ll try to find something else to talk about

• We’re 95% set on the location- just need to figure out a few logistics, but hopefully we’ll know for sure by Wednesday
• This means we’re also 95% sure on the date… if all goes well it will be 8.28.10
• I decided on a color scheme and hopefully bridesmaids dresses as well
• We’re pretty set on our guest list

Now on to other news…

This weekend was spectacular in terms of weather! Here’s what we did on Sunday:

Andrew, our friend Ben and I went down to Balmoral and had an impromptu picnic. It was such nice weather- we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sit in the sun for a bit. The beach was packed and we didn’t feel like getting sandy so we sat on the grass and ate our little picnic lunch. Sinead met us down there as well and it was great to catch up. Not bad for a winter’s day!!

Lastly I decided to finally update my 101 list seeing as how I haven’t updated it in FOREVER. Here are a few things I’ve accomplished over the last few weeks:

#20- Get engaged… YAY!!

#11- Got 5 people to create a 101 list

Here are a few of them but I apologize that I cannot remember them all – Daisy , Laura, Natasha (no more blog?), Ruthann and there’s one more… someone please remind me who you are

#76- create a signature cocktail… remember my Grapelberry Fizz? That counts, right?

#93- get renter’s insurance- FINALLY! Only took us nearly 2 years of living here!!

I’m well on my way with a few other tasks as well… so hopefully I should have a few more to cross off in the coming months!

Random Thoughts July 7, 2009

After seeing the preview for “My Sister’s Keeper,” I decided to read the book, so I bought it and could barely put it down. I finished it in a few days and then waited patiently for the movie to come out. I went and saw the movie with my mom and sister and it sucked. Well, I shouldn’t say it sucked- it wasn’t a bad movie, it was just terribly depressing and totally different from the book. People bitched about Twilight being different from the book- but that was a heck of a lot closer than this movie was!! I’m glad I read the book but sad the movie did not live up to it AT ALL.  So… after seeing the preview for “Time Traveler’s Wife” I’m hoping it will be a bit better in it’s movie form. Upon seeing the preview, I ran out and bought this book as well and I’m looking forward to reading it after finishing the one I’m currently reading.

I was watching “60 Minutes” the other night with Andrew. There was a special on about kids with Autism and animal therapy. We watched for about 20 minutes and it had this reoccurring background song that played throughout the whole story. Do you know what that song was? It was Bella’s Lullaby from the Twilight soundtrack. Random right? Andrew thought it was pretty strange that I even recognized it, but it’s a really nice song so how would I NOT recognize it?? I didn’t even really want to watch the special that was on, but I couldn’t change the station because the beautiful song hypnotized me

I haven’t gone to bed later than 8:30pm since I got home. With that said, I also haven’t woken up earlier than 8am. That means I’ve averaged about 11-11.5 hours of sleep the last two nights. How am I still tired? I’m guessing it has something to do with the fact that I’ve woken up each night at 1:30, 3:30, 4:30 and 5:30 to pee and stare at the ceiling for 10 minutes. Luckily I have a great ability to fall back asleep when I wake at odd hours of the night!!

My favorite song of the moment is “Sometime Around Midnight” by The Airborne Toxic Event. I had heard the song a bunch of times but finally decided to actually listen to the words one day and it’s really sad!!  I went and downloaded some other songs by the band and they’re pretty good- but I do have to say that I like their slower/deeper stuff more than the fun happy sounding stuff. Maybe that’s just the type of mood I’m in lately.

I don’t like it when it is 48 degrees outside. It is much too cold. Currently it’s 53 degrees and raining and my nose is frozen. Not fun.

I DO like my new Ugg boots. I totally see why people wear them everywhere even though they look retarded. They are super comfy and warm and when I have to leave the house and put on actual real shoes I get kinda sad that my feet have to be cold for a few moments and I have to go through the effort of putting on socks and tying laces. So today I decided to walk all the way to the bank in my Uggs. I’m sure I looked dreadful but my feet were happy.

Ok… those are my random thoughts for the night- now time to take off my Uggs so I can go sit in a hot bath in hopes of defrosting my nose while reading another book that might be a lot better than the movie (The Kite Runner). I’ll get out just in time to hit the sack at 8:30 on the dot.

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!

Goodbye Summer March 31, 2009

 

It’s official… well, technically it’s been official since the beginning of March- but today it really felt like the start of Autumn. Actually, it felt like winter but whatever. The rain was pouring down, the wind was blowing and we cooked a great big pot of homemade vegetable soup for dinner. Yum.

Usually when Autumn starts I have many things to look forward to. Halloween, Thanksgiving and then Christmas is right around the corner. Do you know what happens in an Australian Autumn? NOTHING. That’s right… nothing. Oh… well Easter happens, but it’s not like I really want Easter pumpkins instead of Easter baskets, baby chicks, peeps and spring flowers. And did you know that there are NO white eggs in Australia? Do you know what that means? You can’t dye eggs! You can paint them I suppose, but it doesn’t really matter because they just give chocolate eggs here. No baskets filled with plastic grass and cute toys and candy… just giant chocolate eggs. I don’t even love chocolate all that much. I’d rather have colorful plastic eggs filled with pink and yellow candy corn and jelly beans. Ok, ok… maybe I need time to adjust, this will be my first Easter away from home in California so cut me some slack.

So what will I do this Autumn without Halloween and Thanksgiving to fill my time and stomach? I’ll have to eat plenty of laksa and Tom Yum soup. Warm and toasty in my belly during the chilly weather . I’ll break out the scarves, beanies, jackets, boots and my favorite cozy Nap blanket! I really do prefer cold-weather clothing much more than summer clothing so that’s a good thing, right? So bring on Autumn! I suppose I’m ready to say goodbye to Summer, but ask me again in June when it’s freezing and I probably will take back that statement.

Oooh… and Autumn may be brining one more great thing to Sydney… But more on that in a later blog. In the meantime, please enjoy my lovely collage that I made to celebrate the new season.

It’s a Little Hot January 25, 2009

So when I went home to California, I was greeted first by a chill in the January winter air and then by a good ol’ fashioned California earthquake. The weather did get warmer- in fact, it was beautiful the ENTIRE time I was there, yet it still had that nice chill in the air at night that allows you to sleep comfortably in sweats (and even socks) without feeling the need to rip your clothes off and turn the AC on! It was perfect!

Then I came home to Sydney (yes, I call both places home). There are no earthquakes and yesterday there was NO HINT of ANY sort of chill in the air. It felt like there was NO AIR… period! Hot, muggy, hard to breath, MISERABLE. I’m not one to care too much about humidity and heck, I even can tolerate the entire 106 degrees that we had to deal with. BUT… when you don’t have air conditioning and it becomes about 120 degrees IN the apartment- that’s pretty much when you just want to die, or… at least feel like you are going to die. Our fan did NOTHING to cool us down. I had to take 2 cold baths, just to escape the heat for a few minutes.

Thankfully a cold front came through last night (thank you Antarctica). It’s too bad the temperature inside didn’t cool down as quickly as it did outside. I really wouldn’t have minded a 30 degree drop in this apartment.  When’s the last time you had to sleep with an ice pack shoved into the back of your undies to keep you cool enough to sleep?

I don’t think the ice pack will be required tonight… i think the fan will be sufficient.

It’s Getting Warmer September 15, 2008

Thank goodness for the sun! While I don’t want to speak too soon, I think spring (and even summer) is coming! Today I planted my new little mini garden. Just the typical herbs- basil and cilantro (coriander). I think I’m even prepared for the bugs this time… I know they will come. Bring on the caterpillars and aphids. I’ve got my arsenal of soapy water spray and natural bacteria to kill you all! I also threw some lavender into a pot for some springtime color. Now all I need is a new little patio table and chairs and soon enough Andrew and I will be enjoying our dinner on the balcony in the warm Spring weather.

Unless it starts to get shitty and cold and rainy again. Let’s hope most of that crap is behind us!

Summer weather makes me happy. When I am happy, I get motivated. I plan. I DO STUFF! Rather than sitting around thinking about all the stuff I miss in CA, I actually think about the things I’d like to do here. Here’s a little story to illustrate that:

Andrew and I had wanted to move out of this place into somewhere closer to the shops and restaurants we often go to. But I think we’re probably going to stay afterall. While there are annoying things about this location, we really do like the apartment and I doubt we could find something as good for nearly the same price in the location we are after. Sooo…  I had an epiphany the other day. In exchange for living at the bottom of a hill, I decided I want a moped. I just want to be able to get to places in the town without always having a 20 minute walk to accompany my journey. Walking is fine sometimes, but sometimes I’m just not in the mood. So… since I’m lazy, I just end up sitting inside every day, hence I feel sad and bored. If I had a scooter I could get out and do stuff with my newfound motivation in the nice sunny weather!

Why not a car you ask? Well, A. cars are more expensive, and B. there’s no parking in this country so even if I could drive somewhere, I wouldn’t be able to park so it defeats the purpose. If I had a moped I could ride up to the gym and to the grocery store with ease. It would cut 20-30 minutes off of travel time to the city because I could just ride up to the bus stop, park my scooter and hop on the bus. The only problem is… I have to get a motorcycle license to legally ride a scooter. I have absolutely NO desire to learn to ride a motorcycle or to take a class on how to ride a motorcycle (which is required here). Why must there always be a dilema? Maybe I should just get a Segway. Look how cool this guy looks riding one!

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Sun and Snow July 27, 2008

Morning:

Andrew and I drove up to this beach where we ate lunch. We were wearing jeans and short sleeve shirts. The sky looked like this (ok maybe a few little clouds). It was beautiful. We planned on walking around a bit but we were both a little too hungover and we didn’t feel like paying $5.00/ hour for parking. So… we decided to head home.

 

 

Afternoon:

When we got home, I was very tired (aka hungover) so I laid on the bed with the sun beating in. It was so warm and sunny on my back that I fell asleep easily (with my shoes on). Only to be woken up later to the sound of thunder…

Evening:

After the lighting and thunder all afternoon, we watched the news and saw pictures like this. It didn’t get like this where we live, but it did about 15 minutes away from us!! Evidently it’s not snow… it’s “soft hail.” But really… does it even matter? It’s white and cold.

 

Just another day in Sydney.

Forcast: RAIN… AGAIN!! February 27, 2008

Remember this???

Well so far… it has been totally accurate. I sure did enjoy my ONE WEEK of summer this year in Sydney. It really was nice to see the sun for 7 whole days. Ok, ok… lets be fair, since summer started in December I’ve probably seen 3 weeks of sun, not 1! So I really enjoyed the 21 days of warm weather. it was great. Now, back to the rain. Good Ol PIECE OF SHIT rain.

Rain Rain GO THE HELL AWAY! February 5, 2008

It’s good to know that there may be ONE week of sun this month.

FREAKIN HELL! So much for summer. Might as well bring on winter and get it over with!

I’m Back January 9, 2008

I’m too lazy to blog right now, but I wanted to let everyone know that I made it back safely to Sydney. So, instead of re-writing everything, here’s an edited letter I sent out to my friends and family earlier today…

I just wanted to let you all know that I am back in Sydney. After a grueling 19 hour trip with a layover in Auckland, I’ve arrived. Surprisingly- the long flights were the easiest part of my journey going through customs twice in Auckland and Sydney with about 130 lbs of luggage and carry-ons (no exaggeration here) was horrible. Not because of th long waits and lines, but moreso because I had to lug around all that weight. Standby flights are pretty stressful, but nevertheless, I got back!  

The staff at LAX were the BIGGEST bitches. I got to the desk at 7:10 and the guy told me I had to wait for a ticketing agent to help me for some reason. She gets there around 7:35 (I had just stood there waiting the whole time) and tells me “oh you’re not getting on this flight, the flight is closed. It closes an hour before departure” (departure was at 8:30). I said “Um… I’ve been waiting here for 25 minutes for someone to help me, I got here in time!” She said “Well you had to wait for someone to help you and the only person that can do that is me and I wasn’t here at that time and now the flight is closed!” 

UH… HOW IS THAT MY PROBLEM? she was SUCH a bitch. Luckily the first guy who helped me was much nicer and told her to let me on the flight!! That was just ONE of the bitchy ladies I had to deal with. My dad witnessed these wenches first hand and he can attest to how horrendous they were! 

It was great seeing Andrew, he was able to pick me up from the airport afterall so that was a wonderful surprise. I spent most of the day yesterday feeling hungover. Basically it was just exhaustion I think but it felt more like hungover than tired! Today I was able to unpack everything and straighten up all my mess that I left all over the apartment when I got in.

It is about 8 billion degrees here. Ok, maybe more like 80- but very humid. I don’t mind the humidity, although- I don’t really like humidity IN my apartment. Feels much more tropical here now than it did before I left.  I’d say if it is about 80 degrees outside then it must be 85 in our bedroom since the sun beats down in there directly and there is no air! Maybe about 75 in the living room since there is a tiny breeze in here with the balcony door open. Andrew said he literally has not closed the balcony door once since I left. He leaves it open day and night. I didn’t think it seemed too safe- but in all reality, I’m more afraid of creepy animals or bugs coming in more than robbers and rapists. 

The whole daylight savings time is really throwing me off. Yesterday it was about 730 and I thought it felt more like 4pm. Last night Andrew and I were both SO tired. We wanted to go to bed at 8 but unfortunately had to wait until about 8:45 because it wasn’t dark enough before that!

I thought it would be easier leaving this time- and I think it partially was, but now that I’m back here- I think it’s almost harder. I keep thinking of all these things I should’ve bought or done while I was in the US- and realizing that I won’t get another chance for months is a little scary. I really wasn’t ready to give up my pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks and of course, I miss everyone already! Especially my little Preston and Emma.  

 

 

More Fun Summer Weather December 9, 2007

From Ninemsn:

Hail stones “bigger than golf balls” pummelled Sydney this afternoon as a violent thunderstorm swept across the city’s western and northern suburbs, injuring at least 30 people.

The storms unleashed winds gusts of 90km/h, according to forecast website weatherzone.com.au, and followed Friday’s fierce storm that flooded the city’s CBD and killed one man who was crushed when a shop awning collapsed. 

Read the rest of the story HERE

Oh but luckily I was able to go to the beach and get a little tan before the hail rolled in. Crazy crazy weather.

I’m Confused December 4, 2007

Huh??  I don’t get it.

But you know what we DOOOO get??

CABLE

Finally got some cable today after not having any for a month. Too bad it doesn’t work on my stupid USA TV. Dang Americans make their products nearly impossible to use anywhere else in the world. I was smart enough to buy a voltage transformer, but not a cable adaptor. I’m learning way more about technology than I ever cared to know. So now we have to buy a video converter to convert the video from NTSC (American) to PAL (Australian). GET IT?? 

So in the mean time, we’re borrowing a TV from Andrew’s friend so we can actually watch the cable that we are paying for.

Hello Summer…Again October 3, 2007

 So today I decided to go on a 50 minute walk. 50 minute walk?? No biggy you may think- but when this is the weather:

it is NOT so fun! Times like these make me miss 24 hour fitness (even though in my last blog I said that scenic walks are better than the elipticals)… but I must do SOMETHING to prevent myself from turning into a fat-ass from all the Thai food.

So… walking in 95 degree, Santa Ana Wind-like conditions (entire 2nd half of the walk straight UPHILL) is what I must do.

Oh, and the news just said today was the hottest early October day in 148 years (since they started record-keeping) – It’s not even summer yet!!! But… around 7pm the temperature is supposed to drop to the high 60s. Weeeird weather.