Elsja Down Under

Introductions August 18, 2008

Did I mention how much fun I am having with Andrew here in CA with me? Did I mention how happy I am? Oh… no, I didn’t. That’s because I’ve been too busy and having too much fun to blog this week.  But I’m taking a moment from my day to fill you all in on some happy times and important introductions that took place this week.

1. Andrew and I were both introduced to Ruth’s Chris for dinner-YUM! It was delish but I think I probably gained 17lbs from that one meal alone.

2. We went out on Friday night to O’Mallys. I thought it was just going to be Andrew and I with Jen and a couple other people because most of our friends were out that night at a birthday party, but tons of people ended up showing up and it was a really fun time. So not only was Andrew introduced to many of my friends, he also had a little too much fun when Brad introduced him to Patron (pronounced petrone for you aussies). Andrew also wants to direct the attention of you Aussies to the size of the shot glasses…

Andrew said this is how he felt before 5 tequilla shots:

And this is how he felt after 5 shots:

3. I was happy to introduce Andrew a few American favorites… LA Baseball and Dodger dogs.

 

4. And lastly (for the week) I was only too happy to introduce Andrew to another type of Mexican beer… Pacifico. In fact, I introduced him to quite a few pacificos, throwing in one chugging contest between the two of us at the end of it all. If it weren’t so cold (giving me a brain freeze), I might have won. Oh and we enjoyed our Mexican beer in the warm sun on the Island of Catalina. We headed there for the day with my parents and enjoyed some lunch, mini golf and drunky sunbathing. Such a nice day. I seriously love summer.

Only a few more days until I will introduce Andrew to the awesome country of Costa Rica! I can’t wait!

Beijing Olympics August 9, 2008

So I watched the opening… I missed all the fancy stuff at the beginning and sat down just in time to see the parade of countries. When I started watching they were on Maldives, Malta, etc. So I think… ok we’re on M, must have missed Australia and it will be awhile until the US shows up. Unless of course they go by the Chinese character alphabet which would mean that Malta was around number 8.

Already tired at this point I thought, ok I’ll just watch until the US and Australia make their entrance, then I’ll go to bed. Too bad Australia was number 203 of 205 countries! So I painfully watched all 203498 hours of this thing.

Here are a few things I noticed:

1. Either I just didn’t learn a lot in geography or there are new countries popping up left and right. I couldn’t possibly be THAT unaware of the world around me? Or could I? I couldn’t possibly have gone nearly 28 years without ever hearing of Lesotho, Oman, Eritrea, and Burkina Faso. People actually live in these places? And they have olympic sports teams?? I think I need to go back to school.

2. I’ve never seen so many hideous outfits. Seriously… WTF was up with the disgusting sport coat and retarded hat combos that many of the countries were wearing? It seemed like there was a theme that most countries had to follow: pair one brightly colored sport coat with a brightly colored pair of pants or hideous knee length skirt. Then throw in some tennis shoes to look extra tacky. Don’t believe me about how bad this was? See for yourself:

Unfortunately I couldn’t find photos of my faves. And as I was googling for images to share with you all, I came across the following awesome headlines regarding the uniforms:

“Australian Team Uniforms Looked like Sucked Ice Blocks”

“Chinese Olympic Team to Wear Tomato Scrambled Egg Uniforms”

The US uniforms were not too bad. Not FABULOUS but their stylish hats were SO much better than some of the other monstrosities.

3. I couldn’t help but feel really sorry for the lonesome athlete from Niger. How sad would you be if you were the ONLY athlete from your entire country. Who knows, maybe he feels extra proud knowing he’s the only athlete in the entire country who made it- but so much for any possible team spirit. And I bet there aren’t tons of fans who traveled from Niger to see him. My mom wants him to win something because she feels bad for him.

4. How brave was that guy who ran around the screen at the top of the stadium to light the torch. I’m not even really afraid of heights but that would have been so scary! Hanging that high by just a few wires? No thanks!

5. Other than China who is hosting, the two countries that BY FAR got the most cheers were the US and Australia. Of course I have lived in the 2 best countries Iraq had a pretty impressive cheer as well. Interesting.

I really hope I can find some more hideous photos of the outfits to post. They really were atrocious.

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Desirable People Only August 8, 2008

So I get these Australian Immigration News emails. I don’t even remember where I signed up for this. Some company probably stole immigration details from the airport and saw that I had 23409823 Australia stamps in my passport and figured I was a good candidate to receive these mailings. I actually might read them if I thought they wouldn’t charge me ridiculous amounts of money to use their services. So instead I just hit delete. Except for today.

SO I receive one this morning and read the first line:

“In July, the Migration Expert newsletter covers a number of changes made in Australian migration policy focussing on attracting more desirable people”

“Losers need not apply, we only want a country with smart, witty and beautiful people”.

Ok… maybe it didn’t say that last part, but I’m a little curious… what do they consider “desirable.” I would take the test to find out, but that would take effort and who has time for effort these days? Instead I’ll just skip to the part where I fill out 239480934 visa, FBI and medical forms and pay 3 billion dollars in fees to the Australian government directly… that should be desirable enough for them.

Hopefully by the end of he year, I’ll be able to live in Australia more permanently without the fear that they could kick me out at any given moment. That is a comforting thought.

Busy Busy August 7, 2008

So today I did nothing. Absolutely nothing. Well, I worked- but that doesn’t count, I always work. But other than that, I had NO plans. Do you know how nice that is? I’ve only been home since Sunday and on top of working every day I have already had lunch with friends once,  gone to 3 dinners, attempted to shop for clothes twice, went to Target (that doesn’t count as shopping, that’s a hobby), went to my sister’s in-laws to hang out with the family, got fingerprinted (for my visa) had a Dr. apt, went to the gym twice, spent the night at my sister’s house, and managed to work on my forum a bit.

Do you know how nice it was to have NO plans today? I literally made plans to not make plans. Tomorrow it’s back to business and I have a hair appointment… FINALLY. I’m looking forward to getting a major trim so that my house will stop looking like a hair farm. Do you all remember my hair post? The day before I left I was out on my balcony looking at my cilantro plant…examining the leaves and what do I find? One of my long blonde hairs. Seriously… outside… on a plant! So anyways, hopefully a trim will help a bit! I

Andrew arrives Tuesday and I’m very happy to see him. I know we’re used to not seeing each other for long periods of time. While you do get used to it, it’s still never fun. I can’t wait for him to come hang out with my family and friends- he hasn’t been here in over a year and a half! I miss my love. While I dread the day he has to start taking two week trips for work- I can also realize that missing him will always make me appreciate him more when he is home

Off to bed… maybe tonight I’ll be able to sleep without assistance in the form of a pill. I’ve managed to overcome jetlag magically! And by “magically” I mean “with the use of drugs.”

Sweet dreams to me!

Hideous August 5, 2008

Um… is it just me or do all the clothes in the shops right now resemble things we wore in our early years of high school (that’s 94-95 in case you were wondering). Am I the only one who thinks everything out right now is hideous and repulsive? What is up with all these heinous patterns and horrible cuts? I am so upset. I planned to buy some cute new clothes here since I NEVER shop in australia and the only decent items I’ve been able to purchase are plain old navy tank tops. Everything else makes me want to vomit. I’ve never seen a season of such nasty attire. I guess I’ll be a plain jane again for the next 6 months.

Caring for Animals August 4, 2008

My boyfriend is so caring… Free range eggs are one thing that he actually spends a bit more money on at the grocery store, even though caged eggs are cheaper. Ok maybe he thinks they taste better but I like to think he actually cares about the chickens. Here’s a conversation we had today…

 Andrew says:

i think these are cage eggs

they taste different

ew really?

they taste abused

Oh PS… I’m back in California. Enjoying the sun and warm weather. Andrew will be here next Tuesday! I bet you are all SO excited