Elsja Down Under

Lovely Balls Made from Cake May 28, 2009

I always love a good reason to bake something. Well since we have a birthday party/wine night tomorrow, I thought this might be the perfect time to bust out my Kitchenaid mixer. I’ve really been wanting to make an attempt at little cake balls. These nifty little treats can be found on the Bakerella blog (which I love ). Ok Bakerella is the QUEEN at these awesome cake balls and cake pops. Me… not so much! I guess we all start somewhere though, right?

You basically make a cake, crumble it up, mix in some frosting, roll into balls and then dip in chocolate.

Fancy.

I actually did attempt a version of these a few weeks back and they turned out just ok. I used my flower shaped cupcake pan and omitted the whole part where I crumble it up and mix with frosting. Instead I attempted to just dip the flowers. Yeah that didn’t turn out too pretty- but the strawberry cake went well with the white chocolate and so they were still yummy!!

 

 

So tonight I tried to make them the “proper” way. I COULD have made them from scratch, but I wasn’t feeling THAT adventurous so I just bought a box cake mix. I figured most people (not including me) like chocolate best, so I got chocolate cake and here’s what happened next:

 

1. I baked the cake, mushed it all up & then mixed in the frosting

 

 

2. Then I rolled the balls, chilled them and then dipped them in white chocolate

 

 

 

  

3. I added some white sprinkles and voila! Cute little chocolate snowballs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I realize they don’t look all that pretty (well, not up close in person at least) but it was my first real attempt, so I guess I’m just glad they are edible.

Speaking of eating them,  I couldn’t even eat an entire ball. It was way too chocolaty for me  but I will explain the taste for you chocolate lovers out there. It’s like eating SUPER moist chocolate cake coated with chocolate frosting and topped with some white chocolate for a little crunch. NOT my favorite dessert (I preferred the strawberry ones) but Andrew ate 2.

Tomorrow I’ll be baking some Gruyere, garlic and onion pizza things from scratch to bring to the party. I’m looking forward to eating those WAY more than these chocolate goodies. I’ll let you all know how those turn out in the next few days, but I have a feeling they will be wonderful! 

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!

Sunday Movie Day

On Sunday we spent the day at Andrew’s dad’s house watching movies.  Are you looking for some feel good movies to watch this week? Well, these are NOT what you are looking for, but they ARE good!

Movie number 1 was Gran Torino. I knew NOTHING about this movie other than the fact that Clint Eastwood was the star and some friends and family said it was really good. Literally, that’s it. Well, I do agree that this was a very good movie even though I thought the acting was HORRIBLE. Not so much from Clint, but from pretty much every other person in the movie (especially the Asian neighbors). Seriously, where did they find these actors? 

Anyways, Clint is Walt, is a SUPER racist and lonely old man who fought in the Korean war and pretty much hates anyone who isn’t white, but ultimately finds unlikely friends in the Asian kids next door.  I have to admit that  the random racist remarks and stereotypes that came out of Walt’s mouth actually made me laugh because they were SO over the top.  Is that bad?  Overall it had a good storyline and was pretty touching and entertaining. Not the best movie in the world, but definitely good and I would recommend it if you haven’t seen it already.

Movie number 2 was “The Boy in Striped Pyjamas.” All I knew about this movie was that it was about the holocaust. (I’m telling you, I usually know NOTHING about movies before I watch them. Australia has sheltered me from seeing a million movie trailers on TV). This movie is about a family who moves to a house right next to a concentration camp. The father is part of the Nazi party (odd since he was clearly English) and has been relocated there to manage this camp. The 8 year old son Bruno is curious about the “farmers” in the striped pyjamas so he goes exploring and finds a new Jewish friend on the other side of the electric fence.

Wow… here’s a downer movie if you’re ever looking for one. By the end of the movie I actually felt physically sick.  I actually don’t understand why I cry when I watch Grey’s Anatomy but I didn’t during this film because it definitely warranted a few tears. But apart from the disturbing subject matter, the story of the children’s innocence and is actually quite uplifting at times. It had this really great quote at the beginning which was brilliantly depicted throughout the movie and I thought I would share it…

Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows. —John Betjeman

So true isn’t it?

I highly recommend this movie. You may need a tissue or two, but it’s definitely worth it!

A Taste of India May 24, 2009

Andrew and I joined a few of his friends on Friday night at an Indian restaurant in Crows Nest called Cumin. I was very skeptical to try this place since most of my experiences with Indian food had been quite bad. I’d go as far as saying that before I came to this place, I just flat out did not like Indian food. Well, that has changed. This place made me realize that not all Indian HAS to taste the same and be super oily and heavy. In fact, it reminded me more of Radio Cairo, which I blogged about previously. Our table got an array of things from the Beef Vindaloo and Chicken Murg Madrass to the vegetarian Cholay Masala and Palek Paneer.  I only ate the vegetarian dishes, and they were definitely tasty. The Cholay Masala was a typical chickpea curry thing but it was better than some I’ve had because it wasn’t super oily and runny. The Palek Paneer looked gross (think mushy green baby food), but was super delish! If you like spinach, you must try this. If you don’t like spinach, steer clear because it is pretty much made of a pureed spinach sauce with these little “cottage cheese” type squares. Both of these went extremely well with the light, fluffy rice. Oh and the garlic naan bread… you really can never go wrong with that delectable treat! It’s all pretty new to me, but I’m just happy that this restaurant restored my faith in Indian food!

Now for my review on a scale of 1 to 10 stars

Decor: 7 – nothing fancy but it was definitely nice, clean and comfortable. To be honest, the place was PACKED full of people so I really can’t even remember what it looked like other than the billions of people in there. We couldn’t even get a booking until 8:15 because it was so crowded (and a bit loud). I was told that it’s less crowded (and quieter) during the week.

Value: 8 - As always, I base this off of other restaurants in Sydney. We got 6 dishes, 2 things of rice, several orders of naan and pappadums and we all had corkage fees and it probably cost us about $30 bucks each if I remember correctly. While it’s not a super cheap night out, I’d say for what we got, it was good value!

Service: 9 – I really don’t have anything to complain about here. Servers were attentive and quick  and we didn’t have to wait too long for our food. I suppose they could have filled out water more often

Taste: 8- Yum. While I’m still not going to say that Indian is my favorite cuisine, I will say that this food was very enjoyable… to the point where I’ve already started having dilemmas on which vegetarian option I’d order of the two I tried if Andrew and I were to go there on our own.

We’ll definitely be going back.

To continue with the Indian theme, Andrew and I decided to watch Slumdog Millionaire on Saturday. I had heard so much about this movie and how great it was but I had a limited knowledge of the movie (which is the way I like it) so I really only knew it was about a poor Indian guy who goes on “Who wants to be a millionaire” and wins. I didn’t really see how it could be that great based on that plot, but now I understand.

I thought it was a really good movie that I would definitely watch again. The actors were great (I love the little kid above), the script was funny at times and definitely kept my interest, the music was awesome and it was such a touching story which really makes you appreciate living in an advanced country with access to  food, money, good jobs and good governments (and toilets) .  I also thought it was a really interesting idea for a movie in the way that they show how people come to have knowledge based on life experiences, not just from books and education alone.

If you haven’t seen it… see it. If you are in the area and you haven’t been to Cumin…go!

More reviews and the short but funny tale of revenge are coming tomorrow!

More to Come

3 movies and 1 new restaurant this weekend mean that I actually have some stuff to blog about… but not tonight. Bed is calling more than my computer at the moment!

So stay tuned for my super professional and reliable reviews as well as a wonderful tale of Andrew’s revenge on me for rubbing my foamy toothbrush on his face.

Dear Neighbors, Part 2 May 20, 2009

Dear Neighbors,

No… not you two… I’m talking to the ones upstairs who speak in some language I cannot decipher. I am really getting sick of your late night chats on the balcony. Seriously, I don’t hear you at all during the day or evening but for some reason you must go on to your balcony EVERY single night after 11:00 pm to have your daily 15 minute foreign chat. Oh and I REALLY don’t appreciate the random 1:00 am sessions. Those seriously suck.

It frustrates me that I can’t even eavesdrop and be nosey since I can’t understand you. Where the hell are you from anyways?? It frustrates me even MORE that you keep me awake at night. Don’t you need to sleep too?

Andrew was going to write you a letter once. Even though he USUALLY falls asleep before you start yacking, he really felt bad for me being kept up every night. But I stopped him from putting the note under your door one night at 3am because I didn’t think it was very nice. Here’s what it said in big black sharpie marker:

“SHUT THE F*%K UP”

I thought there must be a nicer way to go about asking you to be quiet, but considering I’ve lived here for over a year and a half and I still don’t think I’ve ever really seen your face, I  don’t exactly feel comfortable approaching you. So instead I just lie there each night waiting patiently for your 15 minutes of annoying chatter to end.

SO since I am afraid of confrontation, I’m REALLY happy that I now get to write this second letter to our OTHER neighbors. I thought I’d run it by you first. Let me know what you think…

-E

*********

Dear Other Mystery Neighbor,

You are wonderful.

When my boyfriend wanted to write a mean note to the yackies upstairs, I stopped him because I didn’t think it was very nice to use the F word. Well, clearly, that’s just something Australians do- or maybe just people in this apartment block. I remember on Halloween one guy in the block yelled “Oi F*%K off kids!!”  to some little teenage punks. That was pretty funny. Maybe that was your husband.

I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate what you did for all of us last night. I could hear you yelling “shut up!” numerous times. I just laid there smiling, comforted knowing that someone else had been feeling my pain all these nights. I always thought I may be the only one who was going crazy from their conversations. But the gabbers upstairs just didn’t hear you. I don’t know why because I certainly heard you, even with my window closed. So I found it thoroughly amusing when you finally screamed in your shrill, angry voice:

“SHUUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUPPPPP. You F*%King talk out there EVERY NIGHT!”

Well, I think they finally got the hint because they did shut up and they went inside.

I truly think your message got through to them. Maybe using the F word really is the only way to get things done around these parts! Hopefully tonight we will all sleep a little easier!

Thanks again for taking care of the situation (and thanks to my BF who attempted to take care of the situation 2 weeks ago even though I intercepted his note and threw it in the trash bin).

-E

Something New to Fear

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!

Baja Cantina May 18, 2009

Mexican food is certainly hard to come by in Australia. Wait… I take that back. GOOD Mexican is hard to come by. We’ve tried many places and some have been decent. Luckily we’ve stayed away from all the really bad ones thanks to reviews by other American Expats warning us of the crap quality. So it was a very pleasant surprise when Andrew took me to a yummy Mexican restaurant on Valentines day. Yes, Valentines day… I know this blog is 3 months too late. But I’m in restaurant review mode so take what you can get, ok?Â

Baja Cantina is a little restaurant in Glebe and it’s really good if you like California/Baja style Mexican food. I’m not going to say this is REALLY authentic Mexican, because I really don’t think it is. But it tastes a lot like authentic California Mexican which makes me very happy. The first time we went we went we ordered way too much food. 2 things of chips and salsa, nachos and fajitas. The fajitas are really good! They come with all the necessary sides including cheese and guacamole which are usually only offered if you are willing to pay for it. The nachos were super bad for us but super yummy in our tummies! They even have black beans which are hard to find here. I asked for a side of limes and they brought me 6 slices… practically a whole lime. I was in heaven! Oh, and did I mention the delish Sangria and cheap coronas? Of course those made the experience even better!

So we went again a few weeks ago with a couple of Andrew’s friends and the food and service was just as good. Wait, did I say the service was good? Why yes, yes I did. Amazing considering this is an Australian restaurant I’m writing about. Does it sound bad if I say the great service is probably due to the fact that 90% of the servers are American?? It probably does sound a bit bad to the Aussies, but even Andrew agrees with that one.

I still think it’s funny when we go to Mexican with Australians and they pronounce quesadillas the way they are actually spelled (quay so dilas) and tortilllla.  I don’t think I’d be able to work there. I’d constantly be correcting people and/or laughing when they butcher the Spanish language. You really can’t blame the Aussies though… they weren’t brought up with an abundance of everything Spanish like we were in California.

Another thing I find interesting when dining with Aussies at a Mexican restaurant is trying to explain the difference between fajitas, enchiladas, tacos, chimichangas and burritos. Go ahead, think about it. If you had to explain the difference, how would you do it? “Well this one is folded up in a tortilla with stuff inside but there is no sauce,  this one is  folded up in a tortilla with cheese and sauce on top, and this one you eat like tacos but the stuff comes on a sizzling plate.” Really, it is hard to try to explain the difference to someone. It’s one of those things you either just know and understand or you dont.

Now for my expert review on a scale of 1-10 stars

Decor: 7 – it was cute but nothing really stands out for me as being extra special

Value: 7 –  I’m basing this on the cost of most Mexican food in Australia. Compared to other places, Baja Cantina is fairly cheap (especially the coronas).

Service: 8.5 – this place probably has some of the best service I’ve seen in Australia

Taste: 8.5 – I really have minimal complaints. Everything from the tortillas to the beans to the sangria is great. But they do lose 1.5 stars for having mediocre guacamole and bland rice.

We’ll definitely be heading to Baja Cantina any time we need our fix of Mexican food!!

**While I’m on the topic, I also suggest Flying Fajita Sisters in Glebe for Taco Tuesday. They have great 2 dollar tacos and their Sangria (in my opinion) is even better than Baja Cantina… especially the white wine Sangria. Yum!**

Is it Weird? May 15, 2009

Today I ventured out of the apartment for a few hours to meet up with some fellow ex-pats. Is it weird that I’ve never met these people in person (until today), never have even talked to them at all (until today) and yet I still know so much about them? No talking on the phone, no emailing, no texting… yet I still know tons of details about their day to day lives. Welcome to the wonderful world of bloggers! Today I met fellow ex-pat bloggers Daisy and Lindsay (and her friend Emily). I missed out on meeting Erin at lunch but there’s always next time right?

I only started reading Lindsay’s blog recently, so I’m not totally up to date on her life, but is it weird that as we walked around the Botanical gardens, I had conversations with Daisy about the guys she’s dated and her uni program? Is it weird that I knew all about the horrible blister on her foot? Is it weird that she was talking to me about the birds that visit my apartment everyday?

Is it weird that a foreign guy stopped us and asked us if  we would mind standing on his back as he laid on the grass while someone else took a picture?

Huh?

Yes, that actually happened. Here was how the conversation went:

Weird guy: Excuse me, are you all travelers? (detected our accents I suppose)

Us: ummmmm uuhhh yeah (hard to answer that one because yes, we are foreign but no, we’re not really “travelers”).

*** we suspect he is about to ask us for directions or something normal, but no… no such luck.***

Weird guy: I’m wondering if you might be able to help me. I’m trying to get a photo (pulling out fancy camera) but it’s kind of hard to get.  I basically want the photo of me lying on the grass with 2 people standing on my back.

Us:    …

Weird guy: You know, like I’m “down under”

Us:    …

Weird guy: I’ll give you $20 between the  four of you.

All of us: Uhhh ummm… ok???

Elsja and Daisy: Oh they can do it (pointing to Lindsay and Emily), they are the smallest!!

Weird guy: Oh how about one of you  (Lindsay/Emily) and one of you (Elsja/Daisy)

Daisy: She’ll do it (pointing to me), she’s shorter! (thanks by the way)

So, we decided to help the guy out. Either he was a really artsy person who genuinely wanted to get a shot to send back home of him “down under” OR he was a complete freak who gets turned on by REALLY weird things. Either way, it wasn’t going to hurt us to help him out. At least we have a funny story to tell now. Oh… and all of us were quite curious- why did he ask us if we were travelers? Wouldn’t local Aussies be better candidates if he wanted to be “down under”? Maybe he’s been told off by too many of them already. Seriously, have any of you out there ever had a weirder request from a stranger? If so, I’d love to hear it!

Lastly, while I’m on the topic of all things weird, I’d like to comment on this tree.  Amanda and Stephen took these photos last week and I didn’t think much of them until I actually went and saw the tree today.

 

          

First of all, this tree really DOES mysteriously drop random branches, I saw it happen with my own two eyes. Weird. But what’s even weirder is the sign. I hadn’t really thought about this until some guy pointed it out today. “This tree may drop branches without warning.”

Without warning?

Really? 

Is there any OTHER way this may occur? Like would the tree have some branch dropping alarm to notify you of falling branches? Would some guy sit in the tree all day to yell at people when one was about to fall?

Wouldn’t “This tree may drop branches” suffice?

Now I’m back to my normal apartment where I am doing normal work and am about to eat a normal dinner. Maybe later one of my neighbors will come ask me if I would mind putting on some rollerskates and helping them paint their living room. That wouldn’t be weird at all.

Radio Cairo May 12, 2009

I have visited a few new restaurants in the last few weeks and have failed to provide reviews   Bad, bad Elsja. So I thought I’d go ahead and write about one that we went to about a month or so ago. Radio Cairo is a cool little African restaurant near our house in Cremorne. I have to admit, I was a bit afraid to try African food. Seriously… what IS African food anyways? But we headed there with a few friends and I was pleasantly surprised.

The appetizers were a bit small for the money, but they were delish! We got this carmalized onion/cheese bread and if it weren’t so expensive, I would rave about it. This other appetizer was like this tortilla roll with potatos and sauce. Everyone else shared some meaty and seafoody type dishes, and I got this vegetarian curry thing. We all shared rice and tasty cous cous. I realize I’m not being very specific here- but it was over a month ago and I don’t really remember all the ingredients or what these dishes were called. I will say that I DO remember them being full of flavor, not too oily with lots of spice (beware if you don’t like spicy food) and overall very appetizing.

So here’s my overall review on a scale of 1 to 10 stars (5 stars just isn’t enough anymore)

Decor: 6.5 – Cute place, but nothing too fun or fancy

Value: 6.5- I think the food wasn’t bad compared to most restaurants, but the entree/appetizers were way overpriced

Taste: 7.5 - Since I HAD to order vegetarian, I can’t give it a perfect score (I’d prefer chicken) but it was pretty darn good for vego food!

I’d definitely go back! I’m looking forward to trying the one other vegetarian item on the menu. Maybe next time I’ll remember what we ordered so I can provide more descriptive reviews of the food!

Another Fun Week in Sydney

So what else did we do while Amanda and Stephen were here?  Well here’s a little list and a few pictures to fill you all in. I hardly have any good photos from their trip (Amanda took most of them)… but in case you are interested in seeing what I DO have, click  HERE  and  HERE.

So now for the list…

We ate dinner at Thai Intra (of course)

We had breakfast at Balmoral and walked around the beach.

We took the ferry to Circular Quay, had lunch at a little cafe in the Rocks and walked around Darling Harbour.

We had 2 fun dinners at home. I made my Mexican tortilla soup stuff and Amanda made her zucchini casserole. Casserole night also consisted of Paul coming for dinner and we all had some wine and played some board games and Wii… it was a fun night.

We went to Centrepoint tower for some ridiculously expensive drinks. Although I must say, Amanda’s lychee martini with”violet ravioli” was quite interesting and worth the $20 she paid for it. It came with this spoon full of little red jello type balls (violet ravioli) that burst open withliquid when you sucked on them. So you put one in your mouth, took a sip of the martini and squeezed the jello thingy and there was a flavor explosion in your mouth. VERY interesting and actually quite good.

We went to Wagamama for dinner, then headed to James Squire to watch some footy and then we headed off to Cargo for some drinks and tunes.

 

We had lunch in Bondi and walked around the cliffs a bit to check out the views

We went to Kris’ 30th birthday at Corner Bar in North Sydney.  We all proceeded to get quite drunk and I woke up so hungover that it was hard for me to say goodbye to my friends as they left for the airport. I do believe this was a good thing though. If I was in a normal mental state (ie. not overcome by the headache from hell and the need to puke) I probably would have been crying and depressed.

 

                  

Additionally Amanda and Stephen went off on their own and did the following while I was working:

• Harbour Bridge climb
• Took the Hop on/Hop off bus
• Ate pies at Harry’s Cafe de Wheels
• Walked around the botanical Gardens/Opera house and saw all the bats
• Went to Wildlife world
• Had dinner in Kirribilli- attempted to go to Luna Park but it was closed
• Went to Manly Beach

I think that’s it… I’m sure I probably missed something but I’m sure Amanda can remind me if I did. I think we all had a great week. We packed a lot in to the 7  1/2 short days they were here and I was definitely tired Sunday afternoon… but it was all well worth it!!

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

 

 

It’s Raining Americans May 4, 2009

Did I mention I have some visitors here? The lovely Amanda and super cool Stephen arrived yesterday morning bright and early. It was really fun going to bed at 4am the night before and then hearing my door buzzer go off at 7:30am. But, as soon as I heard Amanda’s voice on the other side of the intercom I was no longer tired. I’m so happy to see my friend and her awesome boyfriend.

Yesterday we went straight out to explore a few key areas of Sydney. We took a ferry from Mosman to Circular Quay and then walked around there and had lunch at a cute little cafe in the Rocks. Then we walked to Darling Harbour and had a look around there. It was packed since DH is celebrating its 21st birthday.

Interestingly enough, another girl I know is here from the US as well. Deena is here with her boyfriend and they are staying near Darling Harbour. When we were walking around I thought “it’s too bad she doesn’t have a phone I could call, we could try to meet up with her.”

Well, it didn’t really matter anyways because as we were standing in the information center looking at some brochures I heard  “HI” and we all turned to see none other than Deena herself standing there in the exact center looking at the exact brochures at the exact same time. How weird is that?

It’s cool to have some friends in town. I know I just had my parents here and that was great- we were able to go do and see so much that I don’t normally do on my own. But my parents don’t exactly like to go out and drink and dance- so it will be cool to get to do some of that later this week.

Seriously… with all the people I know visiting Australia (not all here for me of course but visiting Sydney, nonetheless) I feel like it’s raining Americans! I’ve known 7 different people who have been here just in the last 3 months. It’s great to get to get out and do stuff with people from back home. It was also great eating at my favorite Thai place last night… yum!

Today we hung around our neck of the woods. We had brunch at Balmoral, walked around the beach a bit, nearly got attacked by swarming seagulls, saw some kookaburras and then walked back up the hill to come home. Of course we were super hot when we got to the top of the hill (since the weather has been beautiful today) so the only real solution to solve our heat and sweat issues was to stop and have a few drinks at the convenient pub near my house.

Now it’s nappy time for Amanda and Stephen and I’m going to go chop up guacamole ingredients for our Mexican fiesta tonight!

I would post photos, but I left my camera in my purse… which I left in Andrew’s car… and he’s at work. So for now, you only have words to read and no pictures to look at.

Until next time…

(which may be awhile since I’m too busy having fun with my friends)