Elsja Down Under

Happy Birthday Fiance October 30, 2009

Ok, it’s a little late- but I’ve been busy. Wednesday the 28th was the only day I will every get to say Happy Birthday to my dearest fiance. Next year I’ll be saying it to my wonderful husband. This week Andrew turned 29 years old. That means after a month and a half of being older than him, we are finally the same age once more! We celebrated his birthday last Friday with some of his pilot friends at a restaurant called Waqu. It was a miniature degustation menu filled with all sorts of seafood and beef. Luckily they also had a vegetarian option as well. There were 15 of us in our own private room and everyone brought some wine and good conversation. So then we celebrated again on his ACTUAL birthday at Soprano’s in Mosman. Deeeeelish pizza and good friends (plus Andrew’s brother Paul and girlfriend Veronica) made the night a really good one. We even got Andrew a free piece of cheesecake and a shot of limoncello to celebrate his old age!

I’ve been waiting to post this blog because I wanted to upload pictures to go with it. Yeah, well… I lag. Finally I decided to forget the pics and post my blog anyways. If I keep waiting, you might not have anything new to read for like a month and by then the birthday would be WAY over. That’s no fun.

For Andrew’s birthday I decided to get him tickets to this ghost tour thingy in Manly. So last night we went on the tour of the old Quarantine Station.  It was really quite interesting but unfortunately I did not see or hear anything weird. I’d LOVE to see a freaking ghost. The guide told us all these stories about things they’ve seen or heard on the tours there, but what did we see? Nothing!  What did we hear? Nothing! Pretty bogus. I was hoping to see some freaky crap but unfortunately there was nothing worth noting. Probably a good thing though, Andrew might have freaked if we actually saw something supernatural. There was one time where I definitely saw this shadow moving around off in a building far away. Everyone started looking and we were all super excited until we realize it was just another tour group passing through. Oh well.

Do you want to know what the best part of the whole week was? Well, it was GREAT spending Andrew’s birthday with him (as you will recall, we didn’t always get to see each other on our birthdays due to a little something called the Pacific Ocean) but the most EXCITING part of the week was when I decided to try my ipod out just ONE more time today. I wanted to listen to some tunes while I cleaned the house. Well, I put my ipod on the speaker dock and much to my amazement, the little apple symbol appeared and then so did my music.

It’s a MIRACLE!

My ipod has risen from the dead and I’m so happy. I had a super busy/stressful week at work but Andrew’s birthday and my ipod miracle made it all worthwhile. The bottles of champagne and wine tonight with friends helped as well. But my bitchy ass whore neighbor did put a bit of a damper on the night. I’ll have to vent about her later. Stay tuned  for that one.

Until then, goodnight and happy birthday once again to my wonderful love. XO

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.

Big Day Out October 19, 2009

Saturday I had a big day out. This “big day” consisted of seeing a movie and going to a bakery. Yes, that’s all… a movie and some pie. It was one of those days where you walk in the door and you just want to take a shower, curl up on the couch and stare at the TV for the rest of the night. Even dinner plans were too much for me to think about. You see, I don’t have my own car and many of my friends don’t either so when we all want to meet up, we have to venture out on public transport. Sometimes this just means a quick bus ride here or a ferry there but not on Saturday. Saturday I used every possible method of public transport there is in Sydney. Well, except for the monorail.

Care to view the details of my journey?

• Leave house at 12:30 pm
• 7-10 minute walk to ferry
• 20 minute ferry ride to Circular Quay
• 10 minute train ride to Central
• 10 minute walk and bus ride to Broadway

* Watch movie – We saw “An Education” – I thought this was some random low budget Australian film. I was totally wrong. It was set in England and did have a few moderate to big name actors. I did not know what to expect since I had literally read once sentence about the movie on IMDB and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The plot revolves around a high school girl who falls for an older man. That’s all you need to know. That’s all I knew and I still went and really enjoyed it. *

• 35-40  minute walk to Newtown
• On the way, witness a chick fight between two burly girls outside of a bank
• Wait 1 minute for the fight to stop so we can continue down the sidewalk without getting our hair pulled out by one of the beasts

*Arrive at Buppa’s Bakehouse, eat delicious key lime pie and chat with friends*

• 5 minute walk to St. Peter’s train station
• 10 minute train to Circular Quay
• 20 minute ferry ride to Mosman
• 2 minute bus back up the hill (so over walking at this point)
• Walk in the door at 6:15 pm

Now, one might say that is WAY too much travel just to see a movie and eat some pie. I totally agree. A simple movie and slice of pie felt like a huge day for me because I was gone for nearly 6 hours; however, I don’t get to catch up with friends very often so every now and again all the trains, buses, ferries and walking can definitely be worthwhile. Overall, I think we all had a really good time. It was a beautiful day and it was good to get out of the house and catch up with friends. On the other hand, days like Saturday really make me miss having a car and a 2 minute drive to my BFF’s house.

Registry Events October 14, 2009

Andrew and I most likely will not be registering for gifts for the wedding. You see we have this challenge… if we register in the US, we have to find a way to get all the gifts back to Australia. If we register in Australia, no one in the US will be able to order the gifts online because ONLINE SHOPPING SUCKS HERE!

This makes me oh so sad. For years I’ve dreamed of walking around my favorites home good stores with one of those scanner guns selecting everything I’ve ever wanted! Anyone who knows me knows that I’d MUCH rather go on a shopping spree in Crate and Barrel or Pottery Barn than Nordstroms or the Gap. But no… no registry for us.

Lately I’ve discovered yet another reason to be bummed about this… REGISTRY PARTIES! OMG I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve received from Macy’s, Crate and Barrel and Bloomingdales all asking me to join them for these awesome registry events. My most recent invite states “Scan your registry, sip wine, sample savory hors d’ouevres and indulge your sweet tooth with cake tastings. Take in bridal fashion and take home a fabulous gift bag. No purchase necessary.”

Um… yes please.

A night eating, drinking and shopping for housewares without spending a penny? It’s like my dream come true. Even if I don’t expect to get any gifts off of a registry, can I still just show up to these events and enjoy free food all while creating my dream registry? I could just scout out every event for the next year and every time I’m back in CA I’ll show up at the store using a different alias and createa new regsitry. It could be so fun, but it could also be quite depressing when I realize I won’t actually be getting any of the stuff I register for. At least there would be free wine.

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.

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.

Did I Mention… October 5, 2009

…that Andrew and I bought an apartment?

We’ve been in the process of buying the apartment since December 08. It was only completed in August and the last few months have been HELL in terms of settling. I’ll spare you the details but I think the words “bank bureaucracy” can sum it up nicely.  I didn’t even tell most of my family about the place until this last month because I was too worried it wouldn’t work out for some reason. But it did!

So time to cross #47- Own a Property- off my 101 list! WOOHOO!

 Oh and while I’m at it, I’ll cross off a few more that I’ve accomplished in the last few weeks:

#68- See another big production musical/play on stage. I saw Wicked last month with some of Andrew’s family and it was great. Honestly, as good as it was- I don’t think it was AS rave worthy as some of my Wicked obsessed friends back home made it out to be. Awesome story line and great music, but Miss Saigon is still my favorite.

#91- Get an Aussie Driver’s license. This one had actually been deleted from my list because I didn’t think it was possible. Technically you need to be on Aussie soil for 6 months (without leaving) in order to legally get one. Or… you can just let your American license expire and then go to the RTA with your fingers crossed and hope they give you one anyways. Luckily, when your overseas license expires, they DO give you one. Too bad the picture sucks ass.