crystal clear

oh wow. so i got a little off track there for a bit and haven't been writing to all my "fans". that's alright, nothing too exciting has been going on over here!

i'm still working for IT and not really knowing much about IT... but i'm learning a little bit i suppose. but the perks of working during the holiday season have really been paying off! i had a christmas party at a nice little italian restaurant in potts point, and a 2.5 hour luncheon last friday, and another luncheon next monday. i'm off for christmas, boxing day (what the heck?) and new years day. the office is really quiet because over here, they think holiday season means going on holiday! a lot of people are away for 2 -4 weeks over the holiday season! it's crazy! but they do get a lot more vacation time than we do in the states... lucky them!

the past few weekends have been really nice weather. which meant going to the beach and laying outside in the park that is basically my backyard! now, when i had gone to the beach in the past, the water was way too cold to go in for a dip, but this last time, it was definitely warm enough for my standards. and, i have never seen cleaner water! honestly, it was so clear and blue and even if i was in up to my chest, i could see clear to my feet in that water. it's puts the jersey shore to shame. it was lovely! i'm hoping this weekend turns into another beach weekend!

alright, i'm off to work. back to the daily grind.

happy thanksgiving!!

look!! i baked you a pumpkin pie for thanksgiving!!  psych.  i baked that pie for myself and my house guests.  from scratch.  and i must say that it was glorious.  absolutely lovely.

we had a few good friends over for thanksgiving and made ourselves a fairly traditional feast.  we even said grace, what we are thankful for, and played a good ol' fashioned game of scrabble.  it was a very comfy, very low-key thanksgiving.

so happy (belated) thanksgiving, america!  i'm sure there were heaps of people celebrating thanksgiving in foreign countries, like me.  sweet deal.  i don't think anyone knew it was thanksgiving in australia... they don't know what's good for them sometimes!  they should celebrate too.  it's one of the best holidays.  haha. 

i just have to say that i was thankful for skype.  without which i would not have been able to feel like i spent some of thanksgiving with my fam.  i woke up so early for them, they are lucky!  but really, skype is a godsend (and really amazing technology... how do people invent such things!?!)

and it's now december.  2008 is winding down.  it's the holiday season.  santa is on tv (on his surf board or in his summer gear) and the christmas music is playing constantly in the mall.  i'm looking forward to possibly spending christmas on the beach with a bbq.  and i don't think i'm dreaming of a white christmas this year...

stay warm new jersey.

anyone up for some kayaking?

this was my favorite quote at an exhibit that i went to last weekend at the new south wales library.  the exhibit was called wisdom.  google it.  it's really interesting and i thoroughly enjoyed it.  anyway, what you read to your left is very true.

i feel distant from home today.  very distant.  and i just got directions from google maps from here to home, and it's a 16,214 mile distance (longer than necessary since it's not a direct straight line...) and it includes kayaking.  should take about 56 days and 5 hours by car and kayak through australia, japan, hawaii, and then the big chunk of the u.s.  it looks like a really interesting trip.  it is pretty far, huh?

keeping my brain sharp

right before i travelled to sydney, i started to read a few books for fun (something completely unheard of while i was in college).  and ever since i've been here, i've continued this new habit of mine thinking that i need to keep the brain juices flowing and not loose the intelligence that i paid (and will continue to pay.... grrr student loans) a fine penny for.  right now, i'm nearing the very end of a book that might be my absolute favorite book of all times!  (my lil' sister recommended it... props to her)  and i've joined this online thing called shelfari.com (check it out if you're into reading) where you can post what you've read, are reading, and want to read as well as rate them and stuff (a friend of mine invited me to join this).  and i love the site too because it helps to find other books that you might be interested in.  but anyway, if you know of any good books that you might think i'd be interested in... let me know because i'm almost through with my current read.

i know... boring post for this week considering i'm a traveller... but i haven't done much this week.  just wake, work, walk, read, sleep, repeat.

oh actually, the only other thing i did that was quite touristy was going to the market.  paddy's market.  it's really close to chinatown and it's just a giant market that you can buy almost anything imaginable from.  most things are pretty cheap, but you definitely need patience to go to the market and come out a winner.  it's the famous market in sydney though (but there are many many other markets too... one right by the fountain where i live, there's one in the rocks on saturdays... etc.  they just love their markets in sydney!!)  

oh and while leaving the market there was a street performer (also very popular in sydney... and i'm not too fond of this fad) beatboxing.  he was pretty good and we listened for maybe 30 seconds... then of course he asked us for money as we started walking away... and when we didn't throw money into his hat or bag or whatever, he may or may not have flipped us the bird.  lame.  so so lame.  and that's why i don't like street performers.  granted, some do have pretty amazing acts... like this one body contortionist that fits her entire body into a relatively small glass box on a pedestal.  amazing talent, but i still don't like street performers crowding up an area and asking for money...

yup that sums up my weekend/week.

ps. i heard the giants beat the eagles last weekend (it was monday daytime when the game was on here so i was working) and so...  go big blue!!

ohhh culture

this week surely was an interesting one being abroad.  what with the election AND halloween.  it was all so much to handle!  

like i said for halloween, i went on a ghost tour.  dressed up a little, looked like a freak and most aussies really didn't know why.  they just don't celebrate one of the best holidays!  the tour was pretty corny, but still fun!  the tour guide made everyone wear a cape and it was about 2 hours and then there was a halloween party afterwards!  i had high hopes for candy corn... but no luck.  overall a fun night!

thennnn... there was the sydney open event where they opened up a bunch of buildings and things and gave guided tours.  the really fancy looking chairs are from the parliament building!  how awesome would it be if that big velvety red one was your desk chair at work!  ah... very cool.  there were a lot of other awesome chairs to view throughout the day... haha.  but really, a lot of the buildings had a lot of history behind them and others were modern and eco-friendly.

tuesday was the big melbourne cup!  (a big deal of a horse raise in australia).  it took place during the day and my new job took a 2 hour break to eat a catered lunch and drink wine and watch the 3 minute horse raise in the board room.  someone set up an office wide sweep also.  they were pretty pumped for the event.  an underdog won by a hair... it was shocking.

while at work on wednesday, i paid attention to the constant updates on the election.  also, the election made the front page of the free paper for a couple days and the aussies seemed genuinely interested.  i got a lot of questions at work about politics... most of which i tried to avoid.  i don't really talk politics.  i'm excited for change in the states when i get back!

i think that's it for the play by play.  i've really grown accustomed to life here.

talk about a walk...

this week was full of interesting walks... the first was last saturday along the coast, from bondi to tamarama.  luckily, we caught a lovely day... warm and sunny!  the reason we made a special effort to do this walk was for the sea sculptures!  (see giant lightbulb made out of silver butterflies... where liz and i have just had a brilliant ah-hah moment!)  there were some crazy sculptures along the way.  luckily i appreciate most art, but i can't say that all of my friends do... haha.  but, basically it was a nice walk and interesting to see.  this is a yearly ordeal along the costal walk, and luckily we caught it!  new jersey should do something like this!!  the only thing that would have made it an even better event is would have been sand sculptures and sand castles!  that would have been the best!

and that was just the first walk of the weekend!  it was fairly short though.  the second one, however, i cannot say the same... it was a whopping 25km walk.  that's about 15.5 miles!  it's also a yearly thing here in sydney and it's to promote health.  it's called the seven bridges walk because it takes you over seven of the major bridges in sydney.  pretty awesome, huh?

well, a few of the bridges were cool.  definitely including the sydney harbour bridge in the cool ones.  and some were just your average bridges.  anyways, it was definitely a long walk... about a 6 hour walk!  8:45am start.  i sure did feel healthy after that one!!

as you can see there are some nice views and some great photos of me (and liz)!  oh and i got that great shot off the harbour bridge where you can also see the opera house in the background.  i know... i know... i'm just soooo cool.

in other news, i had a phone interview and a face to face meeting with someone from the big australian corporation about the office job i wanted.  and woo hooooo!!!  i'm now employed full-time.  normal hours, good pay.  oh yeahhhh.  i start on monday at the new job.  i'll be working for the help desk in the it department.  it'll definitely be something different for me, but it'll still be great office experience.  and this role is for a few months.

halloween is tomorrow.  nobody here really celebrates, but we're planning on getting spooked!  more on that next week.

same old, same old

weather in sydney this week has been pretty lame.  not enough sun, temperatures too low.  ehhh, what can you do.

basically, i gave notice at my job a while back because i decided i wasn't as happy as i have the potential to be.  so i just finished work at the place this week.  it's pretty sweet knowing that i don't have to go back there to work anymore!  no worries though, i have another part time job for now at a pizza place with my roommate... and get this!?!  it's called "the new jersey pizza company" and has all these different pizzas and meals and things named after places in jersey.  they definitely got a few things wrong... but they did give it a good try!  it just opened in september and so now they are going to have a second employee from jersey to make the place more authentic!  it's a really nice atmosphere and very chill.  it's a gourmet kind of pizza place... not like your normal jersey pizza place.  and it's fairly classy.  should be fun.  i also already went on an interview for an office job.  we'll see where that goes...

we had two visitors from jersey stay at our apartment this week.  friend's of liz from work.  it was really fun having visitors!  a nice change of pace.  and i got to play tour guide a bit.  being slightly knowledgeable about where you live is great for when you have guests who are unfamiliar with the area!  lots of fun... therefore, more guests would be appreciated in the future.  any takers?  haha.

that's about it for now.  nothing too new and exciting.  i'm still alive and well.  just fyi.

i always knew i was born to be an explorer

and this week has definitely been a week of exploration!  i walked to circular quay (where the sydney opera house is located) for the first time and, to my surprise, walked through the botanical gardens to get there.  the walk to get to circular quay is quite beautiful... i walk past old navy ships, along woolloomooloo bay (yes, that's really how you spell the name of the suburb/bay and yes, you pronounce it phonetically), up into the botanical gardens and from there, i can take one of many routes.  this week i did this walk three different times and saw three completely different parts of the botanical gardens which i hadn't explored before.  the walk is absolutely superb.

not only did i explore with the walk to circular quay, i also decided to take a sydney ferry for the first time.  only a short distance though.  i hopped on by the opera house and got off in darling harbour by the aquarium.  (it's a short distance and only a 20 min. walk probably, but i just felt like being on the water!)  the trip took about an hour and i was able to see a different view of the opera house, went under the bridge and past luna park.  the picture to the left, by the way, is of the entrance to luna park.  it's kind of creepy but i determined that it is the picture of the week.  luna park is the theme park in sydney.  it does not compare closely to six flags.  the tallest ride is the ferris wheel.  at the same time, i hope to make into luna park for a fun evening!  i love ferris wheels.... anyway, the ferry was  a nice ride (and didn't cost me anything as it is included with my weekly travel pass for the redline.)

what else did i explore... oh, i went into cadman's cottage which is the oldest building in sydney built in 1816 and used as the coxswain's barracks.  it was pretty cool.  nice and old and a piece of history.  i love this type of exploring... learning something about the past and appreciating what is left to tell the story.  and actually, in november i'm going to be taking part in an event in sydney called sydney open 08 and the city is opening 50 sites (both old and historical as well as new and contemporary architectural sites) for the public to explore on just the one day.  should be really interesting.

that just about wraps up my week... i wish i was going to my college's homecoming game this weekend... i'm a bit jealous of everyone who is going... but sydney is pretty cool too, i guess.  haha.  one evening this week i felt like i was back in america.  the us navy was in sydney for a few days and when i was out somewhere with liz, we found ourselves completely surrounded by american accents.  it was so strange and familiar and pretty cool.  they also played some r&b at the place which never happens because the aussies apparently love their dance techno-influenced music (which i have been growing to actually like, go figure).  the sailors' behaviors also screamed american... you have no idea.  oh, america.

2 months already!

i cannot believe that i have been living in australia for 2 months now!  time is moving too quickly!!  when i first came here, i was wearing sweaters, a coat, anything warm that i owned... and now i'm finding myself in t-shirts, a bathing suit, and without a jacket (most days).  the weather is getting much warmer at a rapid pace.  we've had 3 days since my arrival in the 90s!

since i'm a beach bum at my finest, i think i'll go whenever it's warm enough and i'm free of other responsibilities.  this is bondi beach.  i wish i had a panoramic setting to really show what it looks like.  it's absolutely beautiful.  a much smaller beach than those in jersey though!  i can't wait to take a surfing lesson and get in the water with the surfers!  it's incredible.

just figured i could be lame and write something in the sand.  but it's also true.  i do love Sydney.  it's diversity, relaxation, and freeing!  it's also huge and i have stayed in the main area of sydney nearest the cbd where all the action goes on.  there are markets in the streets open on the weekends, festivals planned in different suburbs all the time, and on any given day i definitely hear at least 5 different languages!  i just love it.

since i'm planning on living in sydney for a while, then i'm definitely going to try and see everything i possibly can in sydney (starting with the free stuff... haha).  luckily, i received two great city guides as going away gifts before i left the states and i've started to read them thoroughly.  they are really going to be playing a key part in my sightseeing!

today i had off from work because of yom kippur and decided to utilize one of the guide books!  i went to the royal botanical gardens in the city with my kiwi friend from work.  we took a walking tour, which was not nearly as lame as expected and definitely educational!  luckily, it was a beautiful day (about 70 degrees and sunny).  

here, i'm hugging the oldest and tallest tree in the park!  aren't i just so cute?

so there is this type of coniferous tree that was though to be extinct for thousands and thousands of years.  buuuut in the 90s, someone in australia stumbled upon this tree.  it goes way back.  way way back.  before the dinosaurs even.  and you can only see a small piece of it behind this statue thing, but the statue is part of the exhibit.  this piece of art has an engraving that says "i wish" because it used to be said that if you walk three steps forward, three steps back and made a wish in front of the tree, it would come true.  something like that, i can't remember exactly.  i wasn't giving my full 100% attention.  anyway, there are a bunch of these no longer extinct trees in australia, but only a few people know their locations and are keeping them a secret from the general public so that they aren't damaged/chopped down.  go plant a tree!

now this one is at the entrance to the palace garden (?) at the botanical gardens.  there were many a statute like this one, but she looked like a better friend than the one across from here that was missing an arm.  she was pretty cool.  very shy though, didn't talk much.  hah.

mmm... smell so gooooood.  

i <3>

look how huge this tree is.  awesome.  just awesome.

dun dun duuuuuun... a few pictures!

the last of the states for the time being.  we decided to live it up in the airport while we waited to board the plane for our longggg trip.

awww... look at my little friend!  what a cute koala.  but pretty darn smelly.

out by the bridge!  lovely day. (clearly these aren't exactly in order)

feeding a kangaroo!!  they are such funny animals.

giant turtle.  this one is for 1884.  i just know how much you all love turtles.

liz & i at one of the gorgeous vineyards in hunter valley.

looks like i made a friend at the zoo!  haha.

and one of my personal favorites... me outside of the opera house!  love it.

another week.

first i'd like to say that i have come to the conclusion that i must stop working so much! i've worked myself into a cold and had to take a skip a day at work this week! it was definitely a sign. additionally, my promotion (and pay raise) will be official as of monday meaning i can work less hours and make the same money as i am now! watch out australia, i'm about to have much much more fun!

i've noticed customers at working saying 'ta' which means thank you and i just think that's strange. it sounds like they're just mumbling or something. and i've started saying 'heaps and heaps' and i've never said that quite as often as i do now! i'm picking up some lingo. another phrase often heard is 'do you reckon?' but i might have already mentioned that in one of these postings.

i was walking up the road today after work on my way to the train station listening to my ipod and i suddenly had a wonderful feeling of happiness just watching all the different people walk by and even the construction on the road and waiting for lights to change made me content. it was great and i think i need to start doing more people watching in my free time... maybe this saturday at the beach when it'll be 25 degrees (celsius of course). ahhh i can't wait for my first day at the beach here!

i honestly made a good attempt at finally posting pictures. i put them on my flashdrive, took it to the internet cafe, and really tried to finally get them to post. but still no luck! grrrrr !&$#^*. will keep trying.

home sweet home

and by home sweet home, i mean i moved out of the really awesome (noooooot) hostel that i had been staying in. and thank gosh! privacy was overdue! this move happened on wednesday morning. so i'm not really unpacked or with all the household items necessary to life just yet, but there's saturday for that! and i can't wait to get a few things for the place. i love it. if you want my address to send me snail mail or something (wink wink) send me an e-mail and i'll get it to you. no worries.

went to the movies on cheap tuesday this week. by cheap they mean $9. which is very cheap for australia. and i saw baby mama. and the film takes place in philly. so i was feeling a bit nostalgic. and i got excited when i saw things in the movie that i recognized. and i also thought it was laugh out loud funny funny. but the girls from work definitely didn't find it nearly as amusing... but maybe they just don't get stupid american comedy. and they probably don't watch saturday night live to truly understand tina. anyways, the evening was a success and happy times all around

big jewish holiday is coming up. my place of employment is in high gear for preparation at this point. the challas will be sold like crazy. it's all the talk. but it's not until the 29th. and then there are some days off during the month after, which will be such a gorgeous thing

i'm still using an internet cafe. but at this new apartment, we pick up a wireless signal from this small cafe next door and can use that fo' free, but it disconnects when the cafe closes, and i have crazy messy hours and don't know when i'll be home to use that connection... i'll have to make it work

annnnd, what else? oh, my self-exploration thing that i've got going on a bit has evolved to pilates this week. i can't focus on what my joints are doing. the instructor said "focus on your joints and not on what you're going to have for dinner after class" and so my mind went straight to "what is for dinner?". better luck next time.

i'm glad to see i'm not writing this thing for my own amusement. miss you all. xoxo.

time flies

so that whole "i'm writing a post for this thing every thursday" thing doesn't really work out too well if you forget what day of the week it is because time just flies by and you're busy doing other things... like working an insane amount of hours in one week.

anyway, i finally had a day off from work last week! so on my glorious day free from responsibility, i went bowling with friends. it was the coolest bowling alley i've ever seen. but just because the alley was awesome definitely didn't mean that my bowling skills were... eeeeee. i also took a yoga class in the evening to "find my inner peace" and i learned that yoga is muchhh more difficult than it appears to be. i was standing on my shoulders at one point and man was it tough. i think i'll do it again this week.

i have made friends with a fairly large group of irish people through one of the girls i work with. they are a mighty fun group of people to hang out with and every night out with them smells like a good night. they're going to brisbane (up the east coast) in a few weeks to stay for the rest of their trip... so i think i found a place to stay when i take the trip up the coast! and it's really great making friends with people from all over the world because it offers the potential to visit some new country for a bit and have some contacts there as well! ireland sounds like it would be a great place to visit in the future. :)

living in the cross (well on darlinghurst rd. actually) is really getting old and i have made some strong opinions on some socially deviant behaviors that appear to occur quite frequently in the cross. wednesday is the day of the big move (really just a walk through a courtyard) and i am pumped! finally i'll have my own room again and privacy. i'm really going to appreciate that as well as the dresser, closet, kitchen and large living private living room. can't waiiiiit.

that's all i've got for now. it was a beautiful day today and spring is really getting nice here! i can't wait to go to the beach soon!!

oh the weekly happenings

there really haven't been too many happening events over here in the past week... let's see what i can think of.

i went out to this really fun place in bondi junction called the tea gardens. a whole loooooot of irish people seem to hang around there. and let me tell you, it's easier to understand someone whose first language is not english than it is to understand an irish person. geez louise. i swear that some irish person was talking to me and every other word out of my mouth was what? and then after asking them to repeat themselves twice i would just nod and pretend i understood them. ha! yeah right. i just hope i wasn't agreeing to absurd ideas or comments.

in addition to the many many irish folk around my area right now, i have noticed that there are also tons of germans occupying this country at the moment! backtrack a bit, i moved out of bondi into a hostel (which for anyone who might not know exactly what a hostel is... cough some of my family members cough... it is a dorm style living arrangement). i'm staying at said hostel for 2 weeks and change until the 17th when i move into the new place. we will be having a housewarming party for all of you who are interested. no need to rsvp, just show up! anyway, we wound up having a german roommate for a few days at this hostel and everyday ends up being one big german fest. they invade the room! it's insane. and now i work with two german girls, and liz also works with some germs. i'm telling you, being german is in.

about the hostel - not my favorite type of accommodation, not gonna lie. but it's cheap enough. and we're in king's cross. which i would call a very controversial area. i have seen some crazy things. transvestites, "vip lounges", and some other strange things. but it's also part classy. probably a lot of fun on weekends (which i will find out this weekend if i am up for going out!) most people call this area the cross, just fyi.

what else do i have in my life right now... work. well, it seems i've been promoted!!! i'm a supervisor. which means a bit more ching ching. always a plus. and it'll look better on a resume. and to think that this job was originally only part-time! not at all... 40 hours plus per week. keeps me out of trouble though. and i'm learning a bunch of things about the jewish culture.

now that i'm not in america, i'm a bit more interested in american politics. also, living without E! is difficult because i don't know what is going on with all of our celebrities. i miss certain foods that were readily available at home as well as the ability to drive. i'm just finding out that i have a passion for reading, which is wonderful because my brain needs some positive stimulation. there's probably more i could say, but i have to work at 7 am and serve hundreds of challas to the community of bondi.

i swear there are pictures to come. but i'm with limited internet currently. and eventually, it won't be so limited! and additionally, notice that i have a trend of updating this thing on what is my thursday. just thought i'd point that out.

i've almost been here a month! i absolutely love it!!!!

things are lookin' good

this week in my aussie world...

i spent my entire saturday searching for an apartment!  i saw countless apartments and... drumroll please... we have a place!!  it's actually an awesome deal.  two bedrooms, fully fully furnished, in a fun area near kings cross, still close to the city and close enough to the beach (just two train stops away), and get this... it is serviced once a week meaning that our bathroom and kitchen get a little cleaning and the garbage gets taken out daily as well!  the deposit is down, and the bond is about to be paid this saturday.  we move in on september 17th.

i've been working a bit at the cafe/bagel shop.  and i decided that it's pretty decent for now.  good wage, good hours, i get fed daily, free coffee, free bread, fun co-workers.  it will definitely do for now!  some customers are difficult, but that's to be expected.  i'm making friends with my co-workers who are from: israel, new zealand, ireland... all travelers like me.

i definitely need to start doing some more adventurous things with my time.  once i'm more settled in (and in the new apartment in september) i'm sure i'll be more apt to exploring!

let's see...  some fun bits of information

-its 'how are you going?' instead of 'how are you doing?'

-sprinkles or jimmies as they are termed at home are called hundreds and thousands here

-cookies are mainly called biscuits (at least where i'm working)

-they call garbage rubbish all the time... which i think is very classy

more scintillating thoughts

here it goes...

i did some training at a bagel shop practically a block away from the apartment last week.  and they hired me!  so i have a weird little job for now in this jewish bagel place and i make lattes, sandwiches, fill bagel orders, etc. and i can't mix the dairy with the non-dairy products and i can't bring any meat into the shop.  and i officially start on sunday.

earlier this week though, i was called back from two different places for interviews.  one was a recruiter's office (a recruiter basically finds temp jobs for you and sends you on interviews) and the other was a marketing company that helps ngos by doing face-to-face fundraising.  i first went to the interview for the face-to-face fundraising yesterday morning.  and funny thing... it wasn't an interview, it was the job.  they didn't ask me anything about my resume, my experience, nothing.  then they ran me over to pitt mall (a little shopping area) and had me start harassing people to listen to me so that i could guilt them into donating monthly to a prominent ngo that has many programs for australia.  i'm paid by commission for this job only... not ideal.  but i did make two "sales" in the earlier part of the day!  let me tell ya, i was working with two real characters all day, though, who happen to also be the only two employees of the sydney "team" right now... pretty sketch.  i think i'll pass on that for now.

i left "work" early to make it to my next scheduled interview with the recruitment office.  thankfully i had this appointment so i could leave the pitt mall.  my interview at the recruitment office was a breeze, i took a few tests (typing and microsoft word competency) and passed with flying colors.  and hopefully my recruiter will be able to find me a sahhhhweeet office job in the central business district of sydney making the big bucks.  (i went on one interview for a position for one month as a temp personal assistant, but low and behold, i did not receive good news, but that's alright.  better luck next time).

apartment searching is tough, but it's going.  fingers crossed, we'll find a new place this weekend.

what else... i went to the museum of contemporary art and reminisced about my experiencing art class from last semester.  i liked the museum, it was quirky.

something i've learned:

-aussies like to talk to americans because of our accents

-some aussies, once hearing your accent, will call you a yank.  i have yet to determine if this is a good thing or not.  maybe it just is what it is.

i'm sure you're dying to know

seeing as i have been down under for about a week now, i'm sure that you're dying to know what i have been up to.  well... so far it hasn't been too too adventurous.  

i have settled into my apartment in bondi.  it's a ten min. walk to the beach, and a ten min. walk to bondi junction (where there are shops, a mall, and the train station).  by train, i'm only ten more min. from central sydney.  i looooove that i can (and have to) walk everywhere!!  we have this apartment for a month, and then we have to move!  and i am in need of a job.  positive cash flow = always a good thing.  apartment searching and job hunting have been two of my key activities (and will continue to be for a short while).  don't get me wrong though, i'm having a lot of fun and i've been relaxing a lot too.

things i've learned:

-you must look to the right first when crossing the street because people here drive on the wrong side of the road.

-'cheers' is a very commonly used form of 'goodbye'.

-on the toilets... there are two separate flush buttons: the one on the left is for #1, on the right #2

-there are many many many birds here.  the ones outside our apartment sound like dying cats at 7am! haha

-they don't have coffee like we have coffee.  they don't actually have what we call coffee.  so if you order a 'coffee' they look at you funny because 'coffee' can mean so many things.  so now i order a latte to avoid the crazy looks.

pictures to come.  promise.

ps. the opera house is currently my favorite site in sydney!!