One flu over the Aussie's nest

Normal flu. Check. Swine flu. Check. Weird Australian strain of flu. Check

Man I hate getting sick. What I hate getting worse than anything is the flu, and I seem to get it seriously at least once a year. You would think by now I would get flu shots every year, but honestly I cannot even tell you the last time I got one of those. I'll go ahead and do what every child does and blame it on my parents. Maybe not both, because one parent gets flu shots every year, the other one does not believe in them. The problem is I cannot remember which is which. I think my Dad is the one that believes. He works in the medical field so I can imagine it would be him. Although, Barbie girl does work closely with patients so it could be her. Then again I cannot really see her being bothered with a little thing like a flu shot. Either way it is their fault that I have the flu right now. Yes, even though I am 25,336KM (I did just google map this. Also, it gave me driving directions which I find a bit odd because I do not remember anyone building a bridge through the Pacific Ocean. Not to worry I don't think I'll be driving home anytime soon as it would take me 56 days and 1 hour.) away from them they are still to blame.

I first really started feeling sick on Saturday. I thought it was something entirely different since I had a cyst rupture on my ovary that day. Yeah awesome. I have had a stupid cyst rupture before so it wasn't as big of a deal to me, although I know I totally freaked Adam out. He thought I was dying, and of course me being me would not let him take me to the hospital. Anyway, I felt so sick afterwards which continued into Sunday. I was stuck either in bed or on the couch relying on Adsy to take care of me. Poor me.

I did go to both my classes on Monday, because I was feeling a little bit better. Thinking back I'm pretty sure I infected everyone I came into contact with on Monday. Oops. The flu is so sneaky. It makes you think you are fine, but really you are at your most contagious point, so you go out and pass it along to everyone. Again I say oops and sorry to all of you I saw on Monday. I didn't mean it.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was again either stuck in bed or on the couch. I watched a lot of dumb TV and movies, including The Love Guru and The Brothers Grimm. I will go ahead and say I was out of my mind for choosing to watch these movies, but then again we all have a little control over what we subject ourselves to do we not? Anyway, don't judge me.

Today (Thursday) I was an idiot and decided it would be okay if I went and worked at this place where I got a very casual job, The Messy Spot. The Messy Spot is a place where people can take their kids to sit and paint. I told the owner I would help out a few days for some extra cash and today was my first day. Big mistake. I had no right to get out of the comfort of my own bed. Adsy even told me not to go, but did I listen? NO! Now I am paying for it. I came home feeling worse than I did yesterday. Oh well at least I do not have to go back tomorrow.

So now I am sitting at the computer; playing stupid games like Mahjong's Titans, Facebook stalking all of you that are asleep right now, and googling how far I am from Conroe. Fun. Adsy is off having fun at indoor soccer and I had to stay home. I am seriously hoping I will be well by the weekend so I can at least enjoy it.

P.S. In case you were wondering it would take me 205 days and 14 hours to walk home to Conroe from here. I knew you all were wondering

Guess who is coming to town?!

It's not Santa, its ME!!!!

I have booked flights to join my fellow Texans in Texas for the month of December!! I will fly in on December 3rd and fly out on December 27th, giving me a nice long vacation with friends and family.

Originally, I was not going to come home for Christmas, but in discussing it with Adam and my parents I thought why not? I have nothing else to do during that time off from school and it would be the perfect opportunity to see everyone. Unfortunately, Adsy will not be joining me on this trip. I really wish he could especially since he has not spent much time with my family, but it doesn't work out with work and whatnot. He'll probably join me on the next trip home whenever that may be.

I am really excited to come home, and for such a long time too! Practically a whole month! I cannot wait to see my family and friends, but the person I am most excited to see is my little nephew Thad Rossmann! I only got about 3 days with him after he was born, so December will be my time to catch up with him. I cannot wait!!

So let us start thinking of fun things to do when I get to Texas in December. Definitely lots and lots of Mexican food! I also will have to think of how I am going to get around Texas when I am there. Maybe my loving mother will let me borrow her car :)

See y'all in December!!

One year ago today...

When I was on a plane flying to Santa Fe exactly a year ago, I had no idea I would be meeting the person I would eventually fly around the world to be with. It is funny to think it has already been a year since we met each other. In my mind I have only been here 3 months so it doesn't seem right. I forget all of those months spent getting up at 5 and 6am to talk for an hour before Adam went to bed at 10 or 11pm. Oh the time difference. I don't really forget them, I just don't think about them much, because frankly I am glad those days are over.

I am so happy to be with Adam, and I know that I have made the right choice in moving over here. The transition from only seeing Adam over Skype for an hour each day to seeing him everyday has been so easy and nice. It really makes a difference to be in each others presence.

Here are a few things Adam is really good at or I just love about him:
• He is really good at making me dinner and making sure I’m always properly fed, because he knows first hand what I’m like when I am hungry.
• He is for the most part clean, or at least as clean as I am, although he is the worst at leaving drawers open, which drives me crazy. (I think this was passed down from my mother who hated walking into the kitchen and having all of the cupboards and drawers open.)
• Adam is also really good at making me feel better whenever I’m upset, and he is really perceptive about when I am upset.
• He is also good at making me laugh. He thinks he is so funny, and I find this amusing because a lot of times he has to explain his jokes, and everyone knows if you have to explain your jokes they are not funny….
• Every morning when he gets up for work, and I am still asleep in bed, he covers me with an extra blanket so I don’t get cold. I love this.
• We have fun just sitting and watching movies or TV shows together. (We have gone through all of the Harry Potters and I have now gotten him on to True Blood)
• He picks me up from school even when he does not have class that night, so I don’t have to take the bus home.

That is my tiny ode to Adam and our relationship together. I could go on and on, but I don't feel it is necessary. I wish I could say Adam and I had a great day celebrating our one year anniversary together, but we really didn't. I got sick and had to have Adam take care of me. At least we did get to celebrate early when we went to WICKED.

Finally, I would like to end this post with a story.
I was sitting at the computer one day, zoned out as usual, looking up the bus schedule when all of a sudden Adsy exploded through the door yelling “RAAAAAHHHHH” I turned around and yelled “F**K! F**K! F**K!” then burst into tears because he had scared me so badly.

And that my friends is what it is like living with Adam. Happy 1 year Babe! I love you!

Day after the show......

On yesterday's post about Aussie music I told you I was going to a concert for a band I had never heard, MM9. Turns out, I not only have heard their music, I have seen them live in concert. MM9 was the opening band for Karnivool when we went to see them in Canberra. If you recall the post about my time spent in Canberra you will understand why I did not remember seeing/hearing them (i.e. I was extremely intoxicated, the image of me lying on the bathroom floor should come to mind right about now.)

Sarah, one of Adsy's friends girlfriend, invited me out for a girls night out with her friends. We met at a pub for dinner and drinks and then once we were sufficiently drunk we headed to the concert.

There were three bands playing last night, but we only made it for the last two, The Dead Love and MM9. The Dead Love did a good job, I don't really remember their songs, but they were good. They are a three person band, and I'm pretty sure all three of them were wearing the same American Apparel white shirt. I pointed it out to the bass player afterwards. Yes, I really did.

MM9 was awesome. The venue was small, but they had a pretty good crowd going for them. All of the girls I was with were gushing over the drummer and I personally could not get over how much the lead singer looked like David Cook from American Idol.

The other thing to note about this concert were the amount of helmet cams. I think I saw three last night, at least. It was crazy. At least three people, bought helmets, duck taped video cameras to them, and then walked around filming the show. Since Adsy has been developing his own helmet cam for surfing, I feel like I have been surrounded by them.

All in all it was a fun night. I stayed out pretty late, and some how managed to come home with a canvas bag with the Dead Love logo on it. I think the bass guitarist told me it would save the whales. (I'm pretty sure this was after I pointed out the matching shirt thing)

Aussie Music

There is a radio station here called Triple J and it is probably the best radio station I have ever come across. Although, thinking about it more maybe I just really like Australian music. Who knows, but this station in particular plays a great range of music. From Justin Timberlake to The Presidents of the United States of America to Marina and the Diamonds, and everything in between.

Another thing Triple J does is they record all lives shows played in Australia and then they play those live shows on the air. Its awesome. One weekend they had "the impossible music festival" where they played recordings of bands' live sets. Adam told me its called impossible, because it would be impossible to get all the bands together for a weekend.

Here is a list of Australian bands and one of their songs I have been enjoying. I realized in looking up the links for all of these bands/songs a lot of them are disco/electro-pop type music. I have no idea but for some reason this is what I have been in to lately.

• Art vs Science (Sydney)-Magic Fountain
• Washington (Melbourne)-Rich kids
• Tame Implala (Perth)-Lucidity
• Miami Horror (Melbourne)-I look to you
• Bliss en Eso (Sydney)-The Sea is Rising
• Cut Copy (Melbourne)-Time Stands Still
• Midnight Juggernauts (Melbourne)-This new technology

So far I have been to two concerts both of which I really enjoyed. I'm going to another tonight, which is why I guess I'm writing this post. I have music on my mind. All of the bands I hadn't/haven't heard of before I got here. Karnivool and Dead letter Circus were great, and I have not heard any of MM9's music. I'll have to write a separate piece on that tomorrow after the show.

• Karnivool (Perth)-Lifelike
• Dead Letter Circus (Brisbane)-One Step
• MM9 (Sydney)-Train

Again this is just a tiny sampling of the music I've been hearing over the past 3 months, but I wanted to let you guys in on it. Check them out and enjoy with me.

Sculpture by the Sea

Back in the beginning of July I received an email through my UNSW account about an internship with a company called Sculpture by the Sea. School had not started yet, and seeing as I didn’t have anything else to do at the time I responded back with interest. I met with Ali, who coincidentally is also in the Art Administration program, and who I currently have a class with. Small world. I am one of two unpaid sales interns, and I work one day a week on Wednesdays helping with whatever needs to be done. As of right now, this generally includes data entry, putting artists’ CVs and biographies together, or labelling pictures with the appropriate artists’ names. My time there can get a little boring, but I know once it gets closer to the show it will be much more exciting.

Sculpture by the Sea, or SxS as it is usually referred as, was the brainchild of a guy named David. Originally a lawyer, David started SxS 14 years ago. Obviously I have not seen the show, because it usually happens at the end of October through mid November, but everyone I have talked about it with has given positive feedback. The show is a two week exhibition of about a 100+ carefully chosen artists whose artwork is installed along the beautiful coastal walk from Bondi to Tamarama. It is free to the public, so anyone can walk and be met with a huge sculpture coming out of no where. Besides the Bondi exhibition, SxS has two other shows during the year, one outside of Perth the other in Denmark.

Along with their outdoor sculpture artists are asked to make at least one smaller work for an indoor exhibition. This is beneficial to the artist because it allows them more exposure to the public, and also provides another opportunity for an artist to sell their work. During the exhibition this is where I will be spending most of my time.

This year’s Bondi exhibition goes from October 28th-Novemeber 14th. Check out the website if you’d like to get a better understanding of Sculpture by the Sea.

Mid-Semester Break

Today is Friday and is the last day of my two week break from school. I had so many goals for this break i.e. work on assignments for school, wonder around Sydney, take a day trip somewhere, etc. I am sitting here thinking over what I have accomplished the last two weeks and the answer is nothing. Not totally nothing, I have not been sitting around too much doing nothing, but for the most part I have. This break has made me totally lazy and I am not happy about it.

I have two assignments due next week and honestly I am not worried about them. I have two papers to write, one comparing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the workplace, the other debating the pros and cons of housing Indigenous artwork in museums. Exciting, huh? Yes, well I have the books I need to write both, I just need to sit and complete them.

I did go see the “ABSTRACTION; Paths to Abstraction 1867-1917” exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This particular exhibition has been 5 years in the making. It has taken five years to get other institutions to loan their pieces and to transport those pieces over to Australia. There were many pieces from the States (one of which came from the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth!), and a bunch from England, France, and Spain. It was a great exhibition and I was able to see the works of Whistler, Monet, Cezanne, Matisse, Braque, Picasso, Kandinsky, and many more.

I also inquired about a casual part time job at a place called the Messy spot. The messy spot is a place where mothers can take their kids to paint and be creative. It is literally a two minute walk from the front door of my apartment. I would help facilitate the interaction between mother and child, and help with clean up, etc. I figure I need something to do so that I don’t blow though all of my money. Plus, I would not have to worry about transportation costs, since I can walk there. I’ll let you know if I get it/decided to take it if offered.

Overall the break has been nice, but I must say I am ready to get back in school mode. I don’t like this non busy feeling, because I am regretting not doing all of the things I wanted to do during this time. Oh well, like I said before it will all get done.

P.S. I did go to my internship, which someone reminded me I need to make a post about. I will talk about that soon.

The pilgrims gave thanks for food and peace, I give thanks for Libby and fun!!

I received some fantastic news today! My friend Libby has officially purchased tickets to come visit me! I am super excited. I have known for a while that she was going to make the trip down here, but seeing as the ticket purchase was finalized today I can let myself get totally excited!

Libby will be here for a week over the Thanksgiving holiday, so she'll be here to help me remember some American goodness while in Aussieland. It will be a busy week for sure. I have already started planning some of the things to do while she is here. Here is a brief list I quickly came up with.

• Bodyboard with Adam
• Try Vegemite
• Spend a whole week with ME (and Adsy)
• Make out with a genuine Aussie (had to put that in there)
• Take pictures of the beautiful Sydney Opera house (who knows maybe even go inside it)
• Stroll through the Royal Botanic gardens
• Pet a Koala or any other certified Australian animal at the Taronga Zoo or any other place that offers it. There are plenty!
• Eat a Harry's Cafe de Wheels famous pie (they are delicious and part of Australian culture)
• Possibly go sailing with Adsy's Uncle Paul (I say possibly, because they only sail on Saturdays and its a whole day thing)
• Ugh! and so much more!!!

A week is not much time and there is so much to see and do. November will not come soon enough that is fo sho! Libbs you have made my day! Australia will be here to welcome you with open arms (unless you try to smuggle something illegal in, then it will hate you). See your pretty face in person soon!

Candy candy candy!!!!

I've never been a huge candy fiend. Actually that is a lie. I know when I was a kid we had a candy drawer in the kitchen that was constantly having to be refilled. I've just never been a chocoholic if you will (that was Anna's department-and she knows it). Growing up I hate chocolate milk (I still hate chocolate milk), I preferred white cake, vanilla ice cream, pretty much anything not chocolate with the exception of Kit Kats and Reese's peanut butter cups. Reese's peanut butter cups are my absolute favorite. So when Adam told me he had never heard of or seen Reese's peanut butter cups in Australia I was devastated. What would I do without them.

Then last Friday, like he always seems to have, Adsy had a surprise for me. He came into the room and told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands.

White chocolate Reese's!! I had never had the white chocolate before, but it was good. I was even kind enough to split this treasure with him so that he would know how delicious it is.

Moving on, Australia has some interesting sweets that I have never come across, or if I have, I have totally forgotten about them. I would like to take this time to note that Australians do not say candy like we do, instead they say lollies. So if an Australian asks you if you would like some lollies they are not referring to a lolly pop, but candy in general.

Here is a quick run down on some of Australia's confectionery treats I have experienced and enjoyed.

Killer Pythons MMMMmmmmmmmmm these are the best! It is a long snake with different colors/flavors running along his delicious body. When I discovered these I think I was eating two a day for about a week. The best find in the world is a killer python made up of alternating blue and red. They are hard to find, but when you find one you've won the jackpot.

Zappos are also pretty good. They come in grape and strawberry flavors I believe. These are like a really sweet laffy taffy. I've only had the grape, but it was pretty good.

Fantales are delicious. They are chocolate covered caramel candies. The wrappers are like laffy taffy except instead of jokes they have clues about famous Australians which you have to guess. This sometimes poses a problem, as I do not know many famous Australians.

There are plenty more, but these are the only ones I feel like writing about. I will say the candy I probably miss the most (besides Reese's peanut butter cups) is Swedish fish. They don't have anything that compares to this delectable treat. I guess killer pythons come close...

Dead Letter Circus

Friday night we went to see a band called Dead Letter Circus. I have heard them a couple of times on the radio, on Adsy's ipod, etc so I knew a little of what to expect for the show, and it was awesome.

When we first got there we were up high looking down at the stage. It was a really good spot where me and another couple ended up staying the whole night. Adam and the others we were with went down to be closer to the stage. I stayed up high for a couple of reasons, A. I could see the stage perfectly and knew if I had gone down I would not be able to see anything B. I did not feel like getting trampled in a crazy crowd of people. That is the problem with being a short person, people don't see you when you are in a crowd at a concert and you get knocked around a lot. Not fun. Plus, the advantage to staying up top was I then got to look down upon all of the peasants (ahhh just like old times at Stubb's). I saw one guy fall down drunk and get carried off by his friends, I saw two stupid guys get kicked out for lighting up cigarettes, and all the other crowd dynamics which makes people watching so much fun. It really is funny to go to a concert and see everyone bobbing their heads back and forth in synchronisation to the beat of music.








This is where Adsy and I ended up spending the night after the concert....J/K!



If you want to listen to a sample of some of DLC's music click here, here or here....

What a WICKED night!!

In a few days Adsy and I will celebrate our one year anniversary together. I cannot believe it; this year has gone by super fast. To mark our anniversary, Adam tried to surprise me with tickets to Wicked. I say try because he was being sneaky buying them while I was in the shower, but I walked in on him mid purchase. Even though I’ve known about the tickets for a little while now, I was still super excited about them.

Last night was probably the best date night ever. The tickets Adam purchased also included dinner at a restaurant not far from the theatre. The restaurant had a preset dinner menu with a complimentary glass of wine (we both had two glasses each…). I also had a delicious almond and orange cake for dessert which I am now craving.

When we walked back to the theatre there were people everywhere. I was surprised how many people had come out for a Wednesday night performance. Now that I have seen the show, I am no longer surprised at the amount of people there. The show was absolutely amazing. I’m always so impressed and so jealous of people who are talented enough to go on stage and perform they way they do.

The best part of the night for me was when intermission came around and Adsy thought the play was over and got up ready to leave. I had to tell him it was only intermission and he did not believe me. It was not until he saw people were still seated or making their way back from the bar that he realized it was intermission. The theatre did not give us Playbills which I thought was weird and also made it hard to tell where we were in the play.

I was a little afraid that Adam would be totally bored and hate the play, but in fact he liked it. Or at least that is what he told me. If you haven’t figured it out already, I loved it. I hope this means that we will be going to more plays when they come.

Thanks babe for a great anniversary present! I look forward to many more!!

P.S. Adam bought me a koozie (or what Aussies call a stubby holder) to remember the night. Nothing says theatre like a koozie to hold your beer!!