Song: "Raise the Dead" by Phantom Planet
March 27th
Note: I specifically chose this song for the title because while I was writing my lab report Friday morning I was thinking of the song "Do The Panic" also by Phantom Planet on the same album, but decided that "doing the panic" was not helpful for lab report writing. This song got me pumped for lab report writing.
Today I believe was the day when Alex, our optics lecturer, couldn't make it to class, and so we instead got to tour one of the optics labs on campus. It was neat and I enjoyed it.
Today's entry is notably boring. I finished the lab report and turned it in at 2pm, two hours before it was due because I was sick of looking at it. Shaheen's was much nicer and prettier than mine, but by today, I didn't have enough time to care. "Noise" sounds like such a simple lab report by the title, but it was incredibly difficult. Boo.
Anyway, I finally finished up, took a nap, went to the gym and ran into Vilde and Amy in class. They were both going to the V Festival tomorrow so we all figured out when we were leaving. I went home and did nothing all night in preparation for my big day at V Fest Saturday. Most of my roommates went to surf camp for the weekend, so Dimitra and I had the house to ourselves. She invited me out for drinks, but I needed to catch up on some serious sleep.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
All is fleeting; yeah, but all is good...
Song: "Give A Little Love" by Noah and the Whale
March 26th
Usually I love Thursdays. This is different on Thursdays with lab reports due the next day.
I went to optics, and then came home and worked on my lab report from 2pm until some ungodly hour on Friday.
I've also decided that my roommates are amazing. They were going to have people over to hang out but they moved somewhere else instead. Also, Sean and Andy, my awesome roommates, and Bobby, who is also awesome, were all incredibly supportive of me while I was stressing out over the lab report. Thanks guys; I needed that.
This was sadly all of today.
March 26th
Usually I love Thursdays. This is different on Thursdays with lab reports due the next day.
I went to optics, and then came home and worked on my lab report from 2pm until some ungodly hour on Friday.
I've also decided that my roommates are amazing. They were going to have people over to hang out but they moved somewhere else instead. Also, Sean and Andy, my awesome roommates, and Bobby, who is also awesome, were all incredibly supportive of me while I was stressing out over the lab report. Thanks guys; I needed that.
This was sadly all of today.
Life just passing, flash right through me...
Song: "Nothing Ever Happened" by Deerhunter
March 25th
Class happened. Then, instead of weekly grocery shopping, I went to the science computer lab to get things done. And by "get things done" I mean, look into spring break.
I then made my way to the optics seminar. It was really fun. The speaker was from the University of Sydney and spoke on the environmental impact of the internet and how optics can, in theory, make this impact smaller. It was an interesting talk. There was also some delicious pizza. Most everything had pineapple and chicken on it, which I love, and there was that delicious passion fruit soda. I met one of the postgrads there and we talked about his research and I tried to tell him all I could remember about my optics experience (yeah, the three weeks of it I had). It was interesting trying to hold my own in comprehending what was going on. This is the one of the parts I enjoy about physics. Also, the guy who has been convincing us to go to this for weeks now didn't know I was American, so that was kind of cool. Either I say my name in a non-accented way, or I'm blending in well.
After that, I had some spare time until physics lab, where Shaheen and I took on the rest of the semi-conductor experiment. We get to play with dry ice next week! Shaheen was incredibly sleep-deprived from all the work she was doing this week, which made me feel bad about how little I had started on our draft lab report that was due Friday. Shaheen + sleep-deprived = incredibly entertaining. Also, we found out from Gina that we had to have copies of our lab book turned in with the lab. The lab book that Ewa had told us we needed to redo. Upon hearing this information, I was in a state of panic to say the least, but I made up my mind that I was way past panicking and needed to just get stuff done.
Knowing my "tendencies" when it comes to doing assignments, I had decided earlier in the week that I wasn't going to go on the 70's Love Boat cruise this evening with everyone else I know in The Village and instead that I was going to stay home and get stuff done. I hate making decisions like this, but I knew I had to. When I got home, I productively procrastinated the lab report due Friday by typing up some of the semi-conductor lab data from this week for Shaheen. (We put all the data in my book instead of copying it twice during the actual lab; we needed as many hands as possible.)
I worked on the lab, but not as much as I probably should have. And then I watched Lost (the episode from Feb. 25th in the states). I only missed one episode total while I was gone, which worked out better than I expected.
March 25th
Class happened. Then, instead of weekly grocery shopping, I went to the science computer lab to get things done. And by "get things done" I mean, look into spring break.
I then made my way to the optics seminar. It was really fun. The speaker was from the University of Sydney and spoke on the environmental impact of the internet and how optics can, in theory, make this impact smaller. It was an interesting talk. There was also some delicious pizza. Most everything had pineapple and chicken on it, which I love, and there was that delicious passion fruit soda. I met one of the postgrads there and we talked about his research and I tried to tell him all I could remember about my optics experience (yeah, the three weeks of it I had). It was interesting trying to hold my own in comprehending what was going on. This is the one of the parts I enjoy about physics. Also, the guy who has been convincing us to go to this for weeks now didn't know I was American, so that was kind of cool. Either I say my name in a non-accented way, or I'm blending in well.
After that, I had some spare time until physics lab, where Shaheen and I took on the rest of the semi-conductor experiment. We get to play with dry ice next week! Shaheen was incredibly sleep-deprived from all the work she was doing this week, which made me feel bad about how little I had started on our draft lab report that was due Friday. Shaheen + sleep-deprived = incredibly entertaining. Also, we found out from Gina that we had to have copies of our lab book turned in with the lab. The lab book that Ewa had told us we needed to redo. Upon hearing this information, I was in a state of panic to say the least, but I made up my mind that I was way past panicking and needed to just get stuff done.
Knowing my "tendencies" when it comes to doing assignments, I had decided earlier in the week that I wasn't going to go on the 70's Love Boat cruise this evening with everyone else I know in The Village and instead that I was going to stay home and get stuff done. I hate making decisions like this, but I knew I had to. When I got home, I productively procrastinated the lab report due Friday by typing up some of the semi-conductor lab data from this week for Shaheen. (We put all the data in my book instead of copying it twice during the actual lab; we needed as many hands as possible.)
I worked on the lab, but not as much as I probably should have. And then I watched Lost (the episode from Feb. 25th in the states). I only missed one episode total while I was gone, which worked out better than I expected.
Overexposed, commercialized, handle me with care...
Song: "Handle with Care" by Traveling Wilburys
March 24th
This morning was physics. I really enjoy this class for some reason. I made it to class and we talked more about electric fields and magnetic fields. Then we had tutorial, which I really enjoy because it's just doing problems without the stress of having to get them correct (although it feels really good when you do).
After class, I needed to hit up the grocery store. Typically I go on Wednesday with Justin, but I was intending on attending an optics seminar smack in the middle of my break Wednesday, so I shifted to Tuesday instead. On the way over, I got some free energy drink juice. I enjoyed their label:
I also remembered to bring some coupons I had to the center and use them before they expired. For lunch, I got this Chicken Laska dish which reminded me of the Vietnamese phở I've eaten at home, except it was crazy spicy. It's a noodle soup, with chicken, that is incredibly spicy and delicious. I have no idea how I ever finished a bowl of soup this large at home; even the smalls are massive. The reason I got the dish was because it came with a free drink for my coupon. My free drink: fruit cocktail with shaved ice. It sounded much more appetizing when I ordered it. Anyway, I couldn't physically eat it all so I took a picture of my leftovers.
I got my shopping done and trekked home. Then on to philosophy where we spent an interesting hour talking about "the sublime" and another interesting hour talking about "purposiveness without purpose." After that, I had a desire to find our campus radio station, so I did. I peeked in and didn't stay. I saw this pretty flower though in the courtyard.
I made my way back home where no one was doing anything particularly interesting. I also met up with the girls I'm going on spring (ahem, autumn) break with to plan our trip. I brought my cool maps.
March 24th
This morning was physics. I really enjoy this class for some reason. I made it to class and we talked more about electric fields and magnetic fields. Then we had tutorial, which I really enjoy because it's just doing problems without the stress of having to get them correct (although it feels really good when you do).
After class, I needed to hit up the grocery store. Typically I go on Wednesday with Justin, but I was intending on attending an optics seminar smack in the middle of my break Wednesday, so I shifted to Tuesday instead. On the way over, I got some free energy drink juice. I enjoyed their label:
 |
| From Shots around Macquarie |
"Drinking this smashes fatigue in the guts so you can rock out."
I also remembered to bring some coupons I had to the center and use them before they expired. For lunch, I got this Chicken Laska dish which reminded me of the Vietnamese phở I've eaten at home, except it was crazy spicy. It's a noodle soup, with chicken, that is incredibly spicy and delicious. I have no idea how I ever finished a bowl of soup this large at home; even the smalls are massive. The reason I got the dish was because it came with a free drink for my coupon. My free drink: fruit cocktail with shaved ice. It sounded much more appetizing when I ordered it. Anyway, I couldn't physically eat it all so I took a picture of my leftovers.
 |
| From Shots around Macquarie |
I got my shopping done and trekked home. Then on to philosophy where we spent an interesting hour talking about "the sublime" and another interesting hour talking about "purposiveness without purpose." After that, I had a desire to find our campus radio station, so I did. I peeked in and didn't stay. I saw this pretty flower though in the courtyard.
 |
| From Shots around Macquarie |
I made my way back home where no one was doing anything particularly interesting. I also met up with the girls I'm going on spring (ahem, autumn) break with to plan our trip. I brought my cool maps.
Friday, March 27, 2009
We gotta live on science alone...
Song: "I Am A Scientist" by The Dandy Warhols
March 23rd
Lab day. Turned in lab on time, made it to optics on time, did another lab which is due in a week. Whee! While procrastinating, I looked at cars I want to buy when I get home, making no particular decision.
Everything went horribly wrong in our lab today, to the point that after calling over all three of our instructors, we still couldn't get it to work. We were given data to do calculations with. Science!
Quote(s) of the day (from lab):
Rowan and I were very pleased that it wasn't our fault.
After lab, I came home and found the apartment inspector lady in our place. She said essentially that we had at least tried to keep the place clean and she noticed that I mopped the floor in my bathroom, so I was happy about that. I napped for a bit and then went to the gym, watched Scrubs on the treadmill and then came back to my apartment.
March 23rd
Lab day. Turned in lab on time, made it to optics on time, did another lab which is due in a week. Whee! While procrastinating, I looked at cars I want to buy when I get home, making no particular decision.
Everything went horribly wrong in our lab today, to the point that after calling over all three of our instructors, we still couldn't get it to work. We were given data to do calculations with. Science!
Quote(s) of the day (from lab):
"There's something really fundamentally dumb going wrong." - Instructor
"It should be going ballistic." - Instructor
"There's something deep and fundamentally wrong with it today." - Instructor
Rowan and I were very pleased that it wasn't our fault.
After lab, I came home and found the apartment inspector lady in our place. She said essentially that we had at least tried to keep the place clean and she noticed that I mopped the floor in my bathroom, so I was happy about that. I napped for a bit and then went to the gym, watched Scrubs on the treadmill and then came back to my apartment.
Stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days...
Song: "Apartment Story" by The National
March 22nd
I woke up at some incredibly late hour. Dad would say I wasted half the day, but it was good sleep so I didn't care. I spent essentially all day in my apartment. It was depressing. I had a lab report to do and I wanted to get it done.
And I did.
I also did my laundry and in doing so stopped by the Alex, Janaki and Lindsey's place several times to chat a.k.a. procrastinate lab report. They're great.
I eventually got back to work after an uneventful laundry day and then cleaned the apartment for our scheduled inspection tomorrow.
Incredibly boring day.
March 22nd
I woke up at some incredibly late hour. Dad would say I wasted half the day, but it was good sleep so I didn't care. I spent essentially all day in my apartment. It was depressing. I had a lab report to do and I wanted to get it done.
And I did.
I also did my laundry and in doing so stopped by the Alex, Janaki and Lindsey's place several times to chat a.k.a. procrastinate lab report. They're great.
I eventually got back to work after an uneventful laundry day and then cleaned the apartment for our scheduled inspection tomorrow.
Incredibly boring day.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Baby go crazy, break the rules...
Song: "Get Shaky" by The Ian Carey Project
March 21st
ZOO DAY! Luckily, neither Bernie nor I forgot that we had made plans to go to the zoo today, and we woke up early to go so we could see all the animals. Bernie invited Becca along, and the three of us had a great time. We made it to the zoo about when we planned. Missed a train or two, but no worries, mate!
The zoo was fantastic.
Bernie and Becca also being from the east coast found this as hilarious as I did. Although, I imagine Australians are laughing like crazy when we get excited about seeing kangaroos.
Here are a bunch of pictures of animals.
The adorable koala:
A kookaburra!:
A giant dino-like reptile thing:
Giraffes, overlooking the city:
Bernie and me with the metal giraffe:
Why there were statues of metal children, we may never know:
Becca with the wild kookaburra chowing down on some fries.
Here's some dialogue from the Australian zoo guests seeing the kookaburra.
"Billy, go get a longer chip and get him to eat it."- Billy's Mom
(Billy, who is about 5, complains).
"You big chicken." - Billy's mom.
You guessed it. French fries are referred to as "chips" here too.
Zebra:
Ostriches:
Seal:
Bird...ok this is where I stop caring about what kind they are:
Penguins! They were one of my favorite exhibits.
Incredibly inappropriate elephant (I can't help it; it's too funny.):
Bernie with the metal gorilla:
Gorillas!
The little one was spunky:
Wallaby:
KANGAROOS! (Yeah, they're napping but I don't care.):
Awesome bird:
Bernie's favorite, the Victoria Crowned Pigeon:
Spiders! (not an exhibit, but still an impressive part of the zoo):
Loose peacock? I've never seen one of those before! haha...
Tasmanian Devil:
Reptiles!
Humans!
They were getting wedding pictures and blocked the entire entrance to the bird show. One fairly rude person (I'm not sure if she was joking or not) shouted that she was only marrying an Asian man for his money. I'm pretty sure this lady was the mother of caretaker of a three year old. This troubled me. Regardless...we went to the bird show and it was awesome. We had birds literally flying inches above our heads.
Bird show!
They released birds at the end of the show, which ended because their eagle couldn't fly back to the stage. Apparently this happens.
We were exhausted about now and wanted to wrap up the trip. We did see the lions:
and tigers...
and hippos...
and meerkats. I like that they're all sitting on each other.
Then we saw a rooster on the loose. What?
Here's me with the giant stuffed koala at the gift shop:
Here's another human specimen we found interesting. His shirt reads: "Do something with your life and get me a beer." He couldn't have been 10. We found this humorous.
We caught the ferry back, then walked to the bus stop, then took a bus to Chatswood, then took a train to Macquarie. We were so tired. But we also had already decided we were going out this evening into town to a place called Argyle.
Every girl we were traveling with on the bus into Sydney had to go to the bathroom so bad that we used the pay toilet on the street. And in the interest of being frugal, we all split the 50 cent bathroom.
Argyle was...um, interesting? I don't know. I was so tired. I also decided to wear heels, which is fun for about an hour, but then just incredibly painful. The blister on the back of my heel reminds me about how much of a bad idea that was. The club was yet again too fancy for my tastes, not to mention they didn't let several of our friends in at the door. They had to go wait for half an hour, and then one of them ended up getting kicked out anyway. I was so busy being in pain from the heels that I don't remember anything exciting happening, except that Vilde lost her phone and it was found by the manager.
I must be listening to a lot of club/dance music lately. I'm not saying I enjoy it really, but it does get stuck in my head. "Get Shaky" sounded familiar when we heard it in the bar tonight. So much for immersing myself in Australia's indie music culture. Now that I think about it, I guess I do hear a lot of that too actually.
A group of 5 of us left at a very late hour of the evening and stopped at "Macker's" (Australian for McDonalds) and got something to eat. We made it to the bus stop (by the way Jay, I totally knew where I was going and you were wrong...just saying) and caught the absolute last bus out of the city. It left at 3:20 a.m.. We got home around 4:30 a.m. and then I slept. Oh did I sleep.
March 21st
ZOO DAY! Luckily, neither Bernie nor I forgot that we had made plans to go to the zoo today, and we woke up early to go so we could see all the animals. Bernie invited Becca along, and the three of us had a great time. We made it to the zoo about when we planned. Missed a train or two, but no worries, mate!
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
The zoo was fantastic.
Bernie and Becca also being from the east coast found this as hilarious as I did. Although, I imagine Australians are laughing like crazy when we get excited about seeing kangaroos.
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Here are a bunch of pictures of animals.
The adorable koala:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
A kookaburra!:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
A giant dino-like reptile thing:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Giraffes, overlooking the city:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Bernie and me with the metal giraffe:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Why there were statues of metal children, we may never know:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Becca with the wild kookaburra chowing down on some fries.
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Here's some dialogue from the Australian zoo guests seeing the kookaburra.
"Billy, go get a longer chip and get him to eat it."- Billy's Mom
(Billy, who is about 5, complains).
"You big chicken." - Billy's mom.
You guessed it. French fries are referred to as "chips" here too.
Zebra:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Ostriches:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Seal:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Bird...ok this is where I stop caring about what kind they are:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Penguins! They were one of my favorite exhibits.
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Incredibly inappropriate elephant (I can't help it; it's too funny.):
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Bernie with the metal gorilla:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Gorillas!
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
The little one was spunky:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Wallaby:
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| From Taronga Zoo |
KANGAROOS! (Yeah, they're napping but I don't care.):
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Awesome bird:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Bernie's favorite, the Victoria Crowned Pigeon:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Spiders! (not an exhibit, but still an impressive part of the zoo):
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Loose peacock? I've never seen one of those before! haha...
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Tasmanian Devil:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Reptiles!
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Humans!
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
They were getting wedding pictures and blocked the entire entrance to the bird show. One fairly rude person (I'm not sure if she was joking or not) shouted that she was only marrying an Asian man for his money. I'm pretty sure this lady was the mother of caretaker of a three year old. This troubled me. Regardless...we went to the bird show and it was awesome. We had birds literally flying inches above our heads.
Bird show!
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
We were exhausted about now and wanted to wrap up the trip. We did see the lions:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Then we saw a rooster on the loose. What?
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Here's me with the giant stuffed koala at the gift shop:
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
Here's another human specimen we found interesting. His shirt reads: "Do something with your life and get me a beer." He couldn't have been 10. We found this humorous.
 |
| From Taronga Zoo |
We caught the ferry back, then walked to the bus stop, then took a bus to Chatswood, then took a train to Macquarie. We were so tired. But we also had already decided we were going out this evening into town to a place called Argyle.
Every girl we were traveling with on the bus into Sydney had to go to the bathroom so bad that we used the pay toilet on the street. And in the interest of being frugal, we all split the 50 cent bathroom.
Argyle was...um, interesting? I don't know. I was so tired. I also decided to wear heels, which is fun for about an hour, but then just incredibly painful. The blister on the back of my heel reminds me about how much of a bad idea that was. The club was yet again too fancy for my tastes, not to mention they didn't let several of our friends in at the door. They had to go wait for half an hour, and then one of them ended up getting kicked out anyway. I was so busy being in pain from the heels that I don't remember anything exciting happening, except that Vilde lost her phone and it was found by the manager.
I must be listening to a lot of club/dance music lately. I'm not saying I enjoy it really, but it does get stuck in my head. "Get Shaky" sounded familiar when we heard it in the bar tonight. So much for immersing myself in Australia's indie music culture. Now that I think about it, I guess I do hear a lot of that too actually.
A group of 5 of us left at a very late hour of the evening and stopped at "Macker's" (Australian for McDonalds) and got something to eat. We made it to the bus stop (by the way Jay, I totally knew where I was going and you were wrong...just saying) and caught the absolute last bus out of the city. It left at 3:20 a.m.. We got home around 4:30 a.m. and then I slept. Oh did I sleep.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
That is why we'll always make it...
Song: "My Favourite Book" by Stars
March 20th
Successfully made it to Optics, albeit not quite on time. With four people in the class I actually am starting to feel guilty about this, so I made a pact with myself to start being punctual. We'll see how that goes.
I wrapped up my homework and got it stapled at the library, then went with my homework to Physics. I was incredibly on time; I beat my professor to class. I must have really felt bad about being late to Optics this morning. I felt pretty confident about the assignment on the whole, and felt even better as soon as it was turned in. It always feels so nice to have the burden of an assignment of your back, until you remember the next one's due on the 31st. Blergh.
After class, I went back to my apartment. I went to the gym for the third of my tri-weekly trips there, then went home, cleaned up and ended up at 52: house of awesome. We had some wine(s) and I had absolutely nothing to do the next day, so I turned to Bernie, creator of excellent ideas, and asked what she was up to. We decided we were going to the zoo. We watched some rugby (I think it was rugby...) which I couldn't stay interested in, and then Christian and Alex, two of our Australian friends came over and wanted to see if anyone wanted to watch Friday the 13th (the new one, released this year on Feb 13th at home, and March 13th here). Christian had somehow gotten a hold of it. Now I normally hate scary movies. Really do. I flinch and cower and cringe and jump and generally do not enjoy watching them at all. However, with enough wine in me and a growing sense of ennui with that rugby game, I quickly agreed to join them. Alex is really cool; she's 17 and lives in the Gold Coast of Australia, which is far north of here. Christian is really cool too; he lives fairly far south of here around where our surf camp was. They were excellent company for this movie.
The movie had Jared Padalecki - or as Alex and I kept calling him, "Dean" (from Gilmore Girls) - and several other actors I didn't really care about. The plot isn't worth explaining here, but I do remember them playing "My Favorite Book" by Stars. I really like that song, and I've played it on my radio show back home for sure. This made me smile.
After the movie, which was fairly entertaining given my condition, we played some wrestling game on Christian's gaming console. I beat Alex, but Christian destroyed me. After awhile, Christian walked Alex and I home. It was definitely an enjoyable evening. Yes, it was an enjoyable evening involving a horror movie; I never thought I'd say that.
March 20th
Successfully made it to Optics, albeit not quite on time. With four people in the class I actually am starting to feel guilty about this, so I made a pact with myself to start being punctual. We'll see how that goes.
I wrapped up my homework and got it stapled at the library, then went with my homework to Physics. I was incredibly on time; I beat my professor to class. I must have really felt bad about being late to Optics this morning. I felt pretty confident about the assignment on the whole, and felt even better as soon as it was turned in. It always feels so nice to have the burden of an assignment of your back, until you remember the next one's due on the 31st. Blergh.
After class, I went back to my apartment. I went to the gym for the third of my tri-weekly trips there, then went home, cleaned up and ended up at 52: house of awesome. We had some wine(s) and I had absolutely nothing to do the next day, so I turned to Bernie, creator of excellent ideas, and asked what she was up to. We decided we were going to the zoo. We watched some rugby (I think it was rugby...) which I couldn't stay interested in, and then Christian and Alex, two of our Australian friends came over and wanted to see if anyone wanted to watch Friday the 13th (the new one, released this year on Feb 13th at home, and March 13th here). Christian had somehow gotten a hold of it. Now I normally hate scary movies. Really do. I flinch and cower and cringe and jump and generally do not enjoy watching them at all. However, with enough wine in me and a growing sense of ennui with that rugby game, I quickly agreed to join them. Alex is really cool; she's 17 and lives in the Gold Coast of Australia, which is far north of here. Christian is really cool too; he lives fairly far south of here around where our surf camp was. They were excellent company for this movie.
The movie had Jared Padalecki - or as Alex and I kept calling him, "Dean" (from Gilmore Girls) - and several other actors I didn't really care about. The plot isn't worth explaining here, but I do remember them playing "My Favorite Book" by Stars. I really like that song, and I've played it on my radio show back home for sure. This made me smile.
After the movie, which was fairly entertaining given my condition, we played some wrestling game on Christian's gaming console. I beat Alex, but Christian destroyed me. After awhile, Christian walked Alex and I home. It was definitely an enjoyable evening. Yes, it was an enjoyable evening involving a horror movie; I never thought I'd say that.
No one to see on the quay...just the shoreline receding
Song: "Lost Coastlines" by Okkervil River
Note: the word "quay" is pronounced "key." We learned this by way of Circular Quay, the wharf area where the ferries leave from which is close to the opera house. It interestingly enough was in the song for today.
March 19th
I finished my homework and made it to optics. Class ended early like usual on Thursday and I used the time to get home and ready to go to Coogee Beach outside of Sydney. I maneuvered down with prowess; I'm getting really good at catching buses and trains. Once I got there, I made my way to the beach and relaxed and read some Kant for my aesthetics class. I also pondered what a Kant on the Beach cocktail would taste like. Probably fairly bitter and German with orange juice, served with a lime.
I got bored of sunbathing. (I know, what a life...) I then decided to go exploring where I found the Giles Baths, which is an area of the beach surrounded by rocks where the waves crash on it and it's just beautiful and I could ramble on forever about the serenity of it and all that but I'm going to stop now...ahhh.
Seriously, it was gorgeous. So gorgeous I actually went swimming in it. The water was frigid, but it was worth it. I must bring people with me next time and show them how cool this is.
I got out of the water, got dressed and decided to wander up to what I believe is called Dolphin's Point and get a better view of "Wedding Cake Island." Wedding Cake Island is named as such because it apparently looks like a wedding cake, if your wedding cake looks like a giant rock island.
There also was an interestingly-shaped monument for some Australians who lost their lives in a tragic attack in Bali, which is a popular tourist destination.
I kept walking because that's what I do on Thursdays and took more pictures. This one is from an area where we had to walk on the path for erosion reasons. I guess the shoreline was receding.
Here's Gordon's Bay, the next cove up the shore:
I also saw this little guy while leaving Gordon's Bay and heading up the coast.
I saw him while preparing to take a picture of some awesome tiled stairs.
There were many pretty flowers.
I also was taking part in a sort of "Flat Stanley"-like project with some people from Middletown (which we started in 2006) so it was my turn to take pictures with the mascot of our little group, Steve. I went to Circular Quay to take some iconic pictures with him after returning from the beach, where I took some less iconic pictures with him. Here are some of my favorites:
After I got home, I had some serious physics to do. I worked with Jay on it, and had a very productive night, where I did homework while watching Tropic Thunder in the dining room while everyone else watched it in the living room. My laughter from afar freaked some people out, but I think they understood that I had work to do. While I was working, Justin borrowed my external hard drive again. I'm so lucky that my laptop has been cooperating (enough) while I've been here. I'm so lucky in general.
Note: the word "quay" is pronounced "key." We learned this by way of Circular Quay, the wharf area where the ferries leave from which is close to the opera house. It interestingly enough was in the song for today.
March 19th
I finished my homework and made it to optics. Class ended early like usual on Thursday and I used the time to get home and ready to go to Coogee Beach outside of Sydney. I maneuvered down with prowess; I'm getting really good at catching buses and trains. Once I got there, I made my way to the beach and relaxed and read some Kant for my aesthetics class. I also pondered what a Kant on the Beach cocktail would taste like. Probably fairly bitter and German with orange juice, served with a lime.
I got bored of sunbathing. (I know, what a life...) I then decided to go exploring where I found the Giles Baths, which is an area of the beach surrounded by rocks where the waves crash on it and it's just beautiful and I could ramble on forever about the serenity of it and all that but I'm going to stop now...ahhh.
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| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
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| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
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| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
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| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
Seriously, it was gorgeous. So gorgeous I actually went swimming in it. The water was frigid, but it was worth it. I must bring people with me next time and show them how cool this is.
I got out of the water, got dressed and decided to wander up to what I believe is called Dolphin's Point and get a better view of "Wedding Cake Island." Wedding Cake Island is named as such because it apparently looks like a wedding cake, if your wedding cake looks like a giant rock island.
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
There also was an interestingly-shaped monument for some Australians who lost their lives in a tragic attack in Bali, which is a popular tourist destination.
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
I kept walking because that's what I do on Thursdays and took more pictures. This one is from an area where we had to walk on the path for erosion reasons. I guess the shoreline was receding.
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
Here's Gordon's Bay, the next cove up the shore:
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
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| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
I also was taking part in a sort of "Flat Stanley"-like project with some people from Middletown (which we started in 2006) so it was my turn to take pictures with the mascot of our little group, Steve. I went to Circular Quay to take some iconic pictures with him after returning from the beach, where I took some less iconic pictures with him. Here are some of my favorites:
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
 |
| From Coogee Beach Exploring |
After I got home, I had some serious physics to do. I worked with Jay on it, and had a very productive night, where I did homework while watching Tropic Thunder in the dining room while everyone else watched it in the living room. My laughter from afar freaked some people out, but I think they understood that I had work to do. While I was working, Justin borrowed my external hard drive again. I'm so lucky that my laptop has been cooperating (enough) while I've been here. I'm so lucky in general.
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