Song: "Blame it on the Tetons" covered by Josh Ritter (originally by Modest Mouse)
May 5th
Cinco de Mayo
I went to physics in the morning (I was late because I uploaded more pictures), and nothing terribly interesting happened, except that Jay and I decided that we would start our assignment (due Friday) this evening.
Whoa, what's that? Becky's starting an assignment several days before it's due?
Yes, I was surprised too. I came home and played around on the internet and cleaned up the apartment until Aesthetics. As usual, the tutorial lasted too long. I wanted to do something tonight for Cinco de Mayo, but instead ended up doing physics homework with Jay all night. Worse things could have happened. And Jay made cupcakes. They were a fluorescent, radioactive neon green, with pink frosting, and they were delicious.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
So screw California, and ice that will never melt...
Song: "California" by Rogue Wave
May 4th
Lab Report day. I was exhausted from procrastinating it until the early morning, per usual. I found out that I could in fact upload photos as long as it was before 8am. That didn't help productivity.
Optics went well. Rowan and I did yet another lab. Same as every week.
When I got home, I had a mysterious call from a number I didn't know, until I figured out it was Erin (who got a new number) who was over at Maeve's. Erin needed my help logging onto Blackboard to take an exam. My technical prowess didn't help her out, more my memory (remembering there was a number needed in the password that we set up months ago), but I was glad to help. Soon after that, I went to the gym and watched another episode of the new season of Scrubs.
Nadine and I magically got the internets working and talked to each other on Skype. Man I miss that kid. I caught her up on the happenings of my life, and she tried to catch me up on hers. Steph Glag was also on Skype briefly, which was lovely. Talking to those two made my day. I watched 30 Rock too. A good night all in all.
May 4th
Lab Report day. I was exhausted from procrastinating it until the early morning, per usual. I found out that I could in fact upload photos as long as it was before 8am. That didn't help productivity.
Optics went well. Rowan and I did yet another lab. Same as every week.
When I got home, I had a mysterious call from a number I didn't know, until I figured out it was Erin (who got a new number) who was over at Maeve's. Erin needed my help logging onto Blackboard to take an exam. My technical prowess didn't help her out, more my memory (remembering there was a number needed in the password that we set up months ago), but I was glad to help. Soon after that, I went to the gym and watched another episode of the new season of Scrubs.
Nadine and I magically got the internets working and talked to each other on Skype. Man I miss that kid. I caught her up on the happenings of my life, and she tried to catch me up on hers. Steph Glag was also on Skype briefly, which was lovely. Talking to those two made my day. I watched 30 Rock too. A good night all in all.
Too many legs under the table, too many reasons for trouble..
Song: "Let's Make Out" by Does It Offend You, Yeah?
May 3rd
So strangely enough after going to sleep at 7pm, you wake up relatively early the next day. Surprise. Well, I had seen through some email that Kings Cross was having a food festival today and I decided that since I was awake, I should go.
I walked to the bus stop, and on the way I actually saw the equestrian park being used. There were a ton of horses.
The bus ride was smooth. On the bus I ran into Lisa from my aesthetics class and her friend who were going to the opera house and pancakes on the rocks. They were fun ride companions. After I got off the bus, I saw a sign for a festival going on in Darling Harbour, and since I had nothing better to do, I went to check it out. Most of the stuff happening was in the evening, but it was fun to stroll through anyway. After that, I got to the cross without any difficulties and I found that it was much nicer in the day time.
Fountain:
I thought it was interesting that we were essentially equidistant from Germany in both directions. The numbers are cut off, but it's about 16,000 km each way to Berlin and Frankfurt.
rainbow in the fountain:
The festival was vibrant, and had lots of interesting things to eat. I had some butter chicken, chocolate mousse and a cheese plate. Delicious.
I stayed for a bit and then meandered back to QVB to catch the bus home. The walk was refreshing.
Then I went home, and at 3pm (1am, EST) I met up with my lovely roommate from back home and celebrated her birthday with a glass of wine "at" her birthday party. Like usual, my video crapped out in 30 seconds, but it was fun.
I then pretended to work on my lab report briefly. Good times. I passed out early and decided to save it for Monday morning.
May 3rd
So strangely enough after going to sleep at 7pm, you wake up relatively early the next day. Surprise. Well, I had seen through some email that Kings Cross was having a food festival today and I decided that since I was awake, I should go.
I walked to the bus stop, and on the way I actually saw the equestrian park being used. There were a ton of horses.
The bus ride was smooth. On the bus I ran into Lisa from my aesthetics class and her friend who were going to the opera house and pancakes on the rocks. They were fun ride companions. After I got off the bus, I saw a sign for a festival going on in Darling Harbour, and since I had nothing better to do, I went to check it out. Most of the stuff happening was in the evening, but it was fun to stroll through anyway. After that, I got to the cross without any difficulties and I found that it was much nicer in the day time.
Fountain:
 |
| From Kings Cross Food Festival |
 |
| From Kings Cross Food Festival |
 |
| From Kings Cross Food Festival |
The festival was vibrant, and had lots of interesting things to eat. I had some butter chicken, chocolate mousse and a cheese plate. Delicious.
I stayed for a bit and then meandered back to QVB to catch the bus home. The walk was refreshing.
 |
| From Kings Cross Food Festival |
 |
| From Kings Cross Food Festival |
 |
| From Kings Cross Food Festival |
I then pretended to work on my lab report briefly. Good times. I passed out early and decided to save it for Monday morning.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Bottle of red, bottle of white...
Song: "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel
May 2nd
So I slept for one and a half hours, then woke up, got showered and dressed and ran out the door at 6am. I was supposed to meet the bus in St. Leonard's, and I was early so I bought some chocolate mud pie at 6:30am (I eat dessert for breakfast. Get over it.).
Anyway, from there I found the bus, and essentially passed out on the 1-2 hour drive to the Hunter Valley wine country. My iPod was my best buddy for the long drives. The people on the bus didn't really start talking to each other until we started our first wine tasting.
The group was a lot of fun. We had a hen's party (bachelorette party), a guy from California on business, me, a couple from Ireland who had just established residency in Australia, another couple, and a group of three folks who knew each other (I think a couple and a sister/friend). And our tour guide. It was a good group.
We went to about 5 wineries. I drank a lot of wine. You're supposed to dump out what you don't want into a bucket, but the hen's party was not having it, and kept encouraging me to drink all the wine because I paid for it, and it was wasteful, etc. They were hysterical.
We went to wine school to learn about how wine is made and how to properly taste it. Something about washing it around in your mouth. I wasn't really paying attention. 1.5 hours of sleep does that.
We also went to a cheese shop. Definitely a highlight for a cheese addict like myself.
Next door was more wine tasting:
Cute couple and me (I think the bartender took this.)
More wine at the last winery. We were all at our finest.
Gorgeous:
The girls of the hen's party. They were a blast.
Here I saw my first, live kangaroo in the wild. It was awesome.
So cool. My Australian life is pretty complete now.
After our last winery we hit up a chocolate shop, which while a bit of a disappointment, was ok. They had some pretty humorously packaged chocolates:
I got some chocolate caramels, which were not very impressive.
On the way home, we played a celebrity game with the drunk bus full of winos. I found out that I know nothing about Australian pop culture compared to how much Australians know about American pop culture. I'm ok with this.
The bus eventually dropped me at Circular Quay and I grabbed a bus back to Macquarie. I was all pumped to go out again because it was Saturday night, but I slept through my alarm and into the next day. It was probably for the best. :)
May 2nd
So I slept for one and a half hours, then woke up, got showered and dressed and ran out the door at 6am. I was supposed to meet the bus in St. Leonard's, and I was early so I bought some chocolate mud pie at 6:30am (I eat dessert for breakfast. Get over it.).
Anyway, from there I found the bus, and essentially passed out on the 1-2 hour drive to the Hunter Valley wine country. My iPod was my best buddy for the long drives. The people on the bus didn't really start talking to each other until we started our first wine tasting.
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
 |
| From |
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
The group was a lot of fun. We had a hen's party (bachelorette party), a guy from California on business, me, a couple from Ireland who had just established residency in Australia, another couple, and a group of three folks who knew each other (I think a couple and a sister/friend). And our tour guide. It was a good group.
We went to about 5 wineries. I drank a lot of wine. You're supposed to dump out what you don't want into a bucket, but the hen's party was not having it, and kept encouraging me to drink all the wine because I paid for it, and it was wasteful, etc. They were hysterical.
We went to wine school to learn about how wine is made and how to properly taste it. Something about washing it around in your mouth. I wasn't really paying attention. 1.5 hours of sleep does that.
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
We also went to a cheese shop. Definitely a highlight for a cheese addict like myself.
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
Next door was more wine tasting:
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
More wine at the last winery. We were all at our finest.
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
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| From Hunter Valley |
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
Here I saw my first, live kangaroo in the wild. It was awesome.
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
After our last winery we hit up a chocolate shop, which while a bit of a disappointment, was ok. They had some pretty humorously packaged chocolates:
 |
| From Hunter Valley |
On the way home, we played a celebrity game with the drunk bus full of winos. I found out that I know nothing about Australian pop culture compared to how much Australians know about American pop culture. I'm ok with this.
The bus eventually dropped me at Circular Quay and I grabbed a bus back to Macquarie. I was all pumped to go out again because it was Saturday night, but I slept through my alarm and into the next day. It was probably for the best. :)
Monday, May 25, 2009
You've got me feeling hella good so let's just keep on dancing
Song: "Hella Good" by No Doubt
Honorary Song: "First of May" by Jonathan Coulton
May 1st
Waking up for class was massively difficult. There is nothing like staying up late doing physics to zap all energy out of your body. We made it to class, I'm pretty sure I ate nachos from the student center (Becca, Bernie and Vilde were raving about them over break; I had to try them), and then I turned in my assignment, faked consciousness, then went home and passed out. I swore I set an alarm, but I slept through my class at the gym for the first time here. I managed to hear that people were going to Cargo bar this evening, so I told Tara M. that I'd meet up with her. I found her, and then we grabbed Chloe and met their friend Emily on the way to the bus. We didn't leave until about 10:45PM because we missed the 9:58 bus. This was lame, but no worries.
When we got to the later bus, we actually ran into a bunch of people we knew who were headed down there as well. It was nice to catch up with folks and see how their breaks went. Somehow during the evening someone mentioned the Sydney Comedy Festival, and I mentioned that I was bummed that I missed seeing Joel McHale and I found a few unexpected watchers of The Soup among my friends. That was excellent.
We made our way down to Darling Harbour with no problems. We didn't exactly know where we were going, but we found Cargo after asking a few people.
It might have been the exhaustion, the atmosphere, or my essentially sober state, but I wasn't loving Cargo bar. It was the first time I had been back since my afternoon visit after my Sydney bus tour way back in February. I expressed that I was interested in checking out this place up the street called Chinese Laundry that I had read about in some of the music magazines I pick up twice a week. The only person I could convince to come with me to check it out was Greg, so we went and had a good time. There was a $20 cover charge, but I'm trying to forget that I paid that. I'd probably do it again if in the same situation.
We stayed there until 2:30am, and then decided we should find the rest of the folks we came with and catch the last bus out of the city, which we found out left at 3:10am. I was a bit disoriented, so we briefly got a little lost trying to find the bus stop, but it was a scenic walk. Found a poster for The Soup with Joel McHale wearing an outfit full of bright green sequins. We thought everyone else was at McDonald's so we left the bus stop and went there. We debated walking around QVB, but instead decided to run through the obviously blockaded path through the middle of the building. I saw the security glance at us through my peripheral vision. We ate some food, then went and found everyone else back at the bus stop. We rode home, went to our respective houses, and I fell asleep.
Oh, and I booked a Hunter Valley Wine Tour for the next day that I had to be awake at 5:30am for. So I slept 1.5 hours. More on that next post...
Honorary Song: "First of May" by Jonathan Coulton
May 1st
Waking up for class was massively difficult. There is nothing like staying up late doing physics to zap all energy out of your body. We made it to class, I'm pretty sure I ate nachos from the student center (Becca, Bernie and Vilde were raving about them over break; I had to try them), and then I turned in my assignment, faked consciousness, then went home and passed out. I swore I set an alarm, but I slept through my class at the gym for the first time here. I managed to hear that people were going to Cargo bar this evening, so I told Tara M. that I'd meet up with her. I found her, and then we grabbed Chloe and met their friend Emily on the way to the bus. We didn't leave until about 10:45PM because we missed the 9:58 bus. This was lame, but no worries.
When we got to the later bus, we actually ran into a bunch of people we knew who were headed down there as well. It was nice to catch up with folks and see how their breaks went. Somehow during the evening someone mentioned the Sydney Comedy Festival, and I mentioned that I was bummed that I missed seeing Joel McHale and I found a few unexpected watchers of The Soup among my friends. That was excellent.
We made our way down to Darling Harbour with no problems. We didn't exactly know where we were going, but we found Cargo after asking a few people.
It might have been the exhaustion, the atmosphere, or my essentially sober state, but I wasn't loving Cargo bar. It was the first time I had been back since my afternoon visit after my Sydney bus tour way back in February. I expressed that I was interested in checking out this place up the street called Chinese Laundry that I had read about in some of the music magazines I pick up twice a week. The only person I could convince to come with me to check it out was Greg, so we went and had a good time. There was a $20 cover charge, but I'm trying to forget that I paid that. I'd probably do it again if in the same situation.
We stayed there until 2:30am, and then decided we should find the rest of the folks we came with and catch the last bus out of the city, which we found out left at 3:10am. I was a bit disoriented, so we briefly got a little lost trying to find the bus stop, but it was a scenic walk. Found a poster for The Soup with Joel McHale wearing an outfit full of bright green sequins. We thought everyone else was at McDonald's so we left the bus stop and went there. We debated walking around QVB, but instead decided to run through the obviously blockaded path through the middle of the building. I saw the security glance at us through my peripheral vision. We ate some food, then went and found everyone else back at the bus stop. We rode home, went to our respective houses, and I fell asleep.
Oh, and I booked a Hunter Valley Wine Tour for the next day that I had to be awake at 5:30am for. So I slept 1.5 hours. More on that next post...
I want you now, I want you now, I feel my heart implode
Song: "Hysteria" by Muse
April 30th
I went to optics class in the morning. I also found out that my roommates were having a barbecue from people other than my roommates. No worries. I went to Trafalgar and got some chips and salsa for our party guests. After this I did homework with Jay for eternity. We decided that in future weeks we would start doing homework earlier to avoid this problem.
Oh and three of Jay's housemates locked themselves out of their room this evening. Incredibly entertaining. We were up until 2am doing the assignment. This made Friday interesting.
April 30th
I went to optics class in the morning. I also found out that my roommates were having a barbecue from people other than my roommates. No worries. I went to Trafalgar and got some chips and salsa for our party guests. After this I did homework with Jay for eternity. We decided that in future weeks we would start doing homework earlier to avoid this problem.
Oh and three of Jay's housemates locked themselves out of their room this evening. Incredibly entertaining. We were up until 2am doing the assignment. This made Friday interesting.
I don't care I'll burn out anyhow...
Song: "Incinerate" by Sonic Youth
April 29th
Wednesday morning. I was late to class, but this coupled with the fact that we have a new lecturer meant that we unexpectedly changed rooms this morning. So I went to the first classroom, and then was directed to walk across campus. Fabulous.
Lab went along well. It was our second week of the Zeeman effect lab, and we had essentially finished it in the first week, so we made a little magnetic field calibration curve and we were finished. We hung out around the computer until we felt like leaving. Made some graphs, you know.
I believe this evening was when I decided to take a killer nap after lab before the gym, and overslept. Luckily, there is a later class on Wednesdays so I took that instead. There were about seven other people in the class, so we went on to more advanced things and it was hard. There was a lot of pain, haha I mean "discomfort." Oh Pilates instructor Gayle, I will miss you and your witty ways. "Down with grace, elegance and dignity."
This was also the evening that Gayle taught us what figjam meant. I want to use that all the time.
I got home, briefly thought about working on my physics assignment, and then decided to watch Lost, which was essentially Ben-heavy and therefore ridiculously creepy. Then I slept and it was excellent.
April 29th
Wednesday morning. I was late to class, but this coupled with the fact that we have a new lecturer meant that we unexpectedly changed rooms this morning. So I went to the first classroom, and then was directed to walk across campus. Fabulous.
Lab went along well. It was our second week of the Zeeman effect lab, and we had essentially finished it in the first week, so we made a little magnetic field calibration curve and we were finished. We hung out around the computer until we felt like leaving. Made some graphs, you know.
I believe this evening was when I decided to take a killer nap after lab before the gym, and overslept. Luckily, there is a later class on Wednesdays so I took that instead. There were about seven other people in the class, so we went on to more advanced things and it was hard. There was a lot of pain, haha I mean "discomfort." Oh Pilates instructor Gayle, I will miss you and your witty ways. "Down with grace, elegance and dignity."
This was also the evening that Gayle taught us what figjam meant. I want to use that all the time.
I got home, briefly thought about working on my physics assignment, and then decided to watch Lost, which was essentially Ben-heavy and therefore ridiculously creepy. Then I slept and it was excellent.
Don't want to be your monkey wrench...
Song: "Monkey Wrench" by Foo Fighters
April 28th
Nicole's Birthday
Went to class, nothing terribly interesting happened. I had caught up on some of my missed philosophy lectures yesterday so I was in shape for class. I also had a presentation today on material we were supposed to have covered before we left. This didn't exactly happen. I spent a lot of last night and today reading Schopenhauer straight. The saddest thing was that my presentation, despite me knowing the material, was terrible. Luckily, it's philosophy, and my version of terrible is actual quite decent.
After class, I came home and through some form or another got a hold of Tara M. She told me that folks were going out to Scruffy's to celebrate our Australian friend Alex's 18th birthday (which happened over break). I was thrilled to be getting back into Sydney again. We had a great time with Alex, Lindsey, Chloe and everyone else, minus a few shoe problems, and got home via taxi. Excellent night.
April 28th
Nicole's Birthday
Went to class, nothing terribly interesting happened. I had caught up on some of my missed philosophy lectures yesterday so I was in shape for class. I also had a presentation today on material we were supposed to have covered before we left. This didn't exactly happen. I spent a lot of last night and today reading Schopenhauer straight. The saddest thing was that my presentation, despite me knowing the material, was terrible. Luckily, it's philosophy, and my version of terrible is actual quite decent.
After class, I came home and through some form or another got a hold of Tara M. She told me that folks were going out to Scruffy's to celebrate our Australian friend Alex's 18th birthday (which happened over break). I was thrilled to be getting back into Sydney again. We had a great time with Alex, Lindsey, Chloe and everyone else, minus a few shoe problems, and got home via taxi. Excellent night.
Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed...
Song: "Ocean Breathes Salty" by Modest Mouse
April 27th
Monday. Lab report day. Day o' optics.
I went to class today, and then finished my lab - in true Becky fashion, minutes before it was due. I got to lab and I had no lab partner. :(
Rowan was out sick, so it was just me that day. The lab, while being relatively easy, still managed to take me a full three hours. This was likely because our lab facilitator truly enjoys experiments and getting them accomplished correctly, even if that means suggesting improvements to the lab manual as the experiment is going on. Basically, I saw how heat (even so little as the amount from my hand when placed close to the fiber) affects optical fibers of certain kinds. It's also affected by temperature, but I'll save you the details. Anyway, that went well.
I had my first day back at the gym. I watched an episode of 30 Rock at its regularly scheduled time. Then I slept. Today made me want to jump out of planes again.
April 27th
Monday. Lab report day. Day o' optics.
I went to class today, and then finished my lab - in true Becky fashion, minutes before it was due. I got to lab and I had no lab partner. :(
Rowan was out sick, so it was just me that day. The lab, while being relatively easy, still managed to take me a full three hours. This was likely because our lab facilitator truly enjoys experiments and getting them accomplished correctly, even if that means suggesting improvements to the lab manual as the experiment is going on. Basically, I saw how heat (even so little as the amount from my hand when placed close to the fiber) affects optical fibers of certain kinds. It's also affected by temperature, but I'll save you the details. Anyway, that went well.
I had my first day back at the gym. I watched an episode of 30 Rock at its regularly scheduled time. Then I slept. Today made me want to jump out of planes again.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I want more. Impossible to ignore...
Song: "Dreams" by The Cranberries
April 26th
4 am taxi rides suckkk. Not missing your flight, priceless.
We boarded our flight back home to Sydney with no problems. I slept a little on the flight, but not much. Luckily the iPod was at full battery capacity. I watched Yes Man on the flight. I saw it before with the family over break, but it was nice to watch again. It was also nice to listen to again knowing some of the music was by Eels.
We landed in Sydney, and caught a taxi back from the airport. We were dead tired. All I really remember is "Dreams" playing and me singing along, even in my exhausted state. I also remember that it was COLD compared to Cairns. I missed the tropics then. The driver told us it had been rainy and gross the last two weeks in Sydney. So at least we missed all that...
I got home and passed out. It was lovely. I had a lab report to do, but like most weekends, I waited to do it until later. I downloaded the "St. Valentine's Day" Episode of 30 Rock that I missed and watched that instead.
April 26th
4 am taxi rides suckkk. Not missing your flight, priceless.
We boarded our flight back home to Sydney with no problems. I slept a little on the flight, but not much. Luckily the iPod was at full battery capacity. I watched Yes Man on the flight. I saw it before with the family over break, but it was nice to watch again. It was also nice to listen to again knowing some of the music was by Eels.
We landed in Sydney, and caught a taxi back from the airport. We were dead tired. All I really remember is "Dreams" playing and me singing along, even in my exhausted state. I also remember that it was COLD compared to Cairns. I missed the tropics then. The driver told us it had been rainy and gross the last two weeks in Sydney. So at least we missed all that...
I got home and passed out. It was lovely. I had a lab report to do, but like most weekends, I waited to do it until later. I downloaded the "St. Valentine's Day" Episode of 30 Rock that I missed and watched that instead.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Shake your arse, come over here, now scream...
Song: "Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams
April 25th
Anzac Day
We finished off yesterday evening with dancing to a cover band at the Casino with our Irish pals. Great evening. Bernie and I got back to the hostel, and slept.
Then we went whitewater rafting down the Tully River. It was pretty fun, but very intense. Our guide was stuck with a boat full of six girls.
Here are pictures of us having fun:
During the first half of the trip, we got trained on the different positions we had to take in the boat on certain rapids and how to paddle. We stopped and jumped off of a giant rock into the river. It was exhilarating.
Then we decided to ask the rafting guide "what's the worst thing that's ever happened to you while rafting?" He told us he'd tell us after the day was over. We really should have listened to him, but instead the girls begged him to just tell us. He did.
Two years ago he pulled a dead girl out from under the water.
So that was terrifying to hear.
We then went for our midday break, ate lunch, digested the food and that information and then hopped back on the bus to go to the hard part of the river. Yay...
This time, after hitting probably the first rapid on the second half of the trip, our raft flipped. After hearing the story earlier about the girl who drowned when their raft capsized, this was an incredibly frightening experience. We also tipped over where there was a camera.
Scariest moment of the whole trip, but I floated out well and another raft picked me up. I love life jackets.
So we rafted on in terror after that, and we made it over the rapid where the girl died two years ago. The rest of the trip was quiet, but enjoyable. We got back on the bus and headed back to Cairns for our last night before our plane trip. We were exhausted, but the girls and I went out for dinner and then finished some pineapple.
We had an early flight the next morning, but it was Anzac Day so I went exploring. There was not much to see. There were a bunch of Australian navy people around town. I went home early.
April 25th
Anzac Day
We finished off yesterday evening with dancing to a cover band at the Casino with our Irish pals. Great evening. Bernie and I got back to the hostel, and slept.
Then we went whitewater rafting down the Tully River. It was pretty fun, but very intense. Our guide was stuck with a boat full of six girls.
Here are pictures of us having fun:
During the first half of the trip, we got trained on the different positions we had to take in the boat on certain rapids and how to paddle. We stopped and jumped off of a giant rock into the river. It was exhilarating.
Then we decided to ask the rafting guide "what's the worst thing that's ever happened to you while rafting?" He told us he'd tell us after the day was over. We really should have listened to him, but instead the girls begged him to just tell us. He did.
Two years ago he pulled a dead girl out from under the water.
So that was terrifying to hear.
We then went for our midday break, ate lunch, digested the food and that information and then hopped back on the bus to go to the hard part of the river. Yay...
This time, after hitting probably the first rapid on the second half of the trip, our raft flipped. After hearing the story earlier about the girl who drowned when their raft capsized, this was an incredibly frightening experience. We also tipped over where there was a camera.
Scariest moment of the whole trip, but I floated out well and another raft picked me up. I love life jackets.
So we rafted on in terror after that, and we made it over the rapid where the girl died two years ago. The rest of the trip was quiet, but enjoyable. We got back on the bus and headed back to Cairns for our last night before our plane trip. We were exhausted, but the girls and I went out for dinner and then finished some pineapple.
We had an early flight the next morning, but it was Anzac Day so I went exploring. There was not much to see. There were a bunch of Australian navy people around town. I went home early.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
In the jungle, there’s lion and monkey and elephant...
Song: "Into the Jungle" by Alphabeat
April 24th
Today was jungle surfing day. We woke up got ready and made our way to the bus to jungle surfing. What is jungle surfing you ask? It's awesome.
Before we left our hostel though, there was this super creepy man carrying a stuffed animal unicorn around and another stuffed animal in his backpack. Terrifying. Becca thought he was a pedophile. She was probably correct.
Anyway, we left there and went to jungle surfing. I loved it. We got harnessed up and swung through the Daintree Rainforest like monkeys. The only thing I was mildly upset about was that I had the SpongeBob Squarepants helmet instead of the cooler ones (Tinkerbell, Stifler's Mom, Smurfette, etc.)
Our guides were from Malta and Australia and were incredibly amusing. The Australian used to be a scuba diving instructor for years before doing this jungle surfing stuff. I found this interesting.
If you look closely you can see the water:
Basket fern:
Rainforest feet:
Me, upside down. Whee!:
I really enjoyed swinging through the rainforest, if you couldn't tell. We did have to leave though, and once we got back, we rushed down to Rainforestation for our meeting with the animals. I took a few pictures on the way.
Cassowary warning signs:
Kangaroo warning signs!
We made it to Rainforestation without hitting any of those things. Once there, we held some koalas. All our Australearn friends from Macquarie did it, and we did too. Someone told me koalas smelled bad, but this one just smelled like eucalyptus. And it grabbed my shirt with its claws. Too cute.
Then we saw the other animals. This was a perfect picture:
So was this:
Yep, that's me feeding a kangaroo. My Australian life is now complete.
After we saw the animals, we did a tour on an army duck boat thing. Um, this:
It was ok. We learned a lot about tropical fruits and saw a few lizards of different varieties.
Once we got back, we bought a variety of tropical fruits and tasted them. Some were much better than others.
The girls picking fruits:
We left there and hurried back to Cairns because we had to hand our rental car back in. We were kind of worried that we had gone over out 2200 km limit, but we were much more worried about cleaning out the car. We took it to fill it up with gas and spent a good 20 minutes getting a car wash, vacuuming the insides, and doing some interior cleaning. We made that thing look spiffy. Bernie had fun with the vacuum.
After cleaning it to our satisfaction, Becca smoothly drove it in to the rental car place, where we were given the ok to head off. We clocked in at exactly 2200 km. Can't even believe that. We caught a taxi back to the hostel and hit up the market that happened right behind where we were staying. I bought an avocado and ate it along with free tomato samples. Delicious. Then we all decided to buy two pineapples and have them cut for us and eat them together. Great decision. They were delicious pineapples.
These things were at the market too. This picture turned out well. I think they're a type of fruit. Rambutan, maybe?
We then got dinner at a sushi place and ran into Erik, from Fraser Island. Our Fraser Island friends kept popping up all over the place. We saw him again that evening at our hostel's bar. We also met up with Barry and Lisa, the awesome couple from Ireland there as well. Barry had been to Cairns before and told us stories of this place called The Woolshed, where people dance on tables. We decided we wanted to go to there. So the four girls and our Irish friends went there.
Barry and Lisa, Ireland's finest representatives:
Dancing on tables. I love my life.
We eventually called it a night. Sort of. It was the night before Anzac Day, which is a major holiday in Australia celebrating the Australia New Zealand Army Corps and a battle they knew they were going to lose but fought together in anyway back a long time ago. Anyway, it's a pretty sacred holiday, so all the bars in Cairns closed at midnight. Sort of. Except the Casino, so we went there...
April 24th
Today was jungle surfing day. We woke up got ready and made our way to the bus to jungle surfing. What is jungle surfing you ask? It's awesome.
Before we left our hostel though, there was this super creepy man carrying a stuffed animal unicorn around and another stuffed animal in his backpack. Terrifying. Becca thought he was a pedophile. She was probably correct.
Anyway, we left there and went to jungle surfing. I loved it. We got harnessed up and swung through the Daintree Rainforest like monkeys. The only thing I was mildly upset about was that I had the SpongeBob Squarepants helmet instead of the cooler ones (Tinkerbell, Stifler's Mom, Smurfette, etc.)
Our guides were from Malta and Australia and were incredibly amusing. The Australian used to be a scuba diving instructor for years before doing this jungle surfing stuff. I found this interesting.
If you look closely you can see the water:
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
Cassowary warning signs:
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
We made it to Rainforestation without hitting any of those things. Once there, we held some koalas. All our Australearn friends from Macquarie did it, and we did too. Someone told me koalas smelled bad, but this one just smelled like eucalyptus. And it grabbed my shirt with its claws. Too cute.
Then we saw the other animals. This was a perfect picture:
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
After we saw the animals, we did a tour on an army duck boat thing. Um, this:
 |
| From Cairns |
Once we got back, we bought a variety of tropical fruits and tasted them. Some were much better than others.
The girls picking fruits:
 |
| From Cairns |
We left there and hurried back to Cairns because we had to hand our rental car back in. We were kind of worried that we had gone over out 2200 km limit, but we were much more worried about cleaning out the car. We took it to fill it up with gas and spent a good 20 minutes getting a car wash, vacuuming the insides, and doing some interior cleaning. We made that thing look spiffy. Bernie had fun with the vacuum.
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
We then got dinner at a sushi place and ran into Erik, from Fraser Island. Our Fraser Island friends kept popping up all over the place. We saw him again that evening at our hostel's bar. We also met up with Barry and Lisa, the awesome couple from Ireland there as well. Barry had been to Cairns before and told us stories of this place called The Woolshed, where people dance on tables. We decided we wanted to go to there. So the four girls and our Irish friends went there.
Barry and Lisa, Ireland's finest representatives:
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
And I'm free, I'm free fallin'...
Song: "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty
April 23rd
This morning, I went skydiving.
I know, I know, I wouldn't have thought I would either. But it's Australia, and I'm sort of a different person here. Hopefully, in a good way.
I was terrified, but it was really too early in the morning for it to have an effect on me. We weren't really supposed to do it so soon after scuba diving because of some sort of pressure related thing, but we already booked it and no one was able to clearly tell us if our heads would explode or not, so we just did it.
About a month ago, when I was freaking out about going on this trip in the first place, a very wise friend of mine quoted some reassuring words from Dune for me.
Despite having heard the litany against fear before (*cough* Jamie's away messages *cough*), Jay's incantation of it stuck with me. I kept uttering all that I could remember (the first two sentences) in my head all morning - while riding on the bus, getting my harness on, getting on the plane - until I jumped out.
Then, appropriately, I got "Free Fallin'" stuck in my head.
Skydiving, while pretty indescribable, was the coolest thing I've ever done and I highly recommended it to everyone who can. The first few seconds it was hard to breathe, but the free fall was such a rush, and gliding down to the ground was so serene. And I got to land on a beach AND see The Great Barrier Reef from the sky on the way down. Excellent day.
Yes, I landed here:
My skid marks:
Me, after landing:
After that was accomplished, I waited for Becca and Vilde to land. They did a great job. Becca even stood up on the sand without getting her bum wet. I was not so graceful.
This front page of the newspaper was on the back of the toilet door. I enjoyed:
Once we were finished, we came back to Cairns (skydiving took place about an hour or two south of there) and we met up with Bernie. We decided to next head up to Mossman Gorge, which was recommended to us on our Whitsundays sailing trip.
It was gorgeous. Haha get it? Gorge-ous.
We swam in the river for a bit, and then headed off to Port Douglas, which came highly recommended to me from Ms. Cindy. We tried to find a restaurant called "Going Bananas" but it had apparently shut down. We then drove and parked and wandered along the beautiful, classy streets of Port Douglas. It was a nice town. Tones from the Whitsundays trip said this would be the place for us to pick up a sugar daddy. He wasn't kidding.
We went to this cute little store with trinkets and jewelry called Imagine on one of the main streets. Cute stuff. We also peeked in at Nautilus, a place that was way too fancy for us in our cover-ups.
We then settled on a nice restaurant that wasn't too nice. I got some form of duck and a margarita. Yum.
After dinner, we headed off to Cape Tribulation, and we made it in time to catch the ferry, which took you not even a quarter of a mile across a river. I guess they didn't want to build a bridge.
We drove for what seemed like forever, but we finally made it to our hostel in Cape Trib. We ran into Olivia and Sabine again, which was crazy, and then we headed off to sleep.
April 23rd
This morning, I went skydiving.
I know, I know, I wouldn't have thought I would either. But it's Australia, and I'm sort of a different person here. Hopefully, in a good way.
I was terrified, but it was really too early in the morning for it to have an effect on me. We weren't really supposed to do it so soon after scuba diving because of some sort of pressure related thing, but we already booked it and no one was able to clearly tell us if our heads would explode or not, so we just did it.
About a month ago, when I was freaking out about going on this trip in the first place, a very wise friend of mine quoted some reassuring words from Dune for me.
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Despite having heard the litany against fear before (*cough* Jamie's away messages *cough*), Jay's incantation of it stuck with me. I kept uttering all that I could remember (the first two sentences) in my head all morning - while riding on the bus, getting my harness on, getting on the plane - until I jumped out.
Then, appropriately, I got "Free Fallin'" stuck in my head.
Skydiving, while pretty indescribable, was the coolest thing I've ever done and I highly recommended it to everyone who can. The first few seconds it was hard to breathe, but the free fall was such a rush, and gliding down to the ground was so serene. And I got to land on a beach AND see The Great Barrier Reef from the sky on the way down. Excellent day.
Yes, I landed here:
 |
| From Cairns |
My skid marks:
 |
| From Cairns |
Me, after landing:
After that was accomplished, I waited for Becca and Vilde to land. They did a great job. Becca even stood up on the sand without getting her bum wet. I was not so graceful.
This front page of the newspaper was on the back of the toilet door. I enjoyed:
 |
| From Cairns |
Once we were finished, we came back to Cairns (skydiving took place about an hour or two south of there) and we met up with Bernie. We decided to next head up to Mossman Gorge, which was recommended to us on our Whitsundays sailing trip.
It was gorgeous. Haha get it? Gorge-ous.
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
We swam in the river for a bit, and then headed off to Port Douglas, which came highly recommended to me from Ms. Cindy. We tried to find a restaurant called "Going Bananas" but it had apparently shut down. We then drove and parked and wandered along the beautiful, classy streets of Port Douglas. It was a nice town. Tones from the Whitsundays trip said this would be the place for us to pick up a sugar daddy. He wasn't kidding.
We went to this cute little store with trinkets and jewelry called Imagine on one of the main streets. Cute stuff. We also peeked in at Nautilus, a place that was way too fancy for us in our cover-ups.
We then settled on a nice restaurant that wasn't too nice. I got some form of duck and a margarita. Yum.
 |
| From Cairns |
 |
| From Cairns |
After dinner, we headed off to Cape Tribulation, and we made it in time to catch the ferry, which took you not even a quarter of a mile across a river. I guess they didn't want to build a bridge.
We drove for what seemed like forever, but we finally made it to our hostel in Cape Trib. We ran into Olivia and Sabine again, which was crazy, and then we headed off to sleep.
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