So long, and thanks for all the fish.

There was a fire in the neighborhood last night. Nate had just left, called us and said it was just up the street on Milwaukee. We strolled over, and the Discount Mega Mall was enveloped in smoke and flames. There was about 20 firetrucks and tons of other fire/police vehicles. They had blocked off about four square blocks to access the different areas of the building, and shut down the El line that went right nearby.

Apparently the building had ridiculous amounts of city violations, and should have been closed.




This is crappy video, and you can't really see the amount of smoke that was pouring out of the roof, but there's the story and good video here:

www.abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5646735

Support the memory of your local indoor mexican flea market!

Watching you through my rear-view mirror.

I went home to hang out with my mom this weekend, after recovering a bit Saturday afternoon. She got a new dog, Gracie, a couple months ago and this was the first time I got to see it. And now you get to, because everyone loves pictures of dogs.





I'm not a huge fan of tiny dogs, but she's pretty darn cute and she doesn't bark or yip. That little blur behind the side of her head is her wagging tail. How friggin adorable.

I heart Chicago.

Thursday night Simone and I were bored. After consulting the internets we decided to bake blueberry muffins from scratch. We took an Igo car to the store to pick up baking soda, vanilla, a basting brush, and some wine. We had fresh blueberries and everything else already.

They're awesome. Fresh blueberry muffins with streusel topping.


Saturday Nate moved into the Texas Ballroom on Archer. Apparently after waiting two-and-a-half hours in the morning to get his truck, they told him it was reserved for another day. Meltdown ensues including multiple profanities and kicking a can in frustration. They finally find another truck.

After we get everything packed up and ready to go around lunchtime, Cassie, Caleb, and Brian (Nate's brother) had to leave. I got to drive Nate's car down to the Ballroom because he was driving the truck.

It was the first time I drove on Lake Shore Drive in a long time. I'd almost forgotten how gorgeous this city is. Traffic was moving slow and it was fun to soak it all in again. The different views of the skyline, hundreds of sailboats on the lake taking advantage of the beautiful day, the lakefront path, and just the mass of the city itself. Nice.

Moving into the Texas Ballroom was not nice.
Three flights of stairs. Me, Nate, and his dad. Everything Nate owned and whatever Tyler left behind. It was almost 8pm when we got finished, and we weren't slacking. Feeling it today.

Had a blast at Libby and Kate's afterwards for their pizza and champagne housewarming/Libby's birthday party. It was mostly theatre people we didn't know, but they were all really friendly and we had a great time. Then I hid Nate's shoe in the fridge.

I need to get a phone.

Functional Alcoholics.

At 27 years old, I would think that I've grown past teen dramas. Damn you, Megan and Marty, and Dave and Mendy. And anyone else who's fallen under their influence.

I've stumbled into the end of the first season of Felicity, and I sit here wondering why, and how, the trials and tribulations of a television college freshman girl can still apply to a 27 year-old guy. Damn you Londoners. Or ites. Whichever you prefer.

But at least I've got the next few weeks of my nights planned out.

Revision.

Due to popular demand, I am revising the photo of my morning routine. Apparently, it is not entirely historically accurate. I have been told that some details have been misrepresented, especially in the striking looks of my roomates.

The following photo is how they usually look in the rough and just-awoken morning. Enjoy.

Home again.

It's been a few days of falling back into routine. Morning coffee, walks in the neighborhood, lots of beer at night, and seeing friendly faces.

Had a great night with Colin, Brian, and Liz the other night, and Brian rehashed memories of his own trip to Australia. Brian and Liz cooked a fantastic dinner, and I visited their new apartment for the first time. It's really nice, and Liz did a good job disguising the fact that Brian lives there.

Yesterday I went to the zoo with Simone, and later at the apartment we hosted a small birthday party on the back patio for Jess. I manned the grill, desperately trying to fill Ryan's shoes, and pulled off cooking various meats fairly well.

Going home today for a short visit, and I have to figure out what's going on for the rest of the week. Ratatouille, Bourne Ultimatum, and Transformers are all playing at the Logan, so I think that's on the list.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.

So I leave Australia tomorrow for home. It's strange, I think I'm more nervous coming back than I was leaving. I actually can't wait to get home. It's strange, I leave here at 10:20am and fly to L.A. 13 1/2 hours later I arrive the same day at 6:30am. I have a 6 hour layover and get back to Chicago at 6:15pm. Sweet.

The last couple days I've been sick. It's a little frustrating since it's my last night here. I went to bed at 5pm yesterday and got up at 3pm today. And the hot water heater broke today.

On the plus side, Manly is really beautiful. The coastline is full of high cliffs with small villas nested away in them. They're all different colors, so it looks really cool.

Heading back to bed. I'll see you all soon!

I'm at an internet cafe in Cairns. Flying back to Sydney at 5:30 in the am, and spending the last couple days there. Things are winding down, and this morning I parted ways with the two German girls I was travelling with. We were running late getting to the bus, and I just caught it as it was pulling out. Grabbed my bags and left.

It wasn't til I got a message 3 hours later that I realized I had left my shoes and my jacket in the car. Crap.

I feel like I've been posting much more than I actually have. I'm really looking forward to coming home, seeing friends, and getting things straightened out. Been feeling really disconnected lately, and a little cloudy. I've had a good time here, and it's been a great experience, but I'm looking forward to being able to actually work toward something when I get back. Also looking forward to:

-My big bed
-Chicago style hot dogs
-Knowing where the next shower is
-More consistent temperatures (half the time it was just below freezing in the morning and 78 during the day.)
-No more metric or Celcius.
-A nice kitchen!

These are some more photos that I liked.

Australia dollars are way cooler than U.S. dollars. And they're plastic.

The remains of a campfire at the hostel Cool Bananas in 1770.

I was the only American, so the guy gave me this chopper to ride. Way fun.

The view from the small plane with the side window open!

Me looking pretty rough on the last day of sailing.

Snorkelling at Maureen's Cove off the Whitsundays.

Intoxicating with adventure.

No pictures right now, because the internets are crummy.

In Airlie Beach right now, leaving for a sailing trip in a couple hours. Going snorkeling in the Whitsundays! The past couple days were spent in Agnes Water and the Town of 1770. It's really cheap to do lots of things there, and the towns are pretty nice. And tiny.

1770 is named after Captain Cook's discovery of Queensland in the year 1770. There's 110 houses and 80 full time residents. Agnes Water has about 2000 residents, but the place is fairly up to date, although my cell carrier had no reception there either.

I rode a small-engine chopper for an afternoon, which was really fun! We stayed at a place called Cool Bananas that had a fire pit, hammocks, and a sweet kitchen. The next day I got surf lessons in the morning, and in the afternoon went up in a 4-seater plane for the afternoon! We did some rollercoaster-style tricks and corkscrews, and I even got to fly for about twenty minutes. It's actually pretty easy. It was really cool, and then we landed on a beach and shucked some oysters to eat because it was low tide. Crazy!

Two days jam packed full of exclamation points. Wow!

4 minute post

I'm in Gayndah. It's small. They have a grocery store, a petrol station, one school, two bars, and a bottle shop. And maybe a thousand residents. And lots of farms.

Picking mandarins is better than picking strawberries, and I can say that I haven't forgotten how to climb trees. We have big ladders, and one huge ladder for the tallest trees. Worked a long day the other day, and watched the sun set over the orchard from the top of one of the tall trees. That was kind of cool. I also get to drive the tractor and feed the cows some mandarins when we're done for the day.

There's no cell phone reception within 100 miles of here. Weird.

Lots of stuff!

Lots of new things in the past week or so. And not much computer time.

Went canoeing in the Noosa Everglades which wasn't as cool as I thought it would be. But there is a huge patch of sand in the middle of a raised forest that feels like a desert. That was strange. Canoeing isn't that fun when there's nothing to look at, though.

Also went ocean kayaking at Rainbow Beach and saw a sea turtle and loads of dolphins. It was a short time, but lots of fun. We drove up to Hervey Bay that night, so I didn't get a chance to see much in Rainbow Beach.

Hervey bay is full of old people, and along the beach there's exercise equipment that looks exactly like the blue and orange playground equipment. It also has a ferry to Fraser Island where we went 4x4 driving and stayed for three days. There were three groups of eight people in the trucks, and it was really amazing.

It's the largest sand island in the world, full of small lakes and things to go see. And there were lots of dingos so we had to keep all the trash and food in the car. Tons of fun, and Lake Mackensie looks like the lagoon from the movie, "The Beach."

Heading to Bundaberg tomorrow, and I'll be there a little while. Keep the bbq warm for me, I'll be home soon.

Inside the truck.

I'm on the left. The weird guy in our group was off somewhere.

Indian heads.

Camping on the beach at night, trucks lighting dinner.

Kingfisher Bay. See the two dingos?

Lake Wabby on the right. There's someone right in the middle of this photo.

Lake Mackensie. Unreal.

Cool sand in Maroochydore.

moving on.

Leaving Maroochydore today. Heading back up toward Noosa, and it's pretty open after that. It will be nice travelling by car, because you can get to a lot of places that the bus system won't go.

It's been fun here, working and hanging out with several people doing the same thing. I'll keep everyone updated.

Walking on the backs of dinosaurs, drinking from the fountain of youth.

A lot of work lately, but going out and having fun with people from work and the hostel. Doing some fishing, and I made some mean pan-fried brim the other day that I caught. And surprisingly, it was good.

I've been on a strange food kick lately, craving tomatoes like they were potato chips. Three or four a day. It's weird. Those, and navel oranges. They're like 50 cents a pound here. Also been drinking lots of tea, and it's been about a month since I've had any pop. I don't know how I'm coping, but it's working out ok.

Climbing in the Glass House mountains on Wednesday, and kayaking after work tomorrow. Maroochydore is a fairly small town, but there seems to be plenty to do. Leaving here at the end of the week to go north.

I've been trying to keep a tally of everything I've had stolen. (most because I was careless_

-2 beach towels

-2 bottles of body wash (aggravating!)

-2 cups

-1 spoon

-1 sweatshirt

-1 jar of Dick's peanut butter

I hope to post more often, with photos of me in them rather than just things I'm looking at.

Had to, because he's so damn cute.

A small crab was making these, clearing sand for his home.

Strangely textured rocks near the beach.



Bare feet and sea cucumbers. They're not really exciting.

A sea slug. Way cooler than the cucumbers.

Me, recreating a pose. The Guiness is pretty good.

Farmer tan. For true though.

Been working in Maroochydore for the past week, and I'll be here for the next as well. It's warmer here, hot days and cool nights. Picking strawberries is pretty back-breaking, but there's a group of us so it's not awful.

The place I'm staying is fun, and has a pool and hammocks. I may have to install one in the aparment when I get back.

Hope Chicago is going well. I miss softball and barbecues. Happy 4th!

The farm, and some of the people I work with.

It's nice to wake up like this after a weekend nap.

Noosa.

It's not raining today and it feels great. Stayed in Noosa Heads for a few days, but mostly got lots of rain. Went to one of the national parks the other day, and had a really good time. Saw some huge trees being strangled by smaller ones, crazy birds that sound like baboons, and a python!

I'm heading to Maroochydore today to work picking strawberries for a couple weeks. Rad.

Beaches.

From Port Macquarie, I took a bus to Byron Bay. It's amazing, and I should have stayed there an extra couple days. Met a couple Swiss kids that spoke French and hitched a ride with them up to Surfer's Paradise. We went through Nimbin on the way, which is a small sort of hippie commune. Stayed in Surfer's for a few days, and moving on tomorrow. Gotta wash my clothes tonight.

Almost stepped on this little guy near the beach.

Crazy weather on the ride up to Byron.

Amazing lookout in Byron Bay next to the lighthouse.

The lighthouse and me.

The Swiss siblings. They were so '80's it's not even funny.

Weather sucks.

It's been raining for days. I'm in Port Macquarie now, a nice town that is the unofficial koala capital. There's lots of beaches, and a lighthouse a couple hours walk. There was a break in the weather today and I went to the koala hospital about 20 minutes walk away. Started pouring after two blocks!

Koala's are ridiculously cute. Ridiculous. And they have an uncanny ability to curl into a ball and sleep on a branch sitting up. They only fall out of the tree sometimes. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. Some are only about 8-9 lbs, and some get up to about 35 lbs. Neat.

Heading to Byron Bay tomorrow. Woo!

How ya goin', mate?

More photos. Not much as far as inland areas go, it's pretty much all coast and beach here. Lots of pelicans, they hang out like kids by the guys cleaning fish.

That dolphin was swimming between the rocks just below me. Kind of cool.

A rough 9-8 loss for Wicked Awesome, you'll get them next time!

Tea and Scrumpets.

Just a few pictures because the internet is so slow here.

Been rockin' the breakfast every morning, and I think I'm bringing a suitcase full of crumpets home with me.

The scenery here is crazy, so I've been walking a lot. There's three beaches right nearby, and one is nine miles long. I walked half way up it and back the other day. Saw lots of dolphin playing and fishing, and lots of Lorakee(?) parrots that are green, with blue, red, orange, and yellow markings. On the way back, a couple dingos came nearby. They were looking for food. Bigger than I thought they would be.

And I made pasta sauce from scratch last night. Peeled the tomatoes and everything. A good way to kill 2 1/2 hours.

Email me your addresses so I can send postcards!

Yum.

This guy wasn't sure about me.

"Good news, everyone!"

I got my work visa granted.

Been in Forster-Tuncurry for the past week, trying to relax a bit. The coastline is unreal here, straight out of some retirement fund commercial. I'm working at a hostel here in the mornings for a couple hours in exchange for accomodation. It's pretty nice, even though the sun feels like it's setting all day, and is down by about 4:30.

I'm at the library right now, because there's free internet. The other options are $8 an hour down the street at a computer store, or $6 an hour at the hostel. On a machine from 1982. With no mouse.

Been hanging out with this Italian guy named Marco who's also working at the hostel. It's fun and I'm learning how to cook. Last night I did Nile Perch with potatoes, onions, and peppers on the BBQ. Yes, yes it was awesome.

I'll probably be here for a few more days, and then head north.

Looks like Wicked Awesome is off to a great start, and I hope the rest of the season will be well documented as well. Miss all you guys lots and lots.

I'll post pictures hopefully tomorrow, I forgot my camera today. And it's a 40 minute walk to the library.