As driving is one of my favourite things, I jumped at the chance to drive the school bus/minivan to Mornington Peninsula for a school organised excursion. The crew consisted of three teachers and 6 Colombian students.

The hardest thing for me to deal with was not being able to change gear when I wanted to which made driving out of Melbourne particularly stressful in this matter, as at  traffic lights and junctions I wasn’t able to tell the bus to do what I wanted it to do.

That said, it was an easy drive down to Mornington, with no hiccups other than an unfortunate hangover (not my own) causing one of my passengers to need me to stop every so often for a quick vomit. Fun.

I dropped some off at the beach, and four of us continued to our horse-riding location, where we mounted our horses and enjoyed a leisurely trek through the countryside. I say leisurely and I mean incredibly slow: unfortunately we were booked into a beginner’s hack, which meant I honestly could’ve walked faster than my horse Woody was allowed to go and at times I had visions of kicking his flanks and taking him for a quick canter over the hills. The girl behind me asked if my horse was called Woody because of Toy Story, but no, as I had suspected, he was so called because of something else…

After our little horsey jaunt I drove around looking for nice beaches and picturesque photo opportunities and due to my lack of local knowledge, this involved a few U turns and parking tricks, but fun was had by all. We found an incredibly windy location, which made for a hilarious hair-flying-in-the-wind photo shoot, complete with numerous Marilyn Monroe moments of mine where-by everyone got well acquainted with my underwear.

The bus was delivered back to Melbourne without a hitch only 3 hours later than scheduled. No, this was not due to my incompetent time keeping, but a group decision to enjoy the day and stretch it out as much as possible. This is a common trait of mine, because yes, I do and have enjoyed living in Melbourne, but give me a chance to leave the city for the day and I will make it last as long as possible.

Easter Weekend in Sydney…

I took myself to the “other capital” for Easter weekend. There is a certain rivalry between these two cities, and a feeling of competition as to which is cooler. I think that neither is comparable, as they are so different in lifestyle and location. Sydney – usually bathed in sunshine boasts sea, surf and one of the most iconic buildings in the world. Melbourne is less focussed on beach life and offers more culture in its detailed diversity or so goes my opinion.

This was my third time in this city, and as the last two times were 8 years ago with a different frame of mind and with another person, I was able to enjoy the city by myself and for myself entirely, which I thoroughly did.

I enjoyed the freedom of going where I wanted, when I wanted, changing my plans if I wanted, spending longer somewhere if I wanted or just sitting down and doing nothing if I wanted. It really was just what I wanted and needed.

My first evening was spent at Hard Rock Café, having dinner surrounded by some of my rock heroes and gorging on my favourite Hickory BBQ bacon cheeseburger. Doing this alone was a first, but the HRC is a place I enjoy visiting and eating in and decided I felt comfortable enough to do it alone. I was indeed the only person eating alone, but it honestly didn’t bother me in the slightest!

The next day I visited the Chinese Garden of Friendship as I hadn’t had a chance to do that last time and took a trip down memory lane by visiting Paddy’s market and China Town. I wound up in the Art Gallery of New South Wales somewhat by accident later on and enjoyed a happy hour or so pottering about enjoying European, Australian and Aboriginal art.

The botanical gardens I had done before, but were worth a second visit and some time taking in the sights of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House were necessary items on my unwritten Sydney to-do list.

The next day I made it to Manly, which I hadn’t done last time and enjoyed an afternoon with a relaxing beer, some beach time, a good walk along the Manly coastal path and a good dose of me-time. On the ferry trip back to the city I was entertained with the most spectacular storm across the bay. Fork lightning coming from left and right and reaching horizontally over the horizon. I stayed on deck as long as I could bear to watch something that used to terrify me and then knowing I didn’t exactly have a warm cosy hotel room to go back to once I had got cold and wet, I ducked back inside to enjoy it from behind my book.

I meant this entry to be a photo blog rather than descriptive, so here are my best views of Sydney.

Wine, food and friends. Aren’t they three wonderful things to enjoy at the same time?

I certainly enjoyed all three when I did a day winery tour in the third weekend of March. A minibus collected us from Flinders Street and drove us out to the Yarra Valley where we visited 4 wineries complete with samples, lunch and some fairly comprehensive commentary.

I may disappoint you by not bothering too much with a descriptive winery by winery narrative, but hopefully win you over with some pics of Victoria in all its greenery.

I did amuse others on the tour by asking for a list of the wines we were tasting at eact station, in order to annotate each one with my own version of how they tasted. I did discover that I am not wild about Pinot Noir, but do actually like Chardonnay.

On the morning of Saturday 17^th March I was woken by an incredibly annoying, repetitive sound which took me some time to figure out that it was indeed the cars warming up at Albert Park. I had heard it the day before too, but it wasn’t until the Saturday that I got excited about it. I had bought some fairly last minute tickets to go to the qualifying, which was cheaper than then actual race, and since I understood relatively little about the whole event, I wasn’t bothered which day I went, just interested in being part of an event that I would never have had the opportunity to do at home.

It was a hot, late summer afternoon and as we arrived there were cars doing laps at breakneck speed and at an incredible volume. I had forgotten that I love things that go fast and found it exhilarating watching the V8 super cars roar past, remembering that I used to play car racing games for hours on the Super Nintendo and always on the arcade games in the bowling complex at home.

When the Formula One cars started doing their qualifying laps, I have to admit that my own ignorance pissed me off! I wish I had taken the time to read up a little so I could fully understand what was going on, or that I had t

aken a greater interest on those Sundays in Bratislava, when my flatmate was desperately trying to find an internet signal to get the latest race updates.

You often have to experience something to appreciate it, or to find out that it’s something you enjoy and this day I discovered that I could indeed enjoy and get into this sport. There are now two sports my future husband could feasibly follow: Football and Formula 1. Although I should be careful what I ask the universe for…

It seems so long ago now since I blogged about adventures of the Australian kind but in March I did a few things worth sharing, so better late than never…

A long weekend in March involved camping, hiking, platypus searching and bushbashing. The day’s rock climbing and abseiling I had been looking forward to with a friend for some months got cancelled last minute due to heavy rainfall and slippery rocks, so since the camping and car hire were non-refundable, the only thing we could do was go anyway and make the most of the location. Although I was disappointed that the purpose of the trip had changed, I was looking forward to a couple of days out of Melbourne, to enjoy the countryside and smell the fresh air.

Werribee Gorge is a relatively small national park compared to its neighbours, but nevertheless offers spectacular scenery for a day’s hiking. Our 10km hike up, over and along the gorge was well worth it. It took us up along the ridge overlooking the calm green waters inside the gorge and the rolling greenery of the Victorian landscape outside it. After the decent, you follow the river for about 5km and at one point there is a little bit of rock climbing, as you scramble around the rock face over the river, assisted by some metal chains and handholds. The scariest part of the day was nothing physical regarding the hike, but a pile of bones we came across which looked remarkably human sized (or maybe kangaroo-sized) leading us to spend the next few kms coming up with stories of whose bones they were and what had happened to them.

Later on, hiking without a map caused a little confusion at a fork in the path, so a kindly hiker passing by stopping to show us his map and suggest our next route. He told me that if we went left we might have to do a bit of bush-bashing to get back onto the path, as it was quite overgrown. The differences between the Australian lingo and ours does often create those moments when you have to bite your lip hard and avoid the childish temptation to laugh in someone’s face. Honestly, go bush-bashing?????

The thoughtful Victorian parks people had put placards at certain points along the track pointing out flora and fauna of interest – one of which was the platypus. I had sort of considered this animal to be a mythical creature, which didn’t really exist: although very shy they apparently live in rock pool areas of slow-moving water, so we dedicated some time, as foreigners do, to finding it. It seems the platypus didn’t want to make an appearance that day.

Hike number 2, the following day was in Lerderderg Park, which amused me just to say it, so I simply had to drive us there for a look. Another hike took us along a river to a bathing pool, which was further down the track than we’d hoped and enthusiasm to swim had worn off a little when we got there. The actual location was idyllic however, with barbecue spots, and sunny grassed area, rivers, pools and a number of paths leading off to different hikes. It struck me just how much I was enjoying being in Australia, and how with very little effort you can travel less than an hour out of the city and enjoy peace and tranquillity, exercise ( I know, sometimes I enjoy it!) and just being surrounded by green things. Although I enjoy living in a city and having things at my fingertips, I was born in the country and know that my real happiness comes from being in it, and every now and then necessity dictates that I find somewhere green to fill that need.

Done. A great weekend with great company in great surroundings.

Sneaky pic of bedroom clothes booth!

You can rest assured that it wont be a product from the many stalls sporting bedroom dress up costumes. All the signs told me not to take pictures, but I was sneaky and got a few because I thought it was so funny watching the young women or grossly buff dudes looking at the sequined thongs and super woman costumes while the very old Asian dude manning the booth made sure no one stole anything! Unfortunately, I wasn’t sneaky enough to get a picture of him with this booth!

a closer view of some of the costumes you could choose.

a blurry picture of the market. It was packed with ‘stuff!’

Here’s my recommendations about this particular market. Go one day when you have nothing else to do and you only want to spend a couple hours (tops) out in the city. Make sure you only take the amount of cash you want to spend – because if you’re anything like me – you’ll see all the fun cheap things and think “I WANT IT” just because it’s $2.00 and totally gaudy! It’s my weakness and if it’s yours, too, beware! Also, it’s just a really great place to pick up cheap souvenirs that have Australian stuff all over them.

Like I said, today was low key. I spent some time at the library and picked up a couple of books to read over the next couple weeks.  I can’t wait to go lay in a park and dive right in! I also printed out a bunch more resumes so I’ll be hitting the streets first thing Monday morning.

When I got home after exploring Paddy’s Market, I decided to whip up a pudding recipe that I was sent earlier this morning that is made of all raw foods and no sugar!

See this post to find out how to make Avocado Carab Mousse (Pudding)- I used cocoa powder instead of carab because I didn’t have any of the latter. As a warning, if you don’t have a food processor, you will definitely have to use some type of sweetener, like honey, because the dates don’t get completely blended in.

My new specialty — “Dog Poo Pudding”

Also, don’t try to use a piping bag unless it is a completely SMOOTH mixture. I wanted to take a picture of it for all of you to see, so I tried to pipe it into a bowl but the small chunks of date plugged the narrow bit of the piping bag. I had to remove the small piece and then push it onto the plate through the larger round bit. As you can see from the picture that I did take, it looks more like something a dog might excrete than yummy pudding – but I still ate it and it was really good – and healthy! I think I might have to convince Mark that a food processor is a “must have” instead of an “I want” type of item!

 
After my obvious success in the kitchen, it was clean up time. So for the past two hours I have been making sure the apartment is looking good so that Mark and I don’t have to worry about doing much in the apartment over the weekend and can dedicate most of our time to more fun things! Thanks again for reading and have a wonderful day/evening!

Thanks for reading – and as always, feel free to comment and tell me about YOUR day and anything exciting that’s happened to you. Also, if you want to see my list of things I’d like to do and those I’ve accomplished, click here. If you want to see how much each of my adventures has cost, click here.

The $12 boots i bought!

My morning in bullet points:

- wake up at 6:17a when my body clock kicks in
- do laundry and get dressed up to hand out resumes
- buy shoes for $12 so that I have something to wear with a skirt!
- hand out resumes until 10:20a
- head home
This part of my day made me feel very productive but isn’t very exciting, so best to skip over it as quickly as possible. As I was walking home I received a text from a friend who I met through Mark asking me if I would like to grab lunch with her in a couple of hours. Not having decided on a game plan for the day, I immediately accepted the invitation.

The sushi place got lunch from – it was so yummy!

We decided on sushi and had a wonderful lunch in the local park. It was another gorgeous day with lots of sun and blue skies. It’s been awhile since I’ve had quality time gabbing like only girls can, so it was wonderful to relax in the green grass, eat some quality food and enjoy the conversation. When it was time to head back, I was given the awesome idea to head to the end of the road to the wharf and grab the ferry back to downtown Sydney. Since I hadn’t made any plans for my afternoon for a fun and interesting thing (above and beyond my fantastic luncheon in the park!), I took the suggestion eagerly and headed to the ferry.

I grabbed the ferry on its way to Darling Harbour (away from the downtown core) so that I would have more time on the boat. It was absolutely beautiful. I hadn’t seen the city from this perspective, and on the way back into the city we got to go underneath the Harbour bridge. So awesome! At one of the stops, a

Coming into Darling Harbour.

young woman around my age came and sat on the same bench as me. She gave me a big smile, but I haven’t completely embraced my “get out of the comfort zone” part of my 7 Step plan, so I smiled back and then retreated back into my music and picture taking fun.
When we arrived downtown, she waited for me outside the ferry and came up to me to say hello. It turns out that she is from Germany and probably figured out that I was not a true Sydney-sider because I was taking picture after picture on the ferry. She has been here just over a month and half and hasn’t met many people in the area – sound familiar? She’s here doing a practicum for four months and honing her English. I

Another view of Darling Harbour

was so impressed with her courage to approach a complete stranger and say hello. I could learn a thing or two from her. After exchanging some initial small-talk, we decided to grab a coffee and chat. We ended up spending over an hour wandering around and sitting in the park getting to know each other. After exchanging phone numbers and promising to get together again, we parted ways for the evening. It was absolutely fantastic to meet someone new, and after yesterdays experience, normal and my own age!

By the time I got back home it was almost 6pm and time for supper. It feels great to lounge around this evening after a long and eventful day. It was probably the most successful all week and will be hard to beat tomorrow. But i’m going to do my best! See more pictures below of my trip on the ferry! Have a wonderful evening/day!!

Thanks for reading – and as always, feel free to comment and tell me about YOUR day and anything exciting that’s happened to you. Also, if you want to see my list of things I’d like to do and those I’ve accomplished, click here. If you want to see how much each of my adventures has cost, click here.

A view of the lighthouse at the Maritime Museum (it’s on my list!)

The side of the Harbour Bridge I hadn’t photographed yet!

The Ferris Wheel at Luna Park – Mark says we can go ride it some day! Yeah!

Almost under the bridge!

Going under the bridge! Awesome.

Aloha! Day three has come and almost gone and I had a fantastic day! Remember those six steps I wrote down on day one? Well, I’m turning it into 7 steps.

Step 7: Create a Routine.

That started today when my alarm went off at the offensive hour of 8:15am. So that might not seem terrible for all you working class out there – but keep in mind that I’ve been sort of bumming around for 2 months, so day one of my routine was a little rough! But, keeping true to my (now) 7 Step Plan, I got out of bed within 7 minutes of my alarm first going off and started my day with a little dream writing.

I adhered to Step 2 (the nutrition bit) by enjoying an omelette made with my stir fry leftovers. It was actually delicious and worth people trying someday. I’m not sure if it would have worked as well with a chicken stir fry but the beef was fantastic!

Job searching got put on hold for today but because I have to do something everyday to move the process forward, I went to the store and bought a folder to put my resumes in when I finally hit the pavement and some paperclips to hold my three beautiful pages together. Step 5 (in process), check!

As for Step 4, I’ve gotta say – today has been a good day, so I think I’m doin’ alright on that front!

Alright, on to the fun part! Step 1 had me heading downtown (or to the CBD, for my Aussie friends) to seek out the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was a beautiful, sunny, clear sky kind of day so I decided to wear a flowery dress for the occasion!

I will show you some pictures of some of the artwork that struck me while I was walking through the gallery, but the most interesting story actually has nothing to do with the artwork and everything to do with Step 3 (meeting new people).

As I walked into a dark room full of large screens projecting acted out scenes that had something to do with Ned Kelly – not five minutes after I arrived, mind you! – an older gentleman (probably in his mid-70s) approached me. He stuck out his hand for me to shake, and I awkwardly removed my headphones and smiled at him. He grabbed my hand and said hello in a thick European accent. Having been raised to be polite, I said hello in return.

The "moving picture" installment about clocks.

He asked how I was and if I was alone. I said fine…and yes (hesitantly).
“Alone! Why?!”
“Well… my friends are all at work, so I thought I’d come enjoy the art!”
“Ah…” he says “…it’s just so nice to meet you! Yes, so nice!” As he grabs my hand and kisses it for the first time in this awkward chance encounter.
“Yes….uh….nice to meet you too.” I start wondering how to gently extricate myself from the situation when he says “I’m alone too! Do you want to look at the artwork together? There’s a moving picture (no word of a lie, he said moving picture!) in the other room.” Now this is the point in the story where one would expect the story to go – and then I got out of there as fast as I could. But anyone who really knows me knows two things – 1. I’m definitely more curious over cautious, and 2. I have a really hard time being blunt and getting myself out of awkward situations. Plus he was an old, lonely dude at an art gallery – how bad could it be?
“Uh, sure.. ya… why not!”
“Oh good!“ And then my hand is at his lips, once again.

As we walk out of the room he tells me that I should be a model, because my profile is just so beautiful and that I have such a gorgeous personality and i realize…. the lonely old man is…. hitting on me!  I should have guessed – I rented an apartment from an old Eastern European dude in Vancouver and he was always cooking me dinner and trying to feed me wine all the time.

Finally the question Where are you from and what are you doing in Australia comes up and it gives me the opportunity to say “Oh! I’m here with my boyfriend.”
“How long have you known him?”
“Around a year and half” (A slight exaggeration but it was for good measure!)
“Oh, is he meeting you later? Will you see him today?” (uh, what?)
“Well, actually we live together!”

I think, at this point a lightbulb went off in his head and he realized that he wasn’t going to get me out on a date so instead he moved on to questions on my happiness and if my boyfriend really was a good guy or not and that I should probably wait for marriage because with that commitment comes many, many other responsibilities! (another kiss on the hand, just for fun). I told him that my boyfriend was a good man and that I was, indeed, truly happy with him… no plans to ditch him for a 75 year old European dude in the near or distant future!

We did end up watching part of the ‘moving picture’ – which ended up being one of my favourite art installations but couldn’t fully enjoy it until he finally told me he had to get back home and left me sitting alone, watching a string of movie clips that all showed a clock at some point or another. It was actually really cool. In each minute, there would be 5-8 (sometimes more) movie clips that showed a clock that depicted that time. For example, if it was 2:20, the clock in the clip would show 2:20. Apparently this is a 24 hour installment with thousands of clips. I can’t get over the amount of work that would have taken the artist to put it together!

As it was, I can now check Step 3 off for the day – because I was definitely out of my comfort zone and I met a new person. Although, I can’t say that I made a lifelong friend and I had to go wash my hands to feel clean again after at least 5 kisses on my hand. Oh well, tomorrow’s a new day!

As for the rest of my experience at the Museum, it was fantastic. The next two hours flew by as I looked at and interacted with art from all over the world. There was also some great artwork depicting the struggle between the Aboriginal people in Australia and those who settled here.

One of my favourite installments was called “Death Clock.” It was a room full of 500 photographs that people sent into the artist with a nominated ‘time of death’ for their own lives. It has to do with Buddhist philosophy and these people’s wish to die peacefully and in readiness for the next life. When I arrived at the installment there was nobody else in the room and to be surrounded by hundreds of faces in black and white contrast was a pretty cool feeling. I definitely suggest that if you get to see this piece, that you spend some quality alone time in the room and see how it makes you feel.

I also saw a room that was supposed to be ‘cloud-like’ which made me feel a little bit like I was in a padded room in the psych ward but also made me want to curl up and sleep.

I will put a few more pictures down at the bottom with little descriptions, but these were a couple that stood out. There was one that was a short video clip of an old man practicing Tai Chi that was really cool, but I didn’t want to video it, so you will have to visit the Museum to experience it first hand. I could totally spend multiple days in this place looking at the same things over and over. There is so much to see and you go into a bit of overload when you see it all at once. I’ve already decided that I will go visit each floor again at different times and dedicate myself to really taking in everything to the best of my abilities.

On the top floor was the “Sculpture Terrace” with only one installment but a great view! To my left was the Sydney Harbour Bridge and straight out in front of me, the Opera House. I never get sick of either of these structures, no matter how many times I see them. And of course, what good is a great view if you can’t share it with anyone… so here’s a couple of pictures.

After a wonderful day at the museum, I headed outdoors to watch the ferries come in and leave their docks. I just can’t get enough of these boats! As I did, I realized that I didn’t have one picture of me on this adventure, and so, in the middle of crowds of people, I pulled the ‘picture’ of shame by posing with my camera held out in front of me. But hey – at least I have some proof that it was really me taking all these pictures!

There I am! With the Museum! I was really there!

So, with my fun and interesting thing all wrapped up and some pictures to prove that it actually happened, I walked back into the main part of the city for a little stroll. As I was passing a small backstreet (and I almost missed it!) I noticed that there were multiple cages strung up along the alley way. As I moved closer, I realized they were ornate bird cages. Another installment of 21st century art and I found it in an alley. Well, that’s not entirely true – it’s a foot path lined with cobblestone so it’s a ‘rich person’s alley way.” Anyways, it was cool and made me smile, so I thought I’d share it before this looonnnng post came to and end!

And that, my friends is where all the exciting bits of my adventure ended. If you made it this far into the post – Thank you! And, hey, if you’re taking the time to read about it, maybe next time you have some free time, you can come with me on one of my little adventures. There would be so many benefits to that! 1. I’d have company! 2. I’d be doing the whole ‘friend’ thing that Step 3 is all about and … last but certainly not least, 3. no creepy old men would hit on me while I was alone.

Enjoy the pictures below of some of the other art that I had the immense pleasure of viewing. Have a wonderful day!

Apparently these are 'corporate portraits"

A cool owl picture.

is it a floating apple?

Baby shoes with shells on them.

An installation with paint and a chair!

spiderman with a creepy bearded dude!

a better view of the sculpture - without the bridge!

So this is the final post in this mini-series and it is about the subject I find most enjoyable besides photomedia… When I put this down as one of my subject choices I honestly believed that it would be a class in how to draw things better, It turns out that that is not the case, rather it is all about how to get more comfortable with art utensils and explore their uses, Much of the time it is all about the process, not always the outcome! the outcome is always slightly obscure like much of modern and pop- art since the 60′s. Over the weeks we have covered different mediums (the drawn utensil) and materials, (what we draw on) Much of the time it is a 2b pencil and heavy cartridge paper, often feels like heavy rag… I finally got around to photographing the pieces I have done yesterday, But I went and saw the Avengers movie before I got the chance to write this up, so there we go, a day late but non the less.

Line art when not looking at the page, 4 short studies and a bonus sketch of who I am in pictorial form in the corner;

This piece later informed some other pieces looking at perspective grids and such likes, I forgot to get a picture of my favourite piece of this, but there we go. Next up, using line and line only to depict emotion, 4 A3 pieces, you will have to tilt your head or the screen to see the second two, sorry;

Above can be viewed as is, best views with the right edge up, (rotated 90° clockwise, tilt your head to the left…)

The next week was all about depicting WHO we are, in essence a self portrait about our traits not our looks, I did a few, the last is my favourite, tell me which yours is;

A couple weeks later we looked at the process of removal, using inverted negative space to depict an image, this in my most favourite of all the pieces I have done, so far, It was inspired by a photo that I have seen on numerous occasions, taken by a friend of mine, I call it, “In The Night”;

The Next project was the most fun, and the removal thing and this next one are the two that I will be looking at employing in my final portfolio piece for final presentation…

Basically we had to a piece of art where we could not be any nearer than 1 meter, 3 foot, 1000 mm… you get the idea. many others tried to do actual drawing, I left the actual outcome to chance, I am giving you 3 of the pieces, nothing more. there were others but these give the idea for what I was doing… the 3rd is also my favourite;

To do these pieces I stood on the balcony, 5 meters is above the sheet of paper and then using a pipet I aimed and sent individual drips of indian ink… the middle one is actually the passage of a sharpie out of this world, starting at the right and going left I dropped it from around 2 meters, as high as I could reach up =] by the end the tip was flat as! Don’t worry it was on the way out anyway, the ink was almost gone. I use sharpies a good deal in my industrial design stuff so I use them up pretty quick.

and then the latest pieces, from last week, we are almost finished with taught classes, and this last set was about depicting things, telling a story, that Kind of thing.

These were fun, with my knowledge of what a hegner saw does it took me a little to know what to do. but they both ended up being pretty fun. These were actually the second half of the class work, we had started by looking at telling a story with simple line, my journey from bed to class; the directions  I travelled in, the elevation over time, and noise values over time;

I almost forgot! the piece that I we did the week before last, a Piece on site, using the location to inspire the art or the art to take control of the situation, I have the class piece that I did with a peer, and the solo piece, you tell me what you think;

From our class piece;

The Final Piece we Presented;

Hope you like these! I do and they were a heap of fun to do too! Take care and I will be back very soon!

To recap, day one I went crazy and spent $10 on a fantastic dress. I haven’t checked out a lot of thrift stores here but let me tell you one thing I did find out. Sydney has a lot, and I mean a lot of stores where old clothing sells for 50+ dollars (see Surrey Hills) and that is just baffling to me. On the flip side of that, you aren’t as lucky to have massive thrift stores like our Value Village at your disposal. However, I’m going to let you in on a little secret – Vinnie’s, at least the one on the corner of Glebe Pt. Rd and Bridge St. has some pretty rad stuff if you’re willing to sort through the oh-so-common junk you will always find at a low-end second hand store. But so worth it if you find something insanely adorable for a purple bill instead of a yellow one!  Plus you always feel a stronger attachment to the clothing you really have to work for!

A very brave little bird. Almost ate out of my hand.

Alright! I know you’re just itching to find out how much more exciting this can get after the party that was yesterday so I’ll get right to it in case you couldn’t figure it out by the pictures and the self-explanatory title. I FED THE BIRDIES! And you know what? It really was fun! I had a little bit of self-doubt, especially after mentioning my plans to my lovely sister and getting laughed at, but it was all alright in the end. I’m telling you, there were actually some terrifying moments (in a good way) when the very big, long pointy beak birds started getting really brave and wandering only inches away from my face.

He really was my favourite - and got lots of bread!

It’s hard not to be in a good mood and stay positive when there are baby birds splashing around in the water, the sun is shining down on you and you are

doing something nice for other living creatures. Ok, so I turned down the Green Peace dude that asked me to donate a $1 a day, but come on, a girl’s gotta eat!  Plus, he was playing into the “you’re so wonderful for feeding the duckies” scenario a little too heavy for me and I really just wanted to ask him if I could hijack a boat with them instead!

The big scary ones that came way too close!

Now the location for feeding birds isn’t really important, because there are heaps of parks everywhere in Sydney for you to enjoy this fun little outing by yourself, but if you want to feed the same cute ducks that I did, head to Victoria Park on Parramatta Rd. There is a large pond there that has been dubiously named Lake Northam (come on guys, you have an ocean, let’s just call it what it is – a pond!) that has at least four types of birds to feed. You get the annoying seagulls but the mallards and red-beaked birds are fun!

This guy knew where it was at. He came and sat in the water right in front of me and stared at me until I fed him - lots. He must have a puppy dog friend who taught him some tric

So the next time you find yourself sitting alone, wondering what to do on a beautiful day, raid your bread box, grab a book or journal and head to the park to give yourself a little ‘me-time’ while you enjoy a small picnic with the ducks.

I’ll just leave you with a couple more pictures of the park I spent the afternoon with and a beautiful tree that reminded me that it is Fall here (Autumn, in Australia speak!).

Thank you all for your interest in these un-interesting posts of mine, perhaps todays will spark some wonder of some kind, this part of what I am doing here down under is both beneficial to the course and also the most interesting part, I said the other day that the industrial design project is not too exciting for me, I think that may be that it is feeling almost more like a fashion project, Or something similar. I realised today that my biggest problem being here is the design ethic is so vastly different, here it is almost like everyone is their own personal little business not wanting to trade secrets or preliminary ideas, or maybe I am just too far out of the circle, who knows, all I know is that I SERIOUSLY miss the studio time where the ideas and suggestion fly faster and thicker than the hallam banter ever could!

The above is the first render of the first ‘major’ project for CAD, the final submission entailed modelling the original stapler, and then play with a new skill I have been taught, Configurations, those of you who know solid works a little will understand this a little, basically I now have 3 different, like totally different images using the same base parts! the 3 images are shown below;

The Original Stapler mostly, the front end of the bottom part is not 100% but it looks good. The next image is the element that was adjusted to show that I can think in a designerly way for myself!

The final image, the 3rd configuration of this stapler is the exploded version, Its kinda fun, I exploded it in order so that when it was animated it came apart in the same order as which I took it apart in!

I have been truly enjoying this course, and now I know what the next project is! its a mouse! not the little squeaky thing, but the less organic plastic sort that was originally called a GUI, first released with the first macintosh now starting to become obsolete with these new fangled touch screens and pads… either way, a mouse is very organic and is going to be an absolute blast to model!

I will be back soon, I am just trying to find the right situation to get pictures or copies of the art pieces that I have done! Have a good time, we will meet soon!

God Bless.

I don’t have any excuses for not writing but I have been going through what I’ve dubbed the “Three Month Slump.” I first heard of this phenomenon from a friend of Mark’s who is originally from England but is now living here permanently. She was kind enough to point out that the first three months would probably be shit but that there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. And she was right – I’m already starting to feel a little more like this is home. What would help to really clinch it is if I could find some employment somewhere!

But I don’t want to sit here and whinge all post long, so I’ll get right to it. I’ve decided to give myself a push start out of my homesick/life change slump and set some goals to make life a little easier. Just for fun, let’s call these goals … steps….because the word goal actually kind of scares me (something to investigate further someday!) And maybe by the time they’ve all been fully implemented, I’ll actually be completely settled here in Sydney, Australia.

Step 1: Do at least one fun/interesting thing every day.
Step 2: Time to bring back nutrition and daily exercise that was so prevalent in Vancouver
Step 3: Get out of my comfort zone and meet new people!
Step 4: Positivity! I hear it’s all the rage.
Step 5: Get a job, you bum!
Step 6: Write about it… all!

Guess what I haven’t done since I arrived in Sydney… Shopped in a thrift store. So, today. in celebration of my new 6 step path to happiness in Australia, I decided to really cut loose and treat myself. That’s right, folks, I gave myself 10 whole dollars to go wild with. After trying on the cutest dress in the world and realizing that sometimes it really is a curse to have my body type – I found an adorable black dress that I think I could dress up for an interview. I was also looking for some boots, as it’s getting cold here on our way into winter but no luck.

Ignoring the graininess and the fingerprints on the mirror AND the fact that I took a picture of myself in a mirror — check out the adorable dress that I found! You can also see the beautiful view that we have out our window and that our bed, obviously, did not get made this morning. Don’t judge, I had more important things to do – like going to buy a dress!

For those of you who love a bargain and adore finding something that’s exactly you in the middle of a second hand shop (ahem, emma!) – I’ve taken a couple of other pictures of the embellishments on this cute little number just to show how ‘me’ it really is!

Yay, for square necklines, pleats and big round buttons!

In addition to doing (and buying) something fun today, I printed off some resumes to hand out tomorrow, bought  veggies at the local market and checked out some very positive books from the library.

Also, in honour of Step 2, I’m making Beef Stir-fry and Cauliflower Rice. Remember, organic and local products are always the best!

Cauliflower Rice

All you need is 1 head of Cauliflower and whatever you use to season your rice.

Directions
1. Wash and dry cauliflower
2. Cut cauliflower into small chunks
3. Shred cauliflower in food processor (or, if you’re like me and do everything manually – use your grater)
4. Put shredded cauliflower into a microwave safe dish with a lid (don’t add any water). Microwave for 5-6 min

I will leave you now with a delicious picture of my yummy food and the reading material that’s going with it!

I was reading the submission reuirements fora project and discovered that i was suooosed to do a day to day diary thing on what I have learned. I have been keeping a journal, but that too has been ending up as a week to week thing, or whenever I have seen something interesting. I find it very difficult to write every day, it ends up being a diary about when I woke and what I ate and such, which is why I resorted to once a week, usually on the train on the way to work or some similar sort of time.

Today I am thinking about what I have learned about Potography and how I can apply it to product design when I go home. First thing to note, and apply to every subject besides 2D media (I will tell you what that is soon enough. trust me) that the guys here have a good selection of subjects and a good broad selection of module assessment things to do. But the actual teaching is often lacking in depth. Photomedia expected us to know many of the basics of photography already, the tutor very quickly glanced over what the various things, Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO, do to the picture. We did a fair deal of experimentation with white balance as this helped with the artistic properties of pictures in-camera. Unlike back home where in our first year we had a series of 5 or 6 lectures and a dedicated project covering, in detail, composition, ISO, SS, Aperture and much more. This course has focussed more on the ‘style’ of shooting and how artistically to look through the camera.

As you well know I am an avid photographer already and my time with OMNIvision [omnivision.om.org] has taught me a fair deal about composition. This meant that the first 3 elements of the project could be sourced from my previous 000′s of pictures, the ones I eventually used you can see on my flickr, [link at bottom]. I eventually had to start taking more pictures new for the final piece.

The various elements were fun in their own right and I found that there were certain styles that I felt more at home with. One of the things this course is trying to do is teach me better photoshop practice. With time and practice the various techniques will improve and the pictures I take will start looking more and more professional.

This last picture is from the element that I am submitting today, possibly my least favourite element, People, I LOVE taking pictures of people but this task was by no means easy, this also comes down to time scale, I wanted to use some of the pictures I took on the 35mm that is waiting to be picked up, but because I could not pay for them I had to go out and run around with my own digital camera.

To help you understand what each picture is demonstrating.

Piture 1: Top, Still life. In of its self the understanding of what still life is pretty common, as a designer this is a technique that I have to employ over and over, often on an infinity table or on a green screen to show what the next product is going to be like. It is also a technique replicate in CAD [a subject to be covered soon].

Picture 2: Pictorialism. A technique that we have adapted from an old 17-1800′s art style. also the style of photography in the very early days, depicting the seemingly normal in dreamy style, lots of soft focus, compared to the hard clear focus of still life and homely [style 4] it would also often try to picture the greek myths in single stills. I was an interesting project to research, there was so very much diversity!

Picture 3: Abstract. Also fairly self explanatory title, the pictures all come down to a personal style so everybody is different. And it is Not just taking pictures of abstract art! it is more often than not focussing on the small… or taking the ordinary and looking at it in a way that is abnormal, squashing perspective with a long zoom or focusing on the abnormally small… can you guess what mine is? not too difficult at all I know!

Picture 4: Homely. The part that I hand in today. Homely photography was the start of the street photography era, documentary and crystal clear, capturing the stuff of every day, more often than not this is then put into black and white as the style started on B&W silver gelatine, the other elements were to be printed and presented in physical form, this one is on the projector as we can’t print the silvery quality of B&W properly, If you want to know what I mean and you are in England I can show you when I get back. I have a few developed.

So that is Photomedia to date, I am starting work on my portfolio piece. I am thinking on large landscape, using panoramas…. so watch this space =]

God bless.

The link to my Photomedia collection on Flickr;

[www.flickr.com/photos/sdburt/collections/72157629888243957/]

Anyway. I finally got around to seeing what I needed to do and when I needed to do the work by for my projects back home at SHU. I have 2 projects, 2 essays 2000 and 3000 words and a 15 minute presentation for the start and end of may. That is what these entries are for. I hope you can also find them interesting.

An example of what I have done so far;

I have never been great at time control, I get stuff done on time, yet some times it is a push and a very heavy last week! and at uni in sheffield that is generally just about doable, over the first 2 years I had to learn and learn I did, however here in Australia I have 4 subjects and a job! Also I am doing 3 subject I am enjoying more than the one I am supposed to put at the forefront. This is not to say that I am not learning TONS from the experience, I have a feeling I have said it before, but it is always easier to look back on an activity and draw conclusions afterwards and so much easier to look back and see what has been learned. I hope that made sense.

Right now I am learning about biomimicry, which is a subject we have glanced on and mostly moved on from at home, For the non-designers… biomimicry is the application of biological systems and mechanisms to design. That is the major part of what these guys here are learning this year as is the application of a persona (essentially a made up person) and their wants and needs.

On a personal level I am having to learn a ‘new’ way to put together a Log-book (DDR here [not sure what it actually stands for at the moment]) It involves doing much more hand writing and picture taking, sure it looks bad because my hand writing is pretty terrible, but it flows from design to research and back much easier than having to use a computer! I will be doing it by hand and then dropping the pictures in on the computer before the end.

Because the methods are a little different my first step have been different and so the first stage was a little bit of a flop. I now know what I am supposed to do and I will be nailing the project as hard as possible, when I don’t allow the other subjects interfere!

God Bless y’all

In reference to a much earlier post… I have not been to the zoo (yet) and so I still have no more interesting facts about animals, other than the ones I got on my safari and I have promised to you! I will get round to them! maybe in the next couple of days.

Last weeks post promised pictures, they have been processed and are awaiting my pick up… But to do that I need time and money =[ They will come soon! very soon, don't worry! I haven't forgotten.

Lest We Forget!;

Today was ANZAC day. The day on which Australia officially joined the first world war. Australia feels so far away from the rest of the world, I mean Perth, one of the major cities of Australia feels like a world away! It is possibly even worse in New Zeland. Because the rest of the world seems so far away it is quite interesting trying to imagine why the Australians joined the first world war at the time it would have taken a good week to travel any where near the fighting line! Much like Armistice day in England there are parades and community services all over both of the countries. [AU & NZ]

What is ANZAC I asked when I was in Sydney and discovered the ANZAC memorial, after a little reading of the plaques in sydney, the memorial was rather large, I found that it is an acronym for: Australia New Zeland Army Corps. So now you know too =]

Thank you all for your prayers in regard to my Visa… I got it on Monday! Phil has agreed to giving me a ride to camp from New York, then WIFA training is a couple days later…

This is the first in a short series on remembering. I wanted to post tonight to say the above and a quick little introduction to what will come over then next 4 days, so long as I remember…

A quick sneek peek into the Photomedia side of my life;

Some, like me, just travel because they know nothing else. They’re not ready to run in the rat race yet, nor settle down and lay their roots. They’re still wondering what their purpose is and who they are supposed to be. But the key is the experience that is gained through everything we do and everyone we meet along the way. It doesn’t matter if travelling is a short weekend away, or a total life change to the other side of the world. And answers don’t suddenly appear. People don’t suddenly become someone new overnight. Experience gained along the way changes, moulds and shapes the person that you already are. And when people ask you what you are doing, where you are going, or what you are trying to achieve you realise that there isn’t a goal, there isn’t a destination or result that will arrive, because travelling is what it is. Doing it, is what it is. For me, there is no place I am heading for. I don’t know what I am looking for, which is why I haven’t found it yet. But what I do now know and understand is that the journey, as Mark Twain is the success, not the destination. It’s where we are travelling, not where we are travelling to, that counts.

So I have sat and thought about Australia. Made lists of what I want to do, where I want to go and what I will do when it’s over. Everything has a limit, a deadline. My visa has an expiry date, which is now closer than my arrival date. My options are simple. Enjoy what I have here and go home or move on when that day comes, or enjoy what I have here and go home or move on when that day comes. I’ve been stressing about what to do for months, maybe all my life. But it really is simple. I read something the other day that said “The only thing you have to do today is be happy”. That’s a remarkably simple idea, as how many of us every stop to wonder if what we do today results in happiness?

This blog entry is rather random, as is my journey in Australia. I came here with no plan, no expectations and no idea how it would play out. But when I was sitting on the ferry to Manly Beach a couple of weeks ago, I realised that if I had to fly home tomorrow I would fly home happy, knowing I did the best I could with the situation I was in and have thoroughly enjoyed what I have done here.

6 months into my trip, I agonise over leaving Melbourne, because although I said many a time I was stuck here due to financial restraints, I realise I could indeed have left had I really wanted to. I have actually grown to love Melbourne, which is something I honestly don’t think I realised as little as a month ago. I now see that I have had the pleasure of falling in love with my job again. I have never had the opportunity to teach such interesting, grateful and inspiring students. I have actually left my house, and gone to work without dreading the idea of working, which I don’t think has ever happened before. Although, ironically, I am being paid (relatively speaking) a painful amount less than I deserve, and I put in much more time than I should, none of this bothers me in the slightest. Although it was never my intention to use my brain, or indeed teach this year, I have discovered that when I enjoy it, it is the easiest thing to do in the world.

I’ve worked in restaurants, bars and schools. I’ve driven to some awesome places in a bus and a car, been camping, hiking, horse-riding, climbing, dancing, drinking. I’ve met wonderful people who have shown me more than I imagined. I’ve laughed, cried, ventured and enjoyed. I’ve seen three of my favourite bands, been to Formula One and AFL. I’ve reconnected with two very special friends and made new friends who I’ll never forget. So I am thankful to Melbourne for giving me such a hard time at the beginning so I can now appreciate what I have gained.

And looking at all that, I realise it’s time to move on. A new venture waits for me beyond Melbourne, elsewhere in Australia. It may help me gain my visa for another year; it may show me that I have other destinations to explore. I am ready for the next leg of my Australian Adventure, wherever it takes me, so as I enter my last month in Melbourne I can smile about everything that has happened and everything that is ahead of me.

Convicted of treason despite their heroic defence against Napolean’s invasion of Britain, Temeraire and Laurence – stripped of rank and standing – have been transported to the prison colony at New South Wales. With them travel three dragon eggs intended to help establish a covert in the colony, and destined to be handed over to second-rate undesirable officers willing to accept so remote an assignment.

But instead of leaving behind the political entanglements of the war, Laurence and Temeraire sail into a hornet’s nest of fresh corruption. The young Australian colony has been thrown into turmoil after the overthrow of the military governor, one William Bligh – formerly Captain Bligh, late of the HMS Bounty.

I really enjoyed this change of scene. Temeraire is a wonderful character who has steadily developed throughout the series and quickly pulls me into his various adventures with his singular dragon viewpoint. As I wasn’t attracted to the series through any particular knowledge of the Napoleonic campaigns, Novik’s necessary tweaks to fit her storyline with the historical facts don’t particularly disturb me. Neither was I worried that Temeraire was no longer fighting Napoleon – Novik’s tour of her version of the world is sufficiently engaging that I am perfectly relaxed about exploring it along with the protagonists. However, I did wonder if Laurence would have struggled more with the brutal reality of the penal colony. While I’m sure he would have coped physically with the hardship, I did think that he would have found the sense of his disgrace would have chafed – especially considering the circumstances that led to their transportation.

I liked Novik’s depiction of the Australian outback during Temeraire’s exploration of the continent. Her deft use of some of the Australian myths to produce some challenges to the dragons along the way manages to provide plenty of narrative tension, along with the surprises that await the expedition when they finally reach the other side of the continent.

All in all, I feel that Tongues of Serpentsis an entertaining addition to the series which I certainly wouldn’t characterise as a placeholder, and I’m looking to getting hold of Crucible of Gold, the next instalment.
8/10

Firstly, I am sorry there are no pictures… The weekend was shot on 35mm film! Work has not paid me for the las 2 weeks… and I am actually investigating developing it myself. so that may take a little longer than normal but they will come soon I promise wether they are processed by someone else or myself. Once they have been processed I will insert my favourites here and then give you a link to my flickr if I have enough good ones.

So this weekend was spent in a place called Toowoomba, in the middle of nowhere nearish to brisbane. Easterfest one of the largest christian music festivals, possibly in the world. We, Dan, Kyra and I arrived on Thursday night and set up camp. For the rest of the weekend we got to spend time in church with some fantastic musicians, sunday for instance, a big service put on, free for the local Toowoomba residents to come to to finish off the weekend, Darlene Zschech (pron. Check). Throughout the weekend we listened and watched to a very wide selection of different types of bands. A few new bands including, Mike Mains and the Branches, and the Empty Chair Project. There were also another number of bands in Australia for the first time, MercyMe and Michael W. Smith, they had centre stage on friday and saturday nights respectful. I also had chance to see a number of bands I have wanted to see for a long time, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, The Lads and P.O.D. there were lots more.

When I get back to the UK I will be able to decorate my walls with some pretty cool stuff =p I now have a bandana with a stack of cool Autographs, and that is to add to the poster from Switchfoot. It was a pretty big weekend! then on monday we got back around mid day and I went straight into work for the afternoon.

In a couple days I will have some cool pictures to talk about. take care. I will be back soon enough. God Bless.

Its here! I am half way through my stay in Australia! HALF WAY! Its so crazy! Half way already.

So whats happened so far? Out Back, Hillsong, Switchfoot and the start of university. Thats the rundown of the last few weeks, months. it feels so weird, to boil 2 and a half months down to 3 events. Its been both long and short! So very quick yet there have been times when I just wonder how long it will take till the next step in life, I still wonder this almost every day, where is God taking me?

Whats next? Tomorrow I am going to sydney for an interview at the US visa, the week continues with deadlines and then eventually Easterfest a large music festival here in queensland. The 2 months concludes with my flying to the USA, there to stay for the following 3/4 months so long as the interview tomorrow goes well.  After that, well thats for God to know and me to discover!

God Bless

Fiona has been helping with copy etc and still working on her novel. I am still don’t know much about her writing project but I am looking forward to a ‘sneak peak’ in a few months.

Luang Prabang is a wonderfully ‘livable’ place. Heaps of things to do, places to see, places to eat and all wrapped in a lovely culture and amazing architecture.

Early on I was able to find a nice house to rent not far from town and I have bought a motorbike which we will sell before we leave. We have found it is simply cheaper and easier to buy a bike than rent when you consider resale costs etc.

Our days are spent between the office in town, the local markets (wonderful fresh produce) and the many restaurants in town. Laos food is a great mix of Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian. Quite frankly the cuisine has taken the best of each culture. Unfortunately we are packing on the weight we lost on Mystery Island!

But all is not roses in LP. Unfortunately we have also experienced the ‘dark side’ of the town with our bike being stolen one evening from our house (retrieved by locals in our village) then broken into (nothing stolen) a few nights later. Early one morning while viewing the Alms Giving (to the local monks) our bag was snatched from the bike as we were driving along. Fiona and I stupidly gave chase along the Mekong screaming at the top of our lungs and shattering the early morning solitude. Our bandits were not able to shake us even after throwing helmets at us and other sundry items. In the end they gave up in disgust throwing our bag at us. In hindsite a stupid thing to do as we were going as fast as the bike could go (about 90kmh) without helmets!

Quite the adrenalin rush.

This problem aside I am attempting to find out what people would do and how they would react. Now if you read this blog you are most likely in the age group I am designing for, (nope not telling[yet]) that is why I am asking you if you would pretty please complete the survey I have attached… Its only 10 questions.. not allowed any more unless I pay =p. 

If you have any other useful pointers please put them in the comments below. 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R3LQNVR

Thank You so very much for your assistance!

God Bless.

A small gift to keep you going =p

I have this subscription thing on my laptop to a website that loads comic strips both past and present to a little reader… I am subscribed to some of the classics, Andy Capp, Garfield, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin and Hobbes has long been a favourite of mine, (since discovering Tommy go Tigern in norway) sadly Bill Watterson stopped drawing the strips, however the few years (10) he did spend publishing strip after strip, he produced some beautiful and profound strips about a boy in a red stripy t-shirt, bluejeans and converse who lives the life of an ADD/ADHD kid (before the terms were popular!) who imagined that his stuffed tiger came to life.

Now this sounds like a bad role model, especially for a 21 year old. Now my philosophy, at least part of it, is to never fully grow up, to be a man one has to still take pleasure in some of the boy hood things, Getting dirty in the yard, being fascinated my the little insignificant things in life. This should however not be ones primary objective, how would the world work if every man were a child? Paul tells us ‘that as children we act as children’ (para 1 Cor 13) this is out of context yes, but we could also say that, since the body needs every part to function (1 Cor 12:21) so I believe the remnants of being a child are needed to be able to live a full and enjoyable life! God did not create us to be stiff boring folk, why if he created us in his image (Gen 1) would we be able to enjoy our selves as much as we do?

Back to the comic. The last few days the Calvin comics have been about Calvin getting very muddy. Now don’t take this literally, (well once in a while literally would be good too) but I felt each strip had some thing that we could take from it to enhance our experience of life…

A frame I forgot about, but here it is… it fits anywhere in the order, but as far as I can tell it was the first published. So it is going here at the front =]

Frame 0;

Of course I did! how often don’t we shout this at our parents as kids, and even students and adults, parents are always going to be parents and their record won’t change much! that is just how life is! Sorry to those younger ones who have yet to discover this =] Now I am not saying that I know all there is to know about parents… far from it! I won’t ever know, and I am pretty sure no one does. All kids are different anyway and so are parents if you hadn’t guessed yet =] However my point from this strip is that some times we have to do as we are told, because that is the way it should happen, its the best way for you, your peers and your superiors, and etc.. sometimes it is not pleasant and no one ever likes being shouted at.. so if you shout, instead of shouting make it a constructive criticism. And to all those parents reading this. Your kids do love you, as much as you love them, just it doesn’t show, either direction. Tell them you do!

Frame 1;

EWWWWWWW… Life is icky, but if we just poke at it we can’t experience the true joy of really experiencing it! Have you ever been the one or seen the person who just pokes at life as if it was the grey squidgy thing on the dinner plate? They really don’t know how the really live life, they go from day to day in a slight cool-grey haze of complacency, (a thing that the brits are notorious at, an element C.S.Lewis picks up on and Uncle Screwtape feeds on!). The dull look on  someones face, the ‘uuuuh good’ response to how you doin’ and the general plod plod are signs of people not enjoying what it vein put before us!

Frame 2;

Where ARE Those… A question I seem to spend most of my life asking, or so it seems, I am not the VERY messy sort, stuff tends to get piled up, in a slightly ordered heap [mess] my desk will quickly become cluttered so that when I need some space I will often just use my arm and sweep it all on to the floor to then get tidied up before I go to bed, if I remember. Although this is not the most productive way of living all the time, I have to get up earlier to make sure I get everything [and still forget plenty] or go to bed later because the place is a tip, I still believe I am getting a richer experience of life, I mean if everything was so nice and tidy, the cd’s are labeled and ordered alphabetically, the legos are boxed according to colour, THe books and papers are all colour co ordinated and alphabetised, Sure I could do it, I think, (It would last all of 2 days… maybe) but I wouldn’t happen across the poem I thought was a master piece at 2am 3 days ago… turned out to be a load of rubbish, but I get to re-live memories, just as calvin would re-live his muddy prints [mother would kill him...] things in piles leads to re-living good memories and taking them foreword in life on a daily basis, not just when we think about it and have to then search the online data base I put together on gmail to show where everything is.

Frame 3;

Let’s go for a stroll. If you know me very well or have had the chance to spend more than a few minutes with me you will quickly discover that I like walking, so this picture is quite fitting really, it’s something I would very likely invite you to do! but that is not the point, by inviting Susie [the little girl] Calvin is inviting her to participate and join him in something he enjoys, [life] if you enjoy an aspect of life, or what you do don’t be afraid to share it and invite people to join you, the wearing of nice clothes is not always essential, but to put your all into everything, no matter the outcome will be so much more rewarding! those stiff uncomfortable ‘nice’ clothes suddenly become much more comfortable when they are soiled. Another aspect to recognise is that Calvin manufactures the circumstances in this strip, basically make it the best experience you can, a little preparation goes a long way! I could say something about the boy& girl thing, but it just isn’t needed!

Frame 4;

Couldn’t Be Avoided. As we can see calvin is mischievous and if you know anything about the rest of the comic, this is a fairly classic final image, Calvin covered head to foot in dirt. From this we can say that as Calvin has to manufacture the mud from scratch so we can say, do with what you have what you can… Calvin had a spade, earth, and a water hose… he made the fun he knew was good. This is to say that we should never forget to do what we enjoy, to find that release, if the circumstances are not letting you do that now, work at making it so that it is possible. In essence don’t ever stop living life the way God wants you to! With a joyful, and excited heart for anything!

Don’t avoid it! Live it!

…

I had originally thought that these would be another ‘this is how you live life to be a great counsellor’ but then why should only counsellors live and enjoy life richly? this should be us all!

I want to implore you to think on the above strip… It came about 18 months ago and I have had it stuck on my wall above my desk ever since! do you really want to take that drink and sit back down at the desk where you didn’t really want to be sat? I wanted to do something different in life, I chose a degree that offered skills that no other course can deliver, and the opportunity to go traveling. That is why I am down here in australia branching out into fine art in the photographic and drawing senses! I decided that I would take half a glass of water one breath and take the plunge! this is how life is to be lived! with excitement, change and fun!

God Bless!

Traveling THROUGH, ie transiting, only staying a maximum of 3 hours in the AIRPORT… the USA demand you have an ESTA paid for and linked to the passport you are traveling on! 15/20 minutes from start to finish… all done! SHWEET!

Working? Assisting in the looking after of a small portion of the kids that end up at camp because the parents are too busy to spend their summer vacation with their own offspring? being a camp counsellor is possibly THE most rewarding job in the world after nursing and surgeon (successfully).

The IDEA of staying in the same cabin as 12 boys and one other adult for 8 weeks may be a little daunting, and it is! Believe me! But when you see the 12 become 1 group of inter supportive, silly 10 year olds the blood, sweat and tears of the months of preparation are worth it! Well that is what I keep telling myself, that since I am going to be taking those 12 boys out on the adventure of their life time, every day, watching the compete with each other, conquer the biggest of hill I can rustle up… I sure do hope that this INSANE american visa application pays off!

The actual criteria you need to think of meeting;

like being a kid yourself! (makes everything 50x more enjoyable!)

Willing and ready to get mucky and silly.

from: gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

Ready to be taught real life by those you are trying to teach.

Able to take responsibility when things start to go too far.

Able to pull on reserve energy as and when things are getting tough.

Prepared to be up at 2am with the home sick kid who misses home as much as you do!

A lover of big groups, noise and people.

Some of the problems I am having with getting there this year;

Applying from down under is different to the UK! I am feeling very fresh at this, when I really shouldn’t.

The picture took 15 tries to be finally accepted,

Before the Picture was accepted, the online application process wasn’t letting me finish the 30 page application beyond page 10!

These are all problems I should have been prepared for, and I was some what, however it still doesn’t take the sting out of it! Lots of prayer should have been had long before I started!

After 3-5 weeks I am still trying to get the interview sorted! and I now have to wait till tomorrow after 7 am… I started before 5 today =]

Finally, when I do get my appointment I need to get myself down and up from Sydney for what is probably no more than a 2/3 hour session sat in the US embassy!

WOOP WOOP,

God is treating me well though! with the job sorting out so suddenly and one of the more difficult parts of the visa, (the 30 page application), worked and eventually I got to print it this morning, and besides the wait I can now book my appointment!

so there we go, a quick update on the visa situation as it is now, for those of you who are remotely interested =]

p.s. Please don’t get put off working at a camp in the USA… if you ever talk to me in 3 weeks time or after the summer, you will never hear about the visa process! the summer is just so incredible that these pains now become nothing!

God Bless y’all

I got me a job today! I am working at Pie Face! Working the grave yard shift on Friday and Saturday nights… Promises to be a pretty good job in my opinion. serving folks good pies with good coffee… dream job really!

Getting the job was interesting to say the least! I was walking round various places giving my CV [resume] to as many places as I could when I walked into this pie shop and asked if they had any jobs, They did but the boss wasn’t in till the next morning, if you wait till then he is sure to help you.

Next day;

Me: do you have any jobs?

Boss: yes, have you had much experience in customer services?

Me: a good deal yes

Boss: have you worked in a cafe like this before?

Me: only a very little

Boss: you are on a student visa? so when are you availabilities? and you know this is a 24 hour open cafe?

Me: yes, I am free saturday through tuesday, and no I didn’t but I am willing to do the night shift.

Boss: are you free some time soon?

Me: yes tomorrow (saturday) till tuesday.

Boss: ok good would you like to come in for a trial on monday then? say 11:30?

Me: yes sir, absolutely.

Monday: it all goes smoothly, I learn most of the things to do, besides the fancy stuff like the mash and pea stack on top of the pie or coffees or smoothies. its al good though.

Wednesday I get a call,

Boss #2: Hi can you come in for a trial session?

Me: I did one on Monday already!?!

Boss #2: Ok right, yes, when are you good to work?

Me: Saturday through Tuesday, but I would like to not work tuesday night I have an early lecture on wednesday.

Boss #2: Ok let me look through the rosters and I will txt you your shifts.

Me: Ok thank you very much.

3 hours later, I have my shifts, starting 10pm friday night and saturday night, going throughout till 7! I have a Job! Praise and Thank the LORD!!!!

God Bless y’all!

I skipped down the stairs feeling very sprightly, so sprightly in fact that I forgot my helmet, and so had to “skip” back up the stairs for it.

I got to my bike and found that some idiot had attached their bike to the bike parking in such a way that it was nearly impossible for me to untangle three bikes and locks to get to mine. This involved several minutes of “Shits” “Bollocks” and dropping a bike on my foot and scratching my leg with another. Not a great start.

Undeterred, I got on my bike, whizzed down the drive and out onto Toorak Road. Nice and easy as the first part was downhill. Off I went, feeling pretty pleased with myself and marvelling at how easy it was and wondering why this thought had not occurred to me before. Until I tried to slow down to a stop that is, and quickly realised I only have one working brake. Shit.

I joined St Kilda Road, a fairly large one that involves trams, got something very wrong and ended up in the wrong lane. Opps. Nevermind, I thought to myself, people are kind here, there are loads of cyclists in this city, I am fine. Next problem was some traffic lights, where the “bike lane” put me in the middle of the road, and with no curb to my aid, I remembered the second reason I hadn’t done this before: I can’t touch the floor without the pavement. Double shit.

Undeterred still, I continued and arrived in the centre, quite sweaty for my class and with some fabulous helmet hair. Good job Grace.

The ride home reminded me of another reason why I hadn’t done this before. My bottom hurt. A lot.

Still, a nice long bath and glowing sense of exercise done helped, and I got up the next morning with the INGENIOUS idea of cycling to work!

How wrong could I be????

As I got on the bike, with a full backpack of lunch, students’ work and a change of clothes, I remembered the slightly uncomfortable seat. Anyway, the first part of the journey is downhill, and apart from the dodgy brakes, I had no real problems until I started the incline. This morning it seemed impossible. Had someone made it steeper? I joined St Kilda road, trying my best to closely follow another cyclist and the route through the cars he took, but goodness, these people are fast! Had a little wobble at the traffic lights again, with no curb side balance help and then proceeded along the bike path into the city. I felt a little embarrassed when simply every single cyclist whizzed past me. Every single cyclist seemed to also be making almost no effort to travel at such speed, which for me was flat out. Every single cyclist also seemed to be male and wearing cycling clothes. I mean these were serious cyclists!

I got to school and it took me 20 minutes to stop sweating. And even then I didn’t quite manage it. My students were very amused when I informed them of how I had arrived at school and even more so when I pointed out just how difficult it was for me to sit. Well, it was pretty hard to hide.

Cycling home that day was as funny as it was painful. My legs decided not to work anymore and my bottom was so sore, my bag felt twice as heavy and I honestly cycled so slowly I was pretty much going backwards.

It just didn’t appeal to me to get back on it the next morning, and funnily enough hasn’t appealed to me since…