I's back. With pictures.

Self-explanatory....

Melanie came up for a sit....not a drink.

Nikki & I...a little too close.

This is when things got weirder :-) haha

The Gangsta Ladies -- Conti, Nikki and me

Gab leaving for the night...

Big PIMPING.

Goodbye, Sydney.

Hello Melbourne.

Well. Not quite yet. I'm currently sitting in the Sydney Domestic Airport awaiting my flight. It's wet. It's rainy. It's gross. And my flight has been delayed an hour and half. It's not terrible -- gives me time to talk to you guys, right?

I moved out of my place today, which was not as sad as I thought it would be. But DAYMN. I brought a lot of shit. TOO MUCH. I even packed up a suitcase filled with stuff and stored it at IEP. And I still had to ship a box to my mom.

Guess what? It cost me $85 to ship it via a BOAT that won't arrive for another 2 months. Insanity.

Last night was a beautiful thing. A few girls and I went out for cocktails then to the Brazilian BBQ place that is always fabulous. We laughed LOUD and talked about everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Poo mostly. It was fantastic conversation over several slabs of meat.

Afterwards we decided to get a nightcap at CBH where we ran into more Barzura employees.

You guys. I love these people. There's something about working in a restaurant that makes you feel like your co-workers are your family. I don't know if it's the atmosphere, the dealing with customers or just spending too much time together, but people really do get very, very close in a restaurant setting. I love it.

Carrabbas was like that towards the end, but Sydney people, backpacking people are slightly different -- closer, even. I look forward to seeing some of them when I get back to Sydney before I fly out.

I came back to the house where everyone in the house was just gathered together, having a last hurrah before we all move out. I stood around for a bit, but I was ready to hit the hay. Today is a big day.

I still don't have a plan for next week. I just know I'll be in Melbourne for a week and then...either off to Adelaide? Or straight to Perth? Maybe I'll put a note on the board at the YHA that I'm looking for a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road? Maybe I'll hop a train to Adelaide -- it's supposed to be pretty awesome.

I. JUST. DON'T. KNOW.

Remember how I thought that was the beauty of all of this before I got here? I've kind of learned that it's fun, but scary at the same time.

Here we go again.

I'll make a plan this week. I kind of have to. And money sucks. I need a job.

I'll upload pics from last night in the next post -- my connector is in my backpack which is chillin somewhere in the airport. I'm just glad I'm not carrying it around anymore. That thing is PACKED.

Va Va Room!

A little recap of my day...

I worked today only from 8-3. We were busy as H! It was awesome though because all of the sudden it was noon. Then it was 3 and I was like...OKAY! Would've made some awesome cash if we didn't have so many people on, but it's all good -- we needed everyone.

I also received several compliments from the "manager on duty" -- it was Pedro....remember him? He said he was impressed at how well I have really grown as a waitress...at Barzura.

Oh man. How sad does that sound?!? Sucks I'm leaving in less than two weeks and no one knows yet. I feel bad, honestly, I do. But. Such is life. I can't help that I want to move on and explore what this country has to offer. Some customers told me today that I HAD to go to Queensland. They say they never go, but it's a must....how does that work?

Anyway. After we sat around and ate lunch awkwardly......

Oh. I should probably explain the awkwardness. Basically. Pedro (the M.O.D.) is dating another girl named Lisa. You met her when we played Spin the Bottle at CBH. Anyway. This is all fine and dandy, except, Pedro's ex-girlfriend, Conti, is not so happy. Why? Because they all used to be best friends. Conti had to leave to extend her working visa and BAM. The goods were taken and life with Pedro was over for her.

Whoops. The kicker -- they all work together at Barzura.

How awful is that? I'd be getting myself a new job, a new place and a new life. The end.

So, after awkward lunch, we went over to CBH and had ourselves a few pitchers (ah-hem, jugs) of beer. The music was right, the sun was HOT and the company...was grand. Love these people. Srsly.

We ended up going our separate ways. I had a few things I could've done afterwards -- gone into the city and do an IEP event with Minelle -- who cancelled cuz she was tired. Can't blame the girl.

Or go to Bondi to...well...replace my old camera.

Or perhaps go to dinner with my roommate or at least hang out with the people I live with.

Nope. Instead, randomly, I got a call from my friend Dave, remember him? Yeah. Been awhile, eh? We kind of stopped talking after he took Melanie and me to a gay bar our third night in Sydney. Wonder why we haven't been in touched?

Regardless, he had a $120,000 car on loaner from his company and wanted to go driving. I said, "Yes PLEASE." We ended up going over to Bondi, except everything was closed. Although. Kmart was open.

People. I love me some KMart over here. In the States, that place SUCKS, but here -- it's glorious. And the prices are always so right.

Except I didn't buy a camera. Oh no, I had to be picky about that. Instead I bought clothes. And a ton of clothes at that. What is WRONG with me?! Hey. They're really cute. If I had a camera, I'd do a fashion show. But, alas, I do not.

However.
Here's a pic of my bday dress I got the other day in Cronulla for $15. Amazing.
How. Cute. Eh?
It came with a black ribbon around the waist, but I bought a blue one...since...blue's my fav color. Duh.
(Sorry for the sh!tty quality..taken with my computer)

After that, he took me back to his place (OoooOoooo -- no...not like that) where we made some din-din and watched his roommates play video games. *cough* Nerds.

On the way home. I'm not sure if I can admit this openly. But. He stopped the car. Put it in park and....

Let. Me. Drive.

WTF! I freaked. I haven't driven in two months and I haven't driven on the WRONG side of the road. It was a feat. And he kept telling me to move over more because I was a little too close to the parked cars on my LEFT.

I'm not gonna lie. I could get used to this. But I need some practice. BIG TIME.

Anyway. That was my Sunday. It was a good one. As soon as I really start to feel comfortable in this place, I have to leave. Bummer. But it's all good. Off to explore the WORLD. Sort of.

Amazing Night Times Two.

Good News. I've had TWO amazing nights. The first started on Thursday -- as I quickly wrote in my last post.

You're probably wondering why, aren't you? Who said I would tell?

Oh right. This is a blog.

Okay. Here we go.

The other day, while at work, I met a guy. Not like that -- he was just a guy, hanging out alone in my restaurant. Welllll....we got to talkin, found out he was from England and hadn't been in Sydney long, was just the typical backpacker doing the typical backpacker journey. We chatted for a few and BAM. I offered my number and told him to call me anytime he wanted to explore the city.

He left. I didn't think anything of it, but of course the girls I was working with were like "OOOO!! What was that about??!" I brushed it off and just said it was nothing, just another friend to be had.

The following day, while I'm at work, I get a lovely text message from this guy. Saying he'd like to meet up for a drink in Coogee. Of course, I was kind of surprised to hear from the guy and the same girls were like "IT'S TOTALLY A DATE!" Haha. I laughed that one off. Boys don't usually ask me out on dates...and I sure wasn't going to expect this to be a date. Just two backpackers meeting up and exchanging stories about our travels (um, his more than mine since he's been here for 6 months).

We meet up at the CBH (Coogee Bay Hotel) and have a drink in the Beer Garden. We had some DAMN good conversation. Turns out he's in Marketing, just got done with a Strategic Marketing contract in Perth and travelled to Sydney to do another contract job here. I asked if he wanted to have another drink, but he suggested we'd go to dinner. So we walked up Coogee Bay Rd and went to a place called Tapas Rocs. It's this really quaint restaurant that serves...Tapas. The atmosphere there is spectacular, great date ambiance. My roommate and I went up there the other night and ended up just having dessert. We both said we thought it'd be a great place to go on a date...and now that this guy had suggested dinner...I started to think....

Eh. Whatever. I was just enjoying the company and really not making much of it. We finished up there and walked over to the Beach Palace Hotel to have a "nightcap" -- well they closed a little too early for us, so we walked down to the beach and just took in the beauty of the night. The ocean waves crashing in front of us, the sand gripping beneath our hands, the stars sparkling above.

You guys, I've never seen the stars like this. I could see thousands of them. Usually you can just see the brightest of the bright, but I could see them all. It was spectacular.

After loooooong, titillating conversation, we called it a night. Eager, from both parties, to see each other again. This was one of the first guys I think I've ever met that really challenged my thought process and made me feel comfortable in my own skin. Whoa.

So. That was the most amazing night ever -- part 1.

Then, fours hours later, I was up and ready to go to my Surf lesson. There will be another post about that -- this isn't the post for surf talk.

While in Cronulla, I received a text from the guy. Who, btw, is named Ross Young. He suggested we'd go see a movie at the Open Air Cinema. Funny thing is...I had already planned to do that with Melanie, Minelle and possibly Tracy. Of course, I said yes, but he told me the one at Centennial Park, the one playing Twilight, was sold out.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He said he wasn't interested in it anyway, although my heart broke a little bit when he told me that. It's okay though, because the Open Air Cinema in Bondi was playing the ever classic....

THE GOONIES.

How could I NOT go see that?!

He came and picked me up around 6:30 and then we went and got a few things for our picnic dinner at the movies. It was beautiful out, perfect temperature, great atmosphere and, most importantly, an awesome feel-good movie.

Right before the movie began, they had a drawing for someone to win a Hot Air Balloon ride. Apparently (I don't remember this, but Ross does), right before the girl drew the person's name, I said, "How awesome would that be..."

"And the Hot Air Balloon ride goes to........Ross Young!"

My heart stopped. I couldn't breathe. How...in...the...

He just got himself a trip on a freakin' Hot Air Balloon ride over Sydney.

I don't know about you guys, but I would've fainted and died right there if they called my name. He's one lucky guy. I don't know who he'll pick to go with him (me! please pick me!), but wowzers.

After the movie, we decided to go up to the Beach Road Hotel (notice how all the bars are in hotels...) and have a drink. We never run out of conversation. There's always something to be said between us and I just can't get over how intelligent and how in tune to his spiritual being he is. It's really quite fascinating.

Anyway, we ended up enjoying the rest of our night just talking and experiencing each other's stories. It was great.

So. That's part 2 of my most amazing night ever.

Tonight will not be the continuation I would hope for, since I have to work at 6, but I'm just happy to have met someone like Ross.

And if someone paid him to come into my life, I'll double it. The timing was perfect and I haven't given up on men at all. There was a time where that was a possibility....

And if you're wondering why there are no pictures....

Okay. Don't tell my mom this, but, I kind of lost my new camera. Yeah. I'm not doing so hot with the camera action. This time I left it on the train on my way to my surf lesson. Whoops. Hey. I called the station, but I'm going to guarantee it's not going to be turned it. So. Anyone have any suggestions on a CHEAP camera to buy? Perhaps something I wouldn't terribly upset with if:

a. I lose it

b. it doesn't take sh!t pictures?

Suggestions are welcomed!

Mistress Ketchup Quite Contrary

This weekend has been a whole other experience in its own. Filled with mature decisions, philosophical conversations and intellectual enlightenment.

Yeah. That's a lie. I had a ton of fun this weekend. Nothing intellectual about it. Just pure stupid, drunk fun.

My first day back in Coogee after the festival was one of much sleep. I didn't get out of bed until 11. It was glorious. After I got up for a few, I decided to take a nap. I was pathetic. I knew I didn't have to be at work until 5pm, so it wasn't a big deal -- no obligations makes Mariah a boring girl.

Going back to work was actually good. I enjoyed everyone I worked with and we closed a 1/2 hour early. Basically, we close when no one is in the restaurant, regardless of time. And I still made decent tips. Lisa, one of the girls I work with, told everyone to meet at the Coogee Bay Hotel (CBH) for drinks after work. I went home, changed and met Pedro, Lisa, Kate (another American girl) and Christian in the Beer Garden. It was crazy packed, but they had a nice table that faced the ocean. As soon as I got there we started to play drinking games. When did I enter a sorority? I don't even know.

Some random stranger next to me decided to strike up conversation. He was from Canada and really bizarre. He asked me what city I was from to which I responded Florida. He proceeded to yell at me because "THAT'S NOT A CITY." So I told him Jacksonville and he said that's not really Florida. Florida is like...Miami. Shut up, Canady. He was with another guy from Scotland and a girl from Canada as well. Our conversation ended there.

Of course, alcohol consumption was flowing, so what to do next? Ah yes. Spin the Bottle. This was Lisa's idea -- hmm...wonder why. Will explain in a minute. Promise :-) At first no one wanted to really play so there was a lot of hesitation. But eventually we all got drunk enough so we were all kissing each other. I kissed Pedro, Christian and another co-worker Joe (who showed up later on).

Christian and Kate. I love Kate's gangsta pose in this one. She's hardcore.

Pedro. Drunk.

No matter what. I couldn't get a pic of Lisa.

Not even this one.

Joe & Cookie.

Lisa & Joe kissing. This is for blackmail later on.

Remember Canady? Yeah, well his friends left him and he started to talk to me again. He was really annoying, but I dealt with him. I guess he decided to compliment me by telling me he knew three things about me.

1. I have nice hair.

2. I have nice eyes.

3. I have good skin.

Seriously?

His friends came back and the girl sat down next to me asking me if she should date the douche. I told her two words. Two very important words that my friend once to me.

"RUN AWAY."

What happened next? She didn't run away. Or perhaps she did, but she ran away with him. Leaving the Scottish guy with...who else? Me. Stewart and I got to talking and ended up hanging out the rest of the night. I think all we talked about was how weird his friend is and how I have nice boobs.

Score 1 for Mariah.

Drunk Face!

Stewart!

Awww! Haha!

Only one thing scandalous happened. Pedro and Lisa started making out. Whoops. Kate told me Pedro still kind of has a girlfriend -- and they're all friends. Uh oh. More blackmail!

Saturday wasn't very different from Friday. I slept in til 11:30. YES! It was awesome. Although I did finally get myself out of bed, did my laundry then met up with my new friend, Murray.

He's Australian, very nice and lives about 45 minutes outside of the city in a place called...Brooklyn. He's in finance, but does DJing on the side. His favorite singer is Michael Jackson -- no seriously, he's obsessed. "Shomowa!"

He picked me up at the train station and took me back to his place. I met his older sister Kathy, her boyfriend Bruce and his dog, Gypsy. They live in this really cute house right on the lake that overlooks the harbour. Tons of boats, great view, awesome lifestyle. Only thing. Brooklyn is very small. So small that there's only 2-3 restaurants and you still have to drive to get there.

Murray took me "into town" and we walked around the lake. There were a lot of people bringing their boats in. It was really awesome. I want to go back and do some kayaking on the river -- if Murray will have me back. I might just show up. Hmmm....not a bad idea.

After we walked around, we went to the "local pub" and decided to have dinner there. I ordered something I thought that would be simple -- Local Blue Swimmer Crab Salad. Sounded good, thought it'd be the healthier option. Oh. It was. Except. I had to work on the crab like it was my last meal on a deserted island. It took me about an hour to eat the damn crab. It was rather embarrassing honestly. Not quite the 1st meal you want to have when you're hanging out with someone for the first time. *hangs head* pitiful.

Big Rock.

Extreme Close-up by Murray

The lake

I thought it was cool?

Murray drove me home, thank goodness I didn't have to take the train back to Coogee alone. I had to be at work at 7am -- booo! -- so I needed some sleep. Not really. I mean, I have only been sleeping in til 11. Pathetic.

Had a tough day at work thanks to the boss man. He's such a dick (hm, I never use that word, eh?) and I think he still thinks I'm too new to work anything. One thing I've learned, if you aren't running around pretending like you're working, you'll get sent home. So we all just run around, looking busy (regardless if we are or aren't) so we can make our time and a half. It's kind of sad.

The highlight of my work day was the sound of sirens. No, not like ambulances or police sirens. The sound of a siren going off because there's going to be a terrorist strike, or a tornado has touched down, or a warning for a tsunami. Except it has nothing to do with all these natural (or not so natural) disasters. It has to do with something pretty typical in Australia. At first, I was confused because I had never heard that siren before -- I had no idea what it meant. Then everyone in the restaurant stood up and went straight to the doors and windows. Everyone was looking out towards the ocean. I just happened to be bringing drinks to a table and overheard what the fuss was about.

Shark sighting. It was crazzzy and, frankly, scary to see all the people swimming as fast as they could towards the shore. I never saw the shark (boo), but was a bit shook up. Thankfully no one was hurt.

Oh. That reminds me. When we were at the festival, our stupid boss had to change out the gas tanks and almost blew up the tent. The first day we were there, one of the guys (Jason to be exact) set the tent on fire. It was blazing and we had to scramble to find the fire extinguisher to put it out. I handed over the extinguisher. I saved the day. I win.

Anyway...the second day, Chris was switching out the propane tank and all of the sudden we heard a loud gas sound. I just stood there watching then looked up to see everyone running as far away from the tent as possible. Huh? Oh sh!t! RUN! I hesitated for a minute then figured out that the whole tent was in jeopardy of blowing up. Duh. Luckily nothing happened, but I was shaking for a bit afterwards. I thought I was about to get blown up. Awesome.

Tonight (Sunday night), I met up with a buddy -- Blain from Canada. You may remember him from Christmas. He was one of the guys on the couch on the beach. We've been facebooking and we decided to hang out tonight. He suggested we go to Darling Harbour and have dinner at a place called Hurricanes. It. Was. Scrumptious.

Best. View. Ever.

I wasn't ready for the pic to be taken!

We ordered ribs. Hi, thighs. Nice to see you again.

Darling Harbour at Night.

We took this ourselves. Not too shabby!

The best part was my bus trip out to Central. Some guy's phone kept going off -- doing this really annoying sound everytime he got a text message. I was listening to my ipod, so I just turned it up. The bus driver didn't have it that easy and ended up stopping the bus. Just stopped the bus in the middle of an intersection and told the guy to turn off his phone. The guy said absolutely not. They went back and forth for a little bit, then some lady behind me started cussing him out. She was yelling so loud and hard she was literally spitting on me. "Turn off your effing phone! F You Mate!" I was kind of hilarious. Eventually they stopped yelling and the bus driver started driving again. Then, the girl got out of her seat and took her jacket off. I was like OH HELL NO! I thought it was on. Turns out the guy got off at the next stop and she ran after him and hawked a BIG loogie on him and told him to F off. She was livid. And the bus driver was totally on her side.

"That guy is lucky I'm in uniform..."

Holy God. What is up with the aggression, people?! Then some guy got on the bus at the next stop and told the lady she needed to shut her mouth. He hadn't even witness what had happened earlier. The bus driver told him to shut up and sit down. It was awesome. I can't even repeat the words that were exchanged between these two people. And they were easily in their mid-to-late 30's. Nice.

That was my weekend. Had a really good time and look forward to doing/experiencing more things like that! Trying to live it up in Sydney. Trying -- at least my fat lip is gone!

In other news, my Uncle Craig (Stan Adams) suffered a massive heartache this past week. He was rushed to the hospital and was very fortunate to have gotten there when he did. He has a stint in one artery and should be getting another one in 4 weeks or so. He's doing much better, but please keep him in your thoughts. It was tough to hear about him, but I'm really really happy to hear he's going to make a full recovery. I was worried and wasn't sure what was going to happen next or what I would do. So please, no one get hurt while I'm gone. And I mean it damnit. Please be safe.

Hard Knock Life

Tonight. Was a very very hard night.

I apologize in advance, I don't want to "alarm" anyone or make them worry about me. But I just need to be frank and honest -- and, more importantly, I need to vent.

My day today started very normal, much like my days here in Australia. Wake up with the sun, contemplate what I really want to do with my day and do it. Today was scheduled as boxing day and we (as in all the housemates) made plans to go to the Randwick Races.

But, that post will have to wait.

Right now, I need to talk about my night. Not my day, but my night.

After the races, Melanie and I came back to our place to veg. She went to the beach to get some sun -- more sun -- and I stayed back and posted my Christmas post and turned into a bum.

I've been gaining weight here and haven't been happy about that at. all. It's caused me to kind of fall back into this depression I had when I woke up one day and realized, "I'm fat."

This is something I've been battling since day one in Australia. The food here is amazing. The exercise -- waking up hill everywhere -- seems sufficient enough and it's not. I'm used to a heavy routine of exercise and cutting out a lot of breads and the good stuff in life...I've been doing the opposite here.

Picture after picture I take of myself I slump more and more into this, "why again?!" attitude. And it's, frankly, starting to kill me.

So. After being a total bum and really thinking about this over and over again, I went for a walk. Not a very strenuous walk, but a walk nonetheless.

After, I walked into our room where I found Melanie dressed up again (as we were earlier) and with a bottle of wine in hand. I laughed, because she looked absolutely ridiculous, and she told me she was off to the Coogee Bay Hotel (CBH) to meet up with the Irish lads we live with. I, of course, was invited. I decided to stay back and do 20 minutes of the 30-day Shred DVD my friend Kelli gave me. I would meet up with her later.

I finished the workout session and wanted to die. I was covered, head-to-toe, with sweat and was proud of myself for getting off my butt and exercising.

I hopped in the shower and put on a dress I would never normally wear. Ever. I found it at a shop here in Sydney for $10 and thought...maybe one day. Turns out every girl here goes to town when it comes to going out. I hate it. I like my jeans and a nice shirt. Gets the boys back home. Why does it have to been so different here?

Case in point -- I haven't really met anyone. So, I thought, why not. Put the dress on and see what happens.I hate to say this, but I thought I looked pretty damn good. Definitely not my norm, but good enough to impress someone. Anyone?

I waited in line at the CBH forever, finally got in, walked around to find Melanie surrounded by a group of guys. I literally sighed and thought in my head, 'figures.' I stood around her for a hot minute and after being ignored the entire time, I took off to get a glass of something -- anything to ease myself into the night scene.

After I came back, I found Melanie making out with some guy...classy. Not that I'm any better, but as I said before, 'figures.' I stood around for a bit, danced with some really drunk Asian and was told that the whole crew of guys are Rugby players. I looked her dead in the eye and told her to be careful. She's a bit of a magnet for trouble and these guys were no different. I know they can definitely be aggressive and even more so when alcohol is mixed in.

I got a text message from Pedro, the guy I work with at Barzura, saying he was at Bonit Road Hotel. He told me to come along and since I wasn't interested in CBH or the Rugby Players, I thought why the hell not. Plus -- it's Pedro. More face time with him!

I got a cab, although it took me 400 years to find one, and had a great conversation with the cabbie. He was very polite, told me a few things about his life and Sydney -- then we arrived at Bondi Beach Hotel. I know what you're thinking, but Pedro is at Bondit Road Hotel. Well, he told me to go there and all would be okay. So I call him up -- no answer. I get in line, show the security guy my id -- get a compliment that I'm from Florida, "ooo and so beautiful," -- and I walk inside. Call Pedro again. Text Pedro. No. Answer.

This is when I thought to myself yet again, 'figures.' I just knew this was going to happen. I spent a $20 cab ride to Bondi for what....to walk around a new bar? By myself? What was I supposed to do...sit down with a drink and look awkward? If you know me well enough, I have a hard time not looking awkward sitting by myself drinking. It's pretty pathetic actually.

So. After a long walk around the huge bar, gaming room, hotel, patio, I decided to leave. He did originally tell me he was at Bondit Road Hotel -- maybe it was different.

I walked up the strip and back again with no avail. I still hadn't heard anything from Pedro and it had been 40 minutes. I walked around, thinking I could go into a bar and make small talk, but decided my night was bunked and I might as well go back to Coogee. I hail a cab on the road and run over to his passenger side down.

As I open the door, I decide it would be really smart to slam the door into my face. Oh yes, ask me how I did it and I couldn't tell you, but I thought it'd be a great idea to basically punch myself in the face. Boy, did that freakin hurt. The cab asked me if I was okay and I was already tearing up because of the stupid night I was having. He started to go and I looked down and saw I had definitely pushed my bottom lip into my teeth and was bleeding. He turned on the light, took a look at me, pulled over and got me some tissues. Of course, the meter was still going the whole time this was happening.

The whole ride home, I kept putting pressure on my lip, trying to stop the blood while stifling the tears in my eyes. Eventually the physical pain began to subside, but the emotional pain form the night began to take over.

I told the cab to stop in front of the Palace Hotel and I'd walked the rest of the way. Yet another $20 down the drain.

Who called as soon as the cab pulled over? Pedro. I couldn't even begin to tell you the anger, frustration, hurt, etc. I felt with that phone call. My lip had stopped bleeding, but I felt like the biggest loser in Coogee. I cried the whole walk home. Pathetic, I know, but it's therapeutic I'm told.

And how's my lip? Well, there's a picture below, but I want to warn you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, scroll down only if you dare. If you are hypersensitive to disorderly redheads living in Australia, leave now! I will not be held responsible for any emotional distress this may cause, any nightmares produced or any Baker Acts induced by the following image. Reader's beware, this may cause damage to your eyes.

What? It freakin hurts.

Thanks, Blogger. I feel better now. I needed to get that off my chest.

Anyone have any tips on how to meet people -- good people -- while I'm here in Australia. Cuz so far, everyone blows.

Midnight Mass

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Although my blog says this is posted on the 24th of December at 7pm, it's really 11am Christmas Day.

The sun is bright, the birds are...actually, not chirping for once. Sweet. Did I mention that they really do sound like children crying out? No. Seriously. I'm not the first one to think that. It just sounds like a kid screaming. It's really bizarre.

ANYWAY.

Midnight mass. Spending the holidays with the true meaning behind it. My roommate, Melanie and I decided we would attend Midnight Mass. She invited a few blokes we live with and a couple of them were all about it. We were to venture to a Catholic Church up the hill in a town close by to Coogee, called Randwick.

After cooking ourselves dinner, Melanie and I decided we'd splurge on dessert and wine as a celebration for our Christmas away from home. We went to several restaurants here in Coogee looking through all the cases. Cheesecake, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Mousse, Eclairs, Cannola, oh my. It was delectable.

We sat down at a cafe and waited....and waited....and waited for a server. We eventually decided to go into the Bottleshop next door and buy ourselves a whole bottle of wine rather than just a glass for the same price. Then. After much deliberation, we decided to get some carrot cake to go and chillax (haha! I used that word) at the restaurant I work at, Barzura. I knew everybody working, so we wouldn't be charged a corkage fee and could probably get hooked up? Yeah. I didn't get hooked up on food, but that's okay.

I ordered the Bread and Butter pudding with frangelico anglaise sauce and double cream.

Need I say more? It. was. orgasmic.

We had a few glasses there (okay, I did) and discussed ex-boyfriends and how crazy the world really is. Then we went back to our place to put up our wine bottles and possibly venture out somewhere else before Church. Yes. This happened all before church.

Thomas, a Slovakian I work with at Barzura (no, not my stalker), called me up asking me to meet him somewhere in Coogee to go get a drink. Sweet -- more alcohol. We went to the Coogee Bay Hotel and had a glass of wine. The conversation was rather difficult, he doesn't really understand English and, I guess, I talk a little too fast for him to understand.

Anyway, afterward, I bought another bottle because they'd be close Christmas Day and, sure enough, I'd want to drink during our Christmas celebrations!

We ended up going back to Barzura, because the guys working told me they'd be hanging around, drinking a bit before they closed up shop. Sure enough, they were all there -- even the boy I have a slight crush on. Shh. Don't tell him.

Yes. He looks gay, but I promise he's not. Mr. Pedro from Chili.

After yet another glass of wine, it was time to go up to the church to listen to Christmas carols sung by the choir and then...midnight mass.

Melanie, John (the Irish guy we can understand), Michael (a German guy I work with at Barzura) and I took a taxi up to Randwick to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
I was really excited because there was a great turn out and the Christmas songs just flowed from the church out into the streets. It was something.

We sat down and sang along with the projector. John was singing pretty loudly, so was I, but that tipped me off that he must be quite a religious guy.

This is going to sound silly, but whenever I went to church with my mom or with friends or family, I'd always scope out the crowd and see if there were any single, cute guys attending mass. Although I'm not a hardcore religious person, I want to raise a family with religious values and to find someone who has those in place, that's a big plus.

I turned to John, making a joke before mass, and told him a secret my mom and I used to do.

When I was younger, I would come up with any excuse in the world to not go to church. And my mom, being the devoted Catholic that she is, would always want to go on Sunday, regardless of being out of town, other obligations, etc. She would try to convince me to go and actually told me, several times, that whenever you visit a new church you get three wishes. Of course, that made going to mass worth it. I repeat. This was when I was younger....just a funny way of looking at things.

After I told John the story, he looks at my blankly and says, "Nah, I'm good. I don't need that."

I was taken aback by that and actually kind of hurt. I told him it didn't have to be a selfish wish, it could be for peace on Earth and he just repeated himself that they don't need that in Ireland.

Wow. He basically just took a tradition that my mom and I have and took a big ol' crap on it.

Thanks, John! Appreciate it!

I was pretty pissed. I'm not going to lie. So, after much contemplation, I decided it was in my best interest to not let the negativity from the situation ruin my midnight mass. So I moved. I just got up, didn't say a word, and stood in the back of the church.

And, don't tell anyone this, I was really moved by the mass. Mostly because I wasn't with family and it was really hard. Really. Really. Hard.

After a inspirational mass, I walked my happy-ass home to Coogee. Alone. It wasn't a bad thing and, of course, being the overly sensitive creature that I am, was what I needed to do.

And then, I met up with a boy named Tristan, who I had met a couple weekends ago because we were both stranded in Central and shared a cab ride home.

Yeah. That's right. His name is Tristan. How hot is that? Brad Pitt from Legends of the Fall anyone? His name wins.

We were sitting on the beach when all these seagulls started freaking out. I'm posting a video, but it's more for the sound than anything else. It was way crazy.

You can hear Tristan in the background with his awesome Australian accent, "Are you going to take a photo? Oh. A video?"

Then me. Making a weird laughing noise at the end. I guess...I was...flirting? If that's what the kids are calling it nowadays.

My night ended with us making out in a children's park up the road from my place. That made up for John's "lack-of-personality" remarks.

So. It's Christmas. It's gorgeous out and I'm ready to make the day out of the beautiful weather.

See ya on the beach!

Sunday Funday

So. Sunday was a day of exploration in the town I'll be calling home for the next 2 months. As you can see from the pictures -- this place is an amazing town. It's very quaint and small, but I think that's what's endearing about it. There are two major bars here -- in hotels as a matter of fact -- and lots of little cafes and shops which are above my price range. Here are a few pics of what I encountered on my day out.




Some guy enjoying the much appreciated view.








Tropical Looking Beach.







The Beach.









Cliffs overlooking the massive Pacific ocean.









Pacific Ocean.







Rock Swimming Pool.








My. Hizzy.








Nothing but smiles.





Well, after all that, my roommate and I met back up in our room. We discussed just chilling, but I had read something about live music at the Palace Beach Hotel. So. Off we went.

Turns out there wasn't any live music, but just a bunch of "frat-like" boys and we decided to go up to a Member's only club overlooking the ocean. That quite wasn't what we expected, so we drank our nasty discounted wine and booked it.

So. Here's the thing. McDonald's is gross, right? What if the McDonald's you went to had $0.30 cones? ICE. CREAM. CONES.

You'd be excited too, right?!?

Right. So, tonight, cones were priority! As we were walking out there were two guys eating and some crrraazzyy Aussie girls were asking them if they wanted to have a cheeseburger off. It was hilarious and kind of disgusting as well. She was on her 25th cheeseburger of the night. Ugh. McDonald's cheeseburger at that!

One of the guys responded to her and I immediately turned around. IT WAS AN AMERICAN!

We ended up hanging out with them for a bit, exchanging names as Hercules, Pocahontas, etc. They turned out to be a lot of fun! We ended up going to the Coogee Bay Hotel and had a couple of Aussie beers and some dancing.

All-in-all. It was nice to get out and meet some people, even if one was an American and the other a British chap. Love Sunday Fundays!




Crane & Ketchup (btw. His last name is Lemon. Whaa?? Crane Lemon?!)






I look crazy and you can tell how short I am compared to all of them :-) They're all bending down to my level. haha!








How Melanie and Jamie acted for the first part of the night...but eventually they enjoyed each other....







Through dancing :-)