Byron, Forests, Gold Coast, Oh My!

FYI. Since my internet is pretty much non-existent, I won't be posting pics with this
blog, but they will be posted at a later date. Promise. Thanks for your patience.

Updating my blog has become rather difficult, as you can tell from the lack of posts.
Not because I'm bored out of my mind with NOTHING to report. It's the fact that we
are really camping.

And by camping, I mean, finding the most beautiful spot to park, moving all the shiznit
from the back to the front and laying our heads down to rest in the back of a
station wagon.

For free.

These past 6 days have been amazing. And I'm not just saying that to make people
think I'm havin a great time while in reality I'm completely miserable.

I. Really. Am. Having. Fun.

Ross and I thoroughly enjoy one another's company and we haven't bitched each
other out. Yet. He's a true gentlemen and really thinks about others before himself.
It's a nice change of pace.

Blah blah blah. Who wants to hear about all that mushy gushy stuff. Yeah. Me
Neither.

So. I left off with our shooting star spectacular in Byron Bay.

The next morning, we got up and went to the lighthouse in Byron Bay. It's kinda of a
staple here in this town because of the fact it's the most Easternly point in Australia.
Look. I'm not lying.

That was cool, but it was hot and my ankle wasn't a huge fan of the uphill/downhill
scenario.

So. We got ourselves down to the beach and tried our luck in boogie boarding.

Yeah. Neither of us caught a wave, but we had a great time laughing about it.

Then we went to the grocery store to get ourselves some dinner -- which was a
brilliant idea. We bought ourselves one of those really greasy chickens that are
pre-cooked. Um. First -- delicious. Second -- lasted us for days. FOR DAYS.

And we enjoyed our delicious chicken with sweet potato mash, made by Mr. Foss
(my nickname for him) and I made some delicious steamed broccoli. For some
poor-ass people, we sure are living the dream. Ha!

Then we were off to go meet up with a girl I met on the bus from Surfers Paradise to
Byron. Really nice girl from the UK who's traveling the world. Oh right. I already told
you about her. Anyway. We met up at the Beach Hotel and had a couple of drinks
then we walked ourselves home where Ross and I laugh THE WHOLE WAY
HOME. There just wasn't any stopping us. Boom.

The next morning we got ourselves up and packed up all of our stuff and we said
goodbye Byron. It was bittersweet since we were having such a good time, but
there was camping to be had! None of this cozy hostel crap.

By suggestion of one of Ross' friends, Fi, we drove to the Lamington National Park
which was absolutely breath-taking. Notice how most of my pics are of nice
beaches or flat-lands, but rarely any mountains and the like? Well this is where my
pictures change. Glorious.

So we had lunch (yes, chicken) with a bit of Mug-a-Goon. Our new name for boxed
wine, since we don't have wine glasses. It fits. And it's funny. So there.

Afterwards we walked a 4km trek to the Gollossum Pools. And, unfortunately, it
wasn't that cool considering we definitely walked more than 4km and all downhill.

Which meant the trek up was going to be all uphill and more than 4km. Ugh. But we
did see a GINORMOUS iguana that leaped out at us and made me scream and
we also saw a rooster who somehow disappeared into thin air when we reached
his path. Don't ask questions, we aren't.

Then it was time to setup shop. We found out it would cost us $24 to camp in the
actual park, so we decided to go back out of the park and stop at an overlook that
was rather breathtaking. And where some paragliders happened to fly from. So.
Awesome.

Our first night in the car was uneventful, but a good laugh. And surprisingly
comfortable. Who would've thunk!

The next morning we awoke to all the paragliders setting up as well as an all
female Eco-tour. However, I'm convinced they weren't all female. They were all
lesbian. I mean, really. It just made sense.

Foss went over and talked to the "head-honcho" and got some information on
where to go for an awesome trek. And he stole some of their breakfast. Sad. We're
beggars.

As we were on our way to the trek, we pulled the car over because we saw the
most exquisite sight. The Gold Coast in the distance with the forest stretching out
towards it. Beautiful.

And Foss picked me some flowers. Aw.

We went to the Springbrook National Park where we went on a 4km circuit through
Twin Falls. It was beautiful.

Afterwards we went to a little cafe to get some water (we didn't plan on the trek
being as long as it was) and found some AMAZING hats. Srsly. Are these not just
amazing.

We bought 12.

On our way down to the Gold Coast we saw a sign for the "Best of All Lookouts."
We were pretty stunned that this might be, holy wow, the best of all. So we had to
have a look.

Good thing it was rainy and gross. Because that view was spectacular. Wow. So
spectacular, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. So we made a lot of jokes
and I think one of our favorites was that the guy who named the Best of All
Lookouts really had the last name of "Best of All." Has to be.

Off we went to go to the Gold Coast so we could see the sights and have a nice
night out of partying.

Only thing was we didn't really book in advance, so we had nowhere to stay.

Fortunately, since I had lived there, I had a couple of contacts. One guy from
couchsurfing that said I could crash as well as get us in for free at the Wicked Party
tour or my old roommate, since no one had moved in yet.

We were in luck and took my old roommate option. He's so freakin laid-back and
chill, I really appreciate the fact that I got to meet him and get to know him. PIMP.
So we got ready really fast and went to Strike Bowling to meet up with the Wicked
Party group. Ran into the head guy Nic, who had some crazy pink hair, and
slapped some wrists bands on us and said, "have fun."

Um. AWESOME.

So we got to go to 5 clubs where we received 5 drink coupons. You'd think 5 drinks
would be enough, but, um no. We still spent too much money on alcohol.

We started at Strike Bowling where everyone needed more liquid courage, went to
Melba's where everyone started to enjoy themselves with dancing, went to a
terrible place called Cheers & Drinks -- or something gay. I ended up dancing with
a guy there which was kind of dumb. But it prompted something else, I'll get to it in a
minute.

Then we got to go to The Bedroom, which is somewhere I've been wanting to go. It
was okay, not very exciting so I was a bit disappointed. Le Sigh.

Then Foss and I were ready to go back to Broadbeach and hit up a few bars there.
We went to Liars (where I met Vic) and had a drink, but sat and talked. About what?

The fact that I told the guy I danced with that Foss wasn't my man. Oh dear. Since
we hadn't gone over the guidelines of this trip to an exact T, I wasn't sure what to
call Foss.

Basically. We concluded. We're boyfriend/girlfriend.

SCORE. It's back on people, back on.

We then left Liars and headed for the Casino since I just couldn't stop myself from
going there All. The. Time. We didn't gamble, but instead we talked about serious
stuff. Why do I do this all the time? Whenever I get drunk, I get serious. And it's gay.
Someone slap me on the wrist. Hard.

The next morning we woke up with some serious hangovers. It wasn't pretty. So we
did some laundry, I watched a few deleted scenes from Forgetting Sarah Marshall
and then we were off. Went to Pacific Fair so we could buy a windshield shade for
the car and Foss wanted to try on some t-shirts. He's obsessed with t-shirts.

And being that we were going back out into the wilderness, we decided to get
some cheap grub from BK -- or as OZ knows it, Hungry Jacks. It wasn't half bad.

So. On our way we went. Off to The Glass House Mountains. That post is NEXT (in
like 5 weeks)!

Latin Lover

So apparently, I should definitely visit South America.

Why, you ask?

Because Latin American males LOVE me.

LOVE. ME.

There's just no denying that fact.

I could be because I have a big ass, it could be because I have red hair. But all those aside, they want ME.

So. I get a call tonight from a couchsurfer I met last week. Yes. We met up last week, went to Bond University and had a few drinks (okay several) and then we went out separate ways. Sort of. Let's just say, I left and he grumbled.

Out of the blue, he called me tonight to meet him up in Surfers. Did I comply? Yes. HELL YES. I'm bored out of my mind here, anything stimulating is a plus. Ok?

So. I get ready, walk myself to the bus stop where I wait. And wait and wait.

Meanwhile, while I'm...waiting for the bus, a car drives by and throws something at me. Srsly. Scared the heck out of me, but luckily didn't hit me. So I stand up to see what exactly they threw and it was....an Egg.

AN EGG. Who does that?!?

I was pretty pissed off, needless to say. And also majorly annoyed with this town. I didn't realize we were back in high school.

This made me revert back to a memory of mine. That happened oh so long ago.

I was in high school, yes you guessed it. And I had sort of dated this guy that kind of, sort of blew me off. So my friend Dax and I decided to get revenge. Oh, poor Dax. I put that guy through so much.

Anyway, we drove over to the Gate gas station and bought some eggs at 2am -- we had just gotten done going to a club near this guy's house. As we were buying the eggs, the cashier tells us, "Ya know, those eggs are rotten."

We both said at the same time, "Even better."

As we drove around the complex of this guy's apartment, I couldn't find his car. So, we're scrambling around trying to figure out where else we can egg something of his. As we're thinking about it, he drives up, gets out of his car and walks into his place.

PERFECTO! So Dax slowly, with headlights in the off position, drives his truck by this guy's car while I pathetically throw the 'rotten' eggs around his car.

You guys. I didn't even hit the target. I missed it completely.

You know in the morning he came out to his car was like, wtf. Did someone drop their eggs while coming into their apartment?

Yeah. That was me. I dropped the eggs rather than threw them.

Okay. Back to the story. So. I go meet him (Cesar, Mr. Latin Couchsurfing Lover) at Waxy's, an Irish bar on the "strip" and meet his friend Aldofo. Who, apparently, is someone I should know. He's a travel agent for Peru. He loves to talk Peru vs. America vs. Australia and promised me that if I visit him, he'll hook me up with everything.

Done.

Anyway. We have a couple of beers there, end up going to Melba's -- the local club -- to find out it's dead. DEAD. Moving on, we went to a place called Drink. Srsly. It's called Drink.

So we went up 14 flights of stairs to get to this place to find out, it's way better than Melba's tonight. We drink a few more beers, dance a little then call it "a night."

Both the guys get pizza -- I'm not allowed to, based on how much I've gained here -- and we walk FOREVER to get to Cesar's car. My ankle started to act up at this point.

Anyway.

At this point, I'm ready to get home to write this post and Cesar's a little on the drunk side. He tells me he needs a little rest and I say absolutely not. Hah. I'm hardcore, ladies and gent. When I want to go home -- I want to go home. Ok?

He's convinced and drives down the Gold Coast HWY like a Grandma. BUT. We did listen to Rigatoni -- the type of music we heard in Nicaragua. It was AWESOME. He stops the car in front of the McDonald's on the corner (What? I don't want him to know where I live) and proceeds to tell me how much he wants me.

He wants me in front of the McDonald's? I think not sir.

So. I get the H out of his car, tell him I'll see him tomorrow all the while he's trying to grab me to keep me in his car (aggressive mofos aren't they?). But I escape and walk my ass home.

I'm kind of dreading to see him tomorrow, but it's the same thing as last week's extravaganza. Bond University at Don's. Too Much Fun. Count. Me. In.

So. Latin men, watch out -- I'm visiting your country next. I need to find me a husband!

The Gold Coast

My first two days on the Gold Coast were fairly uneventful. But that's okay.

I arrived at the Coolangatta Airport, around 8:30pm. I immediately booked my shuttle bus to the hostel, grabbed my big-ass bag and hopped on board. I actually turned my computer on just to see if I had internet, and I did. It was kind of cool.

As we drove down the Gold Coast Highway, I got a real feel for Miami. There were tall buildings everywhere, tons of lights and loads to do. The bus didn't drop me off right in front of my hostel, so I had to hobble my way to the hostel with 35 bags in tow. It was awesome. I felt pretty cool.

I checked into the hostel and my first impression wasn't the greatest. Although it was a Tuesday night, not much was going on. I went to my room and there were two girls from the UK watching tv. How fun.

I went into my room and there was an Asian girl sitting on the bunkbed just blankly staring into her laptop. Oh. Did I mention there was no air conditioning?

Awesome.

I pretty much put up my stuff then hobbled my way over to Bundall -- where I was going to meet a potential roommate. I was going to hop in a cab, but there just aren't any cabs just floating around. You pretty much have to call and book them. I figured, what the heck, the place isn't that far....

With a hurt ankle -- yes, it was that far. I walked across two bridges, through a residential area and then a shopping center just to get to this guy's place. He was nice, his place was nice -- very secure -- but it seemed hella far.

I took a cab back to the hostel. Cost me $10.

When I came back the girls were still watching TV, so I stopped and talked for a little bit. They were nice enough. Young. But nice. Then I went to bed. I had made plans to meet up with a girl in Helensvale around 9:30am.

That night, sleeping with no air conditioning, with crazy people screaming in the streets, I did not sleep. Not. At. All.

Got up in the morning dreading to take a shower -- this was definitely not the cleanest of bathrooms. Plus it was pretty gloomy out -- had rained off and on at night. But I hopped a bus to Helensvale and found myself pretty far out there. The cool thing was all the shops -- tons of potential jobs, etc. Only thing was once she picked me up, we drove for about 10 minutes to get to her place, which was not convenient at all.

Plus her place wasn't that great anyway.

I came back to the hostel where the cleaning ladies came in and literally changed the linens. The End.

No wonder the bathroom was so gross! They didn't do SHIT!

So I decided to walk around Surfers, get a feel for the place...found a boutique that was selling perfume for $5. I decided that I must go back there.

Afterwards, I met up with a guy I met from online. Yes. I do that when I know no one. He was very nice, drove an amazing Mercedes. I felt really special. He took me down to Broadbeach because it was a little less crazy than Surfers. And boy, was he right. We walked up and down the street until we found a good seafood place to try. It was pretty good -- I had steamed prawns (shrimp) with salad. Healthy, yes?

I left him for a hot minute because I was meeting up with a potential roommate. I went over to the guy's place in Broadbeach to see if I wanted to move in. The answer was YES. He literally lives in a prime location -- a block away from TONS of restaurants, etc -- you already know this from a previous post.

Anyway. I told him I was able to move in immediately and he said he wanted to sleep on it.

Then Eddie, the guy I met from the 'net, took me to The Spit. And WHOA. He delivered on that one. It was amazing. It's basically just a jetty that stretches out and the waves were just crashing like crazy! It was such a spectacular sight with the moon lighting the ocean, the waves crashing into the rocks and the sand blowing everywhere. Incredible.

Eddie dropped me off and I met two UK girls who were so friendly and nice. We both told each other of our romantic lives and said we couldn't wait to hear of the outcome -- like our stories were a romance novel. It was cute.

Anyway. I called up Paul -- the guy who lives way the H out there -- and told him I'd move in. I was getting nervous that the other guy, Todd, wanted to sleep on it. I was scared!

So I checked out of my hostel and moved over to Paul's place. But since I knew there was potential that Todd would say yes, I put my bag in a storage locker at the hostel -- so I wasn't moving it more than once.

And wouldn't you know, as I'm making the walk across Chevron Island to Bundall -- Todd calls me to tell me I can move in.

COM'ON PPL!

So. I make up my mind that I'll hang at Paul's for a little bit and see if I like it.

I did like it. But I didn't have internet there.

NEXT!

So I left my groceries at Paul's and dipped out to Broadbeach to see if I had internet there. Todd wasn't home -- he was at work -- so I just sat on the stairs and BAM. I had internet.

Decision made. Thank you very much.

So I hung out at the hostel for pretty much the whole day (bought myself a $5 bottle of delicious Christian Dior perfume) and met a girl from the States. She sucked.

Then, I took my bag and made my way over to Todd's to move in. He was very nice, super friendly.

But, I was off to go meet another guy I met from online. He invited me out to Bond University to hang at a pub on campus. I met him from couchsurfing.com -- a very cool website. Very handy.

So, I unpacked three things, put sheets on my bed (which is a mattress on the floor), took a shower and off I went to Bond!

But this post is long enough...so my adventures will have to wait for another time. Which I promise will be soon. I'm unemployed, remember? I ain't got nuffin to do!

I lied.

I'm not moving there anymore. Haha

Well I kinda did, but I'm kicking myself out. Found another place, closer to the beach, closer to A LOT of nightlife and shops and restaurants (JOBS, PPL!) and it's $20 cheaper.

But the kicker. My internet didn't work at the other place. So I've literally walked and bussed my ass over here just so I could check to see if it'll work here.

Hence, why I'm writing you.

I love you Macbook. And I love you too, 3 internet.

May all three of us be happy here!!

The Big Bad Storm

Hmm. Haven't heard from ANYONE in regards to the BIG-ASS cyclone hitting Queensland.

Don't y'all (yes, I said y'all) know I'm leaving W.A. and going there on Tuesday?

Everyone was SOO worried about the fires in Victoria when I left for Melbourne.

"Are you sure you should go?!"

"Are you going to be okay?"

"It's made International News, aren't you worried?!"

But a cyclone. The impitimy of a hurricane and NO ONE GIVES A DAMN.

Don't ANY of you CARRRRREE?!??!

Guess not.

And there really isn't anything to be worried about. I painted a picture for you.

Anyway. Off on Tuesday. Getttttting excited!!!!