Day 47: Successful getting sidetracked

Up early this morning! Productivity was my goal, but it was less about my assignment today than other fun things on the web.

This evening I want to my first SMC Sydney event! It was definitely a different experience than Sacramento events. It was at the Oxford Art Factory, a cool bar and music venue. The majority of the crowd was much older than me, but that was to be expected. I came across one girl who was also at her first event. She was most likely older than me, but we agreed that the rest of the crowd was on a different level than us. She was actually a media buyer - the job that I am making a database for in my class (which I should have been working on...)

The topic was personas and working towards finding the right medium and message for your audience. The speakers were great and it was very informative. After the presentations there was a heated debate about using fake avatars and transparency and authenticity. The Twitter backchannel was raving with swearing, inside jokes, and of course some Twitter spam as it became a trending topic. This group was much more unruly than what I was used to in Sacramento, but it showed how passionate they are about their work.

At the end of the event I met @danieltreacy, another UTS student that responded to my tweet about UTS people going to #SMCSYD. He is an IT and business major and is a freelance web designer. He had an internship where he used social media and has remained interested since then. It looks like I have my first #SMCEDU recruit! We had a great conversation about social media and education, and he is interested in getting involved.

It was a great evening, followed by discussing with my friends for WAY TOO LONG about our spring break trip. I really should have been working on my assignment (this is a really bad trend I have going on here). But instead, I was hearing about some expensive spring break plans that I didn't think I would be taking part in. $1400 for 8 days? I knew it would be more money, and I have extra time so I can do more travelling. Also, doing anything like that in a large group seems like a bad idea. We have problems deciding which way to walk downtown! I don't want to be restricted by what others do, so I think I am going to do my own trip.

Now that it's late and I'm tired, I'm going to go to bed and wake up early to work ALL DAY until I finish my database assignment for class tomorrow night. Woo hoo...

Day 46: Boring..... and brownies :)

Another day of homework, with some Subway and Brownie making in between. Greg's sister came today as well, adding another Californian to the bunch! That's my amazing Sunday...

Day 45: Yes, I am a geek

Oh the library, how I love the. While I love the internet and can find plenty of articles for my assignments using Google Scholar, there is something about being in the right section of the dewy decimals and finding a plethora of books on the topic of interest. I found numerous books to browse through for information on my paper about how social media and the real-time web are challenging internet censorship. It is hard to find scholarly information on this topic because it is so new, but I will do my best to make connections with the past, present, and future.

Yes, the library is great, but my love for the web is still strong! As I was looking for more information on my topic, I came across #media140. It was a conference held in London about "the future of real time news." It looks like it was a great conference talking about the exact topic I am interested in. They are trying to have conferences all over the world, and Sydney is the next one on the list! I decided I should test my luck and e-mail them to see if there were any opportunities to help with the conference. Who knows, maybe I could work with them on a global scale as well! I sent them an e-mail with my interests, so we'll see what happens!

This evening we hung out at Gumal for a while and people were going to play Monopoly. Monopoly on a Saturday night?? I wasn't keen to really going out, but it was a warm beautiful night - I wasn't staying in. I rallied the troops and we headed to Darling Harbour for ice cream! It was amazing outside and really made me excited for the warmer months to come when we can be out at night still wearing a tank top. I think one of my favourite things about living here is being so close to everything. I can just decide to walk to Darling Harbour, an iconic place known worldwide.

Day 44: Sacto Reunion!

After my late night breakdown, I allowed myself to sleep in, and it was marvelous. As I was feeling a bit homesick and missing my friends and family, I put out a Facebook plea for my friends to get on Skype so I could see them face to face. What great friends I have, because low and behold I talked to several in one day! Kristin and Matt were at Cathryn's new place, so I got to see them all together. Just seeing their interactions with each other made it feel like I was at home with them. It was very comforting and long overdue. Later that day Walter happened to catch me online, so I got to video chat with him for a while as well. I am so lucky my Internet lasted so long! He was the perfect person to talk to because he helped give me the encouragement I needed. I can talk to him about my classes and he'll understand. He also knows my potential and assured me that if anyone could pull through, it was me. I am so glad I didn't have people saying, "Ya, why did you take those classes?" Walter and my dad helped me see the positive side, which was really kind of support I needed.

While I should have stayed in and done work on my database project (which I am despising), friends were having a house warming party at Bondi Beach. Naturally I couldn't say no, so a group of us took the long journey by train and bus for the evening. While I'm a little sad I don't live at the beach, it is almost better having friends that live there! Their flat was amazing - a bit old but had so much character. The rooms were enormous, wonderful hardwood floors, and an amazing roof where you can almost see the beach! We are definitely looking forward to heading back there for some warm summer days.

Day 43: Everything happens for a reason... right?

Another day of homework and the Internet. I realise that I say I am doing homework a lot, but I think I am only really productive for a small portion of it. Yes, I am learning and broadening my horizons the whole time, but actually getting words on paper (or records in a database), now that's another story.

I met with a group for the UTS International Exchange and Study Abroad program today. We will be working on putting events together for international students so they get the most out of their experience. I thought it would be great to help out with, especially because I want to see more, so why not help organise it? After the meeting I realised it will be hard to organise events because there are so many issues with being associated with UTS. This makes sense as there are insurance issues and what not, but it makes everything a hell of a lot harder. I don't think I'll be able to help out like I thought, because it would mean taking on a whole new project, which I KNOW I don't have time for.

After class this evening I had a bit of a breakdown. At the beginning of the semester I was so excited to take two postgraduate classes, and now they are just bringing me down. It isn't even the fact that they are harder, I am just not interested in the content. The worst part is that I could have taken two easier classes that I'm sure I would have found interesting. Instead, I had to be over ambitious and take the challenging route. I must have forgotten that I came to Australia to see Australia, not to be engulfed in my classes. The other worst part is that I am realising this a week after the deadline to change classes. And the OTHER worst part is I am almost positive this will bring my GPA below 3.9, disqualifying me from Summa Cum Laude status. I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason, but I am really struggling to find the good in my situation.

I tried to take my mind of school and went over to Karolina's where we had tea and biscuits and played Jenga. It worked for a while, but when I was tired and went home, all of the thoughts came back into my head. I tried to sleep but just ended up watching Hancock in its entirety. By 1 am I was still wide awake thinking about my situation. I knew it was morning at home, so I called my dad to have him help me through my break down.

I knew he would help me, even if I was still frustrated by the end of our conversation. I tried to tell myself that everything would be alright, but I really needed to hear it from someone else. He helped reassure me that some good would come out of this, even if it was just building character by working through my challenges. I am so lucky that I can call my dad and be comforted from the other side of the world, but a physical hug from him would have made it that much more real.

Day 42: Nothing too special

Hump Day, which was uneventful as usual. Library in the morning to find some books about information literacy, group meeting about information literacy, and class. At least by Wednesday it seems like the work/school week is over, even though I have class Thursday night.

Day 41: Museum Mania

We are still searching for a Digital Library project, so I decided it was time to visit some museums in Sydney. With my faithful sidekicks Sabrina, Karolina, Mo, and Vanish, we ventured down to Circular Quay to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) followed by the Museum of Sydney.

MCA: Wrong day to go. They are inbetween exhibits so only one floor was open. They did have some cool visualisations of Countries and their involvement in Global Organizations. Information visualization in an art gallery! Just my thing! We'll have to go back when they have everything else open again.

Museum of Sydney: Small, but I enjoyed it. The Londoners were not impressed at all, but you take it for what it is. I liked the special exhibit they had about trams in Sydney - it turns out they had one of the most advanced tram systems in the world back in the day. They also had some cool info viz stuff, displaying photos of the Sydney skyline over a period of time. It was a touch screen that allowed you to scroll and enlarge the photos and illustrations. There was also one showing old pictures of Sydney:

(photo to be added soon)

Library of New South Wales: Beautiful building an a cool photographic exhibit of panoramas taken by Melvin Vaniman. He was from the US and actually had them ship an air balloon to him so he could take the photos from a higher elevation! I was intrigued. Unfortunately his love for flight also later lead to his death when he left photography to fly planes...

Day 40: Gloominess and Gua Sha

To follow the beautiful Sunday, we had a windy, gloomy, and a bit rainy Monday.

I started it off with some Laundry, and ended with some acupuncture. They did yet another method on my back this time. It was Gua Sha - "Pronounced, “gwar shar”, is the therapeutic use of the traditional Chinese soup spoon. By using the side of the spoon to rub along the surface of the body, friction and therefore heat can be produced. This technique can aid in the relaxation of tight muscles, the expulsion of toxins found in rashes, and generally help stimulate a particular area of the body. Small bruises may occur after this treatment, however these last only a few days." (http://www.aculife.com.au/acupuncture.php I love the Internet). I was told to keep my back warm for the next few days, and to rub biofreeze on it. It was very interesting, and I think it helped. This is hopefully that last time I'll go for a while. I'm making sure to stretch more and move every now and then when I'm on the computer. I think I just need to pay attention to my posture and develop a good habit of stretching and I'll get better.

Day 39: First view from the Bay

Random Sunday event: Ferry to Mosman Bay! Now there really isn't much in Mosman Bay besides nice houses on the water, but it was a beautiful day and we had the city and water in our view for a large portion. Not many people were around, probably because it was Sunday. I don't think it's a destination I would ever tell people to visit just because there isn't much there, but it was nice scenery and I LOVED the ferry. But I always love ferries. All and all a cheap day with lots of walking and some pretty pictures.

Day 38: InFusion Fun

More InFusions activities today - this time it was the Resident Carnival! I'm guessing our rent is high for our flat because they provide us with so many free events. We had free food which was delicious, as well as music and entertainment. There was also a cooking competition where people made meals from their country, so we tasted food from all over the world! I really enjoyed the Indian food, crepes, French mushroom pie, and many other things I can't pronounce. Again, being cheap college students, Karolina and I took an extra plate of food up to my flat to have for dinner later. And it was delicious!

Later we walked down to the Pitt Street Mall and ventured around the Queen Victoria Building. A little too much shopping for me, but it was fun to walk down a new street (Pitt is parallel to George Street where we normally walk).

Day 37: Adventure Friday!

Friday means adventure day! To go along with the theme of trying to see something new every week, we Tomo drove us out to Cronulla, a beach south of Sydney. Unfortunately like last week it was a bit of a gloomy day, but that didn't stop us from walking along the rocky coastline. Later in the day the sun came out, and parts of the beach looked like an exotic island.

After galavanting on the coast and getting some grub, we drove out to an area where you could see the planes coming into the Sydney Airport. While it wasn't the most picturesque view of Sydney with tankers and fishing boats around, it reminded me a bit of my cove out at the Tiburon Yacht Club. I enjoyed the view of the skyline, and it looks like people kiteboard there! I'll have to venture out there some other time to see them in action.

Day 36: Free food and entertainment, the joys of Uni

Enjoyed some free food from the InFusion Festival today. Was it worth waiting in line for over 20 minutes to get a sausage, some onions, and a pita? I'm a college student, so yes, yes it was.

To go along with the international theme of this week, we watched a group going some Capoeira, "an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, games, music, and dance." (Thanks Wikipedia).

Day 35: Americans show Aussies how it's done

I started my day with acupuncture, round 2! I was feeling better after last week's session, so I figured I should go again to keep the blood flowing. This time they hooked the needles up to an electric stimulation unit to intensify the treatment. I'm always up for trying something new, and hopefully it helps!

UTS, being wonderful to their international students as usual, hosted an international exchange party at a bar down the street. A room full of International and Australian students drinking free beer always leads to a good time. They put this event together to have the Australian students going abroad next semester meet exchange students from the countries they are heading to. Of course there were plenty going to the US, and I made sure to give them all the info they needed! Only one girl is going to Sac State, and one other to San Francisco state. The majority are heading to North Carolina, San Diego, and Arizona. I gave them my two cents about the US and I spent a lot of time talking to Amy who is going to SF. I made sure to get everyone's names and e-mail address to start a Facebook group for us. That way they can ask the US students any questions, and they can keep in touch when the go abroad. Maybe I'll try to get some of them to show me around Sydney!

Day 34: Ridin' through the CBD

I went for an interesting bike ride this morning. I headed out towards Glebe in the bike lane. As I got further, there were signs letting me know which way the bike routes were, so naturally I just followed them to see where it would take me. It was a nice ride, up and down some hills, and I ended up back at Blackwattle Bay. Since I was in a familiar area, I decided to go back over the Anzac Bridge to the city. It is a nice way to get my heart pumping, slight uphill getting on the bridge until the middle. Once I got into the city, I ended up riding by Darling Harbour and over the footbridge. I like that I can go for bike rides to one of the gems of Sydney on a regular basis. I continued to follow the bike lane signs, and rode through some of the downtown area. This is when it got hairy. I realised I was heading away from where I live, and then the bike lane just ended. I was stuck in the hustle of the CBD! Luckily I know my way around well enough that I managed to get home, but It took riding on some busy main streets and hopping up on the sidewalk for a while.

This week is the In-Fusions festival at Uni, celebrating cultures from all over the world. We heard there were some free bbqs and entertainment, so I gathered the group to head over there. Unfortunately by the time we got there not much was going on, but we did get some free tea (anything free makes us happy). I took advantage of being on campus and got some work done before class.

Day 33: Nothingness and TedTalks

Another late start this morning started my day on the wrong foot. As I struggled to get out of bed before 11am, I started my routine of self-pity for the lack of travelling I have done here so far. I have been here 1 month already and I have barely reached outside the Sydney's city limits. What was I going to do about it? Looking up flights and travel options online seemed like a great way to avoid my homework. And then I realised I was doing the same thing I do everyday to waste time, I decided enough was enough! I went for a walk down to Uni and Chinatown to take care of business and clear my head.

When I got back I knew what I needed to do. Time to follow in my dad's footsteps and set a timer to get things done. I always like to start with lists, and then get things done so I can check things off and start feeling like I'm accomplishing something. I should know how long my tasks should take, so hopefully it will prevent me from going off task. I can waste time on the Internet while looking up relevant information, but it still doesn't help my productivity.

Another thing I am starting to do to help my well-being is stretching and exercising regularly. Next step is to start doing it earlier in the morning so I get my day rolling and started off right. In combination with stretching (and getting ready for bed for that matter) I've been watching TED Talks. Everyone I have watched has been truly inspiring and makes me re-evaluate my life every time. Today I revisited a quick talk, "Philip Zimbardo prescribes a healthy take on time." He focused on "balancing time perspective," where the optimal profile was being past-positive, future, and present-positive oriented. This really resonated with me. I need to stop thinking about what I have been missing and what I'm not doing right now, and concentrate my efforts on the great experiences I have had, how to make the most out of right now, and keeping my future goals a priority. I am on an once in a lifetime journey that I cannot take for granted, and I need to seize the day and reach for the future. Enough blogging for now, it is time to live my life! (and clean my room and do some homework :)

Day 32: 1 Month already?!?! How am I on day 32 then? hmmm

I officially been in Australia for 1 month today. Wow, 31 days already! Time is flying, but at the same time I feel like I have been here forever. I'm getting familiar with the city, making friends, and living the life of a poor college student Sydneysider. All in all very good so far, but a lot more has to be seen.

Now that I've been blogging for a month now (and trying to keep up the best I can), I might make some changes to my formatting. Past posts may change, as I want to add pictures, links, and potentially maps to my content. Future posts will probably be different as well. I took a class a while ago in writing for the web, and I KNOW I am not following the best practices. While this is more of a journal of my trip, I might try to make it more readable and less diary-like (this might also help me stay current on posting). Who knows, I might throw in a song or poem or two... let's get creative here!

Now for my day...what a day it was. Starting with a trip to Paddy's Market (like most weekends so far), and ending behind the bar of a of a fancy Thai restaurant. Quite a day! (Oh, and the weather was INCREDIBLE, close to 80 F).

A few weeks ago I met a guy, Dylan, from Sydney who was moving to Melbourne the next week. He is a big Sydney FC fan (their soccer team) and was going to be returning for many of their games. It just so happened that his friend had an extra ticket to the game today, so I got to go along! While soccer isn't very popular here (15,000 people attended and it was the 1st home game) the fans were loyal and loud! They sang songs from Rod Stewart to the Flinstones, and threw beer in the air when they scored the only goal of the game. It was a fun experience to say the least (and yes, I joined in on the cheers once I caught on to the words).

After the game we went to a Thai Restaurant in Darlinghurst where Dylan knew the bartenders. It was a slow Sunday night, so they treated us well and made us special drinks to keep their night interesting. It was fun talking to them, and made me miss working for BiteClub. They said they would much rather have a bar where it was all people in the industry coming in instead of the usual Eastern Suburb Yuppies...they would have loved our events! By the end of the evening they let us behind the bar to mix our own drinks! Luckily hey told us how to do it, or else I don't think anyone would want to drink a concoction created by me using anything available. We shook the drink, garnished it with lime and brown sugar, and torched the top! What a show, and not a bad drink.

Now if only I can have a day like this every month, I think I would be a happy girl. Not looking forward to the schoolwork I have to do tomorrow, but well worth it.

Day 31: Nice Day (and Night) to be outside

Another day stating with a bike ride. I hope I can continue this trend! So far it's been a great investment, even though I didn't get the best deal possible. I love that I can get exercise, have fun, and see more of Sydney at the same time. It would be nice to have someone coming along with me, but I also like the solidarity and time time to think. I got lost again, but luckily I eventually saw the UTS Tower and found my way home. That's the best way to learn the city, and I'm going out during the daytime so I'm not worried about getting in trouble. I rode through Central Station like other crazy bikers we've seen going through there, and made my way around Moore Park to the Sydney Cricket Grounds. I thought I was in Centennial Park, but I just looked and saw that is further East! I guess I know where to go next time. The route I took is part of the route to Bondi Beach, so I'm looking forward to trying that out in the near future.

Later in the day we walked down to Chinatown and the Market City mall... a regular occurrence for us since it's such an easy walk. Karolina wanted to buy some boots, and the rest of us just came along for the walk. We ended in Chinatown where I picked up some cream puffs for Sabrina - fresh out of the machine and only $1 for 4!

Our eventful Saturday ended with going to a club in Darling Harbour. A big group of us went to Home Bar, a "posh" club with beautiful views of the harbour. It's fun checking out the notorious Sydney nightlife, especially on a gorgeous evening overlooking the water.

Day 30: Biking, Walking, Cooking...Octopus?

I finally went for my first OFFICIAL bike ride! Of course I got a little lost again, but I always knew where I was so no worries. My original goal was to go over the Anzac Bridge and then work my way back around Blackwattle Bay. It was a combination of two routes I found on Bikely.com, a website of user-generated bike routes. It's a really cool site - I'm going to have to try their Ultimo to Bondi ride along with a few others. Anyway, Once I got near the bridge I couldn't figure where the bike path was. I eventually made my way by the Fish Market and Wentworth Park, so I decided to go back to the path I knew around Blackwattle. Luckily for me, the bike path lead me straight to the Bridge on the other side of the bay! It was a nice ride, and I'm getting a lot more comfortable riding on the streets. I went out at 10am which is what I'm going to aim for from now on because there roads aren't too crazy, and it's a great way to get my day started.

After taking care of things at home and doing some intense grocery shopping, it was already 5pm and I needed a little more fresh air. I convinced Sabrina to walk with me down to Darling Harbour to see the beautiful sky reflecting on the buildings. It was a great walk where we finally checked out the other side of the Harbour, Kings Warf. This is where all of the well known bars and clubs are, and it was easy to see which ones were hip - even an 6pm. Young professionals were enjoying their happy hour drinks on a pleasant evening by the water. I hope I have a good job and enough money to do that sometime soon in my life.

I think this trip is all about new food experiences. I was convinced by the man at the fish counter in Broadway shopping center to buy some seafood mix - it was cheaper than getting a whole piece of salmon and looked interesting. I got home and realised I was about to cook octopus, squid, and mussels! (along with salmon, shrimp, and tuna) I've eaten this food before, but I have never prepared it myself. I went along with it, I mean I did pay money for the food. I made a stir fry with some vegetables, and it turned out quite nice! The whole floor now smells like fish and I don't think I'll be buying it again, but it was something new and exciting.

Day 29: Wasting time online

I need to work on finding my balance between, sleep, work, and play. I spent most of the day sitting inside on my computer, working on school work and in between looking up jobs and reading about social media. I feel like that is how I spend a lot of my time. At least I am not looking up useless information or just watching TV, but I don't feel very productive. I am keeping up with my schoolwork, but it isn't worth spending a whole day inside when the sun is shining and I have a city to continue exploring.

We were put into groups this evening for our digital library project which I am looking forward to. It looks like I will be leading the group, as I am the only one so far thinking about ideas and striving to make a complex, interesting project. It would be great to find a client that allows us to learn and see more about Australia, but not being from here I don't have the best insight to our options. Back to the Internet for endless searching! I think that is how I waste a lot of time. I get so involved in the research that I don't get much concrete information because my mind is all over the place. It's time to start utilising brainstorming techniques and organising my time so I get the most out of this experience. Time for whiteboards and post-its!

(P.S. - If you haven't noticed, I switched to Australian spell check. Don't get confused by the use of "s" instead of "z"!)

Day 28: Needles in My Back...in a good way

In my Information, Society, and Policy class today my group decided we would do our seminar on information literacy in Australia and Thailand. This should be an interesting topic and I'm looking forward to reading about the national policies. Probably another thing I will add to my research interests!

After class I went home, quickly showered, and headed to acupuncture! UTS has a a school of Chinese Medicine, and students can get treatments with 4th year students for only $20! Since my back is STILL bothering me, I figured I would take advantage of the good deal (and my dad the chiropractor agreed). It was a great one hour session, complete with needles and a massage. I felt very relaxed after, and will probably make an appoint again for next week since I doubt I'll feel better right away. (That's how they get you! Go once and come back every week!)

Karolina and her flatmates in Gumal had a cocktail party, so we went over to partake in the fun. We are starting to develop a good group of friends, and it is always fun when those people bring in others to join in. It was nice and casual, and we decided that we'll have to have everyone over to our flat sometime soon (except we don't have a view of the city like them, or even a window).

Day 27: Schoolwork, Class, Pizza

Another uneventful day with class in the evening. I have been working on a group project for my Digital Libraries and Collections class that is taking up a lot of time. We have to participate in collaboratories, or discussion groups, about different topics regarding digital libraries. The first group has the topic of Technological Sustainability, and two of their group members are bombarding us with content! It is good they are giving us topics to discuss, but it requires A LOT of reading, then more reading, then responding. I am one of the only people not in the group participating, which should be good for my grade, but I have other work I need to do. We are the next collaboratory to go, focusing on Authentication of Digital Content, so I have just as much background reading to do before ours goes live.

It was nice to come back from class though to a Floor Party with free pizza! I didn't socialise as much as I should have, but was tired and hungry and just wanted to cook my pizza and eat it too (which I did).

Day 26: Working bike on scary roads

Mondays seem to be my homework days, but that is pretty normal. No class, but catching up on work is always an imperative (even though I spend half of the time eating and the other half online...)

Later in the evening I rode my bike to the Nunnery to get some help fixing my bike. I looked up the route to get there, but I had to modify it a bit to stay on streets with bike lanes. Regardless, I got a little lost but finally made my way as dusk it. The people were nice and helped me fix my bike, teaching me about tightening the wires for the gears and adjusting the breaks. I was happy to leave with a better functioning bike, but definitely still only worth the $50 I paid for it.

The ride home was quite scary, because again I got lost, it was dark, and I was riding on more crowded streets. I looked up for the UTS Tower, finally realised where I was, and had to head back on the main roads so I wouldn't get lost. Needless to say I'm not riding in the dark again.

Day 25: City2Surf, Bondi2Coogee

I have been bugging people all week about wanting to see the end of the City2Surf race. This is 14 km run from Downtown Sydney to Bondi that takes place every year. I would compare it to Bay to Breakers, but with a little less dressing up and no drunk people around. There were 75,000 participants, making it the "world's biggest running event." Vanish, Karolina, Sabrina and I took the train and bus to Bondi and saw the thousands of people at the finish line. I thought there would be more going on in the way of entertainment, but it was cool to see crowds of people.

After hanging out on the beach for a while (and taking a few jumping pictures), we decided to embark on the Bondi to Coogee Walk. Most people do it in the other direction (and we figured out why later), but we were at Bondi and wanted to see the coast. It was a beautiful walk along the scenic coastline. The sandstone that lines the ocean is gorgeous and I love looking out and seeing the only water in the distance. By the time we reached the cemetery (and got a little lost through the graveyard) we were starving and ready to be at the end. We huffed and puffed, but barely enjoyed the view for the last few coves as we were tired and ready to have some food. Regardless, the whole walk was beautiful, but it is a better view with more to do once you get to Bondi (again, which is why we did the walk backwards). Once we finally hit Coogee, we picked up some Subway and caught the next bus back to the city. Next time we'll have to check out the town of Coogee more, as it looked like there is more to see, but not at the end of the weekend after a long and hungry walk.

Day 24: New Food Adventures

Another person from Westminster University arrived, Helen from Vietnam. She wanted to go to Chinatown to get Vietnamese food, and both her and Greg haven't been to Darling Harbour yet. Another Saturday walking around the city sounded good to me.

We searched forever for a specific Vietnamese place, just to realise we passed it a while back. Finally we made it, and by then I was hungry and decided to take part in the cultural eating experience. I ordered the Special Beef Soup, and just followed Helen's lead with everything she added. I figured I might as well do it right if I was going to try something new! It was a nice and spicy soup, filled with vegetables and fatty beef. Greg got the Spicy Beef and Pork Soup, and was a little surprised by what it included. Hmm, what's this? After Helen spoke with the waitress we found out it was BLOOD JELLY! Clotted blood cooked into an interesting chunk. He was pretty much done eating after that. I figured again, it was about the experience, so I tried it! It didn't really taste like much, but I didn't continue to eat the whole piece. I did eat something that looked like cartilage that was in my soup...pretty chewy and a weird texture. By the end I had a lot of soup left, so being the "hippy" I am, I took the rest home (and the rest of Greg's) to eat later. (After taking out the meat and adding tofu it lasted another 5 meals!)

After eating we made our way once again to the beautiful Darling Harbour and enjoyed the sites. This time we also indulged in ice cream, because Greg wants to get it pretty much every time we are out (it's beginning to be a bad pattern for me). But it was delicious, and I enjoyed every last bite (the sugar crash came later).

A friend we met recently moved to St. Leonards, a suburb in North Sydney. He was having a housewarming party, so we took the train over to see him. The party was small and intimate, but the best part was probably going on the train over the Harbour Bridge. If only they turned off the lights inside the train at night! We'll have to do it again during the day to get the full scenic view.

Day 23: Tomo has a car!

I really need to stop staying up so late, especially for no apparent reason. Again I didn't go to sleep until 1am, after spending a couple hours looking at postgraduate programs. I think I need to let it rest for a while, concentrate on my classes, and then reevaluate what I really want to study. And maybe study for the GRE in between... it's all a little overwhelming.

Although I didn't get out of my pajamas until 1pm, I woke up at 10:30am and successfully finished a large portion of my online CV. Check it out! www.jennalanger.com. This has been a work in progress for a while, with more work to do, but at least it's starting to be something I'm proud of.

This afternoon we took a trip to Manly Beach. It turns out my flatmate Tomo has a car! It made it easier to plan the trip - not having to worry about ferries or buses. Five people in his mini cooper was a tight squeeze, but we managed and made it to the Beach after circling around the Warf a couple times. Again, the area reminded me so much of the Bay Area! After crossing the Harbour Bridge and heading through the town, we came to an area on the bay, filled with boats and houses built into the hillside. Can you say...Tiburon!?!? As we travelled further and ended up by the Warf, I saw a resemblance to Sausalito! While I was enjoying the beauty that surrounded me, I couldn't help be be a little disappointed that the scenery was so familiar to me. I need to keep stepping outside of myself and realizing how lucky I am to have grown up in a place so gorgeous, just like Sydney. Don't get me wrong, it's not all the same, but I have yet to feel out of my element.

Manly Beach was less crowded than Bondi, with less surfers in the water, but it was still very pretty. Clouds covered most of the sky and the water was a bit cold, but we enjoyed taking pictures on the beach and climbing around the rocks on the edge. They have a pool on one end that is filled with water from the ocean and looks like it would be really nice when it is warmer. After gallivanting on the rocks for a while, we started to feel rain droplets and the wind started picking up. Not quite a sunny beach day, but the clouds made for an interesting sky.

On the way home as we were stuck in traffic, we saw the sun setting and fortunately were right by a lookout point. We stopped for a while at the perfect time - the sky was cloudy, colorful, and out came a rainbow! The best excursions are the ones that get decided last minute, and this was one of them.

Day 22: Walkin and Talkin

I woke up this morning and called Nicole to catch up with her after her trip down the Colorado River (jealous, I know). I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love technology. It was nice talking to her and feeling like she was in Petaluma and I was in Marin. It feels like I never left. Expect that the Internet here SUCKS. As my dad said, "I thought you were at a technology school?" I thought so too. But it is so inconsistent, I can barely have a Skype call and usually end up calling back on my cell phone. Luckily I'm only paying $10 a month for the Skype, but it's almost not worth it because the Internet always disconnects. Urggghhh!!! New item to on the list - find consistent free internet somewhere, preferably with nice scenery around.

Instead of sitting at my computer all day as usual, I went to Victoria Park to do some reading. Much nicer than in my room - I'll have to go there more often. Karolina texted me about going on a walk later, so of course I took her up on the offer. I ended up taking them on the same walk we did on Sunday (I felt like a pro knowing my way around). It was again a very nice day, and we enjoyed the view of the Anzac Bridge right on the water.

Later that evening after class, I posted up in front of my computer researching graduate programs. I am unsure if I want to look at communication or information programs. Right now the combination of the two looks the most appealing, but I haven't found one that stands out to me yet. Back to the drawing board!

Day 21

Not too many interesting things about today. We had our flat meeting with our RN Nick, which was pretty much going over rules and regulations that we already knew. After cleaning on Saturday we had a good idea of how we were going to take care of things around our flat. Next was class, and then more printing of papers and more reading. I'm hoping to find out soon that I really don't have to do the reading, but that is most likely just wishful thinking.

One more trip to the grocery store today which means... new Australian Fruit Day! I picked up a custard apple, which looks like something out of Mario Kart. It won't be ripe for day or so, but I'll write about it when we taste it.

Day 20: Twitter Friends = Real Friends!

What is the power of social media? It can connect you with people on the other side of the globe. Before I came to Sydney I asked my Twitter community if they knew of any good Australians to connect with. @JennyKoreny suggested @extractors, someone she had met through a friend. I had seen him online before that featured in @Successfool's blog, and now I was putting the two together. To make a long story short, I met Jason today for a cup of coffee at the World Square.

He is an inspiring person, looking to share his success with the world by helping people overcome obstacles and reach their goals. I think we both enjoyed hearing each other's perspectives on Australia, California, and social media. I'm looking forward to meeting with him again, and it is nice to know I have someone I can ask questions and also someone to help me connect with others in the area.

I went to my first class of Organising Information, which looks like it's going to be about relational databases. I took a class on this last semester, but of course I am realising I need to refresh myself! This class will go more in depth, and I will also be learning Microsoft Access which is a good program to put on my resume.

As soon as I got back from class, just after 9pm, I needed to get ready because it was Salsa Night! I missed the class, but the instructor informed us that it was a free night of Salsa music at a posh club downtown. While this really isn't my thing, Sabrina really wanted to go, so we got all dressed up for a night on the town. Of course I put up a fuss about putting on a dress and heels, but it's part of the process and I guess part of me enjoyed it. But when we got there, I think we were the nicest dressed people there! (very unusual for me.) I tried out the few moves I knew for a song or two, and spent the rest of the time admiring the "professionals" with real school. All in all an interesting night, but I not quite something I'll do on a weekly basis. But hey, this semester is all about new experiences!

Day 19: Who needs a gym when I walk EVERYWHERE

A meeting in Kings Cross this morning got be out of bed at a reasonable time. I was meeting a girl at 11am by the El Alamein Fountain who had a new helmet for $30 that I found on GumTree (similar to Craigslist). I thought about taking the train, but I figured I would get to see more if I walked the 3.5 km. I feel like I'm getting to know my way around now - I know the shortcut to downtown, I recognize the street names, and I might even be able to give some directions.

I was a few minutes late because took a little longer than expected. I had to look around at all of the "Adult Stores" around me! Kings cross is known as the Red Light District of Sydney, so this made sense. There were also many bars and restaurants around and I've heard it can be fun to go out here, but I would not want to be alone by the Kings Cross Station at night.

I met the girl, Kendall for the helmet. It turns out she is American and was from Connecticut. She had a real world job for a while, but wanted a break and moved to Sydney for a few months on holiday. She was not returning to her old job, and had previously sold her bike to another American. She assured me I will love it here, and gave me the name a few places to go on bike rides. Meeting at El Alamein Fountain was a great location because it is something that many tourists want to see. Not because of the fountain, but because they have a street sign that points in several directions displaying how far away different cities all over the world are. I was 12,054 km from LA and 16,026 km from New York. They should have a sign like that in every big city!

I decided to walk all the way home again, and boy could my feet feel it by the end. I took a different route this time going down Oxford Street, which is another place I hear is fun to go out. There were rainbow flags lining the street, and by the looks of the clubs I was pretty sure this was the Sydney equivalent to the Castro. Also on the way I went past the New South Wales Jewish War Memorial, which I will have to go back and take the tour of.

The rest of the day consisted of printing readings for my classes, working on my website, and reading. While I was happy to not buy books this semester, it is expensive to print the pages and pages of reading that I have! I like to have the copy in my hand so I can annotate and highlight, and potentially keep a copy for my future library of my classwork. I never took my reading too seriously at Sac State, but since I am taking postgrad classes I think it is important that I stay on top of them. Luckily I'm interested in the subjects, but this first round of readings is a little dry. I split up the tasks by working on my online CV, which is coming along better at this point. I finally found a WordPress theme to go with, and now I am personalizing it to fit my categories. I took the link down a while ago, and it's still not up to standards of releasing. For now, all people will get is a glimpse of this trip!

Day 18: Blackwattle Bay FTW

Our late night game of Monopoly led me to a lazy Sunday. To counteract the laziness, Sabrina, Vanish, Alex and I went for a walk around town to enjoy the sun for a few hours. We ventured down Glebe Point Road because we heard there was a park that eventually led to the bay.

We continued down the road, enjoying the cute town of Glebe, and probably went much further than we were supposed to. Looking out we could tell the water was on our right, so we turned down the next street. The houses looked like old victorian houses with intricate railings, but not very well kept. They had individual style - one house had a purple door and trim painted like a dalmatian. Then all of the sudden, we reached the park and Blackwattle Bay, and the houses turned to modern beach townhouses that were probably worth $1 million each. An interesting juxtaposition if I say so myself.

The bay was beautiful, with views of the Sydney skyline and the Anzac Bridge in direct sight. People were fishing and runners exercised on the path. I will definitely have to come back here for some bike rides. We walked around the point, seeing rowers go by and a few small jellyfish in the water. I love having the bay so close - walking distance to water in several directions is definitely one of my favorite things about Sydney. We went back a different way, coming up on Wentworth Park and the Fish Markets. We'll have to go back there for a meal and to buy some fresh fish for cooking.

Sunday evening should consist of homework, but I never have enough energy to follow through with good study habits at the end of the weekend. Instead, we watched Summer Heights High, a fake-documentary comedy about an Australian High School. I've been trying to pick up some lingo to use on the streets! (not so much)

Day 17: Scavenging the City

I tried for another semi-early start this morning (well, 11am, not too bad) as Emily and I walked to the Glebe Markets to check out the merchandise. There were stalls set up covering a the Glebe Schoolyard where people sold clothing, arts and crafts, jewelry and accessories, and of course some food that smelt delicious. I didn't buy anything, as it wasn't quite my style (or price range in some cases), but it was nice to see a little more culture in the area.

After getting back to our flat, we made it a cleaning day! We woke up the late sleepers, cleared out our cabinets, and cleaned and organized everything in the kitchen. We are very lucky to have so much kitchenware, but some of it was a little gross and scattered all over the place. After some intense teamwork, our kitchen was sparkling and the counters were cleared. A job well done by all. I feel very lucky to have good flatmates, because I know how bad it can turn out.

Then it was time for the scavenger hunt. Our team, Hella Heaps Proper Legit (taking words from all of our "languages") consisted of me, Emily, Greg, and Sabrina, and we were ready to win! Student Housing organized this event, where teams of four had two hours to run all over Sydney taking pictures of landmarks that were all worth different point values. Armed with Sabrina's Canon G9, we were set to go. Unfortunately I was wearing flip flops, not thinking that we would be running down the street. Oh but we did. At least until the bus stop, then we slowed down. We took the bus to Circular Quay to start and worked our way back to Gumal. We covered many areas that I had been just a few days before when we walked to Hyde Park, so I felt like a pro Sydneysider. Kinda.

It was a very tiring two hours, and by the end we had pretty much given up, and received a penalty for arriving late. I think we got 7th place, but we felt cheated because they didn't count our creative picture of a policeman on a horse - we took a picture of a picture in the Justice Museum. That was worth 50 points and would have bumped us up to at least fourth. The winning team was 3/4 Aussies, and they were in appropriate running attire. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, and we got in our exercise for the day. Everyone was worn out after, so we made it a low key night and played Monopoly - which as most people know never ends up that low key.