Same Same, but Different

Ho hum, so another week has gone by without anything that eventful of which to speak.  The best news of the week is that my workmate gave me his spare space heater (yes, thrilling, I know).  Work is work.  I spent a long Saturday morning hanging out on Google+ with my favorite blonde curlycue, the tannest man in Vancouver and my dearest Kittylady, after which Katy and I spent a sunshiny day trolling the streets Fitzroy where I finally got the eggs benedict that I've been craving ever since I tried them in Miami with an adorable Kiwi last year.

On Tuesday Mirella left so now we're back to three here in this little drafty (yet well heated ;-) house.  We threw her a little going away dinner on Monday night that was a swanky affair, to say the least.  Maria made a delicious empanada gallega, we had delectable quiche,  and adorable little mashed sweet potatoes served in the halved oranges.  It was a great night to say the least, but the house is noticeably quieter without Mirella's laugh hanging in the air.  I miss that little Frenchy.

In other news, a little bird told me recently that Marcy and some Vancouverites we thinking about join the party down under.  I figured I'd take advantage of this little soap box I am standing on to put forth my official opinion.  You guys should cooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all...now onto to random photos of my life.

Lunch in St Kilda with my main ladies last Sunday.

om nom nom, a muffin and a macchiato

Maria and those orangey sweet potatoes

Bye Mirella!  We miss you.  (if you look closely they wrote a little message in the pastry)

Haha, screen shot!

It was sooooo good.

My best attempt to throw up a gang sign...nice one

The most adorable couple I know, Daniela and Jason.

My favorite Spanish ladies

The Day to Day + Independence Day

Occasionally I'll have those aha sort of moments when I say to myself, "holy crap, I'm living and working in Australia right now".  I must be one of the luckiest people in the world that this is actually an option for me.  I'm really am enjoying myself, just exploring, meeting people and living the day to day life here.  Another thing that gets me is that I'm able to do all of this with one of my best friends here with me.  I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for Katy.  I love that girl to death and I'm so glad that we get to have this adventure together.  

A little reiteration for anyone who may have missed a post or two, Katy and I are currently sharing a room in a cozy little house located in the heart of Fitzroy, a really cool part of the city.  We share the house with an amazing Spanish girl named Maria, and this past week we've also been sharing the place with her friend Mirella who is visiting from France.  I work about a 7 minute walk from where we live in a little greek cafe called Síyía.  I have really chill coworkers and lots of regular customers who make work a fun and bustling place to be all day.   Other than that, life is simple.  Some nights we go out dancing, sometimes we go exploring or simply run errands.  Nothing particularly exciting or interesting to speak of.  

On the 4th of July we had an Amurika, fuck yeah! gathering at our place where we had our 2 friends from the states, Maria and Mirella (she's was raised in LA).  We had some drinks, got dressed in patriotic garb and made our way down to the sparsely populated bar on what here is just any other Monday night.  To say the least, the other people in the bar didn't really share our enthusiasm for the holiday.  Regardless, it was a fun time (what was less fun was getting up for work the next morning eeek).  

On the tram to Sydney Rd, Maria tries to rummage up some coin-age to pay her fare.

Just preparing for some shopping at Savers (the worlds biggest thrift store)

These stores have anything and everything.

Daniela's interpretation of the statue of liberty...I think she did a pretty good job.

Smushed in the corner of the beer garden of a bustling bar on Sydney Rd.

Katy doing her best Martha Washington.  How I wish that hairdo had held together long enough to make it to the bar.

I see the resemblance.

Texas. Florida. California. Florida. Spain.   We made Maria an honorary American for the night.  By our logic, we owed the "discovery" of the new world to good 'ole Chris Columbus, so this darling Spanish chica was welcome to celebrate our independence.

Now that's patriotic...

I'm employed!!!

Fear not family, I will not die of hunger on the cold winter streets of Melbourne, I'm a working woman now.  I was getting a little worried myself because it is so expensive here and since I didn't have a job for the first 2-3 weeks since arriving, Australia was hitting my savings pretty hard (especially compared to the cost of living in SE Asia).  Anyhow, I landed an all-arounder type job in a neat little Greek cafe a short walk from my place called Síyía.  My boss and coworkers are really cool and I'm already picking up a lot of great tips and hints for my one day cafe.  Hopefully they'll teach me soon how to make proper Melbournian coffee.  I though I knew how to make coffee, you know, spending over 4 years working in coffee shops, but apparently it's not even close to meeting the high Melbourne standard for coffee.  So I'll wait, cook up some paninis and greek goodies, server customers and hope the coffee comes in time.  Anyhow, today was only my second day, so I'm sure all that will come in due time.

Other than that, nothing much new or exciting to report.  Write me emails!  or skype me or whatever.  I'd love to hear from whoever actually follows this odd little blog of mine.

I've been slacking on the photo front, but here's an oldy that got left out.  Gotta love that pumpkin hat.  We miss our favorite little pumpkin headed Canadian these days.

Because I'm forgetful...

Some things are always going to bring you back.

Goodbye St Kilda, hello Fitzroy!

So we finally made the move from our black hole of a hostel (not to say it wasn't really nice, it was, but it induced lazy lounging days and party fever nights).  We packed our bags, hopped on the tram and crossed town to our new flat just off Brunswick St. in the trendy trendy neighborhood of Fitzroy.  What a feeling to unpack my bag into proper drawers that didn't have to be padlocked because you were sharing the room with 9 other people, or leaving my shampoo in the shower...it really is the little things.  Not only are we in prime location, in a beautiful flat, but we also managed to land a bomb ass flatmate, Maria, a super sweet Spanish chica from Madrid.

Here's a quick little peak at our new pad.

Look how excited we are about our new place! ;-)

Our living room.  Paintings by Matteo, our future Italian roommate, who will be moving in in a month in place of Maria, who is going back to Spain to continue her studies.

The Hallway: this little place is full of adorable little chandeliers.

Our room, where all the magic happens.

Our adorable, non-functional fire place.  Katy finally got to break out her lucky cat.

The view from the front.

We also have a really cute back porch, but being winter it's cold and the back gate was locked so I let laziness get the best of me and I didn't get a shot of the yard.  I think you'll all survive the loss.

Other than that, here are a few shots of our last days in St Kilda, our trek to see the penguins (sorry, my camera died before the sun went down and they started coming out of their nests in the rocks), and a little  wine and cheese night at the hostel.

We are undeniably tourists.

Taking pictures of strangers.  I think I scared this girl when I asked to take a picture of her.

Beautiful as always.

The harbor.

Apparently they're aggressive little suckers.

There are tons of really adorable old buildings here, case in point.

Now there are two classy ladies.

It's Goon-o'clock

This hostel life sucks you in.  It's far to easy to sleep 'til noon, spend the afternoon chilling out on the bean bags, barely making it out for the last few hours of sunlight for a bit of exploring, only to return to get did up and get your goon on.  That has been my cycle, a day on, a day off for the past week or so, and I must say it's wearing on me.  This week I'm putting my foot down.  I'll stay in, I'll send out resumes,  I'll look for a room for Katy and I to rent.  I can't wait for the moment when I can discard my toiletry bag and just leave my shampoo in the shower.  This is day one of getting serious and getting my shit together.  Katy and me both.  All in all, it won't be hard, we just have to resist the urge of the goon.  If I haven't already explained goon, it's this cheap drink of choice...essentially franzia or any other box wine, it's not bad, but it's definitely NOT good.  What it is, is cheap and pervading amongst the thrifty backpackers rubbing two pennies together to try and make it on the Aussie dollar (which is worth more than the USD at the moment so I need to get start making those Aussie bucks and fast).

Anyway, as our official first act of our getting serious will be to finally make it down to the peer to see the penguins at sundown, something that our supreme lack of planning and organization hasn't allowed us to do, even though it's a short 10 minute walk from our hostel.  

And now here are some photos of exploring and goon at it's finest.

the trusty tram, god bless places with good public transit

Melbourne is full of kick ass architecture

And on to the photos of the warehouse party last night...

getting her groove on

Nice face

Punkin head and Rebeccah getting their groove on

Melbourne Mayhem

So I've been here in Melbourne for about a week now, trying not to get lost in the mayhem.  I must say, this is one hip city.  It makes you want to consume consume consume after a few months of minimal living from a bag.  For the time being I've got to resist those urges (and those to go out every night) and find myself a job so I can cope with the ridiculously expensive cost of living here in Melbourne.  It stings especially bad after travelling SE Asia for two months where an hour long massage that costs $10 is considered a rip off and you'd be hard pressed to spend $5 on dinner.  Ho hum, such is life in the fast lane.

In any respect, before I get really serious about finding a job I'm trying to explore the far reaches of this fine city and decide on where I'd want to take up root.  We've explored the city center, St. Kilda (where our hostel is) and the trendy trendy Brunswick St of Fitzroy.  Today we're planning on heading off to a neighborhood called Brunswick for beers and a cheap tapas with a friendly country boy named Hunter from Oklahoma who we've befriended at our hostel.  There's a strange sense of comfort in spending time with fellow North Americans (folks from the states and Canada alike).  There is common cultural dialect and sense of humor that is easy to love.  That's not to say I don't dig all the other nationalities I run into here, but people from the good 'ole USA aren't exactly common in Australia.  We're still a bit of a novelty here because it would seem that not many people back home have heard about this amazing working holiday visa that Australia offers.  Just a tip to all those looking for their next move and feel the itch of the travel bug, it's an incredibly easy visa to obtain.  I think mine came through in 3 days, no questions asked.

Well, on to the photos.

I'm in Australia?!?!?

There are tons of government commissioned street art lining the alleys of Melbourne

Cody, a friendly Canadian that we met at our hostel, explored downtown with us

This is just perfect

Katy didn't have a coat so she had to borrow one from the Canadian.  Look at that Canada pride.

The best piece of playground equipment EVER!

ha...ha

Fat and friendly cat