Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Today is not a designated drinking day...

But yesterday was! :o)

Ali and I went out for a quiet beer last night to celebrate the end of our exams. We just went to the local... played some pool... had a beer or two... and ended up drinking vodkas at Deewhy RSL (a 45 minute drive away from our places) at 4 o'clock this morning. :o) Once again I stumbled through my front door in the bright daylight hours of this morning!

Miss Ali and I have been out drinking every second night since last thursday and she keeps leading me astray!!! :oD
Last night was no exception, with our crazy nurse raging culminating in a rather interesting sleepover at another uni friend's place...
But what happens on tour stays on tour so I shall say nothing more about it...
Except that number 20 is in the bag!

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Surprise!!!

I have recovered from my hangover!!! Woohoo!!! I had my 3rd exam on thursday and it was a complete monster of an exam. It was so bad that Miss Ali and I went to the pub the night before to have a beer and try to calm down. Uni on Thursday morning was panic central. There were tears and tantrums everywhere (some of which came from me). So by Thursday night Ali and I had decided that we had earned the right to go out and get a bit boozed up. We weren't planning on having a blinder, just a few drinks to get us a bit tiddly, but somehow a few drinks became a few more and the next thing I knew I was stumbling in the front door at 6am with a very sexy Costa Rican man on my arm. Ali and I both felt rotten yesterday. We worked out that we had 12-15 drinks each, and decided that it was good training for tonight when I'm having "bye bye" drinks with some friends.

I know I promised everyone that a big surprise would be unveiled on Monday, but because you've all been such good boys and girls I'm going to unveil it today. :o)
Many of you will remember the last haircut I had, with all it's beautiful straightness and pretty colours.

For a curlier view just check out my profile photo to the right. :o)

Yesterday I got a new haircut to see me through my 10 weeks in Vanuatu...

What do you think? Cute, huh? I've never had my hair this short before!!! These photos were taken just after I woke up... even my bed hair looks funky!!!

Less than one week to go now! I leave next Friday! So much to do, so little time...

Friday, November 25, 2005

Meh...

I am so freaking hungover!!! Crap. Will write more later when I can feel my hands.
Blah!

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Two down... two to go.

Woohoo!!! I have completed two of my four exams and now I'm exam free until Thursday. :oD

Yesterday it was two weeks til I leave for Vanuatu! I'm trying to pretend it isn't happening at the moment so that I can focus on my exams as best as possible, but every so often excitement and panic sneak in and surprise me for a few minutes. I'm loving the excitement and not so loving the panic.

Aginoth, and several other friends of mine, asked whether I will be able to blog from where I'm going. The short answer is No. Because i'll be doing work in remote communities with little to no electricity, so I don't think there'll be many computers available. I may get a chance to pop into a net cafe in Port Vila in the first week that I arrive, but after that i'll be technology free. My mum is panicking because I may not even have access to a phone to call home. It's a pretty cool thought really... Can you imagine the girl who feels lost without her mobile phone, living on an island with very few telecommunications? You've gotta laugh at that!!!

Tomorrow, I'll post about what projects I have been offerred to do and which Islands they are on. :o) That'll be the most information I have about where I'm going until I arrive in Port Vila! It's all happening!!!!

P.S. Don't forget to pop back and check out my surprise on the 28th!!!

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

:o(

I miss Clairey.
I'm worried about my stupid exams.
I'm panicking about getting everything ready before I leave in just over 2 weeks.
Stuff that I laid to rest months ago has suddenly been kicked up again (Perfect timing really).
I've just found out that there will be 20 people at our "small" family pre-christmas gathering, including my stepdad's mum and ex-wife.
I'm PMSing.

Where did I leave my cranky pants?

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Funny for the day.

Tonight I had dinner with my fisherman brother (the oldest brother for those that have some idea of my list of brothers) and his wife. We had a great time. Lots of yummy thai food at my favourite thai restaurant and plenty of booze.

When we got home from dinner my sister-in-law was trying to get her messagebank on her mobile phone to work but she couldn't. She came to me in her frustration and said "the system is asking for my 426 number code to access my messages. What's a 426 number code?"

After thinking about it for a minute I realised that the phone company was asking for her four to six number code (like a pin number), not a 426 number code. After explaining this navigating the perils of Telstra became much easier. :o)

3 weeks???!!! Arrrggghhhhhh!!!!!

Oh my crapping crappity crap crap!!! I realised last night that it's less than 3 weeks until I leave for my big adventure!!!! This time in 3 weeks I'll be in Port Vila, Vanuatu, getting to know the people I will be spending the next 10 weeks with!! Time is flying so fast and I still have so much to do before I go.

Things to do before I leave:

  • My four uni exams that are coming up over the next fortnight.
  • Enrol for my uni subjects for next year.
  • Find someone to play on my blog while I'm away.
  • Pack up my house so that I can find a new place to live when I get back.
  • Get my first aid kit together.
  • Get all my meds sorted.
  • Find some light long pants to wear in the evening over in Vanuatu.
  • Pack my bags.
  • Buy Christmas presents for people's to be given at the family pre-christmas christmas being held before I leave.
  • Do my last minute shopping for stuff I need to take with me.
  • Try to make my father realise that my leaving the country for ten weeks is super important to me and that his support would be appreciated.
  • Catch up with my friends.

And finally...

  • Get laid.

I'm definitely taking my Smurf skirt, but now I'm wishing I'd picked up a Wombles skirt too. These skirts are made by this gorgeous big gay guy who lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. He sells his skirts at the local markets and they are just awesome. Where else can you get skirts with panels of vintage Smurf material?

Anywho... Only 3 weeks to go!!!! Crap!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Borstal Boy

I finally got the presentation for my group assignment done today. The presentation was finished at 10:55am and presented at 11:00am. :o) We cut it a little fine but it didn't seem to matter. I think the marker was high on crack or something because for some reason she gave us a high distinction for our crap presentation. That certainly will boost my average grade. :o)

When I got home from uni today I decided to take a little time out for myself and I sat down to watch a movie on Foxtel. The movie that was on was Borstal Boy (2000), based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Irish poet Brendan Behan (published 1958).

Borstal Boy is an outstanding movie about love. Irish Behan is played by American actor Shawn Hatosy, who puts in a brilliant performance as a tough young man in juvenile prison learning about friendships and love, and his Irish accent is excellent. Hatosy also earns bonus points for being rather easy on the eyes. I'm a sucker for a cute guy with an accent.

I'm not usually a movie crier, but I watched this with tears rolling down my cheeks. I think this is going to become a new favourite on my movie list. I'm definitely going to have to get my hands on a copy of the book too.

Anywho, I highly recommend the movie. If you've already seen it, let me know what you thought of it. :o)

Cheers big ears!!!

Sunday, November 06, 2005

My mum is so cool!!!

I got my Christmas presents!!!

Yes, I do know that Christmas is ages away, but seeing as I'm not going to be around for it my mum took pity on me and bought me pressies that I'll be able to use while I am adventuring.

It is without further ado that I present my awesome Christmas presents for 2005.

#1. The Mozzie Dome.


Available from Equip

And #2. The super funky monkey shoes.

Available from Keen

This whole trip business is getting so exciting!!! It was 4 weeks until my departure on Friday. Time is flying, and with all my exams this month and all the stuff that I have to do before I leave (i.e. packing up my house so that I can move when I get back, and getting everything ready to go.), I'm sure time will fly even faster than usual. This year has gone so fast!!!!

It is also 3 weeks until I unveil a special surprise to everyone so mark Monday 28th November in your diaries and be sure to check back then for a big shock!

I love my mum. My mum ROCKS!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Toot Toot!!! Honk Honk!!!

I apologise to all my friends for my tardiness in answering their terrific questions. I have been back at uni this week and trying to cope with getting a big group assignment in on time when my group has not been very co-operative.

Thank you all for your questions! I like it when people do what I ask. :o) Hehehe. I have answered them as best as I can.

Kenju asked:
1. What is mental health prac. for uni?
A: Mental health prac is a 50 hour clinical placement that I do in a mental health facility. "Pracs" (practicals) happen for most of our theoretical subjects and are part of the passing criteria for the subject.
2. How many different places have you lived?
I have lived in Sydney, Sydney and Sydney. Actually, I lie. I lived with a family in a town called Dinan in Bretagne, France, for 2 months at the end of 1999 when I did a student exchange program.

Netchick asked:
1. What was the best thing about a previous relationship you've had?
The sex.
2. What was the worst?
The sex. (Different relationship though.) :o)

Yellowrose asked:
1. Who has been your biggest inspiration in your life?
I think my Nanna and Pa have been my biggest inspiration. They were both such wonderful and caring people, and I still try to do things that they would be proud of.
2. If you had to choose between happiness or a life of luxury which would it be?
I would choose happiness, because I don't think that luxuries necessarily bring you happiness... they just make you lazy. :o)

Jennypenny asked:
1. What is your favourite alcoholic beverage?
I'm a big Vodka fan. At the moment me and my friend Ali are very much into "Norwegians" which are a cocktail made with Absolut Kurant, lemonade (Sprite), and lime cordial or fresh lime. Very yummy. :o)
2. What is your favorite photo hanging on you wall?
I have a big poster above my bed. On it is a photo of a very sweet little white seal pup who looks very much like the seal in the picture below. My step brother and sister got it for me for my birthday one year.




Ribbiticus asked:
1. What's your favorite color?
My favourite colour is blue. It's nice and calming.
2. Who do you look up to and why?
I look up to my friend's boyfriend, because he's 6ft 7". Hehehe. Seriously!!!

Mar asked:
1. What kind of music do you listen to?
I listen to all sorts of music, from hard rock to punk rock to rock rock. :o) I Listen to pretty much anything that isn't Britney Spears, an Idol graduate, or country music.
2. Would you share your favorite easy recipe with us?
My favourite recipe is for anything that says "heat and serve" on the side. :o) Last winter I was given a slow cooker by my mum, and I love making casseroles in it. I haven't got a specific recipe but you just throw in a heap of vegetables (whatever takes your fancy) and some meat (Chicken, beef, dog...) and a jar of tomato pasta sauce (I like to use 5 Brothers or Paul Newman's sauce) and then you put the slow cooker on low and cook it for 7 hours or so. Slow cookers are awesome because you can throw everything in and put it on before you leave for work, and then when you get home you have a tasty meal waiting for you. They are fool proof.
BTW: I was kidding about the dog meat. Dog shouldn't be put in a casserole. It should be saved for special dishes like Combination Dalmation, Sweet and Sour Chihuahua, and Satay Sharpei. :o) Hehehehehehehehe.

Handsome Utenzi asked:
1. Is your belly button an innie or an outie?
I have an innie. :o)
2. Of the places you've been to in Australia, what's your favourite?
I actually haven't been to lost of places in Australia. I do like Melbourne because one of my best friends lives there and it has a totally different pace to Sydney, but I'm sure there are a lot of out of the way places that I haven't been that are much more beautiful than any of the cities. The Blue Mountains is very pretty, particularly the Megalong Valley where I was camping the other week.

Easy asked:
How about a picture taken from your front doorway, and a random picture taken from someplace you go this week?
Here is a photo taken from my front door... (For some reason this photo has disappeared from view. How odd!!!)

And here is a photo that I took a couple of months ago, because for some reason I can't load the photo of the puppy in the pet shop that I took during the week.

Dena asked:
1. What's your favorite way to spend a couple of days off?
I get very lazy on my days off. I love to sleep and veg out in front of the telly. I also like to hang out with my friends, which I get to do most days of the week... but it's different when it's a day off.
2. How do the people that really know you describe you?
People describe me as loud, brash, intimidating, entertaining and fun... plus a whole lot of other things that I can't say here. ;o)

Christine asked:
1. Who was your first true love?
Only one guy comes close to ever qualifying as a true love. Unfortunately I don't think I had the same meaning to him. He gave me a total run around.
2. How or why did it end?
It ended (several times) because it just got too complicated, and I wasn't getting what I wanted.

Star asked:
1. If you weren't going into the mental health field, what would you be doing?
I'd probably do paediatrics... which I still might do at a later date. And I want to do post-grad midwifery.
2.What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Chocolate.

Sandy asked:
I adore that photo. What a cute little critter. Is that you holding him?
Nope. That little pic was a picture that was e-mailed to me a while ago. The little critter is a hedgehog apparently. We don't have them here in Oz. Shame really, cos they're very cute!
That response answered Maggie's question too.

Deni asked:
1. If I were to look in your refrigerator right now, what would I see that would shock me?
Are you shocked by old food? I think we have a jar of tomatoes that date back to 1994 in our fridge. I was going to throw them out but then I realised that they are more than 10 years old and therefore they are a piece of history. :o)
2. If you could go anywhere in the whole world for a month, with an endless budget, where would you go?
I think I would like to take my friends to some beautiful island resort for a month of partying and playing. That would be so much fun!!!

Aginoth asked:
1. Can you lick the end of your own nose?
Nope. I'm not that talented. I once went out with a guy who could though. ;o)
2. Do you think you would ever spurn modern society and go live in a hut in the wilderness?
Quite possibly. I feel that that is always a valid lifestyle choice and will reserve that option for a day when I chuck a massive strop and want to run away.
Actually my trip to Vanuatu is a little along that track too.

And finally...

Nicos asked:
What's the meaning of life?
Well Nicos, the meaning of life is...................

P.S. It took me two and a half hours to write this post!!!