innings and outings.

the misery signals show sunday night was so much fun. really great to see a familiar face and watch some good music.. and it worked out so well, because of anywhere they could've been playing in the city, the venue was a 10 minute walk from our place. bonus.

getting back into the groove of work this week wasn't bad at all, until wednesday hit. tuesday night we went out for cheap movies and watched "he's just not that into you." we had some good laughs and overall enjoyed it. complete chick flick, but i'm sure that's obvious from the title. so, half way to the weekend and waking before the sun started to wear me down. i don't think i did a thing that evening except call home, went to bed early, and re-fueled for the rest of the week. now the problem is i can hardly make it past 10pm on weekends and i'm absolutely spent.

friday evening we met up with heidi and clare for indian food at a little restaurant a few blocks from their place. a bottle of wine, good company, and good food. recipe for a fantastic evening.

and yesterday, stacy's friend jesse and her boyfriend luke came to stay with us for the night. originally from kenora, she's been living out here for over a year and is going to school close to adelaide. we went out for food and drinks with them last night and are just gearing up for pancakes and a movie. best day ever.

life in general.

first thing's first: neither stacy nor i are working for the other balwin at present. it is for the best. stacy and melissa are continuing into '09 with more english teaching; both are tutoring mostly korean students, choosing the hours, and are getting paid a decent wage. melissa is also working a few shifts at a cafe downtown called "schnitz". i myself work monday to friday at a little place a 10 minute walk from our house.. it's a cafe slash sandwich shop slash burger and springroll joint slash pasta and noodle lunch extraordinaire, ran by a chinese couple. i am up at 5am every week day.. and ssslowly adjusting into a morning routine. it's pretty killer.

tuesday was stacy's birthday, and instead of going out and doing something exciting.. we spent the evening in our room, in bed, watching 'friends' on her laptop. it was phenomenal. i was asleep by 10. we are planning a proper celebration for the near future.

yesterday was valentine's day and so the girls got all dolled up in sweet dresses we second-hand bought this week, went for a vietnamese feast, and out for some drinks. our first social excursion as a trio since we've got to the city, almost a month ago! about time.

and tonight misery signals are in town so we are going to check out the show. i'm pumped.

the 5th baldwin brother.

over the weekend we met up with clare and heidi, two girls we spent a lot of time with while in sihanoukville, cambodia! they're living here now, in a suburb just over so we're looking forward to spending more time with them. it was great reminiscing on life in cambodia and mutual friends whereabouts.. also, on sunday night i got to see the hold steady for free. kind of great.

we were employed on monday morning, and as of tuesday afternoon were once again unemployed. for the first time in my life i quit a job for reasons other than changing cities. [it's kind of a great feeling, but i'll try not to make a habit out of it..] all three of us got jobs at a company called zest, campaigning for a charity called amnesty international.. we stood on the street for 8 hours a day trying to get people to sign up for at least two years to a charity i knew very little about besides the few lines i memorized in order to get other people interested.. basically, i became that one person everyone hates.. the one you try and dodge while you're walking down the sidewalk. i heard every excuse in the book, some familiar, some just impressive. the reasons for leaving were simple: morals were shot, i felt the company didn't have the charity's best intentions at heart.. and, i couldn't go to work every day knowing how much i would dislike myself had i been any other person walking by me.. so, i quit.

today stacy and i had a trial run at a restaurant just a few blocks down. our boss is an exact duplicate of alec baldwin. he's italian, and from first impressions, he's not very nice. although i have to assume, because he spoke less than 5 words to either of us.. so, stacy starts tonight at 6 and i'm in tomorrow at 6. should be interesting, hopefully it's good. (if not, i'll just quit!)

hot hot heat.

an absurd heat wave has rocked our world.. it's been 40+ for 3 days now - up to 45 yesterday - and i feel like melting. yesterday we went on a [mandatory] mission to buy a fan (zero fans or any type of air circulation exist within our premises..) only to find absolutely every department store within the area was sold out. it was like a movie: double-sided shelves empty, with stickers showing the once utopic aisles.. we've been jumping in cold showers every opportunity.. towels in the freezers for a few minutes of wonderment.. there isn't even a breeze in the evenings so it's impossible to sleep.. so today we beat the crowd to the new shipments and snatched up two fans from a huge pile, loaded them into the carts, and looked around for a few minutes.. by the time we reached check-out there wasn't a fan left. they mostly just blow around hot air, but it's something..

predicting 30's for next week! fingers crossed..

week one.

so we've found a room in a house full of globe trotters.. two german guys and a gal, a chinese girl, two indian guys, a korean, an american, and the three of us! sounds outrageous, however with everyone's schedules working in our favor we've even come home to an empty house.. the room is a decent size and the area we're in is unbeatable. everything one could need is within a 5 minute walk, and for anything else there's an intricate tram system. we've handed out resumes wherever we've seen "help wanted" in the window.. doubtful we'll get hired at the 'hobby shop' selling model glue and cars (?) but it's worth a shot! you just can't be picky at this point in the game..

on friday evening we met up with anthony and some of his friends for drinks downtown. we had lots of fun and really enjoyed the company.. we've been invited out on a friends' boat at some point in the near future as well.. never hurts to have a friend with a boat! saturday morning found stacy and i at 'ceres' an environmental group which runs on donations and volunteers.. they have a pile of bikes/bike parts, and every tool you would need to fix them up, along with helpful advice for those as clueless as myself. for $25 we rode home in style..

melissa got into town saturday night so we got her all settled in and caught up on the last two months.. informed her of what the city has to offer, showed her the ropes, you know how it goes.. on sunday afternoon we headed down to federation square to meet up with anthony and a slew of couchsurfers/hosts giving out "free hugs," then continued on to lawn bowling, an infamous way of spending a sunny afternoon down under..

monday was australia day.. we met up with melissa's cousin and some of her friends and drove out to venus bay to relax in the sun, cook some food on the barby, play some cricket on the beach.. afterward we went to one of the girls' homes for supper where i met her mother, a woman originally from winnipeg, who knows where foxwarren is, knows my uncle russ, and whose best friend flew to manitoba last weekend for my grandma's funeral. once again reinforcing what a small world we're living in! wonderful family who has assured us we have a home away from home if we ever need it.. great day, capped off with a walk over the pier to see all these little penguins hanging out on the rocks, completely wild.. they're out fishing at sunrise and by the pier sundown.. then to a park full of fuzzy little possums.. by the time we got home we were all completely spent.. i think i was out before my head even hit the pillow..

today we dropped off more resumes, went for a bike ride, and decided to have a relaxing evening at home. it's been quite the week and we're all more than happy to have some down time!

melbourne.

darryl is now a tv star in bangkok following his debut on khao san road.. stacy and i were mistaken for australia soap stars at a coffee shop in thailand.. and our group of travellers has quickly diminished. now, the boys are gone back to the cold, followed by christine. it was so hard to say goodbye, per usual, however i will never forget the times shared. helluva trip! very hard to comprehend that the asia portion is over. we're back to an altered version of the 'real world' and are currently checking out apartment listings in melbourne. we've been couchsurfing with a guy named anthony in a quiet suburb just outside of the city.. in the two short days we've had to look around we've conquered a good portion of the area! the city is great, good vibes, lots to see and do. tons of parks and cafes, basically whatever you're looking for. we've both got cellphones now, so that makes apartment hunting easier, although we still haven't found a place. hard with 3 girls unable to sign a lease! (and on a budget to boot).. we're looking at a place tonight and keeping our eyes open for second-hand bicycles which will make transportion cheap and easy. what more to say? busy, but life is good. i feel as though we will have zero problems settling down for the time being.. but we have plenty of people to visit up the coast in due time!

grandma hamilton.

three days ago the world lost a wonderful lady. my grandma. it came as quite a shock for everyone because it all happened so quickly. i will not be there tomorrow to attend the funeral, but i will be there in mind and spirit.. i will be there to give you all big hugs and reflect on her amazing life. i'll forever remember walking over there for crib tournaments.. [king's crib especially, grandpa made the board himself..] tea.. family gatherings.. fresh meals from the garden.. their porch hosted many good conversations.. she had a kind heart, she was a role model. her smile lit up a room, and i will always remember her. i love you, grandma.