growing up.

in the last 3 days i have played out my life hundreds of times. starting in august: everything from job possibilities [to remaining unemployed], to university possibilities (aka. degree[s], exchange programs, course loads, summer classes), to cities i would like to live in, to potential jobs post-uni, to future travel plans, to the joys and downfalls of having/needing money.. from the things i enjoy; the things that interest me, the things i think i could see myself doing for a long time, the things i want to do while i'm young, the things that i can and cannot do when i'm old.. it's utterly fantastically overwhelming thinking about the future. i know i need not stress about it; time will pass as it does and my decisions will sway with the opportunities that unpredictably and inevitably come.. and yet i cannot help but worry that my dreams and goals are all extremely diverse, and somewhat opposing, and that i will forever be unsatisfied. is this normal? i need to be consoled.

easter.

the long weekend was spent taking in a few art gallerys down by the river.. walking around and relaxing at a few parks in the city.. checking out a gig at the comedy festival.. sleeping in.. having some wine.. reading some books.. in other words: we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. don't have to tell these three how to chill to the max.

chris: huge thanks to your easter parcel that came in last week. it was such a treat! (literally).

this four day week has been creeping by slowly; not sure how that is possible, but it's kind of nice. seems to always go a little too quickly for my liking. we have less than 3 weeks left in this city we call home..

rambling.

globalization: a word that has been on my mind a lot lately. i just finished reading the book "a fortune-teller told me" by an italian journalist, tiziano terzani. he is warned by a fortune-teller in hong kong that it is dangerous for him to travel by plane in the year 1993, and on a curious whim, decides to oblige and avoid air travel for the year. journalism brings him all over south-east asia.. by boat, bus, train, car.. his descriptions of particular cities and countries take me right back to the dusty roads and palm trees. tiziano meets with several famous fortune-tellers; some meetings set up by friends, some through random "chance" (or is it?) although the story involves continuous contradictions as to whether these 'seers' actually 'see' or whether it's all a pile, i felt in the end that it all kind of made sense and i liked what he had to say. he also put a particular amount of emphasis on what he felt and saw through the simplicity of travelling by land which is lost when you hop on a jet and arrive within hours to a destination far from the one you left. we're living in a world that is progressively materialistic.. the west is taking over. not new news. this is extremely prominent all over asia, tiziano saw it 15 years ago, i saw it myself in the last 8 months, i'm sure to a greater extent as the cycle continues.. languages, customs, buildings, knowledge of the past, lost. it makes me feel helpless, and yet at the same time more willing to sit and listen, to learn from my elders, and take a lesson from the generations before me. needless to say, i enjoyed the book.

the land of oz.

another rather balmy day today in melbourne.. 30 degrees or so and intensely humid. just stepped in the door with chris after a run around the university grounds. i feel like i just went for a swim.

chris got back a few days ago from a random two week stint on the gold coast visiting a friend. he had a marvelous time, came back tanned and more enthusastic than ever about our roadtrip heading in that direction (if that is even possible). we are happy to have him back. melissa, on the other hand, has been given the boot. and by that, i mean that she's completely ditched us for her loverboy back in seoul, south korea. so, through various coping methods, i've actually convinced myself that it was us who forced her to leave. she returns on may 5th, just one day before we hop into a station wagon and drive around australia for a couple of months.

we've taken to checking out victoria market every saturday afternoon to load up on fruits and vegetables for sick cheap. and by that, i mean standard canadian grocery store prices: a steal-of-a-deal here in a city that doesn't sell a non-refillable cup of coffee for less than $3..

still seeing lots of clare and heidi - our english companions from sihanoukville, cambodia. we usually get together on weekends, and this one coming up involves a rock star themed house party! stacy already has her outfit planned. i have an impressive supply of imagination when it comes to dressing these days due to my selection of clothing articles [or, lack thereof], so i'm sure i can come up with something.

time is flying, people are coming and going, relationships are growing..
lots happening these days in my little world down under..

tectonic plates.

two days ago i survived my second earthquake, and witnessed my first. i was in my room, alone, about 5 o'clock in the evening.. it was fairly windy, and i was on the bed reading when suddenly the entire room began shaking. the window pane was rattling, and i thought, my god it's windy.. then quickly noted the water on our beside table was rippling.. the roof seemed unstable, and this was very obviously starting at the foundation of our not-so-new house. it was over before i knew it, lasting about 10 seconds; but it really shook me, if you know what i mean. however it was out of my mind before the girls even got home that evening, and i was only certain after reading the paper the next morning that it was, in fact, an earthquake. got a 4.6 on the richter scale - apparently our second in two weeks. must've slept through the last one.

oh, and of course when i said summer was on the out, i was implying that yesterday we got up to 30 degrees and we're supposed to get 33 tomorrow.. monday - hurricane warnings? icestorm?

fire. wind. rain.

they say melbourne weather is crazy. "four seasons in a day".. but hearing someone toss out the saying is a single breath does nothing but downplay the truthfulness behind those words..

one day it was 45 degrees, the next 25. i was beside myself thinking 25 was cold.. however, never have i experienced a temperature drop of 20 degrees in less than 24 hours. back home it sure doesn't fluctuate that abruptly, although sometimes i wish it would.. when it's -30 i could do with a -10.

we've been here almost two months. during that time, the province of victoria has experienced australia's worst natural disaster to date. hundreds of thousands of acres have been burned.. over 200 deaths.. the number of homes destroyed is unimaginable. intense heat [mid to high 40's] paired with intense winds [one day they reached 150 km/h] and drought [0.6mm of rain in january - 1.6mm in february]. not the best of combinations that's for sure.

it has been raining on and off for the past week. still not enough, but it has brought comfort.. the fires are out and people are rebuilding. summer is on the out and i still don't own a pair of jeans..

these days.

i've been finding it more difficult to blog as the days play out our stint in melbourne. it's partially because my writing has been uninspired, and partially because i feel life as i currently know it has nothing on the past six months and is therefore a drag. i am trying to change/correct this.

five days a week, on my way to work, i walk past this window with a creepy manequin in the corner. i know it's there, but i still get scared every time. every. time. i think it has to do with the fact that it's still dark and i have watched far too many scary movies. i also have three shadows on said walk, because of the positioning of the street lights.. they have made me jump on occasion. i am such a wuss.

when i get to work, there is a stereo in the closet by the grill that plays radio hits while i work. i enjoy music to pass the time however i have quickly discovered that their station of choice plays 3 songs, repeatedly. they are: the 'new' kings of leon song which was great until the zillionth time.. some techno crap.. and some song about san fransisco that i unfortunately know all the words to, because there are five of them. this begins at 6am and continues throughout my 7.5 hour shift.

usually when i get home i shower, eat lunch, and either call canada or take a nap. the afternoon is spent at the library, a park, or hanging at home with or without the roomies. week nights i'm in bed around 10. weekends 10:30.. (it's tough abruptly changing sleep habits!) on occasion my phone will ring. it's usually stacy or melissa asking if i would like to meet them at the library, a park, or at home. we've found a few good second-hand shops which tend to slip into the agenda every now and then.

last night i went to see attack in black and moneen at a little venue not far from our place. also, today chris mccrae joined the melbourne network and we found ourselves wandering around the soundwave grounds watching music by the likes of minus the bear, every time i die, say anything, new found glory, saves the day and such.. we arrived late and i missed an acoustic set from none other than mike herrera. i have let the family down, but mostly just myself.

regardless, these last few days shake routine which is nice.