Misadventures with Lisa

Book Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

2012-02-01T07:24:00.010+08:00

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows is the story of a young girl who, in a society where each soul is reincarnated into a new body, is a new soul. She doesn't have lifetimes of experience to draw on to guide her through the intricacies of life in the city. In addition, because the same million souls reincarnate endlessly, she doesn't know or understand the web of interpersonal relations. None of the others know her, obviously, and a lot them don't trust her because of that.

I found the premise intriguing. A person who has to learn everything from scratch, living in a world where that hasn't happened for thousands of years? Neat! And while Meadows does a good job of portraying the main character, Ana, as young and confused, I felt the other (reincarnated, old) characters were... wrong. I expected them, even open-minded Sam who wants to help Ana, to be frustrated with and have difficulties understanding how uneducated Ana really is. However, Sam (who is biologically the same age as Ana) is way too perceptive when it comes to what she doesn't know. He's too understanding.

Where is the frustration? With the exception of Ana, the characters are all 5000-year-old adults (despite the varying ages of their bodies) who have absolutely no experience dealing with children, or dealing with someone who doesn't already understand the dangers of the world. The ones who like Ana are too good at being helpful and giving basic instruction, and the ones who don't like Ana feel like generic schoolyard bullies.

In the same vein: why would a 5000-year-old would want a relationship with an 18-year-old? It's the same problem I have with historical romance (30+-year-old hero and 18-year-old heroine). Because the story is first-person from Ana's point of view, we never get the chance to understand Sam's motivations.

I know I'm being picky; it's YA and I assume (because I haven't read a lot of the genre) that outcast-main-character "adopted" by selfless-generous-supporting-characters is a genre convention. Like Harry Potter being adopted by Dumbledore, or any of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar characters (don't get me wrong, I loved the Valdemar series).

One other tiny thing that kind of annoyed me: why are all the female characters wearing dresses? Incarnate has elements of science fiction technology and fantasy creatures. I assumed, along with the more futuristic technology, more futuristic ideas about gender-appropriate clothing would follow.

The initial plot was "Ana figures out who she is and how she came to be," but got sidelined by the relationship-development trope. I admit to being disappointed. I knew how the relationship plot would work out, so I wanted to learn more about initial plot and how the world works. I think Incarnate is the first in a series, so answers may be forthcoming, but I wished it answered the questions it started it.

All that aside, it's a quick read for a lazy afternoon. It combines fantasy elements (dragons! trolls! sylphs!) with science fiction (laser guns!). I read it the way I read The Hunger Games: very quickly.

Book Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

2011-12-11T02:54:00.001+08:00

About a month ago, I ran into a friend I haven't seen since she graduated/I went to Australia. We caught up, chatting about books and such. I mentioned that I was usually disappointed with the Young Adult novels I've read, at which point she said, "Oh my god, read Hex Hall!! It's so awesome! Here, read the blurb right now; I have a picture of it on my phone."

I was intrigued, so I requested the ebook from the library. I got the file a few days ago. I devoured the book. It's a quick, fun read that does have teenage angst, but not annoying amounts of it. The relationship-angst doesn't take over the rest of the plot (thankfully!). My only complaint, having just finished its sequel (but that's for a later day), is that there are clear areas where Hawkins could have developed the characters a little bit more in Hex Hall (IE: in Book 2, Hawkins refers to things that weren't in the text of Book 1, but very well could have been).

Things that made me giggle:

References Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence

“Archer?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. Hey, you might be able to take away my magical powers, but the power of sarcasm was still at my disposal. “Is your last name Newport or Vanderbilt? Maybe followed by some numbers? Ooh!” I said, widening my eyes, “or maybe even Esquire!” (21)

References Edgar Allen Poe's "Cask of Amontillado":

I should say upfront that I have never been in a cellar in my life. In fact, I can see no reason why anyone should ever go into a cellar unless there is wine involved. (159)

Poking fun at horror genre conventions (vampires, in this case):

The “Holy-crap-that’s-a-lot-of-pink” Zone would have been a more accurate description. I don’t know what I was expecting a vampire’s room to look like. Maybe lots of black, a bunch of books by Camus . . . oh, and a sensitive portrait of the only human the vamp had ever loved, who had no doubt died of something beautiful and tragic, thus dooming the vamp to an eternity of moping and sighing romantically. What can I say? I read a lot of books. But this room looked like it had been decorated by the unholy lovechild of Barbie and Strawberry Shortcake. (33)

Hawkins also references pop culture, which I find so refreshing. A lot of paranormal books I've read like to pretend Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Star War/Star Trek never happened.

"So if you can heal with your touch, why are you working here as like, Hagrid, or whatever?" (199)

And snarky-amusing inner dialogue because, honestly, who isn't going to think this?

“Hey, no problem,” I said, even though all I could think was, Slobber! Werewolf slobber! On my skin! (103)

This may not be a reference to the videogame Portal, but it should be:

And we have teenage girls who obviously have no idea how teenage boys work:

I was going to point you all to my twitter feed (topix #HexHall) to see my amusing tweets about it, but twitter has decided not to play nice. If you really must (or have something to procrastinate on), you can scroll through my twitter feed until you get to November 24. But only do this if you have absolutely nothing better to do. Honest.

River City Quilters' Guild Quilt Show

2011-11-20T16:18:00.000+08:00

My mother is a quilter. She's also a seamstress. As she said today, she "can make anything with fabric." That's not bragging, it's just the truth. She's very talented. She also likes to attend quilt shows that are within a reasonable distance of Ye Olde Homesteade. When she discovered the River City Quilters' Guild Quilt Show was this weekend in my backyard, she called me and we decided to go on Saturday.

I am not a quilter, but having been raised by one, I do appreciate them. And I like looking at the pretty quilts.

We toured the vendor room(s) first. I'm always on the lookout for The Perfect Purse Pattern; we happened to find a fairly decent one today. It's called the Bermuda Purse, but I've forgotten (if I ever knew in the first place) the vendor's name. She'd sold out of the pattern yesterday, but took our information and will send it to my mom when the show is over. We found some fat quarters on sale (3 for $1!) that we I couldn't pass up. I am proud of myself for not actually getting ALL THE PURPLE FABRIC, but instead acquiring the pretty white-and-black-floral, light gray, and merely most of the purple fabric. Current plans are to turn it into a Bermuda Purse.

We also found a vendor selling Australian Aboriginal fabrics. It'd be perfect to fill in the gaps my Australian Aborigial fabrics (purchased while I was Down Under) have so we can actually turn it into a cohesive piece (of whatever). But it's been awhile since we looked at my fabrics, so we took a card and will order fillers later.

At the end of the day, I purchased an embroidered, fabric-covered composition notebook. Considering the amount of work that went into it, $15 was a very decent price. I also purchased a book on wire-wrap jewelry. Specifically, it offers advice on how to make end-caps for beads and how to wrap certain kinds of beads/stones.

1. Doodles, 2. Pretty quilt., 3. Pretty purple quilt, 4. Curved log cabin quilt, 5. Birdhouses!!, 6. Purple & gold quilt, 7. Birdhouse quilt, 8. Birdhouse block, 9. Birdhouse block, 10. Flower yo-yos, 11. Monochrome quilt, 12. Kimono focus fabric, 13. Serengeti nine-patch, 14. Kimono quilt, 15. Beehive applique, 16. Insects applique, 17. Flower applique, 18. Teacup applique, 19. Murphy the Mighty Moose, 20. Colorful quilt, 21. Attic window quilt, 22. Composition notebook cover, 23. All Wired Up

State of the Phone Address

2011-11-17T01:47:00.000+08:00

I've owned a Blackberry Pearl since Summer 2008. I loved my Pearl. It was small, light, durable (I dropped it so many times I finally broke and had to replace the screen! After which it continued to work like a champ), had a half-QWERTY keyboard, and a great calendar. The only thing it didn't do was browse the internet and clean my apartment. The first is because I chose not to purchase a data plan and the second is because it doesn't have arms or legs.

My dad had been quietly encouraging me to "get a data plan!" or "get a real smart phone!" so I didn't "turn into a dinosaur*" for about a year now. I've been eligible for the no-longer-free-but-still-affordable upgrade for a year. I resisted because it's change and wrongwrongwrong and I liked my Pearl!

Last month, I finally relented and exchanged my Pearl for the Blackberry Torch. Sometimes, I'm a little retarded. But I really liked my Pearl and the Torch was also Blackberry, with a touchscreen and a real keyboard. It's like a bike with training wheels for me!

I was happy with it, until about day 20. It started having issues opening links unless I used the touchpad. I knew Blackberry had limited apps, but I didn't realize how few until I opened the BB App World. There wasn't even a Wells Fargo app! What's up with that? It also started having processor issues. It'd run really slowly for no apparent reason (I keep open apps to a minimum), and by day 32 was freezing and restarting for no reason at all.

Fortunately for me, on about day 26 I walked into AT&T and asked to exchange it for the iPhone 4s. I'm sad to report that yes, it is as cool as everyone claims and yes, it is 1000x better than Blackberry.

I actually would have preferred an Android phone. I've used the BB interface, I've used to iOS interface via my iPod Touch, but I've never used an Android operating system. Unfortunately, all of the Android phones on display/available at AT&T are too big for my little-girl hands. Maybe in 2 years they'll have small-hand-friendly Android phones again.

*Dinosaurs are awesome. If someone figures out how to make pet dinosaurs, I want one.

In Which I Succumbed to Pinterest

2011-11-08T01:22:00.002+08:00

Have you heard about Pinterest yet? If not, you're probably a man or not on the internet much. It's basically a virtual, communal pinboard full of the most amazing and/or awesome ideas ever. You can go check out what I've pinned over here.

Last month started the whole I-must-do-everything-on-pinterest (which is even worse than I-must-do-everything-on-the-internet, because Pinterest helpfully has everything easily accessible and filed appropriately), when I did wire-wrap jewelry and modified bobby pins, and then attended a craft fair. I thought that was the end of it, I really did.

Then I discovered a tutorial for felt flowers. Amidst my other errands, I wound up at Jo-Ann's and Michael's and came away with this:

10 pieces of felt in an assortment of colors, including sparkly red and sparkly white for Christmas-inspired flowers, fabric quarters, a covered button kit, and pin backs. I fortunately already have a hot glue gun, courtesy of my mother, otherwise I would have bought that, too.

I neglected to take in-progress shots, but the befickle tutorial is pretty complete. I did discover that hot gluing everything is quicker and better-looking than sewing some things and hot gluing others. But if you prefer sewing, go for it!

By the end of the night, I had these:

And this:

I may or may not have jumped around my apartment squealing, "They're so cute!!"

Shameless self-promotion: They're listed in my etsy shop, also located in my sidebar.

PPS: I'm still totally amused that Blogger thinks I'm in Australia.

World Fantasy 2012

2011-11-04T10:52:00.000+08:00

I had such a great and entertaining time at the World Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention (aka Worldcon) in August that I decided to make an impulsive decision: I'm attending World Fantasy 2012!

World Fantasy, like Worldcon, changes locations every year. I wish I'd been aware of World Fantasy earlier this year; it was in San Diego last month! Next year, it's a little farther from home... like Toronto, Canada, far from home.

I have no idea where I'll be living next year (hopefully not with my parents) or what I'll be doing (hopefully not unemployed), but fingers-crossed I'll be having a blast with my sister next November!

Fingerless Gloves

2011-11-02T14:20:00.000+08:00

Remember when this was a knitting blog? Yeah, neither do I. Regardless, I have a finished project to share!

The office where I work isn't cold, per se, but sitting at a desk for hours at a time doesn't do much for keeping the blood flowing. I've worn my parka once or twice, much to the amusement of my bosses. To help combat the cold, I decided to knit myself a pair of fingerless gloves.

It's something I've wanted to do for myself for awhile. My mother loves the pair I made for her in 2006 when I first started knitting. I rummaged around the portion of my yarn stash that's here with me in Sacramento and found some leftover Claudia Hanpainted yarn (colorway: leopard) from my unblogged flowerbasket shawl.

I used a pattern that's been sitting in my queue for quite awhile: Susie's Reading Mitts. It's simple, quick, elegant, has sweet picot edges and works well for both solid-colored yarns and multi-colored yarns.

I made the smallest size (6" circumference), and a part of me wishes I'd made the medium (7" circumference). I think they're just a wee bit snug, but they'll probably loosen up a smidge as I continue to wear them.

The yarn coincidentally just happened to be perfect for Halloween, too!

In Which I Met Seth Grahame-Smith

2011-10-29T00:01:00.000+08:00

As you may or may not have been aware, should you have visited my Examiner.com article about it, Seth Grahame-Smith, author of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, came to Sac State last night.

Folks, it was magical.

I attended the event with two good friends, one of whom is a fellow PPZ fan and actually... you know... read the book. We giggled like schoolgirls. It was amazing.

Seth is such a down-to-earth guy. He related his story of trying-trying-trying to break into the screenwriter business for 10-12 years and failing, taking random freelance jobs to help pay the bills, until his editor asked him to do this little 6-week job writing about zombies and Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. As he and his wife were also expecting their first child, he completely forgot about the project after he submitted it.

Let's just slow down for a minute and highlight two things:

It took him SIX WEEKS to write PPZ
and HE FORGOT ABOUT IT. He forgot about it!

I don't even know what to say.

Moving along... he had a lot advice/tips for aspiring writers/screenwriters/creators, most of which I've heard in some form, be it from the panels at Worldcon or listening to writing podcasts: be persistent, and write/create a lot.

He also talked about meeting Tim Burton (he calls him "Tim," finger air-quotes included, hehe) and Johnny Depp in preparation for making Dark Shadows, and how he just couldn't believe how quickly his life and career changed after PPZ was published and sold so well.

PPZ was number 3 on the NY Times Bestseller List its first week.... and then number 14 the second week... and then number 4 the third week. Why the sudden drop? The publisher only ran 10,000 copies and they ran out of books.

And then came the best part of the night, and what I'm sure everyone reading is what for me to get to: he signed books! I'm so excited, you don't even know! (I may or may not have emailed that to my mother after my book was signed.) He loved my mother's purple, brain-embroidered book-cover.

Can I just say how much I love that my book now says BRAINS?

PS: Did you know there's a giant warehouse Indiana where they have pallets of author's books and publishers drag authors there to sign about 2000 copies for bookstores to sell as "pre-signed"? My friend had one. Also: giant shredders where unsold books go to die. :(

Shameless Self Promotion

2011-10-21T14:11:00.000+08:00

I discovered a site called Examiner.com. It's "the insider source for everything local, powered by Examiners, the largest pool of knowledgeable and passionate contributors in the world."* Basically, community journalism on a wide variety of areas. A great perk is that there is a compensation (if you generate enough web traffic, of course).

This is where the shameless self promotion comes in.

I was accepted as a Sacramento Books Examiner! Go read my first article!

Alternatively, you can click the non-purple button in the side bar and you'll be taken to my Examiner profile page.

Cooking Misadventures: Brought To You By Eggs

2011-09-28T13:14:00.000+08:00

Eggs are awesome. They come individually pre-wrapped, they look pretty, they taste good plain or seasoned or with random stuff found in your fridge. You can scramble them, fry them, boil them, bake with them, and even use them on your hair.

My parents have a giant flock of chickens. They are figuratively drowning in excess eggs. My mother may or may not shove cartons of eggs at me when I visit: "Please! Take them! We have too many!"

Being a good daughter, I oblige. I try to hard boil one dozen and then eat my way through the second dozen (usually scrambled for breakfast).

I attempted to hardboil eggs tonight. Let's read that again: I attempted to hard boil eggs. "Attempted" because I failed*.

I failed to hardboil eggs.

How is that even possible??

*They turned out softboiled. Edible, but not what I wanted. Bah!

Sunday Morning Literature

2011-09-26T03:26:00.000+08:00

Literature and creative writing are two sides of the same coin. They even have similar philosophies.

Literature: Characters are revealed through their actions and thoughts, (hopefully) not by what the author explicitly says about them.

Creative writing: Show, don't tell.

(As a side note, I've never heard a literature professor actually say that; it's an unspoken understanding. My writing, however, said both hundreds of times.)

One of the books I'm currently reading is Devices and Desires by K.J. Parker. I've thoroughly enjoyed her other books I've read.

There was a particular passage I read that my English major/creative writing self took notice of. We have a new character, Psellus, who looks at the world in an animalistic, dog-eat-dog-world kind of way:

"So much for the day's mail--the world bringing him new challenges to revel in, like a cat that will insist on presenting you with its freshly slain mice."

"...he slept soundly, dreaming of [his political enemy] being eaten alive by monkeys, so that he woke early with a smile on his face, ready for his breakfast."

Parker never once says "Psellus views the world through a violent and simplified animalistic lens," nor "The political system is barely one step above the animal kingdom." Most people have experience with the first two quotes, and anyone who has watched The Wizard of Oz knows how terrifying monkeys can be.

Parker has slowed down enough to show us these things, rather than just telling us about them. She compares the complex human/political situation to mundane (and sometimes visceral) images that resonate with us on a basic level. She has given us the character's thoughts and actions, and trusts that we're capable of picking up on the clues without her explicitly stating his characteristics.

The Internets Killed Me

2011-09-25T02:01:00.000+08:00

I learned of two new-to-me sites that have killed all productivity when I'm home: Pinterest and English Major Armadillo.

Pinterest is a portmanteau of "pinboard" and "interest." Basically, your average virtual pinboard. Except you also get to see everyone else's pinboards, too. It's addicting and pretty and ohmygod the things I want to make.

English Major Armadillo is one a tumblr based on an animal-advise meme (like Michael Buble being stalked by a Velociraptor or Philosoratpor) except this one is so much cooler is just as cool as the dinosaurs. (But it has English jokes, so it might be a tiny bit better. Don't tell)

For the Record

2011-08-17T10:34:00.000+08:00

Last month I was "hired" as an editorial assistant intern for 1776 Productions (AKA Sacramento Book Review/San Francisco Book Review, henceforth known as SBR). During July I was basically uploading reviews to the two websites. I wasn't even copy editing them (although some of them needed it -- and I couldn't help myself, so I did anyway), just copy/pasting all over the internet. It was cool and then it was mind-numbingly boring.

At the end of last month/beginning of this month, three things happened:

All of the July Reviews were uploaded. Hallelujah!
The websites outstripped their server capacity and crashed the web host. Oops. The print side of the business has continued, but the online portion is still undergoing technical difficulties. Something about looking for new hosting, I think. (Thus, no linky to the websites.)
SBR acquired a physical office in midtown Sacramento. Hurray!

Which brings me to my statement for the record: Coolest. Job. Ever. I get to play with books all day long. How is that not like the best job ever?*

We're now playing catch-up from the down-time it took to move to Sac: opening the book-mail from the last two weeks and inputting them to the database. It's like Christmas! One package in particular revealed Legacy of Kings by C.S. Friedman, the much-awaited conclusion to the Magisters Trilogy... and it doesn't even come out until September! And I held a copy in my very own hands! (I may or may not have squealed with unbridled joy in the middle of the office.)

Coolest. Job. Ever.

(*It could be a paid internship or job, but gift horses and all that.)

Reno, Baby

2011-08-12T00:08:00.000+08:00

As long-time readers know (and the newer readers will have guessed), I'm a voracious reader, especially in the science fiction/fantasy genre(s). It's part of the reason why I decided to major in English, and a large reason for why I want to get into publishing/editing after I graduate.

I forget how I heard about Worldcon (probably Twitter), but when my sister suggested we go, I was down.

So August 17th-21st, I'll be in Reno attending all sorts of fun panels/discussions/signings by some of my favorite authors. Kaffeeklatsches, Regency and Steampunk balls, a panel on Jane Austen, panels with various publishers, panels on writing & worldbuilding... I'm terribly excited. :)

Excerpt from When True Night Falls

2011-07-31T03:57:00.000+08:00

I'm currently reading the second book in the Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman, When True Night Falls. There's a passage I wanted to share because it made me laugh. It's also a nice example of how the characters interact throughout the series. (For those who don't care for snark, rest assured that the snark here has impact precisely because Friedman doesn't over use it.)

     "So you're comfortable with demons," Damien snapped. "What about us?"
     The pale eyes gleamed in the moonlight. "Do you see a viable alternative?"
     He bit his lip, considering. At last he muttered, "No, dammit. But I don't like it. I don't like it at all."
     "He's right, though." Hesseth's voice was low. "He can handle demons. And most of them won't care about me. Besides--"
     "And I'm lunch. Thanks. Thannks a lot."
     "We'll protect you," she promised. Smiling just a little.
     He looked at her, then at Tarrant. Surely it was his own imagination that perceived an expression of smugness on that aristocratic visage. Or was it challenge?
     "I don't know." He directed his words at Tarrant. "That last time I made a decision like this I wound up getting stuck with you."
     ...
     "What the hell," he muttered. "I was getting bored anyway. Let's do it."
-When True Night Falls (195-6)

Bad English Major

2011-07-29T08:58:00.000+08:00

Surfing around the internets, I found Indie Jane, a "community that celebrates and supports independent/non-traditionally published Austenesque literature." One of their recent posts discusses how one of them "found Jane," which got me thinking about how I discovered Austen.

In my third semester of college, I read two Austen novels, Emma and Pride and Prejudice. I think I may have actively avoided her in high school. The only time Austen would have been assigned then was senior English, in a "pick one of these five novels!" project. (I chose Jane Eyre and liked it. I'm not sure what that says about me.)

But back to Austen. I detested Pride and Prejudice and hated Emma. I don't think words can express how boring and slow I thought they were. I may have actually finished Pride and Prejudice, but I read the first page of Emma and set it aside. (I'll pause here for a moment to allow the haters to hate because the majority of Austen fans looooooove one or both of those novels.)

Given those two experiences, I thought I was one of those weird English majors who hate classic literature... because all English majors like Austen, right?

Fast forward to my sixth semester (Spring 2010), when I discovered Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were on the reading lists. I had a mini pity party because I didn't like Austen, right? Turns out I really enjoyed them. Something about them just clicked the way Pride and Prejudice and Emma had failed to.

Then I went to Australia* and took a semester on Jane Austen. I read all six novels in twelve weeks. I liked Pride and Prejudice better, and discovered I loved Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility. (They're my favorites.) I still detest Emma, sadly. One of my professors claimed Emma is the "perfect" novel, but I just can't get into it. Oh well.

*Sorry, Jeff and Luke. You know I can't tell a story without mentioning Australia. ;)

Book Review: The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker

2011-07-21T09:49:00.001+08:00

I'm one of those people who, upon discovering an author I really enjoy, will track down every book ever written by that author and read them all. I did that with C.J. Cherryh, C.S. Friedman, Melanie Rawn, Mercedes Lackey, and others I'm sure I'm forgetting at the moment, over the course of my reading life. Since reading The Company by K.J. Parker (recommended to me separately by my sister and a friend), I have slowly but surely been reading my way through her other novels.

The Folding Knife is actually the third Parker novel I've read. (I'm holding out on you, sorry folks. I read The Hammer before The Folding Knife, review as yet unwritten.) The Folding Knife is the most plot-driven of three. It isn't as beautifully written as The Company, but the plot and the motivations of the characters are thoughtfully laid out.

The Folding Knife tracks the life of Basso from childhood through adulthood. It begins with a scene from the end, then rewinds and tells the story that led up to that moment. It was actually really well done. When I got the end, I reread the first scene to make sure. So much changes because I understand the character better, and yet the actual details don't change at all. The only thing that's really changed is my understanding of those details.

The Folding Knife isn't one of those ubiquitous terrible-childhood-pity-me-good-man-anyway stories. Yes, his parents were unaffectionate and uncaring. Yes, he acted out. But those are just the bones that inform his character. Those scenes aren't meant to inspire angst or pity in us, but to help us make sense of Basso's subsequent actions. Basso learns very quickly that he has to be at least one step ahead of the game to stay on top. Fortunately for him, he's not only very good at doing so, but he is also extremely lucky. He makes impulsive decisions for selfish reasons that turn out to have beneficial results for him financially, personally, and politically. He constantly walks a knife-edge between lies and truth, ruin and fame, and one misstep will destroy everything he's worked toward his whole life.

Unfortunately for Basso, he's already made that misstep. The question becomes... how long can he keep everything afloat?

I have to admit, I got to the end of The Folding Knife and flailed around. This can't be the end! I wailed. What happens next?! Excellently done.

Awesome Delivery

2011-07-19T06:51:00.000+08:00

I received a package today. I wasn't expecting anything until August, so I was a little confused as to what it could be. Now imagine my surprise when the return address was "Tor/Forge." I admit, I had a moment where I thought perhaps Tor/Forge was sending me things because they had somehow discovered I am that awesome. (As far as I'm aware, however, they've yet to make that discovery.)

Inside the packaging?

I'd forgotten I had entered (and won!) a contest at Tor.com for a copy of Modesitt's new book, Scholar. What I hadn't realized is that it's an advanced copy. No cover art, no maps, "uncorrected" (does that mean typos are within? that's kind of cool), and it doesn't hit bookstores until November 2011.

I admit to squealing like an English major when I opened it. I'm not ashamed.

Couch Potato Update

2011-07-14T02:07:00.000+08:00

I'm happy to announce that I have officially completed Week 3 Day 1 of Couch to 5k. And, for the first time ever, I've actually done all of the other days before, too! I might be a little behind where I "should" be, but sometimes there are two days between runs. I've kept with it, though, which is the important thing. Each run is about 30 minutes, give or take 2 or 3. I seem to be holding pretty steady at 2 miles.

While we're on the subject of couch potatoes, let's talk about books. I just finished (re)reading Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman. It's excellent. Go read it. (Fun side note: the cover image Amazon has for the Kindle edition is what my physical book looks like.)

And while we're on the subject of books, let's talk about publishing. Because I'm now an editorial assistant intern for a Sacramento-based book review company. I can check that off my list of Things To Do To Get A Job. Hurray!

Blog Stuff: the Mobile Version

2011-07-05T02:30:00.000+08:00

I discovered via the Stats tab that some people are viewing my blog on their mobile devices. Can I just say how cool that is? Hello, mobile viewers!

Not one of these cool people but want to be? Point your mobile web browser to this address. Voila!

This is Fourth of July, so... Happy Independence Day, America!

Also: Happy NAIDOC week, Australia!

Book Review: The King's Mistress by Emma Campion

2011-06-30T16:28:00.001+08:00

My mother enjoys reading historical fiction, especially if it involves the English monarchy. Sometimes when she's finished with a book, she'll hand it off for me to read next. Such was the case with Emma Campion's The King's Mistress.

At 14, Alice Salisbury marries Janyn Perrers, a much older man. Through that connection she is drawn into the political intrigue of Edward III's court. She catches Edward's eye and (obviously) becomes his mistress. Alice struggles with the changes the men in her life have forced upon on her and, in my opinion, manages it quite well.

As I understand it, there isn't a lot of information about Alice Perrers out there. I think there are references to her being extremely manipulative, especially with Edward III. Campion takes an alternative view: what if Alice weren't a manipulative she-devil, but was instead an innocent girl who was caught up in other people's plots and had no say in any of it?

I think Campion did a marvelous job painting Alice as a survivor. I especially love that "survivor" does not mean spunky, fiesty, or headstrong. A mistake many historical fiction novels have is that the herione (or hero) react and act to events in very modern ways. Alice does not. She knows her place as a 14th-century woman and doesn't strive for 21st-century rights. She does the best she can with the cards she's dealt. For example:

Her father decided it was time for her to marry. Rather than stomp about and claim how unfair it was to marry someone she didn't love, she looked at the suitors her father had selected and chose the best of the bunch.
Her husband has to travel quite a bit. She doesn't go with him, or complain bitterly about him beind away for so long. She accepts it, makes the most of the time she has with him, and goes about her responsibilities at home.
The king takes a fancy toward her. She can't really say no, but she doesn't make a scene of it. She thinks on the consequences of it long and hard, but she accepts because she has no choice. And like a lot of previous and future situations, that's the truth. She has no choice.

The above examples may seem like she's a passive character. To a certain degree, I suppose, she is. How much action can a 14th-century non-aristocratic woman instigate? She has no power and no influence. And yet, for 90% of the novel, I never felt like she was passive. The inner struggle between right and wrong, choice and no-choice, duty and desire, created enough tension for me that I wasn't bored.

The last 10% is a failing that I've come across in many historical fiction novels. The last few chapters feel like Campion is rushing to tie up loose ends. She throws a lot of historical court/law stuff at us that happens later in Alice's life, and I wish Campion had slowed down and taken the time to engage with it the way she did with Alice's early life. There was so much going on that had huge impacts on Alice's life that were just summarized over. It seems a shame.

That's my one quibble, and as far as quibbles go, it's only a small portion of the book. If you like historical fiction, give it a look-see.

Fun game: how many cliches are used in the making of this post?

Couch Potato

2011-06-29T07:27:00.001+08:00

Over the past year and a half, I've flirted with the Couch to 5k running "program." Basically, it's an interval routine (alternating jogging and walking) aimed at people who aren't physically active at all (couch potatoes) but want to become active (or run a 5k). It's a gradual progression from mostly walking to mostly running, designed to reduce injuries from pushing too quickly.

I'd get through week 1 and then something would come up and I wouldn't get back to C25K for weeks. Given the way the weeks are designed, week 2 would be "too difficult" but week 1 was "boring." Every couple of months I'd start back up, but I'd inevitably be distracted. I was most dedicated November 2010 when I had virtually nothing else to do.

That being said, I'm giving C25K another go. I may have a part-time running buddy, so that might be the necessary change to keep me motivated!

Book Reviews: Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

2011-06-11T07:19:00.000+08:00

As I mentioned previously, I thoroughly enjoyed The Hunger Games. It was a fast, simple read that nonetheless kept my attention all the way to the end. I knew as soon as I finished it, I needed to track down the sequels, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I refuse to say whether or not I skipped class in order to do so.

Like The Hunger Games, I read both Catching Fire and Mockingjay in a day's dedicated reading. I enjoyed both, but I had the same issues with them, which is why I'm reviewing them together.

For those who were keeping an eye on my twitter stream or the twitter sidebar, you know I was complaining about the second and third books in late April. Don't remember or didn't catch them? Worry not! I scrolled through my tweets to find them, just for you!

**WARNING: Possible spoilers. The tweets should be fine, but the verbage may not be. I know some of you don't like spoilers one tiny bit. I'll be talking broadly about the plot, but will attempt to keep away from specifics.**

I hate when main characters aren't part of the main action, when all the author allows them to do is react #CatchingFireFri Apr 29 20:53 via txt Lisa
giynlith

In Catching Fire, Katniss makes a lot of observations about the other tributes, and she takes part in a lot of the action, but she rarely instigates the action. She's usually reacting to the situations that others have put her in. The other tributes seem to have a handle on what's happening, how they're going to handle it, and know why certain tributes can be trusted but others can't. Katniss is completely in the dark and spends forever dissecting their actions and motives.

That being said, I did enjoy the story line of Catching Fire. It had great pace and there were a number of gasp-inducing moments. I just wish Katniss had been more involved with the story-behind-the-story.

#Mockingjay I dislike how Katniss is never included in the major decisions. Is it supposed to mimic the lack of control teens have IRL?Fri Apr 29 22:45 via txt Lisa
giynlith

In Mockingjay, Katniss once again isn't part of the main action. She spends an inordinate amount of time either being hysterical until she needs to be sedated, or wandering aimlessly and hiding while other people make decisions. In fact, she spends so much time in her own little world that she (and thus we, the reader) miss a lot of the important developments of the story. Katniss is initially included in the "command meetings," but she doesn't pay attention and then stops going. Her opinion isn't asked for, nor does she offer much in the way of suggestions. She's just very passive.

There's one moment where she makes a stand. In exchange for agreeing to be the face of the rebellion, she wants concessions X, Y, and Z. Her demands are completely in keeping with her character, but they're ultimately selfish (and they don't place her in a more active role within the narrative).

Having never read young adult/teen fiction before, I thought perhaps it was supposed to mirror the lack of control teenagers have over their own lives and how adults tend to run things? If so, I doubt I'll read much more young adult fiction, which is sad because I've heard good things about the YA published in the last few years.

The people who know & do things & make them happern are boys and adults. Katniss is neither. So frustrating. #Mockingjay #CatchingFireSat Apr 30 02:07 via txt Lisa
giynlith

Mockingjay, more so than Catching Fire, really set my teeth on edge. Katniss is a seventeen-year-old girl who is constantly sidelined and/or sedated. She's rarely involved in major decisions and usually finds out about them after the fact -- and these decisions usually affect her life drastically.

Her good friend Gale, on the other hand, is involved with the command structure and decision-making procession from the beginning. Gale, however, is a boy and eighteen, legally an adult. He even gets to work on a Super Secret Project that has Major Implications at the end of the novel.

At about the three-quarter mark, Katniss finally gets to Do Something and be active, not just reactive. Her plan(s) go terribly awry, but she fixes them as best she can and keeps going. She has the chance to do something that actually changes things, and she takes it. Unfortunately, just when things seem to be headed toward complete failure, the cavalry (ie: the adults) ride in and save the day.

I genuinely felt let down. I feel that Collins played it safe. Katniss wasn't really challenged. Bad things, terrible things, happens to her, but they happened to and around her. She isn't responsible. Katniss is brought to the breaking point, and instead of allowing her to be broken, Collins instead sedates Katniss and lets the adults (or boys) handle things.

I hated that the people making decisions, creating things, and implementing plans were either boys (like Gale) or adults (male and female). Katniss was involved whenever PR was required, and The Powers That Be tried to control those events as much as possible. I think it's a terrible message being sent to the teenaged girls who read Mockingjay and Catching Fire: you're only useful for your face, what you do doesn't matter, adults/boys will take care of things.

At least in The Hunger Games, Katniss has skills that are useful and necessary. She is proactive, she gets the job done, what she does matters. I wish she'd been allowed to be the same in the second and third books.

Book Review: The Company by K.J. Parker

2011-06-05T02:25:00.001+08:00

I find it difficult to summarize The Company by K.J. Parker. While there is external conflict, most of the conflict is within the relationships between the main characters. A group of retired soldiers settled down in their hometowns after the war, until their former leader rounds them up to make a go of it homesteading on a deserted island he purchased for just that purpose. Things go wrong, of course, but the story is more about the interpersonal relationships between the comrades-in-arms and the other settlers they bring with them.

Publishers Weekly remarks that it "blends gritty military fantasy with the 18th-century island story tradition." One of the quotes on the front cover (I don't have the book with me, alas) says it's "Lost" meets The Italian Job. While it is labeled as fantasy, the world has no magic. It could very well be Earth at some distant future date, or some other planet so similar to Earth as to not matter. It's an unusual but welcome change from the genre.

Parker does a masterful job of weaving in flashback throughout the story. It fleshes out the characters and adds shades of meaning to the interactions between them. At certain points I wanted to reread from the beginning to see how the new information would change my understanding of earlier scenes (I restrained myself).

The action is understated. I was expecting Action! and Fighting! and Bloodshed! I kept waiting for the soldiers to start hacking and slashing on the island, but it never happened. I was slightly disappointed because it wasn't what I was expecting, but what I got instead was equally riveting (I read The Company in two days). Most of the war-action is done in flashback and reads like an intricate ballet dance, not at all like a D&D campaign (this is a good thing). The action in the present is either political machinations or emotional, and very well done. The characters are transformed by the information revealed in each scene, and by the end I wasn't sure whether to cheer or jeer for them (this is a good thing).

Within the first few chapters, I knew I was in for an excellently written novel. Parker definitely subscribes to the "show don't tell" mantra. I knew the town where the retired soldiers lived was poverty-stricken, but I know that through the specific details Parker chooses to show, not because she says "the town was poor and dirty."

I tracked down and read Parker's The Hammer (also good). I'm now in the process of reading The Folding Knife. The little I read promises another good novel dominated by politics and personal dilemmas.

Book Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2011-06-04T03:49:00.001+08:00

I haven't heard a lot of concrete things about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, other than it's young adult fiction, very good, and children kill each other in an arena for the amusement of others. I made a mental note to pick up a copy at some point.

"At some point" became early April, when I acquired a copy of the The Hunger Games audiobook. I wasn't in any rush to read it immediately, so I figured I'd listen to it while working out or something. That worked well for awhile... and then I was finding excuses to listen to it. When Monday arrived, I had just gotten to the arena when gasp! I had to go to school. I was in agony. I had to know what happened next!

Then I discovered that the Sac State library has a copy and it wasn't checked out. I booked it to the library, checked it out, and read during my two-hour break. I told myself that I'd return it before my next class... which totally didn't happen. I took The Hunger Games home with me and finished it, to the detriment of my homework.

Long story short, it was a riveting read.

Two things I want to mention up front: they're written in first-person, present tense. Some people find these things to be deal-breakers.

The Hunger Games

The United States as a political entity has collapsed. The new state of Panem has formed, with the Capitol as its head of government and capital city. Panem is broken up into 13 districts, although the thirteenth district was destroyed in a failed rebellion before the story begins. The Capitol rules the remaining districts with an iron fist, 1984 style. As punishment and reminder of their failed rebellion, the Capitol instituted the Hunger Games. Contestants for the games (called "tributes") are between the ages of 12 and 18. One boy and one girl from each district are randomly selected from the pool of names. The tributes are then sent to the Capitol, where they are prepped and sent into an arena to kill each other in gruesome, bloody ways. The Hunger Games are a huge event, televised to every home in every district, and certain portions are "required watching."

16-year-old Katniss Everdeen is the female tribute for District 12, the poorest and least respected district in the country. She's small, not very friendly toward strangers, and resentful because she has to join the Hunger Games. Most of the other tributes are bigger, stronger, and better trained than she is, so she's at a distinct disadvantage.

It's kind of like Ender's Game meets 1984, with some Roman gladiator action thrown in.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though the first few chapters have a lot of info-dumping, unfortunately, and there are a lot of memory/flashbacks to establish her relationships with her family and friends. Once I got past them, though, the story picked up. Katniss is put into a terrible situation and does her best to stay alive. She never comes across as mean, just lost and confused and grumpy, which, given the situation, is understandable.

There is, of course, a love triangle that is rather tame (it's YA, wrong genre for anything more than kissing!) to add another element of tension.

Katniss is a very active teenage girl in this novel. She has to deal with a horrifying reality and has very little control over anything. Despite that, she takes as much action as she can in order to control her life, not to be controlled by them. I really appreciated Collins' allowing the heroine to be active and not just reactive.

If you have a spare afternoon or two, pick up a copy and enjoy some juvenile bread and circus.

Honey Elsewhere Socks

2011-03-23T05:23:00.000+08:00

Yes, two knitting posts in one month! I'll allow you a moment to collect yourself. I know it's a shock.

Dates: March 7-17
Pattern: Somewhere Else Socks by Jen Jensen (rav link) (Jensen's link)
Yarn: Claudia's Handpainted Fingering Weight Yarn, colorway Honey
Needles: US 2, my favorite Lantern Moon Sox Stixs
Rav link: Honey Elsewhere Socks"

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy knitting smaller projects, like hats and socks, until my boyfriend requested a knit hat. After churning out a hat for him and then a hat for myself, I felt a bit adrift without a project on the needles. If nothing else, it gives me something to do while I'm in a (boring, ahem) lecture, something I (re)discovered in Australia.

I happened to have some of Claudia's yarn sitting in my apartment, some empty sock needles, and a TV show to watch. Before I knew it, I had my first completed pair of socks since God knows when.

The lace pattern is a simple 4-row repeat, of which two rows are straight knitting. I had it memorized in no time. I didn't think of it until after I'd nearly finished the second sock that I'd wanted to do an afterthought heel with some complimentary yarn. Oh well. Next time, Gadget!

I've worn them and they fit great. I recently discovered that I actually prefer handknit socks to be a bit on the looser side. These fit the bill perfectly.

Here Be Knitting

2011-03-15T08:55:00.000+08:00

Yes, you read that right. According to the blog, the last thing I knit (and blogged about) was the hat I made for my grandfather. That was right before I left for Australia and the last knit* thing I finished before I went Down Under.

I did knit half a pair of socks while I was there, but they need to be ripped and redone, so they don't count. Otherwise, I was knit-less from July 2010 to February 2011.

"February?" you ask. "But's it's March now!" Don't act surprised. We should all know by now I'm a lazy blogger. Anyway.

I'm don't quite remember the sequence of events, but The Boy discovered that I'm a knitter. We made a trip to the silly hat store in Old Town Sacramento where he complained that all knit hats look silly on him. Challenge accepted!

Dates: Feb 19-Feb 21, 2011
Yarn: Vanna's Choice in Charcoal Gray and Silver Gray
Needles: US 7
Pattern: Adapted from Wasatch Backcountry Hat (rav link)

I didn't pick up the needles right away, though. I've had friends ask if I could knit them this or if I could knit them that, and it never goes beyond that curiosity. I figured this was the same thing and kind of forgot about it.

A few weeks later, he mentioned (again! ...and again... and again) how much he'd like a knit hat that didn't strangle his ears. I can take a hint, especially since I did say I could make him a hat.

I conferred with him as to pattern, color, and sizing, and bought yarn. Joanne's was having a sale on Vanna's Choice yarn, so I bought two colors of gray (he's boring when it comes to color). I watched a few hours of TV-via-internet and voila! one boy-approved non-ear-strangling ~~boring~~ matches-everything hat.

I would like to point out that, despite his ginormous head, his hat fits me because he likes short hats. It barely covers the tops of his ears.

I would also like to point out that he immediately began asking how he could earn the privilege of having a hat made out of "nice wool." Hehehe.

And for those who read to the very end, a bonus hat!

In preparing to make The Boy's hat, I found a pattern I wanted... so I made it!

Dates: Feb 22-Feb 27, 2011
Yarn: Vanna's Choice in Black, Mustard, Brick, and Rust.
Needles: US 7
Pattern: Fireflake Hat (rav link).

I really liked the color choices the designer made, so I didn't substitute any colors. I did use worsted weight yarn instead of sport weight and bulky weight, which means I modified the number of snowflake/fireflake repeats as well as the crown shaping.

Fireflake is my first (I think?) attempt at stranded knitting. It didn't turn out half bad. I wish it were a little longer, though. My earlobes get cold. It was also my first time successfully doing a 1x1 rib tubular cast-on. It's pretty awesome. Go try it.

*I crocheted an afghan while I was in Australia. Surprise! I failed to share it with the blog. Oops.

Amusing Submission Guidelines

2011-03-12T02:46:00.000+08:00

Link-surfing the internet, I found Darwin's Evolutions, a "journal of speculative fiction." They're currently accepted short story submissions for an upcoming anthology. Their Submission Guidelines made me laugh, so I thought I'd share with all of you some of the things they are not looking for:

"5. Anything that smacks of nihilism. In fact, when received, I will print out the offenders, run them through my shredder, and use the scraps in my cats’ litter box. Afterward, I will soak them in kerosene and light off the whole sorry mess upwind of the nearest liberal arts college English department and as close the graduate student offices as possible.
6. Sparkly vampires."

Someone with a sense of humor. Gotta love 'em. So long as they keep it downwind of the undergraduate student offices, that is. ;)

Meanwhile, 9k mi (14k km) away...

2011-03-04T09:41:00.000+08:00

One of the things that really surprised me while I was Down Under was how friendly the Aussies I met were. There were times where I'd have general conversations with girls in class, ostensibly about the subject matter that always degenerated to generic conversation about life. I'd also chat with classmates afterward at the Tav or Aroma Cafe occasionally. I was even invited to some parties (including a birthday!) after only knowing them for a few weeks.

Earlier today, I receive similar messages from two different class-friend groups that were really sweet.

Rachael of the Poetry & Passion (and Jane Austen) girls sent me this: "The Poetry & Passion gang missed you in classed today, Lisa! We left an empty chair in your honour." Thanks, Rachael, Anysia, Lana, Jessica, and Hannah!

Capri from my Australian Government class sent me this a few hours later: "We were in our old politics lecture hall today and missed you! so there is ur old chair as a reminder of Aust! Hope all is well." Thanks Capri and Jess! There was even an attached photo of my old seat. :)

I only knew these girls for four or five months. I'm touched that amidst their busy lives, they 1) took the time to bring up some crazy American they haven't seen for three months 2) do something as a "memorial" and 3) contact me about it. It's really sweet. It's so much easier to mention something and then never get around to doing it.

For all that I complained about how Perth was so "small town" compared to Sacramento, I do miss it. It was an incredible experience and I'm very thankful I had the opportunity to go. But more than anything, I miss the friends I made and I'm very sad I had to leave them behind. Those girls and their thoughtful friendliness made the experience so much better.

Thank you, ladies! I hope your semester is lots of fun, even without me there. :)

Bookworm

2011-01-12T05:46:00.000+08:00

When Amazon first released Kindle 1 (back in the day), my dad offered (quite insistently) to get one for me. I refused. I liked "the feel of real books!" Last June, a friend of mine visited and she happened to bring her Kindle 2 with her. I played with it for a bit and thought it was a really neat toy. Alas, I went off to Australia a few weeks later.

Fast forward nearly six months: Amazon released Kindle 3, I returned from Australia, and my birthday was right around the corner. Surprise surprise, my birthday present was a Kindle 3. I love love love it. (I'd like to point out... I was actually quite surprised. I was expecting the Kindle to be a Christmas present... even though my birthday is sooner. Weird, I know.)

I've been downloading free ebooks, and I've finally started purchasing Kindle books. It's really nice to have so many books available at my finger tips (even if I do miss physically turning the pages). I also don't have to worry about bending covers or pages or bringing just one book with me.

I've spent the majority of my Christmas break reading books and short stories on my Kindle. In no particular order, here's what I've been reading:

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Mistborn: the Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
"Firstborn"* by Brandon Sanderson
"The Door Through Space"* by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
"The Colors of Space" by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Migration by Julie Czerneda
A Thousand Words for Stranger by Julie Czerneda

As you can tell, when I find an author I like, I try to read as many of their works as I can get my hands on. I highly recommend The Black Prism, Warbreaker, and Elantris.

*Sanderon's short story "Firstborn" can also be obtained from Amazon for $0.99. Zimmer Bradley's short stories ("The Colors of Space," "Through the Doors of Space") I obtained from Project Gutenberg for free, but they are also available on Amazon for $0.99.

To My Legs

2010-12-04T02:36:00.000+08:00

Dear Legs,

You've been marvelous so far, allowing me to navigate all sorts of terrains across two continents. We hike, we swim, we walk all day, and sometimes we dance. I know we haven't danced in a long time, and I know throwing you into a weekend-intensive dancing marathon is rather mean, but I'd really like it if you'd bring your A-game this weekend. Just sayin'.

Right knee, I'm looking at you.

Sincerely,
an American formerly Down Under
(currently in Chico)

End of Event

2010-11-25T06:16:00.000+08:00

Dear American and Australian friends,

Monday the 22 I travelled the globe and arrived, safe and sound, in the great state of California. This should be the last entry, but I am an amazing procrastinator. I still have Adventures from Down Under to share with you all!

Stay tuned for the conclusion(s) of my Spring Break Extravaganza!(tm) (I know, I can't believe I haven't finished that off yet, either), as well as some non-spring-break adventures.

I will miss all of the friends I've made in Perth. Hopefully I'll be able to visit again, and maybe some of you Aussies can make it out my way. That would be pretty cool, too.

Slightly jetlagged,
an American Formerly Down Under

A Letter to Former Professors

2010-11-17T18:05:00.000+08:00

Dear Professors Gieger and Toise,

Thank you for forcing me to read Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Persuasion last semester. Also, thank you for being awesome lecturers. You have made my Jane Austen class this semester much easier and much less stressful.

I am quite saddened to learn that neither of you have classes in the spring semester. I suppose you're both on sabbatical; I hope you enjoy the break. I will attempt to enjoy my last semester as an undergraduate English major without two of my favorite professors (and my advisor!).

Your insights into the material, some of which I have internalized through the amazing skill of osmosis, have helped me to view Austen in a different light, especially when compared to and against Professor Durey's perspective. Thank you also for pushing my writing and analytical skills farther than I thought they could go.

Sincerely,
a traveling CSUS English major

Spring Break Extravaganza!(tm) Part III

2010-11-09T13:24:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

The continued chronicling of my 7-day to trip to the Ningaloo Reef, near the town of Exmouth, Western Australia. Today the American Down Under discovers Monkey Mia's dolphins, the western-most city of mainland Australia, stromatolites, and confronts her sunburn.

Monkey Mia, the place of glorious sand beaches (love the tent!)...

...and dolphins. Claudia was lucky enough to be picked to feed a dolphin. Dolphin-feeding is basically the main tourist attraction for Monkey Mia. There were dozens of people lining the beach and the pier to get a glimpse of the dolphins and, if they were lucky, to get chosen to feed a dolphin.

...and pelicans! Pelicans like to steal the fish from the dolphins, so the feeders have a separate "pelican feeding area" on the beach. This guy was about as tall as a three-year-old child. No joke! I'm sure he severely menaced small children. I don't think, however, he was poisonous. Shocking, I know.

See these bricks? Made entirely from shells. The Egyptians built bricks with mud and straw, the Exmouth-dwelling Australians built them with shells.

After leaving Exmouth, we travelled for daaaaaaaays. I'm telling you, DAYS. Chris the tour guide, as I've mentioned previously, is a slave-driver. He had us up and about by 7am most days (8am was "sleeping in"), and forced us to scarf down breakfast by 7:30am, when he put all the food away so we could hit the road by 7:45am. We'd then do something for a couple hours, then have lunch by noon or 1pm. I was starving by brunch time. I combined my Yankee ingenuity with the breakfast fixings and... created a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! (Aussie and British readers: "jelly" in this instance means jam, not... jelly/Jell-o.) The British boys in front of me were equal parts disgusted (PB&J is so misunderstood by our English and Australian counterparts) and jealous (because they didn't have a midmorning snack). One American from Colorado was jealous. I was way too excited for my PB&J.

Yankee know-how and my mother's fondness for solutions produced this scrumptious and timely snack.

After "brunch," we finally arrived in Denham (pronounced "denim"), the western-most city in mainland Australia! I know I keep repeating this phrase... but that's because Chris the tour guide did. And it's true. And cool. And they have a cool sign in a roundabout. (Oh yeah, roundabouts? Totally the shit in Australia. Not even kidding. Where Americans would have stop signs, Australians have roundabouts!)

We stayed in Denham just long enough for Chris the tour guide to fill the bus up with "petrol." (I still laugh every time I hear an Aussie say that. Love you, Aussies, I'm just easily amused!) We ended up in the Shark Bay National Heritage Spot for a brief look. I did see some sharks swimming about, but they were very small due to the distance. You know what else I saw? Bird shit.

No joke, that island is made from bird shit (according to Chris the tour guide). Back in the day, the bird shit was sold as fertilizer and made someone very rich indeed. I'm not sure how well you can see it in the photo above, but on the horizon are two small white "pillars." These pillars are made of salt. I refer to them as Sodom and Gomorrah.

We had another brief stop to view some stromatolites. They apparently breathe oxygen, which means we should be very grateful to these ocean-dwelling beings. Even if they look like rocks.

A sign claims that the weird lines in the third photo are from wagon wheels. This place used to be a working dock, where wool was shipped to and from. I thought of my dad; he likes old things, especially if they have to do with wagons. (Then again, he might be more specifically in the Americans going west to California...)

Another petrol stop, this time in Carnarvon (pronounced "Cahnahvon." Oh, those Aussies.), resulted in ice cream! I had the most delicious chocolate-covered raspberry treat ever. EVER. It wasn't even ice cream. I think the proprietor literally took raspberries and blended them into puree, poured it into a chocolate-lined popsicle form, and froze the whole thing. (Rene, I request experiments when summer in California begins. You have no choice. Plus... delicious!) Chris the tour guide really liked pushing us to buy "ice creams" and in this case I had no problems with it. Have I mentioned already that it was delicious?

Fun fact of the day: this river is always dry, unless it's flooding. True story. It never rains but it pours.

We then spent probably the next four hours in the most uncomfortable bus in the entire world, on our way to Exmouth (pronounced "Ex-mouth," not "Ex-mith" which I was expecting). There was some confusion with our reservations... long story short, the front desk didn't know there were three Western Exposure tour buses. Our bus got the short straw. Rather than being roomed in two or three 10-bed rooms like at Kalbarri and Monkey Mia, we were split up onesie-twosie. I shared a 10-bed room with 9 complete strangers. Some others did the same. A few lucky ones were roomed with a buddy from our tour.

It wasn't so bad, but I was highly paranoid about these miscreants rummaging through my things. I actually had to stridently inform one of the girls that the bottom bunk was mine because my stuff was there first. Poor girl. (These "miscreants" were probably German backpackers... they all seemed quite nice. I use the term "miscreants" in jest, mostly because I have no idea who they are.)

The hostel in Exmouth is where I finally relented and agreed that yes, I was sunburned. I had been denying it all day and people kept telling me I was wrong. For the viewing pleasures of every pale-skinned person I have ever teased for getting sunburned, when I never burn...

I didn't put sunscreen on this day. I wasn't going in the water, I wouldn't be in the sun for too long (just 45 minutes to an hour), and I'd be on the bus mostly. Why did I need sunscreen? It's greasy and gross and... I forgot this is Australia. Australia does not play nice. To be fair, I have played games of tennis without sunscreen and never been burned. How was I to know? I have now been sunburned in my life. Damn Australia! Ruining my perfect sunburn-free since 1988 streak! Curses!

Stay tuned for the next episode of "Spring Break Extravaganza!(tm)," wherein our intrepid American Down Under goes snorkeling for the first time in her life!

Sincerely,
AADU

Spring Break Extravaganza!(tm) Part II

2010-11-07T22:09:00.000+08:00

The continued chronicling of my 7-day to trip to the Ningaloo Reef, near the town of Exmouth, Western Australia. Today the American Down Under Discovers Kalbarri National Park, Shell Beach, and Monkey Mia. Be warned, this entry may have more pictures that Part I.

Oops, I didn't realize it's been two weeks since Part I! My apologies, loyal readers.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Dear American friends,

Once again, I was up bright and early for the 7 o'clock hour. (Our tour guide is a slave driver. True story.)

We trundled down to the Kalbarri National Park, where we go to see many awesome rocks and where we were severely menaced by the flies. So many flies. I cannot even begin to describe how many flies there were, or how obnoxious.

Representative of the entire trail down to the river. Very warm, sunny, and full of flies.

Despite the flies, however, I learned that this tree is a species native to Australia. Shocking, right? The cool thing about it, though, is that the Aboriginal tribes used the tree branches to make spears because something in the bark/wood/sap is poisonous. This is a useful attribute when killing large, hopping marsupials with a spear. (Poor kangaroos.) Another fun fact about this Australian tree: its leaves are turned upwards to catch and keep all possible rainfall. It absorbs water through its branches/bark, rather than its leaves, so it doesn't have to compete with the other plants for groundwater.

Some cool rocks. If you look carefully, you can see some stalactites clinging to the underbelly of the ledge there. I've never seen stalactites outside of a cave. Awesome!

We also had the option to go "abseiling" down a cliff face. My very reasonable fear of falling to my death in a gorge 9000+ miles from home persuaded me to enjoy the less-fly-infested shade while some of my fellow travellers barely escaping falling to their deaths.

I do believe that's Chad from Colorado there.

Carolina and I sitting at the bottom of the cliff face, waiting for the abseilers.

After all the abseilers made it safely down the cliff face twice, excepting Chad's camera, we wandered down the last hundred meters or so of trail. We'd finally reached the bottom and were greeted with the sight of this magnificent river.

We hiked all the way back up the canyon and then down around its other arm to reach the look-out point for "Z Bend." The way the river snakes through the canyon does actually look like a "Z." (That would be "zee," not "zed." Silly Aussies. Actually, now that I think about it, I think Chris the tour guide called it "Zee Bend," not "Zed Bend." My head, it hurts.)

Also waiting for us at the Z Bend out-look were the tracks of the most ginormous scorpion ever to walk the Earth. (This may or may not be an exaggeration. Pictures claim it was the size of a medium dog. Uggggh.)

I escaped the fossilized footprints of the scariest scorpion ever and went out to "Nature's Window." It's a natural formation of rocks that looks like, well, a window. My fellow travellers engaged in many picture shenanigans, but I was content with a single frame. There were a lot of tourists waiting to take pictures with Nature's Window, plus I could then "relax" of some relatively cool shade. (It was still hot. I later learned the temperatures had reached about 37C/99F during the day. Ew.)

So I boiled in the morning sun, saw some great rock formations, and escaped the certain death of abseiling and ancient scorpions. Now, time for lunch! The only reason I bring up lunch is because I saw this:

Yes. "Mild American mustard." Is there non-mild, non-American mustard that isn't Dijon mustard?

We spent the rest of the afternoon ~~boiling~~ roasting in the sun at Shell Beach. The beach, surprise surprise, is made entirely of shells! (True story.) The water is supposedly salty enough to make you even more buoyant than regular sea water. I didn't test it, myself. I didn't want to sit on a bus for the next four hours, damp and super-salty.

I finally arrived at Monkey Mia in the late afternoon. The beach at Monkey Mia is absolutely gorgeous. As much as seeing Shell Beach was a novelty, I wish we'd spent the entire afternoon and night at Monkey Mia. There are the added perk of civilization in the form of showers and a bar. I managed to get out to the beach for some sunset pictures.

Stay tuned for the next episode of "Spring Break Extravaganza!(tm)," wherein our intrepid American Down Under sees dolphins, visits the western-most city of mainland Australia, looks at some seascapes, and for the first time in her life... gets sunburnt. (I have gloriously red pictures for you, dear sister, fear not.)

Sincerely,
a hot and sweaty American Down Under

Old Friends

2010-11-05T17:58:00.005+08:00

Dear American friends,

I read a lot from 4th grade up to about, oh, senior year of high school. My family and previous teachers would confirm my bookworm status if asked. I would not be surprised if I read at least 52 books a year (one a week). I know I was reading two to three books a week at times.

My reading pace slowed down when I went to college. I attributed it to having a busier schedule and harder classes, but that isn't really true. I had more free time than high school and my classes were all lower division classes. They weren't that much harder.

The truth is that most of my reading-time had been sacrificed to people-time. I had new friends, a new boyfriend, a new city to explore... My time was now devoted to "meaningful things" instead of "dumb things."

Since I've been in Australia, my appetite for books has increased dramatically. As I wandered around the mall a few weeks ago, holding my newly purchased book and feeling homesick, I realized one of the reasons I read is so I don't feel lonely.

Books are those friends who are always there for you. They don't care if you spend two hours or two weeks with them. You can ignore a book for years and then suddenly pick it up and read it four times in a row, and they're okay with that. Books will never feel slighted or ignored, nor make you feel slighted or ignored. They'll always be there for you, ready with a story to entertain you and make you smile.

It feels strange to have this revelation at the age of 21... I feel like I should have known at a younger age, given how much time I spent with books.

Some of my best and oldest friends are books.

Go out and make some new friends. Or don't. They'll wait for you.

Sincerely,
an American Down Under for a mere 17 more days

PS: That's 300+ words that don't count toward my nanowrimo word count. I've mastered the reading-books skill, now to work on the writing-books skill...

Spring Break Extravaganza!(tm) Part I

2010-10-23T10:00:00.001+08:00

And now, at long last, the chronicling of my 7-day trip to the Ningaloo Reef, near the town of Exmouth, Western Australia.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Dear American friends,

I woke up bright and early at 6am. Why, you ask, would I do such a torturous thing? Quite simply, the bus was scheduled to pick us up at 7am and I still had to pack. Fortunately, 21 years of packing for 7-day camping trips with my family have held me in good stead; I packed like a pro.

Let me state for the record, I spent a lot of time on the bus. I never want to spend that much time on a bus, ever again. These weren't even nice buses. They were like a step up from school buses but two very large steps down from Greyhound. As I spent a lot of time on the bus, I therefore spent a lot of time staring at the Western Australian scenery. It basically all looked like this:

I thought it looked rather like Nevada, only slightly more vegetated.

Our first port of call was a state park called The Pinnacles. According to our tour guide, experts are still a little stymied by how they were formed. An older theory was that the pinnacles are the remains an ancient forest that was covered in sand and then fossilized. A newer theory, which I didn't find as interesting and now can't remember quite as well, thinks it has something to do with the limestone in the sand forming these structures, much like stalagmites and stalactites.

Speaking of limestone, did you know sand can be different colors, depending on what it's made of? Beach sand is white. (I have no idea what it's made of, sorry folks. Any sand experts out there?) The sand at the pinnacles is yellow because, according to our tour guide, it is made from limestone particles. I didn't believe the tour guide. I mean, really? Beach sand is kind of yellow; I know I used the yellow crayon when I needed sand. But indeed not, beach sand is white and pinnacle sand is yellow.

Pinnacle sand, Pinnacles, beach sand, Indian Ocean. Oh my!

Our second port of call was a place called Sandy Cove. Beautiful white sand beaches... unfortunately the water was full of vegetation that was really slimy underfoot. (Dear family, remember White Pines Lake near Arnold and how it was covered in slimy lake-vegetation? Yeah, like that, except Sandy Cove vegetation was free-floating and would attack you with the waves. Gross.)

While at Sandy Cove, I tried my hand at "sandboarding." It's like tobaggoning, except in sand and really hot. (The first 5 days of the trip were dreadfully hot. You have no idea.) I put on my Big Girl Never-Going-To-Be-Hear-Again Shorts and took a spin, despite feeling anxious about it. Sand, unlike snow, is hot and gritty. So running into a sandbank at the end of the run would not be a fun experience, unlike doing the same with a snowbank. Also, I was wearing shorts and didn't want to get scraped up from the sand. But I did it and enjoyed it, despite it being a much faster run than I was expecting.

This is Jon from Yorkshire.

Our last detour was to a bluff/cliff called Pot Alley. The weather had turned cold and windy, and I wasn't dressed for it. The view and the sunset were amazing, and the sound of the waves crashing onto the rocks was actually rather soothing.

We finally made it to our hostel in Kalbarri, the Rock Lobster. The German contingent popped off to the pub for some pool and beer. I foolishly attempted to do homework. (I feel I must point out that this was the first time since leaving Perth that I had cell phone reception. Free wifi? Forget about it.)

Stay tuned for Spring Break Extravaganza!(tm) Part II, where the American Down Under discovers gorges and more beaches! Did you know Australia has beaches? Crazy, I tell you, crazy!

Sincerely,
AADU

Those Orange Covers

2010-10-22T10:00:00.001+08:00

Dear American friends,

It has come to my attention that Australia may have something the United States does not. Yes, yes, Australia has all of those poisonous creatures and coral reefs and beaches, but those aren't really important.

No, dear American friends, I'm talking about something much more important. I am talking about books. I have become enchanted with these adorable orange-and-cream-covered books published by Penguin. I've described them to some of you about them (hi, Mother!) and I assumed your lack of comprehension was from my poor descriptions.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

It appears, however, that lack of comprehension is due to the fact that, well, these books aren't in American bookstores. Oh, the humanity! How can I come home if it means leaving these books behind??

Would one of my book-loving compatriots investigate the State of the Popular Penguin in American bookstores and report back?

Most distressed,
AADU

I Win!

2010-10-21T22:05:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

I have wrestled with words and made them submit to my will. I am English major, here me rawr! My list of triumphant successes, which may be familiar to you now*:

Paper 1: 2378/2000 words, 8 pgs; Sense & Sensibility; High Distinction (HD), 87.5%, A-
Paper 2: 2391/2500 words, 8 pgs; minor Australian political party: the Greens; HD, 82%, A-
Paper 3: 1933/2000 words, 6 pgs; Robert Browning's "Porphyria's Lover"; HD, 82%, A-

And now for the final monstrosity that I procrastinated on and whined about and refused to do. It may have won the battle last night, but today... today I have won the war! Drumroll, please...

Paper 4: 3180/3000 words, 9 pgs**; R.K. Narayan's The Guide; yet-to-be-submitted

Sincerely,
AADU

*I must have been in a haze of sleep deprivation, because the word counts reported a few posts ago are terribly wrong. I apologize. Words counts in this post are, indeed, accurate.

**Pages are determined by A4 paper, not the typical 8.5"x11". I would like to point out, Paper 4 would be 10 pages if it were 8.5"x11".

There's No Place Like Home

2010-10-14T21:10:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

If I didn't know better, I would've said today was a Monday simply based on the events of today. Nothing major happened, just a bunch of little events that shouldn't have been a big deal but, when put together and taken with a dash of homesickness, added up to an emotionally draining day.

I'm also toying with the idea of changing my flights to come home before Thanksgiving. We'll see how I feel about that idea when I'm in a better frame of mind.

Sincerely,
AADU

PS: I haven't forgotten about my Spring Break Extravaganza!(tm). Did I mention today was a Monday? And I have one last paper to write, then four finals to study for? I promise I'll get around to it. You'll just have to be patient. :)

Checking In

2010-10-06T11:10:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

My Spring Break Extravaganza!(tm) up to the Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth was a blast. I have some great photos and stories to share with you, but they will have to wait until a little later this week. School has started again, don'tcha know?

Speaking of school, remember those papers I mentioned forever ago? Let's update the To-Do List, shall we?

Paper 1 (1970/2000 words; submitted). I'll have the option to edit and resubmit it for a better grade (if necessary) on October 15
Paper 2 (2300/2000 words; submitting today). I'm feeling much more confident about it after adding two more sources. I only get one submissions.
Paper 3 (2450/2500 words; submitting today). This paper was a breeze. I spent the majority of the day at the University of Western Australia's library doing research (that's a different story) and all night writing the paper. I'm pretty pleased with it. This paper is also single-submission.
Paper 4 (0/3000 words; due within the next two weeks). I have an outline, but no sources. Researching shall commence... tomorrow? Bleh. Also a single-submission paper.

I have my fingers crossed that my writing here will be judged the same as it is back home. That would 90+% for those not in the know. (I may be bragging just a little here.) I unfortunately have no idea what kind of standards the professors have for essays here. My first paper was submitted on Sept. 24th and I should get it back this Friday. Unfortunately, that isn't soon enough to help either my Austen or Government papers. The feedback from Paper 1 should help me with Paper 4, so it's better than nothing. I wish one of my papers had been due earlier in the semester, but that's life. I believe Papers 2 and 3 are roughly on par with the other papers I've written.

I did something today that I rarely ever do. I reread and edited my "final" copies of my papers. I'm very glad I did; I caught some glaring errors and refined some phrases. I feel the papers are much stronger now.

Inquiring minds want to know: do any of my facebook stalkers happen to remember what my lowest grade ever received on a paper is? I know my American Gothic paper last spring was a B, but I can't remember if that one paper for my Sex, Population, and Birth Control class was a C or a B. Hmm...

Sincerely,
a sleep-deprived American Down Under

Braaaaaaiiiiiiinnnnnssssss

2010-09-20T00:02:00.002+08:00

Dear American friends,

Lisa is not here right now. Her brains have been eaten by procrastination. The few remaining cells left are dedicated to writing

Paper 1 (500-800 words left; due 9/24)
Paper 2 (2000-2500 words left; due 10/6)
Paper 3 (2500-3000 words left; due 10/6)
Paper 4 (3000-3500 words left; due 10/15)
revising and resubmitting Paper 1 (due 10/15)

...oops?

As you can see, communication on this here blog will be much abridged, especially compared to last week's posting fest. The next week I'm taking a trip up the west coast of Australia to see the Coral Reef at Exmouth. I hope I'll have a regular internet connection, but be prepared if I drop off the radar the week of the 26th. I should be back Sunday the 3rd (which would be your Saturday the 2nd). If I should be venturing into the wilderness of Land Without Internet next week, posting will definitely pick up on my return. I'll have lots of pictures to show you and adventures to write about!

Without brains,
Zombie AADU

Edited to add: Oops, I made a typo. Paper 4 is actually 3,000 to 3,500 words. I got a little happy with my zeros!

The Key Saga, Part II

2010-09-17T15:29:00.002+08:00

Dear American friends,

Before class Wednesday morning, I went to the office to get a replacement key.

Good news: it opens my bedroom door. Yay!

Bad news: it doesn't open my front door. Boo!

It's now Thursday evening and my key still doesn't work in the front door. The front door is now actually able to speak its mind using crude block letters and even cruder drawings.

The office is having someone come out to look at the door/my key tomorrow (Friday). For now, however, my front door is a discriminating bastard.

Grumpily amused,
AADU

PS Friday afternoon update: Turns out the replacement key I received was from a "new batch"... and they were all faulty. The office issued me a new, new card from a different batch and it works like a charm! My front door is no longer a hater. :)

The Key Saga, Part I

2010-09-16T18:17:00.002+08:00

Dear American friends,

As my facebook friends know, I lost my keys Tuesday night. I know I had it at 5pm because that's when I let myself into my room after running some errands. I spent the rest of the evening in my room ~~procrastinating~~ ~~not doing my homework~~ contemplating the outlines for my upcoming papers, or harassing my roommates down the hall.

I remained in the flat until about 11pm when Ben decided to make a McDonald's ("Macca's") run. I had a craving for ~~French fries~~ chips and chicken McNuggets, so I piled in the car with Ben, Shaun, and Lauren.

It was only after I had enjoyed the yummy grossness of my McNuggets that I realized... my keys weren't in my pocket. Before freaking out completely, I decided to check my room for my keys. It was possible that I'd simply left them on my desk. Alas, they weren't on my desk. They also weren't in Ben's car or in McDonald's, nor were they turned into the lost & found at Mickey D's or the nearby gas station.

Ben checked his car thoroughly: no keys. I've looked under things in my room: no keys.

What does this mean, other than frustration at losing my keys and needing to replace it?

Velisaraptor is now Missing In Action and officially the first casualty of Australia.

I will miss you, Velisraptor.

Most sadly,
AADU

PS: A competing theory to "Velisraptor-and-keys fell out of my pocket" theory is the "high school hooligans also at Mickey D's were pick-pockets" theory.

PPS: While the viability of the competing theory is small, it makes me feel better because my keys are completely useless to anyone else. It also makes me laugh.

All Kind of Thrills

2010-09-15T15:28:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Nothin' beats the thrill when you get your picture on the cover of the Ikea Catalogue.

Tuesday afternoons are for lunch with the girls. We decided to check out Ikea, partly because I wanted meatballs. (It also happened to be Lauren's half-birthday. No, Lauren, you can't call it your six-month birthday. That's just wrong.) When Lauren and I discovered Miranda had never been to Ikea, it was a done deal.

After a cursory look around Ikea (we'll be going back for a more thorough inspection, fear not), we stumbled across some charity organization that had worked with Ikea to put your picture on an Ikea catalogue for a small donation. Our excitement at this prospect was, shall we say, unladylike. I thought we'd get just the picture, but no, we got our pictures on an honest-to-God catalogue.

Sincerely,
AADU

PS: I realize the American spelling is "catalog;" however, that spelling hurts my eyes so you get "catalogue." Enjoy.

Mission Accomplished.

2010-09-14T11:33:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Margarita acquired.

Sincerely,
AADU

Surprise!

2010-09-13T15:23:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

I'm not really in Australia!

Just kidding, of course! That wasn't the surprise. (Although, it would be a funny surprise, wouldn't it?)

But, seriously. Lauren paused in my doorway today, looking innocently nefarious. (I'm not sure yet if that skill is British or female. More testing is required.)

Here's how the conversation went:
Lauren: Lisa, can I ask you a favour?
Me: Um... what kind of favor?
Lauren: Close your eyes and hold out your hand?
Me staring at Lauren suspiciously.
Lauren: It's not dirty, I promise!

Lauren is, as previously stated, innocently nefarious. I closed my eyes and held out my hand. I felt something oddly... sticky, but at the same time it wasn't sticky. When I opened my eyes, I saw this:

I was ecstatic, and Lauren ran away giggling about her good deed for the day.

It was, indeed, a very timely good deed. I've been feeling rather homesick recently. Let's take today, for example. I went to the store to pick up some things like frozen meatballs or frozen chicken strips, and a variety bag of mini chocolates, like you'd get at Halloween to pass out. Perhaps the grocery store I went to didn't stock them, but for whatever reason I couldn't find what I was looking for. Add to that the frustration of not recognizing any of the brands and it makes for a Lisa who dearly misses her local Safeway grocery store.

Sincerely,
AADU

Sandy

2010-09-12T20:11:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

I went to Scarborough (pronounced "Scarbra") Beach today. Believe it or not, this is the first afternoon I've spent at the beach. (My visit to Cottsloe doesn't count.) While it was a gorgeously sunny day, it was also a very windy day. By the time we got to the beach (an adventure in and of itself), the wind had transformed into SUPER SANDY WIND TIME!!! The wind blew sandy every where. At one point, Lauren made the decision to lie down... within five minutes she was covered in sand. We called her "Sand Monster."

Despite the sandiest wind I've ever encountered, it was still quite fun. I imagine once the weather warms up more, and we find a day that isn't windy, the beach will be even more fun. I'll keep you posted, especially if I ever actually burn instead of tan. Which reminds me, I need to pick up some sun block...

Sincerely,
AADU

PS: "There is so much sand. Why is there so much sand??"

Technology, It Mocks Me

2010-09-11T15:21:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Not all N64s are created equal. Nintendo is an international company. You'd think they would make their games international, as well. Lies! All lies!

Unaware of the regional differences between Australian and American N64 consoles, I asked for and received my copy of Ocarina of Time, the better to ~~procrastinate~~ amuse myself Down Under.

Imagine my surprise and confusion upon discovering the cartridge wouldn't connect into the console. (Is there a word for that? Gamers?) There is only one way to insert an N64 cartridge; you can't muck it up. Just to check (because I would be the one to discover how to muck it up), I also tried inserting the other (Australian) cartridges. They connected without issue, of course.

I tried again with my game. Still no dice. How could I be doing this wrong?

I began comparing my cartridge with the Australian cartridges. Everything appeared to be fine... until I looked at the backs.

The horror! The horror!

For those of you who don't see it, allow me to point it out.

Why would Nintendo do that? Really, Nintendo? Really? Why must you ruin my dreams of Ocarina goodness Down Under?

Very sadly,
AADU

Simple Pleasures

2010-09-10T15:36:00.001+08:00

Dear American friends,

There are few things in life that exceed the pleasure one feels when one has a package waiting.

Sincerely,
AADU

PS: I suppose you want to see what I got in my package from home, eh? There was some boring stuff (new credit card, voter address change card, some clothes) and some cool stuff. Let's see... we have He's Just Not That Into You (anyone who knows me should only be surprised that I didn't think to pack it myself), purple duct tape (this shouldn't be a surprise), The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (my roommate has an N64...), and a World Cup Jack Ball with a little note.

What does that little note say? I'm glad you asked!

"Stick the Australian flag on Jack's yellow head band!" (I'm tempted to also include the US flag.)

The grand finale is this awesome t-shirt:

Happy Graffiti

2010-09-10T12:19:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Bathroom stalls are normally places to find graffiti like "JON WAS HERE" or "ALICE IS A SLUT HO-BAG" and numbers to call "for a good time."

Apparently, they do things differently in Australia. They have inspirational graffiti in their bathroom stalls!

The inspirational graffiti artists are also post-it note bandits. They leave inspirational post-it notes stuck to classroom doors. It's like they want to make everyone happy!

I kind of like it.

Sincerely,
AADU

Deja Vu

2010-09-09T10:05:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Saturday the 4th was lots of fun. A resident at the village organized a laser-tag event. I loved going to Q-Zar* in Concord when I was younger. I think one or both of my sisters had birthday parties there at some point. Despite the fun, I also remember the equipment being old and usually faulty. I was hesitant to go based on these memories but eventually decided to go anyway.

The equipment at the Dark Zone, while not new, is in much better condition than Q-Zar's. Dark Zone also has three teams, not two, and cool code numbers for the vests instead of boring numbers. (I got to be Buck Rogers and then Darth Vader, bwahaha.) The arena was also two stories!

Remember two weeks ago when I saw drag queens lip-sync Glee songs (and posted about it a week after the fact)? Well, the drag queens did an encore performance on the 4th! So, after laser-tag, the girls and I planned to hit up the gay bar again.**

This is where things went a little sideways. My other three roommates are straight guys. They heard we were going out to see the drag queens at the gay bar and... they decided to come with us! They not only enjoyed themselves, but they also danced. Keep in mind, this is club dancing. In my experience, it's not the usual venue where straight guys dance. It was a pleasant surprise.

Sincerely,
AADU

*Quick digression. Q-Zar was developed in Perth? No way! Small world!

**A rum & Coke was $9.50. Shoot me now.

A Plane Buzzed the Tower

2010-09-08T12:56:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

When I say "a plane," I mean a lorikeet, and when I say "the tower," I mean me. Allow me to repeat: a lorikeet flew by my face, screeching.

Sacramento and Davis have crows.... Perth has lorikeets. I think that's a fair trade, don't you?

Sincerely,

AADU

Something Strange

2010-09-07T10:42:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Australia doesn't have a $1 bill. Rather, like Canada (and apparently the UK), they have $1 and $2 coins. When I carry a few coins in my pocket, I assume I have 50-70 cents. The coins are all smaller than quarters, so it makes sense to this American.

These coins were in my pocket the other day.

What I assumed was less than a dollar was actually nine! Nine dollars... in coins! And even weirder, a reasonable amount of coins! I'm probably going to miss these dollar coins when I leave... but I do love my one-dollar bills.

Sincerely,

AADU

All Work and No Play

2010-09-04T00:02:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

You must be thinking the recent lack of posts means I've been a good student, eschewing Fun Times(tm) and making great progress on my school work.

You would be wrong.

Procrastination has been perfected to an art form Down Under. There is no busy-work in any of my classes. Long story short, I've had little motivation to do the research for my papers.

While I haven't I been studying, I also haven't been able to have lots of Fun Times(tm). The days I don't have lecture, my roommates do, and vice versa. That being said, however, there are some Fun Times(tm). Like last Saturday when Miranda, Lauren, and I went to see drag queens lip-sync to songs from "Glee."

Sincerely,

AADU

Perth Zoo

2010-08-23T18:09:00.001+08:00

Dear American friends,

On Saturday, Lauren and Miranda (both roommates) and I had a girls' day. We decided to have sushi before heading out to the zoo.

My favorite part of the breakfast was definitely the pork buns. Yummmmm pork buns. (Pork buns not pictures because they are in my belly!) The sushi came out to us on a conveyor belt. Still cool, but not quite as cool as actual sushi boats.

While waiting for the ferry to take us to the zoo, I saw honest-to-God black swans. Black swans! I thought they were totally made up for that Disney movie based on "Swan Lake."

Miranda pointed out some native Australian flora, the kangaroo paw.

And now for the cool zoo animals, beginning with the blue-winged kookaburra.

And a blue-billed duck. At least, I think it's a duck. It looks like a duck, doesn't it? But look! It has a blue bill!

And a spoonbill! I wonder why they call it a spoon bill. Hmm...

And a massive crocodile. Funny story. Up until we saw the giant crocodile, the day had been gorgeously sunny. Then, from out of nowhere, it was pouring rain for about ten minutes. After that, the day was once again obnoxiously gorgeous. Anyway, that's a long way to say sorry for the bad focusing job. Silly rain drops.

This is a dingo, not a dog. According to the helpful signage, dingos don't have that awful "wet dog" smell. (It looks like a dog to me.)

Perhaps the coolest moment of the entire trip... I got to touch a kangaroo! Everyone knows that kangaroos hop because their back legs can't move independently. What I didn't know was that they can use their tails as a leg so they can move without hoping. Check it out!

This little guy is a numbat. He's very shy and very endangered. But he's soooooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuute. Say it with me now: Awww!

Wallabies look like miniature kangaroos with mouse heads. They even hop like kangaroos! But they're smaller and therefore cuter. And, one assumes, also less likely to kill you because they're the size of a house cat. Wallabies "walk" like kangaroos, too!

And for my sister...

I'm still waiting to see koalas and kangaroos in the wild. Dear Australian friends, you are currently failing in your hosting duties. Where are my wild koalas and kangaroos, yo?

Sincerely,

AADU

PS: Want to see an emu on the move? Or maybe a bird bath? I must admit, I was way more entertained than I should have been by this bird. And last but not least, the lemurs laughed at us.

So It Continues...

2010-08-22T00:00:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

First, there was the Lisantula (sorry, Jeff):

Then, we discovered the Velisraptor:

And now, the newest member of the family.... Lisasaurus!

Sincerely,

AADU

You Know What This Means...

2010-08-21T00:00:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Spring is near!

Sincerely,

AADU

Training

2010-08-18T14:25:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Reading my Australian government book is not only interesting (in an academically boring way), but also entertaining (in a Lisa-thinks-everything-is-funny way). In order to explain the Australian system of government, it first describes the American presidential system and the British Westminster (parliamentary) system. The Australian system is a mishmash of the two, or, as my government professor says, the "Washminster hybrid."

The Australian government is fundamentally a parliamentary system. When Australia became its own nation in 1901, it kind of smooshed federalism on top of the state governments. So there's a federal parliamentary system over the state parliaments.

The textbook, in describing these systems, and the pros and cons of each, unmistakably favors the parliamentary system over the presidential system. There are many instances (none of which I marked down for future reference) where the authors play the "Australia is great!" and "parliamentary systems rock!" and "presidential systems are kind of scary and potentially not as democratic as ours!" cards. It's hilarious. Rather than being filled with a sense of national pride, I'm highly amused by the propaganda.

On the other hand, I realize American government textbooks probably do exactly the same thing. The difference is I haven't been raised in the Australian culture. I don't have the automatic responses the authors are looking to trigger. As an outsider, I haven't been trained to react to their buzz words.

While we're on the subject of training and buzz words, let's talk about governments and budgets. As an American, and more specifically a Californian, if Congress (or the State Assembly) doesn't pass the budget on time, it's no big deal. I mean, really, we all know that budgets never get passed on time.

My government professor mentioned what could happen if the (Australian) government didn't pass its budget on time: the government would have to stop spending and shut down until it was passed. There were literally gasps from the audience. (I think I laughed.) Apparently, Australian governments take their budgets very seriously, unlike the great state of California. Point 1, Australia.

Sincerely,

AADU

Second Reflections

2010-08-12T14:27:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Having finished my second week of class and working on finishing my third week of class, I thought I'd offer further reflections on my classes.

Jane Austen: As I thought, once we got past the introductory lectures and began discussing the novels themselves, this class became much more interesting. My English major is showing when I say that most of the critical sources I've been reading on Austen have also been pretty interesting, as well.

Fun fact! In Pride and Prejudice Lydia and Wickham elope and cause a huge scandal. I always assumed it was scandalous because she ran away and got married without her father's permission/approval. I didn't realize that an elopement didn't necessarily mean they got married. In fact, Lydia and Wickham only marry after Mr Bennett and Company chase them down and force the issue.

The same goes for Maria Bertram and Henry Crawford in Mansfield Park. Maria marries whats-his-face (Rushworth?) and then later "elopes" with Crawford. I was confused at that point because, well, Maria was already married! How could she also marry Crawford? If "eloping" has more to do with running away with someone and living in sin, that makes a lot more sense.

Australian government: This class has a lot of boring/semi-interesting reading, but I'm enjoying learning about the different governmental systems. There's a lot of compare and contrast among Australia, the United States, and Britain.

Post-colonial literature: Still dreadful, unfortunately. The literature isn't half-bad, at least.

~~Australian fiction~~ Poetry and Passion: Last Friday, I knew I had to drop either my Thursday class or my Friday class. I couldn't stand having the same professor for half of my classes, especially back-to-back, and on a Friday, no less. So... I found a solution! I ultimately decided to switch the Australian fiction (which makes me rather sad because I was looking forward to it) for Poetry and Passion, another English class on Friday. After attending one lecture, I'm much happier. The class and the professor are both very engaging, and while it wasn't the class I thought I'd be taking, I'm enjoying learning something new-to-me. Poetry is much more complex than I gave it credit for.

Hopefully my three interesting classes remain interesting and my fourth class becomes less onerous.

Sincerely,

AADU

King's Park Picnic

2010-08-08T21:47:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

I went on a picnic at King's Park today with some of the other villagers. We played frisbee, kicked around a footie ball, took copious pictures, and generally had a good time. There were war memorials for World War I and World War II. There were also ducks. (Yes, I chased the ducks. No, Lauren did not capture it on camera, thankfully.)

I'm not the only one who enjoys chasing ducks!

Sincerely,

AADU

I Cooked (Without a Recipe!)

2010-08-07T12:00:00.001+08:00

Dear American friends,

As we know from many different occasions, kitchens and I have a love-hate relationship. They love to screw up my piddling attempts at creating food and I hate them for it. I don't think we need to go into detail about the pancake-mix-not-real-flour debacle, or the time I mistook powdered sugar for flour, or when I learned that whole flour should not be used exclusively.

You may be thinking to yourself, "Self, Lisa is a smart girl. She goes to college. Surely, surely she knows better than to tempt the cooking gods."

My friends, I am a cooking-god-tempter. Let us count the ways:

I am in a kitchen that is not my own.
I am using cooking implements that are not my own.
I am over 9000* miles from my own kitchen and my own implements.
I am stir-frying vegetables.** (This never happens.)
I am using spices I've never used before.
The coup de gras is this: I am not using a recipe. None! Nada! Zilch! Big fat goose egg!

And, my friends, it was delicious. (And I didn't burn the kitchen down.)

Sincerely,

AADU

*I am so amused that I get a pop culture reference and I'm actually over 9000 miles away. Double win!

**Vegetables include a zucchini, a green bell pepper, some mushrooms, an onion, lime juice, and garlic (I chopped it; it's a vegetable). I was going for fajita vegetables but the supermarket lacked cilantro. Lamers.

Photo Booth Fun

2010-08-06T19:00:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

I discovered Photo Booth, a photo application on Mac computers.

(Apologies to the facebook readers, who have already seen these photos.)

Sincerely,

AADU

It's Good to be King (or an adult)

2010-08-06T00:00:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

I may or may not have gone out on a school night. (Shh, don't tell my mother.)

Sincerely,

AADU

The Wine Tour

2010-08-05T11:22:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

The housing office likes to put together events for the residents of the village. (This is analogous with RA programs at the Sac State dorms, except the housing office does it and not the RAs.) Events can include pizza & movie night, game night, poker night, etc. There is usually some sort of free food incentive. The event put together for Sunday was a wine tasting at a couple of local wineries. For a mere $20, we would be taken by bus (or "coach," as my fellow British and Australian tasters called it) to the wineries for free wine tastings, free chocolate at the chocolate factory, beer and nibbles at a brewery (at our expense), and free BBQ at the housing office when we returned. Sounds like a deal to me!

As all the best laid plans do, this one went awry. First, the bus to pick us up was an hour late.

The bus was pretty cool once we boarded. There were many picture shenanigans (see them all on facebook!)

We went to three wineries. The first one, Houghton, looked very nice. It had a nice picnic area behind the tasting room, complete with cafe. Unfortunately, I thought all of the wines we sampled there were awful. Like, 100% I would never drink any of them every again. I'm not sure if this is a term one can apply to wines, but they tasted bitter. Plus, we had to pay a $3 tasting fee because of the size of our group (we had something like 50-70 people).

The second winery, Twin Hill, wasn't on the RAs' itinerary. They were mighty unhappy when we arrived, especially when the bus driver said we had to stay for at least 45 minutes because it was on his itinerary. I didn't partake of their wines, mostly out of protest. I and a few other protesters wandered across the street to the convenience store, where we purchase delicacies like Pringles and BBQ-flavored chips and Salt & Vinger-flavored chips. They were delicious.

Outside the convenience store was black sand. I've never seen black sand before. It's naturally black. It's not normal sand that's been "stained" by oil or anything. It's supposed to be black.

The third winery, Heaford Glen, was my favorite. They served free wine (yay!) and were very accommodating about what kind of wines they served us. One of the bartenders (are they called bartenders?) asked what kind of wines we liked: sweet, dry, fruity, white, red? Based on our responses, he pulled out different wines (mostly white, mostly sweet). He also let us try a port and a dessert wine. We liked the dessert wine so much... we bought a case and split it.

The port was good, especially with chocolates from the chocolate factory. I think the only place I've seen more crowded with chocolate-lovers was Disneyland.

Our final destination was Elmar's Brewery. We did some beer tasting (I drank most of them) and Lauren did some EXTREME beer tasting. That, my friends, is what 1 litre of beer looks like.

That's when I reminded Lauren that we had to catch the bus in 30 minutes. (Yes, she did consume 1 litre of beer in less than 30 minutes.)

The ride home was, once again, filled with camera shenanigans. There also may have been bus-wide drunken sing-a-longs to classics like "Eye of the Tiger" and "We Are the Champions." (Once again, all camera shenanigans are on facebook.)

All in all, I'd say it was a successful wine tasting event, despite the fact that it didn't turn out as intended.

Sincerely,

AADU

PS: Lauren's purple shirt? It will be mine! There can be only one!

First Impressions

2010-08-04T11:00:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

As I've mentioned before, the classes I'm taking at ECU include courses on Jane Austen, Australian Government, Post-colonial Literature, and Contemporary Australian Fiction. Bear in my that each class is 3 hours, once a week. Having survived the first week of instruction, here are my thoughts.

Jane Austen: The first class was rather boring, I must admit. We did a lot of "the life and times of Jane Austen," which, while academically interesting, didn't really hold my interest. Hopefully, we'll get into discussing the novels once we've had a week or two to actually read them, which should prove more riveting.

Australian government: By far my favorite class after the first week. It must be a mixture of having a dynamic professor lecturing and learning about a government that is a hybrid of a constitutional monarchy and a democracy. Added bonus: 2010 is a surprise federal election year. The former (elected) Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, was basically ousted from office (I'm not sure who did the ousting... Parliament? His party?) and was replaced by Julia Gillard (not elected). Needless to say, the Australian people are kind of unhappy about their elected prime minister being replaced without their consent. There will be a special election in August to vote on a new prime minister. (I think that's what's going on, at least.)

Post-colonial literature: I was already not looking forward to this class when I signed up for. I had the option of doing post-colonial lit at Sac State and took something because, really, I don't care about post-colonial lit. It's not exciting for me. But ECU had a limited amount of English course offerings this semester and it happened to transfer back perfectly (as upper division, no less!), so I signed up. I have taken classes that I wasn't excited about before (hello, Introduction to Brit Lit I and American Lit II!) and they turned out to be halfway decent. I've also had classes that were uninteresting and terrible (hello, Sociology I), but I got through it somehow. That being said, in addition to not being initially interested by the class, the professor is so bad. She's disorganized, confused, confusing, and speaks in a monotonous mumble (with a Sri Lankan accent). The syllabus is a complete joke. I basically have a table made in Microsoft Word that tells me the lecture of the week and barely hints at what critical sources I should read, but there's nothing definitely. I feel completely lost, which is not something I'm used to feeling in a classroom setting.

Contemporary Australian fiction: I had such high hopes for this class. I've done the British lit classes and the American lit classes... now I could add Australian lit to my repertoire! America and Australia have similar colonial experiences that produced very different cultures, which should be reflected in the literature. I was excited to learn about those literary differences. Imagine my disappointment when I walked into class and discovered... it was the professor from post-colonial lit. As some of you already know, I was very very bitterly disappointed. I'm afraid my dislike of the professor will color my enjoyment of the class itself.

As the second week begins, I'm hoping my three English classes perk up and become more interesting. There's hope for Austen, but I remain pessimistic about post-colonial lit and Australian fiction.

Sincerely,

AADU

Fremantle Tour

2010-08-03T14:03:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Sofia, Lauren, and I joined a tourist group put together by the university for exchange students. We toured King's Park in Perth and the city of Fremantle.

The view of the Perth CBD and the Swan River from King's Park.

After King's Park, we checked out Cottesloe Beach in Fremantle. We took some pictures in front of the Indian Ocean.

A boab tree, native to Australia. The natives apparently used it as a water source.

We learned to the play the didgeridoo. It's a surprisingly simple instrument that is also simple to play. It's basically a branch that has been hollowed out by termites, then shaped by the Aboriginals.

We also saw Fremantle's first prison, the Roundhouse. It held a maximum of eight prisoners.

The group split up for dinner (I had fish & chips) and reconnected at the microbrewery Little Creatures. Of course I bought a beer. (It was delicious.)

Which brings us to the best part of the day: the Fremantle Prison Torchlight Tour. I was so excited (torches? flame? yes!) until I realized the Australians, like the British, call their flashlights "torches." Despite this minor setback, the tour was still amazing. Rather than focusing on facts and dates and numbers, our tour focused on stories of life at Fremantle Prison. In the dark, with our tiny flashlights, it was sufficiently creepy. I'd definitely go back!

Fremantle Prison was the maximum security prison for Western Australia until 1991. At one time, it held about one thousand inmates. According to the tour guide, the phrase "not enough room to swing a cat" either originated at Fremantle Prison (1850s) or was made popular there. The cat in question refers to a cat o' nine tails.

Most inmates weren't allowed to deface the walls of their cells. A few were given an exception, and with good reason.

Sincerely,

AADU

Random Thursday

2010-07-29T17:15:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

A little drive-by posting...

I apparently look like an Emily. A Starbucks barista in Sacramento kept calling me Emily, and now two Australians have also called me Emily. Strange.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are entirely an American thing. Neither my Australian nor British roommates eat PB&J sandwiches. The only exception is if they have a sudden craving for them... which doesn't happen. Poor them, they don't know what they're missing.
My accent in class is a big neon sign shouting, "Hi! I'm not from Australia, Britain, Europe, or Southeast Asia!" Professors alway ask where I'm from and when I reply "America," it invariable leads to a response similar to "Oh... this will be interesting..." Should I be worried?
All of my (4) class have "major essays." Major essays consist of 2500-3000 words. A 3000-word essay is 10 pages. All four 10-page papers are due in the same week. I am going to die. Maybe I won't procrastinate this semester... don't laugh, it could happen.

Sincerely,

AADU

Perth City Center

2010-07-27T11:41:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Sofia, Shaun, Lauren, and I wandered around the city center, or the city business district (CBD), as they call it. The CBD is broken up into two parts: the mall and the businesses. The mall half is basically two or three streets of open-air mall, much like Walnut Creek's Broadway Plaza, but much bigger. It caters to the high school shopping crowd. The business half, which I didn't investigate too thoroughly, has more tall business buildings (obviously) and caters to the workers in the area. There were a number of bakeries and lunch shops. At some point, I plan to go back and check out some of the restaurants in the area. While Perth's CBD was smaller than I was expecting, there were also cool things to see.

Like St. Mary's Cathedral.

...and a trash can. Yes, I am one of those American tourists who takes pictures of "rubbish bins" and laughs.

And a mime entertaining a family.

And tall buildings.

And cool trees.

And humorous signs.

And a cool bell tower.

With tubular bells.

And a wishing well.

And did you know that they ride their bicycles on the wrong side of the bike trail, too?

Sincerely,

AADU

A Few Nights of Bad Craziness

2010-07-25T19:50:00.001+08:00

Dear American friends,

Boxed wine holds a special place of honor in Australia. It was created here and is probably the cheapest alcohol in town. The east coast calls boxed wine "grog," while the west coast calls it "goon." Unfortunately, goon can be pretty nasty in the morning after department (not that I'm speaking from experience, of course, just hear-say). Lauren and I scored 10 litres* of goon for $20 at the local Liquor Land. We had a fun night drinking goon and watching Hot Tub Time Machine.

Saturday the 24th, we witnessed the most amazing sunset. The clouds were lit up like orange sherbet.

I need to remember to take a few pictures of the Indian Ocean at sunset for my uncle… I'll probably make a trip back to Cottesloe Beach later in the year, when the weather's warm.

My flatmates and I decided we wanted to play some pool at the local pool hall. I'm incapable of saying this with a straight face, but bear with me: the balls used in Australian pool are smaller than the American counterparts. I'll grab a photo of them next time for comparison. Until then, I leave you with this:

Sincerely,

AADU

*Hahahahaha, litres. That makes me laugh.

Program Interrupted By Our Sponsor: the Internet

2010-07-22T11:19:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Australia makes its internet users pay for their data usage. Unlike (most? all?) American internet providers, where you have unlimited data usage for a flat monthly fee, in Australia you pay a monthly fee for a certain amount of data usage.

For example, you can purchase 1 month with 1GB of data. If you use up the 1GB of data before the month is over, you can purchase more data. If you don't wish to purchase more data, you can't use the internet.

I didn't realize how much data Skype video calls used until my connection died in the middle of a call. Oopsie. I'm in the process of debating purchasing more data/time in order to have internet in my room once more. Until that time, posting here may be a bit sparser than I'd wish. Please bear with the intermittent radio silence. I haven't forgotten about you and I have lots of fun things to share!

Sincerely,

AADU

British & Aussie Slang

2010-07-20T19:18:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

Here are some of the British and Aussie slang I've so far run across in the week that I've been here.

Rangers (Aussie) = What Americans call "gingers." It's an abbreviation of "orangutan." I'm unsure if it's used in the same lighthearted manner that Americans use gingers.
Off your face (Brit) = Getting drunk. A similar American phrase would be "drunk off your ass." Brits apparently don't feel the need to specify "drunk" the way we do.
Uni (both) = University.
Pissed (both) = Drunk.
Bunk the lesson (Brit) = Skipping class.
Tosser (Aussie) = As Shaun describes, "A wanker, a masturbator." I don't think there's really an American equivalent. Thoughts?

Maybe this will become a feature as I come across more slang.

Fun fact of the day: Did you know Brits use feet and inches to measure people's heights, and drive in miles per hour?

Sincerely,

AADU

Orientation & Wildlife

2010-07-19T15:05:00.000+08:00

I went to an orientation workshop called "Unistart 1" to learn about the school's online information stuff. I figured it'd be good way to become acquainted with their systems. Unfortunately, it was incredibly basic. I ended up leaving about halfway through because I basically learned everything the workshop covered while enroling for my units and setting up my email account. I'm supposed to do another workshop (Unistart 2), but I'm definitely not going. It's 3 hours of study habits and what to expect at university. I've been doing "uni," as they say, for going on four years now. If I'm not a pro by now, 3 hours won't make me one.

I did attend the mandatory international orientation sessions, though. They were informative but boring. The highlight was probably the mid-session break when we got to see some Australian wildlife.

There was a bandicoot. The volunteer with the animals said this particular creature was a female and she was about half her full-grown size. Apparently the males are twice as large as the females. Fortunately they're timid, unlike raccoons, so I won't surprise one rummaging through the flat's trash cans.

I also saw a bobtail, or a bobbie. They're kind of like squirrels in that they very easily become roadkill. They look like a large gecko or iguana, but their skin looks like tiny turtle shells. (I think they resemble the Koopa Troopas from Super Mario Bros.)

The third animal I saw was a python. They generally don't live around Perth but can be found around Geraldton, a town about 5 hours north of Perth.

I've yet to see a koala or kangaroo. I'm keeping my eyes peeled!

Meet the Flatmates

2010-07-18T19:38:00.000+08:00

Ben (Aussie, Western Australia): Beginning his second semester at ECU. He lived here last semester and is one of two returning residents in my flat. He’s very friendly and willing to answer questions from a silly American. Like most boys, he immensely enjoys playing his XBOX. I think he’s studying security systems.

Lauren (British, London-area): The other exchange student in my flat. She’s great fun and, fortunately, the two of us get along well. This is the beginning of her second year at uni. She’s studying performance arts.

David (Aussie, Canberra): He has a bachelor’s degree in some science are and is currently working on either a second bachelor’s or a master’s degree in teaching/education. He’s… an interesting fellow.

Shaun (Aussie, WA): I’m pretty sure this is Shaun’s second year, but I may be mistaken. He’s pursuing a degree in writing. He was torn between that and English; I forget the reasoning behind his choosing writing over literature. He reminds me a lot of stoner/skaters back home, hehe. Like almost every other Aussie I’ve met, he’s very friendly. He also actively tries to include people in things, which is great.

Miranda (Aussie): I still haven’t met her because she’s still with family for their winter break, or whatever it is they call it.

Not in Kansas Anymore

2010-07-17T07:00:00.000+08:00

Dear American friends,

While you are no doubt sweltering in temperatures of 90s and 100s with no end in sight, I am enjoying a cool winter rain in 60F weather.

Be jealous.

Love and smoochies,
an American Down Under

PS: I had a video of said rain in the middle of July to commemorate the event all ready for you, but it wasn't uploading properly. Alas.

Next Time, I'm Taking a Boat

2010-07-14T14:14:00.000+08:00

The plane flight from SFO to Sydney was the longest of my life. Let's add up how much time I spent in airports or on planes, shall we?

3 hours waiting at SFO
14 hours flying across the Pacific Ocean
3 hours at Sydney Airport to go through customs, queues, and waiting
5 hours flying across the continent (it sounds bigger than saying across the country, doesn't it?)
Grand Total: 25 hours

But wait! That's not all! I landed at 1:45pm Monday afternoon and had to wait for my baggage. I arrived at the Student Village around 2:30pm. I then spent the next two hours figuring out the eLabs to let everyone know I had arrived safely. After that, I returned to my room and met two of my roommates, Ben (Aussie) and Lauren (British), both of whom are very friendly. I crashed promptly at 6pm, pausing only to put sheets on my bed.

That's about another 4 hours added to my travel time. Revised grand total of 29 hours. I travelled for 29 hours, plus I was awake all day Saturday before my flight.. bear in mind that I'd only slept maybe a maximum of 4 hours during the flights, and that was fitfully at best. Suffice to say, I was tired.

So, after finally succumbing to exhaustion, imagine my horror, at awaking at 3:30am. That's 9 hours of sleep, yes, but I'd been up for over 29 hours. The horror, the horror!

Another horror... the only food I'd had to eat after leaving SFO was airplane food. Yummy.

Arrival

2010-07-12T16:07:00.001+08:00

I have limited internet (and computers, for that matter) at the moment. Short and sweet version: I've arrived in Perth. Long version to come when I have power cord(s) for my computers.

Finished: Papa's Hat

2010-07-10T12:41:00.000+08:00

I finished knitting Papa's hat today. Yay! No pictures because I'm lazy. It's the 3AM Hat over here, but in dark taupe instead of blue. I used Naturally Caron's Country yarn, which was very splitty. Not bad, but splitty.

This time tomorrow, I'll be sitting in SFO waiting for my plane to board. I'm nervous/excited. It's too late to say "just kidding," right?

Repurposed

2010-06-26T11:52:00.000+08:00

Knitting content on this here knitting blog has been sparse since I started college. In high school, I knit when I watched TV. I didn't watch much TV once I hit college, so I lost a giant chunk of knitting time. Rather than knit, I cultivated interests that were more social, like dancing, in order to meet new people. It's been great for my social life but awful for knitting.

With Australia, I don't see my knitting time (or knitting content) getting better. I suspect I'll be too busy having fun, meeting people, and playing tourist to knit much. So I've decided to repurpose my knitting blog into something a little more relevant to my life in Australia.

Lift-off in 14 days!

A Knotty Problem

2010-06-19T01:01:00.000+08:00

My grandfather requested a hat to wear while he was sleeping because his head would get cold. Unfortunately for him, he asked in May when I was dealing with papers and finals. Last week I finished a hat for him that really was pretty half-assed, so I ripped it out. I surfed ravelry and found this interesting but sort of simple hat, Knotty but Nice. I spend most of the day working on it and finished the cable pattern repeat before I went to bed.

I love the cabling. It reminds me of Jared's Koolhaas, a design I really love. Unfortunately, the cabling draws in the fabric too much. The hat isn't stretchy enough to fit around my grandfather's head, I think. My head is about a 21" circumference and it's a little tight. I don't think there's enough ease/stretch for it to fit a 22" circumference, unfortunately.

What does this mean? I'm ripping and reknitting... again. Third time's the charm, right?

It's Electrifying

2010-06-10T01:52:00.000+08:00

I know that Australia uses 240 volts for their electrical outlets, unlike America's 120 volts. It's my understanding that most of the world (or Europe, at least) uses 240 volts and America is "backwards." I figured my electronics, like my computer(s), would be fine since they have AC adapters that range from 120V-240V. Then I read a description of the Australian-style electrical plugs, which have "vertical grounding bars." Vertical grounding bars? What? My Google image search turned up this photo.

I'm going to need a plug adapter.

Austen

2010-06-04T07:15:00.000+08:00

One of the classes I'm taking in Australia is "Jane Austen Through Fiction and Film." It also happens to be one of the only classes with a booklist posted on the ECU bookstore website. The list is pretty simple: copies of Austen's 6 novels. (They charge AUD $9.50 per book. $9.50! It's highway robbery, I say! Good to know college bookstore gouging is a global enterprise.)

I thought, considering Austen's novels are rather dense compared to contemporary novels, pre-reading them before the semester begins would be a good idea. I've already read Northanger Abbey (I wrote a 13-page term paper on it, even, and got an A- in the class, woot), Persuasion, and most of Pride and Prejudice (no zombies). That means I have Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility (no sea monsters), and Emma to read before July 26. This might be doable.

In an related topic, I recently watched the movie Lost in Austen. For any fans of Austen, Pride and Prejudice, or the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, go forth and watch. Hilarity ensues.

It's Alive!

2010-05-28T10:00:00.000+08:00

They just don't make cell phones the way they used to. I dropped my phone two times too many and the LCD screen broke

Can you believe it? Look at those dead pixels! I remember the old skool nextel phones, the rubbery yellow bricks, that you could chuck across the street, have car run over it, and it'd still work like a champ. These new phones just can't handle the punishment.

The dead zones, especially the column in the middle, really affected my ability to read almost anything being displayed. My 2-year contract with AT&T isn't up until August, so I can't just upgrade to a newer phone. (Plus, I like the non-touch-screen non-folding/sliding aspects of my Blackberry Pearl and most phones now have both touch screens and fold/slide. New Blackberries now also require you to purchase the $40 data plan. I don't want the data plan and currently don't have one.) I toyed with the idea of right-out buying a new phone, but that was before I realized how expensive cell phones are without a contract. Paying someone to repair my screen was a possibility, but while cheaper than purchasing a new phone it still costs $60 or so.

So I trolled Amazon and found an LCD screen for $15 (plus shipping). I also accidentally stumbled across a purple trackball. Of course I bought it. Don't look surprised.

Last night my dad and I took my phone apart and replaced the LCD screen and trackball. My phone once again works like a champ. (Well, almost. There's sometimes a weird buzzing noise when I talk. Hopefully was the connection of that specific phone call and not something that we did.)

New screen and purple trackball have made my phone good as new! Some of the reviews on Amazon mentioned that the colored trackballs gum up quickly and/or stop working, so I'm holding onto the original trackball just in case. Fingers crossed the purple trackball has a long life.

Three Years of Stuff

2010-05-24T03:25:00.000+08:00

Finals are done, which means the Spring 2010 semester is over. Thank God. However, that also means it's the end of May, which means I'm moving from Sacramento back to the Bay Area to live with my parents for 6 weeks. After that, I'll be leaving for Australia. Before I can do any of that fun stuff, I have to do the not-fun stuff first: I have to pack.

95% of the stuff I have accumulated over the three years I've lived in Sacramento is currently sitting in boxes in the living room. The other 5% consists of heavy and/or cumbersome furniture that is still in my bedroom.

I've moved three times before. Each time, I was excited to be moving. First, I was moving away to college. I had very few friends back home, so I felt like I was gaining and not losing something. The second time, I was upgrading from a dorm room to my first apartment. The third time, I was escaping the crazy roommate and moving in with a good friend who turned out to be the best roommate I could have asked for.

This move is a little more emotional for me. Seeing all of my things in boxes really brought home the fact that I was leaving, not just Sacramento but all of the people and friends I've made. I won't be able to call up a friend and meet up with them 5 minutes later. Any plans I make for Sacramento things will require more forethought. I'll miss the spontaneity.

I know I'll be excited/scared in July when I board the plane for Australia, but right now I'm just a little blue.

Baking Misadventures, Part I

2010-05-07T01:07:00.000+08:00

Yes, it is that time again! I have once again stepped into the kitchen unsupervised for your amusement.

While wandering aimlessly around the interwebs, I found a recipe for homemade pop tarts from Smitten Kitchen (I've heard good things about SK from Epic Baker). I for one am a sucker for store-bought pop tart. I can only imagine how delicious homemade pop tarts are.

After reading through the post to 1) write down the ingredients and 2) acertain that I did not, in fact, need a mixer, I rushed right out and bought the ingredients for deliciousness.

While at the store looking for flour, I remembered that Smitten Kitchen had mentioned something-or-other about a "whole wheat variation" and that it would "make it more deliciously breakfast." I like whole wheat things. I bought whole wheat flour.

So I spent last night making dough instead of writing my paper due Thursday night (tonight) (but it's done now, so my mother can't complain!). I popped the dough in the fridge to chill and went out for a margarita and a game of pool. It was Cinco de Mayo, after all!

Fast forward to this morning, as I'm reading through the "assembling the tarts" section. You can all see where this is going, right? Underneath the "assembling the tarts" is the "whole wheat variation" side note. Allow me to quote two passages for your edification:

"2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour"

...and...

"Whole Wheat Variation: I was itching to swap out 1/2 cup of the flour with whole wheat flour. I am sure it would make it more deliciously breakfast." (emphasis added)

SK wanted to replace 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour for 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour.

I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour. If 1/2 cup is good, 2 cups is great, right? Right!

This is why I shouldn't be allowed to bake by myself. Hopefully they turn out even more " "deliciously breakfast" than SK thought they would! (Given my luck, they're going to be cardboard hockey pucks, hehe.)

PS: I must apologize to Epic Baker. I did not take photos of the dough-making process. I'll take pictures of the finished product... I hope.

One Track Mind

2010-04-29T02:12:00.000+08:00

Yes, more study abroad! I turned in my application form to the Office of Global Education. Janis, the amazing study abroad advisor, will supposedly turn it in to ECU for me. I must admit, after constantly keeping track of the application for the past week so I didn't lose it, walking out of the office without it was mildly disturbing. I get to add "waiting for my Confirmation of Enrolment" to my "waiting to hear from the ECU dorms" list of things I'm waiting on. Woo.

In related (school) news, I have to...

write a fairytale (2-5 pages) for my German Folk, Literature, and Traditions class, due within the next 2 weeks
write a 3-page paper about gender and racial stereotypes in televion shows, due May 6
create the accompanying presentation to the television show paper, also due May 6
add 2 pages (total of 8) to my Jane Austen/Northanger Abbey paper, including an introduction, due May 3
add 3 sources to my annotated bibligraphy, due May 3 (oh, wait, that's done!)
write a book review of Wendy Kline's Building a Better Race, due May 4
read random British literature and answer silly questions about said literature, due May 5
file my petition to graduate, due May 1 (that's probably May 3, since the first is a Saturday)
remember to do my copy editing this weekend.

Writing that all out makes me tired, wow.

We won't mention the bridal shower in San Francisco I'm attending Saturday, which will significantly cut into my homework time.

Where do I find the time to do all of the above, plus procrastinate, and still get everything turned in on time?

Study Abroad, Part Deux

2010-04-25T12:53:00.000+08:00

Two pieces of good news: Sacramento State accepted me into their exchange program (yay!) and my host university also accepted me into their exchange program (double yay!).

What does this mean? I'll be studying at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia. Perth is located on the southwestern coast of the island/continent/country. (I like to think of it as Australia's San Diego.)

I'll be there for one semester, our fall/their spring, July-November. I'm so excited! International student orientation is July 12-16, so I'll be in Australia on or around July 12. Having such an early departure date means I won't be able to attend the annual Branco-Rodgers camping trip at the end of July and my mother's birthday. I'll certainly miss doing both of those, but... really? I'll be in Australia!

I'm hoping to take three English classes (Jane Austen Through Fiction and Film, Contemporary Realities Through Australian Fiction, and The Empire Talks Back: Postcolonial Voices) and one political science class (Australian Government). I'm excited about the first two English classes (I've recently discovered I do like Austen, I just don't care for Emma) and the political science course. I'm not so excited about the postcolonial lit class, however. Hopefully it'll be interesting. Granted, I won't actually enroll in any courses until my orientation session, so who knows what I'll be taking!

The things currently on my Australia To-Do include acquiring a student visa (which is surprisingly expensive!), completing the Letter of Offer/Acceptance form to get my Confirmation of Enrolment (Australian spelling, I know), figuring out what I'll be doing in terms of finances and cellphones, and waiting for the ECU "dorms" to get back to me on whether I have a room or not.

It's a lot of hurry-up-and-wait, but it'll be worth it. :)

Study Abroad Interview

2010-03-17T11:30:00.000+08:00

Bright and early Monday morning, I met with the Australian interview committee. "Committee" might be too formal of a name, really. It was one man and one woman (both Aussies) who asked me questions about why I wanted to study at Edith Cowan.

I answered all of their questions and made them laugh a few times. I probably misanswered a number of questions (ex: who is the prime minister of Australia? Er... I have no idea. Oops.), but I answered honestly as best I could. I can't do anything more about it, so I'm going to try not to stress about it. I'll hear back from the study abroad office in 4-6 weeks on whether or not I was accepted.

Under Construction

2010-03-05T05:21:00.000+08:00

It's been ages since I've fiddled with any of the html/widgets associated with the blog. If you run across weird links or things that don't work... I'm breaking the blog. Do not be alarmed.

No blogs were harmed in the making of this post.

Pins and Needles

2010-03-03T03:54:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I submitted my application to study abroad in Australia for next academic year. Within the next two weeks I'll be interviewed by the Australian study abroad committee, who will ultimately decide my academic fate. Unfortunately, I won't know what their decision is until mid-late April, but still...

I'm so excited!!

Car Misadventure Update

2010-02-25T17:38:00.000+08:00

Joe the wonder mechanic says the Honda is fine. The snapped timing belt did not bend any valves, cause pistons to destroy whatever-it-is pistons destroy, or explode (for which I am eternally grateful).

Once the belt is replaced, it should be good to go!

Car Misadventures with Lisa

2010-02-25T02:42:00.001+08:00

I spent the weekend at my parents' house, partially to keep my dad company (both Mom and my sister were out of the state) and partially to have my car's oil and oil filter changed. (And free laundry and free food. Never underestimate those siren calls.)

Come Sunday, I hopped in my car and drove back to Sacramento. Well, it would be more accurate to say I attempted to drive back to Sacramento in my car. Not too long after crossing the Martinez-Benicia bridge, my car dropped out of gear. For no reason at all. Concerned, I pulled over to the left-hand shoulder (I was in the fast lane, of course; scary stuff) and turned the car off.

I'm no newbie to cars randomly powering down. I drove a high-maintenance car in high school* and my Honda had loose battery wires that would occasionally cause it shut off. I figured the battery wires were loose and it needed a restart for everything to be fine. Alas, once the car was shut off, the engine wouldn't even turn over when I tried to restart it.

What is a girl to do when she has car problems? She calls her father, of course.

Dad arrived with the trusty Buick** and some jumper cables, hoping to jump start the car and drive it back to Walnut Creek (rather than have it towed). That was a pipe dream, unfortunately. The poor Honda was ultimately toward back to Walnut Creek while I continued on my journey in the Buick.

A couple days later we learned why the car had stopped: the timing belt had snapped.

Let's pause for a moment to wince and ponder how scary that could've been. I've heard that when timing belts snap in Civics, there's the possibility for snapped valves and something about the pistons puncturing something and maybe the engine exploding into fiery balls of fire. The first two can possibly total the engine and the third will definitely total the engine and perhaps spell death for the innocent driver.

When we bought the car used in 2008 (the car itself it is a 2000), there was no documentation on when the timing belt had last been changed. For all we knew, the belt hadn't been changed since 2000 or it had been changed yesterday. It's the sort of thing that you can't check without removing the belt and that's an expensive procedure just to see. I guess we now know it wasn't changed in 2008.

Joe the wonder mechanic is keeping us appraised on what the final damage to the car is. Fingers crossed it's relatively minor!

My poor Honda, the indignities it's suffered. First it gets broken into and stolen in the same day, had all the electronics stripped from it, and driven through who knows how many fields and ditches. Now its timing belt snaps and it may need car surgery.

*A 1966 Mustang. The alternator or distributor went out once or twice. Driving it to the shop to get it repaired was an adventure. You never knew quite when it would decided to turn off.

**Also known as "the Ghettomobile." People always mistake it for an Oldsmobile.

Signs

2009-12-30T04:43:00.000+08:00

My friend Katherine has come to the conclusion that study groups are a great way to hold herself accountable for doing her homework. I completely agree with her. Even if the "study group" has no actual group studying, just some people who meet up regularly to do their own work independently, knowing that I have a standing date to meet people somewhere forces me to at least get my things together and show up. Studying usually occurs as a result of peer pressure -- or everyone kibitzes instead. Either way, I'm set up to study, so chances are I'll actually get something done.

Coupled with the realization that study groups are a Good Thing^TM, Katherine* has a living room/study area that would be perfect for said group studying. She has generously donated her living room/study area to the common good and has invited a number of people to use her place as the group study meeting area.

If Katherine were a normal person (she's friends with me, how "normal" can she be?), that'd be the end of it. The group would show up, take over her couches and floor space, and make do. But no, Katherine likes to give that extra 10%. She's collected enough items so each person will have a dedicated work space, complete with bulletin boards and calendars so we can coordinate who has time to help and who should only be disturbed if one wishes to be disemboweled with a dull, rusty spoon.

Sometime today, tomorrow, and/or Thursday, Katherine will be putting the work spaces together. Sanding, painting, arranging. You know, the grunt work.

And now for the reason for this post.

On my way to Katherine's, I decided to stop at Starbucks gasp! for a coffee beverage. As I was walking back to my car, a USPS mail truck tried to run me over while parking. It's a postal truck, so it gets some slack.

Driving from the Starbucks to Katherine's place, a community shuttle (probably full of old people) coming from the opposite direction tries to avoid hitting the parked cars by driving in my lane and attempting to crush me between the parked cars on my side and the cyclist**. Needless to say, I survived.

Katherine was apparently still running errands when I arrived at her place, so I decided to hit up a coffee shop that's down the street and around the corner. Getting to the coffee shop requires crossing the lightrail tracks. In the process of making a left-hand turn, the crossing lights/guard arms start doing their thing. Needless to say, I'm very fortunate that no one was behind me and that I managed to back-up quickly enough that neither the guard arms nor the train were able to eat my car. Yikes.

If one were a superstitious person, one would conclude that I should not be out and about today. Will I listen? Probably not.

*It's so weird spelling that name with a K and not a C. **The cyclist was wearing teal scrubs, a white lab coat, and surgical booties. He looked like an escaped mental patient, hehehe.

Scents and Scentsibility

2009-12-19T14:10:00.000+08:00

The blog may or may not have been aware that Sunday, December 13, I went to the bar with Lucy. We stumbled home drunk* and watched one of the greatest movies of all times, He's Just Not That Into You.

Since that event, my apartment has had a curious... odor. It was faint at first, but it's slowly been growing more pungent. I have been informed by reliable sources that it smells like a weed**, which is curious because neither the Roomie nor I have that particular hobby.

My personal theories are A) our oven is a closet pot-head or B) our neighbors are screwing with us. Theory B doesn't really work, though, since it doesn't smell like smoked weed**.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Roomie and I have a deep cleaning scheduled for tomorrow. Maybe we'll discover the source of The Smell.

*By "stumble home drunk," of course, I mean we had drinks at the bar and walked home. All very responsible.
**I, of course, have no first-hand knowledge of such things.

Freedom!

2009-12-17T02:41:00.000+08:00

As of 5pm tonight, I will be officially free from school until February! Hurray!

My advanced composition paper is done! Finit! And it's not even due until 3pm. :) All I have left is my American Gothic final (at 3pm). I'm so excited to be done for the semester.

Snowman

2009-12-14T10:51:00.001+08:00

Rather than do responsible things today, I decided to try crocheting a little snowman. I found a book at JoAnn's that has patterns for creepy cute crochet creatures. 99% of them all have the same basic shape (a head and a body) and gain their individual personalities through color choice and accessories.

I hadn't originally intended to make a snowman. I wanted to give the the basic pattern a test run to see how difficult it was to follow. (For someone who doesn't crochet, it was fairly simple after reading and retrying the directions a couple times.) When I was done with the head and body, I realized all it needed was a black hat and it could be a snowman!

Project Stats
Pattern: basic head, basic body, and hat from Creepy Cute Crochet
Hook: US F/3.75mm
Time: Dec. 12-13, 2009; approx. 5-6 hours

He may or may not gain a felt nose, depending on whether or not I find my sewing kit.

Things That Make Me Smile

2009-12-12T03:00:00.000+08:00

Seeing a grandfather spraying weeds with Round Up, because I know my dad would approve. :)
Pachelbel Rant
Jingle Bell Rock
Dinner with the extended family
A hot shower on a cold winter's day

T - 6 Hours

2009-12-07T09:41:00.000+08:00

In a little over 6 hours, I'll be 21. I'm so excited! :)

Celebrations currently include:

Dinner with the immediate family (minus Older Sister) and my maternal cousins at the best Chinese restaurant ever
Going to bars with said family gathering at midnight
Karaoke on Tuesday with some college friends in Sacramento
Birthday dance at Midtown Stomp on Friday

Things That Make Me Smile

2009-12-05T06:27:00.000+08:00

Seeing a girl unabashedly dancing at the bus stop
Weather like today (58F, sunny, almost no wind)
Winter in California
New socks

Gobble Gobble

2009-11-27T04:06:00.000+08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I know what I'm eating. ;)