Making Memories of Us

Day two on the Great Ocean Road was equally amazing. The driving was awesome, very fun and scary, like a roller coaster ride. The sights were insanely beautiful, endless beaches, with powder fine sand and the brightest turquoise blue water. Waves crashing up on shore and upon huge rocks that have been there since the beginning of time. When we finally made it to the Twelve Apostles we had to park in a lot, walk through an info booth and cafe, and under a bridge to get to the footpath that led to the lookout. It was incredible. Thankfully the clouds broke and the sun shone through, making the apostles the brightest, sandiest gold. It was an amazing thing to see, just like the pictures but so big and I couldn't stop thinking about how old they are, and how much they have changed over the years.
We also drove home and stopped at Bells Beach, where many very famous surf competitions happen. It was freezing cold and the water must have been icy (not to mention shark-infested ... seriously), but there were tons of surfies out there bobbing up and down in the water, waiting to catch the perfect wave. Very cool.
On our drive back home we passed Reedy Creek, which we obviously had to run across the road to and take pictures of. We took the city way back to Melbourne, through Geelong and such instead of the ferry because it's much faster. When we got home we threw our leftover meat on the barbie and ate more delicious toasties! Yum yum.
Then on Sunday my man had to leave, back to work for him, so it was a teary goodbye and he made it home in good time, 9 hours again. Miss him like crazy already, woke up this morning at 6am and panicked because I reached for him and hit the wall. Shook me up to think that this is what it will be like for months and months until I see him again in Canada.
We're going to make things work though, I'm confident. I'll wait for him and I know he'll do anything for me. Even sing me really cheesy country songs at the top of his voice in the car when he's dead tired and back has cramped up. I'm one lucky girl to have found this man.

Anything But Mine

Friday morning M and I got up at 7 and packed the car, hit the grocery store for some man food (meat) and an eski, and began our drive down to Sorrento. We stopped in Sorrento and walked around the beach, saw a beautiful old bar that M used to drink at with his father when he worked at the base down there. The ferry over to Queenscliff was cool, we walked around and saw a group of dolphins jumping right beside the ferry, and swimming around in front of us. My first dolphin sighting! Very cool.
When we got to the other side the Great Ocean Road began, we drove through the countryside for a good long while and it was completely gorgeous. The speed limit on the road is 80, some people go faster than that, locals I'd assume (and us of course), but because we're driving along the side of cliffs for a lot of the time, the speed limit in some places are 30 and 40 km/hr. It was pretty scary going so fast around the sharp bends and passing other cars, but we were definitely not the fastest drivers on the road, the locals with trucks would zip around like maniacs, overtaking like 3 or 4 cars at a time, which was crazy because it's just two lanes, and a lot of the time it's dangerous to pass because there's a turn in front and you can't see any of the vehicles coming ahead. But it was so fun and M is an amazing driver so I never felt unsafe. Except when some Asian tourists were going wayyyy too slow and everyone started getting crammed up and angry and trying to pass and it was chaotic!
We pulled over every 20 minutes or so, at scenic lookouts on the side of the road, we saw so many incredible beaches, views of the ocean, crazy mountainsides and farms full of sheep and cows. We also saw the most adorable little sea-side homes, as well as modern mansions, like one that was all glass, up on a pillar about 100 feet above the road. Insane!! But wow what a view they all had!
By about 4 or 5pm we arrived at Skenes Creek campsite, a little camping ground with about 20 or 30 sites, right on the beach in Apollo Bay. We set up our tent, sleeping bags, mattresses, lawn chairs and made a sangria in less than a half hour. Pretty pro :) Especially since the guys beside us took over an hour to set up two tents. Cute.
That evening we had BBQ, it was great, M is a wonderful chef :) We had steak, snags, and grilled tomatoes and onion, delicious!! Then we drank some sangria, and jack and coke, and went to bed by 8pm. And I had the best sleep I've had in weeks and weeks. It was so warm in our tent and so cold outside, and I fell asleep on M's chest, with the sound of the waves coming up on the beach outside, and other people's campfires crackling. Beautiful

Aint Going Down Till The Sun Comes Up

Last weekend I took the train up to Sydney to go to work with M. The Navy was having Family Day, so I came up, we went to HMAS Sydney bright and early Saturday morning and spent the whole day on the ship. We saw many very cool things, most of which I couldn't name to save my life, but there were some big missiles, the flight deck where helo's are landed, and the place where the captain steers the ship. We had to run all around the ship, up and down a couple floors, through these little circular holes in the floor and down a steep ladder. It was terrifying and is a miracle that I didn't break my neck falling down them! Matt took me to the canteen that he runs, and it was pretty cool, they mostly sell smokes and Shapes. And HMAS Sydney lighters. Cool shit, and the girls who work for him were very nice and it was also cool to meet his boss. When we were on the flight deck we watched some of the sailors demonstrate their gun skills, they shot a whole bunch of guns and sniper rifles and stuff. Very intense and also v. loud, everyone wore ear plugs. Then we had a lovely BBQ and hung out, walked around the ship, saw all the different room like the Ops Room, which had a skull on the door, was all dark inside and had radars and torpedos and stuff!
But it wasn't all destroyer/war ship stuff, we sailed past the Sydney Harbour and into the ocean which was absolutely gorgeous, and the ship did a series of manouvers, like leaning over from side to side and stopping really quickly, besides being afraid for my life it was pretty cool.
We got back to dry land by about 4 or 5 in the afternoon, and M had to work the night so I cabbed back to the apartment, watched The Sopranos with R until he had to go to work, and made pasta and meatballs. Nom nom.
Then boy came home in the morning and we hung out all weekend, and packed for our road trip from Sydney to Melbourne! It took over 9 hours, but I had to pee every 5 seconds and we also stopped for petrol, Maccas and to see a giant submarine in Holbrooke. All in all it was a nice drive, took a while, but fun to be stuck with M in a car for that long, just joking around and smoking and singing bad country songs. Very sweet.

Seven Bridges Road

Let's not pretend we don't all know what goes on in here.
It's on campus, behind residence, near the lake.
Perfect.

No Air

This past weekend when I was "going to Broken Hill," I was actually on a train to Sydney to suprise M. R let me into the apartment when I arrived, and then M called me, while I was sitting in his bed putting on makeup, and told me he was coming home, so I had to make this giant lie about being on the bus on the way to Broken Hill, but everyone had gotten off the bus for food so thats why there was no noise in the background. Either way it was a giant tangled web of lies and there's no way I'd have been able to keep up with it. So a few hours later he walks in the front door, drops his bag and just stares at me trying to figure out how I must have gotten there. But I think he was pretty happy, we had a wonderful weekend together, just what I needed. We mostly just hung out and watched movies, making cocktails and food (well he cooked ... meal #1: rack of lamb with roast potatoes and gravy and steamed veg). We went to the grocery store, took a couple walks, went to the bar, played pool, played karaoke and just goofed off. He's perfect :)
This week back in res was slightly hell for me, I had an essay that I wrote in one hour, had an adventure in the library trying to find a computer and figure out how to print stuff. Ugh such a mess! Then my insurance messed up so I had to buy more, my $10 worth of printer credits don't work but I can't get the money back, and I can't get a parking pass for M and I for next week.
So Thursday night I'm off, back to Sydney, Saturday is Family Day so M is taking me out on the ship. I'm excited but slightly nervous to meet all his friends and boss and everyone, but it will be cool seeing what he does :) He even told me if I'm good he'll let me put on his fireman suit :) Woohoo. Then we're living in this tiny room for the week while I'm in classes, and driving the Great Ocean Road and camping during the weekend. Should be perfect.
Then it really is cram time, I have tons of major essays due, a trip to Fiji in a couple weeks, and have to make my summer decision about if I'm leaving after school, and not seeing M again until December, or if I'm staying the whole summer, and therefore have to look for a job in Sydney and start making some friends. I want to decide this before M leaves for a 10-week tour at sea at the end of May, because it could be the last time I see him for a very long time.

Get the fuck up, get, get the fuck up

Spent the weekend in Deniliquin at Wake boarding camp with Monash an Swinburn people. We left Friday at 6pm and had the wildest bus ride up there ever, unfortunately I slept through it with the worst migraine and nausea ever, but there was a whole lot of drinking, loud music, strobe lights, push ups, and nudity during the ride. We got there around 1:30am and had to set up out tents in total darkness. After a freezing cold sleepless night, we got up to the sound of that "get the fuck up" rap song blaring through our campsite. Brekkie was eggs in toast on the barbie, then began the wake boarding, sunbathing, and excessive drinking. The first day I tried wake boarding on this pole sticking out of the side of the boat, and it was impossible, every time I stood up I ate shit and face planted right back down. It was pretty discouraging, half-drowning all day while watching other people literally do backflips and crazy jumps during their go's. But it was still fun to be dragged behind the boat, and then I spent a while in the boat just watching others wake boarding and cruising down the river. It was such a fun day.
Later that evening we began drinking the super potent punch and beer that the club supplied, and then we dressed in our neon best (with yellow paint penises), and hit up the town of Deni for drinks at a bar and awesome chicken parm dinner. The night involved 5 meese and an awkward moose, a giant bonfire and more drinks, a stolen lawn gnome, a spanking stick and a bumpy cab ride.
Next morning we awoke to the rude song again and I was pretty discouraged about wake boarding again since I was so crap the day before, but T took me out and let me have a go on the bar and told me to straighten my front leg, after that I got up every single time and actually rode behind the boat for a decent time until I decided to let go and save my poor knee. It was so much fun and such a sense of accomplishment, like a BOSS! Anyways, the ride home was also wonderful, with Maccas and awful awful music. Such an awesome weekend.

Wading in the Velvet Sea

So last night at Deakin Hall some of the girls put on a cheap and healthy cooking class. We made a couple different dishes, the best being pita bread wraps with pesto, feta, spinach and butternut squash.
Then I did groceries and while I couldn't get all of the things to make certain recipes (it'd go bad because I'm leaving for wakeboarding camp in a few days) I got some butternut squash and added it and some fresh basil from our uni garden to my usual morning brekkie of toast and a slice of cheese and an egg sunnyside up and a slice of turkey. So delish!
Then for dinner I made a bean salad with pretty much everything in my fridge:
Kidney beans, lima beans, black beans, chick peas
Cucumber
Cherry tomato
Green pepper
Butternut squash
Feta Cheese
Black Olives
Basil
Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar
Half a spoonfull of salt
SO yummy!!!

Candyman

So in a couple of weeks I'm going up to Sydney again for Family Day, to see what M does at work on the boat :) I'm so excited because it's been stupid long since I've seen him, and talking on the phone every night just makes me miss him more. But he got some bad news that he had to work the night before and the night after Family Day. I wasn't upset, it just sucks that I would have to spend the night alone in the apartment. But he said he'd make it up to me, and when I asked how he said that we're going to drive down to Melbourne (yay, I asked for a road trip :) ) and he'd stay with me the whole week, and we're also going to drive the Great Ocean Road and go camping. Best. Ever.

Infant Sorrow

This past week we had St. Patrick's Day. It was actually kind of a bust. We left for the bar sooo early, arrived there by 7, had a pizza, drank a couple beers and danced a bit. After two hours I was ready to kill myself with boredom, and the club was also stupidly packed, I was getting pretty sick of being stepped on, spilled on, and bumped into. So I went home with E and M and then talked to boy on the phone, watched a movie and went to bed.
Went out this weekend to the Lucky Coq in Melbourne, on Chapel Street. It was an amazing club, seedy as, and was really great. Red lighting, decapitated mannequin heads, couches, 2 bars, an amazing terrace that was opened right onto the dance floor, with fairy lights and lanterns and ferns and everything. It was very cool and we stayed until the bar closed. Then onto Maccas .. best McChicken I've ever had in my life. And finally made it home by 5am.
Before the Lucky Coq, F, K and I went to F's mom's house in Moe. It was so fun, it took an hour and a half to drive there, which was a lovely road trip, then F's mom set us a whole little tea party, we had wine, and then sat on the front porch and chatted all afternoon. It was perfect and gave me a pseudo mommy-fix, since I've been missing mine and could really use a Mummy right now when I've got these big life changes ahead.
Anyways, all in all it was a lovely weekend. And next weekend is wakeboarding camp. <3

Sir Psycho Sexy

Awesome weekend in Sydney. More pictures involving my man, my drunk eyes, a tranny and my most favourite place in Sydney, Watson's Bay at night :) Fuck I love that city. Can't wait to ... live there? Some day? :)

Screwed

Oh I'm so screwed. And in the big L.

The Weight

Just arrived home from Sydney. Had an awesome weekend with the crew.
We got into the city a bit late, closer to 8pm than 7 like we were supposed too, and M had to go to work for a doctor's appointment to see if he is healthy enough to sail out. Anyways, he texts me and says he is really sorry, has to sail out and is getting the ship ready to sail so he doesn't have time to come home and see me before he leaves. And I'm waiting outside his apartment and his boss C calls and tells me he is coming by to give me the keys to get into the apartment since M has to leave.
So I'm waiting outside the apartment, bored and kind of upset .. went and got a coffee, walked around a bit.
So I'm texting M all sad asking him to call me before they sail and he is giving me weird answers about how he is really busy and can't call and is really sorry. So I'm sitting there pouting, and I turn around and he's fucking standing there all in his camo uniform with his giant army bag and I just screamed and jumped on him. Suprise :) It was perfect.
Then W and E and I walked downtown Sydney and walked up to Hyde Park to see St.Mary's Cathedral, then to the harbour to see the opera house and the bridge, then we went to The Rocks to watch the boats come in. Then that night M took us to Watsons Bay, an old navy base to watch the sun set. it was soooooo gorgeous, he took me there before but we didn't spend very long. This time we walked the whole way around, probably spent about 2 hours there. It was so beautiful, and there was a nudie beach where some old naked man was having a wank with his finger up his bum .. I got a photo :)
The next day we went to Bondi beach and watched a surfing competition, then E and W wanted to do the 2 hour walk to Coogee, so M and I drove there and it was super crowded so we drove to another beach called Maroumbra, which was sooo gorgeous and very secluded and there were only a few people there and a bunch of people surfing. After we came home from that we made some sangria and waited for W and E to come home so we could get ready to pre-drink and go out.
Finally we went to M's friend C's house and had drinks and party pies and then spent the night out in King's Cross, clubbing and drinking far too much. There was even a tranny and a bench involved in our evening, but she was a bit grumpy. Then the entire next day was spent hungover as fuck in bed.
That evening W and I took the train home, and it was delayed an hour and a half, then we had to slow down for construction, then after we got off the train in Melb, our bus was stopped and we had to get off at some random stop and take another one, it was just such an ordeal and we both were tired and gross and still semi-hungover and just wanted a shower. But it was hella fun :)

Like a Rolling Stone

Off to Sydney with E and W. Hope to see my man if he doesn't sail out :)
Ughh Bondi Beach! How I have longed for youuuu. But seriously though, we have a lovely itinerary involving Bondi, Manly, touristy sightseeing in the city, and going to lovely bars at night. I want to take the girls to that 360 revolvy thing that K and her friends took L and I to during Sydney round 1. It was fabulous, $20 cocktails but well worth it.
Anyways better cut this one short, W and I have to run for the bus since we catch the train tonight, pop some sleepies then by tomorrow morning we'll be at the train station in Sydney! Fingers crossed for good weather

Dumb it Down

Spent the weekend in the city with M. Awesome time.
Got Monday drunk last night, lost the keys to my room, have to pay $100 for a new one.
Still morning drunk.
The shit has hit the proverbial fan inside my head. Decisions decisions.

Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow

I'm sick. Yuk. And sick of Melbourne. Yuk. Fiji can't come quick enough. Staying in one place is ruining my buzz. I miss days like this ...

Youth of the Nation

So during o-week (no not that kind of o, it wasn't that good ... o-rientation) I joined the Waterski and Wakeboarding club. For $15 they carpooled a whole bunch of us an hour and a half away, to this pond, and taught us one by one how to waterski or wakeboard. I obviously opted for wakeboarding, because it looks so much more badass, and I figure any experience standing on water can't hurt my surfing ... skills?
It was such a riot, and the guy driving the boat and his buddy coaching the boarders were so patient and also hilarious, and let us blast music on the boat. I'm not saying I was any good, but by god I actually got up a couple times, which was more than I was expecting, so I was extra proud of myself. Now W was another story, she just popped up and started carving away, had no trouble getting out of the wake, and looked like such a natural! I was so jealous of her! At least I wasn't the only one to eat a facefull of water though, I think almost everyone did during their falls.
Other than that, yesterday was the first day of classes, mine are pretty interesting so far. Today I just have 2 hours worth of tutorials, so I'll be done by 1pm which s great because I. will. do. laundry. For real today ... Otherwise my laundry bag will be so heavy I won't be able to carry it!
Ugh, in other news I have the worst sore/dry throat. It sucks, especially since the rad in my room makes a lot of dry heat, but I can't turn it down because I'll freeze, and I can't throw a wet towel over it, because I only have one towel and I need it for showers!
Also went shopping with F, K and Guru B. F is fabulous, cynical, sweet and sassy, she is also my RSA, I just adore her, she makes me laugh so hard and is now my sugarmama because she gave me a bunch of old clothes, a doona and just generally pours tea down my throat all day, which I won't complain about. K is also a total sweetheart, who unknowingly brings giant Huntsman spiders back from trips and then laughs when I freak out in the car because one of them has shown itself and is crawling on me.
And Guru B is another story all together. He is this crazy old ex-hippie-druggie-celebrity-theatre-beacon of light and knowledge-general book of wisdom-world traveller. Anyways all these amazing people live in my Hall in residence, and we spend hours outside in the courtyard just talking, laughing and having a great time shooting the proverbial shit. I'd say we are an unlikely group, but the best ones always are aren't they.