Still Breathing...

Yes I am still alive. Many sleepless nights and 45 pages later I have semi-completed a big project that has been dominating my life for the past few weeks. For my screen business class I have an assignment in which I create a tv show and then pitch this tv show to some Australian producers at the end of the semester for my final project. Along with a 10 min pitch presentation I also have to prepare a pitch package (the 45 page monster that will definitely grow in the next 2 weeks). This pitch package incorporates everything from the synopsis/ characters to the shooting permits, actor’s contracts, endorsement deals and cost of porta potty rentals (no joke). One of the upsides of this project is that I have been using the school computers and teaching myself adobe Photoshop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver and final cut pro. Final cut pro is the editing software I have been using to compile my two 3 min cooking show segments required for another class (also due today). It has been really exhilarating to teach myself these programs! There is something so gratifying about figuring out a new program without the help of another living/ breathing thing (I have to admit that the internet/ help button is used quite frequently ;) ). So brief catch up on my life since I haven’t written in 2 weeks! Sheesh :)

1) I have a week off next week which will be really really nice except I will probably camp out in the computer lab all week next week with Steff. So it will basically be another week of learning (self-taught) plus some fun times and loads more sleep which I need desperately!
2) Two weekends ago I went on another mini adventure to the Sunshine Coast which is an hour north of Brisbane and another beautiful area of beaches and wildlife. We camped on the beach and actually had some amazing fun! I am getting better at wakeboarding and although my talent pales in comparison to EVERYONE else I am quite proud of my efforts… ha ha :)


On this voyage I had several firsts: first surf lesson from Todd (really fun), saw my first huge kangaroo! Not a dingo, a kangaroo! I also saw dolphins and whales in the water. The whales were migrating down the coast and it was so incredible to see them in the wild. It was truly magical.

Well unfortunately that is the best I can come up with right now, my life has really lacked anything exciting lately because of these intense projects. I will upload more info on the show/ pictures next time I write which will be soon I promise!
P.s. I will be home in 47 days!

Looking Ahead... Christmas Tassie Trip

So I know this is super far in advance but I just wanted to let you all know what I will be up to for the holidays. I am going to be going to Tasmania with these people: Todd, Tellu, her sister (Emmi), Al, Jeff, Romain, JJ (last 4 are Todd's friends) and Todd has quite a crazy trip planned for us. I was talking with my mom recently and we discovered that I had not described my coming adventures to her so I figured I might as well tell everyone... Here goes... :-D (Disclaimer: Todd deserves about 99% of the writing for this blog as he compiled the itinerary and I just added in cool pictures/ websites) Thanks Todd!!!


Friday 18th December (Deborah's Birthday)
• Fly from Brisbane to Launceston
• Catch a maxi taxi from the airport to Todd’s house in Ulverstone. http://tourtasmania.com/content.php?id=ulverstone Meet the family and hang out.

Saturday 19th
• Look around the North West Coast of Tasmania. There is a heap to do around his house. Todd lives on a river so there is lots of swimming, kayaking and waterskiing to do. Maybe check out some local caves (world class apparently).
• Prepare the food for the bushwalk the next day.

Sunday 20th – Thursday 24th (Overland Track)
• Be at Dove Lake Car Park early early
• Spend 5 days walking the northern end of the Overland Track, http://www.wises.com.au/overlandtrack.htm
We walk two thirds of the Overland Track then take a left turn after Pelion and walk down the Arm River track. The northern end of the track is where the best views are, it is the highest point in Tasmania and a very Alpine area. The Southern end that we miss is more about Forest and Waterfalls. We will see a lot of good waterfalls on the Northern Section also (We camp the night at a place called Waterfall Valley).
• Finish the walk and drive back to Todd’s place in Ulverstone.

Friday 25th (Christmas Day)
• Christmas Lunch. Spend the morning cooking the Turkey and Vegetables then have a big “Feed up.”

Saturday 26th (Boxing Day)
• Waterskiing at Lake Barrington

Sunday 27th (Todd’s Birthday)
• Drive to Coles Bay on the East Coast of Tasmania, Walk to the World famous Wineglass Bay Beach (http://www.freycinetcolesbay.com/ ) which consistently hits the most beautiful beaches on the planet lists. Stay the night between here and Port Arthur at a small camp ground.

Monday 28th
• Travel to Port Arthur, site of the original convict settlement. Todd suggest reading “For the term of for a good insight into the life of the convicts/ it is also one of the best books Todd has ever read.
• Head to the Taste of Tasmania, Seafood and Produce festival held in Salamanca in Hobart.

Tuesday 29th
• Tour of Hobart City. Car drive to the top of Mount Wellington.
• Visit to Todd’s sister in Hobart

Wednesday 30th – Friday 1st
• Falls Festival. http://www.fallsfestival.com/#home-lorne
• Drive back to Lake Barrington on the 1st of January. Stay the night at the club house.

Saturday 2nd January
• Waterskiing at Lake Barrington
• Return the Hire Car/Cars

Sunday 3rd
• Fly from Launceston to Brisbane

Last Task: Cry because our trip is over :)

In case you wanna look at Tassie more: http://www.discovertasmania.com/

Taking a Break with Golden Deliciousness...

My homework and lack of life excitement has kept me from writing over the past few days. Of course I have several topics I wish to ramble about in future entries but for now, with a media law paper pressing upon me, rambling just didn’t seem like the best use of my time. As of now I have completed my first draft of my paper. I am sure several more drafts will take place before I turn it in tomorrow afternoon but everyone needs a break and I have taken mine by making golden syrup dumplings and writing this entry.

Todd has had braces on for the past year or so (I believe?...) and is getting them off next week so I asked him what he wanted to eat as soon as those suckers came off. “Golden syrup dumplings” he replied and as I had never heard of those things before I began to google. It turns out that they are basically like donut holes that are boiled in syrup instead of deep fried. Now I know I have never had braces but I am pretty sure he could eat those at any time, It is funny because I distinctly remember things that Jan could not eat when she had her braces and I think they were ribs and corn on the cob and really big carrots, not squishy dumplings. I guess Todd just needed someone who was a sucker enough to make them. Turns out I am that person :)

So today as I was taking a breather from my writing I began to follow a simple recipe brought to me by the amazing little people that live inside the web browser ;) It turns out that these things are pretty damn good and my housemates have been eating them ever since (for the past 30 min or so) :-D My housemates, their puppy and I are a pretty happy little family and I feel blessed to have been so lucky. Its like I struck gold!... or maybe I just have golden, delicious, dumplings on the brain. Back to the books; write again soon… xoxoxo

Randomness...

Sometimes when Todd opens his mouth the most ridiculous words and phrases flop out. American slang cannot even compete. There are a few basic principals that rule their “English” language ;)

1) They love to shorten ALL words/ names etc which is actually in stark contrast to a lot of their city names which are quite long and tongue tying (ex. Wollongong and Wagga Wagga).

2) They love to switch sounds and syllables around with the word. Example: Necessarily becomes Ceranessaly. Why? I have no clue… Does this wet your whistle for Aussie slang? Look here and prepare to be baffled: http://www.aussieslang.com/

3) Yes they do say "mate" ALL the time

In any case, I often need google at hand in order to understand if Todd is saying I am cute or inquiring about my plans for the weekend. In any case some things are universal. Todd is quite a handi-man and after setting up his BBQ he took some WD40 to it. As soon as he popped the cap I said, “man, I love that smell… is that weird?” He agreed that he liked it and then said “diesel or petrol? What do you prefer?” “Petrol? I replied” And that is where the mutual understanding ended… :-)

p.s. of course this is an exaggeration but all writers get to take liberties right?

My three day weekend...

Another whirlwind weekend is behind me. I swear I have been studying but one would definitely not think that I was learning a darned thing… except about back-packing (they call it bush walking) and water sports. This past Friday was a Queensland state holiday because of Gold Coast Show Day. Australia sure is different, this holiday is a day off in order to allow everyone to go to the “Gold Coast Show” aka: the local county fair… This does not really seem like an event that warrants a three day weekend but I didn’t question it and Tellu, Todd, Al, Jeff and I began our weekend of craziness on Thursday night. We stopped in Coolangatta for some really dear (their word for expensive) but really good pizza. Coolangatta is the location of the gold coast airport that Jan flew into and a quaint, less touristy area which is a welcomed change. That night we hiked 4.4K for an hour and forty minutes until reaching the top of Mt. Warning. (The mountain as photographed from the road the next day) I have to pause my laundry list of activities right now for a brief reflection: the night hike was absolutely amazing. It is so incredible to have all your senses heightened (clarification: we did have flashlights) and to be walking through an environment than you can only experience through the sounds around you. The ring of lights at our feet prevented us from tripping but did not shed light (no pun intended :-) ) on the grandeous beauty all around us. After refueling with snacks we chased down some lurking possums and then crawled into bed. We awoke to see the sunrise and I took on the role of sun paparazzi. Before us was a landscape scattered with canyons and rivers as fog danced around the groves in the ground floor. It was amazing to hike down right after dawn as the rising sun was constantly changing the view of the valleys below. The rest of Friday and Saturday was a blur of sleeping, disc-ing (yup that is actually me) and having a BBQs with Todd’s family where I proceeded to play hide and seek with two of his adorable cousins: Jayda (age 4) and Haylie (age 2). I guess even Australian kids like me because by the end of the night I was deemed Jayda’s favorite much to Todd’s dismay ;). All that chasing was good practice for the next day when Tellu, Todd, Me and some of Todd’s coworkers ran the Bridge to Brisbane 10K charity run. Tellu and Al knocked their time out of the water and ran it in 46 min while Todd was an amazing sport and ran at my slow pace of 10K in an hour. Now I have pretty much locked myself in the library - no fun allowed; and writing this entry has been a pleasure as a break from reading contempt of court cases… Media Law paper… nuff said. I guess I am here to learn something after all! Miss you all! :-)