"let's listen to some get up kids."

I arrived in Sydney safely and have been enjoying myself for the past few days, especially the weather. Things with Andrew and I have proved to be good, so long as we aren't drunk. We've just been lounging around for the most part, spending our days on the couch eating cereal and watching shows like Law & Order and Walker, Texas Ranger. Hah. Most of my days have been full of a whole lot of nothing, which is nice for a change. I'm pretty much in charge of entertaining myself, seeing as Andrew works five days a week. I've just been going to the beach for the most part. I got quite sunburned today. I was out in the sun from 10am to around 5pm with no sunscreen. Oops. Now I'm just at an internet cafe trying to kill time until he gets off work.

We went to this little club called The Laugh Garage the other night and saw some live stand up. It was good to do something different and the comedians were fairly decent. Andrew also signed up to do a stand up show on December 10th, which will be really funny to see.

As each day passes I can't believe how quickly my time here is running out. As of today, I have two weeks left before I head back to the states. Wow. Wow.

we're just two lost souls swimmin' in a fish bowl year after year.

The more I think about going home, the more nervous I get about it. From everything I've been able to keep up with, I can tell that things have changed a ton. People who used to be friends are now treating each other cruelly, people are not learning from past mistakes and expect to be forgiven, others are hanging out with people that I would rather not be associated with. With all this, I'm left wondering who I'm going to hang out with when I return. I can think of a few people but that's really about it. It's going to be so weird to go from my huge group of friends from the summer to not wanting to see anyone basically. I'm just tired of people for the most part I think, which is sad. I think that some people need to get a firmer grasp of who they are and what they stand for because they keep bouncing around, unsure of what they want or stuck in one mindset. For their own benefit I think they just need to take a step back sometimes and realize that just because people hang out with you doesn't mean they're your friend and just because people sleep with you doesn't mean they want you. I don't know if this is making sense, maybe I'm just ranting, but I needed to get it out somehow.

All I know is that I am 100% stoked to see my family, play my damn drums, and sleep in my own loud, squeaky bed. 22 days and counting.

in this life like weeds you're just a rock to me.

Byron Bay was such a blast. We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and the first thing I got was a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek from Andrew. It immediately put me in a good mood. We spent most of the day at the beach and then Andrew and I headed back to his hostel, went out for some drinks with Jeff and Jordan, and afterward had a few drinks (two bottles of vodka) before heading to Cheeky Monkey's. Wednesday I went out to brunch with him and his sister and then headed to the beach again. We got rained on, though, so we went to the Beach Hotel for some drinks. The rest of the day was us running around doing stuff before he had to catch his bus back to Sydney. It was sad to see him go but I'll be seeing him again in five days so I'm not too bummed. It was such a good visit, though, even though it was so short.

The rest of our time in Byron was spent tanning, snorkeling, and hanging out at the hostel for the most part. I sporadically decided to get my septum pierced on Thursday. We went to Nimbin, too, which was awesome. We arrived and ate some weed cookies and cake, got back on the bus and continued our adventure. The bus was like a rollercoaster ride and the driver was awesome and was playing sweet music for us to groove to. From Nimbin we headed to this hippy guy's place with acres and acres of rainforest that he planted all himself. He wasn't quite all there but the land was incredible. After that, we went to Minyon Falls which was unbelievable, too. The views that we got on the bus ride were so gorgeous and it was just such a fantastic day. We were left feeling exhausted afterwards and stayed in for our last night in town.

Sunday we went to the beach for a bit and caught some sun and swam. Then we walked around town for a while, trying to kill time until the bus came to bring us back to the Brisbane airport. I bought an Australian flag bikini for $12. I was quite proud of that purchase.

Finally the bus came and I slept for the entire 2 and a half hour duration of the drive. Then our flight was delayed two hours so we were stuck at the airport until 11:30pm. We finally arrived in Cairns around 2am and got back to the lodge around 3am. I was thoroughly exhausted and passed out soon after.

Today I have my lab to finish and then over the course of the next five days I have to study for and take two exams and say goodbye to all the people I've become so close with over the past four months. After all that, I head back down to Sydney to see Andrew one last time before leaving the country for home. It's frustrating that he and I can't see where this would go because we've only got three weeks left together... It sucks pretty hard, but I'm just trying to enjoy the time that we have. Still makes me sad, though.

And now, I'll leave you with a few photos.

the view at Minyon Falls.


Nimbin code of conduct.


Septum piercing.


Can't help but smile.

fuck you and your mass media toys that make being alive seem like a chore.

So Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States of America. Cool. I just hope that over the next few years we see the changes that we are in dire need of.

Today was the last day of classes and, go figure, I slept through my last Venomous Animals class. I blame it on the 4am bedtime that I had last night from working on my photography folio and my marine science lab reports. I got the majority of it done, though. This weekend will be spent relaxing, enjoying our last couple of days with Jeremy, and working on my Venomous Animals lab report which is due Monday. Then Monday I figure I'll do laundry, pack, and get ready for Byron Bay. I am very excited about it.

I feel like I've gained about ten pounds and it sucks. I need to get back into running. It's been about two weeks since I've gone and I feel like such a waste of space. Blech.

And I'll leave you all with a photo I took of Jeremy and Jeanne. It's one of my favorites.

we always have the rhythm here, in our blood and in our souls.

I can't believe it's already November. Time here really is running short. I have five more days of classes, nine days until we go to Byron Bay, 20 days until I go to Sydney, and 39 days until I get back to Texas. Wow. I have a lot to do before then...

Halloween was fun. I dressed up as Snoop Dogg. We went into the city and it was decent. That's pretty much all I have to say about it. I was incredibly hungover on Saturday so I laid in bed and watched 20 hours straight of Lost. It was pretty awesome, not gonna lie. I'm so addicted to that damn show.

I have to pick classes for next semester soon. That is stressing me out a bit.

Overall, I'd say I'm pretty content with things right now. Except for my skin, I keep getting pimples. Not cool. I never get pimples! It's getting to be a bit too hot and humid here for my taste...