1/31/2013

We had another long day of class today. We had a seminar today where they have told me that American PT is terrible. I got angry and defensive:) To make it longer I swam before class and did my track workout at lunch. After class I went over with Kat to her boyfriend's for dinner. We had tacos, it was almost like home.

1/30/2013

We had another long day of class. I also went back to training today. It was a quick training because it's still pre- preseason. I went for a run when I finally got home to counteract the sitting in chairs all day. I ran under a tree and bright birds flew everywhere. I tried my best to get a picture. Then off to bed so I'm rested for another long day tomorrow.

1/28/2013

First day back to class and let me tell you. It was thrilling. We started by getting scolded for half an hour about how we should be working harder. Then we had 3 hours of extremely boring lecture, lunch where I printed my manuals for the semester, and 3 more hours of very boring lecture. It was great to see my friends but man was class a drag. Tomorrow gets a bit better as we actually have physiotherapy based class. I did have a lovely swim this morning and a fantastic bike ride after class. My friend just got a very fancy new bike so we took it for a 10 mile tour of the city.

1/27/2013

Today could have been productive but it wasn't. I did a bit of homework and got ready for classes to start but that's about it. Kat and I did have a fantastic time responding to my classmate who is concerned about China and Australia getting into a business arrangement because the Chinese may develop colonies in northern Australia and displace the aboriginal communities.
Because there is a tad of misunderstanding, let me clarify please. The Australian government had very strict immigration policies. They actually had a very discriminatory policy until the 1970's that forbid anyone who didn't speak English as a first language from coming to Australia. That law has sine been ruled unconstitutional but the immigration criteria are quite strict.
The Northern Territory is very empty. No one wants to live there. It is arid and dry. It is a very hot desert and there are almost no rivers. The Northern Territory only has 200 thousand people, most of who live in Darwin. For comparison that is the area o Minnesota to Pennsylvania with only 200thousand people. Additionally the aboriginal land act protects and maintains aboriginal land which accounts for 50% of the Northern Territory.
1.05% of the Australian population is Chinese(that's more that the USA) they choose to live in cities where they engage in the community
In short Australian Chinese relationships are rather strong and there is no threat of the Chinese invading the uninhabitable desert. Thanks!
I have promises to better explain aboriginal relations and the role of the Australian government on my blog but that is still to come:)

1/26/2013

Happy Australia Day!
I celebrated today by entering into the great Australia Day swim. I did the 5km event and finished in 2:04:45. It was the coolest it's been all week which meant I had a nice breeze going down and back.
I did a bit of work this afternoon and then biked back down to a BBQ on the beach at my friend's house. We had delicious food, including Australia themed fruit salad, and watch fireworks over the city from the bay. :)

1/25/2013

I had another perfectly lazy day. I finished reading "A wise man's fear" by Patrick Rothfuss. It's a really good book but now I'm anxious for the end of the story which doesn't have a planned release date yet:(
Other than reading all day I didn't do too much I am doing a 5km race in the bay tomorrow morning so I didn't want to tire myself out too much today.

1/24/2013

Today was really, really hot. I think it was still 38 degrees Celsius at 10pm. I woke up early and did a bit of homework. Then I lounged around, read, and slept until 4:30. Kat did pretty much the same thing but without the homework and a few hours behind. It was so warm that we only thought about eating and didn't bother to cook. At 4:30 I went into the city and went rock climbing for 4 hours. It was tons o fun and luckily the building was air conditioned. After climbing we went out to a Korean restaurant and got food in a scalding clay pot. It was delicious but did nothing to aloe aviator the heat. I biked home quickly in an effort to create a breeze. Then tried my very best not to turn on the air conditioning but have up because I couldn't stop sweating.

1/22/2013

I dropped mom off at the airport this morning. We took a taxi to the airport and then I ran the 15km back home. Then I had a lazy afternoon of laundry and lounging around. Then at 6 I went for a bike ride. Ah back to work.

1/21/2013

We had a lazy day today.  Mom had wanted to see some Australian wild life but we didn't wake up in time to go to the wildlife reserve.  We were going to go to the zoo instead but ended up passing that up to lie around my house as well.  I did make bread and pasta, then finally at 8:00pm I dragged mom out for dessert.  We went to A Dessert Story for a frozen pile of shaved ice with fresh fruit and ice cream it is amazing!
Tomorrow mom heads home and I get back into my intense IronMan training.  Back to work!

1/20/2013

Today I took mom to the beach.  We took the train to Brighton beach so that she could see the bathhouses.  Then we walked along the beach and had ice cream in Elwood by where I used to live.  Then we walked up to St. Kilda and had lunch at Captain Baxter's.  We went to St. Kilda pier but we didn't see any penguins.  We continued walking to Port Melbourne where we got a train to the city.  All up we walked on the beach for 7 hours and about 7 miles.  We got snags for dinner and ate on the steps of the library.  Then I took mom around to the time sensitive art of the city: the dancing clock and the flames outside the casino(they each happen on the hour).  Mom got some really good pictures of the city at night then we headed home.
Pictures to come

1/19/2013

Today I took mom to queen Victoria market. I think she really enjoyed all the shops and the variety of fresh food.  After spending 5 hours at the market we headed home for watermelon smoothies.  Then we went into the city and walked through the botanical gardens.  They are right next to where the Australian open is being played so that I got to see a bit of the excitement from the tennis.  After another stroll we came back to my house where I grilled vegetables, sausages, and a kangaroo steak for dinner and peaches for dessert.  Then I needed to sit down and do a bit of homework before bed. (gross) Now it's all done so that I can relax until Wednesday when I need to start next week's assignments.

1/18/2013

We woke up early to get on the train and head back to Melbourne.  I wish that I could say that we had a terribly exciting day but both mom and I spent most of the day reading so that most of the excitement was just in our minds. We got into Melbourne at around 7 and by the time that we got back to my place it was close to 8.  I have the absolutely best housemate in the world who making us pizza for dinner as we came in and then offered to take me grocery shopping afterward.  By the time we got back mom was rather tired so she headed to bed while I did some homework.  Still now working phone but I'm trying to keep my hopes up and weigh my options.

1/16/2013-1/17/2013

I have spent the past day and a half on the Indian-Pacific railroad.  It is a fantastic luxury train ride from the Pacific ocean to the Indian ocean.  We started in Sydney yesterday and went through the blue mountains, stopped at Broken Hill, and ended in Adelaide today.  The train continued on toward Perth this evening but we disembarked and stayed in Adelaide for the night at the Ambassador's Hotel.  Early tomorrow morning we will hop on a slightly less glamorous train bound for Melbourne.  The train ride that we have been taking for the past few days has had wonderful food, beautiful scenery, and great company.  Last night we were paired with a couple from the south coast of new south whales for dinner.  Then for lunch we ate with two single passengers one form Port Melbourne the other from Sydney.  The train ride was simply lovely and everything I could have imagined.  Adelaide is very hot right now so we walked around a bit but didn't get very far before the heat started to get to mom so we went to the pub next door for a pasta dinner and a litre of water.  Pictures to follow once we have better connections:)

1/15/2012

 The second day in Sydney I got to do the two things that I was really looking forward to doing.  I climbed the sydney harbor bridge it was fantastic.

 For 3 and a half hours I climbed on the top of the arch of the bridge.  It was absolutely fantastic! While I was climbing mom went exploring the area know as the rocks which is the first place that Australia was settled.  After I finished climbing the bridge we mad a mad dash in many wrong directions toward the apple store to get my phone fixed.  Unfortunately I missed my appointment but I got an appointment a bit later.  They couldn't fix my phone immediately but it should start working in the next 24 hours.  Let's hope! This evening we went to the Opera. We went out to dinner on the harbor and   La Boheme was wonderful and the Opera house was an absolutely amazing experience.  

11/14/2013

I mad it back to Australia! finally after a cancelled flight and a bit of rearranging then 32 hours of flying.  My mom came back with me and we are in Sydney.  Despite my mom's urging to stay at a hotel chain, I have talked her into a small inn a short train ride away from the harbor.  It is not quite as convinient as a harbor hotel but I like the feel.  It is not quite as glamorous but it is very Australian.  I am unfortunately having phone problems so I tracked down an apple store to alleviate my problems.  They couldn't help today but I have an appointment for tomorrow.  While I dealt with the phone mom took a nap so that upon my return we were ready to head into the central business district.  We took the light rain into the harbor for lunch at a lovely restaurant that overlooked the harbor.  It was delicious.  Then we explored the harbor a bit on foot.
We took the monorail around the harbor and into another part of the city.  The monorail has been used for 25 years but is reaching the end.  It will make it's last run in June.
After a short walk we made it to the botanical gardens.  They were beautiful and so was the view of the bridge and the opera house.  There were also some beautiful birds.  This one was the best.  I tried to talk to it in Sammy(the language of Abbie's bird) but I don't think he could understand my accent.
After a bit I started to feel the jet lag and mom was asking what animal a fallen leaf was, so we went back to the harbor for a smoothie on the way back to the hotel.  After getting mom settled I brought her take away from the Asia restaurant across the street.

Following dinner mom probably continued to have fantastic adventures but I don't know what they are because I fell asleep.

1/7/2013

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I had a fantastic day of playing dragon age and snowboarding at wisp in deep creek Maryland. Dad was nice enough to take me out for a fantastic eggplant sandwich and a half and a cold stone ice cream cake. Yum! The snowboarding was fantastic as was the sun set on the drive home. What a great day!

1/5/2012

Today was fantastic! I am in berkley springs with my sister Abbie and my best friends Heather and Christie. We are having a fantastic weekend of hanging out and relaxing. We rented a beautiful cabin and went to the state park today for massages. The massages were... Interesting....
They weren't the best but they make for a good story This evening we found an old picture that I love. This is me and my girls:

1/2/2012

Today I followed along what has been the major themes of my vacation. I drove for 7 hours, ate a lot of food, and played dragon age II. Additionally, I went shopping for some of the things I need to take back to Australia. I had the best experience at Express when I bought shirts to wear under my work uniform. I found an old gift card in my purse that totally covered the price of the clothes. I was so excited. Tomorrow I'm back to doing some hard core training before I he too out of shape:)

1/1/2013

Sorry I've been lazy with the blog over the holidays. But it's a new year and I am recommitted to keeping in touch with my friends and family by sharing fun stories and pictures.

Today I am in Maryland visiting the esteemed Dr. Sherri Crable. We have been having fun and sharing stories while exploring the Washington-Baltimore area. We we had lunch at Ketchup in national harbor. Since we were already close to Washington DC we drove into the capital to see the monuments. After getting lost and crossing the Francis Scott key bridge 10x we finally got to where we were going. We saw the Lincoln memorial, Washington memorial, the White House, the treasury, the capital building, and several other American landmarks.