Last week was a blur, mainly as I worked a 5 day week, forgotten what that was like and became a moody cow, hence the lack of blogging. But I'm feeling better, so I'll highlight the main bits of what happened last week.
THURSDAY: Supervisor shift. That was cool. I ran a bit behind with stuff, but nothing that I couldn't handle. I finished up late. But then I realised that this time next week would be my last day at work. Still not sinking in.
FRIDAY: Shitty morning, but I had the supervisor shift again - and it all went smoothly today. Got my farewell pressie from work: a bag, which is just the right size for carry-on and just what I needed. Finished at 6pm on the dot. Can't remember much else from this day.
SATURDAY: Spent some time with my friend Sam for our final catch up before I leave. We went to Natalia's again. I forgot to order an entree sized plate of pasta, and out came a main and I struggled to get through it all. Was completely stuffed. Watched '21' with Sam and James before spending the night at Sam's joint. I had my Lonely Planet guidebook about Spain and read about the strawberry train. One of those old 1850's style steam engine trains take you from Madrid to somewhere and on the train, staff in period costume go around giving out strawberries! (and 4 days later I find out that the place the train takes you is just a short distance from O's place in Spain!) I want to do that!
SUNDAY: Sam and I had planned to go for a workout at the gym, but I was still too full from Natalia's and she couldn't be bothered, so I stayed and hung out with James and her folks, who are totally cool. I eventually had 'breakfast' (well, not my finest hour: a day old sushi and a muffin from 'Muffin Break'....hey I'm allowed!!) I get dropped off at my place in the afternoon and I wanted to start packing, but I was too tired from lack of sleep.
A Chilean family friend of ours called me and told me that there was going to be a big family wedding in Chile on the day that I arrive there and I am invited to meet the whole family (in one shot! That's gonna be an interesting day!). Long story with how they all met: there's a Chilean lady who came to live in Melbs at the same time as my Mum. They met, worked together, were neighbours, lived together at one point and we were - and continue to be - very close. This Chilean lady has 10 other siblings: 1 lives in Melbs, one lives in Arg and the others are in Chile. I've met the one who lives in Arg, am really close to the 2 that are in Melbs, but have never met the contingent that live in Chile. They know all about me and our history and have opened their arms and homes to me, so I'm really going to look forward to seeing them all. So here is the rough timeline: I arrive in Santiago at 3pm. I'm getting picked up by the main sibling I'm staying with (Tina) and her son (Felipe). I have an hour to get ready before we take a 2 hour drive up towards Vina del Mar and Valparaiso - which is one of the prettier touristy sites in Chile - to be there for the wedding at 6:30pm. Aren't I just the popular one - and they haven't even met me yet! I was very pleased to hear this and cannot wait for all of this to come. I'm thinking of getting my hair done in Arg, fly over to Chile, then all I'll have to worry about is the dress I'm wearing. Oh shit, I need to pack a dress! See, the disadvantage of packing for 8 months...you'll never know what you're gonna need, so you take a bit of everything that in the end you may not even use! I'm taking 2 different dresses and 3 different dressy shoes!
I'm going to be the social butterfly in South America...2 days after arriving in Arg I've got my friend's 15th party, Christmas, New Year, the Argie resort for 2 weeks, my cousin's birthday, and then a few weeks of bumming before heading to Chile for the wedding. BRING IT ON!
MONDAY: My last week of work. My manager was sad that the Monday crew was going to break up after I leave. I've been doing Mondays ever since I started over 2 years ago. And every Monday I was on production duty coz I was a very quick and neat stacker for stuff. Yeah, that made a whole lot of sense!! Got home and bummed - no packing. But I made an appointment to see a doctor just to make sure I'm all good and ready to fly.
TUESDAY: Doctor gave me the all clear :) Had the day off, so I spent the rest of the day with Mum in the city shopping for 'thank-you' souveneirs for Dawn and her family for letting me stay with them. Dawn's mum said she wanted a koala...maybe a photo OF a koala will do. I'll ask Sachiko - she's got a hell of a lot of koala pics! Got home, ate bagels and decided that I needed to start packing. After to-ing and fro-ing for hours, I finally put some music on and started packing. I used the space bags to give me some more space and less weight in my bag. I'm yet to shrink the bags. After research on the internet, I discovered I could take 23kgs of stuff in my luggage. If I had only used QANTAS as my main carrier, I would have been able to lug 32kgs. But if I did that, I'd have a hell of a time trying to get rid of the extra weight for the next leg of the journey. But that's cool, no worries! Organised my ride to the airport: 7am pickup, with a home-made brekkie with myself, my Mum and my bestie. A good way to say goodbye to Australia: with 2 of the most important ppl to me (aaawwwwwwwwwwwwww)
I started emailing ppl: my old PT clients, friends who wanted me to keep in touch during my travels, etc. My PT client got back to me and she had her baby! She had a girl, so I was really happy! And started thinking of the logistics if I were to spend a week in the US. It's getting closer....
WEDNESDAY: Work. Second last day. Nothing much to report. Still haven't shrunk my bags - I'll do it tomorrow. Took happy snaps of ppl. Tomorrow is my last day of work. Even though I know I'm leaving, it's not sinking in that I won't be coming back to work. I've been offered work by this place by everyone, as they all know I'm a hard worker and they want me back. Depends how desperate I am, but we'll see! It's good to have those options, and I'm really grateful for it. My friend Eti came in to work and wished me well, as well as my other friend Morris, who is going to get me a farewell gift tomorrow...we'll see what it is!
Good to be back as always. I'll keep you all posted on my travels :)
Bye!
Wednesday, October 29
Wednesday, October 22
Working 9-5...never again!
FOR KAORI: Hi! It's easier to contact me by email, so just send me something and we can communicate more easily! And I'm glad you're doing the JR experiment - I hope you get selected.
Back to le blog...the computer and internet have been doing weird things of late. Just this morning O got an email from me, despite the fact that I didn't send it. I had left the room to get a cuppa tea and then shortly after he gets an email from me with just one word. Weird. And then Chris sent me the same message twice in the space of 3 hours (this wasn't just Chris being Chris - hehe - it was a weird thing that the computer did). Then this arvo when I signed in I saw some messages sent to me, but the messages were in duplicate and I got them sent to me 20 minutes apart. Very strange indeed.
Had a good day at work after 2 mediocre ones, so it was nice to stop the flooding of bad days. I don't know how ppl work full time. It's midweek (apparently, I've lost track of days so I'm not sure anymore!) and I'm just so tired to do anything. But I had the biggest laugh at work with my friend Jenny who does DEAD RINGER impersonations of ppl. She kept doing them sporadically during the day and I laughed so much. It's not my usual laugh, this was a strong, loud and contagious one that just encouraged Jenny to no end - that really put a smile on my face! We were also speaking in 'Princess Bride-isms'. Inconceivable!
I'm glad I went for my 6am workout today, otherwise I wouldn't have been bothered to go for a workout. I don't know how I used to do it. At least I'm earning good $ up until I leave. 10 days. Tomorrow it will be single digits....that's never happened before....SCARY! This weekend I've dedicated it to saying farewell to mates and packing. It'll be my last farewell to Sam and James. I've still got one more with Bill and Jackki on the morning I leave.
I am continuing my farewells at work with customers. But there is 1 couple I'm finding it hard to say goodbye to. They are a middle aged couple who are so nice. They don't have any children and they made a joke one day to me, saying that they would love to adopt me because everytime they see me, I always have a smile on my face :) So they are now my adoptive parents. And I see them everyday, they are an awesome couple. I haven't yet broken the news to them that I'm leaving, even though I saw my 'Dad' today! The longer I delay it, the harder it will be. I'll break it to them tomorrow...I've got the supervisor shift for the next 2 days, which gives me some more freedom from the pack, therefore I'll have more time to veg out. Wish me luck folks! As you wish...
I haven't had much time with Mum (the real Mum!) just coz everytime she gets back from work, I'm in bed as I have to wake up early. Then I wake up for a 6am workout, I come back home, get dressed and in 20 minutes I'm out of the house and when I get back from work, she starts the late shift. Then the pattern starts again. Hopefully we'll get some time on the weekend and next week before I go. The magnitude of my departure comes and goes. It's here now.
I had a dream with Chris last night - he got a dislocated shoulder as he was reaching to get a DVD on a high shelf for me. He was cool about it. And he told me that he really wasn't left handed. I said, 'neither am I'!
Enough wackiness, I'm getting tired. And in case I don't get a chance, have fun in Oslo dude! :)
Bye for now.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I cooperate and become healthy, whole and complete.
Back to le blog...the computer and internet have been doing weird things of late. Just this morning O got an email from me, despite the fact that I didn't send it. I had left the room to get a cuppa tea and then shortly after he gets an email from me with just one word. Weird. And then Chris sent me the same message twice in the space of 3 hours (this wasn't just Chris being Chris - hehe - it was a weird thing that the computer did). Then this arvo when I signed in I saw some messages sent to me, but the messages were in duplicate and I got them sent to me 20 minutes apart. Very strange indeed.
Had a good day at work after 2 mediocre ones, so it was nice to stop the flooding of bad days. I don't know how ppl work full time. It's midweek (apparently, I've lost track of days so I'm not sure anymore!) and I'm just so tired to do anything. But I had the biggest laugh at work with my friend Jenny who does DEAD RINGER impersonations of ppl. She kept doing them sporadically during the day and I laughed so much. It's not my usual laugh, this was a strong, loud and contagious one that just encouraged Jenny to no end - that really put a smile on my face! We were also speaking in 'Princess Bride-isms'. Inconceivable!
I'm glad I went for my 6am workout today, otherwise I wouldn't have been bothered to go for a workout. I don't know how I used to do it. At least I'm earning good $ up until I leave. 10 days. Tomorrow it will be single digits....that's never happened before....SCARY! This weekend I've dedicated it to saying farewell to mates and packing. It'll be my last farewell to Sam and James. I've still got one more with Bill and Jackki on the morning I leave.
I am continuing my farewells at work with customers. But there is 1 couple I'm finding it hard to say goodbye to. They are a middle aged couple who are so nice. They don't have any children and they made a joke one day to me, saying that they would love to adopt me because everytime they see me, I always have a smile on my face :) So they are now my adoptive parents. And I see them everyday, they are an awesome couple. I haven't yet broken the news to them that I'm leaving, even though I saw my 'Dad' today! The longer I delay it, the harder it will be. I'll break it to them tomorrow...I've got the supervisor shift for the next 2 days, which gives me some more freedom from the pack, therefore I'll have more time to veg out. Wish me luck folks! As you wish...
I haven't had much time with Mum (the real Mum!) just coz everytime she gets back from work, I'm in bed as I have to wake up early. Then I wake up for a 6am workout, I come back home, get dressed and in 20 minutes I'm out of the house and when I get back from work, she starts the late shift. Then the pattern starts again. Hopefully we'll get some time on the weekend and next week before I go. The magnitude of my departure comes and goes. It's here now.
I had a dream with Chris last night - he got a dislocated shoulder as he was reaching to get a DVD on a high shelf for me. He was cool about it. And he told me that he really wasn't left handed. I said, 'neither am I'!
Enough wackiness, I'm getting tired. And in case I don't get a chance, have fun in Oslo dude! :)
Bye for now.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I cooperate and become healthy, whole and complete.
Tuesday, October 21
Nostalgia time
I got nostalgic today after watching The Princess Bride. And it's only the second time I've seen it! I laughed at the same bits and was shocked at the same bits, even though I had seen it before. I totally love that movie -I want to show Mum!
Everybody still wants to organise farewell drinks for me, but seeing as they are not having any luck trying to get me to come, they will have one in my honour without my attendance! So they are having a halloween party the night before I leave. Most ppl are dressing up. When someone leaves they always organise a farewell gift and get money from ppl. I did hear them discuss it, but I'm still not sure what they will get me. Maybe I can convince them to give me the money instead - I'll definitely need that!
I've been doing my research about the US. I do want to spend some time there and it looks like I'll end up doing so. But I'm still looking into it. I've got plenty of time. I'll just ask at the tourist office in Toronto. I know that there was an express ferry that takes you from Toronto to New York, but they went bankrupt. They promised they would re-open, and it would be great if they did in time for my travels. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
I'm working a 5 day week and tomorrow is day 3. Hopefully all will be fine. I missed my workout this morning and was planning on going tonight, but The Princess Bride got in my way. I'll be up super early tomorrow for it.
Gonna relax now. See ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: My body is always working toward optimum health.
Everybody still wants to organise farewell drinks for me, but seeing as they are not having any luck trying to get me to come, they will have one in my honour without my attendance! So they are having a halloween party the night before I leave. Most ppl are dressing up. When someone leaves they always organise a farewell gift and get money from ppl. I did hear them discuss it, but I'm still not sure what they will get me. Maybe I can convince them to give me the money instead - I'll definitely need that!
I've been doing my research about the US. I do want to spend some time there and it looks like I'll end up doing so. But I'm still looking into it. I've got plenty of time. I'll just ask at the tourist office in Toronto. I know that there was an express ferry that takes you from Toronto to New York, but they went bankrupt. They promised they would re-open, and it would be great if they did in time for my travels. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
I'm working a 5 day week and tomorrow is day 3. Hopefully all will be fine. I missed my workout this morning and was planning on going tonight, but The Princess Bride got in my way. I'll be up super early tomorrow for it.
Gonna relax now. See ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: My body is always working toward optimum health.
Monday, October 20
Dr. Evil is in
Let's start with the myspace comments:
KAORI: 1. If JR are paying you to go on a train, I'm sure it would be worth it. But I understand how 11 hours can be a lot. I would do it, just for something interesting and different to do. Is it on a weekend?
2. Would you like to be tagged for the 7 Challenge? All you need to do is write 7 things about yourself in your blog, tag back to me and send it to 7 other people. Let me know with a comment here on my blog!
CHRIS: 1. I also hope you are not preggers. If you are, can I name your baby? Or can there at least be some sort of competition where the winner gets to name your baby (kinda like the Myspace May challenge last year?) If it's a boy, call him Zutron. Haven't thought of a girl yet...
2. I LOVE POWER BALLADS: "When Love and Hate Collide" is one of my faves when I'm feeling really, really, REALLY corny. "I Would Do Anything For Love...But I Won't Do That" is my colossal fave. Almost every love song by Meatloaf is cool.
3. Would you like to be tagged? Thought I'd ask first before O does!
Last week I had mentioned that I couldn't be bothered going to a farewell party that was being organised on my behalf and I was thinking of ways to get out of it. Well I got my 'get out of jail free' card this morning. It's a little bit complicated and it may not make sense, but here goes:
The party was organised for a Friday night after work. I had said that I organised a physio appointment for Thursday, so I needed to work the early shift. I was given that shift, but one of the lady's wanted to swap (second in command woman) so that I would work the late shift and the other one would work the early on the Thursday. I said I could only do it if I could change my appointment. So then I said that the only appointment I could get to replace the Thursday one was Friday night (at the same time as the dinner!) which meant that I couldn't go to my farewell dinner! Brilliant thinking by a warped girl - that's me :) As it was a double farewell, I told them they could still have it for the other girl, but the others said no and they proceeded to cancel it! So they blamed the other woman for it being cancelled. The other woman has a habit of getting ppl to change their rosters and I was tired of it, so I got my own back and made her the guilty party. I rock! And I'm evil...must be that time of the month...
As a result of the roster change, I am having the supervisor shift twice this week...wish me luck!
I had my morning workout and realised just how much talk and not enough music they have on the bloody radio - it pissed me off to no end!
Here's hoping to a more positive tomorrow. See ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Each age has its own special experiences.
KAORI: 1. If JR are paying you to go on a train, I'm sure it would be worth it. But I understand how 11 hours can be a lot. I would do it, just for something interesting and different to do. Is it on a weekend?
2. Would you like to be tagged for the 7 Challenge? All you need to do is write 7 things about yourself in your blog, tag back to me and send it to 7 other people. Let me know with a comment here on my blog!
CHRIS: 1. I also hope you are not preggers. If you are, can I name your baby? Or can there at least be some sort of competition where the winner gets to name your baby (kinda like the Myspace May challenge last year?) If it's a boy, call him Zutron. Haven't thought of a girl yet...
2. I LOVE POWER BALLADS: "When Love and Hate Collide" is one of my faves when I'm feeling really, really, REALLY corny. "I Would Do Anything For Love...But I Won't Do That" is my colossal fave. Almost every love song by Meatloaf is cool.
3. Would you like to be tagged? Thought I'd ask first before O does!
Last week I had mentioned that I couldn't be bothered going to a farewell party that was being organised on my behalf and I was thinking of ways to get out of it. Well I got my 'get out of jail free' card this morning. It's a little bit complicated and it may not make sense, but here goes:
The party was organised for a Friday night after work. I had said that I organised a physio appointment for Thursday, so I needed to work the early shift. I was given that shift, but one of the lady's wanted to swap (second in command woman) so that I would work the late shift and the other one would work the early on the Thursday. I said I could only do it if I could change my appointment. So then I said that the only appointment I could get to replace the Thursday one was Friday night (at the same time as the dinner!) which meant that I couldn't go to my farewell dinner! Brilliant thinking by a warped girl - that's me :) As it was a double farewell, I told them they could still have it for the other girl, but the others said no and they proceeded to cancel it! So they blamed the other woman for it being cancelled. The other woman has a habit of getting ppl to change their rosters and I was tired of it, so I got my own back and made her the guilty party. I rock! And I'm evil...must be that time of the month...
As a result of the roster change, I am having the supervisor shift twice this week...wish me luck!
I had my morning workout and realised just how much talk and not enough music they have on the bloody radio - it pissed me off to no end!
Here's hoping to a more positive tomorrow. See ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Each age has its own special experiences.
TAG!
OK, Amanda (http://agignac.blogspot.com/) has tagged me along with 6 others, for a '7 Facts About Yourself' thing (for want of a better word!). And I rarely do these, but I thought I may as well indulge once in a while. And like Amanda, I'm going to have a theme about mine. My 7 facts will be about travel and countries I've been to and am about to visit, etc. Here goes:
1. AUSTRALIA: I was born in Melbourne, Australia on September 7. When my parents first came to Australia they had a choice of which state they would like to live in and raise kids: Melbourne or Sydney. They chose Melbs - and they chose wisely! I love Melbourne. It's very eclectic and multi-cultural. I see Melbourne as my 'security blanket'. I do see myself living and settling here for a really long time, but if that doesn't happen, I'm not phased by it!
2. ARGENTINA: Both of my parents were born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Family members from both sides still live in the same little neighbourhood of 'Isidro Casanova'. I've got aunties, uncles, cousins, both sets of grandparents and a whole lot of family friends who were brought up with my folks who still live there today. I lived in Argentina for a year as a kid back in 1992. I went back in 2004 and it changed my life. Before I went to Argentina I was a lost girl: no direction, no focus, didn't care how my life turned out: until I went to Arg for 4 months. Argentina was my turning point. Everything in my life has turned around for the better ever since those 4 months and I give full credit to Argentina, as well as my aunt, uncle and little cousin. I haven't looked back. I've been back to Argentina again in 2006 and I will make my return in December 2008!
3. JAPAN: Shortly after the 4 month turnaround, I got back to Melbourne, but I wasn't done with my big changes and felt like I needed to be on my own for a while longer. I applied for a job in Japan as an English instructor and got it straight away. A friend of mine had applied for this same job 3 times and didn't get it, so I felt truly blessed. 2 and a half months later I was living in Sendai, a city the same size as Melbourne in the northern part of Japan. I loved it. Met some fantastic people who I'm still very close to today. It's where I met my boyfriend! Although it took another 2 and a half years before we actually got together :)
4. CHILE: For some reason, Chile has played a big role in my life despite the fact that I've never been there (not yet anyway!). I will be there in March next year for 2 weeks. When my parents first came to Australia they befriended a Chilean couple whom they met on the flight over. They have been firm friends ever since - and it's been 32 years! My mum and Alicia have worked together, been through births, deaths and marriages of others together - everything you can think of I've always remembered having Alicia and her husband in my life - like family! In Chile I'll be staying with Alicia's sisters and brothers in Chile (She has 11 siblings, 9 of them live in Chile, 1 sister lives in Buenos Aires - whom I have met - and the other sister lives in Melbourne, whom we are also very close to). The siblings in Chile haven't met me - obviously - but they have already welcomed me with open arms to their homes, so it'll be like visiting family!
5. SPAIN: Again, I've never been to Spain, but I will be there next year. I do have some distant relations that do live in Spain: My grandfather's second wife was from Barcelona and all of her relatives still live there today. But I never met her, as she died around 4 years before I went to Argentina for the first time in 1992. It would be really nice to find out where they are (and who they are!)
6. ITALY: Like Chile, Italy has played another big role in my life. I went to a primary school in an Italian neighbourhood and the first language that we learnt was Italian. So I was exposed to Italian from the age of 5. I had been going to Spanish school as well at the same time. All my friend's parents were Italian and always spoke to me in Italian, so I got lots of practice with speaking. I studied the language at primary, secondary and tertiary level and got great marks. I was offered but declined a scholarship to study for a semester in a university in Rome. Don't ask me why! I think it clashed with something...or at the time I was afraid to travel. Just after 9/11. I don't regret it though. I'll be going to Italy for the first time next Easter (hopefully, if my boyfriend plans it all!)
7. CANADA: In my time in Japan (funnily enough), I met a whole lot of Canadians who were all cool. My roomies were Canadian and I picked up some of the lingo, but thankfully they picked up a lot of mine, despite the fact it was just the 3 of us living together and I was outnumbered by 2! In my travels, my first stop will be Canada to see my roomie Dawn and my final stop will be to visit my other Canadian roomie Olympia.
So there are my 7 things! Now I don't have 7 blogger friends, but I will send this out to 7 people. The rules: Write 7 things about yourself, link back to the person who tagged you, link to 7 others to pass the game along - and leave a comment to let them know that you have tagged them to participate. I haven't decided all of my victims, but I will edit this post once I do:
Cheers! Blog coming up soon!
1. AUSTRALIA: I was born in Melbourne, Australia on September 7. When my parents first came to Australia they had a choice of which state they would like to live in and raise kids: Melbourne or Sydney. They chose Melbs - and they chose wisely! I love Melbourne. It's very eclectic and multi-cultural. I see Melbourne as my 'security blanket'. I do see myself living and settling here for a really long time, but if that doesn't happen, I'm not phased by it!
2. ARGENTINA: Both of my parents were born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Family members from both sides still live in the same little neighbourhood of 'Isidro Casanova'. I've got aunties, uncles, cousins, both sets of grandparents and a whole lot of family friends who were brought up with my folks who still live there today. I lived in Argentina for a year as a kid back in 1992. I went back in 2004 and it changed my life. Before I went to Argentina I was a lost girl: no direction, no focus, didn't care how my life turned out: until I went to Arg for 4 months. Argentina was my turning point. Everything in my life has turned around for the better ever since those 4 months and I give full credit to Argentina, as well as my aunt, uncle and little cousin. I haven't looked back. I've been back to Argentina again in 2006 and I will make my return in December 2008!
3. JAPAN: Shortly after the 4 month turnaround, I got back to Melbourne, but I wasn't done with my big changes and felt like I needed to be on my own for a while longer. I applied for a job in Japan as an English instructor and got it straight away. A friend of mine had applied for this same job 3 times and didn't get it, so I felt truly blessed. 2 and a half months later I was living in Sendai, a city the same size as Melbourne in the northern part of Japan. I loved it. Met some fantastic people who I'm still very close to today. It's where I met my boyfriend! Although it took another 2 and a half years before we actually got together :)
4. CHILE: For some reason, Chile has played a big role in my life despite the fact that I've never been there (not yet anyway!). I will be there in March next year for 2 weeks. When my parents first came to Australia they befriended a Chilean couple whom they met on the flight over. They have been firm friends ever since - and it's been 32 years! My mum and Alicia have worked together, been through births, deaths and marriages of others together - everything you can think of I've always remembered having Alicia and her husband in my life - like family! In Chile I'll be staying with Alicia's sisters and brothers in Chile (She has 11 siblings, 9 of them live in Chile, 1 sister lives in Buenos Aires - whom I have met - and the other sister lives in Melbourne, whom we are also very close to). The siblings in Chile haven't met me - obviously - but they have already welcomed me with open arms to their homes, so it'll be like visiting family!
5. SPAIN: Again, I've never been to Spain, but I will be there next year. I do have some distant relations that do live in Spain: My grandfather's second wife was from Barcelona and all of her relatives still live there today. But I never met her, as she died around 4 years before I went to Argentina for the first time in 1992. It would be really nice to find out where they are (and who they are!)
6. ITALY: Like Chile, Italy has played another big role in my life. I went to a primary school in an Italian neighbourhood and the first language that we learnt was Italian. So I was exposed to Italian from the age of 5. I had been going to Spanish school as well at the same time. All my friend's parents were Italian and always spoke to me in Italian, so I got lots of practice with speaking. I studied the language at primary, secondary and tertiary level and got great marks. I was offered but declined a scholarship to study for a semester in a university in Rome. Don't ask me why! I think it clashed with something...or at the time I was afraid to travel. Just after 9/11. I don't regret it though. I'll be going to Italy for the first time next Easter (hopefully, if my boyfriend plans it all!)
7. CANADA: In my time in Japan (funnily enough), I met a whole lot of Canadians who were all cool. My roomies were Canadian and I picked up some of the lingo, but thankfully they picked up a lot of mine, despite the fact it was just the 3 of us living together and I was outnumbered by 2! In my travels, my first stop will be Canada to see my roomie Dawn and my final stop will be to visit my other Canadian roomie Olympia.
So there are my 7 things! Now I don't have 7 blogger friends, but I will send this out to 7 people. The rules: Write 7 things about yourself, link back to the person who tagged you, link to 7 others to pass the game along - and leave a comment to let them know that you have tagged them to participate. I haven't decided all of my victims, but I will edit this post once I do:
Cheers! Blog coming up soon!
Sunday, October 19
Vegetarians, you have been warned. Don't go to Arg!
This is the symbol of Argentina. As soon as I see this ad, I know I'm in Arg. I hadn't seen this for over 2 years, so when I first saw it 2 weeks ago at the Argie restaurant, I almost burst into tears. But I restrained myself, don't you worry about that! Last night I had one of my farewell dinners with my best mates and Mum at the All You Can Eat Argentinian charcoal grill restaurant. I intentionally had not eaten anything substantial the whole day (just a small brekkie to tie over those cravings). This is Argentina's finest beer, pronounced "Kill Mess" (Mess must die! hehe) and this is the beverage that my Mum got plastered with last night, coz she very seldom drinks and doesn't require much to set her off, which left me pissed off coz when Mum is pissed, she really sets off and lets us all know what's on her mind, particularly stuff that she either never revealed to anyone before, or just blatantly lied to me about. Just warning you now that this blog is part rant/part review. You're smart enough to figure out which one is which.
We got to the restaurant early and were waiting for Jackki and Bill. My Mum doesn't go out very often and she just got under my skin a bit with some of the things she came up with, and this was even before we got to the restaurant. I'm guessing it's a generational thing though, but let me know what you think: I suggested that we wait inside til they arrive, to which Mum just went off on a rant about waiting for everyone outside so we could all go in together: and this was before she even had a drop in her system. The convo went something a little like this:
Mum: We should really wait for Bill and Jackki outside, so we can all come in together as a group.
The Gorgeous One: It's 2008, not 1956. These days, we just wait inside and meet up with them in there, so we don't have to be inconvenienced with such a wait. Plus we can have a look at the menu while we're in there.
M: But it's just wrong to go in without the whole group. If we all came as a group, we come in and we leave as a group.
TGO: But if they are running late, it's not our fault. We came in early, so we get to go in first.
M: But it's plain rude not to wait for your guests
TGO: But it's plain rude to be late...(and it just went on and on in circles like this. I have often asked Mum if she is sure we are related, seeing as I have picked up a lot of my traits from my Dad, despite the fact that I have lived with my Mum my entire life, and I remember seeing my Dad only twice - the last time being 13 years ago. Unfortunately we look alike, so there goes my idea...damn)
Ordering was a pain as well. We had discussed getting the all you can eat, but I knew it would be too much for all of us to get it, so my mates got the all you can eat, whereas Mum and I shared asado (BBQ) between 2. She then discretely kicked up a big fuss (now I hear you ask, "Andy, how can someone discretely chuck a spaz?", just have a look at my mother's passive agressive looks that she gives me!) She told me in front of everyone, "You said we were going to get the all you can eat, now you've changed your mind....bla bla bla". True, I did change my mind, but I do that. It's not that I'm indecisive, but I just don't have my heart set out on one thing - I like to vary things up. She doesn't get that. She was just being a royal pain in the butt. And things got worse when she drank. She can be cool, but I was saying farewell to my friends and wasn't in the mood for keeping an eye out on her when all I wanted to do was have a nice dinner with my friends. I'm in a bitchy kind of mood at the moment, but I know pictures cheer me up, so here they are:
The all-you-can-eat parrilla (grill) with yummy bits of meat. YUMMY!
Decor of the place (ponchos everywhere, it was cool) The food came quite quickly, but the meat was really salty. Usually salt is used really heavily by my Mum, but even she said it was too much. Last time it wasn't that bad, so I'm not sure what happened. A pissed mother just kept apologising to my mates, even though it wasn't our fault. Then she said she would never eat there again, but I would. And even though I didn't have the all you can eat thing, I still managed to steal some food from Bill and Jackki. Another victory: for the first time in 11 years, I ate more than Jackki. If you've eaten out with us, you know what I'm talking about! This girl has the fastest metabolism I've ever known. Perhaps it was the skipping of all meals, aside from brekkie, that got me starving!
Postre (dessert): Pancakes with dulce de leche (caramel)
Bill with his flan (like a jiggly creme caramel)DESSERT TIME! Thanks to the stuffing of my face, I wasn't hungry for dessert. So Mum and Bill had their fix of sweet things whilst I got to catch up with my bestie. Mum had pancakes with caramel - just as she makes them. They were awesome (apparently, but I had them the first time I went there, so I knew what I was missing. My stomach wasn't about to risk it though!) Bill had his Spanish flan. I think it was good, from the pic anyway!
We all went back to my place, drank lots of tea to get it all down and played 'guess the movie' when we couldn't be assed getting the tv guide to tell us what was on tv. King Kong was on, but we thought it was Master and Commander; Dukes of Hazard was on the other channel and we all guessed it. I faux passed pretty badly on one of the actors in that movie. I was convinced Billy Bob Thornton was in Dukes. And I even bet Bill and Mum on it, even though Bill said it was 100% not Billy Bob, but in fact, Burt Reynolds. That's why I'm not a movie fan! I guess I'll be forced to watch some sort of movies while I'm flying to LA in 13 days...hmmm.......I'll play 'guess the actor' with myself and see how far I go!
Sunday I did nada. Zero. Bubkus. Spoke to my boy, cuz, aunt, uncle and bestie in Arg and a bit to Chris. But I'm glad I did nothing, coz I'm working a 43 hour week this week, then my weekend is packed out - and I haven't even started packing my stuff yet. I'll do that soon. 13 days to go...............................
I'm gonna have a shower and wash my new "Marcie" haircut. It looks ace! Maybe not like Marcie, maybe Lucy. Either way, I have short hair now and am loving it!
Chau all!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: All that I need to know in any given moment is revealed to me.
Saturday, October 18
I LOVE BEING SUPERVISOR!
Friday there wasn't much going on: went from extreme energy bursts throughout the day to extreme fatigue at night - moreso than the usual. Got up for my 7am workout and was confident for my first day as supervisor. And I rocked it - kicked butt. All the experienced ppl said I was the best, even when I bossed them around and told them off when they made a mess of my little section. So that was nice - it's just a shame that I'm leaving soon - in 2 weeks to be precise. Scary. I have no idea what I'm going to do when I arrive (well, aside from unpacking and all that). There's no set itinerary for me, but I do want to explore downtown Toronto before it gets any colder and book a trip to Niagara. I'll do that when I get there though. And then I'll have to figure out where in the world Brado is for our scheduled catchup, as well as book the bus for Wisconsin and Pensylvannia - and New York if I can fit it in. Damn, looks like I do have plans!
Got home late on Friday and was amazed at how perky and energised I still was - I was on top of the world, despite me being on my feet all day. Then as soon as I sat down watching tv, I couldn't get up. Seriously. My feet didn't want to move and I was just so tired and sleepy from the long day - up at 7am and back home at 7:30pm. But you know when you are exhausted, then you get to bed and you're not sleepy and you just lie awake, even though you want to sleep. That was me! I dozed off a bit at 9pm, but didn't fall asleep until midnight.
Now to Saturday: I really wanted to go to the gym this morning, but I got lazy. I think I'll just go for a walk, coz it's a beautiful 29 degree day. I love Spring in Melbs. And today is the official start of the racing season, so all the well to do gamblers are going to either be at Caulfield racecourse, or getting drunk at the TAB, so the streets and parks will be deserted (not to the same extent as Grand Final day last month - that was just whack!)
Tonight I'm going out for one of my farewell dinners with Mum, Jackki and Bill. I prefer to have smaller separate gatherings instead of 1 big one with all my mates, just coz I want to be able to spend more time with everyone and I find the best way to do that is the smaller gatherings. Aren't I sweet? That could explain why I had 6 farewell parties in Sendai (and I left early for one of them and just didn't show up for the other). And everybody at workplace 1 is organising my farewell party for next week, but I'm tempted to cancel it. It's meant to be a joint farewell for me and my other mate, who started at workplace 1 at the same time as me. It'll probably be just her farewell and not mine, coz I seriously cannot be bothered. And I think I double booked myself with Sam and James for that same night next week...let's see how Andy gets her way out of this!
I must not eat as I need to have an empty stomach for the all you can eat meat at the Argie restaurant tonight. But I'm hungry! Maybe I'll have some brekkie and not eat anything else til 7pm. 14 days and counting boys and girls.....
See ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Life is simple and easy.
Got home late on Friday and was amazed at how perky and energised I still was - I was on top of the world, despite me being on my feet all day. Then as soon as I sat down watching tv, I couldn't get up. Seriously. My feet didn't want to move and I was just so tired and sleepy from the long day - up at 7am and back home at 7:30pm. But you know when you are exhausted, then you get to bed and you're not sleepy and you just lie awake, even though you want to sleep. That was me! I dozed off a bit at 9pm, but didn't fall asleep until midnight.
Now to Saturday: I really wanted to go to the gym this morning, but I got lazy. I think I'll just go for a walk, coz it's a beautiful 29 degree day. I love Spring in Melbs. And today is the official start of the racing season, so all the well to do gamblers are going to either be at Caulfield racecourse, or getting drunk at the TAB, so the streets and parks will be deserted (not to the same extent as Grand Final day last month - that was just whack!)
Tonight I'm going out for one of my farewell dinners with Mum, Jackki and Bill. I prefer to have smaller separate gatherings instead of 1 big one with all my mates, just coz I want to be able to spend more time with everyone and I find the best way to do that is the smaller gatherings. Aren't I sweet? That could explain why I had 6 farewell parties in Sendai (and I left early for one of them and just didn't show up for the other). And everybody at workplace 1 is organising my farewell party for next week, but I'm tempted to cancel it. It's meant to be a joint farewell for me and my other mate, who started at workplace 1 at the same time as me. It'll probably be just her farewell and not mine, coz I seriously cannot be bothered. And I think I double booked myself with Sam and James for that same night next week...let's see how Andy gets her way out of this!
I must not eat as I need to have an empty stomach for the all you can eat meat at the Argie restaurant tonight. But I'm hungry! Maybe I'll have some brekkie and not eat anything else til 7pm. 14 days and counting boys and girls.....
See ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Life is simple and easy.
Thursday, October 16
Sweet dreams are made of these
You know when you have a funny dream that makes you wake up laughing to yourself? I had a hilarious one that woke me up at 8am, but it was so worth the laughs! And I have been waking up at 6am lately, so it's technically a sleep in! This dream was about someone who uploaded a video on Youtube and Joel was in it. In the video, he was being chased by a bear and you could see Joel up close trying to run away from it, bouncing from side to side. It was played in slow motion. The more the camera panned out while the video was played, you could actually see that he wasn't being chased by a bear, he was just jumping from side to side to make it look like he was being attacked by a bear. Pan out further and you see he's in a zoo and the bear is in a cage. I was in hysterics that Mum even came into the room and asked why I was laughing. It was the slow moving Joel that made me lose it - and it was so good that I ordered myself back to sleep so I can have the dream again for a laugh - and guess what? - I had that same dream again and was laughing so hard I woke myself up enough so I couldn't get back to sleep. What a way to wake up! It must have been coz I was chatting to Joel last night (via Chris) and that must have been brought up by my subconscious. Bloody hell what a laugh!
Yesterday I had been busy uploading my old travel pics. I've been wanting to scan them on a computer for quite some time, so it was good to get them out of the way before I leave. It is 16 days to go - almost single digits. The more I look at the number, the more freaky it is! But I'm happy - and Mum's happy. Spent the whole day on the computer doing some stuff. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some news to share with you all - it's just all a bit uncertain at the moment, so I'll keep it under wraps til then....oooooh, mysterious! It's all good stuff, whatever the outcome.
My fave TV show starts again today, and I've been ordered to tape and watch Getaway, the travel show, as they are going to South America. I've been getting nostalgic these last 2 days with my travel stuff. All part of the "I'm going overseas soon" process. It's a welcome process though.
Mum bought me sushi! She rocks. I'm gonna miss her heaps. OK, off with the computer and onto the bigger monitor in the living room. Chau!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I am guided throughout the day in making the right choices.
Yesterday I had been busy uploading my old travel pics. I've been wanting to scan them on a computer for quite some time, so it was good to get them out of the way before I leave. It is 16 days to go - almost single digits. The more I look at the number, the more freaky it is! But I'm happy - and Mum's happy. Spent the whole day on the computer doing some stuff. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some news to share with you all - it's just all a bit uncertain at the moment, so I'll keep it under wraps til then....oooooh, mysterious! It's all good stuff, whatever the outcome.
My fave TV show starts again today, and I've been ordered to tape and watch Getaway, the travel show, as they are going to South America. I've been getting nostalgic these last 2 days with my travel stuff. All part of the "I'm going overseas soon" process. It's a welcome process though.
Mum bought me sushi! She rocks. I'm gonna miss her heaps. OK, off with the computer and onto the bigger monitor in the living room. Chau!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I am guided throughout the day in making the right choices.
Wednesday, October 15
Computer geek
That's what I've become in these last few hours. And it will possibly be where I'm headed in the next little while. All will be revealed soon, but I've been on the computer since I got home from work - only getting up to pee and have green tea, which is the reason that has got me up peeing in the first place!
Woke up at 5am to go to work and unfortunately no 6am workout, just as I had gotten used to them. But the body is a creature of habit - it will get used to however you treat it. Worked all day and was observing a lot of the coffee section that I'll be in charge of on Friday. It's not a matter of only what I have to do, but when. Fridays are busy so it's a matter of timing things well, so I asked the regular coffee girls and they gave me some great tips, which I'll be using religiously on Friday.
When I got home I realised I had a bit of time on my hands, so I decided to scan some things that I need for the upcoming trip. Then I got distracted with my photos, which is where I'm up to now. Just seeing all the places that I have been to is truly remarkable. Simply seeing the photos is getting me excited about the new adventures I'm about to have. Can't wait. I was also reading my Lonely Planet guide on Toronto, which gave me some more ideas of things to see and do in the colder months when I'll be there. I also got a ph0ne call about my Chilean leg of my tour. My friend's niece runs a little hotel in Southern Chile and because I'll be there during low peak, it's easier to get the accommodation I'll need for Villa Rica and Baldivia (or Valdivia - the 2 Chilean friends I have spelt them differently, despite the both of them being raised there!) So all day I've been thinking about this trip. It's getting me through the day knowing I'm off in 17 days! Maybe it's coz I've worked 3 days in a row in the same workplace. I usually mix it up to give me some variety, but it hasn't happened and I'm lashing out. This holiday came at just the right time (well, I have been planning it for over 2 years, haven't I?)
Must get back to the scans. I'm so grateful to have tomorrow off to give me more time to do the little things that need doing. Have a great day/night! See ya later.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Prosperity of every kind is drawn to me.
Woke up at 5am to go to work and unfortunately no 6am workout, just as I had gotten used to them. But the body is a creature of habit - it will get used to however you treat it. Worked all day and was observing a lot of the coffee section that I'll be in charge of on Friday. It's not a matter of only what I have to do, but when. Fridays are busy so it's a matter of timing things well, so I asked the regular coffee girls and they gave me some great tips, which I'll be using religiously on Friday.
When I got home I realised I had a bit of time on my hands, so I decided to scan some things that I need for the upcoming trip. Then I got distracted with my photos, which is where I'm up to now. Just seeing all the places that I have been to is truly remarkable. Simply seeing the photos is getting me excited about the new adventures I'm about to have. Can't wait. I was also reading my Lonely Planet guide on Toronto, which gave me some more ideas of things to see and do in the colder months when I'll be there. I also got a ph0ne call about my Chilean leg of my tour. My friend's niece runs a little hotel in Southern Chile and because I'll be there during low peak, it's easier to get the accommodation I'll need for Villa Rica and Baldivia (or Valdivia - the 2 Chilean friends I have spelt them differently, despite the both of them being raised there!) So all day I've been thinking about this trip. It's getting me through the day knowing I'm off in 17 days! Maybe it's coz I've worked 3 days in a row in the same workplace. I usually mix it up to give me some variety, but it hasn't happened and I'm lashing out. This holiday came at just the right time (well, I have been planning it for over 2 years, haven't I?)
Must get back to the scans. I'm so grateful to have tomorrow off to give me more time to do the little things that need doing. Have a great day/night! See ya later.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Prosperity of every kind is drawn to me.
Tuesday, October 14
World News with Andy
In today's top story, I heard this funny tale about a Spanish minister who got into a bit of trouble over the weekend for dissing a public festival in Spain. It was either after a press conference or after parliament had 'closed' for the day, there were microphones that were still turned on - and this minister was heard saying how much he hated going to a certain festival that was held over the weekend because he had to make an appearance every year and it was a waste of time. O may be able to fill us all in on the rest of the details - that's if he actually watches the news over there! I think this minister dude may still be in trouble - and I'm not sure if he ended up going to that festival or not. I heard this on Monday morning during my 6am workout. I very rarely get to watch or hear any wacky news out of the ordinary, so it was a funny little doozy that I keep forgetting to blog about. I found it amusing. Could you imagine if something like that happened to George W? So many other embarrassing gaffs featuring him have been made public - I'm sure there may be some incidences like these that have taken place. To Australian-ise this, it's like if K Rudd was heard saying that he couldn't be bothered going to the ANZAC Day memorial - all the war veterans would be up in arms over it! But I have the feeling that the Spaniards may be just a little laid back with that sort of thing :)
I fell asleep at 9:30pm last night and still managed to get a great sleep. I even woke up 20 minutes before the alarm and chatted to the boy (That's right folks, I woke up at 5:30 and was so rested that I decided to go online! That is a rarity for me, especially seeing as I usually take advantage of the sleep if I do wake up early. It must still have been the positive repercussions of the previous day's 6am workout!) At 6 I went to the gym once more and spent 20 minutes on the treadmill. I rock! It was yet again another successful workout - with all my endorphins released out there, it was another fantastic day at work. Again, skin glowing, eyes with a healthy shine, a look of happiness on my face, people approaching me more easily...it was great.
Back to world news...I'm not sure how far this story got outside of Australia, but around a month ago a Melbourne backpacker who was travelling on her own for the most part went missing in Dubrovnik, Croatia under suspicious circumstances. She was last seen at a Spanish nightclub - the only nightclub in the area, drunk with some ppl that weren't from the local hostel. The Croatian police have not been keeping the family informed of what was happening - and the Australian feds are worse. Last week a body with missing limbs was found, but as the body was too decomposed, the feds from both nations said that it couldn't have been this girl's body, but after DNA tests, they discovered it was. The Australian feds had ordered the family not to speak to the media, as the Australian Feds were only concerned with keeping good relations with the Croatians. But the only way the family found out was through the media. Anyway, the Croatian police have said it was an accident, but everybody believes that foul play was involved and they are starting to investigate what happened. Anyway, this has been the headlining news for the past month and everybody is cautious about young women travelling alone. How do I fit in? Join the dots! Everybody knows I'm leaving and I've started mentioning it to customers that I'm going away in 18 days and the first thing they say is, "Don't go to Croatia", followed by "What is it with these young people who want to travel, what are they running away from?". No joke, I got that 6 times in 30 minutes this morning at work when I told customers I'm leaving! It's very cute that everyone is caring about me, but even though I am a seasoned traveller and am travelling on my own, I'm actually meeting ppl almost everywhere (maybe the only exceptions will be New York and Portugal). And even then, I'm quick at 'localising'. So I've been told to keep in touch through Facebook and all that!
Today I also started with the farewells. Mandy is leaving this evening for her 2 month voyage, so I won't see her til I get back to Australia. I also said farewell to one of the loyal customers who is going overseas and will return the day that I leave. I wouldn't be surprised if I bumped into her at the airport. My friend who used to work with Mum came by to wish me well (I was meant to catch up with him this weekend, but his best friend's dad died this morning and I think they are going to Jakarta for the funeral). I also said bye to one of the other girls who only works on weekends, so she came down to say bye. I think now it's setting in...just like last time, it was the farewells. Mandy got teary - and she's only gone for 2 months! Excitement factor building, but also the nostalgic factor.
Still have to get insurance, which is what I'll do now. I'm firstly doing a long haul flight with a carrier that has had quite a few incidents in these last couple of months. I know that I'll be fine, but it's good to have that backup if required. Tomorrow I can't do my 6am workout coz I have the early shift, so I'll have to either go to the gym in the evening or do a home workout. We'll see how it goes - as long as I get some huffy puffy happening! My friend Jeab and I are starting early and she is an absolute sweetheart. Can't wait - it's gonna be hard saying bye to ppl. And again it'll be sad when I leave the new ppl I've met. Double edged sword - I've been feeling that all week :) I'm gonna bum about. This is Andy signing off - see ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Golden opportunities are waiting for me everywhere.
I fell asleep at 9:30pm last night and still managed to get a great sleep. I even woke up 20 minutes before the alarm and chatted to the boy (That's right folks, I woke up at 5:30 and was so rested that I decided to go online! That is a rarity for me, especially seeing as I usually take advantage of the sleep if I do wake up early. It must still have been the positive repercussions of the previous day's 6am workout!) At 6 I went to the gym once more and spent 20 minutes on the treadmill. I rock! It was yet again another successful workout - with all my endorphins released out there, it was another fantastic day at work. Again, skin glowing, eyes with a healthy shine, a look of happiness on my face, people approaching me more easily...it was great.
Back to world news...I'm not sure how far this story got outside of Australia, but around a month ago a Melbourne backpacker who was travelling on her own for the most part went missing in Dubrovnik, Croatia under suspicious circumstances. She was last seen at a Spanish nightclub - the only nightclub in the area, drunk with some ppl that weren't from the local hostel. The Croatian police have not been keeping the family informed of what was happening - and the Australian feds are worse. Last week a body with missing limbs was found, but as the body was too decomposed, the feds from both nations said that it couldn't have been this girl's body, but after DNA tests, they discovered it was. The Australian feds had ordered the family not to speak to the media, as the Australian Feds were only concerned with keeping good relations with the Croatians. But the only way the family found out was through the media. Anyway, the Croatian police have said it was an accident, but everybody believes that foul play was involved and they are starting to investigate what happened. Anyway, this has been the headlining news for the past month and everybody is cautious about young women travelling alone. How do I fit in? Join the dots! Everybody knows I'm leaving and I've started mentioning it to customers that I'm going away in 18 days and the first thing they say is, "Don't go to Croatia", followed by "What is it with these young people who want to travel, what are they running away from?". No joke, I got that 6 times in 30 minutes this morning at work when I told customers I'm leaving! It's very cute that everyone is caring about me, but even though I am a seasoned traveller and am travelling on my own, I'm actually meeting ppl almost everywhere (maybe the only exceptions will be New York and Portugal). And even then, I'm quick at 'localising'. So I've been told to keep in touch through Facebook and all that!
Today I also started with the farewells. Mandy is leaving this evening for her 2 month voyage, so I won't see her til I get back to Australia. I also said farewell to one of the loyal customers who is going overseas and will return the day that I leave. I wouldn't be surprised if I bumped into her at the airport. My friend who used to work with Mum came by to wish me well (I was meant to catch up with him this weekend, but his best friend's dad died this morning and I think they are going to Jakarta for the funeral). I also said bye to one of the other girls who only works on weekends, so she came down to say bye. I think now it's setting in...just like last time, it was the farewells. Mandy got teary - and she's only gone for 2 months! Excitement factor building, but also the nostalgic factor.
Still have to get insurance, which is what I'll do now. I'm firstly doing a long haul flight with a carrier that has had quite a few incidents in these last couple of months. I know that I'll be fine, but it's good to have that backup if required. Tomorrow I can't do my 6am workout coz I have the early shift, so I'll have to either go to the gym in the evening or do a home workout. We'll see how it goes - as long as I get some huffy puffy happening! My friend Jeab and I are starting early and she is an absolute sweetheart. Can't wait - it's gonna be hard saying bye to ppl. And again it'll be sad when I leave the new ppl I've met. Double edged sword - I've been feeling that all week :) I'm gonna bum about. This is Andy signing off - see ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Golden opportunities are waiting for me everywhere.
Monday, October 13
Hello soba tomatoes and guest of honour!
Yes, this blog title is yet another reference to not 1 but 3 myspace blogs:
1 - HELLO: Hi Kaori! I'm glad you are now on blogger as well and that I can read your myspace page, as well as you reading my blog. If you ever do get annoyed with myspace, you can easily post blogs here :)
2 - SOBA: Kaori, I loved your Yamagata pictures...especially the soba. YUMMY! It takes me back to all the delicious food from Northern Japan...mmmm....I'm hungry now! Yamagata is so beautiful. I hope to return there next June (for rainy season :( ) I wanted to comment on your page, but myspace won't allow it!
3 - TOMATOES: People getting sick from tomatoes is unfortunately quite common these days. 15 years ago there was some sort of report with a link of having too many tomatoes and the incidence of cancer. But I don't think it was that reliable, as only a short time later it was revealed that tomatoes - especially in sauces that have been left for a few days - actually helps prevent a form of cancer because the enzymes from tomatoes help build up your immune system - or something like that. So I don't know where things stand. All I know is I love tomatoes - and hopefully you'll get better soon Chris.
4 - GUEST OF HONOUR: Dude, am I honestly the person you're waiting for??? That's so cool. I'm special - and stuff! So do I get red carpet treatment the whole time I'm there? Looking forward to it, if that's the case :)
Alright, all the comments are done, so let's get to today. Last night I decided that I was going to the gym at 6am. One thing about me: once I set a goal, nothing stops me. And I got it in my head that I wanted to wake up early, so that's what I did, despite the fact that I got to bed quite late. Was chatting to the boy, but I was loopy. Good loopy of course. This kind of loopy is when I'm tired but stubborn enough not to want any sleep. It's easier for O to get me to bed when he is there in person, but apparently me being this loopy is the equivalent of me being drunk. I don't remember much of the things I say and do when I'm loopy, so I have to rely on the ppl who were present to tell me what I did or said. But apparently I'm funny, so that's all that matters :)
With around 6 hours of sleep all up, I manage to get up at 5:45 to go to the gym. Got there at 6:15 as I was distracted(!), but I still ended up doing a 20 minute cardio session. That was fantastic. I got home at around 6:45, got showered, changed, ate brekkie and was out of the house at 7:10 to go to work. I felt fantastic all day. I looked it too. I took a glance in the mirror a few times today (yes I love myself!) and I was positively glowing! My skin looked fantastic - like a Snow White complexion - nice and clear. And all day at work I felt so positively happy. It's like ppl knew I was happy today. It's that whole thing of "whatever you project out comes back to you". I must have been all smiley, but I didn't realise it. It wasn't forced. Everyone just felt open enough to approach me, or maybe I was open enough to be approachable. Whatever it was, I hadn't felt like that in a while - and I loved it. And I want to feel like that more often. Perhaps a small part of it is knowing that I'm leaving soon and just being happy about it. The girls at work noticed too. Second in command lady made an observation comparing myself and another girl that is leaving for Cuba tomorrow. The other girl has been very vocal about her excitement and thrill of going overseas again. She's going for 2 months (still a very long time) and has been raving about it, counting down from 12 weeks ago and constantly talking about it. I was the opposite. I've been dubbed the 'quiet achiever'. I'm going overseas for at least 8 months, maybe longer if I want to explore more. This has been planned for over 2 years and everyone has known about it and has known that this was my mid term goal - ever since I started working there just over 2 years ago. I've been counting down since maybe 400 days ago, but never made a big deal publicly about it (well, maybe with you guys. And I have been vocal with my plans, but not to the extent that the other girl has). When I was asked if I was excited, I said not yet. She didn't believe it and said she could see the quiet excitement in my eyes. The impact won't hit until I start packing. The second impact will hit when I step into Dawn's house in November, dump my bags, sit at the edge of the bed and just say, "Wow, I've made it. I can get excited now!". The quiet excitement is obvious from everyone's point of view. I'm just very calm about it. It's not self depracating, it's me being the quiet achiever. It suits me well.
I was energised at work and perhaps a little tired from lack of sleep, but I would have felt much worse had I not had that workout. My goal was to go to the gym everyday for the next 20 days. I did 20 minutes today, 35 minutes yesterday, 65 minutes on Saturday, 15 minutes on Friday and I will continue going to the gym. My cardio fitness is quickly returning. I'm going for another 20 minutes tomorrow before work. I've done a shift swap this week. Usually I get Tuesdays off, but I've got Thursday free this week, otherwise I would have gone for a longer workout tomorrow. I love the fact that my gym is so close to home.
Began preparing and buying some stuff that I will need for my trip: vitamins, diaries, recipes - a whole bunch of small stuff. Got home and now I am relaxing. I'm happy - it's still the endorphin release from this morning's workout. I'm happy to be vegging out and am looking forward to tomorrow morning's workout.
So I've had a really great day and I know it's going to continue. Perhaps this is the way my quiet excitement is manifesting. I'm loving it. Here's to continued happiness for not only me, but you guys too. Thanks for reading - I love ya all :)
See ya!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I'm moving into the winner's circle :)
1 - HELLO: Hi Kaori! I'm glad you are now on blogger as well and that I can read your myspace page, as well as you reading my blog. If you ever do get annoyed with myspace, you can easily post blogs here :)
2 - SOBA: Kaori, I loved your Yamagata pictures...especially the soba. YUMMY! It takes me back to all the delicious food from Northern Japan...mmmm....I'm hungry now! Yamagata is so beautiful. I hope to return there next June (for rainy season :( ) I wanted to comment on your page, but myspace won't allow it!
3 - TOMATOES: People getting sick from tomatoes is unfortunately quite common these days. 15 years ago there was some sort of report with a link of having too many tomatoes and the incidence of cancer. But I don't think it was that reliable, as only a short time later it was revealed that tomatoes - especially in sauces that have been left for a few days - actually helps prevent a form of cancer because the enzymes from tomatoes help build up your immune system - or something like that. So I don't know where things stand. All I know is I love tomatoes - and hopefully you'll get better soon Chris.
4 - GUEST OF HONOUR: Dude, am I honestly the person you're waiting for??? That's so cool. I'm special - and stuff! So do I get red carpet treatment the whole time I'm there? Looking forward to it, if that's the case :)
Alright, all the comments are done, so let's get to today. Last night I decided that I was going to the gym at 6am. One thing about me: once I set a goal, nothing stops me. And I got it in my head that I wanted to wake up early, so that's what I did, despite the fact that I got to bed quite late. Was chatting to the boy, but I was loopy. Good loopy of course. This kind of loopy is when I'm tired but stubborn enough not to want any sleep. It's easier for O to get me to bed when he is there in person, but apparently me being this loopy is the equivalent of me being drunk. I don't remember much of the things I say and do when I'm loopy, so I have to rely on the ppl who were present to tell me what I did or said. But apparently I'm funny, so that's all that matters :)
With around 6 hours of sleep all up, I manage to get up at 5:45 to go to the gym. Got there at 6:15 as I was distracted(!), but I still ended up doing a 20 minute cardio session. That was fantastic. I got home at around 6:45, got showered, changed, ate brekkie and was out of the house at 7:10 to go to work. I felt fantastic all day. I looked it too. I took a glance in the mirror a few times today (yes I love myself!) and I was positively glowing! My skin looked fantastic - like a Snow White complexion - nice and clear. And all day at work I felt so positively happy. It's like ppl knew I was happy today. It's that whole thing of "whatever you project out comes back to you". I must have been all smiley, but I didn't realise it. It wasn't forced. Everyone just felt open enough to approach me, or maybe I was open enough to be approachable. Whatever it was, I hadn't felt like that in a while - and I loved it. And I want to feel like that more often. Perhaps a small part of it is knowing that I'm leaving soon and just being happy about it. The girls at work noticed too. Second in command lady made an observation comparing myself and another girl that is leaving for Cuba tomorrow. The other girl has been very vocal about her excitement and thrill of going overseas again. She's going for 2 months (still a very long time) and has been raving about it, counting down from 12 weeks ago and constantly talking about it. I was the opposite. I've been dubbed the 'quiet achiever'. I'm going overseas for at least 8 months, maybe longer if I want to explore more. This has been planned for over 2 years and everyone has known about it and has known that this was my mid term goal - ever since I started working there just over 2 years ago. I've been counting down since maybe 400 days ago, but never made a big deal publicly about it (well, maybe with you guys. And I have been vocal with my plans, but not to the extent that the other girl has). When I was asked if I was excited, I said not yet. She didn't believe it and said she could see the quiet excitement in my eyes. The impact won't hit until I start packing. The second impact will hit when I step into Dawn's house in November, dump my bags, sit at the edge of the bed and just say, "Wow, I've made it. I can get excited now!". The quiet excitement is obvious from everyone's point of view. I'm just very calm about it. It's not self depracating, it's me being the quiet achiever. It suits me well.
I was energised at work and perhaps a little tired from lack of sleep, but I would have felt much worse had I not had that workout. My goal was to go to the gym everyday for the next 20 days. I did 20 minutes today, 35 minutes yesterday, 65 minutes on Saturday, 15 minutes on Friday and I will continue going to the gym. My cardio fitness is quickly returning. I'm going for another 20 minutes tomorrow before work. I've done a shift swap this week. Usually I get Tuesdays off, but I've got Thursday free this week, otherwise I would have gone for a longer workout tomorrow. I love the fact that my gym is so close to home.
Began preparing and buying some stuff that I will need for my trip: vitamins, diaries, recipes - a whole bunch of small stuff. Got home and now I am relaxing. I'm happy - it's still the endorphin release from this morning's workout. I'm happy to be vegging out and am looking forward to tomorrow morning's workout.
So I've had a really great day and I know it's going to continue. Perhaps this is the way my quiet excitement is manifesting. I'm loving it. Here's to continued happiness for not only me, but you guys too. Thanks for reading - I love ya all :)
See ya!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I'm moving into the winner's circle :)
Sunday, October 12
My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!
Yeah, Princess Bride rocks, despite me not wanting to like it for spite! This is as close as I'll get to commenting on Chris' blog. So I think I've decided to use my blog titles to make comments about Chris' stuff. Or I could just include it in the body of the blog...but I like the title better. I want to see it again soon.
I hadn't slept too well. I fell asleep with the computer on and missed quite a few ppl who left me messages. I woke up at 2am and couldn't fall back asleep til 3am, then I woke up at 9am after some really trippy dreams. But as I was up, I decided to make good use of the day and spend at least half an hour at the gym. I did my own thing and I must say it gave me so much energy. I'm aiming on going to the gym everyday up until I leave in 3 week's time. But I do realise that I'll be working more hours in that time, but I still want to make time - even if I have to get up at 6am and go to the gym before work. We'll see how it pans out.
Today I was triple booked. Well, I was 'kind of' triple booked, but not really. It sounds much better when I say it like this...makes me popular! I had planned on going to lunch today with a close family friend from Chile - which I did. She is a close friend of the family (her sister and my mum knew each other when my mum first arrived in Australia 32 years ago. They were work colleagues as well and they have been friends ever since), but to me she is the closest thing to a grandmother as I'll get. So in line with my strange family lineage of fake sisters, nephews and cousins, I'll just refer to her as my granny. Deal? The reason I was 'triple booked' was coz I planned this lunch last week, but yesterday my sister calls me and tells me she's got no plans for Sunday and we should all go out to Great Ocean Road for the day, as it was going to be 30 degrees. And normally I would have dropped everything and said yes, but I was going to say farewell and thank you to my Chilean grandmother for helping me with accommodation in Chile. So I stuck to my guns. Then this morning my best friend Jackki calls and says, "I'm out here on Bridge Road, let's go shopping". As you all know, I don't need to be persuaded to go shopping and I almost said yes, but Mum reminded me that I had to go out for the farewell lunch. POO!
Anyway, my 'grandmother' is the one who has organised some accommodation for me when I get to Chile. I'll be staying with her sister (legit sister, no fake ones here!) and her nephew in Santiago - who is the same age as me. My 'granny' has a huge family of 11 brothers and sisters and as a result, has a whole load of cousins, nieces, nephews - as well as her siblings who live all across Chile, mainly down south. So I'll probably be in Santiago for a few days before heading down south towards the active volcanoes with her nephew to meet up with the rest of the clan. Her niece has a 'residencial' that has my name written on it and will be mine for over a week, so I can easily and safely base myself there in Villa Rica but make day trips even further south towards Patagonia (on the Chilean side, not the Argie side) and even Antarctica. Can't wait for that!!
I've never met her family, so they don't know what I look like and vice versa, so we were trying to hatch a plan so that I am easily recognisable from the crowd when they meet me at the airport. My granny said to have something distinguishable on my backpack. But everyone is going to have a backpack. I said I could put my Argentinian flag on the backpack, then mum suggested I maybe wear a visor I got in Arg that has the colours of the flag. Then we realised that me being in Arg gear may not be such a wise idea, given that the Argies and Chileans aren't exactly the best of friends. There's a different attitude for the Chileans and Argies that have migrated to different countries - we get along great. But the hardcore locals may make life a bit difficult. I mentioned to my uncle that I was going to Chile and he went ape shit, then proceeded to make fun of them, to which I cracked the shits. My uncle's cousin also has Chilean neighbours who live in Arg and their house is a target for tee pees and random acts of stupid vandalism. Not as much anymore, as the tolerance levels have increased, but to the ppl who are stuck living in the past, the hostilities are still current. So we scrapped the Argie colours. Then my granny said I could borrow a hat of hers that has Chile written all over it, with the flags and colours, etc. But there is a plane load of people going to Chile, so I may not exactly stand out if other people, particularly tourists, have the Chilean gear on. Mum said that I could wear something that has Australia on it. When we went souveneir shopping last week, she bought me a nice fitted t-shirt that had Australia written on it with a cute design. So we all agreed to that. Now I just have to remember to a) Pack it with me and b) To wear it on the 28th of February! So remind me folks!
The lunch was great, but getting to her place was a bitch. We would normally catch 2 trains, which takes no time at all. However, they were doing some construction works on the railway lines from both of the train lines that we needed to catch, so we needed to take the train replacement buses. We went from our home station to a suburban station on the bus, then we had to get off the bus and change to a train into the city, then change trains from the city to a northern suburban station and supposedly catch another bus for just 2 stops. It was a beautiful day, so I decided to walk those 2 stops. Mum was being stubborn and said, "I'm waiting for another bus", even though we were really close to my nonna's house. I walked and got to my nonna's at 2:35. I was first there and lunch was ready. I hadn't eaten breakfast and just had a workout, so I wasn't going to wait around for my mother to rock up, so we ate. Mum finally gets there at 3pm. We asked what happened and she said, "I had to wait 25 minutes for a bus coz the previous one never came". I asked, "Why didn't you just walk it?" She said, "Coz as soon as I start to walk, I know that a bus will come. I wasn't going to let that happen". She was being really stubborn today. Now I know where I get it from!
We eventually got home. The journey home always seems shorter than when you arrive. I got home and watched a show that traces celebrity's family trees. Today it was David Tennant. It was really interesting. I'd love to find out my family heritage, but it's a bit tricky. I wouldn't know where to start. All I know is the heritage from my Mum's side - and that's quite a large mix of nationalities there already. I've got my grandfather's side who are Polish and my grandmother's side that are Turkish. But both grandparents were born in Arg. I wouldn't have the foggiest idea of my Dad's side, but I wouldn't mind checking it out. And I do have some resources at my disposal that I can ask. Worst case scenario, I give Dad a call! But there are a few avenues I can pursue before I even get to that point, if I ever need to get to that point at all. But then again, I won't be starting my research til I get back from holiday, so I have a long time to think about this.
I am thinking of getting up early for a 6am workout...it's just a thought at this stage. Tomorrow I'm at work, but it's my usual shift. It's not sinking in that I'm leaving. It comes and goes, but it just doesn't seem real. Not until I pack, which I'll start next weekend :)
Have a good week all, stay out of trouble, get to bed early and drink lots of water til you pee clearly!!! hehehe Bye!!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I am successful as I make up my mind to be.
I hadn't slept too well. I fell asleep with the computer on and missed quite a few ppl who left me messages. I woke up at 2am and couldn't fall back asleep til 3am, then I woke up at 9am after some really trippy dreams. But as I was up, I decided to make good use of the day and spend at least half an hour at the gym. I did my own thing and I must say it gave me so much energy. I'm aiming on going to the gym everyday up until I leave in 3 week's time. But I do realise that I'll be working more hours in that time, but I still want to make time - even if I have to get up at 6am and go to the gym before work. We'll see how it pans out.
Today I was triple booked. Well, I was 'kind of' triple booked, but not really. It sounds much better when I say it like this...makes me popular! I had planned on going to lunch today with a close family friend from Chile - which I did. She is a close friend of the family (her sister and my mum knew each other when my mum first arrived in Australia 32 years ago. They were work colleagues as well and they have been friends ever since), but to me she is the closest thing to a grandmother as I'll get. So in line with my strange family lineage of fake sisters, nephews and cousins, I'll just refer to her as my granny. Deal? The reason I was 'triple booked' was coz I planned this lunch last week, but yesterday my sister calls me and tells me she's got no plans for Sunday and we should all go out to Great Ocean Road for the day, as it was going to be 30 degrees. And normally I would have dropped everything and said yes, but I was going to say farewell and thank you to my Chilean grandmother for helping me with accommodation in Chile. So I stuck to my guns. Then this morning my best friend Jackki calls and says, "I'm out here on Bridge Road, let's go shopping". As you all know, I don't need to be persuaded to go shopping and I almost said yes, but Mum reminded me that I had to go out for the farewell lunch. POO!
Anyway, my 'grandmother' is the one who has organised some accommodation for me when I get to Chile. I'll be staying with her sister (legit sister, no fake ones here!) and her nephew in Santiago - who is the same age as me. My 'granny' has a huge family of 11 brothers and sisters and as a result, has a whole load of cousins, nieces, nephews - as well as her siblings who live all across Chile, mainly down south. So I'll probably be in Santiago for a few days before heading down south towards the active volcanoes with her nephew to meet up with the rest of the clan. Her niece has a 'residencial' that has my name written on it and will be mine for over a week, so I can easily and safely base myself there in Villa Rica but make day trips even further south towards Patagonia (on the Chilean side, not the Argie side) and even Antarctica. Can't wait for that!!
I've never met her family, so they don't know what I look like and vice versa, so we were trying to hatch a plan so that I am easily recognisable from the crowd when they meet me at the airport. My granny said to have something distinguishable on my backpack. But everyone is going to have a backpack. I said I could put my Argentinian flag on the backpack, then mum suggested I maybe wear a visor I got in Arg that has the colours of the flag. Then we realised that me being in Arg gear may not be such a wise idea, given that the Argies and Chileans aren't exactly the best of friends. There's a different attitude for the Chileans and Argies that have migrated to different countries - we get along great. But the hardcore locals may make life a bit difficult. I mentioned to my uncle that I was going to Chile and he went ape shit, then proceeded to make fun of them, to which I cracked the shits. My uncle's cousin also has Chilean neighbours who live in Arg and their house is a target for tee pees and random acts of stupid vandalism. Not as much anymore, as the tolerance levels have increased, but to the ppl who are stuck living in the past, the hostilities are still current. So we scrapped the Argie colours. Then my granny said I could borrow a hat of hers that has Chile written all over it, with the flags and colours, etc. But there is a plane load of people going to Chile, so I may not exactly stand out if other people, particularly tourists, have the Chilean gear on. Mum said that I could wear something that has Australia on it. When we went souveneir shopping last week, she bought me a nice fitted t-shirt that had Australia written on it with a cute design. So we all agreed to that. Now I just have to remember to a) Pack it with me and b) To wear it on the 28th of February! So remind me folks!
The lunch was great, but getting to her place was a bitch. We would normally catch 2 trains, which takes no time at all. However, they were doing some construction works on the railway lines from both of the train lines that we needed to catch, so we needed to take the train replacement buses. We went from our home station to a suburban station on the bus, then we had to get off the bus and change to a train into the city, then change trains from the city to a northern suburban station and supposedly catch another bus for just 2 stops. It was a beautiful day, so I decided to walk those 2 stops. Mum was being stubborn and said, "I'm waiting for another bus", even though we were really close to my nonna's house. I walked and got to my nonna's at 2:35. I was first there and lunch was ready. I hadn't eaten breakfast and just had a workout, so I wasn't going to wait around for my mother to rock up, so we ate. Mum finally gets there at 3pm. We asked what happened and she said, "I had to wait 25 minutes for a bus coz the previous one never came". I asked, "Why didn't you just walk it?" She said, "Coz as soon as I start to walk, I know that a bus will come. I wasn't going to let that happen". She was being really stubborn today. Now I know where I get it from!
We eventually got home. The journey home always seems shorter than when you arrive. I got home and watched a show that traces celebrity's family trees. Today it was David Tennant. It was really interesting. I'd love to find out my family heritage, but it's a bit tricky. I wouldn't know where to start. All I know is the heritage from my Mum's side - and that's quite a large mix of nationalities there already. I've got my grandfather's side who are Polish and my grandmother's side that are Turkish. But both grandparents were born in Arg. I wouldn't have the foggiest idea of my Dad's side, but I wouldn't mind checking it out. And I do have some resources at my disposal that I can ask. Worst case scenario, I give Dad a call! But there are a few avenues I can pursue before I even get to that point, if I ever need to get to that point at all. But then again, I won't be starting my research til I get back from holiday, so I have a long time to think about this.
I am thinking of getting up early for a 6am workout...it's just a thought at this stage. Tomorrow I'm at work, but it's my usual shift. It's not sinking in that I'm leaving. It comes and goes, but it just doesn't seem real. Not until I pack, which I'll start next weekend :)
Have a good week all, stay out of trouble, get to bed early and drink lots of water til you pee clearly!!! hehehe Bye!!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I am successful as I make up my mind to be.
Saturday, October 11
Girl's Night Out
The Friday, which has been dubbed as "Topsy Turvy Day" was a blur, but also my final Friday of freedom. Fridays are usually my 'work coz nobody else will' day and I end up being quite tired afterwards. I may have mentioned this back in my old blog, but management at work know that I am the one who does the majority of the work while the others, particularly the older generation, do as little as possible and rely on the younger ppl to pick up the slack. Well now that I am leaving, the manager wants to 'train' the other ppl on how to be an all rounder like me, so the only way she can do that is to keep an eye on them and train them while she is there on shift. Usually she does the early shift and leaves just as the oldies get lazy, but for the first time, she is doing the late shift. So on Friday we swapped - I did her early and she did my late shift. It worked out well coz all the cool ppl did the early and mid shift and the rapport between us all was fabulous. It also helped that it was my friend's last shift before going overseas for 2 months and there was added buzz in the air. The shift was very easy because of the Jewish holiday - everybody stayed at home. I had a great time.
A funny work tragedy was narrowly avoided: My friend Jenny lives just 5 minutes from my place and we both started at 7am on Friday. She had offered to drive by my place and give me a lift to work instead of me taking public transport in the morning. I said no coz I wanted to go for a morning workout and wanted to take my time (the workout never happened, but the point is I didn't accept Jenny's offer!!). Jenny was using a rental car that her insurance company gave as a courtesy car while her car was being fixed up. She got into the car at 6:30am and it wouldn't start. She tried everything - couldn't even get the gears or change them, it was stuck. She had to call a taxi and hoof it down to work - thankfully the owner paid for her taxi fare, coz she said she was catching the train and the owner said, "But you have to do the special orders....take a taxi and I'll pay". She was 30 minutes late. The near drama was that if Jenny had to pick me up, I would have been late as well and there would have only been 2 people opening up the shop instead of the normal 4 people - on a Friday of all days, the busiest day of the week!!
Now the reason why this was going to be my last Friday of freedom was because I was asked to be in charge of the coffee section up until I leave. Now coffee is a breeze if you're just covering for someone coz the most time you'll be covering a coffee section is 40 minutes. If you're in charge, you're doing coffee for 8 hours. To be in charge of the whole section is a little more challenging coz not only are you making drinks, but you're juggling the hot food section making sure there's enough, doing the washing of everything and making stuff for the owners, the girls and the boys at the back - not to mention the customers themselves. On any other day it's fine, but I've mainly been rostered for coffees on Fridays - the BUSIEST day of the week. Add to that that I have never closed down the coffee section and there are a million things to do and only 30 minutes to clean up, you can't blame me for being a bit apprehensive. At work, you know you have 'made it' when you are put in charge of the coffee section - I have made it! It's the equivalent of getting a promotion. After 2 years! And I am leaving in 3 week's time! Ever since I started I wanted to 'make it' - and now I have, and it's taken me leaving to 'make it'! Quite funny. Not ha ha funny, just odd funny! But there are a few reasons why I'm on coffee:
1: Coz they trust me - I MADE IT! I am management's favourite after all (supposedly!)
2: When you are on coffee, you don't have to worry about the rest of the shop, you just worry about your section and nothing else. Now because in the past I've been in charge of the rest of the shop, I am the one who has taken responsibility for the maintenance of it. Management want to spy on the others and see how they cope when I'm not there anymore - it's part of her training them to be all rounders and not lazy! So me being promoted to coffee benefits us all.
3: This kind of links with the above one: there is one lady who has been there for 18 years doing coffees on Fridays and she is going on holidays for a week and needs someone to cover her coffee shift. Now I would supposedly only have to do 1 shift in order to cover her, not all of the ones I'm being asked to do, which validates the spying theory. Everybody thinks I'm coo coo for suggesting reason number 2, but it's actually true. The others don't like the idea of being spied on and were hoping I would be wrong. But when we all asked individually why I was doing coffees on certain days and why the manager is all of a sudden doing the late shifts, the manager went weird (and she is the one who is the most honest of the lot - you can tell with her when she's lying and covering up). I just put 2 and 2 together - not that hard! I guess they were all not used to thinking suspiciously like me. Suspicious may be the wrong word, just good at reading ppl. And coz I knew something had to be done in regards to ppl's laziness, because 2 of the hardest working ppl in the shop leaving just one month apart from one another spells trouble for management, especially right before the busy Christmas period (my friend left at the end of September and I'm leaving at the end of October).
Well that was more work politics stuff than I had imagined... back to Friday. I finished at 4 and went home to get changed and go to meet Sam at her new gym that she's working at. I had a cardio workout for the first time in weeks and it was just what I needed. We then went for dinner at a cool bistro in her area called "Natalia's" (I'll take you there one day bro!) Best food ever (Better than Romeo's dude - and you know how good their stuff is. Romeo's is my fave restaurant folks)! The entree size looks like a bloody main. Usually I'd struggle to get through it all, but as I had only eaten a banana for breakfast and had skipped lunch - and on top of that had a workout - I was famished. So I downed all of mine, ate Sam's leftovers and ate half a pizza all to myself! That pizza was meant for her boyfriend James, so I must apologise for eating his dinner! It was another fantastic night full of laughs over the most stupid things like roundabouts, stretches and 911. Don't ask how we linked them all together, but it worked! We went back to her place and stayed up and watched a DVD - she and I have completely different tastes in movies. I tried liking this romantic comedy she put on but I just didn't. I'm impatient with movies anyway, so it wasn't anybody's fault.
Spent the night at her joint so we could wake up early enough to go back to the gym for a joint workout. I did 20 minutes of cardio - if I continue with my cardio fitness everyday, it's going to go back up to the way that it was. I was amazed at how quickly I got back into the swing of my cardio endurance - after just one day. While I did Combat, she did a weights session. I struggled big time to keep up. It's just my lack of endurance training, which I hope to get back now when I'm on holidays and before I depart as well. We're gonna catch up again before I leave.
Caught the train home. I wanted to get off but this guy was blocking the way with his legs. I said, "Excuse me" and he didn't move. I stood there for around 5 seconds waiting for his legs to move so he could clear the way for me, but he just stayed put reading his newspaper. So in front of a crowded train, I kicked him. Only after 2 seconds after I kicked him, he moved and was waiting for me to apologise. I gave the most sarcastic "Sorry" and walked off the train. And I wasn't even pre menstrual. It was great! I don't condone that behaviour, but I'm no shrinking violet either. Got home at 11am and spent the rest of the day on here and bumming. I didn't sleep particularly well, but I knew I was just going to bum around at home all day, so it wasn't a total loss. Spent a good old time chatting to Chris. I've got nothing else planned for the rest of the night - hopefully get a chance to catch up with you lot again soon!
Tomorrow I'm going out for my farewell lunch at a family friend's place. Then I've got nothing. I'll be working more in the next fortnight before my last week of nothingness.
So now I'm up to date. I'm so in love with blogger. I discovered how to post photos with blogs (see last blog). BRILLIANT! Come and chat to me when you wake up, I'll be here. See ya!!
A funny work tragedy was narrowly avoided: My friend Jenny lives just 5 minutes from my place and we both started at 7am on Friday. She had offered to drive by my place and give me a lift to work instead of me taking public transport in the morning. I said no coz I wanted to go for a morning workout and wanted to take my time (the workout never happened, but the point is I didn't accept Jenny's offer!!). Jenny was using a rental car that her insurance company gave as a courtesy car while her car was being fixed up. She got into the car at 6:30am and it wouldn't start. She tried everything - couldn't even get the gears or change them, it was stuck. She had to call a taxi and hoof it down to work - thankfully the owner paid for her taxi fare, coz she said she was catching the train and the owner said, "But you have to do the special orders....take a taxi and I'll pay". She was 30 minutes late. The near drama was that if Jenny had to pick me up, I would have been late as well and there would have only been 2 people opening up the shop instead of the normal 4 people - on a Friday of all days, the busiest day of the week!!
Now the reason why this was going to be my last Friday of freedom was because I was asked to be in charge of the coffee section up until I leave. Now coffee is a breeze if you're just covering for someone coz the most time you'll be covering a coffee section is 40 minutes. If you're in charge, you're doing coffee for 8 hours. To be in charge of the whole section is a little more challenging coz not only are you making drinks, but you're juggling the hot food section making sure there's enough, doing the washing of everything and making stuff for the owners, the girls and the boys at the back - not to mention the customers themselves. On any other day it's fine, but I've mainly been rostered for coffees on Fridays - the BUSIEST day of the week. Add to that that I have never closed down the coffee section and there are a million things to do and only 30 minutes to clean up, you can't blame me for being a bit apprehensive. At work, you know you have 'made it' when you are put in charge of the coffee section - I have made it! It's the equivalent of getting a promotion. After 2 years! And I am leaving in 3 week's time! Ever since I started I wanted to 'make it' - and now I have, and it's taken me leaving to 'make it'! Quite funny. Not ha ha funny, just odd funny! But there are a few reasons why I'm on coffee:
1: Coz they trust me - I MADE IT! I am management's favourite after all (supposedly!)
2: When you are on coffee, you don't have to worry about the rest of the shop, you just worry about your section and nothing else. Now because in the past I've been in charge of the rest of the shop, I am the one who has taken responsibility for the maintenance of it. Management want to spy on the others and see how they cope when I'm not there anymore - it's part of her training them to be all rounders and not lazy! So me being promoted to coffee benefits us all.
3: This kind of links with the above one: there is one lady who has been there for 18 years doing coffees on Fridays and she is going on holidays for a week and needs someone to cover her coffee shift. Now I would supposedly only have to do 1 shift in order to cover her, not all of the ones I'm being asked to do, which validates the spying theory. Everybody thinks I'm coo coo for suggesting reason number 2, but it's actually true. The others don't like the idea of being spied on and were hoping I would be wrong. But when we all asked individually why I was doing coffees on certain days and why the manager is all of a sudden doing the late shifts, the manager went weird (and she is the one who is the most honest of the lot - you can tell with her when she's lying and covering up). I just put 2 and 2 together - not that hard! I guess they were all not used to thinking suspiciously like me. Suspicious may be the wrong word, just good at reading ppl. And coz I knew something had to be done in regards to ppl's laziness, because 2 of the hardest working ppl in the shop leaving just one month apart from one another spells trouble for management, especially right before the busy Christmas period (my friend left at the end of September and I'm leaving at the end of October).
Well that was more work politics stuff than I had imagined... back to Friday. I finished at 4 and went home to get changed and go to meet Sam at her new gym that she's working at. I had a cardio workout for the first time in weeks and it was just what I needed. We then went for dinner at a cool bistro in her area called "Natalia's" (I'll take you there one day bro!) Best food ever (Better than Romeo's dude - and you know how good their stuff is. Romeo's is my fave restaurant folks)! The entree size looks like a bloody main. Usually I'd struggle to get through it all, but as I had only eaten a banana for breakfast and had skipped lunch - and on top of that had a workout - I was famished. So I downed all of mine, ate Sam's leftovers and ate half a pizza all to myself! That pizza was meant for her boyfriend James, so I must apologise for eating his dinner! It was another fantastic night full of laughs over the most stupid things like roundabouts, stretches and 911. Don't ask how we linked them all together, but it worked! We went back to her place and stayed up and watched a DVD - she and I have completely different tastes in movies. I tried liking this romantic comedy she put on but I just didn't. I'm impatient with movies anyway, so it wasn't anybody's fault.
Spent the night at her joint so we could wake up early enough to go back to the gym for a joint workout. I did 20 minutes of cardio - if I continue with my cardio fitness everyday, it's going to go back up to the way that it was. I was amazed at how quickly I got back into the swing of my cardio endurance - after just one day. While I did Combat, she did a weights session. I struggled big time to keep up. It's just my lack of endurance training, which I hope to get back now when I'm on holidays and before I depart as well. We're gonna catch up again before I leave.
Caught the train home. I wanted to get off but this guy was blocking the way with his legs. I said, "Excuse me" and he didn't move. I stood there for around 5 seconds waiting for his legs to move so he could clear the way for me, but he just stayed put reading his newspaper. So in front of a crowded train, I kicked him. Only after 2 seconds after I kicked him, he moved and was waiting for me to apologise. I gave the most sarcastic "Sorry" and walked off the train. And I wasn't even pre menstrual. It was great! I don't condone that behaviour, but I'm no shrinking violet either. Got home at 11am and spent the rest of the day on here and bumming. I didn't sleep particularly well, but I knew I was just going to bum around at home all day, so it wasn't a total loss. Spent a good old time chatting to Chris. I've got nothing else planned for the rest of the night - hopefully get a chance to catch up with you lot again soon!
Tomorrow I'm going out for my farewell lunch at a family friend's place. Then I've got nothing. I'll be working more in the next fortnight before my last week of nothingness.
So now I'm up to date. I'm so in love with blogger. I discovered how to post photos with blogs (see last blog). BRILLIANT! Come and chat to me when you wake up, I'll be here. See ya!!
Girl's Day Out
My Thursday was perfect. Not only because it was my day off work, but also because the weather was spectacular and I was catching up with a cool friend I hadn't seen in ages. And the train was perfect too! Usually I have to catch a connecting train to get to the City Loop, but my train went through it, cutting my travel time. HOORAY! But I was early anyway and just sat reading a list of 171 cool things I've done since 2005 (yeah, I'm a list girl!) up until Sachiko came by. We went to Yum Cha in Chinatown. I've never been there before - even though I am a stout Melbournian - and it was great. A nomi with great food and company. We were catching up on old times and I also got the current updates (that's a better word to use than 'goss', isn't it?!?!) with all of our Nova crew. If you want to know what's new, send me an email. I won't go into detail here...I don't want to risk alienating my other readers now, do I? (OK, predominantly it is just the 2 of you...maybe 3 or 4 of you, but only 2 of you will know what I'm on about!)
As we both had the day off, we had nothing on so we decided to do the girl thing and go shopping for clothes - dresses and skirts in particular. I was worried (well, not too worried) that very few clothes would end up fitting me, as I have not been going to the gym as much as I would like. But I tried on this black and red dress and am very happy to report that I've still got it! Sachi and I were both trying on dresses - and that woman is as persuasive as my Mum when it comes to shopping! I almost bought myself a dress that I pictured myself wearing at my friend's 15th birthday party in Arg, but decided against it. The dresses here are more sexy and provocative and I will stand out amongst the crowd if I wear an Aussie designer dress in Arg, but I still want to wait until I get to Arg and go shopping for the dress when I'm there (I'll have just over 24 hours to do it!) No point in giving old men heart attacks at a 15th birthday party. I almost did that at my little cousin's 6th birthday party...long story. I'll tell you all about it one day! I also tried a gorgeous green skirt and an elegant charcoal grey halter dress...simply stunning. I had to control myself there - the dress was $500, but so worth every cent!
After shopping for the perfect dress, we continued on our fashion quest: the shoes! And because it is the beginning of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, all the shops have the shoes, dresses and fascinators readily available. Being in Melbourne in Spring is fabulous for the fashion (and for my birthday, but that goes without saying!) - we know how to dress up nicely and we know how to show it off. Sachiko and I were trying on fascinators and hats. I'm not a hat person, but the ones that I tried really suited me, particularly a peacock blue and green feathered thing. Afterwards we got the matching shoes. After our shoe frenzy, we capped it all off with the handbags. This season's handbags are quite shit. There was not one single bag that I liked that fit the right mix: great design and great colour. I found either one, but not both. But thankfully I have a huge collection of handbags as it is. Maybe the handbag designers were aware that I was going overseas and needed to save money, so to curb my temptation, they deliberately made shitty designs for this season so I wouldn't spend money on handbags. This is the way that I have chosen to interpret the lack of quality handbags available. Cool, isn't it? Coz it's all about me!
Sachiko at the shoe department, looking at her favourite brand.
Great colour, shit design!
As we both had the day off, we had nothing on so we decided to do the girl thing and go shopping for clothes - dresses and skirts in particular. I was worried (well, not too worried) that very few clothes would end up fitting me, as I have not been going to the gym as much as I would like. But I tried on this black and red dress and am very happy to report that I've still got it! Sachi and I were both trying on dresses - and that woman is as persuasive as my Mum when it comes to shopping! I almost bought myself a dress that I pictured myself wearing at my friend's 15th birthday party in Arg, but decided against it. The dresses here are more sexy and provocative and I will stand out amongst the crowd if I wear an Aussie designer dress in Arg, but I still want to wait until I get to Arg and go shopping for the dress when I'm there (I'll have just over 24 hours to do it!) No point in giving old men heart attacks at a 15th birthday party. I almost did that at my little cousin's 6th birthday party...long story. I'll tell you all about it one day! I also tried a gorgeous green skirt and an elegant charcoal grey halter dress...simply stunning. I had to control myself there - the dress was $500, but so worth every cent!
After shopping for the perfect dress, we continued on our fashion quest: the shoes! And because it is the beginning of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, all the shops have the shoes, dresses and fascinators readily available. Being in Melbourne in Spring is fabulous for the fashion (and for my birthday, but that goes without saying!) - we know how to dress up nicely and we know how to show it off. Sachiko and I were trying on fascinators and hats. I'm not a hat person, but the ones that I tried really suited me, particularly a peacock blue and green feathered thing. Afterwards we got the matching shoes. After our shoe frenzy, we capped it all off with the handbags. This season's handbags are quite shit. There was not one single bag that I liked that fit the right mix: great design and great colour. I found either one, but not both. But thankfully I have a huge collection of handbags as it is. Maybe the handbag designers were aware that I was going overseas and needed to save money, so to curb my temptation, they deliberately made shitty designs for this season so I wouldn't spend money on handbags. This is the way that I have chosen to interpret the lack of quality handbags available. Cool, isn't it? Coz it's all about me!
Sachiko at the shoe department, looking at her favourite brand.
Great colour, shit design!I've never had so much fun with window shopping before. Sachi summed it up perfectly: it's good to go window shopping so you know what's in season and what's available, so when it comes time when you really need an outfit, you'll know what's out there, what's old and what will suit you. I never thought of it that way...so window shopping IS a valuable use of time. Tell your friends
Got back home and just lounged about and relaxed. After having a busy Wednesday it was great to begin the farewells and catch ups. And it was great seeing another familiar face that I met in Sendai. And I enjoyed the lounging, as I knew Friday was going to be busy. But I'll just post this now and I'll do Friday's blog a bit later today.
See ya!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Everything I touch is a success.
Got back home and just lounged about and relaxed. After having a busy Wednesday it was great to begin the farewells and catch ups. And it was great seeing another familiar face that I met in Sendai. And I enjoyed the lounging, as I knew Friday was going to be busy. But I'll just post this now and I'll do Friday's blog a bit later today.
See ya!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Everything I touch is a success.
Thursday, October 9
THANKS CHRIS!
Because you're one of the few ppl who doesn't have their myspace blog set on private, I can actually still read about your comings and goings, but I just can't comment on them - so I read your last one. Thanks for telling ppl I'm not dead - and for passing on my new blog details. Now your mission is to tell me what O writes in his, as he has now become a private blog pansy.
I'll be incomunicado for the next 2 days....but I'll be back on the weekend.
BYE!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: My life gets better all the time.
I'll be incomunicado for the next 2 days....but I'll be back on the weekend.
BYE!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: My life gets better all the time.
The Backblogging Begins...
ABOUT TIME FOLKS! Alright, I'm ready and in the mood to backblog, now that I've got some well earnt time on my hands. So here is my Tuesday:
I had slept really well. I woke to hear someone in the other room, which meant that it was Mum getting ready for work, which again meant that it was only 7am. DAMN! But as I checked, it was in fact 11am and Mum had taken a sickie. So we spent the day together (aawwwww!) and went to the new shopping complex that just opened last week. It has that new car smell but it's not a car, it's just new smell. And it was filled with workers from Genesis gym trying to give out free guest passes to the gym. Now after having worked for Fernie, I know the tricks and the endless sales calls that these girls do after submitting your details, so I decided against it. Plus I'm not going to be around for the opening of the gym.
Before we got to the shopping centre, Mum took me into the travel shop and said, "I want to show you something that may come in handy when you're on the road". I walked in and she never said a word: I bought myself a pair of shoes. She and I are a very dangerous combination when it comes to shopping. I rarely go, but when I do, I unleash! I don't need much persuasion and I'm as dangerous with money as Mum is with recipe books. You can't take those away from us even if you tried!
I got back home and was getting ready for my doctor's appointment for my tetanus shot. My friend Oscar is the admin dude and he was able to get the doctor to not charge me for tetanus. So I quickly made the appointment, as I needed to get my vaccinations 4 weeks before being exposed to the environment (It wouldn't have been an issue anyway, as I'll be in Canada and the US first up). Now I've been giving this breakdown of my injection in the last 4 attempts of writing this blog, and after chatting to O, he knows all about it, so he can skip this part. I would also advise that if you are queasy and uneasy with the idea of needles and blood to also skip the next part. I'll tell you when it's safe to read!
I chatted to Oscar for quite a bit before getting to the doctor. I know him through workplace 1 and have known him for over 2 years, but I only discovered a few months ago that he is in fact, Chilean. I thought he was French! So now we always chat in Spanish and we give each other deals on stuff! I had never realised that the doctor's surgery was so close to my house that I arrived 20 minutes early. Met the doctor and he is the best. Very friendly and affable. I told him I needed my tetanus coz I was travelling and he told me that it would be beneficial for me to get 3 other vaccinations as well, preferably all on the same day. I had my heart set on just tetanus, plus I knew Wednesday at work was going to be full on. So while I thought about what I wanted to do, he got prepped for tetanus. Here's the breakdown, reader beware!
INJECTION 1 - TETANUS: He got ready to put it on my left arm. He then tells me to cough for a bit. By this stage our level of rapport was quite good so I obliged. When I ask him, "When will I be getting my tetanus shot?" he said, "You just did". I FELT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Not even a pinch! I didn't even need a band aid coz I wasn't bleeding. It was the most painless injection I've ever had - and believe me, this year I've had quite a few. And I also knew that tetanus was going to be the worst of the lot, as I do remember getting my tetanus the last time when I was in high school - not pretty. I wanted to go first and I pushed in line, as we were meant to be lined up in roll call order. I would have been last to have been called up and I didn't want to wait that long, so I begged the 1st girl to change spots, and she did. Why am I telling you this? I'm sure there was a point....oh yes, it was a painful shot because instead of keeping my arm active, I froze it completely. So I learnt that the next time I get tetanus, I must keep the arm moving. Now let's get back to Tuesday, shall we: The doctor asked me what I wanted to do with the others. My confidence was sky high, so I said, "Give them all to me now". Which is just what happened.
INJECTION 2 - MENINGITIS: He told me that this was going to be the easiest injection of the lot as it had the least amount of pain and side effects, so he put this one just below my tetanus. Again, he is the master of diversion as he got me to cough. I didn't feel this one either. Once again, no blood and no band aid required. It was all good. Confidence rises a fraction. I was getting ready for the next one.
INJECTION 3 - HEPATITIS A: It was my first Hep A vaccination. He wanted to give the next 2 shots at the same time, just because there is an existing vaccination for typhoid and hep a combined, but he ran out of stock, so these injections had to be done separately. I got my right arm out and he got me to cough and wiggle my toes. Have you actually tried doing those at the same time without thinking about it? Kind of similar to patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time. It takes practice. But I did end up feeling this one, but only for just a second and there was some blood. Nothing I can't handle, as I'm pretty good with needles and blood and whatnot.
INJECTION 4 - TYPHOID: The doctor said "I'm going to put this one in straight away to compensate for you getting 4 injections instead of 3". I agreed. I wiggled the toes and coughed, but this one I felt for a good 5 seconds. Ordinarily it would have been fine, if I had not been spoilt with 3 great experiences beforehand. It was still tolerable, but I really needed a band aid as the blood just kept flowing. So it seemed typhoid was the worst of the lot. I was warned that I would be feeling some pain in the next 2 hours, particularly in the tetanus arm. To combat against this, I decided to go to the gym and have an extreme upper body workout. Wise, maybe. I believe it is. Spent 90 minutes at the gym with a strong focus on chest and arm work. They've got these cool chest fly machines - I've seen them before, but these were hardcore and I loved them. By the end my arms weren't that sore, but I knew there was some muscle soreness partly due to the injections/partly DOMS from the workout. It was a good move.
So that was my fabulous Tuesday. I got so pissed off when I tried to share this with you guys and I couldn't post. Damn shame, coz I was wrapped. But the good thing is I can share again on here. I'M BACK BABY!
WEDNESDAY: It was the Jewish holiday so we were all busy, but it dragged on a bit at the end. Too many chiefs not enough Indians....bla bla bla. But we closed early and I grabbed myself a free bubka. I've always wanted to have one since Seinfeld. It's filled with aretery clogging badness that you must have at least 5 times a year. This is my second of the year and possibly last. No worries - it's way too fattening anyway. I stumbled on blogger when again I tried blogging Tuesdays blog with no luck. It was sad to let go of myspace coz all of my goofy comments have now disappeared, but you can't get rid of my goofy mind, so I'm sure there will be more goofiness in times to come!
I'm meeting up with Sachiko for lunch today. Haven't seen her since the beginning of the year when O and I were pretending we weren't together, so it's gonna be one hell of a catch up! Can't wait!
I'm off...see ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY (Yes, it's back!): I cross all bridges with joy and ease.
I had slept really well. I woke to hear someone in the other room, which meant that it was Mum getting ready for work, which again meant that it was only 7am. DAMN! But as I checked, it was in fact 11am and Mum had taken a sickie. So we spent the day together (aawwwww!) and went to the new shopping complex that just opened last week. It has that new car smell but it's not a car, it's just new smell. And it was filled with workers from Genesis gym trying to give out free guest passes to the gym. Now after having worked for Fernie, I know the tricks and the endless sales calls that these girls do after submitting your details, so I decided against it. Plus I'm not going to be around for the opening of the gym.
Before we got to the shopping centre, Mum took me into the travel shop and said, "I want to show you something that may come in handy when you're on the road". I walked in and she never said a word: I bought myself a pair of shoes. She and I are a very dangerous combination when it comes to shopping. I rarely go, but when I do, I unleash! I don't need much persuasion and I'm as dangerous with money as Mum is with recipe books. You can't take those away from us even if you tried!
I got back home and was getting ready for my doctor's appointment for my tetanus shot. My friend Oscar is the admin dude and he was able to get the doctor to not charge me for tetanus. So I quickly made the appointment, as I needed to get my vaccinations 4 weeks before being exposed to the environment (It wouldn't have been an issue anyway, as I'll be in Canada and the US first up). Now I've been giving this breakdown of my injection in the last 4 attempts of writing this blog, and after chatting to O, he knows all about it, so he can skip this part. I would also advise that if you are queasy and uneasy with the idea of needles and blood to also skip the next part. I'll tell you when it's safe to read!
I chatted to Oscar for quite a bit before getting to the doctor. I know him through workplace 1 and have known him for over 2 years, but I only discovered a few months ago that he is in fact, Chilean. I thought he was French! So now we always chat in Spanish and we give each other deals on stuff! I had never realised that the doctor's surgery was so close to my house that I arrived 20 minutes early. Met the doctor and he is the best. Very friendly and affable. I told him I needed my tetanus coz I was travelling and he told me that it would be beneficial for me to get 3 other vaccinations as well, preferably all on the same day. I had my heart set on just tetanus, plus I knew Wednesday at work was going to be full on. So while I thought about what I wanted to do, he got prepped for tetanus. Here's the breakdown, reader beware!
INJECTION 1 - TETANUS: He got ready to put it on my left arm. He then tells me to cough for a bit. By this stage our level of rapport was quite good so I obliged. When I ask him, "When will I be getting my tetanus shot?" he said, "You just did". I FELT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Not even a pinch! I didn't even need a band aid coz I wasn't bleeding. It was the most painless injection I've ever had - and believe me, this year I've had quite a few. And I also knew that tetanus was going to be the worst of the lot, as I do remember getting my tetanus the last time when I was in high school - not pretty. I wanted to go first and I pushed in line, as we were meant to be lined up in roll call order. I would have been last to have been called up and I didn't want to wait that long, so I begged the 1st girl to change spots, and she did. Why am I telling you this? I'm sure there was a point....oh yes, it was a painful shot because instead of keeping my arm active, I froze it completely. So I learnt that the next time I get tetanus, I must keep the arm moving. Now let's get back to Tuesday, shall we: The doctor asked me what I wanted to do with the others. My confidence was sky high, so I said, "Give them all to me now". Which is just what happened.
INJECTION 2 - MENINGITIS: He told me that this was going to be the easiest injection of the lot as it had the least amount of pain and side effects, so he put this one just below my tetanus. Again, he is the master of diversion as he got me to cough. I didn't feel this one either. Once again, no blood and no band aid required. It was all good. Confidence rises a fraction. I was getting ready for the next one.
INJECTION 3 - HEPATITIS A: It was my first Hep A vaccination. He wanted to give the next 2 shots at the same time, just because there is an existing vaccination for typhoid and hep a combined, but he ran out of stock, so these injections had to be done separately. I got my right arm out and he got me to cough and wiggle my toes. Have you actually tried doing those at the same time without thinking about it? Kind of similar to patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time. It takes practice. But I did end up feeling this one, but only for just a second and there was some blood. Nothing I can't handle, as I'm pretty good with needles and blood and whatnot.
INJECTION 4 - TYPHOID: The doctor said "I'm going to put this one in straight away to compensate for you getting 4 injections instead of 3". I agreed. I wiggled the toes and coughed, but this one I felt for a good 5 seconds. Ordinarily it would have been fine, if I had not been spoilt with 3 great experiences beforehand. It was still tolerable, but I really needed a band aid as the blood just kept flowing. So it seemed typhoid was the worst of the lot. I was warned that I would be feeling some pain in the next 2 hours, particularly in the tetanus arm. To combat against this, I decided to go to the gym and have an extreme upper body workout. Wise, maybe. I believe it is. Spent 90 minutes at the gym with a strong focus on chest and arm work. They've got these cool chest fly machines - I've seen them before, but these were hardcore and I loved them. By the end my arms weren't that sore, but I knew there was some muscle soreness partly due to the injections/partly DOMS from the workout. It was a good move.
So that was my fabulous Tuesday. I got so pissed off when I tried to share this with you guys and I couldn't post. Damn shame, coz I was wrapped. But the good thing is I can share again on here. I'M BACK BABY!
WEDNESDAY: It was the Jewish holiday so we were all busy, but it dragged on a bit at the end. Too many chiefs not enough Indians....bla bla bla. But we closed early and I grabbed myself a free bubka. I've always wanted to have one since Seinfeld. It's filled with aretery clogging badness that you must have at least 5 times a year. This is my second of the year and possibly last. No worries - it's way too fattening anyway. I stumbled on blogger when again I tried blogging Tuesdays blog with no luck. It was sad to let go of myspace coz all of my goofy comments have now disappeared, but you can't get rid of my goofy mind, so I'm sure there will be more goofiness in times to come!
I'm meeting up with Sachiko for lunch today. Haven't seen her since the beginning of the year when O and I were pretending we weren't together, so it's gonna be one hell of a catch up! Can't wait!
I'm off...see ya later!
QUOTE OF THE DAY (Yes, it's back!): I cross all bridges with joy and ease.
Wednesday, October 8
Andrea's New Blog
Yes, I'm finally moving on and not taking anymore shit from myspace. Chris, thanks for the recommendation, I know you've been talking up blogger for a while and I have a feeling I'm going to be much happier with this setup.
I've been trying to catch up with Tuesdays blog and I feel like I'm repeating myself. I'm seriously not in the mood to post what happened yesterday, even though it was a really fantastic day. Just give me a while to get settled with the new blog and also time to let you all know about this. But chances are if you're reading this, you're already aware that I've left myspace. Come onto blogger folks, or if you're attached to myspace, then at least send me your blogs - I will miss them all. And can somebody tell Kaori - coz I don't have her email addy on me right now. Thanks boys!
And the good thing with blogger: they have a 'save now' button you can click on anytime. THAT ROCKS!!!
Chris, thanks again! (IT AUTOSAVES TOO!!!!)
I've been trying to catch up with Tuesdays blog and I feel like I'm repeating myself. I'm seriously not in the mood to post what happened yesterday, even though it was a really fantastic day. Just give me a while to get settled with the new blog and also time to let you all know about this. But chances are if you're reading this, you're already aware that I've left myspace. Come onto blogger folks, or if you're attached to myspace, then at least send me your blogs - I will miss them all. And can somebody tell Kaori - coz I don't have her email addy on me right now. Thanks boys!
And the good thing with blogger: they have a 'save now' button you can click on anytime. THAT ROCKS!!!
Chris, thanks again! (IT AUTOSAVES TOO!!!!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
