Good On Ya, Mate

so (mini) vans aren't really a popular car here.. and for the most party they aren't even called vans... they are called 'people movers'

ice cubes are ice blocks

'bolt' can mean heaps.. i mean lots. 'i've got bolt cash'. i think i'm gonna use this one

when you put on lots of layers and dress warmly... one might say you are 'rugged up'... as in wrapped in a rug

lately people have been moving rooms.. tired of their roommates or they want a single... but each time it's referred to as 'shifting'. ohhh! i get to shift today! ...my neighbor is shifting out!

when one does something smart or cool... it's 'good on ya, mate!'

and when niceities go beyond 'g'day'... EVERYONE says 'how ya going?'... slight variation from 'how ya doing'... but sounds weird to me

my friends have never heard of "tailgating". not as in trailing a car too closely, but as in 'pre-gaming for sports events (or concerts) by drinking and grilling out of the back of your car'. i miss tailgating. i miss american sports. i'm in withdrawl. i won't be able to watch the nfl... and i'm more upset about that than i thought i would be. BUT i just realized i think i'll be in america for the superbowl! i'll get back to y'all on that

soooooooo..... i have an essay due in 36 hours. have not started writing for it. i have read about 6 articles... usually i have around 20 works cited per paper... and i'm at 6. tomorrow S and i are spending the entire day in the city library. something to look forward to.

last nite... for some reason S and i stayed up until 8am. i slept today from 8-3pm.. and hopefully will be crashing soon. we went down to the common room to study (free internet down there!) and we ended up playing poker and pool all nite. then i walked to the gym with my new friend D at 6am... only to find that it was closed til 9 cause it was sunday. so we decided to put on another layer (rug up if you will) and take a walk around the city lake and watch the sunrise. he pointed out all the different kinds of birds around the lake. they don't have white swans, only black!! we walked for about an hour and we were maybe a third around the lake when we realized just how big the lake was. so we turned back and returned at 7:30 and had breakfast together. the lake and sunrise were beautiful. i want to make the lake walk a weekly thing but i doubt i'll ever be up at 6am again on a sunday.

so anyways, i have my paper to write tomorrow. then i'll have 2 days to write a second paper and study for my race and human genetics exam..... but that means
a) I AM FINISHED WITH 1 WHOLE CLASS. studying for human skeletal anatomy took 2 all nighters... but i think the worst i did on the test was a low B.... i guess we'll have to wait and see.
b) I WILL BE DONE WITH ALL MY CLASSES THIS FRIDAY! only one more week and i'll have a 6 week vacay where i hopefully will get to travel to all of: fiji, tasmania, melbourne, sydney, and adelaide.

i was watching House... an old episode.. and he explained what a Myoclonic Jerk is... where the respitory rate drops so the brain sends a pulse to a certain area of the body to 'jerk' it to make sure it is still alive. it usually happens when falling asleep. so at least i know i'm not seizuring at nite... my brain is just looking out for me

so not much to report. life is all in all the same old same old. my room is a disaster area, however i spent 20 minutes today cleaning my friends' living room. and i really got into it. i wanted to sweep, vacuum, wipe down all the tables, everything! but once i step into my room... i just want to lie on my bed and stare at the piles of clothes. why is that?

and have you ever had cream cheese in a sweet chili sauce?? S had it once.. and now i'm addicted. it's really good with ritz or water crackers.

did i tell y'all about the care package my dear mother sent me?? it had kool-aid and a nfl regulation football.

my friends can't get enough of the kool-aid. and i am now the BGOC (big girl on campus) for having an american football to throw around in the courtyard... watching the aussies throw it is hiliarous! they are all used to rugby tossing and aussie football throwing (where it's not really a throw... if you're right handed, you place the ball in your left hand down to your right side... and hit the back end of the ball with your right hand in a fist... like an underhanded volleyball serve... it's really weird).

in the next package there are gonna be graham crackers, so i can show these crazy kids what a real s'more is.

and omg... all i needed to buy the other day was a black cardigan and black strappy heels (we had a formal end of the year dinner) and it was soooo hard to find them! it's so expensive here. i just kept wishing i was back home... i'd go straight to DSW and then straight to target... then i'd be done. but nooo... i went to about 13 different stores... and spent way too much money on the shoes. the sweater was 27 bucks down from 65. 65 dollars on a department store sweater?? that's insane.

but the end of the year dinner was really fun! it was the whole dorm and we only had to walk a block to the banquet hall.. where we had drink vouchers, a dance floor, balloons, and a buffet! (even a vegetarian one!!). needless to say it was a good night for everyone. it was fun having everyone you know from the dorm in one setting.

and i'm getting really good at pool guys. just giving y'all a heads up!

well i'm rambling on now.. more than usual, so i'm off to sleep so i can wake up and write a 10 page paper!!

love and hugs to everyone!