australia, asia, and beyond

**Apparently i started writing this blog over the summer and never got around to finishing/posting it.... but it has some good pictures so i'm posting it now**

so i've been stateside for just over one month now. it's still a little weird not waking up on wallis parade... not walking down to the beach for my morning sunshine... not seeing my forever adored trainer, tom, for my mid-afternoon gym session... and most importantly not seeing some of the most amazing people i was lucky enough to call friends. australia was definitely one of the greatest years of my life. from my first townhouse in darling harbour to my, shall we say, interesting apartment in bondi... everyone and everything was truly one of a kind! i honestly cannot wait until i can visit again. who knows, maybe next time i'll even make it past byron beach. :)

as for asia. no words can describe. it was the vacation of a lifetime. every day was better than the previous. the beaches were the most beautiful places i'd ever seen. do you ever watch movies that are set in a tropical locale and wonder, "does it really look like that?" well, my friends, it DOES! unfortunately, i was unable to immortalize these precious moments. after buying a new camera because i forgot mine in sydney, i lost the memory card and killed the new camera whilst tubing, just one week before i left. tragic! however, i do have some pictures from my roommate/travel companion, sabrina. i must note, that she was an amazing person to travel with. we actually grew even closer during our six week escapades. saying goodbye to her was especially hard, and i still have a lingering sense of bitersweet nostalgia.

good times, great friends

well i actually remembered my camera, but of course.... it wasn't charged. *sigh* luckily, my friends had some cute photos, as witnessed below. don't i look happy?! i am.

and special ups to the girls on my left and right (allison and brittany, respectively) in the third picture. they rock.

ASIA

so i've been dying to write this blog for some time now. i am going to ASIA! i've been wanting to visit thailand for ages. in fact, when i applied to the peace corps, i told them that i didn't have a preference.... i just wanted to help wherever i was needed. but in reality, i was secretly hoping for southeast asia.

my australia chapter is quickly coming to a close (*alligator tear drops*). it's a bit embarrassing, because when people ask me what i did in australia... i have to be honest and reply, "chilled in sydney for nine months." did i make it to melbourne...? no. cairns? no. what about perth, darwin, adelaide, or canberra? no, no, no, and no. i've been in australia for nine months and the furthest point i've reached is byron bay. (which was freaking awesome). there are a million places i want to go in oz, but unfortunately i don't have the resources. i'm totally fine with this though, because i know i'll be back! (4 month tourist visa anyone?)

in the meantime... thailand.... laos... maybe even cambodia and vietnam? basically, the plan is to fly to bangkok on march 7, where i will meet up with my friend, jess and roommate, sabrina. i'm pretty much planning on staying in asia until i'm penniless (which includes a full moon party and thai new year -- what, what!), upon which i will return home to the states. i'll get into my stateside plans later....

i don't think i've ever been more excited for a trip in my whole life. i think i'm even more excited than when i was planning my london trip! (although that's a tough call considering 1. i adore/am slightly obsessed with all things british and 2. escape from bulgaria with an amazing friend was pretty much heaven on earth). the best part about asia though, is that nothing is planned. aside from the actual flight, i have no clue what's going to happen! i haven't even booked a hostel for the night that i arrive. i'm just going to show up and let the chips fall where they may. i've never been on trip where everything has been completely spontaeous, so i'm anxious to see how it goes. i'm not worried though. pretty much everyone i know has been to asia, traveled in the same manner, and they all LOVED it.

can. not. wait!

however, asia marks more goodbyes. i was just discussing today how the one kind of crappy thing about traveling is that you meet all these amazing people... only to say goodbye, never knowing if and when you'll see them again. *sigh,* the romantic side of me thinks maybe that's how it's supposed to be. all these people were put in my life for some purpose, and when it's fulfilled we move on. there is one person in particular who i am rather fond of though, and who i will be especially sad to leave. more on that later as well.

lastly, happy late valentine's day! i know everyone thinks it's just another commercialized holiday, spurred on by hallmark and the evil corporations. but i think all the cynics and pessimists should take a pill and smell the roses :) i watched "valentine's day" with my friend monica (btw, the movie was ok. wait till it's on dvd), went out for a drinks with the crew, and called it a night. nothing special happened... but i did get a little present from my roommate! haha. i really do have the cutest, sweetest friends.

love ya'll!

kissing frogs

so about two months ago, i was out at a bar and thought the bartender was really cute. after gazing at him all night, my friend jess was really pushing for me to go and talk to him. i thought it would be cheesy... i mean, he probably got hit on all the time. before we were about to leave, i saw jess attempting to write my number on a coaster and give it to him. um, no. how lame would that be? so as we were leaving something took over me, and i marched over to the bar with a swift storm of courage running through me. i just walked right up and asked if he had a girlfriend (and when he said no), if he wanted my number. he took it, and even called me that very night. however, after that initial contact, we always seemed to miss each other.

until last night that is. basically, dave (the bartender) texted me and ended up meeting up with my friends and i. talk about a date from hell. and it was practically a date because we were chatting with each other over drinks all night. let's recap some of the lovely things he said:

1."chug on"... he kept saying this phrase. he later declared it was his own personal catchphrase and he was going to try and start it/see if it would catch on. (um. "fetch" in mean girls anyone?!)
2. "i'm a north shore snob." the north shore is notoriously wealthy. he's basically a self-proclaimed vanderbilt.
3. after making a racial slur, announced that "everyone in australia is pretty racist."
um, cool?
4. telling me my drink choice was boring, and following that drink choices say a lot about a person...

gag. barf. dry heave.
it's official. australian boys are so lame.
guess you have to kiss a lot of frogs to get to prince charming.

i don't even know

this is seriously how i feel right now. thanks for the clip andrea. i don't care what anyone says. dane cook is awesome.



and by the way... why do we always want what we can't have?? when it's available i mock it, when it's gone i lust it. is that a sign of immaturity? if so, i really hope i grow up soon.