Almost home..

Aussie word of the day: Brekky = short for breakfast. A tv ad for Hungry Jack's (Burger King) the other day advertised "Brekky starting at 6 a.m."

G'day my warm weathered friends! Six weeks in and mid-term is nearly here (sigh). I'm busting to do some more travelling although I won't be if I don't get some money fast! This is the quest of the week.. I know you've all heard it before, but I swear this will be my last week without a job. I'm finally feeling the strain of no income and it isn't pretty... especially for my friends who have been kind enough to take pity on my (literally) poor soul.

Where did my money go? See above photo. A nice big piece of mud cake warmed up with ice cream and a capuccino, $10. My favorite Australian beer, Crown Lager (with the gold label), $7. Being a poor uni student who pretends she has more money than she does, priceless :) You can best tell this by the humongous, yet incredibly fake cz cocktail ring on the right hand. The photo was taken by my one and only American friend, Gail, last Friday when we were dining at The Brass Monkey, a favorite pub'n grub spot in Northbridge. I felt like having one last hoorah before I officially couldn't afford to eat this way anymore. We then hit up a hip and trendy new nightclub called The Saint in Scarborough (Scar-brah) Beach. More pix to follow. I couldn't afford the cab ride home so I stayed with Gail so she could give me a ride back in the morning. I will be repaying her with an all-you-can-eat sushi night in the city.

Saturday was my friend, Debbie's birthday where I stuffed myself silly with appetizers and snacks in anticipation of running out of food at home... you know, like animals that hibernate and eat shitloads in the off season. Don't worry, I'm not ballooning up.. yet. I'm still going to the gym and when I do run out of food, I can live off all the fat I stored up for days! Yesterday, was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm.. you know what that means! Hit the beach! I still didn't think the water would be warm enough, but it probably was and next time I will get in.

I can't believe I've been here nearly 2 months now and the reality of the end of term is bittersweet. Although, I will get to go home to see all my loved ones at the end of November - the weekend after Thanksgiving to be exact and will stay through Christmas and my b-day, some of my good friends who are only here on exchange will be gone when I get back and I will be left to seek out the company of new friends. I will also miss half the Australian summer, the better half, while I'm back in the States and will return when the temps are well above 100 degrees Farenheit.

Upon returning to Australia Dec. 30 with my dear friends Gina and her boyfriend Jolly (Chris), we will tour the eastern States (east coast by American terminology), and dive the Great Barrier Reef before I officially return to Perth to commence.. another 6 weeks of school holidays.. yeah!!! That's 3 months off between semesters! When I return to Perth in January there will be plenty to do before classes begin again. I will be settling into a new abode, preferrably a flat with new roommates.. not that I don't like the ones I have now. Maybe I will get a better job or at least some "work experience" to get into the field of journalism. Perhaps I will buy a car, a much desired entity amongst those of us who are just plain fed up on spending half their lives waiting on buses, trains, and cabs or subjecting ourselves to riding a bike to the liquor store to pick up some beer for the weekend and putting it in the cute little basket on the back. My friend, Debbie, who will be here the same duration as I am, bought an '84 Ford hatchback for AUD$400, which is like $300 American.. HA! It's a little rust-spotted, but it runs and that's all us poor uni students care about!

So I will see most of you wonderful readers in a few short months. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Labor Day!