I'm still alive

It's been a month since my last post. Wow. apparently finding the time, energy and willpower to go to the internet, sit down, and type is much more difficult than i ever imagined. Although in my own defense i've never been very good at keeping a journal or diary, so did i really expect this to go any differently?

Anyway, i'll recap the highlights and then finish with the newest of stories.



Halloween was great fun. It reaffirmed my theory that boys like to dress up as girls. My own costume was stolen by Westy, a kiwi (he's from New Zealand) and i had to makeshift a new one. jerk. still, great fun was had, even if i was getting sick at the time.





Sometimes when the liveaboard moves from location to location we are joined by some of our underwater friends. Everyone gets really excited, myself included. You would too.








I finished the work-off portion of my Dive Control Specialist training. 31 days of my life i'll never get back. just kidding, i loved every minute of it. Working on a boat is a great time. I'm almost sad about it being over. But now that that's finished i start the actual coursework portion. This involves shadowing open water diver courses, and some bookwork, presentations, and tests. Whooooo. (story about this to follow.)



So. As part of my Dive Con course, i have to shadow 3 different Open Water Diver (OWD) courses. My first course was with an instructor named Dicky, who is a nice guy, great instructor, really good with the students. Did my course, fine. Whatever. Had a day off. Started feeling myself get sick again. Sore throat, all that. So i called up the shop, said "I think i might be getting sick again, If i am, i wont be able to dive in a few days, can i have a day off to see which way it goes, get meds, yada yada." Nick at the shop says yeah sure, no sweat, take 2 days, and start course on monday. Done. I spend friday and saturday sloshing anti-viral liquids down my throat and sucking lozenges like there's no tomorrow. Saturday night one of my roommates, Eduardo, has a going away party (he left for Brizbane today, sigh) and drags me out to the local joint, the Woolshed. I sipped water and ate my candies and left relatively early. When i get to the shop yesterday morning, all pumped for my second course, the douchebag at the desk, Brad, jumps up and says, "No No No... If you're too sick to work, you're too sick to go to the woolshed. No course for you, we'll see you next week." and he sent me home. I just kinda shrugged and walked out. I figured that might happen. I just want to know who the schmuck was who ratted me out. Then i look at my phone, and there's a text message from dicky saying "tut tut tut, hope the woolshed cleared away the sickness..." hmmmm. wonder who spilled the beans. I'm clearly none too happy with dicky these days. But hey, now i have a week to relax and fuck around. I can't complain too much.

I now live with Kelly and Brad, and Dom pretty much lives with us, and Eduardo, but he just left so not him anymore. There are always more people than that coming in and out though. It's so much fun. Come visit me!

We had a thanksgiving feast, which was delicious. And i took the leftover sweet potatoes and turned them into gnocchi and had them for dinner the next night. mmmmm.... and last night we went out for a steak dinner, which was amazing. i should eat more red meat.

Still loving life. People are asking me what my plan is once I finish my Dive Con. I really have no idea. I'm going to get a job and work for a bit fill up my empty bank account. I'm thinking about starting to think about year two already, even though it's ten months away. I feel like teaching in another country might involve a little more forethought than any of my other plans. I'm not worried though. The world is my oyster.

Miss everyone at home.

ps. i love boys with guitars

there's a guy in this internet cafe who is playing the guitar and singing, and i cannot physically pick myself up to leave. i'm transfixed. mesmerized. in love with the music.....

(slowly turning to mush.....)

sick = lame

so much for 13 days of no contact. after only two (maybe) i got the plague and decided to come home for a day and take it easy. a nice day off with no work. haven't seen one of those in a while. it was definately a neccessity. All the boys were telling me to harden up though. Listen, i'm a princess. i think i'm doing pretty fucking well, thank you very much. you boys can shove it up your ass, and i'll let you have some of the plague too.

i did get dougie sick, and i felt bad about that. but we hung out together because we were both diseased so there was no harm.

I go back out tonight around 10:30pm, just in time for the dreaded Refuel. This is the time where our liveaboard vessel comes home for a few hours, to refuel and restock on supplies for the next month. All the crew has to wake up in the middle of the night to help move supplies in and garbage out. Apparently it's the worst thing ever. I'm volunteering my not-so-diseased self so people don't think i'm pussing out. Then i'll be out for 11 days and all will be alright with the world. note to self: do not go to bed with wet hair. you will catch the plague again.

i'm going to a movie soon with dougie and chris. i'm excited for popcorn. i love that shit.

at the mall there was an icecream shop advertising real frozen yogurt and i got really excited about the possibility of a pinkberry-esque experience. but i tried it today. and it's so not good. damn it. i need my icecream maker. kira. make some and eat it for me.

i'm going to get a PO box today i think. then you can flood me with care packages and letters and cards and things i dont need but would certainly love. (mom's sending pastina and parmesan! god i love her!)

miss you all! talk to you in a week and a half!

I work on a dive boat!

that's right. the princess is forming calluses galore whilst working on a dive boat in the middle of the great barrier reef. I moore up the boat, i fill dive tanks, i set up dive decks, i pull ropes, i tie knots, and every now and then i dive. i'm so tough!

yesterday i dove with this guy Buggy, and we had the most amazing dive of life. well, i did. he was off poisoning crown-of-thorn sea stars so they'd die (they eat the reef, they kind of suck, so we kill them) but i just dove and it was a beautiful reef. I got pretty close to a White Tip Reef Shark before he swam off. People keep seeing a manta ray, but i'm never in the water for that. always on guard. oh well.

diving here is amazing. so different than florida and hawaii. unfortunately i can't dive as much as i'd like to because there's too much work to be done. oh well.

i'm hosting a Halloween party on friday on the liveaboard boat, the Kangaroo Explorer. Everyone's getting costumes and we're going to have a dance party on the sun deck! I love halloween. all the girls (all 3 of us) are going to be pirates! argh!

There are two boats that i switch back and forth between, the KE, and the Sunkist. Sunkist is a day-trip boat and it's back and forth every day. The trip out from cairns to the reef is literally a 2 hour ride. and i always feel vomitous for 3/4 of the trip. Why on earth would someone who gets seasick decide to work on a boat? got me.

Yesterday we had a rescue drill. this guy dennis jumped overboard and we had to go rescue him. it was a terrible attempt. There were three of us they were testing, and they said i did the best, but that's not saying much. it took us 4 1/2 minutes to get kitted up, save him, and bring him back to the boat. it should take less than two. the saddest part was the other two rescuers just finished their rescue course two days ago. everything is fresh in their minds. i haven't done any rescuing in at least two months. ha. i hope noone actually falls off; they're screwed.

what else....

the parmesan cheese here tastes different, in a not good way. and everyone makes fun of me because i'm american and i say aluminum, instead of aluminium. it's not my fault we took an i out of there.

i'm having a great time. but my hours suck and i'm usually exhausted by 8pm. i will be going out tomorrow night before i have to get back on the boat, and then it's back to 9pm bedtimes. well, except the halloween party. but after that for sure. until the next thing. :)

i miss my kira. sorry the internet sucks and i keep getting kicked offline in the middle of conversations. i love you!

i head back out on the liveaboard on friday, for 13 days this time. barf. no contact with the outside world. talk to me before then!

who lets me do these things???

yes. skydiving today. in about 3 hours. i'm petrified.

tomorrow i move onto a dive boat! then the real fun begins. my new friend alex, who is apprently going to be my boss, told me he's going to make me clean up poop. i can't wait.

oh goodness.

update!

i'm gonna work on a dive boat! i'm gonna work on a dive boat! yayayay!

also, there are bats in cairns. i love it.

i need the next 3 days to fly by....

you know when it's that time of the month and you get really depressed? well that's where i am. like clockwork. no matter where i am or what i'm doing.

i question myself and what i'm here for. i think about everything i'm doing wrong. i realize i'm finally off on my own and it scares me a little. in my right mind i'm fine and excited about it. but my crazy-time mind wants me to sit in my room all day and be sad.

i think i'm going to dive tomorrow. hopefully that will get my mind off of depression. although diving means spending more money. ugh. i hate spending money. one day i'm going to have a hell of a credit card debt to pay off.

you know where diving is super cheap? samoa. yep. super cheap. and the dollar is like 2.65 samoan tana. i should maybe plant my feet somewhere for a little while though. all of a sudden i wish i were somewhere else.

i need to go lay in the sun for a while. maybe that will cheer my mood. stupid period. i hate being a girl.

In Cairns...

It's humid. ick.

my hostel is pretty shitty. oh well.

i'm meeting up with Hannah Dowling of all people for drinks and possibly diving. I can't wait to dive.....

Your next mission, should you choose to accept it....

"On arrival, go to the Sun Palm Shuttle Bus service counter in arrivals and ask them to take you to the Caravella, free transfer. Get a ticket from them and hand in to the hostel on checkin. On arrival at the hostel you will see two buildings. In between the two buildings you will see a security gate. The code to get in the gate is c149. This will grant you access to the hostel. Walk around to reception and you will see a lightbox with a map of australia. Underneath the lightbox you will find a key safe. The code for this safe is 14459x. Inside there will be a key and a map to your room. We will see you in the morning. Good Luck Agent."

This was the actual confirmation message I received for my hostel in Cairns (with only minor adjustments).

ROAD TRIP!!!!

Zac and I headed to the Healsville Sanctuary for some Aussie Animal Action. And just for Nato, I jumped with a kangaroo... We saw lots of cool animals: platypus (much smaller than i originally thought), tasmanian devils, dingos (totally eating peoples babies), wallabies, and koalas. Pretty neat. And echidnas hurt. pet only in the direction of their spikes.




Then Mark, James, Zac and i ventured forth on an amazing journey through the south of victoria. First stop: Tuki Trout Farm!

There are no pictures of us fishing. Only playing with puppies and lambs....

and shearing sheep...

We were also fed the most amazing roast ever cooked. So delicious. Nice and juicy and flavorful. And they gave me so much brie! god i love cheese. mmmmm.... food..... We also explored a gold mine (we found none) and had a powerhour where james died early on.


Then we drove to the coast and saw the 12 (6) apostles. We drove along the Great Ocean Road and saw the beautiful coastline Australia has to offer. Please note: the waves will crash you on the rocks and kill you if the freezing water doesnt do it first. We stopped for an AWESOME skywalk through the forest. there were fake dinosaurs, which the boys humped, and amazing exhibits, like the Big Tree, and the Stump. $20 well spent. We ended at James' beach house for a night where we saw kangaroos on the golf course. So neat!

Sydney!

Zac and I went to Sydney for a few days. We stayed in a hostel who's main goal was to get everyone completely knackered. $5 pub crawl anyone?! Not to mention it was in the red light district and there were all sorts of hookers walking about. This is also where we met a handful of brits that we really could not understand. at all (see Rob to the right) . We climbed up the Sydney Harbour bridge and got to see the Opera House from the sky.


Then we went to Bondi Beach and walked along the shore to Bronte Beach. Nice little walk. The water was freezing. I'm not so sure i want to be somewhere where i can barely stick a toe in.

I'm heading north on saturday. The water will be significantly warmer, although apparently it will also be significantly more full of jellyfish that will kill me in four minutes flat.

well, we'll see i guess.

Tadai oy leave heah fo sidneh!

Words you need to know when coming to Australia:

Budgee Smugler
Oy
Skippee
Goldie
Boot
Vegemite (avoid at all costs)
Toffle
Good Onya!
No worries
Squid Snacks

and that about covers it. memorize these and you will be good to go, and mostly naked. Oy!

We are the Mighty Fighting Hawkers!!!

Yesterday was the AFL Grand Final, between the Hawthorne Hawks and the Geelong Cats. Zac and I, being life-long Hawk fans, got on our gear and headed out for some footy fun! As predicted, by only me, the Hawks became victors for the first time in 17 years! Go Hawks! The day was only dampened by Naked, quite literally, who was constantly taking his pants off and ended the game by pissing himself in the barn. ew. don't touch naked, he's covered in pee.

Melbourn in Pictures....

This is where the adventure starts, Ringwood East....

The Fairy Tree (what's left of it)


The Old Melbourn Gaol....

WARNING!! DO NOT ATTEMPT!!!

Rescue Diving, Hollywood, and Airport Rants!!!

I looooooove my dive gear!!!! I spent way more than i thought i would, but i so dont care because i love it so much. I got a digital dive computer (i opted out of the wireless, because it kinda weirds me out, I dont totally trust technology I guess.) And i got an awesome BCD and Regulator. Wheeee!!!

I had to rescue a 220lb guy named Luis. That was fun. So exhausting. But definately a good time. And my CPR instructor was suuuuuuuuuper hott. Total girl crush on that guy. I think i found my type!



What else?


I hate flying, and I hate baggage regulations. Why does it cost $150 for a bag that's 2lbs overwieght, and it only costs $50 for an entire second bag. 50lbs is so not enough. Arg.


I'm currently experiencing my layover in LA. I heart my schmoopy. Thanks bran for letting us play with you! We went to yogotango and got me some knock-off pinkberry (heart!) and we went to the tar pits. Zac is such a tourist and i love it. so many dorky pictures. I bought me and the boys some rock candy and now i have a tummyache. In 5 hours i will be on a 20 hour flight to my new home. And then i will be in the future. If you need to know what happens in the world 14 hours from now, i can tell you.

wheeeeee!

Do you Need to be Rescued?

In preparation for my upcoming journey around the globe, i'm taking a Rescue Diver class down in SOuth Beach. By sunday i will be able to rescue you, should you panic and faint underwater. Or if you trip and fall on the boat, i can bandage your knee. Or if you get stung by a jellyfish I can be on you. I'll be certified to do so. 

I'm also buying all my own equipment finally. I will be $12oo+ poorer, but one f-ing awesome SCUBA outfit richer! (pictures to come...) And as we all know, I'm going to be splurging on some fancy schmancy digital wrist dive computer. As long as my wallet holds out. We'll see...

In Other news, i crocheted this for Avery: