And then there was darkness...

Sorry my little bloglings! It has been ages and I know you're starting to worry. Fear not! I am alive and well!!

I have been unable to post because we have some issues with our Internet at home. Basically we managed to use all of it in an unreasonable amount of time and it apparently doesn't renew until next week. ¡Que lástima! as they say in Spanish. I suspect there is something fishy about this...

This weekend Bibi and I are going to Hawks Nest with the sailing and windsurf club. It's looking like it will be a nice weekend! :)

Next week I will try to upload all my pics when I get a chance, before heading to Tasmania for mid semester break!!! Very excited!!!!

That's all I have for now. And you're in luck! No non-rhetorical questions or otherwise this time!!

Entonces, ¡hasta la próxima vez!

The only thing to fear is fear itself.

Well.... its been a few days. Hello all! What have I been up to? Well.... I can't remember.


Photo-a-Day Challenge

Day 7: Fear

I skipped this one because:

When you want to find a large, creepy spider (why???) they are elusive.

I fear spiders. They are super cool but totally freak me out.

I also fear falling, which is why heights make me nervous.

Day 8: Favourite

Day 9: Faceless Self-portrait

Day 10: I want...

If you noticed that's me standing in the corner, then you'll know I didn't take this picture. In fact, the whole time Bibi and I were at the sailing/windsurfing bbq, I neglected to take ANY pics at all :( but it portrays generally what I would have used for this day's photo challenge had I remembered to take any myself.

So, I want...  to be windsurfing/sailing! (And I did!)

Day 11: Important

It is important to know where the library is on campus. Fortunately its easy to spot: tall building with UNSW on the sides...can't miss it!

Oh, yeah. So I've been at Uni. The Sailing and Windsurfing Club (of which my housemate Bibi and I are members) had a welcome BBQ yesterday at the Woollahra Sailing Club in Rose Bay. I got to sail and tried windsurfing. I missed the intro because I was on the boat, so when I got on the board, no one was giving me any instruction at all. I think I did quite well despite the fact. I would have done even better if there weren't so many moored boats to crash (or not crash) into. I'm excited to go again!! The club is putting together a weekend away trip to Hawk's Nest, and I've signed up to go. I'm not actually sure where Hawk's Nest is, possibly north of Newcastle.

For our mid-semester break at the end of the month, I am trying to coordinate a mini camping trip with Lisa to explore more National Parks and to find some wildlife! If we can't pull that together I will see where else I can venture out for a short time. Hopefully I can see some of the "good" wildlife, and less of the "creepy/deadly" wildlife. My vertebrate zoology professor says marsupials and native Aussie fauna are the nicest animals... and says his friend who works with Tassie Devils catches them in the bush, picks them up, tags them and releases them, all by hand, no tranq's. He tells this story and then says, "Can you do that with a feral cat in the bush?" Um, no. I think I'm going to like that class.

Blogosphere question of the day:

What do you fear?

Dream Big.

Had my first two lectures this week. Philosophy of Science and Introduction to Criminology. Both outside of my scholastic comfort zones, as I'm used to thinking scientifically. Should be interesting to see how my brain sorts through and how I learn in these fields.

Yesterday my criminology prof sent an email out saying she had several copies of the text book that she would give out for free to the best answers for a question she posed about crime and criminal behavior. So I pondered, and Richard helped me turn my brain on and think in this realm, and sent an email back. Apparently she has 12 books, and at least 24 of us responded. The class is about 500 students. So I'm thinking I have a shot at free books! Should find out by the end of today.

So today Sharell tells me about this 5K Fun Run she wants to do. I'm thinking.... running? For fun? But then I checked out the link she sent along and it actually sounds like fun! It's called Run or Dye and basically you do the 5K and they throw eco-friendly dye at you throughout. Its not even timed! This fits the bill of "Fun Run" in my book! She said she's trying to get a few of us together and we can call ourselves Team Fruit Salad! Haha (inside joke??). Anyway, I pre-registered to reserve a spot. The run comes through Santa Barbara around mid-August, so right when I get back. Ha. Training. Who needs it?

So... I want to know who reads my blog. Raise your hand... hmm. Ok well that didn't work. How about leaving a comment? I'm not asking questions in my blogs just for my own entertainment! I'm trying to engage in interactive blogging, so I can hear from you. Not just to update you on my goings-on in Australia.

So. The title of this blog post. Dream Big. Sharell posted on her blog a link about how happy people do things differently. One of them was Dream Big. So here goes.

I want to work with big cats, likely in Africa or Asia. I have a soft spot (no pun intended) for our feline friends and one of my favorite lines while volunteering at the Santa Barbara Zoo was with the cats. I want to do big cat conservation or wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. That's it. That's my big dream. To work and play with lions, cheetahs, leopards, etc. So furry and cute, but also big, powerful and dangerous. Whatever I end up doing with my degree, I will probably be working in conservation. Depressing? Yes. Important? Yes.

Here's the non-rhetorical question of the day:

If you could do anything, what would it be? What is your "big dream"?

I've got two tickets to paradise

Photo-a-Day Challenge

Day 4: Lucky

Lucky to have a week-long rain followed by a nice sunny day so we can finally do laundry :)

Day 5: Under

What's under this flap? 

A very amusing and artistic letter from my HBOO :)

Day 6: Chair

Not quite a chair, but we shouldn't discriminate against seaside benches :)

[Somewhere between Coogee and Clovelly Beaches]

And now, my dear readers, I want to know...

What makes you feel lucky?

Selvfølgelig!!

Selvfølgelig means "of course!" in Norwegian, and is a phrase used often by myself when I am in a room full of Norwegians who are not speaking English. :)

Photo-a-Day Challenge (I'm going to post these in groups, rather than daily)

Day 2: I made this!

Kangaroo steak and string beans.

Kangaroo meat is very lean and quite tasty. It tastes like... beef, but more gamey and sweet. It's got a great flavour, but its a little hard to describe! The meat was bought pre-marinated in herbs and garlic. The string beans were sauteed in butter with salt and pepper.

Day 3: Key.

Yep. Darth Vader made the trip out to Sydney with me! Richie wanted to send me off with some flair, and something to keep my keys company with. We also got awesome free lanyards during O-Week.

'What is O-Week?' you ask. Well, it's this huge week long orientation gathering the week before term begins where you can get heaps of free stuff, participate in lots of silly games like quidditch, walk on stilts, do an obstacle course and join lots of cool clubs and societies if you're keen -- all in the name of free stuff!!! Well, no. All in the name of "school spirit". Or something. My roomies and I gourged ourselves on free pancake(s), fairy floss, krispy kreme, candy, soft drinks, snow cones, and managed to score a bunch of free stuff, like DVDs, reusable bags, pens, planners, coupons, free laser tag and bowling, tshirts, hats, beauty products, etc, etc, etc. It was exhausting! Towards the end of the week they have a huge party, this year was "Fire and Ice Party + Foam Pit". 'Sounds awesome!' Right? Well, they said, admission is free before 7:30pm, and $5/10 after that. We arrived around 8:30pm (couldn't get everyone going fast enough) and they had stopped letting people in, and said they weren't going to open it up again because it was to capacity. Lame. It was raining so basically we tramped around getting soaked for nothing. Though we did manage to fashion some very lovely hats out of cardboard boxes! ;)

On Friday we were all planning to go to the Taronga Zoo, but it was pouring rain and we decided against it. Had a pretty lazy day where 4/6 house mates ended up watching the same movie, separately. Too random (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, because I know you're curious!).

Yesterday, Bibi, Chelsea and I all went out to watch the Sydney Mardi Gras parade. It's a HUGE deal here, and since Fat Tuesday, apparently there's been festivities going on. We didn't get a very good view, even arriving early. Most of the parade was admired via cameras being held over head and randomly snapping shots. I was too short to get anything good, but Bibi is quite tall and she managed to get some good ones. Then we were getting a little too claustrophobic and didn't have such a great view, so we left. It was so neat to see everyone who participated in the parade and those who came to watch it. It's a HUGE support to the LGBT community, and its amazing to see so many people coming together. The variety of groups participating in the parade itself was astounding. Everything from armed forces, to religious groups, to private groups. Maybe I'm behind the times, or maybe its Australia.

"Since 1 July 2009, same-sex couples receive the same level of recognition as de facto opposite-sex couples in federal legislation including tax, health, superannuation, and aged care." (Thanks wikipedia: LGBT Rights in Australia)

Today, the girls and I headed out to Ikea. It's about an hour and a half by bus, with one transfer. This was my first experience in an Ikea store. I was blown away. First by the food (!!) and then by the sheer amount of STUFF. Only bought a handful of things (only needed a bathmat and some towels). After our big adventure, we headed to Bondi Junction (Westfields mall) to get a few more things for cleaning and things we needed for the new semester. Classes start tomorrow!!

Courses are typically split into lectures and tutorials (tutes), and sometimes seminars and practicals (pracs). Practicals are the same as laboratory sections, and tutorials are basically discussion sections. Most courses have their lectures beginning week 1, and tutes/pracs starting week 2. I only have 2 course lectures in week 1! I don't have to start until Wednesday! Which, basically gives me time to get my books. The courses I am currently enrolled in are:

Intro to Criminology

Intro to Italian

Philosophy of Science

Vertebrate Zoology

Really excited to start my last semester as an undergrad!!!! :)

I shall leave you all with a question. My quandary for the night is: 

Where should I go in Australia on my mid-semester break? 

We get Friday 29 March through Sunday 7 April off from class. Not sure if I should go North or South...