"I set fires to feel joy"

... "Well, that's adorable"

---

Well, it looks like I'll be posting a month's worth of adventures (and pictures!) after New Zealand (i.e. all of July). Leaving in a few hours and I'm not sure I'm going to get much sleep.

The last few weeks since our lease ended in Coogee, Chelsea and I have been house-sitting for a friend who lives in Ultimo (which is very conveniently located, I might add). I've gone on a few walks, hit up the Australia Museum, finally rocked up to Taronga Zoo, tried my hand in slack-lining (or maybe my foot?), and went for a 10km walk in the bush (Royal National Park, NSW). So, add on 2 weeks in New Zealand.... I'll have quite a bit to catch you, my ravid readers, up on. That is, if I still have readers (I can't blame you due to lack of reading material).

And since its Saturday night, and we're located near the harbour, you can see and hear fireworks going off! Though its a bit late for those.... (its midnight).

Well, I promise I will upload heaps of photos upon my return to the US! I must got finish packing and try to get a nap in. See you in 2 weeks California!

Barefoot at the Symphony.

Wow. So many exciting things just happened in a very short span of time.

First, I am officially done with my undergrad work!!!!!!! Took my last exam yesterday. I'm so excited I almost don't know what to do with myself! A few weeks ago I declared candidacy for graduating/completing my degree Summer 2013. The last thing now is just to wait for my EAP (UNSW) marks/grades to go through and keep all my fingers crossed everything counts as it should and then BOOM! Graduate me baby! :) Only took me twice as long as most of my peers but that's ok! Now I get to look for a degree-related job... ^_^'

So, last night, a friend and I went to see Idina Menzel with the Sydney Symphony at the Opera House.  Oh. My. God. The show was amazing. She was amazing. The concert hall was amazing. Just.... wow. The acoustics... the symphony... her voice... her personality. Everything. As Davis (the musically and theatrically inclined friend I went with) said, "Idina is a goddess." She was also hilarious. And barefoot. I will never forget the image of her jumping and prancing around on stage because she could, because she wasn't wearing 4-5" heels. She could have been 15 years old (she's 42). I spent at least the first 20 minutes or so in at state of jaw-dropped stupid giddy smiling. She came to a point in her set where she sang a song from Rent, which was supposed to be a duet. She climbed down into the audience to find some people to sing with her! She started with an adorable little girl in the front row with a sparkly pink tutu. The girl was a little bit terrified but Idina was so sweet. Then she picked 4 other people to sing with her. There was quite a bit of talent in that room! So yeah, I had a great time and I've decided I would LOVE to see her when she goes back on Broadway (rumoured to be soon!). Now, excuse me, I need to go listen to Rent and Wicked.

Davis: "She's in that building somewhere!!!"

<3 <3 <3

Inside the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

Ha, you didn't really think I'd leave you just like that??? I still have news!!

Lastly, and for some of you, most importantly: I come home in one month!!!!!!! Two more weeks of galavanting around Sydney, then 2 weeks in New Zealand..... and then I come home with reverse culture shock and jet lag! :)

We are moving out of our flat this weekend, so we have to get cleaning and packing! And now my little vegemites, that is all the news I have for you today.

Question of the day:

What is your favourite play or musical that you have seen or would like to see?

(Bonus points if you make one up!! ;))

Winter is coming....

One day maybe I'll be a real blogger. And write stuff people might actually enjoy reading. But for now, you lucky keen beans get to read this work of art.

So here's a look at the last few weeks:

My last undergrad lecture. Ever.

Vertebrate Zoology with the amazing Mike Archer!

(He's the guy who wants to bring back the Thylacine by cloning!)

The kid you see in the front there, apparently is notorious for asking too many questions in a lecture, so Mike started limiting him to 2 questions.

This is a view walking from my house down to the grocery store.

It never looks quite as nice when I take a picture of it...

The flatmates and I all went to see The Great Gatsby. 

Chelsea and I like to split a snack combo (this isn't the largest or the smallest size popcorn...). She gets the soda, and I get the candy. I'm usually keen on the lollie cup, but that night they were out and I had to settle for a Mars bar :( But the popcorn is good. Not too much butter or salt!

I came home from the beginning of what was going to be a very stressful week at uni to find that my sweetheart had arranged for these to be delivered!

Thanks Richard!!!

He's pretty amazing :)

The biggest rugby game of the season, the "State of Origin" game.

Queensland vs NSW -- we won!

I learned some interesting rules and things about Rugby that night. And that the Aussies call American Football "grid iron".

Check out how long my hair is getting! It's about 27 inches or so right now. It's a little ridiculous. It keeps finding new things to get tangled in. Can't wait to chop it and donate it in August!!!

Along University Mall Walk, UNSW, lower campus.

It was such a relief to hand in my last undergrad essay ever!!!

They have you fill out these cover sheets to attach to your work, and then drop off your assessments in that school's designated drop boxes. For example, in the Morven Brown Building, for me, the Philosophy box is on the 2nd floor, and Criminology is on the first.

Shenanigans. Chelsea, you can't undo the marks by burning them....

Only in Australia can you find KANGA BANGAS!

That is, Kangaroo Sausages. 

Bangers and mash, anyone?

It's exam time!!! Had my first exam today.

Criminology. Not intimidating at alllll..................... psyche.

They have some crazy strict rules on what you're allowed to bring in to the examination room.

For example.... You can ONLY bring in a water bottle IF it is in a clear, non-coloured plastic bottle, with no labels. It pained me to have to buy a plastic bottle because my clear, coloured reusable bottle with no labels wasn't good enough.

You also (when applicable) must have a university approved calculator. This doesn't apply to me, as I'm not taking maths or any science requiring maths. Basically, you take your calculator to that school, and they check it out and if they approve it they put a sticker on it that declares it suitable for the exam. This must be done ahead of time.

Additionally (if you can't read what this sign says), you're given a clear plastic bag to put only very specific valuables in, such as your mobile phone (OFF, of course -- though some idiots had theirs on in my exam), wallet, etc. Literally anything else has to be left OUTSIDE the exam room. This means, your purse or backpack, extra jackets or scarves, any notes or books, etc. You have to have your pens and pencils in hand with your student ID to be admitted into the exam. They check your ID and randomly assign you a seat that has all your test materials (sans the test questions), and you have to fill out and sign every document, answer sheet and essay booklet. Sheesh. Your ID, pens/pencils, water bottle and all exam materials must stay on top of your desk during the whole exam, with the clear plastic bag under your seat. After all that, they hand out the exam questions and give you 10 minutes JUST TO READ the questions. After that, the exam begins. You cannot leave in the first 30 minutes of the exam, or the last 10 minutes. My criminology exam was set for 3 hours. I've never. Sat the entire. Exam period. Add that to my list of firsts for the day.

Only two more of these insane exams and I'm done!!! Good thing these last exams are for courses of which I am enthusiastic about the subject matter.

In other news, I've been sick for about 2 weeks now. Last weekend I discovered that this being sick thing had given me conjunctivitis. Yay! Just what I need! An eye infection. In both eyes. So I went to student health on Monday, and they prescribed me some antibiotic drops to get from the uni chemist. They make my eyes feel so tired! Like I've been crying all day, but I haven't been... Made it really hard to focus on studying and taking the exam because I kept furiously blinking to make them feel less dry and tired, or at times blurry. Fun. Times. Best week ever!

Question of the day:

Have you seen any good movies lately?

(in the theaters, or at home, old or new)

Because I love potatoes...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

A la mejor Papá en todo el mundo!!

Papas Fritas,

Thanks for always putting up with my shenanigans.

lots of love,

T

To my dear friend

Happy 26th Birthday Jenn!!!

The last 12 years would not have been the same without you!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and many more!!

Love,

Tanda