Winter is Coming

I sure hope this song came to mind when you read the header: Dun dun duhduh dun dun duhduh dun dun duhduh duuuuuuuuuuuuun duuuuuuuun duuuuuuuuuu dududududun dun dun dun dun dundudndundudn and of course it’s the best show out there!!!  For any of you that are clueless right now I’m talking about Game of Thrones, if you aren’t addicted I highly recommend binge watching this show to get caught up on what is a regular conversation piece anywhere you go. 

Lately I’ve been hearing around the office, Winter is Coming, time to get the kiddies new clothes and get prepared.  I want to say, prepared for what—you have no idea what winter is.  Their winter from June to Aug is Low: 50 degrees F and High: 74 degrees F.  I know I don’t experience the winters like they do in Minnesota and upper New York, but I am from the Midwest and we do get snow (sometimes lots of snow) and ice and sometimes we can’t leave our houses when it gets so bad.  These folks don’t even get snow, so I find it hilarious when they say Winter is Coming.  If there are any Australian’s reading this, I am not ripping on you—I actually find it cute when I hear you say this:) 

Weekend of Nothing

As hard as it is to believe I had a very uneventful weekend, well for me.  I joined the social club at work, I can see it now--you are rolling your eyes.  One day a few weeks back a guy walks up to my desk and says I hear you're new here, would you like to join the social club and of course I got excited (but I didn't show it) and I asked what the social club was all about.  I'll boil it down for you, you pay yearly dues (he told me I would only have to pay for the amount of weeks I will be here) and they have all kinds of events they plan and you get to attend for free.  Once a month you get a free coffee at one of two local cafe's so even if you do nothing else if you get your free coffee you'll get your money's worth.  After he left I asked a few co-workers to tell me if being in the social club was a dorky thing to do and if I knew anyone else in it.  Well come to find out most of my co-workers are in the club and so after thinking for about 30 more seconds I contacted the gentleman that was at my desk and said I'd love to be a part of the social club and I'd get him the dues I owed.  It just so happened this Friday was the free coffee day (like I was saying the Australian's LOVE their coffee) and if you know me I don't drink plain coffee (ewwww), so asked the cafe if I could pay the difference and get a latte and she said yes, .60 later I was one happy camper and off to my desk I went.  Then I received an e-mail that the social club was putting on a happy hour at a local bar and we could get any drink up to $10 free and there would be snacks there.  I got off of work and Brian and I headed over to the bar and I was able to get a whole pitcher (they call it a jug) of cheap beer with my voucher and the snacks....holy crap--the snacks were delicious.  I definitely got my money's worth.  Got to meet some new people too!  I then left happy hour because I had reserved a ticket to see Civil War that had just come out.  It's Captain American vs Iron Man and like I said about Batman vs Superman, I am not a fan of two good guys fighting one another, but I did enjoy the action.  I have a mad crush on Robert Downey Jr. So I was going to see it regardless;) I now have a reward card and I have seen so many movies now that this one was free which made the deal even sweeter!

Woke up on Saturday at 8:00 and ate breakfast on the patio.  Then I laid back down and didn't wake up until 3:00.  I thought to myself, why not stay in my pj's and not go anywhere all day long?!  So...this is what I did, no joke!  I did do a few productive things, but all in all I had an extremely lazy day and I must say staying in my pj's all day was absolutely FANTASTIC!!!!

Sunday--wake up and it's friggen raining, ugh!  I'm not going to stay inside all day again so I rent a car and go for a drive.  I thought if I drove far enough away the rain would stop---well, it didn't:(  What a shitty day.

At one point there was a wee bit of sunshine and I took this pretty picture.  

I came across this ginormous pineapple and thought, well I think I'll have a stop and take a picture with this guy.  This was up north in a town called Woomye. 

Monday was their Labor Day so we were off of work.  These 3 day weekends are awesome!  Seemed to be a bit more promising as far as weather goes so went up to Mount Coot-Tha to go hiking.

Hiked the JC Slaughter Falls.  Even though it rained there weren't any waterfalls, dang it.  It was still a pretty hike.

Brian, me, Debbie and Ross at the summit.  You can see the city in the background.  

Pretty view from up at the summit.  They have a cool restaurant up here, but it was super packed so we left and went to a nearby town for lunch.  

After lunch we headed home because we were all sweaty and gross and needed to shower, ha.  Took a nap and then headed over to Brad's for a bbq.  You know I am not a store bought type of gal, but I have no bowls or containers so I couldn't make anything homemade to take so I did have to take something from the store, tear.  

 Brian, myself and Ross standing in front of the bbq'd KANGAROO!!!  We got to try kangaroo kabobs, steaks and links (like hotdogs).  It wasn't too bad, didn't take like chicken though, hehe.

All of us outside enjoying good food and chattin it up with one another.  We had a really nice time and it was enjoyable to see what they eat at a bbq.  

Anzac Day

What is Anzac Day you ask?  "Anzac Day, April 25th, is one of Australia’s most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.  Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as Anzacs, and the pride they took in that name endures to this day (awm.gov.au)."  I would say their Anzac Day is our Memorial Day. 

3:45 AM, I woke up to go to the Dawn Service at Anzac Square.  What is Dawn Service? "Today’s dawn services include the presence of a chaplain, but generally not of dignitaries. Originally, the services were simple, and usually followed the military routine. Before dawn, those who had gathered would stand while two minutes’ silence was held. At the end of this time a lone bugler would play the Last Post and then conclude the service with Reveille, the bugler’s call to wake up.  In recent times more families and young people have taken part in dawn services across Australia. Reflecting this change, some services have become more elaborate, incorporating hymns, readings, pipers, and rifle volleys. Other services, though, have retained the simple format of the dawn stand-to familiar to so many soldiers (awm.gov.au)."

I then went home and took a short nap because at 9:30 was the parade.  It was only a few blocks from my apartment so I stopped at Starbucks along the way so I could get some energy because there were 159 different groups that were going to be walking by.  Their parades are similar to ours, except no candy was thrown out, ha.  The parade took 2 1/2 hours - that's a lot of parade if you ask me.

 

All of the different branches of the military passed by at some point.

Lots of music which was great, here are some bagpipers.

Here's a sample of the music!

Since it was a national holiday not a lot of places were open so decided to go for a drive.  Googled scenic drives close to Brisbane and decided on the Blackall Range Scenic Drive which was about an hour away.  The drive started at Landsborough and encompassed Maleny, Witta, Reeseville, Montville, Flaxton, Kondalilla, Mapleton and Cooloolabin.  It was absolutely beautiful.

A storm was coming through which made the sky that much more beautiful.

 

Hiking + Blisters = Owwww

I go to rent a car on Saturday morning and they are out of cars, WTF?!  It IS a holiday weekend, but I do recall renting a car on Easter weekend and getting one.  They said to come back in a hour and they'd have one....fine.  Rather than sit and be bored I walked down the street to the park and you are NEVER EVER EVER going to believe what I saw.  Let me remind you that is in a park (not the zoo) about 1/4 mile from my apartment.

THIS IS A PYTHON EATING A BAT....I am 100% not kidding!!!!  How in the world a slow snake caught a bat that flys is beyond me, but I will be asking at work tomorrow how this is possible.  Was this bat injured and on the ground, was he separated from his friends and family and wanted to commit suicide, I just don't know - but I do know this...I'm glad it ate the bat and not me!

Then about 5 feet away was his traveling companion on the other side of the fence.  See him at the bottom left and then he is slithering up to the right of the tree.  People have told me that there are python's in the park, and not that I think they are liars, but now I believe them.  What a great start to my day I must say.  My anger with Avis (rental car company) soon disappeared.  

Next on the agenda, another hike up in the Glass House Mountains.  Started out by climbing the Mt. Tibrogargan Summit which I had been told you could only hike to a certain point before you needed gear, so I thought cool--I'll hike to that point and turn around.  Path started out like a normal hike and then I come to this sign....

Everyone else was still climbing so I thought, why not--I'll keep going too (what a terrible thought, right)?  Lots of rocks to climb up but it wasn't to bad.  I then get to a part where you have climb up this rocky wall to the summit.  There were others that had done it but it was a bit too risky and there was a sign that said you needed gear to go any higher so unfortunately I have no pictures to show you of the view since I turned around and went back down (go ahead and call me names, I was just too chicken and I value my life).  

Decided to do the Mt. Tibrogargan circuit instead because I knew I would come out alive at the end.  This was the beginning of the path which looked nice and inviting to me.

Cool rock photo!

First rental car with a sunroof, how could I resist taking a picture standing up through it:)

Next on the hiking list was the Mt. Beerburrum lookout which was only 700 meters (which I thought, this will be easy), but needless did I know that it was a vertical concrete hike that I almost didn't make.  I had to stop every 100 feet or so because it was so steep.  For a while I had to tiptoe and lean over because it was so difficult.  I did make it to the top which was worth the effort because check out these views!

Going down was easier but I took baby steps and took my time.  There were people I saw in flip-flops doing it, there is no way in hell I would have made it.  When I got home and took a shower I saw that I had dime size blisters on the pads of my feet and boy do they hurt.  Boo on blisters:( I'll live though, no worries!

I climbed a bridge!!!

The Story Bridge in Brisbane opened in 1940 and is 243 ft high, 2,549 ft long, and 79 ft wide.  The Story Bridge is one of 3 bridge climbs that you can do in the world.  I think we climbed ~1,100 steps throughout our journey.

Watched a short video on safety, took a breathalyzer and then suited up for the climb.  We weren't allowed to take anything with us, so I couldn't take my own pictures but our tour guide had us stop 3 different times for photos and then at the end gave them to us on a flash drive.  We wore harnesses which attached to a line on the bridge so we weren't going anywhere.  I totally felt safe at all times.  

We started at 5:40 so our first photo was taken when it will still a little light out.  Ross, Claire and I were the brave ones to climb the bridge!

 This was our next photo and you can see the city in the background.

This was our last photo and you can see part of the bridge behind us.  I told the guide that they made the lights on the bridge red, white and blue for us because they love Americans, hehe:) 

I would highly recommend the bridge climb because it's easy to do and the view is breathtaking!  

Flowers and Reading

In my Easter package Tasha sent over with me was this miniature egg flower pot/a soil pod and some forget me not seeds.  Now that I am moved in I thought I would give growing my seeds a try to see if I have a green thumb.  I put the little soil pod in a cup and added a tbsp of water and BAM it expanded and the entire cup filled up with soil (I was impressed), then I took 5 of the seeds per the directions and put them down in the soil a little bit.  It said the seeds need sun so I put on my coffee table in the living room and in the am when the sun shines though the doors it will get sun and then it will get its shade once the sun passes.  So far I haven't seen any sprouts, but I'm going to be patient and hope they grow.

They said once the flowers grow I will have to replant them.  Then hopefully I can grow more in my starter pot because they gave me a bunch of seeds.  Wish me luck!

Remember my library card I went and got a few weeks back?!  Well, I went on-line and put a few books on reserve and one finally came in so I walked across town to pick it up.  I noticed on the slip inside the book it said I owed .80, I thought to myself, how in the world do I already owe money when I haven't even checked out the book yet?  I got in line and asked the librarian the deal-eo and she said when you put a book on hold and it comes from another library you have to pay (seriously?!), I said oh...not a problem, so I paid my dues so I could get it over with (I hate owing money).  I couldn't get too ticked because get this....back home when you put a book on reserve and it comes in you have ~5 days to pick it up, here you get ~14 days (you'd think if you put a book on reserve you'd be excited and not wait 2 weeks to pick it up, but whatevs).  Here's the even better part, back home if you check out a book you get to keep it for 14 days but here you get it for 30 days, is that not totally supreme?!?!  

2 of my favorite things, Starbucks and books.  This is the latest Nicholas Sparks books and no...it's not some cheesy romance novel! If you've ever seen the movie The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, or A Walk to Remember (among others), he is the author that wrote those books.  His books are fantastic!  Had the book read within a week and returned it for the next reader.  Now I'm waiting for my next book that I have on reserve to come in.  

Coffee Addiction in Australia

Boy do the Australian's love their coffee...I get asked anywhere between 1 and 3 times throughout the day if I'd like coffee, no joke.  It's very common for one person in a area to walk around and ask others who wants coffee and they go to a cafe and bring back coffee for everyone.  I find this FANTASTIC.  I don't drink plain coffee so I always say no but sometimes I'll go with a co-worker to a cafe and I'll get my skinny latte (well they don't have sugar free syrup here so I can only get skim milk, which is their skinny).  I kinda feel like certain cliques go and get coffee together and I want to be a part of these cliques.  Today I got asked by one of the program managers that sits by me if I wanted to go with him and another guy he works with (and I thought, OMG...I'm gonna be a part of their clique), so I said YES, I'll be right over (I was in another building), well somehow our communication failed because I never found them (unless this was a mean joke they were playing on me, but I don't find them to be those type of people).  I missed coffee with Ken and Keith today, but I will make sure to tell them to wait by their desks next time, I will come to them and then we can get coffee together.  People have caught on to the fact that I LOVE Starbucks, but I have decided to cut back and my co-worker said, no Starbucks today and I said, no--I gotta cut back, I'm gonna have a tea from the galley.  No Starbucks is rough--it's like my best friend, ha!  My friend Brad sent out a meeting notice to a few of us and every Wednesday we will go and find the coolest coffee shop in Brisbane.  I got to pick first and I picked Anthology (I just Googled places nearby, since I am new and in my mind nothing tops Starbucks).  My manager and one of the program managers just got back from the States and they told me they don't understand how I can drink our (meaning the States) coffee, it's terrible.  The Australian's are snobby about their coffee being so good.  Coffee is just coffee to me (to be honest, I like ours better), ha! 

 

Me, Brad, Nigel, Brian, Raj