Unorthodox air conditioning

KOALA GLAMOUR SHOT!, originally uploaded by lynnith.

It’s getting warm here in Melbourne.  Today it hit 90, which was a bit high for my weak winter constitution.  Our little backpacker hovel doesn’t have air conditioning, so I’m doing the next best thing and moving to New Zealand tomorrow!

My work contract ended last Friday, and in the past week I’ve wasted no time getting into vacation mode.  I spent the weekend in Sydney, and was surprised to discover that I actually like it up there.  Melbourne & Sydney have a fierce rivalry and usually folks like one or the other, but despite my love for Melbs I think I could really enjoy living in Sydney.  I managed to pack quite a bit into the weekend – everything from a 10k coastal walk to some Prokofiev at the Opera House.  And I even got to ride a ferry!

Back in Melbs, I spent a couple free days doing classy things like watching ethnographic films at ACMI and eating delicious meals.  Then it was off to the Great Ocean Road for 2 days, where I took the above photo.  Also, in what is beginning to be a trend, I took to the skies over the 12 Apostles, in a helicopter this time.  Don’t worry, though – despite all this height-related tourism, I’m not jumping on (off?) the skydiving bandwagon just yet.

It’s kind of funny to be excited to leave a city I really like, but I think New Zealand is going to be great fun.  And it certainly helps that I’m planning to come back here in a couple years.  I’d write about my thoughts on moving around at more length, but I think the heat has completely fried my brain.  Time to pack the carryon, I think, and drink some wine!

Sometimes, Australia’s obsession with shortening words backfires

mmmm, delicious sars, originally uploaded by lynnith.

American for tangerine is ‘shut the fuck up’

Don’t ask me why I’ve swapped a Seattle summer for a wintery Melbourne, which is exactly like a rainy Seattle fall.  We even had a thunderstorm today!  But I’m here, and in the last 4 days I’ve managed to find a place to live, secured all the essentials (bank account, mobile phone &c) and, more importantly, secured a couple volunteer jobs at the Melbourne film festival.  I’m helping out with the marketing/sponsorship stuff while I look for actual paying work here, and then when the fest starts I’ll be doing merchandising or something.  I actually started volunteering today, just for a couple hours, and already have some free tickets!  So suffice to say, things are going very well here.

By this point some of you may be wondering how the laziest person you know managed to get this far.  Let me let you in on a little motivational secret: living in a hostel.  Nothing like waking up at 4am to a screeching English girl in the room next door going on about how she can teach her roommates English even though she knows nothing about grammar because, in her words, “you can just talk and I can correct you when you make mistakes!” to give you the energy you need to get the hell out.  It was when she started lecturing them on the definitions of tangerine and tambourine that I put my bitch hat on, knocked on her door, and informed her that American for tangerine is ‘shut the fuck up.’

Actually most people in the hostel are pretty cool, and I’ve made friends with a few German girls.  We’ve gone exploring in St. Kilda, cooked a big group dinner, done the obligatory drinking, and apparently tonight there is going to be karaoke?  Don’t worry though, I won’t destory any foreign eardrums by singing myself…

They let me in the country, inexplicably

Clearly they didn’t check my references first. So now I’m in Melbourne…!

It’s impossible for demon on phone to say “Jesus Christ came in the flesh”

Seattle had a “heat wave” this week, which means I picked the best week ever to be unemployed (or funemployed as the SF Weekly would have it).  I decided against a list of things to do before I leave – instead, I’m just taking a bunch of walks.  So far, I’ve walked to the International District, Madison Park, Sculpture Park (via a pint at Kells), Eastlake, and Pike Place.  On the list: U Village (today!), the waterfront/West Seattle water taxi, and most ambitiously, Green Lake.  And I’m not just getting some nice walks in – I’m also learning important Life Lessons!

bible test works!!, originally uploaded by lynnith.

In other news, my 4 month Australia visa finally came thru yesterday.  It’s amazing how much easier it is to get all the admin stuff done this time around – I’ve already applied for my tax number online, and in the next couple weeks I’ll have my local bank account and mobile phone all squared away too.  Not much left to do!