a sad ending

This morning I got the email. Although expected to come any day, I dreaded opening it. My friend Yadira passed away after a lengthy battle with Cancer. We became friends after meeting 4 years ago at the Ceeb. We clicked with our shared love for Jon Bon Jovi, good food, and our mutual distaste at the thought of ever having children. As people started to find out that she was sick, the questions she dreaded and the overly sympathetic looks started coming in. I didn't ask those questions, mainly as a protective mechanism, I suppose, as I knew I didn't know how to deal with it. I was happy to be her entertainment outlet. For her, it was enough to be the reality TV junkie with her and the celebrity gossip provider. I'm sure she would have preferred American Idol, Dancing With The Stars and People magazine all day any day over this.

I'm glad I got to see her before I came to Australia, but in my selfish way, I kinda expected her to be there when I got back. For her, the pain is finally over. In a better place as they say?

I will miss her. r.i.p. Yadira.

i love this city

I figured I should probably change the heading on my page that doesn't include body parts.

Over the last few days I have finally been out and taken some pictures. Easier to do when you're in the middle of a tour group and aren't the only one looking like a tourist. Melbourne has the greatest laneways. In them you can find little cake shops and cafes to amazing street art. For now, I leave you with a taste...

I'm on my way out to get some more!

i can see your vagina because you're my mommy

Yeah I guess that's a good title... sorry for those of you that get get squeamish with that word. lol.

It's funny what kids say and how embarrassed parents get when they say it. Ironically, this was said at the public restroom at the Observatory. I was minding my business, when a woman came in with what I assume was her 3 or 4 year old boy. At that age, we all know there is going to be sharing of the stall with mommy. That's just the way it goes... well, the little boy did his bit then it was mommy's turn. Next words: "I can see your vagina because you're my mommy." She had the nervous laughter and said, "I guess that's right". He continued, "And I can see daddy's penis because I'm a boy too. I looked at Andy's too but his looked funny!!" And he started to giggle uncontrollably. Next I hear the flush, mommy rushing him out, saying "I think you just gave to much information for one sitting."

I don't know why this was so entertaining to me but it was. Teach them the right words and they will use them. It just reminded me of the scene in the movie "Kindergarten Cop" where the boy stands up and says "Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina". True enough...

it's an alpaca - hanging rock is that way

The intention was to get up and leave the hostel bright and early. Laura and I were in search of a rental car. The mission: get her bridesmaid dress fitted and ready for shipment to Canada.

Is it completely impossible to get a decent price on a same day rental without all the hidden fees? I guess their advertising works since we went to all the places that advertised $30 rentals. Funny how those weren't available and the only thing they had was way more. So we went to the cheapest place only because we could return it late tonight and it was cheaper than other places. Off we went to a sketchy mall north of the airport and Laura got the dress done!

We went out to the parking lot, got into the car and.... nothing. The car wouldn't start!!! Battery dead, caput! What the hell are we gonna do?? We were out of the city. Laura looked at me and realized I wouldn't have a clue of what to do, I'm passenger/navigator material only. We got out of the car and stood in front of it and just stared. Anybody gonna give us a boost? Anybody? We went for the stereotypical search for a man to help us. We didn't think that Mama and her baby were gonna cut it (sorry ladies, the feminist in me failed and I let this decision go Laura's way). One of us had good karma or a horseshoe up their ass because a minute later we see a truck pull in with "Battery Repair" written on the side of the truck. Are you kidding me?! It was the local RACV guy (think CAA roadside assistance) taking his break at the mall or something. Laura went over and asked for a boost and he (thankfully) said yes! Ten minutes later we were ready to get back on the road and didn't charge us.

We decided to test our luck and continued North. Along the freeway we saw a sign for a winery along the way so we thought we would stop off there. Goona Warra Winery. It was small and cute but very quiet. We took a quick walk around the winery and got ready to continue the drive. We got back in the car and... nothing! The bloody battery was dead again, or so we thought. Laura called the rental company this time and complained because it had only been a couple of hours and they gave us a shit car. They told us to call up RACV on their dime and all we hoped was that it wasn't the same guy from the mall boost. Not our fault but that still would have been embarrassing! Luckily not, he did something or other and said it was the modulator (is that a real thing)? *stunned look again* Uh, ok, whatever. Are we gonna breakdown again?? That's all we cared about. No one likes to have a car breakdown but who wants it to happen in a foreign country, english speaking or not? The secret was to lock and unlock the car with the little clicker thingamabob instead of the key.

Seriously? Yeah, seriously. That's what Laura had to continue to do throughout the day.

Next stop on the agenda was Hanging Rock. There was a story turned movie about a group of girls that went up on Valentine's Day in 1900 for a picnic. Throughout the day, word is that a few disappeared never to come back. Sounds like a good reason to go check it out. En route we came across a field with cows we hadn't seen before and actually stopped to take a picture. Can we say tourist?! Next on the animal viewing was an alpaca. We didn't know until we made the mistake of stopping on someone's driveway to take a picture. Turned out to be a one way drive of sorts and they were coming at us. They looked annoyed. We backed out and before we made it all the way out, cranky-ass lady got out of her car, came over and just stood over Laura in the driver's seat. Laura mentioned that we were heading to Hanging Rock and that we just stopped to see the animal and we didn't know what it was. Laura being her bubbly self, cheery, yanno, Canadian, Aussie's love Canadians! Cranky-ass lady wasn't as cheery and just said "it's an alpaca - hanging rock is that way". We understood the look and it meant get off my damn driveway and don't come back! Almost ruined our day - we found our first mean Aussie!

Along the winding roads and steep inclines we drove through the Macedon Ranges to Mt Macedon and finally to Hanging Rock. We got a work out climbing Hanging Rock but it was worth it. It was a great view and the only thing that would have been better is if the rain would go away. We could see that the sun was trying to peak through the clouds. Guess what we saw as we walked along the path - a cute wallaby! He was just sitting there eating berries. I should say - Laura had to point him out. I was looking the other way and all she said was "get your camera out!" I don't think I've ever been that close to an animal in the wild. I'm a city girl remember? He didn't run from us and let us take way too many pictures trying to get the perfect one. I think the only reason he finally hopped away was because he was bored with us.

Overall a really nice day out of the city and I finally took some pictures. Lovely scenery and good laughs after the crazy car stress. I really need to learn the tricks of my camera and get creative. I see too many people with stunning pictures and I realize how amateur I really am. I guess that's one way to make use of my time! In the meantime, be happy with these.

For more pictures from the day click * here *.

it's amazing what restlessness will do

Travel pages won...

I'm going to Sydney for the weekend of July 24-26 with a girl I met in the hostel who was also itching for a weekend getaway. Since that won't get the restless itch to go away, on August 7th I will be going to Malaysia and Singapore for a week! Love seat sales! It was only AUD$260 round trip. Seriously, wouldn't you have booked too?!

an unusual meeting

They say everything happens for a reason and I believe that's true.

The day was a bit of a mess and it started with the fact that I had forgotten my map of where I was going. This led to getting on the wrong tram in the wrong direction. Instead of asking someone, anyone, for directions, I figured a couple of hours to find my way would be sufficient. Or not? I had two appointments about 15 minutes away from each other and I booked them way too close together. By the time it was 5pm, the first appointment time, I had given up on finding that house. I made my way to the second because I at least remembered where I was supposed to be getting off there. That's where the memory ends. How am I feeling like grandma at the age of 30-something? I thought I at least remembered the vague route. What did the ad say, 2 minutes to the beach? I knew exactly where that was! Logical pattern in the city planning so I start to walk the grid. It was getting way too dark in a strange neighbourhood and where I come from, girls don't play this game. I walked for about 20 minutes and finally stop at the first place that was open, a church. It was dark in the long corridor but at the end of the hall I saw a light. I walked in and was asked how I was. Lost. That's for sure. She didn't know where my destination street was either. Turns out that room led to the library so the internet saved the day again and we realized we were only 2 streets away!

When I finally arrived at the house, I took a quick tour and then sat down for an interview of sorts. I wasn't expecting that. It really became a conversation about what I was doing here in Melbourne. I gave the usual response - I'm here on a work/travel visa and I hope to settle here for the winter, save up some cash and then get out and travel some of Australia and New Zealand and maybe hit up a little of Asia and then go home.

She told me about the year she was 21 and left with some money in the bank and started her travels around the world. She was just so passionate about the places she went and what she did as she told the story. She asked again, "What are you doing here?!" If the purpose was ultimately to go home, what's the point of actually going anywhere? Shouldn't it be about the journey? The point of travelling shouldn't be to check off that master list of places you want to see if you're not experiencing the culture, the food, the atmosphere and the people around you. She was right. Why did I travel 16,000 km if I was just going to go work 9 to 5 in an office? It's not like it was something I hadn't thought of or heard before, but I needed to be reminded.

So in the end, this random woman whose house I was just planning on living in was not only telling me that I wasn't getting the room but that I should leave the city as well! I left energized and ready to pack my bags. Rational Loreto is coming out though and messing it all up. In the meantime, I've been trying to figure out what to do next. If I go, Melbourne will be here when I get back and the likelihood is that it will be much warmer so should I set my sights on the travel pages?

Am I too young to have a mid-life crisis? I'm being so bloody indecisive on what I want to do. *sigh*

Better question: If I am having an early mid-life crisis, why am I writing this on the internet?!

who doesn't love a penguin?

It's been a week and a half since I arrived in Melbourne. I think I'm finally over the jetlag I wasn't expecting to have. I am currently "living" at the Greenhouse Packpackers hostel. I still can't believe I'm living in a hostel. I am meeting a lot of people but happily have my buddy Laura J around to have a piece of home.

For those of you who are lucky enough to come to this gorgeous city (trust me, for food, culture, architecture, it beats Sydney by a mile!) don't listen to those who are trying to sell you a trip to Phillip Island to see the penguins. The other night a group of us went down to St. Kilda beach and at the end of the pier arrived to the spot where the penguins come in from a long day out in the ocean. We did get there a bit late so we only saw three of the little animals but boy were they CUTE! Only problem, no flash photography allowed. Didn't stop people though and one of the poor buggers looked dazed and confused because of it. He waddled then fell off a rock! No worries though, he was ok and went along and joined his family. I'll have to go back another day when it's a little earlier so I can see more of them together.

In other news, I'm off to see a house today and hopefully will have a new place to live but if not, I guess hostel life isn't all that bad...?