Land Down Under

Figaro Figaro Figaro!!!

On Friday, Mel and I went downtown to do some "retail therapy," but unfortunately the shops there just didn't want my money for some reason. We went into Myer's (a big department store kind of like Bloomingdale's) and I tried on some Lacoste stuff since they were 25% off, and the original prices were better here than in the States, but nothing looked fabulous so I decided it wasn't worth spending money for something blah. We poked into various other stores, mainly in search of a jean skirt, 3/4 pants, tank tops, and ::gasp:: some decent summer pajamas for me. Alas, everything cute, comfy, and made entirely of cotton was in hiding, because I came home empty-handed and thick-walleted. Mel found some cute things, though. At 6:25 we rushed to catch a tram home, after realizing that it was Friday and therefore dinner closed at 6:45. Of course, we got there at 6:50, and ran straight into the kitchen just as they were handing out seconds. It was fish and chips, but the chips had run out long ago, and the fish was battered instead of crumbed, and therefore filled with artery-clogging oil. There was a joyous amount of salad there though, so I grabbed a huge plateful and ran upstairs to get my oil and vinegar, and ate a lovely salad for dinner. After dinner there was the WARTS meeting, where we saw the Guys and Dolls DVD for the first time. It was pretty good! There were a few glitches in the acting/singing and with the videographer, but overall it wasn't too bad. You could actually hear the violin in some parts, and considering this was the night that the string popped and I was rescued by a very kind soul who hesitantly let me borrow her very expensive violin which I had not previously played on and took quite a bit of getting used to, I liked the sound of it. Wow that was a complex sentence. Anyway, I'm going to download the DVD from the network, so you can watch it when I get home. After the video, Jen and I came up to my room to hang out and chat, and we ended up being joined by Chloe and Caz. We were originally waiting for a big group of people to hang out in someone's room, but it ended up getting kind of late so around 11 or so we decided to go to bed.

Yesterday (Saturday), I went down to breakfast as usual at 8. I like going in my pajamas as soon as it opens because no one's usually there, so I can sit and eat my cereal and toast in peace and read the paper and not be bothered by anyone's incessant idle chatter. And be the grump you all know I am in the morning. Yesterday morning promised to be one of those days, because I was the only one in the dining hall for a while, and then I was joined by Talita, who is very much like me in the morning, so we just sat at the same table with our own papers and enjoyed the silence. As soon as I was finishing, Kate came in and sat across from me, which was good since I hadn't spoken to her in a long time. (No worries--I was kind enough to fold the paper back up and be social.) Jen joined us shortly, and the three of us decided on a spontaneous morning shopping trip (which was much more successful for me--I got a turquoise tanktop for $6 and really cute, comfy hot pink sandals for $10). Jen had been looking for things to do for that night, and she found that the opera Barber of Seville was playing. The three of us decided it would be a wonderful idea to get all dressed up and go see an opera, so Kate dragged Steve along, and Liz and Jacko came along too. The opera was so funny! It was in English, which was good, and they inserted a few little modern-day jokes here and there (such as poking fun at Rossini's operas and a very hilarious reference to Lord of the Rings-- "my precious!"). It was a really good night, and I think it was good to hang out with people that I don't normally hang out with much.

Unfortunately, all this fun all weekend means that I've gotten no work done yet. This morning I went to church, and now it's after brunch, so I'm going to get started on my social work readings and paper. At four Lara and I are going to visit our "mutual boyfriend", Max Brenner. We really just love him for his chocolate. (In case you are unfamiliar with the yummy goodness that is Max Brenner, it's a chocolate bar here in Melbourne. There's one in NYC too, which I most definitely plan on visiting at some point when I'm home). They make the most excellent waffles with strawberries, melted drizzled chocolate, and vanilla ice cream. Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking of it. After Max it'll soon be time for dinner, which means Meerkat Manor (Mel's and my new favorite thing to watch on Sunday night), and then around 8 Lara'll be coming to join us for a movie/pajama party complete with face masks and toe-nail painting. Yup, exams are right around the corner. Maybe next weekend I'll do the whole Lord of the Rings 12 hour marathon. You know how I just love doing my work!

posted by Christina @ 1:39 PM