3135 Johnson Avenue Apt #10F, Bronx (Riverdale), NY 10463.

We ask that serious inquirers arrive at 12noon to ensure that the item you are interested in is still in the apartment.  You can call the following phone number to confirm: 914-714-4006  (or, on the actual day of the sale, please call 914-830-2660)

ALL ITEM PRICES ARE NEGOTIABLE !!!!!!!

ALL ITEMS MUST GO ON SATURDAY BEFORE 4pm !!!!!

*****************************************************************

ROD IRON COFFEE TABLE:

ASKING:   (~$120.00).  Will accept best offer !!!

TWO IDENTICAL BEIGE FABRIC KIDNEY SHAPED COUCHES – LIKE NEW !     NO STAINS, IN PERFECT CONDITION!

ASKING ($349.00) for both identical couches 

Will accept best offer !!

FORMAL DINING ROOM SET – BALL AND CLAW DESIGN.  WOOD AND GLASS.  MUST SELL WITH MATCHING HUTCH, PHOTO IS BELOW.

ASKING $649.00 for table, chairs and hutch, OR BEST OFFER !!!!!! (BONUS……2 Brass candle sticks photographed included with purchase !)

HUTCH, TO BE SOLD WITH DINING ROOM TABLE – (see above)

OFFICE FURNITURE – 6.5ft desk, formica with a light wood finish, 5 ft matching credenza (photo below) and 4 drawer file cabinet.  Would like to sell all three pieces together.

ASKING $199.00, or will accept best offer !!!

CREDENZA – included in purchase of desk and file cabinet shown above.  Asking $199.00 or best offer for all three pieces!!!!!

BEAUTIFUL 3FT x 3FT MIRROR – WOOD FRAMING

ASKING $69.00 OR BEST OFFER !!!!!

FAUX MANTLE / FAKE FIREPLACE. Imitation Brick/Plaster.  Includes faux logs that plug in, lights up logs in an orange color and makes a crackling sound just like a real fire ! 

ASKING $249.00 OR BEST OFFER 

(BONUS…..fireplace accessories (shown on left in photo) also included with purchase !!!!)

ANTIQUE SEWING MACHINE -

ASKING $…….   best offer please !

OLD SINGER SEWING MACHINE -

ASKING $:  …..BEST OFFER PLEASE !!!

IKORA PLATTERS

ASKING $……….will accept BEST OFFER !!!!

WRIGHT Brand – LINEAR PUMP – Good for people with Lymphatic Leg Issues.  Comes with right leg boot.  (see two photos below)

Asking Price:   BEST OFFER !!!!!

LYMPHATIC LINEAR PUMP MACHINE (details above)

END TABLE with MARBLE TOP

ASKING:  $……….will accept best offer !

Raccoon Coat

Accepting best offer !!!

Mink Coat

Asking:  $…….. will accept best offer

Candy Bowls - Best offer please !!!!!

Old Fashioned Meat Grinder – Will accept best offer !!

Dress – Medium Size    – Will accept best offer !!

Dress Medium Size – Will accept best offer !!

Embassy China – Service for 8 (50+ pieces)

Asking for best offer !

KUNDO – German Clock -

Will accept best offer !

Washing Machine

Asking – $100, or will accept best offer !

Old Typewriter

Will accept best offer !

Hi – I’ll be touring Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam over Christmas and New Years from Dec 19th – Jan 4th.  Take a look at my trip on the map !  I had to buy a visa for Vietnam, goddamn $70.  And, I’ll get the Cambodian one at the border.  I didn’t get any of the vaccinations required, so pray for me that I don’t get sick !!!  Apparently, it’s going to be an amazing trip.  I hope so……I have absolutely no idea what I am in for.

On a sad note, my work assignment at David Jones ends on January 16th  (so, in my mind that only calculates to 2 more weeks of salary before I hit the open road)….I’m bummed, but excited to get out and start my “real adventure”.  I’m going to backpack around Australia and New Zealand for my remaining 3.5 months.

And, like I told you guys a few posts back…….this trip has been  an awesome opportunity of a lifetime to go around the world, but the loneliness is starting to KICK ME IN THE ASS !…yeah, 7 months away from seeing almost anyone I know !!!  -It’s a goddamn killer…….I’m trying to remain positive though, lol !!!

Anyway, enough sobbing……….I speak to you guys soon !  xoxo….

Here are some photos from another good night….our office xmas party at a pub down the road….here are some of my coworkers !

On November 14th, my boss Deborah threw an awesome xmas party at her house (Deb’s in the last photo, holding the crop).  The theme was “The Mad Hatter”.  It was based on a scene from Alice in Wonderland.  I have to admit that it was the best “work-related” party that I had ever been to !

I spent a while thinking about what I was going to wear to the party.  At first I was going to be a pirate, and I was going to send away for this beautiful pirate hat.  And then I stopped and said to myself……hmmmm, since Australia has a high population of Asians, I could probably get a straw hat – I called it a “Rice Patties Hat” !  So, I went to the mall, and walked into an asian dress shop and bought the hat…..but I didn’t buy the work hat, I bought the party hat !  And, you know me – I had to buy the Kimono as well.  -Then I went to a wig shop looking for a jet black chinadoll-style wig, and ended up with the electric blue one.

The cutest part of the party was that one of my coworkers kept serving us shots out of a teapot to “keep with the theme”.   We were all smashed.  We did a Kris Kringle/Secret Santa, but most gifts were “GAG” gifts…..dildos, blow up dolls, fake boob bodices…and they bought my boss a crop!

In the end, Yours Truly took home the prize for the best hat !!!  Wooohoooo.  And what was the prize you ask ??  My boss pulling my jaw open to take 5 shots !….oh yeah and a free bag of cosmetics !

Take a look at the photos, it was a great night !

My recent engagement was really an emotional time – it’s hard to describe.  I also started the grieving process all over again from the loss of my mom out of nowhere.  It started to feel so intense, as if she had just died, and I had no one to turn to here to talk about it.  I was feeling guilty, angry, depressed and shocked. 

Then, besides the grief, I just started to feel really REALLY lonely over here.  I think that all of the excitement of the travel and new things wore off, and I realized that I was just alone.  No car, no apartment of my own, and no support network.  But, I finally snapped out of it !  I realized that this trip is, and has been, the opportunity of a lifetime.  I do have an apartment, a car and support in New York, and I am heading back to it very soon.  I have been having a great time so far, and I’ve met so many awesome people, and that the opportunity does end in about 5 months, so I need to make the best out of it, and stop sulking !

Anyway, here’s what’s been going on:

I have a trip booked for 2 weeks over Christmas.  I’m going to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam – I’m really psyched !  I have an inexpensive escorted tour booked – should be 15 people max, and I have my flights.  There are some political issues in Thailand right now, so I’ve been advised by many that I should be really careful.  I think that I am going to take the risk though !  I fly into Bangkok (where the issues are) and out of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam at the end of the tour.

The weather in Australia is VERY hot right now.  It makes it a very different Christmas season than I’ve ever known.  I was feeling a bit sad on Thanksgiving – even though it’s not celebrated here…..I felt it.  Then a few days later, December 2nd, would have been my moms 61st birthday, and I was feeling upset about that as well.

Anyway, work at David Jones  is still awesome.  Unfortunately with the restrictions on my temporary work visa, I can only take jobs with a single employer for 6 months max, so that means that my assignment ends in about 6 weeks…..and I’m devastated.  Doesn’t it seem like my assignment went by so fast ?  I’ve made some really good friends at work, and I’m going to miss them

I have some tentative plans for the rest of my time here in Oz:

After my assignment ends on January 16th with David Jones, I am planning to do a few things. 

#1)  I want to visit my friend Leanne in Mildura that came to visit me in NY for the NYC Marathon 2 years ago.  She said that she is happy to have me stay for as long as I want !  It’s a small town, and it’s a wine region. 

#2)  I also have a really good girlfriend, Annie that I met in Greece, that originally lived in Melbourne, but now lives in Auckland New Zealand.  I am planning on visiting her as well. 

#3)  After I catch up with my friends, I have this gut vision that I want to visit this town in West Australia called “Broome”.  I’ve seen pictures of it even before I moved to Oz.  They have this amazing looking beach called Cable Beach, and I was hoping to get a job at one of the resorts up there.  And that, I believe will be the conclusion of my trip. 

#4)  Oh yeah, I wanted to go to cattle ranching camp too for 5 days !  I think that will be alot of fun !

#5)  If I have enough money saved, I was hoping to hit South Africa or India before I go home.  It’s a bit scary now though with the recent bombings in Mumbai and I heard that a few countries have had an outbreak of Cholera……Yeah, I’m definitely not a big far of getting sick on tour.  I even have to get some immunizations before my trip to Southeast Asia !  I think I have to get Hepatitis A and Typhoid……Jeez !!

Other than that, I’ve been taking a look at the US job market.  I’ve been browsing Monster and Hotjobs in the Executive Assistant sections.  The honest truth is, is that I don’t want to do executive assistant work ANY-MORE.  But, unfortunately, if the market is as bad as it is, I may have to take one of those type of jobs in order to pay the bills.  I’ve had two other random ideas for interesting types of work……let me know what you think.

When Jeff and I were flying to Fiji, I looked over at him a few seconds before actual take off and said, “don’t you love this part” ?  I have an interest in possibly learning how to fly !  I’ve been randoming browsing the web looking into pilot training.  Even if it were for small planes or helicopters.  It seems like a job that allows “travel and freedom”……I’m going to see what else I can find out about it.  I have a friend that is an instructor with American Airlines in Dallas, so I may chat with him about it too.

Also, before I left, I had a friend at Macy’s tell me that he used to work for Newsweek.  One of Newsweek’s other magazines is called, “Budget Travel”.  He seemed really keen on passing my resume along to them, knowing that I like to write about travel and stuff.  So, possibly being involved with working for a travel magazine in any type of a role, could be really cool.

And last but not least, I’ve made an agreement with myself to focus on my BLOG and with travel writing once my work assignment ends and I start travelling heavily again.   Maybe all of this writing can be worth something – and I can get paid to be a travel writer.  I was also considering writing a book/story about my moms battle with cancer.  I’ve actually been surfing the web alot on Pancreatic Cancer, and read alot of forums on people that are caring for people with Pancreatic Cancer and people that have just been diagnosed with cancer, and it seems like no one has answers or resources.  I’d like to share our story so it can somehow help people.

Anyway, I guess the plan is to come back to NY sometime in May ’09.  Jeff and I are planning on getting a place together, and I will be starting fresh in “Long Island”.  We have no wedding plans as of yet at all……… Moving in together will be our first big step ! lol……..  Then I guess I need to find a job so we can start paying for all of this !

Speak to you guys soon ! Ciao.

With that, I’ve started feeling excessively tired and stressed out over work.  And consequently with the exhaustion, I haven’t been eating that well either because I’m too tired to prepare food or go out and find the right things to eat and I’ve falling into a bit of a depression.  Within the last couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about my mom all of the time.  I have dreams of her almost every night and they are so vivid.  I’ve been having a recurring dream with the same theme of her coming back to be with me, and even though I show her her death certificate, she says that she was just able to come back anyway to be with me.  I don’t know……I just think that this whole situation is just so unfair and still so painful for anyone to understand.  It’s so awful and hard to cope with.

Anyway, the appointment with the Naturopath went so well.  I really liked her.  She took my medical history for over an hour.  It ends up that my diet has been crap and that is a primary reason as to why I am exhausted.  I eat Special K cereal for breakfast, food court crap for lunch and usually cereal or nothing for dinner.  She’s advised me to go heavy on the fruits, veggies, salads, fish, chicken, and a special mixture of herbs she made for me.

She’s also skilled in the science of Iridology which is diagnosing illnesses by looking into the eye with a light.  She told me that I have several stress rings around my eyes, and spots on my liver from the poor diet.  So, I am going with the Naturopath’s suggestion to change my diet completely and I will be following up every two weeks. 

I went to the supermarket this afternoon and only shopped in the produce section.  I bought only fruits and vegetables, and I am going to be a bit of a raw foods junkie for a while.  Other than that, she gave me a magnesium supplement that will help with exhaustion and stress.  She claims that it has a calming effect.

Recently at work, my managers at David Jones have been asking me, “Are you going to stay with us?”.  It’s so hard when they say that kind of stuff to me.  I realllllly, reallllllly like working there.  And for once in my life I can say that I finally like a job !  I wish that I could transplant the David Jones office and all of the people to New York -that’s how much I like it there.  But, I don’t think that I am willing to stay.  Being away from my friends in NY is starting to wear on me a bit recently as awesome as this trip is.  This has been a fantastic time, and I still have several months to enjoy it, but I am finally missing a bit of New York now !  Wow, that’s a big step  ! LOL.

Apparently, my 6 month end of contract at David Jones is at the end of January.  I was considering using my visa the way most “working holiday makers” do, and I think I’m planning on traveling a bit.  I was thinking of traveling around and planting myself in a cute surf-type town way north of Sydney, maybe up by the great barrier reef so I can chill on the beach all morning, maybe learn to surf, and bartend or something to keep myself afloat in the afternoon.

I still want to see towns like Cairns, Darwin, Perth, and Adelaide.  I have to make some neccessary trips to see friends in Mildura, and then I need to get down to New Zealand to see a friend of mine that I am really close with.

Great news is that Amanda, my contiki tour manager from Spain is back in Oz for the next 6 months.  I was so excited to hear that she home for a while during her off season from Contiki.  Amanda came to visit me in NY just before I moved down here in May.  The only way I can describe her and I when we go out is, “Double Trouble”.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so drunk and laughed so hard, and had so many funny stories to tell since I was in college or something.  We’ve both admitted to each other that if we lived in the same town together, it could be dangerous for both of us, lol……..  She promised to come and visit me for a few days towards the end of November!

Well, Jeff will be here in just about 13 days……I’m not excited or counting down or anything, lol.  I’m trying to plan some cool dinners out and stuff and then we’re off to Fiji for five days.  I need a little vacation !

Anyway, it’s the first of the month, so a new month of bootcamp is starting up.  And, let me tell you, the month of October was pretty goddamn intense.  I am getting into some really good shape though.  Needless to say, most of the people in the class are marathoners and triathletes that just use bootcamp to get a little bit of extra cross training in.

Okay, gotta run…..off to bed now.

Oh – PS – now that you guys had daylight savings, I’m 16 hours ahead…….JEEZ !

On Saturday, I decided to be a good little hostess and joined Terri on a day trip to an area a few hours out of Sydney called the Blue Mountains.  The name Blue Mountains came about, because they seems to look blue.  I think it has to do with some sort of reflection of the sun off the Eucalyptus Trees.  Come to think of it, I haven’t been outside of Sydney in the last 5 months except for on a plane (no driving outside of the city), so it was pretty interesting.

The trip was a 12 hour day, about six of them were “bush-walking”.  Australians use the word “bush” to describe our word “woodsy” or “wooded area”.  For each major site/attraction at the mountain, we would have to take some long walks downwards towards the lookout points.  I was absolutely exhausted because we were going up cliffs, down cliffs, all over the goddamn place, but it was quite interesting to get out of Sydney for a few hours to experience something different.  We were definitely in a verrrrry rural area outside of Sydney.  Internally, I was feeling a bit off-balance, and was yearning to return back to the city, lol.  I’d never be able to live in such a small town.  It reminded me very much of upstate small towns in New York.  But luckily, we stopped in a cute town for breakfast and they had a little flea market going on.  I bought a necklace made out of old pieces of china, and a homemade lemon/cream cheese cupcake and a ginger snap cookie….YUM. 

We ended up seeing a lot of waterfalls, cliffs, cool views and a site called “The Three Sisters”.  There was one part of the walk that was 860 stairs downward.  My calves are paying for it today !  In the last photo, can you see “The Witches Face” ?  That was the coolest part for me !

Terri just resigned from her job at Frito-Lay, the potato chip company and has the same passion as me for the need to just be free, live life and explore a little.  When Terri arrived on my doorstep, she actually looked awake and perky.  I was shocked.  I always feel like I look and feel like a truck hit me after a 21 hour flight !

Well anyway, Terri’s experience is guaranteed to be much different than mine.  She’s arrived with a strong passion for wanting to explore the country as her first priority and working is far in the back of her mind.  Actually, I think that she feels like working only if there’s some boring time to kill.  She’s brave because she’s willing to look at public posting boards and considers taking “camper vans up the coast with 2 other people” or ”taking the Oz Experience Bus up the east coast” or “crashing at a hostel to meet other like minded travellers”.  So, her plan right now, is to just go and explore !

Terri is staying with me, yes it’s a shocker that my flatmate Julie allowed it.  Julie, the bitch that she is of course gave us a time limit.  Terri is only allowed to stay for 2 weeks.  When Terri arrived, her plans seemed vague as to what she wanted to do with her time here, and she’s new to the country, so I emailed Julie (because I don’t even want to talk to her anymore) and asked her if I chip in more for gas and electric, can my friend stay for a few more weeks since the real estate market has been quite difficult lately.

This crazy bitch’s reponse was, “The flat hunting market is not that difficult.  If your friend would like to stay for longer that two weeks, she will have to pay me $120 per week”. 

IS SHE FUCKING NUTS ????????????????  First of all, how dare her think she can just charge myyyyyy friend some absurd amount of money to share my bed and live out of her suitcases in the corner of my small room.  She has some set of balls.  She’s just so rigid, I want to scream.  I was livid for like 2 days over her email, but never said a word to her.  

Why can’t she just be a normal warm and fun loving Australian that welcomes people.  She’s a total fucking nutcase.  I told Terri, that paying Julie isn’t even an option, and that I myself may consider moving out of here because she’s so rigid with her rules.   I mean, does Julie think she’s running a fucking hotel ?  I just can’t deal with her shit anymore.

Anyway, I’ve been trying to show Terri around the city a bit and giving her some direction and advice on some of the things that I’ve experienced from being here for a few months.  The two of us are actually going to go on a day trip on Saturday to an area about an hour or two outside of Sydney called the “Blue Mountains”.  I’m not really sure what we’re going to be doing, but it’s a 12 hour day of sightseeing, walking around and bus riding !  So, I’ll be doing the “touristy” thing for once, lol !

And, as pathetic as it is, Terri will have to leave my flat next Wednesday.  We have a couple of options for places she can stay, so we’re not to worried about it right now.

As for me, I’ve been a bit sick.  I think that I have bronchitis and a bit of seasonal allergies since it’s spring here.  So, literally the combination of both has made it hard for me to breathe.  I’ve been going to work every day anyway, b/c since I’m only a temp, I don’t get paid for sick time.  I went to a walk in medical clinic, but it doesn’t seem like the type of antibiotics that doctor gave me worked b/c I am still coughing up alot of mucous after 7 days worth of the medication.  I’m about to go back to that medical center and kill that doctor !

Anyway, gotta hit the sack now….I’ve got boot camp in the morning !

I’m not sure if I mentioned it to many people, but when Jeff comes down next month, we’re going to go on a 5 day trip to Fiji.  The photos are soo beautiful from the resort that we’re staying at, I almost melted.  I can’t wait to go.  Fiji is just a 3.5 hour flight from Sydney.

Then, in December, I am going on the SE Asia tour.  God I wish it was November already !

Besides that, we had daylight savings over here already and we rolled the clocks forward one hour, so now I am 15 hours ahead of you guys !  WOW.  The seasons are exactly the opposite down here, so we just turned the clocks so we can have more daylight, and ohhhh is it nice ! 

The weather has been really crazy within the last week.  Friday was a hot and sticky 90-92.  Today was barely 70.  I caught a cold over the weekend, and I am suffering pretty bad. 

My friend Terri arrives tomorrow morning, so we’ll be busy doing stuff I’m sure for the next few weeks.

Gotta run !  TTYL

Anyway, on the housing front, things are bad.  The housing market is HOT HOT HOT right now, and super competitive.  Everyone is going for the same thing I am, THE BEACHES !  I’m finally over my dream of getting a place by the beaches, because I’m recently getting sick and tired of the beach traffic.  It takes me over an hour on the buses to get out to the beaches on the weekends, there’s just so much congestion, and too much drama.

So, I went out with Patricia the other night and she told me that she is moving to another suburb.  Hopefully everyone remembers Patricia.  She’s my really good friend down here that took me in when I first arrived.  Anyway, the management company in her building (same building as mine) is raising the rent by $360 per month.  Can you believe that is even legal ?  It’s fucked up, I think !  So, she may be moving to this suburb called Erskineville and most of the apartments are really nicely renovated.  Patricia has all the furniture and appliances, so we would be all set.  So, I’ve asked her to consider me as a potential flatmate, as she is looking to get a three bedroom flat.  Maybe when Terri comes, she can rent the third bedroom and we can all live together !

I’m so in the mood to be living in a nice flat with a nice balcony so we can eat and barbeque outside.  That’s the vibe that I’m feeling right now.  Julie’s place is so goddamn depressing.  She’s just so controlling over everything in her apartment, that I don’t feel comfortable doing anything.

Other than that, I don’t have too much to report.  Patricia and I went out on Saturday night and we met up with this boy that was on our Contiki Spain tour.  His name is Isaac.  He is from New Zealand, but lives here in Australia, but did a year abroad in Canada and just came back.  He works in the same industry as Terri, so I think she’ll have a major hook-up in terms of finding work which will be great for her !  (Terri will be arriving in Oz on October 8th !!)

Oh, and the other exciting piece of news is that Jeff is coming down to visit me in a month and a half.  His flight arrives in Oz on November 16th, just a few days after his birthday, and he will be here with me for 10 days.  I’m planning to take 3 days off, 3 of the days will be the weekend, and so 4 days he’ll have to occupy himself during the day, but I will definitely leave the office at about 3-4pm each day.  I was really thinking about planning a great barrier reef trip, but it’s stinger season and we are both really scared.  My alternate ideas would be to maybe go to Fiji, or we can explore some different parts of Australia.  Maybe Perth and Adelaide.  We’ve already been to Melbourne on our last trip to Oz in ’05.  So, I’m not sure yet, I have to do some research !

And oh yes, I forgot to tell you guys.  I re-enlisted in Boot Camp.  I’m really excited about this.  It’s still extremely painful to wake up at 5:40am for the 6:00am class, but at least the sun is already up and it’s warm now.  It makes a world of difference.  In August, it was really dark and cold in the morning.  In fact, this mornings class was blazing hot !

Oh, I wanted to give an early shout some friends with birthdays coming up !  Happy Birthday Joanne (Sept 30th) and Naima (October 1st).  I miss you guys…..have a great birthday !!!!

The funniest part is, that everyone is crowded at the bus stops to get out to the beaches on the weekend mornings.  It’s actually quite aggressive to push your way onto the bus.  And, of course everyone wants to try and catch the express bus straight out.

So, through friends at work, I found out about a few available flats.  I went to see one on Sunday afternoon, and as soon as I shook the girls hand, I knew that the place wasn’t for me.  She has a friend there to assist her with the “interview”, and the girls were pissing me off.  They were grilling me about my social habits etc.  I was so aggrivated.  Those girls were “channel seven-ish” if you get the picture.  So, I sat in a cafe for a while drinking a latte and eating an egg sandwich and I saw a few room for rent postings on the wall. 

I called one guy right then and there, and he was like, “Hey, come on over now.  I actually have a few friends over”.  So, I walked over to the place, and it was a huge apartment above a clothing store right on the beach.  I called him when I was outside, and he looked down from the balcony and told me to come on up.  He met me on the stairwell, he kind of looked like Jesus Christ.  Long hair, scruffy, surf dude-ish.  As we walked up, he said, “We’ve been up all weekend”.  I said to myself, “oooohhhhhhhhh, boy…cokeheads….I’m not living here”.  But, I still went up for the tour in case it got better.  The place was very bare, but the balcony overlooked the beach, that part was incredible.  There were 5 people on his couch, all pretty much wasted at 2:30pm in the afternoon.  Out of the 5 people, one was a couple with a baby.  Next thing I knew, the father of the baby walked 5 feet away from his wife and baby, and started smoking weed from a bong.  I thought to myself, “WHERE THE HELL DID I JUST WALK INTO?”.  So, I stood on the balcony with the guy, still not totally scared away yet, but then I noticed some lesions on his face, and I just thought to myself, that it was just too scary.  Not only that, but he was really thin.  So, I concluded that either he had HIV, or he was a crackhead.  Probably both though. 

I asked the guy what he did for work, and he said, “I’m in a band”.  Again, to myself saying, “Ohhhhhh no, not the place for me”.  Just think, gigs, late nights, drugs, alcohol, GROUPIES !!!!  Yeah, not my style.  So, I thanked him for his time and I went on my way.

After I left that place, it dawned upon me, that since his rent is so high, and he only works with this band so infrequently, that this guy was probably a FUCKING drug dealer, and I had just walked into a crack den!  Jesus, can you believe that shit !

Anyway, my leads for apartments have gone dry for a few days.  I may wait until my friend Terri gets here next week to determine what my next moves may be.

But, I do dream of getting a place on the beach.  Just imagine this…..when I get home from work, I can quickly change into my suit when it is blazing hot, and go for a swim at 6 o’clock in the Pacific Ocean !  That’s the life, I think !  I can imagine that the beach side bars and lounges are pretty awesome too…….  I’m still going to pursue my dream of living there !  I’ve got to keep tracking down leads !

Okay, so far I’ve been experiencing some delays and breakups with calls, but I’m trying to work out the kinks. So, hopefully I’ll master this phone stuff soon.

Best times to reach me are as follows:

NEW YORK TIME:  Monday-Sunday 4am-10am  (usually on your way to work or just at your desks)

NEW YORK TIME: Fridays and Saturdays from 7-10pm (when you’re on your way out on a Fri or Sat night, lol.)

Besides that, I have other fantastic news.  I actually have a friend that is coming down here to live in Australia on a work visa as well !  My friend Terri (my travel buddy from Contiki Europe and Contiki Spain) resigned from her job in Toronto Canada and is packing up her stuff, and will be here in two weeks.

Now, Terri has been dropping me all of these emails, and she’s really getting my travel bug going.  I’m not sure if most of you know, but there is something called “RTW” that is getting REALLLLLLLY popular with travelers recently.  RTW stands for “Round the World”.  There are these airfare packages that you can buy right now, so you can customize your very own “Around the World” trip.     …….OKAY, don’t get my started !! I am so excited about this idea, I could just burst !  This is something that I DEFINITELY plan on doing towards the end of my australian work visa.

The good thing about Terri and I, is that we both dream of going to alot of the same places.  Our dreams are to hit Asia, alot of Africa and India.  But, we both know that you can’t go to places like that by yourself.  We’re going to do it together !  We’re a good team while travelling, and I’ll tell you why.  She’s the brains behind the operation.  She likes to read the books and the maps, I just like to show up.  She doesn’t take long in the bathroom and she wakes right up.  I take a while to get ready in the morning, and I never want to get out of bed.  She’s a mover and a shaker with all day sightseeing, and I want to stop and sit in a cafe to people watch every hour, lol.  She doesn’t drink much, but loves to dance.  I like to drink, but hate to dance.  As much as those qualities sound a bit different, it’s a REALLY good balance when you’re travelling.

We were just being silly a few days ago, and we were thinking of making a documentary of our trip.   Wouldn’t that be cool ? 

Anyway, I can’t wait to book my “round the world” ticket in a few months !   Look out World, WE’RE COMIN’ !!

Julie silently controls all of my movements around the house.  I’ll start from the front door.  When I enter, I have to take my shoes off immediately.  When I do laundry, I have to use the detergent that she approves.  When I cook, I have to wash my dishes and pots immediately or she’ll say something.  She is still not a person that is comfortable with me having any friends over either .  She turns it into such a fucking ridiculous scene, and she gets so uncomfortable when people stop by.  It’s like I’m bringing aliens over for dinner. 

I’m just losing my patience with this situation.  I can’t come home and just cook my dinner in peace.  I’m literally a bobble-head and have to sit there listening to these stories she tells over and over again.  I don’t want to be controlled for $1000 a month, I want my freedom, and I want a cool australian flatmate situation.

So, when the weather got nice on Saturday, I got dressed and went to Bondi Beach on the bus and read a book on my towel.  It suddenly dawned upon me that everyone told me when I moved here, “Kori, you should live on the beaches”.  So, I felt such a good vibe over there, that I think that I am going to move.  I’m going to start looking as soon as possible.  I think that living on the beach could be a once and a lifetime opportunity for me.  I could wake up looking at the ocean each morning, and I could go running or surf on the beaches everyday after work…..seems like a dream for me, so that’s what I think I am going to do !

Other than that, I am really happy to be back at work.  I love working at David Jones.  The people are so chill and friendly and cheerful, I always look forward to seeing my coworkers each day.  My lunatic female boss is still on vacation, but she will be coming back on Monday.  You can disregard all of the things I said about her last month…I had bad PMS that day.  We had a huge sample sale on Friday.  I worked as a cashier and packer for the sale.  It was alot of fun.  And, as a worker, I got first dibs on whatever I wanted.  I bought 2 wedding planning guides and I also bought Jeff 20 pairs of designer socks and 3 designer belts, and I got one of my cousins a few fedora hats.  For all of this, I paid only $36.  I think it was worth over $800 !

This trip to Australia has been an incredible learning experience for me, and I will never forget it.  The one major lesson learned that I hope that I can take home with me is the laid back and “cruisy” outlook on things.  This place is all about patience, friendliness and enjoyment.  There isn’t a day that goes by at work, where I don’t see an email closing with “Warm Regards” or I see the words, “Warm Welcome”.  Australian’s are truly in the spirit of being VERY warm people. 

When I arrived back in Oz, my girlfriends Edwina and Patricia took me out for engagement celebration drinks.  Wasn’t that sweet ?  There’s just such a cool vibe down here.

Besides that, I still have “the wedding research fever”, and I’ve been surfing the web like a frieken animal for different wedding ideas that pop into my head round the clock.  Some days its catering halls, other days it’s dresses, invitations, tuxedos, bridesmaid dresses, bachelorette party locations, registries etc. I even read other people blogs….lol…how funny is that ?  I wish that I could just calm myself down, because I can’t do a SINGLE thing from here.  I literally have to wait until I get back to New York.

Jeff and I have be talking on the phone about how we can avoid a wedding that costs so much.  For me personally, I’d rather just buy a house, and/or backpack around the world together for a couple of months instead.  But, it seems that this whole white dress wedding reception thing is……. “A Neccessary Evil”.  It’s a deed that needs to get done.  Now that I know how much it costs, I realize that a wedding is money just flushed down the toilet because you don’t get to walk away with anything tangible…….  Oh wait, I forgot, I get to keep this one guy for ever and ever that will hog the covers in my bed every night for the rest of my life and thinks it’s quite hysterical when his farts stink up the room, lol just kidding.

So anyway, food, drinks, flowers, DJ’s, limos, -that money just gets pissed away.  Don’t you agree ? In the end, no one will really remember your wedding, because it just fades into the back of your brain with all of the rest of them because they are allllllll the same.  Maybe it’s my duty to make mine original somehow…..create something that everyone will remember…..okay….give me some time.  I’ll try to think of something.

With all of that said, I’m off to bed now….speak to you guys soon.

Initially I was going to plan a wedding for next summer, and book a venue remotely to have a wedding at the end of summer ’09.  The thought of doing it from thousands of miles away made me sick to my stomach.  I would never truly get to work with all of my vendors face to face, and wouldn’t get to plan the wedding of my dreams.

So, I called Jeff finally when my anxiety had hit its peak on Wednesday.  But, the most awesome part of our conversation was that he has been feeling the same pressure and anxiety.  So, we both agreed that summer 09 is too much of a strain for us.  I will just be getting back to the US in May 09, so we think that we will have our wedding in May of 2010.

Next big issue are the costs related to the wedding.  I quickly realized that the wedding of “MY” dreams is like $75K.  That is just way too expensive, and I think I’d be angry if I spent that much.  (I’d like to have a house and still like to have money to go on a great honeymoon…hey, I’m still the travelling bizzy bee !)   So, Jeff and I have decided to be really resourceful.  Jeff is really close friends with the GM of a catering hall that he used to work at during college.  He GM is willing to really hook us up with a great price.  Only funny catch is, is that it’s at a Jewish Center….oh well, I think that I can overlook that if it’s a good price !  I have a friend that is a florist that will definitely give us a great discount.   My hometown neighbor has been a wedding planner for about 15 years and can recommend some of the best vendors, and can give us some really great advice etc.

I think that the most important part of this wedding planning stuff is to keep your mind open to others advice.  Alot of good friends can recommend good DJ’s, catering halls, dressmakers, photographers etc and opinions on this whole thing in general. 

So, the plan as of right now is for me to come back to New York in May 2009, and work on finding a great job that I will love.  I hope that I can take my time to find something rewarding and not back to something I hate in New York.  I hope that my days of trekking to the NYC are over.  I’d like to do something suburban, or something that requires some travel.  Jeff and I also have some strong feelings about buying a house while the market is still in the buyers favor.  I think it would be great for us to start putting our money into an investment !  So, gradually getting back into the New York groove with work and my relationship will be the plan, and with all of that, I’ll lock in a wedding reception venue and start finding some great wedding vendors.  The time from May 09-May 10 will also be time for us to save lots of money to pay for the wedding.

Okay, so that’s where we’re at.  My anxiety has subsided now that I don’t have to plan a wedding remotely.  I can continue to enjoy the rest of my year in Australia.

Oh yeah, I’ve invited 88 people so far for my side of the wedding, I already typed up my guest list.  Oh, and Jeff wants to have 9-11 groomsman…….I can imagine that both sides of our bridal party are going to be absolutely hysterical……a really great group of guys and gals !!!!  Oh, and I’ve already envisioned my bachellorette party………back to South Beach girls !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, and I returned to Oz with two more suitcases full of my clothes ! How cool is that ?  I’m very happy about it.  I had to tell my engagement story about 50 times at work on Monday.  I was so disoriented and jetlagged, I could barely do any work.  In Australia, they call engagement rings, “sparklers”.  It’s such a cute word, isn’t it ?  Everything else is fine.  My flatmate Julie seemed to have missed me, so we went out for dinner last night so I could fill her in on all of the stories.  I may wait a few days or weeks to re-sign up for bootcamp, because I am still very tired.

Anyway, I have to tell you guys that I love flying and travelling.  There’s just some type of rush that I get from hopping on a plane, I never get sick of it.  It’s like I left New York on Friday, and then just showed up in Sydney on Sunday morning, rolled out of bed on Monday and went to work in a new city……I think it’s soooo cool.

Okay, talk to you guys soon !

Oh My God,   Oh—My— God. 

Well, most of you that I’ve spoken to this week already knew that it was coming.  Jeff had been asking me to pick out ring settings for about two weeks.  So, I had a hunch that it would happen today, my last day in New York.  We went out to Morton’s Steakhouse in White Plains for my farewell dinner. 

Towards the end of dinner, he pushed his seat back, and said, “I’m going to walk over to the bar to check the score” (the yankees).  He later told me that he used that time to tell the bartender to put the ring in a glass of Moet Rose.  The waiter bought the champagne over to us a few minutes later and I wanted to giggle and say something like, “you silly goose, you put the ring in the glass”, but something intensely emotional came over to me, I was immediately speechless, I trembled a bit and put my face in my hands and cried, really really cried.  Then, Jeff started to cry as well and said, “Baby, will you marry me?”  Oh God, and then we just hugged and cried together like babies.  Everyone in the entire restaurant was watching and clapping – just really genuinely happy for us.

Wow, I know I’m not describing it as well as I usually describe things on my blog, but it was just such an overwhelming rush of emotion.  -I think that I’m recently turning into a big cryer.  I think in my mind, all night I was acting like such a tough guy because I knew it was coming, and was planning to crack a couple of jokes if he proposed.  Then at the actual moment it happened, I realized that this was one of the most sincere and most important events in my life.  I looked at the champagne glass and said to myself, “Wow, he really does love me…..he wants to be with me forever”.

Anyway, Morton’s Steakhouse treated us like royalty.  They even took a photo of us 1 second after it happened.  So, we still had the tears falling !  It was such a great idea on their part to snap the photo.  They printed it right up and gave it to us in a Morton’s frame !

So, I mentioned to Jeff already that I don’t want to get married right away.  I pretty much know for sure that I won’t be prepared for a 2009 wedding, because I will be in Australia for another 8-9 months, so I may have to be a 2010 bride.  I already have a few ideas…..I’m thinking Long Island North Fork Winery Resort-Type Wedding.  Champagne and fine wine flowing, relaxing atmosphere, and OF COURSE fine FOOD.

Okay……………….tomorrow I’m flying back to Oz.  I’ll be around until 7:20pm on my cell phone if anyone wants to hear more about the story.

Oh, here’s my ring.  It’s an asscher cut diamond (similar to emerald cut) in a cushion setting.  I think it’s just perfect.  I think Jeff made a fine choice ! (with my emailed photo suggestions from Australia, lol).

Oh wait, I forgot to tell everyone what my answer was.  Well, there was just too much drama at the restaurant, but we talked when we got home.  We made a pact together to try our best to eliminate petty conflict and just try to make eachother happy regularly forever.  With that said, I responded, “Yes” to the proposal.

So, Saturday’s tag sale took a hell of a lot out of me, but I really needed to suck it all up so I could be prepared to be at my best for my friends wedding. 

I was filthy after the tag sale, so I needed to run to the spa the morning of the wedding to get my nails and toes manicured.  Then, it was a mad dash down to Long Island with all of my stuff to get my hair done and slip into my dress. 

After we finished our hair appointments at 2pm, we dashed over to a hotel that Meredith was staying at, and threw our dresses on because we needed to start with the professional photos.  I was personally a disaster all morning.   I was still feeling quite low and sad after the tag sale, missing my mom.  I almost felt like she had died the day before.  That was the type of low and deep sadness that was lingering in my head and body.  My bridesmaid dress was a bit wrinkled, so I had to press it a bit, and the makeup that I did on myself was rushed.  (I was kind of embarrassed, because I’m not usually like that).

Then, we started working with the photographer.  We had to slip Meredith into her dress, and assisted her with her jewelry etc.. 

There’s just one word that I’ve been using to describe Meredith on that day, and the word is, “Stunning”.  She looked absolutely beautiful, and it was just an amazing, happy, warm, and joyous day.  The weather was perfect, the families were so happy, and above all, Meredith and Danny were both glowing with excitement and happiness.

I never really realized how much emotion is involved at a wedding.  I as a bridesmaid, I cried twice.  Once when Meredith saw Danny for the first time for photos, and then when she walked down the  aisle.  I was such a mushy basket case.  Meredith was soooooooo calm and collected for most of the day, but then finally cracked after the rehearsal……gosh, I was wondering when it was going to hit her !

I also finally realized something else.  It is truly an honor to be in a wedding party.  It was my first time in many years.  I guess that I’ve always heard the other side from people, like – the complaints about dresses, or the cost of things etc.  But God, I really felt so emotional and special on the actual day of the wedding that I was really apart of something.  A part of the photos, the day,& the special occasion.  I was so truly happy to be there as tired as I was, lol ! 

So, for those of you that don’t know, my dress didn’t fit when I left New York in May, but it did fit on the actual day !  Thanks to Boot Camp !  But, when I ate dinner, it didn’t fit anymore, and the satin didn’t stretch.  I felt like I was going to burst, and was in so much pain………oh gosh, then jet lag kicked in, so then I just couldn’t move at all.  I tried my best to stay alert, but I faded fast and had to go home by midnight.  Damn, I wish that all of that didn’t happen to me.

Anyway, Meredith’s new in-laws threw a beatuiful brunch the next morning, and (ha-ha) I was the only bridesmaid that showed up.  So, I lost points the night before, but gained ‘em back by showing up the the brunch !

Here are some of the photos I took.

Okay, gotta run….I’ve got lots of stuff to do today !

On Friday, I hired a moving company and they transported everything that I wanted, over to my backyard.  I was helping them move like a frieking lunatic, so my back was hurtin’ pretty bad.  That night, I went to a wedding with Jeff, and little did I know, it rained that night all over the stuff.

So, I woke up at 4am to start setting up my tag sale and it was delayed because of the rain.  Crazy tag sale people started showing up at 6:27am to start shopping and I was going to die. 

Finally by the grace of God, the weather cleared up and my sale started to get wild and crazy.  My aunts and grandmother worked inside with all of the clothing, perfumes etc.  I worked outside with the outdoor furniture, servingware and tools.

At the end of the day in the heat, I was absolutely exhausted and my mind was dead.  We had a cleanup ahead of us and I wasn’t looking forward to it !  All of the sudden at the very end, I started to hyperventilate and I broke into hysterical tears.  I don’t want to be the “tag sale diva” anymore.  My moms death has been overwhelming enough, and cleaning up all of her stuff has been hard and devastating. 

I began to tell my family that was holding on tight to me while I was crying that, “In Australia, I am free.  I have 20 pairs of underwear, 2 weeks worth of clothes, no car, and an okay job.  BUT, I’m free”.  I’ve also reaized that, “My mother is in my heart”, and that took me a long time to realize.  I don’t have to schlep all of her personal items around with me for the rest of my life, because I just don’t have the strength to do it anymore.

For example, if there were ever to be a fire in my house, and I could take one thing out with me only, it would be photos of my mom.  That’s all I feel like I need at this point in my life.  I presently feel confident enough to dump all of my clothes, sell all my furniture and continue on with my adventure.

So, that was the tag sale……..we made $1,000…WOW.  Thanks to my Aunt Angela, who is the master organizer, got the gift for gab, and master negotiator.  Thanks to my grandmother for making sure that nobody stole anything ! And, thanks to my cousin Tatiana for taking the time out of her busy young life to help us doing a little bit of everything around the sale !!!! 

Oh, and thanks to the “dumpster-diving” garage sale junkies that hung around for no reason to help us set up for several hours, lol !

Originally on the flight, I had all intentions of being “All About Oz”, and wanting to try to convince myself that no place is better.  When I landed, I even saw an altercation between a baggage handler and a customer, and said to myself, “Oh, welcome back to America”.  Americans, and New Yorkers especially remind me of Pit Bulls, always ready to attack, lol……  Yes, I myself am at fault as well thank you very much.  But, I’ve been trained to be a pit bull all my life, lol (but, I can be a pussy cat at times, yeah right).  I guess there’s no better life training in the world other than starting out here, lol !

Anyway, my feelings of hatred for the US dissapated as soon as I left the terminal building at JFK.  I saw the beautiful New York summer sky, looked up and said, “I’m Home !”  I arrived in New York as a different person yesterday.  The person that I left as on May 2nd, was a mess and a disaster.  Depressed and grieving because of my moms loss, at wits end with a job that I hated and just couldn’t sit still in New York anymore, because I had a dream that something else was out there for me.  If there’s one piece of advice that I can give people, it would be to follow their dreams.  I pinch myself each morning in Sydney wondering if it’s all real, and it is !!

I’m returning to New York (for just a week of course until I go back to beloved Oz) with a fresh head.  I’ve grown alot.  Can you imagine, that I can physically feel change that’s “pyschological”.  It’s bizarre but true.  I am here to attack many issues this week, but I will do it with the “no worries” mindset.  The Australian lifestyle is seeping into my blood, and I am calm and at peace.

I was happy to stick the key in the door to my home, and happy to open the doors to see my stuff (and not Chinese Julie’s furniture, lol).  My couches, my kitchen, my BED, my gardens etc.  Yeah, it’s “Home Ghetto Home”….just kidding, I like it here.  I have a massive amount of errands to run, but everyone can feel free to call me on my “cell”, wow feels weird to use that word.  914-714-4006.  Alternatively, you can try my home phone 914-667-2046.   TTYL – Bye !!

Once the group told me that stuff, I went back to work on Monday and noticed all of that bad shit.  She was preparing this week for her one month vacation, (she left yesterday) and she was just on a war path to get things done and wrapped up before she left like a lunatic.  It was getting on my nerves.  She had a meeting with me to tell me all of the things she wanted me to handle while she’s away and I was completely blown away by how much she left me responsible for.  At one point I just looked at her thinking to myself, “Oh my god, is this woman crazy?”.  And she looked at me and said some stupid bullshit like, “Are you getting this, you’re looking at me like I’m speaking chinese”.  I was so fucking pissed off at that point.

So anyway, I think that I could really classify this woman as nuts.  And the more I started to think about it, I realized that this is not a cruisy job, and I am here on a “holilday visa”.  Do I really want to put this much pressure on myself anymore where I work for someone that isn’t friendly and cool ??  -Not really.

I only ask myself this now that one of my really good friends will be joining me here in Sydney on the same work/holiday visa next month.  You’ve probably heard me talk about my friend Terri from Toronto.  We met on a Contiki Tour of Europe 5 years ago, and we’ve been friends ever since.  We even went to Spain last year together.  She’s pretty much had it with her job in Toronto, and she has the travel bug like me, so she got her visa electronically, and is booking a flight and should be here by the end of September.

When I read Terri’s emails about coming down, her big question is, “Kori, when are we going to travel?”.  So, after all of the thinking I’ve done about working at DJ’s, I’m considering maybe travelling with Terri and we could just do stupid shit-type work for the rest of the year instead and we can just enjoy what ever comes our way!   At least we have eachother !!! Terri follows some other blogs of people that are on the same visa as us, and they just backpack from place to place and take crazy jobs, and meet tons of people along the way.

I think that being here for 4 months, I’m ready to peel away even more layers of myself.  I’ve already learned to adapt in a new country, I’ve learned to live without all of my worldy possessions in New York, and I’m more humble and laid back.  Things are good.  I think that when Terri comes down next month we may have to discuss a work and travel strategy all around Australia. 

Right now, I’m living too much like I used to in NY.  I have an apartment and a life with Julie that is boring and restrictive, I have a 9-5 job that I’m starting to hate just like I hated working in NY, I’m getting dark circles under my eyes because sometimes work is stressful and I am responsible for way too much at DJ’s.  Maybe it’s time to change and really go on “Kori’s Australian Adventure”, like the title of my blog.  I realize that I haven’t been living up to the title of my blog, and it’s been somewhat upsetting.  Wow, all of the sudden I’m remembering a piece of advice my aunt in Jamaica gave me in the comments section here on my blog a few months ago.  She said something like, “Kor, you’ve done the office thing and it’s too safe.  Get out there and explore some other parts of yourself on this trip”.  You know what, I think she’s right!!!  In fact, she’s usually right, but it seems to hit me later, lol.

I’ve also been thinking about what my plan will be in May 2009 when my visa expires.  Since I’m no longer interested in having DJ’s sponsor me to stay for a few more years because I don’t want to work for that nut job for the rest of my life, what will I do when I get back to NY. ?  In my gut and in my dreams, I’ve been praying hard that I can get a job that allows me to travel as part of the responsibility.  At this point, I think thats the only thing that will keep me happy and sane. 

I think that if I go back to my everyday life in NY doing what I used to, I will shrivel up and die of devastation and depression, lol.  I definitely think I want a job that lets me travel to different places.  I am positive that I LOVE being thrown into situations where I am expected to “hit the ground running and immerse myself in a new culture”.  I never get sick of travelling, seriously I don’t.  I love flying, I love hotels, I love meeting new and interesting people.  I am going to try my hardest to pursue it.

Also, some other thoughts I’ve had (damn I’ve had alot this week).  When this visa expires in May, I think that I may ship all of my luggage home, and I want to go on a long backpacking tour to my dream destinations before I return to the US to get serious about my career.  I want to hit South Africa, South East Asia, India, and then maybe hit some places that I’ve never seen in Eastern Europe like Prague, Poland etc, and then my final destination will be to basque in the sun in Capri, Italy.  I miss Italy, I dream of going back.  That will be next summer of course, so I know the weather will be amazing.

So, yup, I’ve got alot to think about……  Hope to see alot of you next week in NY !!!!!

Anyway, besides that, I didn’t do too much on Saturday.  I got a haircut though.  I was thinking of getting the angled haircut similar to what Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham) has, but I decided against it, and got a china doll type cut instead, but asked my hairdresser to keep the length because I need to wear my hair up for Meredith’s wedding next week. 

Patricia asked me to come up for dinner on Saturday night, so I made a nice salad and bought a bottle of wine, and she made us some beef stew and we watched the Olympics and caught up on life.  She told me that the rent in her unit is going up by $360 per month and that she will have to move.  That’s a shame, because I really like living in the same building as her (that’s why I am in this building in the first place). 

On Sunday, Julie told me that she wanted to take us to this cool place for brunch in a suburb called Newtown.  Newtown is a cool greenwich village-y type area with tons of cafes and boutiques.  I had waffles with strawberries and cream at a cafe called Citrus.  It was amazing.  After that, Julie took me to a wine outlet shop and I bought three bottles of wine (which will be the limit for me to bring on the airplane) as souvenirs to New York.  And, of course our last stop was to another outlet mall called the Birkenhead Factory Outlets.  We had a good time, and I didn’t buy anything for myself for once.  I’m trying to save my money, because I know that I’ll be spending money quickly in New York. 

Boot camp was pretty rough this morning.  It’s so hard to get out of bed on Monday mornings.  We did alot of running and hills today.  We’re in week three already, can you believe it ?  I definitely want to keep signing up for this class !  He gave us offical T-shirts today, I was so excited.

This morning I had to trek out to a different part of Sydney called North Sydney to go to a David Jones Conference.  The conference was to talk about this seasons strategy.  So, each department did a presentation.  I ended up learning so much about David Jones.  I really liked what I saw.  With only 37 stores, I find the operation to be so “cute”, although cute is not the right word, compared to a massive operation like Macy’s that runs over 800 stores I think.  It’s just a charming department store and I still enjoy working there each and every day so far (weird for me right ??).  I love their motto…… “There’s no store like David Jones”.  I watched three quarters of the presentations, and then decided to trek back to the office.  I worked from 3-7pm, and then, I was greedy for the conference dinner buffet, so I went back out to North Sydney and all the way to the amusement park to get the free barbeque.

Anyway, the update on my NY apartment.  I may have a potential person to move in as my “roommate” as I “travel for work overseas as a buyer for an Australian Department Store”.  Her name is Jennifer and she is a 21 year old Senior at Concordia College in Bronxville.  She works full time and goes to school full time.  She works as a waitress is Bronxville.  So, if she can come up with the deposit and rent, she can move in “with me”.  She seems really cool, I liked her over the phone.  After she saw my place, she said, “I absolutely love it”.  That’s cute and charming, I think.  I have an appreciation for that apartment as well, that’s why I guess I don’t want to let it go.

Okay, I’m off to bed now………

Anyway, this week has been quiet so far.  I did some hot yoga and a spin class last night.  It’s been extra chilly in Sydney this week…..”bugger”.  Tonight I went to a movie premiere that I had free passes for with my friend Edwina.  We hated the movie, so we walked out after 20 minutes and just had a drink at a pub.  Tomorrow I have work drinks with the menswear department, and on Friday Julie wants to go out for Japanese food for dinner.  Goddamn the week flew by.

Boot camp is still kicking my ass.  It is getting harder and harder to get up at 5:40am.  I bought some new workout gear over the weekend at the mall, so I was excited to rock it this morning.  I found out that my bootcamp will be having a celebration after the course is over.  They are going paintballing.  Not sure if I will go, because I am not a big fan of paintball.  I will miss the last class because I have to fly back to NY.

So, wow, exactly two weeks until my trip to New York.  My managers and co-workers at David Jones are sooooo okay with me going away for 9 days.  All I hear is, “everyone is entitled to a holiday”.  It’s just so laid back, I love it.

I’m still considering dumping out my entire NY apartment.  My mind changes everyday.  It would be an unbelievable chore to clean and sell off the entire place in 9 days.  Does anyone have an opinion on this ? Do you think I should give my apartment up ?  My aunts advice is to give it up, stop paying other peoples mortgages, and make an investment in a home/apartment of my own very soon.

Anyway, I am still loving my new home internet service.  I’m addicted to it.  And, I’m even on it late enough to catch some of you guys in NY when you get to work.

Okay, sorry my blog sucks recently…I guess that I have to start getting myself into some more trouble soon.  I’m dying to start travelling again, I’m do for a cool vacation, but I like working at David Jones so much that I am not going to take the time off right now.

Okay, talk soon.  Lv, Kori

My newest obsession here is this loft apartment building around the corner.  It’s a landmark wool factory building that’s been converted into lofts.  I want to move in there sooo bad.  I hope that I can find someone that wants a flatmate there.  I’m kind of over living here at Julies.  It’s a bit of a dark apartment, I can’t have people over, I have to take my shoes off at the door, I always have to clean up after myself right away, and I’m always freezing cold because she doesn’t have any heaters.

Anyway, I overslept for boot camp this morning.  I felt so guilty that I missed it.  Last week was the first full week of boot camp.  It was great and terrible feeling all in one.  It’s very very painful to get back into shape, but feels.  Sore muscles for me means that I’m on my way to getting back into shape.

And the best news ever is that I have home internet now. HOORAY for that.  It’s with a company called Unwired.  I am really excited about it.

Anyway, everything is still going really well at David Jones.  I’ve been there for about a month now.  I kind of feel like I’ve been there for a few years.  On Thursday, I am going out for drinks with the entire menswear team to celebrate the end of the financial year.  They are a fun crew and I sit amongst them in the office.  This is one of the first jobs that I’ve had in a long time that’s working with lots of guys.  Mostly gay though, they are great.  They always say stuff like, “good morning gorgeous” or “Hello Lovely”.  My manager gave me some free movie sceening tickets to see The Clone Wars, so I am going to that on Wednesday night.

Okay, I’m off to bed now, but I’m a bit too addicted to being online with my laptop right now, lol

Anyway, I was working near the red carpet, so I got to meet dozens of Australian designers and celebs.  It didn’t mean too much to me, because I didn’t know who the hell they were.

After I worked on the red carpet welcoming guests, I moved into theshowroom and was an usher assisting people with finding their seats.  And after that, the show began.  Miranda Kerr just has such a presence, she really is stunning.  The theme for the entire launch was “Rio de Janiero”.  It was reallllly cool.  It really gave me the chills.

And of course as every Australian evening should end, champagne and hand passed hor-dourves were flowing.  I downed a couple of glasses of Moet Rose (Moe-ayyy Roe-zayyyy), and was attacking the waiters with the food, lol.  Then I caught a cab home @ around 9:30, because I didn’t want to be dead tired at boot camp this morning.

Photos of Miranda Kerr, click on this link !  http://www.gossipgirls.com/miranda-kerr/miranda-kerr-sexes-david-jones-runway-199818?profile=

Ciao for now….

Okay, back to work I go………..

Wednesday, Aug 27th:  flight lands at 5pm at JFK…go home, shower, rest and call people

Thursday, Aug 28th:  Get my truck inspected, get my hair colored, get mani/pedi, go to see my grandmother.  Interview possible sublettors for my NY apartment.  YANKEES game at night with Jeff and friends.

Friday, Aug 29th:  various errands, and wedding for one of Jeff’s friends in the evening.

Saturday, Aug 30th: Maybe the beach, then dinner with meredith and the female side of the bridal party at night.

Sunday, Aug 31st:  Hair and makeup for Meredith’s wedding, followed by the wedding itself

Monday, Sept 1st:  Brunch after Meredith’s wedding, maybe the beach on the way home.

Tuesday, Sept 2nd:  various errands, catch up with friends

Tuesday, Sept 3rd:  various errands, catch up with friends

Tuesday, Sept 4th:  various errands, catch up with friends

Tuesday, Sept 5th:  various errands, catch up with friends.  Flight back to Oz at 7:30pm

Besides all of that, I wanted to make a dentist appt for my cleaning, maybe go to my reiki master for a session, my psychic, and also my chiropractor.  I have a bit of shopping to do for things that I can’t get over here.  I also have to clean my apartment, because I am planning to sublet (aka find a roommate) while I am over here in Australia.  Spread the word everyone….I’m only charging like $800-900 a month fully furnished !!

Okay, gotta run…I’m soooo tired.  Work is a killer, but I am loving it so far !

There are always things that I think are so cute about Sydney, that I forget to tell all of you.  When I walk around the city, I think, “damn, I’ve got to tell people about that on my blog”.  Hence the title “Bits and Pieces”.

Okay, let me see if I can generate a list:

1. Most shops here in Sydney close at 6pm.  That’s pretty painful considering most people get out of work at that time.  The saving grace is a term that’s coined “Thursday Night Shopping”.  It’s like a goddamn addictive ritual.  Everyone shops the streets on Thursday nights in the city centre….It’s soooo much fun !

2. Australian people say the word “hospital”, not “the hospital”.  For instance, “he is still in hospital”.  I hear it alot with the word “husband” too.  One chick that I know always says “I am with husband”.  They’re not being stupid, that’s the proper way to speak here. 

3. Huge nights out here in Sydney are, Friday nights straight after work in your work clothes.  There’s a fucking huge happy hour scene…it’s best to wear your work clothes, so you can fit in with all of the “suits”.  On Saturday nights, it’s “dress to impress” night.  Most girls dress like whores, mostly in really short tube dresses, they look like their going to a slut prom.  The guys wear VERY tight tapered jeans, tight t-shirts, or form fitting dress shirts with curly-pointy toe loafers, with wild hairstyles.

3 and a half.    to continue with number three, but kind of not…lol…..The hairstyles here are edgy.  Lots of girls have there hair two different colors, one color on top and one on the bottom half.  Lots of choppy cuts etc.  The guys here all have a euro hairstyles as well.  Alot of mullets and fo-hawks.  I once approached a guy and said, “Hey, how do you ask the barber to cut your hair like that?”.  The response was, “I just say, make it neat”.  I thought it was comical.

3 and three quarters:  It’s totally okay for guys to go to work with their hair super gelled in the fo-hawk style, and people will take them seriously.  To me, it looks like they’re about to go to a club to drop an E-Bomb  I think it’s hysterical.

4.  I can take all Australian men in the workplace that are in business suits seriously until my eyes move down to their feet and I notice that they’re wearing the curly toe loafers at work !!!! haaaaaaaaaa…….

5. My new closing words at the end of my emails at work are either “Warm Regards, Regards, or Many Thanks”.  How hysterical is that ????? …….many thanks……haaaaaaa

6. Paper sizes are different here.  A4 is letter size, and A3 is legal/ledger.  I get thrown off, b/c shouldn’t the A3 be the smaller size based on the number, right ???  Uhhhh, not here.

7. The date is written backwards.  For example, today is 31/7/08.  Or, if written out, Australians write “31st July”.  In a sentence you would say, “would it suit you to meet on 31st July”.    Very funny, but easy to pick up.

8. Almost everyone in Australia is training for something.  Everyone that I know is a runner, biker, tri-athelete, entering a race soon etc.  Morning and lunchtime bootcamps outdoors are big, and so are running groups.

9.  The amount of times that Americans typically ask eachother to go out to eat each week, is the frequency of how many times I am asked to go out to drink each week………   It’s called the liquid diet.  

10.  Australians celebrate everything to the max.  Farewells, welcome backs, birthdays, babies, weddings, showers,…..I TELL YA…..EVERY-THING.  It’s just an excuse to commune together to drink.  It’s an insanely social environment….you’d have to be here to see it.    There isn’t a weekend that I’m not invited to like 3 parties or events !

11. Phone plans SUCK here.  Most people have pre-paid phones.  It’s very common and it doesn’t mean your a drug dealer like it does in the US.  You barely get any talk-time minutes for your money, so most people text their asses off.  It’s the most hysterical thing.  (I miss talking on the phone soooo bad.  I’m a phone bitch.)  Of course the american friends that I’ve made, are big talkers too, so they kill my minutes, lol.  I had to upgrade from the $29 plan to the $49 plan

Okay, damn, I’m tired right now…..I’ll start thinking of more interesting “Bits and Pieces” to tell you soon.

Laterzzzzzzzzz……….

Anyway, it’s not a casual job, this role is SERIOUS.  I’m happy though, reallllly happy.  I’m making good money, I work in the central business district where all of the action is, and I walk 12 minutes to get to work – Ya’ can’t beat it !!!  Besides that, I’ll have to catch up with all of you later on.  I have to get back to work !!!!!!!!

See you guys in 3 weeks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, everything is going just fine with my new flatmate Julie.  I’m going to tell you about a very interesting lesson I’ve learned here in Australia, and it’s “Don’t Judge a Book By It’s Cover”.  I’ll be really straight out with this one, and I apologize upfront if I offend anyone.  I’ve really never had Asian friends in my life.  I’m not sure why, but it’s just never worked out that way.  But, seriously I was bashing Julie, my flatmate at first, but she is a great person.  She is caring, honest, friendly and nice.  I’m getting used to her OCD ways, but I actually like it, because we live in an immaculately clean environment.  I think that some of that OCD rubbed off on me, because the other night I went upstairs and cleaned Patricia’s entire kitchen and mopped the floor after she made me dinner, lol.

Julie and I usually get home at around the same time, cook dinner at the same time in the kitchen and then sit on the floor at the coffee table in front of the tube and watch a show or two together.  Then we take turns cleaning the kitchen.  We’re like a married couple I guess, lol.  I think her old flatmate said to her, “Julie, if you were a guy, I’d marry you”.  How fucking funny is that ?? 

Okay, do you want to hear something really weird ? I think that Julie is a virgin.  Sometimes I tell her these funny stories about my life, and she curls up in a ball and just chuckles her ass off like she’s never heard stories like that before…..she gets all akward, you know what I mean, right ??  Okay, so I’m not sure.  I just wanted to make you guys laugh…..but I’ll try to find out. 

Above are the photos of the flat.

Hello All.  I’m comin’ atcha live from Brisbane Australia, aka “BrisVegas”.  I’m in town for the weekend for Lauren’s 30th birthday party.  You guys remember Lauren, don’t you ? She’s the one I visited my first week here in Oz.  She’s the one that took me to the zoo and got the cool shots of me with the animals. 

The theme of her party was “30 is the New Black”.  So, the black dress code was strictly enforced !  Ironically though, she wore RED so she could steal the show……but don’t worry Lauren, you always steal the show !   The weather is a few degrees warmer up here.  Sydney weather has slowly been killing me, lol just kidding.

I’m staying at a $25 a night hostel in the city.  What a frieken’ deal right ??  Since I was the last to check into the room, I was left with the top bunk ! And, to make matters a little bit worse, the hostel is near a train station, so I heard trains all night.  Oh well.  They have nice showers here though.  I haven’t taken a shower with a showerhead like that since I was in NY.  It was powerful and really awesome !  I’d come back here and pay $25 just to access the goddamn shower.  (I took 3 showers in 2 days…..I didn’t want to get out!!). 

I shared the hostel room with two other women.  One was a senior citizen!  Bizarre isn’t it ??  Seniors that travel, tend to use hostels because they are on fixed budgets.  So, this hostel looks a bit more like an old aged home rather than a party central youth hostel.  Haaaaaaaaaaa.

Okay, enjoy the photos……I’m off to the after party Sunday “barbie” at Lauren’s house.  I have to hop on a suburban train right now.  Later Mates !

Anyway, lots of people have been advising me to get the hell out of Julie’s apartment. But, I think that I have to sit tight for now, at least from a financial perspective. Work and the whole finding a good flatmate has been a shady and unstable experience, so I am just going to wait it out. At least until after I get back from New York next month.

Does anyone miss me yet ?? I miss you guys !!!! I’m starting to plan my week at home. If you want to see me, send me an email so I can “schedule” you in, lol…..just kidding. Ciao !

So far I met only one of the General Merchandise Managers that I will be working with, the other one was on holiday.  I’ll be working for the GMM of Menswear, and her name is Deb.  The abbreviation “GMM”, means General Merchandise Manager, for those of you that don’t know, that means that she overseas all of the buying for menswear that is bought and on display in all 37 of the DJ stores.  I also work for the GMM for all of Footwear, Childrenswear, and Accessories (handbags, hats, sunglasses, jewelry etc) and his name is Sacha, pronouced the Australian way…pronounced the way we as americans would say “Satin”, not the American way of “sohhh-shha”.

It’s really too hard to tell at this point how I am going to like it, but most of the feedback I’ve been receiving from you guys at home and my friends here is that I should try to play my cards right and stick this one out because it’s paying pretty well, lol !!!!

Besides that, I’ve made a good girlfriend, her name is Annette and she is from LA.  She is here on a 4 year work visa to do recruiting for IT jobs.  She’s so funny, she told me that she hasn’t made one Australian friend yet, lol.  She leaves messages on my mobile phone that say “Hey Girl, it’s Annette.  Call me on my cell.  Peace out”.  I frieken love that !!!!!!!!!!  I never get to hear that around here.    I love this girl, because she refuses to conform to any of the Australian rules or language.  She won’t say “mobile”, she only says “cell”.  I had a conversation with her about some of the words that we jsut can’t get used to.  There’s this one word that people say, “the shits”.  That mens that someone pisses you off.  So you would say, “He gives me the shits”.  To that, we americans would like to respond, “Can we get you some Immodium?”.  People down here also use the phrase, “Do you reckon?”, which means, “do you think?”.  It’s hilarious……

***************************************

Ah, I didn’t post that blog last night, so there’s an update with work.  Work at David Jones is really cool.  It’s a busy and action packed day.  These GMM’s are busy and they really need my help.  They seem like they really value the organizational skills of an assistant to keep them afloat !  I sat with them for an hour, from 5-6pm to talk about how we can all work together and it seems like it will be challenging, but fun.  I met the GMM, Sacha, and he seems really cool to work with !  Okay, so I’m STILL not in my dream job, but I think this assignment will be a fun one.  Did I tell you that their buyers get to travel….Milan, Tokyo, Paris, NY etc !! Isn’t that cool ??  Actually a good amount of the buyers aren’t even Australian.  Some seem to be Italian and Russian permanent residents.  I like the environment because it’s a young office as well.  Brings me right back to a Macy’s-type feel !

Anywhooo…..cross your fingers that this assignment works out for me !  I’m kind of feeling like that blow up clown that we used to own as kids….the one that you punch and it always comes back up.  I guess as a temp, you’ve got to be thick skinned and able to bounce back quick !!  All comes with the Gyspy-Lifestyle I’ve adopted down here……..lol   

I ran right to the internet cafe after work, updated my resume and then went out for a few drinks with a friend.  I had to relax a bit, because I was a bit stressed.  In the morning, I went back to the internet cafe and emailed my resume out to five of some of the best office support recruiting agencies.  I got a call back from one agency called Julia Ross and they asked me to come in this morning prepared to interview with for a position as an Executive Assistant at a ”Major Department Store” after the screening with them. 

So, I interviewed with a girl named Laura and everything that she told me about the job at “David Jones” (a high end dept store here, equivalent to Bloomingdales) sent chills through my body, because it was exactly the type of work that I was doing in NY.  The recruiter asked me to take some computer skills testing and she said that I only scored as “intermediate” computer skills - haha – whatever !! 

So, then she sent me off on my way to the David Jones store for the interview.  The merchandising office is on the 8th floor above the store, so it reminded me alot of Macy’s Herald Square.  This particualr office is the buying office for all 37 of the David Jones Stores.  All of the buyers, planners and marketing sit on this floor.  I met with another executive assistant, and she basically hired me on the spot and wants me to come in tomorrow at 9:30am to start.  The role is for 6 months.  It actually pays very very well, so I’m excited.

So anyway, last night before the interview I started to get realllllly upset and was down in the dumps.  I was trying to analyze what went wrong for me at channel 7 of if maybe the assignment really did end for the reason they said it did.  It’s actually quite devastating and shocking to hear that an assignment is over.  But, I have to start preparing myself mentally for things like that to happen, because all of my assignments over here will be temporary.   (I was told that my assignment was abuptly ending because the admin girls were going to start working on a skeleton crew because most of the top level executives were going to be leaving Beijing and staying for about 3 weeks at the Olympics.  They were paying my agency big money have have me sitting there doing such a “junior” role.  It made sense to me and I wasn’t doing much work-wise over there anyway, lol.  I had a feeling I was asked to leave because I didn’t get along with this one assistant there, and she actually raised her voice to me last week over some issue, and I was frieken’ livid.)

I started to realize a few things that I personally notice about the workplaces here in Australia.  So, here is goes: 

     Australians are fun and awesome people in the social scene, but in the workplace they can be alot more fussy and uptight than any American.  Everything is calculated, including what people say to eachother, what they say in an email and how they make big decisions.  I think that it will be in my best interests to just be a hard worker with a smile on my face and a REALLY upbeat attitude and not allow anyone to get to know me too well as a temp.  I think that will be the best way to stay in nice jobs like this in order to make money and stay afloat.  As a temp, I’ve also realized that I am always under a microscope.  Everything that I do or say around the office is being judged, so I should always “watchout” !!  Everything gets back to supervisors here, because there isn’t that much work to do, so tattle-tailing is a common occurance in the Australian workplace.  As a temp, you can never get too comfortable, because you can get canned in an instant.  I was getting a little too comfortable in my seat at seven, and that’s when the assignment took a turn, because I stopped caring.  Another thing is, I am on a “working holiday”, so my mind isn’t “too serious”, although I try to act like it while I’m working.  Hey, I’m just working to make a couple of bucks so I can stay afloat here in Australia, I could really care less if these companies do well or not.

Okay, enough bitching ! I’m happy and I have a new job that starts tomorrow.  I can wear jeans everyday…..how cool is that ????????   (Shit, I spent my first 3 paychecks or corporate clothes…goddamnit).

Don’t worry, I’ll have something new lined up by Monday I’m sure.  I need a drink right now !

#2 – I’m adjusting to life with a flatmate.  I’ve realized the source of my frustrations.  I haven’t shared an apartment in several years.  Everything has always been mine, I’ve never had to share, I’m not used to being considerate and doing the chores when I don’t want to, and I’m not used to talking all night when I get home from work !  Julie is a nice girl, but since she is so lonely and doesn’t have many friends, so she talks my ear off while I’m eating my dinner in front of the TV in the living room.  She just doesn’t stop, I haven’t seen anything like it.  And, she has this chuckle……..yeah, this chuckle…..  She can sit in front of the tube all night and just keep “chuckling” in her flannel pajamas.  I’m realizing that living with a flatmate of a different background will be somewhat of an interesting experience.  She almost tries to mother me in a way.  She cooks every night and asks me to taste her chinese food, and she tells me alot about chinese family and culture.  Only pain in the ass is, that her family comes over every Saturday……  So, I’m just going to stick it out with her for now.  I don’t think that I can find anything too much better for the price at the moment.

#3 – I’m joining a “Morning Bootcamp” Class.  Morning Bootcamp is a very intense group personal training class that I am going to start taking in the mornings.  I will need to be down at the park on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays by 6am to start the work out, and the class concludes at 7:15am, so everyone can get home to shower and then get to work.  I am very excited about it !!  By the way, did I tell you  that Sydney-ites are all about working out ?? There are bootcamps ALL over the damn place.  If not that, everyone is running or biking in the mornings or on their lunch hours.

Okay, this is all good news isn’t it.  My week is getting better.  By the way, I didn’t release the password protected post…….I will release it by the end of this week and will email out the password.

Later Mates !

I really have to admit, I have been through a really really traumatic week.  I swear I wanted to book a ticket home this week….it was so rough !  The whole apartment situation with the guys with the mushrooms on the floor had me shaking and crying all of last weekend.  Then, going downstairs to beg the chinese woman for a room was painful for me.  I’m not used to not having my own place, my own stuff, privacy etc. 

So far, the new flatmate has been draining the life out of me.  She corners me each night after work and talks my ear off for two hours and I can’t get away !!! I swear to god.  She has no life whatsoever, and she just comes home, cooks, throws on her flannels, and chuckles all night in front of the tube.  She literally told me that she is afraid to go out after dark.  She analyzes and nit-picks at everything I do around the apartment.  I swear she goes in my bathroom and bedroom when I leave to see what it looks like.  It’s just fucking annoying.  She’s not chill and laid back with dishes either.  They need to be done RIGHT away !  One of the most insulting parts is that she locks her bedroom door with a key when she leaves.  It’s just the weirdest flatmate situation that I’ve ever been in.  I barely even want to tell you this story, but last night I was rushing to meet my friends out and I did some ironing, and i left the iron on.  And yeah, you guessed it, I got a tongue lashing at 1am when I got home for that one.  I’m just aggrivated. 

I think I mentioned in one of my last posts that I lost about $400 from the last mushroom carpet apartment that didn’t work out.  Then the new flatmate wanted 2 weeks security, plus the first weeks rent up front, so I am so frieken tapped out.  It’s really starting to affect me emotionally that I am really paying two full rents right now .  (The time I spent at Patricia’s, it didn’t impact me as much because she wasn’t asking me for that much money).  So, as of right now, I am paying for a NY apartment $1,000 a month and a Sydney apartment $1,000 a month.  It’s a fucking killer, and it’s starting to stress me pretty bad because all of my bank accounts are getting drained.  I guess that I can’t worry about it too much.  I can only focus on trying to find a sublettor for my NY apartment come September 1st.  I will be interviewing candidates when I come to NY for the week.  If anyone knows of anyone looking for a place, please let me know !! To make matters worse, I called all of the utility companies in NY to put all of my utilities on a seasonal freeze, and it just doesn’t seem like any of them did their fucking jobs, because I still continue to get bills from verizon, verizon wireless and con edison. Like, how much more shit can I pay for ??? I’m soo mad. I can’t even call American 1-800 numbers from here, so I am often left to rely on calling people and asking them to connect me via conference call. I just feel so helpless, and American customer service numbers are so goddamn shitty !

I am definitely coming back to Australia on September 5th (I booked a ticket using my sky miles) and will stay for the remainder of my visa, which expires on May 3rd 2009.  A couple of people that I work with have hinted at the word “employer sponsorship” and the fact that they like me there, so I just don’t know what the hell is going on !

That’s why it’s been a roller coaster of emotions.  Life is incredibly fun over here and I am having a blast, but then at other moments, the instability scares me.  Having an apartment and then not, having a job, but then  maybe not.  I almost feel like I’m getting shot a hundred times in my chest with a machine gun.  I’m just an emotional disaster sometimes. 

Lots of people that know me have differing opinions on me hanging out with the american group too much.  I’m not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing.  I particularly like it, because I love hearing the similar accent.  I also like it, because most of us have been going through alot of the same dramas and adjustments.  I’ve been thinking about my mom alot too the last week.  I really wish that I had her to talk to about all of the stuff that’s going on down here.  It’s just not very fair.   I even miss walking around stores with her and buying tons of shit with her.  I’ve been sooooooo sensitive about everything this week.  Every time I think of her for the last week or so, I’ve broken down. 

Maybe since the 1 year reminder of her death wasn’t so hard for me, maybe it’s just starting to hit me now…it’s only been 2 weeks since that date.   I have this burning type feeling in my heart and in my eyes.  I often feel the need to tell people about what happened last year when they ask “what I’m doing in Australia”, because it’s a huge part of the reason that I am over here blowing off steam in Australia. 

Okay, I’ve got to run.  My new flatmate doesn’t have internet, and I am sitting in an internet cafe.  It’s closing in about 5 minutes…….Ciao !

After I handed her the first weeks rent, she pulled out an “agreement” for me to sign.  Now, she put this paper in my hand at around midnight last night after I just went out to dinner and drinks with Patricia to welcome her home.  So, I was a bit buzzed, but I read what she had to say.  There were FIVE clauses (I think she’s a very calculating individual).  Mostly discussing the weekly rent, the security deposit, the shared utility bills, the shared and on own household product expenses (dish detergent, laundry detergent), and the last clause said – …… that I wasn’t allowed to throw parties, have guests that will be sitting out on her couch without notice or especially “no overnight guests”.  That’s pretty disappointing, because what if friends want to visit from NY for a week ?  I was pretty shocked.

So, the situation is just very restrictive, hence the title of this post, ”The Chinese Mother That I Never Wanted”.  Maybe I’m being sent a test of will on my cleanliness.  I NEVER make my bed everyday.  Well, maybe when I was a kid in summer camp for bunk inspections, but I’m not a big fan of it at all.  Everyone at my job was like “Nooooo Wayyyyy, get out of there”.  She also seems like the type that will open my bedroom door each morning after I leave to inspect if my beds been made, that I left my bathroom tidy or if there’s a bag of weed in my sock drawer, lol !  Oh jeez, what a nightmare.  But, I’m not to upset about it at all.  At least it’s a safe & clean spot for a while.

She doesn’t have to go to work until 10am, so I was tiptoeing all over the apartment this morning at 7:30am.  Who knows how it will work out.  Older people are typically less tolerant and crabby since she’s single (I’m trying to be sympathetic, because I have an apartment in New York, and I know it would be hard to open my place up for a roommate as well, so I’m trying to be laid back about it), and since she never rents the room, that means that she really doesn’t need the money anyway.   So, she could toss me out on my ass if she wants to, so I’m trying to be on my best behavior.  Her agreement says that either one of us can terminate the mutual contract with one weeks notice.  So, we’ll see how it goes.  She was nice enough to clean the entire bedroom for me and gave me shelves in the pantry and in the fridge.  She is ANALLY organized.  I think that’s her whole life.  I’ll have to take some pics of how her cupboards are organized, you’ll get a giggle.

Anyway, we’ll see how it goes……stay tuned.  Oh yeah, Patricia was nice enough to let me keep her key in case I want to come back up to hang out !

PS – I got my first haircut in Australia….just a trim though.  It was good…I was a bit nervous.

I sat at my desk on Monday morning twitching emotionally inside, because I felt like a semi-homeless person.  I lined up 5 appointments to see apartments that straight after work that were move in immediately-type situations.  I called the boys I was renting from at lunchtime and told them that I was going to turn in the keys to them right away because I felt that the conditions were unsafe to my health and I told them exactly what I found under the bed.  The flatmate that I spoke with was actually quite understanding and had no idea that it was that bad because he hadn’t spent that much time in Dave’s room.  After hanging up the phone, I finally felt some relief.  Not just some relief, A LOT of relief. 

Okay, so after looking at the 5 flats last night after work, which maybe one of them would have been cool, I walked down to the second floor in Patricia’s building and spoke to the lady that offered me a room in Unit #4 several weeks prior.  This woman’s name is Julie, she is a 38 year old single Chinese accountant and she has a two bedroom two bathroom apartment all to herself.  She usually doesn’t rent the room, so it’s not like I had to fight for it.  (Looking for apartments in my suburb is really REALLY competitive).  I had looked at her place several weeks ago, but was disappointed because she doesn’t have internet or a home phone and she wanted to charge $275 per week !  I got her to lower her price to $240 a week, which is alot more reasonable.  (I know, I know, I’m bold to have asked for a discount in such a desperate situation, but whatever).  Since I’ve been trying to live solely from my Australian paychecks, I’m kind of tapped out from the IKEA shopping I had to do to get myself started with bedding and stuff. 

I can pay the girl the $240 for the first weeks rent tonight, but I also had to tell the girl that I’ll have to give her the security deposit on Thursday when I get paid. (Damn, embarrassing).   She asked for a $480 deposit, which is very fair.  And she is okay with me giving it to her on Thursday, since I told her what happened to me with those guys. 

Okay, so everythings been sorted, and I’m back to being calm and happy !  It all worked out in the end, thank god !

My friend Jean from Brentwood, Long Island had an awesome July 4th party at her apartment.  It took like 35 minutes to get there by bus, but now I know why she loves living there.  The views from her apartment are incredible !  Her mom shipped her all of the papergoods and american decorations from NY !!

Okay, so when he got there, he did a bit of an assessment, and the water damage on the carpet looked quite bad.  He said that it was going to be challenging.  He was planning on doing steaming, deodorizing, and sanitizing.  He moved the bed a few inches to see what the stains looked like under there, and what did he find ??  He found mushrooms and mold related sprouts !!!!!!!!!!!!!  Plants on the FUCKING floor I tell you. SPROUTS, SPROUTS SPPPPPPPPPPPRRRRROOOUTTTTTSSS !!!!!!!!   I was going to absolutely die at that very moment.  (I’m attaching photos for you all to see as embarrassed as I am).  I’ve never lived like this in my whole life.

At that time, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to live in that apartment.  I was twitching I was so upset.  So anyway, Roberto, my little brazilian carpet cleaning slave got to work and cleaned everything up quite nicely, but I was still grossed out, because I knew that what I saw was ingrained in my mind for good !  One of the flatmates girlfriends wanted to show me around, so I asked her if the kitchen was stocked with pots and pans.  She took me into the kitchen to show me where they were and the cupboard she opened had roaches and roach eggs in it.  COME ON, COME ON.  I was losing my mind.  Then she said, “I wouldn’t use anything in the fridge here, these guys never throw out food that’s passed the expiry date”.  UGH !!!  Then she took me into their laundry room, and it wreaked of a mold smell….I could NEVER do my laundy in conditions like that !

Then my nose started to itch really bad and my throat felt like it had a hairball in it, and that’s because I AM ALLERGIC TO DUST !!!!!   These guys don’t own a vacuum cleaner and just don’t take care of the apartment at all.  There’s also alot of structural damage and water damage in the apartment.  I’m afraid to put my work clothes in the closet, b/c something tells me what there a pipe that’s been damaged near the closet.  Anyway, it’s wall to wall carpet in that penthouse, and no one has done a damn thing.  It really is a frat house, and I made the biggest mistake by moving there.  I thought that living with guys would be cool, because girl flatmates may be too far up my ass and judging my every move, and I really took the place because it was a “penthouse” and it has the amazing views from the rooftop.

I think that I will be stuck there for a couple of weeks until I can find someplace new within my price range.  I met with a girl named Nicole today, so hopefully she picks me for a move in on July 19th. 

I am so grossed out by the place, I know that I won’t cook any food there for sure for the time that I stay.  I’ll be grossed out to put my food in the fridge as well.  I’ll use all paper goods, none of their cups, plates or utensils.  I’m not even happy about where I have to shower, b/c I have to share it with one of the frat boys (and his girlfriend I imagine).  And, none of the girlfriends looked happy to see me there either.  This place is just really better suited for guys, I have to get out of there as quickly as possible, because it’s going to make me miserable and it’s not worth it.  I was trying to cut corners by paying $960 versus most apartments are $1100, but the extra money will be worth my sanity, so I will do it !  I’ll keep you guys posted on how it works out !

So, over the weekend, I went to IKEA and this place called “Holy Sheets” because I am moving into my new flat on Saturday.  I needed to buy some pillows, sheets, comforter AKA “doona”, a bathmat, a lamp and some other various stuff.  What’s wrong with me, I’m such a “fine textiles” glutton.  I’m not roughing it over hear like a real backpacker, I bought 410 thread count sateen australian-made designer sheets.  This booty doesn’t cuddle on anything less…..JUST KIDDING. 

Anyway, above is the photo of the bedding set I bought.  I spent alot on it, but it’s beautiful, AND the duvet is reversible !  That’s good for someone like me that’s moody and always changing my mind.  I read in a book recently about scorpios, that blue is a soothing tone for my sign.  Sometimes I think it may look a little masculine though.  But hey, as the Australians say, “Give it a go”. 

I’m calling in a carpet cleaner to steam and deodorize the carpet in the room I’m moving into on Saturday morning.  Right now the condition (since it was a boys room) would scare me to walk in my bare feet.  I decided that I’ll introduce all of my feminine touches gradually, rather than strategically placing all of my vanilla candles and cleaning the whole penthouse like a madwoman when I first get there.

So, basically, the 2 guys that I’m moving in with are named Tim and Chris, I think.  They are both Australian, and they’re both from a city called Newcastle.  I was not required to give a security deposit, and I forward my rent every “fortnight” (every 2 weeks) via bank transfer straight to the landlords account, so there’s not community collection of money amongst us….less dramas.

So anyway, the trip home from IKEA and the “Holy Sheets” store was a really painful experience.  Those bags were soo heavy, I could have died on the trains and then walking all the way home.  And, don’t you know it, Dave, the guy that’s moving out said that he has spares of everything…sheets, blankets etc to leave behind.  “No Worries though….I’d be to schkeeved to use a random guys bedding.

I feel like I’ve lost weight here just walking everywhere.  It’s really weird not to have a car, but much less responsibility of course.  Did I tell you guys that my diet has improved too ?? Okay, hear me out on my logic.  Australian waiters don’t work on tips, therefore there is no rush to turn a table, therefore people eat slower because they’re not rushed.  When you eat slowly under less stress, it’s much better for your system I think.  I actually sit and chew my food really well.  I no longer “wolf” my food down and run the hell out of a restaurant.  Also, the energy is high with using re-usable bags at the supermarket, being environmentally friendly with office supplies, recycling, eating organic, using products that are natural and chemical-free, and I feel like I am adopting these habits.  Since I live in somewhat of a tropical region, the fruits and vegetables are so amazing as well.  I’ve had the best and biggest ruby red grapefruits, and I can smell fresh strawberries like 20 feet away !  Since I’m so calm and laid back right now, I can see how my body responds to food.  So, i’ve recently cut out 90% of the pastas and breads that I used to eat, and my friends here have told me that they already see a difference.  So, I’m sticking to yogurts, cereals with fresh fruit sliced on top with skim milk, granola bars, sushi, lean meats, vegetables, and fruits.  It’s making a world of difference.  I’ve never in my life been peaceful enough to notice such changes, but the body really is amazing………Am I getting to deep for you guys right now ?

Okay, Important Tidbit of information.  I would love nothing more than to tell you ALL about my job, but since I work in the media and THIS BLOG is a form of “media”, I can’t because someone may find it.  It’s exciting, yet boring.  Okay, so here’s the deal.  I am going to create a password protected blog to air out all of the scoop and I will email it to the people that I know read my blog the most.  If you want the blog password, just email me at sxylgz2710@aol.com

I will post the blog within a few days with all of the juicy details.

Okay, one last thing…..My assignment in the CEO’s office is due to continue straight through until September 11th, with no break, but I am coming back to NY from Aug 27th-Sep 5th.  There is an executive producer for some of the shows that our network produces that is from NY.  We were introduced recently.  I sent him and email recently asking him if he could consider me for a production assistant or some type of lackie job on a set.  Wouldn’t that be cool and creative to work on a TV show set ???  Maybe that can lead me to bigger shows like “A travel show” MAYBE ??????  Okay, so I am waiting to hear back !  The bottom line is, even though I am in a different country, I STILL DON’T like executive assistant work and I want to change my life even more very soon.  I still want to climb the walls while I’m there in the office.  It’s just so boring and mundane, I’ve just got to change my career, and I want to do it soon.  So, that’s why I’ve been brainstorming on things to do.  I figured that if maybe the producer pulls me on, maybe I can work on my “creative side”.  Kind of how this blog is a creative outlet. 

Okey Dokey Mates !  I’m gonna say good bye for now.  Chat with ya soon !

Here are some pictures from my job at channel 7.  In the first picture, top row from left to right is Roseann, Asst to the CFO, Jane in Sports & Olympic Hospitality, Nadia, the asst to the Commercial Director, then ME.  Second row, front left to right is Tessa from Sports and Olympic Hospitality, and Jen the 1st EA to the CEO….(I’m the second asst).

The other pics are of the beautiful office space, and of course of the lovely view outside my window.  I watch water, boats and sun all day.  I had been dreaming about this for a long time !!  Not sure if I ever mentioned this, but I work on a wharf that is right on the water, and our building is an old warehouse that has been refurbished.  The design is really incredible.  All exposed brick inside, open ceilings, and alot of the original doors and windows. 

The last picture is of “Friday Drinks” just getting started.

So, I met one of his flatmates the other night, and they said that it’s all good to move in.  No security deposit required, and it’s $960 a month including everything (home phone, cable, internet) and I think we throw in $50 a month for electricity.  The apartment is a tri-level penthouse, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and the entire 3rd level is a rooftop terrace with city skyline views (We all know how much Australians love their beer and their shrimps on the barbee).  It’s an incredible “space”, and I’m really excited about it !   I do have to point out some of the downfalls to this apartment although it is really incredible…and I’m not trying to be a complainer.

About the room itself.  It’s small, only fits the queen sized bed and walking room around it.  There was recently a leak in the room, so I am having a carpet steam cleaner come to clean the carpet.  I have to share the bathroom with one other guy, so I will need to scrub that puppy down the first weekend I get there, and the lighting was poor in the bathroom, so I will try to change a few lightbulbs.  The kitchen is typical “guy” kitchen, crumbs and shit all over the counter etc, so I’ll need to straighten that out as well, and I heard that the dishwasher leaks.  The stove is electric…..that’s weird and new for me, but I’ll deal with it.  And, I may even invest in a vacuum cleaner, because I am obsessed with vacuuming and clean carpets.

I noticed in the living room that there are lots of video games.  Wii and something else….they play some guitar video game or something, and Kareoke games.  One of the flatmates is an IT guy, so they have some awesome technology hook-ups in the apartment (even though it looks a bit like a frat house).   …..Just wait til I start planting vanilla candles everywhere to mask the scent of smelly guy sweat socks…..I hope they don’t kill me. haha !!!

Okay, so the move in date is July 5th, although I officially don’t have to be out of Patricia’s until the 8th.  I will need to hit up IKEA for some sheets, pillows, mattress pad, blankets, and I think I’ll need to find my own iron.  Since the bathroom is poorly lit, I think I’ll have to do my makeup and hair in my own room, probably on the bed since my room is so small, and I’ll need to buy a big mirror for that.  I heard that the guy that I have to share the bathroom with goes to work at the same time as me, and that’s why I’ll need to do my hair and makeup in my room. – Jeez, what a nightmare, but I am a “calm and laid back Australian” now, so I can relax and go with the flow…..lol.   Besides that, I think I’m covered.  My room has a sliding door outside to a yard as well, and I saw that there’s a blow up whale and pool out there, but my outdoor area, faces nothing at all.  The hotspot terraces are on the first level just off the livingroom and the entire roof.   Pictures to follow when I move in next week !

Another goddamn thing that I noticed, is that none of the soaps that are sold here are ANTI-FUCKING-BACTERIAL.  Everything is a “beauty bar” or just regular hand soap.  Isn’t that dangerous or something ??  So, I am recently on a mission to make sure that my environment has minimal germs….(impossible, I know).  I’ll have to stock up on soap while I’m in NY in late August !  So, I survived the illness and my first visit to an Australian Hospital !