Two Weeks To Go

Friday Inga and I laid out at the Parklands. The weather was a little too cloudy for her, so she left to hang out at Kelvin Grove. Meanwhile the weather cleared up and I got some sun, hehe. That evening we met up at the library for the Internet, and she purchased a Moleskine-like note book. She was so excited about that. Later that evening we hung out, booked flights (me: to/from Orlando, her: to/from Arizona), chatted about random things, and journaled together while enjoying Samoa Girl Scout cookies. Mmm!

I'm doing a separate post for the weekend with Tamara in Surfer's Paradise (see The Last Big Fling).

After returning to Brisbane on Sunday, I checked things online and started studying for my remaining finals. I had to put my heavy coat to use at the library breeze-way, it was so cold!

Here are some interesting clips from the Mx (local newspaper) "It's True" clips:
*04JUN08: It is illegal to carry fishing tackle in a cemetary in Muncie, Indiana, and it is illegal to fish on horse-back in Utah
*06JUN08: New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote
*?: the doughnut originated in Holland when they threw bits of left-over dough into boiling oil; they were originally known as "oly kaeks" (spelling?)

Australian Difference:
*You're never rushed or given a bill when dining out; you have to request it (or go up to pay)

Monday I ran in the morning, showered up and met Adam on Skype. There has been a lot going on for him this summer! I told him about my weekend with Inga and Tamara, and what I was up to this week, and about how I was missing home but recently have been feeling like I'm not ready to go home because of how much I'll miss Australia. He said that he and his family had a nice dinner for Father's Day, that he got to hang out with some friends at a farewell party for Danielle, and that he had lunch and hung out with co-workers. He is also enjoying working on his Facebook Application for Crowe and Krav Maga lessons.

I also Skyped with Mom, Dad and Chucky for a little bit. A lot has been going on with the family, too. I had fallen out of the loop on things:

Chucky has dropped out of Purdue, is moving into the shop out back, selling his bike, and looking into attending somewhere with the likes of Ball State. He is also working at Lowes.

Sam is now looking for a summer job.

Mom took Jenny to a dog show over the weekend. She did really well with Creasy but confused him about sitting, hehe. Oh, well. She won part of the show and was disqualified (since Creasy laid down out of confusion) for another part. Jenny had accidently signed up for the wrong thing online, so she just watched and hung out.

Last night I grabbed my travel journal and a deck of cards and went to The Three Monkeys. I ordered my usual chai latte with honey and snacked on some Animal Crackers that I brought along. I enjoyed winding down to some games of solitaire. It sparked my interest in learning other games besides Klondike and Free Cell. So far I've taught myself Accordion (very hard; nearly impossible to win) and was not impressed with Aces Square - no strategy involved from what I can tell. Aside from playing solitaire I also read through my travel journal thus far. It allowed me to see what a wonderful semester it has been. I sure am going to miss Australia.

I chatted with my mom about my budget for the remainder of the year. If I stick to it and there aren't any major surprises, by January I will have about $3.5K in the bank. We'll see what happens. Either way, I'm really proud of myself for figuring the budget files for each month - I love Excel.

If you are interested in taking in a cat, please let me know. It seems my lifestyle (traveling so much) is not working out for Ashes' best interest, and I need to find him a good home. Email me at ambennett86@gmail.com if you're interested or know someone who might be.

Two weeks to go...

-Amanda