When bad turns good
This morning was interesting. I was awoken to the fire alarm going off. I think someone was cooking and burned something. After I went back to bed, I did not hear my alarm.The day improved as I made my way into my internship and by the time I made it back to Unilodge, I was happy. I am not sure why my day turned around, but it did.How I almost died today:1. Fire
Milo, the sinkhole, drunken people and more!
Another day at the office done… It is hard to believe that next week marks the halfway point in my internship. This means I have to get some paperwork back to Albion. I am glad to have settled in, but wow, it took a long time. One thing I really enjoy there is having the internet. Having internet access, means I get to listen to several hours of XM Radio while I work.
Today, I worked on a survey site. This site looks to be a cool site when it is done. It will allow people to take surveys, earn points, and then purchase gift cards with the points. I have been working on the backend management side. It is a challenge as I was put into it with only the code from another site I have worked on. This has been a test to see how much I have learned. I think I have done well. I had some JavaScript errors that I did not understand, but I have not been doing too much with JavaScript.
This evening, I went out for a nice walk. This was enjoyable, as I wanted a chance to think about life without interruptions. I met Milo (and his owner), a half Russian Blue cat on my walk. Also, tonight is a warm one. Our room does not want to cool down. I really miss having Air Conditioning! The heat makes it hard to sleep and harder for me to breathe lying down. Now, as I am writing this… There are drunken people in the hall making lots of noise. Joy… It is Thursday night, not Friday!
Other notes… A sinkhole has shut down one of the major roads in and out of Sydney. This has increased several people’s commutes to over an hour. I travel nowhere near it, but some people at work were complaining about it. The hole has swallowed half a building as well. It started from one of the tunnel projects going on in Sydney. Sydney is having a big-dig sort of thing going on, but it is all private. The parts that are done are not getting used enough because people do not want to pay to use it. To promote the parts that are open, it is a free trial period. I am not sure I would use it if the future part caved in forming a sinkhole.!.!
My new addiction is The West Wing DVDs... Now that American Dreams is done. I have moved one. I have a lot more of these to watch than I did of American Dreams, so I may not finish them before comming home.
How I almost died today:
- Heat exhaustion
- Spaced out from lack of sleep
- Crushed in over crowded busses both to my internship and on the way back! (Why are they not sending more busses?)
- Can we say sinkhole?
What a wonderful world... (I mean night)
Another day at the office… Just Like yesterday, I am feeling pretty good about my experience at the office. I think things are going well. However, the downfall is that I hate my bus ride in. It often takes me an hour to get there, but depending on the time I leave to come back to UniLodge, it can take 30 minutes to 1.5hours. The busses are just not reliable on the times. On my way home tonight the bus never arrived, so I had to wait an additional 10 minutes for the next one. This is what I get for leaving at 4:30 so I can make it to my 6:00pm class and have time to grab my computer and change. Luckily, I made it on time.After class, on my way back from Blackfirars, I could not believe the evening. Tonight is one of those nights that I wished I was not in the city. Tonight would have been great to be out in a backyard. I would like to lie outside, look up at the stars, and just enjoy the evening! However, I am stuck here in the big city...Other news: My trip to the Blue Mountains is delayed a week. Therefore, I will not be going out there until next weekend. On a positive note, I may have the room to myself for part of the weekend as Sid maybe going overnight to the Blue Mountains this weekend. I am keeping my fingers crossed. In addition, I forgot to mention yesterday that when I got home from work, I found the room spotless. Sid had cleaned it. I was amazed. And… For those that like to look at my pictures, I uploaded pictures from around Sydney, Townsville, and added to my cool pictures gallery as well. Enjoy!How I almost died today:1. Being stuck without transportation in the city when I want to be out in the country (bush) enjoying nature
Melbourne Cup Day!
Today is the day in which most of Australia stands still, especially Melbourne. In fact, it is a city holiday in Melbourne. However, at my internship, it was a mostly normal day of work. The only change was the hour of watching TV. This is not something that would happen in the states.I think I am finally finding my niche in the office. I find that I have a place and they are starting to rely on me for certain tasks. This does have its positives and negatives... The great thing is that I feel important and happy with what I do. The downside is that I am still new at the ColdFusion and do not know much JavaScript. Time is changing this, but I am still green.I am also starting to develop workplace dialog with Ray (the owner). This is good as well. For supposing to work for him, I have been working under others since I got there.Tonight was not very exciting... So I will just end it here...How I almost died today:1. Stranded because the busses stopped running
Back to Sydney!?!?
My trip to see Theresa has come to an end :-( I was sad to go, but I need to get back to Sydney.
The flight once again was great. However, when I arrived in Sydney the transfer back to Unilodge was bad. First, it took me an hour to get the shuttle to take me here, then I spend another hour on the shuttle before I was dropped off. No fun!
To further piss me off, I come back to find the room a mess!
After I get unpacked, the evening starts to go better as I was able to watch my final episode of American Dreams. Now I am done with Season One. I can't wait for NBC Universal to release Seasons Two and Three. I think I will start watching The West Wing next.
Happy Halloween to everyone!
How I almost died today:
1. Attacked by ghosts, goblins, and witches working in the airport and on the plane
2. Stuck in the airport shuttle forever
3. Depression from lack of American Dreams episodes
Favorite Quotes... Updated
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia." - Charles Schultz
"Ultimately, it is not the nuts that are the greatest threat to democracy, as history has shown us over and over and over again, the greatest threat to democracy is the unbridled power of the state over its citizens. Which, by the way, that power is always unleashed in the name of preservation." -West Wing Season One
"Nothing is impossible, just some things are improbable" - Me
"A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"
-Robert Browning
Reef HQ
Sunday the day to relax. Today, Theresa and I went downtown to Reef HQ, the local Aquarium. This place was great... They even had Nemo. I took lots of pictures. While there, we met a nice family from Cairns and talked to them for a good hour.
Tonight we attempted to make Snickerdoodles. However, we somehow lost our Cream of Tartar. Even without the Cream of Tartar, the cookies came out great!
How I almost died today:
1. Poisoned cookies
2. Attacked by escaping sharks in the predator tank
Oops... We missed the Ferry
Today we were supposed to go to Magnetic Island. However, the bus took 15 minutes longer than it should have to get from campus to the main bus stop. This only gave us 5 minutes to walk to the ferry which was not enough. However, we ended up going to The Strand.
The Strand is the beach area along the coast in Townsville. The Strand has gardens, fountains, a water play area (The Bucket), the Rock Pool, another pool, and more. We ended up spending most of the day at The Bucket. The bucket is a water play area that features a bucket on top that fills with water and tips over every minute (I timed it). It was a lot of fun. After playing in the water, Theresa and I both baked in the sun.
That night, I was so tired that I fell asleep in the common area by 9:00pm. Oh well.
How I almost died today:
1. Sunburn
2. Drowning from the huge amount of water the bucket dumps every minute.
