A Chatty Post About Nothing, Really

Yesterday I bought three mangos for five dollars and ate them all in the course of the afternoon. This was not entirely a good idea, because then I didn't feel very well all evening, but man was it fantastic at the time. I highly encourage you to try it, but only if they are good mangoes and only if you are as enthusiastic about mangoes as I am, which is not really likely but who knows?

I would say "I think I will do it more often" but today someone told me that if you eat too many mangoes (like WAY TOO MANY, like THREE IN ONE AFTERNOON REPEATEDLY) you can become allergic to them. That is not cool at all. I will act with more restraint in future.

Also, I'm working at an ultrasound clinic. This means I see three or four pregnant ladies a day two or three days a week. Or more if it's busy. Today, I saw one lady who was 19 weeks pregnant but you couldn't really tell, and one lady who was 7 weeks pregnant but looked like "WHOA THERE'S A BABY IN THERE I THINK." Pregnant ladies are mysterious. I'm also learning a whole new vocabulary of medical/pregnancy words. It's pretty cool.

I'm kindof excited because my third-of-the-year-ly book tally is super high! It's only November, so I have a month to go before the end of this four month period, but I'm already on my 21st book. I haven't been reading more just to make the number higher, or anything. I'm just excited because it's really thrilling that not being in university or Japan means I can maybe read more than one book a week. Actually, 21 so far is about 7 a month. Imagine how many more books I can read over my lifetime than if it was 4 a month! Like, LOTS! Hope this continues now that I have one of those pesky job things!

The best book I've read since September is Carlos Zafron Ruiz - The Shadow of the Wind, which I recommend if you like books, Barcelona/Spain, and/or mysteries.

What are you reading? Is it any good?

Fushimi Inari Shrine

This was one of my most anticipated destinations in Japan--mostly for the photo ops. I'm not sure I did as well as I would have liked, though. I'll have to go back next time.

In Australia, I now have a part time job as a receptionist. I'm still working at the cinema for the moment. Hopefully this means I'll be able to do some travelling in January!

Australianism of the Year

(Because let's face it: I'm not going to get around to posting another of these before January.)

First of all, let's confirm that we're all right-thinking English speakers here. Yes? Yes. So what's that coffee drink with chocolate in it? A mocha. Mo as in moment, ka as in car. Everyone with me?

Here in Australia, it's pronounced mocka... like mockingbird. What is that! As an American friend and I were saying on the weekend (we had both encountered this strange and disturbing phenomenon independently), does a mocka really sound like something you would want to drink? No, no it does not.

Those true blue Aussies are dead set wrong on this one.

What's your philosophy of travel?

I've been in Australia for nearly two months, now. I've spent a lot (a lot a lot) of time looking for work, a lot of time just having a break (including a week paralyzed by mysteriously sprained bits that doesn't really count, because I WANTED to get out of bed, really!), and some more time tooling around Sydney in a fairly random manner. I've seen lots of stuff, but I haven't made an effort to go for the tourist sites. Heck, I still haven't seen any living kangaroos. And, since I've been here for a while now, people are starting to ask me what my travel plans are. Which other parts of Australia am I going to see?

The truth is, I've barely thought about it yet. For one thing, I don't have the funding at the moment to just go wherever I want. But for another, I'm really enjoying just living in Sydney. I know, it would be a shame to come to Australia and just hang out in one state (I've also been to Canberra--and I'll go to Melbourne, which is the next state over) and not to see rural areas. But I also don't have any huge motivation to go to any particular place. (Well, it would be nice to see Uluru [Ayre's Rock]. But let's face it--not a great solo backpack trip destination for a non-driver.)

Someone I was talking to yesterday asked me about this, and on hearing that I didn't have plans, said something like "Anyway, it's the experience of living in a different place that's important." I think that might be my philosophy of travel.

So what's your philosophy of travel? When you visit a country, do you want to see all of the famous sights? Travel EVERYWHERE? Or just get a taste of life as it is for the locals?

...and while we're at it, any suggested short trip destinations in Australia?

More Japan

Flowers are also in bloom in Australia, since it's spring here... I'll try to get to THOSE photos in a week or so!

Lately...

...I'm such a bore! Sorry, guys--my first month in Sydney hasn't been thrilling. Oh, I'm definitely enjoying myself. For one thing, it's nice to have a break and do nothing. But I've spent a horribly large percentage of my time looking for work. So far, no huge success. (I do have a part-time job, but I'm not getting enough hours to fill a teacup and besides, it's pretty lame.) But I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and hopefully soon I'll not only be gainfully employed, but also doing more interesting things.

Until then, I leave you with more photos from Japan. I'm STILL behind!

(Oh, and isn't it great about Obama!)