Muppet Days

Moving out

2008-05-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

I am sure that it surprises no one, but I am officially retiring this blog. Please seek me out at http://gradmuppet.livejournal.com/ if you care to read on.

And it's Friday the 13th...

2006-10-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

So my knee is improving, albeit painfully slowly. I think I'm going to try walking on one crutch today, as I don't need to be on my feet all that much. In other news, I'm taken on the responsibility of directing/producing (with much help) this year's production of The Vagina Monologues. I'm so excited. Meetings and auditions will be happening before too long, but the bulk of the work comes in Jan., when we really get all our shit in shape for a Feb. two day run. School's going fairly well, and my learning community heads to the Franklin Institute for an exhibit on Darwin next weekend (so I really hope I can walk, because none of these freshman signed up to be pushing their mentor on a wheelchair or waiting as she hobbles around). That's pretty much my story, folks. Catch ya on the flip side! Cheers.

I have SO been better...

2006-10-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

So the last few weeks have been busy as hell, so blogging just hasn't happened. This past weekend I was dreadfully sick, and then on Tuesday I fell and banged up my already not-so-good knee. I am now in an imobilizer, on crutches, and experiencing a fairly significant amount of pain. I wish I had better news to report! Oh, but I did get invited to join PSI CHI (the psychology national honors society, of course I said YES!), so that's good. Ok, I'm gonna go hit the pain killers. Cheers.

Getting in the swing of things

2006-09-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hey all, so far classes are going pretty well. ID Science (science for non-science majors), aside from being WAY TOO EARLY, shouldn't be too challenging. My other classes seem tough but interesting, especially the ones for my major. In addition to my classes, I am also tutoring in the Education Enhancement Center, Peer Mentoring for a freshman psych class (for 1 credit), and serving as Secretary of Hillel. I think that's it...for now.

Still waiting for suggestions as to what should replace the "Aussie word of the day"

P.S., Moment of silence for Steve Erwin, ya'll. Thank you.

Cheers! Maddy

This is the orientation song...if you know the words, then sing along...

2006-08-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, I returned safely home from Australia. I have now returned to school in PA (Arcadia for any of you oddballs who didn't know...) I am sorry for not updating all summer, but I was busy selling knives (working for CUTCO) and catching up with my boyfriend, family, and friends. Things are going fairly well, and as I mentioned while still in Australia, I do intend to keep this blog up and running while at school. There will likely be lapses during the times I return home, but by all means stay tuned. Anyway, I am once again an orientation leader, and the new students arrive tomorrow, so I'm gonna hit the sack. Just wanted to let you all know that I was back, and to let you know that I intend to continue to post. Cheers all...I need to think of something to replace the Aussie word of the day...any ideas?

It's the most poisonous snake in the world...I'm gonna poke it with a stick!

2006-06-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Ripper - awesome, great, superb

"Where there's food, there are mice. Where there are mice, there are snakes. And where there are snakes there's Steve Irwin."

Just a couple of days left in this country, and then we go on home. Corissa and I decided that we really didn't have the money for the Gold Coast, as all there really is to do there is shop and tan. Instead we went to the *CRIKEY* Aussie Zoo, which, if you don't already know, is owned by Steve Erwin and his family (it was founded by his parents). It's been raining here, which it's barely done since the second or so week. My theory is that Brisbane is sad to see us go, but in reality it probably has more to do with the horrible storms they're getting farther up the coast. Tomorrow and Friday will pretty much be study, work-out, and packing centered, with Sat. consisting of my final followed by some quality friend time. Abdul decided that he's going to drive Andy and myself to the airport, so that's cool. Alrighty, it's sleepy time for this little Muppet...cheers, and I'll see many of you, my faithful readers, pretty darn soon!

Home in a WEEK!!

2006-06-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: kufuffle - a commotion (I just love how it sounds!)

So on Friday, I had the very worst migraine I've ever had in my life...right in the middle of my research methods final! I felt so sick I was rushed over to health services, given a shot of some anti-nausea med (in my BUM!), and then, once I could stomach it, given some hardcore, knock-me-on-my-ass painkiller. Not sure what it was, but it did the trick...at least for a while. The migraine improved, but has continued to linger in some capacity even into today, a bit. Sat. I was a bit better and so I joined Corissa for lunch. I was not, however, anywhere near up to a treck to the Gold Coast, so we postponed until Wed. Yest. Samantha and Jess decided that the solution to all my woes was to take me for a gluten-free italian meal. Let me tell you, garlic prawn and gf penne pasta solves a lot! Heh. That evening I cooked Indian for the two of them, as well as myself and Andrea of course, and then I joined Sam, Jess, and their friend Tim for bowling. Over four games, I scored 85, 84, 75, and 85...not too bad for a girl who hasn't bowled in 9 or so years. We each played one practice frame before the game began, and I bowled a strike. I then proceeded not to bowl anything better than a spare the rest of the night. Such is life. It was far more fun than I expected, however, so I may even go again before another 9 years passes. Today I'm taking it easy and studying. Joy is going to come over tomorrow for a serious study pow wow. I can't belive that I'll be home this time next week...

Oh, and HAPPY FATHERS DAY, ALL! Cheers.

13 days!

2006-06-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Aroona - Aboriginal word for "spring water," name brand of a bottled water

Well, I just finished my last paper of the semester, which will be turned in tomorrow. Now there's just two tests to go, and then I'm outta here! I have mixed emotions about leaving, as I think I've said before, but all in all I feel that I've done pretty much everything I wanted to (except see NZ, but Josh and I have hopes of going there someday). I'd certainly rather go home than take finals! Big shock. Tomorrow evening, Arcadia is hosting a farewell dinner for all of us, so that should be fun. Then again, this late in the semester, anything promising free dinner is fun. Hehe. In all seriousness though, it will be nice to catch up with some of the people I've barely seen since orientation. Other than that I have a few minor social events planned, and by minor I mean having some folks over for dinner and a possible bowling night, to finish off my time here. Oh, and Corissa and I are probably gonna do a day trip to the Gold Coast on Saturday, as she still hasn't been there, and it would be a shame for her to miss out on something so fun that's so close (about an hour train ride). It's really time for me to get some shut-eye, so I'm gonna wrap this up. Cheers!

Aussie TV is, how do you say...TERRIBLE

2006-06-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: dunny - toilet (often a porta-potty)

It's the home stretch, with only 1 paper and 2 finals to finish in two-and-a-half weeks. There will likely be another day trip to the Gold Coast with Corissa, but my the bulk of my adventures are over. I've finished my shopping for everyone, too, which is such a blessed feeling! Naturally I'm spoiling my boyfriend and God-daughter, but everyone else is getting pretty cool stuff as well, so fear not. :-)

Ok, that's all I had to say. Hehehe.

Woohoo, last week of classes!

2006-05-30T03:20:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: bikkie - cookie or cracker

I am half way through the last week of classes! Hooray! I had a neuroscience quiz today that was far easier than the last one (thank goodness). Other than that, I have a paper due in two weeks and two finals spread out over the rest of the time I'm here. I can't believe my trip is almost over! Weird...I feel like I got pretty much everything done that I wanted to, however, so I'm ready to come home with gifts and stories aplenty. I'm going to go enjoy my first homework-free Tuesday night in ages. Cheers!

Why aren't I sleeping?

2006-05-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

Aussie phrase of the day: threw a wobbly - to get overexcited over something, to throw a "shit fit"

Don't you hate it when people read a book and then complain about the movie that is based on it? Too bad. The Da Vinci Code was whack. I understand that some things had to be changed for the sake of screen, and I accept that. HOWEVER, there were many changes that needn't have been made, and for those who have read the book, they proved wildly irritating. I won't give examples as I'm sure many of my readers (do I have "many"?) haven't seen the movie yet. Let me say this: if you've read the book, prepare to be frustrated. If you haven't read the book, prepare to be confused and often bored. Strong acting, poor plot adaptation in many ways. Ian McKellen stole the show, I must say. LOVED him as Teabing, as I expected I would. Still not sure how I feel about Hanks as Langdon, but he did a pretty good job, I must admit.

In other news, there's one more week of classes, and then revision week and finals. It's really nearing the end here, folks. I think I'm going to keep up this blog once I return home though, as I've gotten fairly fond of it. Don't expect entries to be anywhere near as exciting from Cali or PA, of course...ok, it's ridiculously late and I finally got my friends out of my apartment...I'm going to sleep! Cheers!

My weekend in the Whit.

2006-05-22T02:19:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: chunder - vomit, puke, chuck, etc.

So on Thursday, Corissa and I flew to Airlie Beach, which was lovely but a fairly small (read: one street bisecting one street) . We checked into Southern Cross sailing as soon as we arrived, and then checked into the YHA hostel around the corner. The following hours consisted of shopping in the few stores that looked promising (I picked up a lovely sarong), eating yummy seafood (and drinking crappy sangria), engaging in a failed pursuit of girly drinks, a walk along the teenie tiny beach, etc. The night ended fairly early, as there really wasn't much to do ("we're having dinner at 5, I feel like an old person..." - Corissa). We pretty much just chilled at the hostel, with a brief run for ice cream (I had strawberry, but would you believe that this place sold BEETROOT ice cream? Eww...) and a night time beach jaunt.

Check out was at 10 the next morning, and then we retraced our shopping steps of the day before (there were that few shops), had lunch, and met up with the bus that was to take us to the boat ("Boomerang") at 1:30pm. The ship was small and cozy, with a fantastically crazyfun crew of 4. Bretto the skipper, Benny the deck-hand, Megs the host/cook (who provided much gluten-free numminess for me!), and Dave the Slave (volunteer). The cast of characters who were taking the trip included three Irish girls, two Israeli girls, a group of four Scots, a couple of English folk, a girl from Chili, a few German, Norwegian, and Danish guys, a Canadian, and the two U.S.ers that were me and Corissa (I think that was everyone...). The ship was so small that Corissa and I had to share a bunk, but since nearly all our time was spent on deck, it didn't matter all that much.
The whole cruise took 2 days, 2 nights, and included two snorkel dives, a trip to Whitehaven Beach, and much gorgeous sailing.
We were supposed to be able to go scuba diving as well, but the boat for that never showed up. That was a huge bummer, but what can ya do? Saturday morning, we were awoken by ACDC music being blasted at 7am. Did I mention that Corissa and I had a speaker right over our bunk? Not so fun...I also got seasick on the deck twice that day, but didn't let it ruin my fun. What they say is true, better out than in! All in all, quite a cool experience, and the reef is amazing. I saw a billion fish, and even an eel! No turtles though.
Sunday we docked at 10ish am, and disembarked. We were filthy, salty, sweaty, tired, and gross, but we all headed to the pub an hour later for the "after-party" before people took off in their various directions.
Most people were spending the night in Airlie, so they showered and whatnot, but as Corissa and I were flying home that afternoon, we just grabbed some lunch (which I now know was wheat-laced...as I'm wheat-sick today). We grabbed a celebratory drink with the rest of the gang. As we were walking out of the path/driveway, I got hit by a car. Seriously, a car backing (thankfully very slowly) out of the lot hit me in the butt with it's bumper. No damage, but not cool, either. I shouted something inaudible, and then, along with the Canadian (who, as it turns out, was on our flight to Brisbane), we headed to the tiniest airport that I have ever seen. I kid you not, the parking lot was bigger than the entire airport. Two terminals, two x-ray machines...and the waiting area was mostly outside. We got on the plane from the tarmac. Good times. Take-off was then delayed an HOUR thanks to some issue over an elderly passenger's O2 tank. When we finally landed in Brisbane, we had missed the last airtrain (the train from the airport to the city) by 8 freaking minutes! Why does it have to stop running at 7:31pm on Sundays???!?!? We ended up just getting a cab, as we were WAY too tired to deal with figuring out the bus situation by then. It turned out not to be a total loss, as our cabbie (Matt) was a chill dude who played Metallica (and told me he was wearing a Metallica shirt under his work shirt) and discussed sub-culture social theory with me. The people you meet, man. We finally got home in the area of 8something, split off to our own apartments, and conked out. Well, that's not entirely true, because if you know me, you know I had to unpack first. Yeah, it's a sickness. I felt so much better after showering though, I cannot even explain. The wheat-reaction had already set in, which sucked, and remained in the form of headache, dizziness, exhaustion, and low fever today. Blah. I'm a bit better tonight, but I think I'm gonna just eat some soup and go to sleep really early. My sociology workbook is all I really have to do this week (do Wed.), so I can afford an early night. Ok, that's about it...Cheers

Just a quick check-in between adventures

2006-05-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: lolly - sweets, candy

Happy (belated) mothers day to all, and a shout-out to my mom, the birthday lady. Happy birthday, lady! Anyway, I'm off to the Reef this weekend, so I just thought I'd give a quick "hi" and "bye" before I left. That's about it, so cheers!

Didn't think I'd do it, didja?

2006-05-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

Aussie phrase of the day: piece of piss - an easy task (i.e. "getting her to join us was a piece of piss")

Guess what I did Sunday? You'll never guess, so I'll just tell you. I jumped out of an airplane at 14,000 feet while strapped to a guy named Steve. Yes, ladies and gents, I, your very favorite Muppet, went skydiving. It was incredible!! One of the scariest and most amazing things I've ever done. Some friends and I went to Byron Bay this past weekend, and other than skydiving just took it easy in the little beach town.

Next weekend, as I've mentioned, it's off to the Great Barrier Reef. I wish I could just skip my classes and get straight to the weekend, but at least there isn't too much going on this week other than a neuroscience assessment. Ok, I'm gonna study for that a little more and then hit the sack. Cheers!

6 weeks to go...

2006-05-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Esky - cooler

Well, all but one workbook, one novel, one paper, two quizzes, and two finals are done. Gee, writing it like that, it looks like a lot more left to do than it seemed like in my head. Ah well. This weekend I'm off to Byron Bay with some friends, and next weekend it's up to the Witsunday Islands with Corissa. Right now I'm nursing my bad knee, as I went a little hard on it in the gym this week and it's protesting loudly. Ok, that's about it for now, just felt like giving a little update. Cheers!

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, OY, OY, OY!

2006-05-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Rugby - game of the Gods

Went to a rugby game with Corissa tonight, which was entirely awesome. Australia beat New Zealand 50-12! Amazing game, though I don't claim to understand it all. The guys wear no padding, but surprisingly only two throughout the game had to be removed from the field due to injury (and only one of those two on a stretcher...he so got a concussion.) Anyway, it was very cool. That's pretty much the news from my camp for the moment. This weekend, for a change, brings with it school work galore. I am so jealous that Arcadia is wrapping up! Ah well, not too much longer, and I'm going to the Whitsunday Islands in a couple weeks to check out the reef, so I've got that to look forward to. Sleep time, now that I've seen to the needs of my Cinco-de-Mayo'ed roomie. Cheers!

You know you're roomie is homesick when she downloads and blasts her Alma Mater (Penn State)

2006-05-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Akubra - wide-brimmed hat made popular by Crocodile Dundee

So my sociology paper finished up with a resounding 2,390 words. (assigned range was 2,200-2,500 words, to those who care). And I finished tweaking my stats project. Good things both, as they are both due tomorrow. I also finished my Gender/Postmodern book on Sat., and gave a fabulous seminar for which my paper is due next Tuesday. All that's left to conquer this week is an itty-bitty group oral presentation on O.C.D. on Thursday, and then it's smooooooooth sailing, with a reduced load of generally only one thing due a week (as opposed to this week, which killed).

My weekend, aside from the heavy pressures of school work, was fairly decent. I went out for Yum Cha (Dim Sum) with Corissa, Sam and Jess, and of course since we were in the city, we had to do a little shop-browsing. Queen St. typically has live performances by no-name cover bands on weekends, so we weren't surprised by the music blasting as we walked...we were, however, surprised by the huge throngs of people and added security. We took refuge in Lush (a natural bath/body products store that I LOVE), and glanced out from the doorway to see what all the hubbub was about. The band was none other than that of Russell Crowe. No wonder there was extra security...

Sunday Corissa and I made an appearance and what was supposed to be one of Brisbane's biggest events, the Seafood and Wine festival. What we found was a strip of overpriced kiosks hocking Beer and Fish & Chips. We booked fairly fast, though not before eating some of the very hard to find non-fried food. She had prawn skewers, and I had a lovely seafood pillow. The prices were fairly obscene, but at least the food was good. I guess we were both just spoiled, as we were expecting something akin to a New York or Monrovia street fair, and were left very disappointed.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy some leisure reading, something I haven't gotten to do in ages. Cheers!

head explodes from stress

2006-04-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Onya - Well Done, shortened form of "Good On You."

Man, one more month of classes (followed by a month of study and exam time) and they are PILING on the work. I can barely breathe, so if it takes me a while between posts, please forgive me. For example, we had Tuesday off to celebrate ANZAC day. How did I commemorate the brave and the fallen? 5 1/2 hours of stats project. Oh the soldiers would be so proud. At least we (me and my study group) got it done. That leaves me with a 200 page book to read and write a seminar paper about, and a major (10 page) sociology research paper to write. Oh yeah, no fun for Muppet this weekend. I did manage, in honor of having a 2-day houseguest (a friend I made on the road, girl named Sari), to check out the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary on Wednesday (my reward for Tuesday's labors). It was amazing! Totally made my trip to cuddle with a koala (see my profile picture). And now, at the request of a few folks, some pictures from my various travels.
In front of the Sydney Opera House
That's the Three Sisters behind meCorissa and Me at a lookout point (Mrs. somethingorother's Chair)
Making friends with Kanga and Roo at Lone Pine

Cheers!

Awesome trip...soooooooo tired

2006-04-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Hooroo - bye (informal)

I might as well start from the beginning. The flight to Sydney was uneventful, and when we arrived we checked into the Blue Parrot hostel, which was absolutely lovely. Nice, clean, small, friendly, much better than some of the backpacking horror stories I've heard from friends. Once we got settled, we walked around the city and had dinner. The following day (Sat.) we traveled the city on a narrated tour bus, and took a tour of the gorgeous Sydney Opera House. I took pictures (where I was allowed to) and will post them once I get them all uploaded to my computer. We also did some shopping, including Corissa finding a stunning Aussie opal pendant for herself. That evening we hit up the Aquarium. Getting home was an adventure in and of itself, as we ended up walking across most of the city in search of the right bus, only to find ourselves near enough to the hostel to just finish the trek on foot. Sunday we did more city exploring, and then set to the evening bridge climb. Once in a lifetime experience, let me tell you! The view from the top was incredible. Monday we went on a Hunter Valley vineyard tour and wine tasting, which was lovely. I actually liked a few of the wines! The chocolate tasting at the end was the best part, though. That took pretty much the entire day. Tuesday we briefly visited the Sydney Jewish/Holocaust Museum, and then boarded our train to the Blue Mountains. The hostel there was...in a word? Sketchy. The place itself was nice, clean, spacious, but some of the folks living there (yes, living there, there were some fairly permanent residents) were pretty freakin' weird. Corissa jokingly slept with my new mini digeredoo just below her bed, just in case someone broke in. The town itself was tiny and fairly dull. We did manage to have a good time when we took a tour bus to a place called Scenic World, which included two sky lifts, several walking paths, and a train ride through and over the mountains and next to the rock formation The Three Sisters. Again, I took tons of pictures, which I will upload soon. I also found myself a gorgeous (and inexpensive!!) Aussie opal ring. It's a good thing we only spend two nights there, however, because we would have gotten bored of the rest of the town pretty quickly. All in all the trip was very enjoyable, and chock full of adventure (of various kinds). This weekend will hopefully bring some concentrated R&R, as I'm fairly exhausted from it all. We walked so much that I hardly feel that I missed out on anything being away from the gym a week! Much love to all and whatnot. I hope all is well with everyone (if it wasn't, I'd probably have heard about it!) I promise I'll finish my website soon, but between pesky schoolwork and then my trip, it sorta fell to the bottom of the list. Cheers!

P.S. There IS no Wallaby Way! Damn it.

Sorry I've barely, this week's been busy as hell

2006-04-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Winge - whine, complain, bemoan

So, this week I tried kangaroo sausages (kanga bangas). That's right, devoted readers, Australia is the only 1st world country that eats it's national animal. So I had to try them, right? They are...chewy. I'm gonna stick with my all-beef hot links from here on in.
In other news, I lost another 1/2 kilo, and I finally found a pair of jeans that fit both my hips and my wallet. They are an Aussie 10, which is about a U.S. 6. I'M A SIZE 6! You heard me.
I leave for Sydney TOMORROW! Can't wait can't wait can't wait. I promise to take tons of pictures, but I may not be able to post them until I get back (no idea what my internet access will be like.)
Happy Pesach to those to whom it applies, I went to a seder at a local synogogue, which was nice. Small, but nice. Turns out a guy who's also here with Arcadia (but goes to Penn State) was there, too. I didn't even know he was Jewish.
Ok, well I need to go get packed, so I'll leave you at that. Night all!

Oooh the Gold Coast is niiiice

2006-04-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Nappies - Diapers

So this has been a very cool weekend, dampened only by my terrible sinuses. Yesterday I went out to Queen St. Mall with Andrea and Corissa, and today I trecked down to the Gold Coast to visit my darling Donna before she returns to the U.S. One great thing is that I finished nearly all of my gift shopping. I found something I LOVE for my father (I found stuff for my mother a couple days ago, but this just reached out and grabbed my eye for my dad), as well as things for just about everyone else on my list. I am still in search of pants that fit, as the ones I've tried on thus far are either 1. way too long, 2. way weirdly shaped, or 3. waaaaaaay to expensive. Not to worry though, I bought a beautiful wrap skirt today, so if all else fails I can wear that every day until I find pants that fit (and as I lose weight, I just tie the skirt more tightly!) I really found some fabulous stuff to bring home to folks (and at great prices!) Ok, I'm beat and the Nyquil is kickin' in, so I'll call it a night. Ohh, for those who care, I'm nearly done renovating my poetry website (finally!)

One paper down, one to go

2006-04-04T02:54:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: dag - affectionate term for the uncoordinated (i.e., me)

So, I turned in my Gender and the Postmodern paper yesterday, and tonight I'm finishing up my lab report for tomorrow. It would be going a lot more smoothly if I didn't have a killer cold (it's going around) and thus no energy to speak of. That kind of sucks. I'm fairly close to finishing though, and it's only 8pm, so it's alright.

In other news, I need to buy new jeans this weekend, as the ones that I brought with me are toooooo big now! Woot! Go Muppet, shrinking out of size 8! I am so happy about it, as I've been working hard and now I'm seeing results. Very cool.

Ok, back to work...just felt like taking a little blog break. Leave me notes, I miss you guys!

"If I won me the lottery, I'd dance naked in the street with a top-hat full of money!" - Beth Hart

2006-04-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

Aussie word of the day: Sunnies - sunglasses (just sounds so cheery, doesn't it?)

Two weeks until I go to Sydney. Upon returning, I'll get to see my darling Donna for a day before she goes back to the states (she went to Bond, so she's nearly done). I'm gonna try to go down to the Gold Coast to see her this weekend too, but it depends on my hw situtation. I finished my paper, by the way. YAY. Ya'll knew I would, it just took a little longer than usual. Mostly because I kept getting distracted *oh, what's that?? Something shiny!!?!?!?* Yeah. Tonight is lab report night, so that'll be fun, too! Blah. It's a Monday morning, so I don't have a whole lot to report. I think I'll get my butt out of bed, get my towels from the dryer, shower, and actually get some stuff done before my class at 2. Later!

Screw Nadine Gordimer

2006-04-01T00:38:00.000-08:00

Aussie word of the day: Togs - Swimsuit (do not ask me why)

The title refers to the fact that after a full week of trying (pointlessly) to write a paper about Nadine Gordimer's The Pickup, I have decided to scrap the one page I've managed to crappily produce, and switch over to Jeanette Winterson's Sexing the Cherry. It's a more difficult book in that it's trippy as hell, but it has a lot more material for my prompt.

I had a research methods midterm today, which I feel went pretty well. Got some solid work done on my lab report, so I felt compelled to take some well-earned time off with Corissa and go see V for Vendetta. REEEEALLY good movie, in my opinion. The filming was incredible. I can’t even explain…parts of it just moved me so much. I recommend it highly. Now I must get back to work, but I will leave you with a little poetic contribution:

Cheating

There are times I think to cheating
But oh the risk I run
It would tear me up inside
And all the shame I'd have to hide
Of the weakness of my wanting
The frailty of my constitution
That I fail to stay true
To what's done me so good
In seeking that clandestine thrill
Of tasting the spoils I've so long denied
Oh the temptation of lustful glances
And of offers from all directions
How I know I'd swell inside with warmth
For the passion of forgotten flavor
And the chance to oh so secretly savor...
Yes there are times I think to cheating
By eating wheat, what did you think?

Hahaha, April fools, kids. Goodnight.

Moreton Island!

2006-03-27T01:57:00.000-08:00

Aussie word of the day: Mozzies - Mosquitoes (a.k.a. the things that ate me alive this weekend!)

Moreton Island was AMAZING. We got down there Friday night, picked tents/tentmates (mine was Corissa), ate tacos, socialized, star gazed on the beach (holy crap was it an amazing view) and then hit the hay. Saturday we got up bright and early, ate breakfast, and then headed out to some of the world's tallest coastal sand dunes to go SANDBOARDING.I tell you, it was one of the scariest things I have ever done...but so fun! We also checked out middens, which are piles of ritualistically deposited shells left by Aboriginal peoples. Lunch was sandwiches, for which I was provided my very own loaf of gluten-free bread. Our cook/tour guide/driver Sharky made sure that there was lots of stuff for me to eat all weekend, including bread. He rocked, let me tell ya. That day we also examined a population of soldier crabs, which fled at the sight of us, for the most part.

Dinner was an "authentic Aussie bbq" (authentic in that it was prepared by an Aussie), preceeded by watching the sunset, and followed by a campfire and further social time.

Sunday we ate breakfast (everyone else had pancakes, Sharky made me egg-in-a-hole), then went to check out the island's lighthouse. It was built by convicts back in the "Australia-as-a-penal-colony" days.
From there we went to the coast near Honeymoon Bay (which the storm had turned into Honeymoon Cove, as the water was so fierce that it swept away all the sand!), and spent time there eating lunch and hanging out. I waded in the surf and collected shells with Steve. After a while we went from the beach over to the Blue Lagoon, which is actually yellow thanks to tea tree tannons in the water. The swimming was great there, and almost made up for the fact that our plans to snorkel had to get cancelled on account of poor weather. We all slathered mud from the lagoon all over ourselves for its incredible exfoliating properties. We looked ridiculous, but it felt divine. After about an hour we went back to pack up camp and leave. We got home somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:30pm, totally exhausted. I for one got burnt despite using tons of sunscreen. I am not happy about this, I may write a letter. I also intend to mention in said letter, perhaps in a post-script, the 30 or so mosquito bites sustained despite copious use of bug repellent.

This humidity has got to end...

2006-03-23T01:57:00.000-08:00

Aussie word of the day: rubber - eraser (so it's ok if someone asks if they can borrow a rubber here...it isn't unsanitary)
In Australian news:
The Commonwealth Games are underway, so the channel owned by Fox out here is airing craploads of Simpsons reruns...which actually out-rated the games! I think that's the funniest thing.
The cyclone (lamely named Cyclone Larry) devistated Northern Queensland. I am nowhere near Northern Queensland. Rest assured.
Classes continue to go well, although the work is starting to PILE on. Once I get back from Moreton Island (a trip organized by the Arcadia people), I'm gonna have to hit the books full force.

In back-home-type news:
So my poor advisor back in the states had better be getting paid extra for dealing with my anal-retentive nuttiness. (Actually, she said she wished more of her advisees were as anal as me...she's crazy). That being said, my schedule for next semester is planned out!

PY331.2 (3rd year psych) -> M/W/F @ 12:15pm with Marianne Miserandino
PY331L.1 (3rd year psych lab) -> M @ 1:30pm with Lester Sdorow
ID101.4 (science for non-science majors) -> T/R @ 8:30am with Marie Sanchez
ID101L.10 (science for non-science majors lab) -> W @ 3:00pm with Thomas Canning
HN202.1 (honors project) -> R @ 4:00pm with Bette Goldstone
PY205.1 (abnormal psychology - YEAH, I CAN TAKE IT!)-> M/W/F @ 11:00am with Angela Gillem
ID222.5 (pluralism) -> T/R @ 2:10pm with Ana Garcia

Gooooooooooood times. Yeah, so I will have no time to live. This is gonna be hardcore. I'm really glad I'll be living in campus housing this year; that will make life somewhat easier.

Cheers! Time to watch Amazing Race

The koalas are stareing at me...

2006-03-18T17:31:00.000-08:00

Aussie word of the day: Arvo - Afternoon

Who's going to Sydney for Fall break? Who? Oh that's right, ME. Corissa and I finished booking everything last night, and we are good to go go go! You know while I'm there I'm gonna try to find 42 Walaby Way...I just have to. We're also gonna climb the bridge. Only three bridges in the world are open for the public to climb, and we're gonna do one of them. Ohhhh yeah.

Coconut milk tastes like coconut, who knew?

2006-03-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

Aussie word of the day: Ta - thank you

The title has to do with trying to explain Thai food to my roomie.

I just had to write about the following, because I found it so very cool:
Tonight, on the boat home from school (yes, I go to/from school on a boat), the angle at which we were sailing away from the moon made it look as though the moon was rising into the sky at a rapid rate. It was almost like watching one of those time-elapsed videos. The best part about it was the fact that the moon was perfectly full...it was breathtaking. Oh yeah, let's hear it for awesome optical illusions. Now I have to go to sleep, Corissa and I stayed up chatting until nowish (close to 3am), and all my working out and running around from the week is catching up to me about...now. So good night and a good weekend to you all. I'll likely post again in a day or few.

The bats here are bigger than birds...

2006-03-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

Aussie word of the day: Kip - nap, sleep

Yeah, so walking home tonight with Corissa (we went into the city to see Match Point, depressing as hell movie), I saw three of the biggest bats EVER. I cannot even explain them.
It seems, knock on wood, that I have internet access. A neighbor agreed to let me on their secure network for a small monthly fee. Woot!
In other news, I, brilliantly enough, managed to give myself some minor tendon strain in my right elbow (the sort that could turn into tendonitis if abused), because I over-zealously used too-heavy weights in Bodypump. I've been advised to stay clear of that particular class for the next week, but I can continue with all my other gym stuff. I'll just have to hit the cardio room on the days I normally have weights. Not a huge issue, I'll be back to weight-training (with the proper poundage) in no time.
I am reading the absolute weirdest book for my Gender/Postmodern class...it's called Sexing the Cherry, but it's nowhere near as sexy as it sounds. It's just bizarre. Imagine the book The Phantom Tollbooth having an acid trip...this book would be that trip. Anyway, I should go finish it and then get some shut-eye. 'Night all, I hope everyone had/is having a good weekend, and Happy Purim to those to whom it applies.

Cheers all!

2006-03-08T01:30:00.000-08:00

Aussie phrase of the day: Septic Tank - Yank (it's a bit of the very popular rhyming slang of this place)

Howdy all, my internet problems my be coming to an end (finally!) Dial-up is expensive and Andrea can access the boys' wireless from her bedroom (her room is closer to their window), so I, after they deliberate, will likely be paying the people directly downstairs a small amount per month in return for access to their secure network (which I can see quite well.) Until then (the next day or two), I have temporary dial-up (free but the cost of a phone line). That means I can access my blog and e-mail and whatnot, but cannot use Skype or AIM.

On the school front, I have decided to drop the crime class in favor of the "family and households" class. I sat in on it today, and it seems sooo much more interesting. So there we have it, my final schedule. I am taking the two required psych classes, plus a sociology and a gender class, both of which count towards my minor. I have classes 4 days a week. Mondays don't start until 2pm (and goes to 4pm), Tues. and Wed. start at 10am (Tues. goes to 2pm, Wed. to 4pm), and Thurs. I have one class from 4pm to 6pm. I have programmed an intense work-out schedule around my classes, including 2 days of weight training, one days of "Abs, butts, thighs," one day of pilates, and one day of Yoga (if I can stomach it...that 's on Fridays.)

In other, Maddy's-junk-related, news I finished both my taxes and FAFSA online, and I got accepted back onto the Orientation Team for Fall 2006. Fall training begins on Aug. 23, so I'll need to be back in PA by the 20th or so. Luke and co. are dealing with the housing situation, and I've found a fourth flat-mate for it. Her name is Corissa, she's a sophomore accounting major, and she's actually here in Australia (it took Arcadia sending us across the world for us to meet).

In general, things are still going quite well. It's humid as hell in this country, but I'm managing (I've purchased a few more tank tops for the weather and the work-outs). I miss ya'll back home, but I'm loving my time here. Keep the notes coming!

The class week in review

2006-03-03T05:05:00.000-08:00

Aussie word of the day: dodgy - sketchy, shady, of ill repute

Monday: Psychological research methodology lecture - the prof, as I mentioned before, was considerably more laid back than I was led to believe any of them would be, although he certainly seems to know his stuff when it comes to stats and whatnot. Gonna be a medium class on the difficulty scale, from what I can tell. The trouble with this, and all the classes, is that the grades are made up of very few assignments...screw up one assessment, and it's your ass, it seems. Tutorials/Practicals for this and my other psych class begin next week.

Tuesday: Gender and the postmodern seminar - I actually thought that I was going to drop this class for sure...until I took it. Yes there are a lot of (kinda pricey) books, yes the papers are likely to be challenging as hell, but it seems so interesting! Some of the books are available at my local library, so that will help. I don't think I can pass this one up, insane as I'll likely consider myself half way through. It's all about artsy gender theory and turning standard convention on it's head. I dig that. Another plus; it's a small class with no tutorial session!
Neuroscience for psychologists lecture - this one's gonna be kinda tough, as it seems to be made up a decent amount of memorization of big medical words that represent itty bitty brain bits. On a plus side, there is no cumulative final, just a series of mini-assessments and written assignments through the course. Team lectured by an Aussie man and an American woman.

Wednesday: I went to the first Gender, Culture, Race lecture and realized that I basically took the class last semester, in America, and it was called "Women in society." That which I didn't cover in my college class, I covered in my high school senior English women's studies class. I have actually read over a third of the course material already. I spoke with the prof after the lecture, and she agreed that it seemed the best thing for me to drop the course in exchange for something, as she put it, "more advanced." She went on to talk about how pleased she was to see a student from another country, or any student for that matter, so well-versed in the subject. I think she's the head of the women's studies focus at UQ. Yay points for Maddy! My options for my second gender class are discussed below.

Thursday: Crime, race, and gender lecture - seems a little dry, but I'll see...it's much less women's studies geared and more a critical look at the Aussie judicial system and its treatment of Indigenous people. Not totally sure if I'm keeping this one...I'll see, I've still got a couple weeks to decide. My other possibility is a different sociology class about households and the family structure. I'm gonna sit in on this coming week's lecture and decide which I like better. Dr. Garcia approved both, so now it's up to me.
I also made friends with an Aussie UQ student named Samantha who, as it turns out, lives in my apartment complex. Small world.

Friday: No class, rainy day, went on campus to do Yoga, but got to the gym early enough to do some time on the stationary bike first. Did I mention I signed up for the gym and a selection of group fitness classes? Well, now I've mentioned it for sure. Yoga may be the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm actually looking forward to the simplicity of the weight training class I've signed up for! Also went to Friday night dinner as hosted by AUJS. Lovely time, and the chef was nice enough to make the curry chicken gluten free in my honor. I spent much of the evening discussing eBay, Shakespeare, and how where I grew up is nothing like the representation of California culture by that bloody awful (sorry Adina, but it is) television show, "The OC".

At present, I have unreliable, or "dodgy" internet access in my home. That is to say, the guys have it, and if I sit with my laptop in the kitchen, I get one bar of signal if I'm lucky. Samantha (Sam) is in the process of convincing our wireless router that it is actually an access point, in order to boost the guys' signal in our apartment, so that we can utilize it more reliably/comfortably. That being said, I may be online a tidbit more often, but not with any real consistency until we get this access point thing hammered out. Good times. Ah well, it's getting late and I'm getting tired of standing in the kitchen waving my computer around for reception. It's not as light as a cell phone, ya know. I hope all is well in the lives of my faithful readers, and I look forward to being able to be in better contact with you soon. Keep the comments coming, they make me feel loved.

First day of classes...

2006-02-26T22:35:00.000-08:00

Aussie word of the day: Chemist - pharmacist, pharmacy

Today I had my very first lecture session for "PSYC2010 - Psychological Research Methodology II". The teacher, contrary to what I had been led to believe about lecture profs., seems to have quite a sense of humor/closeness with the students. He instructed us to ask questions in class, and to address him by his first name. Turns out he's a developmental psychologist, which for those of you who haven't kept up, is what I will likely decide to be. Right now I am sitting in one of the 14 school libraries, waiting for 5 o'clock to come, and bring with it the ability to sign up for my research methods tutorial session. After that, I plan to run some errands, and then head home (where hopefully I will be able to access the guys' internet, if it got set up today.) The plan is to boost their net signal with a router of our own, split costs for a single service plan with them, and thereby save us all some dough, time, and stress. Of course, with as perfectly as we have it planned, it's likely to all fall apart. No one hold their breaths when it comes to home-based net access for me.

Still no internet in my f#$*ing apartment!

2006-02-22T02:29:00.000-08:00

Aussie word (phrase) of the day: You right? = Are you ok? / Can I help you? / Are you nuts? (it's important to listen to tone of voice)

As you can guess from the title, we still don't have internet, so I'm still using the sketchy little Warcraft-lovers net joint a few blocks from home. Hopefully we get it soon, this place sorta smells. Anyway, I'm most of the way prepared for classes (still working on getting tutorials figured out). School starts on Monday (and not until 2pm for me! Wow, that would suck at Arcadia with the parking situation, but here with the public transport, it's glorious!!). Oh, did I mention I don't have class on Friday? Now I did. How cool is that??!?! That, combined with having my Monday's not start until 2, is really going to help when it comes to making travel plans. Even better, depending on which tutorial I get for PSYC2020 (Neuroscience for Psychologists, hardcore, right?), my Thursdays may end as early as 1 pm. They're really big on independent learning here, which is fine by me. This week has mostly been pre-class prep sessions (international student orientation lectures, etc.) Last night I cooked pasta primavera for a small army. By which I mean, myself, my roommate, and several other people (fellow Arcadia-sent students with whom I've made friends.) It was awesome. "The guys" (which is how I will refer to the quad of boys who live nearby; Sean, Steve, Rick, and Mudit [who doesn't actually live with the other three, but might as well]) made a gluten-free cake and brought wine. Also in attendance were Katrina, Christine, and Steve's girlfriend Whitney. Andrea (my roomie) and my friend Corissa (learn all these names, there will be a test) dragged the porch table and chairs into our living room to accommodate everyone. It was a really fun night. Today was 'market day' at at school, wherein a bunch of clubs set up tables and advertise for membership. I took pamphlets from a bunch of clubs, but as it costs to join clubs here, I only signed up for AUJS (think: Student-run, Aussie version of Hillel) so far. Tomorrow we have another international students lecture thingy, and that pretty much does it. No set plans for this weekend, but I'm sure we'll find something fun to do. Sure I'm missing my American friends and family, but I am soooo loving it here!

And now, the top (or at least currently in my mind) 5 reasons why Australia has it more together than America:
1. No pennies.
2. The electrical outlets each have independent switches, which minimizes unnecessary energy waste.
3. More energy-efficient appliances, as they are held to a higher standard.
4. Water saving toilets are pretty much standard. For those who don't know, the water level in these is lower, and there are two separate flush buttons (half and whole, to cater to various "loads".) The only downside to these toilets is that because they load straight down, we can't see if the water really flows the other way! Ah well.
5. I'm here, and we all know what that does for a place.

Maddy

Oh, it's just another kangaroo

2006-02-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

Aussie word of the day - Uni (you-nee) = University

So it seems I am alive...which means I survived the 15+ hour flight to Aussie land last week, as well as the to Brisbane today. However, I have no phone or internet (I'm in a net cafe right now that charges by the minute), so my contact with people/posting here will be inconstant until I get set up. As far as my trip, so far I have walked through nationally protected bush land, hand-fed kangaroos, gone on an incredable beach hike, ridden a Melbourne trolley, and watched the real-life march of penguins. This country is AMAZING!! Oh, and there's tons of gluten-free stuff available, can you believe it? Brisbane is hot and humid, but lovely. The place is just so...alive! I'm going to get a lot of walking in, that's for sure. Good thing, since a big goal of mine this term is getting in shape. The group of abroad students is fairly cool in general, though there is a large group that strikes me as being very similar to the kids I stayed the hell away from in high school -- the "alpha crowd" types who drink too much. Ah well, I'm meeting people a few at a time, and I can't wait to start classes and get to know some Aussies! I have made a few good friends thusfar, and my roomie seems pretty cool. If I ever can't stand her though, we have separate rooms and bathrooms in this fabulous apartment that lies just a short ferry ride from school.

Welcome

2006-01-29T23:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome all...this will be my primary mode of communication with the world "back home" whilst I spend February - June, 2006 in Brisbane, Australia, studying at the University of Queensland. Check back frequently, as I'll be updating as often as I can. Please feel free to leave notes/comments whenever you can! I'll miss everyone, but I'm thrilled about this upcoming adventure.

P.S. Keep it clean, folks...my family reads this. You to whom this message applies, you know.

<3, Maddy