Employment!!!

Well, this has all happened rather quickly, but I was selected for the 3-month contracted receptionist position at Amadeus. Literally, I left my interview at 4:30ish and by 5:40 my temp agent called and said they selected me. Wahoooot.

Look here if you reeeeaaallly wanna know about the company: http://www.amadeus.com. It's the "leading transaction processor for global travel and tourism industry." Fannncy, eh? Haha.

It's a part-time receptionist position (Monday-Friday from 12:30 - 5:00ish) in a super swanky office near Central Station. I think it will be pretty brilliant timing because I can go out and explore/sleep in every morning, and still have evenings free for dinner/fun/etc. And, if I get even more ancy, I could get a second evening/weekend position at a bar or something....? Who knows.

Then, eventually I'll hopefully be able to blow my hard-earned money and travel (to Melbourne and Cairns) during my final weeks in December (when it's nice and warm out!).

But hip hip hooray I'm going to be making monies! xxo.

Customs House.

I found the Customs House as the "Best Library for Lounging" in my Free + Dirt Cheap Sydney travel book (which has been an incredible source). It is one of my new favorite places in the whole world. Who knew libraries were so cool..!? I've definitely been missing out. Free internet, tons of books and a little peace and quiet. There's even a magazine lounge where I can browse copies of Vogue, Marie Claire and GQ fo' free. Just like the hair salon! Haha.

So, I've visited my current reading selection Girls Like Us (Can't wait to "book club" about it with you, Mamala!) twice and just sat and read while listening to my iPod. It's heavenly.

But one of the best parts about the Customs House is that there are visiting art exhibitions throughout the entire building which include:

• A (permanent) miniature replica of the city under your feet as you walk in. See photos.
• A video installation exhibit where this artist guy slowed down and blurred real-life wide shots (of soccer games, outdoor festivals, the beach) to make them look like little toys. I'll try to find the link to add in here. I stared mesmerized for a good 15 minutes.
• A special museum-like exhibit about the history of Sydney Fruit Shops, typically run by immigrants. Who woulda known?

Funky Nights at the Mac.

I feel so, so lucky to have met Abrye out here. For those of you who don't know, I was set up on a blind friend-date with her by Mike's friend Victor from work. She's from Florida originally, but moved to Venice to work at Red Bull for the last year. Now she's on a 12-24 month international excursion and off to take over the world. And thank goodness she's starting out in Sydney, because she is the perfect partner-in-crime. She is awesome and always down for an adventure and making the most of every day.

After an afternoon reading at the Customs House Sydney Library, Abrye and I rented Austalian TV classic Bondi Rescue. It's basically a reality show about Bondi Beach lifeguards and their dramatic saves of silly tourists who don't know what they're doing. (It's also made me terrified of sharks, lost children and the undertow. Or, more likely, being demolished by a wave while trying to take a cute Little Mermaid picture.)

Our favorite character is Reidy, who used to be an overweight teen but now strolls the beach as a sexy lifeguard and loves kisses from foreigners and befriending Iranian tourists named Muhammad and Abdula. (From episode #2, I think.)

Out at the Mac for a funk night with live music. There was fun dancing and new friends.

Cronulla Beach

Last week, Abrye, Alex and I ventured over to Cronulla Beach (about a 30 minute train ride from Central) -- a quaint little beach town with little shops, cafes, and a phenomenal coastline. Just, beautiful. Sorry I got a little sepia-happy with these pictures. But you can still tell how gorgeous it is, right?

Crack-cocaine breakfast at Alley Breaks Cafe in Cronulla. Betsy -- make this immediately. Chunky avocado + feta + seasonings (don't know what -- go crazy) + sourdough toast and a side of salmon. Ugggh I'm still drooling.

Dardick being a juvenile delinquent up on the rocks.

Ballerina, cutesy and jaaazzz hands. Abrye has a little tripod which makes memory-capturing very easy. :)

Abrye took this one. But i love it.

It was so fun to go exploring in the little tidal pools and play with the little snails! (Not sure why this is underlined. Blogger is not working with me today. Haha.)

No Internets @ Home

Hey familia and friends,

Unfortunately -- the internet at our place is down. I'll only be able to access the information superhighway when I venture out to an internet cafe. Just a heads up if I'm a little slow to return e-mails, etc.

For emergencies, just remember that I have a working phone: +61 0424979784

(I finally memorized it!)

Non-Photographed Happenings

Here's a little list of things I've done the past week or so that were (unfortunately) not documented by my beautiful new canon powershot camera:

• Family dinner at Nick's house (Christina's Australian boyfriend). Such a lovely evening. His mom is a bomb-diggity cook. We're talking quiches to start, followed by prawn pasta, tomato & spice soup and a blueberry tart. Yum. It was really nice to be around family and hear everyone bicker about the current Australian election. Which is still undecided, FYI.
• Got RSA-certified (Responsible Service of Alcohol). I navigated public transit all by my lonesome and made it to the CBD (Central Business District -- I guess they never call it "downtown.") The course was around five hours long and reminded me a lot of driver's ed or health class. Highlights of the day were meeting Sarah (from upstate NY) and Srijana (from Nepal) and eating delicious tortellini for our lunch break.
• Spent an afternoon browsing Paddington bookshops and reading quotation, photograph and travel books. Unfortunately, books seem like a real investment at this point (they're expensive!)-- I'd rather eat full meals and just frequent our local library. :)
• Christina, Kate and I strolled around Centennial Park together on Sunday. It was beautiful weather and the park was very crowded. There's a really cool art installation in the middle that you can play music with. Hard to explain -- I'm hoping to dedicate a full post to the civic art in Sydney. Look forward to a sculpture of a mommy with three naked fat babies clinging to her (reminds me of someeethingggg...).
• Got a care package from Mamala that lit up my whole morning. Jackets, shoes, scarfs a sweet card and sour patch kids! What more could I ask for???
• Read a trashy Australian chick-lit book called I Say Tomato. It was awful, but entertaining. Bets -- you'd get a kick out of it. Even though she's no Jen Lancaster...
• Saw a crazy man covered in blood shout in the street about "dead tourists" by Central Station. Frightening.
• Kate and I made caprese salads that were like -- delicious. Followed by sharing a cadbury car. Even more delicious.
• Got my official Tax File Number. So now I really have nooo excuse not to get a job. I've kind of liked this bummin' around thing...

22 Albion Ave. Girl Band

Before heading out to Kings Cross this last weekend for hip-hop night at "The Club" (haha!), the roommates and I decided to do an impromptu photo shoot for our upcoming girl band album's cover art. Pretty darn silly. But the dance party was completely serious. Completely. :)

Long-Distance Skype Dating.

I'm only missing Allison!! :)

Bondi -> Bronte.

These pictures really speak for themselves. STUNNING walk from Bondi Beach to Bronte.

We're Worldly.

Getting Cultured.

MUSEUM-ING: Museum of Contemporary Art + The Rocks Discovery Museum

My friend Alex Dardick joined Abrye and me for a cultured afternoon of museum-ing in "The Rocks." Dardick has been here since early March living with some family friends and befriending kangaroos. Very bummed that he's leaving in early September.

Museum of Contemporary Art | Unfortunately, only the top level of this museum was open. There was some funky art, but we were only allowed to take photos in the foyer. Thus, Dardick and I did a little photo shoot. I'm really looking forward to going back once the other exhibits open. Looks pretty legit and it's FREE. Always a bonus.

The Rocks Discovery Museum | No joke, this was like, the most boring museum of all time. Sorry to be so blunt, but I was very glad it was free. See below to see Abrye and Alex faking interest in the documentary.

Post-cultural happy hour | We celebrated our learned-ness with some fruity cocktails at Jackson's on George. Delicious. There were also American music videos bumping in the background (Rhythm of the Night, Lose My Breath + Dilemma). Just brilliant.

Royal Botanic Gardens + Exploring "The Rocks"

SYDNEY EXPLORATION!

Lucky for me, I have a new American friend who's just as eager to get out exploring as moi. Things you need to know about Abrye: (1) she's currently au pairing in Sydney, (2) she has an iphone that is super clutch for wandering and (3) she carries a tripod on her at all times for supreme photo-taking. This girl is bomb-diggity.

Abrye and me at the Royal Botanic Gardens. How lovely!

Being ridiculously touristy and walking three times forward + three times backward around "the wishing tree" in the botanic gardens. My wish better come true, because we looked like complete foolios.

Bat silhouettes up in the trees throughout the gardens. Creeeepy, yet fascinating. Christina tells me that every day around 6:00 p.m. or so the bats have a mass migration across the city. Trust that I'll be running inside whenever this happens. Eeeeks.

We stopped here for an afternoon pint in "The Rocks." I think Australia is going to force me into day-drinking habits. Fine by me.

A holistic view of the Royal Botanic Gardens and the city. Pretty, eh?

Necessary Tourist Shots from the Harbour.

SYDNEY EXPLORATION: Opera House + the Harbour Bridge.

Here is the absolute proof that I am in Sydney. Opera House and Bridge shots are a must.

FUN FACTS:

Shout-out to wikipedia.

Sydney Opera House

• One of the busiest performing arts centers in the world. Hosting 15,000 performances each year attended by some 1.2. million people. (Christina went to an Andrew Bird concert here which sounds incredible!)
• In 1956, 233 designs were submitted for the "Opera House Design Competition," and Jorn Utzon was announced the winner. It was completed in 1973. I guess there was some may-ja drama surrounding his resignation. (Honestly -- it looks just like I thought it would, but the "shell-like" things are a different kind of metal pattern than I realized. I read in my travel book that people think it looks like Italian nuns playing football. Not sure I get that one...)
• Sydney Opera House has its own opera written about it, called the "Eighth Wonder."

Harbour Bridge

• The Sydney Harbour Bridge wasn't paid for until 1988, almost 60 years after it opened. Crazytown.
• I read in one of my nerdy travel books that it took 272 thousand litres of paint to get the first coat of grey on the bridge. And what's-his-face from Crocodile Dundee once worked on one of the re-painting crews.
• Some official guy was supposed to cut the ribbon and officially open the Bridge, but a crazy-craze named Captain Francis De Groot from a para-military group rode up on his horse and slashed it with a sword!