Australia - Day 537

So it’s official. I suck at keeping up-to-date postings here. No use in apologizing about it any further, it’s time to just accept the facts LOL. I’ll try to post at least once more before I head home in two months time. That’s not too optimistic of a goal I hope!

Well, a lot has happened in recent months... I’ve finished up my program, have all my grades back, and am set to graduate at the end of next month! The last semester of classes went relatively smoothly, wrote a 70+ page paper against the weaponization of outer space, which turned out pretty well. Since classes ended about a month ago, I’ve just been working part-time, and took a 10-day trip to Queenstown, New Zealand with 88 other people from MacAlpine.

The NZ trip was a ton of fun, and though I’ve been plagued with, well, the Plague since getting back over a week ago, it was definitely worth it! Wish I could come back next year for another go! It was a trip filled with late nights and early mornings and a ton of great people I was lucky enough to meet. The skiing was alright. To be honest, it didn’t exactly meet my expectations, but it was still good for what it was... Some powder would’ve been nice though. The nights out were hectic, and the Fergburger definitely lived up to its reputation!

Back once again in Australia, I have one month left to work (on my student visa) and save money for my upcoming travels to China and India. Once I graduate I’m off to take the long route home. I’m really looking forward to meeting up with old friends in Guangzhou, and then heading off to see Delhi, Mumbai, and Goa with Amy afterwards. Fingers crossed the visas get processed without any complications! Don’t get me started on the process of getting my Australian visa extended so I can stay for grad. I might as well promise the Immigration Office my firstborn. Anyway, I’m sure everything will work out in the end, just need a little patience. (And three trips into the city... Grr!)

I’ll be sad to leave Australia, there will be a lot that I miss about it, but I’m looking forward to getting home to Canada. It’s been so long since I’ve been back, and the last time wasn’t even for that long – just 9 or 10 days. I’m sure the novelty of it will wear off fairly quickly, but it’ll be nice to see some familiar sights, granted nothing has changed to much in my absence. I’m also looking forward to a double-double at Tim Horton’s at the Vancouver Airport before I transfer back to Toronto haha!

Well I guess that’s enough for now. That’s my past few months in a nutshell. More details to follow soon... ish. We’ll see...

Australia - Day 367

I’ve now officially been in Australia for one year! This is the longest I’ve lived in one place in a very, very long time. I’ve got to admit – it feels weird – and I still have several months to go before moving on. (To where? Well, *that* particular little detail has yet to be determined).

Reading over my first posting in Australia, I see now that I’ve come a long way over the past 12 months. I’ve also realized that, at the same time, not much has changed. The cockatoos are still loud and annoying (yet beautiful), and the rain is still pouring down! Yesterday was actually one of the worst rainstorms in NSW in the past decade! ...And I missed it!!! I was at a movie with a friend and had no idea of the chaos that was going on outside. It was only after the movie finished and we tried to make our way home that we realized we’d missed something of importance. There was debris strewn about and flashing emergency lights everywhere, flash flooding and road closures all around – it was like some kind of apocalyptic event took place while we were ignorantly engrossed in werewolves on screen! Today, the flooding has subsided, but the rain continues to fall...

The rainy season signals that the summer holiday is almost over. Classes start up again in a little over a week. While I’m starting to get a little anxious to get back to studying, I’m also a bit sad at the same time – this is my last semester, and after I finish it’s time to leave the world of academia behind and head into the “real world.” A terrifying thought, I assure you.

I chose my classes the other day – I had 1 core class left to take and 3 options. The ‘options’ were less than stellar to say the least. They aren't offering any of the ‘good’ ones they have listed in the course catalogue (ie: Arms Industry & Trades/Strategic Doctrine & Technology/Arms Control & Disarmament/Humanitarian Intervention & Peacekeeping) and haven't since I've been here. Huge disappointment. Those four classes were partially the reason I chose the course in Sydney over the program in Melbourne. But, what can you do? So this semester the core class I'm taking is International Security & the State, and the option is Intelligence Analysis: Theory & Practice. Since none of the other so-called ‘options’ seemed appealing to me, (in fact, there was really only 1 other to choose from), so I'm going to be doing a 10,000-12,000 word research project that counts as two classes. It will be a lot of work, but at least (in theory) I can choose my own topic and learn about something I'm interested in. I haven't decided what yet, but maybe something along the lines of Arms control or peacekeeping operations or something...? (To make up for the classes I haven't been able to take).

Before heading back to the classroom, I still have Soundwave to look forward to (kind of like the Aussie version of the Warped Tour). That’s happening next Sunday and I’m really excited for it! There are tons of great bands playing! But with 6 stages and almost 50 different bands that means I have some difficult choices to make... For instance, there’s Jimmy Eat World vs. Anti-Flag vs. The Aquabats decision, as well as the choice between AFI vs. The Getup Kids. Another timeslot I’m stuck on is with Alexisonfire vs. Motion City Soundtrack, and lastly between Placebo vs. Reel Big Fish. Decisions decisions... I’m sure regardless of who I end up seeing, it’ll be an amazing day and a great end to my summer vacation!

Australia - Day 327

Happy 2010! Seems it’s been almost five whole months since I last wrote anything. I guess I’m getting progressively worse at this. I wish I could say it’s my New Year’s resolution to try and keep regular updates, but I don’t bother with that kind of thing because I know that I would never be able to keep my word. At least I’m being honest with my self, right? Haha. That’s got to count for something.

So what’s been going on? My second of three semesters is now over, and has been over for about a month and a half. Though I promised myself I’d try and stop procrastinating with my papers after the first semester, I still ended up leaving it all till the last minute. In my final week of classes I managed to stay awake for 69 hours straight writing papers, only to fall asleep for three, then continue on for another 24. Not my best week, I assure you. At least I wasn’t alone in my misery, as my friend Ariel was there to share the pain. I’m pretty sure my (former) neighbor thinks we’re both certifiable, as we turned to impromptu karaoke sessions in the wee hours of the morning to help keep us awake... Time was measured in page numbers and word counts. Many cans of Red Bull and other assorted energy drinks and sugary snacks later, we finally submitted the last of our assignments.

I’ve never been as eager to turn off my computer as I was that day, and I was glad to be able to celebrate with a massive party! My 21st birthday party, as it turns out ;) (21, 26, what’s the difference really? Is it sad I’m already lying about my age? Not sure anyone believed me anyways LOL). At any rate, the goal was to drink until I forgot about the thousands of words I’d typed the week before. Several Jell-O shots and rounds of beer pong later, mission accomplished!

Now it’s been about 6 weeks and I’m actually starting to look forward to registering for my last semester of classes in the coming weeks. Needless to say, the summer break has been fairly uneventful. Aside from a quick trip up to the Gold Coast before Christmas I haven’t been able to travel. (A sad fact owed largely to my attempts at finding a part-time job being largely unsuccessful to date. Hopefully the New Year brings more luck in that department). I really hope they offer good course choices this time around as I only have one core left and three options. If there aren’t any good options I guess that leaves me writing a mini-thesis... Maybe *this* time I won’t leave it until the very end. Chances are slim, but hey, you never know...

New Year’s Eve was a lot of fun this year. It was definitely a great night (followed by a not-so-great morning, but that’s generally how it goes). It was spent on a rooftop terrace near the Harbor Bridge here in Sydney. It felt a little special knowing I was in one of the first time zones to cross into the new decade. The view from the flat was fantastic and the fireworks display was amazing! I was told it was one of the most expensive shows in world history. From what I saw, it’d be difficult to argue otherwise.

So far in 2010, I’ve managed to see a few good movies and finally decided to check out what a Gold Class movie is all about. Definitely worth the splurge, though not sure my wallet could handle the impact on any kind of regular basis...

Well folks, I guess that’s about it. There are tons more things I could say I’m sure, but then you’d never get away from this page... Hopefully this is enough to go on until the next post. Which, with any luck, will be sooner rather than later...