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wednesday, 23 july 2008 at 12:38pm

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photos from Sydney (incomplete)

Things I have done: watched The Dark Knight and Wall-E, caught up with all of Grey's Anatomy season 4 (omg Callie!), tried to watch Gossip Girl (yeah, no), watched the rest of 30 Rock season 2 (this show is on crack), got my driver's license renewed ($50 just so it doesn't say "UNDER 21" anymore), went to a friend's gig and then a house party afterwards (how things have changed, and how they haven't), went grocery shopping (Wegmans, how I've missed you), went for a Mighty run, went for 50-cent bowling -- just the usual, only missing all the people who do not come "home" because they either deny or have forgotten the fact that Buffalo is home. Or else we waste energy convincing ourselves that another place is home or what home, we don't need a home. Just silly conventional thinking.

The jet lag is still ridiculous. I can't get to sleep until 3am, and then I wake up at 6am.

I'm being horribly lazy. Chores and errands are nagging at me, along with a growing list of pet peeves. I feel detached from everything around me, mostly people. I cannot relax, because I'm not accustomed to it. I prefer being busy and doing work; when I'm not buzzing off here and there, I fall into moods of being angry, fidgety, anxious, restless. I thought the first few days back -- relax, relax, relax. But it turns out that while Buffalo is urban manifestation of stability, it also means nothing ever changes, except maybe petrol prices and the weather and what drug everyone is on now.

So my hands get impatient and fumble with the pages of The Waves and crossword puzzles in the newspaper, counting down the days ... but for what and until when?

I got my reference letter from my internship in the mail yesterday; they made it sound like the findings in my report are going to lead the way in local government reform in Australia. Take that, Robert Campbell!

A list of songs: emo-meter (1-10)
The Submarines - "Brighter Discontent" (8)
Muscles - "Ice Cream" (1)
The Ting Tings - "Shut Up and Let Me Go" (3)
Radiohead - "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" (5)
Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?" (6)
Voxtrot - "Introduction"(4)
Louis Armstrong - "La Vie En Rose" (2)
Ludo - "Love Me Dead" (6)

wednesday, 16 july 2008 at 4:25am

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Next stop: Two beaches, the rainforests, and a large assortment of amusing signs.

Still left: approximately 100 photos from Sydney.

( about 40 photos from the Daintree Rainforest )

wednesday, 16 july 2008 at 4:09am

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One very, very bad thing: I lost my iPod Touch somewhere between LA and Charlotte. Not good.

One super awesome thing: While I was talking to the baggage claims after I arrived in Buffalo, I was attacked from behind by Mike and Elizabeth, who came with my mom! Then we went back to my house where we had a ridiculous amounts of food and chicken wings (aka Buffalo wings to the rest of you)!!! They tasted great. We chatted for awhile but it was past midnight already, so they went home after eating. My mom kept bringing more and more food out -- mango smoothies, chips, pretzels, cheesecake, and so much food. Oh, everyone enjoyed their presents -- Elizabeth got four thimbles, Mike got a matching shot glass and coasters, and my mom got a relatively authentic boomerang (from Kuranda markets) and coasters with Aboriginal art.

Why being home is really awesome: So much food! And my own room and bed! And my cat! And a car! And my mobile cell phone! And my house! It isn't really large, but it's so much better than the hostels and my sharehouse in Canberra. And also, the computer I bought is amazing, as is the super-fast internet. I've already fixed it up and started installing all the programs I need. The screen is huuuge and makes everything look pretty.

Anyway, enough from me. I have lots of photos to upload!

tuesday, 15 july 2008 at 9:51am

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LAX currently. 3:40am Sydney time, but I think it's 9:40am LA time or something.

Back in the US; Sydney-LA flight was easy. I left Sydney in the morning and arrived in LA in the morning. Like a get a do-over for Tuesday, 15th July.

Admittedly I don't even know if I was ready to come back; but then I land in Los Angeles and American accents and airport security measures. (using the weirdest keybord ever so disregard typos.) I bought a USA Today and was reading through. I feel like I was put in a time bubble and now I wake up and everything is different -- the five dollar bills, the petrol prices, airport security, etc etc

I can't stand this keyboard so the longer explanation will come at another time. I just feel like I'm not ready for this, but I'm home. "Home"? Not sure what I mean by that.

9:15pm, Charlotte I really don't know anything about Charlotte, NC but one thing I do really appreciate is free wireless internet. But what I appreciate even more is the fact that my laptop, Sparky, enjoyed his convalescence and is working once again! I've already put the photos onto my flash drive in case, so nothing has been lost.

In a stupid absentminded Janice moment, I was sitting in the airport lounge in LAX for awhile when I decided to check the world clock on my iPod and realized it was 11:30am and my flight to Charlotte not only boarded at 10:45am but flew off at 11:15am. And I was just sitting there, the whole time! I was very stubborn at first, not wanting to turn my watch back seventeen hours, as if to confirm the fact that yes, I was in the U.S., but look where it got me -- a later flight and getting home close to midnight. Heh, well, it's more comical than anything.

I think what it feels like is that for five months, I lived in my little Australian bubble -- not like it was impervious to bad things, but like it was an alternate reality altogether. And now, I'm suddenly transported back to my original reality, my "American life," and I don't think I'm ready for it. But it doesn't matter if you are ready or not, because you're in the United States and things are different and catch up, catch up. The game hasn't changed.

Crazy stuff. Lots of photos coming up, probably when my jetlag kicks in and I'm awake at 4am, playing with the new computer at home.

tuesday, 15 july 2008 at 2:23am

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A short list of Australianisms (the last): the Queenslander "righty-o, mate," button-flushing toilets alongside the syringe disposals, chicken-flavored potato chips, chirping sounds for pedestrian crossings, "I can't be bothered," "ta" for thanks, "ra-ra-ra" meaning "yadda yadda," the Southern Cross not the Big Dipper, holidays not vacation, and being pretty damn awesome.

The departure mood still hasn't hit, despite the fact that I'll be on an airplane over the Pacific Ocean in less than ten hours. I guess I'll tell the Aussies about this blog soon enough; it's the best record of these past few months. I think for most exchange students, a semester abroad is just like holidays where you remember everything in the past tense, a weakened liver, and facebook photos. But to me, the past few months has been like a creation of a second life, incidentally an Australian one.

My kind of souvenirs: callouses on my feet from walking around Parliament in heels, bug bites from the Daintree Rainforest, a tan from the Great Barrier Reef, four thimbles for a friend, a massive dent in the bank account, and a few more pounds around the waist.

I'm tired and am clearly having difficulty forming full sentences. I just thought I ought to have something to say before leaving. The last few days have been spent well -- good food, city walking, Pilgrim-spotting, and lots of laughing.

I hope you've enjoyed reading these past few months, because I've enjoyed the experience. I don't know if I'll bother updating during the return journey -- not much to say. I thought I'd feel the distance on this side of the Pacific, but turns out it'll feel just as far when I go back to New York. I just know what this side of the ocean looks like now, and you know, it's quite nice.