Journey to the End of the East Bay

So I made it. I'm here in San Francisco safe and sound. My flight was long and bumpy. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded and I got the bulk head seat in Economy Plus and an empty seat next to me. I took about 4 sleeping pills and even then just kindof drifted on the edge of sleep for most of the flight. Mom picked me up from the airport in Dad's new Audi TT; it's a sweet car! We struggled to get all my luggage in so it was good that Dad had stayed behind at the apartment. Their place here in the city is pretty fancy. There is a concierge for the building and everything. It has an outdoor heated pool, a jacuzzi, really sweet bbq area, and a gym nicer than the one I belonged to in Newcastle! Sitting in their living room you have a view out to the Bay Bridge and a little slice of the Bay.

After checking out the apartment, we went and walked along the Bay a little ways down to Giants' Stadium. After that I came back and passed out for a few hours and Nae's cat, Hobie, even slept with me for awhile. I then got up, chatted with Boyfriend on the webcam for a few, and watched a little bit of the World Series Game with my parents. After getting dressed we went to this restaurant nearby called Delancey Street Restaurant and the food was great and incredibly priced compared to what I am now used to in Australia (we're talking $6 for 6 potstickers and $5 for a huge sundae that the 3 of us struggled to finish together). The restaurant is also really cool in that they help people who are/were homeless or in prison or just down on their luck to learn new skills by working there. When we got back, it was Grey's time and then Hobie decided he didn't like me so much anymore and he attacked me and left two puncture marks in my arm. After that it was bedtime and I've just woken up to what looks like another beautiful, warm and sunny day. No idea what we're going to get up to today, but Mom said something about shopping!

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

It's about 8:45 Thursday morning and I'm pretty much packed. I've got to eat some breakfast and take a shower and figure out how to get the last few articles of clothing I want to take with me dry (without a dryer), as they got rained on out on the clothes line last night. Boyfriend and I found out yesterday that we will be able to stay in our place for at least the next few months so when we leave here we will go to the property management place and have him signed on as an approved tenant. Then it is off to the shops quickly to find me a cheap book for the plane since my laptop is dying and only lasts for 45 minutes so I can't even listen to music or watch movies on it anymore, some kind of tablets from the healthfood store that are supposed to calm nerves, and a pack of peanut MnMs because my Dad says you should always have one with you when you travel in case you need a late night snack. After that we are driving down to the airport, which is a big deal because Boyfriend and his family always take the train down (his parents hate driving in Sydney, and don't really even want us driving there today, though Boyfriend is comfortable doing it), but I'm a princess and really don't want to be cramped in an uncomfortable seat for an additional two hours when I can be sitting in a comfy car for only a little over an hour so Boyfriend agreed that he'd rather not train it down either and is driving me.

Ugh, I've totally got the nervous tummy thing going on! I'd like to go back to sleep until noon and wake up magically in CA somehow.

If I die, which I'm really hoping I won't, thanks for reading my blog! I've had lots of fun writing it. I love you Boyfriend! I love you Mom, Dad, and Nae! I love you friends and family! (Haha, I told you I'm dramatic, but I'm sure you knew that already as you read my blog).

Hopefully the next time I post will be from my parents new apartment in San Francisco or from their kitchen table with a view of the Bay in Santa Cruz. Wish me a safe flight!

Yesterday Stretched on For so Long, Tomorrow Feels Like Forever

Busy times around here.

Friday afternoon I got a call from our property management company that basically let me know that our status for staying in our house was back up in the air, which is not what I wanted to hear less than a week before I was leaving, and after being told earlier in the week that it was pretty much a done deal that we'd get to stay so not to worry about packing or cleaning up! Friday night we went down to see Turk and Stylez. I made fish tacos for them at their place and some really good peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I hoped they thought the fish tacos were ok, they had never tried them before and they had never had the soft corn tortillas before either. All night long their house kept filling up with pot smoke because their neighbors were burning it off by the kilo it seemed like for some reason. They had a fire going on in the backyard and smoke was billowing high up in to the sky and it was definitely pot that they were burning but I have no idea why they would be throwing it on the fire like that. Anyway, it was a fun and mellow night and I always have a really great time with T&S because they are great people. They are funny, have similar tastes to us, and are really genuine, warm and caring people. Stylez gave me a mission to bring her back the most chocolatey+peanut buttery thing I can find from the U.S. I already have at least one thing in mind for her.

Saturday morning we went out to this cool cafe for breakfast and then headed back to the Coast. We quickly ran in to look at storage units in case we need one later in the week and then I went in to see the Hairdresser and she made me look beautiful. I said to Boyfriend, "I feel so much prettier when I come back from the Hairdresser's" and he said, "Yeah, you do look prettier!" Haha, he really put his foot in his mouth on that one, though, I know what he was trying to say and it was sweet. Tinkerbell came in to get her hair did (yes did and not done) while I was there and I was glad to see her one last time before I went home. We were all going out to dinner later that night, but Tinkerbell, the Farmer, and Junior were going to have a night at home as they had had a big night before and Junior didn't let them get much sleep when they did get in. At about 6, we all (LC, Bob Marley, baby Lo, the Runner, the Smooth Talker, Croc, the Teacher, the Soccer Player, the Hairdresser, me and Boyfriend) met up for dinner at a local Chinese food place. LC and I have been wanting to try it for ages and though, the food was good, the service was pretty dismal so I don't think we'll be going back there anytime soon. I got a hug from all our friends, except for Bob Marley who forgot I was leaving this week, as we were going home and it hit me that I wouldn't see them again for four months. I got a bit teary eyed in the car because I knew I'd miss hanging out with all of them while I was away, plus I was bummed that I wouldn't be there to see the Soccer Player and the Hairdresser's baby just after he/she was born and to obviously see them in their role as brand new parents.

Yesterday, I spent the day packing my bags and then we drove up to Newcastle to see the Redhead and his girlfriend. You may remember me mentioning the Redhead ages ago on here and asking for any interested ladies to contact me. No one ever did, but in about May I think, he met someone and they are going great. They are even taking a trip to Fiji in February together...I wonder if it's an engagement trip already??

Today was spent frantically trying to clean the house a bit and tick off things on the move out list that the property management company had sent over. I got the windows done, blinds dusted (which was a huge job as they were caked in red dirt from the dust storms), and oven and stove top cleaned up. I also baked a pasta dish, made chicken stir fry, and two batches of "Nicole Richie Chicken" to put in the freezer for Boyfriend while I am away (he's spoiled and not much of a cook). Then tonight we headed over to Boyfriend's Pa's house to have dinner with him, as well as Boyfriend's parents and brother, Bob the Builder.

The past four days have been crazy busy, but I'm glad that I've squeezed in seeing everyone. As I leave each group of friends or family, I reflect on how lucky I am to have each person in my life and about how I'm going to miss them like crazy for awhile. It is so great to have a mix of Boyfriend's family and our friends to make up a feeling of family for me while I'm here.

And while I will miss everyone a whole lot, I am also super stoked to see my Mom and Dad, Nae, and any and all the friends who have promised to pay me a visit!

I'll try and post again on Thursday morning (Wednesday afternoon U.S. time) before I head off for the airport. It will probably be a dramatic post, telling everyone I love them and dividing up all my worldly possessions between Boyfriend and my family. I hate flying! In the meantime, I'm going to keep cleaning the house and hope that the real estate person calls back with news tomorrow that we can stay in our place and I'm going to try and find some kind of herbal (no, not the kind of herbal I mentioned earlier) remedy to help calm my nerves about flying.

Red, Red Wine

Am I really a grown up? Now Mom, Boyfriend, Nae, before you start in with the 100 other reasons I'm probably not really a grown up yet, here is the reason I'm asking this question today: because I can't get in to wine. Growing up, this was always what I saw adults drinking. Sure they might have a margarita or a GnT every now and again or Dad might have a beer if it better matched what we were having for dinner, but 9 times out of 10 at dinner or at parties, the grown ups were drinking a nice bottle of wine.

So now that I'm 25, I figure this wine drinking thing should've kicked in for me by now, but I really don't like it and I'm not sure that I ever will. That bums me out because I know Boyfriend would love to share a bottle with me at night during dinner or as we sit out around the fire, but he doesn't buy any because he knows he'll be the only one drinking it. It also bums me out because it's not a shared experience/love I have with my parents. It'd be nice to enjoy a bottle together when I'm home and be able to join in on their critiques of their wine choice each night.

The reasons I don't like wine are that a good drink to me is something that is either sweet (like tea, juice, diet soda, and even milk to some extent) or neutral (like water) and wine is either heavy, spicy or dry tasting. Also, I like my drinks super cold with like 5 ice cubes in my glass or hot and white wines never seem cold enough and the room temperature that red wine is served at makes me want to gag.

I know they say wine is an acquired taste but it's just so gross to acquire. Cigarettes are gross at first, too, but you acquire that taste...should I go out and start trying to make myself take up smoking, too? I'm sure if I chose to start eating deodorant I could acquire a taste for it, but who would want to? I just can't imagine people having their first glass of wine and being like "This stuff is awesome!" (at least about the taste and not about the buzz they are getting from it).

And can people really "detect a slight hint of honey" or "rose" or "chocolate" or "coffee" or "raspberry" or "etc, etc" in the wine or is that just b.s. and something people say when drinking wine to sound snobby and like they know what they are talking about?

I know it's not the end of the world that I don't like wine and I, obviously, have plenty of other shared experiences/things I enjoy doing with Boyfriend and my parents, but it would be nice to be let in on the secret about why everyone else seems to think wine is so awesome.

You're My, My Summertime

It's a zoo around here! I called my sister, Nae, this morning and she asked if I was in a bird atrium. I wasn't, but I had about 20 rainbow lorikeets in the trees around me calling up a storm as I sat on the back step talking to her. I went on a walk with LC, baby Lo, and their dog Bas (rhymes with Spazz) yesterday to the path down near the lake and we saw a bunch of fish, a blue tongue lizard, and on our walk back towards home LC started yelling at Bas to stop and come back to us and I looked up and there was a big red belly black snake that he was sniffing at and it was aiming to turn around and strike him! A snake like that could kill a little dog like Bas. Luckily, he's a good boy and came running back to her just in time and I carried him past where we had seen the snake slither off into the weeds. In still more animal news, as I was sitting around our fire on Monday night, Peter the Possum launched himself from a tree on one side of the yard into a tree on the other side, just like a flying squirrel! It was incredible and we just saw him do it again tonight as we were getting ready to come in from another fire. We also discovered last night that not only do we have Peter living in our yard, but we also have Peter's probable Baby Mama and at least one big baby living in the ceiling of our laundry room! I thought Peter had climbed up on to the laundry room roof so I threw some papaya up to him, but the little possum that peaked over the edge at me was much smaller than Peter and then I noticed a little baby playing possum on an outside rail on the roof of the laundry room hoping that I wouldn't see him. I got up under him and had a look as he tried to hide his sweet little face from me. He was too cute! It's neat having all these animals around, but I will have to start being more careful in the yard because the hot weather will bring out snakes. Bob Marley has already seen two snakes, and one was some kind of super poisonous brown snake, in the last few days. On a sidenote, the warm weather has been great over the last few days and I have gotten a bit of a tan to bring back home with me and our laundry has been drying on the line in like an hour! (This is me being old and boring but) It's so great to be able to get through multiple loads of laundry in a day and bring it in nice, warm, soft, and completely dry! Good thing I got through heaps of it today as I've heard we're in for cooler weather and rain starting tomorrow afternoon and lasting until I leave next week.

Get the Party Started

Saturday morning I got up and got to work on the Oreo truffles (see the link in the earlier post for the recipe) and clean the house. Our friends started arriving at 6 and so did the rain showers! Not good when you're trying to have an outdoor party with a fire, but luckily it wasn't hard rain and it was off and on so we were still able to sit out for most of the night. Everyone brought something (starters, garlic bread, and salad) and that was a big help. I finally got dinner done at about 8 and noticed that Bob, Boyfriend's brother, and 5 of his cousins who had RSVP'd hadn't shown up yet. I got Boyfriend to message everyone and Bob said he had honestly forgotten and couldn't come over then because he was too drunk to drive after being at the races all day. We never heard back from the cousins and still haven't a few days later. My feelings are/were a bit hurt and I thought it was rude and lazy of them to not at least call or message with an excuse as to why they weren't coming. I wasn't making hot dogs or anything, either. I made three different types of pasta and made double what I would've made had only our friends RSVP'd, but the cousins said for sure they'd be there when we messaged on our way to buy food. I tried not to let the rudeness ruin my night and I sent all the leftover dinner and dessert home with our friends so it turned out ok in the end. It wasn't a rager of a party or anything, but just a nice night hanging with the friends one last time before I left. The Runner caught me plating things up and told me to sit down and relax and I wish I would've listened to her because later in the night I was cleaning up some more and doing dishes when I realized "Hey, I'm not going to see these guys for nearly 4 months, the dishes can wait, go out and hang out with them" so I did. Peter the Possum was super curious about the fire and party and kept sitting in the branches above our heads all night watching what was going on. When he would get tired of watching from one angle he would run across the yard and up in to another tree or in to the garage. Everyone said how big he was and how I must be making him obese by feeding him Pop Tarts. The night ended with the Soccer Player giving me a hard time for my post 5 months ago about our Sing Star Party night and how I had said we were both really bad singers and fairly evenly matched in badness so I got out the laptop and updated that post to say something like "The Soccer Player wanted me to say that he kicked my ass at Sing Star and is a way better singer than I am" and that seemed to satisfy him. He then proceeded to show us his new dance move called "The Leach". We got video of it so hopefully we can upload it to YouTube soon and post the video on here and make the Soccer Player an internet sensation.

I'm really going to miss hanging out with these guys while I'm away...

Hold Me Close When Tradewinds Blow

Ugh, I'm really not feeling well. I don't know if it's the antibiotics or the infection or what, but I'm wiped out. The ice cream I chose for my ice cream sandwiches (for the party) also just melted in to puddles next to the cookies in the freezer instead of sitting nicely on top of them like its supposed to so I'm bummed that they haven't turned out like I wanted them to and I think I'll cheer myself up by looking through my beach walk pictures and posting some up here. Hope you guys have a great weekend. I need a good night's sleep and to wake up with the infection gone and to get ready for our party! (P.S. I took some pictures today of the bite and Boyfriend just cleaned it up and took more pictures of it and was feeling sick looking at it so I might post some pictures on here of it, but hide it under a cut or under something you have to click on so you don't have to see it if you don't want to.)

These shots were all taken 2 weeks ago at a local beach called Frazer Beach. It's part of a national or state park and is still really wild and untouched for miles. There is camping and picnic areas in the park and the few times we've been there has hardly been anyone else around.

This guy has found the perfect spot to lay out and watch the waves before and after a surf...brilliant!

This is Boyfriend's car. It's a 1967 HR Holden. It's the only car we have. We joke that we are living in the past because we have an old car, live in an old house, and live old peoples' lives sometimes by sitting out in the backyard and reading and by feeding our "pet" birds and possums (and yes, of course we, well actually I, have to talk to them like they are people, too)!