Alive and Breathing

(Shot of my room taken from my new camera- Panorama mode is very cool.)

I have spent most of this week getting back into the swing of classes after mid-semester break. I had a paper due on Friday and have two more due this coming Tuesday and Wednesday. But don't worry, I'm staying positive. All of my classes are wrapping up. I do not have any more MARS lectures and only have 3 more tutorials for each of my classes.

I finally got back out on the frisbee field this week for practice on both Tuesday and Wednesday. It was great to get some fresh air and toss a bit of plastic. I got to catch up with some buddies on the team and had another muddy practice. It seems as though every time I think about doing any type of exercise, it starts to downpour.

The highlight of this week was celebrating Liz's birthday. My weekly lunch date with Megan has recently acquired some new members, Phil and Liz. This Friday we went to the Pancake Manor as requested by the birthday girl. The Pancake Manor is pretty famous around these parts. Legends told of an amazing 24-hour pancake joint in the heart of the city that had its own bar and was one of the top places to end up eating when inebriated. Luckily, this place can quickly make the changeover into a fine, daytime establishment. It was actually a really cool place that was made in an old church with stain-glass windows and benches that may or may not have been made out of old pews. Megan had checked the menu online prior to our visit and had miraculously picked out exactly what I would choose to eat. I had pancakes with nuts, fried bananas, and chocolate ice cream. She knows me so well. (although I am pretty predictable when it comes to eating out)



We also went out to a bar called the Stock Exchange on the night of Liz's 21st. It was a blast. We started by congregating in my little single (7 people, 1 single room) and playing some fun games and being way too loud. We then headed out to the city to dance and enjoy the rain that was still pouring down. We finished off our night with a trip to Hungry Jack's (Burger King). Fast food here is much more respectable than back at home. Rumors say that there is a 3 month training that all McDonald's employees have to attend before workin' the deep fryers.

Today Hannah, Liz, Megan, and I all went to watch Eat, Love, Pray at the theatre in Southbank. It was a pretty good movie, but it was a little slow in some parts. I will always love Julia Roberts and India and Italy. After the movie, our little group of multi-colored raincoats made our way over to the grand opening of the Max Brenner's in Brisbane! This is one of the most amazing places ever. Essentially, it is a coffee/dessert shop that worships chocolate as its one and only God. I went to the Max Brenner's in Sydney and that is where my obsession began. The second time going was equally amazing. Liz and I shared an all chocolate brownie sundae. Definitely a perk about living so close to the city of Brisbane and civilization in general. I will really miss being able to ride the bus around. I might bury my go-card at the end of the semester, it has been so loyal to me.



Coming up this week:
Monday is dance fest! I will be watching my fellow Dickinsonians dance with their respective colleges in a big competition. I will be the faithful parent sitting in the audience with Ann watching my kiddies.

The rest of the week will suck because of all my assignments, but then the weekend will be here! There is a big all college party this Friday that I hope to get a ticket for. It has been getting a lot of hype and it will be my last chance to get to an all-college event.

Hope you're keepin' it real wherever you are, thanks for reading.