I'm ready for summer... are you???

So I've got knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, helmet, outdoor wheels, bearings, skate tool, toe stop wrench, watch (thanks J1!), 2006 Rollercon stubbie holder (hehe)... the only things missing are tickets, money and passport. But that's for the northern hemisphere summer anyway.

Oh... and the ability to skate. That's missing as well.

Hot tip: Now would be a good time to invest in Johnson & Johnson and the makers of Dettol and Elastoplast.

Something *wicked* this way come...

Detailed Results:

• Out of Foreign Customs, September 25, 2006, 12:35 pm
• Into Foreign Customs, September 25, 2006, 12:00 pm, AUSTRALIA
• Arrived Abroad, September 25, 2006, 12:00 pm, AUSTRALIA
• International Dispatch, September 22, 2006, 5:07 pm, LOS ANGELES AMC
• Enroute, September 22, 2006, 5:05 pm, LONG BEACH, CA 90810

Just as I was blogging this, they arrived... More on this later!

And by later, I mean tomorrow.

HOT!!!

Not long now...

Until Camper Dan returns to our shores.

I'll miss those random late night text messages but hopefully they will be replaced by random lunch dates.

I haven't forgotten about the 10 meal vouchers!

I'm ba-ack!

I took a week off last week and reclaimed some mental health.

It is *so* hard having to wear shoes again after 9 days of shoeless glory. Whilst away, I bought another two pairs of thongs/flip-flops for the summer. Them Crocs are going to take some getting used to, I tells ya...

Anyway, I'm back and ready to face my desk and inbox. In fact, I've been missing work. I reached my holiday threshold at around 1:15pm on Friday.

Bring it.

Abbotsford Convent.

Another beautiful day, another adventure.

Today, I woke up to another spectacular spring day in Melbourne. I was on my way to Port Melbourne again when I was distracted by the Salvation Army store. I ended up spending $7 on four books, which should keep me out of trouble for a while. I haven't finished reading a book since the last Harry Potter novel and I think it's time I start reading again.

Anyway, instead of going to Port Melbourne, I went back home and picked up the book I've been trying to read all this year, went to the milkbar for a newspaper and bottle of water, then headed over to Yarra Bend Park to soak up some sun.

Whilst in the park, I tried to do a J2 and use the macro feature of my camera.

The was my first attempt... Clearly I didn't know what I was doing.

This next one I quite like... But I have to admit that I didn't even see the purple flower when I took the photo. I'm never going to get this camera.

Baby steps.

I saw this sign last weekend whilst wandering around. For those who don't know, I am absolutely petrified of snakes. Can't stand them. Even when they're on TV. I don't even like the snake in the original Disney cartoon 'The Jungle Book', especially with it's whacky hypnotising eyes.

I'm trying to overcome this fear and in returning to the area where I found this sign, I reckon I might be making some progress. Next week I'm going to Melbourne Zoo... and I'm even thinking about going into the Reptile Pavilion.

Crazy stuff.

Crazy stuff, I say.

Port Melbourne to St. Kilda

Last Sunday, I was up early and decided I would head to Victoria Gardens and catch a movie. Halfway there, I realised it was probably way too early for the movies and because it was such a beautiful day, I jumped on the 109 and headed to the end of the line: Port Melbourne.

Once there, I decided to do the 4.4km beach front walk. This photo kind of shows the walk from start to finish.

good tag vs. bad tag

This I like:

This one... not so much. Moisti? Huh?

Lemming.

I finally succumbed to peer pressure and bought a pair of Crocs Cayman-style.

And when I say 'peer pressure', I mean 'J2 pressure'.

These should arrive sometime next week. I plan on spending a lot of time outdoors this spring/summer/fall, be it on foot, bike or quads, so I'm in dire need of a comfortable pair of shoes. 'Course, I won't need shoes if I'm in my quads but depending what I use them for, my feet might be very blistered in the next couple of months.

Plus my crosstrainers were muddied up a treat at the futbol back in July and I don't like wearing them in public.

The only downfall to the Crocs is that I worked long and hard getting my thong (as in flip-flops, you North Americans) tan last summer, which will now fade away. I wonder how hot these will get under the ozone-destroying Australian sun.

It looks like I'm slowly getting over my white shoe fetish. Although, Big Easy did bestow upon me a new pair of white Lacoste thongs (again, flip-flops) last night.

ARGH!!!

Can someone please explain to me where 'my bad' comes from?

WTF does it even mean?!?!

I find it to be one of the most annoying phrases *ever* and whenever someone says it to me, I just want to throttle them!

Is it because it's so grammatically incorrect? Who can say?

Jeez... *shakenbabysyndrome*

Another Tsai trait?

After an emotional and whirlwind trip back to the Philippines, J1 and I collected the folks from the airport in the early hours on Sunday morning. Mum and dad both had to work that evening and were exhausted but they both got stuck into unpacking. There's just something about leaving bags packed in our family.

When I arrived home after midnight on Sunday night, I was buggered (I fell asleep on the plane when we were *landing*!!!) and fighting off some evil airplane-borne lurgy but couldn't rest until I had unpacked my bags and put things away.

Anyway... as with most trips to the Philippines, there was a bounty of preserved fruit unearthed from the luggage:

'Pressed kitten.

Everyone seemed happier before the pending mortgage.

I remember J1 before the mortgage.

frisky pigeons @ bondi beach

Or are they simply doing 'The Bert'?

Bondi Beach, approx 1:30pm, 2nd September 2006

You know you go to the pub too much when...

I'm staying away this week.

Let's blow this popsicle stand...

Fingers crossed that there isn't a repeat performance of my last attempt flying out of this city, in T-minus 54 hours, I will be on a plane...

Don't get me wrong, I still love my adopted home but I have never wanted to get out of Melbourne more than I do right now.

Why? Because leaving the city means I won't be compelled to work this weekend. And I don't want to inconvenience Qantas and take my Dell with me - yes, as a matter of fact I do have a faulty battery.

And I'm going to take a couple of half days off as well.

But that's not the only reason I'm going.

On Saturday night, we're celebrating the 10yr anniversary of the illustrious career of one DJ Mandy Rollins.

And Sunday is Poppa's Day here in Australia so I'm going to surprise the folks and pick them up from the airport with J1. It's particularly poignant considering why the folks went to the Philippines in the first place.

>=o(

By the way... DON'T TELL MY PARENTS I'M GOING TO SYDNEY THIS WEEKEND!!!

Weekend update.

I had a day off on Friday. I didn't think I'd see a day off for at least another month so that was a pleasant surprise.

And what's a day off without heading down to the local? There I won a few free games of pinball. If you've ever seen me play pinball, you would be amazed as well. Whilst I'm not a double-flipper, I'm pretty bad and a complete wreck (think stress rash) when it comes to multiball situations.

Friday night I headed to the disco. Highlights from the night were running amok with L, Macca and her white boots and Mona playing 'Skydive'... HOT! Phooey to everyone at the disco who didn't understand that they were hearing one of the best tracks ever.

The evening ended with one of my best mates, a can of Haig, the floor of the upstairs hall and chatting away until the wee small hours.

Saturday, it was down to the pub again. There was a birthday party for a 2yo booked in - complete with dodgy celebrant - and we decided strength in numbers was the best bet. Who on earth would have a birthday for a 2yo at a pub? You'd understand if you saw these people.

Sunday, the body revolted and decided to debilitate me for the day. Clearly I'd had too much fun. But that's alright because I got to catch up on some DVDs that I bought many moons ago and it was probably best that I stay in and avoid 3 days of madness.

By the way, Mary Louise Parker and Elizabeth Perkins in 'Weeds'... get it.

Austin, anyone?

(Photos courtesy of A&E)