Money money money money *moneeeyy!*

Some good news today!

On Monday, I was told that due to an administrative error in the US, half of my student loans were not going to be dispersed until October, leaving me barely enough money to cover my tuition, let alone the remainder of my accommodation fees, books and things like food and soap. So, like any self-respecting 24-year old, I thanked my financial aid officer and quietly got drunk back at my apartment while looking at help wanted ads online. However, today I got word that the loan agency was very sorry about the confusion, is going to be dispersing my funds next week and I should have that money in my hot little paws and my hot little bank account no later then the second week in August.

That doesn’t mean that I’ll buy soap though.

…but because I am a cheap bastard, I was able to hoard enough money this week to pay for textbooks. The 800 page “Research Methods in Anthropology” will be riveting, I’m sure. I’m kidding – it really does look interesting!  In fact, I’ve already had my face in the texts for this semester and the syllabi (syllabuses?) that I’ve been able to scrounge off of the internet are a cross between horrifying, gut wrenching panic (internal dialogue is as follows: “Oh my god oh my god I can’t handle this! That’s a huge paper! This is only one class! What will my original research be? Oh my god oh my god!”) and full-body, leg-humping excitement (internal dialogue: “Oh my god oh my god how cool is that? You can do that? Oh my god!”).

In other good news, exam schedule pending, I’m looking into a month long volunteer opportunity in Thailand over summer break.

Thailand.

Thailand!

Other pursuits? Kendo and Aikido classes, women’s field hockey, a day trip to Sydney proper, hoarding as much money as humanly possible and breathing the sweet, rarefied air of academia.

Do I sound like a pompous ass yet?

Oh, you just wait.

Australia: A Treatise (wait, do I know what that even means?)

One of the first things that I noticed about Australia is how green and rich everything was. Sydney and suburbs get about 1214.8 mm (47.8 inches) of rainfall per year, leaving the countryside the misty green of movie flyover legend. This also contributes to the pervasive and wholly intoxicating smell of cedar (well, not quite cedar – more a combination of the spicy green of eucalyptus, the woody smell of cedar, the fresh “wet” smell of clean rain and the musk of rich dirt) and life that follows you from the second you get off of the plane. It is surprising that it is not nearly as humid as you would expect for a climate that can sustain the sort of life you see here.

The flight over the harbour was especially mesmerizing and I was able to catch a pretty eye-full of the Sydney Opera House; the quintessential Sydney photo op. Once in Sydney, it was a frantic scrabble to find a missing bag that was thankfully returned to me yesterday, intact and full of denim gold. It’s amazing how something as simple as a new pair of pants can make you feel.

I stayed on a quaint little brown-brick campus for the 3 or so days needed to clean up and open my permanent accommodation. It was during this time that I locked my after-hours key card in my room a total of three times, locked my room key in my room a total of two times and misplaced and nearly lost the bike room key once. I also managed to walk approximately 3 km in the opposite direction of campus while almost falling into a creek. And in true Idiot Girl fashion, I wiped the dirt off of my knees, smiled at the guy on his bike laughing his ass off at my display and carried on my way with a smile and my pride more or less intact (because if I haven’t become accustomed of making an ass of myself in public by now, there’s no hope for me).

With derby, new faces, fun stories, travel galore and a semester of difficult but intellectually rewarding classes coming up in the near future, I’m sure that this next couple of years will, for lack of a better term, kick ass!

The Final Countdown (insert synthesizer solo here)

It begins! The official 5-day countdown to my move to Australia. Email confirmation for accommodation, enrolment and classes have been sent. All of my earthly belongings have been sold or packed (please, take a moment to remember all of the glorious books that have been lost for this cause). I am going to try to take it a little easier this week (after my month of debauchery!) and revert back to the typical homebody, falling asleep at 10:00 pm DW that you know and love. Well, at least know.

Though tonight I will be in the presence of one of my favourite authors; Laurie Notaro – the leader of the Idiot Girls and someone who I aspire to be, especially when it comes to eating candy apples.

Ha ha ha, candy apple…priceless.