"CRAZY WEATHER"

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Temperature: 17 Degrees Celsius and pouring rain

Track of the day: A to Z, Jason Mraz

"Are you watching this?" Alecs says glued to the T.V. as we watch report after report of the life-taking floods sweeping over Queensland. "At least one man has been killed in the Sunshine

Coast" says a channel 9 news anchor "and thousands of Brisbane and Gold Coast residents are stranded as flood water climb up their homes." Looking out our apartment room window we can see water levels rising but nothing like the reports are showing. It seems the rain isn't going away anytime soon and the government has already declared the floods a natural disaster. Reading the online newspaper, the headline 'Residents Warned of Croc's and Snakes' catches my eye. "Alecs listen to this," I say skimming through the article, "Brisbane residents are being reminded to exercise caution when walking outdoors as crocodiles and snakes are moving into residential neighborhoods as flood levels rise." Alecs gives me a surprised look, "wow, now that isn't something you hear everyday," he says. Having recently

cooked plenty of meals we wait out the next few days indoors, listening to reports and boring ourselves to near death. Feeling the need for rice, Alecs decides to cook some and despite my objections eats it right out of the pot trying to convince me this is how students are supposed to live - even though we bought bowls for such things. After a few days hiding out in our bunker - I mean apartment - the sky clears up, the waters recede, citizens are rescued from their rooftops and the crocodiles and snakes return to their original hiding places. As I lay in bed thinking about what we can do now that we are no longer stuck in our apartment our cell phone buzzes as we have received a text message. 'If a stranger knocks on your door answer it - Dad" I read aloud, puzzled and thoroughly bemused. We spend the entire day trying

trying to figure out what this mystery stranger has as both my parents will not give even the smallest clue about it. Convinced my dad has bought us some sort of cotton candy machine or something of the like we wait and wait until it arrives. Alecs and I excitedly go outside to meet up with Michael - our mystery man, both curious and wary of what he might bring. However the moment we step outside the building doors we know what the surprise is. Michael stands beside the door holding a guitar case and I can hear Alecs heart beat quicken to an audible pace. Michael tells us quickly about the guitar, heads to work and Alecs nearly runs down the hallway back to our unit. By the time I reach the room, he already

has the guitar out of the case and is playing some Jason Mraz. "This is better than anything I could have imagined," Alecs says between strums, "and it's an awesome guitar.`` The next couple days are spent applying for jobs and listening to Alecs play the guitar over and over and over again - but I`m certainly not complaining, in fact I love it . "Let's go for a walk to the city gardens by the river today," I say to Alecs on Saturday after the city has had enough time to dry up. We pack up a couple peanut butter and jam sandwiches and some water and set out - the river as our guide. "I know it's along here somewhere," I say as we near a wharf filled with swanky expensive yachts. Moments later we round a corner where a

vast lush green park spreads out in-front of us, a cross between Hyde Park in London and Bouchard Gardens in Victoria. Broad sweeping manicured fields with canopy trees and quaint little wooden benches are the centre to the dark woven rain forest-like paths surrounding them. A group of college students play a scrimmage game of rugby while three pale blonde-haired children chase each other through the many colourful gardens. A border-collie leaps into the air catching an orange Frisbee while a young couple sits on a blanket sipping red wine. "I could see myself living here," Alecs says as we meander along the many

paths, through the dark rain forest area and into the mangroves, "there are so many places to just chill out and enjoy the sun." Mangroves are trees that have adapted to living in the shallow-part of salt water and are home to many creatures and insects. A wooden boardwalk winds through the mangrove forest as birds sing to one another from the tree tops and yacht owners cruise alongside us. It's nearing dinner time and I have yet to prepare anything so we call it a day and walk the 45 minutes back to our apartment, leaving the city behind.

A few trips to the sunshine coast, Moreton Island, the outback and Warner Brother Movie World are in the works but we`re waiting for the state to clean up the beaches after the floods before heading to them.

Until next time so long,

Alecs and Meg in Brisbane

Ps. Thanks for the guitar Dad, we love it!!!!!

"I HAVE AN INTERVIEW"

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Temperature: 26 Degrees Celsius (average) but it rained today!

Track of the Day: Better Together, Jack Johnson

"Happy Mother's Day mom," I say around one in the morning as I call home from bed. I have a

good long chat with a few people at home, leaving me with that gut-wrenching homesick-feeling that doesn't really go away. I spend the next few wee hours of the morning flipping through photos of home, sitting up in bed and chatting with Alecs and finally succumbing to sleep. I hear the distant sound of ringing and thinking it's part of my dream dismiss it until I feel Alecs' hand shaking my arm. "It's for you," he says holding out the phone. "For me?" I whisper incredulously rubbing my eyes, "who is it?" I ask. Alecs shakes his head and shrugs while I answer the call. The woman on the other end confirms my address and says her company is delivering something in the next hour. Alecs and I rack our brains about what it might be and although still feeling quite homesick I too am excited. Our questions are soon answered when a knock on the door reveals a gorgeous arrangement of yellow daisies and roses with a card from mom hoping these flowers would cheer me up.  After spending quite some time on the phone again with mom and then finding the perfect place for the flowers where they will be seen the most, I settle down and start breakfast. Having been inspired by MasterChef Australia, an Ozzie TV cooking competition we

watch religiously, I attempt to make a meal of diced ham, toast, grilled tomato, poached eggs and kiwi (just because I love kiwi) and it actually turns out quite tasty. "We need to clean this place up before we head downtown," I say to Alecs, who sits at the computer applying at yet another job agency. Twenty minutes later I fumigate our apartment with cockroach killer and we head out the door so as not to poison ourselves in it's toxic fumes. A two and a half minute walk to the train station has us on the way to Queen Street Mall in the CBD (downtown). We stand at the corner, the infamous corner that still makes my jaw drop. At this city street corner when the walk sign lights up pedestrians not only
cross the street from left to right but also diagonally from one corner to the next. The light changes and the bell sounds and Alecs and I step into the mayhem. A fury of people each traveling in a different direction step into the street, a dozen people cross diagonally from both sides creating an X while dozens more cross normally from side to side. aeriel view of this intersection would have an X of people crossing while a square of people walk around the outside - hard to explain but truly incredible. "I will never get bored of that," Alecs says as we cut through a mall. As we are desperately trying to keep our expenses down we end up buying very little, cutting this shopping session quite short.
Back at the apartment, armed with a plethora of fresh veggies and some cooking essentials I spend the entire night cooking fifteen dinners to be frozen and eaten over the course of the next two weeks. Included in this list of meals was fried rice, spaghetti sauce, hamburger soup, arroz caldo (rice soup), bow tie pasta, pasta salad, tocino (sweet pork) and adobo (another Filipino dish). At 2AM I am finally finished cooking, my feet are sore, I'm exhausted, but feel quite productive. Alecs stayed awake to keep me company, but I forbade him to enter the kitchen as he'd just be in the way. "Mmmm, that smells good," Alecs says as I add the ginger to the arroz caldo (rice soup), "can I have some?" he asks hopefully. I give him a quick taste, pour  the soup into its respective labeled container, shower and hit the sack. 

"What are some of the material things you miss from home," Alecs asks the next morning over a breakfast of Rice Bubbles (that's right they have Rice Bubbles not Rice Krispies here - and yes it is Kellogs). "Alberta Beef, our eggs and milk," I say thinking about the things that are 
different here. There is just nothing like our Alberta Beef, Australian's keep their eggs in the flour aisle (not refrigerated - weird I know) and their milk has a slightly sweet taste. "What about you?" I ask. Alecs lists not having a car as his number one, with chips and relish rounding out his list. Although the chips (crisps as they are locally named) are good they have none of the brands we have at home (except Doritos) and they also do not have green relish which continues to frustrate Alecs. "Are you going to use the George Foreman tonight," Alecs asks after I take out some steaks for dinner. "Sure am," I say admiring our brand new, very cute little grill made by the king of personal grills - George Foreman. Alecs smiles just as the phone rings. "Well?" I say anxiously after he gets off the phone, "who was it?" Alecs gives me a smirk, "I have an interview," he say excitedly, "tomorrow morning at an agency." We do a little dance around the kitchen and head out to find the place and stop at the post office too. As we stand in a rather lengthy line up at the post office, Alecs notices and HP
printer/photocopier/scanner on sale for $59 AUD (about 48 CAD). We excitedly snatch it up, find the agency and head back for an early night.

Alecs stands in the living room in his full suit looking quite nervous the next morning. "You'll do fine," I say as we join the morning rush, catching the train, umbrella in hand (as it was raining) and making our way downtown. I drop Alecs off at the agency and head home anxiously awaiting his return. Just as I begin to drift off I hear the keys in the door and spring from bed to hear all about the interview. Alecs hands me his test results, 100% on the accounting test, is in the 98th percentile in Excel and the agent said he had a great resume, was presentable and liked placing travelers. Alecs changes out of his suit and we celebrate with a peanut butter and jam sandwich. This week will hopefully bring some more interviews for the both of us but we are optimistic for the future. We've been scoping out some Gold Coast trips that will commence the moment we secure a job. 

Until next time so long,

Alecs and Meg in Brisbane

Ps. We have added a video to each of the last two posts.

"OUR FIRST WORD"

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Temperature: 27 Degrees Celsius

Track of the Day: Hallelujah, John Cale

Before we start we must tell everyone our blog has been nominated for 'Best Travel Blog' of 2009 through the 'Blogger Choice Awards'. We are quite sure we have no chance of winning (seriously the top blogs are phenomenal and already have many votes) but it was truly exciting to see that we were even nominated! If you want to vote for us click HERE

"I've gotta say," I tell Alecs as I add some cinnamon to the french toast I'm cooking for breakfast, "I'm still loving how organized our cupboards are." Alecs smiles. "I've got to admit," he says, "it does make it easier to find what I'm looking for." Feeling quite happy and more than a little smug I plate our breakfast before we head out for the day. It's been nearly a week since we moved into our apartment and it's beginning to feel like home. "I'm glad we ended up just chilling out this week," Alecs says as we peruse the local butcher for tonight's dinner meat, "it was a nice

break to just relax before really beginning the job search." Nodding my head, I point to some lamb shanks behind the glass and then follow Alecs into the Filipino store next door. We pick up a few essentials including a bag of tiny jello cups before heading back to the apartment.

"No you make the decision this time," I say as Alecs and I stand on a bridge the next day debating which direction to go. The choice is between the park and river walk on one side of the bustling outdoor mall on the other. "Fine then," he says indignantly looking from one side to the next, "let's go to the Ferris wheel." This giant attraction is similar in design to the Eye in London, giving riders a view over the city in its entirety. "Should we?" I ask after checking out the prices. "Umm, yes," Alecs says after pondering for a few moments, "I believe a trip up the Ferris wheel will give us a good overview on the city therefore helping us with our job search." Ignoring his attempt at humor we purchase our tickets and join the queue at the foot of the very large Ferris wheel. It's Mother's Day here and standing all around us are mom's and their children enjoying a

nice day in the park and I can't help but miss my own mum (yes that' how it's spelled here). Finally it's our turn to board and we wait for the gondola to stop before the space-like doors open and we take our respective seats across from each other. Once we reach the top we can see the sprawling city with the river snaking its way through downtown and then out into the sea. Watching all the ant-like people meandering around the pathways below, we take a moment to enjoy the view and grasp the reality that this is where we live. After a few more turns of the wheel we disembark, opting not to buy the token $10 photo at the exit. As we continue walking under a lavender-

flower clad walkway I notice a giant building which says 'Griffith University'. "Alecs look," I say pointing to it and the many other subsequent signs surrounding the area, "that's my school." Starting in July I will be finishing off my undergraduate degree in communications at Griffith University and it seems I couldn't have chosen a more beautiful or ideally situated campus to study at. No more than 20 meters from the doors to the college is the riverbank, line with flowers, pathways, palm trees and huge green spaces and yes of course a giant Ferris wheel. "I guess I'll be taking the City Cat Ferry to class eh?" I say noticing the port just to the left. Happy that my campus is more than I expected it to be, I nearly skip alongside Alecs as we search for a

cheap place to have lunch. We settle for a little outdoor hole-in-the-wall eatery alongside the river where Alecs listens to me buzz about attending classes. "Holy crap, what the heck is that," I say jumping from my seat. A very large lizard has decided to join us for lunch this afternoon and proceeds to stand beside Alecs' feet looking up at us occasionally as if hoping we might share with him. After my initial shock of having such a large lizard near my feet I calm down and begin enjoying his presence. He leaves just in time for our departure, but manages to display his impressive speed first as he darts up a tree and onto the roof. "Wow," Alecs says as we continue our walk
"I think camping here will be very interesting considering all the weird Ozzie creatures." A five minute walk has us in the middle of a man made beach overlooking the river equipped with lifeguards, palm trees and powdery white sand. A little girl who looks distinctly like the kid from the movie 'Australia' and her brother run in-front of us collecting sand on their feet as they fly across a quaint little wooden bridge and back into the water. It's a particularly hot day and a dip in this idyllic looking beach is more than enticing but alas I am wearing jeans as it happens and we concede to spending a few moments in the sun and sand instead. Like all good things
though, this too had to end and Alecs and I pressed on, unsure how much further away our apartment was from here. "I love these purple flowers," I say trodding through the botanic garden leaving the beach behind, "they smell like summer." Alecs gives me that look, that look that he sometimes gets when he thinks I've said something silly. "You're weird," he say pushing me. "You're," weirder," I retort, pushing him back against the flowers. Our heads snap back at each other as I say this last word - weirder. "You did it," Alecs says looking at me, "you said your first word with an Australian accent." Alecs repeats the word with a spot on Ozzie accent and we both do a little dance on the spot as he too manages to say it. "This is one for the books," I say repeating the word weirder over and over again, "our first word." As we stand there doing a dance Alecs notices a sign reading 'NO STANDING DAY OR NIGHT. TOW AWAY AREA' and he now has only one thing on his mind. "I have to stand there," he says, his heart beating at an audible pace, "I just have to." After appeasing his need to be a little boy, disobeying the rules I notice another building belonging to Griffith University, the film school building. Since I am registered to take several film courses in the coming semester I assume I will be spending much of my time near
this place, with serene Memorial Park next door. "I see story bridge," I say looking up-river where the landmark bridge sits with the city in the background, "that means our apartment is walking distance." Feeling a little relieved that we know where we are going, we push on, that is until we see a red cutout of a man with his arms held out towards the heavens. Without a word, Alecs trudges forward, turns around lazily and tosses his hands into the air waiting for me to take a photo. "You know me too well," I say after snapping the pictures, "you know me too well." We pass through a cozy little

park where families all join together for picnics under shady trees with cool breezes blowing in from the river. Every few meters is a little place to barbecue some food, but unlike the little fire pits one finds at public parks in Calgary, these were top-of-the-line barbeque's. Stainless steel tops, courtesy propane-tanks below and knobs to adjust the temperature. A couple stands at the grill cooking some tomatoes, dousing them in olive oil and sipping champagne. Meanwhile the rest of their party cuts into some juicy lamb steaks and slices some fancy looking cheeses. "Now that's a barbie (barbecue)," Alecs says, his stomach growling. We've been walking for about three hours now, a little more than 10 kilometers but we're almost home now, sweaty and tired, but feeling like we at least accomplished something and managed to enjoy ourselves despite missing home this Mother's Day. We stop off at the store for a tomato (in my head I said tomato with an accent) before crashing back at the apartment. We did manage to get ourselves a tax file number this week, which is like a sin number and gives us the right to work. We also opened bank accounts at National Bank of Australia (NAB) and received our new visa debit cards in the mail so we're all set up. If I managed to get a fraction of a tan out of the day they I think it can be considered a success and I did get to see my campus which was a bonus. This coming week is all about the job search, perfecting our CV's (no resumes here) and applying at all the agencies we can find.

Until next time so long,

Alecs and Meg in Brisbane