I know I suck.

I know I know, It's October first and I've left you hanging by a thread since the beginning of August. I really HATE writing review entries, and I knew my life was destined to be one big review blog entry when I left Australia on 3 August.

So, let's start there. I left Australia in a blur. Thanks to some good friends, I was able to enjoy my last night in Wagga and was felt a great deal of sorrow to see the place go. When I stepped on the train to go to Sydney, it all went wrong. The guy that I was assigned to sit next to me was a total douchebag, so I got no sleep from midnight until 730 am. I got to the airport and United that they had lost (or "deleted") my reservations, then they claimed I owed them money when I definitely did not. This made me swear out against United and hate all things around me. And probably cause more of a scene than I should have. (Lots of luggage makes me testy.) But, I didn't learn my lesson because I ended up getting an upgrade because they knew that they had fucked up. It was only an upgrade to their economy plus section, but you're not going to catch me being ungrateful.

I arrive home like 36 hours later, still on August the third. I came into DC and spent a few enjoyable days with Jen in Frederick, before braving another plane to get to Rochester. After having a good sleep, I realized that I looked, sounded, and felt like an alien in my own country. And, that feeling as stuck with me some of the way until now, but frankly, I'm just too exhausted to honor any feelings except tired these days.

I spent a therapeutic two or so weeks at home, seeing the family and friends that I had spent months longing to see...and for good reason! They're fantastic! My life blood!

All the while, I missed Australia. It's like a constant dull ache. Forgettable sometimes, but not usually. I've kept in contact with a few of my mates there pretty steadily, and I miss them dearly. I miss the whole bloody thing, and I didn't think I would!

Anyway, the next part of my journey was to drive across the country with my Mom. It was an amazing experience. Mom and I knew it was going to be ridiculous when we drove through a tornado on day one coming through Toledo. (Fuckin' Ohio, it figures!) The journey flew east of the Mississipi, but as soon as we crossed over, life slowed down a bit. We saw towns with a posted population of 10 (Emblem, WY) and stayed in towns where we ate our first buffalo roast and stood out as definite city slickers. (Are you freaking kidding me?) Yellowstone, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, Bighorn National Forest...that's a limited list of what we saw! I fear that the journey will never get proper ode in my blog because it has all ready past, but I will do my best to recount its tales as I can.

Our journey ended in Wenatchee, WA, my current place of residence. (Actually Seattle, where Mom flew out of.) So far the internship has been going well. I am beat. I am sore. I have never been so tired in my life. But, I'm making wine god damnit, and I couldn't dream of doing anything else.

The picture is the view from my place. Yes, that is the Columbia River. It also over looks a drive in. Cheers to free movies on the weekends, although I don't really remember what a weekend is, per se. :-P Pretty sweet, right?

Cheers

Personality

Sorry guys, I've got to talk shop for this one. Bear with me.

Okay, so, I don't know everything about wine, but I know a damn good bit more than most people on the street. Most "wine people" and I disagree on a few things, but, hear me out.

In order to impress me, a wine doesn't necessarily need to embody every single one of its token varietal characteristics. I want my subtle and silky Pinot Noirs as much as I want my bold and spicy Shirazes, but there is something to be said of wine with personality. There's something to be said of PEOPLE who actually have personality, likewise. If a wine doesn't have any glaring defects or faults, sometimes a bit of personality is a good thing. So, it may not be exactly what a wine judge wants to see, whether it be "too light" or "not true to variety"...if it can support it's own voice, it has a possibility for success with the open minded and flexible.

This is exactly why I LOVE the wine from the Finger Lakes. Never mind that I was born in the Finger Lakes, although I'm sure that that has something to do with it. :-P Finger Lakes wines are cool climate, and, for the most part, are unlike any wines I've seen here (obviously). They may not be, for example, true to form big, ridiculous tannic Cabernet Sauvignons, but they generally have flavor and form, and they have PERSONALITY, a certain uniqueness. They are regional and they tell the tale of the winery and those people who worked to prepare its outward characteristics. Many can call this personality "terrior", which is, essentially, a signature of where the wine comes from. But, it's actually a lot more. It's a story. And, due to the size of the region, most, if not all, Finger Lakes wines have a STORY. An interesting story, too! We're certainly not making a whole lot of wine relatively speaking, so livelihoods, blood, sweat, and tears go into making our wines. That special attention, combined with the cool climate characteristics and the varietal, give our wines our signature, their personality.

If straight, predictable varietal characters do it for you, then fair enough. But, if it doesn't; don't get hung up on what a Riesling or a cab is supposed to taste and smell like. It's a nice guide, but, firstly it varies from area to area, so try to look at the wine as a part of a whole, the end to a story. How does it show to you? And most importantly: do YOU like the story it has to tell you? Robert Parker (who is a bloody bullshitter, if you ask me) is doubtfully going to be drinking wine with you anytime soon, so be sure that you select a wine with a story that you want to be part of!

DISGUSTING?!

Australians. Crack. Me. Up. They're known for being one of the most laid back countries, in fact, this reputation precedes them globally. They, in theory, shouldn't ever worry about anything. There motto is "No worries, mate."

But, the truth is, it's true, they don't freak out about the big stuff. You know, life decisions and the like...things that a person SHOULD freak out about, they have a very laxadazical (sp?) attitude about. But, about STUPID things, they freak out. Today, in my pinot seminar, the woman sitting next to me was being a real irritable kid all day. When one of the last speakers was speaking, the poor old guy didn't have his presentation loaded onto the screen. So, they had to go get one of the Conference Centre tech guys to load it. In the meantime, he started talking about what he had researched. This lady next to me started like chucking all of her stuff into her bag and start talking REALLY loudly about how "disgusting" this was. Disgusting!? DISGUSTING!? That's not exactly the word that I would use for it.

So, we Americans freak out about everything, but, probably not about the poor man loading his PPT presentation. Who's better off? I can tell you who's funnier, that's for sure!

Cheers

Opa!

A week or so ago now, I went home with one of my favorite Australians, Marissa, to stay with her family for a few nights after our biochem final finished. The plan was to go "to the snow" so that she and her sister could do some skiing. I don't ski (obvi), but I went along really just to prove to myself that there was snow in Australia. (There is, really.)

In any case, it was nice to be with a family again. Twentysomethings make a nice temporary family, but there's something comforting about being around someone else's Mom and Dad, Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents that makes you feel, in a strange way, closer to your own. Marissa's grandfather, whom they call Opa, so that is what I know him as, is quite possibly the cutest Australian I've seen! He's an older guy, and he lives in White Cliffs, NSW. White Cliffs is about as outback as it gets. As Marissa explained it to me, they don't actually have a hospital or doctors there, the doctors fly in once a week. (Strange concept for an industrialized nation, no?) What happens mostly in White Cliffs is opal mining. The above photo is a picture of the opal mines taken from the air. (I have a postcard if you want to see.) It gets up to 50 degrees C (well over 100 F) in here in the summer time, "in the shade!", according to Opa. Opa never wears anything on his feet but thongs, and he is wrinkly and sunburned all the time because of the heat. He's not fussed by the heat at all, he said, he reckons that it doesn't really matter to him how hot it is (!). In Albury, where I was, he was most uncomfortable because he had to wear a shirt, socks, and shoes on account of the cold. He had even fallen ill when he was in the cold, poor guy. He was born in Germany, but came to Australia over 50 yrs ago as a tradesmen, and now mines opals as a retirement project (?!). He had this special German liquor made from distilled hot peppers (don't remember what it was called), but he calls it his cold medicine. I had a bit of a cough at the time as well, so he suggested that I try it as well. It was good stuff, and it did take away my cough with just one shot! He was really remarkable. I got an invite to go up to White Cliffs and mine opals with him along with an opal to take home with me, and I fully intend on taking him up on it.

This may well be my last entry from Australia, but I hope it's not. I'm currently in Adelaide at the Australian Wine Industre Technical Conference enjoying my last week in Oz. I am essentially homeless, as I have vacated my room in Wagga and my bags are living at Marissa and Declan's place. Homeless! I am taking a night off from the pub tonight, I'll let my winery boys handle that tonight. Good conference so far...lots of wine dorks in one place. :-P

Anyway, I'm nearly out of internet credit, so I will be heading.

Cheers

Speaker used this quote today, really liked it:

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"

--Mary Oliver, the summer day

Old Man

He's mad at me in this picture! Hehe!

I am VERY sorry that I haven't been in blog touch lately. I have been a bit busy with residential schools (they really SUCK, btw) and I just haven't felt like blogging lately. I know I'll kick myself for not blogging the past month as I am less than a month from leaving, but, I often kick myself for less.

For those of you who were unaware, my Casey, my old man and very best friend, died in late June. I got the call from Mom on a Saturday night here while I was in Sydney. It's been a rough few weeks for me, and it will be even rougher when I get home and realize that my bestest bud isn't there to greet me. My house and room and bed and sweater drawer will have an strange emptiness to them, I know it all ready. I'm sure he's happier, he's in better place where he can be young and vibrant, and it's assured that I wont dress him in my doll clothes, put him in my baby buggy, and wheel him up to grandmas. I can't believe he'll never look up at me again or rub his cold wet nose on my hand in search of a pet. I feel monsterously guilty for not being there with him, especially considering that he was there for me every time I cried for, oh, about 17 years, and I went off, knowing damn well that he'd need me in his darkest hour while I was away. I can't believe I wasn't there for him. Good thing Mom was. I hope he knew that I still loved him.

Other than that, life as been moving on at a pretty average pace. I had an outstanding birthday, made that way by a few people that I didn't know really cared! I really couldn't have asked for more, especially considering that I was expecting to spend the day alone.

Other than that, I've been doing res schools. The first was 6 days of straight tasting. Which sounds glamourous, but it's actually not as glam as you would think. This may sound completely ridiculous, but it reasonably difficult to taste that much wine in a day. Your senses just tire, and you get sick of it. I know I know, my life is clearly hard. I got to taste wine for 8 hrs a day for 6 days straight. Now, the fates are repaying me, and I'm doing 8 hr blocks of biochemistry labs. You cannot deny that THAT doesn't sound fun.

But, I return to the states in just over 2 weeks. I am having incredibly mixed emotions about it. I am excited to see the people that I miss and love, but I feel like I'm leaving something incredible behind. Didn't I just feel like this?!

Well, Alison, there you have it. I hope I have entertained you for a few moments. :-)

Cheers
Catrina

Bird Brain with Pics

Bird Mania:



Clearly, lots of birds.

It was this lady's idea!

Yes, Hello. Notice the crumbs on my shoulder. Very nice.


Christy is clearly scared. I gave her a scotch biscuit and she gave the whole damn thing to one lucky bird.


I was watching all of the others. Clearly I was disturbing this one's snack. Christy has the pictures of the ones hanging out on my back pocket. So, when she rattles her dags and sends those along, I will post them.

Cheers

Bird Brain

Christy and I were rambling around Circular Quay and the Rocks today and on our way through the royal botanical garden, we stopped because we saw a big pack of Sulfur crested cockatoos.

Colorful tropical birds that you've only ever seen in pet shops are common place here. As a matter of fact, they commonly wake you up at 4 am with they're constant squaking. Cockatoos are fairly large birds, I'm sure you've seen them. They're parrot sized and then some! But, I commonly see them on the side of the road here. Along with colorful galahs, lorikeets, rosellas, magpies...I see them everyday and not in cages...FAR OUT.

Anyway, the detour to the botanical gardens ended amusingly. (Is that word?) I decided it would be a good idea to pull some of the biscuits that I had in my bag to convince these birds to come land on me for a photo op. (When am I going to be able to so easily convince a non-caged cockatoo to sit on my shoulder, really?) So, I pull out a scotch biscuit (mmmmm, arnotts) and suddenly, I had a very good friend on my shoulder. Not many pieces of scotch biscuit later, I had several friends. I had friends on my shoulders, back, and even one trying to eat my hair. And, I even had one hanging on for dear like to my back pocket...effectively executing a sort of ass grab of sorts. It was really quite the experience. And I do have pictures, but no means to upload them at the moment. Soon enough...check back!

So, if you're ever wondering...yes, sulfur crested cockatoos like scotch biscuits. If you don't want company hanging onto your ass, don't let them know you have food in your bag!


Cheers

Busy Business

All right, as promised, I'll now give a little bit of a summary of what has come to pass in the last two months or so.

As soon as I got back from Tasmania, I started hunting for a job. Every single person in Wagga Wagga NSW has my resume. I spent weeks chasing people down, using all of my phone minutes on local calls, begging people to hire me with no avail. What the problem was...I suspect I will never know. All I knew was that I didn't have enough money to stay here and pay for next semester, let alone the following years. I knew I had to figure something out...and pretty fucking fast.

So, one day, during a tasting class for wine and grape science (it was red wines...with the Pinot Noir that tasted like Shiraz! G'Damned Australians!), I was walking to the toilet and nearly killed myself slipping on a piece of paper. I picked it up in a huff and took a look at it. It was a job ad for an internship in Oregon. I remember immediately thinking "Holy shit, I can go home. And work in a winery. And best yet, I'll be PAID!" On a whim, expecting no results, I applied for the internship. On a whim, also expecting no results, I surfed winejobs.com to see if there were other vintage internships available. Turns out...they're everywhere! I applied only for west coast internships: if I was going back to the states, I was doing so no where near my home. This adventure has to continue.

The next hurdle to clear was with CSU. I wanted to know if I could study by distance (DE) even though I wouldn't be able to do residential schools in September. I need to stay in school for health insurance reasons and because if I don't, I know I will struggle to ever go back again. So, I chatted with my pal Chris and he told me that I could most likely continue to take subjects by distance ed (DE) and do things onshore in the States.

So I waited. Was I going to get anything? An internship? Within two weeks, I had three offers on the table, each of them better than the other in some respects, but each worse than the other in some respects. I ended up choosing an internship in a place called Quincy, WA. Near Seattle! I need to be there in the beginning of September, and it looks as though Mom and I will be driving the CRV cross country. Woop woop!

I don't know if it's the right decision, but I know I am poor as all hell. Who knows! I'm just ramblin', tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can! (Points if you can name the song and artist!) I plan to come back to Australia after the 1st of 2008. When I'm at home, I'm going to begin applying for other jobs here and getting my visa switched to a working visa (much more complicated than it sounds!). I'll be back!

So, yea, a month and some change left under the southern cross, then onward!

That is the very annotated and short version of what has been going on. Now you are up to speed!

I LOVE SARA MARIAN

The woman pictured with me above is my personal hero. Not only did she send me Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but she is also helping me keep my teeth clean....BECAUSE SHE SENT ME TOOTHPASTE!!! :-D Fantastic. SMS, as the Aussies put it, You're a LEGEND!

Thank you! :-D

And yes, I am wearing pink saran wrap and she is dressed as playboy bunny. We're THAT special. :-)

Cheers Big Ears

American Idiot

I was over at a friends house for dinner a couple of Sundays ago. We were all sitting around the table, eating, enjoying, sipping some wine. My mate's girlfriend joined us for dinner, and I think we got off on a bad foot right away. If you know me, you know how horrible I am with names. I had met this girl before, I know I did, I recognized her face. I couldn't for the life of me remember her name. Well, she remembered me and remembered that I had not remembered her name the last time we met, so she basically started hating me right away. (Greeeatttt.)

We were chatting at dinner, and we got into a conversation that resulted in her asking if anyone knew of a city called Columbo. I said not, that was US television show, the only city I knew that vaguely Colombus, OH. She looked at me and said, "I'll bet there's a world city named Columbo. You see, there's this thing about Americans. They have a reputation for being self centered and know absolutely nothing about world geography and history. I see you're not exception."

I'm sure I turned red straight away. I was quick on my feet and said, "Well, we don't need to look any further than home, we've got all we need to be great." I followed this up with a laugh to show that I was half kidding, and I got a group laugh from the Aussies. I was more seriously then I could have let on in that moment.

I know we have that reputation world wide. But, it's not like anyone else in that situation was volunteering any examples of this chicks' magic city. I agree with this statement in some ways, a lot of Americans don't look further than home and we come across as stupid in the world view. They have a program here called the "Chasers War on Everything", which is what the next comes from. I do love it, you should watch the episode where they run up to Johnny Howard with various objects. Anyway, here's a good Australian view of Americans:

With that, I'll bet I could find an equal number of retarded Australians. This is essentially propaganda. Funny, but, it could be repeated in any country. Entertaining.

But, lately, I've been chatting with my flatmates and history has been coming up quite a bit. Here's the example I'll cite. One of my flatmates was trying to explain that her family name had been altered because it began as Boleyn. After Anne Boleyn was killed, they had had to change their surname to avoid persecution. Someone asked why Boleyn had been killed. Not a single Australian in the room could recall, so I finally broke down and told the story. The "stupid American" was telling the colonial commonwealth country dwelling people a story that took place in their "mother country".

This happened again, and again. Major wars, major events, ancient and modern...all with my resident Australians having no idea what went on. I never expected them all to know anything about US History, but I did expect them to know European History like the rest of us. Especially England, given that they are in the commonwealth and technically still under Elizabeth II.

I'm not a history buff, I haven't had global history since 10th grade with Mrs. Darrow! (Maybe I'm proof of how fucking rockin' Mrs. Darrow is!) But, I still evidentially have a much wider working knowledge of past world events, and, as I've found, a much larger working knowledge of current world events.

Australia loves to hate Americans. I think the real case is that Australia loves to envy Americans and the States...we took the chances, made a name for ourselves. We have opinions, we make them heard. Love us or hate us, you know our name and there is some degree of success in that.

This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black!


Hey Australia, watch who you're calling stupid. We're not all dumbasses.

Cheers Big Ears

Oh, and Colombo is a city in Sri Lanka. Columbo is a TV detective. But don't worry, the smartass Australians didn't know that either. :-)

"What The Fuck Are Those?"

Since I've been here, I've noticed my own tendency to assume that anything I see: animals, plant, rock, must be foreign. I've looked stupid on a number of occasions because I say things like "What's that?" and someone will say, "Catrina, that's a cow."

But, a lot of the time I'm right...it's a creature or plant that I've never seen before. Chances are I'm seeing it outside of my window at 4 am, and if that is the case, then I know it has never been above the equator. So, I take a couple of dumb ones for the team, but I do usually learn a good bit about this excellent example of island biogeography.

My mate Pete (AKA Yakimus) and I were coming back from a wine tasting the other day (wine faults...ACK!) and we drove by one of the fields I commonly walk by on my long walk up the hill to the winery. Out the car window, I saw these awkward looking off white colored animals that just looked horribly unhealthy and, well, cold. I looked over at him and said, "What the fuck are those?" He pulled the car over (love this kid), put it in neutral, pulled his sunnies off his nose and up onto his head, and said, "Catrina, those are sheep. They've just been sheared." I retorted with, "Well, I didn't recognize them because they looked cold!" He threw the car back in gear and laugh at me, "You Yanks. I can't believe you sometimes."

If you go overseas, don't automatically assume that everything is not what you know. Unless you want to provide the locals with free entertainment.

I've been busy lately with end of term garbage, assignments, revision, tests. Lovely. I took the above picture in a heinous session of paper writing about sensory thresholds. It was obvious mania.

Cheers kids

The Grumpiest Man I Know (GMIK)

Every weekday, some one comes around to all of the cottages at CSU and collects all of the full rubbish bags. For the longest time, I didn't know who did this, I figured it was some sort of magical rubbish fairy because I had never seen a full bag being removed.

One sunny day in April, I was walking down to the laundry to swap in my sheets for a fresh set. On my way down, this golf cart nearly hits me. The golf cart, seating a large old man, goes into the laundry area and basically blocks off the entrance way to where I was going. I squinted at him and realized that he was sitting there, staring at me, and shaking his head 'no' with an absolute scowl on his face.

I wish I could snap a picture of him so you could see, but my words will have to suffice. Picture this: Guy in his 60s, about 6 feet high, white hair with PLENTY of facial stubble. I'd give him about 325-350 pounds, constantly wearing a red wine colored CSU polo shirt (always dirty of course), frowning, and driving around on this horribly run down golf cart (ratty seats, dirty EVERYTHING, the WORKS).

So, I'm walking down toward the laundry and this scowling man is blocking my path and shaking his head. Turns out, he was shaking his head because the laundry was closed . I knew this, but luckily, I'm in like flint with the laundry chicas, so I knew that they would switch my sheets. As I got closer to him, challenging him, I thought he may run me over. When I walked passed him, he squeaked out in a very bushmen accent "They're CLOSED!" in a really angry voice. (Think Crocodile Dundee!) When I defied him and got my sheets, I smiled at him and did my best Australian "G'Day!"

As I walked away, I remember thinking, "Wow, that was the grumpiest man I've ever met."

Oh, but the story isn't over.

I keep seeing him now, every day. Scowling, picking up rubbish on his golf cart. In the same shirt. When chatting with a mate about him, I reckoned that he must have been the grumpiest man I'd ever met. Nathan replied to that: "You'd be grumpy as well if you had to pick up rubbish all day." Au contrare mon ami, I would be thrilled to be driving that hot golf cart!

Last part, I promise. Last thursday, I was down in the coin laundry doing my washing. Imagine my surprise when I find Nathan there, and I have someone to chat with. We're sitting on washers, chatting, and in walks CSUs washer repair man. We chat with him for a bit until, lo and behold, GMIK barrels in and says, "What have they GOD DAMNED DONE NOW?!" I glanced over at Nathan, whose eyes were the size od saucers, and then looked at GMIK and said "Oh! Hello!"

He cold stared me in the face, took two steps toward me, and shook his head "no". I stared right back. I was acutely aware that my lips turned up in a grin while I was staring at him. When he saw that, he got disgusted, went "BUH!" at me and waved his arm, then turned his attention to washer repair man.

I walked out of the laundry with Nathan in tow, both smiling. What a grumpy fuck! Honestly.

Every time I've seen him since and will continue to see him, I will smile. And I will get a head shake. And I will laugh, continuously.

See, not all of the grumpy people live in the States. Australia, look no further then your own country backyard. :-)

Did I ever mention that Reese's Peanut Butter cups are not available in Oz? These people clearly have no idea what they are missing!

Cheers Big Ears

Jobless Money Bags

I just realized that a week has passed with no entry from me. Soon Alison will IM me and tell me to write about something else so she can read it at work. :-P

I guess I'm....busy. I've had assignments and tests and tastings and whatnot due this past week, and it keeps coming! This is my punishment for not doing any work last term. :-) As if wine tasting were harsh punishment. ;-)

On a side note, things have gotten complicated quickly because I cannot seem to find gainful employment here. If you all remember, me coming here was hinging on me being able to find a job. Well, I have applied for every stinking job that has come my way with NO AVAIL. I'm taking a course next week that will certify me to serve alcohol, then I will try to get a job at the cellar door (tasting room) here on campus. I've talked to the head of my school and told him that I need a job or I will be headed home, and he's told me he'll see what he can do.

So, in a moment of panic, I brainstormed that it would be a good idea for me to come stateside after my july res schools, work a vintage on the west coast (some conditions applying, obviously), bank some money, then go back to Oz after Christmas. I've got a phone interview with a winery in OR and one in WA. So, that could be promising. Obviously, this little plan is not without it's glitches and complications, so I have to decided.

So, yea, I hate being poor and apparently unemployable. So, if anyone wants to send some money to pay tuition or some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Crest Toothpaste, I would like that. Hehe.

That is all, I must go unlock the mysteries of the human sense organs now.

Cheerio

Animal Planet

I swear to God. It's a freakin' wonder I get any sleep in this country. So, I'm a stickler for sleeping with the window open. Not wide open these days, because it's getting to be chilly. But still, open.

When I first got here and managed to get over the shock of the kangaroos, I noticed these gray birds with bright red undersides hanging around. Every bird around here looks like it should be in a pet shop because it is brightly colored and vocal. It's not uncommon to see the birds that we're used to seeing behind bars roaming free here. But, these red breasted birds were numerous and they were loud. After asking several times, I finally learned that they were called galahs. (Guh-Laa-s) I knew I had heard that word before, but I didn't know where. Well, it turns out that it's a common stupidity insult to call someone a galah or a group of someones a "pack of galahs". I wondered why they would designate a mean slur after these gorgeous birds!

As with most pretty things, galahs are extremely dumb. They don't move when you're coming by, they just stare at you. They don't ever shut up, and they let the tiniest movement spook them. They are also EXTREMELY noisy. I mean, ridiculously and constantly noisy. My first few nights here I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on, I kept hearing "chiiiii chiiiiii" outside my window. 4 pm or 4 am, the galahs sound the same. Chiiiii Chiiiiiiii. Ahhhhhhh.





I adapted to the galahs eventually, I daresay I even missed them when I was in Adelaide! :-O

Recently,however, a new problem has arisen. It must be mating season or something for the native possums here. I was peacefully resting the other night (under my open window) and suddenly I was awoken to a terrible cawing and growling noise. I thought for sure that there were small black bears outside of my window. I shut the window and fell back asleep, vaguely wondering what the hell the problem was. The following night, the same thing happened. And the following night. I finally inquired as to what the ridiculous sounding mammal was. "Oh, those are the possums.", Michelle informed me, matter-of-factly, "They'll do that for a while." Oh great!

The first time I saw one of these curious looking Australia creatures was at the school of wine and food sciences bbq. We were under the covered pavillon behind an academic building eating and chatting, and all of a sudden this god damned possum dropped out of the tree right next to me into the trash can. I jumped back quickly and said something to the effect of "Kill it Kill it! It must be rabid!" All of the people standing around me gave me the most puzzled looks, and I was dumbfounded. No rabies here, of course. I think that incident is what started the perception around the school that I am a little bit nutter, and it doesn't help that I always run into people because I walk on the wrong side of the hallway/sidewalk. Haha.





This pic is from National Geographic, I hope it lets me hot link it because I think it's a funny picture of the little buggers.

Fucking Wildlife.

Cheers Big Ears, and Watch your step, those galahs don't move!

What Kind Of Freaks

See that gorgeous American Flag behind me? FANTASTIC!

What Kind of Freaks....

*don't have peanut butter M&Ms?
*don't have mozz sticks?
*don't have dollar bills?
*make their two dollar coins irritatingly small?
*put prawns on their pizzas, with the EYES still on them?
*store normal OTC meds behind the counter so you have to talk to the pharmacist to get anything that's not herbal? Maybe I don't want to talk to the pharmacist about my hemorrhoids!!! (Yes, I just had to google the spelling of hemorrhoid. Who gave me a college degree?)
*pick on a country that really doesn't care about them?
*drive on the wrong side of the road and car, but keep the pedals in the same order?!
*can possibly drink themselves silly and be at work bright eyed and chipper at 7:30 the next morning? (We pre-game like they party, these people get drunk easily because of the heat, I think)
*carry their young in pouches?
*don't keep their milk in coolers?
*don't keep their eggs in coolers?! Hello salmonella! (Looked that one up too!)
*conduct education via distance learning models when people don't sign up for that?
*don't wear shoes when running errands? Come on now.
*charge you some sort of fee for every last little thing?
*refuse to pass you on a walking path if you're going slower than them, they just follow really really closely?
*mix navy blue and black...come on Aussie chicks, you're hotter then that!?
*have post codes with 4 digits in them? It's like stopping mid-cough...who does that?

Okay, I think I am through. :-)


Come on now. Who really want to talk to the pharmacist about their life?

Cheers Big Ears

Things I Like About Australia

Sometimes, I need to make lists to remind myself of things. Tonight, I need to make a list of the things I like here so I can convince myself it's worth staying. :-)

Things I Like About Australia (Explained):

1. Tim Tams. Delightful little chocolate cookies at 2 dollars a pack. Delish.
2. Kangaroos.
3. The lack of pennies-- no pennies in the coin system. Amazing!
4. Havianas -- The flip flop brand here...unlike any other I've experienced...and I love flip flops.
5. Tasmanian Feta Cheese -- Amazing. Enough said.
6. Wine Science Second Years -- delightful group of people.
7. Wine tasting as part of my curriculum. Ahhh, fantastic.
8. Selected Slang Words/Phrases: Good On Ya (Nice Job!), You're a legend (You rock!), Bugger! (Shit!)
9. Sunshine
10. Bundaberg Rum-- mmmmm tasty!
11. Cooper's Pale Ale -- I will hurt for this beer when I move away from here.
12. Steph, Jer Bear, Nathan, Megan, Melissa, MJ, Marissa, Jacob, Michelle, Declan, Rob -- I would say that those people make up my favorite people
13. Knowing what happens on all of the TV shows because they are 4 months behind and hanging it above their heads....very fun.
14. Telling Australians that their education system is funny. Who sets "passing" as 50% and actually let's people graduate with it? Come on now. Would you want your doctors and nurses to only know 50%? I don't think so, so I love picking on them.
15. NO autodrip coffee. Only espresso. Fantastic.

That is all.

:-)

Cheers

The American Dream

I think I figured out the problem. I think there is just a basic disagreement about working going on here. We, as Americans, all think the same way. We don't know it, but we do. We're all questing after the American Dream. We believe that with hard work, courage, and determination we can achieve success and prosperity. I believe this, and I believe that the harder a person works with good intentions toward success, the more they essentially deserve this success. Nothing feels better to me than knowing that I was successful because I worked hard at it.

Australians have this motto that they call "Fair Dinkum". I've never actually heard a single Australian mutter those words, but, now that I know what it is, I see that they all live their lives by this motto. It's about being honest and good to your word, and it assures that everyone has a fair crack at whatever. (I've looked this up on wikipedia and consulted my panels of experts in family 385). So, it's a little bit like the anti-American Dream. This concept in essence, suggests that everyone should get a fair crack at success and prosperity regardless of how little or how much they've put into achieving that success.

When I realized this disparity, a lot of things became clear. I think Australians are in general lazy with regard to a lot of really important things, and they think I'm on a speed freak rush trip and freak out about too many things. I'm working because I think that I'm the only person who can make or break my success in life. They work, but they also build intricate social webs that appear to help them climb to success.

But, we have intricate webs as well. The wine industry, for example, seems extremely well connected amongst themselves, that's one of the things I love about it. And, it's not to say that Australians don't work hard because they do!

So, one model is not entirely autonomous, obviously, but you can see where the differences in opinion might emerge. It's really quite funny, realizing that your way of doing things isn't the only way that things are done.

I still believe that hard work, determination, and perserverance will lend themselves to success. I generally don't rely on others to do the things that I need to do because I find them, on a whole, unreliable when it comes to me being picky about the way I want things done. Self-preservation, I guess.

As Janis Joplin said, sorry Australia, "In the end, you're all you've got." I guess it will be my way for me!

Cheers

Metric MORON

Okay, so, I've been trying to be a good little girl lately. I've been trying to go to the gym at a relatively regular frequency. I do 45 minutes of cardio (kill me) and then I work my upper body. The upper body part was a recent after thought, but noble all the same.

So, yesterday, I finished my cardio and went into the weight room. This is a big step for me because there are a ton of silly boys always on the floor doing stupid things. So, little female me goes up to the deltoid pull down machine, adjusts it, sets it to 20 lbs and starts lifting. 3 sets of 10. I get halfway through the 1st set, and I think: "Wow, 20 pounds feels a lot different then I remember! I must be a weakling!" I finished my rep and was still astonished at how heavy 20 lbs felt.

On my way home that night, when I was unable to lift my arms, I thought of something. It went kind of like this: "Catrina. You're a fucking moron. Those weight markings were in KILOGRAMS, not POUNDS. METRIC." I shook my head and quickly did the conversion in my head: 20*2.2=44 lbs. Niiiiiiceee. So, I was lifting about 2 times what I had intended to be lifting because I am a moron.

Be careful, you never know when the metric system is going to bite you in the ass.

Cheers Big Ears

Hairy, Scary Monsters

Does anyone remember that episode of Full House? Where Steve was telling the girls the story about the hairy, scary monster to get them to go to bed at summer camp? Maybe that's just me, but I remember every episode of full house, because, well, I was obsessed!

Anyway, when I came back from travel around the nutbush, one of the first things on my to do list was washing my clothes. When Nathan and Megan picked me up from the train station, they told me to do the best to keep my screen doors shut at the cottages due to these extremely large moths. I was like...uhhh, okay, roger that. The next day, I went to the washing room and on my way in I nearly stepped on this HUGE FREAKIN' MOTH. I was thinking huge like, monarch butterflies are pretty huge. WRONG. These things were huge and really angry brown looking slow things. I put my pen down next to one to get an idea of how big it really was, and it was about three quarters the length of the pen. GROSS. I believe that all God's creatures are beautiful and yadda yadda, but, these things are just disgusting. I was literally afraid to walk over them, thinking that they would spontaneously fly up and chew my leg off.

So, I finally work up the balls to go into the washroom and set my clothing basket down. They are ALL OVER. I had to step around them to get anywhere. So, there I am, on the verge of vom, but I've finally made it to the washer. I open the washer up, and there are like friggin' 8 of them inside the washer! I'd be damned if I was going to reach in and shoo them out, so I had to do more torturous walking around to find washers free of these fuckin' beasts.

I'm not even kidding, guys. They're nasty. You've never seen anything like them. To ensure that I am not lying, I've taken a few photos. These were residing on my screen door to my cottage, and I would say that they are on the low average side in terms of size. Not even kidding. Look!!



Not a friend, clearly.



Three of them. Yes, some were on the inside...don't worry, the door was shut.

And did I mention that a little gecko looking thing wandered into my living room with me the other day? I'm on animal planet world's weirdest, I swear!

Cheers

Younger Than Springtime

I have this tugging feeling that it just should be spring. I want it to be spring. Although, I've always said that spring was my least favorite season, it's still a new chance, a clean slate, re-birth. Sometimes I need re-birth, sometimes I am feeling just fine. But, I feel over-due for spring. Fall is my favorite season, but not in the Southern Hemisphere. No leaves changing, no good. These people are losing out on this gloriousness that is fall. Poor bastards.

But, I still feel like I'm due for springtime. Looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Cheers

Travis

There's someone that I've been meaning to give ode to for quite sometime. Travis Willson. I think he just might be my biggest fan. He's the reason why this exists, he talks to me regularily and asks about my new life and helps me look for airplane tickets! Not to mention, he cleans bathrooms and is one of the only true respectful, delightful, intelligent, and lovely true gentlemen I've met. Travis and I go way back, further back then most of the people I call my best friends at present.

Waaaaay back in the day: IE- 4th grade for me, 2nd for Trav (I think?), I remember sitting on the swings at our babysitter's house, Judy's, and listening to Ace of Base on my diskman. Diskman's were rare at the time. He would take one headphone, I would take the other and we would spend however long we friggin' felt like listening to Ace of Base, or until the batteries ran out. Life got the best of us, and we moved in seperate directions: I left for middle school, Travis was younger and stayed behind. I saw him in middle school and high school sporadically, but we never really hung out. (All of that wasted time, Trav!)

I had just finished my junior year of college and I remember waking up, hung over, and calling Fox Run to let them know when I was coming back through and asking to be scheduled. Suz answered the phone and said "Oh, Catrina, we've got some people here that know you and are just starting." I couldn't begin to guess who and I finally made her tell me, "Do you know Travis Willson and Britney Stanton?" I remember jumping up off of the couch and yelling into the phone, "Are you seious?! That's awesome!!!" I drove back home that next day with the thought in my head that the coming summer was going to be an awesome one, and I was right. Very very right. That summer, mostly due to Travis and Brett, oh and my 21st birthday, was my favorite to date. I will probably try and re-create it from now on, but will most likely fail. Travis and I spent the days we had off together going out wine tasting. My favorite activity! It was the summer that I learned to listen to my senses, trust myself! Undoubtedly due partly to these trips with Travis! Trav seemed just as excited as me about wine, and that was good to find, especially in a boy. I needed someone to outlet my excitement to, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner in crime! Cheers to that FABULOUS summer. :-)

Trav and I have remained pretty close friends since then. I'm grateful to have him. He's fresh perspective, but a lovely one. He sent me an email/letter the morning before I left for Oz that made me feel very good in a moment where I was very uncertain. I'm lucky!

I was telling him that when he left for Germany this year and met a fabulous German girl, all of us girls at Fox Run would be very sad. Very sad because we wouldn't get to marry him! And girls, I know you'd have my back on this one, it's TRUE.

Good people deserve ode, especially good guys, as they are increasingly rare. :-)

Keep on being Trav, Trav. :-)

PS-- Thanks to the SPECIAL people who sent me American flags. They're gorgeous. I just need to figure out how to hang them. :-)

Crest

Australia. A nation without Crest toothpaste. The British are known for their bad oral hygeine, and the Australians follow suit. It's because Crest is not sold here.

To prevent my teeth from rotting out. Could someone please send me a tube of Crest Pro-Health? It's blue. I'd like it in the Cinnamon flavor. It's my favorite. Thanks, my teeth will thank you. I know it's a bit pricey, but I will repay you in whatever Australian fair that you deem equal repayment.

Thank you, friends and family.

:-)

Cheers

Foster's

Newsflash: No one in Australia drinks Foster's Ale. Foster's in the large corp. that owns much of the beverage industry. But, it is not Australian for beer. Their beer is much, much better.

Travel tip: Don't come here and ask for a Foster's because the bar won't have it, and you just subjected yourself to endless taunting.

Cheers

Every Which Way

Okay, Tasmanians. They are nice. Not quite as cheery as most of the mainlanders, I think that has something to do with the cooler weather, but none the less, relatively pleasant. I have enjoyed my time in their state. It's been a fun exploration and learning experience.

For any of you that know anything about my sense of direction, you know that it is almost non-existent. So, city blocks and directions are sometimes challenging for me. If I don't know my way around via landmarks in a city, I'm pretty much sunk. And sunk I have been for just under a week.

Every Tasmanian that I have asked for directions in the past week has sent me in exactly the opposite direction that I need to be going in. After they told me what to do, I would always take my hand and point it in the direction that they had indicated. I always asked them, "so, I'm headed of that way, right?" I always got the same answer: "Yes!" I would always head off in that direction and find out in short order that I was walking in the exact opposite direction that I needed to be going in.

Thanks, guys. I've been lost about 25% of my time in Tasmania. Life is a highway, hey? Even if you are walking in the wrong direction. :-)

Cheers

Beer! I Love Beer!

I don't really have any profound observations about my travels in Tasmania. It all looks a lot like home, a lot more green and cooler. I had a bad feeling as I got on the ferry to come here, like, I just really shouldn't do it. Rightfully so, the first full 24 hours here were pretty close to the worst in my life. Overbooked hotels, stupid Tasmanians, mixed up reservations, stupid cab drivers. But, I'm over it all now, hopefully.

Launceston made up for Devonport's misfortunes. My second favorite brewery in Oz is in Launceston, it's called James Boag & Sons. They gave the best booze tour I've ever been on! And I liked all of the free beer and cheese they gave me. I made some friends, 3 boys from Queensland, that know their beer!

At the moment, I'm sitting in a hostel called the Pickled Frog in Hobart, TAS, enjoying the free internet and the random company walking by. Just loaned a Belgian 50 cents, and met a German who loved to talk about riesling, almost as much as I do. Tomorrow I'll tour the Cadbury factory, and maybe the Cascade brewery (3rd favorite beer in Oz). The following day, I'm going to try to go to Port Arthur and see me some Tassie Devils! They're being threatened by this weird cancer and wiped out quickly. It seems they've isolate a resistant population, but it's unknown as to whether or not they will win this one.

But, I think I will post my favorite Australian beer list here. Undoubtly, the beer is MUCH better down under. I will say, I think I tasted just about as much beer this first term as wine! What a learning curve! Favorites, little exported to the US, too bad, looks like I'll have to enjoy them for you:

1) Cooper's Original Pale Ale (fermented in bottle...rocking!)
2) James Boag's Premium Lager
3) Cooper's Sparkling Ale
4) Boag's St. George
5) James Boag's Premium Light Lager
6) James Squire Original Amber Ale
7) Boag's Draught

All very good.

I've updated my photos to current, finally. They are here: http://www.webshots.com/user/cnorth84

Enjoy!

Cheers

Girls are Talking

Okay, so, Peter warned me that winemaking was a boy’s game. He said he didn’t “really agree” with the way things were, but that was just how it is. He told me that in like, 2003, and I still remember it to this day. I remember just thinking, “Ha-ha, well, tough shit. This ought to be fun!”

The Finger Lakes are kind of a bad sampling with regard to this phenomenon. Wineries there usually have WOMEN in them. At least one or two as cellar hands or something else. So, there’s always at least a double XX in the room to even things out.

Such is NOT the case in Australia. I walked into the winery at CSU for the first time and I saw 5 cellar staff. Can you guess how many of them were female? Yep. ZERO. Mel is the ONLY girl that works at her winery that doesn’t wear heels to work everyday. Many many wineries here are testosterone party sessions.

There are very few women in the internal Wine Science program at CSU. Two in one year, two in the other year. Not many compared to the number of men. We make up maybe ten percent? We’re an awesome bunch too. One girl, Shell, came back to study internally after completing her vintage early. She is a very well dressed, stylish girl…very feminine. A lovely girl. When I first met her, I had trouble imagining her in boots at a winery. Then she extended her hand and I saw what is currently marring my hands: her fingernails were stained with red wine. If not dipped in the correct chemicals, these stains can hang on for a quite a bit. It struck me as cool that she could live in this dichotomy, essentially. Girly and lovely by night and living in a male dominated world all day. Mel does the same thing…she looks lovely anytime she’s out of the winery, but can hold her own with pumps and hoses, presses and crushers.

So, I’ll undoubtedly living in this dichotomy. But, that’s what we do: we’re women. We wear many hats, and all at the same time….oh, and, we wear them well! Friend, mother, sister, mentor, wife. We do it all.

Winemaking is all about multitasking and time management. Maybe, just maybe, we’re way better at it then the boys, but we’re just beginning to be discovered.


Cheers

12 April

Sometimes, to put things in perspective, people look backward. A year ago, five years ago, ten years ago. What was I doing then? How am I going now? Today’s date hit me like a ton of bricks while I was pumping over red wine at Mel’s winery today (WEEEEEEEE, Love it!). Today is April 12th.

On April 12th, 2006, I woke up, grumpy as all fuck because I had a physics exam that day. My normal routine included waking, rolling over, grabbing my computer, and checking my email. I decided to check my gmail that morning, something I rarely did. That week, I had been having horrible nightmares about these orange wallabies nipping at my feet because I had not heard whether or not I could go to Australia or not. I had job interviews line up for that weekend (Easter), and I was preparing for the worst. I opened my gmail and lo and behold, there was an email from Charles Sturt : Congratulations, Catrina, we’re pleased to offer you admission to the Bac Applied Sci Wine Science/Viticulture…I remember reading it twice then checking my pants to see if I’d wet myself. I did a little hop around my room, then went to pounce on Jen and whispered to her: “I’m going to Australia.” The occupants of Creekside 23 boozed in the greatest glory that night, consuming champagne and Australian wine (Pictured above). One of my favorite days ever. And, I flunked that physics test…who really gives a shit? ☺

And today. April 12, 2007. I woke up in David Wynn’s old place. Not kidding. I was staying with Mel on the property at Mountadam winery, because I’d been working there for the past few days. Mountadam is in the Eden Valley, basically a sub area of the greater Barossa Valley. I woke up early this morning, drank espresso, pumped over fermenting shiraz, cab sauv, merlot, etc. I even spilled about 20 litres of $80+/btl wine all over me. Yes, I now understand the concept of siphon expensively and intimately! I hurt all over, but I’ve had a fabulous three days. With all of the disappointment that came with CSU, I need reminders of why I am on this island, why I am here. A few days of a vintage work and I remember that the winery is home. Soaking wet floors, treacherous metal staircases, squeegees, smelly ferments, bentonite. I wouldn’t give it up for the world, even if it is a dirty job.

Gettysburg. Adelaide. Slightly different. Only one year! It’s all possible people!

The date on this entry will be off because it is April 12th now, but I have no internet! Yes, I am suffering as much as you.

Cheers

Sprinklers

Today, classes ended for the first term of my study in Australia. 7 weeks. That doesn't sound like a whole lot of time, now does it? That's not long enough to make any real change. Not long enough to come a long way.

I was struck with a sudden thought tonight when I was sitting in the lounge with the remaining few of us 385ers who haven't gone home yet. In 7 weeks, I've come a long way. The plane ride was just the beginning of the journey.

I remembered the few tears I shed when I felt the plane flying out of San Francisco leave the ground. I remember thinking, holy shit, I don't really like America, but I am extremely sad to see it go! Most of my tears were shed because of the people I left behind and to the uncertainties I was travelling to.

I then remembered my first day here at CSU. The kangaroo popping it's head out of the bush, my RA swooping in and saving me with a phone card so I could call home. Finally being able to unpack my stuff and realizing that I didn't have any hangers or drawers. And the sprinklers.

CSU works very hard to keep SOME green grass on campus by running sprinklers with used water in them. (Australia is in the middle of huge drought, so, it's NOT fresh water.) The sprinklers are rigged with an underground pipe system, the only visible part is the little black part that sticks up about 3 inches. (Yes, I have fallen ASS OVER TEAKETTLE because of them!) Well, they seemed to ignore the fact that they spray up against the sides of all of the cottages. My first night here, I was alone, and didn't know much about the surrounding area except for the pack of kangaroos that I could hear bouncing by. I had my windows open because it was fucking hot and I tried to go to sleep. Well, the SPRINKLERS were due to come on at some point that evening, and me, not knowing what they were noticed that they sounded a WHOLE LOT like rattlesnakes. So, I figured that there were snakes outside of my window, looking in on me. I barely slept that night. Yea, that was my first night in Wagga. My flatmates really like that story.

But today, as I was saying goodbye to people as they left one by one with hugs and whatnot, I was in awe. How far I'd come at putting my roots here in a few short weeks. I still have my bad days. Sometimes, I can't stand these American hating fuckers, but, they're still my Australian family, living in our Australian home away from home. A place where we make the boys watch Grey's Anatomy with us (I know you love it, Jer Bear) every Sunday, where we drink beers at noon time (Australian beer far out competes American beer, for the record), where we land after a night out and switch off whose job it is to make toasted sandwiches. We yell at one another about dishes. Bitch about flies. Gossip about who screwed ("rooted") who last night. It's remarkable, really. And then there's the wine science people, who I feel like I'm finally in with. Dennis, who thinks I'm the plant sen sai of his classes or Chris, who loves to quiz me on biochemistry. Three months ago, I had an entirely different cast of life characters. Now, I've met all of these people that are making me me, and it's been tough, but I'm not complaining.


...til they start bashing my sea to shining sea. Don't hate us 'cause we're fabulous, Australia. And yes, I still require an American flag for over my bed.

Off to Adelaide to see my favorite Australian (MEL!) for the Easter holiday, then off on some misc Tassie adventures! Can we say...I'm pumped! Three cheers for getting out and seeing the world!

Cheers

AMERICA: FUCK YEA

I need to have a quick little American moment before I run off to grape and wine science. Okay, so, you know how we all search for someone to blame when we're under stress and not happy with ourselves? It's that time of year here at CSU. The term ends Thursday and all of the grumpy procrastinators are out in full pissy force.

Well, I've discovered this week that's common Australian sport to just sit around and rip on everything American when they're all stressed out and freaked that their lazy than thou attitude caught up to them. I have made it clear that they were all fairly free to rip on the US, but just don't do it when a) I'm around or b) when they're not well researched because, well, I usually lay any one's shit out flat about things. Most people in the 50 nifty don't know what's going on in Oz, and most people in Oz don't really know what's going on the States, they actually know very little, they just think the know everything and can thereby comment on it and criticize it.

I can take criticism and bitching. That's what America was built on. It's what we do. I can even take being blamed for things. For example, apparently, the obesity epidemic is all the USs fault. No one else can be held responsible. It's apparently because we put hormones in our meat. Firstly, those two things are almost entirely unrelated. Secondly, Australians don't EAT our meat. Everything here is stamped "Proudly AUSTRALIAN". So, who's fault is it? The obesity epidemic is caused by a single point in a persons body...their ELBOW. It's what brings food to their mouths. The people in my house eat at McDonald's more than I ever had at home, and they want to blame us, me in particular, they seem to like to talk to ME about how HORRIBLE we are for making the world fat. Now, if these people were equipped with any kind of social filters, they may realize that that topic might be a TISCH sensitive for me and they may not constantly yell about it. I never bound and gag them and force them to go to McDonald's with me. Social fucking filter, people. Generalizations never simplify things for anyone else but you, 9 times out of 10, they're hurtful and they will cause other people to not like you so much! But, I can take that. I can roll it off of my shoulders, it's not really a huge deal. :-)

What I can't take is when they started criticizing my customs and culture. I was telling someone about a s'more (they don't have them!), and the fat ranter was like "Well, that's stupid. I'm glad we don't have that or we'd be fatter like all of you Americans." I nearly popped a vein. It's not like I go around BASHING their vegemite, kangaroos, and stupid speech phrases. I saw a bit of red. I can take criticism, but knock it off at customs and traditions. Leave those be and RESPECT. That's one thing I don't tolerate well: DISRESPECT. Fat ranter has lost all of my respect, probably never to regain it again. And I'm still a little sore about that comment.

Another theory. My flatmates think that without the US, the world would be much better off. Do you agree? I mean, really think about that. I'm sure you all can think of a million reasons why and why not. Regardless, I would NEVER come right out and say that to an Australian. I would never be like "Oh, well, I think the world be so much peaceful without Australia." GET real. Come on.

Another one I liked was that Americans were "selfish and stupid". On youtube, there is a video (just query "stupid Americans") of an Australian reporter asking people random simple questions on the streets of the US. The flatmates were most shocked when the people couldn't ID Australia on a map. So, in their eyes, that makes everyone stupid. I mean, everyone. Including me, because, I obviously am unable to locate Australia on a map. And the selfish thing. Don't even get me started. Before all of this had happened, I had been noticing just how selfish most Australians. It's not a selfish thing like in a negative way, they're just all very Aussie-centered. I can't blame them, this is a great place! It's probably due to this that they don't see themselves in the mirror. Self reflect, look at your own habits, then make another judgment. But don't include me in your generalization of "selfish" America.

To finish it off, I got told that when one of my flat mates first met me, I was "lucky" that she didn't "judge me" because I was an American. (And a FAT American...she's the fat ranter.) Her father is an American, yet, she carries this uncommon hatred for us. WTF, mate? Cool it. I responded by saying, "Yea, you are lucky you didn't treat me poorly, because, I'm not the kind of girl you want on your bad side." I thought Australians were supposed to be cool! Whatever happened to "No Worries!" Again, proof that generalizations, whether positive or negative, aren't always true.

But this is true: There are TURDS wherever you. If anyone finds a turd free location, please let me know.


In the mean time, could some please send me an American flag to put up in my bedroom?


Rant Concluded.

Cheers

Wagga Wagga Werewolves

I urge you all to go crack open your copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and reference that part where Gilderoy Lockhart claims to have defeated the Wagga Wagga Werewolf. It brought a smile to my face!

Cheers

I'm 12 Years Old: Longest Survey of My Life

(Peeling Gum Tree on the Way to the winery. Love the smell of these after rain!)

105 (or less) Facts About You

1. EVER BEEN GIVEN AN ENGAGEMENT RING? NO,keep my fingers clear, thanks.

2. LONGEST RELATIONSHIP? A few months? No ring, hence

3. LAST GIFT YOU RECEIVED? A package from my Mom full of goodies, most importantly, Dioritos

4. EVER DROPPED A CELL PHONE? Touch wood: NO.

5. WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU WORKED OUT? Yesterday.

6. THING(S) YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON? Tuition, Housing, Travel, Clothes, Booze, Food (notice which is first there)

7. LAST FOOD YOU ATE? A Tim Tam and cuppa Hot Milo (Yes, there was a Tim Tam slam performed)
8. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? Smile

9. ONE FAVORITE SONG? Changes Constantly. I think it might be "Ain't Too Proud to Bed" by the Temptations right now. Makes me want to dance around and bask in all of my American-ness.
10. WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Wagga Wagga, NSW, AUS

11. HIGH SCHOOL YOU ATTENDED: PYA. With the "hores".

12. CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER? Telstra, Cingular

13. FAVORITE MALL STORE? States: Borders, Oz: Roxy

14. LONGEST JOB YOU HAD? Fox Run Vineyards...LOVE LOVE LOVE

15. DO YOU PRANK CALL PEOPLE? Yes, I'm in a war with some boys from Bathurst.

17. LAST WEDDING YOU ATTENDED? Wow. Angie?

18. FIRST PERSON YOU'D CALL IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY? JENNIE!

19. LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BEST FRIEND? Feb :-( And I want to see her RIGHT NOW.

20. FAVORITE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT? Wendy's.

21. BIGGEST LIE YOU HAVE EVER HEARD? I don't know?

22 . FAVORITE PIE? Peach

23. WHERE'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT WITH FRIENDS? In house, after cooking and drinking all day!

24. CAN YOU COOK? I'm going to be a wine maker...that's like a requirement
25. Went AWOL? No?

26. BEST KISSER? This will remain secret. They know who they are

27. LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I cry about once a week. I think it's required.
28. MOST DISLIKED FOODS? BUTTER MENTHOLS. MUSKS. AUSTRALIA YOU SUCK AT HARD CANDY.

29. THING YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF? Probably my musical collection

30. THING YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm pigheaded and can't see outside of the box most times

32. LONGEST SHIFT YOU HAVE WORKED AT A JOB? A couple of extra hours at Ferro, making it 14-15 hrs. Some days at Fox Run were really long, too.

33. FAVORITE MOVIE? Mean Girls.

34. CAN YOU SING? Loudly and proudly, and often!

35. LAST CONCERT ATTENDED? Counting Crows and Goo Goo Dolls?
36. LAST KISS? Summertime

37. LAST MOVIE RENTED? BORAT. :-D

38. ONE THING YOU NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT? My ipod. Duh.

39. FAVORITE VACATION SPOT? AUSTRALIA.

40. FAVORITE DISNEY ANIMATED MOVIE? Nemo, The Little Mermaid

41. PLAY INSTRUMENTS? Violin
43. LAPTOP OR DESKTOP COMPUTER? Laptop. Mac. :-)

44. FAVORITE COMEDIAN? Dane Cook, by a landslide

45. DO YOU SMOKE? HELL NO

46. SLEEP WITH OR WITHOUT CLOTHES? Depending on level of intoxication...right Creekside 23?

47. WHO SLEEPS WITH YOU EVERY NIGHT? Mr. Hippo :-)

48. DO LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS WORK? Not easily

49. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE? Ummm, my Mom is going to read this....

50. PANCAKES OR FRENCH TOAST? Chocolate Chip pancakes A LA Vern

51. DO YOU LIKE COFFEE? LOVE.
52 HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS? Over hard, or scrambled

53. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY? Get my horoscope everyday

54. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Jennie :-)

55. LAST PERSON ON YOUR MISSED CALL LIST? Mike

56. WHAT WAS THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE YOU RECIEVED? Salami, lol
57. FAVORITE DINOSAUR? Not the Mama!

58. NUMBER OF PILLOWS? Two

59. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW? AZ tee, black pants

60. PICK A LYRIC, ANY LYRIC?

Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo
Right now
This joint is fizzling
It's sizzling
Riggggght

does that song make anyone else want to watch Pulp Fiction?

61. WHAT KIND OF JELLY DO YOU LIKE ON YOUR PB & J? Strawberry
62. CAN YOU PLAY POOL? I like to think I can

63. CAN YOU SWIM? I do often
64. FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Cake Batter

65. DO YOU LIKE MAPS? Yes::shudders:: No thanks to Rud
68. EVER ATTEND A THEME PARTY? Several. Anything But Clothes= THE BOMB

69. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Autumn:-)

70. LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED AT SOMETHING STUPID? About 5 min ago

i deleted 71 through 74

75. NAME OF YOUR FIRST PET? Bob North, homies, he's the man
76. DO YOU THINK PIRATES ARE COOL OR OVERRATED? I have no hate for the pirates
77. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND? Too far away. Studying and working my ass off

78. BIRTHDATE? July 5th, 1984. Best day of everyone's lives.

79. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE? A winemaker, sillies

85. ARE YOU ON A LAPTOP? Sure am, lovin me my mac

87. ARE YOU SMILING? Sure am. It's all the sunlight here

89. DO YOU MISS SOMEONE RIGHT NOW? Anyone located on the East Coast of the US.

90. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Maryland!

92. ARE YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL? Negative
93. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH? Yes

94. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PETS NAME? Casey Jr North. He's my #2 man, after Kev.

95. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHING SUIT? What do you think? PINK

97. DID YOU GO ON VACATION LAST MONTH? I've been on vacation for a month or so now.

98. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A CRUISE? No.

99. DO YOU HAVE A SISTER? Several

100. ARE YOU UPSTAIRS? Up a hill.

101. ARE YOU IN LOVE? Always

102. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL? Several times

103. DO YOU WISH YOU COULD SEE ANYONE PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW? Jennie!

104. WHAT JEWELRY ARE YOU WEARING? Rings, earrings, necklace. I hear jewelry.

105. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AFTER THIS SURVEY? continue studying.

Back to Photosynthesis.

Happy Little Vegemites

Proof that I really am in a nutbush:



Picture that as a commercial, filled with jars of vegemite and happy children. They can't put the advert on here because it's copyrighted, I guess.

and one that's a little more true:


And I just heard that Vegemite was banned in the US because of folate. Haha, good, because it kinda tastes like crappy fermentation. Anyone know if this is actually true?

I have tried Vegemite, it was okay. Salty. Enough to raise your blood pressure. But, you should try it if you can, just for the experience. I'll bring a jar home, get at me if you want some the next time I'm home. :-)

Cheers

Where are Nicole and Keith?

I helped crush Shiraz today. I pulled shiraz skins out of my hair when I got home and got in the shower. Only in an Australian winery.

Which reminds me. I've been in Australia for more than a month now and I have not:

1) Met Keith Urban
2) Met Nicole Kidman
3) remembered that Keith was in rehab until right now
4) seen a real live wild wombat
5) held a koala
6) managed to get any color on my legs
7) Met Keith Urban

But, I helped crush Shiraz. And it rocked.

Cheers

Chardonnay=POO

Since this is my blog, and I think about wine a lot, I'm going to share with all of you some of my recent thoughts regarding white wine. Lucky, lucky people.

If you know me and have tasted with me, it should be no secret to you that I strongly DISLIKE the vast majority of chardonnays. I don't like them aged in stainless steel, and I also don't like them with too much oak or malolactic fermentation. If I wanted to chew on a barrel or lick the floor of a milking parlor, I would do so. Chardonnay is going to be impossible to avoid in my future, and I hope I can approach it with dignity and poise like my pal Peter Bell. He makes tasty, food friendly chardonnay. The cool climate thing helps a lot, but, there's only one chard I will drink, and that's his. I hope mine come out something like that someday!

My room mate Jer Bear and I were talking about Semillon, and he suggested that it was often just a stand in for Chardonnay. I confessed to him that big, fatty, oil, over-oaked wines were NOT my thing. Wines that taste like crappy Thai duck from DC are NOT my thing(worse, greasiest duck of my life!!!). He looked at me and said, "We're Australia. That's what we do."

My initial reaction was "Oh no!" because I stink very much at tasting these wines. Later, I thought more about it. I'm in a warm climate, which, I probably won't work in if I can avoid it, the wines are GOING to be different. It's a good thing. I'm in classes full of Australians, who are used to drinking this wine. I offer a different perspective, I like my white wines light, jazzy, aromatic, and *gasp* maybe even a little bit fruity! (...Well, comparatively...) So, if I just start using my senses, I'll expand my horizons!

That's the whole reason I'm here, right?! Time to step up and taste the area! Bring it on, warm climate grape growing crazies!

Time to go write some letters to the fabulous people who have been writing me :-D :-D


Cheers

Grey Day Australia

Today was the greyest day I've seen in Australia. I snapped this picture off of my porch. It was rainy and yuck. The sun didn't peak through a single time. It was a grey day, I was feeling off and not happy. Grey days happen. Even in Oz.

Then, at the close of the day, things can turn around. Our fire alarm tripped and the 385 family, who had gone to bed, immerged from their rooms to figure out what had tripped the alarm. Niel, my favorite security guard, came up and turned off the alarm, and then we were relieved, but all VERY awake. A toasted sandwich maker, several slices of cheese and bread, and a good lot of butter later, we were all hanging out in the common room talking over some important social issues.

By some chance of fate and a few toasted sandwiches, we were thrown together and got to know one another a little bit better. And I got taught the Nutbush dance. :-)

Some days are grey, some days get greyer, but some days get lighter when you least expect it.

Cheers

Nutbush City Limits

Okay, so, I grabbed a ride into town with my flatmate Steph and her mate. We were tooling along, picking on GWB, and this song came on. I didn't recognize the song, but I knew it was Tina Turner. The next few moments went something like this:

Me: Guys, what is this song?
Steph: You don't know this song? You're from Turner-land.
Me: Yea, I know it's Tina Turner, but what's it called?
Steph: You're not kidding. You don't know this song.
Me: Nope, never heard it.
Steph: It's Nutbush. Every Australian knows this song. It's what we dance to while we're pissed at the bar. Spastically.
Me: Why?
Steph: They teach it to us in primary school.

Then she and her mate promptly hopped out of the ute (AKA truck) and started doing the Nutbush dance that they learned ages ago. In the parking lot. Of the Sturt Mall.

And I thought to myself, I'm in the middle of a nutbush.


But seriously, check out the lyrics to "Nutbush City Limits" and tell me if you think they're a good idea for small children. Here they are.

Anyway, I found this video a while ago on youtube, but when I just re-viewed it, I got a twinge of Australian lovingness. So, I'll post it here instead of my daily picture. Enjoy this QANTAS commercial. :-)

Cheers

There is Life on This Planet!

Today is my one month anniversary in Australia. I've been here a calendar month. Can you all believe that? I know I can't. I just have to keep saying to myself "You've come a long way, baby!"

Anywho--

One of my favorite things about wine is the way that it brings people together and opens up the lines of communication. As I've said before, if you like wine or hate wine, you have an opinion about it and you're likely to share it if given the opportunity. Wine is social and has remained social, hence holding it's place as a cornerstone of societies, modern and pre-historical. Things fade from history and people's minds; wine is NOT one of those eliminated items.

So, tonight was the most anticipated first meeting of the CSU wine tasting club. (I know, triple tier tastings every fortnight of different wines from different regions...be very jealous.) Tonight was Semillon from the Hunter Valley (N of Sydney), and I will say, Semillon is a good wine general, it's cheaper versions (that I tasted) are relatively food friendly. The more expensive tiers were excellent stand alone wines, as most expensive wines are. It's not Riesling, my love love love!, but, it will do over a Chardonnay.

So, anyway, I discovered tonight just how much I loved talking wine with people. I should say, RE-discovered. I've noticed that whenever I'm in a Wine Science Lecture, I really don't think about anything else. For those 4 hours every week, I think about nothing but wine and grapevines and pests and flavors and senses and fruit. I'll emerge from the lecture hall and realize that time has passed and that my pages are filled with notes and handwriting. All the while, I'm not worrying, I'm not missing anyone, I'm not having evil jealous thoughts come into my head, and I'm not remembering that I'm in a foreign country a BAZILLION miles from home with no friends. It's a welcome change and relief.

But, tonight at wine club, I got to talk to some of the people in my program, relax with them, find out about them, and I discovered that there was life on this planet! I know Aussies are nice and polite and helpful, but, they can be friends. Maybe I'm not so foreign after all. Mel put it well this fall, she said: "In Australia, you're friend until proven otherwise." I countered with, "In the States, you're otherwise until proven friend." I think I'll put Mel's theory to the test.

Well, this is a little bit of babble because I'm a bit "boozed", as Meghan (the South African-turned-Kiwi-room mate) puts it. Ha.

Cheers!

PS- Pick stolen from University of Adelaide Oenology program website! :-D