5 little updates and how they grew

Steph keeping up with her new years resolution to blog is making me feel a little guilty about being so bad at keeping up with mine. It's the good kind of guilty; it's making me do something about it.

What's been going on in Sydney the past few months, you ask?
1) A lot of swimming. Well, a lot for me. My cousin, Doug, has gotten me into the ocean and swimming across Bondi Beach. I've now done it in no surf, high surf (you've got to roll and breathe with the waves... it's crazy), with millions of people at the beach, at the quiet end of the day, and most recently in an ocean covered in green guck (it was so disconcerting that we quit halfway; Bondi is usually clear as glass). I haven't gone since the shark attack last week (yes, 2 shark attacks in two days. One in the harbor and one at Bondi) but that's because the weather's been shit, not beacuse I'm scared of being eaten. I will get back in the water!

2) Some beach travelling. My cousins have a beautiful house about two hours north on the bay. Weekends there consist of late breakfasts with unlimited mangoes, dashing across the street for a swim, crying from laughing while playing board games, and long walks on the beach. It's quite a life. Thank you Gill and Andy for being so generous with your home!

3) A trip to Melbourne. In the middle of the biggest heatwave ever to hit Melbourne, I decided to visit. For two days, we did nothing but sit and drip. No one had air conditioning, the moisture was completely sucked out of the air (my hat which had stretched out and lost it's shape long before snapped back to it's orginal proportions), and the power kept going out. Let's just say, it was an experience. When the bushfires hit a week later, I truly understood how everything could go up in flames so quickly. Also on this vacation, Lucie, Joe, (cousins) and Sarah (friend) went down the coast for a music festival and then along the Great Ocean Road for some serious beach time. Both were fantastic. The cousins had so much fun hanging out that we're planning a 1st cousins Great Goulston Get Together for 2010. Details to follow. And, I got to catch up with my old POLF friend, Cyndy. It's really a treat to see familiar faces from the States over here. Luc and I drove back up to Sydney together, singing Amelia Robinson songs full pelt, stopping to swim in the Murray on the way, and getting so hot and sweaty (no air con) that we couldn't stop laughing.
A day later, the bush fires hit Victoria. The towns, trees, vineyards, bathroom where I stopped to pee of the first hour and a half of our journey is now gone. It's still hard to grasp the loss.

4) Music festivals!! In one week, Luc, Sarah, and I went to 2 music festivals- one in Victoria (chill island) and one in Sydney (st. jeromes). Fantastic. Spending a day, outside, listening and dancing to good music might be one of my favorite things. If I could make a career out of it, I would. St. Jeromes ended with Architecture in Helsinki and the Hold Steady. Too friggin awesome. If you ever get a chance to see either band live, GO GO GO.

5) Finding my new favorite bakery and cafe in Bondi. Gill heard from someone who heard from someone about this whole in the wall bakery around the corner from me. I checked it out on Sunday. They only sell one type of bread in an enormous loaf, but it's delicous. The same day, I overheard someone talking about a second hand bookstore/cafe in the area. I've been feeling like I kind of burnt my bridges with the coffee shop I'd been going to (bit of story... cross cultural miscommunication... americans do things a little differently... i wasn't trying to be a bitch... etc, etc, etc) so I was looking for someplace new anyway. Suffice it to say, new place is great. If you're ever in Bondi and love books, good coffee, and people, visit Gertrude and Alice.

So that's my overview. I've also been doing some job searching/applying (ugh!), been desperately missing my friends (it's been really tough to meet people here), and fighting to keep my spirits up as the weather has plunged (2 weeks of rain... is summer over??). Photos will go up on flickr soon. Here's one for now:
It's from a few months ago now... me, Lucie, and Grandpa up at the Hawksbury River.

Lots of love,
Tamara