February 7, 2007 - Belly

Our flight from New Zealand to Australia was only a few hours, but I experienced some crazy swelling during that short time period. Not in the usual places like the ankles and feet. Nope. It was my belly. I swear it looked like I was 6 months pregnant for the entire day and I literally could not suck my belly in. It was hilarious. I even waddled like a pregnant woman. Thankfully, it magically disappeared overnight, but we were cracking up about it all day.

Buddha belly

February 8, 2007 - Sydney and Nice Hotels

We arrived in Sydney and found a place that we could afford to stay. We pushed past the hungover 20-year-olds and made our way up to our room in the 7-story backpackers. Our room was a little cave with no natural light and bunkbeds. It was more than a little depressing and we quickly made our way out onto the city streets.

As we walked along, we passed several posh hotels and I was overcome with longing for the good old days when Genentech would put me up in glorious hotels all around the country. It would have been a slice of heaven to stay somewhere so luxurious. I'd much rather be traveling around, not working and staying at cheap hostels than the alternative, but once you get used to the "good life", it's really hard to go back.

February 9, 2007 - Night at the Opera

Sarah and I really wanted to see a performance at the Sydney Opera House. We tried to get tickets on several different dates and it wasn't working out for us. I went back again later in the day in the hopes of something opening up, and it did! Seemingly out of nowhere we scored two great seats to the opera we most wanted to see - La Traviata. Obviously meant to be.

We only had jeans and climbing pants so we did a bit of shopping and got something a little more appropriate to wear. We had no choice but to wear our flip flops, but that turned out to be just fine. We even went across the street to a beauty salon so we could blow dry our hair. The ladies thought we were crazy because we dried our own hair while they sat there watching us!

The performance was phenomenal. The woman singing the lead role was unbelievably talented. Her voice was exquisite and we were mesmerized by her the entire night. There were two intermissions and it was fun to walk out onto the patio and take in the views of the harbour. We just felt so lucky to have this amazing experience.

Opera girls

February 11, 2007 - Rainy Days and Fatty Cakes

We went to the Blue Mountains with the intent of seeing the beautiful scenery and doing some big hikes and bike rides. The weather had other plans. It started raining as soon as we stepped off the train and didn't stop til our last day. I think it was actually a blessing in disguise because we were both fairly tired from our travels and it would have been difficult to sustain enough energy to do the hikes we were planning.

So instead of hiking, we made mad dashes to the cafes and indulged ourselves in cappuccinos, sweet treats and fatty cakes. It was lovely. Sometimes you get what you need, despite it not being what you want.

We started calling all muffins, pies, etc fatty cakes (said with a british accent) because Anke gave me a card with a picture of a very fat cat that looked shockingly like Tiny Her with a quotation that read "I shall eat fatty cakes every day until you return." Ironically, Simon has TH running laps in his hallway while Sarah and I are the ones eating fatty cakes every day. :-)

February 13, 2007 - Inheritance of Loss

A new Mann Booker Prize book is out. It's called Inheritance of Loss. The story sounds like it would be interesting. It's about Indians and Nepalese and the insurgency that has arisen in those areas. On top of that, numerous critics have gone on and on about the beautiful writing, florid prose and delectable character development.

Well I'm here to tell you that this book is terrible. It's depressing and choppy and the characters are utterly unlikable. Sarah and I both tried to read it and just couldn't take it. Life is too short to waste on bad books. What is really sad is that this book won such a prestigious prize and has garnered so much praise from other authors. It seems like everything is rigged these days.

Disappointing

February 15, 2007 - Night Diving

We went out for a night dive on the boat so we could see what lies beneath. This is a very cool experience, but I have to say that it is quite frightening. You go down there and can't see anything and have no idea where you are or how to get back to the boat. Thankfully, a dive master accompanied us on this dive and I spent a great deal of my time just looking for the pink glow stick attached to his leg. I had to calm myself many times just to keep from freaking out. It's interesting to butt up against your own boundaries and try to push through. In this case, it was especially good to conquer those fears because the sharks were out feeding on fish from the lights of our boat. It was one of the most amazing diving experiences I've had.

Kinda scared

February 16, 2007 - Conquering Fears

Sarah has always had a fear of being in the ocean and swimming around. She doesn't like the fact that you can't see what's out there because some of those fish are big and have sharp teeth. But she was determined to give snorkeling a try out on the Great Barrier Reef. She did that a couple times and had such a good experience, that she decided to try scuba diving. Scuba diving can be a bit stressful even for people who don't have water fears so I was extremely impressed with her willingness to get in there and conquer her fears. It takes a lot of courage to do that and it's something most people wouldn't bother with.

Sarah's first dive!

February 17, 2007 - Boat Buddies

We made some really good friends on board our dive boat. A group of us really took to each other and were inseparable throughout the trip. I find it interesting how an environment like that makes it easy to bond with people. It makes sense. You're on a vessle that you are unable to leave, everyone eats at the same time and in the same room, we all get up at the same time and do the same activities together. On top of that, you're doing something slightly dangerous and are really relying on each other. All these things combine to make an easy bonding experience.

Sarah and I loved having a set of friends. We have so many dear friends at home that we get to see with regularity and that just doesn't happen on the road. You rarely get to see the same people over and over again. We felt really lucky to make these good friends and to be able to have our own little community for a few days.

Boat buds

February 17, 2007 - Slow Down

Before you go out on a dive, the dive master shows you a chart of the area and the dive plan. You're given directional and current instructions and some hints on where special fish might be found. Me being the type-A achiever that I am, often go off into the water with a mission to dive the route the dive master has suggested and back to the boat before running out of air. My hope is always to see cool things along the way.

After my first dive with Jen, she gave me some words of wisdom. Slow down! She could hardly keep up with me and had to abandon some cool fish just to stay with her dive buddy. I think this is a life lesson. I'm always on a mission, always trying to achieve something. I'm missing so much along the way! I've known this about myself for a while but clearly still need to work on it. ;-)

Slowing down

February 18, 2007 - Nearly Drowned

When I was a little girl of about 5, I nearly drowned in a public swimming pool. I couldn't swim yet but wanted to check out the deep end. Dumbass. I was right under a lifeguard but somehow that 16 year old guy didn't see me amongst the throng of girls in bikinis. Thankfully some adult saw me drowning and swept me up from behind and delivered me to my mother. Ever since then, I've been a little afraid to put my head under water. I've taken swimming lessons twice and have tried many ways to overcome this fear. Yet it persists.

And so begins my tale of the waterfall swim up in the Atherton Tablelands. We were all taking turns jumping off of a very slick rock behind the falls. The goal was to jump towards the falls and let the force of the water pull us through. Well.... I get up to do it and fall right on my butt onto the rock. It didn't actually hurt but I felt a little embarrassed. So I get back up and decide to skip the rock jumping part of the mission. I proceed to swim through the falls but instead of getting pulled through, I was being pulled under. I was fighting desperately for air. The force of the falls was extreme and I couldn't get oxygen. I was being held in place with water falling violently on top of me and pushing me under. I was really scared. It was intense. I kicked and kicked with all my might and finally got through the falls. At that moment, Billy, the guide, was there to help me swim the rest of the way.

Episodes like this certainly don't enhance my comfort with being in the water. I'll just have to keep trying to become a stronger swimmer and use better judgement with my water activities ;-)

The offending falls

February 21, 2007 - College Revisited

We met up with our boat friends Jeremy, Alfonso, Berta, Chio, Gal and some additional MBA students for a night out on the town in Sydney. We had a few drinks and were dancing our butts off. We had so much fun and just didn't want the night to end. It finally did end but not til 4am. We had to drag ourselves out of bed the next morning at 7am to catch a flight to Bangkok. It was incredibly painful but totally worth it. Every now and then, it's great to revert back to being a party girl and dance til dawn.

February 22, 2007 - Mutant Message Down Under

This book was a real treat for Sarah and I as we travelled through Australia. It's interesting to read it while in the country because the theme of the book is a western woman going on a walk-about with an Aboriginee tribe. Learning about Aboriginee culture was very interesting, but the real power of the book is in the message - which is very much aligned to things Sarah and I are experiencing and searching for. With messages about releasing attachments to objects and certain beliefs, enduring discomfort by altering focus, the futility of spending your life developing security instead of your humanity and accepting people for who they are, we felt that this book spoke to us and reinforced things we are trying to embrace. We had a lot of great discussions while reading this book. I very highly recommend it to anyone open to receiving a mutant message.

Another good book