An Ode to Technology

Oh technology, with your high tech, speedy ways,
enabling endless opportunities, for students to display
amatuer attempts of professional occupations
leaving heaps of areas--no, a void! full of pety miscalculations.

lets start with starting up the computer,
a simple push of the button right?
then why come the black screened moniter,
after all my effort and might

or how about my project,
the one that took up my free tuesday,
the computer spat out my usb, eject!
this project is due the first of this coming may.

an ode to technology
is all that is left for me to create.
An ode to the brilliant inventions of the 21 century,
it has become something I cant help but hate

the computers have all committed a mutiny
one fierce, one strong, one so crude
shutting down, deleting my work
mocking me, they are so rude

I know I shouldn't use the word hate
even if these computers have decided their fate
but I wasnt the one who started this war against me
they are evil, they are callous, you just have to wait and see.

If you cant tell by this lovely ode, I totally hate computers right now. This is the second time these stupid, shallow, selfish computers have eaten away my art! It's like they had a book burning but instead of igniting pages of literature, they are consuming my digital masterpieces!!! What is happening!!!

Anyways. Besides my new found quest in life to destroy all of the art school's computers, my life has been going swimmingly. OH OH OH MAJOR LIFE UPDATE! No, it has nothing to do with my trip to the Bay of Fires (which was heavinly, btw)..oh no. It has to do with my new favorite form of exersize: zumba. Imagine a large dance room with a single stage, about 40 women of all ages and sizes, dancing out their day's stress. It was the funniest/more amazing experience ever! The dance instructor was histerical. She turned up the tunes so the entire gym could hear, and started dance moves that we had to mimic. Some of these moves included (but didnt exclude) the Beyonce "Single Ladies" booty shake, the chacha, some shakira hip action, and of course, my favorite, the high school musical "wildcats" arm motions. So okay, zumba, in australia or at least in tassie, isnt a real reflection of the dance. However, to credit Tassie, the music was mostly contemporary reggae tones!

Besides computers ruining my life and zumba dominating it, the Bay of Fires has also entered my being and will never leave. Imagine the most beautiful beach in the world and then put it on steroids. That was the bay of fires. The rocks were coated in orange moss, which in the sunlight, appeared to engulf the bolders in infinite flames. The waters were so perfectly blue I seriosuly thought I must have been in Tahiti. I could see fish from the beach. The trip consisted of Bobby's Aunt Mart, Bobby, Mattie, Tess and Corey along with a massive van. Some tunes were sung, gelato consumed and rocks were definitely climbed. The wind was crazy during the night times and some sporatic showers occured however, once the sun was out, nothing else really mattered. All we did that weekend was walk, swim and lay on the beach: trying to absorb fully the beauty of the bay. (Seriously, pictures do not do this place justice).

I feel that Tassie is an underrated place. The mainlanders hate it because they think that it is a state outnumbered by boagens and incestuous beings, and tourists don't go because they think that there is nothing here. Okay, so perhaps the mainlanders are right that there are in fact incestuous, hick-like, simple minded folk. However, I believe these folks are the ones who will literally give the shirts off their backs if they find you lost, and drenched from the unexpected torrential downpour. I do not see Sydney peeps being quite as courteous. Who cares if Tassies marry their siblings? You don't have to endorse it (or do it) yourself! But hey, they are sweet, kind people and they have yet to eat/kill me, so as of now I am super content. On the other issue of nothing being in Tassie...How could one ever say that! Sure, if you have little children, maybe a camping adventure isnt the best idea, but come on fellow world citizens! Tassie is one of the few places left in the world with deserted, untouched, natural wonders! There are cave spiders that get to be the size of DINNER PLATES! DINNER PLATES!! Can you believe that?? If I awoke to one of those puppies, I would die. But still. Tassie is fully equipped with mind blowing nature reserves, rain forrests, beaches, pastures, and geological formations.

I think there is one more biggish trip for the American adventure crew and that will be to Bruny Island. We will see how that goes. I kayaked there with my IFSA Butler group and we saw penguins and dolphins. We also had a barbeque on the island but I wouldn't mind spending an entire day hiking around there. Apparently on the other end of the island, there are mega cliffs and some spectacular views. Tassie has yet to sell me short on views, so I am eagerly anticipating this trip. Besides that, my final Southern hemisphere adventure will be a trip to New Zealand to visit the South Island. Baba and Zadie kept saying repeatidly how it has the most unbelievable natural sites, AND Karen Gastineau is there, AND it will be over my 21st birthday, so I just decided that I should try out another country for a week.

This weekend I will be a-working on my psychology research proposal paper and attending various Christ college events (this includes but is not exclusive to, a Toga party, two uni rugby games, watching multiple friends shave their heads as a fundraiser for luekimia research, and possibly some passion pop consumption). I will post more pictures and I will be sure to write more later next week. Love y'all! It is now time for me to buy some veggies for my dinner tonight and after dinner guess what??? I have another zumba class! Aunty susan, when I get back, you and I are soooo doing this...it is really that much fun. So much more pleasant than spin class.

I am so full

Oh, holy allah in the sky. Next time someone has the brilliant idea to cook breakfast for dinner, I am not going to eat as much as I did. Quite frankly, I don't think my eating splurge was entirely my fault. I blame the delicious feast spread out on the table of banana/chocolate chip pancakes, hash browns, french toast, scrambled eggs with veggies, freshly squeezed orange and apple juice, bacon, sausage, grapes, apples and strawberries. Really. How does one turn down this food? My stomach has never been in such a happy pain...Corey summed up the evening very well: "I'm so full; what should I eat next?"

Besides the ridiculous consumption of the Australian thanksgiving feast, my life has slowed down quite a bit. There was Easter break: the 7 days of crazy traveling throughout Melbourne and Sydney and then the two weeks of trying to recuperate. I didn't want to blog about my adventures in the two mainland cities just because, honestly, it would take hours and hours to write. But I will try to summarize the highlights of that trip and of my life currently.

Melbourne:

Corey#1, Corey#2, Tess, Mattie and I journeyed to Melbourne super early in the morning. We stayed at a nice hostel in chinatown and explored the city. So much walking! All the time, all we did, was walk. But thankfully, there were no hills in Melbourne. Considering that it was Easter weekend, most of the shops were closed, but the crew and I managed to tour the city's lane-ways (alleys) which were beautifully decorated with graffiti and ventured through many gardens that the city had to offer. We also visited Brighton: a touristy beach cluttered with brightly painted shacks. Each shack was an estimated value of $200,000! A beach shack, a single beach shack (without any bathrooms, rooms, beds...etc.) $200,000! Incredible.

Anyways. The real highlight of that trip was my third day there. It really could have been my best day in Australia ever. This day was the day of yet another surf contest and a footie game. The surf contest was held at Bells beach, a two hour bus drive outside of Melbourne. Mattie, Carmen and I met up and began speed walking to the bus station at 7:45am (talk about dedication). We barely made it on the bus, but we did, and the beach was definitely worth the rush. Bells, a national state park of Australia, is a beach engulfed by massive, orange clayed cliffs. The cliffs plunge into a gully of yellow rocks which are met by crashing ocean waves. This is where the best day of my life began. Mattie, Carmen and I sat on the sandy part of the beach but the waves must have been upset with us, because the tide came in so fast that we had to move before we could actually watch any surf heats. The only room left to sit were on the yellow rocks below the cliffs. Little did we know these rocks were in the direct paths of the pro surfers--the path they took to get to the best waves! One surfer passed us and Carmen and I chatted about how he looked so familiar. He was so close to us he could have tripped over my foot! As he dove with his board into the blue abyss, the announcer of the Bells contest enthusiastically introduced Kelly Slater. That's right world! I watched Kelly shred and eventually win the contest. He is a surfing god!

Following the contest, the girls and I walked up to the city portion of Bells to wander about and who do we bump into but some pro surfers that were at the Marrawah competition a week ago. We got their autographs and they joked how we were stalking them... oops :) So, best day ever check list: watch pro surfing, check; almost kick down the greatest surfer of all time with my flip flopped foot, check; meet real live pro surfers again, check.

We finally made it back to Melbourne at around 6, just in time for a footie game! Mattie was so tired she decided to go home, but Carmen and I just couldn't pass up an opportunity for an Aussie sport. Helplessly lost, Carmen and I found a group of footie fans and asked for directions to the field. A nice older man named Jason invited us to join him and his crew to the game. He led us to the field, introduced us to his friends and proudly explained the sport of footie. Basically, it is a mix of basketball, handball, football, soccer, and rugby...in short shorts. Shorts so short in fact, that the men have to shave their legs. How do I know this? Well that comes later in the best day ever story.

Jason, a 50 some year old construction worker is the definition of Australian Rules Football fan. I could hardly understand what he was saying his accent was so thick and his curses were something from a Manchester United game. He insisted we get some beer and watch and learn. His crew, die hard St. Kilda fans (Go Saints!), never went to their general admission assigned seats. Instead, they stood behind the best seats in the house and watched from the hallway. Jason and his best friend Dave told the security guard that Carmen and I were American and had never seen a footie game before and the security guard led us down to some empty seats in the third row of the stadium! How do I know footie players shave their legs? Because I could have touched them I was sitting so close! They also could hear every curse Dave and Jason threw at them...But, hey, St Kilda won! We defeated whatever blue and white team we played and we sang triumphantly: "Oh when the Saints go marching in!". Dave insisted that he give me his St Kilda's club hat because he loves sharing his life and passions with others, especially foreigners. Those men and their family members and friends were such nice, drunken people. They got us incredible seats, and gave us an incredible experience.

Sydney:

The Sydney part of the vacation was more fast paced than the Melbourne. In Sydney, we walked over the famous bridge, touched the walls of the opera house, walked along the royal botanical gardens, surfed once again in Manly beach and searched unsuccessfully for Passion Pop (a cheap champagne). My highlight of Sydney was the Manly surf day because it was a serious adventure. Tess, the Coreys, Mattie and I were all so tired. Tess and I wanted to go back to the hostel and nap but the Coreys and Mattie insisted on exploring Manly. We found some rocks and cliffs and decided to go climbing. There was a sandstone cave, beautiful vines crawling up rocks, and waves constantly crashing up against the land mass. I was enjoying time by myself, exploring and wandering around these rocks when I hear Mattie cry: "Alie?" Oh no. I turned around and found Mattie with her foot sliced open. I took my water bottle and washed it off but we didnt have any bandages on us. The only choice was to keep walking and make it to the next beach and see if the lifeguards were still there. They weren't. We kept walking to a nearby pub where an old lady thought Tess and I were the coolest people alive; she even told the manager of the pub to give us free drinks. Instead, we settled for four bandaids and some alcohol swabs.

Lost and one man down, we asked some people for directions back to the ferry so we could get back to Sydney. The men we asked sent us on the strangest, scariest path in history. Remember back in the day when I said that the mainland had animals on steroids, waiting around every corner trying to deliberately kill us all? Yea. We all forgot about that. The path we found ourselves taking was a nice beach path through some trees and brush. All was fine until I looked up and noticed the massive spider webs. Dumb and curious, I pointed the webs out to my friends. They all gawked in awe and terror and continued to walk. It only took two more seconds to see that these webs were surrounding the path and in these webs were the biggest, terror inducing, evil-looking spiders I have ever seen. They were huge! At least the huntsman spiders I discovered in my room are far away on the ceiling. These puppies were the size of puppies. Tess and I saw a leaf fall and swore it was a spider pouncing on us, so we sprinted back up the path and found an alternative route to the ferry.

Other than that day, there was one more highlight of Sydney. The day after the spider/foot slicing incident, we all went to a pub and ran into other friends--the girls who went on the Marrawah surf trip with us! We all sat together and listened to some live music. I was asked to dance and the whole crew eventually went down to the dance floor for some funky dance moves even my father and uncles would envy. When we Americans invade a dance floor, we do it with pizazz and creativity which only attracts the attention of the entire pub and gets people up to dance.

So that was my trip! Or, those were the highlights of my trip! Other than those things, I went to an aquarium, walked, napped, walked some more, napped again, read a book, surfed and explored. I am back in Hobart and I have given up metal shop. I am now working on wood shop and it is so much easier. I love it. All you do is cut up wood and glue things together. No missing fingers, hair or other ligaments. Mattie and Carmen went on an adventure this past weekend and Corey, Tess, Bobby and I explored more of Hobart. Bobby's Aunt is in town so we toured her around Salamanca Market. We also went around to the botanical gardens and they were just something else. I know the mainland is well, the mainland, but of all the gardens we visited, this garden takes the cake. It is huge! The roses smelled so good, I wanted to steal some petals and make some perfume the way Baba and I used to when I was little.

But really. Right now, I can hardly focus. I am trying so hard to digest. My stomach is so full. I even purposefully didn't eat much today so I could fit everything in, but that only made me fuller faster. So. Much. Food. I guess I made Sam and Ben proud. Oh my god. If I think about it too much, I may explode. No more Alie adventures, sorry. Instead there will only be pieces of me all over my highest room in the tallest tower bedroom.

On one more note. I think I finally got homesick. I was sure it was bound to happen but I thought it would happen sooner rather than later. Everything lately reminds me of home and sometimes I fantasize sleeping in my bed back in Northridge. Last night, I was half awake, half asleep and I could swear that I heard Sam and Ben outside my room--strange. But then again, the boys who live on my floor are so much like my brothers that it is no surprise I got confused. Alright. I have to go to sleep. My food induced coma is coming on strong and there is no way to avoid it. Talk to you all later!

-Alie