Tulips in the spitting rain

This past Sunday was a grey, cold, spitting day. The perfect day for wandering around Commonwealth Park looking at tulips in full bloom for Floriade, Canberra's springtime festival, with new friends. Why would I want to be doing anything else? Being outside on grey, cold days, is the perfect hangover cure, right??

I went to breakfast this past Sunday with new friends S and K, a married couple I met through a yahoo group - AmericansIn Australia (or something like that). They've been in Canberra for 2 years (from Ohio) and are super nice and have lots of good practical advice. We were joined at breakfast by P, a guy I met on Friday night while at the ANU (Australia National University) postgraduate ball. My neighbor H is a senior lecturer at ANU and convinced me to go to this ball. Really not a ball, but more like a fancy dinner in a great hall (much smaller than the Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies, but similar in theme and decoration). But I digress... I met P there and he joined us out for breakfast on Sunday. We met up with H there as well and chatted for a while before rambling off to admire the flower displays. The only one really worth nothing was a map of Australia decorated with natural flora and other items for each state - the wine country had wine bottles, the desert had a miniature Uluru, Queensland had large ferns and other tropical plants... It was pretty neat.

Where are the pictures you ask? Well, I took pictures, but haven't arranged a permanent computer situation (I'm using the one at work and don't want to download photos there) so as soon as I figure something out you will have a glimpse of my life and the people here. Because it's just so dang fascinating. :)

Other things I've done in the last week - I got a phone, I applied for a couple of apartments. I can't WAIT to have an apartment so I can start to really feel settled. I looked at one on Saturday that I really liked, and I've probably just jinxed the whole thing by telling you about it. Oh well.

Went to a Belgian Beer Cafe on Saturday night to celebrate the West Coast Eagles making it to the AFL grandfinals in Melbourne next week. H is a HUGE Eagles fan, so I've watched the last 2 games of the season with him and to be honest, I really like AFL (Aussie Rules Football). So much so, that when I watch soccer now, I can't help but thing the guys are such drama queens for faking a fall! Oh well... Each sport needs its melodrama. Anyway, the Eagles (from Perth) are in the AFL grandfinal in Melbourne this coming weekend, and I am going to be there! Okay, not actually at the game, but I'll be in Melbourne. My friend Z from Seattle is traveling around Australia for a month and I am flying to Adelaide on Friday to meet up with him and we are going to drive the Great Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne, spend a couple of days in Melbourne, then head back to Canberra. He'll stay with me for a few days and then we're going to Sydney next weekend to hang out. Oh yeah, and go to the Dixie Chicks concert!! I can't believe it's almost here. Seems like just yesterday I was in Atlanta talking to M and A about going on their behalf since the show in Atlanta was moved. ok...pause for a bit of nostalgia... okay... moving on. Wasn't this paragraph about the Belgian Beer Cafe? And the AFL grandfinals? Anyway, the Belgian Beer Cafe, while a 2 minute walk from my place, is nothing like Brickstore, let me tell you. Close enough to be an okay substitute, but it did make me miss the BS. Their selection of beers isn't as extensive as the one at the BS, although I bet you'd be hard pressed to find a broader selection of Belgian beers outside of Belgium than at the BS. At the Belgian Beer Cafe, H and I met 3 guys (okay, I met 3 guys, and dragged H into the conversation). Spent the rest of the evening hanging out with them... good times. But to get back to footy (football - any game with a ball over here - aussie rules, rugby, rugby leauge, soccer, etc)... I'll be in Melbourne to experience the culture of the AFL grandfinals. Should be pretty darn exciting!

Okay... I think that's a good summary of my life the past week. I miss you all!