Oct 2007

All right, here we go!

Well, first semester I feel like I went on many adventures, and hence had entries like, "Kate goes to the Park/the Beach/Uni/Makes Friends", but this semester I've done less of that. Though some, certainly. But overall, I've found myself more caught up in the day-to-day ness of life. So this entry is going to be more about day-to-day stuff that I've been doing this semester, along with whatever random photos I can find. Ones that are worth posting, but not worth their own post.

Well, for starters, I live somewhere else now! Due to various family drama that I shan't go into here, it was decided that I should relocate, so I've been living with my aunt Pippi in Elwood, which neighbours St. Kilda (where I lived last semester). It's pretty much the same distance from uni, so it's not a big deal in that regard. Though I now take a new tram. The 96! So that's exciting.

Let's see.

Well, lately, I've had a bit of contact lens drama. I threw out my old contacts one night and went to put in new ones the next morning, only to find that my lenses had completely disappeared. As this disappearnce co-incided with Pippi re-organising the bathroom, I assumed she had just put them somewhere else. But she'd gone to Hawaii, so I couldn't exactly ask her. I searched the house, but could find them nowhere. So I've been wearing my glasses for the last week and a half.

So, just a few minutes ago, I was putting away some underwear, in my underwear drawer. And I realised that my bathers weren't there, though I keep them in that drawer too. And I was thinking, oh, I better look for those, I'll need them in Queensland next week. So I was trying to think where they might be, and then I remembered that I hadn't completely unpacked one of my suitcases, I'd left some summer stuff in there. So I dragged that out, opened it up, and sure enough, there were my bathers, a few pairs of sandals, and...my contact lenses!!!

I'm so completely baffled. I haven't opened that suitcase since I got here. Why on earth would Pippi have put them in there? But how else could they have gotten there?!?!!?

Well, at least they are found. But I'm so confused....

In other news, I need new shoes.

I have one pair that I probably wear the most, because they're black flats and go with everything. But this is what they look like these days.

They've actually been like that for about a month and a half. But you really can't tell when you walk. I mean, you can a little, but it's not uncomfortable unless you're walking on rocks or sticks or something.

Well, let's have some more pictures.

Where I live in Elwood is much much closer to the beach. Just 2 blocks away. I also live next to The Canal, which goes right to the ocean.

One day, I was waiting to catch a tram, and I saw this poor puppy, so I took his picture.

Another time a few months ago, my cousin Phillip took me out to have dinner at Taco Bill's. It was my first time having Mexican in Australia. It was very very funny. And not particularly Mexican.

Here is the chip bowl they give you at the beginning. Yes, that's really all they give you. I took the picture before we'd eaten any of them. Tiny! Wrong kind of chips. And no refills.

I ordered an enchilada. It came with a Mexican flag. I laughed a lot.

This is a cafe on campus. I like the sign.

Here's a cool piece of chalk-work that used to be on the ground outside the ERC (the Education faculty's library.)

When I was on placement at school, we brought in a cake on our last day to say thank you. It was really really really good. I took a picture.

One day, while walking home, I saw a big gold man blowing up balloons outside Luna Park. So I took his picture.

Another day, while on the tram in the same vicinity, we passed a man walking his llama down the street. I've since seen the llama twice. But, unfortunately, I've never been quick enough with my camera, so no picture.

At uni, they have a bunch of baby palm trees. Child and teenage palms, perhaps. I thought it was neat how they were little. Maybe it's not neat if you're from somewhere with lots of palms, but being from Tennessee, I thought they were nifty.

The Mexican food at the grocery store. Note what section of the store it's kept it.

Me being cool at the Astor Theatre. Too bad the quality's yuck so you can't really make out my coolness.

This is the largest size drink and fries you can get in Australia. I'd call that a medium, by American standards, do you agree?

The city at night...again bad quality...I was having trouble with my camera for a while.

Some cool people, as seen from my tram. I liked the mohawks, though I didn't get a really good picture of them. But you can see them in the background.

The end for now. More tomorrow!

St. Louis Union Station
The next day we went to check out St. Louis Union Station. Here it is.

Inside they have one of those neat whispering things were you whisper and people can hear you on the other side of the room.

Very pretty interior.

The station also has a portal to the Magical World. Here are J and I exhibiting our Muggleness. We couldn't get through.

Outside the station there were a lot of fish.

The Arch
After lunch, we drove around in search of the arch. We were a little lost for a while, but then I found it.

See, here it is!

J and I were so excited, we did a dance.

Here are a series of photographs.

Once inside the arch, we had to wait our turn to go up, so like good tourists, we went to the gift shop. J and I tried on cool hats.

Finally it was our turn! They put us in a small pod, and up we went!

Here are some of the views from the top.

The Trip Home
On the way home, we got hungry for dinner, so we stopped at Arby's. This was probably the most exciting part of the trip for me, because I love Arby's, and look at the special they were having. I was too, too excited.

And thus ends the trip. So, finally, I am ready for some second semester stuff. I'm only 3 months behind, so, it could be worse. But I need to hurry because I'll be home in six weeks! Hard to believe this year has gone so fast!! Well, anyway, I should go, because I still need to churn out 1000 more words for a paper due tomorrow. So, adios!

This entry is mainly for the benefit of my friends and whatever Aussie family members may occasionally tune in, as my immediate family was with me on this exciting road trip to St. Louis! So get excited everyone! You're about to get a behind-the-scenes insider's peak of just what a Rarick Family Road Trip entails!

The Drive

Our Car's Odometer. This picture was actually taken about a week prior to the road trip, but I'm including it because it's pretty nifty.

Here we are in the car.

The Mid-Trip Stop: Paducah, Kentucky.
Along the way, we stopped to have lunch in and walk around Paducah.

They had some pretty pictures.

Here's the main street.

The Tennessee River.

A fish organ Jonathan found. It was exciting.

Then there was a big train, so we went to look at that.

J and I being emo-myspace (he taught me that term) outside the place we had lunch.

J ordered a hot dog and received this. We were confused. I also like the hole in the wall. A high class place, for sure.

The Drive Continued: St. Louis
Here it is!

The Hotel
After checking into our hotel, one of the first things we had to do was check out the exercise room.

Jonathan has massive skills.

But our mom needs more practice.

Six Flags

The next day, we went to Six Flags over St. Louis. The day started out very nicely.

But then it rained. And lots of rides were closed. Luckily, the log ride remained open, so off we went!

The Tony Hawk ride was also open.

As was my mom's favorite.

Unfortunately it rained a lot and we all got really wet. But before we left, we thought we ought to get a group shot of the four of us. But instead of asking someone to take it for us like normal people, we thought we'd try myspace style. Here are the results.

To be continued...