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Below are the 25 most recent journal entries.

	2007.08.10  22.50 Suzie's True Blue Last Weekend In London Well, this time I am at Hong Kong Airport (which, by the way, is amazing) so I decided to dedicate a little post to my awesome, lovely friends in London. I honestly can't believe how fortunate I've been to meet so many great people. Here are a few of my favourites, who made these shirts to wear to the pub on my last Friday night out. I believe they are quotes of mine but I think I am far too cultured and wise to say these things... Erin "Danger! Danger! High Voltage" Claire "I can't stop laughing!" Liz "People just want to BE us" Kate "My favourite bus is the 72" Petra "Do ya reckon I should be put down?" Sarah "I soooo love my boobs"

	2007.08.10  17.43 Hong Kong So, it's 5:43pm on a Friday night in Hong Kong and I'm in and internet cafe. Why? You ask. Because there is a freaking Level 8 Typhoon warning, that's why. Now to those who are not wise to these kinds of things a Level 8 Typhoon warning means that there is pretty much nothing to do. No shopping, no sightseeing, no going outside. Awesome. So, having used my other bad-weather back up plan of going to the movies, I have decided to take this opportunity to spend my last few hours nerding it up on the Livejournal that I had almost forgotten about. I arrived into Hong Kong airport at 1pm Tuesday afternoon after a sleepless 13 hour flight from London. I decided to take the cheap option to get my hostel – the bus. The bus took 90 minutes and I reckon I slept for a good 85 minutes of that. I was lucky I had told the driver where I needed to get off, as he had to wake me up at my stop! After struggling past the touts offering me a room, watch, bag and Indian meal I found my hostel, located in the legendary Chungking Mansions. My lonely planet guide (that I bough after booking the hostel says things like; “a place like no other place in the world”, “huge, ramshackle high-rise dump”, “you may be put off by the undercurrent of sleaze and the peculiar odour of cooking fat, incense and sewage”, “tales both tall and true of conflagrations, crimes and unclaimed bodies.” How reassuring. I obviously wasn’t expecting a lot for less than 10 pounds a night for a single room with ensuite but this was even disappointing for me, the optimist of all optimists. The room had an area of about 4 metres square (including the bathroom), I had to shower over the toilet and my bed was only just as long as my body, about an inch wider and on a sloping angle that meant I could only sleep on my right side or back for fear of falling out. Not to worry, I though, I’ll just open up the window to brighten the place up and make it feel larger. So, I opened the window to see the drainage from the showers and a used sanitary pad. Needless to say, the window remained closed. I managed to squeeze onto my bed and get a few hours sleep before meeting up with Frog who kindly traded her company and tour guide skills for Mars Bars. We had a couple of Happy Hour drinks at an Irish bar then a Dim Sum meal at a great restaurant where I left feeling very full. We walked to the bay and admired the lights of Hong Kong Island from the Star Ferry. Before long, the rain started bucketing down and it was time to return to hell my hostel. I managed to get a solid 12 hours sleep and woke to find all my vital organs still inside my body (as far as I’m aware). I put my public transport finding abilities to the test and went to Lantau Island where I saw the Tian Tan Buddha (the largest outdoor Buddha in the world) and the Po Lin Monastery. In order to see inside the Buddha I had to buy a vegetarian meal. The inside of the Buddha was nice, had some pretty pictures and showed how it was constructed but most of the writing was in Chinese, except for signs such as “No Speaking” “No Cameras” and “Donation Box.” After recovering from the laughter of seeing the Fat Ho Elderly Centre I had my vegetarian meal which I’m sure provided the employees with a good laugh as I attempted to use the incredibly slippery chopsticks to eat the incredibly slippery vegetables. The busride back to Tung Chung was pretty scary – I couldn’t see more than 10 metres in front of us through the fog and rain and I’m not sure the driver did either. As the Aussie behind me said, “There’re not even any trees to catch you – If you go over, you go over.” Great, I love fearing for my life whilst alone in a foreign country. When I got back to Hong Kong central I wandered aimlessly for a while, unintentionally taking in a heap of major sights before finding Central Escalator, the world’s longest covered outdoor people mover. I glided past buildings, bars, restaurants before having to then WALK back down the 800m slope. I decided to try out a bar called ‘Joyce is not here’, recommended by Lonely Planet. It was overpriced and boring. I can’t believe Lonely Planet would do this to me. Next I went to the Temple Street Markets, which are basically stall after stall of crap. I bought a substantial amount of crap, putting my haggling skills to the text. Then I went back to my hostel, which was strangely comforting by this time and went to bed. For my last day I had planned to do quite a few things. I was going to go up Victoria Peak, read a book in one of the parks and have a look through all the electrical shops, hopefully to replace the Mp3 player I stupidly left on the plane. My first stop after a coffee and sandwich was Kowloon Park. By this stage most of the paths were ankle deep in rain and I had to invent a new way of holding my umbrella so that it wouldn’t flip inside out. I had envisaged myself reading a book in the sun but unfortunately there was no sun, and I had not even brought a book with me other than the Hong Kong guidebook that mainly told me about all the awesome things I could have done if I had money and decent weather. Instead I watched some turtles and fish in a pond and thought about how a hare would go in that infamous face if it was underwater. Further walking around revealed that the shops were closed, with windows taped up, most public transport had ceased and people had been sent home from work. I decided that the museums and indoor cultural stuff must be closed so I went to see the Simpsons movie at the cinema and then came here to kill some time and HOPE that my flight is not delayed or cancelled this evening.

	2007.06.21  17.02 The next 7 weeks... 27/6 - Chester --> London 28/6 - London --> Belgium for Rock Wercheter 2/7 - Belgium --> London --> Chester 19/7 - Chester --> Liverpool --> Krakow, Poland 23/7 - Krakow --> London Stansted 26/7 - London Heathrow --> Dublin 30/7 - Dublin --> London Heathrow 7/8 - London Heathrow --> Hong Kong 10/7 - Hong Kong --> Perth Saturday 11th August - Arrive at Perth 07:35

	2007.06.07  16.33 Things I have done since arriving in Chester I arrived at my new house and got the key jammed in the door. I couldn't open the door and couldn't remove the key so just sat on the kerb with all my stuff for 2 hours. Luckily it was gorgeously sunny outside so i sat there reading my book, looking a little homeless and making friends with the neighbours. When Dave got home I realised that my friend Shantel was away at a course for the week. Fortunately Dave's a pretty cool guy cos sharing a house with your mate's boyfriend could be a little weird. Had an awesome sleep-in in my new bed which is big and comfy and basically awesome in every way (particularly when compared to the couch or the skanky beds in the Madrid hostel). Went for a walk down the main street and considered applying for bar jobs. Decided that as much fun as this could be, I'm not actually going to be able to work much seeing as I have trips planned to Liverpool, Belgium, Poland and Ireland and have friends visiting in most of the remaining weeks of being here. Chatted to the Oxfam guy for about 20 minutes. Usually they piss ME off and I can't get rid of them but the tables were turned this time. Hah! I chatted to him about all kinds of things and heard about a pretty cool plan of his to teach English to Eskimos in Canada in return for learning ice fishing and eskimo building. Made friends with the internet cafe guy due to being there for 3 hours. Yeah, I'm a huge nerd - the only people I meet are charity door knockers and people who work in INTERNET shops. Caught up with Al, who I met in Morocco. We had a couple of wines at a dodgy old man pub before an awesome 3 course meal at Egos. After that we went to his friend Cath's house where we drank Polish vodka with apple and elderflower juice (my new favourite drink for sure!). Al left me there with Cath while he had football then I eventually got a taxi home before midnight. Walked the massive TREK to Sainsbury's to buy healthy, low-fat, low-sugar, low-taste foods. Saw a library on the way and joined it. Free internet for half an hour a day. Yip yip. I can't believe this actually excites me. To contribute further to my nerdy persona I also went to Aqua Aerobics last night. I was quite possibly the thinnest and youngest person there (great for the self esteem!). The gym I go to has some great other classes I want to try - Muay Thai Boxing, Mambo Dancing and some hardcore circuit stuff that I hope to do once I build up my fitness which is severely diminished after 8 weeks of travelling, eating and drinking. Had my first day at work. I had been told by a few taxi drivers and all of my Chester friends (and internet workers) that it was a very dodgy area. They were right. I had the most difficult Year 4 class I have ever had. Not cool. I am going back there tomorrow for a Year 3 class that were quite good. Hmmmm...what else? Bit of cooking, lots of walking, lots of sightseeing and lots of free time. It's quite nice to not be rushing or worrying about anything. I think Chester will be good transitional place between London and Perth.

	2007.06.06  17.41 Spain My first visit to Spain started the way that many of my trips start – rushing to pack at the last moment, trekking to the bus stop with a loaded backpack full of unnecessary items, getting on a smelly bus to Clapham, debating whether or not to buy a train ticket and showing up at Gatwick already exhausted. By the time Calandra and I had made this journey we had also realised that we had not really left enough time to check in and we were in great danger of missing our flight. Fortunately, we were ushered to the check-in desk for time-management-challenged travellers and managed to get on our plane in the nick of time where Calandra promptly fell asleep in an attempt to recover from her flu. After negotiating out way through the Metro system and finding our hostel we found Josh in our room, recovering from an encounter with a he-she. I introduced my two friends and we headed out to see the sights of Madrid. It didn’t take us long to realise that there is not particularly much to see in Madrid so instead we found a kebab shop where I demonstrated my ability to get more kebab on the table than in my mouth. Our next stop was a makeshift bottle shop before heading back to the room for some pre-drinking. Our downfall here was that we had bought wine yet had no means of opening it. Josh decided to be a hero here and opened the wine using the incredibly effective method of poking holes in the cork with a knife until wine could be poured out (or in this case, sprayed over Josh’s face and bed). When this was finished it was time to check out the Spanish nightlife that we’d heard so much about. We were given the address of a recommended nightclub not far from our hotel and after much gesturing and pointing and unidentifiable sound effects we managed to work out that out taxi driver didn’t know where the place was. We let him drop us off at the first place we saw with people milling around. I was pretty impressed with the queue here, mainly due to the fact that I was one of about 5 females in the sausage party. Josh was not so impressed, especially after I was given free entry and he had to paid 10 euros. He soon cheered up when we realised that this place would refill our glasses every round…for free. Boom. We stayed long enough to hear the soundtrack for the night be repeated. The music was a quirky mix of 50s lounge, Spanish rap and some occasional rock thrown in. Most of Friday was spent ‘siestaing.’ I’m a huge fan of siestas and believe that naps should not be reserved for nannas and small children. We left the hotel briefly to stand in the rain while Calandra went souvenir shopping and later went to a bullfight at Ventas. Before the fight I actually had no idea what to expect. I was vaguely aware of the fact that the bulls were killed and that men would wave red flags in front of them. Despite the barbaric nature of bull fighting it was relatively entertaining and the skills of the matadors and horses were amazing. I know I wouldn’t be too keen to be put in a ring with 600kgs of angry bull. We ended the evening with a terrible meal that made frozen meals seem like fine cuisine and continued our great sleeping habit. Having been in Madrid for 2 days already we decided that Saturday should be spent doing some sightseeing. We got on a MadridVision tour where our main goal was to stay awake. There were some nice buildings and gardens but to be honest, I am sick of seeing European building and gardens. They are all starting to look the same. Fortunately we were not in Madrid for the sightseeing. That night was the introduction to the people we’d be spending the next week with at Vaughan Town, a programme where English speakers help Spaniards develop their spoken English through immersing them in the language for a week. In return we were given three course meals in a four star hotel complete with pool, spa, sauna, gym and in-room Jacuzzis. I somehow managed to get the dodgy loft room with two single beds as opposed to enormous king sized beds where two people may never meet. It was still a welcome change to budget hostels, room sharing with Nigel (come on, you don’t miss it either Nige) and friends' couches nonetheless. The Puerta de Gredos grounds were beautiful, with views to the mountains, a short walk to a river and wide expanses of green. The air fresh and the sky was blue and it was a nice contrast the miserable grey skies of London. Our first contact with the Spaniards was over lunch and to be honest, I found it really difficult. I couldn’t understand the ladies I sat with, I felt I had nothing to talk about and they struggled to understand me. Fortunately by the end of the week, we were all chatting away with no problems at all. The only thing left for me to get used to was the oily food. My first one-on-one session was much easier and involved me teaching the unsuspecting Ruben how to say G’Day mate and to distinguish between thongs and flip flops. I soon learnt to slow down my speech without dumbing down the language (although not to the point of Josh, who often spoke as if he was making some sort of wild animal understand him haha). The week continued in much the same way – waking up at 8:15 to head to an amazing buffet breakfast featuring smoked salmon and goat’s cheese (yum); one-on-one sessions taking us through to lunch; more conversation over lunch and red wine; siesta (or spaesta as we renamed it); group activities (during which time we lied and decided not to kill the fat man among other things); telephone calls; conference calls and presentations. There were a few things organised in the evenings, one was the making of Quemada (sp?), a disgustingly potent drink that smells like vomit, tastes like feet but is fun to make. There was also a tapas night and a few ‘parties’ that by the sounds of things were incredibly tame in comparison to the previous week’s effort. I have always enjoyed meeting people and I think that is what made this programme so enjoyable for me. I love having little in-jokes and being able to joke and laugh with people over a common base of experiences. On of my favourite ongoing jokes was that of Josh’s alter ego, Pepe. He had been taught how to say “My name is Pepe, I love you” in Spanish and aroused great hilarity in saying this to the Spanish ladies. He was given room numbers from a few of the Spaniards (including a man) and ended up with a loyal following of Pepe admirers. They even appreciated his dressing up as a baby, wearing nothing but a strategically place towel and a dummy. The Spaniards seemed love teaching us Spanish (or rather, laughing at out attempts to pronounce the words). Our programme manager targeted me at one point (due to my ingenuousness apparently) and asked me to read some Spanish words out to the group. With the amount of laughter this raised, I soon realised that I was saying things such as “Wow, he’s handsome” and “His penis is big and hard.” I attempted to try out some of my newly learned Spanish on a Brazilian at the pub Sunday night but it turns out Brazilians speak Portuguese. Oops. As well as learning some Spanish phrases I also had the chance to practise a Yorkshire accent, courtesy of Jimmy. I didn’t do particularly well at this but can say “Nooooo, nooooo, noooo Suuuuzeh” quite well. This sharing of cultures obviously went both ways. We taught the Spaniards about Boony and even renamed Xavier Boony due to an amazing likeness which he was quite proud of. The week went amazingly fast and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. After being told off by our manager we strated to worry that booking an 8:40pm flight may have been a little ambitious. Luckily, the wonderful Juan Antonio came to the rescue and not only got calandra and I to Madrid in record time, but he also took us to the airport entrance, opened our doors for us and got our bags out. Such amazing hospitality!! In the end rushing to the airport was not so necessary as our plane was delayed by over an hour. We filled this time by playing UNO with some random (and very attractive) Canadian guys who were waiting for the same flight. I seem to have a habit of making friends at airports and this was no exception. We all spent the night at Calandra's house encouraging the boys to try Bundaberg Rum and Vegemite. An Aussie end to a week in Spain :) Rest of my photos found here Everyone else's photos here Music: A song I like but don't know the name of...

	2007.06.05  12.07 It's a kind of strange feeling to wake up on a Monday morning and think "Awesome, today I am moving to a small town 3 hours away from all my friends where I will be broke and unemployed." It's also quite a strange feeling to think that for the first time in 8 weeks I will not be living out of my backpack and I will have my own bed!

	2007.05.17  13.09 Florida Day 1 We arrived at our boarding lounge for our flight to Orlando to realise we had, in fact, stepped into a retirement village! There was a painful amount of pastel colours and grey hair - the only thing missing was the ineveitable urine stench found at place with such a concentration of old people. 10 hours later we were giving out fingerprints to the US customs and having out photographs taken as part of the new security measures. After eventually getting through this and the marathon involved in baggage claim we picked up our hire car and headed to our hotel. Luckily Deb was a trustworthy driver as I had about 27 minor heart attacks just as passenger observing left hand drive. We spent a while talking to the guest services guy at the hotel who recommended things to see, places to go and in true Florida style - signed us up to a timeshare presentation in return for show tickets. Day 2 Our timeshare presentation included a free breakfast so we made the most of that before having to sit though a 2 hour spiel about the resort. It was lovely but none of us were interested so we claimed our tickets to Arabian Nights and our free lift to Epcot and went on our way. We had heard that Epcot was one of the best theme parks and it was pretty good but not as good as I had expected. Most of the rides were simulator style. One of the main attractions of Epcot was the world section where cities around the world were represented through buildings, restaurants, performances and of course, shops. For me, having been to most of the countries it was not particularly exciting although the Disney people have done a great job with making the displays authentic looking. I guess for many Americans who don't make it out of USA it would have been great. Day 3 Went to Universal Studios which was by far my favourite of the theme parks. It had great rides and attractions and was lots of fun. The Mummy rollercoaster and Twister show were probably the best. Unfortunately we didn't get to see as much of Universal as we would have liked to because we had to head to our hotel to get ready for Arabian Nights. It included the show, a meal and unlimited beer and wine. The show was quite good and involved lots of horses. At the end I had a photo with Gaylord the cowboy (or horseboy?). By this stage Deb had certainly made the most of the free wine and seemed quite keen to ride a horse. We managed to control her but when we got back to the hotel she disappeared for 2 hours and came back with a hicky. Classic. Day 4 We had heard so many great things about The Magic Kingdom, Disney's claim to fame, but I have to admit I was pretty disappointed. Not only was this an excellent form of birth control, there weren't really enough fun rides to keep my attention. We left here mid afternoon to spend some time by the hotel pool Day 5 We got very lost trying to find International Drive which is meant to be a great shopping strip. It wasn't particularly good although I really liked this sign... We got to Daytona after lunch and had a cocktail on the pier. Daytona was nice but it was really smoggy due to fires that were burning up north. It was really quiet while we were there but we could definitely see the potential for it to be awesome in the busy times (Bike Week and Spring Break). Instead we had the High School Drill Team Championships on which meant high school kids with guns wandering around in straight lines. Heh. They seem to like their guns in Daytona. Day 6 Went to check out the Dayton Speedway which was pretty cool. I embarrassingly did the pit stop challenge where I managed to do the tyre change in 17 seconds. Not bad I reckon! Hooters was the next stop, for lunch before heading back to our hotel to drink duty free alcohol and eat Krispy Kreme donuts. The reason for my weight gain is becoming clear... We went to Ocean Deck, a bar that spills out onto the sand on Daytona beach which was pretty nice. We met a nice couple from Canada who we affectionately named Sugar Parents ad they insisted on buying us faaar to many tequila shots and then coming with us to Razzles, a hip hip club which gives free drinks to ladies until midnight. It was quite a good club and when it closed at 3am I went to a pizza place where I ate a piece of pizza that was honestly bigger than my head and provided entertainment to the Americans who found my accent hilarious. Day 7 Drove to Fort Lauderdale (long way) then to Miami for dinner. Miami was really pretty and had such a nice, fun, laidback, summer atmosphere about it. You dont get much better than strawberry daiquiris and oysters by the beach! Day 8 We'd been convinced to do another timeshare presentation. This one was much quicker and more enjoyable due to the hot man who showed us around. The girls spent the day shopping at Sawmills which is one of the biggest shopping malls in the world. I saw Blades of Glory at the movies instead and LOVED IT. Will Ferrel and Napoleon Dynamite as an ice-skating team? Priceless. There was an air show on that afternoon so it was crazy busy and we spent a long time in the car before getting to our Jungle Queen river cruise. The cruise went through the canals of Fort Lauderdale before stopping for dinner and a comedy show. We went past multi-million boats and houses owned by the rich and famous. It was kind of depressing. Days 9-12 We got a cruise ship to the Grand Bahama Island where we spent most of our time at the beach or at Port Lucaya Bars. We met a few locals and one night went to a Fish Fry which is where all the natives go each Wednesday for a fresh fish to be fried up and eaten at beach front shacks before dancing the night away.

	2007.05.01  21.25 No time... Orlando fingerprint scans, left hand drive cars, more open space than i expected, large meals, large people, epcot centre, universal studios, arabian nights show, jetlag, friendly people, can't help inadvertantly taking the piss out of american accents, tipping goes against so much of the basic theories i have learnt as a teacher, timeshare, buffet breakfast, mickey mouse waffles... etc

	2007.04.25  20.35 Bali 139 photos here Day 1 Me and 11 of my favourite people in the world left Perth flying Garuda Indonesia on Friday. The plane ride involved me getting to know Belly (a friend of a friend who was to be my roommate for the next 4 days), spilling Coke on the roof and a large portion of my clothing due to some hard out turbulence and starting on the colouring in book. When we got to our hotel (Melasti Beach Resort) we went to the pool and enjoyed the awesome weather. That night we went to Bali Rock where I managed to get on stage with the band and write our names on the floor in chalk. This was followed by a FOAM PARTY (which is even more awesome than it sounds). Bali Crew 2007 The view when walking through the hotel grounds. Foam Party Day 2 I started my birthday with a massage and some shopping before heading to Bali Aussie for lunch and the football. I took a walk along the beach and spent some more time in the pool before heading to Bubba Gump's (a Forrest Gump themed restaurant) for dinner. I highly recommend having a birthday there (or saying it's your birthday) because the entire staff broke out in a birthday chant which was absolutely hilarious. After that we went to Paddy's Pub where I dominated the DJ requests and danced upa storm. Todd got hold of my camera here and took 300 photos, mostly of total randoms. Legian Beach Bubba Gump's. I mainly love Jono's pose here. The sign changes to 'Stop Forrest Stop' when you want service. Jono, Me, Shrimp, Shannon, Scotty Day 3 Sadly one of the side effects of having a birthday in Bali is a hangover. A hangover like no hangover I have ever had in my life. We went to Stadium for lunch and to watch the football although rather than watch football I spent about 3 hours drinking copious amounts of water and writing lists with Jono 81 which was incredibly funny but I guess you had to be there...or have a really lame sense of humour or something. For dinner we went to a nice restaurant then went home pretty early as I had managed to convince everyone that we would spend the next day doing STUFF and THINGS. The only photo I seem to have with everyone in it (except me) Day 4 We found a great driver (Magnum) who was entertaining and friendly and we spent the day driving around the south of Bali. We went to Ullah Watu which is one of the best surfing beaches in Bali. The waves were crazy and it was insane watching the amount of effort involved in even getting to the breaks. After that Magnum took us a to a beautiful little cove where we had a swim and relaxed for a while before going to Nusa Dua for jetskiiing and parasailing. I was unable to convince the crew to go on the elephant safari with me so instead we had a rest before heading to Jimbaran Bay for a sunset dinner. This was probably my favourite part of my trip. We sat at tables in the sand at dusk with a 5 piece band playing at our table and the most amazing fresh seafood. Ullah Watu Swimming Beach Me parasailing Sunset at Jimbaran Bay and our matching dresses Shendelle and Magnum Sexy Driver Jimbaran Bay Day 5 Sadly I had to leave my friends behind so I could get back to Perth so I could get back to London so I could get to Orlando. The girls and my sister came out to the airport to say goodbye. It was really sad to leave my friends after having such a great month with them in Perth and Bali but I'm hoping some will make it the UK to visit me soon! I have to admit I was slightly reluctant about going to Bali because I knew it wasn't likely to be much of a cultural/sightseeing experience but I had the most amazing time relaxing and spending time with my friends and it was one of the most enjoyable holidays I have been on. Rest of photos here Quotable quotes that I am putting here so I don't forget them: Don't kill dog! I'm bringin sexy back. Them other reeehaw [donkey sound] don't know how to act. Music: The Pixies - Here Comes Your Man

	2007.04.25  20.33 I <3 Perth When I left London a month ago I wasn't really sure where to call home. This trip has reminded me. Music: The Kooks - Ooh La

	2007.04.25  20.20 Amy's Surprise Moustache Dinner Party The title pretty much says it all. Amy, Shendelle and Kylie... Todd (who grew a real moustache for the occasion), Jacky (whose moustahe looked scarily real) and my fluffy blonde moustache with hair to match... And that hair deserved a photo on its own.... The dinner table... The Boonys... Music: The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger

	2007.04.19  16.54 Fortune Party Poppers After recently going to the Oriental supermarket and buying fortune cookies, I decided I would make personalised fortune cookies for my friends as a novelty Bali gift. I soon realised that making fortune cookies is a difficult task so I made fortune party poppers instead. Each message related to something that one of the crew has done.... Thy shalt not shit thy pants. Twice. A wise Chinaman once said, “Advanced Hair. Yeah yeah.” Confucius say: Do not kiss someone until you are sure of their gender. Don’t worry, no one knows you are secretly afraid of party poppers. It is wise not to sleep between people who just shagged. Special price for you. Me love you long time. Dancing like an egg beater is good for the soul. Disabled toilets are there for one reason only. Don’t abuse your rights. Wow, doesn’t Suzie need to get a life? Far too much time on her hands.

	2007.04.05  10.37 Perth Thursday - Slept in, lunch at Hillarys with Dad. Did the tourist thing and had a photo under the sign that says how many kms to each country. Cooked dinner for Mum and Jess. Ahh so good to see my family! Friday - Welcome back drinks at the Brisbane. It was great to see everyone. We then headed to the Deen and then Black Bettys. Had a great 'Stand by Me' singalong in the MaxiTaxi. Saturday - Got breakfast in bed at Shendelle, Amy and Kylie's new place (The PAD). Went for a drive to get a tent during which time Jono ended up with an Indian headdress and I ended up with a cat mask. We were also introduced to Jono's alter ego, Angry Eric. Then a road trip to Northam to see Little Birdy and Karnivool. Sadly it was an alcohol free all ages event. We left at 6:30 to go to a BBQ ar Mop's house. This resulted in hair teasing and watching 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit.' Sunday - Lunch at the Carine with Scotty, Snowy and Shannon. Then a last minute free ticket to BlUes and Roots festival - saw the Waifs, Missy Higgins, John Mayer and Ben Harper. Amy and I managed to get backstage where our conversation with a security guard was rudely interrupted by John Mayer and I told Ben Kweller he looked like my ex-boyfriend. Monday - Worked at my old school as the Library Teacher. I couldn't believe how good all the kids were. I'm not sure if it's just me comparing it to London or if they actually are really good kids. Tuesday - Worked again as a Year 6 teacher. HIghlight of the day was a kid saying "Miss, can I go to the dunny." So Aussie. After work went to The Pad for a quick drink before LAWN BOWLS. True Crackerjack style. I was a big fan of the $2 wines and the knitted Easter chicks. Also a great place to meet guys ;) Wednesday - Last day of work, a lovely class of Year 6s again although was ridiculously tired - not good when faced with 40 minutes of Choir class and 40 minutes of Chapel. I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Highlight of the day here was some of the goals that the kids had written about in Health -lose my virginity (or viginity), date a guy and then dump him. Then dinner for Mum's birthday and a coupe of drinks at Pot Black with the crew. Thursday - Deciding I shouldn't really afford to go to Blackjack to see Birds of Tokyo and the Pixies. Had an awesomely relaxing day and then caught up with Jayne and Shan in Subi. Friday - Went to a 21st in Woodvale where we drank punch and played drinking games before heading back to The Pad to fall asleep. Saturday - Went to Quay Cafe at Hillarys with the crew for breakfast then shopping at Whitfords where we bought ID tags on lanyards. Shendelle then made us some very awesome ID cards stating that we were the NSW Twister Team over for the National Championships. We ran with the idea and managed to convince many people at the Paddo and Deen that we were Twister champs. Amy got the Twister game out for a while but the security guards made us put it away. Sunday - Had a BBQ at Mullaloo Beach Park for my sister's birthday. It was a great chance to catch up with all the family while I'm back. Sunday afternoon went to the Carine for a quiet couple of drinks then on to the Shed to bust a move. Monday - Went to a friend's house to visit my dog's puppy then to a BBQ at Krysta's where we somehow managed to dress the boys up as emos - eyeliner and all. Unfortunately this eventually led to the girls being decorated with moustaches. Tuesday - Lunch up in Lesmurdie with Kathryn and Katie at a rose farm where we drank Roseade and ate scones. The kind of thing that I would always have taken for granted but appreciate now. Tuesday night I caught up with Noelle from Contiki and we went to the Hip-e-club for Backpacker's Night. It's amazing the way someone I've known for 20 days feels like a friend I've known forever. Wednesday - Noelle and I went out for the MacDonald's hangover cure then I took my cousin to the movies to see Mr Bean's Holiday. We then went to Timezone where my self esteem was shattered to pieces after being called a loser and a failure by the machines. Heh. Then went with Jess and Hayley to see Tragic Delicate at the Rosemount where I got to catch up with Chels. I was then somehow dragged to Bar 120. Shame. Thursday - Lunch in Cotteslow with the girls from JSR. More amazing views and great company.

	2007.03.29  16.00 So... I'm back in Perth... The flight over was fine and I stayed awake the entire time - yes I was awake for 35 hours straight. When I got on the plane I was put next to a nice guy from Sydney who used to DJ and do sound at 93 Feet East. He gave me a copy of his CD (which is awesome - check out some music here). Sadly, I had to move from that seat cos my TV didn't work. I then ended up next to a lovely guy from London (grew up in Hounslow so lots to talk about there). When we got off in Brunei I had 4 hours to wait and the guys had 11 hours so I introduced them to each other and then we proceeded to finish off a bottle of Jim Beam and get drunk. At the "dry" airport.....good times. It was amazing to see Mum and Dad when I got home but within the hour it felt like I;d never left. Some friends and family dropped round to see me last night which was good but I was a bit scattered. Got up today and realised how mnay things I have grown accustomed to doing differently in London. It was so good to hang my washed clothes on a clothesline that was outside and to go shopping and be able to put it in the car and drive home. It was awesome to sing along to CDs in the car (I imagine that would get some funny looks on the tube). It was good to have stores that are on one level and shop assistants that don't ignore you. One thing I've really noticed is the Aussie accents - so many women sound like Kath and Kim! I'm sure it didn't used to be like this...are they putting it on? So apart from sleeping and a bit of shopping, I haven't done much else... I went for a drive along the beach - will have to go back tomorrow for a swim and to take my dog along for a walk.

	2007.03.25  16.06 3 more sleeps Went to the London Studios to be part of the live studio audience for Dame Edna's Spa Treatment and saw interviews with Martin Sheen, Fergie (Black Eyed Peas) and Tracey Emin. Really entertaining. My Friday involved: "Fuck you bitch" from a four year old. Teaching here is so sad. I'm going to write about it one time. The sweetest lunch with champagne put on by the ladies I work with. I cried when I saw the little table set out with mini quiches and salads and lemon tart and crisps. Having been in this job for only 10 weeks I didn't expect much but it was the most thoughtful and sweet way to spend my second-last lunchtime at the school. They also bought me a camara case (for my new camera) and some other cute Cath Kidston things. Drinks at Defectors Weld. I'd never been there before but I liked it. And such good company! I have met such great people since I moved here and it was so good to see them all in the one place :)

	2007.03.21  22.16 Home On Saturday night I went to Guanabar, an amazing Brazilian club in Covent Garden. As the 20 piece band played with smiles and soul and the dancefloor heaved with energy and passion I felt a little sad that Australia does not have a big emphasis on music and dance as part of our culture. But then I saw this (go on, click on it and don't forget the sound) and reminded myself of why Australia is so great. A culture of being outdoors and having a laugh and being easygoing and friendly and fun. This time next week I'll be on my way there....

	2007.03.18  13.48 St Patrick's Day For this Irish celebration I went to a Brazilian bar with my Kiwi and English friends to meet up with a Polish girl and kiss a Spanish guy. I love this city. Everything about it. OK, except for having my 3 month old awesome camera stolen out of my bag at Turnmills on Friday night :( Music: Sky Sports News (I'm getting sick of living with boys)

	2007.03.16  18.52 Decisions, decisions Technically, I shouldn't really be affording either but... OR ???

	2007.03.11  15.40 Changing Seasons Since the weather has become a bit nicer I have been walking to and from work every day. This means a 20 minute walk along the Thames from Hammersmith to Chiswick. I love the way the seasons are so obvious here and the changes are so noticable. These two photos were taken from the same spot along the river, one facing north and one facing south...

	2007.03.11  14.52 Yoo avin a laff? Last weekend I went to Leeds with some friends to visit Eli (who I used to work with in Perth) and her husband Matt. I kind of sent out a group e-mail to see who wanted to come and ended up with a mixed bag of a housemate (Nigel), a best mate (Sarah), a friend of a friend (Candice), a housemate's friend (Olly) and some girls I barely knew from my Morocco tour (Liz and Steph). I had no idea how this mix of people would go but it turned out to be a great mix and an awesome weekend away. We got to Leeds around 1pm and had a quick lunch before dropping our things at Eli and Matt's apartment in the city centre and heading for the shops. Although it is the 2nd biggest business centre in the UK, Leeds doesn't have a whole lot going for it other than the shopping and nightlife. We spent a fair bit of time at the Corn Exchange which is a huge old building that actually used to be a Corn Exchange but now houses shops selling retro and vintage clothes and a heap of one-off and random accessories and bits and pieces. I bought some polka dot bow clips and a pink flamingo perspex necklace (not too sure what I was thinking with that purchase hehe). We then went to the Leeds Markets where within the first 5 minutes I found the same boots that I bought in Chester which are now rather destroyed from being worn so much. 10 minutes later, Sarah, Candice and I all had a pair of these boots, having been served by the most personality-less woman in the world. After the shopping we set off on the mission to find our hotel which was supposedly 700 metres from the station, although involved a 20 minute walk, crossing major highways and entering what seemed to be a ghost town. I almost expected to see tumbleweed rolling along the road. We got ready and met the boys downstairs. By this time they had been at the pub for about 5 hours. Nigel was slurring his words and Olly had managed to miss doing up a button on his shirt. We decided to save ourselves the walk back into town and got taxis to Greek Street where we went to La Tasca for tapas and Sangria. We ignored the advice of our waitress and headed to the Bondi Beach bar which was tackily decked out in Aussie/beach paraphernalia. They had really cheap drink specials, cheesy music and a revolving dance floor so it was easy to stay entertained here for a while before going to the so-called good clubs. A stop along the way saw us sing Happy Birthday to a random girl.... and a toilet stop for the boys.... ....before we tried to get into Rehab (following the advice of La Tasca waitress). Not only was it a rip off to get in, it was also a gay bar. We decided to go to the bar across the road which was good for a dance. It has the biggest mirrorball I have ever seen and we all had a good laugh about the way the dance floor cleared every time Nigel starting 'dancing.' I was unsure whether the term 'dancing' should be applied here but I recently read a definition in TimeOut whereby dancing is, 'the rhythmic movement of the legs, arms and body, usually changing positions within the floorspace available and whether or not accompanied by musical support,' and this actually descrbes Nigel's moves quite well. We headed home around 2, marvelling at the way that females under the age of 20 in the freezing cold north of England are able to wear very little clothing with no apparent concern. In the morning we got a bus out to Roundhay where we went to an amazing pub for lunch and had the traditional roast with Yorkshire pudding and the lot. Not surprisingly, we were all on the Coke and Lemonade that day :)

	2007.03.08  18.26 teeheehee Found here Did it work?

	2007.03.07  19.25 You know.....and I know better..... This comic reminded me of a particular air guitar contest that I once saw at the White Sands. Boys should realise that freeballing in white tie up Bali pants is not so good for innocent bystanders. Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net Shendelle - this one's for you...

	2007.03.01  19.42 Save the Date I live with an English guy and he seems to keep getting 'Save the Date' cards in the mail. I thought they were cheapo wedding invitations but it turns out they are actually a prelude to a real invitation, sent months in advance because people's lives over here are so insanely busy that they need that much notice to attend a wedding. I don't really plan this far in advance but apparently I should have as I have already had the night I wanted for my last weekend in London drinks stolen by someone else (an alleged friend). So now it's on the internet and it's official. Anyone I know that reads this and will be in London on Friday March 23rd should get their diary out and save the date for.... Suzie's Last Weekend in London for a While Defectors Weld, Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush from 6pm Yep. Thanks.

	2007.02.26  22.41 My weekend involved... ...Jimeoin (Irish-Australian comedian), celebrating Chinese New Year with Chinese food in Chinatown at 1am, random photo shoot involving bins, stone blocks, the famous red hat and a moped, seeing the Killers at Wembley Arena, dancing the night away at Infernos, Sunday roast and a lot of laughs... I love my life.

	2007.02.22  14.11 Dagenham Yesterday I spent 1.5 hours on public transport and travelled 31 stops on the tube.