June 21

I feel like today has just been waiting around until I get to leave... All I did was do some laundry, finish up packing and now I'm heading off to have drinks with my friends to celebrate my last night in Brisbane! =(

I'm going to miss living here, but not going to miss all of the drama that's happened.

Tomorrow, I head east and travel around the world for 1 month exactly. I'll go to Hawaii for a few hours, then California for a little over a week, then Italy for 2 and a half weeks, then Dubai for a night on the way back to Brisbane... I must be crazy.

June 20

I went to sleep early last night to get a good night's sleep before my exam, but instead I ended up waking up several times during the night and having lots of dreams, so no rest. =( In my final dream right before I woke up, I was a superhero fighting my villain in the air, above the ocean and I had lots of cool powers. You'd think it would be very cool, but I was actually stressed in my dream, struggling to get this other guy off of me. Anyway, then I got up and went to my final exam. It was different questions than on the study guide, but once I figured out what he wanted from us, the answers came pretty easily. So, it wasn't too bad. I bullshitted one question that I didn't know the answer to, but I think I got pretty close, so hopefully I'll get some points for that. I think I did pretty well on the rest of the test, maybe got a good score. We'll see.

Then I went to lunch with some of my friends and went home... I talked to my boyfriend for a bit, and then started packing, because I still feel pretty disorganized and like there's a lot to do. Before I knew it, I had packed away almost everything, even clothes to wear to sleep and tomorrow! =( Not sure what I'm going to do now. I also have laundry to do tomorrow, so I don't know where that stuff is going to fit... I guess I'll have to do some rearranging tomorrow. Then, I didn't feel like editing my essay, so I watched a couple movies instead.

June 19

I was so tired so I tried to sleep in as late as possible, but then got up and started writing my paper. This is it. The last day I have to work on it before I need to start focusing on packing, etc! And my exam is tomorrow! Ack. I worked for a few hours straight and finished it. I just have the abstract and editing left to do... I also booked my stopover in Dubai and a hotel, so that's all settled. Just have to figure out my first two days in Rome and then where I'm going to stay when I get back to Brisbane! haha. Ugh.

Now, it's about 9pm, time to cram for my exam tomorrow and get to bed early!

June 18

The Divorcee said she would've taken me up to see the sunshine coast, if I didn't have school work to finish, but she did invite Michael and I to dinner tonight. She said she would cook Spaghetti Bolognese - Mmm, my favorite! So, I worked on my paper all afternoon and finished by dinner time. She came home late and didn't have anything but take-out. Oh well! We still enjoyed it and the company. Found out a little bit more about her and she told us some stories of when she visited California. It was nice to relax and not think about my paper for a while. After dinner, I studied for my exam a bit and went to bed.

June 17

Done with all of the reading for my paper, now time to start writing. And it's already Friday, so at some point I have to do some studying before Monday's exam!! Ack! This means I have to write roughly 1,000+ words each day, plus study. Then pack between Monday and when I leave on Wednesday. I'm starting to feel a little stressed. I skyped with my mom, and my boyfriend, which always eats up half my day, but I still was able to knock out 1,000+ words for the paper in a reasonable time! I'm becoming pretty good/speedy at researching and writing these papers... yay! Hopefully I can get everything done in time! I am working on this paper, trying to get it done, but I need to remember that it is last on the priority list. First is the test on Monday, then packing, THEN if worse comes to worse, I can work on the paper a bit in California (although I hope not!!). UGH.

June 16

All day today, I read journal articles for my paper and became an expert on all of the environmental challenges of Venice. Sheesh. During breaks, I researched for my upcoming travel vacations and sent emails. I also called my mom for a bit, then messed around on this new program called Prezi.com, which makes your presentations more dynamic... Ooh! Since I have to do a presentation for the Italy class (topic TBD), I will use that program to make it more interesting than just a PowerPoint. Since I won't be there to deliver it, it will be good to have it move and stay interesting!

June 15

Today, I had to go back to campus for the TSA elections. I am not sure how many people would show up. We invite all of the members, but I've heard in the past usually it's just the committee and candidates voting... And that's exactly what happened. Except half the candidates aren't members, so they technically cannot vote, even for themselves. It was stressful because a lot of my friends were running, even some against each other. The whole process was pretty disorganized, but oh well. They gave mini speeches and then we voted on each position. During which, I was writing notes to Heather asking how the process would work. I've been panicked about it since my friends expect me to vote for them and I don't want to necessarily vote for them. =( We did silent ballots, but unfortunately, Heather read them right in front of everyone, whispered but everyone heard. Which was terrible, because Krysty won unanimously so it was obvious that I did not vote for my friend, Andy. He was furious and I was so embarrassed, I could barely even look at him! Then my friend, Christian won and Hans... Then Secretary had no contenders, so I made a small speech about how important the role is. One girl (who we were secretly hoping would run) decided to join and Andy, despite friends pushing him, said no. So, she won. Yay. I was very happy with the results and thought that the best people won. But I was very afraid that Andy would be so upset he would never speak to me again.

I rode the bus home with Christian and discussed a bit with him, mostly about the program and our disappointments. I told him I would be moving away next semester... Then I went to the store in Rosalie on my way home to pick up a couple groceries and walked home. Luckily Andy did text me, which means he was mad, but will get over it. He said some immature stuff, but whatever. As long as he's not going to ignore me for the rest of the year.

I spent the rest of the afternoon conducting business for TSA - sending emails announcing the winners, congratulating the winners, condolences to the losers, etc... With the rest of the evening, I read a bunch of journal articles for the paper I have to write, and talked to my boyfriend before sleep.

June 14

There's still no internet. Supposedly it's something wrong with Telstra and they said it will be fixed around 7pm TONIGHT. Ugh. Luckily, I had to go to campus all day today, so it wasn't too bad. I had TSA interviews for a few hours, meeting new candidates for next semester. There are a LOT of good people. It was hard because I knew some of them through my classes, so it was hard to be unbiased. I think my friend Andy wanted me to give him preferential treatment, but as a TSA officer, I can't. I have to do what's best for the organization. I felt a little caught in the middle, like asking straight up interview questions to my friends.. Oh well. Hopefully they understand. My boyfriend got mad at me for a joke I made on facebook. Man, I just can't win these days. I wasn't trying to piss him off and somehow I failed. I don't know, I guess I'm just not on top of my game lately and need to back off. UGH.

I got a pizza during my hour break and then headed to a study group for my exam which was kind of worthless. I'd already done all of the work for the last group and compiled all of the data, so they didn't really tell me much new. That ended after 7 and then I bussed into the city, but by the time I got there, I had JUST missed my bus to home and they only come once every hour that late! So, I didn't really want to sit there for an hour and on top of that some homeless/drunk guy made 1 comment to me, so I stuck my arm out and hailed a cab to take me home. $15, annoying.

Back at home, I replied to some emails regarding my Venice class trip and fed Banjo. It's really creepy being here all alone. I keep thinking I hear noises, but it's probably just the dog. I went up to feed him and the gate was open, but not much. I don't know if Banjo got it open or someone else opened it or what, but that didn't help with my irrational fears that some one is out to get me! haha

June 13

I fell asleep at 10pm last night, then woke up at 4am. UGH. But I went back to sleep around 7 or 8 until 11am. So, with what was left of my day, I studied for my exam, tried to avoid Michael and wondered when the Divorcee was going to move in. I also had no internet for most of the day, but luckily my studying could be done without the internet and it was sort-of good because it made me focus. Kind-of. I watched a movie as a reward and then tried to go to sleep at a decent hour.

June 12

Set my alarm and helped Jillian move some of her stuff next door to Matt's house for storage. She wasn't able to get ahold of him to tell him we were coming, but she assumed the door would be unlocked. It wasn't! We found a key, but it didn't fit, so we ended up having to leave the stuff by the door. Hopefully she'll tell him later and he'll be nice enough to move it inside. I still have two suitcases that I need to take over there who knows when! =( Guess I'll have to get his email and coordinate that. Ack. Then, I said goodbye to Jillian and she took off for the airport. Just me left!!! =( I closed up the living room and kitchen, since it will soon be someone elses. It feels weird to have someone else come live in what was MY space like right in front of me. I've really been dreading this next week because I'll be here alone, and have to go upstairs to Michael's area for everything. Also feels weird not to reap the benefits of cleaning! haha I feel like I just cleaned all day yesterday and now I have to use the most unclean place ever.

Anyway, I tried to go back to sleep, but pretty soon after, Michael came downstairs and started banging around. He was hard at work, painting the bathroom. He said he couldn't find the color of Lina's room, so he decided to paint the bathroom with this color instead. I didn't want to tell him that the light gray in Lina's room has been completely used up. I'll just play dumb if he asks because I wasn't around when they did any of that. His problem. He is really the worst at time-management. He is gone for work 80% of the time, so he doesn't have time to buy fresh groceries or clean his house. He doesn't have time to get things done around the house in time for this woman to move in, so instead he rushes to do it on her move-in day. Now her wall is going to smell like fresh paint when she moves in, plus, it's going to be a very sloppy paint job, because he is rushing to get it taken care of. Thanks for never doing ANYTHING while we lived there!! =(

I went upstairs to make some breakfast and was so disgusted by everything that I didn't spend long up there. My biggest pet peeve is dirty dishes, especially when you have a dishwasher, which is funny because I was terrible about it when I was a kid. I just don't see how someone with a dishwasher lets things pile up so badly (but again, we're dealing with some time management issues)... Anyway, I cleaned a pan so I could use it, then made some eggs. I don't even want my stuff touching his. Everything was sticky... Then I cleaned the dishes I used (because the dishwasher was full) and retreated back downstairs.

Then, I studied for a bit, but talked to my boyfriend and we fought again. Awesome. Basically, I feel like I'm doing everything wrong. So, I ended up feeling like I'm totally undeserving of a boyfriend at all and further just felt incredibly alone since I can't even go cry to Jillian... haha I miss her already, we grew pretty close and I really enjoyed our relationship. Sure, we will still be friends, but it will never be the same. It's just one of those things... We won't see each other as much and it's likely that we'll just grow apart with all the distractions back home. Even Lina, who I thought would be a lifelong friend, is off doing other stuff and I never see her much anymore. I feel like I came so far and now suddenly I'm back to the beginning. Still not a scrap of furniture to my name, moving to a new place with no network, no job, etc. It's going to be pretty hard.

For the rest of the day, I studied, walked to Rosalie for some take-out, and watched a movie. Pretty standard stuff.

June 11

From what I can remember of talking to my boyfriend last night and this morning, things seemed better. We already seemed more excited to talk to one another. So, hopefully it will be OK.
Some of the people I met last night were going to watch the hockey game this morning at the Pig and Whistle, but when I woke up, I sure wasn't feeling like going back out to a bar. I especially didn't want to rush to get ready and then end up missing half the game. So I decided to forgo the game and hang out, relaxing at home. I was also nervous because today is Jillian's last day and we still have to clean the apartment, so I was getting stressed about when that was going to happen. Jillian packed, I cleaned the bathroom, then I decided to pack a bunch of stuff too. It looks like I'll have to leave a couple bags here, which I'm not happy about, but it will save a couple hundred bucks... So, I started trying to figure out what I would need to bring home, what I wanted to leave, etc.

Took a break from packing and Jillian and I cleaned the kitchen, cleaned out the food in the fridge and cabinets, etc. I mopped the floors while Jillian finished packing. UGH What a day. My back was hurting from all that, so we finished off our vodka and decided to go out to dinner. It was already pretty late, though. So we just headed downtown and ate at a random little place on Queen St. Mall. Food was standard, not good, not bad. We shared bruschetta, pizza and a burger! Then we walked around in the rain and I had never been inside the Treasury Casino, so we went there for a pit stop, walked around, then walked back down Queen St. Mall. We headed over to the Winterfest at King George Square, but it was already closed for the evening.  Oh well. Then we walked back and decided there wasn't much else to do, so we took a cab back home. It was kind of shitty weather, otherwise I'm sure Jillian wanted to enjoy the city a little more, one last time... Oh well. As with all things - anticlimactic. We headed home and I was exhausted, so I went to bed soon after.

June 10

I slept in pretty late and then had a skype date with my boyfriend, which was probably one of the worst skype calls I've ever had. Just awkwardness, felt like neither of us were that into it. Jillian went to campus to buy some books and I was supposed to meet her afterwards for ice skating, but she said that her friend's party was starting early, so she came home instead. By that time I was fighting with my boyfriend about things. Guess the honeymoon stage is over! UGH. Things have just seemed off ever since he left a few weeks ago and I'm not sure what it is, but it's like we've talked less and haven't even been that excited when we do talk. Maybe we are just taking each other for granted. I know he was busy for a week and so was I, but since I've finished my assignments, I've been pretty bored lately. And stressed about housing... Who knows, maybe we just need to focus more on appreciating each other. Jillian was having guy issues as well, so we had a few drinks at home, made a quick dinner, then headed out to her friend's party.

It was a back-yard party and I wore heels, so I was trying to hold them out of the grass for most of the night. It was good to meet some of her school friends, many of them were American or Canadian. So, I was able to talk with them easily... Jillian's ex-boyfriend showed up, which was pretty awkward for a while. Then, we walked to the West End, to a bar. We had a drink there, but Jillian and I were pretty tired, so we decided to head out. Got some pizza and fries to eat on the way home and then talked about the night for a while, and about Jillian's ex. Poor girl. I know it was hard on her to see him one last time. And it made her realize some things, but I'm really proud that she did realize them because now it feels like she can start to get over it, in a healthy way. Then I talked to my boyfriend and went to sleep.

June 9

Jillian and I went to the Powerhouse today to see the World Press Photo exhibit of award-winning photographs from 2010. There were some very powerful and disturbing images, depicting some of the tragedies of 2010 - Haiti earthquake, Floods in Pakistan, stampeding crowds at the Love Fest etc. In fact, most were quite visually disturbing and because they wanted to  black off those photographs for an audience of 15+, they were all grouped together. I've never really noticed the importance of gallery layout before, but this one was noticeably not very good. Some of the captions were in the corners, meaning you would have to block another photograph to read it, spacially people were constantly bumping into each other or in the way. It was quite cumbersome. Again, with all of the most graphically disturbing clumped into one room, the others were spread along hallway walls upstairs and next to the cafe, making them seem less important. In fact, Jillian brought up a good point that the show and in fact all of the contest photos seemed to be dominated by negative things. Where are the uplifting, positive influential images?!

Afterwards, we took the city cat back to the CBD and ate breakfast at the Pancake Manor. We had both only been there once, and now I know why. I like the idea of it better than the food. Oh well.

Back at home, I took a nap while Jillian began to pack up all of her stuff. This evening was supposed to be the opening of the Winter Wonderland in King George Square, complete with ice skating! Jillian and I really wanted to go, but I guess they weren't quite finished with it, so they pushed it back to open the next day. No harm. Jillian and I have lots of booze to finish before we leave at home, so we put a big dent in our Capt Morgan and I watched a movie..

June 8

Slept in and then caught up on TSA stuff all morning. Afterwards, I worked on my part for the exam study group.. Then I watched half of a movie before it stopped buffering. =( Oh well.

I'm just realizing how much stuff I have to pack. I even have a sleeping bag that will take up half a suitcase! Ahhh. I think I'm going to have an extra bag. This is going to be expensive. ugh.

June 7

On Tuesday, I had sort-of a busy day. I went to campus for a group meeting. It didn't take long and there wasn't much discussion, just divided up the questions into 4 parts and luckily I took charge of it so I could call dibs on the same allotment of questions for both groups I am in (one I have to do questions 15-28 and the other 22-28!). Then I had a break in between meetings so I tried to go see the Financial Advisor, but she was out of town, so that didn't quite work out. Afterwards, I had a TSA meeting, where we discussed future candidates and my replacement. I got a text from Jillian saying that Michael came to talk to her and told her that a woman might be coming by to look at the place and might want to move in quickly, which would mean that I may have to use the upstairs kitchen and bathroom for my last couple weeks here. I'm sorry... WHAT? I'm getting kicked out of my space early?? This is ridiculous.. It just seems absurd to me. Whatever, there's not much I can do.

So, after the meeting, I came home and this lady did indeed come over. She looked older, divorced. She toured the place and then talked for a long time with Michael. Meanwhile, I talked to Jillian about jerky politicians, cheating, marriage, etc. All with the door to upstairs open, so I'm sure the recent divorcee heard everything. Oh well. Anyway, then Michael came down and told us that she is moving in, this SUNDAY! The same day Jillian leaves. Should be an interesting day! UGH. And after that, I will sleep in my room, but use the upstairs bathroom and kitchen... He also said he would put up a door between her space and this other area, so she won't see me. And he'll paint the wall in her room. HAHA Yea right! Jillian and I looked at him like REALLY?! First of all, he's said so many things that haven't happened and secondly, if he can get that wall painted in a couple days (even while he's gone on business), then why the FUCK couldn't he have gotten the rest of the house painted during those first 6 months that we were living here?!?! It's a bit of a slap in the face. I'm only slightly relieved that this lady moving in means that I won't get stuck with all of the cleaning by myself. Jillian and I will both have to clean the apartment to get it ready for her. Oh well. It's going to be VERRY awkward living with Michael for 10 days. He should be gone for half of it, but still. UGHHHH.

For the rest of the night, I drank and talked with Jillian about her guy and how she deserves better. Maybe not tonight, but one day I hope she realizes it. She's soo selfless and giving that she doesn't even think it's OK to expect a guy to treat her with respect. I don't know how to tell someone that they deserve it. You gotta believe it 'cuz only then will you act like it and not let guys walk all over you. I have no idea where I learned this. And I'm not perfect, I've got my own relationship issues, I'm sure, so I can't talk, but... The girl is awesome. I hope she knows it.

June 6

Not much planned for today. Slept in, did some laundry, then played around on Photoshop for most of the day, editing photos. Read the last two articles for my exam prep. Jillian made some delicious chicken soup and Michael had us tidy up the downstairs so he could take some photographs to post online. Unfortunately, he wanted to do this RIGHT as Jillian was in the last 30 minutes before her paper was due, so it was kind of the wrong time. But we managed to work it out. Phew. Only a couple more weeks!!

June 5

Woke up because Michael was moving stuff. Tried to sleep in through it, but was pretty unsuccessful. Very angry that this is what woke me up... Anyway, Jillian and I needed to go to the store, desperately. We've been living on scraps for the past week or two! We just missed the bus and on Sundays it's always difficult. Michael luckily offered to drive us there. So, we got a ride with him, then went to go eat breakfast. Went to the store, and caught the bus home. Today is the one and only day that the Governor's House is open to the public for tours! We've lived a few blocks away and never seen it, so we put away groceries and then walked across the large park to the base of the Governor's House. We climbed the steep path through the gardens and when we made it to the top, there were bagpipes playing. What a beautiful day! We walked around the grounds, took a quick tour of the house and then headed back home because Jillian had to finish her paper. Michael kept moving more stuff all over the downstairs, which was pretty distracting, but I read a couple articles and watched a movie...

June 4

I slept for half the day, then read some articles for my final exam. Later, Jillian and I decided to take a break and I was craving Mexican, so we went to Guzman y Gomez. I'd only been there once before and it was really good, not spicy at all. But this time, my mouth was on fire from the "spicy chicken". I wanted to die. Still good, but not as enjoyable. Then we walked back up to the Valley and got a cab downtown to the Tin Billy. Finally, I can return to the Tin Billy!! We got a beer, but the credit card machine only did a minimum of $20, so we had to buy two rounds. WTF. Oh well. We talked about our theory for a bit, then played some pool with some random weirdos. Then cabbed home and I talked to my boyfriend until the wee hours of the morning.

June 3

I slept in really late, then didn't really do much all day. Just organized my computer and read an article for my upcoming exam. I skyped with my boyfriend and that was about it. Michael came home in the evening, so Jillian and I went upstairs to talk to him and let him know that we were leaving. He seemed pretty flexible about it, so I'm relieved. For the month that I'm back in August, I can either rent the room upstairs from him or need to find another temporary accommodation situation through a sublet or hostel or whatever. Gotta decide what I want to do for that... Then, I watched a movie and went to bed really late again. I gotta reset my clock back to normal schedule! Ugh.

June 2

Thursday, it was my last class of the semester, but since I already turned in my report, there was really no point in going to class. So, I slept in and skyped with my mom and Steven. Calculated that it would actually be about the same cost to stay in a hostel or pay rent here until August, so I can give Michael the option about that. I bought my plane ticket to return home at the end of August, making it OFFICIAL. Pretty crazy.

Lina came over for a hot second to pick something up from the bathroom and talk to me. I told her and she sounded sad that I would be gone, but I haven't seen her hardly at ALL this semester, so I didn't expect it to be any different next semester! =(

I received the finished report from Jane in the morning, and I had all day to edit it. 56 pages! I don't know how it can be that long - it's ridiculous! There's no way we need that many appendices, but whatever. I'm not the one printing it. So, I leisurely edited it throughout the day, finishing just before my midnight deadline... That's it - I am officially DONE for this semester!!! Pretty crazy.. (Ok, well I still have a final exam, but close enough. I'm done with my assignments) It's all happening so fast. But I'm excited to be going home.

June 1

I was supposed to have a group meeting in the morning, but I woke up feeling just exhausted... I texted Jane and she hadn't heard from Manuel, so the two of us made an executive decision to postpone until after our class in order to get more sleep! Little did we know that Manuel was already on campus for another group project in the morning. Whoops! Anyway, then we had our last class with Robyn. Whew, finally done that that woman! Manuel volunteered to take the course evaluations to the office (she can't touch them after we fill them out), which means that the three of us essentially volunteered for this job. So, we walked all over campus looking for a building that was torn down. The instruction sheet was wrong! Finally, we found the building was very close to our original class building. UGH! Oh well. So, we sat down in the Student Center and met about our project, despite glares from the staff. Our last group meeting, very sad. I broke the news to them that I wouldn't be around next semester much and they were of course sad. Jane offered to turn in any assignments for me, if I needed, which was super nice. During the meeting, I was so exhausted. Manuel kept laughing because I was so out of it! =(

Then I rushed home and only had a couple hours to finish up my part of the group assignment, before Jane took it offline to revise and do referencing. So, I quickly did the last of my part and wrote the conclusion. I was exhausted from such a long day. And freezing, so I took a shower to warm up. By then it was too late to take a nap, I ended up staying up and watching a movie, then got a second wind.

Jillian met with her thesis advisor today and the advisor gave her some good suggestions and told her she basically didn't have to come back if she didn't want to. But also gave her good reason to come back (to get outside the element when writing). So, Jillian's plan is set, which means I told Jillian my plan and I think she was just shocked that I had done all of that in a couple days because she seemed a little taken aback. Anyway, it should all work out. Soo, with that confirmation from Jillian, I sent an email to TSA and let them know I would not be able to be secretary next semester. It's all coming together, I hesitate to say so easily...

Ended up going to bed late, again.

May 31

I had no morning class, so I slept in and went to my favorite American professor's class. He scared us about the final exam, went over some material, and then we filled out course evaluations. After class, we all discussed study groups and I was invited to two, both of which I wanted to be in. I'll gain two different perspectives! The more the merrier, I say. Off to a TSA meeting, where we discussed the end of the semester and elections for new member positions. Then I went to the Business Faculty and requested a drop-in appointment with the academic advisor (I didn't get a reply to my email). Luckily, he was available, so I sat down and explained my situation and we discussed my options. Basically, I was doing everything I could to search for classes, there were no short-cuts or tricks he could give me. If I didn't find an online course at UQ, I could try to do an online course at one of their affiliated exchange abroad schools or take a summer class instead. I also considered taking a course in my major that I know would be pretty easy (no group projects) and then just not attend half the classes. I did more research when I got home about online courses and was able to find a few realistic options. The most likely is an Education class about identifying youth at risk. It seems easy enough, but I'm not sure if I would rather do a course that's within my major or not. I emailed my mom and surprisingly she was very supportive of those two choices, so they are looking pretty likely. I just need to decide and think about what to do for that month I'm back here, and then find out where Jillian is at with her process, when she's talking to Michael.

Pretty quickly after I finished researching, the internet cut out and was down for the rest of the evening. So, bored, Jillian and I got to talking about religion and life, etc. I love my deep conversations with her! And then suddenly we started developing a theory about life and both got excited about it and continued for the next few hours discussing and analyzing this theory. We thought it was so genius, in fact, that we must be redeveloping someone else's theory. But we wrote it all down anyway. Before we knew it, I looked up and it was 1am! So, with my mind reeling with that and all of the housing stuff, I helped a classmate out with an assignment and then went to bed around 3am! Jeez!