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!

May 30

Feeling a little lonely today...

I heard Jillian briefly this morning, but she must've left early to go to the library with Lina. Without much to do today, I decided to relax, watch movies, whatever. But I couldn't access many movies, so instead I decided to do some preliminary research for a paper I have to write in the next month, before I go on the Italy class trip. I wasn't going to even start thinking about it until after this semester was finished, in a week, but oh well. I made an outline and spent a couple hours searching for journal articles on the topic of environmental challenges in Venice. After that, I was feeling a little neglected by my boyfriend, because he's been pretty busy all weekend, and probably because I'm going a little stir-crazy. I haven't uttered a word today, haven't even seen anyone. Jillian is gone most days, working in the library with Lina, so I don't get to see her much anymore. Both of them will leave in less than a week to go home. I wish I were going home. I have no idea what I'm going to do for the next 20 days here alone. I'm going to go nuts.

When Jillian came home, she dropped some news on me. Because she would be doing an internship and her thesis next semester, she wouldn't be in Brisbane very much of the time. So, I probably should've put two and two together and seen this coming - she's moving out for the 2nd semester. Ahhh. I was shocked at first, maybe because I felt like it was sudden, but as I said, I should've guessed. Anyway, I was a little angry, not just at her but at the fact that I moved here with 2 girls and I thought we would be together the whole year and a half, now I feel like the only sucker left, the one that got ditched. It's so strange how the first semester was perfect... Then 2nd semester everything was difficult in terms of housing. Floods, mold, Lina at her boyfriends, then Lina moved out and the fallout from that, and now Jillian is leaving. Which leaves me here next semester all alone. Although I doubt Michael will work out any kind of deal for just me to live here (plus I don't want to live here anyway), so that means either finding a roommate or finding a new place. Nothing sounded like a good option. Of course I was frustrated for a while, with the why me, why is life so difficult, when's the next shoe going to drop, etc. And I was panicking about options.

Since I was especially homesick, this made me moreso. I don't want to be here if no one else is (I cringe saying that; I've never been one to follow what my friends are doing). Anyway, since I have a thesis and one class next semester (the thesis is mostly independent study, no lectures), I immediately thought, why can't I go home too?! So, I started exploring my options for online, alternative classes. I couldn't find much on the course website, so I shot an email to the academic advisor requesting information about that. Then, feeling very stressed, so stressed that my throat and jaw felt tense, I went to sleep.

May 29

Sunday, I went to breakfast with Jillian and Lina at a delicious place that had a large hot cocoa menu - YUMM. Then, we went to the computer lab at Lina's campus. Apparently there is some loophole in the system that students get $50 printing credit each semester at this computer lab. I thought it was just students within her program, but Jillian verified that it is all UQ students! I don't know why we don't get this at our campus!! So, I went with them, finalized my Research Proposal and printed it out - for free! Holy shit! Too bad I still have credits on my printing card to use up. I think I'll print all of my stuff there. Although, the bus fare might not make it worth it.

Let's see, it costs $3.12 cents round trip to get to Herston campus (for a student fare). So, the break-even point is at 14 printed pages, and that's not even including time. I think most of my papers are about 10-12 pages, so it's not really worth it to get the free printing (unless Lina's driving me one way to the lab (then the break-even is 7 pages). But still, it's usually more convenient for me to just print it between classes than to have to go all the way to a different campus just to print. I guess it makes sense for Jillian who has been going there a lot lately to work on papers...

Anyway, I couldn't concentrate in the lab, because the keyboards were really stiff and loud, so everyone else typing just bugged the hell out of me. I finished up my research proposal and printed it, but then headed home to work on the group project since I needed a couple of library books that I had gotten a few days before.

I went home, but the internet was down ALL AFTERNOON. I did as much work as I could without it, but then I needed to use it for referencing and to upload my work into our group document. It's very annoying that it doesn't work when I need it! I tried to reset the router and modem, connect directly into the modem, etc, but I think the afternoon storm caused an outage with the service provider... Without internet for an unknown time, I freaked. I got soo bored - how do I rely on internet so much! What to do!! I turned on the TV, which only has 3 channels, and cleaned a little, then after a few hours, the internet was back up and running so I finished my assignment for the rest of the evening.

May 28

This is the part of my weekend where days start blurring together because I work straight through. I woke up and plugged away at my paper for a few hours, cranking out a few more sections. Then breakfast and cleaned dishes and back to the paper for a couple more hours and DONE! I think I finished it!! Whoo! It wasn't as bad as I thought. I have to read through it and revise it, but I think that was basically it. I showered, then skyped with my parents for a bit, then decided to take a few hours off and watched a movie. Now it is dinner time and I think I'll either watch another movie or revise my paper. I'm feeling great for being so caught up!

Tomorrow - tackle the group assignment!!

May 27

Friday and the start of my weekend! Yay! I woke up, ate breakfast and had a skype date with my boyfriend, always good to see his face! Then I just started pounding away at my paper. I worked all day, only taking breaks to eat or snack. Jillian was also working all day, so we barely even said hello for the few minutes I saw her. haha! But, I made LOTS of progress on my paper and was feeling great about it. I think I wrote about half of it. Then at night, I finally did talk to Jillian and we sat and had a long conversation about babies and marriage and dating and love and crushes. In that order! Quite backwards! I love my conversations with Jillian, they always develop into so much...

May 26

Got to sleep in for a bit, yess! And talked to my boyfriend for a quick bit before class. He dropped some pretty scary news on me about a friend and it kind of stressed me out for the rest of the day. I took the bus and literally just sat there in a fog about it, nearly missing my bus stop!

I went to class, but really only because I hadn't gone last week and because I wanted to make sure to attend the last two so I could fill out the course evaluation. But I learned in class that they filled it out the week before! Damnit! That was the only reason I came!! Now I can't say all that I wanted to about this class that I hated! Ugh. The professor called me out about my emailed question - great, now he knows who I am (I guess I didn't stand a chance blending in as the only white girl). The rest of class I was totally stressed out and couldn't concentrate. I am stressed about money and how much work I have to do and how unproductive last night seemed and my boyfriend's friend and finally, I invited my boyfriend to my cousin's wedding and even though he has been begging me for months to go, he said NO! I felt so hurt that I had finally decided I wanted him there and he rejected me. I know my family can be intense, so I guess that's why, but I thought he was different. I tried to make myself feel OK about it, convincing myself of this, that and the other thing, but I couldn't shake it. It wasn't until I looked at the email again at the bus stop on the way home and scrolled down to see that he was kidding and of course he wanted to come. PHEW! That took some pressure off my day. A lot, in fact.

Then I went home and got to working on my research proposal. I spent all evening researching articles and reading all about it, feeling pretty productive and educated on the topic!! But I still hadn't really written anything down. Ugh oh well. It's the first step!

May 25

On Wednesday, I went to campus early for a group meeting, where we discussed our parts and all of the strategies we recommended, split up the last few sections and then headed to class. I'm really loving my group. We do a good job, trust each other, always get our parts done on time, and are pretty smart about things. It's nice having a familiarity with each other, so we can trust each other and know that somehow it will get done and it is usually pretty equal.

In class we had a guest lecture talk about event planning software for registration and planning tools. It was more interesting than I thought it would be. My group met after class for another 30 minutes to finish up our discussion on strategies and then we had a question about the assignment. Usually none of us attend the tutorials unless we need to and Jane usually goes to ask questions on behalf of us. So I went on behalf of the group this time and asked our question within the first 5 minutes. But I couldn't leave. So, I sat there and got a few more bits of information, but she kept calling on me "How's my friend from America doing on this section?" I was like ummm we're doing fine, no questions! Annoying. I'm not your friend. At least she likes me now. She didn't last semester, but I got one of the highest grades in the class on the first assignment, so I think she now likes me. Whatever.

Then I went home and worked a little bit on the group project, then started doing some research on my other final assignment - the research proposal. I didn't get much done and felt like I was going around in circles. I emailed the teacher and he emailed me back saying that it would be hard to focus on one company because usually they don't let you have access, especially if you're trying to dig out something negative. Ugh.

May 24

Tuesday and officially back to the grind!! Ugh. I woke up early for class, painful! Filled out an evaluation for my 2nd class of the day, then got a group assignment back - 6! Yay. Most other people in the class seemed to get pretty high scores too, so I think they are just easy graders.  Then class with the American Prof who asked me where I was last week! Whoops. I told him honestly. I don't think he cares. After class, instead of a TSA meeting, like usual, we had a fair and a booth to raise money for Japan! It was from 10-2pm, so unfortunately I couldn't go work the booth, but I came for the last 10 minutes and helped clean up! Haha. Oh well...

Back home on the bus and I talked to my boyfriend for a bit, then worked on a group project for the rest of the evening. 

May 23

I slept in. Mondays - no school! I talked to my boyfriend to make sure he made it home safely. Then talked to my parents for a bit on skype, then worked on a group project...

May 22

Today was my boyfriend's last day in Brisbane. We looked forward to it for soo long, and then the week seemed to fly by. Now, he was already leaving. But it's OK because I will see him in less than a month, so it won't be long of a wait. That probably made the sting of goodbye a little more tolerable. We slept in, then I went with him to the airport, we ate breakfast at the airport. He checked his bag and then we sat around until the very last few minutes before he had to go through security and board his plane.

Then it took me forever to get home. I just missed the train out of the airport, so I had to wait 30 minutes, then just missed the bus to go home, which only comes once every hour on Sundays. So I walked to the grocery store and did a little food shopping. When I finally got home, I found a present on my bed, a stuffed lion. Very cute. My boyfriend is too good to me and spoils me with romantic little gifts! It even talks, with his voice telling me all sorts of sweet little things so I can listen to him say niceties whenever I want.

Then I organized myself for the next couple weeks of work that are ahead of me. It's crunch time to finish all my school work in the next 10 days before the end of the semester. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing, calling it the last of my nights off and vowing to start work tomorrow.

May 21

Our last day in the Whitsundays, we slept in, packed up our suitcases and walked to have breakfast in town. The hockey game was on, so we watched a period of that and then went back to our hotel to check out and take a shuttle to the airport. We flew back to Brisbane and by the time we got in, we were hungry for dinner! We stopped in the Valley and walked (in the rain) to Guzman y Gomez, supposedly the only decent Mexican food in town (like a crappier Chipotle). It was pretty decent, definitely satisfied my craving for a bit. But the crazy thing is that we sat down next to a couple and they said HI! I didn't know who they were, so the woman reminded me that we had met in Tasmania! While my parents and I were visiting the Tasman's Arch and Devil's Kitchen, we met a family whose father had grown up in San Francisco, married an Aussie and now lives in Tasmania. His daughter had just married a Chicago-native, who she met while studying at Purdue. And the couple currently lives in Brisbane! So, I happened to not only cross paths, but order food at the same time and sit next to each other. What a crazy small world! We made small talk and then went our separate ways. Maybe I'll run into them again someday... Back home, we cuddled and watched UP on our last night together.

May 20

On Friday, we woke up early and got ready for our boat tour day. 10 minutes before we were scheduled to be picked up, I got a phone call that they were waiting for us in the driveway. Whoops! I guess they said 8:20 and not 8:30!! We were pretty much ready, though, so we hustled downstairs and got onto a van that shuttled us over to the dock. Apparently, the reason they canceled the trip yesterday was to put up new clear window screens, which looked pretty nice. It was a pretty small boat, but quite a few people on it. We cruised over to a look-out of Whitehaven beach, hiked up the hill and saw the gorgeous clear waters and white sands. This inlet had swirls of sand and turquoise water, really beautiful. And you could even see sting rays swimming along the bottom! We took some photos and then back to the boat where we went to the far end of Whitehaven Beach and my boyfriend and I swam to shore. It's a lot harder to swim in the ocean with waves. I'm not sure that I've ever done it before... Anyway, so we swam and then laid out towels and tried to dry off in the little bit of sun. I carved into the silica sand. Then who should I see walking down the beach, but a tan girl, with a brazilian cut bikini, big hair, a redheaded boyfriend and a big camera - Gabby!! I ran up and said hi to her and we chatted for a quick second about the craziness of running into each other on a random beach. If her boat had come any earlier, or ours any later, or if she had just stayed down at the other end of the beach, or if we had gone on different days, we never would've run into each other! But as luck would have it, Bucket Crew members will always run into each other if nearby!! Haha Our tour set up a BBQ on the beach and a storm was coming in, so we went to go see about the food. We sat down with a plateful of meat and fruit and it just started POURING. We stayed, hoping it would let up in a few seconds, but it kept coming down. My boyfriend ran to get the towels and backpack, and I took cover under the one shelter, huddling with everyone else, trying to finish our lunch. It didn't really stop for a while, so we packed up the BBQ, and waited for our guides to take us back to the boat. Our towels were heavy with sand and rain, so we washed them out in the ocean and wrung them out. Back on the boat, I used my clothes to towel off and we headed for a snorkeling spot up in Mantaray Bay. The journey to get there was VERY rocky and the boat was swaying back and forth. A few people got sick off the back of the boat and my boyfriend was concentrating hard on the horizon. It was a bit scary at times, but all I could think was, If I could handle that one boat ride in Thailand, this is cake! We made it to the snorkeling area and I didn't really want to go in, but was convinced to go check it out. I swam out to the area and in the murky waters, I could make out some schools of fish and barely some coral beneath. It was OK, but mostly like the other snorkeling I've done in Thailand. I was tired and not snorkeling very well, water kept getting in my mouth... So I headed back to the boat. My boyfriend stayed out a little longer and then came in before most people. Even with the boat anchored, it was still rocking violently. I enjoyed the view from the top deck and my boyfriend came up, but immediately started looking very pale and feeling sea sick. So much so that he had to go downstairs and sit on the edge with his feet in the water. On the way back, I hoped it would be better and it was, but he was already over the edge, trying to keep food down. haha So, he was pretty silent for the rest of the trip. I enjoyed the cheese and cracker snacks and paid for the drinks we had consumed, then back ashore on the mainland, safe at last! We got a shuttle ride back to the hotel in time to relax in the jacuzzi and shower before getting a massage in town. It was a very nice way to relax! We got subway (gave up on the dining options in town) and some drinks and headed back to the hotel for a nice quiet evening in and watched a terrible movie.