Mamasita

They say that third time's a charm, and in the case of getting into the Mexican restaurant in downtown Melbourne, this turned out to be true.  After failing twice before, my roommates and I (along with a couple of other friends) were finally able to squeeze our way into the restaurant.  Unfortunately, we were eventually split up because they could only fit us in in two groups.  I sat with my roommate Sun and my friend Bahar, while my other roommate Liz went off with one of her friends.  My two companions left the ordering to me because they felt like I had the best grip of what would be good.  I felt the pressure, but when the food came out they were impressed.  That allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief.

fish tostadas with guacamole

quesadilla with lamb and mint sauce

I've had the strongest craving for Mexican food lately, because I haven't been able to find it since I left California.  The food that we were served was definitely tasty, and I actually enjoyed it a lot, but I can't say that it filled the hole in my stomach.  It wasn't the "traditional" Mexican food that I'm used to, and I'm just waiting for the day I get home and can have an amazing burrito.  For now, the food we had will have to tie me over.  I think next we are going to try Greek and then Indian.  It's so fun sampling all the different places Melbourne has to offer, and I'm really glad I'm not living alone anymore.  I got out and did stuff on my own before, but it's nice to have company and I really enjoy my roommates.

chicken and molé

In other news, we had a HUGE storm today.  There was nonstop thunder and lightening, to the point where the sky looked like there were paparazzi around snapping photos every few seconds.  I enjoyed watching from my room, but didn't really like trekking through it to get to the restaurant.  It's a really good thing I invested in an umbrella, though it didn't keep my shoes from getting soaked through.  I'm hoping it clears up soon, especially because tonight I was trying to hurry through the rain and at one point I rolled my surgically fixed ankle (which is now just a bit swollen, ugh).  Unfortunately, I don't really have high hopes because the forecast is rain for the next four days.  Bummer  :/

Ahhh, Vacation

It is now Wednesday in week two of my vacation.  Unfortunately, time is slipping away, and before I know it, I'll be back in class.  Good news is that I met up with my partner yesterday and we made some headway on our Biomaterials term paper.  It is due a week after we return to school, and I think we are in a comfortable position.

I haven't really done much worth talking about.  I've spent a lot of time reading, relaxing, and on the computer, which I guess is just fine for vacation.  It's actually just what I need to get my brain ready for one final push.  One more month of instruction...SO CRAZY!

Last Sunday was probably my most "exciting" day of the past week.  I got up and the weather was great, so that was a nice way to start the day.  I cleaned up my room a bit before my roommate and I headed out to Victoria Market.  We stocked up on some really good, fresh food.  For me, this included chicken, fruits/veggies, freshly baked sourdough bread, and some delicious spreads (bruschetta, pesto, and some of the best hommus).  With all of these ingredients, I went on to make pesto chicken and put some sourdough bread in the oven with bruschetta and cheese.  YUM.  On the way back from the market, I decided (with some convincing) to go to the beach and take advantage of the sun (which is still fleeting...as I look out my window right now, a storm is brewing).  I got on the tram and made it out to St. Kilda.  It was nice to stroll in the sand and listen to the waves.  When I got home, my roommates and I ordered pizza and sat down to watch The Blindside.  It was an awesome movie and a nice way to cap off the day.

Tonight we are headed out on another attempt to get Mexican food.  One of my roommates is leaving for New Zealand tomorrow for the rest of the holiday, so we're all going out together before then.  I'm hoping we'll finally be successful, though we have a recommended Greek restaurant as a back up if things don't pan out.

Lastly, I went to the library and this time I picked up The Help.  I've heard so many good things about the movie, and I can see why because the book is great so far.  I'm hoping to be done in the next couple of days, and then maybe I'll hit the theaters on my last say of break and see how well the movie portrays the novel.

Time to head off for a run.  I want to be able to enjoy all the Mexican food I can stand, because this might be the only time I get some in my entire time here.  Tacos, burritos, enchiladas...please let this all work out, my craving is through the roof!!

Sakura Lounge

Well, it's Thursday, meaning the fourth day of my mid-semester break.  So far, I haven't done anything too exciting, though I've done a particularly nice job of avoiding campus.  Every morning I have the goal of getting there for a couple of hours to work on some computer-simulated electrical models, but I tend to find other things to do instead.  I've managed to get a lot of work done actually, but mostly in the reading/taking notes department.  I have one more big chunk of reading to do, and then I'll have no choice but to get to campus to do those models.

Besides working, I've been getting to the gym and reading a lot.  I've also been watching movies in the evenings, which is nice and relaxing.  Yesterday I ran all over, going first to the grocery store and then to the library to swap the three books I just read for two new ones.  Later in the afternoon, I indulged myself with my first ever spa day; needless to say, it was awesome.  It all started because I had woken up the day before and couldn't turn my head at all to the left.  It was very uncomfortable and eventually I decided to get it worked on.  After looking around, I found that the spa packages were a much better deal than the massages alone, so I went for it.  I mean, I'm on vacation, so why not?  I ended up at Sakura Lounge, which is tucked away in one of Melbourne's little alleys.  It's a really nice place and I would definitely like to make it back there at some point.  I slept like a baby last night because I was so relaxed.

The only other thing on my agenda for my vacation is to get some new shoes and to hopefully make it to the beach one day.  Apparently, someone forgot to inform the weather gods that it is now supposed to get warmer and less windy/rainy, and so we haven't really had beach weather just yet.  There's still time for that to change, and all I can do is keep my fingers crossed.

Also, another addition to my "to-do list" for when I get home:
14.  Listen to the radio:  As much as I enjoy my iPod and the iPod Alex gave me, I really just want the chance to listen to the radio.  I miss channel surfing, etc., even though I know it really annoys some people when I do it  :)

Rugby World Cup

Yesterday I got a taste of what it's like to be a real rugby fan.  The Rugby World Cup is currently being held in New Zealand, and there are 20 teams vying for the title.  Rugby is a big sport here in Australia, but I've just never gotten into it.  Yesterday, however, I was convinced to watch a match and met up with some of my friends to do so.  We ended up at Turf Bar in the CBD, where the crowd was decent, the beer was flowing, and there were many shouts from passionate fans.  The game that was on was Wales vs. Samoa, and while the Welsh followers were dogging their team for playing badly, I couldn't tell and the team still managed to pull off a win.  After that match was England vs. Georgia, and England (a much better team) easily took charge of the match.  It was a fun experience due to the noise and passion of the crowd, but I still don't think rugby is a sport I will dedicate myself too.  Apparently the United States has won one and lost one, so I don't know what our chances are of advancing to the next round.

Even better than rugby was the fact that in the back part of the bar, I managed to stumble upon one TV screen that was showing the Stanford vs. Arizona football game.  I couldn't believe my eyes, but it made my day.  I was finally able to watch the boys play and of course we won, 37-10.  There was another guy watching and it ended up that he had also attended Stanford.  He's an '05 grad with a degree in mechanical engineering, and he also has a younger brother who was on the water polo team and graduated last year.  Small, small world. 

Bar Lourinhã

Yet another successful food outing today.  Actually, it was more like a couple of outings, as I first spent the day wandering around the city, enjoying the nice weather and a cup of yummy gelato.  It was a great way to kick-off my two week break from school.  Later in the evening, I met up with my roommates and we tried to go to a Mexican restaurant.  This was our second attempt, but yet again we failed.  The wait was two hours long (our hypothesis is that it is so popular because it is really one of the only Mexican restaurants in the city) and so we decided to head over one block to a Portuguese style restaurant.  My roommate Liz did the ordering, and we enjoyed a somewhat lighter meal, followed by a pit stop to top off our dinner (with french fries, or chips as they call them here), before heading to a fancy place for dessert.  Let's just say, lots and lots of calories were consumed today, and my teeth feel like they are ready to rot out because of all the sugar.  However, I am content because as my roommate said, you only live once, so why not.

As I mentioned before, I'm on break now.  I finished up and submitted another paper, and it feels great to know that I can put my work aside for a couple of days and give my brain a rest.  There is still a lot to do, but now I can space it out and take on a slower pace.  After the two weeks are over, I'll have a month left of classes before preparation for finals begins.  The end of the semester is coming quickly, it's crazy!

Tomorrow I'll be meeting up with some friends to watch a couple of games of the Rugby World Cup.  Rugby is a much bigger deal here than it is at home, and the Aussies are all excited about it (though they suffered a somewhat embarrassing loss to Ireland this evening).  The US is holding their own, so far winning one (against Russia) and losing one (against Ireland).  I am slowly learning the rules, and hopefully I'll be able to follow along tomorrow.  I'll be in the presence of seasoned veterans, so I'm sure they can clarify things for me if need be.

Ten Years Later

Today is September 11, 2011, which marks the ten year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States.  It's hard to believe a decade has passed, and while so many things have changed, many others are still the same.  I remember exactly what I was doing that day, and that memory will probably be seared in my brain for the rest of my life.  Even though I was only in 8th grade and didn't fully understand the implications or the extent of the damage, over the years I have been able to learn and even see first hand the destruction and terror that disrupted our lives back in 2001.  While the nation has had a decade to recover, some wounds never heal.  We will always be thankful for those who risked their lives and ran into the smoke and devastation while everyone else was getting out of there as fast as humanly possible.  I feel extremely lucky that no one near me was harmed that day, but to all of those who lost their lives and to all the others who have had to live without their loved ones, today, a decade later, our nation remembers that time and prays that nothing like that will ever happen again.

Today I went to a remembrance service in downtown Melbourne.  It was the only one close by, and I felt compelled to have a few moments to reflect back on that day.  I entered St. Paul's Cathedral, and with many others we went through moments of silence interspersed with prayers led by people of all denominations.  The ten Australian citizens killed that morning were named and their families recognized.  It was a nice gathering, with a candle service in commemoration and flowers laid out to honor the fallen soldiers.  I'm really glad I chose to attend, and I hope tomorrow (September 11 back home) that everyone stays safe.  Let us never forget the heroes that were made on that fateful day.

Five. More. Weeks.

Yes, that's right.  Five more weeks of instruction...my last five weeks of being a student before chugging through finals.  I actually only have one more week before our mid-semester break, where my plan is to sleep, eat, read, and maybe do a little bit of homework.  Actually, I know I'm going to have to do a good amount of work because I have a lot of loose ends to tie up before the semester comes to a close.  I'm in the middle of writing my second big paper, with two more to go after I'm finished (for different classes).  Add in a project that's worth 70% of my grade (one that still hasn't really been laid out for us yet) and I am going to be one busy girl.  This last month of school is just going to fly by.  Even in the midst of all these projects, I have made time to continue some pleasure reading and have just finished John Grisham's The Associate.  I came back from the library this afternoon with four more books that will hopefully keep me occupied for some time.  I'm loving the little North Melbourne library and I'm really glad I took the time to get a library card; it's saved me a lot of money.

All this work and reading means that I haven't really been able to get out and do anything exciting, though you never know what the weekend will bring.  I'm just hoping the weather clears up because this morning (and actually all through the night last night) we had some very heavy rain and even a bit of a hailstorm.  I'm waiting for the day Melbourne decides to embrace Spring without looking back.

Also, more additions to my list:
11.  Jimmy V's Sports Cafe
12.  Pasquel's Italian Restaurant
13.  The Dish:  I want to run The Dish because I think now I might be able to make it all the way through without stopping.  Of course, I've only been training on flat surfaces and The Dish is full of hills and valleys, but I was close before I left and feel like I'm in better shape now.  I guess only time will tell.  Oh, and the view from the top is amazing and I can't wait to see all of the red tiles on the buildings of the Stanford campus  :)

Malaysian Lunch

My roommates and I set out on another food adventure yesterday.  Our intention was to eat at a Mexican restaurant, but their website led us astray and they weren't actually open for lunch after all.  So instead we found ourselves at a Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown.  One of my roommates recommended it and when we got there, he ordered for us.  We got three dishes to share, and they were all very yummy:  tofu, noodles, and curry chicken.

After lunch we ended up walking around downtown for awhile, which was good in helping aid the digestion process.  There's always stuff to see and things going on downtown, so there's never a dull moment.

When we got home, it was mid-afternoon and I got to baking a carrot cake.  I was anticipating having one of my friends over for dinner and I thought it would be nice to have something sweet in addition to the meal.  Not only did it turn out well, but it also made the apartment smell good.  Dinner was nice and afterwards we watched a movie.  A very good, relaxing Saturday evening.

Today I tried to get some work done on my cell migration paper, but I mostly ended up reading.  I finished The Simple Truth and will now have to move onto the John Grisham book I have.  Before I get wrapped up in that I should probably get through this week of school (only two more until a short break...thank goodness!).  Tomorrow I'll be heading to the hospital so that we can complete a lab for Clinical Engineering; we'll be taking each others' EKGs, so it should be interesting!

Wow, Technology

What a technological world I live in...syncing my iPhone with my laptop while uploading pictures from my fancy camera.  At the same time, listening to music on the iPod while playing a game on the iPod touch, BBMing on one Blackberry while trying to sort out the issues with the other.  Oh and the picture was taken with my beat up little point-and-shoot camera, just to add to the list.

Springtime Happiness

It's been a great day so far, and it's only 4:30pm.  I took my time getting up because my Biomaterials lecture was cancelled, resulting in a three-day weekend.  Once I finally rolled out of bed, my lack of breakfast food (oatmeal) forced me to make french toast.  Needless to say, it was a very nice meal.  Afterwards I read a little bit (I've moved on to David Baldacci's The Simple Truth) before plugging through an assignment and beginning my spring cleaning.  Spring cleaning was great and I ended up with a new room arrangement; it's always fun to change things up.  I went for a run, came back up for lunch, and then it was off to the grocery store.  The weather outside is amazing at the moment, and I'm really hoping it will remain this way now that spring is officially here.  In any case, I came home and was greeted with a package in the mail; it was a great way to cap off the day so far.  It came from Alex and inside was a newer Blackberry phone and the iPod that I've been waiting for for months and months.  My mom always told me that patience is a virtue and in this instance she was definitely right:  there is so much new music on there that I don't even know where to begin.  It's going to be a week of music heaven and I can't wait.