Vegemite (February 27, 2002)

Once again I have been a slack arse about writing but here I am, alive and well (for the most part) . I have just returned to Sydney after a month away, feels good to be back home. So let me think real hard and let you know what's been going down in Lauraland the past couple of months...

Let's see...Xmas came and went and so did a guy from Perth who kind of neglected to mention to me that he had a little innocent 18 year old girlfriend that he was not only dating but um, living with. So then came New Years which went off big time. Started the nite at a party with an awesome view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge where we saw an unbelievable fireworks show at the stroke of midnite. Actually, more like 12:06 for me because I got locked out of the party helping out a sick friend. We then made our way back to Bondi with our sick friend, her boyfriend and their friend, put her to bed and made our way down to the beach to check out Mobile Home, this huge rave that was charging a shitload to get in. Knowing a rip off when I see one and being the classy chick that I am, I instead decided to join a group of about 20 mostly huge guys, ran past the security guards, got down the gates and got in for free. Mum would be so proud.

The next two weeks bit big time, I started my new job in the workers comp department of the largest insurance company in New South Wales. I never thought I'd actually look forward to pee breaks. I guess they must have liked my alphabatizing skills though because they asked me back for another 4 weeks. However, I was forced to refuse because daddy was coming into town. I spent the next few days with my dad and stepmom, wining and dining and showing them what Sydney had to offer. Sadly, I think my dad's favorite part was leching at the topless beach bunnies through his binoculars on Bondi Beach. I'm not the only classy one in the family.

Dad and Margo then left to continue their Aussie adventure up the coast and were replaced by another visitor, my friend and old LA roommate Cindy. I don't think there was one thing we didn't do. Some of the highlights were seeing a Charlie Parker tribute at the Opera House which I'm sure was produced by someone on acid, went for $20 cocktails at the swankiest bar in the city (worth every damn penny), took a tour up to the Blue Mountains, got stung by jellyfish boogie boarding in Bondi (Cindy managed to escape that one), pet kangaroos, got chased by emus...you know, the usual. It was a jam packed awesome week.

I then took off for South Australia to meet up with my dad and Margo to drive the Great Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne. The last day of the trip was the most scenic, saw London Bridge, the 12 Apostiles and Bells Beach (yeah, the Point Break one), but it was hard to truly relax when my dad (not used to driving on the Aussie side) kept swerving off the road, turning the windshield wipers on every time he tried to put on the turn signal and coming way too close to oncoming traffic. But despite those near death experiences, we had a great time.

Said goodbye to dad and Margo and crashed for a few days with some friends in Melbourne. Went to a huge music festival called Big Day Out and saw Jurassic 5, one of the best shows I've ever seen. There were people dancing on phone booths, rooftops, light poles. Even the security guards who were sent to kick them off starting grooving before more security guards came to kick them off. I then spent the next 2 weeks in Ballarat visiting my friend Lisa who had just come back from Thailand after breaking her heel rock climbing. Despite being in a cast and on crutches, we took a trip up to the Grampians where I learned how to rock climb. So much fun, can't wait to do it again.

Another highlight of my trip to Ballarat (known for being a gold mining town in the 1800s) was going to Sovereign Hill, a sort of gold mining town themepark if that makes sense. Our goal was to pick up someone in period costume (or should I say my goal since Lise was in a wheelchair) but after awhile that seemed sick and wrong so I gave up and watched people make blocks of gold instead.

Spent last week in Canberra catching up with old uni friends. Not too much to do in Canberra, especially when one of you is on crutches, so we just smoked...um, I mean had intellectual conversations most of the time. Which brings us to today as I wait for another guest's arrival, Kyra "Hotpants" Kowasic. It's (gay) Mardi Gras weekend and the city is supposed to go off. Next week we're off to Byron Bay up the coast, a hippie town famous for being a hippie town. We'll be driving so keep your fingers crossed that we don't run over any wombats or small children. I am most excited about stopping at the Big Banana on the way...no explanation.

Hope everyone is healthy and happy. Talk soon, L