Two Internships! Finally Something to Do!

     The tender mercies from heaven have been POURING in! It has been beautiful weather, I've had delicious treats GALOUR, and (drum roll please...) I have TWO internships! Because of that, I've been to the city almost every day this past week! I love the city! It makes me feel like I have something to do - oh wait...because I finally do! Finally, I'm not just lounging around the house for 15 to 18 hours a day, or otherwise getting really stressed out because I know in the back of my mind I could be doing something far more productive.

Pretty sunset at Werribee Park.
I thought the perspective looked cool. 

     It may sound weird to some of you, but I actually like to have a project to work on. I like having something that gives me motivation to wake up in the morning. A feeling of purpose. Of course I love to exercise, but until these internships I was only filling my time with menial things that I could also do
back home.
     Going to the library...there is a library in Utah, TONS bigger 100 fold, by the way. Almost hate to say it, but the "city" library here is pretty sad. Only one floor of books that holds all sections non-fiction, fiction, and children's... That and my daily morning workouts was all I had to look forward to.
     Guess what, I can workout in the mornings at home too! Wow, isn't that just nuts...But now I've got something exciting giving me more drive to get moving in the mornings and even a bigger excuse to go into the city! Yes!!

So glad my efforts were not in vain! Here's for never giving up!

Cheers,

Jess

On Top of the World in the Melbourne Star

Traveling around non-stop at exactly 1 kilometer per hour.

     What a week. After Jordan landed here in the land down under it was expected that she would have a period of rest to recover from an extreme case of jet lag (still recovering.) 

     As the day was gloomy, overcast and threatening of thundering showers Henry's request to go on the "spinning wheel" (a.k.a The Melbourne Star) were turned down repeatedly. However, Henry pretended to not hear this and continued to voice his desire relentlessly. Miraculously, the weather took a turn for the better, and my mom wasted no time in ignoring Henry's wishes. So, we pulled Jordan off the couch and were on our merry way into the city.

     It was a good experience, traveling at about the pace of a snail with an automated tour guide voicing his way into our observation hub. It was neat to finally be at the top and see the many waters that surrounded the city on the coast.

     To have something else to do we walked inside the little gift shop. Everything souvenir-ish from mugs and giant pencils to hand-cranking music boxes (much to the amusement of Maddie and Karly) and key rings were all plastered with The Melbourne Star and logo somewhere on it. With the exception of some crystal jewelry, everything was branded with The Melbourne Star not just Australia.

     Maddie's enthusiasm with the shop was draining quickly and she soon expressed her eagerness in leaving the premise. Then my mom did something really crazy...

     Instead of driving back home, since the car was park so conveniently underneath Costco (yes, even in Australia) she pushed all seven of us (all SEVEN) into the over-sized-everything-super-sized warehouse. She had an epiphany. She didn't think that it had ever occurred in the history of time that she had ever brought all seven children with her into Costco. Why did it take Australia, of all places, to bring this pivotal moment about? I have no idea.

     We graced through the store without a shopping cart. Who needs a shopping cart when you have seven kids? Honestly, sometimes I feel the only thing my mom thinks I'm good for is cheap labor...thanks, Mom.

All this is preparation for Phillips Island.

And that's the way it is.

Cheers,

Jess  

I'll Have a Job Interview with Brunetti's on Top, Please.

     So, to start the day off right, my alarm went off at 6:45AM, 45 minutes earlier than I had set it. I spent the whole morning whilst prepping myself for my much dreamed of interview trying to figure out how that happened.

"I didn't set that alarm. The only one there last night was set for 7:15AM. Hmmm..." I thought as I powdered my face (que The Twilight Zone theme music).

     Only after I turned wifi back on - for the time being my family only gets a certain number of GBs per month, we must be conservative - did I find out why. Turns out my mom somehow was able to get past the security of my passcode and change said alarm settings. Sneaky. She noted this in a message to me explaining that she did so, because we needed to leave for the train by 8:15AM (we didn't leave until 8:20AM) and proceeded to map out in chronological order just where I should be and at what time to be promptly due for my interview.

     My blessed little brother, Leo, was my escort around the city for the day. Upon arriving at Flinders St. we took a tram to Collins St. and then proceeded to walk back and forth from corner to corner, point to point until we figured out where right bus-stop was. I don't know why they call them buses, because some of them look like and run on the tracks EXACTLY like a tram...but, what do I know??
     We hopped off the bus and as I watched my brother turn down a street that looked like it was the beginning of an infamous mug and murder scene, he assured me that this was the street. Sure enough it was. It wasn't all that dark and scary, but it felt to me to be farther off the grid than I expected. It looked pretty empty to the place you would find an office building.

Bacio (pronounced "Ba-cho"). Chocolate Hazelnut,
with REAL hazelnuts in it! Bascially the best flavor EVER!!

     I looked up to find a golden "Ballantyne St" secured to the brick walls of the buildings as we continued to venture this road that I still felt surely was too far off the grid for anyone to find. Then to my tender mercies blessing I looked up to my right again and found the numbers of the address painted in gold (for being an empty street there were a lot of golden things on it) on a large glass entryway.

     The foyer was entirely bare except for a large bold red framed mirror that hung on one wall (it basically WAS the wall it was that big). The first thought that came to my mind after wondering if it really was the right place was, "The possibilities for interior design here are endless!" and I was in a dream as my mind went off on all the fresh, chic, modern touches I could use to transform this barren foyer.
I looked around the corner at the reception desk - which had the best radio station ever playing - but no one there. My only companions in the room were a pile of magazines, a personal information sheet to fill out, a fellow applicant waiting for her interview and a giant, black, San-serif font "Z" attached to the wall above where the receptionist head should be.

     As it turns out the excitingly perky (she was awesome!!) interviewer was playing double-duty as the receptionist and interviewer that day. She greeted me with the biggest smile and the interview was totally awesome! Actually, it didn't even feel like an interview. That's how you know it went well, right? It was awesome and it didn't feel like an interview? We just talked, and it was so fun!

Chicken Pesto Sandwich from Brunetti's. Honestly, delicious! Though I was really surprised with how much olive was ON the bread and coming off on my fingers than was IN the sandwich.

     I skipped my way out the door, and Leo and I went off to Brunetti (seriously, the BEST Italian bakery in the world!). I treated myself to a crispy chicken pesto sandwich and a scoop of chocolate hazelnut gelato. Yes, I think it's safe to say today was a success. Yay!!!

Cheers,

Jess

One Short Day in Melbourne City

      The other day, finally the moment had arrived that I would venture into the busy streets of Melbourne. Having no phone and being completely unfamiliar with the street names (why doesn't just the whole world adopt the grid system?) my younger sister was to be my tour guide.

     My mom dropped the whole of Maddie, Karly (lil' sis), and I off at the train station, and after securing upon my person my own little Myki our trio waited for the train to take us into the heart of the city. It was about an hour train ride, but the arrival was sweet.
    Being a first-timer I thought we would all discuss and decide where we would be heading next, but to my surprise Maddie just kept blazing through the crowd as if there were no persons of any importance trying to keep up with her.

     We passed through TopShop and stepped into the rest of the mall. I didn't think I'd ever seen a shopping arena (the name is fitting) so gigantic!! I thought "Surely, all I have to do is turn my head one way and I'd get lost!" That I did, I flashed my eyes in one direction and the next moment Maddie was gone...right. No phone, so my one hope was to keep in the same place as long as reasonably possible so they could find me again. Not to worry too long, I spotted them again and we were on our merry way across the street and into Sephora. After spending a good portion of time there it was due time for lunch. Where did we go? Pancake Parlour.

     Pancake Parlour, you might say, is the Australian equivalent of IHOP, however, they really only serve pancakes, a few crepes, soft drinks, and alcohol. Yeah...because everyone always wants to get wasted their first meal of the day...They drink a lot here in Australia, I mean, A LOT. There is a liquor store connected to every grocer and shopping centre. It's a bit excessive, yet I have not heard of any DUI problems.
     I easily ignored the advertisements for such intoxication and order the Red Velvet Pancakes (sorry, no picture), which by the way, were EXPENSIVE! The cheapest thing on the menu was 23 dollars. That's another thing about Australia, as everything is imported, everything is more expensive. Thank goodness their dollar is doing better than ours...scratch that...reverse it.

     Throughout the coarse of the day, despite my every effort, I lost Maddie about seven more times, and almost lost Karly twice. I also discovered that I'm too small for my favorite shop in the whole wide world here. Yes, H&M here doesn't stock my size, except for a certain line of basics, nothing in the women's section fits me. How rude.
     We finally stepped into Brunetti's, a much bragged about Italian bakery. There is SO much to choose from in there, and really unless you read Italian (like me) you're kind of sunk or just sound REALLY illiterate. I decided upon a Coconut Chocolate Cornetto. Translated, that's basically a croissant filled with chocolate, almond meal, and coconut. Delicious.

Delicious Brunetti's Coconut Chocolate Cornetto

    On the way back to the train station Maddie got sidetracked by yet another gelato shop. Which was totally okay, because A) it's gelato and B) it's delicious. I indulged in a scoop each of peanut butter fudge and Belgium chocolate. The lovely shop was called Gelatissimo.

    All in all in was a nice day out in the city.

    As far as my progress on an internship, I've filled out thirteen applications and I'm definitely crossing my fingers. Hey, I'm still alive.

Cheers,

Jess