V for VICTORY!

I did it. I didn't know if it could be done, but I did it. Well, two things actually. I know you're sitting there on the edge of your seat saying, "What, Sarah, what?! Tell me, tell me!" And I will. 

Thing # 1: I FOUND MASCARA FOR $9.95!! And you better believe I bought it, especially after the rampage I went on in the last post. I just happened to be walking down a street on my way to work this morning, when I caught a glimpse of a 50% off sign in a drug store window and felt inclined to wander in and check-it out. I am singing "Hallelujah!" that I did, because there in the half-off bin was mascara! You can all hold-off on mailing your enormous packages of mascara to me for the time being, the gods in the heavens above heard my cries and answered. 

Thing # 2: I CAN LAP PEOPLE! I really never thought this day would come, but this evening Frank actually complimented me and my lapping abilities! Can you believe it? Because I honestly cannot. I did it exactly as he had shown me, with finesse and pizazz and all that jazz, and while he was watching. And then as I was walking past he said, "You did that exactly right, Sarah. That was spot on." I am singing "Hallelujah" even louder now! 

This has been a victorious day. Time to go celebrate! 

Nice Eyebrows Captain America

Warning: This blog post is comprised of entirely random thoughts that I feel compelled to share with you. 

A pick-up line not to try at home:

“Nice eyebrows.” Yes, that is the pick-up line that a man on the street said to me yesterday. Not “Hi, how you going?” or “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” (I get that one allllll the time. Hah.) but “Nice eyebrows.” Now granted, this man was not trying to pick-me up in the romantic sense; rather he was trying to get me to stop and donate money to a charity of sorts, which is perhaps even worse come to think of it. There’s no better way to make people feel all giving and generous than to compliment their eyebrows. Yes, you caught my attention but no, you did not make me want to stop and talk with you buddy. I can’t imagine this charity is raking in too many donations via their street team. Maybe next time try “Nice earlobes” or “Groovy nose hairs;” you may have better luck.

A new Aussie phrase:

Fair dinkum. This thought really belongs with my Happy 1 Month Anniversary To Me post, but I learned it afterwards so here it is now. Fair dinkum means legitimate. In the states we say “That’s legit” and here they say “It’s fair dinkum.” Now you can switch it up.

The most expensive item I have encountered that I refuse to purchase:

Mascara. Back in the states, I had a hard time forking over $8.00 for a wand of mascara. Oh how I would jump with joy to see that price tag now. The minimum you will pay for mascara here, and I’m talking about the exact same kind that we have in the states (Cover Girl, L’Oreal, etc.) is $23.00. Most that I have seen are pushing $30.00 though. Are you for real Australia?! You take away my pennies and now this? Or maybe I should be lashing out at the American companies who are making ridiculous profits in foreign countries. If that is the case, Australia you too are being robbed. Either way, I am aghast. I don’t know what I’m going to do because my rinky-dink tube is almost empty and I need to have long, black lashes to bat at my future husband when he walks through the doors at Summit, but I refuse to pay that much money for some black goop. I may have to bootleg the stuff. I have an idea! Let’s start a mascara black market in Australia. You all send me packages of mascara, any brand will do, and I will sell them for half of what they go for here and before you know it we will all be rolling around in Jaguars (or any luxury car brand of your choosing). Who’s with me?

Some "American" nicknames I have acquired:

Captain America. This is what one of my Irish flat mates calls me. I'm sorta fond of this one. I like it because a) it makes me chuckle and b) I secretly wish I was a superhero, and now I almost feel like one. I respond by calling him Captain Irish. Corny, I know, but he secretly likes it too.

Miss America. Got called this one while working at Summit. As much as I dislike the Miss America pageant, I will take it as a compliment.

Miss Liberty. What Natasha, one of the girls I work with at Summit, labeled me as in her phone. Apparently instead of putting people’s names in her phone (e.g. Sarah), she gives everyone nicknames so as to remember who they are and to avoid having multiples of the same name. I think if I did this I would only confuse myself more, but this method works for her. And so I am Miss Liberty, inspired by the Statue of Liberty in my home state of NY. I like this one too, it makes me feel empowered...and tall. 

A Gander Through The Royal Botanical Gardens

This past Thursday the weather in Sydney was beautiful, clear skies and sunny, so I decided to spend it at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Great idea. The gardens are absolutely beautiful, and walking through them I forget that I am in a bustling city (similar to going to Central Park in NYC). I also get lost inside the gardens. One morning I attempted to jog through them and then started panicking when I couldn't find my way back out! Thus I decided it would be wise to partake in the daily walking tour through the gardens. David, an enthusiastic botanist and a historian (I don't know if he is actually either one of them on the basis of holding a degree, but in my mind he is qualified to be labeled as such), was my tour guide. He was a cheery, adorable old man whose face lit up when he talked about the gardens. And this man knew what he was talking about! He was practically a walking, talking Royal Botanical Gardens encyclopedia. I thoroughly enjoyed our hour and a half journey through the gardens together, and here is a bit of what we saw and I learned.

David, The Best Garden Guide

Isn't he just so cute? You almost made me want to become a botanist, David...almost.

The Garden Pathway

Lesson 1: The big tree on the right, the one with the tentacle-like roots hanging from it's trunk, is a Dragon's-Blood Tree because it has red sap.

Palm Grove

Lesson 2: Called so because of the large array of palm trees living here. The skinny palm tree in the middle below was used as a walking stick by folks way back in the day. 

Sydney Fernery 

Lesson 3:  Below you see a tree is being engulfed by another tree (the names of which I did not retain. I am a poor pupil). Apparently in the rain forest, this tree had a hard time growing with its roots in the ground so instead it plants its seeds in branches of other trees and then the roots grow downwards until they reach the ground. David explained it much better. But the point is that what you see in the photo is a tree growing downward over another tree.

Lesson 4: The plant below is alive and well. But as you see in the following photo, the long stem is dried up and brown. The aboriginals used this to make their spears. Smart fellows.

Bats!

Lesson 5: There are a TON of bats in the gardens. Seeing this was so creepy and cool. They are flying fox bats (because their bodies look like a fox) and they only eat fruit. Good news for me, I'm not looking to turn into Dracula on this trip. The problem with all the bats, however, is that they are destroying all the trees in the garden, as you see in this photo (see there are leaves on the bottom, but none towards the top). This has created quite a dilemma for the Royal Botanical Garden officials, but it's great for taking pictures of the nocturnal little suckers snoozing. 

The World's Oldest Tree!

Lesson 6: This tree here is the Wollemi Pine, and according to David (and the sign posted by the tree) it is almost as rare as a dinosaur! These trees existed back in the day with the dinos and were believed to have been extinct for millions of years and were known only through fossils. That was until 1994 when a hiker found one north-west of Sydeny in the Wollemi National Park. It was quite a big deal. I admire your resilience Wollemi Pine; way to defy the odds!

Flower Power

Happy 1 Month In Sydney To Me!

It's hard to believe but true: one month in Sydney has come and gone already. Geez, time is breezing on by! It feels like just yesterday that I set foot on this distant but strangely familiar land. Thank you all for joining me on my adventure thus far! In ode of my one month anniversary, I will share with you some of the Aussie "ways" and things I have noticed. 

• Aussie Greeting: "How you going?" For some reason this always throws me off. I always inquire "How are you?" or "How are things?" or "How's it going?" but never before I have I asked or been asked "How you going?" until I arrived to Aussie land. That's the one and only greeting you will hear. Start practicing. Pick it up and use it. 

• How Australians say digits: This too is a small thing, but one I have noticed while taking people's phone numbers for dinner reservations. When two side-by-side numbers are the same, they say double (insert number). So for example, if someone's number is 0451 633 844 (and it quite possibly could be. Call and find out if you like), they say: six double three, eight double four. 

• Australian pool: The game, not the place where you swim. I went with my Irish flatmates to a local pub the other night and they played a game of pool. Well at least it was pool by their standards. Their pool balls are only yellow and red. No strips and solids down under. I thought that was weird. Who wants to hit around a bunch of mustard and ketchup balls? I prefer the colorful array of striped and solid balls we play with in the states. 

• The Australian cookie of choice: Tim Tams. A Tim Tam is composed of two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, separated by a light chocolate cream filling (or any flavor imaginable), and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate (thank you Wikipedia). I would maybe equate them to Oreos in the US, but even that doesn’t do Australian’s obsession with these cookies justice. I mean they are everywhere. Entire rows of supermarkets are dedicated to them, and all the ridiculous amount of flavors they come in, including dark forest (think it has some cherry in it), honeycomb (we've already been over this one), and mint. I tried milk chocolate, white chocolate and caramel. They are just ok. It wasn’t the most incredible cookie I have ever tasted, but regardless, I can attest that they are addicting. You start with one little cookie, and suddenly the entire package is gone. And in that regards they most definitely are like Oreos. I think Aussies need a Tim-Tam addict help line.

Tim Tams Galore

• Aussie slang word of the day: Winger. A winger is some one who whines and complains. The next time someone around you starts moaning about this and that tell them, “Stop being such a winger!” (But don't take my word that is how you properly spell the word, so use caution if you write it). 

A Penny For Your Thoughts

Psych! No pennies for you. Why? Because Australia does not have a one cent coin. This occurred to me the other evening when I purchased some goods at a corner store and realized that I did not receive any change when I handed the man $5.00 for a $4.97 purchase. How can this be?? How can you deprive me of my 3 cents? I feel as if you are stealing from me Australia. If you can't hand me 1, 2, 3 or 4 cents back, then you shouldn't be allowed to price something that cannot be paid for with the currency you do have. Erroneous! As my fellow Americans you know that those pennies add up and that this is certainly unjust. I want my cents gosh darn! So I apologize again, I cannot give you all pennies for your comments and thoughts; but if you would all like to send me some American pennies for mine I would not object (except that they would be of absolutely no use to me over here, so perhaps you should hold-off on that).