Oh, finally!!!  I was not leaving this continent without this photo.  Done, done, done!  Koalas are the effing cutest little mush balls in the entire world — especially when they’re actually awake (only about an hour a day as you may recall from my Taronga Zoo teachings a week ago).

Oh, finally!!!  I was not leaving this continent without this photo.  Done, done, done!  Koalas are the effing cutest little mush balls in the entire world — especially when they’re actually awake (only about an hour a day as you may recall from my Taronga Zoo teachings a week ago).


“Now listen here, you mullet: why don’t you just light your tampon and blow your box apart, because it’s the only bang your ever gonna get, sweetheart!”
— From The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a classic Ozzie movie.  I ask all of my new friends to recite this line for me because it makes me laugh ‘til I’m snorting.

I found my geography-challenged Kiwi counterpart.

  • Nice Old Kiwi Lady: Where are you from, love?
  • Me: New York...Manhattan, actually.
  • NOKL: Oh, lovely! That's near Hollywood, is it?
  • Me: Nope, other side of the country...Hollywood's all the way out in California.
  • NOKL: Oh, I see. So you're near Disney World, are you? Mickey Mouse?
  • Me: No, that's down in Florida...a plane ride away.
  • NOKL: Right...so, what's New York got, then?
  • Me: Um...you know, the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Times Square...
  • NOKL: Oh yes, I've heard of that.

Patchouli and Pringles.

So, to be honest, I might have jumped a bit aggressively into this whole ‘going outside my comfort zone’ thing. I think the hostel might have been a large leap. When I got there I was told I was sharing a room with three other people, which I kind of hesitantly nodded my head to — then I get to my room and it turns out it was three other GUYS. Ummm…what?! I totally did NOT sign up for that. But there it was, the Axe body sprays and the rugby jerseys and the towels balled up on the floor. My heart stopped beating and I think I was dead for a solid 8 seconds or so. I dropped my stuff, ran out of the room and didn’t look back until I returned ‘home’ that night. I spent some time thinking that there was a nice hotel across the street, and I could just slip in there and no one would ever know the difference. But when I got back after my evening out, I actually met my roommates, Leo and Matt from the UK. I am obsessed. We had so much fun last night imitating each others’ accents and all that sort of thing. I even roped them into going white water rafting with me this morning in FREEZING water. Actually, it was intense. We rafted down the Kaituna River which features the largest raftable waterfall in the entire world. It’s 22 feet straight down! Yeah, I took that on. It was amazing. I have never laughed or screamed so hard in my entire life. I totally feel ready to skydive.

As far as the hostel, I think I lucked out with my roommates this time around…so much so that I may try it again — despite the fact that it smells like patchouli and stale Pringles.

Going out to soak in the hot springs now to warm up after my crazy morning. An hour on the rapids even before coffee and breakfast! I’m a champ.

Patchouli and Pringles.

So, to be honest, I might have jumped a bit aggressively into this whole ‘going outside my comfort zone’ thing.  I think the hostel might have been a large leap.  When I got there I was told I was sharing a room with three other people, which I kind of hesitantly nodded my head to — then I get to my room and it turns out it was three other GUYS.  Ummm…what?!  I totally did NOT sign up for that.  But there it was, the Axe body sprays and the rugby jerseys and the towels balled up on the floor.  My heart stopped beating and I think I was dead for a solid 8 seconds or so.  I dropped my stuff, ran out of the room and didn’t look back until I returned ‘home’ that night.  I spent some time thinking that there was a nice hotel across the street, and I could just slip in there and no one would ever know the difference.  But when I got back after my evening out, I actually met my roommates, Leo and Matt from the UK.  I am obsessed.  We had so much fun last night imitating each others’ accents and all that sort of thing.  I even roped them into going white water rafting with me this morning in FREEZING water.  Actually, it was intense.  We rafted down the Kaituna River which features the largest raftable waterfall in the entire world.  It’s 22 feet straight down!  Yeah, I took that on.  It was amazing.  I have never laughed or screamed so hard in my entire life.  I totally feel ready to skydive.

As far as the hostel, I think I lucked out with my roommates this time around…so much so that I may try it again — despite the fact that it smells like patchouli and stale Pringles.

Going out to soak in the hot springs now to warm up after my crazy morning.  An hour on the rapids even before coffee and breakfast!  I’m a champ.

Is the glass half full, or half empty?

I remember when I was first confronted with this classic head thumper.  In its purest form it’s supposed to be a thought-starter, a mental prod, if you will.  I always found it frustrating in that mind-bending chicken and egg sort of way.  Blame it on that other apropo glib and hackneyed phrase, the “quarter life crisis”, but of late I’ve been looking at the proverbial glass as a mere 1/4th of the way full.  To simply write me off as self-diagnosed pessimist would be presumptuous.  In the quarter-full glass I see potential.  I see a wide open space all set for hydrogen/oxygen co-mingling (or vodka — whichever you prefer).  

So here we are — a quarter of the way there.  A quarter-full glass.  No direction to move but up.