Thoughts Of A Sunburned Country

Ok everyone. So I've decided to THINK about it. I've decided not to be too scared to want to make any fun plans, and just go with it. These won't be pics you've never seen before, but they'll give you an idea of the places I want to go. And I want to go to each of them. Not just Sydney, but also Cairns, Ayers Rock (Uluru), Brisbane, Gold Coast, etc. Id have to take the train to some of these parts...but If I'm gonna go, I've got to do as much as I can. Now, the only thing I need is a friend to join me.

Some pics of Sydney Beaches



Some beaches have rock pools, carved from the rocks left at the beach.



Of course I want to see the desert



And the rainforest in Cairns



And of course the city of Sydney and all it has to offer



And yes, I've picked up Bill Bryson's In A Sunburned Country to read and get a little insight into the country I've loved from afar for so long.

A favorite pasttime. NOT for kids!!

So there's this story about a time when Lesley, myself, and some intervarsity friends were looking through our friends' Scott's alphabetical list of movies in the family collection. We found a typo, and that spawned my favorite little game called:

"Porn titles that Could (have been)."

Without any manipulation, these honest movie titles-said with a twist, could have been something completely different. Have fun. Laugh a little.


The Firm

The Inside Man

Gone In 60 Seconds

Dante's Peak (A personal favorite)

Deep Impact

Bring it On

What Lies Beneath

The Score

Bedtime Stories

The Girl Next Door


And for those with other tastes:


About A Boy

Wonder Boys

Riding In Cars With Boys

Bangkok Dangerous

Big Mama's House

The Fast and the Furious


And with that, time to get stuff done around the house. Hope everyone is having a great week.

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime

Christmas was great this year as always, but this year it actually snowed in Tehachapi on Christmas Day-late afternoon. Not a ton of snow, guess the week prior was filled with snow days, but I was happy to get some snow. I was happy until I had to walk to the theatre in the cold,icy wind-but it was good. We took some pictures on our way to Muna's for boxing day. My camera has got an excellent steady hand feature.


And this shot was through the desert on our way to Muna's:


More later, I was going to blog a bit tonight but I ended up watching a silly movie with my roommate. BUT, I got a new iPod dock/cdplayer thing from Jen and I LOVE IT!!!
Back to the grind tomorrow. This will be a big week. Love to all.

Coming Soon

Hello All,

Here's a picture for you.

Treatment update and Christmas tree!

Over thanksgiving Rachel kindly pointed out that I don't update my blog very much. She's right. I'm going to be more on top of things from now on...

I started my Radiation and Chemotherapy treatments on December 1st. It was a long day. I went to work and also started my training on our new systems software. But there were problems with my pharmacy and insurance and Dr's office with regard to having the prescriptions filled and approved on time. I almost missed my Radiation treatment because it looked like I wasn't going to get my medication in time. I was late to Radiation, but the staff were friendly and honestly the treatment is painless. My MRI's were far more uncomfortable and annoying.

I had plans to have dinner with Josh that night and I had a craving for Thai so we went to Thai Basil. Now I read all the instructions on my medication before taking the pills, but I overlooked the part about how I should only have 5 small meals a day. I ate way too much Thai food and ended up waking up at 3am this morning to be sick. so, I have to be more careful and follow instructions completely, but I believe I will do fine on this treatment.

I got a small tree for our house because I love the smell of a fresh tree, but it was much harder for me to decorate a noble fir than I had expected. Growing up we always had the Douglas fir, but I think I still did a pretty good job.



I also stopped by late this afternoon at the Children's Home and saw some of my old friends and coworkers. It was a nice visit. I really miss them and some of the work that I did while I was a part of the team.

California Academy of Sciences-Awesome!

So Julie and I went to the new museum in Golden Gate Park on Monday November 10. It was completely PACKED with other anxious visitors like ourselves. Well worth the money, and by far the best museum I've been to in a long time. We were able to see the Planetarium (got in the nick of time) and the 3D Bug show which was quite fun as well. Here are some pictures. I stayed one night at a Hotel called Hotel Carlton and it felt more like a B&B than a hotel because it was void of your typical sterile hotel decor. Infused with art, culture, and pictures from around the world, it was quite the treat.


And here's a view from the room..you can see it through the screen!



For Susie, a Tomato Frog:


For Clay, a Giant Stuffed Bear!!


My favorite, the Phirana:


Just so you know, there are lots more pictures, and this museum boasts a Rainforest, Aquarium, Planetarium, and Living Roof. There is so much to see! Here's Julie and I being silly:



One shot from the Aquarium:

A Party To Remember

So, though my best buddy got hurt on her way to the airport and couldn't make it for the big event, it still went off without a hitch. I was so happy to see the friends that I've missed while I was away. We had laughs, good food, good beer and other beverages, and good times. I was surprised that everyone fit in the house. I hadn't had a large party since I lived in midtown, and that unit was actually smaller. Anyway, here are some pics from the night. Thanks again to everyone who came, and those who couldn't--you were missed!!

Paula, Jessica and I (Above) Charlie too...


And here's Katie (holding meagan) Faye, Kristen, and Amanda (below)

And a picture of one of my cakes! That's right, there were two!! Paula made me a homemade red velvet cake! So tasty! This picture is of the one from Costco

Jeff and Clay discuss something very serious:

Jennifer, Christina, Laura and Kirk, manning the food table.


So we all had lots of fun. Some of us even played our favorite drawing game (kind of like pictionary and telephone combined). Here's to many more years!