The past week

Okay, so the purpose of me writing this entry is to procrastinate doing work for just a few minutes before I REALLY have to crack down and start working on this horrifyingly difficult program for space engineering. I seriously think it's going to take me about 20 hours to finish, but seeing as I don't have that kind of time, maybe it can be finished in like 10 hours instead spread out over the next few days. To complete the assignment, I have to use a MATLAB simulation to shoot a rocket from the Earth into orbit around the Earth, and then fire burns and stuff to send it into orbit around the moon. Using actual real data for a Delta II launch system and all the data for the moon and earth and everything. Kind of cool but in reality TERRIFYING.

Anyway, this blog is not really meant to talk about work. :) So this past week has been amazing getting to spend so much time with Larissa! I would have to say even though we had a ton of fun going pretty much everywhere around the city, some of the best times were also in my room eating AMAZING ASIAN SNACKS from Paddy's Market and watching like 4 to 5 Friends episodes in a row. (I am so re-obsessed it's not even funny, and now I got her addicted too!) Instead of going to Bondi last Sunday, we decided to be lazy and in the early evening went to see No Reservations. First time I have seen a movie in Sydney, and it's weird because the movies here don't come out till at least a month if not several months later than the US. So it had just come out, and let me say that Catherine Zeta Jones + cooking + AMAZING FOOD + romance = blissful movie experience for Merri. :) Anyway, when I was in classes pretty much all day Monday through Wednesday, she did awesome stuff on her own like going to the zoo and Bondi Beach and shopping everywhere (I think she knows shopping in Sydney better than me, actually), and then we would have dinner together at night and stuff. On Tuesday night, there was a total lunar eclipse! So we got to see that together and it was absolutely gorgeous. And it was even cooler because the night before I'd had night viewing for my astronomy class so I can now identify the constellations in the southern hemisphere. (all five you can see with the light pollution, that is. But still! And looking at Jupiter's moons and Alpha Centauri, the closest star to Earth, was absolutely amazing.) We also had the most amazing meal Wednesday night at Blackbird Cafe in Darling Harbour - seriously one of my favorite restaurants in the city. She got kangaroo! And it was really good too, actually. We should have taken pictures of our desserts because they were so amazing.

On Thursday, after my first class, I had a fairly long break in the middle of the day, so we walked all the way down into the middle of the city and looked at this really cool opal museum/store. (Opals are a huge thing in Australia, along with macademia nuts and Vegemite. haha) I have now fallen in love with opals - each one is unique and they are all SO gorgeous. Hmmm, I might have to be getting some opal jewelry before I go home. Then Thursday night we went to Toss the Boss at the pub we always go to (where if you call a coin toss correctly you get a free drink) and let's just say I am having the most amazing lucky streak there EVER and that just makes me really happy. :) And then the cocktail bar...I think a very good time was had by all, and it was an excellent way for Larissa to spend her last night here. Although going out Thursday night when I had this assignment and quiz due on Friday for my mechanical design class was NOT the best idea. Friday morning I was sooo tired and of course I had to have breakfast with Larissa before she left, and then I was really sad, and THEN I had to take this HORRENDOUS drawing quiz which I will be lucky to have scraped away with a 50% in. Ugh. So I was in a really bad mood but then in the afternoon I got to go skating, and even though there are always weird schizophrenic people on the bus going out to that interesting neighborhood, it was an awesome session and it really just helped me clear my head.

Still, I was feeling kind of down Friday night, but then my friend JJ convinced me to go out with him and his girlfriend to this beer hall called Lowenbrau down by the Rocks and I ended up having the best night EVER. Basically, the music they were playing there felt like it was personally catered to me. IT WASN'T TECHNO! And it was ALL my favorite songs that were hits like a year ago, and all these songs that reminded me of Aycock freshmen year, and everyone was just being really crazy and singing along loudly and dancing. I just had the most fantastic time because I'm so happy when I can sing along to songs with actual words. Before I knew it it was 2:30 in the morning and I was still so energized. So that was great. :)

So this weekend I've just done some shopping (both clothes and groceries - there is the best little produce store on King Street where I buy apples and oranges all the time) and worked a LOT. Which I have to get back to. Right now. It's been great getting emails from you guys, by the way - keep them coming and I promise I will always respond within a week, and usually sooner. :)

Random weird thing: today is Father's Day in Australia.

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