Good To Be Back

After three weeks traveling around Australia and New Zealand...I'm pooped. I love traveling, but I don't know how people can travel for months/years without heading back home to recuperate. Perhaps it would have been less strenuous if I had spent the time laying on a beach, but I wanted to see as much as I could in a short span of time.

Both countries were lovely places to visit and I hope I return someday...especially since I didn't get to see the Great Barrier Reef or the South Island of New Zealand.

I'll post some pictures in the next few days, but for now I'm just going to deal with jet lag and try to clean up the house before a couple friends show up tomorrow for USC's homecoming weekend. Fun times. =)

Maneuvering Around Oz

I have a few minutes before heading out for the day, so I thought I'd throw out a quick update.

I arrived in Melbourne, along with my mom, last Friday morning and have been touring parts of Victoria and South Australia for the past week.

After walking around Melbourne's City Centre and environs for a few days, I rented a car and drove the Great Ocean Road. If you're ever in the area, it's a beautiful drive...especially around the Twelve Apostles region around Port Campbell.

Since we were already halfway to Adelaide by the end of the Great Ocean Road...we kept on going. We spent the night in the small coastal town of Robe. I thought it was really pretty and wouldn't have minded if we spent more time there. Alas...we had to trudge along, so that we could catch our flight to Kangaroo Island.

While we were on the island, we took a guided tour to check out some of the cute fairy penguins that live along the coast of Penneshaw. I also managed to drive around the whole entire thing...heading to Seal Bay, the Koala Walk and Flinders National Park to view Admiral's Arch and the Remarkable Rocks. I'll try to post pictures as soon as I can. ;) (Oh...and we didn't see any wild kangaroos while we were on the island...but then again...I made it a habit not to drive between dusk and dawn.)

Now we're back in Adelaide to see the city sights before heading over to New South Wales...I'll see if I can check back again later (and maybe add some links). =)

Quarter System

Apparently, I tend to update this blog on a quarterly basis.  For those of you still keeping tabs on me (via rss feeds or bookmarks), in a nutshell…here’s what I’ve been up to the last quarter:

Mid June – I took my bi-annual trip to NYC, for the purpose of seeing six shows in four days.  Ah…theatre bliss…  =)

Late June to Mid July – I headed to Southeast Asia.  I spent most of my time in Thailand, but did manage a couple days in Malaysia and a couple days in Singapore…oh…and about an hour and a half in Indonesia.  ;)

Late July – Spent a few days in Albuquerque for my sorority’s annual convention.  I did also manage to head to Old Town and the Turquoise Trail, which was all pretty cool.

Mid August – I spent a long weekend in Northern California to visit with a friend.  Of course, I managed to take in a show…and eat…a lot.

So…here I am, back at my desk…ready to stay put.  At least…for a few more days.  ;)

Done Playing Hooky

So...it's been quite a while since I ventured on to this blog. I've been distracted by the likes of facebook and twitter - where's it's much easier to send a one-line message than write out a substantial post.

While I'm still going to be facebooking/tweeting/twittering (whatever monikers you prefer)...I will also chronicle more events going on in my life. I have a good feeling about some potential collaborations coming down the pike...and I have some trips set up for the remainder of 2009.

Let's hope this will be as exciting for you as it is for me. ;)

Just Call Me Jack...

You know the phrase...jack of all trades, master of none.

Well...I hope the latter is not the case, but lately...I find myself picking up new hobbies.

This past Fall, I decided to take a jewelry class at the local community college. I've managed to make 2 pair of earrings, 1 copper bracelet (which I can't really wear, unless I wanted a green wrist), a silver ring and a pendant. I'm now in my second semester of the course...stuck on a filed ring that doesn't seem to want to take shape. I have class later tonight...so let's hope the continued filing doesn't drive me mad for another session. ;)

In addition to the jewelry...it seems I've picked up crocheting. Last month, I went to a friend's baby shower...and at one point, crochet hooks and balls of yarn were passed about. I learned how to crochet a single stitch...and there's been no going back ever since.

I'll try to post some pictures of my "crafty" escapades later this week. For now...I need to get back to writing some lyrics...

Yay Troy!

For the second time in the past four years, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy. Soon...USC football alum, Troy Polamalu, will be sporting a new championship ring. But win or lose...he still pulled off one of the better commercials of the super bowl:


For those of you who aren't aware of what makes this commercial so great...here is the 1979 commercial it was based on:


Congrats, Troy. You rock! =)

Gift It Forward

I saw a post on one of my friend's blogs. I'm not sure if I made her cut, but I thought I'd extend the offer to any blog readers that I have left. Here's the same post verbatim:

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be done this year.
- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be wood. Possibly metal. Perhaps a picture. Or I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well. We all can make stuff.

Let me know if you're interested! =)

The Awesomeness That Is "LOST"

Image via WikipediaBarring a few episodes from season 3, Lost continues to be a riveting show. I forgot how frustrating it gets to have to wait a whole week for a new episode though.

I'm so excited that the new season FINALLY started and can't wait until next week. Yay!

Here, There and Everywhere (Well...Mostly California)

After much deliberation (again), I finally settled on 10 Places To Visit. Of course...half of this list is different from what I originally had, before my computer decided to reboot itself. Ah well...

Channel Islands
The Cloisters
Descanso Gardens
Joshua Tree
Long Beach Museum of Art
MOCA
Museum of Tolerance
Redwood National and State Parks
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary

List? What List?

So it's now seven days into the new year...and still no 101 in 1001 list. What happened?

I fell victim to the generic problem with computers. My computer decided to reboot without provocation...and I hadn't saved what I was working on. In this case...it was the remainder of my 101 list. Shame on me for filling out my list in a text pad application instead on something with an auto-save or auto-restore feature.

While I try to remember most of my entries, here's what I think I had for my 10 cities to visit:

Birmingham, Alabama
Charleston, South Carolina
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
London, England
New Orleans, Louisiana
Paris, France
Sydney, Australia
Taos, New Mexico
Temecula, California
Yuba City, California