Maybe i'm the only one who has ever made the effort of calling home only to be greated with the sound of an answering machine. It has, on more then one occation, caused me great frustration as i've put so much effort into walking accross campus to get the phone i want, arranging for any people or things i need to have with me, with me, and finally to arrange that the parental units are at home! After making such a great achievement, the parental units do not answer. Maybe they have decided that i'm not particularly worth the call, or maybe they enjoy teasing me with the idea of speaking with them, or maybe they actually gave me the wrong telephone number just to see what would happen...i don't know, but just for the record, it is annoying.

I have one week before school starts again. In that time i've decided to write two things. The first is an article about three women of different generations who have spent significant parts of their lives in New Guinea. The second is a...well, to be honest i don't know what it is...it is just some writing to answer the ever present question, "So...why did you come to Australia?" Have you ever been asked a question so many times that you start to make up answers that sound logical but are complete BS? "Why did you come to Australia?" "I was fleeing the wrath of my parents after I burnt dinner one too many times." "For my rare health condition, its called life." "Because i was dying to have strangers ask me questions that have no good answer" "BECAUSE I WANTED TO, okay?!"

I probably won't ever make a good politition...well, then again, Winston Churchill had his fair share of harsh come backs so maybe my dream of becoming the next world dictator can come true yet!

I'm tired. My feet are sore but my mind is over active. I've been working for three days now and I still have 4 more to go before I get a break. My feet, back, and legs are already wondering what in the world I was thinking of when I agreed to work an extra 14 hours!...Oh yeah! The cash! Why is it that somehow my wallet, which is a completely inanimate object may I remind you, have more say over my body then my aching limbs?? Somehow, in the journey of life I missed an important road sign, probably the one that said maximum speed limit 110 Ks an hour. I'm running my life on over drive and I'm now wondering why I ruled out the hippy commune. I suppose that life has many surprises around the next bend for me but if I keep going at this speed I won't even realize there is a bend in the road until I've plowed myself into the mountain side.

One quick request...Those of you who have voted, would you mind telling me who you are and what you have voted for?? I can guess some of the people but not all...[Turkish...thanks heaps for letting me know what you voted for!]

THANKS EVERYONE!

I've now been working for a week (give or take) and I must say...I MISS MY HOLIDAYS! I don't particularly like being back, running between 2 jobs and hoping I make enough to keep me above water. Maybe I don't dislike the jobs, but it is the responsibility that I don't like. [Grrr for growing up]

I am looking forward to college starting again in a few weeks though. HURRAY for school work...[umm...Maybe I need a therapist]

I am BACK! And I absolutely must tell you about my most romantic day!

We were set to go snorkeling at Lion Island. (this whole beginning bit is not romantic, so it is going to get only a small passing reference as I skip on to the romantic bits.) We left late, we arrived late, they had to call the boat back for us and we got there in time to do about 1.5 hours of snorkeling before lunch.

So we get on the island, we put on our gear and get into the water. Chris and I are (OBVIOUSLY!) paired up. He and I hold hands as we watch colourful fish dart this way and that under us. We see many different types of coral and a few sea slugs. Some times the waves make it hard to stay close but we keep pulling eachother back together when we fear the waves...and sometimes when we don't. (can I get an "AWWWWW!"?) We do a couple of dives where we attempt to touch a fish or two or sometimes just see what is under the coral and rock. It is when we are just heading out of the water when we spot a long thin fish. It is about 1.5 feet long and nearly translucent. He (or maybe she) is floated with the current and not expending much energy at all. We move closer. It moves away. It looks like a snake. (See mum, I can even find snakes in the water!!) It isn't a snake though...We follow it until it heads too far out for us to be bothered following it.

We head back to shore. Both of us take a swig of water before challenging eachother with silly tricks in the sand. It doesn't take long before I'm too sandy and get back into the water to wash off.The water is warm so I sit down and let the waves push me around for a bit. Chris joins me and we sit on the clear blue water talking until one of us (I think it is me) gets the bright idea to start a water fight. The water is too salty for it to last long and we go back to talking. Finally Chris stands up. "Okay," he declares, "I'm done." Just then the boat arrives to take us to another island for lunch. (What timing!!!)

So we go to lunch, eat omelets, rice, and pumkin...hmmmm. Admittedly not a romantic lunch. Lunch finishes and Chris and I (and David and Sharona) head up to the top of the Island. From the top we can see ocean in every direction. Chris and I (and only Chris and I) walk to the very end of the island before heading back. We are standing on the top of the island, the wind whipping around us (and unromantically nearly ripping my sarong off!!) when he pulls me close and gives me a long kiss. WOW! All that was missing was a camera crew with cameras moving around us and a director screaming, "CUT!"

So there it is, my most romantic day.