I only have 2 Minutes

- I went camping to Port Elliot this weekend
- I had my first Aussi BBQ
- I learned the word capsicum
- I met up with Stefi (-friend from Schwaebisch Hall)
- I drive with her to Melbourne today
- where I hopefully meet Jaleen, if she's not somewhere else yet

some personal notes

ISABEL
Gratuliere! Hast du's geschafft dich einzuloggen, mit so einem suessen Namen!
Ja, ruf mich an, sobald's geht!!! Vielleicht probier ich's heute Abend mal!
Gehe heut ans Meer campen!Ciao!
MOLLY
eeeeeehhhhhmmmmmm, yes. :-)
RICHARD
I'm doing my best to use my lsb.......
VERONIQUE
wo sind deine kommentare??? :-)
CHRIS
I'm still hoping to find the American! Already got many proposals by Australians, they look a bit puzzled when I say: I only marry an American! (WHY???)
MATI
I have the feeling that you will find the name for my new car - don't know why!

Presenting: MY NEW CAR!!!!

KIF_1056, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

So, how do you like the old lady?
She hasn't got a name yet, and I thought I make it a competition: find a name for a old car lady, and tell my why you would name her that! Whoever wins gets the first postcard I send from Australia - and a drink when ever we meet again....
I decided like you have to multiply the age of eg a cat or dog by 7 (?), you have to multiply the age of a car by 3 to make it the human age.... (know what I'm saying???:-) ) - so that will make her three times 27 - 81!!!
Join the competition and find a name for my 81 year old car.....

cruising in the heat

KIF_1061, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

Kangaroo

KIF_1044, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

Walk like a kangaroo

KIF_1048, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

Tell me, what sense does this posture make???

in the canyon

KIF_0995, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

beautiful blue mountains

KIF_1014, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

third day

car registration
this was one of the reason why I left in such a hurry. It's cheaper to register a car in South Australia and you don't really have to go through inspection.
Well, I had to go to the police station to get the car inspected, but compared to what I'm used to in Germany it was a joke. It was nothing. It was the young police man trainee I was hoping for... :-) who repeated 'no worries' just as often as I needed to hear it. I realized that not everywhere in the world you have to be horrified of ispections and police officers....
The motor's registration number wasn't the right one. Which meant that I might have stolen the motor????? (what does a motor look like????)
Somehow they found out that I haven't stolen the motor, in fact they never believed it, but they had to check it anyway, of course, so after a million no worries everything was cool. Got the car registered, a mechanic spent half an hour trying to take off the old number, and drilling holes in the new ones and I was impressed that I didn't have to pay for it.
Talked to this elder man whilest I was waiting and on my way out of town he waved me to follow him to his house, his wife had some wonderful lemonade for me and he gave me some of his self made wine, I had to promise not to drink it and then drive.
I arrived at my friend's house after once again seeing a beautiful sunset whilest cruising on a highway in Austalia in my 27 year old car...

Second day

Fruit flies
after every 100 km there are sings, that you have to throw your fruit and veggies out or eat it very quickly before crossing a county (I guess) border. You can pay up to 11,000 A$ penalty. But that's probably for big trucks of fruit. I took the risk and finished my grapes illegally after I should have already thrown them out of the window. I was only eating them when there were no cars, secretly... And then it happened: these giant insects everywhere! Fruitflies??? These things looked like the giant fruit flies on the signs... I was overreacting and paranoid. I thought I was coursing all these things with the grapes I took into forbidden land. But they were grasshoppers! Millions! Now I understand what a plague of whatever insect would be like. No chance.
I stopped in Hay. Motels where advertising with 'stay in Hay' and some sign on the road said something about a hay fish????
I drove to Madula and stayed the first night in my car. I slept well but had the strangest dream. Anna, Zoe and Raza are in it - if you are interested in reading it, I might write it down later.
I had cold Spaghetti rings out of a can for dinner. I didn't plan on staying on a campsite...

three day trip - first day...

no photos yet...
....I LOST ( am I only loosing things at the moment?) my cable to download pictures off my camera. Great. As I haven't had enough expenses recently.
I left Sydney Sunday morning, went to the gas station AND!!! drove into a fuel pump.
Great. Again: AS I HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH EXPENSES RECENTLY...
The guy put down my number and the manager called me in the evening to let me know how much it cost and to offer me accomadation when for I'm getting back to Sydney.
Maybe I'll take the offer and make up the cost of the broken pump. Plus, in the morning the guy forgot to keep the merchant's copy of my credit card bill. Which is half the pump. It's not all that bad after all.
Getting out of the City took forever, but it became worse: It started raining. Badly. VERY.
I couldn't see out of any window, and I hated it, but I didn't know where to stop and wait for the rain to end, so I just kept on driving. Stopping. Wiping the windows. Warming up (yes, it's summer in Australia and I was freezing cold!) in gas stations. Driving again.
....until after three hours the sun came out and I finally became friends with my new car and driving was fun, and the sunset was beautiful, and the country was endless, and I felt great!
Stopped in Wagga Wagga for the night, got chinese food and watched Friends in bed on my laptop.

I'm the BIGGEST obstruction of traffic

and I am glad when I'm out of this city. no further comment...
It's raining! Why is it raining everywhere I am?
I'm going to bed now so I can get up tomorrow morning very early when there're NO CARS AT ALL on the streets :-)
Tomorrow I am going to Wagga Wagga! Just because it sounds funny :-)

cars and bars

I got my car keys and papers yesterday and I can't wait to leave Sydney. I don't know if I should wait until Monday to get my bankcard.
I think I will not.
I made a trip to the blue mountains yesteday. It was very beautiful. I can't sent pictures yet, though, I lost my adapter, which is silly, because I can't charge my phone, my camera, my iPOD (ja, Isabel, hab einen gekauft!!! Und bin supergluecklich damit - wenn er aufgeladen ist...), but I found and bought an adapter just now and will sent photos soon!!!!
In the blue moutains I made a 4 hours hike down to the Canyon, through eucalyptus trees and then into the rainforest. I felt so good to be outside the city. What am I saying? Normally I love cities!!!
Back in Sydney I put my ATM card into every ATM I could find to get the money for my car. I think it's useless that you can only get 500 Dollars a day! And that they tell you that you have insufficient funds if that is not true.
But at the end I got all the money I needed (ATM's in pubs and 7/11 's) and went to see the guy who sold the car to me in a bar in Kings Cross. After 'business' we got drunk together. I trust him more now... :-)

Isn't Australia the safest country in the world????

KIF_0985, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

I just bought a car!

I think I just bought a car. I just bought a car!!! Wait a minute, I just bought a car??? Whatever. I'll pick it up tomorrow and drive to Adelaide as soon as possible. I am still waiting for my bankcard. And I still change my mind every three seconds, like Jaleen. But I really do change my mind all the time ever since I arrived here. But I start to be excited about it.

WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE MY CAR!!!

You'll love it. I hope. And I hope I'll love it. It's old. And gold. I take a picture of it tomorrow and sent it to you.

Well, not a lot happened today, except that I bought a car... :-) okay, I stop it. But it's been 10 years since the last time I did that...

I moved AGAIN (had to move already yesterday...) but the place I'm staying at now is nice and cheaper.

I can now serve alcohol responsibly..............

this is what I learned today. In Australia, to work in a bar, or in a restaurant or cafe where alcohol is only close by to find, you have to attent a 7 hours course and learn about RSA - Responsible Service of Alcohol. I haven't experienced an Australian bar yet, but what I heard today was like I imagined it in my wildest dreams. A guy who's accent I curiously studied throughout the whole course was telling us about how to prevent people from drinking in a bar????????? because everyone in Australia doesn't know when to stop, and they go home and die during their sleep, just because their "mates" put wodka in their pint of beer and they didn't know about it. Hmmmmm. And if they wanna celebrate, and they are already too drunk to get another drink (which is up to the bartender to decide, of course, I get that, but it sounded like that was the only thing bartenders in Australia do all night: decide if somebody can still drink or not) they get fancy and order rum and coke! Fazit: Be aware if somebody orders rum and coke instead of beer, it's a sign that he's had enough already.
Maybe I didn't get the whole course. :-)
That was basically all I did today, I wanna write more tomorrow about what else has happend to me in Sydney so far!
Hello! Hello! Wherever you are, and I am waiting for your comments!
Don't forget my existance whilest I am here in Australia. Because nobody here will notice if I'd disappear...
Bye!

first day

I woke up at 8am. I am probably a little jet legged or confused. The sky was blue (it wasn't the day before, I found out! )and it's nice and warm.
I got a phone!
My number is 0061 416 728 951
You can call me any time or sent me a text message!

I opened a bank account and the lady there was telling me about her lunch and the shoes she wants to buy.
I saw one real crazy person.
I saw two homeless men all day!!!

I took a walk downtown, and now I am so tired again, I think I call it a Valentine's day.

More news tomorrow.

Sydney

So, I'm here. and tired.
I've had a great night on Friday, after I've been running around "running" some errants on my last day in San Francisco, I finally arrived at the tunnel top around 9 and had a great last evening with some of my beloved friends in San Francisco.
I went to bed at 3pm, got up at 5 again. Zoe and Emma drove me to the airport. Where I was facing my first troubles: They wouldn't let me board!!! So, I thougth, now I can't leave the US anymore - GREAT! After trying to get in touch with Australia (which didn't work, because the attendants phone didn't let her make calls overseas...) they let me get on the plane to Honolulu. My lagguage was going to Sydney, I didn't know what was going to happen me once I arrived in Hawaii. But there I then figuered that the only reason they didn't accept me in Australia was that my day of birth was wrong. They put down my American Birthday (Aug 11, some of you remember that I insist on celebrating that one aswell... ) instead of my German, original one (November 8) . So there we go. I was on a plane to Sydney and slept most of the time.
Entering into Sydney was easy. I had a good laugh at the mid twenty year old guy who's job it is to put the working holiday visas into young boy's AND GIRL'S passports. He must love his job!
I took a train into Sydney, checked in a youth hostel and went to bed.

truck

truck
Originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

THE TRUCK!!!

This was the truck. I swear it was bigger than it looks like on the picture! It's gone now. Got to continue packing! Happy weekend!

strange night

I don't like the truck. It's too big. Raza asked me why I rented such a big car and I said "I have a small penis". Even the alarm is much louder than a normal car. I want to get some other vehicle tomorrow.
A horse died on the racing track tonight. I don't think I like horse races. Apart from that it was fun. Danny took us up the roof of the whole building. That was great! May there be a horse heaven. Good night.

PACKING and horse races

How can a day pass by so quickly? I got up late, though, I went to see "Bang Sugar Bang" playing at 12 Galaxies last night, they are friends of Jeff and a fun Punk band. I started REALLY packing today, and because I'm such a big organizer packing and dividing stuff (things to stay in suitcases, things Ipek keeps for me, Zoe keeps for me, stuff they might want to wear, stuff I don't take with me but still need on my last week here, CONFUSED??? I am!) just takes a long, long time. I decided to rent a car today, I will need it next week anyway and what I got was the greatest deal and a truck! Well, I will be driving around in a truck my last week in the US, I think that will make me a real American and I should get a green card for that!
We are off in an hour to the San Mateo horse track opening night. That'll be exciting. We go with my truck!!! :-)

machinist

machinist
Originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

two more days at work!

I am sitting at my old work place and Julie just serves me the third double vanilla soy latte - I love being semi unemployed. Today is a beautiful day again, and San Francisco being sunny like that makes it hard for me to leave. Okay, I stop that! Got a lot done this morning! Which feels so good.
Last night Ipek and I went over to 380, to reawake our long forgotten cheese, wine and movie night. We watched this strange short movie by Salvador Dali, where he cuts an eye in half. I's a cow's eye (that's what Emma said) but it's still shocking. Then we watched the Machinist, which was a great movie about guilt and schizophrenia. I won't tell too much...

56surfer

56surfer
Originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

moving on!

Felt much better this morning and finally went to "Mama's " with Zoe. The 50min hike through San Francisco though was quite exhausting with my cold. My nose is red and sore, how attractive! After breakfast we went to buy my iPod YEAH!!! Doris called this afternoon, she really is coming to see me in Australia, at least that is her intention! Would be cool to hang out with her and she won't be able to complain about Australian travellers, because they are local... :-)

Mati came over after work and I gave her a one year loan of some of my clothes and quite a few books. Cool, that makes us both happy! Now I am packing my things and I am in a good mood. Thank god. I'm sure (almost) that Australia will be cool.