Sort Of.

I'm going to have to write about this more at length. But about my recent statement, with which Adam agreed (because smart people agree with each other, or at least, with me), the situation requires a bit of fleshing out. I just finished the Brisbane leg of my trip, and my hostel there was everything I could hope for. I can't recommend it enough.

So, when I get back to the states, and have sweet, sweet unbridled internet access, I'll be non-live live-blogging (something I like to do) the entire three weeks (with pictures... maybe). And therein, I'll explain the trials and tribulations of staying in hostels as a twenty-eight something year old.

I'm in Sydney now, and will be home in a few days. Cra. Zy.

I'm Old.

I'm done with hostels.

Volcano? I Hardly Know Her.

We returned the rental car this morning, and I sort of miss the GPS system. We had named her Bubby (get it? anyone?), and sort of (read: unhealthily) grew attached. Let's just say, without her (yes, the GPS was female), it turns out that Annie and I have a lot less to say to each other than we thought. Like, nothing. At. All. (Kidding!)

But seriously, folks, we totally thought that the rental agents had an over-under on us as to whether we'd get the car back to them in one piece. I would swear that the dude checking us back in looked disappointed that we were unbruised and unscratched. Driving on the left is no easy feat, my friend. Our Lady of the Highways was good to us this week.

Tonight is my last night in Auckland. It feels weird. I didn't feel weird about leaving Melbourne because we have to stay there one night before moving on the Brisbane, so it didn't feel final. This does. Part of why I took this trip despite the winter in the southern hemisphere is because I just don't know when I'd ever get this long of a stretch of time to make the trip to this part of the world. (Yeah, corporate lawyers don't get a lot of free time.) So now, leaving a city, I don't know that I'll ever be back again. I don't know. It's a humbling thought. It's a small world (just ask Adam), but it's also friggin' huge.

On that note, Annie and I found a Dunkin' Donuts. These Boston bobos didn't pass up the opp. Chocolate glazed were inhaled. Mmm... doughnuts. *Drool*

I Had My Third Meat Pie of the Trip Today. And It Was Good.

GPS = Righteous!

I'm such a fan of the toilets here. They have two buttons to flush, one for a half-flush and one for a full-flush. It's like they actually care about the environment here.

And what an environment. We went to a kauri forest today. I haven't seen California redwoods yet, but New Zealand's version is pretty awesome. (Pictures will be coming forthwith.) The forests containing the trees are so peaceful, we could chat about computer science and not throw up at the nerditude of it all. Really? Really.

Auckland, New Zealand.

We're in Auckland, New Zealand for a quick 4 day jaunt before returning back to Australia. I get the sense that the people here have a hard time understanding the American accent. Whenever I talk to someone, they take a second to realize that I'm speaking English, and that I am not, in fact, speaking an Asian language.

It's cool. We rented a car -- Annie, the trooper, had to learn how to drive on the right side of the car, maneuvering on the left side of the road, and go through eighty-three rotaries. Look! I lived to tell the tale. We went to see the famous Waitomo Cave glow worms (which are really maggots), angora rabbits, and kiwis, whose habitats have been reversed so that we can observe them during the day (they're nocturnal).

Oh, and I forgot: more on Australia. At the McDonald's in Melbourne, they have the Quarter-Pounder on the menu. WTH? AND Subway still has the 6-inch sub. Have you no shame Australia? No love for the metric system? I like the U.S., but I'm not crazy about white flagging it to American hegemony. That being said, I ate something called the McFeast, which was sort of like a Whopper. But I had it without the McChicken Sauce, which is mayonnaise. And by the way, Burger King is Hungry Jacks, I think.

My thoughts are all disjointed, and my usual wit and sass in writing my blog entries is just not available right now. Part of that is because I still think it is 5am yesterday, and because everywhere we drove today, I thought I was in Hobbiton. For reals.

More Melbourne.

Again, I wish I could post photos as I go along. My travel companion and I have a weird sense of humor when it comes to what we want to document. For example, we went to the Fitzroy Gardens, and although we took pictures of the Faery Tree and other tourist crap, we were especially jazzed about finding the Asian Christian Siriano. Be ready.

So I travelled halfway across the world to eat some plum cake, and the bakery was sold out. Instead I had to eat chocolate kuglhupf. I hate it when that happens.

I've been watching a lot of Olympics in my downtime. On one hand, it's awesome because Australia can watch things in Beijing live without destroying your sleep cycle. On the other hand, it's terrible. Aussies excel at sports that I just don't want to see. I mean, in racewalking, if someone passes you, how does your natural instinct not just scream "RUN PAST HIM FOR PETE'S SAKE. RUN."

And Peter, yup, the 1500m was an event. I was at an Aussie Rules Football League game, and 30 minutes prior to the start, everyone was crowded around the TVs watching Grant Hackett lose. It's funny to watch. I don't think they appreciate being filmed like koalas. It's ok, though. Koalas are cute.

Buzzwords of the Trip.

Pegetables. Pet vegetables. Just say it outloud.

Welcome to economy. When you're dealing with an impossible person who thinks they are entitled, although it is unclear (and unwarranted) as to what.

Curling of the phalanges. This is a holdover from the Montana trip. It's... an inside joke.