Friday night whipeout!

As I mentioned before, Friday nights by the pool are a regular household gathering spot. This night I decided to host and made my salsa and tortilla chips. I made the salsa Aussie friendly with only two jalapenos. I also got a slab of Corona (which set me back 67 bucks!) and showed everyone how to properly dress a beer. To think they had been drinking nekid Mexican beer!!! My little bit of culture went over smashingly and the night got off to a great start. Around 12am Elise and her friend Ainsley and I went to the pub across the street to dance (every Friday night there is a live band). We came back with MORE beer and a few guys to add to our posse. When I returned the Euros were still living it up by the pool so I joined them while Elise, Ainsley and the pub boys hung out in the house. I made some guacamole and as soon as I brought it out the sky opened up! We quickly moved everything into the cabana and continued our soiree! The rain poured and poured, the wet season had clearly begun. This however inspired a chorus of "singing in the rain" which turned into "singing in the rain" in five languages!!! I can't say I'd had a better time to date. Who would have thought a Texan, two Frenchmen, a German, and an Italian would be singing in the rain drinking Mexican beer in Australia?!!

This got us pumped up and ready for some club action! The clubs won't let you in past three so we had to get cracking as it was already 2:30. This is where stupid starts to happen. The boys didn't have bike lights but I did so I led them, however I forgot my glasses which meant I wasn't that good of a guide and the streets being wet ultimately spelled disaster! I took a corner pretty hard and slid off of my bike, in an attempt to save her for being scratched up I took the fall and boy do I wish I had just stayed home!

This is the result of that stupid decision... Lesson learned!

Day two at the R.S.P.C.A.

Today I was determined not to mess anything up! Again no ambo calls (which really is a good thing) so I filled in the gaps with the strays and did some pre-surgery prep. Apparently I have already garnered the title of cat whisperer due to my magic cat washing skills. There were four I had to prep for surgery and all of them were so cute! One had a terrible amount of fleas and the bath I gave her was clearly uncomfortable as the fleas were migrating all over the place. I still managed to keep her calm, maybe I do have cat magic....

While on break I noticed a large bird enclosure that was being repaired by a maintenance man. When I asked who it housed he said "wild goannas", you can imagine my excitement! The enclosure was donated and in the meantime a bit neglected therefore leaving it open to whomever wanted to inahabit it. This whomever turned out to be a large female monitor (goanna). The story goes that a large male came around and mated with her, when she became gravid she couldn't fit into the burrow under the sidewalk so she used the bird enclosure!!! Given the physical description is could be anything from Gould's Goanna (Varanus g. gouldi), Desert Sand Monitor (Varanus g. flavirufus) or an Argus Monitor (Varanus panoptes). Given that the RSPCA is in the bush a bit north of mangrove mudflats and south of the Bohle floodplain I'd say it's the panoptes.

This is what one looks like and they can reach 5 feet (1.8 metres). I am now actively looking for them, the babies should hatch in a week or so!!!

First day at the R.S.P.C.A.

Day one at work and what a doozey! No ambulance (ambo) calls so I filled in the gaps which meant taking care of adoptions. Not so hard really, just bathing and fluffing up the dogs and cats that have been cleared for adoption. The RSPCA is terribly underfunded and run by hicks (bogans) so when the ambo isn't going out the attendants and driver help out around the place. There really isn't a whole lot of training it's just "that needs doing so go over there". Well I got into a groove washing up these cute pups and neglected to look if any had stitches still from desexing surgery. I ended up washing 3 dogs that had stitches. I feel so bad! They didn't seem to care that much and said they'd keep an eye on them but still, my first day and I do that. :( FAIL.

Mi casa!

I live in a two storey Queenslander type house. Queenslander buildings are primarily of timber construction and can be low or high-set, one to two storeys. They are typically "tripartite" in sectional composition; underfloor (stumps), primary rooms (can be two levels), and roof. All have one or more veranda spaces, a sheltered edge of the building that is typically only part-enclosed and used as another living zone. This consideration for climate is the defining characteristic of the Queenslander type. Typically, the Queenslander is suited to the sub-tropical climate of Queensland of high rainfall and mild to hot, humid climate with average summer temperatures in the range of 23-36 degrees Celsius (73-97 degrees Fahrenheit). However, the type is found across the state in colder and hotter locations usually with adaptations to suit.

My particular house has wood floors throughout and high ceilings with a corrugated tin roof that makes the wet season (big wet/monsoon) really nice to listen to.

I currently live with two Aussie girls and a French guy on my floor, the floor below has it's own kitchen etc and therefore is separate but we still borrow each others cookware and share the pool. Downstairs lives an Indian guy, another Frenchie, a Chilean girl who is living with her Aussie boyfriend and a German guy. The German is leaving so an Italian guy is taking over the lease. Truly an international bunch! Some nights we cook for eachother and make our local cuisine. Most recently the Italian guy (Steffano) made pasta carbonara and pizza, it was the best I've ever had!

This is the majority of the gang! Left to right: Thibaud (visiting french guy), Robbie, Philippe (my upstairs French flatmate), Emmanuel (downstairs Frenchie), ME!, John (German), Steffano (Italian), Rocio (Chilean), Elise (upstairs Aussie flatmate), and Saair (Indian). All we were missing was Carley (upstairs Aussie), and Matt (downstairs Aussie).

This is the view from outside my bedroom window. In the mornings and evenings I can hear the Lorikeets squawking and chirping as they fly about their business.

This is the view from my kitchen window. That is a Frangipani tree. I was invited to a holiday party that was tropical themed and made a lei out of the flowers from this tree!

The Pool! This is what makes living here so great! After a long and hot day at work or after a long bike ride, this pool is fantastic for cooling off! On Friday nights we often sit by the pool with a glass of wine and hors d'œuvres.

Well that's the basic rundown, not a bad lifestyle!

Day eight, the bike nightmare...

I rose early this day to get some much needed errands taken care of. I had to set up the last part of my bank account and get a tax file number at the tax office, there were groceries that needed getting etc. I got myself all suited up, pink bike gloves, matching pink helmet, earbuds and playlist, backpack and re-usable shopping bag... I set off down the road and noticed this flopping sound, I look down and realize that my back tire was completely flat!!!! I spun the wheel and couldn't figure out what could flatten the tire completely like that, I couldn't see any nails or cracks in it. At this juncture I went to pump up the tire with the community bike pump which I almost immediately broke. The thing was not in that great of shape to start with but now it was completely non-functional. The only thing left to do was to walk my bike two miles down the road to the nearest gas station (servo) and use their pump to inflate my tire.

After this was done I continued into town always keeping an eye on my tire pressure. By the time I made it to the bank the tire was low again. So I walked the bike to the tax office which was only a few blocks away. Then it was time to get it fixed properly so it needed to go the bike shop. I wasn't sure I'd make it on the low tire so on the way I stopped at a Harley store and asked the boys to air up my tire, they cheerfully obliged. When I finally made it to the shop the culprit was revealed... a THORN!! REALLY?! Well besides heaps of killer critters, they also have killer trees!!! I had run over some sort of nut and it jabbed a thorn in my tire big enough to deflate it, wow. I put some goo in the tire that would seal up any future punctures, bought a bike pump and went on my way! The ride home was about 4 miles and a glorious one at that, I was so happy to have my lovely cruiser back in working order!!!

The North Queensland Fury!!!

Tonight Elise, her brother and I went to go watch the local A-league soccer team play at the Dairy Farmer's Stadium. Being a soccer fan in Oz is tough business. According to the locals you are either a Rugby fan or a Soccer fan... well I'm both!

  Note all of the fans on the lawn... we soccerphiles need some support here!

The group of people in the stands are called the F-squad and are made up of mostly army guys and other hardcore fans. They have season tickets and are required to stand the whole match. They are constantly singing and cheering! I love that energy!!!

 The match was nil-nil until the very end in extended time the Jets scored two goals on us. RATS!

Elise and I still had a good time though!

Day four....

So I needed a day (or three) to get myself adjusted to the time change and get my bike (pushy) assembled then it was off to explore!!!!

Townsville is located smack dab in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef and therefor is a lovely place to dive. The main spot for the beach is called the strand and I decided to take out the beautiful pink cruiser hybrid and do a bit of exploring. Here is what I found:

 Not a bad view, I had to hop off of the bike and give this a more interactive look!

 Had to get the Texas toes in the sand ASAP! Notice my pride filled pedicure!

This is our beach! Sailboats in the marina next door often come over and pick up people to go sailing and teach them a thing or two! Aussies and especially Townsville Aussies are an outgoing and friendly bunch, reminds me of Texas! :)

 On the way home I saw this waterfall and nearly fell off of my bike!!! How beautiful! As I cruised on the smell of abundant Frangipani and sweet ginger filled my nostrils, this is truly paradise!!!