The Final Countdown....

5 weeks of classes

1 class presentation

1 group assignment

2 weeks of swotvac

3 exams

AND THEN I CAN GRADUATE!!!! YAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Busy busy busy

Yes, and I wouldn't have it any other way :)

ONLINE PURCHASE
I've moved on from plane tickets and event tickets to actual material items!! I ordered a CD of the single that was No. 1 for the year 2000 in Japan, when I was an exchange student there. It was always sung at kareoke, played in shops and restaurants, and my Karate teacher even sang it for us at my farewell party! So lots of memories... and now that my package has arrived in the mail (oh so exciting!) I can reminisce and sing along as much as I like :)

IKEA
Went rather spontaneously last Sunday after breaky with Cassie, and it was AWESOME :) I think it was a little nostalgic for both of us, as we have both lived overseas in apartments full of the stuff, so it brought back a lot of memories. I felt as though I should have been there having an Induction Task Force meeting in the cafeteria (drinking endless cups of softdrink), or walking around with Chris on a Sunday morning looking at things we couldn't afford! And seriously, I just love looking at furniture and homewares! If money was no object (and I wasn't relocating later this year!) I would have bought SO much cool stuff! Contrary to my view on Starbucks (see below) I feel that Adelaide DOES need an IKEA. So much choice in one location, reasonably priced in a pleasant shopping environment, complete with food :) And now that the traffic jams on the way to the airport seem to have passed (hahahaha - well, not funny if you're travelling i guess!) I have no complaints :)







MAZ & JAMIE
I went to their engagement party on Monday night and it was so lovely! Nice to catch up with Em, Lynh & Andrew, Greg & Kylie, Rose, Chris, and Mr & Mrs Vozzo, and so cool that they're finally getting married! Congrats guys! :)

ANZAC DAY
I've been to the march in town a couple of times, but never to a dawn service, and I decided it was about time! So I got up super early this year and went in to the war memorial. It wasn't too chilly (though I was rugged up just in case) and it took me a while to get a park (many thanks to that professor at uni that didn't use their parking space!) so I missed the first couple of minutes, but it was a lovely service, and I felt very Australian by the end of it, despite the dismal rendition of our national anthem, as usual. The crowd was large and mostly young, which is nice to see. They say that more and more young people are becoming interested in our wartime history... I think it's great that we appreciate what people have done for us.

Emily is back in Adelaide since it's school holidays, and Friday night she cooked us dinner - 3 whole courses! I was totally impressed, both with the quality of the food (yum!!) and the effort she went to! :) I hope she goes back to Bordertown and shares her new-found talents there! Though better to leave the cake un-iced perhaps ;)

We got videos between main and dessert, a Danish movie called "The Five Obstructions", which we weren't really sure about, and the lastest version of "Pride and Predjuice" as a fall-back option, just in case ;) Well, "The Five Obstructions" was kinda... well, it was pretty interesting from a psychological point of view, and an artistic point of view. This dude made a movie decades ago, and is now being challenged to re-make it 5 times, each times with a different set of "obstructions" imposed. It was pretty interesting, but not really in a Friday night movie kind of way. So after the first 2 films had been made, we switched to "Pride and Prejudice". Aaahhh. Lovely. Not as long as the BBC series (obviously) so you don't get to know all of the characters so well, but it's kind of... reflective. The music and shots... I'm not sure. I don't know much about movies. But it felt a little more serious than the BBC series. Even though the characters often seemed to talk so fast - what was that all about?! Anyway, I enjoyed it. And was again reminded how glad I am to live in these times, even if I do have "technical issues" occasionally! :)

Easter Weekend

Caught up with Mum's side of the family TWICE (long story) over the 4-day weekend, somehow everyone got busy with cameras on Good Friday... I possibly should've worn something a bit dressier than tracky-dacks! :)

Breaky in the sunshine at Glenelg on Saturday morning with Miranda and Tristan since Miranda was back from Canberra for the weekend.

Autumn arrived in Adelaide with nothing but rain and fog in the hills on Easter Monday, followed by a slighty chilly week full of rain. My cat suddenly prefers my lap to the spot on the floor under the coffee table. Which suits me fine, I love it - both the weather and cuddling with my cat!

AIESEC SA - the coolest region in the land!!

The first AIESEC conference for me in a year, and it was definitely special. It's been so hard leaving AIESEC, especially after a year living, breathing and dreaming it. I felt so comfortable at State Conf, it was like I had come back home to AIESEC, and to AIESEC South Australia where everything started for me 5 years ago.

It was great working with James, Kate and Anne and getting to know them a bit better (I'm finally starting to get Anne's sense of humour!) , and also catching up again with Westy. Luckily for me, the RB and the OC were soooo well organised that chairing was pretty stress-free and I got to spend heaps of time hanging out with the awesome bunch of members they have recruited this year! Everyone was so ready to get in there and have fun, eager to learn about how to perform their roles this year, and excited about all the opportunities available to them in AIESEC - including exchange - yay! I really think they're something special. I have high hopes for AIESEC SA, and am definitely proud to see them continuing our traditions and starting their own ones :)

Oh and AU finally won skolling - woo hoooo! Although the alumni team was also pretty good, if I may say so myself, despite the fact that I not technically alumni as I want to go on exchange again, and that although I performed an all-time record for me, it did hold the team back a *little* - hehehe.

Other highlights for me included:

• Pride Night - oh so full of regional pride!
• Awesome conversations with newer and older members both in and out of sessions
• The Zorba
• Tertiary Education discussion
• Leadership style and leadership opportunities sessions
• Azz pancake
• Closing plenary team presentations
  
  THANKYOU AIESEC SOUTH AUSTRALIA!!!

Starbucks

Starbucks is coming to Adelaide. I saw signs up in Rundle Mall the other day, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's more than one opening up. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. When I was in Beijing, Starbucks was the dream. To find someplace where I can get decent coffee, a comfy chair, and peace and quiet/personal space - three things that were rarely if ever found in the office/apartment - was just bliss. The fact that I couldn't afford it made it so much more extra special if I went.

But now... those things can be found in other places, within my budget, or even at home for free :) There's already heaps of lovely small coffee shops everywhere in Adelaide, plus Bean Bar (the one on North Terrace opposite uni is my new fav place to have coffee!), Illy, Gloria Jeans, Hudsons, and recently Cibo has spread and sprung up everywhere as well. Do we need a Starbucks? I'd say not.