Thirsty?

Last night I went out with my cousin and his roommate to this restaurant called Long Grain which is the best Thai restaurant in Australia.  It's really upscale and super expensive.  But my cousin's roommate is a chef there so we got a discount and some free food which is always nice.  In addition to my meal, I also had some alcohol to wash it down.  A glass of wine and a vodka/gin/Pimms cocktail.  Why?  Good question.  Let's try to answer that, shall we?

Taste.  Who doesn't love a good isopropyl flavoring?  Although my cocktail contained various juices and kiwi vodka, the alcohol taste was still quite apparent.  The wine was quite fruity as well but there was still that uncomfortable burning sensation at the swallow which most drinkers revel in for some reason.

The price.  Since it's expensive, it must be good right?  I dished out $16 for my cocktail and didn't even pay for the wine since it was a bottle but since it was a bottle, I'm sure you can do the math.

The after-effects.  Blurry vision, impaired motor skills, and fever-like symptoms are always my goal.  Sure, the buzz is interesting for a while.  But since I lack the enzyme which breaks down the alcohol, I get burning hot and red in the face.  I can feel every heart beat in my chest at the pace of a marathon runner.  Then after a while, I get dizzy and nauseous and dehydrated.  My only cure is to lie down and eventually pass out.

So why you ask?  I'll let you know when I find out.

Pushover? If You Say So.

So I noticed just now--like this second--that for some reason, if I hear important information that I don't understand right away, I just nod and say "right" or go with the mhmm.  In that moment, I just figure that I'll replay and process the information later.  Why do I do this?  It makes my life so much harder because I don't process it later since I don't know what was even said!

Example:  Looking at houses today, I always ask how far the store is for groceries.  And I always get a really nice, detailed response but do I actually know where I can get groceries now?  That would be a negative.

Part of this habit stems from my lack of assertiveness.  Not that I'm a wet sponge (is that even the right metaphor?) because I will let someone know if they're stepping on my foot.  Heck, I'll even go out on a limb and ask for directions when I'm lost.  But for the most part, I just feel bad inconveniencing people.  I don't like to ask too many questions.  A flaw in my personality I suppose.  I'm just a people-pleaser.

Oh and just to be clear, for now this blog will focus more on my random thoughts or observations of the day.  If you're REALLY curious about the nitty gritty of my life (doubt it), I'll be documenting more of my personal encounters in http://think-happyness.livejournal.com.  But yeah, I wouldn't waste my time either.

Stranger Danger

As promised, I'm actually writing an entry when I said I would, even though my body would love nothing more than to pass out.  Today was a long day.  But despite the missed train(s), wrong bus stops, and copious amounts of land I had to trek through, I actually had a lot of fun.  Australians are very friendly and quite willing to help out a poor, lost American it seems.

On my journey over here though, I had a conversation with a woman from Washington D.C.  Interested in my violin, she inquired about it, mistaking it for a saxophone (hah).  I told her I was headed to Australia to study.  She assumed I was studying music and got really excited because she's a professional singer.  Since I would probably never see her ever again in my life, I just let it be.  Explaining would be such an unnecessary hassle.

Now on trips like this, where I am by myself, I really don't mind conversing with strangers.  But sometimes I don't particularly want to think of anything engaging to say or ask especially when my medication is kicking in and all I want to do is zone out with my ipod.  So how do you transition from the awkward post-q&a session to the complete confirmation that the conversation is over?  Wait it out I suppose.  But this lady here had a friend that she would chat with so I was forced to sit awkwardly twirling my ipod headphones until she turned around and addressed me again.  I was at the mercy of her curiosity.  But no complaints really.  I'm usually too shy to strike up a conversation and most people are so absorbed in their own lives to be interested in mine anyway.  Unless there's some sort of catalyst (e.g. my violin/saxaphone), silence seems to be the optimal path.

Take 2

So I figure that since I'm starting over--in a different hemisphere no less--I should continue this trend online as well.  I started my livejournal at UM so why not start a blogger in Australia?  I'll still write in my LJ but that will probably be filled with more tedious aspects of my life.  It will serve more as my personal documentation than actual literary entertainment.

Writing in two blogs might actually prove to be more difficult than I perceive it to be so we'll see how this works out before I make any commitments here.

I'll begin recounting my Aussie adventures tomorrow as I'm still pretty jet-lagged and now actually get sleepy in the PM!  Guess it just takes a 20 hour flight and 9 hour layover to bring my biological clock back to "normal."  Although I'm thinking this will last just as long as my two blogs...