Australia Day #5

Sunday morning (per usual) I woke up, ate breakfast, etc. Derek and I watched a couple episodes of Scrubs (which is a show I never really got hooked on, but totally still love to watch every once in a while). After that jazz, I went onto Facebook to play a little game some of you may know- Hatchlings. My friend Pasquale D’Silva (aka DarkMotion) is an AMAZING Australian illustrator, who just happened to design the majority of the little hatchlings on that Facebook application. You can see more of his awesome work on his Flickr.

Derek and I eventually changed out of our PJs and into real clothing so that we could go on a little hike down the Cascades Trail. The way to the end of the trail was all downhill, where we then found ourselves at some really pretty scenery. We took a bunch of photos (which I hope to use towards experimenting with HDR) and video. Derek also brought along his new Lomo camera. I can’t wait to see how those turned out

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YJ 141: Designing, Student-ing, etc.

This week we’re supposed to talk about our jobs. Well, I’m a full-time student and a graphic designer, and I do a little work for Viddler on the side. Any questions?

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Australia Day #4

Saturday morning Derek and I decided we wanted to go to Downtown Sydney with Jess to visit a Lomography store/art gallery. We missed our initial bus at noon but caught the next one at 1 pm. Three buses and $5 later, we met up with Jess in front of the town hall. I haven’t had the chance to see much Sydney architecture during the day, so taking it all in was quite an experience.

A guy I was in drumline with in high school, Kyle Briscoe, is currently in Sydney as well. He’s here doing an independent research project on architecture and has a blog he’s currently keeping up with too. You all should definitely check it out if you have a chance! Kyle’s Blogspot

At the Lomo-photography store/Blender Gallery, I got to see a LOT of really cool cameras that do fun things such as fisheye and using color flash techniques. I learned that Lomography emphasizes casual, snapshot photography, and the motto of “don’t think, just shoot”. Derek got an awesome fluorescent orange fisheye camera that shoots 35mm film (so he can get it developed just about anywhere )

After the Lomo store, we all got some super tasty cupcakes at the Cupcake Bakery. Derek got chocolate chili, I got a chocolate mint, and then Jess bought like 4 different kinds (which I can’t remember).

After cupcakes, Derek and I went to the nearby Queen Victoria Building to check out the Sugar Fix store there. He used to work for Sugar Fix (at a different location) but it was still fun to see all the candy varieties!

Eventually we met up with Erik (Derek’s dad) to eat some super delicious food at the Mongolian Grill. Unlimited bowls made for a super-stuffed Rachel by the end of the evening

p.s. Don’t forget you can see more pictures on my flickr!

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Australia Day #3 & YaffleJuice 137

Friday was a bit of a lazy day for Derek and I. We woke up (per usual) to eat breakfast, though this time I made what some people may call “egg-in-a-basket” or “egg-in-the-hole”. I put butter in a frying pan, use a cup to cut out a hole in the center of a couple pieces of bread, put the bread in the pan, then crack an egg and drop it in the middle. It’s pretty delicious and I make it quite often. Also included was a delicious mocha cappuccino :D

After breakfast we watched a few episode of Seinfeld, ate a little bit of the candy my mother packed in my luggage, and wasted a couple hours on the internet. Later on we decided it was time to go to the grocery store, considering that although I like health food sometimes, I can’t eat it on a daily basis. Miss Rachel needs sugar and meat as well, lol! As we walked down the aisles, I noticed a few things.

1) There was more “gluten-free” food in that supermarket than I’ve ever seen before.

2) They carry some of the same products as the U.S. but they go by different names. Frosted flakes = Frosties, Rice Krispies = Rice Bubbles, etc.

3) Australia is just an all-around healthier food nation than the U.S. (though supposedly they’re afraid that title may fall through in the near future)

When we were totaling up all the food in the basket, I was pretty proud of myself for being able to keep the price (for just my food) under $30 After groceries we picked up some Chinese take-out for the family. When we got back to the house though, I was a bit disappointed. This may sound strange, but it’s my personal belief that the only food Chinese restaurants are required to make right every time are rice & noodles. I mean, that’s the oldest food in their history right? Well, while all the other food we ordered was amazing (especially the lemon chicken!), the noodles I ordered were pretty fail. Half of it was super hard and even a little bit was burnt.

After dinner Derek and I went upstairs to check email and possibly watch a movie. He reminded me that Friday was my YaffleJuice day as well (which I almost forgot) and so I should make my video before I fell asleep. Lo and behold I failed to stay awake though, so Derek had to “help” me make my video for me.

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Australia Day #2

Thursday morning I woke up feeling unusually hungry. The Steen family didn’t have a major variety of choices for breakfast though, other than the random health food items in their fridge and pantry. I decided to eat some pumpkin seed bread with sunflower butter and raspberry conserve along with a cup of citrus black tea and some slices of mango. Now that I think about it, that was probably the healthiest breakfast I’ve had in years (lol!).

In the afternoon, Derek and I decided to meet up with his friend Jess at the local “Mac & Me” store to have them look at my computer, as well as so Derek could buy the necessary cable to connect his laptop to his TV. Afterwards, we stopped to get lunch at a neat little takeout restaurant and then went down to the beach nearby.

At night, Derek, his mom, and I went to the Actors Creative Studio in Artarmon. Suzie held a class at 7 pm, where everyone would be performing “cold-readings” with their partners. Derek’s partner skipped class (lucky me ) so I got to take her place and partner up with him. Our skit was about a Christmas elf who was initially looking for donations, but instead decided to mug a rich girl seeing as she “had more than enough to go around” lol. We practiced quite a bit beforehand so it went pretty smoothly, and actually, I was told I was super funny and a natural. It was sort of the highlight of my day

When all that was said and done, as seems to be the usual for the end of any busy day, we drove back to the house where I then eventually passed out.

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