‘Straya Day.

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Natasha

Yesterday was Australia Day. A celebration of the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney, Australia, 1788. It’s kind of like our Fourth of July in the States, minus all of the fireworks. Actually, I think there may have been fireworks in the Melbourne CBD, but they weren’t going off on every street corner. Apparently, a lot of people have barbecues on ‘Straya Day, too, but I did not witness any. My housemates went on a bicycle pub crawl. More on that later.

I did run to the city to see the Australia Day parade, though. More to get out of the house and to have something to post about, rather than because I enjoy parades. As quite often happens to me, a Mitch Hedberg quote came to mind while I was on the train into the city: “If you’re watching a parade, make sure you stand in one spot; don’t follow it, it never changes. And! If the parade is boring, run in the opposite direction – you will fast forward the parade!”

And then these guys and gals walked by:

A historical re-enactment group?! You have my attention.

This guy’s mustache?!

Holding my attention.

Now I’m laughing. This is good.

The Wellington/Collingwood Knitting Group? Aw, thinking of home. (Shea and Tara, I am specifically thinking of you two.)

A Tibetan Community in Victoria? Good, good.

Still not bored…OHMYGOD!

The Melbourne Costume Group. THERE IS A MELBOURNE COSTUME GROUP?! Yes, friends. Yes, there is.

And some Doctor Who Fans (I don’t even watch the show, but this made me happy):

And the Star Wars Group:

And then…aaaaand THEN! The VINTAGE CYCLE CLUB OF VICTORIA showed up. Now I’m excited.

There were so many penny farthings, I didn’t know what to do with myself. GLEE! Total glee.

There was also the Roller Derby group and the Ukulele Kollective:

I also happened to capture this Herald Sun photographer taking a photo of this little kid:

History in the making!

There were also various immigrant groups marching. Many fantastic outfits there. But I think this post has become picture heavy enough. I don’t want to break anyones iPhones or something.

Spent the rest of the day reading (Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, if you must know) and waiting for my housemates to make it to the local pub. Which, by some miracle, they did. I was coaxed into 2 schooners while they finished off a healthy number of pitchers. In the name of ‘Straya!

And then I got to watch them cycle home. A good day, I would say.

“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where all the fruit is.”

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Natasha

I have seen the above quote attributed to both Will Rogers and Mark Twain. Sometimes, the internet is confusing. It could even be neither of them. But I like it anyhow.

Today, I am going to fully launch this thing. The blog, the facebook page, the twitter account…may as well go all out if I’m going to do this.

What do I hope to achieve?

Well. A show on the travel channel? Bill Bryson status? Yes, please. But just a blog for now. Baby steps.

I want to share my travels. My adventures. And misadventures. I want to inspire those who dream of an extraordinary life to just go out and make it happen. All it takes is for that switch in your head to go off – for you to realize that all of the societal pressures and material things that surround you are really nothing in comparison to the experiences that you can have in this world – and you are unstoppable.

I had a dream – it was called Australia. I am now living that dream and let me tell you that it is absolutely nothing that I expected. It has been fun, but also downright depressing at times. I have doubted myself many nights. But then I wake up some mornings and marvelous, sometimes peculiar, things happen. And these experiences make the homesickness and dreary, stir crazy days all worth it.

I read travel memoirs constantly. Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Everything ever by Bill Bryson. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. (I know, I know, bandwagon. I just happened to read the book at a point in my life that I NEEDED to read it. And it really is just a good book, for all of you doubting book snobs out there.) Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman. Anything by Paul Theroux. Happy Isles of Oceania being my favorite.

What happens in all of these memoirs? Everyone doubts themselves. Nothing goes as planned. At some point, there is despair. Fear. But you know what? Everyone gets something out of their travels. Whether or not they accomplished exactly what they set out to do, exactly how they planned to do it or not (usually not), these people all have extraordinary experiences that surpass anything that could possibly happen in an office cubicle.

And that’s what I want. And that’s what I want for any of you out there who also have the dream…the itch. The inkling that life is so much bigger and better than anything anyone out there is trying to sell to you.

So. Anthony Bourdain has moved to CNN. Samantha Brown has just had twins. It’s my turn now!

Homesickness. Joblessness. And all of the other reasons that I’ve had poop in my pants recently.

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Natasha

Well. I was just about to head to the CBD to do some research. On what, would you like to know? Well, I was going to see if the State Library had any books on museum conservation procedures. Then head over to the Immigration Museum to have a look around. All of this because, first of all, I honestly do find those subjects interesting. But mostly because I had applied for an Assistant Conservationist position with Museum Victoria. It would have been the perfect job for me – finally! A foot in the door with the museum world (my degree is in art history.) The position was a 6 month contract – awesome! Because, on an Australian Work & Holiday visa, that is exactly how long you are allowed to work at one place.

I had even called the woman in charge of hiring. We had a wonderful conversation. And then the HR panel did not pass my resume and cover letter on. C’est la vie.

So, here I am typing up the blog I have been meaning to post instead. I will venture out later.

My sister came to visit me last week and that was amazing.

There she is, being all cute with her coffee at the NGV cafe. We hung around Melbourne for a few days, going to museums, walking and, of course, cooking and eating.

There was also a lot of silliness involved. Because we are sisters.

We then traveled on to Sydney where we stayed at the Bondi YHA. Bondi, and the surrounding beaches, really are beautiful. The weather worked out perfectly for us, as well. 100-104F on Thursday and Friday. Those days were spent at the beach and in the water, as that is the only way to cool off around here. Saturday and Sunday were cloudy and about 75F, so we did our sightseeing on those days.

Oh! And we went to see Alestorm on the last night she was in town. If “Pirate Metal” sounds like an interesting musical genre to you, I suggest you check them out.

I also ate some chicken. You read that right, any of you who know me personally. I tried some chicken. That will have to be another post altogether, though.

My sister headed back home on Sunday and I have had a pretty tough case of homesickness since. I miss my friends and family! And I also miss the security of…you know, having an income. It’s safe to say that I am basically flat broke at the moment. I would go back into the salon world, but something between my power converters and salon tools is not working. My tools literally start smoking. And I am not looking to invest in new ones. Excuses, excuses, I know, I know.

And, while you’re sitting there reading this, wishing you didn’t have to go to work tomorrow, I am here to tell you that you would go stir crazy eventually. I was you a few short months ago. And now, I am losing my mind. But I suppose this is all part of the experience for me. I have had a job and been able to do basically whatever I wanted since I was 15. I guess not having that security and freedom is something that everyone should experience at some point in their lives. Gives you a different perspective on life. Hopefully one day, when I’m settled…somewhere…and I wake up thinking, “God DAMN, I don’t want to go to work today…” I will be able to look back on this experience and roll out of bed with a smile.

Anyway. The universe is trying to steer me somewhere, I’m just not sure where yet. And the sun is shining and I need to get some exercise. And I went to the library today and now have a stack of books on Frida Kahlo, Anthony Bourdain and digital photography that I need to pick through. I guess what I’m saying is that this post has ended.

I will note here, at the end, that, even though nothing has gone as planned and I have experienced some bad luck on the job front, I would not change anything about this. These are all lessons that need to be learned and experiences that need to be had. “It will all come out in the wash.”

Indulgence, Luck and a Little Bit of Melodrama at the Museum

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Natasha

Wow. Where do I even begin with this one? Let’s just say, sometimes the universe is mysterious.

A few days ago, in the middle of reading Sherlock Holmes, I had the urge to do some research on Frida Kahlo. I am sure that something sparked this sudden desire, I simply do not remember what. I was quickly enchanted by Kahlo’s story and decided to put Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic on hold so that I could read a biography of the Mexican painter.

Hayden Herrera’s book, Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo, seems to be the most popular. But I decided to go with Margaret A. Lindauer’s Devouring Frida: The Art History and Popular Celebrity of Frida Kahlo. According to some reviews, and even Lindauer, Herrera’s book does not accurately portray Kahlo as the strong woman that she was. So, I’ve opted to read Lindauer’s book first, followed by Herrera’s.

Moving along to the first two things that I’ve promised for this post: indulgence and luck. I have been fairly strict with money and diet recently. Whenever I do this, I end up on a bit of a binge later. Or today, ha! Yesterday, after starting my book on Frida, I decided it was a museum day. I made it all the way to the CBD, only to run into this:

Boo! What a random day to be closed. And this was after running around the CBD looking for cafe jobs and being terribly unsuccessful. Suffice it to say, I was down in the dumps at the end of yesterday.

Today, I woke up and decided that I was going to get myself some Mexican food. Today, I was going to indulge! Then, I would try again at the National Gallery of Victoria because I was longing for some museum time. But first, I was going to make some phone calls. After calling around to a few book stores and being informed that they were not hiring “at the moment” (which really means the entire season, come to find out), I stumbled upon an even better job opening. My dream job, really. I called to see if they would be willing to hire someone in Australia on a working holiday. The answer? Yes, please send your resume.

LUCK! But that is all that I am willing to say about that for now, I cannot risk jinxing myself.

After calling Evan, who surely thinks that I am manic at this point (yesterday, I was on the verge of tears from frustration and disappointment, today I was on the verge of tears from excitement and hope) I left for my daily adventures. I decided to check out a recently opened Mexican place called Guzman y Gomez. I went with the “mini” barramundi burrito. It was $6. And this big:

“Mini” is not a joke at this place. The containers to the side are the condiments I decided to take because I had just purchased the world’s tiniest $6AU burrito. I ate an entire container of jalapeños. Which was probably not the best decision…I ended up with some pretty serious heartburn. Which lead me to the frozen yogurt establishment next door. This indulgence was not planned. But my green tea frozen yogurt with cheesecake frosting was certainly delectable.

Green tea cheesecake fro-yo in hand, I continued on my path to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV.) I passed a man who was sitting on the curb looking quite forlorn and decided to shoot him a smile. Turned out he was homeless and asked very nicely if I had any spare change. He had come from Adelaide and been on the streets in Melbourne for nine days. I said, “Hey, man, I understand, I am low on my luck right now, too. But I have a dollar to spare.” It was my last one. “God bless you and may your luck change, too,” was his response as I walked away.

Finally, I walked through the doors of the NGV. Almost immediately, I was openly weeping. Why do I ever stray from the art world? It is where I belong. I love the way that I feel in a museum. I love the smells, the sounds and, of course, the sights. I love how my heart pounds and the gears inside my head start spinning. I love soaking in the minds of other artists and my own ideas that are sparked by them.

There was even a little bit of Warhol and Rothko:

Suddenly, I was back at my home town museum, the Smithsonian. I know all of the Smithsonian museums like the back of my hand. Again, shedding a few tears.

After making it through the European and contemporary side of the NGV, I ran smack into the Arts of Asia wing. Knowing that, if I were to set one foot into that side of the museum, I would never leave, I decided to put the arts of Asia off until tomorrow. I then headed downstairs for some more grub. (Well…I’d started out the day indulging, why not continue? I will be good tomorrow.) I went with an orange cake and a soy latte. Bad choices for my esophagus, scrumptious choices for my taste buds!

On the way home, I stopped at the library. This is what I came home with:

I suppose it is safe to say that I have jumped on the Frida mania bandwagon for the time being. And I am totally fine with that.

Oh! And remember the homeless man that I gave my last dollar to? On my walk to the gym, I found a five dollar bill with no owner. Today has been my lucky day. And I will be passing that luck to my sister when she arrives in two days by putting that five dollars onto her myki card.

This has become an incredibly long post. Cheers to those who have navigated my ramblings and made it to the end.

-fin-

BOOBIES!

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Natasha

I couldn’t decide if making my thoughts on this public were a good idea or not…and then I realized, who fucking cares? Do you know how big the universe is? No. It is unfathomable. And you and me and everyone on this earth are nothing in comparison. So, who gives a shit. (This is how I justify everything.)

Also, I will say here, my apologies to any family members (or friends, even) who may read this and be uncomfortable.

One more thing before I get started: most of those who know me would say that, on the inside (and perhaps on the outside, even) I am a vagrant, contrary, dirty hippie. I am who I want to be, and if those are the words to describe it, so be it.

So, I’ve got tan lines. And for purely vain and cosmetic reasons, I would like to get rid of them, at least on the top half. I know, I know…maybe I should just stay out of the sun. But I’m in Australia. And it is summer. And everyone else I know is enduring winter. I came here for the sun, and in the sun I shall remain.

I have recently moved in with an Australian couple and have quickly been given insider tips that only Aussies can give you. For instance, there is no law against females sunbathing topless in the state of Victoria, Australia. Sweet, I can get rid of my tan lines.

Now, I’ve done this before. In Barcelona, where everyone lays on the beach topless. It was fantastic. No tan lines. And freedom. Nobody looked at you strangely. Nobody ogled. That’s just how women sunbathe in Barcelona.

I had seen a few ladies topless on the beach in Melbourne. There were strange looks and ogles. It is allowed, but not widely done. I figured I would give it a go anyway.

So, today, I found a fairly secluded area. Not wanting to lay out on the beach totally exposed, I decided to wade in the water. Then families started showing up and I decided it was time to suit back up and dry off.

While laying on the beach, with all of my bathing suit on at this point, a man walked by. And then he walked by again. And then he sat a few feet away from me, on his side, facing me. I just pretended to sleep. Then, I heard him walking over to me. “Oh my god,” I grumbled out loud, hoping he would hear and leave me be. Nope. Plopped right down next to me.

“That’s a beautiful tattoo,” he said, referring to the one on my leg.

“Yes, thank you.” I grumbled in my best Daria voice.

“Do have a boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“Do you drink?”

“No.”

“Do you want to go out with me for drinks tonight?” Creeper.

“I have a boyfriend. I don’t drink.”

“You’ve got a nice body.” Ugh, CREEPER!

“Well, that’s very nice of you. I was just leaving.”
“Can I get you a drink?”

“Dude, I don’t drink.”

“Ok.” Walks off after another few minutes of asking me if I’d like a drink.

Ok, first off- if anyone, ANYONE, gives you the Daria voice, it is time to walk away. Ladies, this goes for you, too. The Daria voice means, not only do I have no interest in having a conversation with you, I would really enjoy my day better if you just left me alone.

I have no idea if this dude saw me sunning topless in the water. The water had me covered, really, so I did not think anyone saw. And he walked up a few minutes later, but who knows.

Either way, it is apparently not a crime here anyway. Nor should it be anywhere. This is where the hippie comes out, I guess. I am totally fine with fitting into other cultures and abiding by the laws of other countries. Topless sunbathing is not allowed in the US, unless you are on a specifically designated nude beach. And I figured it would be trickier in Melbourne anyway because, although it is legal, I’ve only seen a few other people do it.

But why shouldn’t ladies be able to bathe topless? No wonder people have body issues. There is a stigma that surrounds nudity. And talking about it. I mean, alright, fine, we should wear clothing to work and the grocery store. But, if I want to do my gardening topless, I’m gonna. And at the beach? Nipples pop out all the time anyway, so fuck, just take the top off!

People should not be afraid of their bodies. But they are because they are told to cover up and read magazines that show them images of photoshopped “beauties.” But I need to stop here because magazines will need to be a whole different entry. (Magazines sell fantasy images as reality – the reality that we should all aspire to be. But it’s fake! It’s been tampered with! It’s fantasy!)

I’ve lost my train of thought again. So, here.

BOOBIES!

Anyway. Although females sunbathing topless at beaches in Victoria, Australia is technically allowed, it is not widely done at this point in time. Perhaps I will stick with keeping myself covered. Or maybe I will start thinking about how big the universe is again…and damn it all! I do what I want!

Big, messy brain dump

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Natasha

Not really sure where I am going with this post…so, bear with me. I am not exactly in the writing mood, but the only way to get any better at it is to practice, practice, practice.

The next few weeks should really be fantastic. My sister arrives in Melbourne this Friday. She will be here for about 9 days. Half will be spent here in Melbourne, the other half in Sydney. I can’t wait to see my sissy-bear!

She leaves on the 20th, and on the 22nd I have tickets to see Against Me! That shall add to the fabulousness of January.

Then…and then! Evan arrives. I think he is trying to surprise me, so I do not know the exact date. “Somewhere in the middle of February” is all I know.

Things are looking up.

I am still only working once a week assisting in a salon. Who knew it would be so difficult to get a job as a barista? A little over a week ago I had two VERY promising trials at a cafe. I was supposed to sit down with the woman who would train me at the end of my shift to discuss my schedule and other paperwork. She then got a call and needed to go help out at another location. Said she would call me at the end of the day. When I had heard nothing by the next day, I called her. She answered, “sorry mate, I know I was supposed to call you yesterday! I actually just got off of a plane, can I call you in about an hour?” That never happened, either. And then the holidays happened in Australia.

They really take their free time here seriously. Which I think is absolutely fantastic. Exactly how I think the whole world should work. You put in your 8 hours, then you have your damn free time. You get your damn vacation time.

But holy shit. I could use a job. I am holding on to the hope that, although the cafe was open for the second half of this week, since nobody had seen my would-be barista trainer since before the holidays, she is still…on holiday. Tomorrow is Monday. Fingers crossed that I will get an affirmative phone call. If not, back to the drawing board.

Again, I could easily get a salon job. But I came here to learn something new. Maybe I have learned something new – what it’s like to be turned down from a job. Not to boast here or anything, but this truly is a new experience for me. I have never been turned down from a job before. Ever. This is a bit frustrating (…a BIG bit frustrating…) and a bit humbling, I suppose.

Anyway, the new housing situation is still going well. The landlords are great. We hang out just enough and I have just enough alone time. Balanced.

Hm.

Other new things I have done/seen/learned:

-Beers on the beach

-I have learned that you can order different types of fish from a fish and chips shop

-Because of above, I have ordered, eaten and learned what the most common type of fish in “fish ‘n’ chips” in Australia is: “flake” aka “gummy shark”…I have eaten shark.

-Apparently, there is no law against females bathing topless in Victoria. I will be getting rid of these tan lines, thank you.

-I have never in my life taken a cold shower. I do not like being cold. However, the other day it was 104F and I sure as shit took a cold ass shower.

-Made one of the ice creams from my previous post – the avocado coconut lime raw ice cream. It tasted like lime. Just lime. So, I added agave, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Still not my favorite, but much better. (Speaking of raw food, this raw pot luck must happen.)

-Sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. Try as you might to steer the universe in the direction you want it to go, sometimes it is YOU who has to change direction. And you’ve just got to give in and open up. I used to watch a certainly unhealthy amount of the Travel Channel. Mostly just Samantha Brown and Anthony Bourdain. Once, Samantha Brown said something along the lines of, “You’ve always got to have a plan B and C. Because sometimes plan A goes wrong. And then sometimes plans B and C go wrong and you’ve got to be okay with going along with plans D, E and/or F.” Well, I thought that I would immediately have a job in a cafe. 2 and a half months later, no dice. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?! Something. Nothing, maybe. But, nothing has gone as planned and I’ve got to be okay with that and keep on truckin’.

I’m sure that I have had other thoughts over the past few days. If I keep typing, this will turn into an even more jumbled, messy brain dump. So, here, I will bid you adieu. With a few views from my window.

Australian Heat

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Natasha

Holy…hot. Everyone I know is probably laughing right now. I purposely came to Australia to enjoy their summer. I really do not like being cold. I get grumpier every winter. So, when I made the decision to go down under on a work and holiday visa, I decided to wait out the summer at home, and then have summer part deux in the southern hemisphere.

All of the Australians that I met back in October/November, before summer officially commenced, said that I really didn’t understand how hot it was going to get. Apparently, the UV rays are more intense here. Well, I tell you, today…I believe it. The high was supposed to be 93F today, and it cleared 100F. It wasn’t supposed to hit 100F until tomorrow. So, tomorrow, I will be inside. Just in case anyone needs me.

And what would my post be without food?

This morning, I made…ready?…*drum roll*big breath in*…Hawaiian Buckwheat Coconut Banana Pineapple Raw Breakfast Cereal! Oh yes, it was just a delicious as it sounds.

(I added photos of the cat and the view from the backyard just because I thought perhaps this blog needed more of such images.)

I also went to the beach today, thinking it was only going to hit 93F. And ended up in the water the whole time because it was, in fact, over 100F. A good day, though. Ready for a cooler night.

And now, I will end this post because I believe that my computer is overheating.

SIKE! (That word still makes me laugh.)

Before I go, a friend and I have been exchanging raw ice cream recipes. Since this week will be really hot, I will likely try them all. My favorites are:

Raw Coconut Ice Cream

Raw Avocado Coconut Lime Ice Cream

Vegan Peach Ice Cream (can likely be made raw by replacing the brown sugar)

And this Raw Green Tea Ice Cream (I love green tea ice cream…hell, I just love ice cream.)

Thanks, Angi, for the suggestions!

New house. New year. Food.

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Natasha

I will start this post by saying, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A lot has happened over here this past week. The biggest thing, I suppose, would be that I have moved into a new house. It is only a few blocks away from where I was living before, but MUCH nicer and there is a cat!

A cat that now follows me around and thinks that I am her bed. Which is a-okay with me because I have missed having animals my life. It is also nice to be in a house that is treated like a home and not like…I don’t even know what to call the last house. Except that it was falling apart and nobody, besides me and one other housemate, cared to attempt to clean it. I am now renting one room in a house owned by a dude and his chick friend. And this is their home and they treat it as such. And there are windows in my room! I’m not in a cave anymore!

The house is right next to the train tracks. I actually enjoy hearing the trains go by. And the backyard has a straight view of the city. So, this New Year I sat out back with my old housemate and watched Melbourne city’s fireworks.

Now, for more food. I made chia-pudding again, but this time instead of mangoes, it was a vanilla-cinnamon chia seed pudding. And it was delicious. I used an organic Pacific Tahitian vanilla. “Pacific Tahitian vanilla” just sounds so…sexy to me. Is that weird? Probably.

And today I made a raw hazelnut chocolate cake. I actually messed up the recipe. I did not read the part where it said to divide the 3/4 cup cocoa powder. So…there was twice as much cocoa powder in the cake part than there should have been. (Is there ever too much cocoa, though? NEVER!)

They are quite a bit more dense and sticky than they would have been had I followed the directions properly. I also bought hazelnuts that were already ground, instead of whole. So, I wasn’t sure how much of that to put in, so I just guessed. They still taste like chocolate…which is a success if you ask me.

Now, off to read the letters and cards from home that have finally arrived. Still more on the way, the Australian post is not as fast as at home. “No worries, mate.”

That is, if I can get the cat out of the way…

Natasha Muller

The Grand Adventure

Monthly Archives: January 2013

‘Straya Day.

“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where all the fruit is.”

Homesickness. Joblessness. And all of the other reasons that I’ve had poop in my pants recently.

Indulgence, Luck and a Little Bit of Melodrama at the Museum

BOOBIES!

Big, messy brain dump

Australian Heat

New house. New year. Food.

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