Land Down Under

I am officially in Melbourne and fighting the urge to fall asleep! My six hour layover in L.A. proved to be pretty uneventful, except when I saw a man beat-boxing by himself at a shoe polishing station. I chilled in an airline lounge with drunk businessmen and read magazines. I got to see Rachel and Holly for a bit as they waited for their plane to Sydney, so that was fun! I flew V Australia (Virgin's Australian airline) and it was really nice. One of the flight attendants was Johnny Weir's doppelganger. I thought it really was him for a minute, but he had an Aussie accent. I was afraid that in an ambien dream I might accidentally call him Johnny Weir, but unfortunately the ambien didn't really work. The airline was very nice though, I recommend it!

my balcony!

I landed at around 7:30 am in Melbourne and was ready to crash and burn. I got a free ride to my apartment from the University (or should I say uni). The driver was very friendly...very typical Aussie. I saw a poster for Justin Bieber (slowly taking over the world) and asked him if the Bieber Fever riot was in Melbourne. Somehow this got him on the topic of his love of Adam Lambert. He helped me haul my gargantuan bags around, so I wanted to tip him, but he shoved the money back in my hand and winked at me. Winking sketches me out! While I was checking in to my apartment, the lady sprang a question on me that no one wants to hear after 24 hours of travelling: "Are you ready for your picture?" Needless to say, the photo featured on my room key is not very attractive. I have been trying to unpack, but I keep starting random tasks instead of finishing anything. Plus, I have a lot of things I need to buy. My apartment complex is really nice though, it used to be an old hotel. I have a cute balcony, and had a few visitors on my floor when I came in (aka dead moths). My roommate isn't here yet, and it doesn't seem that anyone else really is either. Classes don't start until February 28th, so I think all the Aussie kids are still on "holiday."

the new digs

I walked around the city and did a little grocery shopping at a chain called Cole's (they had a cardboard cut-out of Curtis Stone in front, so I trusted it). It was probably about a 20 minute walk back to my apartment with a small jug of milk and other goodies. It's hard to buy a lot of food when you have to walk so far, but we all know how crucial milk is to me. The city looks great, I'm excited to explore more when I'm not so jet-lagged. It's 8 pm and the sun is just now starting to set...maybe that means it's acceptable for me to go to bed now?