Dying Babies

I'm really glad I spent the night at home last night. Apparently I missed out on an extravagant outing, everyone seemed like they had a really good time, but I feel much much better this morning. I'm still a bit stuffed up but the sore throat has almost disappeared. I still feel a bit weak, but a beach day should cure that!

So, two days ago I awoke in a panic to this sound:

http://birdsinbackyards.net/images/audio/corvus-coronoides.mp3

There was only one, and I swear to god I thought someone was murdering an infant. When another bird joined in, I realized that they were bird calls, and I went back to sleep after my adrenaline levels dropped a bit. The same god damn thing happened this morning, but it took me a little less time to figure out it was a bird. It is impossible to sleep in here unless you have a sound proof room, or are heavily dosed on narcotics.

Sickness Sucks

Spending the night in tonight to try and fight off the sickness. I took a three hour nap yesterday in the afternoon and then took an advil pm a couple hours later so that I could sleep through the night. I got about 12 hours of sleep (plus the three hour nap) but I still woke up with swollen lymph nodes and a viciously sore throat.

Everyone is in high spirits this evening, heading out to a bar and then to a pub with a dance floor which closes somewhere in the 3am-6am range.

I really wanted to go, but I would probably be dead tomorrow if I tried. We head out to Aboriginal camp on Sunday and it should be a crazy experience. Not going to have internet for a week so I will try and journal as much as possible, but from the sounds of it, it doesn't seem like we are going to have any free time at all (That might have been Nat just trying to scare us, but it will certainly be a tough--and hopefully rewarding--experience).

Mom, don't read this until you've had your coffee.

Seriously mom, at least a cup. Ok so here is the story:

Kelsey C has been debating whether or not to get an eyebrow pierced for approximately 3 years. She told a group of us this fact one night while we were drinking. I asked her why she hadn't ever gotten it done, and she said that everytime she goes to do it, she chickens out, then feels really relieved that she didn't do it for about two weeks or so, then thinks that she wants it again. Additionally, at the end of freshman year, one of her close friends got an eyebrow piercing and Kelsey didn't want to look like a copycat.

As we were walking home from the Museum on monday I asked her when she was going to go get it pierced (as in, whether it would be in Sydney or after we got to Brisbane. I could tell that she wanted to, but she is rather conservative so she needed a little shove in the right direction). She looked incredibly taken aback and said she didn't know, so I told her we would go look at places on tuesday. She agreed with a big smile. "So what are you getting pierced?" She asked, quite innocently.

"I dunno, I've always wanted a fang earing," I said jokingly, "But I never really thought about it too much."

"Well, you can't just go with me and watch. You have to get something pierced too!" which, sounds so convincing when it is coming from a well-mannered sweet young lady. I started to think about it.

"Maybe I'll get a really small hoop on my earlobe. One that doesn't dangle."

Fast-forward to two days later and a half-hour of wandering around questioning the authority of google map's directions, and we found ourselves at "Totally Pierced" A really swanky looking piercing parlor in the cleaned up, upscale (stereotypically homosexual) part of town.

We walked in and the gentleman who greeted us was very amicable and I explained the situation. He said that they were actually closing down on friday after 10 years of piercing, and so all of their jewelry was on sale and piercing was half price. We talked with him for a bit, and then I mentioned to Kelsey that since they were closing down on friday we should take advantage of a sale and get pierced right now.

Kelsey smiled at me. "You gonna get pierced then?"

"Of course!"

It took them about 15 minutes to sterilize everything and get it set up, then another 10 or so to go over aftercare instructions, but then we did it. Kelsey went first and it looked super intense, (I'm just glad needles don't make me squeemish) but she handled it so well I assumed that mine wouldn't hurt at all. She didn't even make a sound! It also looked REALLY good on her. It was a super small bar and the angle complemented her facial structure really well.

I went next and, surprisingly, it actually hurt a lot. But it looked even better than it had in my mind and it was half price! I couldn't get an angle on my camera that showed what it looks like straight on (the flash washes out anything in my mirror) but I got some side-angles to show you all. If anyone takes any close-up pictures where you can see it well, i will be sure to post them.

Cheers!

The Rainbow Serpent

A graffitied wall from a block near our house. Forget what the actual inscription said but something close to:

The Rainbow Serpent is the creator of all living things. Show respect.

The American's Gettin Down

Here are the photos from the club "Cargo" that we went to last weekend along with some other random nights out. They uploaded really quickly which makes me feel like you won't be able to view them on the web, so just right click and save it somewhere if you want a larger view. Thanks to Tali Morrison for all the great photos!

Kelsey C getting down with her Australian man (these are the tame ones ;-)

The ratio is a little skewed in these two. Normally there are more girls.

These are my boys. Spencer and Jack from the left. They are hillarious.

Alarm Set vs Alarm On

Yeah. Should be in class right now. Just woke up 45 minutes into the first lecture. My alarm clock has two buttons, one called alarm set--which is used to manipulate the time you want the alarm to go off--and one called alarm on. I switched "alarm set" on last night instead of "alarm on" hmmmmm. Attendence is about 50 percent of our grade here, as we don't really have any homework and only one set of tests. I'm going to wait until the first lecture finishes, and then try and sneak into the class during the break and apologize to Peter. He probably won't be too happy about it.

P.S.
Woke up with a stuffy nose and a sore throat. Who knew you could get sick in a place so warm and nice?

If Only It was Just a Dream

If only it was just a dream,
A horrible nightmare that would fade into oblivion
With the dawn of a new day.
This maze portrays a sinister chapter in the history of
Indigenous Australians. For our people it is definitely
The most feared adversary since the arrival of Captain Cook.

THE ABORIGINAL PROTECTION BOARD

Many generations of stolen babies and children unwittingly
Became pawns in a ruthless Game of life, with rules
That were based on lies and deception.

As you wander through the confines of this labyrinth,
You shall witness the atrocities our people suffered
As a result of separation.

An act classified as one of the greatest Australian
Crimes of the 20th century.

-Kevin Butler
Aboriginal artist