Should Haves

There are tons of should haves. I have lots of should haves at the moment. Some say that you should live with no regret. While I agree in principle with this statement, I think it's hard not to look back at events, times, people or places without reflecting on what could have been done better. How could I have been a better person at a particular point in time? What might be a better way next time? How can I change/improve who I am and who I will be compared to who I used to be? So many questions. I think I have some answers for me. It took loads of self reflection. Sometimes the mirror reflects good things, incredible things. Sometimes the mirror reflects ill will or fear. Often the mirror reflects my innate silliness.

In any case, life is beautiful. Today is what you make of it. Although tomorrow is promised to no one, there is always faith, hope and love - the sum of perfection on earth. I have hope and a plan.

Confessions

Went grocery shopping. Spent $228 on groceries for two. $13 for 8 kg of bird feed. Spent $1485 on a ticket to Southeast Asia. Am planning on only taking a carry on bag.

I watched two episodes of Doctor Who last night. I slept until 11, called my parents and then went back to bed for a nap. I de-cobwebbed the exterior of house. The neighbors love to watch us. I believe we're exceeding their expectations.

Exams tomorrow for some us. The elitist in me wants to get an advanced degree just to shut up those who look down on just having a BA degree. The rationalist in me thinks people are stupid.

On Idiots and Internet

This is what I'm going to do: I'm going to combine my blogs. I'm narcissistic enough to want to start blogging again. I've switched between wanting to be anonymous to wanting the world(!) to know my name and then back to wanting to be anonymous. I also tried a pen name. Who is Izzy Zarrouati anyway? For now I've decided to be content with just getting words on a screen. It doesn't matter too much if the reader knows who I am or not. I don't blog about work or other silly (eg hot button) issues. I'm not too idiotic and I expect whatever I write to stay on the net indefinitely.

I endorse bread and typos. I blame France. This is my narrative.

Nylon

You know that sound that nylon fabric makes when you rub two pieces of it together? It's an unmistakable sound. We heard that sound last night coming from the sheets. Odd thought we. We shut off the computers and any other electronic laying around. Still the noise persisted. We peeled back the covers one by one. Nothing there. We shook the covers. Nothing flew out. We listened to our stomachs. No audible noises. And then suddenly a long fat beetle with inch long antennas appeared. He made a noise that sounds like rubbing two pieces of nylon fabric together. So now we know and so do you.

Moving House and Thanksgiving

Happy almost Thanksgiving! I'm uber excited about Thanksgiving this year. There's going to be a 6kg Turkey, two quail and a chicken on this year's menu. I've also invited over 40 people to celebrate with us. The house and yard are big enough to accommodate everyone, so I'm not worried at all about overcrowding the house. It should be a good time.

On other topics, we're moving houses. The landlord is selling our current house, so we've had to find Canberra home #3. Third house has velvet wallpaper! It's a huge sharehouse and we have part of the house to ourselves. There's some risk, but the pros seem to outweigh the cons and the truth is that one can never be absolutely certain about anything, so in we move! I'll miss house #2. It was nice while it lasted.

Magpies

I'd been warned about the magpies. Sunday night the boy and I were swooped a few times. We picked up some tree branches and swatted the birds away. My tree branch had ants on it. Some of the ants ended up in my jeans. I thought the ants were a worse annoyance than the birds.

Monday was a holiday in Oz. We decided to do a 15 kilometer bike ride to a friends' house. On the way there a magpie swooped. I batted it away. It swooped from the other side. I batted it away again but in doing so, I lost control of my bike and hit the curb. Apparently I looked like superman flying through the air. A car stopped. A concerned guy, who saw my amazing flying skills, got out. Sam realized I wasn't there and came back for me. The two of them made sure I was all right. I was a bit dazed. There were tears. My shoulder hurt but I decided to be a trooper and to prove to Sam that I'm tough cookie. We biked the rest of the way and ended up having a lovely afternoon playing board games. I kept ice on my arm though, because it hurt. Yeah, it hurt.

That hurt didn't go away though. Turns out that I ripped some muscles off my shoulder. Oppsy. I'm writing this post with my right hand alone. I'm awkwardly sitting on one butt cheek because my other cheek is sore. I have impressive bruises. I hate magpies.

It's a beautiful day

Ah Canberra, you're sunny today. There's an oil spill off the Northwest Australian coast. Obama's reshaping his foreign policy. The New York Times is recommending another set of posh Paris hotels in its weekend magazine. The Sydney Morning Herald highlights the no-fly zone over Munich's Oktoberfest. Le Monde has a new 'Planete' section that I don't remember seeing before. Oh, and U.S. job seekers outnumber available jobs 6 to 1 (thanks NY Times for that encouraging report!).

Today is going to be a good day. Carpe Diem.

The repeat of the long time, no blog thing

I've been busy. Doing nothing in particular, just busy. I'm jobless (again). I had an informal interview yesterday. I believe it was a success. Hmm. I think.

I left Oz to visit home for a bit. I'm so glad I did. I helped my parents with their harvest. I visited with the grandparents (they're in their 90s, bless them). I ate buckets of good food. My dad's blackberry apple pies are HEAVENLY. Despite the goodness of home, I'm glad to be back in Oz. Good ol' Oz.

Life here reminds me of the States. It doesn't challenge me in the same way that France did. I don't find myself yelling at the sky or shedding tears by the seine. I don't find that I'm growing in the same way (although I'm absolutely still growing in every way possible EXCEPT size). I still miss France. I miss Paris. I'll live there again someday, but now I've got this Oz adventure going on. I'm happy here. Sam and I are having a great time. There ARE kangaroos all over the place. Gosh!

On other topics, I'm in debt. I've joined the huge debt club. The thing is, I don't regret gaining the debt. The majority of my debt is university-related. I don't regret it one bit. The other part of my debt is travel related. I don't regret that debt either. Being obliged to immediately pay back my school debt is something I do regret, or perhaps the better word is 'upset.' I hate that American culture is so entrenched in going to school, getting a great job and then retiring. The culture makes it nearly impossible for the average person to do something other than get a conventional job after university. Yet money is money and it has to be paid back sometime (and I'm paying! Don't think that I've defaulted on loans). I digress.

So yes, I'm back in the blogosphere. Again.

Hello World

Tell all of your friends! There is an intelligent, hard-working soul in Canberra with two liberal arts degrees from a prestigious American university who is looking for a job! The restaurants won't even take me! Maybe this is the part of my life story where I learn that job hunting in any foreign country isn't a walk in the park....

Anyway, hello world! I'm back in the blogosphere. I thought about back-blogging, but truth be told, I don't have the energy. What has happened since December? I've settled in with Sam and it has been GREAT! There's no doubt that my unsuccessful job hunt has been hard on both of us but he has been better about it than I could ever imagine. The man hugs me on a daily basis and says things like "maybe tomorrow will be a better day." WOW! I still have every intention of moving out BUT I need to find a job first. Amen.

Australia reminds me of the States. A lot. Sorry Aussis, but it's true. The way you dress. The way you act. The way you eat. Yep, reminds me of the States. Of course there are notable differences, like driving on the left or calling a cooler an "eskie" (in NZ, it's called a "chilly bin!"). I tried to order take out from a restaurant one day and wasn't understood until I said "take away." Sigh. Regardless, Australia's grand but I often feel a tinge of longing for Paris; I don't think that feeling will ever go away.

Until I write to you again, take care internet! Much love, Mlle Zarrouati.

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a great film. If you have a chance to see it, please do. Your cynical soul might depend it.

Happy Go Lucky

If you're having a rough day/week/month, go see Happy Go Lucky. Sally Hawkins does a stellar job of being the flawed everyday woman. It's good. You'll like it. And even if you don't like, the film will stay on the brain. Think train wreck of happiness - the kind you can't peel your eyes away from.

Oh, and if you're having a bad day, go buy some shoes. I put three pairs on a credit card and couldn't feel better. One pair has 4.5 inch heels. I justified the purchases as being career enhancing.

My Parents Are Rockstars

So my mom sent a sweet little email yesterday. "Just to let you know doll, we paid your Wells Fargo loan." Say what? Oh gosh, you are the savior parents!!!

Today I am thankful for those two caring souls. Bless.

Karma

I know I shouldn't gloat but my old future flatmates just got jipped by their new flatmate (my replacement).

All worked out for me in the end as I'm going to OZ, and I harbor no ill will, BUT sometimes it feels good to know that I'm not the only one who gets the shaft.

Third Couch

I've moved on to another friend's couch. Friend number three is not charging me but I can't stay long. What to do? My parents want me to come home. I would be fed, live rent free and enjoy my parent's company. However they live in the country and I would not have access to a car. I could ride with my parents in the morning but with their work schedules, I only job I could probably find is something in stingy hospitality. Screw that. I've paid my 6 year dues to the hospitality world. I'm not yet that desperate.

I have the money to rent a new place but the trouble is finding one. I had found a great place with cool chicks and their cute little doggies but they neglected to tell their landlord about a new roomie. It ended up being a no go situation. I'm confident SOMETHING will turn up. Argh!

Stupid Bus

I missed my bus home. Stupid bus.

As we were leaving Union Station, a street preacher yelled in our direction: "Jesus will save you from your sins!" Thanks bud. Somehow my version of 'go and tell the world' does not include yelling at cars.

Must shower. My skin is crawling.