Birthday Blog Boast

Dearest friends and countrymen,

First, I would like to start off by saying (as I do with all my other blog posts) that I am sorry for my absence from the keyboard and the blog world. Rest assured that I was indeed at the keyboard, but most of it was spent cruising the internet for amusement or playing Words With Friends as I am slightly obsessed with Scrabble at the moment...! Secondly, in order to keep you all in the know about what has transpired here in Perth and the beautiful, hot, sunny, weather that is Western Australia, I will be completing the many draft posts I have from the past two months! SO, not only is this a new post, but there are many more to come in the next two weeks.

In order to start this post, let's pretend that you've just read my various (forthcoming) updates from the last little while and you are chuckling to yourself at the thought of me actually melting into the hot asphalt! Oh glorious days... All of a sudden, IT'S MARCH! Wow, really? March, already? Well, if you know this freckly face, you'll know that March marks my birth month and lo and behold, my birthday was soon to be upon us...

Now, we Canadians like to celebrate labour day in September but since Australia is in the other hemisphere and 6 months on the flip side, it is celebrated in March. It was Wednesday, February 29th and I was on the phone with Sue updating her on how the day was going at the house with Paul and all the laundry when she mentioned the public holiday coming up and how Gavin was considering taking us all on the boat to Rottnest Island. Having never been there and hearing only wonderful things about the place, I got very excited at the prospect of visiting and promptly had decided that we were going hell or high water (or swell, as the case may be).  Sue carefully made sure to tell me "Don't get your hopes up, it all depends on weather", and boys, and Gavin, and sleep...the list goes on.

Luckily, Sunday evening rolled around and I was packing my bathers (Australian for swimsuit), rashie (Australian for rash guard), goggles, and zinc all ready for a 6:30am wake up. We piled into the car and were on the road with the boat behind us by 7:30am, in the water by 8am! Surprisingly, the ride over was quite calm and I marveled at the absolutely HUGE ships waiting out in the channel to come to the port to either load up or destock. I witnessed a "live shipment" which was a huge ship that looked like a passenger ferry, but was actually full of livestock. The animal rights activist inside me swelled and I thought about the journey they would have to endure across the Indian Ocean and up to probably China. The pungent smell escaping from the ship made us all gag a little as we zoomed by on our way out to sea.

The crossing takes about 30 minutes from Fremantle and when we got there, I could see crystal clear patches of Indian Ocean beauty! We pulled up close the the shore of where the actual settlement (and tourist area) is and hoped out so that Sue could show me around a little bit. I learned that the island has stayed free from any kind of commercial monopoly which makes it accessible for families from all pay scales - pretty great if you ask me. It was really nice to visit the sleepy town and not have to see massive advertisements for Hilton this or Marriott that. Thumbs up, Rotto!

Another cool thing about the island: there are no cars. There are buses that go around the island, but the only other form of transportation is by bike! My dream. There were bikes everywhere and heaps (Australian for tons) of places to hire (Australian for rent) one for the day. Thumbs up again, Rotto! After getting Sue some motion sickness tablets, we got back into the boat and made our way over to Parker Point where we anchored for the day and got our gear on to go snorkeling!

The rest of the day was packed with incredible underwater sight seeing, close encounters with fish and a small, constant nagging feeling that there could possibly be a shark close by and I hope I don't have any cuts... There was also an interesting event with another boat parked in the bay that was drawing a lot of attention from the male passengers on all the surrounding boats. It involved two women dancing around in bikinis with the music blasting for all to see, but I'll save that story for a laugh over a beer or two - not worth wasting my typing on. Check out these photos of the day:

A Quokka!

Just a stingray, casually swimming by in the crystal clear water.

Oh hello there.

Sue took my camera to capture me joining in with the fish. Here I look like I've been caught!

Coming up for some air. 

Doing what I do best: swimming.

Sue and Gavin for an underwater couple picture

Sue (giving Gavin a love tap in the face), Gavin and Luke 

Thumbs up for rock and roll!

There is a snorkeling trail that has these plaques embedded along the way for divers to read and learn about the surrounding reef. Pretty cool!

Adam giving me his best smirk.

Where am I again? Greece?

Bikini ladies, top left.

There's that freckly face.

Soon enough, it was my birthday! Now, as most of you know, or have read before, I work two full time jobs: one as an au pair, and the other at lululemon athletica. Each week I'm racking up around 60 hours of work, so for my birthday I took 3 days off...in a row. Yes, you've read correctly. I hopped a bus down to Busselton to visit my INCREDIBLE adoptive parents, Diane and Paul. I don't know if words can express how fantastic these two are. This weekend trip marked my third and final stay with them. I really don't know how to fully convey my gratitude towards them other than offer a never ending open door policy at my place! I love them both very much.

On my birthday morning, I woke up, skipped my run (hey, it's my birthday!) and took a shower. When I got fully packed and dressed, my three favourite boys came in and sang me Happy Birthday (Adam, of course, sang the zoo/monkey version). The tradition here is to hide a person's birthday pressies (Austrlian for presents) under their bed and so I crawled under there to retrieve a package full of chocolate! YES.

I hit the road to catch the bus...to catch the bus to Busselton! I picked up some A&W root beer and some Reece's Peanut Butter Cups for Paul and Diane (beautiful Diane is originally from California, and Paul lived there for some time so they do miss these treats). Soon after, I was comfortably on the bus for my three hour ride down south.

A lot has to be said for SouthWest Coachlines. WOW. After riding the bus to and from Montreal for the past 4 years, I've come to terms with the absolutely terrible Voyageur coaches and learned to pretend to study while actually watching a movie or reading a magazine in my utter discomfort. I was in bus travel heaven: leather seats that recline more than one inch, tv screens that actually played a movie (Dr Dolittle 3 on the way down and Contagion on the way back to Perth), a USB charger at every seat, a radio that worked and had good channels, a free laptop desk thing if you want one for your computer, and there was more than enough leg room.

Mimi (Diane)

After dropping my bag off with Diane at her work, I took my birthday afternoon to wander around sleepy little Busselton. I went into shops, checked out some books, sat down and had some lunch (bruschetta, glass of wine, and of course a birthday chocolate sundae!). After Diane had finished work, we went home to chat and catch up while awaiting Paul's arrival. These two beautiful parents of mine took me out for a delicious Indian meal complete with chocolate samosas for dessert. Paul and Diane also marked my special day with a card and gorgeous necklace! I am very blessed and very spoiled.

Our weekend was very laid back and fun! We spent our evenings watching movies and making homemade pizza and popcorn while our days were spent enjoying the outdoors and each others company. On Saturday, after a lazy morning, we drove down to Margaret River for a walk around town to check out some local art galleries. We had a wonderful lunch and then visited Lloyds (an all purpose store that has some of the most beautiful ornaments, bedding, sculptures, kitchen gadgets, and whatever else you can dream. The store seems to go on forever, each room with something new to look at. Highly recommended if you're every down in Margaret River to check out this little spot. We closed our evening with a bike ride, homemade pizza (the Paul way, and I will never go back), beer, and movies.

Sunday brought an early rise with the promise of boogie boarding over in Yallingup. Paul and I packed our stuff in the car and threw in the snorkeling gear, just for good measure. We caught some terrific waves that morning and ended up playing in the surf for about 2 hours! We ran back to the car and Paul suggested that I had to see the Canal Rocks. Once there and after a few photos, we decided to get back into the water and snorkel around. It was very cool! Once back in Busselton, we picked up Diane and had a picnic lunch down by the jetty. We closed the weekend back at home with some homemade popcorn and a movie.

I really couldn't have asked for a better, more relaxing weekend or better people to share it with - I love them very much! Here are some of the photos from my weekend away:

BEAUTY. Get me a surfboard!

Playing in waves.

Great sign on the way down to the beach.

The end of Margaret River right by the beach. There was a huge wildfire a few months ago that has dominated the landscape.

It's amazing how fast regeneration happens.

Evening bike ride to find some 'roos!

That mama's got a joey in her pocket.

Paul riding into the sunset.

It's pizza time! I learned from the master.

Not nearly enough toppings.

Paul's on the left, mine on the right.

Paul insists on HUGE amounts of toppings and I couldn't agree more.

Hungry?

Canal Rocks

I tried to do a good yoga pose, but failed. Oh well!

There are only two more weeks left here in Perth and I'm already dreading the goodbyes that are inevitable. Soon I will be backpacking along the Eastern coast, but I will be day dreaming of my friends and family here in the West.

With love,

Megan

One hot Chrissy and a sweaty New Year!

Hey there folks!

Here I am, sitting in the heat of 2012 and drinking many litres of water per day to stay hydrated. How is it already January 11th? Where the heck did my first week of 2012 and time to ponder different goals for the new year go?! Well, let's backtrack a little since it's been a while since my last confession...I mean, blog post.

December: a whirlwind of stretchy pants and moisture wicking materials, a dash of Christmas cheer, a large handful of chocolate and a few tears for home and the family. It was a pretty emotional month for me as it was the first ever Christmas that I didn't spend with my family. The holiday season kicked off with an au pair get-together/Christmas party at "The Shed", a open air bar/club in Northbridge. I hung out with two fellow Canadians: Asha, a Kingston gal and Queens graduate and Anh-Maude from Montreal (oh yes, we spoke French!). We all enjoyed some Aussie chips (read: thick cut fries) and had a glass of champagne to toast all the au pairs for Christmas. Here are a few highlight photos:

Asha, Anh-Maude, Me

Pretty cute...

Not quite the best...

Best one

The boys playing with their electric candle

Sue, myself and the two older boys went into the city for "Carols by Candlelight" which happens every year as a fundraiser. That's one thing I've really noticed here in Perth...everything in Christian. Back in Canada retailers and businesses are very wary of selecting a religious holiday to specify with and all seasonal decorations are (for the most part) non-denominational and say stuff like "Happy Holidays". Perth is all up in the Christmas/Christian way and there is no subtlety about it.

Pretty cute, eh?

Either way, we went to sing carols in the park with thousands of other families and stayed all the way to the end so we could see the fireworks!

Captured!

I can't remember if it was the same night, but it twas a night close to Christmas and all the boys were sleeping as the women wrapped gifts. Not a creature was stirring except for a HUGE Huntsman Spider!
Seriously, my photos don't do it justice. Check out these. Gross!!! Needless to say, I let Sue deal with that one...she let it loose in the yard.

UGH!!

I've been told (to my horror) that Huntsman spiders are actually quite common and that one was not actually that big. I'll be keeping Canadian house spiders as pets at this rate.

Just a little bit gross

My Christmas Eve brought about longing for home, snow, wine, Christmas cartoons, wrapping gifts, chocolate and sitting by the fire with my family in Ottawa. The thought of trudging through the snow with Rachel at my side on the way to Quinn's for a beer also brought some tears to my eyes...I miss Ottawa! Luckily for me, I have a friend in Asha, a fellow Canadian who understands the need for companionship and snow. We hung out together on the eve of Christmas and made some very lovely cookies for our host families. Obviously photographic evidence was needed as they were delicious and enjoyed very quickly that evening and the next day!

One had to be taste tested of course

Christmas Day came all too early and I had two young boys jumping on me at 6:30am. It makes me think back to the days when I was their age and I would wake up that early...sorry, mom! Presents were fun and my host family got me an awesome gift - a gift certificate for an "experience" with a whole bunch to choose from (swimming with dolphins, sea kayaking, kite surfing lessons, etc). Awesome.

I got Gavin a top from work to replace one of his t-shirts I'm surprised makes it out of the washing machine intact. Sue got a goals book from my favourite stationary store, kikki k and I got the boys matching button up shirts! They looked really sweet together and they wore them that day to the family Christmas lunch at Gavin's relatives place. After all the presents were opened and wrapping paper cleaned up, I hit the hay for another 3 hours!

We spent the rest of the day at the Christmas lunch which was fantastic. It was like someone had taken Christmas and transplanted it onto Canada Day. It was hot, sunny, there was an abundance of alcohol and delicious food (some of which prepared on the BBQ). There was also a trampoline which made for some excellent play time.

Gavin and I at Christmas lunch

Adam and I on the trampoline!

One of Gavin's nephew's rocking an awesome Christmas cracker present

The "big" kids (aka the 4 young adults aged 16-21) went to the beach for a swim in the ocean. Yup, I swam in the ocean on Christmas day. Strange... In the evening I sent my sisters text messages to wake them up for Christmas morning in Canada so I could skype with the family. Of course, the sight of all of them and the Christmas lights in the window did bring about the sobs, but these were quickly remedied with love and updates from my wonderful family. We also took a pretty great Christmas photo together (myself on the computer screen) which I will have to post once my little sister gets around to sending it to me... hear that, April?

So, between Christmas and New Years just consider my life one big blur of stretchy clothes. My whole host family went to Adalaide to visit my host mum's family and I was left alone in Perth for a week! I worked something like 39 hours that week so I didn't actually get to enjoy it too much, but hey...some peace and quiet! If I did have a spare few minutes I was reading. I have a goal to read 20 books over my time in Australia. Only 16 more to go!

New Years Eve I decided to stay in on my own. Unusual because I'm one for having a glass of bubbly with friends, but I didn't feel like spending a bunch of cash on a night on the town. So, instead I cuddled up to the couch with a glass of wine and a couple episodes of Mad Men and did a few Skype sessions. Thank you Andrew, Rachel and Dad for keeping me company!

New Years Day I spent the day with Hannah at the beach! Good way to ring in the new year, huh? We played in the waves (and got rocked by a few big ones) then went to get some pizza to finish the day off. We got rocked so hard I had sand everywhere and even after two showers I could still scratch my head and get some sand granules. Good times!

I'm so lucky to have made a friend in Hannah as not only is she Canadian, but she is a music lover as well. We made plans to go to the Southbound Music Festival together in Busselton for a whole weekend of good times.

The festival itself is really, really cool. It's a music, camping and arts festival. There are some serious headliners that come every year and a TON of people camp out on the grounds for the weekend (If I ever go back, it's happening. I'm looking at you, Rachel). There were stalls that sold jewlery and clothing, you could rent hilarious costumes, get your face painted, and get all kinds of delicious food.

On one edge of the MASSIVE campground

It was also a really interesting place to watch people. Hannah and I spent a lot of time just chilling on the grass, listening to some wickedly good tunes and people watching. Imagine thousands of people aged 18-25, drinking lots, in the sunshine, with a tent close by at a festival full of good music. Yeah, exactly.

Hannah and I had the privilege of staying with Paul and Diane, with whom I stayed last time I visited Busselton. I cannot express my gratitude to these two enough; they are just incredible people! They lived quite close to the venue and encouraged us to come back and visit again soon. How could I say no?!

Hannah and I, day one

An art piece created by collecting recycling around the venue. 99.9% beer or cider cans

End of day two.

Now, I don't want to brag, but I did see some sweet bands play. I'm putting a list here because there were some bands I'd never heard of that were pretty great so you should hit up YouTube and check 'em out.

Day 1
Josh Pyke (Good tunes!)
Kimbra (Not well known in North America, but huge here)
Beirut (Incredible, just incredible!)
The Naked and Famous
Grouplove
Dub FX
The Jim Jones Revue (I caught the lead guitarist's pick when he chucked it out in the crowd after their last song! A guy behind me must have been a super fan because he paid me twenty bucks for it. Worth 3 beers!)
Young MC (YES. YOU BET. He did Bust A Move. It was awesome!)
The Grates
DJ Yoda
Crystal Castles (I'm told that they sound pretty fantastic live if you're on drugs. I wasn't.)
-- Instead I should have seen Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs that were playing at the same time, bummer!!
Arctic Monkeys (AMAZING. Enough said.)

Day 2
The Vines
Tim Finn
Missy Higgins (Look her up, she's wicked!)
The Jezebels
Fleet Foxes

Sunday was a pretty hilarious day for people watching. It was really, really mellow as I'm sure everyone was recovering from a huge and messy Saturday night. Regrettably, we didn't stick around for The Kooks and John Butler Trio because we had to drive back to Perth that night as we both worked Monday morning. Some seriously funny moments and I also accidently/sort of on purpose ended up with a new pair of sunglasses on Saturday night. But, all in all, a great weekend!

End of Day 2: listening to Fleet Foxes

Hope you're coping with the cold if you're reading from Canada-land. I'm feeling pretty homesick lately so if you ever want to Skype with your dear old friend Megan, just let me know!

With love,
Megan