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Although I don’t consider myself a frequent buyer (except of food, of course), I would say I am an avid consumer of products. And, when I buy, I tend to be quite brand loyal – Team Dell, Team Heinz, Team Jolie. Though I’m easily enticed by pretty packaging and witty advertisements for new products/brands, I usually end up heading back to the original player.
Well, my latest purchase is no exception – Team Olympus, baby. I’ve worked with 2 other Olympus cameras in the past. Although I have boxes and boxes of blurry and badly timed pics (Is that my forehead or yours?!), I assure you it’s the fault of the photographer – not the camera. As I’ve had no reason to turn my back on Olympus, I’ve indulged in them yet again with my purchase of the Olympus Evolt E-300 Digital SLR.
I know it’s not the “best” DSLR camera in the market, but for the price, I couldn’t pass it up. Given the reputation of New Zealand and its amazing scenery, I wanted to make sure I was armed and ready to capture it all!
So, say cheese!
I’ve been posting a lot of pics and You Tube videos because, well, I’ve been lazy to write much more than a paragraph or two. Today, though, some inward looking.
There’s no way to fully explain in writing how this Australian experience has changed us. It’s changed us both individually and as a dynamic duo – in a positive way. I’m not saying that our experience is like performing open-heart surgery or climbing Mt. Everest, but I think we’re doing something kind of amazing. I mean, I am a girl who never ate at a Subway until my freshman year of college, never lived outside of Florida (although I have covered 3 cities pretty well) – and now, I’m living in Queensland, Australia.
For one thing, this experience is teaching Us to try to be less indecisive – or at least, quicker to make decisions. If you have hung out with either of us for more than 30 minutes, you know how tough decision-making is for us. Do you want to go out to eat? Sure. Where? Chinese sounds good. How about Mexican? Mexican sounds good, too. Is there someplace that serves lo main and yellow rice? Our inability to decide on things is probably why we’ve been together for 10+ years and still aren’t married! I mean, that’s like, one of the biggest decisions a person has to make, right?! (Yeah, we’re working on making that happen sometime in the near future…we promise, Hazel! Haha!)
Being in Australia has been a serious test of our decision-making skills as well as our communication skills. At the grocery, we have to work together to decipher food products like Paw Paw fruit (it’s similar to a papaya), or Butter Chicken Sauce (it’s a popular Indian dish, think Tandori chicken with a hint of tomato). On the weekends, we have to decide whether we want to do some bushwalking or rent bodyboards and give that a go. (I guess we can’t really complain that life is tooo hard if those are our choices, right!? Haha!) And, we discuss our long-term plans and have to make decisions about where we want to be in a year, 2 years…and how will we get there?
What’s more, the distance helps us evaluate the relationships we have with other people. Our family, our friends. Cliche, but true – absense makes the heart grow fonder. I realize how important it is to establish good ties with those you love. It’s not quantity of contact, rather quality of contact.
Sometimes I feel like we’re throwing up words and sentences. But, in a good purging of the feelings way. Not in that wow-that’s-so-disguisting-but-at-least-I-made-it-to-the-bathroom way.
Well, enough of that. I’m going to eat some tacos.
Australia’s equivalent music awards show is the ARIAs, which airs this weekend. I haven’t yet been able to put my finger on the pulse of the Aussie music scene – it’s 1 part electronic, 2 parts pop and rock with a splash of acoustic – but I can tell you this, they love their homegrown artists! If Silverchair or Delta Goodrem or Powderfinger is doing anything, you’re sure to hear about it.
So, if you’re wondering what you might hear on Australian radio, here’s a taste:
-Sneaky Sound System, from Sydney
-John Butler Trio, from Western Australia (but, was born in Cali)
-Missy Higgins, from Melbourne
Are you a Gator fan?
Are you a Georgia fan?
Do you like college football?
Do you live within a day’s drive to Jacksonville, FL?
Do you like to consume liquid alcoholic goodness?
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If you answered YES to any of the above, then you will probably be in Jacksonville, Florida this weekend to celebrate what has become known as the “biggest cocktail party.”
Florida-Georgia Weekend is a tradition. Even if you don’t watch football (like myself), you go. If you can’t be an athlete, be an athletic supporter. Not only is it a sports-related party, but it’s also usually got a mild Halloween theme to it. Really, fun for all. It’s probably one of the Top 5 reasons we even stayed in Jacksonville for as long as we did….
Well, I will definitely be thinking of Jax this weekend, and I hope to get a Cheer-and-Beer throw down in my honor for all those who are attending this year!
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