A lot of good things have happened since I last wrote you all. For example later on Thursday afternoon the lead got us both a work gig that night. $100 to pin and gown graduates at the University of Melbourne! Very random but money none the less. And the people we were working with were fun. They have another week of graduations in December so will be working for them again then most likely. I met one PHD graduate who lost her son to a Swede and Sweden! She was not complaining though as she loved going out to see them about twice a year. Also it is unbelievable how many international students are at the university!

On Friday I stayed cooped up inside all day applying for jobs. I am going to give them about a week and then it is time to figure out what to do next. Very much to my annoyance the pound has dropped against the Australian dollar so I need to be even more cautious with my savings. In the evening I knew I had to get out for a little bit before I went completely stir crazy. At the work gig on Thursday some of the staff had talked about an open studio night at one of the buildings down in town. I decided to explore this option as it was free and sounded interesting. Once a year a building down in the CBD (Central Business District) hosts a two night twilight event open to the public. The event was at The Nicholas Building which is a 1926 office building based off of Chicago architecture. For about the last 20 or so years old office spaces have been hired out to Melbournian artists to use as studio spaces. We are talking about anything from milliners, to jewellers, to bag makers and much more. They all have fairly small studios but use their space really, really well. I saw a lot of really beautiful things.

Saturday morning the producer from the show I have just finished working on came and collected me to take me to my first Aussie Rules Football match. It was a local league that her brother plays in and they were in the semi-finals. Unfortunately the weather was really cold and wet and a hard game to follow. I did though enjoy a meat pie which is an Australian institution at the footy! Nothing fancy but on a cold day like we had very much appreciated. We decided not to stay for the second half and went and found coffee (which I had been told I would get in to whilst living out here and it is already starting to slowly happen). She went and had a massage whilst I finished up The Great Gatsby which I am rereading for the first time since I was in 10th grade. It really is a marvellous book. I am not sure what I will pick next to read. Once she was done with her massage she went to show me the areas of Windsor, Paharan, and South Yarra which are all well down in the South. I live North of the river just as I have always done so in London! We got beers and nachos in Windsor. I definitely would return to that area not sure about Paharan and South Yarra though. They are more shops versus Windsor which is mostly café's and bars. Later in the evening the lead and I went to my first Australian barbecue! One of the cast members from 1984 was having a belated birthday party. I had been told that though Australian barbecues are fun they are not quite the standard I am use to. And for the most part that was true. They do basically just throw on the meat and grill. Seasoning and marinating are not in their vocabulary. Some people though had made some really tasty salads so it was not all bad. When I went to go put my coat away in the hostess bedroom I was racked with jealousy at all her dresses. I was only able to bring twenty of mine over and let me tell you it was not easy to decide which ones to bring!

Now I must go though because in 8 hours one of the most wonderful people I know is arriving in Australian for 13 days!!!!! I feel like the kid the night before Christmas, I am so excited!

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