The problem with blogging is that if you miss a couple of weeks those couple of weeks can turn into a couple more if your not careful. Blogging can be very addicting but also sometimes something you don't have time to devote the energy to. At almost three weeks since I last updated I figure it was high time I got back into it! Especially as I have lots to share with you.

First order of business is to tell you about the Halloween party I went to that I talked about in my last entry. For those of you who are curious I went as a mouse. The party itself was at my new book club friends place. She has since left to move closer in to the city which is such a shame because her place was great! Unfortunately though it was in a kind of no mans land. The party itself was good. It was almost all American expats with their significant Australian other. I was one of three single people there? A personal highlight of the party for me was all the amazing cupcakes and American candy! Good thing I had been well good all week and was able to indulge. None the less I did meet some nice people and look forward to their next networking event. Sadly I am going to be missing there Thanksgiving picnic this weekend because I will be going to my first ever baby shower on Sunday! And....in December I will be going to my second! The first is for one of the Swedish girls I have befriended. The other is for the American girl I met working on 1984. Looking forward to them both.

The day after the Halloween party I went and met up with a new friend I had been put in touch with through another friend back in London. We had met once before. This time we went and got brunch at a fantastic new restaurant near me. I had a Gorgonzola tort! Yum! He then took me to the fantastic retro cinema near my house to see the new Woody Allen film Whatever Works which I enjoyed. And as for the cinema inside. BEAUTIFUL! It is part of a group called the Palace Cinema which restores old art deco theatres in Australia. I am going to be joining them soon. For $19 a year you get to see a free film on your birthday and when you join and all films at their cinemas for $12 plus a friend pays that price too. Very good value and I just don't get to the cinema enough so this would be a good boost. Great timing too as Oscar season is just around the corner.

Last Wednesday my friend Lynn and I went to one of the 'hottest' restaurants in Melbourne called Cutler & Co. She has moved to New Zealand since then and wanted to have one last killer meal in this great restaurant city before leaving. It was fantastic! We shared our starter which was (I am taking these descriptions off of their website) : the salad Lyonnaise. A plate of of charcuterie with the traditional frisee salad : cubes of smoked tongue, garlic sausage, some crispy panchetta, a long thin strip of pig's ear and a scattering of confit duck gizzards. The poached egg is a duck yolk that's been lacquered with a thin, hard shell of bruleed sugar for additional wow factor. For my main I had Line caught snapper, broad beans, glazed shallots, and potato ailoli. The fish was cooked perfectly! For dessert we shared whipped ricotta cheesecake, pumpkin seed crumble. This was all washed down with aperol (yay!) blood orange spritzers which were fantastic. I am sad to see Lynn go as I have enjoyed our 'grown up dinner outings'.

Friday some of my colleagues and I went to the convent across the street from us that hosts various events through the summer. Every Friday through till February they will be hosting food and craft stalls. All the crafts have to be made within Australia and with locally sourced materials. Sadly though I did not find the particularly great. The food on the other hand was. I stumbled upon a brother and sister from Los Angeles who were making Mexican style street food from scratch!! I had one chicken and one pork soft taco with their fantastic watermelon and guava juice. I look forward to going back again.

Saturday I went on a big walking mission to explore other areas near me. I also finally joined the library near me which has a copy of my first book for book club! It is not great so far but I am not giving up on it. In the afternoon I went and got a $10 trim which turned into a chop sadly. But it is growing on me and with the very, very hot weather (it has been (35C/94F) for a week it does feel good and I can still do some things with it. And it is much healthier and will grow faster I have to remember. Lynn and I then went and had see you bubble tea which I had not had since I tried it my first time in China Town, Boston years ago. Better then I remembered and hope it won't be such a long gap till I have it again! That evening much later I went to go meet a friend from 1984 for a drink to catch up. I convinced the bartender to let me have some of the homemade hibiscus cordial (he was hiding it) with my champagne which was fantastic. It was only meant to be a few drinks but somehow I managed being convinced to go to a house party near me and ended up staying out til 6AM! It had been quite sometime since I did that and it was fantastic!!

This week has been more good food with $4 pizza on Tuesday and Thai food last night on a terrace. I am not sure how much longer I have my temp job. For example they said once again I was ahead in my work so was not needed today hence why I am writing you all in the middle of the day on a Thursday. I am going to try and get a concrete answer out of them tomorrow how much more work they have for us. I need to be realistic and figure out what step to take next.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx