school work update...

All reluctancy to work on assignments has been replaced because now that I'm working on the assignments I'm reminded this is the stuff I love...

I'm so fortunate to be able to study what I'm passionate about... and who am I kidding Environmental Planning is cool...

I get to write a management plan for an area with Swainsona galegfolia (Smooth Darling Pea) in it... it's a threatend plant in Victoria, and the Parklands office doesn't have a current management plan for the area, so they might actually use mine if they like it... the plant has a beautiful tiny papilinacious flower (as most peas do)...

... so back to the books... just wanted to end on a nicer note than what I did yesterday.

love,
meggers

ps-what I'm thankful for today so far:
-instrumental study music
-papilinacious flowers
-dendrology
-starting things
-granola and rice milk
-mama
-grandma j
-gram's cookies (which I'm trying to get her to send one to me)

So.... there is the Cobar update... now I'm back on res... avoiding assignments and trying to convince myself to be motivated for them. The quote of the day is:

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, BEGIN IT. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it" -Johann Wolfgang van Goethe

Even with that quote I'm just feeling burnt out on studying... I'm reminded of Neil's theory of mistaken resistance- resisting something you must do wastes energy and prevents being done with the task at hand sooner than later.

I'm also reminded that tasks tend to take up the amount of time you allow for them. I think the largest varying factors are quality and stress level (the difference between when you leave things to the last minute and when you just get started on them).

Oh well... that's what life as a student is about. That's where I am right now.

Things I'm thankful for today:
-gyms (I never thought I'd say that)... good places to workout when it's too smoky outside for asthmatics
-Rozee and Leesa's cross country mix (we put it on at the gym)
-detox programs (I've started one and I'm feeling really good)
-Nap. Dyn. lip balm (thanks missy!)
-parenthesis (these things)
-water
-music from friends
-e-mail
-Cinderella
-vegetables
-fruit juice

Not sure if you can really see this picture or not...I was out on the chalky my last evening in Cobar and I found a footprint of mine from a day earlier when I was on a run... and right beside it was my chaco footprint... now, I know it's just a few footprints, but it seemed a bit metaphorical of my coming to and going from Cobar, and more broadly- to Australia... and even more broadly to life in general...
We stopped here for a real Aussie bbq on our pub crawl that took all day. We visited only the most remote pubs... Tilpa and Touth. We spent most of the day driving on dirt roads seeing kangeroos, wild sheep, wild goats, and emus. Under the tree in the center of this picture is where LeAnne saw her infamous "ghost sheep"... which she is still being teased about today.
Farewell to the chalky...
Gremlin! The cat'en that I mentioned last week... notice the large ears and bent tail... she's also very shy and anxious... but quite the cuddle bud at bedtime.

Aboriginal rock paintings at Mount Grenfell. I was a bit enchanted, but I was really taken back by the opinions of everyone I was with... Generally (among the people I have encountered here) I have noticed either negative feelings towards Aboriginals or apathy. Here we were at this site that means something to people and everyone was just blazing down the path uninterested or more focused on things like shoes without enough tred. Yet interestingly enough, shortly after we left the site someone asked me about the Native Americans saying that they are the best thing and so amazing. I too am interested in their culture (along with many other Americans)... I just don't understand the general population's lack of fascination with Aboriginal culture.
LeAnne's back yard
LeAnne's house, if you're in Cobar-come visit please!

This is LeAnne and I after our Earth Day litter colletion... we're out at the "chalky" this red, red dirt road and series of little paths. It was the best place to run that I've encountered thus far in Australia.

The Cobar gold mine.
LeAnne almost falling off the playground toy... turns out the springs aren't as strong as you'd hope they'd be.
Here's one I forgot to post a while ago... this is the night we brought the bikes inside... There's Ryan doing a wheeley.
This is an old copper mine "the cut" that is a favorite/illegal swimming spot.
Dubbo Botanical garden (Thank heavens for botanical gardens in cities... I don't think I could ever last without them)

just a few words

Hey y'all...
Just a few words before we skid-attle off to a birthday dinner... I am enjoying this little Outback town of Cobar, New South Wales. Just got back from a trip to Dubbo, a little more of a "city", but nothing to write home about... Can't upload pics because I forgot my camera cord... but the red dirt and sunsets are really amazing.

The song "drops of jupiter" reminded me to really go out and be adventurous... so I'm working on that lately.

Things I'm thankful for today:
-a small cat'en (cat/kitten) named Gremlin with a crooked tail and big ears
-parks and gardens in cities
-Aussie sunsets
-accents
-kids
-observatories

No more classes (for a while at least!)... I'm excited that I am done with classes for a while. I've started my three weeks off for Easter break. Tomorrow I am getting on a train at 11pm with Leanne to go to Wagga. Thursday morning we'll leave for the long road trip to Cobar. I'll be in Cobar for the first two weeks of the break and then back on campus to work on assignments for the last week. Leanne describes Cobar as a tiny town with that's even more arid and red-soiled than this place. It's famous for its dust storms and a really long veranda. It should be an adventure :) I'm not sure if I'll be able to post much while I'm gone... so cheers and much love.

things I'm thankful for today:
-a house with laughter
-three cards that all came in the mail together
-Tamsin and Sven (they might be a cute couple at some point... I'm trying to work some magic there)
-Ben Harper music
-tickling people
-haircuts that make you smile
-chocolate!
-egg sandwhiches... any kind of sandwhiches, really
-books
-quotes on small peices of colored paper
-cold water
-good lectures
-cuddly sleeping bags

Our House Easter candy... we all put in 5 bucks to get enough candy to have a respectable hunt. I came home from class to find five big eggs and a bunny in my bedroom...


YUCK! The vegemite challenge... I offered my large Easter bunny to anyone who could eat a heaping spoonful of vegemite. Suzy had a good try, but almost got sick after a few teaspoons... D-Mo was able to down the entire heap and even clean his teeth... the funniest part is that the bunny was only worth around a dollar....

skype in?

Alright everyone,
I can get a skype-in number for $12 for three months... I can get a 937 number so it would charge the same as if you were to call anyone in Ohio... I think it would be the cost of calling long distance because they don't have 394, 492, or 497 numbers available, but it wouldn't cost any large amount on cell phones, and it wouldn't have international fees ... If I get the number you guys could call my computer.... so please leave me a comment if you would find that useful.

Also, I should meniton that we had a conference call with mama and missy and it was quite the hoot :)
love,
meggers

Day two group photo... (left-right backrow) me, Colleen, Damien, Lil, Simon, Anne, Alana (in front) Penny, our professor
The foreground is dead snow gum trees that burned in the 2003 fire... we reckon they look like Narnia. The background is the fainters mountain range.
on our way back to civilization...
Snow gums from the burn... definately Narnia. These trees really made me think of Lucias... I do miss that Ecovillage and the people in it who I love.

Lil and her homemade hiking boots... not bad.... not the best for snow, rocks, and mountains... but they did the trick.
The snow storm we hiked out of
Ignore the fact that this is pink, notice the brumbies (wild horses)

three roads diverged in an Aussie bush... sorry I could not travel all and be one traveler, long I stood...
The Twonga huts. These were leftover from the days before the area was a national park. Cattlemen used to stay in the huts as their cattle grazed.

Mt. Jim... or a pimple... the verdict is still out.
One of the coolest gum trees anyone has even seen.

good morning... snow?!

back in Thurgoona

Back from the trip... was heaps of fun and hard hikin'... it was entertaining to see how the group dynamics changed when we added a few folks at the last minute who happened to be male... funny stuff, some of the girls were in a little competition for Simon... I had a really good time... some of the weekend highlights:

-hugging that accidentally turned into a tackle and ended with Alana getting a nasty bruise from Anne's "hug"

-Simon "stepping on ducks" constantly

-8 people in a 2 person tent playing cards... then getting cleared out with one tiny fart by someone who wishes to remain anonymous

-cuddling around nalgene bottles of freshly boiled stream water in the evening to warm up before bed, sitting them outside to cool down before the next morning's hike

-waking up to snow after hiking to the campsite in shorts

-Colleen and Lil seeing snow for the first time

-Anne's way of talking that turned every response into a joke... for example:
"My husband is being an umpire tomorrow" -Colleen
"Really? Well...I'll ump your pire!" -Megan (in Anne's style)

"My camera's finally taking pictures but they show up pink on the screen" -Megan
"That's nothing that photo shop couldn't work out" -Simon
"I'll photoshop your workout" -Anne to Simon

... give it a try if you're willing to get some strange looks, it's both addicting and amusing

-eating peanut butter mixed with honey on ginger snaps... mmmm... (the pb and honey trick is from the kt mag herself)

-zip zip, boing!

-playing "big booty"

-Penny, Simon, and myself making a pair of shoes for Lil that didn't rub her blister so we could keep walking instead of camping at our first campsite... the shoes consisted of two pairs of thick socks, two garbage bags, and my chacos for tread, all duck taped together

-"Can you say that into my good ear?" I woke up the first morning and couldn't hear out of my left ear at all... this was the source of much amusement Saturday, especially because it was my turn to lead the group most of the day and I couldn't hear most discussion

-the great North American exchange student eat-off... Anne (who is Canadian) and I constantly competed for everyone's leftovers this weekend trying to earn the title of the biggest eater (and because I ended up sharing my food with my cooking partner, Damien, who didn't pack enough)

-Anne and I giving up our eating contest and sharing all leftovers... even the smallest scraps... then eating a lovely chocolate cupcake and ice cream creation together

-"So what did you guys think about the magnetic anomaly on Mt. Jim?"-Penny to the group after our hike to the top of Mt. Jim
"We knew we were forgetting something"

-Watch out Anne, it's an Aussie hare!

-Penny and I waking up to little critters in our packs... and one completely flattened (rest his soul) like in a cartoon... none of his innards were outside, but his little beady eyes were popping out of his head

-finding a "frog"... err... human turd... which we laughed at, then buried

-my "tough man" injury from stepping on a stick and cutting my shin....because of this rad looking scratch and bruise, I gained many cool points

-eating handful after handful of ripe blackberries

-singing random songs at the top of our lungs on the bus ride home, convinced that we indeed had the best time out of all of the groups... some of our best hits included: I say a little prayer for you, Lean on me, These are a few of my favorite things, Take me out to the ball game, and Hakuna Matata among others....

Needless to say it was a hoot... quite a hoot!

Things I'm really thankful for today:
-the tiny rainbow we saw on the way home
-a shower!
-chocolate
-my bed
-no more snow
-to have my boots off my feet (although, they were great this weekend)
-mountains
-toilet paper
-laughter
-that I didn't get blisters
-the picture of Ava and the Easter bunny
-an e-mail about the state of one heart I care deeply about