Woot, woot! Damien Leith wins!

Remember how I said I was going to the Aussie Idol grand final? Well here are the photos to prove that I was there and LOVED the cheese. It was a fun night....and the guy I wanted to win- WON! So hurrah!

Me and Guy Sebastian. We tight! Okay, they were just setting up the stage in between performances. He was the first winner of Australian Idol.
When the finalists arrived- Jess and Damien- they released some wicked awesome fireworks over the Opera House. I am really looking forward to NYE celebrations here!

Andy & Louise took pity upon me and joined us! Here they are enjoying the fireworks...

This is just an arty( read: blurry) photo I took of the Opera House from the Ferry. Noice, right? I want to post heaps more photos, but I am still trying to figure out how to marry my Picasa photos with my Flickr account. It's a pain! Anyone got advice?

Happy Thanksgiving! (Oh, yeah and Ian Thorpe retired and stuff)

I am jealous of my family and friends back home who get turkey, stuffing and pie from Baker's Square today. Dang! In honor of that, here is a festive photo of Ian enjoying some turkey.


Earlier this week, Ian Thorpe decided to retire from competitive swimming at the ripe old age of 24. Of course, the Aussies kinda saw it coming, but a lot of people were still disappointed. The woman who advised Thorpedo said that Australians have this amazing capacity to get behind their athletes, but have a really hard time learning to let go. Word. Unlike Americans- when our Olympic athletes retire, we're like "NEXT!"

Australian Idol- HERE I COME!

I am not a fan or avid watcher of American Idol. If you read my other blog, you would see that I think it's an overgrown karaoke contest. But since there are slim pickings on tv here, I have been actively watching Australian Idol. I usually spend the night paying out the contestants, but it's definitely good entertainment. Pietra, Ryan's sister hates this, so it's even MORE fun when she's around. mwhahahahahah! But I digress- so every year, they have the final (or as they call it here the "grand final") at the Sydney Opera House. Half of the show takes place outside on the steps, and the other half inside. Well, just for fun, I applied for free tickets on their website, and got them! Hurrah! On the 'application' they ask you why you would want to come to the grand final, and I said "Being new to Australia, it would be wonderful to take place in what seems to be a rite of passage and see a concert on the steps of the Opera House". Guess it worked.

Now, I am off to make my poster- there is a banner contest and you know how much I love glitter! If you want to check Aus Idol out go here. GO DAMIEN!

Animal Kingdom- Aussie version

I don't think God wanted humans to occupy this continent. It is teeming with crazy huge and angry bugs. (Some of the world's most deadly are here) They don't like us, and well, I don't like them either. They scare me! A couple of weeks ago, while driving, a huge spider came skittering across the windshield. It was the size of my hand! Now, the huntsman isn't a poisonous spider, but it's definitely huge and scary looking. Of course I freaked out and tried to squash it with the windshield wiper, but it got up and hid underneath the hood. Fast forward to a couple of days later- I am driving the the gym and it was on the passenger side window just chillin'. I almost wrecked the car... GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I tried to gently get him off the car, but once he was on the ground, he skittered into the night (and prolly back on the car). *shiver*


Something I was warned about before I came down here was that cockroaches are everywhere and in every one's house. EVERYONE. The yank in me was like, "ew, only nasty people have infestations", but apparently here, everyone is fair game for roaches during the summer. Much to Ryan's chagrin, I have become obsessed with eradicating them from our apartment. If I see one, its all out war until I get rid of it. And even though they don't supersize their meals here, the bugs have definitely been eating some kind of growth hormone, as they are HUGE. I will make sure to take more pictures soon, in between getting rid of them. You have to see them to believe me.