Colorado

It's organized! I'm going to the slopes! Breckenridge Park Meadows Lodge! I'm heading with 2 other blokes; Simeon and Mike. They're good people, very social, and over 21.

It was a lot of work making plans for an expensive event, in a different state, while in a different country, and while talking to people you've never met before who live in different parts of Texas! But I jumped (bulldozed)over those hurdles, and now we're planning to leave Friday the 9th.

The plan is to drive early Friday to Lubbock Texas where Mike lives, then head straight to New Mexico where Simeon's parents live. Simeon is from Bulgaria, and so naturally it's reasonable of me to assume both of his parents are professional skiers who have a cupboard full of unused yet perfect quality skis. Just so you know, that's actually true... his parents are lending me speed skis!

But yeah, we plan to stay at his place for a day. Which is great, coz i get to experience a bit of New Mexico and rest up a bit before a full week of intense skiing / drinking.

I'm so glad we managed to get such a good place for a very competitive price. You can actually ski down to our lodge!

I remember my Dad telling me stores about how he used to ski in Colorado while doing his Masters degree. And now it's my turn to live through that experience.

Good times ahead :)

blog

So I just realized that my last two blogs have been titled "SEX!" and "14 year old boys".

Oh dear, I bet this entire blog is riddled with Freudian analysis.

SEX!

Now that I've got your attention, let me tell you about my day.

Just kidding, read below:

The University of Texas at Austin has been voted number one for being the most DTF campus. DTF = down to fuck. I believe it. There are a LOT of attractive women here at UT. And in comparison, there are a LOT of mingas in Sydney (by the way, if you're a minga and I insulted you, I'm sorry). Also 6th street thrives off slutty behavior.

Sadly, Moore Hill doesn't live up to the university's reputation. Words cannot express how disappointed I am in American dorm life. I'd really love to stay here another semester during summer and make the most out of the Co-Op lifestyle. If I stayed another semester I would involve myself in a sport (because that's their sport season) and I wouldn't have to gamble about whether I need to have a jumper on or not before I go to class.

My time is almost up in America!! NOOOO!! I need to make more out of my time here!!

Colorado is looking more promising. I'm the leader of the group trying to organize everyone. Unfortunately, Jonathan is the hardest to organize because it takes him forever to respond to my emails. I need to get this thing organized in the next two days or I risk Park Meadows Lodge being booked out! I'm still optimistic things will work out for me.

14 year old boys

I waxed my chest the other day.
I'll leave a few lines blank to let that fact settle in your mind for a moment.











It wasn't my fault! I was tricked. My roommate approached me and said (implied) that there was a party at Justin's apartment with unlimited beer. I went over there fully optimistic. Once I got to the apartment, Colin ran like a black man stealing a very light TV (no, I'm not racist). I was left at the front door partially confused, but still blinded by image of beer in my head.

Once I got inside, I found Irma with a tub of wax in her hand. In normal circumstances (any other circumstance) I would have rejected the offer and done whatever I could to get out of the apartment. But I made a promise to myself that I would say 'yes' to any opportunity that comes my way while I'm in America. Also, my back needed waxing, and I couldn't have one side done without the other.

Long story short, the upper half of my body is now a purple yellow color, with no hair to hide it.

I'm just relying on the well known rumor that Americans think having a hairy chest, stomach is an unattractive attribute. So far though, I have noticed no change in how people are perceiving me. Maybe it's because I'm wearing a shirt all day, or MAYBE it's because shaving your chest doesn't do anything except make you look like 14 year old boy!

Needless to say, chest hair grows a lot slower than facial hair, so I think I'm going to have to sit this one out for a couple of months to fully recover. But I would have to say the most disappointing part about getting waxed, is the fact that my clearly 'not six pack' is much easier to distinguish. Before I could rely on stomach hair to cover up what would could have been perceived to be a well chiseled body. There's no hiding it now. I look like a layer of toothpaste.

drunk convos

You always hear the most interesting conversations on a Saturday night. The most interesting thing I overheard on my way back to my dorm tonight was from a very overweight and obnoxious guy saying; "why is everything uphill!? It's fucking gay!".

Saturday night parties are all well and good, but the conversation can get a bit tiresome. I just came back from a party which was considered 'good' by party standards, but still managed to find myself bored by the people around me. Perhaps I'm just being a little too cynical, but when every conversation you have with someone is about how drunk they got the week before or how drunk they are planning to get now, then I think it's time to move onto a more interesting topic. I tried socializing with some people at a party I just came from. And although it's pretty easy to entertain someone in conversation (all you have to do is make some vague reference to a sexual innuendo or over exaggerate a statement), I decided to bring the conversation to new heights. I started talking about the education system in the US. I was hoping for a meaningful and informative conversation about the 'no child left behind' policy adopted by Bush, or the Scholarship program, but instead I got cut short by a bloke who just said "American schools are fucking gay" followed by a round of laughter from everyone around us.

Personally, I value a rich conversation. So it's getting frustrating for me to put up with Undergraduates and their immature senses of humor. I guess I'm just craving a good middle ground. I want to find a group of people that are not 18 and are not anti social.

exams

So I've been talking to a lot of engineers here and they all have the same thing to say. "yeah, I don't enjoy it, but at least it pays well at the end". I can't understand why people are so motivated by money here. Maybe it's a cultural thing. Personally, I'd prefer to do a career that interests me, rather than do it for the extra interest (pun intended).

I just finished an exam 1/2 an hour ago. Eargh, it was agonizing. Seven weeks of having an incompetent lecturer and having a very poor work ethic is really starting to affect me badly. I reckon I can still pull a pass though. Which is perfect because any grade higher than 50% corresponds to an instant credit at my university back home. Fuuuck yeah.

On the flip side (mother fucker) though, I'm acing this one class; Engineering Mechanics. It's a perfect extension of logic and the maths is complicated enough to challenge me, but not too complicated to the point where I have to scratch my head till it bleeds. Anywho, it's the weekend now so I think i'm gonna get pre drinking for my pre drinking by buying a good ol' case of Budweiser.

health and social life

Brain: Yes! J2 is open, time to binge on some greasy goodness

Stomach: No, for the love of God, no. I'm still digesting yesterdays meal

Brain: But... I save money... and I'll just work out at the gym later on today

Muscles: No you wont, we can't be fucked

Liver: Help me! I'm drowning!

Brain: quiet liver! Or I'll give you another one of Irma's tequila jello shots.

Sorry about that. I just thought I'd start this entry to my blog a little differently. Nothing like some healthy schizophrenic dialogue. Ok, so, back to news. Shits about to hit the fan. A friend read my blog a while back and didn't pick up on my sarcasm when I 'insulted' him/ her. Now that person, which I will call Dr. X, is out on a personal vendetta to sabotage my reputation here. Dr. X has a lot of mutual friends with me, so I think I'm going to lose a small circle of friends which I have here. I've already talked to Dr. X and apologized for the confusion, and even though he/ she accepted my apology, he/ she is still telling other people that I'm an asshole. Far out, this is the last time I trust a 19 year old Doctor.

Also, I met a guy named Jesus. His actual name was Jesus!! Although he was Mexican so he pronounced it as "hey zues". That made my day. I asked him what his Dads name was but I don't think he got the joke because he nervously said "Pablo Hernadez".

Music

So I've downloaded (legally) ((illegally)) a whole bunch of songs that I've heard over the last few nights. What appeals to me most is the band 'the glitch mob'. They've got some good electro music.

I also found out that a lot of live bands are performing during spring break here in Austin. This is putting a lot of pressure on me because Colorado is getting very hard to organize and all my friends here will be traveling to not Colorado.

I pulled two all nighters on Friday and Saturday (in a row!). Frat parties have that affect on me I suppose. In my sleep deprived & drunken stupor, I'm pretty sure I said some embarrassing things and maybe gave some people a bad first impression of myself. Ah well, I guess that's the beauty of exchange. But my brain has healed again, and I'm ready to tackle the new week - exams and all.

I've been listening to heavy electro and dubstep music all week. I'm pretty sure my roommate hates me right now, but he's too cool to tell me to stop.

I also found out that this week and next is 'Engineering week'. They have a bunch of activities for Engineers of all years. One of the activities was poker! That's right TEXAS HOLD EM POKER! I got out almost instantly to a total noob. He met my all in bluff with a pair 8. Who does that? [I actually hope Pablo doesn't read my blog, because he knows I always complain about how bad the other plays were when I loose at poker :P]. But it was still fun. I'm still a little mind fucked as to how it's illegal (ILLEGAL) to play with money even though the game has the word "texas" in the title. To me that's kind of like saying football shouldn't involve your feet. Oh wait, the Americans do that too...

The person I'm planning to go to Colorado with (other than my past roommate) is a cool bloke. He's in his senior year of Engineering. It was cool having a conversation that didn't involve gossip or sexual innuendos.

interesting people

Just before I write about a page on how I've managed to stereotype all Americans as being really social and friendly, let me just mention that I only ever write my blog when I have absolutely everything better to do. I'm meant to be studying for tomorrows test, doing tomorrows homework and preparing for 2 exams coming up later in the week. Ah well..

So I was lining up at J1 food court (not J2, I know). And as I was paying for my food, the Asian guy at the counter said to me "Hi There Sir! How are You today!?" In the most enthusiastic voice ever. He sounded EXACTLY like one of those really annoying and upbeat promotional machines that call you on your phone sometimes. IDENTICAL!
I stood there in silence as he finished his well memorized speech: "Ok! Well, that's $7.68! But, because you've got your Moore Hill card, that means you get a discount of 65c! Thank you! Have a great day today!"

While I was eating my food and contemplating whether he was either mentally challenged or whether Americans had actually invented robots to do lower end jobs I was approached by the 17 year old super sluts. I won't even try to remember what they said (for my sake), but I assure you, it was agonizing.

I went to another party last night too. It was pretty average to start off with, but slowly got better once more alcohol arrived and, you know, became less of a sausage fest. Also i met a lot of different people there. All of them loved that I was Australian. I think they managed to trick themselves that I had a really strong accent, because they wanted to hear me try and pronounce different words all night. So whilst I do like being included in conversations and social groups because I'm Australian, it's getting a little tiresome to get so much undeserved praise.

I'm still on the hunt to get another social circle to hangout with. Ideally one where everyone is aged 22-24. my fellow Engineering students are not the best candidates because they are either all male or fairly anti social. Lectures aren't the best place to socialize because everyone takes the lecture so seriously.

Maybe a trip to Colorado will be organized (if a miracle comes my way), so that might be a way to meet different people (including perhaps John! - roommate from 2 years ago) and have a fantastic time skiing.

Also, I don't care what people say. I_am_not_shaving_my_chest. It's just weird.

[generic title]

So I've been looking at my posts over the last month, and I've realized that almost all of them involve me talking about either food or alcohol.

And of course this post will be no different...

I arrived at J2 today just before it was about to close. The lady at the front stopped me and said "there is only 10 minutes left, are you sure you want to head into the buffet?". I said 'I'm sure' in that arrogant type of way an investment banker would. I heard her murmur to herself "you gotta eat fast".
It was quite an adventure. I was swimming against the tide of people trying to exit the place, with a tray full of food in one hand, and an extra large coke in the other. Needless to say, I made the trip cost efficient.

Bad news today. I found out from UNSW that extending my exchange to a year is not possible. I'm guessing it's because not enough Americans want to leave Texas to go somewhere else.

I've made a few circles of friends here, but I want to make some more. I think i might join this 'adventure club' which involves a whole lot of hiking n' shit.

Oh, sorry about no photos. The camera is out of battery and i can't be fucked plugging it in.

desperation day

Yay for valentines day.
I've never even noticed a valentines day go by. But it's impossible to not notice it here. Everyone seemed unnaturally happy or depressed today. There were TV shows about V-day and everyone made posts about it on facebook.

I couldn't care less about it :D. I find it odd how people can take so much meaning from an arbitrary date. No, I'm not just saying that because I'm single >:(

But while i'm on the subject of romance, I figured I might as well give some insight into how people view relationships here. It sees to me, that most relationships aren't viewed as a miniature marriage - which is something I've always viewed it as. Instead, people seem a lot more relaxed about cheating on their partners.

Oh, and i'm not going to end this post with a 'oh, i got completely wasted last night'. I've been sober for over 16 hours! And I haven't been drunk for 2 days! Is it immoral to tease your liver?

Discovered some awesome bars around here. Unfortunately the only people I can drink with at these bars are my PHD friends. Laaame. Ah well. I guess I'll have to learn to socialize the normal way - by making sexual innuendos at every possible opportunity. Yay for teenage immaturity!

I really want to extend my time here. Perhaps living at a co-op or an apartment next semester. Austin is a great place and I want to experience more of it. Of course, knowing UNSW and the American embassy, it'll be needlessly difficult and frustrating.

error in translation

Americans don't know what a singlet means...

It's very tough having a convo about Frats and Sororities when you know nothing about them. You can only pull the 'ignorant tourist card' for so long.

Some weird things i've noticed:
DownTown = city
If you're passed out with your shoes on, that is a binding legal agreement to have shit drawn over your face.
country music is just as popular as dubstep or rap in parties (good thing!)
Texans are super patriotic. Texas flags everwhere

War of nutrition

15 days after discovery of J2:

To put this into perspective for you; I just purchased a extra large shirt anticipating that it'll fit by the end of the semester. I'm not being pessimistic, just realistic.

I went to the flying saucer on Thursday (on the 9th - (02/09/2012)). It was great. The food and beer is a bit pricy, but the atmosphere was amazing and everything was delicious.
I went with (insert french name here) and Vivek. We ran into several other people there who are either doing their PHD's or have graduated and moved into the real world.
I met a bloke called Thomas (who actually looks a lot like my brother which is kinda weird).
I only found out at the end of the night that these people are SUPER religious. They all work as youth ministers on a Sunday despite that they have full time engineering jobs. They put a lot of pressure on me to go to a mega church with them. Personally, I can't wait! I really want to see one of these mega churches. Thomas was telling me that one in Austin holds about 6,000 people. They have TV's, microphones and no chairs to make sure everything can see, hear and fit in.

Got wasted last night. Beyond drunk. I tried having a conversation with a few people, but ended the convo prematurely to vom in the bin outside. Good times.

My roommate invited a special girl back to our dorm for 'coffee' so I ended up crashing at Viveks place. Unfortunately, due to error in communication and me being completely inebriated, I ended up sleeping on the concrete outside of their door (but inside their apartment complex)for about half an hour until they came back from down town. They found me sprawled out on their welcome mat. It was a cold night too. I had the chills for hours afterwards. Still an awesome experience.

Reality

Crap. I have work to do. Some lecturers here are super intelligent. Others are pathetic. One of my lecturers teaches Engineering Mechanics of Solids. A very clever bloke. In fact, I feel almost inspired to do my PHD in the hopes that maybe I could have a lecturing job one day.

Oh, I bought some 75$ speakers today with my roommate. We split it 50 - 50. Best decision ever. The whole room shakes when we play 'Sail' by Awolnation. Thats a great way to get attention from your dorm-mates, right?

Eargh, I should get back to studying :(

blackouts

must... write... blog... before... i... forget... what.... happened....

So I came to America with the single goal of not remembering anything that happens to me.
So far I've done quite well. [insert French name here] and I entered a house party for PHD math students while absolutely wasted. It turns out that math nerds aren't as social as cartoons depict them to be. Regardless, it was still a fun night. I created an alter ego for myself as a PHD in mechanical Engineering. I tried my best to sound convincing. Of course all these people live in apartments now so it was very stressful to avoid telling people that I live in a dorm.

Don't mention the dorm! I mentioned it once, but i think i got away with it! (Fawlty Towers reference, anyone?).

Oh yeah, I've decided to do something worthwhile while I'm in the US. Something to keep me engaged and constructive. That's right, I'm making an American Flag out of empty beer cans! Yes, pictures will be uploaded soon.

Oh, I've invented this new meal plan as a result of me finding the J2 buffet. It's called the "one meal a day diet". I essentially binge as much food as I can in an hour and a half, then I don't eat anything until the buffet opens again the next day. It's a good life.

Dancing

So if you know me at all, you'd know that I hate dancing. But from what i have experienced here, dancing isn't too bad. For starters there are a whole bunch of different kinds of dancing.

I went to a midnight rodeo earlier today and watched as everyone on dance floor adjusted their dancing to the music. It's remarkable to see the coordination and organization. I'd imagine guys in Australia would just get angry that the dancing wasn't mindless shuffling.
But the dancing here is quite amazing. I learned the '1-2 step' (yep, pronouncing the title is as easy as dancing to it). Needless to say I was still shit at dancing. But at least I gave it a go.
There's another type of dancing too. I can't remember what it was called, but it reminded me of the Russian type of dancing where you swing your feet out and try and keep balance. It was kind of cool. It pretty much involved stamping the floor at certain times.

Oh yeah, and a lot of people really try to fit certain stereotypes here. At the rodeo in particular, almost every white guy dressed up as a cowboy (with the hat and everything), and almost every black man dressed up as a rapper or basketball player.

Actually, while I'm on a tangent, I might as well talk about stereotypes in more detail. I saw this epic tool who thought he was top shit. He wore the hat sideways, talked like an idiot and had tattoos and piercings everywhere. I couldn't help but think that this was a nerd who was just trying to act cool.

Whilst saying that though, there are a lot of very interesting characters here. I've talked to a lot of people here and had many interesting convos. For example, I've made a small group of friends at J2 who always have something really insightful to say about America or something incredibly ignorant to say about the rest of the world.

I met another Australian today, that was cool.

Australier

I keep on hearing rumors about Australians everywhere throughout campus but I can never find any. Whenever I talk to someone, they almost always say "oh wow! Another Australian!".

It's a shame too. Eventually the locals here will actually understand what a proper Australian accent sounds like which means they'll know I'm not actually 100% Aussie :(

Today I attended an 'engineers on exchange meeting'. They expected at least 40 people to come. So there was a LOT of pizza.
Only 5 people showed up. That meant more than 2 boxes of pizza per person.
I could actually feel my gut expanding as shoveled another greasy cheese triangle down my throat. Domino's pizza is SOOO much better here.

Oh yeah, where was I? Australians! Oh yeah, I met an Australian at the engineers on exchange meeting. He went to UNSW - that was kinda cool. Although it gave me a harsh flashback to how anti social some Australians can be.

Muffins? I had a muffin at this local muffin parlor. It wasn't much of a muffin, more a cube of chocolate smothered in sugar and sprinkled with powdered sugar and lathered with icing. MmmMMMMmmmMM