Mishaps and Misunderstandings

So, second day in Sydney has come and gone!

I really do love this city, despite the jet lag getting to me hardcore today.

The morning began with me trying to figure out my stupid T Mobile phone. After an hour on hold with customer service and then technical service trying to figure out why my "international" wireless hot spot plan wasn't working it took one guy to go "Oh, you have an unlocked phone? Yeah, that won't work." Awesome. Thanks T Mobile guy in San Diego for telling me a crock of shit. But, thanks to his mistake T Mobile is sending me a new, wireless hot spot enabled phone for a much reduced rate this week. That means (for those of you who care) I will be able to again BBM and call you (for free!) in a little over a week. Thank goodness. My other Blackberry will work fine with my Virgin Mobile SIM card, which had a hissy fit this afternoon and told me I had no minutes. Then, to top it off, AmEx put a hold on my credit card because even though I called them and told them a week a go I'd be in Sydney and that it was "unnecessary to alert them of my travel plans" they thought it was stolen. Baller. After a stern talking to with AmEx customer service that got handled, too, but it was a day chock full of huffy phone calls and firm tones of voice.

I bought my books and decided on over loading during the second teaching period of the semester. This is very unorthodox. See, our internships are second semester which, for a normal student, would mean one day of class and four days of internship. For me, being insane and probably slightly diluted it means two days and an evening of class and my internship. BUT - it means I get to take the wine class that I really wanted to take for fun (and, you know, awesome party tricks) and the brand marketing and advertising class that will help my career and my internship - which looks like it's going to be at the amazing distribution and acquisition company Fremantle Media. I'm so excited, it's not exactly what I saw myself doing but thanks to the guidance of my amazing adviser he convinced me that it will broaden my horizons and give me a much better view of the business end of executive production/network management/studio management, which is what I'd eventually like to do. It sounds fantastic. So two nights a week I get to drink some wine, and one day a week I study some marketing and advertising junk. It'll balance out. I'm so ready to start class.

I also signed up for surf camp! Gnarly! :) It's a three day surf excursion and I'm so excited to be going. It's going to be amazing. I also decided that next weekend (the 4th-7th) I'm going to go to the Whitsundays, a beautiful beach/island on my own to honor my dad's death with a sailing trip. The two wonderful girls at Backpackers World Travel helped me book an amazing trip for a couple days out there on a beautiful tall ship. I'm going to lay in the sun, read some books, and be on a boat - three of my dad's favorite things. I wish my mom could be with me but she'll be there in spirit - as will Dad. I'm so excited to do that by myself, meeting people and making friends, something else my dad was fantastic at. It'll be a perfect homage to his life and legacy.

Sam and I are also going to start planning some of our trips as well. I think I'm going to head to the Outback by myself as well (or with someone I meet here) because Sam doesn't really wanna go. But, I need to see some Aboriginal religious practices up close to cater to my religion credit here, so I should probably go. Otherwise it looks like Fiji, the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, and I'm thinking Vanuatu are my top destinations while I'm here. And New Zealand, definitely. It'll be a whirlwind first half, but it'll be amazing!

I didn't end up going out with Sam tonight for her birthday. I feel bad but my jet lag is just kicking in and the thought of going out partying kind of makes me wanna cry. Soon enough, I'm sure, I'll want to go, but for right now I need to keep my head on straight and not be hung over for meetings! All in good time.

Well, I'm off to temper that jet lag with a good night's sleep and then more meetings and a Sydney Harbor cruise tomorrow! G'night!

PS - Just so you know - that picture is where I'm going to be sailing next weekend. Jealous? :)