As soon as it hit new year things have gone from being really dead in the hostel where I work on the reception desk to sooooooooo busy - I am meant to finish at 11am but one day I didnt leave till 12.45! It's partly to do with the Australian open which is currently happening in my home city (here!) which I havent gone to of course! But I quite like it there, and its a good job I didnt leave as soon as I started getting the childcare as I had no work from the agency this week! So at the moment I am just doing weekends at at hostel, but I can probably ask for a few more if there's no agency work. Its all very frustrating not having a proper job! The first week of the new year was quite an eventful one - not just coz of the new work! Monday I went to see one of my fave bands at the moment called the Zutons, from Liverpool! Some of you will have heard of them of course, but here they are not famous at all really, so the gig was so tiny, about 500 people in a gig room in a hotel just out of the city centre! Back home they supported Oasis I think, just before I left, and they have an album in the charts, but this was their first Australian gig and they said they were worried no-one was going to turn up! Much of the crowd were fellow Brits I think, but there were lots of Aussies too. Me and Ben were right at the front the whole time it was so brilliant, and I was dancing and jumping around and singing/shouting along! They were awesome. Their warm up bands were really good too, one a local band and the other called the Rolling Blackouts from the USA - no doubt they will be in the UK soon, they were really good! It was a bargain of a gig too and I only found out about it 2 days before it so was well chuffed! Tuesday night (obviously Tuesday as all of you that have been in oz will know!) (its half price to those that havent!) went to see the Narnia film with housemates and 2 girls I used to work with and enjoyed it so so much! If any of you havent seen it go see it right away! Especially if you read the books and used to watch it on TV when you were a kid like I did! Wednesday my friend Feann that I went along the Great Ocean road with rang me at work and asked if I wanted to go for a drive up the Dandenongs (mountain ranges) so I did straight from work - was fab! Really nice views, quaint little towns in amonst the eucalyptus trees, steep windy roads, beautiful farm land and we stopped and a had a little walk through real jungly like forest - looked really tropical and wild! Saw a massive ant about an inch long - apparntly they pack a really mean bite! Had a good laugh with Feann, and he made me jealous as he spent new year at Byron Bay which is meant to be so beautiful, and when he was body boarding there were dolphins alongside him! I am going there in March - I'm so excited!!! Had a lovely day, and we may be going out another time to an animal sanctuary and maybe to a nice place called the Mornington Peninsular, so its good that I am getting out of Melbourne now and then, and he's a cool guy too! Just some random things that have happened now in no particular order! I have started running when its not too hot, which luckily it hasnt been for the last 2 weeks until now (its gone up to nearly 40 again!) I have a little route from my house through a pretty and quiet residential area to a massive park which is a huge open expanse with just a few trees which really makes you feel like you're not in the city any more its great! There are Rosellas (parrots) there and cockatoos - great huh!? I love it! So feeling a bit fitter! After my first run though my legs ached for days after, but now after that initial one I think my fitness had returned, and my knee is even ok!! I have written letters to 3 wildlife parks on the Gold Coast asking for jobs for May and June as that is where I am hoping to be then, but I will only be working for 2 months so I am not getting my hopes up! If no joy, the agency I am working for have an office in Brisbane so I can live there for a few months and immediately get work (in theory!) About 2 weeks ago I went out with Ben and some others to a club called Bubbles which luckily Feanns housemate Tom has tickets for free entry and free drinks 11pm-1am so it was a very cheap (free!) night for me! It was a great place, hard house music all the way and I danced non-stop till 4am then had to work the next day! It was ok though because I slept in between my morning and evening shifts! Last week I went to the Hard Rock cafe with my housemates, Iysha (used to work with) and lots of her friends. Not sure what I expected (never been to a HR cafe and always wanted to) but it was just over-priced American food (lots of burgers, meat and fries!) and there were memorobilia from lots of rock legends all over the walls and a big car over the bar and a big bike on the wall! Was pretty cool, but way overrated! Last Sunday I went to a chinese festival (little one!) in the park where I go running with housemates. Was really nice, saw a martial arts display, a lion dance, some traditional chinese music and lots of kites! The day before that I felt a bit dodgy in the morning but still went to work in hostel, but then got more dodgy and was sick! Felt fine after that so carried on working, but then felt sick again and spent the rest of the day in bed, so didnt work the evening shift or the following morning. Felt a bit funny for about 4 days after that too but am right as reign now! Just a bug I guess. Monday I had a mouse running round my room that the cat brought in which I managed to evacuate with cunning skills learnt during the many years of catching escaped chipmunks! It involved lots of baricades, moving furniture and lots of patience! As soon as I got that one out there was another one! Realised then that actually there was a big hole in the wall so there must be loads! Tried the same with this mouse but it was way too clever for me and my house mates which joined in! I even went to the lengths of making a cheese trail/trap for this one but it out-foxed me! It ran back in the hole eventually so they are now blocked in - it feels like the borrowers! Tuesday - Thursday this week my friend I used to work with Catharina stayed over before flying off to Perth this morning. Wednesday we went to a beach in a little suburb called Sandringham - much nicer than Brighton where I have been a few times. Its quite long, and got cliffs with trees just behind and the sea was really clear and warm! That night we went out with 3 others - one I used to work with who quit just like I did by walking out with her wages! And a girl who works there now since I left, and her mate from uni. Went to a restuarant called 'Lentil as anything' where you pay whatever you feel your experience was worth after the meal! I read about it on their menu - its a social experiment against globalisation, very environmental and based on peoples conscience - very interesting! The food was brilliant, and we ordered lots so I left $10 and $2 tips as it was good service - before I went there I understood why they did it I was going to leave $5 but then felt bad! Was all vege food, mostly Asian, such interesting and different stuff, was great! After that we went back to the city and me and the 2 girls I used to work with went to the casino and had a look around - it is massive and so many people gambling their money away! We went to the 2 nightclubs there as they are free to get in, and just drank water! (I'm really trying not to spend too much money!) The first club wasnt that good, and too loud to chat, but the second was really good and this guy was dancing next to us like nothing I have ever seen before! We were trying so hard not to laugh it was so so bad! Had a really fun night as they are really nice girls and the music was good and just in a very good mood!