Epic week

This week started off pretty great. I went to the zoo on Monday with an Australian boy named Michael Farmer. Not only was it a fantastic zoo and a great afternoon of getting to know him, but he surprised me with tickets to the Perth Royal Show, which was basically the biggest fair/carnival that I have ever seen in my life. Needless to say, I skipped all my classes Monday and had a fantastic authentic Australian experience. Tuesday we had our first loss for basketball, which was sad, but it was refreshing to finally have some good competition. Wednesday was meant to be beach day, but because it was rainy and overcast that didn't happen. Instead, we spent the afternoon at the Tav playing cards. Also started going to fitball at 8 am with Mary - Zack teaches the class and because there were only 3 of us there it was like essentially working with a personal trainer. Thursday, finally payed for all my after semester flights - I am now officially booked to be traveling to Cairns, Sydney, New Zealand, Fuji, then back to LA for a day and then home. I am so excited - I can't believe I am actually getting to experience all these places! The lady at the ticket office tried to make us pay 400 dollars more than we actually had to - but with some argument and the help of Jeff Henkel we finally managed to get her to charge us the correct price. Thursday night, Emily, Kelsey, Michael and I headed back to the show and got to see for sure the best fireworks display that I have ever seen. They were choreographed to music and were just simply incredible. Friday. Oh, Friday. Friday was Oktoberfest which managed to start after a 6:45 workout with drinking at 8:30 with Jeff and Marty. Jeff had an amazing German costume and they even pushed a bed in front of the door so that I had to miss my class. We headed to the Tav around 11 and began the afternoon with a stine and a pretzel. The Tav was packed by noon and most of us ended staying there until dinner time. That night, a couple of us girls adventured into Carnegies in the city for an attempt to have drinks bought for us. Our efforts only resulted in us buying our own ABC shots (which are wicked, Absinthe, Bicardi151, and Chartruese). But the night ended up being a blast. Saturday was Fresher Senior cricket (were the rule was that you weren't aloud in the field without a drink in your hand) which we ended up losing by 100 runs. Last night 10 of us packed in my room to watch Aladdin and then we had a Guac - off at 2 am to kick off the watching of the ND-Stanford game. (Go Irish!!) Today was a great end to the week, with a trip into the city for some gelato and a trip to Subiaco Oval to take in a footy game. We paid 5 dollars to get in, and managed to snag seats five rows back on the 50 yard line. Granted, it was an alumni AFL game, but it was a great time. The game of footy is incredibly entertaining and we got to run onto the oval at the end of the game. I even managed to have a footy player autograph my passport.

Albany/Denmark

Ok so I figure I should actually start using this as a blog for Australia. I'm having a hard time sitting down and putting what we've done on paper - but right now before class seems like a good time to start. This weekend we travelled down south to Albany and Denmark. We conquered Bluff Knoll, climbed the tree top walk, and had dinner at a delicious microbrewery. I had the best white ale that tasted like bananas (clearly, you can see my priorities). It was an absolutely gorgeous and very outdoorsy weekend.

Carbon leaf

Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me
Live a life less sedentary
Live a life evolutionary with me
Well I hate to be a bother,
But it's you and there's no other,
I do believe
You can call me naive but...
I know me very well (at least as far as I can tell)
And I know what I need
The night you came into my life
Well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
You blew away my storm and strife
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me
By the way, I do know why you stayed away... I will keep tongue-tied next time
Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me

"You don't need much to be happy, do you?"

one week. so good.

CS Lewis is brilliant

"That same mysterious force which we call gravitational when it steers the plants and biochemical when it heals a live body, is the efficient cause of all recoveries. And that energy proceeds from God in the first instance. All who are cured are cured by Him, not merely in the sense that His providence provides them with medical assistance and wholesome environments, but also in the sense that their very tissues are repaired by the far-descended energy which, flowing from Him, energises the whole system of Nature."

The halls

PS. Can I just say....I miss the halls of 3west.
I have no place here at home where I can just sit and study and be easily distracted by laughter or smiles or good stories of my closest friends.

3 weeks.

One done

Bucket list:
Learn to play the piano

Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles
check.

The gate of heaven is everywhere

In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I was theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers...I have the immense joy of being a man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidies of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are walking around shining like the sun. It was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire no self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God's eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they are really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed...I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other....I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere. - Thomas Merton

My favorite place on campus is the grotto. Not because its so scenic - but because I know that with every candle lit comes someone's pure hope. Hope in God. Hope in humanity. Hope in love. Hope in something bigger than themselves. Man is simply a breathtaking concept. I mean think about it - we have the pure joy of being part of a race in which God manifested himself.

Australia

going to Australia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fall 2008 (aka July 17 - Nov something)

gonna be incredible.

How lucky am I...

to go to Notre Dame. Coming back from work the other night at 2 am it had just stopped snowing and everything was covered in a fresh powder - so pure and undisturbed. The trees looked like they were straight out of a painting - and the grotto - absolutely breathtaking. You could really feel a divine presence and sense just how beautiful life is. Then the other night I wondered through the math building and stopped to look around and take everything in. This place is beautiful - so steeped in tradition and secrets. I feel like every corner in this place whispers some magical story as I walk by.

Jolt

"Love and electricity are one in the same. If you do not feel the jolt in your soul every time a kiss is shared, a whisper is spoken, a touch is felt, then your not really in love at all."

Woah

Patience and Love

Step back and take a breath. Step back and look at life. Step back and thank God for all the wonderful things he has given me. Every second here on earth is truly a gift. I wholeheartedly believe that - and thats why I can't the permanent smile off my face. I've found some sense of an inner peace. I've realized that I have some of the greatest friends ever (3 West need I say more) and I've been getting back in touch with friends whom I should never have started to become out of touch with, both from here and home. I think I am finally starting to understand and really put into play the concept of "find love, and give it all away."