Playing in Aussie!

Classes are over and I'm done with finals!!! Wooohoooo! Let play time begin. For the next coupe of weeks I get to do whatever I want around the city. It's amazing to have the chance to explore on my own and do all the things I've wanted to but haven't had time to do yet.

Last weekend about 30 Curtin kids got together and went camping out on Rottnest Island. So fun. I didn't realize how much I missed camping until we got there. First, let me just tell you that if you ever get the urge to work on your balancing skills, go get on the Ferry in Freo that takes you over to Rottnest Island. For serious people, stading still out on the back deck on the ride is virtually impossible. Ha, we were gripping the rail, holding on for dear life just to stay on the freakin' boat! It was way better than staying inside and getting sea sick though. :) Anyway, the first night we thought it would be fun to test out the tent's waterproof ability... let me tell you... our tent failed with flying colors. Debbie woke up in a puddle... soaked through! Debbie and I were up all night (seriously maybe 30 minutes of sleep total) attempting to keep some body part dry and use our body weight to keep the tent in place so we wouldn't go blowing all around the island. We were so tired and cold and sore from sleeping on the ground in our paper thin sleeping bags... it was crazy. I think we actually started to go insane for a few minutes around 5am when we broke out the video camera and breakfast bars to help pass the time til we could go find coffee. So... going off no sleep, logically, the next thing to do would be to get up and decide to bike the entire island! Yes! Ha. Ha. Ha... half way up the FIRST hill I got off my bike, put the kickstand down and curled up in the middle of the street using my backpack as a pillow. We made it all the way around the island... eventually... and it was really beautiful. Totally worth it, even though I think... wait, yes, I THINK... i am positive, that my ASS has never hurt so much in my entire life! (No jokes inserted here William... thank you.) Anyway, Rotto was a blast and we played on the beach and had a fun BBQ to end the weekend.

Now some of you will understand my reference to "tea" on Sunday night (stop laughing)... others... just don't ask. It's a long, embarrassing story that was the amusement of most of the campers (minus myself) for pretty much the entire weekend... I will say however, that it was the best "tea" i've ever had and 24 hours of fun that has left a smile on my face. Monday come sooner!

Ok... so onto our next adventure... the CASINO! I will put a disclaimer right here in the beginning: I AM NOT A GAMBLER. Ha... going to the Casino was great fun and I had a blast drinking free hot chocolate all night, but I think it would have been helpful if I had known how to play... oh let's see... ANY of the games they had. The only one I had the slightest clue on was some coin flipping thing... not exactly sure what they were doing but I got that you win some stuff if you place your bet on heads or tails and that side of the coin lands up. Somehow the actual flipper of the coin gets money too... Mville won $37.50 just by having some guy toss the coins FOR her... I guess she is a bit challenged in the coin flipping department. It's ok Mville, not everbody is graced with that particular talent. You can practice. I have faith in you.

So today Debbie and I ventured into the city for a day of fun at the Zoo! The zoo was actually kind of small but we saw some pretty kick ass, huge headed rhinos... a homeless monkey... an orangatan that looked eerily like a hairy old man... a sleeping koala... and a penguin that might not have had a head (ok it did have one, but it took us like 3 minutes to find it seeing as it was all curled up under a rock.) Fun story: On the way to the zoo debbie tripped on the curb and almost fell... I of course couldn't stop laughing until a couple of blocks down the road where I proceeded to do the exact same thing (shut me up pretty quick)... except I really stubbed my toe on the damn curb and it wouldn't stop bleeding for a couple of hours. Ha... I was limping around the zoo all day. Great. Good job Kato. Classic. That's me attempting to bandage it up with a napkin in the middle of the sidewalk.

Snap... I gotta run b/c I have heaps of work to get done before heading off for a day at the beach tomorrow. Then I'm supposed to cook dinner for Lara, Will, Debbie, Sandra and Claire.... oh shit... me cooking dinner for other people who are actually going to eat it!?! All I can say guys is: eat a big lunch.

Ok, catch ya'll on the flip side :) Hope all is well with the crew from home, miss you guys like crazy and can't wait to see you soon! Special shout out to my favorite guy... you know i'm thinking of you.

Cheers Mates!

Kato