Lions, Tigers, and Jobs, oh my!

So it's been a couple weeks and I think we are finally getting settled in...the clothes are strewn about the room in a pattern that looks pretty homey and even with our SPF 50 we are both getting tanner...it really hasn't been long, and we've seen quite a few new things, which brings me to a new section of our blog entitled...TODAY'S POTENTIAL DEADLY ATTACK! Australia is full of them, which we knew before we came here, but we’ve been amazed at the countless ways the land down under can try to kill us. Sure, some of them are expected, like the crocodile, but others are just strange...try the cassowary, for example. Basically a living dinosaur bird creature that would love nothing more than to stab you in the chest with it's head butting bony thing. Ok, it probably has other things it likes, but the sign was pretty intimidating when you're trying to enjoy a nice jungle trek. The trees are also out to get us, and the spiders have been the biggest I've ever seen (which is saying something coming from Florida). We have escaped unscathed so far, except for a few bug bites. 

In other news, I have a job, while Jared continues to lounge around the hostel drinking beer and eating bon bons. Just kidding, he's been a pretty sweet boyfriend, occasionally working my breakfast shift when I have to go to work later that morning. I am getting schooled in fine dining at the seafood restaurant I'm working at, and am pretty happy I'm not doing dishes with all the cutlery we go through...5 forks for this entree, 10 knives for this one. The chefs have won all kinds of awards apparently, and each dish is expertly crafted into a tower of deliciousness with some random whole crab perched on top.

Yesterday Jared and I both managed to get the day off, from the restaurant and the hostel, and got in a bit of diving on the great barrier reef. We saw turtles, sharks, giant fish, giant clams, and tons of coral. We have been bit by the diving bug, and are currently searching out volunteer opportunities on live aboard dive boats. 

I have the next couple days off again, so we'll continue to explore and see if we can find anything that pays better than what we've currently got. We'll update you soon!

Arriving in Cairns (Cans)

It's been a week since we arrived here in Cairns, (pronounced "cans"...the aussies don't like r's) and we're beginning to settle in. We have our first jobs about figured out...we are working a few hours each day for free room and board (pasta and toast) at a hostel. I'm a bus driver... adding another completely random job to my ever growing list, and Krista handles breakfast. I like my job alright...the 3am "last call" run is the most interesting for obvious reasons. As far as the paid work goes, nothing yet, but the search is starting to warm up a little. Krista is way out in front having already gotten three offers. It turns out they don't really want men working in the bars...who would have thought?

Trying to find work has distracted me almost entirely from daydreaming ...but I have managed a few random thoughts...Firstly, lets put the whole "toilets flushing the other way" thing to rest once and for all...what a bunch of crap, no pun intended (ok, maybe a little intended). But in all seriousness, I was genuinely disappointed. In fact, they do a sort of front to back flush...not at all exciting.

Also disappointing is the realization that I seem to be somewhat less attractive than the average male specimen here. Now obviously this isn't something that I am particularly used to, so it came as a bit of a shock. Seriously, I'm not a terribly self conscious person by nature, but these people are in ridiculously good shape, and their magnificent ozone layer hole bronzes them like rotisserie chickens. How am I going to compete with that? On the up side, I think I have learned one of their secrets. Upon landing in Brisbane, to get a taste of home,  I went immediately to a fast food burger joint for lunch. There I noticed that their large sized soda cup was the same size as our small. Very tricky Australians...but I'm on to you...

Back in the Saddle Again!

G'Day Mate!

After a great three months at home, the new year is well on its way and I'm back on the road again. Due to a hostile takeover, the blog has a new contributor and a new coat of paint. I can't guarantee the writing will be any good, but she is crazy about taking pictures, so we definitely won't be lacking in that department. As you may have guessed, we are on location in beautiful Australia, land of poisonous creatures and $7 beers. The name of the game this time around is to make a little $ while traveling. If your favorite posts from before included "I just spent 500,000 on sushi" and "Cliff diving into piles of money" you might be a little disappointed from here on. I will be working a lot of the time, but I promise to keep it as interesting as possible, and to do something exciting every now and then. I'm still recovering from the 18 hour flight (blood only just started moving again), so I'll sleep now and be back with more later...