La la la la la la la Life is Wonderful...

Living at Caloundra is pretty quiet but the bus ride to Mooloolaba is only $3.80 so I'm winning and able to visit once a week or so. The training is all over and I officially start my job on Thursday morning, I'm not worried though I feel that I've got everything down pat. I haven't heard from the zoo yet but they are busy people I'm sure so I'll give them a few more days and then I'll phone to see what the story is, I'm so excited. I may hoewever have to buy a car, we shall have to see... because it's a 20 min or so walk from the train station to the zoo and it's freeway so you're not allowed to walk beside it, and I'm a little snake phobic about walking in the ditch. But I will not be deterred my friends, I shall prevail lol even if all I can afford is a beat up old mo-ped I will be taking that job when they call me and putting down the freeway doing 5okm/hr!!! So that's all for now except that I bought new running shoes to work out in so I can loose 10 lbs before I buy myself a new pair of jeans ( I ripped mine while partying but i feel that they were on their last legs anyway lol pardon the pun.. so new jean skirt coming my way lol.) Love you all and take care
~Jess

Victory is mine!!!

Well I need to leave the Hotel California (Mooloolaba backpackers) and although I'm sad to be leaving all my friends here I got a job at the sister hostel to this one. It's in Caloundra which is a small sleepy town just next door to Mooloolaba, and although it's small it's really quite cute and the beaches are beautiful so I figure it will be a perfect place to spend the winter (although by winter I mean mild rain and a little wind lol this place has nothing on Alberta although the locals are bundled up like no bodies business), and I'll be able to easily come back and visit my friends here. I'll be doing reception for 30 hours a week and my accomodation will be free and then some cash under the table as well so that rocks the kasbah, I'll also get 2 full days a week off so I can ring up the zoo when we've got my schedule banged out and volunteer those days, I talked to one of the volunteer coordinators already and it sounds like they would let me volunteer in the Wildlife clinic as a Vet Nurse, so I may not have to clean koala shit although I was perfectly willing to put my time in at the end of a shovel like everyone else. Zeke the owner of the hostels is also talking about starting up a sunday session... Open stage perform and get a beer and he's unofficially asked me if i would be willing to come back to Mooloolaba on Sundays to kinda run/promote that for him, so that would be fun too. The only problem with me staying and doing this is that I may have to buy a car to get back and forth to the zoo, and I may miss the dry season for Kakadu park up in Darwin but alas I came to Australia to get some Zoo experience so I really can't cry about achieving that can I?

On another note I caught swine flu!!! That's right full out mask wearing, coughing, snotting, body pain inducing swine flu!!! I had to go to the Dr and then get a blood test and a set of throat and Nasal swabs (If you've ever had a nasal swab done you'll know what I mean when I say OUCH!!!). Then I had to wear a mask for 7 days (apparentley that's all I was contagious for) and you wouldn't believe how paranoid people are when they see the mask... it's like Hello people it's the guy who's not wearing the mask that you need to worry about stop harrassing me. But it's been seven days already because I'm a delinquent blogger, and the mask is off so I can go in public without people crossing themselves and walking on the other side of the street to avoid me, so I win. I was really sick for about 2 days but then I got rapidly better with just a little of a residual cough to speak of, but other than that it's just like the normal flu... I think the media hype is retardo overdramatic because there is no way that I was ever in any danger of serious illness or hospitalization. I've actually been sicker with just the regular flu (last summer for example when Gord and I had to move into the apartment on 124th st and I spent 3 days passed out in delerium watching 3 seasons of drawn together and not remembering a single episode...). But that's all behind me now and I'm feeling about 95% so well on my way to normalcy.

So life is once again fantastic in Jess land and I'm looking forward to getting some Zoo experience... and free internet while I'm Receptionst at Caloundra Backspackers so I win!!! And it's supposedly ridiculously quiet at that backpackers so I'll hopefully have some time to hone up on the guitar skills and learn some new songs although I've got 2 more to add to my book already when I get back to Canada Zombie by the Cranberries and I'm yours by Jason Mraz... my next mission is Dun dun dun---> Bar chords!!! Should be fun because I'm lazy and my fingers are weak. I can't remember if I told you guys about my new guitar, it's purple and sparkly and I've named it the Jellybean or the Mooloolaba Jellybean (MJ as it's informally known). I absolutely love it and I only paid $170 AU for it (~150 cdn), and it makes me laugh because I didn't want to buy it because it was purple but now every time I break it out it makes me giggle oh and best part built in tuner!!! Although I really should try to learn how to tune by ear... maybe after Bar chords are mastered lol . That's all for this time around folks I love you all and miss you tonnes
XOXOXOX
~Jess

Welcome to the Hotel California...

So I said I was out of here and on to Noosa... but apparently I'm a big fat liar, lol. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to stay and try to volunteer at the zoo's wildlife clinic but so far no luck finding vet work to help supplement that adventure. I've picked up some under the table cleaning work here and there and I'm getting pretty comfortable in this place. The two girls that I got really close with here are Emma and Celia, they're from New Zealand but they had to go home this morning... *tear* I miss them terribly already. We spent all last weekend partying for their going away, so much so that I got pretty worn down (own fault I know) and then came down with the flu... And guess whose stuck in a surgical mask with Swine Flu?!?!?! Me that's right I am!!! And let me tell you the sheer fear I see on people's faces when they see me in my damn mask is idiotic. Hello it's not me in the mask you need to worry about people it's the one's that aren't in masks running around and coughing. As for my well being it laid me up pretty much flat and unconcsious for 2 days, that's when the hostel owner requested that I go to the doctor, but now I just have a minor cough that is more annoyance than anything, and the mask seems to aggravate it, but I only have to wear it for another 3 days, so meh. I even feel good enough to clean tomorrow morning (I get a week free accommodation if I put in 14 hours so boo-yah).

On other news I have gotten mildly pudgy again... lol I'm telling you lot this so that I'm obligated to smarten up and slow down on the boozing so my pants will start fitting me again. That's right you guys are my accountability since i don't' have Rainy to keep me on track anymore and all my friends here are little twiggies who eat 4 pieces of toast for breakfast and then McDonald's for lunch, lol one of my roommates doesn't know what a vegetable is I swear lol. So the mission is to start getting that under control and I think I'm gonna try to go surfing with the girls on Monday, so if I can make that a regular occurrence and start my morning walking again I'll be back in fighting form in no time, lol not that I intend to start any brawls, although if I pin down who gave me swine flu they better hope I'm still a little too fat to run very fast...

So that's what's up in Jessalyn Land, Surgery mask wearing, Zoo Volunteer striving, Part time working, weight watching fun times. Wish me luck I love you all.