My Birthday!

Sunday was my 22nd birthday! My house mates woke me up at midnight and they had two cakes for me, and they sung happy birthday. They were trying to open a bottle of champaign and wanted to shake it over me, but I said I didn't want to get all sticky cause I was in my pjs. They finally got it open and acted like they wouldn't do it, but then Siddhant grabbed the bottle and chased me with it and got my backside! So, I was holding the knife I used to cut the cakes, and turned and hit him with the flat side wiping cake on him. Haha, it didn't dawn on me until later what that must have looked like, me going for him with a knife! ;P He was completely safe, cause I knew what I was doing, and even so, it wasn't a sharp knife, but I did feel a bit bad about it later. We had a good laugh about that though. ;P We stayed up for a bit and talked then went back to bed. I had to work 3 hours that day, but it was good cause I didn't have anything planned anyway. At work Anita bought be a big cookie. ;P Work that week was even more fun than usual cause Sue and Allie were gone (that's not the reason) and so Judy, the lady who trained me over at Corio (and who works at the Corio store) came over to help while Sue and Allie were gone. She's a really fun lady, I just love her! It was even more interesting cause we have two milk wands on the coffee machine, but one wasn't working properly (it took FOREVER to warm up the milk). The good thing was that the other wand was even faster than normal at warming the milk, but it's more inconvenient. So, we have the coffee grinder, then on that end of the machine the wand that was working, and at the other end is the one that was poopy, and that's the one we usually use cause it's easier for someone else to make shots that way. So, it was really busy both Saturday and Sunday, so when normally two people on the machine is enough, we had a circus of three people cause one would stand in the middle with the milk, while one person danced around the milk person getting shots ready, while the third person dusted the drinks and handed them out to people. It was hectic, but one of those things that is just fun cause it's different and doesn't happen often. ;P

When I got home from work, later that day Sachi and I went to the gym to work out and I picked up an application; the guy let me work out for free that day. :) I have been trying to decide for a long time whether or not I wanted to get onto the DUSA swim team, it had a lot of pros and cons associated with it. I would get to break up the monotony of my life of work and study, be motivated to work out more (cause I would be paying for the gym), would get in better shape (which also always motivates me to eat better), I would get to meet new people and go to fun functions with the team, and during mid-semester break I would get to compete in Melbourne! The cons were mostly money, it's quite expensive to join, plus I would have to buy a one-piece swimming suit, which I don't have, goggles, a cap, and most of all, a gym membership so I could train. I finally decided that my health and well-being is more important, and I officially joined yesterday, paid my fees and all. After going to class, dropping muffins off, and going to lab, I rode my bike to the gym today. Siddhant drove me to buy swimming stuff earlier today, and we also stopped by the bike store so I could get a new pedal for my poor bike. We saw that the cheapest pedal was $13, and so I went up to the guy in the store and said "my entire bike cost $79, so I really don't want to pay $13 for a pedal, can you help?" He went in the back and gave be this heavy-duty white pedal for free!! It was very nice of him! My bike's still not fixed yet cause the medal part from the previous pedal is still in there, and we don't have any tools for me to get it out. So, it looks like I'll have to take my bike down there, I just hope they don't charge much or at all to take that out... I might ask around and see if anyone I know has some tools. :) So, I did ride to the gym with no pedal, but it wasn't that bad, the worst part is that it's been raining all day, so it was cold and wet, but not too bad. It felt good to get out there and ride again. :) So, I turned in all of my stuff and paid the first fee at the gym. Overall I think it's a good deal, cause you get to attend classes, use the pool, sauna... and you get to talk with someone to set up a work out plan for what you want to accomplish. :) Anyway, it felt good to get back into the pool, but man I'm out of shape!

Oh, another little exciting thing, when I dropped off muffins to Laura in the STA office (she's the one who's helped me with my Tassie trip and my Alice Springs trip, she's originally from the US as well, but's married to an Aussie... she's not too much older than me) she asked me if I'd been to the Werribee zoo yet, and I said no. She said that her and some friends were planning on going there some weekend, and that they get in free with their STA cards, so she said we could grab one for me, and all go together! I am excited! I just hope it all works out with work, I'm sure it'll be ok. :) The only reason I say that is because Anita resigned (numerous reasons) and so did Deb (health reasons), so Sue and Allie are a bit stressed at the moment, so I've been trying not to ask for too much time off. I have let them know about this swimming thing already and they seem fine with that. :) One more thing before I go, yesterday Ane (my Norwegian friend) took me out after work for a late birthday dinner, sushi and ice cream. :P She also gave me a big block of Dime (Norwegian chocolate she got at IKEA) for a present! :P Yum yum. Ok, I'll finish off this novel now. ;P