Day Eighty-Eight in Oz

Dear Everyone,

So, I was looking around my apartment thinking it looks like it belongs to a depressed slob and then I thought... wait a minute...

Before you all send me comments for a suicide hotline, I will say that I'm not depressed (maybe a smidgen bluer than usual) but I have most definitely been a slob the last couple of days. I have no idea why but my motivation to do anything has plummeted. I know I'm preaching to the choir to most of you students (especially those of you who have just finished and would like nothing more than to sit on the couch with a bowl of cereal resting on your stomach for infinite) but this is somewhat unusual for me. I would classify myself as the "sentimental hoarder" but definitely not a "slob slob." Yet, if you were to look at my unmade bed and my kitchen counter that is supporting the weight of a lot of half eaten food and dirty dishes, you might be a little shocked.

Since I've been here I've been noticing a lot of my mum's characteristics come out in me. This one isn't particularly new but I constantly apologize for the smell and appearance to those that enter my apartment. I could've just cleaned it or, conversely, it could look like it does now and I would say the same thing: "Hey, sorry about the mess. Last night I cooked with garlic. Sorry about that." Most people look at me like I'm a lunatic-- and maybe this is what I want so that they aren't just starring at my cleaning habits. Who knows. Do we got a psychologist in this house?

Another thing I do that is my mum to the core is to get the impulse to clean that thing you would never think of during a normal housecleaning session. "Oh! I know what would be fun! Let's take apart the microwave and scrub the shit out of it!" or "Those drawers are looking a little dusty. No matter! Let's pull everything out, wipe them down and then... ready for it... let's wipe out the drawer i-t-s-e-l-f!"

I'm sure lots of mums have these habits and maybe even more outlandish ones than I have just described. My mum, however, does all these obscure clean-ups in between raising three kids (one of which isn't even considered to be a proper human yet-- give him five more years), a demanding job at the hospital, on-call shifts (some of which keeps her up for twenty-six hours or more), studying, power-point presentations, cooking, and spontaneous renovation bursts (right now it's my front yard that is going under the knife)! Most people I know would turn to their blog or facebook and complain until their fingers ran out of steam but my mum does this with an open heart and fast legs. She's my superhero and I really miss her.

I apologize to all for taking this sentimental turn (I told you I was a sentimental hoarder) but I think I had to write that down to motivate me to clean my place, haha.

As far as I can report about my Australian experience, here it is:

My friend, Joe, gave me a great book. I am only on the fourth chapter (of what appears to be a pretty meaty book) and I should probably be focusing on academic endeavours instead but it is just so intriguing. It's been a good while since I've read a really good book and it's reminded me why I am an English major. I like books. I forgot about that for a moment there... Oh, and do not worry, Mike, I will be getting to The Alchemist. I've decided I want it to be my journey book through Southeast Asia-- seems fitting since the narrator seems to be Muslim. I don't know that yet for sure since I haven't read it yet but I think it will be good for that experience.

One more thing:

For those of you who do not know, my best friend is flying her butt to Australia to meet me and fly with me to Singapore where we will do a two week journey up to Thailand. From there, we will venture down to Bali where we plan on passing out on the beach from exhaustion and happiness. That's the plan anyway. Don't ask me how I'm going to fund this excursion-- I just know that the opportunity was too wonderful to pass up... especially since I have such a great person to experience it with.

That said, I am trying to squeeze every ounce of school, friendship and happiness that I've made/discovered here. Socializing is trumping a lot of school but I really don't mind since the people I hang out with are more interesting anyway.

Okay. Now to clean up my mess. Maybe I'll try making bird noises to conjure up the cleaning spirit of my mum: "Ka-Kaw! Ka-Kaw! Koo-la-doo-doo!"

love,

Kenz