Always late but worth the wait... :)

Hello my avid readers!! (I'm talking to you,  Laura lol) Like everything else I do in life, I am late in starting my "daily" blog. Hopefully by now you know I am alive and well. Although some feared that I would arrive in Australia with five dollars in my pocket... lost, lonely and destitute...  my living situation is actually quite comfortable. My temporary home is the Greenhouse Backpacker, in the heart of the city, right on the corner of Flinders Lane and Swanston. Check it out- I'm across the street from a church and the library (already have a library card, cool kid that I am) and literally next door to the police station. How much trouble could I get into??

One of the reasons why I chose Melbourne is because it is labeled as the cultural hub of Australia... I figured it would be the best way to get to know the country. But then I got here and realized I flew 8000 miles to go to an Aussie version of San Francisco. The city is amazing, don't get me wrong. It's beautiful and unique with so much character. But as I went from door to door each day, handing out resumes and going on job and apartment interviews... I realized that I was spending my visa doing exactly what I'll be doing when I move back to The Bay. Why did i come here again???

Bee-Tea-Dub, fun fact: Melbourne was founded by John BATMAN in 1825 and was originally named BATMANIA. How ridiculously awesome is that!

Job hunting in Melbourne in the middle of summer sucks because everyone and their mom are doing the same thing. I have applied to be a dairy deliverer, waitress, bar back, receptionist... even one of those people on the street that tries to convince strangers to hand over their bank information and sponsor a child for just a dollar a day.

Luckily, I have made friends with a bunch of Canadians. There are no Canadians left in Canada because they are all here in Australia. This is my pseudo Australian family: Colin (left) and Sean (right). They don't really say "a-boot" but they do apologize a lot and say "eh" all the time.

I made them take a picture after a long day of job hunting. This was definitely our low point of the week. We went... together *losers*... to a job interview at an American diner. Not that I am above it by any means... it's just that working at an American diner in Australia was the epitome of what I did NOT want to do when I got here. Picture your typical diner... if you're picturing Mels, take it down a few notches and kick up the cheese factor. Then picture that diner on crack AND steroids, in Australia... add candy striper-esque uniforms and an adjacent car wash and you may be getting close.

I know I sound like a snob, but I got what I deserved and am still unemployed.

On a high note, Melbourne has some amazing food, bustling trendy pubs and cafes to trip over down every alley, and a passionate yet hakuna matata vibe that is good for the soul and resonates in every nook and niche of the city.

An ideal day for an Australian appears to include a bbq, brew, and some good company. This is our first bbq attempt. We've got some veggies, some beef sausages (aka "snags") and KANGAROO. It's actually pretty good. Less than 1% fat... kinda gamey but good on the grill.

Every building is different and dripping with character. Pick any average corner of Melbourne and it looks like a scene from a different movie set... If "Sherlock Holmes" had taken place in Australia, this would have been the backdrop.

I suppose that's it for now. Despite feeling lost in life and unsure of why the heck I'm here, I am neither broke nor broken which means the sky's the limit. I've never had this much time to think. I miss mom. She would have been 60 this past Friday and would totally have understood this trip. I think about Joey all the time and keep dreaming about him... vividly too, which never used to happen. But I always get a hug and an "I love you" in my dreams, so it's kind of nice. And my dad sent me the sweetest email and always has my back (as do my awesome friends who got this hot mess of a tourist cleaned, packed and on a plane two weeks ago...)

So moral of this ramble is that "in your travels, it's important to remember that as something ends, something else begins" (I watched "Love Happens" on the plane and sniveled like a little girl, to the dismay of the guy sitting next to me... Aaron Eckhart, you SO get me!) I have no idea what the next few months will bring, but I'm excited... BRING IT Australia!

This is Malinda, by the way. Awesome, Canadian, a more seasoned solo backpacker with lots of good advice and my dancing counterpart here in Oz.