this crazy place i live

So I finally figured out the mystery of the time stamp. It indicates the time I started the post in Pacific time... which is only 17 hours behind whatever it is they call Sydney time. However, I have also figured out how to fix it so the time stamp on my posts are generally correct at this point. Now that I have figured out that rhyme and reason, I thought I'd tell you all about where I'm living.

As you all know already, I live in Alcatraz on Campus East which happens to be in Fairy Meadow, right outside of Wollongong. My block appears to be the most high tech in that our keys are actually cards (the same cards we use for our meal plan, which is very convenient), each room has its own phone, each room has its own heater, and we actually have a common room with couches. I live in a 5 person suite. As previously mentioned, there is a common room that houses a couch, a bar fridge (that almost no one uses because it is practically public property), a sink, and some cabinets. My common room also happens to be home to a small trampoline similar to the one Ryan had but never used. Occasionally (usually at the most inconvenient times for me) my suite mates will put the box from the trampoline on top of it to make a coffee table on which to play cards.

I live with 3 American guys and one other Aussie girl who happens to be the RA. Pretty much all RAs appear to do here is make sure no one leaves their rooms with glass bottles, tell people to quiet down, do rounds a couple of times at night and unlock doors when you're silly enough to lock your key in your room (I've only done that once thus far) so living with her is not the nightmare it would be back home.

My room is basically a glorified shoebox but it's all mine. There is a nice sized window that looks straight across to the self-catered building. The guys who live directly across the way have some sort of laser pointer type thing that is quite annoying so I keep my blinds closed most of the time. This may or may not change when it gets warm outside depending on how much of a pest they continue to be. I also have a desk which is gloriously huge. It doesn't have much drawer space but I don't have that much stuff here so it all works out. There's also a bookshelf on the wall which I'm currently using to hold a few books, a picture frame, and all sorts of other random crap I have. The best part has to be the wall unit. There are two areas that have bars on which to hang clothes and 2 adjustable shelves with shelf space above. There are also three drawers with a smaller cabinet. It would be the perfect place to put a tv... if you have an extension cord to plug it in. My bed is nothing exciting, just a metal frame with a mattress on it, but it is high enough that I can store my suitcases underneath it.

It's not the most exciting place but it's functional. The heater keeps the room luke-warmish with the occasional breeze from the badly sealed windows but it's my own little rabbit hole that no one else can bother. It is really nice being able to turn the lights on and off whenever I feel like it without having to worry about bothering anyone else. However, sometimes my light simply decides to turn itself off while I'm sitting in there. Strangely enough, it never does this when I go out and leave it on. I suppose ghosts and ghouls are moving around enough to trip the light sensor but I scare them away. This is the only logical explanation ;-).

Basically all Campus East has besides dorms and a few sports fields is the cafeteria. The food isn't very good and everyone knows it but come 5:30 everyone is queued up waiting to eat. It's really convenient if you are looking for someone but can't be bothered to hunt them down in their rooms because they will inevitably show up if you wait long enough.

This same building holds a tv room with a huge flat screen tv and couches where you can also hook in a dvd player which is nice because not many people here seem to have tvs in their room, except for one of my friends who has a set up similar to Adam and Mike's room with the ps3, huge monitor, and surround sound speakers.

This, in a nutshell, is where I live. Now I suppose I should go back to reading for class and other productive things of the sort!

Interesting Australia Fact: There are a few things that are exactly the same here as at home but have different names. Rice Crispies have Snap, Crackle, and Pop on the box but are called Rice Bubbles and Axe is in the same kind of container with the same designs and smells exactly the same but is called Lynx.