I have a headache

Tomorrow is my last exam of this semester. I have spent lots of days studying for it - hence, headache. When it is finished, I will be 83% of a speech pathologist. That is, if I pass everything. This exam doesn't even count for marks...but if we don't pass it, we don't get to move on to next semester. This makes me sad. I would like to pass it, but I am stressed. Stupid head hurting. I have gone and watched the sample videos in the library four times. I have reviewed notes a zillion times. I have had study groups. But I am still afraid!

In other news, it is cold cold cold. I am sitting on the couch in eans and a sweater, with a big duvet (doona!) and a space heater. My feet are still freezing. If I want them to be warm, they need to be placed directly in front of the heater.

Jeremy and I both worked shifts at the Gabba last Saturday. He got to leave way before me...at 8 pm, and I had to stay till 11. He served platters of food to rich people, and at the end of the night on his time sheet it said that he would make a great supervisor. My job was to sit in an office for 6 hours and answer the phone when it rang. In 6 hours, it rang approximately 14 times. When the phone rang and I subsequently answered it, I then had to listen to the person on the phone describe the nature of whatever issue they were having (e.g. keg is empty, we need more diet coke/coffee filters/wine, tv in suite 17 isn't working, etc etc) and then call the appropriate person to fix the issue. I get paid $21/hr to read a book/notes, answer a phone, and then get people to fix the problem. That is just fine by me. Awkward - this guy walks by about 7000 times during my shift because he needs to go back and forth for whatever job he's doing. He often stops to chat, except I CANNOT understand him at all. Ok, I understand about 20% of what he says, slightly more when there is a context. I am supposed to be better at this than most people, but usually I say pardon at least three times and then just try to guess. For example "Dza hxa drva mta bk?" "Pardon?" "Dza hzzbn derva mta bike?" "Pardon?" "Desya hznd drva mtr bike?" Ok...I think he's saying something about a motor bike...driving...that might have been husband...I'll go with it. "Does my husband drive a motor bike? No, no...he'd probably like to though!" "Oh, I js sw a guy wth blnd hair on a mtr bk nd tht it might be hm." So I then have some context and can make that out. But I really dislike it! I don't know what his problem is...I think he might be a mumbler with some articulation issues.

Bloody hell. I need a vacation.

Mooloolabaaaaaaaaaaah

It's been awhile, but what better time for a new post than exam week. Today is actually a holiday - "Queen's Birthday" weekend - even though it's not even close to the Queen's ACTUAL birthday.

The Queen's Official Birthday, the Queen's Birthday, or the Sovereign's birthday, is the day on which the birthday of the monarch of the Commonwealth realms is officially celebrated in some of the realms and in Fiji, which is now a republic.

The sovereign's birthday was first officially marked in the United Kingdom in 1748. Since then the date of the King or Queen's Birthday (depending on whether the monarch is male or female) has been determined throughout the British Empire, and later the Commonwealth, either according to different royal proclamations issued by the sovereign or governor or by statute laws passed by the local parliament.

The exact date of the celebration also varies from country to country, and generally does not fall on the day of the monarch's actual birthday (e.g., the current sovereign, Elizabeth II, was born on 21 April). In some cases, it is an official public holiday, sometimes coinciding with the celebration of other events. Most Commonwealth realms release a Birthday Honours List at this time.

There, some royal-ish learning on my blog (Jeremy would be very upset). Speaking of upset, my friend Alastair ranted so much about the Royal Wedding's coverage in Australia to his girlfriend Hannah that she refused to speak to him for the rest of the day and then she went to a friend's house to watch the wedding. Bahahaha.

So let's see. Jeremy got his marks back for rural rotation and did really well - best med school mark yet, which is promising. He also received his rotation info for next year today and got exactly what he wanted (PA Southside Med Spec II). This is good?? I'm not sure what med spec II is, but PA is the Princess Alexandra Hospital, which he's been at sinc 1st year and is just down the street. So yay!!

This weekend we took public transport to a place called Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast. The train line was having maintenance done, so we got to take two different trains up to the beginning of the maintenance, and then FIVE buses to actually get there. We stayed in a questionable motel and it was really bloody cold outside. It was great fun though. We were actually there for a 30th birthday. Jeremy met these great people in Barcaldine - Jen and Ben. They are both paramedics (or "ambos" as the Aussies like to say) and they're a couple. I met them during my week long visit and they were entertaining, fun, talkative and invited us to Jen's 30th. They are actually from Mooloolaba/Brisbane, but are working in western QLD for a couple of years for the experience, $$$$$$, and to see each other more (last one didn't quite work out since their employers messed them about and and stationed Jen 3 hours away from Ben). They rented a penthouse suite at the Sirocco Resort on the shoreline of Mooloolaba, hired a bartender, and had a cocktail list. They brought in a bunch of food from the best Thai restaurant in Mooloolaba and also had an AMAZING icecream cake. In the suite, there was a winding staircase up to the roof of the hotel with their own private rooftop area which contained a BBQ and hot tub. We felt pretty swanky...and then had to go back to our iffy motel room. Bah! We woke up bright and early the next day for her 8 am recovery breakfast at the surf club and then soon after had to start the long, multiple bus & train journey home. We stopped in Caloundra, another town along the coast and walked around for awhile. There were markets and one of the stalls had pierogies!!! I got really excited and the lady running the stall said: "You must be Canadian". She had me pegged. Unfortunately we didn't realize that the bus from Caloundra to the train station only ran every two hours...oops. So we got to spend some time sitting by the beach as well :)

Some Mooloolaba trivia:

Mooloolaba derives from the Aboriginal word mulu meaning Snapper fish, or mulla meaning Red-bellied Black Snake.

Blessed with a heady mix of ocean beaches, riverfront, a large variety of restaurants and great nightlife, Mooloolaba is a popular Sunshine Coast resort town. It also has an all-weather port which is not only home to a large trawling fleet, but the finishing point for blue-water sailing races from both Sydney and Auckland.

With its marinas and quality restaurants, Mooloolaba is a favourite anchorage for ocean cruisers and game fishers. Surfers can also have their moments on the Mooloolaba waves or at nearby beaches such as Alexandra Headland, Coolum and Maroochydore. Enjoy fish and chips on the beach, knowing it is fresh off the trawlers. The scenic gems of the Sunshine Coast hinterland are just a short drive inland.

Mooloolaba is about 100 kilometres north of Brisbane.