Lila

Perfect Gift Baby Announcements

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View the entire collection of cards.

Oct. 12 Update of the Picture Spot!!!!

New Pics as of November5th! They're on the first links, but you're more than welcome to look at the other links as well. Because if you haven't seen them, they're new to you.

http://flickr.com/photos/46766202@N00/
Pictures from Halloween!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48835352@N00/
New Pictures from our Darwin trip. These are pretty fancy...

http://flickr.com/photos/21737316@N00/
Pics of our trip to Cairns and any others you haven't seen.

http://community.webshots.com/album/327258692XCEOTb
These are some panoramics of Cairns and Northern Territory. I think they'll be at the bottom of this section.



http://community.webshots.com/album/316013255kGWPdJ
Old News. These are pictures of animals at the zoo.

http://albumtown.com/karlmaz
Old News. It's some pictures of Tasmania, Hawaii, Melbourne, and some Panoramics.

Week 37: Happy Halloween (Karl)

So, as you may or may not realize, this will be our last blog while we're in Australia. The next month or so will be spent roaming from Melbourne to Perth and finishing up our "Australian Adventure" in New Zealand. I'm sure when we get home we'll send one last update giving a conclusion to our trip and thanking the wonderful hosts we've had all across this beautiful country. But that's not my job! I didn't come up with the idea of keeping everyone updated with a blog...Hell! I never heard of a blog until Brittney told me SHE was going to write one. Anyways, she's super busy with her thesis, but she says hello. On with week 37!

I have another little story to tell. As always, it's totally true! If you don't believe me, ask Brittney. But before I get started, I'd like to update you on what's been going on in our lives. First, I'd like to say congratulations to the Western Kentucky University Men's Cross Country team for winning the Sun Belt Conference championship and forcing Coach Long to be coach of the year, AGAIN. I think that makes 47 coach of the year awards for the old man. Well, maybe closer to 27, but either way, it's impressive! He also celebrated his 35th (?) birthday on November 1st. Again, quite impressive since he's lived with only women all of his married life. Happy Birthday to Eric Ravellette who turned 25 on November 2nd. If you multiply his age by 10, you almost have his weight. Well....

So, anyways, Brittney capped off her Rotary presentations by crying at her host club in the middle of her speech. I could have saved her if I knew what she was supposed to say, but she wouldn't let me preview the presentation. So, I sat there helplessly and watched her cry with the rest of the group for about 15 minutes in silence. It wouldn't have been so awkward if she was talking about positive aspects of Australia. Instead, she was telling the group about the Anti-Americanism posters that hang through out Melbourne. I'm sure she would have put a lovely spin on the positive side of these posters, but it was lost in the tears. Poor kid. The people felt awful, and I didn't know what to say. But she moved forward with the presentation and provoked other women to cry as well.

As you know, Halloween was the big holiday of the week. Typically, Australians do not celebrate my favorite holiday, but this year we lucked out...We got to celebrate twice. The first celebration was at our dormitory, and the second was with other North American Rotary scholars. We dressed up as dead beauty pageant winners. I could not fit into a dress; so I ended up being the dead host with the most. We had some really great costumes, that will be posted on our picture page. Which brings me to my story...

At the first party we went to (in the dorm), we were a hit. People were taking photos with us all night because a lot of them had never celebrated Halloween. A couple days later, we went to a costume party at a bar in the older part of the city.

First of all, we had to take a cab in broad day light to the bar. People were pointing and laughing at us the whole way. We, of course, tried to look scary the entire time since we were dressed up like dead people. Usually, we ended up laughing in a failed attempt at keeping a straight face. The taxi driver pulled up to the corner near the bar.

As we stepped out of the cab, I looked up and noticed that the sky was extremely gray. It wasn't necessarily overcast and not particularly cloudy, but it was deep gray. I thought nothing of at the time since our Halloweens always look like this. The only difference between our Halloween and Australia's (besides the fact that they don't celebrate it) is that theirs is in the Spring time. (I know some of you are completely lost, but since Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, their seasons are opposite ours).

When we stepped out of the cab we made a guess at which direction the bar was. Crossing through traffic we received more scared faces. Some cars honked while others just watched us in the mirror as they passed. The street we walked down was vacant of any type of business. Giant elm trees towered over the tattered street, and the old brick houses seemed to stare at us as we walked passed. But the bar was there on the right. No cars parked in front, and no lights on inside. Quite appropriately, the name of the bar was Bar Nothing. Bar Nothing was located inside an old, one level, brick building. The building looked to be as old as the city, but we entered without any preconceived thoughts as it was a private party.

The inside of the bar was set up like a coffee house. There were no stools or high standing tables, but rather covered couches and plastic chairs. Halfway up the red brick walls were small, 12 inch television monitors. There were about 6 of them scattered throughout the bar. The peculiar thing about these monitors is that they were on, but nothing was playing. The only thing on the screen was the white fuzz or snow.

I know what you're thinking, he's going to say that he heard ghosts talking on the screen. No, I'm not lame enough to use bits from a movie to make my story better.

Anyways, Brittney's friends stood inside at the far end of the building where the actual bar was located. We went back to greet them and introduce them to our Canadian friends. Some more of my football friends showed up, and slowly but surely there was some life to our private party of about 25 people. The drinks were cheap, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Brittney's Rotary friend, Courtney, was the one who organized the party. She somehow got a deal to get the bar for 4 hours (7-11).

By 10:50, the bartenders began to clean up the bar. One of bartenders chuckled to himself and shouted, "You yanks better get going!" The other bartenders turned to him and laughed as well.

To us, their laughter made it seem as though they didn't care whether or not we stayed or left. So we stuck around a little while after 11. The bartenders kept cleaning the bar area. After a few minutes, they began to lock the bathroom doors, and the four of them got behind us and slowly pushed us towards the exit. I looked down at my watch and noticed that it was only 11:15.

At this point, I had had a few too many. I got bold and loud like Maslowski's tend to do, and I said "Hey! What's the rush? There's no one else coming in!"

Just then, one of the bartenders looked at me with a fire in his eye that I had not seen in him the entire night. "What's the big deal!" he shouted. "The big deal, is that it's time to go or else you have to deal with the consequences!"

First of all, I was about 3 times the size of this guy and his mates. Second, even though I'm a poofter, I did have a couple of male counterparts, twice my size, that had my back.

Again, bold and unsober, I said, "Consequences? I don't want to have any problems, but I think I can deal with the consequences."

Just then the bartender looked down at his watch. Suddenly, his expression changed from fiery rage to panick stricken fear. I felt so proud that I had scared the bejesus out of this guy that I became unaware of my current surroundings.

All at once, the lights and TV's flickered and shut off. A shockingly cold breeze slammed into my back knocking me and the rest of our party to the ground. From the front, we heard the door to the only exit in the building slam shut. My lip trembled and my body began to shake. Brittney began screaming at me, "What did you do!"

We could not move; our bodies were paralyzed as we laid in a pile on the floor. Suddenly from the ceiling appeared an apparision. I don't know whether it was male or female, but it came face to face with me. I sat there as we stare at each other. I wanted to scream or run, SOMETHING, but I was frozen.

"LEAVE!" A booming voice came from the ghostly figure scaring us to our feet. We got up and ran as fast as we could to the door. Suddenly, I felt a hand grabbing at my suit jacket pulling me backwards. But everyone was in front of me. "Why is it holding on to me?" I stopped to face it, but before I could turn around, it whispered softly into my ear, "Let's put another shrimp on the barbie." And it disappeared, laughing into the night.

Trick or Treat!

Words of the Week

All week long, Brittney has been pretty crook. She caught a lurgy that has given her coughing fits, a stuffy nose, and the voice of a boy going through puberty.

Basically, she got sick because she caught some kind of cold bug.

As always, thanks for reading and disregard the grammatical errors. We'll be seeing you in less than a month!

Karl

Week 36: Very Quickly

Hello! This is seriously going to be a very quick blog entry. I went to write the blog last night and realized that last week's hadn't printed, so I decided I should just go to bed. This morning I remembered that I mentioned last week that there would be two more blog entries, so I had write at least something this week, so as not to leave anyone hanging!

Not too much has been going on this side of the world, but fun things have been happening in the US. I have two new mom congratulations to send out. Staci (Martin) Idle and Danielle (Gesell) Hunter gave birth to their first babies, a boy and girl, respectively. There names are Andrew Benjamin and Ava Elizabeth. Aren't they beautiful? I have yet to receive any photos, but as I am not yet a mother, in spite of what Karl may tell you, I do not know the stress of being a new mom. You have one week!

Really that's about it. I emailed my supervisor my thesis, and we meet on Monday to discuss final changes before printing. Karl is working on our Australian taxes, doing laundry, and going to work while I am hastily trying to sell tickets and choreograph a dance for the St. Jude dinner. We did have a night out on Friday. We went to a 21st birthday party of one of his football players. No, it isn't exactly the same as ours because kids can legally drink at 18. It's basically an all age get together where lots of drinking still occurs. It's a coming out so to speak. Lots of fun. Karl wouldn't save me from random drunk 20 year olds on the dance floor, but who expected him to anyways?

Look for our final entry next week. I'm trying to convince Karl that it should be a joint post, but he thinks that's stupid. You'll know next week who won this week's battle of spouses.

WORDS OF THE WEEK

In honour of the new babies, the words of the week both have something to do with new babies! First, a new Australian mum doesn't buy diapers, so buys nappies. Now, while nappies isn't too radical, it makes me laugh when I think of the rap group from KY called Nappy Roots. I get this mental image of these rich black guys wearing diapers on their heads. Second, when an Australian mum gets sick and tired of hearing her little bundle of joy cry she doesn't reach for the pacifier (sp?), she reaches for the dummy. I guess the inference is that the plastic sucking thing will make the child act like a dummy. No one told me that, I just assumed.

Week 35: Time's Running Out

Hello, my forgotten friends. I would apologise for passing the task of blog writing off onto Karl if I didn't know you enjoyed his blogs more than mine:) Haha. You have me back again. Since I've last written, Karl and I have traveled through three states (equivalent to 18 US states) and spent thousands of dollars (equivalent to thousands of US dollars). We've had a fantastic time! I've decided that I really will miss Australia, even though I really miss home. Six weeks from today, we'll be on US soil.

So, in between our travels, I've been working my butt off to get my thesis done. Karl would argue that that's not possible b/c I didn't have a butt to start with, but I beg to differ. Tomorrow (or probably Friday) I will be submitting what I think will be my final draft to my supervisor. Hopefully, he'll return next week with only very, few minor changes, and I'll get three copies printed off and bound and turn the bad boy in. As much as I like Disney World, 16,000 words, six pages of bibliography, and one appendix later, I don't care to talk about it or its fans any more. PhD in media studies is not my next move. If you were wondering what our next move will be, you'll know when we know! While we're on the topic of the future, I'd like to warn everyone about a New Year's Eve/Homecoming party that Laura Page, Ali G, Ashley, and others are throwing for us. We're super excited, and everyone's invited! I hear there will even be a keg. Calm down, Dad. :)

So, in between traveling and writing, I've been working on that St. Jude fundraiser. I can't remember if I told you guys about it, but we scholars are hosting a benefit-dinner on November 7 (the night Erin and Marshall arrive) to raise $10,000 for a generator. We're holding a raffle, singing, and doing skits. It should be fabulous fun, and hopefully profitable. I will be performing for the first time in over 2 years, so it will be memorable if nothing else. I went to a joint meeting of Rotary clubs this evening to promote the event. Everything went well, and the question and answer session started. In my talk I had mentioned that I like to sing, so one Rotarian asked me to sing "My Old Kentucky Home" (state song). I hesitated for a moment, but started to sing after he began it. I was okay until the end: "I will sing once more for my old Ky home; my old Ky home far away." Well, I started crying and couldn't sing the last line. Homesick, anyone? Not me:) Is anybody surprised though? I usually cry during that song and the national anthem, so of course I'm going to cry when I'm on foreign soil. I was quite mortified nonetheless. Well, for my "efforts" a couple of Rotarians gave me money during the rest of the Q &A, a total of $80. After the evening was over, a Rotarian approached me and said that he would donate what money we didn't raise of the $10,000 up to $1000. Moral of the story: all a girl has to do is cry, and men will get nervous and give her money.

Well, I can't believe that our Australian adventure is ending. There will only be two more blogs after this one b/c was Erin and Marshall get here, we won't be wasting time in front of a computer screen. Perth and New Zealand are once in a lifetime opportunities. Once Karl and I get home, I'm sure we'll keep the blog thing going at least until we get settled and remember how to act American again. No worries, mate!

WORDS OF THE WEEK

On the way home today, I stopped at the milk bar to pick up some chook. When I got there, I realised that they don't sell chook, so I grabbed a slab of stubbies instead.

American English Translation:
On the way home today, I stopped at the convenience store to pick up some chicken. When I got there, I realizes that they don't sell chicken, so I grabbed a case of beer instead:)

The week after the one that just passed (Karl)

Call me Santa Claus, because you guys get to be entertained by the greatest author to ever....I'll think about that one and get back to you.

Anyways, Brittney's being lazy as usual. All she talks about is this thesis thing. Well, her side-trackedness has brought us together on this blog page once again. You think she'd care more about her readers than to have me (of all people) write to update you two weeks in a row.

This week was quite possibly the best week we've had here in Australia. Shortly after I filled out last week's rap sheet, we parted to Cairns. For those of you who don't know, Cairns (pronounced Cans in Australia) is home to the Great Barrier Reef and many mountains and rain forests.

We left Thursday night, but before that, I had to make some money to feed my daughter....Just kidding. But I did have to make some money nonetheless. If you recall from one of my previous entries, I was signed up to exercise for money. After running some tests on me a few weeks prior, they decided that I was dumb enough to be one of their test subjects. All I had to do was ride a bike with one leg for close to 4 hours (in one day) and lift weights with the same leg the next. I received a minimum of $500, and I was able to earn more money depending on how well I performed on the bike. No, silly, I didn't have to do tricks....but I did. Basically, on day 1 I earned over $200 of extra cash. On Day 2, a licensed doctor cut me open and took muscle samples from my legs (plural) before, during, and after the weight training. Even though you weren't supposed to be able to earn any extra money on Day 2, I was given an extra 50 bucks without having to perform homosexual acts of any sort. I earned the money because they screwed up taking my muscle sample the first time and had to do it again. All they did was take a 4 inch needle...(well, not really a needle, but more like a steel pen. And when I say pen, I only mean the part that holds the ink)...and stick it into my leg 9 times in the right and 12 in the one that they screwed-up. Quite an exciting experience. The guy next to me screamed the entire time. What a sook! Anyways, whoever had the best performance on the bike can earn another $250. I don't know if I won it yet, but I'm at least in 2nd. The guy riding after me did pretty well. I should win though. If I do, in fact win, I will have earned over $1000, my friends.

So, yeah, after that, we had to pack for our adventure. And what an adventure it turned out to be...

The cab arrived at the dorm just in time for my wounds to start bleeding profusely from my legs. I had a hard time controlling the bleeding, but my jeans soaked it up quite nicely. I called the doctor who worked on me and everything ended up just fine. We got to the airport on time, and departed for Cairns. Once in Cairns, our host of the Bed and Breakfast we stayed at picked us up from the airport. We told him of our bloody mess, and he asked a number of questions. It turns out that he's actually a nurse. Both he and his wife are nurses, as a matter of fact. In the end, I was in good hands. It was quite lucky because I bled for the next 2-3 days. And I even went swimming with sharks...

The B&B was the best accommodation I have ever stayed in. We were in a remote area, about 15 minutes from the city, situated in a tropical rainforest. We were served breakfast on a covered deck over looking a pool, stream, and of course the rain forest. Sooooo relaxing. Our host, Ivan, helped us plan our tours around the city, mountains, rainforests, and yes, the Great Barrier Reef. His wife had just left for a 10 day trip and his two children entertained us when they were around. The first day was spent relaxing and planning.

On the second day, we got up for breakfast at about 6:30 in the morning so we could catch our tour bus at 7:20. The bus ended up being close to 2 hours late, and we did NOT receive any type of reimbursement! We weren't too happy, but we got some good pictures. On top of that, I didn't have to do any driving (unlike our last trip). All in all, it was a good trip, but we could have done it on our own if we rented a car.

Day three was Sunday, our wedding anniversary! One year, to be exact....

Let me just say one thing (maybe not just one). I had 5 guys stand up in my wedding, and not one of them wrote or called to wish me a happy anniversary. I know we're men, but seriously, I thought I was nice to make you guys feel like I liked you. The girls' side was a lot better. Brittney actually received 3 out of 5 bridesmaids congratulatory emails. My mother and aunt remembered, as well as the two women Brittney was cloned from (her mom and grandmother). But I'm still shocked and appalled by the lack of effort put forth by my friends. SHOCKED AND APPALLED!!!!

...Back to the story! On day three, Sunday, our anniversary, we took a cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. We got some color, went snorkeling, went on a guided walk around the island we stayed on, ate a huge lunch, and the best part of all, we went SCUBA DIVING!!!! It was so cool. We got to swim with all the fish from Finding Nemo (except the Nemo Fish of course). UNREAL!!! It was a Great Day topped off with some great...............Dinner! The original restaurant we wanted to go to was fully booked, so we went to an Italian place overlooking the Ocean. It was a peaceful end to a thrilling day.

Day 4 found us traveling farther north into more rain forests and Cape Tribulation. We took another guided tour, which turned out to be the best tour of the weekend. Our guide was excellent, and we made some 50 something friends along the way. A group of 6 women traveling together jumped on board and lightened up our trip. They were so spastic that you couldn't help but laugh with them.

When you get around to looking at the pictures, Cape Tribulation does not look like much. If you ask people what the significance of the cape is, often they'll just say that it's the farthest north you can go in a normal car. In actuality, it's far from it. Cape Tribulation has a great, long, boring story about how it got it's name, but the thing that makes it so spectacular is that it's the only point in the world that two World Heritage sites meet up. If you don't know what a World Heritage site is, you're not alone. All it means is that it's a major National Park (no one can touch it). The two sites that come together are the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rain forest. It's really not too terribly exciting to look at, but it's an empty, white sandy beach looking out at a deep blue ocean with a luscious green forest at your back. Pretty cool! During the tour we stopped at a secluded little place to eat lunch. Again, we ate by a river, this time on a wooden benches in a much more isolated part of the area. On top of that, we were the only one's there. Magnificent!

Day 5 was our last day on the trip. We went into some more rain forests by way of a Skyrail. It's basically a ski-lift on steroids. Since the Skyrail goes through a protected part of the forest, no cars were allowed in to during its construction. The workers had to go in on foot, and the equipment was brought in by helicopter.

It was a relaxing trip with waterfalls and beautiful trees to look at. The highlight of the trip was me playing the didjeridoo and not buying it! haha. Actually, Brittney got to hold a koala. The picture we paid for sucked, but they took a picture of the both of us with the koala with our camera for free. Not a bad deal, and those pictures turned out pretty well.

So, reluctantly, we made it home, and I have to go back to work tomorrow with my scarred legs. NO WORRIES MATE! I just spent a week in one of the most beautiful places in the world with the most beautiful woman in the world! I'm an ass kisser! haha.

We've got some great pictures and great souvenirs, it's just too bad we had to leave. Oh well! We'll be home soon. Thanks for reading. Sorry if it wasn't as exciting as you hoped for. If you want, you can show your friends the picture of my leg and say that I was attacked by a crocodile! That would be soooooo cool, mate! Talk to ya's later.

Kaal

Words of the Week

One of these words you probably already know, but it's a fun Aussie/British word used to describe myself on occasion. Before you read further, you should be warned that this part will be PG 13.

After we sat in front of the Bed and Breakfast for 2 hours, our tour bus finally showed up. The wanker driving the bus blamed the whole mess up on us. Well, I wasn't in the mood for his shenanigans so I told him to get out of the car so I could beat the hell out of him. Of course, he curled up like the little poofter that he is and apologized for his rudeness.

So, what have we learned to day, boys and girls?

Wanker is a term used to describe someone who is less than pleasant. Australians pronounce it like wank-a. Americans might use the term dickhead or sonofabitch.

Poofter is a term used to describe someone who is afraid, weak, or a bit feminine. Australians pronounce it like poof-ta. American males might use a term that describes a part of a woman's anatomy or a cat....Pussy! The American version is Pussy! Can't you read between the lines for crying out loud!?

Week 33?: An amusing adventure (Karl)

The last couple of weeks have been pretty insane. Where does one begin? How about our trip to Northern Territory...

For those of you who don't know, Northern Territory is the state in Australia that lies right smack dab in the middle of the country starting at a little more than half way down and runs all the way to the top (north). For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, get a map! The Northern Territory covers 1/5 or 1/6 of Australia's land mass and only holds 1% of its population. Let me tell you, this was a thrilling adventure!

This was a long trip; so I don't want to bore you with details...as we tend to do. I'll first give you a lay out of how our trip went, and then I'll give you the highlights and low lights.

Here we go...

Our trip started on Thursday night in Melbourne (our home city) by train to Adelaide. We stayed in Adelaide for several hours, jumped back on the train and headed to Alice Springs. Alice Springs houses about 25,000 people...not too much to see, but it's a good starting point. From there we "hired" (rented) a car and drove to Rainbow valley on our way to Uluru AKA Ayers Rock! While in the Uluru area we visited the Olgas and Kings Canyon. All three of these are basically red rocks that are very imposing land masses. After we left Kings Canyon we drove on a back road back through the MacDonnell Ranges to Alice Springs. We filled up with some fuel, and on we went to Katherine...a little town that is about 1200 km from Alice Springs. That was an extremely long ride (kinda like this section of the blog). We went canoeing there, looked at didgeridoos, and left for Litchfield National Park (waterfalls and natural pools). And finally, we drove from Litchfield to Darwin and spent 3 marvelous days in Darwin before we hopped on our plane home at 12:40 am!

Sorry about the boring details, but I won't mention our paths again (hopefully)...

This trip was filled with many ups and downs, so I've picked a few choice words to describe most of the scenarios that went down.

Ready?! OK!

Stupidity

As defined by the Webster's online Dictionary, stupidity is a condition or state of being given to unintelligent decisions or acts. Stupidity ran rampant in our ten day excursion.

On the train...

Stupid is waking up at 4:00 am to talk loudly to the person sitting next to you about your grand kids for 3 1/2 hours while every one near you is sleeping, and then wonder why your neighbors are still trying to sleep at 8:00.

In Adelaide...

Stupid is not being able to speak audibly when you are confronted by a TV camera and drilled with questions about some show you've never seen.

Even more stupid is the fact that amongst 4 people, no one has heard of the show!

In Alice Springs...

Stupid is giving 3 girls and 1 moron 2 keys to a rental car and expect them not to lose at least one of them in the end (or everyday for that matter).

Stupid is paying $5.50 a gallon for diesel.

Stupid is complaining about the heat in the desert.

At Rainbow Valley...

Stupid is going to an unfamiliar place and not doing enough research to realize that the flies there are insanely brave.

Stupid is realizing this and going out to take pictures.

At Uluru...

Stupid is walking around the world's largest rock, in the desert and not drinking enough water to the point where people have to perform CPR in order to save your life...Who knows if he lived.

Stupid is, again...the flies

At the Olgas...

Stupid is hiking in sandals among loose rocks, not wearing sunscreen in the desert, and being blonde and European! Nothing against blondes or Europeans.

At Kings Canyon...

Well, I guess at the Olgas and Kings Canyon we weren't surrounded by morons. At least they weren't visible if they were around.

On the Drive to the MacDonnell Ranges...

Stupid is driving at 60 mph on a 4 wheel drive track. But God is it fun!

At Alice Springs again...

FUEL!!!

On the 10 hour drive to Katherine...

Stupid is driving 10 hours to Katherine. There's nothing there!

At Litchfield National Park...

Stupid is picking up an opinionated person who has already been in the area.

At Darwin...

Stupid is assuming that it costs $7 per night to camp when it really costs $12.

Stupid is camping at a hostel.

Stupid is paying $2000 for a car that has a tent on its roof and not use it.

Stupid is not telling the people camping in the back (while you sleep in your bed) that the backyard of the hostel is gravel. And you'll be sleeping there!

Stupid is not killing the person who showed us around Darwin! (but we did have a good reason...)

Stupid is losing the key and assuming you're not the one who actually misplaced it.

Stupid is not checking your bags until you got home.

Flexible

As defined by Websters online Dictionary, flexible is characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements.

Flexible is reading a blog written by Karl when you should be working!

Train...

Sleeping on the train for two days with a person in a seat next to you, in front of you, and behind you without sleeping on the ground.

Putting up with stupid people!

Uluru...

Waking up at 5:00 am to see the sunrise even though it's cloudy...and not complaining!

Putting up tents in the dark without a flashlight.

Lighting a grill without a match.

Cooking in the dark and liking the food even though it wasn't Karl's famous cooking!

Living with three high maintenance women...just kidding!

Brittney in a tent! hahahahahahahahahaha! Just kidding?

Avoiding a man who may have been dead.

King's Canyon...

Doing a 3 hour walk when the first 45 minutes are straight up hill.

Drive to Katherine...

Paying $6.00 a gallon for diesel.

Taking pills for motion sickness every time you get in the car.

In Katherine...

Waiting patiently as Karl looks for a didgeridoo (all F@#$ing day)

On the way and in Darwin...

Changing an entire schedule that you spent 2 or 3 months working on because one person didn't recommend it, and you were out numbered (by women!), and too weak willed to defend yourself. (I was tired from all the driving and not sleeping)

Putting up with a friend's suggestions on where to go because it'll make another member of our crew happy to be with her!

Winning a limbo contest, completely sober! Nice work Britt!

SLEEPING ON GRAVEL!!!! Way to go Carol!

Flexible is not rearing back to slap the taste out of a certain someone's mouth every time she spoke.

Again with the didgeridoos.

Spending more than you thought you would on a didj!

Breathtaking and well worth it!

The whole freakin trip! except for the ladies sitting next to us on the train. They were morons.

We got to see and do a lot of great things...even in Darwin. Our time in Darwin was some of the most fun we had on the trip. Definitely well worth it!

Would I do it again?

Hell no! did you not read the part about the Stupidity!

As for the breath taking part, we'll have the pictures up shortly for you avid readers who can't wait for my email to tell you to come look. We only took about 500 pictures on our camera. Carol ran out of space on her 1 Gigabyte memory card. Yes, that's a big memory card.

Since we've been back, Brittney has been stressed out with Rotary and school...more stupidity! I on the otherhand have been very productive. For those of you who don't know, I'm getting paid to eat and ride a bike (basically). I finished day 1 of 2, and, unofficially, I've made $719! As of right now I'm in the lead to take the $250 grand prize.

Besides that, our lives are pretty lame.

Time to get going. We have to pack to go to the Great Barrier Reef. I don't know if anyone's heard of it, but it's one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. For you Kentuckians, it's up there with Mammoth Cave National Park!

Less than 2 months until our arrival into your lives.

God Speed!

Karl



Words of the Week:

We paid an arm and a leg every time we stopped at a servo to fill up with petrol.

Service station/Gas Station and Gas!