Complaint #1312

Here I am complaining again, but the hotel drycleaners (I'll go out on a limb and call them this since that's what they seem to think they are) have destroyed my clothes. My nice clothes.

I'm sitting here at work unable to bring my lovely Lacoste sweater anywhere near may face. (Which is hard, let me tell you, because its on my torso and arms.) There are so many dry cleaning chemicals that have saturated my sweater that the smell is killing me. I knew this when I put the darn thing on this morning, but I only brought enough outfits to make it through a week at a time. I thought the air would help to diminish the chemicals, but I sit here at 5pm on the verge of either a headache or a buzz after smelling this stench all day.

Everything else had better not smell this way, but they've also burned the shit out of my clothes by obviously washing them in hot water and scorching them with the iron. They didn't even match up my socks! *gasp*

For 3 sweaters and 3 pairs of pants, I paid $69! That's over $10 per item only to have them ruined. I could cry. Honestly...I need 2 wardrobes. One full of nice clothes to have at home, and another full of worn-out, mis-shapen articles to take on the road. Because at this point, I'm adding up all of the money spent on these clothes that look like shit. Oh, and I smell like a paint factory.

I'm Not an Economist, Part of the WHO, or a Journalist

Economic stimulus, recession, bailouts, swine flu. Its like a broken record.

They wonder why TV news viewership and newspaper circulations are down. Its because we can't catch a break.

Its like you're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. First, we've got people in financial ruin, losing jobs and their money. And now, people are afraid for their health.

History has shown that these things are cyclical, but I can't help wonder if its a self-fulfilling prophecy (the economic side). Bad news promotes poor reactions, which promotes bad behaviors,which leads to more bad news.......

Feeling Homesick...and Now I'm Going to Get Over It

Phone calls, emails, webcam, etc. just isn't cutting it. I miss my girl. Let's see...12 more days, 3 of which will be in Sydney, so I'll be distracted. As much as I love to travel and should be struck down for bitching about it, its HARD to be away. You realize that life goes on and you have nothing to contribute towards it...and vice versa.

I think I just need a hug. :)

Weekend #2 in Australia

I had another great tour this Saturday. This time I went to a number of "animal" attractions, mainly on Phillip Island outside of Melbourne (about 1.5 hours away). The main attraction was the Penguin Experience, which is being able to sit on a beach and watch the penguin wash ashore and head to their huts (some 1.5km away from the beach!). It was great to see, but of course there was a "Morgan Curse" added to the whole event and I got to sit on the beach in the pouring rain the whole time. About 150 penguins arrived; the night before there were almost 800. A bit disappointed, but how can I be when I got to experience something so cool and different from anything else?!?! We couldn't take pictures of the penguins, so I had to buy some. I'll scan later.

Otherwise, I saw/fed Kangaroos. Koalas. The whole Australia experience, including Dingoes which literally look like dogs.

The absolute highlight was spending 45 mins. with a Clydesdale horse. I know nothing about horses, have only been on one once, but this was awesome. It was at a heritage farm and as soon as I went up to the pen, the horse came over. I have to admit, I was a bit scared at first - do they bite? But it was just amazing. I was a little emotional during it to be honest (I might know why now), but I loved that horse! Weird. Who would've ever thought. Plus, the woman who took my pic with the horse invited me to join her family for the rest of the tour. I declined, but how nice!

Overall, another great day. Pictures are posted on Facebook, but here's one of me and my "love".

Miss California

I obviously don’t agree with Miss California. And to be honest, I am so happy I’m out of the country so I don’t have to deal with Hollywood or some just as obnoxious person(s) on the other side of the issue on CNN for the next week. But, when de we stop allowing people to disagree with us?

What really bothers me is this. This woman was asked about Gay Marriage in a beauty pageant of all places, and she responded with HER opinion. *Gasp*. First of all, what did people think was going to happen with such a polarizing/politicized question being asked? Secondly, when did people lose their right to express their opinions? We’re not in Iran! Thirdly, to be dumped upon like this poor girl has, is just a shame. Give Miss California a break.

My prediction is this. We as a country are so caught up in what we think is right, is right, that we are about a stones throw away from someone being beaten and/or killed for their beliefs. And I don’t mean this in a MLK Jr. or Matthew Shepard kind of way, I mean this is going to happen in a neighborhood or something.

Police: Ma’am, why did you kill your neighbor?
Woman: Because she didn’t agree with me; she agreed with Miss California.

People are going to start hunting each other down for having a differing opinion. The amount of hate that is generated towards people for just having the opposite opinion is staggering. And while I’m not old, nor am I young (keep your comments to yourself), I don’t think I’ve seen such hostility. Ever. I mean red-faced, spitting mad hostility. Christians and Republicans get dumped on for their ideals and for being socially unjust - a lot of it deserved, but this is a street that definitely runs in both directions. This woman is getting yelled at for “hating”, by a bunch of people that are “hating” right back. Oh, but I forgot…they're righteous in their hating…my bad.

I fear for Miss California’s safety. Have we lost our minds? Don’t get me wrong - its nice to have people support me and causes that are dear to me, but if this is how the supporters are going to fight, I’ll take my chances on my own. The end doesn’t justify the means.

What Miss California said echoes the sentiments of over 50% of her own states population…and I won’t even go into my tirade about how it would be more if people could voice their vote/opinion without anyone knowing their identity…but I digress. If you don’t agree with her, don’t vote for her for Miss USA. If you don’t agree with her, don’t have her over for dinner. If you don’t agree with her and you ever have the chance to talk to her, maybe try to convince her through discussion. For God’s sake, let’s let people have their own opinions. Imagine how dull it would be if we all had (or were forced) to agree on everything.

Pizza Mate

It only took 28 minutes and who knows what will actually be delivered...but I think I just successfully ordered a pizza from Dominos in Australia. Chalk one up for the little guys.

This traveling thing is glamourous, isn't it?

Australia - Update #2

Hi everyone...or all 3 of you that read this.

I've had a few requests to post some pictures of Melbourne/etc., so here they are. If I'm your friend on Facebook by chance, I've posted an album of pictures from my day tour of The Great Ocean Road - check them out.

The pictures are of my hotel, the Melbourne Waterfront, and a picture of The Great Ocean Road. Outside of the tour yesterday, I spent most of today exploring the city. To be honest, its another city. Don't get me wrong, there are some fantastic things about cities, but they've started to look the same to me. The day trips on the other hand...that's what separates these trips...and yesterday was awesome. I go on another trip next Saturday, so I'm excited.

This weekend, I've walked probably 20-25 miles. I'm sweating to death and all of the Melbourne-ites are wearing Fall jackets. What's up with that. My walk tonight was to an Italian restaurant that my friend Steve suggested from when he and his wife visited here. Very good! I got the lasagna...unlike any I've had before. Stock full of carrots. You probably could've heard the groan back home when it arrived at my table, but it was really good.

I think I'm finally over my cold. Yay! It was a pretty rough week. Now, I'm going to work my butt off this week so that I can let up towards the end.

I hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all.

Karla - still no kangaroos...although I see them on the menus here - gross. I did see koala bears, a fox and a porcupine.