Blokes and Sheilas

"Bloke": a common term used to refer to a man, usually in his teens or twenties.

Ex: "There's a bloke upstairs waiting for you."

"Sheila"(not really used as often amongst today's young generation): a term used to refer to a woman, usually in her teens or twenties.

Ex: "What do you think about that sheila in the red dress?"

While I was wandering around Melbourne CBD last night, it just suddenly hit me that it's already March. It's March, you guys. That means I've already been in Australia for a month and I have five months left. Time is flying, and even though I know my stay is short here, I'm positive that it'll be July the next time I look. I'm propelled by the urge to make every minute count, which strongly clashes with my more academic commitments. If I can just get a job here that would be able to support me...

Anyway, onwards to the recollection of yesterday's activities. I woke up bright and early Sunday morning to catch a tram to the Uni, where I met up with my MUOSS club. I was then briefed with the day's itinerary and informed of a photography/scavenger style competition. Basically, I was to get into a group of 5 and take photos with as many zoo animals as possible. The catch is that every group member has to be in the photo and we all have to reenact the animal as creatively as possible. The group with the most creative photos wins a free trip to the Eureka Tower, tallest building in Melbourne. That's not all - the group will also be able to go into this glass room that extends out from the building, so you basically have a 360 degree view of the sky, the skyline and the street/buildings below.

Of course, once Evan and I heard of this competition, we immediately knew that we HAD to win. Losing wasn't even an option. Since I was so set on winning, I was a little worried that the group of girls we were with would be a freaked out about our intensity, but they turned out to be real troopers. Even though it was scorchingly hot at the zoo (in the lower 90s), incredibly difficult to squish all of us into a self-taken photo, and my battery died (and Evans... and the camera of another teammate's...) we somehow still managed to tour all over the zoo and take pictures of the fauna. I thank the friendly Australians who were willing to humor our pleas for a photographer. No fear, these pictures will soon be available on facebook for your viewing pleasure.

In the end, our group won the tickets to Eureka tower and our efforts were infinitely repaid with a breath-taking view of the city. Literally, breath-taking. Since the floor of the room is also glass, the staff made us wear little booties to prevent our shoes from scratching it. After we filed into the room, it began to extend out from the building. The entire room is enclosed with frosted windows, so my team and I had no idea how far we were from the building. After a few seconds, we stopped and the frostiness disappeared. Just like that, we were suddenly surrounded by clear glass, 92 stories away from the handful of Melbourians milling around below us. It's a very queer feeling to be so high up and to be able to see everything below you. My instincts were screaming, "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE! RUN!!" but I managed to squash it before it made me do anything stupid. All previous sacrifices were definitely paid off.

Unfortunately, the gay bar plans fell through, but perhaps it was for the best. After all that hiking about, I was in no shape for a night of hard drinking and dancing. I'll save it for another day.