I just found a feature on Weebly that allows me to put Google maps on my blog. You just type in the address or the name of the city, and it loads it. You'll like this map if you read my post yesterday. You can zoom out by clicking on the (-)  button in the top lefthand corner. The you can also click, hold and move around your mouse to move around on the map. If you want to see my daily afternoon route, zoom out. You should be able to see it then. Let me know if you can't figure it out! My bus enters the city from the west on Currie Street and drops me off in Light Square. I then walk up the street that runs north and south through it, called Morphett Street. See how it runs over the train tracks and the river? That's the Morphett Street Bridge. I took a lot of pictures on there yesterday. My gym is on the squiggly street, called War Memorial Drive, above the river. The suburb is called North Adelaide. It's in a beautiful area. See what I mean about Adelaide being surrounded by parks?

The little jogger (myself) went for a little jog today, or can I call it an agonizing and ailing run? I started running on the treadmill last month at the gym. Before that, I only ran outside. It's actually been years since I have run for more than 5 minutes at a time on a treadmill. I've always preferred the constantly changing scenery of the outdoors. Anyway, I've been trying to decrease my time that it takes me to run 5Ks. When I started last month, I ran it in about 37-39 minutes. Without training, I am a very slow runner. Last week, I made it in 34.2 minutes. Today, I was determined to do it faster. 

This evening, I made myself run at 10.0 (we use the metric system here; I am not Speedy Gonzales). Let's just say that it was much faster than I was used to. As slow as I can be, I usually breeze through my runs and feel great by the time I finish. I swear, I have not had such a terrible run since I first started running for recreation when I was about ten. Whenever I would get tired or discouraged, my mom used to say to me, "just one foot in front of the other". She'd tell me that I would finish and it would get easier every time I do it. It sounds nice and calming now, but NOT WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING MUCH FASTER THAN YOU CAN HANDLE ON THE TREADMILL!!! Anyway, the bottom line is that I got through my run without significantly decreasing my speed, passing out or throwing up. I thought one of those things would happen, but it didn't. I managed to finish my 5K in 32.01. What an improvement! If I can make it under 30 minutes, I am going to surprise myself with something. Maybe a new pair of running shoes? A dress? I'll need something that will motivate me to run faster.

 I've never done speed work like this before. If you have any good tips, let me know!

Before I finish this post, I want to wish my friend Jessie a very happy birthday! We've known each other since we were at least six years old. She's also getting MARRIED next April. I can't wait. She's the first of my friends to get married. I'll be second (if I count as my own friend, of course).

At my going-away dinner with Jessie and her fiance, Dave

First visit to Chicago since moving to Oz. Kate, Jessie, Me

Jessie with her bridesmaids!

Sorority rush, fall 2004, University of Illinois. Irene, me, Jessie, Kate, Goda

At Indiana University, fall 2005

On our way to Scotland! Spring 2008

There are so many pictures to choose from. Here is the last one! Sigma Delta Tau Barn Dance 2005. Don't you miss those days? Jessie, Molly, Kate, me

Wishing you the best of all birthdays, Jess!

Let's hope that I have a better time with the computer today. I was so frustrated with transferring my blog over yesterday, I was about to heave Al's computer off the balcony in a fit of rage. He told me that he will password protect the computer and not let me use it again if I can't control my temper, so I better behave!

Now, onto my post topic. Have any of you been wondering what I do for work? The answer is this: it has absolutely nothing to do with my bachelor's degree in psychology! When I moved to Australia, I was on a "work and holiday visa". This means that I could live and work in Australia for a year, but I could not work at one job for more than six months at a time. Basically, I was not employable! I was all set to volunteer my time away, and then I met another American (dating an Adelaidian, just like me) who introduced me to her temp agency. Since then, I've been doing basic temp work. I started out with day to week long reception/admin jobs, but I've been very lucky over the past year. I've had two long-term jobs: one for five months and another that I'm currently working in. I've been working for Daikin, which is an international air conditioning company. I work with amazing people. Most of the time, they forget that I'm still there on a contract! I'm so comfortable there. When I went home in June, I still had a job there when I came back. The girls in the office also love sushi, so we get it for lunch every Friday. Who can complain about that?

I also have a special visa that allows me to stay and work there since I'm in a serious relationship/living with an Australian citizen. I no longer have that six-month restriction. Applying for the visa was a lot of work, though! Those Aussies are cracking down on their immigration.

Get ready for a lot of pictures! I used the camera on my iPhone to capture my afternoon when I leave work- from the bus stop to the gym! As you will be able to tell, it was very overcast.

Al always drops me off in the morning, since we luckily work very close to each other. In the afternoon, however, I take the bus to go to the gym.

This is my view of the outside of my work when I'm sitting at the bus stop. Please ignore the power lines.

Here is another view from the bus stop. You can see the hills in the background. They don't look like much from here!

My bus ticket! It has ten rides on it. I pay $30 for ten rides, which actually saves me more money than buying each ticket individually. If you look at the bold numbers on the bottom, you see that I have used up three rides so far.

I'm in the city now! This is where my bus drops me off. In the background is brand new apartment building. It towers over everything in the area. Hopefully, some new buildings will join it soon.

A fun arts building

One of the few Mexican restaurants you can find here. It's definitely not open!

Walking up the Morphett Street Bridge. It goes over the railway station and the lovely Torrens River. Isn't it a beautiful day? See the arts building that looks like it's covered in liquid cheese? I am a fan.

Walking over the bridge. CHEESE!

North Terrace is below. It's a very busy street and runs along the whole northern edge of the city. On the right is a bunch of swanky apartments and department stores. The tram line also runs through the middle of the street. See the hills  the background? I really think I was deprived of hills from growing up in Chicago....

The Adelaide Oval is in the background. See the lights? It's currently for cricket right now, although Adelaide's Austrlian Rules Football teams will be playing here in 2014 (they currently play northwest of the city by the beach). It's a HUGE deal, because it will bring more people to the city. The area around the Torrens River will also be fixed up. It will be very good, because many people believe that Adelaide is a little outdated. Adelaide is an amazing city, but these changes will be great for it!

A side view of the Adelaide Convention Centre. It's a very unique looking building.

Adelaide on the river. The large glass building is the Convention Centre. I love this picture! I get some great views during my walk.

Adelaide parklands on the other side of the river. Beyond there are jogging/bike paths, and you can probably see the river beyond there. I'm standing outside my gym!

You can eat or sip a coffee outside when the weather is nice. Obviously, nobody wants to sit outside in this weather.

I made it! I'm so lucky to belong to a gym in the best part of the city. I get great views of the river and city, and I'm right next to one of the most beautiful sporting arenas in Australia. Maybe I'll take more pictures when the sun comes out!

I am also proud to say that I was a very happy blogger while writing this. It looks like Al won't have to password protect his computer.

 Good news: I'm feeling much better today! I switched my blog over to a new site, though, and I got very frustrated with it. I basically copied and pasted my first two posts from Blogger into Weebly, and it's much harder than it looks! Anyway, it's all done now.

I cleaned up the apartment today and Skyped with my friend Goda. I love Skype! It's such a great way to keep in touch when you're living overseas. My neighbor also moved out today, and she brought us over some ice cream and a a bottle of wine. We let her use our internet while she was living next door, so she always brought us things. She made us chocolate cake at least two times! We're definitely going to miss her.

Alastair brought home a pie and a pasty for lunch yesterday, so I thought I'd take the time to explain to the non-Australian what they are!

This is a pasty. You pronounce it "pahhhhhhsty"; you don't say it as if you're describing somebody who needs a tan. It's a crescent-shaped lunch or dinner pastry that is filling and delicious. They are usually vegetarian, although they could be filled with a whole bunch of things. This was my lunch yesterday.

 This yummylicious thing that you're looking at here is called an Australian beef pie. It's almost like a mini chicken pot pie, but it's not wrapped in foil. An Aussie pie is "durable" enough so that you can eat it while you're walking around, and it will not fall apart. It also comes in many more creative flavors than a pasty. You can get beef, chunky steak, steak and potato (with fluffy potato baked on the top), pizza, chicken and many more. It's definitely more of a "man" food, if you know what I mean. I could not eat one of these every day. Al, however, has these several times per week.

If you are ever lucky enough to have one of these, don't hold the sauce! Many bakeries will inject ketchup into your pie or pasty for your convenience. They then put them into a bag for you to take them home. After a few seconds, the grease visibly sinks into the paper. YUM! Really....it tastes great.