Daydreamer.

My desire to go back to Europe has hit me like a sledgehammer. I have spent hours over the past few days looking through my photos of the sixteen months I spent living in Europa and reading gleeful status updates from mid-2009 (thanks to the new fb timeline). I know everything wasn't sunshine and slow motion field running over there, but I had some of the best times of my life sprinkled in amongst the angst. My life right now? Reallllly not exciting. Don't get me wrong, I am not unhappy, not by a long shot - I am headed in the direction I want - I guess I am just a greedy little green grass dreamer.

2013.

 Segovia, Spain

Christmas markets in Bruges, Belgium

A Customer Crush and Brunch in Lorne

Ugh. I have a huge crush on a customer at work. He has come in the past two Sundays and I have served him and his pretty eyes. But this Sunday I was serving some bloody woman when he turned up and so pretty eyes bought his food from someone else. I was shattered. What a waste of a pair of my contact lenses. I've never had a customer crush  before, it's entertaining. When I saw him out of the corner of my eye I felt my cheeks flushing, ah so great to feel alive....and thirteen again.

Yesterday my parents and I went to Lorne. I'd never been before and to be honest I was expecting it to be much more picturesque than it was. The Great Ocean Road was nice, but compared to European scenery it wasn't really worth stopping to take photos. I just don't find Australian landscape inspiring. Although I love the Melbourne cityscape. Anyhow, we had a really nice brunch at a restaurant called Ba Ba Lu, a charming Spanish themed place away from the main resturant/shops strip. With the rustic tables and umbrellas I could almost pretend I was in Malaga. Almost.

My man and our sons (I am single and childless)

I like to dream that there will be a moment in my future that looks something like this photo. The chickens will just be beloved pets though...

Photo: Anna Rosa Krau

Trotters, Nova, and The Emerald Peacock. Celebrating with Lick.

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Yesterday Lick and I met up on Lygon street to see an Italian film. At cinema Nova all Monday screenings are only $6 before 4pm, and $9 afterwards. That pretty much knees all other discount cinema days in the balls!

Before the film we had lunch at a restaurant called Trotters. The food was great. The service? not so much. We had a sullen waitress, which I can accept - not all hospitality workers have to be all smiles and sunshine for me to enjoy myself... but when we went to pay the girl working the register scowled at us when we asked to split the bill as if we'd asked to pay it all in five cent coins. Considering the three seconds it took her to punch in our orders separately I'm not sure it was worth the further contribution to her frown wrinkles. Oh well, it has inspired me to not be so short-tempered with my own customers in the future.

The film we saw was called Ages of Love. It consisted of three (loosely intertwined) films about love, narrated by a teenage, arrow-wielding, cupid. Lick and I enjoyed the last short the most. It starred Robert de Niro as an American historian living in Rome who meets a younger woman - played by the stunning Monica Bellucci . I preferred this section because, unlike the other two, it didn't have an element of unfaithfulness. It seems that whenever Italian films are classified as ' Romance' there is always cheating. Just quickly thinking I can come up with three Italian films I have seen which portray infidelity: Cinema Paradiso, The Last Kiss and Remember Me. I find the cultural difference between Italian romance and American/Australian/British romance very interesting. Lick and I agreed that had the plot been the same but in English, set somewhere other than a European country, we probably wouldn't have enjoyed it. Italian films (and also French and Spanish films) don't seem to worry too much about having likeable protagonists, whereas if audiences can't root for the main characters of American films they won't bother watching them. Anyhow, I can't say I would like to sit through Ages of Love a second time, but it did make me think about different cultural appreciations and reminded me why I like to watch foreign films.

After the film we decided to celebrate our thesis marks with an afternoon drink and headed to Section 8. Sitting uncomfortably on a crate, sipping my cheap beer, I was reminded of being there five years earlier, celebrating the end of my first year uni exams. I wore a terribly uncomfortable pair of heels that night, and ended up stuffing half a roll of toilet paper and whinging all evening. I also patted the head of the bouncer and pissed him off by almost poking him in the eye and telling him he looked like Heidi Klum's man, Seal. Oh, to be nineteen again.

After our drink I wanted to check out the rooftop bar at The Emerald Peacock on a quiet day (the last time I went was Friday evening). It was lovely up there, a few groups of people relaxing in the sun, no crowds, and only a handful of business people who were game enough to start drinking on the first day of the working week. I can't wait to go back there on another sunny afternoon to try their food menu.

At Trotters: My favourite meal - any time of the day - Eggs Benedict.

 Lick got the Bella Pizza

The Emerald Peacock on a Monday afternoon. Practically our own private rooftop bar.

Dum dum dummmmmm thesis results are in

Well, thesis results are in. I don't think I've ever felt so many emotions in such a short time span. Firstly there was the numb, terrifed feeling as I waited for the webpage to load, secondly there was the moment of satisfied relief when my eyes settled on the first grade I saw 85....lastly there was the moment of delirious happiness and hysterical laughter when I realised I was looking at a different grade and my thesis mark was actually 92. I am incredibly pleased, and a bit surprised, about my result. I called Lick straight away and we screamed like children. Her thesis received the highest grade in the department of History: 94. I am not even jealous, she really deserved it. Honours was an enjoyable year for both of us, we didn't get overly stressed, we didn't pull all nighters, and we made sure to continue socialising even when times were tough. I'm certain that without that balance I wouldn't have done so well.

Today Lick and I are meeting up to see a film and have an evening drink in celebration. There are plenty of other things I have been meaning to blog about, including my first ever book club meeting, but for now I just want to brag.

Brunch at Trunk Diner with Lick and musings about other things such as chocolate tomatoes

I am currently going a little podcast crazy. I bought an ipod classic with 160GB. Since my entire itunes library only takes up 39GB I have a whole lot of room to swing a cat around in there. I am downloading several 'learn Spanish' podcasts this very second. I have realised that in order to get my (realistic) dream job, I should probably work a bit harder at becoming bilingual. Oh hi podcasts. Whether I will actually listen to an entire lesson from start to finish, when I have the power of the skip function, is waiting to be seen. At least in an actual class you are trapped into learning. I like learning, but sometimes I have to trap myself in it. It's amazingly easy to trick yourself into getting an education when its something you desire. I am talking total rubbish.

Today was a perfect food day! I met Lick at the State Library and we walked to Truck Diner which is on Exhibition Street. I'd been wanting to try brunch there for ages but as they're quite strict about brunch ending at 11.30 I'd missed out a couple of times. We were in there before 11am though, and it was rather quiet. We both had french toast with berries which was delicious, and at $10 pretty well priced.

After our second coffee we had a walk around the shops and lamented the excess of people in the CBD. Screw you, Christmas. After I had put poor Lick through the trauma of helping me find a strapless bra (functional shopping is never fun) we headed to Workshop for a snack. Since I went there with Flower I have wanted to go back during the day to try their $6 pizzas. We had the pumpkin, fetta, and pesto pizza - it was delicious. I also had an iced tea, which wasn't on the drinks menu but the bartender said she could whip it up. Homemade pizza and iced tea are winners. There were a couple of customers who came in on their own to have a drink and do some study. I love places where people feel comfortable just sitting by themselves and relaxing, it reminds me of being overseas and all the times I sat in European cafes writing frantically in my journal. **random European nostalgic interlude**

I should make myself some dinner. I have just been munching on some tomatoes I bought from the supermarket called choc cherry. They are cherry tomatoes which are streaked brown. A tiny part of me was hoping they'd be some kind of science experiment which gave cherry tomatoes a chocolate taste. Alas. They taste like good ole tomatoes, no willy wonka business.

 French Toast at Trunk Diner

Pizza at The Workshop Bar

I think I'll leave it til tomorrow to unpack, try to forget for one more night that i'm back

Ahhh. So compared to semester time I am socialising quite a bit lately, but it's not enough. I'm also working more than I did during honours, but that's not enough either. There is not enough life in my life. This is about the time I start dreaming about being culture shocked and roaming far-away places. Now I realise why I have been so content this past year - I haven't had time to get bored.

But now I have time. Lots of time. Maybe I'll just get drunk by myself at 10.30am and watch Ancient Aliens.

Photo: Fergus Padel