Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Feb. 16, 2005 - 4:42pm


Cat Power is performing in Melbourne tonight, but I just called up the venue to discover that the show has long since sold out. I've now been in Australia for almost a week and just finished up with the Melbourne welcome program, which is basically a five day rollercoaster filled with field trips during the day and crazy partying once the sun goes down. The hosts were Australian students from Newman college and the itinerary looked something like this:

Friday - explore the city, start partying, then off to the pub where Danny Nichols and I lose three games of pool in a row (because the Australian balls are smaller and w/out numbers - maybe I'm just making excuses)

Saturday - off to the beach for surfing where i expend an extreme amount of time and effort putting on my wetsuit only to discover it's inside out, so i go back inside and change it around. when i get down to the beach, everyone starts laughing and i realize that it is now on backwards. it is too much effort to go back and change again, so i just go into the water as is and all the water winds up making its way into my wetsuit anyway. That night I see "Closer" (which is a thoroughly entertaining and provocative film) and afterwards head to Strike Bowling, which is a stylish bar with bowling lanes.

Sunday - Meander around St. Kilda fest and that night go to the 4F dance club. Before this trip, I used to experience great anxiety freaking with members of the opposite sex to nightclub-type music, but a girl named "Grinder" has managed to lift my confidence level to new heights.

Monday - Wildlife sanctuary and aboriginal art museum, then the winery. At night we make our way over to the Purple Turtle where a girl with a 6-year boyfriend suckers me into buying her a drink

Tuesday - I get a mobile phone and take a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (where I stole a ping pong ball from the team recreation room - so basically, i now have a ping pong pall that once was used by professional cricket and football players). we go to this club called Icon at night where everyone gets up and dances on the bar. I dance on the bar with Grinder for a good hour and feel like a fucking rockstar!!!

All in all, the week was a hit and I managed to get my stomach under control and keep my alcohol down. A job well done, Jared, being able to get hammered five nights in a row and live to tell the tale. I also managed to acquire the nickname, PINCHES. Basically, someone confused Jared with the name Jeremy, there was an actual Jeremy with the last name Pinches, and the rest is history. When the real Pinches caught wind of everyone calling me Pinches, he was justifiably confused and a little angry.

Now I'm at the International House where everyone is pretty much Asian and I'm in over my head because I can't even begin to pronounce anyone's name...

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