diNNER pARty.

a few nights ago i went to the bosses house for dinner

i brought vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce & teddybear cookies

a sure way to win any boys heart

!look i am being maternal!

!cha cha (charley)!

!tOm!

!niCk!

they love me now

gaLLery update...

i made my first sale at the gallery. a woman came in with her 3 lady friends yesterday & found something she loved claiming to buy it when she achieved her goal (weight). then today she came back in & bought it. women!

i have declared this job a research in human studies, including a study on how i interact with other people. remember how i told the owner i would be a good sales person, i was wrong. i didn't take into account my social anxiety. every time i hear someone coming down the driveway a sense of doom comes over me. and i've been secretly hoping no one buys anything because i don't know how to use the credit card machine. but once i get to talking with people i calm down & my true personality comes out. it was that forced monologue about the gallery which i was told to give to the customers which made things uncomfortable for everyone. fortunately francois (the owner) cut that out of the script & now people seem to be sticking around longer.

also, apparently francois has warmed up to me. he has crossed the threshold of politeness & now openly teases me. he saw me vacuuming yesterday & said i need a "L" plate for learner (this is something they put on cars here for new drivers). he thought it was the funniest thing ever & told someone today what a good experience the gallery is for me; that i am learning how to vacuum & use windex properly... once again he found his own comment very humorous.

the truth is... i can't disagree with him, this a good experience for me. btw, i do know how to vacuum. i just didn't know that the arm was expandable, i thought i was for shorter people.

EAgle SPirit .....

After many lonely nights in the caravan park I was adopted by a biker gang.

When they first mobbed in - four couples deep - dudes driving & mama's on the back, I was both scared of them & longing to be in their tight knit community. The first couple of nights I just watched them from inside my station wagon. But yesterday I was approached by one of the mama's & she asked if I wanted to go on a ride with them after work. I think they felt bad for me. Of course I said yes, not only because i didn't want to offend them, but because I am truly a sucker for a good motorcycle ride. I am so happy I did because we had a blast. Oh the looks we got with our rumbling engines, I felt like such a badass (but I was kinda happy I had a helmet to disguise my identity). After the ride they insisted that I stay for dinner. They gave me all the bourbon & steak I wanted. We sat around for hours talking about life. Helmet's off they were some seriously good people - though one of the guys did ask me if I had bed sores from going to getting to sleep so early. I explained to him that I was actually watching movies.

I have to say I really admire their self expression. They don't care that parents gawk at them and hide their children. They are just old friends going for a ride.

!Live to RIde!

!this is a Trike - three wheels with a VW engine!

!leader of the PAck - Vroom vroom!

i will miss you friends

tHE spAce ...

i started at the gallery today, i learned so much/loved it. here are some images of tHe space
(not quite finished yet)

!exterior!

!entry!

!window!

!free standing jewelry displays!

!lunch spot!
---
(me gusta)

kisMet dreams ...

Greetings from Margaret RIver,
After much apprehension I made it to Cape Lodge Winery for my debut as a waitress. I will admit to you that I didn't last three days as hoped. I worked from 5pm -11pm & that was enough for me. It isn't waitressing itself that bothers me, rather the uber-posh environment I was in. They put me in a white button up shirt (that I had to button up all the way to the top), black pants, black shoes, black apron & I had to pull my hair back. Then I would go to tables & say things like, "Madame, a complimentary hors d'oeuvre from the chef; a seared sea scallop with a chilled cucumber soup." I felt so awkward. And each time I would serve a course announcing it's long list of components or ask the guest if they wanted still or sparkling, I would walk away laughing at myself/cursing myself because it was so not me. Furthermore, I must have forgotten to mention how clumsy I am in the interview because they expected me to balance multiple plates & cutlery while clearing the table. Needless to say I barely rescued a plate of knives from dropping on an innocent bystander.

GOOD NEws is that I am now working at an art gallery/jewelry workshop on an amazing piece of land in Margaret River. The owners have just finished building the natural/modern space (think walnut slats at the entry from the floor curving up to ceiling, frameless glass corner overlooking the land) & it will open tomorrow. I am to help design a few things for them, create interesting displays & meet with the guests. The best part is that the family who owns this gallery & another in town are very down to earth. When I met with Francoise he outlined the position as someone who could instantly connect with people as they walk in & make them feel comfortable. I would learn all about the artists & jewelry making process while learning the business side of running a gallery. When he asked if I had any sales experience, I explained that while I have never sold merchandise, I have had a lot of experience selling my ideas in design, art & fashion. He loved it.

! IMAges from Redgate Beach !
xxx

as the aussie's would say, f*ck me.

http://capelodge.com.au/restaurant/

if you need me, i will be at the "magnificent Cape Lodge Restaurant".
i decided to take a break from fruit picking & head to where the real $$$ is, waitressing...?

have i ever waitressed in my life? no.
is it a 5 star restaurant? yes.

will i be fired in 3 days? we will see.

to be continued....

LittLe noMAd crosses staTe lines

G'day! i have reached my final destination, MArgaret River, WA (wine capital of Australia). It is exactly what I hoped for and more. Picture St. HElena near the beach/forest with a river running into the ocean, tons of surf spots, over priced orgAnic cafe's, hippy art galleries & a soup kitchen in the community center that has $3 vegetarian meals on Mon/Wed nights! Dreamy, huh?! Tomorrow I will find me a job. I am really excited about this because I would liKE to settle down, a.k.a. keep my tent open for more than one night. anyways, here are some imaGES i captured on the road from South Australia to Western Australia. i hope it will give you a good visual of where i have been over the last couple weeks.

i made up a rhyme while i was driving:
"if you want to win my heart...take me to a caravan park"
i think i might turn it into a t-shirt.

i love sand dunes.
this is Port Lincoln, Eyre Peninsula, SA.

WReck beach, Port Lincoln

this is Me looking at WReck BEach.

now I am in Coffin BAy national PArk, SA.
(much to my dismay it was named after Sir Isaac Coffin)

i like how my goLd station wagon compliments the landscape...and how i only have 3 hub caps

I think AUstralia must have the most random signs of any place in the world. I will have a special entry to prove my theory but here is a mild example (camel/kangaroo/wombat).

Eucla, first Telegraph STation that connected South Australia to WEst.

COcklebiddy is the lovely town I had the pleasure of spending the day in when my car broke down.

! SA/WA border !

Now I am in WEstern Australia!
(OCean BEach, Denmark)

My heart reached new peaks when I experienced the estuary at OCean Beach.

(Good OMen #1)
It even had a rope swing my most favorite thing in the entire world.
I made lots of new friends that day, this is Jake.

EVerything about WEstern Australia is Love.
Even the horses & sheep are friends!!!
(my camp ground in Denmark)

(Good omen # 2)
swing hanging from tree, campground in Denmark

soon to be eaten cow fRiend on Berry Farm

big rocks to jump off
(Green Pools, Walpole)

Tingle FOrest

ANd now I am one of those [creepy] people who walks around town with a Parrot on their shoulder. From this angle you can't see the leash but it's there.

i made it....

AFter one week of driving from Sydney, to MElbourne, through Victoria, the Great Ocean ROad, across the Nullabor Plain (the real deal outback), having my car overheat in the middle of nowhere, sleeping in trucker stops, having no cell phone or internet access, running over a snake, hitting two parrots & swimming in very cold but sparkling turquoise waters.... I am in Western AUstralia! Approx. 4,000 kilometers later I am a very happy girl. I have made it to what seems to be a mecca of green - forests running into ocean & a very environmentally conscience community - quite different than the EAst coast which is very commercialized. CUrrently I am posted at the Riverbend camp site in Denmark. I am looking at sheep, a horse & a swing hanging from a tree. Sigh....

Oh yes, the Wild West. Pics to follow.

the GReat Ocean Road...

It is summer in Australia but it doesn't feel like it. Since my return I have driven from Sydney to Melbourne where I spent a pouring, thunder storming NYE in a covered parking lot to escape from the rain. After Melbourne I embarked on the famous Great Ocean Road where I realized the only cool thing about seeing Australia in crap weather is that it makes for some very dramatic photos.