Ricks B-day

Hey folks!! This is a rarity yes I am actually posting, don't get to excited. As you have might known I have recently had a birthday it was my 28th getting old but I won't count that until I see some gray hair start to appear... not that getting older is a bad thing... Okay back to my big night. It all started with dinner with some good friends at a restaurant in Newtown called Splash which has great food... I actually tried peppered squid, not bad. During dinner of course the wine was flowing which I seemed to REALLY enjoy.. For dinner I had there steak... a personal favorite of mine... After dinner Jen had surprised me with a strawberry and chocolate ice-cream cake... that was SOOO GOOD!!!!!!!! I think we all enjoyed that. After cake we all received a complementary shoot of Port and for the special occasion a bottle of champagne...well after a lot of wine that the free stuff seemed to go down no problem. Then it was off to the local bar to meet more friends, but this time I was feeling pretty good. Well I wish I could tell ya more of what happened but unfortunately a lot of what happen at the bar became a blur.. Guess the pictures can tell the story. I just thank Jen and Rach for the great night.!!!

Easter Weekend Adventures :)

Hey beautiful people :)

How the heck are you? We are well, as the weather cools off and it's officially 'Autumn'....say Fall and the Aussies will have no clue what you're talking about, we are remembering the need for our space heaters...but also recalling the drastic hikes in electircity bills at this time of year! So for now, sweaters/jumpers will do ;)
An aside first, it's game 1 of the NHL playoffs and guess what, I actually found a way to watch the game online!!! http://www.sopcast.com/ then choose channel 'NHL3' for those who are also in non-NHL fan countries :P..of course, there is still the issue of live games being our midday so we can only watch a very select few...next step may be recording! (it's 3rd OT right now, GO CANUCKS GO)
So our Easter weekend was full of firsts: Saturday we went on our first Lawn Bowling experience. It's just like Bochi (sp) Ball but the catch is the balls are weighted unevenly! So, you actually have to put quite an arch in your 'toss' so that the ball eventually curves back into line with the 'Jack' ball at the other end. Still the same concept of getting it closest to the Jack ball to win :) Here are some pics of the event. It was a bbq/beer/bowling night that friends from uni invited us to :)
Sunday morning we had our little chocolate binge and then headed off to try another Anglican church. We have tried 3 different ones now, still think we may have to cave and venture into the city to find a 'happenin' place to worship :)...with good music!! Lovely people though :)
Monday we went on a guided tour of the Blue Mountains!! It was a package deal that Rick booked for us to do: we had to be in the city by 7am, and left on the bus to arrive about 9am at the mtns. Our first stop was to see the kangaroos in the wild! That was pretty cool, we've seen them in the zoo but never in the wild, they were so tame, you can see how close Rick was able to get to them :) Btw, sorry about the terrible layout of thses photos, they're all over the place cause I don't get along with this program lol
Then, we headed on a hike to Echo Point and that we some sweet scenery..so different than home though, no evergreens here! I tried to take a pic of some of the foiliage.
We are provided lunch: their staple foods of bread rolls with ham/cheese/veg and muesli bars :) it did the trick :P
After lunch, we got a bunch of free time to explore around the area and see what we wanted to, we chose to go see the Three Sisters which are 3 mtns standing very close together and they were so beautiful! But mtns at home are bigger of course hehe We were told a tonne of aboriginal stories behind the names and features of all we saw, but I can't remember them all, if anything, I remember parts, like not recalling the punch line of a joke...I'm hopeless lol
Our day ended with a trip on the steepest train in the world! We walked down 1000 steps and then took this train back up, boy was it steep! Overall, a great weekend and a muchly needed get away from uni/work/city life.
THe best part is when Rach and Jen arrive in only 2 more weeks (!!!!!) we're renting a car and heading back up there to check out stuff we missed and explore around some more! Can't wait!
What is everyone else up to these days as weather warms up!!



yes, Butterfinger was worth every bit of the $4.00!
very steep cliff side
it was sooo bright!!! i'm not just a complete dork :P
the steepest railway warnings!
hmm...mom's day presents?!?!

that's better
very primitive construction of the railway lol
steep steps
nap time with the koala
Three Sisters in the background (Rick with the ladies :)

alright, i'm the leader of this operation....or not!
amazing views, set up like niagara falls viewing
very unique flora
just chillin

three sisters

cool waterfall
i like the shadows in this one
just kidding...
what a poser
who me, I didn't do it!!!

our 'limo' for the day ...which I think is responsible for my sickness now!! dumb air con
Always good to have the first pics last lol
kangaroos!

Easter Sunday!




Lawn bowling!

beer?!




Peace be with you :)

Rick's jobsite at the Train station

Hey all you bloggers and blog readers :)

It has been noted that we have readers in Europe and Africa now! Wow! Welcome to all, leave us a comment so we know who you are...I'm strongly considering South Africa for my intermship in dentistry.

Recently, Rick and I decided to upgrade from our oh-so-basic but worked-like-a-charm cell phones but weren't sure if it was possible. Sometimes being classified as 'international' really bites! Anywho, a connection saved us in that we met our neighbour downstairs who also used to be international and he happens to know A LOT of people...we've since come to realize...so, he was able to put us in touch with a friend of his who works for 3GT mobiles...and he arranged it so we could buy 2 new phones and get on a PLAN, finally! See, typically, we're not allowed to go on conctracts because internationals are 'unreliable and may not pay their bills'...right. I'm getting to the point, really. Rick has been picture happy with his new phone and so I thought it would be sweet to show you what he gets up to each day, since you already know what I do...he's currently doing the copper piping for gases at a new train station to be opened in MacQuerie. Check out his eye for fine detail and artistic ability ;)

OK, since this blog and I are not getting along...the first pictures are of us at a housewarming party a Canadian classmate had this past weekend...great friends, great time :)

Sorry about the orientation of this last pic, once again, tech issues...proly not the computer, just me lol Also I noticed the shots are rather dark, could be a combo of the underground nature of the site as well as the quality of the camer phone hehe ...you decide...we'll take a poll!! ;)

Hope all are well, let us know if you stop by...it's motivation to update this thing if people actually read it.

Life as a Dental Student...sort of

I keep meaning to add photos of exactly where I spend everyday from 8-5, well mostly. Now you have to remember that we just ran in and clicked a bunch of pics, so no, I wouldn't normally be wearing casual clothes, no gown and no mask lol! you have to use your imagination :) Above is the computer room, available for dent students anytime

This reminds me of grade school lockers!! This is where all our expensive equipment is stored, so far for me, that involved the articulator and a tonne of teeth and burs. This year 'loops' (special glasses) will be added to the collection. Actually having a locker is a life saver and back saver!

This little room, with a table, 10 chairs, white boards, textbooks, and a computer is where my PBL group spends 6 hours a week discussing and brainstorming about the case of the week. Thereafter, we attend lectures and theme sessions to increase our knowledge. It's been quite a learning curve as we uni students are so used to studying at home and on our own for most of the time, and learning to deal with lots of differing personalities in this environment has been challenging.
This is the 5th floor clinic, where, normally I would be in the operator chair and my patient would be sitting here hehe lots of learning goes on in this clinic!

This is the 5th floor simulation clinic ie where we practice on manequins with plastic teeth to get the techniqes right before we subject some poor soul ;) Trust me, I'm a doctor!!! There are 4 people at each bay, and yes, I'm am fortunate to get left handed set ups, yay, there is equality in this world. The toughest exams so far have occure right here, as they are extremely anal about cavity preps and making things look just right. For example, I bet you didn't know that a simple filling in your molar tooth is precisely measured to 2.5mm deep, 1.5 mm wide, with several indications inbetween....took awhile to become un-cross eyed :)

Happy Birthday to Me and Happy Valentine's Day to Everybody :)

Well well, another month has passed, I knew that would happen as soon as I started uni again lol Things are so busy right now that I haven't even had a chance to think about this poor little blog. But, I must say it's definitely a more user friednly site than the last!
What's new in our world you may be asking ;)
I started 2nd year on 5 Feb and it's been 'full on' as the locals would say hehe With the first exam for local anes related anatomy over and done with, there doesn't seem to be an end in site. But I am happy to say that I feel optimistic that I can get a better grip on this year with being more settled in oz than last year. Next week we are starting to learn how to give LA to cadavers, then eventually practicing on each other in 4 weeks!! Wow, that will be fun :)
Rick is working like crazy and loving the long commutes more than ever ;) We have talked about heading north to check out one of their many amazing wine tours, but I have no idea when we'll get to that hehe Not much is new in the social realm, I am with the same 80 peeps that I started the course with last year....well, almost, 2 people unfortunately failed 1st year and we miss them so much!! But kudos to them for having the courage and determination to attempt the year over. I dunno if I would truly have it in me.
I have included some funky photos to follow, I'll explain as we go... (oh ya, the one above is my frist attempt of fried rice!!! yummy!) and below is the fried chicken to go with...
This is Aussie's version of ice cream cake! Overall, I still like DQ the best, but I think it's because of the cookie crust lol rather than the quality of ice cream ;) These ones are made with Gelato and waffle cones flattened out are between the ice cream layers. Rick had this one made for my belated bday and also just for both of us on V Day :) The funniest part is you'll notice it says Happy H and V..taht was supposed to be B and V (bday and v day) and Rick hadn't noticed the guy screwed it up until we looked at the cake at home and he's like, what the--- anywho, too funny, I laughed :) Delicious anyway!

Yet another self portrait...although we actually got the timer figured out this time so there is no arm in the photo. We went on a double date with a guy Rick works with and his gf....went for a fancy dinner and to see Deja Vu at the theatres!! What a great movie, recommend it big time!...even though I had to ask Rick what the heck was going on half the time ;)

Visas, no not the spending kind

I just finished what has become my daily morning routine of watching Queer Eye and working out on my Elliptical! I've been feeling so great about working out lots and getting back into a shape other than round from Christmas time hehe But I do love good food and so I have to counteract that with quality work out time too :)
I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I'm really getting bored of all this time off! I think the main problem is not enjoying it because I worry about the year that is to come in only 2 more short weeks. So, instead of procrastinating, I have started some review of anatomy as our first course we take is Local Anesthetic Anatomy! I can't wait, I think it is the last week in Feb where we get to inject each other. I've never even had a dental needle before and now I have to give one and receive one all in the same day. I know, I'm sick. But it is to say that is has taken 5 long years to finally arrive at what I have been wanting to do and it feels like it's paying off. We've been warned that 2nd year is the toughest and I believe it as we have exams one after another, qualifying us for this and that throughout the year so that we can see patients full time in 3rd year. I can't wait!
I have also been manning this ship solo for the past few days as Rick is up in Newcastle, about a 3 hour train ride, to help out with a big project up there. He tells me he's been installing pipes in a new Chemistry lab. I always find it ironic that he is in the institutions before me and then I come in to use the equipment he's installed. Be it hospitals or universities. What a team :)
I will leave the adentures that have been Rick's trip for him to share...it's worth the wait, trust me...

The greatest news came the other day, as most already know, when I received a call from our immigration officer casually stating that he was just about to GRANT OUR VISA and just had a few more questions and clarifications. I was like excuse me, grant as in ACCEPT or APPROVE!! Evidently he did not share in the moment with me and wondered what was wrong lol Anywho, Rick and I both are now legally allowed to remain in Aussie, with unlimited re-entries for travel, until April 28, 2010!! wow! This has been weighing on our hearts and minds for some time now and it still feels like I should be worrying about something; I think it's called the human condition.
Although this limits Rick to 20 hours per week of work, he has already been improvising on ways around this ;) I'm just so happy that we get to stay in the same country together :)) I'm one tough cookie, but my life is fullest when we are together.

I hope this finds you in good health and great happiness,
God bless you

Day of Photography at Leichhardt Park

Ok, a disclaimer to start. I do not feel entirely responsible for the default settings that were still in effect on our blog...some may understand what I mean, because you have tried to leave a comment and CAN'T..it said something like you have to have a google account...NOW YOU DON'T! :) Since it is our blog, we have now changed the settings and now anyone and everyone can feel free to drop us a comment anytime, we love fanmail ;) Anywho, that was an aside, now to the meat of the issue. Rick and I went for a longer than anticipated walk today, but it turned out to be a beautiful park at the end which we didn't even know existed. I know, hard to believe we've been here a year and still, we don't know our own neighbourhood :P Somehow, the afternoon turned into fun with the camera...please feel free to rate our self portraits lol...oh and some scenery pics we happened to take :)

PS. I still cannot control the location of pictures and text...help!! Julia!!