So, I have ethernet connection but no wireless

So the reason I haven’t posted in a while is that I haven’t had acces to the internet in any consistent fashion for about a week now. In fact, as I type this, I am on hold with the DLINK tech support; I love how they keep telling you to visit the website for tech support when they know that half of the people waiting on hold probably don’t have internet and are getting angrier and angrier every time that the hold music, “you’ll always be my baby” cuts out, and they think someone will answer the call, and then they advise you to go to the website. Why, the one time I go to another country and actually have a legitimate reason to be spending time on the internet does it quit on me? For those of you who were wondering, tech support here is the same as in the states. Except if course, for the fact that periodically it beeps and tells me, thanks for my patience, my call has progressed in the queue. This is brilliant actually, because it happens sporadically enough that you feel as if it actually happens every time someone ahead of you hangs up.

Ok, I’ve just been ‘helped’ by the dlink customer service. Now, if anyone out there works for a tech support hotline, we’re not ALL idiots, I promise. Sometimes people call because things actually do not work. I realize that it has to be the least gratifying job ever and you might have talked to 15 rude people before me, but please bear in mind, I’ve been waiting, listening to bad pop music, for at least half an hour and I will only be rude as well if you treat me like I am stupid!

Enough with the ranting, and on to other things. This week was pretty busy for me as my key card to my studio still does not work, I didn’t even have time to go get a new one today (Friday) although I did end up talking with the art school finance guy, Robbie, a lot and we’re getting pretty tight. No seriously, I have his cell phone number.

Most of the work/stress of my week culminated yesterday (Thursday for you other side of the world-ers) and it began in the morning. Mani had told me rent was due today and it was biweekly, meaning I had to pay $330 by that evening. I was fully prepared to do so, planning on stopping by an atm after checking at the copyquik shop to see if Jerry had faxed my lease yet (he hadn’t, and the shop knows me, even when I call about a fax they don’t even ask my name anymore). As I grabbed my breakfast and lunch for the day, ready to head out the door, I saw a note from my roommate Michael that went along the lines of ‘Our landlord would like the bond (security deposit) finished today, can you have your part sorted?’ Ok, I had been asking about the bond for a week because I needed at least two days to withdraw enough cash from the atm to cover it due to my withdrawal limit and I didn’t want to do it and have $700 cash laying around. To have to come up with what ended up being about $1000 in one day by the time I added in rent. The long and short of it was that Michael, nice guy that he is, covered half of my bond and I owe him a $400 and a huge dinner as he also picked up my queen size bed for me this week.

I also gave my presentation of my idea for the entire semester of painting yesterday, which I think went well but was really daunting. Everyone before me had at least 2 paintings from last year up on the wall to show people ‘where they were coming from’ and after their talks were grilled (really harshly at times) by the teachers. I got up there and used none of my allotted wallspace because I had nothing to hang, and showed a bunch of stuff on my computer. I got pretty nervous so I probably talked a mile a minute through my ideas. At the end of my talk both of the teachers looked at me to see if I was done, said ‘ok, sounds good’ and moved on to the next presentation. Ok, not that I wanted them to be harsh or anything but any sort of question would have been nice! Oh well, I shall go back down to my exiled studio space and do as I like I suppose.

After my presentation I went to a watercolor demo by a guy named Noel. (Pronounced Nol; I need to find his last name to post some work b/c he seems like he is amazing at it. All we did was talk to him about preparing paper for watercolor and what kind of supplies we wanted. He was HA-larious, imagine Bob Ross, but well coiffed, effeminate, and with gold-rimmed glasses with really think lenses. A couple of snippets I wrote down from his talk: about stretched paper ‘isn’t that just seduction on a panel?’ and on his most expensive watercolor brush ($90) ‘bliss on the end of a stick.’

Then I went out to dinner with Deki, Matty, Deki’s girlfriend Hannah, Aaron, and another girl from USC. We went out to Chinese, which was great because it is one of the few restaurants in Canberra where you actually get enough food for your money. It was delicious, being the first time I have eaten in a proper restaurant here, but I still prefer my old LA standby Yang Chow. Although Deki told me he hadn’t been that impressed by that place (blasphemy!) we agreed to disagree.

Today I had coffee with my SIGN mentor. I actually don’t remember what sign stands for, but basically it’s to help us overseas and new kids settle in and have someone to help us out. By the time I got my mentor, however, I had dealt with all of my serious problems, so at this point it is just awkward meetings btw me, Helena, my student mentor in her 50’s very sweet, and the two other mentees Marie and Samuel, who are very, very, quiet.

When I got back I stretched canvas on a frame I made myself! Yay! It was so cool to make my own painting surface, especially since all of the tools were specially set up for just that purpose and our handymandude, Simon, helped me out a lot. There are air pressure nail and staple guns are AWESOME and make everything sooo easy. Now I only have to do two coats of rabbit skin glue (I have no idea if its actually what it sounds like) and several coats of gesso before I can paint!

I came home, tried to fix my internet, and ended up running to the corner store so I could make veggie burgers from this recipe on 101cookbooks.com. They were amazing by the way, and I highly recommend them for even my fellow carnivores. I went out in the rain because I just got my rainjacket in the mail from my parents and lots of other awesome stuff that will be put to great use this weekend!

I have a long weekend as this Monday is Canberra Day and thus a public holiday. Looks like I am going to have the house to myself and I will be cat-sitting Bella, our very cute housecat. My main plans involve a barbeque with the two art school Scottish girls, Elaine and Gaynor, and baking cupcakes on Monday because I can and because it’s Mani’s 25th birthday on Tuesday. Then I leave Wednesday for my field trip into the bush, I will be sure to post pictures of any Kangaroos when I get back!