Is It Time To Pack Yet?

I have a confession to make.  I am the world’s absolute worst packer.  And it’s not because I’m ridiculously bad at folding, or is it because I tend to under-pack, or even worse, over-pack—ok, you got me, that might also be a reason—but it’s because if and when I have the choice not to pack, I simply choose not to.  And let me just tell you something; I just about always have the choice not to pack.

Should I head to the Queen Victoria Building?  Or pack?  QVB.  Balmain or pack?  Balmain.  Beach it at Bondi, or pack?  Beach it.  Let me just give you a hint just in case you’ve failed to catch on, packing is never the right answer, unless the question is which should I not do?  Have fun?  Or pack?  PACK.  But I swear there’s reason behind this, and laziness isn’t it.

You see, it’s as if, by putting packing aside, I can delay the inevitable.  In choosing not to empty out my room, I can remain in my state of denial, and in choosing not to pack, I can trick myself for a moment longer, that I might be able to remain not only carefree and in this state of pure bliss, but also here, in Aussieland.

And let me just tell you now, I’ve been good at tricking myself.  I mean really good.  In fact, in this last week, I’ve pretty much been doing everything but packing.  Take yesterday for example.  Blessed with clear skies and sunshine after a week of cold and rain, I met up with a friend to grab lunch in the city.  And if I had the chance to choose this over packing again, I’d do so in a heartbeat, because the restaurant, the experience, the food—it was all an absolute treat!

House, a restaurant known for producing amazing street food of Northeast Thailand, is located on 202 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills 2010.  Prior to our little lunch, I had no idea that the ingredients and flavors of Thai cuisines varied depending on region.  Or I guess, it was never something I really gave much thought to, but it does make complete sense!  Apparently the cuisine of the northeast region is a lot spicier than the cuisine of central Thailand.  Sign me up!

There was a lot to choose from, and every dish sounded heavenly!  I wasn't feeling too hungry, but let me tell you something--that changed completely once I had the chance to skim the menu!  We ended up ordering Gai Yang, served with sticky rice (number 1), the Panang Curry (number 8), and a side of papaya salad with salted crab!

If I could turn back the clock and relive this moment, I would.  The sauces, the flavors...I've fallen in love with Thai food once again.  I couldn't even pick a favorite, that's how good everything was.  The papaya salad was extremely spicy, and this is coming from someone who thought they could handle heat!  The cabbage helped to balance out the dish and the peanuts were such a nice surprise!  The salty crab added such an oomph!  By the way, some words of advice for you, don't try eating the crab!  The Panang curry was a lot more mild than the salad, and it was just such a cozy and hearty dish!  It leaves you so satisfied and warm!  And as for the grilled chicken and sticky rice...yum!!  In my honest opinion, everything should be served with sticky rice, always.  It's just so much fun to eat!  It was also great with the two sauces!  The darker sauce was a lot more runny and sour in taste, whereas the brighter red sauce was a lot thicker and sweeter!  It reminded me a bit of tamarind!  I preferred the brighter sauce with my sticky rice!

Happy Kimmy with her not-so-happy salted crab...

I'm sorry you had to see this, but I'm even more sorry that you couldn't be apart of this little culinary delight!  

Well, I guess it's time for me to pack!  Or I could always go into the city...

Yours truly,

Kimmy

Soul Mates

So, I just finished an episode of The Bachelor.  Please avert your judgmental eyes, as this is a hate-free zone, thank you very much.  But, as I was saying, I just finished an episode, and it was actually the season finale, so the bachelor found his bachelorette!  Yippee!  And you know what?  As prepared as I was to bash on the inauthenticity of it all, I was genuinely surprised at how believable it all was.  I genuinely believe that Mr. Bachelor loves his future Mrs. Bachelor.  Well, at least I’d sure hope so, seeing as they’re kind of getting married… but the concept behind the Bachelor has always been a bit confusing to me.  Actually, not so much confusing, as interesting.  

You see, growing up, I was a huge believer in fairy tales.  I believed in happily ever afters and all things Disney, including soul mates and Prince Charmings.  But watching the Bachelor really makes you wonder, how much of all relationships are based on proximity?  If you take a guy and force him to interact with fifteen girls and fifteen girls only, what are the chances that he’ll fall madly in love with one of them?  According to the bachelor, the probability is one—meaning he has a one hundred percent chance of marrying a lucky girl.  And what about the girls?  Fifteen girls and one guy—are they going to inevitably fall in love with the bachelor?  Would that mean that they all shared the same soul mate?  Or did he become all of their soul mates?  Can two people have the same soul mate?  Can one person have two?

As I’ve gotten older, my once clear and certain definition of soul mates has gotten a lot more convoluted and hazy, but I can say one thing for sure, I still definitely believe in them, whatever they are.  In fact, I think I may have possibly found mine.  That is if my soul mate came in the form of a sandwich.

Mom, dad, I’d like you to meet my soul mate.  We met at the entrance of the Marrickville markets (142 Addison Rd, Marrickville New South Wales 2204) on an incredibly rainy Sunday, and in all honesty, it was true love at first sight.  Or, I guess you could say bite.

If you tell the kind lady that you're a gravy lover, you're in for a real treat.  Not only will she drown the lamb in gravy after placing it in the roll, but she'll also give you an extra dose of gravy before stuffing the roll!  I know it may sound like gravy overload, and a stained shirt waiting to happen, but she guaranteed it to be mess-free!  I don't know how she did it, but it was...the bun wasn't the slightest bit soggy, and the gravy wasn't overly runny and ended up exactly where it needed to be, in my mouth!  If I learned anything at the markets on Sunday it's this: if you meet someone that makes you feel as good as a spit roast lamb and gravy roll--excited, giddy, warm, toasty, satisfied, and desperate for more--it may just be true love.  Three cheers for soul mates!  Hip hip hooray for beautiful lamb and gravy sandwiches!

Cheers, 

Kimmy

Life Just Happens

If someone were to ask me to choose the best thing about life, my absolute favorite thing, it’d definitely have to be this semester I’ve had abroad in Aussieland.  I’m only kidding.  That’s probably what my global advisors at school are wishing I’d say, but I’m not that sappy.  In all honesty though, my favorite thing about life would probably have to be its unpredictability.  I love the randomness of it all.  I love that you could make plans a week, or even a year in advance for something, and have them completely fall apart and fall through the day before.  I’m not going to lie though, it always sucked when I was deciding whether to pack my Mickey or Minnie ears, only to find out that I would no longer be the happiest person at the happiest place on earth the following morning.  But that’s life.  I’m not exactly sure if it’s always going to be as sweet as a box of chocolates, but one thing’s for sure, you really never know what you’re going to get.  And that’s the beauty of it. 

But you have to learn to love it—I certainly have.  I love not knowing—not knowing what I’m going to be doing tomorrow at three o’clock pm, or heck, let’s get wild and say am, because who knows?  I love not knowing what or where I’m going to be a year from today, because it simply means that anything goes.  The unpredictability of it all—the absence of a coherent and detailed plan—leaves so much room for…I guess, for life to happen.

And it always does.  Life just happens, and I guess it’s just our job to let it.

A year ago from today, I never would have imagined myself in Aussieland.  During my freshman year in college, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be doing a semester abroad, but look at me now!  I’m not making paper, but I’m definitely making memories, and word on the street is that those are pretty invaluable.  I’d say they were priceless, but this isn’t a Mastercard commercial.  I’m seeing things I’ve never even dreamed of seeing, and meeting people that I never knew existed prior to this trip.

That gets me every time.  There are seven plus billion people in this world and seven plus billion other places I could be, and yet here I am--in Sydney.   I’m about four months in, and the thought of it all is still just about as mind-blowing as it was on day one.  The experiences, the people you meet, the encounters, and the relationships you form—you had a one in seven plus billion chance to meet and experience who and what you have.  You had a one in seven plus billion chance to build that relationship, to sculpt that companionship, and to mold that lifelong friendship.  How is that not mind-blowing?  Every experience, every encounter, and every friendship is truly special, purely based on the fact that it happened, when it had every reason, and every probability and possibility not to.  And on that note, I just have to say thank you.  Thank you to everyone who’s made my experience in life, and in this particular situation, here down under, the spectacular-ness that it is and was.  Thank you for all the market mornings, the Tim Tam slams, the Mackas at midnight, the classy turned trashy Thursdays, the burgers with beetroot, and the list could go on and on.  But thank you all for the fun, and thank you Aussieland for the food, friends, and memories.  I just needed to get this out there a few days before I depart for the homeland to avoid staining my keyboard with tears. 

Here’s to five more days in Aussieland.  Five more days of randomness, and five more days of life, just happening.

Cheers,

Kimmy

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

If I were to take all the good and happy things in life--the sugar, the spice, the everything nice--and mix it all up in a cauldron, according to Cartoon Network, I'd end up with the Powderpuff Girls.  The animal equivalent would probably be the unicorn, and the movie equivalent would be The Lord of the Rings.  The season equivalent would be summer, and the holiday, Christmas.  The dessert equivalent, a maple pumpkin pecan cake...oooh...or maybe a German chocolate cupcake...and the breakfast equivalent, a nice generous stack of banana pancakes, smothered with butter, and drowned in maple syrup.  Actually, lately, the breakfast equivalent would probably have to be a huge bowl of plain yogurt drizzled with honey and sprinkled with trail mix--but the good kind, the ones with the yogurt and chocolate chips!  I'm salivating...but back on track! These are the little wonders in life-- the things that are just so full of goodness, it's absolutely unbearable! 

Today, I think I may have found the restaurant equivalent.

Cue the trumpets.  The Grounds of Alexandria, located in Building 7A/2 on Huntley St, Alexandria NSW 2015, is opened Monday-Friday, from 7am-4pm, and 7:30am-4pm on the weekends!

This place is just so full of sugar, spice and everything nice, it's practically radiating goodness and charm. 

They had little wagon carts outside filled with jars of jams that are made at a farm owned by The Grounds.  This cart also featured a large assortment of absolutely stunning desserts, and some delicious loaves of bread!  A word to the wise, definitely save some room in the belly for some dessert because you won't want to miss out on this...Or, I guess you could always just utilize that extra dessert pocket! Better yet, do both!

Another stall featured some yummy nuts!  If you know me, you probably know how excited this made me...

They were all roasted and beautifully flavored!  The flavors ranged from Madagascar cinnamon to Thai Lime and Chili!  I believe it was $5 for a small tub and $7 for a larger one that you could fill as you'd like!  You really can't go wrong with any of the flavors!

This stall featured fresh berries, fresh squeezed lemonade, and caramel apples.  It was a beautiful combination of fall and summer.

After spending a good amount of time perusing, we finally decided to head inside to order. Unfortunately, The Grounds of Alexandria gets extremely crowded during the lunch time rush, so my friend and I actually had no idea what was going on, nor did we ever really find out.  We ended up in a long line, and it wasn't until after we ordered did we realize that we had ordered a sandwich, but for takeout. Apparently, there's a separate line, and a list, that you have to get on to secure a table; nevertheless, the food was still good!  

I ordered a spiced chicken wrap with spicy mustard, arugula (which they call rockets here), tomatoes, and I can't quite remember what else was in it!  I do wish that there was more arugula and spicy mustard to balance out the fried chicken, but it was still really good!  And the takeout counter was bustling, so I'm sure that the quality of the meal would have been much better had we sat down!  Please don't judge my wrap for not being more put-together!  He just wanted me to hold him...I tend to have that effect on people.

After ordering and grabbing our sandwiches, we headed outdoors to seat ourselves!  Despite the crowd, seating is plentiful!  Overall, the chicken wrap wasn't anything amazing or out of the ordinary, but it was a rather large portion and very satisfying!  I'd have to say, the environment definitely made up for anything my chicken wrap was lacking!

After lunch, we paid Kevin Bacon a visit at his house.

Kevin Bacon is a pig, by the way.  And he's actually a pig that went missing a few days back!!

Kevin and Bradley, a goat, were actually kidnapped from The Grounds the other day!  Thankfully though, they were found in a nearby suburb!  I'm cracking up.

We then headed into the garden to look around the toolshed. 

They would have shelves filled with mason jars...

Apparently, The Grounds of Alexandria also has some amazing coffee that is roasted on location. Unfortunately, my taste buds have not matured enough to truly appreciate coffee and I therefore cannot vouch for that, but if the coffee is full of even half of the goodness The Grounds of Alexandria is, it's probably great.

Pay this place a visit!  If not for the food, do it for the environment, the mason jars, the wagons filled with nuts and jams.  If anything, do it for Kevin Bacon and his billy goat friend, Bradley!

Cheers,

Kimmy

Vegemite With My Buddy, Darth

I don’t know about you, but I have yet to meet someone who kind of likes or dislikes durian.  The same can be said about Justin Bieber, because that just happens to be the way life works sometimes.  Sometimes, there really is no grey; there’s no in between, and there’s no indifferent “meh” about it.  Sometimes, you just really love something, or you absolutely hate it, and instead of standing in the middle, you’re forced to pick a side.  So, which is it going to be?  Are you going to stand with your buddy Darth over there?  Or would you prefer Lukey Luke?  Good, bad, light, dark, like, dislike, love, hate—what’s it going to be?

I'm not exactly sure where I went wrong, but I've joined the Dark Side.  I can officially say that I like Vegemite.  

After spending a few months here in Aussieland, I figured that it was about time that I gave the infamous Australian spread a try, and so this morning, I did. Following the words of advice that I've been given time and time again from a few self-proclaimed Vegemite connoisseurs, I made sure to load the butter on thick, and to spread the Vegemite on thin--very, very, very, thin.  And then thicker, and thicker, and thicker.  I guess that's when I realized that I liked it.

To be honest, it kind of tastes like really salty soy sauce, and when used sparingly, it can actually be quite nice!  I've yet to try the spread with anything other than butter though, but I've heard that Vegemite and Cheese is a fairly popular combination.  They even have Vegemite and Cheese flavored chips here...I suppose it's the Australian equivalent of the classic American peanut butter and jelly? Speaking of peanut butter and jelly...a lot of Australians are actually living rather incomplete and unfulfilled lives... I've met more people here who haven't had a PB&J than people who have had one. It's mind blowing really, especially since a PB&J sandwich isn't one of those foods that you either love or hate.  You either love a PB&J, or you love a PB&J.  And that's that.

On that note, I have one more thing to say.  Come join the dark side, we have Vegemite.  I'm sorry, I just had to!

Cheers,

Kimmy