Monday Morning

Good Morning beautiful people!

I'm on my 5th day of recovery and feeling great. Saturday proved to be a turning point for me having been fed up with several days of immobility. I cured my cabin fever and went out with my wonderful Dad for a couple hours. He's great. Yesterday, I used my crutches to get out of bed but other than that I was walking on my own. It was a great feeling. Last night my great friend Lindsey took me out for a date. We went to Wegman's for sushi and then the movies to see Taken 2. I am still too weak to take on an excursion like this crutch-less. In fact, I took advantage of the scooter carts at Wegman's, something I've always wanted to do. Those things are powerful and FUN!

For anyone considering seeing Taken 2 I would like to give it a movie review for you:
First, I'd advise you to watch the first Taken a few days before you see the second one just to remind yourself of how amazing it is plus, they make a lot of references to the first one in the second one so it will make more sense if you refresh your memory. I would give Taken 2 4 out 5 stars. The action scenes were awesome and the suspense was the best part. However, the story line was good but a bit sappy if I might say so myself. All in all, it was still a great movie and I would recommend going to see it.

Anyway, I've got today and tomorrow to rest up and re cooperate until I go back to my apartment at school and then start up class again on Wednesday. On Friday I have my follow-up appointment with my surgeon and I will find out when I can start physical therapy and see what happens from there! As of now I'm in good spirits and making the best of my recovery process.

peace, love and healthfulness
~mrlb

Don't be afraid to get lil wet :)

No smooth sea.

Would you believe me if I told you I worked up a sweat by hobbling around my kitchen for 20 minutes?
At least the time of day goes by quickly because it takes me forever to do one simple task.
I'm sick of staring at the TV screen, the computer screen, my iPhone screen.
Am I going crazy?.. I hope not.
Today has been really tough. I'm getting cabin fever sitting up in this house, especially because it was such a beautiful day outside. I did hang out on the deck for a few moments, that was nice.
Luckily I've been up and moving which is a good thing but the pain that comes with it sucks! I don't want to take my pain meds any more because they have the worst side effects and make me feel no pain in my knee/leg, but just give me a woozy feeling.
The whole process takes a lot more energy than I thought. I mean obviously its physically enduring but just trying to stay strong mentally and emotionally is a task on its own. Luckily I have some awesome people that have helped me get through the day :)
So what I've learned today is that I never want to take, doing a simple task effortlessly, for granted. And also, just my health in general. Sometimes we abuse our bodies without even realizing it just because we've adapted to that sort of abuse which is pretty messed up if you think about it. Be nice to your body or it will take you down, as I have learned.
Positive vibes, positive vibes...
~mrlb

a road to recovery, health & happiness.

At one time, not so long ago, this was my travel blog, where I expressed all my worldly adventures and experiences of my summer abroad. Upon my arrival back to the States, I thought about what exactly I wanted to do with this blog. I knew I did not want to discontinue it, as I have had much fun sharing my experiences and expressing myself through this medium. I figured though I would be back home, I would still be going on some fascinating adventures, just domestically. I knew these would not be as exciting as my previous excursions through the west coast, on down under to Australia and in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in Fiji but like I said, I really enjoy blogging!

Unfortunately, my aspirations of continuing a local travel blog came to a crashing halt when I was injured at the end of August. The thing I looked forward to most about coming home was getting myself back in shape and back in the game of Ultimate Frisbee. Despite having such an incredible experience overseas, there were a few burdens I carried back to the states with me. Number one, was the large hole I burned in my pocket while abroad. I certainly made sure that I lived it up and didn't hold back while I was gone... Not one single penny! Oh wait, they don't have pennies in Australia, okay okay, not one single dollar (even worse)! I don't regret this part of my experience, however, I do wish I had approached my financial situation in a different manner.

The second burden I brought back with me was several unwanted kilos. There are endless excuses I could make to justify my poor health decisions but like I said, I wasn't going to hold back and I do not regret it. Having realized this, of course I jumped right back into action the moment I was over my jet-lag. Sadly I took a leap that my brain was ready for but my body wasn't. Literally.

In my very first game of casual ultimate frisbee with my friends back in the US, I tore my ACL. Initially  I was devastated.  How could the only thing I wanted since coming home be ripped away from me like this? How would I ever get back in shape? How would I ever get back to regular body size? How will I ever be involved in my last year of Ultimate Frisbee at MY COLLEGE?!

Let me remind you that this was over 6 weeks ago, and I have since come to a much more positive outlook on my situation. No longer will this be the travel blog that it started as. I am now changing it to my stationary blog. Because being stationary, is not a bad thing. Had my injury not taken place, I would never of had a chance to reflect on my transition back to the United States. I would never have been given an opportunity to look at the life I have been living through out my college years and realize what I don't like about it and how I want to change it. Yes there are things that I will now have to miss out on, such as playing the sport that I love with the team that I love. But that doesn't mean I can't be involved. In fact, I am now holding an off-field leadership position. I am investing all of my energy into my team itself, not myself and the team.

As for my actual health status, it's going to be loooooong journey... wait, what? I thought this was a stationary blog!

Well yeah, I am physically stationary at the moment but I must keep moving forward mentally and emotionally, in order to stay strong throughout this hardship. I now must watch my diet, something I have NEVER in my entire life had to do. I've always enjoyed multiple stops at WaWa each week and never even through twice about it. Another way I plan on taking charge of my health is by settling down from partying. I realized as much fun as you can have partying, I've had enough of it... And I'm not even 21! I have the rest of my life to party. For now, I'm focusing on getting healthy and finishing out my senior year of college with a clear mind.

Our lives move at such a fast pace, many people, including myself, don't take the time to look around and find out what truly makes them happy. Well I'm not putting up with it any more. I'm living my life at my own pace and doing what's best for me.

So here's to my stationary journey, a road to recovery, health & happiness. This blog may not be as exciting as its origin but I'm pretty sure at least my mom will read it. And for anyone else who does, please feel free to give any positive advice that you may have :) I appreciate any input from the amazing people in my life.

Peace & love
~mrlb

Final Days in Sydney, Australia

Wow.. I've really slacked on the blog game for the last couple weeks of my time away. I was really getting in the mindset to live out my last couple weeks and nothing else was of importance. I do not plan on discontinuing my travel blog now that I have returned home. I hope to keep my adventures going throughout the year, even it's not as fabulous as Australia.

Since its been so long since my last post, there is a lot to talk about. After my weekend in Newcastle, I was fending off a cold pretty hard. I had been to the chemist about 4 different times and finally found some cold medicine that seemed to do the trick. During the week at work, I got to  attend a networking event (Women in Global Business) on behalf of my supervisor and networked with some other global business women. I heard from a panel of really experienced and intelligent business leaders.

Over the weekend I went all over Sydney. On Thursday a bunch of the interns went out to Kings Cross and danced as usual. It seems as though when we go out, even if a pub/club is kind of lame, us Americans sort of take over and always make it a good time. Friday was probably my laziest day  ever. I stayed in bed pretty much all day and didn't leave Park Lodge until about 10 pm. I was busy writing my final paper for my internship. I went out with Kayla to a German pub called Lowenbrau. We had huge jugs of German beer but ended up separated when she left with her friends from work and I stayed with my mate Simon. After heaps of dancing Simon and I ended up at Chinatown with a group of mates for a late night feast. The restaurant had these fish tanks filled with giant sea creatures. I felt bad because they were so over sized and crammed into tanks.

 After a long night I said my final goodbye to Simon, because he had to leave for Perth for some airforce duty and by the time he would return I would no longer be in Australia. On Saturday Kayla and I went on a cruise tour. We boarded a boat and set out of Goat Island. We were guided around the island and learned some wonderful Sydney history. Goat Island is where the first convicts were dropped off. It is just a small island and has sort of an eerie vibe too it. It's not open to the public, besides the tour. We had an Aussie barbie lunch and chatted with some nice people. After the tour we went to the Rocks market and had some coffee and macaroons. I had one that tasted like a rose. We also got to see how lollies, a traditional Aussie candy, are made. It was a fun-filled day!

View from Goat Island

Making 'lollies'

On Sunday I went to the Aroma Fest with Kayla at the Rocks. It was a lot of fun. There was so much food and drink! We got stuffed up with some really tasty stuff (Chips and dip, coffee, chocolate shot, corn on the cob, pavlova) yummmm. 

Aroma Fest

The next week at work was my last full week. It was very bittersweet. I worked very hard to finish out all my projects. I'm very proud of what I accomplished over my internship and all the professional experienced I gained. I now have confidence to graduate school with the ability to thrive in a professional working environment. My last week I was busy getting ready for our Economists Event. On Thursday we held the Economic Roadshow where I heard from a panel of Australian Economists about emerging markets and the future for Australia's economy. I love hearing different perspectives of internationalization and international business. It is so cool to hear other point of views than that of American's and compare and contrast them. After a long night I went to bed early to rest up for perhaps my biggest day yet.

On Friday (my last Friday in Sydney) I got up at the crack of dawn with Kayla to set out for SKYDIVING! We were picked up in the CBD and taken to Wollingong, a small beach town just south of Sydney. When we arrived there was a lot of waiting around before we could gear up. I literally had to shut my mind OFF, in order to avoid the intensive nervousness. Once it was our turn to gear up, there was literally no time to think at all. We were shuttled to the airport and hopped in a plane. I thought we were high at 5,000 feet but we still had 9,000 more to go. At 14,000 feet I would be the first one to jump out of the plane. My tandem guy was like "ok ready" and barley squeaked out "yes" and he goes "okay ready, one, two...... oh wait i'm not ready!" what a jerk... Finally we did it. I jumped out of a plane at 14,000 feet! WOAH!! The free fall was a bit rough, because you're falling so fast your eyes water, mouth dries out, and skin sort of burns but you love it because you are flying. Once the shoot opened up it was the most amazing feeling I've ever felt. I was free falling through the sky, floating, flying. My tandem guy goes "Welcome to my office". I was at a loss for words. All I could feel was freedom, all I could see was beach, ocean, land. When my feet touched the ground I felt like a new person.

For my last weekend, I had decided with a group of people to stay in a hostel at Bondi Beach. It was a great decision. On Saturday afternoon I went with Becca, Cole and Danny to our hostel. We put all 3 bunkbeds together to make one giant fort. We went out to a romantic full-moon dinner at Hurricanes.  A lot of people from Park Lodge arrived to join us for the evening even though they weren't staying in Bondi with us. We went to out to Hotel Bondi and had good fun! It was a big one all of us. Sunday morning, Cole woke me up to watch the beautiful sunrise over the beach. It was perfect! Afterwards we went back to sleep until check-out. We ate breakfast along Bondi beach and then spent the day in the sun and sand. We headed back to Park Lodge in the late afternoon and I got ready to meet up with Nonnie for dinner. We went to the Australian Hotel to try their famous Kangaroo Pizza. It was quite tasty!  It was like a cross betweek steak and pork, tough but salty and delicious! 

Full Moon over Bondi

Becca and Cole playing in our Hostel

Sunrise over Bondi Beach

Monday was my last day at the ECA which was very bittersweet. I was glad to have accomplished success at my internship but it was hard to leave such an amazing experience with wonderful people! On my last day I finalized some work, met a new intern- Selwin from Amsterdam- who would be replacing me in a sense, and taught him the ropes. The ECA team took us out to lunch to Yum Cha, a traditional Australian/Asian dining experience. During the afternoon I met with my supervisor Lisa, for final evaluation/feedback. I said my goodbyes and hope to keep in touch with everyone I've met in the future!
Tuesday was my last day in Sydney :( I packed up most of my things in the morning and then set out for breakfast at Frames, my favorite cafe. After, I head into downtown Sydney for the last time and walked around the Opera house. For dinner, I went out to a Turkish place with my house-mate Danny from West Virginia. It wasn't long after dinner I was saying my final good-byes to the rest of my house-mates and getting to bed early for just a few hours to sleep before my 3:30 am departure to the airport....
It was very hard to say goodbye to my life in Sydney but I knew it had to be done. Instead of being upset about leaving such a beautiful city and amazing new friends, I decided to be happy to have had an unforgettable experience that I can take with me in memory and value for the rest of my life.

Lovin' what I'm livin' with

Just another Thursday night at the Park Lodge Hotel

Adventures of Oz

Hola Amigos.. I mean.. G'day mates. I'm entering the final stretch of my time here in Australia and I don't even believe it! I have learned more than I could ever imagined I would about all different aspects of life including culture, communication, personality, professionalism and so much more! For any of you reading that are considering an experience like mine, weather it be an internship or study abroad program I highly recommend it. This unique experience has made me a more well-rounded individual and it's not even over yet. There has been some challenges along the way but I feel over coming them has made me a stronger person. 

Having gone through this program with a large group of students I was able to see how other people overcame their struggles as well. Some people started off homesick and were resistant to adjusting to a new environment. I, however, was not one of these people as I embraced my new environment entirely and took it on as an fascinating, exciting new experience. Although I've had my bad days where I just miss home, I never really felt home sick... until now. I think that the people who were resistant to adjusting [short term] to a new environment were able to adapt [long term] quite well. I was able to adjust but am now having some difficulty adapting long term. 

I feel as if my environment and circumstances were slightly different this may not be. I cannot complain about my experience what-so-ever as it has been, literally, a dream of mine come true. However, I can say that I now GREATLY appreciate the benefits and conveniences that I've been blessed with back home. Not that I didn't appreciate this before, but after nearly 3 months of small, shared living space, public transportation and very limited wardrobe options, I've realized how good I've got it back home. If I had not been fighting an on-going flu and/or allergies and maybe had my own living space, I reckon I'd gladly stay in Australia a great while longer. But since that's not the case, I'm counting down the days until I return to home sweet home.

As far as this past weeks activities I've had to 'slow my roll' due to the on-going under the weather condition I've been in. Last Monday I attended an Australian Rugby League game (see video post below). It was a CRAZY experience. Many Australians would say it's a 'bogan' game- refering to white trash. I guess you would compare it to Nascar in the states? But that wasn't even the best part!.. The game was super competitive and the underdogs (Souths) took the win in the last 30 seconds of the game.

And you thought a pint of Ben & Jerry's was expensive at your local 7-11?

Just a car blowing up...

Sydney Roosters v. South Sydney Rabbitohs

Fans rushing to the field after an epic win!

Mates at the Game

Throughout the rest of the week I just tried to rest up for a big weekend. Thursday night Patricia, Keri and I hit up this fab dinner called Pancakes on the Rocks. Best pancakes ever... put us all in a food coma.

On Friday I set out for Newcastle with my best Aussie mate Simon. I joined him on an adventure to this north beach town to visit his mates. It was awesome to get out of Sydney and see another new place. Newcastle was like a cross between West Chester and the Jersey Shore, where most of the night-life and other excitement took place on a few square blocks but it was right on the harbor, by the ocean. 

When we arrived on Friday we checked into a sweet hotel and hung out in town. We went to a bar called Honeysuckle which was right on water and I met all Simon's mates and we talked about all our 'great ideas' that would probably never get anywhere. Then we went out to a few clubs and had a dance with some funky people. Check the lady with the purple hair...

sweet hair

Just petting a camel..

Just riding a bike..

Saturday Simon and I went on a Hunter Valley Wine tour, about an hour inland of Newcastle. We visited 5 different wineries, some commercial, some boutique. It was beautiful and I saw so many wild kangaroos, but I was the only one on the bus that got excited about it. We shared a bus with a birthday party so we toured with a bunch of local Newcastle chicks. They were very entertaining. We ended up back at the hotel around 6 took a power nap and headed out on the town again. This time, we got to hang out with a cow... Ah, the adventures of Newcastle.

Hunter Valley Winery

We threw in a beer tasting as well

So pretty, I wonder what it looks like in summer!

Simon & I

@ Fanny's

 a cow..?

The view from hotel balcony

On Sunday we hit up the hotel breakfast buffet (amazing) and then headed back to Sydney. It was a great weekend with awesome new people. But it's been hard to get back into the work week after. This week I had another article posted to my company's forum.Check it out! 

 Okay I'm done now. 

PEACE AND LOVE TO ALL.

~mrlb

And the crowd goes wild

South Sydney Rabbitohs score in the last 30 seconds and the underdogs take the win!