Going down 'south'!!!

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Originally uploaded by sub29.

This past weekend Becks and I went down 'south' for a long day trip. It was quite a journey for one day but it was worth it. First we stopped off at the chocolate factory, which is really just a shop at best. What's funny is that the shop is in the middle of nowhere. You're driving along, in "the bush", with no signs of civilization and then suddenly there's the chocolate factory...

We stopped off at one of the surfing beaches next. The waves were so much bigger than the ones close to Perth. There were a few people surfing so that was neat to watch. It seemed so tiring just getting out there. Pro surfers come down here for surfing competitions every year. That'll be really cool to watch. I reckon that I will have to check it out next year.

Next off to the winery. It was your usually winery except for this lemon tree. Oh that was exciting. I've decided that everyone should plant a lemon tree in their backyard. Does anyone know if they will grow in Canada's weather?? I have no idea but you should all try anyways. So when I come back, I'm expecting lemon trees from everyone...

Alright we were on a really tight schedule so had to keep going. Of course, we saved the best for last. The Ngilgi Caves!!! Even if we only went to these caves, it would've been worth it. Now sit back and allow me to tell you the story of these amazing caves, with some exaggeration of course...

It was a dark and stormy night when the sea forced it's way into the cave system. It created massive amounts force that was intolerable and caused the caves to collapse. Over thousands and thousands of years, the corrosive effects of water caused the underground limestones to either settle or slowly form decorations (limestone icicles as I like to call them). Some time down the line another collapse occurred and created the only entrance into these present caves.

Now fast forward to the present time and we are fortunate enough to venture down underground to check out these limestones. Oh such young lads, they are but 500, 000 years old...There are still so many years ahead of them. I can just sit there and watch these decorations grow 1mm/year or 1cm/decade.

These decorations are created when rain seeps through the soil, which together will form a weak acid. When the acid gets to the limestones, it dissolvs the calcium carbonate in the limestones. If there are holes, then the decorations may be created. Yay!!! It's incredible how strong these decorations are. I'm surprised that none have broken off naturally.

I'm walking around down there and it really does get quite difficult to breath. Also, the whole time I'm thinking that it's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic. Next time, I definitely want to do the explorative and strenuous tour.

Train till you drop!!!

As many of you know, I am obsessed about keeping myself physically active. Maybe it's more of a competitive thing because just going to the gym is not satisfying enough. I need external challenges, if you will. So I've joined the track club and have been training with them for a few weeks now. Most of the runners are professional runners and some professional footy players, so they are quite serious. It's quite refreshing training with people who are that much better than myself. It'll push me to be that much better. A lot of them are training for the commonwealth games next year. Other than training for sprints, I'm also starting to learn javelin. It's quite fun but very different, mechanically, from throwing a softball. I've set a few performance and training goals with the coach. One of them is losing a few kgs and becoming leaner by September. I'm posting this because than it's official and you can all keep me accountable...
I love all this hard core training routines, including getting up for 6am weight training on my only day off. We're starting a really tough training cycle tomorrow and I'm anticipating exhaustion like I've never felt before. It'll be great. I know for most of you it doesn't sound like fun but it's my sick addiction and I'm proud of it.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

mother's day pic
Originally uploaded by sub29.

I want to take this opportunity to wish all mothers a very happy mother's day. I really respect and admire all mothers, especially my own, for everything they have given up and all the support that I have received from them. I wish I was home right now to celebrate this day with my mom...In honour of this day I would like to ask everyone what they most admire about your mother?? For me, I love how my mom is always so full of life and not afraid of going after what she wants. She's caring and even though she worries about me a lot, she trusts me to experience everything that life has to offer. Thanks for supporting me to come to Australia and for everything I have done so far. You have helped me experience more things than most people have at my age. Thanks mom, I love you!!!

The Pinnacles

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Originally uploaded by sub29.

Yesterday I went to see these famous Pinnacles at one of many National Parks. It was a 4 hour drive north of Perth to get to the Pinnacle desert. I know they just look like massive limestone structures to you but if you think about how they were created, they are pretty awesome. They originally came from sea shells that were crushed into little fragments and then blown onto the inland by the winds, via sand dunes. These dunes looked like huge mountains of sand. It's a shame I didn't get a chance to sand surf. Oh well, something for next time. Anyways, where was I...Oh yeah...so when the rain pours, these lime fragments fall to the bottom level of the dunes and begin to cement together. Some limestone structures are stronger than others so when the rain pours and when vegetation grows over the dunes, the weaker limestones dissolve. Over time, the winds blow away the sand and leaf standing are these limestone pillars, called the Pinnacles. Pretty cool eh?? Now I can say that I've walked around in the desert. It's a good thing that the sun wasn't scorching hot because there was definitely no shade.

CONGRATS DC!!!

I just found out that DC received a job offer to teach in Japan for 1 year. Congrats girl!!! I'm so happy and excited for you. She's worked so hard to get this and I'm so proud of her. Many of my friends inspire me in different ways and DC inspires me to keep working hard for what I want. In the past, I have been guilty of not working as hard as I should, partly because I knew I could get away with it. However, for the first time in my life, I actually have doubts in my ability to suceed. I have never been challenged academically like I am now. Whenever I feel like this is too much to handle, I think about how hard she's working and it inspires me to keep going. We may not live 3 blocks away anymore but she somehow still keeps me going. She's one of my oldest friends and I wish I was home to celebrate with her...This is also exciting because now we'll soon be in the same time zone and relatively close. Now we just have to wait for L^2 to join us on this side of the world. Come on L^2, it'll be like old times except in an foreign country.