....now the party don't start, till I walk in....

Friday, January 22nd, 2010.

Countdown to LA: 1 day!!!

Countdown to Sydney: 12 days.

Wow. Time has flown so fast we don't even know what to do with ourselves anymore. It feels like forever ago we sat down with a list of themes, determined to find the best one for our goodbye party. When we settled on "Almost Famous", we weren't sure we'd be able to pull it off. Truthfully, everything we know from the late 60's/early 70's we learned from that movie (among a few select others). While it may not our era of choice for music, we learned that the clothing definately was!

The turnout was amazing, all of our closest friends came as well as a lot of people we hadn't had the chance to see in a while! Nothing like a going away party to reunite you with long lost friends!

With the cosumption of alcohol and the fact that we were leaving, we were positive the tears would be flowing along with the Champagne. Surprisingly though, we didn't shed too many tears!!! I still think it hasn't hit us yet, we are so focused on going to LA that it really just feels like an extended vacation. All that will change as it's our last night in Canada and there is still so much to do and so many goodbyes to be said.

That being said, I really should get back to packing. We will update from the airport in the am.

Perpetually dreaming,

Linds & Naz

....she's a brick.....Hooouuuusse.....

Tuesday, January 12th, 2009.
Countdown to LA: 11 days!
Countdown to Sydney: 22 days!

O-M-F-G!!! 11 days......eleven short, hectic days. Thats all we have left in Canada and we need to put our "house hunter" hats on. Our list of prerequisites has grown exponentially from our first blog post way back on the eve of Halloween. Since then we've discovered that our house MUST include the following:

-internal laundry
-2 bedrooms
-close to the city (and beach, and Uni and clubs and restaurants, etc....)
-on a high floor to deter bugs and spiders
-partially furnished
-under $600 per week (we will be starving students/driftes after all)
-in a "un-sketchy" part of Sydney
-NOT in a quote un-quote quiet neighborhood
-hot neighbors, preferably brothers (double preferably twins - only if we can tell them apart, if not, who cares? Its all fun)

So with this list in mind, we set out on ANOTHER search of the perfect apartment....so far, these are the top 2 contenders:

Apt #1:

Pros:
-furnished
-very pretty
-we LOVE the one red wall
-cheap ($575 per week)
-in the heart of the city
-2 floors

Cons:
-the bond is high (over $3000)
-the tiles in the kitchen (we plan to re-tile)
-the couch (but we can get a cover)

Apt #2:

Pros:

-the pullout couch

-close to the Uni

-downtown

Cons:

-theres someone lurking in our kitchen!!!

-high bond

Next step: finalizing our goodbye party on Saturday. There is soooo much to do!! We need to organizing the playlist, guestlist, drinks, decorations, drinks, costumes, food and drinks.....we promise to keep you updated on all the fun!! Did we forget to mention the theme??? It's "Almost Famous", think, hippies, woodstock, rockstars and band-aids.....2 words come to mind : Penny Lane....

Perpetually Dreaming,

Linds & Naz

...they'll name a city after us and later say its all our fault...

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010!!!!

Countdown to LA: 18 days.

Countdown to Sydney: 29 days.

Happy new year!

It all seems real now (as it should, only 18 days to go!). I think it really started to hit me after my family trip to the Dominican Republic. DR by the way was beautiful. The clear ocean, the white sand and time spent with my family. I got to go parasailing and swam in a real cave for the first time in my life. Not to mention started a pretty awesome base tan for the year ahead.

Now, the fear, anxiety and excitement has taken over. Anxiety mostly about the many many many things I have yet to do (apply for my visa, pack, open a new bank account, pack, get an OHIP letter, pack, buy a laptop, pack etc.). The fear of leaving everything familiar and secure that I've been around all my life and starting over from scratch. And the excitement that I'm finally doing what I have wanted to do for 23 years! Now, whoever said moving half way around the world was easy.....?

I've been getting sick, I keep hearing bad news, and everything is taking a lot longer than I thought. Everyday just seems like a bad day but I know it is completely worth it and that's what is getting me through it all. Though I must say I would be having a complete nervous breakdown right now (we're talking 5150s and strait jackets) if it weren't for Lindsay. She has to deal with my daily mini erratic breakdowns along with all the stress she's under. So I'm sorry and thanks for keeping me (relatively) sane Linds! Couldn't and wouldn't be doing this without ya <3>

Now its time for a new year and a new life. Luckily, we got to spend New Years Eve with some of our friends for the last time in who knows how long...

Some pics for your viewing pleasure:

This quote by Alan Cohen is what I will be taking with me into 2010:
"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power"

Sometimes perfection can be perfect hell, perfect.

Monday, December 28th, 2009
Countdown to LA: 26 days
Countdown to Sydney: 37 days

Oh…hey there blog. How have you been? Its been a while since we’ve talked. I know I know, we’ve been bad friends, we haven’t visited in a while. It’s no excuse, but we’ve been extremely busy lately. So as I sit in bed with a glass of merlot and my laptop, I’ll give you the lowdown on the last 2 weeks.

I guess we’ll start with the most important thing - Naz and I are reunited!! After 2 whole weeks of nausea-inducing withdrawal, we are officially back together where we belong! Naz will update you later on her trip to the Dominican but from the stories she’s told me, it was amazing!

Last time we spoke, I told you all about my procrastination and my impeding to-do list. Well, with the move date quickly approaching, I kicked my ass into high-gear and was actually efficient and productive. I used my lunch breaks at work to cross of 2 of the 3 tasks on my list! My visa is processing as we speak and I have officially (and finally) filed my taxes! The license is a different story but I’m working on it.

Naz had a mini freak-out with her visa, as they won’t let her apply for it until she’s paid her tuition (which she hasn’t) so she has to wait till Jan 4th when her school reopens from the holidays to apply. Apparently it only takes 2-3 days so (fingers crossed) we’re in the clear.
Our agenda for this week includes: making appointments to get our tattoos, packing, and figuring out the most economical way for us to transport all of our shit from Canada to Australia. On top of that, we’re working everyday, it’s New Years Eve and we have a late Christmas dinner with all of our girls tomorrow night. We’ll update you on that later!

Well, that’s it for now. I promise to be a better friend to you in the future, we will never go that long without speaking ever again! Oh and did I forget to mention - we leave in 26 days?!?!?! Where DOES the time go??

Perpetually Dreaming,
Linds & Naz

No Shirt, No Worries, No Problems

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009.

Countdown to LA: 38 days.

Countdown to Sydney: 49 days.

Ahhh....winter....how I love thee. The warm feeling I get when my car haphazardly skids off the road, sliding into a guard rail and subsequently making me feel like an idiot - is unlike any other. I love it when I lose all feeling in my extremities and the snow falling ruins my freshly blowdried hair.

Scratch that - I actually loathe it. I despise winter more than I thought humanly possible. It was the sole reason I moved to Florida for a year, and it is the driving force behind my impending move to Aussieland.

But, let's not spend this post discussing the downfalls of -20 degree weather. Instead - I'm going to go to my happy place. Today my happy place is Cancun. This time last week, I was lounging on the beach, margarita in hand, amazed at how wonderful life can be. My own personal heaven. So I thought I'd share my memories of said heaven with you, and show you photographic evidence.

For 8 beautiful days and 7 funfilled nights I lazily enjoyed the sun, sand and surf (well not so much surf) that Cancun has to offered. I took a boat ride to Isla Mujeres (a beautiful island off the coast of Cancun), did Yoga on the beach and ate and drank way too much. I went snorkelling at Xel Ha, an ecological waterpark with Mayan Caves, cenotes and grottos. It was an amazing expire I will never forget. Most importantly - I got to spend time with my mom and nephew before I move to the other side of the world. That quality time was much needed and much appreciated.

Naz is still in the Dominican and I am patiently waiting her arrival. But for now, I am mainly jealous of her and that she's in her heaven today, while I rot away in my own personal hell (winter).

Perpetually Dreaming (about the beach!),

Linds

Aussie Land

Sundey, December 13th, 2009.
Countdown to LA: 41 days.
Countdown to Sydney:52 days.

So, first things first….I’m coooold! Right about this time last week I was lying on a beach, drinking lime margarita after lime margarita and thinking about how fantastic life is. That was Cancun, in Canada - life’s a little more difficult. Friday morning, my plane lands to fantastic -17 degree whether and I thought “THIS is exactly the reason why I need to move to Australia”. That being said, I have now entered panic mode.

Someone asked me today when I’m moving and I told them the same date I’ve been repeating to myself for months - January 23rd. But for some reason, today that date seemed so much closer than usual. My to-do list is still a mile long and I’ve been procrastinating like its going out of style. In typical fashion, I’ve compiled a thorough list of what needs to be done, how to do it and when it needs to be completed by. Will I actually complete anything at the rate I’m going now? The answer is a big fat no. So I’m giving myself a proverbial kick in the ass and stepping things up. I’m working on a week-by-week basis here to make my life less complicated.

Numero uno on my list for this week: get my damn work visa. I already completed the first half of this task back in October, so now its just a matter of handing in the final paperwork, purchasing my health insurance and voila! - task completed! Task number 2: renew my drivers license. This is relatively simple so it shouldn’t take long but with me you never really know. The last thing on my list for the week is to get my taxes done. Yes I know they were supposed to be done last spring but, as I have already admitted earlier, I procrastinate. So now I will be spending my lunch hour on Tuesday at my local H&R Block getting them filed.

So that’s my week, I promise things get more interesting as the weeks progress. We need to plan our goodbye party, shop for luggage and get tattoos. Much more fun stuff to come! Not to worry, we’ll tell you ALL about it every step of the way!

In the meantime, while I spend my week freezing my ass off and working, Naz is in Punta Cana having a lime margarita (or Mama Juana) for me.

Pertpeutally Dreaming,
Linds

Thursday, December 10 2009. 4:43 pm.
Countdown to LA: 44 days.
Countdown to Sydney: 55 days.

My other half, Lindsay, has been in Cancun for a week now. In her absence we have seen the first snowfall of the year here in Toronto--a snow storm no less!-- and the precipitation from the sky has not stopped. She returns at midnight however, and I will be leaving for the Dominican tomorrow. Is the last day before a week long beach vacay suppose to go so wrong? It started with not being able to sleep for a few nights now and my horoscope this morning saying I would not be as "successful" as I want to be and that I have to "fake it to make it today". That's probably referring to my first day on the floor at PINK which went horribly, horribly awry in the first 10 minutes. Apparently I have problems engaging customers because I do not believe in harassing them! No wonder I've never done retail before. I somehow made it through my shift with my fake it to make it motto until they told me to go home early possibly due to poor sales. Nevertheless, I was grateful to be outta there. Maybe in the week I have off I will learn to sell, sell, sell!

I now have some unpleasant errands to run for my trip (ladies, two words: waxing appointment) and packing left to do until I'm dealing with a sunburn instead of frost bite. Looking forward to the change! When I get back we will be in the 30s for our countdown to LA and Sydney, where I am hoping for a more permanent sun burn.

Perpetually Dreaming,
Naz

p.s. Lindsay, come back! We miss you and life's just not the same when you're gone! Don't forget to tell us all about your trip!

Snap Happy

Thursday, November 26th, 2009. 10:37

Countdown to LA: 58 days.

Countdown to Sydney: 69 days.

Confession - Naz and I are sloppy drunks. Not in a clothes coming off, making out with each other, falling down in the street way(save for a few special occasions). No no, we keep it classy. We are sloppy in the sense that we lose and break things when we're drunk.

Case in point #1: In August, Naz had cousins visiting from LA. We took them to Century Room, got completely wasted, and I broke the screen on my camera. It works, but I can't see the pictures until I upload them. This makes for an entertaining morning-after, when we reminisce over the nights event we don't remember...

Case in point #2: Halloween night, Naz and I are out with our friends wandering Church St. At some point in the night, we were happily taking pictures with her camera. We don't know when, where or how it happened, but Naz woke up the next morning sans her camera. Frustrating since she NEVER brings it out with her and only did due to my aforementioned broken camera.

This leads us to the topic of this post....we need new cameras! We are moving out of the country in T-58 days and don't have the proper means to document it!!! We are therefore using our blog as an outlet to weigh the pros and cons of the top contenders.

To help us make our decision, we are narrowing the list based upon price (we are on a budget) and a few "must-have" features. For simplicity's sake, I'm keeping it between Nikon and Canon. These are my 2 favorite, tried and true brands (yes - I've been through my fair share of picture takers). So far, here are the top 3:

Canon SD780 IS - $219.00:

This badboy is surprisingly cheap for all that it offers (christmas sales anyone??) and truth be told, its already the frontrunner. It offers 3x zoom, 12.1 megapixels and a 2.5 inch LD Display. It comes with a staggering 18 different shooting modes including: long shutter, sunset, ISO 3200, colour swap and beach setting. Plus it's cute, small and has a variety of colours for the fashionably-minded to chose from.

Canon Powershot SX120 IS - $229.00:

This camera is geared towards someone wanting a little more creative control with their photography. It has 10x zoom, 10 megapixels and a 3 inch LD Display. With settings such as "AV Aperture-Priority", (which allows you to isolate a subject) and "TV Shutter-Priority" (allowing you to select the shutter speed to blur action), you always maintain control with the outcome of the picture.

Nikon Coolpix S570 - $199.00:

This camera is a handy little camera, boasting 12 megapixels and 5x zoom. It has 6 shooting modes (including portrait, close-up and landscape) as well as vibration reduction and best shot selector.

When you've gone through as many cameras as I have, you start to wonder...."is it worth it to pay a little more so it will last longer?" But knowing my drinking habits, it is most definately NOT worth it. I will probably break the damn thing 14 months and you'll see another blog post comparing models. I'll let you know which one I chose, but in the meantime, feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Perpetually dreaming,

Linds

"...these streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you..."

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009. 11:44 am
Countdown to LA: 59 days.
Countdown to Sydney: 70 days.

Phew! What a trip! Naz and I spent the weekend taking in the sights and sounds of New York City. I hadn't been to NYC in almost 4 years, so I had to reacquaint myself with the Big Apple. We also discovered a few things:

1) A weekend is not enough time for all the sights in NYC

2) We are truly, utterly and completely obsessed with the city

3) We need to move there STAT!

Now, I've said it before and I'll say it again - Naz and I are heterosexual lifepartners. In saying this I mean, that we are so alike, so cosmically connected that if I didn't know any better, I'd think she was me. Which leads to our "dirty little secret"...Naz and I did NOT plan on going to NYC together. We planned these trips separately and just so happened to be there at the same time. Even when we try to do things apart, we still somehow end up together!

In the 2 days we were there, we took in many of the beloved New York sights:
-Central Park
-MoMA (specifically the opening weekend of the new Tim Burton exhibit)
-The New York Public Library
-The Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island
-The Empire State Building
-Bryant Park
-The Met
-Rockefeller Centre

We had such a great time in New York, we've decided its the next stop on our world tour (after Sydney of course). Naz, Steph and I (aka The Holy Trinity) have decided to spend summer 2011 in Manhattan. Spending the days tanning in Central Park and the nights partying in the city that never sleeps....

Perpetually Dreaming,
Linds & Naz