web-goddess

50 Foodie Things to Do in Sydney. By my pathetic count, I’ve only crossed six of these off the list so far. We did the DJ’s Food Hall thing for my birthday on my first visit to Australia; we ate at Bennelong for my birthday in 2002 (though I don’t think it was “Guillaume’s” yet). We’ve recently discovered the A.C. Butchery in World Square (and, in fact, had their pork, fennel, and chili sausages for dinner tonight). I ate my first Sydney Rock Oyster on Valentine’s Day last year, and I’ve had a couple of beers at The Australian (plus more than a few Scharer’s at the Broadway Cafe around the corner from our flat). And though I haven’t been to the Wellington Cake Shop, Raelee brought us a kugelhopf into work recently and it was DIVINE. Next on the list: Tetsuya’s on October 8 with Amy.

Oh, and just WHY do I have the sudden urge to box? Because we saw Kung Fu Hustle Friday night and it kicked ten kinds of ass. Seriously, if it’s playing anywhere near you – and you have no aversion to ass-kicking – GO SEE IT. Ebert described it as “Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meet Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny;” the Snook and I described it to friends as “Jackie Chan plus Monkey plus Kill Bill.” There’s a ton of violence, but most of the really gruesome stuff happens off-screen. At one point – the bit with the snakes – I slapped my hands to my face to cover my silent screams of laughter and shock only to look over and realize that the Snook was doing the exact same thing. I also found myself wiggling in my seat and punching the air, which I only do in really good fight scenes. (For example: the Obi-Wan/Darth Maul light sabre battle in Phantom Menace did it for me; none of the fight scenes in Gladiator did.) I also lost it during the Shining homage, and the direct quotation of Spider-Man (albeit in Chinese). Seriously, you should go see it. Especially my sister, as unbeknownst to her she possesses the secret of the Lion’s Roar.

Anyone ever done boxing? I’m actually – *GULP* – thinking of trying out Boxing Works tomorrow night. They’ve got a trial offer of a week for $20. Might as well, eh? I’ll probably collapse.

Later: Drat. They suggest I do one of the “foundation” classes first just to make sure I don’t kill myself by punching incorrectly. So my heavyweight career is on hold til Thursday night…

Remember that fatty-boom-batty breakfast we had at Una’s yesterday? In a lovely bit of foodblog coincidence, Grab Your Fork went there this very morning and photographed the Snook’s exact breakfast. Can’t you just smell the rosti?

What’s your Cheese Profile? Okay, that’s officially the stupidest quiz ever. None of the answers for “What do you like best about your job?” remotely applied to me, nor do the types of car I drive. So I just made them up. And guess what? I’m “The Family Wo(Man)”, whatever that means. Shockingly, they do not list cottage cheese with my cheese profile. Instead I get Cheddar, Colby, Colby Jack, Havarti, Monterey Jack, and Swiss. You know, I like all of those, but all this stupid quiz did was mind me that you can’t get Colby Jack or Monterey Jack in Australia, and now I’m all frustrated. Thanks, American Dairy Association.

If any of you Southerners are thinking of going to Dragon*Con in Atlanta next month… you totally should, if only because you can then say “hi” to my good friend (and Farscape alum) Raelee Hill, and it would blow my mind that you paid money to go to a sci-fi convention to meet someone I work with three times a week. And tell her you’re a friend of mine. 🙂

So ND Australia has officially opened its office… about 50m around the corner from my house. Seriously, it’s like the Fates have decreed that I should always live within easy distance of a Notre Dame campus. It still blows my mind that they’re here. The office even has pictures of students frollicking in front of the Golden Dome. It’s weird.

Anyway, after a fatty-boom-batty (but oh so delicious) breakfast at Una’s this morning, we stopped in at the ND office to have a peek. We were greeted by a nice Australian lady named Susannah. I explained that I was an actual US Notre Dame graduate and that I lived in the neighbourhood. She gave us some details on their progress – everything’s in place for a February 2006 semester start; Father Beauchamp is in town helping out; etc. I asked nonchalantly if there were any employment opportunities available. “Oh, are you interested in lecturing?” she asked. EEK! She actually gave me the contact information for the Dean of the Arts College so I could talk to him about it. While I was chatting to her, the Snook was looking over some of the brochures and information sheets they had available. “Holy crap,” he said. “You have to see the tuition costs.” Expecting something comparable to the US tuition (which is astronomical), I picked up the sheet only to see a full-time yearly cost of $5000. That’s Australian dollars. Plus degrees here only last three years, so for a full Notre Dame degree you’re looking at approximately $11,400 US. HOW INSANE IS THAT? It’s only slightly more than you’d pay at a public university in Australia. Since it’s private, students are not eligible for HECS, but there is a government loan scheme that all students can get. (Me: “You mean they don’t care how much money your parents make? They don’t make you jump through hoops and sign your life away? You don’t have to pay any of it back until you’re making $36,000 a year?”) So now I’m actually thinking about… maybe going back to school. Currently the only postgrad course they have is a Masters of Education, but they’re planning to add more. Plus they have a BA in Communication, specializing in computers and the internet. How sweet would that be? I just don’t know if they’d let me do it though, given that I already have a BA. (Can you do more than one?) My head is whirling right now.

Extra has a teaser trailer for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Man, I am developing such a crush on Daniel Radcliffe as Harry. (Link courtesy of Kevin.)