birthday/bon voyage!

this saturday (the 20th) was my going away and birthday combo bbq! it was perfect. the weather, all my friends and family, the food, and my AMAZING beautiful cake! and my floating remote control shark... WHAAAAt. i had seriously the best time ever and i am so so thankful to everyone who came and those who couldn't come but i knew were thinking of me that day. i also had an amazing birthday day which was sunday the 21st. my friends from TO and i all went downtown and sat on a patio and had some apps and a cider. we just walked around the market enjoying each other's company and the sunshine. after a while, amy, alex and victoria decided to start the drive home to beat the traffic, so we said goodbye which made me sad because it is the last time i'll see them for a while! alex is planning a trip to se asia in the wintertime, so hopefully we will be able to meet up, and amy is thinking of coming to australia in the new year so that would be ideal! so they hit the road after a lot of epic hugs <3 

my flying remote controlled shark, frank!

me and my birthday cake

all of my beautiful friends

my lovely family!

cake closeup - tasted as good as it looked!

tilley hat my mom got me and everyone signed :)

amy, myself and ness downtown for lunch on my birthday

then it was russell, ness and i left just walking down the street when we saw a sign in a local tattoo shop window. friendship infinity tattoos $50 per person, minimum 3 people. we just looked at each other and were like, yup thats happening! me and russ were super down for it, but ness was a bit nervous because her mum had basically told her that if she gets a tattoo that she is in big trouble.. so we went next door to urban outfitters to walk around and contemplate the decision and this happened: 

this is actually the coolest photo booth i've been in because after it prints out (three sheets so we each got one!), you get a code to go on the website and then you can share it on all the social media channels! it is really smart thinking on urban outfitters' part, and the ad geek in me got super stoked when i saw it :P it also records a video of you in the booth.. so funny!

so ness decided that she was gonna do it, and i was sooo pumped! we were talking about different places that we should get the tattoo done, and after some consultation with our artist dave, we decided on the back of our elbows. she got it on her right and i got it on my left so when we stand beside each other they are on the same side :) russ got his on his ankle and it looks RAD everyone go to Ink City next time you're looking for some new ink. dave is an amazing artist and a really cool guy. #tinytats 

two elbows and a foot! finished product

nessie's first tat!

russ doesn't look so impressed

wicked

besties 

all in all, it was an amazing birthday, and i feel so lucky to have shared the weekend with so many of my family and friends! i had an amazing time, and got lots of great pics that i'm going to print and bring with me so i can look at them when i get sad! 

speaking of pictures actually, on tuesday this week, mckenzie and jess from my work took me to the photo studio to get portraits done for my birthday! we pretty much didn't plan poses or anything, but they turned out so amazing! the one where we were all stacked was a  joke because we saw one with a dad, mum and child posed like that and thought it would be hilarious, but it actually turned out to be one of my faves! excuse the fuzziness, i just took photos of photos on my webcam haha

 ... i love my friends hahahaa

ok so i have enough for about 5 more posts but i won't continue blabbing haha i will write again on the weekend maybe. theme: surfing. 

i'll leave it at that for now :) thanks again to everyone for an amazing birthday weekend, i love you allllll!!!!!

soph xo

if i were any more organized...

... i could probably run a travel agency. but seriously, i just spent 2 hours going through all of my crazy army supplies, dividing into a 'take' pile, a 'leave behind' pile, and a 'if i have room i'll take' pile. unfortunately, the six bags of glow sticks didn't make the cut. although i took three of each colour (blue and green) the rest i plan on using next weekend at my bbq :)

i organized two of my drawers into categories: toiletries and random other stuff. i put things in my carry-on bag already like my toothbrush and toothy tabs to brush my teeth since i'll be travelling for 24 hours. some kleenex, my travel pillow and blanket, my medication i'm bringing including photocopies of each prescription as well as the pharmacy receipts. i included my crank flashlight, emergency blanket, signal mirror and whistle in case of any emergency situations. as i wrote previously in another post i'm not nervous about flying, but this is the longest trip i've ever been on so i just want to make sure i'm super prepared for any situation that might come my way!  

it is getting a little bit crazy though... i mean, i put all of my documents (passport, international drivers permit, photocopies of prescriptions, confirmation pages printed out for flights and hostel etc.) into a friggin waterproof plastic zip bag in my carry on! i suppose it is all good to have everything together and organized, but i think i'm using this as a way to deal with my anxiety and nervousness a little bit lol if nothing else, this trip has definitely helped me realize my control freak-ish tendencies! i can't control everything that's going to happen to me in aus, but i can control my belongings, what i bring, and how it is all packed and organized. i know i sound like a nut, but it's really helping me to feel better about everything. i only have a few more things to do and then i'll be ready to go, so it's nice to not have to run around like a chicken without my head only a few days before i leave! i'll be able to relax and make the most of the last few days with my friends and family instead of doing last minute errands :)

i know that no one cares about all of this mundane stuff, but i enjoy documenting my process of getting all ready for this trip, and i think it helps me to take note of it and express my feelings into the world rather than just keep 'em all up in my head! so thanks for letting me rant!

on a more exciting note, i had a great conversation today with my pal bryanna, whom i will be meeting in perth (or rather, she will be meeting me, around the 18th). we talked about our plans and surfing and buying cars and working, and basically what the next 3 or 4 months of life are going to be like for us. i am beyond excited. honestly didn't think i could get more excited and then we had that conversation haha! so that was really nice to talk to her :) she is touring around europe right now (hard life!) and off to portugal tomorrow. safe travels B! 

anyways, just wanted to do a quick update and write some stuff down... i'm going to bed now! hope everyone had a fantastic weekend <3 

one month....

yep, i really did have to go there. the hair, that tan, those shorts. . . so majestic. this video is cheesier than a grilled cheese sandwich made on cheese bread, sprinkled with parmesan cheese, but i feel this is the only example i can find of the expression of my feelings of excitement. i mean, that dude is serious about flying off into space! 

as i start this post at 12:07 am on july the 11th (obviously a little eager about the one month mark) i just don't even know what to feel/say anymore. i am sending out an apology to everyone i work with, and all of the members at our gym who come in and hear about my trip on a daily basis, whether they want to or not haha. i just can't stop talking about it. i have almost everything i need now, just waiting for my new laptop case and plug adapter to come in the mail. my uncle gave me a ton of epic survival supplies including 4 bags of glowsticks, so obviously i was delighted. i am now pretty much equipped to camp out in the desert, start a fire in the rain, survive subzero temperatures, signal a plane passing overhead... and open a bottle of beer with my multi tool (gotta keep the priorities in mind LOL) 

i am getting pretty sad about leaving all of you guys though. thankfully, a bunch of my friends from toronto are coming up next weekend and all my friends and fams are getting together for a farewell/birthday bbq. text me for the deets ;) i am very very much looking forward to that. time is going by so fast it is actually crazy! i don't know if it's just because i have this aug 11th date in my head, or if it's normal, but it feels like just a few days ago that i bought my plane ticket! exciting stufffff! 

so far for the rest of my time here, i have some friend time scheduled, my bbq, a cottage weekend, and a few girls days with my momma (thinking about going to le nordique!) i'm going to be working right up until i leave, probably til the 9th, so i can see all of my morning ladies one last friday morning :) other than that, i will just be doing the gym thing, chilling at home and hanging out at the lake with my fam. gotta save as much as i can! my travel insurance ended up costing a bit more than i thought, so it affected my budget a little bit :P gotta have it though!

i also booked my first three nights stay at a hostel in a suburb of perth called fremantle. i will be staying in the sundancer backpackers hostel it looks sooo chill! also this town looks amazing. they have this wicked market on the weekend with tons of local arts and crafts, fresh produce and handmade soaps and stuff. like the carp farmers market x 100 lol! i'm also planning on doing a daytrip to rottnest island. it's a short ferry ride from freo, and the island is small enough that they offer bike rentals so you can bike around! there is also apparently really good snorkeling and surfing there too. and there's these lil guys....

quokkas! they are these adorable little furry animals, about the size of a cat, and they always look like they are smiling!

when i first heard about them, i knew they were in australia, but i didn't know where. imagine my excitement when i found out that they live right on this island super close to where i am going to be!!! i'm definitely not leaving freo before i see one haha so cutee!

our plans are pretty up in the air from there. we might head down to margaret river, or maybe to a little town a bit more south east called denmark. either way, my goal is to get my 88 days of regional work done right away so i am eligible for a second year visa if i want one. then i want to travel around a bit and come back in january for the grape picking season! but really, who the heck knows what will happen? and that's the excitement of it all! 

anyways, i'm going to hit the hay. thanks for reading and supporting me on this crazy journey! love you guys lots! 

peace and good vibes <3
soph