Hello all,

Things have been warming up and we have had our first few hot days, but apparently it has been the wettest October in 35 years so needless to say there have been a fair share of grey days. When it is nice I try to do something with the day but sometimes all that happens is laying down in the sun for a few hours! Not so bad, really :)

This picture on the left is in downtown Melbourne at a place called Federation Square, kind of a public place for cultural happenings and big events in the city. There are a few buildings down there and they all have this type of architecture. There is a visitors center, lots of sitting space for a packed lunch, a few bars, restaurants, a movie theatre, big outside screen for big sporting events, some offices, and it is right across from the Flinders Street Station which is a large train/tram/subway station.

While I was out in the city the other day I also made a note to visit the "laneways" of the city. Basically alleys minus the creep. Melbourne is full of these little pedestrian streets and some of them have stores, restaurants, and bars, but most of them have graffiti. It is legal here to do street art but only in specified areas, and a lot of these laneways are fair game. Some of this art is amazing, and I found some pretty cool spots! Here are a few examples:

Today is the Melbourne cup, which is a horse race that is a national holiday. Everything stops for this one race, and most of the country puts a bet on. Some people think its great because they like horse racing and betting, but most people think its great because they get the day off. A lot of women go to the races and dress to the nines: fancy off the center hat, gloves, expensive dresses. Horse racing has a huge history in Australia and I guess I'm not really that into it but hey, I will take the Tuesday off! For all of you horse racing enthusiasts here is a link:

http://flemington.com.au/Melbourne-Cup-Carnival-2010.html

Breaking news! The Australian police force has just switched over from revolvers to semi-automatic pistols! Now I might be showing my red white and blue but is it just me or does it seem a bit late to be ushering in this technology that was invented over 100 years ago? In the country's defence, guns are not really legal here. You can own a firearm but getting the permit to do so is a hard process and you truly need a good reason to own one. Unlike the states where you can go and buy a gun at Walmart and get the permit at the same time. It is just interesting to think that if there was a shoot out before this "new" technology was introduced, the police would have to stop to reload each chamber after 6 or so shots....quite a disadvantage! Here is an article:

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/vic-police-roll-out-semiautomatic-guns-20101014-16kmm.html

Halloween has come and gone and there was no celebrating for this lady! As most of you know Halloween is my favorite holiday and I usually prepare for months for my costume, but not many children here participate so the adult scene for costume wearing is even more slim. I got the chance to go trick or treating with some friends who have children so that was exciting, but only maybe one in ten houses were giving out candy! Maybe I had it good but I remember getting close to full pillow cases and hitting up every house on the block. It must be an American thing to still celebrate it, but I think it was a tradition from the Celtic culture to begin with. Either way, it ended up being a taste of what the up and coming holidays will be like! I'm eating turkey on Thanksgiving though you can bet on that!! I have more USA pride that I thought I did, imagine that.

I am joining a netball team. It is kind of like basketball, except the rules are a little bit different. The court is laid out more like soccer in regards to the positions being restricted to certain areas, and once you are in the shooting circle your guard has to be 3 feet away and you get basically a free shot. All one pointers, no such thing as a three pointer in netball. First time I saw it I laughed but after further study I have found it to be exciting and I am really excited for my first game tomorrow! The team I'll be playing for are the "Pumarettes", sponsored by Bryan's footie club the Pumas. I need to go get a marroon skirt today, and I have to admit playing in a skirt will be fun!

Thats all for now, hopefully your all doing well!