I am trying to tell my ego to shut up so I can sleep, but it is not listening. There is also this annoying clicking noise going on in the apartment. Last night jumping jacks did the trick, but braless jumping doesn't always appeal. I have pushed and pushed to control my mind for the past however many hours, fearing that if I let too many thoughts in, I might bust. And I keep afirming things, like my strength and my patience. This feels good. I wonder how the majority of the world stays on such a tight schedule, and what it feels like not to have to will yourself to sleep. Australia is killing me with these short days. Tomorrow is Friday and I really want to go to the market to buy something fresh. I really don't care what it is, but I can't describe the elation I feel when I walk amongst those deep colors, knowing I am getting such a good deal on such a beautiful, natural product. I am easy to impress, really. And I am a sucker for organic, natural goods. Call me a yuppie, I don't even care.

I was really bummed yesterday and determined NOT to feel sorry for myself or sulk. Thinking of things to cheer myself up I decided I needed a) new underwear or b) cookies. I have already eaten enough cookies this month so I went on a quest for undergarments. Unsuccessfull, I ended up in Borders (where I should have gone from the beginning) and decided to buy "eat pray love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I tend to stay away from all books that blow up.. hence why I have not ready Harry Potter though I have been told I am missing out. But I remembered seeing her on Oprah once, and recalled that the book was about travel/finding yourself. And well, that sounded like a perfect match. So 27 Australian dollars later.. it was mine. I am telling you, hands down, this book is bloody awesome. I read a third of it in one sitting yesterday. I laughed and laughed and was near tears and was empowered and inspired and happy. Maybe I should start jumping on the bandwagon more often.

Jethro is officially back in the United States of America and has been taunting me with things like tacos, root beer, banana peppers and everyday low prices. For his in-for-may-shon, I still have kangaroo and SBS showing me documentaries in every language under the sun until the wee hours of the morning. I'm kidding, but it never occurred to me that food would be at the top of my miss list (below all your lovely faces, of course.)

All day I worked on my politics final essay. I am writing about compulsory voting, making every effort to stretch "Compulsory voting is dumb and violates liberal-democratic principles." into 3,000 words. This is tough. Luckily, I loathe the very concept and am mildly interested in making a strong point. Perhaps I am an ignorant 20 year old, but I was honestly not aware that voting was compulsory anywhere, let alone in a Western civilization like Australia. (Which, by the way, it is the only English speaking country to instate CV.) And moreover, apparently this is not a big deal. When we discussed it in my tutorial, everyone saw it is a reasonable amount of freedom infringement. Red in the face, all I could contribute was, "Perhaps if you were not accustomed to this concept, it would seem a bit more intrusive." The only way it sits well on my mind is if I attempt to look at voting as a civic duty, like jury duty, paying taxes or getting an elementary education. Which in my opinion, this totally drones out all the patriotism and pride associated with the act itself. This is probably where I get in trouble. I tend to "over couple" emotions with actions. But a wise man once said, "Isn't that the point of a blog, to prove how right you are?" So naturally, I am right, and will refrain from trying to trace my footsteps for counter arguments and let everything sit as it is: correct.