Update.....

Figures, I add the post about not seeing a snake in the wild and then, yup, we saw one today. We where in the car though (probably a good thing), driving down a dirt road. Rob spotted it, and by the time we slowed down is scurried into the bushes. I can tell you it was a black one, and about a meter long. So now, I've seen a snake.....next, sharks?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Only in Australia.........

Since being in Australia there are many things that I have found to be different, or even things that I'll see and think, oh, I should write that in my blog, but I'm not near my computer or Internet. And granted I don't have Internet right NOW, but am writing this anyways!

-First all, the lines on the road make no sense!! Pretty much all the lines are white, and when driving down the highway, they allow for 'passing' in many dangerous spots, like a turn or upcoming hill!! There are times when we have been driving down the highway and want to pass someone, and even though we have a dotted line, there is no way in hell I'm passing when there is downwards hill approaching!!!!

-The things we are allowed to do here would NEVER be allowed to do back home - climb Uluru rock, the gorges in Karjini, all to risky, but not here in Australia!

-The speed limit in the Northern Territory on the highway is 130km/hr.

-We just spent a couple nights in Port Augusta, South Australia, and it took us half a day to realize that the street signs where painted on the edge of the sidewalk!

-I think I have mentioned this before, but all there cheese is white, even cheddar cheese.

-All the electrical outlets have an on/off switch - and how many times did I turn on the oven at the staff village in Darwin and forget to activate the switch.

-I have been in Australia for over a year and have yet to see a wild snake.

-The flies have a notice out to attack me whenever they can :)

-At most picnic/beach/rest areas, there is a bbq to use.

-The Australian's do NOT know how to BBQ - nothing beats my Dad's BBQ :)

-Propane is called 'gas' and gas is called 'petrol'.

-Peppers are called capsicum and honeydew is called rock-melon.

-No, it is not that strange to shift gears in a car with my left hand, you get used to it. -But I do constantly put the windshield wipers on instead of signaling :) (only in certain cars though)

-cell phones (aka, mobiles) are ridiculously expensive here, most people text and many people don't have home phones. Its about 75cents/min to make a phone call within Australia on a mobile.

-Ketchup is called tomato sauce.

-Trucks here are called 'yutes, and our big 4X4 'F350's' don't exist here. In fact, I just saw my first 5th wheel trailer here, which are called campervan's, not trailers.

Cooper Pedy

After we finished our visit in Uluru National Park, it was time to move on - plus our park passes where only good for 3 days, which we got our money's worth.

We headed down to a place called Kulgera, a small roadhouse stop. We weren't keen on driving the whole way to Cooper Pedy, and Kulgera was about half way. We arrived nice and early in the day, and they even had a pool. It was nice and cool, very refreshing for once, and not many people around. Once again as the evening rolled around, a storm blew in, we watched it from our car wondering if it was going to pass us, and sure enough, we caught the edge of it. I'm sure if we where 20km's south, we would have missed the whole thing, figures. Once 1830 hit, and to my dismay, we decided it would be best if we ate in at the roadhouse pub. I have to say, we have been in some very interesting roadhouses. This one was VERY redneck, and I mean redneck. First of all, the guy that checked us in reminded me of Beavis and Butthead - I don't think I need to say much more. The roadhouse was just like someones home built up with 'junk'. Pictures taken from the original opening of the roadhouse till present, snake skins on the wooden banister, skulls, aboriginal paintings, jars with dead things - snakes, scorpions, spiders - all which I found out later had been found in the pool. Good thing I had already been in the pool as there is no way I would be going in after hearing that! The food wasn't the greatest either, but what can you expect from a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere. Luckily the storm blew over when we went to bed, and it was a nice cold night - how much I miss the cold, wow, never thought I'd say that.

Anyways, the next day we drove to Cooper Pedy, in South Australia. The town is an opal mining town, named after an aboriginal term that means 'white mans hole in the ground'. And this is pretty much what it is. CP is in one of the hottest, arid, driest places in Australia, smack dab in the middle of the desert. Temp's reach up to 45 degrees in the summer, and up to 65 degrees on the ground, and they rarely, rarely get rain. When the first settlers arrived - after a teenage boy found opal, it made sense to live underground, and this is what they did. It is cool under ground during the day, and warm at night when temperatures drop. As you approach CP there where hundreds of mounds from where people have searched for opal, and the whole town is more or less underground. Mounds of dirt everywhere and many places are build into the sides of the hills which have been mined around them. There are churches underground, which the catholic church was dug by hand, the only underground post office in the world, as well as many homes, hotels (Comfort Inn), hostels, and even campgrounds are underground. And yes, we did sleep in a tent, underground. A very neat and different experience. We didn't put the fly net on, and when we went to bed, we where still actually a bit hot. It also didn't help my asthma from all the dust that was kicked up, and when I first went to bed, I was a bit wheezy, this did settle after awhile. It was an amazing experience, and probably could have slept all day as it was so dark, but I probably wouldn't do it again. It wasn't good for my lungs and to be honest, I like the wind blowing through the tent. But anyways. We went on a self guided tour of an opal mine where you could still see opal in some of the rocks, as well as they had displayed original opal valued at over $120,000!! CP is a very small and quaint town, and there was no need to stay more then one night - plus the campground didn't have a pool :( So the next day we drove to a place called the breakaways, some very neat formations of rock due to erosion, and also a place where many films where made (Mad Max, Pitch Black) and also got to see the dog fence. The longest fence in the world. Originally built by farmers to keep the dingoes out from attacking there sheep, and eventually the farmers fences met up and joined as one. The area covering SA, Queensland and Victoria is over 5,000km's long, and the dog fence is 2,250km in length. Now that's a long fence!!!

We are currently in Port Augusta, 300km's from Adelaide and have clocked over 4100km's in the good old Magna. We had a chill day today to check out the town and relax by the pool. Tomorrow we are heading northeast to the Flinders Ranges to do some hiking and maybe a bit of swimming. Bring on the adventure :)

After our quick visit to Alice Springs, we hit the road again and made our way to Kings Canyon. We stayed at a resort 40km's from the Canyon, and spend our first night 'tenting'. The next 4 days where full on with hiking. A 7.7km hike through the canyon, a 10km base walk atUluru, a 7km hike at the olga's, and an unknown hike up to the summit ofUluru, which is what this post is mainly about.

You see, Rob came to Australia to climb the rock, it has been his dream and as this was his third time to Australia and yet to see the rock, he was pretty pumped. I, on the other hand, was not all that keen on climbing.

Ayers Rock is located in a National Park and the aboriginals find the rock a very sacred place. The aboriginals have been in Australia for years, and I mean YEARS. Their rock art is traced back to 40 000 years ago!!! When the 'white people' invaded their territory, it was not done in a nice way. Children where taken away from their families and they where basically shunned. Theindigenous people have taken this very hard and it has taken many years from them to accept what has happened and cooperate with the Australians and the 'western' way of doing things. From my understanding the Australians have pretty much taken over most of the land, however over time, there has become an agreement and on the council of the national parks there has to be at least 3 aboriginals (all of this i have heard third hand, so it may not be exact). Anyways, Ayers rock is a huge for tourism and it was agreed that the rock would be open for climbing as long as the aboriginals agreed it was ok.

As I said earlier, the rock is very sacred, there are sections that only the women can go to, and vise versa for the men. There are sections that you cannot take pictures of for this reason, and as for climbing it, it is climbed by the indigenous for spiritualreasons. There are signs everywhere that ask you not to climb it, but yet on certain days it is allowed.

I am a bit controversial on this, but it goes back to the agreement of the white people and aboriginals. I kind of think of it as any other religion or countries belief, for example, I wouldn't walk into a temple with a tank top and shorts on when they ask you to wear a sarong and sleeved shirt.

Anyways, the first day we where here, we got up early in the morning to watch the sunrise, and when we drove to the site where you can climb it, alas, it was closed due to winds - granted, it was quite windy that morning. That day we heard from agerman guy that his girlfriend was here earlier in the year and it was closed each day; and we heard from the girl at our reception that out of the past 2 months, the climb had been open only 4 days. I was glad to hear this as I wasn't that keen on climbing (plus I didn't think I was actually going to make it!!) but Rob was very disappointed. The next day we got up early, and drove to the rock, it was open for climbing between 7 and 8, and as we where driving up to the rock just after 7, i could see in the distance little black dots - yup, it was open for climbing. Dammit!!!!!! Now, I know I could have let Rob do it alone, but, he did want me to do the climb with him, and I wasn't all that keen on waiting at the bottom, in the fly infested and very hot day! So, I laced up my shoes and off we where. Within 30 meters it was getting steep, there was no easing your way into this walk! There was a chain for the first half of the climb as it was the steepest, and boy did we need it. Not only for the wind for most of it, but also for a couple VERY steep parts, and if you slipped, there was nothing to stop you. I believe 32 people have died trying to climb it. In fact, just as we started to climb we looked up and a water bottle crashing down the side of the rock! I had my camera in my hand at that time and I decided that maybe it was best if I kept it in the back pack! We had to stop a few times on the way up for a bit of a break, as well as a water break! After the first difficult steep part, the rest of the way was pretty easy, I only needed a bit of a push from Rob a couple of times! The view was very stunning from the top and it really gives you an idea of how big the rock really is! The summit is 865m from sea level, and it took us just over an hour to get to the top. The way down was almost just as bad! I have also developed a bit of a 'bad' knee you can say, but I didn't feel it that much, granted, I also took a motrin before the climb. Going down the steep part was a bit scary! You could see how high up you where of and of course it was windy. Once it got to be really steep, I turned around and went backwards. That took a bit getting used to and it was even more freaky looking up thinking, did I actually just climb that!! We saw one couple where the guy had a little kid on his back - I could barely carry myself up let alone a 30kg kid!!!

Am I glad I climbed it, yes and no. It was a spectacular view from the top, and physically challenging which I am always up for, but I feel that if the aboriginals are that against people climbing it, then maybe they need to push for their rights a bit more and close it forever. Who knows, maybe they don't really care and just say that so they don't have thousands of people on the rock daily............

1555km's later...

we are in Alice Springs!

Man what a drive it was and I am completely exhausted!

It started with a 6am wake-up call on Sunday and we where on the road by 6:50. After a quick stop at a cafe for breakfast, we where on our way to Alice Springs. We split the driving pretty evenly, about 300km's each, and then we would stop for a quick break, fill up the car, toilet breaks, and maybe a red bull, then we where back on the road. Our pit stop for the night was Renner Springs, but we stopped at Mataranka to visit a couple tourist spots. We went to some springs first, but it wasn't all that exciting, and there was no way I was going swimming there - with most of the springs covered in a white film. The water itself was so amazingly clear, but I still wasn't convinced! Then we went to a thermal pool that where recommended by 2 different people. As we entered the forest to get to the pool it didn't take long to notice an interesting smell, and then lots of noise, and when we looked up - OMG all you could see was bats!!!!!!! The flying fox bats where spread out on every tree, branch, or anything they could hang upside down from. I swear for the 300 or 400 meters that we walked, there where hundreds of thousands of bats. Once we got to the pools, we got in, kind of reluctantly, had a brief swim, then got out!!!! I had my SLR camera with me, so I snapped some photos, Rob scared the bats so I could get pictures of them flying, and after seeing hundreds of bats flying above me, that was enough, we packed up our things and got the hell out of there!! I think I would have enjoyed the thermal pools a lot more if there where no bats!!! haha

We arrived at Renner Springs at about 4pm, and started setting everything up. The tent went up first, then the canopy, which we then had to move the tent, oops, won't be doing that again, set up our table and chairs, and cracked a beer. My first beer since Bali, and it tasted, well, OK!! We chilled out for bit and watched a thunderstorm from a distance. As we watched the amazing lightening, we realized that it might actually be coming our way. We got out everything for dinner and just as the water started to boil, the winds started to pick up, blowing over our canopy. I looked at Rob and thought, OK, lets take this down, and as we started taking it apart, the winds started picking up even more and the storm was getting that much closer, stuff was blowing away and without even saying anything to each other we started packing up everything - very quickly. There was another older couple staying in a trailer, (bastards!!) and he was kind enough to come over and help put rocks on our tent pegs so our tent didn't blow away!

So you could guess that we didn't cook supper on our new gas stove, but instead went into the roadhouse and ate. Wasn't really impressed as we are spending money like crazy (petrol prices aren't helping), but it was either that, or starve :(

We met another "tenting" couple that had arrived just as the storm was coming in, and they spent $98 on a motel room. Thanks, but I think I'll sleep in a tent, and if worse come to worse, I'll sleep in the car. (this is the cheap side of me!) BUT, after about an hour or so the winds and rain died down, and the rocks weighing down our tent stayed, as did our tent! I somehow got a bit of rain on my sleeping bag, and apart from feeling a bit damp in the tent, it was ok. We where right next to the highway so you could hear the road-trains going by, so you can imagine we didn't have the best of sleeps. Oh well, that is the life of a camper/tenter I imagine. We where up the next morning at 7am, and once we got out of the tent, the flies where horrendous!!! We packed up and where on the road again by 8am. This time, to stop at Tennant Creek. I drove first thing in the morning and we stopped at a mining place in TC, not much to see really and after a brief walk around, the flies where driving me insane again so we got back in the car! We drove to the iconic Devils Marbles, and again, we walked around and the flies where making me grumpy (as where the massive grasshoppers that kept jumping at me). We got back in the car and proceeded to take pictures out the window. I know, kind of ridiculous, but we where both tired and cranky, so this just made sense. The rest of the way was driving, and I drove the last 200km into Alice Springs arriving just after 4pm. Of course there was no one in reception at our hostel and had to wait till 4:30, oh well, what can you do?!?!!

Alice Springs is hot, but not humid and I love it! Once the sun started going down it cooled off a bit, just what I like, and my favorite part of the day! This is also when I noticed that I got a bit burnt today, gotta remember the sunscreen tomorrow. I have lost so much of my tan over the last couple of months as I couldn't have been bothered to sit outside and get all hot and sweaty within minutes. I think I will be getting some of my tan back now though :)

The highway speed limit in the Northern Territory is 130km/hour, which is great! And we didn't see one police officer on the way down, and of course we sped most of the way down. Its surprising how 140km/hr feels like nothing after going that fast for an hour! Rob went faster then me, but once I hit 150 I didn't feel that comfortable. I think once I nearly got to 160 passing a road train and didn't like it, so I mainly stayed at 140-145km. Lets hope there was no photo radar :) In total we drove 1555km's, the first 866km's on the first day.

We have a day here in Alice Springs to check it out and get ready for Uluru. We are hoping for no more storms, fingers crossed, as there aren't many places to hide or eat out in the middle of nowhere!!!

One more sleep :-)

Yes, one more sleep and then we hit the road!!! And I can't freakin' wait!

I got most of my errands done on Friday and when Rob finished work we headed into town for some drinks! I had spread the word at work that we would be at the Deck bar for drinks, and when no one was there after an hour, I thought it would be just the two of us, but then alas, one of my fellow co-workers showed up with her husband, as well as two other co-workers a bit later. I felt kind of bad for Rob and Linley's husband as we did talk about work quite a bit, but it was needed as we never get time to de-brief at work and with all the BS that has been happening, it was good for all of us. Another co-worker Caylee showed up later and after a couple more drinks we headed over to another bar. Linley and her husband took off and we continued on with the drinks and shots!!

Rob and I met up with some other friends at the other bar Kitty's, which as good as it gave us a chance to say goodbye, which turned out to be more difficult then I thought. I truly am going to miss everyone here and they have made my Darwin experience truly amazing and without them, I don't think we would still be here. I am hoping that next year we will be able to meet up again in Bali for a bit of a reunion, fingers crossed!

Today was a bit difficult, being hungover and all. and having to pack. We watched the Olympic ceremonies on TV, and I became very emotional, especially when KD Lang sang Hallelujah. It made me miss home and wished that I was there for the games. It sucks that we leave the day the games actually start, but, I have to look at what I am doing and be pretty proud of it. I can always watch the highlights.

I sold my bike to my friend Selina, and gave her my TV. I couldn't be bothered to go to cash converters to sell it, and I only spend $75 bucks for the TV, set top box, and aerial, so I was just happy to get rid of it.

Rob did a pretty good job at packing the car. We bought a mattress for the tent which is in the back seat, and I think we will have to put one backpack in the back seat as well. It was a bit hard as we still need stuff tonight, so once we get to our campground tomorrow we can try re-packing and might be able to get it all in. Rob said it was like playing tetris trying to get it all in, and how true! I've picked up a new backpack and managed to get most of my s*#@ in there :) As well as stuff thrown in the back seat and another bag full of misc. stuff :) heehee

Rob and I rented a couple movies tonight and are just chillin' out waiting for morning to arrive. I think we will try and get out of here around 6 as there is a swimming hole that I want to stop at on the way down to our first campsite and we want to get there before dark.

The landlords here keep $75 of my $300 deposit to clean the unit. At first I wasn't impressed - so much for a 'deposit', but in hindsight, I am relieved as I HATE cleaning, and did not want to have to do that today! I'm not so upset about the $75 now :)

We will take 2 days to get to Alice Springs and I'm sure I will have plenty of stories!!! I can't wait to start the next part of my Australian travels :)

One more shift!!

Sweet ass!!! One more day shift tomorrow and I am done, hopefully for a LONG time!!! haha You'd think with how long I've been here I'd be able to take a few months off, but Australia is expensive, and now that we have a car, it means a bit more money :) We just booked into a hostel, and its $30/night, and the money will just keep disappearing. Oh well, thats what I came here to do!

Work hasn't been the greatest. I worked Sunday night and was "team leader" or charge nurse as we call it back home. I was a bit nervous, but I think I did OK. No big issues. I had to work an early the next day and then stayed for a double as they were short, and ended up being team leader AGAIN that evening, and we ran our feet off. We had 6 discharges which included 3 absconding patients, one that we had to call the police on as she was at risk. Thank goodness I didn't have to work till 1pm the next day as I was exhausted!!! Today I worked at morning shift after working a late shift yesterday; normally we would get the same patient load to make it a bit easier for us. But no, not today. Our new manager did the assignment and gave me a different load, with of course the sickest patients. I don't normally mind but it bothered me today as the nurse that had that lot, worked last evening and was well capable of handling the patients. I even questioned her on it in the morning telling her I had that lot, but she said she had other plans for me. I approached her on this at the end of the day (I had to build up the confidence) and she said that it was because I was 'senior' (which by the way scared the shit out of me and made me realize that I have been nursing for 6 years, WTF!!!!) and she needed someone that new what they where doing. Great, made me feel good, but how are the new nurses going to learn?? And really, there where other sicker patients on the ward. PLUS, I was then told I had to give medications for an EN/LPN that couldn't AND orientate a new grad. It ended up being an OK shift, and the day went by fast, lets hope the same for tomorrow :)

We are pretty much ready to head out Sunday, just a few things to do on my day off on Friday. Hand in my uniforms which I will be doing with a smile on my face, and picking up a few things; then getting ready for our night out. Hopefully getting very drunk, but not too drunk as we will have to pack Saturday. I still haven't sold my bike, but to be honest I haven't been too proactive. With my crazy work schedule I haven't been able to do up posters, and with my Mac it makes it difficult to do one up, put it on a memory stick and print it at work. I don't want to fight with it, so I have just left it. I have a feeling I will be taking it to cash converters on Saturday. Oh well, its half my fault.

I am going to try get over my internet addiction while we travel - but still keep this updated. I have three games I play on facebook - ALL the time :) just ask Rob. I will try and stay off this, at least limit my time :) Most of our travels to Adelaide I won't even have internet access, which makes it easier! Anyways, will update before we leave :)

WHOA HOO!!

So some very exciting news! Rob has been granted his second year visa!!! So now we have no stresses and are getting even more excited about our road trip :)

Which, by the way, we had a 'trial run' of setting up our tent, and it was completed without any arguments!! haha Its a three man tent - Rob wanted the four man, but it was massive, and I didn't think we needed that big of a tent, so I talked him down to the three man. For some reason I think it is going to come back and bite me in the ass. Oh well, I guess I'll here about it then :) haha

Only 5 more shifts left, and I have a TON of shit to do. I also work all morning shifts this mon-thurs, which makes it difficult to get things done. BUT, it always manages to get done so I'll try and not stress about it too much.

Melbourne for the night?

So I agreed to do another patient escort, this time to Melbourne. And this pt, was a much easier transfer then the last, and I even had the pt's escort with me which made it even better!!! This pt could also walk, and was very quiet, unlike the previous guy!! We had to travel via Adelaide which kind of sucked, but we only had to wait for 20 minutes before re-boarding the plane, so not bad, more money for me I guess?!

The hospital even had a bed waiting for him which was easy for me, and once I handed over, I was out of there! I jumped in a cab who proceeded to take me to the wrong hotel, despite me questioning him. So I had to get into another cab, and pay out of my pocket as I used my taxi voucher on the previous retard. Oh well, I should be able to get that money back. I made it to my hotel and didn't feel like venturing to far, pretty tired as I'm still trying to turn over from nights, I could hardly keep my eyes open on the plane. So I grabbed my laptop and had supper at the hotel restaurant, as well as a couple drinks, and that is where I am writing this post!!

It is pretty cold here in Melbourne, and glad I grabbed my jacket, I know, I know, I don't mean to brag, but 21 degrees is freakin cold right now. What can I say, I seem to acclimatize very quickly where ever I go :)

Plan for tonight is to start watching season 3 of Dexter, I came prepared with DVD's, and I got a late checkout tomorrow for 12 noon. My flight is at 2, I'll probably go for a walk in the morning, and I get into Darwin at 1650. Just in time to party!!

It is a friends last weekend in Darwin before heading to South America, so I think we'll head over for a few drinks. I think I actually missing a party/bbq tonight, but I had money bags in my eyes, and came to Melbourne instead.

Unlike with the pt escort I'll be able to get a full night sleep, and I should sleep well as I've been up since 5am - apart from the dolphin naps on the plane.

Oh yeah, as for the mini eggs, they stayed at the house. I think I had mini egg overdose and was feeling very sick last night. Damn mini eggs......I love them soooooo much :)

5 more work shifts left :)...................

mini eggs :) :) :)

Yes, it is that time of year, that mini eggs have come out of hiding, and I begin to consume them, in large amounts!!!

Cadbury mini eggs have been my favorite, for as long as I can remember. In fact, one day at high school, my friend Trisha brought a 1kg bag of mini eggs (courtesy of costco) to school, and between 4 of use, we finished the lot. How none of us managed to get sick, I do not know.

I noticed the mini eggs at the store the other day, but resisted the urge to purchase them. However, I broke down and bought a bag today while getting groceries, it didn't help that I was starving. They don't have any of the small bags, just the 250gm bag, but large enough. After yummy taco's for supper, I cracked open the bag and savored the taste that I had forgot!!!!! Before I knew it we had nearly finished the bag. I told Rob to hide them, and he just put them out of reach from me, but he still ate them!!! I managed to grab the bag and put them in a zip-lock bag (so the ants don't get to them) and tried to hide them somewhere. Rob took them and put them on top of the cupboard at the back, but with my monkey arms, I managed to get them!!

So, he found a place to hide them, and despite me being able to reach them, it makes it a chore, and very difficult to do behind his back. Below are the pictures of where there are.

Sorry, the one photo didn't rotate, and it should have. But, as you can tell, it is very high! I wonder how long they will last?? Who will be the first to break and take themdown??? :) :)

countdown is on!!

It is less then 2 weeks till we leave and we are slowly getting things ready for our trip. My last day of work is Thursday the 11th, and we're good to vacate our unit on Sunday the 14th. Perfect. We'll be able to go for drinks on the Friday night as well as its a friends birthday, bring on the drinks!!! Saturday we will recover and pack, and we will most likely depart early Sunday morning, hoping to get to our destination before dark so we can set up camp. We will take 2 days to get to Alice Springs; we aren't in any big hurry and want to enjoy our travels! (I believe it takes about 13 or 14 hour, do-able in one day, but one freakin' long day!)

We will be camping on our way to Alice and Adelaide, staying in hostels in Alice as well as Adelaide. We've picked up a tent and a mattress, I got a new sleeping bag as mine went missing while in the previous place we stayed, as well as a new back pack (which I still have not received compensation from Mexicana re: my lost bag.....anyways....). We have also got a camp stove, citronella candle, lantern, a couple chairs and a small table as well as general camping supplies. I've got 2 plastic containers to put all our food and camping stuff in, and with all our stuff, I'm hoping we can get it all in the "boot" - as they say here in Oz :) Just a few more small things to get (a couple pots, pans, knife ect.) and we'll be set. Its costing a bit of money, but man it will be so worth it!!!!

I've got 7 more shifts left at work :) and have to try and sell a few things here - my bike and the TV, hopefully I can get a bit of money for my bike, but I know its hard to sell second hand stuff.

I am getting more and more excited as the days go on and can't wait for this party to get started :)