"Winter"

Can't believe I only have just over a month left in Australia. Sometimes it feels like I just got here. As excited as I am to return to the US, there are some things I will miss about Australia.

Including the weather. I put winter in quotes in the title because we are technically still in winter (June-August) but you wouldn't think so today:

 A brutal 75 degree (F) day at Manly today. I dusted off the surfboard and caught some waves this afternoon. Soooooo not looking forward to trading in the winter surfboard for a snow shovel next year

With Mere back in the States, I don't have anyone to weekend bully - basically harass her to do things during the weekend. At least I'm not as bad as this guy:



So, I'm left to bully myself. Before surfing, I headed up to the International College of Management in Manly...otherwise known as Gatsby's mansion in the remake of the Great Gatsby. Unfortunately, it was under construction, so it was a little disappointing. Much like the remake. Bazinga!

I met up with some friends for Pizza on Sunday night. For those who don't know, I loooooove Pizza. It's like a drug for me (making the below picture I took in Wellington irrelevant)

The one food I miss most is American pizza. It isn't easy finding many places that will sell pizza by the slice, let alone a decent pizza by the slice. Mere and I tried every pizza place near us in Manly and were underwhelmed. Well, almost every place. We hadn't been to Manly Pizza and Wine, which I tried tonight. Now, we are pretty picky when it comes to pizza. Our go to pizza is grilled chicken, spinach, feta cheese, and pineapple. When we would order this back home, a lot of places would ask if Mere was pregnant b/c of those toppings. So, you can imagine my surprise when I get to Manly Pizza and Wine (a place we hadn't been to) and look at their menu:

Literally, the 1st pizza listed on the menu!!!! And the pizzas turned out to be the best I've had in Manly (sorry Mere)

Boston Movie Review
Click to see my past reviews (reviews typically towards bottom of entry):
1.The Friends of Eddie Coyle
2. The Verdict
3. The Thomas Crown Affair
4. Ray Donovan

This week I watched probably the only non-crime related Boston movie:

Next Stop Wonderland (1998)

An unlucky in love nurse finds her life taking a detour when her mother places a personals ad in the paper, while on the other side of Boston, a plumber is trying to change careers.







This movie was very 90's - it felt like an extended episodes of Friends if it took place in Boston crossed with the movie Serendipity. Complete with the hopeless romantic with a burdening mom (Hope Davis also known from The Newsroom), the wannabe activist ex-boyfriend (Philip Seymour Hoffman!!!!!!! Really!!!), and the love interest - a plumber trying to become a marine biologist (some guy I've never even heard of). Great cameos from the Boston comedy scene: John Benjamin - the voice of Archer on FX), Richard Klein, Jimmy Tingle, Steve Sweeney. It even has Lyn Vaus (DeAngelo from The Wire).
Most of the movie takes place in the Aquarium, the South End, and The Burren in Somerville! Have had many a great nights at the The Burren.
This movie is a typical rom-com, and feels really dated. Didn't do much for me other than the locations and the fact that it holds the record for most Sam Adams drank on camera throughout a movie.

Rating:

Motes Reunion Countdown: 32 days!

-Note: for those who don't know, the 'Motes' nickname is a derivation of Mota (combination of Meredith-Ota) which we then turned into Mot-ski's, and then shortened to Motes. Beats my nickname from Mere, which was Marky-Poo and luckily shortened to Moopy/Moops - which Mere has apparently been tagging on the trains in Sydney: