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we have been chatting and hanging out with a chilean erasmus student named Rodrigo who lives in the house and occasionally brings his chilean friends over. we decided to have a party together tonight, cooking and having drinks. the shared living room was perfect for that. i guess i also treated is as an unofficial birthday party for myself? i cooked macaroni casserole, a finnish dish.

tomorrow we are heading to Ararat, small town a couple hours from Melbourne. we need to catch an early train so we can spend about 6 hours in the town that doesnt have much...  not to be rude. but, yeah. someone i spoke to nastily called Ararat the 'fat capital of Victoria'. apparently it was the 2nd fattest city in australia a year or so ago when they decided to focus the whole season of Biggest Loser to that town.i figured we should go see some obscure small town just for the sake of it, and once i realized Ararat is a couple hours away, there was nothing stopping me. i recently saw this season of BL, so i somehow feel like its "familiar".

 federation square's book market;

on my actual birthday on thursday we both worked, i got a haircut in the afternoon and then we met with doctor for an early dinner. tapas and other spanish things with wine in central Melbourne. then we headed to the royal botanical gardens and boy was it nice there, like an extra beautiful, fancy park. there we relaxed on bean bags, enjoyed snacks and sparkling wine (you can bring your own) while waiting for the film - how come i was so lucky= they were showing Breakfast Club on my birthday??! i knew like every line by heart cos id seen it 5-7 times before, in the 90s. thats the most times ive ever seen a film. anyway moonlight cinema starts after sundown so around 8:20 the inflatable screen was erected and it was massive (covering the lake view below).

for my birthday, doctor gave me a gift card to H&M and said he would send me to New Zealand. so i started looking at 3-4 night trips. but somehow i feel meh...  its a long flight and i dunno. but i really should go, its a thoughtful gift cos i was not planning to go without him at all.

i havent had much space for deeper thoughts lately, its just work & seeing things and such. i got Dawkins' God Deusions pocket book from the flea market so i am reading it again here and there. something relaxing. and last night we watched Birdman with doctor (it was okay).

Bachelor season 19 just finished. its great entertainment but still, pretty awkward. i dont think i would fit in that culture. i know tv is tv but it does reflect reality, no one can deny that.

random chinese/japanese restaurant menu;