"Sometimes I Call Him Almost-Toad...and Sometimes I Call Him Dairy Queen" (PLUS: Patrick tries Vegemite!)

Yes, I should be working. I have an assignment and an essay due by the end of next week, plus a project that I have to finish this week because I'll be gone all of lecture recess. So, I'm busy. But this morning, after a conversation with my father, I tried Vegemite. Oh boy.

I'm not going to lie, it was gross. Think soy sauce, but in paste form, minus the flavor that makes soy sauce tolerable. Instead, Vegemite is bitter. Really bitter. It was all I could do to choke down a full piece of toast. I didn't even put that much on it; the jar was basically empty when I got to it. I'm thankful--without that piece of luck, I could have spread it even more thickly than I did, which would have been a disaster. I cannot fathom how Australian parents get their children to eat this. If I were given this as a child, I would have, oh, I don't know, RUN AWAY FROM HOME or something. Honestly, who eats something that is also used as a cure for toothaches?!? Anyway, I don't think I'll be trying it again, even though part of me wants to so that I can more accurately describe the taste. But it's something that I had to do.

In other uniquely Australian news, the other evening I saw a cane toad. If this doesn't seem like a big deal to you, you've clearly never seen the groundbreaking documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History. If you haven't, I recommend that you go out and find it immediately. It's nothing short of amazing, and features a man who finds a little too much enjoyment in listening to and imitating cane toad mating calls, a man who virulently hates cane toads because one of them ate his cat (!), a small child who uses cane toads as dolls (and is the speaker of the quote that titles this post), a Psycho-esque shower scene featuring a cane toad sneaking up on an unsuspecting man, and a kookaburra bobbing its head to I Want Candy. FANTASTIC. Swarthmore students, the video is available in Cornell. Watch it ASAP. Actually, don't. Wait until I get back. Anyway, I saw the toad one night as I was walking to Natalie's building. I stared at it for a while, amazed. Finally I had seen a cane toad in the wild. Then it hopped away, presumably to sneak up on someone in a shower somewhere.

In sadder news, Natalie's bicycle was stolen, and hasn't turned up yet. Also, my bicycle is broken, so neither of us can ride anywhere.

Back to work...