They say bad luck comes in threes...

I've been recovering nicely in Melbourne under the gentle care of Jason, and Dan and Lisa(Leezr) Scarff. Where the antibiotics have left off, we've managed to pick up the slack with some Australian red wine, beer, and general good cheer- Very nice, thanks guys!!!

However, just as things are beginning to come around, I got another tough blow today. I've discovered that due to a mix up in payroll, I will not be receiving another paycheck until September... My god does THAT sting!
Apparently I was put into a 9-month salary distribution instead of the 12-month plan that I've been on for the past 12 years. Of course it could be worse, but the phrases "House Payment" and "Car Payment" now make me twitch involuntarily when I hear them!

As if to add a little salt into the wound, there was the notice from the school that the state had taken a balloon payment for my HEALTH INSURANCE out of my last paycheck to cover me during the months when I will not be receiving a paycheck- F***ing nice of the State of Minnesota to look after me so well!

On a more happy (or strange!) note, we watched the film "Wolf Creek" last night. Dan had given it to me as a gift when I first arrived, saying that it would "prepare me for my bike ride through the outback." Wolf Creek is the genuinely disturbing account of backpackers in the Outback that are attacked by an Aussie serial killer... just the thing I would have needed in order to sleep well in my tent alone in the desert. Ah Dan, you are a true comfort!