LAX

Thus far today I have survived not sleeping last night (so I'd be tired for the flights and avoid jet lag as much as possible), a 5:30 am cab ride to National, absolutely no difficulties in Denver, waiting in line twice for ticketing for Qantas (the Australian airline), and being on hold for more than an hour and a half with STA trying to get my Sydney ticket reissued because I'm an idiot...don't ask. I've been in an airport since 6 am this morning and have had 10+ hours of layover time thus far.

I met a ridiculous British woman who is on my flight at dinner. She moved over and sat near me and another guy also travelling to Sydney (not on our flight). Carole - with an "e" so I wouldn't forget - promptly invited me to stay at her house 3 hours north of Sydney. She's also let me in on the best white wine to buy. She was going to visit me on the plane when she got bored, but was surprised when I said I could, hypothetically, sleep 10 of the 14 hours the flight takes. She also told a couple of stories multiple times, but it was nice to have someone else to talk to after a day of travelling alone.

Finally, I exchanged the bulk of my cash in the airport tonight. First, the Australian dollar is finally worth more than the American dollar ($1.03 bought 1$AUD). Second, their bills are really really pretty. They get longer as they go up in denomination and they only have singles as coins, not bills. 5s are purple, 10s are blue, 20s are red, and 50s are yellow; they also all have a cutout with a plastic inlay that is kind of awesome.