3 month paid vacation!

Woke up and went for a run. Then came back and quickly got ready for the beach. Went with Alyssa, Elizabeth, and Mark. Just went during the morning, while the wind was calm. It was beautiful. Great weather, good friends, and fantastic clear blue ocean. Because I was the only one with a class today, we went our separate ways around 1:00 pm. They went to go see Alice in Wonderland and I took the trains all by myself back to school. It is so sad that the public transportation system is so terrible here. In a car it take about 15-20 minutes to get to the beach. Going by bus and train takes about 1.5 hours. I'm not kidding. We left at 1:00 pm and I got back to my place at 2:30 took a super quick shower to get the salt off and then booked it straight to food microbiology.

I learned that the slime that builds on meat after it has been in the refrigerator too long is classified as a mold and if you take the meat to the sink and wash it off and then cook it it will be just fine. No worries about food poisoning. Also if your meat starts to turn green on the edges it is still perfectly safe to eat. However, raw shell fish is a NEVER. Always cook them. Way too risky and too many microbes that we can get from eating raw shellfish (oysters, clams, scallops)

I learned today that if you work in Australia employees get 4 weeks paid vacation every year. Also after working for the same company for 7 years they give you a 3 month paid vacation (mandatory that you take it) Not only are you paid during those 3 months, the employer does something called "loading" they pay you an extra 17.5% of your income because they know you are on vacation and are spending money. How cool is that?!!! The government also covers the hospital bill and pays you $$$ (I think it was around $6,000) when you have a child. Mothers also get 6 MONTHS paid maternity leave.