It's been a while baby!

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Righty then, I haven’t put a decent memory in here for a while! I suppose it’s because life is becoming ‘normal’ in the sense that there is not a travel adventure every day, or some glamorous location being visited each weekend….. Although I should take the opportunity to let you know that I am not failing on this point.

This weekend we have organised a long weekend to Dublin to see the AFL international rules game!!! We are staying right on the edge of the Temple Bar district so it should be a fairly big weekend. I am off there with Sharon and Brett (Amsterdamers), and whilst they are both from QLD, at least Brett follows the right team back home - Hawthorn! If they televise the game, I suspect that we will be the only two in the crowd wearing the delightful colours of the Hawthorn footy jumper!

I think I mentioned organising this sometime ago, but it has all come around quickly now, and I can taste that Bailey’s now. Sorry, Guinness just doesn’t have the same appeal for me! I am really looking forward to visiting Dublin again now. It’s almost great to think that I don’t have to break my neck going to see all the touristy things this time (as I was there last year). Nope, this time I am chilling out, enjoying the fact that this is a reality of my current lifestyle, and seeing what else she has to offer me as a town. Although I am keen to see a museum or gallery that goes into the history of the uprisings etc…. my only disappointment is that I can’t go there for longer this time and revisit the beautiful south.

The travels continue though….. in less than 9 weeks now I will be home in my bed in Melbourne for my fly by night Christmas visit. It’s kinda fascinating actually, my calendar is filling up very quickly with all those I have to see, have a drink with, coffee with, lunch with, dinner with etc. Heck - weddings, parties and massive family dinners will be me! Whilst I am waiting with anticipation of seeing everyone again, I have now started to feel apprehension and a certain level of fear about going home….. No this does not mean I never want to come home, or that I don’t want to see everyone…. It’s more like a fear that life here is just hitting stride now, and I can look at photos or make phone calls without feeling home sick. I somehow know that those 2 weeks at home are going to rip at that a little, and just emotionally taxing in having to say goodbye to everyone more permanently this time. It was ok last time, I knew I was seeing you all in 6 months…………

Aha, but there is so much to come back to this time. This time there is a job, a house and a community of friends to welcome me back, not to mention that I am going to Risoul in the south of France on the 2nd Jan to go snowboarding for 7 days. I initially turned down the offer, but then realised ‘hey, what am I here for’!!!!!! So it’s great that there are so many things and people to look forward to when I get back.

So life here… I mentioned that it has been settling into a steady pace. Something that actually resembles, well a life actually. But by no means does this mean that it is slow paced. Mid week drinking sessions with housemates, weekends in London, watching the AFL grandfinal at 5.30 am in the morning, bon voyage parties, dinner parties, having visitors to Brighton. It’s pretty action packed, but I try to keep Monday - Thursdays for myself. After getting pretty sick, I have thrown myself back into the gym and am feeling pretty good for it. So that usual weekdays involve work, gym, dinner, reading, chatting with housemates, then bed and listening to music. I think I need that to balance out the often-frenetic pace of the weekends.

Everyone sends my emails asking how life is going? Am I enjoying myself now? What’s happening with me? And you know, I can’t help but answer that I am having the absolute time of my life at the moment. I feel so positive and happy that I made this decision. I got the best sense of being completely and utterly happy one day last week. You know those rare days, when you don’t feel tired, and everything and everyone in your life just feels great. It was pretty terrific, in fact it took much resistance not to get in contact with every friend I have ever had to share the happiness with them!!!

Certainly times do get a little tough, and I realise the not so great parts of whom I am, but it is all part of the learning curve I figure. I feel that so much is changing in my life; who I am, the way I deal with things, what I am truly capable of, and being exposed to how much more there is still out there for me to learn. Some of it is changing quickly, other things, well some of the older lingering demons take a little more work and time, but they too are hopefully on the march upwards and onwards!

I promise to get into the writing again and give you the low down on Dublin, and the low down on all the characters that I am living with and socialising with over here! Some of these people and events have to be recorded, as I just cannot bear to forget some of their antics!!!!!!

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