New Zealand is green.

And I'm not talking about the government policy on nuclear anything or the fact they support organic farmers. The view flying into Auckland this afternoon was very different to the view that I have had when flying over the past month. Australia is really a dry country you can see how low the dams are and the dryness of the bush. Today flying over the west coast of New Zealand into Auckland there was green for miles and it wasn't the dry green we get in Australia but rather a rich fullness. Welcome to the land of the long white cloud...

My last few days in Melbourne (my second home city) were incredibly lovely. As mentioned I spent the first two nights with Danny & Sharon getting to know both of them alot better (they are very cool wonderful people). The next two nights I spent with Rob who is, as always, wonderful but working too hard. He introduced me to a Canadian vampire/cop series which was quiet good (despite dodgey special effects) over chinese take away and the night before we watched "School Of Rock". I also got the chance to catch up with Jason yesterday afternoon. We went to Vegie O ate cake and drank smoothies then ran around Fitzroy Gardens to work off the sugar. We also took a nice walk along Southbank (showed him the Doctor Who chalk drawings which he promply took photos of... why does my life suddenly seem full of Dr Who fans?) and watched the sun set over the Yarra. We also saw a Critcal Mass (the bike riding people) who were doing a ride and holding up traffic (bless them) as we waited for the tram.

I often refer to Melbourne as my second home, and it is a city where I have always felt comfortable. I have visited it on seven occassions (five since last July- you can all guess why I kept going back most recently) and had considered moving over there almost as many times. It is a city where I can get a good feed and well built non-leather shoes. It has some of the most passionate animal activists and a thriving plethera of geeks. Its summers aren't scorching and its sunsets are beautiful. It has cake and culture. But most importantly it has people that I value, love and care about deeply. People who I will genuinely miss and who are the sort that I actively make time for. People who understand me in different ways but more so than so many other people who I associate with on a more regular basis. It means hugs and phone calls get pretty expensive but being able to rant/cry/talk to someone who actually has a clue about why you are feeling the way you is invaluable in the grand scheme of things. In an earlier post I commented I went out to dinner with 7 people I love dearly. The truth is that whilst I love them, each of them understand me in their own way and I am truly thankful for that.

But now I have a whole new city to explore for the moment... excellent.

Tramp-amp-oline!

Trampoline is a gelato store. Almost half of their range are dairy free sorbets (including the delicious caramel pear flavour) and they have a fountain of chocolate. Yes, a fountain of flowing, melted, rich chocolate. They sell chocolate shots.

Needless to say by the food description I am in Melbourne & Trampoline is on Brunswick Street. It is yet another addition to the "food places you must go to whilst in Melbourne" list, which is now rather long. Last time I was in Melbourne I was working every day so thankfully only managed to put on a kilo from fine eating in the 5 or so weeks I was here. Thankfully for my waist I am leaving on Saturday for Auckland.

I arrived on Tuesday night & got to spend time with the ever lovely Sharon and Danny who have kindly offered me a spare room for a few nights. Wednesday was spent relaxing and chatting to Danny before I managed not to kill Sharon and myself with dinner. (culinary note: paprika, soy sauce, sweet chilli, ginger and a mountain of garlic is a excellent stir fry sauce) I really have enjoyed getting to know both of them alot better.

Today was spent reordering my plane food (for some reason I was accidentally put down as lacto instead of dairy free... but ended up having a suitable main anyhow) I also went to Vegan Wares so one or the rivets in my boots could be fixed (they now have itty bitty baby shoes & myself & the owner discussed cluckiness and why it would be cool to have a baby for the itty bitty shoes!) Also picked up group certificates from places I used to work & said hello to the people there. Had a wander about Fitzroy which was rather enjoyable. Will be catching up with Jason for lunch tomorrow (hopefully) & will be spending the next couple of nights with Rob. Many other people I will not get the chance to see so if any of you are reading this, my apologies.

I am currently unemployed. This is a very interesting concept as I have not been unemployed since I was 16 and am usually a workaholic holding down multiple jobs. I am definitely seeing the enjoyment of this relaxing thing people do :P

She's feeling more alone, than she ever has before...

Thanks for last night. I now realise even more that noone in Perth really understands me in the slightest and that my decision to leave is one that is right.

If I could save time in a bottle...

I leave in two weeks. TWO WEEKS. Fourteen days. I've looked at the list of stuff that needs doing in this time and am very, very glad I have managed to cut down on shifts. Still have no idea if I shall get it all done. Therefore apologies in advance to anyone I don't have the opportunity to see before I go. Alternatively you could just rock up to my "Come & consume caffeine and sugar with the moonbug" gathering next Sunday. Email me for details.

Speaking of going away invites, I've been calling up people I haven't seen in awhile just to let them know I'm leaving etc and I found out that (amongst other things) a old school friend is now a parent. This has for some strange reason caused me to muse a little on my own existence and to assess what have I really achieved in my twenty three and a half or so years of my current life. Sadly, I get the feeling not an awful lot. I haven't ever managed to hold down a emotionally successful (or positive, or long term) romantic relationship, will often substitute work for emotional contact with people and, whilst I get broody on occasion, the concept of actually being a parent generally freaks me out, though mostly for the sake of the child rather than myself. There is a big part of me that is worried that I really should be starting to grow up by now. I mean I've finished uni so I should get a real job in my field of education, right? And I should start saving for a mortgage, right? And I should find a nice suitable male partner so that I can have a hideously expensive white wedding, right? Only to be followed with 2.5 kids, a dog and a white picket fence, right? And then several miserable years of marriage before he runs off with his secretary, right?

Fuckit, I don't want to grow up. Yet.