6 days - the story so far

So now I'm back to normal. My arm movements regarding 'the lifestyle' have decreased dramatically i.e I've totally forgotten about it and I'm no longer feeling like London doesn't exist because now, I kind of miss it. Fradelaidians don't freak out about this (friends+Adelaide=fradelaidians! Sometimes I just want to congratulate myself). So, I'm feeling some weird zen-like balance epiphany thing. God, I love my epiphanies. And they always happen on a Sunday night. What would MacGyver do with this information? Hmm, anyway back to the zen thing. Perhaps it's because I'm sitting with my legs crossed. Or maybe it's because I'm feeling more chongbong than kilt today. Regardless, this is good news for the global Vanessa network because:

a. I know I'm not going to freak out when I get back to London and have some kind of crisis about the lack of vitamin D in my life

b. I know that I can come back to Australia and be happy - whenever that may be

High fives all around. My axis is spinning around like Kylie's early 2000 comeback.

Enough epiphany shit. Let's talk food. I've been gorging in Adelaide's culinary delights. Last night I was reunited with BBQ City. It was beautiful. How can one place provide so much happiness? Today was all about the mangoes. Some people find me hard to read, but when it comes to food, I'm like a Mills and Boon storyline. I merely glanced at a mango today and within ten seconds it was cut and plated up for me. Come home time I was cradling one in my arms like taking home my first newborn. Friends I tell you; this is why you have them. Speaking of friends, I really love all of mine. I keep on wanting to touch them which is really unlike me. I'm embracing it though so there's a lot of arm touching and hugging. Hopefully I'm not being too scary. At least I've stopped doing the lifestyle speech. Oh, and I even went to a sing-along chick flick movie, sang and liked it. Yes, I hear a collective 'shit'.

So at the moment I'm packing for Falls. Like every English festival I've been to, my much anticipated Australian one is going to be cold and wet. But it will be fun.

Anyway, I must go to bed. See y'all in 2009; the year of touching.

Stewman told me that sometimes my posts only make sense to me. I fear this one may be a little odd as my eyes are droopy and I've eaten a shit load of salt today. DANGER!

Radelaide

So it's amazing being back. I keep on flailing my arms around saying one of three things:

'this is the lifestyle'
'this is really weird' (will explain a little later)
'I love being back'

I had forgotten how good life is here. It's simple, it's relaxed; it truly represents the way life should be. There is just so much space. And the richness of colour; I almost cried (ok not really, but it's more dramatic this way) when I saw the blue, blue, BLUE sky. God, it's so beautiful. Everyone is so relaxed here. When you walk into a shop, the person is friendly. When you walk down the street, people smile. This is unheard of in London. Oh and the roads are so wide, you could fit at least three lanes in one suburban street. Not to mention the fresh air, the birds and the stars. And eating outside. I love eating outside...

Ok, so onto the weird bit. It's seriously like I never left. It's like my life in London doesn't exist. Kind of like the past two years never happened and the last time I saw everyone was last week. I'm back singing the wrong words to 70's songs with Megan in her car and having a weekly breakfast with Leash, Megs and Anna like I've never been away. While it's great that I can easily slot back into life here, it's also just really bizarre.

I think some friends in London think I'm bullshitting and being over patriotic when I say how fantastic Australia is. Don't get me wrong, it's not making me rethink my life in London because I still love that too, but I guess being home has just reminded me of how good it is. This really is the simple life. And it's beautiful.

I have to

Have a 2008 reflection. It would be a waste of a year and a diary not to. Plus, I can't be bothered packing and figured this would be a better idea.

So this has been a truly incredible year. I've seen, done and visited some of the most amazing things and places. Without having a Gwyneth Paltrow Oscar breakdown moment, I'm lucky to have these opportunities; I know this, but the most satisfying thing is that I've created all this for myself.

At the beginning of the year I decided it would be the year of weekends away. I may have taken this a bit far.

January:
- Amsterdam (this is after a week of skiing in France over xmas)

February:
- Dublin
- Belgium

March:
- Morocco

April:
- Oslo
- Salzburg
- Sardinia

May:
- Genoa, Cinque Terre, Milan, Bergamo
- Stockholm

June:
- New York

August:
- Paris
- Ibiza and Valencia

September:
- Isle of Wight for Bestival

October
- Loire Valley

December:
- Australia

I've also seen some amazing gigs, dance performances, galleries, art and of course, eaten some unbelievable food.

For some of my friends, I know this year has been trying beyond belief and I hope this next year brings you the happiness you deserve. I guess I'd also like to say thanks to all of you who make the effort to read my blog as well as stay in touch with me. It was me who packed up and left and I know it's hard sometimes to take the time out to try and explain in words the ins and outs of your everyday life to someone who isn't there anymore. But it's important for you all to know that the smallest email can bring a thousand words worth of happiness.

I think I should stop before I start quoting Confucius. And, I really should pack.

I'll see most of you very soon. I can't wait. And for the rest, I'll see you in 2009.

This time next week

I'll be at the airport.

I can hardly believe it. From a countdown that started in July, it has come around quickly and kind of unexpectedly. Nevertheless, I'm stupidly excited. I've divided the things I've been looking forward to into categories:

Smells:
- Jacaranda trees
- Freshly cut lawn
- Sprinklers in the evening
- BBQ's

Sounds:
- Australian newsreaders - weird, I don't know why seeing as though I don't even watch the news. Maybe just Australian voices on the tv.
- Crickets
- Mozzies

Foods:
- Asking for a flat white
- Proper Asian food - hello BBQ City, where have you been
- Chocolate Paddle Pop
- Golden Gaytime
- Farmers Union Ice Coffee
- Mango Magic Boost Juice (apparently there's one here, but I know it's not going to be the same)

Random:
- Driving a car with the radio on
- Going for a walk up Mt Lofty and saying hi to people when you walk past
- Going for a walk in the evening when it cools down
- Meeting up with my friends to just have a coffee - that never seems to happen here
- Going to the beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

People, well, that's just obvious.

I wonder if it's going to feel like I'm 'home'. Because, at the moment, I'm completely torn as to where and what I consider my home to be. I feel like London is my home and Adelaide is where I'm from. I know coming back is going to be awesome, but how will I feel when I have to leave? Will I want to stay? Will it make me realise I'm not coming back for a while? I know I'm thinking about this too much, but it's almost impossible not to. What I do know is I can't wait to see you all and it's going to be hard to say goodbye.

See you soon suckers.

Today I

I woke up at 8:16 and then slept again til 10:33.
I had that feeling of possibly never being able to wake up because my eyes were so heavy.
I went for a run and the grass still had icicles on the blades.
I actually felt how beautiful the morning was; it was a perfect winter morning.
I spoke to Vic while I plucked my eyebrows and wondered if it was normal to get so much satisfaction from getting those little buggers out.
I ate muesli and wondered if eating it everyday for the past 3 years is perhaps excessive and obsessive when there are plenty of other breakfast choices.
I decided no, we all have to love something and muesli completes me (but only with yogurt).
I watched the only show I can dedicate myself to - Greys Anatomy is my commitment to crap but I may have to reconsider if Izzy keeps on behaving this way.
I sat and waited while one of my housemates offered me food. Andy gave in and gave me half of his bagel. I then spent a good 15 minutes thinking of the beauty of bagel, iceberg lettuce, crispy bacon and cream cheese.
I then ate Malteasers and immediately thought of Teresa, my official Malteaser supplier.
I asked Andy to teach me and KK how to juggle.
I sucked at juggling. KK was pretty good.
I was advised to have a break form juggling.
I went to tidy my room but then decided to write emails to people based on various life epiphanies I regularly have on Sunday nights.
I then spoke to Lisa.
I thought about sending my New York postcards.
I looked out of the window to a striking pink sunset over the neighbours chimneys.
I started writing this entry.
I tidied my room and actually vacuumed it. I even moved my bed and found Heroes season 1 under the bed from my old housemate.
I went downstairs to help Andy with fajita night. And by help, I mean watch.
I tried juggling again. KK is still better than me.
I ate the fajitas and some of KK's curry.
I helped plan next week's Sunday dinner. And by plan, I mean agree to watch.
I drank some wine and ate some random leftover biscuits for dessert.
I watched a movie with the boys.
I opened my bills from the past month.
I posted this entry.
I went to sleep in my 13.5 tog duvet (yes, I mean doona/quilt but I have to assimilate because I'm sick of being ridiculed).

Goodnight!

Do we ever learn?

Sure, most of us register when we’ve made a mistake, give ourselves a mental slap and think not to do it again, but do we actually ever learn? And by learn, I mean, never do again? Most of the time, probably not. For example, my iPod earphones broke. Again. There are several lessons to be learned from this. The first came about 8 months ago after I was generously given another pair after I had trashed my first ones. These earphones are delicate creatures and don’t deserve to be yanked out of my bag chord or ear piece first. They should be wrapped lovingly around my iPod after every use. Maybe in a blanket or one of those iPod sock things. They should not be thrown into my bag with lunch that leaks over them. I’m a bad iPod mother.

So obviously after trashing my first pair I didn’t learn my lesson and my second pair were treated even worse than their predecessors. Whoops. After trying to listen to music through the only working right ear piece which was hanging from the weird coloured wires, I gave in and went to buy some new ones. Now, I think we can all agree that Apple iPod earphones are a rip off. £20 – pu-lease. Anyway, so I had my brand new ones in my hand, ready to pay when I spotted another pair; a cheaper, but seemingly just as good pair. If only I could turn back time. How many times has the cheaper, inferior product been better? NEVER. This was no exception. After hacking the box open so I could resume my listening pleasure, I realised that these ‘block the outside noise’ cheap pieces of shit didn’t fit in my ears. Unless I have abnormally small holes (yeah, yeah - funny), I’m pretty sure I’m doing some serious damage every time I try and wedge them in my ears - like a pre-op fatty trying to fit into a pair of skinny jeans. Now that I’ve spent way too long explaining my earphone lessons, here is a shorter breakdown of other lessons I’ve learned but not necessarily retained:

- When I try to hurry I take way more time
- I should never try a ‘new’ hair do before I go out
- I will never eat ‘just a bit’ of something
- When I try and be nice it looks really insincere
- Every time I go into the Tate modern I get angry and sleepy

That’s all I can think of so far.