day 2

Ok let me update here - tuesday, 8 am go to hospital with jay,  830 arrive, fill out paperwork, have intake with woman who tells me not to worry they do a lot of nip tuck there but they wont accidentally give me vaginoplasty or a new chin, they do lots of that there but not penile implants....I did not ask for this kind of information at 830 am without food or coffee in my system. really your joking about vaginoplasty? EEEWWW!!! I would like to point out one last time that i was a the ear eye and throat hospital. 

so they send me to a receptionist who dresses me up in the or garm including matching booties and shower cap (jay takes a photo or 2 because its funny and later i post them as i will do here if i can.then i see my fourth person who says she is my nurse - however after a half hour i will never see her again, i sis not see the same person twice all day except for the anestesiologist and the second time was only for a matter of moments. once in the or the plopped me on a table and stuck my arms out to the side (rather cross like) as they popped heart moniters on my i noticed the ceiling was very pretty and said it would be a good picture, thats all i remember of the o.r. 

1230/1 pm ish i am in recovery with a new batch of folk who show me the pain chart (what 6th grader made up the smiley face to mad face pain chart, how did this become the official indicator of pain) she asks me to point - before she can finish i yell out NINE!  it is the most decisive i have ever felt about pain. she said it needed to be a four or less before i could go back downstairs and she shot some morphine into me. YAY. moments later or an hour honestly i dont know she showed me again i instantly responded  - Four! - i wanted to leave.

at 245p still in recovery i heard a nurse say "put preston ahead of so and so shes been here forever" which i would concur with but i just didnt care i was very busy trying to be awake in case anything happened but it was a struggle. soon i heard people were coming back from lunch and they would get to me. then i was rewarded with a cup of ice. for having been so patient and not complaining, dude im on morphine if thees no pain i dont care where you keep me - also Ice which i would scoff at in any given circumstance was like crown jewels i hadnt eaten or had beverages since 9pm the prior night and i was desperately thirsty - i had forgotten how thirsty until i started sucking ice. finally I heard, "Perston yes we have her why didnt anyone call for a report no your supposed to call us to get a report shes been here for like three hours no ok we will send her down.  Im free! 

415pm i am brought down in my lazy boy gurney and Jay is brought to my room to entertain me. i am given things from my locker and told it will be another hour or so before i can leave, they have to give me juice and make sure i dont throw up. I feel certain i wont. but who am i. and then i feel not so certain so im cool staying in the lazy boy as long as they want. Jay leaves having called Craig to come get me, but he is not to be found. they teach me to walk with my crutches let me get dressed and i cant leave so I call Lisa G. who comes and gets me. by 7 pm i am home - however i lost my phone in the taxi. 

lgood note , a man finds phone calls Lisa g. (as id requested via text message) and she goes to get my phone while Craig whos phone was fritzing has come down with soup and soda and bread and has made me a bowl of chicken noodle and sits with me until Lisa returns. they have a party to go to, i send tham on their way (only after making sure i can fit into my tiny bathroom with my crutches without falling over) 

I dont sleep well tuesday night, wed I am irritable, my apartment is hot, the blanket is in my way the pillows are too high, too low, not close enough, too far away. i have to pee all the time. the icee machine doesnt feel cold. I have cramps, oooohhhh! I have cramps NICE! thanks universal principals that say if your gonna be in pain, or on vacation, or getting laid that night then HA! no your not your getting cramps instead! HA!  ok so im a little irritable. knee pain ought to have been enough but no i guess im getting it all done at one time while i have the good drugs. still i dont like it. 

day 2 yes folks remember today is only my second day in bed i am bored, I am surrounded by pillows and blankets and sweatshirts and small table with computer and water and pills and crutches and a cat and i kind of feel like Jabba the hut with this giant pile of things surrounding me. 

I have things on the dvr to watch but i have yet to watch them, i have trimmed the cats claws and cut out a couple matts from her damn long fur. and i still have to pee every ten minutes its driving me a bi crazy. I am also doing my excercises, bend straighten bed straighten. good god Its so boring and yet exhausting. i have visitors which is lovely and one is on his way with coffee right now, the lovely Terry is bringing me a caramel machiatto, and i have to pee again. so ill let you know how day three goes - 

monday

aat 330 on my way out the door to my pole dancing class that goes from 4 - 6pm (yes knee surgery tomorrow, pole dance today.) I have no idea what time to hit the hospital so i call and the lady on the phone who is very sweet has no clue when i go in her first question is do you have time to answer a few questions - i didnt know i had to do a survey! ok i reluctantly agree hoping she will tell me when to show up for it,  her second question is do you know what kind of sugery your having tomorrow.... Do you know what kind f surgery Im having tomorrow? cause thats pretty important. I tell her knee surgery the right one arthroscopic, she says thats correct,  its not a multiple choice lady! is anyone currently hurting you abusing you emotionally or physically or threatening you in any way...If they were i wouldnt tell you since you asked me the same way you asked my name and address! when do i need to be there? she drones on a list of medical history questions that i am sure at 8 am i am going to have to check off on a slip of paper for insurance purposes but i answer no no no not to my knowledge not yet no. finally she tells me no later than 830 am my surgery is at 1030, when should i be done approximately oh 12 or 2 maybe 3 or 4 though you should bring a phone number with you and when its almost time to get you we will call someone in plenty of time so they can pick you up because we will know when your almost ready... i believe that is almost the exact quote. 

I call the med equiptment people with the fancy icee machine for your leg and they arent around. I leave a message, in turn they leave one back they will deliver by noon. great now i need a housesitter and an escort and my stress level has been driven up one more time. I have two hours left to ingest liquids solids water and as many mints as i can suck on. I am dried out my sinus' are bone dry i cant breathe my mouth is like a desert perhaps its stress, but at the mment there isnt enough water in the world for me and so what do i do? 

I go dance it all out in class, we so snake dives, descending angels and layouts and attempted jack knifes  6 turns to dance and i exhaust myself crying by the last one I slide down a wall back on the floor with my feet on the wall, my classmates cheer me up as we all leave - its the last class of the session and they will all continue on and i will have to wait a few months to rejoin and i find it depressing, heidi and i go to trailer park - i have a margarita. I was not told not to have alcohol. i was told not to have advil, funny isnt it! 

preparing for surgery

OK so Its Monday. I have no idea when i am going to the hospital tomorrow. No idea when my surgery is or if they will even let me have surgery since i seem to have heavy duty bronchial congestion and a runny nose - great. grrrr. I do not want any postponing. i cant be any more ready to go through with this bullshit and to be honest i am still of the mind that there is probably another way, a way around this whole surgical procedure thing only i haven't taken the time to explore it because i was in pain and wanted a quick fix. maybe that is oversimplifying. I know everyone says it is the correct decision. but i have a coworker with the same thing and he just lives with the pain, so on one hand i could have just said no to surgery, no one is forcing my hand, i made the decision after talking with several people - but it doesn't seem like enough. i feel like i just accepted what they told me, i didn't fight for something different, i didn't explore all the options before i jumped to this conclusion that was handed to me on a platter. sure lots of people have knee surgery but 6 weeks is alot to give up without a guarantee and its a lot of time to be out of work and relying on kindness from friends.

 

I have been preparing, i have been to the grocery store 3 times (i cant carry it all at once and i dont think of all the things i need at the same time- i have one more trip, i think)  I have been to the pet store but need to go again. I still haven't got the rolling chair, which i believe is the quintessential item to have when on crutches so you can take your coffee with you from room to room and not just drink it over the stove where you made it because you cant cart it around with you.  that's my next stop, then one last go at the whirlpool, lunch with a friend, a last upside down trick on the pole and a few dances in class, then its home to fritter away a few hours until close to midnight when i can no longer eat or drink anything including mints and water,- like id have mints and water for breakfast! - until post surgery at which time i will have a stunning headache to go with my knee pain from my lack of caffination. OK I'm getting ahead of myself.  I have hit the point where i am just ready for this to be done already before i go back to square one where i was kicking and screaming and hoping it would go away if i shut my eyes. before i cancel everything and beg to get some of my hours back at work saying it was a horrible mistake. tick tick tick , can we get on with it? 

OK I'm off to get the rolling chair =maybe this day will start to kick in.

its been awhile

Well I wish i could say i was going on another exotic trip or even a semi boring one but my next adventure is in knee surgery. One week from now i will be not eating or drinking anything including water until after they poke holes in my knee and my femur apparently. I was a bit overwhelmed by it all and pretty pissed that none of the doctors said i should try yoga accupuncture and apple cider vinegar and see how it goes hey i would have thrown in some meditation and organic veggies too! ok i do that anyway but instead i got 6 weeks on crutches. and six weeks to recover from said six weeks on crutches. hmmm. I was worried. thats along time to not work. I dont sit at a desk if i did i could go back to work very quickly but i run 25 flights to 50 flights of stairs a day with baskets weighing 5-15/20lbs each, and thats just work that doesnt include the flights at home, the miles of walking the dance classes, the walks in the park, the dancing, the gym, the swimming, the bike. I like to move.  In any case i have become one with it I am ready -except i dont want to give up pole class that part i am still mad about. i dont like that i am going to miss a whole lotta stuff and not get to move and i will feel it the lack of kinetic expression, the joy of moving, I miss my class with Polina for the kinestetics i miss acting and i miss writing. so I told myseld - If i had 3 months in a little cabin or by the beach with no distractions and i had nowhere to go then i would finish the writing projects.... damn. now im outta work for 3 months. on crutches with nowhere to go. stuck. soon. next week. so i am prepping. I am shopping for frozen food, for extra pet supplies and organizing my notebooks my sheet music and my reading material while debating the benefits of netflix. i will be ready. I think.  some damned adventure!

side effect

so i have this headache that i acquired in australia. at first i thought it was your general garden variety migrane, then went it decided to stick around for a few days i thought dehydration, not enough caffeine, pulled uscle from kayaking, whatever. the point is it stuck around for over a month now. my doctor has been gave me some pain killers (told me it had barbituate in it so she was only giving me a small amount and dont take ibuprofen with it) id been taking a lot of ibuprofen. i did not read the instuctions because last time id read side effects i discovered one called coffee ground vomiting. WOW! it sounded awful and entertaining all at the same time-eeeeeewwwww. but weird and what does that mean anyway! and why when you hear the side effects on commercials for drugs would you ever be sold on em?! well not knowing the side of effect of my fioricet was just fine with me - perhaps i just liked the word barbituate -kind of trippy. it also contains acetaminophen and caffeine - my favorite! i though eh whats the harm (also i have had a headache for a MONTH!) 

now the directions on the label says take two every 6 hours as directed. 

My doctor gave me a prescription for 10 pills - that if taken as directed is approx 2 1/2 days. 

ahem. 

I understand she is concerned about the habit forming properties that make up the cut little fioricet but really come on! 

I made them last a week and i could understand the concern - they make you nice and sleepy - if only shed prescribed these for me for my trip to australia i could have had some sleep on the plane!

Ok so i go back she prescribes me a neck xray a neurologist and flexeril.

Im pretty sure i was prescribed this for some knee or back injury and i left it in the med cabinet unused to this day (believe it or not i am not really interested in living off of pain pills i dont even like to take ibuprofen the drugs are reserved for intense cramps only and the occasional month long headache- it irritates my dr. when i tell him i dont want to take anything because its like i shot down his best idea of how to fix everything -try again people.

heres the thing i just read the side effects (i know i said i wouldnt -after coffee ground vomiting nothing else can compare- even death and blindness are seemingly common side effects these days and they bear little shock value to me.)  the side effects are HILARIOUS!

loss of coordination (i shut my fingers in the door and i fell off the chiropractic table, i trip ver chalk drawings on the street! who would ever know) 

mood swings and halucinations - I talk to myself - yes i admit it. so do most o the people i work with you just dont question it if it doesnt begin with your name why answer - just let em go they are probably working something out - no one will ever know-!) 

blurred vision - i actualy had trouble reading that one because i already hve blurred vision and my doctor called me blind the other day. 

but the best one is 

may cause headache

ahem.

why am i taking this? 

oh yes its a muscle relaxe it may help with my headache.

anyone else see how this may not be the drug for me? 

perhaps i should just smoke a joint! 

sydney to new york

Well i had a good last few days here (though really i wanted to be elsewhere -to get to see more- to extend and expand my visit) the problem is in five weeks in europe i felt satisfied that if i never got back to any one of those countries id live - i was sated. Here its too far away and too big and spread out and i didnt plan as well as i could (but you never know that until its too late so i guess i did plan as well as i could) and i feel that i have to come back to finish. I wanted to finish in one trip. I have other places to see. but i still am not done here. damn.

In anycas i had a great return flight to sydney with shanaz and her Mum picked us up at the airport and they were kind enough to let me hang with them for the day as we wandered around took the ferry to the quay popped into galleries at the rocks and had pastery at a lovely rude little french place that had the best chocolate caramel tarts so i went back every day. true i cannot resist caramel.
I had a great walk in the blue mountains I opted to skip the tour and just explore (i would have gotten around better on tour but i would not have been able to walk to all the things i saw it was great. i only saw 2 big ol spiders (i refused to look closely when i saw web in other places since i knew i had to walk through (the first spider was giant - meaning very long legged and yellow with a brown spot and the second was copper and brown really really shiny irridescent copper he made me jump over him but i didnt scream i wanted to take a pic of him but im not really that fond of them.
i had a big souvenir collecting day - i hate that part actually its hard to choose do i get the keychains or the magnets - no one really cares about keychains and magnets but they do care if you dont bring anything back! so i got tim tams everyone loves tim tams and they are authentic australian (my australian friends say so) and some assorted crap that hopefully will be put on a fridge somewhere
i finished off my groceries today (Do not mock me! yes i went grocery shopping , it seems unlikely since i havent stepped foot in the food emporium in ages but here the hostels have fabulous kitchens so i got some cereal and coffee and other bits and i ate in alot. i ate out a bit too. but i was trying to balance out the cost of the panadol advil nurofen stepasil ice packs ankle brace - did i mention the twisted ankle last week? or the cold passed to me in melbourne or the migrane (perhaps from the sun? or ear infection - suggested by someone else - or just a migrane with unfortunate timing? yeah im ignoring all of it. doctors are for NY -ice packs and things are just the same here, but i will say drugs cost alot more and the pharmacist is fabulous
" with this advil youll need to make sure youve eaten somthing before you take it also do not exceed six pills in a day thats a 24 hour period they are strong so be careful" WOW! its advil i take six at a time! she has the directions memorized, my pharmacist doesnt tell you what morphine could do to you let alone ibuprofen!
Anyway I ampacked and ready to go I have fun things to say but is 7 am and they floated right out of my brain as i sat down so too bad. Allthough while i remember i want to note waiters get paid 18$ an hour - try to get your check! they dont care you can stay all day they still get paid no one is rushing you out the door its amazing!
allright off to catch a plane, its about 530pm back home and im still trying to work out the math of when should i actually sleep on the flight that will make me the least lagged when i get there - i hate math.

melbourne

I decided i dont like blogging i prefer writing an email it seems more succinct or maybe its because i had no one to speak english with in europe so i was desperate to talk and it all flowed nicely. Im feeling- though i havent read a word- a bit disjointed like 'wait did i mention that?' hmm then the dilemna do i risk repeating myself or not. its too much thinking thank god im almost home!

Melbourne is a pretty city but i still feel i only need three days to get the cityafter 3 i get it, the layout the feel the sights, I live in one its not that hard. if you dont live there, there is only so much to see and take in I want to go to a natural setting but i was not in melbourne to see sights i was visiting. another odd transition, going from travelling alone on your own agenda no one to say i dont want to, no compromises. to being a guest in someone elses house and on someone elses schedule its just a weird transition. I had a great time Ryan and I split the couch cusions and took up spots on the floor for a few nights. trent had the weekend off and his friend Paul from sydney who now lives in Uluru ( sp? - ayers rock) also stayed the weekend and our friend shanaz from adelaide who lives in NY but is visiting her Mum in Wooloongong (follow that!) we had dinner and drinks with her friends on friday and sat was birthday celebration which began of course with a drag show "Jack and jill" (Jacqueline and jillettee) They were fun silly cheesy and believe it or not it was mostly women(this is odd for me to see) as they were having a hen party (bachelorette - you have to love the language differences) I was told by paul we would be getting 'dead set maggotted' and that i was being a 'slaggy mole' (whatever!) he couldnt quite give me a good explanation for slaggy mole but i determined it was like an angry slutty jersey girl in a mall and although enjoying my interpretation, shanaz gave us ferrel, uhm i believe thats what i said. dead set maggotted was just sloshed thats the -someone else would have to put you in a cab mode. I put us in a cab! and it wouldnt take us all the way because it had a prior engagement and there was construction and taxis in melbourne cost 10 cents every ten seconds. public transport is the tram - not good not bad but difficult you need instructions and the people who give instructions are likely to contradict each other so its better to walk if you can. I didnt learn anything new except that birthdays in foreign countries are expensive. and I need another month because frankly im still a little mad i coulndt find a way back to the gold coast the sunshine coast uluru (esp now that i know someone!) and a bunch of other places. I considered hiding out at a strawberryfarm to work for keep and pretend i missed my plane when i lost track of time but I dont think the farms pay they just let you work so you can stay there. weird. but dont think i wouldnt have done it if my show closed tommorow! Apparently i have to come back and i think thats the irritating part, it sort of kills the idea that i could take in everything in one trip just in case i never made it back (I have a lot of other things to see!)
here is the other thing i did learn - ok i knew there were large bugs and spiders and snakes and all that and honestly i wanted to go to uluru very badly however it is possible Paul has made that impossible with his outback stories the first one which i will share now (and please remember that he works for a very fancy resort) he had a centipede this big (when i say this big imagine a good foot between his outstretched hands) it freaked him out so he chopped it in half with a kitchen knife and it screamed and then it ran off in two seperate directions!!! TWO DIRECTIONS! TWO! also he said you have to watch em cause they can sting you from either end and they are cannibals so if you kill one you have to clean it up quickly and thouroughly or youll get a bunch more coming out for the feast. oh yeah im dyin to go there. that story is a dream killer. but the beach and the reef are still on and if i forget i may still be able to go (although a foot long centepede would be hard to forget I keep looking at the shower drain at my hostel!)
tommorow im off to the blue mountain tourist trap (the city rail guy was happy id made it to byron apparently its the only good choice i made cause i got to see something that wasnt a city cause he thinks every western city is the same (i kind of agree) he wished i was going somewhere more interesting but with my time constraints he understood and conceded to help me by giving me train times reluctantly.
I hope i will be able to get around and see more than the average tourist so as not to dissapoint!
see you soon!

Byron Bay

Ok i dont remember where i left off and frankly Im starving in an internet cafe in melbourne i arrived yesterday and met up with Ryan and Trent. Ryan and i were up at seven and have been walking around since then.
I ditched brisbane and jumped on the express bus to Byron bay (somewhere alo9ng the gold coast which claims to be the most easterly part of australia and its damn gorgeous.
I was pissed i had to leave i wanted to stay. i want to leave melbourne a day early and fly back for the end of my vacation.
I got there and ended up in a room of L 's Laura, Lydia, Lana and myself. we ended up hanging out taking in the beach togehter so we could watch each others things met for dinner and drinks and dancing later and then in the morning lana and I went sea kayaking It was amazing. i could spend days kayaking on the ocean ok i could spend everyday doing that it was beautiful and the dolphins swimming around and jumping up to twenty feet away was just a bonus.
I was so supposed to have a surfing lesson the next morning before i left but they changed it to the afternoon and i couldnt make it due to my bus, i seriously considered staying an extra night and risking missing my flight to melbourne thats how much i liked it but i didnt. and then my flight was late and i was pissed!
Melboune is a lovely city its definitely fall here leaves brown and hitting the ground crunching beneath your feet as you walk the wind it gusting and the sun is hididng behind fluffy clouds its 19 here and the weather report usually goes one of two ways- today 19 and fine or fine but a bit of rain. apparently fine is the only way to describe the weather if its not rainy everything else is fine. and i have no idea what 19 is but 19 is way colder then 23. I have no comprehension of celcius or metric its kinda killin me. Coffee here like everywhere else is not brewed is tiny and should be ordered as flat white or long black (I have no idea what it all means but somehow i keep getting coffee so its all good)
tonight will be dinner and drinks tommorow is a drag show with dinner and the big bday bash - i guess that means I will have to stay up pat eleven which i have only done once so far - time to nap!
i have more or i could make it more interesting but i just dont have another moment right now! gotta run ttyl!

brisbane sucks

Honestly that is not what i wanted to title this post because it doesnt suck not really.
Everyone I have met here has been friendly funny outgoing kind entertaining, the people here are awesome even or maybe especially the two starbucks chicks one is going to marry a south american but not australian. they hate americans. it is a conversation i have heard numerous times in numerous countries i always happen to walk in on the i hate americans conversation. I feel obligated to then tell them as we are all laughing (for different reasons of course) that im american but these two realize it before i say anything and they have the usual yeah but you know what i mean thing. anyway htis conversation turns twenty entertaining minutes long and i enjoy them.
Its the highlight of my stay here.

The other highlight is roaches YES I SAID ROACHES DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT!!!!!!
I am considering burning my luggage before i return
I WILLNOT HAVE THEM IN MY LUGGAGE!!

yes thank you all ladies and gentleman i found my first truly awful nasty dingy rotten scary fucking hostel.

they are of course the nicest people on the planet, however i get here sat afternoon fourish i have made my way to the place and now my room its tiny. i can live. its dark and the floors are wood unusual but i can live. there is no locker for my stuff. i will use the ones downstairs. there is a roach on the floor.
I cry. Instantly. actually i just let out a wheezing i canlive with that its just a bug right its dead who knows. Well i know im lyin to myself.
i have run to the desk and asked for assistance and the perky lady goes up to my room explaining brisbane is worse than NY cause its warm and she picks the sucker up with her hands like shes rescuing it pronounces it alive not dead and tosses it out a window like a spider out the door. W.T.F!!!
I decide im overreacting as i am wont to do when it comes to creatures of more than 6 legs.
i start to wander to get my bearings but all i can think is I HATE BRISBANE! but i know its the hostel not the city but i cant help but blame the city after all my hostess blamed the city why shouldnt I?
eventually i cool off but not calm down i go back to my room and as the lights come on oh yes my friends there was some mighty fine scurrying going on! i shook out all my shit and ran with it to the desk still holding back tears but barely and the lady offered me a different room. i said ok - to be honest it was late i had no idea where else to go but the second room was far and i mean far superior (that does not remove it from the category of roach infested dump it just means i only needed two beers to fall asleep on the top bunk along with all of my vacationly possesions).
I did not see any roaches and i was in a room with two german girls and three french none of whom had seen any bugs and one had been there a week.
Obviously they dont look for these things like i do.
I went downstairs and called Qantas i dont have to stay here! i can just fly on! and i think they would have let me but i felt i owed the city itself one more chance.
I knew my options were open so in the am after me and the three roaches had a really fast shower together i ran out the door and by 8 am had a new place to live - for one night and had booked myself a two day trip somewhere down the coast.

I also booked myself into the koala reserve today so the one thing i wanted to do here i did.
I squished a koala OH MY GOD
they are like thirty pound memory foam pillows they are awesome. they really do kinda stick to you like that toy where you pinch there back and they stay. they are like that. I wanted to squish him like my cat but they dont let you do that - they have claws and they bite. also they are alot like monkeys I feel like they should be in the monkey family not the bear family. they are bizarre.
Also I played with some kangaroos - they resemble camels up close. same eyes and nose but they are soft and cute and damn scary when they run at you full speed. but fun!

Im off to what i believe to be the beach for two nights (cause i couldnt stand another minute here)
i just dont see the point of being here so Im leaving.
Sorry Brisbane!

oh by the way BUNK is the name of the hostel to avoid! i plan to review it when i get back!

brisbane sucks

this post will not be funny. read at your own risk.

Ok so this is the boring phase where I catch you up to where i am and ramble on about how much ive done so far.
Its been a week since i left, no wait its been a day no four, DAMN I LOST TIME! and im dizzy, shut up i heard that.
First things first, airplane. (heres the really boring part so suffer along with me)
at the airport i frantically realized i needed a book. i had two with me but they were like broccoli and i needed pizza i was about to be trapped and the NY times crossword would only be a source of frustration without google to assist me.
I bought a spy novel i think.
I watched 27 dresses ate dinner watched ps i love you read 16 chapters of my book and then we landed in LA. for an hour. I paced very quickly hoping id wear myself out.
I reboarded read another 14 chapters ate dinner (yes again- the man serving it practically threatened us with you should eat now you its quite along way until breakfast.) so i did and i saved the brownie in case it was true. but then they brought a snack bag for the duration. then they finally turned out the lights but i had to wake the man next to me for fear if i didnt now id do it later anyway (the guilty dilemna of the window seat when to pee and how often)
I took a pill and i slept for an hour or eight im not sure and it didnt matter i still had five hours to go but i watched gone baby gone read another 12 chapeters of my spy book which i am saving for subsequent flights, ate breakfast at four in the morning their time which is now my time got to my hostel at 10 wandered about until 2 (no check in until noon)
by wandering about I mean I grabbed the free map and walked to the opera house and took in the view of the harbour and circular quay then i wandered through the botanical gardens and passed the government house (closed for a function) the parliment and museums through the park and the eye hospital (it was some strange shortcut i think i followed the inordinate amount of joggers down the path they were so numerous on thursday afternoon it was a bit freakish.- it turns out theres a marathon -
i returned to my hostel as i was very dizzy by this point showered and lay down a bit drank lots of water lay down for an hour then headed back out
I went to darling harbour and realized i hadnt eaten since four in the morning (that whole call it breakfast thing threw me) so i sat down and ate overlooking the harbour as the sun went down (at least i think it went down it turns out it doesnt actually get up there very high)
The sun here reminds me of iceland It never goes overhead at ten am its like 6 pm its very winter but its in the high 60s (ok i think its in the high 60s its like between 11 and 22 celcius so that does me no good) its warm if your in the sun its cool if your not
I came back and against all me better dizzy judgement as wired as i was i thought i should remain awake until 8 but that just wasnt happening.
I met my crazy indian bunk mate she had stuff strewn across my lower bunk and i asked her to move it (frankly i didnt want to squash her stuff and i planned to crash.
She isnt crazy actually she is older and apparently alone she has a whole lotta shit with her and talks loud on the phone and her stuff smells like tea tree oil.
my other roomies are Alex from south korea a clothing retailer and designer (studied for a year at fit) on vacation and shes meeting an internet friend for the first time on sunday.
there are two people i havent met and one girl who is estonian grew up in finland and is moving here for a year trying to be an au pair.

I had breakfast with alex this am she went to the blue mountains
I had no idea what i would do so it turns out i would buy a day pass on the transpotation system and feel obliged to use it as much as possible and honestly folks I am just on a quick break here, I leave tommorow for brisbane so today I took a nice long walk exploring a few hoods then just jumped on a train to a bus to the beach at Bondi did a five km sea walk then took the bus back to the train to a new neighborhood where i had lunch just in case) then i jumped on a fairy to manly beach and back I was about to walk over the bridge but i decided to take a quick break pack my suitcase and get warmer things as the sun has disappeared

ok im off hope it wasnt too much a bore if you made it this far -if not well next time.

set? and go!

its 1030 am. I am sort of packed. Well I was packed but it felt over packed so i unpacked then i got coffee from the deli. As i attempt to repack I slowly decide what to not bring. I think I brought less for five weeks and here i am struggling over two. Its the damn weather. I gave up the rain coat. screw that Ill dry off if it rains or stay in. I dont need a rain coat here why would i need one there. the other big dilemna as i roll my clothing up is what is the most comfortable plane wear. normally i wouldnt care a few hours later and your off. but i may be squashed between four or five people for 22 hours i need to be agile so i can steathily climb over sleeping snoring travellers. I cant fall asleep in socks so how can i possibly wear shoes should i have bought slippers?
this is what happenes when there is too much time to think before you have to go to the airport.
I have four more hours of hey maybe i shouldnt bring pants! no wait ill need those. socks who needs socks! hmmm maybe ill just buy shampoo when i get there and then i can reduce my vacation to a carry on! ooooh.
wait that may be going to far.
well I am off to buy snack food -because they may not have snack food in australia. or because i have to occupy myself in a productive manner for the next few hours.
In any case whatever ends up in my suitcase will be joining me on the subway at 3pm
woohoo im off! no really this time.

ready

allright here goes

Im ready 

I am ready to get out of this building to get on a plane and get the hell from here. 

but i have 3 more shows 2 more work days and one day off before im off and running.

Yes ladies and gentleman I am leaving the country. Again.

dont snicker at me that way! i cant help it I need to get away and I have some sort of wander lust that i must satisfy. 

wasnt five weeks enough you might ask, less than a year ago you might point out.

NO. well yes. but the opportunity came up to visit a friend in melbourne in may and celebrate his bday and so Im off. oh sure i could have used my money to pay of some outstanding bills. i could have caught up on my debt. i could have put it away for the future purchase of property - a valiant cause for cash saving. but no. I cannot allow that. its boring. and its all gonna be right where i left it upon my return. 

I am leaving on teusday for sydney i have two nights there before i run up to brisbane to squeeze a koala ( I hear thats the place to squish bears) then off to melbourne for a little birthday soiree.  then back to sydney for some research and relaxation (Im throwing that in as proof of my need to have a tax deductible working vacation - I will be researching a writing project and if i finish it i feel i can deduct this adventure next year - or i completely misunderstand taxes in which case it doesnt really matter anyway Im still going.

i come back on the 23rd and im back to work on the 24th -that may be the true adventure of the entire trip.

so Im ready by monday i will be set, Im sure ill add a bit more then. on tuesday i go.

I have started this now because apparently last summer my travelogue went over well with some folks and frankly i regret not posting the five weeks worth of insanity i experienced.  so at the moment we shall begin before i take off. 

really

ok mom this is it. here. you requested this, just remember that when its not funny or its too graphic or i swear like a sailor and talk about pole dancing, just remember you asked for it!

for a first post it aint much but then i dont have alot to say at this moment its early ok well its 1130 and i already bitched about my life this am. maybe ill warm up to doing this later the pressure is on!