Just as soon as it started though, it ended. Good things are always like that I find. You are anxiously awaiting their arrival, you have the most tremendous of times, and then as soon as you blink - it's all over.
I boarded the plane on Atlanta with a longing tugging on my heart. I had to walk away, hearing my mom's words, "I think it's harder saying good-bye this time, because I don't know when I will see you again." And it's true - I really am not sure when I will be back in Atlanta again, but I will treasure that time I did spend with them until next time.
My flight back was less than perfect. Almost the same song and dance as the first go-around. I had to fly Atlanta to Houston, but because of a delay, I missed my Houston to LA flight, so I was re-routed through Denver. Thinking I was going to spend the day on Venice Beach, and instead spent it wandering around airports, I was even more anxious to get on yet another plane - and this time for 16 hours! This anxiousness was heightened by the 2 hours we sat on the runway waiting for an electrical problem to be fixed (which was effecting the air conditioning, so the cabin was about 105 degrees). Not something you want to hear before an around the world flight.
Thankfully though, I ate (well, tried to eat some dinner - all the vegetarian options they were serving was 'Cheese Cannelloni' which ended up being full of beef mince. Wonderful!). And then slept pretty much the entire rest of the trip, landing in Sydney. My final leg from Sydney to Melbourne waited for our arrival, so we arrived in Melbourne not too long after our initial time.
Sweet Irish Dave was waiting for me (even after his friends gave him a hard time by posting this on Facebook:)
We had a nice afternoon, catching up on 'all the news' (as my grandmother always says) over some excellent food at veggie bar (yes, he ate there for me!) But because it was already Sunday, I had to prepare for I found it tremendously hard to get back into my routine, and actually only got back into the norm this week (even after a public holiday for the Queens Birthday on Monday).
My time has been most spent catching up with all the Aussie friends (two weeks feels like a lot longer when you're away). Two weekends, I visited the Good Food and Wine Festival and the Mind, Body, Spirit Festival, both had a booth by The Chocolate Box - so was able to catch up with those friends.
Good Food and Wine had just what the title says - amazing food and wine.
Mind, Body, Spirit was a bit more eccentric with booths for angel wings, crystals, and detox remedies. I decided it would be a great idea to get a henna tattoo from a very kind Islamic lady (she assured me it would fade after a few days). It's still on my hand, and is very hard to cover up at work! Good thing Australia is a little more lenient on those type of rules in the workplace:
So, now that I'm back into my routine, I am about to hit the road again. Sunday I leave for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for two weeks of training for work. My last weekend, I am taking a short 1 hour plane ride over to Singapore for a couple of days. I am more than excited to have a whole adventure in itself in SE Asia - with of course stories and pictures to come!
As soon as I return though, I already have my mind on the packing I will have to do to move out of my apartment before July 13 (my house mate's job is sending her back to Canada earlier than expected).
But you know - life throws you curve balls, and instead of ducking and crying - you swing and hope for the best!
See ya after KL!
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