still alive

hello there. i am tired, hence the lack of capitals! just wanted to say that i am still alive. having a great time, but i am seriously tired! i have lots of photos to post. i had a lovely time in melbourne with friends and family. enjoyed some lovely music my uncle and cousin were playing (with the group) and watched some very drunk Irish-for-the-day people dance about the place. met my friend mick's baby zane - he is very sweet and i am glad she is happy. spent time with my other friend katie and her husband vadim - they are really sweet and well-matched! :-)

saw my cousin tegan and met her two kids. they are very cute and well-loved.

then i came home - after waiting for my plane for an extra 45 mins of course!

sorry this is short, but i am heading to bed. i will have to do a big updae when i get back to london.

alex :-)

My Birthday

Today I:

Bought stripy pants for a Puffin Pirate (aka Orlaith)
Bought yarn at Spotlight at 20% off
Drove past my old school
Saw pelicans sitting on street lights
Saw my dad's building
Ate fish and chips near the beach (grilled not battered!)
walked along the beach
Swam at the beach
Admired the view of Brisbane from a lookout near my old school
Ate dinner on the back veranda
Chatted to my aunt, and two old friends on the phone
Emailed Scott
About to crash...

Home

I have been home for four full days now. I have slotted back into life here very easily, as I figured I would. Today was insanely hot, especially for someone who has spent the last two and a bit years living in Europe! 38 degrees was the top temp. And it got to 40 on our veranda in the heat of the day.

Arriving home was great. It feels like, in a way, that I have not been away, yet I have. I am happy to be home, but I am not ready to live back here yet. And I am not sure I could do another Brisbane summer!

I have had two birthday parties, although number two, which was today ended up being very VERY small!!

Last night I had my friends over. There were 10 adults and three kiddies. It was fantastic to see old friends. I was going through the numbers on my old sim card (I have kept my Aussie number) and I spotted a number for a guy I went to uni with. He is a great guy, so I sent him a text to see if he was still around. He was! And he came to my party. David and his wife Jill are lovely. David is in the army (he is retired as of this coming Saturday though) and in the last two years he has spent 4 months in Iraq (he is part of the SAS unit). He is no longer able to drive as when he was there he burst blood vessels in both eyes due to someone blowing himself up too close to David. He was telling us all sorts of things that are going on there that you just do not hear about on the news. It was really great that he could come along, and I am so glad I found his number randomly in my phone!

Maree, her husband Damien and their three kiddies came along. I had not met her youngest child Corbin. He is so cute. They are all gorgeous kids and Corbin look so serious. Then again, Bowen was when he was younger, and he is 5 now. Trinity is going to be 10 this year. I first met her when she was 4 I think. :-)

There was also Caroline, Lisa, Melissa, Monica, Nicole and me! Monica made the trek up from Sydney for the weekend. YAY! Everyone who was there came to see me. It was so great to see people, and I will hopefully get to catch up with people on a one-on-one basis for a proper chat while I am here. It was almost like I had not been away. I slipped back into friendships very easily (not that I ever left them, but I am not sure how else to say it!).

I will post photos shortly. Tomorrow is my birthday. I shall be 27. And I have decided I want to spend it eating fish and chips on the beach. A SANDY beach, not a pebbly one!! I think we will head out to the bay and have lunch out there. I just hope it's not too hot, but I certainly plan on walking in the water.

In 24 hours...

I will be saying good bye to Scott at Heathrow airport and heading off to wait to board my plane to Australia.

I tried checking in online for my flight last night but I had dramas. So I have to ring them up. :-(

If I don't update this before I go, wish me luck, and I will update from Australia!!!

Alex :-)