My travels

On Sunday I'm heading to Sydney for five fabulous days to myself. I am going to see the Dalai Lama for a couple of days with friends from Queensland I haven't seen for AGES. A few friends are also Dalai Lama-ing so no doubt there'll be some lunches/dinners/drinks for catching up. I'm going to have a look at our house in Summer Hill and I'm going to catch up with Sydney friends for coffees and generally have a lovely child-free break.



On Sunday I'm attending my friend's 40th birthday/Divorce party. They are still in the midst of sorting out property and parenting arrangements and it's all a bit yuck. It's a shame it wasn't all sorted by the time she had her party. Check out the cake:



Then I will be back from Sydney on Thursday night and a week later, we all (me, Mel and Belle) will head to Queensland for our official three-week holiday. We haven't had a three week holiday in.... well since our honeymoon I suspect! We'll spend 10 days on the Gold Coast, a few days with friends on the Sunshine Coast, perhaps a day or two in Brisbane and we'll be in Toowoomba for Christmas.



I don't think I could be any more excited. Let the fun times roll.

Patience, grasshopper

I got onto eBay and bought a lens for my camera. It's a fairly standard lens except now it comes with Image Stabiliser (I.S) and the one I'm using is the one that came with Mav's camera 5 years ago and back then they didn't have I.S. It cost me $170, but if I bought it with my camera I would have paid about an extra $300 so I thought I got a bargain.

Also, apart from wanting the I.S. function it occurred to me that since I stole all Mav's lenses to use on my new camera, he actually can't use his camera. D'oh! How unlike me to be thinking completely of myself.

Here is the lens that I am patiently waiting to have delivered by registered post. Ok, there is nothing patient about my waiting. I paid on Sunday night and it was posted on Monday from Melbourne and it's still not here. I have checked the post box several times every day. I have called the local post office. I have re-checked the postage date with the seller. That lens had better be here today.





The worst thing about this whole experience (or the best thing, depending on how you look at it) is that I have discovered there are many, many lovely lenses on eBay for a fraction of the retail price. I could really spend some money if I had money to spend. Which I don't (darn being a full-time student). Another lesson in patience....

How remiss of me

It has been brought to my attention that I alluded to the possibility of relocating overseas next year and then never followed it up with details.

Well it wasn't really an accident. We still don't know anything definite which is why I haven't said any more (at least not on the internet). But it looks quite likely that Mav will take a job in the Middle East next year. This will pose a few dilemmas...

Firstly, I need to stay here and finish my Masters. So regardless of when he goes (possibly anywhere up to and including July??) we'll be on opposite sides of the world from each other for a wee while. I'm used to being a single parent but I kind of like that he comes home fairly regularly, so I'm not keen on this idea. I'm quite sure Miss Annabelle will not be thrilled either.

Secondly, even when I finish my Masters, I'm not sure if it will be recognised where we are going so I may have done all this work to not be able to practice. Hmmm.... that would be a bitch to say the least. I still have to find out more about that yet.

On the upside, it would be a great experience for a few years, there is a great ex-pat community so we'd have lots of friends, and coincidentally enough, even some of my Adelaide friends are thinking of going there. So I could just take the Adelaide crowd with me to Arab-land. :)

There is also good money to be made, of course. And there would be excellent schools for Annabelle.

There is restricted access to the internet and no Skype. And I don't want to give up my pots and plants and not be able to get a dog. (I'm back on the downsides now).

So if I spend too much time thinking about it, I'm like a pendulum going back and forth, back and forth deciding whether I'm excited or anxious. A bit of both. So rather than think too much about it, I'm focusing on finishing my course and having a very lovely holiday in Queensland in December. Will post details as they come to hand...