I have been home for just over a week now and boy is it strange. The morning after the first night in my own bed in over 7 months I woke up not exactly sure where I was, and completely overwhelmed by how many clothes I had in my closet. It's not that I even have a lot of clothes, but after a backpack full of stained and holey t-shirt, I felt like Paris Hilton. That feeling faded after I watered the bulls and checked my bank account ($6.37 baby!) but still...
I am going to hang around High Prairie at least for the summer, as I have a feeling the geo-gods won't be throwing any jobs down from the heavens until at least September. It's all good though, as I shall embrace the cliche of living in my parents' basement.
This will be the last post on this blog, as it is pretty hard to make dispatches from down under when one is no longer down under, but I promise to alert the masses if decide to go on another random excursion. Right now it is 50/50 between working in Ireland and popping into Europe or circling South America. All I need is $10 000 and I am good to go!
Thanks for reading everyone- knowing someone was on the other end of the line reading all this gibberish was comforting as I meandered around the red continent.
Cheers.
-A.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Departure
I am in the Melbourne airport and my flight leaves in just over an hour. I am slightly pissed because what I thougth was a direct flight is actually connecting in Auckland AND the direct flight which leaves 30min earlier is an A380- the largest commercial plane in the world which has in-cabin wireless and power outlets for your laptop and a bar. Alas, maybe next time.
I slept in the airport last night so I would be sure not to miss my flight and I saved on a night of hostel fees. Little did I know how bloody uncomfortable the Melbourne airport is. Metal chairs and freezing cold, I ended up bunking down between the pinball machines in the arcade area- at least there was carpet there. On the bright side I have a window seat and will be in my own bed in 29 hours. It hasn't really sunk in that I am going back to Canada- the airport is such a strange purgatory, it's hard to think about the real world when you are shuttling between customs desks and navigating the warrens of escalators and duty-free shops. It will probably take a few days to hit me, at which point I will have to think about what the hell I am going to do next. If I don't get a geology job, I am going to save up for a few months and do a working holiday in Ireland. I promised my mom I wouldn't go to South America by myself, so that one will go back on the shelf for a couple years.
-A.
I slept in the airport last night so I would be sure not to miss my flight and I saved on a night of hostel fees. Little did I know how bloody uncomfortable the Melbourne airport is. Metal chairs and freezing cold, I ended up bunking down between the pinball machines in the arcade area- at least there was carpet there. On the bright side I have a window seat and will be in my own bed in 29 hours. It hasn't really sunk in that I am going back to Canada- the airport is such a strange purgatory, it's hard to think about the real world when you are shuttling between customs desks and navigating the warrens of escalators and duty-free shops. It will probably take a few days to hit me, at which point I will have to think about what the hell I am going to do next. If I don't get a geology job, I am going to save up for a few months and do a working holiday in Ireland. I promised my mom I wouldn't go to South America by myself, so that one will go back on the shelf for a couple years.
-A.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Good Times in Melbourne
I am back from the tropical north and the weather is similar to a brisk October day in Halifax. I really miss the tropics. Diving was amazing, though, and I saw clown fish and angelfish and rays and a porcupine fish, but no turtles, which is a bummer. I think I will definitely be doing that again- I heard Mexico is a good place to go, minus the flu issues of course. I am pretty sure the pressure gave me an ear infection, but I don't care because it was totally worth it.
After my diving course I took a tour of the northern rainforests up by Cape Tribulation. Absolutely stunning. There was a river cruise included where I saw no less than 8 crocodiles along the way, ranging from 40 year old beasts to a little guy about a foot long. I met a cool chick from Britain named Nicola and we hung out for most of the trip and made fun of the noisy American girls in the back. It's nice that us Commonwealth gals have some common ground. It seems that I am meeting all these cool people just as I am leaving. There was another cool chick from Morocco in my hostel who gave me some tips about North African geology companies and said I should check it out. On my last night in Cairns we had some vodka coolers in the lounge and talked about home.
Today is my last full day in Australia and I have been having a blast in Melbourne. I was kind of dreading this bit because I was basically planning to killing time until I go to the airport tomorrow. Instead, I will barely have time to finish all I want to do. On Friday night I got in from the airport at about 6pm which was decent and I grabbed a hostel room right near the train station because I didn't want to walk too far- that was a mistake and I ended up in the nastiest place I have been in since coming to Australia. At 7:30 am I was out of there and walked into the central business district to find something classier. I found a rundown joint north of the markets, but it had a good atmosphere and was only $20 a night. After breakfast at the Queen Victoria Markets (like the Halifax Farmers Market x 10), I spent a good 4 hours touring around the excellent Melbourne Museum. I thought I would treat myself and went in search of a restaurant. Instead, I met two cool gals on the tram and I hung out with them for the rest of the night. including crashing at their hostel because it was too late to walk back to mine and I was too cheap for a taxi. Laura is from New Brunswick and Katie is from Scotland. I was giving them advice on where the tram was headed and they invited me to join them. We had a great italian meal and dessert and after-dinner drinks and just chatted all evening. Once again, more cool people that I am meeting just as I leave. I guess that is what Facebook and email are for, though, right?
-A.
After my diving course I took a tour of the northern rainforests up by Cape Tribulation. Absolutely stunning. There was a river cruise included where I saw no less than 8 crocodiles along the way, ranging from 40 year old beasts to a little guy about a foot long. I met a cool chick from Britain named Nicola and we hung out for most of the trip and made fun of the noisy American girls in the back. It's nice that us Commonwealth gals have some common ground. It seems that I am meeting all these cool people just as I am leaving. There was another cool chick from Morocco in my hostel who gave me some tips about North African geology companies and said I should check it out. On my last night in Cairns we had some vodka coolers in the lounge and talked about home.
Today is my last full day in Australia and I have been having a blast in Melbourne. I was kind of dreading this bit because I was basically planning to killing time until I go to the airport tomorrow. Instead, I will barely have time to finish all I want to do. On Friday night I got in from the airport at about 6pm which was decent and I grabbed a hostel room right near the train station because I didn't want to walk too far- that was a mistake and I ended up in the nastiest place I have been in since coming to Australia. At 7:30 am I was out of there and walked into the central business district to find something classier. I found a rundown joint north of the markets, but it had a good atmosphere and was only $20 a night. After breakfast at the Queen Victoria Markets (like the Halifax Farmers Market x 10), I spent a good 4 hours touring around the excellent Melbourne Museum. I thought I would treat myself and went in search of a restaurant. Instead, I met two cool gals on the tram and I hung out with them for the rest of the night. including crashing at their hostel because it was too late to walk back to mine and I was too cheap for a taxi. Laura is from New Brunswick and Katie is from Scotland. I was giving them advice on where the tram was headed and they invited me to join them. We had a great italian meal and dessert and after-dinner drinks and just chatted all evening. Once again, more cool people that I am meeting just as I leave. I guess that is what Facebook and email are for, though, right?
-A.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Just Breathe
I went in the deep end today- there are a lot more rules once you are past the 5 meter mark. Like, did you know that if you take a breath at depth and hold it as you ascend, the air will expand in the lower pressure and burst your lungs. One doesn't think about lung bursting as a possibility in day to day life- it's all quite exciting! My absolute favorite was when I managed to achieve neutral buoyancy, which is when you are neither floating up or sinking. Taking small breaths so your full lungs don't push you to the surface like a cork, you can just hang out in the middle of the water- very tranquil and probably the closest I'll ever get to a meditative state. You can hear yourself breathing and everything is both quieter and more amplified at the same time. It is the closest a person can get to the weightlessness of space, while still on earth. Very very cool.
I had a sore throat when I woke up this morning and was rather worried about the medical because they will not let you on the boat if your sinuses are blocked. The pressure in your eardrums doesn't equalize and you can do some serious damage in terms of embolisms and broken ear drums. The dive instructor (from Spruce Grove! How weird is that?) told us a story about his friend who ignored advice not to dive and went down- on his way back up he had a severe pain in his cheek but he kept going up and when he got back on the boat there was a large bubble of flesh in his cheek. He poked at it and it burst, taking a piece of his cheekbone with it. Now he can't dive until he gets his skull fixed with a metal plate. Did I mention I love diving?
It really isn't as dangerous as it sounds. As long as you are not impatient and not a macho idiot, everything runs very smoothly. The whole respirator apparatus makes me feel like Darth Vadar ("You don't know the power of the dark side!"- try saying that underwater). The first rule of diving is remember to breathe. The second rule of diving is remember to breathe. So if I can just remember to breathe, I will be all right. And the instructors are hot! Grrawrr!
-A.
I had a sore throat when I woke up this morning and was rather worried about the medical because they will not let you on the boat if your sinuses are blocked. The pressure in your eardrums doesn't equalize and you can do some serious damage in terms of embolisms and broken ear drums. The dive instructor (from Spruce Grove! How weird is that?) told us a story about his friend who ignored advice not to dive and went down- on his way back up he had a severe pain in his cheek but he kept going up and when he got back on the boat there was a large bubble of flesh in his cheek. He poked at it and it burst, taking a piece of his cheekbone with it. Now he can't dive until he gets his skull fixed with a metal plate. Did I mention I love diving?
It really isn't as dangerous as it sounds. As long as you are not impatient and not a macho idiot, everything runs very smoothly. The whole respirator apparatus makes me feel like Darth Vadar ("You don't know the power of the dark side!"- try saying that underwater). The first rule of diving is remember to breathe. The second rule of diving is remember to breathe. So if I can just remember to breathe, I will be all right. And the instructors are hot! Grrawrr!
-A.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)