So it’s day 2 of the quartergapyear, and what a great start. After what was actually a rather pleasant flight to Sydney (you get what you pay for), I almost missed my flight to Cairns on account of 2 factors – 1) deciding to make a change of clothes to transform myself into a genuine traveller type (linen trousers, etc), and making the mistake of flying Jetstar (makes Easyjet look classy and has queues to die for – literally). Anyway, tragedy averted, and I got to Cairns by lunchtime yesterday.
Cairns – from what I have seen of it – is no Rome. But it’s by the water, and that’s good enough for me. I spent a happy couple of hours on the Esplanade reading and people watching.
Last night I managed to locate an open mic night, so me and the guitar had a hot date in Giligans. I played 2 songs – Somewhere Only We Know by Keane and Abandon Ship by The Sorry Kisses. The crowd asked for a 3rd, but I decided less was more and remembered someone once telling me that you should leave people wanting more.
So, it seems, they did.The organisers asked me to come along to another tonight, and someone who owns the local blues bar asked if I would come along on Wednesday night to play a short set before the band comes on. I didn’t come away looking for a change of career, but…
Today I started the scuba diving course – hooked! (No aqua-related pun intended). We started in the classroom (not seen one of them in a long time) and the afternoon in the pool. It felt wierd to start with, but I soon got the hang of things. And not that I am competitive or anything, but I had the most oxygen left at the end…
And so another night, another open mic. This is my kind of quartergapyear. I’m just wondering why I didn’t do this sooner. And when I get to cash in the other 9 months that I am owed.
RIght, time for some guitar practice before I take to the stage.
quartergapyear 