Ooh aargh, me harties!!
Headed off on the boat a couple of hours ago – in an hour we’ll reach the reef and will head down for our first dive. Completely amazing weather conditions so hopefully no sea sickness to follow. To say I am excited is a MASSIVE understatement!!!
Updates to follow…
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.
British Airways lounge at Heathrow…
So, it is T minus 1. Just a few more hours to get ready and Operation: Packing has commenced. I just hope it all fits into my back pack.. And that I manage to carry it all around Australia and SE Asia without doing myself a mischief.
The birthday celebrations started early with lunch with Anna in Borough Market. She added to my burden but has injected a bit of glamour to the trip by giving me a beautiful travel make up kit – it needn’t be all sandals, fleeces and tie dye t shirts.
And so the celebrations will start again shortly with a last supper with the girls – Teresa, Louise, Alice and Katherine. We’ll be setting a place and leaving an empty chair for Mel aka Pru. But she’s joining us via Facetime at 11pm prompt. She’s never one to miss a party entirely. I’m just hoping Alice doesn’t drag me into any nocturnal adventures, as per her normal behaviour. Ah… I’ll miss those when I am away…
So, it’s now just 5 days until I leave for my quarter gap year. TIme to panic? Absolutely not. The shopping list is done. The passport is returned, complete with Thai and Burmese visas (see exhibits 1 and 2). And I’ve even managed to line up a last minute flat sitter to keep Pru Towers safe in my absence. May my dancefloor not lie empty while I am gone.
Speaking of which, Pru Towers dancefloor needed a thorough hoover after my bon voyage party last weekend. The final groovesters were seen to hang up their dance shoes at 5am.
My wonderful but completely bonkers friends also did a spot of colouring in during the party (those who know my friends might say this represents advanced skills for them). They left me with a wonderful piece of art work that will be framed on my return (but will no doubt sit unhung along with the rest of my art collection for many years to come). Exhibit 3.
And finally, a mere month after buying it, I have worked out how to connect my camera to my tablet, hence the addition of photos to the blog. Old dogs and new tricks…
Next stop: BA lounge at Heathrow.
quartergapyear 