Sleep seems a dream away and a year too late...
Curiously enough, one of the side effects of Toff being away for a month is that I don't tend to go to bed until really late. I don't know why, but I just don't feel like it! I'll head off to bed when Jen & Dean do, normally around 10 or so, but then I just sit in bed (which is uber comfy at the moment thanks to new super soft sheets and a new comforter cover - surely there is some other name for that... - that Jen bought me so "Toff's room" is now more "Toff and Cara's room"). Typically I read (surprise!) or just doodle or just sit here and look around at all the pictures and stuff on our walls. I don't know why. At least tonight I've decided to use my time to have a chat with you all! :-)
So here's a funny thought I've had as of late. Whenever I'm away Kiki begins sending me messages that begin "I miss you the most when..." which is a cute idea really, and I like it a lot. I don't miss home the most on birthdays, and I don't miss home the most on holidays, and I don't miss home the most when I realize there is no place here I can walk to and meet friends at 10am or 10pm - instead I miss home the most when I see a picture and you've got a new jacket, or new hair cut or a new friend. I miss home the most when I realize I've never seen that new thing, whatever it may be, and I also realize that it's something completely new that has occurred in your life since I've been gone. And then a little pang hits me, somewhere just below where my collar bones meet. And that's when I miss you the most.
In other news (now that I've sat here looking at the walls again for 5 minutes) Friday night I went into a suburb on the coast about 40 min north of here for the birthday celebration of Annabelle, who is a girl Toff when to high school with. It was a fun night at a really fun bar called the Dublin which is 2 stories and includes lots of outdoor seating. Annabelle was really good at introducing me to everyone so I had plenty of people to talk to. I spent a lot of the night brainstorming halloween costumes for a girl named Amy, who dressed in all pink and stuck a sneaker to her head one year (HA!).
The next night was halloween, and I got some little mouse ears and a bow tie to wear to work (I wanted to be a cat, but they were out of cat ears). I knew that Australians were less into the holiday than us Americans, but apparently I underestimated just how little it was of popular interest here. I expected a few chuckles when I walked in, but actually got quite a few "what the heck are you doing's" coupled with hysterical laughter. Everyone had forgotten it was halloween!! And this includes all of the people I work with, along with the customers too. But I had fun :-) And yes, incase you were wondering, I did leave my ears on all night. And when I served the kiddies I even put on my little black foam nose. So don't worry y'all! I am single handedly holding up a great reputation for Americans everywhere!!!!
Today I took the metro into the city to attend an information session with an organization called Conservation Volunteers Australia (or CVA). I decided that I need a little more in my life other than work and wedding planning (or brainstorming rather). So I think I'm going to volunteer one day a week with these guys. It reminds me a lot of the work I did in AmeriCorps - lots of tree planting and weeding invasive plants and seed collecting and building walking trails. (And did anyone else just happen to notice how similar the words 'weeding' and 'wedding' are?) I'm pretty excited actually, and also I think it will be a good opportunity to meet some new people. In any case, after the meeting I just wandered around the city. I went to the art gallery and got a yummy hazelnut cappaccino from a place called Cibo (cheebow). It feels kinda weird being back here. When I left Australia 2 years ago I honestly did not expect that I would be returning, at least not anytime soon. So to be seeing things that I took pictures of so I could remember them, and realizing I have the opportunity to take a picture of them again is actually quite an odd feeling.
And now folks, I think I will go to bed to slowly slip to sleep...
bises!!
Mme Newcomb
So here's a funny thought I've had as of late. Whenever I'm away Kiki begins sending me messages that begin "I miss you the most when..." which is a cute idea really, and I like it a lot. I don't miss home the most on birthdays, and I don't miss home the most on holidays, and I don't miss home the most when I realize there is no place here I can walk to and meet friends at 10am or 10pm - instead I miss home the most when I see a picture and you've got a new jacket, or new hair cut or a new friend. I miss home the most when I realize I've never seen that new thing, whatever it may be, and I also realize that it's something completely new that has occurred in your life since I've been gone. And then a little pang hits me, somewhere just below where my collar bones meet. And that's when I miss you the most.
In other news (now that I've sat here looking at the walls again for 5 minutes) Friday night I went into a suburb on the coast about 40 min north of here for the birthday celebration of Annabelle, who is a girl Toff when to high school with. It was a fun night at a really fun bar called the Dublin which is 2 stories and includes lots of outdoor seating. Annabelle was really good at introducing me to everyone so I had plenty of people to talk to. I spent a lot of the night brainstorming halloween costumes for a girl named Amy, who dressed in all pink and stuck a sneaker to her head one year (HA!).
The next night was halloween, and I got some little mouse ears and a bow tie to wear to work (I wanted to be a cat, but they were out of cat ears). I knew that Australians were less into the holiday than us Americans, but apparently I underestimated just how little it was of popular interest here. I expected a few chuckles when I walked in, but actually got quite a few "what the heck are you doing's" coupled with hysterical laughter. Everyone had forgotten it was halloween!! And this includes all of the people I work with, along with the customers too. But I had fun :-) And yes, incase you were wondering, I did leave my ears on all night. And when I served the kiddies I even put on my little black foam nose. So don't worry y'all! I am single handedly holding up a great reputation for Americans everywhere!!!!
Today I took the metro into the city to attend an information session with an organization called Conservation Volunteers Australia (or CVA). I decided that I need a little more in my life other than work and wedding planning (or brainstorming rather). So I think I'm going to volunteer one day a week with these guys. It reminds me a lot of the work I did in AmeriCorps - lots of tree planting and weeding invasive plants and seed collecting and building walking trails. (And did anyone else just happen to notice how similar the words 'weeding' and 'wedding' are?) I'm pretty excited actually, and also I think it will be a good opportunity to meet some new people. In any case, after the meeting I just wandered around the city. I went to the art gallery and got a yummy hazelnut cappaccino from a place called Cibo (cheebow). It feels kinda weird being back here. When I left Australia 2 years ago I honestly did not expect that I would be returning, at least not anytime soon. So to be seeing things that I took pictures of so I could remember them, and realizing I have the opportunity to take a picture of them again is actually quite an odd feeling.
And now folks, I think I will go to bed to slowly slip to sleep...
bises!!
Mme Newcomb
i totally thought "wedding invasive plants" when I read it and was like huh?
ReplyDeletei miss you the most when your blog post stays with me for the whole day.
car car!
ReplyDeletei laughed out loud when i read your post on my blog! i thought i'd be updating it just about as much as people check it-- which is not so much at all! ha, you made me happy!
i'll be in spain with the program until the end of may/beginning of june, and who knows where i'll go after that! so, thinking of a little spain visit, eh?
I always miss you the most :)
ReplyDelete