Gomennasai! Life happened, so no updates for a while. And boy has it been hectic! Here is a rundown on what’s been happening.
First and foremost, Shadowfire has FINALLY gone to China! (Whoohoo! Yay! *cheering and applause*). Three years in the making, but it finally happened. I have photographic evidence of his departure as Mum, Dad, Eastonroyce and I went to Sydney to see him off (and enjoy a 5 day celebration holiday) in honour of him leaving the house and the country. We played “find the alphabet on number plates” and “spot the windmill” on the way over. Helped keep our minds off the very squishy trip squeezed into the back of Dad’s new Pajero. Sydney as always was fun. This time around, Eastonroyce and I went on a Ghost Tour of the Rocks area. The stories were fascinating, but not as shocking as the end of the tour when the guide suddenly said “tour is over, have a safe trip home” and left us totally lost in the middle of nowhere. Somehow we made our way back to civilisation. We all took in some shows: Elling, Blank the Musical and Princess Cabaret which were all a great laugh. On Friday, we caught up with a friend from Eastonroyces’ high school out near Liverpool. I was in awe seeing the humble Westfield shopping centre I once knew so well from school, had somehow transformed into a massive complex I could no longer navigate. I even caught a glimpse of my old school from the trainstation. Aaaah memories…
On Saturday Mum and I went on a chic shopping tour of Paddington. The tour guide did a colour profile on each of us. Apparantly Mum is a ‘Summer’ and me, well, I was a bit harder. Normally, I would be an ‘Autumn’ with my brown hair and brown eyes. However, considering my hair and eyes were both purple at the time, I don’t really fit into a profile. In fact, I can just do what I always do – wear whatever colour I want! We saw some lovely, very expensive designer clothes. Needless to say, we didn’t buy much. We then hopped a taxi back to the city to catch up with the guys for lunch, somehow managing to lose my beloved iPhone during transit. Noooooooo!!! *devastation.* I moped the rest of the day (and everyday since then) pining for my lost iPhone. We took in the latest Harry Potter movie before retiring to the apartments, declaring the holiday a success. Unfortunately we were unable to attend the Aroma Festival taking place at the rocks the following day as we had to go home. *sigh* all that chocolate, coffee and spices…
Overall the holiday was great. With the exception of all the horrid taxi rides we had to take, especially the one where the Taxi stole my iPhone. The highlight of the trip was a taxi ride back to the apartment where a ‘no right turn’ resulted in the taxi driver doing an illegal u-turn at the traffic lights, flashing his lights and beeping the horn at a car parked in a turning lane, only to discover it was unmarked police car. Needless to say, the poor guy got a ticket. In the end, we didn’t get much shopping done, but I did manage to pick up a few Love*Com and Remote manga volumes. Oh happy day!
Returning home we made a great discovery – Quin the phsychopathic puppy has somehow transformed into a less violent, much more docile friendly little dog. 5 days at the kennels seems to have worked wonders on him. Perhaps living outside in the cold like a normal dog was a humbling experience for him. He has been cherishing all his favourite indoor spots a lot more, and has even been showing us a bit more respect. Our little puppy is finally growing up! *wipes tear from eye*
Expecting a quiet weekend at home last weekend to catch up on sleep and washing after returning from Sydney, we had the exciting experience of a surprise visit from Eastonroyces’ parents and little brother driving all the way from Coffs Harbour to see us! Our only warning was a phonecall they made from their car parked out the front of our house. Of course, the house was a mess, but the happiness of a surprise visit far outweighed the embarrassement of a messy house. Friday night we went out for dinner and a chat – for the first time ever I actually won a meat tray! – and Quin showed off his new found manners over coffee at home. Saturday was an even bigger surprise, with Sarah, Geoff and Cameron dropping in to visit. The event called for a picnic, so Andrew’s family, Sarah’s family, my Mum and Andrew and I headed out to Sawn Rocks for a picnic lunch and a stroll. I climbed all the way to the top of Sawn Rocks and discovered some long forgotton muscles. Here’s my proof:
Okay, I admit it’s a re-inactment, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen!!
Saturday night we had Eastonroyce’s Apex changeover dinner. Don’t know why they didn’t just rename it to ‘Andrew Appreciation Night’ as the membership levels are now so low that he is fulfilling almost all the roles himself, and received almost all the awards of the evening (including a broken piston which has somehow made it into my room). The seriousness of the night was periodically broken up by the extrememly random, but somehow perfectly timed, interjection of random songs from the automatic jukebox in the corner at crucial moments during the speeches. What a champ. Sadly, with the completion of dinner, everyone headed their separate ways and we are back to being alone again, albeit with a half decent dog to keep us company. *sigh* All’s well that ends, right?
Tomorrow, Eastonroyce and I will be doing a rush trip to Dubbo for the day to deliver Dad’s laptop to get him out of a pickle. Hopefully, we will leave early enough to have another small adventure!
