Sunday, September 05, 2004
New Genes!
Hola chicos,
I brought a pair of blue jeans........can you believe it? me? in blue jeans? - I shocked myself ......but heres the rub.....since I arrived in Australia I have gone from a 34, ok a 36 waist to a 97! (of course there is the metric issue to consider but it's still pretty depressing)
So okay, sorry I have not written for a while, I had my reasons (Maybe I just haven't needed the therapy it offers) but anyway It has now been one whole year since I put old England in my wake and steered a course for unknown adventure! I am still enjoying the journey, although I have been heldup somewhat by the offer of a job and sponsorship here in Sydney for a while.
For those interested, I'm working in a 24/7 Network Operations Centre for a Company called COMindico in a big mirrored building right in the centre of the city 20 minutes walk from home (I do network type stuff).
And while I do my network type stuff, I spend a lot of time thinking about those I left behind, my 2yr old niece who is growing up without me and now on the cusp of big sistership, Renaye who is still battling her way to work on the tube, The Cubana who stole my heart so long ago and who is about to become a mother herself! And of course my mother the singer who is probably busy throwing out all the clothes that no longer fit me (I was keeping them for sentimental reasons, who knows I might get a 32 waist back one day) Still I have new jeans now!
I also spend a lot of time thinking about the people I have met along the way, The 20 or so 'gringos who made there way across the Chilean dessert, over the Peruvian Andes and in to the Ecuadorian Jungle in a bloody uncomfortable truck, accruing ponchos, tattoos and lifelong friends along the way. Maria Jose who didn't speak a word of English, I spoke to her solidly for six hours on my last night in Quito, the Austrian Baker and his Crazy Spanish Wife I drove around Easter Island with, The Taff I met in Tahiti who had me in tears with his tales of throwing up in a tent during a cub scout camp, The couple who raise cattle in the outback as if it were still 1950, The 2 German girls who I taught to simultaneously skip and frown on The Great Ocean Rd, The girl I fell in love with at first sight in a crowded bar in Sydney who broke my heart, then mended it, then left for the UK and proceeded to wake me up at 6am every day with beautifully drunken texts. The girl who had me out at all hours staring through a telescope at the most beautiful constellations whilst I exhibited the early signs of exposure. and of course those special people whom I already knew, and have caught up with again to form that special bond which only comes with sharing the other side of the globe with someone......you know who you are.
To think that in the years to come I might be stuck at a desk with rain running down the windows, rippling the grey skies behind, my wife might be on the phone telling me I need to speak to the headmaster because little Harry has been caught fighting again, I will just smile and look down at the picture on my desk, of the 20 or so weary gringos in the mist at Machupicchu, me somewhere in the middle clutching a hipflask inscribed "NOT ON MY SHIFT"
.
Much love wherever you find yourself now. e xxx
¶ 12:46 am
I brought a pair of blue jeans........can you believe it? me? in blue jeans? - I shocked myself ......but heres the rub.....since I arrived in Australia I have gone from a 34, ok a 36 waist to a 97! (of course there is the metric issue to consider but it's still pretty depressing)
So okay, sorry I have not written for a while, I had my reasons (Maybe I just haven't needed the therapy it offers) but anyway It has now been one whole year since I put old England in my wake and steered a course for unknown adventure! I am still enjoying the journey, although I have been heldup somewhat by the offer of a job and sponsorship here in Sydney for a while.
For those interested, I'm working in a 24/7 Network Operations Centre for a Company called COMindico in a big mirrored building right in the centre of the city 20 minutes walk from home (I do network type stuff).
And while I do my network type stuff, I spend a lot of time thinking about those I left behind, my 2yr old niece who is growing up without me and now on the cusp of big sistership, Renaye who is still battling her way to work on the tube, The Cubana who stole my heart so long ago and who is about to become a mother herself! And of course my mother the singer who is probably busy throwing out all the clothes that no longer fit me (I was keeping them for sentimental reasons, who knows I might get a 32 waist back one day) Still I have new jeans now!
I also spend a lot of time thinking about the people I have met along the way, The 20 or so 'gringos who made there way across the Chilean dessert, over the Peruvian Andes and in to the Ecuadorian Jungle in a bloody uncomfortable truck, accruing ponchos, tattoos and lifelong friends along the way. Maria Jose who didn't speak a word of English, I spoke to her solidly for six hours on my last night in Quito, the Austrian Baker and his Crazy Spanish Wife I drove around Easter Island with, The Taff I met in Tahiti who had me in tears with his tales of throwing up in a tent during a cub scout camp, The couple who raise cattle in the outback as if it were still 1950, The 2 German girls who I taught to simultaneously skip and frown on The Great Ocean Rd, The girl I fell in love with at first sight in a crowded bar in Sydney who broke my heart, then mended it, then left for the UK and proceeded to wake me up at 6am every day with beautifully drunken texts. The girl who had me out at all hours staring through a telescope at the most beautiful constellations whilst I exhibited the early signs of exposure. and of course those special people whom I already knew, and have caught up with again to form that special bond which only comes with sharing the other side of the globe with someone......you know who you are.
To think that in the years to come I might be stuck at a desk with rain running down the windows, rippling the grey skies behind, my wife might be on the phone telling me I need to speak to the headmaster because little Harry has been caught fighting again, I will just smile and look down at the picture on my desk, of the 20 or so weary gringos in the mist at Machupicchu, me somewhere in the middle clutching a hipflask inscribed "NOT ON MY SHIFT"
.
Much love wherever you find yourself now. e xxx
¶ 12:46 am
