Back to reality.

I'm heading back to Wodonga this afternoon. Back to my own bed, which will be a good thing, but also back to the place where all the crap seems to be backed up. *grins* I live in the S-bend of Australia. ;)

Any way, still got a day left. Catching up with Ben again - more about that in a sealed post, I think, written at home where I have some privacy *eg* - and not doing a whole lot else because a) I'm not spending any more money, and b) I'm feeling the after-effects of training last night.

*stretches and ows* Ah yes, training. First bit of karate in a year, it seems. And Steve pushed us hard, real hard. And you know what? I loved it, even when my arms turned into overcooked spaghetti. ;) And it was great to see the karate folks again, especially the expressions of surprise when they saw me (and the new hair colour). In some ways I feel more comfortable with the karate people than I do with anyone else - something about the trust involved in martial arts, I think. And MUKC plays together as well as trains together, which means we're more than just co-members of a sporting club, we're friends.

I miss it.

The other thing about this weekend is how badly it's given me the travel urge. I'm making concrete plans, thinking of things that need doing and things I need to take and what I want to see and people I need to contact. I do need to make a downpayment on the tickets, otherwise I won't get them paid off in time - next weekend, I think. Two hundred on the plane tickets, two hundred on the credit card will spread out the debt - and there's no interest on the lay-by for the tickets.

*bounces* Time to get this show on the road. :) More details next post, especially since I have a favour to ask of the So-Cal people. ;) Want to get back to my computer.

Home again, home again...

So, here I am after three and a half hours on the train. My butt's gone numb and I'm feeling a bit ick in the stomach from the veggie pastie I got from the on-board snack bar, but I'm here in one piece.

So, what a weekend. I'm feeling it now, the excess of it all - and not just the bad-for-me stuff like drinking, but the karate training and the... other exercise I got this morning and the walking. Lots of walking. But I'm feeling good - tired, but mellow. And strangely different in myself, like something's crossed over in me. Like I've hit some kind of landmark and things will be different from now on. I'm not sure I can explain it, or whether it's several nights of bad sleep (oh, how I'm looking forward to my own bed tonight!) talking, but something's changed. There's been a few things that have happened this weekend that have made me a different person than I was before. I'm still working out whether it's for the best or not.

Ah, but I have the travel bug something bad. I've got a lot of friends also travelling, and it's hard not to talk to them about their plans without getting excited about my own. I've been making mental lists, things To Do, things I want to do. I see myself out there, somewhere, just me and the backpack o' death. ;)

Sometimes I wonder if this plan of mine for spending five months away is a form of escape, of running away from my respsonsibilities, of running away from my life. In a way it is, if I'm honest with myself. I need to escape the person my life is making me into, leave behind the pressures and expectations and 'the right thing'. I need the distance to look at myself and decide where I'm going, who I am.

*grins* I always get philosophical when I'm tired. ;)

Any way, anyone who's emailed me in the last four or so days, expect an answer sometime this week. I think I'll take the lap top into work tomorrow and use the time between work adn tai chi to catch up - got me some serious beta work to do, to judge from the backlog - Ashling, Raph, Epona, I will get back to you soon. Considering there were somethign like 40 emails - half spam - in my box, it'll take me a bit to catch up again.

And everyone admire the lovely new icon IceWing made for me. Rather appropriate, I thought. IceWing, you da man. :)