The times they are a-changin

Somehow I've managed to go ages without writing anything here - or anything full stop, to be honest, apart from a couple of abortive attempts to get a couple of assignments rolling before I've finished my research, never a smart move in all honesty. So what the hell have I been doing instead? Interesting question...

Well, there was my venture (thankfully over now) into the wierd and wonderful world of office temping; a land where nobody knows your name, or bothers tof ind out because you're just the temp and therefore not worth the effort; a place where it is quite acceptable to pay someone the rates of a skilled draftsperson (ie more than I was getting in my last job) to print out a website all day, or do filing, or collate pamphlets into folders, jobs that would be done by anyone with about a quarter of a brain. But my working life in Melbourne finished up last week, even if my desperate struggle to get that cash into my bank account didn't, thanks to one of my employers not yet verifying my hours - thanks heaps boys, it's not like I'm leaving the country or anything, and need to change my cash into pounds, but hey, you can enjoy using my drawings as much as you like, huh.

Since then? Well, there's been what should be lots of things, but now I come to think of it, doesn't seem like too much to have filled a week with. See, whatever there is behind me, it's what's looming up in front of me that somehow seems to keep distracting me. On Saturday my friend gets married. We went out for our last traditional shopping odyssey last week - junk food by the river and four hours wandering the shops aimlessly afterwards. Our real lives kept intruding, though, since we've both got big events on the horizon. We were later than normal because she had to stop off to pick up her honey moon travel documents and had the world's most thorough travel agent who went through every detail of her trip in annoying completeness. Then I actually had to break with tradition and buy useful things while we were shopping - a cardinal sin in our tradition where we normally go out shopping with good intentions and come home with bags of things that we don't need, but desperately want. From now on, it's going to be very different for the two of us (what with me living in London and all by the time she gets back from her honeymoon...).

In another stroke of pre-departure genius, I went out on Friday night and met a boy. A lovely, sweet, cute boy who goes to Canada a week after I go to London. We're in the process of trying to arrange another meet-up before I go away, in spite of the fact that it seems fairly aimless right now gien the situation. I literally just got a text message from him, so I'm kind of smiling right now. But it's typical of me. I go out week after week for months and only meet slime balls. Then, two weeks before I leave the country (and three before he does) I meet the best guy and, what's even more unusual, he seems interested in meeting up again. Now I've just got to think of a suitable reply, and find time to meet up with him! He wanted this weekend, but what with the wedding and all, I can't. Talk about bad timing...Maybe a trip to Canada is the only way to sort it out! Now there's a thought...

Meanwhile, I'm trying to get through my pre-departure list...Failing dismally but trying. Tonsilitis doesn't help my cause (hmm...possibly not the best idea to have gone out Saturday night as well? But surely the alcohol in the disturbingly large number of cocktails would have scarred away the germs? Maybe that's why I feel better now? Surely the anti-biotics couldn't have worked already?). So, it's backt o the books while I deliberate actually calling this guy to sort it out properly. Text messages are ggreat, but rather hard to deal with on this front! Meanwhile the clock ticks by. Can't decide if that's good or bad!