i'm not ready

I've been having a lot of dreams lately so vivid that I wonder what my subconscious is trying to tell me. Many of them are old memories where people that I've known forever are being replaced by new faces that I've met. Some of them are brand new and of things that I hope will happen but haven't yet. Others are nightmares that I hope to forget. In any case, they're keeping me up at night.

I've been planning my trip around this place as my time here ticks down. I want to see everything. As the wallet won't allow this, regardless of the number of credit cards it contains, I have to decide what I can do it the limited window I have given myself.  At the end of February, I will be off to Mardi Gras in Sydney for 10 days with Phil and (hopefully) Lee.  This will be mixed with visits to the Blue Mountains and the famous beach surrounds. Can't all be in the city hub. That's booked.

When I return on March 8th, the plan is this: Go over to New Zealand for 3-4 weeks (where I must do my bungy jump and skydive), then come back and do a tour from Adelaide to Alice Springs, and find a way to get up to Darwin and over to Broome. In either December or January I will have to see the Great Ocean Road to Kangaroo Island trip and at least a little but of Tasmania. Did I forget to throw in the Whitsundays? *cry* I know, so sad that she's trying to fit in all these travels... I just feel that time is running out and that May flight is entirely too close by. The one that's supposed to be taking me home.

I'm not ready.

into a convent i go

Took part in an evening meal with the boys at a place called "Lentil As Anything" located in the Abbotsford Convent. It's a not for profit, vegetarian restaurant that serves a buffet meal themed differently each night. The choice this evening, African. It's a simple idea. You can take part in the meal and pay what you feel. No fixed price. Seating is set up in a large room and spills out into a garden area and that is just a section of the historic building. The sisters of the Convent of the Good Sheppard took care of the grounds since the 1860's. After getting home, I looked it up and actually want to go back and wander the grounds. Love when a little local history and architecture grabs my attention.

a little bit of racism

As sad as it is, I believe that everyone practices a little bit of racial discrimination. We have all had a moment where something has happened with a single person or group and we have attached a label to the entire country they came from. I'm guilty of that, you probably are too. Don't go and deny it too quickly...

Today I was on the tram coming home at about noon. There was a group of guys that came on and I knew right away that they were going to be trouble. Some of them were visibly drunk and that lead to loud and obnoxious banter between them. As long as they kept to themselves it would have been fine. Things turned when an Indian man came on the tram and made the mistake of sitting near them. Obviously not realizing his mistake, he would soon learn it. At this point, one of them went up to him to harass him and started to say things like, "You're not from here" and touched his turban. He then proceeded to take out his penis and shove it in the guys face and ask if he wanted to touch it. The man tried to push him away.  I felt so bad for him. Partly for not saying anything, and partly because no one helped him. Had the drunk guy been alone, maybe someone would have stood up to him but when there is a group, it's automatic fear (on my part anyway) that they'll do something worse to you. We were at the front of the tram so I'm certain that the driver knew what was happening but didn't say anything. The other people were generally over 60 and probably just didn't want to get involved. He finally left the man alone but then proceeded to walk around and cause a scene anyway, play fighting with his friends, climbing on to the handrails pretending to do things to ticket machines as if they were a person. Imagination is yours, his zipper was still down and I just didn't know where to look.

A few minutes later, I was happy to hear that they were getting off. Sadly, the Indian man got off at the same stop. I think he was on his way to a job interview, suit, clipboard in hand. As the tram moved away I looked out the window and saw that they were still walking around him. I felt sad for him. What that guy did was obscene, his friends not stopping him was awful as well.  I wish I had said something. Unfortunately, fear gets you sometimes.

tattoo...check!

Another item on the Mission 30-ish list is checked off! Yesterday I went down and finally got my tattoo. The whole experience was...odd...awkward? Ben, the guy that did my tattoo looked like he was twelve. Baby face I tell ya. He was uber new it seemed too. Concentrated a lot which was good for me but left a lot of quiet moments. It's on my inner wrist, left arm and is much larger than I planned but I liked the design that they came up with (even though it took a few attempts) so I went ahead with it.

Thankfully, it didn't hurt as much as I expected! I wasn't sure what to expect really but Chrystal explained it perfectly. Imagine a pin being scratched along your skin. A little sharp, but bearable. When it was done, it felt like a bad sunburn. It was more a feeling of numbness that took over. The awkward part came after the job was done and they were trying to figure out what to charge me. I didn't know where to look. Since he seemed new, he didn't seem to know what to do either. Anyway, at the end of it, it was cheaper than I had expected, bigger than I expected and less painful then I expected! I didn't cry, or whine, but laughed and had a good time. What should I get done next? Decisions, decisions.