09.15.10

Its been almost 4 weeks since I flew back to Australia, and man does it feel good to be back!
John got a ride from his friend Matt, whom he works with at Sea Temple. (John got a second job during the day, working at a resort, Sea Temple, as a house man. He scrubs grills and rides a go-cart around, making sure everyone has clean linens, or picking up dirty ones, etc.) Its an hour drive from Port Douglas to Cairns, which is also the nearest airport. In total, I had 6 layovers. Actually, they would be considered connections since the longest I waited between flights was maybe an hour. Either way, its a drag to have to get off one plane, just to get on another! I slept the entire way stretch from LA to Sydney, which was 15 hours. The rest of the way, I tried to stay busy with books and movies to pass the time and to avoid from torturing myself with anxiety.
I admit, I was nervous John would have run into some problem, and not be at the airport in Cairns when I arrived at 10pm. After two days of traveling, not only was I itching for a shower really bad, but I was beyond excited and exhausted to see John.
I finally saw him round the corner of the terminal and started to jump up and down with excitement! I was yelling at him to run to me because I didnt want to run to him, and leave my luggage unattended. I gave up though, and started a full sprint towards him. I ran straight into his arms, and gave him the biggest hug known to man! It felt so good to be together again. Like two peas in a pod!
It had certainly felt like eternity that we had been apart, but when we were together again, it felt like the time had gone by so fast!
My excitement continued as we pulled into Dougies, our beloved backpackers paradise of tents, shared showers and a nasty communal kitchen, however, home to all my friends, that I was sure I wouldnt see again. I saw Adam, Dave, Jungle, Lucia, our neighbor Darien, from France, and of course, Lisa! I met a few new faces, Emma and Rob, who had become employees of Zinc since I had been gone. Friendly as ever, and they both fell, very easily, into my fantastic friend hole the minute we met! All the staff at Dougies were equally excited to see me back, and everyone was happy that John and I were back together again!
It took me about 4 days to really get back on track with the time change, but wasnt nearly as aggressive as the jet lag I experienced going back home. The tent was as lovely as ever, especially now that my suitcase was back in its official resting place.
A few days after arriving, I went up to see Terry at Zinc, and he got me on the schedule that Monday. It was much needed rest, but I was ready to start working again.
We were only in the tent for about two weeks when John got an offer from a girl he works with, Jamie. She had been renting out a flat apartment, only a block away from town, and would be leaving soon. She asked if John and I might be interested in renting it out in her place. For only 20 dollars more then what we are paying to live in a tent, we could have a proper apartment, shower, kitchen and bedroom! Of course we took the deal.
We ended up giving our tent and air mattress to Lisa. Prior, she had been paying for a dorm room, and she wanted to cut back on costs, and save money. They day we moved into the flat, I had helped Lisa move into the tent, and she helped me lug our luggage down the street.
We are coming onto our second week in our new place and we LOVE it! At first, I was sad to leave Dougies, but for the simple fact that I dont have to put on shoes to take a shower, or dont have sand in all my clothes, was enough to make that sadness turn into gratuity very quickly.
Apparently, Lisa is loving the tent life as well. She shared a 7 bed dorm before, so she is enjoying the privacy. Plus, the air mattress is much larger then her single bed and much more comfy. She bought a fan to keep the tent cool during the day, and is all around, much more comfy.
Since I have been back, we also celebrated Lisas birthday. Me, her, Cass, spent the day restaurant hopping. We did lunch at Zinc, dessert at Salsa, tea at Rehab, then back to Salsa for Dinner and then to Sassi for dessert, then back to Zinc for cocktails. A couple other people met up with us later in the day for dinner, dessert and cocktails which was nice. She finished off the night, drinking at Dougies, but John and I were too tired and just went to bed. It was a nice birthday celebration though, and I think she really enjoyed it.
My birthday is in a week from today, so John will be taking the day off, and Lisa is going to get the morning off so we can hang out for a bit. I am so excited to be celebrating my 25th birthday in Australia!!!! I remember last year, John took me to a really nice restaurant in downtown Cleveland. We sat there and talked the entire night of our dreams and plans to travel the world, so its neat to be traveling and living our dreams together, a year later. How romantic is that? But to me, it doesnt matter, just as long as he is by my side, I dont care where in the world we are.
Im glad to be back in Oz.