Tasmania

I'm in Tasmania at the moment and it is really something worth writing about. I think most people tend to forget adding Tasmania onto their Australian tourist itineraries because of the East Coast and Northern Territory. After all, it is a MASSIVE country and most people have limited time and funds. But Tasmania shouldn't go unlooked--it is just too stunning.

Port Arthur is very well known to all Australian residents due to its convicts' history. Port Arthur was a secondary punishment station in an isolated part of the Tasman Peninsula and those who were sent there had to have been very, very bad--committing multiple crimes. Port Arthur was different from the other prisons in Australia in that it had a new solution for these tortured souls: Reformation. If you try to better the person and teach them the Word of God, then perhaps these convicts will be saved in the afterlife, if not actually in this life.

The problem with Reformation is that it didn't work. Either the convicts were hell-bent on escaping or creating as much havoc as possible or they went mad. Corporeal punishment was eventually banned because those who were beaten became rockstars to the other inmates. Anyway, lots of bad shit went down on this site. And it is all the weirder because Port Arthur's location is set amidst a startling beautiful setting of golden hills, crystal clear blue water, and lovely thick green forests. As one famous inmate quoted (and I'm paraphrasing): It seems more like a setting for a romantic getaway than a site for a prison.

I love the paranormal and it would seem odd not to venture into that little area whilst at this infamous place. I went on a ghost tour and it was quite exciting but with little to report. I can imagine the lingering spirits, however. (Sidenote: The Port Arthur massacre that occurred in 1996 by Martin Bryant was not mentioned once at the Historical Site. Not once.)

I also travelled up to Freycinet National Park and camped amongst the huge pink granite cliffs and secluded Hazards Beach. Hiked to Wineglass Bay and sat among the surf at Friendly Beaches. Truly, Tasmania is just the prettiest destination I've visited and I wish I had more time and money to thoroughly enjoy this little patch of Australia.

Home versus Here

As the return date closes in on a month, I am starting to get more panicky with dread. I like it here. I don't like it as much there. I think the hardest part is leaving the people who became like family to me in Australia. Who are, simply, just family and should always be around. It seems impossible to imagine a world where I won't be able to ring them after work for a quick chat to debrief our days and catchup. I think what has to happen is that they will have to be imported to America if I can't find a way to stay in Australia somehow. Yes. Yes, a very good plan. Sort that out, already, Aussie Family, K? Ta.

Also. What am I going to do in a world without being surrounded with Vegemite, Lucas PawPaw Ointment, Tim Tams, Mint Slices, Trams, and Stubby Holders? Must I import these things monthly to feel somewhat connected with the Down Under-World? Why can't Australia just move to America? Just do it already. Do. It.

I've been incredibly lucky this last year and I don't regret a moment of it, good or bad. There were lots of gray experiences that were quite enjoyable, too. It's not that I dislike Home so much as it feels like it's been placed elsewhere most of my life. At Home I feel like a visitor and Here I feel like a native. I do not understand this.

Thank you, Australia. You are the best country ever. After Brazil.

Roadtrip QLD

Had a great time roaming around in Queensland this last week.  Flew up to Brisbane aka 'Brisvegas' to see the bf's relatives and then wandered down to Byron Bay and Nimbin.  After a particularly troubling experience we made our way north again to the Glasshouse and Blackall Mountains, Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island, Rockhampton, and Great Keppel Island.  

Next up is Tasmania and then Sydney to say goodbye to beloved friends.  I cannot believe it's been almost a year since I came to Melb

ourne and I just wish this could go on forever.  I love Australia long time.

Girl on tram

Saw a girl on a tram today.  It was pissing down rain outside work and I took the first available tram that almost hit me.  I swung my backpack off my shoulders and put it on my lap as I sat down next to a man and across from a girl and an elderly gentleman.  The old chap glanced at me briefly to see if I would swipe my tram card.  I didn't.  I have someone's old year pass and even though you're supposed to swipe it so the transport system can have the most up to date statistics, I like to fuck with them occasionally and not swipe it.  But it's not really because I have an innate desire to fuck with the transport system in Melbourne.  Most of the time I just really can't be arsed.

So, sensing his disapproval I look to the girl next to him.  She's off in her own world reading Time Without Clocks by Joan Lindsay.  And she's got this serene smile on her face like she's at a particularly lovely part.  She's only about an eighth of the way through the book but already she's happy and it's adding to her growth as a human being.  I keep looking at the cuff on her jacket sleeve.  She has her arm up on the window ledge and she's wearing a red long-sleeved shirt underneath a stylish black leather jacket that has metal zips at the end bit of the sleeves.  A home-made red knitted scarf completes her ensemble and she looks pretty interesting.  

Her eyes are sweet and her smile is genuine.  It makes me want to smile, too.  I wonder why it is that us humans can be so beautiful in certain ways and so ugly in others...  I like how she stops and starts reading the book to gaze pensively out the tram window.  I do this, too, so it is curious to me watching this other girl.  I feel like I might know what she's thinking.

I think she sees me watching her out of the corner of her pretty eyes so I swing my gaze back to the old man.  He is still peeved about the tram card.  And by this time it was my turn to hop off.

I think I might read  Time Without Clocks soon.

I don't feel like writing on here anymore

Too many things going on and I feel like keeping mum. Hope everyone is doing well. 

Silence

Apologies on the blog silence.  Things have been put on hold for a bit while my life slowly unwinds.  I feel like it is falling and splitting into a million awful pieces.  At this point, I keep getting told to "Hang in there", "Something will come along", and "It had to be done."  I know these people are right.  But it hurts and I'm scared.  The black depression is pushing its way in and my fight is slowly starting to seep away, succumbing to its awful black veil.  Must keep going, though.  There is no other option...

Remembrance

Missing you like every year...can't believe it's been 15 long ones.  I think this post sums it all up.