oxymoron

I suppose its time to update this Turtle Pad. I have no excuses for my long absence, except that I have been very lazy and in a hibernation mode. I guess the Aussie laid-back lifestyle has finally hit me.

As you all know, my female owner has submitted her thesis and over the past two weeks, she had indulged in several things. The big one would be that she went off for a holiday to Adelaide, Sydney and Canberra. Despite her incessant comments about her not having enough friends, she still managed to pull together this 9-day post-thesis tour. And it could have been a few days longer, had she known earlier that another pair of friends were going to be in Sydney at the same time as she was. Anyway, she also did a 3-day escapade to Coffs Harbour, which is 6hr drive from her place, and in New South Wales. In the upcoming days, she has tentative plans for Byron Bay, Whitsundays and maybe a lone road trip to Northern Queensland.

Even though she looked like she had heaps of getaways and fun with friends, my female owner actually struggled to relax initially. Sounds like an oxymoron actually. Struggling to relax? Anyway, her anxiety acted up and she felt an internal pressure to quickly get on with life, job applications, registrations and the like. Everyone around her, literally everyone she spoke to told her that it was time for her to relax coz she had worked so hard over the past few months. However, my female owner felt that she did not actually work very hard and hence, did not deserve to relax. It got to a point where Mr S remarked that there was something wrong with my female owner.

In the midst of all the conflicts within her (i.e. authentic relaxing vs finding work), my female owner actually managed to do clock a few RA hours (she still has about 120 outstanding hours to fulfil) and update her resume. My female owner is trying to apply the principles of mindfulness, where she soaks up the present, relish in the experience and not fret about the future or ruminate about the past. Getting the hang of it, she says.

wonders

And one starts to wonder what my female owner plans to do after she submits her thesis. Her biggest want is to do a roadtrip around Australia. Alas, she didn’t make enough friends in the past 2.5years to make that want come into fruition the way she wants it to. Still, within the limited circle of friends she has, she managed to cough out a getaway to Coffs Harbour (NSW), Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney and maybe Whitsundays (QLD). Short trips, but still better than nothing. Besides, it won’t be good to indulge too much into trips, if she hasn’t been working for a good part of the year.

And one starts to wonder what my female owner has in mind… after her mini getaways are completed.

Hmmm…

GATW

My female owner had her inaugural Get Away from Theseus Weekend last weekend. It probably started on Friday arvo when she went to watch a movie cum dinner with Mr S. And ended off Friday with a trip to the dessert store with some of her church friends.

Then on Saturday, Mr S and her went to Mount Warning (in New South Wales – so she went interstate!), a World Heritage rainforest park for some steep mountain climbing. Was the most challenging she ever done with any of her hiking buddies. But extremely rewarding she said, for the paranomic views on the mountain top. She would have remained on the top for hours if she could. It helped tremendously that Mr S was well-organised and took care of safety aspects of this climb, making it more pleasant for my female owner (think protective gloves to counter huge metal chains).

They then made impromptu stops along the way home (2hrs drive) for coffee and dinner. My female owner also witnessed her first partial lunar eclipse and was thrilled by the phenomenon.

Sunday started off leisurely. My female owner read her book (Eat, Pray, Love). Then she went out with one of her housemates for an impromptu shopping spree at their favourite outdoor shop (Kathmandu) and their favourite coffee joint (Campos Coffee). Despite taking their own sweet time, they made it to church in good time. After service, they went home for a dinner of leftovers (which they were happy about coz they had so much food in the fridge). My female owner’s perfect day ended with an episode of Masterchef and more reading.

Her verdict was that she should schedule in more GATWs to keep her motivation level up. I agree too!

Tasmania

My female owner made it back from Tasmania! Her friends and her started off on a rough note, coz they missed the check-in time by 10mins and the counter lady flatly refused to process their flight. She curtly told them to wait for the next flight which would be on Friday (?!) and to pay a processing fee of $100+ each. The trio ended up going from airline to airline (Amazing Race style) trying to find the next available flight. They soon found out that the price of 10mins was $350 each.

They reached Launceston at about 1630hr. Picked up their rented car, only to realise that for some reason, the company did not supply a street directory! The company simply gave them a flimsy map of different parts of Tasmania. Directionless, with an inexperienced driver at the wheel (i.e. my female owner) and nightfall approaching, the trio used various ways and means to get to their accommodation for the night (their original plan was to arrive in Launceston in the morning and spend the day exploring the region). Four hours later, they were rewarded for their persistence when they finally reached their destination.

My female owner says that the whole trip was a “hit-and-run” road-trip. They spent a large part of their day driving from region to region, taking in the sights and culture of each unique area.

Launceston to Strahan to Queenstown to Hobart. 800km within 4 days (one driver, accident free, hopefully not caught for speeding). From cities to countryside to self-contained villages to rural areas to World Heritage Areas, Tasmania offers such varied experiences that would cater to any individual. Weather was surprisingly good and un-cold. People were friendly, extremely courteous and hey, pumped petrol for you.

They went with a list of things to do, but couldn’t do some because of time constraints (e.g. missing out on Port Arthur and Cadbury Factory visit). Nonetheless, they created memories together through doing what was possible and spontaneous planning – trekking and scaling a mountain (Marion Lookout at Cradle Mountain), driving up Mount Wellington (Hobart) at night to see the city lights but ending up being spooked (seriously eerie), endless fresh and yummy seafood at Strahan and Hobart, visiting ancient structures at Richmond (Hobart) such as the 1823 Richmond Bridge, St John’s Catholic Church (oldest in Australia, built in the 1800s) and Richmond Gaol (such a sobering tour that they had to cheer themselves up with ice-creams after that), fresh oysters at Barilla Bay (Hobart), quick visit to Coal Valley Vineyard for wine-tasting, Salamanca Market (Hobart – seems like a replica of weekend markets in Brisbane but was still worth the trip), Lake St Claire (enroute from Queenstown to Hobart), landscape wowing (vast, fertile and filled with animals!), random WW2 memorial in the countryside towards Hobart etc. They captured these moments through 1000 over photos (will try to wrestle some out of my female owner)

According to my female owner, Queenstown and Strahan (both on the west coast of Tasmania) were small towns which seemed to be a world of their own. Short and flat houses with vibrant colours and perfectly angled structures (think squares and rectangles) made it seem like Disneyland (are those houses for real?). There was no internet reception and only Telstra mobile coverage which none of them had. This rendered them contactless for a couple of days. Sunset photos at Strahan sweetened the quaint experience.

Another worthwhile experience, logged in my female owner’s book of life escapades. As desired, they went as friends and came back as greater friends. Glad she had fun!

exciting

My female owner just announced that she is going for a short getaway to Tasmania! As usual, free and easy, 3 people, unorganised planning but wait, an updated travelling mantra: Go as friends, come back as greater friends! What’s more, she is the ONLY driver among her friends. This sounds extremely dodgy, given that my female owner’s driving competence remains largely untested. So she has told her church friends to “pray more”. Because she would be driving all the time, the other two friends have taken upon themselves to do all the last minute planning. Essentially, that means that she doesn’t need to make too many decisions or read maps. Potentially a good deal.

Anyway, we turtles will be praying for their safety in our own little nooks and corners.

Another potentially exciting thing: her Second Onli Fren’s partner has relocated to Brisbane on a long-term basis. This person knows Brisbane like the back of his hand, so more sight-seeing is on the cards. Whoa! Second Onli Fren said she might come over for a visit later this year. No confirmed plans yet. Whatever it is, my female owner has learnt (sadly, in a hard way) not to wait for her friends when they say that they have plans to visit her.

noh

My female owner has problems saying no, the aussie way.

She was at a CBT party last night. That’s what happens when a group of clinical psychologists get together. They do Cakes and Biscuits Therapy on one another.

The random topics shifted to accents. One of my female owner’s pet fascinations. So many ways to sound one thing. The group tried to get two Canadians and her to speak with an Aussie accent.

“I paked the ca at the ca pak.”

This bewildered my female owner. Why can’t you just pronounce the “r”s?? Strongly agreed by the Canadians.

Anyway, back to Aussie Accent 101. My female owner tried to learn to say no, the aussie way… Noooo. Nnnoooo… Ah, finally someone explained to her that it’s noh… like “no” with a “oh”

Looks like she needs more lessons. For the time being, my female owner is in a dangerous position… since she can’t say no.