the blank page of my blog has been staring at me with blind accusation for the last few days. perhaps i've been too wrapped up in contemplating my own future. for you see, i've quite my job. that is, i handed in my notice yesterday and i only have a month left to go.

and what an interesting response i've had from my coworkers. (incidentally, the preferred term here is colleague, which is weird when you'e in the supermarket and a call comes over the PA for a colleague from fresh produce!) most people are genuinely surprised and a few are even sad (one for the ego!), but all seem quite impressed at my bravery as i don't actually have another job to go. but i guess it's the fantasy we all have isn't it? you're at work, the boss is demanding something, the phone wont stop ringing, you've got enough work to last you for a month, but it's all due tomorrow, and you think to yourself, that's it, i'm just gonna walk out and never come back. and what a great feeling it is too. sod responsibility and being an adult, i'm gonna throw caution to the wind and put all of my eggs into one basket (or any other appropriate metaphor that teaches us about being responsible).

and the best bit? i've already been asked about a job that isn't definite, but wouldn't have been offered to me if i hadn't handed my notice in.

vaycay

well, i'm sure all six (no wait, seven if i include jeff) of my readers where devastated when i didn't post last week, but it was a choice between write up my blog or head down to the beach bar for another jar of sangria. it's a pretty easy choice...

i honestly, hand on my heart, almost started crying when we walked out of newcastle airport last night. it was about 3 degrees, it was dark, and most importantly, it was windy. the whippy kind of wind that blows directly into your face no matter which way you stand.

but i'm feeling ok with it all this morning. a week long of relaxing will do that i suppose.

in a way this is kind of the first vacation i've ever been on. i've been on holidays where i've toured around cities, we went on camping trips when i was a kid, and i've flown in planes big and small to visit family, but i've never rocked up to a resort village and spent the week doing nowt.

as much as i enjoyed it though, by the end of the week i was getting pretty antsy. i'm nothing but amazed by people who can do it for more than a week at a time. i should point out by nothing i mean we went for some long walks, read books, ate food, drank sangria. it seemed to me while we were there that there were plenty of people who did even less than that.

i suppose you're all expecting me to make some sort of disparaging comments about the beaches as well, as we aussies are want to do. actually, i thought all the beaches were lovely, and i was quite charmed by the beach chairs and umbrellas on the beach that you could rent for the day. that shit would never fly back home! the conversation, i like to imagine, would go something like this:

"oh look dazza, they have beach umbrellas and sunbeds to rent. ooo, how european!"
"hey, you're right shazza! let's find out how much they are. Excuse me mate, how much for a beach brolly and two of them banana chairs?"
"it's $20 for the parasol for the day, and $10 each for the sunbeds."
"how much?! you're joking right? why would i pay that much when i've got my own beach towel i can sit on. you're a joker mate! come on shazza, this guys a joker!"
"but dazza..."
"c'mon shazza! this guy's a stubbie short of a picnic if he thinks he can charge people that much!"

and so on, and so on. but the aussies and the brits do approach holidays differently, i suppose because of the landscape around us. people genuinely suffer from the winter blues over here, and the thought of escaping to warmth and sunlight, even if for a few days, is somewhat of a balm to depressed souls. in oz, particularly in the northern states, it's warm (well, hot) all the time. i think peoples desire to escape oz has less to do with the weather than for people who flee great britain. and i'm beginning to understand why.

i'm not sure what happened. i remember starting my blog, just not finishing it. somewhere in between writing my blog, and not writing my blog i obviously got distracted. but really, in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? i didn't think so...

i'm thinking that i should probably change the day i write my blog. reluctant isn't a strong enough word to indicate how much i don't want to write my blog after a night out! of course i could always drink less...

i took my first real foray into the heaving behemoth that is the national health system last week. i had an appointment at a hospital and i was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people that work within the system. there seemed to be people whose sole job was to take files from one desk to another. i'm sure that isn't all that they do, but looking from the outside in that's what it looked like.

there was actually a moment where i was waiting for my check up, and i could sense the whole system ticking away above and around me, and i understood for the first time why people are so protective of it, and why they get freaked out at the thought of any changes to it.

i'm sure, like any other system, there are people who have a bad experience in it, but i was very impressed at how efficiently everything ran, despite the sheer number of people being seen at the clinics that morning.

of course, me waxing lyrical about the health system is, lets face it, barely interesting. but do you know what is interesting? holidays! jeff and i are off to tenerife on friday. here's a picture to give you an idea why i'm so excited!

where is this is what i've become accustomed to

can you see? to be honest, i'm already in holiday mode, which makes work interesting! bring on the cocktails i say!