Holm sweet holm

I'm not going to say a word about how ashamed I am for never blogging.

Going to do a decent post on what's been happenin' lately, but for now I just want to let on about my exciting news: I'm going to Stockholm! (You know, as in Stockholm Syndrome.) I know, I know, I'm doing my supermassive European romp in... well, July, but I couldn't wait that long and got my act together for the first week of June. Stockholm has kind of been my dream utopia since I learnt that Sweden, land of fika, is importing garbage from Eastern Europe as they need more to fuel their (relatively) clean energy source. Badarse. Also, it's hard to follow along with Elsa Billgren and Emma Sundh and not feel inspired.

Omg.

I'm a little beside myself, especially since I fee I've really earnt this. The adjustment to London hasn't been an easy one, nor is it resolving itself easily. But walking home from work through Trafalgar Square in golden hour, when everything was so neat and crisp and Georgian and grand, just feels so right. Even if the work is hard, even if self-motivation is tough. I'm feeling good.

Credit where credit is due.

 

Hello, home

Well, that was a very lovely week.

Pretty, pretty, pretty week.

It's a real shame I lack the technical skill to show you how shut-up-and-sit-down beautiful the country I live in is. (I also made the sensational decision to leave my picture-taking to the very last day, when it was overcast.) (Overcast for an Australian summer, that is.)

I did a lot of things; most of them involved television. At this moment, I have seen more of Reno 911! than I ever anticipated or actually desired, but hey. Spent a lot of time shouting at a questionably rendered Mario on the Nintendo 64, too, so at least my time was productive.

There I am!

And then there was HAMBURGER. As far as I can tell, it's a fish 'n' chip shop, but the only signage is what you see: HAMBURGER. (People on the Peninsula are sometimes a little strange.) I had to walk everywhere down there, as the ranch was in the middle of nowhere -- as "middle of nowhere" as a house on the main road can be, but anyway -- and HAMBURGER marked the half-way point, roughly. Orange on brown never looked so good.

So, what about those shenanigans I alluded to? Well, it was pretty crazy; one morning -- and stick with me here, because this is going to sound a bit preposterous -- I woke up with a hairtie around my wrist I'd never seen before. And I lost one of my thongs. (That's a flip-flop; we have some pretty funny names for things down here at the bottom of the world.) And I got a prickle in my foot. As I said: off the hook.

 

Schoolies, or How to Fall Off a Balcony

Ooh, I shouldn't. Because that does happen, often with tragic results. But it basically sums up what schoolies is to Australian high school leavers. What better way to commemorate thirteen years of first-rate, first world education than by drinking for a week in a beach house until everything you learnt is permanently eradicated.

Atta boys... Original here

But I digress. Because, despite the stereotype, I can smugly announce that my schoolies will be a charming, relaxing week away, with just the right amount of fun-in-the-sun nonsense and "Shut up, it's 11am; it's barely morning." Even I, Empress of Kvetch, struggle to find things to complain about. ...alright, that's a lie, but I'm very talented in that way.

Ooh, if you insist... Originals here

We're going "down the coast", which is tricky as Melbourne is in Port Phillip Bay... In truth, we're going around to one of the peninsulas, so we'll be between bay and proper coast. There's your answer, then. As far as I can tell, the plan is to read and swim and eat and watch TV and sleep; a general attempt to begin the post-exam healing process. We don't find out our ATAR (ie: Year 12 score used to get into university) until mid-December, and then it's a month before university offers are released. "Merry Christmas/Happy New Year/Happy Birthday! We got you this overhanging thundercloud of doubt. --Much love, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority".

So here I am, half-way through this lovely holiday. (Oh, the magic of scheduling posts.) Anyway, I legitimately don't think I have any readers at this stage (which is fine, everybody starts at zero... totally fine... doesn't bother me...) so that's a weight off my mind. Oh, and yes, I will start using my own images soon. It's on my List of Things.

Ooh, by the way, I'm trying to figure out what in hell is going on with formatting... The Blogsy app is great but I am not. We'll see.