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It is definitely tropical up here. The sun sets in the south these days, and I think the plumeria are out all year.
It is definitely tropical up here. The sun sets in the south these days, and I think the plumeria are out all year.
We are on a boat, pointed at NZ… Should be good. Rough seas predicted so we’ll see about that! I’ll be out of contact for a bit.
We had a visitor here on Boxing Day, just after lunch. It’s a Blue Tongue lizard. It moves kinda like a snake but they are pretty harmless I think. A reminder of where we are.
Here are a few snaps from our first Australian Christmas. The kids were great fun and were very excited about it all.
Just sitting here on the deck at night in Byron Bay… It’s Christmas Eve, and everyone is headed to bed. I found some videos on my phone from my sailing trip a few weeks ago so I thought I would try post them here. It might work, it might not…. We’ll have to see!
The first one is motoring out of Hamilton Island, and the second one is under sail, later that day. Try not to get seasick!
PS… It didn’t work! I’ll figure it out soon.
We have moved down the coast to a place called Byron Bay. It’s a pretty famous beach spot, lots of backpackers and people taking it easy.
The other day we had the chance to cruise up the coast and go see the zoo that Steve Irwin made famous. It was a good, fun day.
Eli sneaking a pet of a little roo.
Annalise with her popcorn trough in tow.
After almost ten years away, I have returned to Airlie Beach. Last time I was here I was with Mike, driving up the coast. This time I am here with 130 of my classmates, and we have all rented yachts and are going to sail out around the reef islands. The Great Barrier Reef is just 100 km from shore.
The photo showing a parking lot was actually where we slept on of the nights back then. Mike was sleeping in the parking lit and I was on the adjacent beach. The cops came and told Mike to move on in the morning, as they do here. They didn’t notice me, I was sleeping under a small catamaran! Those were good times.
This is on the way home from the hospital, and I always love coming around the corner and seeing the sun set over these hills. The view is not to last however, there is a construction site hiding in the glare.
There is lots different around here, on the website and in my life, but from what is written down it is hard to tell. I haven’t been writing here for a few reasons, some described below, some not. For the first time since having this site, I completed an update of the underlying software. It was something I was basically scared to do because everything was working and I didn’t want to lose it all and then be in a big mess. But, developments are underfoot that have finally necessitated an upgrade. The previous version had been released October 26, 2007… that’s even before I was accepted at UQ! It seems as though the database came up alright and everything went off without a problem… there was nothing to be afraid of I guess. I had read some nightmares of everything disappearing, which they maybe fixed the problems since then.
But that’s not all that is different. I now have a job to look forward to at the end of my second post secondary degree. The last time I graduated I had no idea what I would be doing. This time, I know the time, date and place that I will begin work. Contract signed. It is a very good feeling to have some future security. My application to Alberta went well, but I needed to make a decision about which way to go. After a massive amount of consideration I have decided to undertake internship in Australia. It is a one year commitment that essentially completes my degree with a year of paid hospital work. After which I will achieve ‘general registration’ which will allow me to work as a doctor in Australia in a broader sense.
I do have my second thoughts about Alberta, especially as the process is about to go into the next phase on Saturday, but I couldn’t keep straddling the fence forever, and to continue to straddle would mean thousands of dollars spent flying back and forth across the world and missing time from my program here, in the final run. Let’s hope I have done the right thing!
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