Sydney Bound

I'm at the Vancouver airport, waiting for my direct flight to Sydney. It is going to be about 15.5 hours on the same plane, so I hope I am not crowded out too much. I found out my seat is next to an empty one, and there are about 100 empty seats on this flight so lots of choice about where to sit, which is good. I don't want to be near any crying or whining children (sorry, but I did my time in mommy jail quietening a wee one - I don't want to hear yours), or chatterboxes that insist on talking right through the wee hours of the morning. I have a couple of books, some notebooks and journals, and the on-board video and audio entertainment, plus 3 meals, and some snacks, so I am all set for the long haul. My new manager will be meeting me at the airport, so hope I don't have any trouble finding him. Maybe he will be holding a sign with my name on it...

My luggage was heavy, and over by 10 pounds on one bag, but because my other bag was under by 15 pounds, she let it go, said it was no big deal. Phew. I tried to put all the heavy stuff in the other bag, but it was a much smaller suitcase, so there was only so much I could fit in there. Now I just have to hope that it arrives in Alice Springs when I do. My bags will be easy to spot. One is purple and one is lime green. Far cry from boring black suitcases. I am certain I have packed enough for the two months I will be without the rest of my belongings. I'll be living in a furnished apartment, so hopefully I won't have to pick up much at K-mart to set things up. My first order of business is getting the car, figuring out how in the hell to drive on the other side of the road, and find the grocery store, and bank. I have a bank account at an Australia bank that I opened by mail, and now I just have to show my passport and will gain access to the account, and get a bank card. Then I can let my new employer know so I can get PAID.

I start work on Thursday, which might seem rather ambitious, but I want to get a feel for the place right away, and maybe even make plans to check things out that weekend, so if I didn't go to work until Monday, I would be in Alice for several days without knowing anyone. I am looking forward to getting back to work, and settling into somewhat of a routine, and make some friends. I've seen a Google street view of the rental apartment, and it looks well enough. Hard to tell just which property is the one I'm renting but it does look like they all have a covered car port, to keep your car from being  boiling hot I reckon. I wonder what the inside looks like...

I arrive in Sydney on Tuesday at 8:10am, which is really Monday 3:40pm Vancouver time. We shall see when I get there just what time it really is, as the time change can be very confusing. I think Darwin is 15.5 hours ahead of Vancouver. Interestingly enough, the same amount of time the flight is...weird.

I am very tired, and looking forward to getting to sleep on the plane, for sure. I'm going to take my meds right away and curl up under my blanket with my headphones and some tunes...driftin' away...