I'm a drunk or she's just stupid

My day off started like every other day off... although I think I finally mastered the no-holes-in-mosquito-net situation, I found it hard to sleep in more than half an hour passed my normal wake-up, and excitement from my forthcoming chat with my boy did nothing to help. So off I trundled to Seaside to log on and wait. And wait. And wait. Hmmm.... internet troubles again?

Something in me was thinking not, so I waited more still. Thankfully, my good friend B was online and I had a nice chat with her. She has a good head on her shoulders and always levels me out when I'm a bit loopy. So some good perspective on my time here was gained through that conversation. Without giving too much away, she moved me on towards what I was already realising.

Luckily, it was a pretty shitty day for the beach so I had all the time on the world on my hands to wait. But when my computer battery started to blink at me, I gave up and headed home. En route, I heard my phone ring and probably flashed the nearby workers in my haste to get it before it stopped ringing. As it was, I missed it but it rang back straight away, and indeed it was who I was hoping for.

He told me he'd been delayed as he scored tickets to a Foo Fighters/Tenacious D gig, a good enuf excuse for me! Would've been an amazing show! He told me he practically ran home, almost asked Dave Grohl how much longer he was gonna play at one point haha... But eventually we connected, and before long I found myself sitting in Pineapple Pete's drinking beer after beer and eating lunch while the hours ticked into the early morning at his end.

It was a good chat. We both needed it. I was a bit bummed when he didn't come online at first, so it was a relief that we finally spoke. It is strange, this past weekend we REALLY missed each other... at the same time. It was the hardest time I've had away from him and indeed a turning point for me and my plans. While he's still in limbo about his visa, and I guess a lot of what I do depends on what happens with that.

After my beers, I was feeling content and all mushy from speaking so long with A, so after I wired some money back home I owed my sister, I jumped into a bus on the way to the airport to book my tickets to St Thomas for when Erm comes in less than a month. What happened next is either due to me being a bit tipsy (and well drunk on love) or the lady at the counter being a complete moron, but I managed to book and pay for tickets to St Thomas a full month before I was wanting to go. As in, I was due to leave in a few days!

I didn't realise the error til I was home, so annoyed I ran to the shop to get phone credit but as the airline's number didn't dial from my phone, I was forced to get back on a bus and go to the airport. Unfortunately, I got an annoying clicky-clicky sound from one of the guys hanging at a shitty bar and I bit - "I DON'T LIKE THAT FUCKING SOUND" I yelled as I stormed passed. God knows what he said, but I don't look forward to what he says the next time I pass. Probably will do the sound twice as loud. Am thinking I should have restrained myself.

The lady at the counter insisted I misled her and I was in no mood to do a he said, she said argument so I just shut up and let her change my ticket before she clocked off for the day. I think I had gotten there with 5 mins to spare. Thankfully, she didn't charge me anything extra other than the difference in fare, which I can pay later since I didn't have anything on me when I ran back to the airport. Well, that's a plus.

Was thinking about going back online tonight to talk more with A, but the rains have started again as predicted and I have no desire to walk in that with the lack of drainage this island has. And my laptop... and my nighttime walking rule! All bad bad bad. So no more chatsies. I just have the gentle rain and cool jazz sounds of my iTunes as company.

Making progress on life.

Times can be trying when you're apartment hunting. And job hunting. And purpose in life hunting. Sometimes there truly looks like just black at the end of that tunnel. But I'm making it sound like some depressing, Requiem For A Dream kinda setting. No, I'm not gonna start jabbing my arms and selling my gf off to the double dildo hourdes just yet.

I guess it feels like it's dragging on cos my househunting partner A is also in the same boat, and while he has just found himself a fulltime job, I have not been given the hours promised to me and am on the search again for another job or a replacement one, so I can actually afford to live and save for this bloody Caribbean flight.

Speaking of which, I am in talks with my mate's mate in the travel bizniz who is giving me a stupid discount on the flight and therefore staving off the need to sell my body (alot of body-selling in this blog...) for a little while, and hopefully meaning I won't leave Australia with a massive debt attached to my name. Now that will not be looked upon kindly by US immigration. As it is, I have had to be quite creative with my flight schedule to allow me inside the iron gates to at least have a trial period on the island. After that, I can apparently get residency easily and have no problems. It's all quite laidback there, I hear.

So in the time I've just taken to break from writing my blog, I have booked in several house viewings, paid for my flights to the US and gotten a job interview this afternoon. Woot! Talk about progress.

Alright, I better go. Blogging is not an extra activity I need to be doing at this point in time. Trying to make myself look respectable for job interviews and house viewings does take a fair few minutes.

Rio here I come... a couple days early!

A couple inches of snow fell last night, waking me to a fresh powdery covering of all things outdoors. It was still snowing when I went to the animals, which meant this time I couldn't see the stars (can you believe that? I actually see the stars I start so early in the morning!!) but it was lovely working in the light snow - when it wasn't fallen into my eyeball.

One of the factory workers' girlfriend R was at the farm and G being G put her straight to work - I was told she was "here to help" so I rearranged my schedule to give her some of the less scary, camel-related tasks to do. Turned out she was given some tasks of her own by G so I had a little help from her with the horse stables at the end, but since she's not used to doing it, I did about 7 in the time she did 3. But I am thankful I got to do 3 less!

She speaks Spanish as well, so I was asking her lots of questions about the language and the 6 months she spent in South America. She didn't know anything before she went and within a month was confident on the phone, so there is hope for me yet!

On a sadder note, I have officially started biting my nails again. Before today, I was biting them to a shorter length because I can't have long nails in this environment, but now, sitting at this laptop (damn you laptop!), I have bitten a few down to the ends. Sob sob...

Today I went with G's husband W to one of the factories they run for handicapped people (apparently they have 3), where they give simple tasks with their elastics so these people have something to do and I guess earn some money. I walked past a showroom with some of the things they made and I was really impressed! If I had the cash and the bag space, I would've bought a tonne of stuf from that selection!

Afterwards, we stopped in a pub for a tea (for W) and beer (for me). I don't often drink alcohol here so when I do, I always get drowsy and a little spacey. More so than usual I mean :P

My travel agent - bless her second trimester pregnant belly - stuffed something up with my booking and has had to move my flight forward a couple of days to Rio. This means I need to reorganise my flight from Vienna to London, and arrange some accommodation in Rio for those extra days - all of which she says Flight Centre will cover. Which is good, because there really isn't any other option here.

It means I'm in Rio from March 1, more crazy carnival life to experience and maybe some more chances to get mugged. Cross those fingers now!