down under

Celi and I recently went down under- Perth- to stay with Baby El and his totally-adorable Pixie Piglet over the Chinese New Year. Its been a madhouse of a past year for me and my schdule does not look like its bating. It was a much needed respite from the grind of demands and deadlines. So, on a whimp and fancy we booked tickets from that Zuji place (I look back and wondered why I didn't think of exchanging my dad's frequent flyer points given I chalked up alot when I billed my five-figure wedding to his frequent flyer card so that I may one day use the fly points).

In any case, we had a riot of a time. We booked out own little car and drove about armed with a handful of Perth tourist brochures and a street directory. Its Perth so we didn't really need a plan though Baby El and Pixie Piglet were kind enough to point us in directions that they thought would interest us. We did the usual touristy stuff like carry Koalas (actually Celi did, not I) and visit (over 2 days) the Fremental prison where we went for their tunnel tour (we had to row our own boat and stuff) and venture to their gorgeous beaches.

People like to assume that my little sorjourn overseas did me loads of good to my psyche and health- it did, somewhat. At least whilst I was there, it was good not to have to worry about training, consults and the mountain of stuff I'm needed for. But, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't filled with magic moments: the home-made roasted lamb dinner, the giggly times of four-men crossword puzzles, the lazy days of feral beers and vineyards, the long drives to nowhere and the mindless hunt for mazes, strawberry farms and Archer the dog. Then, there are the mornings of battling the cryptic lock and branch at the cafe, then there are the nights of guitar and soulful barritone singing, simple sighs of friendship.