One last saturday in Brisbane before i go!
I leave on Thursday and I'm on the coast from Sunday evening to Tuesday morning. Anyone who wants one last hug/bottom-pinch/hair-pull can contact me and we'll work something out.
ENORMOUS heartfelt warm fuzzy LOVE and thanks to all those who have:
a) helped me shop for appropriately warm stuff (swani: "Erica, put those shoes down, 'cute' won't matter when you're ankle deep in sleet. I want to see one inch soles and no less.")
b) lent me appropriately warm stuff (alyson: "Here, i'm too lazy to knit finish this scarf. If you can finish it, you can have it for Germany")
c) lent me incredibly useful stuff (amy: "take my backback! it has more zips and clips than you have brain cells! it will think for you!")
d) gave me helpful advice about the cold (kirsten: "i read somewhere that exposed flesh freezes in 20 seconds."), the travel (clare: "do not spend one single weekend relaxing in your hotel in essen."), the flight (alyson: "drink plenty of water on the flight"/mads*: "drink plenty of wine on the flight"), everything.
d) said beautiful things and wished me luck and made me feel all warm and loved inside. THANKYOU. I'm going to miss that feeling of connectedness that I have with my treasured friends and I look forward to plugging back in :-) when i get back in march.
This will be the website to check for updates (which i imagine will consist of such mind-blowing prose pieces as - 'grocery shopping in a foreign language... what the hey???'). This saves you the mild irritation of those 'isn't travelling FUN!?!?' emails when you're staring down the barrel of another 9 hour day in a windowless office with a pile of work to do that's taller than you are. oh GI, i miss you already...
I went with these guys because they have a sexy web design (they told me so themselves) and i think they're affiliated with Lonely Planet so although they now hold an exclusive, perpetual, omniscient, etc licence over everything I write here, at least i know (or hope) it will be used for good and not evil. also there's no advertising to bother you.
Alright, watch this space.
xx
e
PS - Brisbanites - tomorrow (Sunday) is packing day. anyone that wants to come over and drink tea, help me keep focussed and show me how to do it properly is IMMENSELY welcome. (cut to me sitting on the loungeroom floor behind a pile of bulky jumpers wondering what the hell to put in first... and eventually deciding that making a cup of tea sounds easier.)
*mads - for the last few months whenever I've told people I'm going to Germany, they invariably respond with 'aaah, sprechen Sie Deutsch?', which is sweet, because they're trying to be culturally aware and i respect that. Mads on the other hand, defying the status quo as always, responded with 'Achtung, baby!!!' demonstrating not only her impeccable taste in music but also her sparkling spirit (and i'm not just talking about the glass of champagne she subsequently placed in my hand) and colossal sense of humour.
