the final countdown

I’ve only got one sleep to go until the States, and the stress is starting to set in. So little time, so much to do. I’ve started doing about ten things on them in the last two hours, and barely finished one. There’s this feeling that I remember from before I went away to Sweden – time seems to exponentially speed up, until there’s this moment where you let go and just, well, go. I think I’ve got the basics covered though. Unless I do something incredibly dumb such as leaving my contact lenses in the bathroom or forgetting to pack my passport, everything should be fine.

These last two weeks I’ve been temping full-time to bump up my balance. I managed to score a very cushy (read: boring) job as a receptionist/switch bitch at a magazine company in South Yarra for one week, and this week I’ve been working at this accountancy firm conducting surveys with people in government housing about their water usage. Either the water conservation message is hitting home or everyone is telling filthy lies, because it appears that I’m the only one in Victoria who selfishly, wantonly indulges in daily 10-minute shower. Working as a temp also gives you an insight into the eccentricities of corporate culture – that particular firm are very into writing equations and graphs and plans directly onto their walls. But accountants do have a light side: spotted scrawled on a wall near the toilets “e = mc (hammer)” LOL.

I’m trying desperately to get some more information about my destinations. It’s hard without the internet, so I have to resort to 20^th century means. In my lunch break I ran across the Yarra to the City Library and borrowed out a swag of books, the best find being “Eccentric America” where I discovered that there is a July 4 Pillow Fighting Championship in a town a bit north of San Francisco. That isn’t even scratching the surface of the craziness, which I am very happy about - I guess the US doesn’t lend itself to the museums-churches-and-old-towns trinity that is the staple of sightseeing in Europe. Today I am heading into uni to book some hostels and find out what I can do on my 15 hr stopover in Fiji. All I can remember about Fiji past palm trees and coconuts is that they had a coup a few years ago. So yes, research.

I’m sitting in my new room in Crisp Avenue, Brunswick, trying my hardest to ignore the baby-pink walls which are offensive to my tastes and general interior design logic in every possible way. This new house is a considerable step down from mine and Miffy’s dual-level bachelorette pad, but I’m happy – I’m living with one of my besties Kate, I’m back in eclectic, multicultural, rags-and-riches Brunswick, and I’m paying $50 less in rent per week. I’m subletting my room out while I’m overseas to some students who need a halfway place while they find some more permanent places to live. Unfortunately, it isn’t as “spacious” as I advertised. I think “cosy” might be generous. But dammit, I’m happy and I’m looking forward to living here when I return.

Travel has definitely given me a more spartan lifestyle. Not only has saving for this trip forced me to drop out of consumer culture almost entirely, but I don’t tend to hoard stuff, or keep anything that I don’t use on a regular basis. There’s nothing like living out of a backpack to help you realise how little you actually need. I eventually would like to have more to my name than a badly painted chest of drawers, a second-hand fridge and a jewellery box of sets of earrings all missing one of the pair. But not when I’m a tight-arse student who changes addresses every six months. I’m glad that Kate shares this ethos – the furniture we bought yesterday was all second hand, and all as ugly as all heck. But we’ll make it a home.

I better head to uni to scab some wireless internet. My flight leaves at nearly midnight tomorrow, and for the next two days I go into this weird date-and-time defying two day long period, eventually being spat out the other side to arrive in San Francisco about 12 hrs after I departed Melbourne. I’m not going to even attempt to understand it. See you in SF.