Sir, sir!

It's now been just over three months since my last shift on the ward, and I don't miss it - which is good, I suppose.  I started a new job as a 'Business Manager' at a local high school, basically the financial and operational manager; I have nothing to do with education or HR, but I oversee most everything else that keeps the school running.  After the last two and a half years, I need something low-impact: it's 35 hours/week, I get nine weeks' holiday, and it's a 20-minute walk to work.

I took a week off in between jobs and met up with Pops in Amsterdam, which was hard.  My dad's dementia has noticeably progressed and travel in general is now challenging for him.  We managed to have a good time, and spent a fabulous day with Lottie and her family in Mmaassbbrree, but Amsterdam is not the best place to be in a physically- and mentally-limited capacity.  Then last month Pops had an ischemic stroke.  Thankfully Lara and Emilio were with him and noticed right away, so he had thrombolysis in under two hours; he was out of the hospital in five days.  But this event made it clear that it's time for Pops to return to America to live, so his Teutonic adventure will come to a close this July.

Sushil and I have been busily exhausting our 2023 CO2 quotas with trips to Montréal and Australia since restarting my life as a desk warrior.  We saw Russ in Montréal, which was a liver-challenging blast, and Australia was fabulous; I wasn't ready to come back when we reached the end of the trip.  But the weather has turned here, we have officially opened our garden for the season, and we're looking forward to spending time with a number of guests who will be visiting this Summer.

So it's been a busy three months.  I still feel a bit discombobulated about everything and am giving myself the time and space for things to settle.  Letting go and letting be aren't my natural states - I'm normally a planner and a driver.  But until it's become clear where I'm going, I'm just going to relax in the universe's passenger seat for now.  Let's see where it takes me.

Cheers,

Shaun

Having beers at the local bruine kroegen.

Pops' favourite building in Amsterdam.

Montréal - pauvre, mais sexy.

Habit 67 has been on my to-see list for years.

Sydney kept on shining...

...and shining...

...and shining for us.

I enjoyed Sydney more than before.  It's always been an obviously beautiful city, but this time I got off the party- and beach-paths and out into some of the neighbourhoods.  The city's got a lot more character and charm than it's given credit for.  We stayed in Surry Hills which, if you were designing the perfect inner-city neighbourhood, is pretty much what you would end up with.

We took a side trip from Sydney to the Blue Mountains, where Sushil continued to prove his level of insanity.

Sunset on Lincoln's Rock.  Notice the increased distance from the edge when I am around to police the situation.

Landing at Yulara.

The 'Red Centre' was truly that.  Uluru is definitely one of those 'Wow, I can't believe I am seeing it in person' places.

Melbourne has spread out along the Yarra River in the 22 years between my visits.  It was a nice city before; now it's a nice big city, more vibrant and diverse than I remember it.  Though Sydney surprised us with its offerings, you can definitely see why Melbourne has the reputation as being the cultural capital of Australia.  The weather was greyer and cooler (yay for me, boo for Sushil).  We stayed in Fitzroy which was a little too hip for us; it makes Dalston look like a staid quarter for middle-aged accountants.  We learned that, in Melbourne, we are South-of-the-river gays.

Though Sydney's is improving, the public transportation in Melbourne is much better, despite the city being more spread out.  There are trams along almost every street in the centre and inner suburbs.

Melburnian paint job.

Our side trip from Melbourne was the Great Ocean Road.

Obviously, I drove.

She's a beaut.

Our last stop was Perth, which was a lot different from what I expected.  I thought it would be like Canary Wharf on a beach, but it was more like Philadephia with mullets.  The city centre definitely had edge; Perth obviously enthusiastically embraced the post-war automobile age and the suburban flight that went with it.  But there is evident renewal, and the CBD is dotted with laneways covered with street art and hip cocktail bars.  I liked the city more each day we were there - it's definitely got a soul alongside the beachy sheen.

They are doing quite a lot to give the city centre back to pedestrians.  A dual carriageway was demolished alongside the riverfront to build a quay and rebirth a park that had been lost under asphalt.  There also used to be train tracks literally separating the CBD from Northbridge, where we stayed.  They've buried the tracks underground and are connecting the two areas with a large new public square.  Northbridge is fast becoming the new social and cultural heart of the city.

My favourite area was Mt. Lawley, just to the North.  Hip and bustling, but in a more...mature...way.  And it speaks the truth.