Michael in town

Michael was in Canberra for 4 days, starting over the weekend. It was fantastic to be together again and I am really looking forward to him moving here. In the first half year or so, I was very glad to have come here on my own - it gave me a chance to find my feet, make some good friends, go out late, become more independent. If I'd done this for a few years earlier, it probably wouldn't have been a bad thing either. But despite all the benefits, being with Michael again is so different and special, and it'll be so good next year when we're living in the same city again.

Had a ball

The SNoG ball was on Saturday and we had heaps of fun dancing, eating, drinking, talking... Unfortunately the next day was a complete write off, but it's all well worth it once in awhile.




Together again

Maria, Lukas, Chrissy and me

Dave, Phil, Heather, Rithy, Kylie and me


Floriade

Michael and I went to Floriade on Monday, a flower festival held in Canberra each Spring. It was essentially tulips - very pretty - anything different to do here is good!

So so so so tired!

Working girl

Why didn't anyone ever tell me that working life would be so tiring? That I would never again experience the flexibility of uni - doing work when I felt like it, going to lunch for as long as I liked, shopping when I felt like it, being able to run errands more than twice a year! Of course, never mind the burden of guilt often at the back of my mind about my uncompleted Honours thesis in fifth year, the last-minute cramming, the weekends and evenings spent studying in the weeks before exams... OK, so there are benefits to finishing uni!

But lately I have realised how exhausted I get by the end of a day at work - even those days that aren't particularly busy. This whole week, for example, has been relatively quiet - yet I have still come back on 2 out of 4 nights feeling like I couldn't be bothered to lift a finger - hence the laundry basket filled with clothes needing washing, the ironing basket filled with wrinkled clothes, the Legal Workshop papers strewn across my desk and the surrounding floorspace... About the one thing that gets done without fail is the washing up and the cooking - because these are shared chores in our household so I have no choice!

So I've been a bit of a recluse since coming back from Perth - only went out once this week, on Monday night (and that took it out of me for the rest of the week!) and have been holing up in my room after dinner each night, not chatting to the flatmates...

Home time

Going back to Perth for 9 days last week was fantastic - such a good break from everything, and so relaxing. Caught up with quite a few people, but also had time for relaxing things like watching DVDs, hanging out with Michael, chatting with Mum, dinners at home, visiting my former home (according to Sasha), Garden City. It was soooo good to eat my mum's cooking again! Perth hasn't changed - it never seems to - but I guess that's one of the good things about it. It's still very pretty, and much warmer than Canberra!

Photo catchup

I realised this blog is low on visual content... so here are some photos from the past couple of months!
















Edwina and I during her visit to Canberra in July
















Simon, me, Edwina, Yau Hing and Mandy at the Kingston Grind for lunch
















The Taichemel household, at our house party in July