After yawning most of the evening and suffering the consequences of my yawning with constant jibes, here I am at 1 in the morning, unable to sleep. What better way to lull one’s self than to start blogging in one’s online journal as she has avoided in doing so for a couple of weeks. Not by mere laziness, though that does factor quite highly into the equation, but just the mere lack of inspiration to do so. What to say, blah blah. Though I am extremely talented at the rambles, sometimes I think my BLOCK acts as a protection to prevent me from expressing how I truly feel at the time, and my inner ‘writer’ kicks in and I slip into story telling, instead of self expression. Food for thought.
last day ins sunny salzburg…
After singing, ‘the sun will come out, tomorrow…bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun…’ surely enough I was awakened through the massive window of my hostel room, beneath the Alps the sun was beaming through…YAY baby!
I spent the morning and portion of the afternoon at Helbrunn (where they have the glasshouse from the Sound of Music) and just chilled there soaking in the sunshine, before heading off to Mirabell Gardens again, to take photos of the famous stairs from DoReMi. Totally cool. Took a few detours before heading back here to the hostel just to properly pack my bag and just get organised. In all honesty I am so buggered that I just wouldn’t mind crashing.
Yesterday afternoon I met a few more girls and we ended up in the same hostel room…so we hung out last night and watched the Sound of Music, enjoying the parts where we got to scream ‘I SAW THAT!!!!’ I predict I will be driving a lot of people insane if they watch this movie with me. Oh well..you gotta love me!
Anyways more update later….
Day III of Salzburg
Well the rain finally came, but it was all good. Spent the mornign with girls I met before they left for Vienna. Seeing as it was Sunday and raining, leaves very little to do, so I hung out here at the hostel for awhile before heading off to the markets this afternoon.
Tomorrow I’ll praobably hang at the Mirabell Gardens and check out the castle, maybe check out the Hellbrunn again, but we’ll see how it goes. My flight is not till late tomorrow evening so plenty of time to get myself organised.
I was walking around today with a huge smile on my face. I just love this place. I love that I feel so at home to just wander the streets, gawk at the architecture… ahhh it’s been amazing.
The last few days have given me the opportunity to check out sights as well as have plenty of down time.
In saying that, I am looking forward to heading back to London….so till then…
…oh my word…
Day II of Salzburg and I am having a blast.
I have walked all over Salzburg and have met so many people along the way. It#s been heaps fun. Tonight I am having dinner with a couple of girls I met yesterday.
Instead of taking a tour I decided to walk and it quickly dawned on me how easy it would be to do Salzburg by foot. I ended up at the same place I was at yesterday and I bus-ed it yesterday. Not doing that again. I spent about 7 hours walking. It was soooo tiring. Up hill, down hill, up hill again, and thank the Lord down hill again. I love how I am walking around with a map on hand and not using it and just taking each alley and street as I feel led (don’t worry Mom, it’s safe here) It’s one of the safest places I’ve been to and the creepy factor is definitely at an all time low.
Tomorrow I plan to do the other side of Salzburg, saving Monday to just chill out and stuff before my flight late Monday evening. Praise God my ankle has healed allowing me to walk and explore as I please. I am having a blast.
Will write more when I am not typing by the minute. Too much pressure. Love lots! xx
…day one in salzburg…
okay, let it be known… this keyboard thing is going to drive me insane, seeing as all the keys are in different places. grrrr.
i spent the day leisurely taking mý time getting ready yesterday as my flight to salzburg wasn’t till 6:30pm. getting to stanstead was easy enough, but talk about breaking one’s budget and i hadn’t even began yet. oi!
got to stanstead and was bored quite quickly seeing as i had hours to kill before my flight, but slowly it passed. thanks ashe for keeping me company.
got to salzburg airport without any hassle, and the bus stop was right there. got to my hostel without a hitch. unfortunately i got to my room too late and everyone was asleep so i had to sort of make my way in the dark…which could have been a huge blessing if the place was gross, praise god, it wasn’t. had a little trouble sleeping, new environment and all that, but slept enough to wake up extremely early to greet the beautiful surroundings of salzburg austria. this place is amazing. i love it.
what was the first thing i did, you ask…as if you have to – the sound of music tour…of course. it was soooo cool. had a blast. met a couple of tourists and that was fun. i realise i love my on company…i have so much fun just wandering around aimlessly. after the tour i literally sat in the mirabell garden for hours just soaking in the atmosphere before doing a little more touristy things.
tomorrow i’m planning to take destiny into my own hands…as far as where i go and how i go. i was going to jump on a tour bus but i bought a map today and thought it might be more fun to do it that way. wish me luck. i haven’t done too badly so far. i did miss my stop by four this evening as i headed back to the hostel…oopsie daisy! but i didn’t panic. i just got off, crossed the road and hopped back on a bus…had to wait like twenty minutes, but hey, that’s what shuffles are for.
anyways, i want to jump in the shower before the sound of music starts…they play it like every nigth at 8pm. might try and see a mozart show tomorrow evening or take a cruise. hmmm…
hope everyone is well… take care. love lots.
…mmm…COOKIES!!!
Cookie anyone? As I sit here continuingly being interupted by the ringing of the phone…’HarperCollins Good afternoon’ are words I will not miss if I never have to say them again after June 16th 2006! Yup yup, it’s official…my last day at HarperCollins is only a month away! Yay!!!
On an extremely cooler note, my Kuya Joel and Ate Noreen are getting married tomorrow…11th of May 2006. So bummed to be missing it, as Kuya Joel is one of my all time favourite Kuya’s. But I am definitely there in thought and spirit. Know that you guys are in my thoughts and prayers. I am praying for everything to run smoothly tomorrow. That you enjoy every moment of the day and the blessings headed your way, for you truly deserve it. Enjoy it! I am sooo excited for the life you have ahead…see you in the States!
I’m off to Salzburg, Austria tomorrow…though I realise it is my first trip that I am not going or meeting up with anyone (oh, hang on…with the exception of the World Youth Day of course – well even then I ended up running into Daan, Mary and Jeanette)…I am excited at the prospect of adventure ahead. No matter what, it’ll be a great experience. I know God’s with me every step of the way! I get back very late Monday evening and back to work on the Wednesday.
It’s a strange sensation…the realisation that my days are numbered…not that I have been in denial or anything, but it’s weird. We said our goodbyes to Ate Shirley on Sunday evening…which kinda made the whole goodbye thing even more a reality. Hmmm!!! Give me strength! =)
On Friday I met up with Mark and Theresa for a couple of hours, and we got to catch up. It was a little weird to realise how time has flown by as we said goodbye, it was like, see you at home… WHOA!!! What the? Oh yeah I am going home in a couple of months *ponder moment*. Afterwards I met up with my fellow H’Smith Connect-ers @ Capische in GreenPark before heading home to hang out with Sher for an hour or so, seeing as she was leaving for California early the following morning and will be back before I get back from Salzburg. Saturday was spent hanging out with Ashe, well the evening. Seeing as I spent most of Saturday with my ankle elevated…let’s not even go there! Sunday was another AWESOME day in God’s house. Have I mentioned that I have the cutest kids (from Kids Church/CubbyHouse) in the world?? One of them fell asleep on me again. I am starting to think I was a couch in another life. Bless! They’re adorable! How I say goodbye to them in a couple of months will definitely be a challenge and a half.
Anyways, I better go and sort out last minute work things before I fly outta here. Hope everyone has a great weekend, and I will be back with an entry all about Salzburg upon my return.
Tchuss!
…weekend? bring it on!!! ….
Yay! It’s the weekend again. Tell you what, I am so enjoying this whole 4 day week thing…it’s soooo good! Well, this weekend should be as chaotic as always, but hey that’s what makes it fun! T and Mark are stopping by in London for a couple of days so I am supposed to be meeting up with them this evening…I am also hoping to catch up with my H’smith Connect Family at Capish, and be home at a reasonable enough hour to hang out with Sher before she leaves for LA tomorrow.
Tomorrow? Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve planned anything…to my immediate knowledge anyway…oooops…just remembered. Ate Shirley’s farewell, not that I know where that is just yet *thinking out loud*.
Sunday is Sunday! Fun fun fun day in God’s house.
I have Thursday to next Tuesday off. I leave for Salzburg, Austria on Thursday evening and return very late Monday night. I am a little apprehensive about traveling on my own, but more than anything excited for the adventure ahead. Whatever happens, it’s going to be an adventure.
Work has been…interesting. It seems people are being made redundant left, right and centre. Kind of sighing with relief that my contract ends in May…with the possibility of working the first couple of weeks in June. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have a job either…seeing as my whole department has been made redundant. Shame though, some of these guys have been here for over two decades.
I am looking forward to going home, at the same time the prospect of having to say goodbye is really starting to make my stomach churn. I know it’s going to be hard at the best case scenario and realistically…excruciating! But, it’s all about seasons, and this season of my life is certainly drawing to its undeniable close, so I am bound and determined to make the most of it.
Ahhhh…well must go. Hope you all have a great weekend! See you soon! xx
…one down…
*deep breath…sigh*
One down…many more to go. Officially it has started. Saying goodbye! Boy does it suck! Today I had to say my final (for this season of my life) goodbye to Dani. Daniela, who started off as Brent’s girlfriend, a status, which did not last very long. It was almost instanteneously that she was our friend and Brent was the boyfriend. Just kidding Brent! The last few months with Dani and just getting the opportunity to get to know her has been such a blessing, more than she could ever possibly comprehend. I knew that saying goodbye was going to be hard, but something about saying goodbye to Dani made it extremely real.
Up Next is Ate Shirley, bound for Chicago…then it’s my turn.
I thought I’d ramble for awhile, but I draw a blank…will try again later.
Dani, have a safe trip home matey! May God continue to bless your paths ahead, and may your life flourish in such an extravagant way! You’ll be soooo missed. Love ya!
…Warrior Princess Daughter…
What an amazing weekend at Colour! I don’t think words can even begin to express what it was like. The whole experience was phenomenal, and it wasn’t the big things but the many little things that made the atmosphere that was very prominent.
For me, Colour brought a mixture of emotions, admittedly, most of which involved tears. It was hard to not appreciate what you had, however big or little you thought you had. It was like a two day journey that released you from whatever chains kept you bound. Allow release, you allow healing. Allow healing, you allow love. You learn to love yourself and who God created you to be. Learn to love yourself, you are empowered to face everything with God’s strength, as the Warrior Princess Daughter he has created us to be.
As I sat blubbering beside one of my closest friends on the first day, being sadwiched between two of the most amazing friends I have been blessed with on the second day, and being able to share numerous moments with a number of prominent women I do life with, I couldn’t help but weep?and weep I did. As Crystal would atest to, and much to my horror there may even be footage of it? I couldn’t help but be in awe of how God has blessed me so.
Back in Sydney I am blessed with amazing Women in my life, each for their own reasons. My Mom would definitely rank as one of the strongest people I know. After everything, she has remained the matriarch in our family, forever the one taking care of everyone else, despite how hard it is for her. Determined to meet the need of everyone else before hers. Everything she has ever done for us kids, and those she loves in her world, roots from her heart and her longing to provide for all the needs she is physically able to.
My sister is always someone I looked up to, and not just in the literal way either. My sis was and always be like Mini Mom. She took care of all of us, and still does. Growing up, aside from thinking she was like the biggest pain in the butt, I always admired how she was always so responsible and wise. More than anything what always struck me about my sis is her bravery. I guess she gets that from my Mom. I have always believed that my sis can take on the whole world and win?I still do.
My Mom and my sister are two of the strongest people I know, and I can’t help but feel lucky, because if they’re that strong, then I have that strength in me too. After all, it was their courage that inspired me to come to London without the safety nets. It was a challenge I needed to meet, that I wouldn’t have without their support.
I have an awesome circle of friends back home?my Posse, who each in their own way have always and continue to shape who I am as a friend. Their friendship, our moments of hilarity and chaos, is what has helped shaped me as a friend and sister. Through good times and bad, through time and distance?the dynamics of each Posse remain.
?but while at Colour, my tears welled up as my eyes glanced around the 3000 capacity auditorium and my gaze fell on numerous people, as memory crept into my mind and heart. I fell to pieces. God has not only blessed me with amazing people in my life in Sydney, but also in London. It is because of these people I have learned to call London home. For if not for them, London would just be a cold city.
It hit me that as prepared and as excited as I was to be going home, I would be leaving such a huge part of me here too. How awesome is God that he surrounds us with the people who will impact our life in such a way. That his Love is so great that he provides for all our needs. Especially our emotional and spiritual ones!
As I hugged a friend for the first time in what seemed like forever, I couldn’t help but be brought to tears as the moments we shared came flooding in. The laughter, the tears, the dinners, the movies, and significant moments we shared in our season together.
I remember hugging many amazing people (all whom I love dearly) that evening, but four of them made me lose it. Thanks a lot guys! (not to any fault of their own by the way) You know who you are, I’m sure your shirts are still wet from the dam I shed?I just want to say Thank you for allowing God to use you in such a way in my life that your impact was so great, that it led me to be such a blubbering mess!
?the rest of the weekend was less emotional. It was a fantastic day in the house of God on Sunday, as usual. My kids are as cute as always.
Monday was a very welcomed Bank Holiday Monday?.recovery day! Slept till late, and headed to Greenwich Park for a Picnic. Had a great day with friends!
So much was imparted this weekend, the challenge is to apply it and rise to the challenges ahead?.