I used, not to like eggs very much.

This month this times have changed. I seem to be egg obsessed. Just can’t get enough eggs. Mmmm mmm.

I just found out I’m going to Japan for a day and a night. Perhaps a very exhausted night. But it was very exciting. For some reason far more exciting than going to Mexico for a year, which is obviously far more exciting ion reality…

I got my plane ticket today. Muy cerca de ahora.

Lucky Michael Franti taught me a bit of Japanese, so I think I’ll be singing Bonjour Bonjour my whole time there (I do know that, that is not Japanese, but it is the name of the song).

My one day in Japan hopefully won’t blow my whole budget. I do hear it is expensive.

Sunday arvo involved me actively trying to do nothing. Which, I think on reflection worked out quite well. I think it now makes me think I must be the funnest person in the whole entire universe, alongside Jo because our active scheme of doing nothing was conjured up together over an hour or so.

So after a egg on toast feast (with other yummy things on top) with Jo, Mil, Tony and Carlos, Jo and I continued conjuring up our plan which consisted of:
1. DVD- “Love My Way” a TV series.
1a. A laptop (for watching DVD in abnormal places, see 2.)
2. The roof (Ryan’s side of the house)
3. Ambience (being roof, and cushions)
4. Take away vanilla malt milkshakes in tacky yellow and green paper cups that remind me of summer when I was a kid.

Once our ingredients were blended, despite the light, and the rather occasional disruption of the inner city flight path, the scheme played itself out just marvellously.

I think the malt in the milkshakes (although seemingly a small ingredient) was an incredibly important aspect to the afternoon. Malt adds a dash of excitement and old fashioned-ness. And…I must say, a vanilla milkshake without malt is mildly dismal (after knowing the goodness of malt).

Unfortunately, amidst the excitement we forgot to take a photo, for which reason we have decided to do it again soon.

Yesterday at work, a woman brought back a little stone that was meant to say “Happiness”, but didn’t. Rather it said, “Hoppiness”. So we’ve taken it in our stride to have a hoppiness register, all needing to be more hoppy in our work.

I love it. It sits at the till making me smile. I love things made in foreign countries.

The weeks past have been filled with in primary part, working. This is a positive thing for some few reasons following:
1. I very much enjoy my work
2. Work earns money which is good for saving money
3. I have holidays and it occupies some of that time

The weeks have also been filled with other things like sickness. That has brought me diminished joy in other activities as I have been low on energy and wishing that I wasn’t. I have as a result been the best rester I have ever been, which comparatively may not be that good, but I get so bored. Bored of not being able to sleep. Bored of movies… And general bouts of discontentment as nothing quite satisfies one when sick.

Some things I have enjoyed muchly have consisted of:
- The U2 concert which has been written about in depth by some others which much reduces my feeling of need to write about such things. But, I very much enjoyed it. It was one of the most magical experiences ever. I felt like I was in a movie. And the rain made it more so.

- Getting an email from Ricardo all the way in Chile to let us know that they’d received the package (along with some beautiful drawings of a duck and and teapot etc.) and to inform that it was much appreciated.

- Our community dinner we had where many lovely people attended and I didn’t feel like an anxious host. In fact I didn’t even feel like a host. And it was just generally a lovely time.

- The general feeling of becoming slowly more connected with the Newtown community. The joy this brings me I can’t quite describe, but leaving all this behind brings me much sadness and makes me not want to leave. I must be starting to feel settled. And although this may seem small, I don’t think it it, because it is the first independent ’settled feeling’ I have ever manifested. Which surely means something more than something small. Perhaps it’s a part of the beginning of The Pilgrimage (previously mentioned), although I hesitate to say beginning because I daresay that begun a good 22 years ago. Perhaps in the beginning parts of this chapter of The Pilgrimage, which I actually think began in Croydon. But who’s for boxing things anyway? What’s important is that I am feeling a sense of joy and contentment with Community at the moment.

- Bible Study. I always have some cheer brought to my life after hanging out with such marv. people.

- A beach trip on Sunday with Sandra, Gary, Bec and Max. As Bec pointed out to me, where spontaneity happened even after trying to make plans. The best sort of beach trip.

- A fouting/spouting for ice cream and to christen my new iPod (capital P for Tom) in Tom’s new car stereo, and also for the purpose of general frolicking. Jo made a ripper mix we rocked to all the way to Leichhardt and back.

- My marvellously long and deep sleep last night which ended at 9.50am.

- O. And I finished uni some time ago. Yippety.

I have managed to bore myself with all my writing. For some reason I’d thought it would be good to blog. And now I am wondering otherwise…I won’t fret over such trivialities I suppose.

I like the word pilgrimage. I have never quite known why, but I’ve always wanted to be a pilgrim in some sense. There’s something searching and courageous about it…or something. The good things of a travelling soul without the lack of responsibility or something. Anyway, now that I’ve had this little thought pattern about, it may not be an appropriate title for what I was going to write. in some ways so though.

I was talking to Jo the other night about well…a few things…but we were talking about going to me going away to Mexico. And as the date of departure comes ever closer I think more about it, the reality of it, and the fact that I am scared of leaving everything I know and my community here to be so alone in another place.

But amidst this stupidity I feel like it is my pilgrimage and I have to do it alone. Which kind of sucks, cause it would be great to have a buddy to such things with, but I don’t reckon that’s the point. Going out of my comfort zone scares me, but I still want to do such things. I can just imagine sad and lonely nights in some far away room wishing I was at home and wondering what on earth I’ve got myself into. I sure hope it’s the right thing to get myself into.

I just got leaving dates.

24th January 2007.

So…on the 26th Jan I would say I will be in Mexico.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Nothing like a bit of realness dropped in to your lap to freak you out. But I am incredibly blessed

¡Qué triste! Hoy día tuve el último clase de español en Australia por todo el tiempo. Extrañaré el descanso que el español trata del diseño. El estupido diseño. Hot día tuvimos 2 examenes pero todo de nuestro clase fuimos hiperactivos. Es extraño que he estado aprendiendo español por 2 años. Siente muy normal tener clases de españoles. ¡Qué divertida ha sido!

I’m trying to write an essay about grassroots organisations. Which is actually pretty interesting. And an issue has popped up, which I always thought I knew the answer to, but I remember talking to Gem about it on the way to Canberra again recently, and I’ve become all unsure. I kind of want to disagree with myself, because it would give me more hope for the world (and perhaps make the issue easier to argue in my essay - or at least it would be argued with more clarity).

It’s about the amount of power in our world being fixed or variable. And resources as well, economically I don’t know if its variable, but environmentally it doesn’t seem to be. There seems to be very much a definite amount of natural resources, and that won’t vary. I want to see it as variable, but I can’t come up with any convincing argument as to why it is. But I’m sure there is one. Does anyone know one?

“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”

- Don Helder Camara

There is always ways people can make positive things have negative connotations. I too often get caught up in the negative connotations and forget why I don’t care.