The rest of the weekend in Canberra.

So, on Saturday, we headed into Civic for some public dancing in the mall, followed by a trip down to Lake George Winery, then the Mobster's Ball at Parliament House (!), and finally the after-party at the Polish Club.

Then, on Sunday, my video recording prowess was waning, but I still managed to catch the occasional moment during the day...

And now, I'm back at work. But only for 10 more days.

Two weeks to go!

I'll be leaving the country two weeks from tomorrow!

I've been using the time to enjoy the things that I won't be able to enjoy as regularly once I get to Japan. One of those regular pastimes in Melbourne is swing dancing, and I headed over to Canberra for a four-day weekend of social dancing. Here's how I spent my Friday...

More tomorrow...

WTFAID and other FAQs...

One month from now, I'll be living in Japan. As my imminent departure looms, I keep asking myself "What the fuck am I doing?" (or WTFAID?) Unlike S, I don't have anybody to chaperone me on my flight, organise my official documents, brief me on what to expect once I get to Japan, and, most significantly, I don't have any predetermined livelihood set out for me. No job, no support group, essentially - no purpose for my presence there.

And I ask myself again - WTFAID?

But, there is a far worse question I could be asking myself. Like "Why the fuck am I still here?" (or WTFAISH?)

The way I see it, there are three possible situations:

1. We're doing the things what we want to be doing with our life.
2. We're not doing the things that we want to be doing with our life.
3. We're not quite sure what we're doing with our life.

1 is the ideal situation. 2 is the soul-destroying situation. 3 is... well... confusing.

It's confusing, because when you know what you want to do with your life, then trying new and uncharted territory seems like the worst possible idea. Especially when we live in a society where we're encouraged to work hard in situation 2, keep our head down, do the hard yards, and one day all that hard work will pay off and we'll end up in situation 3.

But maybe we won't. Maybe we'll be just as frustrated in twenty years time.

Situation 3, on the other hand, offers no guarantees, but at the same time there will always be surprises. And some of them well be pleasurable, life-affirming surprises.

And so, I've resolved to embrace my fate, moving away from the library world. I need to let go of all the career-planning advice I've been given over the last five years because, as great as they've been in theory, they've just taught me that being determined and driven only leads to frustration.

Instead, I'm resolving to follow where the adventure takes me. I need to focus more on my experience, and do the things I want to do, rather than focus on the industry and try to bend it to meet my job satisfaction needs. Take advantages to be creative in new and innovative ways, and see where that leads me.

After all, I can't expect the world to change for my sake. I can only hope to change for the world's sake, and contribute where I can doing what I do best.

Leaving Ascot Vale

One of my least favourite parts of travel / relocating one's life is the act of moving house. This is what took up a heap of my time last week...

I'm glad that's over!

Selamat Berpuasa!

So, for muslims around the world, the holy fasting month of Ramadan begins today, and ends on the 30th of August, with the celebration of Hari Raya Puasa - literally "celebration day" where they break their fast and eat lots of good food for two days of festivities.

By a stroke of lucky timing, I'll be touching down in Kuala Lumpur on... you guessed it, the 30th of August. I'm looking forward to a couple of days of southeast asian noms...

Last day in Melbourne...

I'll be leaving in just over five weeks, but last Friday was Susanne's last full day in Melbourne, so I organised one special last chance to say farewell to this beautiful city...

Adventuration

So, one of the awesome things about living in Japan will be its proximity to many places that I've never visited. In fact, I've never been to the Northern Hemisphere. So, because this trip isn't just about going to Japan, here's a list of places that I'll be definitely, hopefully, and quite-possibly (if I'm lucky) visiting.

1. Malaysia. I bought the cheapest tickets that I could find, and my itinerary goes via Kuala Lumpur (henceforth referred to as KL). And so, I figured, if my plane is touching down in KL, why not spend a few days there?

Batu Caves

Things I plan to do there are:
(a) Eat. I love malaysian food. I am going to overdose on hawker food and hope that I don't get too sick.

(b) Go swing dancing. It's my last chance before I get to Japan, and they have a bit of a scene there.

(c) Visit the Batu Caves, climb all 272 steps and try to not have anything stolen by monkeys.

(d) Maybe visit the Kualah Ganda Elephant Sanctuary if funds allow.

2. Korea. Japan's closest neighbour. I have to admit that I don't know much about Korea. However, I do know that:
(a) I haven't been there, so it's another opportunity for a new stamp in my passport, and
(b) They have an annual Swing Dancing Camp in Seoul, which usually attracts international teachers, so it'll be a good chance to keep my skills up to scratch.

3. China. Japan's other close neighbour. Specifically, Shanghai. Mostly, I just want to eat Shanghai Dumplings in Shanghai. There's actually a ferry that runs from Osaka to Shanghai - a 2-day voyage across the East China Sea, which could be quite an adventure in itself...

4. Vietnam. Okay, so this is quite a bit further from Japan - almost halfway back to Australia, actually. But I have friends living there at the moment, which is reason enough to visit, plus I love Vietnamese food, and want to visit Angkor Wat [edit: except Angkot Wat is in Cambodia... I guess the food will have to suffice :) ]

5. Russia. Japan's other close neighbour. It's definitely one of my lifelong goals to travel the trans-Siberian railway. From Japan, it's a flight or ferry to Vladivostok, and then the train ride begins. Or, alternately, I could visit Shanghai, then travel on up to Beijing and catch the trans-Mongolian railway all the way across to Moscow and St Petersburg... and from there, well, where <b>don't</b> I want to visit?

So... which of these trips should I take? What else should I put on my itinerary?