The holidays are here!?

So, this will probably be my last post for a while, as I'm moving this weekend, which means my internet gets disconnected and it'll take 5 days to get reconnected. And by that point I'll b on my 2 week trip to Cairns, Newcastle, and Sydney for Christmas and New Year's.

I can't believe that Christmas (or Chrissy, as it's called here. They shorten EVERY single word down here.) is actually upon us. It's very odd to hear "White Christmas" or "...chestnuts roasting on an open fire", or "Jack Frost nipping at your nose", when it's nearly 30 degrees outside. (That's 90 degrees F for those of you that aren't used to C yet.)

I mailed off my christmas presents last week, so I don't feel that Christmas-y now. I'm looking forward to my vacation, but I can't really tell that it's the holidays. Which is maybe a good thing - they'll be so different this year that I won't miss home.

Maybe?

Unlikely.

This is what I'll miss the most about Christmas at home:





This year I'm going on vacation with the Ya-Yas - a group of girls (and our token male Jim) who I went to UC San Diego with. These girls are so awesome and I'm really looking forward to spending some quality time with them. We climbed Half Dome together in August 2005 and that was too short of a trip. There will be some real catching up happening on this trip.

We are going to Cairns for a week, staying in a 2 bedroom apartment, then to Newcastle to unwind for a couple of days, and then into Sydney to celebrate New Year's Eve in style at the Sydney Opera House. WooHoo! We'll have the best seats for the fireworks show, which are apparently off 'da hook. (please note: I don't normally talk like that, it just seemed appropriate to describe an awesome fireworks show that way.)

It's seriously going to be a UC San Diego reunion - my college boyfriend is also in this hemisphere for the holidays and hopefully we'll get a chance to meet up. We've successfully transitioned to friends, but it'll be strange to see him, it's been at least 5 years since we last saw each other, although we've both had a world of experiences since we were together in college.

Anyway...it should be a fantastic trip, and I'm super excited. Cairns is in North Queensland and is next to the Great Barrier Reef, tropical rainforests, and should be really hot, literally. Although we can't cool off in the ocean because of all the jellyfish this time of year - so we'll be cooling off in the pool. But that's fine by me. Newcastle is north of Sydney and on the coast. And Sydney, is, well Sydney. Home to the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House... the setting of NYE 2006.

I just have to move my apartment, pack for the trip, finish a day and a half of work, and I'm outta here!

The last 3 NYEs I've spent with a large group of Atlanta friends, in different locales around the south - at a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN, a beach mansion in Seasside, FL, and a railroad tycoon's cabin/mansion outside Asheville, NC. I'm definitely going to miss that group this New Year's... I'd love to be with them this year. And last year, before heading up to Asheville, I actually had a NYE party in my house, with close friends that weren't going up to the cabin for various reasons. It was a great celebration of that year.

This is from our year in Seaside, from a bike ride some of us took one afternoon.



Oh dear. I think I've made myself a bit homesick now. :(

To everyone I won't be seeing this holiday season, know that I'm thinking of you and miss you so very much.