And So It Begins...

I'm here! Right now I'm sitting in the Internet room at the Narita View Hotel having spent my first night in Japan - it's awesome.

I don't have much time right now, I'm just waiting until the bus arrives so I can head into Tokyo.

First, the admissions: I've spent the last few days with a massive knot in my stomache from nervousness. Everyone has been telling me I'm going to have so much fun, it'll be great, it's going to be the best thing I ever did, etc. Every time someone said this though, the knot just kept getting tighter.

Finally, the day came yesterday and during the whole drive to Sydney I was really shaking (luckily it was cold so I hid it well). At the airport, I tried to eat and instead only could get a milkshake down. I tried taking some pictures, but airports are really dull to look at.

It was hard saying goodbye to everyone, especially Blake (my 11 year old nephew), who started tearing up a bit - which made me feel like doing the same.

The flight was no problem, the seat beside me was free so I had a bit of room to stretch out. The knot was still there, though.

Then we started to descend... and that was the moment I finally untangled the mess in my stomache.

Flying into Narita was unbelievable, as we started to descend I watched the mainland come into view, and sticking out of the clouds far in the distance was Mt. Fuji - which was visible the entire way into the airport. We landed around 6.20pm local time.

Not many pictures yet (as I said, airports aren't very exciting), today's the big day for that. Speaking of which, I need to go catch my bus!

I Hate Driving

"There are two types of people in the world: those who were born to drive and those who were born to be driven."

It may seem a little strange to learn just how much I hate driving, especially considering I'm about to spend the next however many months travelling around various countries and provinces. However, yesterday I spent 13 hours in my car driving from Melbourne to Newcastle and I think I'm quite justified in expressing how much I hate driving.

The above (mis)quote is actually from Men Behaving Badly, and it sums up my feeling regarding driving quite nicely: I consider myself part of the latter group who was unfairly thrust into the former. Of course life, being the vicious bastard it can be, decided to play yet another cruel practical joke on me by pairing me up for eight years with someone with no licence and no inclination of getting one. This isn't meant as a grudge against her, I'm simply pointing it out to try and demonstrate that, over the years, I've done a lot of driving.

I'll admit, I am partly to blame for the situation as I passed my Ls test on my 16th birthday, and then my earned my Ps the day after I turned 17 (my birthday was on a Sunday that year). It seems as though I was chomping at the bit to get my hands around the steering wheel, right? Well, yes, I haven't always felt this way.

It's not actually the driving part that I can't stand; the problem is that I have a pure and blind hatred of everyone else on the road. From the inconsiderate truck drivers, the impatient taxi drivers, the dangerous idiots (and I know a few personally - idiot is too mild a word) who seem to think the roads are their own personal race tracks, or even better, seem to think it's okay to drive when they're drunk. Every single time I get behind the wheel I start to panic that this might be the last thing I ever do - and I have absolutely no control over it.

I'm also not the greatest passenger in the world. Admittedly, I love being driven around (because it's such a rare occurrence), but my innate distrust of people other than me behind the wheel tends to make me rather nervous when I'm in not in control of the vehicle. It's not uncommon to see me grab on to arm rests or tense up when the speed goes higher than I'm comfortable with - I've even been known to stomp my foot down on occasion in a futile effort to slam on the imaginary brakes.

Basically, I have a fear of becoming a road statistic.

This is one of the reasons why I really enjoyed living in Melbourne. Public transport there is fantastic (despite what the locals will claim) and it is very easy to get around without ever requiring a car. I have a friend who drives to work every day because he can't stand being near the people using public transport. I, on the other hand, am far happier to avoid the stress of driving in a big city at peak hour times. I find it way more peaceful to put some music on and either walk or tram it home (of course, it helped that I was in walking distance to work).

Yesterday's trip was mostly free of these problems, although I was occasionally amazed at how inconsiderate some people could be when it was extremely obvious that my very heavily packed little car wasn't able to stick to the speed limit when going up a steep hill. Especially when it's a truck that's decided to tailgate me in a misguided attempt to get me to speed up. I never know why these morons think this tactic is going to work; I'm far more likely to slow down just to piss them off some more.

So having admitted all of this, I guess the big question is: what does this mean for my trip? Well, not a lot really. I'm actually a big fan of public transport (although I do have a minor problem with flying), so I'm perfectly happy to train, bus, tram, ferry or whatever my way around to where I want to go. I've been warned about the cost and reliability of the train system in the UK, but I'm really in no rush to get around. I'll take my time.

Anyway, the good news is that I'm now in Newcastle - I now have two weeks exactly to get everything ready before I leave.

Ups and Downs

As the title of this post cleverly suggests, this week has been a bit of a bumpy ride. Let me start at the beginning and work my way forward - how's that for a radical concept.

The week began pretty much as normal, except this time I knew it was my last week of work. Nothing exceptional there - maybe a bit of excitement.

The next day, on the other hand, was about as unpleasant time as I've had in a very long time. In order to finalise our separation, I needed to have a solicitor look over our agreement and sign that it was okay - so that was where I headed on Tuesday morning.

It's amazing how instructions as simple as "I am perfectly happy with this agreement, let me just sign it so I can get out of this office as cheaply as possible" can end up costing such a stupid amount of money. And I really mean stupid: the amount of cash that is being pissed away on this agreement could easily fund two weeks of accommodation in Japan. Just to sign a piece of paper. Unbelievable.

See, just writing about it now has made me angry again - imagine how infuriated I was after leaving their offices. It gets better too - you should see the costs agreement these leeches have the nerve to wave under your nose! It should be a crime the amount of money these people charge for such simple tasks as sending a fax.

Calm blue ocean. Calm blue ocean.

Friday was my last day of work. I'd been at that job for almost three years - nearly the exact amount of time I've been living in Melbourne - so it was a little sad to be saying goodbye to everyone. Most of the day was spent wrapping up the last of my tasks and handing them over to other people to look after, but toward the end of the day we were all herded into the kitchen and I was given a farewell card and present, and a lot of kind words from everyone.

I must admit, it was a really strange feeling walking out of work for the last time. Knowing that on Monday I have no job to go to. Knowing that I've voluntarily made myself unemployed. Knowing that I'm leaving the country in just a few weeks. Wondering if I'm making a mistake of monumental proportions. And every time I have one of these thoughts, it just makes me realise all the more why I'm going.

Saturday was spent packing and partying, or at least hanging out with some friends I haven't seen in a long time (and some friends I see all the time).

Today, my flat is almost empty. I've said goodbye to my bookshelves and have deposited all of my fully packed boxes to R's place until I leave. I also managed to make a deal to get rid of the last of my furniture today, so I can stop worrying what I'm going to do with the last of my stuff. All of the stuff I'm renting is being picked up on Friday so all I need to do is pack the last of my stuff and clean the flat. Then I'm ready to go.

One week of Melbourne left.

Oh, I thought I'd finish with a couple of links:

• My 'official' review of the Roger Waters concert (scroll to the end) that I submitted to my favourite Pink Floyd website.


• And a bit of justification that the show was awesome - A review of one of the Melbourne shows from The Age.