A to Z 2015 - "J" Photos

We're at Day #10 of the A-to-Z challenge, and the letter of the day is J! I had a hard time coming up with a theme, so I decided to just show photos from my 2004 whirlwind visit to...

Japan

    

One big step closer

Since early January I've been trying to sell my car - and haven't had much luck. In fact I got no calls or inquiries about it until early March or so. I finally sold it last week though, for quite a bit less than it was worth - but I was just happy to see it gone.

Waiting to sell my car has meant waiting for many other things, too. Such as:

1. Getting a haircut! (no really... I haven't gone to the hairdresser since March, 2012)
2. Getting a decent camera - move on up from the point & shoot!
3. Buying my ticket to the US/Canada for September this year (my bro invited me to the Foo Fighters show in Washington, "the gig of a lifetime" he said - how could I resist that?)
4. Renewing my passport(s) - yes, both are lapsed!

The main thing I really want to do, though, is get my little 'corner of the room' office area sorted in my room. I need to get a corner desk, and the long-term goal is to buy an iMac to put on that desk.

For now, I will settle for the desk ... and maybe some nice stationery. ;)

P.S. I just did some editing. That's a rarity right now in my life. And now it's bedtime.

Write ... Edit ... Publish ~ NEW BEGINNINGS (Jan.)

It's time yet again for WEP, the monthly hop hosted by Denise at L'Aussie writing. You can check out January's blog list here. And now here is a bit of info about this month's theme:

It's time for the sign-up for our first challenge of 2014 - NEW BEGINNINGS. Whatever comes to mind that expresses NEW BEGINNINGS - you may want to share a true story, a fictional story, post photos that typify NEW BEGINNINGS...whatever you want, it's your choice!

So, with that out of the way, I thought I'd just put up a little list of new beginnings I'm anticipating experiencing this year (and I must admit that I haven't really done much editing of this list, but now that I've written it I'm going to publish it here on my blog):

• I will begin to be completely student loan free sometime around the middle of this year!
• I will begin a new travelling phase when I order a new passport at some point, since both of mine have long since expired (I have a British and Australian passport)
• I will begin to very much enjoy my built-in bookshelves at home - once they've been built in, anyway
• I will begin yoga again, at some point this year
• I will begin to drink from a brand new bottle of Bailey's, at some point (I haven't had my beloved Bailey's in quite a while now)
• I will begin a new life wherein I no longer have the Brothers' Grimm fairytales on my GoodReads "currently reading" list, and,
• I will begin to read Ursula le Guin's Earthsea series at long last!

I think that will do for now.

P.S. Achieved my first goal from my list - rewriting LOST, MISSING, GONE. Neeeext!

P.P.S. Just finished reading Mina Lobo's THAT FATAL KISS, and loved it.

Travel Series: a sneak peak @ 2014

Can you guys believe it's December 12th?! The month isn't quite halfway over, but holy batballs it's getting close! I can't believe it's nearly Christmas time.

Anyway, I'm not here to ramble on about how fast time is flying by. Rather, I wanted to give you guys a sneak peak at what's coming (sometime) next year with my Globetrotter travel series. I say "sometime" because I'm not really sure when my next Globetrotters post will be. Next year is going to be busy with a lot of revision and maybe a little bit of new writing (I can never help myself around June and November!). But I do intend to post at least something for Globetrotters next year.

Sometime in June 2014 it will be 10 years since I left Australia to go on a rather epic round-the-world trip (15 stops, 13 countries, 4.5 months). All on my lonesome. It's hard to believe it was that long ago, and yet it also feels like a lifetime ago. So much has happened in my life since then, and it's funny to think that while I was travelling the world with a super-heavy backpack warping my skeleton into an unnatural shape, I didn't know any of what I know now.

Anyway, without further ado, here is a photographic taster of what I got up to in 2004 - and I won't bother with captions or anything - a bit of suspense never hurt anybody, right? ;):

Travel Series: U.S.A. = Ca., Or., Wa. & Ga., 2001

In June 2001, a few things were happening in my life all at once:

1. We were moving house;
2. I was finishing up another semester of uni (I had about 3 essays due I think);
3. and I was preparing to travel overseas to meet my first ever ... wait for it ... internet friends!

These were people I'd met through my love of the epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time, which drew me to an online community of fellow fans in mid-2000. I knew these people really well, having spent copious hours chatting to them (it's amazing the things you learn about people you've never met in person!). But I was still nervous. And I know my mum was as well. ;)

In 2001, going off to meet a group of people "from the internet" was a huge deal. It's still kind of a huge deal today, actually - people still look at me funny when I talk about my internet friends. But I guess it's more commonplace now than it was then.

So we moved house, and I staggered across the uni semester finish line, and finally it was time to pack my bags and head for the airport.

From Perth I flew to San Francisco, where things got off to a rocky start because my friends and I couldn't FIND each other! I didn't even hear my name being called over the loudspeaker, probably 'cause I was too busy crying into the pay phone to Mum. Finally, though, I got found, and with a certain amount of sick relief we all headed off to the car and hit the road, heading northeast towards Auburn, CA.

It's true nobody killed me over those first few days (or any of the other days to follow), but my mum must have been wondering, since it was another 3 days before I thought to let her know I was safe and found. Sorry, Mum! ;)

Most of my time during this trip was spent in California, but we also went on a rather epic road trip up north, collecting more friends along the way. We drove through Oregon (where we stayed a night with one of those friends), and finally up to Washington State. In Seattle we met up with yet more friends and hung out for a few fun-filled days.

Deception Pass, WA (no, that's not me).

The Seattle gang (me with my arms around my shins).

Later, I flew to Atlanta, Georgia, to meet up with two more of my (interwebs) (also potential axe-murdering) friends, one of whom had actually paid for my plane ticket out there (she rocks to this day!). We hung out, watched crap movies, and met her then new boyfriend (now husband). We did a bit of sight-seeing as well, including visiting Stone Mountain and the Coca Cola Museum. And we met up with yet more WoT community friends.

The Atlanta gang.

Me (middle) with 2 friends at Stone Mountain, GA.

There was one more meeting that occurred in 2001, during a few hours I spent waiting at Phoenix Airport for a flight. I met up with two more friends there.

At Phoenix airport.

I finished up my trip back in California, and flew home fully in tact (no limbs missing at all, nor many brain cells). I had taken off a fair bit of weight, but mostly because I lost my wallet before the trip even began (left it on the plane on stop-over in L.A. - picked it up on the way back as they'd kept it in lost property, bless them!).

So for my whole trip I hadn't had my own funds to assist in gorging myself on food. My friends were good enough to feed me, and for that I am eternally grateful!

Anyway, that about sums up my 2001 trip to the U.S. to hang out with people I hadn't ever met in person before. I'm still friends with many of them to this day.

Travel Series: MELBOURNE

First off, I want to apologise to those who might've stopped by expecting a guest post from Mina Lobo yesterday/today as part of her THAT FATAL KISS release celebrations. I was meant to post on the 24th for Mina's book release, but a combination of technological woes and flighty brains (mine) meant it didn't happen. The post has been rescheduled for THIS SUNDAY, the 29th, so if you guys stop by then you will see that post then. Thanks Mina for being so understanding and forgiving of my deficiencies. ;) *hug*

This month for Globetrotters I'll talk about (or, mostly, illustrate) the 4-day trip I took to Melbourne in 2008, for a work conference. I haven't quite finished with my 1998 world trip story yet, but I don't have access to the photos I need for that one, so Melbourne it is. Although my 2008 trip was for work, I did get to walk around the city admiring the sights. I also went to the MCG for a conference dinner, and saw a whole lot of seagulls (this coming Saturday my footy team is playing in the GRAND FINAL there, wooooo!!! So excited!). Anyway, from here on out I'll basically post a bunch of photos so you can experience a bit of Melbourne:

Walking by the Yarra.

The Yarra.

Flinders Street Station.

Photo exhibition.

It was near on Christmas time.

Gigantic Christmas tree in the mall where I went to see a movie.

Dizzying roof.

More Christmas decorations.

Me in my fancy hotel room.

The view from my hotel.

More Yarra.

Out-there sculpture by the river.

Salt n Pepa! Noice!

Casino.

In the Casino foyer type area.

More art by the river.

Great view from a river bridge.

Never been in there.

At the airport, the obligatory beer - and a Krispy Kreme. Don't remember it being all that shockingly amazing.

I always try to take aerial photos from planes.

Another one.