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Tim told me that Learner drivers aren’t speed limited in Queensland. So, once we cross the border from NSW to QLD, I can drive as much as I like! It was going to be irritating, driving to Brisbane and not being able to share the driving time because of the 80 speed limit for learners in NSW.

This morning, an old man that I’ve seen before but don’t remember where or why, came into the bank and gave me a brochure about what’s on for New Year’s Eve at The Star. He said, “it’s a special party, only bank people are invited.” Then he said, “If you’re thinking about going, you’d better find a rich fella first!” I had a look, and it doesn’t even seem like it’s that pricey. The most expensive option is only $320.

I’m really tired and I have to get up relatively early tomorrow. The relative part is because it’s my day off, and I’ll be getting up even earlier than I would if I actually had work. I need to get everything organised for Friday, because we’ll be leaving at 5am for Brisbane. I can’t wait to see everyone again. I feel like it’s been ages since I saw Mum, Lauren & Nathan when really it’s only been a couple of months. It has been a while since I’ve seen Dad, though. Also, Rosie. But I can’t visit her because she said she’d get too upset.

I am falling asleeeeeeep…….. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In 11 days Tim and I will be flying to Japan. It will also be Christmas day, which is also great, but I’m more excited about the Japan thing. Here are some things that I’m psyched for:

* Going to the hyaku-yen shop(s)
* Having okonomiyaki in Osaka
* Trying takoyaki in Osaka
* Meeting up with Mayumi & Erin
* Going to Hakone (Jasmine showed me some photos today from when she went to Hakone. It looked awesome. She ate a black egg)
* Admiring the shiny coating of kinkakuji
* Shopping at konbini (コンビニエンスストア, konbiniensu sutoa – thanks Wikipedia!)
* Riding the shinkansen up & down Honshu

This will be the second year in a row that I won’t be in Australia to ring in the new year. I’m also hoping for snow, although we might not get to see any, even in Nagano. Snow is the best part of winters in the northern hemisphere (purely from a touristic point of view), and it’s the reason I usually travel overseas during Australian summer. I’ll cross my fingers but won’t hold my breath.

It was just me and Mike at trivia tonight (in our team). Kristen couldn’t make it, neither could Tim (aka Brain’s Trust) since he’s in Melbourne. We bombed out, like I knew we would, but Stefan joined us for the second round and actually prevented us from coming last, since he got a couple of questions we wouldn’t have gotten. It will be a lot better next week because Tim will be in Sydney and trivia master Jason Dean (full title for indexing’s sake) said the crossword will be Simpsons themed. Woohoo! Genki will recover from this week’s embarrassing results! Hopefully.

Since the weather has started to cool down again, I’m being reminded of the same time last year. Cold weather is awesome, and it’s one of the main things that I was looking forward to about Sydney – a real winter. Unlike Brisbane. Brisbane just randomly decides, “Oh, today I might not be oppressively humid and hot. But don’t count on tomorrow!” I really love the weather here, when it’s being normal.

I’m remembering when we first moved here, and I’m trying to remember what it felt like being a relative stranger in Sydney, with only vague childhood memories of certain places as reference points. It feels like an entirely different place to the beginning of last year.

I found Sydney intimidating in the beginning. It was difficult to find my place (even though that’s really just something in my own mind). I didn’t know how to exist as myself here, whether or not I would be accepted. When you move to a new city, you get the feeling that you’re different in ways you can’t even begin to understand (to start with, anyway). I felt incredibly conspicuous.

It’s also a weird thought when you realise that not many people are aware of your existence in this new place. While feeling like I stood out as someone not from ‘here’, I also felt like I was invisible in other ways.

After a while, the out-of-the-ordinary becomes the ordinary, and it starts to feel a little bit more comfortable. You start to find your niche. You make connections, even if they’re not friendships to start with.

Being part of something speeds up the process. It’s like a catalyst – for something that would have happened anyway, getting a job or enrolling in a course just makes everything happen faster. You’ve got more opportunities to meet people, make connections, learn your place in the new scheme of things.

I was lucky throughout all of this – my best friend moved to Sydney around the same time as me. As did one of our mutual friends. And then another of our mutual friends had already been living in Sydney for a couple of years. So, I had built-in friendships, a ready-made support network.

I really like Sydney. I’ve come to recognise myself as a citizen of this place, even just a temporary one, rather than just a visitor. I take ownership of my past as a child of Queenscliff/Manly, and it makes me feel a little more like I belong here.

Sydney is a beautiful city. I’d like to have the opportunity to live in other places in Australia, such as Melbourne, so maybe that’s something for the future. Right now I’m happy where I am.