Here I am, posting from Sydney, Australia. So far, the weather has been shit: All overcast and cold - well, cold for November, anyway. Normally by mid November, the temperature is in its mid to high 20s, not low or not-even-in 20s. It’s bizarre. I was hoping for some decent warmth before disappearing overseas, but, typically, the world works to royally fuck me over sometimes.

I went shopping with mum today: We both needed some necessities. It was good to see her willingly go out of the house - Prior to July, she’d be really reluctant to go out, even if it was for stuff that was of absolute necessity, other than the smokes and booze, of course. We spent three hours out and about, and she seemed quite happy to be dragged around the place. I was really quite impressed, to be honest. :) She’s doing a lot better, she’s a lot calmer and happier, and isn’t focussing on the little unimportant things.

It’s going to be a pretty busy week, to be honest. My cousin, Michala, is driving up for a visit tomorrow and is staying for a couple of days, and we’ve got lots of plans. We’ll be going out with a bunch of my friends from high school on Thursday evening. We’ve got some family friends coming over for a visit tomorrow evening, and some more on Saturday before we fly off, and then at 9pm on Saturday we leave for Dubai. So many things to do! Probably a good thing, time would just drag on otherwise.

I’ll leave you with some photos that I took around my garden yesterday.

It’s been a busy and stressful couple of days.

I’ve had my family here since Saturday, including my aunt, the mother of Charlotte, who passed away, and her husband, my Nana, my cousins, including Emma, who’s one and GORGEOUS.

Even though it was so sad and stressful, it really made me realise just how much I miss being here in Sydney and seeing my family. They’re such a big part of my life and I miss them terribly when I’m away.

Charlotte’s funeral is suggested to be next Monday or Tuesday. We’re still not entirely sure what’s going on yet. It’s all a debacle, to be perfectly honest. Andy, Charlotte’s father, has asked my dad to give the Eulogy at the funeral, which is a nice thing for Andy to have asked. I can’t even imagine what he’s going through. No parent should have to bury their own child.

… Blah. Sadness aside, we’re coping. Dad and I took two trips to the airport today, once to drop off my Uncle Robert, and the second time to drop my Nana off with my other Aunt and Uncle, who were driving her back home after dropping my cousin off at the airport (She’s heading to Europe for about a month. Lucky!)

Dad and I went to do a bit of shopping after we were done at the airport. We got a lot of techy stuff: We replaced the old computer with a new laptop, bought a serious subwoofer set of speakers for the iPods, got dad an iPod nano (his mini’s getting a bit outdated), and got a few other things we’ve needed to pick up for a while. It was good to get out of the house for a bit.

I’ll be going to the local pub with some friends on Wednesday night for a trivia night. It’ll be good to get out with the girls and get my drink on for a while. I’ve missed them heaps, so it’ll be nice to spend some time with them again.

I’ve just broken my diet. haha. I’m eating a small pack of crisps because i’m quite peckish. Oh well, back on the diet tomorrow.