Snap and Scribble

Well, i did finally manage to get out of Brisbane on Wednesday. But with all the procrastinating and the hour time difference between Queensland and New South Wales at this time of year, i didn’t get to Byron Bay till about five o’clock.

The first thing i did was go to Suffolk Park, walk on the beach, do a bit of sunbathing, and have a swim. The sunbathing wasn’t all it could have been, as the sun was low and the shadows were creeping down the dunes. But it was great to finally make it to the beach – and really good to get into the water again. With no crocodiles!

Then i went and got a unit for the night, at Belongil Fields camping ground. I originally intended to camp, but i had to get to the TAFE college by 8.30 the next morning, which meant leaving at 7.30 and the thought of having to pack up the tent – which would be wet with dew – at that time of day was just too much really. The units there are quite cheap and the one i got was really good, for the price, anyway.

After that, i went back into town and did a bit of email and myspace catching up. And then went and had some food at the sushi train place which is next to the video hire shop where i was using the internet.

The food there’s good, but i was a bit late and they didn’t really make any more food after i got there. That meant there wasn’t very much of a choice, which wasn’t so good…

The next morning, i woke up about 5.30 – as usual, as soon as it got light! At least, with daylight saving in NSW, it was 5.30 and not 4.30, like it is when it gets light in Brisbane at the moment!

I left at about seven and went to Lennox Head to check my post office box there, on the way to TAFE. Then i sat and looked at the ocean for a while, but i couldn’t really be bothered going for a walk on the beach. I knew i wasn’t going to need the exercise that day.

I had to do an assessment for the “Remove trees in confined spaces” module, which was the last one i had to get to complete the cert 3 arboriculture course i dropped out of when i went to Afghanistan last year. This involved climbing up trees and rigging up pulleys and ropes, etc, to be able to cut big branches off and lower them to the ground – rather than just dropping them.

It was really hard, as i was completely out of practice – not having done this stuff for over a year – and i’d never met the person who was doing the assessment before. Being dropped into a situation like that is a difficult thing for both people. If i’d been doing a course with the guy for several weeks beforehand, i would have felt much more comfortable – and he would have been able to get an idea of how competent i was, so even if i had a bad day for the assessment he’d know i was capable of better stuff. But having to perform well under those circumstances was almost impossible.

Anyway, i think i just about scraped through. I’ve got to do a written bit, answering some questions – which i should have done beforehand and taken with me, but forgot. Apart from that though, i’ve hopefully finished that course now. And, with a bit of luck, i’ll actually get that cert 3 qualification finally!

I first started an arboriculture course at Alexandra Hills TAFE, near Brisbane, when i was living on North Stradbroke Island in 1999. But, of course, i dropped out of that one before the end too! Some of the modules i’ve got towards the current course i completed during that one – which meant i didn’t have to do them again. Needless to say, i was looking forward to finally completing it!!!

We finished there at about four o’clock and i drove back to Suffolk Park and had another swim – to get all the sawdust off, as much as anything! I was starving, as we’d worked through lunchtime and i hadn’t eaten since about 6.30 in the morning.

I drove into Byron and grabbed something quick to eat while i waited to meet up with Chelsea and Ingrid, a couple of friends who live at Maleny. Chelsea recently bought a van and she just had to get out on the road in it. They were going to find somewhere to park, and sleep in the van that night.

I went to Belongil Fields about quarter to seven, to get somewhere to sleep. Even though i fancied camping, i was so buggered from the tree work i decided i’d get a room again. But the office there was closed. Yesterday, they’d told me they’re open till seven – and i’d gone there not much before seven and they’d still been open. But that was yesterday, and this is Byron Bay – where reality is a bit like quicksand. Today, they had a sign up saying that they’re open from 9 till 6 and that anyone turning up after that should just pick a camp site and pay in the morning. I decided to go back later and camp there – probably just sleeping on the ground under a tree, without bothering about the tent.

So i went into town and met up with Ingrid and Chelsea again. We hung around for a while and then i was so tired i just had to go and find somewhere to sleep.

When it came to that point, i just wanted to sleep in a bed – mainly because i knew if i slept outside, or in a tent, i’d wake up at 5.30 and not be able to go back to sleep again. So i ended up getting a room at the Belongil Beach House – where me and Danniella stayed last week. It was ok, but the room smelt of mould and i started to get a mild allergic response to it.

On Friday morning, i woke up early, as usual, but i managed to go back to sleep till about 7, which was really good. I had a shower and a bit of breakfast and then checked out and went into town.

Chelsea and Ingrid had slept in Bangalow and, when they got back into town, we went for breakfast at Espressohead. I’d already eaten, so i just had some tea. Then me and Ingrid went to get our internet fix for the morning.

I had to get the car i’d borrowed back to Brisbane by three o’clock, so i thought i’d better get moving if i was going to make it. Three o’clock Qld time is four o’clock NSW time, so i kinda had an extra hour to spare, but i know how long it can take me to do stuff – specially in the mornings – and i had a few things to do before i went.

First off, i went to Lennox Head again. I had to check my post office box for new mail, and then sort out my very messy postal address situation. Some mail would still be going to Maningrida, so i’d got a redirection from there to the PO box in Lennox Head. But i got a new PO box in Darwin while i was there, so i wanted to cancel the Lennox one, redirect mail from there to Darwin and change the redirection from Maningrida to go to Darwin. All this basically involved four transactions and several bits of paper, two new charges and two refunds. Strewth!

Anyway, it got sorted out in the end (i hope!) and i headed off back to Suffolk Park to go for a swim before i headed back to Brisbane. It was cloudy, but the water was warm enough for that not to bother me. And, after i got out and lay on the beach, the sun came out a bit, which was nice.

In the end, i got back to Brisbane with about half an hour to spare.

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