May 2010

I was dreading May before it began. Back in January I booked a trip with my girlfriends from work to go over to Port Douglas, which is in Queensland near the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. We figured this would be about the time all of us would need a short break from work, so we scheduled it from 3-9 May. As the time approached my schedule got busier and busier. My bi-annual EMS audit (the system I am in charge of at work) was then scheduled in to begin on the 10th, which I was okay with, because I was pretty confident that I would be ready for the audit. However, in the mean time sometime between March and April a trip was scheduled to do a training for a computer program I need. Which, I was happy to do here in Australia, but there was also an opportunity to attend an Environmental Leadership Training in Duluth at the same time. My boss has never been to the US and this gave us a good opportunity to have both of us network and learn the new computer system. It was then scheduled for the 16/17th of May until 1 June. So, May went a little like this: Airplane to Queensland 3rd and return to Perth 9th May, get on airplane 10th May to Windarling return 13th, have 2.5 days off get on an airplane at 1230 am 17 May and arrive at 10pm 17 May (you lose a day over the international date line, so that was one really long day) stayed in Duluth until the 21st, left to pick up my cousin Kelly in Champlin, MN and then drove to the UP to stay with my mom and dad. 23rd drove to Marquette for mine tour and then back to Escanaba on the 24th for a sleep and then a flight out of Escanaba on the 25th to New York City. Flew out to London on the 27th May. Flew from London via small stop in Singapore to Perth on 31 May. Current status: Jetlagged.

I arrived home to the car parked in the domestic airport and I was in the international airport (Joe and I hadn't even thought about that one) so I got a cab to the domestic airport picked up the car and drove home and had a snooze. Tuesday evening Joe arrived back from New Zealand. He had spent his 5 days off from work camping and hiking on the north island. He didn't have any photos, because I had the camera, he said he has good mental photos though, so if you can tap into that, let me know I am still managing to find a way. Tonight was the first time I had really seen him in the month of May. We will have today to get the "funk trunks" sorted laundry completed and house cleaned to head back to work on Thursday.

Funny thing is we planned long ago to head to Darwin our next break, so we will both be on airplanes again. Not sure if I have told you... I hate airplanes.