Eeny meeny miney mo

Top 5 Things I love about being back in Australia
1. Thunderstorms;
2. Wolfing down a nice chunky beef burger (sans BSE) with a Coopers Sparkling Ale;
3. Seeing the horizon;
4. Being with the easy company of family (well.... Matt's family so far)
5. Unemployment. We haven't worked for over a month now, and we're still not sick of it.

Top 5 Things I already miss about Japan
1. Our friends (life would be just peachy if youse guys came and visited us already);
2. Being able to drink beer on the beach/train/street/......;
3. Leaving your front door/briefcase/whatever open and knowing no-one will pinch anything;
4. Cycling down to the local supermarket without having to armour yourself with helmet, harness and full metal jacket;
5. Independence. The subway coming every 5 minutes means we didn't have to rely on rellies to give us a lift somewhere. ADSL was damn sweet too. Don't know about this dial-up business.

It seems that life in Far North Queensland agrees with me. No doubt I'd be bored if I lived here permanently, but the fresh air, decent rain storms, beaches, and laidback, easygoing locals are making life very very easy.

"Hey you! You think I'm cute???"

Even Tessa Mia, Nick and Coco's irrepressible baby, has taken a shine to me. Considering I have the uncanny ability to make any baby, toddler or teenager burst into tears and howl for their mama, this is pretty good.

Tokyo brought out the worst in me. Don't get me wrong, I love Tokyo, it's a rockin' place, but I didn't really like me in it. Little things stressed me out, that wash over me now in a wave of "She'll be right, mate"s. The funk of life in a big, polluted city which teflon-coated me for 2 and a half years, is slowly bubbling off.

Far North Queensland Photo Gallery