aloneness
i've done the sydney thing. it's a glorious, beautiful city, but i've seen the sights and at this hour there isn't much left to do except drink and email. i'll eat by myself, i've even started going to the movies by my lonesome, but i've yet to go to a bar by myself. don't think i'll start tonight.

so an update.

i left newcastle and hopped the train to coffs harbour. seven hours later...out i came, with my backpack that seems to gain weight as the days progress. i hitched a ride with some other backpackers to our hostel, the hoey moey. every time i tell someone i'm staying there, they sort of grimace and say something that usually includes the word "dodgy". yeah, i understand why. it's a glorified bar; they have the beds to have people to drink at the bar. when i got there, it was a bit late (remember, seven hours on the train) so i had to go to the bar to get my key. i walked by this huge tv that was showing a football game (tampa bay v. san francisco) and i got confused for a minute. nearly forgot i was in oz, i did.

i managed to book myself onto the 4 wheel drive bush tour the next day, and it was quite nice. we went into some of the national parks that surround coffs, went on a short walk in a sub-tropical rainforest, and even went swimming in a waterfall. you'd think it was fed by a glacier it was so damn cold. i met some very nice, friendly people, and two americans, though they weren't necessarily the friendliest. damn couples, they can be so clingy and have blinders on when they travel. when i got back, i took a shower (yeay) and then went to the movies, BY MYSELF. some of you may know this to be a big accomplishment for me. i saw spy kids 2: island of last dreams, and gosh darn it i really enjoy those spy kids. i had dinner at hungry jacks, which is just burger king, without the burger, the king, and the new swirly logo.

today, i went for a bike ride in coffs. it was the sunniest day yet and i managed to get sunburned...whilst wearing a tshirt. i look like a farmer, as i lamented previously. went for a walk on muttonbird island, which is a sacred place to the coffs harbour aborigines, and is now a national park. muttonbirds, which migrate to the phillipines when their internal clocks tell them to, use the island as a nesting ground. so the park service put in a path so our big fat selves don't go tramping on their delicate nests.

i then flew qantasLink from coffs to sydney. in that one hour flight, the attendants managed to offer us food and drink no less than six times. even free wine and beer. they clearly have not felt the pinch of the deregulated airline industry and i figure in a few years, all those amenities will go. i mean, they even had special candies for landing -- minty to numb your jaw a bit and make depressurizing easier.

and here i am in sydney. i didn't have chinese after all, but had some tasty vietnamese food. ahh, herbs and spices, my palate welcomes you! the food here in australia, especially in the more rural areas where people refer to african americans as "negroes" (no joke), can be a wee bit bland. i have been asked by every person i've had an extended conversation with what my ethnicity is. the first person to ask where my "people" are from gets decked, though.

i guess that's it. i need to go to bed to rest my weary, sunburned, jet-lagged, old-aged head. love you.