letters - 16 July 2007
Hi There,
A long time since my last letter, I know. I am sorry I have been so quiet. There has been quite a lot going on, but I have been holding off because I have been thinking there might be some big news - and now that has happened its I finally feel comfortable talking about it.
I have moved away from Melbourne at last, and am now living in London. I arrived here about 10 days ago and have already landed a job with one of the big merchant banks managing a program to refresh and rebuild their intranet, so it looks like its settled and done. I am really excited to be back here, and have loved it since I arrived.
I lived here in London for about 6 months back in 2001, and had a really fantastic summer - KPMG was footing the bill and the weather that year was amazing so I think I have a somewhat skewed impression of how London is, but for the time being that impression still stands. I am having a great time.
There are a bunch of people I am going to miss back in Australia, and towards the end of my time there I finally started to feel more comfortable in Melbourne, but this move is a really good thing for me. Melbourne is a good place, but not the place for me
In particular I am going to miss my training partner from Melbourne, David, who is one of the best people I have known, and who taught me to really appreciate what it can be to have straight male friends.
The last three years has been really useful, and I have learned a lot - both at school and personally, but it was time for some broader horizons.
There have been a few other adventures in the last 6 months. The biggest has really been the job that I have just finished. Not really that exciting to talk about, I know, but its been great none the less. I have been working with a really fantastic group of people and on a project that has gone really well. I was also lucky enough to get to work with a really excellent product - MySource Matrix - and with the amazing people who work for Squiz. Ed and Avi from Squiz, and Ian my boss at the Department are really wonderful people, it was a joy to work with them.
Romantically things have had their moments as well. I spent about six months seeing a great guy, Paul, in Sydney. We had a really good time together, but things came to a pleasant end in march. I can't honestly say we broke up, it was much more relaxed and happy than that. We just stopped seeing each other.
He is a great guy (not to mention bloody sexy), and we both got a lot from seeing each other. One day someone is going to be very lucky to settle down with him, but not now and not me. Which I am perfectly happy with. It is great to have someone I have dated remain a friend, much the way my ex - Steve - and I now have a pretty good friendship. It's told me something very useful about myself.
One of the great things about seeing Paul is that he was/is a great playmate. He is easily lured into adventures and doesn't get stuck doing the same things on weekends and in free time.
We took a few trips out of Sydney and Melbourne together, including a weekend away in Canberra. I have written about it elsewhere if you are interested, but we had a really great time. Canberra is like Washington DC, a place designed for Government, and as such is a little artificial, but it is a beautiful little city set into a park as as such is not imposing and overwhelming like Washington, but rather its welcoming and approachable - which personally I think is better for a capital city.
Democracy is supposed to be government for the people, by the people - so people should be encouraged to participate, not be intimidated or overwhelmed.
Thats probably enough from me on that particular soapbox, but if you are interested in some more pictures of the place, there is a Flickr Photoset from the trip.
For his Christmas present, I took Paul glider flying. Neither of us had ever been and it's something I have always wanted to do. He is such an adventure cat, he absolutely loved it. He took the controls of the glider for a while and got the pilot (its a tandem flight) to do aerobatics. Paul is something of an adrenaline junky.
I had a blast flying and since thn have been trying to find a chance to go ballooning. Looks like I am going to have to try it here in England - or maybe France would be better. In any case, there are more photos of that trip too on Flickr.
Christmas a new year this year were a little calmer than last year. As you might recall, Mum was in hospital just before Christmas 2006 with cancer so things were a little tense and low key. The good news there is that she has recovered fully and is good gang busters - better than she has been in years.
Christmas was spent in Sydney with my Mothers sister, Daphne, and her family. I haven't seen my cousins for ages and they were all there. It was a really lovely Christmas - although as usual I was too busy enjoying myself to take many pictures. I really have to learn to use my camera more.
New Years Eve, I went to Byron Bay with my mate Tony again. This year Stuart was there as well so the three of us hung around together a fair bit. Stuart is an Australian friend who lives in London and I suspect the seeds of this move were, well not planted because I was already thinking about it seriously, but certainly they gained a lot of sunlight and water from talking to Stuart.
On top of that, Tony is now living in Singapore and hearing his stories of travelling around from there really got me missing travel and being part of the wider world. Both of them have been fantastically supportive about this move and I really appreciate all of their encouragement.
The other people have been really supportive in this move have been Gabe, Dave my training partner, Alastair and John (who I am staying with here in London) all of whom I really can't thank enough.
Nothing much more to report from the beginning of this year. Its been very work focused, with London planning running quietly in the background. I went to Mardi Gras this year and had a good time, although its really not what it was. I had a good time and will probably go back next year, but its nothing to really write home about.
On the other hand Eupropride in Madrid was absolutely amazing. Madrid is a gorgeous city and the parties were amazing. I arrived at the last second, having only had my visa sorted out a few days before. It had been planned a way in advance, but not being sure how long the visa was going to take made it hard to lock things in. As it turned out, everything arrived in time for me to make it.
Madrid is a gorgeous city and I didnt have anywhere near enough time to explore it, so I will certainly be going back.
More pictures at Flickr is you are interested.
So for now, thats all the news. I am happy, new job, settling into a new city and really enjoying life.
Everything is coming up Robert, and I am having some major Mary Tyler Moore moments - although Stuart is not appreciating being referred to as Rhoda. I can't imagine why.
I am trying to take my camera out more, so hopefully the next newsletter with be a little more visually interesting.
But for new I hope that you are well and taking good care of yourself.
Love
R
