Living On A Prayer

"Whooah, we're half way there
Livin on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Livin on a prayer"

Happy New Year!

I really don't know what to say. The evenings have been busy so I haven't been able update my blog in a while. I should've named this post Leave Me Alone, but the above lyrics were perfect for New Years.

Well, I'm figuratively half way there. Not only was the halfway point of my Australian trip passed, it was passed with spectacular festivities.

My afternoon delight for New Years Eve was another hike towards the Botanic Gardens. I found a park bench with a nice view at Soldiers Memorial Walk and sat there for 90 minutes listening to my podcast and feeling good. To say that the following few days have been an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement.

We saw fireworks. Twice. After the fireworks we found some live music, which rocked and I started to have a lot of fun. Then we searched for and found a nice bar. The music was awesome, the DJs were really putting their all into it.

Then someone bought us a round of beers. And another. Then I bought one round for $26. 

Ok, I have to explain a little. There was three guys and me at the bar together from the hostel. Ms. S and a German girl joined us later. I acted really crazy and everyone had a great time, myself included.

After the bar we went for a slice of pizza, but I struck a conversation with two Australians and got derailed. After the pizzas there was four of us and we headed down to the harbor to look at the first sunrise of 2011. Ever!

That was that. After that day I've spent quite a lot of time with Ms. S, the German guy and girl, a new German guy and a short American bloke. It's been fun, but I have grown tired of something.

Nothing of note happened on Saturday. Sunday was also a little dull, but we went to check out the taste festival in the evening to buy some ice cream.

I took my place as the last person in line not really sure if I was going to buy anything. And then I got a friendly tap on the shoulder. It felt like it was someone who knows me.

It was a familiar face, which was a surprise, because I didn't know there could be anyone familiar in Australia let alone Tasmania. Who was it?

Well, she's a student at my university in Turku in the year class after mine. Let's call her Muse. We shared traveling stories. There was a lot in common. She'd come to Australia three months ago. She was homesick at first. She'd been working almost all the time in Byron Bay, but she was in Tasmania for New Years and she still had plans to go to the west coast. I told her she could come to Sydney when I'm there and we might actually do the west coast road trip together. I also met another Finnish girl, who's an exchange student in Hobart (and who Muse was staying with) and a German girl with them. The last Muse told me was about a cherry picking job opportunity close to Hobart. She gave me a number for two really nice people, as well as her own Australian number.

More live music and at first I had fun. But the people I were with weren't as much into the music and then the songs went in an obscure direction and suddenly I didn't feel that good.

I've thought about it and I'm not going to go pick cherries. It's not a job I want to leave Hobart for. If I can't find a job here, I'll just have a little less money when I leave Tasmania. I doubt a cherry picking job would make me feel better. So, no. The prospect of doing the west coast trip someone familiar and nice also could mean two things. One, it would probably be cheaper and that would make a job in Tasmania less necessary again. Two, it's only prospect so it made me think "will she or won't she?". Not very Zen, I know, but I've been stressing about that nevertheless. So, pondering about the cherry picking job, stressing about the trip, spending most of my time with other people and probably not eating enough has all contributed me not feeling as well as I would've liked.

Tomorrow, I'm buying a basketball, maybe playing with it, eating pizza and possibly going to the cinema. On Wednesday I'll see if anything new has opened up and I might do my first hike to Mt. Wellington. Or my laundry. All I need is patience and the right amount of company.

Continue having a good year. The next time you see me might be more Finnish. Bye!