Sat. 6th June

Final few days in Sydney! It has been awesome here, I love this city, but am SO ready to leave.. not having full-time work coupled with the expensiveness has caused money stress and worries and I don't want to be stressed about money! Although there is lots to do here, as I have done more of it, I have also become too comfotable and a bit stagnating and got bored and generally spent my free time spending money instead of exploring, which is also bad! Obviously, at some point in my life, I need to be able to spend more than a month in a place and not get bored, but for now I can move on!

It's funny, was walking back from work at the pub the other night, down Liverpool Street, and I remembered walking down there one night in my first week, we had been for drinks at the Gaff in Oxford Street and I left before the others so had to walk back to the YHA on my own... I was really nervous walking along the street, clutching my bag really tightly and walking SO fast. Now I'm familiar with the area, I don't worry atall walking along the exact same road, maybe because I know there are much worse areas where I could be.. I'm kindof used to Oxford Street and it's eccentricity now, it's quite unique and I like it!

On monday, I took the train to Newcastle to see Kat and Gem for a cople of days. It was good to see somewhere different and the most beautiful train ride along tracks winding round the base of hills at the edge of the Hawkesbury River and Brisbane Water, north of Sydney. Was a bit nervous about meeting the girls, and was initially a little awkward, but then it was fine! We all got on well, and I really enjoyed staying there and had a great time! They were wonderful hosts, did things like buying tea and milk for me, Kat gave up her bed so I could have a proper one, and I had a bath for the first time since leaving home! Bliss!

Was interesting to see Newcastle, which is kind of a shipping port, where ships come to get coal, but with gorgeous sandy beaches, too. We had great plans and intentions to do many touristic things in the area, but ended up spending most of the time sat and talking, we had so much to say! On Tuesday morning, got up at 8.30am and sat in the kitchen chatting with Kat.. before I knew it, looked at my watch and it was 1.30pm! It was great to have so much to say to each other :) In the end, we walked along 'Bathers Way', along the coast, on Tuesday evening. I saw my first huntsman spider since I have been here... on the wall, was maybe 15cm accross including the legs and so hairy! Wednesday morning we got coffee and wandered around before I got the train back to Sydney. Engineering works- bus replacing train blah blah, just like being at home!

Have done a couple of random jobbies... on Monday before I went to Newcastle, I stood on a street corner for two hours, handing out leaflets! Yes, I was one of those annoying leaflet-thrusting people. Tried not to be too forceful, to make eye contact with people and say hi and they responded really well! Even those that did not take the leaflets (advertising a sale in a shop full of overpriced crap down the road), they almost all smiled back and acknowledged me! Made me feel a little guilty for when I walk straight past those leafletting people and totally ignore them.. I'm sure half the people who took the leaflets did it because they felt sorry for me, standing out in the cold!

Then Thursday, I worked for a catering company, in the kitchen, which was a real mix of ok-jobs (flouring and frying corn fritters, which has had me craving them ever since, but I CANNOT find them in Sydney), cool jobs (making little tartlets with a rosette of smoked salmon, piped sour cream and a sprinkle of black pepper), boring jobs (drying up) and downright gross jobs (weighing and shaping raw kofta kebab mix..luckily I wore gloves, but there were still bits of pink raw lamb flesh on my gloves.. and skewering chicken tenderloins with wooden skewers which was pretty horrific, had to hold the raw meat in one hand and stick this pointy stick up through it, could feel all the fibres). Had a couple of the usual "big fish" people there, who get all puffed-up at having someone to boss around and act like their job is really hard and stuff, which is infuriating and makes me boil inside!! It's not hard, you're not impressive and I would NEVER be doing this if I wasn't broke!! Kind of thing.

So now it is the final countdown, I have my seat booked on the Oz Experience bus up to Byron leaving monday 6.30am from central. I have to work sat and sun 3-11 and am feeling pretty stressed about getting everything done before I leave. More stress! There is a supposed weight limit of 15kg for the bus, but I don't know how realistic it is for them to actually weigh bags.. I hope not realistic as I am definitely over that! I will throw a few things out but am having difficulty with doing it at the moment. Even when it is something inanimate like my old gym trainers, or my old trakkie bottoms, I feel an emotional attachment to it! I feel like I am being cruel by chucking it away or leaving it behind. It was a real wrench to put my hiking boots in the bin, I had to "work up to it". This does not bode well for the future and not having a house full of clutter. I know that the things you own end up owning you, but I feel a bit sad about throwing them away all the same!

I've got a lot to do, must go and organise... looking forward to leaving for Byron!