The big tidy up

I loath tidying up. Yet there are some moments when I just have to do it. These past few days I've had such a moment. As I mentioned in an earlier post this year, cleaning and tidying up always gives me the impression of a tidy life. Not necessarily true, but definitely good for the mood :)
Since I'm still homeless, tidying up isn't the way it usually is: Normally I would have to work my way through piles of clothes on the floor, important and unimportant documents scattered between acrylic paint and pencils, photographs, plants, candy, tea and beer leftovers. Ok, admittedly, you can actually find most of these things in my temporary home. But what I've been tidying up is different: A wardrobe full of surprises!
When I left Germany in early 2009, I was feeling lazy and I was also convinced I was gonna be back for good after two years (silly me...). I threw out some things, but most stuff just got dumped at my parents' place, and has lived there in a big wardrobe ever since. Now that I'm here for a bit, the time has finally come to throw out a whole bunch of things.
There are clothes, of course. Despite my mum's protest I got rid of almost half of the clothes I had left in Germany. Even if certain things will come into fashion again at some point, I doubt that getting rid of belly tops from the late 90s is gonna be on my "things I regret in life" list!
But the wardrobe had more than clothes: my old album with little poems and wishes from my primary school friends, some issues of the magazine of the German Rock'n'Roll and Boogie Woogie Federation with pictures from all the different championships, our highschool yearbook from my final year and - best of all - a short diary that Jo and I wrote 8 years ago during a 3-week vacation in Argelès-sur-Mer. I had to laugh so much that I actually cried reading it. For those of you who speak German: check out the page!

one week in

Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Lang Lang, Open Air at Odeonsplatz

As so often, time flies! It's one week now since I got back to Germany, only two weeks left till we depart to Stockholm. My days are busy but awesome: catching up with long-missed friends, going for runs and swims at the lake, enjoying the good Bavarian beer, going to the movies and concerts, bars and restaurants. Went to Tollwood 3 times!! I kinda forgot how awesome summer in Munich can be. Riding home at 2 am on the back of Melli's bike in a skirt and jandals without being cold, swimming in the lake, or hanging out in the Biergarten - simple things but truly amazing :)
On the downside, I'm chronically neglecting my work. Revisions on the paper are due soon, so I should get going on that, but for various reasons I keep pushing it off. The time in Oz seems like a distant memory, despite the fact that I was in Melbourne only two weeks ago. I still haven't realised that I won't see Wellington for a while.
Good news from who's gonna be probably the most awesome new mum in the world made it to Germany though, so a trip back to NZ at some point next year is a definite must! It's nice to have all these little reunions lined up for the coming years, even if the dates aren't exactly fixed yet: Munich, Leeds, Wellington, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, to name a few. Makes me realise that the world is actually a tiny village, and that distances are shorter than they seem, even more so with Skype and email. On the other hand, reading about ice cream online doesn't even closely compare to actually having a nice 2 Liter box of Tip Top Hokey Pokey and eating it. Words of wisdom... ;)

Germany and ice cream - or The Beginning of Limbo

So I'm home. What exactly that means, I'm not sure yet.
Saying goodbye to NZ was tough, but a good amount of gin and tonic during my various flights made it a little less horrible. Arrived in Munich and went for a beer straight away. Good times! Now I'm hanging out at my parents' place, trying to focus on all the work that I'm supposed to do. Sitting in the backyard in the sun when it's 30ºC really isn't too bad, but also not exactly an environment that's gonna help me concentrate. Instead of working on my paper I spend most of my time picking all sorts of berries from the trees, reading glossy little magazines, playing with the cat and eating ice cream and cookies. Went for a run yesterday and today, and I am learning: As opposed to yesterday, I actually managed to run on the right side today and greet people with "Guten Morgen" instead of "good morning". Success! And glad to see the small things in life can still make me happy :) Yet, I have the feeling I'm neither here nor there. I think maybe I got lost somewhere between NZ and here. Can't wait to actually have a real home again, 6 weeks from now.

Uploaded a bunch of pics from Oz on Picasa, and going through all of them was actually a really nice little closing ceremony. What a great time! Now I'm organising (or rather stuffing) my time here. I'm really looking forward to catching up with everyone, but it's gonna be pretty busy. Our little Sweden retreat in 3 weeks from now is gonna be exactly what I need! I just can't believe all the stuff that has happened/will be happening this year. It's been super intense in every respect so far, I can't recall a single week without - as Aiko likes to call it - "excitement", or maybe a trip, or a decision, or a piece of news. Let's see what the next few weeks bring, but I don't expect things to calm down any time soon. Even though my new home, Vancouver, has been decided on, there's still heaps of things I need to figure out. My oil money, for one (thanks, Exxon!): Last time I got oil money was with Jason and Nate in Santa Fe, and we did the only reasonable thing - spend it on ice cream. Well, back then it was a slightly smaller amount, something like $5.20 if I remember it right. But then again, it got us a whole quart of awesome cookies&cream, so I'm just trying to imagine the 200-ish quarts of cookies&cream that I could get now!! I'm not quite sure whether Exxon would approve of this type of expense... Either way, there's still a lot gonna happen this year, and I hope everyone is as excited as I am - despite me being in limbo at the moment! Right now I'm off, time for ice cream :)

Oz #2 - East Coast and IUGG

Continuing my little summary:
part V: Cairns - Sydney
The Cape Tribulation trip was another highlight. Had a fun tour guide who just wouldn't stop telling his stories, saw crocs and spiders and cassowaries.
Took the Greyhound down from Cairns to Airlie Beach, just to hop on the ferry and spend a day on Hamilton Island, hanging out with Fernando and pretending to be a staff member - good times. Another day in Airlie Beach followed, Ocean Rafting in the Whitsundays, stunning views on Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet.
Next stop was Hervey Bay. Spent a day hanging out and relaxing before going on a day tour to Fraser Island, a huge sanddune. Met more really interesting people, saw the humpbacks on their way from Antarctica to warmer waters, watched the dolphins play and dingos roam, and of course hung out at Lake McKenzie with my new love, the coastal carpet python Jimmy and his dad Rich ;)
Decided to skip busy Byron Bay and spent three days in Yamba instead. Great fun, people and jungle juice and some serious doing literally nothing - awesome! Coming to Sydney afterwards quite a shock: a ton of people, huuuge hostel, very anonymous, and horrible attitudes compared to the warm and friendly people in the smaller and more remote Aussie towns. Did the usual touristy stuff: Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, etc. Particularly enjoyed the National Maritime Museum and the exhibition about Scott's Antarctica expedition. Also had a great afternoon reading and indulging in chocolate at Max Brenner's.
Four weeks after I arrived in Oz, time to catch my flight down to Melbourne for IUGG. As it turned out later, I was lucky to get on one of the very last Tiger Airways flights before the Airline was grounded. Also glad we made it safe and sound all the way. Melbourne presented itself sunny and quite warm, and it was nice to catch up with Jess and Sapi again on Wednesday. We started our volunteering duty for the conference on Thursday. A week packed with "involuntary volunteering", talks and posters, a ton of science and making contacts as well as catching up with old and new colleagues and friends followed.
Now I'm back in Wellington, it's raining as hell (of course), and I have to pack and try to process everything I've experienced on the other side of the Tasman. I had an amazing time in Oz, met a bunch of really cool people, thoroughly enjoyed fantastic landscapes and wildlife, and finished my stay with a really successful conference. I learned that Aussies love their boardwalks and their barbecues, and found them similar to the Kiwis - a bunch of very laid back, funny, friendly, helpful, warm and welcoming fellas. It was almost too easy to travel alone, there was always a friendly Aussie offering me rides, helping me out, or simply hanging out for a little chat. Down under, I will come back!
Theme song for the trip was with no doubt (although I'm usually not that much into country): "Raining on the rock" by John Williamson. Pics as always on http://picasaweb.google.com/kathiunglert