How's tricks in 2006

The first month in and I have to say that the signs so far are good. I have been getting a lot of good advice and coming across things at opportune times. You can't fake or force that stuff; it comes when it does and leaves when it will.

Some writing skiting soon and I have plans to visit Victoria in May or June when the immediate tasks are completed at work. There's both a love (sort of) interest(ed)and friends newly moved across. Melbourne is so different again to my experience.

My best friend is lobbing from London (well we're going out for a meal in Glebe) soon. I only see him every few years now as he has bought a flat there and is pretty settled. Far from the time of another schoolfriend's twenty-first, when an old teacher/housemaster remarked that we were "joined at the hip". We did nearly slide over a railway cutting to our death when we were twelve and we've played in bands together since, written silly scripts together, just hung out, gone to see bands and movies. I guess the whole box and dice. Yet the great thing is that we lead these separate lives and we're perfectly cool about it. In fact, our worst period was when we shared a flat together when we were eighteen. I didn't like him ashing in the saucer, he got offended when I wouldn't go up and buy his cigarettes. Yeah we got to kick the footy down at the park fairly regularly. And there was amusing memories like trudging up the highway laden with groceries because he had only just got his car and wasn't confident to drive on the main roads, but by and large it works best when we are 'just up the road' from each other, which was the case when I was in Maylands/Bayswater and he was in North Perth and was even more the case when we lived a couple of blocks from each other in Lewisham.

I've been thinking more about the whole city living jag since spending the week at Andrew and Jane's inner west abode. It's noisy and busy and mad. But it's so close to the most amazing events. Constantly. Again, I wouldn't make that move for a couple more years and that will give me time to see what else is going on. I could picture a move to Sydney or Melbourne; even one of the country cities that they have on this side of the nation.