Going Home - Albeit temporarily

It has come to my attention that various people back home aren't really sure what old Paul is up to, particularly with regard to his long term plans. Is this pending trip back home for good, or is it a final swansong before he heads back to over to England, never to return to grace Australia with his presence?

The answer, is neither.

Let me give everyone the low down as to my plans. Yes, I am coming home, and will be arriving back in Brisbane on the evening of the 23rd April. No, I am not staying permanently - not this time at any rate - as I am heading back to England on May 11th.

Once I get back to England, the plan is to continue to work for another couple of months or so, experience an English summer, and then, come August or so, wind up employment here in England, and then after that - well, I'm not sure as yet. I will be in Europe till around November I think, seeing what of England and Europe I can till I get homesick, run out of money or it starts getting cold again. (Whatever comes first.)

Either way, I can give an ironclad guarantee, here and now - I will be home for Christmas and before the end of this year. I have no desire to stay around through another English winter, and with my Visa running out in April 2008 anyway, winter would scarcely have vanished before I was being evicted from the country.

So, with that settled, let's clear up what's going on while I'm back. I get into Brisbane on Monday night, and will be up for anything starting Tuesday, after I get some sleep. I have a week in Brisbane, and then on the following Wednesday I'm heading out into the boonies with the old man, to partake in canoe racing in NW Qld. We'll be away for a week, I'm flying back to Brisbane from Mt Isa on Wednesday, I have Thursday back home to say goodbye, go to a last band rehearsal, and then on Friday it's back to the airport and off again.

Even writing this last bit is making me sad, since I know how hard it's going to be having come back, and then having to take off again. Actually having to do it is going to be really shitty. So why do it you ask?

Well, originally I wasn't going to head off again. But I realised that I'm only going to get this chance once, and I'd be really pissed off with myself if I didn't make the most of it while I had it. And so, I intend to bite the bullet, and get back over here to eventually do the holiday part of a working holiday visa. It's a bit scary in some respects - I've never done any backpacking before, and I'm not all that comfortable with roaming around without a place to call home. But I'm sure once I get into it, and give it a go, I'll get the hang of it.

God I wish I was home right now. Roll on Monday.