Tank Top Tans, Denim Shorts and the Rat Tail…It’s all becoming too okay

Oh how I miss Polo shirts, khaki shorts and boat shoes. I miss a haircut without the weird long fringe at the back. I got my haircut a couple of days ago by Jade my British roommate and hairdresser who, when it got dark outside had to use a headlamp to cut my hair. Anyway she set up shop and went to town on our entire room. So before leaving for 3 days of camping on the beach with no showers our entire group was well groomed. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. So the drill is they set you up with a big fourwheel drive car (pictured above) and camping gear and off you go to get stuck in sand dunes and go swimming in lakes and get your bag ripped apart by a dingo because you forgot you had a fruit and nut chocolate bar in it – fat kid here - and left it out in the middle of camp. You also get to pay $5 for a small bag of ice, get third degree burns on the bottom of your feet pushing your car out of the sand, also you get to wash your dishes in the sea with sand…actually this is really fun and I would do it all the time if I lived on the beach… and not shower for 3 days. But actually none of that matters because it’s pretty much an amazing time. I got to sleep under the stars and have the beach to myself at sunrise and I met a few nice Brits, Danes, Swedes and Swiss in the process.

The East Coast is almost over with, I’ll be in Brisbane in a couple days. Noosa is nice, I was informed yesterday that I came here when I was 7 but that’s why you never take a 7 year old anywhere. I like Noosa, pretty sure because it reminds me of home and as I missed Thanksgiving with my family, friends and the food, so I am allowed to like it for that reason alone. I know you were wondering and yes I have entirely given up on Eat, Pray, Love maybe when I am finished with Around the World in 80 Days I will give it another go. But the latter is excellent, and not just because David Niven (one of my favorite actors ever, sorry Michael) played Phileaus Fogg in the original movie.

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving, I ate PB&J's for everymeal on Thursday while you were feasting on turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and if you were at a Krikorian Thanksgiving probably some hummus and rice too. So you can be thankful for that!!

Hot Mess Goes Diving

And if you thought I was a hot mess on land you should have been there to see me in my scuba gear. As I write to you I am back at the farm for a day before I leave for the Melbourne Cup, my ears are still popping. Not the kind of popping you get from the airplane, the kind of popping that makes it sound like you are underwater. Whohoo a souvenir! Also the porch I am sitting on as I write to you is swaying back and forth, back and forth making me feel like A. I am still on the boat and B. I just had a couple breakfast cocktails. But you will be happy to know I am officially certified to dive without an instructor. A fact that my mother can't seem to fathom and given the facts I can't blame her. 3 days of diving would hardly prepare me for the James Bond swimming with the sharks diving I am sure she is envisioning. Speaking of James Bond, my scuba instructor is his younger more attractive - sorry Sean - Irish brother who I am in love with. Of course it was a one-sided romance, he is way out of my league - pun intended laugh now - Hot Mess doesn't look hot in a wetsuit especially when you add the weight-belt around the mid-section. And in case you thought I had a chance once I got out of the wetsuit picture this. Me hopping around the boat deck wiggling and jiggling to get out of the damn thing. Goggle marks for days and then of course I had a cold...so just like my mother did when I was little we had a conversation about my snotty nose and how it was making it difficult for me to equalize. Amazing. Yup the romance was there alright.

C'est la vie, I was at a little bit of a disadvantage and anyway he doesn't date hot messes. In the meantime I am happy to say I have 5 new Dutch friends who I think would love it if I came to visit them - I think we understood each other... Hot Mess in Holland has a beautiful ring to it doesn't it? I was even promised a job in a chocolate store at the airport which sounds tasty.

But back to the diving. Wow, it's a serious pain in the ass. Setting up the equipment, forcing yourself into a wet wetsuit, which in itself is totally demoralizing, then slipping on 40lbs of gear and the flattering mask to go with it.

It is worth every second. Because as soon as you jump in the water you are weightless and no sooner do you jump in than you want to be descending into the calm underwater. The fish flock to the boat for the food they get from leftovers so within minutes you are swimming with the fish. Neon colors, changing colors, stripes, spots and turtles it is peaceful and weightless and utterly calming to be in the quiet watching an entire other world go on around you. And the coral is stunning, cauliflower shaped green bowls are my favorite. They are vibrant and incredible and untouched. So by the forth dive when we go out on our own for the first time nothing else matters except getting in the water and going. A few nerves about finding the boat with a compass (which proves futile, I have to come up to find the boat direction anyway) but other than that it is all triple flips and cartwheels and a friendly bottom dwelling shark.

See you in Melbourne for the Cup. If you have a hot tip on the winning horse let me know. In the meantime the land will be rocking me to sleep tonight...or is it the pre-dinner cocktails I had?