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Has it really been two years?

I've been in Australia for nearly two years now - one studying, one working for an Aussie hosting company. One of the best experiences in my life... I couldn't write long enough to do the story justice so I won't.

Due to a family situation beyond my control, I'm heading home for the foreseeable future. Just like everyone else I'm trying to think of all the things that "I need to do" before I leave - touristy, "damn I shoulda done that while I was there!", general fun sort of stuff.

I'm aware this is partly a futile attempt to avoid having regrets.. but I'd still like to have a good month before I head home and I'm struggling to come up with a list.

Off the top of my head (no order/priority):

* See Ayer's Rock (aka Uluru)
* Visit Tasmania
* "Borrow" something mundane but memorable (i.e. a train station sign)
* Catch up with all friends, do the hard goodbye stuff, favourite restaurants, bars, taking lots of pictures, etc

I'm doing some practical stuff too (get transcripts of degree, do taxes, get a friend set up with a webcam) but I'm more interested in the lighter side of things.

Any ideas?

When you're done, go hug or call your mom. Yep, right away.

Just thought I'd leave myself a note about a very well articulated discussion about ID. Samjam and "|/|/|||" had one of the most rational arguments I've ever seen on Slashdot. Wish I had mod points.

Samjam: I'm sorry your words are wasted on a lot of people here, solely because you appear to be pro-ID and that'll get you ignored at best.

"|/|/|||": You're in the majority here, no sympathy for you! :) But thanks for your posts.

Neither user seems to post in large amounts, so I friended both to see more of their comments more often.

Requires a little knowledge of old comedy but this nugget deserves another read: http://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=137203&cid=11466450

Nothing too fantastic - I've been driving for a while and have been exceptionally lucky for the amount of driving I've done. Only have run over one small animal, avoided several others.

But I managed to nail a deer tonight, head on.

I'm fine - little shaky. Thankfully had a smart friend to call for advice. The deer was in very rough shape, couldn't get to its knees, only barely moving its head. My friend suggested I put the animal out of its misery... with the car. Took around 6 tries (when I got close, it moved its head and neck more - the only parts I was aiming for). Which is probably why I'm shaky. The car has seen better days, but it was a young deer. And any accident you can walk away from is a good one, so I'm told by the provincial police.

So I'm off to bed for a few hours so I'm not a complete zombie at work... and get to dread my cell phone all morning, waiting for the provincial police to call me for some reason. I'm hoping they just want a statement but my wicked imagination has me paying fines, getting hauled to jail, or worst: just being blamed for it.

I'm definately partly at fault - if I drove 5km/h, I would have been able to stop... but it was a 60km/h zone on a back road, no traffic, light snow on the road. I remember seeing something pop up in front of me about 50 ft away, then take two leaps at me from the left.. then me braking and swerving (no oncoming traffic thankfully).

Oh, in other news, I applied for and accepted a Teachers College spot at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Leaving in Feburary, still waiting for my student visa, two high school teachables: math and computers. I quit work in a week and a half and leave for Australia around Feburary 5th - if my visa gets to me soon.

Now I'm going to bed.

Got on the meme train and tried the latest popular test:

http://hokev.brinkster.net/quiz/default.asp

------------------
eXpressive: 1/10 * This MAY be something to work on. Maybe.
Practical: 5/10
Physical: 7/10
Giver: 4/10

You are a RPYT--Reserved Practical Physical Taker. This makes you a Stoic.

You are intelligent, rugged, disciplined and profound. Even if you're saddled with a desk job, you are starving for the outdoors. You are very slow to warm up to people, and people are slow to warm up to you, but once they know you they never forget you.

You do not get much attention from your target sex, and this means you can feel unloved or unwanted. This is not the case! You are just a hard nut to crack, and your social anxiety leaves you overlooked or outside the frame altogether. What is good for you is increments of low-interaction group activity, like sports or outdoor work. The person who can chop wood with you will melt your heart.

In a long term relationship, you are loving and devoted. You are calm in a conflict until your partner presses your buttons -- it's never the problem at hand that gets under your skin, but how your partner handles it. Don't take offense! Sometimes it's just the only way your partner knows how to express things.

You would never cheat, and your approach to sex is conventional and almost prudish. But sex for you is a release and a necessity of life, and you have a sense of entitlement about it that can be trouble. Make sure your partner is comfortable and satisfied -- by communicating both in and out of the bedroom -- and you will be more satisfied yourself.

You may take a lot of what your partner does for granted. Make a special effort to reward and validate him/her, and you will be repaid in spades.

You have nice legs.

Of the 39963 people who have taken this quiz, 4.2 % are this type.

Diagnosis not quite right? Now that you've taken the quiz, you can view the Relationship key. If you have any attributes that are on the cusp, check out the Relationship that complements that attribute (in other words, if you're an XPIT but only 6/10 Practical, take a look at XSIT.)

But beware -- the Taker/Giver attribute is very strong in defining a Relationship type! A RPYT is very different from an RPYG!

Write down what Relationship composite this quiz has given you, because viewing the key will erase your score.

XY Sexy IT In control/can be controlling
XG Good parent RG Good-natured/even keel
XP Good at resolving conflict RT Trouble communicating
XSI Honest to a fault SG People-pleaser

---------------

Reserved Practical Physical Taker - is it just me, or is every term (maybe not 'physical', depending on context) fairly negative?

I liked the Myers-Briggs test much better but both tests seem to get a few more-than-superficial details right. But at least I have my legs. Ahem.