I got up early, Mum made me breakfast and I finished my packing and took a taxi to the airport. I always get excited when I fly. It doesn't matter that the trip is forty minutes or thirteen hours - it still gives me a rush looking out the window and gazing over the picturesque view of the ground beneath me, if ever so far down.Landing in Geraldton, the weather was warm but there was a breeze about. I took a taxi to the accommodation work had organised and spent a few hours just settling in, unpacking and kicking back. I started worrying when I couldn't seem to get any reception on my mobile. There was no landline phone in the house so my mobile was my only line of connection to the outside world!
Luckily, I managed to get one bar on the reception indicator on my phone and organised a taxi to pick me up and drop me off in 'town' so I could find dinner. As soon as I stepped out of the taxi, I had to cross the road to the little alcove that I remembered from when I was last in Geraldton a few years ago. I took in the fresh air, the view and was grinning ear to ear. I would have loved to sit out there for a while but my tummy growling got the better of me.Crossing back across the street, I tried to get dinner at the Ocean Centre Hotel but was told that they only do breakfast. What the!? With beautiful views of the ocean right outside their balcony, I thought that was a huge shame. Nevermind, I popped over the street and went to my second choice.
Yum-O! I refrained from eating all the rice in the delicious sauce so that I wouldn't fill up on my first course. The sauce was deliciously creamy but I didn't taste alot of garlic. I don't know whether this is because I usually eat alot of garlic, or whether they went easy on it.
There was a dead bug hidden amongst my salad but I wasn't fussed since this is a town by the beach - there are bound to be some bugs flying around. I asked the waitress to have another side of salad, which she brought out to me immediately with apologies.
Here's a 'diary entry' I wrote while waiting between courses:
Sitting at Skeetas by the window - a beautiful view of the beach and recently constructed park and monument. Two years ago I was here, sitting a few tables away from where I am right now. Pretty much how I feel in life right now. Not much has changed with my life, but alot has changed within me.
It's been almost six years since I've been single. I don't like that word right now. Single. How about "without a partner". Yes - that's better. I just saw a couple walking past on the other side of the road with the guy leading his dog, his partner walking around in circles about him while they talked. Who knows what about. But when she came up behind him to walk beside him, her hand fell into his and he grasped it. I saw them walk hand in hand until the waiter came to clear my plate and interrupted my reverie.I saw this similar scenario while driving in the city yesterday back in Perth. The restaurant I'm in is playing Missy Higgins' "Special Two". Perhaps the song in combination with the sip of my third glass of wine is bringing out the sentimental yearnings in me. The feeling of someone holding my hand as we stroll down the street. A casual arm around the waist. A peck on the cheek goodbye. That warm fuzzy feeling you get when you think about them. The sense of closeness and intimacy you share with someone you love. Knowing that they love you and will miss you when you're apart.
The sun is beginning to set. It's casting a warm serene dimness (is there such a word!?) over the water. I can remove my sunglasses now but I don't want to because I've shed a few tears while writing this.
Okay - enough about this. My oysters are about to arrive any second now.
OH MY GOD this was heavenly!! Now you all know that I'm not much of a dessert person, especially when eating out, but this pavlova was so incredibly light that I polished the whole thing! There was a pavlova base, topped with cream, vanilla ice cream, and a berry compote. Absolutely fantastic! I seriously can't believe how good it was that I finished it!
After dinner, I went across the street to the Freemasons pub and had a beer and some salt and vinegar chips, before deciding to call it a night and call a taxi to take me home.
I reckon the house has only just been turned into a rental property. The kitchen is fitted out with every piece of crockery/utensil you could possibly need, and most of the pots, pans and plates looked brand new. Nevertheless, I still rinsed some things before using them. Old habits.I watched some TV before bed. I stayed up until about 2am until I was just too tired to put off going to bed and having to face the silence when the TV was turned off. I was left lying in bed, alert and focusing on every sound, my heart jumping at the thought of someone sneaking into the house. Here I am...sleeping alone in a quiet suburb with the strange sounds that come with night in a foreign house. I had to sleep with most of the lights on!
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