How is it the third week of January already?! HOW? I’m convinced time goes faster when you’re upside down. There must be scientific evidence to prove it somewhere?!
Following my previous post about regrouping, everything has changed. I am now doing at least one run a week, plus I’ve taken up regular swimming and have significantly cut back on my coffee and alcohol intake. And I feel GREAT!
On top of that, I had 10 days off over Christmas and New Year, allowing me to catch up on sleep, generally revive myself and, more importantly, tick a few things off my ‘to go/do/experience’ list. I experienced a hot Christmas, watched the start of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht race, visited Palm Beach (the setting of Home & Away), experienced opening night of the Sydney Festival, tried stand up paddle boarding, and went to the Apia International Tennis Men’s Final (sort of). But those are stories I’ll tell you about at a later date. (I keep saying that don’t I? I need to get into the swing of regular blogging again!)
Today is THE BIG ONE though. The two main reasons I even considered coming to Australia are about to be checked off my list. Tonight I fly out to Melbourne: the city my parents lived in for three and a half years, and the home of The Australian Open. To say I’m excited is an understatement.
For those who know me, aside from the fact I’m not keen on flying, I’d be quite content if my job was to follow the ATP tour around the globe. One of my ambitions is to go to all four Grand Slam tournaments within one year (I’m secretly hoping this will be that year, although I know I need to win the lottery for that dream to become a reality), and so this is a big deal to me! After YEARS of staying up late to watch matches and organising my birthday plans around the final, I’m finally getting my wish to experience it first-hand. One day of grounds admission and another in Rod Laver Arena! Dream. Come. True.
On my one “day off” from tennis (on which I fully expect myself to end up either back at the grounds or watching in a bar) I’m heading out of the city to find the place where my parents used to live. I’ve been told SO MANY stories about this place (many I’ve heard so many times I can repeat them accurately as if I were there) that it’s been on my bucket list for YEARS. My parents are the reason I’m in Australia now. Without their stories I would never have thought of coming over here, so to visit their old home sort of feels like I’m fulfilling some kind of family rite of passage.
And with that said, it’s now time for me to head off to the airport and bid Sydney farewell for a few days… wish me luck!
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