This is not the real world

Returning to reality after our cruise was a bit thud-like.

Flights from Hobart on January 2 were prohibitively expensive, so we went the long way via Melbourne.

Our Hobart takeoff was delayed by a late delivery of Tassie seafood to the cargo hold so we missed our connecting flight to Sydney.

When I finally got home at 8pm my mobile phone was missing and I panicked that I’d left it at the airport.

I eventually found it under the passenger seat.

Bladder bursting I dashed upstairs to use the bathroom, only discover too late that there was no loo paper left.

We were also out of dog food.

So I trudged up to the supermarket to purchase emergency supplies.

Then I ran a few loads of recycling down to the bins, walked the dogs and gave Charlie a bath (the dried duck tender the eldest had given him for dinner in lieu of dog food had disagreed with him) and finally made my weary way to bed.

Despite my tiredness, I could not sleep. My busy brain was tortured by missing the southern lights, the holiday being over and work looming in a few days time. Oh, and fitful dreams about Ryan Reynolds giving me a bright green wolfhound. No idea what that was about.

So the next day was a bit bleary. And a little shocking, with me randomly realising the eldest had been removed from my private health cover plan due to turning 21. I’d been sent the revised policy and not bothered to open it in November. Eeeek. A lovely woman called Maria sorted it out for me via the chat channel.

Then the youngest dropped in and told me about her New Year’s spent camping, despite recovering from glandular fever, at a music festival called Lost Paradise.

Among the surprises was discovering that among the 15,000 attendees her cousin happened to be camping two tents away with her.

Also the mobile reception was appalling so she had no idea a friend had fallen against a fence, broken his neck and been rushed to hospital during the night.

Fortunately he’s going to be OK, but she was a bit shaken by it.

As I returned to Woolies in the afternoon for more supplies, I saw a familiar face approaching me and heard her voice for the first time in almost 13 years.

It was the former colleague who had demanded I be sacked for writing a blog post defending Kathleen Folbigg.

We didn’t acknowledge each other.

It was such a weird coincidence as only a few days earlier someone on the cruise ship had Googled me and asked about me losing my job.

It’s always a bit traumatic to relive the incident, as it had a devastating effect on my life.

I wonder if she feels any remorse about Kathleen?

I doubt it.

I wonder if any of the journalists who lit the flaming torches and handed out the pitchforks do?

Anyhoo, I’ll end on a positive note ahead of the weekend and the return to normal blog programming on Monday.

It has been a mega week since I got back, mostly in a good way other than the Woolies encounter.

I went to see the Robbie Williams movie Better Man with my sister and it was INCREDIBLE. I absolutely loved it. Might just be the best movie I’ve seen since The Breakfast Club.

10 out of 10, totally recommend.

On Saturday the youngest and I drove up to DD’s place, picking up delicious pitas at a fabulous hole-in-the-wall cafe in Newport called Queen Ester.

After a swim in the afternoon, DD and I were invited to dinner by non-Northern Beaches friends. Coincidentally the venue – Barrenjoey House – was directly across the road from where our cruise departed in Palm Beach!

Such a gorgeous spot – the blokes ordered Negronis to start and I devoured crab linguine for my main.

Sunday included a lazy brekkie, reading the papers and more swimming.

I decided I wasn’t ready to go back to the real world on Monday, so I worked from DD’s and crammed in a swim before and after my morning coffee, plus one after work.

Heaven.

Have a great weekend, catch you next week.

Song of the day: Karma County “This is not the real world”