See Ya Later, Bruce.

Tara Thai. Ha. I bet Dan Thai would be happy.

Today I said my sad goodbye to Bruce.

Today I made the decision to move to Byron Bay.

Today Tara decided she is going to move to Melbourne. We’re flying out on different planes tomorrow afternoon.

Walking to the grocery store today, Tara and I passed a Flight Centre (travel agency ‘cheap flights’ place) and decided to stop in to see what kind of prices they could get us on flights to … well… out of Cairns. Cairns is a strange mixing bowl of international backpackers primarily from Germany, Asia and Australia. Street vendors line the downtown mall with ‘authentic’ aboriginal art and boomerangs. Florescent colored poster board out side of each vendor’s tent advertises 2 for 1 sales with bold misspelled words like necklase and beutifull. The vibe is really strange. Most people are just wondering the streets sweating profusely and looking for an inexpensive tour to the Great Barrier Reef or Cape Tribulation.

So back to the Flight Centre— I got a flight to Brisbane for $161, which is mad cheap for less than 24 hours in advance. When I get to Brisbane I’m going to crash with a friend of mine from Curtin, Marc. He just got a place in Brisbane, so it will be solid to catch up with him and have a place to stay for a night or two. Then I’m off to Byron Bay, which is 3 hours south of Brisbane by Greyhound. Living in the Whitsundays would be killer, but I think I would get a bit bored of the super small town and people coming and going every three days. Might be hard to make friends. Not to mention, Summer is coming and that brings 110 degree days. UGH. I’ve never been to Byron Bay, but it comes highly recommended to be from dozens of people. I hear there is a great music scene, laid back people, a bit of a hippie vibe and phenomenal beaches for surfing. I want to learn to surf for sure. Maybe I can get a job at a bicycle shop? That’d be sweet.

I’m scared to be moving to a town by myself. I don’t have a job, any friends, or any real knowledge of what the place will be like. I think it is nervous energy, you know? I just need some sort of … something to kick me off. I think working asap will be a nice way to meet people. I am biting my lip right now with a smile spreading across my face. This is going to be awesome.