Said goodbye to the Matt in Geelong and Reub’s drove us to the airport. Said our farewells on the ramp and wandered in and over to the checkin counter when I realised that I’d left my phone in the car! Didn’t have my phone so couldn’t ring to get Reubs to come back - so rang my own number and after a 7 minute panic Reubs pulled up outside (after doing a u turn on the freeway). Phew, hope I’ve got the moz out of the way doing that stunt.
Checked in (me 16.3 kg & Wendy 6.7 kg) lots of people in the queue with just a light bag and a few with the humungus 25 kg jobs. pushing the limits. Very cosmopolitan bunch, quite a few Asians heading home (we stop in HongKong) and smattering of everyone else. Sat down to fill in the forms and arrange the backpacks (managed to pack the sleeping tablets in my big pack!) had an apple and filled up on water. Watching the folk walking around the airport is engaging (rather then interesting) but everyone seems to be on a mission so there’s not much engagement other than furtive glances. The Indian girl pushing a small wheelchair, the tall dude with the long leather coat and the haircut, the elderly couple looking anxious and pacing back and forth, the airport staff with lots of accreditation around their necks, kids racing around in luggage trolleys, and the regular announcements over the loud speaker. “Could, Macollig Jusfahted and Lefderoom De Bahsted, please come to the Emirates counter”. ;-) Thought about buying some pounds but I’d booked the Heathrow-Gatwick coach just before we left so won’t need to buy a ticket.
So here we are, after all the organising and tidying loose ends (not like driving down to the block!) and heading off on long service leave. Have to remind my self that this is the reward for good and faithful service. Will be fun to see a bit of Eastern Europe, attend the Thinking Conference in Norrköping (look it up on Google Earth) and then spend time in Holland visiting the relatives. I’m glad we are finally on our way and looking forward to seeing Ash in Prague. I’ve been feeling the stress of it all and hope that now we’re on our way things will settle down a bit I can relax and enjoy the ride.
Checked in (me 16.3 kg & Wendy 6.7 kg) lots of people in the queue with just a light bag and a few with the humungus 25 kg jobs. pushing the limits. Very cosmopolitan bunch, quite a few Asians heading home (we stop in HongKong) and smattering of everyone else. Sat down to fill in the forms and arrange the backpacks (managed to pack the sleeping tablets in my big pack!) had an apple and filled up on water. Watching the folk walking around the airport is engaging (rather then interesting) but everyone seems to be on a mission so there’s not much engagement other than furtive glances. The Indian girl pushing a small wheelchair, the tall dude with the long leather coat and the haircut, the elderly couple looking anxious and pacing back and forth, the airport staff with lots of accreditation around their necks, kids racing around in luggage trolleys, and the regular announcements over the loud speaker. “Could, Macollig Jusfahted and Lefderoom De Bahsted, please come to the Emirates counter”. ;-) Thought about buying some pounds but I’d booked the Heathrow-Gatwick coach just before we left so won’t need to buy a ticket.
So here we are, after all the organising and tidying loose ends (not like driving down to the block!) and heading off on long service leave. Have to remind my self that this is the reward for good and faithful service. Will be fun to see a bit of Eastern Europe, attend the Thinking Conference in Norrköping (look it up on Google Earth) and then spend time in Holland visiting the relatives. I’m glad we are finally on our way and looking forward to seeing Ash in Prague. I’ve been feeling the stress of it all and hope that now we’re on our way things will settle down a bit I can relax and enjoy the ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment