Monday, March 1, 2010

Joyous Minutiae of Relocating Part "!"

I may have just gassed myself with the oven cleaner, so I must be moving house again.

Progress report re: moving to the People's Republic of Queensland

Houses: 0
Shopping Precincts: 1
Boxes Ordered: 38
Boxes Received: 0
Items Packed: 0

Days until move: 8

Hmmm. So the research trip to Brisbane was mixed. Four days with my boyfriend driving around in a Suzuki Swift and sounding our Yawps simultaneously amist cries of "THE PLACES HAVE NO THINGS!!".

Of course, I know thing is completely unfair, and that I'm passing judgement before I spent so much as a minute as an actual resident and that my lifestyle can only change for the better by being uprooted.

I'll never forget Helen Caldicott's lecture for Macquarie's Golden Key Society, and the most remarkable and impactful thing she said. I know I still fail to heed the warning:
Comfort is dangerous.
Of course, she went on to discuss the Western world and our addiction to creature comfort; televisions, nuclear power et al. But this, on reflection, is not just a statement we can apply to physical possessions or those people or events of positive impact. I've come to realise that these three words best describe everything unhealthy about my life right now. I'm sick of the sight of a lot the Sydney has to offer and it's time to step away from all of those old memories
and relationships that made me feel dependent, exquisite, fat, valued, and taken for granted - often all at once.

Maybe it's about time I felt like I knew nothing again. The acceptance of ones own ignorance and the willingness to step out into space without knowing what is below is the very definition of a clean slate. A fresh start. Even just saying them in my head helps, I think. I know. I know that this town is haunted and whilst there's so much to discover and enjoy here, it's time to let it go.

I had it out with an old friend, and I realised that they saw the situation in a completely different light to me. Polar opposite. And not small issues either. It was, of course, like anything that confronting incredibly educational. And now, for the first time in my life I feel free, and safe in the knowledge that you can get out there and grab life by the balls. Don't be afraid. Get out there. And, um, move to Queensland.