the longest day

these days you can get very cheap international flights
as long as you are prepared to travel at any time of the day
budget constraints and the need to fly christchurch to sydney
had me flying out at 6:30am
which meant checking in at 5:00am
which meant leaving the family home at 4:00am
which meant about 2 hours sleep after the usual late night session
trying to get as much done as possible pre-departure
the other problem with cheap fares
is that they will sting you anyway they can
typically on baggage exceeding already tight limits
so for an extra 3 kilos another $30 was added to the fare
uh-oh - 3 months of very cheap living has come to an end
heading back to sydney and already the dollars are flowing
but no other complaints re run-for-your-seats airline
australia had just celebrated a public holiday for australia day
so allowing for a 2 hour time difference
i flew into a city waking up from a long weekend
which gave me some assurance of a gentle return to work
met at the airport by my nz travelling companion
and chauffeured to the office for the first of many days
it's been very wet in sydney over this summer
as a complete contrast to the nz summer
relentless, continual, desperately needed rain
which is why no-one seemed too dispirited by it all
from my experience rain and sydney-siders do not mix
but after a long period of drought conditions the change was welcome
i don't know if it is possible to get jet lag from a 3-hour journey
i can't recall experiencing it on any other occasion
but on this day i was feeling quite lethargic
so by the time end of day rolled around
and my driver obliged me with another ride
i was feeling quite literally under the weather
ready for crawling into a nice cosy bed even in daylight
and shutting out the world for a much needed sleep
but my current circumstances dictate that alone is not an option
my nearest and dearest friends have taken me in
and much catching up required of elapsed months
not much memory of the hours spent thereof
except the consumption of fine food
some beer and wine in there also
and then collapse into bed
after a
very
long
day
...zzz...