Horse Races- A New Brain

"And their off... and they move in a herd, like a four letter word... and their off"

I was promptly turned away from the Red Carpet Club as I meandered in through the concourse. Which, I suppose, is a toast to myself- I don’t come off as the lonely, lost little girl that I fear I appear. Instead, I must show off (at least a slight) air of confidence, or else I would hope that the mean old lady behind the nice wooden desk would have taken a little sympathy upon me. So instead, I tried to make my way through the United terminal and finally found myself posted up against a wall where I could people watch (my favorite to watch being a little girl, not more than a year or so, tottering away from her parents at every chance, running into people and fearlessly exclaiming “Hi!” at each of them, giggling, and moving on to her next victim—my Dad made the forecast that this adorable, bite-sized, little piece of heaven would soon be a screaming baby on my plane- and, like most times, he was right. The adorable, bite-sized, screaming banchee sat directly behind me and I continued to receive fairly constant abuse via the back of my chair) and plug in my computer for some quality Skype time with Mom and Dad. Not too long after I found my spot, I had a companion.

Matt had quickly and madly fallen in love with the girl he had driven out to L.A. They had taken a road trip from Virginia Beach where he is a bartender and she was a waitress—she needed to get away and L.A. was her pick. She broke up with her boyfriend and left her job, friends, and any life she had to move out to Cali, where the only person she knows is her brother. He detailed their love affair, leaving out most details (thankfully), but I couldn’t help but “ooh” and “ahh” at their story and feel a little twinge at their necessary split. Although, he did hint at a possible move of his own. I never nabbed his last name, so I can’t keep tabs via Facebook, but I wish him (and her) all the best.

Aside from the tiny terror seated behind me, the flight wasn’t all bad—simply long. I did manage to meet a very nice woman originally from Phoenix who, six years ago, married an Australian man (whom she met on a Christian dating website) and moved a few hours north of Melbourne. A total doll, she gave me tips on living in Australia and even gave me her card if I ever “needed some American support”. Downright adorable.

We were supposed to stop off in Sydney before heading to Melbourne, but the fog at 5am was too dense and we were sent straight to Melbourne. For a while the airline told us customs would not let us deboard in Melbourne- instead we were simply there to refuel and we would have to sail back to Sydney, only to be taken again to Melbourne’s airport. That illogical situation did not happen, thankfully. Instead, we simply sat at Melbourne Airport for three or four hours waiting for something, anything, to happen. Eventually it was announced the Sydney flight was cancelled and all the passengers would be getting off in Melbourne. I silently cheered, even though I did pity the Sydney passengers who were left to find alternate flights to their destinations.

By this time it was around 9 am Australian time. I was picked up by the complimentary airport service and had to wait about three hours to actually get picked up. There were about 10 of us who were driven to our residences. The driver decided to drop me off at the wrong building and I spent a good 15 minutes hauling my luggage from place to place trying to find where to check in (it was a grand old time).

But here I am. “Home” for the next few months. My closet is empty, the immense desk is empty (save for a few books), and my bedding is lavender and maroon (the only colors in my bed size that I could find on such short notice). The room echoes it is so empty, but I have started to put pictures up on my bulletin board and the familiar faces help make me feel at ease.

I have made a few friends- the boys from California, the girl from Mexico, and the girl from Texas… my roommate is great and all of the people I have met are very helpful so far. I guess I can just keep my fingers crossed that I can make some lasting friendships so my fear of being alone for the next few months will subside.