Eat, Swim, Read, Write - Cairns

This is my version of "Eat, Pray, Love". If you have not read it, you should. Today was the first day of rain we have had this trip. There are warnings of a monsoon or cyclone coming in this direction, but if it materializes, it will be long after we have left for Hobart. Andrew keeps us abreast of the weather report on a thirty minute cycle if we are around to hear it. He has used monsoon and cyclone at different times, but I have yet to ask how they classify them differently. Once you get him started on weather, it is difficult to escape. He talks about the weather more than US Midwesterners do. My day consisted of breakfast, reading, a swim in the pool, writing, a swim in the pool, reading, a nap, a swim in the pool, and reading. Then I strained myself by dragging myself to lunch, then took another nap, and continued the cycle all over again. Swimming in the rain is not a problem since it is still warm and there is no lightening to be concerned about. Ron took a walk to the beach and arrived just as the lifeguard caught a box jellyfish in the protective net around the beach. Ron was able to see one up close and personal. It was a juvenile, but the tentacles were still over a foot long. The lifeguard was going to ship it to a research facility. This is one of the twelve most deadly animals on earth. They just need to brush against you for you to be poisoned. Respiratory arrest starts in two hours. I read, swam in the pool, wrote, swam in the pool, read, took a nap, swam in the pool, and read. The Argentinians and I did not get out of a towel all day. The joys of staying at an all male resort.

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Three Times You Are Out

I have been testy these last few days as I have not yet received my contract from Frommer's, which makes me nervous. Time is ticking, 330 pages need to be written, and I do not have an official letter to show that I am legit or actually hired to do this. We are leaving for Rome on Monday with Earl in tow to break up his visit. If a package arrives while we are gone, chances are they will not leave it without anyone here. My physical therapy appointment was at 11:00, so I left Earl in Ron's care. Ron had talked about going to the Holocaust Museum or the House of Terror, both things that Earl said he was interested in seeing. I have been to the latter three times and did not feel a need to return, but left confident that they would entertain themselves. When I returned, they were still here. They changed the plan and were now going to go to Palitinus swimming pool in the afternoon. I wanted to go too. I have never been, though tried one summer on August 20th and the pool was closed for the season already. Both Earl and Ron fell asleep. Ron wanted to go at 3:00, but by 2:30 the sandman was throwing sand at my eyes and I went for a nap too. When I woke, Ron was gone to bring his invoice to the language school. By the time he got home again, it was too late to go to the pool, plus I did not want to go so late. It closes at 6:00 and for the admission, it is not worth the money to go so late. A day wasted. I did not do anything on my "To Do" list, trying not to ignore Earl. It is true that "You can never go home again." What I find when friends come to visit is that our lives have diverged so severely, there not much to talk about after the first day or two. They do not understand our lives here and their lives have either become static or have gone off into a direction that we do not understand. The long distance relationship of e-mails back and forth becomes the main link holding us together at a safe distance.

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