Getting Away

Wow.  The letter G.  Is it Saturday already?

The last tme I had a time away from home was 2 nights in December.

This week, on Wednesday as a matter of fact (some of you may have noticed I posted late), I drove some 6 hours down to my friend's place in Charters Towers for the Easter weekend.  I have been looking forward to this for a long time.

Good friends, a few drinks, and hangin round on the verandah, watching the world go by.  Speaking shit and making light of emarassing situations.  It's fun.

Easter is huge in Australia.  I'm not talking about religious observance.  This is the land of endless summer, and a 4 day weekend, timed with school holidays means everyne in the country has hit the road.

This means, of course at an average four hour trip run at least a half hour longer.  It means the cops are out in force.  It also means that tickets come with double demerits.

With the price of fuel, my little trip comes with a fuel cost of $180, or $15 per hour of operation.  It's no wonder I'm at a mate's place.

The cost of these trips is lamentable.  Keep in mind the above cost is fuel only.  Still, I can't say that going away isn't worth it.  Affordable or not, sometimes you have to walk out that door for a few days, and do something different.

But, I find it hard to be social.  I work nights, you see.  Its like I've almost forgotten how to relate to other people.  And when I have to get a bunch of teenagers out the door to go school, and answer the same questions every morning I also lose the urge to be social.  I forget how good talking to people can be.

That's what makes this trip so important.  I need to remember how to deal with others, how to relax and have fun, and how to have a few beers.  I am enjoying it so far.

So a couple of times a year at least I have to get away, and remind myself that company, other than my own, is a good thing.  Well, at least sometimes.

So on Monday, I have to drive home.  This shouldn't take near as long because I'm going the back way.  Once I get past Fletcher Creek, it should be a good run.  And the road is mostly up scratch these days.  But first, the football.