4 mOnThs iN a LEaKy BoAT

Hi Everyone, long time no blog. I know some of you will have been 'watching this space' for some rare glipse into the life of cHeRRy and all my marvelous travel stories. You've all been disappointed, until now. Now you shall be rewarded for your loyalty. Here is a chance to go make yourself a hot drink, preferrably caffiene enhanced, and settle in to your iPad (if you are as cool as I clearly am now), and try to keep up with my exceptional blog genius mindset. *actual coffee pause* Ok, so here it is...this is the blog you have all been waiting for... I am indeed back in Australia, the main land, the land of OZ, miles away from my beloved Justin. Iam attempting to fulfill two midwifery contracts that equal four months. The only reason someone would decide to do this is for money, and lots of it. It's not hard to figure out why Kiwi's are leaving NZ at the speed of knots. I'd suspect they'd row themselves out if they had too, and some do and win medals (and some have perished trying), that's why Kiwi blokes are fit when they hit Aussie shores. Also not hard to see why so many Aussie gals are swooping in for some ripped Kiwi action - I was no exception 12 years ago. Anyway, how did I get onto this... So I have come back (but not home) to my native country to earn some actual money, real currency in the real world. Earning money in $AU dollars again has the added advantage of providing our Australian Mortgage with some much needed sustinance. It was getting a bit malnourished from the pitiful $NZ diet we had tried to feed it. So what have I been up to?... Well firstly, being an agency midwife/nurse is a lot like going to Summer camp, when you really didn't want to go. You find yourself sending letters back home begging for your hasty release; Justin just ignores mine. You stay in accommodation which is substandard to say the least. You make friends with strangers you ordinarily wouldn't give the time of day too. You eat crap and eventually find yourself less hungry, and then you notice you are losing weight and then you stop fighting it. I have to say I have some days when I really miss home and Justin, and then other days when I am coping better with it. I think on those good days I am working and keeping busy. It's when you stop and think about things that it all comes crashing down. I have almost changed my tickets home several times already. I never really even expected to make it this long. I'm almost half way. Two months down. That's 61 days of living camp hell. And another 61 days to go. Some of the highlights, in point form... * being the sole accoucher for breech twins and both being born in 'the caul' (waters intact) six minutes apart. That was an exciting shift on Anzac morning. The pink scrub shirt I was wearing has now been nicknamed my 'lucky twin shirt'. I may never get that opportunity ever again, with any luck. * I ended up in Cairns overnight when I had only expected a day trip, with a curious little malaysian midwife who was 65 years young. I had a great time, despite being force fed fruit from the woman every 10 mins. I don't think I've eaten fruit since my kidnapping. * I have been out 'clubbing' with a physio and a crazy ED nurse and danced so hard I crippled myself with a seriously unhealthy haematoma on the ball of my R)foot. I sung so loudly I almost lost my voice. And no night out is complete without a wholesome three-way spooning on a skinny dorm bed and laughing to boot. It was clean fun. I spooned the ED nurse actually. She was soft and cuddly. * I have done some interesting shifts in Special Care Nursery and the Children's Ward. I have had some privileged cuddles with some very beautiful babies. Many sets of twins. * I have been grocery shopping with the crazy ED nurse and we decided to look professional by taking our stolen shopping trolley through the drive-thru bottle-o. I have never laughed so hard, or looked more like an irresponsible and unprofessional ward of the state. We were on fire. * I have discovered 'TrueBlood'. And, yes, it is just vampire porn. That's why I love it. It's nothing like Twilight, but I am now a big fan. There has been so much more going on than this small list, but I feel it will suffice for now. And because I now have my very own swanky iPad I can now blog a little more routinely...so I will try to fill in some of the gaps soon enough. Stay tuned my pets.