Brisbane Breakdown

After a few days in Sydney, I was super excited to head to the next destination. Brisbane. So I happily strapped on my backpack and sneakers in the early morning hours and made my way to the airport.

All was going smoothly - easy check in, early but not too early and then a pretty smooth flight via Tiger Airways. Who actually load passengers in through the front AND back of the plane = efficient!

We hit a bit of turbulence during the landing and something didn't quite sit right with me after that. But I was determined to push through. When we started to disembark the plane, the woman in the seat in front of me somehow launched her laptop bag straight over her shoulder and smack into my face. Ouch. And she clearly didn't realize, with no apology she asked if I wouldn't mind picking up her bag as she couldn't properly reach it. "Sure", I replied, still holding my cheek. That started the downward spiral....

It was bound to happen - I'd been running around like mad before I left. With planning the trip, finishing work and a class literally the morning I flew out of the country. I'd barely left myself enough time to pet the cat (guilty conscience).

So day one in Brisbane was a right off. It took me forever to find my dorm at the university, which was way farther from my train stop than I thought. And I walked it...because I despise city buses. I would rather walk a couple of hours if it meant I could avoid the bus. Subways, trains, even Greyhound buses - totally fine. But city buses I avoid, which I realize I will have to wrestle with as I continue my travels to other parts of the world.

Think it goes back to public school and the first time I was allowed to go to the mall with my best friend Chrissy, with no parents or older sisters. We were super hyper and pretty sure we bought cassette tapes at Sam the Record Man (U2 for me, The Cure for Chrissy), candy and then I got a giant strawberry Orange Julius for the bus ride home which I scarfed back before we even left the mall. We sat at the back of the bus, it was bumpy, it was summer, it was hot....and I barely made it off the bus before the Orange Julius met the sidewalk.

And that's how I felt my first day in Brisbane - after trying to walk around and see things, I gave in, curled up for nap in the hopes of salvaging the evening at least. Only I slept longer than expected and was awoken by screaming birds...what sounded like hundreds of them, outside my window. I would imagine they thought they were singing - but my mum would kindly have excused them all from her choir.

I dug in my bag for earplugs - thankfully I remembered to pack these! I pulled the sheet over my head and mumbled some kind words to the birds and vowed to make it up tomorrow. Not every day can be perfect.