* just a little bit *

holidays are over. i can feel it. there's four days left before classes start up again. as you would guess, i'm back in sydney, back from the trip home. and wowza. what a jam-packed last few weeks!

the two weeks in perth were fantastic. got to catch up with a lot of friends. but at the same time it was sad because there were heaps of people i didn't get a chance to see. the good thing is that a lot of those people happen to be coming over to my end of australia over the next few months, so i guess the complaints end here!

it was great to get to go down south with the girls. after an afternoon of grueling discussion and relative indecision which was largely guided by impulsiveness, we ended up hitting mandurah, bunbury, busselton, dunsborough (albeit, just a drive through), margaret river, augusta and cape leeuwin.

beautiful!





it was so great to spend a good three straight days with the girls. one thing i realized is that for real friendships, time apart does nothing. people can change, but that doesn't mean they necessarily grow apart. i don't know what i'd do without these girls.

the other thing which was totally awesome was the time i got to spend with family! we ended up hitting the shooting range, golf driving range (o.m. to the g. at the automatic system that wembley golf course has now!), hawkers' and novembar. all of which have officially made my list as 'happy places'.




going back through my photos though, it's kinda funny how we totally didn't take any whacked out funny shots! boo! normally after a hang out, my camera is usually filled with at least 100 stupid shots. this time round? no such luck!

family and friends aside, one of the greatest things about this trip was that it was filled with some pretty important and awesome 'firsts'. check it out:

(1) first time i actually walked along matilda bay
(2) first time i fired a glock and hated it
(3) first time i hit a golf ball off an automatic tee
(4) first time i went with my whole family to watch a movie at the cinemas
(5) first time i ate a burger that was fully packed with red hot brazilian chilies
(6) first time i hired a car in my own name
(7) first time i drove an 8-seater car
(8) first time i travelled further south than busselton
(9) first time i swam at a beach in over a decade
(10) first time i ever saw water so crystal blue (@hamelin bay)

all in all, it was an incredibly fulfilling trip home. the only shame is that the time went by so fast. if i'm completely honest, i already miss it. =p

just a little bit.