I had such a great birthday!

Got up early (actually, it was only early for a weekend, but late for me these days); 8:30am.

Went to the gym. Came home and had a leisurely breakfast with a pot of Red Rose tea and red the Arts section of the newspaper.

Walked to the bus stop and found a bus going to Watson's Bay. I climbed on and did the awe-inspiring walk to the South Head Lighthouse.

My sister, Jen, called me then. We had such a lovely talk. I was so happy to hear from her; I'd been hoping she would call.

Then I boarded the bus back to the CBD (specifically, the bus depot at Taylor Square) and discovered that there ARE friendly Sydney bus drivers! He was so friendly that he pissed off a sour old man who had no interest in being entertained. It's too bad that one man in a bad mood can ruin a perfectly lovely bus ride.

Once home, I got ready for my party.

Andrea brought me cake and presents (more on that later in my journal, I think). Then my Cdn friend Edgar came over and we started into the coffee martinis.

A bunch of friends came by, nothing crazy.
Dave called from Japan.

My family called. I also got to talk to Kendra, who was there with my brothers to celebrate my Dad's birthday belatedly. It was the first time that I've talked to Kendra and Will since I've been here.

I got off the phone and immediately wanted to call back. Tears welled up. Andrea hugged me and I went back to the party.

My roommates Jim and Nowell took me to The CourtHouse/Judgement Bar at Taylor Square around 1:30am. Several horrible men tried to chat me up. One was downright insulting! Can't figure out why Aussie men are so bad at chatting me up.

But it was all made better by the interesting conversation that I had with Jim about appearances and confidence and many other things. Nowell announced to us that we are engaged. We celebrated that with a drink.

And today I celebrated my hangover with a 3-hour sunlit lounge in my backyard with a travel magazine and coffee. And then some really greasy take-away fish and chips. Mm, grease.

And I had a quick-but-deep talk with Tony.

THANKS FOR MAKING MY DAY SPECIAL!