June 29, 2024
I’m at the Christchurch airport. My flight to Brisbane is in an hour. I’m pretty relieved to be leaving.
Mark and Jayne brought me to the airport in a taxi. We went to the Antarctic centre first. That was pretty fun. We got to pet some really fluffy dogs and ride around in the arctic buggies. We went up and over hills and obstacles. Mark had to climb up and squeeze in but he managed. I was sitting across from him. It was funny watching his reactions.
It was really sad saying goodbye to them. I hope they find someone really good to replace me. They made this trip to New Zealand so worthwhile. That’s the kind of experience and memory I wanted out of this trip.
It was such an amazing way to explore Christchurch, and I was getting payed to do it. We basically just laughed non-stop.
I went to Dimitri’s last night to drop off my uniform. It was really weird and awkward. I got there and said hi to Dimitri. He was immediately angry with me for not staying until September. He said that he was relying on me and that I had promised to be there until September. I thought he was joking. I was just kinda staring at him, not knowing what to say. He was serious. Then he just said ‘ah never mind, nice seeing you, ok bye.’
So then Despina came up to me. That was weird too. She sorta accused me of having got one of the other guys to quit. I can’t remember the guys name. I only met him once. He was a traveler from Germany. I had been telling him about MyCare and how I really liked it. I never saw him again after that one shift.
But yesterday Despina asked if I had ‘seen him off’. I didn’t know what she meant, or who she was talking about because I couldn’t remember the guys name. Apparently he had quit. She thought that I had gotten him the job with Mark and Jayne. I said that I hadn’t.
I never felt like I could have a proper conversation at that shop. Everyone was constantly eavesdropping in on conversations. I guess she had heard me telling him about MyCare and assumed I got him to quit.
So then Dimitri came back into the shop. He said that I could keep the uniform as a memory. I thought that was kinda weird, too. I didn’t want that thing. So I left and went home. I threw it out later that night.
My housemates asked if I wanted to play boardgames with them. We played a few games for a few hours and had some food. That was nice of them. I’m really relieved to be out of that house.
I sometimes find it annoying how easily I seem to forget about difficult and miserable experiences. I went to some absolutely horrible places, emotionally, in that house. And I forget those moments unless I really try to remember.
The whole thing seems like a blur. I want to remember those moments so that I can really appreciate where I am now. I’ve been craving this moment of leaving for months and months.
I just wish that I could bring Mark and Jayne with me.
I can’t believe that I’ll see mom, Yoga, Pablo and the baby in a few hours. I can’t believe I’ll be walking around Caloundra in a few hours. It sorta feels like I was just there. Being there psychically feels recent, but emotionally it feels so distant. I’ve felt so many things since I was there.