Izzo

As my iPod shaped alarm clock wakes me up with some of Paul Wellers finest, I have a stretch, a yawn and haul myself from bed. I pick up my huge Blue Hilton towel and wander off to take a shower. Since the flat is a little emptier now, I can afford more than 1 or 2 minutes of hot water with great appreciation for it.

After getting dried off I get my work clothes on, eat some muesli-yoghurt mix and sit down to watch the Channel 7 morning news tick by.

After collecting all I need to take with me; a Michael Crichton book, my iPod, wallet, phone and keys I walk down the stairs from the flat to get to the bus-stop. I see the view I’ve seen every morning at about this time for the past 3months. “I wanna be adored” fades in from silence. The impossibly steep Beach Street falls away in front of me towards the Coogee Beach at the end of the road. A telegraph pole sprouting random cables with a shrieking black bird sat on top welcomes me to the outdoor world as behind him in the distance, up toward the next cove, I can see waves collide with the rocks beneath the cliffs. The water explodes upward 30ft against what has been in previous weeks; a stormy, foggy, rainy or clear sky of varying colour schemes. Today however, the sky mixes pale terracotta into grey lilac with just a little haze muting the clarity of the violent waters below.

I’m walking, and Ian Brown is now in full voice in my ears. I’m on my way to work in Sydney, for the final time. Reflecting on what I’ve just described gives me a triumphant feeling, that I escaped the monotony of my old M25; M2 Thurrock to Sittingbourne daily hour-long commute to work to come and do something else with my life.

So as another era of my years trip flags to an end, I’m stunned to find this one, the most emotional to say goodbye to. Maybe due to the amount of time I’ve stayed in one place, maybe due to the strong friendships I’ve forged living here or maybe even of the now inevitable heeby-jeebies one gets when you know you have to lose all that you’ve just built to move onward with nothing but memories and a CDR full of photo's on your travels.